The merchant queen was eating good.
"They don't use swords, in fact." Beatrice shook her head firmly, confusing and surprising many in the room.
"What do they use then, magic?" Crusch asked with great interest, "Have they managed to advance the use of magic so much that normal warfare was affected?"
At the noblewoman's words, most of the knights in the room and Anastasia looked at the spirit with hungry eyes, wanting to know what became of the art of war familiar to them in the other world.
Beatrice shook her head. "In Subaru's home, there is no knowledge or use of magic."
"What?" "Pardon?" Felt and Julius asked in astonishment while the rest blinked in surprise, even the bored looking Priscilla suddenly looked taken aback by the information, Roswaal was just hearing this all with a shocked expression. None of this was in his master's gospel… his mind wandered to the thought of how his teacher would take to a world where her favorite subject didn't even exist…
"That explains why he couldn't use his gate properly." Emilia's feminine voice was filled with pity and sadness at how unprepared the boy was for their world, he lost his gate because he cared less about it than he cared for his friends.. "Honestly, his world sounds amazing! Why wouldn't he tell me about this stuff as well…?" Beatrice glanced at the downtrodden Emilia with an annoyed look.
"Because I'm his Betty, in fact!"
Emilia couldn't help but feel more down at the spirit's answer, knowing that the boy trusted someone more than he did her was just hurtful for some reason.
Behind them, a blue-haired silent maid was contemplating all of the differences between the versions of everyone present she had left before falling to Gluttony and the ones she was seeing now…
When did they become so caring and close to Subaru?
Rem was pouting slightly in the back seat.
"What do they fight with great spirit-sama?" An excited red-head couldn't help but ask with hope-filled eyes, "Have they achieved peace within themselves?" his question was asked with relative innocence.
He was instantly disappointed as the great spirit before him looked serious and stern.
"Warfare in his home is much more ruthless than ours, in fact. Often are laws of war ignored and there is no conduct of honor to their fighting, just a 'kill everyone on enemy lines' mentality that spread inhuman ways of destruction aimed to maximize casualties, civilians included. They have a 'modern' version of a bow and arrow that they call 'guns'. Only they are much more cowardly. They shoot metal projectiles from long distances at tremendous speeds. They can seriously injure, or kill instantly within a second of firing. They have versions of those cars with guns on them, only they are armored as to take a beating, being almost unkillable. They also have flying metal boxes shaped like birds that can drop metal rods that explode upon contact with the ground, killing scores of people within the blink of an eye. There have been many cases of these weapons being used on civil regions and hospitals and churches. They've developed many more gadgets and weapons for the sole purpose of killing as many people as possible, in fact. Subaru looked to be in great pain when he spoke about them to me, I suppose."
To say that a chill ran down everyone's spine was a gross understatement, even Roswaal seemed distraught.
Reinhard quickly shut his lips and looked down, devastated. Felt was silently looking at him with worry.'
Anastasia and Julius looked beyond shocked to hear this information, as did Crusch and her camp including the now wide-eyed Wilhelm.
"What an inhuman way of fighting… they have all of this brilliant knowledge and they use it to kill innocent bystanders?!"
At the sound of the agitated shout, Priscilla nodded her head. "It's horrible for mineself to admit this… but the half-wit earns my agreement."
The scarlet-eyed Barielle and the amethyst-eyed half-elf both looked enraged by such a cowardly ways to fight, placing the lives of the innocent just to win was simply hated by both, the kind heart Emilia possessed and the extreme pride and honor Priscilla held.
"H-Horrible…" Petra whispered as she gazed towards her shoes in an attempt to hide her fearful expression. Subaru's world was now the last on the girl's vacation destination list.
"Hmm, that place seems terrifying~! I want to go there!" Mimi energetically jumped up and down.
"I'm not even sure we have a combat ability that could defeat most of their grounded attacking tactics… much less aerial attacks from flying boxes!" Mimi's tactician brother, Tivey, said while holding his chin in his hand with a dire expression aimed at the floor.
"I can take 'em!"
…
…
Otto slapped the back of Garfiel's head.
The cast tried to overcome the swallowing dread from the horrible description of Subaru's world.
