Chapter Text
Before an immense crowd, Emilia and Subaru smiled sweetly at one another.
On that day, the marriage between the newest Queen of Lugunica, Emilia, and her loyal knight, Natsuki Subaru, was consecrated. After countless battles, deaths, and tears shed by all those who had contributed to the long-awaited defeat of every Archbishop of the Witch Cult and their leader, the Witch of Vainglory, Pandora, at last, the Kingdom and its people could live in peace.
“You may kiss the bride,” said the Sage, a small smile forming on his face.
Emilia and Subaru joined their lips in a brief kiss, yet one that carried all the love they felt for each other. When they pulled apart, a wave of applause erupted from the crowd for the new King and Queen of Lugunica.
“Subaru.”
“Emilia.”
They spoke each other’s names with such affection that it felt as if they were the only two people left in the world.
But Emilia’s eyes drifted toward someone in the audience.
Rem.
The girl who, for a long time, had also held the affection and love of her current husband. Rem’s eyes shone with genuine happiness, yet Emilia couldn’t suppress the urge to finally do something she had been eagerly waiting for.
Emilia then broke into a wide smile and shouted—wait, she shouted?
Emilia: [REM! NOW WE CAN FINALLY TAKE SUBARU TO—]
Before she could finish, Subaru covered her mouth.
The newlywed groom, the maid in the audience, and every member of their camp were filled with the deepest TERROR in their eyes.
Whispering so no one else could hear, Subaru spoke with a voice heavy with fear and anxiety over Emilia’s almost-spoken words.
“Don’t say anything! No one but us can know about this! It would be terrible if any Sage or the people of the Kingdom found out! Don’t say anything, Emilia!”
Emilia: [Ah… yes. Thank you, I’m sorry. I forgot, Subaru.]
Subaru: [Then thank you very much, Mr. Sage. It was truly a wonderful ceremony, but unfortunately we’ll have to take our leave. Right now. We need to see our new home as soon as possible, don’t we?!]
Turning toward the man in front of him, Subaru spoke quickly and energetically, not giving the Sage any time to object.
And just like that, Subaru, Emilia, and seemingly their entire camp vanished from everyone’s sight in an instant.
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Subaru: Wow! This castle is huge! It’s almost twice the size of the mansion!
Roswaal: Oooh~~ Subaru-kun. You’re going to make me sa~ad like that.
Meili: Yeah, I’ll get used to living here really fast. It’s way better than the basement.
Emilia: But you were the one who said you wanted to stay in the basement, Meili! If you’d told us, we would’ve given you a real room!
Meili responded with a small “Hmph” and continued following the group toward their new rooms.
Spica: IIIII—waa waa—WOW!
Rem: Rem knows Spica wants to stay close to Subaru-kun. But you must understand that he can’t look after you all the time… and we have important matters to discuss with him today.
Subaru: What is it, Rem?
Rem: Rem didn’t say anything.
Beatrice shot an accusing glare at the oni and the half-elf. She knew exactly what they were planning. But due to certain unforeseen circumstances, she wouldn’t be able to stay by her contractor’s side this time.
The reason Emilia couldn’t say anything about Rem during the wedding ceremony was simple.
Even after finally confessing to Subaru, Emilia couldn’t marry him right away. As much as they both wanted it, the rules of the Royal Selection were clear.
Rem, however, hadn’t participated in the Royal Selection. After regaining her memories and after many talks and tears, she married Subaru—but in an extremely discreet way. The only ones who knew were the camps of the candidates and a few allies in Vollachia.
It would have caused a scandal in the Kingdom if people learned that the King had married a mere maid before the Queen herself. And so, the secret was locked away tight—even from guards, Sages, and any other citizen of the Kingdom.
Subaru was checking each room alongside Roswaal, Ram, and Frederica. Otto and Garfiel had gone off in another direction to find their own rooms, while Emilia and Rem seemed to be talking with the children. Meili quietly approached Petra and whispered:
Meili: Petra, you’d better come with us. If you stay here, you’ll lose all your innocence.
Petra: What do you mean, Meili?
Meili: Just come. Right now. Spica, grab her.
Petra: Wha—?! Waaaaah!
Spica suddenly lifted Petra over her head and ran off with Meili and Beatrice to another area. Before disappearing from view, Beatrice cast one last glance toward her contractor.
Beatrice: Be strong, Subaru, I suppose.
As they calmly walked through the halls, Emilia and Rem gave a subtle signal to those accompanying Subaru. Roswaal stepped forward and spoke—ironically, without his usual accent.
Roswaal: Natsuki Subaru, I think this is where we part ways. You can continue the tour without us.
Subaru didn’t quite understand why Roswaal looked so serious, but what truly caught him off guard was Roswaal placing his hands on his shoulders, as if showing genuine compassion to a “friend” heading off to war.
Roswaal: I’m grateful for all the help you’ve given me and my dear team. You are amazing. And… good luck.
Subaru: Good luck for what?
Before answering, Roswaal, Ram, and Frederica vanished from his sight at incredible speed. Subaru still didn’t understand why, but he decided to ignore it and keep exploring the rooms.
“Subaru.”
“Subaru-kun.”
Hearing two of his favorite voices, Subaru broke into a wide smile. Emilia and Rem stood in the middle of the corridor, their hair casting shadows over much of their faces.
