Re:Zero Arc 2 – The Chaotic Week: 1-18

Arc 1

Currently, Eminent Translations is working on translating Arc 2. This page will be updated periodically with available translated chapters!

Chapter 1 The Unfamiliar Ceiling, The Endless Hallway

For Subaru, it was a far cry from waking up from a bad night’s sleep.

When he opened his eyelids, what met his eyes was a dim white glow that was seemingly artificial. The ceiling was unfamiliar to him, and the crystals on it somehow managed to emit a faint glow that illuminated the interior of the room.

Subaru had a reputation of being good at waking up, so once he woke up, he would immediately become wide awake.

“…The pillow feels different.”

As he rolled over, he noticed that the feeling under his head was different than usual.

Moreover, the softness of the bed couldn’t have been possible on the futon he was used to sleeping on. In fact, the floor underneath his futon had become discolored because he never folded it and put it away after waking up.

“And it smells super nice, too. Ha-ha-ha…it smells like the sun! Well…it’s really the smell of lice that were burnt to death in the sun, isn’t it…?”

That was one of the top three pieces of knowledge he didn’t want to know in his life.

I’m going to enjoy the stench of death to the fullest!, he thought, and then he opened his eyes. He then raised himself up halfway and looked around the room, which was instantly recognizable as a room for the upper class.

The bed was roomy enough for about five people, and the room around the bed was at least 350 square feet in size. Using a 350 square foot room as a bedroom would be a complete waste of space. However… “Given the size of the mansion…that’s probably not the case, huh.”

Fully awake, Subaru got off the bed and lightly turned himself around to check his current condition.

First of all, he checked his shoulders, then the various joints in his arms and legs, and then his cardiovascular and endurance strength by lifting his legs and doing squats, and lastly, while taking a breather due to being out of breath, he pulled up the clothes he was wearing to see if he had any wounds from before.

“Stomach wound…it’s gone! No bruises, of course, and no scar from getting disemboweled, either. And zero stitches, so the doctors of this world are excellent! Great! No one would sweep me off my feet if I had any scars, after all.”

Cooking, laundry, sewing, and other household chores were all things Subaru Natsuki would rather avoid, but he at least had potential in them.

Subaru was pretty tough due to all the exercises he’d done at home, and he was able to eat a lot of food as a result. I wonder if a rich official or minister would take me as a bride…

“I’m definitely not going to do that…Anyway…”

The room was as simple as he initially thought. —In addition to the bed, there was a houseplant by the window, some furniture, and paintings on the walls.

Subaru wasn’t sure if it existed in this world, but he couldn’t find a clock anywhere—or anything that looked like a clock—and he couldn’t find anything that looked like a calendar, either.

“The question is…how long was I unconscious…? Well, maybe five hours?”

Subaru touched his chin and measured the approximate time elapsed by the feel of his stubble.

It was his secret technique that allowed him to check the time quite accurately without a clock. From the feel of his stubble clock, it had been roughly five or six hours since he’d last checked. In other words, it would be around the time the first day after being summoned to another world had come to an end.

Thinking that far, Subaru once again touched his belly. “Anyway…does that mean I avoided activating Return by Death this time?”

That was the question he had been trying to avoid thinking about ever since waking up, but then he ultimately decided to face the reality that he couldn’t look away from.

△▼△▼△▼△

Up to the point of losing consciousness, Subaru recalled the events leading up to each Death.

“First, I died in a haphazard manner; the second time I died bravely; the third time I died like a dog; and the fourth time I died from a stray projectile after getting thrown into a fight to the death—is what I would be saying if I actually died, but I’m glad I was able to stay alive. If I were to die like that again, I’d be on track to becoming a mob in no time.”

All of the causes of Death were charming like that.

On the bed in the large and uncomfortable room—with the sheets and comforter thrown into a heap—Subaru sat cross-legged in silent contemplation.

There was no doubt that this was different from the site of the usual restart point since the activation of Return by Death had been avoided. There was a one-in-ten thousand percent chance that this was the home of the fruit stall owner where he always ended up before when he Returned by Death, but the only thing he could think of at the moment was, “It’s either Reinhard’s house or Emilia-tan’s house.”

They were the only two people who were friendly to Subaru and gave the impression that they would own a large mansion like this.

Hopefully it’s the latter, Subaru thought with his own wishful thinking.

The treatment of his abdominal wound—this was probably due to Emilia’s magic. If the treatment had not been carried out immediately on the spot, Subaru’s death would have been difficult to avoid, and above all, his male mind wanted to believe that the beautiful girl was the one who had healed him.

“It’s not that I have an issue with that handsome knight healing me, but to have a gorgeous girl heal you is any man’s dream, right…? This is a different world, after all!”

He then stroked the sheets with his fingers and made feminine gestures while daydreaming.

Then Subaru bounced on the bed and used the springs to land on the floor. “For now, I’d like to figure out where I am.”

“Then it’s the beginning of a new adventure…no, no, no, no, don’t dread these changes! Get back on track, me! —Are you really going to go back to those reclusive days when you were a pain in the ass who didn’t want to do anything for himself?! Do you really want to go back to that kind of thing where you just eat and play games and watch anime and go to bed at the time you want to go to bed and check out what’s on the internet and post comments occasionally…actually, yes, it would be nice to go back, wouldn’t it?”

It wasn’t that Subaru had any desire to be summoned to another world or anything.

It wasn’t that he was dissatisfied with the shut-in life in the first place. It’s just that he never thought that the days that passed by were boring or wasted, and to be able to sleep as long as he wanted to was all he needed as a shut-in.

“I do feel a little bad for my parents, who had to deal with me…but it’s almost like they just let me do whatever I wanted without getting in the way.”

He exercised, ate meals with his family at the table, went out occasionally, and even begged for an allowance. It was a relatively normal life for a teenager except for not going to school, so it would perhaps be better to call Subaru a drop-out rather than a shut-in.

“What a shocking fact, huh. If I didn’t have the opportunity to look back at myself in another world, maybe I wouldn’t have realized that I wasn’t a real shut-in for the rest of my life…no way, maybe that’s why I was summoned here…?”

Subaru firmly decided that he would be careful about self-identifying in the future. He wouldn’t want to be easily identified as a shut-in and have to deal with the anger of the ‘World Shut-in Association’ or whatever it was called.

“I suppose all the members of the association are also shut-ins…and if that’s the case, then how in the world do they all cooperate with each other…?”

His thoughts kept going in circles as he pondered that question over and over again. With a twist of his head, Subaru tossed out the entire investigation into that matter with “It doesn’t even matter” and crept toward the door.

Ideally, it would have been preferable for Subaru to have an encounter with someone who had come to see him while he was killing time—someone who would also be able to provide an explanation of the current situation.

“Or I’d wake up and hear, ‘Are you awake?’ from a beautiful girl sitting by my bedside who had nursed me back to health. I mean, isn’t that’s normal? If you were summoned and the beautiful girl who summoned you isn’t by your side—that’s a pretty big disappointment for the one who was summoned and means something went terribly wrong…”

In any case, what he should appreciate was that, for now, as promised by the common clichés of otherworld-fantasy, the people he meets should all be beautiful.

At any rate, there were only five named characters who he was acquainted with. The three hoodlums couldn’t be counted since they were essentially uninteresting mobs. And another one was an old man with a wrinkled face. But. “Felt looked like she could shine if she were cleaned up a bit, not to mention Emilia-tan and Reinhard. Elsa is… Oooh hell no, my fingertips are starting to shake just thinking about her!”

Subaru’s trauma gauge had shot up, so he concluded that she should be excluded from the list.

He could admit that she was beautiful if only in appearance, but when her addiction to killing and disemboweling people was added to that… “That’s what we call ‘gap moe’!” —That was something that couldn’t be ignored just because she was pretty.

“OK! Now that I’ve figured out what I want to do, I’m going to stop procrastinating and start my journey… Starting something new is always super exciting!”

After he casually whispered that, Subaru carefully turned the doorknob and opened the door.

The chilly air from outside flowed into the room and crept over his bare feet, causing him to let out a “Wah!”

Outside the room was a long hallway painted in warm colors. There were long stretches of walls on either side, and he could see similar doors dotted along the way. All of the rooms had probably been constructed similarly to the room he’d slept in. —With this many rooms in the 350 square foot class, this must have been a more luxurious mansion than he had previously imagined. He couldn’t help but think of the status of the owner of this mansion, and then he cleared his throat. “The only thing I can say is, wow. It’s super spacious. But with all this space, I wonder where all the people are?”

Walking barefoot down the hallway with floors made out of a smooth, polished material—similar to the floor of his school—Subaru couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the quietness of the hallway.

“This is even more quiet than the room. Almost too quiet…to the point where I’m afraid of making a sound…”

Normally he’d be shouting, “Is anyone here?!” It was in his nature to do as much as he could in whatever circumstances he found himself in, but under the current circumstances, it didn’t feel safe enough to do so.

At any rate, Subaru didn’t have a shred of understanding of his current situation at this point in time.

He had been sure that he was in the home of a benefactor, but it wasn’t unreasonable to assume that after losing consciousness, Elsa may have organized a large army consisting of 100,000 men to get revenge and captured him while he was asleep.

If that were the case, it was Elsa’s side that had captured Subaru, and the mansion would quickly change from a good-natured millionaire’s mansion to the hideout of a group of assassins.

“Maybe I should just wait for something to happen after all? I should just go back to my room right now and offer a prayer to God while trembling on my knees.”

While looking at the furnishings that also adorned the hallway, Subaru hummed nervously as he began to plan his escape.

The paintings on display were more like the landscapes in the room, but many of the paintings in the hallway were quirky and abstract. As Subaru looked at the geometric patterns, he thought to myself, Hmmm, so the brushstrokes went this way and that way… as if he were a know-it-all.

“Well, I’m not going to let the flag slip away because of that weak-ass thinking. I already decided on a course of action. As if I swore an oath. I don’t remember making an oath or who I made an oath to, but I’ll keep that in the back of my mind and act on it.” Erasing the option to go back, Subaru walked off with the goal of finding people for now.

Right or left—without much hesitation, he chose the right. This was because he remembered seeing a conversation in a manga that said, ‘There are many traps on the left, hee-hee-hee,’ which was reason enough.

The distinction between right and left changed depending on which room you left, but Subaru only realized that after walking for a while, so he just went along with it anyways.

“Oh well. Everything looks alike and I still can’t see any sign of anyone.”

He hadn’t even reached the end of the hallway yet or saw a place to turn into, and after another five doors, Subaru was baffled.

There would be a limit to how long it could be. A minute or two might not sound like a long time, but the distance he’d traveled in that time was easily 1,000 feet.

It wasn’t normal for there to be a hallway that went on for 1,000 feet without seeing the end of it.

“I’m not going to be able to get a good idea of what’s going on,” he said, scratching his head. The worst thing that could happen is that he would have to return to the room he came from.

“Huh?” With a bare voice, Subaru deepened the angle of his neck in further confusion.

Behind him, from where he had just come from—the problem is that he couldn’t see the end of that hallway either, assuming it was in the same condition.

“Didn’t I already see this painting when I first left the room…?”

He’s pretty sure he remembered joking about the brushwork or something like that.

It was possible that they had the exact same artwork on display, but it would be in bad taste to display the same artwork outside of every room. In other words, “I mean, to put it more bluntly…I’m on an infinite loop.”

Perhaps it just felt like he’d moved down a hallway to some extent and was simply transitioning to the other side of the map? Or there was a moving floor contraption that subverted the clichés of otherworld-fantasy and operated so casually that Subaru didn’t notice it.

“With the whole moving-floor thing, it’s totally going to screw up the spirit of the time period. Since Return by Death is already part of the story, does that mean that it has an affinity for looping things, perhaps?”

After speaking cleverly to no one in particular, Subaru opened the door to the nearest room. It was a simple 350 square foot room with a bed and basic furniture inside. In other words, the very room where Subaru had come from.

“What the heck is this supposed to mean? That it’s useless to move around, and I’m supposed to just quietly stay put?”

—So this is how they limited Subaru’s movements after he woke up. He felt like this was a total waste of time and magic, but it may be that they had a plan to deprive him of the energy to resist by showing the difference in power.

“Well, now that I have a basic understanding of what this thing is, it’s really a clever way to sap my spirit, huh. There is no reason why I wouldn’t be shocked by the creation of such a mysterious space, if I think about it in a normal way…”

He stretched his arms, legs, and hips with an “Mmm.” Then he put his hands on the wall to firmly loosen his Achilles tendons, successfully warming up his muscles for his upcoming actions.

“My usual mode of action would be to jump into bed like, Hey! I’m just gonna chill until someone comes along…, but not this time! If they think this is enough to make me give up, then they are in for a big surprise!”

He crouched in the middle of the hallway and assumed a starting position.

Get set, ready—

“As expected, after sleeping for half a day, I’m full of energy!”

After a not-so-cool boast of his amazing amount of energy after getting a lot of sleep, Subaru started running as fast as he could.

He definitely wasn’t as fast as Felt, and frankly, he felt like even Old Man Rom would give him a run for his money.

His stamina wasn’t anything special, and his 100-meter dash was so disappointing that he got out of breath at the 70-meter mark, but in this moment at least, he felt like he could sprint like an Olympic sprinter.

Run, run, run. —He kept internally thinking this to push himself forward.

The end of the hallway was still out of sight, and he kept returning to the same starting point no matter how much he ran. It was like it was mocking his determination and telling him ‘Resistance is futile’.

However, Subaru did not stop running.

As if to show with his attitude that the only thing an ordinary man could do was to keep on running straight over and over again.

Subaru didn’t care if the hallway was just a forgotten, unused place in the mansion, or that it was a stranger’s mansion, or that he had just been disemboweled half a day ago, or that he felt like he needed to take care of a little business sooner or later.

“No, that last one isn’t good! That’s not good! Oh man, I’m suddenly having a raging urge to pee! And number one and number two feel like they wanna come out at the same time!”

The boy parts of Subaru begin to squeal and the dashing form of an Olympic sprinter from earlier is nowhere to be found. The posture in which he ran through the air devolved into a woman’s running posture in which his upper body swayed as he squeezed his inner thighs together.

However, such trivial differences in Subaru’s running style did not stop the world from mocking his efforts.

The repetition of this maliciousness eventually slowed down Subaru’s speed.

His shoulders shook loudly, and he breathed roughly. A lonely battle with even sweat on his forehead, and, unable to gain anything from it, Subaru squatted down on the spot. “I give up. Let’s just do it here.” He threw everything away and put his hands on the garment that protected his lower abdomen.

One could say that his dignity as a human being was about to be lost. Not being able to go to the bathroom in the proper place made him feel no better than a wild dog or cat.

But he refused to feel like his dignity was being lost. This wasn’t enough to make his heart falter.

“Moreover, it seems like I’ve discovered a new kink… This kind of abuse feels kinda good…” He said, with a fresh smile on his face for the first time since being summoned to another world. He squatted down in the hallway. At the very least, he’d stopped at the end of the hallway, which showed he at least had a little bit of reason left.

And… “Subaru Natsuki, ready to g—huh?”

Just as he was about to say, “Ready to go,” a change occurred in front of Subaru’s eyes.

The image of the hallway, which had remained the same no matter how much he ran, suddenly distorted in Subaru’s vision.

The transformation of the world occurring in front of his eyes was akin to crumpling a piece of paper and then stretching it back out.

Subaru blinked as if to confirm it was actually happening after the wrinkles had been fully stretched, and then stood up, holding back the urge to urinate that had involuntarily retracted.

“I don’t really understand it, but…is everything gonna be alright now?”

When he looked at his surroundings again, he could see that the world had changed. He could clearly see the end of the hallway in addition to other hallways he could turn into.

The abstract painting Subaru had seen many times was in front of him, and the room he had woken up in was right in front of the painting.

Subaru was sure he had been returned to his starting point, and he seemed to have broken out of the loop as well. He wasn’t entirely sure what caused this to happen, but. “So it’s essentially because I tried to go to the bathroom in the hallway. That’s a complicated flag… It’s the kind of thing you wouldn’t notice normally. Whoever thought of it, I’m sure they’re an evil genius.”

“Well, now that I’ve escaped the loop, why don’t I just go back to the room and go to sleep…”

Scratching the back of his head, Subaru looked back at the first door—however, a sudden chill swept through the hallway as he did so. It wasn’t like it conveyed any words, but the feelings put into it were rather straightforward. —It was as if someone was facepalming somewhere.

“Whoever it is, I know someone’s out there telling me to go back! —Yeah yeah, okay! I’ll go!”

After throwing an angry yell at the cause of the endless loop, Subaru began walking once again. It would have been possible to just do his business there, but that wouldn’t have advanced the event, and finding a bathroom was what mattered most right now.

“In other words, for the sake of protecting my dignity, I have no choice but to proceed. —I mean, whoever this is is too good, so I’m not going to back down!”

With a determined look on his face, he affirmed his intentions. Yes, Subaru would keep fighting on because of his urge to pee.

Although the looping mechanism had been deactivated, the hallway was still wrapped in a strange atmosphere as if saying it wasn’t over yet. Subaru felt like that sensation was somewhat similar to the feeling he had when he saw Emilia use magic. This was his best guess as someone who couldn’t use magic, but the hallway seemed to be completely filled with it.

Unlike when he was dealing with the endless loop, it wasn’t even trying to be hidden this time. The magic user must have been quite confident in their abilities—to the extent that they could set up their evil schemes and confidently say, “Come on in, there’s a trap in here.”

“It’s not safe to proceed in the dark, or so they say. But being too cautious is the same as being a coward. And above all, I have a time limit…”

The tide had receded quite a bit now, but it was no secret that it would eventually return as a massive wave.

Gulping and wiping the sweat from his forehead, Subaru took the first step with determination.

The door was in front of him, and with a twist of the doorknob, said, “The hallway is always full of traps after breaking the loop. In a typical dungeon event like this, surprisingly enough, the first door is always the best choice.”

With that intuitive guess, he opened the door, and the response he received was, “…What a deeply bothersome guy, I suppose.”

He received a resentful look from a curly-haired little girl staring at him in an unfamiliar library.

Chapter 2 The Keeper of the Forbidden Library and the Twin Maids

It was a room that basically screamed “library” at you.

The room was twice as large as a 350 square foot room, and there were bookcases set up all over the place, going from one corner of the room to the other. Every bookcase was so tightly packed with books that it was hard to imagine how many books it truly held.

Books took up a lot of space and were heavy, so it was a problem to have so many. In Subaru’s case, his whole family loved to read manga, and there used to be a room on the second floor of his house that was filled to the brim with books, especially manga.

One day, without any warning, the floor fell through, and it was a complete renovation disaster. Fortunately, no one was injured, and Subaru had since put them all in a dedicated book storage room, so they should never experience that kind of catastrophe again.

Even from the perspective of Subaru, who has had such an experience involving books, the number of books in this room exceeded the number of books in his house even with the floors removed. Of course, the structure of the mansion itself was much sturdier than that of his house.

Finding even one book to read—that Subaru could understand—would be a tall order for him considering the enormous amount of books in his view.

“With so many books here…there must be one that I can read, right?”

A quick glance around the library revealed that there were no spine covers written in Japanese. There were no alphabets here as far as he knew, and most of the letters were characters based on what he’d seen on the signboards while walking around the capital. These were the commonly used characters of this world, after all.

If Subaru wanted to live in this world, it was going to be essential to learn it. For him, who had even dropped his language classes in middle school, it already felt like such a drag.

Subaru sighed while envisioning his coming difficulties. Then—

“Gazing at other people’s bookshelves, and even sighing as you do so… So you’re trying to be offensive, I suppose? Shall I respond in kind, I wonder?”

Subaru didn’t have the communication skills necessary to talk to someone he just met without any sort of preparation, so he had no choice but to say, “I’m really not good at talking to people I’ve never met before, so I’m gonna have to head out for a sec, sorry. I’ll be right back for a Take-Two!”

After he raised his hand to the little girl who stared at him with her unmoving eyes, Subaru casually walked out of the room.

Then, after a few moments, he opened the door, re-entered the room, and looked at the little girl who hadn’t moved an inch from where she had been standing.

“Oh, look who’s here. Hi! Nice to meet you! Can I have a word with you?”

“I knew you were making fun of Betty, I suppose. Don’t you think you deserve to be punished for entering my library without an invitation, I suppose?”

The little girl laughed adorably and cruelly at Subaru as he tried to start their encounter over from a better starting point.

How many times had he seen this sight in this other world? —She was a beautiful, sweet girl.

She appeared to be younger than Felt, perhaps eleven or twelve years old. She was wearing an indigo-colored dress with lots of frills and had a lovely face that suited her ornate hairstyle and clothes.

Her hair was closest to the color of cream and was grown long and rolled into curls—it looked like drills.

Adorable came to mind, and the little girl’s appearance seemed to be the embodiment of that word. The cuteness level was so high that one’s heart couldn’t help but melt if she were to smile.

Now she was standing in front of Subaru with a solemn face.

“You’ll ruin your pretty face if you don’t smile. You see, just smile! Smile! Smile!”

“Betty being pretty is simply Betty’s nature. But a better question would be: what should Betty do with you? I suppose.”

“Do what with me? I’m sorry I ignored your intentions. I’m the type of guy who unconsciously pulls out all the correct answers to a question like this, even though the GM would want me to step through all the events he’s prepared for me.”

A talent for pulling off the correct answer in a situation where there were four choices and only a total of four hints were available. People also called it ‘not being able to read the mood’.

In the past, there had been many events that Subaru had subconsciously crushed in that way. The endless loop earlier could be added to the list of those events.

“Trying to do your business in the hallway of someone else’s house, coming here without even crossing the hallway with lots of mana-sensing traps…there’s only one word to describe you, the worst, in fact!”

“I’m the type of guy who doesn’t stop for anything, even RPGs. That’s why I’m so busy collecting sub-events the second week.”

If it was a ‘Visual Novel Game’, he would often go straight for the main heroine, and though he enjoyed collecting special illustrations, he wouldn’t necessarily collect all of them if there were too many side-quests to do.

Leaving those off-topic thoughts aside, Subaru said, “Well,” and then looked at the little girl once again.

From what she said from earlier, it was safe to assume that she was the culprit behind the endless loop in the hallway. After that, it seemed that the hallway was also set up with various surprise events that prevented Subaru from finding a bathroom. However, he managed to skip all of those events in the end.

“I understand that you want to show off your power, but messing with someone’s bodily needs for that purpose is not funny. It almost killed me socially. I shudder just thinking about it.”

“Now that I think about it, I should have just let you run around in circles for a while longer, in fact. That would have saved Betty at least half the humiliation, I suppose.”

“Uh-huh, yeah, Betty. Well, now that I’ve stepped in here, that means I was just better than you. I’m not as much of a sore loser as you, either.”

Subaru felt a sense of urgency due to the toilet-talk, which caused him to start tapping his feet anxiously.

The little girl tiredly put her fingers to her own eyebrows. “I’m growing tired of you, in fact. Roswaal lets that girl do whatever she wants without any consequences… Now Betty has to clean this mess up, I suppose.”

“You’re tired? But you’re so young! Children should play outside in the sun! Wrinkling your eyebrows together is so boring! C’mon, c’mon! Live strong!”

*Thumbs up*

The catchphrase was ‘Live strong’, which Subaru first heard in the slums of the capital. At first, he wasn’t sure about how he felt about it, but the more he said it, the more he grew to like it.

The little girl stared at Subaru with half-lidded eyes as she began to like the phrase soberly. Subaru responded to her gaze with a shy smile and then stuck out his tongue.

“Wait. That reaction is not what I expected, I suppose. You’re creeping me out, in fact.”

“Ow, you just said the whole phrase instead of using the abbreviated version! With that out of the way, can we get to the point? If I get sidetracked too much, my bladder will be in trouble.”

“I don’t know what the second half means, but I have a feeling we’d better get down to business for Betty’s sake, I suppose.”

“Okey-dokey. So…”

Subaru was about to ask the question, “So where’s the bathroom?” but he was getting the impression that she would use that to her advantage in order to tease him, so he restrained himself and kept his mouth shut.

No matter how he looked at things, the little girl in front of him had to be a magic user of some sort. It was pretty obvious based on how well the looping hallway trick went, and there was a good chance he wouldn’t be a match for her.

Moreover, Subaru was extremely hungry right now on top of recovering from life-threatening injuries, and his fighting power was declining. Especially after all the sprinting and running he did earlier, he felt a great deal of anxiety about his physical strength. He knew that his wounds were healing, but he was low on blood as well, which was a bit dangerous.

“I want to start with liver! A heaping serving of pork, liver, and garlic chives to replenish my blood! Tonight, it’s not Koetsu, I’m the one who’s bloodthirsty, Hiyaa.”

“This boy… What are you even talking about now, I suppose…?”

“Oh, sorry, sorry, I’m gonna cut to the chase. Let’s see, what’s this place, anyway?”

After all, it was good to gather information while the other party was honestly willing to discuss it. While thanking the girl for her patience and understanding, Subaru decided to ask a few questions.

First of all, Subaru wanted to confirm where he currently was. He didn’t think he had been captured by Elsa now, but he couldn’t necessarily claim that as a fact yet.

He was hoping to get an answer from her concerning that issue. However, she responded with, “It’s Betty’s bedroom, I suppose.”

“…Ah…giving a literal answer right away. I know that youngsters nowadays think that being literal is fun and all, but don’t you know that’s the exact problem with y’all?”

I teased her back a little bit and this is what happened!

That clearly upset the little girl—who called herself Betty—but he wondered if that was her real name. It seemed more like a nickname.

The girl puffed out her cheeks at Subaru, who was struggling with his emotions. She crossed her arms and shook her glittering dress as she approached him. “Betty has had enough, I suppose. I have a feeling I’m going to have to teach you a lesson, in fact.”

“Oh, come onnn, abusing prisoners is barbaric! Don’t do it! I’m just a normal guy who has to endure the urge to pee, and that makes me less dangerous than the average person!”

“That makes you more dangerous due to your desperation, in fact.”

“Damn, that’s clever. Crap, I can’t think of a single thing to do to prove that I’m not a bad guy! Listen, I-I’m not a bad guy!”

She shook her head in small increments, a determined appeal that made her eyes moisten as she shrank to the limit. But the girl’s steps, instead of slackening, increased in speed.

And then she said, “Don’t you dare move, in fact.”

A shiver ran down Subaru’s spine as he heard those words.

Suddenly, the smell of old paper that had dominated the library disappeared, and the pain he felt was as if ice had been thrust into his nose.

Subaru’s skin turned to the color of ash and he could hear a distant high-pitched ringing in his ears. The reason why he couldn’t smell anything was so his other senses could be strengthened. In this case, sight and touch—his five senses had been cut down to those two senses only.

In front of Subaru’s eyes, the little girl was already close to the point where she could reach him. The difference in height was obvious. The little girl was only as tall as Subaru’s chest, and her shallow blue eyes were looking up at him closely.

The pale pink lips formed a smile, and the little girl’s innocence was the only thing that kept Subaru’s alarm bells ringing.

“Do you have something to say, I wonder?” The little girl tilted her head back and asked Subaru, her eyes wide and her lips quivering.

Sweat trickled down his forehead and down his cheeks, and the sensation broke his rigidity for just a few moments, and Subaru searched for the best word to say in the moment he was allowed.

That’s right, the one word that should be uttered right here, the one word that would break the current situation. That was… “Is it gonna hurt?”

“I’m impressed that you can be so light-hearted in this situation, I suppose. —I guess it’s up to you whether it hurts or not, in fact.” Saying that in a seriously impressed tone, the little girl’s hand reached for Subaru’s chest.

A palm met his chest and gently and modestly stroked the surface.

There was a tickly sensation running up his spine, like a chill. “Buhhhh…”

—In the next moment, Subaru felt as if his entire body was on fire.

Something terrible raged inside his body, burning everything from his fingertips to his hair. It was as if her fingertips were wrapped in flames and moving all across his body—it was an extremely painful sensation for him to endure.

Subaru’s vision flickered, and the next thing he knew, he was on his knees with tears running down his face. His breathing was ragged, as if he had been running for miles, and his whole body was as sluggish and achy as the day after he had done a reckless muscle workout.

Most of all, he felt exhausted, with all the mental “stuff” dragged out of him.

“It looks like you didn’t pass out, I suppose. Just like I was told, you’re quite sturdy, in fact.”

“What the hell did you do to me, drill loli…?”

“I simply took out some of the mana inside your body, I suppose. It seems to have a special shape, in fact…even though you’re just an ordinary guy. Your Gate also seems to be closed, in fact.” Muttering to herself, the little girl kneeled down in front of the crumpled Subaru.

Subaru struggled to support his upper body as she poked her fingers at him while he was trying to get up. “Well, it confirms that you aren’t hostile, I suppose. And for all the disrespect from you towards Betty and for all the hard work Betty has done, taking your mana should be a suitable payment, I suppose.” She poked him again, causing him to reach his limit, and his upper body fell to the floor, unable to support himself with his trembling arms.

This was the third time Subaru had kissed the ground in a face-down position. This wasn’t even the first time his lips had kissed the ground… Since he had Returned by Death, he concluded that this was totally his first kiss.

Gathering up all the extra energy in his body between his silly thoughts, Subaru somehow managed to change the angle of his neck on the floor. Slowly, over time, he managed to look up at the little girl’s face.

“Hmm?” As the little girl watched Subaru’s efforts, she loosened the corners of her mouth in amusement.

Subaru peeled his teeth at such a smile and laughed. “You’re not human…are you? —And in this case, I’m not talking about your personality…”

“For all the times you’ve seen Bubby, you’re a little slow on the uptake, I suppose.”

Her words made her sound younger than she appeared, which in turn gave him the impression of a little girl cruelly playing with the wings of a feathered insect.

The fact that she was enjoying watching Subaru crawl along the floor drooling was another point that supported his current impression of her. “One correction…in terms of personality, you’re not even human, either…”

“Don’t measure a noble and sublime being by your standards, human.”

It was a statement said in a far too cruel tone for a little girl to utter.

Somehow, Subaru felt something smoldering in his chest. However, although he felt it, he no longer had enough energy left to act on it. No matter what he did, he was being dragged into the darkness.

—Come on! I just woke up and I’m being rendered unconscious again?!

“I will speak to the others, I suppose. It would be troublesome if you started leaking here, I suppose.”

What if I just let it all out now…no, I don’t have enough guts to say that…

Unable to speak with his unruly mouth, Subaru fell unconscious again.

△▼△▼△▼△

“Oh, he is awake, Sister.”

“Ah, he is awake, Rem.”

The sensation of waking up from sleep was the same as the sensation of coming out of the water.

The time change and waking up again began with the voices of two girls with the same quality of voice. Based on how well he slept, he assumed he was in the same soft, comfortable bed as before.

What burned Subaru’s eyelids as he woke up from sleep was the slight amount of sunlight streaming in through the curtains. The amount of glare was so soft that one would think it was morning.

Don’t know what time it is when you’re on the road? Then when not try out my handy dandy ‘Stubble Clock’!

He gave a sales pitch to no one in particular and checked the time while waking himself up.

When Subaru touched the stubble clock on his chin, it felt like it had been four or five hours since he’d woken up last. He could still feel some slight sluggishness in his body.

“It is Seven Solartime now, dear guest.”

“It is almost Seven Solartime, dear guest.”

Perhaps it was because Subaru stared at the window and showed the action to check the time, but the voice kindly answered the question.

Seven Solartime—Subaru didn’t even know what it meant, but he guessed it was seven o’clock in the morning, judging by the letters. In the first place, he didn’t even know if the time in this world ran on a 24-hour system.

It was difficult to easily determine that it was seven o’clock in the morning, but if he didn’t count the first time he woke up… “So I pretty much slept through the whole day, huh? Well, that’s not much of a surprise to me as someone who has slept for 52 hours straight.”

“Sister, did you hear that? Truly the words of a lazy man.”

“Yes, I heard that, Rem. Truly the words of a good-for-nothing man.”

“So who are you two people who are always stereotyping me, ladies?” With a thud, Subaru bounced off the covers and got up.

The sudden action surprised the girls, who were standing next to the bed with Subaru between them. The girls jolted away from the bed, moved to the middle of the room, and then looked at him, hand in hand with each other.

Although they had expected this to some extent, the girls looking at Subaru with their fingers intertwined were exactly the same—twins.

They were around five feet tall. They had large eyes and pink lips with shallow faces that made them seem childish and lovely.

The two girls, who looked exactly alike, had their hair cut short, but their hair was different colors—one was pink, and the other was light blue. Furthermore, they covered one eye with their hair, but the pink-haired girl covered her left eye, and the light blue-haired girl covered her right eye.

But such differences were only trivial. At this moment, based on those features, the thing that stirred Subaru’s heart the most was… “No way…are there even maid outfits in this world!?”

A black apron dress with a white prim on top of their heads. The beautiful twin girls were dressed in the orthodox classic style of maid clothing.

—This is the embodiment of the ideal maid.

“Oh no. I’m currently being indecently humiliated in our dear guest’s head, Sister.”

“Oh no. I’m being violated right now in the head of our dear guest, Rem.”

“Don’t underestimate my mental capacity. You’re both fodder for my fantasies, ladies.” Subaru held his arms out and ruffled his fingers in the air. The meaningless movement brought a shiver to the faces of the two maids, and they untied their intertwined fingers and pointed at each other.

“Please forgive me, dear guest. Just let Rem go and go defile Sister.”

“Please don’t do it, dear guest. You can let Ram go and defile Rem instead.”

“What kind of sisterhood is that?! Selling each other out and making me look like some kind of evil villain?!”

So scary! and the twins ran away, holding hands again.

Subaru jumped out of bed and chased after them.

The three of them ran around in circles in the large room, chasing each other. And—

“Couldn’t you have woken up more quietly?” A girl had knocked on the door softly, which opened with a thump, and then looked at the three of them from the doorway.

The beauty of her long silver hair could be seen in full and today it was untied and naturally flowing down her back. Her clothing was not the robed outfit she usually wore, but was designed with noticeably darker colors to suit her white, slender body. The skirt was slightly shorter than knee-length, revealing her slender legs, but that area was hidden by knee socks that reached up to the top of her thighs.

“Wow! Whoever picked this outfit out, I get what they were thinking!”

“Well, I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but it’s so disappointing when I know it’s something meaningless.”

Before he knew what he was doing, Subaru pumped his fist and cheered unintentionally.

The girl—Emilia—looked at him with dumbfounded eyes in the doorway of the room.

Chapter 3 I Can’t Be a Bride

Subaru felt his heart flutter involuntarily at Emilia’s sudden visit. The unexpectedly perfect outfit was a fresh and pleasant surprise, but what was even more pleasant was her presence here.

Simply due to being treated poorly after first being summoned to another world—especially the ones who put him through hell in the beginning—Subaru had special feelings for her, the one who was the first to treat him with unconditional kindness.

“I feel like I’ve imprinted onto you! I don’t want to leave you for a second, Mom!”

“Uhh… I was a biiiit worried because I heard that Beatrice played a prank on you while you were low on blood…but I guess it was useless to do so.”

“Hey, I’ve never had trouble waking up! And I’m kind of afraid to ask you this, but…”

At the puzzled Emilia, Subaru nervously tapped his index fingers together and looked up at her. “So uhh, do you remember me?”

“Your mannerisms are soooo weird, and that’s a weird question to ask. I don’t think anyone could forget someone who leaves such a strong impression like you, Subaru.”

Subaru’s shoulders descended in relief when he heard Emilia softly whisper his name. The fact that the girl called him by his first name without an honorific was completely unexpected and embarrassing for him, someone who never really interacted with the opposite sex in his original world. His ears ended up turning bright red in embarrassment.

Putting aside this somewhat immature behavior of Subaru, the twins, who had noticed Emilia’s presence, rushed to her side. They moved behind her, and with only their faces on either side of her, they stared at Subaru.

“Kindly listen, Lady Emilia. Our dear guest has humiliated my sister.”

“Kindly listen, Lady Emilia. Our dear guest has held me captive and violated Rem.”

“It’s reaaaally not good to tease him too much… I think it’s something Subaru would do, but there’s no way he could get away with it. Ram and Rem, don’t you think you’re playing too much with a sick patient?”

“Yes, Lady Emilia. My sister is sorry for what she’s done.”

“Yes, Lady Emilia. I’m sure Rem will reflect on this.”

Ram and Rem, the two who were called by name, declared their remorse without a shred of remorse in sight. Perhaps accustomed to their attitudes, Emilia looked at Subaru without seeming to be bothered by it. “So how are you feeling, Subaru? Does anything feel strange?”

“I thought I was going to die because I felt like my whole body was on fire before losing consciousness,” he said, “but I don’t feel like that at all now. Now I feel like I slept too much, actually.”

“Yeah. It’s been almost a day since I met you, and you’ve slept through half of it.”

“That’s not true…” Recalling the events that had occurred up until now, Subaru was at a complete loss for words as he tried to refute her statement.

The time it took for Subaru to get through the events of yesterday felt like more than 24 hours to him, but that wouldn’t be the case for Emilia.

From Emilia’s point of view, their chance encounter would only have taken less than an hour. The number of words she exchanged with him could not be said to be much, either.

For Subaru, having this conversation event with her took top priority, especially since he hadn’t had a chance to do so this time around.

“Sleeping too much and being lazy are habits of mine…and it’s super unusual for me to be up in the morning.”

“What kind of life have you been living…?”

“You see, it’s easier to play games at night because you don’t have to deal with all the unnecessary noise. To be frank, for a shut-in, the high hours of the day are a perfect time to sleep.”

“You know, I’m really getting more and more disappointed in you, Subaru.” Emilia expressed her disappointment with a sigh in a way that was easy to understand, even though she probably didn’t understand most of the meaning, but she understood the essence of what he was saying.

Detecting that the mood was turning sour, Subaru quickly attempted to change the subject by talking about her clothes. “By the way, you look soo different today. What were you doing?”

“Oh, don’t mention the clothes too much. I don’t like it either. If you’re wondering what I’ve been doing, I was just about to go about my morning routine.” Emilia held her forehead and slurred her words as if she were having difficulty saying them. Her lack of clarity also bothered Subaru, but he didn’t the pursue the subject any further.

“What’s your morning routine?”

“I’m going to borrow the garden of the mansion and talk to the spirits for a bit in the morning. Because that’s part of the pact I made with various spirits.”

“Wow, talking to spirits is super cool! I don’t know what a pact is, but…

The first thing that came to mind when he heard the word ‘spirit’ was still a tiny gray-haired cat.

In this version of the world, he hadn’t had much contact with him, but Subaru still found himself looking forward to seeing him again. Mainly to get his daily dose of cuteness and fluffiness.

Seemingly out of habit, Subaru wiggled his hands. Emilia was quickly learning to ignore the oddities of Subaru’s mannerisms, however.

“Well, it’s good that you’re fine, but don’t make too much noise because most people are still asleep at this time. Although, it’s awful of me to tell someone who’s been asleep for so long to be quiet.”

“You’re right. Oh, when you say garden, does that mean it’s a bit bigger?”

“It’s more of a park than a garden. Why do you ask?”

“Nah, provided you don’t mind me doing something in the corner of the garden while you talk to the spirits, Emilia-tan…”

“As long as you’re not making too much noise or anything… What? What did you just say?”

“Okay, I’m in. I’ll go with you.”

“Hey, what did you say? What’s tan? Where did that come from?”

Though she was asking him questions in a frenzy, he dodged them. With a nasty attitude in return for their earlier mean-spiritedness, Subaru turned his body towards Ram and Rem. “Hey, maid sisters. Do you know where my clothes are? I don’t know where they went, but these feel like hospital clothes, and I think they’re probably keeping it here.”

It hadn’t been mentioned so far, but Subaru’s current outfit was similar to a thin samue costume made of red-brown fabric. The material was too stiff to be called a hospital gown, but it was much cooler than it looked and quite easy to move in.

“But when it comes to moving around, it’s not as comfortable as my tracksuit. So I’m wondering if I can find it somewhere. I don’t know if the blood ruined it or not…”

“Do you know, Sister? Is it that dirty little gray rag by any chance?”

“I think so, Rem. Maybe it’s that blood-stained rat-colored piece of filth.”

“Quite fearless you two—yes, the dirty little rags. If it’s still wearable, can you bring it here?” Subaru asked.

The twins looked at Emilia as if seeking approval. When Emilia indicated with her eyes that she had no choice, the twins nodded and tottered out of the room.

“Are you sure you’re feeling okay? It wasn’t a shallow injury, from what I can tell.”

“For sure, I feel perfectly fine. And I don’t want my body to be idle, either. If you miss one day of training, you’ll have to train for three days in a row to catch up, or so they say.”

Subaru straightened his posture as he remembered something, tidied his appearance up, and then turned to Emilia. She looked puzzled by his actions, but he bowed to her and said, “You were the one who healed my wounds, right? Thanks for the help. I’m still scared of dying, actually. I only wanna do it once.”

“Normally I’d think you’d only do it once… But nope, it wasn’t me.” After saying that, Emilia gave a small shake of her head.

