"Did you really think that was convincing?" Anastasia asked with a ludicrous look on her face.
"That wasn't even close to convincing Garf." Otto pointed at his friend while looking at her in disappointment.
"Yeah- Wait!"
Emilia just turned her head away from them. She didn't want to be mean but she knew what she was doing. Subaru was wrapped around her finger because of her silver tongue's words.
["I think postponing it is a wise decision. On the off chance, you became stranded in this bad weather… "
"Stranded? That only happens on snowy mountains." Subaru suddenly started freaking out.
"Wait for a second! Could it be THAT thing?"
"What thing?" Rem asked in confusion.]
"What's going on?" Felt asked in worry as the rest watched with rapid attention.
[Subaru began shouting with his eyes wide. "During our date, a snowstorm strands us, so we take refuge in a mountain hut where we share each other's warmth!"
Subaru began hugging himself lewdly. "A happy, embarrassing, and heart-throbbing situation!"
"Got it! I will take care of warming you!" Rem intercepted with a smile on her face.
"Hold on, you're taking another character's role here!"]
"That's genius, Cap'n!"
"HAHAHAHA!"
"What a lewd man this guy is?" Julius flinched at the unknightly behavior.
"I'm not sure I understand… Does he just want a hug so bad?" Emilia asked in confusion.
Beatrice shushed the outraged Anastasia as the merchant was about to explain just what that meant to the innocent Emilia.
[Subaru calmed down and smiled at Rem. "Realistically speaking though, it's not like a snowstorm would pop out of nowhere, nor could the temperature drop that quickly… "
He placed the broom in the water bucket to continue cleaning.
But…
"Just now… I heard a crack."
"It seems like the bucket's water is starting to freeze."
"Ehhh?" Subaru was astonished.]
"Just how cold was it?" Ricardo whistled.
"Must have been freezing." Otto shivered just thinking about it.
"Glad I wasn't there," Garfiel nodded in relief.
[Scene change…
Subaru is shivering in his ice-covered dorm with his hair, eyelashes, and even snot running from his nose frozen in icicle shape.
He slowly turned his head around and found snow and ice covering his lamp, chair, and table.]
"Okay! What's going on?!" Felt asked, unable to contain herself.
"This doesn't seem normal at all." Reinhard supported his mistress with a bewildered look.
"Please just watch. In case you're wondering, I don't see anything that's different from our memories of the event yet."
"So that means there won't be any-"
Garfiel quickly placed a hand on Otto's mouth and shook his head.
Don't remind them about the deaths.
["No matter how you look at it, something is wrong here!" Subaru screamed in bewilderment.
The scene changes to show Subaru shivering while holding a cup of hot drink and being covered in a blanket.
"I'm really sorry. I should have come to warm you, but I couldn't leave Nee-sama like that… " Rem apologized while looking at the shivering Subaru.
"So you sisters were warming e-each other? I can feel my temperature increasing 3 degrees just by imagining this godly situation." Subaru shivered and gasped as his breath turned into ice.]
"You would like to see that, wouldn't you, Perv." Ram snorted while her sister blushed heatedly.
"What was that about warming him?" Crusch raised a brow and thinned her lips at the maid.
["Oh, Subaru-kun. You don't look so good is there anything wrooong?"
"Nothing, in particular, I'm just freezing here! No matter how you look at it, this weather is abnormal!" Subaru retorted to the smiling clown-wearing lord that had entered the kitchen.
"My, my, you're such a crybaaaaby. With enough pride and composure, one's presence of mind is all you need to face the cooold… "
"Don't see myself being convinced by someone wearing those fluffy clothes, though!" Subaru yelled out as he glared at Roswaal.
"At this rate, this cold might turn into a murder attempt!"
Subaru sniffled and began snorting into a handkerchief that was held in front of him by a dutiful Rem.
"Hmm." Roswaal looked at the door with a smile. "Indeed, guess I can't leave it anymooore… "
"The way you put it… Do you have any clues? If the cause is some kind of winter Shogun hurry up and defeat it! I beg you, Sensei."
(Konosuba reference is shown.)]
"A Shogun is a fictional monster in Subaru's world," Beatrice noted to the confusion in the crowd around her.
"He's world seems boring if they make this much fiction," Tivey noted to himself.
"Didn't you see those Kars! They looked so cool! I want to live in a world like that."
Garfiel nodded his head. That Mimi girl had such good taste.
["Subaru-kun, is it that you can't handle cold weather?" The eccentric clown asked his employee.
"During the winter, I complain about the cold. During the summer, I complain about the hot weather. During spring, I complain about being sleepy. During autumn, I complain about matsutake mushrooms' price. I'm just your everyday normie."]
"Understatement of the decade." Al snorted along with Felix and a bored-looking Priscilla.
[Subaru began snorting into Rem's waiting handkerchief.
"Are you curious about the outside?"
Subaru looked confused at Roswaal's question. "Well, I'm a bit worried about shoveling the snow off the village's fields… "
"Seems like you get along well with the villagers, espeeecially the kids."
"That's just a coincidence. Besides, I'm not fond of those selfish, rash creatures called kids. But, they went and got attached to me, so I had no choice."]
"I pity them." Ram huffed while Petra giggled.
"I'm gonna tell them what you said." The little maid teased, knowing that she won't get an answer from the sleeping boy.
["Yeah, yeah. That's what you caaall a Tsundere." Roswaal winked in amusement at the struggling boy as he sniffled and snorted once again into the smiling maid's waiting wiper.
"Sniffle! Ouch, my nose hurts! Sniffle! Sniffle! This is bad!"
"It will be okay! I will take care of Subaru-kun's sniffles!" Rem excitedly assured.]
Emilia huffed, upset that she was the one that had caused him to be this close to Rem and made him sick.
"This is funnier than expected!" Anastasia clapped with a bright grin, surprising her knight.
"I thought you'd be disappointed how useless this viewing is, milady."
Anastasia turned to him, smiling sweetly with a tilt of the head.
"Better than havin' Natsuki face death again."
"... Do you really care for him that much, lady Anastasia?" Julius' question wasn't supposed to be uttered in such hurt.
"Not much better than I care bout any of you, Julius-kun," Anastasia replied softly, winking to the relieved knight.
["Anyway, don't worry, this weather's only spreading up to the mansion's vicinity," Roswaal said as he began walking away from the two.
"And just why is that?!" Subaru asked in confusion.
"To prevent this cold from spreading further, two people have been running around dealing with it. " Roswaal turned and smiled mysteriously.
"Two?" Subaru looked at Rem questioningly.
"It's neither me nor Nee-sama."
"Which means that the suspect's identity is clear, no?" Subaru thoughtfully inquired.
"Thus, I don't even have to explain who's behind this cold, dooo I?" Roswaal smiled in confirmation]
"Snitch," Emilia grumbled as she understood how Subaru found out she was the source behind this.
"Let's see the truth behind all this." Crusch mused as she leaned back to learn of the suspicious circumstance filling the mansion, once again.
"Is it just me… Or has this mansion grown a tad bit… tedious?" Tivey questioned, bored with the mansion's constant mystery and presence.
"It ain't just you buddy. Too bad some knights don't know who to kidnap or how to do it right." Felt snorted without looking away from the screen.
Reinhard's head flinched, personally attacked.
[Scene change…
We can see the three standing at a door that had a fog running from under it.
"Emilia-sama. Sorry for bothering you so early in the morning. Do you have a moooment?"
"Roswaal?" Emilia's voice could be heard from beyond the door.
"Err... Err.. wait for a second! Okay?"
"Suuuubaru-kun." Roswaal pointed at the boy, to which the butler nodded and moved to open the door.
Only to suddenly step back while holding his hand as soon as he touched the golden handle of the door.
"So cold! What the hell is this?! Emilia-tan! Are you okay?!"
"Heh? What? Subaru is here too?" Emilia asked in a panic.
"Yes, I'm here! But more importantly, don't you have something else to say?!" Subaru yelled at the door accusingly.
"Something to say…? Something to say…? Good morning!"
"Hmm, hmm. Properly starting with a greeting, that's a well-behaved girl- That's not it!"
"I'm opening the door! If you're changing, then thank you!"
" Thank you? Not sorry? " Emilia questioned ludicrously.]
"What a gross knight you have~" Anastasia teased cheerfully.
"He's fun to watch." Crusch snorted at Subaru's antics.
Julius, Felix, and Reinhard had to clench their fists as they saw how unruly the boy was. They needed to teach him some rules of the knight's code. Not just for appearance but for his own safety if he was met with a larger, much more powerful knight waiting to kill him for breaking a rule.
Felt and Priscilla just laughed at the scene.
Emilia looked down in shame at how ludicrous her knight was. "Pervert." The half-elf muttered in sadness.
She was blushing a bit too.
[Subaru opened the door and was met with a room filled to the brim with ice and an oncoming storm hitting him in the face.
"It's freezing! What is going on here?!"
"Y-You shouldn't do that! Barging into someone's room before getting permission to enter, that's rude!"
Emilia was seen holding her hands out to hide the source of this strong windy current flowing all over her walls.
"Right! That's reeeally rude!" Emilia waved her arms and looked at the three with a panicked expression.]
"I think I understand what's happening now." Wilhelm mused with a hand on his chin. Many of the magic users and the candidates nodded their heads.
