The next morning, after his heartwarming yet uneasy exchange with Ram, who had stayed behind at the mansion -- as everyone gathered in front of the main gate of Roswaal Mansion, Subaru's throat trembled with emotion.
"Oh, this one!"
Before Subaru's eyes, his expression beaming with joy, stood a majestic presence, standing there in a composed manner.
With hard, green skin, a towering body, and sharp, yellow eyes - it took the form of a mighty lizard, something I had seen many times before, but had never had the chance to come into close contact with.
Standing majestically at the front gate of Roswaal Mansion was a dragon carriage pulled by an earth dragon, which would serve as a guide for Subaru and his companions on their journey to the royal capital.
"Your body is huge! Your skin is terrible! Your face is scary!"
A large living thing - or not just any living thing - it's a common sensation among boys to get excited when faced with a gigantic presence. Subaru, of course, was smitten simply by the fact that it was ``big'', and combined with the fact that it was early in the morning, his excitement was at full throttle.
He hops around the lizard, clearly impressed by its appearance.
"Really, they were acting like kids."
Watching this, Emilia loosened her lips and sighed in exasperation. She shrugged her shoulders as if asking for Rem's approval, who was standing next to her. However,
"Subaru-kun… he's cute. Don't you think so too, Lady Emilia?"
"I think she's cute, but… Rem has been poisoned by Subaru quite a bit."
Emilia sighed as Rem watched the enchanted Subaru.
Unaware of the exchange of such thoughts behind his back, Subaru unashamedly stretched out his hands to the earth dragon and let out a strange cry,
"This is so amazing, so moving! Super fantasy! If I had a digital camera, I would take some photos! How about the title "The Dragon that Crawls on the Ground and Me...""
Just as the tension gauge was starting to go all the way up and my hand movements were beginning to transition from touch to attack, the lizard's gauge went all the way up first.
to be specific--,
"Do you like Efu?!"
""a--""
The lizard's tail spun, roaring, and struck Subaru hard around the shoulder. The force of the blow caused his body to lose its balance, and he was sent flying at a speed that seemed to leave an afterimage. Subaru was sent flying in a side flip, and landed headfirst in the soft bushes next to the gate, and after a moment of silence he somehow managed to get out,
"--What does that mean?"
"Subaru-kun. Earth dragons are very intelligent creatures, and even though we can't speak their language, we can generally understand their intentions. That's why you need to be careful when handling them."
"Tell me quickly!? I haven't felt any death since the mayonnaise bath... that's surprisingly recent!"
Ever since coming to this other world, I have had constant opportunities to feel the presence of death close to me.
Just when I thought I was enjoying some peaceful days, this happened.
Rolling his shoulder, Subaru stumbled out of the bushes and returned to the front gate. Glancing timidly at the lizard, it narrowed its yellow eyes ever so slightly and exhaled heavily as if to say, "That's what happens when you touch someone carelessly."
Even though I'm used to being rejected by other humans, I still feel something when the creatures in these uncivilized lands show their rejection in their attitude.
"From now on, I'll be a bit more careful with how I speak, my attitude, my actions, and my daily behavior..."
"There's a lot to reflect on. But I think that's typical of Subaru."
"What do you like about Emilia-tan?"
"I think it's better to choose the time, the person and the situation carefully."
"I'll keep that in mind."
When I raised my hand and obeyed her noble request, Emilia smiled and put her hands on her hips, saying, "All right."
As they did so, the front door of the mansion suddenly slid open, and out came Roswaal and Ram, who had arrived a little late for the meeting time.
Subaru tapped his fingers lightly on his arm where he wasn't wearing his watch,
"Hey, hey, it's late, what's going on? Wasn't it Roz who specified the time? Someone who's loose with time is loose with many things, right, Rem?"
"That's true! Today, it was Rem who woke up Subaru-kun when he didn't wake up even though it was time, but I don't mind you praising me for that."
"Okay, okay, okay, just be quiet for a bit, Rem."
