Subaru was sitting on a street ledge, a depressed look on his face. Beatrice was fast asleep on his shoulders, lightly snoring.
He glanced around the busy street, until his eyes instantly locked onto a fiery-haired lady in a red and black dress being pulled into an alleyway.
"Huh?"
Subaru quickly stood up, frowning.
"That's a bold thing to do in front of a guard station… I guess it really is darkest at the foot of a lighthouse."
He followed the lady into the alley. Angry voices echoed from within.
"You arrogant bitch. Don't screw with us!"
"Wanna see what happens when we mess up that pretty little face of yours?"
The lady simply smiled, calm and confident.
"Don't make such a racket, commoners. Fools with no character pick fights for the most foolish reasons."
She faced the three thugs—three all-too-familiar faces.
The short one. The bulky one. And the one with the knife.
This time, the knife-wielding thug had a bunch of white, thin bandage wraps around his head, giving him a messy, hooded appearance.
Subaru froze at the sight of them.
Unlike Toyota, who had yet to resolve his fear or anger toward these three, Subaru had come to terms with his own emotions. He could handle this. And if things went south, he could rely on Beatrice—especially after seeing how revered and powerful, great spirits were, based on Julius's reaction earlier.
Still in his butler uniform, Subaru stepped into the alleyway.
"Sorry I'm late, honey."
He forced a grin and wedged himself between the thieves, standing shoulder to shoulder with the lady.
"Looks like there's been a bit of trouble, but remember who I am and cut me some slack. Come on, let's go."
Everyone stared in confusion at the strange man with an asleep little girl on his back, unsure how to react.
Subaru, trying to act smooth, reached out to grab the lady's hand to escort her away, only to miss the look of pure hatred burning in her eyes.
"Do not touch me as if you know me, filth."
Without warning, she kicked him hard in the balls.
She would have slammed him into the wall, if it weren't for the little girl asleep on his back.
The bag of appas he was carrying dropped to the ground as a face full of true, soul-wrenching pain twisted across his expression. He collapsed to his knees with a groan, Beatrice somehow still asleep on his back, swaying slightly.
The three thugs flinched instinctively, as if they could feel the impact themselves.
"I don't want drooling commoners following me around,"
The woman hissed, opening her fan with a snap, her glare filled with pure contempt.
Subaru could only glare back at her, voice higher and shakier than usual.
"Use your brain and figure out what's going on... It was supposed to be the classic scenario where I save a damsel in distress from some hoodlums…"
With a groan, he slowly turned his attention away from her and toward the three familiar thieves.
"Wait a second… you the same three from the capital? What happened to you?"
The trio shivered.
The one with the bandaged head hugged himself tightly, eyes wide with terror.
"Saw a nice ring… tried to get it… found a Devil. Demon… Evil… Monster…"
He continued to chant in fear, rocking slightly. The other two elbowed him sharply, trying to snap him out of it and focus on the current situation.
"We met this guy in the alley back in the shopping district," one of them muttered.
"It's the brat from back then."
Looking up at Subaru's shoulders, the short one squinted, noticing the small figure resting there.
"You're a dad?"
"Yes, she's my little baby," Subaru said quickly. "So, for my sake… could you please—" he turned his glare to the lady— "let us go."
The two glanced at their bandaged companion, who was still muttering to himself in a full-blown panic attack. Growling, one of the thugs muttered:
"Fine… but only if she apologizes."
"What? What do you mean, 'apologizes'?"
The fiery-haired lady snapped. She huffed in indignation, folding her arms.
"I have nothing to apologize for. When I merely asked them if it was not inexcusable to live with such impoverished faces and attire, they became agitated—like the street urchins they are."
Subaru could only stare at her, absolutely stunned.
"…You bitch!!" all three screamed at once.
Finally snapping out of his stupor, Subaru didn't even try to reason with her anymore. There was just… nothing to say.
"Yeah… you're the one in the wrong there. Good luck."
With that, he casually started gathering his dropped appas on the ground, putting them in the paper bag, and started to walk out of the alley, a new outlook forming quietly in his mind.
