A Two-Faced Negotiation

Facing the mismatching color of the blue and yellow pair of eyes, Subaru felt as if they were drawing him into their depths, preventing him from thinking. Swallowing a breath, he clenched his teeth so that the atmosphere wouldn't overwhelm him.

With his chin nestled on top of his clasped hands above the table, Roswaal said, "You appeaaaar to be raaather observant. You've done quiiite well by understanding what has been saiiid so far, for it iiiiis, quite frankly, uuuuncanny for an ordinary citizen to be able to do so."

"I am greatly honored to receive your praise, so answer my goddamn question, guy with long, indigo-colored hair. If you don't…"

"If I don't, then what?"

At Roswaal, who had responded provocatively, the frustrated Subaru retorted, his teeth making a sound, "Then I'm gonna caress Emilia-tan with my hands, and as gut-wrenching as it is… I'll devote myself to sexually harassing this girl! I'm gonna umph umph and make whoopie!"

"Eep!"

Said with such force that it seemed as if she were going to bite through her lips, Emilia flinched involuntarily, stimulating Subaru's sadistic heart.

In that moment, when his quick temper was about to erupt, and he might not even regret putting his words into action, he was interrupted by the clap of someone's hands.

What had brought Subaru's consciousness back to a state of balance when he was in danger of actually committing sexual harassment was the dry plosive sound of Roswaal, who had stood up.

"That was close, you saved me there, man."

"Why are you expressing gratitude towards me…? Myyy ohhh myyyy, you are such a straaaange boy. I have never heaaaard of such an unuuuusual way of negotiating."

"Ha, placing the best, highest-ranking girl here within my reach will be the cause of your downfall. No matter how much you scheme and plan, none of it will work. Even if it's just a single moment, or a mere chance encounter, that alteration can infinitely extend that fleeting moment. —The genes that can do it, live within my people."

"An eternal moment… Is that the highest level of Yin Magic…!?" Emilia asked.

He brushed Emilia's head, who was at a loss for words because of how difficult his nonsense was to understand.

He had an undeniable feeling that he was being treated like someone with the ability to manipulate time, but it unexpectedly wasn't really far off from the truth, so he decided to not explain.

Whether it be his ability to Return by Death, or the idiotic characteristics of the Japanese and their amazing quality of making insane modifications to their momentary delusions, neither were untrue.

Leaving the baffled Emilia be, Subaru hid such thoughts as he glared at Roswaal. Not forgetting to give him a fearless smile, he was quick to take on the role of a villain.

And yet, the countenance of the long-haired man remained unperturbed at him acting like a villain. He had a gentle smile on his face, free of all emotion, showing dignity aplenty, befitting one who was a great nobleman.

They exchanged gazes in silence, almost as if sparks were flying between them, assessing each other, and trying to get a read on one another. The victor of the stare-down was Subaru, who made Roswaal avert his gaze downwards.

Looking at Subaru, who had dry eyes because he had been reluctant to close them, Roswaal raised his hands slightly. "I concede, I concede."

"I lost this one. Your gaze was rather impreeeesive. Right, if I don't make my position clear, it wouldn't be faiiiir to you, now would iiit?"

"Ow, Ow, my eyes hurt like hell. Rub them a bit more gently, Emilia-tan."

"Are you fine with that being what you want as a reward?" Emilia asked.

"I'll do it myself! That was super dangerous! This girl is unexpectedly pretty shrewd, huh!?"

In danger of losing his edge in the negotiations, Subaru jumped away and rubbed his eyes. He blinked, confirmed that the pain was receding, and then got ready to confront Roswaal once more.

"Weeeell, it's not as if it was something that needs to be concealed, you seeee. I may have let a few things sliiiip, but I am in a position to support Lady Emilia's candidacy to be queen. I am her backer…or perhaaaaps it would be better to say that I am her patron?"

"Patron, huh."

So, the person right before his eyes, Roswaal, was the representative of Emilia's supporters.

