To have a higher chance of finding someone that can identify the thief, you split into groups. Subaru went with Emilia and Puck while you stayed with Reinhard.
You all agreed to meet back at the alley after 1 hour, and then Subaru and company left.
The first thing that you did was describe Felt to Reinhard so that he would be able to ask other people about her. Sol leaned against a nearby stone pillar, his eyes scanning the crowds with the restless energy of someone used to looking for snipers on rooftops.
"Well, she was short. The top of her head probably comes to the base of my neck." You put your hand up to your neck to demonstrate.
"Her hair is blonde, but I didn't get a good look at her eyes." You paused, thinking back to the blurred motion in the alley. "I also noticed that she was able to move in a way that's nimbler than a normal person. Like she's got high-end reflex boosters, or some ability to run away. She's a professional, even if she's just a kid."
With this, Reinhard nodded. "I appreciate the information. Is there anything else that you noticed?"
You think, and then reply, "No. That's all that I can think of currently. I'll let you know if anything else pops into my head." In reality, you were keeping some of the more "meta" knowledge to yourself. Telling a Knight of the Realm that you came from a world where people replace their spines with chrome felt like a conversation for another time.
He nodded again. "Thank you, Sol. Since I now know what you know, let's start asking around about this girl."
"Okay."
You wished that you could come up with something cooler to say, but you came up short. Because of this, an awkward silence started between the two of you.
It was only broken when Reinhard spotted a semi-busy street. "Let's go over there. I'll take the left side, and you take the right." Without hesitating, he walked towards the left side of the street.
You go to the right, and start asking people if they know anybody that fits Felt's description. You moved through the crowd with a predator's grace, your hands never too far from your pockets.
Time Skip
You sighed. Nobody had recognized Felt's description, and the hour was almost up. Reinhard noticed this, and says, "Don't lose hope yet Sol, maybe Lady Emilia and Subaru managed to get some information."
He patted you on the back, and started making his way back to the alley. The strength in his hand alone was enough to make Sol's internal sensors hum. This guy is a walking tank, Sol thought.
Since you had been interrogating people around the city, you had actually gone quite far from the meeting place. It took a whole 12 minutes to walk back.
When you got there, you saw Subaru waiting impatiently. "It's about time you got back, Sol! We've been waiting for almost half an hour now!" He smirked.
Subaru, unlike you, already had a plan in mind. He had slowly directed his group toward the place that the lost little girl would be. Sure enough, she was standing there, and Subaru and Emilia were quick to reunite her with her mother and then go to the Appa vendor to find out about Felt.
"Subaru, don't be mean!" Emilia playfully punched him, which evoked an amused expression from you and Puck.
It looks like those two are getting along really good. I wonder what happened while we were separated, Sol thought, his eyes shifting to the horizon. The sun was dipping lower.
"I assume that, since you were back so early, you were able to identify the thief?" Reinhard questioned.
"That's right. Her name is Felt, and she lives in the slums. That's all we've got, but it should be enough!" Subaru looked enthusiastic, and after he said this, he pumped his fist.
His display of excitement riled some of the others up.
"Yeah! Let's go to the slums and get Lia's insignia back!" Puck did a little flip in the air, which made you and Reinhard smile.
"Why not, we've got no time to lose!" Reinhard exclaimed. You look around, and everyone seems to be in good spirits now.
I hope that things will stay like this for a while, Sol thought, though his rational mind was already calculating the risks of the slums. Just a little cheer goes a long way, but life always seems to find a way to extinguish it. Especially when professionals are involved.
Time skip
The five of you are now at the slums. Once again, the tension is making everybody feel uneasy. As you walked, you could almost feel the strength of the stares that were concentrated on your group.
"Um..." whispered Subaru, "things feel really weird. Is this normal?"
Reinhard shook his head. "I've never been here, but I would assume that things aren't normally like this. I'm afraid that I may be attracting a lot of unwanted attention."
This made a lot of sense. Sol recognized the vibe—it was the same look you got when a corporate AV-4 landed in the middle of a Combat Zone. "I agree, but there isn't much we can do about this."
You didn't suggest Reinhard splitting up from you because he was the most important person to be with right now. If Elsa just happened to show up, you need him close by so that somebody doesn't die.
"I know, why don't I go ahead of you guys and see if anyone will tell me about where Felt lives? I should fit in pretty well, so it's worth a shot." Subaru brought up the plan from his previous experience.
"That's actually not a bad idea," said Puck. "Go ahead. If you can't get someone to tell you soon, come back so we can come up with a different plan."
"Alright, here goes nothing..." With this said, Subaru walked off on his own.
