Subaru and Emilia were sitting on a bed in a grand guest household reserved for royal selection candidates.
"What? I have to stay here tomorrow?" Subaru asked, standing up with a frustrated look.
"Of course you do. That was our agreement all along," Emilia said sternly, crossing her arms.
"Yeah, but we never got in touch with Reinhard, right? So if we go to the castle tomorrow, we might see her. I'll be sure to ask about Felt."
Emilia began walking away from him.
"But I should go in person too."
"This is exactly why I can't take you with me," Emilia said, turning back toward him, her expression firm. Subaru stopped in his tracks.
"If I do, you'll just push yourself too hard again. I don't want to let you do that. Understand? Your Gate is already messed up. You keep foolishly using magic even after you were warned. If you keep ignoring your own body, you will die. Do you even know what happens if your Gate completely breaks?"
"No…" Subaru replied, looking exasperated by the scolding.
"You could get mana poisoning," Emilia said, her voice serious.
"Mana poisoning?" Subaru repeated, bewildered. "Is that like food poisoning?"
"No," she replied flatly. "Mana poisoning is when someone's Gate keeps accumulating mana but can't release the excess. It builds up until it destroys their Od and kills them. Broken Gates are the main cause of mana poisoning."
Subaru gulped.
"Well, I can just get healed, right?"
Emilia grabbed his shoulders and shook him vigorously, her voice rising in a child-like whine.
"Subaru, take this seriously! I don't want you getting hurt!"
Despite her petite frame, she was monstrously strong, shocking Subaru, who secretly enjoyed the brief physical contact.
"You're the one who doesn't understand," he shot back. "If I have to push myself to help you, I will! I want to push myself."
I will save you… no matter how many times I have to die for you, Subaru thought grimly.
"Absolutely not!" Emilia snapped. "Until your body fully heals, no magic. No pushing yourself. Promise me, Subaru."
"All right, I promise. No magic," he said reluctantly, "so let me go with you."
"I can't bring an outsider into this," she said firmly. "So please, just wait with Rem, all right?"
Subaru looked down at the floor. Her words echoed painfully in his ears.
"An outsider."
He had spent heartfelt, soul-breaking moments with her, moments she didn't even remember. And that hurt even more than dying.
Everyone forgetting how much he had sacrificed, how much he had suffered… and yet, he was still labeled as just an outsider.
"I'm asking you, Subaru," she said gently, "give me a reason to trust you."
Later, Subaru watched gloomily from the window as Emilia left in the carriage with Roswaal. He clenched his fists, steeling his resolve.
Toyota has a plan. I just need to meet with him. I know there are people in the capital who see Emilia as an enemy… even Felt was killed. That's why I have to stay close to her. I swore I would save her no matter what.
And I honor my promises.
Beatrice stepped out of what looked like a shower room, her hair wet and flat, an image that, to Subaru, looked utterly cursed.
"Beako… what happened to you? Your beautiful drills!" Subaru exclaimed.
Beatrice flushed with embarrassment and immediately ran back into the room.
"Nothing! Forget you ever saw anything, in fact!"
"No, no, you always look adorable," he said quickly, trying to fix his blunder. "It's just…"
He paused, unable to find the right word.
"…surprising?"
Beatrice peeked her small head around the corner in a cartoonishly shy way, slowly edging out from behind the doorframe.
"Take Betty seriously," she said at last, her tone shifting. "It's about the problem with your gate, I suppose."
"My gate, huh…" Subaru murmured, placing a hand over his chest where the subtle aching pain lingered.
Beatrice nodded.
"As a result of your broken gate, you are unable to use mana properly. Even so, mana will continue to be produced, or absorbed, for as long as you live. But if you try to force it out again… if you try to use magic and break your already shattered gate even further, then the holes in your gate will completely fill."
Subaru paled and cut in, panicked.
"Surely you're not saying I'll burst apart from mana just by using magic once?!"
Beatrice averted her eyes.
Subaru's voice rose. "Beako! Don't avoid the question!"
"In all seriousness, your perception is correct, in fact," she said at last. "If Betty hadn't connected with you this early—if we hadn't linked our very souls—you'd have had no hope of using magic ever again."
She stepped forward, eyes serious.
"Betty is different from other spirits, I suppose. I require mana from others to sustain myself. Through that link, I can help prevent your gate from deteriorating further… at least while you receive treatment."
Subaru's face lit up.
"You're amazing, Beako! I owe your existence so much!" he said, beaming.
"So not only will I not die after I'm healed… I can still use magic?"
That's when Subaru's thoughts began to drift, realization slowly dawning.
It couldn't be…
Was that the reason Toyota had told him to contract with Beako?
To save his life… and allow him to use magic in the future, even if it was just for debuffs?
Unknown to him, Beatrice was having an almost identical thought.