Subaru strokes Rem, who has been letting out an unnecessary remark, to silence her. Emilia's cold eyes pierce Subaru, and he hurriedly tries to explain himself,
"No! There's a reason! A reason why it's bluer than the sea and greener than the mountains!"
"You have some naive excuses... let's hear them."
"I was so excited I couldn't sleep!"
"You're not a child."
Seeing Emilia slumping her shoulders in resignation, Subaru concludes that she has given up the match and escaped. Wanting to avoid any further questioning, Subaru once again turns the subject towards Roswaal and the others,
"So what? Why were Roz and the others late? They were all there at breakfast time, weren't they? And Rem was the one basically doing the unpacking."
"Well, I'm so sorry. You see, Ram will be staying at home with us, so we won't be able to see each other for a while, right? That's why I wanted to say a little careful goodbye."
Roswaal explained, shaking his finger and straightening his collar. Next to him, Ram quickly adjusted her hair and clothes. Just watching this conveyed a vivid sense of reality.
"No count after all! I'll pretend I didn't hear that and just take roll call as if nothing had happened. Number one, me. Number two, Emilia-tan. Number three, Rem. And Roz-chan, by the way."
"What do you mean by "just by the way"? The dragon carriage is also my property."
Roswaal laughs softly and reaches out, gently touching the cranky lizard's chin.
Subaru instinctively shrugged, and visualized Roswaal being bounced off and sent flying - for a moment his heart pounded with excitement at the thought, but that too vanished into a faint hope.
Far from brushing Roswaal off, the lizard leaned its snout close to him in an affectionate manner, much like a horse would to its owner.
This was quite a difference from how he had treated Subaru earlier.
"Somehow, I'm not convinced."
"Since he's Lord Roswaal's pet dragon, it's only natural that he's attached to you. He's not like Barusu, who gets rejected whenever I touch him so rarely."
"Tame dragon, what a strange phrase...I mean, where did you see me making such a disgrace out of this?"
"Oh really?"
Subaru was shocked when Ram casually confessed that she had made it up. She pointed at his head, then snorted sarcastically, "Hah."
"You have leaves stuck to your head and various parts of your body. On top of that, there are also traces of you rubbing against the dirt... I don't want you to get the inside of the dragon carriage dirty."
"You're not the one who's supposed to clean up though..."
"Lord Roswaal will also be riding with us. It is the duty of a servant to see to it that he does not feel uncomfortable. And when you say Balusu... you are Balusu after all."
"Don't use it like a synonym for no good, you'll end up crying."
It's a humiliating play in which she lies on the ground like a child and flaps her arms and legs.
Although, this could have the opposite effect of piling on Ram's face with even more contempt and ridicule.
While we were talking, Rem busily finished loading the luggage onto the dragon carriage.
The time for conversation came to an end, and it was time to depart. As everyone called out to Ram, who was staying behind, Subaru suddenly remembered something and spoke up.
"Now that I think of it, Bearko didn't even come to see me off."
What a cold-hearted loli character, Subaru thought of the cream-haired girl.
Of course, I had anticipated this happening and had teased Beatrice thoroughly yesterday, so that she would not leave, but now that she was not there at the departure scene, it was still a sad story.
"That guy doesn't look very elegant in this situation," thought Subaru, not amused by it. He glared at the mansion, his lips pursed,
"--oh"
In the shadows of the slightly open door, my eyes met with a person in a dress who had been secretly peeking my way.
The man flinched for just a moment when Subaru noticed, but then quickly regained his composure and continued his sneaking mission, remaining hidden behind the door.
Subaru gave a wry smile at the stubborn girl and raised his hand,
"If I get back safely, I'll definitely have something to tell you."
He gestured with that thought in mind.
The girl, in response, waved her hand perfunctorily with a blank look on her face, as if to say that she had completed her duty to see him off, after closing the door.
"--Subaru? What's wrong?"
Turning around, he saw Emilia leaning out of the carriage, looking down at him. It seemed everyone had already boarded without him noticing, and Subaru was the only one of the departing group with his feet on the ground. In a panic, Subaru reached for the passenger door as well――
"yes"
Before I could even touch the handle, white fingertips reached out towards me.