["Er… Uhm… Hey! Go out and try again!" Emilia yelled and blushed from embarrassment as the wind continued blowing stronger.
"'Tis what Emilia-tan is saying, but what's the mansion owner's say on the matter?" Subaru asked the lord behind him.
"Permission: Graaanted." Roswaal happily agreed.
"Roswaal!" Emilia shouted in betrayal as Subaru stepped into her windy room.
"So, the cause of this cold is?" Subaru stopped in front of her.
"Cause? What cause? I have no idea… well, maybe just a little bit… But I don't know!" Emilia continued with her genius manipulation of Subaru's peasant servant mind.
But then a voice from behind her stopped her cruel treatment of her servant's simpleness.
"It's okay, Lia. It doesn't seem like we can hide it longer anyway."
Emilia sighed and turned to the source of all this wind with a pout. "Puck, you idiot! I was just a step away from deceiving them!" She admonished her spirit for ruining her fun in playing with the mind of her servant.]
"No you weren't, I suppose."
"You weren't fooling anyone, Emilia-sama." Crusch shook her head in disappointment.
Emilia just huffed. They didn't know what they were talking about! She was perfectly close!
["No, that wouldn't have happened in a hundred years." Said servant lied through his teeth to protect his pride.]
"Liar," Emilia muttered and made Felt look at her with a raised brow.
"Does she really think..."
"Just leave it alone, I suppose." Beatrice sighed and shook her head at Felt.
[Subaru leaned closer to see what was causing all of this… and found a tired-looking Puck, covered in a small blanket and sleeping on a small pillow, emitting this godly amount of wind and snow out of nowhere.
"Hm… I'm sorry. I've caused you trouble. Please don't get mad at Lia and Betty, they were just covering for me." Puck smiled at the boy apologetically.
Scene change to a shivering Ram that was glaring condescendingly at a certain cat as she stood to the side while the mansion residents sat at the huge dining table.
"Hatsumaki? What's a Hatsumaki? Don't you mean Hatsujouki?"
(TL note: Hatsumaki is literally Magic/Release/Period. It is a made-up word that's similar to Hatsujouki , which is why Subaru is confused here. Hatsujouki means Mating season.)
"I'm not an animal, so I don't have a mating season. What a rude thing to say~nya!" Puck licked his fur like an animal.
"Your answer troubles me, in more ways than one… " Subaru looked at the cat with an unconvinced stare.
"It's a phenomenon that only affects a few beings, those possessing potent magical energy. A person's magic power highly depends on their Od's attributes. In that sense, its output is very restricted." Rem explained from her lord's side.
"Od… Is it something different than mana and gates?"
Ram glared at Subaru as she tightly hugged her blanket while shivering in place. "Not knowing what an Od is… I'm really starting to doubt your common sense. You've reached unprecedented heights of shallowness and impudence, Barusu."
"Nee-sama is even harsher than usual today. Is cold weather your weak point?" Subaru looked at Ram with a concerned expression.
"Strong and weak points are purely subjective things, I don't look at life from such a narrow-minded point of view. Don't spout such nonsense. Go kill yourself please."
"That last part was unnecessarily cruel though?!"]
Ram winced at how harsh the last remark was. Judging by the uncomfortable looks she was getting… Everyone was thinking the same thing.
["This conversation isn't going anywhere if I leave it to you two, I suppose… Since I have no other choice, I'll explain it to you." Beatrice sighed and began explaining from her spot at the table.
"Od is the vessel of magical power, a device that stocks the magical energy extracted from the gate, I suppose."
"Oh, oh, a vessel that stocks magical energy… Go ahead, please continue." Subaru smiled and nodded his head.
"Your way of speaking irritates me," Beatrice growled and continued in disgruntlement.
"Anyway, an excellent Od can deal with a considerable amount of magical energy, I suppose. However, any vessel has a limit."
"Once that limit is reached, the Od will be over with maaagical energy. Before that happens it's necessary to let it out." Roswaal continued the explanation.
"To let it out before your stomach explodes… " As Subaru worded out his conclusion, Beatrice began sipping from her drink.
"So basically, just like constipation."
And Beatrice quickly did a spit take that was as refined as her spirit form.
Slamming her hands on the table, the cute girl pointed at the ignorant servant before her.
"Choose your words carefully, I suppose!"
But as he was stared at by the sheer noble anger of the magnificent spirit-sama that was Beatrice, the arrogant swan turned his head to Roswaal and continued speaking.
He ignored her.
And that moment…
Is when Beatrice, the great spirit knew…
This boy… was lesbian as shit.
"So basically, Puck releasing his magical energy gas is causing this cold."
"Yes, that's right. I'm sorry for hiding it… "
Emilia bowed to those at the table.
"What a troublesome constipation relief method… Is this a periodic thing?"
"Hmm. Once per year I'd say. When I was living in the forest with Lia, I moderately relieved myself, but ever since coming here, I've been behaving myself, I guess this was its recoil. Teehee!"
"Teehee my ass!"]
"That's a bit too powerful for a Hatsumaki." Crusch wondered with a surprised look on her face.
"Hmph! Bubby is a great spirit like myself, in fact!"
"So now we know why this strange phenomenon is happening all of a sudden." Reinhard nodded his head and watched with great interest since his abilities forced him to have very poor affinities with spirits great and small alike.
"I'm also interested in how he deals with this powerful Hatsumaki since my buds can grow and possibly cause the same problem." Julius wondered as he leaned back and watched with great interest.
"Bet number six, and yes I'm keeping count, Natsuki-kun makes something otherworldly to deal with this problem. Those who were present are not allowed to vote." Anastasia hummed as she raised her hand along with her camp and Crusch's.
Felt snorted "I bet he will just leave the house until kitty is done." Reinhard followed his mistress.
"Oh, you're joining?" Crusch asked with a small smirk as she noticed Priscilla's hand was raised along with her other hand forcing Al's up.
"Be thankful that you have my luck on your side, Commoner." The princess snorted and looked at the screen.
"Oh, he's warming his way into her heart." Anastasia cheekily uttered to the candidate beside her.
The duchess smiled warmly and leaned back to watch the screen also. "That he is."
["If letting out your magical energy is necessary, then I won't complain, but why the sudden change during the last 3 days?" Subaru wondered while looking at the ice-covered room.
"I was doing it slowly at first, but I had more mana piled up than usual, and no one was complaining about it getting colder, 'Huh, can I go wilder?' Alright, I'll give it a shot! 'Everyone is surprisingly gullible.' And that's how it went." Puck shrugged his shoulders with a smile.
"What sloppy work!"
"For a great spirit of Bubby's level, no matter how much magical energy he releases, it isn't enough, I suppose. Out of respect for Bubby's fur, stop impudently petting it like that, I supp- Sniffle."
"You too have a runny nose! More importantly, you made that barrier to confine the cold weather because you were afraid of being discovered, right? Answer me honestly." Subaru tapped his table and demanded from the sniffling girl.
"She started blowing her nose!" Subaru mocked.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Beatrice turned away from him.
The silence that filled the room after was broken by a very nervous Emilia.
"Y-You see, Puck and I are reeeally sorry about this… But… Puck's Hatsumaki should be over soon… isn't that right, Puck?"
"Yeah. If you let me do it at this pace, it should be over in 2 more days."
"If we let you do it at this pace, you'll have to deal with my and Ram's frozen corpses by tomorrow morning."
Subaru then turned to the guilty-looking elf girl. "By the way Emilia-tan, aren't you cold, dressed like this? I want to see Emilia-tan in her winter clothes!"]
"Pervert, Subaru!" Emilia was much more mature now than she was back then, so she understood that her knight wanted some candy of the eye Ram is always talking about when she stares at her lord's ass.
Rem actually smiled, happy that Subaru had asked her too to change into winter clothes, meaning that she's on the same wavelength with Emilia in his mind.
["You know that I have a contract with Puck, right? W-Well, thanks to Puck's magic, my body temperature is kept in check… Which is why, even in this cold… Yes… I'm fine." Emilia looked down and closed her eyes in guilt.
Subaru looked at Puck with a pleading expression. "Don't you feel bad for causing your daughter this much trouble? Let's find another way."
And suddenly, the butler boy stood up in alarm. "Oh! That's it!"]
"This is it!" Anastasia clapped excitedly.
Crusch leaned forward with a smile of endearment as she too was excited for the boy's solution to this problem.
["We don't have to stay inside the mansion! While Beako confines the cold within her barrier, we just have to spend our time outside the mansion."
"That's Subaru-kun for you! Rem is impressed!"
"Right now, the weather outside is neither cold nor hot-"
Scene changes to Subaru and the girls standing at the open mansion door. Watching as it rained extensively outside.]
"Damn! I lost another bet." Ricardo shook his head.
"Upupup, It's not over yet~" Anastasia shook her finger and had an expression of pure amusement.
["This rain won't let up anytime soon, I suppose."
"Why?!"
"I guess camping outside is a no-go… " Emilia said in disappointment.
"Wait! If we use a tent… "
"Suuubaru-kun! Were you planning to let me, the mansion's master sleep outsiiiide?" Roswaal stood threateningly behind the boy.
"T-then, can't you do something about it with your magic? Something like… a fireball you fire at Puck, and then Bam! The cold gets evened out!"