Then she looked straight at Subaru with seriousness in her amethyst eyes. Due to the brilliance of her gaze, the fascinated Subaru was stuck as if in a trance and just stood their silently, lost in her eyes. “I’m the one who should be thanking you, Subaru. Back then, you risked your life to save me, a person you barely knew, right? Treating your injuries was only the natural thing to do.”

With such a sincere look on her face after conveying her gratitude to Subaru for saving her life, Subaru couldn’t help but let out an involuntary “Ahh.”

He resented himself for not being able to give even a single sincere response. It was unlikely that he would be able to confront her unless he was fooling around and deceiving her.

He thought about how much easier it would be if he could tell her that she had saved him by saying, That’s not true. You were the one who saved me first, Emilia-tan. Though only Subaru remembered what happened in that world.

“—Well, since we helped each other out, how about we say we’re even?”

“Even…?”

“It means we don’t owe each other anything! So let’s be friends, sista!”

If only they were still in the slums—they could have teamed up together, shoulder to shoulder, but all Subaru could do now was use his zeal to cover up his shame.

Emilia smiled slightly at Subaru’s bravado. “I don’t think I need a strange little brother like that.”

“That’s a rather harsh comment, right?!”

Subaru felt a little depressed when Emilia gave such a poor assessment of him, but he knows he hadn’t shown an ounce of dependability yet, so he’d just have to resign himself to this harsh assessment without a single rebuttal.

“We found what you requested, dear guest.”

“Here you go, dear guest.”

While Subaru was in a depressed state of mind due to what had just occurred, the twin maids brought in his recently washed tracksuit. The pink-haired maid had his jacket, and the light blue-haired maid had his pants. Fortunately, they were able to get the tracksuit washed without leaving any traces of blood on it.

At first glance, Subaru was relieved to see the return of his good-as-new tracksuit. However, the two girls rushed over to him and tried to remove his clothes as quickly as possible.

“Hey, hey! No, I can do it on my own! Although I’m kind of flattered.”

“Oh my, he feels more pleasure than shame, Sister.”

“Oh dear, he feels more happy than humiliated. —He must be a pervert at heart, Rem.”

“Wow, the pink-haired one is the one with the foul mouth! I’ll get dressed, just hand—it—over!” Subaru quickly shook off the squirming twins’ hands and got his tracksuit back.

He was about to get changed as quickly as he could, but then suddenly realized something. “Speaking of which…were you the one who changed me into these clothes?”

“It was me. Ram and Rem were out, and since I was patching you up anyways, it only seemed natural to do it. Oh, and I gave you a quick but thorough wipe down too.” Emilia said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do.

Subaru gently peeked inside the underwear he was wearing and confirmed the fact that even his underwear had been replaced. He collapsed on the spot and covered his face with his palms. “I can’t be a bride anymore…”

“If the genders were reversed, that would make sense… Anyways, we don’t have much time, so if you’re going to go, let’s get going.” As if she were the man in the relationship, Emilia patted Subaru on the shoulder in a comforting manner. Since she probably didn’t understand what he was saying, Subaru decided to bury everything he just said and take it to the grave with him.

Subaru had been undressed, cleaned up, and then redressed by a beautiful girl who would have seen his naked body. He thought that was pretty nice in its own way and could even be seen as a reward. He decided to think positively—positive thinking.

Gently wiping the tears from his heart with these positive thoughts, Subaru got to his feet.

As he grabbed his clothes and looked around, the females in the room, sensing that he wanted to change his clothes, left the room in a hurry.

The twins left the room first, and the last thing he saw exit through the door was Emilia’s beautiful silver hair. But just before her figure disappeared behind the door, her white profile suddenly turned around. “Don’t worry about it. —It was impressive.”

As she left, the door closed with a thud.

For the time being, Subaru had to get his clothes changed. He wasn’t quite sure how the samue-style clothes were put together, but he figured it out eventually.

He then neatly folded the samue and placed it on the bed. After that he checked how the tracksuit felt after having not worn it for a few hours and stretched with an “mmmmm” and was ready go.

“Well…”

After swinging his hips around and popping a few joints, Subaru looked out the window of his room.

He lightly pulled the curtains apart, and he could see the morning sun still blessing the early morning world as it began to rise. After basking in the warmth of the sunlight, he walked over to the bed and dived into it.

“I can’t be a bride anymore…”

Pressing his face against the pillow, this time Subaru cried like a little boy.

The last thing that happened was the most heartbreaking for him. Subaru thought he was going to die back there. He even wished he could just die and start over.

—But this heartache wasn’t bad enough for him to take such measures, and for a while, Subaru continued to cry his little-boy feelings out like a panzy.

Chapter 4 Bootcamp in Another World

After wiping away his tears, Subaru left with Emilia, and this time, the hallway he walked through had a proper end. He was then led to a familiar-looking garden outside the manor.

The maid twins also had some work to do around the manor, so they slipped away while they were on the way to the garden.

“Wow, it’s huge…! The mansion is big too, but this is more of a field than a garden, huh.”

The garden of a well-off person’s mansion—a place that was often used as the setting for lunch or dinner parties in manga and anime. Subaru let out a sigh of admiration as he looked around the large garden and immediately began doing stretching exercises to get himself back into shape.

“Those are some odd movements. What are you doing?”

“HUH!? Is warming up not a thing here? If you don’t loosen up your muscles before moving your body, you’ll damage your ligaments before you know it! You could tear your Achilles tendon, or something like that!”

“Hmm, I don’t think I’ve seen something like that. But it’s true that you can easily get injured if you move suddenly without warming yourself up.”

“I didn’t know people in this world don’t do warm-up exercises. Oh well…then how about I teach you? The authentic warm-up exercises of my homeland, passed down through the generations!”

Impressed by the confidence of Subaru, Emilia hesitantly replied with a “O-okay, then just for a little bit, then.”

Subaru asked her to stand next to him. After the two of them were lined up side-by-side, facing away from the manor, they took deep breaths with the sun pouring down on them. “Radio Calisthenics Exercise Twooo! Go! One-two one-two one one-two.”

“Uhh, what, no way!?”

“Hold your hands out in front of you and touch the sky! Follow my movements, follow me!” While encouraging the puzzled Emilia, Subaru performed his homelands famous Radio Calisthenics Routine. In the beginning, Emilia seemed perplexed and tried imitating his movements, but she gradually became more motivated and was absorbed in the exercises with a serious look on her face. Once the exercises were over, she took a deep breath, and… “And at the end, hold your hands up high and say, victory!”

“Bi…bictory!”

“Alright, that’s the spirit! Not bad for your first time. Emilia-tan is awarded the title of “Calisthenics Novice.” Keep up the good work! Fight!”

In another world, Subaru’s life as a radio calisthenics instructor began. Emilia, his memorable first apprentice, exhaled with a blank look on her face at the ever-so-enthusiastic Subaru.

“Despite what you just said, Subaru, it’s true that these exercises were effective, because I can feel my mana circulating in my body.”

“Then I hope you can spread the word! But only on the condition that the song and victory! are spread too.”

The song and victory! had to come in a package. That was non-negotiable for Subaru.

Feeling pressured by Subaru’s uncharacteristically serious attitude, Emilia nodded her head. “Let’s see…wan-to wan-too?”

“No! It’s one-two one-twooo!”

They spent some time saying “one-two one-two” to each other, but Subaru decided to write the lyrics down on paper in the end.

After he reached that decision, Subaru came to the realization that the people in this world might not understand the words he wrote down. At least for now, he couldn’t read the letters of this world.

“Maybe I should check it out later, huh. I can only write in Japanese, a little English, and some gal characters, but…”

Subaru had mastered the Gal alphabet after spending a surprisingly enthusiastic amount of time learning it. Although, never actually being able to use it makes it feel like he just wasted his time.

“Even so, you are pretty fit, Subaru.” Emilia suddenly muttered that to Subaru, who was turning his wrists and ankles and popping his joints.

For Subaru, despite already having been seen naked by her, even if it were for the purpose of being treated, he couldn’t help but feel embarrassed when Emilia looked at him from top to bottom.

Recalling the extreme embarrassment he felt ten minutes ago, Subaru scratched his head. “Well, sort of. Since I’m a shut-in, I should at least exercise a bit.”

“Well, I don’t know what “shut-in” means, but I’m sure Subaru comes from a reaaally good family. Weren’t you taught martial arts?”

“No, I’m seriously from a normal middle-class family, but where did that come from? Do I give off some noble-like elegance?!”

“You must be reaaally curious.”

Subaru said, “Let’s hear it.” and raised his hands up in a playful manner.

Then Emilia quickly grabbed both of Subaru’s raised hands. The girl fiddled with his hands vigorously, and he emitted an “ahh” as his throat froze up. “Like these fingers, it’s because of the way your skin and hair look. These hands look sooo different from the hands of a commoner. And these muscles don’t look like they came from working…” She continued to fiddle with his hands, causing him to blush constantly, but he felt satisfied regardless.

Aspects about his hair and skin, and other things he had never mentioned before, were pointed out to him, and he was greatly reminded of his own foolishness.

Subaru’s mind was spinning at a dizzying pace as she talked about aspects of his appearance that were not usually seen among commoners here. Meanwhile, she continued, “Black hair and black eyes. It’s a common trait among migrants from the south, and it can be seen in Lugunica too. I’ve never seen anyone with these traits, but maybe there were some servants before…? Even that outfit was made with a material I’ve never seen before… Am I right?”

At the silent Subaru, Emilia smiled as if she were proud of herself.

While being captivated by Emilia’s beautiful appearance, Subaru nodded solemnly, and examined the content of her words. “If I were to say whether it’s true or not, it isn’t, but how can I explain it without hurting you?”

“Even if I’m wrong, you need to say it clearly, or I’m reaaally going to feel embarrassed.”

“It’s all good. I don’t mind, I’ve been showing a lot of ignorance for some reason or another. How about we just be friends and be embarrassed together!”

“I don’t remember our relationship being sooo close that we can casually embarrass each other without fear. I’m not making any progress by speculating, so I’m just going to ask you frankly. Where did you come from, Subaru?”

—A question that blew the shame and outrageousness of the situation away, and Subaru could only think, hmm.

Subaru felt like he could honestly say “I was summoned from another world” here, but saying he was summoned from another world would make him sound like a crazy person.

In a world full of opportunities, a crazy person would not be thrown out, but looking at the seriousness of Emilia in front of him, Subaru had a feeling he’d get turned into an ice statue if he gave a poor answer. “So… I guess it’s best to go with Deflection Plan B here.”

“It’s reaaaally disgusting to be muttering like that. You’re not going to answer my question?”

“I do have an answer for that! And it’s super! But unfortunately, I don’t have the answers to these questions… Uhhh, because I have amnesia and don’t know anything about myself!”

“You said your name was Subaru Natsuki.”

“Oh, shit! You’re not letting up! You keep pushing forward without wavering!”

“Soooo, you’re not going to give me a straight answer. —Well, I won’t try to pry if you don’t want to answer.”

Emilia surprisingly let Subaru off the hook without much trouble while he was engrossed in his thoughts about her behavior. She let out a single word, “Now…” and took out a green crystal that was attached to her blouse.

“Oh, that’s—”

“It’s a crystal for spirits to inhabit. You already know about Puck, right?”

“The gray cat that disappeared when we needed him most, right? And it doesn’t know what I did after that because it was taking a nap, huh?”

It was the crystal that housed the spirit that disappeared during their battle with Elsa. This was the first time Subaru had seen it in this world, but he caught a glimpse of it before in a previous loop.

The green crystal suddenly started glowing as if in response to Subaru’s mean criticisms. And then… “Unfortunately, I heard all about it from Lia after that mess was wrapped up. I don’t sleep all the time, Subaru.”

The light leaking out of the crystal came together and gradually formed a small outline. The head was formed, the torso emerged, and then the limbs appeared, fully equipped with fur. And a few seconds later, a small bipedal cat appeared in Emilia’s palm.

“Hiya. Good morning, Subaru. Nice day today.”

“It was a rather wild night and morning for me, though. I had to deal with looping hallways and the need to pee, and worst of all, my purity was stolen from me, so I can’t marry Emilia-tan anymore…”

“Don’t use such harsh words.”

After being told that, Subaru replied with a vague “Sure!” She closed her eyes as if resigned to it, then looked at Puck, who was still in in her palm. “Good morning, Puck. I’m sorry I put you through all that last night.”

“Good morning, Lia. But I feel bad about what happened yesterday. I almost lost you. I can’t thank Subaru enough for that.” Puck looked up at Subaru with those round eyes, tilting his little head back. “I should thank you. If there’s something you want me to do for you, just let me know. I can do most things for you.”

“Well, then let me touch that fur of yours whenever I want.” Subaru also responded immediately to Puck.

The speed of the reply was the same, but perhaps the content of the reply was a surprise as well. It wasn’t just Puck who rolled their eyes, but also Emilia, who was listening. She seemed a bit flustered. “Wait, can’t you think about it a little more? I know he looks small and weak, but Puck’s level of power is really quite something.”

“It’s a little awkward, but yes. I’m a pretty powerful spirit, despite my appearance, so I don’t mind if you’re a little greedy.”

“For a top fur lover like me, the right to pet your fur whenever I want to pet it is absolutely priceless. The right to pet your fur is something that can lead a person’s mind to a higher level and purify even the most desolate of souls.”

As he said it, Subaru took advantage of his newfound rights and continued to play with Puck in Emilia’s palm to his heart’s content, starting with his belly, then his chin, and his ears too. “Wow, these ears are amazing! I can’t get enough of this fluffiness!”

“Hmmm, the great thing about Subaru is that he’s serious. I can read your mind vaguely, so I can tell,” Puck said with amusement as he played freely with his fingers.

Emilia gave a distinct sigh of dismay at their playfulness. “It’s soooo tiring trying to understand you, Subaru.”

“You can’t give up. Things in life, like interpersonal relationships, are built on a spirit of mutual understanding. But don’t think it’ll be easy to understand me, alright?”

“What’s that? This is reaaaally frustrating,” Emilia replied.

Subaru folded his arms and turned his face away while looking at Emilia with one eye open. Seeing her attitude, which showed her displeasure, Subaru made his mind up about the future.

And then she saved Puck from Subaru’s barrage of petting attacks. With a light wave of her hand, she turned her feet toward the outskirts of the garden. “Well, I’ll go talk to the spirits now then, and Subaru, ummm, can you go over there and weed quietly?”

“Alright! Weeding is so exciting, so I’ll do my best! But I didn’t come down to the garden to do that, right?!”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding” he said, laughing as he watched her silver hair disappear into the distance. Then Subaru got on the ground before doing some exercises.

Subaru had already completed his morning exercises, so other than that, he can still do his daily muscle workout regime. After having skipped yesterday, it would make sense for him to do two days’ worth of exercises to make up for it.

A hundred push-ups, a hundred sit-ups, and a hundred squats.

This was the type of workout regime Subaru did every day at home even though he was a shut-in living with his parents. Sometimes he would even swing a sword, or something similar, but he would mostly just do those three sets of exercises.

—In the meantime, Subaru did push-ups, sit-ups, and squats, all while sweating profusely.

After resting for a bit, Subaru did another round of exercises. Doing each set of exercises only took around ten minutes, but he was very serious about his training and would do them every day.

“I feel like I’m missing something. If only I had a wooden sword or something to train with…”

“Here, dear guest.”

“Please use it, dear guest.”

The maid sisters had appeared out of nowhere and offered Subaru a wooden sword to train with.

Subaru was stunned by their thoughtfulness, and, after receiving the sword with a respectful “thank you,” they disappeared without a trace. Regardless, he now had a wooden sword to train with, just like he had wished for.

The shape of the sword was in the style of the commonly used two-handed swords in this world, which was slightly different from what he was used to. However, a sword was a sword, and the fundamentals of using it were the same no matter what shape, material, or size it came in.

He swung it lightly to make sure, and decided that the weight was just right.

“Thank God that all-in-one maids exist. Anyways, I haven’t swung a sword in a long time, so let’s go!”

Ready, and swing! Ready, and swing!

Subaru had only been a member of the kendo club when he was in middle school, but he had stayed long enough to get to the first dan, or graded rank, so he was at least proficient in it and could make progress by practicing. After having those thoughts, he continued to swing over and over again, and as far the sharpness of his swings was concerned, it was still as good as it was when he was in the club.

“This is a fantasy world where magic is used along with swords, so I wonder if this will be useful.”

As Subaru continued his training, he could feel sweat running down his forehead like a waterfall and spilling onto the lawn.

Subaru recalled the battle that took place at the Stolen Goods Warehouse. —The sight of Reinhard and Elsa clashing blade against blade with sparks flying.

He then envisioned himself swooping in with his two-handed sword.

“Take this, Elsa! Your evil acts end here!”

He sprang into action and went in for a strike, but then got instantly defeated with a slash to his gut.

He gave it another go, but this time, he imagined being in the line of fire of Reinhard’s powerful sword slash… It didn’t end well either, as he saw himself being turned into ash as if he had been instantly cremated.

Subaru concluded that no matter how hard he tried, it would be impossible for him to beat a cheater—or overpowered character—as a normal person.

“Is it even worth the effort…? Well…”

Carrying the wooden sword on his shoulder, Subaru paused in order to look over at Emilia to check how she was doing.

He could see that she was sitting on the green grass with her feet sprawled out in front of her, and talking about something with Puck, who was on her arm.

Subaru thought that the person she was talking to was Puck, however, “If my eyes aren’t deceiving me, it looks like Emilia-tan is surrounded by dim lights.”

Within the reach of the seated silver-haired girl, Subaru could see that the space was enveloped in a hazy, faint glow. Around her, dim multi-colored lights were floating around and flickering like the light of a firefly.

It was a mysterious and fantastic sight to behold.

It wasn’t a scene that mortals should tread upon. —It was like a sanctuary for the divine where only heavenly beings were allowed entry.

“Wow, this is amazing. So are all these fluffy things spirits then?”

“Huh?”

Subaru casually spoke to Emilia while she was talking to the spirits as if it were the most natural thing to do.

Emilia couldn’t help but be surprised by Subaru’s sudden appearance, and her eyes moistened with tears as if they were responding to her astonishment.

—And her sudden change in feeling spread to the spirits around her.

“Uh oh, I’m in trouble now…”

Many dim lights could be seen fluttering from side to side, trying to move behind Emilia in an attempt to escape from Subaru’s view.

Subaru felt as if he had made a flock of pigeons flee from him in a park.

“You are amazing, Subaru. Normally it’d take a lot of courage to even try to touch a spirit,” Puck said.

“So you’re saying, ‘you’re lucky to have me around’, right? I know! I can’t imagine my life without you, tickle, tickle, tickle.”

Subaru ambushed Puck, who was still on Emilia’s arm—which had stiffened in response to his actions—and began his tickle attack. While doing so, he tilted his head towards her, who was still speechless, and enjoyed the feeling of her silver hair with his fingers. “What’s the matter? Your insignia will get stolen again if you aren’t careful.”

“Don’t poke people where it hurts! That’s not what I meant. I was just suuper surprised.” Emilia blamed Subaru for her own shortcomings while wiping away her tears with her fingers. The spirits swayed up and down as if agreeing with her, and Emilia replied with a “Well, aren’t you all in a good mood.” while watching the reaction of the spirits.

“Weeelll, this is the first time seeing a spirit in my life, so it’s a bit exciting for me. They didn’t look dangerous to me, either.”

“I was keeping them under control, so it was okay. If it were an inexperienced spirit arts user, they would cause the spirits to run away and…bam!”

Emilia tried to scare them with her voice, but she only managed get let out a ‘bam’ at the end of her sentence, as if her vocabulary wasn’t broad enough to find a better word to use. Subaru listened intently and ended up shrugging, and then looked over at Puck. “Totally exaggerating, huh.”

“What’s so dangerous about a fluffy-looking light like that?”

“Mhm. For example, I could turn you into dust in a matter of seconds.”

“I’m soo sorry if I offended you!” Subaru dived into a prostrating position and expressed his gratitude.

Puck laughed with a wave of his little hand, and Emilia pouted her lips due to the difference in treatment. “Why don’t you treat me like that…Hey! Puck?”

“Is it the difference in age…?” he replied calmly, stroking his beard. Emilia sighed and gave up on pursuing the issue, perhaps due to how calm and gentle Puck was.

Chapter 5 Awareness of Emotions

Emilia sighed as she looked down at Subaru, who was still prostrating himself, and put a finger to her lips as if she had just remembered something. “That reminds me…”

The gestures she made sometimes looked strangely childish and cute in the eyes of Subaru. As he leapt up off the ground, Emilia removed her finger from her lips and pointed at her eyes. “You’ve never seen a spirit before, right? So do you know how to use mana then?”

“How do you use mana?”

“It’s as simple as focusing your eyes, right? What else is there…”

“Lia. It’s not that simple. You’ve only ever seen humans who are pretty good at using mana. Well, apart from that, Subaru’s situation is a little bit special.”

Emilia tilted her head and asked, “Special?”

Puck crossed his arms and nodded at Emilia. “From what I’ve seen after taking a quick glance, Subaru’s Gate is basically shut tight. Even if he has never seen a spirit or magic before, isn’t it too closed? It’s on that level.”

“That’s strange… Even if you only lived a normal life, that wouldn’t happen, right?”

“Yep, that’s why it’s strange. Subaru didn’t live a normal life.”

After they nodded to each other with their gazes linked, they looked at Subaru at the exact same time with bated breath. Subaru, who was being stared at by them, responded. “I can’t help but hesitate to interrupt you two when you’re in your own little world… I’m sooo jealous.”

“Well, well, I know it’s not normal.”

“Your definition of normal is totally wrong! I mean, isn’t it pretty rude to look at someone’s face and say they’re normal or not normal? How about your daughter then, huh?”

“I’m happy to say that she is growing up to be a kind and honest girl.”

“The stupid cat-parent has arrived!” Subaru covered his face with his palm at Puck’s attitude, which was nothing short of sweet to his daughter.

When Emilia saw that overreaction, she said, “I’m not sure why, but they seem really close.” Murmuring that, she looked at them back and forth.

After they heard her murmur, Subaru and Puck looked at each other, nodded, and then gave each other a high five. “Ohhh, definitely, we’re best buds! We’re on the same wavelength. Why don’t you come join me and then aim to be the world’s best comedy duo!?”

“You say that, but I’m sure you’re only after my body, right?” Puck replied.

“Whether it’s for love or your fluffiness, they are two different things, but I’m sure I’ll come back to you in the end. I’ll even tolerate a little bit of cheating if I’m feeling generous, tickle tickle tickle.”

They were interrupted by the touch of someone’s palms, and Subaru seemingly forgot about the conversation they were having since he was fully focused on playing with Puck with a grin on his face. Emilia then decided to leave Puck with Subaru for a while. “Puck, go play with Subaru over there. I’m going to go talk to the spirits now. I reaaally don’t want to be disturbed anymore, okay?”

“She’s thrown us away…”

“We’ve been thrown away…”

Emilia silently ignored the two of them who shrugged their shoulders in a joking manner. As soon as she gained some distance, she began to immerse herself in the spirits she brought along with her, which seemed to be the continuation of what she was doing before.

The scene of her talking to the spirits was just like the one he saw before—a fantastic sight to see. Subaru wanted to get a glimpse of it, which was why he had acted like that.

“Anyways, that wasn’t my real intention, so please understand that.”

“Don’t worry about it. Well, I don’t want to keep getting scolded, so I’ll just tell you about it myself. She’s in the middle of an important ceremony with the spirits, so I can’t overlook it any longer.”

“But you just can’t seem to stop yourself from interrupting it, though… What’s the big deal with it, anyways?”

“The ceremonial pact with a spirit—the forging of a covenant.”

Subaru scowled in confusion in response to hearing a lot of unfamiliar words. Puck, as if trying to find the right way to explain it, started by saying, “Let me see…”

“First of all, a spirit arts user needs to form pacts with spirits before they can use spirit magic. And the content of the pact varies from spirit to spirit. Are you still with me?”

“So it’s different from interest and collateral for a bank loan. OK.”

“My name isn’t OK, but I’ll proceed. The content that the spirits ask for is different for each individual spirit, but when it comes to minor spirits, they only want simple things like direct access to the caster’s mana. That’s why it’s rather easy to get them to cooperate with you.”

“OK, got it. But based on what you said, true spirits are different, right? How about explaining that one, Mr. Spirit?”

“Smart kids talk fast and are helpful…but we won’t get very far if you keep going off on tangents, though.”

Subaru scratched his head in embarrassment. Then Puck looked at him warmly while stroking his whiskers. “As you said, spirits who have minds of their own are more demanding, like me for example. Although, I’d like to strike a good deal with the pact maker if I can. Even so, I’m still a powerful spirit in my own right, so the pact conditions with Lia are rather strict.”

“I’ve been thinking about that for a while now, but Lia is a pretty cute nickname.”

“Your Emilia-tan is even cuter. Maybe I’ll call her that next time.”

“—I’m begging you, please don’t do that.” Puck agreed with Subaru’s choice of nickname, and then Emilia cut into their conversation with an angry look on her face.

While they were looking at her, the dim glow of the spirits that had been surrounding her disappeared as she glared at them.

—Looks like the Spirit Talk Show is over.

As Subaru stood up, he brushed the grass off his butt. “Is the party over? That felt like a piece of cake.”

“I cut it short because you two were interrupting me and it was sooo distracting. You’re able to get on people’s nerves even when you’re far away from them… It’s quite the talent.”

“Two people who shouldn’t have met have now met… I have a feeling that something is about to happen. I can’t stop thinking about it and my heart is pounding.”

As Subaru pounded his chest to the rhythm of his own heartbeat, Emilia held out her hand to him, and Puck jumped up from where Subaru was and landed there. He looked up at Emilia with his round black eyes with a somewhat satisfied smile on his face.

“It’s okay. From what I’ve seen so far, I don’t sense any malice, hostility, or ill-intent in Subaru. His personality is a bit weird, but he’s a good boy.”

“Wha…?” Emilia was at a loss for words after hearing Puck’s poor assessment.

She snapped at Puck in a hurried tone while she looked at Subaru to see how he reacted. “Why did you make that kind of comment in front of him… And even if it’s true, wouldn’t it be hurtful to be told that?”

“Oh, that’s alright. I must be a complete stranger to you, so it makes sense. It’s only natural to be suspicious of a nice guy like me whose name cannot even be verified… Though that part at the end really hurt, Emilia-tan!”

Emilia quickly covered her mouth with her hand, and Subaru chuckled bitterly at her honest reaction.

Subaru had expected this to happen, which was why he spent so much time with Puck in order to prepare for this exact moment. They were not so careless as to accept him, who hadn’t given out a single piece of decent information so far, without caution. The sudden appearance of Ram and Rem earlier, too, was a trick that was probably due to the fact that they were keeping an eye on his movements from somewhere.

“Although, I’m really not sure how to explain it.” The Subaru of this world existed in people’s memories, but no preexisting records existed. It was difficult to explain, and there was a good chance he’d be treated like a lunatic. With that being the case, letting Puck give his own judgement was the best choice.

Subaru hoped that with the help of the exchange just now that Puck, being able to read minds to a certain extent, would be able to convey his situation more convincingly than he himself could.

It was a gamble of sorts, but Puck laughed after realizing what Subaru was trying to do. “It’s alright, Lia. I mean, Subaru knows that too. You’re a naughty boy for taking advantage of my mind reading skills like that, you know.”

“It’s an honor. Let’s just get along perfectly, my friend.”

A look of shock appeared on Puck’s face after hearing Subaru address him like that. Then he burst into laughter and grinned. “It’s been a really long time since I’ve been treated like that. I like it.”

Subaru could understand why Puck was so happy, but before he could even mention it, Puck floated up in front of Emilia’s face. Then their foreheads met as she closed her eyes, which made for a strangely surreal sight.

“Eat this! Puck’s super mysterious technique called ‘Cat’s Forehead Impact’!!”

Subaru couldn’t help but feel lonely when the two of them remained silent, and in his own desolation, he tried to get their attention. But the two of them were in such a deep state of concentration that they didn’t react, so his loneliness increased exponentially.

“Damn it! I feel so helpless… I can’t think of any more ways to get your attention. I’m starting to tear up.”

“…Mhm, I get it. Wow, and I ‘ve been thinking a lot about you too… Why are you sitting on the ground crying like a girl?”

“Don’t—worry—about—it! So what was that, anyways?”

“It’s more like a shared consciousness. It’s easier to explain things to you if you just feel what I feel, rather than having to explain it with words, right?”

Having answered Subaru’s question in a straightforward manner, Puck sat next to the silver-haired girl. She put her hand on Puck’s shoulder and nodded with, “That’s how it is.”

“It was through Puck, but I got the message about you… I’m soooo sorry for doubting you. I know the truth now, and I feel reaaally bad about it.”

“The thought of being explored by a beautiful woman is rather exciting, isn’t it? Next time, by all means, you, not Puck, can enter my mind directly.” Subaru gave a thumbs up and flashed his teeth, and Emilia looked so disappointed in him at this moment. Seeing her reaction, Subaru’s inward regret began to run full speed ahead, and he thought, oh no…I’ve done it again.

Subaru had a bad habit of spitting out nonsense when he was in a good mood. “No, no, no, not in a perverted way, but yes…in our industry, that kind of pain is a reward.”

It was also Subaru’s bad habit to screw up his own follow-up.

With a tight smile, Subaru felt a cold sweat flowing down his face. Sweat, tears, rain, or slobber, a liquid that was sure to make him feel like a donkey in three quarters of a second, was now running down his chin.

Emilia tilted her head slightly at Subaru, who was a terrible actor. “—You are really strange, Subaru.”

“Huh?”

“Playing with a real spirit as if it’s normal, and…even setting your sights on a half-elf like me.”

“It surprised me, even if it was just a joke,” she chuckled quietly.

Would you be that surprised if it wasn’t a joke? Subaru thought to himself, but he even forgot about that and just admired her charming smile in silence.

That smile was as clear and pure as the one he’d seen in that alleyway in the royal capital. It was neither fleeting nor sad, and he was very happy to see it.

—Subaru realized how much he loved her expression for the first time. “Oh no!”

“What?”

“No, I mean, I haven’t felt like this in a long time… No, seriously.”

Subaru’s heartbeat quickened, his mouth became dry, and his breathing became labored.

Subaru’s eyes began to lose focus and he had difficulty holding his head up. Then he lost control of his emotions and felt like he was burning up, which caused his neck and face to turn bright red.

“What’s the matter? Are you okay?” Emilia, who asked Subaru that question, looked up at his face from below. That face, which wore a worried expression, looked absolutely adorable to him. “Woooooohoooooo!”

After that loud shout, Subaru suddenly jumped backwards and tried to do a backflip to escape the situation. He landed on the ground in an upside-down position with his hand beneath him to break his fall, but his hand slipped due to the grass still being wet, and he fell on his head. He then slid across the grass on his head for a few feet before coming to a stop.

“Woah, what happened to you all of a sudden?!”

“Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow. Holy crap, I’m not bald now, am I…? Oh…they’re white.”

Emilia rushed to Subaru, who was rolling on the ground holding his head, and fumbled with her hands trying to figure out what to do. He had said those words when he looked up at her from the ground.

Emilia’s face, which had originally looked puzzled, instantly turned bright red as she realized what it meant. It was because she had walked in front of him wearing a short skirt while he was rolling on the ground.

“Force majeure, force majeure! That wasn’t what I was trying to do!”

“Are you telling the truth?”

“—Thank you for the eye feast.” Sitting in a seiza position, Subaru clasped his hands together and bowed his head to the silver-haired goddess.

When he looked up, Emilia smiled at him. —Unlike the smile from earlier, it had a sadistic nature to it. “That kind of face is also lovely—oh shit.”

“—Reflect on what you’ve done.”

Even considering what he had done, Subaru felt like the balls of ice that rained down on him were rather large.

△▼△▼△▼△

“Ah, that hurt…. I wonder if I’m really starting to go bald now. Is it gonna be okay?”

“It’s just a little bump on the head. —I think you should reaaaaally be thankful for my kindness.”

Subaru stroked his injured head while sitting on the ground. He was on the verge of tears, and Emilia, who had turned away from him, had responded in a cold manner.

They were separated by a distance of several yards now, and it was as if the gap created by his earlier actions was reflected in reality.

Subaru glanced at her white profile and then turned his face away.

*Glance*, *turn away*. *Glance*, *turn away*. *Glance glance*, *turn away turn away*.

“Don’t play around. I’m still mad at you.”

“C’mon, it was just an accident. It’s just a minor misunderstanding that got blown out of proportion.”

If he were to use manga terms, the bump was so big that you would want to put a band-aid on it.

Subaru felt like he really did see his life flash before his eyes at the moment of impact with the ground. It was so powerful that he thought he might get sent back the convenience store if he wasn’t careful.

Subaru felt fine now, but he had felt really dizzy after it happened. It was possible that she thought she had overdone it, but Emilia was looking down at the collapsed Subaru, and he thought she looked like an adorable little animal.

When Emilia discovered that Subaru was looking at her out of the corners of his eyes, she became angry again. “Your personality is sooo hard to deal with. I wish you could make it easier for me.”

“I’m the type of guy who cuts corners in life to live comfortably. You’re too optimistic.”

Just ahead of Subaru’s envious gaze was Puck, who was relaxing in Emilia’s lap. He had been the size of a person’s palm just a moment ago, but was now the size of an infant, and she was petting him in her lap.

“Such disgusting feelings have nothing to do with me.”

“Shut up and don’t read people’s minds. It’s in the mind of a teenage boy, you know, and it’s a great thing. Emilia-tan is no exception.”

“If you have too many dirty thoughts about my daughter, I’ll erase you.”

“You would try to kill me just because I made you angry?!” Subaru was just joking, but he had a feeling that Puck was being serious.

Subaru looked at the two of them. “Even so…”

“Make sure you groom yourself every morning, okay? You know, it seems like the obligations of the spirt in this pact are too small.”

“Not really. Some spirits are more demanding than others. They may demand many times the amount of mana that a normal person has, or they may ask for one kill a day if it’s a really aggressive one.”

“That comparison is way too brutal…and you spoil your daughter too much.”

Compared with his example, the terms of the pact were way too good. Subaru wondered if it was the same in every world when it came to giving family members favorable terms in business contracts and such. Long live nepotism!

Subaru gazed at Emilia and Puck’s playtime in a rare moment of silence as he thought about the concept of nepotism.

The reason why Subaru kept chattering on and on about whatever came to mind in the first place was because it was hard for him to be silent when he was around other people.

Subaru’s silence in the presence of others gave him a “Since you’ve decided to stay quiet, then stay quiet” kind of feeling. It was strange how his usual personality was nowhere to be seen at this moment.

—It was just completely silent.

It was perhaps because of how heartwarming the scene in front of him was.

The movement of Emilia’s fingers as she combed Puck’s fur was very gentle. She seemed to be forgetting about her altercation with Subaru since her expression was starting to change, and the way she looked as she immersed herself in the grooming process was serious yet calm, and was absolutely mesmerizing.

Oh, I think I’m going blind, Subaru thought.

“*Grinning*”

Subaru really hated that mind-reading cat who was looking at him with a grin on his face. That cat, which could pick up on people’s emotions without touching them, would know the true nature of Subaru’s complex feelings that occupied his heart at this very moment. His weakness had been discovered unexpectedly, and he didn’t think it was funny at all.

—Subaru felt as if he had chosen a very thorny path.

Her beautiful, flowing silver hair was as magical as dew in the moonlight. Her white skin was as pale as fresh snow, and her amethyst eyes seemed to capture his attention as if he were under a spell. He was also aware that her delicate body equipped with long, thin limbs was so fragile that it might break if he were to hold her in his arms, but he also knew she had a heart of gold wrapped around an unbreakable core. She was noble, beautiful, and an ideal woman.

No matter how Subaru looked at it, there was no way she would show interest in a smelly shut-in from another world. “Just doing this is a luxury, isn’t it?”

Subaru began experiencing strange emotions that left him in a stupor just thinking about them. Soon after, he stood up and started swinging his wooden sword again in an attempt to shake those feelings off.

The last time Subaru had felt an emotion like this was in elementary school. What’s more, even after 10 years, he had kept his feelings bottled up and never told anyone about them.

Every time he thought about those bottled-up feelings, the speed of his swings became quicker. “Disappear! Fuck you, stupid regrets! I don’t care if there are a 108 of them! I’m gonna destroy them all! Bring it on!” Subaru cut down his invisible regrets and made a bullish comment after each strike.

It wasn’t like Subaru to have regrets. It was in his nature to make choices without looking back. That was what the man named Subaru Natsuki was all about.

“Ohhh, this boy. Hee-hee-hee, I never get tired of watching him.”

“Yes, yes, it doesn’t seem to be working… But you can say that again.”

The two of them looked at Subaru, who continued to cut down his invisible enemies, and made such comments.

Emilia gently loosened her lips as she looked at his back. On that face of hers, the awkward anger from earlier was nowhere to be seen. The reason she seemed to have forgotten about it was because of Subaru being Subaru. “Huh. What’s going on with those two?”

At the sound of Emilia’s voice, who seemed to have noticed something, Subaru stopped his mock battle and looked in the direction of the manor. The twin maids with their prominent pink and light blue hair came towards them from the mansion. They both calmly gave formal bows.

““Master Roswaal, lord of the manor, has returned. Please come to the mansion.””

They spoke in perfect unison without making a single mistake.

Their perfect combination surprised Subaru, but what surprised him even more was their change in demeanor.

Unlike before, when they had joked around with each other, the two girls standing in front of him now looked like proper servants of a mansion. In short, they went from private-mode to work-mode.

“I see. Roswaal… Then we had best go see him then.

““Yes, and he said to bring our dear guest as well, if he is awake.””

Puck shrank and dived into Emilia’s silver hair. She patted down her hair and accepted it, and then got up with a slightly calmer expression on her face.

Subaru, who had been brought up in the conversation, wiped the sweat from his face due to being uncomfortable with his appearance. Shortly after, the blue-haired maid quickly moved closer to him, brought out a handkerchief from her bosom, and finished tidying up his appearance for him. “Sorry.”

“No, as a servant, it’s my duty, dear guest.”

“No, as a servant, it’s my job, dear guest.”

Even though it was the blue-haired maid that did it, the pink-haired maid butted in as well as if it were only natural. Subaru felt relieved that their demeanor had returned to what he had seen earlier, and then said, “So, who’s Roswaal?”

“The lord of this manor… Ah, I guess I never explained it.” Emilia put her palm to her mouth as if realizing her mistake. Then she frowned and wondered how she should respond. “Well, yes. Roswaal is… You’ll understand when you meet him.”

“You’re giving up too soon! What, he’s too plain to describe?!”

““““No, just the opposite.””””

After that four-person rebuttal, Subaru was so shaken that he dropped his wooden sword.

The blue-haired maid kicked the wooden sword up with her foot and caught it and then solemnly bowed before meeting up with her sister. Then the pink-haired maid standing next to her motioned towards the mansion. “There’s no point in trying to describe him with words. You will understand Master Roswaal’s personality once you meet him, dear guest. It will be okay.”

The pink-haired maid and light blue-haired maid looked at each other and nodded, and Emilia reluctantly agreed with them. While Subaru was still in a perplexed state, Emilia lightly tapped him on the shoulder as she headed towards the mansion. “—I’m sure you two will get along just fine, Subaru. He’s just a bit of a headache, though.”

Subaru could only murmur a “yes” with a depressing tone of voice in response.

Chapter 6 The Return of the Lord

“Ohhh, you’re awake. That is good, quite gooood.” The tall man with long, dark blue hair running down his back let that out cheerfully as he looked at Subaru.

He was a tall man. His height surpassed Reinhard’s at around six feet tall. He had a slender body, as if he never did any sort of physical labor in his life, and it was not so much slender as it was delicate. He had different colored eyes, with yellow and blue on either side, and they matched his ghastly pale skin that made him look like a sick person.

His appearance was beautiful, as far as beauty standards were concerned. However, no matter how beautiful he was, if he got too close it would surely make anyone feel uncomfortable. “Your face is too close!”

“Sorry, soooooorry. You seeee, the first time I saw you was when you were deaaaathly pale, covered in blood, and on the verge of deaaath. I’m deeeeeply moooved to see you walking around like this.”

He patted Subaru’s shoulders in a friendly manner and bent down to look at him at close range once again—this was the owner of the mansion named Roswaal.

Subaru thought he looked to be in his mid-twenties and gave him the impression of a ‘prodigal son’ based on his appearance alone.

“No no, even like this, I’m sure you’re a pretty sharp guy…”

“Is that sooooo, that’s a nice assessment. Stare at me to your hearts conteeeeeeent. Do I look shaaarp? Weeeellll?”

Posing in front of Subaru, he spun around and stood as a model. The imposing manner in which he stood caused Subaru to be astonished when his own feet took a few steps back.

“N-no way…have I been outmatched here?! It’s not normal for someone to be more of a character than me… Isn’t that a hindrance in your daily life?!”

“Well, it reaaally doesn’t matter to me, either way.” A sigh arrived from behind them, and Emilia stepped forward as Subaru stepped back in shock. She turned to face Roswaal and said, “Welcome back. How have you been?”

“I’m fiiiiiine. I feel quite pleeaaaased. It’s been four days, 3 hours, and 19 minutes since we last spoooooke. I’ll have to write it down in my notebook.”

