-Dining Room-

After a rather hectic morning for Subaru and Ram, the next hour proceeded rather smoothly. Ram is generally pretty poor at cooking, but when it comes to tatoe related dishes, she excels at making those so much that they could even rival professional chefs all across Lugunica. Everyone is amazed that depending on what she makes, she can either be terrific or awful.

Since Subaru is also quite adept at creating tatoe related dishes, and all other dishes for that matter, Ram cooking tatoes in Subaru's body was not seen as strange at all. Frederica came into the kitchen not long after Ram arrived and they cooked together. They made a little small talk, and nothing aroused Frederica's suspicion.

Meanwhile, Subaru did what Ram usually does in the mornings before breakfast, which is allocate the daily chores to the two youngest maids, Petra and Meili. Like with Ram's cooking, this proceeded quite smoothly. The only hiccup Subaru encountered was when Petra asked him why he was being nicer than usual. Once he heard that, he instantly switched into Ram mode. That is, he began to act high and mighty and gave lame tsundere like excuses for why he was nicer than normal. Thankfully they bought his excuses, but this incident firmly instilled within Subaru that he is now in Ram's body and must act like her when he's with others.

Soon enough, breakfast is prepared and everyone files into the dining room.

"Good morning everyone." Otto says in a politeful manner as he's the second-to-last person to arrive.

"Mornin' everyone! Mornin' Capt'n!" Garfiel greets with a toothy grin, wrapping an arm around Subaru's shoulder as he often does whenever he greets his captain.

"Ew, get your hand off me." Ram, in a movement that's purely reflexive, shoves Garfiel's arm off of her shoulder and backs away.

"Huh? Uh…sorry Capt'n. Did my amazin' self somehow offend ya?" He looks down as he says this, truly worried he did something offensive towards Subaru without knowing it.

Ram's eyes dart across the room. She sees Subaru, who's giving her a slightly panicked expression. Likely afraid that they're going to get figured out. Then her eyes lock onto Beatrice's, who's butterfly pupils twinkle a little from the overhead light. Her eyelids slowly lower as she gives a light scowl, no doubt telling her she's already failed at her mission of acting like Subaru.

"Natsuki-san probably just wants to have his personal boundaries respected. I know how he feels. Sometimes you do those shoulder hugs way too frequently." Otto says. Often the victim of Garfiel's overbearing and strong shoulder hugs that nearly make him collapse onto the floor, he knows how Subaru must feel to be on the receiving end of one of those.

"That's just how bros act sometimes Brotto!" Garfiel protests.

After a brief moment, Ram sighs a little and looks back at Garfiel. "No. I'm sorry. I didn't get enough sleep last night so I'm a little grouchy. Forgive my rudeness."

"Ah, that's it? You shoulda' jus' said so! Though ya don't have to be so formal 'bout it. Just say it normally!"

"Hey onii-san! Look at this plushy sweet onee-san made for me!" Meili grins as she runs towards Ram and puts out her plushy in front of her on full display. It's a white rabbit with red eyes and a small little white horn on top of its head.

"H-Hey! Don't flaunt it in front of him like that! You know Subaru-kun doesn't like white rabbits!" Rem says.

"What awful taste, I suppose." Beatrice complains upon seeing it. "Why would Rem ever agree to making it?"

"If it wasn't for those red eyes and that horn I'd think it would be pretty cute." Petra says.

"She's been begging me for weeks to make it. And while I'm aware a certain clown had utilized them against Subaru-kun, I figured making one for her to keep to herself would be alright." Rem replies, briefly giving Roswaal on the other side of the room the stink eye.

"Nothing happened in the end, riiiiight Rem? I don't think it's good to keep holding deep grudges like that for this long you knooooow." Roswaal says, already sitting at the head of the table.

"You instigated it." Rem briefly looks at him one more time to say that in a cold tone before redirecting her attention elsewhere.

