Subaru woke up early the next morning. Last night’s carnage still bothered him but looking across the room to see Emilia sleeping there with a smile on her face was a wonderful way to wake up.

Subaru became aware of something small and furry that was floating just over his head.

“Did anything happen last night that I should be made aware of?” Puck asked with an edge in his voice.

“Well, I did kill a troll last night,” Subaru said with a yawn.

Puck blinked, looking confused.

“Puck?” Emilia asked in a sleepy voice, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“Lia, are you alright?” Puck darted over to her.

Emilia looked confused. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Puck spun around in midair to glower at Subaru.

Subaru sighed. The sun just came up. It is too freaking early in the morning to be dealing with a jealous, possessive cat who can both read my mind and end me whenever he wants. “Oh for God’s sake, Puck! Nothing happened! We’re even sleeping in two different beds! What could you even be thinking that we did?!”

“I’m not sure what you’re worried about, Puck,” Emilia said slowly, “But I thought that sleeping here would give Subaru and me more time to talk. It didn’t seem to be a big deal.”

Puck sighed. He looked at Subaru with annoyance. “Just remember, Subaru: you and Lia are probationary. I still have my doubts about you.”

Subaru shook his head. “And what are the odds of a mortal creature living long enough to resolve said doubts?”

Puck didn’t answer and simply shepherded a confused Emilia out the door. “Come on, Lia. We need to get you dressed.”

“Bye, Subaru!” Emilia shouted as the tiny flying spirit literally pushed her out the door.

“Bye, Mili!” He yelled back as she disappeared around the corner.

Subaru shook his head and laughed.

After breakfast, Subaru and Emilia had just sat down on the couch to talk when a very annoyed-looking Beatrice entered the room carrying Puck.

Subaru raised an eyebrow as Beatrice tried to climb into a chair on the other side of the room.

“No, not here, Betty. Over there,” Subaru heard Puck whisper.

Beatrice turned around to look at Subaru and Emilia. Beatrice looked absolutely humiliated but she came over to the couch where the two sat and, with some effort, managed to wedge herself and Puck into the small space between Subaru and Emilia.

“Really, Puck?” Subaru asked.

Puck smirked at him.

“What’s going on?” Emilia asked.

Subaru snickered, getting an idea. “Oh, don’t you see, Mili?” Subaru asked in a sad voice.

She shook her head, frowning.

“Beatrice is lonely. That’s why she’s sitting here with us,” Subaru explained, hiding a smile with difficulty.

Beatrice visibly jumped while Puck looked confused. “Betty is not lonely!” She protested. “Betty is just doing what her Bubby-”

“It’s OK, Beako,” Subaru soothed. “We all love you. Oh, you poor dear, you need a hug. Mili, help me hug her,” Subaru instructed.

Beatrice’s jaw dropped.

Emilia nodded seriously and they both wrapped their arms around the spirit loli.

“No!” Beatrice shrieked. “Betty does not need hugs! Betty just needs her Bubby, I suppose!” Beatrice leaped off the couch, clutching Puck, and raced out of the room at top speed.

Subaru got one glimpse of Puck staring back at him in frustration as the two disappeared out of the room.

Subaru burst out laughing.

Emilia looked at Subaru with suspicion. “Subaru, what just happened?”

“Oh, I was just having some fun with Puck,” Subaru snickered.

“Don’t you be mean to Puck!” Emilia said, putting her hand on her hips. “And why has Puck been acting so weird lately?”

“Weird?”

“Yes! He kept asking me questions about what we did last night and when I asked him what he meant he got all flustered and didn’t answer me! And why is he telling me not to be around you so much? Every time I ask, he admits he likes you so why doesn’t he want me to spend time with you? He won’t tell me!”

Subaru frowned. Maybe Emilia really doesn’t know how Puck feels about this. If she’s really been alone for a long time, except for Puck, then she probably doesn’t have much experience with human relationships. I know the overprotective father trope from a thousand different sitcoms but Emilia is probably encountering it for the first time.

“You know, Mili,” Subaru began awkwardly. “Fathers tend to have trouble when their daughters first become… romantically involved with people. They can get jealous and possessive because they feel like someone is taking their little girl away. They worry that they won’t get the same kind of attention as before. It’s certainly an unattractive trait but it’s very common.”

Emilia gasped. “Are you saying Puck is afraid I’m going to leave him?” She asked in a stricken voice.

“No! No, I don’t think he thinks that,” Subaru disagreed. “It’s just… I think Puck is little afraid of change right now.”

“I don’t understand.”

“How long have you and Puck been together?” Subaru asked.

“About seven years I think, ever since he thawed me out of the ice,” Emilia answered.

Subaru stared at her. “…OK. I am definitely going have some more questions about that. But for right, now let’s stay on topic,” Subaru continued. “It’s been just the two of you for almost seven years. That worked for Puck. He had you all to himself. But now there’s the possibility of someone else in the mix and that your attention could be divided. You might not have as much time for him. You might even decide you love someone else as much as you love Puck. Those ideas make Puck a little… scared.”

Wait, am I describing a father who’s afraid of letting go of his little girl or am I describing a little kid who doesn’t want someone taking his Mommy away? Or maybe I’m describing a father who acts just like a little kid?

“I didn’t mean to hurt Puck,” Emilia said, sounding very guilty.

“You’re not the one hurting him-”

“Lord Subaru and Lady Emilia,” Ram said primly as she entered the room. “Miss Petra is here to speak with you.”

Subaru shut up and took Emilia’s hand.

Emilia quickly composed herself and said, “Please, ask her to come in.”

Petra walked into the room looking quite overwhelmed by the manor. As soon as she saw Subaru she turned bright red.

“Hello, Petra, how are you today?” Subaru asked.

Petra didn’t answer.

Oh boy. I recognize these signs. Somebody has a crush, presumably on me but Emilia isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Why is it that even back home all the girls who fall in love with me are like half my age? Can’t I attract someone around my own age? What does it say about me that the only people who think I’m cool and mature are around ten years old? I mean I guess this trait of attracting girls half my age might be nice if continues into my forties but right now it’s really inconvenient.

Subaru suddenly had an idea.

“Emilia, could I ask you to entertain Petra for a bit? I have a chore I should take care of. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Subaru said, getting off the couch.

“Of course,” Emilia said, bidding Petra to come closer.

Petra seemed much more comfortable entering the room now that Subaru was leaving it. OK, maybe it’s not a crush. Maybe she’s just scared of me after she watched me tear apart a company of soldiers and a giant cyclops last night. I’d certainly understand it but that would still suck.

After leaving Emilia and Petra alone, Subaru searched the manor for Beatrice’s library. He found it on the third floor.

“Gah!” Beatrice screamed as soon as he opened the door. Beatrice flopped off her futon, hiding behind it like a shield. She raised one hand threateningly while she cradled Puck in the other. “Don’t come any closer, in fact! Betty is not for hugging!” She said as if threatening a battle to death.

“Relax, Beako. I’m not here to bother you. I actually wanted to talk to Puck,” Subaru replied.

“About what?” Puck grumbled.

“About Emilia. Isn’t that something that we could talk about?” Subaru asked.

Puck pulled himself out of Beatrice’s arms and floated over to Subaru with his arms folded across his chest. “Talk.”

Subaru sighed. “OK, Puck. I know you’re not exactly crazy about my proposing to Mili. So I thought we might at least try to find common ground.”

“‘Common ground?’” Puck lashed his tail. “What common ground could we possibly have?”

“Well, we both want Emilia to be happy, right? So that’s something we have in common,” Subaru replied.

Puck’s eyes narrowed but he didn’t reply.

Subaru sighed. “Look, I know this is all happening really fast. Emilia and I need to remain engaged at least until after the selection is over. By then it’s extremely likely that Emilia will have decided I’m not the man for her and she’ll break the engagement off.”

“Oh no, that would be just awful,” Puck said in a throughly unconvincing voice.

Subaru briefly wondered if Puck could survive being hit by Indomitable. “But,” Subaru grated. “That gives us two years where we need to find a way to live with each other.”

“Why would I bother to do that?” Puck sniffed.

“Because you’re hurting Emilia,” Subaru said flatly.

Puck went absolutely still.

“You really didn’t notice?” Subaru asked. “It bothers the hell out of Emilia every time we fight. It makes her miserable. So every time you and I go at it, we are hurting Emilia.”

I could easily point out that you have been the one picking all of the fights, Puck, but I’m trying to make peace right now.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Subaru. I’d do anything for Lia,” Puck said his eyes dangerously intent. “I’m on her side. Always.”

“Me too,” Subaru stated. “So, assuming we both really mean those words and it’s not just hot air, we need to find a way to deal with each other.”

Puck’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not just going to let you take my daughter away, Subaru!”

Subaru sighed. “I’m not going to take her away. If I thought that would work, I’d have already done it. Don’t you think I’d like to have her undivided attention as much as you would?”

Puck started and his eyes opened wide.

Yup. I thought that was how he felt.

“I’m not trying to get Emilia away from you because it would make her sad. It’s just that simple,” Subaru said. “If having you in her life would make Emilia a tiny bit happier, if you being there would make her smile just a little bit more often, why wouldn’t I beg you to stay with her and do exactly that? My goal is to make Emilia as happy as possible. If that means sharing her with you then that’s just what I have to do.”

Puck floated silently for a moment.

“We have a common goal, Puck. We should work together to carry it out,” Subaru urged.

Puck glanced away.

“Lia is… happier when you’re around,” Puck admitted after a moment. “You’re the first real friend she’s ever had. The first one who didn’t treat her differently because of how she looks,” Puck paused. “If I killed you or drove you away, Lia would be unhappy.”

Do you have to talk about my death as if you were swatting a fly, Puck?

“So I guess the only solution is for us to live with each other and work together to keep Mili happy,” Subaru said. “Hey, who knows? We do this long enough, you and I might even learn to like each other!”

Puck actually cracked a smile. “That’s pretty optimistic of you, Subaru. You’d have to make Lia really happy before I decided I liked you,” His face became serious. “Subaru. Do not make me regret this. I’m trusting you with the most precious thing in the entire world.”

“I think we can agree on that, Puck,” Subaru replied with a slight smile.

They were both quiet for a moment.

“Puck, why don’t you go pop in on Mili for a bit? I think she’s worried that she made you angry. Seeing you would do her good,” Subaru suggested.

Pucked stiffened. “Oh crap! Lia, thinks I’m mad at her?!” He vanished.

“Now that you have taken Betty’s Bubby away, you can leave here, I suppose,” Beatrice sniffed.

Subaru noticed Beatrice was now standing next to him with her arms folded across her chest.

I guess Beako decided I wasn’t going to immediately try to hug her again, Subaru thought.

“You have a lot of books in here, Beako,” Subaru said, ignoring her instructions. “Why don’t you keep them in the other library?”

“This is Betty’s library, I suppose. It was given to Betty by mother to protect,” Beatrice replied.

“And your mother is also Puck’s mother? Where is she at?” Subaru asked.

“Ugh. Stop asking stupid questions, I suppose!” Beatrice growled, sitting down on her stool and opening a large book while pointedly ignoring Subaru.

Subaru walked over to a bookshelf and plucked down a book at random. “Hmm. Interesting,” Subaru opened it and was confronted with a myriad collection of incomprehensible symbols. “Oh right. I forgot I can’t read this language,” Subaru sighed. “That really needs to be my number one task right now. Nobody wants an illiterate on the throne,” Subaru mused to himself while putting the book back in place.

“Subaru!” Emilia called from behind him.

Subaru turned around to see Emilia, Puck, Petra, and the twins standing in the doorway.

“Subaru, the village of Arlem is holding a feast today to celebrate you rescuing them and we’ve all been invited!” Emilia said smiling.

“Neat!” Subaru said, noticing that Petra was again bright red and staring at her shoes.

“Come on, Subaru,” Puck said, floating up to him. “If you’re going to play the hero you have to let people thank you once in a while. Otherwise they’ll feel guilty.”

“Good advice, Puck,” Subaru said with a smile.

