Arc 3, Chapter 13: Same Hometown

Chapters 1-12 of Arc 3 are available from Kaguro JP.

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Human Translated by:

• sakufukuhellfire

Proofread by:

• SSCaide

Japanese to English Checking by:

• sakufukuhellfire

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Subaru sank into the floor realizing just how bad his luck was.

Although it would have been the best development if they hadn’t been found, it was a godsend that the people he did find were familiar faces. What’s more, the people involved turned out to be a duo he had only just met yesterday; you never know what life will bring.

It would not be an exaggeration to say the purpose of the event last night with the girl and her companion had been to help Subaru get through this situation.

???: [So, out of respect for the will of fate in that area, let’s keep things civil——]

Assuming a seiza posture, he bent deeply at the waist, placing both hands on the ground in the shape of a figure eight, and gently slammed the crown of his head into the floor. This was the Dogeza battle tactic, handed down from the ancient times of the Empire of Japan, which advocated for the triple star of defenselessness, impotence, and helplessness, thus making the opponent bear absolute pity towards him. 

Subaru returned to his senses, caught up with the fact that he had not escaped the situation, and chose to make the most obvious apology.

His other options included pushing through forcefully or pretending to be crazy as he danced around the issue, although he foresaw both options ending in catastrophic defeat and hence quickly rejected them. He arrived at the option that seemed to give the highest chance of survival: clinging to the other party’s kindness.

???: [———]

As speechless moments continued, Subaru prostrated himself, feeling pressure culminate on his shoulders. Unable to bear the heavy weight, he glanced upward.

He peeked at the situation with the full breadth of his field of vision, the small soles of shoes spread out.

???: [You really are a worthless guy.]

Subaru: [Cough, cough]

With a single phrase of boredom uttered, a front kick struck the surface of Subaru’s face.

With such force that it seemed as though there had been no mercy, let alone anything of the sort, Subaru was thrown back by the neck from where he was sitting. The back of his head nailed into the closet door, while the soles of shoes continued to trample down on him as his eyes cried in pain.

The young girl, who was the owner of such soles, kicked the shocked and immobile Subaru.

Young Girl: [To sneak into the Royal Capital, I wonder how determined you must be… how worthless. I refuse to use listening ears for anything like an apology. Besides, if you were going to apologize, you should not have done the thing in the first place.]

Throwing out a mixture of scorn and mockery, the girl continued to knead Subaru’s cheek with her pointed heel. He grunted from the sharp pain before quickly attempting to brush her foot away,

???: [Don’t move, dumbass. Princess is doing this directly out of kindness. Bastard, would you prefer my interrogation? You’re a useless underling, so naturally you’re a pain.]

As he tried moving, the tip of a silently-drawn large sword was held against his throat.

Before Subaru’s breathless eyes, the one-armed man who had done it muttered listlessly in a hard-to-hear voice.

Based on Subaru’s knowledge, the broad blade was similar to a sword called the dao. The man easily wielded the large, thick sword with one hand.

There seemed to be no way that an unarmed, amateur fighter like Subaru could compete.

While Subaru was left speechless and unmoving by the way they expertly got the drop on him, the girl, still with her foot on Subaru, looked up at the attendant beside her.

Orange-Haired Princess: [Hey, Al! You dare to bring something so dangerous so very close to my feet? If my flawless, jewel-like skin were to get even a scratch, it would be a loss to the entire world!]

Al: [Relax, Princess. I’ve got a policy of never doing anything I can’t handle. Besides, you’re someone I owe. So just feel like you’re riding in an ultra-powered boat of mud.]

Remaining tense as he watched the exchange between master and servant unfold before him, Subaru decided that making a move in the current situation would be unwise. That said, simply sitting back and letting things play out wouldn’t lead to anything good either. At some point, he’d have to seize the right moment to act, but——,

Subaru: [A mud boat’s just gonna sink… Put me on a real ship…]

Forcing the words out, Subaru risked his life to point out the oddity he’d heard.

At those words, the orange-haired girl slowly turned her head. She closed one eye, displeased that Subaru—who had just been kicked—had spoken without her permission.

Orange-Haired Princess: [To speak without mine permission while you are still awaiting mine judgment… You have some nerve. Very well, if your life means so little to you——]

Al: [Hold up a sec, princess. Just now, what did you say, kid?]

