Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu (LN) - Volume 4 - Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 

BLESSINGS, REUNIONS, AND PROMISES 

1 

—Subaru Natsuki’s heart was beating at a fever pitch. 

“Um, Emilia-tan… I’m a little conflicted saying so, but shouldn’t we cut this out?” 

Subaru wore an amicable smile, but cold sweat ran down his face as he made the suggestion. The point of concern was how they firmly held hands. 

They were in the royal capital. Specifically, Market Street, an exceptionally congested thoroughfare. No doubt, two people holding hands amid the constant bustle would look like an intimate couple. 

So long as no busybodies overheard scraps of their conversation, anyway. 

“Absolutely not. This is you we’re talking about, so you will do something strange as soon as you’re out of my sight. I won’t permit a single step unsupervised while we’re in the royal capital. Understand?” 

“I’m really sorry for my stupidity in the dragon carriage! But this is treating me too much like a little kid!!” 

The gaze Emilia leveled at Subaru was sharp and cold. Her trust in him had plummeted to rock bottom levels. Even if he was reaping what he had sowed, the treatment was extreme from Subaru’s perspective. 

—Following his close call with an “unscheduled stop” from the dragon carriage, and the tragedy of waking up to a Roswaal lap pillow, the subsequent conversation created a plan to limit his activities in the royal capital. This situation was the result. 

“I’m deeply aware that I was rash but… Could we at least not do the holding hands thing?” 

“Hmm, so that’s what you’re complaining about. We did this plenty in the village when it was a ‘date,’ didn’t we?” 

“Back then I was fully prepared in mind and body, but I’m totally not right now. My hands are sweating!” 

Even though his hands were sweating from the exceptional tension, Emilia looked completely at ease, which only made him more nervous. 

And as for what the at-odds couple was actually doing in the royal capital— 

A coarse, manly voice interrupted their cute little argument. 

“—Hey, can you stop flirting in front of a man’s shop like this?” 

Emilia’s face stiffened. Well, that’s sensible, accepted Subaru. After all, the voice of the scar-faced man carried an irrefutable argument. 

“You’re driving my customers away. Buy something or get moving already.” 

“Well, that’s rude and inconsiderate. Here I came all ready to keep my promise. The shock alone could’ve made me forget completely, you know? Makes me wanna cry.” 

As Subaru slumped his shoulders, the man, resting his elbow on the counter, indelicately snorted back at him. 

Subaru thought the shopkeeper’s foul demeanor toward his customers was a good indicator that he’d picked the wrong profession. The shop, with a sign reading CADMON in I-script with bright colors, was a fruit vendor with colorful produce on display. The shop had a deeper significance for Subaru. 

“Here I am returning the favor to the first guy I met in a new world, and this is the thanks I get?” 

“That’s overstating it. It was almost a month ago, and we only spoke a few words, right? I mean, I vaguely recall it, but…” 

The owner of the store, actually a very kind man, was striving to remember when Emilia pulled on Subaru’s ear and bowed her head. 

“Subaru, don’t say crazy things. Sir, please don’t force yourself on our account.” Subaru pleaded with her, yelping “Ow, ow!” as she gave him a sharp glare and said, “I thought you said you wanted to say hello to someone who’d helped you…but I never expected this promise to be a one-sided deal. Unbelievable.” 

“Hey, Emilia-tan, you can’t just throw a promise between men into the garbage like that!” 

“Don’t exaggerate! How many people do you think a shopkeeper meets in the course of one day?” 

“Emilia-tan, you can hurt people when you overestimate them. I mean, there’s no way a shopkeeper with a scary face like that is doing that much busin… Ow, ow, I’m sorry!” 

The shopkeeper, watching their back-and-forth, clapped his hands as he watched tears well in Subaru’s eyes. 

“I remember that pathetic look now. You’re the kid without a coin to his name. So the ingrate returns without buying a thing.” 

“I’m gonna ignore how you remembered me…and I told you, I’m back so I can repay you!” 

“Ah, I see. Now that’s a sense of responsibility. I like it.” 

Now that he recognized Subaru, the shopkeeper smiled generously, hauling a wooden box from inside his store and placing it on the counter with a heavy thud. The red, round, vibrant fruits inside glistened under the sun. 

“Here y’go, abbles like you promised you’d buy. How many? They’re two copper coins each now.” 

“I’ll go big and get ten. That’ll cover the promise and then some.” 

The shopkeeper clapped his hands at Subaru’s magnanimity. In high spirits, Subaru put his hand into his pocket to get his wallet out when he noticed that Emilia, standing beside him, was doing the same thing. 

“Er, Emilia-tan, why are you getting out your purse?” 

“What do you mean, why? You can’t pay for something without money, can you?” 

“No, I mean, it’s weird for you to pay instead of me, Emilia-ta… Old guy, what’s with that look?” 

“You said you’d buy them when you had the money, but I can’t condone making a rich girl pay in your place…” 

“Can’t you see me arguing with my lovely lady here?! I’m trying to pay!” 

The shopkeeper watched Subaru with suspicion as Subaru hastily thrust his wallet forward. The contents were his pay from his work at the mansion—and, since Roswaal was a generous employer, Subaru really did have money to spare. 

“Lemme see, two coppers per abble… So two silver coins should cover ten?” 

“Hey, don’t you know the current exchange rate…? It’s nine coppers for a silver coin right now.” 

“So two silvers and two coppers then? Here.” 

Subaru fished the appropriate coins out of his wallet and handed them to the shopkeeper. The man was stunned into silence, tilting his head as he sighed at length. 

“Took my word for it, huh. Kiddo, you really need to not be so trusting. The changes in the exchange rates are posted on the sign at the entrance to the market. If you wander in without giving that a good look, some crooked merchant will have you for lunch.” 

The shopkeeper seemed to be warning him because his honesty made him a sucker here. True, paying based on only what he was told might be overly trusting, even if it was common sense back home. 

Back at the village close to the mansion, everyone was so tightly related in an isolated community that deceit was inconceivable, but a huge city like the royal capital was fertile ground for mischief. In other words— 

“Man, you really are a super-good person, old guy.” 

Subaru smiled playfully in a show of goodwill to the scar-faced shopkeeper. 

“Only once in a while. I’d have nightmares if I swindled a customer who’d come back to fulfill a promise I’d nearly forgotten and who paid exactly what I asked for. That’s it.” 

“So you’re mean-looking guy with a heart of gold. Got it.” 

“Take it and go already! You’ve paid in full. Come again!” 

The first half was intimidatingly gruff; the second half, a paragon of customer relations. Subaru, having a good laugh at the two extremes, picked up his bag of abbles with one hand, while Emilia led him away from the shop by the other. 

“Thanks, old dude. Maybe I’ll bump into you again someday.” 

“You’re quite welcome as long as you buy something… And, miss, you really need better taste in men.” 

“Now, that’s none of your business!” 

As the shopkeeper watched them go, Subaru shot him the middle finger as he and Emilia entered the throng of people. As the distance between them widened, the human wave obstructed his vision, and the good-natured shopkeeper disappeared from view. 

“I’m glad he actually remembered you… I’m a little surprised, though.” 

“Yeah, he definitely seems scary at first, but you get used to it pretty quick…” 

“Not that. I mean, I’m flabbergasted you did the math that quickly.” 

“No one says ‘flabbergasted’ anymore…” 

Even as Subaru teased Emilia for using outdated words, he didn’t mind praise. He didn’t look it, but he was actually pretty good at arithmetic. “I’ve got a knack for basic math. So you go for the intellectual, cerebral type, huh?” 

“Cerebr…? I’m not sure what you mean, but that’s not the only reason I’m surprised… Just a little coincidence. Tee-hee, it’s funny, actually.” 

“Ah, that’s a cute face. What, what, where’s the coincidence?” 

“That’s a secret between me and the shopkeeper’s daughter. So what’s next?” 

Subaru had some idea what Emilia meant by a secret, but he didn’t probe deeper, opting to readjust his grip on the bag of abbles instead. The royal capital was far too big for casual strolling. His first objective of the day had been to visit the first person he’d met in this world. Now that he’d repaid his gratitude to the fruit merchant, his next objective was a no-brainer. 

“My next goal…is to see Felt and Old Man Rom. Reinhard took care of them after I blacked out, right?” 

“Mm, yes. At first, I thought he’d let them go without any problems, but…all of a sudden, Reinhard went pale and said he was taking the girl with him.” 

“That sounds like a criminal kidnapping her, but that doesn’t exactly fit him… Crap, the good-looking ones get all the breaks.” 

Subaru clicked his tongue as he sullenly recalled the handsome, red-haired young man. 

Emilia watched from beside him, putting a finger to her lips as she pondered the issue. “If you want to get in touch with Reinhard, we should go to the garrison on this side of the Nobles’ District. There’s a building there that’s… Well, it’s nothing but a pile of rubble now.” 

Subaru agreed with Emilia’s suggestion. After all, the fact Reinhard had been walking the streets of the capital “off duty” made it clear he was a guard, most likely high-ranking—a knight. 

“I guess that settles it. Let’s head to the station and get ahold of Reinhard from there. Well, let’s get a move o… Oh?” 

“What? Something wrong?” 

“Nah, I was just counting the abbles in the bag… There’s eleven of ’em.” He had counted a total of eleven big, round, ripe, vibrant red fruit. It was highly unlikely the merchant, proprietor of his own store, had miscounted. “That old guy’s too generous.” 

As he recalled the prickly shopkeeper, he felt a warm, fuzzy feeling bubbling up inside and smiled to himself. 