"It would be hard to control that… If my hand were to slip even a little bit, the mansion would be engulfed by a sea of flames…"
"What's with this above there's raging water, below, there's raging fire kind of situation… "
Then, suddenly…
"Oh! Got it! Above, there's raging water, below, there's raging fire!"
Emilia looked at the screaming Subaru in bewilderment.
"What do you mean?"
"It's a famous riddle in my homeland. The answer to it is the Bath! Which means that, to overcome this freezing cold… "
"To overcome it…?" Emilia asked in determination.
"Using all the mansion's magic fire stones, we'll heat the large public bath's water! And then, for 2 days, we will carry on with Operation Hot Springs! How does that sound?"
"That's Subaru-kun for you! Rem is impressed!"]
"Nice!" Al nodded his head and wished that he was with them.
"Hot springs?" Priscilla murmured, pursing her lips.
"Oh, you haven't seen them yet have you, princess?" Al rubbed the back of his helmet.
"I think there were some in Preistella city, Felix kept talking about some sort of relaxing baths he wanted to take me to before we were put here," Crusch uttered, not caring for the blush she had caused Felix.
["Unfortunately, that won't be possible."
Everyone turned to the shivering Ram. "Why?!"
The scene changed to Subaru's eyes twitching as he looked at the shit show before him.
"This is… Mayonnaise…" The boy stared at the large bath that was filled with ungodly amounts of white sludge.]
"What's… that?" Priscilla asked in disgust.
"Is that the new foreign sludge that makes food more delicious?" Felix pointed.
"I recall eating it near the villages around Costul. It was really amazing. I never thought something could enhance food taste." Reinhard nodded his head and smiled at the memory of the new food he tasted in those villages.
"How did you come across such a recipe?" Julius asked the camp.
"The villagers said that the recipe was shared by the half-elf's helper," Reinhard recalled, and then it hit him.
"So it's a luxury from another world… Subaru-kun is really resourceful." Anastasia bit her lip as she thought about the earnings she could've had if she had bought the recipe and distributed it.
"Hmm, Mathers estate has had a looooot of good opportunity's using Subaru-kun's recipes." Roswaal mused from his seat.
"You mean he has more foods like that?" Anastasia asked with interest in her eyes.
"Mhm! Subaru's delicious weird dishes always make you smile." Emilia held her cheeks as she remembered the foods Subaru had cooked for her.
"You think he can make us something?" Felt started grabbing her stomach in hunger.
Anastasia just fumed in her seat.
["Yes. I was doing my best making this for Mayo lovin' Subaru's sake!" Rem answered proudly, "The other time, "
The maid remembered the time a naked Subaru ran into the bath without noticing that it wasn't water he was jumping in.
It was shown how an angry Subaru covered in white goo was yelling at a confused Rem intangibly.
"Subaru-kun got mad at me for not being enough Mayo. So this time, I filled the large public bath!" Rem proudly turned around and leaned forward with her head presented to Subaru.
She looked like an eager Puppy.
"I wouldn't mind it if you praised me." Rem smiled and awaited her head pat.
"Are you an idiot?!" Subaru yelled at the happy maid.
Rem suddenly got an epiphany. "Shoot! The mayonnaise is frozen!"
"That's not the problem!"
"But don't worry Subaru-kun. Once it melts, the flaky mayonnaise will turn into bath-water!"
"Just stop, please! The mayo lovers of the entire world will curse you!"]
"Oh, my spirits! This is the best day of my life!" Otto laughed with his bro in rejoicing as they finally had a good story to tell their children about uncle Subaru in the future.
"She looked like an eager pup." Frederica clapped her hands at how cute Rem looked.
Rem just blushed from embarrassment. "You seem to have your heart out on your sleeve," Crusch smirked at the maid.
[Scene change to Subaru and Ram sitting beside a fireplace.
"It's this cold even right beside the fireplace… "
"Without this fire, everyone here would freeze to death. Wanna try it." Puck cheerfully offered.
"Like hell, I would! Meanwhile, rather than relieving your magical energy over two days, can't you fire a strong spell in the sky or something like that?"
Puck just smiled innocently. "Does that mean you'll give it to me?" His smile turned into a nasty evil witch-like grin. "The permission to destroy this world, that is."
"Yeah right!" Subaru replied in anger.
"Just kidding."]
"I doubt he has that kind of power." Julius snorted at the spirit's confidence.
Crusch and Anastasia noticed how both Beatrice and Emilia looked away from the screen and at the ground at the same time.
Both candidates nodded their heads to one another.
"That cat needs to be watched."
"I doubt he has such power since he lost to the Elsa girl… but in case something happens…"
Crusch nodded in confirmation.
"These powerful allies do not offset your lunatic incompetence, half-elf girl." Priscilla spat, narrowing her eyes towards Puck.
["Does this Hatsumaki problem only affect Spirits? What about Ros-chi and Beako?"
"In my case, I keep it in check by using my magical energy everydaaay." Roswaal shrugged and then looked at Ram with one eye open and a small smile. "I also have my daily business to take care of."
The shivering Ram blushed deeply and looked away from Subaru embarrassed.
"What does Ram have to do with your daily… oh… Forget it, I don't really want to know."]
"Knowing the actual context behind his words doesn't make them any less creepy." Otto shivered as Garf nodded his head and glowered in anger.
The maid blushed and looked down at her skirt. The lord beside her seemed angry with the way his joking manner forced an indecent air to surround Ram.
Sloppy…
Roswaal thought as he glared.
["Betty uses her magical energy to manage the Forbidden Library and for my Door Crossing, I suppose. Right, right! Lately, I've also been able to send a big-mouthed human flying." Beatrice smiled in pride.
"Yeah, that's cute okay." Subaru disinterested and bored moved on, making Beatrice pout angrily.]
"You're so cute!" Petra and Frederica giggled, while the knights were astonished at the way Subaru had dismissed a great spirit just like that.
["What about you two?" Subaru asked Rem and Emilia. "Do you also have a mating seas- I mean a Hatsumaki?"
"Only a chosen few possess the exceptional qualities needed to induce a Hatsumaki." Rem answered the shivering Subaru.
"Seeing as I'm not much of a magic user myself, I'm also not concerned by it." Emilia waved her hand slowly but then began explaining in alarm of seeming boastful. "But I have quite the experience because of Puck. That's why… I'm sorry about this… "
"Emilia-tan's self-deprecating tone is off-charts today. Then Puck, when was the last time you used magic to your heart's content? Enlighten us please."
"If we're talking lately, it may have been when I fought that woman in black in the capital. I even ran out of Mana back then."
"As if we could invite such a terrifying enemy again! Die from having your belly opened, or freeze to death, what kind of extreme situation is this?!"]
"I dislike that woman so much!" Petra shivered with a glare.
"All of us agree on that!" Felt snorted in ditestment.
["Other than that, it would be when Roswaal came to pick up Lia in the forest. It's embarrassing but I feel like I caused quite an uproar at the time." Puck rubbed the back of his head.
The screen showed a forest that was filled with snow get thrashed completely as spiky ice pillars shot out from the ground at a flying Roswaal.
"Aaah, that was truly stimulatiiiing. Engaging in a magic battle of that level maaay also have been a first for me."
Roswaal is shown dodging icicle after icicle from a smirking Puck.
"I was just surprised because you suddenly came without prior notice. Hahaha"
Puck began dodging the many fireballs from Roswaal.
"We duked it out all day and niiiight."
Roswaal and Puck fly towards one another.
"How did it actually go, Emilia-tan?"
They both collide and fly in different directions.
"I heard they had to re-draw the map of the region afterwards."
"Okay, that's not good! The you're my rival, that's why I have to beat you! Plan is declined!"
Roswaal is now on the ground as opposed to an angry Puck.
"Ehhh?"
The two began charging their own attack with so much mana I thought this was Dragon ball Z.
"Ehhh? My ass! Don't alter the map with your fights! Apologize to C. Columbus!"
"C. Columbus-san, I'm sorry. Was this okay?" Puck cutely smiled.
The collusion of both attacks turned the entire forest into a flaming plain.]
"W-What the hell?!" Ricardo whistled loudly at the fight.
Emilia frowned deeply at the vicious way Puck was fighting.
"That cat managed to hold his own against the greatest magic user?" Al also whistled impressed.
"So that's what happened at the northern border! It's been causing an uproar in the royal guard ever since the explosion happened."Julius quickly added this to the list of things he needed to arrest the clown lord for.
"Cat-sama is so scary!" Petra shivered in place.
Otto nodded with the maid's statement as he shook in place. "We have so many powerful people on this team I feel small."
Garfiel simply patted his brother's back. "'T's alright, man. You're at least stronger than the maid."
Otto looked at the blonde with a small smirk. "You saying that didn't scare you?" The merchant asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.
"Pfft! I can take both of 'em."
"That is..." Crusch patted Anastasia's shoulder as she stuttered.
"Definitely needs watching," the Duchess muttered with a glare.
[Scene change…
Subaru, Rem, and Emilia are inside a room filled with logs of wood that were neatly placed all over it.
"In any case, we shouldn't let the fire go out." Subaru wiped his brow as he placed another stack of wood on the cart.
"I'm reaaally sorry." Emilia apologized from where she was standing. "When I was in the forest with Puck, there wasn't anyone who would have been troubled by this, so I didn't think his Hatsumaki would be such a problem."]
