The man who had appeared before him seemed made to embody majesty itself: dressed in luxurious robes whiter than an angel, wearing lively red hair that seemed to possess a light of its own and blessed with a perfect bodily figure, his mere presence invoked a fragrant, elegant sense of calm worthy of a fairy tale character. Even his voice seemed to be meticulously crafted to appeal to the opposite sex.
His handsome face, however, was possessed by an impending tinge of cold aggressiveness that made his nobility shocking, like that of a judge ready to sentence someone.
Subaru realized very quickly that he wasn't being too judgmental by evaluating his facial expression so harshly: as soon as his eyes moved away from his face he discovered that a weapon identical to his rested in the knight's hand, and when he tried to grab his version of the knive almost instinctively he realized that he no longer had it.
"What the...?" Subaru muttered, unable to rationalize the truth that was in front of his effeminate eyes. "When did you...?"
The wind that was blown by the nobleman's voice was marked by a calm as perfect as strict, although it did not have an ounce of aggressiveness.
"I want you to answer me honestly: what were you planning to do with this weapon? Please don't try to lie" he added". If you do, I will know."
Subaru immediately realized that this man, as nice as he may be, could be his worst nightmare if he managed to press the wrong pressure points, so he was quick to avoid doing so.
"I-I didn't want to do anything evil!" Subaru exclaimed desperately, almost stuttering. "I have it just in case I need to defend myself. I-I've never killed anyone or anything like that, really!"
And just like that, the one who was once the most horrible assassin imaginable began to whimper before the poor gentleman, who couldn't help but smile in a somewhat uncomfortable way when he saw how the woman clung to his shoulders to beg him for mercy while wearing a mask of childlike despair resembling that of a useless goddess.
"P-please calm down" said the man. Suddenly, every square inch of his face seemed illuminated by the fiery light from his hair, turning his polar facial rigidity into a gentle, beautiful and concerned face. "I know you haven't told a single lie. Sorry to scare you like that, but you share some superficial physical traits with a very dangerous criminal and you carry a very similar weapon, so I had to question you. My name is Reinhard, by the way; I'm one of the knights of this kingdom."
Any vague trace of coldness was shot with the speed and fanaticism of an authoritarian regime: Reinhard spoke with a cheerful and sympathetic eloquence, removed from all vulgarity but unable to sound pompous.
Please, God, tell me this guy is not the hero of the story while I get to be the fanservice character...
"Wait...why do you trust me?" Subaru asked, puzzled.
"It's just a little skill I possess. If I activate it, I can detect lies. It's nothing too impressive, really."
"Are you kidding me?! Thousands of people would kill to have such a gift! You're so humble that you're almost ridiculous!"
Reinhard simply released a soft, quiet laughter from his mouth, further upsetting the possessed assassin.
"I suppose it's normal for you to think that, but trust me, having skills like this one never guarantees success or happiness. What's your name, anyway?"
Subaru sighed heavily and with a certain degree of agony. He didn't want to use a female name, but he was hoping to abandon his current identity as soon as possible, not to mention that "Subaru" sounds a bit masculine. As a result, he had to formulate his answer in a subtly ambiguous way so that it wasn't technically a lie.
"You can call me Natsumi. Natsumi Schwarz."
"I see. It's not a bad name" he commented with a small smile.
Natsumi was willing to continue prolonging the conversation to get away from all her worries, but the greatest of them suddenly resurfaced with a deafening shrill inside her head.
"R-Reinhard...Have you seen a half-elf with silver hair and purple eyes? She was accompanied by a cat"
"Yes. I ran into her by chance a while ago. Apparently, she managed to recover something that had been stolen from her, fortunately. I feel a little bad for not having helped her at all...Why do you ask?"
Natsumi sighed so deeply that she seemed to be unleashing her last breath. She didn't know how the hell Satella had survived, but she was no less relieved for that.
Perhaps she survived because she didn't have to stop to save me...? Man, I suck as a hero...
"Well, I found out that something very important had been stolen from her, so I decided to help her, but...I suffered some unexpected problems, so in the end I didn't do anything" Natsumi explained. She didn't tell the whole truth, but she wasn't being dishonest either.
"I see. It's truly wonderful that you're willing to help others in such a selfless way, Natsumi. That virtue in itself is much more valuable than any one-off victory or failure" Reinhard added with a smile so graceful and honest that Natsumi's feminine heart clenched strangely.
"Anyway, Natsumi, what are you going to do now?"
The euphoria in her heart deflated like a hot air balloon and she suddenly remembered that she was lost in an unknown world.
"Would you believe me if I told you that I don't know how I ended up in this city...? It doesn't matter how much I search in my memory, I can't find the answer. In fact, I can't even read any of the posters around here. I...am as lost as someone who has fallen from the sky, to be honest."
"You don't know?" Poor Reinhard was so surprised that even his hair seemed to darken a little. "Do you have amnesia?"
"Well, I guess it's technically possible..." Natsumi replied, uncomfortable.
Reinhard simply regarded her with unusual attention. The gleam in his beautiful eyes faded, hinting that his mind had taken refuge from the outside world to silently analyze the situation. He eventually spoke again, and the answer left Natsumi puzzled:
"To be honest, it's quite difficult to be in a worse situation than you. If you can't even read, then you might be forced to sell your body to survive." Poor Natsumi's eyes were on the verge of crying upon hearing this " However, taking care of you for a while wouldn't be a problem for me...Why don't you come with me? I'd like to keep you safe until you've grown a bit cultured...Although you'll have to start using other clothes if that's the case. Sorry, I know I'm being very rude, but...people might think strange things if they see you like that with me."
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