Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World – Vol. 16 Ch. 3

Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World. Volume. 16.

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‘Chapter 3:- AN UNEXPECTED, UNPLANNED REUNION LONG IN COMING.’

 

 
Sub-chapter 1.

“I am sorry it turned out like this after so long apart. Even normally, our young master is rather edgy, but when Ms. Liliana gets involved, he is liable to lose control, as you saw for yourselves.”

At the entrance to the Muse Company, Kiritaka’s bodyguard spoke those words and bowed his head to Subaru.

The bearded man calling himself Dynas seemed fair-minded and acted accordingly, in contrast to his stern visage. The sight of him apologizing drove home his message that he felt genuinely regretful about his employer’s act of violence.

“This is the second time you’ve bowed your head to us like this, huh? At the time, you guys were almost as edgy as Kiritaka was.”

“…Ms. Liliana caused you a fair bit of trouble back then as well, did she not?”

With those words, Dynas made what came off like a self-effacing smile, which deepened Subaru’s own troubled smile.

Just like Liliana and Kiritaka, this wasn’t his first time meeting Dynas, either. He, too, had been staying at Roswaal Manor during Liliana’s visit. His—no, their objective had been Liliana herself, so at one time, he and Subaru were something close to enemies.

“And Kiritaka’s the one who mediated at the time… Is that really the same guy?”

“Small wonder you would ask that. Normally, the young master is excellent, setting his illness aside.”

Dynas put his hand to his forehead as he sighed. Illness was quite an odd way of putting it.

Really, Subaru had underestimated Kiritaka’s obsession with Liliana, which had even earned him a title as ominous as the Songstress Maniac. He never would’ve thought Kiritaka might lose himself during a business meeting and become so riled that he’d blow up an entire room of his office building.

Of course, the failure of the business deal was due to Subaru’s thoughtlessness and Liliana being even worse at reading a room than he expected. On further examination, Subaru realized he was just as bad as she was. Why had he ever thought two people like that could be of help in a delicate negotiation where reading people’s reactions was the most important thing?

“I don’t even understand it myself… Anyway, from your position as a bodyguard, how does Kiritaka look?”

“His mood will likely recover tomorrow… I want to think so, at least. I am sorry, but he is not presentable at the moment.”

“Well, I suppose that figures. Now, as for the Songstress in question…”

Trading sighs with Dynas, Subaru turned around. Liliana, who’d come to see them off just as Dynas had, was exchanging words with Emilia and the others.

“Really, Mr. Kiritaka can be such a pain. To think that even though Lady Emilia and Master Subaru came to visit after so long, we won’t get a chance to speak—it’s so irritating!”

Consumed by her own anger and fury, Liliana’s face made it clear she was totally unaware that she was a major part of why the meeting had come to an early close. Emilia and Beatrice were gently soothing Liliana all the same.

“Normally, it’s the other way around, right?”

“One should not expect normalcy of any sort from Ms. Liliana. Ahhh, may I have a moment, young miss?”

Interrupting the exchanges, which Subaru didn’t know whether to call charming or shameless, Dynas patted Liliana on the shoulder and addressed her.

“I am sorry, but I simply must ask Ms. Liliana to restore the young master’s mood. His schedule is packed today, so please save the rest for tomorrow.”

“…. I understand.”

It took her a fair bit of time to clue in, but even Liliana yielded to Dynas’s earnest plea.

As a result of the combined efforts of the Emilia camp’s Moppet Mage and the Songstress, negotiations had been spectacularly fruitless, dashing any hope Subaru had for a triumphant return.

“Shit, what silver lining was I even thinking about? All I found was more cloud…!”

“Is that all you have to say for yourself?!”

Waving enough that their hands nearly fell off, Liliana and Dynas bid them farewell and parted ways. When Subaru muttered to himself as the party was walking home, Otto sent spittle flying as he interjected.

Adjusting his hat after that outburst, Otto proceeded to vent all his pent-up anger.

“Why, in front of a man they call the Songstress Maniac, did you act so familiar with the very same Songstress? Thanks to that, talks broke down right when we were on the very verge of striking a deal!”

“Er, I thought I’d try and improve things because everyone seemed to be at an impasse…”

“There was no impasse whatsoever! We were working out the terms in a gentlemanly fashion!”

“Ehhh, you seriously mean I made a big fuss over nothing?!”

Naturally, even Subaru had to repent over turning his own worries into misfortune. Otto must have found the other party pretty responsive during negotiations. His dismay at seeing all his work ruined was considerable.

Depending on Liliana’s efforts, perhaps Kiritaka would be willing to talk again the next day.

“Even if he does, it would be wise to assume he will make his terms more onerous.”

“Uggghhh.”

That sound was Subaru’s only possible response; Otto had read what was in Subaru’s mind and hit him right where it hurt most.

Then Emilia clapped her hands, saying, “Yes, that’s far enough. Otto, there’s no need to be so angry. It’s not as if Subaru had any bad intentions, or he’d never be this down about what happened.”

“Emilia-tan… Yeah, that’s right. You really understand, don’t you? Go ahead and say more.”

“Subaru, you should properly reflect on what you’ve done. It’s not fair. I wanted to speak more to Liliana, too.”

“Huh?! So you’re on Liliana’s side and not mine?!”

As Emilia sulked, Subaru reeled in shock, feeling as if he’d been cut down from behind.

Watching the almost playful exchange between master and servant, Otto let out a sigh at the familiar sight.

“Setting aside that Mr. Natsuki should absolutely reflect on his actions… Negotiations have come to a standstill. For the moment, we should return to the Water Raiment and review our plans, but…”

“What is it?”

“Actually, I have some business to attend to, so I must depart for a while.”

When Otto raised a finger and spoke those words, Subaru and Emilia both went, “Business?” as they tilted their heads.

“Yes. After coming all this way, it is advantageous to create connections that normally I could not. So for today, I will be going around and greeting people.”

“An unflappably devoted professional, huh…”

Perhaps Otto was simply good at switching gears. Or maybe he kept a couple spare brains tucked away somewhere. Either way, Subaru had to admire his dizzying methods.

“Yes, about that, Otto. You don’t need me with you when you go around and greet people like that?”

“A fine question, Lady Emilia. However, if you were to arrive without sending word ahead, everyone would be conflicted, since they’d be unable to give you a proper welcome. Refraining from rash actions is also a form of consideration. Much like how Lady Anastasia spoke with the Muse Company for us.”

“I see… Mm, understood. I’ll remember that, Teacher.”

Emilia’s reply brought a tired smile to Otto’s face. Then he said, “Go home straightaway,” as if he was speaking to a child, before leaving the party, vanishing in the direction of the Second District.

“Emilia-tan, what’s with that Teacher thing just now?”

“Hmm? Oh, Otto has been teaching me quite a lot lately, including when we were on the carriage ride here. That’s why I call him Teacher. Is that weird?”

“Nah, it’s not weird; I’m just jealous. You can call me Teacher, too, okay?”

“But Subaru is my knight, not my teacher…”

“Gaaah, so cute…!”

Emilia’s adorably conflicted look and hushed words left Subaru weak in the knees.

“The general and Lady Emilia both took a pretty big likin’ to that Songstress chick, huh.”

Garfiel joined the conversation with both hands entwined behind his head. He, the only one among them unfamiliar with Liliana’s songs, crinkled his nose.

“Me, I wanna hear her stuff, too, if it’s really that good. I’ve gone through a ton of books, but ya can’t know what a song is like from just readin’ about it, so I dunno what I’m missin’.”

“Right, Garfiel wasn’t at the mansion when they paid us a visit.”

“So this’ll be the first time you hear Liliana’s song, huh…? It’ll probably rock your world.”

“Serious? That’s some heavy billin’.”

The way Subaru and Emilia talked about her music drew an expression of surprise and expectation from Garfiel.

Liliana’s songs really did have that kind of power. Subaru previously had a few chances to listen to minstrels other than Liliana, but none of them held a candle to her.

It was beyond all doubt that Liliana was gifted enough to be called a songstress.

“I guess for that talent, the gods took a few too many things from Liliana in exchange?”

“A rather cruel thing of them to do.”

“I don’t really get what ya mean by that.”

Beatrice’s face showed how deeply she agreed with Subaru’s murmur. Garfiel, the only one left in the lurch with just tangential information to make guesses from, clicked his tongue, seemingly pouting as he glared at the water’s surface.

Incidentally, the four were taking the long way back to the Water Raiment on foot. Unfortunately, if they went by dragon boat, there was a rather high chance that they’d have to leave Subaru behind due to his seasickness again.

“It’s such a pretty city that I think it’s nice to have a chance to walk around. Like Otto said, we don’t really have anything left to do today.”

“I sure caused you a lot of trouble…”

“Ah, I didn’t mean to blame Subaru. I’m only a little angry.”

“So you are angry! I mean, of course you are!”

All that said, it was a fact that he wanted to take his time before returning to the inn where Anastasia would no doubt pry into everything that had happened. Subaru had no reason to object to a detour.

“The only worry besides that is whether I can escort Emilia-tan back to the inn safe and sound.”

“Do not be concerned. Betty will watch over you, I suppose.”

“Just to say this out loud, it wasn’t only me who dropped the ball today; this involves you, too.”

Beatrice was nonchalantly shirking responsibility for the failure of negotiations, but her passive participation made her an accomplice all the same. That her face showed no recognition of this was cute, though.

“No need to worry, General. My nose remembers the scent of the road all the way back to the inn. Even if I can’t smell the building, I know the scent of that rowdy kid, so we ain’t gettin’ lost.”

“Heeeh. Hooo. Hmmmm.”

“Hey, what’s with that reaction?”

Garfiel suspiciously crinkled his nose at Subaru’s suggestive reaction.

He was mostly curious about the way Garfiel brought up Mimi. Mimi’s actions were so impulsive that they were hard to understand, but he figured she had nothing but goodwill toward Garfiel. Their ages matched, too, so Subaru expected some interesting developments would come as time went on.

Incidentally, Garfiel continued to get the cold shoulder from his own target, Ram. It looked to Subaru like the only love Ram held for Garfiel was the sort one had for family.

“Either way, Garfiel, I wish from the bottom of my heart for you, my little brother, to be happy.”

“Huh? What’s this all of a sudden, General? Well, not that I hate that or anythin’…”

When Subaru patted his shoulder with a warm look in his eyes, Garfiel tilted his head in confusion and gave a blunt reply. Subaru genuinely hoped that his innocent little brother found happiness in this city of water.

“I have to say, this really is a splendid city. Everywhere I look feels like it’s calming and peaceful.”

On the way back, Emilia seemed to be in a very good mood as she savored the scenic beauty of the watery metropolis. The waterways cutting through the center of the city might have been slightly inconvenient, but they certainly did not fail to impress.

“According to Beako’s explanation, the founding of this city wasn’t exactly for peaceful reasons…”

“But whatever the reasons at the time, how we feel right now is still real, right?”

When Emilia stopped atop a bridge and gazed at the Great Waterway, Subaru was enchanted by her smile.

From her charming expression to the words she spoke, she was happy. Whatever the reason, that moment was genuine.

—Because what’s important isn’t where you started; it’s where you end.

“I hear ya, Mom.”

“Did you say something?”

“Just remembering some magic words from the woman I respect the most in the world.”

Even as time passed since Subaru had heard those words, they still gave him courage even now.

Forgetting something didn’t mean losing it forever, and he was determined to hold on to whatever he could remember. For one more day, Subaru Natsuki lived on, pulled forward by the feelings he had inherited.

