"We will definitely meet again in the near future. I hope Emilia-sama and Natsuki Subaru-sama can love each other forever."
Smiling slightly at their interaction, Kurxiu looked at the two of them with honest eyes.
Even if she loses her memory, she is still as noble as before. She makes the word "honesty" shine more than anyone else, and she has nothing to do with lies and hypocrisy.
This must have been conveyed thoroughly. Emilia lowered her eyes and trembled her lips.
"Kursch-sama and I are rival candidates. Even if we form an alliance, we will return to hostility one day."
"Yes, in order not to lose to Emilia-sama, I must work hard from now on."
"Besides, I'm still half-elf, and I still have silver hair... Aren't you afraid?"
"Emilia, this..."
Subaru, who didn't understand what she wanted to say, closed his mouth after seeing her profile.
Emilia's eyes were serious and desperate when she asked the question. Her mood could be known from the sidelines, so she couldn't easily intervene in this situation.
Moreover, Subaru understands Kursch - her soul is still upright.
"——The way the soul exists determines the value of its existence. People should live a brilliant way of existence for themselves and others, so as not to dishonor the soul."
"————"
"I heard that this was something I said before, like a mantra. How do you say it... Listening to it from an objective perspective, I feel that this statement is very arrogant."
Facing what his past self said, Kursch couldn't help but smile. After hearing these words, Emilia pursed her lips and remained silent, as if trying to figure out her true words.
"Lady Emilia, do you think the way you live is shameful?"
"...I don't think that no matter what the people around me think of me, I am the only one who can't hate myself. That's how I want to survive."
"In this case, there is nothing to regret or fear. Hone yourself, accumulate efforts, and persist in implementing your own way of existence - you have an outstanding soul."
After saying that, Kursch stretched out his hand towards Emilia without hesitation.
"I am very happy to meet you, and I have never felt scared."
"——!"
As if feeling pain in her chest, Emilia looked down at Kursch's hand with a stiff face. Cursch didn't rush her and just waited for her reaction quietly.
Soon, Emilia timidly touched Kursch's palm, and finally held it.
"Please take care and look forward to seeing you again soon"
"But... no, me too. Next time, I will definitely make myself able to hold my head high in front of Lord Kursch. Until then, I wish you peace and health."
The two candidates for the throne cherished each other and promised to meet again here.
"I even forgot about what I have accomplished along the way and just regretted it. I don't want to blame you for this."
"Please take care of yourself, Lord Huang Yuexing, and I look forward to your future performance... I also sincerely hope that her condition will improve soon."
"If you come to my place of any use in the future, just ask. As for Rem... I will definitely bring Rem back intact, including your memory."
Cruxiu smiled and stretched out his hand towards Yuexing
The two hands separated after holding each other briefly.
“Please visit again”
After saying that, the master and servant bowed deeply and sent Yuexing and the others off respectfully.
…
The large dragon chariot was a reward given by Curcio and Patrasio.
The carriage, which is spacious enough to accommodate ten people, can be said to be extremely empty.
Yuexing sat quietly next to Rem. Subaru, who was sitting with Emilia, didn't know how to open the topic. Only the awkward atmosphere spread throughout the carriage.
"... From this point of view, it is wrong to let the little devils ride on other dragon carriages."
The village children who took the same dragon carriage on their way out took a different dragon carriage on their way back. The villagers may have been worried that they didn’t want to be heard discussing Wang Xuan’s matter, but it had the opposite effect.
There is indeed a lot to say, but there is no opportunity——
"——Excuse me, are you troubled because you have nothing to talk about? I always feel that this silence is very heavy, and even I can't bear it."
"What did you say to break the silence? You are here."
"I've always been there! Of course I'm here, right? Have you ever thought about why I helped Mr. Natsuki and why I was tricked by the Witch Cult?!"
"interest?"
"How can you have such interest that even a few lives are not enough to compensate?!"
The one who was foaming at the mouth in an exaggerated manner was the young man who poked his head in from the bridge - Otto, the traveling businessman who helped in the final battle with the Witch Cult.
Subaru smiled evilly at him who had volunteered to be the driver for the return trip.
"You're kidding. Your purpose was to meet Roswaal and to ask us to buy your products. I didn't forget that."
"I sincerely ask you, my life is really on the line."
Looking at Otto who was so motivated to take a big gamble, Subaru felt that he would be manipulated by Roswaal in the future, even though he wanted to help him because he had helped him.
"I can't say anything myself, but the odds of winning are very low..."
"Did I hear that?! Are you hiding something?!"
Hearing his soliloquy, Subaru shrugged towards Otto, who was wide-eyed. Emilia, who was watching the interaction between the two, opened her eyes in surprise.
"The relationship between you two is so good that I can't say anything about it. It scares me."
"It can't be called a relationship at all. To this guy, I'm just a savior."
"Because I can't deny it, but I can't let it go!"