Subaru once more tried to confirm the unknowable nature of the tall man, and then nervously asked Emilia, "I'm not sure if I should be saying this, but…shouldn't you be more careful with your choice in people, Emilia-tan?"

"It can't be helped. There was no one in the royal capital I could turn to, and, in the first place, Roswaal was the only one with strange enough tastes to cooperate with someone like me, so…"

"I see. It was the process of elimination, huh."

"You two must be unbelievaaably confident and without fear to be saying suuuuch things right in front of your patron, yes?"

Despite receiving such insulting comments, Roswaal didn't seem to be unperturbed at all, the gentle expression on his face unchanging. Perhaps he was immeasurably tolerant of others, or… "He might be one of your typical M's (masochists), huh."

"'Em'?" Emilia asked.

With both arms held in a circle, he made the shape of an M by having them meet on top of his head.

As Subaru was displaying a letter that couldn't be understood by anyone in this world, Emilia tilted her head as he tried to come up with an explanation, "No, if I calm down and think about it, this is the second time I've made this joke. It's going to lose its freshness, so saying it to the same person again would be a little…"

"Don't just accept the situation in such a weird way. Can you tell me what you mean?"

"The you from yesterday knew it. That's it! Live strong."

*Pat Pat* Lightly patting her head as if to comfort her, Subaru chuckled emotionlessly.

Leaving the flabbergasted and confused Emilia to herself, Subaru felt his heart lighten up since he didn't necessarily tell a lie.

Though, the Emilia of the world that knew it was no longer here. She was silently sleeping within his heart, along with a debt of gratitude he couldn't repay.

He gave a thumbs up to the pouting Emilia, who seemed to be discontent, and then used the same hand, still held in the same position, to point at Roswaal. Afterwards, when he turned it upside down, Roswaal said, "Hmmm? All you did was turn it upside down, but it feels like a humiliating gesture. I wonder why?"

"Really? Where I come from, it's a sign of deep affection that means, 'I love you so much that I wanna make you lick my shoe'."

"Subaru, in your hometown, licking someone's shoe is an expression of deep affection…?" Emilia asked.

"It's the ultimate expression of love, meaning, 'Everything that represents you is precious'. I wouldn't even hesitate to eat your hair or something if I feel like it, Emilia-tan."

"I'm begging you. Definitely DON'T feel like it, alright?"

Seeing as she had found fault with what he'd said, Subaru shrugged. Roswaal unintentionally burst out into laugher after hearing their exchange, and Emilia was in a bad mood because of the way they reacted.

As the three of them each did their own thing, they didn't make any progress at all with the conversation from before.

"Hey, we're having a serious conversation, so can you stop sidetracking us?"

"You're the last person I wanted to hear that from!" Emilia replied.

Emilia's lamentation was dodged with an easygoing "Yeah, yeah," and then Subaru once more directed his gaze at Roswaal to start things over again, getting to the main point. "So, about the main subject. I get that you're Emilia-tan's patron, Rozchi. And it's pretty cute how I could catch glimpses of her 'bumpkin-ness' from every aspect of her behavior, but her acting all on her own in the royal capital is a bit rare, right?"

"I doooo suppose this is the first time such a thing has happened, you seeee. Though Ram should have been with her…"

Roswaal made a strained smile as he fiddled with his collar and shifted the topic over to the pink-haired maid. When Subaru turned to look at the maid behind him with suspicion in his eyes, she remained nonchalant, having disguised herself as the blue-haired maid by flipping her bangs to the opposite side. Though he immediately noticed it because their hair color was different.

"Man, that face that says something like 'I got away with it, just like I'd hoped' really pisses me off."

"Sister, Sister, our dear guest said such a thing like that."

"Rem, Rem, our dear guest said such an empty-minded thing."

"Hey, I can still tell who's who based on Ram's crude way of speaking!"

After having an exchange where they seemed like they had zero intention of glossing over their words, Subaru yelled that out angrily and let his shoulders droop. However, the one who nervously responded to that angry voice was Emilia.

