[ "Hey! Wake up! It's already morning! Wake up, Subaru-sama!" Petra's voice rang out. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Is that Petra?"
Frederica immediately recognized the voice.
"Is this Natsuki-san's dream?"
Otto asked.
"Looks like it. There's no sound of him yelling 'look at this' or 'is it possible?' or anything."
Felt said.
"But... according to my memory, Subaru wasn't sleeping at the time..."
Yuriusu pondered.
"Yes. Time was very tight then, not much time for sleep."
Wilhelm affirmed what Yuriusu said.
—
[ Subaru took pride in being able to wake up quickly, but as he expected, these days, he couldn't bring himself to move right after being awakened. It takes him some time for his brain to process the inviting sunlight and to get away from the world of sleep.
Lately, his sleep has been especially sound. That was because these days, he had been using his mind and body to their fullest when he was awake, and that was a sign that he was making the most out of his days.
"Hey—no lying in bed! Get up! Come on, WAKE UP!"
"You're so noisy!" Natsuki Subaru curled up.
"Bwuh!" Petra said sweetly.
The,n next moment, Subaru pounced on Petra on the bed.
"Ah, I'm waking myself up. But going back to sleep with a beauty in my arms sounds peaceful… don't you agree?" Subaru said, hugging Petra. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Huh?"
Frederica was stunned.
"Ugh, what kind of dream is this?"
Al said.
"Ferris is starting to doubt the real reason behind Subaru's nickname 'Little Girl Spirit User' nyaa."
Felix said.
"How lewd~"
Ram said with a sharp tongue.
—
[ "Um... Mmm! I'm..… I…. don't mind….." Petra in the scene said.
"Alright, that's a good girl. You can spend the rest of the morning with me in..."
"But the Duchess is in charge of making your breakfast today, if you stay any longer… she might get angry at you."
"Ah... I forgot! Alright, I'm up! Ah... damn... It's a good day today, too."
Subaru stood up, saw Petra in disheveled clothes, and said:
"Hey, hey, wearing that outfit and lying in my bed like that makes you look a little erotic. I've always told you that girls shouldn't look so naughty, Petra."
"It's okay… I only let my guard down when I'm alone with Subaru-sama. hehe..." Sticking out her tongue in a teasing manner, Petra Leyte, who was reaching the age where she looked good in a maid outfit, teased Subaru. He reached out his hand and pulled her out of the bed. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"How lewd~"
Ram said again.
"Wait, this 'Duchess' couldn't possibly be..."
Felix had a bad premonition.
—
[ "Well, let's go to the dining room. We should already be there by now, shouldn't we?"
"Yes! Okay, let's go, Subaru-sama!"
Petra nodded with a smile. Then Subaru left the bedroom, still holding her hand.
On the red carpet of the Royal Castle of Lugunica, they both slowly walked down the corridor hand-in-hand.
.....
"Too slow!" ...The first thing that greeted Subaru as he entered the dining room was a dignified voice, one that clearly made it known that she was in a bad mood.
The threatening edge in her voice made Subaru break out into a cold sweat. He then smiled to try not to give away the fear he was feeling, raised his hand, and said...
"Oh no, sorry, I guess I was just a little tired this morning. I can't seem to get up these days."
"Your clumsy lies are full of holes! Did you forget? I can see through lies! I'm sure you were spending your time cuddling and sweet-talking the maid who went to wake you up this morning."
That clear, dignified voice, the head of the Karsten family, Crusch Karsten, said. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Ah... this..."
Crusch outside the scene looked bewildered.
"Lil'bro couldn't have been drinking fake alcohol, could he?!"
Al couldn't help but shout.
"Subaru really, I must teach him a lesson next time we meet."
Felix pouted, very displeased.
"This... is the Royal Castle, or the bedchamber. Subaru lives here?"
Reinhardt recognized the place.
It was strange, if this was truly Subaru's dream, how could the Royal Castle in his dream be identical to the real one?
After all, Subaru had never seen the Royal Castle's bedchamber; how could he dream of it?
And Subaru's identity in this dream... only 'king' came to mind.
