“Subaru!”
Emilia’s heart-wrenching cry echoed from the sidelines.
As the dust and smoke settled, all that remained in the center of the clearing was a heavily dented iron ball.
Subaru was nowhere to be seen.
A hand lightly patted the back of Rem, who was wearing a highly complex expression.
“Hey, look behind you.”
Everyone present was startled once again.
Rem hastily whipped her head around.
Standing right behind her, completely unharmed, was Subaru Natsuki, waving at her.
The only difference was that his face was covered in a bit of dust and dirt from the explosion.
“Subaru…
how did you do that just now?” Her pale blue hair swaying slightly, Rem’s ever-present poker face finally cracked a little.
She slowly voiced her own confusion, which was shared by everyone else present.
“Oh, this?” Subaru couldn’t help but scratch his head.
“I just took it head-on with my face, and then sneaked around behind you.
I mean, I know I pulled off a pretty slick move, but you guys don’t have to be that shocked, right?”
Are you kidding me?
Took it head-on with his face?
Rem pulled the head of her morning star back.
Her pupils, the same color as her hair, contracted slightly.
Imprinted perfectly onto the iron ball was a crystal-clear impression of a human face.
Which meant Subaru was telling the truth.
He had genuinely done absolutely nothing to defend himself, taken the blow head-on, and walked away completely unscathed.
“…As expected of Barusu.
Your skin truly is remarkably thick.”
The sharp-tongued pink-haired maid broke the silence, pulling everyone’s thoughts back to the center of the clearing.
“U-um, Rem, I’ll buy you a new one later.” Subaru pressed his palms together, looking at Rem earnestly.
“Sorry, I accidentally broke it.”
Rem still hadn’t fully processed what had happened.
She just stared at the ruined iron ball on the ground, entirely speechless.
Clap, clap, clap.
“Natsuki-kun—you truly have opened my eye~s.”
Roswaal clapped lightly, a smile breaking out across his clown-makeup-covered face.
“Rem’s performance was also quite excellent~.
Both of you did very wel~l.”
Only then did Rem finally snap back to reality.
She gave standard, polite bows to both Roswaal and Subaru.
“Lord Roswaal, Subaru, Rem apologizes.”
It was unclear exactly what she was apologizing for, or to whom the apology was truly directed.
Her tone was as standard and restrained as her bow.
Rem retracted her weapon and returned to stand quietly beside Roswaal, acting exactly as she had in the dining hall that morning.
Since you possess such—overwhelming strength, Lady Emilia’s safety can be secure~ly left in your hands.”
“So does this mean I passed my enforcer evaluation?”
“Mhm~ mhm~ of course!”
Roswaal’s eyes narrowed into slits.
He gracefully placed his right hand over his heart and hid his left hand behind his back.
“Regarding the trainin~g I promised you, Natsuki-kun, please allow me to begin it in one wee~k.
I must depart for the Royal Capital on business for a few day~s.”
“Shall Ram accompany you, Lord Roswaal?”
Ram asked if her escort was required.
Her attitude was so incredibly respectful that Subaru suspected he was dealing with an entirely different person compared to their earlier conversation.
“No need~ no need, I shall go alon~e.” Roswaal waved a hand at Ram, casting a long, deep look at Subaru.
“Natsuki-kun, while I am awa~y, I entrust the security of the mansion to you, our new enforce~r.”
“Leave it to me!
Ros-chi!”
Declared the newly appointed head of security, Subaru Natsuki.
“I feel so incredibly useless,” Subaru let out a long sigh, collapsing face-first onto his bed.
“It’s peaceful, sure, it’s very peaceful…
absolutely nothing is happening.
I mean, being safe and sound is great and all, but it makes me feel completely useless as a bodyguard.”
It had been three days since Subaru arrived at the mansion.
Roswaal had departed the estate at dawn on the second day, and from that moment on, the mansion’s security officially fell onto Subaru’s shoulders.
Consequently, Subaru spent his days patrolling the mansion grounds.
He even flew over to nearby Irlam Village and did a few laps around it.
Unfortunately, there was absolutely zero opportunity for Subaru to make himself useful.
