"-And as such, using the order of Wheat, Turnips, Barley and Clover, farmers are capable of nourishing livestock, who then in turn produce manure, fertilizing the soil even further. It also allows for breeding, and evidently, selling the animals themselves or their meat."

Subaru looked around the room. Before him, laid a rather long oak wood table. On the longer sides, half a dozen leather chairs were scattered across the length on each side, allowing a total party of twelve. The twelve people in question began murmuring between themselves, while Subaru had a moment to collect his thoughts.

Oh right, how did he get here? The past two months have been quite eventful. Finding out Felt was a Royal Candidate definitely shocked him, but the part that got to him was when Reinhard had gotten down on his knees, and begged Subaru to join them in the Felt Camp.

While Felt herself objected to being Queen, detesting nobility and anyone who was born into richness, the knightly duo, Subaru and Reinhard, convinced her to pursue her campaign.

The fact that the Royal Selection was, well, an election, also surprised Subaru. That was in fact the closest thing to Democracy he'd seen so far. Either way, he was going to make sure that Felt became Queen, though he had to slightly change her ideology.

Originally, she had wanted to tear down nobility and the kingdom itself. Although it sounds fair and appealing to the lower class, it was overall a terrible idea and would most probably get her killed. To counter this, Subaru introduced her to his homeland Democracy. Equality for all? No nobility, royalty, and a chance for everyone to shoot for the skies? That was a 'Hell Yeah' in Felt's books.

And so, to try his best to bring this into place, he went about creating a team of political experts, along with a few scientists and engineering artisans for some other ideas. Of course, Reinhard had helped him with this, since he was absolutely clueless in this world.

At first, they believed him to be some sort of madman, wanting to create some weird dystopian society where everyone was poor and anyone with a high salary would be executed. But he swiftly reassured him that his name was not Joseph Stalin, and a Communist Dictatorship was not what he had in store. In its stead, he had a strong government, giving everyone a chance who they want to be.

Public Scholarship, allowing all children to get educated and lead fulfilling lives. Sure, it would be hard to pull off, but the boom in intellectual workers would be beneficial. Even if half of them still went into artisanry, they'd still know more about what they're doing. Showing the outside world and its science to children at a young age could inspire them to aim even higher. An influx in scientists and highly capable engineers could only yield good things.

Banks. Now this sounded interesting. Not only did it create more things to do, meaning more jobs for people, meaning lower unemployment rates. It also helped with financial issues. Having a secure place to store your money would certainly appeal to the Nobles, even if they didn't particularly trust it at first, they would come around. It would also help decrease economical inflation, since the production of gold, silver and copper coins would inevitably go down. Saving resources, and inventing the concept of loans.

News Agencies. This confused everyone at first, but by the time he finished explaining, they were in awe. It was certainly worth investing in, as it could provide to be essential. Delivering important news across the entire Capital, informing people of crucial information, could potentially solve stability issues and possibly lower crime rates.

And finally, the LRI, or the Lugunican Research Institute. By far his biggest project. If, by chance, Felt is queened, he would like to bring this project to life. Its name explained most of it, it was an Institute for research. He imagined several departments. Such as the Medical Department, looking into diseases – which with the current pandemic, would be very useful – and hopefully reinventing the germ theory.

And those four are only on the first on the top of the list, he's introduced his fair share of 'otherworldly' concepts.

A month ago, they thought he was a crazy man who just so happened to defeat Elsa, the Bowel Hunter.

Now, they admire him. He's a genius, a tactician, a man truly living up to his title of Spirit Saint.

Outside his political pursuits, he hastily became infamous. After the ceremony of his Royal Knighting, they had quite possibly the biggest party Subaru has ever heard of, let alone see and participate in it.

The news of a total stranger, showing up in the Capital and saving a royal candidate's life, then going to the Mather's Domain, saving a village from doom and capturing Elsa Granhiert spread fast. Children across the capital call him a hero, the lower class think he's cool.

The nobles however. How dare he? A total nobody? How dare he show up out of nowhere and become a Royal Knight for doing something he probably only took credit for? It is preposterous.

It was rather funny seeing the look on a few of their faces, when Reinhard had raised his voice at them, retelling the events and then lecturing them on being so stuck up.

The party was amazing, food, drinks and people littered the streets. He was unsure as to why the party got so big, but upon asking Reinhard he found out that parties of this scale rarely happen. And the lower class's participation in the parade was most likely due to the fact that Subaru himself was not a noble.