“I’ll go prepare the carriage,” Rem said, walking away.

“We should get moving or we’ll be late,” Ram agreed, following her sister.

Subaru started to leave the library and then paused. He glanced back at Beatrice who was buried in her book, although considering that her eyes weren’t moving, it was hard to believe she was actually reading it.

“Hey, Beako, want to come to the party with us?” Subaru asked gently.

Beatrice looked up from her book only to sneer at him. “And why would Betty want to come with you, I suppose?”

Subaru actually smiled at this.

OK I don’t need Reason and Judgment for this. Beatrice acts angry but she’s clutching that book like a shield. Beatrice is scared of something. I bet she really wants to get out of here and her acting like this is just a defense mechanism.

“Well,” Subaru said thoughtfully. “For one thing, Puck will be there.”

Beatrice gave Subaru a look that wished him a very slow death as she put down her book.

Rem drove the carriage while Ram sat next to Petra. Emilia and Subaru sat across from them, sandwiching Beatrice who held Puck.

“You know, Subaru, the little girl was saying some very nice things about you,” Puck informed him.

Petra turned bright red and tried to hide behind Ram.

Unfortunately for Petra, Ram wasn’t having any of it. “Sit still!’ Ram snapped and Petra froze in place.

“Apparently you became some kind of big hero while I was sleeping,” Puck continued.

“Sorry, buddy,” Subaru replied. “Next time I almost die, I’ll wake you up so you can watch,” Subaru snickered.

Well OK, Puck’s been taunting me the whole trip but at least he’s being good humored about it. And he’s been talking to me on this trip instead of just ignoring me. I know that ‘buddy’ is a major stretch but actually I think this is a very good sign.

As they pulled into Arlem, Subaru hopped out the carriage door. The entire square was decorated and enormous tables were piled high with food. There was quite a crowd who all seemed very excited to see the carriage. Subaru reached up to help the ladies down.

I remember seeing stuff like this in movies. A gentleman assists the lady out of the carriage, right? It seems like the right thing to do in this situation, Subaru mused.

Subaru extended his hand to Petra as she exited the carriage. Petra flushed but she took his hand and he helped her hop down. Then Petra darted off into the crowd, most likely looking for her Mom.

Ram came out next. Subaru offered her his hand but Ram looked at it as though it hadn’t been washed in a week then leapt down on her own and walked away without looking at Subaru.

Beatrice came out next, holding Puck. Subaru offered her his hand.

“And what is this about, I suppose?” Beatrice asked.

“I’m trying to be a gentleman, I guess?” Subaru replied, wondering if he had screwed this whole thing up. “I was going to help you down.”

“Hm. What makes you think Betty needs help, I suppose?” She asked with a sniff.

“I didn’t think you needed help. I thought you might want help,” Subaru replied. He suddenly thought of something. “After all, life can be incredibly lonely if there’s no one around to help you,” He added.

Beatrice started and then fumed but she ultimately let Subaru take her hand. She gently bounced down onto the ground. She walked away with Puck without looking back.

Emilia was last and she smiled down at Subaru when he offered her his hand. She took it and then landed gracefully. The two of them just smiled at each other for a moment. Without even thinking about it, Subaru reached out and brushed back a stray lock of hair on her cheek.

Emilia flushed but she didn’t stop smiling.

Subaru coughed glancing away. “Rem! Do you need any help with the carriage?”

“No, Lord Subaru,” Rem said, jumping down from the high seat with no apparent concern and making to follow her sister. “Everything is attended to.”

“Lord Subaru?” He whispered to Emilia. “When did she start calling me that?”

“Maybe she’s starting to see who you are beneath appearances. A smart man once told me that your appearance doesn’t say anything about who you are as a person,” Emilia told him with a smile.

“I know for a fact it was not a smart man who told you that,” Subaru quipped as the two joined the party.

The feast was ebullient and festive. Subaru and Emilia were the absolute centers of attention. Emilia was nervous around so many people but she began to relax as she realized that they didn’t feel threatened by her appearance. Subaru, on the other hand, was seriously distracted. He was struggling to keep the smile on his face and engage in the vapid pleasantries typical of both nobles and politicians.

Before the feast started, the Village Chief had brought them on a tour of the village: A very very short tour since you could view almost the entire village just by standing in the square. However, Subaru had learned two things which he thought would be of immense value. And a third that made him extremely worried.

The first was when he noticed an unplowed field. “Excuse me, Chief,” Subaru said. “If you’re worried about having enough food for the winter like you said, why aren’t you planting over there?”

The Chief glanced at where he was pointing. “Oh, we leave those fields fallow this year. It’s good for the soil.” The chief answered.

Fallow… I remember that word from school… what did they tell us?

Wait a second! You don’t need to leave fields fallow. It was…

Shit where did I hear this… It was at school…

Oh, I remember now! It was that asshole history teacher! Crop Rotations! He insisted on us learning crop rotations for like three months. It was the most boring history class I ever slept through. I think Mom said that the teacher had written a book on ‘History of Farming Techniques’ or something and decided to just teach us that instead of actual world history. I remember the Principal had to get involved before we even opened our text books.

God, I can’t believe I actually remember this shit. Then again he spent three months drilling it into our heads. We used to call it a legal form of torture. Or is it that Reason and Judgment is jogging my memory?

“Hey, Chief,” Subaru asked. “What kind of crops do you usually grow out here?”

“Oh, corn, wheat, and barley usually,” The chief answered. “We don’t make much money on anything else.”

Those are all ‘greedy’ crops. If he’s growing those one after the other no wonder the soil around here stinks. Jeez, I can’t believe I remember all this crap. Oh God. Please don’t tell me I owe that asshole teacher a debt. I just couldn’t handle it.

“Doesn’t look like you’ve got too many animals out here,” Subaru commented.

“Unfortunately, no. It’s very hard to keep them fed through the winter,” The chief explained. He then continued the tour pointing out everyday objects as though they were important.

Emilia gave Subaru a quizzical look but Subaru mouthed: ‘Later’ and she nodded.

Well, it makes sense that they don’t have many animals if those are the only crops they grow. They’re not growing anything to feed the animals through the winter. I remember that asshole told us that the four crop rotation system was what allowed farmers to stop letting fields go fallow so often.

Come to think of it I think that was also what let them keep more animals right? The cycle was… come on Subaru, this was a question on every weekly review test for two months straight!

It was corn… or wheat, then turnips, then barley… then clover? Yeah, I think that’s right. Corn is really greedy for nutrients so you grow that first. Turnips don’t need the same nutrients as corn and wheat so you can grow them after the greedy crop with no problem, and I think they even might put some nutrients back in the soil.

Yeah I remember now! Two human crops and two animal crops. Wheat and barley for people and the turnips and clover feed the animals. Those fields of animal feed let you raise and keep more animals. Clover is supposed to be super good for the soil. Then after you feed the animals a diet of clover, their manure is supposed to be rich in nutrients for the soil.

Could starting an agricultural revolution help Emilia and I take the throne? Maybe. Of course, the question is: how do we even start one and how do we make sure we get credit for it?

Subaru’s second revelation came when they briefly visited Petra’s house, whose mother worked as a seamstress. The house was a small one-room cottage that the family shared. Petra’s mother had a small workplace near her bed where she appeared to sew clothing by hand.

Mom liked to sew when she was younger. It was just a hobby but I remember that sewing machine she used. I remember one year it had broken and before we tossed it away and got a new one, she and Dad had cracked it open so I could look inside. So they could show me all the gears. Yeah, I remember I was super into legos and gears at that age so the sewing machine innards were pretty cool. I… I think I remember how it worked. I think I remember how all those gears fit together. Could I make one? If got someone to make gears, could I make a sewing machine? I think I could. And if I did what would that be worth?

It wasn’t until Subaru was sitting beside Emilia at the feast and trying to keep a smile on his face that the third revelation occurred to him.

OK, Subaru. We need to have a very serious chat. You do realize that all of this is bullshit, right? Subaru mused to himself.

Oh yeah, you totally remember how complex crop rotations work. You read about them in a class you slept through five years ago; it makes perfect sense.

And, of course, you remember how that old sewing machine worked. You looked at it for a full ten minutes when you were eight years old. It’s only natural that it was imprinted on your brain.

Wake up, Subaru. You are not this smart, you are not this creative, and every teacher you’ve ever had in your life would agree. How do you remember any of this stuff?

Subaru rubbed his face as he tried to put all this together.

It’s got to be Reason and Judgment. It really is making you smarter. That’s the only logical explanation. OK so… why is that a bad thing? That’s a good thing, right?

Well, maybe, maybe not. Indomitable makes me feel like my heart is going to pop like a soap bubble whenever I over rely on it. So… what is Reason and Judgment doing to me? So far it seems free to use but what if there’s a big price tag attached and I just don’t know what it is? Could it be affecting my mind? If it changed my behavior and personality, would I even be aware that it was happening? There’s nobody here who could warn me if my personality was changing. None of them know me well enough yet to recognize the signs.

Come to think of it, even if that was happening, what could I do about it? I could stop using Reason and Judgment actively but if this theory is right, it might also having a passive effect on me just by possessing it. Even if I knew for certain that it was poisoning me, how could I ever completely shut it off?

Well, maybe that’s the real answer. If there’s nothing I can do about a problem I shouldn’t bother worrying about it. I should try to be aware of it, just so I know what might be happening, but even if I do prove this theory, unless I think of some way to mitigate it, I might as well ignore it.

That being said… maybe I should reduce how often I trigger Reason and Judgment. Probably should save it for emergencies until I’ve had a chance to think this through. It’ll be hard to stop using it but I can manage.

Just then, another carriage rolled into the village, a carriage that Subaru recognized.

Perfect. I so needed a distraction right now, Subaru smiled, getting up from the table and walking over to the carriage just as Reinhard van Astrea emerged from it.

“Red!” Subaru shouted, approaching the carriage.

“My lord,” Reinhard bowed. “It is wonderful to see-oof.” Reinhard choked as Subaru caught him in a hug.

“Great to see you, buddy!” Subaru smiled, stepping back.

Reinhard couldn’t help but smile. “And you as well, my friend.”

“Red?” A girl’s voice asked. “I like that!” Felt said, jumping out of the carriage. “That is officially your new name, Reinhard!” She said with a laugh.

“Hey Felt, welcome to Arlem,” Subaru said, walking over to her.

“A handshake is fine, I don’t need a hug,” Felt warned him.

“OK but this is special treatment, just this once,” Subaru warned her before shaking her hand.

Felt chuckled. Emilia was coming over to the carriage as well.

“Good news, my friend. The sage council found in favor of Lady Emilia and she may continue to participate in the selection,” Reinhard told him.

“Awesome. That is good news,” Subaru said, trying to force some enthusiasm.

Huh. Weird. You’d think I’d be happier. I guess I’d just stopped worrying about Emilia being disqualified. I mean, don’t get me wrong, two chances to win is way better than one but if Emilia had been disqualified I would have just promised her I would get the throne for her or otherwise deliver the blood. …Maybe I was even secretly hoping she’d be disqualified. That way she’d be completely dependent on me.

God, Subaru. You really do suck. You should go submit yourself to Puck for disciplinary action.

Well… I don’t honestly feel disappointed that Emilia is still in the selection. So at least I’m not a completely terrible person. I mean even if she became queen it’s not like I would have walked away. Well, not unless she asked me to. Honestly, when we met I was sure it was just a matter of time before she told me I was bothering her and I should go somewhere else. But over the past few days something has changed. I’m actually starting to wonder if maybe she wants me to stay.

“Well, I’m certainly happy to see you, Felt, but what brings you way out here?” Subaru asked.

“Well, Red was making the trip and I wanted to ask you a few questions,” Felt said with a smirk.

“Oh?” Subaru replied.

“The real reason is, I was afraid for Miss Felt’s safety in the city during my absence,” Reinhard interjected. “I am ashamed to admit this but I have discovered that my compatriots among the guard are not all as… righteous as I once thought. After Miss Felt gave testimony which the guard captain disapproved of, I was worried he might take advantage of my absence to do her harm, so I asked her to accompany me.”

