A/N: Ayyyyyyy I'm back with another chapter~~ I won't keep you here so let's get started!!! Here's chapter 30!!! Woooo finally we reached 30!!!! Please enjoy!!!!!
A bit more than two weeks worth of time, that'd be about sixteen days, about three hundred and eighty-four hours, about twenty-three thousand and forty minutes, and about one million three hundred eighty-two thousand and four hundred seconds in total. That might not seem too long under normal circumstances. About ten days of classes, two weekends, and once you subtract the time you sleep, honestly, that shouldn't be too bad, right? Yep, shouldn't be too bad, but not for Subaru and the girls.
During the deadly two weeks, they had many things to do. Mostly, they focused their time on their reviews, and frankly, the girls were handling it well. Emilia, though sometimes it seemed that she might not be top at studying, don't forget, she was one of the candidates for the next ruler of Lugnica, quite a smart girl, really. Rem, the super maid who was capable of mastering almost everything, had no problem studying. Ram, born a prodigy, of course, was good at studying, such a piece of cake for her. As for Beatrice, probably with the greatest brain power among all, not only was able to finish all the reviews easily but also spared time to help with their club project, finished reading the novels Hinata lent her last time, it was Overlord incidentally, and even started reading Pride and Prejudice that she found in the storage room just a few days ago.
About that, there was actually a highly entertaining incident. After they received the hot spring trip tickets from Subaru's parents, Subaru cleared out several suitcases for them to use from the storage room, and Beatrice, surprising everyone, offered to help. They all suspected that she was so tempted by the possibility that she'd be able to enjoy the hot spring with Puck together that she wanted to be involved in anything that would potentially make the trip better. And here was where that incident happened. While they were looking for the suitcases, she found out a stack of dusty stuff tied together with several ropes hidden behind one of the suitcases. She took them out of the room, wiped it clean, and was outraged to discover that those were actually books. If you were curious about what those books are, they were, simply put, nightmares to most students. Let us see what happened back then.
Beatrice walked out of the storage room, holding the pile of stuff in her hand. She took some tissue papers, cut the ropes tying the pile of stuff, and wiped them clean. "NAH--!!" Beatrice screamed as she sprang to her feet and pointed at Subaru, who was just carrying out the last suitcase in the storage room. "Nanda yo, Bea-ko?? Please keep it down, the neighbors wouldn't like to be annoyed." Subaru said, putting down the suitcase and frowning at Beatrice. "Betty's the one annoyed here, in fact!! How dare you treat these books like this?? Tying them in such an unceremonious manner and keeping them in such a dirty cupboard???" She shouted angrily, her fists clenched. "Tell you what, those aren't books, those are nightmare generators. God knows how much hair I lost when I got forced to read those?? I had to put them away, or else I'll have a never-ending headache. What's more, you don't exactly take that much of a good care of your books either. So what's the point of making such a fuss about it?" Subaru said, turning away and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Haaa?? Nightmare generators you say?? How dare you?? These are classics literature that are very important you uncultured monkey, in fact!! And Betty treats her books well, Betty supposes!!!" Beatrice shouted, stomping the floor furiously. "Stop lying Bea-ko!! You use books to hit me all the time and you say you take good care of books???" Subaru retorted. "B-Betty has casted a magic to her books so they won't get hurt when Betty uses them to hit you, in fact!!" Beatrice shouted back, though her voice was getting smaller. "Liaaaaaaaar~~~~" Subaru said and bent down in front of her, smirking, but soon started yelling in pain when Beatrice's fist collided with his chin.
The two's argument brought the rest of the girls to the vicinity. Emilia and Rem were trying to stop the two from fighting more but to no avail, and Ram, grabbing a back of chips and starting eating, had no intention to stop the two at all. "And how would you know these are classics??" Subaru shouted after the pain in his chin eased a little. "You're only here for like, what? Less than a year! And mind you, these are literatures from overseas, how'd you know about them while all you've been reading was Japanese light novels? Mn? Bea-ko?? Mn?? Mn?? Mn??" Subaru retorted, and sticking his chin out with every 'Mn' he uttered. Apparently he didn't learn the lesson and Beatrice threw another punch at the same spot on Subaru's chin where she hit earlier.
