Cooking up the Plan (part 1)

(Subaru's POV)

"GAAAAAH!

KURGH!

Get away from me! Get away!!

Aaaaaaaaarhg!!"  my eyes! My eyes! I lost my eyes!! My neck!! It hurts! It hurts!!

"Oi, Subaru!!

SUBARU!!" a familiar voice.

The entire world around me shook. And the shaking got more violent. I whirled my arms around blindly in response to the attack. And the shaking stopped.

What happened after I got lifted above the ground? Oh, right…my neck got torn apart.

"Oi, look around where you are swinging!" It was the same voice as before. 

Oh… I had my eyes and head with me now. The pain disappeared all on a sudden. But the horrifying death still clung heavily on my heart. I gasped for air...

Realising that I had respawned again, I slowly open my eyes. It had been some time since I last died. This one was so scary that I didn't want to open my eyes at all.

"Being lifted off a height and torn apart is scary." I blabbered mindlessly.

"Huh? You hit me all of a sudden and what are you talking about now?" It was the same voice as before, but it sounded a bit annoyed.

Ignoring the voice, I looked around a bit. Oh, I was seated in the dining hall. Emilia-tan is sitting over there. And there's Beatrice and the maids. Ros-chi was taking the seat at the end of the table.

Which day was it?

"Are you ignoring me right now?

You scared me by screaming out of nowhere." 

Just who the hell was this guy? He was blabbering non-stop. I was trying to analyse my situation. Just let me think for a bit, dammit!!

"Ah, it's you, Fred…'' I turned left to see that it was him who had been calling me earlier. He had a nerve bulging on his forehead and stared at me with daggers in his eyes.

I thought he might want to punch me in the face. But he suddenly had an 'OH!' expression on his face and then he calmed down on his own. Strange. 

But I was the weirder guy here for sure. As all the people except Fred were now looking at me silently. Did I seem like a madman?

Even Emilia-tan is staring at my face with a worried frown.

Noooooooooo! There goes my impression in front of Emilia-tan!!

"Are you ok, Subaru?

You seemed to blank out right now and then you suddenly started screaming.

Are you feeling unwell?" she called out to me out of concern! Ah, what an angel!

"Etto…can you please tell me what's going on here?

I seemed to have blanked out for a moment there, sorry."

Causing a scene, I tried to get out of this awkward situation as silently as possible. I couldn't possibly say that I was shocked as I died a while back. And that some bird-like demi-humans or monsters killed me. I mean, how would it even make sense to them? 

It'd be so weird that no one would believe me in the first place.

"The mansion lord said that he'd grant any one of our wishes. And you suddenly started screaming out of nowhere. I tried to help you by shaking you but you hit me instead." Fred explained.

Uh….I really did cause a ruckus. It was the first day in the mansion, I managed to find out something important…

"I am sorry. That won't happen again."

I apologised to him. I had hit him earlier and he had this bruise on his face now. 

"It's alright. You can tell me if you are having any trouble." Fred replied. 

Was he always this kind? In the previous loop, wasn't he always getting irritated on seeing me? He even slandered me in front of Emilia-tan.

"So, dear guests. Let me reapeeeeeeeeeeeat again~

You can ask for any one wish.

And I will try to grant it if it's within my powers." Ros-chi broke our monologue. 

"I want to work as a butler here!" I am not giving that job to anyone else.

"I guess, I will be staying as a guest here then." Fred made the same request as the last time.

_____________________________________________

After that, everything happened the same as before-

Fred went to meet Roswaal while I was dragged by the maids to get my measurements. For my uniform as a servant here, of course.

And everything else happened almost the same like the first loop. After calming myself down a bit, and with some thinking, I decided that I needed some info on the monsters.

  So i asked Rem and Ram about those birds-like monsters, but didn't get any worthwhile reply except being slandered for no reason at all. 

The general library didn't help me much either since my reading and writing skills weren't good enough; and I didn't ask the maids to translate for me since I didn't want to get slandered again. 

Ros-chi….

Let's leave him out of the equation. I doubt he'd tell me anything worthwhile.

Puck? Well, he said that didn't know anything of the sort. 

So the only place left was the one where I didn't want to go- The forbidden library.  Since…

Fred had turned it into his private bedroom. He'd sleep with the books and even tuck himself in the bed with Beatrice! That thing hadn't changed since the first loop.

I don't even know how he could sleep with a person who he met for the first time just like that! It was just our second day here! 

Well, it was not my second day here, technically...But it didn't apply to him.

Everything is the same this time around, except for the fact that he talked to me a lot more nicely than he did the last time. I guess my stunt in the dining room might've made him a bit worried about me.

"Oh, Subaru!

You are here." he poked his head out his book and greeted me cheerfully as I entered the library.

"Yeah, thanks for having me here."

To be honest, Fred was acting out of character here which made me feel uneasy. 

I am straight, you know! Even though he's very handsome, I am not gonna fall for him. I have my pride as a man and as the son of the Natsuki household!!

"Looking for something?" 

"Yeah…something about monsters."

"Monsters?"  he raises his eyebrows.

"Yes… I tried to search for ones that look a bit like Harpies. You know the ones with bird wings and talons and claws. Except that they got a woman's body." I try to pose to show how they looked.

"Why are you searching for Harpies? Shouldn't you be searching for Wolgarms instead?" Now what the hell was Fred saying?

"Wolgarm? What is that?

There is going to be a Harpy invasion in the village, why would I be searching for something else?

Ah…'' I slipped up. He wouldn't make a big deal out of it, right? It's not like he would understand what's going on without context anyway. So there's no way that he could…

"WHAT?! A harpy invasion?? In Arlam??

Are you kidding me? That wasn't supposed to happen!!" 

"Supposed to happen? What do you mean?" it couldn't possibly be…

Realising that he blurted out something which he probably didn't want to, he awkwardly held his mouth shut with his hands. And then finally deciding on something, he relaxed his contorted face and said.

"*sigh*

You see… Subaru…

I know something about what's going to happen to this world." he said.