Roswaal was handed his notebook and a pen to write with by the pink and light blue-haired maids who had been standing to his right and left. They bowed reverently while doing so. With the notebook and pen he had just been handed, he began to write furiously, and—

“On the fifteenth day of the month of Tadmus. —Lady Emilia spoke to me herself. I am very happy. I feel like we are starting to get along, and…”

Roswaal closed the notebook with a look of satisfaction on his face, handed it to the maid, and then turned around. He was then greeted by Emilia who had a slight smile on her face, and—

“No, seriously…that was just…CRINGE.” After a quick side glance at Roswaal’s notebook that was in her hand—well, more like a planner—Subaru could see that it was well-used, and almost half of its pages had been filled with the same type of content he had just written down not too long ago. If it were filled with similar things, it would be the notebook of nightmares.

Roswaal slapped his knees at such an answer, which even overpowered Subaru’s response. “Cringe! It’s a nice woooord. This is my first time heaaaaring it, and I loooove it! Mmmm, the feeling of not being able to understand a different sensibility… oh, it’s woooonderful.”

“Wow, I hate that I can kinda sympathize a bit. Hey, did you really say I could get along with this?”

In front of the weirdo who was grabbing his shoulders in a strange way, Subaru waved the subject with frustration to Emilia with, “Am I regarded as the same thing as this!?”

She put a finger to her lips and let out a slightly annoyed “Hmmm.”

“As expected, not even you are a match for this country’s top pervert, Subaru…or are you?”

“Not even close! Is it really that fine a line?! With that?!”

“One man’s fault is another man’s lesson,” or so they say, but being put on the same level as the weirdo in front of him was a real disappointment for Subaru. From now on, he was intent on being careful about what he said and did.

“Anyways, come back, come back. Now let me thank you. Thanks for causing me so much trouble, and thanks for letting me use your bed. Sincerely, Subaru.”

“Oh, it’s sooo messed up already…”

Subaru was too prideful to show real gratitude, but Roswaal didn’t seem to care about that and simply whistled in response. Emilia, who was sandwiched in between the two of them, held her head in her hands. By the way, the twins chose to quietly refrain from getting involved, as if they had no intention of intruding in the first place, and Puck was still hiding in Emilia’s hair without making a sound.

“A-n-y-w-a-y-s…”

Roswaal sullenly looked at Subaru from top to bottom after he had returned in an extremely awkward way. He frowned at him, who was uncomfortable. “You loo00ok like a normal person. And that’s a bit disappointiiing.”

“Hey, hold up, you think I’m just a normal guy? Normal is neither good nor bad… That evaluation is insulting to me! Take back what you said!”

“Why get angry about something like that, I suppose…” Beatrice commented.

He responded to the question with defiance.

It was a line that could not be crossed for Subaru. Due to his courageous attitude, Roswaal waved his hand with a “Aaaaahhh, sorry, sorry.”

“I meaaaaaaan ‘normal’ in the ‘racial’ sense. You seeeee, I’m a perveeerted nobleman with ‘Demi-human Tastes’.”

“You must be pretty devilish to be able to say that about yourself, huh? Oh, man, I’m starting to like you a little bit, but I hate myself for that!”

Roswaal looked amusedly at Subaru, who had his head in his hands, and then hugged the shoulders of the twin maids standing on either side of him. “The same is true of these children, and is also the reason why we support Lady Emilia. Weeeelll, I feel like we are birds of a feaaather, which makes you suspicious, doooesn’t it?”

Roswaal stroked the chins of the twins he had been embracing with his fingers, and at the same time created a strangely immoral-ish atmosphere. The twins did what they were told, and their faces turned bright red, as if they had already been bitten by his poisonous fangs. Subaru couldn’t help but look at Emilia with a bad feeling in his gut.

Perhaps sensing the intent of Subaru’s gaze, she hurriedly waved her hands. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not the type of person who is attracted to perverts.”

“Normal is A-OK. When I graduate from high school, I will go to college, and once I graduate I will find a job and work to take care of my family like everyone else does.”

Subaru reversed his previous opinion and thought about the typical normal life. However, he was reminded of the fact that fathers who lived a normal life in the world all had a hard time.

Then Subaru suddenly picked up on a disturbing part of Roswaal’s statement. “I mean, what do you mean by supporting Emilia-tan? That’s why I don’t understand the relationship between the two in the first place.”

“Oooh, you don’t know what’s going on? Hmmmm, that’s straaaaange.” Roswaal released the twins and walked up to Subaru with his hands behind his back. He once again looked down at him from up close, but this time he didn’t back down and just stared at him.

Their gazes clashed and sparks began to fly—it was uncomfortable to be peered at purely as if to explore his intentions. However, looking away was also irritating because it was akin to admitting defeat. In response to the gaze that seemed to be looking through him, Subaru, too, was prepared to fight back resolutely.

They stared intently at each other, and the distance between them gradually shrunk. Don’t lose, don’t you dare lose. With that kind of feeling, he put his eye strength into it, *glare*, *glare*—

*Mwah*

“Hoagyahhhhhh!” Subaru couldn’t help but release a reflexive uppercut at the tall man who had accidentally kissed his forehead.

The tall man was blown away by his unrelenting blow, and the twin maids hurriedly attempted to catch him as he fell. Subaru, not seeing the result, rubbed his forehead as hard as he could. “Wha-what the hell, this…what is this really abooooout?!”

“Aaaaaahh, it huuuurts, it huuuurts. —Weeeelll, I can’t help but notice that you’re looking at me with the innooooocent eyes of a treeeeembling maiden, and it makes me a bit aroooooooused.”

“I can’t help but clench my butt! Stop looking at me with that eye! Seriously!”

His forehead felt as if it had been burned, and then he made a fist with the hand that had rubbed it and stood in front of Roswaal, but he was intercepted by the twins, who looked at him with animosity in their eyes.

As one would expect, they would never laugh at their employer if he were beaten up. Seeing their clear animosity, Subaru reflexively took a step back, but then Roswaal intercepted them with a “Stooooooooop, stop, Ram and Rem. It was my baaaaaaad joke. He’s not at fault, I guess it’s my fault for being toooooo girly.”

“If you’re treating me like a maiden because of the way I look at you, your eyesight is failing, nobleman. I was pretty as a flower until kindergarten, but from that point on the hair on the back of my head was cut off.”

Subaru didn’t want to be mistaken for a girl, and the answer his parents gave him was simply to have a shaved head. Nowadays he would only feel comfortable as long as the back of his head felt jarring to the touch, but back then it made him cry a lot.

—Subaru’s parents had a strong influence on the development of his personality. His mother influenced him by never listening to others, and his father influenced him by being a complete go-getter.

Although disgruntled by the treatment of their lord, the twins took a step back. And then, while rubbing the jaw that had been struck, Roswaal stood up. “I apolooooogize for that just now, I was the one at fault. On top of that, to show my apology in a real way, how aboooout we have breakfast together? My treaaaat?

“Let me warn you, I’m not gonna work for it. If it’s free, I’ll make sure to eat to my heart’s content.”

“That’s a gooooood thing. Eaaaaating well is connected to liiiiving well. Hmmm, that was a pretty good ooooone. I’ll have to put it in my notebook.” The twins gave the notebook and a pen to Roswaal, who was holding out his hand, once more.

Seeing how he had begun to write smoothly and expertly, it appeared that the contents of the notebook did not contain the weird writings of the ‘Diary of Love with Emilia-tan’.

“If you were to write about your daily liiiife, wouldn’t it be something like a collection of poems? I feel like I’ll agoniiiiiize over it if I read it aaaall again in the future, buuuuut if I’m stiiiiill going on at that aaaaage, then there will be no hope of recovering from iiiiiiit.”

The inhabitants of a flower garden would not think it sad that they were in a flower garden. Subaru convinced himself of this, and then gave an answer to the breakfast invitation he had previously received.

“Anyway, I accept the invitation to breakfast. I haven’t eaten anything since before noon yesterday, let alone breakfast.”

“That’s splendid. Weeeeellll then, I’ll have them show you aroooound. Ram, Rem, take care of it.”

““You can count on us, Master Roswaal.”” The twins responded in perfect sync whilst moving to both sides of Subaru. Then they each took charge of one arm, keeping him tightly restrained.

“Hey hey, what’s with the atmosphere of being escorted away? Even if you don’t do that, I won’t run away, and neither will the dining table… Hey, hey, that hurts a little.”

“So, let me show you around, dear guest.”

“Well, let me show you around, dear guest.”

“Hey, listen, that’s as far as my elbows can go… So you guys still haven’t forgiven me for that uppercut earlier at all?! But no matter how much I think about that thing from before, that guy was the one in the wron-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow. My elbows! My elbooows! You two, they don’t go that way, hey!” Causing a racket with all of his “ow’s,” Subaru was dragged to the dining table with his arms held in a joint lock.

Emilia watched them go with pitying eyes, and when the three of them were out of her sight, Roswaal asked, “Weeelll, hoooow was it reaaaally, Lady Emilia?”

The question was spoken in his usual way of speaking, but gave off a different feeling. Emilia accepted the change without a hint of surprise. “It’s the same as yours. Puck has the same opinion. Right?”

At her request for consent, the cat nodded, with only his face peeking out from behind her silver hair. Roswaal’s eyes narrowed as if satisfied with the answer, and Emilia gently held her own chest in slight guilt.

With his face sticking out from under her silver hair, the cat nodded, seeing that she was looking for his agreement. Satisfied with that answer, Roswaal narrowed his eyes, and Emilia pressed her hands to her chest, feeling slightly guilty. “I’m reaaaally not sure if I should be suspicious of my benefactor. —I know it concerns me, but it’s just awful.”

She spilled that out as if ridiculing herself.

Chapter 7 The Friendly Get-Together at Roswaal Manor

“You know, watching that from above, I felt…that you are completely out of your mind, I suppose.”

In the dining room where the twins had led them to, where breakfast was being held, the curly-haired girl who had sat down earlier said that in place of a greeting.

Subaru frowned grandly at her while turning his still-aching elbows. “What are you talking about on such a fine morning, loli?”

“What is that word, I wonder? I’ve never heard of it, yet it gives me such an uncomfortable feeling, I suppose.”

“I mean, you’re way too young for my tastes. I never go after girls who are younger than me.”

“…To be so rude to Betty is also rather pitiful.” With a pitying expression on her face, the little girl sighed as she rested her weight on the chair. As it was, she picked up the glass on the table and quickly let the amber liquid pass down her throat.

The shape of the glass was similar to a wine glass, and Subaru couldn’t help but wonder if it contained alcohol inside. The girl smiled meaningfully under his suspicious gaze and pointed the glass toward him. “What, do you want to drink it, I wonder?”

“Yep, but that would be an indirect kiss. The event would be progressing way too quickly.”

“I was trying to tease you out of spite, but what is this naive feeling, I wonder! It’s more embarrassing for me!” The little girl got angry at Subaru, who tapped his fingers together in embarrassment.

At this point in time, there were only two people in the dining room, and they were free to do whatever they wanted. There was a large table covered with a white tablecloth placed in the center of the large dining room, and there were about 10 chairs arranged around it, starting from the seat of honor in the front with the rest of the chairs along the sides.

There were several seats that were already equipped with dishware, so Subaru could sit at any one of those seats. Simply put, one of the lower seats would be the one he’d go for.

“I’m gonna take one of the best seats.”

“That is a great choice. But it’s obvious that it is the wrong one, in fact.”

“Heh-heh-he, this is where Emilia-tan usually sits, right? Right now, the thought of our butts touching indirectly is making me giddy with excitement…”

“Are you a high-level pervert, I wonder?! It’s not just creepy, it’s disgusting, in fact!”

Subaru had a lot that he wanted to say, but the little girl, whose attitude was essentially like a straight man, was really worth teasing. He couldn’t help but want to see how she’d react to him suddenly acting in a perverted way. “So, I’m not actually doing THIS on purpose, gee-hee-hee.”

“That last chuckle wasn’t very convincing… I can’t take anything you say seriously, in fact!” As the little girl pressed her forehead and shook her head, Subaru moved his butt around on the chair, heating it up in the process.

“I guess it’s alright since nothing bad happened in the end, but it was damn tough!” Thinking back about their first meeting where he’d ended up fainting, Subaru rotated his hands and feet in order to let his dissatisfaction be known. “Oh man, I suddenly realized that the number of times I’ve lost consciousness has reached a scary level in these past two days. Rather, I haven’t had many opportunities to get up, have I? …But that…isn’t much different from the time when I was a shut-in, huh.”

On the other hand, it would’ve been great if I could’ve lazed around more!

Whilst gazing at Subaru and craning her neck, the little girl had the expression of one who was holding back a yawn. “Your gate had been wide open and spilling out mana, and it would have been a waste to let it all escape, so I absorbed it, in fact. It would be best for you to be thankful.”

“It was YOUR fault that it was leaking out like that! Shouldn’t you be thankful that there was a hole in it instead? Don’t make me laugh! You’re just ridiculous! And aren’t you acting a little too sassy?!”

Ignoring the incessant complaints of Subaru, the little girl once more tilted her glass. Drinking without hesitation would make her lose the willpower to respond to him.

It was only natural for the little girl to drink at the sad and wretched state of the world.

“The young girl then became acquainted with nighttime amusements, spent way too much money, and then, at the end of it all, got knocked up as a teenager… As your Big Bro, I can’t help but weep!”

“Don’t just go and make Betty the heroine of a great tragedy like that!”

“In my mind, you’re just the shitty protagonist of a shitty cell phone novel!”

There had been a time where he had killed time by checking those things out, but finding a good one was a matter of luck, a hit or a miss. He had been learning the Gyaru alphabet at around the same time as well.

She probably didn’t even understand the meaning of what Subaru had just said, and, with a scowl on her face, the little girl lightly tapped her fingers on the table. “Well, so be it. Are you going to give Betty words of thanks, I wonder?”

“Thanks? Giving words of thanks to the drill loli that berated me? That’s not any kind of reward in my industry!”

“Why are you getting mad, I wonder! The one who should be angry is Betty! The one who saved you when you were on the brink of death was…”

But as the little girl’s voice trailed off, Subaru let out a “Huuuh?” However, before she could complete her answer, the door to the dining room opened.

“Please pardon me, dear guest. Allow me to set the meal.”

“If you would excuse me, dear guest. I will set the table and serve the tea.”

Pushing trollies into the room were the twin maids. The blue-haired maid was pushing a trolley with food from an orthodox breakfast menu on it, such as salad and pastries. The pink-haired maid, on the other hand, was pushing a trolley with tableware and forks on it.

The two of them moved to either side of the table and began quickly and expertly setting it. In perfect sync, the table was decorated, the warm scents causing Subaru’s stomach to growl unintentionally.

“Woah, not too shabby. It really is a breakfast fit for the nobility… I was worried it was gonna be some bizarre different world stuff.”

He had considered the possibility that the makeup of a dining table in a different world could be totally different. If he had made any mistakes, he might have found himself eating bugs every day by now.

And if that were truly the case, Subaru would have had no choice but to sever his ties to the world, thus liberating himself from an earthly life and obtaining nirvana.

“For real, bugs would be way too much. Why do those things even exist? Godddd, just look at them and the way they live their lives. Isn’t their purpose in life simply to be killed and teach us the importance of life in our early years?”

“If you oppress the weak, when you yourself have become weak, you shall be oppressed by the strong. You should learn the significance of those words, in fact. Silence, I suppose, you weakling.” As if putting on an act in order to hold him back, the little girl gave a deliberate reply whilst elegantly tilting her glass.

His irritation was reaching a breaking point, his hunger was increasing, and he was pissed off because of that sense of elegance she’d just displayed. “H-u-r-r-y-u-p-a-l-r-e-a-d-y! I’ve can’t take it anymore!”

“You are quite lacking in refinedness. Can you not wait in a more refined and elegant manner, I wonder?”

“I don’t wanna be talked down to by a drunk little girl! C’mon, let’s eat! Let’s eat!”

Subaru rudely and furiously grabbed his knife and fork and placed them together, causing the little girl to take action. With her hand still on the glass, the space around it began to warp, and, with a finger, she attempted to direct a paranormal-like energy at him. However, before that sinister technique could reach him… “Ooooohhhh myyy. You seem to be doing weeeell. That is good, quiiiite good.”

What had just appeared was the smiling face of a perverted man. He seemed to have completely changed from the outdoor clothing he’d worn before to more formal clothing. The collars of his outfit were excessively large and colorful, the model change seemingly reflective of his poor tastes. He indeed had the appearance of a clown, his eccentric behaviors the same as usual.

—Oh yes, he is a total pervert.

While jovially watching Subaru chop up some beets with his silverware, Roswaal suddenly noticed the little girl quietly tilting her glass, causing him to raise his eyebrows. “Ohhh myyyyy, it is rare to see Beatrice here. Is it not woooonderful that you decided to have a meal with me after such a looong time?”

“That’s enough. There’s a guy right there who’s happy-go-lucky, in fact. Betty is only here to share a meal with Bubby, I suppose.” Brushing off Roswaal’s buddy-buddy statements, the little girl—Beatrice—shifted her line of sight to his rear. Entering the room behind him was the figure of Emilia, and the one nestled within her silver hair was, “Bubby!”

The little girl seemingly sprung up from her seat and zipped over to him, her long skirt fluttering in the wind. Her face was adorned with a smile, like a blooming flower, so charming that it made him forget about how he’d just evaluated her as being “cheeky.”

The little girl had suddenly behaved in such a way, her little run having been a reaction to the grey cat nestled within the silver hair. His face came out, and with a relaxed expression, said, “Hiya, Betty. It’s been like two days. Have you been well and acting like a lady should?”

“I have been waiting eagerly for your return, Bubby. Would you like to spend the day together, I wonder?”

“Yeah, sounds great! How about we just relax for the day, then?”

“Oh, how wonderful!”

Puck leapt out of her silver hair, landing in Beatrice’s outstretched hands. Now in her grasp, she twirled around and around on the spot.

As Subaru was struck senseless by the happy and carefree scene occurring right in front of him, Emilia walked over to him with a wry smile on her face. “You must’ve been surprised, right? Beatrice and Puck are suuuper close.”

“It’s a surprise, or maybe I should ask what the hell is up with that loli’s attitude. Isn’t she quite cunning by putting on airs in front of a cat?”

“I’m sorry, but I have noooo idea what you’re saying.”

Cutting Subaru’s words off, Emilia let out an “Mm?” with a look of wonderment on her face as she pointed at where he was sitting. “That seat is…”

“Oh, yeah! Uh, you know how a freezing cold chair can make you feel down in the dumps, right? I’m running a campaign to become your blanket to cure and enter your heart and bridge the gap between us. That’s why I thought I’d keep your seat warm for you! It’s not like I was trying to go for an indirect sit-down or anything!”

“Sorry, but I have nooo idea what you’re saying…but, you know that’s Roswaal’s seat, right?”

After his excuses were all dismissed with ease, Subaru fell into despair, his knees buckling. Realizing his blunder as he crashed down, he clenched his teeth.

If he thought about it, it would only be natural for the owner of the mansion to sit in the best seat, the seat of honor.

And the Greenhorn of the Year award goes to…

“But I’m a man who turns adversity into opportunity. Under these circumstances… Yes, under these circumstances, I’ll bet on another chance tomorrow!”

“And there’s no need for you to sit in my seat, okay? Because it’s a biiiit unpleasant for me.”

“God is dead—!”

Subaru then finally fell to the ground, crying a river.

No longer having hope in this world, no longer seeing a future for himself, he was wrapped in an aura of helplessness. But then, he felt the tender touch of someone’s hand on his shoulder. That hand, giving him warmth, put him into a state of bliss, as tranquil as could be, and, as he raised his face upwards, saw that the shining beacon of hope was actually—

“I will prooooperly savor your warmth as best I caaaaan.”

After Subaru heart what the tall man had uttered, he immediately spat on his seat without a shred of hesitation. “You can enjoy the warmth from where my ass was after it’s been dirtied like THIS!”

“Ohh myyyyyy, such a quick action was rather unexpected. How splendid. But, no matter.”

Roswaal chuckled, as if he were feeling intense pleasure, and speedily raised his finger, pointing at the seat. Checking that the spit was there, he then thrust his finger out, creating a sound.

—Immediately afterward, the spit vanished right in front of Subaru’s eyes.

“What the!?”

Without thinking, Subaru stretched his hand out towards the seat, unable to believe that the spit had just vanished. Not a single trace of liquid could be felt upon touching it, and the only thing that remained was a slightly warmed seat.

“Did it, evaporate?”

He guessed that there was a relationship between the heat of the seat and the disappearance of the spit.

Roswaal whistled in admiration at Subaru’s conclusion. “Ohhh myyyyyy, you’ve hit the bulls eye. I messed with the scale of flame, using an extreeeeeeemly small amount of mana so that only that part of the seat would be heated up for buuut a moment.”

“WHAT? The way you said that made it sound as if this feat-like thing were easy… Could it be that you aren’t actually a perverted idiot?”

“Actually, he’s the Kingdom of Lugunica’s Head Court Magician.” Answering in the proximity of Subaru was Emilia, who’d given him a bit of a surprise with her words. Unable to process what she’d just said, he looked at Roswaal, muttering the words ‘Head Court Magician’ to himself.

“…There’s a look of disbelief on your face.”

“N—o—w—a—y, I totally believe you! Yep! I totally believe you now! I believe you!”

“I’m not that convinced, but I’m not going to keep talking about it.” Emilia quickly gave up trying to convince him. In the short time she’d known him, she’d learned to ignore him so as to calm his seemingly boundless energy.

Subaru, awakening a new kink by being ignored like that, saw that Emilia was now sitting in a different seat, rather than the seat of honor. This is probably where she usually sits, huh.

Seeing that no one else would be joining them in the dining room, other than the seat of honor, Emilia’s seat, and Beatrice’s seat, Subaru thought about where he was sitting in relation to the rest. He was quite a way away from the seat of honor, and a bit separated from Emilia’s, making it feel incomplete.

If one were to try to use all the space at such a large table, it would probably end up being arranged in an unbalanced way.

“Anyway, this isn’t fun like…” Muttering that, Subaru grabbed the food that’d been placed at his assigned seat, then began moving everything, clinking noises from china hitting china. The place he was moving to was naturally—

“Hey?”

“Don’t mind me, don’t mind me, believe in Terry.”

“Who’s that?” Emilia asked.

After Subaru moved himself next to her, Emilia looked at him in bewilderment. Even after listening to her response, he’d moved his salad and pastries over there. Having successfully wiggled his way next to her, he said, “Aw, come onnn. Instead of eating separately, why don’t we eat next to each other and be friendly? Hey, if you don’t like vegetables, you can just put them all on my plate. *pat pat* How about it?”

“Then, you can have my green beppers… No-no-no, that’d be…bad manners.”

“Isn’t not eating yummy food like getting your priorities backwards? Besides, eating next to a girl totally makes the food taste better, and I’m never gonna compromise on that. How about you, Rozchi?”

Perhaps Emilia doesn’t like green vegetables?

When Emilia drew near to his plate, he said that with a smile, then waved the topic over to Roswaal, who’d been observing him with great interest.

At that manner of address, he pointed at himself. “Are you perhaps refeeeering to me by any chance?”

“Who else would it be? Rozchi. It’s really the perfect name for you.”

Affirming it with a nod of his head, Roswaal laughed cheerily, then turned his face towards Emilia, who had an astonished look on her face. “Don’t beeeee upset, Lady Emilia. Decorum maaaay be important, but you won’t be able to enjoy your meaaal if you are too fixated on that even when you are with those you know well. Ohhh, his words are correct.”

Since it was the decision of the lord of the manor, that was that.

Emilia sighed, her feelings on display, then Ram and Rem, who’d been in waiting, began serving the dishes one after the other. Steaming dishes were lined up on the table, and, soon after, the breakfast space was ready to go.

“Well then, let us eat. —To the trees, the wind, the stars, and to the earth.” Palms together, Roswaal closed his eyes and muttered that. Emilia and the twins quickly followed suit. Beatrice also returned to her seat and then closed her eyes. Realizing that it was a pre-meal prayer, Subaru hurriedly imitated them.

To be honest, he was pretty surprised that Christian-like prayer was common even across worlds.

Based on how they were so adamantly praying, it was shockingly clear that Roswaal and Emilia were deeply religious. And the twins seemed to have grown accustomed to it, paying close attention to their behavior. Beatrice, on the other hand, was simply roughly going through the motions.

“Weeeell then, Subaru. She may not look it, but Rem’s cooking is really quiiiiite something, is it noooot?”

At Roswaal’s encouragement, and with the prayer ending without him noticing, Subaru joined in on the meal with great haste. The menu seemed to consist of salad, as well as ingredients for bread, such as something like ham, which was comparable to toast. Though it was a little unclear, it seemed to have the appearance of a Western-style breakfast.

Subaru was relieved for now, seeing that nothing near him appeared to be unusual. He was grateful that none of the ingredients looked exotic or went beyond human knowledge, and, putting something that was like toast in his mouth, said, “Mm, this is way better than usual.”

After raising his face and giving that impression, the blue-haired maid standing next to the table made a fox with her fingers. He wasn’t sure what it meant, but it could be a V-sign-like thing in this world. Subaru replied by making two frog signs with his hands. “Was this food made by the blue-haired…um, or can I call you Rem? Did you make this?”

“Yes, it is just as you said, dear guest. Rem is the one who handles the cooking in this household. Sister is not really good at it.”

“Oh-ho, so it’s like you twins are good at different skills? So, the pink-haired one is good at cleaning but not cooking?”

“Yes, that is correct. Sister is especially good at cleaning, doing laundry, and other domestic chores.”

“Then, since you are good at cooking, does that mean you are bad at cleaning and doing laundry, Remrin?”

“No, Rem excels at all of the domestic chores, including cleaning and doing laundry. Even better than Sister.”

“Why’s the pink-haired one even here, then!?”

So, one of them exceled at all domestic chores, while the other was only good at cleaning—totally different twins was a novel thing.

Ram, who was next to Rem, did not seem to care much about what had been said. And it seemed to be true since she’d never even spoken up about it. So, that being the case, why was she not bothered by it at all?

“So perhaps they’re in different fields, then? Ramchi is great at combat… No, is she responsible for ‘nighttime services’!? Oh shit, I’m itchin’ for a bunch of things tonight!”

“Sister, Sister. Our dear guest seems to have doubts about you!”

“Rem, Rem. Our dear guest seems to be undressing me in his mind!”

The twins clasped their hands together, acting as if something terrible were occurring, in response to the lewd thoughts of the indomitable Subaru. Viewing that exchange, Roswaal chuckled softly. “Veeeery goooood, you. Though because of their strong idiosyncrasies, Ram and Rem appear distant when meeting a guest for the first time, do they nooot?”

“You don’t care about the flaws of your servants, because even the master is so full of flaws, huh? But, because it’s fantasy, I’ll tolerate anything. Now, I…”

“There is no doubt that he is competent. At least, that’s what many people have said.” Cutting into their conversation was Emilia. After bringing a little bit of soup to her mouth, she continued, a hint of displeasure in her voice. “Actually, those two are amazing, you know. They handle nearly all the maintenance around this huge mansion. For a race like theirs, it’s sort of trivial.”

“I’m not sure how I feel about that. Isn’t that difficult?”

Having said that to Emilia, whose pupils lit up with righteous indignation-like emotions, Subaru gathered up his words and raised a question. “Just now, did Emilia-tan say that there were only two servants working in this mansion?”

“Ohhh yeess, thaaat is certainly the case as of this moment. Ram and Rem are the only ones left.”

“Are you an idiot? How can two people handle such a huge mansion like this? No matter how great those two are, even they might die of overwork. —Or do you have something like a “I can’t hire more servants” kind of restriction holding you back?”

Hearing Subaru’s question, Roswaal remained silent for a time, crossing his hands on the table. On his face was a smile, yet there were clear emotions in his eyes as he looked in his direction, altering the atmosphere.

Subaru heard the rising sound of a flag, perceiving that something had gone wrong, then brought out his dessert, the ringa he’d been yearning for, and began munching on it.

He shuffled the delicious fruit into his mouth, satisfied by the tenderness that excited his tastebuds.

Chapter 8 The Situation of the Country and That Girl’s Circumstances

“You truuuuly are mysterious. Having come to the residence of Roswaal L. Mathers in the Kingdom of Lugunica, yet not knowing the circumstances? And somehow making it through the kingdom’s exaaamination process upon entering the country?”

“Aaaah weeeeell, I guess I’m something like an illegal immigrant in a sense, huh.”

By the time he’d realized it, he had entered this country, but was there anything wrong with that? That was pretty much how he felt.

Subaru’s casual response surprised Emilia, and then she glared at him with righteous indignation, as if scolding a young child. “You’re unbelievable. Have you ever thought about what would happen if we reported this to the authorities after saying such a thing so easily? You could be carted off to jail without warning and turned into mincemeat there.”

“Nobody uses mincemeat these days.”

“This is no laughing matter. Hey, Subaru. Are you really ok? Is everyone where you come from like this? Or do you just stand out?”

Subaru, feeling sorry because Emilia was feeling truly worried about him, scratched his head and reflected on his own behavior. “Err, it’s just that I have a bit of a bad memory. So, if you wouldn’t mind, I would be most grateful if you could fill me in on this matter.”

“It seems like you come from a good family based on how you’re using words like that, but…”

Subaru’s social life would have been completely screwed if he used proper language in a very halfhearted manner, such as this instance, when going out and interacting with others. And Emilia seemed like someone who was easy to fool, which made him worry about her. “Could it be…? Could it be that you don’t have an in-depth knowledge of these things as well, Emilia-tan? Right now, your sentences were a mess with humble language and respectful language jumbled up together.”

“Err… I can’t really deny it.” Emilia replied, shrinking into herself after hearing Subaru’s observation. Seeing her like that was rather surprising for him, since he thought she looked like she was knowledgeable on everything, but it was not the withering girl who followed up from that, but the silent Roswaal, who’d been sitting in the seat of honor.

“I doooo understand what you have pointed out, howeeeeever, Lady Emilia is currently studying such things.”

“Studying, huh. Wait a sec, is it connected to what we were talking about earlier?”

“Ahaaaa. How excellent. Quite thoughtful, aren’t you. And iiiit is because of that thoughtfulness that you can spill out such thooooughtless-sounding statements.”

“It’s just common sense to think while you live. Even if your limbs feel heavy, and snot drips from your nose, and the contents of your stomach spill out, a person has a responsibility to think, right?”

“Such a distuuuurbing example. It’s almost as if you have experienced these things youuurself…”

Those words were, of course, based on things he had actually experienced himself.

Perhaps due to Subaru’s words leaving a deep impression on him, Roswaal held out his hand, which the maids placed his notebook and pen in.

After quickly putting down the things that had just occurred, Roswaal once more turned to face Subaru. “Veeery goooood. Iiit’s great how you’re just brimming with ideas.”

“How many times do you write in that notebook in a single day? How many volumes have you written in your life?”

“As far as that question is conceeeerned, it is a sacrament of the House of Mathers. Too baaad, but I’m not telling.”

Subaru wearily averted his eyes at the sight of the refined older man who suddenly acted with a bit of an attitude.

Subaru was increasingly perplexed about what to do about someone who had a stronger character than himself. Coming in at just the right time was Emilia, who cleared her throat in an attempt to steer the conversation back onto the original topic.

“Now then, let’s get back on track. Subaru, do you know what’s currently going on in this country—in the Kingdom of Lugunica?”

“I totally have no idea what’s going on here. Not even a little.”

“It’s refreshing to hear you saying that without any hesitation to that extent. The way you’ve been acting until now has done nothing but surprise me, Subaru. Stuff like that was reaaally making me worried about you.” Getting over her astonishment, Emilia began to look at him as if he were a child.

He wasn’t trying to execute a plan to arouse her mother-hen-like instincts or anything, but in consequence, it seemed like the growing distance between their hearts was like one between a Mother and Child.

Trying to somehow reconcile their widening difference in age, Subaru pestered her with a “So what! So what!”.

“You’re such a baby. Umm, martial law is currently being enacted in Lugunica. And it is especially strict when it comes to going in and out of the country.”

“Martial law… That doesn’t sound very good.”

“—Aaahaaa, it doesn’t sound very goooood, indeed. —In any case, the Kingdom of Lugunica currently lacks a king.” Roswaal ended up answering for her. Scrutinizing what he had just said, Subaru gulped silently, having figured out the significance of those words.

He glanced at the expressions of Emilia and the twins, and then Beatrice and Puck. They didn’t appear to be shaken up about it at all, which meant this fact was common knowledge here. On top of that, he felt cautious at the fact that he, someone equivalent to an outsider, was informed of such a thing, but…

“No need to worry! This grave truth is already well-known by the public, you see.”

“Oh, that’s good. Well, I figured you guys would go, ‘We won’t let you make it out alive’, because I just learned a secret that would threaten your positions or something.”

“That’s just sad if it were to happen, since we were the ones who revealed it… Anyways, the whole nation is preeetty unstable right now,” Emilia interjected.

“This is where the martial law thing comes iiiin. In such a situation where there is no ruler, it wouldn’t be desirable to carry sources of conflict into other countries, nor would it be good to do the opposite.”

I see, thought Subaru as he grasped what had just been said.

A kingdom without a king would be a lethal blow to its operations. Whether they died from an illness or otherwise, the country was shaken to its core by the sudden Death of a king.

“Mmmm, wait a second. Isn’t it usually the case that everything gets solved when the children of the king take over? Or like, they’ll have a regent with them if they’re too young?”

“Oh-ho, it seems that you can keep up with this conversation. Anyhow, that iiis usually the case. Howeeever, something happened half a year ago. It has been said that at the same time His Majesty passed away, a disease ran rampant within the castle…”

As Roswaal told it, it was announced that the epidemic was one that only affected a particular bloodline. And so, the king and his descendants that had lived in the royal castle perished.

“Then it’s true that there’s no king, huh? And if that’s truly the case, then what’s gonna happen to the country, then? If there is no royal bloodline, then what are you gonna do, start a democracy and elect a prime minister?”

“I dooo not understand the second half of what you said, but currently, the country is managed by a Council of Elders who oversee its affairs. It was formed from distinguished families who have left their mark in the kingdom’s history. Iiiit won’t have much of an effect on the operation of the government itself.”

After pausing for a moment, he let out an “However—” and with a stiffened expression, said, “—A kingdom must have a king.”

“Yeah, of course.”

Even if the person at the top didn’t manage anything and was just a mere figurehead, no organization came into existence without someone heading it. Even more so for something like a country.

Even in Japan, where a lot of importance was placed on democracy, a prime minister existed at the top. That applied even if the position came with heavy responsibility and was frequently replaced by another person.

“Then, since the kingdom lacks a king, a new one needs to be selected. But the bloodline was pretty much destroyed. So a new king needs to be selected in a way that everyone finds acceptable.”

“—Really, you’re such a strange boy, Subaru. Even without knowing anything, you can come up with such things, can’t you? I feel like you’re something like a clever fool.”

“Don’t praise me like that! I’m not used to being praised, so if you praise me like that, I think I might just fall in love with you!” Subaru turned his gaze away from Emilia and said that over his shoulder so that he might hide his embarrassment.

He slapped his reddening face, so as to justify why it was like that, then turned towards Roswaal. After organizing his thoughts, he raised his finger up at him. “I see. I think I’ve got the gist of it now. In other words, the country has no king and is in a bit of a rut trying to select a new one. Your relations with other countries are diminishing in significance and you’re basically in a state of mini isolation. So a mysterious foreigner like me showing up is—totally suspicious!!”

“Fuuuurthermore, by coming into contact with Lady Emilia, you have become associated with the House of Mathers. If they were one with a hasty disposition, that’s all they would need to…” With his eyes closed, Roswaal mimicked a guillotine by ‘cutting’ his neck with his hand, as if it were a blade. Giving that gesture a sidelong glance, Subaru broke into a cold sweat due to having an ominous feeling.

“H-Hey! I think I can imagine what’s going on from the pervert’s words just now! Looking at the House of Mathers, I feel like it has such a fine lineage. Perhaps you’re connected to the Council of Elders, or maybe even a possibility of something more than that—!?” Based on the current flow of the conversation, that was the best guess Subaru could make.

The way he was telling the story, as if he was relishing each big reveal he made, the way he crafted the flow of the story just now… It hardly seemed like what someone looking upon the situation from the outside would say.

Therefore, it would only be natural for him to think that the lord of such a large manor, who most certainly came from a fine lineage, would be associated with such things. With such thoughts in mind… “As an apology for my i-insolence, I would like to ask for your forgiveness by offering my whittle finger… at least my whittle finger to you.”

“For you who has such a frightening imagination, there is good news. You can be at eaaase, alright? I am nooot associated with the Council of Elders, nor am I in a position to be involved with the kingdom’s throne at present, you seeee. —Riiight, Lady Emilia?”

With Subaru’s finger presented on the table, Roswaal chuckled as if he’d just heard a great joke. He then looked at Emilia for her approval, who responded with silence while she frowned.

Subaru was about to explode at Roswaal due to his suggestive behavior in that moment, but suddenly felt that something was off and put a stop to such thoughts.

He had been really curious about something since awhile back.

“Why is…the lord of this manor calling Emilia-tan lady?”

The person who held the highest position in the household was always paid the greatest amount of respect.

Subaru turned his gaze to Roswaal to make sure of it, and his budding anxiety quickly began to bloom into a flower of complete dread. And—

“Is it not naturaaaal to address someone of higher rank than I with reeespect?” With his hands folded on top of the table, Roswaal uttered that with a gleeful smile.

Dumbfounded, Subaru froze with his mouth agape. He looked at Emilia so robotically that one could hear the sound of gears turning. The girl then sighed with resignation. “I don’t want you to think that I was trying to trick you or anything, alright?”

“—Err, that is to say, Emilia-tan, you’re…?”

Subaru had yet to be discouraged from using the ‘tan’ nickname he’d given her.

As if striking the finishing blow on him, who wanted to deny such a reality, she continued, “Currently, my title is Royal Candidate, one of those seeking to become the 42^nd ruler of the Kingdom of Lugunica. With the backing of Margrave Roswaal, that is.”

Her words alarmed Subaru so much that he felt like the hurdle had risen to the height of a space elevator.

△▼△▼△▼△

—The person I grew attracted to ended up being a queen.

A sentence like that crossed his mind. Well, she was technically a queen candidate.

“A phrase like ‘queen candidate’ has such an erotic feeling to it.”

“I reaaaally don’t know what that’s all about, but I’m talking seriously.”

“Waaaah, such a cold gaze is making me tingle… As one would expect from a queen. Don’t look at me as if I’m a lowly pig!”

“I’m not looking at you in such a horrible way, okay? I wish you wouldn’t say things like that, Subaru!”

Subaru threw himself down onto the table, trembling a bit, the rebuke of the very close-by beauty causing him to writhe in agony. So that he could hide his facial expression, he laid face-down on the table, but his heart was actually pounding hard, expressing his true feelings.

In any case, he didn’t want Emilia to see the pathetic look he had on his face now.

The Queen Candidate… If he were to be frank, other than the stuff he was familiar with in games and manga, he had no idea how a despotic world where kings ruled at the top worked.

Nevertheless, when it came to the potential ruler of a nation, he knew that such a person was one that was far-removed from the masses.

Not to mention that Subaru didn’t even have a family register in this world. To put it in a nutshell, he was in a position to be discredited from even being placed into the same category as the masses.

Not to mention his audacious feelings of love being quickly shot down, but knowing Emilia’s status on top of her being beautiful really knocked him down a notch.

He had no doubt that it was like climbing to the top of a space elevator with his bare hands.

“Oh Jesus, say it ain’t so! My path of love is surprisingly full of roadblocks, if I do say so myself. Romeo, who loves Juliet, surely feels for me!”

“Hold on, are you okay, Subaru? You became silent all the sudden, so…”

When he raised his teary-eyed face, Emilia was reflected in his blurred field of vision. It seemed like she was looking down at him with concern with her amethyst eyes.

Her skin was as white as untainted snow, and the sound she emitted from her thin pink lips was as lovely as a silver bell.

It felt like she was an existence that seemed oh so distant, someone he couldn’t reach no matter how far he went.

“…Here goes.”

Unable to take it anymore, Subaru tightly embraced the girl, who was right beside him.

“…E?”

“Wooooow, so petite. And sooo soffft, too. Oh, this smell is just amazing.”

For a moment, it didn’t register in Emilia’s mind that she had been embraced.

Subaru then relished in the sensation of holding her closely and embracing her to his heart’s content.

Subaru didn’t have a lot of experience when it came to interpersonal relationships, and absolutely zero experience with hugging a girl. He thought it was too bad that he hadn’t had enough time to enjoy it when he was protecting Felt at the Stolen Goods Warehouse, not to mention she was too skinny for it to count.

Whatever the case may be, Emilia, who belatedly became aware of what was going on, turned beet red and started struggling. “Wai… What!? What’s wrong!?”

“Er, it’s just that the fact you appeared in front of me suddenly brought out my bestial instincts, making it hard to resist. When I calmed down and thought about it, I realized I’d never be able to accomplish my goal from the get-go, so I thought, ‘I’ll never be able to reach it, so why bother!’.”

