Chapter 75: The King's Selection Is About to Begin
Although he planned to find Reinhard, actually going to look for him caused a lot of trouble—such as not knowing where Reinhard lived.
After asking around for directions, when Subaru finally reached Reinhard's house, he was stopped by the guard.
However, it wasn't a matter of being looked down upon; the guard simply informed him that Reinhard was not home at the moment.
Since Subaru couldn't get in touch with Reinhard, he returned to the mansion in the capital city carrying a bag of Appa.
"Welcome back."
Startled by the voice as he opened the door, Subaru turned to see Rem standing in the hall with a broom in hand, smiling at him.
"Ah, I'm back. But wasn't everything already cleaned? Why are you still sweeping?" Subaru walked over to Rem and glanced around but didn't see anyone else besides her.
"Although it's already clean, there's nothing else to do, so I'm just cleaning again."
Hearing this, Subaru sighed and looked helplessly at Rem.
He reached out, took the broom from her, and with his other hand handed her the bag full of Appa.
"Let me do the cleaning from now on. You've been tired enough already, so take a rest."
"Hmm, but what are these Appa?"
"Oh, these are Appa I bought while I was out. They're really tasty. You just sit nearby and eat the Appa while watching me clean up quickly."
Rem nodded, took the Appa, and headed toward the kitchen. Subaru obediently started cleaning the floor.
After spending some time sweeping the floor—already clean to begin with—Subaru put away the cleaning tools and returned to his room to start reading.
These books weren't taken from the library; they were found in the house in the capital city. Despite rarely living here, the study was still filled with many books.
There was a thick layer of dust on them from disuse, and the books seemed like mere decorations. Since he had nothing better to do, Subaru took a few books to his room.
"Subaru-kun, I'm coming in."
While reading about the country's history, Subaru turned to see Rem enter the room holding a tray with white fruit flesh on it.
Rem placed the tray on the desk, her gaze lingering on the book Subaru was reading.
"What are you reading, Subaru-kun?"
"Hmm, the history of this country."
Subaru picked up a piece of fruit with a skewer, took a bite, and asked curiously:
"Rem, do you know why we came to the capital this time?"
"No, I don't."
"Is that so." Subaru turned back to his book, but Rem still stood beside him.
Feeling slightly awkward, Subaru hesitated for a moment, then said:
"Do you want to read together?"
"Can I?"
"Well, we don't have much to do right now, so let's read together. If you don't want to read this book, we can switch to another one."
"As long as I'm with Subaru-kun, I don't mind what we read."
Rem's smile made Subaru stare blankly. Coming back to his senses, he quickly turned away and stood up.
"I'll go get a chair."
With that, Subaru rushed out of the room.
Standing by the door, he placed a hand on his chest, feeling his heart beating fast, and muttered to himself:
"This is so unfair…"
Calming himself, Subaru brought a chair back to the room.
Then, he and Rem sat at the desk reading together.
Time passed quickly, and evening soon came.
Realizing the time, Subaru and Rem went to the kitchen to start preparing dinner.
While cooking, Subaru heard the door open. Looking up, he saw Ram yawning as she entered the kitchen and then sat down at the table watching him.
"Senpai, you're really relaxed. How about I just take your salary since you don't do much?"
"Little Barasu wants Ram's salary? Work hard for another thousand years."
"That's quite a number without any meaning," Subaru shrugged, picked up the prepared food, and walked to Rem's side.
Ram, sitting at the table, watched Subaru and Rem whispering quietly together. She propped her chin on her hand and said:
"When are we eating?"
"Always thinking about food and sleep. Senpai is just like a pig," Subaru muttered quietly without turning around.
Though his voice was low, in the quiet kitchen, Ram could hear it clearly.
Rem didn't say anything, so Subaru's quiet comment was heard clearly by Ram.
Subaru continued his tasks, unaware until he felt someone tugging at his sleeve. Turning around in confusion, he saw Ram's bright smile.
"Senpai... you heard that, didn't you?"
"Barasu, I have something to say to you~"
"Wait, I can—pfft!"
Rem turned her head and smiled as she watched Ram dragging Subaru out of the kitchen by his collar.
.
.
.
The next morning, Subaru was sweeping the floor with a black face.
After saying something bad the evening before, Ram forced him to study writing all night. Even though he had almost learned it, she said he needed to review more.
He went to bed late and was woken up before dawn to clean. Until now.
"This spot still isn't clean, Barasu."
Subaru looked at the spot Ram pointed to, shining under the sunlight.
"...Who cares! I'm done!"
Even though he said that, Subaru still obediently took a cloth and polished a vase.
"Senpai, I told you I was wrong. Do you want to keep going?"
"This is punishment for Barasu disrespecting senpai, but that's enough. Go back to sleep. Ram, you should get some rest too."
"Long live senpai!"
Shouting happily, Subaru quickly put away the cleaning tools and returned to his room. But when he lay down and closed his eyes, he just couldn't fall asleep.
Sighing, Subaru left his room and went to the courtyard to start exercising.
Though he didn't have a wooden sword, he could still do sit-ups and such.
Sweaty, Subaru lay on the ground and looked at the gradually brightening sky. He slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep.
The King's Selection was about to begin.
Subaru would no longer be able to leave this place.
In fact, ever since he went to the mansion and resolved that matter, there was no escaping from here anymore.