"A place were demi-humans are commonplace and probably stuff like wars and adventures, as well."
"I don't understand… are there no demi races in his world as well?" Felix asked the only person willing to answer such a question.
Beatrice simply shook her head with a firm expression that said this subject should be dropped instantly… She wouldn't want to delve into why Subaru's world was still even more racially broken than theirs… Nor the stupidity of his race for choosing such pathetic excuses to go to war.
"Why does he speak as if he can predict our history by just glancing around a city?" Julius asked with his chest raised and his eyes glaring towards Subaru for his disrespecting attitude; not liking how the boy was lumping all of Lugunica with the rest of the world by just saying, 'wars and stuff'.
"He says the truth." Priscilla mused sighing while half-glancing at the screen with a bored expression. She had agreed with Subaru's statement.
" WATCH OUT!"
Suddenly turning to see what the shouting was about, his sharp eyes quickly fell on a situation causing panic through the crowed of civilians around him. A young boy had fallen right in the middle of the pathway and a big carriage, pulled by a giant reptile creature, was speeding right towards the kid, seemingly uncaring if it crushed him.
Petra gasped at the scene and looked worried for the boy.
"This is surprising." Crusch muttered at the sudden situation and looked intrigued to see how Subaru handles it.
"I hope he won't hurt himself." Emilia sighed tirelessly, thinking that her dumb knight would be the one to save the boy somehow. She couldn't help but feel fondly for him, though knowing how reckless and idiotic he can be.
"This is it! Its my chance! This must be where I produce my first magic! " Subaru yelled out in excitement and started posing in place while the crowed grew horrified for the kid.
"That's not how a person should act when seeing a crises." Julius muttered, finding Subaru's excitement kind of cringeworthy and unnecessary.
Garfiel also frowned slightly at seeing his captain's strange behavior… the captain he knew would instantly jump in and pull the boy out of harms way. "Cap'n's weird 'ere." The blonde said, glaring at the screen with sharp disappointment in his eyes.
Shouting with all his might, Subaru posed with his hands held in front of him as he attempted to cast magic so he could help the kid.
It did nothing, the boy was about to be crushed to death as the cart continued to speed towards him.
"He doesn't know how magic works…" Beatrice shook her head and hid her red-face behind her palms as she couldn't watch her contractor's stupidity while many of the cast were chuckling and giggling goodheartedly at Subaru's mishap.
Everyone watched with horror and sheer panic as the sight of the dragon coming closer until it neared inches over the boy's form. Luckily, an armor-clad knight jumped over the road fences and rolled on the ground until he reached the kid, saving him and holding him in his arms as the carriage sped away.
The crowds cheered for the brave hero as the knight held his thumbs up to them.
Subaru slowly retreated, looking embarrassed. "Guess I am not ready to use magic yet."
"Stop laughing, I suppose! He didn't know how to use magic yet so this is an expected reaction, in fact!" Beatrice pouted dangerously while shouting at the silver-haired girl sitting beside her contractor, the half-elf that was currently holding her stomach as angelic giggling came out of her mouth.
"I'm sorry, Betty-san – Gasp – It's so funny! Subaru's such a dummy!"
As Emilia continued to laugh at the boy's inexperience and embarrassing antics, Beatrice glared heatedly at her with crossed arms.
Being one of Subaru's many victims, Otto decided to take his revenge and enjoy this failed moment of his best friend by laughing his heart out.
The blonde beside him only pursed his lips over his sharp teeth and pouted like a child, or growled like an angry kitten. "That pose was nowhere near as cool! It must be why Cap'n looked so lame!" "Hahahaha!"
Otto fell over, laughing out loud more then before as he heard Garfiel's justification for Subaru's idiocy.
Felt, the twins, and Petra were all laughing and giggling childishly.
Priscilla, Anastasia, and Crusch all shook their heads in disappointment or boredom.
Felix, Ricardo, and Al all chuckled while Julius took a more serious stance and shook his head disapprovingly at Subaru's childishness that could've cost a boy's life.
Reinhard simply chuckled alongside the rest of them while looking at Subaru's attitude as that of an excited child that in a toy shop. He wondered if he would've looked the same had it been him that were summoned into another world...
