Hoooooh boy, this chapter was a journey and a half. I've been writing it off and on for about a month, mainly just from a combination of doing other things and being burnt out from doing those other things.

The main problem I had was writing the scenes for this chapter. Finding the right words for each scene took longer than it should have, but I just kept at it and I eventually found what I wanted to say. I would write one scene, and then I would think another scene would be better, until there were three to four different scene ideas. I ended up stitching a few of them together and scrapping a bunch, but I don't think they ended up too awkward. I also kept the Japanese honorifics, as I thought they felt a bit more natural.

And thank you guys for the reviews! I wasn't expecting to get more than one, so I really appreciate it!

With that said, I hope you all enjoy this new chapter!

Chapter 2: From Out of the Blue

Almost half a year had passed since the Sanctuary was liberated and the Roswaal Mansion along with its Forbidden Library burned to the ground. Of course, a new mansion was erected in its place, located near the city of Costuul. The residents of both the Sanctuary and Arlam Village returned to their homes once the danger had passed. In time, things returned to a semi-normal state.

Subaru appreciated that things had slowed down after the utter insanity he endured. But he didn't want to rest on his laurels and be caught unawares when a new threat would inevitably appear. He trained every day, from rigorous parkour exercises to wielding a bull whip.

Emilia began studying with more motivation than ever. Now that her contracted spirit Puck was gone, she felt a bit lonely but also determined to become stronger. Though she trusted Subaru and the others in her camp, she also didn't want to remain dependent on them. If she couldn't make her own decisions or take action when she needed to, then she wouldn't make an effective queen.

Subaru's newly contracted spirit Beatrice had become much more sociable now that she was out of the Forbidden Library. She expressed many more emotions to people than just aloofness after centuries of isolation. Subaru took pride in writing about her personal developments in a journal.

Rem had been sent to the estate of Crusch Karsten, another Royal Candidate, to recover after the battle against the White Whale. Crusch's Knight Felix told her that if she pushed herself anymore, her gate was at risk of being severely damaged. When she heard about what had happened at the Sanctuary and the Roswaal Mansion upon her return, she was despondent. Subaru and her older twin sister Ram reassured her that it worked out for the best. Even now, she still has lingering regrets at not being present during that particular crisis.

Ram stayed true to form: soft on her sister, dutiful to her master Roswaal and Emilia, and sarcastic with everyone else. She was a bit put off by how much closer Subaru and Rem had become. As always, Subaru was quick to point out how much Rem was carrying her sister's work ethic, although both sisters would deny such for different reasons.

Frederica, the recently returned head maid of the Roswaal Mansion, performed her duties to her utmost as well. To say she was grateful to Subaru and Emilia for their deeds was an understatement. They had saved not only the residents of the Sanctuary and Arlam Village from an assault by the Great Rabbit, but they also saved her brother Garfiel from being stuck in the past.

Petra was busy everyday apprenticing as the newest maid under Roswaal's employ. Her seniors each took a different role for the auburn-haired girl: Frederica was the kind one, Ram was the strict one, and Rem was somewhere in between. She displayed exceptional talent in being able to pick up on things quickly.

Otto had somehow found himself the Internal Affairs Officer of the Emilia Camp. He was nearly at wits' end tackling the overwhelming amount of work expected of him. Everyone besides Emilia teased him in some regard, particularly Subaru and Garfiel, but they would do whatever it takes to aid him if push came to shove.

Garfiel spent his days either training or assisting with whatever intense physical labor he could. Subaru had commissioned him to build his obstacle course for parkour training. Those who were close to him noticed how in place of his previous standoffish personality was a more friendly one.

Roswaal for his part kept out of the way, which everyone barring Ram appreciated. He had hired the late Elsa Granhiert, the infamous Bowel Hunter herself, to attack his mansion and kill everyone inside. He had also started a blizzard in the Sanctuary in order to break Emilia, while simultaneously attracting the ravenous Great Rabbit swarm to devour everyone in sight. Needless to say, were he not Emilia's sponsor, he would have been driven out and treated like a pariah.

