"It seems the guest have awoken Née-sama."
"Yes, indeed they have awoken Rem."
The two maids stated as they were in front of Subaru and Zarestia's room door. They both had blank looks on their faces, almost as if they were brushing off what happened the night prior.
'So these were the maids that tried to murder me when I was asleep...'
Subaru turned towards Zarestia as she herself had a very angered look on her face. Subaru turned back to the maids and spoke.
"So you names are Rem and Ram right? Cut the Bullshit, Zarestia told me about what happened last night."
Rem hearing this, began to glare coldly at Subaru, letting out her true emotions about the boy in front of her.
"...As expected. So, what have you come here for scum? To die? Or to attempt against my sister and I again? Or perhaps against Emilia-sama and Rosw-"
Rem quickly cut her act short at Subaru's provocation but was interrupted by her sister.
"Rem! Keep it to yourself! He is Emilia-sama's guest!"
Ram was genuinely trying to prevent her sister's actions from generating more problems, she knew who Zarestia was, and Zarestia nearly killed both of them the night prior due to how they pretty much offended her by trying to attack her contractor. And from what Emilia has told Ram, the man in front of him managed to fight AND defeat the Bowel Hunter, and that alone was no small feat.
Even though she would rather side with her sister. At the end of the day, she knew her place, Subaru's fate was not her or Rem's decision to make.
"But Nee-sama! He reeks of it! The witch's scent cannot be a coincidence; he has to be apart of the horrid cult!"
Zarestia had just about enough of this maid and her foolish claims. She was going to say something but Subaru beat her to punch.
"So...Rem was it? Tell me, you and your sister had an encounter with the cult in the past right?"
Subaru asked as Rem's glare was all the answers he needed. Subaru felt offended, and very much pissed of. He gets invited here because he saved Emilia's life, only to get accused of being in some cult, as well as accused of attempting against Emilia's life? The person he saved a night ago?
He wasn't letting this shit slide...
HE WAS GOING TO PUT THIS MAID IN HER PLACE.
"Alright alright. So tell me, if anyone walked in here and smelled like shit, would you attack the said person?"
"What-!"
"If the person was I don't know...a child that had this "Witch Scent" would you attempt to blow the child's head to bits?"
Rem's immediate answer was going to be yes, but was then again interrupted as Subaru grabbed her by the color and slammed her against the wall. Ram was going to do something but Zarestia already handled her as she restrained the pink maid.
"If that's the case then your FUCKING STUPID!"
Rem looked up to glare at Subaru only to see a red aura and some of his skin a light pinkish tint as Subaru himself, was glaring into her very soul.
"YOU DON'T KNOW A GOD DAMN THING ABOUT ME...AND YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO ATTEMPT AGAINST MY LIFE?! YOU FUCKING HYPOCRITE...YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN THE CULT THEMSELVES IF YOU TRIED TO MURDER A INNOCENT PERSON!"
Rem couldn't speak...she was intimidated.
"YOU ARE SO LUCKY I HAVE RESTRAINT, OTHERWISE I WOULD HAVE BLOWN THIS PLACE SKY HIGH! SO LET ME GIVE YOU AND YOUR SISTER ONE SMALL WARNING...IF YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT OR TRY TO ATTACK ME AGAIN...I WON'T BE SO LENIENT AND I WILL DEFEND MYSELF AGAINT YOU MURDEROUS MAIDS."
Before letting the blue maid go he said one last thing.
"HONESTLY...I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR PAST OR WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU BACK THEN...BECAUSE TO BE HONEST, I THINK I LOST ALL THE FUCKS I COULD GIVE AFTER YOUR LATEST DISPLAY...BECAUSE WHOEVER GETS IN MY WAY...IS MY ENEMY.
With that...he let her go as Rem herself was gasping for air. This man...was not normal...she felt...fear...she felt intimidated...she stared at the floor as Zarestia released Ram and left with her contractor.
"Rem..."
"Nee-sama...that man is...dangerous..."
"Yes...I know." Ram stated as she glared, she was pissed at Subaru for putting his hands on her sister but kinda understood why he did it.
"We'll need to report this to Roswaal-sama once he returns."
Rem said nothing but meekly nodded. Only thinking that Subaru needed to be eliminated at all cost.
Meanwhile with Subaru and Zarestia. They were currently walking to the entrance of the mansion. Subaru needed to relax and calm his nerves and the same could be said for Zarestia as well. They made it to the front yard and made their way to one of the trees.
"Zarestia, do you want to run a few laps around the mansion with me?"
"No, I am not in the mood, I'll just lay against this tree and watch you from afar."