—Keeping his promise was the right choice. 

2 

“Come to think of it, what did you mean, get ahold of him from the garrison? There’re no phones, right?” 

As they walked toward the garrison, Subaru voiced a sudden doubt. 

“‘Phones’?” 

Emilia’s mystified expression suggested she’d never heard the word in her life. 

“I mean, like, a device to talk directly to someone in a distant location…” 

“You mean a metia? They should have magic mirrors…” 

“Magic mirrors?” 

“Metia that display one person to the other and let you talk between them. They’re fairly common as magical artifacts go, so they’re apparently used in a number of different places…” 

“Gotcha. So there is a way to do it. Mirrors! That’s so magical.” 

When Subaru thought about it, he realized he’d never laid eyes on a real metia. He’d heard the term metia from Old Man Rom at the loot cellar and pretended his cell phone was one, but that was it. 

“Either way, it’s a ray of hope. If we can get in touch with Reinhard we can clear everything up.” 

“I suppose so. Rem will be upset if we don’t get back soon, so we’d better hurry…” 

Rem had wanted to go with Subaru on his tour of the royal capital, too. However, she had too much work to do as the entire group’s caretaker so, with great reluctance, she allowed Emilia to be his guide in the city. 

No doubt she was tearing through her work out of spite at that very moment. 

“Well, it’s too bad for Rem, but for me, not having her here is a bit of a perk…” 

“…? What did you say just now?” 

“Ahh, nothin’. I’m just like, I don’t have to be embarrassed if she sees us holding hands and stuff… Hey, Emilia-tan, about that royal selection thing tomorrow…” 

Seeing the tense, guarded look on Emilia’s face, Subaru abandoned his carefree tone. But then Emilia’s expression vanished entirely, and the gloom filling her violet eyes only accentuated her demeanor. 

The morning the envoy came, as well as during the time before their departure, Subaru had questioned Emilia several times, but she never lowered her guard. Their arrival at the royal capital had not changed that. 

“I’ve told you several times, haven’t I? I brought you here so you can keep your promises and get healed. You don’t need to concern yourself with me.” 

“There’s no way I can do that. I mean, here I am, holding your hand… How could I not concern myself like this?” 

At some point during his reply, Emilia had stopped walking, holding Subaru back. Under her hood, a single lock of silver hair spilled down Emilia’s face. 

Subaru couldn’t help but think about how it looked like a falling teardrop. 

“I want to help you. If you’re having a hard time, I want to do something. That’s how it’s been…and that’s how it’s gonna be.” 

“…” 

Subaru admitted his feelings honestly. He intended to exhaust every effort on Emilia’s behalf. 

He knew exactly what motivated him, but— 

“Why?” 

“……uhh?” 

“Why do you go to such lengths for me, Subaru? I don’t understand.” 

The incredulity in Emilia’s eyes thoroughly bewildered Subaru. When her hand squeezed his in search of an answer, Subaru’s throat caught as he struggled for words. 

“That’s…” 

“…” 

“Th…that’s…!” 

Even if he knew what he ought to say, he needed the resolve and courage to speak the words. And suddenly put to the test, Subaru lacked both. In the end, Subaru said nothing as Emilia waited. 

As the silence dragged on, he ran out of the time Emilia had given him. 

“…Let’s go. The sun will set if we don’t do this soon.” 

Emilia started forward again, pulling him along by the hand. Subaru followed, clenching his teeth at his own lack of nerve. 

As he watched her small, slender back, he hated himself for losing sight of what he needed to say. 

He despised his weakness in the face of the girl who had saved his life and his spirit—the girl who lit the brightest fire in his chest. 

As Subaru sank into a vortex of negativity and self-hatred, he started as he suddenly heard a genderless voice, like someone whispering straight into his skull. 

“—You’d best leave things at that, Subaru.” 

“…!” 

“It’s me. I’m speaking directly into your mind, so Lia can’t hear you.” 

The method of communication was odd, but the voice was certainly familiar. It was the spirit Emilia had formed a pact with, the supernatural cat always at her side—Puck. 

Subaru was taken aback at the sudden telepathic communication. 

“…! So you can hear me, too, then?” 

“You catch on fast. I wasn’t sure at first, but…it was easy to make a connection, so you might have a high compatibility with spirits. Maybe that’s why Betty likes you.” 

Puck’s one-sided knowledge of the situation added irritation to Subaru’s gloom. He felt left out. 

“Lia’s all right. Don’t lose hope from that conversation just now.” 

“That’s… How the hell do you know?” 

“I just know. I know everything there is to know about Lia, after all.” 

Even if he didn’t put it into words, Puck’s fatherly love for her was evident in his tone. 

The spirit’s guarantee made Subaru feel worse about his own powerlessness. Puck had only reminded him that, when all was said and done, he didn’t know a single thing about Emilia. 

The Emilia he knew was a stunningly beautiful half-elf girl. She was a candidate to become the next monarch of Lugunica, under the care of her sponsor, Roswaal. 

He knew she was honest, naive, willful, and soft-hearted; her personality drove her to help others even at the cost of herself, making her like an older sister, but also an easy mark. 

But all these facts barely scratched the surface. He knew nothing of the girl inside, her emotions, or even how and why she came to pursue the monarchy. 

“Putting your heart and soul into everything is pretty rough on you, huh?” 

Even if closed lips could conceal his shallow thoughts, he could not silence his very mind. It was impossible to hide everything from Puck, who scooped up surface thoughts like so much soup broth. 

“Hey, Subaru.” 

He didn’t want to face his own wretchedness any longer. He weakly denied Puck, but these words, whispered to the mind and not the eardrum, never arrived. With Subaru expressing his will through silence, Puck instead continued, “—Don’t get my hopes up too much, or Lia’s.” 

“…Huh?” 

“Hope is a gentle poison. Even if you know it will ruin you, you can’t help but reach for the illusion that seems close enough to grasp. You are truly a poison.” 

To Subaru, who had viewed Puck as an unflappable, tranquil being, those words contained enough force to change his impressions completely. 

“What do you mean by…” 

But before he could finish his perplexed reply, Emilia, guiding his hand, stopped walking and said, “We’re here.” 

Subaru pitched forward, in danger of bumping into Emilia’s back, but he somehow managed to right himself. 

When he raised his head, he belatedly understood why this was called the Nobles’ District. The scenery was more refined than that of the slums or Market Street, with much more money invested in it. This was true for not only the buildings, but also the streets, the walls, and the trees had aesthetic appeal. As the name suggested, this was the ward where the upper crust resided. 

Their destination was a building that served as the gateway, sealing off the single street connecting it to the outside world. 

The solid stonework structure was far plainer than anything in the Nobles’ District behind it. The back of the building contacted a section of the wall, allowing someone on the roof to survey the whole city in a single sweep. However, the purpose of this vantage point was obviously to keep watch over what was below, not to enjoy the sights. 

“This is the garrison for the royal capital guards. They also check the identity of people entering the Nobles’ District.” 

“So it’s like a customs checkpoint, too. That’s probably what they built it here for, huh?” 

He could appreciate it on logical and practical grounds, but his aversion to it was no doubt an instinctive reaction to something so emblematic of bureaucracy. 

Emilia said nothing to the reluctant Subaru as she headed for the garrison. Mindful of the time and place, she finally let go of his hand. He mourned the loss of her palm. 

And just as Emilia was about to knock on the garrison’s door, it opened toward the outside as a young man poked his face out. 

“—My, it is not often I meet an acquaintance in a place like this. It has been some time, Lady Emilia. You have not changed at all since then.” 

The young man bowed formally to Emilia—whom he had recognized even though she was wearing the hood. That alone put Subaru on guard, but Emilia’s expression was serene as she nodded toward the youth. 

“…Yes, thank you. No changes in particular, no. I see you are also in good health, Julius.” 

“I am honored that you remember me. Your beauty has only increased, Lady Emilia.” 

The young man named Julius praised Emilia’s good looks in a very polished manner. He had violet hair and an equal mix of snobbery and politeness. He was about half a foot taller than Subaru, putting him at around five foot nine, give or take. His body was slender, but he did not seem frail; rather, he had a handsome, supple frame. His amber eyes, no doubt bewitching to the opposite sex, suited him to a detestably fine degree. 

“Is it not a rarer sight for you, a royal guardsman, to be here at the garrison?” 

The man wore an extravagant uniform with a dragon emblem. A slender sword like a rapier hung from his hip. Julius’s appearance and manner of speech suited such a title. 

“I’ve come to express appreciation to the soldiers for their services and take the opportunity to observe the city…or something like that. A friend asked me to pay a visit, and I suppose it is good to put friends first once in a while. After all, I was able to lay my eyes upon a beautiful flower along my path through these streets.” 

With well-practiced motion, Julius intimately grasped Emilia’s hand as he spoke, bending down on one knee. Without a single pause for breath, he brought his lips to the back of her pale hand. 

Subaru watched this course of events in complete shock. After a few moments’ delay, his emotions came to a boil as this man’s conceited behavior rubbed him in every wrong way imaginable. His breath ragged, Subaru was about to rush over and give Julius a piece of his mind when Emilia held him in check with her other hand. 

“Thank you, Julius. I regret that this is very sudden, but…I would like to get in touch with the castle about a certain matter.” 

As Julius listened to Emilia’s request, his voice lowered as he looked at Subaru. 

“Ah, so that is why you came to the garrison… This matter, does it concern him over there?” 

Not enjoying Julius’s condescending gaze, Subaru locked eyes with him and glared back. 

