1.4.7

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.