Chapter 88: Untangling the Stubborn Knot
This world is not the real world; unlike the real world, it doesn't have many places to visit.
Moreover, Natsuki Subaru is not very familiar with the royal capital at all.
This made Subaru only able to wander aimlessly with Rem in the royal capital.
The two of them walked down the street with different mindsets.
For Subaru, although he had suggested going out together, he realized he had no idea where to take Rem to have fun.
His feelings naturally grew a little anxious, but Rem, walking beside him, didn't have many such thoughts.
For her, it didn't matter where they went; even just a simple stroll was enough, as long as Subaru was by her side.
That made her feel satisfied and happy. Since that day, Rem had been watching Subaru closely and could tell what kind of state he was in now.
Rem reached out her hand and took hold of Subaru's. Feeling his hand being held, Subaru stopped walking and turned to look at Rem.
"Subaru-kun, you really don't have to be so anxious. As long as I'm with you, Rem is already very content no matter where we go. Subaru-kun, just be yourself as usual. You don't need to worry too much about me."
Her heartfelt words made Subaru freeze. He blankly stared into Rem's eyes and finally showed a bitter smile.
He shook his head lightly to wipe away the bitterness from his face, then used his left hand to gently tap Rem's forehead.
"How could I not worry? Rem, you're my friend. As a friend, I can't not care about you."
After saying this, Subaru tightened his right hand around Rem's, smiling as he held her hand and looked straight ahead.
"Let's go! Since we finally have a chance to rest, let's walk through the entire royal capital!"
No matter what the future would be like, at least for now, he didn't have to think too much. He just had to take his dear friend and explore the entire capital.
Thinking too much wouldn't yield any useful solutions.
If he resisted forming deep bonds with everyone just because he would have to leave eventually, then he shouldn't have appeared here from the start.
That's right! If he had been afraid of forming deep ties, the man called Natsuki Subaru might have already died in that game.
After all, in the game, he had become close friends with Touma. Even though they didn't have the chance to meet after the game ended, Touma still stayed with him in spirit.
Ah — although they couldn't meet again, his face, his actions, his words were never forgotten.
Whenever Subaru got involved in an incident, Touma's silhouette would appear before his eyes, guiding him toward a perfect conclusion.
He shouldn't deceive himself with thoughts like "I'll have to go back sooner or later." He shouldn't use those words to avoid feelings he had never experienced.
Having untangled this knot in his heart, Subaru felt much lighter.
He spent the whole morning wandering the streets and alleys of the royal capital with Rem. They bought some fruit from a fruit stall, with the uncle vendor smiling silently.
They watched sights that only existed in another world and climbed up a high platform to overlook the entire royal capital.
No matter what they did, they felt happy and joyful.
"It really is big. It's no wonder we can't finish exploring it in one morning. What a pity," Subaru said, leaning against a low wall and gazing at the panoramic view of the royal capital.
Having always worked too hard before, he finally got to relax. No need to think too much or push himself too hard. He was no longer the person he used to be.
If he could meet his past self, he would definitely smile and say:
"I'm living a full and happy life, looking forward to tomorrow. You should catch up too."
"Rem."
"Rem's here."
"Shall we go out again tomorrow and visit the places we haven't been to yet?"
"Hmm!"
Hearing the response, Subaru turned to look at Rem and stretched lazily.
"Then let's go out together again tomorrow. For now, let's go back. We've been out all morning, and I'm tired. Also, holding these fruits all the time makes it hard to enjoy ourselves properly."
"That's okay. Rem can help carry these fruits."
"That won't do. This is our playtime, so I can't be the only one having fun."
Rem looked at Subaru's face, which was pretending to be angry but had a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.
She had already noticed some subtle changes in Subaru from earlier.
Walking together like this, she could finally confirm that Subaru had truly changed.
Since he turned around and held her hand, the invisible wall between them had disappeared.
"Hmm, I'll listen to Subaru-kun then. Let's go back."
"Let's go! Rest well, then we'll go out again tomorrow."
Subaru picked up a bag of fruit from the ground, and each of them carried one bag as they walked toward Crusch's house.
After some time, Subaru and Rem returned to the mansion and handed the fruit to a maid. Then they went to the lawn to begin exercising.
One watched while the other wielded a wooden sword; everything was as usual.
While training, Subaru began to miss the presence of Pack. Pack's presence made him clearly feel his progress during practice.
"Natsuki-sama."
Hearing the voice, Subaru stopped moving and turned to look in the direction it came from, seeing Wilhelm standing there, apparently having arrived unnoticed.
"Mr. Wilhelm, when did you get here?"
"Hm, just now. Natsuki-sama, you're really diligent. You just exercised this morning, and now you're starting again?"
"Ah, well, there's not much else to do here, so I thought I'd keep training."
"Effort is good, but overdoing it doesn't always help. I noticed many shortcomings in your swordsmanship during our last battle. If you don't mind, I can help train you."
"Eh?! Really! Please, train me! But won't it interfere with your own matters, Mr. Wilhelm?"
"I generally don't have much to do either.
Seeing your efforts today made me a bit eager. And since Natsuki-sama has his own reasons for wielding a sword, training alongside you sounds pretty good."
"Then please take care of me!"
Excited, Subaru bowed deeply to Wilhelm. Then the two started training on the lawn, but for Subaru, it felt less like training and more like taking a beating.
However, even though he was taking a beating, Subaru happily continued to endure it.