“I reaalllly have noooo ideaaaa what you’re talking about!”

“Weeell, hold on a sec. Allow me to calm down and analyze myself. —I mean, I thought about whether or not to reach out to you when you looked at me before, so I had an idea of making sure that I could reach you or not, and then out of my spinal reflex, my boy characteristics were activated, which then caused my libido to start going into overdrive, thus leading to me embracing you, and then after that, I concluded that I wasn’t gonna die or anything, so I thought I’d just keep enjoying this as much as I could, oh, and it was a pretty happy thing for me and fit the bill, but an unhappy surprise for Emilia-tan, I guess… and that’s it.”

“Even when you explain it in detail, I still have nooo idea what you mean!”

Subaru rambled on and on and on to drag it out, then Emilia, who was struggling in his arms, finally thrusted him away.

Subaru felt so lonely now that she had broken away from his embrace. Emilia, on the other hand, was getting red in the face and then pointed at him with tearful eyes. “Don’t just go and hug a girl sooo suddenly! It wasn’t really a big deal because I was the one you were hugging, but a normal girl would take it seriously, okay?”

“I didn’t really do it on purpose, though? Yes, I must’ve moved according to someone else’s command. Wait, could it be that you charmed me with magic, Emilia-tan…? You’re such an evil woman!”

“There nooooo way I did that. You’re laying the blame on me! And stop raising your thumb!”

His emboldening thumbs-up having been turned down, Subaru dejectedly lowered his right hand.

But it was true that his body had been stirred on because of his spinal reflex. And the words he’d said after that weren’t a lie, either, but he would be so embarrassed that he’d want to die if he said that out loud.

—The truth is, your eyes have stolen my heart.

“Ah, it’s embarrassing! If I heard you say that, I couldn’t help but say, ‘That’s so amazing! Hold me tight!’.”

“Myyyy ohhhh myyy, you really aren’t afraid of aaanything at all, are you?” Whilst Subaru was holding his cheeks with his hands, saying, “oh stoooop it,” hips swaying, Roswaal, spectating their conversation from the side, said that while looking like he was trying to hold back his laughter.

Emilia, still red in the face, very sternly glared at him because of the way he was speaking. With tears in his eyes because of laughing so much, Roswaal wiped them away and feigned ignorance. “She is a candidate to be the future queen, is she nooot? Peeeeerhaps she will long-remember this great disrespect towards her, and when the time comes that she takes up the throne, she will enact her judgment upon you, and…”

“Are you telling me to regret the happy things that’re happening right now, because no one knows what the future holds? Don’t underestimate a victim of a pressure-free education that advocates for instant gratification!”

With his middle finger up, Subaru rudely declared that. And with his free hand pointed at Emilia, said, “Even if Emilia-tan is a candidate to be the future queen, she’s just a girl at the moment. And I’m just a man. You don’t have any right to complain about whether the casual relationship between a man and a woman breaks down or not! That’s why…!”

With one foot on the chair and his fist clenched tightly, Subaru proudly made a declaration. “…Even if I were put to death tomorrow, I would still hug Emilia-tan tightly, sniff her hair, and use that as nourishment to keep on living—!”

The inside of the dining room was filled to the brim with deep silence due to Subaru’s declaration, which made him sound anguished.

Everyone was at a loss for words at Subaru’s fierce attitude. Gulping, they all took in the words of his extremely wild and boastful declaration. And then—

“Sorry for interrupting your breakfast. Then, let us return to our meal. Let us gather and enjoy ourselves once more, and forget about the quarrel just now…”

“You’re churning out quite an exaggerated mantra to accompany a mere perverted remark.” As Subaru pushed his hair back, putting on airs, trying to clear up the air in the room with his momentum, his intention of doing so was abruptly put to an end. The one who had done so was Beatrice, sitting in a distant seat, looking his way as if she were totally bored. Exhibiting bad manners, she placed Puck on the dining table and brushed his grey fur. “In the end, you were only fooled by that little girl’s beauty, simple as that, in fact. How could you ramble on and on about her for so long, I suppose…?”

“You… really are my natural enemy, huh…” Subaru’s shoulders slumped at Beatrice’s words of exasperation, muttering that in response.

Beginning with Beatrice snorting at that, the other participants began returning to their senses one after the other.

In other words, the vilification of Subaru for his sexual harassment earlier was about to begin.

Chapter 9 The Fruits of Dying Thrice

“So, in the end, why is it that you did those things, Subaru?” Emilia asked.

“I already told you the complete and utter truth. If there were to be another reason… Wait, could it be that the evil loli over there… messed with my mind…? You evil little girl!”

“You made a fool out of yourself, and now you’re just shifting the blame to another, I suppose! You’re the worst! The absolute worst, in fact!”

“Shut it! Can the words of a loli who drinks during the day even justify anything?! Aren’t you seeing and hearing lots of things wrong by getting drunk? In the first place, at what age is it hunky-dory to drink alcohol in this country?!” While he was having a spit-flying shoutout with Beatrice, he directed that question at Rem out of reflex, who was standing nearby.

Not shaken up one bit by the sudden change in subject, Rem gave a polite curtsy and asked, “What do you mean by ‘honky-dory’, dear guest?”

Seeing her skillfully tilt her head as she remained in her curtsy, Subaru scratched his head. “Oh, hmm… You guys aren’t even sure of the meaning of that, huh? Wasn’t expecting that, so I guess I’ll have to explain! It means something like ‘alright’.”

Comprehending what had been said, Rem and Ram shared a look.

“After you turn 14 years old.”

“When you turn 14 years old.”

“Are y’all serial?”

“‘Serial’?”

“Serial?”

“It means ‘Are you telling the truth?’, ‘Are you being completely serious?’, or ‘it’s mega amazing, isn’t it?’.”

““I see.””

The two of them gave a synchronized bow, as if they were impressed. In other words, when put into practical use… “Serial, is it really honky-dory to drink alcohol when you turn 14!?”

““That means, ‘Seriously, is it really okay to drink alcohol when you turn 14?’.””

They managed to do a perfect translation here, their intention of coming to a mutual understanding having come true.

The three of them spontaneously looked at each other out of joy, and with their hands raised, shouted out:

“““Yeahhh!”””

They high fived each other one after the other. And then they started moving around in a circle, their hands still touching.

“…Have you finished your little performance, I wonder?”

“What do you want? You’re such a killjoy, you drill loli.”

“Hush with that lili, in fact! What the heck is up with you, I wonder!!” Beatrice leaned back into her chair and crossed her arms, looking quite angry. Subaru figured she was already through arguing with him, seeing as she chose to remain silent. He then saw Puck on top of the dining table consoling her, so he decided to let the little cat deal with her.

And then he once again faced the silver-haired girl, not having settled a single thing so far.

Perhaps because of her mood, she looked at Subaru with her white eyes filled with a chillier intensity than before, and—

“The fact that you’re cute, even when you look at me like that, should be considered a crime…”

“…Sigh. Now I’m starting to figure out how I got involved with you, Subaru. All I need to do is pay no attention to the jokes you look like you tell everyone, and then just get to the point, right?”

“I feel offended when you think I crack jokes to everyone! I’d only say such a thing to you, Emilia-TAN! I’m being serious! Totally serious! Suuuper duuper SERIOUS!”

“Yes yes, just forget it. Let’s just get to the point, then.” Clapping her hands to reset the conversation, Emilia then quietly returned to her seat.

With no choice but to follow in her stead, Subaru settled back down, but while he was doing so, Roswaal said, “Though we strayed away from the subject quite a bit, nevertheless, let’s just get to the point, shall we? Is that alriiiight with you, Subaru?”

“Weeell, based on how my head hasn’t already flown off my shoulders, I’m going to pray for it to be nothing bad.”

Roswaal whistled at Subaru’s words. Emilia looked just as caught off-guard as him, since she assumed that Subaru had been acting in such a disrespectful manner in order to feel out their intentions, but they were looking way too much into it.

Of course, he had just been spitting out mere eloquent nonsense.

Subaru had put himself out there first, before they could figure it out and expose him, making sure to overwhelm them with the way he acted. He figured that if he took the initiative during the conversation, he would be able to decrease the chances of it being led in a dreadful direction.

“Alright, I suppose I’ll make my guess then. So you brought up the whole talk about Emilia-tan being a candidate to be queen, right? I guess there’s some type of connection here?”

“Really, are you a pervert, Subaru? Or are you not?”

“Those two choices are pretty extreme, you know!?”

With wide-open eyes, Emilia gave a light-hearted apology by saying, “Sorry, sorry.” While Subaru was genuinely offended by that, Roswaal followed up after her apology. “Nevertheleeess, your guess was right on taaarget. The tale about her being a candidate to be queen from before is quiiite related to what shall become of you. —Lady Emilia?”

“Mm, I understand.”

After giving a quiet response to that call, Emilia put her hand in her pocket.

Subaru suddenly noticed that the merriness had disappeared from the atmosphere in the dining room. Though the same people were sitting around the dining table, they were now clad in a completely dignified presence.

Subaru spontaneously straightened his posture without thinking. Continuing from where she left off, Emilia brought out the object from her pocket and placed it on the table. That’s… “I-isn’t that the insignia from…?”

It was the insignia adorned with a dragon motif that had been put through the bitter experience of being stolen, courtesy of Felt, something that Subaru had finally returned to its rightful owner after coming back from three whole deaths.

The deep, serene twinkle of the crimson jewel in its owner’s hands filled Subaru with a sense of awe, its prettiness sparking his curiosity.

“You seeee, the dragon signifies the crest of Lugunica. It wouldn’t even be too muuuch to call it the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica. It is a symbol that is often found on castle walls, weapons, and armor, but that insignia is especiaaaally important. Anyhoooow…”

Roswaal paused for a second. Subaru gave him a look that urged him to go on, which he nodded to, and then he shifted his gaze to Emilia to suggest that she continue. She closed her eyes, and then said, “It is one’s qualification as a royal selection candidate. —A test to determine if the person is worthy of sitting on the throne of the Kingdom of Lugunica.”

Her declaration of the truth, said in a strained voice, made Subaru’s eyes go wide, and then his eyes once again darted towards the crimson radiance on the table. The insignia with a dragon with outstretched wings—the glittering jewel in the center of it supported the proof of her claim, and when everything that had just been said was put together… “N-No way… You lost the insignia that qualifies your entry in the royal selection!?”

“Don’t put it so disgracefully! A light-fingered girl stole it!”

“That’s the same thing—!!” With that loud shout, Subaru slammed his hands against the dining table as he rose to his feet.

The impact to the table threatened to make the tableware fall to the ground, but Rem’s perfect follow-up managed to prevent it from happening. Paying no attention to that, he looked down at Emilia. Her face was turning crimson, her eyes brimming with humiliation.

“Even if you make a face that stimulates my sadistic heart, it won’t work! Waaaait, seriously, like how the hell does this whole thing work!? If you lost it, could you just get a new one issued by a public office!?”

“Public office… I am not quiiite sure what that means, but it wouuuld be difficult to simply nonchalantly go and ask for another one, you seeee.” Gazing at the flustered Subaru, Roswaal calmly adjusted the gargantuan collar of his clothing, and continued, “A king carries the kingdom on their shoulders. It would be outrageous if they could not even protect a siiingle small insignia. Why should people think they could entrust the country to such a person?”

“That’s right. It’s like how Lord Komon always left his work to the careless Hachibe, yet he was just as careless as him.”

“Careless?”

“Hachibe?”

While the twins said the name of the mysterious person to themselves, Subaru digested everything that had happened.

The stolen insignia, their encounter in the alleyway, the fight at the Stolen Goods Warehouse, getting welcomed like this. The answers he could derive from this became united into a single one. “If the imperial guards got word that you’d lost the insignia, it’d seriously be bad. That’s why Emilia-tan was looking for it all by her lonesome, like a lonely wolf.”

“…Yes, that’s right.” Emilia replied.

“Felt was the one who stole it, but Elsa was the one who made her steal it. And she said someone had requested her to do it. So, to put it simply, someone is trying to stop Emilia-tan from becoming queen?”

“That’s probably the caaase here. If someone wanted to make you drop out of the royal selection, there is no simpler way that I can think of than to steal the insiiignia.”

After affirming what had been said, everything that had happened yesterday started to come together.

How Emilia was so stubborn; Felt and her client, Elsa. And how the value of the insignia was the direct cause of him getting into a mess and dying many times.

“Man, now that I think about it, I did a super good job! Whatever I did was seriously amazing, huh!? You were in danger of sayin’ sayonara to the royal selection, right, Emilia-tan!? And since you were about to lose the insignia, saying ‘I accidentally lost my insignia! Teehee! Sorry!’ won’t cut it, right!?”

“Wow, I couldn’t understand sixty percent of what you just said.”

“Waaaaaaaah, it doesn’t matter! What actually matters here is that, looking back, I did a super awesome job for you, didn’t I, Emilia-tan?!”

Subaru was in a state of ecstasy once he realized that he had unexpectedly accomplished a great deed by doing the things he did. Then he got up again, brought his face close to the still-seated Emilia, and took excited nasal breaths.

“Fu-fu-fu, how about it, hoooow aboouuut iiiiit, Emilia-TAN. This fool right here was nice and played a preeety active role in making you happy, huh? Maaan, I wonder if I can expect a nice reward or something, really! I wonder, I wonder, I wonder?!”

After speaking like someone from Higurashi at the end of that sentence, Subaru cast his gaze down at Emilia, placed his hand below her chin, and lifted it up.

Conducting himself with narrowed eyes full of lust, he appeared as a skilled, but wicked governor. With his feel-good mood already reaching greater and greater heights, he slowly waited for the time that someone might tell him to cut it out. He tightened his abs in anticipation for this very thing. But.

“…Yeah, you’re right. You’ve been a great help to me, Subaru. So much that you saving my life isn’t enough to describe it. So… you can ask me for anything.”

“Huh…?”

“If it’s something I’m capable of doing, then I’ll do it. Err, no, I’ll do whatever I can. Because what you gave to me means just that much to me.”

The way she placed a hand on her chest, staring back at Subaru with a serious expression, rendered him speechless.

Thinking that the level of his excitement didn’t fit the mood because the conversation became more serious than expected, he removed his hand from her chin.

—Oh shiiit, I’m seriously bad at reading the mood.

Since he had become a loner due to not being able to read the mood, Subaru was pretty good at reading the ‘Mood when he couldn’t read the mood’. Although ordinary people could read the ‘Mood before it had gotten to the point where he couldn’t read the mood’, he couldn’t. The result was him constantly being unable to read between the lines with his insensitive remarks.

Now being no different, since Subaru himself couldn’t read the mood with his excitement that was out of place when it was compared to Emilia’s serious gaze, he was at a loss as to what to do.

“Hey, a girl can’t just say they’ll do ‘a-anything’, you know? You might come across a bad guy like me who just wants to… Mwahaha!”

“…Even so, that’s fine. If that’s what you want to do, Subaru, I’ll follow your lead. You can go ‘mwahaha’, ‘fuhfuhfuh’, or even if it’s a umph–umph thing, or making whoopee, I… Hic.”

“A girl shouldn’t say such obscene things! Moreover, it looked like you were about to cry in the latter half of that!” Subaru was relieved when the nearly crying Emilia hugged her own shoulders.

If she had tragically resigned herself to such a fate, Subaru would’ve had a hard time dealing with it. Of course, he would ignore the fact that they thought he would try to pull something like that, which told him they had a somewhat low opinion of him.

Subaru placed his hand on top of Emilia’s silver hair and began lightly caressing it.

Emilia was surprised by the sudden feeling of his palm, but when she saw him doing that in silence, she just remained quiet and went along with it.

Thinking her reaction was as charming as that of a little animal, Subaru turned his head to look at Roswaal.

Watching the two of them, looking as if he were having a ton of fun while doing so, Roswaal noticed Subaru’s gaze, letting out an “Oh myyyy.”, and with a raise of his eyebrows, said, “What iiis it? Am I perhaaaps interrupting something? Should we leave?”

“It’s surprising because having my first experience at the dining table would be way too abnormal. What are you gonna make me use this silverware for? You filthy, perverted nobleman…!”

“Oh myyy, I didn’t teeeell you to go that faaaar, though.”

Subaru lifted his mouth at the sighing tall man who was smiling dryly, and then, with the hand that wasn’t petting Emilia, he touched his chin.

His gesture was akin to something a young detective would do in a detective anime, with his thumb and index finger held around his chin, said, “Wait, wait, wait, hear me out, Rozchi. It’s definitely true that you’re dangling favorable conditions right in front of my eyes, which is more than I deserve. It’s a situation where a carrot is held before a horse. But I’m not so empty-minded that I’d get led on so easily. I still have lots of stuff I wanna ask you before I accept any of your offers.”

“Oh-ho? Go ooon.”

“Alright then, here I go. Answer carefully and truthfully, okay? Emilia-tan is a candidate to be queen, right? So, what the HELL do YOU have to do with that?”

Subaru threw that question at Roswaal, thrusting the finger that he had previously been holding to his chin at him. The corners of the magician’s mouth distorted at that question, then changed into the form of a delighted smile.

Chapter 10 A Two-Faced Negotiation

Facing the mismatching color of the blue and yellow pair of eyes, Subaru felt as if they were drawing him into their depths, preventing him from thinking. Swallowing a breath, he clenched his teeth so that the atmosphere wouldn’t overwhelm him.

With his chin nestled on top of his clasped hands above the table, Roswaal said, “You appeaaaar to be raaather observant. You’ve done quiiite well by understanding what has been saiiid so far, for it iiiiis, quite frankly, uuuuncanny for an ordinary citizen to be able to do so.”

“I am greatly honored to receive your praise, so answer my goddamn question, guy with long, indigo-colored hair. If you don’t…”

“If I don’t, then what?”

At Roswaal, who had responded provocatively, the frustrated Subaru retorted, his teeth making a sound, “Then I’m gonna caress Emilia-tan with my hands, and as gut-wrenching as it is… I’ll devote myself to sexually harassing this girl! I’m gonna umph umph and make whoopie!”

“Eep!”

Said with such force that it seemed as if she were going to bite through her lips, Emilia flinched involuntarily, stimulating Subaru’s sadistic heart.

In that moment, when his quick temper was about to erupt, and he might not even regret putting his words into action, he was interrupted by the clap of someone’s hands.

What had brought Subaru’s consciousness back to a state of balance when he was in danger of actually committing sexual harassment was the dry plosive sound of Roswaal, who had stood up.

“That was close, you saved me there, man.”

“Why are you expressing gratitude towards me…? Myyy ohhh myyyy, you are such a straaaange boy. I have never heaaaard of such an unuuuusual way of negotiating.”

“Ha, placing the best, highest-ranking girl here within my reach will be the cause of your downfall. No matter how much you scheme and plan, none of it will work. Even if it’s just a single moment, or a mere chance encounter, that alteration can infinitely extend that fleeting moment. —The genes that can do it, live within my people.”

“An eternal moment… Is that the highest level of Yin Magic…!?” Emilia asked.

He brushed Emilia’s head, who was at a loss for words because of how difficult his nonsense was to understand.

He had an undeniable feeling that he was being treated like someone with the ability to manipulate time, but it unexpectedly wasn’t really far off from the truth, so he decided to not explain.

Whether it be his ability to Return by Death, or the idiotic characteristics of the Japanese and their amazing quality of making insane modifications to their momentary delusions, neither were untrue.

Leaving the baffled Emilia be, Subaru hid such thoughts as he glared at Roswaal. Not forgetting to give him a fearless smile, he was quick to take on the role of a villain.

And yet, the countenance of the long-haired man remained unperturbed at him acting like a villain. He had a gentle smile on his face, free of all emotion, showing dignity aplenty, befitting one who was a great nobleman.

They exchanged gazes in silence, almost as if sparks were flying between them, assessing each other, and trying to get a read on one another. The victor of the stare-down was Subaru, who made Roswaal avert his gaze downwards.

Looking at Subaru, who had dry eyes because he had been reluctant to close them, Roswaal raised his hands slightly. “I concede, I concede.”

“I lost this one. Your gaze was rather impreeeesive. Right, if I don’t make my position clear, it wouldn’t be faiiiir to you, now would iiit?”

“Ow, Ow, my eyes hurt like hell. Rub them a bit more gently, Emilia-tan.”

“Are you fine with that being what you want as a reward?” Emilia asked.

“I’ll do it myself! That was super dangerous! This girl is unexpectedly pretty shrewd, huh!?”

In danger of losing his edge in the negotiations, Subaru jumped away and rubbed his eyes. He blinked, confirmed that the pain was receding, and then got ready to confront Roswaal once more.

“Weeeell, it’s not as if it was something that needs to be concealed, you seeee. I may have let a few things sliiiip, but I am in a position to support Lady Emilia’s candidacy to be queen. I am her backer…or perhaaaaps it would be better to say that I am her patron?”

“Patron, huh.”

So, the person right before his eyes, Roswaal, was the representative of Emilia’s supporters.

Subaru once more tried to confirm the unknowable nature of the tall man, and then nervously asked Emilia, “I’m not sure if I should be saying this, but…shouldn’t you be more careful with your choice in people, Emilia-tan?”

“It can’t be helped. There was no one in the royal capital I could turn to, and, in the first place, Roswaal was the only one with strange enough tastes to cooperate with someone like me, so…”

“I see. It was the process of elimination, huh.”

“You two must be unbelievaaably confident and without fear to be saying suuuuch things right in front of your patron, yes?”

Despite receiving such insulting comments, Roswaal didn’t seem to be unperturbed at all, the gentle expression on his face unchanging. Perhaps he was immeasurably tolerant of others, or… “He might be one of your typical M’s (masochists), huh.”

“‘Em’?” Emilia asked.

With both arms held in a circle, he made the shape of an M by having them meet on top of his head.

As Subaru was displaying a letter that couldn’t be understood by anyone in this world, Emilia tilted her head as he tried to come up with an explanation, “No, if I calm down and think about it, this is the second time I’ve made this joke. It’s going to lose its freshness, so saying it to the same person again would be a little…”

“Don’t just accept the situation in such a weird way. Can you tell me what you mean?”

“The you from yesterday knew it. That’s it! Live strong.”

*Pat Pat* Lightly patting her head as if to comfort her, Subaru chuckled emotionlessly.

Leaving the flabbergasted and confused Emilia to herself, Subaru felt his heart lighten up since he didn’t necessarily tell a lie.

Though, the Emilia of the world that knew it was no longer here. She was silently sleeping within his heart, along with a debt of gratitude he couldn’t repay.

He gave a thumbs up to the pouting Emilia, who seemed to be discontent, and then used the same hand, still held in the same position, to point at Roswaal. Afterwards, when he turned it upside down, Roswaal said, “Hmmm? All you did was turn it upside down, but it feels like a humiliating gesture. I wonder why?”

“Really? Where I come from, it’s a sign of deep affection that means, ‘I love you so much that I wanna make you lick my shoe’.”

“Subaru, in your hometown, licking someone’s shoe is an expression of deep affection…?” Emilia asked.

“It’s the ultimate expression of love, meaning, ‘Everything that represents you is precious’. I wouldn’t even hesitate to eat your hair or something if I feel like it, Emilia-tan.”

“I’m begging you. Definitely DON’T feel like it, alright?”

Seeing as she had found fault with what he’d said, Subaru shrugged. Roswaal unintentionally burst out into laugher after hearing their exchange, and Emilia was in a bad mood because of the way they reacted.

As the three of them each did their own thing, they didn’t make any progress at all with the conversation from before.

“Hey, we’re having a serious conversation, so can you stop sidetracking us?”

“You’re the last person I wanted to hear that from!” Emilia replied.

Emilia’s lamentation was dodged with an easygoing “Yeah, yeah,” and then Subaru once more directed his gaze at Roswaal to start things over again, getting to the main point. “So, about the main subject. I get that you’re Emilia-tan’s patron, Rozchi. And it’s pretty cute how I could catch glimpses of her ‘bumpkin-ness’ from every aspect of her behavior, but her acting all on her own in the royal capital is a bit rare, right?”

“I doooo suppose this is the first time such a thing has happened, you seeee. Though Ram should have been with her…”

Roswaal made a strained smile as he fiddled with his collar and shifted the topic over to the pink-haired maid. When Subaru turned to look at the maid behind him with suspicion in his eyes, she remained nonchalant, having disguised herself as the blue-haired maid by flipping her bangs to the opposite side. Though he immediately noticed it because their hair color was different.

“Man, that face that says something like ‘I got away with it, just like I’d hoped’ really pisses me off.”

“Sister, Sister, our dear guest said such a thing like that.”

“Rem, Rem, our dear guest said such an empty-minded thing.”

“Hey, I can still tell who’s who based on Ram’s crude way of speaking!”

After having an exchange where they seemed like they had zero intention of glossing over their words, Subaru yelled that out angrily and let his shoulders droop. However, the one who nervously responded to that angry voice was Emilia.

With an awkward look on her face, the girl raised her hand slightly. “It’s not like it’s Ram’s fault. About that, I…guess I sort of gave in to my own curiosity. I wandered around aimlessly and then got separated from Ram.”

“What’s up with that Moe-character-like reason? What an unbeatable defense. That being the case, it’s true that she couldn’t fulfill her lord’s orders, right? Is that really okaaay?”

As he asked that question with good pronunciation and his lower lip jutted out, Roswaal responded with the turning of his neck. Prefacing it with a “You dooo have a point,” he continued, “Perhaps I maaaay share a responsibility in Ram’s failure to supervise. Hoooowever, on another note, what are you trying to say to me, I wooonder?”

“It’s simple, really. Emilia-tan forgot how to get back to where she was and then started wandering around aimlessly, and the fact that her attendant couldn’t find her is the most regrettable. And then, as a result… I, the villainous character, had taken advantage of that. So the right bad thing to do would be to wring as much as I can wring out of you, right?”

Grasping what had just been said, the facial expressions of everyone in the room changed.

Emilia’s face stiffened, the twins glared at Subaru with eyes that held both animosity and remorsefulness, Beatrice had an uninterested look on her face as she tilted her glass to drink, and Puck plunged head-first into the egg dish in front of him as if he had slipped, resulting in a total disaster.

And then Roswaal nodded over and over again while smiling, looking like he had understood.

“I seeee. On the topic of private funds, I, the patron, am more suited for you to ask for a reward from, rather than Lady Emilia, who is essentially penniless, is it nooot?”

“Right? And you shouldn’t be able to refuse me, either. A-f-t-e-r-a-l-l, I saved Emilia-tan’s life and contributed greatly to preventing her from dropping out of the royal selection! In short, I’m something like a savior for the Emilia-tan Camp in the royal selection!”

“I muuuust admit that it is the truth. Well then, allow me to ask you a question in addition to that.” Roswaal stood up, looking down at Subaru from his superior stature.

Not to be defeated by being below him, Subaru turned his gaze upwards. The way they looked now was similar to when Roswaal had surprised him with a kiss to the forehead at their first meeting, but the weight of the atmosphere they were now clad in was in a completely different league.

Anxious, Emilia clasped her hands together as she feared where the negotiations were headed. Feeling something like a prayer being directed at his back, Subaru nodded. “Say it. I’m all ears.”

“Whaaat do you desire from me? As it is, I cannot refuse your request. Even if you wish for any sort of treasure. Or perhaaaaps, even if you preferred something else… such as a luxurious banquet set up for yourself. If it is to conceal the truth of the lost insignia, then I am willing to do anything.”

“Hee–hee–hee, as one would expect from a great nobleman. You really speak my language.”

With a lewd smile on his face, Subaru tenderly poked his thin chest with his elbow.

It was painful to hear the sound of his popularity falling to pieces behind him, but this had all been for the sake of preparing for this. Bearing the image of a villain, he extended both hands out. “I will ask for any reward that my heart desires! And you cannot refuse me! This is a promise between me and you. If you break it, you’ll have to swallow 1,000 needles.”

“Seems like I’d be on the briiiink of deaaath by the 100^th one. Well then, it is a promise.”

“A man doesn’t go back on his word, right!?”

“I must say, that iiis quite a saying. I see. A man mustn’t make excuses. I will not go back on my word.”

It was a negotiation with both of them presenting their strong-mindedness as a man.

Believing that it was worth placing his trust in a promise that was made on top of that, Subaru proudly crossed his arms. “Then, hire me to work in this mansion.”

Compared to how long he had built it up, Subaru’s declaration was said easily, without hesitation.

The girls behind him were dumbfounded by his request. The twins’ expression changed to that of slight bewilderment, whereas Beatrice was truly disgusted, her face adorned with a frown. Emilia, especially… “I-It isn’t really for me to say, but isn’t that a bit…”

Her beautiful face was restless, an astonished expression overtaking it, and she was opening and closing her mouth like a goldfish. The fervent discomposure was peeling away at her mystical disposition, making it fade away.

Looking back at the girl, Subaru shrugged in disappointment. “No, to be frank, I knew that you wouldn’t find the joke funny a second time, Emilia-tan. However, from my experience, there was no other way but to go with a method that already worked well, so…”

“That’s not what I’m saying…! No, it’s that you want so little!” As if feeling angry for him, Emilia slammed her hands against the table and advanced on Subaru. She then jutted her finger out at him and started poking his chest repeatedly. “Listen, It’s not just the thing with Puck, okay? I’m also talking about…something different. To begin with, it’s just like when you asked me for my name back in the royal capital.”

The girl listed off the times where Subaru could’ve claimed a reward to the best of her knowledge. Emilia was aware of everything he’d done to get those rewards; she shook her head as if she truly didn’t understand. “You don’t understand just how grateful I feel. Such a… such a thing isn’t enough to repay you at all for saving my life…”

As she ended her sentence weakly, the strength behind her pokes lessened, and then she left her palm on Subaru’s chest and hung her head.

Hearing her silent lamentation, Subaru cursed his own thoughtlessness.

She had always felt indebted to him, because of how disproportionate what he’d asked for in return for saving her was.

However, the same could be said of Subaru.

Subaru had always felt indebted to her. And it was a type of debt that he could never ask from her, ever again. And then there was Puck, too.

Near the two people who were presenting their inner thoughts to each other in silence, Roswaal sneakily moved over to where Beatrice was. Well, he was actually aiming for Puck, who was beside her, in order to strike up a conversation.

“Whaaat? Did you give that boy a reward, O’ Great Spirit?”

“Yeah. He just wanted to be able to pat my fluffy body as much as he wanted. He’s a first-class lover of fluffiness,” Puck replied.

“Bubby’s!? What an awful boy, I suppose… He should be driven out at once, in fact!”

Intentionally ignoring the “Operation: Drive Subaru Out” that was somehow making needless progress, Subaru placed his hand on the delicate shoulder in front of him. She looked up at him with her wet amethyst eyes, giving him an inquisitive look, her lips quivering.

—Oh no, she’s crazy cute.

He was in danger of unconsciously going with the flow and completely giving in to his urge to snatch away her lips, but he miraculously got himself under control by beating the urge to a pulp. And then he brought out his most sincere attitude to tell her how he truly felt.

“You don’t understand, Emilia-tan. At that time, at that very moment, that was what I truly wanted from the bottom of my heart, you see?”

“—Huh?”

“At the time, I wanted to know your name. So much that I could write down that it’s a ‘serious’ thing and read the word as ‘critically important’. I was super-duper hungry, I was anxious about this new world, my feet were unsteady beneath me, I was on the verge of losing it, and I think there were a lot of things I had to obtain. That’s only if I stopped to think about it, though. —But I’m a man who won’t lie to himself.”

He had died three times, just for that.

He had done so merely for the sake of seeing the smiling face of the silver-haired girl in front of his eyes and to know her name.

At that moment, there was no greater reward he could have wished for.

“My request to Roswaal is just like that as well. To be honest, I’m completely and utterly broke! I wouldn’t really be right in the head, and my financial status wouldn’t be faring much better if I were to just trade it for temporary pleasure. So as far as I’m concerned, this is the best option, right?”

“…You could have lived here as a guest instead of working, you know?” Emilia added.

“—Why didn’t I think of that!? How about it, Roswaal!?”

Upon hearing the teary-voiced retort, Subaru turned around as if he had bounced to look at Roswaal, who became his ray of hope. However, he crossed his hands in front of his face, forming the shape of a big X. “Your first request has taken effect. A man doesn’t go back on his word, now doooes he?”

“Waaaaaagh! Right, that’s right! A man doesn’t go back on his word, huh!?”

He tearfully found his request denied because someone just had to open their big mouth earlier. Backing down reluctantly, Subaru gave up and thought about his future work life. “I really wanna go back to that moment and say, ‘Take care of me!’ instead.”

“You know, for a moment, I thought that you were actually serious…but I guess it was just my imagination.”

“And then you just give me a lower rating like that, Emilia-tan! That’s kicking me while I’m down!”

Subaru realized that he had missed his chance to set up the perfect environment for a shut-in in another world because of his slip of the tongue. He had nothing to pick back up if he also lost his popularity with the beautiful girl on top of all that.

Emotionally anguished as if tears of blood were running down his face, Subaru bit his lip as he glared at Roswaal pitifully. “Anyway… That’s just how it is, so. Remrin and Ramchi must be having a hell of a time taking care of this mansion, so I’d like you to give me a suitable position under them, something like a manservant.”

“It iiiis true that this is a pressing issue… Though I beliiiieve it is as Lady Emilia said. Isn’t iiit asking for rather little?”

Placing his hands in the sleeves of his clownish clothing, Roswaal’s gentle expression darkened, showing a strained smile for once.

In response, Subaru stood up and wagged his finger at him with a “Tsk, tsk, tsk.”

“I’m a super greedy guy, you know. —You know that, right? I obtained a position where I could live under the same roof as the super adorable, super beautiful girl I like, through rational means. And by being in a servant’s position, I might even get blessed with chances to get lucky. There are infinite possibilities, and my heart is swelling with sooo much excitement about what might happen in the near future that it might burst!”

“…I see. It iiiis indeed as you say. It iiiis rather difficult to get to work close to the girl one likes, is it nooot? Sounds like quiiite a sweet deal for you then.”

“Well, and besides…”

He stopped wagging his finger and then used it to scratch haphazardly at his black hair. Averting his eyes away from everyone else, he looked up at the ceiling and continued, “And besides, with a guy you know nothing about, you should keep him close instead of leaving him alone without knowing anything about him. Furthermore, please make sure if I can be of use to Emilia-tan, or if I am a source of danger to her.”

He was declaring his belief that nothing good would come of it if he were to just leave the manor without any way to defend himself.

If he were to be honest about this, it wasn’t above his expectations, and he also felt slightly bad about testing Roswaal’s humanity like this.

There was no mistaking that Subaru was picking a quarrel, the type that would make Roswaal be at a loss for words if he had no idea of what Subaru was saying. However, contrary to Subaru’s awkward feelings about it, he said, “Then it shall be done. —I hope we can get along well together, alriiight?”

He couldn’t really get a read on what emotion was being exhibited in his different-colored eyes after that immediate reply.

△▼△▼△▼△

Incidentally, Subaru was super embarrassed on the inside after unintentionally professing his love so strongly, but when he nervously turned his head to get a peek at Emilia’s expression, “You’re reaaally hopeless, Subaru… Is something the matter?”

He was somewhat puzzled by her calm response.

As one would expect from a beautiful girl, she was probably used to being flirted with, including people cracking jokes at her and behaving like a philanderer, so he trembled in trepidation in front of one who had so much experience.

“I’m not sure if I, have it in me to keep hitting on you, Emilia-tan.”

Subaru couldn’t help but sigh at all of the many difficulties in store for him.

While Subaru was feeling uneasy about the uncertain future of his life in another world, worrying about it from a more peculiar angle than one would expect, Emilia let out a quiet murmur. “How impure, wanting to work in the same workplace as girls. But I wonder which one is more of your type, Rem, or Ram?”

Emilia, who’d put a finger to her lips and inflated her imagination, had completely taken it the wrong way.

Chapter 11 The Harmonious Post-Meal Get-Together

—The prolonged breakfast had come to an end. I thought it was the norm for everyone to go about their business as soon as breakfast ends, Subaru thought. But…

“For the time beiiing, Lady Emilia, please follow your usual schedule. And Ram, show him—Subaru—around the manor. Rem, you can follow your usual routine… But before that.”

As the master of the manor, Roswaal gave orders crisply, his posture and gestures full of dignity, though the size of his collar tended to obscure his grandeur. He then grinned widely at Subaru as if he had read his mind. “Buuut before that, you neeed to introduce yourself first. Luckily, all of the residents of the manor have gathered here.”

“That’s lucky alright…” Subaru commented. “But seriously, the number of people here is super small! There are only five people and a cat living here, excluding me!”

“Counting Bubby as a cat is extremely disrespectful, in fact.” Beatrice interrupted Subaru’s surprise, clearly unhappy with him.

Subaru raised his hand in a cumbersome manner and responded to her words. “Alright, alright,” he replied. “Excluding me, there are four people living in this mansion along with a furball and a drill… Are you happy now?”

“…I’ve heard you say that several times, but what’s that “drill” you speak of, I wonder?”

“A drill is a man’s soul, a man’s dream.”

“It was stupid of Betty to ask you that, I suppose. Roswaal, is it fine for Betty to return now? I want to relax with Bubby.”

Beatrice rubbed her eyes and turned towards Roswaal, her gestures not matching her age. In front of her was Puck, who was still on the dining table. He placed his hand on his hip and threw his chest out. “I’m super fluffy, yes.”

Just looking at him is kinda pleasant.

“I knooow you two aren’t veeery compatible,” said Roswaal, “but you guys are going to be working together from now on, so be a bit friendlier, please.”

“Betty has made all the possible concessions, I suppose,” Beatrice replied. “Asking for more wouldn’t leave even the head of the Mather’s family unharmed.”

Suddenly, Beatrice threatened Roswaal in a quiet tone. The sudden change of atmosphere made Subaru feel like the air in the room had become heavy. The cause was, of course, Beatrice, but the change was unnatural.

He’d felt it when he met her for the first time, but there was more to this young girl with chestnut-colored hair than met the eye.

It wasn’t just that she spoke in a sarcastic tone or the fact that she drank, it was something on a completely different level. Something was fundamentally off about her. So, he asked, “Sorry for interrupting your fun time, but what are you? You seem like you belong here, but as far as what your role is, I don’t have a clue what it could be.”

“Betty is in a bad mood at the moment, I suppose. You’d better watch your mouth, human. I could turn you into stone and shatter you into pieces if I so desired, in fact,” she replied with lowered brows after Subaru failed to read the mood and questioned her.

Subaru gasped at the little girl’s intimidating aura that made him almost reflexively get in a defensive position.

“Betty is the caretaker of the Forbidden Library in Roswaal’s manor.”

“Bubby!?”

However, such an atmosphere was dissipated by the comment of the grey cat who had leisurely intervened. The kitten was biting on a corner of something close to a rusk made by frying the bread’s crust with sugar-like seasoning sprinkled on it.

“Sweet! Delicious! Meooow!”

“Sorry to bother you when you’ve lost your sanity due to the sweetness, but can you tell me about that in detai…oh, you’re just so soft and fluffy.” Subaru had approached Puck to question him, but his hands reflexively went towards his ears and began petting them. Puck gobbled down the rusk speedily while Subaru petted him to his heart’s content.

“Roswaal is ‘somewhat’ of a magician,” Puck explained. “The Mathers have a long history, so there are books they don’t want others to see. So, Betty is guarding the Forbidden Library according to her contract with him so that such books stay away from the public eye. Is that right?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Beatrice confirmed. “Everything Bubby says is always right, in fact.”

“Communicating becomes easy when Puck enters the frame, fluffy,” Subaru added. “All are equal in front of a fuzzball, after all, fluffy.”

“Your sentences are ending in fluffy,” Emilia informed him.

Subaru hastily let go of Puck’s ears after Emilia coldly pointed out that his sentences were ending in a funny manner. He had just proved how addictive petting could be.

The tragedy of loving a fuzzball. How ironic.

“The addictiveness of a fuzzball has backfired on me… Hey, wait!”

As Subaru was acting like a tragic character, Beatrice ignored it and fearfully reached out her hand, touching Puck’s ear. The sensation surprised her, and her cute face drooped as the feeling on her fingertips sent her into a state of bliss.

Subaru gasped at how adorable she looked, her expressions now befitting her age. Puck gobbled down the rusk, not paying any mind to her fingertips playing with his ears.

Subaru turned his head away and looked at them from the corner of his eyes. “Hm-Hmph. I’m not jealous that Puck is cheating on me.”

“Stop being so cold, Subaru,” Puck said. “It’s between you and I, isn’t it, meow? I’ll throw this girl away after she gives me all the money she has.”

“Bubby, you are being so mean, in fact…but you’re so soft.”

“Oh, sorry, my lovely Betty. Of course, it is a lie. It’s obvious you are the most important to me. You, and you alone, are special.”

Puck was just a palm-sized pet cat, but he was acting like a player playing with their feelings. They both felt all fuzzy inside looking at him do his bad-guy act, but Emilia, who had placed her hands on her hips, came in between them.

She pinched Puck’s head between her fingers and picked him up, making him scream like a cat in bliss.

“Meowh!”

