“By the way, how has Subaru been doing since then?”

It was night— the sun had already sunk beyond the western horizon, and a crescent moon hung loosely in the sky when this secretive report was held.

The room was spacious. In the center were a long sofa and a table to welcome guests, and at the back was the ebony desk and leather chair reserved for the master of the room.

Scattered over the ebony desk were documents and a quill, and nearby sat a steaming cup releasing a faint, inviting aroma.

At first glance, it could be unmistakably identified as an office, located at the central upper floor of the mansion.

Sitting in the leather chair, the first question came from a gentle-looking man with long indigo hair and mismatched eyes of blue and yellow—Roswaal.

His inquiry was whispered softly, yet it reached the other person perfectly, as they were seated closely enough to him—sitting sideways on his lap was a small-bodied figure.

“It’s been five days since that big fuss—no, four and a half days, right? Shouldn’t we be starting to see some results by now?”

“Well, yes… it’s completely hopeless.”

Whispered into his ear, with pink hair being gently stroked, was Ram. In the room were only Roswaal and Ram, and the appearance of her twin sister, Rem, was conspicuously absent.

This was simply because, rather than Rem, it was Ram who held the position of Subaru’s tutor.

With the clear disappointment of this teaching arrangement, Roswaal blinked, soon breaking into laughter, nearly choking.

“Ah, I see, completely hopeless, huh?”

“Balus really can’t do anything. He’s bad at cooking, terrible at cleaning, and if I try to have him do laundry, he breathes heavily. I can’t trust him with anything.”

“That’s quite a serious issue for a servant, especially the last part.”

I suppose it’s understandable for his age, Roswaal thought with a wry smile, as he looked up at Ram again, reflecting on the past four days. Each vivid recollection of that short but intense time distorted her elegant features into a cold mask.

“It’s rare to see you making that face. Is he really that bad?”

“Totally awful. It’s not that he’s inept; he just seems completely ignorant. I can only assume he was raised in an extremely good environment. However, even with that upbringing, he lacks basic education.”

“Ah, I heard a little about it. I hear he bombarded you with questions?”

“The content of those questions was baffling, so I’m not sure how to handle it.”

Raising his eyebrows, Roswaal listened as Ram recounted some of the questions Subaru had thrown at her. As each was carefully examined by Roswaal, he rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.

“Indeed, what Lady Emilia likes is quite the mystery.”

“Roswaal-sama, Roswaal-sama. That theatrics resembles Balus.”

“Hmm, now that’s a predicament. I never thought I’d be upstaged in the realm of quirks and eccentricities… How frustrating!”

While the master knit his brows in serious contemplation, Ram let out a sigh without him noticing. She shifted her position in his arms, burying herself deeper against him.

As she wrapped herself more closely around Roswaal, she shut her eyes, savoring the warmth as his large hand gently caressed her pink hair.

“So, Ram, the key question:—How about the possibility of him being a spy?”

The tone of his voice remained unchanged, and Roswaal maintained his smile while he asked. It was an open-ended question, but they both knew what answer he sought.

Still with her eyes closed, she envisioned a different man’s face, distinct from the warmth she felt right now.

“I can’t deny the possibility, but I believe his gaze is quite weak.”

“Hmm, what do you mean?”

“Good or bad… rather, it stands out too much, especially in a negative way. The way he managed to infiltrate our home and how he behaved… to begin with, he himself…”

Though stumbling over her words, her responses came bluntly.

While it was a statement that denied the inquiry, Roswaal held a satisfied smile upon hearing her response, looking as if he had hit the nail on the head. Though she wasn’t directly the recipient of that smile, Ram still felt her cheeks heating up.

“I see. So, he really is a well-intentioned outsider.”

As he said this, Roswaal shifted in his chair, turning his body to face away from the desk, right towards the large window where the moonlight glittered brightly.

His mismatched eyes narrowed, gazing at the scene below as he let out a slight smile.

“Yet, he doesn’t seem to back down easily.”

From the office window, they could see the garden, which lay within the mansion’s grounds. Surrounded by a slightly taller fence and trees, it was not visible from outside but could be surveyed well from the mansion’s windows.

In the garden, illuminated abundantly by the moonlight, a silver-haired girl and a black-haired boy were seen chatting.

