Chapter Text
Silence. Silence was all that remained in his mind.
A total emptiness which was brought about by having experienced something inconceivable, something unbelievable, something unrealistic.
For it to actually occur outside of the bounds of the mind, of his imagination…
Tightening his grip on the plastic bag his groceries were in, he confirmed his sense of touch. Smacking his lips which still failed to produce a sound, he felt that the air quality had changed, thus confirming his sense of taste. Rubbing his eyes in an attempt to wake up from the fantasy was useless, as the figures of green, brown and gray hair in front of him had not disappeared, thus he confirmed his vision. A shout from the gray old man in front of him, although he still could not comprehend it, confirmed his hearing. Finally, a sharp breath into his nostrils, flooding his nose with the scent of the greenery around him, confirmed his sense of smell.
And thus, he confirmed it. He truly confirmed it. No matter how unbelievable it was for a logical brain, his brain was forced to catch up to his current situation.
He was standing on a terrain with flowerbushes, trees and cobble; to his right there was a fountain of water with a large base and even further than that there was a giant mansion reminiscent of those belonging to people with the highest standings in society. Turning back to the people he had neglected, Subaru comprehended their appearance.
“Green hair… an old butler, and… a c–cat girl?!”
An old butler and a beautiful woman with flowing green hair in a military outfit, both of them holding out swords pointing in his direction; a girl in a cute dress with cat ears perched on her hair and a tail emerging from behind her——
He understood. Well, rather than a sense of understanding, it was more like his soul could comprehend the situation.
Yes, he comprehended it, so he shouted it out.
——Because this was, it is—
“I’VE BEEN SUMMONED, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, TO ANOTHER WORL~D!?”
Natsuki Subaru declared so.
“Universe…?”
“Another world…? I don’t know what those terms refer to, but I advise you to not take another step without answering our questions.”
The first ones to speak on the side of the summoners had been the cute cat girl and the regal green lady. Subaru had been so overwhelmed that he had forgotten to even answer their questions earlier so he thought that it was only natural they would be a bit mad, but the swords did seem like a bit too much—although, he didn’t know the customs of the world, maybe it was a part of the summoning ritual?
Shaking his head, he smacked his cheeks to stop himself from getting side-tracked by his excitement—he had just been summoned to another world, given another chance, a chance to start life from zero! No way would he mess it up now.
“Ahem. Right, right. You had asked for who I am right? Well–!”
He tried his best to conceal his excitement for at least one sentence, but it really didn’t go as planned. Once again he felt himself about to burst as he—one finger pointing to the sky and his other hand near his hip—introduced himself——
“MY NAME IS NATSUKI SUBARU! I’M THE HERO YOU GUYS SUMMONED!”
“Once again with the unfamiliar terms… speak clearly! What is a hi-rou?!”
“Oh sorry, you guys must not have English here. (suspend your disbelief a little, reader) I mean I’m the one you called here to help you, your hero!”
Subaru snapped his fingers and flashed them a wink, only to see that they hadn’t eased up even a little. Shit, what if they were really pissed off? What would he do if he had angered the people that summoned him upon their first meeting…?
“...”
“H–Hey… why the long faces, haha… L–Listen, sorry for the rudeness. I promise I’ll help you guys with whatever it is you guys need help with!”
Yeah, that was it! He might have screwed up the first encounter, but they still needed him for something, they wouldn’t have summoned him if they didn’t…! All he needed to do was gain their trust through that!
“An air of fear hangs around you.”
“Hk–!”
“Apologies Mr. Hero, but there seems to be some sort of misunderstanding. You say we summoned you here, but I am sure that none of the people present here are responsible for your sudden appearance. As you can see, we were enjoying a simple cup of tea mere moments prior.”
Only then had that detail of his near surroundings shown up in his mind, he had been so distracted that he had completely failed to register the tray of teapot and cups present atop a table behind Subaru’s ‘summoners’.
“So I will ask you once more; Who are you?"
“Ah? W–Wait! First of all, I already said who I am, I–I’m Natsuki Subaru, a guy who’s totally clueless about the world! A–And secondly, if you all didn’t summon me here, then who did?”
“You… seem to be genuinely confused.”
The military lady seemed to be taken aback by what he had said——
“I mean, of course I’m confused. I–In these types of situations, you’d expect to appear in front of the one that summoned you. B–But if it wasn’t any of you, then you must at least know something about who summoned me, right?”
——But they couldn’t be taken aback or confused, because at the moment, they were Subaru’s only hope to gather information about his predicament.
”Forgive me for interrupting, but I believe Crusch-sama has already stated that she has no knowledge about this supposed ‘summoning’ and as her attendants, we do not either. So it is best you begin making your way out of the premises, sir.”
The old man radiated an aura of hostility, it was as if Subaru’s body was being struck simply from incurring his wrath. Though in these types of otherworld situations, the protagonist was usually given some type of OP superpower. Could it be that this was that type of moment…? Subaru would have to earn their respect by awakening his hidden potential——
“Stand down, WIlhelm-dono. While I understand your caution, I have already discerned that this person does not hold any ill or malicious intent.”
“Nyah! Crusch-sama is right, Will. He seems more like… a lost little kid!”
“Haha… I would ask who you’re calling a little kid, but isn’t that way too cute a speech quirk?”
Giving a quick high-five to Isekai fantasies in his mind, he relaxed his body a little. It wasn’t that he thought he would lose to the old man, but more that he would feel bad about harming an elderly person.
The catgirl tilted her head with a “Nyom?” and the green-haired lady—‘Crusch-sama’ as the other two had called her—lowered the sword she had been pointing at him, which seemed to prompt the old man to do the same.
“I’ll ask this one last time; Do you really not know how you ended up here?”
“I told you, I–I… I think I was summoned here… but, since none of you seem to know anything about that then…”
“I see… And tell me, what exactly does this act of ‘summoning’ entail?”
