— The dragon carriage advanced down the highway with a faint, dry creak.
Shielded by a divine blessing, the carriage barely transmitted any vibration or wind to its passengers. Subaru let himself sink into that quiet, and it occurred to him that this might actually be the first time he'd ridden a dragon carriage so calmly.
If he had to pick, the first time he'd ever ridden one — when he'd gone from Roswaal's estate to the royal capital — should have been the most relaxed in terms of how he felt. But he'd ended up turning that trip into an increasingly dire situation all on his own midway through, so there'd been no room to enjoy the scenery. You could even say that bad experience was the reason he'd managed to get through certain things later, so it wasn't purely negative.
After that, every subsequent ride had been from the capital back toward Roswaal's domain, and the reason was always related to the
Or at least, it should have been— "Hey, Petra… aren't you a little close?"
"Not at all! Is something wrong, Subaru?"
The girl looking up at Subaru with her round eyes, reddish-brown hair swaying — that was Petra. She'd taken the seat to his left and had been clinging to his hand, snuggling up against him, ever since they'd set out.
At first he'd thought she must have been frightened, but now she'd been smiling and holding his hand the whole time, and honestly— "I'm getting paternal instincts. A fatherly love I shouldn't even possess is bubbling up inside me right now…!"
"You were hogged by big sis all the way here until just a while ago, so this is only fair. Besides, we were told there's still plenty of time before we reach the capital."
"Petra. What happened earlier was — well, it wasn't like that. Look, Subaru and I had a super important matter to discuss. It's not like I was trying to keep him all to myself or anything."
"Bleh. I will never, ever lose to big sis."
Petra's little declaration only flustered
"Emilia-tan, don't take it too seriously. She's a kid, y'know? You just gotta laugh it off with a smile and let it roll right by you."
"I can't just brush it off with some cheap trick just because she's a child."
"I dunno what 'cheap trick' even means…"
"Hmph, there you go being dismissive again."
Emilia pouted, looking displeased, and Subaru apologized with a quick "Sorry, sorry" while laughing. But then Petra, who'd been watching that exchange, tugged on his sleeve with a dissatisfied look — so now he had to deal with her too.
Flanked by two beautiful girls on either side, Subaru was enjoying quite the rare development. One was in a state of withheld romantic confession, and the other had him on a three-year waiting plan. Still.
— Right now, Subaru and the others were inside a dragon carriage heading toward the royal capital along the Lifaus Highway.
Not the same carriage that had been rigged with magic ore — this was a different one, driven by a young man from the Youth Brigade, and it carried Subaru, Emilia, and the children.
At first, the people around them had been considerately trying to give Subaru and Emilia some time alone, but Petra had energetically barged in and derailed those plans.
Subaru had been about to complain about having his moment interrupted, but as it turned out, Petra's interruption was actually quite the lifeline.
After all, considering the embarrassingly bold statements he'd made not long ago — he'd put on a cool front and told Emilia he'd "wait" for her answer, but the fire kindled by his feelings of love was already burning out of control, and that sense of accomplishment at having resolved the situation only made it worse.
He might well have ended up shamelessly requesting even more than a lap pillow as advance payment.
"Man, I was in serious trouble there. Putting on that cool an act and still not getting a definite answer is just absurd."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm saying Petra saved my bacon. Oh, and hey — you kept your promise not to leave Emilia-tan alone, didn't you? Good girl, good girl~"
"Hehehe~"
Subaru gently stroked the girl's hair as she looked up at him, expressing his double layer of gratitude.
If she and the other children had left Emilia's side, Emilia might have pushed herself too hard and gotten hurt again. That hadn't happened, and Subaru's efforts were bearing fruit — all thanks to the people around him, Petra and the others included.
He truly was blessed by those around him. Blessed beyond measure.
"Once things settle down, there are going to be way too many people I need to thank…"
The Crusch camp, for starters: Crusch herself,
Deceiving them didn't sit right, but when he considered the good fortune of having come through it all alive, he figured he could turn a blind eye to that small matter. Sorry about that.
"There are a mountain of things I need to think through, huh…"
First, a thorough interrogation of Roswaal regarding the current mess was a must. Beyond that, he'd need a meeting with Crusch and Anastasia to discuss how to share the credit from subjugating the
He didn't have much of a taste for personal glory, but if even a sliver of renown could come his way — to Emilia's camp — that would surely benefit her too. Even if people thought him presumptuous, he intended to go after it aggressively.
