It only took me a few seconds to decide whether or not to go in the direction of the voice.
Even Subaru himself isn't sure what the deciding factor was.
It may have been because he was lost and lonely, or it may have been because of his stubborn nature that makes him want to jump in and watch whenever he sees trouble.
Or perhaps it was because the silver-haired girl had not missed a similar scene the first time, which had been repeated countless times.
Frowning at a bad feeling, Subaru stepped forward and came across the scene.
"Don't mess with me, woman! Want me to blow that pretty face off for you, huh?!"
"Hey hey, stop making a fuss, you bastard. A man lacking in class has no class in the way he picks fights."
Compared to the man who was spitting and raging with rage, her voice was clear and dignified, carrying deadly venom.
Quietly, peeking his head around the corner, Subaru timidly peered out at what was going on.
Ahead, in a narrow alley, a girl was surrounded by three men, blocking her escape route.
Subaru sighed at the occurrence of a typical thug event, but rather than being conscious of that, what caught his attention was the appearance of a girl who seemed completely out of place with the atmosphere of the place.
Her bright orange hair sparkled in the sunlight, tied in a barrette and cascading down her back. Her gorgeous crimson dress would have shown off her beauty to the fullest at a ball or an aristocratic tea party, but it seemed completely out of place in a dirty alleyway with poor footing.
The numerous ornaments adorning his neck, ears, and fingers were all clearly first class even to the untrained eye, and the coordination from top to bottom would make Subaru spend a hundred times over.
And even though she was clad in so many splendid ornaments, the girl's appearance was outstanding, in no way inferior to her noble appearance.
Defiant, slanted red eyes. Light pink lips and skin as white as virgin snow. A beauty that would make any artist put their brush down, and seeing it manifest, Subaru was reminded of the absurdity of the other world.
The men surrounded the girl, yelling at her with apparent violence.
The girl looked back at them calmly. There was not a trace of bravado in her attitude, but it was hard to imagine that her delicate body had the strength to push them away.
Or rather, even if it does exist, it should be considered not to be an unconfirmed current situation.
The girl folded her arms and held up her ample chest in a relaxed manner. The men interpreted this as an act of even more ease, and it was clear to see their excitement rising.
"--Hey, hey! Sorry for keeping you waiting!"
Subaru quickly raised his hand and inserted himself in the middle of the exchange.
Facing the gazes of the four people there - the three thugs and the girl - Subaru raised his hand in apology to the thugs,
"It seems like there was some kind of trouble, but please forgive me. Look, I think you can tell by looking, but this kid is a bit of a wimp. Do you understand?"
In the dark side of a city where public safety is far from good, this celebrity style is as if asking to be stripped of everything. What else could this be but the attitude of a pathetic person?
Subaru, having lost his mind in his desire to pet the beastman and gotten lost, cheerfully told the displeased men, "Well, that's it!" and grabbed the hand of the girl behind him.
"nothing"
"Come on, let's go before we cause any more trouble for our brothers. Today we'll eat the promised sweets together, feeding each other..."
Subaru blurts out his fantasy schedule with Emilia, changing the cast as he goes, and quickly takes the girl and leaves the place. However,
"Casual"
"--oh?"
Another hand grabbed the arm he had taken from above, twisting Subaru's body and forcibly changing the angle of his body. He was forced to bend over, and his body rotated as if grinding his hips,
"Don't touch me."
The moment he thought his grip had been released, he felt another hand touch the back of his head. A strong force was applied to his head, and without being able to do anything, his face was slammed into the wall.
"Geez!?"
"Well, as soon as I stepped outside, this happened. Men flocked to me, eager to get their hands on my body. I certainly can't let my guard down or leave any openings."
Looking down at Subaru, who was rolling around and clutching his face after the blow, the girl spat out the words as if he were trash. Subaru, half crying from the pain of his nose being scraped against the stone wall, looked up from below, and, spurred on by feelings of rage, he stood up,
"Hey, get the flow of the story! That was typical pattern A, rescuing a girl from some thug! Is it so templated that you didn't even notice my intention!"
"I don't know what you're talking about. I simply acted as I pleased."
"A woman who slams her face into a wall on the first meeting is not exactly the level of being strong-willed!"
