1.1
—This is really going to be a problem.
With no money and no idea what to do, he repeated the thought over and
over again in his mind.
Well, it wasn't completely accurate to say he had no money. The wallet in his
pocket was filled with all the cash he owned, enough to go on a little bit of a
shopping spree if he had to—under normal circumstances. But in this case, "no
money" is really the only way to describe his situation.
"Yeah, but the currency system here is completely different, isn't it…"
The young man flicked his rare notched ten-yen coin in the air and breathed a
deep sigh.
He didn't really have any features about him that stood out. He had short
black hair and was of average height, being neither short nor tall. He was a bit
muscular, though, as if he had been working out, and the cheap gray tracksuit
that he was wearing really suited him quite well. He had small irises, so the
whites of his eyes stood out, but right now, the way his eyes were downcast, he
didn't have a very aggressive or championing look to him.
He looked average enough to be quickly lost in a crowd…but right now, most
of those passing by looked at him out of the corners of their eyes as if they
were looking at something strange they had never seen before.
But that was to be expected. After all, among all those onlookers, not one of
them had black hair, nor were any of them wearing tracksuits. They had blond
hair, red hair, and brown hair…some even had blue or green hair, among
others, and they were wearing armor, or black robes, or the kind of costume a
dancer might wear…that sort of thing.
As he stood before the waves of open stares, the young man crossed his arms
and had no other option but to accept the truth.
"This has got to be one of those…" he said, snapping his fingers and pointing
out toward the crowd of onlookers. "One of those so-called 'I've been
summoned to another world' deals, right?" he said as an oxcart-like vehicle
pulled by a giant lizard-like thing crossed in front of him.
1.2
Subaru Natsuki was an extremely ordinary boy, born on Earth, the third
planet in the solar system, to a middle-class family in the nation of Japan. If you
were to sum up his nearly seventeen years of life, the previous sentence would
be enough to describe him, and if you felt the need to add anything else, the
extra sentence, "He was a third-year public high school student with a tendency
to not show up to class," would be sufficient.
Placed at a fork in the road of life, such as "whether to pursue a college
degree or jump straight into the workforce," people are generally forced to
make a decision one way or the other. That sort of decision-making is
something everyone has to deal with and part of what we call life, but in
Subaru's case (you might call it his specialty) he was a bit better than your
average Joe at running away from things he did not like. In avoiding such a
decision, the number of his unexcused absences had piled up, and before he
knew it he was a bona fide truant, the kind parents weep over.
"And to top it all off, now I've been summoned to a whole different world. I
guess that seals the deal. I'm a high school dropout now. But seriously, what
the hell is going on?"
He felt as if he was having a not-so-well-thought-out dream, but even after
pinching his cheeks and smacking his head against a wall, he wouldn't wake up.
Subaru sighed. He had drifted away from where he was, getting all sorts of
curious looks, and was now sitting against a wall in an alley just off the main
road.
"Assuming I really have been summoned to a fantasy world…the state of
civilization appears to be the usual, medieval-like setting. So far, I haven't seen
anything mechanical, but the roads are pretty well paved…and of course I can't
use any of my cash."
As for whether he could communicate with the people here, and regarding
the value of goods, those were things that Subaru checked immediately upon
realizing he had been summoned to a different world.
Fortunately, he had no problem communicating, and he was able to confirm
that commerce was handled in a currency of gold, silver, and copper coins. His
first contact, a merchant at a fruit stand, wasn't all that welcoming to him,
though.
As for why Subaru was so quick to accept and understand his current
situation, the fact that he was a modern Japanese youth poisoned by anime and
games had something to do with it, and for that he was very thankful. It
wouldn't be an overstatement to say that as an adolescent boy, this sort of
otherworldly summoning was the kind of thing you'd dream would happen to
you, but on that note…
"Without a little bit more of a welfare safety-net thing going on, a laid-back
guy like myself isn't going to be able to deal, you know?" Subaru complained.
Given his current situation, and pitiful starting equipment, he couldn't help it.
His belongings consisted of a cell phone (which looked like it would run out of
batteries soon), a wallet (filled with membership cards from various video
rental stores), a cup of instant ramen he'd bought from a convenience store
(pork bone and soy sauce flavor), a bag of crispy snacks bought from the same
store (corn soup flavor), his favorite gray tracksuit (unwashed), and well-worn
sneakers (two years old). That was it.
"I don't even get a single Excalibur? I'm done. What am I supposed to do in
this getup?"
Well, there's only so much you can hope for when you're summoned to a
different world on your way back from the convenience store. It had happened
in the blink of an eye.
Subaru had already gotten hungry and eaten half of the one thing he had that
might have been of any use—his pack of crispy snacks—before realizing that he
had just gone through his only source of food. But worrying about it wasn't
going to help him now.
Even if he'd wanted to put his hopes on the possibility that this was being
staged as part of an elaborate reality TV show, the large lizard carts and look of
all the people passing by nipped that in the bud.
"The fact that no one seems to be paying attention to them means that
they're probably normal…both those giant lizards and the half-humans."
Subaru grumbled and looked on as people with strange outfits and colorful
hair passed by, but out of all of them, the ones who really drove home the fact
that he had been summoned to another world were the half-humans.
Without having to look too long Subaru could see people with dog ears and
cat ears, and there were even some who looked like they were lizardmen. But
of course there were also ordinary humans, the same as Subaru.
"So this is a world with half-humans…and probably wars and adventures, too.
As for whether there are any animals I'm used to around… I'm not too sure, but
given that lizard cart thing…it looks like they use animals in the same way we
do."
After putting all of that together, Subaru let out a long breath, but not a sigh.
If things unfolded the way he had fantasized about before about otherworldly
summoning, he ought to be able to use his knowledge of modern civilization to
hold sway over everyone else…but there were a lot of things that still didn't
make any sense.
"The truth is, I have no idea what to do next, and I still have no idea how or
why I was summoned. I don't remember stepping into a mirror or falling in a
pond, and if I'm to believe this is the otherworldly summoning format I'm used
to, where is the beautiful girl who summoned me?"
The lack of a main heroine in this otherworldly summoning setup was a big
hole in the plot. If this were taking place in a 2D world, someone in the creative
department was seriously slacking off. If Subaru was really summoned for no
reason and then abandoned just like that, it put him on the same level as single-
use disposable goods.
Now that Subaru had finished establishing the state of his surroundings, he
really couldn't think of anything better to do than return to his default state of
escaping from reality.
"I guess if I keep this up, it's no different from locking myself up in my room
back home."
The thought of his parents crossed his mind, but right now he wasn't in a
position where he could just sit around feeling homesick. Thinking he had to do
something about his current situation, he stood back up and turned back
toward the main road, but… Just as Subaru was about to walk out onto the
main road, he almost bumped into someone who moved out in front of him.
"Oh. Sorry 'bout that." Subaru gave a short apology and tried to continue
past, but…
"Hold up!"
…he was grabbed firmly by the shoulder and pulled back into the alley. Nearly
falling over himself as he turned around, Subaru looked up to see that the
person who had thrown him back was a man with a large build.
Behind that man were two of his buddies, and the three men stood in such a
way as to block Subaru from exiting the alley onto the main road.
The way they moved, it didn't appear this was the first time these men had
done this, and Subaru had a bad feeling about what was going to come next.
"Umm… May I ask what you three fine fellows plan on doing with me?"
"Oh, it looks like this one here's a smart one! Well, nothing to worry about.
Just give us everything you've got on you, and there's no need for anyone to get
hurt."
"So that's the deal, huh? Yeah, I guess it would be. Ha-ha… This really sucks."
The men's gazes were filled with scorn and ridicule. They looked like they
were in their twenties, with the meanness of their personalities reflected in
their faces and dirty appearances. They didn't look like they were half-humans,
but they certainly weren't saints, either.
You couldn't call it an unusual plot development. Encountering thugs was a
way to show the dangers of everyday life. In other words…
"Damn, I've triggered a compulsory event."
1.3
As he looked at the men smirking, Subaru tried to hold the status quo with a
fake smile and considered his options. He was in quite a pinch, but since the
beginning of time, in stories where humans are summoned to other worlds,
those humans tended to be able to wield some kind of superpower. If Subaru
had been summoned to this world under the same conditions as the stories he
was familiar with, it was very likely that he had been given some sort of power.
With that thought, Subaru felt that his body was a little lighter than usual.
"I'm starting to get the feeling that this world's gravity is, like, only a tenth of
my world's. I can do this. I can do this! I'm going to mow you all down and make
this the first chapter of my glorious future! You're only here so I can pull
experience points off of you, you scum!"
"What the hell is he going on about?" said one of the men.
"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure he's making fun of us. Let's kill 'im," replied
another.
"Took the words right out of my mouth… You're going to regret this!"
returned Subaru, before flying forward with a straight jab from his right hand,
aiming for the big man in front. Subaru's fist collided with the man's nose, but
he also cut his fist on one of the man's front teeth and started bleeding.
—I hit someone for the first time in my life! Wow! It hurts way more than I
expected.
Subaru was confident in his fighting form, but he had never been in a real
fight before. The man who was punched fell to the ground. Without taking a
moment to pause, Subaru leapt at another of the men, caught off guard, as his
next target. With a clean arc he landed a kick on the side of the next man's
head, slamming him into the wall of the alley.
This was going even better than he'd expected, and he started to be sure of
the notion that he was invincible in this new world.
