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Arc 5 – Chapter 8, "Traveling With Seasickness"

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Beatrice: "You should be better now, I suppose."

Subaru: "No, wait a little more. Wow, this is terrible, the world is still shaking. I'm still shaking. Even death can't cure this sickness…"

On a street facing a large aqueduct, Subaru and Beatrice sat side by side, their feet dangling over the side of the waterway. Together, they admired the flow of the clear water. Passerbys smiled faintly upon seeing them. Perhaps they assumed they were siblings, or perhaps they thought they were tourists who had never seen such structures.

Subaru: "Neither of those assumptions are entirely wrong… but it's sad that they don't really know what our relationship is. Ueh."

Beatrice: "You should focus on recovering rather than pointlessly worrying, in fact. I wonder why you think Betty is here, I suppose."

Subaru: "Were you worried that I'd be lonely? Beako is so kind."

Beatrice: "…that's irrelevant, in fact. Just hurry up and get better, I suppose."

In order to accommodate the weight of Subaru leaning against her, Beatrice strained her small frame. Seeing this, Subaru's love for her increased exponentially. Could it ever stop growing?

About fifteen minutes ago, Subaru had been forced to continue his journey on foot after the fuss he had created with his seasickness. Emilia, Otto, Garfiel remained on the boat to head for the negotiations with the Muse Company and Kiritaka.

Originally, Emilia had also wanted to accompany Subaru on foot, but Otto had said, "The longer we keep the other party waiting, the worse our impression will be".

Heeding his advice, she left Subaru behind. It was most likely the right decision.

Subaru: "Well, even if Anastasia had told us to be careful… in broad daylight, most people probably aren't going to try anything."

Certainly, there was anxiety in being left alone in an unfamiliar city after being invited there by a political opponent, but there was an escort named Garfiel to deal with that.

However, the currently alone Subaru was important enough to Emilia Camp that an attack on him wasn't completely inconceivable.

Even so, if Anastasia had malicious intent, she was too savvy to orchestrate an attack on him in the middle of the day. In addition, Subaru trusted that Julius wouldn't condone any type of ambush.

Subaru: "As he had said, a knight must remain chivalrous at all times…"

Beatrice: "Subaru. It's rather annoying when you laugh to yourself, I suppose."

Subaru: "Wait, I totally wasn't laughing! Well, I'd never think of that guy and laugh! Anyway, let's go."

Subaru stood up and took a deep breath, rubbing his arms and neck lightly. Although they still felt a little heavy, the seasickness was mostly gone. He could more or less move around normally again.

Beatrice: "Well, Betty will help if needed, I suppose."

Subaru: "Ohh, I'm counting on you. Even so, I doubt anything will happen. Only an idiot would attack us in broad daylight with so many people around."

All of the king candidates needed to keep an eye on their reputation. In public, they needed to appear both pleasant and authentic. Emilia, who was a naturally honest and kind girl, did not need to worry herself about pretenses.

Subaru: "In other words, Emilia's real advantage over the other candidates is her angelic innocence…!"

Beatrice: "Your thoughts are going in an unpleasant direction, in fact. —Subaru, Subaru, look, let's go that way, I suppose. Follow me."

In the past year, Beatrice had become entirely accustomed to putting up with the easily distracted Subaru. She had been navigating through the unfamiliar cityscape with ease while leading him by hand. Muse Company's headquarters was apparently located at the boundary between the first and second districts. Subaru, having been seasick, had only dimly registered the directions, but Beatrice had memorized them all. If they had one problem, it would be the complexity of Pristella's pathways.

Although they had arrived by following the main canal, they had to take detours around the several small waterways feeding into the main one. Sometimes there were bridges, but on several occasions Subaru needed to jump over a narrow waterway while carrying Beatrice.

Beatrice: "Subaru, that is a splendid fountain, I suppose." Subaru: "You're right… Beako, how did we get to the park?"

The fountain which had caught Beatrice's attention stood in the center of a park. It was surrounded by well maintained flowerbeds and children playing games. This was indeed a peaceful and relaxing sight. The only issue was,

Subaru: "Is this where we're suppose to be going? This is the last place I'd picture finding the heir of a large company. If businessmen made deals here, then all of their money would get wet."

Beatrice: "I wonder if seasickness makes you cynical, I suppose. That's the first thing you think of upon seeing this beautiful scenery… Betty feels sorry for you, in fact."

Subaru: "The old you would have blushed and tried to hide this mistake, but now you're becoming rather fresh… you're breaking your father's heart."

Beatrice: "Y-You're four hundred years too early to be calling yourself Betty's father! Subaru lacks consciousness in discussing such matters, in fact!"