“—His character and demeanor form a poor match for those clothes. Such an appearance does not make a good first impression.” 

“Thank you for the kind advice. I have some advice for you, too. If you eat curry udon in an outfit like that, the broth stains will really stand out, so you definitely should pass.” 

“Thank you for going out of your way to say so. I shall pay it heed if I should ever have such an opportunity.” 

The smiles they exchanged were most certainly not friendly. Subaru did not like him. Julius no doubt thought the same. In that spirit, he promptly ignored Subaru and turned his attention back to Emilia. 

“I shall guide you to the magic mirror, then, though it pains my heart to bring you into a humble place such as this, Lady Emilia.” 

“You needn’t be concerned. I’m quite all right, so please.” 

“Very well. Come in.” 

With that, Julius went back inside first. Subaru snorted a bit and stepped forward. But Emilia turned to him in front of the doorway, obstructing his path. 

“Subaru, you wait here.” 

“…Huh?” 

Subaru was taken aback. Emilia’s long eyelashes trembled a bit as she lowered her eyes. 

“I’d like to have you come, but I don’t think Julius will take it well, so wait here.” 

“The heck? You care about that annoying jerk’s feelings more than mine?” 

“It’s not that. It’s not about upsetting him, it’s that I don’t want to put you through something you’ll probably hate, so please, Subaru, wait here.” 

“I hate it enough as it is already. The way that bastard licked Emilia-tan’s hand all over like it was nothing…!” 

Subaru had pegged that particular action as a sign of perversion, adding one more item to his list of negative impressions. It only compounded how he didn’t want Emilia to have any contact with that man. Subaru’s masculine instincts wanted desperately to warn her to watch out for Julius. 

“This won’t take long, so please, be good and wait.” 

Her words were very gentle, yet heavily tinged with rejection. Emilia was fundamentally distancing Subaru from her own affairs. But afraid of incurring her displeasure for intruding, he was unable to speak a word in protest. 

She vanished behind the door as it closed, separating them physically and metaphorically with a dull thud. Subaru murmured, “…I’m super-uncool.” 

Kicking around a rock some distance from the entrance as he waited for Emilia, Subaru distracted himself from his seething self-hatred as he recalled the annoying man. 

“She said he was a royal guard, didn’t she?” 

If Subaru’s hunch was correct, that meant he was a Knight of the Royal Guard. If knightly orders existed in this world, surely Knights of the Royal Guard served the royal family directly. But where did they stand in a country with no sitting monarch? 

“The whole royal family died from plague, huh. They might make the elites in the Knights of the Royal Guard take responsibility for not seeing that coming and disband them, tossing them and their families out onto the street… Well, that sucks for the rest of ’em, but I wouldn’t mind that annoying bastard going through a little hell…” 

The somber thought gave him some small measure of satisfaction. He wondered who he’d picked up that pettiness from. 

In the past, Subaru would have never directed his ire about the inconveniences that befell him toward another person. He wouldn’t have given a single thought to speaking ill of heaven or venting his frustrations. 

In a good sense, he was now concerned with appearances in a way he had not before arriving here. He wanted to live a life that he could show the honest and forthright girl close to him without shame. 

It was a vague thought… But he wondered if he had really changed a little? He couldn’t tell. 

“—Mm?” 

As Subaru ruminated, he felt a disturbance and frowned at a glimpse of something at the edge of his vision. For a brief moment, his gaze had wandered toward the city for no particular reason and caught sight of a colorful dress disappearing into a back alley. The color was such a vivid red that it seemed to sear itself into his eyes, even with only a glance. And had the dress been merely traveling down the street, no doubt it would not have registered in Subaru’s mind whatsoever. 

Even entering a back alley, the garment would not have caught his attention, save for the fact that the girl wearing it was being led there by seedy-looking men. 

“Just now… There’s no way it could be a that, right…?” 

A major crime in broad daylight in front of the guards’ garrison—or so he thought, but perhaps this was a case of hiding in plain sight. Upon closer inspection, the location was in the garrison’s blind spot. Subaru had seen them by dumb luck the instant he’d entered an alleyway while he moped. 

“Setting aside that I just feel calmer in narrow spaces, I’d better go get the gua—” 

Subaru hesitated. He hadn’t witnessed an actual crime taking place. It was very possible he’d misinterpreted what he’d seen. 

At any rate, Subaru bore a powerful, arbitrary grudge against the garrison at that moment. 

“Plus, if I’m wrong, it might make trouble for Emilia… It won’t be too late to call for help after I confirm things first.” 

Voicing this excuse to himself, Subaru shot a glance at the garrison as he ran toward the alley. He felt guilty about going back on his promise to wait patiently for Emilia, but a higher duty called. Plus, Subaru’s resentment toward Julius. 

And hearing an angry shout the instant he entered the alley, Subaru was firmly convinced he’d made the right decision and picked up his pace. 

“—Why, you little bitch! I’m not messin’ around here!” 

3 

“Don’t mess with me, woman! You want a punch to that pretty little face?!” 

“Do not get ahead of yourself, peasant. Those of low character enjoy appropriately lowly fates.” 

Several voices argued, and three men surrounded a lone woman in the narrow alley, cutting off her avenues of escape. 

This was a stereotypical street punk encounter, but what left a burning impression on Subaru was the striking appearance of the girl who repulsed the atmosphere hanging over the cramped alley. 

Her hair was a radiant orange like the sun itself, flowing through a single barrette before spilling down her back. Her dress was blood crimson, and above all, the overwhelming beauty of the girl herself shone in her sordid surroundings. Even untrained eyes could tell at a glance that the jewelry on her neck, ears, and fingers were of the highest quality. Her full outfit, coordinated from top to bottom, had to be worth at least a hundred times the money Subaru had on him. And yet, all that extravagant jewelry was incomparable to her face. 

She had red, defiant eyes. Her faintly pink lips emphasized the hue of her skin, white as the purest snow. One might spend an entire lifetime and fortune in search of such beauty and never find it. Subaru realized all over again how often this world defied his idea of common sense. 

The girl crossed her arms in a calm posture that only accentuated her bountiful breasts. He couldn’t just stand back and watch while her attitude raised the men’s hackles ever higher. 

“—H-heya! Sorry to keep you waiting, honey!” 

Subaru immediately raised a hand and wedged himself into the middle of the action. Laughing by himself as he interrupted the surprised trio, Subaru put his hands together in supplication. “It seems that she’s caused you a little trouble, but could you do me favor and let it slide? I’m sure you can tell just by looking at her, but the girl is a little…y’know…in the head. You get me?” 

Her celebrity-like style practically screamed “Rob me, please!” and she was hanging around the alleyways in a city with questionable levels of law enforcement. What sane person would be so reckless? 

Subaru asserted to the stunned men, “So that’s how it is!” and grasped the girl’s hand. 

“Mm…!” 

“Hey, let’s move on before you cause the good boys here any more trouble. Let’s do like we promised today and feed each other sweets, just the two of…” 

Subaru quickly laid things out, casting her in the role he’d assigned Emilia in his fantasies, aiming to get her out of there as fast as possible. However… 

“Uhh?” 

“Do not…touch me so freely!” 

She put her other hand on top of Subaru’s, twisting her body to yank the boy forward. A moment after he realized he’d lost his hold on her wrist, his face slammed right into the wall. 

“Wht th hll?!” 

“Goodness, I take a step outside and this happens? Commoners drooling all over me…” 

As he stood back up, Subaru glowered at her, as if finding her words beyond comprehension. 

“Play along, damn it! That’s the time-honored method of saving a girl from street punks! You’re supposed to catch on to these things!” 

“I do not know what you mean. I simply do as I please.” 

“A woman who slams your face into the wall is the worst kind of first meeting, you know?!” 

Not only had she not picked up on his attempt to extricate her, but she treated him as a pervert. The pain and humiliation made him regret exercising his limited courage. Thinking that the men must find it hilarious, Subaru turned toward their pitying gazes again. 

“Hey, wait a minute, I remember you guys.” 

Subaru tilted his head with the bad feeling that he was reliving a prior crisis. Subaru compared the faces of the men before him against the ones in his memory, clapping his hands together when a light suddenly came on. 

“Ah, Dumb, Dumber, and Dumbest. Eh, wait, no way. Does this city have any other punks besides the three of you?!” 

Of course he remembered them. These were the Three Stooges he’d encountered on the first day of his summoning. Having experienced death at their hands once already, Subaru regarded them with caution. But… 

“I’m more depressed than anything else. Don’t you guys have any other way to make a living?” 

The three men looked at one another and began to talk, oddly relaxed about Subaru’s presence. 

“First he sticks his nose in, gets his face smashed on a wall, and now he says he remembers. He bonkers?” 

“Hey, I don’t wanna mess with him. You deal with him.” 

“I don’t wanna, either. Why don’t we just shiv him somewhere?” 

With the supposed thieves having finally lost all vestiges of belligerence, the silent girl broke the atmosphere. 

“Oh my, so irresolute. Are you a bunch of little girls? If so, adorn yourselves in a manner suitable for my eyes. Yes, some fine jewelry on your burly, hairy bodies would make for quite a sight.” 

The girl put a hand over her mouth, ripping into them with a look of complete contempt. For an instant, the men did not understand what she had said to them. A moment later, they seethed as one. 

“Don’t mess with me, bitch!” 

“Who do you think you are, girl?!” 

“What’s with the high and mighty talk, huh?!” 

