Time Skip
"Welcome home. Please forgive me for parking in front of your mansion," said the old man in a crisp butler's uniform, bowing politely toward the newly arrived pair.
Wilhelm van Astrea stood before the grand gates of the Mathers Mansion, a dignified presence beside the dragon carriage reins in hand.
"I believe this concerns the royal selection," came a sudden, emotionless voice from Emilia's side.
"Ah!" Emilia jumped at Ram's unexpected arrival, the pink-haired maid appearing like a ghost.
Subaru noticed Emilia's startled reaction, chuckled and began casually rolling his shoulder as if limbering up.
"Alright, given the circumstances, I'll try not to do anything dumb," he said with a cheeky grin, barely masking his excitement over the new visitors.
Emilia gave him a nervous smile. "I'm really sorry, Subaru… but this will be a very important discussion."
With that, she turned and followed Ram into the mansion, leaving Subaru to watch her go with a lingering stare.
He then noticed Wilhelm standing silently by the carriage, calmly wiping down the door with a cloth, his demeanor unbothered.
Putting on his usual bright energy, Subaru approached him with a tray in hand. "Aren't you bored waiting out here, Mister?"
The old swordsman glanced at him as Subaru held out a teacup. The two began to converse while sipping in the open air.
"It tastes amazing," Wilhelm remarked, eyes narrowing slightly. "I feel as though I'm indulging in a rare luxury."
"It is the most expensive tea in the mansion," Subaru said, half-laughing. "If the pink-haired demon maid finds out we snuck some, she'll flip."
"We?"
"You're now an accomplice," Subaru replied with a mischievous smile.
Wilhelm turned his sharp gaze toward Subaru, sensing there was more behind this hospitality.
"And what is it you hope to gain from this old man, using such precious bait?" he asked.
Unfazed, Subaru beamed at him. "I only want to know the reason for this visit. If you could give me a vague idea..."
He crossed his arms and gave an exaggerated shiver. "My friend has a way to contact me, one way only. And so far, all he's sent is an ominous message: See you soon. Creepy, right?"
Wilhelm watched Subaru's performance with quiet amusement.
"Perhaps your friend is simply busy," he replied with a polite chuckle. "But I'm afraid I cannot say anything. I have no idea what your standing is in this household, and it would be unwise to speak carelessly. I hope you understand."
Subaru sighed, slumping slightly. "Denied by a refined gentleman. How tragic… Your name wouldn't happen to be Alfred, right?"
"What?"
"Nothing," he responded quickly, the Batman theme song running through his mind.
Still, a slight smile crept onto Wilhelm's weathered face.
"However," he added thoughtfully, "I did notice you seem rather close to Lady Emilia."
Subaru's face lit up instantly. "Did it really look that way? Did it look serious between us?" He puffed out his chest proudly, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.
Wilhelm quickly took a step back, wary of whatever illness had seemingly afflicted the boy's ego. Subaru, meanwhile, struck a flamboyant pose, blushing as if in a daydream.
Wilhelm averted his gaze with a quiet sigh. The boy's antics were exhausting.
"It's a steep path you climb," he said at last, his tone quiet and grave.
"Huh?" Subaru blinked, caught off guard.
"You are dealing with one who may very well become the future queen of Lugunica."
Subaru scratched his head sheepishly, his bravado fading slightly. "Right now, we're just a super cute girl… and a useless servant boy."
Then he looked back at Wilhelm with a soft smile. "Still… you probably thought your wife was the prettiest girl in the world when you proposed to her, didn't you?"
Wilhelm froze, surprised by the sudden shift in tone. Subaru's smile remained—bright, honest
"My wife…"
Wilhelm's voice caught for just a moment, his composure faltering before he straightened his back and returned to his usual stern demeanor.
"I see. You are indeed correct," he said quietly. "I believed my wife was the most beautiful woman in the world."
A rare, gentle smile tugged at the edge of his lips. The memory brought him both joy and a deep, aching solemnity. She had left too early... and what is left of our family… is gone reduced to ashes.
"Subaruuuuuuuu!"
A small voice snapped Wilhelm out of the swamp of his thoughts. A petite girl with drills of pale blonde hair came rushing toward them, her short legs moving at full speed.
"Betty wants to play more games from your hometown, I suppose!" she declared with a huff.
Seeing the little girl's determined approach, Subaru grinned warmly. "Of course, Beako—just let me finish talking to this guy."
A loud, cheerful voice suddenly echoed from the far side of the dragon carriage.
"I'm back, Old Man Will!"
All eyes turned toward the speaker. A tall, cute woman with cat ears walked into view, her hips swaying and her bright expression unapologetically teasing.