All in all, Subaru felt satisfied with how things turned out. He had learned valuable lessons, gained new allies, and taken down considerably dangerous foes. He felt like now he could take on whatever fate decided to throw his way.

"An inter-camp reunion?"

"Well, the alliance between me, Crusch, and Anastasia hasn't been dissolved yet. So, I thought it would be a good idea to boost camaraderie between us."

"No one says camaraderie any- Wait, I think they still do!"

In the parlor of the new Roswaal Mansion, Subaru was sitting next to Emilia on the sofa with Beatrice on his lap. The blonde spirit had her hands full holding her teacup and saucer, so Subaru took it upon himself to feed her the snacks on the table. He was met with protests from her, of course, but he knew better.

Garfiel was playing Shatranj with Otto and, from what everyone present could hear, losing badly against him.

Petra was the maid attending them, as Ram and Rem went into Costuul for groceries. Frederica wanted Petra to work independently, so she decided having her attend the Royal Candidate and her knight was the perfect opportunity. Although she was directed by the senior maid to stand off to the side, Subaru insisted that she sit with him and Emilia. She was tempted to go against her training, but decided against it.

It was during their usual banter that Emilia mentioned that she sent invitations to the other Royal Candidates for a little get-together. Even if they were all rivals for the throne, Emilia still wanted to remain on friendly terms with them. She had only just sent them, and was eager for their responses.

Subaru didn't doubt that Crusch would say yes. Emilia and Subaru had become close with the Duchess during their stay at her mansion after the White Whale and Sloth. And if she came, then Wilhelm and Felix would surely follow.

However, he would be surprised if Anastasia also accepted. Even though she had cooperated with the other two camps, she had only really interacted with Subaru, and briefly at that. Subaru suspected that, if she were to accept the invitation, the shrewd merchant queen would use it as an opportunity to gain a competitive edge.

But, nonetheless, Anastasia accepting the invitation would be welcome. He wouldn't mind seeing Ricardo, Mimi and her siblings, and the other Iron Fangs again, if she brought them along.

Of course, that also meant a certain purple-haired knight would accompany her.

"Subaru, were you thinking of Julius just now?"

Emilia noticed that Subaru looked as though he had swallowed something sour.

"No way. When I'm around Emilia-tan, that guy is nowhere near my thoughts. They're completely incompatible. No way, no how." Subaru waved his hand back and forth.

"But didn't you make up after you defeated that Sin Archbishop?"

"Mrgh…" Subaru unintentionally let out a pathetic sound at Emilia's query. Emilia was staring at him expectantly. Although her gaze was empty of any judgments, it felt like it was piercing through Subaru's soul.

"Well, I mean, we teamed up to beat Sloth and his cronies, so…"

"Subaru-sama, I don't think that counts as an apology."

Subaru felt a much more judging gaze from off to his side.

"I…guess that's true…"

Emilia sighed at Subaru. She wished he would be a bit more honest about seeing Julius as a friend and not as… however he saw him.

"When you get the chance, be sure to apologize to him properly. No more putting it off."

Emilia lightly poked Subaru's forehead.

"…I'll try."

"Good." Emilia took another sip of her tea with a satisfied smile.

"If this Julius is the same person who mercilessly beat Betty's contractor, Betty will make an effort to avoid him, in fact." Beatrice furrowed her brow and muttered darkly as she drank more tea.

"What!? Why should Subaru apologize after something so awful!?" Petra gasped after her outburst one she realized her mistake; she even forgot to add an honorific to Subaru. "I-I'm terribly sorry!"

"It's okay, Petra. My lips are sealed." Subaru moved a thumb and index finger over his lips.

Loathe as he was to admit it, Subaru respected and trusted Julius, but that didn't mean he had to like him. He still felt indignant about the beating he took in the Parade Grounds, but as much as Subaru wanted to blame the Finest of Knights for what happened, he couldn't.

He had behaved in a manner that embarrassed Emilia in front of the Kingdom's current governing body the Sage Council, the Royal Knights, and her fellow Royal Candidates. It was small wonder that during previous loops, the other Candidates thought so little of him.