Subaru nodded. “Well, I’m glad to see you, Felt. Sorry it’s not under better circumstances. It’s actually good that you’re here because I wanted to offer you a job.”

“Really?” She asked in surprise.

“Yeah, but we’ll get into the details later in private.”

“Hello, Miss Felt,” Emilia said, walking up to them.

Felt bit her lip and looked down at the ground. “Um. I just wanted to say that… I’m really sorry that I stole your insignia, Lady Emilia,” Felt whispered to avoid anyone overhearing them. “I thought it was just jewelry. But Reinhard explained to me how important it was and how much trouble I caused you and Subaru by taking it and… I’m just really really sorry.”

Emilia’s eyes widened and she patted Felt’s bowed head. “That’s alright. I think everything really worked out for the best. If you hadn’t taken it, I never would have met Subaru.”

“Good point,” Subaru approved.

Felt looked up at Emilia in wonder. “Wait, that’s it? Damn. I spent the whole trip up here thinking you would want to rake me over the coals a few times.”

“I did tell you,” Reinhard commented quietly.

Felt put her arms behind her head and laughed. “So, Subaru, I heard the joyous news about you two! Where’s my invitation? I thought we were friends, guy!”

Subaru laughed and even Emilia chuckled. “I promise, you’ll know as soon as we pick a date. Currently looking like about two years out at least. But hey, you’re here, join the celebration!”

“Yeah, well, before we do that, I do have a question for you, Subaru,” Felt said.

“What’s that?”

“There are all these rumors floating around town about you.” Felt said.

“Whatever it is, I have an alibi. I was with Emilia,” Subaru said seriously.

Felt laughed. “Good one. No, people are saying that you fought a troll alone. Actually they’re saying that you not only fought the troll but killed it with your bare hands. Even the sages looked like they might believe it. Folks all over town are telling stories about ‘Subaru the Invincible.’ Is there any truth to that?”

“Of course not,” Subaru laughed.

Felt smugly held out her hand and Reinhard dropped a gold coin in her palm with a sigh.

“The troll had a battle axe. I took its axe away and then used that to kill the troll,” Subaru finished.

Felt’s jaw dropped and a grinning Reinhard deftly plucked the coin out of her hand and returned it to his pocket.

Subaru squinted.

Is it just me or does Red look really pleased with himself?

“Uh Felt? I’m guessing that Red bet a gold coin that the rumor was true but you’re not giving him any money so what did you bet?”

Felt sighed and covered her face. “Don’t ask,” She moaned.

The group returned to the manor shortly before sunset.

“Miss Ram, I spoke with Lord Roswaal before departing the city,” Reinhard said. “He asked me to give you these missives,” He handed her a stack of envelopes. “Please observe that the seal is unbroken,” Reinhard finished, taking a long hard look at Felt.

Felt folded her arms across her chest, muttering to herself.

“Thank you, Sir Reinhard,” Ram said with a perfunctory curtsy. “I will locate a room for Miss Felt. Sir Reinhard can return to his original room with Lord Subaru.”

“Ram, you’re mean,” Subaru complained.

Ram looked at him strangely.

Subaru blushed. Oh right. The only people who know where Emilia slept last night are Emilia, Puck and me!

Ram noticed that Emilia had turned a similar shade of red. “Ah,” Ram said smirking. “Well, whenever anyone wishes to change the sleeping arrangements, they can simply let me know. I’d hate to be mean.”

Subaru nodded awkwardly.

“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Reinhard said in confusion.

“I’ll tell you later,” Subaru sighed.

Felt was trying conceal her laughter and failing badly.

“Oh, don’t worry Subaru,” Puck said with a yawn from Beatrice’s arms. He sounded smug but not altogether unkind. “You’ll see her in the morning. Frankly, I’m ready for bed too.”

“Actually, I was hoping to see you right now, Emilia,” Subaru said. “Feel like taking a stroll in the gardens before bed? I wanted to talk a few things over with you.”

“Sounds pleasant,” Emilia agreed.

Puck frowned. “Lia, maybe I should-”

Emilia stopped Puck with a calm, patient look.

The spirit cat sighed. “Lia, don’t stay up too late.”

“I won’t,” She promised.

Puck disappeared.

“Well, it was nice having you with us tonight, Beako,” Subaru said to Beatrice.

Beatrice turned her face away and folded her arms. “Hm. Betty enjoyed having more time with her Bubby, I suppose.”

“You’re welcome,” Subaru said with a smile.

Beatrice looked sourly at Subaru then walked away without a word.

“Red, why don’t you and Felt head up. I’m sure you’ve both had a long couple of days,” Subaru suggested.

Reinhard nodded.

“-So that’s what I’m thinking,” Subaru finished as he walked through the garden, hand in hand with Emilia. He’d told her about both of his ideas. The Crop Rotations he was sure they could implement. The sewing machine was more iffy. He’d said nothing about his new concerns with Reason and Judgment. For one thing he’d never told her about Reason and Judgment. He’d thought about telling her about it but something had always held him back.

Well, if I told her about Reason and Judgment I’d also have to tell her that I’m worried it could be adversely affecting me. I don’t want her to be worried about it. For one thing, I’m not sure that it’s happening and for another, even if I was sure, what could we do about it? It’s probably better that I keep Reason and Judgment to myself for now, Subaru thought to himself.

Yeah, that’s a great excuse… Hell, even I don’t believe that one. I’m keeping it from Emilia for one reason: so she’ll keep being impressed with how smart I am. She knows about Indomitable but telling her about Reason and Judgment feels… much more personal. The magic that affects the outside world is one thing but if Reason and Judgment is really what’s behind all my deductions and clever decisions then… is any of it mine? Am I actually responsible for anything or am I just a husk wrapped around Reason and Judgment?

I like this new me. I feel smart. I feel capable. I… I really don’t want to have to go back to the old me, and I definitely don’t want to see the old me reflected in Emilia’s eyes.

Emilia looked off in the distance thoughtfully. She had listened attentively to Subaru’s plans. She vaguely understood Subaru’s comments about Crop Rotations but Emilia had never seen a clock in her life. So his description of a ‘sewing machine’ and its ‘gears’ and ‘levers’ were completely foreign to her.

“Why didn’t you talk to the Chief about the Crop Rotations?” Emilia asked.

Subaru shrugged. “Well, I want to give him the idea but I also wanted to figure out how we could use the idea to help our camp. The campaign is going to start soon and we need some strategy to win. Kicking off an agricultural revolution might help us but I don’t know how much or how we could take credit.”

Emilia gave Subaru a stern look. “Subaru, you’re talking about something that could ensure everyone in the kingdom has enough food to eat. We should be focusing on that and not the royal selection!”

“This isn’t an ‘either/or’ thing, Mili,” Subaru replied. “Yes, if it comes down to a choice between getting that dragon blood for you and saving people’s lives then I definitely think you should choose the latter and I’m proud of you that you did. However, that’s not the choice we’re faced with. Right now the idea is: can we think of a way to advance both goals at the same time?”

They walked in silence for a moment. “What if we announced it at the selection?” Emilia suggested. “We declare that we’re bringing agricultural innovations to Lagunica and we promise to eliminate hunger and revitalize the economy in our domain.”

“Sounds like a good idea, Mili. I mean, it would be a good idea if we had a domain,” Subaru chuckled. “Arlem is the only place that’s currently backing us and even that is kind of questionable because of their primary allegiance to Roswaal.”

“Who is also backing us!” Emilia pointed out. “If you told him about these ideas, you don’t think Lord Roswaal would be interested? Why wouldn’t he be? You’re describing a huge improvement to his realm. The peasants would be happier, better fed, more productive, and trade in the realm would skyrocket! All of this would make Lord Roswaal wealthier and more powerful. Of course he’d be interested in trying it. You should also tell Sir Reinhard. He’s one of the leaders of his family. He might be able to convince people in his domain to try it as well.”

Subaru gave Emilia a smirk. “Damn, Mili. When did you get so smart?”

Emilia glanced away with a smile. “What? You didn’t believe that I was studying in the library every day? You thought I was just pretending?”

“Actually, I always assumed you were just playing with a magic flying cat,” Subaru replied.

Emilia playfully shoved Subaru away with a laugh. When Subaru drew close to Emilia again, instead of taking her hand, he slipped his arm around her waist and they walked like that.

Emilia was smiling as she leaned into Subaru, resting her head against his shoulder.

“Puck had a lot to say about you today you know,” Emilia whispered with her eyes closed.

“Whatever it was, I’m innocent,” Subaru replied.

“Not that, you dummy!” Emilia said, playfully swatting at him. “He said he was glad that I had you there to help me whenever Puck wasn’t around.”

“Wow, praise from an overprotective father. I’m speechless,” Subaru replied.

Emilia tried to push him again but this time she was so clumsy that Subaru actually wrapped both of his arms around her waist and pulled her in closer. Emilia was smiling up at him as she tentatively wrapped her arms around his neck.

Subaru’s mouth went dry as he looked into those beautiful amethyst eyes. A man could drown in those eyes; a man could be pulled under.

“I’m glad Puck is feeling better about… us,” He murmured awkwardly.

“Me too,” Emilia whispered.

“Mili, how do you feel about us?” Subaru asked.

Emilia’s face turned red but she didn’t avert her gaze. “I’m not sure. I don’t know much about these things. I just know… that I like the way I feel when I’m near you.”

Subaru broke into a huge smile. “You can’t keep saying things like that to me, Mili. You might make me burst from happiness.”

“That’s not fair, Subaru! Don’t change the subject! You still haven’t told me how you feel about me!” Emilia scolded.

Subaru wrapped his arms around her a little tighter. She was close enough that their breath mingled in the cool evening air. “I think, you are the most amazing person I’ve met in any world,” Subaru said seriously.

“Subaru…,” Emilia whispered.

Subaru moved his face less than an inch and their lips met. The world around Subaru vanished and there was nothing but her. The living breathing vibrancy of her. The softness of her hair, the faint sound of her breathing, and the warmth of her body cradled in his arms. It was a blissful, perfect moment that Subaru felt should last for an eternity.

And then they drew apart.

Emilia glanced away shyly but she was still smiling.

“You know, I’ve been waiting for that moment since the day we met,” Subaru whispered.

“Subaru, it’s only been six days!” Emilia laughed.

“Really? It’s been that little? Because it kind of feels like I’ve already known you for a lifetime,” Subaru said seriously. He wrapped his arm around her waist and she briefly nuzzled against his shoulder as they continued their stroll.

“Me too,” She whispered.

Subaru was singing to himself when he got up to his room.

Reinhard was in the process of readying himself for bed.

“Hey, Red, how are you doing?” Subaru said, plopping down on his bed and pulling his shoes off.

“Quite well,” Reinhard said with a small smile, climbing into bed. “You certainly seem to be in fine spirits tonight.”

“Yes I am! I’m on top of the world, buddy!” Subaru laughed, standing up to undress. Then Subaru thought of something, “Hey, Red, are you tired?”

“Not particularly, is there something you need help with?”

“No, I was just hoping to get a few more details about what happened in the capitol,” Subaru said, sitting down on the bed.

Reinhard looked up at the ceiling and gathered his thoughts. “I arrived at the tavern and located Master Rom and Miss Felt. As you predicted, Miss Felt appeared to be in no danger of being caught by the guard any time soon. I explained the situation and Miss Felt agreed to help. I hid nearby while Felt was confronted by the guard and she gave them her statement,” Reinhard hesitated. “I’m forced to admit that these knights did not live up to their titles.”

“How so?”

“They threatened Miss Felt,” Reinhard almost growled. “With physical violence and worse besides. These men are unworthy of any esteem much less any title of nobility!”

Subaru watched Reinhard closely for a moment. “I’m guessing you were close to these guards,” Subaru said sadly.

Reinhard closed my eyes. “One of them was my father.”

“I’m so sorry,” Subaru murmured.