Subaru was unsure why Beatrice had overreacted to the latter half of his sentence, but didn't pursue the issue. Their problem right now was figuring out how they arrived at the park.

Subaru: "Beako. Since you were leading me so confidently, I thought you knew the way?"

Beatrice: "I know the destination, in fact. However, the roads were complicated, I suppose. In order to avoid getting lost, I used the 'left-hand method' that I'd read about before. It didn't work, I suppose."

Subaru: "The 'left hand method'?"

Beatrice: "Holding out your left hand and following the wall, in fact." Subaru: "Isn't that for mazes!?"

Beatrice's method was the a well known tactic in conquering a maze. Subaru recognized its effectiveness, but there were a number of drawbacks, too. Namely,

Subaru: "If you start using the left hand method in the middle of a maze, you might end up touching the inside wall and never be able to leave! Furthermore, we're not in a maze, we're in a city!"

Beatrice: "Hmph! It's just like Subaru to disregard tried and tested wisdom, I suppose. Betty was a librarian managing a forbidden archive. She pities any fool who disregards the wisdom of history, in fact."

Subaru: "I'm not a fool, you're a fool for assuming you understand everything!"

She was old enough to be self-righteous (400 years) but it took her long enough to enter the outside world (400 years) that there was a big enough gap (400 years) between her logic and common sense. And so, she was a surprisingly unreliable loli.

Beatrice: "I wonder if Subaru has a better idea, in fact. Let's see you try, I suppose." She put her hands on her waist, fixating on Subaru with a disagreeable glare.

—On the other hand, Subaru had just suffered the embarrassment of letting Beatrice see his seasickness and wanted to make up for it by appearing reliable.

Subaru: "Ha ha. You correctly decided that this place is like a labyrinth, but you were wrong to think that it was a perfect maze and to use the left hand rule. I have some less flawed, no, flawless tactics."

Beatrice: "Ho ho, you're pretty confident, I suppose. Go ahead and tell me your plan, in fact."

Subaru: "Hee, I'll tell you. Its name is the Caged Method."

Beatrice: "——?"

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Beatrice tilted her head, a question mark floating above it. The name didn't convey the actual content of his plan, so Subaru cleared his throat and started to explain thoroughly.

Subaru: "Okay. First of all, we'll call our current position the starting point. If we proceed, we'll eventually come to a fork. We'll continue until we hit a dead end. Then, we'll go back to our first fork."

Beatrice: "…mm, continue, I suppose."

Subaru: "Then, we'll map that branch and choose another one. Using the same method as the first branch, we'll walk until we hit a dead end. Eventually, we'll have every branch and every path of the dungeon mapped out."

Beatrice: "That would take far too long, in fact! I wonder if we would even arrive before nightfall, I suppose!"

Subaru: "I-Idiot! What's wrong with taking the certain path!? How many people do you think safely survived a dungeon with this method? I'm doing just as you said, relying on the wisdom of history!"

Beatrice: "Losing sight of your goal by relying on wisdom is a bad habit, in fact!"

Certainly, it hurt that Beatrice trampled on his idea, but even Subaru had to admit his plan had too many faults. It was a time consuming tactic, and besides, they had no pen or paper with which to draw a map.

Subaru: "Then there's only one other method…"

Beatrice: "What is it, in fact? Betty's trust in you is significantly lower now, I suppose."

Although this method was reliable, it wasn't going to improve Subaru's image. Acting in good faith doesn't make you reliable.

Subaru: "Okay, we'll have to work together here." Beatrice: "On what?"

Subaru: "Let's humbly ask for directions."

Beatrice: "That's fine, in fact…"

Subaru had accepted that he couldn't solve the problem on his own. He thought Beatrice's pride would be the only problem, but she seemed okay with it as well. Fortunately, Kiritaka Muse was both a famous merchant and heavily involved in urban planning. Everyone would know where his office was. With that in mind, Subaru looked around, hoping to find someone to ask. But,

Subaru: "Even though this is a park, there's nobody here."

Beatrice: "The timing is bad, in fact. It's late afternoon, the perfect time for naps, I suppose."

Subaru definitely agreed with Beatrice and the temptation to nap in the shade rose. He decided to head back to the direction of the main canal, where there were more people, when,

Subaru: "—Do you hear something?"

The faint sound of wind and water. No, it was the sound of a singing human voice?

"——"

Subaru could hear it only intermittently, but he was drawn toward it, looking for the source. Beside him, Beatrice also seemed to be moving toward the sound.

Upon arriving at the scene, they stood, overwhelmed, forgetting to even breathe.

—A lone girl stood in front of a monument at the back of the park, her voice raised in song.

