Subaru sat near the center of the camp where the soldiers gathered for lunch. Long wooden tables had been set up in a clearing between the tents, and rough benches provided seating for anyone hungry enough to ignore the cold. The food was not bad. A thick stew with chunks of meat and root vegetables. Fresh bread that still had warmth in it from the ovens. A basket of apples that someone had brought from the city stores.
Not bad at all. But Subaru's demon taste buds did not feel anything good or bad. Everything she had eaten since waking up in this body tasted like nothing. The stew was warm and wet and completely flavorless. The bread had texture but no taste. She chewed and swallowed because she had to, not because she wanted to.
Übel was nowhere to be seen. Probably off exploring the camp or bothering the soldiers or doing whatever Übel did when she was not lurking beside Subaru and asking strange questions. Subaru did not worry about it. Übel could take care of herself. The soldiers, maybe not, but Übel definitely could.
Subaru picked up an apple from the basket. It was red and round and looked perfectly normal. She turned it over in her hands, then took a bite.
She froze.
The world around her stopped mattering. The noise of the camp faded into a distant hum. The cold air on her skin became irrelevant. Everything narrowed to the single point of the apple in her mouth.
It tasted good.
Not just good. It was delicious. Utterly, unfairly, incredibly delicious. The sweetness spread across her tongue like a wave. The juice ran down her throat and warmed her from the inside. The flesh of the apple was crisp and firm and perfect in a way that no apple had any right to be.
What is this? her brain screamed. What is happening? Is this real? Did I die again? Is this the afterlife? Is the afterlife just an apple?
She took another bite. Even better. The flavor intensified, as if the apple was showing off now, as if it had been waiting for her to appreciate it properly.
I can taste. I can actually taste. After everything tasting like nothing, after days of chewing on cardboard disguised as food, I can finally taste something.
Her eyes started to water. Not from sadness. From relief. From the simple joy of experiencing flavor again. She had not realized how much she missed it until this moment. The apple was not just food. It was proof that her body was still capable of feeling pleasure, that somewhere beneath the demon instincts and the trauma and the constant fear, there was still something that remembered what it meant to enjoy a meal.
I am going to cry over an apple, she thought. I am actually going to cry. In front of all these soldiers. Over a piece of fruit.
She blinked rapidly and took another bite. The tears did not fall, but they came close.
The guy standing near the basket, a young soldier with a thin beard and a confused expression, took a step back. Then another step. He looked at Subaru like she had grown a second head. She was holding the apple with both hands now, cradling it like it was something precious, staring at it with an intensity that was probably unsettling to witness.
She was giving off weird vibes. Very weird vibes. The kind of vibes that made people question whether they wanted to be standing next to her. The soldier picked up the entire basket and moved it to the other end of the table.
Subaru did not notice. She was too busy having a religious experience with a piece of fruit.
"Ahem."
The sound cut through her apple induced trance. Subaru snapped back to reality and turned her head.
Wirt stood behind her. He had his arms crossed and a small smile on his face, though his expression held a hint of amusement. His armor was gone, replaced by a simple tunic and trousers, but he still carried himself like a commander. Bandages wrapped around his right forearm and across his knuckles. White cloth with small spots of red where the wounds had not fully closed.
"Miss Subaru," he said, "I see that you really like apples."
Subaru looked down at the apple in her hands. She had eaten most of it already, leaving only the core and a few scattered bites. Juice ran down her fingers. She looked back at Wirt, then at the apple, then at Wirt again.
"Uh, yes!" she said. "I just realized that." She paused. "I just realized that I really like apples. A lot. More than I thought. More than is probably normal."
Wirt nodded slowly. His smile grew a little wider. "I am glad you found something to enjoy. The cooks do their best, but camp food is not always the most exciting."
Subaru's eyes drifted to his bandaged arm. She remembered the spar from an hour ago. The way his polearm had moved. The way she had moved in response. The moment when her summoned axe had slipped past his guard and caught him across the forearm. She had not meant to hit him that hard. The fight had just escalated, and her instincts had taken over, and suddenly Wirt was bleeding and the soldiers were staring and she was standing in the middle of the circle holding a weapon that should not exist.