Either way, he now stood at the table in front of geniuses, under the guise of a genius himself. He could only thank his spirits and Reinhard for how far he is now. He's surrounded by more powerful people, who treat him like a deity. Whenever he went for a walk children flocked him, asking him to show them magic tricks, or to tell them how he beat his enemies.

Of course, it died down after a while. Much to Subaru's relief. He could finally roam the streets without being mobbed, and the nobles' breathing down his neck stopped too. So far, none of his extensive researching and introductions to the otherworldly concepts had gotten out to the public. He was happy that there weren't any leaks, any more popularity would surely end his hopes of living a moderately quiet life.

Subaru snapped back to reality, realising the twelve people he had grown to befriend and trust – who he had nicknamed the Council of Camelot, after the 12 knights – were all staring at him expectantly.

"Sorry. I zoned out for a second, what were you saying?" He realised he was still standing up, hands pressed against the table while leaning forward. He pushed himself off and lowered himself into the chair. The papers were scattered across the table, containing rough information on the things he was presenting this meeting.

"As I was saying Sir Su-.. Subaru, this does sound like another brilliant idea. And we have no trouble believing it, however I don't think farmers will think the same. If they wouldn't believe it to work, then they wouldn't try it. How exactly do you plan on convincing the country that this actually functions?" An ex-farmer, his name was Nickolie, spoke up.

Subaru sighed, looking from person to person of his council of experts. It consisted of two skilled engineers ; a carpenter who worked rather well with the engineers ; an ex-farmer who was rather knowledgable on most things farming ; an artist ; and a retired builder. These six people sat on the left side of the table, he called them the practical department.

On the left, there were two politicians, both very competent in their jobs, mirroring the engineers ; two merchants, one who excelled at salesmanship and the other in marketing campaigns ; an accountant who used to handle the Hoshin Trading Company's finances before she retired ; and finally a former public works advisor. They sat on the right side, and he thought of them as the sales department.

Subaru scratched his chin, feeling the prickly facial hair growing from it. He really needs to shave. "Yes, I did think about that. I hate to take advantage of people, but I have a feeling that asking the villagers of Irlam to try it may be successful after saving them. If it works then that would be even better." He explained.

The council once again murmured between themselves before one of the two politicians, Alexander, spoke up. "Although that is a good idea, I fear Lord Roswaal may use it to his advantage and try to steal the research for himself. Having it in his hands would raise Lady Emilia's faction's popularity by quite a lot. If it does as you say, completely changing the agricultural output and also allowing there to be more jobs open in the fields, then him taking credit for it could be disastrous."

Subaru looked at him and blinked a few times. Damn, he's right that would be a catastrophe.

The second politician, Harald cleared his throat. "I would agree with you, but we can counter that rather easily." He paused and saw their leader raise a brow. "If we form a contract with him, then we could make sure he doesn't steal our ideas. Of course, we'd have to give him something in return for playing with his people."

A quartet of knocks at the door interrupted them, a female voice coming from the other side. "Master Subaru, it is noon so we have brought some refreshments."

Subaru grinned, he had asked the servants to bring in the latest 'invention' of his. Lemonade, a sugary, fizzy, lemonade flavoured drink. It was sided with Swiss Rolls, which he had tried to replicate for the past week, and had only accomplished it thanks to the talent of the chefs located it the kitchen. Thankfully, they were also incredibly patient and seemed to see Subaru as a hero, diligently doing what he asks and looking at him in awe. Why does everyone think I'm some god or something?

"Come in." He said calmly, a grin still painted on his face. With a few seconds pause, the door opened. Five servants, three maids and two butlers, walked into the room. They pushed carts with trays on them, thirteen glasses of lemonade and Swiss rolls were distributed around the room. When everyone had their snacks, four of the servants left the room. One stayed behind and stood beside Subaru.

He turned and looked at her expectantly, the grin still on his face. She nodded and brought her hand in front of her, a glass jar of some yellow substance appeared out of thin air into her hand. He took the jar from her hand and placed it on the table in front of him.

"Thank you Eliza." He said to her. The maid bowed her head and remained at his side. He was very grateful for her services, her Divine Protection of Storage made her incredibly useful. It allowed her to store amount of objects in a pocket dimension, and summoning them at will, regardless of size. The only constraint was the weight of the object, for it could not exceed how much she could carry normally. However, she felt no weight on her when storing it in the pocket dimension, meaning she could use it to carry twice the amount she normally could.

Reinhard had picked her to be Subaru's personal servant, the practicality of her Divine Protection definitely enticed him. But she also shared his midnight black hair, which was an exceptionally rare trait in this kingdom. In all his years of living, he'd only met three people with black hair.