She was a small girl with dark skin, large round eyes, and a vibrant face. Her crisp yellow twintails were decorated with small, strange ornaments. In her hands, she held an instrument between the size of a guitar and an ukulele. She played and sang simultaneously.

The energy contained in the song could only be described as overwhelming.

Subaru, listening to her sing, felt a nonexistent squall by his face and a nonexistent earthquake under his feet. The clarity, the volume, of her song was overwhelming. Her voice, singing a balladic tune, was the only sound in existence.

"——"

That lone girl, using only her voice and fingertips, created an energy comparable to that of an orchestra.

Subaru was far from the only one who had been utterly captivated by her. There was an audience of around twenty people, all holding their breaths, completely unaware of Subaru. Likewise, Subaru had only noticed the singing girl, whose presence entirely dominated the space.

As Subaru's entire body trembled, the girl's song came to its climax and the audience's enthusiasm came to it's peak—

Girl: "—Without money, without a future, without hope, with only vanity. What can I see but the darkness? And beyond that darkness, nothing. The end, the end, the end is approach—"

Subaru: "How is this song so exciting even after calming down, Oi?!"

Girl: "Huh!?"

The song which even dreams couldn't create was unexpectedly interrupted by Subaru.

As soon as he had surprised her, the girl had stopped singing and dropped her instruments. Of course, the music had also stopped. —Immediately, the intense atmosphere surrounding the girl vanished. Subaru realized that he had messed up.

Subaru: "Oh no, I didn't read the mood. Sorry, I didn't mean—that hurts! —hk! —ow! —eh!?"

Beatrice: "Subaru you idiot, it's ruined, in fact. What a waste of a rare and lovely mood, in fact. You just had to thoughtlessly ruin it, I suppose. You've gone too far, in fact."

Before he could apologize, a sharp pain pierced his toes. Looking down, he saw and indignant Beatrice stomping on his foot with her heel. Beatrice seemed to return to reality when the song was interrupted, and considered that interruption unforgivable. Then,

"Oh… what was that song?" "This is a park … just a little a while ago, I was in the darkness." "No, I couldn't help it at the time, but…"

The audience who had been swallowed by the song slowly tumbled back into the reality. Everyone turned to the criminal who had ruined the song. That was Natsuki Subaru—a man who had a reputation for failing to read the mood.

"—Don't do thoughtless things!"

Everyone loudly and angrily cursed Subaru.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※

Beatrice: "Thank you everyone, I suppose. Actually, I enjoyed it."

Subaru: "Don't sound so happy. Take a look at my feet, are they still the same size? Are my feet okay?"

Beatrice: "I wouldn't care, in fact. For now, don't consider Betty your companion, I suppose."

Beatrice turned her face away and stubbornly denied Subaru, so he checked on his own. His right foot had almost doubled in size.

Subaru had poured water on the concert, so their reaction wasn't entirely unexpected.

One by one, the audience had thanked the girl who sang and shook hands with her, and about half of them had stepped on Subaru's foot before leaving. Subaru had been unable to say anything, and Beatrice had tolerated it, leaving Subaru a public enemy. Subaru prepared himself for both external and internal bleeding in his feet.

Subaru: "Don't you think you should let me rely on your healing magic?"

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Beatrice: "It would be a waste of my slowly accumulating mana, in fact. Wait for it to heal naturally, or ask Emilia, I suppose."

Subaru: "You and Emilia've been taking care of me for a long time, huh."

Since he'd come to this world, he'd sustained a steadily increasing amount of injuries, but they rarely lasted. Even injuries from his daily parkour, such as bruises, abrasions, and sprains, would be promptly healed by Emilia or Beatrice. His fear of pain hadn't diminished, but there was a relief in knowing that his injuries all had a cure.

Subaru: "Well, I'll just treat the pain as a lesson this time."

That said, Subaru caressed Beatrice's head, who was still turned away. Beatrice gave him her gentle hands.

Beatrice: "Well… well, I suppose it's fine, in fact. As long as you reflect on it and learn your lesson, I suppose."

Subaru: "Yep, I'll do just that. Sorry, I was wrong…"

Subaru and Beatrice finished their talk, and turned to the girl. Because he'd been troublesome for her, Subaru would try to apologize. The girl, who had been watching the entire time, said,

Girl: "An inspiration!" Subaru: "Eh?"

Girl: "Listen. —I don't know the difference between our years."

Leaving a staggering Subaru behind, the girl strings her the instrument and instantly finds a rhythm. She timed herself, breathed in a small breath, and started to sing.

