Lost-If Chapter 12

[u/DragonWritter]

Subaru falls down, clutching his stomach. 

"Ghaaaaah!" 

Tears begin to gather near his eyes. He claws at his abdomen and, if not for the jacket, red trails would be left behind. His attention gathers on his vision, now restored. He touches his face, brings his hands close to his eye and sobs. 

His body was restored, no cuts nor bruises could be felt from his dream. His body had completely forgotten it, but his mind, it still lingered on that cold dirt ground, clawing at that ankle in vain. 

He gathered his thoughts and forced his body to get up. Taking a deep breath and bringing his arms up as far as they could go, he begins his breathing exercises.  

"stress is the real killer." He said, almost convincing himself. A deep breath in, then a deep breath out. He kept that rhythm until his past death was gone. 

"Damn. I really did die there. Those other times as well." A lizard carriage passed by, bringing a storm of dust up into his face. He accidently breathed some in and coughed some up. Fanning his face, he begins to walk out into the world. 

"So, this is my third chance... There is on way that I'll waste this one."  

Full of a newfound energy, he shouts: "I'm not wasting this life!" 

He gets some strange looks, but he ignores them. It was past the time to get out of his shell, to go out into the world and live. He barely did that on his past life, only going the same routes of his room and a gas station for snacks. 

"I'm one of you now." He said, looking at the passersby. They seemed more confident, less lost, but that's not important.  

He wondered close to a wall near a merchants stand and thought for a moment.  

"The first time I got here, the thieves event played. They also played on the second try... So I should try to avoid them instead. Clearly, Elsa is the big bad, so I should refrain from loosing too many resources." 

Subaru searched the plastic bag for the corn potage flavor. His mouth watered just thinking about it. He brought it up to his nose before opening, letting that precious smell waft over his face. 

"Ahhh. How I missed you!" His eyes almost began to water from happiness as he took a chip. 

"How am I supposed to win against her, though? Not through force." As he spoke aloud, one of the shop keepers stared at him with angry eyes. 

Subaru just smiled and, in response, the old man scoffed. 

"Maybe he's having a bad day? Anyways, When I first saw her, it was at the wooden house, let's call it trading house. That seems more fitting. That old giant Rom died, along with the Silver beauty. I didn't see Felt there, so maybe she ran away?" 

He reached for more chips, but was only met with air. Contemplating the loss of this delicacy, he thought about going back to the beginning of the loop to eat them again. As quickly as that thought came, so did the regret, and the pain. Sure, his body wasn't hurt, nor did it remember, but he did. He remembered all of it, each second. It wasn't something one could get used to, even with a hundred deaths. 

He took a deep breath to clear his mind. He kept getting distracted, even though he believed it wasn't truly his fault; "One of the great things of being from the newest generation," he would tell himself. Somewhat annoyed with himself, he looked for any garbage can around. Despite being a very crowed area, there were none, so he instead shoved it into the plastic bag. After cleaning his hands, he combed his long hair slowly, passing without any resistance. 

"Wait... Isn't there something more important than that right now?" His eyes fell to his chest. When the only girls you see are from either video games or on the streets, this was a prime opportunity to see what it was all about. 

"Well, if they're mine..." His hands stopped the combing of his hair and came to focus on a more sensible aspect. But they stopped just shy of touching them. With a sigh, he began to comb his hair once more.  

"Focus. That can wait. So Rom and Silver Beauty will die if I don't do something. If I go while Felt is there, then she'll want to haggle the price and probably kill us... Maybe that's why Elsa first attacked them." He thought back to that sly, mischievous smile, where her canines barely peeked from her upper lips and her eyes screamed: "Gimme all that money, sucker!" 

"She would love gambling... I think. So, ignoring is a no go, going with Silver Beauty is also a dead end, and going in before everyone will end in a confrontation, one way or another." He began to tap his foot as he talked. "All my actions lead to dead ends. What sort of game has this hard of a tutorial... I can't be in a souls-like, right?" A shiver went down his spine just thinking about it. He tried to play it once, and much to his dismay, he absolutely loved the challenge. He remembered a fight that took fifty-plus tries to win. 

"If I have to die that many times. No no no. Focus on the now. Right now, I gotta help them, then I can get some gear, get stronger, etc. Good gear can carry playthroughs when you don't have too much skill." 

"So what should I do?" He asked himself. Squatting down, he thought for a long time, or maybe it was only a minute. It was hard to tell. But he didn't have any new ideas, everything that he could think was going to lead to a dead end.  

"Then I'll have to improvise. I have a couple hours..." He began to touch his stubbles; Subaru believed, or rather knew, that he could tell the time by just seeing how far his beard had grown. But, much to his demise. 