With an awkward look on her face, the girl raised her hand slightly. "It's not like it's Ram's fault. About that, I…guess I sort of gave in to my own curiosity. I wandered around aimlessly and then got separated from Ram."

"What's up with that Moe-character-like reason? What an unbeatable defense. That being the case, it's true that she couldn't fulfill her lord's orders, right? Is that really okaaay?"

As he asked that question with good pronunciation and his lower lip jutted out, Roswaal responded with the turning of his neck. Prefacing it with a "You dooo have a point," he continued, "Perhaps I maaaay share a responsibility in Ram's failure to supervise. Hoooowever, on another note, what are you trying to say to me, I wooonder?"

"It's simple, really. Emilia-tan forgot how to get back to where she was and then started wandering around aimlessly, and the fact that her attendant couldn't find her is the most regrettable. And then, as a result… I, the villainous character, had taken advantage of that. So the right bad thing to do would be to wring as much as I can wring out of you, right?"

Grasping what had just been said, the facial expressions of everyone in the room changed.

Emilia's face stiffened, the twins glared at Subaru with eyes that held both animosity and remorsefulness, Beatrice had an uninterested look on her face as she tilted her glass to drink, and Puck plunged head-first into the egg dish in front of him as if he had slipped, resulting in a total disaster.

And then Roswaal nodded over and over again while smiling, looking like he had understood.

"I seeee. On the topic of private funds, I, the patron, am more suited for you to ask for a reward from, rather than Lady Emilia, who is essentially penniless, is it nooot?"

"Right? And you shouldn't be able to refuse me, either. A-f-t-e-r-a-l-l, I saved Emilia-tan's life and contributed greatly to preventing her from dropping out of the royal selection! In short, I'm something like a savior for the Emilia-tan Camp in the royal selection!"

"I muuuust admit that it is the truth. Well then, allow me to ask you a question in addition to that." Roswaal stood up, looking down at Subaru from his superior stature.

Not to be defeated by being below him, Subaru turned his gaze upwards. The way they looked now was similar to when Roswaal had surprised him with a kiss to the forehead at their first meeting, but the weight of the atmosphere they were now clad in was in a completely different league.

Anxious, Emilia clasped her hands together as she feared where the negotiations were headed. Feeling something like a prayer being directed at his back, Subaru nodded. "Say it. I'm all ears."

"Whaaat do you desire from me? As it is, I cannot refuse your request. Even if you wish for any sort of treasure. Or perhaaaaps, even if you preferred something else… such as a luxurious banquet set up for yourself. If it is to conceal the truth of the lost insignia, then I am willing to do anything."

"Hee–hee–hee, as one would expect from a great nobleman. You really speak my language."

With a lewd smile on his face, Subaru tenderly poked his thin chest with his elbow.

It was painful to hear the sound of his popularity falling to pieces behind him, but this had all been for the sake of preparing for this. Bearing the image of a villain, he extended both hands out. "I will ask for any reward that my heart desires! And you cannot refuse me! This is a promise between me and you. If you break it, you'll have to swallow 1,000 needles."

"Seems like I'd be on the briiiink of deaaath by the 100th one. Well then, it is a promise."

"A man doesn't go back on his word, right!?"

"I must say, that iiis quite a saying. I see. A man mustn't make excuses. I will not go back on my word."

It was a negotiation with both of them presenting their strong-mindedness as a man.

Believing that it was worth placing his trust in a promise that was made on top of that, Subaru proudly crossed his arms. "Then, hire me to work in this mansion."

Compared to how long he had built it up, Subaru's declaration was said easily, without hesitation.

The girls behind him were dumbfounded by his request. The twins' expression changed to that of slight bewilderment, whereas Beatrice was truly disgusted, her face adorned with a frown. Emilia, especially… "I-It isn't really for me to say, but isn't that a bit…"

Her beautiful face was restless, an astonished expression overtaking it, and she was opening and closing her mouth like a goldfish. The fervent discomposure was peeling away at her mystical disposition, making it fade away.