"Hmph! A half witch's place. Out of sight and out of mind."
Emilia ruffled her knight's hair as she ignored the insults being thrown at her by the fiery princess.
"No one asked ya!" Garfiel glared hatefully at the lady. He hated people that judged based on appearance. That's the reason why his people were stuck in a fucking mud hole for centuries!
["No. I won't let you apologize further. I'll do something about it. There's no such thing as an endless fight. There's no such thing as an endless rain." Subaru stopped doing weird poses and looked up in thought.
"Right. Rain… Late at night, rains turns into… No wait, even if it's not late at night, as long as it's cold enough, rain turns into ice."
"Subaru? Did you get another funny idea?"
"That's Subaru-kun for you! Rem is impressed!"]
"I feel that this is it." Crusch mused while leaning forward excitedly.
"Wanna bet on it? Between you and me." Anastasia rubbed her hands together in excitement to extort the duchess.
Crusch raised a cocky brow. "You think you've got him figured out?"
The merchant smirked and looked haughty at the boy before her. "A merchant has to know their asset's full capabilities."
"Deal." Crusch smiled sweetly while twitching her eyebrow in anger at the way the merchant was speaking about the boy.
[Subaru quickly halted the two and looked stern. "Those expectations of yours are jumping the gun, also, you're way too impressed, however,"
Subaru smirked in rich pettiness. "I finally got it. Not just a makeshift solution, but rather, a peaceful, interesting, funny, and fun way of overcoming this Hatsumaki problem… "
The two ladies waited with serious faces of anticipation. "What could it be?"
"A tradition of my homeland. A festival! Let's grandiosely squander all of Puck's pent-up mana! Named: Roswaal Mansion's Chiki Chiki snow festival, 1st edition!"
"That's Subaru-kun for you! Rem is impressed!"
"Chiki Chiki snow festival? Is the Chiki Chiki part… necessary?"
Title card:
1st edition Chiki Chiki snow Festival Roswaal Mansion Arlam's Villagers
The mansion is shown as a giant cloud hanging and snowing heavily over it.
Subaru is shown with a weird-shaped crown on his head and carrying a torch that was made out of the ice like the clown, holding it up in the air while carrying a book.
He was posing as Lady Liberty from America.]
"Why does he look like that?" Garfiel asked in confusion.
Al was laughing his ass off for some reason.
"He managed to make everyone in the village come?" Frederica asked in disappointment that she wasn't there.
["The falling snow paints our hearts and the mansion in white. White, stretching as far as the eye can see. Nevertheless, just as there's no such thing as an endless night, there's no such thing as eternal snow. Bid the cold weather goodbye, for it is Roswaal Mansion's out-season snow festival!"
The screen shows that the mansion and the gardens were now completely covered in snow.
Subaru was standing on a pillar over the villagers that had come wearing winter clothes and watched him as he excitedly announced.
"Hey! Who wants to go to New York?"
The villagers and the kids just looked at the boy in confusion.
"New York?"]
"Da fuck's a New 'Ork," Garfiel asked with stars in his eyes.
"Can we eat that too?" Mimi asked with a tilted head.
"Man Subaru has the coolest foods!" Tivey whined.
"Pathetic, in fact!" A smug Beatrice huffed and continued her agenda in pissing off an Otto, an Elf princess, and a certain Oni maid.
"New York is one of the greatest cities in Subaru's world in fact. Buildings as tall as the royal castle made of steel and glass span the entire land. A place where every culture and tradition in the world reside in harmony and chaos at the same time."
As the girls and the Otto around her fumed at the knowledge, the candidates and the knights looked at the spirit with wide eyes.
"J-Just how cool is Cap'n's world?!" Garf asked in despair as he never heard of something so awesome in existence.
[The kids decided to go with it and help the boy. They cheered yes.
"Do you want to go to New York, no matter what it takes?"
All the villagers just cheered in sheer confusion.
"New York, where's that?"
"It's a town of Subaru's homeland, he said."
Petra answered with a smile.
"It's a town whirling with love and lust, he said." Another kid answered.
"Whirlpool!" A kid cheered.
"The rules are simple." Subaru held a finger in the air for the excited mass before him.
"By creating a snow sculpture, everyone's creativity and imagination will be put to the test. The winner gets a special prize."]
"Oh, that's clever!" Felt and Crusch clapped their hands at the plan.
"By using this contest, he gets the cat to empty his mana to make snow for the villagers… Shrewd. But it's a good idea." Anastasia muttered with an upset look as she refused to look at the smug smirking duchess beside her.
'Why did I have to sit so close?!' Anastasia lamented her luck as she had to endure the smug aura around the winner of the bet that was sitting right beside her.
The merchant queen will make this boy pay! No one dares to put her in such a position!
["Can we go to New York?" A child asked, making Subaru smile sheepishly.
"My bad, that won't be possible. However, we prepared prizes comparable to, or even better than going to New York! Well then, fight for victory!"
Everyone shouted in excitement.
Scene change….
"Nevertheless, a snow festival… The idea never crossed my mind." Emilia smiled warmly beside her servant as the two looked at the happy crowd playing in the snow.
"Well, if you can't hide it, you might as well use the commotion to make it into a festival."
Emilia grinned and excitedly turned to the butler. "I too will keep my nose to the grindstone to create an amazing sculpture."
Subaru smiled nervously at the candidate. "Keep my nose to the grindstone, nobody says that anymore… "
Subaru smiled and looked at the crowd… His eyes widened when he couldn't find something.
"Huh?"]
"What's he looking for nayow?" Felix asked bored out of his mind.
[Scene change…
A quiet library with a small girl reading a book on her stool.
The doors opened…" Oh, Beako: found."
Not so quiet anymore.]
"Oh, he wanted his loli to be present." Ricardo nodded his head accepting this as fact and chuckling at the blushing and pouting Beatrice before him.
"Looks like Subaru always thought of you, huh?" Emilia smiled at the spirit girl.
Beatrice smirked smugly and nuzzled into his chest. "Hmph! He's Subaru's Betty, in fact. He better be a good contractor that looks to please Betty, I suppose."
["Hey, it all went well, thanks to you widening the barrier's range a little bit."
"It sure has gotten busy in here," Beatrice growled.
"While I was at it, I should have extended the barrier up to the forest so you could hold a festival in the village, I suppose."
"That would've caused trouble for the villagers. Besides, it would ruin my first date with Emilia-tan, since our secret flower bed would wither, right?"
"Yeah right. That's none of my business."
"Rather than that, Beako, you're not participating? You don't have to hold back."
"I have no idea what you're talking about, I suppose. I am very busy. Shoo shoo."]
"You didn't seem to want him around that much," Reinhard noted nervously about the great spirit's harshness.
Beatrice just looked down and held Subaru's hand tightly.
Felt kicked her knight in the shine.
[Subaru smiled wide. "C'mon, don't be like that. It's also important to play outside every once in a while, especially for children." Subaru stepped closer behind the spirit's back.
And placed a small snowball on her head.
Beatrice shrieked.
"Bueno Aires!" A screaming butler could be seen flying out of a window.
Magic~]
"He deserves it."
"Yes, he does." Julius nodded with Felix as he scowled at the treatment of the great spirit Subaru had convicted.
Meanwhile, around them, everyone was chuckling and laughing their ass off.
"What a stupid way to help someone get out of their shell, just like Barusu's birth."
[Subaru landed on a small snow pile that was close to where the kids were playing.
"Oh, it's Subaru!"
"There he came, Subaru!"
"You shall know a world of white terror!"
The kids began howling Snowballs at the downed butler.
"You guys sure are lively in this cold. However, one day, you'll notice… "
Subaru slowly got up menacingly and put all the children on guard.
"That the ones being toyed with, were you…"
*Splash! *
"Hahaha!"
The kids laughed as Subaru's villainous monologue was interrupted by a pile of snow that covered his entire upper half.
"Say what?" Puck winked at the snow-covered Subaru as he prepared another snowball with his magic.
"I take it back!" Subaru yelled and began removing the snow.]
"I love that cat!" Garfiel declared as he watched his brother get teased with a glamorous smirk.
Otto simply looked at the screen with a serious face. A single tear flowed down his cheek. It was… so beautiful to see Subaru get teased so intensely.
"Pucks's much more playful with Subaru when he isn't with me," Emilia frowned, clenching a fist on her heart. Missing the spirit that inhabited this green broken jewel.
[An excited Petra came up to the butler carrying something in her hand.
"Subaru! Look at this! I made it with snow!"
"Oh, a snow rabbit!"
"Hehe, isn't it cute? Is it well-done?"
"Good job! Good job! Well then, Let's add some decorations! Look…"
Petra was smiling widely at the now decorated rabbit. The little girl rubbed it excitedly against her cheek."Amazing! It turned into a rabbit! It really did!"]
"Grrrr!" Petra growled and shook in her seat with righteous anger.
"What's up with her?" Al asked.
Frederica shrugged.
["I'm also getting pumped up, seeing you this happy. Alright! Let's upgrade it even more!"
"Add a tail and some wings… And a missile, a transforming body, a cockpit, a caterpillar track… "
"Wait… wait please!" Petra tried to save her rabbit from the molestation.
