We had asked all the villagers to gather in the largest building in town— the same one most of the refugees were staying in. I’d even invited Garfiel along, which I hoped would ease everyone’s nerves. They all knew Garfiel as a respected member of their community, and by placing him near my inner circle, I hoped the villagers would see that their community had a voice in all of our decisions. Naturally, I’d briefed Garfiel on our plan for talking to them, and he’d readily agreed.

I’d given access of my Company-issued Smartphone to Rem, who was using it to set up tables full of food offered from my Sweet home. The villagers looked antsy, seeing so much meat and vegetables piled on the tables. Since we didn’t have the time this morning to properly cook anything, they were all pretty simple ingredients. Simple, roasted cuts of meat with platters of raw vegetables and fruits. Despite the simplicity of it, the villagers were practically drooling, looking like kicked puppies that weren’t allowed near the dinner table.

Seeing them look pathetic like that, I’d realized the plan needed slight alteration. I instructed the villagers to begin lining up single-file near the furthest table. Ram stood at the front of the line, passing out forks and plates to each person. Rem kept glancing over at her sister to make sure she wouldn’t mess up, which I found adorable. Rem herself had the much more complex job, so Ram could surely handle passing out the plates and forks, right?

Once Rem had finished setting all the food down, the villagers took turns moving down the line and filling their plates up with food. The first person in line looked like some kind of dangerous bandit, pushing past others to reach the front. He shifted constantly on his feet with a slight hunch as if guarding himself from something. The middle-aged and uncomfortably thin, cloaked man tried to take the entire first platter of meat, four legs of what looked like lamb, all to himself. It’d be impossible for him to eat that much in one sitting, and I could see the other villagers (especially the natives) stare at him with hate.

I walked over to the scene and stopped the man, forcing the huge amount of food away from his dirty fingers and putting it back on the table.

“So, what?” He spat, “You’re gonna dangle all this food in front of us and not even let us eat it?”

“Don’t be daft. You weren’t going to eat all of that food. You were going to hoard it for later.” I stepped into his personal space, forcing him backward and establishing dominance.

“Everyone, listen up!” I called out to the crowd and over the man. “I’ve got enough food to feed everyone a feast for three days, every meal!”

Hopeful eyes looked up at me from out of the crowd, “But you all are going to have to be kind to each other. When we pass out the food, I expect you all to take a reasonable portion, enough to fill your stomachs without earning angry stares from your neighbors.” I pointedly looked at the retched, unshaven man in front of me. “I know you are all hungry and scared. Thus far, there hasn’t been enough food for all of you. Luckily, with new magic, my contracted Spirit and I figured out,” I held Beako’s hand up in the air for a moment, “we have been able to procure some food for you all.”

“Betty hardly did anything, I suppose,” she half mumbled at my side.

I turned back around to the table and grabbed a single one of the lamb legs from the platter. I gently set it down on the plate of the man in front of me, causing him to look up at me with surprise and a slight easing of his shoulders.

In all honesty, even that huge amount of meat was likely way more than he could eat, but it didn’t matter. There was infinite food, and I wanted to send the message to the villagers that they could all eat until they were stuffed past full without it being a drain on our resources. That being said, if he took four entire legs for himself, that set the wrong precedent, too.

I waved Emilia over to Beako and me. She saw us and walked to stand directly by my side. “For the next three days, Emilia and I will continue to distribute food for everyone, and each time, it will be just as much as today. So, there’s plenty for every single person to eat as much as they can, so long as you,” I stressed the next word, “properly, distribute the food amongst yourselves. Even if you are in the very back of the line,”

An old woman at the back pointed to herself.

“Yes, even you at the back of the line can eat as much as will fill you up. So, please, I urge you: be kind to one another and don’t hoard the food that someone else needs.”

This plan had multiple purposes: by stressing that it was Emilia and not just Beako and I distributing the food, I hoped to gain Emilia some points with the villagers. Additionally, now that the impending threat of death from starvation was gone, I hoped to ease the panic of the villagers while also dispersing the resentment that the refugees caused by eating the core villagers’ limited resources. Lastly, by making everyone only take what they needed to get full while providing a slight excess, I hoped that I could foster some graciousness in the villagers— by forcing them to stop and think, ‘Can I really eat all of this?’ I also naturally led them to the next thought, ‘Maybe someone else needs this food more than I do.’ Sharing is caring, after all. And, to top it off by addressing their immediate, hungry concerns, I could start the day off by putting everyone in a good mood this morning— that would be necessary for the heavy topic I had to bring up after this, which I hoped wouldn’t cause widespread panic.

“As Subaru said, please kindly only take what is needed, so your neighbors have enough to eat too, okay?” Emilia gently asked with a smile.

Stolen story; please report.

I nodded toward her in affirmation.

She clapped her hands together, drawing attention, “After everyone eats, we have a ~really important topic to share, okay?”

That drew a round of nods from the villagers, but they clearly were more intent on the food. Now that Emilia was taking the lead, I stepped back slightly, giving me the chance to hold Beako’s hand again, feeling her slim fingers wrap around mine. Emilia talked for a little while about how she hoped to get along with the villagers and so on. She did a good job keeping the speech short, no more than half a minute or so.

After that, there were no more obvious issues with the distribution of food. Each time a platter of food emptied, Rem would fill it again with more from our pocket dimension, which really helped to ease the villagers further. The message we were sending was, ‘There’s no need to steal an unnecessarily large portion of food since there’s plenty for everyone to eat their fill.’