"I guess in this world my stats are pretty good! What a rush! Now to finish
this!"
Turning back around, Subaru bent forward to beat down the last man
standing, when his eyes centered on what that man was holding in his hand: a
glinting knife.
Immediately Subaru dropped to his knees, bent over forward, and with a
spectacular single motion prostrated himself, pressing his forehead against the
ground.
"I'm sorry, that was absolutely terrible of me, I ask that you forgive me and
please find it in your generous hearts to spare my life!"
Prostration—it was the most exteme form of showing absolute submission to
another and the lowest form of Japanese humility. Just where did all of that
fired-up feeling go? Subaru felt as if he could hear the blood drain from his
body. Desperately clinging to any hope of mercy, he tried to make himself seem
small and continued to apologize.
With a knife involved, fighting was out of the question. No matter how you
might train yourself, if you were stabbed, it was all over. All things in life are
transient.
Before he knew it, the two that Subaru thought he had defeated were back
on their feet. One was holding his bleeding nose and the other was shaking his
head back and forth, but other than that both looked as though they were in
surprisingly good condition.
"What?! You mean to tell me that my one-hit knockout punch only did that
much damage?! What about my superpowers?!"
"I dunno what you're going on about, but shut your trap! You've really done it
now!"
It looked as though Subaru had been completely wrong about being
summoned into another world coming with the promise of some kind of
powers. He wasn't really any stronger than he had been before.
One of the men stepped on the back of Subaru's head, scraping his forehead
against the ground and causing him to bleed. Another then kicked him in the
face, and Subaru curled into a ball as tightly as he could as he was subjected to
further acts of violence.
After all, the one who hit first was Subaru. The men didn't hold back at all.
—Crap, this really, really hurts. Like, I could die. No, seriously.
Unlike in his own world, there was no guarantee that these thugs wouldn't
take his life. At this rate, it would be better to try one last-ditch effort to
retaliate before he was beaten to death…
"Stop moving, you whelp!"
"Ow! No, don't… Ow! Ow! Ow!!"
The man with the knife stomped on Subaru's hand as he tried to get up, then
readjusted his grip on the knife so that the tip was held back toward his arm,
ready to strike.
"After we make sure you can't move we're going to take everything you've
got. That's what you get for acting tough, you punk…"
"I-if you're looking for money or valuables, I'm sorry but you're out of luck.
After all, I don't have a cent on me…!"
"Then those strange-looking clothes and shoes'll do just fine. You can just stay
down and be food for the alley rats!"
Oh, so there are rats in this world, too, Subaru thought. I hope they aren't big,
like monster rats or anything. Subaru looked at the knife about to come down
as if it didn't concern him at all, distancing himself from reality as best he could.
Subaru didn't see his life flash before his eyes, and he didn't feel like time was
slowing down, either. The end would probably come like the cutting of a thread,
he thought.
—But just then…
"Hey! Out of the way! Out of the way! I'm talking to you! Move!" yelled
someone in a flustered-sounding voice as they dashed into the alley.
Like the men, who suddenly looked up, Subaru managed to glance up in the
direction of the voice, though he couldn't move his body.
What he saw was a small girl with longish blond hair dashing by. From her red
eyes, you could sense a strong will, and her one canine tooth sticking out made
her look like quite a prankster. She seemed more cheeky than anything else, but
Subaru felt that if she smiled she would look pretty cute.
As if it had been staged for a comeback, the fading light of hope Subaru had
been holding lit anew.
He was waiting for this kind of development.
The girl, in her well-worn clothes and unclean appearance, had stumbled
upon this attempted murder and robbery in the act! What would surely happen
next, was that with an overflowing sense of justice this girl would save Subaru's
life, right from the clutches of death…
"Whoa! You look like you're in quite a pinch there, but sorry! I've got my
hands full right now! Good luck! Live life to the fullest!"
"Wait, what?! Are you serious?!"
Unfortunately, that hope was shattered in an instant.
The girl raised her hand in an apologetic sort of gesture and didn't slow down
as she continued racing down the alley. She went right past the men and kept
going toward what should have been a dead end, kicked off against a wooden
plank set up against the end wall, grabbed the top of the wall, and lightly flung
herself up onto the roof of one of the surrounding buildings, where she
disappeared.
Illustration 1
After the girl was gone, a silence fell upon the alley. It was as if a hurricane
had just passed. Both Subaru and the men were dumbstruck.
However, this didn't mean that Subaru's situation had improved at all.
"Doesn't what just happened make your anger just sort of melt away and
make you want to change your minds about all of this?!"
"More like it killed the mood and now I'm even angrier. Don't think you'll get
to die a pleasant death!"
The men kept their feet planted on Subaru so he couldn't move. As Subaru
looked at the glint of the knife in the man's hand, the death that loomed before
him seemed ever more real.
—No, I mean, you've got to be kidding. I can't die this easily, can I?
A twitching smile formed on Subaru's face as he looked around desperately
for someone to deny the death that was coming his way. However, no such
convenient development came. The tip of the knife drew ever closer.
A feeling of resignation came over Subaru and he felt tears welling up in his
eyes. It wasn't fear that overwhelmed him; it was more the feeling of emptiness
that this would all end without him accomplishing anything.
In the midst of this overwhelming despair, feeling as if he had been
abandoned by everyone and everything…
"Hold it right there, you evildoers!"
That voice overcame the noise of the crowd, the vulgar insults of the men,
Subaru's own heavy breathing, as well as everything else, and shook the very
foundations of the world.
1.4
When people say, "Time stood still," they must surely be talking about times
like this.
There was a girl standing at the entrance to the alley.
She was beautiful. She had long silver hair, with braids in it that reached down
to her hips. She was looking straight at Subaru with violet eyes that shone with
intelligence. In her soft features were both elements of youth but also mature
beauty. There was also a noble air about her that gave her a dangerous and
bewitching charm.
The girl was about one head shorter than Subaru, which made her around five
feet, three inches tall. The clothes she wore used white as a base color, and
there was nothing terribly ornate about them, but on the other hand, the
simplicity emphasized her presence.
The one thing that stood out was the white cloak the girl was wearing. It was
emblazoned with embroidery that depicted a bird of prey, adding to her
impression of majesty.
However, it wasn't the clothes she wore that made her shine so.
"I will not stand by and watch any more of your wrongdoing. That is enough."
Her voice, like silver bells, rang beautifully in Subaru's ears, and for a moment
he forgot the situation he was in. He was completely undone by the silver-
haired girl's presence.
The other men seemed to be just as shaken up as Subaru was.
"Wha… Who do you think you are…?"
"If you stop right now, I'll let you go. In a way, this is my fault for not being
cautious. So do the right thing and give back what you stole."
"Hey, what she's wearing looks expensive. You think she's nobility? Wait,
huh…? What we stole?"
"Please. It is very precious to me. I'd be willing to give it up if it were anything
else, but I absolutely can't in this case. Please. I won't do anything to you, so
please just give it back."
The girl looked as if she was pleading with all her heart.
However, there was an inexplicable feeling of pressure that rose within the
group. Something was happening that was hard to explain.
"W-wait a minute! We don't know what you're talking about!"
"…What do you mean?"
The men pointed to Subaru, still underfoot.
"You didn't come here to rescue this guy…did you?"
"…Those are some weird clothes that boy is wearing. Did you all have a fight
among yourselves? I don't think three against one is really fair, but…if you're
asking me if I know this person, I haven't ever seen him before in my life."
Perhaps it was because she thought the men were trying to change the subject,
but you could hear an amount of irritation in her voice. Because of that, each of
the men rushed to explain themselves.
"Wait a second! If you're not after this guy, then we're not involved! I bet it
was that girl from before!"
"You said you had something stolen from you, right?! That wall! You see that
wall? She jumped off that wall and ran away on the rooftops!"
"She's farther back! Back past that wall! At the rate she was going, she's
probably another three streets down!"
As the men continued to plead their innocence, the girl turned her eyes to
Subaru, as if asking whether these men were telling the truth. Without thinking,
Subaru nodded.
"Hmm… It doesn't look like you're lying. So the one who stole from me is
down farther ahead? I've got to hurry…"
The girl turned away from Subaru and the men and toward the main road.
The men clearly looked relieved. Subaru, faced with the reality of his
abandonment, started to enter a state of shock, when…
"Still, this situation is one I can't just ignore."
As she turned back around the girl put her hand up, palm facing outward, and
a series of shining lights began to dance in front of it.
A dull thud rang out, like that of a hard object striking flesh, followed by the
cries of the men as they were thrown backward. Then, there was a high-pitched
sound as a fist-size clump of ice fell to the ground right beside Subaru.
The clump of ice, which seemed to have formed heedless of both the season
and the laws of physics, quickly evaporated as if it were being eaten by the
surrounding air.
"…Magic."
The best word to describe what just happened immediately tumbled out of
Subaru's mouth.
There wasn't any incantation or anything, but that chunk of ice had definitely
shot out of that girl's palm.
Magic—having seen it with his very own eyes for the first time, Subaru
realized something.
"It isn't quite as fantasy-like as I imagined… To be honest, this is kind of a
letdown."
Subaru had imagined there would be more light and energy being bounced
around. In reality, all that happened was an unrefined-looking clump of ice
suddenly materialized, was used as a blunt object for physical damage, and
then suddenly disappeared. There was no feeling or anything put into it at all.