Reinhard took a deep breath and seemed to shake it off. “Not wanting to put Master Rom or Miss Felt in danger, I resolved to spend the night with them in case anyone came back to make mischief.”

Subaru raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

“The next morning, I went to the castle to give testimony and met Lord Roswaal already there. The two of us spent hours giving testimony; the same questions and the same answers over and over again. This continued until I begged leave to go and fetch Master Rom and Miss Felt.”

“Good thinking,” Subaru commented.

“Yes,” Reinhard murmured. “I found a large group of the guard waiting on the only road that Miss Felt could take to the castle. They quickly gave way before me but I have often wondered what they might have done if I had not been there.”

Subaru nodded.

“I brought Master Rom and Miss Felt to the castle and they also gave testimony. It seemed that Lady Emilia would be disqualified until the sage council heard word of your exploits in Arlem. Then the vote shifted and Lady Emilia was permitted to continue.”

“That’s what I was hoping for. That’s why I asked the Chief to send the message,” Subaru said smugly.

“I again asked Miss Felt for hospitality and spent the night with her and Master Rom. The next morning I asked Felt if she would be willing to come to the manor with me and she agreed. I spoke with Lord Roswaal before leaving and then we came out here.”

“Did Roswaal say when he was coming back?” Subaru asked.

“Not to me,” Reinhard shook his head. “Miss Ram might know. He likely would have informed her of his plans in the missives.”

“Right, I’ll ask her in the morning,” Subaru said. “Red, you brought Felt out here because you thought she might be in danger in the city, right?”

Reinhard nodded.

Subaru buried his face in his hands for a long moment and sighed. Finally he looked up at Reinhard. “Reinhard, tell me the truth: how much danger have I put Felt in by involving her in this mess?”

Reinhard considered the question carefully. “To be honest she has risen to the attention of powerful men and she is an easy target for anyone that she has offended or displeased. I would say her danger is considerable.”

“What about Rom?” Subaru asked. “I mean, I know he’s the size of a mountain but he could be in danger as well.”

Reinhard shook his head. “Master Rom is well known in the city and very much not an easy target. He has a reputation of persuading assailants to go elsewhere to play after inflicting them with major injuries. Beyond that, his testimony was swift and affected little. I believe him to be in no danger.”

“That’s good at least,” Subaru sighed and shook his head. “This whole thing with Felt is my fault, Red. I put her in danger and if she goes back to the capitol she could be in danger again.”

“We could arrange for her to make a fresh start in Karangi,” Reinhard murmured.

Subaru shook his head. “Hell, no! She might be in exile right now but that’s a temporary thing. We’re not going to send her away from everyone and everything she ever cared about. I asked her to do this. I put her in this danger. She did this because she thought she owed me. So now, and for the rest of her life, she is my responsibility. People think she’s an easy target? We’re going to fix that. When we go back to the capitol she is coming with us. At the selection ceremony, I am going to put Felt front and center so everyone knows that Felt is a major player in the Subaru/Emilia faction. People think they can go after her with impunity? I will make sure entire city knows that if anyone hurts Felt we will rain fire on them!”

Reinhard smiled broadly. “Fair words, my friend, and just what I thought you’d say. That was why I brought her out here. I thought you would feel better knowing she was close at hand to protect.”

“Very good thinking, Red,” Subaru sighed and laid down. “My debts to you keep growing. I wonder if I’ll even live long enough to pay them all back.”

“Not to worry, my friend. I shall extend you credit. We all know that you’re good for your debts,” Reinhard smiled.

“Heh. I think you’ve been spending too much time with a certain pickpocket of my acquaintance.”

Reinhard laughed.

Felt sat outside Subaru’s room in a borrowed yellow nightgown. She’d come over to their room to ask Reinhard a question but had quickly forgotten it as she listened to their conversation. As their talk trailed off and they drifted to sleep, Felt wordlessly got up and walked back to her room.

The next morning Reinhard and Subaru got up and headed downstairs for breakfast. Along the way they encountered Emilia and Felt.

“Subaru,” Emilia whispered, looking tense.

“Morning, Mili,” He frowned.

Why does Emilia look so nervous? Subaru thought.

“Subaru,” Emilia twisted her fingers in her dress awkwardly. “We really need to talk.”

Subaru hesitated a moment. “OK,” He said slowly. “Red, why don’t you and Felt go on without us. We’ll be down in a bit.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Reinhard nodded and continued down to the dinning hall, pausing only to grab Felt when it became apparent that she intended to remain behind and watch.

“Is something wrong, Mili?” Subaru asked gently.

“No… well, yes. I mean, maybe,” Emilia said helplessly.

Subaru walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. Emilia stiffened for a moment and then relaxed with a sigh, burying her face in his chest. Subaru gently guided her to sit on a nearby window still. He sat beside her, rubbing her back.

“It’s OK, Mili,” He whispered. “Take your time and work your way up to it. Remember, you and I are a team and whatever the problem is, we will deal with it together.”

Emilia looked up at him her eyes watery. “Subaru, do you… do you really mean that?”

“Of course, I do,” Subaru said, rubbing her back. “Whatever the problem is, I know we can handle it. So just tell me what’s bothering you.”

“OK,” Emilia took a deep breath. “Well it’s about… last night.”

“Last night?” Subaru swallowed hard. “Um. Do you think what we did last night was a bad idea?” He asked with a small catch in his voice.

“No! Well maybe. I mean, I liked it I’m just… I’m worried it was the wrong time,” Emilia said, looking away.

The wrong time? For a kiss? I don’t know how to interpret that!

Subaru sighed. “Emilia,” He said gently. “What’s really bothering you? I want to help but you have to tell me what’s wrong.”

Emilia took a deep breath and held it for a moment while looking Subaru straight in the eye. “It’s about the baby in my tummy,” She said.

Subaru stared at her.

“I’m sorry?” Subaru asked.

Emilia spoke in a rush, “I know that we’re not married yet and I have no idea how to be a mother but I want to make sure that the baby has lots of love from the people who must love it. I know the royal selection will make things harder but that’s not the baby’s fault so I want to make sure that no matter what we have to do we give our baby a happy and stable life,” She finished, gasping for breath.

I don’t know what to say here. What’s worse is I’m not sure I can refrain from laughing in Mili’s face.

“OK, Mili,” Subaru said, guiding her head back to his shoulder and rubbing her back. “I’m glad you told me about this. I always want to know about anything that’s upsetting you,” Subaru soothed.

Emilia relaxed against Subaru with a sigh as if announcing her pregnancy had taken every ounce of her courage.

“Emilia,” Subaru said gently. “You do know that babies don’t come from cabbages or storks or something, right?”

Emilia looked up at him. “Well, no. But when a boy and a girl kiss each other on the lips, that makes a baby right?”

Oh my God. Really? I can’t handle this.

Subaru was so torn between amusement, relief, and sheer fury at a small, flying cat that he was afraid he was going to burst.

Subaru reached out to touch the gem around Emilia’s neck. “Oooh, Puck!” He called.

The cat appeared in mid air with a yawn. “Listen, Subaru, just because we kind of bonded yesterday, it doesn’t mean I’m going to start coming when you call.”

“Puck, I’m starting to wonder if you might not have neglected a very important aspect of Emilia’s education,” Subaru said calmly.

“Like what?” Puck asked, his tail standing straight up and his arms folded defensively.

“Did you ever get around to telling her where babies come from?” Subaru asked.

Puck’s tail fell at once. His face was aghast.

“So kissing doesn’t make babies?” Emilia asked. “Not even on the lips?”

“Nope,” Subaru answered.

“So where do babies come from?” She asked Puck.

Puck looked terrified. “You know, Subaru, I think I hear Betty calling me. But I have every confidence in your ability to handle this situation. Good luck!”

Puck disappeared.

Subaru stared at the empty space in astonishment. “Get back here, you stupid flying cat! You can’t leave me to deal with this alone!” He yelled at empty air.

“Do you think Puck is mad at me?” Emilia asked.

“Nope,” Subaru said, rubbing his forehead. “No, he’s just a wimp and the next time you talk to him, please tell him that when I get my hands on him I’m going to smack his little paws.”

“Subaru, are you… upset with me?” Emilia asked, looking at the floor.

Subaru took a deep breath and remembered himself. “Of course not, Mili,” Subaru said, wrapping his arms around her. “I’m just a little annoyed with Puck. He should have explained these things to you years ago. The upshot is: You are not pregnant.”

“You’re sure?”

“Absolutely positively sure,” Subaru assured her.

“Then, Subaru, where do babies come from?”

It took Subaru and Emilia about half an hour to go over the basics. During this time, Subaru took frequent advantage of Reason and Judgment to pause time while he considered what to say.

I know I’m trying to limit my uses of Reason and Judgment except in emergencies, but if having to explain the facts of life to your girlfriend isn’t an emergency then I don’t know what is!

A virgin whose sexual expertise comes from watching hentai is explaining the mechanics of sex to an elf girl who thought you could get pregnant by kissing someone, but only on their lips. You couldn’t make this stuff up.

By the end, Emilia was blushing furiously but she also seemed to be digesting what she’d been told. “So people do that when they want to have babies?”

“Well, people do that for a lot of reasons,” Subaru replied slowly.

“Like what?”

“Well, it feels really good. And it’s a good way of experiencing… intimacy with another person,” Subaru explained.

“Have you had sex?”

“Nope,” Subaru replied.

Huh. Normally that admission would be embarrassing. Right now it’s probably the least embarrassing element of the conversation, Subaru thought.

“What did you mean by ‘experiencing intimacy?’”

“Well,” Subaru said, struggling to put the concept into words. “It’s kind of like… kissing. It’s wanting to be close to someone, as close as possible. It’s wanting to share… the closest experience that two people can share.”

“Do you want to be ‘intimate’ with me?” Emilia asked matter-of-fact.

Oh shit. Is there a right answer to this question? Somebody throw me a life preserver, I’m drowning here! Subaru thought.

Subaru coughed. “Yes. I do want to. But that is something… we will do… when we both feel ready. I’m in no hurry. I’m guessing it’s normally done after marriage on this world anyway.”

“Is it different where you come from?” She asked.

“Yeah, sex is a lot more casual back home.”

“Then why haven’t you had sex?”

Because in my former life I was a pathetic loser who rarely left his bedroom and no sane woman would touch me with a ten foot pole?

Subaru shrugged. “I never found the right woman,” He said.

“But now you think that I’m the right woman?” Emilia asked with a slight blush.

“Yes,” Subaru said, blushing as well.

“Well, I mean if you wanted to do… that, I think we could-” She said uncomfortably.

“You know, Mili,” Subaru interrupted. “I think the wonderful part of romance is that things happen naturally. They happen when both people are comfortable enough with each other for them to happen.”

Wait, why am I trying to talk her out of this? Am I really that big a wimp? If she’s willing why shouldn’t we just do it? Subaru asked himself.

Well, it’s partly because: yes, you really can be that big a wimp. If you’re this embarrassed by just talking about sex, picture yourself trying to do it. First time sex is always awkward but this would just be brutal. The other problem is that Emilia really isn’t ready for this, no matter what she says and you know it. She might do it for you because she loves you, but don’t you think Emilia deserves better than that? To be your experiment? If you really love her shouldn’t you be willing to wait until she can be an equal participant in the experience rather than her just being a passenger along for the ride?

Wait a second. Did I really just think that?

Emilia might do it for me… because she loves me.

Because she loves me… could she… could she really start to love me?

Emilia gave him a half smile. “I guess if I tried to do that right now I’d be pretty embarrassed,” She admitted, shaking Subaru out of his internal reverie.

“Yup, me too,” Subaru replied. “But I think that one day, not too long from now, you’ll think back to this moment and you’ll think it was funny that you were ever worried about being embarrassed in front of me.”

Emilia smiled at him.

“There is, of course, a bright side to this whole situation,” Subaru added.

“What’s that?”

“Now that you know that kisses won’t get you pregnant, I’m hoping that I can get a lot more of them!” Subaru replied.