Is this what Toy meant… when he said that Subaru needed Betty?
After leaving the room, Beatrice in tow, Subaru narrowed his eyes with determination.
"What's the matter?"
Rem's voice came suddenly from behind, startling him. He jumped, but quickly regained his composure as his eyes regained their confident shine.
"I'm going to save Emilia," he said firmly.
Rem stared at him blankly, but a hint of jealousy flickered in her eyes.
The silence lingered, heavy with emotion.
Seeing the resolve on his face, so reminiscent of the time he stood against the mabeasts, Rem's cheeks flushed red. She turned her face slightly, then slowly, almost shakily, placed the tray she was carrying down and sighed.
"It's at the castle," she murmured. "It'll have heavy security."
Subaru grinned broadly, pulling out his phone and holding it up. A message glowed on the screen.
"I'll send someone to pick you up. Cause you want a ride, right? You'll meet them in a red and white dragon carriage at the clocktower at noon. No need to sneak through security."
Rem tilted her head, clearly unable to read the message on the flip phone. The characters were in Japanese, not the Lugunican language she knew, which only deepened her confusion. Still, she smiled sweetly at Subaru.
"Subaru is so smart… you can read another language. Could you perhaps explain to Rem what it says?" she asked sheepishly.
Subaru looked back and forth between Rem and his phone, then slapped his forehead.
"My bad. Forgot only I can read this."
He turned the screen toward her again. "It says Toyota arranged a ride for me."
Adopting a serious face, he tugged at an imaginary tie.
"Perhaps my secretary deserves a raise. Rem, what's Toyota's current salary?"
"Uh… Subaru, Toyota isn't part of the mansion's staff," Rem said, blinking.
"None?!" Subaru gasped dramatically. "Then let's raise it to a high five and some humble groveling!"
But just as quickly as the joke came, Subaru's expression shifted, his playful grin fading into a more solemn look. His eyes darkened with resolve.
"I'm only of any use when something happens," Subaru muttered. "So I want to be with her when important things are going on."
Rem's earlier confusion faded, replaced by a warm blush. His determined glare made her heart race as she smiled softly to herself.
"I am now going to begin working on a brand new appa pie recipe that I just came up with…" she said aloud. Then, after a pause, she added playfully, "Oh, or as you call them, apples."
"Huh?" Subaru blinked in confusion, watching her.
"It will require intense concentration," Rem continued, walking toward the hallway. "So… if someone were to leave his room right now, I most likely wouldn't notice."
With a cheeky smile on her face, the maid disappeared around the corner, leaving Subaru staring at her retreating back, dumbfounded.
He grinned, realizing her clever excuse.
"Thanks, Rem," he whispered under his breath.
***
Subaru was sprinting through the capital's streets in his butler uniform.
He hadn't told Beatrice, for a simple reason. She would probably agree with Emilia and force him to stay put. And with their contract, he could sense where she was… which probably meant it worked both ways. She'd know he was gone soon enough.
I'm such a scumbag for relying on Rem all the time… he thought bitterly.
At last, he reached the tall, skinny clocktower, a landmark visible from nearly anywhere in the capital. Parked nearby was a dragon carriage. The greenish-blue reptile yoked to it kept tugging at the reins like an excited dog, while the coachwoman lounged lazily, her sharp eyes scanning the crowd with the practiced boredom of someone waiting on a specific person.
Through the carriage's open window, Subaru spotted two passengers seated inside.
One was Reinhard.
As always, her tall stature and commanding presence made Subaru feel unusually small and fragile. She wore her signature white knight's coat and shorts that revealed her pale white thighs, her long legs casually crossed.
Beside her sat a new face.
Childlike in stature, with wild, unkempt white hair, the boy wore a blindfold that covered the upper half of his face, concealing his eyes. He had on a dark blue, vest-like tuxedo paired with baggy black pants, an odd mix, but somehow it worked. There was something about him… Like a strangely refined troublemaker.
A "distinguished bad boy," Subaru thought, weirdly impressed.
Was he blind?
As Subaru approached, he felt something, pressure. A presence radiating from the white haired boy. An air of regality and gravity rolled off him in waves, like the weight of someone important, such as royalty... or dangerous.
What is this?
"Ah, so you came after all, Subaru," Reinhard called out gently, greeting him with her usual polite grace. As she stepped out of the carriage.
The tall, red-haired knight smiled at him, her blue eyes shining like jewels, but there was something else in her expression. A subtle flicker of disappointment, as if she were bracing herself for something to go wrong.
"When I heard Lady Emilia would be in the capital, I suspected you'd be close behind," she added, stepping aside to let him approach.
Subaru's face lit up. "Reinhard! I've been looking for you."
At that, Reinhard's own expression brightened considerably, warmth blooming across her features.