"Now…you've done it."
Subaru's feelings on magic aside, the other men, who had taken a real hit
from those clumps of ice, got back to their feet. To be fair, it was only two of
them who managed to get back up. The remaining man must have gotten hit in
a bad spot, because he was still knocked out. But rather than this fact taking the
fight out of them, it seemed to just make the other two men even angrier.
Standing next to the man with the knife, the other drew out a blunt, club-like
object, and both were ready to fight.
"I don't care if you're a magic user or nobility or whatever! I've had enough.
We're gonna kill you! Do you really think you can win a two-on-one fight?!"
yelled the man with the knife, holding his face, blood still dripping from his
nose.
In response to his threats, the girl closed one of her eyes. "You're right, one
against two sounds like it could be a little tough."
"…In that case, would two on two be bit more fair?" As if it were finishing the
girl's sentence, a new, higher-pitched, genderless voice entered the fray.
Startled, Subaru looked around. The other men also followed suit, but there
wasn't anyone inside or at the entrance to the alley who looked as though they
were the owner of that voice.
Then, as if to show both Subaru and the other men the answer to their
question, the girl extended her left hand.
Sitting on top of her palm and white fingers, there it was.
"When you all stare at me like that, full of expectation, it's uh…kind of
embarrassing."
Using its paw to clean its face was a small, palm-size cat that stood upright on
its two hind legs.
It had gray hair and floppy ears. To the best of Subaru's knowledge it was
nearest to an American shorthair. That is, if you ignored the fact that its nose
was pink and it had a tail about the length of its body.
Seeing the small, palm-size cat, the man with the knife seemed overcome
with fear and yelled, "Y-you're a spirit mage?!"
"That's right. If you want to leave right now, I won't chase after you, but make
up your minds quick. I'm in a hurry."
With that, the men rushed to pick up their fallen companion and leave the
alley, but as they passed the girl on their way out, one of the men clicked his
tongue and said, "I'm going to remember your face, you bitch. The next time we
see you it won't go this well for you."
"If you do anything to her I'll curse you and all of your offspring, you know?
Though, in that case you won't be having any."
For the thug, that must have been his best attempt at intimidation, but in
contrast, the cat's response was light in tone but much more severe.
The cat didn't seem to be completely serious, but the men paled more than
they ever had before, and ran out into the main road without another word.
Once the thugs were gone, Subaru was left alone in the alley with the girl and
her cat. Thinking that he at least needed to say thanks, Subaru forgot his pain
and started to get to his feet, but…
"Don't move," said the girl in a cold emotionless voice. You could see in her
eyes that she was being cautious. Even though she realized that Subaru was not
with the other thugs, she wasn't about to let her guard down, that much was
clear.
It was actually Subaru's reaction that was more out of place. Even though the
girl was looking at him like that, he was fixed on her beautiful and bewitching
violet eyes. Not used to seeing such beauty, Subaru unthinkingly blushed and
looked away.
"See? I knew I was on to something. If he had nothing to hide, he wouldn't
look away like that," said the girl.
Illustration 2
"I'm not so sure about that. That seems like a very natural reaction for a boy
like him. I'm sensing zero evil intentions," responded the cat.
"Be quiet, Puck. …You know the girl who stole my badge, don't you?"
Shushing her cat, the girl turned to Subaru. Her expression, full of confidence,
was lovely. However…
"I'm sorry to let you down like this, but I totally don't know her, like,
completely not at all."
"Wai—What? Seriously!?"
As her confidence was stripped from her face, Subaru was able to get a
glimpse of how she naturally expressed herself, as opposed to her ongoing act.
With that dignified air of hers out the window, the girl, flustered, turned quickly
to the cat still resting on her palm.
"Wh-wh-what are we going to do? Was this really all just a waste of my
time…?"
"A waste that's still in progress… I really think you should hurry. She was really
fast when she ran away, so there's a good chance the culprit has some kind of
strange protection on her side."
"Ugh… How can you be so unconcerned about all of this, Puck?"
"You're the one who told me not to get too involved, you know? Anyway,
what are we going to do about him?" the cat said, as if just remembering about
Subaru.
As the topic of conversation centered back on him, Subaru put on a weak
smile.
"Oh," said the girl as she finally realized the cat was talking about Subaru.
In response, Subaru put on an empty display of confidence and replied,
"Don't worry about me. Thanks to your help, I'll be fine. You're in a hurry, right?
You should go…"
Subaru had hoped to finish this off with, If you'd like, I don't even mind
helping you out. How about it, m'lady? while brushing his hair back and flashing
a smile, but…
"…Huh?"
Suddenly dizzy, Subaru reached for the wall but missed, and fell face-first
back onto the ground.
"Wait. You shouldn't try to stand up just ye—Well…okay," came the cat's
warning, just a step too late.
After falling with zero capacity to catch himself, Subaru felt a sharp pain as his
consciousness went winging away.
"…So, what should we do?"
"He has…nothing to do with us. That's not enough to kill him. We're going to
leave him."
In the far reaches of his consciousness as it left him, Subaru could hear just a
little of the pair's conversation.
That's an otherworldly fantasy for you. Everyone has quite the severe view on
the concept of empathy.
Am I just going to be abandoned here in this alley? was the negative take.
Well, I suppose I was going to die, and now I'm not, so I should be super
grateful, was a more positive thought.
With those two views in mind, Subaru's consciousness drifted further and
further…further and further away…
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure!"
Right before the thread of Subaru's consciousness was cut for good, he was
able to see that silver-haired girl, red in the face, turn around and shout.
"There's no way! No way that I'm going to save him, okay?! Okay?!"
—Man, even when she's angry she's really cute. Go otherworldly fantasies.
With that last thought, really this time, once and for all, Subaru's
consciousness fell into darkness.
1.5
It occurred to Subaru that the feeling of waking up was similar to having your
face rise up from out of a body of water. When he opened his eyes, the sun's
light was at an angle and shone into them, causing him to squint at the
brightness and rub his eyes. He woke up in a rather pleasant way, and Subaru
was the type of person to be fully awake once he opened his eyes.
"Oh, you awake?" said a voice from right above Subaru's head, with him still
lying down.
As Subaru turned to look in the direction of the voice, he realized that he was
still lying on the ground, but had his head on something soft that was being
used as a pillow.
"You shouldn't move. You hit your head, so I can't say whether it's safe to just
yet."
This concerned voice also sounded very kind, as Subaru remembered what
happened just before he lost consciousness, he thought. Given the
circumstances, he might just be in one of those blessed situations one hopes to
be in as a boy.
To have one's head in a girl's lap… Responding to this divine revelation,
Subaru pretended to turn to readjust so he could enjoy himself to the fullest.
With a circular motion he rubbed his cheek against it and reached a feeling of
absolute bliss, and far more than he expected he felt a fluffiness from the
softness of the hair.
"Wow… Beautiful girls are a lot hairier than I imagin—Hey, wait a minute!"
sputtered Subaru as he faced up, this time with his vision fully recovered, and
took in what was happening.
Right in front of Subaru, in his upside-down vision, was the face of a giant cat.
"I thought that at least until you woke up, I'd make you feel comfortable. You
can thank me later."
"First of all, I'd like you to stop with that terrible falsetto voice. There's no
way I'd mistake a cat for the heroine."
Subaru had certainly never been in a situation before where he got to use a
human-size cat's lap for a pillow and, well, it wasn't like you get to experience
this every day, so he decided to make the best of it.
"Wow, this is actually really comfortable. Like, this is amazing. Now I
understand why people want to love their cats 'til they go bald."
"Well, if you're going to be this happy about it, I guess it was really worth
super-sizing… Don't you think so, too?"
The cat scratched at his face as if it were embarrassed and winked as if
seeking a confirmation. At the end of that glance was a silver-haired girl,
standing at the entrance to the alley looking unfazed.
It was the same girl from before, if Subaru was to believe his memories, eyes,
and heart, which were all deeply branded by her image right before he lost
consciousness.
"Umm…I'm sorry about all of this. It looks like you ended up staying here with
me until I woke up, and—"
"Don't get any ideas about this. The only reason I stayed is because I still have
some questions to ask you. If it weren't for that, I would have left you behind. I
mean it. So don't get any ideas."
Pressing the point, the girl put strong emphasis on her words. This was a level
of girl power that Subaru, who had no resistance against such beautiful girls,
simply could not stand against. It was so strong that Subaru could do nothing
but nod, ignoring the content of whatever she was saying.
"The reason I healed your wounds, and the reason I had Puck serve as a pillow
until you woke up—all of that was for me. So I'm going to have you make it up
to me, okay?"
"I know you're trying to build this up and everything, but if you just have
something to ask, go right ahead," said Subaru.
It looked like she was one of those people who took the saying "helping
others isn't just for their sake" to heart.
The girl looked sternly at Subaru and shook her head.
"I'm not asking, I'm commanding. You know something about my stolen
badge, don't you?" asked the girl, dropping the tone of her voice. However, as
this wasn't any different from what she had asked before, Subaru had to tilt his
head in confusion.
They had gone through this once already, right before Subaru had passed out.
She keeps calling the thing a "badge," Subaru thought. So is it something like
what police and detectives keep on themselves to prove what they are? I
haven't seen anything like that.
"You didn't hit your head real hard or anything while I was passed out, did
you?" Subaru asked.