“I suppose we should really head back. The mysterious way the inn’s built is really on my mind.”

“Jabaneez construction, huh? To be honest, I’m interested in that, too. For a different reason than Emilia-tan, though.”

“Is that so? Tee-hee. We’d better hurry, then.”

Letting go of the handrail on the bridge, Emilia smiled and took a step back. Perhaps it was because she was too giddy from sightseeing that she lightly bumped into someone passing by as she did.

“Ah! I’m so sorry.”

Emilia hastily turned around and bowed her head to the passerby she had bumped into, a man whose entire body seemed white.

He had bleached white hair and a white suit. His height was around the same as Subaru’s, and their physiques were a close match as well. In short, he was a man without any visible distinguishing features.

The man in white shook his head to Emilia’s apology.

“You need not be concerned. I was careless this time as well—I was momentarily enchanted by you.”

“…Errr.”

“Your beautiful silver hair, yes. I once tried to make a woman with hair as beautiful as yours my bride. Remembering this fondly, I found myself unable to avoid you.”

In contrast to Emilia’s apology, the man’s reply somehow sounded unnatural. His speech seemed intended to sound persuasive, but the sense of hubris was stronger.

“Okay, stop. That’s far enough.”

That was the moment Subaru put himself in front of Emilia, motivated by the forthright heart of a knight and the pure heart of a man in love.

“Well, it seems like both people were careless this time around. I’ll lecture our girl for being thoughtless later, so please kindly allow us to leave it at that for today.”

“Wait a second, Subaru. That’s no way to speak to someone who…”

“Go with it, ’kay?”

When Emilia shot him a look of protest, Subaru winked back at her.

Getting into some weird quarrel here ran the troublesome risk of others realizing Emilia’s identity. He felt more like a celebrity’s manager than a knight at the moment, but that was beside the point.

“A mutual encounter and a mutual apology. That’s common courtesy in a city of water, right?”

“Thank you for your politeness. For the time being, I have little reason to pursue the matter. Should we meet again, it will simply be the whims of destiny bringing us together once more.”

“Yeah, I agree. Well, here’s hoping destiny makes our paths cross again in the future.”

As the stranger was speaking poetically, Subaru replied like a delusional middle schooler as he took his leave.

Pulling Emilia along by the hand, Subaru let out an audible breath of relief and looked in her direction. When he did, he saw Emilia glancing back a bit, the stranger clearly still on her mind.

“I was definitely a little rude back there, but given your position, I hope you understand.”

“Eh? Ah, no, no. It’s true that Subaru’s behavior was a little poor, but it was because I was careless in the first place. But that’s not it. I…”

Her words trailed off. There was a faint hesitance in Emilia’s eyes.

“—I feel like I’ve met that person somewhere before.”

“An acquaintance of yours? I think I should know most of them already.”

“Yeah… I’m not too sure myself. I wonder who he is?”

It had to be really bugging her, because Emilia glanced behind her one more time. However, the man had already crossed the bridge, and all she could see was his fast-receding back.

Though it was tugging on something inside her mind, her search for answers seemed to have been in vain.

“Hey, General. Ya look pretty shaken up. Wha, worried some pretty boy was gonna steal her away?”

Garfiel, who had already crossed the bridge and was waiting for them, greeted Subaru with a wave and a question. Subaru understood why Garfiel and Beatrice wanted to give him and Emilia some space, but even so, he sighed over Garfiel’s carefree attitude.

“Idiot, this ain’t the time to goof off. What are we gonna do if some weirdo hangs around and you’re not there? Emilia-tan’s gonna be in a pinch if it’s not someone I can handle.”

“Puttin’ your body on the line to protect her—that’s how the general shows he’s a man, am I right?”

“Using my body as a shield? I don’t think I’m really built for that. As a human being or as a shield.”

Garfiel flashed a grin in response to Subaru’s almost humble self-assessment.

Garfiel seemed to be taking that as modesty on Subaru’s part, but from Subaru’s perspective, it was plain fact. If anything, Garfiel held Subaru in too high esteem.

“Hey, relax. Me, if I think a guy’s trouble, I’ll send him flyin’. On that score, the guy just now is an amateur. The way he walks and moves… Ain’t even worth talkin’ about.”

“…Well, I guess that’s fine.”

One of Garfiel’s odd specialties was his ability to discern an opponent’s combat potential from their physique and movement. Subaru could personally attest to that; Garfiel had sniffed out his middle school kendo experience.

If Garfiel guaranteed that it was fine, Subaru was probably worried over nothing.

“In that case, let’s go, Emilia-tan…or is he still on your mind?”

“—. No, I’m all right. Sorry for being weird about it. Let’s go back.”

“Sounds good. Don’t worry—when we get back, you can hug Mimi or something and take your mind off it. Hey, I’ll be satisfied hugging Beako, so you don’t need to pout like that.”

“Did Betty not refrain from saying anything about it, I wonder?!”

Subaru’s words made Beatrice’s face redden. Upon seeing this, Emilia broke into a beaming smile.

Then she gently touched her hand to her lips.

“I suppose so. If I hug Mimi, I’ll feel really relieved. I’ll do just that.”

Thus, having seemingly swept her concerns away, she set out walking once more. Beatrice and Garfiel followed behind her. Then Subaru began to join them.

“”

Abruptly, Subaru stopped and turned around, gazing in the direction of the bridge.

The man in white was standing on a city street on the opposite side of the crossing. He turned around and looked directly at Subaru.

Finding his gaze supremely creepy, Subaru walked off after Emilia and the others at a rapid clip.

It felt like the man’s gaze coiled around him, remaining glued to his shadow until Subaru rounded the corner.

Sub-chapter 2.

After that, the stroll back through the city of water proceeded without incident.

From time to time, Emilia gazed at the surface of the water and seemed to sink into deep thought, but whenever someone pointed this out to her, she immediately glossed over the conversation with a smile.

Emilia was terrible at hiding things, so it was easy to understand that the man from earlier was still bugging her. However, Subaru was certainly mindful of the man himself. That was because—

“Beako.”

“I know. Did Emilia and Garfiel not notice because both their heads are in the clouds, I wonder? They both require a great deal of supervision.”

When Subaru called her name, Beatrice shrugged in visible exasperation.

The concern on Subaru’s mind, the one Beatrice had just affirmed, was how the man from before had reacted to Emilia. A year after the announcement that she was running for the royal selection, Emilia was no longer using the “ID blocker” robe when going outside, as she had done without fail previously.

I think that it’s really strange for someone who’s trying to get everyone to accept her and who has to work so hard to become the king to walk around hiding her own identity.

That was what Emilia had asserted, and certainly, it was a sound argument. Accordingly, Emilia had decided to stop relying on the power of the coat, exposing her adorable face, meaning there was no concealing that she was a half-elf anymore. Even so, the prejudice against a silver-haired elf ran strong and deep, so for better or worse, many of the people who saw her had strong reactions, be they good ones or bad.

“The guy earlier didn’t have either. He talked like he knew Emilia, but he didn’t give his name… Am I overthinking this?”

“If Subaru pays no heed, Emilia will be far too vulnerable, so it is perfectly appropriate, I suppose. Betty shall also keep watch around Emilia as much as possible.”

When Beatrice announced that he could depend on her, Subaru gave her a short “gotcha” in thanks.

This watery metropolis was massive, and he didn’t think their chances of bumping into that man again were very high. But it was still more than possible that the stranger would initiate contact on his own. There was nothing to lose by being cautious.

“After all, it’s because I didn’t think things through enough that today’s negotiations failed, so…!”

“Was that not also caused by the natural disaster called Liliana, I wonder? Repent, but only in moderation.”

“Hey, General, let’s hurry back to the inn already. If we go at Beatrice’s walkin’ pace, the sun’ll go down before we get there.”

“Would you refrain from saying such impudent things, I wonder? You are younger than I am.”

Subaru and Beatrice had fallen behind the front of the group while whispering to each other, prompting Garfiel to call out to them. When his rude remark left Beatrice peeved, Garfiel went, “Sorry, my bad,” with a smile before suddenly stopping. “—The hell? Someone in the direction of the inn smells really angry.”

Turning his head toward a corner in the road ahead, Garfiel audibly sniffed the air as he murmured. A moment later, sure enough, they heard voices arguing farther down the street.

It sounded like two men were engaged in a heated argument.

“They seem like they’re going at it pretty hard. The excitement never stops in this town.”

“That sounds more convincin’ from the general who made a big shot blow up his own room with a magic crystal. It’s like the saying You can boil a pot with the cries of an Azula bird, ain’t it?”

“Pheasants don’t have cries, so I wonder if they’d fit the saying… Emilia-tan?”

Subaru was feeling guilty at the mention of what happened at the Muse Company, but beside him, Emilia broke out into a little run. She didn’t look back as she spoke:

“Those voices just now—I think one of them sounds like Joshua’s!”

“For real? If we’re connected to one of the parties, we’d better hurry.”

Even if that wasn’t the case, Emilia’s personality meant she still wouldn’t stand by and do nothing. Chasing her around the curving corner of the road ahead, Subaru and the others also hurried back to the front of the Water Raiment.

As they did so and the Jabaneez-style structure came into distant view, in front of the establishment were—

“Don’t make me repeat myself! Stop givin’ me lip and get your master out here right now!”

“Faced with someone as crude as you, I refuse to call Brother, let alone my master. Please obediently take your leave of this place while I am the only one dealing with you!”

“Ya just don’t get it, do ya, brat? I’m gonna give ya a good thrashin’!”

A concerning argument raged between Joshua, who barred entry to the inn with both arms spread wide, and a seedy-looking man angrily shouting at the youth. The man had a wiry physique, and both his words and bearing had a violent edge to them; it seemed only a matter of time until his short fuse ran out.

“That’s far enough!”

Then before Subaru could ascertain the opponent’s might, Emilia inserted herself between the two. The interruption made the man flinch and left Joshua gazing in shock as well.

“L-Lady Emilia?!”

“If your business is done here, then you should leave. More importantly, what happened? Don’t bother people by kicking up a fuss in front of an inn like this. Calm down and talk this out properly.”

With words that sounded like she was scolding a pair of bickering children, she cleared away the tense atmosphere, which had been primed to explode from the slightest spark. Sensing that a fight had narrowly been averted, Subaru let out a tentative sigh of relief.

“So tell me what happened. Ready, set, go.”

“Er, ah. It would seem I have given Lady Emilia and everyone else cause for worry…”

Under Emilia’s earnest gaze, Joshua glanced over at Subaru and the others as he hesitated for a moment.

Perhaps he was concerned that entrusting mediation to a rival camp meant putting his own in its debt. Of course, such haggling would never dissuade Emilia even if he spent the next hundred years trying.

“It ain’t complicated. We got invited here, but this brat is runnin’ his mouth, sayin’ we can’t go in. Why wouldn’t I complain about it?”

Perhaps not caring for the impasse, the man gruffly explained his side of the dispute. The man focused his narrow eyes on Joshua as he shot him an intense glare.

The look on Joshua’s face said that the gaze had rekindled his willingness to fight.

“I have told you over and over. If you intend to pass yourself off as a noble, you should at least make the deceit more convincing. A tiny bit of grooming cannot hide the unsophisticated ignorance oozing out from you!”

“Ya really don’t hold back, do ya?! I ain’t involved in this kind of trouble ’cause I wanna be! I’m tired of bein’ sent on errands like this! Awww, hell, there ain’t no point even talkin’ to you!”

