Suddenly, when Emilia came to visit, Subaru found his heart inexplicably fluttering.

Her surprisingly active outfit was a refreshing and delightful surprise, but more than that, he was just happy that she was here.

Having faced all sorts of unknown humans, especially after being put through a horrible ordeal by the first one, Emilia—who was the first to treat him kindly after his summoning—held a special place in his heart.

“This feeling is like an imprint. I don’t want to be apart from you, Mom!”

“I heard that Beatrice played a prank because your blood was low, so I was a little worried… but it seems that was a waste of concern.”

“The way I wake up is just how I’ve always been! But… asking you feels a bit scary…”

With Emilia looking puzzled, Subaru hesitantly put his index fingers together and shyly asked from below.

“Umm… Do you remember me?”

“That gesture is really annoying. And it’s such a strange question. I think someone as memorable as Subaru wouldn’t be so easily forgotten.”

As she gently called his name with a slight smile, Subaru’s shoulders relaxed. Moreover, being called by just his first name by a girl made him blush more than usual, turning his ears bright red.

Setting aside that slightly innocent attitude from Subaru, the twins, who had been chasing Emilia, rushed over to her side. They both circled around Emilia to peek at Subaru from either side, saying,

“Please listen, Emilia-sama. My sister was terribly humiliated by that guy.”

“Please listen, Emilia-sama. I was imprisoned and violated by that guy, Rem.”

“Such childish antics… If it were Subaru, I could see him doing that, but he could never pull something like this off. Ram, Rem, don’t play too much with someone who’s just recovering.”

“Yes, Emilia-sama. My sister is reflecting on her actions.”

“Yes, Emilia-sama. I think Rem has also reflected on her actions.”

Ram and Rem declared an insincere-seeming reflection when called by name. Perhaps used to their attitude, Emilia only glanced at Subaru without much concern.

“So, how’s your body feeling? Anything strange going on?”

“Hmm, oh yeah, I thought I might die from feeling like my whole body was burned before sleeping, but I don’t feel that at all now. If anything, I just feel a bit lazy from oversleeping.”

“Right. It’s been almost a day since I met Subaru, and you’ve spent most of that time sleeping.”

“Isn’t that way off?” Subaru was about to argue but choked on his words, recalling the timeline.

From his perspective, the time spent just getting through yesterday probably exceeded twenty-four hours. To her, their encounter must have lasted less than an hour, and they certainly hadn’t exchanged many words.

It wasn’t the time to be satisfied with getting good sleep. He should have been engaging in a conversation event with her.

“Sleeping too much is something to think about… Plus, waking up in the morning really is unusual for me.”

“What kind of lifestyle leads to that…?”

“Well, at night, there are fewer distractions, so I get to game easily, right? Honestly, when I stay cooped up, daytime becomes solid sleep time.”

“Listening to that just makes it sound more sad, Subaru.”

Despite probably not understanding most of what he meant, Emilia showed clear exasperation with a sigh, grasping the essence of his words.

As he absorbed her delightful reactions, Subaru shifted the topic to her casual outfit.

“Speaking of which, you look completely different! What were you doing?”

“Ah, don’t bring up my clothes too much. I don’t want to wear this either… As for what I was doing, I was about to head out for my morning routine.”

Emilia pressed her forehead and spoke vaguely, but Subaru was more curious about something else.

“Morning routine?”

“I borrow the garden from the mansion and talk to the spirits a little in the morning. It’s one of my oaths.”

“Talking to spirits? How fantastically whimsical. I don’t really get the oath thing, though…”

When he heard “spirits,” the first thing that came to Subaru’s mind was the gray-furred cat.

He realized he was looking forward to reuniting with it, even if he hadn’t encountered it much in this world—mainly for the fluff replenishment.

Unknowingly, Subaru started moving his hands excitedly. Emilia quickly shifted her attention away from his odd behavior.

“Well, it’s good you’re feeling better, but since many are still sleeping, don’t make too much noise. It’s a bit harsh to tell Subaru, who just woke from a long sleep, to be quiet.”

“Right. Oh, since you mentioned the garden, is it somewhat spacious?”

“More like a garden than a garden. What about it?”

“Eh, well, if it’s okay with you, while you’re chatting with the spirits in the garden, as long as it doesn’t bother you, I could be in a corner doing something…”

“As long as you don’t scream or anything, it should be fine… Huh? What did you just say?”

“Alright, count me in! I’m going too!”

“Hey, what did you say? What’s ‘tan’? Where did that come from?”

As Emilia, flustered, pressed for an explanation, Subaru adopted a mischievous attitude as he turned to Ram and Rem.

“Hey, maid sisters. Do you know where my clothes went? They’ve somehow turned into a hospital gown, and I think you’re keeping them here.”

He hadn’t mentioned it before, but Subaru was now wearing something like a reddish-brown light fabric yukata. While it was a bit rough to be called a hospital gown, it was actually cool and comfortable.

