"Hiss..."
A stinging pain from her fingertip caused Subaru to let out a soft gasp, and a bright red bead of blood seeped from the wound.
She looked helplessly at Tsukasa, who had suddenly appeared in the kitchen, while Rem and Ram beside her also noticed the anomaly.
It was noon, and the three of them were in the kitchen preparing lunch.
Sensing Subaru's reproachful gaze, Tsukasa awkwardly rubbed his nose and sat down on a stool nearby.
"Subaru-sama... Subaru, is something the matter?" Ram corrected herself in time—because at Subaru's insistence, they no longer used honorifics.
"N-nothing. Let's continue."
Subaru said, not forgetting to pout at Tsukasa, questioning with her eyes: Why are you always appearing out of nowhere?
However, Tsukasa ignored this gaze and proceeded to look over the three people busy in the kitchen: Rem with her nimble movements, Ram peeling gracefully, and... Subaru, who surprisingly had a very maid-like aura.
'It would be great if Subaru could be my exclusive maid.' He thought to himself.
While cooking, Subaru seemed to sense something and turned back to glare at him again.
At the same time, Rem spoke up, "Ram, is Subaru's side just about ready?"
This sentence made both the busy Subaru and Ram speed up their movements.
The trio's cooperation in the kitchen was like a wonderful stage play: Rem was the chef, Ram processed the ingredients, and Subaru assisted with ease.
Having finished cooking, Rem turned to look at the other two and nodded with satisfaction. "As expected of Ram, even peeling looks like painting."
She paused and added, "Subaru too, your proficiency in the kitchen makes one want to praise you."
Subaru brushed back a stray lock of hair and returned a bright smile.
Meanwhile, Tsukasa was thinking, 'When will I be able to have a fight? Even just sparring with Roswaal would be fine, and if I could face Reinhard again, that would be even better. I can finally understand how Satoru must have felt back then.'
—
"Phew—"
In the evening, Subaru collapsed onto the bed in the guest room.
This simple yet comfortable room would be her bedroom from today on. Although not exhausted to the point of collapse, the day's labor combined with mana training had left her physically and mentally drained, and without practical combat practice, the results were ultimately limited.
"To give only one guest room in such a big mansion, I think that clown guy is definitely still holding a grudge. Should I go find him for a fight and let him experience what it means to be haunted by a nightmare?" Tsukasa floated to the side and suggested.
Upon hearing this, Subaru chuckled and responded to Tsukasa, "Alright, Tsukasa, this treatment is already quite good. And..."
She touched the soft bed beneath her. "This is much more comfortable than the beds in my world."
Subaru had just finished bathing and changed into pajamas. From now on, she would have to slowly adapt to the dressing habits of this world.
"Remember to come to the Consciousness Space after you fall asleep tonight. Since there have been no opportunities for real combat lately, I will be your opponent."
"What?" Subaru sat up abruptly, eyes wide with disbelief.
"I fight you? For real?"
Tsukasa smiled slightly. "I will only use taijutsu. If you can force me to use a Cursed Technique, that would naturally be even better."
Subaru just lay back on the bed in a daze, not responding to Tsukasa's words, simply lying back down slowly.
Just then—
Knock, knock.
A knock sounded on the door.
Just as Subaru wondered who would be visiting at this time, the voice from outside the door reminded her of an important appointment.
"Subaru, are you asleep? It's Rem. Is now a convenient time?"
"Ah! It's fine, please come in."
Rem, who pushed the door open and entered, was still dressed neatly in her maid outfit, which made Tsukasa, who had been looking forward to seeing her in pajamas, slightly disappointed.
Noticing his reaction, Subaru clenched her fists subconsciously, but kept a smile on her face. "Is Rem here to teach me how to read?"
"Yes, Subaru."
The two sat down at the desk, and Rem pulled out a chair naturally.
Seeing this, Subaru felt secretly relieved—the day's efforts had not been in vain. At least she had narrowed the distance with the two maids.
Since spoken communication was not a problem, Rem mainly taught basic characters tonight.
She spread out the teaching materials and began to explain, "The writing is mainly divided into three categories: Rune Script, RO characters, and HA characters. Today, we will first learn the most commonly used Rune Script..."
Tsukasa, who was yawning to the side, interjected after listening, "Simply put, it's like Japanese, hiragana, and katakana, right? It's much easier to understand that way."
This analogy made everything clear to Subaru. Under Rem's guidance and Tsukasa's explanation, she quickly mastered the teaching content for the evening.
Unexpectedly, due to Subaru's super learning ability, the lesson ended ahead of schedule.
Just when Tsukasa and Subaru thought Rem was about to leave—
"Subaru, have you heard of the Witch Cult?"
Subaru was stunned for a moment. "N-no, I haven't heard of it."
Rem looked at her deeply and explained, "The Witch Cult is a cult founded by the Witch of Envy, an organization that commits all kinds of evil. They burn, kill, and pillage, they are..."
Her voice gradually deepened.
Subaru keenly sensed Rem's abnormality and was about to offer comfort, but was interrupted by Rem.
"The Witch Cult has four core figures, namely Gluttony, Sloth, Wrath, and Greed. The world calls them the Archbishop of Sin. And their crimes..."
Rem's expression gradually became tinged with anger, "are even more heinous."
"Have they... ever hurt you?"
Hearing this concerned question, Rem froze and then hurriedly stood up.
"Sorry, Subaru, I've said so much off-topic. Sorry for the intrusion."
Without waiting for Subaru's response, she hurried out of the room and gently closed the door.
Tsukasa, who had been watching the whole time, fell into deep thought, his fingertips tapping the table unconsciously.
After slightly organizing her chaotic thoughts, Subaru turned to Tsukasa and asked softly, "I still don't know the details of the Witch Cult but Tsukasa, if we really have to face them, you should be sure of yourself, right?"
Tsukasa pondered for a moment, his fingertips lightly tapping the table. "If every Archbishop of Sin had the strength of Reinhard, winning would indeed not be easy... but it's not without a chance of victory."
If he didn't have the system shop as a backing, he might not dare to be so certain. But now...
Subaru nodded slightly upon hearing this, reached out to extinguish the room's lamp, and sank into the soft bed.
"Good night, Tsukasa..." She mumbled vaguely, and soon drifted off into dreamland.
Tsukasa waited in place for a moment, but never felt Subaru's consciousness enter the Consciousness Space.
"Looks like she was exhausted today. I'll let her off." He whispered to himself, then turned into a stream of light and returned to the Consciousness Space.