"You were only out for about ten minutes, and no, nothing like that
happened. Answer the question."
"Well…if that's the case, I've got to say I really don't know. Ha-ha…"
You can't do anything about what you don't know. Subaru's answer was no
different from before. However, the girl didn't look particularly crestfallen, but
instead nodded.
"Well, if you don't know, you don't know. But, the fact that you know
absolutely nothing itself is information you have provided to me, and enough
for me to justify healing you," the girl replied, using twisted enough logic to
baffle any swindler to describe her complete loss.
As Subaru looked on, dumbfounded, the girl clapped her hands together as if
to finish things.
"Well, I'm in a hurry, so I'm going to get going now. Your wounds should all be
healed, and I threatened those other guys so much I doubt they'll go near you
again, but it's still dangerous to enter an alley like this all alone. Oh, and I'm not
saying this because I'm worried about you; this is a warning: If I see you in a
similar situation again, there won't be any merit to me saving you, so you can't
expect me to do so again," said the girl with machine-gun rapidity. She took
Subaru's silence as affirmation, nodded to herself, and turned around to leave.
The girl's long silver hair swayed as she moved, and sparkled fantastically in
the dim light of the alley.
"I'm sorry about that. She's not really honest with herself. Don't think too
strangely of her, okay?" said the cat with a laugh as, having returned to its
original size, it jumped up onto the girl's shoulder.
The girl patted its back as if to affirm its touch, and the cat disappeared,
slipping behind the curtain of her hair.
Without once looking back, the girl continued to walk on. As he watched her
go, Subaru thought about what the cat had said, about her not being honest
with herself, and her intentions.
She had something stolen from her, and even though she was in a hurry to
get it back, she saved Subaru. Then, after Subaru had passed out, she healed
him, and when he woke up, she used terrible reasoning to try to show him that
she wasn't worse off for doing so. "She's not really honest with herself" was not
going far enough. Her efforts were coming up negative in everything, and it was
hard to watch.
The girl had every right to blame Subaru for getting in her way, but she hadn't
complained even once, and she didn't even look for an apology.
That's because to her, the only reason she saved Subaru was for her own
ends.
"If you live like that, you're just going to keep losing until there's nothing left,"
said Subaru as he got up, patted his dust-and dirt-covered tracksuit and started
running.
Sure, his beloved tracksuit was in pretty bad shape, but on the inside, almost
all of his pain was gone. That's after being kicked and punched as much as he
was. Again Subaru was reminded of the otherworldliness of magic, as well as
the generosity of that girl who, despite going on and on about having Subaru
pay her back, took nothing from him in return.
"Hey, wait!" Subaru called out to the girl just as she had reached the entrance
to the alley and was in front of the main road, looking unsure of where to go
next.
The girl touched her silver hair and looked a bit troubled as she turned
around. "What is it? I'm going to tell you right now, I only have a bit more time
to spend dealing with you."
"So a little's fine, then?! Anyway, what you lost is really important, right? Let
me help you look for it."
The girl blinked a few times, surprised. "But you said you don't know
anything…"
"It's true that I don't know the name of the girl who stole that badge from
you, or where she's from, but at least I know what she looks like! She's got
blond hair, is sort of like a kitten, and has this canine tooth that sticks out that's
hard to miss. She's shorter than you and her chest is pretty flat so she's maybe
two or three years younger than you! How about that?!"
When he got flustered, Subaru had a bad habit of speaking fast and not really
even knowing what he was saying.
Right now that bad habit was running at full blast, and even Subaru wanted to
distance himself from his own words.
The ensuing silence was painful. A cold sweat drenched Subaru's back, not to
mention his hands and armpits, which was followed by heart palpitations,
shortness of breath, as well as dizziness, and in addition to feeling faint, his
nose stuffed up in an allergic reaction accompanied by a migraine, such that
there were problems on every front. However…
"…You're strange," the girl said with a hand up to her mouth, tilting her head
to the side as if she were looking at some rare animal.
With a finger still at her lips she stared at Subaru, sizing him up.
"I should say up front that I can't offer you anything in return for your help. I
might not look it, but I don't have a copper piece on me."
"Don't worry, that makes two of us," replied Subaru.
"Three of us, if you count me… Pretty terrible for us as a group," added a
voice jokingly from the girl's silver hair, but Subaru ignored it and pounded his
chest.
"I don't need anything in thanks. I'm the one who should thank you. That's
why I want to help."
"I haven't done anything deserving of your thanks. I've already gotten
something in return from healing you."
She just won't give it up, will she? Subaru looked at the girl and her stubborn
attitude with a weak smile.
"If that's the case, then I'll help you for my own sake. The reason is…yeah,
that's it. I'll use you for my 'one good deed a day' project!" said Subaru.
"One good deed a day?"
"That's right. Once a day you do one good thing. If you do that, after you die
you've got a one-way ticket to heaven! If I can do it, then a wonderful life of just
eating and sleeping is waiting for me—so I hear! So that's why I'm going to help
you for my own sake."
Subaru felt like turning to himself and asking what the hell he was going on
about, but at least he'd managed to make his point.
The girl stood in thought, considering Subaru's words, when her cat poked at
her cheek with its paws.
"I don't sense any evil intentions from him, and I don't really think it's a bad
idea, you know? With how large the capital is, it's way better than going on no
clues at all."
"But if I get him involved…"
"You're cute when you're stubborn, but it's foolish to let your stubbornness
get the best of you and make you lose sight of your goals. I'd really rather not
think of my own master as a fool."
The cat added its support in favor of Subaru, but the girl was still hesitant. In
response, the cat dropped its expression and continued in a serious voice.
"Plus, the sun is starting to set. If night falls, I won't be able to help you. I'm
not worried about you handling a thug or two, but…it's better to be safe than
sorry."
"Well, it sounds like you're the one to call if there's danger! But, wait—
according to what you said, you can't come out at night? Is that one of the deals
of your contract or something?" Subaru asked, taking a step closer.
The cat flicked its whiskers with its front paw and said, "It's more like, I may
look cute, but I'm a spirit, you know? I use a lot of mana just by materializing.
When night falls, I return to the crystal that is my vessel and prepare for when
the sun is out again. I suppose you could say it's the perfect nine-to-five job."
"Nine to five? That sounds like a government job… The conditions to hire a
spirit sound more severe than I expected…!"
Subaru was able to talk naturally about spirits, but that was only because of
the analytical power he had as a modern otaku, poisoned by anime and games.
Even traits looked down on by the public come in handy sometimes.
While Subaru and the cat continued their conversation, the girl continued to
anguish over her decision. However, that last point seemed to have tipped the
scales, so after much moaning with a number of buts and stills and ifs she finally
conceded.
"I'm telling you, I really can't give you anything in return, okay?"
1.6
As Subaru put out his hand, Puck leapt into it with his whole body for a
handshake. An onlooker would probably think Subaru was trying to squeeze the
cat to death.
The girl blinked in surprise at Subaru's bold interaction. "It's rare to see
someone who's willing to approach a spirit so easily…and your name is just as
unusual. With black hair and dark eyes like that—just where did you come
from?"
"Ha, I was waiting for you to ask that question. Given this trope, I'll have to
say I come from a small country to the east!"
This is a pattern that has often come up in otherworldly fiction since times
long past. A character will state that they come from a hidden country to the
east, called something like "Zipang." There tends to not be that much
interaction between countries, so if you say you've traveled to where you are
from that country, it will make sense to most people. It's a magically convenient
cliché.
"If you look at a map of the continent, Lugunika is the country farthest to the
east, so…there's no country to the east of here."
"What, are you serious? We're at the ends of the east?! So…does this make
this country my long-yearned-for Zipang?!"
"So you don't know where you are, you don't have any money, you can't
read, and you have no one you can count on. I'm starting to think you're worse
off than I am…"
While Subaru was shocked at this new development, the girl was also starting
to look anxious. With every action she took you could see the element of her
personality that made her want to help others. She probably couldn't help but
be concerned about Subaru, who to her was looking more and more to be not
only defenseless, but absolutely helpless.
The girl looked at Subaru again carefully, from the top down.
"Taking another look at you, you actually look like you're in pretty good
shape. Um… Uh… Subaru."
"Huh? Oh. Yep, Subaru. That's my name." Having his name called in such ahesitant way for some reason felt like a fresh new experience to Subaru, and he
couldn't help but stumble in his response. After clearing his throat to hide the
fact that he was shaken up, he showed his biceps. "I do strength training every
day. Since I'm almost always cooped up in my room, I've got to do at least that
much to stay in shape."
"I don't really get what you mean by 'cooped up in your room,' but you're
from a high-ranking family, aren't you? Weren't you taught some sort of martial
art?"
"I'm actually from an extremely ordinary middle-class family, but…what
makes you think I'm from a high-class family? Do I exude some refined air of
nobility?"
"Well, you do have a bit of a curious air to you, at least."
Subaru jokingly raised his hands as if to acknowledge the flattery.
But then the girl suddenly grabbed those hands, and Subaru, taken aback by
the suddenness of her touch, had to hold back a squeak from rising out of his
throat.
"It's also these fingers of yours, but your skin and hair are part of it as well.
These aren't the hands of a commoner, and your muscles don't look like the
product of hard labor."
Subaru blushed as the girl continued to poke at his hands, but understood. He
was also impressed by her ability to see that he was not just simply a foreigner
in a foreign land. As Subaru stood in wonderment, the girl continued.
