The Butler and the Shut-in

AN: Hello guys, I had a bit of distraction, namely Discord and I was editing some AI art stuff so that drained me of my energy. Simultaneous med entrance courses and dummy classes in College are also killing me. Adding strict parents on top of it is like adding a cherry on top of the utter gruel.

Anyways I remade the prologue, please check it out. I think you will like it(flexing). I'm going to make the next chapters in a similar pattern, reducing the word count and trying to be precise. I'll try to increase the update frequency too!

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All the people of the mansion, including the loli Librarian were now seated in the Dining Hall. The maids were serving them food elegantly. The pink-haired one however seemed to only serve steamed potatoes.

Subaru's fall from the second floor earlier was the result of his interaction with the Librarian of the Forbidden Library- Beatrice aka the blonde, drill-haired Loli with butterfly pupils.

Subaru had somehow managed to interact with her and successfully piss her off in the short time interval when the maids were busy dealing with the hysterics of Frederick.

The real-life Subaru's talents exceeded expectations of Fred. And he was deeply moved by that. Because that only meant more depth and fun to the story which he was going to be a part of.

As the residents finished their lunch, namely- Emilia, Beatrice, Roswaal, Frederick and Subaru, the maids went on to clear up the table and serve tea.

Subaru initiated a small conversation with Rem.

"Your cooking was superb!"

"Your compliments are very much regarded." Rem replied.

"Even Guest-sama's taste buds are not bad enough to not acknowledge my sister's culinary skills." Ram added.

"Ah..hehehem! I enjoyed the food very much. It was top-notch. Thanks for the meal.

But, I think an introduction and explanation are needed before anything else now.

And Subaru, why are you so relaxed? This is not your home right?" a collected voice echoed. It was none other than Frederick who, right now, had the most collected and unfazed poker face donned on his face.

"That's got nothing to…" Subaru was supposed to say something only to get interrupted.

"That's correct~!

We can't possibly keep our esteemed guests in the dark regarding the current situation.

I apoooooooologise for this show of carelessness~" the Joker commented. It was none other than Roswaal J Mathers, the lord of this mansion.

"Then I'll go ahead!" Subaru said with glee.

"I am Natsuki Subaru-

The savour of Emilia-tan.

Not only am I clueless about what's happening, but I am broke beyond compare!" he then struck his familiar lame pose with his left hand on his waist and the other hand, with its index finger jutting upward towards the sky…uh…the ceiling now. The maids and puck clapped in unison.

[Sigh… how much of an embarrassment is this guy!

And to think I admired him!] Fred facepalmed mentally.

"Next up is me then." Fred stood up and looked at Margrave, straight into his eyes.

"I am Frederick Raymond. I happened to somehow save Emilia yesterday as I was nearby. But truth to be told, yesterday was my first day in Lugunica."

"How might that poooooooossibly be~?" the clown asked him.

"I suspect that some teleportation phenomenon might be in play. So I don't know how I ended up where I did yesterday. And I am guessing that it was the same for his guy." Fred said, pointing at Subaru. "His clothing is identical to what the people wear in my World."

"Huh, where did you say you were from?" Subaru asks him.

"Assam." The reply was short.

"The tea estate?" Subaru asked with a small 'Oh'

"Yes, I was born in the tea gardens, playing with mother nature and her tea leaves," Fred said in a jabbing tone.

"I see…hey, Are you mocking me!" Subaru snapped back.

"Not at all. What's wrong with your sense of humour? I suppose you are a Jap then?" Fred quickly turned the topic.

"Yeah…but how did you know?" Subaru was somewhat taken aback.

"That's the general isekai plot with the Japanese guys. So I just guessed. So you are indeed from Japan." Fred somehow managed to convince Subaru. He would've leaked some vital info on a whim otherwise.

[Phew…though it's not that difficult to guess his nativity given his looks.] Fred managed to fool him with his wordplay and sighed a heave of relief.

"I don't think the people of Assam have blue hair and red eyes like you. Almost all Asians have black as their hair and eye colour, right?" Subaru said something which caught the attention of all the people present there.

Frederick was turning into some mysterious personality at the moment with lots of unknown questions about him remaining unanswered. The possibility that he was a spy in disguise was growing in everyone's mind, except Emilia's. Not because she trusted him, but because she wasn't capable of having complex thoughts like others.

"Huh? What are you saying? I have got black hair and eyes." Fred stated

"Guest-sama, please look here," Ram called over. Fred turned to look into a big circular mirror that Rem was holding.

"Where did you get a mirror from!" Subaru let out a small shriek. But Fred paid no attention. He was immersed in what he saw in the mirror.