Looking back at the girl, Subaru shrugged in disappointment. "No, to be frank, I knew that you wouldn't find the joke funny a second time, Emilia-tan. However, from my experience, there was no other way but to go with a method that already worked well, so…"

"That's not what I'm saying…! No, it's that you want so little!" As if feeling angry for him, Emilia slammed her hands against the table and advanced on Subaru. She then jutted her finger out at him and started poking his chest repeatedly. "Listen, It's not just the thing with Puck, okay? I'm also talking about…something different. To begin with, it's just like when you asked me for my name back in the royal capital."

The girl listed off the times where Subaru could've claimed a reward to the best of her knowledge. Emilia was aware of everything he'd done to get those rewards; she shook her head as if she truly didn't understand. "You don't understand just how grateful I feel. Such a… such a thing isn't enough to repay you at all for saving my life…"

As she ended her sentence weakly, the strength behind her pokes lessened, and then she left her palm on Subaru's chest and hung her head.

Hearing her silent lamentation, Subaru cursed his own thoughtlessness.

She had always felt indebted to him, because of how disproportionate what he'd asked for in return for saving her was.

However, the same could be said of Subaru.

Subaru had always felt indebted to her. And it was a type of debt that he could never ask from her, ever again. And then there was Puck, too.

Near the two people who were presenting their inner thoughts to each other in silence, Roswaal sneakily moved over to where Beatrice was. Well, he was actually aiming for Puck, who was beside her, in order to strike up a conversation.

"Whaaat? Did you give that boy a reward, O' Great Spirit?"

"Yeah. He just wanted to be able to pat my fluffy body as much as he wanted. He's a first-class lover of fluffiness," Puck replied.

"Bubby's!? What an awful boy, I suppose… He should be driven out at once, in fact!"

Intentionally ignoring the "Operation: Drive Subaru Out" that was somehow making needless progress, Subaru placed his hand on the delicate shoulder in front of him. She looked up at him with her wet amethyst eyes, giving him an inquisitive look, her lips quivering.

—Oh no, she's crazy cute.

He was in danger of unconsciously going with the flow and completely giving in to his urge to snatch away her lips, but he miraculously got himself under control by beating the urge to a pulp. And then he brought out his most sincere attitude to tell her how he truly felt.

"You don't understand, Emilia-tan. At that time, at that very moment, that was what I truly wanted from the bottom of my heart, you see?"

"—Huh?"

"At the time, I wanted to know your name. So much that I could write down that it's a 'serious' thing and read the word as 'critically important'. I was super-duper hungry, I was anxious about this new world, my feet were unsteady beneath me, I was on the verge of losing it, and I think there were a lot of things I had to obtain. That's only if I stopped to think about it, though. —But I'm a man who won't lie to himself."

He had died three times, just for that.

He had done so merely for the sake of seeing the smiling face of the silver-haired girl in front of his eyes and to know her name.

At that moment, there was no greater reward he could have wished for.

"My request to Roswaal is just like that as well. To be honest, I'm completely and utterly broke! I wouldn't really be right in the head, and my financial status wouldn't be faring much better if I were to just trade it for temporary pleasure. So as far as I'm concerned, this is the best option, right?"

"…You could have lived here as a guest instead of working, you know?" Emilia added.

"—Why didn't I think of that!? How about it, Roswaal!?"

Upon hearing the teary-voiced retort, Subaru turned around as if he had bounced to look at Roswaal, who became his ray of hope. However, he crossed his hands in front of his face, forming the shape of a big X. "Your first request has taken effect. A man doesn't go back on his word, now doooes he?"

"Waaaaaagh! Right, that's right! A man doesn't go back on his word, huh!?"

He tearfully found his request denied because someone just had to open their big mouth earlier. Backing down reluctantly, Subaru gave up and thought about his future work life. "I really wanna go back to that moment and say, 'Take care of me!' instead."

"You know, for a moment, I thought that you were actually serious…but I guess it was just my imagination."

"And then you just give me a lower rating like that, Emilia-tan! That's kicking me while I'm down!"