Emilia laughed. “I guess kisses aren’t as big a deal as I thought.”

“Mili,” Subaru said in mock offense, pulling her onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her. “Kisses are an incredibly big deal!”

Emilia smiled at him and leaned in for a kiss.

It was another half an hour before Subaru and Emilia got downstairs which badly held up breakfast. It would have taken even longer except Felt, who was born hungry, came looking for them to find out what the holdup was.

Felt’s mocking had been merciless as they finally got down to the table.

“You know, Felt, one day you’ll be where I was,” Subaru told her as he and Emilia took their seats. “And on that day, I promise to show you all the care and consideration you just gave me.”

“Does the entire household need to discuss you and Lady Emilia’s activities?” Ram asked in a bored tone.

“No, but I have a feeling that they will,” Subaru sighed.

Reinhard and Felt dug into breakfast and a few minutes later Beatrice and Puck joined them at the dining table.

Subaru glanced at Rem and Ram who were standing nearby.

“You know, ladies, I don’t think any of us currently here are particularly formal. You are welcome to sit and eat with us,” Subaru said.

“That would be a breach of protocol,” Ram said.

“I’m giving you permission-” Subaru started.

“We do not have permission,” Ram snapped.

“Jeez, lady, lighten up! Subaru is trying to be nice to you-” Felt protested through a mouthful of eggs.

“Felt,” Subaru interrupted. “I know from your experiences with Elsa that you have the world’s worst ‘stranger danger’ sense so please try to learn from my mistakes: Never make Ram angry.”

Felt looked at Subaru in confusion. “I thought Red said it was the blue haired maid who tried to kill you?”

Rem started at this.

“It was. Please let that provide context when I say that Ram is the one you really don’t want to make angry,” Subaru emphasized.

Felt thought about it then looked nervously up at Ram.

Ram sniffed.

Reinhard snapped his fingers. “Oh, Subaru, I forgot to give you this last night,” He said, handing Subaru a large bag full of gold coins.

Subaru looked down at the enormous bag in awe. “Red, I can’t take this from you!”

Reinhard frowned. Then his eyes widened. “Oh! It’s not from me! This is the reward that the kingdom offers for the live capture of enemy officers.”

“Oh, really?” Subaru said. “How much is it?”

“A Gusteko captain is worth six hundred gold pieces,” Reinhard said.

Felt gave a low whistle.

“Well, at least our camp isn’t broke anymore. We can finance some of our ideas. That’s nice,” Subaru commented to Emilia.

“OK, after breakfast,” Subaru said. “I’d like to have a group meeting to go over some of the ideas that Emilia and I have come up with for the royal selection. Beatrice, if you’re willing, I’d like to have you there too.”

Beatrice snorted and looked away.

Well, she didn’t respond with a flat ‘no’ so that’s promising, Subaru thought.

“I’d also like you and Rem to attend if you’re not too busy,” Subaru told Ram.

“Why would we be involved?” Ram asked in a bored tone.

“Because Lord Roswaal isn’t here and he deserves to have his interests represented. And you are the representatives of his interests,” Subaru replied.

Ram stiffened then nodded. “I should attend to a few things first then,” She said, walking out of the room.

“Take your time,” Subaru called, watching Felt empty yet another plate. “I think we might be here awhile.”

“OK,” Subaru said as everyone gathered in the sitting room and Rem served tea. “So, Emilia and I are planning a campaign along a few points. We think the best strategy is a mixture: three parts economic improvements to one part defense. We think we have solid ideas for two of the economic planks of our platform. We have one economic plank that’s pretty iffy, and currently we have no idea what we’re going to do about defense,” Subaru said.

“What do you mean by ‘defense?’” Reinhard asked.

“The primary responsibility of any ruler is to ensure peace and safety to his people,” Subaru explained. “If Emilia and I expect to be elected, we need to prove to everyone in the kingdom that we can do that. In a way, we got lucky with the attack on Arlem because we established that our faction can protect our people. That said I’m not sure if that minor skirmish was enough to convince everyone. We might need more. What we would do to demonstrate our capabilities is something we haven’t figured out yet.”

“Our first economic platform is what we call ‘The Green Revolution,’” Subaru explained. “We’re planning to introduce some advanced farming techniques from my homeland to help generate an explosion of food productivity as well as raise the quality of available foods.”

Reinhard grinned. “Marvelous!” Reinhard knew nothing at all about farming but his lord bringing tools and techniques from another world could only be beneficial to the kingdom.

“Today, I’m planning to go talk to the Chief of Arlem and see if he’s interested in these new techniques and to get an estimate of how hard it would be to adopt them. Emilia, I’d like you to come if you don’t mind. I think it would be good for us to be together when we’re explaining this.”

“That’s fine, but you’ll still have to do most of the explaining,” Emilia replied with a smile.

Subaru gave her a grin.

“Reinhard and Felt, it would also be nice if you would come and just try to follow along. I know you’re not farmers but it might be useful for all of us to have a basic understanding of the concept before we go back to the capitol.”

Reinhard and Felt nodded.

Subaru continued, “We’re also hoping to talk to Lord Roswaal about getting permission to apply these techniques to Arlem and other villages-”

“In his missive,” Ram interrupted, sipping her tea, “Lord Roswaal gave instructions for the villagers of his realm to listen to instruction from you and Lady Emilia in his absence.”

Subaru paused for a moment. That was certainly very… convenient. Why would he send that message? What even made him think we would be doing anything with the villagers?

“Great,” Subaru said awkwardly. “So that’s item number one. Does anyone have any thoughts?”

“Me,” Felt said raising her hand, “If this ‘Green thingy’ of yours is going to disrupt the farms then will it send more people to the slums? Because, truthfully, I don’t think we can fit many more.”

“It shouldn’t,” Emilia assured her. “In fact, we’re hoping that this idea will help us empty the slums. If these techniques work here like they did in Subaru’s world then these improvements will set up an explosion in food production and raise the demand for farm labor considerably. We’re hoping to train the slum dwellers as farm hands and get them out of the city and back out into the country where they can find good homes and good jobs.”

Felt looked mildly impressed.

“And since Felt already brought it up, platform two is to empty the slums,” Subaru continued.

Felt burst out in applause.

Subaru waited in bemusement for a minute until Felt calmed down and stopped clapping.

“Thank you for your applause,” He said dryly, “OK, so we want to tear down the slums for both moral and economic reasons. It should in no way be controversial to say that in this nation everybody should go to bed at night with a full belly, clothes on their back, and a roof over their heads. It shouldn’t be controversial to say that, but apparently it is,” Subaru corrected himself. “Like Emilia said, the plan for emptying the slums depends heavily on the Green revolution taking off and increasing the demand for labor. We’re also going to have to try to make inroads in the slums so that people trust us when we come offering jobs and they don’t think we’re trying to trick them and sell them to slavers.”

“They’d still sign up for it, believe me,” Felt muttered.

Subaru sighed. “Rather than explore that remark, one thing that we will definitely need for this project is information. Felt, can you read and write?”

“Sure. Gramps taught me,” She said.

“Perfect. Felt, I want to offer you a job.”

“What am I stealing?” Felt said, only half joking.

“Nothing!” Subaru said cheerfully. “In fact your stealing days are behind you! I really really don’t want to have to explain to people why a member of my faction is working nights as a pickpocket. So from now on, no stealing! You are officially retired!”

“Alright, alright, already!” Felt yelled.

“Felt, how much did you make when you normally worked a job?” Subaru asked.

“You mean a legal job? Usually about three coppers a day.”

Subaru stared at her. “Damn, Felt, how do you live on that?”

“I couldn’t. Hence the stealing,” She said as if talking to a child.

“OK… how about I offer you two silvers a day? Sound fair?”

Judging by the way Felt’s eyes lit up it sounded just fine.

“OK, let’s say you work for me five days a week and take the weekend off. We’ll give you a gold coin at the end of every week,” Subaru said.

“Sounds great, what’s the job?” Felt asked.

“I want you to collect stories,” Subaru said.

“Stories?”

“Before we can empty the slums, we need to find out why people end up down there. We need to know what happened to put them in the slums so that we can stop the cycle,” Subaru explained.

“We need you to talk to the people down there who wouldn’t be willing to talk to us,” Emilia continued Subaru’s point, “Find out why they ended up down there, what they were doing before they got there, and what skills they possess so we can try to find them employment elsewhere.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Felt shrugged.

“Currently our plans for emptying the slums lean heavily on increasing the demand for labor,” Subaru continued. “But before we can make more targeted plans, we need some real numbers and some idea who the slum dwellers are, how they got there, and what skills the have.”

Subaru looked around the room. “Any questions?”

“Forgive me for saying this,” Reinhard said. “I share your disgust with their living conditions and believe that the kingdom has a moral duty to improve their lives, but will doing so actually win you and Lady Emilia support in the election?”

“Not by itself, no,” Subaru answered. “That’s why we’re tying it to economic concerns.”

“Finding work for the people in the slums increases our labor force,” Emilia added, “It will raises tax revenues, frees up city land for development and cuts the large amount of money that the kingdom spends every year managing problems in Lowtown.”

“Sheesh, you guys are starting to sound like real politicians,” Felt said. “That wasn’t a compliment by the way.”

“People can agree with us because it’s the right thing to do or because it’s the cheap thing to do,” Subaru shrugged. “The important part is: they agree.”

“Our third and final economic platform,” Subaru continues, “Involves a machine from my homeland called a ‘sewing machine.’ This is basically a tool that allows people to sew lots of garments incredibly fast without working themselves to death.”

“Where could you possibly find one of those?” Reinhard asked.

“Can’t,” Subaru shrugged. “I’ll have to make one. I think I remember enough about how they work to do it but I haven’t seen one in years and I haven’t worked with these kind of tools in even longer. I’m not sure if I can even come close. It’s very possible that I’ll fail,” Subaru shrugged.

“When Subaru succeeds,” Emilia emphasized, “We plan to find craftsmen in Lagunica or Kararagi who can mass produce these machines. Then we’ll use them to give all of our seamstresses a massive leap over the competition in every other country. Lagunica will become the textile capitol of the world.”

“Also increasing the demand for labor and providing jobs with an easily learned skill,” Subaru finished. “Any questions?”

The room was silent.

“OK, well that’s it for now,” Subaru said. “We have an appointment with the farmers in Arlem this afternoon. Until then we can enjoy ourselves.”

Felt walked away to go exploring. Reinhard followed her. It wasn’t completely certain that he was motivated by a desire to keep her out of trouble.

Emilia took Puck and walked away giving Subaru a smile. Emilia had thought it would be good to spend some quality time alone with Puck and Subaru had approved of that plan.

Rem and Ram walked away to begin their chores and this just left Subaru and Beatrice alone.

“Beako,” Subaru asked, kneeling down to look Beatrice in the eye. “Can you do me a big favor?”

Beatrice sniffed. “Why would Betty do you a favor, I suppose?”

“Because if you do, I’ll keep arranging for you to have more quality time with Puck?” Subaru suggested.

Beatrice choked and then looked at Subaru suspiciously. “And what would be this favor, I suppose?”

“Could you teach me how to read?” Subaru said plaintively.

Beatrice took Subaru to her library and pulled a large book of fairy tales off of the shelf. Beatrice sat down beside Subaru on the futon and proceeded to give him instruction.

“Those are the letters of the alphabet. You will need to take a long time to learn them, I suppose, but after that you should be able to read,” Beatrice said pompously.

Well, a short alphabet is way better than having to learn all the characters in a Kanji-type language. Maybe this won’t be so bad, Subaru mused.

Since there were only about thirty letters in the alphabet, Subaru picked them up surprisingly quickly. In less than two hours he was stumbling his way through his first short story.

Well, either Beako is an amazing teacher or this is another sign of Reason and Judgment’s unspecified benevolence that may or may not have a large price tag attached. Yeah, not going to think about that right now, Subaru thought firmly.

Subaru had been reading for a few minutes. Beatrice sat there waiting for an opportunity to correct him but one did not provide itself.