"Do not compare us to you, in fact!! Betty has done her research!! Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare--!!" Beatrice started listing all the books in the pile as she stuffed them under Subaru's nose, and Subaru's expression was plummeting from a triumphant smile to a defeated frown faster than the speed of light. "While you were teaching Betty and the others about your world, we didn't just only learn what you decided to teach us, in fact! We've done our research properly!! Betty now possesses much more literary knowledge than you do, Betty supposes!" Beatrice shouted. "Ah... I didn't really do that though..." Emilia said awkwardly, still trying to interfere. "Don't worry, Subaru-kun!! Even though Subaru-kun might have the least amount of literary knowledge among us, especially compared to Beatrice-sama, Rem will always be on Subaru-kun's side!! If Subaru-kun says they're nightmare fuels, then Rem will view them that way!!" Rem said with sincere encouragement in her voice. "Rem-rin you're not helping!!!" Subaru shouted with tears bursting out her eyes. "Barusu, Ram appreciates your effort in being the dumbest of us all. This serves as an excellent source for Ram's mental relaxation." Ram said, smiling and throwing another chip in her mouth.
"Fine fine fine fine, what do you want then?? Want me to read them again??" Subaru asked, picking up one of the books, but Beatrice snapped it out of his hand. "No!! Betty will be the one reading them, in fact!! You keep your unappreciative hands off them, Betty supposes!! Hmph!!" She snapped, picked up the books carefully, and left the rest of them standing in front of the storage room. "Thanks for the show, Barusu. Now Ram can continue her studying with her relaxed mind and this fresh memory of Barusu being completely defeated by Beatrice-sama." Ram said and threw the rest of the chips in her mouth and left as well. "Eto... Subaru, I didn't read any of those books either so don't feel sad, ne?" Emilia said, patting him on the shoulder. "Yes, Subaru-kun! No need to worry! If Subaru-kun feels it is necessary to gain the knowledge of those works of literature, Rem can read them to you as bedtime stories!" Rem said in the same encouraging voice. Subaru buried his face in his hands and let out an exceptionally long groan.
After that, Beatrice refused to talk to Subaru and started reading those books that were now sparkling clean. Subaru also chose to just put up with her and focus on his own business as he was already too busy for his own good. The other girls didn't worry about the two too much either as this was just another of their usual rows. Nothing special happened since, and they were once again preoccupied with their studying. And soon, as time went on, the two began talking again, just as usual. In the following uneventful days, it might have been the quietest since the five had arrived at this apartment. And since it was so quiet and uneventful, it seemed appropriate to put our attention, for the first time, back on the other side.
It was the break of dawn, and villagers in the Alam Village were waking up one by one. The children and the elderlies opened their eyes the earliest, then the younger adults, and as the sun showed its bright face over the top of the trees, everyone in the village was gathered together, ready for the daily radio calisthenics. "Yoooooosh!! Radio taisou daiichi!! Se, no!" Under Lucas, Petra, and the other children's lead, the villagers started their morning routine. Everyone moved together in unison, their arms waving up and down and left and right. The children were leading the exercise energetically, the adults were looking at them approvingly, smiling, and the elderlies, though their movements were less vigorous, followed along with relaxed expression. However, in such an energetic atmosphere, that one voice that could bring everyone's spirits to the peak was absent, absent for a while now.
Soon, the morning routine ended. The children went to collect their stamps, now made by their parents, and the adults brought out their breakfast, and the whole village ate together under the morning sunshine. If a traveler were to come across them, that person would, no doubt, be affected by the energetic and harmonious air and want to join them. Yet, something, something crucial in the village was still missing. Lucas, Petra, Mild, and the other kids grabbed their breakfast and sat down on the tree stumps and benches outside their house. They ate oddly silently for children their age, and as Petra finished about half of her meal, she looked up and broke the silence.