Though there were a few young men who overestimated just how much food they could force into their stomachs, there were no other true ‘incidents.’ Even with those young men, they seemed to get scolded by the women in their respective families, the women saying something along the lines of, ‘Don’t take more than you can eat!’ or, ‘You took it, so finish it! No wasting food’. Their chagrin was my amusement, however.

Per my instruction, after everyone was served, Garfiel mingled with the crowd. He walked around, asking if anyone needed anything, to a collective response of shaking heads. At this point, I was pretty sure Garfiel would be okay with letting the refugees go back to Arlam. That would solve the food problem, too. But, with Meili and Elsa still at large, I thought it’d be safer to keep everyone here in Sanctuary for the time being.

Rem and Ram stood at attention behind the tables, just refilling food as people got seconds and generally acting as maids do.

I made sure Emilia and I stood in front of the food tables, watching over the villagers in what I hoped looked like a position of magnanimous lords. Beako by my side drew her fair share of stares from the villagers, too— it wasn’t every day you saw a greater spirit. Emilia and I took our food very last, even after Rem and Ram, in a message that I hoped said, ‘Look, we made sure to feed you all before us,’— to foster more goodwill. All of this goodwill among the common-folk would be important if Emilia still intended to ascend the throne.

I noticed Garfiel sending us more than a few approving looks, too. He’d been really glad to hear about my plan to feed the villagers, even going so far as to compare me to some obscure reference.

Many families sat on the floor as they ate, the village hall developing a jovial mood. It was nice to see kids running around happily playing, with their parents watching them fondly. The atmosphere had drastically reversed course from where it had started— with folks’ hope restored: as shown by their smiles, conversation, and gratitude. More than a few families thanked Emilia and me as they had passed the food tables, after all.

“They’re really happy,” Emilia observed next to me.

We stood side by side, holding bowls of food in one hand and forks in the other as we ate.

I finished the bite I had in my mouth, some kind of salty meat, and then replied, “Food brings people together. That’s something they’ve lacked, until now.”

“The food or coming together?” Emilia questioned.

“Both.”

Emilia nodded in understanding. “Yeah, that makes sense. I feel that I’ve learned a lot about leadership, today.”

“That’s good, because your role as lord is only going to continue from here. With Roswaal gone, it’s up to you and me. But don’t worry. As I said before, I’ll be your knight. We can share the burden. Knights are nobles too, in their own way, don’t you know?”

“That’s true, but Subaru, make sure not to upset the knights with that kind of talk.”

“No need to remind me. Julius and I have already set aside our differences, after all.”

“With a greater spirit by his side, Subaru has nothing to worry about from the knights, in fact,” Beako chimed in.

“That’s right. Subaru really is amazing.” Emilia’s eyes shined with happiness.

I scratched the back of my neck, “Thanks, you two.”

The three of us stopped our conversation as Garfiel began to approach. He smiled, caught up in the pleasant mood, “Well’n if ain’t the damn Dragon. Ah have to thank ya. For all the folks out here, food is equivalent to their lives, after all. Gluttony is death and all that.”

“I’m happy to help, but you know this is only a temporary solution, right?”

“Mm, that’s true. I’ve done some thinkin’ on my own terms as well. Seein’ all my folks like this, everyone eatin’ their fill. It’s like all the darkness and thoughts of starvin’ have been banished off like Aegis and the Shield.” Garfiel made some strange reference. “But, I’ll be damned if I got in yer way any longer. I kno’n what I said before, and I certain’ ain’t happy ‘bout it, but if ya determined to get through them trials, I won’t stand in yer way no more,” he said, slightly embarrassed.

“I see, but I’m a man of my word, you know? I won’t attempt the trials unless I beat you in a contest of pure martial skill. No promises from Emilia, though.”

Emilia interjected, “Garfiel is really~ strong, you know! I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to fight— I hate to keep bringing it up, but don’t you remember what happened with Julius?”

“There ain’t no need to defend yer man there, missy.”

“My... man??” Emilia sputtered.

“Aye, Dragon-man over here already trounced me once, after all.”

Emilia looked at me like I’d grown a second head. “What?!”

Garfiel continued to talk to me unabashed, “And, besides, gettin’ my approval is a victory in its own right, even if it’s just for the missus.”

“That may be true, but it wouldn’t satisfy my integrity as a man; I’m keeping my initial promise to you in the spirit of the agreement and not just the letter.” I doubled down, staring into Garfiel’s eyes.

“Well, if yer gonna say it that passionately, I ain’t gonna contradict ya.” Garfiel grinned.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Emilia waved her hands all around, trying to get our attention, “You and Garfiel fought??! And, Subaru won?”

“Why did you have to say that second sentence with more shock than the first?” I complained.

“I wouldn’ say he ‘beat me’, since he never displayed better fightin’ skill than me. He just overpowered me with pure brute strength.”

Garfiel’s clarification only made Emilia look even more shocked. “You.. Your... You... what?”

I turned to Garfiel, “I think we broke her.”

He just looked at her, weirded out. “Aye.” Then, without further ado, Garfiel wandered off, once again mingling with the villagers.

Emilia shook out her head, trying to clear her mind. Then, she slapped both of her cheeks with each hand twice. “Alright! Anyway, we should probably talk to the villagers now.”

“You’re just gonna forget about the earlier topic? Fine by me, I guess. Yeah, looks like the villagers are mostly done eating, now. Let’s do this.”