Sunny was torn.
Not literally, but mentally.
Never having held such painful anger towards anyone before, Sunny wanted nothing more than to make Elsa pay.
He'd held back his rage during his brief interaction with Emilia, and it felt like throwing a blanket onto a bonfire. He was pretty sure she didn't notice, but the same could not be said about Puck. Not that it mattered to him at the moment.
At the same time, he wanted nothing to do with Elsa ever again—Emilia, too. If he never saw those two again, Sunny would be grateful...and probably regretful.
But, some regret is alright in comparison to the alternative. Their problems should not become his burden; he must put himself first.
And the way he saw it, there were two choices: Leave now, or jump into the meat grinder.
He had learned a few things in his last loop. Most importantly: the assassins' vantage point, the time of the contracted meeting, the price of the insignia, how long getting guards can stall Emilia, how many guards she can bring, and Elsa's little sister Meili. That last bit might prove most useful.
But none of that was worth dying for. And none of it could prevent death in his next attempt.
And that's why—
'I am going to leave.'
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Well, that's not exactly true. He wasn't going to hitch a ride out of town, more like he was going to put distance between himself and the problem. He had to confirm a few things before proceeding with any plan to kill Elsa.
'And it's not like I have anywhere to go in this damned Nightmare.'
Hurrying south down the main road, towards the middle of the city, Sunny analyzed the sights. With the farmer's markets behind him, he was in a more affluent area of the capital. Merchants lined the walls of the street and the crowd was bustling.
Surprisingly, most of the merchandise was familiar. Clothes, jewelry, tools, etc. For such a fantastical setting, everything seemed rather mild and normal. Some shops had a variety of things he did not understand, but that was the minority here. Only one kind of shop caught Sunny's attention.
Their stalls were full of rocks, or maybe crystals; he barely knew the difference. What mattered is that they all glowed slightly, which should mean they were special.
Without wasting a second, he stepped up to the nearest one of these stalls and asked—
"What do these stones do?"
"...Are ya serious, kid? You don't know what manastones do?"
"I do, but let's just pretend I don't—"
"Ha!"
Snapping his head at the laugh, Sunny sees a maid for the first time in his life.
The woman—no, the teenage girl—was ignoring him as if she had not just laughed at him. The maid girl had bright pink hair and sharp red eyes, standing around his height. With an elegant energy to her, she was undeniably attractive.
He hardly had any reference to understand what a maid looked like, but the outfit was a dead giveaway; she was wearing servant attire. Although, oddly, it seemed like her uniform had been cut across the chest and armpits by design, revealing some skin.
'Again with these weird outfits. Maybe it's summer wear?'
"What are you looking at?—Pervert."
"Pervert? Pervert! Who are you calling a pervert!?"
"Ha! I could feel your lustful eyes upon me, fool."
"Fool? Pervert? Stop insulting me."
"I wouldn't call you a pervert if you weren't a pervert, fool."
"What do you know!? ...I've had a shitty day, actually, so just shut up."
Letting out another snort, the maid turned to the vendor and pointed at a glowing red stone.
"One fire-stone, please."
...
"Wait!—Did you say fire-stone? As in, that stone can make fire?"
"Ha? I thought you said you knew what these manastones do?"
"Just answer the question!"
"I don't see why I must."
Nearing his wits' end, Sunny gave up. He was already getting animated, and that smug look on her face was egging him on. If this little charade continued any longer, he might accidentally dump his anger on her.
"Seriously ...First Felt, then Emilia, followed by that bitch, and now I'm arguing with a maid! I really don't have good luck with girls today, do I?"
Muttering to himself, he turned away from the girl and—
"What about Lady Emilia."
"huh?"
"I said, what was that about Lady Emilia."
Caught off guard by the aggressive question, he looked back at her. It seemed he had unintentionally gotten her full attention.
In a moment, she had lost her jovial and rude attitude. And the mocking tone from before had disappeared completely, turning her questions into statements; Clearly, she wanted answers.
"—Wait, 'Lady' Emilia? Don't tell me...are you Emilias' maid?"
"Yes, that's correct, fool. Now tell me who you are and how you know Lady Emilia."
"Oh? And why must I? You know, when you want something, you should at least say please."
"Fool! You didn't say please in the first place."
"I didn't get an answer, and neither will you."
Even though he knew it was stupid to argue with a newfound potential ally, this girl had insulted him many times already, and so he couldn't deny himself the opportunity to get back at her a little.
It seemed to work, as her face twitched and her expression grew annoyed.
Letting out a scoff, she crossed her arms and glared at Sunny, probably hoping he'd cave under pressure. After a few moments of unsuccessful menacing, she sighed and lowered her gaze slightly. Through grit teeth, she spoke—
"Fine. Please, tell me who you are and how you know Lady Emilia."
"...Well, that didn't feel very heartfelt, but I commend your effort I guess. Anyway, Emilia herself told me that it's proper manners to give your name first."
With this comment, their previous roles had switched. Now Sunny wore the shit-eating grin, and the maid was popping blood vessels. Honestly, this pointlessly petty back-and-forth had grown to feel quite cathartic. 'Who knew petty squabbles could be so fun?' he mused to himself.
"Did she now."
"Yes, she did."
"Fine. My name is Ram; loyal servant to Lord Roswaal, Head of House Mathers."
"Ram...Wait, who's Rosewall? I thought you were Emilias' maid?"
"It's Lord Roswaal to you, idiot. Get it right. Matter of fact, don't say his name at all, do not dare tarnish his name with your filthy perverted mouth."
"Hey! Again with the pervert stuff?"
While Sunny could tolerate being called a fool or an idiot, he really did not appreciate being labeled a pervert; however, her reaction to his mistake was more interesting at the moment. It seemed that Ram was rather attached to this Roswaal person, far more so than she was to Emilia.
"Enough of this nonsense. For a fool, you sure are skilled at avoiding questions. Answer my question now. Do not make me repeat myself."
"Alright, Alright. I'll tell."—'It's almost sunset.'
"Emilia stopped some thieves trying to rob me. That's how I know her."
"And that is supposed to explain how you speak her name so casually? Do not play me, you insolent brat!"
'Shit!'—Sunny instinctively raises his hands in appeasement. 'Actually... on second thought, this might be a golden opportunity.'
"Uhh..i-I got injured, and so she healed me. She said something about losing an important stone thingy, and uh—
"SHE WHAT!?"
"No wait! She said it got stolen!"
Like a Christmas tree—not that Sunny had ever seen one before—Ram's face lit up in a fury. In one aggressive motion, Ram yanked him off the ground by his collar.
"WHEN AND WHERE DID THIS HAPPEN?"
"LIKE AN HOUR AGO! BACK THAT WAY!"
Surprised by the sudden display of strength, he shouts back.
Ram promptly drops him like a sack of potatoes and bolts back down the main road.
'Damnation! ...I did not expect her to be so strong. Scary.' He was now convinced that she too, was an Awakened.
'This is good news, but I have to hurry.'