“Well…that’s to be expected. I don’t mind personally that you’ve got a spongy brain, but you’re right. We need a third party’s opinion.”
It would have been great if Subaru could have pushed the negotiations through then and there, but he expected that that wasn’t going to work. The problem was who to use as a third party…
“Deep in the slums, there’s this place called the loot cellar. It’s just as the name suggests, but I think that the quickest way will be to ask the weird old man that’s there. He’s fair when it comes to appraisals. He’s very experienced, so I think he won’t have a problem, even with this mitia.”
“I thought this would happen…”
Subaru had expected Felt to suggest Rom. It was also her meet-up point with Elsa, as well as a place where she’d have a bodyguard if things went south.
Given that an appraising eye was necessary for Subaru’s mitia card, there really was no other choice. However, Subaru really wanted to have everything settled before they ended up at the loot cellar.
“I have no problem with having the old man look at it, but…”
“Are you really going to call him ‘old man’ without even having met him yet? You may regret it, you know? He’s pretty rough with people who don’t know how to show respect.”
“Despite that, he seems to be quite doting on a certain foul-mouthed young girl, always giving her milk and all…”
Subaru thought about the bald old man who always looked at Felt with calm eyes. From Rom’s perspective, it must be like taking care of a granddaughter. But Subaru had no problem with him; it was the place that was the issue.
“I don’t know what you seem to have a problem with, but if you’re in such a hurry, we should go ahead and get going to the loot cellar. To be honest, there was something else that I was planning on doing, but…”
“Planning on doing?”
“Well you see, the person I stole this badge from is a lot more persistent than I thought, so I thought I’d try to sabotage her a bit. After all, you give the guys hanging around a little money and they’ll do anything for you.”
“All right, let’s get going, immediately. Right now. Let’s go go go!”
Subaru pushed on Felt’s back as she started walking and hurried her along toward the loot cellar.
“What’s with you?” complained Felt, puffing up her cheeks, but Subaru was proud of himself for being able to avoid as many casualties as he could.
A little cash was way too low a price to offer for anyone to stand in Not-Satella’s way when she was in a hurry. If the alternative was getting hit with a block of ice and squirming on the ground, Subara was sure they’d rather clutch their hungry stomachs instead.
“My only condition is that we have the old man take a look, settle the deal quickly, and then get straight out of there.”
“Why are you in such a hurry, kid? You’re all sweaty, you know. Live strong and take care of yourself.”
“Everyone seems to say that, but is that like the slogan of the slums?!”
Subaru had the feeling they should change it from “live strong” to “live rough.”
As Subaru put that thought behind him, he made his way with Felt to the loot cellar for the third time in total this fourth time around.
He would leave immediately. He would dash right out of there, even if he had to leave everyone else behind. Having made his decision, Subaru pushed harder on the back of Felt in front of him.
“That hurts!”
“Ow!!” said Subaru as he was kicked.
7
After meeting up with Felt at her shack, Subaru and Felt made their way through the slums toward the loot cellar.
The space between buildings was very narrow, and it was difficult for sunlight to make it through into the winding alleys. This additional darkness from the shade of the buildings only made the slums seem even drearier.
“…”
Subaru could feel a dampness underfoot. There were broken bottles of alcoholic drinks and scraps of paper all over the place, and every now and then there was a strong unpleasant stench that struck the inside of his nose.
Whether it was with Felt or Not-Satella, this was not the kind of place to be walking alone together with a young girl.
“Now this would just be so much better if we were holding hands and in a more beautiful and colorful place.”
“Cut it out with that disgusting talk. Don’t tell me that you’re into little girls.”
“I’m more into older women. You don’t have to be so cautious, come on over here.”
Perhaps because Felt had sensed danger from what Subaru had said, she started to pull away, but Subaru called her back. Reluctantly, Felt edged closer.
“No funny business, okay? You’re the one who’s going to be more in trouble if this deal goes south. We clear?”
“Why can’t you just see that I’m doing my best to get this wary little kitten I’m dealing with here to relax so we can be friends? If you’re so against me being friendly, why don’t you stop messing around and actually take me to the loot cellar?”
“…How did you…?”
“How did I figure it out? Oh, come on, I’m not that stupid. I mean, I’m not incredibly familiar with this area, but I’m confident in my sense of direction. The way we’ve been zig-zagging around like this, even I’m going to start to get suspicious,” said Subaru, looking down at Felt, who went silent, and shrugging.
With Subaru being right on the mark, Felt couldn’t help but look away, but Subaru himself was extremely nervous, his heart racing.
After all, everything Subaru had just said was mostly a bluff. Subaru had been bothered by the fact that Felt’s route didn’t quite match up with the way he thought was the right way to get to the loot cellar, but what really caused him to question Felt was the fact that he had seen the same graffiti that was written on the wall twice, though at a distance, in a short period of time. However, at this point, his bluff was all he had to rely on.
“I know it’s asking too much for you not to doubt me, and from your perspective, what I have to offer probably sounds too good to be true, so I can’t blame you for wanting extra time to look me over.”
“You’ve figured all that out, and you’re not angry?”
