The clear, refreshing-looking sky spread overhead, filling Subaru's vision as he lay on the ground.
Thinking back, about two months had passed since he had been summoned to this other world.
He wondered just how many times he had gazed up at the blue sky in the same way during that time.
The thick cumulonimbus clouds intercepted the sunlight, but bright, dazzling rays broke through the thick cover, pouring down to the surface.
The sun's radiance was burning the insides of Subaru's eyes when he suddenly had a thought.
Come to think of it… I haven't seen a single rainy day since I came here.
He'd experienced small sprinkles late at night and showers right around sunset several times over, but there was nothing even close to resembling a long downpour that lasted an entire day.
The temperature of Lugunica was slightly too hot for long sleeves, which felt not unlike June in Subaru's old world or perhaps the lingering effects of summer stretching into September. Maybe the lack of rain was due to his current world's dry season.
"Shall we bring this to an end?"
As Subaru lay on the ground, idly thinking, an elderly male voice suddenly called out to him.
The boy remained faceup, raising his head to peer at the older man standing there. He was a tall man dressed in a black servant's outfit. He stood perfectly straight, his extremely toned body inconsistent with his apparent age. His bountiful white hair was perfectly combed, suggesting his refinement.
The senior's peaceful face had gentle wrinkles carved into it, giving him the look of a warm, elderly gentleman, but his hand gripped a long wooden sword.
Subaru replied to the man's question.
"Nah, not yet. I was just thinking about a philosophical question."
"Ohh, how interesting. And what did you ponder?"
"Fire above and water below… So I'm caught between a rock and a hard place. Or something."
Subaru swung both legs high, and then brought them down with enough force to pull him to his feet.
The core of his body still felt heavy in some respects, but the pain of his bruises and other wounds had largely subsided. Subaru rotated his limbs a little to check before swinging the wooden sword still in his hand to the fore —thrusting it straight at Wilhelm.
"One more lesson, if you please."
"Incidentally, what was the answer to the earlier philosophical question?"
"Nothing major—just me getting pissed even though I'm the one who wet the bed."
With that nonsensical answer, he stepped forward and swung with his waster, tracing a semicircular arc from a low posture.
The tip swept through the air, the wind whipping around the full-force blunt strike.
However…
"Unah!!"
"You are using too much energy. In your hands, feet, neck, hips, and in your head."
Wilhelm parried the hard-driving blow, smoothly deflecting it away from its target. The attack, aimed at his head, sailed above it. The old man turned his body, and the sword danced in his hand to accurately and gently rap the boy's head, throat, and solar plexus—all vital points of the human body. The slight impact of Wilhelm's waster sent Subaru's body flying.
Thanks to his extreme restraint, the damage was practically nil. But even so, the shock to Subaru's vitals hindered his breathing, and his failed defense ended up making him groan audibly.
"Gwoeh!"
The hit to his back made him dizzy. He was flat on the ground with his limbs splayed out once again, the sky laughing down at him. He was starting to resent this decidedly pleasant sight for some reason.
"Shall we bring this to an end?"
Wilhelm inquired gently without the slightest hint of sarcasm or disparagement.
How many times had he already voiced that question, gauging Subaru's intent?
"It seems you are working hard."
As Subaru gazed hatefully upward, a female voice interrupted.
He lifted his head to see a woman standing at the terrace, gazing down at Subaru, limbs spread wide as he lay in the courtyard.
"I only heard your voices, but you seem to be quite worked up about this."
The beautiful green-haired woman leaned on the railing as she looked down at Subaru and Wilhelm. Her long, dark locks had a lustrous jade sheen, and she gave off the air of someone who naturally stood straight, bold, and proud. Her body, blessed with very feminine curves, was clad in a rather masculine military uniform. She was the lord of the manor as well as Wilhelm's master—Duchess Crusch Karsten.
In spite of her young age, she was a brilliant woman occupying a critical national post—making her someone extremely important to the Kingdom of Lugunica's present and future.
"My, Lady Crusch. Have we interrupted your duties?"
"No, I was just thinking of taking a break. No need for concern."
Crusch nodded amicably at Wilhelm before shifting her gaze toward Subaru, prone on the ground. She added, "Besides, I do not want to be so haughty as to stifle the earnest efforts of others. Employees need time off. By all means, make full use of yours, Wilhelm."
Wilhelm bowed deeply in thanks for Crusch granting permission in her typical manner.
"Understood. Having said that…"
Then, the old man shifted his attention toward Subaru.
"Shall we bring this to an end?"
"Even I'm smart enough to tell that you mean, 'Let's end this now.'"
Subaru pulled up his grass-stained body, moving his limbs to confirm for the third—no, tenth time—that all was well. He cracked his fingers and sighed audibly.
"I feel like getting my butt kicked while a pretty girl's watching is kinda hard to swallow as a guy… My manliness gauge is dropping fast."
Subaru made a strained smile as he tossed the wooden sword back to Wilhelm, who caught it with ease. Crusch replied, "There is no need for concern. It is hardly the first time I have seen you getting hurt."
"Urgh!"
The merciless statement had Subaru clutching his chest as he groaned.
"I only heard about what happened after the fact, but I believe your words are a little too direct, Lady Crusch."
"Is that so?"
Crusch reacted to Wilhelm's comment with an innocent rise of her eyebrows before continuing.
"It is evident when a far superior opponent is impossible to match. But I do not think an unflinching display of determination is anything to regret or be ashamed of."
As Crusch touched her chin and expressed her thoughts, Subaru felt moderately uncomfortable.
Putting aside the unexpected appraisal of his humiliation the day before, he was reminded of everything that happened before and after that episode. The greatest failure of his life—when they had parted on the worst possible terms in the castle waiting room.
"Truly, if I were you, the events last night would have been far harder to accept. I have only hearsay to go on, but…knowing myself, I imagine I would be indignant."
Feeling Crusch's partially sympathetic gaze, Subaru scratched his cheek and laughed drily.
"…Ta-ha-ha."
It was the only reaction he could muster when thinking about what had occurred that evening, a mere half day prior: an unscheduled meeting with Reinhard, the Sword Saint, who'd gone out of his way just to visit Subaru at the Crusch residence.
Seeing the change in his expression, Crusch returned the conversation to the previous topic.
"And besides, even if it is painful to receive instruction while a woman is watching, is it not something you have already done many times over?"
She leaned halfway over the rail as her gaze, rich with meaning, crossed to the other end of the courtyard. There stood a blue-haired girl who had quietly watched everything.
Realizing that Crusch was looking at her, Subaru grimaced in embarrassment.
"…Embarrassment feels a little different when it's in front of a friend."
"I would think continuing to reveal your hand before your eventual enemy is a problem in and of itself… But the same could be directed at me for welcoming such a person to my mansion. For once, I am somewhat at a loss about my own thoughts."