As always, it seemed the boy was doing most of the talking, yet the girl didn’t appear to express any displeasure towards him.

“How heartwarming. I can no longer summon such passion.”

“It’s nice when a girl chases after you like that.”

Perhaps intending this as a soliloquy, Ram responded to the words spoken by Roswaal.

Bringing her focus back to the moment, she noticed the master was looking down at her closely.

She slightly trembled her lips and locked gazes with those mismatched eyes full of curiosity.

“Could it be that you actually have a higher opinion of Subaru-kun?”

“…Not at all, but I don’t think he’s bad. He’s not terrible at work; he simply doesn’t know anything yet.”

Ram’s eyes held discomfort. Roswaal chuckled ambiguously at her slightly cold response, tenderly stroking her cheek with the hand that was once used to comb her hair.

As one would do in an intoxicated stupor, Ram closed her eyes in response to the warm tenderness of Roswaal’s gesture.

Such moments where Ram rated others were rare.

Implying that if given the opportunity to learn more, he would surely grow, she seemed particularly fond of the black-haired boy.

The fact that he had made a favorable impression left Roswaal feeling quite content.

“While I should probably intervene as your master…”

Gazing down at the garden through his yellow eyes, Roswaal muttered.

“After all, they’re both just kids, not much will happen if we leave them be.”

“That’s true.”

A faint laugh overlapped within the office as the curtains that had looked over the joyful meeting of the boy and girl were drawn shut.

—The subsequent happenings within the office would not even afford a glimpse of the moon.

※※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

At the hour when the moon proudly settled in the center of the sky, Subaru was gathering his determination.

He straightened out the wrinkles in his butler’s uniform, checking his appearance in the window reflection. He was heading into the fourth day of wearing this outfit, so he felt like he was beginning to get used to it.

“Not bad, not bad. I’m doing alright. When I check myself in the mirror after a bath, I see a five percent increase in handsomeness. I feel like that phenomenon is hitting right now.”

Whether or not he actually looked five percent better was anyone’s guess, but self-affirmation was essential.

Maintaining even the slightest hint of handsome allure, Subaru took a deep breath and stepped forward.

Stepping onto the neatly trimmed grass of the garden, he headed towards the green area—a spot surrounded by tall trees that received the moon’s blessings more strongly.

There, a girl with silver hair sparkled in the moonlight, enveloped in a gentle glow.

In the faint bluish light—now known to Subaru as the form of a “spirit”—this fantastical sight held a devilish charm that captivated anyone who gazed at it.

Subaru found himself stopping, holding his breath. As if sensing his presence, the girl’s eyes, once closed as she whispered, suddenly opened.

With two amethysts, she captured Subaru as he stepped closer.

Before he could speak, she noticed him, causing Subaru’s heart to skip slightly. To hide his fluster, he raised his hand and said,

“Uh, hey there! Isn’t it quite the coincidence to find you here?”

“You come in every morning, yet it’s a coincidence…? Also, we share the same roof.”

With that surprisingly blunt retort, Emilia fell into a banter of light quips.

Subaru pressed his breath sharply and re-energized himself to say, “Well, saying we share the same roof feels a little… you know, it sparks some thoughts.”

“I say that from time to time, but what does ‘spark thoughts’ even mean? It sounds so… tingly down my back.”

As if feeling a chill, Emilia wrapped her arms around herself and trembled. Subaru smiled at her gesture and sat beside her as if it were the most natural thing in the world. The distance between them had closed just enough for comfort, revealing a hint of bashfulness on Subaru’s part.

Given that they were now sitting side by side regularly, Emilia had long since lost the urge to point it out.

With each day’s routine and shared meals, it was more than expected to sit beside her like this.

Her silent acceptance made Subaru giddy inside, and so the joy spilled into his voice.

“So, so, what are you up to? What are you doing?”

“Such a child. I’m continuing my morning routine. I can usually meet most kids in the morning, but some only come during the ‘Dark Day’.”

Subaru nodded along to Emilia’s explanation, understanding.

“‘Dark Day’ is this world’s timekeeping term, encompassing roughly six p.m. to six a.m. the next morning. In contrast, the time from six a.m. to six p.m. is referred to as ‘Daylight,’ serving as the general markers for morning and afternoon as previously found in Subaru’s original world.

