The next day, Subaru and Emilia got dressed and went to find the spirits.

Feeling entitled to a lazy morning, they asked the maids to bring them breakfast and the four spent their time lounging in bed while waiting for Reinhard and Felt to return.

Emilia was snuggling with Puck while Beatrice and Subaru took turns reading from their book.

It was Beatrice’s turn to read, laying back against Subaru’s chest with his arm wrapped around her. Beatrice was reading about a creature that could turn from human to mabeast when she sensed that her partner’s attention had wandered. She glanced up and saw that Subaru was staring at Emilia with a huge smile. Emilia deliberately ignored Subaru’s gaze and continued petting Puck but her face was bright red and she was smiling too.

Then Subaru and Emilia looked at each other for a moment and they both began to giggle.

Beatrice and Puck swapped a puzzled look.

Reinhard and Felt returned around lunch time.

“Any problems?” Subaru asked.

“Nothing we couldn’t handle,” Felt said with a laugh. “Heikel didn’t have such a good night though.”

Subaru stared at the smug-looking Felt, “…Details, Felt, details.”

“Father was… rather offensive,” Reinhard said, his face darkening. “He suggested that Miss Felt was a whore that I had brought home for the night.”

“I feel like we’re going to have to do something about that guy, sooner or later,” Subaru grumbled.

“I took care of it sooner,” Felt replied.

“Oh?”

“While Red was off taking care of something, Heikel tried to challenge me to a duel. He said that if I refused his challenge, Red would be publicly disgraced,” Felt explained.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works,” Subaru replied.

“It doesn’t but I pretended to buy it. I had a plan. I tried to look weak and helpless; like I knew I was about to die and I had accepted the duel just to protect Red. Then I backed myself into a corner like I was just trying to die honorably without shaming Reinhard,” Felt said.

“This was a plan?” Subaru asked skeptically.

“Hell, yeah! Heikel didn’t think I was a threat for a moment! He didn’t even bother to draw his sword! He just walked over to me so that he could strangle me with his bare hands,” Felt chuckled.

“Wait, he actually fell for that?” Subaru asked.

“I’m surprised that he would underestimate you so much,” Emilia said.

“Don’t be! Mili, men are always willing to believe two things about a woman: one, she is weak and two, she finds him attractive.”

“Ouch,” Subaru observed to Reinhard.

“What happened then?” Emilia demanded, her eyes wide.

“When he got close enough, I whipped out my knife and put it to his throat. Then I told him he could either surrender and admit that a dust rat had beaten him or he could bleed out all over the floor. Anyway, Heikel tried to order his men to help him but by then Red was back and he warned them that intervening in the duel was forbidden. Eventually, Heikel had to beg for mercy and I let him go. Even the servants at the Astrea estate looked at him like he was dog shit after that!” Felt laughed.

“He is shit!” Subaru agreed, “Nothing personal, Red. It’s no reflection on you.”

“No, it is not,” Reinhard shook his head, his eyes dangerous, “I spoke to my father before he slunk off after that duel. I informed him that if he ever threatened Miss Felt again, or anyone else under my protection, he would face my blade and it would be no duel.”

“I’m sorry, buddy,” Subaru sympathized. “I know that’s a shit situation to be in and it couldn’t have been easy to say that to your father.”

“No, it wasn’t. But Father chose this battle, I did not,” Reinhard said simply. “My lord commanded that no one should offer threat to Miss Felt, in peril of his wrath. I simply obeyed his orders. But even had you not spoken, I would never have permitted Father to harm Miss Felt. She has proved herself to be loyal, brave, and kind. I rank her far above my father in both character and nobility.”

Felt turned bright red. “Oh, be quiet,” She said, trying to hide her face. Felt coughed, “So, now that the whole city is talking about the Natsuki camp, what’s next on our agenda, boss?”

Subaru smirked. “I thought that we’d go and visit Lady Crusch.”

“Crusch, you didn’t have to snap at them, nya,” Felix chided gently after they had returned to Crusch’s private apartment in the Karnstein mansion, “Your secretaries were only trying to help.”

Crusch pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh. I am losing control here and that is unacceptable. It is beneath the dignity of a leader to take out her frustrations on her loyal followers.

Gods, Felix and I were up almost all night talking, the poor boy. We spent the entire time trying to figure out how to recover from Subaru Natsuki’s upset. He has changed the entire race by stealing my plan for the White Whale. What’s worse is that despite talking strategy into the early morning hours, Felix and I accomplished nothing. Felix kept hinting that we were just talking in circles but I refused to accept that until it was nearly dawn. The truth is that the race has passed outside of my control at the moment and we are currently at a standstill.

I even began to wonder if my best choice might be to form an alliance with Priscilla and Anastasia to tear down Subaru Natsuki, who will shortly be the undisputed favorite to win the election. Working together, perhaps we could bring him down a bit. The three of us could break up the alliance and jockey for the lead once the race has evened out a little.

However, even that plan requires some kind of strategy for the three of us to execute. What could we, singularly or together, offer the people of Lagunica that would equal the killing of the White Whale? Negotiating peace with both Vollachia and Gusteko? But even if we succeeded at that pipe dream, if Subaru Natsuki slays the whale and then ends hunger and poverty in Lagunica, the game is over. Subaru will be carried to the throne by a thousand grateful peasants.

Gods, I hate this situation! My tactical instinct is telling me only one thing: the initiative has been handed to my opponent and right now all I can do is respond to his moves. My only choice at the moment is to watch and wait for an opportunity to turn the situation back to my favor.

I need either Subaru to make a mistake that I can capitalize on or I need a real disaster to occur. If the kingdom was to be in actual crisis and House Karnstein acts with its customary decisiveness to handle the matter, public opinion will swing back in my favor. Subaru’s grand ideas might be impressive but a King who can not protect his people from danger is no kind of King at all.

Regardless, the reality remains that at the moment, there is little I can do but sit and wait and those are two things that I have never done well. My heart demands action. I need to find a way to shore up my support, even if in just a minor way, to avoid squandering this time on my hands.

Crusch sat down in a chair and ruminated on the situation. Felix was cleaning up the room around Crusch and putting away her freshly laundered clothes while Crusch gazed out the window and consciously tried not to scowl.

A knock came from the door.

Crusch frowned, What’s going on? My servants are all instructed to avoid my private quarters except in cases of extreme emergency. I insist on having at least one area in the mansion which is under my complete control. Can no one be trusted to do as they’re told today?

No, stop it, Crusch! Taking out your frustrations on the help is far beneath the dignity of your station. Just handle the situation.

“Enter,” She called.

Jarvis, the chief butler, entered the room already bowing low, hoping to forestall his mistress’s irritation, “A thousand pardons, Lady Karnstein, but there is someone here who wishes to speak with you.”

“I ordered that my calendar be cleared for the day,” She replied in a tone that was not quite a growl.

Is everyone other than Felix incompetent?! I was explicit in ordering that all my meetings and appointments be canceled today! What is going on? I’ve always run a tighter ship than this. I need to track down whichever secretary had failed at following basic instructions and reprimand them…

No, Crusch. That is your frustration talking. Your secretaries are all both talented and devoted to you. Mistakes will happen, even from the very best of servants, and it is the function of a leader to deal with those mistakes. So be it.

However, even with all that being the case, I have no appetite and no patience for mouthing polite formula phrases with some minor functionary or inquiring about the welfare of their relations whom I have never met.

“Please offer my personal apologies to whomever it is for the confusion but I am indisposed today and will be unable to meet with them,” Crusch told the butler before turning back to her window.

“Forgive me, Lady Karnstein. I would have already done precisely that but I thought in this particular case your Grace might wish to make an exception,” Jarvis replied, still bowing low.

Crusch looked at the butler in surprise. Interesting. So I did make my wishes clear. My servants knew that I did not wish to be disturbed but this unexpected guest is of such exalted rank that they risked telling me anyway.

“And with whom am I meeting?” She asked in a neutral voice.

“Lord Subaru Natsuki and Lady Emilia Natsuki wish to speak with you,” Jarvis replied.

Crusch’s eyes widened, What is going on? Why? Have they come here just to mock and humiliate me for last night?

No, that’s unlikely. Subaru Natsuki did throughly embarrass Priscilla last night but that was just politics. He didn’t stick around to rub her face in it, as Priscilla certainly would have done if their roles had been reversed. Subaru made his point and then continued on. He hadn’t seemed to especially enjoy it.

Then why is he here? I may be in retreat but I’m far from being beaten. He couldn’t really be so arrogant as to come here expecting my surrender could he? So what does he want?

“I will see them,” Crusch told the butler. He whispered a command to a servant just outside who bustled off and then he began to close the doors.

“No, wait!” Crusch told Jarvis who hastily reopened the doors. “Don’t take them to the council room. Tell them that I will see them here in my personal antechambers.”

Jarvis nodded and closed the door, likely going off to try and catch up with the other servant.

Crusch steepled her fingers and stared at the wall, What are you planning, Subaru Natsuki? You must have some idea to consolidate your gains from the upset you handed me last night, but what? Perhaps this time you’ve grown overambitious. By stretching your hand out so far to seize victory, you risk unbalancing yourself. Any advance a tactician makes, even if done from a superior position, always risks exposing them to counter attack. I will not underestimate you a second time, Subaru Natsuki.

“Lord Subaru,” Crusch said politely, “Welcome to my humble abode.”

Crusch reclined in a comfortable chair in her own personal sitting room while Subaru, Emilia, and Felt sat on a nearby cough. Beatrice was on Subaru’s lap. Reinhard sat in a chair nearby while Felix served tea. Crusch had changed out of her uniform and worn a simple but elegant dress, something which she rarely did.

I’m not comfortable outside my uniform but it might lead them to underestimate me and think of me as nothing more than a fainting flower of the court. This is a battlefield just like any other and I require the right tools for the challenge.

Felt is wearing low class clothes, she must be pretending to be nothing more than an ignorant commoner again for some reason. They couldn’t really think that I would fall for it twice, would they? Or did she not have time to change before this meeting because she was busy doing something incognito earlier?

I also need to keep an eye on the little girl. She may look fragile but she’s actually a Great Spirit, capable of destroying this entire compound without much effort. Did Subaru bring her here as a threat? No, probably not. Subaru already has Sir Reinhard here, that’s threat enough.

“I appreciate you making the time to meet with us, Lady Crusch,” Subaru said. “I was sorry that we didn’t get a chance to speak yesterday but time got away from me. I’m also not insensitive to the considerable honor you’ve granted us. You don’t permit many people into your private chambers.”

Crusch stared at him for a moment, What is that supposed to mean? Is it some kind of slur?

I ‘don’t’ let many people into my chambers?

Is he calling me frigid? Or is he being sarcastic and implying that I have taken a lover? Gods, why are the doings of a woman’s bedchamber always fodder for public gossip?!

Crusch, stop it. It’s most likely a meaningless pleasantry, at worst intended to demonstrate how much that he knows about the inner workings of your household. The fact that servants aren’t permitted in these rooms isn’t precisely secret but no one outside my own very well vetted household staff would know about it. For Subaru to be aware of this means that he has turned one of your most trusted servants against you: The spy. That is the most productive thing that I can be doing right now. I need to hunt down and eliminate the spy, or even better, turn them to my own use.

Perhaps that is the reason that Subaru came here. He wants to continue to lead you to overestimate him until you invest great meaning into every word he says, jumping at shadows and exhausting yourself. Clever bastard, I nearly fell into that trap of my own accord.

Well, two can play at that game. If he believes himself to be my superior then I shall encourage him to view me so. I’m glad that I took off my normal clothes and put on something softer. It was a shrewder gambit than I had guessed. Let him think that my sword is a prop and my uniform mere pageantry. An enemy who senses little threat from you is an enemy that you will catch napping.

“The honor is mine. I did not expect to be granted an audience with the front runner of the royal election so soon. I saw your interaction with Lady Priscilla yesterday. It was truly masterful game play,” Crusch said.

“High praise indeed, coming from you, Lady Crusch,” Subaru raised his teacup in a salute before tasting it. “Delicious,” He said, putting down his cup.

