Curse Return: Swordsmith Start

Chapter 218 Save Point Update

Fate can be so strange sometimes. Emilia's badge accidentally fell during her actions and was picked up by Felt as she was about to return it. The gem on it lit up. Emilia didn't notice this small detail, but Reinhard's expression gradually changed from a gentle smile to shock when he saw this. He then grabbed the girl's hand.

"—Huh?"

"Reinhard...?"

The two women looked on in surprise. They both looked up at Reinhard, but then fell silent in the face of his serious expression.

"It hurts so much... Let me go..."

Felt shook her head noisily, resisting with feeble movements. However, Reinhard's grip did not loosen. His strength, enough to crush steel when he was serious, remained unyielding even with attempts to reduce it.

"Such a thing actually happened..."

A trembling murmur came from Reinhard's mouth, as if he had seen something incredible, but such emotions were not understood by those around him.

Emilia was the one who reacted to these words. A flicker of doubt appeared in her blue-purple pupils.

"Wait a minute, Reinhard, this girl doesn't know the value of the badge. Besides, I don't see anything wrong with the theft; after all, I was also partly to blame, so I'm letting her go..."

"No, Lady Emilia, I don't think that's the problem."

"What's the matter? Emilia has already forgiven it, so don't be so rigid, you guard."

Subaru's words were of no use.

Grandpa Rom, standing to the side, looked somewhat anxious.

So excited that he forgot how rude he was to Emilia, Reinhard stared intently at the girl whose wrist had been grabbed.

Felt's red eyes looked up at the young man whose hair and eye color were the same as her own, her gaze filled with unease.

"...What's your name?"

"Fei, Ferut..."

"What's your surname? How old are you?"

"I... I'm an orphan, how could I possibly have a surname? My age... I'm probably around fifteen, but I don't even know my birthday... Okay, let me go!"

While speaking, she regained her composure slightly, then Ferut began to fidget in a rude tone.

However, Reinhard skillfully controlled his strength to suppress the girl, then gazed at Emilia.

"Lady Emilia, Subaru, please forgive me for being unable to keep my promise. Please leave her to me for now."

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...May I ask why? Is it to punish her for stealing the badge?

"Although theft is not a minor offense... it is insignificant compared to the sin of turning a blind eye to the present situation."

Confused and unable to understand, Emilia frowned.

Reinhard saw her confusion as something she couldn't help but accept; after all, she could only get used to the situation. It would be more painful to realize the truth behind it all.

"Please come with me. I'm sorry, you don't have the right to refuse."

"Just kidding... Don't think that saving someone gives you the right to be so smug...?"

She tried to respond to Reinhardt's words with foul language, but Ferut suddenly lost her balance.

Her words trailed off, her shoulders went limp, and Felt glared at Reinhard with a look of deep resentment.

"Go to hell... you bastard."

After cursing, Felt's head slumped limply. Reinhard supported her unconscious body and then picked her up in his arms.

But the next moment, a hand landed on his shoulder, causing him to pause.

Because he realized he was being suppressed, he instinctively turned his head to look...

They are Yue people.

His move made everyone tense once again.

Aside from Subaru, who was completely clueless, the other two people present knew that if these two were to clash here, the situation might be even worse than with the assassin from before.

"I know you have your reasons, but Reinhard, even if you can't understand what family love is like, you should still respect it. There are people closest to this child here. If you want to take someone away, as a knight you have an obligation to explain."

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....But"

"It's related to that badge, isn't it? What I saw was that the gem inside lit up when this girl picked it up, and your reaction changed at that moment... Should I continue to ask Miss Emilia about the badge's function?"

"Besides, I'm the one who saved this brat. If I ask her to repay me, would you, as a knight, stop me?"

'

'

"Ah, is that so? Then this child... no way."

The red-haired youth remained silent, while Emilia, after a few seconds of reaction, looked at Felt and covered her mouth in disbelief.

...Such excellent observation skills, you're really amazing, Yue Ren...Alright, then, Lady Emilia, please allow me to state my guess."