"Black hair and dark eyes. I hear that is a common trait of the refugees from
the south, but the fact that you are here in Lugunika with those traits means
that you are able to live a life of luxury. Also, the craftsmanship of these strange
clothes of yours is magnificent… So, have I got it right?"
As Subaru grew quiet, the girl put on a proud smile. Feeling admittedly drawn
by the bewitching atmosphere she had made fitting of her beautiful smile,
Subaru processed the contents of what she just said and made a reluctant face.
"If you're asking me whether you're wrong or you are right…you're absolutely
wrong, but is there any way I can say it so you won't get hurt?""If I'm wrong, just tell me I'm wrong. If you don't, it's just going to be more
embarrassing for me." The girl blushed as her earlier confidence transformed
into embarrassment. As Subaru watched her go silent, he thought about how
he was going to explain where he came from.
He could just say, "I'm a loser who was summoned from another world!" but
given the precedent set by fantasy fiction about other worlds, that would open
the gates for him to be labeled as someone who was wrong in the head.
Looking back on the results of what he had said so far, he felt there was a
significant risk in telling the truth.
"You don't have to think that hard about it, you know? If it's something you
can't talk about, I won't question you any further."
Seeing Subaru struggling with what to say, the girl came to her own
conclusions and didn't press him. Given that she had come to his rescue yet
again in a way, Subaru grimaced, feeling all the more useless.
"But…really, this isn't looking very good," the girl muttered, in a now-weaker
tone, a clouded expression on her face.
"…" Seeing that the girl could no longer hide how hopeless she felt, Subaru
felt a faint flame light up inside himself. "What am I, an idiot? Well, yeah, I am
an idiot. Just what have I been doing all this time…"
Right in front of Subaru stood the girl who saved his life. Hadn't he offered to
help her out so that he could repay her? If that was the case, then how was he
supposed to explain his total lack of support?
"Subaru?"
Seeing Subaru fall silent and looking troubled all of a sudden, the girl tilted
her head and looked at him puzzled. Watching as with that motion her silver
hair tumbled down off her shoulder, Subaru thought as hard as he could.
Subaru tried to remember what had happened when the thief ran through
that alley as those thugs were stomping on him. Focusing on that instant in
time, he needed to find something, anything that he could use…
"I have a few things that I want to check with you, is that okay?""Um…okay, yeah. Go right ahead."
"Thanks. I'm pretty sure I heard you mention it a few times, but this is the
capital of whatever country we're in…right? So, basically it's the town that has
the king's castle in it, and it's a really big place, is that correct?" Subaru asked,
remembering bits of the conversation that he had had with the girl before.
While Subaru realized that his question must have sounded strange, the girl
didn't interrupt and simply nodded a yes.
"So in this big city, there's a girl who appears to be making her living stealing
things. By the look of her clothes, she definitely doesn't seem to be that well
off… Now this may be obvious, but there's got to be a place where people like
that live."
"…"
"Is there a place where crime is rampant, or something like a slum in the
area…? I'm sure it's hard to exchange stolen goods for money without some
connections, so I think there's a good chance she would have to go back to a
place like that."
With the image of the thief burned in his memory, Subaru analyzed her from
head to toe, and used all of the knowledge he had about fantasy settings to
help form his hypothesis.
"So, I think rather than searching around aimlessly, we have a better chance if
we aim for that, but… What's wrong?"
"I was just surprised. You really do have a good head on your shoulders."
"Well, rather than a logical conclusion, it's more that it's a common theme in
medieval fantasy, but…if this is all it takes for you to start thinking better of me I
have a feeling that I've got a long way to go…"
Despite Subaru's response, he seemed to be taking the girl's praise rather
well.
While Subaru scratched at the side of his head to try to keep from showing
how embarrassed he was, the girl nodded several times. "We'll go with your
plan. Let's go back out to the main road and ask some people if they know of aplace that's like what you described."
"We're already really behind as it is, after all. Let's hurry up and get going."
After Subaru and the girl looked at each other and nodded, they headed out
of the alley and toward the main road. However, right before they could start
their search for a spot where a lot of people who they could question were
passing by, Subaru remembered something.
"I was just thinking… I know your cat's name now, but I don't think you ever
told me your name, ha-ha."
While Subaru thought that bringing this up now might have not been the best
time, the girl's eyes widened a bit in surprise. She then closed them, and after a
few seconds of silence, said…
"…Satella."
"Oh?"
Subaru, who because of her silence had begun to think that he had made a
mistake, was a bit late in reacting to her whispered reply.
In response, the girl turned away from Subaru and continued.
"I don't have a last name, so you can just call me Satella."
Her voice had no emotion in it. Because of her attitude, it was as if, though
she was giving her name, she was refusing to be called by it. Through her
actions, this girl, who gave her name as "Satella," was putting a distance
between herself and Subaru more than she had ever done before.
Subaru, who already thought that he would feel more comfortable having a
surname to call her by rather than having to use her personal name, felt that he
really couldn't use that name at all. For the time being, looking for a way out,
Subaru decided to avoid using her name entirely, and instead just use
pronouns.
As he observed Subaru and the girl's exchange from the sidelines, Puck had
one thing to say before slipping back under the girl's silver hair.
"…That's in really bad taste, you know," it muttered, though its voice did not
even reach the girl's ears, let alone Subaru's.
1.7
Using the sounds of the bustling crowd as a guide, Subaru and Satella walked
back through the alley they were in and reached the main road about ten
minutes later.
Shifting his gaze this way and that, Subaru looked for who they should
question first, when Satella, who stood beside him, pulled on his sleeve.
"Hey, Subaru…"
When Subaru looked back at Satella he saw that she had her gaze fixed on
something on the other side of the street. Subaru looked in the same direction
and realized what Satella was looking at.
I have a bad feeling about this, he thought.
Adding further weight to his fears, Satella continued, with a serious look on
her face.
"…Do you think that kid is lost?"
Out of all the possible things that could go wrong with this plan, the final one
had reared its head.
"…Well, uh…"
One of the several things that Subaru had discovered throughout the day was
that the silver-haired girl standing next to him was an incorrigibly kind person.
But, whether it was due to a curse or some other reason, she would not ever
admit it herself.
Subaru sighed a deep sigh. "Let's just calm down a minute."
"What are we going to do if she gets up and goes somewhere while we're
dillydallying?! We've got to go talk to her right away…"
"You know, that kindness of yours is a great virtue, and given the fact that I
myself was saved by that kindness I really don't want to say this, but do you
have any idea what situation you're in right now?"
Where Satella was looking, near the buildings across the street, there stood a
young girl. She looked as though she was around ten years old, with shoulder-
length brown hair that was very cute. If she smiled, the people around her
probably would not be able to resist smiling back, but unfortunately, at the
moment her eyes were filled with anxiety, and she looked moments away from
tears.
There was probably an 80 or 90 percent chance that Satella's observation was
correct. Subaru was sure it was, but…
"There's also that my screw-ups are partially at fault, but the thief who stole
from you is just getting farther and farther away from us. If we waste any more
time here, by the time we catch her, she might already have sold it and then
we'll have no way to get it back."
"You're probably right…but…"
"Then…"
Certainly it would feel bad to just leave the girl like that, but with all of the
other people around, the chance that someone else would help her was high.
On the other hand, Subaru and Satella were pressed for time, and needed to
gather information to continue their search.
No matter how he thought about it, their current plan should have priority
over helping that little girl, but…
"But don't you see, Subaru? Look at her, she's crying."
"…"
"If you don't want to stick around with me, that's just fine. Thanks for
everything you've done, Subaru. I'll figure this out on my own…after I help that
little girl." While Subaru stood at a loss for words, Satella looked like she had
already made her decision. The way she said it, it wasn't as though she was
saying that Subaru just didn't understand and she was tired of him, but that she
felt guilty for forcing Subaru to play along with her unreasonableness.
Her silver hair dancing behind her, Satella trotted off across the street to
where the little girl was standing. The girl, who had been looking down with her
teary eyes, noticed that someone had suddenly come to her side. There was a
glimmer of hope in her eyes as she looked up, probably because she thought
the person she was looking for had found her.
"I'm sorry I'm not the one you're looking for," said Satella as she knelt down
to talk to the girl, whose eyes opened wide in surprise.
But in those eyes was not a feeling of relief, but a feeling of fear. You could
tell, even from far away, that being spoken to by a stranger had caused her
heart to shrink away, afraid.
"I'm sorry if I'm bothering you, but where are your father and mother? Aren't
they with you?"
It looked as though Satella had noticed the girl was afraid, and her voice was
in a tone that was kinder than Subaru had ever heard it before. However, it
wasn't enough to convey her concern to the girl, who had lost sight of her
parents and was now shivering because she did not know what to do.
"Umm… Uh… Please don't cry. I won't do anything to hurt you, okay?"
Satella tried to keep open the girl's heart before it shut completely on her, but
it didn't seem to work, and the little girl only shook her head back and forth.
The tears that had welled up in her eyes looked as though they were about to
overflow, when…
"Now feast your eyes on this magnificent notched ten-yen coin!"
"Huh?" said Satella, surprised by the sudden voice that had leapt in, and when
she looked up, there was Subaru in his gray tracksuit.
Subaru first smiled weakly at Satella's reaction, and then turned his smile
from her to the little girl. The sudden intruder had also surprised her. Subaru
then put out his right hand in front of her.