Stopping his master just as she was about to deliver a cruel decree, Al leaned in and questioned Subaru. His disrespect clearly irritated the girl, but Al, focused entirely on Subaru, didn’t seem to notice.

From within his jet-black helmet—his eyes hidden from the outside—Al stared intently at Subaru.

Al: [Since yesterday, when I caught a glimpse of you, I’ve had a feeling, but… Hey, kid.]

With his cheek still gouged by the girl’s foot, Subaru looked up at Al with the one eye he had free reign over. From Al’s demeanor, Subaru determined his suspicion hadn’t been too far off the mark.

Together, their gazes intersected, while Subaru held his breath as he waited for Al to speak. Then,

Al: [When the wind blows——]

Subaru: […? Oh, the barrel makers profit?]

Al: [If you talk about next year, then,]

Subaru: [The demons will laugh…!]

Al: [A laughing household…]

Subaru: [——Brings good fortune!]

Declaring with firm conviction, Subaru continued looking up at Al’s face.

From within the pitch black helmet, any change in his expression was unreadable. Such being the case, he shook his head, shrugging the shoulder of his one arm.

Al: [I see. So it really is like I expected. You got me there.]

Orange-Haired Princess: [What is this? You went and made sense of it all by yourself. Explain it to mineself as well. What is the meaning behind that incomprehensible exchange just now?]

Seeming dissatisfied with his understanding was the left-out young girl.

She glanced back and forth between Al’s attitude and Subaru’s expression, which interchangeably seemed to display the acquiring of a common sense.

Orange-Haired Princess: [The disrespect piling on top of disrespect is not something I am so tolerant of as to just forgive it or laugh it off. Therefore, answer carefully. That exchange just now, what was the meaning of it?]

Al: [——If I had to say, it was like a confirmation of each other’s homelands.]

Subaru: [That’s about it…]

To the low voice, Subaru answered with the same inflection. At that answer, the young girl scowled at the lack of meaning getting through. Suddenly, she squinted as if she had realized something.

Orange-Haired Princess: [——The same hometown, hm? Al?]

Al: [Probably, yeah.]

Once more, Al shrugged his shoulder as an affirmative gesture towards his master’s inquiry.

Thereafter, he sheathed the dao. After that, Subaru once again looked down,

Al: [A few more questions I’d like to ask have sprung up. So, how about it?]

Subaru: […If it’s gonna be an interrogation, I’d personally be pleased to have some pork cutlet along with it.]

Al: [I’m a fan of eel bowls. Although, this way and that, they’re nowhere to be seen.]

Yes, simply from Al’s tone of voice, it could be judged that he was laughing as he presented his free hand.

Subaru reached up to firmly grasp that hand,

Subaru: [Life; you never know what’s going to happen, really.]

With the relief of escaping a narrow run-in with death and the unexpected surprise twist that came with it, those words were let slip.

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Subaru: [Amnesia?]

Standing up from the floor of the changing room, after just having secured his right to life, Subaru muttered in a remarkably wild voice.

Repeatedly listening to these murmurings, the black helmet—— Al nodded.

With one arm, he roughly scratched at the nape of his neck, at the point where his helmet met his light armor,

Al: [It’s what you’d call episodic memory loss. I haven’t forgotten general knowledge, or the names of things, or anything like that. Just the parts related to myself have cleanly disappeared. Pretty orthodox, right?]

Subaru: [Hearing somebody else rapid-fire all those katakana terms is really off-putting… Guess I’ve gotten pretty submerged in this otherworldly fantasy.]

Responding to Al’s seeking of agreement with a wry smile, Subaru realized anew the truth he had just confirmed. Yes, meaning——,

Subaru: [No mistake about it, you and I really were both summoned from the same world.]

Al: [Well, that’s how it looks to me when I ascertain it with the common sense I’ve got.]

Saying so, he shrugged his shoulders—— most likely, Subaru figured it was his way of laughing.

Compared to his earlier demeanor, Al had considerably softened. It gave off a sense of friendship equal to, no, greater than their encounter yesterday. 

In a way, it was only natural, because Subaru too couldn’t help but feel genuine empathy towards him, as if Al’s situation were no longer just someone else’s problem.

Subaru: [I hadn’t given it much thought, but if there’s someone else like me, then it isn’t so strange for there to be others who were summoned. Al-san, do you know of anyone else like that?]