Interesting, Crusch thought. My Divine Blessing assures me that he’s lying. He can’t stand the flavor of this tea. Most people think Bardock tea is the best strand in the region but apparently Subaru Natsuki has odd taste.

Subaru continued, “I’ve seen that you have quite the masterful strategic mind yourself.”

“You are far too kind, Lord Subaru. All of my victories are the result of countless people, far more clever than I, working tirelessly toward the same goal. Truly, some days I feel entirely incidental to any achievement to which my name is ascribed,” Crusch shrugged.

Subaru gave her a sly smile, “It would be the height of rudeness for me to call you a liar, Lady Crusch, so let me instead commend you for your exemplary humility.”

Damn it, Crusch, you went too far! There is an artfulness to being humble. Overdo it and everyone can tell that it’s fake. Mother was perfect at this but you take after your Father and always charge in proudly. I suspect that by the end of this little adventure, I’ll wish that I had studied her example more closely.

“Well, perhaps, but it is also true that no woman stands alone. Numerous people worked on the speech I delivered at the presentation yesterday, for example,” Crusch replied.

Subaru looked at her chidingly, “Forgive me, Lady Crusch, but you wrote that speech yourself.”

Who is this spy?! I employ six different speech writers who all submitted proposals and they don’t communicate with one another by my explicit design. How could the spy have possibly known that none of their speeches were selected and that I wrote my own? And why would Subaru just reveal that he possesses such high level access to my household and advisers over something so trivial? It sacrifices an advantage because now I’m on my guard. Does he mean to intimidate me? Is Subaru just taunting me with the depth of his intelligence network?

Still a sword cuts two ways. If he’s truly this arrogant than perhaps I could drive him to boast.

“And would you please explain to me how you could possibly know that?” Crusch asked dismissively, sipping her tea.

“Your brilliant strategic mind is easily established by your bureau in the corner and that small piece of paper under that chair,” Subaru said, unable to hide how pleased he was with himself.

Crusch quickly glanced at the bureau but noticed nothing unusual.

What is he babbling about? I see the piece of paper under the chair, probably a scrap from when I was taking notes for my speech. It’s an annoying oversight but poor Felix is the only one allowed to clean up in here so mistakes like that will happen.

Still what is he talking about in regards to my ‘strategic mind?’ Does he think that I left the note out on purpose to do… what? And what does it have to do with my bureau? Is he noticing that most noblewomen eschew bureaus in favor of a vanity table? What of it?

Never mind, let him keep talking. I should try to gain as much information as I can right now and then I can piece it all together at my leisure.

“I do not understand,” Crusch replied.

“The paper contains the words ‘for all Lagunicans,” a phrase from your speech last night. The paper also has lines crossed out and corrections. It was notes for your speech,” Subaru explained.

This man is dangerously observant but he’s also overreaching himself with his deductions.

“I expect my chief speech writer must have dropped it there when we last discussed the matter,” Crusch said carelessly as Felix scurried off to collect the note.

“Nope,” Subaru replied.

“No…?” Crusch said, unable to completely keep the edge from her voice at being flatly contradicted.

“Your speech writer has never been in this room,” Subaru replied.

“That is a very bold statement to make, would you please enlighten me as to how you are so sure of that?” Crusch asked, struggling to control her temper.

Who is this spy?!

“There are hairs on your bureau,” Subaru replied with a smirk.

Crusch blinked.

“Specifically cat hairs that match Master Felix’s,” Subaru said.

“Of course. Felix is my trusted knight. He spends a great deal of time-” Crusch shrugged.

“The cat hairs are jammed into the drawer, caught between the drawer and the bureau’s body. The only way that this would be possible would be if Felix was in that drawer. One or two drawers could be coincidence but Felix’s hairs are stuck in all the drawers. The only logical conclusion is that Felix was putting your clothes away,” Subaru explained.

Crusch noticed Felix fidgeting out of the corner of her eye. Poor Felix, he has no idea what’s going on. Actually, neither do I for that matter. Regardless he clearly thinks that his carelessness has put me in a bad situation, although he doesn’t precisely understand how. I’ll have to reassure him later.

“But why is your chosen knight doing such a chore? You clearly have no shortage of servants in this mansion,” Subaru continued, “The obvious inference is that you don’t allow many people into this room, not even a trusted maid, so Felix is the one cleaning up after you and hence my earlier expressed appreciation of being permitted inside. This reduces the number of persons who could have written that note to just you and Felix. The words on the note slant to the right. Felix holds his teacup in his left hand and he also picked up that note in his left. You, on the other hand, hold your tea cup in your right and therefore you wrote the note. The note has your speech in the process of being written but it also has a curious code: E4E5Nf3Nf6Bb5Nc6. Whatever could that mean?”

“Do you really expect me to explain classified codes to you?” Crusch murmured with a sinking feeling in her stomach.

“It’s chess notation,” Subaru explained, “You are such a chess fanatic that, even while you were working hard on your speech, when you needed to take a break you decided to play a game of chess in your head against yourself.”

Subaru paused, “Also if you don’t mind me pointing it out, I really would have gone with Bc4. Black was initially off balance and vulnerable to a sharp attack on the King’s side. He might have pushed your offensive back but at the cost of valuable time to get his army moving while you took advantage of his poor position to activate all of your pieces.”

Crusch just stared at Subaru, Alright. Apparently Subaru Natsuki knows intimate details of my behavior in my private quarters. It is possible that he could be making up these ‘brilliant deduction’ in order to throw me off balance when in fact the spy spoon fed him all of this information.

However, in order for the spy to have told him all this, it would mean that either Felix has betrayed me or that I have spawned a split personality that is determined to sabotage my own campaign. I’m not sure given the choice between the two which option is more probable.

That said, I’d take either of them over option three: What if there is no spy? What if there never was?

What if Subaru managed to deduce my plan for the whale simply from what Felt told him about our conversation? There might have been other clues that led him to the same conclusion as well but maybe there was no informant, it was all just pure deductive reasoning.

If that’s true, then how can I possibly outmaneuver this man? The mind is always the sharpest weapon in your arsenal. As Father instructed, I’ve spent a lifetime training my mind to be as sharp as a razor. I’ve honed it to a perfect edge in conflict after conflict.

But what if I’m simply outmatched in this case? What if this is like when I played chess with Father as a girl and he would begin by taking the queen and both rooks off his side of the board just to make the contest fair?

If I can’t outsmart Subaru then where does that leave me? Brute force? That’s not a realistic option. Subaru has the Sword Saint defending him and he was able to overpower Priscilla besides. Making use of my long established network of beneficiaries and political allies might be a possible strategy but Subaru is making impressive gains among the nobility so that option also has poor prospects. Is this why he came here today? To prove to me that I’m simply outclassed?

I’m not done yet. There has to be a move to get me back into this game. I just need to find it.

“Excuse me, Lord Subaru,” Crusch said in an annoyed sigh, “This has all been very entertaining but perhaps we could get down to business now.”

“Of course, please excuse my digression. I was hoping that you might consider an alliance between our two factions in order to achieve a common goal,” Subaru replied.

An alliance? Why? What could he possibly need help my with? Inroads with the nobility? Connections to the military? None of these seem terribly challenging for him to pursue on his own so I’m drawing a blank. Regardless, if he thinks he needs me for something it might give me leverage.

“A vague term, speak plainer,” Crusch said.

“I want you to help me hunt down and kill the White Whale,” Subaru replied.

Crusch’s jaw dropped, This makes no sense! What could I possibly offer him that would assist him in slaying the beast? Reinhard can easily kill the whale all on his own. My army will be completely irrelevant to the hunt.

“I’m not sure that I understand, Lord Subaru,” Crusch said slowly, “By alliance you mean…”

“By alliance, I mean an alliance. The Karnstein camp and the Natsuki camp will share credit for the kill,” Subaru said.

This is a ridiculous offer! If anyone else suggested such a plan, I would assume that he were drunk. I’m receiving a healthy benefit to my faction: the credit for assisting in slaying the whale would put me comfortably in second place but all of this is done at no cost to me; as my army will simply stand by and watch the Sword Saint kill it! Is this some manner of bribe? Why? What does he want? Does he want to tether my camp to his own so tightly that I am later unable to break free and build my own support? That seems like a foolish strategy that has only the faintest chance of working anyway. Either Subaru is doing something profoundly stupid right now or something so ingenious that I am completely unable to figure it out!

“Lord Subaru, I don’t see how this alliance benefits you,” Crusch said bluntly.

“I’m attempting to form a reconciliation between our factions,” Subaru replied.

Crusch stared at him, “You speak as though I were already defeated,” She murmured.

“Just so,” Subaru agreed pleasantly, “I will conquer this selection. I will win the throne for Emilia. My victory is fait accompli. There will obstacles and hurdles on the path and I will overcome them. That is simply how it shall be. Thus, I am less concerned with the selection itself than with my ability to form a functioning government afterward. The House of Karnstein has been a pillar of the kingdom for centuries and I require it to continue to be so. The best way for me to do that is to ensure that your faction and mine view each other as allies; hence my offer.”

Crusch was momentarily struck speechless by Subaru’s words and then her mind filled with flames, It’s a very good thing that I’m wearing a dress right now. If I had my sword at my side it’s quite likely that these words would have provoked me into doing something rash. And drawing my sword would indeed have been rash. The Sword Saint is sitting a foot away and my target disarmed Priscilla Barielle barehanded. I would die before I landed my first stroke.

Could he have been trying to provoke me with his words into doing something that reckless? Perhaps a way to kill me while claiming self-defense?

No, that’s nonsense. He can clearly see that I am unarmed. Even if he did originally have such a strategy, he would have abandoned it as soon as he saw that I had no weapon. I need to stop looking for deep and nuanced meaning in the actions of this Subaru Natsuki. The answer is much simpler:

This man is insane. He is absolutely insane. Normally I would simply write off such words as he spoke to me as bluster from someone attempting to overplay his hand but my Divine Blessing didn’t trigger; not once. He isn’t lying, he genuinely believes himself to be invincible and that the contest is already decided in his favor. What kind of man is arrogant enough to believe that he can conquer an entire kingdom singlehandedly?

“I may not be quite prepared to accept your charity, my lord,” Crusch said in a frigid tone.

“It’s not charity. I’m appealing to your brilliant strategic mind,” Subaru shrugged.

“How so?” Crusch grumbled.

Control your temper, Crusch. That teacup is fine china. If you squeeze it any harder, it will shatter.

“There are only two possibilities here, Lady Crusch” Subaru replied. “One is that I truly am the man that I purport myself to be. This would mean that victory shall inevitably be mine and all of your scheming and valor is vain.”

Subaru let the words hang there for a moment and Crusch felt a chill run down her spine.

“Or?” She asked.

“Or I am a fool and my campaign will end the way of all foolish ventures: in fire. I will crash and burn out, leaving all of my supporters devastated, betrayed, and with nowhere to turn. Easy picking for whichever candidate has properly positioned herself to take advantage of it,” Subaru mused.

Crusch’s mouth went dry. He was right. If Subaru committed a serious blunder then Crusch would easily become the front runner using her own support and poaching some of his. His followers would almost certainly gravitate toward her after his failure if she had maintained a good relationship with them. But if he didn’t crash out, if he didn’t make that huge mistake…

Then she was defeated already.

“Regardless of which one you believe me to be, strategically speaking there is only one viable course here,” Subaru said with a shrug.

My hand is forced, Crusch cursed herself.

“I would look most favorably upon such a joint venture, my lord,” Crush almost growled.

Everyone was chatting in the carriage as they left Crush Karnstein’s mansion.

“Boss, that was amazing!” Felt giggled, “Did you see the look on her face? You pinned her down and gave her nowhere to go but to accept. She even had to thank you for your offer!”

Subaru gave Felt a halfhearted smile.

“It is good to consider future alliances after the selection is over, but isn’t this a tad premature, Subaru?” Reinhard mused, “I myself have no doubts as to your inevitable victory but already attempting to form a functioning government is thinking very far ahead.”

“I agree, Subaru,” Emilia worried, “Maybe this wasn’t the right time to go after Lady Crusch this way…”

Subaru stared out the window for a long moment, “Well… Lady Crusch is in some ways our most dangerous opponent. She’s a woman of considerable reputation and she’s extremely popular among both the nobility and the military. If she takes the lead, we have a problem because she wants to end the pact with the dragon. That means that we can’t negotiate with her to get the blood because she won’t be able to get any more.”