"Well, go ahead and say it. I'm sure no one here will tell anyone."

Having come this far, Reinhard had no choice but to compromise.

"With her light blonde hair, red eyes, and the age of fifteen or sixteen, this Miss Felt could be a lost member of the royal family. The fact that she reacted to that gem means she is someone of the same identity as Lady Emilia. So I need to take her back to confirm. That's all I can say."

"really...

'

"No way, is Ferut a noblewoman? Or royalty?"

Subaru's eyes widened, as the plot development was quite unexpected.

"Therefore, I hope everyone can keep this a secret until now, as any leak of this information will cause turmoil in the kingdom."

"Then bring Rom along too. Once Felt wakes up, explain the situation to her properly. It's her right, otherwise I doubt she'll do as you wish."

...Understood, thank you.

The red-haired youth was somewhat taken aback, not expecting that Yue Ren would actually let him go. A struggle appeared on his face as he felt ashamed of the thoughts that had just arisen within him.

Rom didn't have much of an opinion. On the one hand, he couldn't beat Reinhard and couldn't change his will; on the other hand, he was indeed worried about Felt.

Although he felt that Felt probably wouldn't like his royal status... he still went with Reinhard in the end.

Yue and Subaru left with Emilia, as the girl wanted to take her two benefactors home to entertain them.

Before leaving, Yue Ren glanced in a certain direction of the slums, a slight smile playing on his lips.

She found a method so quickly! The assassin is quite clever. I wonder when she'll come looking for him. Let's wait and see.

Back on the street, it wasn't as lively as during the day. Emilia led the two to a place where a magnificent carriage was parked.

A maid-dressed girl who caught Subaru's eye was waiting nearby.

Her height is the middle of 150 centimeters. She has big eyes and pink lips. Her face with light features combines innocence and cuteness, making her look pitiful.

Her hairstyle is short bob, and the blue hair parting covers her left eye.

Upon seeing Emilia, his anxious expression turned to joy. However, when he saw that there were two other people behind the silver-haired girl, his brows furrowed slightly. He especially glanced at Subaru, who was about the same height as Emilia.

However, she hid it very well, so no one except the Yue people noticed.

"Lady Emilia, it seems the appointed time has passed."

"Sorry Rem, there was a little problem, but it's all sorted out now. Let's go."

"By the way, these two are my saviors. I'm planning to take them with me to the territory. Is that alright?"

'

"...I see. Well then, esteemed guests, please."

Because they needed to hurry back, the group didn't talk much, and with the maid driving the car the whole time, there wasn't a chance to chat.

So, after a night of travel, Subaru finally changed the map.

The first thing I saw after opening my eyes was a white light that looked artificial.

Behind the light was a wide ceiling, with hanging crystals shimmering with a soft glow that illuminated the room.

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"...The feel of this pillow is truly different; the smell and quality are a whole digit more expensive than the ones I usually use."

After enjoying the feel of the quilt, Subaru propped himself up on the slightly fragrant bed.

It's immediately obvious that this is a room belonging to the upper class.

The bed is so big that five people could sleep in it with room to spare—in a spacious room that is nearly ten square meters, there is only one ridiculously large bed, which is a very strange arrangement.

My brain started working. My last memory was chatting with Emilia in the carriage. Was I too tired to sleep?

How embarrassing... But considering what happened the day before, being on edge for so long, and experiencing so much pain that most people can't even imagine, it seems understandable that I fainted after everything calmed down...

Fully awake, Subaru got out of bed and moved his limbs slightly to check his physical condition.

The shoulders and legs rotated well... which means that this time the "death rewind" was truly avoided.

After stating this difficult-to-determine conclusion, he finally made up his mind to face reality.

Subaru glanced at the door and sighed in dissatisfaction at the lack of news.

"Generally speaking, in a normal otherworld, when I open my eyes, there should be a beautiful girl watching over me by my pillow saying, 'You're awake?' right?"

