There were two main obstacles that Subaru had to overcome in order to survive his week at Roswaal Manor.
First, she must gain the trust of those connected to the mansion. This does not only apply to Ram and Rem, but also to her master, Roswaal.
If he did not meet their expectations, there was a very good chance that Subaru's life would be taken away in order to silence him.
This was the conclusion I came to after thinking about it over and over again during the previous loop, with plenty of time to spare.
Similarly, going out without their permission would also fall into this category. Suspicious behavior is dead-end. This is one point where you should pay close attention.
And the second barrier - we still don't have a clue where to begin.
This is the true identity of the sorcerer who attacked Roswaal Mansion.
A user of sorcery who took Subaru's life the first time, caused him to lose both body and mind the second time, and in the fourth world caused Rem's death.
He had arrived at the fifth world, and still had not even a glimpse of the identity of the enemy, and now he was searching for and defeating it - that was his main objective this time.
In summary, if you can gradually win the trust of Ram and Rem and then defeat the evil wizard, you can aim to break the loop.
After dying four times, he finally saw the conditions for victory.
In addition, there are still many unknowns regarding the crucial conditions to be met, and it cannot be denied that there is a sense that we have returned with no plan.
Once again, the fact that his future was so difficult made Subaru sigh, but he shook his head, which he felt like holding, and looked forward.
No matter how high the wall that stands in our way, we have no choice but to take on the challenge.
He had even taken the step of committing suicide to come back. Subaru had come back here, even betting on conditions that meant he didn't know if he would be able to return.
For once, he had died of his own accord.
In that case, you should try it as if you were going to die.
--That's what Subaru had decided.
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"So, Ram? What do you think of him?"
The secret meeting took place in a study on the top floor of Roswaal Mansion, as the moon rose in the evening sky.
There were two participants. Roswaal, the owner of the mansion and the room, and facing him was the pink-haired maid - Ram.
Roswaal asked, his hands folded on the desk and his lips in a smile. Ram tilted her head slightly in thought.
Seeing his hesitant attitude in reporting this, Roswaal raised one eyebrow as if he had seen something unusual,
"Hmm, it's quite unusual for Ram, who tends to make snap decisions about anything, to be troubled by this, isn't it? Couldn't it have been measured in a day?"
"That's not the case though."
Although she immediately replied with a denial, her words still lacked clarity. She put her finger to her lips and, with a slight sense of hesitation,
"He – Barusu, ability-wise, is completely useless. His work as a servant is little more than that of an amateur. Before even considering whether he is suited for the job or not, he is not even worth evaluating."
"Well, it's strange that he asked to work for him."
Remembering the breakfast table, Roswaal chuckled.
I remember inviting my awakened guest to the dinner table and discussing his achievements and his rewards.
Roswaal's impression of him was that he was a boy who had received a decent education, was reasonably smart, and could protect himself to a certain extent. Not a bad assessment, but in another sense it meant that he was worthy of caution.
Therefore, he had assigned Ram as his tutor and ordered her to keep an eye on him, and in fact, he had even set aside time for her to report like this.
He hadn't expected there to be results from the first day, but on the contrary, they were a formidable opponent, making Ram's attitude so uneasy.
"It's strange though..."
"Yeah, let's hear it. Feel free to tell me anything."
"I'm not strong enough in terms of abilities, but what's with Barusu… well, I guess you could say he's creepily positive."
Roswaal frowned as Ram spoke, seeming to be choosing her words, or rather searching for them.
Ram herself must be aware that she is being evasive. She looks frustrated that she can't find the right words to express it.
"She kept talking like that, and even when she made mistakes she kept smiling, and on the contrary she acted extremely devoted towards me..."
"...What do you think?"
"It seems different from what I heard from Lady Emilia."
Ram simply replied yes to the low-level question.
Roswaal, who had only a short contact with him, could not sense the doubts she had. But these were the opinions of sisters who had gained a fair amount of experience at the mansion. Considering the trust he placed in them, it was something he should have taken into consideration.
"Anyway, it can't be helped that we don't get to see his character yet, on the first day. We owe him a debt of gratitude for saving Lady Emilia. ——Wouldn't it be better to wait a little longer and see how things go?"
"...In case of emergency."