Not only did he not understand our intention to rescue him, he treated him as a molester and then took action himself. If he had not had a constitution that made him less susceptible to nosebleeds, or if he had more bucktooth than the average person, he would have been unavoidable in the tragedy.
Subaru, his face distorted with pain and shame, suddenly noticed the silent men looking his way. Having made a grand display of his pathetic state in front of them, Subaru once again leaned the lingam that had slipped away from him due to the timing of the blow to his face against the wall,
「What's the matter, laugh at that. You went in to help to look cool, but not only did they not notice your feelings, you even got hit with a face crush. That's so pathetic, Pugera, laugh at me, huh!?」
"No, it's not funny at all."
Hearing the man's words, which were heavy with sympathy, Subaru's shoulders slumped, feeling that it would have been easier if he had just laughed it off.
Then, taking a long breath to calm myself down, I started again,
"Take two! Come on, you thugs! Now that I'm here, I won't let you do as you please! If you want to get through here, you'll have to defeat me. Hehe, after this battle is over, I'm going to open a bakery in my hometown. I've even promised to marry my childhood friend!"
Subaru rouses himself up with some bold words and challenges the men.
He shielded the girl from behind and carefully watched the men's movements. They were three to one, so if he could land the first surprise attack, he would have a chance of winning.
"Hey, you guys look familiar."
Turning his head, Subaru looked at the faces of the three men before him, comparing them with his memories, then clapped his hands as he remembered.
"Oh, that's ridiculous. Eh, what, you're kidding? Are you the only thugs in the royal capital?"
Of course he recognized the three, they were the clumsy trio he had named Tonchinkan, who had harassed Subaru on his first day of summoning. Having once been the one to take his life, Subaru felt a slight sense of tension take over, but,
"More than that, I feel a stronger sense of relaxation... What is it with you guys, do you do this every single time? Every day? One day? Summer vacation?"
"He suddenly barged in, hit his head, and started saying things I couldn't understand."
"Hey, I don't really want to deal with you, you go away."
"I don't like it either. If you just give it a good nudge, it'll go away, right?"
Subaru looked listless, perhaps because he was on guard or had just let his tension go, and he didn't seem particularly motivated to fight. The other men turned to each other and began discussing the matter in hushed voices.
As the men were finally beginning to lose their fighting spirit, a girl who hadn't been involved in the exchange spoke up, "Hey."
"I don't get excited if you keep dragging your feet on the conversation. You two are girls, aren't you? If so, then you should take care of your appearance and present yourself as worthy of my affection. Your adorable appearance with all your muscles and unnecessary body hair - it must be quite comical."
With her hand over her mouth, the girl hurled abuse at him, filled with mockery and contempt.
For a moment, the four of them (the thugs and Subaru) didn't understand what he had said, but after a moment the meaning hit them and they all boiled over.
"Don't mess with me, you damn woman!"
"Who's a girl? You're kidding me!"
"Who do you think you are, talking like you're so great, huh!?"
"Seriously, don't get carried away, you know! Want me to use your amazing sex appeal to tell you if we're girls or not?!"
They turn into a group of four thugs and spew out vulgar rebuttals.
The last one, in particular, was full of unpleasantness that was likely to cause controversy later on. Subaru, the one who had shouted that last word, was breathing heavily and shaking his shoulders.
"Damn. What am I doing with that idiot..."
I was surprised at how much like a bat I looked.
To be honest, the thugs' anger was justified by the girl's attitude. However, just because she has a bad mouth doesn't mean she deserves to be humiliated by men.
"I feel extremely sorry for you guys, but it's too late to change my original intentions now. And it's not like I don't have any feelings for you guys. If you want to hate me, hate you guys on the first day."
"That arrogant woman is one thing, but what about you in the end, you brat?"
Ton spat these words out, scratching his head and seeming annoyed at Subaru's existence. It seemed that Subaru no longer existed in their memories.
Despite everything that had happened, such as being beaten by Emilia with magic, being thoroughly defeated by Subaru in a three-on-one match, and then later attacking Subaru, he was still heartless.
"Well, none of those events happened in this timeline. In fact, if they remember anything at all... they might only remember that handsome guy making a dashing appearance."
It was resolved most peacefully, and it could also be said that the rift between Subaru and them was the shallowest.