Subaru scratched his cheek, “Since she’s so dangerous, we should keep her close… In this case, rather than give her the next few weeks to try and put her own initiatives into action, she’s been forced to assist us in carrying out ours. She won’t get much credit for that. We’re stealing time and energy from her and she has no choice but to go along with it.”

“Damn, boss! How do you do it?” Felt said in wonder, “Did you have this all planned out before you even spoke to Crusch?”

“Oh, no,” Subaru laughed weakly, “I just had a vague idea when I went in and I followed the lead of chance from there.”

“I think we can all trust that the odds will always be in your favor,” Reinhard said proudly.

Subaru looked at him in confusion, What does he mean by that?

Beatrice was flipping through a book and Felt, Reinhard, and Emilia began to talk about the initiatives to empty the slums. This freed Subaru to think about what he really wanted to think about: how stupid he was.

Alright, well at least Felt and Reinhard bought that bullshit that I just fed them. They still think everything is going to plan. I sure wish I did.

How the fuck did I screw that meeting up so badly? Why did I do that? I went in there to offer Crusch a conciliatory hand and tell her that we might be rivals but still could be united in our goals to make the world a better place. I was also going to try and lay the groundwork to convince her to give me whatever blood the kingdom has left in exchange for bowing out of the contest if she ever does take the lead. Instead, I get swept up in Reason and Judgment’s magical confidence and I spend the entire meeting showing off.

I played Sherlock Holmes in the meeting just to amuse myself. Oh and real nice job critiquing her chess move, by the way! How petty can you be? Honestly, I don’t even know why I thought it was a bad move. I’ve played about ten games of chess in my entire life but Reason and Judgment took one look at the game and saw the mistake.

I rubbed Crusch’s face in my superiority and I told her that she had no choice but to accept my offer.

Why did I do that?! She would have figured out that this was her only viable option on her own but instead I shoved it in her face. Now Crusch is furious at me and she feels humiliated by what I did. She might even feel a little bit afraid of me.

Good luck making friends with her now. She’s cooperating with me because I gave her no other choice but she’s going to be sorely tempted to stick a knife in my back if the opportunity ever presents itself.

How did I fuck this up so bad? It was Reason and Judgment. When I use it, I just want to give into it completely and keep using it. God, I’ve never done heroin but I doubt it feels much better than Reason and Judgment’s magical confidence does.

What a second, are you listening to yourself? You just compared this magic to heroin! Could there be a better signal that you need to stop using it?

Well…, or at least cut down a little. Restrict its usage to… emergencies, exigent circumstances, matters of import, that kind of thing. I mean, stopping cold turkey might be challenging so it really makes more sense to… taper off.

Come on, Subaru. You keep looking for evidence that Reason and Judgment is adversely affecting you, well here it is! You completely lost control of yourself during that meeting! I mean, Reason and Judgment has a point: you are heavily favored to win the selection right now but your victory is not guaranteed the way you implied while you were under Reason and Judgment’s influence.

Your own overconfidence is dangerous. It’s time to back off a little. You shouldn’t need to use Reason and Judgment for anything over the next few weeks.

Focus on making a new machine. You’re good at machines. You shouldn’t need Reason and Judgment to figure out how to do that.

“Alright, so I have a really ambitious idea that I wanted to talk to you guys about. This machine could change the world!” Subaru proclaimed to his family.

Emilia was sitting on their bed with the two spirits laying against her. Emilia was attentive but Beatrice and Puck seemed almost half asleep.

“Huh,” Subaru said, “I guess I was expecting a stronger reaction than that.”

“I’m listening!” Emilia assured him.

“OK, so there was a thing back home that, if we could introduce, could make everyone’s life infinitely better. It’s called an engine.”

“What does it do?” Emilia asked.

“Well basically it turns wheels for you,” Subaru answered.

“It… turns wheels?”

“Yeah, you connect an engine to a wheel and it spins it for you,” Subaru explained.

Emilia looked pained, “Subaru, I’m sure that you know what you’re talking about, but that doesn’t sound all that impressive to me. How would that change anything?”

Subaru chuckled. “Remember all the gears in my sewing machine?”

“Of course.”

Subaru shrugged. “Those gears are all wheels but instead of having a person push the pedal to turn them, the engine does it for them. And that means that you can use gears to do all kinds of jobs, even jobs that a human isn’t strong enough to do. You can use moving gears to make a device that cuts down trees. You can make wagons that don’t require animals to pull them. At the moment people are heavily dependent on things like windmills and waterwheels or even animals to generate power. An engine let’s you generate that same power anywhere. All kinds of tools that currently depend on people or animal power could be automated. There’s no limit to what you can do what a device like that!”

Emilia’s mouth hung open and even the spirits looked impressed.

“How do we make that, I suppose?” Beatrice asked.

“Well, that’s the tricky part. The problem is, I think that we need to invent electricity first.”

Beatrice cocked her head.

Subaru shrugged, “See, I wasn’t really into cars back home and I don’t have anything to work with in figuring out how an internal combustion engine works. Also, since I never took chemistry I have absolutely no idea where to start in order to make gasoline. But I did a few projects with electric motors in my gears and machinery class so if we can generate electricity I think that I can make one,” Subaru explained.

Beatrice sighed, “Betty understood about one word out of three in that statement, in fact.”

“OK, then let’s boil this down to basics. Before we can make an engine, we’ll need to figure out a magical way to generate electricity. Preferably some kind of magical electric battery,” Subaru said.

He saw the blank looks on their faces. “Electricity is like… lightning. It’s a weak form of lightening that you can use for… lots of things. So we need to try to figure out how to make a magic device that can generate that.”

The blank looks remained.

Subaru sighed. “OK, it’s like this…”

“…And that’s called a circuit,” Subaru sighed in exhaustion. He’s been explaining this for close to an hour. Emilia still looked lost but Puck, who had played with magical lightning quite a bit seemed to be grasping the basic idea. Beatrice… was writing in a book.

“Beatrice? Are you taking notes?” Subaru asked.

“Of course Betty is taking notes, in fact. You have described knowledge that is not contained within Mother’s library. This is unacceptable, in fact! Betty will learn all there is to know about the ‘electricity’ and then add the information to Mother’s library, I suppose!”

Subaru nodded, walking over to Beatrice, “Good for you. Your mother clearly believed in gathering and preserving knowledge and now you’re following in her footsteps. You know, I think your mother would be very proud of you.”

Beatrice looked up, her eyes getting watery and Subaru pulled her into a tight hug.

“Actually, Subaru, I think I have an idea for something that might work,” Puck mused, “There are a few types of magic crystals that can be charged with Air mana. They’re sometimes called ‘lightning stones’ because if you hit them wrong they can erupt with energy. Once I threw some lightning at some naturally occurring ones.”

“Do you often throw lightning at rocks?” Subaru asked.

Puck shrugged, “I’d been looking for Lia for centuries by then and I still couldn’t find her so I was kind of annoyed.”

Subaru wasn’t sure what to say to that, “OK, what happened?”

“Well, the stones threw their own lightning back at me. I think maybe I made a ‘circuit’ or something like you described and unlocked the energy,” Puck explained.

“Sounds awesome. Any idea how long the stones would work or how expensive it would be to make these things?” Subaru asked.

“No idea, Subaru. Sorry. But we can experiment to find out,” Puck said.

“We sure can! You’re the man, Puck! Paw Knuckles!” Subaru shouted, holding out his fist toward Puck.

Puck stared at Subaru’s fist in confusion.

“I want you to slap my fist with your paw, Puck,” Subaru whispered.

Puck didn’t seem to get it but he obligingly slapped his paw down on Subaru’s fist.

“Yeah! Paw Knuckles!” Subaru cheered, “That is totally going to be our thing!”

“Subaru, does ‘our thing’ really have to be that stupid?” Puck asked.

Subaru ignored that, “OK, people. Let’s get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow we’re going shopping for crystals and supplies and then we’re going to spend a fun filled day doing arts and crafts with electricity. It sounds a lot less stressful than most of the other crap that we’ve been doing lately! Let’s change the world!”

Emilia and Puck cheered while Beatrice just looked bemused.

That night, the spirits joined their contractors at bedtime.

Bedtime was seriously delayed as the spirits and contractors argued and haggled over who slept where so that everyone could each be next to their favorite people while still all fitting in the bed. Ultimately, Emilia proposed a compromise where Beatrice would cradle Puck and sleep in the middle.

Of course, this also led to Beatrice being read to before bed while Emilia and Puck listened. After Subaru finished his turn reading, rather than pass the book back to Beatrice, he offered Emilia a turn. She took the book and began reading out loud to everyone. Beatrice appeared to have misgivings about this at first but she quickly accepted it and her eyes grew heavy.

Emilia was almost done with her chapter when she realized that she was now reading to an audience of one.

Emilia put the book away and laid down staring at Subaru over Beatrice’s head.

“You know, you’re very good at reading stories,” Subaru whispered.

“Well, I did read quite a few things to you when we first met so I’ve had lots of practice,” She teased.

Subaru chuckled.

“These sleeping arrangements will certainly take some getting used to,” Emilia admitted, “But it’s nice. Not nicer than when it’s just the two of us, of course. But nice all the same. It’s like having a real family.”

Emilia noticed that Subaru was staring at her.

“What?” She whispered.

Subaru rolled onto his back. “Mili, do you think someday- I mean a long, long time from now, you might want to start a family of our own?”

“A baby?” Emilia asked with a smile.

“Yeah. I mean we already survived one pregnancy scare so we’re bound to be better at it now,” Subaru mused.

Emilia grabbed her pillow and slammed it down on Subaru’s face being careful not to wake the sleeping spirits.

Subaru giggled, “I’m just saying,” He murmured from under the pillow, “I think that I might like a little Emilia one day.”

“A little Emilia?”

“Oh yeah. I totally want a daughter. I want someone just her like mother. A little elf scamp charging around determined to rescue everyone else and take of her family. I can already picture her running all over the place, two Great Spirits constantly chasing after her and desperately trying to keep her out of trouble.”

Emilia giggled and removed the pillow. She leaned over Subaru stroking his jaw. “It does sound nice,” She admitted, “But I really want a little Subaru. Someone who can look at everyone else and convince them that everything will be OK, someone who will move mountains to help his friends.”

“Hm,” Subaru mused. “That actually does sound pretty neat. Why don’t we just let fate decide one of these days?”

“Sounds good!” Emilia giggled.

She bent over to kiss Subaru goodnight and then snuggled into bed, Beatrice and Puck dreaming in between them.

The next morning, Emilia, Subaru, and the spirits were joined by Reinhard and Felt for breakfast.

After that, Felt went to the slums to start collecting information from the residents and Reinhard volunteered to accompany her. Roswaal had asked to speak to Emilia about an opportunity for the royal selection, so Subaru and Beatrice went out shopping alone.

“What are we looking for, I suppose?” Beatrice asked from her favorite seat on Subaru’s shoulder.

“Oh, a few things, iron ore mostly. We’ll probably need to use magic to shape it into wires ourselves. I doubt that people around here have much use for wire except maybe as jewelry. We’ll also need to grab a selection of magic stones to experiment with,” Subaru replied, scanning the market district.

Huh. OK, so where am I going? I haven’t been in the market district since the day I met Emilia and I don’t have the faintest idea of what I’m even looking for. What kind of store sells all that stuff? Hell, what kind of store sells any of that stuff? Where does a man go to buy ten pounds of crude iron? Are magic crystals jewelry supplies or magic supplies? And where would you buy either one?

I’m beginning to wish that I had asked Reinhard more questions before he disappeared this morning with Felt.

Subaru was wandering more or less aimlessly when he happened to notice an enormous store.

Well, that’s pretty impressive. I mean, it’s nothing compared to the malls and shopping centers back home but it’s got to be three or four times the size of its neighbors.

Subaru read the letters on the front that said: “Hoshin Trading Company.”

“This could be promising,” Subaru mused to Beatrice.

“Promising how, in fact?”