After learning what Roswaal had done the previous year at the Sanctuary, between hiring Elsa to attack the old mansion and instigating the deadly rabbits to appear in the Sanctuary, forcing Subaru and Beatrice to lock them in another dimension, Rem has essentially lost all respect for her master. It especially didn't help that Roswaal was trying to get Subaru to be more like him and make specific decisions based on what was going on around him. If she had her way, she would've have left the Roswaal estate over a year ago. However she knew along with everyone else that they needed Roswaal if Emilia was to have any decent chance of winning the Royal Selection.

For that reason, along with her two most precious people in the world living here, she has decided to stay and help out around the mansion, her job essentially unchanged from before the Sanctuary incident. The only real change is that she refuses to directly serve Roswaal.

Anyway, Ram responds to Meili's question about her plushy, "It's not too awful. But I must agree with Beatrice-sama that this is rather tasteless."

"There ya go with yer weird formality again! Ya feelin' alright Capt'n?" Garfiel comes up to Ram with a look of concern.

"I think Subaru has been studying butler etiquette and has been trying reeaaally hard to perfect it! If you ask me, he's doing a great job so far!" Emilia gives a warm smile of approval to who she thinks is Subaru.

"Is that so? Then I can't help but give my full support." Otto states with a large smile, relief evident within his voice.

"Meh, formality is boring! Onii-san, never change! Keep being the weirdo you are!" Meili takes a step back and clutches her white rabbit plushie.

"Now now Meili, that's no way to act as a maid. Formality may be boring, but it's very important." Frederica comes by and picks up Meili princess style, bringing her to her seat at the table and setting her down in it.

Subaru, standing behind and to the right of Roswaal, gulps deeply in fear and worry. In fear for seeing that plushie of the white rabbit. That brought back some awful memories. In worry that Ram is going to reveal their secret sooner or later. Emilia may have unknowingly bailed them out this time, but it likely wouldn't happen again.

Meanwhile, off to the side from everyone else, Beatrice gestures for Ram to kneel down to her height. Once she does so, she harshly whispers, "Call me Beako in public, in fact. Usually Betty would never allow such casual speaking to a Great Spirit such as I. However, Subaru is an exception, in fact. As such, while you're with Betty in public, you must refer to Betty the same way Subaru does."

"...Understood." She reluctantly agrees.

"Everyone, the food will get cold soon, so I suggest sitting down and eating before it does so." Frederica announces to all the residents, not wanting the breakfast she and the other staff worked on to go to waste. They agree and everyone sits down except for Subaru, Frederica, and Rem. The former two stand behind Roswaal while the lattermost stands behind Ram.

Typically all employees are supposed to stand by, prepared to refill food and drink for the participants eating, while they themselves would eat a little later after the main meal is complete. However, Petra and Meili are still in training. Plus they hate having to wait to eat, so everyone else lets them eat at the table.

As for Ram, well, normally it's Subaru who eats at the table. He first did so when he was still a guest at the mansion, and everyone has let him sit ever since, even after he became an employee. Since their bodies are swapped, it's now Ram who gets to sit at the table while Subaru stands by, ready to fulfill orders as needed.

Ram of course is rather grateful at this opportunity to be able to sit and eat first before the rest of the adult staff. Being in Barusu's body really does have its advantages. She thinks to herself. Aside from having to give mana to Beatrice, there has really been no drawbacks to being in his body.

Subaru is a little disappointed that he'll have to wait longer than usual to eat, but he doesn't mind too much as he gets to watch Emilia eat her food in the cute way she does it.

The residents eat and make small talk for a while, enjoying themselves while doing so. They find the tatoes quite delicious and thank the chefs. Extra praise is given to Ram because one, she primarily made them, and two, she doesn't cook often anymore. It didn't really matter if Ram cooked the tatoes in Subaru's body or not as they both prepared the meals together. Everyone was too busy to watch the chefs cook to notice anything amiss. All they knew is that Ram cooked alongside Subaru.