Faced with Joshua’s obstinacy, the man clutched his own head and grumbled out loud. It sounded like the situation was truly beyond salvaging, frustrating Emilia after she had gone out of her way to intervene.

“Hey, Subaru, what should I do…? Subaru, what is it?”

“Er, this might just be my imagination…but I feel like I’ve seen this guy’s face somewhere.”

The man Joshua was arguing with made a sour expression when Subaru, responding to Emilia’s question, pointed a finger at him. Then the man realized something, going “aaahhh?” as he glared back at Subaru with a foul look. “The hell are you goin’ on about? What, you lookin’ for a fight, t…oooo?!”

“Ohhh, his voice sure went really shrill at the… Aah!”

While glaring at Subaru, the man’s face suddenly filled with shock; seeing that expression, something finally dawned on Subaru.

He really did know this man. He was a lot cleaner and better dressed than when Subaru had last seen him, but…

“Larry! It’s Larry, isn’t it?! Whoa, what are you doing in a place like this…? How’ve you been?”

“Don’t talk to me like we’re best pals! And who the hell’s Larry?! I’m Lachins—that’s my name, damn it!”

“So it is La-something.”

“Shaddap!”

When Subaru wrapped an arm around his shoulder in a spontaneous act of camaraderie, Larry—or rather, Lachins—violently shook him off. With that incongruous exchange going on, Emilia asked, “Is he an acquaintance of yours?”

“Yeah. An old acquaintance from the royal capital back when Emilia-tan and I met for the very first time. When I got lost in an alley, he and his friends surrounded me, and I almost got stripped bare.”

“Huh, really…? Er, stripped bare?”

“And the next time I was in the capital—right, I was with Priscilla when I got in a tangle with them, and after, they came back with more friends to try and return the favor. I really have a lot of memories with this guy…”

“From what Betty is hearing, he is nothing but trash.”

Emilia and Beatrice had different reactions to Subaru’s nostalgic comments. Listening to all this, Joshua’s gaze turned grave, and Lachins, feeling the tide turn against him, lifted up both hands in apparent surrender as the blood drained from his face.

“W-wait, wait, wait. Yeah, maybe all that happened, but nothin’ real bad happened either time, so it’s ancient history, right? Let’s just call it water under the bridge and talk this out, yeah?”

“Er, I wouldn’t exactly mind, but you can’t act so guilty at a time like this or you’ll make it into a national-defense issue…”

Lachins was trying to salvage the situation, but by any stretch of the imagination, he was at a disadvantage here. It seemed like the smart thing to do was tie him up and make him spit out whatever he was planning to do.

“On that note—Garfiel. Restrain him and… Uh?”

“”

Subaru wanted to rely on Garfiel’s brute strength, but there was no response. Wondering what the big deal was, he looked over to find Garfiel’s gaze not on Lachins but trained toward the street in front of the inn.

Subaru saw Garfiel open his jade eyes as his pupils shrank to points out of wariness. Every hair on his body was standing up as he stood ready, claws, fangs, and muscles all clearly tense.

Realizing from one glance that something had set off Garfiel’s fighting instincts, tension raced through Subaru and the others as well, since something was clearly afoot.

And so Subaru and the others turned toward the source of Garfiel’s alarm—

“—Lachins. I wondered what had happened when you didn’t return. Is there some kind of trouble?”

For an instant, Subaru was sure that what stood there had to be a blazing flame.

It was a red, flickering fire— No, that was a hand waving. This was a human flame. No, just a human being.

With hair so red that it could be mistaken for a roaring fire and eyes so blue they seemed to contain the skies themselves, the tall man wearing all-white garb had such a handsome face, it seared itself into your soul for all eternity from a single glance.

There was no mistaking the sensation that shot through Subaru’s entire body. This was what happened when an ordinary person set eyes upon a hero.

That’s exactly what this chance encounter was.

The only thing you could mistake him for was an open flame. The man’s name was—

“—!!”

Just before Subaru said the name aloud, all sight of Garfiel vanished from his side.

With a roar that started at the back of his throat, Garfiel’s arm grew bulkier as sharp claws sprang from it. He proceeded to swing it in a frontal attack with incredible force at the man who had just appeared.

There was no time to stop Garfiel. It was a preemptive strike that closed to point-blank range in an instant. A direct hit with such a vicious blow would easily slice through an iron plate. As his claw drew near to the side of the man’s handsome face—

“—My apologies. It would appear that I have startled you.”

With a voice that had the echo of a troubled smile, he blocked the strongest attack Garfiel could muster.

“”

The superhuman spectacle left Subaru speechless, and Garfiel went rigid with shock.

The man’s upraised hand had stopped Garfiel’s mighty arm. The bestial claw, swung without a shred of restraint, had been blocked by the man’s hand as if they were arm wrestling. The only reaction the man showed was the wry smile spreading across his serene face.

This man was playing by different rules and operated beyond any notion of common sense. There was no doubt this was—

“—Reinhard.”

Subaru seemed out of breath. His whisper brought another soft smile from the young man. Instantly, the sense of surprise and tension that Subaru had felt up to that point was forcibly melted away, changing into sweet relief.

With just a smile, Reinhard could instill absolute peace of mind into people. That was proof of just how incomparably strong he was.

Then the young man nodded once to Subaru—

“Hi, it’s been a while, Subaru. I have heard the rumors. It’s good to see you in fine health.”

Yes, the Sword Saint Reinhard van Astrea was apparently delighted at being reunited with Subaru, friendly as always.

Sub-chapter 3.

“By the way, Subaru, I know it has been a whole year, and there are many things I would like to speak about, but…”

“A-ahhh, yeah, what is it?”

“First, could I have you stop him? He is your friend, yes?”

As he spoke, Reinhard was looking at Garfiel, whose arm Reinhard was still keeping locked in place. Of course, Reinhard had no hostile intent, nor any reason to continue. In other words, the reason Reinhard hadn’t let his arm go yet was because Garfiel was still ready to fight.

“Calm down, Garfiel. This is Reinhard, my…friend. You don’t need to worry.”

Grasping Garfiel by the shoulder, Subaru hesitated momentarily before deciding how to categorize Reinhard.

Instantly, Subaru’s final memory of Reinhard from a year prior came rushing to mind. It was a bitter memory; Subaru had driven him away when he’d come to apologize for not stopping Julius from giving Subaru a thrashing at the training square.

The Subaru of the present keenly understood that his past self had only been lashing out at anyone within reach.

“It is as Subaru explained just now. I am his friend, Reinhard van Astrea. I would be grateful if you told me your name.”

Paying Subaru’s internal conflict no heed, Reinhard readily called Subaru a friend. On top of that, he let Garfiel’s arm go and looked him straight in the eyes.

Under that gaze, Garfiel pulled his arm back and let out a deep, long sigh.

“—Garfiel. Garfiel Tinzel.”

“I see, so you are Lady Emilia’s shield. I am pleased to meet you. I’d wanted to meet you at least once.”

As he spoke, Reinhard reached out in search of a handshake. There was no hint of sarcasm in his words whatsoever. There was nothing there save simple praise and delight.

After everything that had just transpired, Garfiel’s shock must have been tremendous.

“—Ah?”

A dazed voice trickled out from Garfiel.

While Reinhard waited for a handshake, Garfiel moved a single step—backward.

That fact, that he had subconsciously retreated, made Garfiel open his eyes wide when he realized what had happened. This was the first time he had ever experienced anything like it.

“”

Seeing this, Reinhard’s eyes flickered slightly with a touch of sadness. But he still pulled back the hand he had offered without delay.

“I am sorry to have offended you. I shall be more careful in the future.”

When he said that, Garfiel shook his head as if something bitter had reached his lips.

“Reinhard, I’m so sorry. Are you hurt?”

It was then that Emilia hurried over with a little run to apologize for Garfiel’s sudden act of violence. The overly calm way Reinhard had dealt with it made Subaru momentarily forget that it was problematic conduct indeed.

This was the sort of thing that normally threatened to trigger open warfare between two rival factions.

“Lady Emilia, I am sorry to not have been in touch. Fortunately, thanks to Garfiel’s aim being very precise, I was able to stop him without any problems. I am relieved we are both fine.”

“Yes, I’m glad. It’s quite a relief.”

But Reinhard acted as if it was nothing—it probably really was nothing from his perspective. He was already assuring Emilia that Garfiel’s impropriety was not an issue, either.

Emilia patted her chest, relieved by his reply. Then she went, “Right, right,” clapping her hands together as her violet eyes glimmered. “I heard all about Felt. She’s really been getting a lot done, hasn’t she?”

“Compared with Lady Emilia’s spectacular exploits, they are still rather minor, enough that she often berates me for being unable to properly support my liege. In particular, she heard about Subaru’s deeds.”

“Tee-hee-hee. That’s right, Subaru’s amazing. I’m very proud of my knight.”

When Reinhard gave her a compliment that was perfectly sincere, Emilia proudly puffed out her chest. Subaru was half-proud and half-embarrassed that she talked about him like that.

Either way, the cordial exchange showed that things had largely calmed down, so Subaru chose that moment to clear his throat.

“We’ve strayed a lot, so to get the conversation back on track… You know this Lachins guy?”

Reinhard’s arrival had been so momentous that Subaru had to specifically point out Lachins, who had been completely forgotten. “Yes,” answered Reinhard, nodding in response to his question. “Currently, he is working as a retainer for Lady Felt. There are numerous areas where he is still lacking, but he has his good points, and Lady Felt has taken a liking to him.”

“Felt hired that guy?!”

“Perhaps this leaves you feeling conflicted. I was also at the scene when they tangled with you in that alleyway, Subaru. But a great deal has happened since then… The three of them are currently in the middle of reforming their ways. I would like you to give them a chance.”

“Errr, well, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bother me at all… Wait, she hired the whole trio?!”

Subaru looked toward the heavens as he realized just how many tricks fate was playing on him when it came to the three he had once pegged Larry, Curly, and Moe.

On the first day he was summoned to this other world, he’d had repeated fateful encounters with a certain gang of three thugs. He hadn’t paid them any special mind since those days from long ago, but who would have thought they would be reunited like this?

“Hey, hey, hey, ya see! I was right all along, damn it!!”

It was just then that Lachins, who had kept his mouth shut ever since the tide had turned against him, regained his vigor. He jabbed his finger at Subaru, Emilia, and then Joshua.

“All of you, doubting someone who comes to visit like that! Apologize! Now, on your hands and knees!!”

“Lachins, I have said this so many times, but you lack awareness as a retainer. Now I understand what brought this situation to a head. Unfortunately, it is difficult for me to support you.”

“Whose side are ya on here?!”

“I am the ally of justice. And in this case, I believe that leaves you no choice but to apologize to the younger brother of my friend.”

Reinhard responded to Lachins’s shouting dispassionately. Then he shot Joshua a quick smile. Joshua returned the gesture, nodding with a tense expression.

“It has been some time, Sir Reinhard. I apologize for the great rudeness caused by my ineptitude…”

“That fault lies with us, Joshua. I am sorry our envoy created such a major misunderstanding. Lady Felt is extremely grateful for Lady Anastasia’s invitation.”

“Hearing you say that is salve upon my wounds…”

The stubborn look on Joshua’s face made plain that his response was superficial. Reinhard offered a wry smile at his demeanor when Subaru went “just a sec” and raised a hand. “Based on what you just said, is it safe to assume Felt’s here with you, too?”

“Yes, that’s right. Lady Anastasia invited her. Let us engage in profitable exchange of information, she said. This being Lady Anastasia, I assumed she was trying to secure some kind of angle, but…”

Trailing off, Reinhard gazed at Subaru and Emilia in turn.