“Huh? …Well, um–”
“Crusch-sama…?”
If he was being honest, he didn’t expect to have to explain how he was summoned—It’s not like he knew anyway. Though since they didn’t know either, he could just explain the basic concept of the ‘Isekai’ genre.
“It’s kind of like… some huge problem befalls upon your world and someone uses magic to summon a person from my world in order to help you out. It’s either that or some goddess shows favor to you after you die and decides to send you to another world as her champion, but I would remember if I had died before so that’s definitely not what happened—Eh… or something like that, haha…”
He caught himself before he could start rambling, this was the type of thing that could turn someone into an outcast back in his world.
“Summoned from your world onto ours? Do you mean that you are from beyond the Great Waterfall?”
“Beyond the great what…? Eh? Where did the catgirl go?”
To his surprise, the trio in front of him– no, the word ‘trio’ wouldn’t quite fit them anymore, as they had lost part of what turned them into the trio that he described them as, they had lost their third member.
“Pay that no mind. Please, carry on with your explanation.”
Crusch, who he assumed was the leader of the… grandfather-daughter duo, spoke to him in a much calmer tone of voice than the one she had greeted him with. This came as good news for him as it seemed that he was getting through to at least one of them.
“OK then, um… if being from beyond this so-called waterfall is what you guys call being from another world, then yeah; I’m from beyond the great waterfall.”
“...I detect no lies in your statement, it seems you truly believe everything you just said.”
“Of course I do, it’s what happened to me… wait, do you not believe me?”
“I believe that something happened which has made you truly think that you’re from beyond the great waterfall, and I offer my deepest condolences.”
“Seriously!? Is being from another world really something so unbelievable? I–I mean, just look at the stuff I have and what I’m wearing. I’m sure you guys don’t—”
Crusch put her hand up and showed him her palm—unless the culture barrier had caused him to misunderstand, he assumed that it meant ‘stop’ so he stopped defending himself and allowed her to continue speaking——
“While your clothes, items and mannerisms are indeed unusual, you must understand how large this claim is and what its implications are; Nobody is likely to believe that claim if it is presented to them outright. However, the fact that you appeared on my premises in this state means that it is not something I can simply ignore.”
“Huh? Then, what are you–”
“Nom!”
Suddenly Subaru felt something sharp prick his ear and with a “GWAH!” swung his body round to find the catgirl shooting him a cute smile with her cani— …felines poking out.
“W–What was that!?”
“Crusch-sama, here nyou go!”
She slipped past him, brushing her tail on his side as she went back to her spot next to Crusch and presented to her a small pouch and a piece of paper which Subaru couldn’t make out the contents of. Crusch reached into her pocket and pulled out a small wooden object, stamping the piece of paper with it.
“Thank you, Ferris.”
The cat girl–Ferris nodded at her and Crusch took a step towards Subaru, presenting to him both the pouch and the stamped paper. He hesitated for a moment, unsure of what exactly she wanted him to do with the items.
“Here. As I said, by appearing in front of me at this moment, you have become partly my responsibility. So, take this bag of coins and this letter signed and stamped by the Duchess Crusch Karsten. This should facilitate you in finding a group willing to help you with your situation.”
The words hung in the air for a moment as Subaru let out a “Huh?” of confusion.
“W–Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! ‘Groups willing to help with my situation’? I thought you didn’t believe the fact that I’m from another world! How are you recommending me support groups for… uh.”
Her hand once again motioned Subaru to stop and him, with his mouth still agape, listened to what she would say next.
“I believe you may have somewhat misunderstood my intentions. While, yes, it is unbelievable to believe someone is from beyond the Great Waterfall, this does not mean I did not believe you.”
“Eh, w–what?”
“As I said before, I have detected no lies in any of your statements until this moment. I have discerned that you do not wish to harm any of the people present here and the fact that you are sincerely confused about your current whereabouts and exactly what circumstances have led to your appearance here. So, you are wrong, Natsuki Subaru, in this regard. I do indeed believe you, which is why I also believe it would be unforgivable to simply throw you out, so I offer you what assistance I can give in order to facilitate you in your future affairs. My assistance comes regardless of whether you are truly what you say you are or not.”
Subaru had to gulp at least once during that entire conversation. For some reason, this pressure that was coming from her—from Crusch Karsten—made him feel as if he was in trouble and had to speak with the principal in his office. Yet, unlike in his past world, where most of the time he couldn’t understand why he was being targeted, here, in this Isekai fantasy, he could understand clearly——
“...So you don’t believe me, just think I’m delusional and don’t know what’s going on.”
“I wish you would not twist my words. I have said my part and have offered my assistance. Now it is up to you whether you accept it or not.”
Subaru felt a bit embarrassed and frustrated about being kicked out and labelled as a madman, but he forced himself to swallow all of that down and reminded himself of the opportunity he had.
He grabbed the bag which he guessed was full of coins as well as the stamped paper. He would handle something like this. He still had the opportunity to make a name of himself—After all, he was in another world.
“If that is what you chose, my butler Wilhelm shall accompany you to the gate.”
——He was in another world.
“...If you shall accompany me, sir.”
——He was in another world.
“Aww, leaving already? Bye Subaru, have a nyah~ice life!”
——He was in another, world.
“I hope you find help with your situation. Take care, Natsuki Subaru.”
——He was in–
“Damnit, SCREW THIS!”
“...sir?”
He was in another world. Yeah, he was in another world; another opportunity, another chance at life! But… being labelled mad, being kicked out and thrown into some type of “support group”? What kind of protagonist starts like that…?!