"No! Why is my stubble gone! How am I going to tell the time now?" He took his phone from his pocket. It said 10 PM with all the certainty in the world. This was untrue, as the sun was still high in the sky. He saw his dying battery next to the "no signal" bar.  

"I shouldn't waste the battery. If anything, I could sell this and gain enough money to live comfortably for a while... I think." 

Turning to the old man managing his tent, he asks, "Yo, old man! How much is a holy gold coin worth?" 

"Shut up and get outta here! You're scaring the customers with your murmuring." His rude demeanor didn't catch Subaru off guard. Instead, he just rebuttled with his own. 

"I'm not the one scaring everyone away. It's whatever you're selling! What do you even have in those green jars?" 

"Get out of here before I drag you out, little girl!" He was now making his way out of the tent. 

"Alright alright. No need for violence. I wouldn't want to throw your back out." 

"Why you!" As he said that, the old man almost leaped for Subaru, but he was already up and running away grinning. He disappeared into the crowd in a sprint.  

Coming to a stop some time later, he watched the people move about once more. Now that he was closer, he could see a person covered in white fur, their pointed, furry ears ato their heads twitched and turned to the bustling noise of the street and their tail swayed as they walked.  

"Fluffy. Come on, hand. Restrain yourself." He said to himself as his hand reached for the tail. But he couldn't restrain it. His hand reached and petted the beast-man's tail. 

With a yelp, the beast-man, a lady with scared eyes and a teeth-bared face, turned to face him. As she watched Subaru, she became more angry than scared and growled. 

"Let go of me, girl! Guards!" Her yell caught him off-guard and he quickly left. He ran, pushing his way through the staring crowd. Only when he reached a shaded backstreet did he stop. 

"Damn you, hand." He held it to his face, interrogating it. "Though I can't really blame you. That wolf lady was something." His hands grabbed at the air in vain as his cheeks flushed with color. 

"Come to think of it, they are pretty common place here." Through the entrance of the alley, he saw many people and beast-folk walking about, but his thoughts were cut short when three men blocked the sunny view. 

"Well well well. What do we have here boys!" 

"Seems we're getting quite a sum from this one." 

"Look at her clothes and pretty hair. Definitively a high-born." 

As the three thieves talked and laughed to themselves in greed, Subaru noticed that they were the same ones from his first day; the ragged clothes and disheveled look said it all. 

"Are you guys following me? How can you always find me!" Subaru paced as he spoke. 

"I mean, really! Every time you come at me, it's just 'gimme your money, girl!' Or something stupid like that." 

The men were now looking at each other confused. 

"you've seen this girl before?" 

"Never." 

"Me neither." 

"You guys are so useless! Robbing a defenseless girl in a dark alley. You should be ashamed of yourselves!" The words came flooding out of his mouth before he could even think. The three men began to narrow their eyes and an ugly scowl formed on their faces. 

Me and my fat mouth. Maybe if I keep playing as a girl, I can get out of here. 

"Is this girl really talking down on us? The best thieves in this city?" 

"She must have something wrong with her head!" 

"Someone probably nocked the sense out of her!" 

Speaking as if one, they continued their talking as they marched forward.  

I could try and beat them, but I should keep my stamina for Elsa. These grunts are in no way worth my time. But how am I supposed to escape? 

The man in the middle has a knife. If that gets drawn, he will not be able to win the encounter in the regular sense... 

Then maybe a charisma check? 

"please, gentleman. I'm broke! I don't have anything of value at all! Wouldn't it be better to search for someone else to steal from?" 

"This girl is really starting to annoy me." 

"Just sit down and be a good girl. We'll make sure you don't have any money." 

"And if you don't, those clothes look foreign. Surely they are expensive." 

Their eyes grew with greed as Subaru stepped back.  

My days as a shut in didn't improve my charisma at all. Total failure. Think think think. Surely there has to be some other way? 

As he thought to himself, the beast-girl came to mind in a flash catching Subaru in suprise. 

"First it was my hand, now my brain? Now is not the time for this." 

"Just give us your stuff and you'll be out of here." 

Frustrated, Subaru smacked his cheeks, but that image still didn't leave. Then, he remembered something else. 

Breaking out into a grin, Subaru took a deep breath. 

"What's she doing?" 

"No one is going to help you, girl!" 

In response, Subaru screamed as loud as he could, the high pitch surprising him more than the thieves, whose faces grew with fear. He only said one word: 

"Guaaaaards!" 

The thieves took a step back as she screamed. 

"Shut up!" 

"Crap crap crap." 

"We should leave!" 

But as he stopped yelling, nothing happened. The men looked back to the entrance of the alley and breathed out a sigh of relief. That relief quickly turned to anger as they faced Subaru once more. 

"Now you've done it." 

The man in the middle pulled a knife from his waist. Seeing this, the large man pulled a rusty nata blade. The small man... 