Since they had all avoided interfering with each other, it was only natural that they had no lasting impression of Subaru.
And so Subaru was half-conscious of the loneliness,
"Hey, I remember now. This guy, a few days ago in an alleyway on the shopping street..."
"--! Are you still that crazy brat from back then? You haven't changed at all!"
"You're right. I didn't notice because you were dressed differently!"
Chin snapped his fingers and shouted that he'd had an idea, and Ton and Kan also began to search through their memories one after another. Subaru ignored the fact that there was a word that he found difficult to ignore, and clapped his hands in appreciation of their memory,
"That's right, so you two and I are not strangers to each other. So, please spare my face and let me off the hook."
"Are you stupid? It's not that we're strangers, we're enemies. What started as a three-to-one situation has now become three-to-two."
"We're one step away from being evenly matched. Neither of us wants to get hurt, right?"
"Correction. It's not three against two, it's three against one against one."
"Just shut up for a second!"
He is trying to settle things peacefully with a bit of bluffing and a temporary solution, but the girl completely ignores his wishes and insists on her own way.
If I could time leap back to just five minutes ago, I'd like to tap myself on the shoulder as I stand by the wall, watching the situation, and tell myself, "There's no point in seriously doing this," but it's all too late now.
Subaru knew from experience that they weren't the most patient people.
I finally feel their attitudes begin to change from anger to cold, sharp emotions. It's the kind of murderous intent that I've become familiar with since coming to this other world.
It was only a matter of time before each of them reached into their pockets and pulled out the familiar, bloody smelling prey.
"...I guess there's no other way. I really didn't want to have to resort to this method."
Judging that a clash was now unavoidable, Subaru shook his head, ashamed of his own immaturity.
Unable to get through this situation with just his eloquence, it was a close call where he was forced to use his trump card like every other time - although sometimes he would like to get through it with ease.
"Stop it, you guys. This isn't a game anymore."
Subaru raised his palms towards the three men, trying to restrain them from committing a violent act at any moment. Chin, who was the most sensitive, swelled with blood vessels at Subaru's words,
"What? Don't you misunderstand? We are the top and you are the bottom. Don't give us the wrong orders."
Chin, not hiding his murderous intent, pulls out a knife from his pocket and prepares to throw it.
Before Chin could remove his hand, Subaru took a step forward, appeared right in front of Chin, and spoke as clearly as he could in the most gruff voice he could.
"You're not going to regret saying that, are you?"
"Huh?"
"Just so you know, I know Reinhard, you know. Reinhard and I are best friends. When I call you, you'll come flying over right away."
"--What!?"
Chin stepped back, a look of shock plastered on his face at what Subaru had just said.
Operation "The Fox Taking Advantage of the Tiger" is activated, truly scaring the enemy.
The mention of Reinhard's name caused a stir among the Tonchinko. They would have wanted to argue that it was just a bluff, but unfortunately, they were the ones who actually witnessed Reinhard assisting Subaru.
There's no way he didn't know about the skills of that slightly crazy swordsman.
"What will you do? If you ask me now, I'll give you a hand. I'll do it."
As soon as he saw that it had an immediate effect, Subaru put his hands together above his head and shook his hips, intimidating the men with his relaxed attitude. To be honest, unless Reinhard was some kind of heroic character who would conveniently appear in response to the cries of the citizens, it was clear that Subaru would suffer if he got into a fight here, so it was a kind of desperate pantomime.
Unable to see through the cold sweat inside, the men gritted their teeth in frustration.
"I'll make do with this for now."
"But remember, we didn't lose."
"It's not like I was scared of the name Reinhard!"
The men, making us look even pettier with the usual sour grapes and unnecessary explanations, left the alleyway heaping curses on us.
Watching her back disappear completely around the corner, Subaru finally let out all the tension he had been feeling with a sigh, put his hands on his knees and bent over.
"Ah, that was tough. I was really worried. In this fight between small fry, it looks like my small frying skills won out... It's a small world!"
Subaru somehow regained his composure through some light-hearted banter and turned to look at the girl behind him.
Just as Subaru had been putting up a false front in front of the men and somehow managing to maintain his mental balance, perhaps the girl had also adopted such an arrogant attitude out of self-defense――
"Why, wither your begging eyes. I have nothing to give you."