She had apologized then. She should probably apologize again.
"Wirt-sama," she said, "I am sorry about your arm."
Wirt laughed. It was an awkward laugh, the kind that people use when they are trying to make someone feel better about something that actually hurt quite a bit. "This is a minor injury," he said. "I will be fine in a day. You do not need to feel sorry."
Subaru frowned. "But I drew blood."
"You drew a little blood. I have had worse from training accidents. Much worse." He flexed his fingers to prove his point, then winced slightly and stopped. "See? Fine."
Subaru did not believe him, but she decided not to push it.
Then she remembered something. "Wait," she said. "You tested me. You had me spar to prove my skills. What about Übel?"
Wirt's face twitched. It was a small movement, barely noticeable, but Subaru caught it. His expression shifted, as if he was trying to hold back some kind of physical pain. His eyes stared at something in the middle distance, some memory that was probably best left unexamined.
"She is," he said, pausing to find the right word, "very unique."
Subaru's stomach tightened. "Hopefully she did not kill anyone."
Wirt's eyes widened. "What? No, no. Nothing like that." He shook his head quickly. "She just got a little enthusiastic."
Subaru heard something else. A muttered comment, soft and quick, spoken under Wirt's breath. "Thankfully, I did not have to spar her. Miss Subaru only injured me earlier."
She chose to pretend she had not heard that.
Subaru bowed her head slightly. "I apologize for whatever Übel did. I am sure it was... something."
Wirt waved his good hand. "It is fine. Truly. Your companion is very skilled. Perhaps too skilled. But that is a good thing for us." He looked at the table, then back at Subaru. "You should eat something other than apples. Unless the food is not to your liking."
Subaru looked at the stew and bread she had abandoned earlier. The stew looked fine. The bread looked fine. But she knew what they would taste like. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
She shook her head. "It is absolutely delicious," she said. "But I am on a diet."
Wirt blinked. "Diet?"
Subaru nodded firmly. "Yes. A diet. I am losing weight."
Wirt looked at her. He looked at her lean frame, her slender arms, her face that had no spare fat anywhere. His expression showed confusion, then concern, then the kind of careful neutrality that people adopt when they think someone is lying but do not want to say so out loud.
"But I see you are quite lean already," he said. Then he caught himself. "Uh, my apologies. I should not overstep my boundaries. It is not my place to comment on your eating habits."
Subaru opened her mouth to respond, to say something that would smooth over the awkwardness.
Before she could speak, Übel appeared.
She walked into the lunch area with her staff over her shoulder, her green ponytail swaying with each step. Her expression was relaxed, almost sleepy, like someone who had just woken up from a very good nap. Her clothes were clean, her hair was tidy, and she looked completely at ease.
Behind her walked a group of injured men.
They were soldiers. Subaru recognized their uniforms. But they did not look like soldiers who had been in a normal training accident. Their faces were pale. Their steps were unsteady. One man held his arm at a strange angle. Another walked with a limp that suggested his leg was not working properly. A third had bandages wrapped around his head, covering one eye.
None of them looked at Übel. They looked at the ground, or at the sky, or anywhere else. As if making eye contact with her might cause further harm.
Übel walked past Subaru without stopping. She found an empty bench, sat down, and reached for a piece of bread. She tore off a chunk and put it in her mouth, chewing slowly, her eyes half closed.
Subaru watched the injured men shuffle toward the medic's tent. One of them, the one with the head bandage, stumbled and had to be caught by his companion. He let out a small sound, something between a groan and a whimper.
Subaru sighed. She looked at Wirt, who was staring at Übel with an expression that mixed respect and terror in equal measure. Then she looked at the poor guy who had just winced as his wounded friend grabbed his shoulder for support.
What did Übel do to them? Subaru wondered. And do I actually want to know the answer?
Probably not. Definitely not. Some questions were better left unasked.
She took another bite of her apple. And blinked.
"I think I might have fallen in love with you,"
The soldier, still holding the basket, watched in utter silence.