“—This way, this way! Hurry up, or we’ll get caught!”

“I-I know, just hold on a second…”

I was being pulled along, dashing through the uneven path.

It was a narrow alley. Despite it being the middle of the day, the sunlight barely seeped through, creating a dimly lit path that seemed to form a complicated maze, rejecting the two of us from escape.

For Subaru, who was unfamiliar with the area, this situation was less than ideal.

I hoped desperately that the person leading knew the way, but—

“You’re heading deeper into the shadows; do you even know where you’re going?!”

“—No idea!”

The response was delivered with startling clarity, and Subaru placed a hand on his forehead, feeling desolate. I had expected that answer. After all, the person pulling Subaru along was dressed in fineries that seemed utterly inappropriate for such a back alley.

A fluttering, expensive-looking red dress. A necklace that sparkled under the light. Her visible skin maintained a smooth, radiant beauty that suggested she must have been raised in a noble environment.

Most notably, her vibrant orange hair asserted her noble presence and cheerful demeanor, making her seem worlds apart from a place like the Poor District.

As I took another look at her appearance, I reconfirmed that I had picked up a troublesome misfortune.

Behind us, I could hear multiple footsteps chasing after us, and it wasn’t a situation where we could stop or take a breather.

How did it come to this—?

Panting and grimacing at the pain in my lungs, Subaru’s mind was flooded with such questions.

—The situation dates back to about two days ago, in relation to Subaru’s confusion.

※※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

—For Natsuki Subaru, mornings were synonymous with sleep rather than activity.

While it might be an exaggeration to say he would melt under the gentle morning sunshine, he genuinely felt as if his very DNA was dwindling away.

For Subaru, standing before a crowd and doing radio calisthenics under the early morning sun was a situation he couldn’t have imagined just a month ago.

—If we’re being honest, the very fact that he was summoned to another world was beyond his expectations.

It felt as though he’d struck his head hard enough to alter his life completely. In fact, there are memories of some head injury that could make such changes plausible.

Yet even taking those factors into account, it was still a truth that he wasn’t entirely displeased with this situation.

“Alright, stretch your arms to the sky for the finale—Victory!”

““Victory!!””

With both hands raised, Subaru delivered the closing line, and a chorus of voices echoed his words as the radio calisthenics came to an end. Amid the cheers, Subaru casually wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked ahead.

In front—surrounding Subaru were the villagers closest to Roswaal’s Mansion. Perhaps about half of them had gathered.

What began as a lighthearted participation in radio calisthenics had unexpectedly struck a chord with the otherworlders. It had now sparked a massive movement within the village, and even Subaru, known for his notorious short attention span, found himself unable to stop.

Most notably,

“Subaru, the exercises are done!” “Stamp, stamp! Give me a stamp!” “Imo! Imo!”

“Gah! Don’t all swarm at me in the morning, you noisy bunch! Seriously, you kids are too energetic, youth is wonderful! No need to rush; the stamps won’t run away! Line up, line up!”

Faced with the overzealous children gathering around him, Subaru’s expression bore the grimace of a reluctant participant yet showed no signs of refusal.

The children lined up straight before Subaru as instructed. When they were arranged, he nodded in satisfaction and turned to Emilia.

“Okay, Emilia-tan, it’s your turn.”

“—Alright, here you go.”

Emilia, standing right behind him, handed Subaru the small pouch she had been holding, her lips curving into a smile that hovered somewhere between a smirk and a grin.

Upon opening the pouch, Subaru revealed a raw potato, sized to fit perfectly in his hand. The sight of the slender potato drew excited gasps from the children, prompting Subaru to lift it high and announce,

“Alright, here we go—give it a stamp!”

Dipping the potato’s tip into a container of ink that was also inside the pouch, he pressed it against the paper the lined-up children offered him. The delighted expressions of the children as images began to form brought smiles to Emilia’s face.

“We’re using the flat side of the potato to create potato stamps! Subaru, you really do come up with the strangest things.”

“If you shave the inked surface, it could even be emergency rations; surprisingly, the art style comes out nicely too. By the way, today’s masterpiece is—’Pack on Monday.'”

What emerged from the stamped paper was a cartoonish, downtrodden depiction of a cat. It captured certain signature features so well that anyone familiar would instantly recognize who the model was. That is to say, the name alone served as its title.

“…I can’t believe it. It looks just like Pack. Subaru, you’re really good at drawing.”

