(A few hours before Elsa and Subaru met)
"I can't thank you enough for bringing back our daughter to us! Her mother was searching around the place for hours I-....... I'm really grateful.....
An intimidating man was bowing at Subaru with an expression that showed tears, but Subaru recognized these tears as not a sad one, but a happy one
"J-Jeez"
No matter how many times Subaru sees this scene, he couldn't really get used to it. the image of a big and intimidating looking guy like him shedding tears is quite the sight for Subaru
"It's alright...I just happened to come across her...anyway, would you mind if i ask you a question?"
"Sure! you brought my daughter back so I'll answer any questions you have...provided of course That I do know them"
"That's great"
For Subaru's plan to come into motion he first needed to know one valuable piece of information
"Do you know someone named...Mazeran?"
That person was supposedly Meili's target
"You mean Mazeran Suwen? The head of the Suwen Trading Company?"
"The what?..."
"The Suwen Trading Company. they're quite the known in the world of merchants you see, word on the streets is that the company was launching some sort of project at the slums"
Subaru couldn't help but wonder about this, A project? and in the Slums out of all the places in the kingdom?
"And that is?"
"A feeding program is what I heard...lots of people are going hungry in that place as the day passes so that would be a huge help for them...damn....what are the wise men doing?...."
"Hmmm....."
From what Subaru had seen, the place did seem to experience an abnormally high level of poverty.
'So her target was the head of a company huh?'
Subaru could use this to his advantage, if he saved the guy then he would earn more favors which in turn would give him an advantage in the future
"I see...do you know where he is right now"
"From what I've heard, he and his employees were staying at the southern part of the slums, I dunno why he wouldn't stay at the main district, but that part of the slums is the safest part so he at least chose a decent place"
Now that he had obtained the information he needed, Subaru determined that it was time to start setting up the stage for his plan
Starting now...
Subaru showed an apologetic expression to Kadomon and asked
"Isee...This on another note but...can I borrow some money from you?"
Kadomon didn't like Subaru's request and frowned
"I appreciate you helping out my daughter but money is kind of....."
Subaru figured out that Kadomon was hesitant, which was a normal reaction. On his previous loop in which plum ranted on about her father, Subaru found out that their stall was experiencing a bit of a bankruptcy
Subaru did feel a bit bad but right now he really needed the money, so he pressed on further
"I know how shameless I am right now but...Please! If I don't get the money then I might die!"
To the frost that is
Kadamon was a bit shocked at his statement but still looked a bit reluctant
Subaru wondered if he should start becoming more aggressive but before he could do so, Kadamon spoke
"....Jezz you don't need to exaggerate it...How much do you need?"
Subaru didn't really understand the concept of money yet, when he was dealing with felt, the thought of 40 golden coins sent her drooling so gold coins must be the highest currency here
With this in mind...
"About ten golden coins is enough"
"Ten golden coins?! are you crazy boy?! That much money is enough to provide three meals to my family for a whole week!"
"Crap...."
Subaru blundered once again, but he knew that he could still recover from this so...
"Ahahahaah! I'm just playing with you man! you don't have to take the joke so seriously"
"....Thank god it is, you need to work on your sense of humor man"
"Yeah...so, time to be serious...I humbly ask you if I could have.....five-"
As Subaru was about to continue, He saw the fire and the rage in Kadomon's eyes
'W-Woah...He'll kill me if I stay with that!' Subaru thought
"....two....golden coins?"
Kadamon still looked pissed but after a while, he let out a sigh and said
"....Fine...this is basically all of my earnings this day but whatever"
Saying this, he reached out to Subaru and gave him two golden coins
"Woah wait a minute...this is your entire earnings?"
"For this day, yeah"
Subaru felt a bit guilty but
"Thank you....so much"
He performed a dogeza once more in front of him, He was truly grateful to Kadamon. In all of the loops that Subaru had been through, he was the one that he turned to in order to gain information or to seek out help
"I'll repay you one day...I swear it"
Subaru said
Kadamon was a bit taken back at the sudden seriousness of his tone and the look of his eyes
"We're now even, so you don't need to pay for nothing anymore"
"Still...I'm grateful!"
"Yeah Yeah! Now could you stop kneeling in front of my shop and just get outta here?!"