"Now, can you see this coin here in my right hand? I bet you can! All right,
now I'm going to squeeze it tight. Like this…squeeze squeeze squeeze…"
"Wait, Subaru…what are you…?"
"And would you look at that!"
Ignoring Satella's interruption, Subaru took his fist where he had been holding
the notched ten-yen coin and opened it wide for the two to see. When he did,
the coin that should have been in his hand was gone.
"Wow! The coin I was squeezing is gone! Now where could it have run off
to…?"
The little girl blinked a few times and then stared hard at Subaru's right hand,
but whether she looked at the back of his hand or his palm, she couldn't find it.
Subaru, emboldened by the girl's reaction, nodded, and then reached out with
his left hand and gently brushed his fingers through her hair.
"Would you look at that! So this is where the coin was hiding."
When the little girl saw the coin resting between the fingers of Subaru's left
hand, she was stunned.
Satella, who couldn't figure out the trick, was just as confused.
Subaru took a magnificent bow before the two and then dropped the notched
ten-yen coin in the little girl's hand.
"I'll let you keep it as a present. It's special, so take good care of it, okay?"
Subaru looked on with a smile as the little girl held the coin close and nodded
vigorously.
As he was doing so, Satella poked him in the side. "Hey, Subaru…"
"Don't look at me like that. I mean, I'll admit what I said before was a bit
harsh but…"
"How did you do that?"
"Oh, you mean that? You're not questioning my motives, but how I did the
trick?"
Subaru promised to explain the trick later to Satella, who looked very
interested, before turning back to the little girl, who was looking very curiously
at the ten-yen coin. It seemed like Subaru's amazing magic had helped calm
down her anxiety. When Subaru knelt down and asked her a few questions, she
answered them quickly and clearly.
"I see. So you got separated from your mother, huh. Don't worry, don't worry.
Just leave it to your big brother and sister. We'll find her right away!"
After giving the girl another pat on the head, Subaru held out his hand to her,
and with a little hesitation, she grabbed it. Satella, who was watching, opened
her eyes wide.
"You really look like you're used to this… Subaru, is your profession taming
children?"
"When you take it out of context like that, that sounds really, really bad! And
no. I'm unemployed."
Technically, Subaru had the incredibly convenient status of being a student.
However, given that he hadn't been going to school lately, and particularly now
that he had been summoned to a different world, he didn't really feel that he
was qualified to call himself that anymore.
But, regardless…
"So, big sister, how about you hold this lonely little girl's hand? She looks like
she could use another friend," said Subaru with a wink. The little girl had
reached her other hand, the one that was not holding on to Subaru's, out to
Satella.
Satella looked surprised for a moment and held her breath, but then let it out
and took the little girl's hand in her own. "Right. Don't you worry. Just let your
big sister handle this. We'll definitely find your mom, okay?" Satella said,
smiling at the little girl as she nodded silently.
Subaru and Satella led the girl along, with her between them, and the three
continued down the main road through the waves of people together.
"The way we are now, don't you think there are some people out there who
look at us and think that we're a young couple with our child? How
embarrassing!"
"…Huh? Even with the benefit of the doubt I don't see how anyone would
think that you and that girl are anything other than brother and sister…"
"I can't tell if that's just a really dry joke, or that's really what you thought I
meant!"
As Satella and Subaru went on talking, the little girl between them let a small
smile spread across her face.
Illustration 3
1.8
compared to others in his age group, he was seventeen and thought that it was
possible she could even be younger than him.
But in response, Satella narrowed her violet eyes slightly and said, "However
old you think I am, I don't think that you're very close… After all, I'm a half-elf."
"…"
Subaru was at a loss for words. Seeing his response, a number of complicated
emotions flashed across Satella's eyes. Finally, the emotion that settled was an
ineffable mixture of resignation and hopelessness.
"I see. No wonder you're so cute. After all, it's like a given in fantasy worlds
that elves are always beautiful."
"…Huh?"
Subaru finally nodded, having come to his own conclusions about Satella
being a half-elf. Satella blinked her eyes several times. Her expectations had
completely missed their mark.
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"It's not that anything is wrong, it's just…I mean…I'm a half-elf, and…"
"Yeah…I heard you the first time."
Unsure of what Satella had a problem with, that's the only way Subaru could
think to answer, but Satella's reaction was dramatic.
"….ah."
Satella made a strange sound in her throat, before suddenly turning away
from Subaru, finding the nearest wall, kneeling beside it, and holding her silver-
haired head in her hands.
In the face of such an inexplicable reaction, Subaru just didn't know what to
say.
"Take that!"
"Ow! What the hell was that for?!"
The gray cat, which as always seemed to come and go as it pleased, had
punched him in the face with its paw like it was reenacting a fancy fightingmove.
Puck purred, flicking at his whiskers with the same paw he had punched
Subaru with. "I don't know, I just felt this overwhelming frustration and couldn't
keep it bottled up inside of me."
"If that's the only reason, it's going to be hard to get rid of the feeling that a
great injustice has been done to me, but it was a soft and squishy punch, so I
forgive you."
"I mean, I'm not really mad at you or anything. If I had to say one way or the
other, I'd say it's the opposite."
"The opposite?" said Subaru, confused.
"Yes, the opposite," Puck said with a nod.
But before Subaru could ask what Puck really meant by that, Satella had
returned.
Twisting the ends of her silver hair in her fingers, Satella glared at Subaru.
"Subaru, you…nincompoop."
"Nobody uses the word 'nincompoop' anymore, and what have I done to be
insulted by you?"
"Hmph. If you don't understand, that's not my problem. More importantly,
we've got to continue our search."
With the subject of Satella's unreasonableness cut off without another word,
Subaru looked irritated, but that irritation evaporated as Satella began to act
more friendly and familiar. Subaru still didn't know why she'd had such a
sudden change in attitude, but there were more important things to think
about.
"Anyway, that episode with the little lost girl made it painfully clear—isn't this
town just too big to be searching around for something in?"
"Well, it's the capital of Lugunika. It's the largest city in the nation. If I
remember correctly, there are about…three hundred thousand people who live
here, and a lot of others come and go." Satella answered Subaru's question in
detail and with a hint of pride in her voice."I see, I see. Three hundred thousand people, huh. That's quite a lot… Thanks
for the regurgitated information."
"Urr…" Satella muttered. It appeared Subaru's guess had been on the mark.
Subaru tried to use that new information to picture Lugunika's capital city in
his mind. If it had a population of 300,000 people, then for a city in a medieval
fantasy setting, it was quite large. Of course, that number only reflected the
people who lived in the city, so after adding in traveling merchants and
adventurers, the number of people at any given time would probably be greater
than that.
As Subaru watched all of the people passing by from the side of the street, he
was again astonished by the concentration of such variety in a group of people.
There were half-humans, half-beasts, and regular humans all mixed together,
and it really was like a melting pot of different races.
The fact that they had gotten lost in the alleyways for almost an hour wasn't
just something to laugh about, either.
The area was so large and the roads so complicated that they really had
gotten lost.
"In other words, we don't have any more room for error. We have already
given up a big advantage to the thief, and if we get stuck again it really will be
too late. So let's choose our next move carefully."
"What do you mean?"
"If we run around without some sort of plan, we won't get any results. For
instance, if we go back to the place where your badge was stolen, we might be
able to get more information out of people. Was there anyone who saw what
happened?"
"Actually…I think there may have been." Satella put her hand to her mouth as
if she had remembered something and then explained herself to Subaru.
According to Satella, her badge had been stolen in broad daylight, right in the
middle of a crowd of people. If so, the theft was a bold move, but looking at the
commotion on the street in front of him, Subaru thought that it wasn't
necessarily a bad decision on the part of the thief. The more people there are,the easier it is to get lost in the crowd.
"Do you remember where it was stolen from you?"
"Yes, I think…it was this way."
Subaru followed Satella down the street. As they made their way through the
confusion of the bustling crowd with its many different kinds of people, Subaru
felt his sense of distance and direction taken from him just as quickly as when
they had made their way through the maze of alleyways before. He felt as if he
no longer had any idea of where he was walking. While the place they were in
should have been one he had never seen before, Subaru felt a strange feeling
that he had seen it before, and that feeling just wouldn't go away.
"Wait. No, I have definitely seen this place before."
Seeing the place that Satella had led him to, he scratched the side of his face
and smiled a half smile.
The place where Satella had had her badge stolen from her was the same
street corner to which Subaru had been summoned.
"This is where I was so confused I decided to go cool my head down in an
empty alley, and then had my encounter with thugs A, B, and C…"
Remembering what had happened about two hours earlier, Subaru now
mused to himself that amazing coincidences like this really did happen
sometimes.
If so, he was in in luck. He had someone in mind that they could talk to.
"So that's the situation. I told her, 'Leave it to me!' and came over here to see
you, Mr. Fruit Salesman."
Subaru spun around and pointed at the owner of a fruit shop on the side of
the main road. The fruit that lined his shop was fresh, and just looking at it
made his mouth water.
"…What, it's you again? I was hoping for a customer, Mr. Broke," said the
shop owner with a cold glare that didn't seem fitting for one who dealt with
customers on a daily basis.
The man wore a bandanna and was very muscular. He had a stern lookingface and a deep, threatening voice.
