"Alright Rem, since we begin school next week. I want to introduce you to an important and vital piece of technology" Subaru said. Rem looked at him curious to what he had to show her
"What is it Subaru?" Rem asked curiously. Subaru got out of bed and walked toward the computer at the side of his room
"I remember you took interest in this device when we first got here. I wanted to wait until you could read Japanese to introduce you to this revolutionary machine. Subaru said as he turned the computer on. The computer sprung to life emitting a start up noise
Rem closed the textbook she was reading and set it down on the nightstand. She got out of bed and walked over to Subaru. He already had the computer started up at the homescreen.
Subaru immediately covered the screen as the explicit wallpaper he forgot about covered the screen. He looked over at Rem and saw her confused expression. He prayed that she didn't lay eyes on his homescreen
"Subaru what are you hiding?" Rem asked innocently. Subaru let go a sigh of relief and hastily changed the wallpaper to a random safe image he had on his computer. He revealed the screen back to Rem.
"Alright Rem. You already know this is what we call a computer. The computer gives you the ability to search up anything on the web. Like any piece of information. It's really useful for assignments" Subaru said
"It can look up anything?" Rem asked as she walked closer to the screen. Subaru nodded his head.
"Yes Rem anything" Subaru said. He loaded up a map of the world and showed it to Rem. She looked at the map on the screen with curiosity and wonder in her eyes
"This Rem, is the map of the world we are currently on. Those lines indicate the borders of each country" Subaru said. Rem nodded her head. She couldn't believe Subarus' world possessed so many countries.
"In fact, I think this program in particular allows us to go to a street view," Subaru said as he explored the interface. The screen suddenly zoomed on a part of the globe and revealed a street view.
"Ah there we go. Rem this shows us the streets of... Guysborough, Novascotia. In a country called Canada I think" Subaru said as he read the information at the top of the screen. Rem nodded her head. She couldn't believe she was able to see a whole country from the comfort of home..
"Anyways, try it out yourself" Subaru said as he reset the map of the earth. He got out of the chair and let Rem sit down in it.
"Give me your right hand," Subaru asked. Rem held out her right hand, and Subaru guided it to the mouse.
"Alright Rem, what you wanna do is guide the cursor to what country you want to zoom in on" Subaru said. Rem moved the mouse and the cursor went all over the place, she had a hard time controlling it. The cursor flew all over the screen Rem was adjusted to the sensitivity.
"Rem you need to move the mouse more gently," Subaru said. Rem did as instructed and moved the mouse with more precision. She eventually had some though little understanding of how to control the cursor.
"Alright Rem, pick any country. Just click and drag that little figure there to go to the street view" Subaru said. Rem nodded as she stared at the map deciding what country to pick. She eventually pointed to the place she wanted to view.
Subaru looked over to the place she was pointing at "The... United Kingdom... Interesting"
"Alright now click and drag that icon to the country" Subaru said. Rem hovered the corser over the icon Subaru pointed to and clicked it and moved the mouse.
"Rem you need to hold down the mouse button" Subaru said. Rem tried again this time she held it and dragged the cursor over the country she wanted to visit. She hovered the icon over the country.
"What now, Subaru?" Rem asked.
"Release the mouse button," Subaru said. Rem did as instructed and the camera zoomed in to a street view of the United Kingdom. The camera's view was in front of a church. Rem looked at Subaru curious to why they only saw a building on the screen.
"Click and drag to rotate the camera," Subaru said. Rem did as instructed and turned the camera around to view the streets and houses that populated the area.
"You can click on those areas to go down the street," Subaru said. Rem did as suggested and the camera moved down the street. Rem didn't have any words to say she was so fascinated by the street view technology.
"Anyway Rem, you continue to play around with that. I need to go grab something for you" Subaru said as he walked off to his dresser and dug around. He sorted through tangled wires, and eventually landed on an outdated flip phone. This one was slightly older than the one he gave Beatrice and himself, but it will do.
"Found it," Subaru said as he pulled out the phone from his dresser. Rem turned to look at him and noticed the phone in his hand. Subaru walked over to Rem and handed her the phone.
"Use this Rem to call me just in case you get lost or something. Even though you are going to be as close to me as humanly possible. If you somehow find yourself away from me, and don't know where you're at. Just call me and I will come find you" Subaru said. Rem flipped open the phone in her hand.
"Thank you, Subaru" Rem said as she played around in the menu. She eventually landed on the camera feature. Rem was already somewhat familiar with this feature. She pointed the phone at Subaru and mashed buttons until one snapped the photo.
Subaru noticed the flash go off and Rems giggling.
"Hey! Don't be taking pictures of me!' Subaru said as he walked over to see the photo Rem took of him. He noticed Rem's smile faded a bit when she looked at the photo. Subaru looked over at the photo on the phone and laughed.
"Ha! Your finger was over the lens!" Subaru said.
In Lugnica
Reinhard was always an early bird. As with everyday he awoke extremely early in the morning. Earlier then Ram and most of the servants who worked in the Astrea manor. He always had the need to wake up extremely early because everyday was a busy day for him. Not one second could be spent slacking off.