The response to said praise comes out a little awkward and is humble as Subaru had to answer in Ram's stead. The residents think it is a little weird considering how Ram usually responds to praise, which is with pride and ego, but none of them say anything about it. It is only after the fact that Subaru realizes his error and internally chastises himself for making it.

At one point, Emilia brings up a new point of discussion by saying, "I'm looking forward to going on this date thing tomorrow! It'll be nice to get out and not have to think about all that studying I have to do for an entire afternoon. Where are we going Subaru?" She looks at Ram with an expectant look on her face.

Subaru desperately wants to answer, but he's forced to stand back and not make a sound. After all, it wouldn't make sense for "Ram" to answer her. He could only hope Ram wouldn't try to cancel his date. Ram, please!

Ram doesn't even look up from her food after Emilia says this. She's too focused on savoring the succulent taste of the tatoes she made. It's only after she feels a sharp pinch to her right arm does she pay attention to her surroundings.

"Subaru?" Emilia calls his name again in concern.

Looking to her right, Ram sees Beatrice looking at her yet again with a cross expression. With a gesture of her finger, Ram leans her head towards her.

With a harsh whisper, the Great Spirit says, "Stop ignoring her and give an answer, in fact!"

She whispers back, "I told Barusu to-"

"I know, in fact! He's silently pleading for you to not cancel it! If you don't answer in a way that lets them do their date, Betty will, in fact." Even though Subaru is trying to not show it, there are little expressions on his face and the way he's moving his hands that clearly show, at least to her, how anxious he is.

Tch. Thanks to Barusu, my appetite is now ruined. Growling a little internally, Ram makes eye contact with Emilia and says, "I'll let that be a surprise. If something were to come up and I couldn't make it, could we reschedule?"

Emilia frowns, "Did something come up that you need to do tomorrow?"

It's a few moments before she makes any movements, but Ram eventually shakes her head, "...no. It was merely hypothetical."

She sighs in relief, "Whew! I'm glad. It's been quite awhile since we've been able to go out like this, so I would've been reeeaally sad if we had to wait even longer."

Hearing how excited Emilia is makes Ram feel a little guilty about taking this opportunity for some well-earned relaxation time away from her. This guilt only accumulates when Roswaal speaks up with a grand smile.

"I doooooo hope that you and Subaru-kun will have a most excellent rendezvous. It's impeeeeerative to grow closer to those you consider dear to you. Subaru-kun, I expect you to do your utmost to care for Emilia-sama and make sure she's as happy as can be. Just make sure you two aren't…tooooo intimate. It's too early to deal with those sorts of responsibilities." He gives a light chuckle as he says that, but it's clear to multiple people in the room that he's being dead serious.

"I would never!" Ram spits out, shocked to hear Roswaal mention such things.

"I'm certain Subaru-kun knows all of that even without telling him. What are you, his father?" Rem states coldly to him.

"Yeah! What she said!" Petra shouts in agreement with Rem, happy to get a jab in at Roswaal. However, something he said probes her curiosity, "What did you mean by 'too intimate'?"

"Hmm, I wonder as well." Emilia says, her curiosity getting stoked.

"Oh, oh! I know this!" Meili says excitedly, "It's when a boy and a girl get really close together and-"

"Let's stop right there!" Frederica quickly moves over to Meili and puts a hand over her mouth.

"Awww, why? I was so interested in hearing what Roswaal meant by that." Emilia pouts and grumpily chews the piece of tatoe on her fork.

"There are certain topics that only grownups should know. Not little girls like you two. Why do you know about it Meili?" Frederica asks.

"Elsa told me!"

"What a bad influence." Subaru groans. Not only did she learn her assassination techniques from her, but she also learned about such mature topics at such a young age.

"Hey! Don't talk about her like that scary Nee-san!" She points a finger at who she thinks is Ram. "She raised me after all! I would've died already if it wasn't for her."

"I'm with her! That vampire was nothin' but trouble for all of us! Seriously, her healin' was no joke! At one point I thought she was unkillable!"

