"Thanks, Emilia."
Shiro smiled at her.
"I owe you one for this."
"Eh? Why?"
Emilia looked confused.
"I didn't do anything worth thanking me for, did I?"
"Hmm... How should I explain it?"
"Imagine I kept practicing swordsmanship because I wanted to enter a competition, but I got so absorbed in training that I completely forgot the competition itself."
"Then one day, I happened to see you holding the registration form and suddenly remembered what I was originally trying to do."
"So just think of it as me thanking you for reminding me."
"No, even if you put it like that, suddenly saying you owe me a favor still feels really strange."
Fortunately, Emilia did not dwell on it for long.
Because—
"Lady Emilia, Lord Roswaal is already waiting in the dining room. Please return inside with our guest." ×2
Two perfectly synchronized voices rang out behind them like stereo speakers.
Ram and Rem stood there with an unusually proper attitude, far more respectful than anything Shiro had seen from them before.
...
Like every other room in Roswaal Mansion, the dining hall was frighteningly spacious.
Expensive-looking paintings covered the walls, while a long table draped in a white cloth stood at the center.
Tableware had already been arranged neatly in front of every chair.
Preparing all of this was probably why Ram and Rem had needed to start working as early as six in the morning.
After being led into the dining hall by the twins, Shiro saw that aside from the noisy Subaru, another person was already seated at the head of the table waiting for them.
The man wore extravagant formal clothing and strange clown-like makeup.
He was the master of this mansion—Roswaal L. Mathers.
"Welcooome to Roswaal Mansion, honored guests."
Once everyone had arrived, Roswaal stood first and greeted them in his absurdly drawn-out manner of speech.
At that exact moment—An indescribable sense of contradiction spread through Shiro.
Certain habits were formed only after years upon years of repetition.
For example, some people unconsciously bit their nails whenever they were thinking.
If they deliberately forced themselves to stop, their movements would inevitably feel slightly unnatural.
Roswaal's entire body was filled with that kind of unnaturalness.
It was almost as though he were deliberately imitating someone else's lifelong habits.
More importantly—As a Blazer, Shiro was highly sensitive to things related to the soul.
And Roswaal's soul seemed strangely incompatible with his body.
It felt as though it had been forcibly stuffed into this vessel from somewhere else.
If Shiro attacked an ordinary person using the Illusionary Form of his Device, the target would normally only lose consciousness.
But if he used the same attack on Roswaal—There was a strong possibility that Roswaal would suffer genuine damage.
So from Shiro's perspective—Roswaal's habits, body, and soul did not match each other in even a single aspect.
He was practically a collection of contradictions.
And that left Shiro deeply puzzled.
At the same time—Under Shiro's gaze, Roswaal suddenly felt profoundly uncomfortable.
It was like being stared at by some terrifying beast.
He had not experienced this sensation for several centuries.
But—That only proved the person he was looking for was indeed here.
'Then let me see...'
'Which one of you is the person capable of starting everything over again?'
The corner of Roswaal's mouth rose slightly.
His mismatched eyes swept across Shiro and Subaru.
Then he continued in that ridiculous tone—
"Bring out the fooood. We shouldn't keep our honored guests waaaiting."
"Yes, Lord Roswaal." ×2
Ram and Rem answered simultaneously.
However, only Rem actually left to bring out the food.
Ram walked behind Roswaal and silently stood there instead.
There was no need to guess why.
She had remained behind to prevent Shiro or Subaru from suddenly attacking Roswaal.
Even though the twins could now speak with them almost like acquaintances—Deep down, they still did not trust either of them.
"Are we eating this early today?"
Just as the atmosphere began growing somewhat stiff, another voice suddenly rang out.
A point of light floated from the magic crystal at Emilia's chest.
She opened her palm.
The light landed there and transformed into an adorable gray cat.
It was the great spirit contracted with Emilia—
Puck.
"Morning, kid."
"Thanks for what you did yesterday."
Puck floated into the air and naturally settled down on Shiro's shoulder.
Seeing that, Roswaal teased from the side—
"Looks like Puck gets along very well with our gueeest."
"Of course."
"He's one of the very few people who can see that Lia is a half-elf without harboring any malice toward her."
"Besides, he saved Lia's life yesterday."
"No malice?"
Emilia's blue-violet eyes flickered.
She stared at Shiro in disbelief.
She knew that as a great spirit, Puck possessed the ability to read surface-level emotions.
Which meant—
There really was someone who could see her silver-haired half-elf appearance and still treat her normally?
If it were Subaru, Emilia could understand.
After all, she had been the one who found Subaru collapsed by the roadside and helped him.
Naturally, he would not harbor malice toward his benefactor.
But before yesterday—She and Shiro had been complete strangers.
Which meant he had not accepted her invitation because he felt awkward refusing her.
Nor had he been too intimidated by her appearance to say no.
He genuinely saw her as nothing more than an ordinary person.
That realization left Emilia, who had always longed for a friend without ulterior motives, unsure how to react.
It was like someone who constantly bragged about being a master of romance—Only to become completely speechless when the person they truly liked appeared.
Puck, however, ignored his socially awkward daughter and continued.
"So I really do need to thank you."
He raised one paw and patted the shoulder beneath him.
"Is there anything you want?"
"With my power, I can accomplish most things for you."
"Hmm? Is that really necessary?"
"Inviting me here when I currently have nowhere to live already counts as thanks, doesn't it?"
"That's separate."
"Lia is extremely important to me."
"If Lia died, then this world would no longer have any reason to exist."
"So if there's something you want, just ask."
"Then I'm really going to say it."
"Mm-hmm."
"As long as it won't hurt Lia, ask for anything."
Since Puck had already gone that far, continuing to refuse would only seem overly polite.
And Shiro genuinely did have something he wanted to know.
Knowledge that a spirit like Puck would understand far better than most humans.
So under Puck's gaze—
Shiro spoke.
"I want to know everything you know about spirits and Od."
…
(PS: Sorry everyone, I don't usually share much about my personal life, but I'm currently facing a very difficult situation. As you may have heard, Nepal has been struck by a devastating flash flood. It's one of the worst disasters to hit the country since the 2015 earthquake. Unfortunately, I've also been directly affected, as I live here.
Because of this, I won't be active on Webnovel, Wat-tpad, or P-atreon for the time being. Thankfully, I had already scheduled uploads in advance for the next week or two, so you should still receive regular updates.
I'm posting this using my phone with an unstable connection, and I expect it will take me about a week to manage my personal affairs and reach the capital.
Thank you for your understanding, and goodbye for now—I'll be back in about a week, hopefully...)