Not all damsels deserved to be in distress.
"Hey, commoner. What are those fruits in that bag? Show me."
Subaru angled his neck back to face the haughty lady, then quickly shifted his gaze to the three thieves still lingering nearby, looking like they were ready to pounce on her in fury. Despite outnumbering her, they were in rough shape. The one with the bandages looked especially bad, shaky, both physically and mentally.
Wait… ring? It couldn't be…
"No thanks," Subaru muttered, waving her off. "I tried helping, and all I got was an assassination attempt on my future generation."
Turning to the thugs, he called out:
"Hey, you three. The one who messed you up like that—what did he look like?"
"Why should we tell you?"
"Yeah, you just wanna mock us or something?"
Scoffing, Subaru began walking away. "Whatever."
The woman blinked at his reply, then snorted as if amused by his audacity.
"I gave you a command, commoner. Do you dare defy it?"
Subaru's temperature spiked. His fists clenched.
"You want to know so bad? Fine."
He reached into the bag, pulled out one of the appas—slightly bruised from being dropped earlier—and tossed it to her.
"It's an appa."
She caught it, barely, and inspected it with disgust.
"You lie. Don't make me laugh. Appas are white! I've never seen a fruit like this."
Hearing her words, Subaru's gaze darkened.
"You're telling me you've never seen one that hasn't been peeled?"
"Are all Nobels like this?"
The short thief turned to the tall one, who then shook his head as if he had no idea.
He turned away without waiting for an answer.
In the original, without Beatrice on his back, she would've thrown him into a wall. But after having his manhood attacked and her clear provocation combined with her demanding, arrogant, and narcissistic attitude, Subaru's attitude toward her had soured considerably.
The three thugs looked too weakened to do much now. Unless they were ready to throw their lives away, they wouldn't dare strike recklessly. And honestly, she provoked them—so she could deal with the consequences.
After wandering the surrounding streets out of boredom, Beatrice still snoozing on his back, Subaru wondered aloud:
"How should I meet the old man…? Would he still be at the loot house?"
That was the thought bouncing in his head when, out of the blue, an aged voice called out from behind him:
"It's been some time since I've seen you. What are you doing here?"
A large figure emerged from the shadows. Subaru tilted his head up, way up, until his eyes landed on the familiar, ugly, balding dome of the speaker.
"It's been a while since I've seen you. What're you doing here?"
Subaru looked toward the speaker, and a smile spread across his face.
"Old Man Rom."
The familiar, very muscular old man gazed down at him with a heavy, somber look. His eyes drifted briefly to the little girl attached to Subaru's back.
"How ya doing, gramps?"
"Not too well," the deep voice cracked, though Rom forced a smile. "I've met your friend. He's quite the daft one."
"Huh? Friend…? Oh! You met Toyota! That's great. What'd you two talk about?"
Rom looked a little surprised at Subaru's enthusiasm. He rubbed the back of his neck.
"That's a bit personal… but I can tell you the gist. He gave me a lot of money and some information, he said it was from you, about where Felt was taken…"
His voice trailed off.
"Information from me?" Subaru frowned, confused. But I only learned about what happened to Felt today… from Emilia.
"How long ago was this?"
"I don't recall exactly… Two weeks, maybe?"
Subaru's eyes widened.
That's around the time he left for the capital… Which means this was one of the first things he did.
He swallowed his thoughts and asked, more softly:
"So… why aren't you doing well?"
"You sure know how to wear a man down," the giant muttered with a sigh, peering at Subaru and the sleeping girl on his back.
"As you know… the Sword Saint kidnapped my daughter for the royal selection."
"Ah… yeah."
Rom clenched his fists. His deep voice quivered with pain.
"But not long after… I got word that the candidate the Sword Saint was guarding had been assassinated."
Subaru's breath caught in his throat at the news.
"So Felt… is dead?"
Large tears—like marbles—began to slide down the old man's cheeks.
"Not only did she kidnap my daughter… but she failed to protect her."
He trembled.
"That's why I'm going to avenge my daughter. She might not have wanted this… but I need to do this."