Emilia was busy every single day, studying the various skills, etiquette, and knowledge required of a Royal Selection candidate.
There was almost no time to go see her.
As for that little girl named Beatrice, he could frequently pop into the Forbidden Library to hang out with her, but usually, after a few minutes of chatting, she would get annoyed and kick him out.
Rem and Ram were entirely responsible for keeping the mansion running.
It was hard to imagine that Roswaal actually left the maintenance of the entire estate to just the twin sisters, refusing to even hire any additional servants.
Every day, they had to clean the east wing, the main mansion, and the west wing.
On top of that, they had to handle all the laundry and cooking.
The sheer busyness of Emilia, Rem, and Ram only made Subaru look even more like a freeloader.
…Idling around all day with nothing to do, coming back on time to eat the meals meticulously prepared by the sisters, and then going back out to idle around some more.
Honestly, even Subaru felt he had way too much free time.
How is this any different from my shut-in lifestyle before I crossed over?!
Weren’t things supposed to be all “I’ll get serious once I’m in another world”?
To avoid dying of boredom, Subaru proactively volunteered to help the twin sisters with the household chores…
otherwise, he truly had nothing to do.
However, after smashing several vases and snapping multiple knives while trying to chop vegetables, the twin sisters firmly and unanimously rejected his assistance.
“Barusu.
Open the door.”
A knock and Ram’s voice came from outside.
Subaru leapt off the bed, hastily smoothing out the sheets, pretending nothing had happened.
“Oh, oh, coming.”
He opened the door to find Ram, her expression as haughty as ever.
Ram walked straight past him and headed toward the writing desk deep inside the room.
“Stop spacing out, Barusu, come here quickly,” Ram rapped her knuckles against the desk, signaling him to come over.
“It’s literacy time again.
Even if Barusu is just a security guard, a security guard of the Roswaal Manor cannot be illiterate.”
“Sigh…
I always get middle school homeroom teacher vibes from you,” Subaru sighed deeply but obediently sat down next to Ram.
“Alright, alright, Ram-sensei, what are we learning today?”
“There’s no rush to learn new material just yet.” Ram pulled a red-bound picture book from the shelf.
“Have you understood the fairy tale written in I-script that I taught you yesterday?
Once you can read it fluently, we’ll move on to RO-script and HA-script.”
“I can barely stumble through this one, but…”
Subaru took the picture book, opened it to the first page, and stared at the squiggly, hieroglyphic characters with a heavy sigh.
“How is anyone supposed to master an entire alphabet in a single night?”
Subaru now deeply sympathized with foreigners trying to learn Japanese—not only having to learn the fifty basic sounds, but also hiragana, katakana…
The fundamental rule of learning a new language was repetitive memorization and writing from memory.
Just like last night, Subaru sat at the desk, meticulously copying the basic characters Ram had written out, aiming to fill an entire sheet of paper.
The quill scratched against the notebook, producing a faint, rhythmic sound until the candle burned down.
Subaru pulled a fresh candle from the drawer and lit it.
Before he knew it, it was 1:00 AM, or “one hour into the Day of Light” in this world’s terms.
Assaulted by fatigue and sleepiness, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
But for the sake of Ram, who was staying up to help him study, Subaru absolutely refused to let himself doze off.
Come to think of it, he had only known Ram for three days.
She had started teaching him how to read and write just yesterday.
Even though Ram always justified it by saying things like, “The more Barusu can do, the less Ram has to work.
And if Ram’s workload decreases, Rem’s workload will inevitably decrease as well.
So there are only benefits to doing this,” stubbornly refusing to admit any kindness on her part.
Subaru could still feel the genuine goodwill behind her actions.
“Alright!
I’m fired up again!
I’m definitely going to finish learning the I-script today!”
Subaru rolled up his sleeves, but just then—
“Zzz…”
Ram was lying on the bed Subaru had just straightened out, letting out adorable, quiet snores.
“…Just like yesterday, huh.”
Looking at Ram’s sleeping face, the drowsiness seemed contagious.
Losing the battle against the sudden urge, Subaru opened his mouth wide and let out a massive yawn.