"What, what? What's going on? What do you mean—what's up with Est?"
Seeing all three of them looking at Est, Subaru couldn't help blurting out questions.
"You've still got that much energy?" Shichen looked at him, helpless.
"Of course! You know how exciting getting isekai'd is, right?" Subaru replied proudly.
"It's not like I don't get it, but are you sure you're okay like this? Let me heal you."
At this point Subaru's face was still covered in blood, dust smeared all over him, with injuries here and there. He'd just been kicked and punched by punks, yet he was still this energetic—looked like that muscular body wasn't for show.
"Huh? You can heal?"
"Piece of cake. Heal."
Shichen raised his hand; green light bloomed in his palm and washed over Subaru. The wounds on Subaru's face visibly closed.
"Oh~ so you can do that too. Impressive," Puck nodded, impressed.
"What is that?" Surprise flickered in the girl's eyes as well. She could heal, but nothing this effective—the bloodstains were gone entirely.
"Just a little skill," Shichen smiled.
"A little skill? Isn't that magic?"
"Not really magic," he said, shaking his head with a smile. He wasn't lying—in the Konosuba world it was a skill, not magic, even if in practice there was little difference.
"Not magic… got it," the girl said, accepting it.
"Wait—magic? Skills? They really exist!" Subaru got excited again.
"What's his deal?" the girl said, puzzled by him.
"Ha—he is funny," Puck laughed.
"Don't mind him—he gets twitchy like that sometimes," Shichen waved it off.
"You can't say it like that! You do know why I'm excited, right? So—can I learn it? Please?" Subaru couldn't help asking Shichen. He'd finally come to a magic world—of course a transmigrant wanted to learn. Deep down he was a little proud, too. Maybe, as a transmigrant, he'd have great potential.
"Heh, that depends on your aptitude," Shichen said, without pointing out the limits of Subaru's.
In Konosuba's world, learning was easy so long as you could level up; here, not so much. And Subaru didn't exactly have talent.
"My aptitude is totally awesome!"
"We'll see later. For now we should help this young lady," Shichen said.
"Young lady? Me? I'm not a young lady," the girl said, displeased.
"Right—we don't even know each other's names. How about introductions? I'll go first: I'm Natsuki Subaru," Subaru said, thumb up, enthusiastically pointing to himself.
"I'm Shichen," Shichen said simply.
"Natsuki Subaru, Shichen… odd names. I'm Puck!"
"We already got yours," Subaru said.
"Haha, not many people can chat with a spirit so easily—plus that rare black hair and eyes. Where are you two from?" Puck asked casually.
"Heh, knew you'd ask. By convention—I'm from a small country in the East!" Subaru replied smugly.
"A small country in the East? Looking at the continental map, that's Lugunica. There's no land farther east than the Far East Kingdom."
"No way—seriously? The Far East Kingdom? Then this must be that golden realm everyone dreams of?"
"You don't even know where you are? And with those strange clothes, popping up out of nowhere… You two are actually pretty suspicious, aren't you?" the girl said, frowning as she grew wary of Shichen and Subaru.
"Uh…" The sudden shift caught Subaru off guard.
"It's fine. There's no malice on them—and he… you know, right?" Puck said, kindly backing them up.
"He…" The girl gave Shichen a careful look.
"What are you even talking about? Can we not do the riddle thing?"
"It's fine to tell you," Shichen said, looking at the still-silent Est.
Est nodded, closed her eyes, then flared with light—and transformed into a dazzling silver longsword.
"Est is a spirit."
"Wha—!" Subaru yelped, staring at the sword in disbelief. "What is that? A sword? A spirit? A sword spirit?"
"Exactly. So I'm a spirit-user—same as her," Shichen said to the girl.
"Well now…" Puck shook his head in admiration. "I've never heard of a spirit that turns into a sword."
"Like me then… Are you a swordsman?" the girl asked, eyes on the sword, her face serious.
"A swordsman? Not really. I'm a summoner," Shichen said.
"A summoner? What's that?"
"Eh, no need to worry about the details. Just know we're not bad people," Shichen smiled, and let Est return to human form. She continued to hold his hand like a doll, silent, eyes fixed on the girl.
He didn't need to explain more; no matter how shocked they were, they couldn't guess he wasn't from this world.
"Sorry. I asked too much," the girl said, bowing, then lifting her head again. "Black hair and eyes are common among southern migrants, but in Lugunica it's a sign of high status. Your unfamiliar clothes are finely made… Are you nobles?"
"Huh? Nobles…" Subaru glanced oddly at Shichen.
"Are you not?"
"Of course not. We're not nobles at all," Shichen said, shaking his head.
"I-I see…" The confident look she'd worn a moment ago flushed pink with embarrassment.
"How cute…" Subaru couldn't help saying.
"Indeed," Shichen agreed with a smile.
"Cute… Please don't call me that," the girl said. Despite their praise, a shadow crossed her face, and her tone softened.
"Uh…" Subaru looked to Shichen for help.
Shichen could only shrug.
"Sigh," Puck muttered, exasperated.
"Um… you still haven't introduced yourself. We don't know your name," Subaru said, changing the subject.
"Me? I'm… Satella," the girl said after a pause, voice faint.
"Huh?"
"I have no family name. Just call me Satella," she repeated emotionlessly.
"Ah…"
Even Subaru, dense as he was, heard the distance in her tone. He didn't dare comment further.
"Sigh, what a wicked sense of humor," Puck grumbled under his breath—only Shichen caught it, and understood.
"Back to the point—will you accept our help?" Shichen asked, pointedly not using the name she'd given.
"Mm! We're happy to help," Subaru chimed in.
"Help? No need. I can find it myself," Satella said, shaking her head.
"Really? Your spirit wants us to help. And do you know the thief's true appearance? We do," Shichen said.
"I…" Satella had no answer.
"Let them help," Puck said to her.
"Puck…"
"It's still dangerous here—and it'll be night soon. I won't be able to protect you then."
"Night? Protect? What do you mean?" Subaru asked.
"Simple," Puck said, rolling lazily in midair. "I can't come out at night. Don't be fooled by my adorable exterior—I am a spirit. Just showing up burns a lot of mana. So at night I return to my dwelling crystal to store up energy for daylight. Basically, I can appear from around nine in the morning to five in the afternoon."
"What is this, a civil servant?" Subaru muttered.
"So spirits in this world work like that? Then Est…"
"My Est is different—she can remain manifest all the time," Shichen said.
"Oh~ amazing! That's the kind of spirit I expected. We're the same 'class,' and yet there's such a gap? I'm jealous," Subaru said.
"Haha—sorry to disappoint," Puck chuckled.
"I don't mind~ So let them help. If thugs show up, they can take the knife for us."
"So you are worried!" Subaru shot back.
~~~
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