“To think that Lady Emilia and company are here as well. Contrary to my expectations, this may not even be the end of it.”

“Are you saying there’s even more surprises coming?”

“I am saying that is quite possible. How about it, Joshua?”

When the flow of conversation turned to Joshua, the one in league with the mastermind of this whole gathering, the young man put his fallen monocle back in its proper position. “Hmm, I wonder,” he said, playing dumb. This was a clear sign he had regained some of his usual composure. Reinhard nodded and looked at Lachins next.

“Lady Felt is in the middle of looking around the city with Gaston and the others. Please tell them I will be speaking to the people here in advance as instructed.”

“Yeah, yeah. What, you don’t need to head back, too?”

“If I am with her, Lady Felt will complain that she cannot do as she pleases. It is just…Mr. Rom is not with her at the moment. If Lady Felt attempts to do something dangerous, stop her with all your strength. If anything happens, raise the signal. I shall rush over in five seconds.”

“The fact that you’re serious is scary as all hell.”

Sullenly sticking out his long tongue, Lachins raced off like he was fleeing the scene. Along the way, he didn’t forget to shoot an angry glare toward Joshua, the one he’d been arguing with. The guy really was pettiness personified.

“Now then, let’s head inside. We’ve gotta go tell Anastasia that Reinhard and friends came over! and stuff, right?”

“Well, I think that is Joshua’s job, but we’re all here, so let’s go together.”

When Subaru consented to Emilia’s proposal, Joshua followed suit, and everyone entered the inn. The one thing tugging at Subaru’s mind was Garfiel, tailing the group with the same gloomy expression.

It was obviously because of what had happened earlier. Subaru mulled over what to say to him when—

“Is it not a good opportunity for Garfiel to learn that there exists someone above him, I wonder?”

“Beatrice…”

Noticing Subaru’s gaze, Beatrice gently grasped his sleeve and whispered to him.

“Since leaving the forest, Garfiel hasn’t faced any serious resistance save the moving of heavy objects. It is good medicine once in a while, I suppose. Think of it as a learning opportunity and let him be.”

“It’s true that the only time his life was really on the line was with the ground spider. I guess it’s a disease that most boys get at a certain age… All right. I’ll quietly watch for now.”

“Shall you, I wonder?”

For the moment, Subaru and Beatrice reached a consensus concerning Garfiel’s anguish. “Also,” said Beatrice before she continued. “About that Sword Saint…Betty prefers not to get too close to him.”

“—? What’s this all about? Don’t tell me it’s because he’s too attractive like Julius was?”

“Too dangerous is more accurate, I suppose. In any case, please do what you can.”

Beatrice avoided getting into the details as she quietly and quickly got as far from Reinhard as she could. However, she immediately came to a halt. The reason was that Emilia had gone “um?” and tapped Joshua’s shoulder as he led them down the corridor. “Joshua, I think the reception hall is in a different direction…”

“I am sorry. However, Lady Anastasia is currently receiving guests, so I cannot bring you directly to the reception hall.”

“I see. Guests…”

Listening to Joshua’s reply, Emilia put a finger to her lips and sank into thought. In her place, Subaru murmured, “Guests, huh… Meaning guests besides Emilia-tan and Felt’s envoy, Reinhard?”

“…You will understand soon enough. There is no need to stare at me with the eyes of a wild beast.”

“Hey, wild beast’s going too far. I don’t look hungry and feral enough for that.”

“You will understand soon enough without you raising your voice like a demon beast.”

“That’s even worse than before. Which demon beast you talkin’ about anyway? Dog, whale, rabbit. Pick one.”

Subaru went through the bestiary of detested demon beasts that lingered strongest in his memories. Lately, he’d been wondering where to rank spiders, too. Also, he felt like there was something like a charbroiled lion in there somewhere, but the impression it had left was somehow thinner than the rest.

“Whale, you say?”

As Subaru dug deeper into his memories, Reinhard murmured quietly beside him. When Subaru responded, Reinhard slowly shook his head side to side. “By whale, may I take it that you mean the White Whale, Subaru?”

“…Yeah, that’s right. The worst whale there ever was. It’s a straight-up miracle I got through that fight without dying.”

Really, Subaru thought it was a true miracle that he hadn’t racked up more deaths fighting against the White Whale.

He’d resolved to die many times over. He’d tasted death many times over. That was how menacing the demon beast was, and the damage it had inflicted was hard to forget. Even in the present, the sacrifices continued to torment Subaru’s chest.

“Would you mind telling me the details about the White Whale later? That beast is not an unrelated matter to me. Though I’m sure it will be a long talk once we begin.”

“Sure. You don’t need to tell me about any circumstances that are hard to talk about, either.”

Somehow, he could guess the reason behind Reinhard’s clouded expression.

To Subaru, the battle with the White Whale was also the resolution and recompense for one man’s obsession with the beast that had lasted for over a decade. And he could guess at the relationship between that man and Reinhard. Subaru didn’t have any way to know exactly what had happened in their pasts, however.

Naturally, it wasn’t something he should ask out of idle curiosity. He knew that much.

“Thank you.”

Therefore, that was the only reply Reinhard could offer in return.

No more was needed. That was enough.

“We have arrived. Please wait here in the tearoom until Lady Anastasia’s meeting is finished.”

Joshua announced that they had reached their destination right as their conversation was over. Seeing the sliding screen partition for what had been dubbed the tearoom, Subaru felt his Japanese spirit throb.

What a calculating use of the Japanese spirit, he mused, but such casual thoughts lasted for only a few seconds.

“I am sorry, honored guest. May I leave some other guests here until the rest of your party returns?”

Apparently, someone else was already in the tearoom, and Joshua was addressing him through the screen. When he did so, there were obvious signs of someone stirring within.

“—Feel free. I am doing nothing here except gathering dust.”

When the sound of the replying voice reached his ears, Subaru furrowed his brow; then surprise set in.

It was a familiar voice, one difficult to ever forget. More importantly, he’d been thinking of the man only a moment prior.

Subaru seemed to be the only person in that place who was surprised— No, Reinhard was the sole exception among the others. His soft visage hardened ever so slightly, and bewilderment entered his blue eyes.

Not noticing that hesitance, Joshua slid the screen to the side. The paper screen door opened, revealing the small interior of the so-called tearoom.

Then the individual kneeling in a traditional fashion upon a square cushion turned his tranquil eyes toward them—

“—Grandfather.”

“Reinhard?”

The initial voices of grandfather and grandson overlapped.

This was an unexpected reunion between the Sword Saint and the Sword Devil of the famed Astrea family.

Sub-chapter 4.

The people gathered in the reception hall of the Water Raiment were distinguished in multiple ways.

“I have to say, I’m surprised that Reinhard and Mr. Wilhelm are family. Now that you mention it, both seem to be very good with swords.”

“That completely absentminded way of looking at things is so E M T that it hurts.”

Assembled around the long table in the center of the room, the respective camps were sitting on square floor cushions in traditional Japanese style. Emilia and Subaru were quietly whispering to each other in a corner where they sat side by side. She might have been nervous, but the contents of her words did not display any particular sense of tension at all.

“Betty is paying close attention, but it will be of no use if anyone makes a sudden move. Subaru, you should focus on not receiving cold stares from everyone present, I suppose.”

“It hurts to hear you say that because I used to get plenty of experience with exactly that.”

Sitting on Subaru’s other side, Beatrice offered those words of caution.

Incidentally, Emilia was sitting with her legs to the side, Subaru was sitting cross-legged, and Beatrice was sitting on her knees. This was the result of Subaru daring her to try it, but Beatrice’s knees were already beginning to shake.

“Either way, Garfiel is here should anything happen, and with the people present, this is a needless concern regardless.”

With her legs at their limit, Beatrice shifted them to the side. Subaru glanced at Garfiel, who was sitting defensively in a corner of the room.

The encounter with Reinhard had to still be on his mind in various respects, but he seemed to have his hands full with Mimi clinging to him. Subaru hoped that Mimi would help distract him a little bit.

At present, the main figures from multiple camps were seated in the large reception hall, and other associates were on standby at the edges of the room. That was why Mimi’s brothers were also present. Seeing his older sister glued to Garfiel’s side, Hetaro was staring daggers at the offending boy, while TB’s face made it clear he wanted nothing to do with this fracas.

Incidentally, Joshua was at the edge of the spectator seats, his already white face looking even paler than usual.

Out of everyone who had gathered in the hall, the one to kick things off was Reinhard, who started with a bow.

“We are truly grateful for the invitation you have offered us. Lady Felt’s arrival to the inn is slightly delayed, but as she shall arrive forthwith, allow me to give you our formal greetings in her stead.”

“No need to be so stuffy. Considering this invitation was on short notice from me, that’s plenty… Though there was much more overlap in arrivals than I expected.”

The hostess, Anastasia, softly smiled as Reinhard engaged in the courtesies expected of an envoy. Reinhard nodded in response to Anastasia’s words; then he turned toward Julius, who was sitting with a smiling face at Anastasia’s side.

“It has been a while, Julius. Since our earlier visit to the Hoshin Company, I believe?”

“Yes, I suppose it has been. I am sorry for imposing upon you like this. However, it is a good chance to see how everyone is doing. Such opportunities are difficult to come by.”

The mutual friends exchanged greetings that were few in words. Reinhard was also seated at the table.

Somehow or other, the seating order had been neatly arranged by camp, with Anastasia, Emilia, a representative of the still-absent Felt camp, and finally—

“—It has been quite some time since I have met all of you like this, has it not?”

Speaking with a willowy smile was a woman with a beautiful face and long, lovely green hair.

A kindness rested in her almond-shaped, amber-colored eyes, and her alluring figure was dressed in navy-blue attire. It hardly required mentioning, but this person in the long-skirted clothing was the very image of ladylike grace.

People who knew the old her would scarcely believe she was the same person.

“It’s been a long time, Lady Crusch. I believe the last time we met was at the honors ceremony?”

“Yes. That it has. I am sorry for having caused you such trouble on that occasion. It was only afterward that I heard of everyone’s efforts. I wasn’t the least bit surprised.”

Replying to Emilia’s greeting was Crusch, giving a rather soft-seeming response.

Her previously gallant and decisive demeanor had been lost along with her memories. With her old fearlessness still yet to return, she was the portrait of an aristocrat’s beautiful daughter.

“Really, it’s been nothing but surprises. I heard it at the honors ceremony, but after the White Whale and the Witch Cult, it was the Great Rabbit next? Subawu, are you out of your mind?”

Sitting at Crusch’s side and jabbing at Subaru was the beautiful, kitty-eared girlor rather, young man called Ferris.

The greatest healer in the kingdom, he’d also worked part-time as Subaru’s physician. There was an edge to his otherwise teasing words that made Subaru sit up slightly straighter.

The cause of Ferris’s anger toward Subaru was obvious.

“I’m sorry for ignoring your warnings, using magic, and smashing my gate…”

“I drilled it into you that meowch, and in the end, you still rode your broken gate into the ground. It wasn’t worth treating you at all. Even now, it wouldn’t be strange for it to rupture and go poof if Beatrice wasn’t here. You really, really have to treat it with more care.”

“I get it already. But there ain’t a guy in the world who can make Beatrice happier than I do.”

Ferris’s tone was flippant, but his warning was dead serious. That’s why Subaru replied with equal seriousness. The fact that Beatrice was pounding his shoulder while red in the face was a small price to pay.