Crusch coldly shot Subaru down when he pleaded for help to stop the Witch's Cult from attacking Arlam Village.

Anastasia played him like a fiddle before pointing out how pathetic he seemed to her.

He hadn't seen Felt, but she probably didn't think highly of him after his little stunt, not to mention what he said to Reinhard.

Priscilla nearly beat him to death out of disgust and rage and vowed to destroy Emilia's Camp just to spite him.

"Wait, when you say 'inter-camp', you just mean the ones in our alliance, right?"

"Yes. I wanted to include Felt and Priscilla, but Otto argued against it." Emilia took a sip of her tea.

Subaru let out a relieved sigh and leaned back in his seat. He wouldn't mind seeing Felt and the members of her Camp, but Priscilla's was another story. He didn't even think Al, Priscilla's knight and Subaru's isekai confidant, could bridge that gap.

"Otto made a good call. I kind of thought he would say it was a good opportunity for networking or something."

"Under other circumstances, I might. But this is the Royal Selection we're talking about."

The people on the sofa looked over towards the green-clad merchant, currently trouncing a grimacing Garfiel at Shatranj. Otto moved a piece on the board. Garfiel frowned when Otto finished his move.

"Really, you're eavesdropping? That's a terrible influence on Petra and Beako."

"Isn't it a matter of course to listen when someone speaks right next to you!?"

Everyone in the camp had grown accustomed to Otto playing the straight man to Subaru's wise guy. Emilia smiled at his jibe and Garfiel gave a toothy grin, trying to stifle a laugh. While Otto was distracted, he moved a game piece of his own.

"Otto, calm down and tell him what you told me," Emilia said calmly.

Otto took a deep breath and sighed.

"If the race comes down to Emilia-sama and the other Camps in the Alliance, they won't hold back. It will make any loss to or from them hit much harder."

"It's surprising to see Otto so on the ball."

"Do you have faith in me or not!?"

"Betty agrees with the merchant. It would be rather childish, I suppose."

"Beako!?"

Subaru and Petra flinched a little at what his contracted partner had just said, but tried not to jostle her off his lap. The blonde spirit calmly took a sip of her tea and continued.

"They may be your allies now, I suppose, but they are also your political rivals. It would be imprudent to let your guard down around them just because they've been a little friendly towards you, in fact. Betty wouldn't be surprised if they used anything you have said or done to their advantage."

Subaru understood where they were coming from. The Royal Selection wasn't some casual tournament between friends; it was a competition with the winner getting the entire Kingdom of Lugunica. When the chips are finally down, neither candidate besides Emilia will have a reason to play nice. And a victory against them would feel bittersweet at best.

But, even still…

"I'd like to see them again…", Subaru muttered to himself. Emilia and Petra smiled, while Beatrice sighed.

Otto moved another piece on the Shatranj board.

"Check."

Garfiel looked like he was about to flip the table over.

In the forest outside of Costuul, a boy wearing a white cloak trudged forward. The hood covering his head had two conspicuous ear-like points at the top. The clothes he wore underneath his cloak, as well as his shoes, were too refined for trekking through the wilderness.

The boy walked slowly, turning his head and even spinning around like a curious child to see more of his surroundings. He looked at a tree with an odd-looking bend and came to a halt.

"Didn't I… just see that back there?"

He slumped his shoulders and groaned.

"I'm going in circles?"

The boy turned his head to look at the sky, lost in thought. He couldn't tell the position of the sun in the sky, although he noticed it didn't look quite like 'high noon', as his father would say.

The last thing he remembered was playing in his family's yard after eating lunch, then falling asleep. When he woke up he was lying in the middle of a forest, the whereabouts of which escaped him. He had been wandering around trying to get his bearings ever since.

But how did he come there? He knew spells like Al Shamak were capable of sending someone great distances. His big sister had taught him that fact; just not how to actually cast the spell. The boy wished that she had taught him how to cast it; he wanted to get back home as soon as he could.