Crusch nodded a few times, as if her reply led her to some internal reflection. Then, she set such thoughts aside for the time being and addressed her servant.
"Wilhelm."
"Yes."
"I feel up for a little exercise. I shall delegate the remaining affairs to others. It is earlier than scheduled, but could you give me today's lesson?"
"As you command. Please take as much time as you need."
"That is a somewhat difficult request given my current mental state…"
A wry smile came over Crusch as she moved away from the railing, standing and returning to the study. She was the picture of dignity. Her green hair fluttered and danced, softly taking in the light of the sun until it vanished from Subaru's field of vision. The boy watched her go as he released the tension inside him with a sigh.
Subaru smiled bitterly at himself when he realized the raw sense of relief he felt when she left his sight.
Put bluntly, Crusch was exactly the sort of lady he had a hard time with. Her straightforward and unyielding gaze was so sharp, it seemed to pierce straight to the heart. There had been many cases where her honest, sincere personality, and the words and deeds supporting it, left him distinctly troubled.
She lived strong and proud, full of confidence, without a single shred of hesitation about what she should do. Comparing his position to hers, Subaru seemed all the more pathetic.
"Shall we finally bring this to an end?"
As the boy shook his head to change emotional gears, Wilhelm turned back to him and asked again.
"That didn't sound like a question, so I guess that's that…"
Wilhelm gracefully shifted into position with his wooden sword, and the disappearance of the question mark at the end of his sentence told Subaru that this kind yet stern session was coming to a close. The older gentleman made a thin smile when he saw the sincere regret in Subaru's black eyes.
"Now that Lady Crusch has arrived, I must fulfill my duties as an instructor. This is half the reason the House of Karsten employs me, you see."
"Hey, I'm not gonna be selfish like a little kid. You did me a big favor, spending some of your time off with me like this."
Subaru pointed the wooden sword directly at his opponent's eyes, feeling intense loneliness as the training approached its conclusion.
He'd quit kendo in middle school, but he'd still picked up the basics of swordplay. Seeing Subaru's straight posture and quiet disposition, Wilhelm's face abandoned all trace of softness.
"—En garde."
"Any time."
Subaru replied to his tutor's declaration, leaping forward across the ground.
He didn't even try to feint. His attack was a plain downward swing, no tricks involved. From a high position, the blade sliced through the air in a helm-splitting strike, but the tip lost sight of its mark and thrust into the ground. Subaru, missing his target, found his forceful lunge turning into a forward roll.
Then, "—!"
Subaru sustained what seemed like countless sword blows.
2
It had already been three days since Subaru Natsuki had entered Crusch Karsten's manor.
The home of the duchess of Karsten was located directly in the middle of the Nobles' District within the royal capital's upper strata—a mansion that stood out even among the luxuriant dwellings alongside it. He had been told that it was a villa used only during stays in the capital, but its size and sheer extravagance rivaled that of Roswaal's primary residence.
But Crusch herself had no interest in the decor of the overly ornamented manor. No doubt she saw it as a display of consideration for the many nobles who might visit the capital.
And one of those visitors had been Reinhard van Astrea. The incident from half a day prior was bitterly etched into Subaru's memory.
"I am truly sorry I was unable to stop the incident at the training ground. I am ashamed of myself for being unable to do anything but watch."
After calling for Subaru, the first thing Reinhard did was apologize, bowing his head under the magic lamps illuminating the Karsten residence's front gate.
It was an apology from the man so trusted and respected by his nation that he was commonly known as the Sword Saint. Subaru, who didn't think himself worthy to even face Reinhard, was taken completely by surprise.
"Wa-wait-wait-wait. Why do you have to apologize for everything? You didn't do anything wrong, did you?"
"That isn't the case at all, Subaru. I'm your friend, and Julius's as well.
Not stopping my friends from making a mistake was a failure on my part."
"Fr…iends…"
Subaru's breath caught a little at the mention of the second-to-last name in the world he wanted to hear. But Reinhard bore no malice. Indeed, he was apologizing for not intervening at the time. If he'd involved himself, no doubt Subaru wouldn't have experienced a fraction of the misery he was going through now.
The "duel" between Subaru and Julius might not have qualified as the real thing, but it was not the place of others to interfere with a bout that was held to settle an issue. That much was set in stone. Therefore, Reinhard had been feeling guilt for something he shouldn't have given a second thought. The fact that he still felt compelled to apologize showed why Reinhard was the "knight among knights."
"…Well, whatever the case, I'm real happy you came all the way over to see me. You have to be busy with a million things right now?" Subaru said.
"I do not want to balance my schedule and my friendships on a set of scales. If I hadn't taken the opportunity tonight, I wouldn't have had a chance to apologize to you for some time."
"'Some time'? What, you're heading off somewhere?"
"Lady Felt will be away from the royal capital, under the care of my family. There are many things she needs to learn, and there are new recruits who require training."
Reinhard talked with a thin, wry smile at the numerous hardships he expected. But at the very least, the knight didn't harbor any unease about the rapport in his master-vassal relationship. Subaru posed a question.
"You think Felt can really pull this off?"
"—Strangely, more so than I ever did before. I'm sure her determination and talent will surprise everyone. I will be merely encouraging her to help bring that future about."
Hearing that unreserved reply, Subaru subconsciously shifted his gaze away from Reinhard.
"…Is that so? Glad to hear it."
He couldn't bear to look straight at the knight. The red-haired young man didn't worry about hardships, nor did he hold any concerns about his relationship with his master. He had not even the slightest ambivalence about doing his duty to his utmost abilities.
At that moment, the difference between him and Subaru was simply too great—
Noticing Subaru was averting his gaze, Reinhard's brows furrowed in a sympathetic look. "Do you…have regrets?" Regrets.
…Subaru bit his lip as the word floated inside his head.
He'd always had regrets. Yesterday, he felt remorse for the day before that. Today, he was bitter about yesterday. Tomorrow, he'd no doubt be anguished about the present day, too.
The choices made over the course of his life amounted to a never-ending trail of regrets. It was impossible not to yearn for the world he'd missed due to choices he hadn't made.
With Subaru silent, Reinhard lowered his eyes.
"I will not say anything as flippant as, 'I understand how you feel.' But I am equally ashamed of what transpired. Perhaps it is the first time I've said such a thing, but I regret what happened."
The words seemed not quite apropos to the chagrin that enveloped Subaru, but that was only natural. Their positions were different, so their points of view were different. The two didn't see events the same way. That was why Subaru braced his heart for what Reinhard might say next. And yet
—
"The duel that day between you and Julius…was a meaningless battle. I knew, but I did nothing, and as a result, you were unjustly hurt. It has pained me ever since how I simply stood back and watched."