Subaru: Ahhh! Can I say I’m the happiest man in the world? Living in a castle with all my friends, together with my two beautiful wives!
But when he finally turned to look at them properly, a sharp chill ran down his spine. His body shuddered, and the danger instincts he’d developed since coming to this world went into overdrive.
He was in danger.
Subaru: Heheh… w-what is it, girls? Why are you looking at me like that?
They slowly approached him—slow, steady steps.
Subaru: Y-you’re scaring me… say something… please…
Rem: Subaru-kun. We’ve been waiting for this moment for a very long time.
Emilia: Yes, yes. Rem told me all about it, and I reeeeally want to do it now that I finally have the chance. I’m so glad she was kind enough to wait for me.
Subaru: “It”… what?
Emilia and Rem: What all married couples do.
Speaking at the same time, their voices perfectly synchronized, they raised their eyes to Subaru. What he saw froze his blood.
Tiny hearts seemed to float within their pupils.
Subaru was forced to run as fast as he could. People might call him a pervert for having two wives, but even he wasn’t crazy enough to stay alone with two super-powerful girls in that state. He knew his limits—especially for the first time.
Before he could even leave the corridor, Subaru was suddenly pulled to the floor. Looking at the culprits, he saw them—both of them gripping his legs in an extremely possessive manner, staring straight into his terrified eyes.
As they began dragging him away, Subaru desperately searched for something—anything—to save him. At the end of the hallway, he saw salvation in the form of a tiger boy and a green-clad merchant.
Subaru: OTTO! GARFIEL! HELP! SAVE ME!!
Otto/Garfiel: CAPTAIN!/Natsuki-san!
They looked toward their friend—but before they could even think of helping, their gazes met the two women clinging to his legs.
Emilia and Rem shot them such a threatening look that the message was crystal clear.
DO NOT INTERFERE.
Slowly, they turned their backs on their friend—on their captain—and ran. With tears in their eyes, they fled as fast and as far as they could, away from danger… away from Subaru.
Who began hurling curses at his so-called “friends.”
Subaru: YOU TRAITORS! I TRUSTED YOU! YOU’LL REGRET THIS!
Unable to resist his wives, Subaru was dragged into an isolated room, far from everyone else.
Like a rag doll, Emilia and Rem tossed him onto the bed. Subaru tried to start negotiations.
Subaru: Please calm down, okay? Look, we can talk, right? You both love talking about everyday stuff!
They kept advancing slowly.
Subaru: Emilia! Didn’t you want to learn new weapons for your magic? We can do that now!
Emilia ignored him and gently climbed onto the bed.
Subaru: Rem! I have a great recipe to teach you! Please just calm down! There’s no need to rush like this, right?!
Rem followed Emilia without listening and lay beside her.
Both of them, on top of Subaru, looked down at him with eyes full of love.
Subaru: Can’t we just… hug?
Emilia: Oh, Subaru, we’re going to hug you a looooot!
Rem: Yes, Subaru-kun, there’s nothing to worry about~~!
Subaru could see death approaching—a slow and very pleasant death. But before succumbing to the desires of the two women he loved dearly, he decided he wouldn’t go down alone.
Subaru: C-Cor Leonis!
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In a room far away from where Subaru, Emilia, and Rem were, a small group of “children” admired a mountain of the finest sweets from all Four Kingdoms.
Meili: Are we really that easy to bribe?
Beatrice: We were not bribed! It’s just… an exchange of interests!
Spica: Uwa!
Petra: I don’t really understand, but I won’t complain about being able to eat all this!
And so the girls spent the entire day locked in that room, not letting anyone in to see their precious treasure.
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Roswaal admired his new office, with Frederica and Ram at his side.
Roswaal: I think… it’s excessively large…
He said, referring to the palace’s unnecessarily huge office, yet something prevented peace from settling in the room.
Subaru: Aaahh~~ my God! Aaahh~~ I’m going to die like this~~!
Rem: Don’t hold back~~ Subaru-kun~~!
Emilia: Subaruuuu~~!
Roswaal looked down at his hands. Even someone said to be without feelings couldn’t help but feel pity for the boy. Knowing he was, in a way, responsible made his chest tighten.
Roswaal: I’m sorry, Natsuki Subaru.
Ram was nearly boiling with rage and embarrassment, especially because she could vividly feel her sister’s emotions. They were so intense that she had to use all her willpower to sever the synesthetic connection.
Frederica, on the other hand, was practically drooling with indecent thoughts. As an avid romance novel lover, she couldn’t help but be fascinated by such a brutal display of love.
The room felt loud and heavy—even though not a single sound was made by anyone inside it.
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[10 hours later]
Otto lay collapsed in his room, unconscious, drool slipping from his mouth. The pain throughout his body was far too much for an ordinary man to endure.
Outside, in the castle’s guard training field, Garfiel dragged himself across the sand.
Garfiel: Captain…! You…! Are…! Amazing…!
His entire body ached and trembled, as if he’d fought the greatest battle of his life in a single afternoon.
He couldn’t take it anymore—and collapsed unconscious as well.
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Subaru lay on the bed, panting, eyes wide open as he stared at the ceiling, his wives resting beside him.
He felt like he might die—and perhaps he would have—if he hadn’t passed half of his exhaustion onto Otto and Garfiel.
With a calm mind and steady gaze, he spoke.
Subaru: Thank you very much!