Subaru hesitated for only a moment, but then took the hand. The strength that was out of proportion to the slenderness of the wrist pulled Subaru, pulling him into the passenger compartment.
After making sure Subaru got in, Rem nodded to Ram, who was left alone.
There was no need for words to communicate between the twins; their thoughts were exchanged with just that action. Rem pulled the rope, and the earth dragon followed suit, taking a step forward.
Feeling the car creak and start to move, Subaru went to the window. He stuck his head out and turned to face Ram, who was looking up at him.
"Well, I'm off! Take care, both of you!"
Subaru: "Even Barusu can at least dodge bullets if something happens. His talent as a decoy is――yes, I'll acknowledge that much."
"I'm sure I have some other good points too!"
This lame exchange of words became our farewell speech that morning.
The dragon carriage picked up speed and began to pick up speed rapidly. The distance to the mansion suddenly increased, and even Ram, standing by the main gate, became smaller and smaller.
Before she disappeared from sight, Ram picked up the edge of her skirt and gave a small bow. She bowed deeply and saw Subaru and the others off like an exemplary maid.
"...If only he had the ability to do the job, it would be perfect."
As they entered the slightly inclined road, Ram was completely out of sight. Confirming this, Subaru finally sat down in his seat and took a breather.
And, for some reason, I shifted around as if to check the comfort of my first dragon carriage ride. I think the feel of the seats will vary depending on the quality of the cabin, but the ride itself was surprisingly comfortable.
In reality, the road wasn't all that well-maintained. The development of things like dragon carriage wheels wasn't as advanced as it was in his original world, but the vibrations Subaru felt as he sat there were much weaker than he'd expected.
To be honest, it was comparable to the shaking of a passenger car in my original world.
"The dragon carriage looks quite unusual."
"It's unusual, or maybe it's just a fresh surprise, but I guess that's how it is when you do something for the first time. I know I'm a bit of a nuisance, but please bear with me."
Subaru's seat creaks as he responds to Roswaal's question, and he feels vibrations under his feet from the bottom of the car. If they were moving at a gentle pace, that might be understandable, but the speed at which the scenery outside the window was moving was far from slow.
The speed was comparable to that of a passenger car, and from what I could tell by eye, it seemed to be going close to 100 kilometers per hour.
This made me wonder about Rem, sitting alone on the driver's seat outside.
"Hey, you're going this fast, are you okay with being exposed in the coach seat? Well, knowing Rem, I'm sure it'll be fine if you get thrown off or something... but by the time we reach the royal capital, your hair and clothes will be a complete mess, right?"
"The dragon carriage is protected by divine protection, so there's no need to worry about that."
Emilia replied with a puzzled look on her face to Subaru's rather belated question. "Divine protection?" Subaru tilted his head in response,
"That's a word I hear quite often. It appears less frequently than mana and the like so I've missed the chance to ask about it, but what does it even mean?"
"A blessing is a blessing. A blessing given by the world when you are born... What, you really don't know?"
Pointing at Emilia with both fingers raised, Subaru shook his body from side to side and gave a bashful laugh, "No way," expressing his ignorance.
Emilia tapped her temple lightly with her fingers.
"As I just said, a divine protection is a blessing brought from the world. There are many different types of divine protection, so it's hard to generalize, but there are some that are always bestowed on a particular race. The earth dragon's divine protection of 'wind protection' is one of them."
"The divine protection of 'wind protection'."
"When an earth dragon runs through the earth, it is not affected or resisted by the wind at all. And the effect of that blessing is also reflected in the dragon carriage it is tied to. Therefore, this guest room is not affected by the wind either."
"And that means it's the same for Rem outside, then?"
Subaru digested Emilia's explanation in his head and received a nod of understanding.
"Well done," Emilia smiled, giving him a wink of thanks, and Subaru thought back on the blessings he had heard of up until that point.
Felt, who was running away so quickly, was protected by the wind. And Reinhard was protected by the arrows he was using during the battle at the stolen goods storehouse. I see, there seem to be a lot of different things.