" "
But his meager resolve didn't prepare him to hear that.
"—No meaning at all?"
"Yes, that's right. What happened because you and Julius clashed there? You were injured, and Julius has a black mark on his record, nothing more. Are you aware that he was placed under house arrest afterward? I'm sure
Julius is regretting his own actions this very moment."
Julius's punishment was news to Subaru, and it actually surprised him. So many knights watching the spectacle had been in Julius's corner. Subaru had been convinced his opponent had made arrangements to avoid trouble afterward. And yet, he had been disciplined.
—But Subaru didn't think the knight felt any regret at all. He had crossed swords with him, albeit wooden ones, more than enough to understand that loud and clear.
Unaware of what was in Subaru's heart, Reinhard said with sincerity in his eyes, "If you had both had more time, you could have calmly discussed the matter. I should have ensured you had it… Things could have been
resolved peacefully with no ill feelings instead of with a duel."
"…So there'd have been no fight at all?"
"Correct. This may seem somewhat hard to believe, but normally Julius is a man who sincerely listens. If you'd fully aired your differences, the misunderstanding could have been immediately—"
"Reinhard."
With an earnest voice, Subaru interrupted him.
The red-haired young man closed his mouth, looking back at Subaru with an unclouded gaze. Not a single negative emotion resided in his azure eyes.
In other words, Reinhard had been completely serious.
He truly believed that duel held no meaning.
—He couldn't understand that it was a matter of pride, with neither side able to pull back from the brink.
"I understand how you feel, and I'm glad. You're…a really good guy."
"Then…"
"But I won't accept what you said. I can't accept what you said… This conversation's over."
The sight of Subaru breaking off the discussion and turning his back left Reinhard beyond surprised. When the boy passed through the gates to return to the mansion, the knight instantly began to reach out to him.
"Reinhard. You're a super-good guy. I totally understand that everything you said just now was out of pure goodwill, and you meant no harm at all… I get that."
The remark stopped Reinhard mid-motion. Sensing it behind him, Subaru didn't turn back as he passed through the gate.
"But…just don't. I won't let you rob that duel of its meaning. Anything… but that."
Subaru didn't want that, and neither did Julius or the knights who had seen the duel to the end.
Their fight had to be worth something. It had concrete, definite value, even if Reinhard, the Sword Saint, couldn't understand it.
While Subaru distanced himself, Reinhard attempted to bridge the gap.
"Even if that is so… What did you gain from that duel? You've only lost things, haven't you?" But the words he chose for that purpose provided the
last nail in the coffin. "You've even lost Lady Emilia."
The very last name in the world Subaru wanted to hear at that moment had materialized. He replied to the Sword Saint indifferently.
"Go home, Reinhard. Before your master gets lonely and starts yelling."
With a loud noise, the gate closed between them. And so they parted ways.
"…He didn't need to bother, geez."
Subaru gritted his teeth at the memory of the previous night as curses he couldn't bring himself to say to Reinhard's face spilled out.
His lips twisted as he tore at his head, as though brushing away the stillraw memory.
"Do not be like that, Subaru. You've been hit on the head, so behave while I tend to it."
As Subaru lay there, a voice full of affection gently brushed his eardrums.
When he glanced up, he saw the blue-haired girl smiling down at him pleasantly. She was wearing a rather short black-motif apron dress. The maid with the adorable face—Rem—was kneeling on the green grass with Subaru's head on her lap in the venerable "lap pillow" position.
Rem, appointed as Subaru's maid, ran a finger through his hair as she whispered softly.
"You've worked hard in special training. Please, relax and rest on my lap for a while."
"Doesn't really deserve to be called 'special training'… Just simple sword practice. Must've been boring to watch, huh?"
"It was not boring at all. Just spending time with you makes me very happy, Subaru."
Everything pouring out of Rem was positive, but in his current state, Subaru couldn't accept any of it. He covered his face with a hand, averting his gaze from her, who saw even his most unsightly moments in a positive light. She'd watched the sword practice, hardly anything more than playing around, from beginning to bitter end without complaint.
Even despite Subaru concealing his emotions, Rem didn't speak a single cross word.
She silently waited out his attempt to hide his true feelings and affectionately supported his weight, softly running her finger through his hair as if to simply remind him that time hadn't stopped.
Unable to bear the silence any longer, Subaru spoke first.
"…Hey…Rem."
His halting voice brought Rem's finger to a standstill. As she indulgently waited for him to talk, Subaru took a fair bit of time before continuing to speak.
"Do you…think I'm pathetic?"
It had come from his own mouth, but he genuinely wondered what answer
he was hoping to hear. Did he want her to say yes? Did he want her to say no? What exactly did he want her to appraise about him? Did he mean right then, or three days prior, or perhaps long before that…?
"I do."
Rem easily answered, interrupting Subaru's rumination.
As his concerns unraveled, Subaru glared at Rem from below in protest.
"So you think that, too? Why are you sticking with me if I'm pathetic, then? 'Cause you were told to?"
Rem, upside down in his field of vision, gently shook her head at Subaru's acerbic reaction.
"Thinking you are pathetic and being with you is not a contradiction. Even without a command, I believe I would have stayed with you regardless, Subaru."
"…Why's that?" "Because I want to." Her reply was brief.
The matter-of-fact delivery left Subaru speechless. He had no idea what to say, although the words made his chest feel light.
It was as if his incomprehensible self-examination had received an equally baffling answer.
"Rem… You're really something else."
"I am. But Sister is even more incredible."
"I still don't understand why you put your sister on a pedestal, but you're incredible."
Subaru raised a hand in surrender, letting his entire body relax as he sank into Rem's lap fully. He closed his eyes, leaving her to stroke his forelocks with her finger once more as she said, "I am here because I believe you want me to be here, Subaru."
"So I want you to watch me get beaten up and then act pathetic and embarrassing after? That makes me sound like some kind of masochist…"
Rem curiously inclined her head, asking with a completely innocent look,
"You aren't?"
Subaru could only exhale deeply through his nostrils in a wordless reply.
Time continued in a quiet, lazy fashion, without any intrusions. Finally she asked, "Perhaps we should head back in? Any longer and we might be in the way of Lady Crusch's sword practice."
When Rem's thighs seemed about to move, Subaru grabbed hold of them, his cheek savoring the feeling.
"Just a little longer. I've been hit on the head. Might be dangerous to move this soon?"
Rem let her legs relax as she acceded to Subaru's suggestion.
"Yes… If that is what you desire, Subaru."
Thanks to her unlimited kindness, he didn't have to think about the things he didn't want to. He let his body sink deeper and deeper into that gentle quicksand.
—It had been three days since the declaration of the royal selection. Three days since Subaru and Emilia had parted ways.