Girl: "My love, do you see it, do you feel it? The difference between our ages. Even though our surroundings may change, I wouldn't care one bit. All I care about is our height difference. Wait, my love. Please wait a moment. A little bit, a little bit, just a little bit more. If I stand on the tips of my toes, I can reach you. If the two of us stay so close together, the difference in our ages is irrelevant. So please, only two years, please wait that long. The distance between our love is sweetly melting away."

Subaru: "As the distance in our love shrinks, it turns into a quiet, burning love. Eventually, two cranes will deliver to us two children, and our future will be a bright love story."

Beatrice: "Eeeehhhhh!?"

At the end of the girl's song, Subaru suddenly joined in with a rap. Beatrice raised her voice with astonishment, demanding an explanation.

Beatrice: "Wait a minute! Why… why is Subaru suddenly part of the song, I suppose? Why did you just accept his addition, in fact?"

Subaru: "Oioi, what are you talking about, Beako… does the song cross a line?"

Liliana: "Well said, Liliana's heart is trembling with excitement!"

Beatrice: "Y-Your attitude that Betty is the wrong is unacceptable, I suppose…"

Subaru, feeling bad for Beatrice who had no one on her side, turned to the dark skinned girl.

Subaru: "Let me mention that Beako and I aren't in the kind of relationship that you're thinking of. Even if she grew two more years, she still wouldn't be in my target range."

Liliana: "Eh? She'll only be thirteen or fourteen by then? Despite how I look, I'm good at guessing ages. Well, I guess this is a skill gained from life experience."

Subaru: "She'll be roughly 402 years old."

Liliana: "Oh please. There's no need to be this stubborn just because I hit the mark."

She dismissed Subaru's words as an excuse and ignored them. Subaru also thought that correcting her would lead to too much trouble. Anyway, the topic had changed too much.

Subaru: "Back to the original topic, was the inspiration you mentioned earlier the song?"

Liliana: "Yeah, that's right. Despite how I may look, I'm easily moved. Once I saw your interactions, I felt like I needed to immortalize them in song. Be proud!"

The girl, speaking quickly and fluently, raised her hands or her mouth.

Liliana: "Ah, but, what I did wasn't enough. Big brother helped by adding the bit at the end. That was the first time I'd gotten such a reaction, I was very happy."

Subaru: "That was because the god of rap blessed me, I certainly couldn't do it again. I don't have the skill or experience."

Liliana: "—One single, shining moment…"

Seeing the mutual understanding without words between the two drained the patience of the little girl who had been left out.

Beatrice: "Subaru."

Subaru: "Mm, what is it… Beako!?"

Beatrice yanked his sleeve down and shockwaves sent Subaru flying. The momentum wouldn't kill him, but he still bounced all over the lawn of the park.

—Meanwhile, Beatrice turned to the dark skinned girl.

Beatrice: "It's no good for you to take inspiration from us anymore, in fact. Betty is putting an end to it, I suppose. If you resist you'll end up like him, in fact."

Liliana: "Ha…a…a, um, do…"

Beatrice: "Be quiet, I suppose. Only think about promptly responding to Betty, in fact. The reason nothing is happening to you right now is because your song was lovely, I suppose. But who knows how long this mercy will last, in fact."

Even seeing her trembling, Beatrice's voice held no mercy. Seeing her hurried nod, Beatrice sighed. The girl was too scared to form words. Then,

Beatrice: "Muse Company, take Betty to where Kiritaka Muse is, I suppose." Liliana: "—Eh?"

Beatrice: "I'll not say it again, in fact. Lead the way or be subjected to Betty's anger, I suppose." Liliana: "I-I'll lead you there! I will!"

When pressed with the choice, the girl instantly raised her white flag. Beatrice nodded, satisfied, as Subaru walked back toward them.

Beatrice: "Tell me if you have any complaints, in fact."

Subaru: "Is it acceptable to use your mana like this for educational purposes?"

Beatrice: "It depends on the time and place, I suppose."

Subaru: "What a kind consideration, Beako. Was it okay to threaten someone to guide us?"

Subaru scratched his face and looked down. Beatrice looked at him with a sullen gaze. Subaru continued,

Subaru: "That child is probably the famous songstress who knows Kiritaka. Maybe we shouldn't make a bad impression on her."

She'd mentioned that her name was Liliana earlier, and there was no mistaking that singing ability, even if her personality wasn't what he had imagined.

Liliana: "I'll do anything you want me to. E-Eh, whether it be guiding you or licking your shoes… all I humbly ask… is that you spare my life…"

There was a girl on the ground desperately begging for her life. Correction, that girl was the songstress Liliana.

Although, looking at her, no trace of the graceful Songstress could be seen.