The dragon carriage sped along the road, trees blurring past on both sides.
Though grateful he still remembered the way back from the capital, Adam regretted not setting up a magical checkpoint there before leaving — now he was exhausting himself in pursuit.
He thought that by increasing the dragon carriage's speed, he might catch up to them. But reality proved otherwise.
After a full day's chase, there was still no sign of their carriage.
When the Earth Dragon finally became too exhausted to continue, Adam left it at a roadside inn and took to the air himself, determined to close the distance as quickly as possible.
They all reached the Capital by the next morning.
Rather than approaching directly, Adam shadowed them from a distance.
He watched as Roswaal departed with Ram, while Natsuki and Emilia, hand in hand, headed in another direction — clearly planning to split up.
After brief consideration, Adam chose to follow Natsuki. Whether he liked it or not, the immortal zombie's survival was now his priority. Besides, as the protagonist, fortune tended to favor him.
Trailing behind Natsuki and Emilia, they arrived at a commercial street.
A sense of familiarity struck him as he pondered — wasn't this where that green-haired apple vendor had his stall?
Sure enough, that proved to be Natsuki's destination.
"Uncle, give me ten apples." Natsuki called out to the green-haired uncle who was attracting customers at his stall, "I've brought plenty of gold coins this time, so pick out some good ones for me."
The green-haired uncle was confused at first, but upon seeing the client's fierce eyes and black hair — rare in the Kingdom of Lugunica — he remembered who this young man was.
"What brings you here?" He asked, his voice tinged with disinterest.
"So cold!" Natsuki complained loudly, then explained proudly, "A once-poor boy has become a noble's butler, and I wanted to repay the kind uncle who helped me, so here I am."
"Became a noble's butler?"
It was then that he noticed the young man's butler attire and the sword at his waist, immediately understanding that this was not the same person from before.
"Repayment? I don't remember ever doing you any favors."
Indeed. From his perspective, he had only chased away a penniless kid — hardly a kindness worth repaying.
But for Natsuki, it was different.
Having experienced ten loops, during several moments of despair, it was thanks to the caring apple vendor uncle that he had managed to pull himself together and eventually meet the person who helped him escape the death loops.
Otherwise, he would surely have broken down mentally and lost himself.
"Now, now, don't say that. Our relationship isn't as simple as you think."
Natsuki's words sounded strange no matter how you heard them.
The apple uncle's mouth twitched with annoyance, but the principles of "the customer is always right" and "money talks" worked their magic.
When he heard that Natsuki was making a purchase, his dissatisfaction vanished, and he cheerfully filled a bag with bright red apples.
Natsuki had expected to be overcharged, but instead, there was even an extra apple in the bag.
Seeing this, they exchanged knowing smiles.
"Well, debt repaid. Let's go, Emilia-tan."
"Yep, that's it." With that, he took her hand and left the fruit stall.
Adam, following secretly, nodded in satisfaction.
Natsuki's progress was evident — his social skills and emotional control had improved significantly, allowing him to establish a rapport with the apple vendor in just a few exchanges.
Good, it seemed he had taken the earlier advice to heart.
However, just when Adam thought the young man had matured, a confrontation with Julius arose.
The trigger: Julius kissing Emilia's hand right in front of him. This gesture shattered Natsuki's composure!
That he didn't immediately confront Julius showed remarkable self-restraint — one could hardly expect him to maintain a pleasant expression under such circumstances.
Known as the "Finest of Knights", he commanded deep respect among his peers. With his dignified bearing, refined manners, noble lineage, and established position, he ranked second among the Royal Knights in swordsmanship, magic, family background, and achievements!
Moreover, he was a Spirit Arts User! Commanding 6 Quasi-Spirits, he wielded Spirit Magic in combination, embodying the role of Spirit Knight!
His self-created magical sword technique〚Rainbow Sword〛could even cut through unmanifested invisible hands!
{T/N: The name is not official, but Julius is known as the Rainbow Spirit Knight. His sword movements imbued with magic, Clarista and some other three, all combine the light of his 6 Quasi-Spirits, hence the name Rainbow.}
He was incredibly powerful!
However, in the end, they didn't fight.
Not due to Emilia's intervention, but because Subaru forced himself to remain calm. Still, fearing he might lose control, he opted not to accompany them to the communication mirror, choosing instead to await Emilia's return.
As time passed, boredom set in, and he began surveying his surroundings.
That's when he noticed a noble-looking young lady in a red dress being forcefully led into an alley by three thugs.
"Those guys..." Natsuki recognized the thugs.
With a jolt, he realized they were the same ones he'd encountered in all ten loops — the very ones who had once stabbed him.
Here was a chance to release his pent-up frustration. He followed them without hesitation.
As expected, the three thugs were in the midst of extorting the elegantly dressed young lady.
Natsuki let out a long sigh.
"You three really are like dogs that can't quit eating shit."
The crude insult echoed through the alley, instantly enraging the thugs surrounding the young lady.
"Huh?!" They whirled around angrily but stumbled back in fear.
"Yes, it's me. But there's no prize." Natsuki approached slowly, his presence menacing, "You three are still scum as always. I really shouldn't have gone easy on you back then."
At his words, the three thugs retreated further, an inexplicable pain throbbing in the backs of their heads.
"Of course, if you let the girl go, I might let you off. If not, don't blame me for getting rough. Make your choice."
"We'll — we'll let her go now..."
"Wait!" Gaston was about to cave, but Rachins held him back, "Look carefully, you two. That powerful man isn't with him anymore."
"Now that you mention it..."
At this reminder, Gaston and Camberley shook off their fear, regaining their confidence.
"Hah, without that man around, we're not afraid of you! It's three against two — we have the advantage!" Rachins drew his dagger.
The same dagger that had once stabbed him!
"Take down this guy first, then deal with the woman! Let's go!"
The three thugs rushed at Natsuki, intent on taking him down quickly.
"Really now, being pursued so eagerly by men with no sense — it makes me shy." Even facing three attackers, Natsuki found time to make a quip.
Then his demeanor shifted as he lowered into a fighting stance.
His voice dropped to a whisper.
◈ Thunder Breathing, First Form ⫸ Thunderclap and Flash ◈
A nearly invisible flash of lightning cut through the bright sunlight as Natsuki vanished, reappearing behind the thugs in an instant.
The thugs crumpled to the ground!
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