But how could he find his way out of a forest he'd never seen before?

As he was looking up into the trees, he was struck by inspiration. A favorite game he and his family would play was using Murak spells to see just how high they could jump. He always liked to take in the view.

"Maybe if I get up high…?"

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a stick snapping.

The boy looked towards the source of the sound and saw a large black and orange dog with a reptilian tail and a horn on its snout.

"An Ulgarm," the boy muttered.

One by one, more Ulgarm emerged, from behind trees and the shadows themselves.

They outnumbered the boy nearly a dozen to one, but remained on guard. Their prey was surrounded, but didn't show any hint of panic. In fact, he seemed more annoyed than afraid.

"I'm not in the mood to deal with you guys. Go on. Shoo." The boy flapped a hand away from him condescendingly.

Mabeasts aren't known for their intelligence, but like most animals they can tell when they're looked down on. And they didn't take kindly to their next meal smugly brushing them aside. They lunged all at once with slavering maws wide open.

"El Shamak."

Suddenly, a cloud of dark mist shot out of the boy and engulfed the incoming Ulgarm. They lost all sensation in their bodies and collided into each other. The boy calmly moved out of their way until the last one fell through. Neither a twitch nor a sound came from the paralyzed Mabeasts.

The boy moved his palms towards himself.

"Murak."

Light purple waves wrapped themselves around the boy. Just like that, he felt the effects of gravity on his body greatly diminish.

"Ready…"

He crouched down, a hand holding his hood in place, and jumped off the ground with all his might.

"Go!"

The boy rocketed out of the dark mist and into the air, leaving a trail of dust behind. He continued to rise higher and higher until he passed the forest canopy and was several feet above it.

With his lessened gravity, the boy slowly descended onto a nearby tree branch and grabbing onto it. He could feel the wind pick up from how high up he was.

He turned his hooded head to and fro, a hand on his forehead to block out the sun.

"Dang it! I can't see the Capital from here! Just how far away am I!?"

His great idea had come up short and his patience was running out. He felt his insides bunch up as a fear-born chill washed over him. He breathed deeply through his nose and exhaled slowly through his mouth, like his father had taught him. It helped to keep some of the panic at bay.

Murak was still active, so the boy practically glided from treetop to treetop, desperately trying to find something. He nearly lost his footing once or twice, but quickly righted himself.

The boy noticed the trees were a little sparse in one area. If there were fewer trees, it meant someone had cleared them out. He leapt to get closer to the receding tree line.

Sure enough, his curiosity was rewarded. What he found was a clearing, and in that clearing was what looked like a mansion.

Petra was out on the mansion's lawn, putting the freshly washed laundry onto the clothesline to dry. She pulled on the sides of a large sheet to make sure it was entirely spread out without any wrinkles.

Today was Ram's turn for laundry duty, but as she had gone into Costuul with Rem for groceries, she shamelessly foisted her responsibility onto the junior maid. Petra was nearly done with her task.

The auburn-haired girl started to hum a song as she hung up one of Frederica's maid uniforms. It was something she had overheard Subaru singing and asked to learn it, which he was happy to oblige.

"You know, Petra, I would have helped if you had asked."

"Ah, Subaru-sama." Petra spotted Subaru and Beatrice approaching her from the mansion.

"With Beako's help, all the laundry could have been washed like that." Subaru snapped his fingers. "Create a torrent of water, throw in the soap, and you have a mana-powered washing machine!"

"I didn't get some of that, but you shouldn't cheat by using magic, Subaru-sama." Petra looked a little disappointed as she continued to hang up laundry. "Besides, Frederica nee-sama said I should get used to working on my own."

"But didn't Ram foist this onto you so she could go with Rem for groceries? Then cheating is A-OK!" Subaru flashed a grin and gave a thumb's up. Petra still didn't seem too enthused to use magic to get her chores done.

"Betty is quite happy that her contractor thinks so highly of her. But the mana required for that and what Betty can provide are incompatible, I suppose."

"Oh, really?" Subaru scratched a cheek. "Well, not like we couldn't have helped out the old-fashioned way. As the saying goes, 'six hands are faster than two'."

