4
One thing led to another, and in a flash, it was two days later and time for the party.
After receiving Emilia’s blessing, the party preparations proceeded at a rapid pace. Be that as it may, this was mostly due to Rem’s epic heroism in carrying out all of Subaru’s suggestions.
“I can’t embarrass Subaru,” Rem explained. “So I’m giving it my best.”
And with a cute smile, she zipped around cutting fish and meat so quickly it was invisible to the naked eye—Rem’s “best” was uniquely powerful.
Despite the sudden increase in workload, Rem helped without a frown. Thanks to that, the party preparations progressed without any problem. Subaru and Emilia helped get the venue ready, but to preserve their reputations, they would not discuss the efficacy of their efforts.
In any case, the party was now close at hand. Subaru let Rem and Emilia handle the rest of the venue decorating while he went where he would carry out a task only he could.
And as for that place in question—
“Anyway, everything’s ready. You just need to join us, and everyone will be there.”
“I ask myself this every time…but why do you come in here, I wonder.”
With his explosive intuition, Subaru could take himself to the Archive of Forbidden Books at will. While a part of him was pompously proud about it, he felt his power was a little lacking at times—but he set those feelings aside for the day.
Beatrice sat atop her stepladder as usual. With an unrestrained slap on her shoulder, Subaru said, “C’mon, get with the program. Today’s the day we’re all having a flower-viewing party. If I told you about it in advance, I know you’d just grumble at me, so I made the party a surprise just for you!”
“The second half of that statement is a refutation of the first! I don’t know what this flower-viewing business is, but why must I attend such a frivolous—”
“See, I knew you’d say that, so I put two arguments into one. Besides, we both know that for all your moaning, you’ll come to the party anyway—so just embrace the inevitable.”
“Could you please get that you-annoy-me-but-I-understand-you look off your face?! You infuriate me! Infuriate me! How could you possibly understand how I feel, I wonder?! For a start, you…”
Swatting away Subaru as he tried to drag her off, Beatrice jumped down from her stepladder. Then she glared up at Subaru with light blue eyes and said, “Flower-viewing or no flower-viewing, I cannot leave this mansion. You all just go have fun on your own, I suppose. I’m not going any—”
“I can’t let that happen. Have a party and leave you behind to sulk? I’d feel so bad about it that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy myself. So become a party victim for our sake. I won’t take no for an answer.”
“Wh-who gave you the authority to say that, I wonder?!”
“Lalalala—I caaaaan’t heeear you.”
As Beatrice screeched in his face, Subaru covered his ears and ignored her. This only made Beatrice’s face grow redder, but Subaru held his ground with the hotheaded girl and said, “I know some complicated circumstances prevent you from leaving the mansion—Puck told me. That’s why I planned this party with those circumstances in mind. And everything is already ready. All you need to do now is let me kidnap you.”
“ ”
“Real talk? I do understand how you feel. I know what it’s like to look forward to some event, then turn into a whiny little flake just before it’s time to go. But when I kick myself in the ass and leave the house, I always manage to enjoy myself—that’s the truth. Your ass just needs that first kick, and I’m here to give it to you.”
Beatrice scowled in silence. But her defeated sigh and slumped posture was her answer. With a little chuckle, Subaru clapped her on the shoulder and took her out of the Archive of Forbidden Books.
Then they slipped through the halls of the mansion until they arrived—
“All right, come on in! You and I are the final guests to arrive.”
“For crying out loud, what hare-brained scheme is this? I wonder…”
Giving the apathetic Beatrice a push, Subaru opened the door. Then, as he watched the suspicious girl’s eyes fill with surprise out of the corner of his eye, a satisfied smile spread on his face.
“And so we have gathered here today for a party to deepen our friendship under the stars… Welcome to the first annual Roswaal Manor Stargazing Party!”
Subaru danced in front of the stunned Beatrice, spread his arms wide, and bombastically announced the party’s commencement. They were in the highest floor of the west wing of Roswaal Manor—the dance hall whose original purpose was long-forgotten.
The newly decorated dance hall already had a spirited dancer—a gust of wind blowing in from the open balcony. There was a buffet lining the corner of the overly spacious room, but since there weren’t many party guests, the portions were small. What they lacked in size, however, was more than made up for in quality and appearance.
“Ah—Subaru’s here. And he’s brought Beatrice with him!”