Eventually, Subaru finished reading Beatrice the story about an evil witch who punished sinners by breaking their bodies apart.

Damn, were fairy tales this gruesome back home? Subaru wondered.

“Hm. You did reasonably well, I suppose,” Beatrice sniffed.

“You’re a good teacher,” Subaru complimented. “I feel like with your help I’ll pick this up quickly.”

Beatrice turned a little red and glanced away. “Then you are expecting Betty to give you more lessons, I suppose? You had better give Betty more time with Bubby then!”

“I will,” Subaru agreed easily, “Actually, I was thinking I owe you a little more than that. You once told me you were looking for somebody, maybe I could help you find them?”

Beatrice stared at Subaru for a long moment then she looked away and crossed her arms. “And you think that you could find someone that the Great Spirit Betty could not, I suppose!” Beatrice snorted.

Interesting. She didn’t say ‘no’ but this is clearly a sore topic for her. I wonder why that is? Subaru mused.

“Well, Beako, I’m actually really good at finding things,” Subaru said. “I mean I found your library pretty quick-”

Betty glowered at him.

Oh, smooth move, Subaru. Keep this up and you’re going to be mulch, Subaru thought.

“And I’m sure Puck told you how I managed to find Emilia’s insignia in a strange town after only seeing the thief for a second!” Subaru hurried along, “I bet I could help you find the person you’re looking for.”

Beatrice hesitated and looked up at Subaru with an unclear expression.

“How long have you been looking for them?” He asked.

Beatrice snorted again and melodramatically looked away. “Betty is not looking for ‘that person.’ ‘That person’ is looking for Betty! And Betty must remain here and guard the library until ‘that person’ comes, I suppose!”

Oh boy. That doesn’t sound too good. Who exactly is she waiting for? Does she even know? And how would she even recognize them if they did come? Subaru thought. This is a touchy subject for Beako. If I don’t tread lightly I’m going to get blasted out the door again. I don’t want to have to pay Roswaal for any more damaged walls.

“Well, who told you about them?” Subaru asked.

For a moment it seemed as if Beatrice wasn’t going to answer, then she murmured, “Betty’s mother bade her to guard the Great Library until ‘that person’ came to take possession of it.”

“Well, could we go and ask your mother for more information?” Subaru suggested.

Beatrice was quiet for a long time. Subaru didn’t rush her, waiting for her to answer in her own time.

“Betty lost her mother four hundred years ago in fact,” She finally whispered.

Wait. Four hundred years?! She’s been waiting in this library for someone to come for four hundred years? Strike that- at least four hundred years? Subaru thought in both amazement and horror.

Beatrice has been waiting here alone for all that time. Day after day after day, just… waiting. Waiting for someone to come rescue her. I guess waiting for a miracle. Funny, you could have almost said the same thing about me back home. All I did was sit in my room… waiting. I wasn’t even sure what I was waiting for but I think deep down… I always knew it wasn’t going to happen. When I gave up on myself, the world gave up on me. It was never going to send anyone to pry me out of that room.

Subaru looked around Beatrice’s library with a fresh sense of dismay.

Beatrice is just like me. A person forgotten by the world. A world that moved on without us and never cared if we caught up or not.

Subaru sighed and shook his head. Subaru had always been annoyed by Beatrice and her tsundere attitude but now he felt a strange sense of kinship with her. His parents had at least tried to coax him out of his room. Beatrice’s mother had ordered her to stay in the library and Beatrice had obeyed. In a way, he and Beatrice were two sides of the same coin.

Well, except I got lucky. The world didn’t completely forget about me. I still had my parents. They never gave up on me, even though they should have. And the world didn’t give up on me either. It gave me exactly what I needed: it sent me here. It knew I wanted to be a hero and it gave me a chance to be one. I have people who respect me, who need me now. I even have people who might learn to love me if they’re given enough time.

So what about Beako? What makes her so much less special? She’s been waiting here for four hundred years! Why isn’t the world trying to rip her out of her shell and give her another chance? What? Is the world on a coffee break?!

OK, fuck it. Beatrice would never admit it, even if she had to sit here for ten thousand years, but she needs help. She needs a hero. I’m the only person here so I guess I might as well volunteer. But how do I help her? Who is this person she’s waiting for? And how would she recognize them? Man, I’m really about to bite off way more than I can chew.

“OK, well then, we know one important thing about this person: they have a lousy sense of direction,” Subaru said cheerfully, kneeling down in front of Beatrice to look her in the eye. “Getting lost for four hundred years? Who does that?”

Beatrice blinked at Subaru.

“Well, Beako, I think you’ve been waiting for this person long enough. It’s time we go find them. You and me are going to go run this person down. And then I might yell at them for leaving Beako alone for all this time. That’s just friggin’ mean!” Subaru said.

“What are you talking about, I suppose?” Beatrice asked in confusion.

“I’m saying that we’re going to find this person. You waited for four hundred years. And that is more than long enough. It’s time we got proactive and found this person ourselves. I’m going to help you find them,” Subaru said.

Beatrice stared at Subaru. “Betty is… Many people have offered to become ‘that person’ for Betty, I suppose… no one has ever offered to help Betty find ‘that person…’” She whispered.

“Well, that’s what I’m saying,” Subaru said firmly. “We are going to find ‘that person’ and I am going to give them a piece of my mind for letting Beako be alone for so long!”

“Subaru…” Beatrice whispered. Subaru thought this was the first time Beatrice had ever said his name. “Why are you trying to help Betty?”

Subaru was tempted to laugh and make a joke: Oh, well you’re teaching me how to read, I just don’t want to be in debt to a drill haired loli tsundere!

No. Bad idea. The look in Beatrice’s eye says she’s feeling truly vulnerable right now. She deserves to be dealt with honestly.

“Because you need me to,” Subaru replied with a shrug, “Because you’re hurting. Because you’re lonely. Because… Betty is in pain and Betty doesn’t deserve to be in pain. I want Betty to be happy and I’ll do whatever I need to do in order to make Betty happy. And if that means I need to hunt down someone who has been lost for four hundred years then that’s just what I have to do.”

Beatrice was silent and her lip trembled.

Subaru gently extended his hand to Beatrice. She hesitated a moment and then placed her own tiny hand in his palm.

“I’ll find ‘that person’ with you or I’ll die trying,” Subaru promised, meaning every word.

Subaru’s words had felt right in the moment. However, on reflection just a short while later, they felt irrational and profoundly silly.

Boldly said, Subaru. You promised to help Beako find her person. Good for you. Got a strategy for how you’re going to pull that off? Where do you even start? Are you just going to wander around the world with Beatrice on your shoulder asking people at random: ‘Are you that person?’ You’ll probably have folk songs being written about ‘the wandering lunatic and his drill-haired loli’ before you ever come close to finding him, Subaru thought.

Subaru, Emilia, Felt, and Reinhard were in a carriage riding down to Arlem that afternoon. Surprisingly, Beatrice and Puck had come along without even being asked. Subaru expected Puck to come but Beatrice tagging along struck him as encouraging. She sat next to Subaru, not speaking to him but glancing his way every so often.

To make matters even worse, Beatrice doesn’t seem to know anything about this person. Her entire knowledge of them is summoned up in one sentence: ‘The person Betty is waiting for; the person who will inherit Mother’s library.’

How would she even recognize ‘that person’ if she met them? Is she really expecting some person to simply walk into the library one day and say: “I am that person. Sorry I’m so late?”

Unfortunately, yes, I feel like that is what she is waiting for. But she said that people did come into the library saying that and that she had rejected them. No, wait. She said that people had come to the library telling her that they could become that person. That isn’t the same thing at all. So… what is the solution? Walk into the library and say: ‘Good news Beako. I used Reason and Judgment and figured out that I am that person. Funny, huh?’ Well… that might actually work…

No, you asshole. Beatrice has been waiting for this person for four hundred years. She deserves better than a fake out! Even a fake out motivated by the best of intentions.

So, how can I find this person? I doubt Reason and Judgment’s magic is going to help all that much in this case. We know that he’s supposed to inherit the library and… well that’s about it. So from that information I can deduce that this person… knows how to read? Maybe?

Wow. I used to think that my telling Emilia we’d rule the country was going to be a hard promise to keep. I have so much more perspective now.

“-turnips and clover can be undersown during the harvest in early autumn. Turnips and clover grow relatively quickly and they are pretty cold tolerant so if the weather cooperates, you should have full fields of grazing material through most of the winter. Cows, sheep, and pigs can graze on these fields to stay healthy through the cold months and the dung they drop on the fields is full of nutrients after eating the vitamin rich turnips and clover. Come spring time you should have refreshed fields ready to bear corn or wheat without requiring fallowing,” Subaru finished.

Subaru had just given a speech on agricultural techniques and crop variations that would have done a professional farmer proud. The sheer amount of information that Subaru recalled from a single three month class which he’d taken years ago, which hadn’t interested him, and a class which he had virtually slept through, had officially crossed the line into completely, utterly, nonsensically preposterous.

Subaru decided not to think too much about this or to what extent Reason and Judgment was affecting his mind.

Subaru stood surrounded by the entire village. He had originally been expecting to only speak to a few of the more influential farmers but word had spread of his presentation and the entire village had asked to sit and listen to their new hero’s words. Subaru couldn’t think of any reason to refuse.

Felt, Reinhard, and the spirits sat on a nearby fence. They had been silent throughout the entire presentation. The spirits had no real interest in crops and were only partially listening. Reinhard was being attentive but Subaru knew he had left the knight behind quickly during his speech. Felt, despite never having been on a farm in her life, actually looked like she was processing the information and understood it.

Huh. I always thought Felt was clever. Recruiting her was probably a good idea, Subaru thought.

The only other person who had spoken during this presentation was Emilia by Subaru’s request. He had asked Emilia to please interject every time a question was asked that she thought she knew the answer to. This was mostly a matter of optics and ensuring that the people associated Emilia with this idea as much as Subaru. Emilia had answered several questions during the discussion and had proved herself to be well prepared. Emilia stood beside him during the entire presentation so that the village understood that this was one proposal shared by two people.

The villagers appeared to be mulling Subaru’s suggestions over.

“It’s an interesting idea,” One farmer allowed. “It sounds feasible.”

“I don’t see any flaws but it’s risky,” Another pointed out. “We’ve done things a certain way for generations. Changing that is risky.”

“Yeah, but how well are those ways working? We’re barely getting through the winter,” A third said.

“That’s the problem,” The second farmer retorted. “If this works just a little worse than our current plans our winters could go from being hard to desperate.”

“Lord Subaru,” The Village Chief interrupted. “This new strategy your proposing sounds like we’d need to bring in animals to make it work.”

“Exactly,” Emilia jumped in, “Turnips are wonderful food sources for pigs and cows and they’re especially good for… nursing mothers,” Emilia said flushing.

Subaru bit his lip to avoid laughing as he remembered the conversation about maternity that Subaru and Emilia had endured this morning.

“In addition to increasing the productivity of your fields,” Emilia said, taking Subaru’s hand and squeezing it hard enough to hurt. Subaru looked at Emilia and behind her ‘benevolent teacher’ expression, he saw a large flash of annoyance in her eye. This only made Subaru want to laugh harder. “The increased availability and health of domesticated livestock in your community will increase your access to milk and meat. This will improve your diet and provide you with more resources to sell at market.”

The villagers murmured among themselves and the sound was cautiously approving. The prospect of more food and more variety appealed to the villagers for obvious reasons.

“And this technique works well in your homeland?” The Chief asked.

“Yes,” Subaru emphasized. Subaru had worried that the villagers might start asking him where he had come from that used such strange techniques but so far nobody seemed interested. He supposed that few of the villagers ever went far from their home so they had no conception of much of the wider world or how unusual the story Subaru was telling really was. “These techniques were extremely successful in my homeland at providing much more food to the populace. I want to emphasize that you know these lands, I don’t. The crops I’ve described are a way of doing things but I don’t believe for a moment that they are the best way of doing things. As you experiment with different crop cycles you’ll likely find superior combinations that work even better for your own lands.”