Subaru Natsuki was steadily rotting away.
3
I must've done something wrong, Subaru thought once he had time to reflect.
He knew it was an unpleasant memory, but before he realized, he was going back over and over to that evening and the sight of a silver-haired girl turning from him and walking away.
As the sound of a closing door echoed, Subaru thought, I must've come up short somewhere.
He was well aware that his words had gone too far.
The fact that it had come right after receiving a beating had been part of it. When Emilia's words forced him into a corner, he'd ended up blurting out a lot of really unacceptable things.
As a result, Subaru and Emilia had ended up separating.
Did the suddenness of his words mean that they were just jumbled half thoughts? Or did it mean that they had been dwelling in his heart all along?
He cared for her, and he wanted her to acknowledge that; both feelings were true.
But how much he meant the rest of what he'd said… Even he wasn't sure anymore.
"—Hey, kid. Kid!!"
Subaru was submerged in a sea of self-doubt when a throaty voice from nearby reeled him back to reality.
When he blinked, the man standing right in front of him slumped his shoulders, lamenting as he creased his brow.
"Come on, kid. Don't be glaring like that in front of a man's shop. You'll scare off the customers," he lamented with a frown on his stern face, marked by an attention-grabbing vertical scar.
Subaru, back in the present, gently rubbed his eyelids, quickly recovering from the impact of the man's fierce countenance.
"Hey, Pops. I think it's your glaring at customers that scares 'em off."
"I'm not glaring! I'm worrying about you, damn it! You come here with some weirdo in tow, and then when Old Man Rom hears your message, I can't get in touch with him anymore. I should be giving you an earful for all the trouble you put me through!"
The shopkeeper raised his voice in anger and pounded the counter with one of his thick arms.
As he did, the slam caused a basket with fruit on display to tilt, threatening to send his produce tumbling. However, with a flutter of the hem of her skirt, Rem landed in the space right in front of the shop.
"That is no way to handle food."
Her fingers gripped the basket on the counter, gently catching it before it could fall along with all the fruit within.
"Ohh, thanks a lot, miss."
The man—Cadmon—sighed with admiration at her skillful move, taking the basket back from Rem with visible relief.
Then he lowered his voice as he directed a look back at Subaru. "So take my advice. Get away from this mean-mug guy. It won't end well."
"Hey, what are you talkin' about here? Don't go around spreading unfounded rumors, geez," Subaru countered.
"It's not unfounded at all. You were here with a girl not long ago, and now you've got a different one, don't you? The earlier girl… Ah, I can't remember clearly, but that just means this young lady is prettier. Two-timers can go to hell."
"Do I look like I can handle two-timing girls? In the first place, how did you…?"
Forget about Emilia, Subaru had been going to say. But Cadmon's lack of memory was an effect of the anti-recognition magic she used to conceal her identity.
Recalling that brought her face to the forefront of his thoughts, accompanied by a painful throb in his chest.
As Subaru fell into silence, Cadmon gave him a suspicious look before resuming his speech to Rem.
"You see? Incorrigible. You'll end up with nothing but hardship no matter how hard you try."
"Thank you very much for your consideration… However, I am doing this because I want to." Rem's cheeks reddened as she glanced at Subaru to gauge his reaction. Cadmon's look, even sourer than before, made plain that he thought her unfortunate.
"I have to say, though, the feel on the street's different today. There aren't more people than usual, but… It's like there's a stir in the air. Maybe more people are…stopping and standing than usual?"
Subaru gazed at the hustle and bustle, changing the topic to distract them from how he hadn't finished his previous sentence.
"Surprisingly sharp eye. Well, that's how it is. When big stuff's going on, it's time for merchants to make some money. Right now, everyone's hungry for the next rumor."
Cadmon nodded at Subaru's musings as he grabbed one of the fruits lined up in front of his shop and took a bite.
Subaru gawked at the owner holding fruit with teeth marks. "That's your merchandise…," he remarked before he continued. "Well, I'm not sure what business opportunities the royal selection has for a fruit vendor, but I'm impressed you weren't left behind when it started. Guess you're a natural genius at this, Pops."
"Oh, shut your mouth. At any rate, it's because there're more people rubbing shoulders and whispering to one another. Everyone's talking to
everyone else right now. See, look over there."
Cadmon forcefully pointed with the core of his fruit, indicating a sign at the edge of the street. Even among the signs desperately competing to stand out along Market Street, this one stood taller than all the rest.
"Well, if it's anything but I-script, I can't read it."
"What? How uneducated. You can read my store's sign, then?"
"I feel like the characters are close to I-script, but they're so bad that I can't read them."
Cadmon was taken aback at Subaru's ill-natured attempt to cover up his own lack of education.
"So what is written on that sign, anyway?"
"The same thing we've been talking about. 'The Royal Selection Has Commenced.'" Subaru frowned, unsure what Cadmon's point was, so the shopkeeper roughly scratched at his head and added, "All right. Let me spell it out to you. Miss, take care of the store for a bit."
"As you request."
The way Cadmon abandoned his station as if it was nothing, and the way Rem followed up without the slightest hesitation, left Subaru simply uneasy as he slouched.
"Don't let amateurs run your shop just like that, geez. And Rem, don't make promises you can't keep."
"All she has to do is exchange merchandise for coin according to the prices listed. It's not like I'm getting customers anyway."
"So you finally admit it?!"
Subaru wore a defiant look as Cadmon led him away. Rem waved after them as she headed toward the counter.
"I have to say, though—young or old, everyone seems super interested in the royal selection. What do you think, Pops?"
Cadmon scowled bitterly at Subaru's words and replied.
"Hmm. Well, there's a lot of hot air about who'll become the next ruler, but it's not as if they can leave the throne empty forever. I wish they'd just hurry up and decide already."
"This is only what I've been told, but doesn't the Council of Elders handle running the country? How badly does not having a king affect the people?"
"Hey, if that's a joke, it's in bad taste. Now, some people snub the king as a figurehead when it comes to administration but… The Covenant with the Dragon is made with the royal family generation after generation. We have the Dragon protecting Lugunica to thank for the clashes with Volakia down
south not turning into anything besides skirmishes."
Gusteko to the north, Lugunica to the east, Kararagi to the west, and Volakia to the south—those were the names of the great nations that ruled this world. Subaru had heard that smaller nations existed, too, but they were treated as client states of the great four.
Subaru asked another question.
"Volakia, huh… What, you think if the Dragon's gone, they'll invade?"
"Their imperial motto is, 'Many troops, strong nation, eat the weak, grow strong.' They say Lugunica was in the middle of a war with them four hundred years ago right before the Covenant with the Dragon was first made.
Some say they're still sore about the Dragon butting in."