Subaru stared at him for a moment, then slowly reached into his pocket. He pulled out his flip phone—the one Toyota had given him before heading off alone. He hadn't checked it in a while, but now… maybe now was the right time.
With a few clicks, the screen lit up. There was a message waiting.
"When you find Rom, tell him it wasn't Reinhard's fault. Tell him Toyota knows the identity of the assassins. Tell Rom to continue with the original plan—to break into the Selection as if to capture Felt."
Subaru's eyes narrowed. He swallowed, then looked up at Rom with seriousness he rarely showed.
"Old man… listen to me."
Rom sniffled, wiping his tears with the back of his massive hand. "Huh?"
"I have a message. From Toyota."
That caught Rom's attention. His eyes steadied on Subaru, as if waking from a fever.
"He said—it wasn't Reinhard's fault. He knows who the real assassins are. He wants you to continue with the original plan… act like you're breaking into the Selection to capture Felt."
Rom's brow furrowed, confusion mixing with pain. "...That bastard… how does he know all that?"
"Apparently, he's known for a while," Subaru muttered. "I've got this message today, which is suspicious timing, as if he knew we'd meet today, he's been moving behind the scenes. That's why he left for the capital so suddenly."
Rom's fists clenched. "Then why didn't he tell me sooner? Why leave me hanging like this?"
"Maybe he's busy with something or just needed time. And maybe…" Subaru hesitated, "...maybe because he knew you'd want revenge before knowing the full picture."
Rom looked down, silent.
"You think Felt would want that? For you to throw your life away in a rage… and to do what, fight Reinhard the strongest knight, am I right?"
"I…" Rom began, but the words caught in his throat.
"She's not dead, Rom. I don't think she is," Subaru continued, his voice calm but firm. "If Toyota really found something, then she might still be alive, or her killers will answer for it. But you can't let your anger burn everything down before the truth comes out."
The big man stayed quiet, staring into the dirt. The weight of grief hadn't lifted—but now, it warred with something else: the faintest flicker of hope, or at the very least a suitable target for his rage.
"What… what should I do?" Rom asked in a deep whisper.
Subaru gave a small, tired smile. "I don't know what he's planning, but I trust him. let's do what he asked. What was your original plan to break into the ceremony?"
Rom didn't answer, but his trembling shoulders slowly began to still. He gave a low grunt, nodding once, deep and heavy.
"You've changed, brat," he muttered.
"Yeah." Dying will do that to you, Subaru thought.
"How do I know it's from that kid? Can you contact him and ask what he means—why he wants me to do this?" His voice turned deeper, more menacing. "I refuse to be a pawn."
Subaru felt his stomach twist. He was also in the dark about this. Only the message of him saying that he would see him soon could be understood.
Subaru glanced at the phone again. No new messages. No signal bar. Toyota wasn't answering. With no service, how was he even able to contact him?
He was from America, on Earth, and knew stuff he couldn't—about Subaru's loops.
Almost like he was a regressor.
Or someone who'd read a book of this world.
Of him.
Wait—his thoughts halted. He couldn't be...
There was no time to ponder that.
"I can't reach him right now…" Subaru admitted, forcing out the words like bitter medicine. "But I trust him."
Rom's scowl deepened.
"Subaru, who are you talking to? Is it a friend, I suppose?"Beatrice's childlike voice cut through the tension.
(AN: This chap had no MC but I have to fix all the subtle changes to make MC like Aizen when I first saw Pricilla in the anime, I wanted her to be bitch slapped now I don't know how I feel about her. I'm a procrastinator, I'm lazy, and tell myself I can finish writing the chapter later, so I'm rushing to finish everything in one sitting. To fix that with my new fic that isn't released I'm stocking up chapters so I can have daily releases, but the problem if I do that, I have to half the chapter length, such a dilemma. I will be gone on the 16th for vacation, so no chapters for a while after this Saturday.
I've set an official release schedule: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Although when I get bored, I add extra.
Bonus chapters will drop on Saturdays if my demands are met. 🔫
Trade deal:
You give me 80 power stones, and I give you a bonus chapter.
Sounds fair, right?)