"Betty has never heard such a nonsensical phrase in all her 400 years, in fact!"

"I just coined it! Your contractor just made history right now!" Subaru looked awfully proud of himself.

"That will not be the only thing you'll be famous for, in fact! Betty will see to it!"

Subaru patted the spirit's head with a laugh while she huffed. Petra resumed her task of hanging the wet laundry, softly giggling. She grabbed a maid uniform, presumably one of the twins', and attached the garment to the line with a couple clothes pins.

"Heads uuuuuuup!"

The three jumped a little when they heard a shout. However, no one was more surprised than Subaru at hearing a phrase straight from his homeland.

Even odder, it sounded as though the voice came from just above Subaru.

Subaru turned around in time to see a child careening towards him head first.

"Murak!"

Subaru heard the figure shout a spell mere moments before they hit Subaru square on the forehead. Subaru unconsciously recoiled back and fell on his rear. He noticed that the blow hadn't killed him; rather it felt like someone had just smacked him in the head.

The child seemed to almost bounce back and land on their feet with their back turned. They gasped when they noticed their hood had fallen down and quickly pulled it over their head.

"Subaru, are you alright!?" Beatrice said with a panic-stricken voice. Petra ran over to the fallen knight to make sure he was okay.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Now then", Subaru stood up and turned to the face the figure with a scowl. "What's the point of saying 'heads up' if it's too late for me to move!?"

"If someone says 'heads up', that means you move! That's common sense!" The figure also turned to face Subaru and the two young girls. Upon seeing the three glaring, their voice caught.

Subaru deduced that the newcomer was likely a boy around Petra's age, based on his size and the pitch of his voice. Subaru also noticed that the cloak the boy was wearing was similar to Emilia's, only smaller and with black accents instead of purple. On closer inspection, his clothes and shoes also looked fancy.

"You nearly killed Betty's contractor, in fact, and that's all you can say for yourself!?" Beatrice was red in the face with anger at this stranger's callousness to endangering Subaru.

"If you really feel sorry, then apologize to Subaru right now!" Even Petra raised her voice with her hands at her hips.

For about a minute, the boy stood in silence. He stared at the two girls, glaring furiously at him.

No, the only one he was focused on was…

"…Dad?"

It took all of a second for their expressions to change from ones of anger to ones of bewilderment.

"And… Big sis and Petra nee-sama, too?" the boy continued. "But…you're all really young… And why are you here and not…"

"D-do I know you?" the auburn-haired maid asked. Petra was noticeably uncomfortable that someone she had never met before knew her name. She backed away a bit, just enough to be closer to Subaru.

Subaru felt the atmosphere get tenser. He coughed into a fist, partly to clear his throat and also to relieve the tension a bit.

"Sorry, but you must be mistaking me for someone else. There's no way I've had a kid with anyone."

"Huh?"

"If Subaru had a child, he would certainly have told Betty, in fact." Beatrice crossed her arms and huffed. "Not to mention you look too old to be his long-lost child."

"Yes, exactly! There's no way Subaru-sama could be anyone's father. He's too young."

"Wait, how old are you?" Subaru scratched the back of his head.

"I'll be eleven in a few months."

"That means… I would have been a father at seven years old!? That's not just impossible, that's just gross!" Subaru yelled to the heavens with his hands in his head. He didn't even want to think about the circumstances behind that.

"But… your name is Subaru, right? Subaru Natsuki?"

"How do you know Betty's contractor's full name, I wonder?" Beatrice's voice was low and threatening. Subaru didn't think it was just residual anger from before.

"Because that's my Dad's name. Didn't you hear me before, Big Sis?"

"What did you just call Betty, I wonder!?"

"Hold it, time out! This is starting to get confusing!"

Everyone looked at Subaru.

"Okay. You said I was your father before Beako spilled the beans." Beatrice pouted at her contractor saying she may have revealed too much. "If that's the case, how did you recognize me? It could just be there's another person with the same name as me."