Noticing their arrival, Emilia raised her voice to greet them. Hearing her voice, Rem trotted eagerly over to them.
“Good evening, Subaru. I knew it was best that we leave Lady Beatrice in your care. That’s why you’re the best Lady Beatrice handler in the mansion.”
“Awww, you’re making me blush. Though I guess as a top-tier Beako artisan, this is the least I could do.”
“I don’t recall having a ‘handler’ or an ‘artisan’! Humiliating, I suppose!”
Beatrice raged at the cheerful pair, but Subaru and Rem peacefully brushed it off. This only made Beatrice shake with anger—until a tiny presence danced onto her shoulder from above. The furball directly beside her face made Beatrice’s eyes light up with cheer.
“Puckie!”
“Hey, Betty, welcome to the party. I was worried you might be too proud to show up…but leave it to Subaru to know which Betty buttons to push.”
“D-don’t say such ridiculous things! You always come first to me. Yes—that’s right. I know it! No lies, I suppose.”
“Ha-ha-ha, glad to hear it. I really hope that’s true.”
For some reason, Beatrice’s cheeks stiffened for just a second from Puck’s peaceful response. But Subaru heard none of this because he was busy hearing Rem explain the party setup to him.
“The food preparation and service is already finished—Emilia, my sister, and I did that. And since you helped with the prep work, it actually took much less time than usual.”
“Oh, cool. But I still piled more last-minute tasks on you, like decorating, didn’t I? I really feel bad about that. I swear I’ll make it up to you some time.”
“Oh, that’s all right. I’ll just reward myself by watching you sleep longer than usual tonight.”
“Hm…? Did you just say something? I thought I heard something weird.”
“No, no, I said nothing weird at all.”
Though Subaru had the feeling he’d missed something important, Rem’s cute smile steered her clear of further scrutiny. Scratching his face, Subaru discarded his puzzlement and headed for the balcony to be a good party host.
“Good evening, Subaru. I see you managed to bring Beatrice along. Good boy.”
Emilia smiled and patted Subaru’s head when he came out to join her on the dark, breezy balcony. Subaru closed his eyes, smiling from the tingly sensation of her white fingers tickling his scalp.
“Mmm, a part of me wants to let you baby me like this, but another part of me wants to assert my manliness and induce an awareness that we’re man and woman—it’s a tricky dilemma.”
“Huh? But I already know you’re a young man, and I’m a woman.”
“See, it’s that pesky ‘young’ part I’d like to get rid of…”
“Barusu.”
As Subaru surrendered to the control of his heart’s innermost desires, Ram glared sharply at him from her spot at the corner of the balcony beside Roswaal. He smiled sheepishly as he clearly read the words in her gaze: Just get on with it.
“Here you go, Subaru.”
“Ooh, thanks.”
Rem, carrying a silver tray, swooped in to rescue him with impeccable timing. Atop the tray were glasses of liquor. He took a glass and looked around at the others. Emilia, Rem, Roswaal, and Ram each held a glass. And Beatrice, the scowl still plastered on her face, held a glass of juice beside Puck.
“Okay, umm—thank you all for attending this party under the moon and stars at Roswaal Manor tonight. We’re holding this soiree in the interest of building solidarity and deepening friendships among the residents here. First, I would like to give you a speech that will serve as a vital accompaniment to this party. The three most important things you need to keep an eye on—”
“Um, Subaru, just a hunch, but is this speech really long?”
“Nah, nah, I was just gonna say always watch out for your stomach, your wallet, your mom, and your temper—wait a minute, that’s four things! It’s a bit. Get it?”
“Barusu.”
Under Ram’s even sharper glare, Subaru sheepishly surrendered the role of MC to the party’s host—in other words, Roswaal, the master of the house.
With a smirk on his face from the preceding banter, he lightly raised his glass and said, “I could give a verbose speech, but that would only put a damper on things, so I have only one thing to say—to everyone gathered here, regardless of your circumstances, we are all connected. We may face our fair share of problems in the future, but we shall work together to overcome them. So for tonight, we toast to the stars watching over us from above.”
As Roswaal’s deceptively normal speech hung in the air, everyone raised their glasses and said in one voice, “Cheers!”
With the light clinking of glasses, the little drinking party signaled a quaint beginning beneath the stars.
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