“Well I understand that it makes sense for you to doubt me, and I am being unreasonable. However, I will not compromise on time. Please, take me straight to the loot cellar. I’m begging you, please,” said Subaru, raising his hands, pleading.
Felt was startled, her eyes opened wide as she hesitated for a moment, not sure how to react, but she then took her hand and roughed up her blond hair.
“Well damn, I just don’t get you. I don’t get you but…I feel like I’ve got to pay you back for not getting angry at me just now. Fine, I’ll take you straight there. I’ll just leave the rest of my doubts in Rom’s hands.”
“I don’t dislike that attitude of feeling totally free to rely on others, but…well…I, uh…nevermind.”
Just as Subaru was about to lecture Felt, he realized what he was about to say and muddied his words.
What did Felt really mean when she said she’d leave everything to Rom? Rom treated Felt like she was a cute granddaughter of his, and he felt so strongly about her that he was ready to lay down his life for her. But how did Felt feel about Rom?
Subaru didn’t want to think that that bald old man, whom he couldn’t bring himself to hate, was just being used by her.
Felt narrowed her eyes as Subaru suddenly trailed off, but she didn’t pry. Instead, having changed her attitude toward Subaru, she led Subaru straight to the loot cellar, without taking any detours this time.
As Subaru kept after Felt as she trotted on ahead, he thought again about the course of events that would happen once they got to their destination. It was already Subaru’s fourth time doing this. He wanted to go the best route he possibly could.
As Subaru continued to walk, lost in thought, he saw that Felt
had stopped, and was glaring at him.
“Stop looking down as you walk! You’ll get infected by the gloominess around here, you know?”
“Well, I’d love to keep my head up, but it’s not exactly clean and organized down around my feet, so it’s dangerous if I don’t pay attention. …What do you mean ‘infected by the gloominess’?”
“You know exactly what I mean. I’m talking about the attitude of all the losers who live here.”
Felt nodded her head to show she was talking about the surrounding area, the slums. The way she spit out her words showed clear animosity and hatred for the place, and Subaru opened his eyes wide.
“Losers…? Don’t you think that’s a bit harsh?”
“How’s it harsh? I’m talking about people who languish in this alleyway life and lose the will to even try to get out of here or better themselves someway. I hate losers like that.”
Subaru had spent a good amount of time talking with the people who lived here in the slums. It wasn’t as though they had fallen so far that words wouldn’t reach them, but like Felt said, he couldn’t deny that they seemed to be content with life here, or rather, they seemed to have given up on getting anywhere else.
It would be easy to say that that kind of attitude couldn’t be helped, but Felt wouldn’t accept that answer. In the dim light of the alley, the light from Felt’s crimson eyes would not fade one bit.
“I have no intention of living out my whole life here in these slums. If a chance comes my way I’ll cling to it and make it mine. The same goes for this deal now.”
“So that’s why, huh…”
The second time around, Felt had done everything she could to find weaknesses in and get more out of Elsa and Subaru. It was easy to explain those actions simply by saying she was greedy, but knowing what he did now, Subaru thought he could understand why Felt was so persistent.
Felt wanted to leave the slums, to break out of the circumstances of her orphaned childhood. At the root of all her actions was a desire for something more.
“So, with twenty blessed gold coins, will that dream of yours come true?”
“…It’ll definitely be closer to coming true, and if I were going alone it might just be enough, but I don’t know,” Felt muttered.
“If you were going alone?”
Subaru’s sharp ears wouldn’t let that one slip, and he raised his eyebrows in response. Felt realized her mistake, clicked her tongue, and looked away.
“It’s nothing. We’re not so friendly that I’m going to talk about… Why am I being so talkative today in the first place?” said Felt, clearly regretting the slip of her tongue.
“Maybe you’re loosening up a little because your goal’s in sight?” replied Subaru, as he felt himself grinning.
Felt said if she were “going alone,” she might be able to make it. This meant that she had someone else in the slums she couldn’t leave behind. For Felt, who held such a feeling of animosity toward the people of the slums, there could only be one person she could feel that way about.
Thinking about who that was, Subaru couldn’t help but grin.
“What’s your problem? That smirk of yours is starting to tick me off.”
“It’s no big deal. I just realized that I was worrying too much about something I didn’t need to be worrying about. Of course that’s how it is. Of course. I don’t know why I was worrying so much,” said Subaru, showing his teeth as he smiled. Everything suddenly made sense to him.
The second time around, Felt and Rom seemed to treat each other like family. Both were killed by Elsa, but even as they were dying they must have been thinking of each other.
Plus, Felt had saved Subaru’s life in the nick of time once before as well.
If Subaru felt indebted to Not-Satella, then he should feel indebted to Felt as well.
“Let’s hurry up. We’ve already lost too much time.”
“I still don’t understand why you’re—Hey, wait. I said stop that!”
As Subaru started off and walked past Felt, he put his hand on her head and roughed up her blond hair. Her hair with its thin strands, which had probably never been combed, didn’t feel bad flowing through Subaru’s fingers. After Felt left the slums one day, and was dressed up a bit, Subaru thought she would probably shine bright.
