Chapter 35: LinieBaru First Meets A Drunkard Then A Demon General 

The Bier Region came to view before they crossed its border. The smell of hops and something considerably harsher drifted down the road on the afternoon breeze, strong enough that Subaru wrinkled her nose the moment it reached her.

"No," she said, before Übel had even finished raising an eyebrow in her direction.

"I haven't asked anything yet."

"You were about to. You get this look right before you ask me to drink something, and you had it just now."

Übel shrugged, unbothered, already scanning the row of taverns along the main street like a woman evaluating potential targets. "Suit yourself. More for me."

She wandered off toward the nearest establishment with the enthusiasm of someone entering a candy shop, leaving Subaru alone on the cobbled street with no interest in following. Subaru found a wooden bench outside a small shop and sat down to wait out whatever chaos Übel was about to unleash on the local alcohol supply.

The shop behind her turned out to be a bookstore, which seemed out of place in a region famous for beer, liquor, and a healthy assortment of narcotics that nobody bothered describing too specifically. Curious despite herself, she glanced back through the window and saw the shopkeeper, an older man with round spectacles perched on his nose, doing something odd.

He kept looking at her. Then away. Then back again, eyes narrowing each time, like he was trying to match her face to a memory.

Subaru's stomach tightened.

Did he know? Had someone figured it out? She had gone to great lengths, practically begging Serie for the favor, to keep anyone outside a very small circle from learning what she was underneath the turban and the careful mannerisms. Serie had been so pleased with her clearing that dungeon and taking down Frieren's clone that she'd granted the request without much fuss, along with a few other small privileges Subaru had asked for while the woman was in a good mood.

So why was this man staring at her like he knew her secret?

Then she noticed the newspaper spread across his counter, and it made sense. He recognized her face, printed in ink, probably under some overly dramatic headline about the mage who'd defeated Rivale.

Right. That whole mess.

Being famous apparently didn't come with money, and it didn't come with apples, which she found personally offensive given how much she liked apples. It did come with discounted rooms at inns, which was at least useful.

Speaking of rooms, she and Übel still needed somewhere to stay tonight. Subaru made a mental note to insist, once again, on separate quarters. The request had become more necessary ever since Übel learned about the human consciousness trapped in a demon body. That revelation had turned Übel from merely unsettling into a clingy, affectionate shadow who appeared at her side constantly, draped an arm over her shoulders at the smallest excuse, and once tried to braid her hair while Subaru was too tired to object.

It reminded her uncomfortably of Methode, the first class mage who treated personal space as a theoretical concept. Methode had petted her, rubbed cheeks against her face without warning, and once cuddled her from behind so suddenly that Subaru nearly summoned a weapon on reflex before realizing the threat was affection. Terrifying woman. Subaru wondered if Methode petted Serie.

Speaking of Serie, Subaru wasn’t expecting her to give a spell, as promised. However, she did. 

She shook the memory off, pushed herself up from the bench, and decided to find Übel before she drank the entire region dry.

That was when a short, heavily bearded man barreled past, and the smell hit her like a wall.

Subaru blinked hard, eyes watering. It was ale, and something sharper underneath that stung her nose.

The dwarf noticed her expression and stopped, bristling. "You got something to say, pretty face?"

Subaru's pride, the stubborn kind she'd apparently kept from her previous life as a man, flared at being called pretty face in that tone.

"Yeah," she said flatly. "You smell worse than my socks after a long hike."

"This," the dwarf said, puffing out his chest, "is the smell of my great beers. Award winning, I'll have you know."

"I bet they're brewed in a sewer."

A few gasps rippled through the small crowd that had appeared out of nowhere, the way crowds always did the instant a public argument started.

"Say that again," the dwarf growled, stepping closer. "You..."

"Bitch," Subaru finished for him, arms crossed. "Yeah, I heard you the first time. No need to workshop it."

Being casually insulted seemed to throw him off, and it gave Subaru an opening. Her old competitive instincts kicked in with more enthusiasm than she'd expected this early in the day.