"So that's how the people feel about not having a king, huh…"
"Even if it wasn't for that, a country without a ruler's in as much of a bind as a beast without a head. The last king wasn't a wise one, but he wasn't bad, either. That's what I think, anyway."
Cadmon cut through the throng of various races before standing in front of a sign that towered above the already tall man. He blended in with the people looking up at it with the same objective, craning his neck to read the characters that Subaru could not.
"It's an announcement that the royal selection has begun, and a summary. The king will be determined three years hence before the Dragonfriend Ceremony, who shall conduct the ceremony thereafter, et cetera. Then it lists the candidates."
Cadmon, reading the details in Subaru's place, relayed things the latter already knew. Subaru's interest had begun to fade, but the last word, candidates, put a stop to that. Cadmon, watching from the side as Subaru licked his parched lips, nodded appreciatively.
"The candidates are on your mind, huh? There're five royal selection candidates in total. The best-known are Duchess Crusch Karsten and the
Hoshin company president, a girl named Anastasia."
"Is that Duchess Crusch famous?"
"Well, she's a duchess. It'd be pretty bad if people living in the capital didn't know her name. She's still young, but as duchess and heir to her household, she's already considered one of the most brilliant women in national history. The tales of her first sortie in the duchy of Karsten, the reason she inherited the title, are common even here in the capital."
"First sortie…?"
"The duke of Karsten at the time—her immediate predecessor—was injured by a horde of nasty monsters that appeared in the duchy of Karsten. So she took over command for him and brought things under control in the blink of an eye, and then everyone knew her name. There'd always been rumors that she was brilliant, but she was so good that her father had his seventeen-year-old daughter take over for him."
Listening to someone outside Crusch's sphere of influence evaluate her made Subaru's shoulders feel tighter and tighter.
Not noticing Subaru's internal turmoil, Cadmon traced the scar on his face with a finger as he went on.
"And there's not a merchant around who hasn't heard about how much progress the Hoshin Company has made these past few years, even for them. That young lady at the helm—Anastasia—she's even taken down major companies and brought them under hers. Just like that old legend, Hoshin of
the Wastes. It's like she's a reincarnation of the man."
Subaru wondered if the proud way Cadmon spoke of Anastasia was due to his identifying with her as a fellow merchant. Going from a mere trader to a royal candidate was a real Cinderella story.
On the one hand, there was Crusch, a woman with an inspired demeanor, pursuing her beliefs with an iron will. On the other was Anastasia, the girl with light-purple hair, standing out due to her Kansai accent.
The details on the sign before them had no discrepancies from what he'd heard in the royal selection conference. The contents were conveyed to the populace with thoroughness and sincerity and no unfairness whatsoever.
Cadmon resumed.
"So rumor has it that those two are the leaders for the royal selection. Personally, I think Lady Crusch, in a crucial position in the kingdom, has more weight than a merchant born in another country."
"So both are leading the pack, huh."
No doubt Cadmon's words were colored by personal opinion he'd ventured at the end. Even so, it was without doubt that Crusch's position and family name constituted powerful backing. To the people, unaware of her speech, it was most natural to assume that Crusch would inherit the throne.
"So Crusch is the favorite, and Anastasia is the runner-up… So who's the dark horse?"
After Subaru's comment, Cadmon read the names of the three remaining candidates, crossing his arms with a conflicted look on his face.
"It's hard to talk about dark horses. Putting those two aside, the three others are basically unknown. I've lived in the capital for a long time and even I don't know them. This Priscilla seems to have a noble's name, but I don't even see family names for the other two. Given how the president of the Hoshin Company became one, I really have to wonder how they're picking these candidates."
On that point, Subaru imagined he'd be in perfect agreement if he didn't personally know the details. You had the current heiress of a hereditary duchy, the young president of a foreign trading company, an unknown bearing a family name of noble pedigree, and two remaining candidates with no family name and uncertain origins. Withholding information about the basics of how they'd been selected was unfair to the general populace. Even Subaru, who knew that the crests with the Dragon motifs had been used to select the candidates, had no idea what the Dragon's motives were in choosing the girls.
But just when Subaru was about to burst into laughter at all the idle speculation, Cadmon narrowed his eyes, twisted his lips in disgust, and spat his opinion.
"But I'm hopping mad they included a half-elf. I can't help it. It lists some basics about each royal candidate, but this Emilia… Apparently they made a
half-demon a candidate. I tell you, it's stupid any way you slice it."
"Half-demon…huh?"
"It's what we call people who look like witch accomplices. What the hell are the high and mighty thinking…?"
Cadmon glared up at the tall sign that was a full two heads above him, his eyes filled with disgust. Subaru couldn't immediately react.
"…"
He had a not-insignificant amount of goodwill toward the scarred shopkeeper. This was the first man he'd spoken to in this other world, and when reunited with him later, he'd grown to view the man as someone he could trust. In contrast to his stern appearance, his personality and character were amiable, and he was full of love for his wife and child. At the very least, Subaru didn't doubt that he was a benevolent person.
The boy couldn't help but be surprised to hear such a man speak such slander about another as if it were a matter of course. Besides, to Subaru, it couldn't be casually dismissed. And so, his lips blurted out a denial.
"…It doesn't mean everyone who looks like that is involved with the Witch, does it?"
"Hah?"
Under Cadmon's curious gaze, Subaru's emotions got the better of him as he pushed on.
"D-don't go judging her just because she's a half-elf. That 'Emilia' girl, she's incre… She might be doing this for the sake of the country. She might be a good, incredible girl for all you know."
"Hold on. I don't know why you're trying so hard, but stop covering for a half-demon. If someone else overhears, they ain't gonna understand."
"Yeah, I suppose so. And you wouldn't want the pretty girl doing on-thejob training to see a grown man making a scary face, talking trash about someone he doesn't even know."
Subaru's large helping of invective mixed with sarcasm made Cadmon put a hand to his forehead.
"I get it, give me a break. I said too much. I apologize, okay?"
"…Tch."
Though it was an apology he was pushed into, Cadmon's mature reaction made Subaru back down.
Yet as Subaru relented, Cadmon carried on.
"You're free to think what you like. But it's not possible for a half-elf to become king."
"You're still…! Why not? Because of the Witch of Jealousy? What, because the Witch was a half-elf, that means all half-elves are dangerous?!"
"—That's right."
To Subaru, worked up again as their argument resumed, Cadmon's voice had a shockingly cold ring to it.
"There you go again…!"
Subaru was about to make a rebuttal when his voice caught in his throat, because he saw the look of fear in Cadmon's eyes.
"The Witch is scary. That goes without saying. It's a feeling everyone shares. I don't know how you grew up not knowing this, but at the very least, the vast majority of people avoid half-demons for the same reason."