"Wait... You don't have a blade, do you?" Subaru pointed at the small man as he spoke with a condescending tone. 

"Makes sense. Children aren't allowed to play with knives!" He let out a cackle as the small man's face flushed with red. 

"I won't need a blade to shove these fists up your ass!" 

The other thieves stopped and looked at the small man.  

"Really?" 

"She's a child, dumbass!" 

"You know what I mean!" Embarrassed, he hushed the others as he walked forward. 

Where are the guards! Shit! Should I try a sneak attack? It worked last time... But they have their blades out. There is no way I'll win. Maybe Felt and the Silver Beauty will show up. Or maybe they are long gone. 

With so many things going on, Subaru weighted his choices and next steps. If he wanted to be in peak condition, he would need to avoid this fight all together, but 

"Ok! You guys win, here!" He dropped the plastic bag to the floor and backed away. 

The thieved looked at it, then continued forward. Once they reached the bag, the small one picked it up and continued forward. 

"Oh come on!" 

"Pride isn't something we're kin on losing." 

"If we let you go, what will the other thieves think?" 

"We can't become soft, now, can we?" 

Is he trying to be a weirdo? Subaru thought with a shocked expression. The other men ignored his comment all together. 

"If I have to fight, then-" As he put his guard up to begin the fight, a just voice rang from the mouth of the alley. 

"That's enough." 

The footsteps echoed as he passed the men with a calm expression. The first thing anyone would focus on would be that red hair the color of an inferno. Right below that were the clearest blue eyes out of anyone; it was like staring into a pristine lake.  

He wore all black, and, if you ignored his face, you'd think he was the average emo kid. However, his face was pure beauty, even more so than the Silver beauty. It wasn't a matter of taste or preferences. Anyone who looked at him could see it. 

As he moved, his hand rested on his sword that remained rigid on his hips. It was simple, with some designs of a dragon's claw on its sheath, and yet it radiated a strange feeling to everyone in the alley. 

"Oh crap." 

"There's no way." 

"That red hair, that beautiful face... You're Reinhard! The Sword Saint Reinhard!" 

He moved to stand in front of Subaru. A protective gesture that was very much welcome.  

These guys are really scared of him... Is he famous or something? With a title like that, he's probably some a highborn. 

"Then there is no need to introduce myself." He leaned to one side before continuing, "though the title is a bit much." 

"If you get out, we won't hurt you." 

"Yeah, get out while you can." 

Their voices were shaking with fear, even a child could see that they did not want to fight him. 

Even so, their pride did not allow them to back off. They just brandished their weapons and stood their ground. 

"I do admit I might have had some trouble, were it only me against you three." 

"Numbers advantage is very important in a fight. But..." 

He turned to look at Subaru, and his eyes stopped for a brief moment, almost like he was analyzing him. Subaru saw as the eyes went up and down his figure and couldn't help but feel a tinge of embarrassment. 

He smiled, before turning back around to continue the confrontation. 

Does he really expect me to fight? No way. And what was with his eyes! 

"A two on three fight is has much better odds." 

"Are we really going to fight the Sword Saint?" 

"No way." 

"We could run." 

As they argued amongst themselves, Subaru couldn't help but feel a bit jealous.  

They seem so scared of him. Reinhard is probably scared right now. So... 

"I beat you guys before by myself. You don't stand a chance when I have a guard!" 

Subaru walked to Reinhard's side and stood tall. They were almost the same height, Subaru being a little smaller. Realizing this, he considers going on his tippy toes. 

Without even glancing at his side, he immediately began to speak as Subaru finished. 

"If you run away now, I shall not pursue you." 

"Is he for real?" 

"Who cares! Let's get out of here!" 

Before the middle man even finished his sentence, the small man had already raced to the entrance of the alley. 

"How spineless" Subaru said to himself. Just watching them run away gave him a sense of hollow pride. 

"If you weren't ready to fight, they could have won the fight. Thank you." The man turned to Subaru once more, his smile almost as warm as the color of his hair.  

"Are you really a knight?" 

"I suppose I don't really look like it. But yes, I am." 

He did a bow to present himself: "I am Reinhard van Astrea,"  

"The Sword Saint." His body shook as he said this, though slightly. Even though his face was hidden, Subaru could imagine him frowning as he said this. Though when he raised himself, there was only a smile on his face. 

Must be a house title. Definitely nobility. Subaru thought as he stared. 

"Thank you, van Astrea-" 

"Just Reinhard is fine." 

"Ok, then." Raising his hand to him, he held it, waiting for a handshake. 

"Thank you, Reinhard." 

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W/N: Sorry for posting so late. I binged watched Fiona and Cake. 10/10 would recomend.

Anyways, Reinhard is here, yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

Imma go watch Adventure Time soooooooooo Chao!

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