Subaru chimed in. “You’re seriously off your rocker! We oughta spank into your girly butt the fact that we’re guys—wait, why am I jumping in with these idiots?!” 

Subaru was surprised at himself for impulsively taking part in a four-man gang. He was acutely aware that blame for the incident lay on the girl’s side, too. 

“So I get where you guys are coming from, but I’m not turning back now. Besides, I’m carrying my own grudge from the first day we met.” 

“I dunno what’s with that little bitch, but what’s the deal with you, shit face?” 

Apparently they didn’t remember Subaru at all, a pretty meager reaction considering Emilia had sent them packing with magic, they’d suffered a crushing three on one defeat at Subaru’s hands, and they’d knifed Subaru to death sometime after that. 

“Well, none of those events happened in this world, so all they’d remember here is… Oh yeah, the good-looking guy showing up?” 

“—! Hey, I remember him! From an alley off Market Street a little while back…” 

“Oh, that one! The brat with a screw loose! He hasn’t changed one bit, huh?” 

“It’s really him. The clothes are different, so I didn’t recognize ’im!” 

When realization came over Dumb’s face, Dumber and Dumbest followed in short order. Though Subaru was no fan of how they’d characterized him, he clapped to applaud their effort. 

“Good, good, I’m glad you remember me. So since you know me, how about you let this slide?” 

“Are you nuts? We like you way less than someone we don’t know. Just ’cause it’s three-on-two instead of three-on-one doesn’t change a thing.” 

Even though Subaru hoped to bluff his way through the scene, the willful girl paid no heed to his plans whatsoever. 

“Correction. It is not three-versus-two, it is three-versus-one-versus-one.” 

“Can you shut up for a bit?!” 

He wished he could have gone back in time five minutes and told himself not to bother, but the die had been cast. Besides, Dumb, Dumber, and Dumbest weren’t patient types. Watching the temperature in their eyes dropping, Subaru knew it was only a matter of time before there’d be blood. 

“…No choice, then. I really didn’t want to resort to this, but…” 

“Ahh? Would you stop messin’ around already? What the hell can you—” 

“I’ll have you know, I know Mr. Reinhard, guys. Reinhard and I are best buds. If I yell, he’s gonna come running right over!” 

“—Wha?!” 

This was his trump card, “The Fox Invoking the Lion,” and it worked wonders. The mention of Reinhard’s name scared the trio witless. 

The effect was immediate, and Subaru forced himself to act like a big shot to cow them further. 

“So what’ll it be, guys? One shout and he’ll make mincemeat out of you with his bare hands.” 

It was a desperate bluff, but the men gritted their teeth resentfully. 

“W-we’ll let you. This time.” 

“Remember this, it’s not like you beat us or anything!” 

“And it’s not like we’re scared of Reinhard’s name or anything!” 

The men immediately fled the alley, their weak, stereotypical parting shots only enhancing their petty crook image. Only when they had completely gone did Subaru exhale deeply. 

Somehow he’d ridden the crisis out. 

Now if he could only get the girl to soften just a little— 

“What? Are those the eyes of a beggar? You shall receive nothing from me, commoner.” 

“They are not. Well, would it kill you to thank me for saving you at least?” 

“Save?” 

The girl inclined her head slightly with a mystified expression. 

She closed her eyes, sinking into thought, and let out a small sigh when she arrived at an answer. 

“So that prattling of yours earlier was meant to save me. Mm, I had not noticed.” 

“You didn’t notice?! This sets new standards for dense, you know?!” 

“Do not misunderstand. No difficulty would have befallen me even without your help. I can only marvel at your taking pride in resolving something that was not a problem to begin with.” 

“I don’t know what you mean, so what do you mean? I mean what, like, okay, you’re super-strong, so you’d have been fine even if I hadn’t saved you?” 

“Not at all. It is far simpler.—This world is composed solely for my convenience. Nothing occurs that is not to my benefit. It is thanks to me that I was saved, yet you attempt to claim this as your own exploit. Have you no shame at stealing credit from another?” 

With one blatant forward thrust of her bountiful breasts, the girl was asserting, as if it was natural, as if it was obvious, as if it was common sense—that she was absolute. 

The way her eyes radiated like an arrogant sun made Subaru keenly aware that this was someone he absolutely should not associate himself with whatsoever. 

“Th-that so. My bad for being too big for my britches. Sorry to interrupt. Bye now.” 

He determined it was best to agree with such a person as much as possible—not provoke her, just nod enthusiastically, avoid any defiance, and do a quick about-face away from her. 

But an unexpected call came from behind, and Subaru cursed his feet for stopping. 

“—Wait.” 

“Wh-what?” 

“What is in that bag there? Show me.” 

The girl strolled around him, nodding to indicate that Subaru should put down the bag. He didn’t want to oblige, but defying her would only prolong things, so Subaru reluctantly opened the bag and showed its contents—a mountain of ripe, red fruit. 

“I do not recognize them. These fruits… What are they?” 

“They’re, um, abbles. The fruit of knowledge. Never seen one before?” 

Blinking at his reply, the girl snorted as she looked at Subaru like he was an imbecile. 

“You lie. Do not make me laugh. Abbles are white, understand? I have absolutely never seen fruits such as these.” 

Astonished, Subaru replied, “Well, they’re white when you peel them…” 

It was the girl’s turn to stare blankly. 

He remarked, “Wait, don’t tell me you’ve never seen an abble that hasn’t been peeled…?” 

“Mm, I have indeed never seen one that was not at the dinner table.—Very well. Hand them over.” 

Nodding in satisfaction, the girl audaciously demanded he give up his the abbles. 

He’d saved the girl from a robbery only for the girl to attempt robbery on him. 

Subaru wanted to see Emilia again. He wished Rem were healing him that moment. 

“Hand them over. I shall split one open and see for myself. Or is it only lies that dribble from your lips?” 

“…Handle with care, okay?” 

Judging resistance to be the fool’s choice, Subaru took an abble out of the bag and placed it in her hand. The girl took the abble, turning it around as if studying the sensation upon her palm. 

Then, her left hand flashed toward the abble—neatly severing it vertically and horizontally into four equal pieces. 

The girl licked the fruit juice off her fingers, satisfied at the cross section. 

“Sweet and sour… Certainly, this is the taste of an abble. I will spare your life.” 

“Spare my… No, never mind. Anyway, you’re satisfied now, I take it?” 

“Ab-so-lute-ly not!!” 

Her statement, crossing the line from arrogant behavior to tyrannical, made even Subaru erupt in indignation. 

“You don’t even care that you sliced one up out of the blue. Why do I have to give you all of them? These abbles aren’t just abbles. They’re the bonds between two men!” 

“Enough prattle. How about this?” 

The girl pointed at the bag, her lips cracking into a wry smile. 

“We shall wager for them.” 

“—Wager?” 

“Yes, a simple wager. Something easy, flipping a coin and guessing whether it is heads or tails. A single abble shall rest upon each attempt. How about it?” 

She was proposing a contest, but all Subaru could do was laugh at her suggestion. 

“You just say the darndest things. Why would I agree to that in the first place? There’s nothing in that gamble for me. I can just run like heck out of here!” 

“Of course, I shall have something worth winning at the ready. Let’s see…” 

The girl touched her tongue to her lips as she sank into thought. She shifted her bewitching eyes toward Subaru, lifting up her ample bosom with her crossed arms. 

“Should you win the wager, you may touch my breasts. How about it?” 

Subaru sighed at length and shook his head at her offering up her own body as a gambling chip. The way she offered herself in a wager without a single reflection on the consequences of losing indicated the kind of personality that ruined gamblers’ lives. 

No doubt she thought that her beauty allowed her to seduce any man setting eyes on her. He thought her worldview was regrettable and rather sad. 

The girl gave Subaru a slightly suspicious glance, perhaps wondering what was taking him so long. 

With that gaze bearing down on him, Subaru told her exactly what he thought. 

“You need to take better care of yourself. That’s crazy talk… And you can’t seduce me with that look!” 

—And so, Subaru found himself still in the alley, having lost seven straight bets. 

“That makes seven wins for me. There are only three abbles left, you know?” 

“No way! You’re robbing me blind!” 

4 

“Now, then.” 

The girl picked up one of the abbles lying before her and deposited it into the bag at her side. Subaru was down to his last two chips, so to speak. When their game had begun, he had ten—he never imagined he’d go on an eight-in-a-row losing streak, leaving him in danger of losing the shirt on his back. 

“Now you know what happens to those who challenge me. I am the pinnacle, and you are suited only to wriggling around at the bottom.” 

“Hey, isn’t it a little extreme to treat me as the bottom of the pyramid just because I’m losing? Pride comes before the fall, you know…a fall to rock bottom!” 

“You may rest easy. All is rock bottom except for me. The world has me, and all else is beneath.” 

Subaru wanted to refute her irrational logic, but that would only make him sound like a sore loser. 

“Now then, what shall we do next? If you do not trust your luck at coin flips, a different wager is fine.” 

“Oh, now you’ve done it… I’m down in the bottom of the ninth, but I propose we do rock-paper-scissors!” 

“Rock, paper, scissors…?” 

When the girl raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar term, it gave Subaru a tiny ray of hope. 

“Rock-paper-scissors is a way to settle things. At the signal, you make a shape with your hand, and the stronger shape wins. There’re three shapes: rock, paper, and scissors. Paper beats rock, scissors beats paper, rock beats scissors. Understand?” 

“Oh, yes, I understand. A rather amusing game, it would seem. What is this signal?” 