“Well, I had a lot of free time, so my drawing practice paid off. Though I did sort of give up halfway and focused on the basics.”

The path of diligent artists is one we all pass through at least once. Whether one can establish their own style and gain fame as an artist depends on luck alone. Unfortunately for Subaru, the odds were definitely not in his favor.

“All I can do is carve cat designs onto potatoes in a world that doesn’t even have a potato stamp tradition and get showered with praise from these innocent kids.”

“That sounded really, really negative…Also, doesn’t this drawing of Pack seem oddly low-energy?”

“I said it was ‘Pack on Monday.’ It conveys that feeling of gloom that comes with the start of a new week…you see how the sagging ears really emphasize that?”

Subaru passionately explained his creative intentions, continually stamping away at the kids’ offered papers, accumulating their participation marks in the radio calisthenics.

Inspired by summer vacation stamp rallies, Subaru had thought of this fun activity. The children, eagerly anticipating what new design he would carve each night, now found excitement in his daily potato stamping.

Displaying unexpected dexterity during the process, Subaru drew the children in with his whims.

After chatting joyfully with the ecstatic kids and exchanging promises to meet again for tomorrow’s calisthenics, he waved goodbye.

While sharing cheerful banter with the adults around, he set off back to the mansion alongside Emilia.

Lately, spending the early mornings in the village like this had become Subaru’s routine.

Behind it lay the fact that he still was not in perfect shape, making it tough for him to join in the morning chores at the mansion. However, he had resolved to turn that weakness into an opportunity to enjoy peaceful moments with Emilia instead.

“Ah, I’m so tired. Sorry for dragging you along each morning, Emilia-tan.”

“It’s fine. You’re still not in perfect condition, and Ram and Rem have their chores at the mansion. I’m not opposed to doing this.”

“Not opposed to spending the morning with me, huh!?”

“No, I mean interacting with the villagers, which I hadn’t done until now. I realize I’ve been drawing boundaries on my own.”

Emilia bluntly cut off Subaru’s enthusiastic proclamation and shyly smiled. He noticed a hint of crimson creeping onto her lovely white cheek beneath the hood, causing an involuntary flush to warm Subaru’s face.

Emilia’s current attire resembled the outfit she wore when he first met her in the Royal Capital. A light dress short of skirt length covered by a white robe decorated with eagle-like embroidery, tightly wrapped around her lovely silver hair with a hood.

Meanwhile, Subaru stood beside her dressed in a shabby, worn-out gray tracksuit. It had been patched up by Rem, which still didn’t look good, as it was in pretty pitiful condition from the beginning. A few parts had been sewn up by Subaru himself.

Comparing their clothing, appearances, and basic specifications, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

He was desperately trying to match up. He had to start just by clinging to the same level.

“By the way…”

With Subaru lost in thought, it was Emilia who opened the topic.

She tilted her upper body forward, hands clasped together, looking up at Subaru with a slight downward tilt.

“You’ve really blended into the village, haven’t you? You might be even more famous than Ram and Rem around here.”

“Well, in a way, I’ve sorta become a hero for saving the kids! It might even make for a tale of a heroic savior of sorts!”

Although said jokingly, it was true that Subaru had done enough to warrant such attention, making it hard to dismiss it as merely a joke.

Emilia tilted her head and paused, placing a finger on her lip.

“Though you might not quite fit the heroic image.”

“Oh, so the rumors are circulating, huh?…But aside from the incident in the Forest, was there anything else?”

It was hardly the thrilling heroics one might expect, so it didn’t seem overly celebrated. However, Subaru’s thoughts trailed off as Emilia’s next words punctured that narrative.

She chuckled lightly, her pink lips curling into a smile.

“Well, your current reputation in the village is partly about being the hero who saved the children, but even more, I think they refer to you as the ‘Wise One.'”

“Wise One…? I can’t conduct a band or anything, you know? I have zero sense of rhythm.”

He was the legendary figure rumored to have participated in a school marching band simply to ‘wobble the big drum’ while completely failing to fulfill that command. It was still a mystery why he didn’t switch roles midway.

To Emilia’s response, he quickly added, “No, that isn’t what I mean.”

“It refers to someone knowledgeable—the fool wisdom, as the village chief puts it.”

“That doesn’t exactly sound complimentary… It gives off a vibe of being smart yet foolish. To be honest, have I done anything truly intellectual?”

“Mayonnaise.”

Emilia pointed at him and uttered that single word.

