“To be frank, Roswaal’s a traitor.”

“Even from you, I have a hard time believing that, Barusu.” The stamp made Ram loyal, not trusting.

Besides, she had been practically head over heels with Roswaal for about a decade at this point. There was no way she would just accept my words blindly, stamp or not.

“Beatrice can confirm Subaru’s words, in fact. I see everything in this manor, in fact. He hired the bowel hunter to go after Emilia and later hired the purple-haired child to curse Subaru, in fact.”

We were all sitting in the Forbidden Library, chairs summoned from the aether for all four of us to sit independently. Rem was on my right, and Beako on my left. Ram sat next to her sister, completing the circle and sitting across from me.

“Before we continue, there is something seriously wrong with this situation,” I declared.

Beako nodded her head, as if agreeing with my profound statement. Then, I unceremoniously stood up, picked Beako up from under the arms, and squished her into my lap as I sat back down. For a moment, she squirmed, and I thought for sure she would protest. But she didn’t.

I looked down at the top of her head, staring in shock. “What, you aren’t going to get adorably mad (tsun)?

“If it’s Subaru, it’s fine, I suppose.” The tips of her ears turned red as she mumbled.

Huh, that was different.

To my right, something soft grabbed my hand.

“Rem-rin?” I questioned.

She looked at me with a pout. “Remember to pay attention to your Rem, too.” She looked into her lap.

“Barusu. You womanizer,” Ram accused, deadpan.

“You’ll be joining soon, too, Ram-chi.” I tilted my head, closed my eyes, and moved my bangs in classic ikemen fashion. “And maybe Emilia too, I haven’t decided yet.”

“Ram’s heart belongs to Roswaal-sama.”

“We’ll see about that.” Not that Rem and I had done anything more than kissing, either. Yet.

Well, we had finally gotten past Canon. From here on out, I was going to be making a lot of changes. Since we had already defeated Greed and Ley, I had already thoroughly derailed Canon anyway. At this point, I was starting to wonder what we should even do from here on out.

The obvious first thing was to pull Ram fully into the fray. Unlike a certain Lee-minded devil, I had no interest in hiding my dragon heritage from my allies and certainly not from my lovers.

“Ram, I’m a dragon.”

“Rem, Rem, I think Barusu has finally gone insane.”

“Onee-sama, onee-sama, Subaru-kun deluded himself into believing he’s a dragon.” Rem nodded her head.

Rem already knew for a fact that I was a dragon, so I realized she was just playing along with her sister.

After their byplay was over, I summoned the Smartphone to my hand.

“What is that, I wonder?” Beako asked from my lap.

“It’s a magic device that allows me to access my pocket dimension.”

“Ah, the place from before.” Beako nodded.

Ram just looked between the two of us, measuring our words.

Using the Smartphone, I summoned the portal to my Sweet Home. Rem got up and walked through easily enough, but Ram needed a bit of encouragement.

“Alright, Onee-sama,” I said, “Bad Oni go into the naughty portal.”

“Barusu, never utter those words again for as long as you live.”

“Yes, yes.” I pushed her forward by the small of her back. Despite being so frail and tiny-looking, I knew she could have easily resisted me if she’d wanted to.

She stepped through the portal in front of me, Beako and I following in behind her, holding hands.

“A location connected to the Forbidden Library?” Ram asked aloud.

“It is not, in fact. This place has nothing to do with Betty, I suppose.”

I closed the portal behind us and, without further ado, transformed into a dragon.

Much like Beako had done just yesterday, Ram gaped at me. She almost stepped backward as if to run away.

Before she would get too intimidated, I leaned my head down on the ground, passive, and said, “Don’t worry, I’m still just Barusu.”

My words eased Ram’s shoulders, and she took a moment to straighten out her maid’s skirt. Then, she grabbed onto Rem’s hands and pushed her cheek against her sister’s. Each of them even put one foot up in the air behind them.

“Rem, Rem, I’m afraid a giant beast is going to kill us for food.”

“Onee-sama, onee-sama, Subaru-kun’s a giant dragon with a giant appetite.”

“Betty wants to explore the dragon, in fact. He probably has impressive yin magic, in fact.”

Ignoring their commentary, I transformed back into plain ole’ Subaru, tracksuit and all.