So,
"What about me? Hey, Emilia-tan. Don't I have any divine protection or anything?"
A special blessing bestowed upon one at birth - this was the very cheat ability that Subaru had been seeking ever since he was summoned to this other world.
The same can be said for the dragon carriage and Reinhardt, whose uses are slightly limited. Subaru's divine protection may also not have been fully utilized due to its somewhat limited uses.
Subaru's gaze was filled with hope and expectation.
"It's hard to say, but there are far more people who are born without divine protection. Besides, those who have divine protection should be aware of it even without being told..."
The end of her sentence fades out, and Emilia looks at Subaru with an apologetic expression. That alone conveys what she was trying to say, and Subaru feels as if the tower of hope he had just finished rebuilding has already crumbled.
"It was just a faint hope," he said, his cheeks twisted in self-mockery.
"No, it's fine. It was too much of a luxury for me. After all, I received something far more precious in this place. That's right, the miracle of meeting Emilia-tan is a blessing greater than any other blessing."
"Yes, yes. It will take about four hours to get to the royal capital, so be quiet until then."
Subaru: "Emilia-tan, you're so cold! But it's frustrating that I'm happy even with that reaction…"
Subaru's daily interactions with Emilia have led him to become quite perverted.
While Emilia and Roswaal began discussing their plan for when they arrived at the royal capital, Subaru, who had been told to stay quiet, looked around the inside of the dragon carriage.
Contrary to its ornate appearance, the dragon carriage was surprisingly narrow, a compact four-seater that looked like something a wealthy person would ride in, as seen in movies. The seating material was of fairly high quality for long distance travel, and there was no need to worry about a sore butt even after sitting for several hours. However, the interior was cramped, and Subaru, who had a reputation for being restless, was already beginning to feel sluggish.
"Emilia-tan, Emilia-tan, take my place by the window!"
"What's wrong? Ah, you're feeling seasick even though the ride isn't that rocking. That often happens when you're not used to riding. Okay, I'll lend you my pack."
"It's a nice thought, but I think it's a bit off. Also, I don't understand why you would want to hand me a pack when I'm drunk. Can I use it as a vomit bag in an emergency?"
"Even Puck would probably get angry if you did that to him..."
It was early in the morning - it was not yet time for him to wake up, so he brought up the subject of a cat-like spirit, and his behavior was enough to make the normally carefree man seriously angry, sending shivers down his spine.
Then Emilia took a breath and looked back at Subaru,
"If not, why not?"
"Well, Emilia-chan and Ros-chan are busy with their plans for the future, right? I'm bored and lonely, and I don't want to go back to sleep, so I'll just look at the scenery and relax."
"Oh, sorry, I didn't notice. Well then, here you go."
Emilia stirs at Subaru's request, and the two of them switch seats in the small car. Subaru has taken the seat next to Emilia as a matter of course, so as she passes over him their bodies end up touching in various places, which makes him smile with pleasure.
And the seat transfer was completed successfully.
"Then you better behave yourself. Got it?"
"Yeah. I'll just enjoy the warmth of this indirect sit-down with Emilia-tan for a while."
"I don't know what you're talking about, but it's really annoying so please keep it moderate."
Saying this, Emilia glances at Subaru several times with a concerned look, as he appears to be fidgeting, before returning to her discussion with Roswaal.
Responding to her gaze with a smile and a gesture, Subaru turned towards the small window that he could see from the seat he had taken. The small window, installed above the door for getting on and off, captured a frame of the scenery outside, which was still passing by at high speed.
Viewed from diagonally below, the blue sky takes up a large proportion of the sky, and there are no tall trees to be seen, so I assume that the forest area around Roswaal Mansion is already gone.
"But I don't know how far the mansion is from the royal capital..."
Emilia had said earlier that it had taken about four hours, but as long as we don't know how fast the dragon carriage was going, that's only a reference.
When I raised my hips from the seat and put my face against the small window, the speed at which the scenery passed by seemed much faster than I had expected. Even though we were speeding along the rough highway, the principle behind the train not transmitting any vibrations to the inside of the car was a mystery.