He could also take the money they gave him without doing what they recommended him, but then what? He was unfamiliar with the world, his summoner was nowhere in sight, and, and——
It might have just been out of moral obligation, but they were kind enough to not only hear out the guy that appeared out of nowhere on their property, they also helped out a loser like him after hearing his situation; Was he really okay with simply leaving them? He couldn’t expect everyone to be as kind to him as they were—in neither world…
“I… A–Are you really just giving me some money and throwing me out in the street? You know, I can suggest another way you can help me…”
The shakiness of his voice was undeniable, no matter how he tried to keep it concealed. And even a NEET like him would know how terrible what he just said sounded, but in his current predicament, he had to at least try something.
“Nyah?! Hey, aren’t nyah going too far after already receiving Crusch-sama’s chyarity?!”
“Ferris, enough. However, I do agree that this is indeed a very arrogant request. Although I’m curious; Exactly what more do you wish to ask for?”
There! He shot them a grin and internally celebrated the fact that even after that, Crusch still chose to hear him out. He took a long inhale through his nose and closed his eyes, pointing his finger holding the piece of paper to the sky.
“Alright then. My one request is—”
He simultaneously brought down and snapped the fingers on his skyward hand and had it come to a halt pointing at the Crusch group with one of his eyes opened in a reverse wink.
“hire me to work here.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“I apologise, it was simply a little… unexpected.”
“Nyahaha, wow~ what a way to subvert expectations!”
“Come on, is it really that unexpected of a request? I don’t want the paper or this bag of coins; All I want is to work for you, Crusch-san! You don’t even need to pay me– er, well, not much, that is. I’d still like a little payment for working, but that’s beside the point! What do you say?!”
“...Firstly, for you to ask this of me, must mean you are unsatisfied with what I initially offered. So, I ask why that is; Why do you wish to work here?”
“No no, it’s not that I think I can afford to be unsatisfied or something like that! It’s just that, well… This is a pretty big mansion, right? And with a title like ‘Duchess’ you must need constant security, am I right, Crusch-san?”
“Go on…”
“Right! So, I thought that, since you need as much security as possible, then I’d be able to be of use to you around the mansion!”
Subaru noticed Ferris was about to say something but Crusch stopped her with her gloved hand.
“This does not answer my question, Natsuki Subaru. I asked why you wish to work here. Not why I should allow you to do so.”
“Huh? Well– that’s not… I mean, it’s not anything bad, it’s just…”
“Don’t worry, Subaru. Nyou can tell Ferri-chan whatever nyah’re thinking.”
“Well, you know– um… I–It’s cause I’m in an unfamiliar world and need to find a source of income and a place to stay!”
“Your words sound intelligent, yet why do you seem flustered?”
“GAH!”
Ferris snickered at Subaru’s exaggerated physical recoil. Which, although he was indeed flustered, he was much more confident now that it seemed that they had begun warming up to him–
“Crusch-sama, if I may…”
The old butler, Wilhelm, walked back to Crusch from next to Subaru and turned to look at him, his eyes narrowed dangerously and Subaru felt as if he was radiating heat. It seemed that he would be harder to get through to. Subaru just had to up his game.
“We do not know a single thing about this individual, it poses great risk to simply allow him to maintain his stay here, but to give him free roam around the grounds?”
“Please calm down, Wilhelm-dono. This is a decision I must make.”
“P–Please! If you let me stay here, I promise I can show my strength!”
Crusch stood silent for a few moments, considering her options. Subaru anxiously watched as her eyes narrowed at him, with each passing moment he felt as if her eyes were undressing and judging each and every part of him. He broadened the grin on his face and clenched his fist to try to appear more confident.
Crusch’s eyes turned to those at her side; Wilhelm gave her a small head bow and Ferris tilted her head—Subaru could swear that when she looked at her, Crusch’s eyes softened a little before she turned back to him.
“...I will give you a chance. One day, you have one day to prove yourself useful. Otherwise, you will be permanently kicked out of the manor.”
Subaru’s eyes sparkled as Crusch’s words set in. He raised both of his arms wide and begins jumping with joy–
“YEAAAAAHHH!!!!”
His sudden outburst caught Crusch and Ferris off guard, causing Ferris’ tail to stiffen and Crusch’s mouth to twitch.
“...You will only be given one chance–”
“That’s good enough, Crusch-san! Thank you so much! I’ll make you proud!”
He continued dancing and jumping around as he was observed by those around him, but he didn’t care—In this isekai world, even someone like him should be able to be of use.
“Crusch-sama… Is it a good idea to take in this suspicious person? Even if it is only for one day…”
Wilhelm calmly spoke to Crusch as Subaru continued cheering on. It wasn’t that he was doubting his master’s judgeman, and she knew that, it was simply that they didn’t know enough about the boy to be able to simply calmly invite him into their home—which she knew as well.
“I have confirmed that he has no intention of harming us, and his cluelessness is also clearly not an act. Would it not be cruel to kick such a harmless person out into the world after them requesting a chance to prove themselves?”
Crusch turned so that her mouth was out of the view of the cheering boy and stood shoulder to shoulder with Wilhelm
“And keeping him here allows us to maintain an eye on him. His arrival is still suspicious but one thing is for certain; Something like this is not random, especially not at a time like this.”
Wilhelm's face hardened as he realised his master’s plan.
“Apologies, Wilhelm-dono. I must ask you to take on this task.”
“Do not fret, Crusch-sama. As your butler, I shall see that it is done.”
He nodded to show his agreement before she turned back to look at the boy, not a hint of her suspicion showing on her face.
“If you are ready to begin, Wilhelm-dono will show you what your tasks are for the day. If you have any questions, he shall assist you. He shall also be the one who evaluates your work.”
“Oh. It’s a pleasure working with you, Wilhelm!”
‘This will be a great opportunity to get on his good side!’
Subaru thought so as Wilhelm bowed to him. He had a whole day to prove to him that he was worth keeping around. Subaru took a sharp inhale to get fired up and readied himself.
“Alright then, when do I start!?”
“A butler?! Seriously…?”