Notably, a full day here followed a twenty-four-hour format, nearly identical to that of Subaru’s old world. It seemed the human activity hours didn’t change either; thus, Subaru was relieved that his internal clock remained intact.

While there are supposedly finer classifications, he hadn’t learned about them in detail yet. His senior’s educational focus leaned much more towards work than on the theoretical side of things, evidently because they prioritized their own comfort.

Within him, a grumble started to form about the past four days of harsh training. Yet, in the midst of that, Emilia was still busy conversing with her ‘nightly friends.’

The idea of friends they could only meet at night sounded strangely alluring.

Feeling a little embarrassed for himself, Subaru rubbed his nose and quietly watched Emilia and the spirit share their tranquil chat, then softly muttered,

“Looks like will-o’-the-wisps.”

As soon as he spoke, the previously calm spirits sprang into action, surrounding the face of Subaru sitting next to Emilia.

In an instant, a sharp pain began to throb across his face.

“Ow! Oww! OWW! It hurts, it’s like being poked with a toothpick!”

“If you don’t want to make reckless comments, don’t provoke them. If you don’t listen to me, they might just stop caring altogether.”

Emilia’s curt demeanor towards the spirits pummeling Subaru matched the nature of things.

Notably, even after the spirits dispersed, as he continued to wince, Emilia lightly cast a healing spell saying, “It can’t be helped.”

He lay there on the grass, enveloped in the soft light, and peered up at Emilia’s face, still deep in her previous conversation.

Subaru suddenly realized he had been captivated by the ethereal combination of the beautiful girl and the spirits.

Finding it slightly embarrassing, he teased lightly earlier, but seeing them without a thought felt completely agreeable.

Any awkwardness faded away as he emptied his head, just staring blankly at the scene before him.

“Is it not a bit boring just watching?”

Finding Subaru quiet was rare; Emilia suddenly said this.

In her voice, which sounded a bit apologetic, he perked up.

“Nah, it’s never boring being with Emilia-tan.”

“Wha—”

When faced with such a straight declaration, Emilia paused mid-sentence and flushed visibly. Watching her, Subaru couldn’t help but reflect on his own words, feeling his face heat up.

If it had been a deliberate line, that would be one thing, but what he had just said had flown out in pure spontaneity.

He certainly believed in his sincerity, yet to say it without any preparation was rather impulsive.

A sudden silence fell between them, which felt awkward, prompting Subaru to dramatically clear his throat and say,

“Ah, right! We haven’t had time to really chat for the past few days, huh?”

“Yes, that’s so true. You’ve been quite busy getting used to mansion duties, and… well, you’ve been working hard, haven’t you?”

“I’m so grateful for your consideration it’s almost making me want to cry.”

With that attempt to change the mood, Subaru inadvertently dug his own grave.

As tears of self-pity slipped from him, Emilia watched and searched for a way to comfort him, looking a bit flustered in her own right.

In the past four days since he started his new life as a servant, Subaru’s reputation seemed to rest at ‘out of use’ even when considering the softest of perspectives.

None of his cooking, laundry, or cleaning skills were up to par, so he found himself engulfed in a crash course to learn these essential servant skills.

As it stood, all three of those skills received a solid ‘C’ in grading.

“I only got an S grade when I refastened the loose buttons on my apron.”

“Seriously? You’re only skilled in that one area?”

“I’ve just been raised to become a sharp, formidable man rather than a dull, flat one.”

Such results stemmed from the whims of neglectful parents.

It would be odd for him to have enhanced such sewing skills himself.

“Oh, but I’m confident in my bed-making abilities. Back in my sophomore year, when I dreamed of becoming a hotel employee, I spent half my summer practicing.”

“So that’s why the beds here have been so incredibly tight these past few days…?”

“I’ve made them with love, and poured in all my affection.”

He had been so intensely absorbed in making the bed for Emilia’s room that he expressed his joy and fervor so much so that Ram was completely taken aback.

He had become so zealous that, surprisingly, Emilia’s room was set under a strict time limit for bed-making.

“I see, so that’s how it is. I’m glad you’ve found something to be confident about.”

Unaware of such a backdrop moment, Emilia smiled brightly, cherishing the fact that Subaru had dedicated skills he could stand proud of.