“So, I’m a dragon,” I repeated to Ram.

The two sisters stopped their pose but continued to hold hands. “This will certainly improve Emilia’s chance for the Royal Selection,” Ram said, staring at me intently.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“It’s hard to compete with a hero who’s also a dragon,” Rem nodded her head. “As expected of my hero.” I could practically see the hearts in her eyes.

Ram side-eyed her sister, “Can I ask you not to flirt with Barusu while still holding my hand?”

Rem just smiled. “Subaru declared that he was pursuing you as a woman, too, you know. Rem cannot ignore that. I’d like for my sister to find all the happiness.”

“Don’t joke around, Rem,” Ram said deadpan. Then she put her face in her hand. “Now there’s two of you spouting nonsense.” She looked up at me, “How dare you corrupt my cute, innocent little sister.”

“This pocket space is even more isolated than the Forbidden Library,” I began, ignoring Ram's quip, “Everything we do in here is absolutely private, no being can enter this space without express permission.”

The one thing I didn’t mention was Satella’s presence. I had a tag-along directly attached to my soul, so she was, for all intents and purposes, along for the ride, as it were.

“As such, this space is absolutely safe. Summon my company-issued smartphone and open the portal as an emergency evacuation measure. Any questions?”

“Everything you just said gave me more questions than you answered, Barusu.”

“Betty still wonders what this ‘Smartphone’ is, I suppose.”

I gently tossed the Smartphone in Beako’s direction, causing her to fumble as she tried to catch it.

“Geez!” She pouted after finally getting ahold of it.

“So basically, this is an infinitely safe, infinitely private pocket dimension. I’m a dragon, and you three are my waifus.” I crossed my arms in an x across my chest, “Subaru-kun is no longer taking questions at this time.” I said ‘waifus’ with a heavy American accent, so Rem and Ram didn’t get what I was saying.

Beako, on the other hand, mumbled the word to herself a few times, trying different pronunciations. Eventually, her face lit up scarlet, and I realized she realized what I’d said. She looked up at me, almost like a deer staring at headlights. I just patted her head.

Caught in the act, Beako said demurely, “I will figure out all the strange terms you employ, I suppose.”

I just continued patting Beako’s head. But Rem soon separated from her sister and walked over to the two of us.

She looked up at me with large eyes.

“Ah, I see. Rem-rin needs headpats, too, huh?”

Her eyes sparkled.

Headpats ensued.

Ram raised her hand.

“Yes, onee-sama?” I asked.

“So, I understand that Barusu is no longer taking questions, but I’m asking one anyway.”

I nodded my head, “As expected of onee-sama.”

“Why is Barusu a dragon?”

“Yes, alright. I’m not taking questions.” I repeated. I sold my soul to an inter-dimensional evil organization— yeah, I didn’t think that explanation would go over well.

“Alright, everyone who’s ready to go save Emilia-sama, raise your hands!”

No one raised their hands.

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I sat on the edge of the massive California-king mattress in the master bedroom, deep in thought. I knew that Roswaal had plans on making Emilia queen but that those plans would also turn Emilia insane in the process. I knew that Elsa and her younger sister, Meili, were on their way over to try and murder us. Additionally, I knew the Insatiable Hare was about to come down on our heads.

Luckily, I had a Beako-sized solution to that very last problem, but the other three weren’t so simple.

First of all, how much did I even care about Emilia? Alright, that line of thinking was a bit harsh, I decided. She mattered, even if she lacked main heroine vibes. I reserved those for Rem.

But did I really want her to be ruler? More importantly, now that Rem was safe from Gluttony, what was my goal here? Where did I go from here?

In my teenage years, I could have answered that my goal was to find love and end my loneliness. But I wasn’t that person anymore. And, I felt so graciously lucky that I had the women in my life that I did. So where did Emilia fit into that? What was stopping me from opening a portal to another dimension right this instant or even just secluding myself in my Sweet Home for eternity with those I cared about?

Well, first of all, I decided Rem and Ram would not agree to abandoning Emilia. However, I could probably convince Beako to abscond with me right this second if I were so inclined (which I wasn’t).