Al: [Attaching –san like that is a bother so quit it, brother. Just referring to me as Al is fine. And about others from our hometown,]

The troubling words caused him to correct his helmet’s positioning; Al turned his neck slightly downward.

Al: [It’s a no, I know nobody else like that. Meeting you was the first time I had come across someone from my hometown. Honestly, I even suspected that I could be a lunatic.]

Subaru widened his eyes in surprise. Seeing that reaction, Al gave a self-deprecating chuckle and said, “After all, can you blame me?” 

Al: [I have memories of a world that’s not here, but I have no memories of myself, the one who holds those memories. Do you think it’s possible not to doubt the possibility that this sudden self of mine is just some mysterious collection born from the depths of delusion? Memories of another world, to be blunt, felt to me like nothing but solitary insanity. Although——]

His manner of speaking was gloomy, but by the end of the latter half, that gloom was swept away. Riding that momentum, he clapped Subaru firmly on the shoulder.

Al: [Turns out I had a bro out there. Thanks to that, I was saved. My memories were real. I wasn’t some insane madman. Just that alone——yeah, that saved me.]

The manner of the weeping note of relief led Subaru to understand and ponder on the weight of that man’s unbearable daily solitude. 

There was no one out there who could share in his memories. Subaru had been in the same situation, but unlike him, Subaru held thoughts related to the self that served as an anchor for those memories. Only with both of those together could the solid sense of self known as Natsuki Subaru truly exist in this other world.

On the other hand, for Al there didn’t exist that ideal anchor. In a different world where no one knew of his existence, he carried memories of another world that even he himself didn’t know in any real sense. In that sea of memories, so vast and harboring misunderstandings from others, he had endlessly continued to nearly drown.

Shuddering at that terrible weight, Subaru’s lips subconsciously trembled as he began to ask a question.

It was something he hadn’t contemplated on up to now, but once it entered his awareness, he couldn’t help but question it. That was,

Subaru: [Al, how much time has passed since you’ve been in this world?]

The time Subaru had spent in this world, in real time, amounted to no more than twenty days. His memories of his original world still being clear, he was in a state of amateurism in which the existence of everything in this other world felt fresh.

To Subaru’s question, Al became speechless for a short time.

Al: [As to when I arrived in this world, I’m not certain——It must have been about eighteen years ago.]

Subaru: [Wha–…!?]

Upon being replied to with an unexpected number of years, Subaru’s repeated questioning choked up.

Al affirmed Subaru’s surprise with a nod of the head.

Al: [When it comes to memories of my true age, I’m at a loss… Most likely, I’m just about to be around forty, I think. When I was summoned, I might have been around the same age as you?]

Touching his chin and steadily gazing at Subaru, Al expressed those words.

Once again grasping the weight behind his words just now, Subaru was unable to put forth any frivolous words of acknowledgment regarding that painful everyday.

There were still various things he wanted to say and many things he wanted to ask. However, thinking that digging into them might tie into more pain for Al, he couldn’t bring himself to do it so simply.

Orange-Haired Princess: [So?]

Interrupting Subaru’s sentimentality was the voice of the third person, who up until now had remained silent.

He turned his head around. With her back against the wall of the changing room, the girl stood with her arms crossed and eyes closed. She tapped her fingers against her folded arms in irritation,

Orange-Haired Princess: [To go so far as to interrupt mine judgment. There better have been fruit to it, Al.]

Al: [As far as my standpoint goes, I couldn’t have asked for any more. I don’t know how you see things, Princess, though… At the very least, I‘ve come to know my delusions don’t end as mere delusions.]

Orange-Haired Princess: [Continuing to speak with such a refreshed face; I’m not even angry. ——And now, upon that, comes thy disposition…]

Pushing aside Al with her hand, the young girl stepped forward to stand before Subaru.

The pressure emanating from the small-framed girl——that sheer mass left Subaru instinctually overwhelmed. The meeting of the previous day was void of such a feeling of oppression. That is, without planning it, Subaru felt the greatly deep divide sprawled out in the space between himself and the girl,

Orange-Haired Princess: [You, like Al, prattle on about coming from beyond the Great Waterfall?]

Subaru: [Great Waterfall?]