He stood there—now inside the “Karsten Manor” in a butler outfit while holding a broom and was about to complain to Wilhelm when he remembered just what his position was—he had to get the favour of the old butler, loudly complaining like he owns the place would only worsen his already bad position. Yet, to his dismay, Wilhelm had already caught on to what he was saying——
“Is something the matter, boy?”
Holding a broom of his own, Wilhelm walked out of the storage room and inquired about this. Subaru silently cursed his own loose tongue, since now that he had asked, Subaru would have to answer Will lest he gain even more of his animosity.
“Uh, well… it’s just that I feel like my skills are wasted as a butler. I feel like I would be much more useful as a combatant… let me go out on a quest in the Karsten name or something!”
The thought was something straight out of his most exciting fantasies—going out on a journey to hunt down a giant monster that has been terrorizing the world in order to get the recognition of his master was something straight out of a novel he’d read. It got him fired up to think that the prospect of that was possible in an isekai world.
“...Do you mean you wish to become a knight?”
“Yeah! Something like that would be awesome!”
A knight, someone who would take up the sword and use it for the one they served. It was also considered the most honorable position one could have back in medieval times, as someone who fought on harsh battlefields and slayed countless of enemies until they eventually lead their master to victory. If they existed in this world, then that would definitely be a position Subaru would love to aim for.
“I could become Crusch-san’s greatest kni–”
Suddenly, before Subaru managed to fully let out the final word of his sentence, he instinctively grabbed the broomstick Wilhelm had just thrown at him.
“Uhh… Wilhelm? I already have a broom…”
“To become a knight, one must have strong values, loyalty, perseverance and most of all, strength to protect the one they take up the sword for.”
Wilhelm grabbed a broomstick of his own and gazed into Subaru’s eyes. He took a second to catch up but once he did, his mind was totally against it.
“If you think you are worthy of standing side to side with Crusch-sama as her protector, you must prove yourself to me first.”
“Woah, woah, woah! Wilhelm, there’s no way I can do that! My parents taught me to respect the elderly, you know?!”
Subaru could understand that Wilhelm probably only wanted to protect his master from the suspicious newcomer who wanted to be her knight, but there was no way he would do that to him just because he didn’t know any better–
“Elderly, huh… That is a fair assessment from the perspective of someone clueless. But…”
Wilhelm suddenly drew an arch with his sword and his face hardened, with his posture and the early morning light shining on his face, it almost looked like a scene he would find in an anime.
“I am Wilhelm Trias, the Sword Demon. The title was given to me because in my heyday I took down the previous Sword Saint, a master swordsman, in combat.”
——Scratch that. After hearing that, there was no way he wouldn’t take his deal! An old retired master swordsman coming out of retirement just to train him with the sword?!
‘You’ve defeated me… but there are others, stronger than me, who shall block your path. And your pure skills won’t be enough to take them down.’ He could already imagine a scene like that taking place.
“Grr!! My modern day culture and manners are clashing with my isekai fantasy desires. Fine! I know what I’ll do; I’ll cast away all of the knowledge I’ve accumulated until now for this moment and face you in a fair duel then, Wilhelm Trias.”
Subaru tried speaking in the coolest voice he could muster and got into a battle stance, taking off his fresh butler top so that it wouldn’t get dirty and going to duel Wilhelm with a cultural mismatch of Isekai pants and Earth tracksuit and sneakers.
“...Then, to win, you must land a single hit on me and I shall acknowledge your potential as a knight. If not, however, then you shall follow my orders today without complaint, and never speak of becoming Crusch-sama’s knight again.”
“Heh. Don’t get me all fired up!”
He charged forward, aiming for Wilhelm.
‘I knew it. This is a required event in all isekais, the moment where the protagonist proves himself—proves his powers and makes a name out of himself through them! I already tried the standard ‘Status Open’ while I was getting changed, but that didn’t seem to do anything, so this must be the type of Isekai where I figure out my ability on my first encounter! I feel bad that Wilhelm has to be the one to awaken my powers, but I promise I won’t hit him too hard!’
And as Subaru approached Wilhelm’s figure in the hall, he swung his broomstick, channeling all of the time he had spent swinging his wooden katana in his bedroom and any strand of athletic prowess he had left inside him and—
A cold gust of wind blew from an open window—
With a simple fluid motion of his arm, Wilhelm parried Subaru’s strike to the side, causing him to stumble and leaving his centre wide open to–
“GH–!”
With a move that made him feel as if his spinal cord was shattering, Wilhelm slammed Subaru onto the ground with only the strength of the broomstick.
Subaru quickly tried getting up to look at him but was met instead with the sight of pain as he felt his side being smacked by the broomstick once, twice, and before the third hit could land, he had rolled away and jumped to his feet.
‘If a head on attack won’t work, then I should…!’
Subaru charged at WIlhelm again, this time gripping the broomstick one-handed and with a much looser grip. Once Wilhelm tried deflecting his attack again, he released the broomstick and grabbed it midair with his other hand, preparing for an overhead strike.
Wilhelm noticed this and instead of parrying the strike again, he took a leap backwards faster than Subaru’s arm fell, the speed at which he did that was so great that it left Subaru shocked for a moment, enough time for Wilhelm to step on his weapon and pin it to the ground, using Subaru’s stuck position position as an opportunity to hit his face one, two, three times before sending him flying with another swing of the broomstick.
‘Huh?’
Subaru did a full 180 degrees rotation and hit his face on the floor as he landed. Using his hands to support himself, he pushed himself up and looked at the puddle of blood where he was dripping more red into, this visual matched with the feeling he felt pooling on his upper lip confirmed to him that he was bleeding—his nose had broken.
“GAH!”
He desperately had to inhale oxygen through his mouth in order to breathe, the feeling of the blood he had almost choked on burnt his throat as he coughed it out.