"No, this is completely normal. You can at least thank me for helping you, you know?"
"Did you help?"
The girl tilts her head and looks puzzled.
She closed her eyes for a moment, as if thinking deeply, then she let out a small sigh, "Ah," as if she understood.
"You were chirping earlier to help me, weren't you? Hmm, I didn't notice."
"You're not saying that you're not going to get any reward for doing something so bad that it went unnoticed, are you!?"
Subaru clutches his head and twists his hips, expressing his shock with his body. However, the girl looks at him with a bored expression, and then says nothing in the end.
"My goodness, what a waste of time. It is a sin to steal my limited time."
"So you didn't even say thank you after all..."
When I was looking for words of thanks and gratitude, I couldn't help but remember Rem. The blue-haired girl must be out shopping in the royal capital right now, and even though we're only a few hours apart, I still miss her so much. I want to be comforted.
Subaru was aware that his voice might come across as a little condescending, but the girl turned her head in the direction of him and said, "Hmm."
"Don't get the wrong idea. I wouldn't have had any problems even if you weren't here. It's just that you just happened to be the one who managed to solve a problem that could have been easily managed. It's just ridiculous to brag about it as if it were your own achievement."
「I don't get it. What do you mean? Even if you didn't help me, I'm super strong so it would have been fine! Is that what you mean?」
"No, it's much simpler than that. This world is made to suit my convenience. Therefore, no disadvantage will come to me. It is thanks to me that I was saved. Do you not think it shameful to take credit for it and steal it?"
As if it were natural, obvious, common sense, the girl proudly puffed out her ample breasts and asserted her own absoluteness.
The vitality to assert that all events are on one's side and that all phenomena are the result of one's own actions.
What's more, he has the nerve to call Subaru's actions of coming to his aid as stealing credit.
Seeing her radiance, like the sun, Subaru came to a firm conclusion.
--This is definitely the kind of disappointment you shouldn't get involved with.
"I, I see. Sorry for acting like an unnecessary fool."
People like this should not be provoked with unnecessary words, but rather their words should be taken in a positive light.
Subaru nodded exaggeratedly without trying to resist, then quickly picked up the bag containing the linga that he had left on the wall.
I almost scattered them all over the place when I crashed face, but fortunately, I didn't see anything damaged. I was relieved that the kindness of the greengrocer was not damaged.
"Well, that's it. Let's both try to walk in more sunny places."
He raised his hands and turned around to face the girl.
For now, try to keep your distance by walking so as not to upset them, and when you come around a corner, sprint as fast as you can to get away.
With his course of action thus decided, Subaru counted the number of steps to the corner.
"--Wait."
Hearing a low voice calling from behind him, Subaru stopped in his tracks and blamed himself for his own lack of virtue.
I should have just pretended I didn't hear and walked away, but since I had stopped, that excuse was no longer valid.
In his last act of defiance, Subaru didn't even look back, but spoke with his voice,
"Wh, what is it?"
Subaru doesn't realize that the subtle humbleness in her reply has already revealed a mental superiority-subordinate relationship.
Subaru, who is mentally weak, tries his best to get his way by not looking back, but such a clumsy act of rebellion is meaningless to the mentally strong girl.
"What's in that bag? Let me see."
The girl leisurely came around to the front and gestured for him to put down the bag she was holding to her chest.
Subaru had no obligation to obey obediently, but not wanting to disobey and prolong the conversation, reluctantly followed the instructions, tilted the top of the bag, and showed it to her.
Seeing the mountain of ripe red fruit, the girl blinked her red eyes several times,
"I can't tell even after looking at it. What is this fruit...?"
"Whatever you say, it's a linga. Haven't you seen it?"
Since it was on the menu for breakfast at the Roswaal Manor, he had thought it might be a popular fruit, but perhaps that wasn't the case. Or perhaps the standard of food at the Roswaal Manor was quite high, and the linga itself was a fairly expensive ingredient - but that had been cleared up by the exchange of the two copper coins earlier. So a genuine question mark rose in Subaru's mind.
While Subaru was frowning in doubt, it was the girl who showed an even more striking reaction.
She peered inside the bag again, then looked up at Subaru mockingly,
"You lie. Don't make me laugh. Got it? Linga is a white fruit. It definitely doesn't look like this red fruit."