After a few silent minutes, he came back with a victorious look on his face. He gave you a thumbs up. "Success! They told me that we can find Felt at Old Rom's loot house at the top of the hill over there." He pointed at it.
"Nice work, Subaru," congratulated Reinhard. "Now let's see if she's there."
You walked to the loot house and this time, you knock on the door. Subaru was trembling slightly, since he remembered what happened last time someone had knocked on that door, but this time, there was a response.
"Who is it?" A gruffly voice came from inside.
"We're here to see Felt."
"What's the password?"
Everyone looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. "Uh," you muttered, your voice flat and unimpressed, "she didn't give us one. Tell her the 'mETia' guys are here."
"Is that so?" You all anxiously wait for his response.
"Well, if you're here to see Felt, come on in. She's not here yet, but she will be soon enough."
You pumped your fists. The first step to getting the insignia back is complete.
Before the door is opened, Reinhard excused himself. "I don't think that me going in there is a good idea. I do not want to scare Felt away, so I will make myself scarce until I believe that my assistance may be required." With that, he walked away.
"Oh well, he's probably right," you comment. Of course, it would be reassuring to have Reinhard by your side, but if anything happened, you had full confidence that he would be there in a flash.
After taking a deep breath, you opened the door and you finally see the interior of the loot house.
Sitting at the back was Rom, the old giant. He was drinking some sort of alcohol, and he didn't seem to really notice you until he said, "Come on, take a seat. If you're comin' in, you might as well be comfortable."
You all accept his invitation and sit down across from Rom at the bar table.
"Now, why do you need to see Felt?" He got straight to the point, a fact that you liked. You weren't the type of person that liked to engage in small talk and slowly get to the point.
Emilia was about to answer when you cut her off. "We'd like to bargain for that insignia that she stole today."
"Well, I don't know what she has, but I was told that Felt was bringin' a fine pile of loot today. If you want to get that insignia, you're goin' to have to pay up."
This statement made all of you freeze. All of you were broke, and there was no hiding this fact.
"Well, you see, I was wondering if we could do a trade," you said, your eyes flickering with a cold, calculated light. "We're all broke, but we have some pretty interesting items with us."
You and Subaru then pull out the very few things that you brought from your worlds. Subaru has his snacks and flip phone, and you just have your phone.
"I've never seen these before. What are these?" He pointed to the phones.
"Well," started Subaru, "these are magical devices called cell phones! They can stop time for anyone at any time!"
"How?!" Both Rom and Emilia seemed surprised by this.
"Let me show you." Subaru opened his flip phone and took a picture of Rom. "Nine Seconds Per Shot: Continuous Shot!" Once he called out the name of his 'magic', he then turned it around to show Rom and Emilia.
Just as promised, this picture had 'stopped time' for Rom, which impressed him. "That's my face! Just what is that?"
Subaru grinned. "Like I said, this is a magical item that can freeze time for objects, and then store them inside so that you can look at them later!"
Rom gasped. "Is this a metia? I've heard that those are devices that let non-magic users use magic, but I've never seen one before."
"Yeah," you say, sliding your sleek, obsidian-colored device across the counter. "That is a metia, along with this. This one does the very same thing, but it's built for high-end processing. It's just a lot fancier."
Right after you said that, a certain blonde haired girl came barging in. "Hey, what're you doing here?" She then saw Emilia. "YOU!" She pointed an accusatory finger. "I'm not giving your insignia back, so don't even try to do something to Old Man Rom!"
"Wait a second, Felt," said the giant. "They're actually here to trade for it, so I don't see anything wrong with that."
Felt let out a 'hmph'. "Fine. As long as they don't pull off any funny business, I'll let them stay."
She then pulled up to the table and sat down.
Rom then showed her the phones, and their 'ability' shocked her as well. "If I had to guess, just one of these are probably worth at least 20 holy coins!" Old Rom gave his best appraisal.
"How much is the insignia worth?" asked Subaru.
"Well, you see, a client specifically asked for us to grab this, and they offered 10 holy coi—"
"It's settled then!" exclaimed Subaru. "One of our metias for the insignia!"
"Wait just a second!" yelled Felt. "You can't have it just yet. You have to wait until our client gets here. They may be willing to pay for a higher price."
"You are absolutely correct about that."
Everybody turned their head to see none other than the Bowel Hunter standing in the doorway. Sol's body went rigid. His internal systems flared white-hot as the memory of the previous loop's death hit him like a physical blow. This wasn't just fear; this was the cold, clinical recognition of a superior predator.
"Now, what is it that these young people want?" She did her creepy smile, and you finally experienced true fear.