"I mean, look at you." She gestured at his mud caked boots and a beard that looked like it had survived several bar fights without once being washed. "You're filthy. Did you fall into a puddle and mistake it for drinking water? Genuine question."

That did it.

The dwarf roared, far louder than his compact frame should allow, and lunged at her with both arms swinging. Subaru, glad for once to be noticeably taller than him, reached down, grabbed him by the collar, and held him at arm's length while his fists flailed through empty air.

"Let go of me!" he bellowed, legs kicking. "Fight like a real man, you coward!"

Subaru raised an eyebrow. "In case you missed the memo, I'm a girl."

"Then fight like a real girl with a runny mouth!"

"That's not even an insult. That's just a description."

Before things escalated, a tall man with an impressively waxed mustache pushed through the crowd, holding both hands up in a gesture meant to project authority, though the mustache did most of the work.

"Stooop!" he announced, voice carrying over the noise. "This dispute can be settled in only one proper way."

Subaru let go of the collar, and the dwarf dropped back onto his feet. She raised an eyebrow at the newcomer. "What way?"

The dwarf recovered fast, straightened his jacket, and smirked up at her like someone who had just remembered which battlefield favored him most.

"A drinking contest."

Subaru held up both hands and took a full step back. "No. I'm not drinking whatever swamp water you people call beer just to prove a point."

The dwarf, whose name was apparently Fass judging by the way half the crowd started chanting it, planted his hands on his hips with the dignity of a man insulted on behalf of his entire species.

"It wouldn't prove anything about the drink," he said. "It would prove who has the stronger resolve. You want to talk trash about my beer, you back it up like someone with conviction, not someone who runs her mouth and then runs away."

"I'm not running away, I'm exercising good judgment. There's a difference."

"Sounds like running away with extra steps."

Laughter rolled through the crowd. Someone near the back called out that Fass had been chasing a legendary wine his entire life, a ridiculous name that got passed around like a punchline everyone already knew. Emperor Boshaft, a mythical vintage Fass had spent decades hunting without success, which explained both his tolerance and his attitude toward anyone who questioned his credentials.

"He's an infamous drinker," someone shouted helpfully. "You're done for, girl. Nobody's outdrunk Fass in fifteen years."

"Good for him," Subaru said flatly. "I'm still not doing it."

The crowd erupted, loud and mocking, a few voices calling her a coward, others cackling at anyone refusing so legendary a challenge. Her pride took a hit somewhere in her chest, that same competitive ember from her old life flaring up irritated at being laughed at in the middle of a public street.

She held firm anyway. No drinking, no exceptions. That rule had survived every temptation since she arrived in this world, and she wasn't going to let a bearded man with a beer obsession be the one to break it.

"Laugh all you want," she muttered, turning on her heel. "I'll sleep fine tonight knowing my liver is intact."

The crowd dispersed behind her, still chuckling, Fass loudly telling anyone who'd listen that he'd known she was all talk from the first insult. Subaru ignored him and kept walking until the smell of alcohol stopped assaulting her nose.

Then the bookshop owner stepped outside, the same man who'd been staring at her through the window, wiping his hands on a cloth and squinting at her with cautious curiosity.

"Excuse me," he said. "Forgive me for asking, but are you, by any chance, the Great Hero of Vorig Region?"

Subaru straightened, her irritation melting away and replaced by something far more familiar and satisfying. She struck her pose without hesitation, one index finger angled at the sky, chin lifted, wearing the mix of smugness and heroic determination she'd been practicing in reflective surfaces ever since the title got attached to her name.

"I'm Subaru," she announced, voice ringing. "Broke, but a hero nonetheless!"

The man's eyes lit up, and he clasped his hands together. "Oh, nice, nice! I read about the whole ordeal with Rivale in the paper. Remarkable stuff. Would it be too much trouble to ask for an autograph?"

Subaru blinked, caught off guard by how sincere the request was, and then a wide grin spread across her face.

"Eh? Sure, sure." She rolled her shoulders back. "Finally, some respect around here."

───✧───

The moment they crossed into Rufen Region, Subaru felt it settle over her skin like a cold film. Faint pulses of mana were scattered across the landscape, each carrying the signature of something demonic. There were many sources, spread thin across the hills and valleys ahead, some faint and distant, others closer and sharper, enough to make the back of her neck prickle.