There were no beautiful girls when I was summoned; the bug in this summoning system is too obvious.

Now, we can only check the current situation ourselves.

He almost jumped up and reached his hand towards the door.

Cool air flowed in from behind the open door, and the coldness of the floor was directly transmitted to bare feet.

Upon exiting the room, one is greeted by a wide corridor with walls and floors painted in warm colors. On both sides are endless passageways, and what's terrifying is that the corridors seem to stretch on forever.

"This mansion is too grand, it's either enormous or boundless... there's no human presence at all."

Walking barefoot down the corridor, Ang frowned at the silence, not hearing even the usual sounds of daily life.

Subaru took a step without hesitation, but after walking for a while, he tilted his head in confusion.

"We've walked for so long, and we haven't even seen the end, let alone reached the entrance or exit. How could this be?"

The strange feeling wouldn't go away, and Subaru decided to turn back and think about what to do. He turned around, but then frowned, puzzled. "This painting... wasn't it in front of me when I first left the room?"

'

Standing in front of the decorative oil painting in the corridor, Subaru crossed his arms and pondered.

The painting's theme is a forest at night, and it feels like the same painting I see as soon as I step out of my room.

If he hadn't been walking too slowly... he suddenly thought of a possibility.

"Is there a mechanism installed in the floor? It's not like it'll make the hallway spin like a treadmill..., is it?"

It's likely that moving a certain distance in the corridor will automatically teleport you to the other side of the map, allowing you to walk indefinitely. This is a common map trap in RPGs and similar games.

"If the corridors also go around in circles, then it really does resemble 'death rewind' quite a bit."

Without asking anyone's permission, Subaru opened the door to a nearby room, only to find it completely empty, a bare room with no one inside.

"An endless corridor and several rooms... is this a level where you can't get out unless you find the correct answer?"

Although I can't fully accept the fact that I was summoned to another world, it's really frustrating to be immediately faced with new fantasy elements right after waking up.

"Following the usual pattern, I'll probably have to spend several hours finding the right room. Right now, I'm hungry, exhausted, and almost out of energy... In that case..."

"5

Taking a deep breath, wiping the sweat from his forehead, Subaru took his first step with a sense of resolve.

Facing the door with the oil painting hanging on it, he grasped the doorknob of the room that Subaru had originally stepped out of and turned it.

"I'll go back to my room and sleep until someone wakes me up. Maybe it's a common scenario where the room where I started is the final destination."

This self-destructive personality and mindset triggered Subaru's idea to step into the room without confirming anything.

...Why is it this guy who really infuriates me this time?

Then, in the library she had no recollection of, the curly-haired girl stared at Subaru with a frown and said.

That was a room that was perfectly suited to be called a "library".

The room was more than twice the size of the previous guest room, with bookshelves reaching the ceiling that filled the entire space. The books on the shelves were neatly arranged, and the amount of books in the room was unimaginable.

Having so many books but not a single one that I can understand... it's really frustrating.

Even after scanning the bookshelves, I didn't see any books with Japanese writing on the covers, nor any books with phonetic scripts. All of them were hieroglyphics that I had seen in the capital—the common script of this world arranged and combined on the covers.

Staring at the text he had read several times but still couldn't understand, Subaru couldn't help but sigh.

"You came in and rudely stared at other people's bookshelves, then sighed... You're not here to cause trouble, are you? If so, I'll accept it?"

"You speak with such a sharp tongue, what a waste of your lovely face! Come on, give me a smile."

"It's only natural that Betty is cute. If you want to see a smiling face, then a mocking face is enough."

Facing Subaru, who was smiling obsequiously with his fingers pressed against his cheek, the girl revealed a merciless smile on her charming face.

She was even younger than Ferut, whom I met in the slums, probably only eleven or twelve years old.

The luxurious dress with its heavy use of lace suited her lovely appearance perfectly.

Her light cream-colored hair is very long, and her most distinctive feature is that it's permed into long European-style curls. If she were to smile, anyone would be melted by her cuteness.

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