"Elsa…" Meili frowns deeply. After she died, Meili had originally intended to avenge her caretaker and mother figure in some way. How exactly, she didn't know. She thought about killing them multiple times and came close to doing so, but Subaru and the others showed how much they care about her despite what she did in the past. For that reason, amongst a few others, Meili gave up on avenging Elsa and has instead decided to support the Emilia camp. While her former caretaker isn't on her mind too much anymore, she does still get sad whenever she's brought up and reminisces on old memories.

"Um, I suggest we move onto another topic." Rem says, sensing the tense atmosphere building up.

They do as she suggests, and nothing notable happens for the remainder of the meal. After the meal, everyone begins their tasks for the day.

Afternoon

-Hallway-

Subaru had trouble completing his chores. He completely underestimated just how much the fatigue would ultimately bother him. The first half of the day went by pretty uneventfully. Subaru felt more tired than usual, but he pushed through with relative ease.

"Okay, Ram usually ends her work day around this time, when the sun is still clearly high in the sky." Subaru puts a hand to his forehead to shield his eyes from the powerful rays of the sun coming in through one of the hallway windows. "It's been a little more difficult to do the chores than before, I'll admit. But I won't give in to laziness like her! I'll be responsible and complete all the chores Ram usually does! Then I can hopefully persuade her to go on the date with Emilia-tan! It sucks I can't go with her, but I have no other choice. I can't have her waiting any longer than I already have. And I have no idea when I'll be back to my normal body…sigh. Hearing Ram's voice whenever I speak is still weird."

"Barusu, you better stop muttering useless prattle to yourself aloud like this. What if someone hears you?" A voice calls out to him from behind.

"N-Nee-sama! Sheesh. Tell me when you arrive. But you're right…sorry. Bad habit of mine. I'll work on not doing that so much."

"Frankly, you have way too many bad habits. It's hopeless you'll ever be rid of all of them." Ram sighs as she puts her hands to her hips. "I see you're already off to your next task."

As she says this, she notices Subaru holding a metal bucket full of water in his right hand and a mop in his left.

He smiles proudly, "Yep! Gonna be mopping Roswaal's office. Thankfully he seems to upkeep himself rather well, so it shouldn't be too much work."

"You're wrong." She narrows her eyes and speaks in a disapproving manner.

"Huh?"

"Roswaal-sama's office is the third most important room in this mansion. As you know, many important and influential people come here on official business. Roswaal-sama has an important image to uphold, both for himself and wherever he takes care of business. As such, I will not allow any sort of slacking or indolent behavior from you Barusu. Even if Roswaal-sama does an exemplary job in keeping his office clean, not even he can spot every speck of dust. Do your job properly."

"Aren't you expecting way too much by having me picking up stray specks of dust that'll just get replaced in an instant by brand new specks?! And what are the two most important rooms?"

"Naturally Rem and Roswaal-sama's rooms are the most important rooms in this mansion. You do not have to worry about those rooms. I'd rather you stay away from them."

"Ah, of course…" Subaru figures the reason Roswaal's office is number third on Ram's list of most important rooms in the mansion is not purely for keeping up appearances. It is one of Roswaal's rooms after all… He thinks. Then he asks, "Why do I have to avoid those rooms?"

"Ah. I have more tasks to attend to." With that as her excuse, Ram ignores Subaru's question, turns around, and walks away.

"Wai-" Subaru tries calling out to her, but she has already turned the corner. Picking back up the bucket, he accidentally knocks over the mop that was leaned up against the wall with his left hand. He had attempted to grip it, but thanks to the bangs blocking his left eye, he misjudged where his left hand was in relation to the mop. "Ugh, these bangs. Probably shouldn't mention to her that Rem often invites me to her room to talk." He mumbles to himself.

Leaning down and picking up the mop, he begins the second half of his set of overall chores to do. As he works on these chores, Subaru would slowly begin to realize why Ram takes as many breaks as she does.