She noticed this, and it made her smile even more. You and Subaru were frozen in place, but there was another that spoke up. "We're here to bargain for my insignia!" Emilia tried to be brave, but that was a grave mistake.
"Oh," Elsa narrowed her eyes. "So that's what is going on."
You know what is about to happen, so you called out, "Puck! Shield!"
Right as you said that, the Bowel Hunter made a dash toward all of you, but her attack was halted by many shards of ice that came veering toward her.
"Nice one, Sol! If you wouldn't have called for me just now, you'd be dead!"
You gulp at that word. Dead.
Can I really die? With Subaru restarting over and over, what happens to my soul when I die? Does it go somewhere, or is it sucked back in time? This thought worries you.
"Cat got your tongue?" Elsa said, commenting on your silence.
"Actually, I've got yours!" Puck shot ice at Elsa's face, but she was able to dodge all of it.
I hope that Reinhard comes soon. This is going to get messy, Sol thought, his hand moving to his spine.
"Everybody, get behind the table!" Rom got his club and motioned for you to hide. At first, you wanted to help fight, but then you did as you were told. You didn't know your limit here, and you didn't want to risk a loop until you had more data.
Elsa saw you and Felt move behind the table, and she took note. She also noticed Subaru, who refused to move. "I'm going to help Emilia, because what use am I to her if I won't help her fight!?" Subaru charged Elsa.
"I'm not interested in you. Your insides aren't worth my time." She then looked straight at Sol. "You, on the other hand," she licked her lips, "I'm going to enjoy dissecting. You move... differently."
With this said, she bounded towards the table where you were hiding. Puck tried to force her to move somewhere else, but the Bowel Hunter was too quick. She got over the table and brought her blade down, about to kill both you and Felt in one fell swipe.
Sol didn't hesitate. Sandevistan—Activate!
The world slowed to a crawl. The roar of the blood in his ears was the only sound. Sol saw the blade descending, a sliver of dark steel aimed at the young thief's throat.
Sol moved. He was a blur of neon and tactical fabric. He slammed his shoulder into Felt, shoving her across the floor and out of the line of fire. But the Sandevistan had a cost—a moment of lag as the hardware fought against the laws of this world.
The blade changed trajectory with a flick of Elsa's wrist.
You feel immense pain, and you know that your time is about to end. Your stomach is sliced cleanly.
Sorry Subaru, but I'm not going to make it. If you survive this, move on without me. I know that you can, so don't give up.
"SOL!" You faintly hear Reinhard screaming your name after he finally came in. You smiled.
Heh. At least I got to have some fun before I died. Well, goodbye cruel world. If I wake up again...
You blacked out, but instead of seeing the light, you saw a mysterious silver-haired figure.
...I love him... so help him...
You wake up with a start. Your wounds are completely healed, the only evidence of your life-ending wound being your tactical jacket having a jagged hole in it. And of course there was blood everywhere. Your blood.
What the crap? I thought I died... Is my ability something on the line of regeneration? Or did I just lag out of the afterlife?
You smirk. How amusing. Both Subaru and I can't die, but for different reasons. He dies to fix his mistakes. I'm going to live to fix them.
You finally get up, and seeing this, Elsa freezes. "WHAT?!" She wasn't the only one that was astounded by your revival. However, Reinhard held his concentration and used this opportunity to attack Elsa. His sword connected with her body, and a huge explosion resulted from this.
The attack completely destroyed the loot house.
"What the crap man! I thought you were a swordsman, not a freaking explosion freak!" The grave situation didn't keep Subaru from speaking his mind.
"Well you see..." Reinhard stopped talking when he noticed some movement in the still settling dust.
"I thought that I was going to die." Standing up was Elsa. The only thing that appeared to take damage was her clothes.
All of a sudden, she ran for the person closest to her, which was Subaru. He picked up Rom's club and blocked the attack.
"That's enough, Bowel Hunter!" shouted Reinhard.
She scowled. "I will come back one day and disembowel all of you!" She glared at Sol, her eyes full of a dark curiosity. "And you... I'll see you in my dreams." Without finishing her sentence, Elsa ran away.
"Are you all right?" Emilia worriedly asked Subaru.
"Of course I'm all right! Can't you see that I expertly blocked her blow?" He held up the club, which was now sliced in half. "Oh poop."
He noticed that his midsection was bleeding, and then he passed out for the second time in a day. Sol walked over, stepping over the wreckage, his face calm and analytical once more despite the literal hole in his clothes.
"He's fine, Emilia," Sol said, looking down at his friend. "He just needs another 'beauty nap'."