"Alright then, your lost."
Subaru began doing some morning exercises, he did jumping jacks, squats, he even began stretching his legs. He wouldn't want a pulled muscle slowing him down.
Once he was done, he got into a running position.
"Here we...."
He then took off.
"Go!"
Subaru made sure to be careful, about the current area, using his top speed would be enough to destroy the said area if he wanted to. So he made sure to run at a decent amount, enough to where a huge dust cloud was following behind him as it formed due to his speed.
He ran laps around the mansion, he lost count after 10. After he was done running around, he skidded to a stop in front of Zarestia and turned towards her.
"So, what did you think?"
"It was impressive as always. I'm still trying to figure out how you can never get tired after running so much."
"When you're as good as me. Something like getting tired is nothing."
"Hmph!"
Subaru then hopped on top of one of the branches and relaxed as Zarestia simply laid on the tree. They both enjoyed the scenery and peace and quiet, that is until a voice called out to them.
"Subaru! Zarestia!"
"Hm?" Subaru opened one of his eyes and looked towards the direction the voice came from.
It was Emilia waving towards them as she ran towards their direction. The moment she got close to them, she began speaking.
"Good morning, Subaru. And good morning to you as well Zarestia."
"Good morning Emilia-tan, good day today isn't?"
"Mhm! It is! Wait...'tan'?"
Emilia asked with a confused look on her face.
"Yep, it's a nickname. I figured since you and I are friends now, I should start calling you Emilia-tan. You don't like it?"
"No! No! That's not it...it's just..."
Emilia felt a weird feeling in her chest. As she felt an emotion of happiness bubble up inside of her.
"Y-You said we were friends...do you really mean that?"
"Yeah, of course I do. Why wouldn't I?" Subaru grew confused.
Emilia became hesitant but replied.
"Because...I'm a half-elf."
Emilia closed her eyes expecting the same words she'd always here whenever someone saw her, but what she heard next completely shocked her.
"And? What does that have to do with anything?"
"W-What?"
"What does you being a half-elf have to do with anything?"
"I-It's because I resemble the Witch of Envy!"
"So? Just because you resemble her doesn't mean you're anything like her. Besides, why would I blame something that happened a long time ago on someone like you? I barely know who or what this so called "Witch" is."
Subaru stated as Emilia stared at him with a dumb founded expression while Zarestia shook her head from side to side at her contractor's obliviousness. Zarestia told him about the Witch of Envy and the incident that occurred over four decades ago. If anything it kinda made Subaru laugh at the fact that people are still afraid of someone who's been gone for over four decades.
Anyway, they all made more small talk until the two maids walked out, putting an end to the good mood Subaru and Zarestia were in. The moment Subaru laid his eyes on Rem, he glared at her and she quickly looked away.
"Rem, Ram? What are you two doing out here?"
They both bowed as they replied at the same time.
"Emilia-sama, Roswaal-sama has returned and has requested for you and our guest to come inside."
"Ohhhh....I see." Emilia replied as she began walking back.
Subaru hopped off the tree branch as he and Zarestia began walking back to the mansion.
'So...we finally get to meet the owner of this place huh? Hopefully he can put that maid in her place and set her straight.'
Subaru thought to himself as he already began imagining what the guy could look like. The usual rich snob, probably like one of the many nobles he had seen before, but out of all the things he imagined....he never imagined the owner of the mansion to look like a clown.
Subaru nearly laughed for a moment. Before he could do anything else, a voice called out to him.
"I watched your whole pathetic display from upstairs, and I must say, you are really an absurd man, but I'll admit that you're somewhat intriguing to Betty, I suppose."
"Man...even the gothic loli has it against me."
Subaru replied as he was trying to keep his cool after the events of earlier. While Zarestia was hugging Subaru protectively glaring daggers at Beatrice.
"He's my contractor kid! Find your own!"
"What?! I would never even think of accepting that man to be my contractor! And what does that even mean?! Your made up words irritate me, in fact!"
"Well just because you never heard them before doesn't mean I made them up. Moreover you do realize all words ARE made up right?"
Subaru replied with a shit-eating grin.
"Why you-!"
"Hey Betty! How has it been? Four days?"
"Bubby! I missed you! Will you stay with me today, I suppose?"
"Sure!"
Puck leapt from Emilia's shoulder onto Beatrice's open hands.
"Hehe! Yay!"
The blond spirit celebrated while spinning around. While Subaru and Zarestia found themselves annoyed at the shift in demeanor from the little girl between the spirit and himself.
"Bewildered aren't you? Beatrice just loves playing with Puck."
Emilia giggled at his side.