Orange-Haired Princess: [At the ends of the ends of the world. A place of abhorrent demise. All swept away by the torrent—— That is the Great Waterfall. It is said that none have seen what lies beyond it.]

She gathered her fingers on the unmoving Subaru’s jaw, lifting his face up as she continued.

Orange-Haired Princess: [Every once in a great while, there comes a party loudly proclaiming they are from beyond the Great Waterfall. Those fools generally try to attract attention with grandiose lies… Al is a bit different.]

Subaru: [That deducing, I’d like to know the grounds for it…]

Orange-Haired Princess: [Just intuition.]

At the very least, Subaru’s counterattack was cleanly cut through by the young girl’s single statement.

Declaring so to the speechless Subaru, thereafter she turned to face Al behind her.

Orange-Haired Princess: [I only need one clown to divert me from mine boredom. That is my decision. Any objections, Al?] 

Al: [There are, massively so. Because, Princess, there honestly probably aren’t any of my countrymen left anymore. So if you could maaaaybe show a teensy bit of mercy or something, I’d be gladly humiliated with a rapidly beating heart.]

Orange-Haired Princess: [Are you giving mineself orders?]

Al: [Come now, come now, I’m begging for mercy. My ultra beautiful, ultra promising, ultra clever, ultra wonderful, and ultra kind Princess would surely never make a choice that led to my misery.]

Al’s smooth tone was met by silence and void of expression by the young girl. As it was, with a cooled voice, she turned her now-bored eyes to Subaru, who still awaited his verdict.

Her fingertips remained upholding Subaru’s jaw, as the fear of what her next words might be was unbearable.

Emotionally speaking, Al was taking Subaru’s side, although the essential aspect of moodiness was something Subaru came to understand in their short time together yesterday. Whether she herself possessed the power to inflict harm was unclear, but at the very least, she certainly could use both daggers and magic.

——If push came to shove, he could unleash one of his Shamak in retaliation. 

Subaru sensed within himself a feeling of desperation.

Orange-Haired Princess: [Well, very well.]

Thus spoke the unchanged, disinterested tone from the young girl, the single phrase unmasking those as baseless fears.

The young girl withdrew the fingers touching Subaru’s chin, pulled a fan out of a bag, and began fanning herself while walking across the changing room. 

Orange-Haired Princess: [It wasn’t anything that piqued my interest to begin with. To lop off your head by the neck and fall into disfavor with a retainer would be idiotically foolish. Needless labor; an unnecessary exertion.]

Subaru: [Umm, that meaning… I’m not getting punished?]

Al: [Now that seems awfully convenient, doesn’t it, bro?]

As the tides seemed to be unfolding in his favor, Subaru let out a sigh of relief, slumping his shoulders, to which Al cautioned him with a pained smile. Then, calling out to the back of his master who was just about to leave,

Al: [Heeey, Princess. Not that I’m displeased you heard me out, but seriously, what’s to be done now? I don’t expect you to just overlook everything, that’d be unreasonable.]

Subaru: [Right?]

Even though he had literally just escaped the threat of death, saving his one life, it was also true that the situation Subaru brought about had stepped past the line of being able to be overlooked.

Regarding that, as expected, it seemed Al had no intention of drawing that line leniently. In response to his words, the young girl halted her steps and, with a look of bother from the bottom of the heart, turned her neck back.

Orange-Haired Princess: [Do you not heed my will? What a dullard. ——No matter, bring him along. If he tries to run away, lop off his head by the neck.]

Al: [Well sure, but… No, is that really okay? After all, given where you’re headed, Princess—]

Orange-Haired Princess: [Shut it.]

Upon readily accepting the inhumane decree, Al voiced a point of uncertainty. Cutting over his words, the young girl,

Orange-Haired Princess: [To interject into my conduct is preposterous. It would do you well to know your place, Al. In this world, only that which is convenient for me shall come to pass. Therefore, there is not a sole error in my judgment. Bringing that clown along shall serve my benefit. I will be the victor of this world’s decision.]

Al: [Listening to your self-assurance is almost refreshing, Princess. I understand.]

To her self-regard bordering on haughty arrogance, Al declared his compliance in a pleased tone. From there, he turned to the left behind Subaru, tapping him on the shoulder.

Al: [That means that from now on, bro, you’re in captivity. Oh, and don’t try to run. I’d rather not, but if it comes to that I’ll cut you down.]