"…"
"Look. They say the Witch…the Witch of Jealousy…is a monster completely off the charts. Four hundred years ago, her shadow swallowed up half the continent. Famed heroes and dragons succumbed one after another before that. If it wasn't for the Holy Dragon's power, the Sage's knowledge, and the Sword Saint of the day, the world would've been destroyed for sure."
Subaru had never heard this before, and he was unable to avert his eyes from Cadmon's deadly serious expression as he heard the details he couldn't dismiss.
"But in spite of all that the Witch of Jealousy has done, we know next to nothing about her. What we do know is that she's a half-elf with silver hair. That, and the fact she can't be reasoned with, can't understand how others think, and she seems to rampage around out of a hatred for everything in the whole world."
The wave of surging emotion behind Cadmon's trembling pupils conveyed the raw emotions of every person living in the world in a way dry sentences alone never could.
Like the picture book Subaru had seen, the story of the Witch was passed down orally and through the printed word. Depending on the storyteller, the means and the amount of repetition varied, but the final result was always the same: absolute terror that the people born in that world would never shake, as if it were a nail driven through their very hearts.
"The Witch is a symbol of terror. Everyone's afraid of things they don't understand. So people want to use the few details they do know to keep as far away from them as possible."
"…And that justifies discriminating against half-elves?"
"At the very least, a lot of half-demons having twisted personalities is the literal truth. I will admit that I don't know if it's just their natures or if it's the circumstances that make them like that."
Cadmon was grimacing as if chewing on a bitter insect, likely because Subaru's words had backed him into an uncomfortable corner. The man seemed well aware that what he was saying was irrational. But the emotions about the Witch welling up inside dimmed his view of any rebuttal of that logic.
Moreover, that thinking may well have been a universally held opinion in their world, from the lowest rungs to up on high.
When Subaru realized that, only then did he truly appreciate the meaning of the plea Emilia had made at the royal selection conference.
"—"
She was a half-elf. Her destiny was something she could not divorce herself from no matter how hard she tried. She wore an iron shackle that others starting in the same position did not, one she could never remove.
Cadmon crossed his arms and spoke sullenly.
"And since that's what people think, she has no chance of winning at all. Someone being fond of that half-demon and promoting her like this… It's a bad joke, I tell you."
The object of his argument, and his anger, seemed to have shifted from the candidate herself, Emilia, to whoever had hoisted her onto a palanquin when she had no chance of victory.
It was a benevolent concession on Cadmon's part, but it was small comfort given the thoroughly negative image of half-elves.
The girl Emilia first needed to overcome the obstacle of prejudice.
To the uninformed Subaru—ignorant of the tyrannical history of half-elves and why people feared the Witch as a result—Cadmon asked, "Why put her
through it if she has to carry a handicap like that?"
Certainly, Subaru was completely inexperienced where the history of that world was concerned. He couldn't know about the wicked deeds of the Witch beyond the details written on a page. It was hard for him to imagine just how much people feared half-elves, how deep their aversion ran, and for that matter, what half-elves living in such an environment thought of other people.
But he'd heard the girl's words, spoken with a voice clear as a bell…
"—Hold it right there, evildoers!"
She had saved Subaru, who had been crawling on the ground in pain and humiliation.
Where were the expectations and calculations behind her actions back then?
Subaru didn't know their world's history, about the Witch or half-elves.
But he knew Emilia.
"My name is Emilia. Just Emilia. Thank you, Subaru."
He understood that the girl with silver hair and stubborn benevolence who always acted with no regard for her own loss or gain might resemble the Witch of Jealousy, but that had absolutely nothing to do with her.
He knew that she, who had lived in a world that showed no kindness to her whatsoever, possessed heartfelt good will toward others even so.
No matter how badly the world might treat her, at least Subaru would—
Suddenly, a chill ran up his spine as a frosty voice interrupted his thoughts.
"—It was all for your own benefit, wasn't it?"
In the back of his mind, her lovely, charming smile transformed into a sharp gaze and a stern voice.
"I wanted to believe you…but you're the one who stopped me, Subaru!"
He had trampled her trust underfoot, and her pained voice reverberated inside his cramped skull.
He tried to understand. He thought he got it. He'd acted as if he did. And he'd frivolously broken and tossed aside the promise he'd made to her. The blame impaled his chest once again.
"—If you don't say it, I can't understand, Subaru."
In his memories, Emilia berated him for his actions on that day over and over.
He felt agony as if pieces of his chest had been ripped off, and sadness bore down on him to crush him, but Subaru's anger toward the girl glaring at him also surfaced.
He'd worked so hard. He'd helped her so much. He'd been hurt so much. What was wrong with hoping for a reward? What was wrong with wanting her to respond?
—If I don't say it, you can't understand? I could say the same to you.
Emilia hadn't told him anything about the royal selection, discrimination, or her feelings on that day. She'd shunned Subaru, pushed him away from her goal, treated him like he was barely a side character.
Of course Subaru didn't know anything about Emilia. She wouldn't tell him anything.
He didn't know how she had lived up until then, how she felt as she aimed for the royal throne, what she thought about the world seeing her as the
Witch herself…
And as for what Emilia thought about Subaru, he didn't want to know.
"—Kid. You all right? Hey!"
"…Eh?"
Subaru, realizing that Cadmon's face was leaning in extremely close, recoiled with a start.
"Waah! Pops, don't do that! Your face could kill someone like that, damn it!"
"That's a horrible thing to say! You were staring into space again, just like earlier. You got some chronic illness?"
"W-well, if the passionate feelings burning in my chest are a disease, I might have been infected with something. It's a feverish, nasty illness that
seduces mankind, sometimes gently and sometimes severely…"
Cadmon, unable to keep up with Subaru's joking attempt to hide his empty, wounded heart, shook his head.
"Yes, yes, you're afflicted with poor character is what it is. Fine, let's head back to the shop."
Subaru, following him on the way back, came to realize that his entire body was drenched in a cold sweat. Perhaps it was due to the roiling emotions inside him, but each step felt very heavy.
His head drooped as Cadmon abruptly murmured, his back still turned, "And this might be sticking my nose in, but stop talking about the Witch out in the open. If anyone hears you, they're not gonna be understanding…me included."
It didn't seem like an effort to revive the earlier debate. Sensing the seriousness in Cadmon's voice, Subaru silently indicated his acceptance.
With such thorough prejudice, there was no telling whose ire he would earn by running his mouth. At the very least, he had no desire for any more trouble in the royal capital.
Cadmon ignored Subaru's agreement and repeated himself for emphasis.
"—You never know who's listening."
As they cut through the throng and made their way back to the shop, the air between them seemed weighty somehow. Subaru hadn't managed to sort through his feelings, and Cadmon seemed annoyed and embarrassed about the dispute. There was barely a word spoken between them as they returned to the shop.