“Puck, don’t get carried away,” Emilia chided. “And stop eating that many sweets. I won’t let you stay on my shoulder if you get really fat because of it.”

“Hahaha, are you jealous? You want to be the most important person, don’t you, Lia? Worry not, for the place where my heart returns to is always you. Even if I waver like a floating cloud during a windy day, I’ll always return to…meow, meow, meow, meow!”

The force pinching Puck’s head increased as he said his cheesy pick-up line, making him give up. She looked at the limp Puck and sighed, then grudgingly looked at Subaru.

“My child got this bad influence from you, Subaru…” Emilia lamented.

“Is it, though? Isn’t this how he naturally is? And you tamed him by doing an iron claw. I feel like I just witnessed the dark side of a Journey to the West-like household.” It’s like watching Master Triptikia and Sun Wukong from up close, he thought. Although, I guess their parent-child role did a complete 180 here. —Well, that’s just how Puck usually is if the situation isn’t serious. It isn’t much of an issue as long as he’s serious when he needs to be, though. “But then, you were useless yesterday when you were needed… Hey, you’ll end up being a useless cat who’s all talk and no bite at this rate.”

“Bubby is fine like that, in fact!” Beatrice retorted. “He just needs to exist and that makes everything better! The rest of the things are just a part of Bubby’s charm, I suppose!”

“Your worship of him is extreme, isn’t it!?” Subaru exclaimed. “That being said, “Guardian of the Forbidden Library” stimulates my nerdy mind. More about that in detail.”

He held both hands in the shape of a pistol and pointed his fingers at Beatrice. Beatrice played with her drills while looking disgusted by his gesture, then spoke up softly, though she looked reluctant. “What Bubby told you is everything about it. If I have to make it easier… It is that room you entered, I suppose.”

“Oh, that place filled with books.”

That reminds me of the room that made me worry the floor might give out due to the large number of books in it. On the other hand, if all of them were Librorum Prohibitorum that weren’t supposed to be in circulation, it would be criminal, wouldn’t it?

Librorum Prohibitorum—it was a wonderful word that grabbed a man’s heart, shook it, and forever remained.

Come to think of it, when he was in middle school, when he was mentally unripe and was in the middle of his youth, he referred to books that stimulated and released his young desires as Librorum Prohibitorum.

For some reason, the kendo club that Subaru belonged to boasted an overwhelmingly large number of such books. There was even a special storage room under the floor of the kendo club room in the club activity complex.

The information regarding it got leaked due to a dispute with the baseball club—during the cultural festival when students from other schools visited—and the book depository got caught up in cancel culture before graduation.

The story goes that the kendo club room was closed down because of that. The obscene literature survived, but they had no place to store them and were thus scattered all over the place.

“Come to think of it, we did our juniors dirty,” Subaru reflected. “They were passed down from one generation to another and had a rich history. They were sorted out orderly by era and genre. It’s really nostalgic…”

“Betty answered your question, but Betty feels that you are thinking of the dumbest thing in the world, and that’s making me flare up with rage, in fact.”

“Don’t let the anger consume you. Eat some small fish. Consuming calcium will make you calmer, and who knows, you might grow a bit taller. I think the height difference between Emilia-tan and I is perfect for hugging and doing stuff from love-comedy’s…”

He pretended to give the indignant Beatrice a piece of advice, dropping hints of him liking Emilia, but Emilia ignored Subaru’s fantasies and pointed her finger at something else entirely.

“Wait a minute, Subaru,” Emilia began. “Did you just say you’ve entered the Forbidden Library?”

“Yeah, I did enter it. I was on my way back to my room so I could sulk in my bed and sleep. But that drill loli had turned my room into her workplace. On top of that, she took my energy from me… It’s the shitty yakuza way.”

Subaru’s sanpaku eyes turned even sharper while complaining, but Beatrice turned away and ignored him. Emilia now turned to her to ask something. “Beatrice…you didn’t invite Subaru into the Forbidden Library, did you?”

“Not in a million years, I suppose. Why would Betty want to invite a lowlife like him? …He got the right answer to the Door Crossing, in fact.”

“The elegance is slipping from your tone, my lady,” Subaru teased. “Ohohohoho.”

Subaru placed his hand on his mouth and started laughing elegantly, making Beatrice silently furious with him. In the background of their heartwarming conversation, Roswaal, who had been silent until then, touched his nose and exclaimed in surprise.

“It takes me a whiiile to reach the Forbidden Library if I try opening up the doors randomly, but you were able to enter it without her permission. You two must be quiiite compatible with one another.”

““Haaah!?”” they both exclaimed simultaneously and turned towards Roswaal while frowning. They looked at each other, mirroring each other’s movements, and started glaring. They followed the same flow and curved their lips into a pout.

“Your faces are mirror images of each other, you two,” Emilia commented.

“Adorable, adorable Betty and this thing?” Beatrice huffed. “That’s a bad joke, in fact.”

“Same here,” Subaru seconded. “I’m not into lolis to begin with. I can’t laugh at it either. I wouldn’t be able to laugh…”

“Why do you have to act so serious? Betty has had enough of this, I suppose! I’ll leave you guys on your own, in fact!”

Beatrice had finally lost her patience with Subaru and had completely erupted after witnessing his masterful acting skill of making himself look gloomy.

She stood up, walked to the door of the dining room, and violently pushed it open.

But Subaru noticed something there. “What? Where’s the hallway?” he wondered.

It couldn’t be helped that he asked such a question. That’s because the door was supposed to be connected to the corridor that led to the center of the manor. Instead, he saw the library behind the door; the very same library he’d visited previously.

Beatrice, who had stepped into the forest of jam-packed bookshelves, looked triumphantly at Subaru. “This is Door Crossing. Burn this noble sight into your eyes and tremble. —I don’t want to see your face for a while.”

The door slammed shut, and the small girl disappeared behind it. Subaru was bewildered by it, and he was surprised further when Ram opened the door again after it had been shut.

The door that had gotten violently slammed shut opened slowly. Behind it was a vast corridor that Subaru had walked through to reach the dining room. It was hard to believe it had been connected to the library a moment ago.

“I see, so her magic can connect any door in this mansion to her room,” Subaru observed. “Seems perfect for a shut-in.”

“You are quiiick at understanding,” replied Roswaal. “Though I’m not sure what “shut-in” means.”

“They are parasites that don’t come out of their room except when they need to eat and bathe.”

“I seeee. Then yes, Beatrice is a shut-in.”

“I can hear the both of you, in fact,” said Beatrice, who had creaked the door that Ram had just closed open and was peeping her face out from behind it, looking at them.

This happened right after she said she didn’t want to see his face for a while. Subaru placed his hands on his hips. He moved his arms, mimicking the flapping of a bird, and hopped here and there from time to time.

“Well, well, well. What happened? What happened? You just went away quite energetically, so why are you here again? Did something happen? Did you forget something? That’s quite unfortunate. Hey, how do you feel? How are you feeling now?”

The HHN (Hey, how are you feeling, now) dance exploded right in front of Beatrice.

The reply to it was simple yet powerful. In short, he got blown away by Beatrice’s magical power after she had extended her palm from behind the door.

“Buon giorno!” he yelled.

Subaru got hit by an invisible mass of air, and his body, which wasn’t light in the slightest, was easily blown away. He lost his sense of direction and collided with the wall after flying over the dining table. The two maids, who had rushed there immediately, did an excellent job of keeping the pictures and furnishings on the wall in place after they had begun to shake.

As they did so, they kicked Subaru, who was lying near their feet, without mercy.

Chapter 12 The Compatible Yet Incompatible Duo

Beatrice sighed after blowing Subaru away and then smiled gently in satisfaction. She then looked at her palm, which had just been used to violently blow him away, before softly gazing in Puck’s direction.

“You deserved it… Bubby, here.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll see you later, Lia.”

Puck, having gotten invited by the girl, floated towards her. Upon welcoming him into her palms, the door slammed shut for good this time. The opponent’s turn now over, Subaru’s came up, but he was badly wounded already and didn’t have any energy left to do anything.

Subaru begrudgingly looked up at the twins, who were carefully adjusting the angle of the furnishings while trampling on him. “It’s obvious that furniture is higher up on your list of priorities compared to little ol’ me, who isn’t worth a dime, but…”

“Oh my, did you hear what he just said, Sister. He is saying something absurd.”

“Yes, I heard it, Rem. We can assume how dumb he is from his words.”

“Verbal abuse!” Subaru shouted. “And if it’s fine now, can you guys get off!? It seems like your underwear are pink and blue, too. That’s the only thing I’d rate…pankration!”

The two of them stepped on his face, interrupting his words.

““Oooh, noooo.””

The twins synchronized, saying that in an indifferent tone, and moved away. As they watched Subaru stand up with shoe marks on his face, they held hands and brought their faces together.

“But sir…no, Subaru. You are going to be our colleague, right?”

“But sir…no, Barusu. Aren’t you going to be a servant just like us?”

“Hey, one of you turned my name into a blinding spell.”

It’s a reference that kids make in elementary or middle school once in their life, and the pink-haired one pulled it out without knowing.

But they do have a point, and that is… “So my position is that? That of a manservant?”

“It would be best if you follow Rem and Ram’s instructions and help them out with the work around the manor,” said Roswaal. “Are you dissatisfied?”

“If there’s something I’m dissatisfied with, it’s with myself who mixes ‘take care of me!’ up with ‘hire me!’ …but it might not be so bad! Who knows, the girl I like might fall for me if she sees me working hard!”

I feel like a man can truly be a man by working and contributing to the community.

Subaru gave Emilia a quick glance, anticipating something, but she replied to it with a vague smile. “Well, I don’t know much about that, but, best of luck?”

“Sure,” replied Subaru. “You can be rest assured now that you are in the hands of a super professional! Though I have never worked before!”

He had never worked before and had never thought of working, either. He was an idler among idlers, thus he felt proud about his remarkable progress.

But those around him didn’t get why he was being so cheerful.

“Sister, Sister. Rem was stupid to think that the work would get slightly easier.”

“Rem, Rem. Ram was a fool to expect that she could slack off a bit.”

“Sister, you need to learn how to sugarcoat your true feelings, alright!?” Subaru complained.

The twins did not even attempt to hide their disappointment. Subaru tried his best to defend himself, but even Emilia, who was next to him, heaved a tired sigh. He felt like his heart was going to break. His face looked really miserable, too.

“But,” Emilia hastily started speaking, “from the looks of Subaru’s fingers, I guess we can’t blame him. He is stubborn, so I wouldn’t ask him about it, but he was probably in a position where he didn’t need to work.”

“That line makes me seem shady if you take it out of context, you know,” Subaru said.

“I’m trying hard to defend you, so don’t make fun of it.”

She poked Subaru’s forehead and as if she were saying, “Bad boy.” Not one to let such an opportunity go to waste, he grabbed her extended hand.

“Ah.” Emilia exclaimed in surprise. Subaru looked at Emilia’s arm and was astonished by the slimness and beauty of her fingers. It didn’t look like the fingers of a working lady at all.

“Comraaade,” teased Subaru.

“I reaally hate the way you pronounce it,” Emilia retorted. “And we are not the same. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I’m in the care of the manor now, but I used to do everything on my own.” She freed her hand, slightly pushing her chest out. “Hmph.”

She’s probably feeling superior to me since she can do chores. Though such childish gestures were something that made her look cute, Emilia thought she looked elegant.

“But I don’t want to be treated as a useless person!” exclaimed Subaru. “It’s not like I’m incapable of doing domestic chores, I am good at some things!”

“I see, that’s a bit unexpected,” Emilia replied. “What are you good at? Cooking? Laundry? …Or cleaning?”

“Sewing!”

“That’s a surprise!” Emilia pouted to show that she wasn’t happy with not being able to guess the answer.

It wasn’t a lie or a bluff, Subaru really was good with needles. He could patiently pass the thread through the needle hole and mend things using it. It was one of his hidden skills.

“I can put buttons on things that have lost them, and I can mend things that got torn! I’m also good at…doing embroidery on accessories or clothes.”

“It’s hard to think of occasions where your skill could be put to use,” Emilia said. “You are overly dexterous…”

I think so too, he thought. Unlike the old-fashioned household skills like cooking, laundry, or cleaning, sewing isn’t that mainstream. It isn’t a necessity, unlike those three, which see daily use.

“I wonder what Subaru’s family was thinking when they taught him that…”

“They probably weren’t thinking of anything; and I didn’t learn from them, I learned it on my own.”

“I see?”

Emilia looked curious but Subaru dodged it with a wave of his hand. “Well, leaving that aside.”

After that, Subaru turned towards the twins, pointlessly puffed up his chest, and pompously said, “Well, then. I’ll leave it up to you two to decide what you want me to do since you guys have been working here much longer that I have! I will exert myself to the ut…something.”

“““Utmost,””” said the three of them in sync.

“Yeah, that.”

The three of them had pointed their fingers at him and confirmed the word Subaru temporarily had trouble recalling.

Roswaal looked at the fine team play of the servants, then touched his chin and nodded in satisfaction. “Good,” he said. “It’s beautiful that you all are on good terms. Seems like there isn’t any tension between any of you, which is a great thing for an employer, wouldn’t you saaaay?”

“I feel like I can get along with them,” replied Subaru. “It’s like we have the same vibe or something? I’m definitely more compatible with them than with that loli!”

“It seems like you really didn’t like being compatible with Beatrice…” murmured Emilia pitifully, ending the long and noisy breakfast exchange with those words.

Roswaal clapped gently and drew the attention of the remaining four in attendance, and then pointed at something that looked like a picture frame hanging on the wall. Subaru followed Roswaal’s finger and looked at it, then frowned to show his confusion.

—The frame didn’t have paintings like the ones he had seen here and there in the hallway of the manor, it had a small crystal, slightly larger than a fist held within it. The crystal was giving off a mysterious, dim dark blue glow and was being gazed at by all five of them. The tall man spoke while pointing at the crystal. “Loook, it’ll be almost halfway through Water Time soooon. Let’s hurrry up… Ram and Rem: do as I told you before. Lady Emilia: do visit my room for a moment. Alright everyone, off you go.”

The harmonious breakfast had come to an end after Roswaal gave everyone their assignments.

Rem quickly began clearing the dishes from the table, Emilia sighed melancholically, thinking about her upcoming schedule. Roswaal walked over to Subaru, who had been left behind by the others, and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Weeell then, I’ll be expecting a lot from you. Of course, I’ll pay you since I’ve hired you. You dooon’t need to worry about that.”

“I’ll ask you the details regarding the conditions of my employment later…but for now, thank you for your hospitality. Should I call you sir or something?”

“Ahaaa, you can call me Rosy if the guests aren’t around. It is somewhat refreshing being called by a nickname.”

Roswaal closed his yellow eye and winked, then waved lightly and left the dining room. A moment before leaving the room, he gestured lightly at Ram with his eyes, and the pink-haired girl nodded again and again, her face turning red as if she had been given some sort of instructions.

The twins were indifferent when it came to expressing themselves via facial or verbal means, but their nonchalant attitude crumbled away while interacting with Roswaal. The word ‘loyal dog’ crossed Subaru’s mind.

“Alright, Barusu,” said Ram.

“Oh, so you are gonna go with that.”

“Yeah, well, Barusu. Master Roswaal has instructed me to give you a tour of the manor, so kindly follow me and don’t get left behind.”

“It’s not like I’m Emilia-tan, so I’m not gonna run off or anything.”

“Su-ba-ru!!”

Emilia puffed up her cheeks at Subaru’s teasing. It felt very fresh to him when she called out his name by pronouncing each syllable separately. He then pointed his finger at her while giving her a broad smile. “It’s a harmless party joke. You would not be able to turn into a wonderful queen if you cannot even take a joke like this, Fräulein.”

“What’s fraulein…?” asked Emilia.

“It’s something you need to learn along with the rest of the stuff. Life is like climbing an endless mountain without any supplies. If you are lazy about collecting the items known as knowledge in between, you’ll end up dropping out at the third station without reaching the top.”

Emilia got quiet and widened her eyes. It seemed like she was impressed by what Subaru had said.

Seems like the statement from a dude that dropped out of school carries a different weight.

Subaru was hurt by his own self-deprecatory thought. “Well then,” he said, then glanced at Ram. “I don’t want to leave, but I guess we have to. Let’s go, boss.”

“Yeah, let’s do that, Barusu. Lady Emilia, we’ll be seeing you later.”

Subaru started following the girl heading towards the door after she had curtsied, her pink hair swinging here and there. Emilia looked at them. “Subaru, I need to give it my best, but…you can give it your best, too.”

“What’s up with that? It makes me really happy. I feel extremely motivated now. Are you a goddess?”

Subaru lightly ‘curtsied’ with his tracksuit and bowed, following Ram’s example. He left the dining room after putting a peculiar expression on Emilia’s face.

Ram, who had stopped after she was out in the hallway, turned her indifferent expression into a frown. “There’s a difference between what’s expected of a maid and what’s expected of a manservant.”

“I know, I know. But, if I were to do housekeeping, I wanted to do it with elegance and glamor. Wait, do you have a uniform for me?”

After all, it would be tasteless to start working as a servant in a tracksuit.

Of course, there’s no doubt about it being the best when it comes to ease of movement but… “It’s natural to long for prestigious clothing when you are sent to work in a nobleman’s manor. It might come as a surprise, but I look good in formal wear.”

“I agree that clothes are important,” said Ram. “Just the right clothes for you… Yes, I’m sure there are some.”

“I see, I see. Then let’s start with that. I am the kind of person who focuses on the aesthetics first! I start my preparations for an exam by cleaning the room so I can focus on my studies.”

And then he didn’t actually study after that.

Subaru gave her a thumbs up accompanied by a gleaming wide-toothed smile. Ram was looking his body up and down while lifting her fingers and muttering. “Hmmm.”

It seemed like Ram was able to measure the approximate clothes size needed for Subaru just by doing that. She nodded in satisfaction and pointed in the direction of the upper floor.

“There is an anteroom for the servants upstairs. You’ll find your clothes there. Considering your size, you’ll fit into Frederica’s, who left two months ago.”

“Oooh, you left just at the right time, Frederica… Isn’t she a woman, though?”

“Her size is almost equal to yours, Barusu.”

“But the gender is different, right?”

Ram stopped walking and turned back, giving Subaru an icy look. She then sighed as if she were tired and touched her forehead. “You said that you wanted to do it with elegance and glamor, so I was kindly going to make your wish come true. What are you complaining about?”

“If it were Emilia-tan, it would be understandable, but who would benefit from me wearing a maid’s outfit!? What would I do if it benefits me after I develop a weird kink!? There’s a possibility of me developing such a kink and I don’t want that!”

After entering this other world, various new kinks have been blooming vividly. If this opens a door for cross-dressing, then there would be no trace of a man named Subaru Natsuki left!

Ram reacted to Subaru’s shouting by covering her ears, then looked at him, who was breathing heavily, and spoke up with a bored expression. “I can’t do this without Rem. Let’s go.”

“It’s amazing that your ability to go at your own pace surpasses mine.”

I guess you need to be this unshakable to survive here.

Subaru became melancholic after realizing how high the hurdles were before his first job experience ever.

△▼△▼△▼△

—Elsewhere…

“On the second floor, yes. Any of the rooms on the west side…of the servant’s anteroom would do. You can have any room you like. I’ll leave your uniform there.”

“Alright, roger that. Well, let’s see…”

After getting escorted upstairs, Subaru started looking at the rooms that were candidates for temporary accommodation and where his uniform would be given.

However, the rooms will be the same inside and only the placement of the rooms will be slightly different. If that’s the case, then it would be more convenient to move around if the room is closer to the stairs. With this in mind, he twisted the doorknob of his chosen room.

“Alright, I’d like to pick this…”

“Bubby, you are wonderful. Your fluffiness is the best. You’re just so fluffy and soft, in fact.”

He discovered a loli petting a kitten in the library.

Noticing Subaru’s presence, the girl with vertical rolls slowly turned her gaze towards him. Subaru looked at Ram, who was standing in the corridor, and saw her shaking her head.

After that, he spoke to Beatrice, who was right in front of him, while scratching his head. “Congratulations. I bless the birth of a new Fluffist.”

“Just close the door already!” yelled Beatrice.

He was blown away by a magical force and collided with the wall of the corridor once again. The door was violently slammed shut, not paying any mind to Subaru, whose eyes had rolled to the back of his head.

“Damn…you…” he cursed.

Subaru shook his head. His vision was still flickering, and he even seemed furious now. He opened the door that had just been shut. He was going to complain to the flirt inside, but… “How dare you flirt with someone else’s fuzzball! Pay me the compensation, the compen…sation?”

He stepped inside while shouting, his spit flying here and there, but all he saw was a simple room with a bed and a wardrobe. There was no sign of the library that had been there before. This must be the effect of her ‘Door Crossing,’ he thought.

“Once Lady Beatrice hides her presence, we won’t be able to know where she is. We won’t be able to find her unless we open all the doors of the manor since she won’t come out on her own,” said Ram adamantly, as if she were telling Subaru to admit his defeat.

She patted him on the back as if to comfort him. Feeling that sensation, he decided to admit his defeat—not. “I’m really mad now. That attitude of hers that makes me seem like a bad guy is to blame!”

He shook off Ram’s hand and ran down the corridor as fast as he could after turning back. Ram watched him with her eyes opened wide while he ran to the door at the end of the corridor. “This one!” he shouted.

“Hyaah!?”

“That’s amazing, Subaru.”

He was welcomed by the girl’s scream and the gray cat’s praise.

He observed the shock on Beatrice’s face caused by her door crossing getting breached again, then immediately rolled inside the library to avoid being blown away. He did a handspring followed by a headspring, a cartwheel into a roundoff, then a back handspring, and finally topped it all off with a spectacular backflip—landing right in front of the girl.

“Alright! 10 points!” praised Puck.

“You made the place very dusty!” Beatrice complained.

“It’s because you don’t clean properly! You shouldn’t bring a cat into the library to begin with! They’ll sharpen their claws using thick covers!”

“My claws have been cut short by Lia, so it isn’t an issue,” murmured Puck calmly next to Subaru and Beatrice, who were yelling at each other, but his words didn’t reach them since they were too busy arguing.

The two were exchanging shouts so loudly that it seemed as if their voices would echo throughout the manor.

Ram reached the door leading to the forbidden library a moment later. As she watched them arguing, she murmured, “Leaving aside whether you two have a good relationship or not, it appears to be true that you two are compatible.”

““—That’s not true!!””

Their combined scream that morning shook Roswaal Manor to its foundations.

Chapter 13 The Promised Morning is Far Away

“Soooo, how did Subaru do?”

It was at night—the sun had already set in the western sky, replaced by a waxing crescent moon—when a secret report was being made.

The room was large, and in the center of it was a couch and table for welcoming guests. At the back was an ebony desk and a leather chair for the master of the room.

The desk was strewn with papers and quills, a still-steaming cup beside them giving off a slight, soft aroma.

It was a room in the center of the upper floor of the manor that could be judged as being an office at first glance.

Sitting in a leather chair, the one who’d kicked things off was a soft-looking man with long indigo-colored hair and blue and yellow eyes—Roswaal.

Though he’d asked it with something akin to a whisper, there was no doubt that it had reached the other party. And why wouldn’t it have? The person he was having a secret conversation with was sitting close to him. She was sitting sideways on his lap, making her petite body even smaller as she did so.

“It has been five days since that spiel…no, four and a half days. Isn’t it about tiiime you saw something?” asked Roswaal.

“Let’s see. —He’s no good.”

The one whose ears were being whispered into and was submissively allowing her pink hair to be stroked was Ram. Only her and Roswaal were in the room. Her twin sister, who was like her other half, was not there.

That was simply because it wasn’t Rem, but Ram, who was Subaru’s instructor. Roswaal looked surprised by her unequivocal rebuke, then broke into a fit of giggles. He even coughed a little.

“Ahaaa, I see,” Roswaal said. “So he’s no good.”

“Barusu can’t really do anything,” replied Ram. “He can’t cook, makes a mockery of cleaning, and starts breathing heavily when I have him do the laundry. I can’t trust him with any of them.”

“That’s quite teeerrible for a servant, especially the last one.”

Guess it can’t be helped since he is of that age, Roswaal thought, smiling wryly. Ram looked up at her master as she thought about what happened over the past four days. Whenever she recalled those short, yet rich, moments, even an outsider would be able to tell that her beautiful face became strained as the mask of indifference fell away.

“It’s rare to see such an expression on you,” Roswaal commented. “Is he that bad?”

“He is absolutely no good,” Ram replied. “It isn’t that he is bad at them, it’s as if he doesn’t know how to do those things. He must have been brought up very well, but he lacks etiquette if that’s the case.”

“Oh, and I heard a bit about it that you gooot questioned a lot.”

“His questions were also puzzling. I don’t know what to do with him.”

Ram gave examples of some of the questions to Roswaal, who had raised an eyebrow. He paid close attention to each of them.

“Hmmm.” He put his hand on his chin, looking like he was pondering. “Indeed, the things Lady Emilia likes are a mystery.”

“Master Roswaal, Master Roswaal, that pose of yours resembles Barusu’s.”

“Mmmmm, thaaat’s embarrassing. It’s frustrating…to think that I have fallen behind in the arena of being a freak, pervert, and oddball.”

Ram sighed, trying not to be noticed by her frowning master, and was seriously thinking about what he had just said. She then changed her position in his arms and nuzzled herself closer. She fell deeper into his arms, then closed her eyes to savor his warmth, a large palm gently stroking her pink hair.

“Well then, Ram, let us get serious now. —So, what do you think about the possibility of him being a spy?” Roswaal continued without changing his tone, a smile still on his face. His question didn’t specify who, but Ram knew who he was talking about.

Ram kept her eyes shut and recalled the face of a man, though not of the one whose warmth she was feeling. “I can’t deny the possibility, but the chances of that are slim.”

“Hmmmm, why do you think so?”

“For good or for bad…more like for bad…he stands out a lot. The way he infiltrated this manor and the things he did after that…and in the first place, he himself stands out like a sore thumb.” Her answers came out in a stammering, yet coherent manner.

Despite Ram’s reply coming in the negative, Roswaal smiled gently, as if he was satisfied with it. It was the smile of a master that said: I understand. And though he hadn’t directed that smile at her, Ram felt her cheeks getting hot.

“Well, that makes sense. And if that’s the case, then he truly is a third party with good intentions.”

The chair creaked as he shifted his position on it. He had been facing his desk till now but was now facing the opposite side—towards the large window, where he could see the moon shining brightly.

He squinted his bicolored eyes, and the sight below made him smile as he spoke. “Buuut, it seems like he dooesn’t know when to give up.”

The view from the window was of the manor’s garden. It was surrounded by a slightly taller fence and trees. The garden was not visible from the outside, but it could clearly be seen from the manor’s window.

In a corner of the garden lit up by the moonlight, a silver-haired girl and a boy with black hair could be seen talking.

The boy was talking to the girl one-sidedly, as usual. But the girl listening to him didn’t look displeased at all.

“The sight makes me smile,” said Roswaal. “It’s the kind of passion I don’t have anymore.”

“It makes women happy to be approached that much,” replied Ram, even though it might have just been Roswaal talking to himself.

Upon opening her eyes, Ram noticed that her master was looking down at her from up-close.

Her lips quivered gently, her moist eyes meeting Roswaal’s. But he continued talking anyway. “Do you think highly of Subaru by any chance?”

“…He is no good, but I don’t think he’s bad. He’s not bad when it comes to learning household chores, since he’s simply not familiar with them.”

Ram’s eyes showed dissatisfaction. Roswaal laughed vaguely at her slightly cold answer, then gently brushed her cheek with the hand that had been combing through her hair.

Roswaal had answered the expectations of the girl whose eyes were fluttering in euphoria. He then quietly closed his eyes and thought about her answer.

It’s unusual for Ram to compliment someone. She did say that Subaru will improve if he gets the chance to learn things, though. It seems like the black-haired boy must be very much to their liking.

And that was making Roswaal happy.

“Considering my position, I neeed to be an obstacle for him,” muttered Roswaal while looking down at the garden with his yellow eye.

“Both of them are kids,” Ram replied, “so nothing will happen even if they are left on their own.”

“You are right about that.”

Faint laughter resonated in the office as the curtains of the window that overlooked the meeting of the girl and boy were drawn back.

—Not even the moon could see what happened in the office after that.

△▼△▼△▼△

It was at the time when the moon was proudly shining in the center of the sky and Subaru was in high spirits.

He smoothed out the wrinkles on the butler suit he was wearing and looked at the window to check his appearance again.

It’s been four days since I started wearing this—long enough for me to get used to it.

“Not too shabby, not too shabby at all, me. I’m fine, I can do this. They say people look fifty percent more handsome than usual in the mirror after taking a bath. I feel like I’m experiencing that phenomenon now.”

Whether I look 50% better objectively or not is a mystery, but telling that to yourself over and over is quite important.

With the aura of a good-looking guy, he took a deep breath and stepped forward.

Stepping on the low-cut grass of the garden, he walked towards a green corner of it—a place surrounded by tall trees, garnering most of the moonlight.

There sat a young girl, surrounded by a pale light, her silver hair shimmering in the moonlight.

A pale blue glow—a phenomenon similar to the light of fireflies—was surrounding the girl, and Subaru knew what they were: spirits.

Even taking that fact in consideration, the wondrous sight had a devilish charm that would not let go of the observer’s heart.

Subaru stopped and gasped. The girl, who had been whispering with her eyes closed, abruptly opened her eyes as if noticing his presence. The two amethyst jewels caught sight of him walking towards her.

Subaru’s heart slightly palpated after getting spotted before he was able to call out to her. He held his hand up, trying not to show how restless he felt.

“Su-Sup. What a coincidence! Who’da thunk that we’d meet up here like this?”

“You interrupt my routine every morning, so how can you say that? And how can this be a ‘coincidence’… Don’t we live under the same roof?”

The flow of the conversation went from Subaru not being able to hide his restlessness to Emilia replying with a sigh, which wasn’t unusual.

Subaru took a sharp breath in the face of her attitude and said, “You can do this!” to himself to raise his spirits again. “Hearing ‘we live under the same roof’ really makes me horny.”

“You say that sometimes, but what does ‘horny’ mean? It sounds really, really creepy.”

Emilia hugged her shoulders and shivered as if she had felt a chill. Seeing her reaction, Subaru grinned and casually sat right next to her. The distance between them was three fists, and that iffy distance between them was a sign of him being a wuss.

It seemed like Emilia had gotten used to Subaru sitting next to her like that, so she didn’t point it out. Given that he had been sitting next to her during her morning routine and at meals, it was no wonder she no longer had any energy to do so.

Subaru was pumping his fist inwardly at her unspoken acceptance. Therefore, his voice henceforth naturally oozed with uncontrollable joy. “So, so, what are you doing? What are you doing?”

“You are like a child… It’s just an extension of my morning routine. I can meet most of the spirits in the morning, but there are a few that I can only meet during Darksun.”

Understanding what she meant, Subaru responded with a nod. Darksun was an expression of time specific to this world, which went from approximately six in the evening to six in the morning for a total of 12 hours. On the contrary, the time from six in the morning to six in the evening was called Brightsun. They were used instead of the AM and PM used in Subaru’s world.

On a side note, a day was 24 hours and almost as long as it was in his world. The time when people were active was the same, so Subaru was relieved that his internal clock hadn’t gotten disturbed.

The time had further classifications, but Subaru hadn’t learned much about it yet. This was because his senior, who had a harsh training policy, had given more priority to teaching him about job-related skills than stuff like that. It seems like she really wants to make things easy for herself.

His bottled-up feelings about his grueling four days of training spilled out internally. But as he was doing so, Emilia continued to talk with the friends she could only talk to during Darksun.

A friend that you can only meet during the night has a bit of a bewitching ring to it.

Subaru felt weirdly embarrassed and rubbed his nose. As he continued to watch the quiet conversation between Emilia and the spirits, he muttered, “They look like will-o’-wisps.”

The spirits, who had been calm until then, began moving swiftly, surrounding Subaru’s face—soon after, he suddenly felt a sharp pain. “Buwah! Ow, ow, ow! It feels like I’m being poked with toothpicks!”

“Don’t make them angry by saying something insensitive like that!” Emilia exclaimed. “They aren’t listening to me anymore.”

Bearing an indifferent attitude towards Subaru as he was being attacked by the spirits, it seemed like Emilia shared their feelings. However, she showed her virtue when she said, “It can’t be helped,” and cast healing magic on him, still in pain after the spirits had ceased their assault.

A pale glow alleviated Subaru’s pain, and once he finished rolling around on the ground, he looked up at Emilia. As he laid there, she continued her wondrous meeting with the spirits right in front of him.

Suddenly, Subaru noticed that he was gazing at the beautiful girl and spirits in awe. This is what had made him feel embarrassed before, leading to him making a snide remark, but when he cleared his mind, it didn’t look all that special.

His embarrassment faded away into nothingness.

I just need to empty my mind and look at it nonchalantly.

“It isn’t a fun thing to watch, is it?” muttered Emilia, perhaps because it was so unusual to see Subaru being so quiet.

Subaru sat up and gently waved his hand in denial at the slightly sorry tone of the girl surrounded by spirits. “No, there’s no way I could get bored when I’m with you, Emilia-tan.”

“Wha-.”

His straightforward answer made Emilia blush and choke on her words. Subaru looked at her and recalled what he had just said, making him redden up to the tips of his ears.

He had spoken from the heart, so it just sort of came out, but he hadn’t been prepared for that.

A sudden silence fell between them. Subaru was embarrassed, so he deliberately made some noise. “Aah, aah,” he began. “And you see, we haven’t had a chance to sit down and have a laid-back chat in a few days, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. You were busy learning how to do chores around the manor. Yes, you were giving it your all… Yeah, you worked really…hard…”

“Your supportive words make me so happy and miserable. It makes me want to cry.”

He’d dug his own grave with the conversation he started to change the atmosphere, but now he was tweeting his sorrow.

Subaru started drawing circles on the ground after realizing how pitiful he was. Emilia’s hand wandered about in the air, an awkward look on her face as she wondered how she could comfort him.

Subaru’s reputation after starting his new life as a servant a few days ago was that of someone who was good for nothing. Even if there had been some sort of favoritism and they looked past his faults, or he had bribed his higher-ups with a lot of money, things wouldn’t have changed.

Cooking, laundry, and cleaning. Subaru had none of these domestic skills, which were essential for a servant at a manor, and had to acquire them.

At present, the three skills mentioned above were all C-grade.

“I only got an S when I put a button on a loose apron.”

“You really are dexterous when it comes to that one thing.”

“I wanted to grow up to be different and quirky rather than simple and boring.”

It’s the result of being brought up in a household where ‘anything goes.’ I think it’s crazy that I managed to develop my sewing skills in all that.

“Oh, but I am confident about my bed-making skills. I dreamed of being a hotel worker when I was in the first year of high school. I used up half of my summer vacation to practice.”

“Is that the reason why my bedsheets have been reaally tight for the past three days…?”

“I made your bed with all of the love and energy I could muster.”

What happened was that he had been so moved when he saw it that he put in a great deal of effort into making her bed, to the point where Ram got taken aback by it.

“This is the room where Emilia-tan sleeps and this is the bed she sleeps in. And these are the sheets and blanket she gets wrapped into! Muhaaa!”

The amount of energy he’d put into it was so extraordinary that Ram had to give him a time limit when it came to making Emilia’s bed.

“Oh, I see. I’m glad there’s something you can be confident in.”

Emilia smiled happily at the fact that there was a chore that Subaru could do with confidence, oblivious of what had happened during that.

Subaru kept quiet, not saying a word. He was crying tears of blood while his consciousness was being stabbed again and again. “Besides…” said Emilia to Subaru before continuing. “It’s admirable that you have been able to keep up with your other work without giving up. Ram and Rem were praising you in secret. Did you know that?”

“Are you for real! My seniors get all soft when I’m not looking at them, huh. They really are doing ‘Tsunderation’. But they aren’t doing it right if they don’t do it in front of me!”

If tsundering is done wrong, then it can be mistaken as someone being spiteful. It’s not really something I can recommend if the person on the receiving end is a noob. It would be a double-edged sword in that case.

However, Subaru wasn’t an amateur and knew what a tsundere was from his vast romantic experiences (in dating sims,) so no one stood a chance if they tsundered in front of him.

But the only thing they seem to be interested in is that perverted noble.

“Well, the only one I am interested in is Emilia-tan, so we’re even.”

He shrugged his shoulders and tried to act like it didn’t bother him, but since he was too embarrassed to say it out loud, it had only come out as a whisper. Thus, it seemed like it hadn’t reached Emilia, either. She tilted her head with a bit of a confused look on her face and then changed the topic.

“But isn’t it hard working that hard every day?”

“It’s super hard and is seriously painful. I want to choose between your arm, chest, and lap and sleep on them.”

“I see, I see.”

Emilia casually dismissed Subaru’s remarks and then proceeded to extend her slender arm, making the pale blue spirits gather around it.

It looked as if her white arm was the thing that was glowing. After witnessing that sight, Subaru was awestruck, letting out a dumb sound.

She smiled wryly at that and spoke. “You seem fine since you can still joke like that.”

“Please sleep with me if I’m about to break.”

“I’ll think about it… Saying that kind of thing scares me, so I’ll say no.”

“I failed at making you say it!!”

Subaru held his head and fell on the lawn. He sighed while feeling the coolness of the grass as he looked up at the starry sky. A sudden gust of wind shifted his short bangs, making him reflexively look up at the moon.

“—Isn’t the moon pretty?” he asked.

“Yeah, because it’s out of your reach,” Emilia replied.

“Guhah!”

“What happened!?”

Her unintentional comment shot down the expression of love he’d taken from classic literature. Emilia hastily rushed towards Subaru, who was holding his chest and moaning in pain. And then…

“Ah…” Emilia was shocked after she approached him. He was on the ground looking up at her. She looked at his chest with her amethyst eyes—and saw the hand placed there to express his pain.

His mistakes had kept piling up, and as a result, his left hand was covered in bandages.

“Oh, wait. This is lame. Effort is something you need to hide.” Subaru hid his hand behind him, trying to conceal his embarrassment. He touched his head with his right hand and stuck out his tongue as if saying: My bad. “Tee-hee.”

But Emilia’s expression stayed serious.

Subaru was wondering what to do as he waited for Emilia’s response, but then she lowered her gaze slightly and spoke. “Everyone, is really, working hard.”

To Subaru, it sounded like she was admonishing herself. Upon hearing her say that, he let out an “Aah,” understanding what she’d meant.

It wasn’t just Subaru who was learning things from scratch at Roswaal Manor. Emilia was also in the middle of learning various things that a candidate to be queen needed to know.

It was the difference between a mere servant and a Queen. The level and number of things that needed to be learned by a Queen were far greater. The pressure she was feeling from all that must have been so great that it would be rude to even compare the two.

It would get tiring sometimes to carry such a heavy burden. She may have problems she can’t share with others.

Emilia suddenly extended her hand towards Subaru before he was able to react. Her hand took hold of the hand of the arm he had hidden behind him and brought it in front of her eyes. She looked at his hands covered in wounds, then narrowed her eyes painfully after looking at it and asked, “Should I cast, a healing spell?”

Her question was so gentle. The warmth I felt during one of her treatments is something that can’t be described with words, Subaru thought, as his new, freshly born wounds were crying out for the first time. It feels like the wounds are complaining and giving off a faint, tingling heat when I focus on them, but…

“No, it’s fine. You don’t need to treat them.”

“Why though?”

“Hmmm, it’s hard to explain, but…it’s like, they are proof that I made an effort,” answered Subaru with a grin as he pulled his hand away.

He clenched his worn-out fist in front of the beauty whose eyes were wide open in surprise. “It sounds unusual, but I don’t dislike making an effort. If I didn’t like it, then I wouldn’t have trained every day. The feeling of being able to do something that you couldn’t do before is a pleasant sensation.”

He moved his hips with the rhythm, spun around, then stood up. Emilia panicked since it forced her to suddenly look up at him.

Then Subaru pointed his finger at her. “It’s really hard and super painful, you know? But it’s kinda enjoyable. Ram and Rem are really strict teachers, that loli gets mad at me, and Rosy doesn’t say much, so his presence is pretty much non-existent.”

“Roswaal would fly into a rage if you said that to him.”

“Fly into a rage? Who says that in this day and age…”

In response to getting interrupted, Subaru bent backward and shot himself back into his original position like a spring-loaded toy with his hand held out in front of him, putting Emilia on hold. Then he spoke. “Well, solving problems one-by-one is the way to go. There’s no way I’d survive here otherwise… And if I have to do something, it’s better to have fun doing it, anyway.”

In my original world, it was fine if I could live an easy life, but a life of peace and calm isn’t something you can just wish for here.

If that were the case, then Subaru wished for it to be fun. It was him showing his stubbornness to the existence that had unreasonably thrown him into this world.

Upon hearing Subaru’s words of determination, Emilia froze in place, as if her time had stopped. She just kept opening and closing her eyes, and then her serious expression faded away. “Yeah, you are, right. I think so, too. Aah, Subaru, you idiot.”

“Hey, what? That wasn’t the reaction I was expecting! Isn’t this the part where you fall for me again!?”