"How's that? Flying-Mega-incinerator-Snow-Rabbit-Des-troy-er-Weap-Gah!"
Petra had shot the molester in the face with a snowball.
She carried the now mechanical-looking rabbit and huffed away from the butler.]
"Oh, so it was Subaru-kun that made that work of aaaart!" Roswaal concluded with eyes wide.
"You're a cheater!" Emilia, who was still miffed at the loss that day glared at Petra.
The little maid just huffed and muttered something about it not looking cute at all.
[Subaru wiped the snow away while watching her leave. "Seems like Petra was more of a Realistic-Robot person than a Super-Robot person… "
The screen pans up to reveal Beatrice as she watched Subaru from the mansion's windows with the snowball he placed on her head beside her on the ledge.
"Good grief, he's really an outrageous person, I suppose." She uttered while looking at the boy annoyed.
"Subaru might have wanted to play with you, I think."
"Huh?" Beatrice looked at the floating cat as he smiled at her.
"Well, I also want to do so if possible… "
"Bubby…" Beatrice looked surprised.
Scene change…
Emilia was patting her ice sculpture with a wide smile as she wore her hood. The half-elf princess looked beside her when she heard footsteps.
"Beatrice…!"
"It's only because Bubby insisted, I'll join you for just a little bit. Be thankful, I suppose."
Emilia smiled at the spirit loli. "I too won't lose!"]
"Emilia-sama lost. Badly."
Many chuckled at Ram's dry commentary. More so when Emilia narrowed her eyes at the little maid in the back.
[Scene changes to Subaru and Puck walking around while looking at the people making ice sculptures.
"Everyone is doing a pretty good job, don't you think so?"
"Yeah, but it's a bit of a shame that all the designs are realistic. It may be because the villagers aren't familiar with the concept of characters. There are lots of castles and animals."
Subaru and Puck stopped at a really huge statue.
"Oh… This is really well done…?" Subaru stared with a haunted at the extremely well-done ice statue of Bossgram.]
"Hot damn! It looks like the real thing!" Otto exclaimed.
"How did that not win?!" Felt asked in outrage.
Even Julius and Priscilla marveled at the statue's elegance.
["Thank you very much, Subaru-sama. This ulgarm is my proud sculpture." The leader of the young men smiled proudly with his shovel on his shoulder.
"Just because it's freezing now doesn't mean I won't get hot under the collar seeing this! This isn't remotely funny! Impact-wise, it's definitely to my liking. And I definitely want to reward your effort… But! For not being mindful of the judge's emotional scars, I give you a 7."]
"Booo!" Felt and Mimi were outraged at the judge's ruling.
[Scene change…
Emilia is smiling at her statue in pride. "Hmm, this is quite the result."
* SPZZZZZZZZZ*
Emilia couldn't believe her eyes when she looked at the source of the sound.
Beatrice was making her ice statue with her magic.
"You shouldn't be doing that!" Emilia admonished with her hands on her hips.
Beatrice ignored her and continued to cast her magic on the snow. "I wasn't written anywhere that this isn't allowed."
"No is no! The use of magic is forbidden. Cheating is a bad thing to do. You should grasp victory with your own hands." Emilia smiled smugly at the spirit.
Beatrice pouted and began using her hands to refine the sculpture. With a glare on her cute face.
Emilia just watched her with a smile.]
"You really seem naive when you say all that." Anastasia mused as she kept her eyes on the screen.
"I don't care." Emilia surprised everyone by her boldness as she replied to Anastasia and looked at the screen without glancing back.
Crusch smirked at the stunned merchant.
[Scene change to Subaru and Puck walking around the myriad of many snow statues and art pieces.
"What an amazing view." The butler said with a smile.
"Regarding this festival's grading, who's going to do it?"
Subaru pointed at himself as he smiled at Puck. "I, Ros-chi, and village's chief as a masked judge. If the judge's face comes to light, people might try to buy their rank through bribing him, after all."
"Is there anyone who would go to such lengths for the special prize?"
"Well, it's a one-of-a-kind gorgeous prize, brought by yours truly," Subaru smirked in pride.
"Oh. You're being very generous, even though it's not your own problem."]
"Yeah, why would he go so far?" Tivey asked in pure confusion.
Julius and the rest of the candidates shook their heads.
["Emilia-tan was troubled by it, and incidentally you as well, of course, I'd help you."
"That part of you, I personally, you know what… " Puck winked mysteriously at the boy.]
"What is your spirit alluding to, Emilia-sama?" Crusch inquired of the half-elf suspiciously.
"I… I don't know," Emilia muttered while glaring bafflingly at Puck.
"Hm," Anastasia noted how dysfunctional Emilia's relationship with Puck is.
That spirit doesn't trust its contractor.
Anastasia kept running her fingers through her blue scarf.
Pity.
Truly...
!["I can't understand what you mean when you talk in riddles like this."
"Was I really?"
"Subaru-kun, check this, please. It's a collaboration between me and Nee-sama."
Subaru turned to find Rem and Ram standing in front of a statue that was covered under a cover.
"Rem and Nee-sama… so you weren't just helping, you also participated?"
"Oh, Barusu, Nonchalant as you are, seems like you couldn't help but be attracted to our super artistry skills."
"Putting aside the way you made me look like a moth attracted to light, yeah I came yo see you. Ram participating in this extremely cold festival… What's going on here?"
"Are you suggesting that I should stay holed in my bed while Rem and the others are out playing in the snow?"
"That was an unnecessarily offensive way of putting it, but I get it, you didn't want to be left out?"
"Saying that I absolutely wanted to play with Nee-sama, I forced her to come." Rem happily told beside her smiling sister.
"Don't you feel any guilt making your little sister say that, Nee-sama?"
"Being able to feel Rem's love this close up makes me superior, be jealous," Ram smirked smugly.
Subaru grinned back and looked at the towering statue covered by a white cloth.
"Ram and Rem. A piece of art embodying both's skills, power, and sisterly love." Ram smirked up at the statue.
"Yes, following Nee-sama's instructions, and using what little power I have, we probably created the best sculpture." Rem grinned proudly as well.
"The fact that Nee-sama only watched was just exposed, right?!" Subaru called out the pink maid on her lazy antics.
"So, what's its name?"
"Yes! It's called the wonderful Subawaal-sama sculpture. "
"I can see the end result just from the name!" Subaru retorted as he looked on with dread.
"Well then… " Rem quickly peeled off the cover and revealed… What. The. Fuck. Is. That?]
"Kill it!" Garf jumped out of his seat and swam underneath it.
"Kill it with fire!" Ricardo swam beside him.
"Kill it with an axe!" Al dived underneath his mistress's seat.
"It's disgusting I suppose." Beatrice shivered in place.
Anastasia and Crusch just shrugged as they didn't find it that creepy.
As for Felt… she was just looking at the screen in boredom.
Julius just snorted at the ugly look on the statue and Felix was outright smirking at it.
Reinhard couldn't feel anything in particular about the weird-looking art piece. He was just… built different.
[Copypaster:- Divine Protection of Built Different]
["Our opinions were split, since Nee-sama wanted to make Roswaal-sama, and I wanted to make Subaru-kun… "
"And so, this is the result of the common-ground we agreed on."
"None of you caved in here, did you?!" Subaru asked, highly disturbed.
"Well, well, what might you be doing, gathered here?" Roswaal suddenly walked up and looked at the statue instantly with a rigid expression.
"And this would be?"
"Roswaal-sama, what an embarrassing sight to show you, but please take a look at this." Ram showed off the statue.
"It's our collaboration. It might be true that we're part of your household, but please give us your sincere opinion." Rem looked at her lord with excitement.
As Roswaal looked at the statue with a face of uncertainty and disgust, Subaru just sighed in exhaustion.
"Then… Unfortunately… you get a 5," Subaru announced while holding five fingers up.
"Aaand?" Ram innocently posed for the boy with her finger guns out.
"That's it! It won't change! I'll be praying for your success in your future endeavors!" Subaru yelled at the maid.
Ram gasped and stepped back with her eyes wide in shock. "Im-Impossible… "
Rem quickly looked at her lord with a pleading look. "What about Roswaal-sama?"
The clown had finally smiled at the two maids and held his hands up to give the score.
As he raised seven fingers in the air, Ram and Rem had stars in their eyes… only for those stars to burn as Roswaal had duped them and held only four fingers up with a smile.
"4 points!" Ram fell on all fours in shock.]
"Tehehehe~"
"Don't laugh! *snorts * It's not appropriate!" Frederica tried to keep herself straight as she admonished Petra.
The two maids were dejected. Ram was more so heartbroken than Rem.
["By the way, 4 points out of?" Subaru looked at the questioning cat.
"10 Points. There are 3 judges, so the total would be out of 30."
"The quality isn't baaad, but… It's just creepy." Roswaal shook his head in disgust.]
"You got that right." Al snorted at the irony of who was saying this. Even his lady snorted with him which made the knight pretty happy.
"He's not creeped out for any reason you are thinking of, I suppose," Beatrice sighed tiredly and looked disgusted at Roswaal for a second.
The clown lord shuddered, "It's cruel of you to suggest this, Beatrice," he spoke in an angry tone.
"You are lucky I'm the only one that knows what generation hopping means, in fact," the little spirit offset the entire theater by this name. Even Roswaal himself was shuddering.