It was clear that he didn't want to hear any more.
Even though her expression didn't change, he could sense it, perhaps because of how long they've known each other. Staring at Ram's weakness with his yellow eyes, Roswaal shook his head slightly,
"We'll just have to wait and see when the time comes. I want to settle this as peacefully as possible. Please be careful, Rem, that you don't get ahead of yourself."
At times, the blue-haired girl had a tendency to act on her own initiative after understanding the other person's intentions. Although she generally followed Roswaal's judgments and guidelines, there were also times when her snap decisions that nipped possibilities in the bud were a real pain.
This time in particular, there is a risk that snap judgment could lead in a bad direction.
The danger was eliminated before it happened. However, my relationship with Emilia has deteriorated. That's no laughing matter. It's extremely troubling.
To Roswaal, the three are absolutely essential pieces.
"By the way Ram, is your report finished?"
"... Yes. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you anything important."
"I wouldn't blame you for something like that. Anyway, let's finish tonight's service. It's been two nights. You must have been feeling quite agitated, right?"
As Roswaal beckons with the movement of his fingers, Ram follows suit with a look of fascination on her face. Standing in front of the desk, she approaches him with unsteady steps, and timidly places her hips on his lap as he sits down.
"Excuse me again tonight..."
"It's a natural right. As always, there's nothing to be ashamed of. Your body is precious. It doesn't belong to you alone."
Stroking her cheek with his hand, he turns Ram's face up as she slightly closes her eyes. Combing her pink hair with his other hand, Roswaal closes one eye and looks down at Ram with his blue one,
"So, what kind of person are you to us? I'd really like to be on friendly terms with you."
Muttering this to himself, Roswaal then changes his focus.
He gazed only at Ram in front of him, and focused his consciousness solely on her.
The night of the first day draws on.
--The story concludes with a mysterious secret conversation between the master of the mansion and his maid.
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"Good morning! It's a fine day today, perfect for doing the laundry! Good for me, good for you, good for everyone! Good smile!"
On the morning of the second day, Subaru cheered loudly as he greeted the rising sun with three cheers.
Standing in the middle of the garden, the sunlight burning my eyelids, I shook off the sleepiness in my eyes by opening my body as wide as I could.
Doing radio exercises first thing in the morning ensures that blood flows well through your limbs and distributes the energy stored up while sleeping throughout your body.
Finally, stretch your arms toward the sky and shout "Victory!" to mark the end of the day.
Subaru wiped the sweat off his forehead and turned around.
and,
"You're really energetic this morning..."
"I'm full of energy, super energetic! My energy is everyone's courage, I love you love we love! Let's go all out!"
At the edge of the garden, surrounded by trees, Emilia was going about her morning routine in the shade of a tree and gave a wry smile. A grey furball, or rather a pack, was floating in her hand, and she was rubbing its black eyes with her small hands.
"When I see you washing your face, you really are a cat. That aside, do spirits get sleepy too? Do they ever oversleep?"
"You guys also get sleepy when you get tired, right? It's similar to the way spirits feel when their mana reserves, the source of their energy, decrease. If there isn't enough mana stored up, the drowsiness continues like this... Funyaa."
Inspired by Puck's yawn, Emilia also put her palm to her lips and yawned softly. Subaru shrugged his shoulders and made a playful face,
"It's not good for you two to stay up late together. It's probably the same thing, right? You're the type who get excited talking about your crush until late into the night, right? Come on, come on, let me join in too! The girl I like? Umm, well, well, it's really embarrassing."
Subaru clasps his hands and lowers his eyes, glancing at Emilia from time to time. Seeing Subaru's attitude, Emilia casually waves her hand and says, "Yes, yes,"
"I love Puck, and Puck loves me. End of story."
"Mutual love?! Is there any room for me to cut in?! Is there any room?!"
"Nyah, of course. Lia is completely smitten with my charms. Subaru, you may not be a bad guy, but compared to me you're nothing. Just give up on this girl… meow meow!"
Puck looks down on Subaru as he closes in on him.
He couldn't find where he'd taken it from, but he bit into the towel and let out a cry of "Squeak!" as he cried. Then he grabbed the ears of Puck, who was arching his back and smoothing his beard, with both hands.