"We need to be careful here," she said quietly, scanning the tree line.

Übel nodded once and summoned her staff, the crystal shards at its top catching the last of the afternoon light. They walked forward together, slower now, eyes tracking every shift of shadow between the trees.

Darkness had fully settled by the time they spotted a village, a cluster of small buildings huddled against the growing chill, thin trails of smoke rising from a few chimneys. The Northern Plateau had a reputation that followed it everywhere Subaru had traveled, a place riddled with monsters and demons far stronger than most regions had to deal with. And yet people still lived here, in scattered towns and lonely houses tucked into whatever pockets of safety they could find. Survival depended on the territorial habits of nearby monsters, or a hidden ward passed down through generations, or sometimes plain stubborn luck.

Übel approached the nearest house and knocked firmly.

No answer. No footsteps, no voices. She knocked again, louder. Still nothing.

"They probably think we're monsters," Subaru said, glancing at the darkened windows and the curtains pulled tight. "Can't really blame them. Two strangers showing up after dark in a place like this."

Übel shrugged and turned from the door. "Their loss. We'll camp outside."

They built a small fire at the edge of the village, close enough to the trees for cover but far enough to avoid drawing attention from whatever slept in those woods. The flames crackled low and cast a weak orange glow over the clearing. Übel sat cross legged, pulled a cloth from her pack, and ran it along the length of her staff.

Subaru sat nearby, staring into the fire, her thoughts far beyond this world.

Naoko and Kenichi.

Her parents. Real parents, from a life that felt more distant every day, though their faces stayed sharp in her memory. She wondered whether time on Earth kept moving without her. Had they noticed her absence at once, or had days slipped by before anyone realized something was wrong? Had they filed a missing person report, sat in a cold police station and described a son who had vanished without a note or an explanation?

She had disappeared from the entire planet. She was simply gone, and an empty space stood where a person used to be. The thought sat heavy in her chest every time it came, though she'd learned to push it aside before it could grow into something worse.

Something else had been nagging at her, quieter but persistent. Serie. The brief flash of fear on the ancient elf's face during their conversation, gone almost as soon as it appeared, though Subaru had caught it. Terror, for a fraction of a second, before Serie's composed mask slid back on. Had she sensed something about Return by Death? Was that even possible for someone with her power? And there had been that mention of the Megami, dropped into conversation like it barely mattered, though the way Serie said it suggested otherwise.

Had the Megami summoned her here? If so, why? Subaru clearly wasn't cast as a hero in this story, not with actual heroes hunting her at every turn. It looked more like a twisted version where the supposed heroes were the villains, and the one everyone called a monster just wanted to survive long enough to see another day.

Either way, she needed to find her way home. And if that never happened, if she stayed trapped in this body for good, there were worse fates than becoming an idol, singing and dancing under bright lights instead of dodging beams and dying in ancient tombs. Or maybe she could convince her actual parents that their daughter was their son, wearing an unfamiliar face and a pair of small horns. That conversation sounded awful however she pictured it.

A sharp, light tap on her skull cut the spiral short.

"Ow." Subaru rubbed the spot where Übel's staff had landed and glared across the fire. "What was that for?"

"You looked like you were somewhere else," Übel said, setting the staff across her lap, cloth still in hand. "What were you thinking about?"

"You don't need to hit me to ask a question."

"Answer it."

Subaru sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. "Ugh, fine. I was thinking about becoming an idol."

Übel tilted her head, confused. "An idol? What's that?"

"People who sing and dance in front of huge crowds. Lots of fans, lots of lights. It's a whole career back where I'm from."

Übel's eyes lit up. "Oh. So you want to become one of these idols?"

"N-no!" Subaru crossed both arms in front of her chest in a big X and shook her head hard. "Why would you even ask that?"

"Really." Übel sounded like someone who had caught a lie and meant to enjoy it. "You seemed very invested just now."