In any case, thanks to Otto, the dull atmosphere in the car was gone.
"Then while thanking you, I will temporarily separate from you."
"Ah, wait a minute! After saying this, you immediately treat me as a troublemaker——"
Subaru closed the dialogue window between the driver's platform and the carriage, abruptly interrupted Otto's shouting, then turned his head as if he had completed a major project, and met the surprised Emilia's eyes, and suddenly——
"Poof!" "Hahaha"
Both parties couldn't help laughing, and for a long time the two of them laughed in the dragon carriage. When the laughter finally subsided, Subaru said:
"I sensed the awkward atmosphere and kept silent. It's very unlike me."
"Yeah, it's very unlike you. The Subaru I know is always full of energy and always acting randomly. He doesn't care about other people's moods and just wants to make a scene."
"What you said can be translated as I am a person who pretends to be energetic but doesn't know how to read the atmosphere!"
This is the fact, so there is no way to deny that evaluation. Subaru, who scratched his face with a wry smile, slowly sat down next to Emilia again, and Emilia narrowed her eyes at this.
"...Subaru seems to be sitting next to me as a matter of course."
"——? Oh, this is weird?"
"No, I would have felt upset at first, but now I think it would be weird if I didn't."
Emilia shook her head, expressing her feelings about Subaru being by her side.
Although I used to have meals at the mansion, communicate with the elves every day, and other daily life
Subaru was happy on all kinds of occasions, either standing or sitting next to Emilia.
"Those poignant efforts have finally come to fruition, and I'm so grateful...!"
"You hit me like this again... I hope you're not trying to show off on purpose."
Hearing Subaru clenching his fists and muttering to himself, Emilia puffed up her cheeks unhappily, then she moved her waist slightly and looked at the simple bed inside.
"You are actually very concerned about Rem and Yuexing's affairs, right?"
"Ah ha ha……"
Emilia's worried eyes blocked the way to escape. Subaru couldn't help but laugh and admitted.
"I care very much, very, very much. I have been thinking about what to do. Even if I think about it, I still think about it. I want to regard Emilia as the first choice... but it really can't be ranked.
I’m sorry”
"I won't be angry about this kind of thing. I told you that when I was at Lord Kursch's house."
She also wanted to share Subaru's worries and anxieties.
That's right, when I think of what Emilia said, I feel so happy that I want to cry.
But--
"They are all important, right?"
"Very important, super important, as important as Emilia-chan"
"...You said something very selfish, are you aware of it?"
"Yes, to be honest, I feel that I am so low-level that I should die to apologize, but this is my sincere words."
No false feelings, conveyed to Emilia clearly and reliably
It’s best if Emilia doesn’t get angry, and then she keeps praying to Yue Xing to restore Rem.
If a method can be found, Subaru would like to challenge it no matter what kind of trial it is.
"——It must be possible, we can find a way to recover."
"Emilia-chan?"
Emilia responded to Subaru's extremely selfish reason with a slight smile and nodded. She combed her silver hair with her fingers and looked straight at Subaru who raised his head.
"I act based on willful reasons. In this sense, I am very similar to you... I also participated in the king's election based on selfish reasons. I am conscious of this."
"Selfish... I just hope to eliminate discrimination and make the world fair, don't you?"
Subaru recalls the wish Emilia expressed when she expressed her faith at the King’s Selection.
As a half-elf, Emilia suffers unreasonable discrimination in this world. Isn't it natural that she wants the world to be fair?
However, Subaru's idea was rejected by her sadly shaking her head.
"No, my starting point is a more personal matter..."
"————"
"...I'm sorry, I can't explain it in words. I don't want to hide anything from Subaru, but I really don't know how to say it."
Emilia, who was speechless, felt anxious because she couldn't express her feelings smoothly, and Subaru didn't want to ask an unformable answer.
If the initial emotion that occupied her chest was closely related to Wang Xuan——
"——Let's tell everything when we meet Roswaal."
"In this case, are you willing to forgive me?"
"What is unforgivable? You didn't do anything wrong. Rather, the problem lies in the way I spoke...and maybe Roswaal knows something about Rem's problem."
As far as Subaru knows, the person who is most familiar with the glamorous surface and dirty side of this world is none other than Roswaal L. Merzas. The weirdo dressed as a clown recommended Emilia to participate in the King's Selection. The reason for this is the same as
It's almost time to make his plans clear
Also, there was an unknown calculation in his mind as to why he was not allowed to interfere at all in this Witch Cult attack.
"But, that happened after returning to the mansion..."
"Um?"
"——If you don't hate it, I want to hear about Rem."
"Ah - it's a bit long, but let me tell you..."
Hiding his sadness behind his words, Subaru recounted every detail of the past two months.
"————"
He couldn't stop once he started speaking, and Emilia always listened quietly to Subaru's words.
In the end, the words did not stop until they arrived at Mezas Territory.