His usual attitude to Subaru returned once more, that was the same attitude that he showed to him at his first loop so he was pretty happy to see it
"Yeah....I'll see you"
"Live strong kid"
After saying their farewells, Subaru quickly ran up to his next destination
(------)
"Guaaaaaards!!!"
An ear-splitting scream could be heard at one of the back alleys of the kingdom, the scream was so loud that the nearby birds flew away and the people in the main road were surprised at the oud shout
In the alley was a Subaru and he was once again with the familiar trio
"Woah hold on! You just saw us and you already screamed?! We haven't even said anything to you yet!"
The grayish-blue haired man was once again screaming at Subaru with a panicked expression
"Yeah! screaming like that so suddenly is bad for my heart you know?"
"Yeah, That's right!"
His other companions also shouted
"But you guys were planning on mugging me right?"
"...Kinda"
After hearing Subaru inhale heavily and shouted once more
"Someone―! I need a man―!!!"
"Woah come on! at least let us intimidate you a bit first before screaming! ya gotta follow procedures in situations like these you know?!"
"Yeah no, I'd rather not"
After all of their interactions in his previous loops, Subaru was actually quite happy to come across these three for once
After parting ways with Kadamon, Subaru walked around every back alley on the kingdom in search of the trio, he followed the path that he took at his first loop and ended up in this situation
"Oh? is there something wrong here?"
A new and familiar voice was suddenly heard, the four of them in the alleyway turned in its direction and saw a young-looking man with an average height, Blue eyes, and crimson red hair. He was the reason why Subaru went again on this path
The man was none other than the sword saint,Reinhard Van Astrea
"Who the hell are ya huh?! butting in here like you own the place"
"I apologize if I may have disturbed you, I am simply a humble knight that was passing by and happened to hear a cry for help, I believe that the scream came from here"
Subaru determined that his humbleness and humility would only prolong the situation and would waste more time, so he took the initiative
"You guys really are idiots huh? can't you see that this man is none other than the famous sword saint?! the one and only Reinhard Van Astrea?!"
The grayish-blue haired man scoffed his statement and replied in a mocking tone
"Yeah right as if the sword saint would wander around in a place like thi-"
"Oi wait a minute"
His other fellow grabbed him by the arm and said
"That Blazing red hair and eyes blue as the sky... And that sword's sheath with a dragon's craw engraved in it there's no doubt about it....it's Reinhard...The Sword Saint Reinhard!"
Similar to the first loop, one of them finally recognized his identity
"Y-You're kidding...."
All three of them looked at Reinhard carefully and was assessing whether or not he was the real deal
"Shit, you're right!"
And all three of them immediately panicked after confirming his identity
Reinhard looked at Subaru for a while before turning to the three and them and said
"I'm not sure what happened here but I would prefer it to be solved without the use of force, but if you want to do so regardless, then as a knight I will fight on the side of justice"
Reinhard then placed his hands on the grip of his sword, and upon seeing this, the faces of the three thieves turned pale and lost all their color
"W-We're sorry!"
all three of them immediately turned around and ran way in unison
"I'm glad that that was settled"
Reinhard removed his hands from the grip and turned to Subaru with a gentle smile
"Are you alright? do you have any injuries?"
"No, I'm alright"
"That's good, I heard a scream and ran as fast as I could, I'm glad that I was on time"
"Yeah thanks...without you, They probably would've beaten me up"
"Hmmm...that is certainly a possibility, anyway, I don't think I've seen you before so I was surprised when you told them who I was"
"You could've solved the situation easily by just saying your name so why didn't you do so?"
Reinhard looked away shyly before scratching his cheeks and replied
"I don't really like the idea of using my title in solving situations and problems, I want to be able to solve them using my own strength and power"
"Huh...."
'This guy is way too Humble' Subaru thought, He couldn't help but notice one simple flaw in Reinhard's logic
"It's admirable that you would do something like that but, Your title is also a part of your power, so be proud of it and use it"
"......"