“Well, when you finish saying rock-paper-scissors, you show your hand when you get to the ‘scissors’ part. Oh, and if you both show the same hand, you say rock-paper-scissors again as the signal and do it over on the spot.” 

“That is all there is to it? Very well. I shall go with paper.” 

“You’re already showing your hand?!” 

Subaru shuddered at the breathtaking speed with which she strategized. He’d just finished explaining the rules, and here she was, picking it all up like a pro, poised greedily with victory in her grasp. He supposed he should praise her. 

She said to him, “Let us begin, then. Rock…paper…” 

Subaru felt nervous about falling behind. 

“Ah, wait, time-out. I haven’t decided what I’m gonna go with ye—” 

With his thoughts still in a jumble, the girl reached the signal and raised her hand high. 

“—scissors!” 

The girl’s hand indicated paper, just as she had proclaimed. Subaru’s hand was rock. She commented, “It would seem that you owe me another abble, complaints about the method notwithstanding.” 

“It’s not that! Statistically, people subconsciously keep their hand closed when they’re tossed into rock-paper-scissors without warning! Ugh, I’m such an idiot!” 

The strategist had been defeated by his own scheme. Subaru certainly looked defeated as he handed the girl her abble. 

—With this, Subaru was down to his very last abble. 

“Now, let us gamble for the last abble and bring this to a conclusion, shall we?” 

“You wouldn’t show mercy on me and let me keep the last one, would you?” 

“All the abbles you carried belong to me. Leaving one in your hands is the same as leaving you all. It is all or nothing. That being the case, we may as well gamble for all the abbles on the final round. That goes for both of us,” the girl added, meaning it would be her ten abbles against Subaru’s one. It was truly emblematic of the girl’s ruinous, high-stakes way of thinking. 

He asked, “—How about rock-paper-scissors for the last one, too?” 

“I have already made my decision. All that remains is for you to choose the method and present me with my abble.” 

The girl showed no doubt about her victory, nor any intention of letting Subaru go. In other words, he had no choice but to harden his resolve—to trap a Rakshasa by the vilest of means. 

The two called out simultaneously, “Rock…paper…scissors!” 

When both showed their hands, sound vanished from the world. 

With her fist clenched in a rock, the trembling in the girl’s red eyes only grew. 

“Th-this is…” 

“Listen and be amazed, look and be astounded! Behold, the ultimate combat technique—RoSciPer!!” 

“What is that…thing?! You did not inform me such a hand was possible!” 

“Shut up! I didn’t mention it, but it’s your fault you didn’t ask! That part is rock, this here’s scissors, and over there is paper! In other words, my hand’s beaten your rock!” 

“If such logic holds, a different part loses to my rock.” 

“Ahh! Ahh! Ahh! I can’t hear you! My rock is borrowing power from the scissors and paper, forming the holy trinity of friendship, effort, and victory! It’s all here, baby!” 

Raising the hand of RoSciPer to the heavens, Subaru boldly proclaimed victory with his flagrant cheating. 

He was well aware his logic was absurd, a desperately underhanded attempt to throw the wager itself into doubt. But the girl defied Subaru’s expectations, sighing deeply as she said, “I see. Certainly, it is I who was in error. At the same time, I am amused at how my expectations have been surpassed… Very well, you have won. You may do as you please. Here you go.” After her minimal warning, she abruptly stepped forward. Without thinking, Subaru, floored at how quickly she jumped to the next step, stepped back a distance equal to the one she had advanced. 

“…Do not tell me that now it is time to feel my breasts, you have lost your nerve?” 

“Huh?! I-I seriously don’t know what you’re talking about! Who’s s-s-s-scared here?!” 

“…Truly, you are a vexing man. I suppose such bashfulness is adorable in its own way, but…” 

And there they stood, Subaru getting cold feet at the last moment versus the girl whose pride did not permit her to take back what she had offered. One advanced and the other retreated—a standoff that continued until outside forces intervened. 

Abruptly, the girl’s gaze left Subaru and focused on the entrance to the alley. 

“—Mm, it seems this will become troublesome.” 

“Er? It looks like some pretty rough-looking dudes are coming this way.” 

“And the one at the vanguard is a commoner, I recall. Goodness, these fools do not interest me even slightly.” 

“What are they thinking, coming back after hearing Reinhard’s name like that?!” 

“It would seem they have called your bluff about being acquainted with the knight among knights. It is rather easy to understand. Even they have reputations to protect, so they have returned in greater numbers for retribution.” 

“Damn it, this day is just nothing but trouble!” 

First, he had a close call back on the dragon carriage, then he had gotten on Emilia’s bad side, and now this. Today’s really not my day. 

Since the girl was just standing there, Subaru grabbed her hand and dragged her along, carrying the bag of abbles as he rushed deeper down the alley. 

She protested, “Hey, what are you doing? Do not touch me so carelessly.” 

“Now is really not the time! If you don’t wanna get all beat up before marriage, run!!” 

The girl wasn’t very motivated to run as Subaru pulled her down the beat-up alley and plunged into the darkness. The men behind them pursued with a great shout and a flurry of footsteps. 

Subaru, cursing the heavens for his truly unlucky day, kept running with a desperate expression on his face. 

5 

“If we do not hurry they will gain on us. Is this time to play around?” 

“I d-don’t wanna hear that from y… Time out, seriously, wait a…!” 

They’d been racing through run-down streets for the last five minutes, but the girl was running well ahead of him, showing no sign of losing her breath. On the other hand, Subaru, never one to hold up for long sprints, was about to collapse from exhaustion. At first, he had been in front, but his endurance issues soon switched their positions. 

“I’m convalescing, so this is really pushing it… But we’re in a pretty bad spot. Doesn’t look like many people live here… You have any ideas?” 

The other group was a fair distance behind them. However, they were in one long alley, so slowing down meant it was only a matter of time until they were caught. He’d have liked to get on a thoroughfare, but all he could see was a maze of other back streets. 

“It is not my problem! Everything I set out to do turns out well for me. I do not think deeply about things, for I do not need to. I need only trust in this fact.” 

“Yeah, well you lost at rock-paper-scissors to me earlier…” 

At least they hadn’t bumped into a dead end, but that didn’t improve their predicament. 

Right in front of the winded Subaru, the girl suddenly came to a halt. 

“—Mm, this is indeed rather vexing.” 

Subaru, still holding her hand, also stopped. He looked at her, wondering what the deal was. 

“Hey, we don’t have time to stop here. If we don’t put in as much distance as we can, they’ll catch up with…” 

“—I have lost interest.” 

“I see, you’ve lost intere… Wha—?!” 

Subaru was in utter shock at the girl’s unbelievable statement. She returned his gaze, apparently bored. 

“I said, I have lost interest. In the first place, why must I run? I shall decide what I do myself. I absolutely shall not be forced to do anything because of what lowlifes say or do.” 

“Th-that’s easier said than done, you know?! That ain’t gonna fly in a situation like th—” 

“Mm, I have decided. You shall have the honor of carrying me.” 

“No thanks!!” 

As Subaru crossed his arms in a clear sign of refusal, the girl scowled as if he was putting a damper on her mood. 

“The honor of carrying me is not for just anyone to receive. Only a man who does not know fear would reject such a thing.” 

“Do I look like a macho man that can carry someone and run?! Even when I was at full strength, it took everything I had to carry a girl with way fewer style points than you! And I’m about worn out now!” 

As Subaru used the remains of his energy in protest, the girl shot him a look of scorn, but he couldn’t use what he didn’t have. 

Her games led them to a stalemate costing them precious time. That was the thought in his head when, out of the blue, he heard an aged voice. 

“It’s been some time since I’ve seen you. What are you doing here?” 

The speaker’s large frame emerged from the darkness. Subaru lifted his gaze to a typical height for making eye contact, but found himself staring at this man’s chest. He raised his gaze even farther to his ugly, balding head. 

—A familiar and very muscular old man gazed down at Subaru and the girl. 

“Gramps is here to save the day! We can win this—!” 

“You’re quick to annoy someone who hasn’t seen you in a while. I’m leaving you here.” 

“Wait, I really need your help! It’s, like, the tenth crisis I’ve had in the last month!” 

“That’s too many!!” 

As they exchanged banter in lieu of greetings, the giant—Old Man Rom—peered at Subaru and the girl. 

“What, in more trouble, are you? Causing a ruckus with a woman? Quite the adventurer you are.” 

“Do not look at me so rudely, you filthy gnarled tree.” 

“Hey, I’m ribbing him, too, but that’s really harsh!! Don’t say that to the old man giving us a get-out-of-hell-free card! Don’t take it personally, Old Man Rom. We’ve just got a little case of excessive honesty here!” 

“You certainly are good at wearing a man down. Hurry and hide!” 

Subaru covered the girl’s mouth before she could spew insults again and rushed toward the place Rom had silently indicated. There was a pile of scrap wood there that seemed able to comfortably conceal two people. 

Subaru pushed the girl down first before squatting himself. She looked like she wanted to complain about the dust, but his hand over her mouth managed to keep her silent. 

“We’re okay on this end, Gramps!” 

“No, you’re not… I’ll hide you with my body. If they see you it’ll be trouble for me, too, so don’t move.” 

Grumbling all the way, Old Man Rom hid them completely behind his huge body. A mere ten seconds or so later, a commotion of footsteps came from a nearby alley— 

The leader of the men shouted, “The hell, I thought it was the brats, but it’s the old man! Shit!” 

Old Man Rom fielded the foul language with a serene expression. 

“What? You shouldn’t surprise your elders like this.” 