“Well, we might not find what we’re looking for but at least we could do a little reconnaissance on one of our rivals, right?”

“Betty supports whatever plan gets her back to her Bubby soonest, I suppose,” Beatrice replied.

“I can get behind that idea,” Subaru agreed.

Subaru walked into the store and a well-dressed demi-human with canine features approached him.

“May I help you, sir?” He said politely.

“I’m not sure. I’m in the market for a couple of pounds of iron ore and some magic gems,” Subaru replied with a shrug.

The dog man stared at him.

“I’m not really sure where to shop for these and I figured this would be a good place to start,” He continued.

“Alphonse, why don’t you go and help Tivey in back. I’ll assist this customer personally,” A woman said.

Subaru glanced behind him and saw Anastasia approaching.

“Lady Anastasia,” Subaru said with a deep bow.

Beatrice grumbled under her breath. Subaru bowing, when she sat on his shoulder, forced her to bow as well.

“Lord Subaru,” Anastasia said with a formal curtsy, “What brings you to my humble shop?”

“Well, this may say something unpleasant about me but when you’re in the market for quality goods why not start with the best shop in town?” He drawled.

“I love your attitude, Lord Subaru. Can I help you find anything?” Anastasia replied with a warm smile.

“Oh, just call me ‘Subaru,’ please. I’m just a customer here after all,” Subaru smiled.

“Oh, but I always treat my customers like royalty. That’s the secret to good business, you know,” She replied.

“Oh, really? I’ll have to remember that,” Subaru replied.

“So what are you looking for today?” She asked.

“I’m actually in the market for some iron ore and a few different types of magic gems,” Subaru replied.

“Really? What are you going to do with that?” Anastasia asked.

“It’s for an experiment I’m working on. Kind of a device I’m building,” Subaru replied, seeing no need to lie about it.

“Oh, like that sewing machine that I’ve heard so much about?” Anastasia said casually.

Well, we weren’t really trying to keep it a secret but it’s still pretty impressive that she heard about it. But if Anastasia wants to throw me off step she’s going to have to work a lot harder. “Oh, you heard about that, did you? I’m impressed.”

“I’m a trader, Lord Subaru. Information is my business. I’ve heard some very impressive things about it. If even half the stories are true, I think that this could be a very profitable development for you,” She said.

“Oh, thank you very much.”

“Oh, but listen to me!” She tittered, “I’m gossiping about your new projects in public like a foolish girl! Why don’t we step back into my private office where we can speak more comfortably?”

“That sounds lovely, Lady Anastasia. Thank you.”

OK, Subaru, for the record, you coming back into Anastasia’s private office ranks among the single worst decisions that you have ever made in your entire life and I’m sure that Anastasia would agree. Although ironically, you can’t really blame yourself for this mess. There was no way you could have known that in this tasteful but unassuming office, terror awaited you.

A terror named Mimi Pearlbaton.

“Again, my most sincere congratulations on your design. I have it on good authority that this new machine will completely revolutionize the textile industry,” Anastasia said, her voice calm but her face noticeably pale as a whip made out of shadow energy smashed onto the floor with crushing force just to the right of where she was sitting, “I assume you’re planning to manufacture them in quantity soon?”

“Soonish,” Subaru said with a worried frown as a tiny cat demi-human climbed him like a tree, stood atop his head, and then leaped away with a giggle. “There are always production chain issues to resolve first,” He shrugged.

“Oh, I do know what you mean. If you’re ever looking for a distributor I’d be only too happy to assist,” Anastasia said with a weak titter as a snarling Beatrice flew around her chair in hot pursuit.

“I may just take you up on that. The sales would help me finance a variety of other initiatives that I’m working on,” Subaru said with a sigh as a mallet made of shadows narrowly missed pulverizing Mimi who leapt away grinning.

“I hope you wouldn’t mind me taking a small cut,” Anastasia said with a nervous cough as Mimi ran across her desk.

“Oh no, we both profit and our rivals grow weaker. Sounds like a winning strategy to me.” Subaru mused, watching as Beatrice flung a barrage of shadowy spikes at Mimi. Mimi cartwheeled away as the spines embedded themselves in the wall like crystal porcupine quills.

“Hm. I knew that I was going to enjoy doing business with you.” She said, jerking her head to the left as Mimi leaped by her, just barely missing Anastasia.

The two rivals continued their half hearted verbal fencing match with fake smiles that were noticeably sickly. The royal candidates looked at each other with a strange kind of sympathy. How had either of them allowed this situation to spiral so far out of control?

When they had first sat down, Mimi, a tiny cat demi-human with orange fur, was sitting in the room, calmly reading a book.

Beatrice was clearly bored by Subaru and Anastasia’s conversation and she was flipping through the notebook that she had pulled out of thin air. When Mimi had come over to Subaru and asked if Beatrice wanted to play, Subaru had put Beatrice down beside her, pleased at the prospect. While their emotional ages were far apart, it might do Beatrice good to have some lighthearted fun from time to time. Besides, it was an opportunity for Beatrice to make some new friends outside ‘the family.’

Unfortunately, Mimi’s first idea for a game was ‘I grab your notebook and keep it.’ It took Beatrice a full three seconds of shock to even assimilate what had just happened. Then her face turned bright red and there was rolling fury in her eyes as she set off in hot pursuit.

The cat demi-human was running and bouncing all over the room while Beatrice flew after her and used a variety of spells to try and corner her quarry without damaging her precious notes.

God. Poor Anastasia looks sick to her stomach. She must be completely aware that Beako is a Great Spirit, fully capable of demolishing not only her store but the entire city block without much effort. If Beatrice were to really lose her temper, Anastasia’s odds of survival are close to zero, not to mention the large fortune in goods and merchandise that she stands to lose and I have no means to remunerate her for.

I can survive Betty’s temper-tantrum easily enough by triggering Indomitable but the damage to the city would kill any hopes we have for the selection, not to mention the sheer lost of life.

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The only one in the room who seemed completely unaware of the stick of lit dynamite that she was playing with was Mimi Pearlbaton herself, who was having the time of her life leading Beatrice in a merry chase around and around the room.

The irony was that both Subaru and Anastasia secretly suspected the other of having staged this incident deliberately; hoping to force them to ask the other to put a stop to it and therefore securing a psychological advantage in the negotiation. Thus Subaru and Anastasia both found themselves trapped in a high stakes game of chicken that neither one actually wanted.

Finally, Subaru just couldn’t take it anymore. “You know, one of the things that I’ve always admired about business is risk management,” He said. It had the tone of a peace offering.

“Oh yes, I do so try to avoid unnecessary risk,” Anastasia agreed earnestly.

Subaru looked at the two small ones running in circles around the desk, “On three?”

“One… two… three!” Subaru grabbed Beatrice and Anastasia snatched up Mimi. Anastasia immediately took the notebook away and handed it back to a livid Beatrice.

“Aw,” Mimi pouted.

“You are rude, in fact!” Beatrice shouted, clutching her notebook.

“Ah. That’s much better, don’t you think?” Subaru asked with the smile of one who has escaped a narrow brush with death.

“Oh my, yes. That is a huge improvement,” Anastasia agreed with a sigh.

Beatrice angrily opened her notebook again and buried her nose in it, settling in Subaru’s lap. Mimi fussed for a moment and then asked permission to go out and play. Anastasia granted it and Mimi quickly ran out the door.

“I’m sorry, where were we?” Subaru asked with a sigh, “I feel like I was a bit… distracted.”

Anastasia coughed, “Yes, we were talking about your sewing machine. It’s a remarkable invention but I wonder if you have considered its impact on the market. It has the potential to put countless talented tailors out of work.”

“Tailors are skilled craftsmen. Arguably, they’re too talented to do nothing other than hem clothes all day. Machinery allows one man to do the work that previously required the efforts of many. This lowers prices and increases productivity providing a net boon to society. Therefore it should be society’s responsibility, and the Crown’s in particular, to ensure that workers displaced by such innovations are either properly assimilated into the new industrial paradigm or trained in new trades that allow them to sell their skilled labor for similar profits in new industries,” Subaru replied.

I’m actually pretty proud of that speech. I spent days working on it. I was expecting someone to bring up the disruption to existing industries when I first broached the idea of the sewing machine but no one even mentioned it until Anastasia. I was starting to wonder if I had prepped this speech for nothing.

Anastasia considered his comments for a moment, “Fine words but that would be very expensive. How much are you prepared to spend on this initiative?”

Subaru was about to say ‘whatever it costs,’ before realizing that he was talking to a merchant and quickly rephrased: “No more than is necessary. True, it will be expensive but the surge in profits driven by the new sewing machine would also greatly enhance the Kingdom’s tax revenue. What should the Crown do with this surplus? It would be ridiculous to compare a kingdom to a company, they play by very different rules-” Subaru said.

Anastasia’s eyes narrowed.

Oh, she’s probably wondering if that was an insult. Shit. I better try to be more diplomatic.

“However they do have a few things in common. A company that earns a profit but does not reinvest that profit in improving itself will soon find that its profits taper off. A kingdom behaves the same way. The money earned from the people needs to be reinvested in the people in a way that drives the cycle of increasing resources,” Subaru finished.

Huh. This was actually a good idea. I’m talking to a merchant so if I describe everything in terms of profit and loss then I think that I can make a connection.

Anastasia was quiet for a long moment, mulling this over with a grave mien, “Interesting idea,” She admitted, “I’ve been most intrigued in the potential opportunities created by your new sewing machine. Would I be correct in assuming that you’re now working on a new device?”

Subaru saw no reason to deny it, “Yes. If my new device works it would be even more revolutionary than the sewing machine.”

Anastasia drummed her fingers on the desk for a moment then broke into a broad smile, “Well, Lord Subaru, all I can say is that, regardless of who ends up on the throne, I foresee a very long and profitable business relationship for us!”

“I completely agree, Lady Anastasia,” Subaru replied, “If you were the one chosen to rule, I’d be only too happy to negotiate to provide you, and Lagunica itself of course, exclusive rights to the license and distribution of all my inventions.”

Anastasia’s eyes glittered.

OK, if nothing else, Anastasia is the easiest candidate to talk to. There’s no glad-handing, just tell her what you want and what you’re offering and you can expect a negotiation. I think I’ll keep my asking price vague for right now though. If she knows that I want the blood she might find a way to turn it against me. OK, so now that I’ve made basic investments in the possibility that I lose. Time to make the same investment in the case of victory.

“Also,” Subaru continued, “If by some fluke, I was chosen to wear the crown, I hope that you’d be willing to consider a position on the royal council as an adviser in matters of trade and finance. I intend for my machines to change the world for the better. I think the Hoshin Trading Company has similar ambitions. It would greatly please me to increase your profits while I was saving the world. It strikes me as a win win.”

“Lord Subaru, I think that we are going to be very close friends,” Anastasia smiled.

Subaru suddenly had an idea, “Lady Anastasia, would you be offended if I made a naked attempt to buy your good will?” Subaru asked.

Anastasia tittered, “Oh, Lord Subaru, I am a merchant at heart. Everything about me is for sale.”

OK, so do I just have a dirty mind or… You know what, I’m not going to think about it.

“You may be aware that the Nastuki camp is going to hunt down and kill the White Whale,” Subaru said.

“I have heard. I am betting heavily on your success, Lord Subaru. The acclaim you win from such an exploit will be considerable.”

“Would you like to share some of it?” Subaru asked.

“I’m not sure that I understand,” Anastasia replied.

“The Natsuki camp will secure the kill and win our acclaim thereby. It occurs to me it might hearten the people of Lagunica to see the beast’s head parade through the streets. The Hoshin trading company could easily transport the remains to the capitol. You also have a well established communications network to spread the word to merchants all over the continent of the victory over the beast, and your own contributions to that victory,” Subaru suggested, “Similar to our discussion about the distribution of the sewing machine, I’m asking if you would care for a ‘cut’ of my achievement in exchange for your own services.”

“Hm. Profit sharing on the level on an entire kingdom. An intriguing prospect,” Anastasia mused.

“I like to think big,” Subaru said modestly.

Anastasia mulled this over, “I think this is a very generous offer for you to share some of the credit for your extraordinary accomplishment. My goodwill could have been purchased much cheaper.”

