Emilia had things handled in Sanctuary for now, allowing Beako and me this break to work on magic. Eventually, though, Rem came out from the Sweet Home, letting me know that lunch was ready.

Rem, Ram, Beako, and I ate lunch together. Afterward, I met up with Emilia, and we shared more food with the villagers and refugees. Similar to this morning, the mood was bright, with people eating and conversing with their families without a care in the world. A few villagers came up to me to ask various questions, but I tried to direct them over to Emilia whenever possible. This was a good experience for her, and she was already doing so much better interacting with the villagers than she had been before.

Petra and the other kids also made sure to come and bother me, so I did another round of 'radio calisthenics' with them— something Canon Subaru had already done multiple times to entertain the children. Though, I amped it up this time, making them do the dreaded pushups. Petra could only do a single one before her shaky arms failed her, much to the amusement of the boys.

After playing around with the village children, I asked Rem for another spar. She followed me out into a random field in Sanctuary, but I made sure to warn the villagers not to get too close to our sparring ring lest they stand in our area of effect.

Ram accompanied us, but Emilia decided to stay with the villagers and continue fostering goodwill with them.

When we reached the field, to my surprise, Rem bowed to me slightly but then walked off to the side of the field.

"Uh, Rem-rin? Are we practicing today?"

"Yes, Subaru-kun, but not with me." She shook her head slightly and smiled.

"I'll be Barusu's opponent today," Ram declared, standing across the field from me.

"Uh, Ram-chi? You aren't still angry from earlier, are you?"

"Prepare yourself," Ram said ruthlessly.

Then, a bundle of pink-haired fury launched herself at me, wind magic propelling her forward so quickly I almost had to close my eyes from the force of the after-draft.

She came at me with a spinning kick aimed right for my head. Despite having used wind magic to propel herself forward at the start of the spar, I could tell she was properly holding herself back.

Martial Talent activated, the little supporting hand in the back of my mind teaching me how to minimize unneeded movement— Ram's tier 7 mastery of martial arts kicking Martial Talent into overdrive.

I ducked under her spinning heel kick, then jumped into her guard while she was still off-balance on a single foot.

The point of this spar was to increase my martial ability, not to overpower Ram with brute force. As such, I didn't use any dragon transformation abilities.

Fully in her guard, I threw a straight punch, hoping to knock Ram off her single balanced foot.

Ram bent her upper torso sideways, bending almost like doing limbo— Her body contorting like a ballerina.

My fist missed her by inches, my fingers slightly brushing against the top of her maid uniform, her modest chest bouncing distractingly from the force.

She finished her spin, jumping onto the foot that she had used to try to kick me and gaining some distance.

It was amazing watching her move like that. It had felt like an artful dance rather than a spar, the way she used her flexibility to dodge my strike despite me being right in her personal bubble.

We stared at each other for a moment without words.

This time, I leaped after her, throwing a few punches and hoping to open a weakness in her guard.

Once again, she turned it into a dance, twisting and weaving through each punch. On the final punch, she twirled in place, my fist ever so slightly brushing past her flowing hair and over her shoulder. She leaned into me, her nose brushing into my face— barely avoiding contact.

Then she pulled a few steps away with a smirk. She gently unfolded her arm, putting her hand palm up toward me with her fingers outstretched as if to say, 'Come on.' Or maybe, to ask for a dance.

I smiled and jumped after her again, coming in with a wild swing of my arm from the right side.

She lifted her leg up impossibly high, her flexibility on display as her foot reached higher than her head, her ankle coming into contact with my hammer fist in a block. The motion displaced her skirt, giving me an eyeful of her panties. At that moment, Martial Talent stopped gaining even the slightest bit of information from Ram. In its stead, I felt Sticky Fingers pushing up against my brain, demanding to be used.

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I stared at her.

"If Scumbaru won't take initiative, then it seems that I must do so in your stead. How deplorable."

I wasn't sure if she was talking about the spar or something else.

Still on one foot, she spun, kicking my arm away from her and putting me off balance. I was still slightly confused. Martial Talent had thoroughly abandoned me, and without its aid, my entire being was off balance. I kept trying to activate it, to use its help to guide my movements. Instead, I moved sluggishly and inelegantly. It felt like I'd suddenly forgotten how to ride a bike— now trying to relearn all over again and constantly falling onto the asphalt.

Ram took advantage of my staggering, kicking out at me and wrapping her foot behind my leg. I expected her to trip me, but she just gently pulled my leg toward her. The motion unbalanced me, but she did it slowly enough that it mostly just forced me to take an awkwardly long step toward her.

She reached a hand out at me. I tried to raise my arm in a block, but her hand snaked around my arm and locked it out.

I stared at her blushed face, her modest chest rising and falling with heavy breaths. Sticky Fingers informed me it wasn't because she was tired.

Sticky Fingers tried to tell me how to unhook my arm and twist it in just the right way to reverse who was in control and subsequently use that opportunity to go in for a kiss. I ignored it, and I instead tried to throw a punch at the pink-haired beauty in front of me.

She twisted, still in full control of my arm. The backs of our hips met, and she heaved me over herself, flipping me hard down into the dirt.

The landing knocked the wind out of me, a giant gasp escaping my lips.

I had no time to breathe as Ram practically jumped onto me, her lips crashing into mine and stealing away what little opportunity for breath I might have otherwise had.

I tried to push her away, trying to get some air into my lungs. My body was reacting on instinct, every cell in my body desperate to get oxygen through any means possible. My diaphragm spasmed, and I tried to suck in a breath, but Ram was unyielding. I met her body with mine, bucking up against her hips with mine, trying to throw her off.

She clashed against me, not painfully, but firmly, forcing me back into the dirt and keeping me under her. She greedily and aggressively kissed me, using both of her hands to force my shoulders into the ground.

Finally, in her own time, she released her lips from mine. I immediately took in a giant breath, gasping for air. With wide eyes, I stared at Ram's face as she hovered right over me, still pushing me into the ground.

Her legs wrapped around mine, and she firmly sat down on top of me. She snaked her hands up from my shoulders, never fully letting me go, and running her hands up my arms.

Our hands met, Ram desperately entwining our fingers together and raising my arms above my head.

My heart raced.

She stared down at me with a frown, her eyebrows creased. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

I gulped.

"Do you have any idea what it is like to be denied, after so fervently throwing away my pride and pursuing you? How horrible to force yourself upon me and then not return my own advances."

I glanced at where she held our hands above my head, our palms beginning to go white. "I'm pretty sure you're the one forcing yourself on me," I retorted without heat.

"Wrong," Ram deadpanned. "Last night, I felt everything you did to my cute little sister. This was after you had just denied me something more proper. What am I? Your leftovers? Something to be teased without ever going all the way? Something to taunt-- only to deny me a more proper romance? You disgust me."

Despite her words, her tone was straight and to the point, without any true venom. They washed over me without any hurt themselves. I did feel bad about one thing, though.

"I never intended to treat you as something like leftovers. It's true, Rem is number one in my heart, but I want to make you happy, too."

"Then, prove it. You have a ready and willing maiden right here. It wouldn't be like you to keep me waiting."

I turned my head to the side to search for Rem, who should still be on the sidelines. I only got the briefest flash of her blue hair before Ram's stern hand forced my head to turn back and look up at her again.

"I'm asking for your full attention; my sister has nothing to do with that, does she?"

Fade to black