To top it all off, he also had a white scar that ran down the left side of his
face, probably left by some kind of blade. No matter how you looked at it, there
was no way he was a respectable, law-abiding citizen.
That's why it was so surprising for him to be behind the counter of a fruit
shop.
"Oh, don't be so cold, Pops. You were acting pretty nice to me not all that
long ago."
"That's because I thought you were a customer. If I had known you had no
money on you, I would have chased you out earlier, like I'm about to do now."
Subaru was trying to act like they were best friends, but the shop owner was
having none of it. He waved his hand as if he was shooing away a bug.
"Oh, come on," Subaru sighed, relaxing his shoulders. "Are you sure you want
to treat me like this? Haven't you noticed that I'm different from the last time I
came here?"
"What's that?" said the shop owner, unsure of how to react as Subaru made a
triumphant expression, nostrils flaring.
Subaru stepped aside and held both his hands out to show Satella standing
behind him.
"Look at that! I brought someone with me! You may have chased me off once
you learned I was penniless, but what do you think, now that I've brought in
someone who just very well may become a new frequent customer of yours?!"
"Um, Subaru…? I hate to say this when you've got your hopes up, but I don't
have any money on me."
"Huh, what, really? You're telling me that we were walking around the capital
without so much as a single coin between us?!"
The shop owner gave a sigh as he looked at the two paupers in his shop.
"So? What was it that you wanted to say, now that one beggar's become
two?""Well, actually, we're looking for something, and I wanted to ask if you could
at least hear us out?"
"That was just my way of saying I don't have the time to deal with you
people! Take a hint!" the shop owner yelled.
Subaru felt himself take some intense eardrum damage.
"Th-this wasn't a good idea after all, was it?" said Satella, shrinking away as
she tugged on Subaru's sleeve.
It might be true that asking for help without buying anything was pretty
selfish, but that didn't change the fact that they had no money to buy anything
with.
Just when Subaru was about to give up on trying to get any information out of
the man, he heard a voice.
"Hmm? Are you…the two from before?"
Subaru and Satella turned around. Standing right in front of them was a
woman with long brown hair. It was someone they had both seen before; after
all, the woman was not alone. Holding her hand was a little girl who looked very
happy to see them.
"We are, but…why are you here in a place like this? The only other person
here is this heartless, scary-faced man."
"Ha-ha… This is my husband's shop, so I thought I'd stop by and say hello."
"Your husband's shop?"
Subaru and Satella looked at each other, and then turned back to look inside
the shop, their gazes finally settling on the scar-faced man, who had folded his
arms.
"Pops…you didn't kill this woman's husband and take their shop, did you?"
"What are you going on about? This is my shop, and that is my wife!"
Subaru looked back in shock at the woman, who smiled, looking a bit unsure
of how to react. She was a beautiful woman, with fine features and a gentle
demeanor. This woman and that stern-faced man? There had to be somemistake.
He couldn't possibly be threatening her, could he? Subaru thought with a
worried look. But despite Subaru's rude conjecture, the little girl who was
holding her mother's hand darted past Subaru to the shop owner, who hugged
her and picked her up.
"Oh, look at you! Aren't you all excited. Now tell me, do you know these two
destitute beggars?"
"Beggars? Dear, don't call them that!"
After hearing her husband's sharp words, the girl's mother raised her
eyebrows and began berating her husband. She then explained how she, her
daughter, Subaru, and Satella had come to meet.
After hearing what happened, the shop owner set his daughter down.
"I'm sorry about that. That was not the way to talk to the people who saved
my daughter. Please forgive me."
"Oh, don't worry about it. I mean, it is true that we don't have any money on
us, and…"
"That's right, old man! I hope you think long and hard about your action…s…
Um…your cute face looks pretty scary right now." A look from Satella shut
Subaru up.
Right after that, the little girl reached out her hand to Satella. In her hand was
a small ornament in the shape of a red flower. Satella held her breath, and
looked from the ornament to the little girl and back several times, with a
slightly troubled expression.
"Please, take it," said the mother, placing her hand on Satella's back, urging
her on. "My daughter wants to thank you in her own way."
Satella nodded slightly and then took the flower ornament from the little girl's
hand, and pinned it on the left breast of her white cloak, before kneeling down
so that the little girl could see it.
"Thank you. I like it very much."
As Subaru watched Satella's brilliant smile from the side, he found himselfunable to look away. Seeing that smile, the little girl blushed and looked away,
and the shop owner, watching all of this, cleared his throat.
"You saved my daughter. I want to thank you. Ask me whatever you want."
With a strong nod, the stern-faced shop owner put on his best smile.
Satella was surprised, but then looked to Subaru and smiled, but it wasn't the
same smile as before. This one was a triumphant one.
"See, I told you. It really did come around and help us in the end!" she said, as
if this odd twist of fate was entirely her own doing.
1.9
—Even though the street was just one off the main road, the atmosphere was
full of gloom.
It was still and silent, and there was no sign of any kind of life, let alone traces
of people around.
The street Subaru and Satella were on wasn't far from the main road, but the
hustle and bustle from before now seemed like a far-off dream.
"We heard from that guy that if we were looking for stolen goods, they would
be handled and sold in the slums, but…" whispered Subaru as he peered down
the street that supposedly would lead them to the slums, "…the air down there
and the mood, not to mention the general character of the people down there,
are all probably going to be pretty terrible. Are you sure you really want to go?"
"You're the one who suggested that my badge might be there in the first
place, and the owner of that shop said it would probably be there, too…"
"You shouldn't forget that right after he said that, he added that we should
probably give up," said Subaru, reflecting back with a sour face on what was
said at the fruit shop.
Thirty minutes after unexpectedly reuniting with the little girl and her mother
at the fruit shop, and using that coincidence to turn the situation around and
gain some valuable information, Subaru and Satella were now at the entrance
to the rumored slums, where most stolen goods were said to be brought.
After realizing that Subaru and Satella had helped his daughter, the stern-
faced shop owner had warmed up to them, and listened to their plight. Because
of that, they were able to get information about the slums, but now they were
hesitating.
"I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but wouldn't it be better to
ask for help? Like, if we asked the police, or…I guess they would be guards in
this case…I'm sure if we asked those kind of people to help us search and they
sent a team out to find it, this would get resolved a lot more quickly."
"We can't."
Satella immediately rejected Subaru's suggestion. In fact, she so flatly
rejected it that it took Subaru by surprise.
"I'm sorry, but…we can't. I also don't think we can get the guards to act over
such a small theft, and…I have other reasons that I can't ask the guards for
help," said Satella, pausing for a moment with her lips shut tightly, before
looking at Subaru with a look of pleading in her eyes. "I'm sorry, but I can't say
why."
Realizing that she quite clearly didn't want to be asked, Subaru raised his
hands slightly, conceding. "So, what should we do, then? I suppose we can still
employ team tactics with just the two of us," said Subaru in a light and joking
tone, trying to keep the mood up.
"Don't forget me!" replied Puck, who had reappeared on Satella's shoulder,
looking at Subaru and Satella as it wiped its face with its paw. "But we don't
really have the time to just sit around and talk anymore. Even if you want to try
those team tactics with two humans and a cat, I've only got about an hour
before it's time's-up for me."
As Puck looked up at the sky, Subaru followed its gaze and saw that most of
the sky that was peaking through the buildings on either side of the street had
already shifted from blue to orange. The reason the slums seemed so dark and
dreary wasn't only because of the damp and sour smell coming from it. It was
getting closer and closer to sunset—which of course meant that Puck would
soon reach his limit.
"So whether you decide to go or turn back, it's best to make that decision
soon," finished Puck.
"I don't know what you mean by 'team tactics,' but we've got to keep going.
There's no way that we can let this chance go and risk having my badge be out
of our reach forever," Satella said, answering Puck. She then turned to Subaru.
"All right, so I've decided I'm going, but…the people who live here are probably
used to getting into fights, so I want you to be careful, even more than before.
If you're scared, you can just wait here for me to come back."
"Wait here?! Just how much of a chicken do you think I am?! I'm going! I'm
going to stick to you like I'm a spirit who's come back to haunt you!"
"So in other words you don't want to be in front. That would really, really
make it easier on me, though." Satella sighed yet again in the face of Subaru's
energetic readiness to flee.
Subaru thought about how, ever since he and Satella had met, he had only
made her look troubled. The few times she did smile, the reason had nothing to
do with Subaru. It was unfortunate. Given how cute she looked even when she
was displaying negative emotions, Subaru thought it would be wonderful if she
ever did smile at him.
"All right! Let's do this! It's about time I do something to show you what I'm
made of!"
"What are you so excited about all of a sudden? I can see up your nostrils."
"Well, that was a great way to ruin my display-of-determination scene!
Thanks!"
Even though he had his energy tripped up a notch from the start, Subaru
hurried his pace so he wouldn't fall behind Satella, his arms flailing back and
forth as he rushed to not be left behind by this girl who kept continuing on
toward her goal.
1.10
signal the start of an argument, right? I imagined you'd say something like, 'Do
you really expect me to just let a good-for-nothing like you, whose only ability is
to convert oxygen into carbon dioxide, handle something this important? Don't
make me laugh! I'd expect a dog to do a better job than you!' Then I, while hurt,
would use the opportunity to renew my determination!"
"I would never say something that mean!"