"Who even says 'bewildered' in this day and age?"
"My! My! How unusual to see you here, Beatrice! I'm so happy that you decided to dine with me."
Subaru's attention went back to the clown dressed man as the man himself made himself known.
"I'm not here for that moronic fool, if that's what you're asking. I just came to spend time with Bubby."
Subaru walked up to the man.
"So you're the owner of this place right? I'm sorry man, but I nearly mistook you for a clown due to the make-up."
The Clown froze in place as the maids looked at him enraged. Emilia was in shock and the spirits couldn't care less.
"U-Um...Subaru...how do I say this...? That man is..."
Emilia tried to defuse the situation.
"Oh no, it's quite alright, Emilia-sama."
The clown reassured the girl.
The clown then laid his eyes on Subaru, inspecting him with a creepy smile.
"My name is Roswaal L. Mathers, maaaaanor, Natsuki Subaru."
"...I see. It's nice to meet you Roswaal. And I'm sorry about calling you a clown. That was my mistake."
Though Subaru noticed many things as many red flags were setting off in his head. Roswaal...there was something very suspicious about him. How did he know his name? He speculated that either the maids or Emilia told him but brushed it off as they began eating.
Subaru was also a little paranoid after the events that occurred earlier. He was carefully inspecting the food to make sure it wasn't poisoned or something. He even scanned it with one of his gadgets that he made. A watch on his wrist that had an A.I built into it, and had some footage from past incidents, he made it back before he was transported to this new world when he was doing early missions for G.U.N.
He was unaware of the stares of everyone else aside from Zarestia, staring at him in awe at the weird object he was using.
After scanning the food and making sure it wasn't poisoned, he began eating. And to his surprise...the food was good.
"This...is good. Really good. Good enough to compare to the food at home..."
Subaru was willing to admit this...but the food wasn't as good as a chili dog though.
Roswaal began talking.
"Hm~. Despite her appearance, Rem's cooking is quite impressive."
"What do you mean by that?" Subaru just blurted out a response without really thinking, for some reason, getting on the defensive for the maid even though she did annoy and piss him off. He saw enough racism in the Capital; classism would just anger him to no end.
'Who does he think he is? Answering Lord Roswaal like that...' the blue maid thought while giving Subaru a malicious side glance. Not even considering the fact that he was attempting to defend her.
"Sir, he means that I am not just a house cleaner as my apparel would suggest. I am also the one in charge of the cooking"
"...I see." Subaru responded not wanting to elaborate.
"U-Um! Ram isn't very good at cooking so Rem is the one that takes care of it!"
Emilia chimed in, sensing the tense atmosphere in the room, trying to dispel the tension.
"So Ram takes care of the laundry then?"
"No, Rem also takes care of that as well."
"...Housework?"
"Rem."
Emilia answered back while looking down embarrassed.
"Then what does Ram even do?!"
Subaru asked in slight shock.
"She's good at housework and laundry! She just lets...Rem...do it..."
Emilia was now avoiding looking in the direction of the twins, beet red, as her defense of the older one just backfired on her. But the sisters, however, didn't care that much for her comments, they were far more focused on keeping their hostility for the boy in check in front of their lord.
"Still, I must say you and your spirit's circumstances are most...suspicious, Natsuki Subaru, Zarestia-sama."
The Clown lord then looked at Subaru.
"Especially you, you claim to not know anything about Lugunica when you were in the heart of the country of all places. Tell me, can you read?
"Your language, only a little bit. I never really bothered as I was in Kararagi, saving slaves from slave traders and pretty much traveling around the world with Zarestia here. I didn't really have the time."
"Exactly! It was already enough dealing with those nobles, who wouldn't leave us alone.
"Then I assume you don't know the current situation within our country, yes?"
"...no I don't. Is something problematic going on?"
Subaru found himself more and more alarmed at the implications of the man. He turned to Zarestia to see if she knew anything but she simply shook her head as she didn't have a clue on what was going on either.
"The royal family has died out, and with no king to rule,the government is currently run by a council of elders."
"I'm...very sorry to hear that."
Subaru replied slightly disturbed by the news but brushed it off. This place was being ran by old people? A bunch of old geezers? Well...some country. But on another note, the royal family died out? By what cause? If anything Subaru could use the Chaos Emeralds to bring them back or go back in time to figure out what had happened. But he decided against doing that, he wasn't going to reveal the Chaos Emeralds in front of people he didn't even know.
"And what's worrisome, nevertheless, is how you made cooontact with a runner-up for the throne in the middle of a crisis."
"Wait...runner-up? For the throne? Did you not just say the royal family died out?"
Subaru questioned.