“I have to say, I’m amazed that even the Crusch camp got called over. If I hadn’t used up all my surprise after running into Reinhard outside earlier, I would’ve had one hell of a face for you to look at.”

“Awww. That is quite a wasted opportunity. But it’s really something to have so many invited guests gather here today. Even I’m astonished it’s this many.”

“That is only natural, as there was no specific date set. It is rare to have a chance to meet everyone at once like this, so we should consider this accident of timing as the blessing it is.”

It was the final member of the Crusch camp, Wilhelm, who spoke of this coincidence as a good opportunity.

Crusch was sitting formally on her knees, while Ferris was sitting with his knees apart in a rather feminine fashion. Wilhelm was also sitting formally on Ferris’s other side, but in spite of his butler’s attire, his gentlemanly demeanor seemed a perfect fit for the distinctly Japanese ambience.

By some quirk, the seating arrangement of the camps had put Wilhelm and Reinhard right next to each other, which was a sight that was bad for the hearts of Subaru and everyone else aware of their relationship.

“Those two aren’t meeting each other’s eyes, are they…?”

Subaru mentally nodded to Emilia’s very quiet whisper.

Pairing Wilhelm and Reinhard meant grandfather and grandchild were seated side by side, but the two hadn’t spoken a word to each other from the moment of their unexpected reunion in the tearoom to the instant they were all called over.

A stifling silence had descended on the tearoom, enough that even the Emilia camp, brimming with oblivious people, hadn’t tried to render any support. When Joshua came back, he looked like an angel to them.

Either way, Subaru deduced that there were complicated circumstances where the pair from the Astrea family was concerned. Otherwise, the feelings haunting Wilhelm during the hunt of the White Whale couldn’t be explained away.

—Why had Wilhelm borrowed the power of Crusch’s family and not his own?

For that matter, why hadn’t Reinhard joined the battle to avenge his own grandmother?

“”

Deep down, Subaru badly wanted to ask.

But probing would only rub salt into the pair’s wounds and hurt them further. Both might have been in rival camps, but to Subaru, one was a precious friend and the other a person he deeply respected and to whom he owed a great deal.

Trust was a castle built atop a pile of sand. Subaru wasn’t like Roswaal. He’d stand firm.

That was why he simply held out hope that someone would make the conversation naturally flow in that direction.

“Incidentally, why did Lady Anastasia call everyone here?”

“Oh, you’re so suspicious. My objective really is that I just wanted to speak with you all a little. That’s why I didn’t invite unreasonable people over.”

“Unreasonable…?”

Emilia frowned as she prompted back. But it wasn’t because she was unaware who Anastasia meant just now. In the first place, there was only one camp absent.

“So I take it that you did not invite Lady Priscilla and Sir Al?”

“They do things completely their own way, so I couldn’t come up with any excuse to ask them here. At least with Felt, we got a chance to know each other a little better during that incident with Black Silver Coin, right?”

“We caused you a great deal of trouble on that occasion. However, you are absolutely right.”

When Anastasia rather easily confessed that she’d left one camp out, Reinhard seemed to agree and backed off with no sign of resistance.

It was then that Emilia raised her hand, seeking another opportunity to speak.

“Just now, you used the word excuse… Does that mean you convinced everyone else to come using various reasons like you did with us?”

“If you’re going to come anyway, I should at least prepare a proper gift. All I did was just as I told you before, Emilia, nothing more.”

“What we want most… But for Crusch and them, that would be…”

When Anastasia replied with a cutesy smile, Subaru glanced over at Crusch and company.

What Emilia wanted was a magic crystal to use as a catalyst to call back Puck. And considering the problems facing Crusch and the others, the thing they wanted most was information about—

“We came to Pristella because Lady Anastasia claimed to have some information concerning the incident with the Archbishop of Gluttony.”

“—!”

Crusch had a look of determination on her face. Her words made Subaru unwittingly rise to his feet.

He couldn’t ignore this kind of news. Subaru glared at Anastasia as if by reflex, whereupon Anastasia flashed a strained smile and stroked the scarf around her neck.

“It’s not as if I’m trying to be mean to you, Natsuki. It’s just that there’s an order of priority. I can sell this to Lady Crusch and company higher than I can to Natsuki… Am I wrong?”

“…That’s the thinking of a merchant all right. It doesn’t sit well with me, but I can…understand.”

“Coming from you, that’s quite impressive.”

“Oh, shaddap. Don’t poke me when I’m only just holding it together.”

Expensive merchandise was sold to the highest bidder. That was just a merchant’s natural way of thinking.

Subaru barely avoided exploding in the face of Anastasia’s lecture. However, if Julius landed even one more hit, Subaru was in real danger of blowing up for real.

“But you know… That’s just…”

Subaru looked at Anastasia, trying to find some handhold to cling to. Perhaps he should have directed his plea to Crusch for even the slimmest possibility of awakening Rem, the Sleeping Princess, from her slumber.

However, faced with the fragile look on Subaru’s face, Anastasia let out a deep breath.

“There’s no need to put on such a sad face. Don’t worry—I won’t hide this secret from only you.”

“…R-really?”

“It’s no lie. But you should know that this is a request from Lady Crusch and her people. They’re all goody-goody sorts who don’t believe it’s right to keep the information to themselves.”

As Anastasia shrugged, her words left Subaru flabbergasted as he turned toward Crusch. As he did, Crusch looked back at him, trying with all her might to keep her expression firm.

“Naturally. Of course, I wish to settle the affair of my own memory with Gluttony personally. However, I understand that Master Subaru’s fondest wish is to help that girl.”

“Crusch…”

“Besides, I believe that the more we are united on this matter, the better. Our opponent is a cunning Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins who has continued to evade all attempts to hunt him down. I shall not hold a grudge regardless of whose blade reaches him first.”

The joking way Crusch put the last part left Subaru bowing his head as relief flooded him.

No doubt it was very much her full intention to settle things with the one responsible for stealing her past. Her consideration for Subaru, who had a similar objective, made her bend even on this.

Even with her memories lost, the soul of the fair and just woman named Crusch Karsten was in no way diminished. She remained true to her own way of life.

“Really, thank you. I’ll do my best to live up to those expectations. Somewhere, somehow.”

“Even so, we will likely be first. I do not intend to yield to anyone, either.”

As Subaru voiced his determination, Crusch puffed out her chest, undaunted.

Her demeanor made Subaru and Crusch exchange an out-of-place smile. Her knight, Ferris, looked upon this without being amused whatsoever.

“Grrr, you seem to be having a lot of fun, Lady Crusch. You need to stop being so fond of Subawu. He should be satisfied with one flower in each hand right meow. He doesn’t need any more.”

“Ferris, is that not a rude thing to say? Master Subaru is not so unfaithful as to make eyes at just anyone.”

“Yeah, cut it out, Ferris. It’s true that Crusch is cute and beautiful, but the line going forward from my heart is… Well, it splits into two midway, but it’s still straight and na— Ow, ow, ow?!”

“No one else would call that a straight line, and that lack of self-awareness makes it even worse.”

When Subaru tried to chime in on the Crusch camp’s master-servant dispute, Beatrice gave his ear a mighty pull. But when Subaru objected with a tearful face, Beatrice feigned innocence.

Off to the side of that exchange, Crusch lowered her face, cheeks faintly flushed for some reason.

“Oh, dang. Emilia-tan, did I say something weird even for me?”

“Mm, did you? I think you’re always saying similar things to me, though…”

“Well, yeah. So what’s with this reaction…? Maybe if I hold Emilia-tan’s hand, the answer will come to me. Can I hold your hand?”

“Work hard and think for yourself this time.”

When the hand he was unable to grasp slapped him on the forehead, Subaru frowned in silence. After watching the pair’s exchange, Ferris discreetly brought his lips close to Crusch’s ear.

“See, just look at them. Subawu is indiscriminate. He’ll try that with anyone at all if you give him the chance. It’s an illness, meow. You shouldn’t pay it any attention.”

“Understood. I’ll be more careful. Phew, that really surprised me.”

After taking Ferris’s advice to heart, Crusch took an unexpectedly deep breath and put a hand to her remarkably ample chest.

The gesture was adorable in every way and convinced Subaru that Crusch doing unexpectedly feminine things was incredibly appealing. Setting that impression aside, Crusch and Ferris smiled at each other like a pair of best friends.

“So to put things back on track…my people are in the middle of sorting out the information Crusch and Natsuki desire. It should be tidy enough to hand over by tomorrow or the day after, so can you hold on a little till then?”

“Seriously? I just can’t stop the urge to speed this up. Can’t you give us anything in advance, even a small bit?”

“Rushing keeps you in Rizzi’s debt forever. Not good to flirt with total loss, is it? So calm down.”

“Ggggh…”

Chided with a saying that probably meant haste makes waste, Subaru groaned and sat back down. Emilia and Beatrice both put a hand on one of his shoulders.

At any rate, it seemed that everyone had a reason of their own to come to Pristella.

“—Heh, well, isn’t this quite a group? According to Lachins, it was only Ms. Half-Elf and Anastasia, but I guess not.”

The door to the reception room forcefully slid open, and everyone’s gazes assembled on the girl boldly crossing the threshold.

The girl had bright, glimmering, dazzling blond hair and big, round red eyes. What looked like little fangs peeked out from under the lips of her confident, smiling face, which gave off a mischievous charisma. She was still a small girl with a delicate physique, but her femininity seemed to have faintly increased.

However, as typical, her clothing style was straight out of the slums, and the always-energetic Felt burst onto the scene with her core remaining wholly unchanged.

When she surveyed the faces of those assembled, she seemed very relaxed as she closed one eye.

“Even though it’s been a year, it’s surprising how little you’ve all changed. Well, I suppose the same goes for me.”

“—Lady Felt, if I may?”

Felt sighed, as if her expectations had been dashed, then immediately broke into a smile. The change in her expression was bewildering, but then Reinhard gently stood at her side.

Reinhard knit his refined eyebrows as he gazed at Felt, his own liege.

“A proper set of attire for going out in public was provided to you. What happened to it?”

“Ha! Who’d go along with your taste in outfits? Sightseeing was just the most convenient way to find a change of clothes. Understand my personality already, Reinhard dear.”

“Truly, you are so…”

Unbelievable, Reinhard broadcast from the way he covered his face. Felt straddled the threshold of the room, looking positively delighted at having pulled a fast one on the man who was the nation’s hero and its strongest warrior.

Then when she turned her head toward those assembled in the reception room again, her confident expression softly vanished.

“I am truly grateful that you have invited me here today. Let us have some productive discourse as fellow royal-selection candidates—okay, formalities over! Deal me in, ’kay?”

After offering a glimpse of conduct so refined as to be enchanting, Felt swiftly reverted to being a mischievous rascal. The way her uninhibited personality stomped all over decorum left Subaru, at least, feeling good on the inside. The girl’s energy had only grown over the past year.

“I have to say, what a weird city, and this is a weird building. All the novelties everywhere wore me right out.”

As she spoke, Felt happened to sit cross-legged on the square cushion Reinhard had been using. Reinhard drew a separate cushion over for himself, putting her between the awkward grandfather-grandson pair.

Of course, this hadn’t been deliberate on her part, but it was just like her to do something like that purely by instinct.

“A novelty… If that is what you think of it, then I’m happy. Actually, I have other reasons for picking this inn, too… Wanna hear them?”

“Don’t just build suspense. It’s a bad habit of yours.”

Felt raised the corners of her lips as she jabbed a finger at Anastasia’s transparent scheme.