"You two, don't get carried away! If you keep saying things like that, I'll get mad."
"It hurts, it hurts, I'm angry, I'm angry."
The man and the animal respond in unison to Emilia's punishment in awe.
With their ears freed, the two of them rubbed the affected areas, and Emilia let out a small sigh,
"It's good to be on good terms, but don't use other people as bait to play around. Answer me if you understand. Yes."
"Yes."
He holds out his hand and urges me on, and I nod in agreement.
I can't help but feel like I'm being played with, but strangely enough, when I see her smiling with satisfaction, such trivial matters don't matter at all.
A smile softly forms in his mind, filled with a sense of relief. Sensing his lips loosening, Subaru makes a faint, flustered smile inwardly.
Subaru: "What's with this excitement? Emilia-tan is acting like an older sister to me despite being older than her, and her flirtations are so intense I'm in trouble + screaming with delight."
"Screaming despite being happy...how does it feel?"
"Kyaahhhh! Something like that, right?"
She placed both fists on her chin and took a small leap with one leg bent. It was the kind of gesture you'd see a cutesy character do in an old manga, but I was surprised at how well I'd recreated it.
"I wonder why. I'm so disappointed."
"Unbelievably unpopular! Why!? Do people and I have to disagree even in places like this, huh!?"
Subaru's reaction to Emilia dropping her shoulders is heartfelt. The old manga pose is called "Shee," but she doesn't have any particular reaction to it.
It ended in failure, and its strength drained away from it, and it collapsed on the spot,
"It seems like a lot of the body jokes are duds…! I understand that things like life and flames don't really convey the image, but the devilish poses that charmed children and adults alike didn't go over well… how strict are you when it comes to laughs…!"
"I don't know what kind of wall you crashed into, but it's fine. Come on, Subaru. Come here and sit down."
As Subaru put his hands on the ground and looked as if he was about to burst into tears, Emilia, still sitting sideways on the grass, lightly patted the seat beside him.
The moment Subaru realised that she meant "Come there", he acted quickly. He took off like a leap and slid in next to her.
Subaru: "I was called and rushed in to be there. What, what? What kind of timing is just right? I'm Natsuki Subaru, a man who can reach those itchy spots, and I'll scratch that itch on Emilia-tan's back that I can't reach as ordered! But I won't go any further than that!"
"I just asked her to come sit next to me, but the response was bigger than I expected, what should I do?"
"..."
Emilia was forced to chuckle at the ferocious force. Puck remained silent as he touched his beard in her palm.
Perhaps Puck had decided that he couldn't be trusted, because Emilia turned to face Subaru, prefaced with "Umm,"
"So, how was yesterday? Did you do your job properly?"
"Oh, it was eighty percent useless!"
"I see. You were so confident...huh? It didn't work? Eighty percent?!"
"No, sorry, I exaggerated by 80%. That's probably it… if I'm being generous, I'd say 60%… no, 70%, maybe 50%…"
"That's the tricky part..."
Seeing Emilia looking so depressed, Subaru felt guilty and his shoulders shrunk. Seeing Subaru being influenced by her, Emilia waved her hands in a panic,
"Ah, but look, 20% of your first job went well, right? Then you'll be fine, I'm sure you can do it. Come on, have confidence."
"That's right! Hitting 20% for the first time makes you a pretty strong batter, right? With the wind at my back, I'm getting cocky!"
"Don't be so conceited. Reflect on your actions."
"Aren't you being too demanding?! Oh, no, it's nothing, sorry."
Pressed by the intensity of Emilia glaring at him, his shoulders, which had started to rise, rounded again and he slumped.
Anyway,
"Well, actually, with Ram and Rem's help, I feel like I'm managing somehow. I guess it can't be helped if I'm only achieving 20% even if I put in all my effort, right? So please look forward to the disappointment in the future, Tomorrow."
"If that's not what you're worried about, then I have nothing to say..."
Emilia pouts in a somewhat sulky manner at Subaru's positive remark. Her childish behavior is incredibly adorable, and Subaru's body heats up as he feels a tightness in his chest.
But I muster all my self-control to suppress that urge.
Subaru made a playful gesture and pointed at her with both hands.