Subaru couldn’t help but understand now. Since the fuss a few days ago, the distribution of mayonnaise had been booming. It was deemed too good to be merely restricted to Roswaal’s Mansion, especially with Emilia’s influence, leading to firsthand experiences and instructions being shared with nearby villages.

The buzz it created in just a couple of days was significant.

As a mayo enthusiast, seeing mayonnaise take root in this other world was undeniably a highlight. Long live mayonnaise!

Yet,

“Though spreading the wonders of mayonnaise is fantastic for me, my so-called redemption arc seems less glamorous than just being the ‘White Lover’…”

Instead of being hailed a hero, it seemed he’d instead become the mayonnaise ambassador—this was essentially what public perception had morphed into.

Feeling disappointed, Subaru dropped his shoulders, feeling a profound sense of loss.

Emilia, noticing Subaru’s attitude, hurriedly touched his shoulder.

“A-Oh, of course, everyone’s grateful for your help with the children! But in reality, it was Rem who brought them back, and the matter regarding the magical beasts was resolved by Roswaal…”

Subaru braced himself for what she was about to say as her efforts faltered toward the end.

It stung, but there was no denying that she was absolutely correct; Subaru was taken over by surprise at the reality reflecting back at him.

Even in the matter of rescuing the children, Subaru had merely returned injured, losing more than he saved; and regarding the eradication of beasts, aside from restoring Rem’s sanity, he hadn’t done much besides napping due to exhaustion. It felt like an awakening moment.

“I really did nothing noteworthy!”

Just fumbling around.

Subaru felt disheartened by the realization that he had done nothing impactful during the time he thought he had been doing his best.

Emilia seemed to lose her words as well, saying, “Uh, well, just ignore trivial stuff like that.”

“But, Emilia-tan…”

“People who see that Subaru is trying, they truly understand. Roswaal, Ram, and even Rem specifically… they all know.”

A teasing tone filled her voice as Emilia gently poked Subaru’s cheek with her finger. When he gave her a pitiful look, she sighed, “Really,” and took a few steps ahead.

Turning back, Emilia faced him. In her enthusiastic motion, her hood shifted, causing her long silver hair to shimmer in the morning sun, cascading down her back.

Stopping in his tracks, Subaru was enchanted by the sight. Then, standing there before him with hands on her waist, she took on the manner of chastising an underachieving brother.

“I understand what you did, and you can’t let it get you down! Got it?”

“—Huh?”

“I know that you’ve been working hard! So, don’t sulk! Understand?”

She tilted her head, adding, “What’s your response?”

Caught off guard, Subaru shook his head vigorously, snapping back to reality. Emilia couldn’t help but smile brightly at his reaction.

“Hey now, what’s with the sudden jolting around? It’s becoming like a broken toy. You’re always like this!”

“No, I didn’t mean to… But if you didn’t see that coming, then Emilia-tan is much sneakier! No matter how I struggle, I can’t help but fall back for you…”

“Uh-huh. I think you know how to make excuses, and that it’s a bad habit.”

Despite being candid with his feelings, Emilia had no intention of listening; she merely brushed her flowing silver hair back with one hand, reminding Subaru how he couldn’t compete with her.

Walking side by side, the familiarity felt like an entirely new experience each time, leaving Subaru with a refreshing feeling towards Emilia.

Never having the same Emilia twice, if he let today slip by, it was unlikely he would encounter her again like this. It was hard to imagine cherishing moments in time like this, even with tomorrow promising joy.

“Work energetically, deepen relations with the girl of your dreams—a truly healthy way of life. No one can call me a recluse any longer!”

“I get it’s the nature of boys to put on a tough front, but you have to take care of your body! There’s no good in pushing it now. Just rely on Rem and Ram—mostly Rem’s help, though.”

Emilia chastised him with gentle concern, though it was a misinterpretation of his enthusiastic attitude.

It seemed Subaru had unknowingly claimed a position as an unusually well-behaved young man in her mind. He was fine with tracking himself to working diligently for no real reason, but that was far from the truth of Subaru’s lazy character.

Of course, it was too much effort to clarify such misunderstandings.

As they chatted, the familiar sight of Roswaal’s Mansion began to emerge just ahead. At this point, it would only take a few minutes to reach their destination, marking the end of this delightful morning exchange.

“Time flies when chatting like this, huh? What suddenly made you slow down?”