“I haven’t fallen for you toooo begin with. You are such a dummy… I am, too.”

Subaru was using his body to form the Japanese kanji for ‘life’, and the last part of her sentence had not reached him.

Emilia was smiling as if some of the pressure she’d been feeling had been lifted. Subaru was enraptured as he gazed at her smile, unable to say a single word.

She’s turning into an existence that words like ‘cute’ and ‘pretty’ can’t even begin to describe. Yes, she’s an… “E.R.G (Emilia-tan’s Really a Goddess.)”

“I was thanking you, but you are joking around as usual.”

As if a little mad, Emilia gave Subaru’s forehead a little poke, making him take a few steps back with his hand held to his forehead. His gesture was somewhat passionate, and it wasn’t just her imagination. She burst into delightful laughter after seeing his reaction.

“Nevertheless… I know you are working hard, but what did you do to get your hand injured that badly?”

“Oh, this one is easy. This evening, I got bit by a small animal that was playing with the kids in the village when I was helping Ram out with the groceries.”

“Wasn’t it a result of your hard work!?”

“It’s more like the bigger wound is more eye-catching than the others…though I’m not the type to be hated by animals that much.”

In his world, he wasn’t the type of person that small animals would direct killing intent towards. He wouldn’t have called himself a pioneer of the Fluffists if that were the case.

However, his trait, which had manifested itself involuntarily back in his world and made kids either like him or treat him lightly, was still active here.

“Those brats… They kicked, punched, and wiped their runny noses on me. That was the worst, damn it. I’ll make them pay tomorrow, mark my words…”

“You look like you are good at taking care of kids, Subaru.”

“That’s a misunderstanding, Emilia-tan. I’m planning on taming them now and ‘plucking the fruit’ once they’ve ‘ripened’. This is my Hikaru Genjification Plan.”

“You don’t need to act mean; you can just be honest and accept it.”

Not taking him seriously, Emilia said, “Well then,” then looked up at the sky and straightened her posture. “I’ll be returning to my room. What are your plans?”

“I need to sleep next to you, so I’ll head back, too.”

“That part of your job can wait until your skills as a servant have improved.”

“Woooaah, my desires are expanding!” howled Subaru while raising both arms up in the air. Emilia looked at him with a wry smile. He then twisted his waist and turned back. “Oh, wait. If it’s fine with you, would you like to go with me to get revenge on the kids…no wait, on a date…no, to see a cute little animal?”

“You corrected yourself several times, didn’t you…? But yeah, I…” muttered Emilia, having trouble continuing her sentence.

Subaru tilted his head at her reaction. That’s not the reaction of someone who doesn’t want to go out. If that’s the case, then… “Cou-Could it be that you’re embarrassed about your friends starting rumors about us going out…or something like that?”

“I’m not going to turn someone down by saying something so horrible!” Emilia exclaimed, putting a hand on her hip to show that she was angry. It was almost as if steam was coming out of her ears. After finishing her gesture, she looked down once again. “I don’t mind, and I’m curious about small animals, too…”

“Then let’s go!”

“But I might cause you trouble if I go with you…”

“Alright then, let’s go!”

“…Are you even listening?”

“I am listening! Do you really think I’d miss a single word that comes out of your mouth!?”

“I hate you so much, Subaru!”

“Aaaaa! Aaaaa! What just happened!? IIIII caaaan’t heaaar yoouuu!!” Subaru covered his ears and ran around to block out the sound.

Emilia laughed, as if taken aback by Subaru’s boldness in immediately contradicting himself.

“Guess it can’t be helped then,” she said. “But only after I am done with my current studies and after you are done with your chores around the manor. That’s the condition.”

Having made Emilia promise to go on a date with him, Subaru clenched his fist and raised it in victory.

Seeing how easily Subaru’s mood could change, Emilia shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. “Speaking of which, why are you still dressed like that after finishing your work?”

“Oh, I just figured I hadn’t heard what you thought about it. So how is it? Doesn’t this suit me?”

“Yeah, let’s see. You seem like you are really good at your job.”

“I feel like I’ll get crushed by the burden of your expectations!”

I’ll note down here that there was a conversation like that.

△▼△▼△▼△

After picking a door at random, Subaru peered inside and casually spoke. “Yooo, loli, are you getting enough sleep? You’ll stunt your growth and forever be a pipsqueak if you stay up too late, you know.”

“…He has been breaking my Door Crossing like it’s nothing,” said Beatrice in a resentful tone.

He saw a girl sitting on a wooden step ladder in the back of the library, glaring at him. She was holding a thick, halfway-open book in her hands.

“You’ll end up wearing thick glasses that look like the bottom of a glass milk bottle if you read manga at night in the dark. And you’ll end up failing the entrance exam again and again of the university you want to go to.”

“This incomprehensible nonsense again… Shall I turn you into stone if you act stupid, I wonder?”

“Sure, sure. I got you, I got you. Well, then go to bed already, good night.” He waved his hand roughly and proceeded to close the door.

“Wait.” Hearing that before he closed the door, Subaru halted his hand and looked back. He saw Beatrice leaning over a bit.

“Were you here to ask for something, I suppose?” she asked.

“Nope, not really,” replied Subaru. “I figured I’d come say hi since I was on my way to bed. I was going to give up after opening three doors, but I got it right on the first try.”

“This boy… What kind of a hunch does he have?”

Beatrice seemed tired as she pulled on one of her vertical rolls. Once she let go of it, it sprang back like a spring. It made Subaru’s mischievous heart tingle a bit.

“Can I do that too?” he asked.

“Only Bubby is allowed to touch Betty, in fact. Betty has had enough, so go away already, I suppose.”

“What’s up with that attitude? You were the one who stopped me. Ha, I don’t mind it at all though! I’m in a good mood, so I’ll forgive you!”

After showing off how good he felt, he left the room, putting a scowl on Beatrice’s face. However, as the door was about to close, he felt like he heard a tinge of loneliness in her voice. “—That has nothing to do with Betty, I suppose.”

And that concerned him a bit.

“Eh, guess I gotta open the door again to ask her what’s the matter.”

The other side of the opened door was different; it had turned back into a simple guest room.

He felt slightly hesitant, but he didn’t feel like walking around searching for the right door. He needed to wake up early tomorrow and finish his chores as fast as he could.

“I need to go to the village and make up some excuses to get the kids out of the picture. Wait no, I need to do some research to find a place with a good view and figure out where the flower garden is… Preparation, that’s the most important thing when it comes to all kinds of war! They say your victory or defeat is decided before the fighting starts. I can do this,” said Subaru as he puffed his nostrils, his chest full of anticipation for the next day.

He skipped towards the room designated to him: a private room for servants. And then he took off and threw away the butler suit he was wearing and quickly changed into his tracksuit.

“This fits me the most when it comes to sleeping. The only thing that worries me is that it’s the only tracksuit I have… I wonder if Rosy will cast a duplication spell on it if I ask him to.”

Now it’s a rare, one-of-a-kind item in this world. It’s pretty important since it can be worn as casual clothing, but it needs to be treated with the utmost care.

If it starts falling apart, I can just get over it by saying that clothes can’t be worn forever. It’ll be sad to lose something that reminds me of my old world, but there’s no point in looking back at things.

“And that’s why I’ll live hoping for a better tomorrow, gee-hee-hee.”

Subaru grinned vulgarly and dove into the bed he had made. After being met with softness, he crawled under the covers, completely ready to hit the hay.

However, since he was too excited for the next day, he remained wide-awake, unable to fall asleep no matter what.

“Shit, you gotta be kidding me, body! Are you going to trample on my hopes for tomorrow!? Damn it, so my greatest foe was myself…”

Jesus. Subaru glared at the ceiling and sighed. But I have a trick for sleepless nights like this.

Subaru smiled provocatively at his restless body. “Take this, my secret trick—One fluffy Puck, two fluffy Pucks!”

A first-class Fluffist can imagine the furball he wants to pet and have a virtual petting session that feels like the real thing.

The gray, fluffy cat appeared inside Subaru’s head, and it increased in number with each passing second. Eventually, Subaru’s entire body was covered in furballs. His body was taken away to the far-off utopia, Avalon, a place of bliss and non-being.

“One hundred sixty…three…fluffy…Pucks…fluffy fluffy,” muttered Subaru as his consciousness drifted into the land of dreams.

While imagining Shangri-La, he petted within his consciousness until he could pet no further—and then the lights went out.

△▼△▼△▼△

It feels like my consciousness is rising to the surface from the ocean’s depths. This is the second time I’m saying this.

As Subaru opened his eyelids, the sunlight burnt his eyes. He then woke his slightly sluggish body up.

My head feels a bit groggy. Maybe I’m still a little tired. I did just start a brand-new job, so something like this had a possibility of happening…

…But today isn’t the day to be saying such weak things.

Upon waking up, Subaru, who was someone who’d wake up in a good mood, immediately began going over the promise he’d made with Emilia the night before.

“Yeah, Subaru Natsuki—you will be a man today!”

He gave a thumbs-up to no one in particular, flashed his teeth, and struck his usual pose.

It was the day of promised victory. Rising up from bed was supposed to be the beginning of his wonderful day, but its beginning was thrown on its head by the twins looking at him in surprise.

Subaru covered his face and pressed it against the blanket, then swung his body in embarrassment. “Whaat iiis uuup wiiiith youuu guuuys! Sooo you were there all along! It’s embarrassing! You guys should’ve at least let me know you were there! Woah, woah, woooah, it’s really embarrassing!”

He floundered around, trying to banish his embarrassment.

As usual, the twins’ expressions didn’t change much in response to Subaru.

Being pointed at and laughed at don’t feel all that good, but their reaction didn’t feel good, either. It’s like I failed at making a joke.

“No, wait a second. That reaction would hurt even a guy like me. You guys witnessed my delicate side, so can’t you be a bit more… You know what I’m trying to say, right!?”

The twins looked at each other after hearing Subaru’s desperate plea.

I was expecting to hear the usual cold, indifferent words from them… Well, that doesn’t sound so good, either.

It was the moment Subaru thought that when they spoke up:

“Sister, Sister, he greeted us in a very friendly manner.”

“Rem, Rem, he greeted us in quite a frank manner.”

Something’s off. Those were the words that crossed Subaru’s mind.

Their indifferent manner of speaking was the same as usual—but something felt off about it.

“Hmmm, what? Isn’t something weird? Bosses, what happened to you guys? Even if y’all are pulling a prank on me, this isn’t the right time to do it.”

While saying that, he started realizing what was off.

—It’s their eyes.

The gaze directed towards Subaru—had lost the frankness it had till last night. It was as if they were looking at a stranger.

And the nail in the coffin was…

“Sister, Sister, it seems like the guest is a little confused.”

“Rem, Rem, it seems like the guest has gone crazy.”

—Subaru was rendered speechless after being called a ‘guest’.

Despite the graceful ring it had, the words were sharp and fierce, and it tore deep into Subaru’s heart. Feeling as if the pain were real, he grabbed his chest.

I don’t get it. Their reactions are as if…

“Both of you…your joke isn’t funny. Don…’t…say…something…like…”

He wanted to block their gaze that looked at him like he was a stranger, so he immediately lifted his left hand up and covered his eyes. However, at that moment, he witnessed something decisive.

—The first bandage had disappeared from his left hand.

The tips of his fingers that had turned coarse due to doing the laundry and dishes, the back of his hand that he had cut because he wasn’t used to using knives, the bite mark on his hand left by a small animal while he was playing with the kids—all of them were gone without a trace.

Subaru had to accept reality after seeing all that. Suddenly feeling something hot deep inside his eyes, he pressed the blanket for a different reason than before.

He didn’t want anyone to see his current face no matter what. He didn’t want anyone else to see it.

He didn’t want to cry while being looked at like a stranger by the people he loved. People he could have loved. People that he would have definitely loved.

“Why…did I go back!?” he wailed. While pressing his face against the blanket and baring his fangs, he howled with rage at the incomprehensible unreasonableness.

—At that moment, the loop that had tormented Subaru greatly consumed him into its whirl once more.

For the second time, the first day began.

Chapter 14 Declaration of Rebellion

—I can hear something that sounds like a bell ringing from far away. The sound of the bell rushes fiercely towards me, then recedes like a wave, over and over again.

Subaru, who was wailing continuously, didn’t realize that the painful sound in his ears was a kind of tinnitus.

He felt a terrible ache in his temples and a burning sensation deep inside his nose. However, he bit his tongue and lip and used the taste of his blood to focus on that sharp pain.

He masked out all of it—the pain that made him feel like the contents of his chest were being scooped out, the sense of loss that didn’t feel real, and the rage that made him howl at the unreasonableness—with the taste of the blood in his mouth.

“Sir, you seem like you are in pain. Are you okay?”

“Sir, you seem like you have a stomachache. Did you defecate?”

I can hear two people nearby calling out to me with voices of concern. It hasn’t been long, but they were voices I’d gotten used to hearing. They are sometimes noisy, sometimes annoying, sometimes relieving, and sometimes it felt like I could trust them.

—But now they sounded completely different, ringing cruelly against Subaru’s eardrums.

“—Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied.

He gave a short answer while under their gaze, then raised his face while keeping his eyes shut.

The reason he’d pushed the blanket against his face was because the strong emotion that had been gushing out from within had somehow disappeared behind the curtains. If he opened his eyes, they might be slightly red, a remnant of his emotions.

But they won’t figure it out if I keep my eyes shut.

Subaru breathed quietly, again and again. He tried to keep his mind calm.

He had survived the initial shock of being forgotten and gradually gotten over the despair that had been tormenting him, but his heart was still crying out in pain at the sense of loss.

But even so, I can at least take my fate into my own hands and find a way to move forward.

“I’m sorry, about well, making you guys worried. It’s just that, I’m still half asleep.”

Subaru had a glib tongue that could spit words out like there was no tomorrow. His dry lips had produced a frivolous lie that didn’t reflect what was in his heart.

“Ha-ha.” Subaru faked a laugh in a husky voice. —Still, he couldn’t open his eyes.

I wish the world would go back to normal while I close my eyes and stare at the darkness. I’d be okay with it if this is all just a fleeting dream and none of this is happening, though.

Aah, how wonderful, annoying, and joyous is the thought that all of this is just Roswaal’s plan to trick me.

Such excuses seemed like great ideas to Subaru, and he thought they had a possibility of being true. He felt the thing blocking his chest disappearing.

Now feeling relieved thanks to his excuses, Subaru let out a small, clear sigh.

“—Yeah, that’s it.”

He opened his trembling eyelids, and the world in front of him that had been temporarily blurred expanded, making him see things as they were.

The twins were standing at both sides of the bed with their hands rested on it, looking at him. Ram and Rem’s familiar faces were looking at him with indifference just like before. Subaru couldn’t see any sort of emotion in them. Everything he’d built up with them until now had all but disappeared.

““Sir—?”” they said simultaneously with a confused tone of voice.

Their gaze moved and followed Subaru as he jumped out of the bed. He put some distance between them, hastened by the fear he was feeling.

“Sir, you must not move so suddenly. You still need to rest.”

“Sir, it is dangerous to move suddenly. You still need to rest properly.”

Subaru twisted reflexively and dodged the fingers that were being extended towards him. The twins’ eyes narrowed in pain, but he wasn’t in the right state of mind to notice that change.

It was an unbearable sensation.

The feeling of being treated like a stranger by someone you knew. He had experienced the same feeling just the other day, in a crowded street, in a back alley, in an abandoned house. But it was most certainly different from those times. The situation was different, the time was different, the experience was different.

It isn’t like doing it all over again with people I barely knew. This is like a one-sided do-over with the people I’d definitely formed a bond with.

He felt nauseous and wanted to puke due to how odd it felt for someone he once knew to become somebody else entirely.

The twin maids had begun to notice something peculiar about Subaru, who was staring at them with a feeling similar to fear in his trembling eyes.

A slight silence fell in the room. Neither party could act, waiting to see what the other party would do. So… “I’m sorry—I can’t do this right now.”

Subaru’s action was only a split second faster than the twins, who tried to stop him as he got ahold of the doorknob and rushed out into the hallway. While feeling the cold floor of the hallway under his feet, Subaru exhaled loudly and ran furiously, blindly rushing forward.

He didn’t know what he was running from. He didn’t know why he had to run. But he kept running. His instincts told him that they would catch up to him if he stopped.

There’s just no way I can stay in that place. An alarm is ringing loudly in my head. My heart, my instincts, and my soul are screaming that I shouldn’t stay there. I don’t know why, but they just keep screaming.

He ran past a number of similar doors, haphazardly running through the hallway as if he was going to fall miserably at any moment.

While gasping, he placed his hand on a door as if he had been led to it and opened it.

—He slipped into the forbidden library, where a large number of books were lined up on shelves.

△▼△▼△▼△

Once the door closes, the library will be completely cut off from the outside world. After which, people will have to open every door in the mansion to find the one that leads here.

Breathing heavily, he rested his back against the door and sank down to the floor. Even though he had sat down, his knees were trembling. He extended his fingers towards them to stop them from shaking miserably, but even his fingers were trembling uncontrollably as if they belonged to a drunk who’d run out of alcohol.

“I might be able to perform well if I play paper sumo, ha-ha.”

His self-mockery lacked sharpness, and the dry laughter only accentuated the emptiness he was feeling.

The air in the tranquil library was filled with the smell of old paper, and it flooded Subaru’s tense heart with relief. The only comfort he could get now was by clinging to it, even though he knew it was something that wouldn’t last. He took deep breaths repeatedly, again and again. And then…

“—You are truly rude to enter without knocking.”

A taunting voice reached Subaru, who was repeatedly catching his breath like a fish out of water, from far behind the shelves.

Sitting on a wooden chair in the back of the dimly lit room was a young girl with cream-colored hair. It was Beatrice, the guardian of the Forbidden Library at Roswaal Manor—she never changed, never budged, and maintained her distance from Subaru. She closed the book in her hand with a plop. Then, with the book that was too large for her tiny body still in her hand, she asked, “How did you break the Door Crossing, I wonder… Back then, and now.”

“I’m sorry but let me stay for a bit. Please.”

He pleaded by joining both his hands and started meditating without waiting for her reply.

—I need to face reality and myself in a quiet place where nobody can disturb me.

I need to calm down. Accept reality. I am Subaru Natsuki. This is another world. I’m in Roswaal’s mansion. The names of the twins are Ram and Rem and the girl in front of me is Beatrice. And this is the forbidden library of this mansion. I can enter it quite easily due to my intuition that I’ve named ‘Door Breaker’. I don’t have a wound on my left hand. I don’t have proof of my effort. The promised morning won’t come. The promise I made. That I have to go somewhere with someone—

“Oh yeah, Emilia…”

He recalled her silver hair shimmering in the moonlight and her shy smile. He recalled the promise he’d made with the girl under the moon, with the girl that shone equally as bright as the stars in the sky.

“Beatrice.”

“…You aren’t adding any honorifics, I suppose.”

“What’s today’s month and date…? Do you know what the time is?”

Subaru, who had been quiet for a while, started asking questions one-sidedly without pausing. Beatrice seemed offended by it. She looked at his behavior with annoyance and then snorted. “Time, dates, and months are meaningless to Betty since she spends her time in a library with frozen time, I suppose.”

“What’s your point?” Subaru asked.

“It’s none of Betty’s business, I suppose.”

“Damn it! You are useless! I was an idiot to have expected anything from you!”

“This boy, saying whatever he wants to…”

Beatrice crinkled up her nose after hearing Subaru’s unfiltered words that lacked any sort of consideration for others.

“But,” Subaru continued talking to the girl who had a frown on her pretty face, “at least you didn’t treat me like a creep. And you mentioned how I broke the door back then. Shit, you are confusing!”

“What’s up with your noisy monologues… Betty doesn’t want you to be noisy in the library. It ruins the tranquil atmosphere, I suppose,” Beatrice replied with a sigh, looking fed up with his attitude as he glared at her in silence. “It was just three or four hours ago that I teased you for being ill-mannered.”

“What happened to the whole the library’s time is frozen thing…?”

Subaru didn’t forget to jump at her mistake even though he was completely spent. After acting upon his urge, he thought about what Beatrice had just said.

—Beatrice and Subaru’s encounter three or four hours ago.

What it means is that this is when I first woke up in the mansion. I had just broken the infinite hallway illusion and found the right door on my first try.

Back then, Beatrice pulled out a huge chunk of something like mental power against my will, leaving me unconscious.

When I woke up the next time, I was on the bed and Ram and Rem were there—

“So, in short, this is the second time I’ve woken up in the mansion.”

Things made sense after Subaru was able to remember the scenes in his vague memory. That was the only day when the twin maids came together to wake him up. On top of that, the first day was the only time he’d been in a position to use the guestroom bed.

So… “I went back four days from five days in the future. Is that what it means…?”

Subaru defined his current state after looking properly into the situation he was in. He had travelled back in time once again under the guidance of some mysterious power; in a way he didn’t want, on a time axis he didn’t wish to be in.

He could understand what had happened, but accepting it was a different story. Subaru held his head and started thinking of the reason why he had gone back like this. He had only been going back in time for a day, which happened to be the day he had been summoned to this world. Using the experience from his three deaths, he was able to save Emilia. He thought he had escaped the loop by doing so.

In fact, the phenomenon in which I travel back in time, which I named Return by Death, hasn’t happened until now, and my five days in the mansion went by very peacefully.

And now I travelled back in time out of the blue—there wasn’t any sort of a sign, either.

“The conditions are different from last time, huh? I just assumed I went back in time when I died, but does it actually occur after a week…? No, if that’s the case, then…”

It wouldn’t explain why it chose this day to return me to. I’m not sure what sort of theory is behind me going back in time, but if I think about the times I repeated things, then there must be some set of rules that it follows. And one of those deals with the place I return to.

If Subaru hadn’t escaped that loop, then he’d have woken up in front of that scar-faced grocer again.

“But in reality, the view in front of me went from a middle-aged guy with a scar to two angelic maids. But I, on the receiving end, experienced hell instead of heaven.”

While saying that, Subaru touched his body here and there, making sure everything was in order. If it was following the same rule till now, then the reason why he had travelled back in time was clear. Which is—Subaru had died.

But the problem with that is… “Suppose I did die, but then how did I die? Nothing was out of the ordinary before I fell asleep. Even after I fell asleep, I never felt like I was going to die or anything.”

Even if I was guided into a deep sleep, is it even possible to get killed without you knowing?

There was a possibility that he had been killed by a poisonous gas while he was asleep. But in that case, it would mean that he had been assassinated, and it didn’t make any sense if there was no reason for it.

I don’t think I’m worth that much at the moment at all.

“If that’s the case, then perhaps it’s a forced loop due to failing to meet the clear conditions.”

If we consider this a game, then it’s the effect of not triggering the necessary flags. But I don’t know who planted them, so I have no idea what the trigger is for this one. Beating a game with unclear triggers is hard. Without caring much, I’d always end up relying on strategy sites to beat games, which was a bad aspect of the internet.

“Talking with friends, exchanging information by word of mouth, sometimes getting false info, and then moving forward step-by-step… That’s how it’s supposed to be done.”

“I thought I heard you mumbling a while ago. Now the atmosphere has been ruined, in fact,” muttered Beatrice in an unamused tone as she watched Subaru sink into a sea of thoughts.

Subaru lifted his head up and saw the girl, her lips curled as if to say she was frustrated at him for ignoring her. “Life and Death—such dull, insignificant things are only measured in human terms. All that resulted from your incessant mumbling was a bunch of delusional ramblings. It is not even something worth discussing, in fact.”

The girl shrugged her shoulders and brushed him off dismissively. Subaru stood up, somewhat relieved by her unchanging hostility towards him.

He brushed the dust off his bottom and reached for the doorknob, but then heard a voice from behind. “You are going, I suppose?”

“I have something to confirm,” he replied. “I’ll do the sulking after I’m done with that. Thanks for the help.”

“I didn’t do anything… Hurry up and leave. I need to shift the door again.” Her tone had no sign of gentleness, but it felt quite pleasant for Subaru now.

Beatrice hadn’t intended on doing so, but Subaru felt like her words had given him the push he needed to take a step forward. He turned the doorknob and took a step into the cold breeze blowing his way. The wind jostled his short bangs, and his eyes hurt a little, so he shielded them with an arm. After the wind died down, he felt the grass under his bare feet—and the thing that came into his view was…

“Ah, she really is beautiful.”

My heart has been beating out of my chest ever since the silver-haired girl panting in the garden came into my view.

How very thoughtful of her, Subaru commented sarcastically at the cocky girl internally. And then…

“Subaru!”

Upon noticing him, the girl widened her amethyst eyes and rushed towards him without a second to lose. The word that spilled from her lips made up of three syllables and rang like a silver bell made Subaru’s heart tingle no matter how many times he heard it.

Naturally, Subaru’s legs gravitated towards the girl rushing his way. They were now facing each other, and the girl lowered her eyes in relief after looking his whole body up and down. However, she quickly regained her composure and straightened her posture.

“Hey, you made me worry. Rem and Ram were in a panic searching for you all over the manor, saying you had disappeared not too long after you woke up.”

“Mm, sorry. I got caught by Beatrice for a bit.”

“Again? I heard she pulled a prank on you not too long ago…”

Subaru almost reached his hand out at Emilia involuntarily at the sight of her beauty. She was leaning towards him in a concerned manner, but he restrained his weak heart.

If I do this here, it would be far too thoughtless of me. It would mean that me disturbing the tranquility of Beatrice’s room was meaningless. My objective wasn’t just to frame her.

Subaru could only respond to Emilia’s sorrowful face with a vague smile. Despite his uncharacteristic attitude, she was somewhat distant and didn’t press him.

It was obvious since there was no way a girl who had only spent less than an hour with Subaru would know that it was uncharacteristic of the current Subaru to do so.

There is an unfillable gap of four days between her and I. There are obviously four days that only I know of.

“It seems as if my thoughts are being influenced by extraterrestrials,” Subaru commented.

“Extra, terrestrials…?” Emilia asked. “What, what does that mean?”

“It just means the poet in me got a little too carried away. Leaving that aside, well, I’m glad you’re safe.”

A skirt above the knees and black knee socks. It was a sporty style with black as the base color; it was the same as the one that had delighted him on the first day.

Naturally, the body beneath her outfit made it through the whole loot house fiasco without getting a scratch on it.

“‘Body beneath her outfit’… The thought of that really gets me going, if you know what I mean.”

“Thank you for saving me… That’s what I wanted to say, but I reaaally don’t like those eyes.”

Being glared at by Emilia, Subaru was able to put on a natural wry smile.

His condition was returning to normal, albeit gradually.

I need to rev up the gears, lick my lips, and get off my ass and move forward. Come to think of it, I am a lucky guy. I didn’t start over from the grocer this time. There’s no dying a dog’s death flag by the hands of Ton-Chin-Kan, and neither is there starting from the point where Emilia’s likability for me is at its lowest because I said something stupid to her. Elsa’s gutting festival end is also out of the equation. After overcoming the battle in the loot house and sharing a life and death situation together, we must have developed a passionate, fiery bond that no one can interfere with. Though only a tiny flame now, it won’t take much for it to instantly burst into an enormous blaze.

“I am a positive thinker.”

And so, looking back at things with a positive outlook made the current situation feel like an opportunity.

Unlike last time, in that loot house where I had to make it through an absolute life or death crisis, there is nothing at stake this time until I come across the direct cause of this loop.

In other words, all Subaru had to do was calmly follow the route that he had already experienced and modify it so that it became his ideal route. By taking the same steps as before, he’d be able to make the promise of that moonlit night.

—If that’s the case, then how much more promising would the promise of the moonlit night be if I took a far better route?

“Ha, this time I am at the climax from the start,” Subaru said.

“Seems like you are getting pumped up, but is your body fine?” Emilia asked.

“Hm? Oh yeah, I am in my super dooper best condition. I am a little short on blood, my life force has been taken away from me, my mental power and physical strength were greatly drained when I woke up, and I feel like my mind was beaten with a bat, but I’m fine!”

“Isn’t that called being wounded all over?”

“A pinch is an opportunity, and a baseball game only really starts when there are two outs in the ninth inning and you’re the last one up to bat.”

Subaru snapped his fingers and gave a thumbs up. In the face of his attitude, Emilia relaxed her shoulders as if her worries had melted away.

“Anyway, it’s fine if you are well. Well, do you want to go back inside? I’ve got a bit of business to attend to here, so I’m staying.”

“Oh, talk time with the spirits, right? I won’t disturb you, so can I stay? Wake up Puck, too. I want to pet him in that state.”

“I don’t mind, but you really shouldn’t interrupt, alright? Since it isn’t a game.” Emilia tilted her head at Subaru as he wiggled his fingers, telling him not to interrupt her like she was speaking to a child.

Subaru found her elder sister-like gesture endearing—lighting the fire of determination up in his heart.

“Alright then, let’s go, let’s go. Time is limited and the world is vast. And mine and Emilia-tan’s has just begun.”

“That’s right… What? What did you just say? Where did ‘Emilia-tan’ come from?”

Although Emilia objected, she said, “It’s alright, it’s alright.” Subaru then pushed on her back and led her to the usual place. He knew she would lose her will to correct him after he called out to her like that. And even that was one of the bonds that had been formed during the four days that had been lost.

“—I’ll take it back,” Subaru murmured as he followed the back of the girl who was moving deeper into the garden with a disgruntled look. He stopped and looked at the silver-haired girl as she moved away, then gazed towards the sky.

—I can see the despicable sun rising, still low in the eastern sky.

I gotta do this all over again. And I don’t mind one bit as long as I can make it to the time of the promise. It’d be great if I could see the sunrise with the girl I made a promise with, with the girl that looks good under the moon.

—I have time, and I know the answer.

“I don’t know who’s harassing me, but I’ll take everything back and make you cry. Never underestimate a modern teenager’s temper.”

He clenched his fist against the sky and declared war on an unknown entity. It was a clear declaration of rebellion for the first time since he had come to this world, against the being that had thrown him into the loop and had summoned him here.

The second loop, and the battle to get past the week at Roswaal Manor and see where those days would take him, began. In order to fulfill the promise made that night—

“Fate, bring it on—!”

Chapter 15 The Second Misjudgment and a Betrayal of Expectations

The rising sun set things into motion and the second first day in Roswaal Manor began.

I just need to watch the sun rise and set for five days. And I obviously need to follow the flow of the previous loop as much as I can. That was the policy Subaru had taken.

True to his determination in the garden, Subaru intended on fulfilling the pre-loop promise he’d made with Emilia. In order to do so, he had to make it to that moonlit night again and make that promise with her.

There was one conclusion that could more or less be established as a general rule in loop-style stories: if you follow the same route, the story will end up in the same place. This was only natural since it would follow the same sequence of events as the previous one. The thoughts and actions of those involved would overlap, resulting in the same end result.

What Subaru cared about was changing the end result alone into a future he desired, as well as doing everything that happened in between again to create the same memories. In other words, his ultimate goal was to get the most out of the loop.

By making use of quick save and load, let’s make the conclusion more to my liking. Such was the noble, yet somewhat evil, plan Subaru had, but… “—It seems like, things took a turn for the worse for some reason,” he complained listlessly, blowing bubbles as he sank into the tub.

Everything had been going against Subaru’s expectations from day one.

△▼△▼△▼△

Subaru looked back on his day while floating in the tub with his arms and legs spread out.

The morning filled with determination and the great tragedy that followed with tremendous momentum.

Right after the morning routine with Emilia, Subaru had secretly made up his mind to follow the steps of the previous loop.

To be honest, I don’t think I was able to trace the details of what I had said in the spur of the moment, but the general flow of the conversation must have been the same as last time. The right to pet Puck, Emilia’s nickname, and the first interaction with Roswaal. And knowing the value of the insignia and Emilia’s status.

I’m not sure if I was able to present my reactions to them naturally in between, but I want to praise myself for doing it well. I feel like giving myself a star and saying, “You did a great job.”

“If I had to grade it, the result would be pretty pathetic though, so I’ll pass on that.”

Leaving aside the criticism of his acting, things were going according to Subaru’s plans, at least a little.

After that, the topic naturally shifted to Subaru’s reward, and just like last time, he changed his class from ‘Shut-in from Another World’ to ‘Apprentice Servant of a Perverted Nobleman.’

What followed was Ram being appointed as his instructor, and then his first day of work began after he was shown around the manor. —Things took a strange turn from here.

“I don’t know why, but it’s different from last time. I felt like I was already prepared for everything, too… I was totally gonna go all ‘I learned the answer to this question in my Shinken classes!’” muttered Subaru as he poked his head out of the bathtub, resting his chin on the edge of it.

While his entire body was getting warmed up, he could feel his joints aching as the memories came back to him. What made Subaru have second thoughts about his policy of following the actions he took in the previous loop as closely as possible was the nature of the work Ram had assigned him. He had to do things like kitchen work, basic room cleaning, and sometimes washing and folding clothes. The tasks were the same as the previous loop’s, but…

“The work content had become much more difficult…”

I should simply say that the amount and quality of work I was entrusted with had both increased. If I had to put it in a bad way, then the amount of work I had been forced to do had increased.

“I was exhausted with the work last time, but it was also hard this time… Damn it, I thought it’d be a bit easier to do since it was the same stuff as before.”

Subaru complained about the unexpectedly harsh situation while at the same time concluding inwardly that his situation wasn’t all that great.

This was the result of trying to follow the previous loop to a T. If the content had changed so much from day one, then there was no way he could match the flow of the second day onwards with the previous loop’s.

On one hand, he thought he didn’t need to worry about the small differences, but on the other, he feared the possibility of such small changes accumulating and creating a huge change at the end.

“Especially in this case since I don’t know why I went back…”

The situation this time was that I had gone to bed normally, but when I woke up, I realized I went back in time… Thinking of a countermeasure this time is a pain since, unlike the last time I died and went back, it’s not as clear since I don’t even know why I went back.

“I wonder if I can trust my memory if things are this different…?” Subaru couldn’t help but whine, then sank into the warm water to regain his composure.

He then recalled the immensely rich day when he first met Emilia in the royal capital. Although Subaru had taken a different path each time when it came to the finer details, the main events that occurred each time were the same.

I won’t be able to tell if I messed up until I miss a big event. One such event that had left a lasting impression on Subaru recently, besides his first day here, was his promise with Emilia.

As long as I can get to it, I’ll be able to do the same things as last time. And after I do that, all I have to do is figure out what happened after that.

His thoughts, which he had been unable to formulate during his hectic workday, somehow managed to come together in the solitude of the bathroom, allowing him to create a firm course of action. Naturally, Subaru noticed how good he was feeling in the warm water, but due to running out of air, he emerged from its embrace. After emerging, he coughed out the water in his lungs and took a deep breath while feeling the cool air on his skin, but then regretted doing so since—

“—Hey, may I accompany you?”

Right in front of Subaru’s eyes was a naked nobleman with a hand on his hip. A cool breeze blew between his legs, reaching him. Naturally, since they were in the bathroom, the tall man was naked. Whether it was just how noblemen were, or because it was only natural to do in a bathroom, he was buck naked and wasn’t even trying to hide his Excalibur. He was standing there at an arm’s length, looking down at Subaru with his Excalibur swaying in the wind. It feels like a penis is looking down at me, which feels pretty damn humiliating.

“It’s all reserved. I refuse.”

“It’s a facility in my mansion, so is it not myyy property? I’ll dooo as I wish.”

“Then don’t ask. You can take a bath on your own.”

“Oh, that’s harsh. And youuu don’t seem to understand. This bath is indeeeed my property, but…” Roswaal knelt and got closer to Subaru, who was looking up at him with disgust from inside the tub, and then extended his arm and gently pulled the vulnerable Subaru’s chin up. “Would iiit not also be correct to say that you are my property too since you are my servant?”

Chomp

“You didn’t hesitate!”

Subaru took a big bite of the unpleasant fingertip holding his chin, making Roswaal yelp, then backstroked away from him.

The bathtub is half the size of a twenty-five-meter pool. The huge, pointless, and spacious bathtub is lame, and it shows off that nobleman’s taste for indulgence, but it’s a pretty cool place where you can feel like a king while soaking in the tub alone.

Thus, Subaru’s bath time after work had been a time of respite for him all throughout the previous loop, but… “An unexpected event again…” he muttered as he did a backward turn inside the tub. As his back drifted on the surface of the water, he curled himself into a small ball by pulling his knees in, executing a special technique he’d named the Warm Water Coconut Technique.

He let himself become one with the waves, as if he’d become an inorganic object, and started thinking as he stared into the hot water.

In the last four days, there hadn’t been a single occasion where I had to bathe with Roswaal. Above all, Roswaal was extremely busy during the last loop, and I almost never had a chance to interact with him while I was in the manor.

It seemed like Ram and Rem were meeting him on a regular basis, but as for Subaru, he could count the number of times he’d interacted with him after the first day on one hand, excluding meals.

I haven’t changed my routine of taking long baths to relax after a long day of work, so I guess that means he’s the one who’s changed.

“…Is thaaat, fun?” Roswaal asked.

“I’m pretending to be like the Coconut Boss, a tropical fruit and a lethal weapon. It’s also known as the drifting killer of the beach. Despite its idyllic appearance, it can fall straight down from above the heads of unwary tourists, right on the back of the head.”

“You really are good when it comes to babbling… Oh excuse me, I’ll be occupying the space next to you.”

Roswaal sat next to the floating Subaru, sank into the bathtub, and let out a long sigh. It went without saying that taking a hot bath was a universal pleasure. Subaru started putting some distance between him and the large, overly thin man that had drawn close to him, then stretched his body without a care in the world.

“Well then, Master. Isn’t it a bit late to be taking a bath?”

“I’ve been a little busy with work, you seeee. It got laaate while I was dealing with it. Buuut, I’m glad I got the chance to talk with you like this. How was your first day?”

“It was productive, if anything. The muscles all over my body wanna do pillow talk. Wanna listen? I’m sure they’ll whisper their woes into your ears until morning.”

“It’s a tempting proposal, buuuut my bed has already been reserved for the night. Maybe another time.”

He started talking about it like it was nothing. “Damn it,” Subaru cursed in frustration at his inability to do anything.

Even Subaru could guess that the relationship between the nobleman in front of his eyes and the twin maids was beyond shady, and it was an undeniable fact that they had such a relationship. Although Subaru was only interested in Emilia, and actually took it seriously by not showing interest in other women, he didn’t have some warped sense of pleasure at the sight of two pretty girls becoming someone else’s like, “Hee-hee, this kinda feels like being cuckholded!”

But he couldn’t even be mature about it and say, “Please make them happy no matter what!” All Subaru could do was envy him.

“Oh yeah, are Ram and Rem doooing well? They’ve been working at the manor for a long time, so I’m sure they know how to treat their juniors.”

Roswaal mentioned the names of the girls Subaru was thinking about, whether he was aware of Subaru’s inner thoughts or not.

I feel like Roswaal is playing me like a fiddle, but… “Yeah,” Subaru said with a nod before continuing. “Not so well with Remrin, but I’m getting along with Ramchi. Rather, isn’t Ramchi too unaware of social boundaries? She’s been treating me the same way since I was a guest.”

“It’s fiiine, Rem will assist her in the things she lacks. Sisters should help each other. Both of them are doing really well in that regard.”

“From what I have heard, Rem is the one who helps out with everything, and that Ram is the inferior version.”

There’s a clear distinction between the sisters when it comes to who was better in every household chore. The elder sister lags a step or two behind the younger sister in all of the skills. If you think about it normally, it’d totally end up making her develop a crazy inferiority complex, but… “But I asked her about it, and she immediately answered that she was the better one since she was older. That kind of brazenness scared me.”

“If we were to talk about brazenness, then you are also quiiite something… But I see. So, she answered like that. That’s really…”

Roswaal shook his head sentimentally and leered at Subaru. Being stared at by his emotionless, heterochromatic eyes made him feel like his thoughts were being read by them, so he turned his body away slightly. And then…

“Being nosy aaand unreserved. Thaaat’s a good thing.”

“This isn’t something I should be praised for, yet I’m being praised for it. It feels kinda strange! I take everything literally, so be careful if you’re being sarcastic, alright? I’m the kinda guy that goes home when the teacher shouts at me to go home.”

Subaru Natsuki was the kind of guy who would stir things up and then leave. He had a solitary nature and was born to be alone.

Roswaal let out a little chuckle at Subaru’s words. “School, I seeee,” he muttered, then closed one of his eyes. “I’m not being sarcastic or anything. I truly believe it to be a gooood thing. Siiince those two live in their own little world, something might change if someone stiiired things up a bit from the outside.”

“Is that sooo.”

“Thaaat’s how it is.”

There the two were, neck-deep in the bathtub, facing each other and exchanging sighs while feeling the warm, relaxing sensation, and sharing in their admiration for it. But then Subaru suddenly raised his eyebrows, as if he had just thought of something. “Hey, Rosy. I have a question. Can you reply with an answer?”

“I’m nooot used to nicknames, but it makes me happy to have one. And you have a question? Well, if it iiis something I can answer using my broad and deep knowledge, then I don’t mind answering it after giving it some deep thought.”

“It’s my first time hearing a guy say, ‘I know a lot’ in such a roundabout way… Leaving that aside, how does this bath work?”