However…
"Welcome back. The final customer was just departing."
Cadmon's mouth dropped open, and he stared agape at the sight of Rem exchanging merchandise for money and seeing off a customer with a polite bow.
Dumbfounded, he peered at the empty display cases on the counter. For a moment, perhaps he thought that he'd abandoned his shop, trusting it to Rem only to have her sell his merchandise at fire-sale prices, but the store's till filled with coin showed that wasn't true. In other words, she'd sold it all.
Cadmon sank to his knees, covering his face with his palms, his pride as a merchant apparently wounded.
"I-in that short time, you sold more than my shop normally sells in an entire day…"
With no regard for the store owner's dignity, Rem smoothly slipped around the counter and rushed to Subaru's side. She glanced expectantly toward the boy, and it seemed like an invisible tail was swaying behind her.
"How did I do, Subaru? I heard he helped you in the past, so I worked my very best to at least be of assistance. You can praise me if you like?"
The rare sight of Rem going, Praise me, praise me! made Subaru realize his heart felt just a little lighter.
"…You really are incredible, Rem."
"I am. But Sister is even more incredible."
Subaru forced a smile and, following Rem's lead as she offered her head, gently petted it. He savored the totally familiar texture of her hair, and Rem's throat let out a small sound from Subaru's soft touch.
"I still don't get how that logic of yours works, you know…"
Watching the interaction between the two from behind, Cadmon stroked his own scar with a finger and slumped his shoulders. He murmured, "I guess appearance does matter…"
The reason for his shop's slow sales was now all too clear.
4
"Interesting. So that's why he gave mew these abbles for your troubles."
Cat ears twitching, the speaker thrust a fork into a mountain of sliced red fruit and raised a juicy morsel to smiling lips with perfect grace.
Those short feline ears were the same color as the shoulder-length flaxen hair below them, and the white ribbon adorning those locks joined large, round, teasing eyes to complete the picture of a pretty girl—who was actually a boy.
Subaru replied, "Well, I already taste tested them, so all I had to do was hand them to the kitchen. Setting that aside, don't give me sidelong glances and lick your lips. It's giving me chills."
No, knowing both his external appearance and his actual gender, the proper term was definitely pretty boy.
It was in between meals, some time prior to supper, and abbles had been brought in as a light snack. Cadmon had given them the fruit as a souvenir, looking both grateful and deeply burned at how Rem had broken his store's sales record in a short span of time. She had returned to her quarters for a change of clothes, intending to rendezvous with him later in his room as the daily ritual during Subaru's stay in the capital continued until suppertime.
Subaru remarked, "That said—man, returning to my room only to find a pretty boy sneaking into it ahead of me… I was careless for not leaving the door locked, but isn't that, you know, impolite for a knight?"
"Aww, it's fine, no, isn't it? It's just proof how much Ferri can relax around you. Besides, Lady Crusch could never see Ferri act so lazy, even by accident."
The pretty boy—Ferris—flopped right down next to Subaru's flank. As Subaru felt the bed bounce against his rear, Ferris looked up meaningfully from his position on his belly.
"Did your heart flutter just now?"
"It skipped a beat. I don't think anything bad about you, but I just don't have those kinds of interests at all. I like girls, as ordinary and regular as they come." No matter how adorable he might look, the fact they were the same gender was a barrier that Subaru had no intention of crossing. He shook his head in exasperation at Ferris's shocked expression. "In the first place, I have no idea what your reason is for being so relaxed around me. I mean, it's not like I remember getting along especially well with you before. I'm not giving off some kind of pheromones I should be worried about, am I…?" Ferris put his chin on his palms and responded blithely.
"Ah, that's pretty simple, actually. It's because there's no doubt meowtsoever that you're weaker than Ferri, Subawu. You're a weakling, so no worries."
Subaru blinked once and murmured, "You have a really bad personality, geez."
"Wooow, what a surprise! Ferri was sooo sure mew were going to blow your lid there…"
"Hey, facts are facts. I'm not gonna get bent out of shape over that."
Subaru had learned many times over just how feeble he was. Since being summoned from his own world, he'd had his powerlessness repeatedly pounded into him. If the day of the clash with Julius at the parade square was the greatest example in terms of quality, the number of times Wilhelm had smacked him to the ground there at the mansion provided quantity. Besides, that sense of powerlessness wasn't particular to his new world, either.
The pain of his own frailty was something he'd experienced everywhere he had ever lived.
"Well, you can keep saying I'm weak, but how about you? I mean, since you're a part of the Knights of the Royal Guard, you've probably been trained some, but…"
"Mm, me? Ferri doesn't have any skill with a sword at all. Knights' swords are heavy, so Ferri doesn't carry one—just the dagger from Lady Crusch. Nothing good will come of waving it around, so Ferri doesn't."
Ferris's cackling laugh and kicking feet embarrassed Subaru. The sight of the cat-eared boy so casually admitting his own shortcomings made his chest burn, plain and simple. His attitude—not thinking of weakness as a failure— was not one Subaru could dismiss so easily in his current state.
Ferris seemed to see right through the silent Subaru's inner thoughts as he made an addendum.
"But Ferri has other redeeming features, mew know? That's why being completely mewseless as a knight isn't upsetting at all."
"Good save. Well, if you accept it then that's totally fine… Totally fine."
Ferris's confident declaration was no doubt built on a very strong foundation. Subaru, with no such footholds, averted his gaze in distinct discomfort.
Perhaps because Subaru turned his back doing so, Ferris sat up from where he lay on the bed and nestled into Subaru's shoulder, letting it support his weight. Then he asked a question.
"Nervous?"
"On the first day I was, but not anymore. If you're gonna do it, please, go ahead."
"Boooooring."
Pouting, Ferris sat Subaru up and put his hands on both of his shoulders. It was a shoulder rub posture, but Ferris held still in that position, silently closing his eyes.
—The warmth passing from Ferris's palms began to circulate from Subaru's shoulders into his whole body. The power of the water mana in his hands met the magical mechanism inside Subaru's body called a gate, rising and flowing through it.
Ferris spoke again.
"Gently, slowly, softly. Ah, found a split end. It feels like you've been working unusually hard, Subawu. Ah, a gray hair, too. Yanking that…"
"Ow! And could you not babble when you're working? All this mana sloshing around in my body feels pretty icky. If you aren't careful, you're gonna make me dizzy."
His head felt a little heavy, and his limbs were sluggish. His body felt like it was reacting poorly to the attempted treatment.
Ferris was the preeminent water magic user in the royal capital—real name Felix Argyle. The reason Subaru was lodging at the Crusch villa was so that he could take advantage of the healing magic to heal his damaged gate.