The very casual exchange between the two was a sign of how they had closed the distance between them. It seemed that some encounter Subaru was unaware of had greatly improved the relationship.

Acknowledging Felt’s request, Anastasia touched a hand to her mouth as she smiled.

“I just can’t beat you, Felt. Actually, this inn has a large, wide…hot spring.”

“By hot spring, you mean a huge bath?!”

Felt’s eyes glistened as she practically leaped to her feet.

“A bath sounds great! Back in the slums, a chance to soak in hot water was hard to come by, and I loved it. Hey, you’ve finished all the important talk, right?”

“The greetings have already ended…but, Lady Felt? Do not tell me you deliberately came late to the inn hoping to avoid serious conversation…”

“Ha, not listening. Hey, sisters, let’s go to the bath already, bath!”

Ignoring Reinhard’s reproachful comment, Felt addressed Emilia and the others. Emilia was surprised she had called out to her, but it didn’t take long for her to smile in return.

“Mm, a bath is fine with me. I really want to see what this big bath is like.”

“I suppose you are right. We are tired from a long journey, so that might well be best.”

Emilia seemed excited, and even Crusch agreed with an elegant smile. Of course, neither Felt, originator of the proposal, nor Anastasia, boaster of the hot spring, was going to object.

“Wait, seriously, a hot spring? With these girls and this setup?”

“Hey, Mister, don’t get in the way of our fun. All right, it’s settled, so let’s go!”

Felt folded her arms toward Subaru, who had been left scrambling after she started dictating the pace. Then an especially mischievous smile came over her face.

“Today, we bathe! Then we eat! I’m not talking a word about anything else!”

A manly declaration indeed.

Sub-chapter 5.

In the end, Felt had the last word, and it was decided that everyone would split up, reassembling in the large reception room once more at dinnertime.

That said, it wasn’t as if Subaru objected to Felt’s proposal, either. If anything, the offbeat plan to switch things up was so good that he admired her for coming up with it.

Subaru had just found the possibility of gleaning information on an Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins in a place he never expected it. He wanted to earnestly address this and other worrying elements that concerned the camp as a whole.

The most obvious issue was Garfiel having hit a wall.

Beatrice had told Subaru to wait and watch as Garfiel overcame it with his own strength, but—

“—General, sorry, but do ya mind if I head outside for a bit? I don’t think there’s anythin’, but I better stick an ear out anyway.”

After the initial end of the meeting in the reception room, the men gave a send-off to the girls, who were on their way to the big bath, then were left to their own devices. That was when Garfiel came to Subaru with the request.

“Garfiel, worries or not, you’re damn strong.”

“But I ain’t the strongest. That ain’t good enough.”

That was the last thing Garfiel said as he turned away and walked out of the inn.

Considering his role as their escort, Subaru should have stopped him. But he did not. He trusted that Garfiel of all people could make a recovery of some sort in one night.

—Therefore, Subaru could sub in for him for that one night, couldn’t he?

“He calls me General and treats me like his older brother. This is the least I can do for him, right?”

In fact, Garfiel’s other honorary older brother would’ve been here if he wasn’t walking around the city that very moment—or walking and drinking, rather. That meant it fell to Subaru alone to do what he could for their little brother.

“Damn you, Otto, not being here when I really need you… Seriously, what an Otto.”

Praying his younger brother wouldn’t grow up to be like that, Subaru headed to the large reception hall when it was time for dinner.

When he did so, he saw the girls, who were back from bathing, as well as the men rendezvousing with them at the appointed time—

“B-Beako, your outfit…!”

“Oh-ho, how is it, I wonder? Today’s Betty is a different flavor than the norm.”

Beatrice wore a smug face as she greeted Subaru. Her cheeks were faintly reddened from her recent bath, driving her cuteness to even greater heights, but that wasn’t what surprised him.

Beatrice was always seen in her extravagant dress, but he was floored by the sight of her in a yukata.

“Ohhh, incredible, just incredible, so they even have yukata here! And it looks really good on you! Beako, you’re so pretty! Beako, you’re so lovely! Did you manage to put it on all by yourself?”

“It’s only natural, I suppose. To Betty, such a feat is more trifling than a cupcake.”

“Heh, that figures! Well, that’s what Beako would say, but is it true?”

“Tee-hee, don’t doubt her. It’s true. Beatrice only tripped on the hem twice.”

“S-slander, I wonder?! Subaru, between Betty and Emilia, which one do you believe?!”

“The moment you asked that question, you already lost.”

That was the normal judgment to make, for Beatrice was predictably dishonest while Emilia was entirely too honest.

Emilia softly smiled as Beatrice’s face became redder still. She was in a yukata as well, with her still-damp silver hair tied up neatly behind her head.

This gave him a perfect view of the nape of her neck, which was truly marvelous. She smelled nice, too.

“Subaru, you seem to be breathing heavily through your nose. Do you have a fever?”

“A slight fever of love, maybe. Emilia-tan, can I braid your hair?”

“That’s fine, but I think we’re about to sit down for a meal. Do you mind doing it after?”

As Subaru touched the tip of her bundled hair, Emilia pointed to the table as she pushed her counteroffer. He grudgingly backed down, which was when he abruptly noticed that all the eyes in the room were gathered on them.

“What, did something weird happen?”

“I’m thinking, it’s really hard to pick up how much distance there is between Mister and Miss. That didn’t feel all that sexy, and the last time I saw you, your relationship was pretty horrible.”

“Please do not dredge up what happened at the castle. It doth make my chest hurt.”

Subaru deeply bowed to Felt, who was sitting cross-legged in a yukata as he made his plea.

“Ha! What’s this all about? I guess Mister really got his act together, huh?”

His reaction made Felt laugh and look up from the book she was reading, which was something he normally wouldn’t picture her doing at all. She closed the book, which had a pressed flower as a bookmark, and said, “Come to think of it…” She tilted her head before he continued. “I heard in the bath that my piece-of-junk knight bullied your blond boy? Sorry about that. I’ll set him straight.”

As she spoke, Felt used the book in her hand to thwap Reinhard on the shoulder. She showed little sign of restraint, giving the red-haired knight’s brows a constrained look.

“Lady Felt, that manner of speaking will invite speculation. He and I simply had a misunderstanding, and I was a little rough in the way I handled it. That is all… As a matter of fact, he is tremendously powerful despite his young age.”

“That patronizing lack of self-awareness really isn’t convincing. I mean, you’re basically merciless toward anyone who shows any promise. You always leave Gaston and the others half in tears after you’re done working ’em over.”

Reinhard’s assessment of Garfiel’s worth made Felt stick her tongue out with an exasperated look on her face.

But at the very least, Subaru understood that Reinhard’s words were his true beliefs. He’d said that because he genuinely respected Garfiel and acknowledged his might.

Perhaps that was the most dangerous part of his character.

“Incidentally, Lady Felt, about that outfit…”

“What, it’s not somethin’ a royal-selection candidate would wear? Look around—all the other girls are wearin’ the same stuff, damn it. I can’t be the only one to complain about it.”

“No, not at all. I only meant to say that it suits you very well.”

“Shaddap.”

However, it was incredible to see just what vivid invective Felt directed at Reinhard.

He was the man most trusted and respected by the kingdom’s people. Virtually everyone sincerely praised him as a knight among knights. A sweet word from him would be enough to make many a woman swoon, but Felt batted it aside like it was so much garbage.

Subaru was becoming genuinely concerned that things weren’t going quite as swimmingly with them as the rumors would suggest.

“On that score, our side’s pretty close to ideal…though Crusch’s people take number one on that list.”

“We what now?”

When Subaru put a hand to his chin in thought, Crusch directed a questioning look at him.

Of course, Crusch was no exception and wore a yukata as well—in a different manner than the dresses she commonly wore now, the thin yukata fabric, which was draped elegantly over her figure, heightened her feminine grace.

He knew that the outfits were originally worn as nightwear for evening revelry, but they were top-notch for charm as far as Japanese clothing went.

“Yeah. You and Ferris are really close, but you guys don’t have that kind of relationship, right? I’m in a slightly different situation because of the ulterior motives I started with, but you guys have, like, a picture-perfect relationship.”

“When you put it like that, I feel like blushing, tee-hee. Yes, Ferris?”

“Ferri very much has ulterior motives where Lady Crusch is concerned, though.”

Instantly, Ferris’s statement made the air in the reception hall freeze over.

Crusch’s expression remained locked in a charming smile, while Ferris gazed at her with a grin. Incidentally, Ferris was also wearing a yukata. He’d changed into one at some point, and it suited him just as well as it did any of the girls. At any rate—

“Sorry for exposing a secret no one needed to hear. Let’s eat?”

“Please do not unearth bombs and attempt to flee like that!”

Crusch lamented with tearful eyes as Subaru tried to retreat to dinner.

Perhaps it came as a bolt from the blue as far as she was concerned, but Subaru hadn’t been deliberately searching for explosive secrets like that, either. What to do? thought Subaru as he let his gaze wander.

“Ferris, I cannot approve of you startling Lady Crusch like this.”

The one comment that changed the mood all at once had come from Wilhelm, who had been holding his silence.

Sitting formally in a yukata, the Sword Devil’s words made Ferris touch a finger to his own lips.

“Oh no, even Old Man Wil doubts Ferri’s feelings?”

“Respect, affection, romance. Cease courting chaos by teasing the lords and retainers in attendance. I am compelled to note that preying on someone’s naivete is not adorable in the slightest.”

“Boo. You’re so strict, sheesh.”

Wilhelm’s gravitas-filled lecture made Ferris pout and surrender. After that, Ferris contented himself by snuggling his face against Crusch’s shoulder.

“You don’t have to get all worried like that. Of course it’s a joke. Ferri having all kinds of ulterior meowtives with Lady Crusch would be bad on so many levels.”

“Y-yes, I suppose it would. Phew, you surprised me. Because I cannot use my blessing properly at the moment, I feel like I might be misunderstanding your feelings about many things, Ferris.”

“—That’s not the case at all.”

Crusch was breathing a sigh of relief, but the look in Ferris’s eyes that moment tugged at Subaru.

For an instant, an intense emotion filled his eyes. It might well have been his personal brand of agony.

Though he acted in a frivolous manner, the suffering borne by Ferris over the last year was probably comparable to Subaru’s. He painfully understood the regret and anguish at Ferris’s very core.

“Errr, preparations for dinner seem to be in order, so would you mind bringing it in?”

Having waited for a natural lull in the conversation, Joshua instructed the inn employees to set the table. As they got to work placing one dish after another atop the long table, surprised reactions sprang up all around.

The varied cooking was something Emilia and the others had never before seen, but Subaru’s reaction was for a different reason—he was shocked by the unexpected familiar sights.

Since this world had no seas, cooking with fish meant fishing from rivers. Naturally, this meant there were few truly large fish, making sashimi dishes and the like quite hard to come by. Therefore, seeing such a wealth of fish dishes in a place like this was all the more surprising.

“We can eat it just like this?”

“How do you like it? Never seen it before, have you? Everything here comes from the Great Tigrasea River nearby and is prepared by experienced cooks. It’s good enough to qualify as a specialty here at the Water Raiment.”

It seemed that culinary traditions not bound by the Kingdom of Lugunica’s common sense were still being passed down. Either way, one dish emerged after another based on Japanese cuisine, further deepening Emilia’s and company’s bewilderment.

The first one to break through their hesitance was not Anastasia, hostess of the banquet, but rather—

“Here! Like this! This is how you do it right!”