Her looks also persuaded him, thinking that Subaru would probably enjoy the company of a beautiful maiden, even if it was just a servant.

Of course, Reinhard felt a burning sensation in his chest when he thought about that part. Not that Subaru would ever know of course, Reinhard had used his own Divine Protection and realised it was jealousy. Not that he'd know why he felt that way, but he decided it was best to keep it to himself, and to not burden other people with his problems. He was useless after all, he didn't deserve it.

Subaru unscrewed the cap on the jar, the smell of mayonnaise entering his nostrils. He picked up the Swiss roll and dipped it into the jar, feeling twelve gazes looking at him in confusion. He looked back up at them. "Ah, you're not meant to eat them with mayonnaise, I just really like mayonnaise. These are called Swiss rolls, it's chocolate and cream flavoured. The drink is called lemonade.. Just taste it and you'll see." He smiled, then shovelled the mayonnaise covered roll into his mouth.

The dozen remaining members of the 'Council of Camelot' collectively picked up their Swiss Rolls and took a bite out of them, all humming in delight. After finishing them, they all tried the lemonade, flinching – probably due to the fizziness, it being an entirely new concept to them – but then nodding in agreement.

"Right, where were we?" Subaru started, standing back up.

Subaru, Eliza, Reinhard and Felt all sat in a carriage in silence. Reinhard sat as still as a statue, clearly deep in thought. Eliza had fallen asleep, which was most likely Subaru's fault as he had asked her to help him with Felt's speech the night before. They worked into the early hours of the morning, until the sun had risen. While Subaru had his spirits to cast a few spells on him to keep him from the effects of exhaustion and sleep deprivation, Eliza didn't.

So while Eliza tried to fulfil her duties on no sleep, Subaru helped Felt practise her speech with no side effects at all. Feeling sorry for her, he let her take a nap on the half an hour journey from the Astrea estate to the Royal Selection Event. However at some point during her sleep, she had fallen over and was now laying her head on his lap.

Trying not to wake her, he continued examining the outside. Felt was clearly irritated at having to do this, since she never wanted to become queen in the first place. The only reason she did was because Subaru promised she'd only have to rule until he implemented Democracy, so she could step down and they could elect some sort of authority figure.

It was either that or install a Constitutional Monarchy, so that Felt didn't have to work herself to hell and still enjoy the benefits of being royalty.

Upon arriving at the event, Subaru looked down at Eliza, unsure how to wake her. Zoning out of his thoughts, he realised he had been staring at her for quite some time, and by now her eyes were open and staring up at him with a crimson blush.

Subaru blinked a few times and stuttered. "U-um.. You fell o-over in your sleep and I-I didn't want to w-wake you." He ended by clearing his throat, and shuffling away from under her, leaving the carriage first. He was soon followed by Reinhard and Felt, while Eliza quickly fixed her hair before exiting the vehicle.

Making their way into the building, they encountered a fellow Royal Candidate, none other than Anastasia Hoshin. She eyed them from the side, seeing Subaru and Reinhard together. He noticed her eyes widening whilst letting out a near inaudible gasp. He would definitely not have heard it if not for his spirits.

In the carriage, he had asked them to increase his senses so he could be on high alert. It was taxing on his mana, but he could always drain it from the atmosphere.

Anastasia turned around and approached them, a smile on her face. Her purple hair waved through the wind, it reminded him a lot of Julius. Why do they look similar.

"Sir Subaru, Sir Reinhard. It is a pleasure to meet you." She said, a smile still plastered on her face. Subaru glanced at Reinhard, then back at Anastasia, he was taught basic etiquette but he wasn't quite sure what to say without sounding cringeworthy.

Thankfully Reinhard picked up on his internal battle, and spoke in his stead. "The pleasure is all ours, Lady Anastasia, we are honoured for you to know of us."

She giggled at that. "Anyone who hasn't heard of the Spirit Saint and the Sword Saint must live under a rock, either that or they really just all that smart."

Hey! I didn't know who he was!

"May I ask if there is anything you wanted to talk to us about?" Subaru said in a calm tone, trying not to sound hostile.

Anastasia nodded. "I wanted to see if you were interested in joining my camp, to be completely honest. I'm a rather greedy gal you know, having the services of both the Sword Saint and the Spirit Saint on my side would be rather useful. Of course, you'd be greatly compensated for your services, anything you could ever want." She winked at them.