Old Man Rom hadn’t put any special invective into his sentence, but the displeasure of a giant like him carried a force all its own. The entire group shuddered, the leader included. But one of the members of the group pointed at Old Man Rom and mocked, “Hey, wait, it’s Grandpa Cromwell. Hey, should you really be talkin’ smack to us here?” 

The furrows of Old Man Rom’s wrinkled face deepened further in a bitter response. 

“I do not like being called that name.” 

“Get outta here, old man, or we’ll bust up your loot cellar and make you the laughingstock of the slums.” 

“That place has gotten incredibly dirty over the years. If you destroyed it entirely you’d be doing me a favor. So how about I do as I please?” 

“Yeah, fine. Now, Cromwell… Did you see two brats runnin’ this way?” 

“I didn’t see them. Do you know where my blond daughter is?” 

“Beats me. You picked her up off the street, so what’s the big deal? Man, goin’ senile must suck.” 

The men waved farewell, laughing derisively as they noisily left the area. Old Man Rom watched their retreating backs, biting his lip as he held back his anger. 

As Subaru watched his face through a small gap, he couldn’t help but feel bad for him. He was glad that Old Man Rom was friendly for their belated reunion, but he seemed a little different from the Rom Subaru knew. 

“Hww wong rre…” 

“Mm?” 

A whisper-like voice interrupted Subaru’s thoughts, prompting him to look to the side. Right beside him was the beautiful girl, so close they were practically breathing the same air, her mouth still covered by Subaru’s palm. 

“…you gonng to cvrr my…MOUTH?!” 

Chomp. 

“—Yipe!!” 

At the merciless bite, Subaru let out a high-pitched, puppy-like yelp that quietly echoed through the nook in the back of the alley. 

6 

“Thanks for hiding us, Old Man Rom. The last time I saw you, I thought you’d had the sense knocked right out of you, but I guess you made it through fine.” 

“…Do you want me to change my mind and call those youngins back?” 

“You sure are petty for a big guy! With me here, there’s more than enough petty for everyone!” 

Subaru grinned and shot him a thumbs-up. Old Man Rom sighed with a worn-out look. 

They’d moved from the previous narrow alley to a more open city street. Old Man Rom conversed with Subaru while guiding the pair to a place where they could blend in. 

The girl, having kept her silence until that moment, finally tugged Subaru’s sleeve in irritation. 

“Hey, you. I see you having an intimate conversation. Who is this old man? Explain it to me.” 

“This old man is the face of the royal capital’s slums. The giant’s Old Man Rom—trader for the bosses of the sticky-fingered types and all-around stingy bastard. He’s got bad eyes, loves his cute granddaughter, and he’s not nearly as tough as he looks.” 

“That is his worth after having lived a long life? I see. I pity your pathetic existence, gnarled tree.” 

“Your lady friend is an annoying little girl, isn’t she?” 

Old Man Rom was indignant at the harsh appraisal. Though Subaru’s explanation was the truth, he set that aside and gave Old Man Rom a warm smile. 

“I’m so glad I ran into you, really. Even I was getting desperate back there. I didn’t have a clue what I was gonna do.” 

Old Man Rom made a strained laugh and casually looked Subaru over. 

“…The way you switch gears so quickly really throws an old man off. Seems you managed to escape with your life back then, too…” 

His face twisted painfully as he saw the scars on Subaru’s body. 

“I may not be one to talk, but it seems that knife wielder got you pretty badly.” 

“Nah, that babe only got me in the stomach. All the other wounds are from a thing that happened after.” 

“Goodness! Something else happened to you, not even a month later?!” 

Subaru thought Old Man Rom’s loud reaction was quite sensible as he reviewed the last month—though in truth, the boy had experienced nearly twice that time. Those turbulent weeks had included the maid sisters, the demon-beast incident, and the Liliana issue. 

With Subaru keeping his mouth shut, Old Man Rom seemed to accept things all on his own, shaking his head as he brought up a separate issue. 

“—Hey, brat. Do you know where Felt went off to?” 

“…Haven’t you heard? Reinhard took her with him, or so I’m told…” 

“Reinhard…the Sword Saint? Why would the knight among knights take her with him?” 

Apparently, this news was a bolt from out of the blue. 

Subaru thought back to how things had gone down at the loot cellar, finally noticing the inconsistency. Old Man Rom was out cold before Reinhard had entered the fray. Rom and Reinhard hadn’t interacted while Subaru was conscious. 

“So, what, you just woke up in a wrecked shop without any explanation, and all you could do was wonder?” 

“It wasn’t nearly that bleak. I woke up in the guards’ garrison. I appreciated their healing me, but I let myself out right after.” 

“Ah, yeah. Not exactly a comfortable place for you, huh.” 

A criminal wouldn’t feel at ease waking up in a police hospital. Subaru couldn’t blame him for getting out of there ASAP without hearing all the fine details. 

“So that’s why you didn’t hear, huh? Okay. Anyway, let me fill you in on what happened before I blacked out, plus the little bit that apparently happened after.” 

After that preamble, Subaru acted out a dramatic retelling of the events at the loot cellar. Old Man Rom watched Subaru’s meaningless theatrics with admiration, and even the bored-looking girl leaned forward, gripped by the performance from start to finish. Subaru concluded, “She was so surprised! And then I said, ‘—I want you to…tell me your name.’” 

The girl replied, “Ho-ho, a rather fine choice of words, if I do say so myself. I must grudgingly approve.” 

Rom followed up, “Keh, you really told her… Bah, this is no time to admire! The bottom line is that you don’t know any more about Felt other than the fact the Sword Saint took her with him, do you, brat?” 

“Part of why I came here today was to do some footwork to find out exactly what happened…” 

But he’d hit a roadblock right at the heart of it, the attempt to make contact with Reinhard. 

Rom murmured to himself so faintly that Subaru did not hear. 

“But… The House of Astrea, of all things…” 

Old Man Rom had a serious expression as he lifted his face. Subaru helplessly shrugged. 

“Well, I’m gonna see if I can get ahold of Reinhard, so I’ll let you know if I hear anything. I mean, I wanted to find out if Felt was safe and sound to begin with.” 

“That’ll be a big help… You seem oddly trustworthy. Is this girl involved with this somehow?” 

“No, not a bit. I don’t even know her name.” 

“Just how many scrapes do you get into for girls whose names you don’t know?!” 

“Hey, back when I didn’t know Emilia-tan’s name, I was pretty desperate, so I don’t think anything I did was that weird.” 

Subaru’s indifferent reply made Old Man Rom rub his eyebrows in exhaustion. 

“No point thinking about it. All right, fine. I’ll rely on you, so let me know if you find out anything about Felt. If I can repay you, I will.” 

“You’re really gushing. It’s because it’s your adorable granddaughter, huh?” 

“—That’s right. She’s…like a granddaughter to me, so please.” 

Subaru’s jaw dropped at Rom’s straight-up, unashamed agreement with him. He wondered if the blond thief girl really knew how deeply he felt for her. Knowing her, he figured she’d go red in the face and try to blow it all off. 

As Subaru’s discussion with Old Man Rom wrapped up, the girl haltingly murmured, “Reinhard… To hear the name of Reinhard here, of all places…” 

She suppressed a laugh. Subaru’s relaxed expression tightened again as he turned toward her. 

“Hey, it’s not polite to eavesdrop. Don’t go listening in on other people’s business like that.” 

“I did not listen in. You two oafs simply began speaking right in front of me.—You. From the way you speak of him, it seems your claim to know the Sword Saint was not a bluff. Are you close?” 

“It’d be a bit much to say we met once and became best friends forever, but we’re on good terms, yeah.” 

Subaru owed a debt to Reinhard. He had enough of a sense of reciprocity to pay it back…even if he couldn’t exactly imagine Reinhard in a crisis that Subaru could bail him out of. 

Subaru asked his new companion, “Well, what do you know about Reinhard? You don’t seem like a fan of his.” 

“From what I have heard, he is a rather twisted person. Beyond that, I have only seen him slightly from afar.” 

The way she declared someone to be twisted without having even spoken to him suggested it was her own thinking that was twisted. But with the girl’s silence indicating she had no intention to elaborate, Subaru turned his attention back to Old Man Rom. 

“Leaving her aside, how should I get in touch with you?” 

“There’s a store called Cadmon on Market Street. Give my name to the grumpy-looking man there and he’ll get in touch with me.” 

“All right, all right. Cadmon… Cadmon?” 

As Rom explained how to get in touch, Subaru tilted his head at the familiar-sounding word. 

Either way, he’d fulfilled his promise to pay Old Man Rom a visit. That was one thing off his to-do list. To take care of the rest, first, he needed something else… 

“Incidentally, the girl and I are actually completely lost. I don’t want my adventure to end here before I can fulfill my promise, so ah, could you lead us back to the main street?” 

“Mm, all right. Leave it to me. Which street is it?” 

“Back to the garrison. Please and thank you.” 

“Didn’t you hear me tell you I escaped from that garrison?!” 

Old Man Rom’s exasperated shout filled the sky above the alleyway. 

According to that sky, he’d been separated from Emilia for nearly an hour. 

7 

The orange-haired girl gazed at the back alley indifferently and muttered, “At first, I thought the disorder of such a grimy place held promise, but now that I am accustomed to it, it has nothing to draw my eye. It is quite useless for assuaging my boredom.” 

She raised the hem of her dress and shook it, a blunt expression of her insufferable displeasure. 

“I don’t think the royal capital’s designer drew up these streets to be exciting,” Subaru remarked. 