“Now that you have lost your weapon, are you prepared to give up on the prospect of knighthood?”
Wilhelm’s voice came from the place he had been flung from. Subaru turned his head to look behind him, still on all fours on the ground, and saw Wilhelm now not only possessing one, but two broomsticks within his grasp.
The battle was quick and completely one sided. Subaru hadn’t even been able to land a hit on Wilhelm but he, with only a few hits, left Subaru lying face first in a pool of his own blood. The humiliation was heightened by the words Wilhelm spoke to him; Such a calm tone, he couldn’t even make the old man break a sweat…
Getting up to his feet, Subaru wiped the blood from his nose and clenching his fi–
“AAAAHHHHH!!!”
He charged for Wilhelm, his fist ready to land a blow on him. If he wasn’t good with the sword, it must be that his strength lies in his raw physical–
“So you choose to persist.”
With a swing of the broomstick, Subaru was down.
He got back up. Even if he didn’t have good defence, he would still–
Another hit and he was down.
Even if he got sent to the ground, his resistance to pain–
Another hit, he was down.
His… grit… would–
He was down again.
This time he didn’t get up. On the ground, he tried crawling towards his opponent and reached out an arm to grab his–
Hit, hit, hit, hit hit hit hit hit hit hit hit, hit…
Hithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithithi–
“Ah!”
Before another blow could land on Subaru, Wilhelm withdrew his weapon. Finally having a moment to look up without being assailed with attacks, he looked up at his aggressor, who had turned his back to him.
“It is not honorable to continue beating on someone who is obviously incapable of fighting. Ferris will be here to heal you shortly, it is your loss.”
Subaru lied, in the fetal position, on the floor. Bruises all over his body and shaking from the pain. He couldn’t find any more strength in himself to answer or even listen to Wilhelm’s words.
“...Do not mention to him what we had been discussing. His reaction would be much worse than my own.”
Wilhelm silently walked away from the mess he made, leaving Subaru all alone beaten and bruised.
She sighed.
Of course she would sigh.
Standing in front of her was the same kid that said he would prove himself for Crusch, broken and bruised after his first hour.
He truly was a pathetic kid.
“Stare…”
…
“Stare….”
“Uh… W–Why have you been staring at me for so long?”
“Oh! Sorry, sorry! Ferri-chan is just trying to figure out how stupid you are.”
“Gh. Hearing that from a beautiful girl hurts more than hearing it from yourself…”
But she was right, and he knew that.
“Seriously, just why did nyah have to start a fight on your first day working here? WIth nyor instructor nyo less~”
“I…! I get it, okay? Just… he said you were gonna heal me, aren’t you?”
She sighed once more and began waving her hand in front of her face, the playful smile never disappearing from her lips as she prolonged his suffering.
“Kay, kay. But seriously, making Ferri-chan waste her energy on you too? Just how prideful can someone get, nyah?”
“S–Sorry…”
“Don’t nyah worry about it. Just get on the bed and take nyer shirt off.”
“...Eh?”
“Nyom?”
“What did you just say?”
“Ferri-chan said get on the bed and take your shirt off.”
“I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME! THERE’S NO WAY I’M DOING THAT!”
“Huuuhhh? How do nyah suggest we take care of the bruising all over your body then?”
“Gh–! I–I get why you wanna do it, b–but there’s no way I can just do that and get on a girl’s bed! Can’t I request a male doctor…?”
For some reason, that made her lips tremble as her smile grew even wider.
“Oh, you silly Subaru-kyun!”
“Eh, was my name just called in an adorable wa–AAAAYYY!!?”
Using that as a distraction, Ferris swiftly moved behind Subaru and gave him a big smack on the back. The pain felt like fire on his skin and he figured that his stupid teenage boy embarrassment didn’t matter at that moment and removed his tracksuit and shirt.
Ferris almost made a face when noticing how red his back was but managed to cover it before Subaru turned around.
“Wow, you took quite a beating, Subaru-kyun.”
“Tch, that nickname is so cute but I can’t fully appreciate it with you teasing me like that…!”
Ferris stuck her tongue out and winked at Subaru, making him turn flustered.
Damnit, Isekai fantasies 1, my pride 0… Well, my pride always was–
“SO, uh… how are you gonna heal me? Are you gonna use magic or something…?”
“Yep.”
“Yep?”
“Mhm.”
“M–MAGIC ACTUALLY EXISTS HERE THEN?!”
“Yuh huh.”
“C–Can you show it to me…?”
Ferris held up her palm and it suddenly began glowing bright blue and Subaru was instantly captivated by its radiance.
“W–Woah… that’s so cool…”
“Teehee. Gee, thanks Subaru-kyun. If nyah think that’s cool, then check this out.”
Subaru tensed up as Ferris’ hand touched his chest, but relaxed again once he started feeling the pain all over his body begin to fade.
“Woah, this is…”
“Healing magic, Ferri-chan’s specialty.”
“Cool and cute… you really are the three C’s.”
“Three…?”
“Cool, cute, catgirl.”
“Teehee, silly Subaru-kyun.”
Ferris adjusted her position so that she was sitting behind Subaru with her hands on his back. He was a bit embarrassed of his bare back being exposed, but for some reason, he felt strangely calm.
“Subaru-kyun, nyah shouldn’t have tried to pick a fight.”
“I’m… sorry…”
“Especially nyot with Old Man Will, among the knyights, he’s one of the most praised for his skills.”
“Ah… so Wilhelm is a knight… Is he Crusch-san’s knight?”
“Nyo, nyo. Well, nyot her main knyight, though he is a knyight of the kingdom.”
“Is there a difference?”
“Well, all knyights are knights of the kingdom, but only some are sworn to specific masters. Like Ferri-chan is to Crusch-sama.”
“Oh… and what do you do as knights?”