Subaru felt a bit taken back, he really didn't expect that. Reinhard reacted quite differently however, but he didn't let it show. On the inside, he felt offended, outraged, that anyone would try and take him away from Lady Felt. He would stick with her to the end.

"I believe there has been some misunderstanding Lady Anastasia, we are already part of a faction. Though we humbly thank you for your offer."

Seeing her confusion, Subaru spoke up. "You shall see very soon, when she steps up at the stage."

The building was grand, the ceilings painted scenes of the Great Calamity 400 years before. Reinhard and Subaru stood on the left side, along with all the other Royal Knights of the kingdom, while Eliza hung at the back with the other servants.

Felt stood on the stage, in front of the two hundred or so people. Subaru could tell she's nervous, and thought about how to calm her nerves.

"Hey Lui, any chance you could cast some sort of spell on Felt to calm her anxiety?"

I could but I'm afraid that that would drain your mana further. It would also lower the effects of the current spells being casted on you.

"Yeah that's fine, it won't last too long."

Very well, Subaru.

He felt his hearing decrease a little, but he could still hear the whispers throughout the cathedral. He could even hear the servants talking amongst themselves. Looking back on the stage, he saw Felt standing a little looser.

If she was still feeling anxious, she didn't show it. The sweat on her forehead cooled off and dried. His eyes drifted over to the other candidates. Anastasia Hoshin, the 'merchant princess'. She owned quite a massive corporation, the Hoshin Trading Company. The biggest sales business on the continent.

There was also Crusch Karsten, a militarist duchess. Her dark green hair matched with her military-focused uniform. Master tactician, excellent fighter, excels at her position.

On her right stood Priscilla Barielle. She was part of the Vollachian Royalty, nicknamed 'Lady Luck' by the lower class. Not many people liked her, she had quite an attitude. However the decisions she took always seemed to work out, and although egotistical, she seemed to be rather intelligent.

Further down the line stood Lady Emilia. Just Emilia. A silver haired half-elf. The most hated person alive, most likely. Her resemblances to Satella - the Witch of Envy, the main cause of the Great Calamity, the Jealous Witch who destroyed half the world – struck fear into the hearts of most people around her.

Obviously individuals such as Julius, Subaru and Reinhard knew she was not said witch. Julius knew through his spirits indicating as such, Reinhard through his Divine Protection of Empathy, and Subaru just by knowing her. Sure, he had a crush on her too, but it didn't change the fact that she still was one of the most kind hearted people he knew.

On the far right stood Felt, of course we know her already, she's a side-protagonist.

Subaru zoned back into reality, realising the other candidates had already finished their speeches and Felt had begun speaking.

"I must admit, I despise the nobles. They have caused me nothing but suffering for my entire life, and now that I'm standing here in front of you, I would love nothing more than to tear you all down. However, I have decided against it. I want to create a society where anyone has a chance, one where all are equal. Much like Lady Emilia here-"

Her speech was cut off by some noble in the crowd. "This is ridiculous! This Royal Selection is nothing but stupidity! You expect a half-devil to be able to rule us? And how dare a gutter rat speak to us this way?! Her ruling the nation would destroy the kingdom!"

The rest of nobles yelled in agreement, shouting insults towards the current candidates.

"How is a greedy merchant going to lead our nation!?"

"A militarist will only lead our kingdom to its downfall!"

"That egotistical bit-"

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Subaru's voice echoed throughout the cathedral. Reinhard looked at him in concern, worrying that he may have overstepped.

Everyone in the cathedral looked to him, most of them gasping in recognition. But before Subaru could continue his berating the public, a loud crash interrupted him.

A chunk of the ceiling fell and smashed in front of Subaru, thankfully missing everyone but the rubble that broke off hit some of the people.

Subaru looked up to the ceiling, Reinhard and Julius equipped their swords out of lightning fast reflexes.

A wave of green hair jumped from the ceiling, insane cackling echoed throughout the cathedral. "Well well well! My brain trembles! The country's own population doesn't like the candidates? They judge them without even hearing more! How... SLOTHFUL." He bent over backwards, a few bones snapping. He pulled at his eyes as they leaked blood.

"Who the hell are yo-"

"WITCH CULTIST!"

"Hello fellow believer in love." He grinned over at Subaru, chewing his fingers. "I am the Sin Archbishop representing Sloth, Betelgeuse Romanee-Conti. DESU."

HELLO BELIEVERS IN LOVE

Okay sorry. I am back! Work exhausted me this week so I decided to keep it short this time. Sorry!

I intend for Arc 3 to be a bit long, hopefully. See you next week!