"Ok, finally.......victory!"

"Victory!!!!"

It is was another morning in Arlam Village as the villagers were doing morning calisthenics with Subaru. As the villagers continued their morning activities, Emilia and Akira were both seen standing to the side. Emilia joined Subaru and Akira to the village as she wanted to see how the village was doing. As for Akira, he came to do his daily check-ins on the barrier.

"Emilia, aren't you hot wearing that hood in this heat?"

"I'm fine, thank you for asking. I'm not wearing it because i'm cold. My appearance causes more trouble than I like to admit, so I wear this so others can be at ease."

As Emilia was looking down at the ground, her eyes were slightly wide when she felt some weight on top of her head. When she turned to Akira's direction, she noticed how the boy was patting the top of her hood as if trying to pay her head. Akira could understand a little bit of what Emilia went through. In his old world, due to his appearance already being almost identical to Accelerator, it caused people to be wary of him. Especially since Akira barely smiled enough as is.

"I don't understand why people are quick to assume you're the witch. If they knew you like I do, they'd have the same opinion. A cute girl who's as naive as a little kid."

"Akira...wait, was that a compliment or an insult?"

"Yes."

"Hey, don't go smiling to yourself! Now I feel like i'm missing something!"

"Good."

As he said this, Akira merely flicked Emilia's forehead as the white-haired boy had a smirk present on his face. While Emilia was pouting, due to the teasing, she couldn't help but feel a bit happy. At first, it felt like Akira didn't want anything to do with anyone at the manor. But ever since the snow festival, it felt as if he was trying to open up a bit more. Soon the half-elf was brought out of her thoughts as Subaru met up with her and Akira as the trio began to walk back to the manor.

"It seems like the village is back to being full of life. It's all thanks to you two. Subaru, Akira, you both did a great job."

"I only kept my promise with Petra. I'm not some hero who can always jump in and save the day. The best I can do is check up on them and prevent another incident like that from happening again."

"Come on, Kira Kira. At least accept the compliment. I feel like i'm at 100% thanks to her praise! Emilia-tan's compliments have such a healing power!"

"That or you're just mental."

Akira lightly chuckled when he saw Subaru having a look of betrayal on his face. Truth be told, it was quite fun messing with Emilia and Subaru. As the three of them saw the manor within their sights, they noticed a carriage that was being drawn by an Earth Dragon. As the carriage was parked outside of the manor entrance, they witnessed someone stepping out of the carriage.

"Welcome home. Please forgive me for parking in front of your mansion."

~A few minutes later~
After greeting the man with the carriage, the trio soon walked inside of the manor as they could tell something was going on. As they were walking, they noticed how Ram was standing in front of the door leading to Roswaal's study. Seeing Akira, Subaru, and Emilia's collective confusion, the pink-haired oni spoke up.

"There is an emissary from the capital visiting. Roswaal-sama is attending to them. Emilia-sama, please join them."

"An emissary?"

"I believe it concerns the Royal Selection."

Hearing this, Akira and Subaru held a look of surprise. Given everything that happened, they nearly forgot. The Royal Selection, the event to decide who will become the next ruler of the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica. Seeing as this was an important discussion, Akira nods his head in understanding.

"Well, this doesn't sound like something I need to be present for. I'm gonna head back outside."

"Ok, Kira Kira. Since this is an important discussion, i'll try not to do something stu-"

"You WON'T be doing anything stupid, because i'm taking you with me, dumbass. Since you're working here, the least you can do is make tea for me and that driver outside."

As Akira said this, Subaru mentally slapped himself. Unlike him, Akira wasn't working for the manor. He was now a living resident of the manor unlike him, who was working there. Soon an idea formed in Subaru's head as he went along with Akira's idea of making tea. While the white-haired boy was walking outside, he had a feeling Subaru hasn't given up on learning what the important discussion was about.

"Well then, guess i'll just wait outside and do some more calculations."

~Outside the mansion~
As Akira was walking outside, he noticed the old man from earlier was polishing the carriage he arrived in. Seeing as he was bored, Akira decided to speak with him just to kill some time before he did his daily routine of running calculations to better hone his control over his ability. While walking towards the man, Akira's red eyes were met with the gaze of the senior's blue eyes.

"We meet again, young man."

"I could say the same to you. My name is Suzushima Akira. Seeing as we're chatting, it'd be easier for the both of us if we knew how to address each other."

"My apologies, I should've introduced myself sooner. My name is Wilhelm van Astrea."

Upon hearing Wilhelm's family name, Akira's interest was piqued. There was a high chance of this man being related to Reinhard, but he didn't come to learn someone else's life story. He might've been bored, but that doesn't equal to him being sympathetic. He came to kill time, not to trauma bond or something of that nature.

"You took me by surprise, Wilhelm. You never struck me as the type who would be so open for conversation."

"It would seem I wasn't what you expected. As for why I chose to speak with you, it would most likely be the same as you. As I wait, it wouldn't hurt to have something to do. Whether it be a task or simple chatter, what matters is that I am not wasting the time i am given."