"That Barusu, who does he think he is to ask that?" Ram huffs to herself as she walks off to her next task, taking down clothes from the clothesline and putting up new ones.

Still. Barusu surprisingly didn't look that fatigued. I thought at the very least he'd be sweating and panting by now with how much he's worked today. It doesn't make sense. She muses over Subaru's condition. She totally expected that he would not be able to adapt to her much lower mana capacity and would have requested the rest of the day off or simply passed out entirely. Not only did he not do either of those things, he seemed to be perfectly fine.

Not only that, but Barusu's body is quite durable and resilient.

Though she may have already lost her horn long ago, Ram is still a part of the formidable oni race. Her pure brute strength is much higher compared to any normal human's. Since entering his body, she's tested just how much weaker his body is compared to hers. To her shock, while he is indeed much weaker than her in terms of brute strength, the difference wasn't quite as major as she expected. Additionally, his flexibility, as far as she's aware, is about on par with hers. Finally, his stamina is of course much higher than hers. I know he's practiced a lot with Clind in the past and we had that whole thing at the watchtower. He's nowhere near Roswaal-sama, but perhaps I underestimated him a little. I wouldn't mind having this body to do my chores for a little while longer.

While she didn't mind having his body for a while longer, Ram felt a chill that she couldn't really place. It was like, there is more than meets the eye regarding Subaru's body. Plus his shoulders have been bothering her a little bit throughout the day. Not enough to where she bothered to check it out, but the discomfort is there. This immediately makes her think about what he said regarding undressing his body and that he explicitly told her not to do so.

As she ponders over these various thoughts floating within her mind, she hears a voice up ahead. "So useless, in fact!"

"Beatrice-sama?" Ram calls out to her, wondering what has her in an irritated mood.

"Oh, it's you I suppose." Looking up from the book she's holding in her hands, Beatrice greets Ram in an irksome manner.

"What's the matter?"

"This book, in fact! It contains nothing but useless facts on the tax system for Lugunica!"

"My apologies for asking, but why are you reading a book that is clearly about the tax history of Lugunica?" Ram asks, tilting her head to the side to read the title of Beatrice's book, which is, "The Complicated History of Lugunican Taxes".

"You really know nothing, I suppose." Beatrice shuts the book and closes her butterfly pupiled eyes for a moment. "But I suppose that is expected of one who doesn't read often."

"That is incorrect. I very often read and go over various documents with Roswaal-sama."

"Those aren't books, in fact. Ever heard the saying 'don't judge a book by its cover'?"

"No. I presume it's another one of Barusu's sad attempts at displaying wisdom."

"You and your stupid presumptions, I suppose! Betty admits a lot of Subaru's sayings are weird, but this one actually makes a lot of sense! Betty is surprised she didn't come up with it sooner, in fact. Anyway, it means that while the title may say one thing, the contents within may be completely different."

"Oh, so you're searching for anything unrelated to the taxes of Lugunica?"

"Precisely, in fact. Your brain isn't full of mush after all."

Ram is a little ticked off by that insult. However, she lets it go as she doesn't want to anger the Great Spirit who right now is giving it her all to find a way to restore her and Subaru back to normal. So, she asks, "Have you found anything useful yet?"

"What do you think, I wonder?" She snarkily responds.

"That would be a no."

"I've skimmed over a hundred books, and nothing useful has appeared yet, I suppose. Now, Betty has more reading to do. So stop wasting my time, in fact." With a huff, Beatrice marches down the hall while reopening her book to where she left off.

"I suppose we both desperately wish for this nightmare to end." Ram thoughtfully mutters to herself as she resumes her walk down the hall towards her next task.

Later that night

-Outside Roswaal's Office-

It's time. Oh why does it have to be me… Subaru groans internally outside the door to Roswaal's office. Some time has passed since the sun went down, and the minutes kept ticking by until the inevitable time that Subaru, in Ram's body, would have to visit Roswaal in order to get her nightly infusion of mana. Couldn't someone else do this? …Nah. I don't wish this on anyone else. No one would be willing to do this anyway, especially Rem and Petra. Actually…Rem would bear it for the sake of her sister. Still, I don't wish this on any of them. It'll be fine…it'll be fine… He takes a deep breath to calm himself.