However, once Reinhard gained back consciousness and opened his eyes. Something immediately felt off, his throat was really sore, so sore it hurt to even breathe. His stomach was turned in knots, and he felt the painful effects of a raging headache.
Reinhard rarely got sick. He only got sick one or two times a decade, his power was often the thing preventing him from contracting any form of illness. But whenever he did get sick it was nothing more than the common flu that usually only took a couple days to recover from.
Despite knowing he was obviously sick, Reinhard still got out of bed and got dressed into his casual clothes. Pushing past the illness that swarmed within him. Being dead set on continuing his knightly responsibilities as any other day.
Walking out of his bedroom, he made his way over to the dinning room to eat breakfast. Which he often did alone since nobody else was usually awake to join him.
"Here's your breakfast." The chef said as he laid a plate that was filled with venison steak, Reinhard's personal favorite. Not exactly a breakfast food, but he enjoyed it nonetheless.
"Thank you Phillippe, I appreciate your services." Reinhard said. Immediately letting out a set of rough and painful coughs.
"Are you feeling alright? Your voice sounds a little raspy." The chef said stating the obvious
"Everything's fine, I'm fine." Reinhard responded as he rubbed his throat.
"Well alright then..." The chef responded as he began to walk back into the kitchen.
That short conversation Reinhard had with the chef made his throat even more sore. It hurt so much to talk to the point he didn't think he could even mumble a word without feeling excruciating pain.
His desire to eat now had completely vanished. A knot began to form in his stomach and his headache grew worse with each passing second. He tried picking at his food, eating it in small bites, but swallowing would only aggravate his sore throat causing nothing but pain and little to none satisfaction.
Reinhard took much longer than he usually did to finish his food. In fact he was still at the dining table when Ram and the other servants woke up to start their day. On a normal day Reinhard would already be out of the house or doing other responsible tasks.
"How come you're still here? I've never been awake to see you eat breakfast." Ram said as she entered the dining room.
"N-No reason." Reinhard said in a rough and raspy voice that he tried to hide.
Ram crossed her arms and gave him a look of disapproval. "Did you oversleep? I thought you knew better than to act so lazily."
"No, I-I would never." Reinhard responded. Keeping his response brief to spare him from the pain talking brought him.
Ram took a seat at the table and it didn't take long for a servant to walk out of the kitchen to serve Ram her morning breakfast. "Here you go Lady Ram, breakfast freshly prepared by the chef." The servant said in a formal tone.
Picking up her fork Ram poked at the pile of scrambled eggs and was less than impressed at the quality of food she was served. "Are these burnt?" She asked.
"N-No, o-or well they shouldn't be..." The servant said.
"Well they look burnt, who prepared these?" Ram asked.
"I-I think it was the new chef Phillipee."
"Take this plate back to him, and make him redo it." Ram ordered as she handed the plate back to the servant. "Alright then as you wish." The young maid said.
Just as she was about to go back into the kitchen, she noticed that Reinhard was still at the table picking at his food which was very off for him. "Are you alright Reinhard?" She asked.
"I-Im fine." Reinhard responded.
"You sound a little off, are you sick?"
"Only a little, it's nothing serious."
"If it's nothing serious, how come you haven't finished your breakfast?"
Reinhard slowly got up from the table. "I-I think I'm just not hungry, you can take my plate now." He said, immediately after letting out a few rough and painful coughs.
"Alright then, where are you off to then?" The maid asked.
"I'm just going to go fetch my jacket from my bedroom. I think I may also have some paperwork I need to hand over to Lady Ram. I'll be back in a moment." Reinhard said as he walked out of the dining room.
Even though his sickness was growing worse. His mindset to upholding his day to day responsibilities did not change in the slightest. To him and many others there was never a day off for Sword Saint.
However once he walked into his bedroom he felt a pain start to form in his spine that nearly threw him off balance. The pain was so bad he couldn't even stand straight, needing to take a moment to sit on the edge of his bed to recollect himself.
He couldn't help but lay himself down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. Immediately realizing that laying down was a big mistake since his body was punishing him for making even the slightest movements.
His fever, which he definitely had, spiked for the exertion of trying to sit up and blinded him for a moment. His body shuddered against his will causing him to lay back down on the bed.
Before he could even get a thought of trying to get up again, his fever pulled him into sleep.
—-
When Reinhard regained consciousness, he immediately felt the worst sore throat he ever had in his life. It hurts to even breathe. He also noticed that a cool rag was now laying on his forehead.
He blinked slowly. His delirious confusion made it hard for him to focus on anything around him. Reinhard took a deep breath in trying to clear his head, but all it did was send him into a coughing fit that was more painful than it sounded.
When he tried to rollover onto his side a hand laid on his shoulder and pushed him back to face the ceiling. Reinhard rubbed his eyes, too exhausted and confused to recognize who was at his side. They called his name, and pushed a warm mug into his hands when he didn't respond.
"You better drink all of this."
Reinhard stared down at the mug, his vision was completely blurry, the fever-fuzz in his head caused nothing but further confusion. He didn't realize the person beside him was speaking again until they touched his hand and pushed the mug closer to his mouth, being slightly forceful.