"I'll just vaguely accept that Divine Protection is amazing, but... lizards have fast legs. It looks like they're going close to a hundred kilometers an hour?"
The speed at which the scenery passed by seemed comparable to the scenery I had seen from inside a car driving on the highway. If this speed could be sustained, it would be easy to see why dragon carriages are so popular. It would cost a little to care for and feed the lizard, but that's the same as an iron carriage. Which one is more convenient is a matter of preference.
"And I'm a sad boy who isn't interested in machines, but gets excited by big creatures."
Therefore, personally, I would like to think that the dragon carriage is the winner.
Subaru looked around, mentally deciding which was better, the passenger car or the dragon carriage, and thought, "Well,". If he stayed here like this, he would soon get bored.
Subaru knocked lightly on the door with the back of his hand, drawing the pair's attention towards him,
"I want to go to Rem's place, is it okay if I open this place?"
"Oh, that's an interesting thing to say, Subaru. Because you are protected by the divine protection, as long as you are in contact with the dragon carriage, you won't be affected by the wind. It wouldn't be that difficult to get around to Rem by following the body of the carriage, but… if you fall off, you'll die, right?"
"Hey, Roz-chan, don't underestimate my athletic ability. If we gathered all the high school students from the after-school club in the country and measured them, I'm confident that I'd rank pretty high, except for long-distance running!"
"Let's at least say hello to Rem first."
Giving a thumbs up and flashing his teeth, Roswaal resignedly knocked on the small window leading to the coachman's seat. It was small enough for a palm-sized package to be handed over. The window slid open from the other side, and only Rem's voice reached us: "Hello, how can I help you?"
"Ah, Subaru-kun is bored so he wants to be next to Rem. Yay, he loves me."
"Subaru-kun? What should we do? Should we stop for a moment? If we stop, it will take a while for the earth dragon to start running."
Subaru tilted his head in surprise at Rem's words, and Roswaal put his hand on his chin,
"Even divine protection isn't omnipotent. In the case of an earth dragon, once the effect of the 'Divine Protection of Wind' has been exerted, it will take quite a while to activate the divine protection again. Can we have an early lunch?"
Roswaal explains and proposes, and Subaru nods in agreement before shaking his head in refusal.
"Oh, it's fine, it's fine. I'll circle around and head over there, so Rem, just wait there obediently. Oh, and please don't let the earth dragon drift, or you'll be blown away by the law of inertia."
I'd like it to be able to withstand drifting, triple axels, and other such maneuvers.
Since it's unclear to what extent the effectiveness of this divine protection will last, I'd really like to avoid any unnecessarily tricky actions.
"Okay, I'll wait. The seat next to me is free. Hurry, hurry."
On the other side of the small window, Rem's voice came, feigning calm but unable to wait. Subaru responded with a wry smile, then raised his hand to Roswaal,
"Well, I guess I'll go then."
"You've really tamed Rem. I'm jealous."
"I don't care if Roz-chan is jealous... but I'd be more than happy if Emilia-tan was jealous!"
Subaru gives a casual reply to Roswaal's joke, then turns to Emilia, but she doesn't seem to have heard what he's saying, and busily pulls something out from the wall inside the room.
Then, he said, "Here you go," and handed the thing he had pulled out to Subaru.
"It's not that dangerous so I won't stop you, but you have to hold on to it properly."
"There's a string hanging from the wall of the room...something like a seat belt?"
"There's a chance that the dragon carriage might tip over, so these belts are attached. They're long, so you can hold them as a safety line. Once you've reached the driver's seat, please remove them and I'll retrieve them for you."
I gratefully accepted Emilia's consideration and wrapped the belt she handed me tightly around my right wrist. As I worked to attach the safety rope, I realized that I should have sat in the driver's seat from the start, and regretted my slow judgment.
If that was the case, he should have just quietly taken his seat and waited for the train to arrive, but the fact that this option didn't even occur to him was a testament to Subaru's strong will.