"Once you peel the skin off, the inside is white."
Wondering what she was going to say, she replied with a matter-of-fact tone, and Subaru retorted in disgust. However, it was the girl who lost all color in response.
Feeling something unsettling about that reaction, Subaru timidly,
"You mean, you've never actually seen a linga before it was skinned?"
"Hmm, now that you mention it, I've only ever seen it on the dining table. --Okay. Send it over."
Muttering to herself as if understanding, the girl then thrusts one hand out towards Subaru and demands that he hand over the linga.
Subaru tried to argue back against her arrogant attitude, but was stopped when he saw her hand facing away from him.
In contrast to her left hand which was held out towards us, her right hand was in her bosom, and when she removed her palm from under her luxurious dress, it was revealed to be clutching a short-bladed dagger.
The handle is adorned with jewels and it is clearly a luxury item, but judging by the way it shines in the faint light of the alleyway, it appears that even its sharpness is not just for decoration.
Subaru felt dizzy after coming to the aid of a girl who was about to be mugged, only to be mugged himself himself.
And so, as Subaru fell silent from the overwork of his brain, the girl again briefly ordered, "Give it to me,"
"I'll cut it in half and see what's inside. Then I'll see if your mouth is a hole that can only let out lies."
"I feel a strong sense of disgust when someone points a knife at me in an alleyway..."
"Fast delivery"
Despite her resistance, the linga is taken away and cut in two in the girl's palm.
The girl handled the dagger in her reverse grip with more skill than one would expect. After watching the linga split in two, exposing its white surface, she licked up the small amount of liquid that had spilled onto her palm with her tongue,
"Sweet and sour... this taste is definitely that of linga."
"Are you satisfied?"
Subaru greeted the girl who finally seemed convinced with a smile. He would even give her one if she wanted, and in truth, he just wanted her to let him go. Without his watch, he didn't know how long it had been since he'd been separated from Emilia, but it was scary to even check.
However, the girl was heartless and paid no attention to Subaru's pleading feelings,
"Interesting. Give me the rest of them too. I'll crack them all open and check them all."
"BA・KA・I・E!!"
Even Subaru erupted in rage at his remarks, which were no less than arrogant and tyrannical.
Subaru thrashed about in anger and approached the girl,
"I don't understand the meaning of even one being broken, so why do I have to give them all to you? Absolutely not! This linga, this linga… is a symbol of the bond between me and a certain man. It's not just a linga, it's the fruit of that bond!!"
"Enough nonsense, then do this."
Paying no attention to Subaru's passionate speech, the girl continued speaking one-sidedly.
She pointed to the bag of lingams Subaru was holding, her lips parted to one side and she let out a sweet smile,
"How about a bet?"
"--A bet?"
"Yes, a simple bet. Yes, a simple bet like guessing whether a coin will flip. I'll bet one lingam at a time. How's that?"
She suggests a coin toss, but Subaru snorts at her declaration.
Although this attitude seems to suggest that they have made a concession, the premise is flawed to begin with.
"Your argument is nonsense. First of all, there's no benefit to me in that bet. If the only thing that matters is that I don't lose the Ringa, then there's no point in me running away like this."
"Of course, I'll prepare something for you in return. That's right..."
The girl touches her lips thoughtfully. Then she gives Subaru a seductive sidelong glance, crosses her arms and lifts up her ample breasts. And,
"If you win the bet, you will be allowed to touch my breasts. How about that?"
Subaru let out a long sigh and shook his head at the suggestion that his body would be used as a gambling chip.
The mindset of easily throwing oneself into gambling, the destructive thinking that seems to lack any thought for the future -- this is always the nature of people who ruin their lives through gambling.
And the beautiful girl in front of him probably thinks that any man who sees her will be seduced by her charms. It's a sad story, and I think that's a sad way of thinking.
The girl looked at Subaru with a slightly suspicious look, wondering what he thought of his late reply.
Looking her straight down, Subaru told her clearly.
「Take better care of yourself. What a fool…I don't think I'd be seduced by such charms!」
※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※
--and,
"This marks my seventh consecutive victory. Linga, there are only three more to go, you know?"
"That's impossible!? I'm going to be stripped of all my clothes!?"
There, in the back alleys, Subaru was losing battle after battle and wasting his money on gambling