"Well well well, so anyway, so anyway, today as always, I'm working hard at the life of a servant, being told this and that by the maid sisters, training and punishing me. If I ever get tired of this life, I'll come and jump into Emilia-tan's lap, so make sure you leave me free."
"...If you take it with a grain of salt, it might just feel right."
Emilia: "What a harsh assessment with such a cute face! But, but, if you only listen to half of what I say, that means you're okay with getting down on one knee! So, Emilia-tan's knee is reserved for me tonight… so don't use it without my permission, Puck."
Subaru changes his target and declares war. Meanwhile, Puck, the one being pointed at, remains calm.
"Hmmph, no matter what you say when you come out later, Lia has already given her body and soul to me through a contract. It's too late for that relationship now."
"Don't change the contract without my knowledge."
Emilia grabbed the unrepentant Puck by both of his ears and swung him in the air.
With his entire body weight on his ears, it would be an unimaginable torture for a human to experience, but since Puck's weight is like that of a feather, it doesn't seem to cause any damage. With the same calm expression as always, he sways back and forth, letting himself go.
"Well then, now that I've had my morning energy boost, I guess I'll get to work."
"Did you do anything to replenish your energy?"
"Well, after all that flirting with Emilia-tan, I've been building up some lovey-dovey power. I've got two bars of gauge filled up, so I should be able to fire off two super special attacks. That's already been decided..."
"You're getting cocky again. If you keep teasing people like that, then when you actually tell the truth, no one will believe you. Haven't you read that in a fairy tale?"
"I know about similar works! To be honest, I brought it all on myself, so I don't think there's any room for excuses."
"Is that what Subaru said...?"
Seeing Emilia's gaze that seemed to tell him to learn from others' mistakes, Subaru stuck out his tongue and stood up with a bashful smile.
He brushed the grass off his bottom, turned his waist, and stretched.
"I'll be in big trouble if I don't get going soon. I plan on starting with preparing breakfast this morning. Emilia-tan, you don't like Pimar, right? I'll leave you alone."
"Even if you don't like it, you have to eat it...but have I ever told Subaru about that?"
As Emilia tilted her head in question, Subaru waved with a small smile.
I was happy that I was able to take her by surprise, even just a little.
Swaying back and forth pointlessly, he continued to act playful in her field of vision until the very end.
Be conscious, be conscious, be careful not to let your smile fade away.
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Seeing Subaru stagger out of sight, Emilia let out a small sigh and looked down at her hands.
The grey cat was looking at Subaru's back as he walked away. Suddenly, noticing Emilia looking down at it, the cat raised its head,
"What's wrong? You look gloomy."
"I just feel so uneasy. I can't really put it into words."
Emilia stammers, struggling to put into words the confusion inside her, but she can't find the words to express them, and in the end they just disappear into the air as a silent sigh.
As he watched her struggle, Puck touched his own pink nose and narrowed his eyes.
"Are you worried about Subaru? That's unusual. It's strange to see you caring so much about other people."
"Don't just assume I'm bad at socializing. I'm not bad at interacting with others, I just don't have many opportunities to do so."
He puffed out his cheeks and confessed this to the gray cat he had been friends with for a long time.
She behaved in a childish manner that she wouldn't normally be able to if there were other people around. It was her own way of being spoiled that she could only do so in front of Puck, who she'd known for many years.
On the other hand, Puck's expression as it was pointed at him was calm.
It was like the attitude of a parent who was happy about his daughter's growth - and from his point of view, that was exactly what he was feeling, but Puck just nodded with that expression on his face.
"Well, it's no wonder Leah is confused. Things are getting a bit complicated."
"Is there something wrong?"
Despite her relaxed attitude, Emilia's expression tightens as she realizes that this is something she cannot miss.
Basically, Puck's attitude is consistent no matter what the situation. It's unclear whether this is something that is unique to spirits, or simply a problem with Puck's personality, but in many cases the weight of what is said is left to the discretion of the person receiving it. In the end, it's up to Emilia to make the decision.
Even though he was being given a serious look, Puck's attitude remained unchanged.
He played with the tips of his short beard with his fingertips.
"I touched it vaguely, but Subaru's heart was quite a mess. The outside and the inside were all mixed up. If it carries on like this, I'm afraid it'll wear out in the not-too-distant future."
He said this in a tone that was completely laid back