The idea of healing via water magic might have called to mind something cool and refreshing, but in practice, it was nothing that simple. A gate was the means by which one used magic. The direct cause of the damage to Subaru's gate was repeated overuse, as well as doping when his mana was depleted.
Thanks to that continual abuse, just bringing his gate back to a normal state required rather rough measures.
Subaru offered a comment.
"So this healing technique is like taking a hose that water only trickles out of, plugging the leak and pushing out all the mold and junk that's built up inside…"
"What? From the way you're speaking, it feels like mew aren't very happy about this, meow?"
"I'm just beating myself up. Don't worry about it. Ugh, this feels gross."
Subaru shook his head, enduring the sensation while trying to placate Ferris, whose mood had worsened.
It was the third day he had been living at Crusch's mansion—in other words, the third day of Ferris's treatment—so perhaps he had begun to grow a little accustomed to that part, too. On the first day, he'd groaned out loud from the very start, unable to silently endure the urge to vomit.
It was Ferris's turn to speak up.
"Well, that first day couldn't be helped. Ferri had to pump this directly through the worst, ickiest part. That's what happens when you're a living corpse with wounds all over your mind and body, meow?"
"You don't go halfway when you poke at uncomfortable stuff, do you?" Subaru hated how Ferris, who should have been unable to see the look on his face, seemed able to read his thoughts through his body. One might say that the way he unflinchingly dug at Subaru's scars was far craftier than how Reinhard unconsciously peeled the scabs off his heart without even realizing.
"Oh, Subawu, it feels like mew really are thinking of getting payback. The training you're doing with Grandpa Wil isn't unrelated to that, is it?"
"Can you stop jabbing at a guy where it hurts? I'm sure even you understand how I feel… Wait, do you?!"
"Of course. Ferri's been like, 'I wanna be strong!' too… Well, Ferri's given up on doing anything reckless like that, though."
Ferris's tone sounded slightly more serious as he used his pretty-boy speaking style to dance around the matter.
Subaru was a little surprised, sensing Ferris's reaction contained his real feelings on the matter. Even someone as unflinching as that had had moments in the past when he was uncertain or lost. But eventually, he had realized his potential for magic and gave up the path of the warrior.
What about Subaru, then? Did he have anything he could boast of to others? And if he could find such a thing, would it be able to drive away the miserable aching in his chest…?
"Point being, you should give up on dark thoughts like getting payback, okay? It's a little hard to say, but… If there is a next time, you might die, mew know?"
With a sulky look, Subaru closed one eye, his reply a barely spoken murmur.
"…Even I know that."
The earlier battle with Julius had ended with Subaru being pummeled beyond description. And in spite of the pounding he had received, he understood that the knight had gone easy on him.
There was no other way to explain how he had been struck so many times yet had not suffered any lasting effects. That wasn't due to Ferris's skill as a healer alone. The difference between Subaru and Julius had simply been that overwhelming.
Fully aware of this, Subaru had asked Wilhelm to teach him. He wasn't dreaming of becoming exponentially stronger in a mere several days of training. It was just…
"Can't you just let yourself be lazy? Your body's in bad shape, Subawu.
No one would blame mew for sleeping the day away in recovery. Who would complain if mew take it easy and give your mind and body a rest?"
Ferris's words came out in a rush, not giving Subaru any time to make excuses. The way he said it grated on Subaru's nerves a little, but the message was extremely seductive given his current state of mind. For some reason, his heart wavered at that moment, though normally he would feel indignant. But…
The sound of a gentle voice pulled him back from his chaotic emotional state.
"—Master Felix, please do not toy with Subaru too much."
Rem was standing at the doorway of the room with a neutral expression on her face. She had supposedly returned to her room for a change of clothes, but her outward appearance was not visibly different from when she had been sightseeing with Subaru in the royal capital.
Noticing the questioning rise of Subaru's eyebrows, Rem grasped the hem of her skirt and twirled around as she said, "I changed out of my maiduniform-for-errands into my maid-uniform-for-visiting."
"R-right, is that so. You always seem to know what I'm thinking, Rem."
"Yes. I always want you to see me fresh."
"I'm happy you feel that way, but your phrasing makes you sound like fresh vegetables…"
Subaru answered Rem's apparent request to evaluate her freshness, and the maid did not follow up. Rather, she shifted her gaze toward Ferris.
"I am grateful for the treatment you conduct for Subaru day after day. However, please desist from using that as an opportunity to lure him into temptation."
Ferris made a suspicious-sounding laugh and nestled into Subaru's back once more.
"'Luring into temptation' sounds so bad, meow. Ferri is only saying these things out of concern for his well-being."
The flow of power from his palms, coursing in via Subaru's shoulders, suddenly flooded through his back and into his entire body.
The influx of mana beyond Subaru's capacity to bear distracted him for a moment.
However, a soft impact against his head brought his wandering mind fluttering back into place.
"Master Felix. Please give these pranks a rest. There are some things I cannot let pass as a joke."
When Subaru gasped and regained his senses, white fabric covered his face. Straining his eyes, he realized that his face was pressed into a very familiar apron dress and that Rem was caressing his head.
"Hey, um, Rem, this is a little embarrassing to do in front of someone else…!"
Subaru tried to cover up his bashfulness with his usual jokes as Rem embraced him even tighter.
"Subaru, be quiet for a moment—Master Felix?"
Her tongue formed polite words, but they carried cold emotion.
Ferris traced little patterns on Subaru's back like a child whose prank had been figured out.
"Oh. They did say you can use a few water arts, Rem. Guess that would make you object to what Ferri has been doing…"
"Hey, Ferris. Having a pretty boy do weird finger stuff like that doesn't make me happy one little b… Er, wait, Rem? My head, ah, feels good, but
don't…hug…so…strong—l… Gyah!!"
"Ahh, Subaru, I'm so sorry. Master Felix just wouldn't pull back… I thought, if someone was going to take you from me, it was better that I…"
"That statement's going dangerous places!!"
Feeling like his skull was creaking, Subaru rolled to the floor to escape from both Ferris and Rem. He warily glared at the other two from the corner of the room, while Rem visibly lamented as she shook her head.
"Subaru, you poor thing. You've gone through quite an ordeal, haven't you?"
"What you were saying at the end was the scariest of all, Rem! There's a crazy little yandere in you, isn't there?!"
Ignoring Subaru's objections, Rem faced off against Ferris across the bed. She gazed emotionlessly as the cat boy twirled his finger around his flaxen hair with a mischievous expression.
"You have a reason to be angry, Rem, but it wasn't all some scheme by
Ferri, mew know? It was for Subawu's sake, just a teeny widdle bit."
"And everything besides that 'little bit'?"
"The rest was for my friend's feelings, and everything else was for Lady
Crusch. That's natural for a retainer, isn't it? It's no different for you, is it, Rem?"