Subaru shrugged, “Hey, treat your business partners like royalty, right? Especially if they have fair odds of actually becoming royalty.”

Anastasia laughed, “So I believe that early you were inquiring about iron ore and magic gems? How much were you looking to purchase?”

Hell if I know! I’m not even sure what these gems are called!

“Um, say twenty pounds of iron right now and one gem of each ‘type?’” He guessed.

“I can provide that,” Anastasia nodded, “I’ll have it hand delivered to your suite by sundown.”

Oh, so she knows where I sleep. Nice touch, Anastasia, Subaru thought.

“So that will be eighty gold,” Anastasia said after a moment’s thought.

“Impressive that you know the price of all your stock by heart,” Subaru complimented.

I have no idea if she’s scamming me but I’d guess probably not. She’ll make much more money over the long term by playing me straight rather than picking up a few extra gold pieces now and proving that I can’t trust her over a simple transaction. I’ll double check the prices later.

Subaru looked down and noticed a few pieces of metal that looked like bolts lying across the floor. He picked them up. “Lady Anastasia, what are these?”

She glanced at them, “Oh, probably just garbage dislodged from the furniture by the children playing. They’re trash,” She said dismissively.

Beatrice’s heel smashed into Subaru’s thigh.

Oh boy. Beatrice just heard herself get called a ‘child.’ This particular Great Spirit’s patience has been completely exhausted today. I need to remember to grab her some ice cream before we go home. Do they have ice cream here? I’m not sure. Well, I’ll get her candy or a pastry or something.

“Lady Anastasia, do you have a large kite I can purchase?” Subaru asked, fingering the small metal rods.

“A kite? Of course. The best we have is one silver piece. I’ll add it to your order. Are you planning to fly it with darling Beatrice?”

“Something like that,” Subaru agreed, “Also can I keep these?” He held up the three small steel rods.

“Of course! That will be 2 silver please,” Anastasia said with a smile.

Subaru scowled at her.

“Subaru, what are we doing out here?” Emilia asked as they stood out in the very blustery field. The night sky overhead was full of storm clouds and thunder rumbled ominously.

“We are performing an experiment that I read about in school. I think that everybody survived it,” Subaru mused, tying the steel rods he had bought together with the kite string so that they’d hang parallel with the string.

“I just hope we don’t get caught in the rain again,” Emilia replied.

“I don’t know. Frankly, I kind of liked brushing your hair,” Subaru smiled.

Emilia blushed.

“Hey! That’s my job!” Puck protested.

“Sorry, buddy! You were already asleep!” Subaru shrugged.

“Betty wants to know why we are doing this, I suppose,” Beatrice grumbled

“Oh, it’s part of our quest to master electricity,” Subaru replied, picking up his massive kite, “Betty, can you bury the spool with the end of that string underground? We really don’t want to have to hold it for this stunt.”

Beatrice pointed downward and the nearly empty spool of wire leapt straight out of her hand and buried itself in the earth.

“That works,” Subaru shrugged, “Here I go!”

Subaru started running and the kite easily got the intense breeze spiraling up into the air high above the trees.

“So… what do we do now, Subaru?” Puck asked, drifting over to perch on Subaru’s shoulder.

“Now we wait for lightning to strike!” He cheered, walking back over to Emilia and Beatrice.

Puck grimaced, “Subaru, you do know that I could have just thrown a lightning bolt at those metal bits if you asked me to, right?”

“Sure, but what fun would that be?” Subaru laughed, wrapping an arm around Emilia’s waist, “Now we get to spend some time outside together as a family! We’re even flying a kite! This is awesome! It should be a memorable evening.”

Puck sighed and flew from Subaru’s shoulder down into Emilia’s hands to be petted, “Lia, don’t get me wrong, I really like Subaru, but do you think you could train him out of some of this weirdness?”

“Nope!” Emilia chirped, cuddling Puck.

“My family has become very strange lately,” Puck mused as Subaru hoisted Beatrice up on his shoulder.

“Huh,” Subaru replied, “You know, it’s really weird now that you mention it but I feel like that ‘lately’ for your family seems to corresponds to the exact point in time when I joined it. Eh, it’s probably just a coincidence.”

“If Betty is going to be stuck out here on this stormy night, Betty at least wants to know what we’re doing, in fact,” Beatrice said primly from Subaru’s shoulder.

“OK, so we tied those steel rods to the kite string. The kite is the tallest thing around here so it should attract a lightning bolt. If I remember my science class, when lightning runs down the string and through those rods to reach the ground, it should magnetize the rods.”

“Magnetize?” Beatrice asked.

Um. Beatrice called it something earlier. What was it? “Lodestones. It will make the rods into lodestones.”

“Hm, interesting. Mother never knew that it was possible to make a lodestone, I suppose,” Beatrice pulled her notebook out of thin air and started to take notes.

“I’m sorry, what’s a lodestone?” Emilia asked.

“A lodestone is a rock that can pull other rocks to it, I suppose,” Beatrice answered.

“Yeah, that’s pretty close,” Subaru agreed, looking up at the kite and the stormy clouds boiling overhead.

“Well, that sounds interesting but how does that help us make this ‘engine’ thing?” Emilia asked.

Subaru hesitated, “Um. I’ll show you later. In this case, it’s a lot easier to show you than to tell you.”

Subaru looked out over the field, “Huh. Well, this I didn’t expect.”

Priscilla Barielle had gotten out of a carriage parked by the side of the road and was walking up the hill toward them in her elaborate red gown. Her attendant, Al, was carefully carrying a large umbrella over her head.

“My my,” Priscilla drolled, “How amusing to find you out here.”

“Good evening, Priscilla,” Subaru said cheerfully, “I’m surprised that you needed the umbrella. I would have assumed that you would just rely on your luck to stay dry.”

Priscilla flushed and scowled. She angrily gestured for Al to put the umbrella away.

Subaru, stop being an idiot! You want the other candidates to like you! You can’t be certain that you’ll win the selection and you might need to negotiate with them to get Emilia the blood. This ‘scorched earth’ strategy you’re employing toward Priscilla is doing you absolutely no good.

“So what brings you out here on a night like this?” Subaru asked more conversationally.

“Oh, we were just passing by and I happened to see you all playing out in the field. I thought that, whatever this was, it would at least be mildly amusing,” Priscilla answered.

“Probably. I’m usually pretty amusing. I like to think that it’s one of my biggest selling points, personally,” Subaru replied.

Priscilla frowned and seemed to be turning that statement over in her heard looking for veiled jibs.

Oh, perfect. Priscilla dislikes you so much that she expects to find insults in perfectly bland conversation. You’re really doing great here, Subaru.

Although, on the other hand, Priscilla was probably a lost cause from the get-go and deserves to be treated as such. I don’t think that Priscilla would ever like me no matter how much I kissed her ass.

“Hm. So you’re out here flying a kite? How delightfully pedestrian. Perhaps later you can all play hide and seek in the bushes,” Priscilla barely hid her sneer, “I expect that’s what elves and commoners do for fun anyway.”

Puck growled and Subaru had to restrain himself from doing the same.

Wait! I can use this! Oh, man. If this works it will be awesome! “Oh, it’s not a game, Priscilla. Actually, it’s an experiment for a new kind of machine I’m working on. We’re trying to confirm how long the kite can stay up there. It’s a risky night to do it though, if we get unlucky lightning could hit the kite,” Subaru worried.

Priscilla’s grin grew vicious, “Oh my, yes. That would just be awful,” Her voice positively reeked of false sympathy.

Subaru noticed Emilia looking confused from the corner of his eye. She turned to ask Subaru a question but before she could open her mouth, the mother of all lightning bolts flashed out of the sky and blasted the kite to pieces causing it to fall to earth in a shower of cinders.

“Oh dear! Your experiment is simply ruined! How dreadful!” Priscilla said, pressing both hands to her cheeks.

“Thank you, Priscilla! I guess ‘luck’ was with me tonight,” Subaru smirked.

Priscilla looked confused.

This is awesome! I outplayed Priscilla and I didn’t even need Reason and Judgment to do it! I don’t need to be dependent on it, I can handle shit myself. I mean, I don’t want to get too cocky. Priscilla isn’t all that difficult to manipulate but still, it certainly puts a smile on my face.

“You see, we’d been standing out here for a good long while, waiting for lightning to strike the kite. I was worried we might be out here all night! But then you were kind enough to show up with your famous luck and I wondered: how can I turn your luck to my advantage?” Subaru mused rhetorically, “Oh, I know! I’ll just tell you I don’t want lightning to strike the kite and see what happens. Thanks a ton, Priscilla. You’ve been very helpful. I foresee a long and profitable working relationship for the two of us!”

Priscilla was bright red and breathing heavily. Her fist clenched tight around her fan.

Al leaned over and whispered something in her ear.

Priscilla glared at him then spun around and stormed back to the carriage with her nose in the air.

“You know, I really wouldn’t keep provoking her,” Al said conversationally, “Her luck always turns out badly for her enemies sooner or later. You may be on top right now but mark my words, by the end of the contest, Priscilla will be King of Lagunica.”

“Whatever magic she possesses, Priscilla is still a bitch,” Subaru told him flatly. “She belittles and mistreats anyone she views as less than her and that’s ninety nine percent of the population. She views anyone not openly adoring her as an affront. In a perfect world, someone like that would never be trusted with any kind of authority, much less be made King.”

“Well, you might be right but we don’t live in a perfect world, do we?” Al said with no sign of offense.

“Not yet, but I’m just getting started,” Subaru replied.

“Al!” Priscilla yelled from the carriage, “Why am I being made to wait for you?! Get down here this instant or you’ll walk back!”

“Well, I better go,” Al said with a yawn, “Nice talking to you.”

“You too,” Subaru agreed, watching the knight leisurely saunter back to the carriage.

Subaru glanced at Emilia, “That is one strange man.”

Oh. Wait a second. I just had another bright idea. Um, I think.

Subaru slipped Beatrice off his shoulders, “Wait here, I’ll be right back!” He said, racing down the hill toward the carriage.

“Hey! Priscilla!” He called as Al climbed inside.

Subaru rushed over to the carriage and hopped up on the side to peer through the open window.

Priscilla snorted, “Hm. What do you want?”

“You know, Priscilla, it occurs to me that we might be getting off on the wrong foot here,” Subaru said, “To correct that, I figured I’d make you a peace offering.”

Priscilla glowered at him but Subaru could tell that he’d peaked her interest, “After all this, you want to make friends? What could you possibly offer me?”

“The White Whale,” He replied.

Priscilla’s expression didn’t change but Subaru could tell that he’d caught her undivided attention.

“It’s the Natsuki camp’s biggest prize. We’re going to be heading off to hunt it down in a few days and I’m willing to cut you in on the victory.”

“In exchange for what?” Priscilla asked suspiciously.

“Nothing. Like I said, it’s a peace offering. I just want us to have a good relationship no matter who wins,” Subaru shrugged.

“It’s a good offer, Priscilla,” Al commented.

She thought it over for a long moment then smiled smugly, “Well, I’m glad to see that you’re finally accepting your place.”

“Yeah, something like that,” Subaru agreed, God damn it, Priscilla. Do you absolutely have to be this difficult? Even when you’re being given a valuable gift on a silver platter you still can’t just accept it with good grace.

“And what would you ask me to do in this hunt? I doubt you need any more military assets with the Sword Saint on hand,” Priscilla commented.

“No, I think we’re all set there. I’ve arranged for the beast to be dragged back to the capitol after it’s dead and I thought such a momentous event needed to be celebrated with suitable pomp and circumstance. I was originally thinking of holding a Triumph; that’s a kind of parade and festival to celebrate great victories but I just don’t have the skills or talent to plan one. But I realized that you could do that easily. You could arrange a festival and celebration that would be truly memorable to commemorate the occasion. You’d not only receive a share of the acclaim from killing the beast but you’d be the most visible participant of the Hunt to all of the civilians.”

Priscilla mulled it over and then smirked, “Very well. I shall graciously accept your offer and stake it against your many insults against my magnificence. Keeping performing so well and I may yet forgive you.”

“Sounds good, Priscilla!” Subaru said, barely able to keep from rolling his eyes.