The screen shows the lost boy walking through a marketplace, looking through the multiple shops and stands around him. He stopped at a stand and inspected the fruits on display, seeing foreign writing on one of the signs.
" I can't read this," he muse s as he inspected the sign with a thoughtful look.
"Hm," Ram hummed while looking at the boy with narrowed suspicious eyes, "Barusu had extremely lacking knowledge of our language and glyphs, but he knew the basics well enough. Better than a child… If he was from another world…"
"He wouldn't know anything about our country's writing system and so that's explains why he can't read this sign." Frederica caught on with what the pink-haired maid was saying.
"That doesn't seem right." Rem spoke in a hushed tone, unconsciously making both Emilia and Beatrice glance at her with worry and curiousness.
"You there, maid." Beatrice pointed towards Rem with a look of authority, "Why would Betty's contractor knowing the basics of our language be so thought provoking, I wonder."
Rem reluctantly bowed her head to the little loli before her and answered softly and politely, "My apologies, Beatrice-sama, but um… Subaru-kun was brought to us on the same day when Emilia-sama's stone was stolen from her. That would be the same day he was summoned so suddenly to us from what we've seen of Felt-sama's earlier part."
"So… that means the boy managed to learn the language right before meeting with you guys in the same day?" Tivey asked while staring at the bunch in confusion.
"That is…"
"Unlikely." Reinhard affirmed with his head nodding for Felix, thinking of the first day he met Subaru… it was in the middle of the afternoon… Subaru wasn't learning anything back then.
"Hm, I suggest we continue to watch for now. This matter is being pointed out by a suspicious window, don't forget. We have to take whatever we see with a grain of salt or else we might be expected to fall for some trick this warden is pulling."
Everyone heeded Crusch's warning and looked at the screen apprehensively, dropping the whole discussion.
Except for one named, Roswaal, as he sat with a blindingly focused stare, pupils shrunken to the extreme as he watched.
"It's gonna be shown! Finally!"
" Th ese are some weird clothes you're traveling in boy." A gruff looking man grunted from behind the stand with his eye narrowed at Subaru.
S ubaru looked at the merchant and pointed at the red fruits. " What are those?"
"Those are appas."
"So they can understand me huh," The boy mused once more in a whispering tone to keep his thoughts to himself.
Taking a few coins from his wallet, Subaru placed them on the appa man's opened-palm.
"You can't use that stuff in Lugunica. That means you're flat broke, huh? Get outta here! Don't interfere with my business! " The man yelled at Subaru and threw the coins in his face.
Subaru is looking distraught as he walks along.
"Meanie pants!" Petra shouted and even went as far as blowing a raspberry at the screen.
"He didn't need to be so rude!" Emilia huffed with soft resentment of the man's ruffness with Subaru, even if he was in the right to do so, it wasn't nice to be mean! She wouldn't have believed her knight went through such a harsh start where he was lost with no money or friends to help him!
"Oh Subaru-kun…" Rem softly shook her head with a soft smile, knowing that after this harsh treatment her hero was facing he would make it to her in the same day one way or another, like a trick of destiny.
"There's no other way, I'll just have to go around gathering information first. " The young man sighed helplessly and continued to walk along his day.
"I do wonder," Crusch mused rigidly with a hand on her chin, "how would a lost young man find himself serving a royal candidate on his very first outing in this world?"
"That is a question I've wondered myself. Considering how almost nothing about our world is known to him except for some minor information like magic and races, he doesn't seem the type to con his way into a royal camp for leverage." Anastasia weighed in with a hint of honesty in her tone. She wasn't saying the boy wasn't smart, he's just a bit naive and trusting.
"Natsuki-san really met you on this day, Emilia-sama?" Otto questioned, slightly sweating as he noticed some of the knights, namely Felix and Julius, narrowing their eyes and thinning their lips for a moment. He needs to understand the start of Subaru's rise inside of Emilia's camp and it looked like this day was where he started… he didn't want to let the people think of his friend as some con that took advantage of Emilia's kindness to gain a leg up in this new world.