Once all those matters were sorted, there would still be the village to protect and clean up after. The road ahead was fraught with difficulty. — And before any of that, there was one mountain Subaru had to climb.
"Ah, Emilia-tan… there's something, um, really important I need to talk to you about."
"Hm? What is it?"
Emilia, who'd been running her fingers through her silver hair, slowly turned to face Subaru. Strong trust floated in her deep purple-blue eyes, and every time he saw that light, he was reminded that his actions had borne fruit. But when he thought about what the words he was about to say might do to that gaze, the honest truth was that he was afraid.
The unavoidable issue Subaru had to raise with Emilia — naturally, it was about
If he were going to talk about gratitude, no one in this loop had supported him as devotedly as Rem had.
Her deep love and selfless devotion had gently mended Subaru's once-broken heart, set him back on his feet, and rekindled the will to fight against fate.
Without that time with her, Subaru would never have been standing here today. And without her presence, he could never have escaped the hell of giving up.
The person who had stayed by his side and held him up through the worst period of pain and misery — that was Rem.
What was so strange about Subaru harboring deep love for someone who had done all that for him?
Until now, Subaru had always believed that one's feelings were meant to be devoted to a single person, and one person only. And indeed, the girl he had feelings for in this world had been none other than Emilia — the only one.
But Rem's existence had become something just as vast, remaining in Subaru's heart without changing his love for Emilia in the slightest.
So Subaru had made his decision clearly. It might look shameless, like he was just rationalizing, but since he couldn't give up on either of his feelings— — He would try to have them both, Emilia and Rem.
And Rem had already granted him permission for that outrageous idea. The only remaining issue was persuading Emilia, and Rem had told him they would tackle that together — but.
"Relying on Rem this much is way too pathetic, even by my worst standards."
He would still create an opportunity for Rem to join the conversation, but the responsibility of raising the subject first fell on Subaru. He was scheming to win the love of two girls, after all — the least he could do was clear that hurdle.
He took a breath, felt his heart pounding, and chose his words. He forced his wavering gaze forward, toward Emilia. She was staring right at him. Incredibly cute.
"There's something really, really hard for me to say, but I need you to listen. Of course, I know I'll have to tell her older sister eventually too… but first, I wanted to tell Emilia-tan."
"…Hm?"
Subaru hemmed and hawed, adding unnecessary preamble, and Emilia looked puzzled. Frustrated with his own weakness in trying to put it off, Subaru racked his brain desperately.
More intensely than ever before — the hardest his mind had worked in days. His synapses were heating up enough to spark, and he needed to find the perfect answer—!
"So, it's about Rem. Rem, um, she… y'know, you can kinda tell, right? She likes me. And I know it's pretty bold of me to bring this up after she confessed and all, but—"
Sweat beaded on his forehead as Subaru pushed through desperately. He'd already veered into what sounded like an excuse, but he figured Emilia was sharp enough to understand from just this much.
Then, in front of the perspiring Subaru, Emilia raised a hand.
"Subaru, calm down. You're not making any sense anymore, and I can tell you're trying really, really hard, so… okay? Be a good boy and take it slow."
"'Be a good boy' — that's somehow a hurtful evaluation! No, no, I need to be more manly. Ah, okay, I'm just gonna say it straight. The thing is, Rem has told me she likes me too, so if Emilia-tan ever comes to like me, then… both of you, together — become mine, or—?!"
He blurted out his two-timing declaration in a rush.
Looking back on what he'd just said, even he himself was pretty taken aback. Of course, Emilia's reaction would likely be something similar — or maybe disappointment would cloud her eyes and she'd look at him with contempt. Beneath that pessimistic imagining, Subaru glanced at her nervously, and— "———"
Emilia's reaction was nothing like what he'd imagined.
She furrowed her brows at his words, pressed a finger thoughtfully to her lips, and fell silent. Perhaps she was weighing what he'd just said, picturing the appropriate punishment for a man like Subaru — and this was no longer a mood where jokes could lighten the气氛.
"Subaru."
"Yes?"
Hearing his name called, Subaru looked straight at Emilia.
She, too, met his resolute gaze head-on. But hers was tinged with confusion, and having that reaction was something Subaru couldn't understand.
And then, her next words were truly beyond his comprehension— "— Who is Rem?"