"Subaru, Emilia-neesan, Rem-neesan, I wonder if they are fine. It has already been over three days..." She muttered, and all heads turned toward the direction of the Roswaal's Mansion. Even from the Alam Village, the damage to the mansion was still plainly visible. Half of the mansion was still gone, and there were no signs of treatment for any of the damages. On the day that accident happened, the villagers all rushed to the mansion, holding torches and weapons in their hands, preparing to have another fight with whoever caused the explosion. Yet, they only found an injured Roswaal L. Mathers standing in front of the remainder of the mansion. The villagers were informed by a smiling Roswaal that a small accident had happened, and he would attend to it at that instance.
He was of course questioned about the safety of Subaru, Emilia, and Rem, as they now frequented the village. Roswaal, again, smiling and pretending that things were all under control, told them that not to worry, and he would solve that as soon as he could. But now, over three days had passed, and still, the villagers were given no information about the whereabouts of Subaru and the others. They were growing worried and slightly frightened, nevertheless, they knew that they were helpless in every aspect of this situation, and all they could do, and should do, was to keep their spirits up and continue to protect what Subaru gifted them and wait for their hero's return.
"I wonder where they are now." Petra muttered again and took another bite of her breakfast, and Lucas sprang to his feet. "Subaru will be fine!! Don't worry, Petra!!" He said firmly, his fists clenched. "Subaru will always be strong!! Wherever he's at and whoever he's with!!" He said again, looking at Petra straight in the eyes. Mild and the others were nodding as well, and Petra's tensed expression softened slightly. "Thanks, Lucas." She said with a small smile and took yet another bite of her food. "I just hope they are safe." She said. "We all do, Petra." Lucas answered.
Silence fell once again, and a few seconds later, Petra looked as if she had made a big decision and started wolfing down the rest of her breakfast. In no time, the food was gone, and Petra wiped her mouth and jumped to her feet. "I'll be right back!!" She yelled and ran off toward the direction of the mansion. Shocked by her sudden movements, Lucas and the others were all half a second slower at responding to this unexpected action, and, stumbling, they all chased after her. "Hey wait up!! Petra, where're you going???" Lucas, running up to her, shouted. "To the mansion!!" Petra shouted back. Lucas reached out his hand and took hers, trying to pull her back.
"You can't just go to the mansion like that! I don't think Ryoushu-sama would like that!! Not all at!!" Lucas shouted. "Even so, I'm still going!!" Petra broke free of Lucas' grip and ran off again. The rest of the children all stared at one another, nodded, and followed Petra, running up the hill leading to Roswaal's mansion. Soon, they arrived at the edge of the forest. The mansion was still as wrecked as it was three days ago. The right side of the mansion along with the ground it was on was gone completely. The left side was still there, but it was nothing but debris and broken walls. The corridor on the first floor alone remained somewhat safe, and it was there where Roswaal paced with books floating around him and flipping pages on their own.
"This is terrible..." Mild said in a quivering voice, and Meina's hands were clutching her face, and Dine and Cain looked rather scared at what they were seeing. Petra and Lucas stood at the front of the gang of children, hiding behind some bushes that were just enough to cover them but allow them a wide view of the mansion. They continued watching Roswaal pacing, checking the books, and performing some sort of magic. Occasionally, he would leave the corridor and enter a door and return with more books floating around him. The children hid there, watching him. Petra was slightly trembling, and her hands, closing around the tree branches around her, were starting to feel sweaty and sore. And after another ten minutes or so, Petra bit her lips and stepped forward.
"No wait!" Lucas whispered as he held her back. Petra opened her mouth, trying to fight back, but Lucas pointed at somewhere over her shoulder. She looked toward that direction and saw a dragon carriage approaching what was left of the main door. The children hid back slightly as the carriage went past the part of the forest where they were hiding, and the carriage stopped. As the carriage stopped, a tall woman with blonde hair stepped out of the carriage and hurried toward the mansion. Seeing this, Roswaal left the corridor and approached her. "Ohisashiburi desu, Danna-sama. Frederica has returned to your side." Petra heard the woman said as she held the sides of her maids uniform and bowed. "Okaerina—sai, Frederica." Roswaal answered, smiling faintly. Frederica looked around the remainder of the mansion and back to Roswaal, who was still wearing that smile.