Subaru knocked on the bottom of the bathtub and asked the question that had been on his mind for a long time. The tub that Subaru and Roswaal were in was made of stone. It was polished and smooth to the touch, and while it looked a little rough, it wasn’t. The bath was located in a part of the basement, and the bathing area was unisex.

However, the hot water gets exchanged each time someone uses the bath, so going in after Emilia and drinking the bathwater won’t give me any sort of satisfaction.

“It… It’s not like I actually drank it. I noticed it before drinking it.”

“Your adventurous nature neeever ceases to amaze me. Is iiit because you are young…? But then, I wonder if that idea would have occurred to me when I was young?”

Roswaal looked distant as he thought of the past, and after pondering for a few moments, he returned to reality. “Anyway, the answer is simple. There is a layer of magic crystals of the fire element beneath the tub. When it’s time to take a bath, mana activates the crystals, which heat the water. The same mechanism is used in the kitchen toooo, no?”

“Yeah, so the kettle and the other things follow the same principle. No, like there weren’t any gas stoves or induction heaters, so I was wondering how things were done from time to time.”

While Ram and Rem were handling things quickly, Subaru was in the background, timidly peeling a carrot-like vegetable.

But then I have no idea how the whole mana activation thing that he just casually explained to me works, and as long as I don’t know how it works, I won’t be able to help with the cooking or warming up the bath.

“Hey, can you do any of that mana hocus pocus if you aren’t a magic user?”

“Thaaat isn’t the case. Every living thing has a gate. Even animals and plants are no exceeeption. If this wasn’t the case, then our civilization that relies on magic crystals wouldn’t haaave developed to thiiis extent.”

Subaru silently showed his lack of understanding at the appearance of the new word. Roswaal laughed at his sulky childlike attitude and started explaining. “The way you interact with spirits and what you did at breakfast this morning make you a biiit mysteriously out of touch with what is considered normal. Ram was also complaining about it, you knooow?”

“Huuuh, whaaat, reaaally? She was talking behind my back? That’s really sinister. Oh nooo.”

“She waaas covering up for you as much as she was complaining, and that’s pretty rare.”

“I was thinking bad about her, but she was just being a tsundere! I’m sorry, Boss!”

It’s her growing soft on me, just like Emilia told me in the previous loop. But she’s like falling for me on the first day, so isn’t she a bit too easy to get as a heroine? I’m strangely concerned for her even though I never viewed her as a love interest to begin with.

“Hm.” Roswaal touched his jaw and sighed while looking at Subaru who was shouting. “Alright. I’ll give you a lecture heeere. You are a little ignorant, so let me teach you what it means to be a magic user.”

“Hold on there buddy, I can’t unhear that now. Are you saying that while knowing that I’m the guy who lived next door to Kawasaki, who was unrivaled when it came to fighting, and was no doubt the manliest of men, and whose knowledge and looks were in a different dimension, and who’d receive barrages of fancy words praising his greatness?”

“Who is this Kawasaki?”

“An old classmate of mine who’s four grades ahead of me. His fiancée left him recently, near their wedding date due to the pre-wedding blues, and now he’s heartbroken. Such a wonderful thing.”

Although Roswaal didn’t understand what Subaru meant, he must have sensed that it was something worthless, so he casually ignored what he was saying about Kawasaki and continued his lecture.

“Weeell then, leeet us start from the basics. You certainly know about Gates, don’t you?”

“No, even if you start off with something like that as if I’m supposed to know it, the natural response from a person who doesn’t know what it is would be like, ‘What’s that…?’”

“Your tooone dropped suddenly. So, you don’t even know about Gates… If I had to put it mildly, it would be like, ‘Huh? No cap?’”

“Did I use it correctly?” Roswaal asked Subaru to grade his usage of ‘No cap’ and Subaru replied with a thumbs up to show that he had scored an A, then they went for a high-five.

They pointed a finger at each other, as if saying ‘Eyyyy’, confirming that it had been used properly.

They then continued with the lecture.

“So, so, what is a Gate exactly? What happens if you have that, and everything is like ‘who are you now!?’ Shit, I’m getting high!”

“To put it simply, a Gate is a doorway that allows mana to pass in and out of your body. You absorb mana through the gate, and you release the mana through the gate. Whether you are going to utilize mana or store mana, it is essential.”

“Gotcha. So it’s like some kind of MP faucet…”

Roswaal’s simple explanation made sense to Subaru.

I’ve heard the word ‘Gate’ a couple of times before, and it was affirmed that it was approximately what I had imagined it to be, so that means—

“If everyone has a gate, it means I have one too, right?”

“Well, of cooourse you have one, as long as you are sure that you are a human being. Are you human?”

“I haven’t seen a more human-like human than me! —Puny and weak… An ordinary human.”

“Well isn’t thaaat a cool line? Thooough it doesn’t suit the situation.”

At least, it wasn’t something a man should say to another man in the bathroom while buck naked.

But Subaru didn’t care since this was possibly the second happiest he’d felt since getting summoned to this world after obtaining that information. He felt like his heart was going to burst due to the immense excitement he was feeling.

“Of course, meeting Emilia-tan was the happiest thing, but this one is also pretty amazing! So, I can finally become the magician I’d always dreamt about… I thought I had to wait 13 more years!”

“It’s true that you need time to get good, but…thirteen years is too much, dooon’t you think?”

“It’s just a figure of speech, and the magicians I know of turn into one automatically on their birthday. Though that title is within my reach!”

If I still felt the same as I did before getting summoned into this world, then that would have been my fate, but here I have a girl that I am interested in who I can approach with my passionate heart burning with love.

I can say this now: This is why I was summoned here.

“I’ll just go in and pew pew and graduate—that’s the ending!”

“I’m happy you can get that excited about the topic of magic users, but even if you have a Gate, talent still plays quite a big role, you seeee. Though I know I’m just boaaasting, not many people are blessed wiiith as much talent as I from birth, you know?”

Beep!

Subaru heard the sound of a flag being established.

Roswaal was speaking confidently, but little did he know that the buck-naked man floating in the tub in front of him was the ‘Invited One’ that got summoned from another world. Subaru was no good when it came to strength, no good when it came to knowledge, and his luck was zero, or rather, in the negative, but a new hope appeared for him now.

—And that’s, magic.

Subaru, feeling really sure about it for some reason, clenched his fists. And, unable to resist the urge, he swam towards Roswaal. “Hey, hey, Rosy. Magic, magic, let’s talk about magic. I can feel it in my bones. There’s no way I’m missing this big wave!”

“Is that sooo?” Let us continue then. Magic has four basic elements. Do youuu know what they are?”

“I dooon’t.”

“Ah-ha, pointless, purposeless, and innocent ignorance. How wonderful. I’m in a good mood, so I’ll explain. The four elements are: fire, water, wind, and earth. Did you get thaaat?”

“All clear! And now continue, pretty please.”

Though neither of them had drunk any alcohol, they were drunk on the mood and on a high. Roswaal, in a good mood due to being relied upon, nodded, then spoke. “The fire element is related to heat. The water element is related to life and healing. The wind element is related to the divine protections outside the bodies of living things. The divine protections within the body are related to the earth element. They are mostly divided into these four, aaaand on top of that, if a normal person has an affinity for one of them, it’s considered good. Oh, and as a side nooote, I have an affinity for all four, you seeee.”

“Woah, what a cocky bastard! But we won’t be able to move forward if I get bothered by that, so I’ll just pay you some lip service! Oh yeah baby, so amazing, fuck me, and that’s all she wrote, folks! Now bring on the rest of the lecture! So, is there a way to find out your element!?”

Roswaal nodded magnanimously. “Ha-haa,” he laughed and smiled gleefully at Subaru, who was splashing his hands in the water like he had some sort of plan in mind, then extended his palm. “Ooof course. When you are a magic user of my level, you can teeell with a mere touch. Well, in reality, I neeeed to enter the Gate itself to check.”

“You serious!? No cap!? Woah, it’s here! My expectations are through the roof! Come on, cop a feel and tell me all about it. Tell me about what, you say? About me!”

Subaru, forgetting that they were both naked, inched closer, wagging an invisible tail quickly enough to leave an afterimage. Roswaal looked at him as if he was looking at an untrained dog and smiled, then placed his palm on his forehead.

“Alright, now please give me a mooooment. Oh, and do tell me if you feel an itch somewhere.”

“My ass feels itchy! But I’ll scratch it myself! I’ll save you the effort, so just focus on finding out my element! Woaaah, my heart is shaking with excitement!”

I want to forget all my worries for the time being and think about the wonder that lies ahead. I have hope, I have a dream, and I have a sense of certainty.

—That magic is going to be my fangs in the world I’d gotten summoned into.

Subaru wore a twisted smile, his sanpaku eyes glowing and making him seem belligerent. He waited for the result as his eyes glowed brightly. And then…

“—Alllright, I gooot it.”

“Finally, I was waiting. What could it be, what could it be. Is it fire, reflecting my fiery passion? Or is it water, reflecting how cool and levelheaded I am? Or is it wind, which blows through a grassland in a cool and fresh manner like my temperament? No, no. Maybe my nice-guy nature that likes to take care of younger people and is easygoing and reliable came out, so my element might be earth, I guess?”

“Yeah, it’s Yin.”

“All rejected!?” Subaru reflexively exclaimed, as if he’d been diagnosed with a bad disease, not believing what he was hearing. And he wasn’t acting, either. He truly was disappointed.

Roswaal opened his mouth slowly and spoke. “I have no doubt that iiiit is indeed Yin. Your connection with the other four elements is raaather weak, though that is pretty raaare.”

“What the heck is Yin, anyways? Aren’t there only four classifications? This has gotta be a classification error or something!”

“I didn’t tell you this, but aside from the four main elements, there are the elements of Yang and Yin as well. Howeeever, as there aren’t many people who have affinities for them, I decided to omit them from my explanation.”

It seems like I’m one of the rare few, huh.

After hearing about it, his slightly panicking mind started to calm down.

Yeah, it’s a super rare element—which means… “I’m sure it’s a somewhat amazing element, right? Like it’s something that only appears once every 5000 years!? Like you can use magic that people with other magic affinities can’t use!?”

“Let’s seee, Yin Magic is famous for…blocking an opponent’s sight, cutting off sound, and slowing others down—those are the kind of spells that can be used, I suppoose.”

“It specializes in debuffs!?”

I was expecting to be able to use some super destructive magic, or to be able to drag my enemies into a realm of darkness and rip them to shreds, or something powerful like that.

Judging from the way Roswaal was talking, it seemed like he really was feeling bad for him since he was taking his time to explain interference and debuff skills to him.

I wasn’t given strength, intelligence, or any cheat skills… “And my element specializes in debuffs…”

“Byyy the way, you don’t seem to have any talent for magic at all. For instance, if I’m a 10, the highest you can reach is 4.”

“That’s the last thing I wanted to hear! There’s no God or Buddha in this world anymore!”

Subaru splashed the warm water violently and made a desperate pose. Roswaal looked at Subaru, who was floating on the surface of the water with his arms stretch out, with pity. However, Subaru, who was seriously disappointed, didn’t feel like coming up with a witty comeback.

Roswaal still tried to cheer Subaru up, nonetheless.

“There, there. Yin-type magic can be handy, too. You can turn off people’s sense of sight when you don’t want to be seen, and you can stop sound from getting out if you don’t want something to be heard.”

“I see, so it’s meant for holding secret talks, or rather, secret meetings. This is good, ha-ha-ha!” Subaru replied as he got up and started patting Roswaal’s shoulder. And… “…Is that…cool?”

“Leaving aside it being cool or lame, girls who want to hold a secret meeting would suuurely find it useful. It all depeeends on how you use it. Either way, you are cuuuurently unable to wield it.”

“That’s right. Magic, magic I see… Even if debuffs are its specialty, not using it would be a waste. Shit, what should I do?”

Although thinking about it was making Subaru feel troubled, Roswaal made it sound as if it was no problem at all. “If you want to use it, then you can leaaarn it from someone. Luckily for you, we have a specialist of Yin Magic here.”

“Oh yeah! That was an option! I don’t even care about the type of magic and such anymore! As long as I have an excuse to learn magic, I don’t care if I’ll be able to use it or not! In other words!”

He emerged from the water, splitting it as he pointed one hand towards the ceiling and placed the other on his hip. He then jumped out in the nude, splashing water everywhere, and while Roswaal was looking at him, he struck a pose.

“I’ll learn magic from the girl I like, yo. She can hold my hands, yo, feel my legs, yo, and grab my waist during the lesson, yo. It’ll be a lesson with many such amazing options after I get off work, yo. And then we can sail towards the future together and eventually get visited by a stork, yo! Yippee ki-yay, yo!”

He decided his future plans with an impromptu rap.

If this is the case, then it’s already decided. It’s time to immediately act upon it.

His original goal of doing the previous loop over again had already somehow disappeared into the recesses of his mind. However, a wrench was soon thrown into his plans.

“I think you’ve misunderstood me, so I’m going to correct you. The specialist in Yin Magic iiisn’t Lady Emilia, alright?”

“What-the-hell-yo? Do you have a grudge against me, yo!? Do you like playing with people’s hearts that much, yo!? Yo!” Subaru exclaimed, still in rap-mode, as he pointed his finger at Roswaal. “So, who is then? Is it you!? The respected court magician!? Yeah, since you have an affinity for all the elements, right! I’m disappointed!”

“It’s Beatrice.”

“That’s more disappointing!!”

The loudest scream of the night exploded from his mouth with a massive splash of water.

△▼△▼△▼△

“Ah shit. The hot water made me feverish. Curse that Rosy. He kept lifting me up and dropping me. It was like he was the Buddha’s palm,” Subaru blurted out in the changing room as he passed his arms through the sleeves of the clothing he’d been provided.

Subaru had just come out of the bath after taking a short break upon concluding their disappointing conversation, leaving Roswaal there.

Subaru was never a fan of taking long baths, but nowadays, he often took them due to being tired and needing a place to think. However, getting in and out quickly was how he originally did things. Thus, he was feeling lightheaded because of it. He felt that way today especially since he had yet to recover and was still low on blood.

There was a slight, peculiar difference between what his mind and body wanted. It felt like the gears were a little out of sync, which created a discord that made him feel uncomfortable.

“On top of that, I think my muscles might be sore tomorrow. Damn it, Ramchi. Just you wait. You’re only working me like a horse because I’m a little better at doing things compared to the last loop…”

“She shall kindly wait, just like you wished.”

“Woooooah!!”

While Subaru was heading out with the basket filled with his dirty clothes, someone responded to his complaint, startling him enough to make him jump in surprise. And just like that, his underwear flew from his hand and landed at the feet of Ram, who was standing in the hallway outside the changing room.

“Haa, you are no good.”

She bent down and picked up Subaru’s underwear, which was soaked with the sweat from his hard day of work, and tossed it into the trashcan right next to her.

“There’s a dude right in front of you holding a basket who intends on doing his laundry, ya know!?”

“Ram is sorry. The moment she lifted it up, she felt an instinctual disgust for it. Ram wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible, so it ended up that way.”

“Despite that, your movements looked refined!”

Subaru reluctantly retrieved his underwear from the trashcan and put it into the basket, then faced Ram again. The maid was leaning against the wall of the changing room, waiting quietly.

I wonder what she wants? Subaru tilted his head. And, as if reading his mind, Ram spoke. “It’s unfortunate for you, but Ram has already taken a bath, so she won’t start undressing even if you wait there.”

“You didn’t get me at all!? Isn’t that fatal for a maid!?”

“Ram is only kidding. She’s here to help Master Roswaal get dressed. It is Ram and Rem’s duty to wait on Master Roswaal when he takes a bath.”

“Aren’t you spoiling him too much? I think he can change on his own.”

But then there are people out there who have their socks put on by a maid and have never put them on themselves. Considering how vast the world is, Roswaal might be one of them, which really is an eye-opener for me.

“That just opened my Roswaal Trust Bottle, too, which didn’t have much in it to begin with, but now there’s even less in there.”

“Kindly refrain from making any disrespectful remarks about Master Roswaal in front of Ram. Ram will use force after the second warning.”

It sounds like a gentle suggestion, but she means it, so I’ll keep that in mind. In fact, she teaches things in a polite and respectful manner the first time, but if I ask her the same question again, she looks at me like I’m just some pig in a pig farm.

Subaru thought that it would bring unnecessary trouble if he stayed there any longer, so he decided to leave immediately.

“Alright then, excuse me, Boss,” said Subaru as he tried to leave, but…

“Barusu, do you have any plans after this?”

“Other than going to bed, nope. It should be obvious since I have to wake up early tomorrow, damn it. Boss, mornings are such a pain.”

“I see.” Ram gave a short response to Subaru’s words, which made him sound like he was both complaining and expressing an attitude of defiance.

Subaru kept looking at her as she stood there without saying a word, then… “Alright,” Ram said, as if she had decided on something. “Then Ram will come to your room later, so wait for her.”

And that’s all she had said.

“—Huh?”

Chapter 16 The Confusion of the Second Loop

I’ll keep declaring over and over again that I, Subaru Natsuki, am an advocate of only being into Emilia.

Ever since he came to this world, he has had the opportunity to encounter many beautiful women one after another, but she stood out from the rest.

It was partly because of her beauty, but the real reason was simple: it’s because he fell in love with her. As long as he continued to feel that way, his attraction to her would only increase.

Therefore, no matter what kind of beauty was in front of him, there was no way that Subaru’s heart would fall for anyone else.

It’s just not possible.

“So, this perfect bedmaking doesn’t mean anything more than me wanting to sleep soundly,” he said, making an enthusiastic excuse to himself as he poked his finger into the bed with lightning speed.

After taking a bath, Subaru had gone back to his room and spent all his time making the bed, which he was currently looking at. He even left the basket of laundry unattended. He’d put a lot of effort into it, sweat dripping off his forehead like a waterfall, even though he had just taken a bath.

It’s been a while since I’ve done such a satisfactory job.

“It doesn’t have any deep meaning behind it. It isn’t anything like that. I need to calm myself and empty my mind. One Emilia-tan, two Emilia-tans, three Emilia-tans… Is this Heaven!”

“You are making too much noise, Barusu. It’s night already, so keep quiet.”

“Faaar awaaay!” (Gackt: Faraway) he sung as he leapt back towards the wall. He could see Ram, who had opened the door without making a sound, standing at the room’s entrance.

After entering the room with a knock, she scolded him. “You do this right after Ram told you to keep quiet. You are no good.”

“What’s up with you making your own rules!? It makes me feel nervous since your rules make me question my common sense! What and how do you want me to do things!?”

In response to Subaru shouting, Ram abruptly sneered. “Hah.” Even Subaru could do nothing after being struck with the contempt that hadn’t even put into words.

Ram crossed in front of such a Subaru with crisp noises and headed towards the bed—no, she headed towards a small wooden desk in front of the bed. Each room had a space of its own for reading and writing, but for Subaru, it was useless since he could not read or write in this world. Of course, he could write in Japanese though.

“Maybe I should do that at least. Even though I can’t carry it to another loop, it might make it easy for me to remember things if I write things down…”

“What are you mumbling on about? Come here, Barusu,” Ram said in a tepid manner, as if she were disciplining her dog.

Blue veins appeared on Subaru’s forehead after hearing that. But it would only be a loss for him if he let her take control of things. Subaru could only show his true ability when he had the other person in the palm of his hand to begin with.

Anyway, I’ll train my unyielding heart so that it won’t be shaken by anything she says, no matter how surprising it may be.

He stood in front of Ram with a battle-ready mindset.

“Now what? What kind of recklessness have you brought this time?”

“What are you talking about? Ram is telling you to sit down so that Ram can teach you how to read and write.”

“That’s my first time hearing of it!?”

His unyielding heart shook immediately.

He felt like his hardened heart instantly became soft and broken, and then, unable to hide his unrest, he looked at his desk and gasped when he saw a notebook with a white page, a quill, and a book with a reddish-brown cover. It seemed like she wasn’t joking or playing a prank on him but was genuinely trying to teach him how to read and write.

“But then, why all of a sudden…”

“Barusu, you can’t read or write, right? I know that from watching you work today. If you can’t read or write, then you can’t note down things that you have to buy or write down the things that you are told to do.”

Ram gave a perfectly reasonable answer to the confused Subaru’s query. Subaru’s mouth reflexively kept opening and closing slovenly like a fish.

However, seeming indifferent to his reaction, Ram pointed her finger at the book with a red cover. “We’ll start with an easy collection of children’s fairytales. Ram and Rem will help you out every night, so study hard from now on.”

It’s a good offer, but frankly, I’m more confused by it than anything.

This situation was the same as the one in the bathroom, a situation that never happened in the previous loop. And according to Subaru’s own estimation, the distance between him and the twins was still much greater compared to the fourth day of the previous loop.

In spite of that, why is there a bona fide study session happening?

“It’s obvious. —It’s because Ram wants to work less.”

“You don’t change, do you?”

“Of course. The more work Barusu is able to do, the less work Ram has to do. If Ram’s workload is lessened, then Rem’s work inevitably gets reduced, too. It’s a win-win situation.”

“Wouldn’t I be overwhelmed with work instead, though!?”

“…?”

And now she’s tilting her head as if she didn’t understand what I am complaining about.

Subaru lost the energy to talk back since she responded in a way that made it seem like she didn’t get his point. On one hand, he was baffled by it, but on the other, he was happy about it.

“Ok, alright, understood. Let’s staaart studying then.”

“Barusu, in your case, your conversational grammar is fine, so it shouldn’t be too difficult. The language skills you were born with shouldn’t be blamed.”

“Aren’t you insulting me by making it seem like you are praising me?” Subaru said as he sat in front of the desk and grabbed the quill, fully prepared to get started.

Subaru never had the chance to hold a quill before, but it was light, and when you slid it over the paper, it produced beautifully written words.

It was the memorable first stroke in this world. Subaru faced the cover of the book and started writing with a large stroke of his quill. “Subaru Natsuki has arrived… Alright.”

“Sorry to interrupt you, but we don’t have time to play around drawing things like that. You need to wake up early tomorrow, so time is limited.”

“No, this is my native language… I knew you wouldn’t get it.”

I was hoping that the things I write down would be translated too since I can have conversations normally, but I guess things aren’t that convenient. To me, the script of this world looks like hieroglyphs, so to them, Japanese probably looks like fancy-looking scribbles.

And so, Subaru couldn’t go on a rampage with his knowledge of idioms that he loved so much.

“But on the other hand, it means that nobody will notice it no matter what kind of obscene fantasies I put into writing. That kind of situation is useful…libido-wise!”

“First, we’ll start with the basic letters, which are E letters. You can move on to Ro letters and Ha letters after you master E letters.”

“There are three types? Just hearing about them makes me want to give up.”

It’s so painful that my heart feels like it’s about to break before learning a new language. I can relate a bit with the feelings of the foreigners trying to learn Japanese. There are three types: Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji, so they would be bewildered once they realized how long it would take them to learn.

“We’ll move on to the fairytales after you get the hang of E letters. We can study until 1 AM Darksun since we also have to do this tomorrow, and Ram is sleepy, too.”

“Showing a glimpse of your true feelings at the end there… I don’t dislike that, boss.”

“Ram likes that about Ram,” she replied without hesitation, thus making it harder to determine whether she was joking around or being serious. Subaru felt that the former had a higher probability, and his alphabet learning lesson began.

When learning a new language, the first thing you need to do is to figure out what kinds of letters it uses. In the case of hiragana, there are 46 characters, and just like that, there are basic characters in other languages, too, and the meanings are formed by combining those basic letters.

Therefore, learning a language begins with writing the letters, but…

“It’s more painful than I imagined… It’s like the time I was learning how to write in cursive.”

Subaru wrote down the basic letters that Ram had written for him at the rate of around 400 letters per page. The accumulation of it was something that could cause Gestaltzerfall, but he accepted that working steadily was the necessary way to get the job done, so he devoted himself to that.

To be honest, my eyelids are heavy due to fatigue and drowsiness, but I can’t fall asleep since Ram’s been keeping me company. That she is being friendly from day one of the second loop is really important to begin with, too. I can’t let the chance slip out of my hands.

“I know that you said that you were doing it to make things easy for you, but it still made me happy,” Subaru admitted, conveying his honest feelings while holding back his embarrassment, to Ram, who was behind him.

When he wasn’t writing the same letter over and over again, producing a soft sound as the quill ran over the pages, Subaru recalled the four days from his previous loop.

Come to think of it, I spent my days chasing Emilia’s ass whenever I had time, but the person I spent the most time with was Ram when I wasn’t doing that.

It must have taken a lot of effort to train Subaru, who was an amateur in all the work around the manor—such as cooking, doing laundry, and cleaning. It was tougher for her since that wasn’t her only job, she did it while performing her regular work.

Obviously, the burden would have fallen upon Rem as well, but the time he spent with her in the four days of the previous loop wasn’t much. Ram and the others said that Rem, who was excellent at everything, did the work that didn’t get done, but Subaru felt bad for indirectly burdening her.

“To be honest, I wasn’t liked much.”

She was as busy as she was, and then a useless newbie came in. She had to teach him various things, utilizing her time after she was done with her work. Just thinking about it was painful for someone like Subaru, who had little experience in dealing with people. To be thought of that way was something he was used to, too.

Thus, Subaru was happy with the current situation where he wasn’t being rejected.

“I know I’m going to keep causing trouble, but please take care of me,” he told Ram, who was silently observing him, as his chair creaked when he gently turned back.

He had suddenly bared his heart and true feelings to her, but Ram silently responded with “Zzz.”

She was sleeping soundly in the bed that had been neatly made. She had taken her shoes and apron off, her headdress was put on the side of the bed, and the covers were pulled up to her shoulders. It was a proper sleeping position.

The quill snapped with a crack.

△▼△▼△▼△

Following the sudden urge, Subaru opened his mouth wide and yawned. He couldn’t hold back his sleepiness. It appeared as tears formed at the corners of his eyes, so he violently rubbed them and straightened his posture. The evening sky was dyed orange with the parting gift of the sun, and the clouds were flowing slowly, welcoming the end of the day. Subaru looked up at all of that and moved the joints in his body to check its condition. He still felt the effects of overworking, but it wasn’t as bad as before.

“But even so, the strength of my body remains the same even after I go back in time… I guess it means that I learned how to move my body, so it doesn’t get as tired.”

It wasn’t that his body was getting used to it, but rather that he was getting used to the work, which improved his efficiency. He predicted that it would lead to a slight reduction in fatigue.

If there’s a possibility that the loop will occur again, then I can’t expect to strengthen my body through repeating things. The only thing I can do is revise the events that are going to occur and practice household chores.

I can’t continue with this if I don’t think like that. Since…

“Subaru, sorry for making you wait. —Are you fine?”

“Hm, yeah, I’m fine, I’m fine. Remrin, are you done with your shopping now?”

“Yes, it went without a hitch. You looked like you were having a lot of trouble, Subaru.”

The blue-haired girl holding a handbag with goods inside in front of him—Rem—tilted her head and appreciated Subaru’s effort.

She was in her usual maid outfit, her hair swaying in the wind as she looked at Subaru with a slightly relaxed expression. At Subaru, who had stained his butler’s uniform with mud, dust, snot, and tears.

“You were quite popular,” she said.

“I don’t know why, but I’ve always been a kid magnet. Maybe it’s because there’s a maternal instinct inside me that can’t be suppressed and is irresistible to kids, so it keeps attracting them to me.”

“Children are like animals in that they assign ranks to humans. They know instinctively whether they should take a person lightly or not.”

“You aren’t complimenting me, are you!?” Subaru exclaimed, putting a hand on his chin to show his dissatisfaction, but Rem didn’t respond.

Subaru nodded his head thinking that Ram and Rem were indeed sisters after getting such a harsh comment. With Ram, who was direct, and Rem, who said things in a reserved manner, one needed to be tough mentally to keep up with them. Of course, he needed to be physically tough too or else he wouldn’t be able to keep up with the work in the first place.

With a wry smile, Subaru turned his hips and looked around while moving his neck. The high-pitched voices of the children could be heard from the square behind him. He had been in the group of children a few moments ago, struggling against their blows and drool. Everyone had been relentless, and it was a lonely battle without any allies.

Currently, Subaru and Rem were in the village closest to the manor. Roswaal, even if he was like that, had the status of Margrave, so naturally he was a nobleman that ruled over quite a bit of territory in his fiefdom.

This village near his house is no exception, and the people who live here know us as a matter of course. The two maids in particular since they probably go out to buy groceries often, and that’s why the rate of people greeting them was high as they passed by.

On the other hand, it seemed like the villagers knew about Subaru’s existence. Although it was actually his first time going there, he was welcomed amicably, and it made him feel uneasy yet happy at the time.

However… “What’s up with those kids being over-familiar… Can’t they recognize my hard-boiledick aura that can burn them if they touch me?” Subaru blurted out the title that he wanted to say in a deep voice while lighting a cig. (Totally imagining it)

Hard-boiledick, short for hard-boiled and adultic.

Rem, who was walking in front of him, gave him a sideways glance. “You said you had a maternal instinct, and now you are pretending to be an adult. You are a busy person, Subaru.”

“If I was busy, then I wouldn’t be in such a bad situation. Shit, I should’ve gone shopping with you, Remrin.”

Even if Subaru had gone shopping with her, he would have been useless since he didn’t know how to distinguish between ingredients or even know what they were called. So, he had stepped back from that to not bother her. But then the children from the village found him and kidnapped him, which was something he hadn’t expected.

“I don’t have any complaints in general, but… I can’t accept that.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Never mind, it’s something that has to do with me. I’m glad that I can have a conversation with you without being cautious. In Ramchi’s case, I can’t predict the angle from which she’d look down at me.”

“Isn’t my sister wonderful?”

The conversation was slightly out of sync.

Rem looked slightly proud as she bragged about her elder sister. Subaru assumed that they were honest words without a hint of deceit in them, but…

“To be frank, aren’t there a lot of problems with Ramchi’s personality? It seems like it would often cause conflicts.”

“It isn’t as bad as you, Subaru, who is still new to being a servant.”

“That’s, what, I, thought.”

Learn wisdom from the follies of others.

It was obvious that Subaru’s critique of Ram’s ability and personality would be mocked since his current contribution was half that of Ram’s. The person hearing it was the upgraded version of said Ram as well.

The destructiveness of her sarcasm was also a few steps higher than Ram’s, making up for it not being direct.

Subaru scratched his head and pondered as he followed behind Rem as she walked ahead of him. —I’m sure I was accompanying Ram during the village shopping trip in the previous loop.

“Speaking of which, Subaru, how is your study progressing?”

“Steadily…is what I want to say, but things aren’t that easy. Everything must be nurtured slowly, over time. It’s the same as love!”

“I hope it doesn’t wither halfway.”

“Remrin, the love in your comment just now is withered!” Subaru screamed, changing Rem’s expression into a slight smile that made him smile too.

—Four days have passed already since Ram volunteered for the private lessons at night. She said that she would take turns with Rem while teaching me letters, but in all that time, Rem has never been the instructor. From the standpoint of the situation, it probably means that Rem couldn’t afford to leave her work, and it seems like she was feeling guilty about it.

Subaru continued smiling at Rem, who couldn’t even come up with a response like she usually did, and then…

“Youuu dooon’t neeed tooo worrrry about it. It isn’t like I’m being neglected, and I am not complaining about Ramchi being the instructor. No, wait, it definitely demotivates me when she falls asleep on the bed while teaching me, but still.”

“Sister is acting like that on purpose to raise your motivation.”

“That’s some positive thinking that far exceeds mine. The way you worship your sister is out of this world. You really are possessed by a demon.”

“Possessed, by a demon…?” Rem tilted her head at the word that was trending inside Subaru lately.

“It’s the demon version of being possessed by a god, being possessed by a demon. Doesn’t it sound nice?”

“Do you like demons?”

“I like them more than God. Since God usually does nothing, but I’ve heard that a demon laughs with you when you tell them about your vision of the future.”

They get especially excited when they hear the things about the coming year.

Subaru thought of the scene where the Blue and Red Demon had their arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders and were laughing loudly, and then, suddenly, he saw a definite smile on Rem’s face.

“Oh…”

He had seen her smile faintly several times before, but it was the first time she had shown an expression that could be described as a proper smile.

Subaru didn’t know if it had struck a chord with her, but he snapped his fingers and said, “That smile is as bright as Pikachu’s million-volt thunderbolt.”

“I’ll tell Lady Emilia.”

“It wasn’t like I was hitting on you!?”

He straightened his posture, thrust out his hands and did the pose of meekly begging for forgiveness.

Suddenly, Rem raised her eyebrows slightly, looking at Subaru taking that pose. “What happened to that hand?”

“Hm? Oh, the dog that the kids were playing with took a big bite out of it.”

The wound on my left hand has a prominent bitemark on it. It bled a little, but it stopped already. I remember that this happened to me in the last loop, so it means that I have gotten to the weird part of the loop.

By the way, someone blew their nose on the back of his butler’s uniform, so it had a ton of snot on it, but the time he would notice it would be the same as the previous loop, which was after he returned to the manor.

“Shall I heal your wound?”

“Huh? What, Remrin, are you the type who can use healing magic?”

“I can do easy things, like simple treatments. Or do you want Lady Emilia to do it?”

“Mm, it’s an attractive offer that can’t be denied. Bu…but…I’ll pass.”

Subaru denied her offer while looking at the toothmark of the canine on the back of his hand. It was because he had decided that the scar was, in a sense, a good mark to know where he was in the loop. It was the disappearance of the scar that made him the most aware of the fact that a new loop had begun the moment he had started a new one.

Whether there is a scar or not is a good indicator. If I hadn’t been bit coincidentally by the dog, then I would’ve ended up hurting myself with a quill or a random knife.

“Hah, I grew out of the phase of wanting a sword scar on my cheek when I was in middle school. Now that I think about it, I was covered in scars, so that makes me…”

I miss the days where I longed to have scars on my face, and I worked hard to leave scratch marks on it. One scar was not enough for me, so I made a lot of them, and it was bad luck that the scars got filled with pus since it landed me in a disastrous situation where I was called the bandage-man. I was the only mummy-man in the graduation album of middle school.

“Oh my, I am, cute…!”

“It’s said that a scar is a man’s badge of honor. Come to think of it, Master Roswaal also brags about a scar that he doesn’t erase. —Around his chest.”

“This seems like the topic is going to be graphic, so can I pass?”

The topic was going to stray towards the suspicious relationship between the maid and her master without Subaru noticing it, so he hurriedly put a stop to it.

Rem tilted her head curiously as if she didn’t understand what he was talking about, and Subaru pushed her on the back. “Never mind, never mind,” he said, then hurried on home.

Subaru wasn’t confident that he could keep up with a graphic topic like that and was also a bit nervous.

—Since he was on the fourth day of his second loop in another world.

“I’ll see if I can make it to tomorrow morning in one piece. But before that.”

Whether I’ll be able to make that promise with Emilia or not is just as important.

“…Anyway, I’m worried about Ramchi and Remrin’s sexual knowledge. I’m worried that they are being tricked by that master into doing things while being none the wiser.”

These questions have begun to creep into my mind as I have begun to know things in more detail than the previous week of the previous loop. I’ll make a little inquiry after I’m done with taking care of my situation.

Subaru secretly made up his mind to do so.

△▼△▼△▼△

Subaru Natsuki’s second first week at Roswaal Manor was now facing its greatest problem. He wasn’t able to follow the steps of the previous loop that he had revised, so it wasn’t smooth sailing to begin with, but now it was facing its greatest crisis.

Which was…

“I can’t go meet Emilia-tan because I have to study.”

Whispering their love to one another in the moonlit garden and making a pinky promise; Subaru held such hopes for the second night, so this situation that interfered with his promise event was the worst thing that could happen to him.

It was only the fourth day of study, and before dinner, I casually asked the twins directly, “Wouldn’t it be ok if I took a break today?” But…

“Sister, Sister. A spineless guy called Subaru has given up already.”

“Rem, Rem. A pathetic dog that’s inferior to humans and animals is saying something in dog language.”

And thus, I was dismissed with an unprecedented blank stare.

He wanted to rush to Emilia’s side even if he had to skip the lesson, but…

“If Emilia-tan finds out that I have skipped the lessons through Ram or Rem, then, knowing her personality, she will definitely cancel our promise!”

It would be useless even if I’m able to make the promise if it gets reneged upon later. The promised couple’s rendezvous. And the two burn passionately in the flower garden and disappear into the nightlife district.

It would be a Happy End, according to Subaru, if it reached that point.

“But then, if I study properly, then Emilia-tan will fall asleep before I can meet her.”

Therefore, there was only one best answer for Subaru.

Which is: Finish the assignments as quickly as possible and go down to the garden before the moon disappears behind the clouds.

This is it.

“Or I can lure Ram into falling asleep with my ultimate bedmaking skills and make the promise while she’s sleeping and then come back and finish the assignment… I’d be able to kill two birds with one stone!”

In other words, you could say he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. It was a sad man’s heart wavering between the assignment and the promise.

I’ve prepared plan B and have already adjusted my bed. The bedding is in great shape, having soaked up the sunlight, and the warmth you feel just by touching it is powerful enough to make you fall into dreamland in no time.

There, Subaru concentrated all of his hidden hotelier abilities into it, and the masterpiece of bedmaking was complete.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to make a better bed than this…”

It was literally a masterpiece in which he put in everything he had.

It’s really captivating workmanship even though I’m the one who did this. I usually hate Ram for lying on my bed without my permission, but now I can’t wait for her to come into my room.

“I feel as if I’m waiting for a cockroach to enter my newly purchased roach trap as fast as possible—I’m the worst!”

I’m not gonna rephrase it since that’s how it is.

However, the fact that he was waiting for his opponent with such dutifulness could be said to be a sign of his Japanese temperament, which was the reason why he couldn’t be ruthless.

He stood in front of the desk, tapping on his knee with his finger, and waited for her. But…

“Why does she have to be late today? If it begins late, then consequently, it will end late too. Unlike lessons in school, there’s no bell that rings when it’s over.”

In schools, if the teacher is late, then it would be a ‘I was waiting for this!’ situation, but in the current situation, it’s a pure waste of time that keeps me stuck here longer. It’s not like I don’t like the idea of putting extra time into revising stuff, but I have to say that keeping my mind calm and going for the letters in this state of mind is pretty harsh.

Subaru himself didn’t realize that it was a ridiculous resolve to try to finish his assignments early with such feelings.

As the time was ticking by, he became more and more impatient, so he rushed towards the door and violently opened it the moment he heard a knock. And then, he lashed out. “You’re late! Every second of this may have been nothing to you, but to me, it was equivalent to chipping away at whatever sanity I had left!”

“…I didn’t know that you were waiting that much, I’m sorry? I was late because I haven’t been on this floor much.”

He felt like his face had turned as white as a sheet when Emilia, who was waiting outside the door, said that.

Chapter 17 The Sound of a Chain

“So, since Ram or Rem can’t come see you tonight… I took over the role of supervising your studies.”

“I see! Wow, I’m glad, a real surprise! Oh, please, sit. You want tea or something, right? Oh, I snuck out some special tea snacks.”

Subaru invited Emilia into the room, and started to prepare to welcome her in a rush. He rushed through the hall, went into what seemed like an employees-only hot water supply room, prepared tea and tea snacks, and then dashed back. This feat of agility was done in a matter of two minutes.

Perfectly displaying the skills he had learned while living in the mansion as an employee, Subaru showed a working attitude he had not even shown to Roswaal himself.

“Thanks for waiting! I’m back! Brought special tea leaves and tea snacks, we can feed each other!”

“I feel like you may have forgotten the main reason I’m here… Do you mind?”

Subaru, still holding the tray, tilted his head with question marks at Emilia, who had been standing there in the room like she was out of place.

She slowly pointed towards the bed and asked Subaru, “Is it just me, or is it way too neatly arranged?”

“Ah! Nah! It’s not like I had a plan or anything, just thought I’d let Ramchi sleep there! It’s not suspicious!”

“What were you going to do having Ram sleep in your bed?”

“I feel like the misunderstanding suddenly made a quick turn!?”

He put the tray down on the table, and dove onto his bed under Emilia’s suspicious gaze. He took his time to mess up the bed all he could.

“Seee, now it’s all wrecked. Right! A naughty girl like Ramchi deserves to sleep in a messy bed!”

“So you still intend for her to sleep here.”

“I can’t win this by myself! Puck, come ouuuuut!”

“It’s already his bedtime so don’t wake him up… I mean, it doesn’t matter.”

Emilia crossed her arms as she watched Subaru turn to the gray cat for help, and looked away. “It’s fine that you’re friendly with Ram and Rem, but you need to do it in moderation. Not to mention those two are still young…”

“I personally like that you have strong virtues. I mean, isn’t there a more suitable person to receive that comment in this mansion? I’ll give ya a hint, he’s a pervert with long hair.”

“Ah, whatever… I’ve given up on trying to fix that.”

“So much so that you look super gloomy, Emilia-tan! It’s kinda giving me goosebumps!”

With resignation in her eyes, her behavior was like an abandoned puppy, which activated Subaru’s protective instincts. To cut a long story short, Emilia was cute to him, whatever expression she was making. In short…

“E. M. T. (Emilia-tan is seriously an angel!)”