Subaru realized that he had missed his chance to set up the perfect environment for a shut-in in another world because of his slip of the tongue. He had nothing to pick back up if he also lost his popularity with the beautiful girl on top of all that.

Emotionally anguished as if tears of blood were running down his face, Subaru bit his lip as he glared at Roswaal pitifully. "Anyway… That's just how it is, so. Remrin and Ramchi must be having a hell of a time taking care of this mansion, so I'd like you to give me a suitable position under them, something like a manservant."

"It iiiis true that this is a pressing issue… Though I beliiiieve it is as Lady Emilia said. Isn't iiit asking for rather little?"

Placing his hands in the sleeves of his clownish clothing, Roswaal's gentle expression darkened, showing a strained smile for once.

In response, Subaru stood up and wagged his finger at him with a "Tsk, tsk, tsk."

"I'm a super greedy guy, you know. —You know that, right? I obtained a position where I could live under the same roof as the super adorable, super beautiful girl I like, through rational means. And by being in a servant's position, I might even get blessed with chances to get lucky. There are infinite possibilities, and my heart is swelling with sooo much excitement about what might happen in the near future that it might burst!"

"…I see. It iiiis indeed as you say. It iiiis rather difficult to get to work close to the girl one likes, is it nooot? Sounds like quiiite a sweet deal for you then."

"Well, and besides…"

He stopped wagging his finger and then used it to scratch haphazardly at his black hair. Averting his eyes away from everyone else, he looked up at the ceiling and continued, "And besides, with a guy you know nothing about, you should keep him close instead of leaving him alone without knowing anything about him. Furthermore, please make sure if I can be of use to Emilia-tan, or if I am a source of danger to her."

He was declaring his belief that nothing good would come of it if he were to just leave the manor without any way to defend himself.

If he were to be honest about this, it wasn't above his expectations, and he also felt slightly bad about testing Roswaal's humanity like this.

There was no mistaking that Subaru was picking a quarrel, the type that would make Roswaal be at a loss for words if he had no idea of what Subaru was saying. However, contrary to Subaru's awkward feelings about it, he said, "Then it shall be done. —I hope we can get along well together, alriiight?"

He couldn't really get a read on what emotion was being exhibited in his different-colored eyes after that immediate reply.

△▼△▼△▼△

Incidentally, Subaru was super embarrassed on the inside after unintentionally professing his love so strongly, but when he nervously turned his head to get a peek at Emilia's expression, "You're reaaally hopeless, Subaru… Is something the matter?"

He was somewhat puzzled by her calm response.

As one would expect from a beautiful girl, she was probably used to being flirted with, including people cracking jokes at her and behaving like a philanderer, so he trembled in trepidation in front of one who had so much experience.

"I'm not sure if I, have it in me to keep hitting on you, Emilia-tan."

Subaru couldn't help but sigh at all of the many difficulties in store for him.

While Subaru was feeling uneasy about the uncertain future of his life in another world, worrying about it from a more peculiar angle than one would expect, Emilia let out a quiet murmur. "How impure, wanting to work in the same workplace as girls. But I wonder which one is more of your type, Rem, or Ram?"

Emilia, who'd put a finger to her lips and inflated her imagination, had completely taken it the wrong way.

—The prolonged breakfast had come to an end. I thought it was the norm for everyone to go about their business as soon as breakfast ends, Subaru thought. But…

"For the time beiiing, Lady Emilia, please follow your usual schedule. And Ram, show him—Subaru—around the manor. Rem, you can follow your usual routine… But before that."

As the master of the manor, Roswaal gave orders crisply, his posture and gestures full of dignity, though the size of his collar tended to obscure his grandeur. He then grinned widely at Subaru as if he had read his mind. "Buuut before that, you neeed to introduce yourself first. Luckily, all of the residents of the manor have gathered here."

"That's lucky alright…" Subaru commented. "But seriously, the number of people here is super small! There are only five people and a cat living here, excluding me!"