Reinhard was silent, He was staring at Subaru the same way that he was during the last loop
Subaru wondered if he messed up somewhere and started to panic little by little as the silence passes
"I see...yes, that's indeed right...You give out some good advice...Um...I'm sorry but I didn't get your name"
"It's Subaru, Natsuki Subaru, And don't mention it. I was only stating the obvious"
"Subaru huh...quite a unique name...say, you're wearing some strange clothes that I have never seen before, which country do you hail from?"
"I used to live somewhere on the east. When I left the place, there were some internal strife among us so I dunno if the place is still there"
He used the same answer as he did in the first loop but modified it in order to make it more believable
Reinhard was staring at Subaru, determining and sensing if what he just said was true
"I see.....My condolences...I didn't mean to bring up painful memories like that"
"No, It's alright"
He didn't really have any bad memories of a place that didn't exist
"Anyway, if you're alright now then I'll be on my way, I-"
"Hey...I know it's really shameful of me to ask since you saved me and all, but could you do me a favor?"
"If it's within my ability then of course"
With Reinhard answer, the gears of Subaru's plan had begun in motion
"You see...I need you to tell this to a certain someone....."
Subaru whispered something to Reinhard and upon hearing this, he asked Subaru with a concerned expression
"What is your relationship to miss Emilia?"
"I dunno...you can think of me as some sort of helper...or...a sage that occasionally helps using his knowledge, something like that"
"A sage huh...very well...I'll relay your message to her"
"Appreciate it"
Reinhard then waved his hands at Subaru and turned around to exit the alleyway
Subaru waved his hands in return, and once Reinhard was out of sight, he turned towards the directions of the slums
(-----)
"Woah...."
Subaru was standing in the middle of the road with a baffled expression, right now, he was at the southern part of the slums in the kingdom and right in front of him was the feeding program that was being conducted by Mazeran Suwen
Subaru looked around and saw that there were tents that have been set up and tables that were filled with the happy smiles of the children as they messily eat the food in front of them
This made Subaru a bit happy for them, there were children in some parts of the other parts of slums that were so thin that they were practically as fragile as a stick, they walk around the slums in search of food. While running away from Elsa on the previous route, he saw some children that were forced to eat food from the garbage
So the sight of some of those children eating like this comforts his heart, though only little
Subaru then turned around to see if Mazeran was there
There were a few tough and intimidating people wearing armor that were located all around the place, but he noticed that there were a high concentration of them on a certain tent that was larger than the others
Subaru wondered and planned how would he get close to them due to the number of guards that were surrounding them, but they all seemed to be improbable and draining to do so he figured that he would just charge in
He saw a tall man that was wearing a red suit that looked to be of high quality, He has a bit of adornment here and there but he gave off an impression of a company leader in Subaru's opinion
He was talking to a chubby man that was wearing an apron while he was cooking something on the pot
Subaru wondered and planned how would he get close to them due to the number of guards that were surrounding them, but they all seemed to be improbable and draining tondo so he figured that he would just charge in
Subaru walked closer towards the tent but as he expected, he was stopped by the guards
"I'm sorry sir but I can't let you pass here"
"Oh, really? I just wanted to say a few words of gratitude to Mr. Mazeran...he helped me and my sister you know? so I was just wondering if I could thank him...can't I?"
Subaru expected something like this so he made up a lie on the spot but...
"it's appreciated but regardless, I cannot let you pass here. this area Is off-limits"
Subaru guessed that it wouldn't be that easy, and chose to back down
"I see....then I guess it can't be helped"
"We'll relay your gratitude to Mr.Mazeran so please be assured"
"Thank you...."
Subaru backed off and walked far away from the feeding program, he arranged his thoughts and tried to remember what Meili had said
"Hehe he was, he and his boys were caught off guard by my pets so it was an easy job, Hiding on that run-down house was worth it!....though there were some unwanted casualties"
"He and his boys....are the guards I presume?..... the pets were those monsters....and unwanted casualties..."
Subaru turned and look at the children who were happily eating, and realized what she meant by it
"Good grief....that girl is insane....."
"Have we kept you waiting?"
A voice caught the attention of Subaru, He turned in the direction of it and saw Reinhard with a familiar silver-haired girl and a floating cat
"It's this guy? Well that's disappointing, I can't feel any wisdom that's coming from him"
His usual insults brought a sense of nostalgia to Subaru which made him smile
"Puck, that's rude. You shouldn't judge based on a person's appearance!... but he really doesn't seem to be the sage type..."