"This is... much more severe than I had imagined, Danna-sama." She said finally, looking at Roswaal worriedly. "Yes... indeed. I have, well, mis—calculated. It is my fault." He said, holding a hand to his forehead and pushing the hair away from his eyes. It seemed that for the past seventy two hours or so, Roswaal hadn't eaten, hadn't slept, hadn't taken any rest at all. His normally fabulous clothes were covered in dust and burns, his makeups were coming off here and there, and his hair was no longer silky and well-kept. "Is everyone safe? Ram, Rem, Beatrice-sama, and Emilia-sama?" Frederica asked, the worried look on her face growing deeper. Roswaal paused for a fraction of a second and replied, his smile fading from his face.
"Unfortunately, I am not sure." He said, and Frederica gasped, her hands moving up and covering her mouth. "It seems that, during the accident, they were transported to an unknown dimension. A new butler, hm, this position seems too much for him, a new worker who was hired not long ago was also transported away along with them." Roswaal said. Frederica's worried eyes grew bigger yet, and Roswaal continued. "I was able to make contact with them briefly about a day ago but was unsuccessful since." Roswaal finished, and suddenly, his hand flew to his forehead again and swayed a little.
"Danna-sama!!" Frederica exclaimed as she reached out to help Roswaal, but he held up a hand, and Frederica retrieved hers. "Huh, it looks like even I, Roswaal L. Mathers, have fallen slightly after three days of rest deprivation." He muttered to himself. "My apologies, Frederica." He said, straightening the collar of his dirty clothes. "It seems I am closer to my limits than I anticipated." Roswaal's eyes traveled to Frederica's face and met with hers. "I believe that the kitchen is still under usable condition. Would you be so kind to make me some food and refreshment?" He asked, and Frederica immediately bowed again. "Of course, Danna-sama. Frederica will always be at your service." Frederica said with her head bowed. She motioned to take Roswaal's arm and help him inside, but Roswaal held up his hand once again. "No worries, Frederica. You may go ahead." He said. Frederica hesitated, bowed, and entered the mansion.
Roswaal stood there and remained silent for a few moments, and just as Petra was arguing with herself about whether or not to stand up from behind the bushes, Roswaal spoke first. "You may come out, children." He said, and all the children, still hiding behind the bushes and tree trunks, jumped. Petra gulped and stood up first. "Moushiwake gozaimasen, Ryoushu-sama, w-we didn't m-mean to eavesdrop...!!" Petra apologized at once, bowing deeply. Lucas and the rest of the children all did the same, trembling slightly. Roswaal didn't speak but started walking toward them, and they just stood there, trembling with cold sweat rolling down their faces.
"Dai—joubu, dai—joubu. Raise your heads, children." Roswaal said, the smile back on his face. "I assume you heard e—verything?" He asked, and Petra, looking up and still trembling, nodded. "Then you would have known by now. I, Roswaal L. Mathers, will use e—very bit of knowledge that I possess to bring them back." Roswaal said. Petra's eyes widened slightly, and she opened her mouth. "R-Ryoushu-sama... r-really will bring Subaru and Rem-neesan and Emilia-neesan back??" Petra asked in a trembling voice, and Roswaal nodded, taking her hand. "Yes, I will. In the name of Roswaal L. Mathers, I promise you, children of Alam Village, I will bring them back, and I shall not give up until I drain the last bit of my life energy." He said, and let go of Petra's hand.
Petra stared at the landowner for several seconds and clutched her hands to her chest. "T-Thank you so much, Ryoushu-sama..." She muttered with tears rolling down her face. Roswaal nodded with a smile. "Sa, you should go ho—me. Your parents must be lo—oking for you now." Roswaal said gesturing them to return to the village. The children all seemed to be snapped back to reality and bowed. "T-Thank you very much, Ryoushu-sama!!!" They all said in unison and ran back toward the forest.
Roswaal waved at them as he watched them disappear into the forest, and as soon as the sight of the children were gone, the smile on his face was gone, and what replaced it was an unreadable look that seemed to be emitting an eerie, mournful, yet determined look. "I shall bring you back, whatever it takes... for my plan to proceed, I shall bring you back..." Roswaal muttered to himself, turning around and walking back to the mansion.
A/N: Alright, a rather short chap here with a rather weird combination of events XDDD the next chap is up too!!! Please proceed to the next XDDDD