Subaru hopped off the carriage and it trundled away.

Subaru walked back up the hill to where Emilia and the spirits waited humming to himself.

Hey, that meeting actually was lucky! That went freaking perfectly. By not using Reason and Judgment, I kept my ego in check and I’m managing to mend my bridges with the other candidates.

Suddenly he had an uncomfortable thought: Subaru, are you sure you’ve thought this through? None of the candidates know that the others are participating in this. They might think that you’ve tricked them.

Subaru shook his head, Come on! Crusch doesn’t know because I hadn’t made any of the other arrangements yet when I talked to her. Anastasia doesn’t know because it doesn’t effect her, she’s transporting a dead carcass; why does she even care who killed it or if there’s a party afterward? And Priscilla doesn’t know because she would have balked at getting 25% credit instead of 50% even though originally she would have gotten zero, so what right does she have to complain?

Well yes, that’s all very logical. But human nature is not logical…

Subaru scratched his chin. Maybe I should tell Crusch at least. I doubt she’ll really care but I should keep her informed if I really want to make friends with her.

Subaru continued up the hill to reunite with his family.

The next morning, the four were sitting in their hotel room.

Oh my God, Beatrice and Mili are freaking adorable! They’ve been playing with these magnets for hours now! They’re like children with a new toy! I wish that I had a camera but the charge on my phone ran out weeks ago. Huh. If I invent electricity here, maybe I could recharge it…

Beatrice and Emilia seem absolutely amazed that there’s no mana at all in these magnets but they’re still ‘doing’ stuff.

Huh, weird. They’ve really never encountered this phenomenon before. Since Beatrice knew what a ‘lodestone’ was I just assumed that magnets were relatively common here even if they were called by a different name but apparently lodestones are so rare that Beatrice only knows about them from books; she’s never seen one.

I guess I always assumed that magnets were common in the ancient world. I mean, when was the compass invented? It seems like that would be a really old device but maybe it isn’t? Come to think of it, how do you even make magnets anyway without duplicating that old Ben Franklin trick and that stunt dates to the 1700s, I think. When would the compass have been invented? Did old day sailors really have nothing to steer by but the sun and stars? That seems complicated. Damn, how did people find their way around in the old days?

Maybe I should add compasses to my list of inventions, or maybe people find their way around using magic here? I’ll have to ask.

Subaru sat on the bed with Puck dozing on top of his head. Puck had initially been intrigued by the magnets but he’d grown bored quickly and settled in for a nap. Subaru was trying his best to draw designs for the needed parts for his engine in Beatrice’s notebook without waking the sleeping spirit.

I can do this! I don’t need Reason and Judgment for everything. This is just simple concepts they taught me in school. I’m no genius but I understand how magnets work. I just need to come up with a design to make a wheel turn using magnets and I’m all set.

“Subaru?” Emilia called, “This is really amazing but how do these things make an engine?”

“Hm?” Subaru asked glancing up. “Oh. Uh, Beako, can you conjure up some kind of wheel or something that would spin and let one of those magnets freely turn in a circle?”

Beatrice waved her hand and one of the magnetic rods was bound vertically to a wooden wheel on a shaft, lazily turning.

“Now you’re each holding a magnet and you’ve been playing with them and you’ve realized that a magnet can either push or pull another magnet. So if the two of you move your magnets in sync, you’ll be able to make the wheel turn around and around.”

The girls obligingly tried but the wheel just rolled back and forth a bit while pointing vertically.

“OK,” Subaru said, trying not to laugh. “Try it like this: Betty, first turn your magnet around.”

Betty dig so and the wheel magnet spun until one pole was pointing at each girl.

“OK, now you need to move your magnets slowly and in sync. Emilia you’re going to rotate your magnet up and Beako you’re going to rotate your magnet down,” Subaru said.

I wonder if this is what it feels like to teach a first grade science class. That actually might have been a lot of fun.

The girls starting turning the magnets in their hands and the wheel magnet obediently began to spin. It took them several tries to keep in sync but eventually the wheel was spinning freely and the girls were both giggling at their new toy.

“OK, that’s the basics of how an engine works!” Subaru proclaimed.

“Subaru,” Puck yawned from his perch atop Subaru’s head, “I really don’t mean to nitpick, but I feel like we’ve put a ton of effort into something that Betty could have done with her little finger.”

Subaru laughed and gently plucked Puck off his head to cuddle and pet him, “Don’t judge it yet, buddy. This is just a child’s toy. Wait until you see it at full size.”

Puck smiled enjoying Subaru’s pampering.

“OK, Subaru, it’s charged,” Puck said, taking his paw off the small cylindrical crystal.

“Awesome! Paw Knuckles!” Subaru declared, extending his fist and Puck slapped it with a whoop.

“Puck, I thought you didn’t like ‘Paw Knuckles?’” Emilia asked.

“Meh, I’m starting to accept it,” He shrugged.

“OK,” Subaru said, “So now we have our magic crystal that will hopefully work as our battery. So now I take two iron wires and I touch them to each side of the crystal. Now when I touch the wires together, hopefully-”

There was a clap of thunder and Subaru was flung backwards in his chair, slamming into the floor.

“Whoa!” Subaru gasped.

Holy shit, did I just breathe out a puff of smoke? That can’t be good right?

“Subaru! Are you OK?” Emilia gasped, looking down at him.

“Um. I think so? How do I look?”

“Your face is very dirty, in fact,” Beatrice said critically, “But at least you still have your eyebrows, I suppose.”

“We can be grateful for small miracles, I guess,” Subaru muttered, climbing to his feet and picking up the chair.

“Subaru, was that supposed to happen?” Puck asked.

“Well… yeah kind of, I guess,” Subaru replied, “I just wasn’t expecting that strong of a reaction. I figured given the size of the crystal the best I could have hoped for was a tiny spark. I didn’t realize how much of a charge you put in.”

“Huh. Gee, Subaru, I really didn’t put all that much into it. I could have put ten times the energy into this crystal without much effort,” Puck mused.

“Good to know. OK, now that we know how strong the crystal is we won’t treat it carelessly in the future,” Subaru said, wiping soot off his face, “OK. Let’s get back to business.”

Emilia now looked uncertain about this idea but Beatrice who was sitting in her lap was riveted.

“So, we have an iron wire wrapped around our ‘wheel magnet’ which is now suspended between two other magnets. Now when I connect the ends of that wire to the two sides of this crystal, that should make the magnet spin,” Subaru said.

He touched the wire to the sides of the crystal but the wheel didn’t move. After a moment, Subaru switched the wires to opposite sides of the crystal and the wheel spun-

It spun exactly a quarter way around once and then froze in place oscillating back and forth.

Subaru frowned and switched then wires back again and the wheel returned to its original position.

Subaru clicked his tongue, “Huh.”

“Now what?” Emilia asked.

“Um… Well, I’m not totally sure. I need to think about this,” Subaru admitted.

“Betty thought that you’d seen a machine like this before, in fact!” Beatrice complained.

“Hey! You’ve seen an earth dragon before, does that mean you could build one from spare parts? It’s going to take a little experimentation, Beako,” Subaru grumbled.

OK, great. Now what? I guess this was always the flaw in your thinking. Emilia and Beatrice had trouble making the wheel spin with their magnets and that was using human minds to try and keep it in sync. Are you really going to find a way to do that with gears?

OK, think. People did this using the exact same tools you have. Actually the crystal is a lot better than the tools they had. There is no reason you can’t figure this out.

Using Reason and Judgment would probably make this entire process trivial…

No! I need to stop using that so much! It’s starting to affect me even when I’m not using it. Reason and Judgment needs to be saved for emergencies.

This may not be an emergency but it would still be a good investment. After all, figure this engine out once and you can reproduce it forever. Besides your family is counting on you. They’re all sitting here waiting for you to figure it out. How long will you make them sit there and wait? You don’t want to disappoint your family. You certainly don’t want to look dumb in front of Emilia…

OK! OK, fine. ONE more time. This is a good investment after all and I don’t want everybody to be sitting here waiting for me to figure it out. I’ll just use it for a minute but after that I am serious about cutting down. Nothing that feels this good can be healthy… well except maybe for Emilia’s kisses. The point is that I don’t really know what it’s doing to me and it’s clearly making me act erratically. So after this I need to draw a line in the sand and cut back. Deal?

Subaru triggered Reason and Judgment and the world froze around him.

Subaru felt the confidence envelope him like a warm bath and his intelligence surged.

Really, Subaru, you’re making too big a deal out of this, He thought to himself. Sure, you acted badly in front of Crusch but can you really blame Reason and Judgment for that? It didn’t make you do anything that you really didn’t want to do. You just stopped thinking about the consequences. It was your fault, not Reason and Judgment’s. Your intelligence is vastly enhanced in this place. Have you ever noticed that while you’re in here and possess much more precise thinking, you have never once worried if Reason and Judgment was having an adverse effect on you? You should consider what that means.

You have no evidence that Reason and Judgment is doing anything to you. None at all. You’ve never worried about the long term consequences of using Indomitable. So why are you so flustered by Reason and Judgment whenever you are not using it?

It’s because when using Reason and Judgment, you rely on pure reason and in the outside world you are guided by fear. You don’t understand this magic and so you are afraid of it. This is an irrational response that will uselessly and pointlessly cripple you. Respecting the potential consequences of something you don’t fully understand is wisdom, assuming that there are terrible consequences without evidence is paranoia.

Well, hopefully you’ll be thinking more clearly now when you return to the outside world but regardless you have a task to perform.

Subaru willed himself to return to that long ago gears and robotics class and in moments he found himself there again. Every detail was perfectly preserved for him, down to every hair and grain of dirt on his classmates bodies. Subaru briefly recalled that the memory of his home and parents had been badly blurred and wondered why that wasn’t the case here. He quickly dismissed the line of thought as irrelevant at the moment.

The gears and machinery class in fifth grade. This was your favorite class ever. Your one and only ‘A+.’ Mom and Dad were so proud of you, they thought they had a burgeoning engineer on their hands for a while. You were the class star here.

The rush of emotion Subaru felt began to break through Reason and Judgment’s powerful calm.

God, I wish I could have taken this class every year. Imagine how different things could have been if I’d had an outlet. If I’d had a place like this where I felt like I had a talent, or even a passion. My whole life might have been different.

Look at all those faces in class. I remember every one of them.

Oh damn, that’s Koushiro! I haven’t thought about him in years. We were tight this year, always together.

His arm is in a cast. Oh yeah, I remember that he had a very bad break while skateboarding, his arm was in that ridiculously heavy cast for months…

Wait a minute. That cast… That isn’t a skateboarding injury. That cast is designed to try to stop the arm from rotating. Koushiro is dealing with a spiral fracture. That’s not caused by an impact with the ground it’s caused by some force twisting an arm until it breaks!

How did nobody notice? How could any doctor in his right mind ever set a spiral fracture in a child without demanding answers from the parents? Did he just not care?

All those bruises and funny injuries on Koushiro over the years and I never knew, I never even suspected. He’d always laugh them off claiming he was just clumsy. Koushiro was always the class clown, cracking jokes and making everyone laugh. We never even guessed that he could be having problems at home.

Then again I was the same way; always cracking jokes, doing stunts, making everyone laugh. No one ever guessed that I was in pain. Koushiro never asked me and it never even occurred to me to ask him…

What happened to Koushiro? School ended for summer recess and I never saw him again. I always assumed that he’d just moved away but maybe…

How much did I miss? How much pain and suffering in the people close to me was I completely oblivious to because I was so totally fixated on my own?

Subaru felt overwhelmed by guilt and when Reason and Judgment’s magical calm engulfed him again, he did not try to resist it.

Whatever happened to Koushiro, it’s too late to help him now. Regardless of how much you regret failing to notice and failing to help him, the only choice is to move on. You must focus on the future, on all the people you can still save or you’ll be doomed to regret your choices time and time again.

Subaru sighed and turned his mind back to the matter at hand. Subaru studied the electric engine, not the child’s toy young Subaru was laboriously constructing at his own desk but the commercial one on display on the teacher’s desk.