"Ok! You could've just stopped there!"
The usual banter that they had was tingling some sort of feeling inside Subaru which turned into guilt
"Ok, that's enough"
Reinhard stepped in between and stopped them while wearing his usual warm smile
"So what's next Subaru? You've told me that you know where the stolen insignia is, is it somewhere around here?"
Upon hearing this Subaru showed a confident smirk
"Something like that, In order to get it then you'll all have to do a little something first"
"A little something?...Look here..."
Emilia scooted closer and brought her face close to his
"I don't know who you are exactly, but if you know where my insignia is then I'd appreciate it if you'd tell us already"
"No need to be rash...Or are you saying that you'd be fine with those people dying here?"
Subaru pointed at the children at the feeding program which made the faces of the three show a grim expression
"Wait...don't tell me you've-"
"Okay! Hold on a second, whatever you're thinking that's probably not it!"
Seeing their expressions, Subaru made a quick decision to solve the misunderstanding
"Mazeran Suwen...Someone's planning on targeting him today"
"Who?"
Emilia being clueless as ever asked puck who was beside him
"Hrmmm...I'm not sure but I'd heard some people talking around about some big shot merchant that came here"
Reinhard interjected and said
"That's correct. If I'm not mistaken then he's the one who held the feeding program here...How exactly do you know this Subaru?"
Subaru would normally feel nervous when asked by Reinhard, but this time he replied to his question with a rehearsed answer
"Let's just say that I have a reliable way of getting intel, I'm sorry but I can't say anymore"
"....I see"
Reinhard probably saw Subaru as suspicious but he didn't care about it now
"That sound's terrible...So you mean they'll attack in the middle of the program? I don't know how good this person is but assassinating him with a tight security like this would get the children involved"
Subaru could only smile as the pieces on the board begin to fold
"Exactly, and the person who's supposed to do the assassination is related to the woman who stole your insignia, so how about it? you save lives and you get your insignia back, It's a win-win right?"
"...I hope you realize that you're being so shady right now"
"Of course I do...But whether or not I'm trustworthy is irrelevant, the truth doesn't care about your feelings"
Emilia felt a bit annoyed by his statement and turned to the two beside him
"What do we do puck? He seems a bit fishy...but if what he said was true then..."
"I'll go with what you've decided Lia. Frankly, I don't trust him either but you're gonna and help them anyway right?"
"W-Wha?! Of course not! I-...That's right, I'll only help them to bolster my popularity among the candidates! It's absolutelyyy not out of kindness"
"Sure, Sure" Subaru said with a shrug "And how about you?" He asked Reinhard knowing his answer full well
"I would be a shame to all of the knights in the kingdom if I would refuse, So please do count me in"
"Then it's decided" Subaru felt an exhilarating feeling rising up a the thought of his plans coming into fruition
"Now then, do you guys have any magic or something that'll find the assassin?"
"..." The three of them stared in silence
"W-What?"
"Well, from what you were saying earlier I figured that you already knew where they were?"
"I only said I knew that there'd be an assassination, If I knew her location then I would've reported them to the knights by now"
"Haaa...I guess that makes sense..." Emilia murmured to herself "Well, I can try and ask the spirits but..."
She turned to look at Reinhard
"Indeed, It would be faster to the boy hero do it" Puck Interjected
"Me? Well, I'm not really sure how I'll do at the job but...I suppose I could try"
Saying this, the knight closed his eyes, and at that instant, a bright and blinding light shone from the heavens. Which garnered the attention of everyone nearby. Subaru panicked for a second but the moment the light stopped, Reinhard immediately pointed at one of the nearby houses
"There"
"Eh? Just like that?"
"Well, Reinhard is Reinhard after all" Puck said with a shrug
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Sorry for intruding, but it seems that she's spotted us. She's on the move so I'll the liberty of capturing her, do you all mind?"
"Nope not at all" Emilia shrugged
"Eh? Wait a minute I think we're all Ignoring how he just casually found her just like that?!"
Ignoring Subaru's ramblings Reinhard jumped from one roof to another, at speeds that couldn't be followed by the human eyes. Before the assassin knew it, one of the people whom she was watching out for was already behind her
"Wha!"