“Well Ferri-chan has sworn loyalty to Crusch-sama, so she spends her days following her orders, though she’s also usually needed to serve as a healer for the kingdom. While the knyights that don’t have a specific master usually just patrol around the capital in case a problem arises.”
As they were speaking Subaru felt a tingling sensation in his nose and upon touching it, realised that it’s also been healed. Ferris handed him a paper towel and he blew the blood that clung to its insides onto it, giving him relief as he was finally able to breathe clearly again, allowing him to take in the scent of what he assumed was Ferris’ room.
“Woah. This healing magic’s seriously incredible. Is there anything else you can do?”
“Of course, silly! Nyah can do a bunch with Water magic.”
Ferris held her hand out and Subaru watched in amazement as a small sphere of water manifested right above her palm.
“All the way from healing to creating ice crystals, nyah.”
After adding other uses of water magic Ferris closed her palm and reopened it completely dry of the water which it had seemingly crushed.
“You can do that much with water magic? Man, isekai fantasies are awesome…”
“What’s wrong, Subaru-kyun? Nyah thinking of something?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Just that… uh… I was wondering if um…”
“...?”
“C–Could anyone use magic…?”
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“Subaru-kyun–”
“FORGET I ASKED!!”
“Nyahahaha! No, no, Subaru-kyun! Ferri-chan understands! All kids nyahr age think magic is fun!”
“I’M NOT A KID THOUGH!?”
She laughed for a bit longer at his question, which must have messed up the healing process because he felt like he was gonna die inside.
“Nyah~ha… sorry, Subaru-kyun… Ferri-chan will be with you nyow…!”
…He also felt like she was laughing longer than necessary just to mock him…
“Nyah… that was great, Subaru-kyun!”
“Just please answer my question. I don’t think I can take much more of this, even with you healing me.”
“Okay, okay… to answer your question, Subaru-kyun. Hm… technically most people can use magic to a certain degree, it mostly depends on nyahr natural talent and mana capacity; but the magic you can use the easiest depends on your magic affinity.”
“And… how would one check their magic affinity…?”
“Teehee. If nyah want, Subaru-kyun, Ferri-chan can check for you.”
“Really, you’d do that?! …Ah, sorry for asking so much of you…”
“Nyo worries, Subaru-kyun. Just let Ferri-chan—”
Suddenly, instead of her hands being planted on his back, he starts feeling a rhythmic motion that reminds him of a cat playing with a toy. In fact, he’s sure that if he could see behind him, that would be exactly how the scene would look.
“Myon myon myon myon myon—”
“Eh, is this really how you check someone’s affinity?”
“Mhm… done, nyah!”
“Eh, already!? —Wait, so what did I get?!”
‘I assume her affinity is Water, so the magic in this world must be something based on the elements of nature; earth, wind and fire must also be included… If water magic can summon water and heal people, I wonder what the other three can do. Maybe… wind allows you to swiftly soar through the air, earth makes it so the very ground quakes under your feet, and fire… most people would see it as something like destruction, but it could also be something like the fire of the phoenix rising from the ashes so that you never fall in battle…! I wonder which one of these I’ll get…! I’d be satisfied if I got any–’
“Yin.”
“What?”
“Nyah have a very high affinyity towards the Yin element, it’s honyestly a pretty rare occurence nyah.”
“Woah, so you’re saying that this is some type of rare, highly sought after power!?”
“Hmm… nyah, Yin magic’s pretty useless.”
“GUAH!
“Sure, it can do things like take away people’s senses for a bit but most skilled fighters know how to deal with that. It also doesn’t have any use in day to day life so people don’t really care that much about it, nyah!”
The knife twisted.
“Gh–! …So you mean all I’m useful for, are useless debuffs that most people know how to get around…?”
“Oh, and Ferri-chan wouldn’t recommend trying any magic. She noticed that your gate is really underdeveloped, so exerting it could cause it to get damaged, nyah.”
“AND NOW I EVEN LOST THOSE?! Tch… am I just gonna be useless forever…?”
He let that last part slip without thought, he was so pathetic that it accidentally leaked out of his mouth before he could realise, and now his reputation had dropped even more in the eyes of the cat girl.
She sighed and stood up, fetching the butler clothes Subaru had borrowed from nearby and presenting them to his face.
“Here, get dressed, Subaru-kyun.”
“Eh?”
“What? We’ve already spent too much time chatting and having fun. Nyar break time is over, Subaru-kyun, remember that nyah still have to prove nyarself useful as more than a punching bag.”
Ah, right. She was kicking him out. He got up and took the outfit from her hands. Afraid to look at what expression she might be making, he closed his eyes and flashed her a wide grin.
“Y–You’re right. I still have a lot to do, after all!”
“Ah, Subaru-kyun, don’t be sad just because nya won’t be able to use magic. Where is the resolve nyah showed when asking Crusch-sama to work here, nyah?”
The surprisingly motivational words made him snap his eyes open and he was greeted with Ferris poking his nose with her finger.
“Even if there’s something nyah can’t do, nyah gotta find something else to do to be useful, or else you’ll be kicked out and Ferri-chan will feel guilty.”
Her words surprisingly alleviated a lot of the embarrassment he was feeling and he was able to finally think clearly about his situation;
‘Okay, I can’t do magic, whatever… This is still an isekai world with technology much less advanced than the one back home! I’ll definitely be able to find different areas I can be useful in outside of combat!’
“Yeah! That’s right! Even if I don’t awaken combat abilities, I bet my dormant butler skill will activate and impress both Will and Crusch-san! And then once they do, how about I get a reward from you, Ferris?”
“Oh, a reward? From Ferri-chan? Aren’t nyah getting too greedy, Subaru-kyun?”
Subaru began wriggling his fingers as creepily as he could in Ferris’ direction while he prepared the ultimate counterattack to all of her teasing. No girl would ever be able to not be embarrassed, Isekai or not!