The image which he expected to see wasn't there. Instead, a handsome guy with cobalt blue hair and crimson red eyes like rubies stared back at him from the mirror. His facial features and jawline were well-defined for a male of 19 years of age like him. A bit of facial hair in the shade of blue was also visible- the signs of not having shaved the previous day.

[That looks just like–!] He finally understood what was going on. The look in his eyes changed a few dozen times and he started mumbling to himself with his left hand on his chin, while his right hand supported the left. He had entered the contemplative mode. Then it struck him, all at once. And he let out a small giggle. It slowly turned into a burst of erratic laughter which made him hold his tummy due to laughing so hard.

He was the exact figure of a madman. There couldn't have made a more creepy move than that, as all the people present in the dining room stared at him blankly, Subaru included while Roswaal maintained his creepy grin all the way along. Things were turning interesting for him once in a long time after all.

However, they all thought the same thing.

[Did he go mad? Was it a bad idea to show him the mirror?]

Frederick stopped laughing once he ran out of breath. And then he declared in a loud voice like he was making a speech:

"I'll introduce myself once again.

I am Frederick Raymond, Lord Margrave.

I think I have got a general idea of what happened to me. But I'm incapable of explaining them at the moment. I need to organise my thoughts. I'll express my situation to the Lord in person at a later moment.

Please excuse my rudeness." he said and finally sat down.

"Wow! You spoke like an aristocrat! Where did you learn that !" Subaru cheered at his performance. But this time no one else clapped for Frederick.

"Well, I'm just used to formal English speech." Fred combed his hair with his hand as he spoke.

"I see…

WAIT

English? You're speaking Japanese though."

"No, I am speaking English and so are you and everyone else."

"No way!"

"I see…that's how it works…" Fred held his chin. "Hey, Subaru, can you try speaking English now?"

"Alright.

はじめまして.私はスバルです.私は日本語を話しています.私が言うことが分かりますか?(Nice to meet you. I'm Subaru. I speak Japanese. Can you understand what I'm saying?)" Subaru said slowly trying his best to be clear so that Frederick could understand.

"はい,わかります.

(Yes, I get you)

You can stop that. So when you speak English it turns out to be Japanese for me." Fred retorted somewhat distasteful. The words weren't needed to be broken down for him like a kid.

"Hey, you can speak Japanese!"

"Just on an elementary level though. I'm an anime geek after all. I guess that's how stuff works here if we can only…" Fred concluded.

"Dear Guests, I get that you are very occuuuuuuuuuuuupied in your discussion, but please listen to me out~." Roswaal interrupted their train of thought once again.

"Oops, sorry. I forgot table manners." Subaru turned to look at the mansion lord.

"Hmm…ok." Frederick knew what was coming now.

Clearing his throat, Roswaal said, "I'd like to reward you for saving Emilia-sama. She's a very important person in this country. She's one of the candidates in succession to the throne."

"You mean she's the next ruler of this country?" Subaru gasped. However, Fred went on with his rant again.

"Then the person who commissioned her assassination must also be influential. I guess that it could be the other candidates or it might even be somebody random, given there is racial discrimination in this country. Or, it might be just that somebody in her faction might want to backstab her, or…" he locked his glance at Roswaal without speaking further.

"Or Emilia can just be careful from now on.." he finished without speaking any further on the matter.

"Regardless, it's none of my concern. I just happened to be nearby, so I could help. As for my reward, I'd just like to rest here for a week at most. My left shoulder is sorta stiff and I'd like to stay here till I recover. Then I'll move on to some other place. I can't stay jobless for long, can I? Or it'd give the ladies a bad impression of me." He winked at Ram who in return just stared blankly.

[That's just so Ram-like] he grinned inside his mind.

"Ok. That's something which I can fulfil. I'll make sure that Frederick-kun receives the best treatment the Roswaal household can offer!

As for Subaru-sama, what might your wiiiiiiiiiiish be~?" He laid his glance on the Jap now.

"I'd like to work as a butler here!" He declared.

"Granted!" Roswaal replied immediately. And it was followed by a sneeze from Ram.

Fred facepalmed himself as the live display of airhead-kun left him with second-hand embarrassment.

(Sometime later in a library):

The door creaked open and a person entered the room, closing the door behind him.

"Pardon my intrusion!" He said in a cheerful tone with utmost joy. But there wasn't a hint of a smile on his deadpanned face.

The blue-haired boy faced the drill-haired blonde Loli who stared at him nonChalantly as always. The guy continued to speak:

"Would you perhaps like to hear a story?"

The girl slowly pointed her palm at him…

"About your dearest mother?"

But she ended up dropping the book in her other hand and surrendering before this devilish guy.