Beatrice, now standing at Subaru's side with her cheeks puffed out in impatience, glanced at the newcomer with narrowed eyes.
"Sorry to keep you waiting outside," the cat-eared woman said to Wilhelm, playfully scratching behind her ear. "Bet you were bored stiff."
"Not at all," Wilhelm replied calmly, gesturing toward Subaru. "This young man has been keeping me company."
"Huh?" Subaru blinked, unsure what to say as the cat-eared woman's sharp gaze turned to him.
The cat ears began flicking curiously as she circled him like a predator. "Meow... meow meow meooooooow~"
Subaru's cheeks flushed a little as she prowled around him, eyes gleaming with mischief.
"Ah, nyow I see~" she purred, her lips curling into a grin. "You must be the boy Lady Emilia mentioned."
"Emilia... mentioned me?" Subaru asked, surprised.
The cat-eared lady leaned in close, her tone dripping with teasing. "Well~ we're not going there just for fun. Things are going to get interesting~"
Before Subaru could ask what she meant, Beatrice bolted up to his side and clung tightly to his leg. Her petal-shaped irises locked onto the cat-eared woman with judgmental fury.
"Don't be fooled, Subaru," she said sternly, tugging on his pant leg. "That has a pole, not a hole, I suppose!"
"Huh?!" Subaru choked, completely caught off guard. "Beako, are you saying—wait... that's a guy?!"
The cat-eared woman—no, man—clicked his tongue in annoyance, straightening up with an exaggerated sigh. "Ugh, you ruined the game," he groaned, squinting at Beatrice. "I was gonna keep the act going."
Then something in his expression shifted.
His eyes widened slightly in recognition as he looked at her more carefully. "Wait... are you a Great Spirit?"
Subaru blinked, then looked down at Beatrice, who crossed her arms proudly.
"Subaru is Betty's contractor, I suppose. So naturally, Subaru belongs to Betty!"
Subaru, slowly shaking off his stunned paralysis, looked down at the small girl still glued to his leg.
"Beako," he said, eyebrows twitching, "such a cute little girl shouldn't be saying such vulgar things."
He sighed, placing a hand on her head and ruffling her hair gently. "Though… I do appreciate the warning."
Then, narrowing his eyes, he shifted his gaze toward the cat-eared figure. "So… traps actually exist, huh?"
The cat-eared man raised a brow, lips quirking in amusement. "Oh? You say that like you've never met one before."
Before Subaru could respond, Beatrice huffed indignantly.
"Betty is not little," she snapped, crossing her arms. "In fact, Betty is over four hundred years old, I suppose!"
"Yeah, yeah…" Subaru replied absentmindedly, still patting her head with the same rhythm he'd use for a grumpy kitten. "Four hundred years old and still clinging to my leg like a toddler."
Beatrice clung tighter.
"Because you're mine, I suppose."
Subaru chuckled softly, letting her hold on a moment longer before muttering under his breath, "You're lucky you're adorable…"
***
During the time Toyota had been away, he'd buried himself in relentless work. Between studying, memorizing the kingdom's laws, and enduring etiquette lessons that made his skin crawl, he'd barely had time to breathe. One particular law he came across left him utterly dumbfounded—and furious. It confirmed what he'd been suspecting: this kingdom really did do whatever it wanted. History was practically nonexistent beyond 400 years ago, with little more than scattered records of the First Hero Party and vague mentions of tradition.
He'd also been learning the equivalence of money to goods and the importance of status—but the etiquette training was the worst part. Every time he bowed a certain way or memorized another arbitrary social rule, he felt himself becoming more stuck-up by the second. It made him feel fake. Pretentious. He hated it with a burning passion.
At least the physical training offered some relief—though not much. While he wasn't drastically stronger, Rei had helped him build a basic foundation. He was eating the right amount, exercising regularly, and even if it left him sore every day, his body had started to show signs of improvement. His mana pool, too, had grown slightly, allowing him to experiment with more advanced spells.
But all of this came at a cost—he was exhausted.
His greatest enemy wasn't the training or the studying. It was the lack of sleep.
Ever since he awakened his strange "Grey World" perception, sleep had become impossible. The constant flood of stimuli kept his brain firing at all hours, never letting him rest. He considered using his gravity magic to knock himself unconscious, but every time he did, he woke with a blinding headache. He was afraid repeated use might cause permanent damage—or worse, open the door to more of Subaru's memories leaking in. That alone terrified him.
So instead, he faked it.
Every night, he would lie down and regulate his breathing to mimic sleep, simply to give his body a chance to rest. He stayed completely still, his eyes shut, his chest rising and falling in a soft rhythm.
But amidst the stillness of those long nights, one thing kept nagging at him—Rei.