The two of them could tell right away. They were both sizing each other up and trying hard to get info out of the other. However, Wilhelm noticed something about Akira. The way his eyes looked, despite how cold and calculative they try to appear, held a certain emotion behind it all. It brought back terrible memories for the old man. The look in his eyes, it reminded him of that boy that he called a monster. Meanwhile, as Akira looked at Wilhelm, he couldn't help but be on guard. He might seem like a nice guy right now, but Akira was on guard because of the politeness Wilhelm was displaying. The reason behind this was due to his uncle behaving in a similar fashion in front of others.

"Aren't you two bored just sitting out here?"

Wilhelm and Akira were brought out of their thoughts as Subaru walked towards them as he was carrying a tray with teacups and a kettle on it. Seeing this, the two of them decided to put their chat on hold as both them and Subaru began to enjoy the tea. As he finished his tea, Wilhelm was the first to speak to Subaru.

"It tastes lovely. It feels as though i'm indulging in a great luxury."

"It's the most expensive tea in the mansion. If the pink-haired maid found out we drunk it, she'll flip."

"What is it you wish to gain from this old man, using such precious bait?"

"I only want to know the reason behind your visit. If you could just give me a vague idea...."

"As I have no idea of your standing in the mansion, I can't speak carelessly. I hope you understand. However, I can see that you and Emilia-sama are rather close."

Seeing as he wasn't gonna learn anything fun or important, Akira merely sighed as he used his ability to reflect sound waves. Now it was peaceful and quiet for him. If anyone wanted to speak with him, he could just read their lips and answer accordingly. As the conversation with Subaru and Wilhelm continued, Akira noticed someone walking towards them.

"I'm back, Old Man Wilt. Sorry for making you wait outside, you must've been bored."

"Not at all. These two young men have been keeping me entertained with some conversation."

"Oh?"

As the new individual heard this, they began to walk around both Subaru and Akira with a look of intrigue on their face. The moment they were finished, it was apparent that Akira and Subaru were the guys that Emilia told them about. Soon a smile was plastered on their face as they were heading inside the carriage.

"Let's go, Old Man Wilt. See you in the capital."

Having said that, the individual was now sitting inside the carriage as Wilhelm drove off with them. After everything he heard, Subaru ran off to where Emilia was in order to get some answers. As for Akira, he merely waited outside as he kept doing some calculations inside of his head. Knowing his luck, he was probably going to be dragged along anyways. He might as well enjoy what little peace he has left.

~With Wilhelm~
"I was surprised to see you talking to those boys. I thought you would rather chop people in half than talk to them."

"That is a grave misunderstanding, Felix. I merely took interest in both of their eyes. One had eyes that experienced death many times. Meanwhile the other......his eyes reminded me of something more personal."

As they were riding inside of the carriage, Felix and Wilhelm were merely discussing about their first meeting with Subaru and Akira. Though Wilhelm couldn't shake off that feeling. Why, why did looking at Akira's eyes remind him of the monster that held the same family name as him? He just couldn't understand it no matter how many times he thought upon it. Seeing his expression, Felix merely smiled while looking outside of the carriage.

"Nyow you've lost me. But if Wilhelm van Astrea, the Sword Demon, says it then those boys have a bumpy road ahead of them."

~At the capital~
Akira could only look at what he was witnessing with embarrassment. Back at the manor, Subaru managed to convince Emilia to take him with her to the Royal Capital under the excuse of thanking the people who helped him that just so happened to be here. Emilia was here due to important matters in regards to the Royal Selection. As for why Akira was here, the answer was simple.

"Please Kira Kira!!!! You have to come with me to make this seem more professional and not just a whim of mine! Please, if you do this, i'll make sure you get extra dessert after dinner."

"Dammit all. Curse my love for sweets."

"I'm sorry to drag you into this, Akira. I promise to treat you to something after today is over."

"It's fine. Hopefully today is just a mere trip, Emilia."

As Akira said this, he noticed how Emilia was holding onto Subaru's hand. On the way here, Subaru was excited to ride a carriage being pulled by an Earth Dragon. To the point that while the carriage was moving, he let his upper body escape from the side to feel the breeze and then proceeded to fall off the carriage as the only thing keeping him from touching the ground was him holding onto some rope. After that, Emilia decided to hold Subaru's hand as to avoid him getting into trouble. Seeing this, Akira let a sigh escape from his lips as he simply walked away.

"Huh, Kira Kira! Where are you going?!"

"No one likes being a third wheel, Subaru. I'll meet up with you two once we finished our business."

Having said that, Akira began to walk away. While he didn't feel like being a third wheel, there was another reason he decided to go alone. As the white-haired boy was going for a stroll, he was unaware of someone looking at his figure from the confines of her carriage. With a smirk on her face, the young woman simply closed her eyes in delight.

"It seems like coming here won't be as dull as I initially thought."