"Counting Bubby as a cat is extremely disrespectful, in fact." Beatrice interrupted Subaru's surprise, clearly unhappy with him.

Subaru raised his hand in a cumbersome manner and responded to her words. "Alright, alright," he replied. "Excluding me, there are four people living in this mansion along with a furball and a drill… Are you happy now?"

"…I've heard you say that several times, but what's that "drill" you speak of, I wonder?"

"A drill is a man's soul, a man's dream."

"It was stupid of Betty to ask you that, I suppose. Roswaal, is it fine for Betty to return now? I want to relax with Bubby."

Beatrice rubbed her eyes and turned towards Roswaal, her gestures not matching her age. In front of her was Puck, who was still on the dining table. He placed his hand on his hip and threw his chest out. "I'm super fluffy, yes."

Just looking at him is kinda pleasant.

"I knooow you two aren't veeery compatible," said Roswaal, "but you guys are going to be working together from now on, so be a bit friendlier, please."

"Betty has made all the possible concessions, I suppose," Beatrice replied. "Asking for more wouldn't leave even the head of the Mather's family unharmed."

Suddenly, Beatrice threatened Roswaal in a quiet tone. The sudden change of atmosphere made Subaru feel like the air in the room had become heavy. The cause was, of course, Beatrice, but the change was unnatural.

He'd felt it when he met her for the first time, but there was more to this young girl with chestnut-colored hair than met the eye.

It wasn't just that she spoke in a sarcastic tone or the fact that she drank, it was something on a completely different level. Something was fundamentally off about her. So, he asked, "Sorry for interrupting your fun time, but what are you? You seem like you belong here, but as far as what your role is, I don't have a clue what it could be."

"Betty is in a bad mood at the moment, I suppose. You'd better watch your mouth, human. I could turn you into stone and shatter you into pieces if I so desired, in fact," she replied with lowered brows after Subaru failed to read the mood and questioned her.

Subaru gasped at the little girl's intimidating aura that made him almost reflexively get in a defensive position.

"Betty is the caretaker of the Forbidden Library in Roswaal's manor."

"Bubby!?"

However, such an atmosphere was dissipated by the comment of the grey cat who had leisurely intervened. The kitten was biting on a corner of something close to a rusk made by frying the bread's crust with sugar-like seasoning sprinkled on it.

"Sweet! Delicious! Meooow!"

"Sorry to bother you when you've lost your sanity due to the sweetness, but can you tell me about that in detai…oh, you're just so soft and fluffy." Subaru had approached Puck to question him, but his hands reflexively went towards his ears and began petting them. Puck gobbled down the rusk speedily while Subaru petted him to his heart's content.

"Roswaal is 'somewhat' of a magician," Puck explained. "The Mathers have a long history, so there are books they don't want others to see. So, Betty is guarding the Forbidden Library according to her contract with him so that such books stay away from the public eye. Is that right?"

"Yes, that's right," Beatrice confirmed. "Everything Bubby says is always right, in fact."

"Communicating becomes easy when Puck enters the frame, fluffy," Subaru added. "All are equal in front of a fuzzball, after all, fluffy."

"Your sentences are ending in fluffy," Emilia informed him.

Subaru hastily let go of Puck's ears after Emilia coldly pointed out that his sentences were ending in a funny manner. He had just proved how addictive petting could be.

The tragedy of loving a fuzzball. How ironic.

"The addictiveness of a fuzzball has backfired on me… Hey, wait!"

As Subaru was acting like a tragic character, Beatrice ignored it and fearfully reached out her hand, touching Puck's ear. The sensation surprised her, and her cute face drooped as the feeling on her fingertips sent her into a state of bliss.

Subaru gasped at how adorable she looked, her expressions now befitting her age. Puck gobbled down the rusk, not paying any mind to her fingertips playing with his ears.

Subaru turned his head away and looked at them from the corner of his eyes. "Hm-Hmph. I'm not jealous that Puck is cheating on me."

"Stop being so cold, Subaru," Puck said. "It's between you and I, isn't it, meow? I'll throw this girl away after she gives me all the money she has."