Subaru: [No comradery between countrymen?]

Al: [When you weigh duty and sentiment on the scales, duty always prevails in this world.]

The announcement of those words invoked a deep feeling involving the fickle nature of this fleeting world. Al pushed Subaru along by the back.

Completely swept up by the situation as is, Subaru proceeded between the small-framed back and, from behind, the pressure of the one-armed man from his homeland.

Subaru: [Well, I’m aware I messed up, there’s no helping that, but… is this situation improving or getting worse…?]

Orange-Haired Princess: [Had it not been mineself that found you, your head would already be forfeit. Come now, offer your limitless gratitude unto me.]

Subaru: [It’s true that I got saved and all, but… isn’t it strange you aren’t asking why I was even here to begin with? Even I gotta admit I seem super suspicious and ill-natured right now.]

While he did want to explain himself, it was hard to say he acted based on something that could easily be explained to others. It was that unfounded anxiety that made it difficult to stay put.

And so, Subaru’s inquiries were born from the anxiety of not being asked what should have been asked; a shell of weakness serving as a makeshift defense. Although the girl, as if seeing through Subaru’s shallow contents, snorted through her nose.

Orange-Haired Princess: [I more or less have a rough idea of that reasoning. Therefore, mineself shall not ask. That my tolerance was what it was… ah, let us see, yes, I suppose.]

Halting as she stood, the young girl turned around.

Orange hair swaying before his eyes, at once Subaru came to a dazed stop. Before those same eyes, a finger was stuck out; the young girl graciously raised the ends of her lips,

Orange-Haired Princess: [Appa.]

Subaru: [Huh?]

Orange-Haired Princess: [Yesterday’s Appas weren’t bad. It would do well to consider that the reason I did not immediately lop off your head.]

She defined her change of heart with that reasoning, and with that, began walking out without so much as a look behind her.

Dazedly seeing her back off, Subaru mulled over the words spoken to him in his head. With effort, he used his feet to step forward, murmuring a bit. That murmuring was,

Subaru: [Meaning my life was saved by that unc from the fruit stall…]

Even the achievement of having infiltrated the castle was thanks to Kadomon; he felt his participation rate in events related to the Royal Capital had reached abnormal levels.

With such a trivial impression, Subaru, regarding his narrow escape from death, attained one small sense of comprehension.

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Subaru: [Heey, is this really okay? There’s no problem? Aren’t I pretty out-of-place?]

Al: [Out of place, you say? More like trespassing. I won’t go running my mouth, since Princess is okay with it, but… Don’t do anything strange. I won’t go out of my way to defend you.]

To Subaru, who repeatedly glanced around anxiously, Al curtly threw out a comment from beside him. But even Al, who seemed to be acting composed, appeared uncomfortable at a closer glance as he corrected his posture, shooting a gaze to his master walking ahead.

The girl walked ahead—— striding down the corridor of the central tower located on the upper floors of the royal castle. She basked in the countless stares of others, those looks in a manner befitting her luxurious attire and elegant beauty.

Those gazes following the young girl’s gait were being directed by the fully-armed guards lined along either side of the corridor. Down that corridor lined with guards brandishing swords, the young girl continued. Subaru restlessly walks forward, his inner thoughts in anything but their ordinary state.

After all, to begin with, Subaru had only planned to stealthily peek at the castle’s interior. So why was he now in a place completely crowded to the brim? What’s more, beside him, Al carelessly made a slip of the tongue; just that alone would put him under circumstances in which heads would fly.

He just wanted the corridor to quickly reach its end. The collection of soldiers shooting him a whirlpool of gazes, that wordless pressure exerted upon him quickened his step, causing him to inadvertently reach the young girl’s back.

No, you could say he reached the end of the corridor where an exchange is to take place.

Subaru: [In the back of this passage filled with soldiers, that really is a massive door…]

The double doors were large to the extent that one had to look up at them, which naturally prompted Subaru to imagine the majesty of the place that lay beyond them.

The location was the top floor of the central tower in the royal castle of the Royal Capital—— beyond a corridor flanked left-to-right by lined-up soldiers. Since earlier, an unpleasant premonition had taken hold of Subaru’s head, swinging it around without letting go.

Before Subaru, who was in such a gloomy state of mind, the young girl was exchanging words with the giant blocking the door.