"Would you be willing to visit the Astrea mansion after this is over?"
Subaru hesitated. "Maybe… but I can't make any promises."
"Oh. I understand," she said softly, lowering her head slightly, as if she had expected that answer all along.
"So… why are you here?" Subaru asked.
The boy inside the carriage answered with a relaxed, almost indifferent tone. Then, with a small smirk, he added, "Simple. To pick you up."
Subaru's eyes widened. He stared at the boy, trying to process his words. "Then… you're the ride?"
"Crimson, at your service," the boy said, giving a mock bow from his seat. "Unless, of course, you were planning to hitchhike."
Subaru unconsciously flinched; the way he spoke was too similar to himself. His tone, the way his voice dipped slightly when he teased others, it gave him chills.
Wait, hitchhike? Subaru blinked. Is that even a term in this world? He shoved the intrusive thought aside and pressed on. "Really? Then you know Toyota, right? Why are you headed to the castle?"
Reinhard, who had remained quiet until now, subtly looked up. Her eyes narrowed slightly, as if this entire web of calculated misdirection was testing her knightly sense of order.
Before Crimson could speak again, she cut in, motioning for Subaru to enter the carriage. "There is only one reason to head to the castle today."
Subaru furrowed his brows, confused by the lady knight's response. He climbed in.
Crimson, sitting with a posture so perfect it bordered on theatrical, flashed a wide grin. His head tilted slightly, and though he wore a blindfold, Subaru could've sworn, just for a second, he saw two bright, silvery orbs like lights gleaming behind it.
"It seems," Crimson said smoothly, "that I'm one of the candidates to succeed the throne of Lugunica."
Subaru's mouth fell open. "For real!?" he blurted, unable to mask his shock. "Then why did you come to get me? How do you even know Toyota?"
Crimson leaned back, as though the tension in the air was the most delightful thing he'd ever tasted. "You could say it's all part of a grand plan… like the Eye of the Moon."
Reinhard's eyes flicked to Crimson sharply, confused. Subaru froze.
"That reference…" he whispered. It was from the anime Naruto, right? He was a shut-in otaku before this, so the reference caught him completely off guard. "Wait, are you… Were you summoned to this world too?"
Reinhard's face went blank with a dual realization.
Crimson only grinned wider.
"Do you know why you were summoned? Or… are there any others from Earth here?" Subaru asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
"For your first question? Nope," Crimson replied coolly, though a sliver of venom hid beneath his casual tone, as if hatred for the being that had made him suffer. "As for the second… you've already met him."
Subaru frowned. Crimson was playing games. "Yeah, I already met Toyota. Anyone other than him?"
"I wasn't talking about him, though," Crimson said, grinning in amusement.
"Then who…?" Subaru racked his brain, but no one else came to mind.
"You should have met him within the past two days," Crimson added, though his confident posture faltered slightly, as if even he wasn't certain.
"That jerk Julius?" Subaru guessed.
"Nope."
Reinhard politely corrected, "Subaru, please refrain from calling other knights derogatory names."
Reinhard, seemingly entertained by the guessing game, joined in. "You mean the oddly dressed knight with the Lady from House Barielle? I believe it was Aldebaran."
"Correct." Crimson smiled warmly at Reinhard, and to Subaru's surprise, the red-haired knight turned away with a faint blush coloring her cheeks. She hid her expression behind her hand, though it was a futile gesture.
Subaru's eyes widened. He remembered now. "Oh, that helmet guy!" he exclaimed, before yelling out in shock. "Wait, no way! He's one of us, too?! That guy Al!?"
"Wait," Reinhard interjected, her voice sharp. "You two are… from a place beyond the Great Waterfall?"
"The Great Waterfall?" Subaru echoed, confused.
Crimson gave a slow, thoughtful nod. "This world is flat, shaped like a perfect rectangle, just like a map. The stars? Balls of mana. Don't ask me how, but the sun and moon stay fixed. And the Great Waterfall… It's a torrent that flows endlessly off the world's edge, washing everything into the void."
Subaru leaned back against the carriage, staring blankly at the ceiling. "This is… a lot to take in."
Then his eyes narrowed.
"Wait. How the hell are you in line for the throne, then?"
"Luck." Crimson responded deadpan.
(AN: I'm back from California, and it was very crowded, not what I'm used to. I had to wait in line at an amusement park for a roller coaster for 2 hours while kids were cutting only for 20 seconds worth of a ride. These next few chapters will be hiding what's actually happening, so it doesn't reveal MCS thoughts, it's going to get fun pure aura farming.
I've set an official release schedule: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Although when I get bored, I add extra.
Bonus chapters will drop on Saturdays if my demands are met. 🔫
Trade deal:
You give me 100 power stones, and I give you a bonus chapter.
Sounds fair, right?)