“The world exists for my sake, so should not everything in it serve to amuse me? I have no idea what the man who approved such boring streets was thinking. Royalty should have a keenly discerning eye. Lack thereof seems to have been decidedly fatal of late.” 

Just hearing her statement set Subaru’s heart racing. His head whipped back and forth to see if anyone had overheard. 

“Th-that’s a pretty arrogant thing to say right at the king’s door, you know…” 

The girl snorted at Subaru’s caution, or rather, cowardice. 

“A dull reaction and a futile concern. It would seem that you, too, are part of the common rabble.” 

“I’m well aware I’m a one-hundred-percent common, ordinary, straight-down-the-middle guy, and I’m fine with it. I don’t want to waste any more time hanging around you, anyway. The girl who’s waiting for me will hate me.” 

“What absurdity. It is an insult for you to think about anyone besides me during the time we are together. I may be accompanied now, but I think nothing at all of walking alone.” 

“Well, you should think about it. Being with you is miserable.” 

He was the chaperone for a girl who seemed to be arrogance incarnate. Subaru’s self-pity flared up again at how he’d once again thrown himself under a bus in no time flat for the sake of someone he’d never even seen before. But he remarked to himself, “Ah, whatever…” 

They were strangers to begin with. Neither knew the other’s name. Once they reached the main street, they’d never see each other again. He wasn’t magnanimous enough to shut off his own feelings of discomfort to try to make friends with just anyone. In Subaru’s book, forcing yourself to like something you hate was among the most distasteful things around. 

That Subaru had decided this, yet had no intention of leaving the girl on her own until they’d exited to the main street, was evidence as to what kind of person he was. 

Coincidentally, Old Man Rom was not accompanying them. He abhorred going out onto the main street, so he led them to an adjacent alley before heading off. Subaru somewhat regretted the loss of his company, but… 

“—While I was thinking about all that, here we are.” 

Just ahead of a bend, he could finally see the bright, western sun over the road. Subaru beheld the uninterrupted flow of people passing to and fro, relieved that his suffering was finally at an end. 

“Now that we’re out of there, we’re total strangers again. I have to look for my cutie-pie companion, so I don’t wanna get into any more trouble, like hanging around you. I’m sure your escort has been desperate to find you, so if you stay put I’m sure you’ll meet up with him soon.” 

With the moment of their parting so close, Subaru vented out all the resentment that had built up during that time. Naturally, the girl was poised to respond, but instead, she halted and crossed her arms in silence. 

“What, nothing to say? Okay, maybe I went a little too far, but I can’t change how I feel. Things haven’t exactly gone smoothly, but if you try a little prudence now and again, I’m sure…” 

Subaru was simultaneously excusing his resentful words and lecturing her when she sneered back. 

“Mmm, I think I pity you just a little. Whether you are aware of it or not, you so thoroughly play the fool. It is no virtue. It is merely a thin shell within which you conceal your weakness. It is as repellant to the eye as your face.” 

“The first part sounded serious, but that last part was definitely making fun of my looks, wasn’t it?” 

“If you intend to maintain the game to the very end, it is no concern of mine…” 

Whatever the girl wanted to say wasn’t registering with Subaru. Consistent with her bearing and actions, she made statements without any consideration for the comprehension of others. No doubt he wouldn’t get a straight answer even if he pursued the matter further. With that in mind, Subaru gave up on speaking to the girl further. 

Or, perhaps telling himself the girl was incomprehensible was his way of avoiding the truth. But he wouldn’t receive any more answers here to begin with. After all, the instant the two exited the alley, they were greeted by a voice—Emilia’s voice. 

“—I’ve finally found you.” 

Unlike the back alley, the bright rays of the sun illuminated everything on the main street. The sunshine dazzled and burned his eyes. That radiance haloed her white robe as she looked at Subaru. 

Her elegant brows were furrowed. Her fingertips restlessly toyed with her sparkling hair. Her gloomy, violet eyes quivered as her lips loosened in slight relief. It was plain as day how much she’d worried about Subaru. 

Subaru both deeply regretted making her worry and was happy she had worried. His expression brightened at their reunion, unexpected but eagerly awaited. 

“Ah, Emili—” 

But as Emilia let out a soft sigh, he felt that something was wrong. He began to call her name but stopped when he saw someone beside her—a male someone with a burly chest. 

“Wait, wait, wait! Don’t go flirting with Emilia-tan when I’m not around!” 

Subaru dashed forward to put himself between the man and Emilia. But his glare at the silhouetted man froze in the face of a torrent of sharp words. 

“Hey, hey, lil’ missy. I think your guy here has a screw loose. Is he all right?” 

The chummy voice addressing Emilia was a bit hard to make out. That was only natural, since the speaker’s head was covered in a full-face helmet. 

The jet-black helm, meant to conceal his entire face, looked highly refined, but the headpiece alone wasn’t what made him stand out—though that description is misleading. He stood out because the helmet actually was alone. 

“More worried about an interloper than excited for your reunion? What a fascinatingly complicated sense of masculinity.” 

“Well, you’ve got pretty horrible fashion sense, don’t you?!” 

“And you’ve got quite some lip toward your seniors. I’m an easy-going old man, so I’ll let it slide, but someone else might chop your head off.” 

Subaru gaped as the man tapped a finger against the nape of his neck in obvious amusement. Yes, the bare nape of his neck, for while the man wore a pitch-black helm over his head, beneath he wore only a shabby mantle and an open linen vest-and-shorts combo that made him look like some bandit. His “shoes” were sandals with split-toe socks. Behind his waist, he carried a handsome sword with a fat blade resembling a Chinese crescent sword. Everything clashed with everything else. 

Subaru’s tracksuit was no less out of place, but the man’s attire was surely the greater offense to common sense. Subaru tentatively asked Emilia his burning question. 

“Emilia-tan, don’t tell me this guy’s outfit passes for normal here in the capital?” 

“Don’t worry, Subaru. I’m as shocked by what he’s wearing as you are.” 

The man erupted into laugher and promptly divulged what he was doing with Emilia in the first place. 

“Oh yeah, she was really shocked. It was so cute. I said I was looking for someone, and I was pretty surprised when she said she’d come along, though.” 

Subaru put a hand on Emilia’s shoulder and stared at where the man’s eyes probably were. 

“Emilia-tan’s kind-heartedness is a real virtue, but you still have to pick who you help. Why do you think a poisonous mushroom looks so bad? It’s saying, ‘I’m poisonous. Danger. Eat me and you’ll die.’ That’s to stop damage before it happens.” 

The man replied, “You’re making it sound like I’m a dangerous guy. That’s horrible.” 

“Back where I come from, one look at you and they’d bring all the local school kids together and tell them about kidnappers.” 

Subaru blew off the man’s flippant comment and returned to Emilia. 

“Anyway, Emilia-tan, like I’m always telling you—watch out for men and cars. Men are wolves, so you can’t show them that defenseless, adorable, smiling face… Are you upset?” 

“No, I’m just thinking that sounds more like something I’ve said to you than something you’ve said to me, Subaru. No offense.” 

Subaru was tempted to cover his face, regretting that his slip of the tongue had only heaped more trouble onto him. But the coming lecture was mercifully interrupted by an outside party. The orange-haired girl stepped forward and pompously declared, “Mmm. How perceptive of you to wait for me at my destination. Your loyalty is admirable, Al.” 

Her words made the man—Al—laugh out loud. 

“…To be honest, I want to say it was dumb luck I happened to be here, but that’ll just put you in a bad mood. I agree with you, Princess. Yep, it’s just like you said!” He stood beside the girl and ruffled her orange hair with the palm of his hand. “Apparently, by sheer coincidence, the person the lady here was looking for and the person I was looking for were together. Maybe you could call it fate?” 

“So it’s like the saying, even chance meetings are the result of karma? No thanks, I don’t want any threads of fate except red ones with Emilia-tan.” 

There was a momentary pause before Al’s reply. 

“—This guy’s got quite a mouth on him.” 

But Al’s laughter and the light wave of his hand wiped Subaru’s doubts away. All his actions had been with his right hand the entire time—for the man didn’t have a left hand. 

So the man had one arm, a pitch-black helmet, and a haphazard threadbare outfit. Judging from his tone of voice and his appearance below the neck, he was probably a bit more than twice Subaru’s age. In spite of that, he didn’t come off much like Subaru’s senior, sporting an attitude as light as his clothes. 

To put it kindly, he was easy to get along with. To put it rudely, he was an adult that needed to pull himself together. 

Subaru commented, “With Puck there as your guardian, I’m wondering why he let you go around with this guy…” 

Puck replied to Subaru’s question telepathically. 

“Lia spotted him looking in garbage bins on the side of the street as soon as she stepped out of the garrison. Her meddling happens at lightning speed, so I didn’t have any time to stop it.” 

“Oh, come on…” 

Subaru’s reply couldn’t hide his exhaustion. True, Emilia’s soft-hearted nature was nothing new, but Al looking for his traveling companion in trash bins was completely off the rails. 

He wondered if the man had put any funny ideas in her head while they’d been alone. Subaru gave Emilia a look of concern when he realized that… 

“—?” 

…without a word, Emilia had slipped behind Subaru’s back as if to avoid the eyes of other people. She pulled down her hood to hide her face again, keeping her voice quiet as if that would erase her presence. 

Subaru dubiously raised his eyebrows and looked toward the orange-haired girl who seemed the cause of Emilia’s misgivings. 