After being sent off by Emilia with a look of intense concern in her eyes, Subaru opened the door to the guest room and leaned out. The dragon carriage was still moving at high speed as usual. It seemed to be slowing down a little, perhaps as a result of Rem's consideration.
Despite being able to see with his own eyes that the car was picking up speed, it was strange that he felt absolutely no wind resistance. It was as if he was moving inside a transparent box - nearly being swallowed up by it, Subaru reached out his hand to the body of the car, grabbed a hold, and carefully made his way around to the driver's seat.
Since the wind hadn't affected them at all, the journey itself was extremely smooth. All Subaru noticed was the inconvenience of navigating a narrow road with poor footing.
"This is truly a mysterious sensation. I guess this is what happens when you have a divine protection."
As he experienced the strange phenomena of this world, Subaru looked towards the passing scenery and thought to himself. A world moving at around 80 kilometers per hour - a line from an urban legend he had heard in his former world suddenly flashed across his mind. It was,
"I've heard that the wind resistance you feel when you're going 80km per hour is the same as the feel of an OPPAI...!"
Unfortunately, due to the effect of the divine protection he could not feel the wind and so was unable to confirm this.If this were true, and he was placed in this situation in a world without the divine protection, Subaru should have been able to feel the softness of a woman's breasts with every fiber of his being.
Subaru: "Furthermore, if you shift your gaze a little, you'll see Emilia-tan inside the dragon carriage. — Perhaps if you try out Air OPPAI while looking at Emilia-tan, it'll be a victory for your imagination!?"
A sudden inspiration struck him in a strange place, and Subaru's face contorted in further frustration.
The regret he had not given up on led Subaru to reach out his hands into the void, and his fingertips vainly scratched the ground beneath the blue sky. And,
"That's right, Subaru-kun. I forgot to tell you, but please try not to venture too far away from the dragon carriage. You will lose your divine protection."
That was the moment Rem said that.
"--No way."
The moment his fingertips grasped the void, a wind so strong it seemed as if it would sweep his fingers away, hit Subaru.
The unexpected impact caused his hands to lose their grip on the carriage, meaning that his body, which had lost its support, was blown straight to the side. ――As if it were natural, he was thrown out of the dragon carriage.
Right now, the events that Rem had warned about were unfolding.
Subaru had no time to complain that the flags were being resolved too quickly, or that the plot was predictable.
I was caught in the wind and tossed about by the storm, unable to tell up from down.
"Abababababa --!? This is crazy, seriously crazy, is this really... coming out!?"
Just when it seemed he was about to crash into the ground, his body began to float parallel to the dragon carriage, with his right arm as the starting point. A pain that felt like it might snap rose up in his right wrist, and when he looked, he saw that the lifeline Emilia had given him was literally fulfilling its role, barely protecting the fading light of Subaru's life.
However, all the while, Subaru's right hand was screaming, and from his wrist down, it had instantly turned blue-purple.
"Grab it! Can you grab it!? The shaking is so bad it's a bit difficult...but! My tongue! I'm biting my tongue...beard."
Subaru's single earthly desire almost brings about a catastrophe.
His right wrist and its durability were quickly reaching their limits, and a gloomy feeling like he wanted to give up on everything began to take hold in his heart. However, just as Subaru was feeling resigned, a series of high-pitched sounds pounded on his eardrums.
I looked up and saw a silvery snake writhing in front of me. The tip of the snake's body was large and round, and covered with spines.
"--It feels like my trauma is coming back."
The wriggling snake made a high-pitched noise as it entangled Subaru's body. He cried out in agony as the snake tightened around him more than he'd imagined, but instead it held him tightly. His body, floating in the air, was pulled up in one go, overtaking the dragon carriage and flying right above the lizard, and the hold was released.
His body was once again hurled into the air, and Subaru saw Rem directly below him in a dizzying vision. Rem was gripping the iron handle and reins in one hand, and was reaching out to support Subaru as he fell.
It seems that somehow or other, his life had been saved.
"I'll try to live a more mature life from now on..."
Subaru had been told the same thing by many people, and for the first time ever, he took them to heart―― Without seeing the results of the fall, he quickly sank into a "second sleep."