"Alright, alright! I get it! Just don't knock me out again, I'll cooperate! But Old Man Rom comes with me!"
In the blink of an eye, Felt—who had just finished packing her meager belongings to flee the storm—found herself staring down the legendary Sword Saint. Seeing Reinhard's resolute face, her expression collapsed into a resigned, sullen pout. She raised her hands in a swift, self-aware surrender.
She had no idea why Reinhard was looking at her as if she were a long-lost holy relic, but with the giant screen broadcasting to the entire world, she figured he wouldn't kill her in cold blood. Besides, running was a joke. The man had just leveled a building with a casual swing; there was no escape from a god.
While the "arrest" proceeded with relative civility, the real-world Emilia was a different story.
Her head was bowed, her gaze flickering with a mix of awkwardness and searing shame. She was drowning in self-reproach, the weight of her conscience making it nearly impossible to look at the screen.
"It's wonderful, isn't it, Lia? Everyone is alive this time! You don't even have a scratch!"
Puck spun joyfully in the air, venting his relief. It was only then that he noticed his daughter's distraught expression. "Eh? What's wrong, Lia? You went from being dead to being alive—shouldn't you be happy?"
"No, it's not that... being alive, not making you sad, of course I'm happy, but..." Emilia's voice trailed off as she pressed a slender hand against her chest. Every beat of her heart felt like a sharp, needle-like prick of guilt.
"Hmm?" Puck tilted his head, finally tracing the source of her distress back to the flickering light in the sky.
["We managed to get the insignia back so smoothly, and we even dealt with the threat of the Bowel Hunter. Aside from Reinhard, your role was the most vital. I'm truly grateful for your help."]
[Clutching the recovered jewel as if it were the most precious treasure in existence, Emilia didn't lose herself in her own relief. She took a sincere step back, her sweet, earnest voice thick with gratitude, and gave Hachiman a polite, respectful bow.]
["...Don't do that. Seriously."]
[Hachiman Hikigaya looks utterly lost. This man, who could maintain a cold composure in the face of a brutal death, suddenly finds the clear, innocent gratitude of a beautiful girl to be a far more lethal weapon. His face flushes a deep, panicked crimson.]
[He actually stumbles back two or three steps, putting distance between himself and the silver-haired girl. His eyes, suddenly as timid as a cornered rabbit's, dart everywhere—the sky, the dirt, the distant rooftops—anywhere but the girl standing before him.]
[He barely dares to breathe, terrified of being overwhelmed by the faint, floral scent drifting from her. All the strategic brilliance and mental fortitude he displayed earlier have vanished, replaced by the sheer, unadulterated awkwardness of a boy who doesn't know how to be liked.]
["Eh? ...Oh."]
[The innocent Emilia is baffled by this reaction. She casts another helpless, questioning glance at Puck.]
["Heh... Hahaha! You've got good taste, kid! Very good, I like it. Keep it up—I'm not letting anyone marry my daughter anyway."]
[Puck's teasing laughter rings out, making Hachiman look like he wants to dig a hole and bury his head in the sand. Fortunately, Emilia's disbelief in her own charm saves him: "Don't say things like that, Puck! You can't just tease Hachiman like that."]
["...You should probably just call me Hikigaya," Hachiman mutters, his bones feeling strangely weak every time she says his name. In his mind, he's already lived through a whole life with her—from the wedding to the kids—and the mental sensory overload is making his brain short-circuit. "Or at least add a '-kun' to it."]
["Hachiman-kun has a bit of a strange personality, doesn't he? Well—I understand, Hachiman-kun."]
It was a heartwarming scene of reconciliation after a great battle, showing that Emilia had accepted him not just out of kindness, but as a friend she could trust. Her sweetness healed many who watched the screen... but Emilia herself wasn't focused on the cuteness.
"You feel guilty, don't you, Lia?"
Puck stopped laughing and floated close to the trembling girl, gently brushing away a stray tear from the corner of her eye.
"Hachiman Hikigaya literally gave his life to save yours. Without him, you'd be a memory... but in this loop, you don't remember any of that. To you, he just gave you some helpful info. You feel like your gratitude and the reward you're offering are nowhere near enough to pay back a debt of blood..."
"Puck... I... hic..." Emilia bit her lip, her voice wavering.
"But don't condemn yourself for that, Lia," Puck sighed, having seen far more of the world than his youthful appearance suggested. "Look at the screen. Look at him. For Hachiman Hikigaya... this is more than enough."
"...Eh?"
[His composure restored, Hachiman walks quietly alongside the bickering Emilia and Puck toward the mansion where the candidates are being housed. He listens to the girl's melodic voice and watches her uninjured, lively movements.]
[She is safe. No one died. Her soul and her body remain whole.]
[On Hachiman's plain, unremarkable face, a faint, genuinely content smile pulls at the corners of his mouth.]
In that moment, Puck saw through Hachiman completely.
This was a boy whose core was as pathologically kind as his daughter's—the type of person who would gladly take a loss if it meant someone else could walk a smoother path.
"That boy isn't the type to keep a ledger, Lia. He isn't looking for a 'hero's reward' or to hold his sacrifice over your head. Did you see his face?"
"The mere fact that 'Emilia is still alive'... that is his greatest joy."
"So live proudly, Lia. Live happily and live well. That is the only way to truly honor what he did for you."
"And of course," Puck added, crossing his paws, "when he finally does cross over, we'll make sure to treat him like a king. That's a given."
Emilia's shoulders stopped shaking. The guilt remained, but it was now tempered by a shimmering, resolute light in her eyes. She watched the smiling Hachiman on the screen, her voice steadying.
"I understand... I promise, Puck!"
"Good girl, Lia."