“What, staring at me?” the girl said. “Drinking in the beauty you will dearly miss once I depart? Certainly, it is cruel that my beauty is so divine, but it is rude to stare in silence.” 

“Sorry, my eyes are in perfect shape… Everyone found who they were looking for, so how about we break this up?” 

Subaru gave the girl—the one Emilia seemed to be hiding from—a dismissive reply as he directed the spotlight away from her and toward Al. He didn’t know why, but Emilia seemed averse to the attention. 

So Subaru did what he felt would serve her best. 

Al replied, “Well, that’s all fine… The decision to shift the talk to me instead of Princess included.” 

“…I sympathize with you more than a bit… No, a lot.” 

Al shrugged at Subaru’s rather earnest words and looked down at the girl. 

“An adult with a broad mind can put up with a lot without gettin’ sick of it. Even a proud cat that’s never been housebroken. Maybe I’ve just gotten old enough to find it adorable.” 

Subaru couldn’t see his eyes through the helmet, but he sounded like a father figure protecting his beloved daughter. 

They get along pretty decently, huh, thought Subaru vaguely in his mind. He added out loud, “Well, we’re gonna head this way… How about you?” 

The girl replied, “Then I shall go that way as well.” 

“…Then, we’re gonna head the other way.” 

“Then I shall go the other way as…” 

“Oh, good grief. Are you stalking me?! What, did you fall in love with me or something?!” 

“I imagine that is a joke, and a petty one at that. Lackluster men die in lackluster ways, you know.” 

With great pomp and ceremony, the girl, dispassionate to the bitter end, departed with her companion. Her hesitant steps proclaimed that even though she wanted them to part ways, she found it unamusing to do so. 

So with all the invective remaining in him, Subaru said to the departing girl, “Hey, arrogant chick, take this.” 

“What an insolent tongue to direct at me. With one command, Al could take that head off your—” 

As the girl turned around with some very menacing words on her lips, her red eyes widened. Her hands stretched and caught the pair of abbles lazily arcing toward her. 

“Take ’em. These are bonding abbles. In the end I may have won the bet, but the winner has the right to show mercy like a noble warrior. Take care not to wander into bad guys like that from now on, okay?” 

“I will have you know I did not become involved with those men by acting like some foolish child.” 

“…Incidentally, why did you get involved with them?” 

“When I asked them if it was not inexcusable that they should live with such impoverished faces and attire, they became agitated.” 

“You’re the one in the wrong there!!” 

Subaru sympathized with Dumb, Dumber, and Dumbest all over again and turned his back to the girl, pulling Emilia along by her arm. The small measure of payback gave him some satisfaction. 

Emilia kept her head down as she went along with him. As they quickly departed, they heard one final muffled shout from the street behind them, filled with apparently genuine gratitude. 

“—Lil’ missy, thanks for comin’ with me on my search!” 

8 

“Hey, Emilia-tan, they’re gone now, so why don’t we talk finally?” Subaru asked. 

Parting ways with the arrogant girl and her guardian, Subaru and Emilia walked together for a while before stopping. 

He was worried that something he’d said had brought about Emilia’s sudden change in behavior. After a brief silence, Emilia lifted up her face and, just as Subaru expected, the subject was the girl she’d attempted to hide from. 

“Subaru.—About that girl from earlier… She… Where did… Why were you…?” 

“Ehh, Emilia-tan! What, are you jealous? We’re at the point where you’re just burning with envy?” 

“—Subaru.” 

With one word, Emilia cut off Subaru’s typically glib reply. She had a solemn expression, and the tension in her cheeks told even Subaru that bad jokes weren’t going to cut it. 

“Err? Emilia-tan, what’s with the really serious look…?” 

“Please, Subaru, don’t make light of this. Why were you with that girl…?” 

Emilia seemed to want to hear something from Subaru. It threw him off, but he sank into thought to try to give her the earnest reply she sought. But just as Subaru focused properly about things for once…his efforts were for naught as an angry, rough, and coarse shout interrupted their conversation. 

“Finally found ya! You’re a lot of trouble, damn it!!” 

At the voice, Subaru scanned the area, aghast. Roughnecks were on both sides, blocking the street to prevent their escape. Dumb of Dumb, Dumber, and Dumbest stood at the vanguard of the men, glaring at Subaru. 

“I’ve been lookin’ for you and the woman to pay you back for makin’ fun of me before.” 

Subaru replied, “…So you brought all your friends for payback over a war of words? No matter how much you resent an insult, a man with a spine wipes his own butt… That’s what I…always believed in…!” 

“Hey, don’t try to make me feel bad! What do you know about me, anyway?!” 

Subaru listened to Dumb’s abuse, complete with spittle flying, as he quietly looked around. There were fifteen or sixteen men blocking the street. He couldn’t exactly expect Reinhard to bail him out of this one. 

“Meaning, it’s pathetic, but the best thing I can do is rely on Emilia-tan and Puck, so…!” 

Puck telepathically praised Subaru’s quick turn to the aid of others. 

“It really is pathetic, but I think it’s commendable you accept your helplessness so quickly.” 

Subaru felt sorry for Dumb and company, but Puck the Great Spirit could take on street thugs regardless of their numbers. It’d be WinterFest in Lugunica’s summer. 

But before Subaru could shout, “Take it from here, maestro!” and yield the path like a villain in a historical play, a telepathic thought rich in meaning arrived from Puck. 

“You have quite a disturbing image in your mind there… But apparently I’m not needed.” 

Faster than Subaru could ask what he meant, a rather scary statement came from overhead, heralding the descent of a certain blue-haired maid. 

“—I came here tracking Subaru’s scent. What kind of disturbance is this?” 

Tumbling end over end as she descended, Rem held down the hem of her skirt and landed with a boom. She brushed the dust from her sleeves as everyone gawked at her. 

Rem made an adorable little tilt of her head. 

“So, Subaru. Do you have something you wish to say to me?” 

Subaru pointed at her feet and voiced his question. 

“Let me start with, err… He’s ah, not dead, is he?” 

Rem lowered her gaze. Underneath lay Dumb, smashed to the ground the moment she landed. 

Head buried in the city street, the hoodlum said one last thing before he ceased to move altogether. 

“Not another…maid…” 

Rem slowly nodded. 

“He is breathing.” 

“It’s all good, then!! That’s Rem for you, the all-purpose maid everyone wants in their time of need!” 

“Oh no… Saying how you can do nothing without me, you are making me blush.” 

Subaru and Rem engaged in their daily routine, even as Rem’s violence had the thugs reeling. Subaru’s praised made Rem’s cheeks go red as she demurred. In the meantime, the men gradually regained their bearings. 

“D-don’t toy with us here! You really think you’re gettin’ out of this alive…?” 

Rem’s voice lowered as she switched to her emotionless Work Mode. 

“I judge that these men are threatening Subaru and Lady Emilia’s safety.” 

The hooligans faltered at the change. Subaru felt a pang of pity for them while raising a finger to Rem. 

“Rem.” 

“Yes?” 

“Don’t kill them, okay?” 

“You are as kind as ever, Subaru—I shall half-kill them, then.” 

In a miraculous combination of equal parts violence and loveliness, Rem leaped into the mob. 

Some lunged at her only to be thrashed. Others turned tail and ran. Others still squatted down and cowered, unable to grasp what was going on—Rem heaped punishment upon them all impartially. 

Subaru gawked at the sight of people flying through the air like they weighed nothing. 

“Whoa, that’s amazing.” 

The impending end of the strife before his eyes filled Subaru’s head with tranquility, as if he were removed from the uproar. He never even noticed the violet eyes staring at him, nor the pleading murmur that accompanied them. 

“—Subaru.” 

9 

“So that’s why we’re gonna rough you up a little. Just a little, wee bit,” said a thug to the girl. 

The men blocking off the road and laughing lewdly included Dumber and Dumbest. Their group, separate from Dumb’s, had surrounded the girl and her companion. They didn’t need to put into words exactly what kind of payback they had in mind after capturing her. The vulgar lust in their eyes said it all. 

But the girl paid the men around her no heed as she brought the slice of abble to her lips. 

“…Mm, bittersweet. It is indeed an abble on the inside. I am forced to conclude that the clown from earlier did not simply dye them red as some kind of joke. So abbles are indeed this color? I am shocked.” 

Al replied, “Hey, ah, Princess, you seeing what’s happening here?” 

“Whatever you wish to say, speak it clearly. I dislike all this indirectness.” 

“Fine, I’ll come right out and say it.—There’s two abbles, so ain’t one of ’em mine?” 

“Ha! How absurd. Now hear this, I caught both abbles that the clown tossed. Consequently, both are mine.” 

“It’s common sense that if you have two of something and two people, each of ’em takes one.” 

The disregard of both master and servant drove the ruffians’ anger to its limit. With clear malice, each one drew his blade as they began to tighten the circle. 

Al asked her, “So, Princess. What about what the world around you wants?” 

“My choice is the world’s choice. You should bear that in mind, Al.” 

“I try.” 

The girl nodded with satisfaction at Al’s words and resumed nibbling on her abble. Her cheeks relaxed at the bittersweet taste, bringing an angelic smile over her beautiful face. And as if ripping off an insect’s wings with cherubic innocence, she stated matter-of-factly, “I am now in a very good mood.—Consequently, you may spare their lives.” 

Hearing those words, Al put his hand on the handle of the large sword sheathed horizontally behind his hip. There was a slow shing—the sound of a blade being drawn from its sheath. With that as background music, he stated, “—Aye-aye, ma’am.” 

The smile under the pitch-black helmet was vivid and fierce.