As his guilty conscience was getting stabbed deeply, Subaru remained silent on that detail. Emilia continued, “Additionally…”

“You’ve also been brave in tackling other tasks too. Ram and Rem praised you secretly, you know?”

“Seriously?! Those seniors were showing soft sides when I wasn’t watching?! This is so typical tsundere behavior! But technically, they should show this in front of me for it to matter!”

If the definition of tsundere got diverted, it would often be confused with mere aversion. It’s a double-edged sword, not recommended for beginners.

When it came to the subject, possessing knowledge of what tsundere truly meant through numerous (virtual) experiences allowed Subaru to equate them directly to fishing.

However, it seemed that the first twins might only perceive him as a perverted noble.

“Well, from my view, all I can see is the figure of Emilia-tan.”

Shrugging while trying to convey coolness, he realized he had unintentionally sounded quite embarrassed, barely escaping his mouth. Hence, it seemed his unexperienced demeanor did not reach Emilia, as she looked curiously at him, tilting her head.

“But, isn’t it exhausting every day?”

“Super exhausting, like, unbearably tough. I want to sleep using Emilia-tan’s arms, chest, or knees as a rotation of options!”

“Sure, right?”

Emilia brushed as she dismissed Subaru’s declaration, casually extending her slender arm, adorned by the faint blue spirits swirling around her.

Seeing her white arm glow as if it were radiating light, Subaru found himself utterly amazed, staring with an “Whoa!”

She chuckled softly at the sight of his astonishment.

“Well, as long as you can joke, it looks like you’re doing fine.”

“If I ever feel like I’m about to snap, I’ll expect you to snuggle with me.”

“I’ll think about it… but saying that makes it seem a bit scary, so I’ll just have to say no.”

“Wait! No way, I missed my chance to hold you to that!!”

Frustrated, he threw himself onto the grass dramatically.

Laying back against the cool sensation of the grass and gazing skyward filled with stars, a gust of wind rustled through his short bangs. Suddenly, he turned his full attention to the moon, stating,

“—The moon is beautiful.”

“It’s something always out of reach.”

“Ugh!”

“What’s wrong?!”

Having been shot down by an unexpectedly direct mention made with pure literary flair sent Subaru clutching his chest and groaning.

In a rush, Emilia hurried closer to check on him.

Then she said, “Ah…”

As she approached, Emilia gasped.

Still lying back, he looked up at her, noticing her deep purple eyes staring intently at his chest—the very area where he now pressed his hand to feel the pain.

The injuries gathered from his work frustrations had left his left hand covered in bandages.

“Ow, that’s embarrassing! I should have kept it a secret.”

Quickly hiding behind his back, he raised his other hand over his head to make the “tehepero” gesture of apologies. Yet Emilia’s expression remained serious.

As Subaru awaited her response, Emilia lowered her gaze slightly and said,

“After all, it’s tough on everyone.”

She seemed to murmur this as if chastising herself, and Subaru quietly nodded in agreement.

Right now, he recognized he and Emilia were both learning something new at Roswaal’s mansion.

While one was a servant and the other a potential queen, the expectations placed on them and the burdens they carried were of vastly different magnitudes.

Facing such burdens day after day could wear anyone down. She may have been wrestling with worries that nobody else could bear.

Suddenly, Emilia reached out her hand, causing Subaru to hesitate in response. She took his arm from behind and guided it forward into her line of sight.

Looking at the healing scars on his hand, Emilia squinted with discomfort.

“…Do you want me to use healing magic on you?”

She asked this softly, the warmth of the spell was difficult to put into words. Even the newly formed wounds, though small, continued to ache softly, demanding attention.

“Nothing doing; you don’t have to heal me.”

“Why not?”

“Hmm, this might be a bit hard to explain… but it’s kind of like this is proof of my effort.”

Releasing her hand from his grasp, Subaru smiled down at her.

For the restraint of her beautiful face, he took her hand firmly and declared, “You know what? I really don’t mind hard work. If not, I wouldn’t be able to keep up with my daily training. Achieving what was once impossible is too exhilarating!”

Moving with rhythm, he swayed his hips playfully and twirled about, suddenly raising his gaze that surprised Emilia as she hurriedly followed his sights.