"Bubby, you are being so mean, in fact…but you're so soft."

"Oh, sorry, my lovely Betty. Of course, it is a lie. It's obvious you are the most important to me. You, and you alone, are special."

Puck was just a palm-sized pet cat, but he was acting like a player playing with their feelings. They both felt all fuzzy inside looking at him do his bad-guy act, but Emilia, who had placed her hands on her hips, came in between them.

She pinched Puck's head between her fingers and picked him up, making him scream like a cat in bliss.

"Meowh!"

"Puck, don't get carried away," Emilia chided. "And stop eating that many sweets. I won't let you stay on my shoulder if you get really fat because of it."

"Hahaha, are you jealous? You want to be the most important person, don't you, Lia? Worry not, for the place where my heart returns to is always you. Even if I waver like a floating cloud during a windy day, I'll always return to…meow, meow, meow, meow!"

The force pinching Puck's head increased as he said his cheesy pick-up line, making him give up. She looked at the limp Puck and sighed, then grudgingly looked at Subaru.

"My child got this bad influence from you, Subaru…" Emilia lamented.

"Is it, though? Isn't this how he naturally is? And you tamed him by doing an iron claw. I feel like I just witnessed the dark side of a Journey to the West-like household." It's like watching Master Triptikia and Sun Wukong from up close, he thought. Although, I guess their parent-child role did a complete 180 here. —Well, that's just how Puck usually is if the situation isn't serious. It isn't much of an issue as long as he's serious when he needs to be, though. "But then, you were useless yesterday when you were needed… Hey, you'll end up being a useless cat who's all talk and no bite at this rate."

"Bubby is fine like that, in fact!" Beatrice retorted. "He just needs to exist and that makes everything better! The rest of the things are just a part of Bubby's charm, I suppose!"

"Your worship of him is extreme, isn't it!?" Subaru exclaimed. "That being said, "Guardian of the Forbidden Library" stimulates my nerdy mind. More about that in detail."

He held both hands in the shape of a pistol and pointed his fingers at Beatrice. Beatrice played with her drills while looking disgusted by his gesture, then spoke up softly, though she looked reluctant. "What Bubby told you is everything about it. If I have to make it easier… It is that room you entered, I suppose."

"Oh, that place filled with books."

That reminds me of the room that made me worry the floor might give out due to the large number of books in it. On the other hand, if all of them were Librorum Prohibitorum that weren't supposed to be in circulation, it would be criminal, wouldn't it?

Librorum Prohibitorum—it was a wonderful word that grabbed a man's heart, shook it, and forever remained.

Come to think of it, when he was in middle school, when he was mentally unripe and was in the middle of his youth, he referred to books that stimulated and released his young desires as Librorum Prohibitorum.

For some reason, the kendo club that Subaru belonged to boasted an overwhelmingly large number of such books. There was even a special storage room under the floor of the kendo club room in the club activity complex.

The information regarding it got leaked due to a dispute with the baseball club—during the cultural festival when students from other schools visited—and the book depository got caught up in cancel culture before graduation.

The story goes that the kendo club room was closed down because of that. The obscene literature survived, but they had no place to store them and were thus scattered all over the place.

"Come to think of it, we did our juniors dirty," Subaru reflected. "They were passed down from one generation to another and had a rich history. They were sorted out orderly by era and genre. It's really nostalgic…"

"Betty answered your question, but Betty feels that you are thinking of the dumbest thing in the world, and that's making me flare up with rage, in fact."

"Don't let the anger consume you. Eat some small fish. Consuming calcium will make you calmer, and who knows, you might grow a bit taller. I think the height difference between Emilia-tan and I is perfect for hugging and doing stuff from love-comedy's…"

He pretended to give the indignant Beatrice a piece of advice, dropping hints of him liking Emilia, but Emilia ignored Subaru's fantasies and pointed her finger at something else entirely.

"Wait a minute, Subaru," Emilia began. "Did you just say you've entered the Forbidden Library?"