Hm. Interesting. Instead of a rod spinning in the middle it’s a series of wires. How does that… Oh I see. Actually, that’s rather brilliant. If you put a current through a metal wire it becomes an electromagnet. I remember learning that in this class. The energy from the battery flows into those ‘brushes’ on the side or whatever they’re called and they only make contact with a single set of wires at any given time. So as the wheel turns, the set of wires that the current is flowing through changes and the poles keep aligning in order to keep the wheel turning rather than getting stuck like mine did. I’m guessing those curved plates on either side of the wheel are magnetized as well. That’s another good notion. By making the magnets shaped like that, the force pushing against the rotating magnetic field is constant instead of dropping off as the wheel moves. I’m guessing those curved plates are set up so that the entire side is a magnetic pole. OK, I get this now. It’ll take Beatrice and Puck some effort but I think we can make this work fairly quickly.

Subaru left Reason and Judgment.

“OK!” Subaru clapped his hands together, “I know how to make this work!”

“Betty thought you said it would take experimentation, in fact?” Beatrice said.

“Eh, we’re better than experimentation. Let’s just do this!”

Alright, this seems good. We’ve reshaped the iron into wires and we’ve threaded all those wires around and through the wheel so that no two wires touch each other. We’ve increased the size of the wheel itself to make it easier for us to work on it. The wheel wires all terminate at a small metal end point that looks like a solid piece but its actually glass linking twelve different sets of metal wires together. That means that the wires coming from the crystal will only ever touch a single set of the wires threading the wheel at any one time. We’ve also swapped out the side magnets for curved steel plates that I magnetized by running a current through them.

Oh and most importantly, most importantly, we created a cradle for the crystal to rest in that connects it to the wires. Yeah, I learned the hard way that grabbing hot electrified wires during these experiments is no bargain.

OK, so… I think we’re all set. I also connected some blades to the wheel just for a demonstration so now I think I’m ready to test this world’s first electric fan!

Emilia sat on the bed across the room while the spirits and Subaru had finished their project.

“OK, let’s do this!” Subaru cheered slipping the crystal into place.

The wheel started to turn and kept turning. It quickly got up to an impressive speed and began to blow a column of air straight across the room.

“Alright, we did it!” Subaru cheered, hugging Beatrice. “Paw Knuckles!” He shouted at Puck who slapped him five.

“Subaru!” Emilia yelled.

Subaru looked up and realized that the wind he had created was aimed straight at Emilia. She had her eyes shut tight and her hair was streaming straight back as her clothes billowed all around her, “What are you doing?!” She cried.

“Oops,” Subaru muttered.

The door opened and Felt walked in, “Hey, boss, I just wanted to-”

Felt froze in place and her jaw dropped as she took in the scene. Subaru and the spirits where working on an odd device that seemed to be conjuring some kind of enormous wind that was hard at work trying to either blow Emilia out the window or strip her naked.

“Hi, Felt,” Subaru said awkwardly.

“Boss, are you in the middle of some kind of dark magic ritual?” Felt asked matter-of-fact, “Because I can come back later if you’re busy.”

“Oh no, Felt,” Subaru disagreed, “We’re all friends here so we’re perfectly comfortable performing dark magic in front of you.”

“Subaru!” Emilia cried.

Subaru was back in his selection announcement finery and so was Emilia. The spirits had been given the night off and were curled up in bed after being read to.

“Do you think you’re ready?” Emilia asked.

“Oh, for Roswaal’s intimate little ball with only about three hundred guests that we need to glad-hand? Sure, why not?” Subaru replied.

Emilia reached out and straightened his shirt, “Come on, Subaru. You yourself said this was a good idea.”

“It is a good idea,” Subaru agreed, “It’s just not a very fun idea. If I wasn’t walking into that ball room with the most beautiful woman in the world on my arm, I think I’d be quite depressed right now,” Subaru extended his arm to Emilia.

“Subaru,” Emilia shook her head with a fond smile. She wrapped her arm around his. “Come on, let’s get going. Reinhard and Felt are already down there with Roswaal.”

“Shit!” Subaru said in mock horror, “They’re outnumbered! That gaggle of noble peacocks will eat them alive! To the rescue!” He shouted.

With a smile on her face, Emilia gently slapped Subaru’s chest as they went down to the ball together.

Oh boy, somebody shoot me, Subaru thought.

“Baron! Lovely to see you tonight,” Subaru said with a broad smile. The baron was an old bald man with a monocle. He was dressed in an elaborate military uniform.

Nice looking uniform, I must admit. I wonder if it, or the baron, have ever actually seen combat.

“Wonderful to see you, Lord Subaru. The entire south reach is very excited about your new crop initiatives. I was wondering if you might have time to explain some of these new agricultural strategies to some of my neighbors, perhaps next month?”

“I’m sure we can arrange something,” Subaru said with a smile.

God! I can’t smile much longer. My face aches!

“Marvelous!” The baron leaned in to whisper to Subaru, “I must tell you, strictly in confidence, that your actions at the presentation ceremony the other day attracted a great deal of favorable attention to you. My neighbors are cautious by nature but I have it on very good authority that if are able to slay the whale, whole duchies are prepared to openly announce their support for your candidacy to the throne.”

“That is truly marvelous news, Baron,” Subaru whispered back, “Rest assured that no word of this shall escape my lips.”

“Capital, my good fellow, capital. Excuse me, I need to speak to my good neighbor the duke,” The baron said, marching away.

Subaru sighed but then noticed that nobody was waiting to talk to him, Thank God, I can finally get a break. Three hours of small talk and pointless formalities! Do people really consider this fun?!

Subaru glanced around the ballroom and spotted Emilia standing next to Roswaal also unoccupied.

OK, this is the first moment I’ve had all night where nobody was standing in line waiting to talk to me. I am going to use it to talk with Emilia. Off I go!

Subaru struggled to walk with the correct formal gait and not simply scurry across the floor and attempt to avoid anyone noticing him.

Emilia noticed him approaching, “Subaru,” She said, not quite able to smile.

She must be as exhausted as I am. I should run interference tonight and try to talk with more of these weirdos so she can rest.

“Excuuse me, Lord Subaru but I must speak to the Corlis family on a matter of some important, would you kindly watch over the Lady Emilia for me?” Roswaal said, walking away.

Subaru approached Emilia and gave her a very formal bow much to her confusion.

“Forgive me, my lady. I realize that this is extremely forward of me but I was struck by your radiant beauty from across the room and I knew that I would simply die if I was forced to spent another moment outside of your divine company. Would you possibly consider favoring me with your conversation?” Subaru said.

“Subaru!” Emilia whispered in reproach, trying not to laugh.

“Ah! You know my name! And yet I feel now as though I have never heard it before! It could never sound so perfect coming from any other lips!” Subaru faked a swoon.

“Subaru, knock it off!” Emilia told him not very sternly. She took his arm and glanced around to make sure no one had noticed their playing.

“How are you holding up?” Subaru asked, dropping the act.

“Fine, I suppose. Roswaal was just talking to me about… well, it’s not important. I’m pretty tired though. I can’t wait for this to be over,” She replied listlessly.

“I hear you. I’ve done nothing but talk to people for three hours straight. I’m up to almost a hundred nobles that I’ve had to converse with. We’re getting a lot of promises of support but man are these discussions painful,” Subaru sighed. “How many are you up to?”

Emilia glanced away, “I… haven’t really been keeping track…” She sighed.

“Well, the ball is almost over. We can go up soon,” Subaru reassured her.

“Yeah,” She nodded.

Damn, Emilia looks exhausted. And miserable. Maybe I can help her relax a little bit.

“Actually, you know what?” Subaru said, “Why don’t you just go up now? You look really tired. I can handle the room until we close up. Why don’t you just call it a night?”

Emilia glanced away for a moment, “Don’t you… need me to help?” She asked quietly.

“Nah, I can handle it on my own! Why don’t you just head up and relax. You’ve earned it,” Subaru replied.

Emilia looked at Subaru somberly for a moment and then nodded with a sigh, walking out of the ball room.

Alright, I need to keep an eye on the crowd in case anyone tries to chat Emilia up for a few last minutes of pleasantries before she can make her escape but it looks like nobody is noticing her leaving so I don’t need to head anyone off.

Oh crap. Another group of nobles headed right toward me. Forty minutes and counting until the time Roswaal paid for to use this ballroom elapses and the hotel staff kicks everyone out.

When Subaru came back upstairs, Emilia was on the balcony in her nightgown, looking pensively out over the city.

“Hey, Mili,” Subaru said cheerfully.

Emilia didn’t look up.

Subaru frowned, “Is there something on your mind?” He asked, walking out on the balcony.

Emilia sighed, the night wind tussling her silver hair. “I don’t know,” She admitted, “Maybe I’m just tired.”

“It’s been a pretty long couple of weeks,” Subaru agreed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and gazing out at the city below.

“But how long will it go on for?” She asked.

“What do you mean?” Subaru said.

Emilia sighed, “What happens after we heal the forest? I mean… I guess I never really thought that much about what would happen afterward. I knew that I had to get the Dragon’s blood in order to save my people and if that meant becoming King then… that was just what I had to do.”

“Mmhmm,” Subaru encouraged her to keep talking.

“I need to get the blood. I have to. But this… this… I don’t know if this is the life that I want for myself,” Emilia sighed, rubbing her forehead.

“What kind of life do you think you do want?”

She sighed, “I guess… I always dreamed that after the forest was healed, I’d just go back there and live with my people,” Emilia said, “I never thought too much about what being King would actually mean. It’s not something I could just walk away from, is it?”

“Well, abdication is a possibility, but on the whole you’re right. It is a huge responsibility,” Subaru admitted.

They were both silent for a moment.

Subaru rubbed her shoulders, “If you could pick your world, any world imaginable, what would it be like?”

Emilia smiled sadly, “I think I’d like to just go back and live in the forest with everyone. And with you, of course,” She added.

“Well, that does sound like it could be nice,” Subaru agreed.

“The forest is beautiful in spring time,” She murmured as Subaru wrapped his arms around her, “I thought maybe we could make a little house, just for the two of us. I used to mine crystals out of the earth and trade them to humans for the things I needed. It was hard work but I did alright. Maybe we could even… start a little family of our own some day,” She whispered with a blush.

“Sounds wonderful,” Subaru whispered into her hair.

“I… never wanted a life among the nobility. I’m not sure that I’ll ever feel really comfortable here,” Emilia admitted.

“Emilia,” Subaru urged.

She looked at him.

“What do you want?” Subaru said, “That is my only concern. What kind of life, what kind of world would make you smile the most often?”

“Subaru,” Emilia chuckled, “We can’t change the whole world to suit us.”

“Says who?” Subaru objected, “We absolutely can build the world according to our designs. I believe that now more than ever.”

Emilia just stared at him.

“Emilia,” Subaru said, taking her hand, “Tell me what you need to be happy. I’ll bring it to you all tied up in a bow,” He promised.

Emilia shook her head with a smile, “Subaru, you’re so silly.”

“You’re what matters to me, Mili,” Subaru asserted, “If you don’t want to rule this land, then just tell me that and I’ll see to it. We’ll come in first place by the end of the selection and our price for capitulation to the runner up will be the Dragon blood. Then we can go anywhere you want. Do anything you want.”

“Subaru,” She whispered in wonder. Then she shook her head. “Wait, what about the agricultural reforms?”

“Oh, that will spread like wildfire anyway. We don’t really need to sit around and supervise it,” Subaru shrugged.

“What about the people suffering in the slums?” Emili asked.

“What about them?” Subaru replied, “I mean sure, we failed to end the cycle of poverty and deprivation, like so many thousands of idealistic reformers before us. Felt will certainly be disappointed but I doubt she’ll be all that surprised. At least we got her out of the slums. That’s something.”

Emilia looked pensively at the city spread out before her.

“Fixing the world is a huge task, Mili,” Subaru mused, “If you think that you don’t want to shoulder this burden, there’s no shame in that. Most people wouldn’t want to shoulder it either.”

Emilia gave Subaru a sour look, “And then what?”

“Hm?”

“If we don’t do something about this then who will?” She demanded.

“I don’t know. What do you think?”

“I think that if we don’t at least try to fix these problems then no one will! That’s what I think!” Emilia snapped.