“This is my reluctant resistance, wanting to savor this moment… a slow walk tactic. We could enjoy the fresh morning air just the two of us, don’t you think? With whom? With me!”

“If you delay too long, it’ll end up irritating everyone… I said you shouldn’t push yourself, but you also must follow through on things you’ve committed to. I have a pledge with my spirit too, you know.”

“Damn, saying such logical stuff hits me hard… When Pack wakes up, I won’t have the chance for intimate talks with Emilia-tan anymore…”

Mentioning the spirit’s pledge didn’t pull any favors; Subaru was left seething with suppressed feelings while hiding them behind his expression.

“Fine… Let’s head back… Tch, I should’ve handled this better…!”

“I don’t know what’s got you so worked up, but if there’s a lull, I’ll listen, so don’t sulk, okay?”

As the familiar gestures of calm acceptance between them played out, Subaru found himself mesmerized once again.

Just then, Emilia uttered softly, “Oh…”

“By the entrance… there’s a dragon carriage.”

“Huh?”

Charmed by her words, Subaru followed her gaze, and there it was—a vehicle shaped like a carriage parked before Roswaal’s Mansion. It was clear this wasn’t a typical carriage from Subaru’s knowledge.

The creature pulling it wasn’t a horse but a lizard the size of a horse.

Thus, it couldn’t be called a carriage; the only suitable term seemed to be ‘dragon carriage.’

And that odd-looking vehicle felt vaguely familiar to Subaru.

“Wasn’t one of those running through the markets?”

On the first day of his summoning, it had careened through the marketplace, leaving a cloud of dust behind. While he had confirmed the existence of horses since the term ‘carriage’ was recognized, having witnessed such lizards pulling them brought forth questions about whether these creatures were actually the standard.

“If I heard correctly, did they call that a dragon carriage?”

“…? Yep. Since it’s the Earth Dragon pulling it, it’s naturally referred to as a dragon carriage, right? Wait, really? Is my understanding hopelessly wrong? Is there an official name for it?”

Responding to Subaru’s inquiry that had zero background, Emilia seemed to panic upon realizing the gaps in her own knowledge. Waving his hands, Subaru assured her,

“Nah, it’s just I’m lacking knowledge. Just take pride in the fact that you’re right, Emilia-tan!”

“Really? Are you teasing me? If I make a mistake in a respectable place, it’ll be completely embarrassing. If I lie, I’ll hit you.”

“Hit? Haven’t heard that in ages…”

As they conversed, they approached the dragon carriage.

Drawn closer, its impressive size surprised him. Beneath the lizard pulling the vehicle—a coach meant for people to ride—an older gentleman who appeared to be the driver sat atop. Upon noticing the duo approaching, he promptly dismounted.

“Welcome back. We are currently awaiting permission in front of the gate.”

The old gentleman, an archetype of elegance, instinctively straightened Subaru’s posture. Having someone like him around meant the passenger of the dragon carriage likely held significant status.

Peeking inside, Subaru noticed the interior window was empty—meaning,

“The envoy is already inside the mansion. They are probably having an audience with Baron Meisars.”

“My, my, my—how courteous! I’m embarrassed to have peered inside so openly. I’m not used to such formal settings, so please forgive my rudeness.”

Subaru’s response was overly polite and yet somewhat messy, in stark contrast to the dignified answer from the gentleman. Emilia, on the other hand, looked at Subaru with a hint of admiration for his more refined manner of speaking compared to her and kept scoring his low status in the social ladder.

While Subaru fell silent, Emilia stepped forward, turning to the driver.

“You mentioned an envoy… Could it be related to…?”

With her ambiguous question, the driver only bent slightly and interjected,

“As you might have guessed, it pertains to the Royal Selection.”

The mention of ‘Royal Selection’ brought Subaru’s head up.

It was a keyword he hadn’t heard in a while.

Emilia immediately tightened her expression while Subaru furrowed his brow at the brewing tension. Observing their reactions, the elderly gentleman maintained his bowing posture and continued.

“I believe an envoy has matters to discuss formally. Please head back to the mansion.”

“—A summons, perhaps.”

“I recommend you listen to the envoy’s words.”

Respectfully aware of their situation, Emilia nodded her understanding but kept her face firm.

“—Let’s go.”

With a decisive tone, she stepped toward the mansion without sparing a glance back at Subaru.

Panicking, Subaru hastily followed her into a light jog.

He glanced back one last time.

—The driver remained bowed, quietly watching them leave.