To say Subaru is not looking forward to this would be an understatement. All he has heard directly are the small moans Ram would utter from time to time. That was more than enough to let Subaru's imagination run wild, which he'd often instantly regret.

Am I gonna survive this? I won't, like, pass out from embarrassment or mana overdose, right? Not nearly as trusting in Roswaal as the owner of this body, many concerning questions flow through his mind. And that's even after Ram drilled into him exactly how the procedure will go.

Flashback Start

-Subaru's Room-

"You will enter Roswaal-sama's office, greet him, and ask him about his day. Then you will nestle yourself onto his lap and say you are ready for the mana infusion. Make whatever small talk you need to, then leave."

"Seriously?! His lap? Why his lap? Can't I just sit in a chair like any sensible person would do?" Subaru responds to her appalled at the idea of sitting all chummy in the lap of Roswaal of all people. If it was Emilia or Rem, then he'd agree immediately. Even Otto or Garfiel didn't sound that horribly embarrassing. But Roswaal? "...Ugh."

"No, this is how it's done. Don't make this any more complicated than it needs to be." Ram says sternly.

"You're the one making this whole situation complicated! I get you're infatuated with the guy, but don't you realize just how out of his league you are?!" He shouts a little.

"Barusu, you better stop making such outlandish assumptions that I'm into him." She stares at him crossly. However, she knows that he hit the mark directly. "I…am nothing more than his humble, lovely servant. It would inconvenience him if we were in a relationship. Now, go and do the mana infusion before I cancel your date with Emilia-sama who truly is out of your league."

"I'm going, I'm going! I know I'm out of her league. She's so beautiful, kind, and compassionate that she outshines me in every way possible. But I'm working hard everyday as her knight to become the man she can be proud to be beside!"

With that, he exits the room.

Flashback End

It also didn't help at all that Subaru felt like he was about to collapse onto the floor. He actually managed to complete all the chores Ram is supposed to do on a given day. That nearly made him wanna die and restart just so he wouldn't feel the literal pain he felt from the fatigue. But he reminded himself that he's felt way worse than this in the past and managed to successfully avoid cluing Ram into the fact he barely got through the day. After their talk, he takes a quick break before heading to Roswaal's office, regaining a small amount of his stamina.

"Please let this be quick…" Hoping for that deep within his soul, Subaru brings up a hand to knock on the door.

-Roswaal's Office-

"Come iiiiiiiin." A casual voice answers. Subaru opens the door to find Roswaal sitting at his desk with a pen in his right hand and a piece of paper in front of him.

He must be doing paperwork. Subaru muses.

"Good evening Roswaal-sama." Nearly stuttering, he gives a formal greeting.

"Ah, if it isn't Ram. I presume you're here for your mana, correeeeect?" Roswaal looks up from the paper and smiles.

"Yes, that's right."

"Give me oooooone moment. I must finish up writing this important letter."

Subaru nods and asks, "How was your day?"

"Very gooooood. Everything considered, this has been one of the calmer days in this mansion."

"Hehe…yes. I agree." He puts on a forced smile.

"Ah, it is now complete. Come here, I've made you wait long enough." Roswaal pats on his knee, indicating Subaru should sit there.

"Ugh…" In the tiniest mumble of disgust he can muster, he slowly walks over to him and timidly weasels his way onto the master of the household's legs.

Roswaal looks at him with concern, "Is something wrong Ram? You look rather nervous tonight. If something is on your mind, you caaaaan tell me you know. After all, if I don't take proper care of my staff and their quality of work suffers because of that, I'd have no reason to be the lord of this manor!