—
[ "Regardless, your disregard for my promise is a fact, and being treated to this extent is unavoidable..."
"No... I didn't mean that..."
"There is no need to console me. I know that I'm not a… "pretty girl". Unlike the other women around you, I've never been very active except for when it came to swinging my sword. I know very little about dressing up or wearing makeup. It's no wonder I can't satisfy you… What? What do you want to do...?"
Crusch was embraced by Subaru.
"Can't you see through my heart? Then you should know what my intentions are, right? What do I want to do?"
"Don't tease me."
She turned her face away while being held in Subaru's arms, her shoulders trembling as if embarrassed by the embrace. Yet, her resistance lacked any real effort.
She spoke again:
"All I can see is the direction of the wind; I can't see the subtle surface changes in someone's heart or their thoughts. Therefore, unless I hear the meaning of your actions from your own mouth, I won't understand."
"Mm..." The next moment, Subaru kissed Crusch. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"How lewd~"
Ram outside the scene said with a frown.
It was the third time she had said it.
"KYAAAAH!! So disgusting nyaa! Too disgusting nyaa! Absolutely disgusting nyaa! It's a pity I don't have the vocabulary of those Witch Cultists nyaa! Anyway, it's disgusting nyaa! No one in this world except Fourier-dono is qualified to do such a thing nyaa!"
"Honestly, I don't want to interact with Natsuki Subaru-sama as a romantic partner... as a lover."
Crusch didn't like it much either.
"Wait, 'unlike the women surrounding you'? Could it be that Boss... as expected of Boss!"
Although it was ridiculous, based on the conversation, it seemed to be the case; Natsuki Subaru, this man, was embracing women left and right in his dream.
—
[ "Come on, let's eat! Although I'm not very confident in my cooking... today is special!"
Crusch said after the deep kiss.
Subaru began to enjoy the meal Crusch had made.
After eating, Subaru sat at the table, a large pile of documents in front of him.
"No matter how much I work at it, there's no end in sight. It's a common scene in manga and anime, but I hadn't expected to have to do this in real life…"
"Work while you mumble, Barusu. Your break was long enough, so get back to work. Fool."
Another familiar voice.
It was Ram. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"How lewd~. Could it be that all the women Barusu has met have fallen victim to Barusu's evil hands in his dream? What a horny, stupid beast."
Ram clicked her tongue.
"Little Ram also got caught, how pitiful nyaa."
Felix said.
He was starting to worry that he might even appear in it soon.
"Huh? Boss wouldn't even spare Ram, would he?"
Garfiel's eyes widened.
—
[ "You've seen how much work I've done, and you're still saying that?!"
After running through one of the piles of paperwork, he was left with only four mountains to deal with. However, a white mountain range of paperwork was mysteriously added. When Subaru noticed that the number of mountains in front of him had increased by four, he thrust out his quill and said,
"Do you really think you can keep treating me like that? Do you have any idea how much power I have in this country right now? I think it's about time you stop treating me like I'm still a butler at the mansion."
"You're the one who forgot that you can't even stand properly without the people around you propping you up. If Ram were to abandon Barusu here, who would help you ghostwrite these papers? You should remember your place."
"I'm sorry, Nee-sama! Please! Please don't abandon me! Don't leave! Help me!"
He immediately went back on his word, threw his body on the desk, and begged for her help, abandoning all of his pride. Seeing that, the pink-haired maid snorted. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Fortunately, Ram seems relatively normal."
Ram sighed.
"Ah, as long as Ram is fine... wait, no?!"
Garfiel suddenly realized that one was for Roswaal, the other for Boss, so the latter was better.
"Natsuki-san talking about power and such, living here, and handling so many documents... I was guessing before, could Natsuki-san really have become... the King in this dream?!"
"Final Fantasy?"
Al said.
"Haha, truly. Seeing that fellow's shyness is amusing to this one."
Priscilla fanned herself, laughing.
"Hey, you... ah, roar—"
Felix was about to say something to Priscilla, but a scene on the screen interrupted him.
This also interrupted Priscilla.
—
[ "I have some free time." In the scene, Priscilla said this, then roughly pushed open the door. ]
....