“Your face tells me you’re reaaally speaking nonsense. Maybe I’ve finally come to understand you, Subaru.”

“Aw, that’s a delight to hear. But don’t think you can see through me so easily. Oh, here’s some tea.”

“Oh, thanks.” Emilia took the tea from his hands and softly moistened her throat with it. Offering her the chair in front of the desk, Subaru sipped tea while sitting on his bed.

Sharing the treasured tea snacks, they enjoyed a calm and peaceful time together. Maybe this is what they call happiness.

“This is, how, I feel,” said Subaru.

“You’re saying something very ordinary but it kind of resonates with the heart,” Emilia admitted.

“It’s a word trick. The trick is to pronounce them like they’re katakana. It’s just saying normal things like they are normal.”

Emilia reacted naturally, probably because she had gotten used to Subaru talking nonsense.

She was also somehow glad that he was enjoying their peaceful time together.

“A-Actually, I didn’t come here to fool around,” Emilia declared, “so you shouldn’t be relaxing.”

“Who comes to a man’s room alone at night and doesn’t expect some happenings! Don’t you know it’s dangerous!?”

“You know that I can use magic even without Puck, right?”

The air started to crack apart with a dry sound, and the temperature in the room decreased drastically.

Seeing the steam from the tea becoming more forceful and thick, Subaru came to the conclusion that further delaying this study session would be impossible. “Ok ok, got it. Let’s study, it’s study time. A heart-racing lesson in a private room at night with Emilia-tan… I got excited just saying that!”

“Fine, fine, I got it. Anyways, what do you usually do?” asked Emilia from the side with her hands on the back of the seat after Subaru had moved to the chair. Feeling her breath on him, Subaru nervously opened his notebook and textbook.

“I’m currently learning the basic E letters,” he replied. “It seems like the fairytales are mostly a collection of stories written with E letters, so my goal at the moment is to be able to read them.”

“Huh, a collection of fairytales.”

Emilia took the book with the reddish-brown spine and flipped through the pages to check its contents. She suddenly stopped turning them, and Subaru looked up at her. “Huh? Was there a story that caught your attention?”

“Hmm not really, but kinda. Well, once you’re able to read this, you’ll come to understand.”

Emilia closed the book with a sound, then walked to the bed and sat down. Looking at her sitting on the bed that he had messed up made Subaru slightly excited and restless.

However, she stretched her body as though not noticing Subaru’s animalistic urges.

“I was actually supposed to meet with the ones I can only meet during Darksun but then I was requested by Ram and Rem. So I’ll prioritize you for today. You should thank me.”

“I’m super thankful! Truly is Buddha’s guidance!”

“Th-That’s a bit much, you’re making me blush.”

“Thank you! Ramchi! Remrin! I’ll never let your considerations go to waste! I, Subaru Natsuki, will become a man!”

“Huh!? What about me!?”

He shouted out his thanks to the twins who had created this situation for him, then turned back to the dissatisfied Emilia and put out both hands. “Of course, I’m blown away by your kindness and deeply moved, Emilia-tan. When we finish studying and stuff, would you like a massage or something? With my cherished gratitude towards you, I’ll relieve your daily fatigue real attentively. Ge-he-he.”

“That sounds kind of dirty, so I’m good.”

“Shit, why am I so honest! Though I don’t hate that part of me!”

Emilia sighed at Subaru, who was leaning on the desk fake crying. She then clapped her hands to change the direction of the conversation. “Now, don’t be playing around forever. We have work tomorrow too, so let’s finish this before it gets too late. Okay, let’s continue.”

“Ok, got it. Oh, Emilia-tan, you can have the rest of the tea snacks, ok?”

“Whatever, thanks…hm, but it’s a snack.”

I guess it’s even common in this world for girls to refrain from eating snacks between meals, huh.

Gaining such useless knowledge, Subaru began his daily practice of writing letters with Emilia behind him.

Once he threw himself into it, Subaru could focus on studying. While he was conscious of Emilia’s existence, as long as he felt that he could still make that promise, it was something he could ignore. So there was no need to be anxious.

From that peace of mind, Subaru calmly copied the letters. After a while of silence, Emilia suddenly called out from the back. “I see. You don’t get sidetracked as much as I imagined.”

“Cuz I’m focusing. I’m the type of guy who hyper-focuses once he gets into it. That’s why I’m so devoted to the girl I love!”

“I hope so. Though maybe not when you’re making eyes at me.”

Subaru was a little overwhelmed by Emilia’s teasing. It seemed likely that his past attempts hadn’t been taken seriously.

Perhaps she could believe him a little bit since he was saying it so straightforwardly.

“But like, with my skill, it’s impossible to flirt without teasing. The shame would literally give me an unnatural death. Shortening my life as I fall in love with love, just like Heian nobles!”

“Whatever, no fooling around… You should be as serious as this on a regular basis. Ram and Rem are going to give up on you.”

Emilia, on the bed with her arms around her knees, mumbled to the troubled Subaru. Her skirt was short and suggestive, but she seemed to be subtly unaware of how unguarded she was.

Subaru focused on the edge of his vision as he tilted his body slightly. She would obviously notice if he turned his head, so he only secretly looked.

“This, indeed, is the Yin family of magic’s art of concealment!”

Subaru burned with an odd sense of mission. Not knowing his objective, Emilia had a cloudy expression on her face, as she lowered her gaze in her sensational position. Then she muttered, “Hey Subaru. I don’t really want to ask you this but…why aren’t you usually more serious like this?”

“It’s my policy to seriously be unserious and…guess that kind of answer is not what you want to hear right now, huh. Um?”

“Yeah, I’m serious. —Ram was also complaining a little bit. That you seem like, hmm, like you’re cutting corners here and there in your work.”

Maybe because it seemed like she was telling on him, Emilia spoke hesitantly. However, all Subaru could do was internally frown in pain that she was right on point.

I gotta admit that it’s a totally accurate evaluation to say that I’ve been cutting corners here and there while on the job.

In fact, Subaru was not seriously devoting himself to his work. Rather, you could say he was making adjustments to gain the same results as before.

Compared to when he hardly understood his work, Subaru now more or less had gotten used to it. You could say that if he had an employee skill of all Cs, he currently had all C+s.

In reality, he had just begun to climb the tall tall hill of an employee, but maybe that slight difference didn’t manage to deceive the eyes of those senior to him.

Naturally, the sense of guilt slowed down Subaru’s mouth.

Seeing Subaru who could not utter another word, Emilia murmured “I thought so,” before continuing. “Well, it’s not like you don’t feel guilty. You’re faithful at strange moments, Subaru. Like how you aren’t slacking off while studying.”

“Well, I guess I have my reasons, studying benefits me… I realized it when I said it, but I kinda act in my own self-interest, huh.”

Thinking back, that was a terrible thing to say.

He had been causing trouble for the twins due to his own circumstances, working hard for the things that would only benefit himself, and cutting corners even outside of that. I messed up big time, huh.

“Ah, I will attend to it with a renewed attitude starting tomorrow, please forgive me, my queen.”

“Hmm, that’s alright… Wait a second.” Emilia tilted her head, as though she’d felt something was off about her response.

While feeling at ease at her softened attitude, Subaru promised himself that he would make his words reality starting tomorrow.

At any rate, it was a good place to restart. After that, he wouldn’t have to retrace his previous work, and he wouldn’t have to intentionally cut corners at his work either.

He would be able to return the debt of gratitude to both Ram and Rem.

Of course, just because I stop cutting corners doesn’t mean that my level of ability is gonna immediately rise either.

“Your mentality is important for these things. My dilligentness has a value that can’t be bought. Indeed, it’s priceless.”

“You fool around at your convenience again… Did you finish studying?”

“Yeah, today’s share! Oh ya, I have a favor to ask you, Emilia-tan, can you hear me out?” Fiddling with his fingers, he glanced up at Emilia using his secret technique: puppy-dog eyes. It was a gesture targeting her maternal instincts, but she looked slightly disturbed.

“No, I have a reaaally bad feeling about this one.”

“Such a negative impression that you are disgusted!? It’s nothing like that! I just wanted a reward for working hard starting tomorrow.”

“A reward! Just to let you know, I don’t have any spare money, alright?”

“I was also completely and utterly broke till I received my salary. Ju-Ju-Ju-Just hear me out. So since I’m gonna work seriously starting tomorrow… Let’s go on a date!”

Putting his thumb up with shining teeth, he made his signature pose, content with the results.

Emilia blinked her eyes at Subaru’s usual posing and said, “A da-te, what do we do?”

“Ha, simply, if a man and woman go out alone, that is a date. Only the goddess of romance knows what happens during that time.”

“So, you went on a da-te with Rem today, Subaru.”

“My date-virginity has been taken!? I lost my chastity!”

Emilia wryly laughed with an “Ok, ok” at Subaru, who had broken down into tears with his arms wrapped around himself. Waving her hand, she said, “I get that you want to go out together, but where do you want to go?”

“Eh, there’s actually a super lovely dog right near this mansion. There’s also a field of flowers and it’s really pretty. I wanna forever commemorate our co-starred scene amongst the blooming flowers with my magical item.”

His initial equipment had also been collected after the battle in the loot house and stored in the corner of the room.

The contents in the plastic bag were untouched, and not to mention the cell phone, the snacks and instant ramen were also in good condition.

“If I had a charger and an outlet, I would fill up the storage with pictures of Emilia-tan…and change my phone wallpaper everyday. Aargh, I really wanna do that. Why was I summoned to another world, Thomas!”

Calling the name of the great inventor, all he could do was lament the gap in the level of civilization of this world. His cell phone battery showed one less bar, and it was only a matter of time.

Eventually, I may have to bet on charging it with lightning magic or something.

“That’s like a solution in a children’s manga…”

“Hmm, so a village.”

Emilia looked deep in thought with a hand on her cheek, while Subaru talked to himself. That reminds me how she was troubled like that before, he recalled.

Based on his memory that it was not something negative like not wanting to go out with him, he tried to recreate his memory of how he had pushed through in that situation. Right…

“The dog is super cute, let’s go!”

“But I might cause you trouble, Subaru, and to the village people…”

“The kids are also innocent and like an army of real angels, let’s go!”

“…Uh, Ok. I got it. I’ll go with you.”

“The field of flowers is really colorful and wonderful, let’s go… Wait, r-really?”

He almost felt tricked, as there was less pushback than last time.

“If that’s going to make you motivated from tomorrow, I’ll hang out with you. You can’t fool around, alright?”

“I won’t, I won’t! I’m super speedy! If anything, I have the energy to abandon the dog and the kids and the field of flowers so that it can just be the two of us!”

“That defeats the whole purpose of the da-te!” Emilia skillfully countered Subaru’s comment.

After that, the two continued to exchange joking comments, then as she realized it was getting late, Emilia stood up and said, “Well then,”

“If you’re tired,” Subaru interjected, “you can just sleep in that bed?”

“You seem to be panting and the sheets are messy so no thanks.”

“Shit! Why is it so messy… It’s Ramchi, getting in the way even when she’s not even here.”

It seemed as though Ram’s face, who had been the number one person he was thankful for a moment ago, was floating in the night sky, looking down at him in disdain.

Next to Subaru, who was imagining a scene of him being a corpse under a sky full of stars, Emilia walked towards the window and also looked up at the sky. “Yes, the stars are pretty tonight… I’m sure the weather will be nice tomorrow.”

“—Yeah, and it will be an unforgettable day.”

“Can’t believe it…” Turning around with her back facing the windowsill, Emilia was about to reprimand Subaru for his jokes yet again. However, her lips stopped moving when she saw him.

It was probably because she saw that his expression was unusually serious.

Noticing Emilia who suddenly went quiet, Subaru blinked. “Huh, what happened? If you take your time too much, sleepy me will irrationally make you a body pillow, Emilia-tan.”

“After all, you are a weird boy, Subaru.”

“A sudden and outrageous assessment!? Did I do something!?”

Subaru was surprised by the unexpected comment. Leaving the window behind, Emilia crossed the room and passed by Subaru’s side with an adorable “Nothiiing,” before looking back at him with her hand on the doorknob. “Well then, Butler Subaru. Work hard tomorrow. Rewards are rewards because they are given to only those who worked hard.”

She raised her hand like she was saluting, and flipped her silver hair, leaving a wry smile behind. Her shadow disappeared outside the door before hearing his response.

Even if he reached out his hand, he couldn’t reach her anymore. The door shut with a light sound, leaving Subaru alone in the room.

However—

“Hey-hey-hey-hey, are you kidding. I’m so motivated now. Like really.”

The promise he wanted to make was again made.

And Subaru could face the night again.

Will I be able to get through the fourth night and pick her up on the morning of the fifth day?

The duration of the battle would be approximately six hours.

“Well, let’s get on with it, dear destiny—”

△▼△▼△▼△

Subaru sat on the floor with his bed against his back, instead of sitting on the bed, waiting with hope that the night would gradually turn into morning.

The cool floor had become warm with Subaru’s body heat after sitting there for over two hours, which did not help with keeping him awake.

However, his drowsiness had yet to catch up to him. In fact, he was as alert as could be.

The reason is obvious.

“Who could sleep with their heart beating this fast?”

His heart was pounding quickly, loudly, and sharply, with the sound ringing in his ears. He could keenly feel the blood rushing through his body, and his fingertips felt slightly numb.

“I’m like this because I am impatiently waiting for my promised plan with Emilia-tan. Whoa, whoa, am I an elementary schooler who can’t sleep before his field trip? Don’t remember oversleeping on the day of my graduation trip.”

Surely the whole family overslept. They must’ve been so excited that they forgot to wake up. The sadness of being the only one who brought a convenience-store lunch box still haunts me at the back of my mind.

Reflecting on the painful memory in his mind, Subaru looked up at the sky as he distracted himself.

The stars shined like always, and only the placement of the moon moved gradually to the west.

Could it be around four hours before the sun rises from the east? thought Subaru. It’s a long time indeed.

Although not sleepy at all, he had to continue to be alert as he didn’t know what could happen. It was hard to kill time thinking of the possibility of an attack, so all Subaru could do in that moment was listen to his body’s pounding sound while he kept on thinking.

He reflected on the past four days, or rather, the second round of four days.

Being out of shape at the beginning, and the difference with the first week. The impact that had on tonight must have been pretty big.

However, on the other hand, he thought that he was able to get past some of the memorable events. There were also subevents added to the second week.

If I assume that the reason for going back was due to failing to trigger a flag, is there a possibility that an event like this study session would count as that?

“I can’t deny it as a possibility, but…”

Hypothetically, if there was an existence that was leading Subaru to a loop, it would be difficult to draw the conclusion that this study session was an important thing.

Having said that, there didn’t seem to be a big change outside of that. His relationship with Emilia did not change, and he felt like his relationship with Ram and Rem was better than before.

“If I were to have a regret…”

It would be that I wasn’t able to meet Beatrice this evening.

In the previous world, Subaru had trespassed Beatrice’s room by “door breaking” right after making the promise with Emilia.

He didn’t remember talking about anything significant, and he would have to say that the possibility of it being the flag was very low, but compared to last time, he had had an even worse relationship with her.

As a result of his crammed schedule, Subaru barely had any opportunities to encounter her in these past four days.

“Although we were just throwing insults back and forth last time we met.”

Though he complained, there was something that Subaru couldn’t get off his mind.

It was true that he didn’t recall talking to Beatrice, but what had unmistakingly saved his heart in the last loop was her attitude.

It’s because her hostile yet straightforward attitude towards me helped me get back on my feet.

“I should have thanked her at least.”

It probably won’t ring a bell for her in this world, and I can already guess what she’d say if I said it, too.

Although they would insult each other when they met, Subaru’s face loosened up when he thought of Beatrice.

Even the same old exchanges were memories that made him laugh when he remembered them like this.

If he could see tomorrow, the next morning, he could do much more of what he wanted to do.

Not just to Beatrice, he also had much to say to Ram and Rem, and even Roswaal.

Of course, they’ll have to forgive me since I’ll have to shower Emilia with ten thousand words first. “Wait, maybe ten thousand words won’t be enough to express my feelings for her. I’ll express the rest with actions then…”

In his daydream, he hugged the shy Emilia in his arms, and his lips met hers as she looked up with rosy cheeks. He got worked up upon imagining that game-like scene.

He laughed out loud when looking back on last time and this time—a total of eight days.

As if being taken in by his inner peace, his eyelids started to become heavy, even though there were still more than three hours till morning.

“It seriously wouldn’t be a joke if I fall asleep now. It’s not like I’m just playing an online game…”

He rubbed his eyelids as he said that, chasing away the sleepiness that was bubbling up. However, his sleepiness was accompanied with a slight chill, and he laughed at himself as it made him shiver.

He crossed his arms around his shoulders and tried to warm up his body. Yet, no matter how much he did that, the chills did not go away. Rather, there was no sign that they were going away.

—This is weird.

Subaru realized the change in his once optimistic situation.

—Cold is an understatement, it’s more like pain.

When he looked under his sleeves, he saw goosebumps rising on his arms, and it was apparent to him that he was shivering internally.

This was abnormal. This other world had warm weather, and he could usually maintain the perfect temperature by rolling up his sleeves.

Then why is it so cold that my teeth are chattering now?

“This is bad, no way, could it be…!”

He began shaking, though from terror rather than the chills, and fell to the floor. He tried to brace himself with his arms, but the chills could already be felt throughout his whole body, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t find the strength in his arms to get up.

After trying for nearly 30 seconds, he somehow managed to finally stand up. But both his knees were shaking, and he felt that he could fall to the ground any time if his attention wavered.

He could feel himself growing weak. He felt a sense of fatigue in his hands and feet. His once-loud heartbeat weakened, and he slowly felt his thinking becoming dull.

He could find no strength left in his entire body, and he could even forget to breathe if he didn’t focus on it.

Lips shaking as he tried to gasp, Subaru crawled out into the hallway to call for help—dragging his feet behind him.

“…S-Someone.” He tried to shout for help, but his voice trembled, as if something was blocking his throat.

His throat dried out, only allowing air to pass through, and his breathing slowed, as if his lungs had been overcome with fatigue.

This is bad. That single thought overtook Subaru’s mind.

He could not think of a single solution, and he could not understand what was being done to him.

The only thing he knew was the fact that the current situation was threatening his life.

Groaning, he aimed for the stairs with uncertainty. Even though it was a path he was used to walking and the distance wasn’t very far, his destination seemed so distant.

His breathing became hoarse, and walking from there to the upper floor was mortifying as each step wore down his soul.

“Aaah… Aaah…”

Subaru finally made it up to the top floor crawling one step at a time using his arms and legs. He headed further back into the hallway—to where the person who he longed for was.

He felt like the inside of his body was melting, and there was a discomfort as though everything was being mixed together. He dragged his feet onward as he failed to contain the nausea and tears that swelled up.

I have to go to Emilia, to where Emilia is.

A sense of mission, of obligation, of an emotion he could not spell out was driving Subaru.

There was nothing like the desire to be saved, which would only reaffirm the misery that was his life, but while ungraceful, there was simply a pressing sense of absoluteness that he had to go there.

Emilia’s room was at the end of the hall on the upper floor of Roswaal Manor’s west wing.

When he arrived at that floor, Subaru was only faintly breathing. If there was someone looking at him from the side, they may have looked away due to how pathetic he looked.

Leaning against the wall, dripping feces and urine, face dirty with tears and vomit, his figure failed to maintain its basic human form.

His whole body felt exhausted, and none of his muscles obeyed his commands. To Subaru, the place he was approaching seemed as far away as the clouds.

“───”

He was breathing heavily, and his ears were ringing with high-pitched and loud noises.

Therefore, it was simply a coincidence that he noticed that odd sound.

It seemed like the clinking of a chain.

The strange sound stopped Subaru’s step. At that moment, his body leaning on the wall began to slide down. He stood firmly. But, unable to resist, he fell to the floor and…

“—Huh?”

The next second, the impact struck Subaru.

He completely lost his balance and was blown away instead of just falling down.

Subaru only realized that he had taken a big blow after he had bounced off the ground several times and wiped the floor with his face.

But there was no pain.

There was just a lingering discomfort running from the tip of his hands and feet to his stomach. A sense of fatigue was controlling his body, similar to that of the numbing sensation when your blood flow got interrupted.

“What, ha…”

Happened, he murmured as tried to lift himself up while lying on his stomach. However, his shaking arms held no strength in them. No, that’s odd. I cannot balance myself. First of all, why doesn’t my left arm appear while my right arm is working so hard?

The hallway was already dim, but it felt like it was refusing to help by not even giving any light. In his blurred and distorted vision, Subaru looked at his right arm struggling in vain, then shifted his eyes to his left arm that had stopped listening to him and…

…realized that the left side of his body had been torn off.

“—Aaa?”

After pushing his lying body to the side and positioning the left half upward, Subaru was stunned with shock.

He needed both of his arms to get up, but the left half simply didn’t exist. His left arm had been blown away from the shoulder, and you could see his flesh and bone sticking out of the wound. The peach-colored inside was vibrant as ever in the night air, and vivid red blood was gushing out of it.

The wound was not limited to the left shoulder but continued around to the ribs on his left side, and some internal organs were peeking out where flesh had been ripped apart. How many times have I seen my own intestines now? He thought half fascinated, until it was promptly followed by pain coursing through his body once he realized the damage.

It could neither be described as painful nor hot, and it blocked Subaru’s throat like a fish on land, taking away the opportunity to scream at the top of his lungs.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah—”

His vision started to flicker, and red and yellow lights flashed before his eyes.

It crossed out the familiar view of the mansion, and took Subaru’s consciousness to a different place not of this world.

I wanna die.

I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die I wanna die.

I don’t know the meaning of life.

I can’t call this living.

I’m just not dead yet. I will only die soon. I will die soon.

I don’t know anything. Everything is far away.

I can’t remember what I was trying to do. I can’t remember what I was. Nothing matters. I don’t care, I just wanna die.

The wish Subaru made with the entirety of his being…

“The sound of… a chain…”

…came true as his skull was crushed, that whisper being the last thing he heard.

Chapter 18 The Third Reunion

“…!” Waking to the sound of your own screaming is one of the worst things you can experience. Subaru sent the blanket flying as his hand immediately shot up. He gasped haggardly as he absorbed the shock. “My left arm…is still there…right?”

His left hand was raised in the air as if reaching out for something. His previously obliterated left side was again intact. Despite having lost a limb for only a short time, the feeling of loss hit Subaru like nothing else.

He raised himself up and rotated his left shoulder to make sure it still functioned as normal. No trace of damage remained on his left side, and there was no sign of the dog bite on his reattached left hand. If my scars were still there, I could’ve passed off this terrible feeling as a nightmare after passing out, but…

“I came back… No, I made it back.”

That’s what the missing scars mean. Fate got the better of me and I was forced back in time. In that case, it’s better to say I lost but was given another go at it.

With all that squared away, Subaru realized he needed the day and time. According to his experience with Return by Death, he should have returned to his first day at Roswaal Manor. But it was possible he’d been sent back to a different point in time, so he first had to confirm this detail.

“Ah, sorry. Good morning.”

It was at that moment he noticed the presence of the twins holding each other’s hands off to the side of the room. An unconscious man had suddenly awoken screaming; of course they’d be scared. Even with his relaxed greeting, the twins didn’t respond. They remained huddled together like small animals protecting each other.

Scratching his head, Subaru wondered what he should do. The twins probably forgot all about me, huh? The thought pierced his heart, but he suppressed the pain and formed a smile. He’d have to first show goodwill in order to get along with them. Even if they had forgotten him, he remembered them clearly.

“Sorry for the trouble I’ve caused. Natsuki Subaru, ready to go!”

Subaru leaped up from the bed and raised his arms and leg into a flying crane pose. It intimated the twins, but he remained like that as he asked, “By the way, could ya tell me the day and time?”

And so began his first day at Roswaal Manor for the third time.

Subaru thought back to what happened on the night of the fourth day. It was after I made my promise with Emilia, and it was most likely in the dead of night. Suddenly I got hit by chills and my strength totally drained away. The effect was potent enough to rapidly trigger asthenia. And that was while I was awake. Meaning…

“The first death was from asthenia while I was sleeping…”

Like a thread slowly curling around your neck, it was a slow but certain method of killing. If that’s what had happened while asleep and defenseless, then his consciousness would be swallowed up and he’d never wake again.

But still…

“The sound of a chain…”

The possibility of asthenia is merely conjecture for now, but this new mystery is far more important. The peculiar sound of a long chain clanking about. He clearly remembered that dreadful sound reverberating in his ears. It was immediately after he heard this that he was attacked and lost half his torso.

Just remembering that scene caused his left side to throb. Though his present body hadn’t experienced it, his soul fought against that painful memory.

Without knowing, he grabbed his left arm. “Meaning that there was an attacker. I don’t know if they were the same person who weakened me, but they’re probably working together at least.”

Subaru reasoned that there was at least one person involved during an attack on the mansion on the fourth night, and he just happened to be another victim. There’s no proof that the other inhabitants of the mansion were targets, but…

“If I was targeted, then everyone was probably a target. This is probably related to Emilia-tan’s royal selection, like with the loot house.”

I don’t know if the surrounding nobles have developed a grudge against Roswaal, so I should ignore that for now. If I’m going to get involved, I’d rather be involved in a cute girl’s business.

Subaru clutched his head as he gathered his thoughts. I’ve figured out there’ll be an attack and that Emilia will be targeted. That should be a big step forward. But…

“Even knowing that, I have no proof to explain it with and no real way to prevent it either.”

One problem with Return by Death was that it couldn’t be explained to others. That was the same for this attack on the mansion. If I desperately plead with Roswaal and get him to prepare for the attack, will the attacker see the preparations and just call it off? Where would my proof be in this case?

In the worst case, he was prepared to be branded the boy who cried wolf if it meant protecting Emilia and the others.

And facing the attacker himself was definitely not an option. Firstly, Subaru knew that he didn’t have that sort of power, and on top of that, he didn’t know anything about his attacker.

It would probably end with him crying like a baby while being brutally killed. A poor way to go.

“And I didn’t even see their face or their weapon. A completely meaningless death.”

If he didn’t know anything about his attacker, then there was no way to even begin a counterplan.

He folded his arms, tilted his neck, rotated his hips, and began to moonwalk around in a circle.

At the center of the room, in the middle of Subaru’s moonwalking circle, a young girl spoke up in irritation. “You’re irritating Betty to death, so either leave or Betty will kill you.”

Subaru turned towards the volatile girl and said, “Sorry, sorry. When I get things moving around other than my head, for some reason makes my brain works better. So let it slide, okay? We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“Betty doesn’t recall creating that relationship with you, I suppose. This is only the second time we’ve met.”

“Actions speak louder than words, and you did just let me in here.”

“You just broke through the Door Crossing on your own. What’s going on here, I suppose? Unbelievable.”

As always, Beatrice did nothing to hide her animosity towards Subaru. He initially came to the forbidden library because of this, in fact. He felt he would find some safety and solace in her reliably cold demeanor.

Part of the reason was to clear things up and organize his thoughts, but he also found it difficult to handle Ram and Rem keeping their distance from him like strangers. Unlike before, he properly excused himself before leaving the room this time and came to the only place he felt he could rely on.

“Well, I’m not here to cause any trouble. Just serve some tea and let me chill here.”

“Betty will do no such thing. You are truly irritating, in fact.” Playing with one of the curls in her hair, Beatrice’s lips curled up in annoyance.

A thought occurred to Subaru. “Come to think of it, you’re a magic user, right? Even though you don’t look it.”

“What do you think magic users are? And being compared to those second-rate users is troubling, I suppose.” Beatrice pouted with her nose pointed upwards.

She must have real confidence in herself. Based on that haughty attitude… “You don’t have many friends, do you?”

“Where did that come from?!”

“Well, I don’t have any friends either so I can tell, but that’s not good for you. Being so high and mighty at that age is gonna cause all kinds of trouble going forward.”

Beatrice just sighed at Subaru’s constant teasing. Seeing that reaction out of her made him cut off that topic and switch to the main issue at hand. Right, what I wanted to ask a magic user to begin with…

“Is there magic that can weaken someone until they die?”

Subaru’s sudden asthenia. He wanted to confirm whether it was by poison or disease, or perhaps by magic. My current theory is that the cause for my sudden chills and fatigue was magic. After all, there was no obvious source for a disease to spread that quickly, and the effects were too delayed for me to have ingested poison. Especially in the case of poison, I can’t think of a time I could have ingested it. Dinner was served communally; for example, the soup was served in one bowl and split between all of us. The other possibility is that it was laced in the tea and snacks I had with Emilia.

“In that case, the perpetrator can’t predict when I’ll have the snacks or the tea. ”

That method can be crossed out by running a probability check. Taking the existence of the intruder during the second loop into account, they’d have to have known about my weakened state, so there’d be no reason for them to use poison.

Beatrice frowned at Subaru’s question. She most likely wondered about the reason behind such a question. But seeing the rare seriousness in his expression, she sighed slightly and replied, “If it was a question of whether it exists, then it does.”

“So it does.”

“It is closer to a curse than magic, I suppose. There are more shamans that are familiar with it than magic users. It is a more nefarious method, I suppose.”

Subaru became confused by the appearance of this new job by the name of shaman. In response, Beatrice raised a finger as if presenting a lecture. “Curse-users, or shamans, come from the northern country of Gusteko. It is a subvariant of magic and spirit arts. However, it is full of defective techniques and not something to take seriously, I suppose.”

“But they can still curse someone to death, right?”

“That’s the defective part. There are many paths, but all they can do is cause harm to others. Out of all the mana users, they are the most irritating, I suppose.”

The hatred Beatrice showed towards the curse arts was so deeply ingrained that she showed no signs of willingness to compromise her point. Subaru held no appreciation for curses either. Right now he just needed more information.

“Anyway, so with that curse art thing, you can do what I said before?”

“You can, I believe. But rather than learning a curse, there’s a much simpler method, I suppose.”

Subaru furrowed his brows, at which Beatrice smiled amusingly. She then opened up her small palm and covered Subaru’s eyes. The next moment…

“…Gah!?”

Subaru’s upper body quivered and collapsed at the sudden feeling of loss. He fell down to one knee, dangerously close to losing consciousness. His eyes fluttered as he felt the fatigue coursing through his body.

“How was it? Feeling it with your own body?”

Beatrice looked down at Subaru, giggling condescendingly. The back of her hand was elegantly placed at her lips, but Subaru couldn’t laugh it off and call her pose adorable with her actions still fresh in his mind.

“Dammit, what did you…”

“Simply put, Betty just drained the mana from your body. Simply drain some more and you would reach the same condition, I suppose. Rather than relying on some curse, this way is much easier.”

Subaru could do nothing more than look up maliciously at the triumphant Beatrice. This triggered a sudden thought for him. In the current timeline, I received my first mana-drain from Beatrice right before I passed out. Meaning I was mana-drained right before sleeping, then mana-drained right after waking up.

“Are you trying to kill me?!”

“Betty held back. If you were to turn into a husk here, then Betty would have to deal with your husk every time she wants a book.”

“Husk? What am I, a bug?”

When seeing her expression that seemed to confirm this, Subaru began to question why he thought this was a safe place. Confirming that he still had feeling in his arms and legs, he mustered his strength, stood up, and lightly tapped his foot against the floor. “Don’t tell me that you’re the one who killed me.”

“If you died then we wouldn’t be having this conversation, and it would be more peaceful. Unfortunately, Betty is busy and doesn’t have time to kill you.” She folded her arms behind her and moved away from Subaru to a bookshelf. Her gothic lolita dress fluttered as she struggled to grasp a book just barely out of reach. And so…

“This one?”

“…The one next to it. Hurry and hand it over, in fact.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

He grabbed the surprisingly thick book off the shelf and passed it to the sulking girl. Remaining displeased as she took it from him, she again moved away from him and towards a stepladder. Her small stature looked more suited to sitting on that stepladder than on a chair, and without fail, whenever Subaru wandered into the Forbidden Library she was sitting in that same spot with a book in hand.

“What book are you reading there?”

“A book that mentions how to get rid of bugs.”

“You have bugs in the library? That’s the worst. What kind?”

“It’s big and black, with a foul expression and mouth. And it thinks highly of itself, I suppose.”

“That’s a very peculiar bug there.”

Something you’d wanna check for and get rid of as quickly as possible. Most of the books here are probably way beyond me, but as a book lover, I can’t forgive anything that damages books.

That’s what Subaru truly thought.

Upon seeing that, Beatrice sighed lightly. “Do you have any other business, I suppose? If not then please leave.”

“Ah, um…right. So that thing where you slurp out someone’s mana, can anyone do that?”

“That term feels inappropriate, I suppose… In this mansion, only Betty and Bubby can use that. Roswaal doesn’t have the talent for it, I suppose.”

“Really? I heard he was all-powerful.” Maybe he was just putting on a show? Subaru formed a rude thought about the manor’s lord. He gave himself a pass, however, since he technically hadn’t met him in this timeline, yet. “Anyway, about that. Could you not just take so much when you do that mana-drain? Both you and Puck.”

“…I suppose Bubby has extracted mana from you as well?”

“Yeah, that bastard. He said I was full of mana, and he just kept asking and asking and forcefully… What’s wrong?”

As Subaru continued his rant, a bit of crimson appeared beneath Beatrice’s eyes. She placed both hands on her cheeks and muttered, “Ah, what a thing, I suppose. Betty and Bubby had an indirect mana-drain.”

“What’s with that bittersweet, indirect kiss-like reaction!” Stop that! I feel like a can that’s been passed around!”

“With that in mind, it was quite a rich flavor… Can Betty do it again, I suppose?”

“I’ll shrivel up like a prune! I don’t have much blood right now!”

“Ah, right. Everything important was put back, but your blood wasn’t returned, I suppose. Well, even Betty isn’t that all-powerful.”

Beatrice sighed in disappointment, but Subaru could only tilt his head in confusion. Her statement didn’t match up with his memory.

“That makes it sound like it was you who patched me up. It’s not good to try and steal credit from Emilia-tan.”

“That half-blooded girl doesn’t have the power to fix fatal wounds yet, in fact. She and Bubby closed the wound, and Betty healed it… What’s wrong, I suppose?”

“I just don’t know how to feel.”

A hidden side of what happened back then had just unexpectedly come to light.

He assumed that Emilia had healed him, just like she did back in the alleyway. He glared at the girl in front of him suspiciously; she didn’t falter and eyed him back just the same. Unless she’s a big fat liar, her words can be taken as truth. That means that Beatrice is…

“You big fat liar. You have the worst personality!”

“Says the one who can’t take kindness from another person!”

The verbal battle began and quickly escalated to the verge of a physical one. But before Subaru could grab her, he found himself flying through the air by Beatrice’s magic. She played with one of her curls as he found himself hitting the now upside-down door.

“It’s about time for you to leave, I suppose. The shaking in your hands has stopped, so your fear must’ve left you.”

“…You noticed it?”

“You were trying to hide it, I suppose? It’s vexing to be treated so conveniently.”

Beatrice turned her nose up and waved her hand as if to shoo away a bug. Subaru accepted this gesture, righted himself, and stood up. He then brought his hand up to his face—the shaking had indeed stopped.

It may have been his fifth death, but it wasn’t something that he could get used to. In fact, as the number rose and his experiences increased, he could feel his legs shaking at the thought of feeling that terror again.

On top of that was the way he died this last time. Who could blame him for feeling terror deep in his soul—so deep that no trace of courage remained in his body once he returned?

“I guess the time for excuses is over. Jeez, you’re not kind at all.” He smiled bitterly. With that last excuse over, Subaru raised his head. Placing his hand on the doorknob, he turned back to the girl one last time. “Sorry. But thanks. I’ll come again.”

“Your payment was the indirect mana-drain. Next time Betty will drain the rest of it, I suppose. So don’t come here again.”

Beatrice cut him off with that curt line as she dropped her eyes back to her book. Smiling so that she wouldn’t see it, Subaru turned the doorknob and passed through the Door Crossing.

“Wait, was that bug you were talking about me!?”

“Hurry up and leave! You wish to be blown away, I suppose!”

And thus he was blown past the Door Crossing.

“Umm, can I ask if you’re okay?”

“Damn, that kindness is my only solaaace. This is so great.”

Meeting the silver-haired girl in the garden, Subaru relaxed. He had been struck by Beatrice’s magic and launched out the door. From there, his body kept going past the second-floor terrace until finally landing in a flower bed below. Luckily the ground was soft enough to cushion his fall, but depending on how he fell he could have easily had to restart for the third time. The reason? His smart mouth.

“It keeps seeming more likely that she’s the one who killed me…”

“Can you stand? Is your tummy ok?”

“For now my stomach doesn’t appear to have reopened. It wouldn’t be very funny if the one who closed it up just opened it again. Man, sorry, but could you give me a hand getting up?”

“That’s the flower bed that Rem spread manure over yesterday, isn’t it…?”

“Aaaaaah! Abnormal Play!!”

He quickly withdrew the half of his body that had been dug into the flower bed and rolled out. Emilia, strangely far away, came closer as Subaru frantically wiped the mud and what might not be mud from his clothing.

“That doesn’t count! That doesn’t count, right!? It was yesterday, so it’s just dirt by now, right!?”

“Um, well, Subaru… Good soil grows good plants, so maybe you can take this as a sign of good luck…”

“Emilia-tan has already shifted into consideration mode!?”

Meaning it definitely counts.

Subaru wanted to cry at his pitiful state as he wrung out his sleeve. Meanwhile, Emilia watched that figure with a pained smile before reaching up to her chest. “Puck, wake up.”

In the palm of her hand lay a brightly shining green crystal. The light coming from the crystal formed a shape, and soon after the light solidified, a small gray cat appeared on top of her hand. The cat stretched, yawning widely. “Umm, morning, Lia. Ah, Subaru, you’re awake.”

“Morning, Puck. Sorry to ask this of you when you just woke up, but could you wash Subaru for me?” Emilia asked as she raised Puck in front of her face, one eye closed.

Subaru found himself enchanted by her demeanor. Puck nonchalantly turned around, noticed Subaru’s state, and nodded in understanding. “Alright, I’ll wash him. Here!”

“Wash me? What does that—ughr!?”

Puck turned both of his palms towards Subaru. From his palms appeared a magic circle, from which a continuous burst of water erupted. The water blasted Subaru’s right side with enough force that it seemed like Puck was trying to wipe all filth in the world from existence.

“Is this a flash flood!!” cried Subaru, as the force of the water caused his body to spin.

“Oh sorry, I should balance it,” Puck said, before changing the direction of the water. With the water now hitting his left side, Subaru began to spin in the opposite direction.

Puck fine-tuned the direction from there.

“There, now you’re all clean,” declared Puck.

“Right to left…my heart…goes round and round…” Falling to his knees and arms on the water-soaked ground, the overwhelming urge to vomit came over Subaru. But with an empty stomach, all that came out was spit.

Despite the torturous treatment, he did feel a little better. Wiping away the spit from his mouth, he slowly got up. “My first flash flood was dangerous… I thought my arm was going to come off. Hey, you aren’t actually the culprit here, are you?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but do I look like someone who would do such an evil thing? That hurts,” Puck pouted in defiance, his hands on his hips, despite having just nearly drowned Subaru.

In response, Subaru just flicked him on the forehead and turned back to Emilia. It was the worst reunion yet, but his negotiating power going forward depended on how well he could recover from this. Despite everything, he had managed to make it work the first and second times, so he decided to push forward based on that. But as he was thinking about how to make the first step…

“Puh.”

“Heh?”

“Ahaha! Sorry, no, ahahaha! What are you two doing… Ahaha! Ah, I’m dying.”

In the face of such laughter, his resolve went flying away. Pointing towards Subaru’s soaked figure, Emilia burst into uncontrollable laughter. If they weren’t outside she’d be rolling on the floor.

Subaru could only stand there dumbfounded. Then he faced Puck, who had at some point started flying. “Anyway, first contact: success! Thanks for the assist, Father!”

“Who are you calling Father? I won’t hand over my daughter so easily,” Puck declared, puffing out his chest.

Upon hearing that, Emilia burst out into laughter once again.

Re:Zero Arc 2 – The Chaotic Week: 1-18

Chapter 1

The Unfamiliar Ceiling, The Endless Hallway

Chapter 2

The Keeper of the Forbidden Library and the Twin Maids

Chapter 3

I Can’t Be a Bride

Chapter 4

Bootcamp in Another World

Chapter 5

Awareness of Emotions

Chapter 6

The Return of the Lord

Chapter 7

The Friendly Get-Together at Roswaal Manor

Chapter 8

The Situation of the Country and That Girl’s Circumstances

Chapter 9

The Fruits of Dying Thrice

Chapter 10

A Two-Faced Negotiation

Chapter 11

The Harmonious Post-Meal Get-Together

Chapter 12

The Compatible Yet Incompatible Duo

Chapter 13

The Promised Morning is Far Away

Chapter 14

Declaration of Rebellion

Chapter 15

The Second Misjudgment and a Betrayal of Expectations

Chapter 16

The Confusion of the Second Loop

Chapter 17

The Sound of a Chain

Chapter 18

The Third Reunion

Mind’s Eye Magazine™