She was gone. Every night.
Like clockwork, the moment he shut his door, she vanished. Then, just as precisely, she reappeared at his door exactly when the sun came up. It wasn't that he was watching her out of anything perverted—but she was his teacher, his guide, the one person consistently around him. And if she wasn't sleeping either… where was she going?
When he finally asked her about it, her response was immediate: she changed the subject.
That unsettled him even more. Toyota's curiosity burned in the back of his mind, but he restrained himself. As inappropriate as it felt to pry, he couldn't shake the concern gnawing at his gut.
Then, one morning, Rei asked him something unexpected.
"You're moving slower than usual," she said, watching him with careful eyes. "Is something wrong?"
He blinked slowly. His speech was delayed. His limbs hung loose, like they had forgotten what tension felt like.
"…I'm fine," he mumbled, but even to himself, his voice didn't sound convincing.Just then, a fine stream of blood trickled down Toyota's chin—his nose was bleeding.
How many days had it been without sleep?
He couldn't think. Couldn't even remember properly. His sense of time had completely skewed.
Rei, upon seeing the blood, immediately panicked. Without hesitation, she handed him a handkerchief, her calm demeanor cracking for the first time.
But to him, this wasn't a cause for alarm—it was a revelation.
If his body was breaking down because it needed sleep, he would force it into exhaustion. He had learned something important: the more mana he expelled over a prolonged period, the more mentally drained he became. That was the key. If he couldn't sleep naturally, he would burn himself out until sleep was the only option.
"Rei," he said, wiping the blood from his face, eyes steady with resolve, "I'm going to release as much condensed mana at you as possible. Can you use your anti-magic ability to absorb it?"
"What?" she blinked in shock. "You're bleeding. Training is over."
"Please." His voice was calm but firm, his eyes filled with a seriousness that stopped her cold.
She hesitated for only a moment before sighing. "…Alright. But immediately after, you need to rest. No exceptions."
He gave no response. Internally, he sighed. First, it had been fear-induced insomnia. Now, a new ability was the cause.
It had been a while since he last used Shamak. He'd avoided it—the spell was mostly useless compared to the rest of his arsenal. But he hadn't given up on it. After all, manipulating space… teleportation… it was a distant goal, but a worthy one.
Rei stepped back, creating distance between them. Her eyes didn't waver with fear—not of the spell, anyway—but concern for him.
She wasn't worried in the slightest about his attack.
"Here it comes," he whispered.
Drawing in a deep breath, he built up his mana to a single focal point. Holding out his hand, he extended two fingers straight forward. He concentrated, pulling mana into that point—his gate pulsed, regenerating fresh energy instantly, only for it to be sucked straight into the swirling tip of his fingers.
The condensed Shamak formed a massive shadow that bled outward, only to be pulled back into the center, shrinking—condensing. The more he built it, the more intense the suction became. Air was drawn toward him. Dust spiraled at his feet. Even light began bending, ever so slightly, as if the space around his fingers was being warped.
Rei's expression hardened. Her eyes glinted in the darkness.
She raised her hand, magic coalescing silently in her palm—ready to absorb the incoming wave of compressed shadow.
The difference between his makeshift body-repulsion spell and this… was enormous.
This time, he wasn't just using mana stored in advance—he was using every drop of freshly regenerated mana the moment it surfaced, forcing his gates to recharge again and again. It was a cycle of overload. One that pushed him far beyond his limits.
And all of that raw power was being funneled into a single, hyper-condensed Shamak—far denser, far more potent than anything he'd ever attempted before.
As the process continued, Toyota began to feel it.
The fatigue.
His vision blurred.
His gray world—that strange perception tied to his ability—began to flicker. The lighter tones darkened. Edges dulled. Movement slowed.
The world was going dark.
But he didn't stop.
Not yet.
Not until…
His knees buckled. He fell forward, body limp—but his outstretched hand still pulsed with concentrated power.
The Shamak spell, condensed to its utmost limit, hung at his fingertips like a black sun ready to collapse. The shadows surrounding it vibrated violently, light and air trembling as if reality itself was being pulled inward.
(AN: I don't want to skip the memory transfer since that's the whole point in understanding his new personality, so I'm just going to get it over with. At the selection, be prepared for some King from one-punch man-level glazing of MC, you're going to see what he looks like to the average person. Also, I'm going to go on vacation soon around the 16th, so then I will have to take a break for around a week if not longer.
I've set an official release schedule: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Although when I get bored, I add extra.
Bonus chapters will drop on Saturdays if my demands are met. 🔫
Trade deal:
You give me 70 power stones, and I give you a bonus chapter.
Sounds fair, right?)