The well-armed giant removed his headpiece, then with an intellectual gaze measured up the young girl.

He appeared to be around thirty, not so much sharp-featured as one with a rugged countenance. On his craggy, deeply chiseled face, he carried an air of sternness mixed with a battle-hardened aura.

Stern Soldier: [Your arrival has been anticipated, Priscilla-sama.]

The man with that solemn face met her gaze with a serious voice, lowering his head politely.

Despite bearing in mind the respectful conduct, the young girl haughtily nodded her head, before indicating to the two behind her,

Priscilla: [They are my companions. One is my knight, and the other… is in charge of appas, I suppose.]

Subaru: [Hold o–…!]

Subaru was about to interject that she should have given him a more favorable position, but then he remembered the graveness of the situation and covered his mouth. Taking but a glance at the Subaru making many comical expressions, the knight glanced at the young girl with a boulder-like expression void of even the slightest movement.

Stern Soldier: [——In charge of appas, you say?]

Priscilla: [That’s right, commander of the appas. A pitiful fool whose purpose is to bring mineself red, sweet-and-sour appas. He is harmless, pay him no mind.] 

Stern Soldier: [Unless I first inquire Miklotov-sama’s opinion, your passage…]

Priscilla: [My actions are, in a turn of phrase, the will of the world itself. This is outrageous disrespect. We will proceed now, Marcos.]

Apparently accustomed to such commonplace declarations, the knight raised no protest towards the young girl’s insolent remarks.

With gentle blue eyes he appraised Subaru, and then Al’s demeanors—— Immediately after, his clear blue eyes shone dazzlingly, not metaphorically, but literally.

He lightly pressed a finger to his own eyes.

Marcos: [The presence of no dangerous mana signatures or armaments has been confirmed. As for Sir Knight, the only thing being brought in is that greatsword, correct?]

Al: [… Oh, by knight you meant me? Yeah, yeah, yes, yes. If the black-haired person shows suspicious signs, by chance, I’ll cut him clean in two with my own hands.]

Marcos: [If by some one-in-a-thousand chance something occurs, then please protect your liege, Priscilla-sama. As for all other matters, leave them to us, the royal guards.]

Having his flippant remark returned with such grandiosity, Al vaguely replied with an evasive “Sure, sure”. 

Marcos: [Everyone inside is waiting. Please make haste.]

Priscilla: [To make the common masses wait is but a result of my superiority. The reverse, however, is absolutely impermissible.]

Putting on airs with a small-minded remark, the young girl stepped through the door as she was seen off. Without the slightest hesitation, Al followed behind. Seeing that, Subaru mustered his resolve and headed inside.

——What spread out before his eyes was a red carpet spread out over a vast space.

Dazzling ornaments adorned the walls and extravagant lighting from the broad daylight cast from the ceiling. Compared to this size of the room befitting a gymnasium, the sparsity of contents was like a bargain of wastefulness. However, that made sense if one considered the room’s objective and use.

At the very rear of the room’s center stood a modest level change where there lay a slightly raised platform, upon which a built-in chair had been furnished.

From behind there was a wall adorned with a dragon motif; the one seated in the chair could be seen as bearing that dragon on their back, or as being protected by it.

That was unmistakably the throne room of the Royal Capital. That chair was without a doubt the throne of Lugunica.

After first having his gaze stolen by the eye-catching throne, Subaru fearfully scanned his surroundings.

As for the interior of the room, unlike the outside, not a single figure of a sword-wielding guard could be seen. While all the royal guards were on standby outside, the few figures in the room could be accounted for on one’s hands and feet.

And then, among them——

???: [——Subaru?]

As Subaru passed through the door into the throne room, a silver-haired young girl was watching him with astonishment on her face.

She blinked as if unable to believe the fact that Subaru was there, those deep violet eyes harboring confusion among other emotions, all blending together in ripples.

Basking in the full brunt of her astonishment, Subaru’s heart cried out in a high degree of pain.

That mysterious feeling of oppression exceeded all previous pressures since sneaking into the royal castle. 

Suppressing it by some means, before her next action, Subaru made his move.

Hitting his head with his hand, with one eye shut, he stuck out his tongue.

Subaru: [Sorry, I ended up coming.]

A tremendous, wordless pressure came to sprawl over the throne room for a short while.