"Hurry up and drink it already!" The feminine voice said beside him, using a tone a frustrated mother would use to their child. Reinhard tried to focus on whoever was standing beside him, but the only thing he could see properly was what seemed to be golden hair.
The same golden hair his mother had.
Slowly raising the mug up to his lips, having a hard time not spilling because of his hands shaking. The drink was hot, but not enough to hurt. It was little bitter, but also somewhat semi-sweet in a way that quenched the burning in his throat as it passed.
When he finished the drink Reinhard let out a subconscious sigh of immediate relief. His head fell back against the pillow behind him, exhaustion weighing his limbs and eyelids down like he would never see light again. Causing him to go back into unconsciousness.
—-
When Reinhard awoke for the second time , it was a less painful process. He could feel the light from his window warming the covers on his legs, his head no longer felt like it was being crushed in a vice. Also noting that the hazy delirium from earlier had dissipated. Confident that opening his eyes wouldn't ruin the lack of pain he was feeling, Reinhard blinked at the ceiling.
He stretched his limbs upwards and in doing so he noticed two things. One, his neck, spine, and other muscles were still sore but it wasn't nearly as bad as it was before. Two, he noticed that there was a weight pinning down the covers by the left side of the bed.
Reinhard stared at Ram sleeping on his left side, noticing her royal election paperwork was scattered all over the bed and on the floor. The harsh feminine voice he heard before made sense now. It would seem Ram was with him through at least a part of his fever, and was prepared to stay and take care of him for a while longer. There was an empty bowl on his nightstand, and half finished paperwork pinned under her cheek.
Reinhard continued to stare at the resting royal Oni, noticing how Ram looked a lot less mean while she was sleeping.
Eventually he slipped out of the covers and collected Ram's paperwork that was scattered all over the place. Having to carefully tug on the couple that were pinned under her cheek, as to not rip them.
Once he had all of Ram's paperwork collected he gently slipped his arms under her and picked her up. Leaving his bedroom he walked down the hall and went into Ram's bedroom, carefully laying her down in the king sized bed he provided upon her arrival.
After throwing the covers over Ram he placed her paperwork on her desk before making his departure, slowly closing the door behind him.
While he was making his way into the dinning room to get himself something to eat his mistress noticed him finally awake and looking well. "Oh hi Reinhard, I'm so glad you're finally feeling better. I thought you were never going to recover from your illness." The young woman said.
"I was only bed ridden for a quick moment, it's nothing to get concerned over. Regardless, I appreciate you cared to know how I was holding up." Reinhard said, coughing slightly.
"What do you mean only a quick moment? You've been sick for two entire days."
"Excuse me... Did you just say I slept through two entire days?"
"Yes, you heard me correctly. A couple days ago I went to see where you were and found you in bed looking extremely sick. I brought it to Lady Ram's attention, and for the past couple days she has been graciously taking some time off her busy schedule to take care of you. "
More Than A Week Later.
It was another ordinary morning for Reinhard, he got up early like he always did. He went to the dinning room to eat breakfast, eating alone as per usual. He then got dressed into his knight's outfit and was ready to take care of that day's responsibilities.
It was while he was looking at himself in the mirror and adjusting his outfit did he hear a small knock on the bedroom door. "Hello, who's there?" He asked.
"It's me, I think there is something wrong with Lady Ram, may I please come in?" A maid said from the hall.
"Yes of course." Reinhard said, looking away from the mirror, his priority and concerns immediately shifted to Ram's wellbeing. The maid opened the door and walked in. "Now may you please inform me on what's happening with Ram now?" Reinhard asked.
"She didn't show up for breakfast. I went into her bedroom and found her very sick in bed. I think she has the same fever you had a week earlier."
"Oh my... Do you think I possibly could have gotten her sick?" Reinhard said in a somewhat guilty tone.
"I haven't got the slightest clue as to what caused her illness. I just know she requires some treatment, something I'll be more than willing to provide to her. I just thought you should be informed."
"Well thanks for telling me, before I head out I think I'll take a quick moment to check up on her. Just to see how she's doing."
"In that case could you please give her some soup Phillipee made for her. A bowl should be ready in the kitchen."
"Right, thanks for informing me. Make sure you take very good care of her while I'm gone, her well being is now of your utmost priority." Reinhard said as he parted to the kitchen to retrieve the bowl of soup specially prepared for Ram.
When he arrived at Ram's bedroom he found the door already open and Ram laying in bed looking extremely sick and miserable. "Sorry to disturb you Lady Ram, but I brought you a bowl of soup you might like." Reinhard said.
Ram let out a few coughs and groaned. Her throat was too sore to talk or respond. "You do not sound good at all, Lady Ram. I'll have someone take care of you until you make a full recovery. I just wanted to give you this soup that was specially prepared for you. See it as a way of me returning the favor." Reinhard said as he gave Ram her bowl of soup.
Picking up the spoon Ram took a sip, fortunately for her she didn't lose her sense of taste. After swallowing she winced slightly in pain before coughing a few times. "Thank you..." She whispered in a raspy voice.