Subaru had always seen Otto as a good friend, but he never imagined there could be any romantic competition between them. That was until one day, while on a trip with Emilia, he noticed Otto behaving a bit too attentively toward her. Subaru laughed it off at first, thinking it was harmless. But then Emilia started laughing at Otto's jokes, complimenting him on his resourcefulness, and even thanking him for helping her during their travels.

Subaru's insecurities flared up as he realized that Otto, in his own quiet way, had been getting closer to Emilia while Subaru was too busy focusing on grand gestures. Feeling sidelined, Subaru tried to one-up Otto by performing an over-the-top magical display, hoping to grab Emilia's attention. But in his haste, he botched the spell, creating a chaotic gust of wind that blew debris everywhere.

A stray piece of wood flew straight at Subaru, knocking him unconscious before he even had a chance to make his grand impression. As he lay there, knocked out cold, Otto continued his conversation with Emilia, unaware that Subaru had once again humiliated himself.