“Come on… it would really motivate me!”
She narrowed her eyes at him and once she spoke again, her voice was slower and quieter, as if urging him to think about his words carefully.
“What is it, Subaru-kyun?”
“I want you to give me a lap pillow.”
Yet just as quickly as that face came, it was back to being Ferris’ teasing face, which shocked Subaru a little—maybe she was the type to freeze up before going bright red, or laughing at his face.
“Hmm, okay!”
“Ehh?!”
Yet she did neither of those, surprising him. She somehow agreed to it without having to think much of it.
“W–Wait, wait, Ferris, I was just saying that as a joke, you know?”
“Teehee, Ferri-chan knows, Subaru-kyun, but if it will incentivise you to try your best, Ferri-chan promises to give you a lap pillow if nyah really impress Crusch-sama. Then Ferri-chan will also tell you her secret.”
“S–Secret? What secret?! I–I’m still just a NEET gamer, y’know?!”
“Ferri-chan doesn’t know what that means, but if Subaru-kyun wants to find out, he’ll have to try his best~”
‘Woah, Isekai fantasies are wild…’
Subaru swallowed a big gulp before beginning to get dressed, not taking his eyes off of Ferris to make sure she didn’t try anything. He then waved her goodbye, not being able to maintain eye contact due to the embarrassment.
When out of the room, trying to get his mind away from what a lady’s secret could refer to in order to maintain his innocence, he thought back to Wilhelm and their fight. Of course, he… he didn’t feel like he could blame him… especially not after realising that he was also a knight—A weak, pathetic kid like him suddenly spouting some nonsense about being a great knight, Subaru was almost glad Will showed him how wrong he was, but he also couldn’t deny that now the distance between them was probably much larger than before and it would take a while to get the awkwardness out of the air between them.
‘Damnit… Maybe I should ask Ferris for help to fix our relationship– but she’s already done so much for me just today, there’s no way I can bother her with something like this too–’
As he was wandering around the mansion in deep thought, less than 30 seconds passed before he bumped into Wilhelm, as if he had been waiting for him. Although that obviously wasn’t true, as he hasn’t noticed him yet.
He decided that things weren’t gonna get solved by just thinking about them and took a deep breath before calling out to Willhelm– No, scratch that, he called–
“Will-san! H–Hey… I’m sorry about what happened earlier. Really, it was all my fault…”
Wilhelm turned to Subaru and gave him a bow in response to his terrible attempt of reconciliation.
“I offer my apologies as well, it was unsightly of me to act in such a manner.”
“Great! So, we’re cool?!”
However, Wilhelm simply nodded at Subaru without answering. Maybe that was just his personality, but Subaru-couldn’t help but feel like they weren’t “cool” just yet.
“Now, boy. Would you like to begin with your tasks for today?”
“A–Ay ay, captain!”
‘And now, here comes the epic montage of Natsuki Subaru marvelling the old butler with his natural talent!——’
The first task was tending to the garden, Subaru was given some sheers and asked to take care of the bushery as Will closely watched. Somehow, after he was finished the bush looked more overgrown and unkempt than when he started. Zero points.
Next, was removing weeds from a flowerbed, which ended up with a messed up and trampled on flower bed, and somehow more flowers removed than weeds. Zero points.
He was then taken to the kitchen and asked to peel some vegetables. He ended up with more cuts on his hand than vegetables he could peel, and those he did peel looked unnatural and deformed. Zero points.
‘——Or the exact opposite?!’
Both he and Wilhelm were appalled upon seeing just how terrible he was suited to be a butler, it seemed he didn’t have a single ounce of butler skill inside him at all. Even common household chores like washing the dishes and mopping the floors turned out to be too much for him to handle,
Dusting the carpet, zero. Cleaning the windows, horrible. Sweeping the floors, a mediocre performance. He was completely and utterly useless around the manor.
Wilhelm sighed as Subaru dusted up shards of a vase he accidentally broke. He was lucky that it wasn’t some family heirloom, but with the way things were going, this felt like almost delaying the inevitable—No matter how hard he tried, it seemed that he was a screwup in everything regarding to housekeeping as well, and if he couldn’t do that then… he would be kicked out by Crusch, Wilhelm and… Ferris.
He really didn’t want to let that happen, just when he had started forming some type of connection to this world too. He had to find some way to convince them that he wasn’t completely useless… Maybe some of his Isekai knowledge would be of use to them?
As he was pondering ways that he could make himself useful, Wilhelm coughed into his gloved hand behind him to get his attention. When he turned to look at the butler, Wilhelm held what looked to be a notepad and was scribbling something down with a quill.
“Can you read, boy?”
“Of course I can read.”
Wilhelm ripped the piece of paper out and presented it to Subaru with a small bag.
“Good. This is a list of groceries the manor is currently in need of. Take this money and get all of the items on the list. If you fail even this task, I recommend you do not return here.”
Subaru’s eyes instantly lit up—grocery shopping, now this was a task he couldn’t possibly fail at. He even had groceries with him when he was transported here, maybe that was a clue for what he should do.
Subaru grabbed the bag and the paper and instantly bolted to attention.
“It is impossible to miss the market district upon exiting the manor, make no mistakes and return swiftly to be awarded a perfect score on this task.”
“ALRIGHT, WILL-SAN! THERE’S NO WAY I’LL FAIL THIS ONE!”
Subaru said way too enthusiastically as he bolted out of the manor and onto the market district.
“I’m such an idiot…”
Subaru said as he sat dejectedly on the side of the street. Many people gave him strange looks as they walked by him, people with all sorts of human and animalistic appearances, but he had already exhausted all of his excitement when he first left the manor and was given all sorts of weird looks due to his yelling proclamations. Plus, it didn’t matter how many half-dog or half-lizard people there were out there, there was already one half-cat lady he had his eyes on and her name was Ferri–
“WHAT THE HELL AM I THINKING ABOUT!? IT DOESN’T CHANGE THE FACT THAT I’M AN IDIOT!”