"That is indeed the case, but in such a case a Royal Selection must be conducted."
Roswaal responded as Subaru and Zarestia began to understand the situation as well as their situation.
"And you two so happened to aid a candidate for the said race the moment you came to the Capital. Isn't that quite...coincidental."
Roswaal dropped his tone for a more serious one at the last word.
'This guy...there's something about him that tells me that he somehow knew all of this from the beginning or is somehow pulling the strings of this entire situation...but I can't be too sure.'
Subaru thought as he looked at Roswaal.
"Royal...candidate? The only one my idiotic contractor and I helped yesterday was..." Zarestia turned to look at Emilia, who was suddenly looking troubled.
"You're royalty?"
Zarestia asked completely surprised as Subaru was choking on his soup.
"I-I'm sorry! I just had to keep it a secret! I didn't mean to deceive you!"
She showed both of them her insignia.
"This insignia is my proof of my candidacy to the throne. Its shine determines whether one possesses the right to claim it or not."
"So you mean to tell me that you lost the right to the throne while walking around?!" Zarestia asked
'How incompetent is this girl?!'
"Don't say it like that! It was stolen!" Emilia pouted as she replied.
"It's still the same thing!!"
Both Subaru and Zarestia exclaimed.
"Jeez, what would happen if she didn't get it back anyway? Would a government office issue another one or something?" The G.U.N. Agent asked.
"Oh, my! If you'd lost it, then there would be no doubt. If it's believed that one who can't even protect a tiny insignia can't be entrusted with the nation's rule, that would be the end of it."
"I see...and Emilia is qualified as a royal candidate due to that insignia, it makes sense."
Roswaal did have a point, how would someone be entrusted to rule a nation when they can't protect one small badge?
"Roswaal is my sponsor, you see. He backs my candidacy, allowing me to use his resources as my own."
'Ugh...guess I'm once again involved in another government affair...'
Subaru could only imagine the chaos of what would happen, from the description Roswaal just gave him, Emilia is a part of some kind of election, and after what he learned about the Witch of Envy. Emilia looks just like her, she was at a huge disadvantage which would mean she would more than likely get attacked or verbally harassed by the so called 'council of wisemen' as well as the knights...he would see just how corrupted they are soon enough if that were the case.
But on another note...now that he thought about, him and Zarestia did a damn good job. He was totally expecting some kind of reward...or so he thought.
"And now with that out of the way, I'd appreciate it if you could make your...origins clearer for me Subaru-kun. Even if you did save Emilia-sama and her candidacy, you and your spirit's behavior earlier in the day has put my staff on edge. I'd like to reward you, but I must assure my subordinates that you are not a threat."
"Tch...!"
Zarestia clicked her tongue.
'So the maids told him, huh?'
Subaru looked at Roswaal, his joking attitude gone. Emilia on the other hand, looked at Roswaal in confusion as she was getting ready to question her backer, finally noticing the glares and frowns of the twin maids aimed at Subaru. They couldn't hide it anymore.
"Hah...of course Roswaal. But I don't think it was my behavior that you should be worried about, as far as I'm concerned I'm innocent."
Subaru stated as he stood up as Zarestia finally spoke and glared at the maids, making her clear dislike of them, if you can even call it that, very clear.
"My contractor and my behavior put them on edge? If anything, my contractor is the one on edge due to THEIR behavior! And the same goes for me as well, his life was attempted against last night by those two while he was unconscious!"
Zarestia exclaimed.
"Wait, WHAT?!" Emilia was in shock as she looked at the maids.
Puck and Beatrice have long since stopped playing as they noticed the mana and killing intent Zarestia was pouring out, all in which was aimed towards the maids, as the said maids sweated a bit.
"Zarestia is right Roswaal, if anything I'M the one on edge, I can barely keep my anger in right now."
Subaru glared.
"They accused me, of being some damn member of a cult! They don't know a god damn thing about me, let alone about what I do, I simply had enough set them straight and gave them a piece of my mind. Especially the blue one."
Subaru's scary eyes glared right at the blue maid as she simply glared back.
"I'm not in the best mood and to be completely honest, I have the very urge to spill their blood. But the most necessary thing to do would be to clear out any misunderstandings they have about us. Because I'm one step away from lashing out. Subaru has been through to many life or death scenarios and the last thing we both need is erratic yelling."
Zarestia stated as she got close to Subaru protectively, the winds growing more harsher as the two spirits got more on guard.
It was then that Rem lost it and began yelling at the pair, the arrogance the spirit and contractor were displaying was pissing her off to no end.