“You’re probably right,” Subaru agreed.

“So how can we just walk away?” Emilia demanded, “How can I just go back to the forest and tell everyone here: ‘This isn’t my problem so I’m going to ignore it?’ What do I say to Felt whose friends stay stuck in the slums or Petra who’s struggling to have enough to eat in winter? ‘Sorry, I just wanted to rest and relax instead of helping you?’”

“Well, you do make a valid point,” He admitted, scratching his ear thoughtfully, “I guess I’d feel pretty guilty just leaving all of our friends in the lurch like that.”

“Then we have to do something or at least try to! We can’t just run away, we have an obligation to all of the people who dared to believe that we would help them!”

“Gee, Mili, I suppose you’re right,” Subaru replied calmly. “We do have to do something to help them.”

Emilia stared at him for a long moment and then she bowed her head against the balcony railing with sigh. “Subaru, have you been manipulating me in this conversation?”

“No, ma’am,” Subaru said seriously. “You did a fine job doing that all on your own without any help from me.”

Emilia laughed, “You knew I wasn’t really going to walk away and ignore all this from the start, didn’t you?”

“Sorry, Mili,” Subaru said sympathetically, “But when you get right down to it you’re pretty much the best person I know. The words ‘It’s not my problem’ are literally not in your vocabulary.”

Emilia shook her head ruefully. “I guess you’re right. But it was a beautiful dream wasn’t it?”

“It won’t always be a dream, Mili,” Subaru replied.

“What do you mean?”

“I won’t act like being King is just a job. It’s not. It will be stressful and demanding and it will eat up a big chunk of our lives. But that doesn’t mean it gets to eat up all of our lives. We still have obligations to each other and ourselves that need to be met. One obligation that we owe to the people is to take good enough care of ourselves that their rulers don’t have a nervous breakdown and snap from the stress!”

Emilia laughed.

“Besides, we could achieve all of our goals without ever reaching the throne, and that option is something that we should consider carefully. We can negotiate with the other candidates for the dragon blood. We can create a movement to achieve demi-human equality from down in the trenches with the people already fighting for reform. We can easily spread advanced agricultural techniques through the world. The slums can be emptied by a combination of public and private investment if we lead the charge.

“Emilia, it’s not just a question of if we’ll do something about all these problems or not; you will absolutely do something. That’s who you are and I’d expect no less from you. The real question is about what we’ll give and how much. Giving anything at all puts you way above all the people out there who simply don’t give a damn. That doesn’t mean you need to surrender your entire life to a cause,” Subaru explained.

Emilia looked at him thoughtfully.

“Even if we do decide to take the throne, we’ll manage our schedules. There will definitely be a lot of work and it will sometimes be very difficult. But we’ll make certain to always budget special time for us, and for Puck and Beatrice, and for little Emilia too,” Subaru said with a smile.

Emilia laughed and shook her head, “Subaru, we are absolutely not calling our daughter ‘Emilia!’ Do you have any idea how confusing that would be?”

“That’s the whole point!” Subaru said, catching Emilia in a hug, “You know that I’m just not brave enough to scold you so when you make me upset I’ll just scold our daughter! It’s brilliant, I tell you, brilliant!”

Emilia laughed hitting Subaru in the chest. “Subaru! You are awful!”

“But you love me anyway,” Subaru smirked, hugging her tighter.

Emilia smirked up at Subaru and wrapped her arms around his neck, “You know that I do,” She whispered, pulling him in for a kiss.

Emilia was packing.

“Emilia, couldn’t this just wait until after we deal with the White Whale? That should only take a week or two and then we could all go together,” Subaru complained.

“Roswaal has been trying to gather all the village chiefs and minor nobles from his domain to hear about the crop rotations and this was the only time that he could schedule it,” Emilia shrugged.

“They’re village chiefs and minor nobles!” Subaru snorted, “What the hell is eating up all their time? I’m sure Roswaal could arrange another get together next month.”

“Roswaal also pointed out that it would do us some good if I did a little campaigning on my own. It helps enhance our appeal since it shows that we’re two different candidates working together. I don’t want to just be… ‘Mrs. Natsuki.’” Emilia continued with a sigh.

Subaru looked hurt, “What do you mean by that?”

“I just think it would help our image if we worked independently for a week or two,” Emilia explained.

“Did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me?” Subaru asked.

“No! I just- We might as well handle both tasks at the same time,” Emilia shrugged.

“I’m not crazy about this, Mili,” He grumbled, “I think it would be just as well for us to hunt down then whale first and then do this later.”

Emilia frowned, “What’s the matter, Subaru? You don’t think I can do this?”

“No! Of course, you can do this! It’s just,” Subaru sighed, “I really don’t like being separated from you,” He admitted.

“I don’t either,” Emilia admitted, “But this might be good for us.”

Subaru frowned, “How can being apart for weeks be good for us? It makes me unhappy. I’m assuming it makes you unhappy too.”

“Of course, it does!” Emilia snapped, throwing more clothes into her suitcase, “But that doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t go off and do things on my own!”

“No, it doesn’t,” Subaru agreed, “But this is a long separation that I don’t think we really need to endure. Besides, whenever possible I always thought it would always be better if we handled things as a team.”

“And what does that mean to you?” Emilia snapped.

“Huh?”

“Does it mean that just I sit there and watch you do everything?” She grumbled.

“Mili, what are you talking about?” Subaru asked.

Emilia shook her head, “Subaru, you dummy,” She growled.

Emilia folded her arms and sat down on the bed, looking away from Subaru with a scowl.

“Emilia, why are you so angry about this?” He asked.

“You don’t think I can do this on my own, do you?” Emilia asked.

“That is not true,” Subaru said.

Emilia glared at him, “You don’t understand how I feel at all about this at all, do you?”

Subaru opened his mouth and then closed it again.

He sighed, “I guess that maybe I don’t,” He admitted, sitting down next to her, “But I’d like to. Do you think that maybe you could explain it to me?” He asked gently.

Emilia glanced at him and sighed. The anger seemed to melt out of her, “It’s just… I want… I need to be more than just Subaru Natsuki’s wife. I’m proud to be the person you love, Subaru. It makes me happy… it makes me happy in a way that I never thought I could feel. But… a wife needs to be… more than just… a pet.”

Subaru took Emilia’s hand, “I’m listening,” He assured her, “I hear you. I’m not sure that I understand yet but I know that something is bothering you and I want to help. So please keep talking and I’ll try to understand.”

Emilia sighed, “We met because you were helping me find my stolen insignia. Then you saved my life from Elsa and… you almost died while saving me.”

“Not my finest moment,” Subaru quipped.

“Shut up, Subaru,” Emilia snapped.

“Yes, Mili,” Subaru said more seriously.

“Then you risked your life saving the entire village of Arlem!” Emilia said.

Subaru was a little shamefaced, “I’m sorry, Emilia but I really don’t get the problem. I think you need to spell this one out for me.”

Emilia buried her face in her hands and shook her head with a sigh, “Subaru, you dummy. I’m saying what have I done?! This is my quest that we’re on. We’re trying to save my people. But what have I contributed to saving them? You’ve been the one doing all of the work!” She cried in exasperation.

Subaru blinked, “But… I mean that never bothered me. I like doing things for you. I don’t care what you’ve done, I just want you to love me. The way I love you.”

Emilia took a deep breath and let it out slowly, “Subaru,” She said calmly taking his hands, “Imagine for a moment that our roles were reversed. Imagine if it was your family we were trying to save and everything that I had done was specifically done to help you. Imagine if I had been the one who had accomplished everything to take us this far and you were just baggage along for the ride. Imagine that everyone in the kingdom was backing me for the throne and that people were only speaking to you at all because you were my husband. How would you feel about yourself?”

Subaru flushed guiltily, “Not… great, I guess,” He admitted.

Emilia nodded, “And I don’t want to feel ‘not great’ about myself. I don’t want to be a wife who needs to be taken care of. I want you to know that I can always be there to help carry the load. I don’t want to be part of the load that you’re carrying. I want prove that I can stand beside you as a full partner.”

“Emilia, you never need to prove anything to me!” Subaru swore.

She smiled sadly, “Maybe I need to prove it to myself.” She paused, “Saving the forest is my quest. You’re here because you’re helping me to atone for my mistake. And I’m grateful for everything that you’ve done for me, Subaru, I am truly grateful. But if you do all the work and I don’t contribute anything at all toward saving the elves, then in what way did I atone? First I fail my people and then someone else saves them. If I don’t contribute anything on my own then I’ve just been luggage on this mission. How could I respect myself after that?”

Subaru hesitated and then nodded with a sigh, “OK. I understand now. I do. You need to take some time and take care of this. I get it,” He hesitated, “But it’s only me you need to do this without right?”

“What do you mean?”

Subaru shook his head, “Emilia, would you please do one thing to make me feel better while you’re gone?”

Emilia’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, “What?”

“Take Felt with you,” He said.

“Felt? Why?” Emilia said in surprise.

“I just don’t want you going into anything alone,” Subaru shrugged.

“Subaru, I won’t be alone. I’ll have Puck with me, and Roswaal, Ram, and Rem,” She pointed out.

“OK, first of all, I think Ram would slit your throat if Roswaal asked her to and Rem would look the other way while she did if Ram said so. Roswaal is out for his own best interest which may or may not line up with yours.

“Puck is awesome. I love Puck and if you get into a fight with somebody, you and Puck will make that dope very very sorry they ever came up with the idea. However, you don’t have anyone with you to talk things over with. If an opportunity comes up while you’re doing this, who will you discuss it with? Puck would do anything for you but he’s not terribly perceptive about whether an opportunity is good or bad. He’ll just tell you to do what you want. Felt can always see the angles and you know that she’s solidly on your side. She’ll just be another pair of eyes for you to use on the trip,” Subaru explained.

“So why aren’t you taking her with you then?” Emilia said in a curt voice.

“I’m doing the exact same thing! I’m taking Reinhard and Beatrice whale hunting. Reinhard is the ultimate warrior but he’s not the sharpest sword in the armory so Beatrice can be my second pair of eyes and help me deal with non combat problems. I’m not asking you to do anything that I’m not doing. I just don’t like anyone in our group going off alone without proper support. Hell, I don’t even let Reinhard go off alone if I can help it! I always pair him up with Felt,”

Subaru took a deep breath, “Listen, Mili, this isn’t because I don’t trust you or because I don’t think that you can handle yourself. I’m just trying to make sure that we’re both equipped to handle any surprises that might come up while we’re separated.”

Emilia digested that for a moment, “But what about her work in the slums?”

“Actually, I asked Felt to recruit Rom to keep it up while she’s gone. It gives me an excuse to give him some money,” Subaru smirked.

“Why are you so sure that Felt will even agree to come with me?”

Subaru looked uncomfortable, “It’s just possible that I broached the subject with her last night…”

Subaru coughed, “Um, Mili? You’re… squeezing my hands really tight right now…”

Emilia glared at him, “Why would you go behind my back about this!”

Subaru blinked, “I didn’t! I’m talking to you about it right now!”

Emilia sighed and shook her head ruefully, “Alright, fine. I guess that’s fair. If it will make you worry less, I’ll take Felt with me,” Emilia said tweaking his nose with a smile.

“Thank you, Emilia. I owe you one,” Subaru replied.

“Yes, you do and I plan to collect!” She said with a smirk.

“Oh, boy. Now I’m scared,” Subaru said.

Emilia laughed.

The door opened and Ram entered, “Miss Emilia, the carriage has arrived.”

Ram bowed and then left.

“Well, I guess I need to go,” Emilia whispered, giving Subaru a long deep kiss.

“I’ll walk you out,” He said, grabbing her suitcase in one hand and taking Emilia’s hand in his other.

“So I’ll see you at the manor after you and Reinhard kill the whale?” Emilia asked.

“That’s the plan. Shouldn’t be more than a week or two. Then we can all come back to the capitol together for Priscilla’s party. Also, while you’re at the manor, please keep the front door open,” Subaru replied.

“The front door?” Emilia asked.

“After a week or two with no Puck, I’m afraid Beatrice could be so desperate to be reunited that she might break it down!” Subaru replied.

Emilia laughed.