“Still, for moving around, nothing beats tracksuits. So I wonder if you have any? They might have gotten ruined by blood or something…”

“Do you mean, sister? Could it be that filthy grayish fabric piece?”

“I get it, Rem. It must be that blood-stained mouse-colored rag.”

“You guys are really bold… It’s that filthy rag. If it’s still intact, please bring it here.”

The twins looked to Emilia as if seeking permission. Emilia signaled indifferently, and they nodded before leaving the room quickly.

“Are you really feeling okay? That was a pretty deep wound from what I could see.”

“It’s all perfectly healed now. Besides, I don’t want to let my body get lazy. I’ve already slacked off on exercise for a day; it’ll take three days to make up for it!”

Oh, speaking of that. Remembering this, Subaru straightened up and faced Emilia. She looking puzzled at his behavior, but Subaru bowed his head to her.

“Emilia, you were the one who treated my wounds, right? Thank you, that really helped. Dying is terrifying, really. I only want that once.”

“Normally, I’d expect people to only go through that once… Wait, no, that’s not it.”

After a typical retort, Emilia shook her head slightly.

Then, with a serious gaze—her purple-blue eyes locked onto Subaru’s. He instinctively fell silent, captivated by her gleam.

“Actually, I should be the one thanking you. You risked your life to save me in a place where I barely knew you. Treating your wounds is the least I can do.”

Seeing her sincerity, Subaru could only let out an involuntary “Ah.”

Now he regretted not being able to give her a decent reply. It felt impossible to face her without deflecting using humor.

It would have been easy to say “that’s not true” to her gratitude. After all, it was her who saved him first, a fact that was fading away in his mind.

“Well then, how about we call it even and help each other out?”

“Even…?”

“No debts between us! In that case, let’s be friends, bro!”

If he were talking to someone from the Poor District, he could casually throw an arm around their shoulder here, but Subaru could only make up for his embarrassment with bravado.

In response to Subaru’s bravado, Emilia chuckled softly.

“I don’t think I want such a weird little brother.”

“Wow, that’s quite a harsh comment!?”

And being casually treated as younger made him feel let down. Since he didn’t show any reliable traits, he could only sigh at his situation.

“I’ve brought it for you, dear customer!”

“I brought it for you, dear customer!”

In the midst of all this, the twins returned with tracksuits—pink for the top and light blue for the bottom. Luckily, it seemed that the bloodstains were long gone after washing.

Seeing the unchanged return of the tracksuit brought relief to Subaru. However, the twins quickly rushed in to help him change.

“Hey, hey! No, it’s fine, I can do it myself! I’m actually a bit happy, though!”

“Well, the truth is that pleasure outweighs humiliation, isn’t that right, sister?”

“Oh my, isn’t it so perverted that happiness wins over humiliation, Rem?”

“Isn’t the pink-haired one a bit more foul-mouthed? Just let me change, HA-NA-SE!”

Waving off the twins’ hands as they grabbed at him, Subaru reclaimed his tracksuit.

As he was about to change eagerly, he suddenly realized something.

“By the way, are you the one who changed me into this outfit?”

“That would be me. Since Ram and Rem were out, I had to change you while I was treating you. Oh, I also wiped your body down lightly.”

Emilia said nonchalantly, without a hint of hesitation.

Subaru stealthily glanced down to see that even his underwear had been changed. His face fell into his hands as he collapsed on the spot.

“I can never get married now…”

“If the genders were reversed, that’d be a totally acceptable statement… We need to hurry if we’re going, so let’s go!”

Emilia casually thumped Subaru on the shoulder.

Her carefree manner made him forget about pursuing the subject further; it seemed like digging deeper would just land him in a hole.

Having been changed by a beautiful girl and seen entirely, he could think of it as a reward in its own way. Positive thinking, right?

Wiping away his tears in his heart, Subaru stood up on his own.

Giving a glance at his clothes, the women hurriedly noticed his intent to change and scurried out of the room.

The twins left first, and Emilia’s silver hair was blocked by the door just before disappearing. Just as her figure was about to vanish, she glanced back one last time, her white profile catching Subaru’s eye.

“Don’t worry. You were amazing.”

With that, the door clicked shut.

Left in the room, Subaru finally changed clothes. Though the yukata-like attire was slightly complicated, he eventually managed to finish changing.

Neatly folding the yukata, he placed it on the bed. After verifying the feel of his tracksuit, he stretched with a satisfied “Hmm” as he prepared himself.

“Well then…”

Swinging his waist to crack his joints, Subaru turned towards the window.

Outside, with the curtains lightly drawn, he could see the morning sun starting to rise, blessing the still-early world. Squinting against the warm sunlight, Subaru then walked over to the bed and collapsed onto it.

“I can never get married…”

Pressing his face into the pillow, Subaru cried out as a boy for the first time.

That last attempt to console him hurt the most. He felt as if he might die. He wished he could just die and start over.

But even if his heart pained him, dying wasn’t an option, and for a while, Subaru continued to cry unashamedly like a child.

 

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