“Lord Subaru,” The Chief asked. “Assuming we wanted to implement these techniques, how would we begin?”

“Well, it’s really too late in the spring to do a full shift,” Subaru explained, having already thought about this question. “You have fields that you’ve left fallow this year and you really can’t sow them with any greedy crop. You’ve exhausted the soil and it really does need to rest and recover before you can produce more high quality crops. But you could grow turnips and clover in them this year and have feed for any new animals you acquire. If you start soon you might even get several harvests out of the fields and ensure that the animals have plenty of grazing land through the year. The healthier the animals are, the better the manure they’ll provide, and the more they’ll benefit you.”

By the time the meeting had ended, Subaru had a splitting headache. The village had become extremely excited about Subaru’s suggestions and this weighed on him heavily.

I’m never grown a vegetable in my life! How confident am I that this is really going to work? What if it’s a complete disaster and I lead the people of Arlem into a famine?!

I mean, quite aside from that probably killing any chance at the selection or getting Emilia the Dragon blood, people could actually die because of my screw up! Am I really willing to accept that responsibility?

Subaru sighed, Any options you had of backing out are way behind you now. The villagers trust you and they’re trying your ideas because of that trust. You are responsible for what happens to them; like it or not.

I should probably prepare for the worst case scenario. If it is a disaster and the crops all fail, what do I do?

I suppose I should start preparing a nest egg. That should help both Arlem and the royal selection: in both cases I’ll need money. That huge bag of gold Reinhard brought will definitely help. If the crops fail this autumn then I’ll be able to use all that gold to buy food for the villagers. It won’t re-earn their trust but at least they won’t die because of my stupidity.

Subaru and company delayed their return to the manor to visit Petra’s house. Petra had once again turned bright red upon seeing Subaru but this time she managed to stammer out: “Hello, Lord Subaru,” She squeaked.

“You really don’t have to call me ‘Lord’, Petra.” Subaru told her.

She turned even redder and then clammed up.

“Hello, Petra,” Emilia said.

“Big sis!” Petra looked delighted and ran over to throw her arms around Emilia.

Emilia looked so cute kneeling down beside Petra and talking to her about everything the village girl had done recently that Subaru stopped what he was doing just to watch them. He was only reminded of his business here when Petra’s mother spoke to him: “Lord Subaru, this is an unexpected pleasure,” The woman sank into a rough curtsy. “What can I do for you?”

“Ah yes,” Subaru remembered himself. “I need a few supplies for something I’m working on. Can I buy two spools of thread and a bolt of cloth from you?”

The woman looked at Subaru in surprise. “If you need any sewing work done, I’d be happy to do it for you, Lord Subaru.”

“Oh, this isn’t about sewing it’s just a project I’m working on. It’s for research,” Subaru replied.

The woman seemed a bit confused but stepped back into her cottage. “Any particular color?” She called.

“Doesn’t matter,” Subaru answered.

The seamstress returned with a bolt of red cloth and two spools of thread: blue and green. “Here you go, my Lord. Please accept these with my compliments,” She said, handing them to Subaru with another curtsy.

“Thank you, kind Lady,” Subaru took the items. “Please accept this with my compliments,” Subaru offered her one of the gold coins that Reinhard had brought back.

The seamstress looked shocked. “Oh no, my Lord! That is far too much!”

“Think fast!” Subaru flipped the coin into the air and Petra’s mother instinctively caught it before it hit the ground.

“Pleasure doing business with you, Ms. Leyte,” Subaru said with a smile, walking back over to Emilia as Petra’s mother continued to express her profuse gratitude.

Petra noticed Subaru approaching and quickly said goodbye to Emilia, fleeing back to the safety of her mother.

Subaru and Emilia both waved goodbye to Petra and her mother and then they walked hand in hand back to the carriage.

“You know, Petra was telling me some very interesting things,” Emilia said, sounding quite amused.

“Oh?”

“Apparently she has a rather large crush on you, Subaru,” Emilia said with a smile.

“Oh dear,” Subaru said in mock concern. “I do hope you let her down easy when you told her that my heart already belongs to someone else.”

“You’re in love with someone? She would have to be amazing,” Emilia said, trying to joke but not quite managing it and sounding morose. “You deserve someone amazing. Someone really really special. Do I know her?”

Subaru laughed and kissed her hand, “Obviously you don’t know her as well as I do.”

After returning to the manor, Emilia decided to spend some time doing research in the library. Subaru had located an old abandoned writing desk in the stable while helping put away the carriage and he asked if he could bring it inside.

This resulted in Subaru, Reinhard, Rem, and Ram carrying the desk to an isolated room that Subaru could use as a workshop for his experiment. Actually, it was really just Rem and Reinhard who carried it. Ram refused to even touch the dusty old desk and Subaru was well aware that his contributions in moving it hindered more than they helped.

After putting it down, Ram left without comment and Rem gave Subaru and Reinhard a respectful bow before hurrying after her sister.

“Thanks, Rem!” He called after her.

“So, you plan to turn this into your ‘sewing machine?’ Reinhard asked.

“Well, that’s the plan. No promises,” Subaru said ruefully as Beatrice walked into the room with Puck.

“Do you think there’s any way I can assist?” Reinhard asked.

Subaru made a face. “Sadly, I don’t think so. This is going to be done completely using my brain, which means we are most likely screwed.”

Reinhard laughed. “Be of good cheer, my friend. The Lady Emilia and I have great confidence in you and I’m certain you won’t let us down.”

“Oh great, no pressure,” Subaru chuckled.

“Well, if you will not require my assistance at the moment, I think I will go look for Felt,” Reinhard said.

“Good idea. I’m already budgeting a few hours for us to count the silver before we go back to the capitol. Let’s not make it worse by letting her roam around unsupervised,” Subaru said.

Reinhard laughed as he left the room.

Subaru looked at Beatrice who was sitting in a nearby chair cuddling Puck. “He thinks I’m joking,” He mouthed to Beatrice.

Beatrice did not respond.

“You know, I’m glad you’re here Beako,” Subaru said. “I wanted to talk to you some more about ‘that person.’”

Subaru showed Puck the pictures he had drawn of a variety of gears that he would need as well as a sewing machine frame and a needle. Puck had used magic to provide all of these at Subaru’s request and then gone off to be with Emilia.

Two hours later, it was nearly dinner time. Beatrice and Subaru had spent the entire time talking about ‘that person’ but no real new information had presented itself. Beatrice had been given nothing but a brief mission statement and everything she knew about the person she had spent centuries waiting for was based on supposition.

“Didn’t your mother ever tell you how you would identify ‘that person?’” Subaru asked, trying to veil his irritation. Subaru had no idea who Puck and Beatrice’s mother was but he would have loved to bring her up on charges of negligent parenting.

“She said I would know, I suppose,” Beatrice said in a somber voice.

Subaru hid his face when he scowled so Beatrice wouldn’t see.

I would love to be in a locked room with that woman for about fifteen minutes, Subaru thought. On second thought, whatever kind of creature created both Puck and Beatrice is bound to be way out of my weight class but the sentiment remains valid. I’d love to be in a locked room with her for about five seconds. Just let me out when Indomitable turns off.

Subaru had managed connect the gears and the needle into the sewing machine frame so that when the gears turned the needle went up and down. So now the easy part was done at least.

“Beako, let’s try this from another perspective. What is the library? What is it for?” Subaru asked, trying to think about how to connect the existing gears to a pedal.

Crap, how do you turn a pedal into rotational energy? I don’t think any of my Lego sets even had a pedal. Up and down motions to generate rotational energy aren’t very common I guess.

Subaru stared a blank piece of paper as he tried to figure out what kind of gear he’d need to ask Puck to make next. He was sure that he’d seen something that could do this. In the meantime, Subaru sketched out a spring for the pedal, he knew he’d need one of those anyway.

“The library is the repository of all of mother’s vast knowledge,” Beatrice replied.

Fabulous, another explanation that doesn’t explain anything! Is Beako doing this on purpose? Subaru mused.

“OK…” Subaru said. This needed to be phrased delicately. “Tell me about your mother. What kind of person was she?”

“Betty’s mother was the best and smartest person who ever lived and she doted on Betty and she gave Betty her important task,” Beatrice replied.

That is not an adequate description, Subaru sighed as he finished drawing his spring.

“My point was that if ‘that person’ was intended to inherit your mother’s library, then he has to have some connection with your mother. She must have wanted her knowledge to go to someone who would use it to solve the problems that she cared about right? So what was your mother working on when she… died?” Subaru asked.

“Everything, I suppose,” Beatrice answered.

Wait! I remember a weird gear that had a shaft sticking out of its side! So if the shaft was moved up and down the gear would have to turn. Is that right? Seems a little fragile. I mean the shaft would have to be just the right length and in just the position, otherwise the gear would probably roll back and forth rather than around.

Wait. Did Beatrice just say ‘everything?’

“So your mother was working on… ‘everything?’” Subaru repeated, starting to make a sketch of the new gear. “Define ‘everything.’”

“Everything,” Beatrice emphasized. “Mother despaired at the state of the world and was determined to fix it. She wanted to protect everyone from bad things happening and she dedicated all her knowledge to finding out how to do so.”

So was Beatrice’s mother crazy or a fool? I’m overwhelmed trying to fix a small village much less fix the whole world, Subaru thought.

“Well, that’s kind of useful information, right?” Subaru said to Beatrice as he finished his sketch.

OK, that’s it. I’m done for now, Subaru said standing up, I need Puck to make the new gears anyway.

Beatrice was staring at Subaru with moody eyes, her short legs kicking the air from her chair.

“If your mother was determined to save the world then we just need to find someone else who’s trying to save the world. I bet she wanted the knowledge in the library to pass onto someone like that. It makes sense right?” Subaru asked her.

Beatrice mulled that over. “We find them, and we ask them are they ‘that person,’ I supposed?”

“Not exactly,” Subaru said, walking over to Beatrice.

I need to be careful here. This has to be worded exactly right or she’ll just reject it out of hand, Subaru thought.

“I’m starting to wonder if maybe your mother wanted you to select ‘that person.’ I think maybe she didn’t just want you to sit in the library waiting for someone to tell you they were ‘that person,’ anyone could have done that, not just her precious daughter,” Subaru continued, forestalling Beatrice’s objection.

Beatrice had immediately opened her mouth to protest but closed it again.

“There had to be a reason that your mother entrusted this job to you. It had to be something important, something only Beako could do,” Subaru continued.

If I’m phrasing this as speculation, does this mean I’m not flat out lying to that poor girl? Because I don’t think there’s anything going on here except that a mean self-centered woman gave her loving daughter a job and then completely forgot about her. All the same, I can’t prove that to be true so I’m not… technically lying to Beako, right? Subaru mused.

“So what can you do that no one else in the world can? Well, you know your mother better than anyone else, right?” Subaru asked.

Beatrice immediately nodded.

“So you’re the perfect person to identify and vet anyone who might want to take over her task of saving the world. Maybe you’re not just waiting for someone to tell you that they’re ‘that person,’ maybe someone out there needs you to tell them that they are ‘that person.’” He finished.

Beatrice seemed to be seriously considering what Subaru said so he just knelt down next to her and was careful not to stir her while she thought.

“But that was never written in Betty’s Gosp-” Beatrice cut herself off.

“In your what?”

“Never mind, I suppose,” Beatrice looked down at her hands, deep in thought.

“Subaru,” She asked in a small voice. “What if Betty’s future… had stopped being written, had stopped changing? What would that mean?”

Subaru thought it over for a moment. If Beatrice was using his name, then this question was really important to her. It had to be answered carefully. “I think it means that you need to make some changes. You’ve been in the same room for four hundred years. You plan to stay in the same room for another four hundred years unless someone else tells you not to. How could your future not have stopped? If you don’t change anything then nothing will change!”

Beatrice’s eyes widened and something flickered deep inside them.