Unfortunately, the utensils were forks, but Subaru thrust his into some sashimi of a fish he didn’t recognize, applied the soy-sauce-like seasoning, and tossed it into his mouth in one go.

Then as Emilia and Beatrice went “ah!” in surprise beside him, he licked his chops.

“Deeeelicious! Ahhh, it’s been so long since I had sashimi! This is the best! You’re the greatest, Anastasia!”

“I-it’s tasty?”

“It’s a masterpiece! The fish is fresh, so it tastes incredible! It’s a shame. If you had sushi vinegar here, I could try copying my dad’s sushi-chef pal and make some nigirizushi!”

“Sorry, I don’t understand what you’re saying… But I see. So it is tasty, then.”

The gist of Subaru’s stream of consciousness had apparently gotten through. Emilia chose to believe only the most critical part and did as he had, putting soy sauce on the sashimi before trying it herself.

When she did so, Emilia opened her round eyes wide. “Mm—!” she went, happily clenching and waving a fist.

Seeing the same honest reactions from master and retainer alike, the others in attendance put their hands on the food one after the next.

“Grrr, Natsuki, there you go spoiling my fun again…”

Anastasia had had her thunder stolen, leaving her ever so slightly dissatisfied. But Subaru’s and Emilia’s idyllic reactions finally made her expression relax.

“Goodness, there’s no helping you children… Hey! Leave some for me!”

The dinner party was host to various worries, and certain faces were not in attendance, but even so, all who did participate were able to enjoy a brief respite.

—For that one night, the moon and the world seemed willing to allow a tranquil moment when all regular concerns could safely be postponed.

Sub-chapter 6.

As they mutually agreed to forget they were political rivals for the time being, the night wore on.

The dinner in the reception hall came to an end, and Subaru finished bathing before returning to his room. The staff seemed to have laid out futons during the guests’ absence, so everything was ready for a good night’s sleep.

“Subaru! It seems that an intruder snuck in during the time Betty and others were gone!”

“Yeah, looks like the futon you made a big mess of got all tidied up. What a vandal.”

Chiding Beatrice for her unnecessary wariness over the two futons lined side by side, Subaru gently tucked the sleepy-looking girl into bed.

Incidentally, ever since forming a formal pact, it had become the norm for Subaru and Beatrice to share a room. Anastasia had arranged separate rooms for them, but Beatrice would crawl into Subaru’s futon in the middle of the night regardless, so he politely declined the offer.

Of course, this was not because Beatrice was too much of a child to be able to sleep alone, but because much of the mana drawn from one’s Odo was generated during sleep, it was nothing more than consideration for Subaru’s physical condition.

Therefore, it is not because Betty wants to be with Subaru. Would you not take this the wrong way, I wonder?

That was what Beatrice had told him shortly after forming the pact.

In this case, it really didn’t matter what her true intent might be. Subaru had become very accustomed to hearing the sounds of someone else sleeping nearby over the past year. And it helped him stay warm on cold days, too.

“Is that a mass of green poison, I wonder…? You won’t get away lightly if you eat it…”

She must have tired herself quite a bit, because Beatrice was swiftly dragged into dreamland as soon as she got into the futon, moaning in fear from the trauma of the wasabi from supper that evening.

Savoring his partner’s adorable sleeping face, Subaru gave his back a good stretch in the middle of the room.

“Now then, how about I take a little stroll until I get sleepy?”

Tightening the belt of his yukata, Subaru headed out of the room in high spirits. He hadn’t settled on a destination, but he had no intention of walking as far as beyond the inn, figuring that he would get some air out in the garden.

He imagined the scenery, which greatly resembled a Japanese garden, would look great under the moonlight. Looking up at the round moon through the corridor’s window, Subaru squinted at its silver light.

It was a quiet night. In terms of defenses, the hot-spring inn had sections that were overly exposed, but given the lineup staying there at the moment, he could only pity anyone foolhardy enough to try to break in.

I do not think anything will happen, but if something does occur in this district, I will hurry over. Please rest at ease.

Such were Reinhard’s reassuring words when they parted ways in the hall.

The fact that he’d used the word district rather than inn was so reassuring, it was downright scary. Given his personality, it was possible he was being modest just choosing to not use the word city.

“Reinhard, huh…”

Thinking of his friend, who quite possibly might still be on guard even at this time of night, Subaru lowered his eyes—it was hard to forget how unpretentiously Reinhard had agreed he was Subaru’s friend.

During the unexpected reunion earlier in the day, Subaru had reforged his broken friendship with Reinhard. But that didn’t mean that the terrible things Subaru had said or the loathsome attitude he’d shown on that fateful day in the past were permissible.

Friends should be equals. That was what Subaru believed. Whatever Reinhard thought of the matter, Subaru owed him a debt. How could he call himself Reinhard’s friend without repaying it?

Wasn’t there something, anything at all, that Subaru could do for the sake of his friend Reinhard?

“”

As he pondered such thoughts, his feet brought him to the garden, whereupon Subaru’s breath caught at the sight that greeted him.

Under a black sky and a silver moon, with clouds draped over the moon to lend the place an even more bewitching allure, he saw a single person standing there, enjoying the refreshing breeze.

The man had a sturdy back and a head and beard dyed white. Subaru knew only one person with those distinguishing features.

“—Mr. Wilhelm?”

“Sir Subaru? Did I alarm you?”

Wilhelm had probably sensed a human presence long before Subaru noticed him. Addressing Subaru, Wilhelm put his arms through the sleeves of his indigo-colored yukata as he turned around. The gentleness of his gaze matched his outfit remarkably well.

The sight of the Sword Devil putting his hands through the sleeves of a yukata as he stood in a Japanese-style garden somehow came off as picturesque.

“It is a quiet night, yet you were unable to sleep?”

“—. Nahhh, it’s not actually like that. I just thought I’d give this garden a look at night. I figured it’d be a good view, so that’s what I was aiming for.”

“I see. Then it was rather boorish of me to intrude on such a solemn nightly occasion.”

The way Wilhelm spoke those words with a sentimental smile and a soft voice left Subaru scratching his cheek. For Subaru, hearing Wilhelm’s voice was immensely reassuring. For some reason, it also made him blush a little.

Wilhelm was the person Subaru respected most in this world.

There were many people Subaru wanted to stand alongside, compete with, and be considered equal to, but it was quite possibly Wilhelm alone who made Subaru think I wanna look up to him while harboring something akin to envy.

Wilhelm was pretty much Subaru’s ideal, both as a person and a man.

Therefore, as Subaru scratched his cheek, he shook his head at Wilhelm’s modesty.

“No, no. You’re not intruding at all. If anything, the Sword Devil suits a Japanese garden so much that it’s carving a photograph into my heart for eternity. I like seeing people under a moonlit sky.”

So far as Subaru knew, the person best suited for a moonlit sky was without a doubt Emilia.

Her silver hair twinkled and glimmered in a way the sun’s rays never did. Emilia’s beauty was like fleeting moonlight. That’s why Subaru hoped to one day become a star that nestled up to the moon.

Accordingly, Subaru found the sight of the Sword Devil standing under a moonlit sky symbolic of his aspirations.

“You should whisper such words not to me but to a woman. What a waste.”

“With my face, even if I say flowery lines like that, it won’t get me very far, and those phrases don’t work one bit on the girl whose heart I want to tickle most right now.”

“One must choose words for the sake of the woman one cares for most… That frustration is part of the joys of love.”

Wilhelm’s teasing tone made Subaru’s shoulders sag in a comedic fashion.

“Ohhh, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you with that love-story vibe. So Mr. Wilhelm had times like that, too, huh?”

“But of course.”

When Subaru bowed reverentially according to established custom, Wilhelm said, “Well then, I suppose it cannot be avoided,” looking particularly pleased as he began to tell his tale.

He gazed with his blue eyes at something far in the distance as he recalled a beloved memory.

“I am clumsy with my words even today, but my past self was far worse. A man lacking in words. When I first met my wife, the issue of a man with thoughts of nothing but swinging a sword in his mind must have bored her to tears.”

“But the missus enjoyed talking to you anyway, right, Mr. Wilhelm?”

“My wife was a profound woman. Even as she suffered under the weight of the destiny she carried upon her slender back, she never spoke one word of that to others. That was probably why I was attracted to her from the first time I ever laid eyes on her…but I was so foolish at the time not to realize any of that.”

Wilhelm’s voice held a whiff of regret and shame, no doubt from embarrassment at what an unsociable person he once was. Getting this rare reaction out of him helped Subaru feel at ease.

“Who’d have thought Mr. Wilhelm was, you know, unsophisticated like that once?”

“I truly had offered up every part of my being to the sword. When I gripped a sword, I forgot all other thoughts, immersing myself as if that was what gave meaning to my life—it was my wife who reminded me of the reason why I chose to walk the path of the sword.”

“Is that when you first realized you liked the missus, by any chance?”

“…It seems you have seen right through me, Sir Subaru.”

Subaru responded to Wilhelm’s listless murmur with silence.

Wilhelm probably didn’t realize what kind of face he was making just then. That he was comfortable showing him such a face made Subaru deeply proud.

Wilhelm’s eyes, the creases on his cheeks, the tone of his voice, his gestures… Every part of him was saying one thing. Even at this very moment, from the instant he had first met her, he loved his wife—Theresia van Astrea.

Seeing that face, anyone would realize he was still in love.

“—!”

Without his knowledge, Subaru had come to the verge of tears while looking at Wilhelm’s expression. Heat was rising into the back of his eyes. For some reason, his chest got hot like this when he looked at the face of someone in love. It would really put Wilhelm in a bind if he started crying at a place like this, wouldn’t it?

“It is as you say, Sir Subaru. It was then that I realized my feelings for my wife.”

As Subaru lowered his head to conceal his tears, Wilhelm continued to recount long-gone days. Accepting his generosity, Subaru listened to the man’s tale as the ache inside him only grew stronger.

“Swinging the sword was everything to me. But it was the thoughts I had before swinging the sword, and the thoughts I had from swinging the sword, that made me all that I was. My wife realized that about me as if it was a matter of course. From then on, when I swung my sword, I thought of my wife.”

“You still do even now?”

“—Then and now, what links me to my wife is the sword.”

Wilhelm paused slightly before weaving the words in response to Subaru’s question.

As Wilhelm faced Subaru with the moonlight at his back, his eyes had grown damp from complex emotions. He felt pride. He felt regret. He felt hesitance, passion, and shame. Bravery and tragedy were present, too.

—But behind all these emotions was love.

“So long as I grip a sword, my feelings for my wife shall no doubt persist. Accordingly, when I die, I want to die with a sword in my hand. To me, that is nothing less than continuing to be with my wife.”

Wilhelm was too clumsy, too blunt, to love her in any other way.

Subaru drew in his breath, taking many shallow breaths as if he was gasping for air. His tongue was numb, and he felt like his lungs were convulsing. But he pressed on his chest to suppress his beating heart and forced his tongue to move.

That moment, with Wilhelm gazing into the distance before his eyes, he had to say it.

“Please don’t say ominous things like when I die. Mr. Wilhelm, you’re young, almost too young, and it’ll be a real problem if you’re always thinking about retirement.”

“Sir Subaru?”

“Crusch and Ferris are both super dependent on you. Crush must struggle with not being able to remember her memories, and Ferris doesn’t let it show, but he must be stretched pretty thin from supporting her any way he can, so they need you, Mr. Wilhelm. Besides, even I—!”

“”

“Even I have lots of things left I want Mr. Wilhelm’s help for. Maybe this is a naive way to think when it comes to political rivals. But I…”

—Subaru liked Wilhelm.