"The hell are they talking about?" Ricardo turned to Al in distress.
The one-armed man shrugs, "I dunno bro, this entire team is fucking ludicrous."
The beastman and the twins found themselves nodding with Al's statement.
["The concept shouldn't have been wrong… it must be because of the Subaru component in it!" Ram punched the snow beneath her as she gritted her teeth.
"This isn't right! For the sculpture embodying my and Nee-sama's ideals to fail, something must be wrong here!" Rem tried to comfort her sister.
The scene changed to a happy-looking Emilia walking around and scanning the crowds with her eyes until she found what she had been looking for.
"Oh, Emilia-tan!" Subaru turned as he saw the hooded princess stop behind him.
"Mine is nearly finished, and Beatrice seems to be doing her best. It isn't done yet, but would you like to come and see?"
Emilia slowly looked up to find… the thing. (Shivers)
"Wh-What's this?" she asked while staring at it in pure awe.
"Emilia-tan, don't tell me… Do you actually see the charm in this sculpture? Could it be that we're the ones behind our time?!"
"It reeeally gives off a weird vibe… "
"I know right?" Subaru was suddenly hugged by a kid.
"Subaru! Come here!"
"We also made a sculpture!"
Emilia watched with a smile as Subaru was dragged off by the kids.
"Check it, Subaru!"
In front of him was a crude statue of him doing his favorite pose while wearing a cape.
"Oh, you too made a sculpture of me."]
"They really do admire him." Reinhard smiled, happy that his friend was getting the recognition that he needs.
"My hero had made an impact on their lives. He deserves it." Rem smiled warmly.
"You're the one that had saved them though. You were the one supposed to have a statue made for." Felix snorted, making Julius glare at him.
["Stand beside it."
Subaru quickly posed with the statue parallel to him. "Like this?"
"Something is off?"
"The real one's eyes are scarier!"
"Scary eyes!"
"No, they're not!"
A kid began editing the snow face of the Subaru statue.
"Give him scarier eyes…" Slowly the kid accidentally tore the snow head off.
"It came off!"
"It fell!"
The kids began laughing at the accident while Subaru cried in despair. "That's not funny at all! It's a bad omen!"
Emilia and Puck just laughed with the kids at the poor boy.]
"I like those kids," Julius smirked brightly at the scene.
"I do too!" Otto nodded his head as he enjoyed the way they treated Subaru.
"I can see why they like him so much though." Anastasia tapped her lip as she smiled.
"...Bad omen?" Reinhard whispered worriedly, staring at the headless statue.
[Scene shows many different moments of the villagers playing around in the snow, while some refined their sculptures.
The kids are shown playing with snowballs and teasing Subaru.
Roswaal is conversing with several villagers.
Rem is laughing with her sister.
Beatrice is working hard on her statue.
Emilia is smiling wide at everything happening around her.
Everybody was happy…]
"His plans are always so fun!" Felt kicked her knight again as she saw how much fun everyone was having while she was stuck reading boring shit.
"I wish I was there," Garfiel whined.
[Scene change…
"For my score to be 9 after I worked this hard, I find that weird. Even Beatrice got 7." Emilia is shown pouting as she looked at the two statues before her.
"It might have been a difficult event for you and Betty. By the way, what is it that you guys made?"
"Just as you can see, both are Puck," Emilia smirked proudly at the statue she made.
Puck sighed. "So it was me…"
"It is a bit bland, but I think it's reeeally well done."
"I'm a bit afraid of knowing how I look in your eyes, But it might have been too artistic for normal people that they couldn't understand its charm."]
"That's nowhere near close," Mimi called out.
Emilia ignored her and held her head high. They don't know true talent. Subaru himself would be worshiping the statue if she told him to.
Actually, Subaru is kind of biased now that she thought about it…
["Is that so… The winning girl's Snow Rabbit is really well done, no matter how you look at it." Emilia looked at the Snow Rabbit destroyer that Subaru had made for Petra.
"It even deserved Roswaal and the old man's high praise. But I found it weird that Subaru, who was in such high spirits, stayed quiet… "]
"Hm, because he's the one that made it." Anastasia looked at the sculpture with a critical eye.
"I'm curious what all of these machines look like in real-time." Julius mused as he analyzed what Subaru created.
"Subaru never told me he could make such pretty things! I bet it's a fun toy from his world." Emilia pouted at the unfairness in treatment her knight was showing her.
["No comment from me, however, the special prize intrigued me a bit."
"Me too. Subaru's homeland's Corn potage chips… was it?"
The scene changes to Petra smelling some chips from the bag Subaru had given her. She slowly put it in her mouth and stopped with wide eyes.
"Delicious!"
She began sharing it with the other kids.]
"Was that it?" Mimi asked the little maid.
"Mhm! It was the greatest thing I've ever tasted!" Petra held her cheeks as she did on the screen.
[The screen changes to Emilia and Puck as various spirits begin glowing around them.
"These snow sculptures will surely melt by tomorrow, even though there are so many of them… it's reeeeally a shame."
"That's what snow is about after all. Nothing can maintain its shape eternally. Nothing less, nothing more."
Emilia smiled as she looked around at the statues.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Emilia looked up to see a butler waving from the balcony.
"The banquet is starting!"
Emilia giggled. "Mhm, I'm coming!"
Scene change….
"Eh… I hereby thank all of you for participating in the Roswaal Mansion's Snow Festival. And, thank you for your hard work! When all is said and done, I also enjoyed it. Next year, when Puck's Hatsumaki comes, let's also hold a snow festival. Let's make it even wilder next time!"
Subaru was standing in the dining room before the mansion's residents as they all watched him with wide smiles on their faces while he held his glass of apple juice up.
"That being said, cheers!"
"Cheers!"
The window pans to show the mansion's residents enjoying themselves and feasting on the banquette before them.
Subaru is watching his friends having a good time with a smile on his face.
"Good work, Subaru-kun."
Subaru looked beside him to find a beaming blue-haired maid.
"You too. Must have been rough for you, helping around with everything. I'll make sure to make it up for you later."
Rem smiled and clicked her glass with his. "Don't worry about it. In return, I'll be helping myself to Subaru's sleeping face longer than usual tonight."]
"… "
"…"
"Okay, that's creepy!" Felt yelled out in outrage.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Rem simply replied.
"But… Rem-chan, you can't jus-" Emilia tried to talk to the maid that's been creeping on her Subaru but got interrupted.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
["Heh? Didn't you just say something weird?"
"Not at all. I didn't say anything weird." Rem smiled innocently as if she didn't admit that rape was gonna happen.
"By the way Subaru-kun, how do you handle your alcohol?" Roswaal held two bottles and smiled at the boy.
"Your cheeks get red just from smelling it, " He turns his head and winks at his with a subtle blush on his cheeks as he whimpered. "Tonight, I don't want to go back home." The blushing lord huskily whimpered to Subaru.
"And you blurt out such thiiings?" Roswaal quickly changes his expression and continues being his true self.]
"What is wrong with you man?" Al asked as he shivered.
Roswaal shrugged and continued watching with a smile.
The Emilia camp just watched with bored faces. They were too used to his bullshit.
["So that famous line you hear at mixers also exists here… I haven't really drank alcohol before."
"Oh… judging from your personality, I definitely thought you'd be the type to put on airs and try to get your hands on some viiiceful luxuries."]
"He does seem the type." Crusch sighed as she adjusted herself on the seat.
[Suddenly, a very stern-looking Emilia stepped in front of Subaru while raising her finger in the air admonishing her butler.
"Alcohol isn't something children should drink, you won't grow taller if you do so."
"Just saying, I'm not that childish as far as breaking the Kingdom's laws! I turn 18 this year, so I'm an adult! An adult!"
"Adults don't make such a fuss though. So you were 17… That's reeeally unexpected… I thought you were younger. "
"Just for reference, how old did you think I was?"
"1- 12! 13! 13!"
"That's even younger than Felt! And there wasn't much of a difference even after you corrected yourself! Rather than that, what about you?"]
"He does seem really young," Anastasia noted with a bewildered expression.
"Right?" Felt nodded her head along.
["I am not 13. I have never drank alcohol before but I'm of age."
"I didn't doubt that, and if Emilia-tan was 13, I'd become a criminal."
"Why is that?"
Subaru turned away from his mistress with a blush on his cheeks.
"That's… because Emilia-tan is so cute I'd want to commit a crime… "
"Speaking of alcohol, Puck shouldn't drink."]
Several males winced while all the females giggled in delight.
"Poor Subaru, I suppose."
"My hero is very brave."
"Barusu's useless even at flirting with someone as socially inept as Emilia-sama."
Emilia sighed and ruffled the boy's hair with an annoyed pout. "You're embarrassing me, Subaruuuu!" She pulled a bit to make him wake up.
He gave no reaction.
Priscilla had to twist her knight's arm just to relieve her wrath at the half-elf shitty treatment of the boy.
Who would treat their own loyal dog like that?!
"Princess please!"
"Kindly shut your mouth, Aldebaran!"
["You're pretending you didn't hear that?!"
"But of course. Alcohol is the evil drink of adults. I'll take care of drinking every last bit of alcohol that shows up in front of Lia. Shoo! Shoo! Shoo! Shoo!"