Well, that certainly made an impact but don’t ask me why. I don’t even know what I’m saying. I just want Beatrice to stop waiting passively for someone who might never come and go out and look for them. Even if she never finds this person, she’ll be around other people. She’ll make friends and see new things. She wouldn’t be so heartbreakingly alone anymore.

“Subaru,” Beatrice whispered. “Would you be Betty’s-”

“Subaru, dinner is ready!” Emilia said, stepping into the room unseen and making them both jump.

“Thanks, Mili,” Subaru said, pressing a hand against his rapidly beating heart.

Emilia smiled and left the room.

Subaru looked back at Beatrice but whatever she had planned to ask him, the moment had clearly passed.

“You should get down to dinner, I suppose.” Beatrice said dismissively as she hopped off her chair.

“Good advice,” Subaru agreed gently. He reached down and extended a hand to Beatrice. “Shall we?” He asked.

Beatrice looked up at Subaru with an unclear expression.

Subaru just waited smiling, his hand outstretched to the lonely little girl.

After some time, Beatrice timidly placed her hand into Subaru’s and hand in hand they went to dinner.

After dinner, Beatrice retreated to her library and Subaru watched her go.

Beako needs to do some serious thinking and she needs to be alone for that. If I go after her right now I’ll just push her away, Subaru mused. I should talk to Puck about Beako in the morning, maybe he has some thoughts about how to help her. But since Puck’s already gone to sleep, that does mean that I get Emilia all to myself!

“Care to take a walk, Emilia?”

“You know, I love these,” Subaru mused. “These times alone with you are the high point of my entire day.”

“I would have to agree,” Emilia replied. “We can just be ourselves out here. We don’t need to work and study. We don’t need to weigh our words for their impact. We don’t need to worry about what everyone else thinks. It’s nice to just be the two of us. Trying to think about everyone else can be a lot of pressure.”

“I have a brilliant idea,” Subaru said.

“What’s that?”

“Let’s run away,” Subaru deadpanned.

Emilia laughed. “An interesting notion,” She said, wrapping her arm around his. “I admit, I’m intrigued. Did you have any particular destination in mind or shall we just go skipping merrily down the road?”

Subaru shrugged. “I don’t know. I figure as long as you’re with me I could be pretty happy wherever we end up,” Subaru thought about it a bit. “First off, let’s cross Gusteko off the list. I hate the cold and they already tried to kill me once. I’m not going there,” He said firmly.

Emilia laughed, “I think that sounds fair. You probably wouldn’t like the Elior Forest either then. The curse on the forest means that it’s always cold.”

Subaru looked at Emilia thoughtfully. “Actually, that would be a great trip idea.”

“The Elior Forest?” Emilia asked in surprise.

“Yeah. I’d like to get a peak at your roots. I mean, I can’t show you my old home but I could go to see yours,” Subaru explained.

Emilia grimaced. “That actually just puts into perspective how much effort you’re putting into saving a place you’ve never been.”

“I’m not trying to save a place, I’m trying to save people,” Subaru replied with aplomb. “I’ve always cared deeply about the elvish people you know.”

“Oh, and how many elves do you know?” Emilia smirked.

“Not many but the ones I do know are simply amazing,” Subaru replied.

They came to a small stone bench under a shady tree. “Care to sit for a bit?”

The two sat down.

They looked out together at the starry night sky. Neither spoke for a bit.

“Subaru,” Emilia murmured, “Do you really think we can win the royal selection?”

“It’s a long shot,” Subaru agreed, “But I’m starting to think that we won’t have to.”

“What do you mean?”

“At a certain point in the election, when two big players are decided, they’re going to ask the rest of us what it would take for us to bow out of the race and let them focus on their major threat. Our asking price is really quite cheap: give us the blood and we’ll back out and let them win the prize,” Subaru shrugged.

Emilia was silent for a long moment. “But… is that the only reason we want to win? To get the blood?” She asked finally.

“What do you mean?”

Emilia hesitated, turning away from Subaru and looking out at the stars. “In the past few days you’ve come up with ideas to feed people and end hunger in Lagunica. You’re trying to make a machine that will clothe the people who dress in drags. You really could make the kingdom a better place,” She murmured.

Subaru laughed. “I don’t know about that. I’m a pretty clueless politician. Besides, no matter who wins the selection I could still give the new king suggestions and ideas.”

He paused. “What do you think you’ll do if you got the throne?”

Emilia was quiet for a moment. “I’d really like to try to repair the fracture between the humans and the demi-humans,” She admitted.

“I think that’s a great idea,” Subaru approved. “It’s an ambitious goal but one that deserves careful planning and great effort. It’s the kind of dream worthy of a King.”

Emilia hung her head. “Honestly, it’s just an excuse. I really am doing all of this just to get the blood! I am so selfish!” She spat at herself.

Subaru stared at her for a long moment and then sighed. “OK, Mili. Give!” He ordered.

“Give what?”

“What’s really going on here?” Subaru demanded. “When you first gave me that ridiculous speech about how selfish you were for wanting to get the dragon blood to save your people, I just assumed you were a dope.”

“What’s a dope?”

“A dummy.”

Emilia flinched, looking hurt.

“But now I’ve gotten to know you and I know you’re not a dummy so what is really going on? Something about this is making you feel selfish and it’s not some nebulous ‘I’m only helping my own people’ bullshit. I’m in this stupid selection up to my neck now so tell me why we’re really doing this. I feel like I deserve to know the truth at this point,” Subaru said.

Emilia turned white and looked away from him.

Subaru waited a moment and then slowly reached out to take Emilia’s hand.

Emilia didn’t turn to look at him but she didn’t pull her hand away either.

“Is it something you’re scared to talk about?” Subaru whispered.

Emilia hesitated then nodded.

Subaru squeezed her hand. “You can talk to me about anything, Mili,” He replied.

She shook her head.

That hurt him a little but Subaru kept talking. “Emilia, I know bad people. You’re not one of them. I don’t believe that anything that you were involved in was anything worse than an unfortunate mistake.”

“What if some mistakes are unforgivable?” She muttered. “What if… what if you can’t forgive me?”

“I am on your side, Emilia. Now and always,” He promised. Subaru cracked a smile. “Besides I have a pretty good track record for forgiving people. I forgave Rem for trying to murder me. I like you way more than I like Rem. You can assume I’ll always forgive you.”

Emilia sat silently with her head bowed for almost a full minute.

“I caused the disaster in the Elior forest,” Emilia whispered.

Subaru didn’t reply. He sat there waiting patiently.

After a moment, Emilia continued, “The forest was attacked. I don’t really remember by what or why it happened but I… I froze the forest. I lost control of my magic. I turned every living creature in the forest to solid ice. They’re all frozen because of me!” Emilia’s voice broke. She started to cry. “That’s why I have to get the blood. I have to save them because it’s all my fault that they died!”

Emilia covered her face in her hands and sobbed.

Subaru stopped time with Reason and Judgment.

Damn. I promised I was going to stop using it so much. Still, Emilia really needs me right now. I need to think carefully about what to say.

Subaru felt his confidence and intelligence surging as he considered the weeping Emilia, frozen in place.

Hm. So that’s why she’s been so hard on herself about being selfish for her quest for the Dragon blood. At least this makes some sense.

Of course, the big question is how do you make her feel better, Subaru mused. The simplest strategy would likely be to just reassure her that you are going to acquire the blood for her. That will both make her feel better and reinforce her dependency on you.

Why were you so down on your chances to win the selection in the first place? You’re a man from a vastly technologically superior culture. Crop rotations and a sewing machine are just the tips of the iceberg. Imagine a canon. You can certainly design one given enough time. Imagine a steam engine. You could create an entire industrial revolution. What other person in this world could possibly offer the people of Lagunica so much?

Beyond that, you’re already a hero. Felt says that everything in town is going just according to plan: everyone is talking about Subaru Natsuki the invincible who slew a troll with his bare hands to protect the helpless villagers. Who else in the selection will have a public relations storm like that?

Granted it would be foolish to conclude that the selection is already resolved in your favor. A lot can happen in two years and it is even somewhat possible that someone else might take the lead. But even in this most unlikely scenario where you are denied the throne it is still entirely feasible for you to acquire the blood through negotiations with your rival. Even if the throne is in some doubt, possession of the blood is guaranteed. You should simply remind Emilia that you are on her side and that you will solve her problem. The blood will be hers and the matter will be dealt with.

Subaru was about to unfreeze time and execute this plan when he felt as if a quieter, more diffident voice in his mind had broken through his abiding confidence to intervene.

No, I’m not sure about this. I don’t think that’s really what Mili needs to hear. If I just give her the blood, if I’m the one who heals the elves, that won’t assuage her guilt. She desperately wants to make up for her mistake. That’s something to be admired. This is Mili’s problem and she wants to take responsibility for it. I can’t just solve it for her.

That’s foolish. You’re making this far too complicated, another part of Subaru answered himself. You know that you absolutely can solve her problems and that you would solve them better than the lovely Emilia could ever hope to. She’s lucky to have you on her team. It doesn’t matter who solves the problem, so long as Emilia’s guilt is assuaged. If the elves are saved then there’s nothing to feel guilty about in the first place.

No, I’m not that stupid. This isn’t just about saving the elves for Emilia it’s about atoning for a mistake. Like it or not, this isn’t my problem. I’m barely involved in this matter. This is about Mili. If I charge in like a white knight, sure the problem is solved but I don’t think Emilia will feel any better. Honestly, I’m worried that my fixing the problem could make her feel like even more of a failure…

You don’t need to over think this, Subaru, the other part replied. You will get the blood. Your victory is assured. So reassure her on that point. If she needs to feel more involved to assuage her guilt, simply assign Emilia a few small tasks to make her feel like she contributed adequately to the victory. She wants to feel better. She’s not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. A potential side boon is that this would absolutely reinforce Emilia’s dependency on you. You’re still worried that she might abandon you someday. If you convince her that you will save her people and undo her great mistake then her investment in you would be complete. She would never even consider abandoning you again.

No. I can’t do that to her. Mili needs support. She needs to know that I understand how she feels and that I understand why she’s so driven to make amends. Most importantly she needs to know that one mistake, however tragic, doesn’t define her whole life.

Subaru unfroze time before he could second guess himself any further.

Subaru slipped an arm around Emilia’s shoulders. He coaxed her head to lay his shoulder and stroked her hair as she wept.

After a few minutes Emilia had cried herself out. She looked up at Subaru with watery eyes that expected condemnation.

“Emilia,” He whispered. “You are the opposite of selfish.”

Emilia’s mouth dropped. “How can you say that? I only want the blood because it’s my fault that everyone froze in the first place! I’m trying to escape my own guilt!”

“Nope,” Subaru said casually.

“What do you mean, ‘nope?!’”

“How many years did you stay in the forest with Puck after this disaster?”

Emilia frowned. “Um. About seven maybe?”

“If you just wanted to escape your guilt you would have left the forest. You would have walked away and made a new life for yourself somewhere where you weren’t constantly reminded of your mistake,” Subaru pointed out.

“I couldn’t do that!” Emilia protested.

“I know that,” Subaru agreed. “I would have expected no less from you.”

Emilia was quiet against his shoulder. “I’m just trying to fix my own mistake,” She sighed.

“You’d be surprised how few people would even bother doing that much,” Subaru replied.

Emilia frowned doubtfully at Subaru.

Subaru bent down and kissed Emilia’s forehead. “I’m really proud of you, Emilia,” He said.

Emilia stared at Subaru wide eyed. “What? Why… Why would you say that?”

“Mili, I know you made a mistake that hurt a lot of people. You weren’t one of the people who got hurt. But you’ve taken responsibility for that mistake and you’re determined to fix it. Nobody forced you to try to make amends, you imposed this duty on yourself. You know you hurt others and you’re determined to make up for it. That takes real courage. And real compassion.”

Emilia stared up at Subaru in shock.

Subaru shrugged. “Like I keep telling you, Mili, you are the opposite of selfish. I’m really proud of you, Emilia. You’ll make a great King.”

Emilia’s eyes filled up again and she cried. Subaru held her until her tears ran out.