"Hm? Strange..." He analyzed the figure of the hooded assailant "You're still a child and yet you can hide your bloodlust this well? I was sure that without that blessing I couldn't have found you"
"-! Tch, get him!"
The girl shouted at the top of her lungs, and in that instant creatures of all manners and forms charged to the lone knight. While taking this opportunity the girl jumped from one of the windows and was caught by a few wolf-like creatures
"Go on boys! Run like the wind!"
The wolves howled and ran as fast they could, but before they could even exit the alleyway that they were on, the girl saw a bright blue light and heard a loud explosion that sent shockwaves at the very earth itself
"W-Wha-"
The house that she was just on was completely decimated, completely wiped off the face of the earth. And as if fate was pulling a prank on her, she saw a figure rising among the rubbles
"Phew, that was quite the trouble"
And the lone knight was now in front of her, showing a causal smile as he wipes the dust off his clothes
"I-Impossible, T-There was fifty mad beasts in that house!..."
They were all monsters of various forms that had the strength enough to massacre a small village. And yet they were destroyed in an instant
"Fifty-five to be exact. And yes, they were quite fearsome. For a moment there I thought that I was about to die, I suppose that I was only lucky this time around"
Saying this, the lone knight took a step forward, and in that instant, the beast felt a terrible atmosphere approaching them, and instinctively stepped back
"I suppose with that many monsters, I can assume that you're plotting something against the people here, right? I suggest that you please surrender and quietly turn yourself in"
"No way! I duwanna! I don't know what the hell are you, but If you think that Meili is that easy then you've got another thing coming!"
Reinhard heard the sounds of footsteps quickly approaching, and in that instant, the wall beside him was destroyed and the other side revealed the wide jaws of a mysterious mad-beast
Reinhard stretched out his hand and held at one of the teeth of the beast
"Oi, wait up! What the hell are you.."
Subaru and the rest could only stare speechlessly as they saw the sight of a massive beast being held back by the hand of a humble man
"Ah, you're here," Reinhard said with a reassuring smile "Sorry about this, but could you reach that stick for me, please? I'm worried that the beast will rampage more If I try to move a bit"
"A-Are you sure you only need that?" Subaru turned to Emilia and puck who only shrugged at his concern
"Ah, I appreciate your concern Subaru. But don't worry, I'm a bit used to dealing with monsters like these"
Subaru still felt a bit hesitant but chose to follow his instructions anyway. He grabbed the nearby wooden stick and tossed it in his direction
"Thanks...Now then" He looked at the stick with anticipation in his eyes, Subaru couldn't really tell what was happening next, but he felt a tremendous amount of energy gathering towards the stick, causing it to glow a bright bluish color
"This sword doesn't deem you worthy, so I suppose that you'll have to settle for this one. Please do understand" Muttering this, Reinhard swung the massive stick filled with energy which literally blew the beast into pieces
Subaru couldn't help but look at the scene in shock
Even Emilia, with her powerful Ice magic, couldn't even pierce the skin of the beast, and yet he killed it with a stick?
Suddenly, Subaru felt a nasty and eerie feeling bubbling up inside of him...
Seeing her most powerful pet get crushed just like that, Meili couldn't help but shiver down to her toes
"W-Who are you?" She asked with a hint of fear in her voice
"Me? Oh apologies I haven't introduced myself have I? My name is Reinhard Van Astrea, a member of the knights of Lugnica"
Meili immediately went pale
"W-What are you mutts waiting for? Get him!" She figured that she could use the beast as a distraction and run away, but her beasts couldn't even move to the immense fear they harbor towards the sword saint
And before she knew it, the heads of those same beasts were suddenly decapitated, and the knight was already restraining her
"Gah! That hurts!"
"Please don't resist. I don't want to resort to it, But I'll snap your legs if I have to"
"E-Eek!"
"Now, Now Reinhard we don't want to damage her just yet" Subaru Interjected "You see, she has an accomplice you see. And I'm certain that she's the one that has the insignia." Saying this Subaru took out his phone from his pocket
"...And that is?" Emilia peaked through the side as she asks
"This? Well...Let's just say it's a certain tool needed for negotiations"
Subaru smiled as he pressed the record button...