"It's your eyes. They're scary like my dad's." Subaru looked dejected at the boy saying his defining feature was his less-than-pleasant eyes. "And you wear those weird clothes sometimes when you're alone with Mom. It makes her happy." The boy crossed his arms and nodded with certainty.

"Your… Mom?"

"Okay, but what about me?" This time, everyone's attention was on the Petra, still close to Subaru's side. "Why do you know my name when I don't even know yours?"

"Wait, you're really Petra nee-sama?" the boy blurted out. The surprise in his voice was evident.

"You just guessed her name, I wonder?", Beatrice scoffed. "Betty finds that hard to believe."

"I saw her hair and ribbon and maid outfit and just thought she looked like a younger Petra nee-sama!" The boy started to wave his arms up and down as he babbled on. "No wonder she's so cute!"

"H-huh!?" Petra was taken aback by the sudden compliment. The junior maid thought her heart would skip a beat if Subaru had said those words to her.

"But you're not even half as pretty as the Petra nee-sama I know. Maybe even less than half."

"…Oh really?"

Subaru and Beatrice suddenly felt a chill. Bad as he was at reading the mood, even Subaru could tell the boy just stepped on a landmine.

The boy in question made a sound and started shaking his hands in front of him in a panic.

"Th-that's not what I meant, I swear! I meant you're really pretty, but I just know someone who prettier!"

"Yikes. Even I'm not this bad…"

"Betty almost pities him, I suppose. Almost."

Both spirit and contractor were left absolutely gob smacked at the boy's ineptitude. A simple apology would have sufficed, but he kept on talking and dug himself deeper. He eventually settled for crouching and grabbing his head while making indistinct noises out of pure frustration.

Subaru decided that he couldn't take any more of the pathetic display in front of him, child or not. With a sigh Subaru approached the boy, much to Beatrice and Petra's displeasure. The boy noticed the black-haired knight now standing a few feet away and stopped his bemoaning.

"You know, you might know things about us, but we don't know anything about you." Subaru gave the boy a reassuring grin and pointed at himself with a thumb. "How about we start over and introduce ourselves properly?"

The boy stared at Subaru in silence then nodded his head.

"OK…", the boy practically whispered. Subaru pretended not to notice how the mysterious boy casually used one of the many 'Subaruisms' he himself introduced to the world. The boy slowly righted himself and looked at Subaru.

"Alright then, let's get started!" With renewed vigor, Subaru raised a finger to the sky and stuck his hip out to the side.

"I'm Subaru Natsuki! The one and only Spirit Knight of the half-elf Emilia!" He pointed the same finger at the boy and continued. "I don't have any kids yet, so I can't just take you at your word. But I hope we can still get along!"

Petra smiled, while Beatrice seemed conflicted between pride in her contractor and disapproval at him being so brazen with a potential enemy.

The boy only stared at Subaru before giving a grin of his own. It seemed like he regained a bit of his confidence.

"Oh yeah? Well, two can play at that game!" The boy grabbed the sides of his hood and yanked it back.

The moment Subaru saw the boy's uncovered face, he felt his heart freeze. Petra and Beatrice both gasped and went wide-eyed.

The boy's eyes were the same amethyst color as Emilia's, but intimidating like Subaru's. His hair was an eye-catching silver like Emilia's, but cut short and combed back like Subaru's. His ears were also slightly pointed, an unmistakable mark of elven heritage.

The more Subaru, Beatrice, and Petra looked, the more uncanny the boy's resemblance was to both Subaru's and Emilia's own.

With a cocky grin, the boy raised a finger to the sky and put a hand on his hip.

"I'm Tonnura Natsuki! The son of Queen Emilia Natsuki…"

The boy, Tonnura, then pointed his finger at Subaru, who could only stare in shock.

"And her one and only knight, Subaru Natsuki! So when I call you Dad, I really mean it!"

No one said a word after Tonnura's declaration. Subaru wanted to say something, but his mind was still trying to process what he just witnessed. Finally, the silver-haired boy spoke up.

"So, uh, where exactly am I?"