"You smell like the witch, you reek of her in fact! That should be enough to hang you!" Rem yelled losing all of her composure at their arrogance.
"W-What...?" Emilia asked dumbfounded.
"This is true, I suppose." Beatrice responded.
"However, you are omitting the fact that I sucked his mana out to ensure he meant no harm maid. His gate is immaculate as well, like a baby's, in fact. So you can't expect him to use any magic at the moment. You are quite prone to skipping details, I suppose."
Subaru was surprised the spirit was defending him, taking into account that she insulted him more times then Rem, to his and Zarestia's annoyance.
"Moreover, were he a cultist he'd have a gospel on him, but those weird clothes and metias as well as those rings on his wrist as well as the rings in his pockets were the only things he had in his possession, so you clearly made some assumptions."
"But that's-!" Rem attempted to defend her point of view.
"Subaru is innocent, I can confirm this."
Puck, who was now on top of Beatrice's lap, defended him as well. Puck didn't really hate Subaru, especially since he along with Zarestia saved his daughter.
"Although I can't completely read his mind, I can read his thoughts through his emotions and he has been nothing but honest in his intentions to help Lia, and I don't blame him for being angry, your maids really screwed up."
"T-Then...why does he smell like the Witch?"
Emilia asked as she was worried for the fate of the boy that saved her.
"I...I don't know."
Subaru answered her.
"See? My contractor as him and I said before, are completely innocent, and I will NOT tolerate any further transgressions against him, so it's either you set your maids straight or I'll do it personally, you damn clown...!"
Zarestia glared at Roswaal, Rem, and Ram, beads of sweat trickling down their foreheads as the wind Zarestia began emitting grew more out of control in a split second.
They not only pissed off Subaru, but they also pissed off his Great Spirit, not a very smart move.
"...Tsk!"
Rem was frustrated. Even if Puck and Beatrice had confirmed his innocence, even if he was being defending by THREE Great Spirits, it's the fact that he smelled like the Witch made her think that he was nothing but trouble.
'It is better to kill him off right now then, before he becomes a filthy follower of hers!'
She couldn't help but think along those lines.
"But enough about me, before I explain Roswaal, I would like to know just who the hell this so-called 'Witch' is. You can't just keep piling this stuff on me and not explain."
"While it's odd that you don't know about her, there is only one 'Witch' we could be referring to, in fact."
Beatrice explained.
"Well, get on with it."
'The nerve of this human...'
Beatrice thought in annoyance
"...It is said that she was starved for love. It is said that she destroyed half of the world in her pain. It is said that her appearance is that of a half-elf."
Beatrice continued her explanation in a monotonous tone, Puck in her lap visibly disliking the implications.
Subaru noticed Emilia looking down. Now he knew why she hesitated a bit when they talked in the yard. But on another note, this Satella person didn't sound that much of a threat to him.
He could easily take her out with a simple Chaos Blast or, using his Chaos Mode by taking of his inhibitor rings, or if it even came to it, going Super. If anything, this person didn't even sound that strong, destroyed half of the world? Dark Gaia literally broke the earth in pieces. Chaos, a literal God of Destruction, flooded Station Square and was on the verge of destroying the Earth due to its rampage. The Bio-Lizard could destroy the earth as well, The Time Eater could literally just trap this woman into a white void, and the black arms, even Eggman himself, could handle this person.
Subaru then thought of people like Naugus and Mogul, would they be considered Witches in this world, speaking of which, was he the only one that was transported to this world?
So many questions he currently didn't have any answers to. But this did confirm one thing though, he had nothing to worry about.
"Really? Half of the world? Please, I dealt with threats that make this person seem like a pushover."
Everyone looked at him in shock, even the spirits slightly shocked. But everyone aside from Puck, Emilia, Beatrice, Zarestia and Roswaal were simply wondering how arrogant could this person be.
Ram spoke.
"How arrogant can you possibly be to say that you could handle the Witch of Envy?"
Rem spoke up as well in anger.
"How can you say that so carelessly?! Do you have no shame?!"
"I can back it up."
Subaru smirked smugly as Roswaal smiled. He was finally going to learn what secrets this boy held.
"What I'm about to tell you will be unbelievable, but I can assure you, it's all true. After all, I dealt with people FAR worse than this 'Witch of Envy'. So relax, while I tell you about my origin and where I'm from exactly. You're about to hear the story of the Fastest Thing Alive and the Ultimate Life form: Subaru Natsuki!"
Subaru smirked proudly as everyone was shocked listened intently to what he was about to say, even Zarestia. All in all, it has been one eventful breakfast.
The residents of the mansion were about to learn just who they were up against.
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TO BE CONTINUED