“That’s tough and so hard, isn’t it? But it’s also kind of fun. Ramon and Rem can be surprisingly strict, and that loli girl is such a pain, while Ros casually hasn’t said a thing, so I thought he’d have more of a presence.”

“If you told Roswaal that, he’d probably get furious.”

“I haven’t heard the word ‘furious’ in ages…”

As he bent down, unable to fully process what he was hearing, he stood upright again like a spring-loaded toy, raising his hand to keep Emilia at bay.

“Well, resolving these problems one at a time sounds good. I need to do it just to survive here… and more importantly, I want to have fun with it!”

In his previous world, finding ways to live effortlessly was enough. However, in this world, Subaru had no hopes of living such a laid-back life.

If he couldn’t have fun, at least he wanted to demand it. This was Subaru’s way of fighting back against being thrown into this world without warning.

Hearing Subaru’s declaration, Emilia stopped as if time itself had come to a halt. Round and round her blinking eyes opened and closed, then, without warning, her expression changed.

“Yeah, you’re right. Well, I believe so. Ah, Subaru, you’re such an idiot.”

“Hey, hey, is that reaction a little off!? I mean, it could easily rekindle my feelings for you in this very moment!?”

“I’m not even fond of you like that!”

Displaying her utter disbelief, Subaru expressed emotions by forming the letters “life” with his hands while her final words didn’t reach him.

She brushed the hem of her dress down, stood up, and smiled down at Subaru.

With her smile relieving some of the earlier pressure, Subaru found himself adrift, unable to speak a word.

Something about Emilia in such moments felt beyond the scope of merely being beautiful or cute. It became something so grand that it transcended common words.

Yes, one might even say she had transformed into:

“E.M.M (Emilia-tan, Goddess for Real).”

“Even though I’m grateful, you keep poking fun at me.”

Getting slightly angry, she jabbed his forehead, while Subaru clutched his forehead in response, feeling an unusual heat radiate from it.

Seeing this, she burst into an airy laugh.

“By the way… how did your hands get so beat up?”

“Oh, that’s simple. This evening, when I accompanied Ram shopping in the village near the mansion, I got bitten by a small animal the kids were playing with.”

“That’s not the result of effort at all!”

“Maybe bigger injuries have stolen the spotlight… It’s not like I’m the kind of person who gets hissed at by animals.”

In his previous world, Subaru had never been the type to attract killer looks from small creatures. Otherwise, why would he ever claim to be the leading figure in fluff?

Nevertheless, his allergy mentioned above for strangers had remained unchanged here.

“Those brats… they kicked, punched, and wiped their snot all over me. It was the worst, blarg! I’ll make them pay for it tomorrow…”

“You seem like you’d be great with kids, Subaru.”

“Now that’s a misunderstanding, Emilia-tan. I’m just mulling over how to charm them now, and when they grow up, I’ll be there ready to reap the rewards! Behold, the Hikaru Genji plan from me!”

“You could just be honest and acknowledge it without all the bravado.”

Emilia didn’t take his comments seriously, stretching her neck and glancing upward.

“Well, I should get back to my room, but what about you?”

“As I have to cuddle with Emilia-tan, I’ll be heading back as well.”

“Let that job be once you’ve honed your butler skills.”

“Whoa! Dreaming wide open, here!”

With both hands raised defiantly towards the heavens, Subaru shouted while Emilia smiled gently, dodging the phrase.

Suddenly, Subaru turned back to her, saying,

“Hey, if you’re interested, why not join me tomorrow on a revenge mission against those kids… or rather, a lovey-dovey date… or, checking out those cute little animals?”

“You really corrected your words a lot… but, sure, I…”

Stumbling over her words, Emilia found it hard to voice further.

Subaru tilted his head, sensing that her hesitation might mean she hadn’t wanted to be gossiped about by friends for being with him.

“Wait, you’re not saying you’d feel embarrassed if you went with me and word got out, right?”

“Don’t say something that ridiculous.”

Emilia pressed her hands against her hips in faux anger, unable to suppress the fierce “pout” she let out. Then, she hesitated and hid her face.

“I don’t dislike it, and those little animals seem interesting, but…”

“Then let’s go!”

“But if I go, it might become a hassle for you…”

“Alright, understood! Together we go!”

“…Did you even hear me?”

“Of course! There’s no way I could miss Emilia-tan’s words, right?!”