"Yeah, I did enter it. I was on my way back to my room so I could sulk in my bed and sleep. But that drill loli had turned my room into her workplace. On top of that, she took my energy from me… It's the shitty yakuza way."

Subaru's sanpaku eyes turned even sharper while complaining, but Beatrice turned away and ignored him. Emilia now turned to her to ask something. "Beatrice…you didn't invite Subaru into the Forbidden Library, did you?"

"Not in a million years, I suppose. Why would Betty want to invite a lowlife like him? …He got the right answer to the Door Crossing, in fact."

"The elegance is slipping from your tone, my lady," Subaru teased. "Ohohohoho."

Subaru placed his hand on his mouth and started laughing elegantly, making Beatrice silently furious with him. In the background of their heartwarming conversation, Roswaal, who had been silent until then, touched his nose and exclaimed in surprise.

"It takes me a whiiile to reach the Forbidden Library if I try opening up the doors randomly, but you were able to enter it without her permission. You two must be quiiite compatible with one another."

""Haaah!?"" they both exclaimed simultaneously and turned towards Roswaal while frowning. They looked at each other, mirroring each other's movements, and started glaring. They followed the same flow and curved their lips into a pout.

"Your faces are mirror images of each other, you two," Emilia commented.

"Adorable, adorable Betty and this thing?" Beatrice huffed. "That's a bad joke, in fact."

"Same here," Subaru seconded. "I'm not into lolis to begin with. I can't laugh at it either. I wouldn't be able to laugh…"

"Why do you have to act so serious? Betty has had enough of this, I suppose! I'll leave you guys on your own, in fact!"

Beatrice had finally lost her patience with Subaru and had completely erupted after witnessing his masterful acting skill of making himself look gloomy.

She stood up, walked to the door of the dining room, and violently pushed it open.

But Subaru noticed something there. "What? Where's the hallway?" he wondered.

It couldn't be helped that he asked such a question. That's because the door was supposed to be connected to the corridor that led to the center of the manor. Instead, he saw the library behind the door; the very same library he'd visited previously.

Beatrice, who had stepped into the forest of jam-packed bookshelves, looked triumphantly at Subaru. "This is Door Crossing. Burn this noble sight into your eyes and tremble. —I don't want to see your face for a while."

The door slammed shut, and the small girl disappeared behind it. Subaru was bewildered by it, and he was surprised further when Ram opened the door again after it had been shut.

The door that had gotten violently slammed shut opened slowly. Behind it was a vast corridor that Subaru had walked through to reach the dining room. It was hard to believe it had been connected to the library a moment ago.

"I see, so her magic can connect any door in this mansion to her room," Subaru observed. "Seems perfect for a shut-in."

"You are quiiick at understanding," replied Roswaal. "Though I'm not sure what "shut-in" means."

"They are parasites that don't come out of their room except when they need to eat and bathe."

"I seeee. Then yes, Beatrice is a shut-in."

"I can hear the both of you, in fact," said Beatrice, who had creaked the door that Ram had just closed open and was peeping her face out from behind it, looking at them.

This happened right after she said she didn't want to see his face for a while. Subaru placed his hands on his hips. He moved his arms, mimicking the flapping of a bird, and hopped here and there from time to time.

"Well, well, well. What happened? What happened? You just went away quite energetically, so why are you here again? Did something happen? Did you forget something? That's quite unfortunate. Hey, how do you feel? How are you feeling now?"

The HHN (Hey, how are you feeling, now) dance exploded right in front of Beatrice.

The reply to it was simple yet powerful. In short, he got blown away by Beatrice's magical power after she had extended her palm from behind the door.

"Buon giorno!" he yelled.

Subaru got hit by an invisible mass of air, and his body, which wasn't light in the slightest, was easily blown away. He lost his sense of direction and collided with the wall after flying over the dining table. The two maids, who had rushed there immediately, did an excellent job of keeping the pictures and furnishings on the wall in place after they had begun to shake.

As they did so, they kicked Subaru, who was lying near their feet, without mercy.