As Subaru exposed his exaggerated persecution complex, Satella didn't look
all that happy. However, clearing her throat, she fixed her amethyst eyes on
Subaru and said, "Of course I would be lying if I said I didn't think that you were
holding me back in any way, and just when I think you're finally being serious,
to my chagrin you say something completely stupid…"
"'To my chagrin,' huh? I haven't heard that in a while," joked Subaru. He
sighed and relaxed his shoulders, unable to argue back.
"Still, even though you act like a jerk sometimes, it was because of you that
we were able to keep that little girl from crying, and I don't think you're the
kind of person to lie or do anything without thinking about it first," said Satella,
looking back over their much-sidetracked journey thus far. "So…I'll trust you. …
If this all works out I might even think that meeting you was all worth it."
"You know, if instead of that last part you had just looked up at me and said,
'Please, do your best for my sake,' I would have been totally pumped up to do
this, you know?"
"I can't force myself to say something like that, but… Good luck."
This was a girl who could not bring herself to lie for any reason.
"…All right, I'll give it my best shot," said Subaru, breaking into a smile before
heading toward the entrance of the cellar.
The trump card Subaru had, which he wasn't able to tell Satella about, was
the one thing out of what he had brought from the previous world that he could
really consider worth anything. Because that thing probably didn't otherwise
exist in this world, there was a possibility he could use it to barter. Subaru
would have liked to avoid doing that, but at the same time he was fairly certain
that in this world, Satella's badge couldn't possibly fetch a higher price than hiscell phone, and he didn't think he would have another chance in this world to
use his cell phone this way.
"Um… Is anybody home? …Er, wait…the door's open."
A sour, spoiled sort of smell drifted out of the entrance to the loot cellar.
Subaru went to knock on the door, but from a gap in it, he saw that it wasn't
locked. As he peeked inside, he could only see that it was incredibly dark.
"It's hard when there's not any kind of light… Well, considering the purpose of
the place, I suppose it makes sense, and it even serves as a metaphor for the
dark feeling of guilt in doing dirty business."
Subaru stuck his head inside and tried to look around, but not even the light
from the moon reached this place in the deepest part of the slums. He couldn't
see an inch in front of his face.
As Subaru prepared to go inside, he turned around to Satella. "I didn't hear
anyone answer me, but I'm going to go ahead and go inside, so can you please
keep watch?"
"Are you sure? Wouldn't it be better for me to go instead…?"
"If on the off chance someone ambushes us and you're the one taken out,
then it's all over. If I'm the one attacked, you'll be able both to help me, and to
strike back. This is the most reasonable way to do this, so please let's just go
with my plan, okay?"
Satella considered Subaru's plan. After a few moments of silence, she took
out of her breast pocket a white crystal, which suddenly shone with a white
light.
"At least take a light. And call me in whether someone's there or not."
"I know, I know. Puck told us to be careful, so I'll be careful. This is really
useful, by the way."
"You can find lagmite ore just about anywhere. You really are ignorant, aren't
you, Subaru," said Satella, unable to contain her shock, as she handed Subaru
the lagmite ore. The crystal gave off a faint warmth along with its light, which
was about as much illumination as you could expect from a candle."Okay, well then, I'll go take a look. I don't think I'll be gone too long, but you
can go ahead and eat without me."
"Oh, stop being so stupid. Be careful, okay?"
"Gotcha. Also, Satella? Don't come in until I call for you—got it?"
The courage that Subaru had been building up to prepare himself to enter the
cellar had pushed him just enough to say her name. Up until now, he had felt
too embarrassed to say it, and had hesitated. After clenching his fist together,
excited he was able to finally say it, he looked back at Satella.
"…What's wrong?"
Satella was looking at Subaru frozen, with her eyes open wide. This reaction
was far different from any that Subaru expected, and so he tilted his head in
confusion.
"I'm sorry… It's nothing. Once we get my badge back, I'll apologize properly."
"I don't know what you're planning on apologizing for, but I'd rather hear a
'thank you' instead. It would be even better if that thank-you came along with a
smile."
"You dummy."
As those two words came out of her mouth, Satella made a little bit of a
smile, which Subaru made sure to burn into his memory. Even with his stupid
jokes, Subaru was at last able to make her smile.
If all of this turned out well, he would like to see that smile again, in a brighter
place.
"All right. Will it be a snake or a demon that pops out this time? Given the
fantasy setting, neither option is one I can just laugh off…" Subaru joked to
himself, and with lagmite in hand, he carefully made his way into the cellar.
In the dim light, Subaru could make out a counter in front of him, across from
the entrance. The building must have originally been something like an inn. It
looked as though they were using the first-floor bar area without any major
changes. On top of as well as behind the counter—which was probably serving
as something like a reception desk—Subaru could see a lot of different itemscluttered close together. There were small boxes and pots, swords and cheap
metallic objects, and many other varied items. It was clear that all of these were
stolen items, based on the wooden tags that were attached to all of them.
"The way the system works, if you rounded up all of these wooden tags and
handed them to the guards, it looks like they could arrest everyone at once…"
However, as was usual with this line of business, there were probably some
connections between this place and the not-so-upstanding citizens who offered
support. Subaru was suspicious of where most of these stolen items ended up.
Subaru ventured farther into the cellar, looking for Satella's badge. But just
then…
"Hmm?"
Subaru suddenly stopped, feeling something strange under the soles of his
shoes. It didn't feel like he had stepped on something hard; it was actually the
opposite. Like the ground he had stepped on was clinging to him; like there was
something sticky on his shoes.
He raised his foot, and touched the bottom of his sneakers. He felt some sort
of fluid, something strangely sticky that clung to his fingers, stretching as he
pulled them away. It was something that instinctually made him feel uneasy.
"What is this…?"
Subaru brought his fingers close to his nose and tried to smell it, but because
of the stagnant air inside the building mixing with it, he couldn't quite pin it
down. Unsurprisingly, he didn't have the courage to try tasting it.
After wiping the rest of the substance on the nearest wall, Subaru, urged on
by a feeling of unpleasant dread, put the lagmite out in front of him and started
forward. Then, he found the source of the slime.
"…Wha?"
Subaru unconsciously let out a foolish sound as he looked on. In the small
visible range of his light, what he first saw lying limp on the ground was an arm.
Its hand's fingers were reaching out as if to grab something, but the other end
of the arm, at the elbow, was missing the body it should have been connectedto.
Moving his light and following along the axis of the arm, Subaru saw a leg
farther on ahead—a leg attached to a body. With the exception of one arm,
that body had all of its other parts, though the throat area was cut wide open. It
was the corpse of a large old man.
"Eek!" Subaru squealed pointlessly as he realized what he was looking at.
At that moment, Subaru's mind had blanked out. His thought processes had
completely left him, and his hands and feet had frozen in place.
There was a pause, and then…
"…Well, you found it. That's just too bad. Now I have no choice, yes, no choice
at all."
Subaru thought that it was the voice of a woman. The voice was low and cold,
the voice of a woman who seemed somewhat to be having fun.
"Gwah!"
Subaru didn't have the opportunity to turn around. As soon as he turned to
face the voice, his body was blown away by an incredible force. He hit his back
against the wall, and on impact let go of his lagmite, and darkness closed in as it
tumbled into the distance.
But Subaru wasn't thinking about that. What now ruled over his
consciousness was…
"Gu…it's…h-hot."
A heat assaulted Subaru Natsuki and completely overwhelmed him.
—This is really, really not good.
Feeling the hard texture of the ground against his face, he realized that he
had fallen facedown on the ground. He couldn't move, even when he tried, and
he already couldn't feel his fingers. What he did feel was heat, and it
overwhelmed his entire body.
He coughed and vomited the blood he felt rising in his throat—the source of
his waning life. So much came out that it frothed at the edges of his mouth.With his hazy vision, he could see the ground in front of him stained red.
—You've…got to be kidding me… All of this is mine?
Feeling as though all of the blood in his body had spilled out of him, he
reached a shaking hand to try to find the source of the heat that was burning
through his body. As his fingertips reached the large cut in his stomach, he
understood.
No wonder it felt so hot. His brain must have been mistaking pain for heat.
The clean cut that ran through his torso was so deep it had almost cut him in
half. Only bits of skin were still holding him together.
In other words, he had run right into a checkmate in the chess game of his
life. As soon as he realized that, his consciousness immediately began to fall
away from him.
Now, even the heat that had been ravaging him disappeared, and the
unpleasant feeling of touching his own blood and organs vanished as his
consciousness continued to fade. The only thing left behind was his body, which
refused to follow his soul.
Right before his eyes, he saw a black boot step down and make ripples in the
red carpet of his fresh blood.
Someone was there, and that someone…was probably the one who killed
him.
But he didn't even think to look that person in the face. It didn't matter
anymore.
—The only thing he did wish for was that she, at least, she would be safe.
"—baru?"
He felt as if he heard a voice that rang like bells. That he heard that voice, that
he could hear that voice, felt like salvation to him more than anything else, so—
"!"
With a short scream, someone else fell upon the carpet of blood.
She fell right beside him. There he was, weakly attempting to reach her.Her white hand fell, powerless. He lightly grasped it in his own bloodstained
grip.
He felt the fingers of her hand move slightly to grasp his own.
"Just you wait…"
He seized his fading consciousness, pulling it desperately back around to buy a
bit more time.
"I'm going to…"
—find a way to save you.
In the next instant, he—Subaru Natsuki—lost his life.
Illustration 4