“Huh?
Eh?
What are you guys talking about?”
Emilia hadn’t caught on yet, still in a state of utter confusion.
Old Man Rom and Felt also looked entirely bewildered.
“…It’s about your insignia, Emilia-tan.
Doesn’t the jewel in the center only glow red when held by someone qualified to participate in the Royal Selection?” Subaru stepped in to explain, gesturing in the air.
“When you held it yourself, Emilia-tan, it glowed red, right?
But when Felt held the insignia just now, the jewel in the center glowed red for her, too.”
“Eh?!”
Felt pointed at herself.
“You’re saying I have the qualifications for the Royal Selection?
Are you kidding me?!”
“Given the current situation, yes.”
Reinhard identified Felt’s physical traits.
“Blonde hair and red eyes are the distinct characteristics of the Lugunican royal family.
And you are able to make the insignia react.”
“Felt, it is highly likely that you are a member of the Lugunican royal family who was lost to the streets—and as of right now, you are the sole surviving member of the royal bloodline!”
Crushed by the sheer weight of his words, Felt slumped, instinctively resisting the impending unknown.
“…That’s impossible, right?
I’m just a normal person surviving in the slums by stealing.”
“Which is why I need you to come with me.
I apologize, but I must insist.” Reinhard shifted his gaze to Old Man Rom.
“Sir, you are Felt’s family, correct?
Please rest assured, I will not harm her, and I will personally compensate for the surrounding property damage.
I promise I will bring her back to you safely.”
Rom lowered his head in silence for a moment.
His previously robust muscles seemed to deflate all at once, and several new wrinkles appeared on his face out of nowhere.
“Then… I leave her in your care, Lord [Sword Saint]…”
“Rom!
You…”
“My apologies, Lady Felt,” Reinhard said, taking Felt’s hand once more.
“I am truly sorry for my discourtesy.”
Like a cat lifted by the scruff of its neck, Felt was entirely powerless to resist.
“Lady Emilia, Subaru-kun,” Reinhard’s gaze swept past Emilia and settled on Subaru.
“I look forward to our next meeting.
Now then, if you’ll excuse us—”
Reinhard’s exit was identical to his entrance.
Just like someone deleting the starting and transitional frames in a video editor, he vanished with Felt and the incapacitated Elsa on the ground in a fraction of a second, long before Subaru could even process what had happened.
With Reinhard’s departure, Old Man Rom seemed to age several years.
He let out a long sigh as he stared toward the center of the Royal Capital, then looked at the ruined walls of his loot house, lost in thought.
“Pull yourself together, Old Man Rom!”
Like a magic trick, Subaru pulled out a glass bottle filled halfway with a clear, amber liquid.
“There were two or three bottles left that didn’t get buried under the rubble,” Subaru said, getting up on his tiptoes to awkwardly pat the giant old man on the shoulder.
“While I still think drinking will send you to an early grave, given the situation… you should probably have a drink.”
“…You’re quite an interesting young man.”
Rom’s spine seemed to straighten up just a bit.
The sun dipped into the west, and dusk arrived once again.
“Woohoo!
Everything’s finally settled!”
Subaru threw his arms up and cheered as he and Emilia strolled down the streets of the Royal Capital.
“It really is!
And it’s all thanks to you, Subaru!” Emilia’s blue-purple eyes sparkled with the light of the setting sun, her smile blooming like a flower.
“I’m so incredibly grateful to you, Subaru!
If you hadn’t protected me, I definitely would have been ambushed by the Bowel Hunter, wouldn’t I?”
“And you stepped up to negotiate with Rom and the others to help me get my insignia back… honestly, I don’t even know how to begin thanking you…”
Emilia suddenly stopped walking.
“What’s wrong, Emilia-tan?”
“Subaru… what do you plan to do from now on, Subaru?”
Emilia took a deep breath and asked.
The evening glow cast its light on the girl’s pretty face, making it impossible to tell if the color on her cheeks was a blush or just the sunset.
“From now on, huh…”
Subaru hadn’t seriously thought about it yet.
It had been barely 48 hours since he arrived in this world.
He had constantly been pushed along by various events, leaving him with no time to properly plan out what he wanted to do with his future.
“If I had to say…” Subaru pressed his clenched fist hard against his lips, once again mimicking Auguste Rodin’s sculpture The Thinker.
“…I guess I want to go home.
After all, I basically disappeared without saying goodbye.
My mom and dad are definitely worried sick, and I miss them a lot too.”
“Is that so?
I… I see.”
A fleeting, barely noticeable look of disappointment crossed Emilia’s face.
“Then, Subaru…”
“But my home is in a place that’s very, very, very far away.
I probably won’t find a way back anytime soon.” Subaru turned his head to watch the setting sun, its fading light casting a reddish hue over his face.
“So I want to stick with you for now, Emilia-tan.
Didn’t you say you’re participating in the Royal Selection?
I’ll help you become the King!
And after you become the King, Emilia-tan, you have to mobilize the country’s resources and do your best to help me find a way home!”
Subaru clearly understood that relying solely on himself to find a way back to Earth would be as difficult as scaling the heavens.
But relying on the power of an entire kingdom was a different story.
When the time came, if Emilia successfully took the throne, he could use her authority to help him get home.
At the very least, it would be much better than fighting alone…
Subaru convinced himself with this logic.
[Help Emilia become King, then use her power to find a way home!]
The sun disappeared below the horizon, but the evening glow still lingered on Subaru and Emilia’s faces.
“You huge dummy…”
“Eh?!
Why are you suddenly insulting me again?”
Scolded for seemingly no reason, Subaru felt incredibly innocent.
“Hmph!
I don’t care!
You’re just a huge dummy, Subaru!”
The girl laughed, her hand releasing its tight grip on the emerald pendant at her chest.
“Say, Subaru.
I’m sorry, but when I introduced myself this morning, I gave you a fake name.”
“You’re still hung up on that?
I don’t mind at all.
It’s fine, really.”
“No, I think it’s better to do this.”
Wait, could this be…?
For some reason, Subaru was highly anticipating the upcoming plot development.
Emilia took a deep breath, her bright eyes looking straight at Subaru.
“Let’s introduce ourselves again.
I am…”
Hell yeah!
After enduring death once, Subaru had finally reached this point again.
Just like in the previous loop, before Emilia could finish, Subaru beat her to the punch and pointed a finger at the sky.
Left hand on his hip, right hand pointing straight to the heavens, legs slightly wider than shoulder-width, thrusting his pelvis forward, Subaru struck the classic pose from Saturday Night Fever and shouted at the top of his lungs: “My name is Subaru Natsuki!
A wandering rogue stranded in a foreign land, helping a certain someone become King in order to find his way home!”
Subaru flashed a dazzling, toothy grin, snapped his fingers, and gave a cool thumbs-up.
“The certain someone I am going to help become King, please tell me your name.”
“Honestly, Subaru…” Covering her mouth with her hand, a blush spreading across her pale cheeks, the silver-haired girl laughed.
“You just had to put on a whole performance.”
“My name is Emilia.
Just Emilia.”
Emilia reached her hand out toward Subaru.
“Thank you, Subaru.
Thank you for being willing to support my dream!”
“I’m doing it for my own dream, too.
I’m a very selfish guy, you know!”
“Well then, I look forward to working with you from now on!” Subaru said, laughing along with her as he firmly squeezed the girl’s—Emilia’s—hand in return.
“Emilia-tan!”
“Mhm!
I look forward to working with you too, Subaru!”