Chapter 10: The Love Arc (2)
August 18th, early morning
"Subaru, Subaru, it's time to get up."
Even with severely insufficient sleep, thanks to his constitution of waking fully alert the moment he opened his eyes, Subaru instantly sat up. He instinctively observed his surroundings—the candlelight illuminated a wooden basin filled with water. Perhaps because of the candle's glow, Reinhild's face, standing at a distance, looked extremely flushed.
"Good morning, Subaru. The sun is about to rise. I'll go prepare breakfast first."
Still dazed, Subaru watched Reinhild quickly leave the room, even closing the door behind her.
——Could it really be that she's embarrassed? But why?
Even after traveling together for more than two months, the number of times Reinhild had blushed shyly could be counted on his fingers, and such an obvious display of embarrassment had never happened before. Subaru instinctively pinched his own face to confirm he wasn't dreaming, becoming even more baffled.
——Forget it, let's just wash up first.
Subaru said to himself, lifting the quilt. And in that instant, he understood. Because—
This smell.
Subaru caught a manly scent and, like an old wooden puppet, slowly lowered his head bit by bit.
——Oh! Nooooooo!
In a flash, Subaru imagined the entire sequence of why Reinhild had been embarrassed. If not for the assurance that even after his death this world would continue thanks to Return by Death, Subaru felt he would have committed seppuku without hesitation.
Yes—Subaru, an 18-year-old adolescent, had shared a bed with the girl he liked most. Although reason ultimately won against temptation, his body had been all too honest. Subaru had had a nocturnal emission.
——No wonder she wouldn't even touch my clothes or the towel for wiping my body. Of course, since I… ughhh.
Using a large towel he'd brought himself, Subaru wiped down his body, then put on the spare clothes he'd prepared. But his mind once again screamed in agony. Under normal circumstances, he would have noticed the flaw in his logic—that Reinhild had prepared a wash towel for him. But in his current state, noticing such details was impossible.
——I'm doomed. How do I even explain this? No, no, no—it's just a normal physiological phenomenon, right?
Walking while trying to sort through the chaos in his head, Subaru couldn't even be sure if this counted as a "normal" physiological event, since the night before he had nearly succumbed to desire.
"Subaru, breakfast is ready."
Hearing footsteps, Reinhild instinctively turned and called out. Seeing Subaru's face, however, she suddenly recalled sneaking a kiss from him at dawn.
——Why did I do such an indecent, irrational… thing?!
Looking at Reinhild turning away in embarrassment, Subaru instantly recognized her extreme shyness—an understanding born of over two months spent together day and night.
——Though a shy Reinhild is adorable, I really don't want her to be embarrassed over something like this! And will she start to think I'm some kind of… I have to explain it clearly.
"Yes, let's eat."
Subaru said, sitting down and biting into a piece of bread.
——Ahhh, I can't say it. To think it's this embarrassing to talk about. I'm sorry, Mishima-sensei.
In his heart, Subaru silently apologized to the young biology teacher whose class he used to disrupt.
"What a beautiful sunrise."
"Ah, yes, it is."
"Let's come see it together again sometime."
Reinhild said shyly.
"Okay."
Reinhild blinked, surprised, then looked at Subaru—who instantly turned his face away, blushing. Reinhild, after a few simple tests, realized Subaru was distracted purely out of embarrassment.
——But wait… Subaru should've been asleep then, right?
Subaru's obvious avoidance out of shyness made Reinhild's mind spiral into darker thoughts. Normally, she could have trusted fully in her own strength, but now… Reinhild wavered.
——This is bad. Should I explain? Or maybe just confess outright?
"Subaru, about last night—"
"Ah, last night, I didn't mean to."
"It's fine. I don't mind."
Their eyes met briefly, then silence fell again.
——That should be fine now, right? ×2
But somehow… it felt wrong. ×2
Reinhild/Subaru: Could the other be talking about that incident (the bed-wall pin)?
Both wanted to bring up the subject again.
Even someone nearly omnipotent, blessed by the world itself, like Reinhild, found it far too difficult to ask the boy she liked whether he knew about her secret kiss.
Likewise, even Subaru, who had endured countless purgatories with Return by Death, found it impossible to ask the goddess he adored whether she was avoiding him because of his nocturnal emission.
The saying that "men and women in love become idiots" gained stunning credibility from their behavior.
.
.
.
August 19th, morning
The stench of seafood filled the streets, shirtless men were everywhere. This was the sea port—Sepos, the largest coastal city of Lugunica.
Riding on Patrasche, Subaru sighed. Reinhild was uncharacteristically absent from his side. Even yesterday, during the dragon carriage ride, the two had unusually taken turns—one driving, the other resting inside.
"Truly, misfortunes never come alone…"
Subaru sighed again. Originally, he had hoped the joy of seaside fun would clear the awkwardness between them. But instead, they encountered a rampaging mabeast, and were even directly commissioned by the city lord to subjugate it.
"Fine, I'll just use the reward money from slaying the mabeast to buy a gift."
Subaru's voice brimmed with confidence.
Of course, it wasn't arrogance—over these two months, he hadn't neglected training. And with Reinhild always at his side, Subaru's current strength was solidly mid-to-upper level even among the Royal Guard.
"Wait."
Subaru patted Patrasche and walked toward two children building a sandcastle on the beach.
"Don't you know there are mabeasts in the waters recently?"
"Mind your own business, old man. Anyway, they show up over there—"
In an instant, Subaru saw the fear in their eyes. Turning his head, he understood his mistake.
The Royal Guard's failure to defeat the mabeast wasn't due to the election or seawater, but because the creature itself was extremely powerful.
Yes—Subaru instantly realized. The mabeast before him might not be any weaker than the White Whale.
"Patrasche!!!"
Seeing Patrasche running toward him, Subaru knew it was already too late. Acting on instinct, he used his whip to fling the two children toward Patrasche, then ran in the opposite direction to lure the threat away.
——As expected, it came straight for me because of the Witch's lingering scent.
Seeing the massive jaws coming at him, Subaru revealed an expression of understanding.
——Careless. I didn't think I'd lose a life here. But if possible, I'd like to go back to when I twisted my ankle two days ago.
Clinging to that final hope, Subaru was swallowed by darkness.
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