“I can’t stand you.”

“Ahhhhhh! What is this!? I can’t hear you!”

Covering his ears, he scampered about to drown out her voice.

In an instant, her retort lost its power. Emilia’s eyes began to sparkle, feeling as though her tension dissipated.

“There’s no helping it then, once my studying is finished after Subaru has completed his tasks at the mansion, it’s a promise.”

“Alright! Got it! I’ll finish super fast!”

Tightly grasping the promise of a date, Subaru celebrated with his fist.

Observing this surprisingly exuberant display, Emilia shook her head lightly.

“Seeing you makes my own troubles seem so small…”

“That’s not true! Everyone has worries that could be kingdom-related! If they’re worried about it, they’d feel like they’re surrounded by pressure and overwhelmed!”

Finally, unable to hold back a laugh, Emilia broke out in giggles, and Subaru found himself pulled into laughter as well.

Thus, they shared a moment of lightheartedness as their meeting that day came to a close.

Finally, as a lingering thought came to Subaru’s mind,

“Speaking of which, why are you dressed like that after work has ended?”

“Ah, right! I thought I hadn’t received any feedback… What do you think? Looking sharp, right?”

“Yeah, I think you look like you could get the work done perfectly.”

“Fresh burdens are piling up! I’m feeling crushed by your expectations!”

Subaru grinned, and this exchange marked the conclusion of today’s events.

※※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

“Hey there, did you sleep well, loli girl? If you stay up too late, growth hormones won’t be released and you’ll stay small forever.”

“…You’ve begun violating ‘door crossing’ as casually as breathing.”

As Subaru casually greeted someone he just happened to encounter, a spiteful retort returned from beyond the threshold.

Peering into the library, he spotted a girl perching on a wooden stepladder, glaring at him with a thick book clutched in her hands, open at the halfway mark.

“If you keep reading comics in the dark at night, you’ll end up wearing thick glasses like a milk bottle and end up failing your entrance exam at some prestigious university.”

“Stop with your nonsense… if you’re messing around, I’ll turn you into stone.”

“Sure, sure. Well, you should get some sleep; good night!”

Waving his hand dismissively, he was about to close the door when she called out, “Wait a moment.”

When he turned back to her, Beatrice leaned slightly from the ladder, curious, and asked,

“Didn’t you enter for a reason?”

“Nah, I just thought I’d say hello since I was going to sleep. Unless I knocked on three doors first, I wasn’t sure I’d find anyone.”

“Honestly, just what kind of intuition does this guy have…?”

Beatrice tugged at her curls tiredly. The springy curls bounced back with the force of her release, stirring a trace of child-like wonder in Subaru.

“Can I touch that?”

“Only Nii-sama is allowed to touch Betty! So go on, just disappear already!”

“Whoa! You stop me only to insult me? Well, whatever! I’m in a good mood, so I’ll let you go this time!”

With exaggerated enthusiasm, he left the room while placing a moody expression on Beatrice’s face.

Still, just before the door closed completely, he thought he heard her voice murmur softly,

“—That’s nothing to do with Betty.”

That brief moment stirred a strange curiosity within Subaru.

“Yet, once I turned to respond, the room felt transformed back to being just a guest room.”

Although he felt a twinge of reluctance to leave, he didn’t feel like wandering around yet again. Tomorrow would involve getting up early and clearing work as fast as possible.

“I need to head down to the village and come up with some casual excuse to appease those kids. Whoops, but first I need to research good vantage points and flower patch locations around there… Preparation is key; it’s vital to battle! Since the outcome of the conflict is often predetermined in advance, I’m so ready for it!”

Inflating his excitement, he hopped skip along the way back to his room—his servant’s accommodation, stripped off his butler uniform, and quickly swapped into athletic wear.

“Ah, this is what I need to sleep in. It might be a little unnerving only having one outfit to rely on, but… do you think Roswaal would cast duplication magic if I asked?”

Having only one unique outfit in his possession, he felt compelled to treat such rarity with extreme caution while wearing it as everyday clothing.

If it tore, then so be it—such was the garment’s age. Losing the relic from the other world saddened him, but there was no point in dwelling on it.

“So I’ll live my life full of hopes for tomorrow, heh heh.”