So, in order to also put Felt on a path to reach her dreams…
“I’ve really got to make this work, don’t I? …I’m the only one who can do this!”
“Stop saying all these weird things and getting obsessed with yourself! I’m gonna bite you!”
With Subaru’s hand still on Felt’s head despite her protests, he silently solidified his determination.
He would change the fates of not just Not-Satella, but Felt and Rom as well…all of the people who had moved his heart.
That must be why Subaru kept repeating this day over and over again.
“I said, cut it out!!” Felt said, before biting Subaru.
8
“To the giant rats…?”
“Where might I find me some boric acid–laced dango? Now that’s some poison.”
“To the great white whale…?”
“You know, the first guy who comes to mind when I think of the word ‘captain’ is that good ol’ Captain Ahab. Bet he has some fishing hooks.”
“…To our most honorable great dragon…?”
“Since this is a fantasy world, I bet they really exist, but man, if I ran into one of those I can guarantee you I wouldn’t be able to do anything. But you know, they are really cool, so I do kind of want to see one, but what a contradiction, huh? Those mixed-up feelings of mine can burn in hell!”
“Can’t you just say the passwords without having to throw in all that nonsense?! Can you be more irritating?!”
The door to the cellar slammed opened so hard it looked as though it was going to come off its hinges, but Subaru, who expected this, had stepped back and was dealt no damage. Growling in frustration, too tall for the entrance, was the bald giant Rom, whom Subaru had grown used to seeing at this point. His face was red, his blood pressure probably high.
“If you get all angry like that, you’ll pop a blood vessel. Even if we had modern medicine, I’d say your situation looks pretty bad.”
“If you think it’s so bad for me, then don’t make me angry! Just who are you anyway?! I’m not supposed to let anyone in today, so scram!”
“Uh… Sorry about that. This guy is actually my customer, so could you please let him in?” said Felt, who had been hiding behind Subaru’s back and just peeked out from behind him.
Rom slowly relaxed his shoulders. As Felt looked between a disappointed Rom and a whistling Subaru, she let out a sigh.
“You really have a terrible personality, kid. Without being too mean, it’s simply the worst. Anyway, we’re coming in, Rom.”
As Felt slipped past Rom, still looking down, she entered the loot cellar as if it were her own place.
Rom first looked at Felt for further explanation but was ignored, so he turned his annoyed face toward Subaru.
“She really marches to the beat of her own drummer, huh? Us normal guys just get left behind, am I right?” said Subaru.
“I’d like to start back at square one, where I was first teaching her what different words meant… Anyway, get inside,” replied Rom, with the tone of a man who had given up and washed his hands of everything, before shrinking his giant body back away into the cellar.
Subaru followed after Rom into the dusty air of the loot cellar. He tossed a few cautious glances this way and that, but fortunately there was no sign that Elsa or Not-Satella were hiding somewhere inside.
Felt was casually sitting at the bar counter, drinking a glass of milk as if it were her own.
“What? This is the only cold one left. I’m not letting you have it,” she said.
“I can’t believe you’re not the least bit bothered by how shameless you’re acting… Hey, old man, I’ll just have some alcohol, whatev
er you’ve got. Thanks,” said Subaru.
“You’re one to talk! I’m not sharing with you! You’re not getting any, you hear?!” shouted Rom as he ran across the room and rushed behind the counter, creaking the floorboards as he went, trying to hide what looked like his stash.
Rom’s overreaction was enough to inspire pity, and Subaru just said, “I’m joking,” with a chuckle.
“Well then, old man. We’ve already wasted a lot of time, so before we get sidetracked, I’d like to get straight to the point.”
“I get the feeling we’ve already gone way off track, but…what’s up?”
“Basically, I want you to appraise something. I would like you to put a price on this mitia I have here, and guarantee its worth to Felt.”
When Rom realized that the conversation was turning to business, his gray eyes turned serious. Old Man Rom looked at Felt, who nodded in confirmation, before turning to look back at Subaru.
Realizing that Rom was wordlessly asking to see the item, Subaru took his cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to Rom. It seemed that the metallic look of the phone was what first caught Rom’s eye, and while he ran his fingers over it it looked like a tiny toy in his oversized hands.
“So this is a mitia. Even for someone like me, this is my first time seeing one of these…”
“I’m pretty sure this is the only one of its kind in the whole world. Also, it’s rather delicate so please be careful with it. If you break it I really have to kill myself, and I’m not joking about that…of course, meaning so I can start over.”
Rom spent a while carefully looking over its outward appearance, but then slowly opened the folding phone. Rom had his first surprise as the phone started up and let out a sound, and he got his second surprise when he saw the phone’s wallpaper.
“This picture…”
“I thought that this would be a good time to use that one. In order to show you the device’s abilities, I put a scene from Felt’s day as the wallpaper.”
The wallpaper was one of the pictures that Subaru had taken of Felt when he met her in the alley. He picked the one he thought looked the cutest, and given the image quality he thought it was quite nice overall.
Re: Zero -Starting Life in Another World- Vol. 1 Page 17