I guess my goal, put in those terms, was pretty simple. Find happiness, and make sure those along for the ride are happy, too. I would save Emilia, I decided— if for no other reason than to remain a hero in Rem’s eyes and a loyal ally in Ram’s. And, since the Sin Archbishops weren’t going to stop coming for Emilia, I just had to get ready. First step was overcoming Roswaal’s scheme.

If this eventually meant I had to deal with Satella, or god forbid Pandora, then so be it.

With my heart decided on the future, I was able to sleep easy. Until the knock at my door.

“Yes?” I called out.

The door handle turned, and a pale hand reached around the door to pull it open.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Rem admitted.

I swallowed. “Ohh,” I cleared my throat, “In that case...” I trailed off.

“Can I sleep with you?” Rem asked.

“Ooh!-kay.”

I scooted over on the bed a bit and patted the area next to me.

Rem sat down next to me on the bed, slightly depressing the mattress away from me, almost drawing me to her.

Rem stared at the floor and reached out for my hand. Our hands met somewhere between the two of us, resting on the mattress.

“Geez, don’t act so shy,” Rem said, “It was Subaru-kun who saw me naked for the first time, you know?”

I swept my eyes across her. She wore the same thin, light blue nightgown from the night I stamped her. It had a tiny ribbon on the chest area and covered her modestly up to the neckline. Her blue hair was loose, her normal hair ties and maid’s head covering absent.

“Subaru-kun saved this Rem, you know? Back in the forest against the mabeasts and again with the battles against the archbishops. Rem didn’t even have to do anything. You were just there. Subaru-kun is truly amazing.”

I felt heat move up my cheeks, and a sudden instinctual urge to claim what was mine came over me. That feeling wasn’t something I used to have, and since the urge included the desire to mount and bite, I’m pretty sure that was my dragon-side talking. I pushed down the foreign feelings for a moment, trying to properly listen to and appreciate Rem.

I spoke up, “You saved me, too, you know. Before I knew it, I’d fallen for the unassuming blue-haired maid. I really never thought a girl like you could exist. You are the type of person to love someone with your whole heart, not willing to give anything up. Not many people would be willing to sacrifice themselves as selflessly as you are.”

Rem shook her head, “No, it’s Subaru-kun who’s amazing. If I could live up to even ten percent of the greatness you have, I’d be happy.”

I sucked in a breath. What did I do to deserve this girl?

“But Rem can’t help but worry, you know.”

I looked at her, my heart dropping a bit after hearing her concerned tone.

“It’s frustrating to admit, but when you declared your intent to pursue nee-sama, I was jealous. It makes sense, because she’s much more amazing than me, but I can’t help be frustrated...”

I wanted to reassure her. “I don’t think your sister is more amazing than you. I cherish you at the highest spot in my heart. Half of the things I say to your sister are just teasing her; honestly, I don’t really know if she could fall in love with me.”

“If it’s Subaru-kun, she’ll definitely fall for you.”

She was still looking into her lap, but I felt her hand squeeze mine just a little bit tighter. “If you keep adding all of these women, will there still be room left in your heart for Rem?” She looked at me then, her eyes glistening.

From our connected hands, I pulled her into my chest and held her there. We stayed like that for a moment, just enjoying each other’s warmth on the bed. She smelled nice, a mellow, sweet smell reaching my nose.

“I could never let my heart become so full that there wouldn’t be room for you. My heart is already yours to reserve, after all,” I reassured her.

“I know I said that I couldn’t accept your offer to elope with you, and I don’t regret my choice. I just want to know that you’ll always let Rem stay by your side.” I could hear her yearning.

“You... It’s not that I’m going to simply let you stay by my side. I’m going to always be checking to make sure you’re still there.” I rubbed gentle circles on her back.

She looked up into my face. “You’d really do that for someone like me?” She asked sincerely, her lips trembling.

“I’m grateful that I get to do it for you.”

She pulled away from me slightly to rub at her eyes. Then, she beamed at me.

“Is it really okay,” she sniffled, “For me to have such happiness?”

“My greatest joy is getting to see your happiness.”

“Can Rem keep spending nights with Subaru like this?”

“If she doesn’t, I’ll go looking for her until I find and invite her.”

“Subaru-kun!”

All of a sudden, my heart started beating faster. I felt something bubbling up inside me, excitement, nervousness, and anticipation all smashing together.

“Rem-san?”

Then, a knock at the door.