Wilhelm kept his feelings for his departed wife close even as he struck down his foes. That was why Subaru respected him as a man.

Even if Wilhelm had no awareness of it, even if amid repeated loops Subaru had spent no more than ten days as his apprentice, Subaru admired Wilhelm’s strength.

Subaru was frightened to hear words that acknowledged death emerge from Wilhelm’s mouth.

—Even more than before, Subaru was sensitive to death among the people he personally knew.

His promise with Roswaal was one reason, and it was also the effect of Return by Death altering Subaru’s own thoughts. When he thought of someone he knew dying, he lost all control over his emotions.

It was enough that he had secret fears where Emilia and Beatrice were concerned.

“It seems that as is typical, I chose my words quite poorly.”

As Subaru stood stiff, Wilhelm closed the distance between them with a pained smile. Drawing closer one step after another, the Sword Devil ended up right before the edge of the porch on which Subaru stood.

Then his blue, steely gaze pierced Subaru’s flickering black eyes.

“Sir Subaru—that may be a virtue of yours, but it is also a weakness.”

The words held no echo of a smile. But nor were they scornful scolding.

Somehow, it sounded as if he was debating a point like an elder speaking to his junior.

Or if Subaru was to put it more precisely, the tone was like that of a grandfather speaking to a grandchild.

“My wife was very much the same. It was a bad habit of hers to suppress her own feelings, prioritizing the hearts of the people all around her and always placing herself last.”

“Bad habit, you say… Nah, to begin with, I’m not that saintly a guy. I’m not wishing for everyone everywhere to be happy or anything like that. I’m a guy who thinks that if I can just make sure the people around me are happy, that’s enough.”

“The issue is that the range in question is the people around you. My wife did not wish for it, but she possessed a power unsuited for any single person to wield. Her hopes and her wishes extended far beyond the reach and breadth of that power.”

Wilhelm’s wife, Theresia van Astrea, was the previous generation’s Sword Saint.

Over the last year, even Subaru had become versed in the history of her brief career. She who had led the charge that ended the Kingdom of Lugunica’s civil war that threatened to destroy the country, a hero and national savior—that was Theresia.

Subaru Natsuki could not possibly compare his heroic deeds with hers.

“I understand what you’re saying about your wife. But there’s no way in the world that applies to me.”

“In times of peace, my wife was an ordinary woman who enjoyed looking at flowers. The heroes whose names are passed down through history did not continue being heroes in their daily lives. And, Sir Subaru, the extent of your name, and the reach of your hand, is far greater than you currently imagine. Hereafter, it shall only be more so.”

“That’s not…”

“I am certain of it. For all you are unable to do alone, Sir Subaru, I believe you are a man who can gather others who cannot do these things alone, either—and in doing so, you will make success possible where it was not before.”

“”

Subaru was in shock. That was all he could feel in response to the exaggerated worth Wilhelm had assigned to him.

Subaru wasn’t strong, he lacked intelligence or wisdom, and he was half-hearted and weak-willed to boot. Precisely because he couldn’t do anything alone, he had to talk other people into doing all kinds of things and always survived by the skin of his teeth over and over again, nothing more.

Why was it Wilhelm considered Subaru so valuable in spite of all that?

“Perhaps you are not yet aware of it for the time being. I suppose those who do not realize your worth yet are many. However, someday, you, too, will understand, and so will everyone else.”

“I’m a puny, helpless guy who’s no good at anything, though.”

“Yes. And it is that puny, helpless you, who is no good at anything, whom I like.”

Punctuating his words with a brief pause, Wilhelm nodded with satisfaction.

“And the number of those who think the same shall surely grow.”

“”

Subaru let out a deep breath.

Wilhelm really was exaggerating. The words were so unrealistic that they couldn’t possibly be true. No one could have faulted Subaru for laughing out loud.

That he did not do so was because it was none other than Wilhelm saying it.

“—It seems I have rambled too much. I apologize for having kept you here for so long.”

Seeing the melancholy Subaru harbored, Wilhelm bowed his head as if suddenly seized by embarrassment. But Subaru, seemingly regretting that he had made Wilhelm feel that way, shook his head from side to side.

“I’ll give what you said just now some proper thought…and I’m kinda sorry. The original point of all this was to listen to stories about your wife.”

“Not at all. It has been a long time since I have been satisfied… Well, perhaps not quite that, but I am glad to be able to speak of my wife. Neither Lady Crusch nor Ferris have had much time for such things of late.”

“I just accidentally learned something because Mr. Wilhelm hasn’t had his fill of telling romance stories!”

“I’ve clearly gotten a little too sentimental. It is finally time to put an old man’s long stories to rest.”

Wilhelm flashed a wry smile as he moved a foot from the garden onto the porch. The atmosphere said that the tale was over, so Subaru nonchalantly offered his hand to help Wilhelm up to the corridor.

“”

Wilhelm accepted Subaru’s hand and climbed up onto the corridor. Feeling the weight of the elderly swordsman’s body through his arm, Subaru suddenly recalled the situation in the reception hall for an instant.

Simultaneously, the thoughts he’d had on his way to the garden came back to him.

Perhaps this would be very insensitive and brash of him. Yet, even so—

“Mr. Wilhelm. It’s not my intention to go from someone sticking his nose into another camp’s domestic affairs to thoughtlessly trampling on the hearts of others, but…”

“—. Yes, I am listening.”

“…Can’t you get along with Reinhard? You’re family, aren’t you?”

He could imagine the complexities that probably surrounded the relationship involving the grandfather and grandson of the Astrea family.

Perhaps crudely intruding upon that would cost him the trust he had built up with Wilhelm. But this was what he thought: What value was there in a relationship you merely clung to, not saying anything for fear of hurting the other?

And if Wilhelm intruding as he had done was meant to make Subaru think precisely that…

“A thought occurred to me while speaking with you, Sir Subaru.”

“”

“Why is it that I am unable to talk like this with my own grandson?”

This was the source of Wilhelm’s agonizing remorse.

All expression vanished from Wilhelm’s face. He was expressionless but hardly emotionless. These were powerful, powerful emotions locked away deep inside a hardened shell—these were undoubtedly regrets.

“I am a man of many regrets. However, there are three regrets I have amassed over the course of my own life for which I have absolutely no excuse. One of them is the cause of the current rift between my grandson and me.”

“But that frustrates you, doesn’t it, Mr. Wilhelm?”

“I am not allowed to feel frustration over this. That is the weight of the words I pounded into my grandson…into Reinhard at the time. They were egregiously, unforgivably…foolish.”

While emotionless on the surface, there was a fire that raged inside Wilhelm that seemed like it would scorch his very soul.

These were the hellish flames of anger that had continued to blaze over those long years in Wilhelm’s unforgiving heart. The fires of regret had combined into one great conflagration, the flame charring Wilhelm, not permitted to cease until he was turned to ash.

“For the sake of avenging my wife, I averted my eyes from this regret. And now that I have avenged her, I know this is truly the time to approach him.”

“But the courage just won’t come?”

“To my great shame. Thinking my grandson hates me even now, I cannot bring my feet to move.”

Wilhelm lamented from the bottom of his heart how disappointed he was in himself.

Seeing the old man seemingly shrink dramatically, Subaru was seized by shock. Then after the shock wore off, he couldn’t help bursting into laughter.

“Sir Subaru?”

“S-sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh, but I couldn’t hold it in.”

Wilhelm was making an incredulous face, but it was Subaru who found what he said hard to believe.

There he’d been, resigned to the possibility that the relationship between the two was so hopeless that it might only grow worse, and yet.

“Mr. Wilhelm, it sounds like you don’t think you deserve to call yourself Reinhard’s grandfather or something.”

“Yes, it is as you say. Even though I know I am in the wrong, I find myself unable to take a decisive step forward. Such cowardice leaves me greatly frustrated with myself, but…”

“Yeah, you don’t look like anything more than a grandpa afraid of being hated by his grandkid.”

“…What?”

Wilhelm’s expression, clouded up to that point, registered surprise as he blinked hard. That reaction kept Subaru’s grin lingering on his cheeks.

“I don’t know much about the reason things went sour between the two of you. I might be off the mark for all I know. But from my outsider’s point of view, you and Reinhard genuinely want to patch things up. In that case, it’s a lot better for the one doing the apologizing to go first.”

“Surely, Reinhard will refuse to forgive me.”

“If he won’t forgive you right away, keep apologizing until he does. In the first place, apologizing isn’t about someone forgiving you, is it? You apologize because you want to. The desire to apologize is selfish and arbitrary. I mean, the person apologizing is the one who did something bad in the first place.”

“”

This time, it was Wilhelm’s turn to be bewildered by Subaru’s shocking leaps in logic.

Of course, Subaru was well aware of how selfish and arbitrary the irrational argument really was. Even so, it was something that Wilhelm, scared of speaking to his grandson and frightened of taking the first step, really needed. What he needed in that moment was the ability to be willfully ignorant, to brazenly act as if past regrets never happened, and a brash willingness to be caught up in the moment.

And Subaru Natsuki was a master of all these dubious skills.

“So yeah, apologizing all of a sudden after so many years have passed will make someone think, What’s with this guy? But over the course of apologizing a bunch of times, that’ll start changing. Hard to tell whether it’ll become This guy’s beyond help or This guy’s so annoying, though.”

“I believe that would count as a change for the worse.”

“But it’s still a change. Wouldn’t any progress at all be better than keeping things horribly frozen in place like they are now?”

The popular image of Subaru was that he was someone who started out giving a whole slew of people the worst possible impression of himself. To Subaru, being surrounded by people who thought the worst of him was no big deal.

Besides, Subaru saw a chance for victory. After all, Reinhard—

“—Reinhard told me he wants to hear about what happened during the fight with the White Whale.”

At the end of all those flippant words, Subaru revealed the fact that would probably become the key.

Reinhard had certainly asked Subaru about it on the way to the tearoom.

“I don’t know what the White Whale has to do with you two not getting along. But if it is connected, Reinhard knows it’s Mr. Wilhelm who struck the White Whale down. He knows that you spent over a decade to avenge his grandma, too.”

“”

“He probably hopes it’s high time for things stuck in the past to start moving, too.”

There was no way for Subaru to know how Reinhard truly felt.

In fact, it still wasn’t clear to him how they’d ended up friends in the first place. There were even times that he worried they’d become friends too easily. Part of that was probably due to his belief that Reinhard had never felt powerless or uninformed.

—But there was no way that was true. There was no doubt Reinhard also had things he worried about.

Even Wilhelm, who looked superhuman from Subaru’s point of view, was just another man, another grandfather, another flawed human being with problems and baggage.

Was it so wrong to think Reinhard was the same?

If Reinhard was such a man, then there was something Subaru could do for him as his friend.

He hoped that all it would take was a single act of meddling.

“I wonder if my grandson…if Reinhard will listen?”

After a brief pause, Wilhelm wrung that question out of himself. Subaru smiled, because this was the exact trigger for taking the first step forward that Wilhelm had been looking for.

“First, you talk to him until he’s sick of you. If he brushes you off, that’s fine, too. I mean, I always approach Emilia-tan with the mindset that I might only succeed once out of a hundred tries.”

“Unbelievable—”

Listening to Subaru’s advice, the unexpected revelations made Wilhelm shake his head in disbelief.

Then the old man lifted his gaze, peering up at the silvery moon floating overhead.

“There is no besting you, Sir Subaru.”

It was clear from his voice that he was smiling.

 

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Diamond. Diamond. Diamond.

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