"I was not invested, I was just thinking about options, that's all, purely theoretical." Subaru stood up quickly and brushed dirt off her clothes with more urgency than the job needed. "Anyway. Go to sleep. I'm going on my demon stroll."

───✧───

Subaru had felt the presence trailing her for the last quarter mile, faint pulses of mana keeping their distance behind the trees. Rather than pretend she hadn't noticed, she stepped into a small clearing and stopped walking.

"Alright," she said, arms crossed, voice steady despite the cold knot in her stomach. "Show yourself."

The air shifted, and figures emerged from the shadows one after another until four demons stood arranged across the clearing.

The first made her breath catch. From the waist down he had no legs, only a thick coiling serpent tail covered in pale overlapping scales that gleamed under the moonlight. His upper body was human in shape but massive, muscle carved sharp beneath his skin, and where a normal person had two arms he had four. Long pale hair fell past his shoulders, and two large horns curved up from his skull like claws reaching for the sky. A dark cloth was wrapped tight across his eyes, though the way his head tracked her movement made it clear the blindfold did nothing to hinder him. Gold bracers circled his wrists, a spiked collar sat at his throat, and a patterned sash wrapped his waist where human flesh gave way to scale.

Behind him stood the others. A small, child sized demon bounced on the balls of her feet, unbothered by the tension. A pink haired girl in dark athletic shorts wore an expression with no emotion in it at all. And a tall figure in a black mask that covered his entire face stood silent, arms folded.

"Who are you?" the serpent demon asked, voice low and even. "I have never heard of you."

"It's rude to ask someone's name before offering your own," Subaru said, keeping her tone flat, though her heart was pounding hard enough that she worried they could hear it.

The demon tilted his head, clearly not expecting that, and after a pause he inclined it in something close to acknowledgment.

"I am a Demon General. Revolte."

"I'm Young!" the child demon chirped, offering nothing more, apparently content with a title in place of a name.

"Zorida," the pink haired girl said, in the same blank voice as her face.

"Call me Scout," the masked figure said, muffled behind the fabric.

"Your turn," Revolte said, turning his covered eyes toward Subaru.

"My name is Subaru."

Revolte repeated it slowly, as if testing it against something in his memory. "Subaru. Are you the one who killed Rivale?"

Subaru's stomach dropped. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Were these his allies? Was this another revenge encounter, another loop of violence she'd have to fight her way through?

"Yes," she said at last, deciding there was no point lying about something they clearly suspected.

"I had heard it was a human mage who did that," Scout said, tilting his masked head.

"Wrong," Subaru said, forcing steadiness into her voice. "It was me."

"Why," Revolte asked, "would you kill him?"

Her mind raced for something, anything, that might pass whatever test this conversation was.

"He was annoying me."

Silence stretched across the clearing.

"He was," Zorida repeated slowly, "annoying you?"

"Yeah. So I killed him."

"...I see," Zorida said, and left it there.

Revolte's expression, what little could be read beneath the blindfold, turned contemplative. "I have another question. Why are you pretending to be human? Why suppress your mana signature the way you have?"

Panic flared hot in her chest. Ugh, what now. Think, think, think. Her mouth opened before her brain caught up with whatever was about to come out of it.

"I have a great goal," she said, putting confidence into every syllable even though she had no idea where the sentence was headed. "Reaching Ende and fulfilling my destiny."

"Destiny...?" Revolte repeated.

"Yes." Subaru straightened her spine, committed now that there was no turning back. "The vision the Demon King once carried, I intend to fulfill it myself. Because I am the chosen one."

Silence swallowed the clearing.

For one long moment none of the four reacted, their expressions stuck between disbelief and something Subaru couldn't name. She braced herself, certain the bluff was about to collapse and get her killed on the spot.

Then, one by one, all four of them dropped to their knees.

"Huh?"

Revolte pressed a fist against the ground, head bowed low. "I had my suspicions the moment I sensed your mana signature beneath that human disguise. Now it is clear as day. You are indeed the chosen one."

Subaru stood frozen, staring down at four kneeling demons, her mind scrambling to process what had just happened.

Did my bullshit actually line up with some other bullshit? Fuck.

"Naturally," she somehow said.

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