"C'mon, it should be okay for tonight, right? Since we found all of this old liquooor in the cellar." Roswaal poured a glass and presented it to Emilia. The half-elf took it and stared at it for a second….
Scene changes to a very tipsy Emilia eating some cookies without minding the crumbles being dropped on her chest.
"What's up, Subaru? Your face is reeeally weird. What's more, there are so many of them- that's not fair!" Emilia wobbled and pouted with red-hosed cheeks as she stepped closer to the blushing butler.]
"This is soooo Embarrassing!" Emilia blushed at herself and covered her face in her knight's chest as the people around her began laughing.
["Subaru, we're going to hog all the sweets with everyone!" Emilia tripped in her wobbly steps and tumbled on her butler to the floor.
"E-Emilia-tan, that's no good… you got crumbs all over the place…"
"Alcohol is delicious. Keeping it a secret from me all this time, that's not fair… " Emilia glared and held the boy's arm while her chest was pressed against his.
Subaru just blushed deeply.]
"You'll kill the boy, Emilia-sama." Wilhelm chuckled in amusement at the young man's situation.
["Everyone is secretly, secretly, secretly doing things behind my back… hehehe."
Emilia slowly leaned down and rested her head on Subaru's thigh.
Subaru just went rigid and screamed at the sky. "Gah! This girl is so cute!"
"Subaru-kun."
Subaru immediately stopped and faced the clearly jealous-looking Rem.]
"Ohhhh, somebody is jealouuuus!" Roswaal mused, having the time of his life.
Rem blushed and smiled warmly at the scene.
["Yes, what is it, Rem-san?"
Rem instantly bit his shoulder.
"Chomp."
"It hurts…? Rem-san. Could it be that you're weak to alcohol?"
"Don't make fun of me please, Subaru-kun Subaru-kun Subaru-kun." Rem pouted at the boy.
"That's 3 times the usual… "
"I'm always putting up a front since we have an important job, but we've got a fun job today, so I'm letting loose. So it's all Subaru-kun's fault." Rem laid down and rested her head on his other thigh.
Subaru nervously patted and rubbed the maid's head.
"Purrrr. Purrrr. Purrrr. Purrrr. Purrrr. Purrrr."
"Are you a cat?" Subaru smiled.]
"They're soo cute!" Petra squealed in delight as the two on-screen smiled pleasantly.
Meanwhile,
"Lucky son of a-"
"How did he do thi-"
"I want to be in that po-"
"Cap'n has guts!"
"Natsuki-san is just so lucky right here." Otto cried tears of shame at how Subaru made all the women around him fall for his charm
["Though, as far as I know, demons are depicted as being able to hold their liquor."
"It is true that demons, as a clan, are strong to alcohol." Subaru's answer came from a pink-haired maid sitting on the table and watching him pat her sister's head.
"Since I was a child, I've often participated in liquor tasting with the adults."
"You just confessed to minor drinking… the color of your face and your speech really didn't change though… "
"Of course. We're forged differently. *Hiccup *"
"Guess today's gain would be the lesson not to carelessly let girls drink alcohol… " Subaru looked at the two girls sleeping on his legs with content smiles in worry."
"I wouldn't go as far as saying that." A Roswaal said from his place on the table as he showered puck in some hot water.
Subaru looked around and was suddenly worried.
He scanned the room until he found a certain blond girl sitting all alone on the balcony.]
"Why do you hate crowds this much?" Crusch asked the little girl with sincerity.
Beatrice stayed silent and watched.
["Beako, that girl… Let's see, I'll go annoy her a bit. Emilia-tan. I'm sorry, but I'll be leaving Rem in your care."
Emilia slowly sat up and gave a dizzy smile. "Hm, gotcha! Come here, come here, Rem."
Emilia gave a hum of content as she rubbed her cheek with the sleeping Rem.
"You're reeeally cute."]
Frederica and Petra squealed in delight as both Emilia and Rem blushed heavily and looked away from each other. Beatrice sighed in boredom at these peasants that thought they had anything on her cuteness.
Otto and Garfiel cursed Subaru's name as he got to enjoy such a wonderful sight.
Julius and Reinhard looked away from the scene as it was a candidate and possible future queen that was having this embarrassing moment. They did chuckle a bit, however.
Wilhelm was already looking down with a small chuckle as he wished to see Subaru's face at that moment. The young lad was probably bleeding up a fountain from his nose.
Felix and Crusch watched the scene with sparkles in their eyes.
Anastasia snorted and giddily stored this in her mind.
[Subaru looked at this heavenly scene with a blush. "I want to take a pic of this."
"I'll burn it into my memory," Ram smirked as she watched the holy sight of a drunken Emilia hugging and cuddling an equally drunk Rem.
Subaru walks out and stands right beside Beatrice.
"Don't stand there alone. Being left alone makes you want to get away, right?" Subaru offered a glass of juice.
"That's a baseless accusation, I suppose. And it's none of your business."
"Don't be like that, drink."
Beatrice moved to take the glass.
"This isn't alcohol, it's pure apple juice." (Heh! You thought I was gonna write appa there didn't ya? Well think again. Because… FUCK APPAS TOO!)
"Don't treat me like a child, I suppose. Of those present here, I'm the second oldest after Bubby."]
"Just how old are ya?!" Garfiel exclaimed.
"Hmph! What an uncultured cur! That's not something you ask a spirit, I suppose!"
"That's mean, Garf-kun!"
"Apologize to Beatrice-sama kindly, Garfiel-kun." Rem and Emilia stared sternly at the boy.
Otto supported his brother as the blonde looked like a dropped kitten.
[Subaru suddenly gasped. "Emilia-tan and Rem are getting even more intimate than earlier."
Beatrice pouted heavily and glared at the starstruck boy.
"You came here just to be this rude, I suppose?!"
"No, it's not like that! It's not that Emilia-tan and Rem are in a position that would steal any guy's heart at all, but I just want a camera!"
"Let alone convincing me, you're not even coherent!"
"Well, I may not know how old you really are, but I can tell that drinking alcohol doesn't suit your looks. Here let's toast."
Subaru clicked his glass with hers and began drinking the juice. The two stood in silence.
"There are lots of stars… Alright, then I'll tell you a lovely story, seeing how you're lounging around. Each shining star has a name and anecdote to it, for example, that overly self-conscious star shining there, that's the North star. If you ever get lost, rely on it, for it points towards the north."]
"Is that real?" Felt asked in awe.
Reinhard shook his head, also in awe of such a thing existing.
["That way is the south, the opposite, I suppose."
"Ah, then that M, those stars lined up in the shape of an M are called Cassiopeia."
"I don't know what an M is, nor do I see any shape there."
"What are you doing, Barusu?" Ram walked up with a sleeping Rem and a tipsy Emilia on her back.
"Oh, you too listen to this. It's about the stars in the night sky."
"Star-sama!" Emilia shouted with a smile.
"Alright!" Subaru stood straight and looked lost in thought. "Waiting for the right timing… Everyone, Let's aaall- " He did a pose and flicked his fingers at the girls. "Search for Subaru."]
"…"
"… "
"…"
"Okay, that's kind of sad." Felt looked at the boy in pity.
Emilia just patted her knight's head.
"You need to give him enough attention, Emilia-sama." Crusch admonished in a stern tone.
Julius looked at the interaction with a bewildered expression. "They're treating him as if he was a pet." The knight could not believe his dragon forsaken eyes when Anastasia-sama began patting Subaru's head with a giddy expression of her own.
"What the hell?" Ricardo asked with an appropriate shocked face as his boss joined in.
["Wait wait wait! Don't pity me! Don't scorn me! It's not like that! Subaru is my name, but I was just named after a star's name!" Subaru blushed in embarrassment.
"Naming you after a twinkling star… Your parents did something cruel to you… " Beatrice looked down in pity and despair.
"Let alone shining, you're not even noticeable, all the while holding a star's name… How pitiful." Ram looked saddened at his revelation as she held Emilia and Rem.
"Don't mock me for not living up to my name in this roundabout way!"
"It's okay, don't worry. Stars are the symbol of hope, so you still have hope left. " Puck suddenly flew up in a cup.
"You're enjoying yourself way too much!"]
"He's surrounded by sadists." Al laughed at the teasing.
"Nah, Cap'n is the type to give the best reactions." Garfiel nodded his head in delight.
"Then he takes it out on me!" Otto fumed as he finally discovered the source of his blight.
["Look look! There's so many snow spirits!"
"Woah, amazing!"
The entire sky was lit up with small spirits glowing all over the statues that had been built by the villagers.]
"That's a really awesome sight." Otto fumed in place for not being present at such a moment.
Petra wished she was still in the mansion at that moment.
The candidates and Knights all watched in awe at the scene.
[As if the entire plain of snow was covered in small glowing sparkles and glowing orbs.
Subaru looked at Beatrice with a smile as he noticed the wondrous look on her face.
"How was it?" Beatrice looked up at the smiling butler.
"Wasn't the snow festival fun?"
Beatrice looked at the beautiful sight of the light orbs flying all over the place.
"It wasn't bad… I'll leave it at this, I suppose." The small spirit loli looked content with just staring at the crowd of lights with an expressionless look.
Puck smiled at his little sister and flew out of his cup.
"Alright, using the Mana left, let's share the snow with the capital's people!"
The cat flew up and struck a beam of light into the night sky.