Chortling deviously, Subaru leaped into the bed he made himself. The gentle embrace of the mattress encapsulated him, pulling him into a calm realm of slumber.

Yet, the anticipation for tomorrow was so thick in the air that he found it challenging to settle down and sleep.

“Damn, what’s going on with my body! Are you trying to crush my hopes for tomorrow? I guess my biggest enemy turned out to be my own self…”

As he glared at the ceiling, Subaru uttered another lament.

However, there was a trick he could use during those sleepless nights. With a cocky grin, he said,

“Prepare to be overwhelmed by my secret technique—Pack One, Pack Two!”

A top-notch fluffer could visualize the fluff target, allowing them to experience an imaginary moff, resulting in tangible realness.

In Subaru’s mind, a gray fluff ball cat began to appear, multiplying with each passing moment. Slowly engulfed by those charming fluff creatures, his body was whisked away to a realm of ultimate bliss—Avalon, that ideal paradise.

“Pack… a hundred and sixty-three moffs… so fluffy.”

Murmuring, Subaru’s consciousness sunk into the dream world.

Having envisioned the realms of paradise, he ultimately succumbed to this fantasy.

※※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

Waking consciousness was likened to surfacing from a sea, a sentiment Subaru had expressed twice before.

As he opened his eyelids, the sunlight seared his vision, and he rose sluggishly.

He felt a slight heaviness in his head, perhaps due to fatigue remaining from his newly initiated tasks. Having only recently started this unfamiliar life, it was only to be expected.

Yet, today was not the time for weak sentiments.

Waking rather quickly, Subaru mentally recounted the promises made the night before.

“Right, Natsuki Subaru—I’m going to be a man today!”

He offered a thumbs up to no one in particular, flashing a determined smile.

It would surely be an incredible day—a set starting point for a promised victorious day. Yet,

That moment was immediately shattered by the astonished faces of twin girls watching him closely.

Subaru buried his face in the bed covering, pushing it down, shouting,

“What the heck?! You were here?! You should’ve said something! Ugh, uh, wow, I’m really embarrassed!”

Subaru struggled against the embarrassment, squirming awkwardly.

With no expression of surprise remaining at this point, the twins simply stared at him. Their reaction of laughter was awkwardly quiet, suggesting something was wide off the mark here.

“Big sister, big sister, seems like we’ve received quite the friendly greeting.”

“Rem, Rem, sounds like an unexpectedly intimate greeting was shared.”

A strange feeling traced through Subaru’s mind at those words.

Though their aloofness was exactly their usual style, something about it felt wrong.

“Uh, what’s up? Does something feel off? What’s going on with you two? If you made a joke coordinating this, it feels quite out of context to say the least…”

As he spoke, the cause of his unease slowly dawned on him.

—Their eyes.

The gazes directed toward Subaru held a coldness that had transformed their former warmth into something entirely detached.

And most strikingly,

“Big sister, big sister, it seems our guest is slightly confused.”

“Rem, Rem, it appears he has lost his wits, dear guest.”

—Feeling called “guest” was beyond words, leaving Subaru utterly speechless.

Its tone radiated with elegance, countered by an edge that sharply punctured Subaru’s insides in a way that he sensed a deep pain emerging in his chest.

The meaning eluded him. Their reactions felt so alien.

“Y-you both… don’t… ha-ha, what a harsh joke. There’s no way that’s true…”

As he attempted to shield himself from the gaze of the twins, he raised his left hand to cover his view. Yet, at that moment, he caught a critical glance.

—His left hand, the bandages were gone.

All the damaged fingers, the cuts made from unfamiliar knife work, the scars from being bitten by small animals while playing with kids—everything vanished completely.

Finding himself overwhelmed, Subaru recognized he had no choice but to accept this reality.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar heat flooded from his eyes as he buried his face back into the bedding, filled with the despair of being shown such a removal of his scars.

He couldn’t let this moment be spotted by those he cherished the most.

Those he could see a future belonging to, those he thought he loved.

Being looked upon so distantly by them, the thought of shedding tears drew him back, and he declared defiantly—

“Why has this happened… why have I returned?!”

Unleashing a cry of anguish, under the weight of his muffled despair, Subaru rampaged in sheer fury.

—In that moment, the cycle that had tormented Subaru so relentlessly drew him back into its clutches.

The second first day had begun.

 

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