As he yelled that more people from all around him gave him weird looks, but it didn't matter to him, cause nothing would change the fact that he had seriously messed up.
“Can you shut the hell up and get away from my shop already, brat?! I had patience cause I thought you just wanted to rest up a little, but all your shouting’s making me lose customers!”
A vendor with green hair and scars on his face yelled at him and Subaru was just reminded of how much of a nuisance he was. Like, instead of trying to figure out a way to not disappoint Wilhelm, he was bothering the residents of this world with his problems…
‘Wait a minute… bothering the residents!’
If this were a cartoon, a lightbulb would’ve shone over his head.
“Of course! How did it take me so long to think of this!?”
He shot to his feet and ran to the front of the vendor’s shop, he was selling what looked like apples but the foreign letters on his sign made it impossible for Subaru to be sure.
“Hey Mister, I need your help! Can you read this for me?”
He presented the list and the apple vendor glanced at it before scoffing and turning to Subaru again.
“First you drive away my customers and now you’re asking me for help? Is this some kind of scam? Unless you’re buying, get lost, kid–”
Before he could finish brushing him off, Subaru pulled out his bag of coins and presented them to him.
“Please! I’ll pay you for your troubles…!”
He felt a bit wrong wasting the money Wilhelm entrusted him with like this, but he had weighed the options in his mind and came to the conclusion that it was either be willing to do this or not be able to get any of the items he was ordered to.
“Huh!? Tch, geez kid, alright! Just don’t pull that out so brazenly in public, you wanna get robbed or something?”
He lowered his hand a bit and the vendor sighed and took his note. He looked it up and down and then looked him up and down.
“Fancy handwriting for a shopping list, and fancy clothes too. You got a rich employer or something?”
“Heh. Yeah, something like that.”
He posed brilliantly, holding his blazer in the dignified manner of a true butler.
“Eh? You work for rich folk but don’t know how to read?”
His dignified butler act dropped after hearing that and he slouched slightly.
“Well, it’s cause I’m still only in training…”
“And they send you out shopping alone? Sounds less like they’re tryna hire you and more like they want you gone.”
Those words pierced him like an arrow and he grabbed his chest to stop the wound through his heart.
“Even though that’s probably accurate, it hurts to hear it from someone other than me. Can you just tell me what it says already, old man?”
“Huh, who you calling old man? Tch, I’ll let it slide this time cause you’re a customer. Okay now let me take a look at this… Oh hey, look here, appas are an item here so be grateful you’re buying from me.”
“Eh, apples?”
“Huh? Appas.”
“App…les…?”
“App-as.”
Subaru grabbed one of the appas he had on display and examined it.
“So, is that what these are? They look a lot like apples though…”
“I don’t know what those are, but these here are appas, the freshest and sweetest in all Lugunica, you hear?”
As the vendor continued reading the list, Subaru came across multiple other names of fruits and vegetables which sounded similar to fruits and vegetables from Earth. This made it much easier for him to guess what he had to get as their outward appearance would probably match too.
So, he collected the appas and thanked the appa vendor before continuing on his search, this time with brighter spirits.
Thankfully, his memory was good enough that he could remember all the items the vendor told him before and his grocery bag continued growing in size. At some point he even encountered a girl in a cute maid outfit and tried to talk to her, but——
“It is only natural to wear this expression towards suspicious individuals.”
“Yes, the outfit appears to be one worthy of respect, but the way it clearly doesn’t fit its wearer matched with the strange mannerisms and the gaze which reflects wicked desires makes one wonder whether the outfit might not be but a ruse to lure in innocent prey?”
“If they are things out of your control then the noble thing to do would be to vow to never speak again and to keep your eyes covered at all times—and legs and feet tied. For the sake of the world.”
“Even though you insist that you are working you showcase a wretched desire to chat to young girls you see on the street, undeniably foul behaviour. I pity your poor employers.”
“Tch. It seems that Ram was correct to assume this was a fruitless endeavor. And now her target has become even more lost due to bothersome insistent people.”
——is how the interaction went and she had left before he could say another word. Though at least he caught what he thinks was her name, Ram. He stored it in the back of his mind for safekeeping before continuing on with his journey until he had almost filled two bags with groceries.
As he approached an open area of the bustling city, he arrived at a rather grand fountain and decided it would be the perfect place to rendezvous.
‘Okay, it’s getting kinda hard to carry one bag on each arm. Good thing there’s only a few items left.’
He didn’t even have to look around to spot multiple people with animal features casually walking outside and carriages being drawn by what looked like dinosaurs.
“Now that the initial shock’s worn off, I still can’t believe I’m actually in another world.”
Something he had dreamed of for a good chunk of his life had actually happened; Just like the heroes from the novels and games that he knew, he had been spontaneously summoned to a parallel world.
“Though I don’t think any of them had to spend their first days like this.”
As if it couldn’t get even more ridiculous, Subaru’s situation didn’t just break the rules of reality, they also broke the rules of a standard isekai, making him an outlier with nothing to base himself off of.
‘If not for Crusch-san’s kindness, I would’ve been completely lost without knowing what to do. Though there’s still a chance my incompetence leads to that very situation. Ugh, why was I even summoned here in the first place?’
He shook his head and reminded himself of what he had to do, he didn't have time to begin making theories or speculations. Thus, after the short break, he continued his journey to gather the rest of the grocer–
–An overwhelming chill washed over his entire body.
“Unless you’re buying, get lost, kid.”
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How did he end up back here?
“Huh? What’s up with that look on your face?”
He found himself back in front of the appa vendor. Had he mindlessly walked back here by accident?
“Oh, sorry Old Man. Thanks again for the help…”
The old man raised an eyebrow at him as he began turning to walk away.