The screen shows the snow icicles falling over the capital's citizens.
Priscilla and her knight and servant are looking out the window.
Crusch is watching an excited Felix as he points at the window.
Wilhelm is caressing a black ground dragon that we all love as he looks at the snow.
Anastasia and her crew can be seen looking up at the sky as it snowed above them.
An image of Reinhard chasing Felt with a regal dress in hand could be seen.
The Appa man's family could be seen smiling at the snowy sky.
Old man Rom could be seen alone in the slums as it snowed.
The three stooges are looking at the sky while laying in a dark alleyway.
A bewildered Otto could be seen with a large dragon as they looked at the snowing sky.]
"So that was you guys?" Mimi whispered in awe and shock at the sheer power presented.
Much like the others around her… she couldn't find the words to describe the wonderful scene.
[And… an image of hooded people kneeling before a green-haired man that was reading a book.]
"...Ghk!" Julius gasped and gritted his teeth at the sight.
"Witch cultists?" Rem glared hatefully at the bunch.
"I-It's the scary man!" Tivey hid behind Ricardo in fear.
Beatrice looked away, unable to look at her friend that they had lost a long time ago… they couldn't see him… not like this.
Garfiel just glared hatefully as he prepared himself to jump in and… do… whatever he could to help! His captain won't die again!
[The man's mouth could be seen… Smiling menacingly in the snow.
The screen returns to Beatrice watching the crew from inside the room, as they stood on the snow-filled balcony.
"My, my, " Beatrice turned around to find an amused Roswaal smiling a knowing smile. "Have you had enough of your tryst with Subaru-kun?"
"Keep your jokes to your outfit, I suppose. That's not even funny."
"Geez, you're not hooonest with yourself. This is your share."
Beatrice stopped walking towards the door as Roswaal held a glass of alcohol and ice.
"Must be harsh, not being able to take a sip on banquet's niiight."
"I won't, I suppose."
"Out of consideration for Subaru-kun?" Roswaal grinned mysteriously.
"Don't get the wrong idea, the reason I don't drink isn't that kid's say on the matter, I suppose. I was told so by Mother, a long time ago. That's all there is to it."]
"Your mother is a very good one, Beako-chan!" Emilia smiled warmly as she remembered Mother Fortuna.
Beatrice looked down and sighed. "She had her moments I suppose." She uttered emotionlessly.
[Beatrice turned her head to look at the happy butler that was speaking with Emilia.
"His opinion has nothing to do with me, I suppose."
Subaru is shown happily smiling in content with Emilia, Ram, and Rem staring at the flying spirits.
Scene change…
"Maybe we should have consulted Subaru about your Hatsumaki from the beginning. That way, we wouldn't have had to fret about hiding it."
"That's right. However, you shouldn't grow up as a child who leaves everything up to other people. Even if it's too much for you, you should give your best until you become sure of that, right?"
"Yes, I know."
"Very well."
Emilia could be shown speaking with Puck as she brushed her silver hair.
"Do you remember what Subaru said at the banquet?"
"If I have a Hatsumaki next year, let's hold a snow festival again. Normally, it'd be an annoyance, but that kid really seems like he can turn it into a festivity."
"That part of Subaru, for some reason, I reeeally feel that about it. "
"I know right, I also feel that about it." Puck smiled in amusement as Emilia looked out the window.]
"What are you two talking about?" Felix demanded but he was met with a smug elf zipping her mouth.
["Next year…? I have no idea what will happen that far in the future."
"For things to go as you want them to be, I'd love that. When that happens, let's leave aside whether what Subaru said will happen or not."
"Are you opposed to the snow festival?"
"Of course not. I quite enjoyed it, and you seemed like you had fun too, but I can't know if the Subaru staying by your side one year from now will be happy or not. "]
"What does he mean by that?" Otto asked sternly as he watched with analyzing eyes.
Garfiel shared the same sentiment with his brother, infact. Julius and Wilhelm narrowed their eyes.
Something seemed off about this cat.
[Emilia looked down in guilt.
"His belly's wound and the Mabeats' bites, that kid's scars are all the result of your actions. I know that you're not one to forget that, but you have to keep it in mind."
"Yes."]
Emilia kept her head down as she fought the urge to run into her room and cry.
As images of his deaths played. Of his suffering. Of his nightmares.
Emilia was guilty of his scars and so much more.
"I'll make it up… I promise, Subaru." Emilia wiped away a few tears and continued watching.
With a determined face.
Meanwhile, Crusch and Anastasia were glancing at each other.
"No…"
"The cat might just be more devious than we think…" the merchant mused with serious intent.
Otto and Rem gave their own speculative glares towards the screen.
["But it would be nice if we were able to hold a snow festival next year. Besides, no one could lead the festival other than Subaru."
"Y-Yeah, you're right." Emilia dropped her guilty expression and smiled. "Yes. I also hope that."
Puck just looked at him with a sad frown.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing." Puck smiled and waved at her as she left.]
"I don't like that cat." Felt declared making Emilia pause and look at her with surprise.
"I agree." Anastasia frowned at the suspicious behavior.
Emilia just looked down and decided that they were entitled to their own opinions. They didn't say anything wrong or demeaning about her father so it was fine.
[Subaru can be seen waiting with a blush on his face and a stupid wide smile as he held the basket.
"Did I make you wait?" Emilia asked as she arrived.
"No, I just arrived." Subaru took a moment to admire her smile.
His blush deepened. "Well then, shall we go?"
Emilia smiled in content. "Yes!"
And the two walked out of the mansion's grounds.
Extra scene..
Subaru and Emilia are walking through a grass field with Subaru holding Emilia's hand as she walks with her eyes closed.
"Emilia-tan, are you okay? Do not open your eyes!"
"Geez, you don't have to be careful all the time. I'm okay." Emilia sighed in frustration and walked with her date with her eyes closed.
"Well, honestly I can't stop worrying."
"But you said that this was a date, right?"
"If you walk with your eyes closed then the impression will be different. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a surprise. We've almost arrived."
Subaru stopped walking and smiled at Emilia. "Are you ready?"
The princess turned to him with a smile. "Yes."
"Alright then, here it is!"
Emilia slowly opened her eyes…
A beautiful plain of mashed colors, blending together as flower petals flew around her and Subaru from the many beautifully covered plains.
It was a sight to see.
Emilia gasped in shock and watched with her eyes tearing up.
"What do you think? Although I didn't do anything, it's a landscape I wanted to boast about."]
"You're lucky, Emilia-sama." Rem softly smiled with a few tears falling from her eyes.
Emilia smiled warmly and softly held her knight's hand. Feeling much better than before.
[Emilia beamed wide at Subaru and leaned closer to him in excitement. "It's very beautiful! I'm really happy! You really are a good boy, Subaru!"]
"Nice one Emilia-sama. Even if he was charming you need to remind him of his place as your dog." Ram nodded her head.
Emilia facepalmed at herself and her stupid child speak as many around her oofed and giggled.
[Subaru just smiled and turned his expression into one of acceptance. "I feel like I'm being misplaced. But since you're here, I want to give you a present from me."
Emilia looked at the boy in confusion as he picked something up from the ground and placed it atop her head.
"This is… a crown of flowers?"
"Yeah. It may be far from the real spark but… let's say it's an exercise for when you're a queen right? I would love to give you accessories full of jewelry but for now, that's all I have."
"A gift for me… " Emilia stood with her face shell shocked at the boy before her.
Subaru began to panic. "Is it messed up… if you don't spend money on a present. What about you as a man?!"
Emilia just smiled warmly. "Thank you, Subaru."
the boy blushed and waved his hand. "No, no, I'm the blessed one here. I got to see Emilia-tan in a field of flowers!"
"Sorry, I don't know what you're saying."
Subaru chuckled in embarrassment.
"Let's have a date like this again."
Subaru held his chest as his face turned red. "The killing phrase… E.M.T! E.M.T!" Subaru fell into the flower bed.
Emilia just giggled and smiled at the boy she had bewitched. "You're a naughty boy, Subaru!"
End scene…
OVA 1 Memory Snow. End.
"..Interlude. End."]
Many clapped their hands while the others began stretching around.
"That was tiresome." Otto sighed in boredom.
"Thank goodness it was fun to watch and not something serious." Frederica fanned herself in relief.
[Thanks for being patient and watching this through to the end.
I'll offer you an hour of rest before we start watching again.]
"What will we be watching, if I may ask?" Julius raised his hand politely.
"It better not be another waste of my time like this last one," Priscilla warned with a bored tone.
[Yes, you may, and you'll be watching the beginning of the third arc of Subaru's adventure in your world.]
"Is the third arc the one where Natsuki-sama fights the whale?" Crusch asked in an eager tone.
[You'll have to watch and see.]
"That's really troublesome, I suppose." Beatrice sighed and got up from her seat.
"Beako-chan, Where are yo-"
Beatrice stared at Emilia.
"We all need a moment to rest and get ready, in fact."
Everyone looked at the small girl that took the front of the room and glared at its occupants.
"Get ready for what, nyan?"
Beatrice's eyes narrowed and a few tears could be seen in the corners.
"Wait for the next time… Subaru dies again, I suppose."
Everyone's breathing hitched.
["… Third Arc. Begin."
Episode 7… Arc 3's Intro…
Start.]