Natsuki Subaru is chasing his back

Chapter 34: Ability Enhancement

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Natsuki Subaru stared at the skill point allocation screen in front of him.

His expression was somewhat sour.

Although he could enhance himself again, the experience of dying so inexplicably, even without much pain, was frustrating! Frustrating to death.

He had been working seriously, but suddenly died for no apparent reason.

Anyone would be annoyed.

It was like playing a game—just after leaving home, you die inexplicably, and worse, there was no death replay function.

But that wasn't the worst part.

The worst was realizing after dying outside that it was actually a teammate who had dealt the fatal blow.

That feeling was as disgusting as having eaten something foul—though Subaru had never actually eaten anything disgusting.

Subaru kept pondering how exactly he had died, and who could have attacked him.

The first thing to consider was the possibility that someone inside the mansion had done it.

But soon Subaru discarded that idea; he really couldn't think of a reason why anyone inside the mansion would want to harm him.

After all, he had been living there for a while, and even if he thought with maximum malice, the only thing he could come up with was that it had something to do with that badge.

However, living and working inside the mansion meant he was constantly under their watch, so it was unlikely anyone inside would attack him.

The remaining possibility was that someone outside wanted to harm the mansion's inhabitants, and Subaru, being too weak, had become the first target.

Before confirming how many times he could use his abilities, Subaru found it hardest to accept dying so senselessly.

With these thoughts, Subaru looked at the skill point screen. Last time, he had used up his points on defense and agility. This time he had 60 points. Upgrading defense required 30 points, and upgrading agility also required 30 points.

Thinking about how to allocate points this time to avoid dying unfairly, Subaru spent 30 points on defense. With the remaining points, he added two points to strength. Now his stats read Defense 3, Agility 2, Strength 2.

Subaru nodded in satisfaction.

Defense would prevent him from being one-shot, agility would let him defend quickly, and strength would allow him to deliver powerful blows.

Considering his original strength was already formidable, once he found the enemy, he would definitely fight well!

"No matter what your purpose is, I will catch you!" Subaru declared as he reached out and pressed the "Deploy" button.

With his consciousness suddenly disconnecting and reconnecting, Subaru immediately opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was the ceiling.

Noticing something had changed, he realized the time was off! The save time didn't match the first save time.

Before Subaru could figure out this save system, a cat appeared in his line of sight.

Seeing this, Subaru instantly understood what time period this save corresponded to.

"Subaru, you're awake."

Subaru didn't answer immediately. Sitting up, he glanced at Emilia sleeping curled up by the bed and then said,

"Puck, I have a question I want to ask you."

Hearing this, Puck paused and nodded.

"Puck, in what circumstances does a person's body start to feel cold and powerless, as if life is slowly draining away?"

Puck fell silent. Sensing Puck's mood, Subaru quickly added,

"Ah, I'm not blaming you. I don't blame you at all! The question I'm asking isn't about what I felt back then!"

Feeling Subaru's tone, Puck thought for a moment and then said,

"That's definitely the feeling right before death."

"…." Subaru sighed.

Looks like he would have to ask someone else.

Puck was clearly feeling guilty and remorseful about what he had done to Subaru, so he probably wouldn't provide a useful answer right now.

Subaru stretched out his hand again, and Puck landed in his palm just like before.

"Puck, this isn't like you. Even though you did something excessive to me, that was because I handled things poorly. Neither of us really did anything wrong.

You got hurt because of Emilia; actually, you just wanted to stop me from continuing.

And I wanted Emilia to understand how ridiculous her thoughts were, which caused our conflict. On this point, we both didn't do the right thing in the right way.

So I don't blame you. But Puck, if you consider yourself Emilia's father, don't be too overprotective.

Children will grow up eventually, and a father is their support, someone who protects them from behind, helps them, and guides them."

Puck quietly listened to Subaru's words.

As a spirit, he had never been a father before, and only after hearing Subaru did he realize that maybe he was too overprotective of Emilia.

Subaru reached out and gently rubbed Puck's small head.

"Puck, do your best to become a good father. Help your daughter become an outstanding person."

"Even now, Lia is very excellent, but… I admit she still has some issues. So, my friend, can you help me, a useless father, support Lia?"

"Of course! I'm your friend. Of course I'll do that."

Puck looked at Subaru's smiling face, his own expression serious and solemn.

"My friend, I swear in the name of Puck, the Beast of the End. From now on, if you ever need help, I will definitely help you."

"Honestly, Puck, we're friends, right?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"So, Puck, you actually don't need to swear. Friends helping each other is normal, right?"

Puck was silent for a moment, then laughed.

Even if Subaru refused the vow, he would unilaterally keep it.

After talking with Puck for a while, Subaru left the room. Walking down the corridor, he found Beatrice's room and opened the door.

"Yo, good morning, Beatrice."

Beatrice looked at Subaru barging into the room and was about to complain, but Subaru spoke first.

"Thanks for saving me, Beatrice."

"Hmph. Betty only saved you because of the elder brother's request."

"Ah, I know. That's just the normal way a blonde tsundere loli talks."

"You're really infuriating sometimes."

"Beatrice, I need your help with something." Saying this, Subaru's expression grew serious and solemn.