Oh crap! He shouts in his mind. He let too much of his disgust show! "No, I'm fine Roswaal-sama. I'm simply a little more tired than usual due to doing more chores than I'm used to doing. I hope I'm not causing you any trouble."

"I seeeee." Roswaal smiles, accepting the explanation to Subaru's relief. "I've been in my office all day so I had not noticed."

"It's no problem. Now, can we start with my *cough* mana infusion?" He asks, itching to get this moving along. I can smell his breath. It smells like…a literal garbage dumpster from my old world! How can one man's breath smell this horrible?!

Subaru has no idea what Roswaal eats in his off-time, but either something from that or just the natural bacteria in his mouth makes his breath so horrific that he nearly barfs on the spot. How in the world does Ram put up with him?!

The answer to that question would come very soon. Roswaal nods and begins to part his bangs.

Cold. Subaru thinks from feeling his hand briefly touching his skin. He nearly squinches but controls himself.

"For working so hard today, I'll give you an extra little boost of mana." Placing a couple of his fingers on the place where Ram's horn used to be, he begins pumping in his mana into him.

And this is where Subaru begins to experience absolute bliss.

"What…?" He lets out in a slightly surprised tone.

"Oooooh? Is the experience better than normal tonight?" Roswaal sounds a little amused at his reaction.

What…what is this feeling?! Subaru asks himself. He can feel the mana pouring into him. It's like a warm cup of milk slowly being poured down his throat. Not too thick but also not too thin. The temperature is perfect. Everything about it is perfect. This…this is amazing!

The world is lost around him as he focuses solely on this amazing feeling within his, or rather, Ram's body. Now he understands why Ram enjoys this mana infusion so much. If she gets to consistently enjoy this warm and pleasant sensation every night, then he could see how she puts up with his bad breath and anything else in her way!

Roswaal continues his treatment for a full minute before stopping.

"That felt…wonderful." Subaru mutters happily.

"You've always looked forward to these Ram, so I was concerned that you seemed apprehensive to do it tonight. It would've been raaaather unfortunate if it couldn't be done tonight."

After losing that wonderful sensation, Subaru begins to comprehend the world around him again, including Roswaal's utterly rank breath. He quickly gets off of the clown and backs away a few steps. "Why is that?"

Roswaal gives a slightly confused look at her getting off of him in such a quick manner, but pays it no mind as he answers her question, "I wiiiiiill be out on business tomorrow night and the night after. You know what that means, riiiight?"

"Ah…I won't be able to get my mana infusions done."

"That's right. Sooooo don't work yourself too hard. It would be raaaaather unfortunate to return to a collapsed Ram, wouldn't it?"

"Yes." Subaru gives a slight bow, "I understand perfectly. I'll make sure to take it easy for the next few days."

With that, Subaru makes sure Roswaal doesn't have anything more to say to him before swiftly exiting the room.

"That…didn't go as I thought it would." He says to himself, feeling rather conflicted on whether that overall experience just now was positive or negative. "He'll be gone for a few days. That'll potentially pose a problem. Hmm…wait. Roswaal did say he gave me an extra boost of mana for working hard today. I'm sure he planned in advance and gave me enough mana to last the next two days. Perfect! Now I can avoid having to go in there for a couple days at least! I'll show Ram that I can do all her chores without getting super tired!"

Shutting his eyes and smiling widely, Subaru happily walks down the hall, completely unaware of just how wrong his statements would end up being.

-Author's Corner-

A/N: Day 1 is complete! Let's see how Ram does on the date with Emilia in Subaru's body. After all, she never did cancel it.

Thanks to Aftermather for beta reading this chapter!

cheemz: Haha this is so random that it would be funny. I don't think Subaru has that much flexibility unfortunately. Plus I don't think that it'd help with him and Ram trying to keep a low cover. Thanks for the idea though!

Deathenglegamers1144: I'm glad to hear that!

Guest 1: I agree.

Guest 2: It's very possible. So far he's managed to avoid it. But who says he can keep overexerting himself forever?