R2. A Wondrous Misunderstanding
In the middle of the night, on an empty, wide road, a young girl was pulling a dragon carriage.
Although it was a human pulling the carriage, her speed was astonishing.
Each time her feet hit the ground, the carriage surged forward by several dozen meters.
Of course, this wasn't even the limit of her strength — after all, she was someone capable of leaping onto a pterosaur flying a thousand meters in the air.
Reinhild's red hair began fluttering in the wind.
The girl, upon realizing this, decided to stop accelerating further for the safety of the dragon carriage.
Reinhild actually had the "Divine Protection of Wind Reduction" like the ground dragon, a Divine Protection she had received half a year ago in the Empire.
Yet, despite that, Felix could still feel the wind clearly — a sign that the wind pressure caused by the girl's speed had exceeded the Divine Protection's limits.
The journey from the Astrea domain's mansion to the royal capital usually took about 90 minutes, even with the best dragon carriage.
Part of the reason was that the ground dragon needed to rest for 15 minutes after running at full speed for 45.
The actual distance was about 125 kilometers.
But under the terrifying power of the girl's legs, that distance shrank rapidly.
About 20 minutes after leaving the capital, the girl named Reinhild had already arrived at the destination with the carriage.
"Well, I have to admit — this ride was a lot better than last time when you carried me through the clouds," said Felix, stepping down from the dragon carriage.
He was now wearing a blue-and-white butterfly ribbon on his head, a blue collar with a blue-and-white ribbon around his neck, a blue-and-white dress, black tights, blue-and-white long socks, blue shoes, and blue-and-white armguards.
His right arm had a blue scarf tied to it.
Having changed clothes on the way, Felix held his right hand over his chest and pointed at Reinhild with his left.
He remained silent for a moment before speaking with resignation.
Felix had once enjoyed taking the acrophobic Crusch to high places to enjoy the scenery, finding it amusing to see her otherwise manly master show a timid, girlish side.
But after being dragged along by Reinhild once while traveling, Felix had developed a severe fear of heights.
Naturally, that former enjoyment vanished.
"I really am sorry about that time. This way, please," Reinhild said awkwardly, scratching her head.
Occasionally, there were gaps in the clouds in the sky, so it was normal to land now and then and then leap back up.
To avoid hurting Felix's ears with the unexpected sounds of explosions, she had activated the "Divine Protection of Silence."
Since Felix had been too scared to struggle, Reinhild hadn't noticed anything was wrong until they reached their destination two minutes later.
"I've never seen you so anxious before. Don't tell me our flower of the team got charmed by some random street kid?" Felix teased as he walked alongside the girl.
"There was no heartbeat-like excitement in me… only overwhelming guilt. I made him trust me, yet I failed to protect him."
"He got injured… in front of you!?"
"Yes."
"The Blue Lightning snuck in again!?"
"It was the Bowel Hunter."
"She's that strong!?"
"I underestimated her. Anyway, we're here now. I leave the rest to you."
"The wounds are even worse than I imagined… but this person? Once I've treated him, you're going to explain everything — properly."
Felix's face displayed various emotions upon seeing Subaru: confusion, anger, confidence.
After saying that to Reinhild, he entered the room.
Nearly 100 minutes had passed since Emilia had tried to heal him.
Subaru, who was on the verge of death, finally received treatment from the Kingdom of Lugunica's most powerful healer — Felix Argyle.
Yet the treatment this time took surprisingly little time — likely not even two minutes — before Felix walked out.
At Felix's signal, Reinhild approached the blood-scented room.
She knelt by Subaru's side and lifted his shirt, then carefully ran her hand from left to right across his abdomen.
After confirming that the wound had completely healed, she stood up, bowed deeply in gratitude to Felix, and took a handkerchief from the butler to wipe the blood off her hands.
"Winston, please find a few staff members to clean Subaru up, change his clothes, and let him rest in a guest room. Felix, let's talk in the parlor."
.
.
.
"So, what's the deal with that boy, meow? You should've sensed the Witch Cult's presence on him."
"Felix, we can't take someone's life just because they might commit a crime. That boy is brave and kind-hearted. If he does turn into a madman committing all sorts of evil… I will personally bring him to justice."
"Alright, fine. Then how do you know him, meow? And who gave him that emergency treatment? Tell me everything you can — otherwise I won't be able to sleep, meow."
.
.
.
"You sure you're not just talking about a popular romance novel?"
"Romance novel?"
"Yeah! Like a poor boy falls for a noble lady, accidentally finds out someone wants to assassinate her, tries his best to stop it, and ends up taking a fatal blow for her.
If it weren't for you, that noble lady probably would've taken him home, and then the two of them would… find the mastermind behind it all… face all kinds of trials… and become husband and wife!"
The more Felix spoke, the more animated he became — and the paler Reinhild's face turned.
"Wait… are you saying Subaru likes that noble lady, and I ruined his big moment?"
"Of course, meow! Would you risk your life for someone you don't even know?"
Without hesitation, Reinhild nodded.
"Sorry, that's my bad. But still — most people value their lives highly.
If someone risks their own life for another, it means they value that person even more than themselves.
For people of the same age and opposite gender, that usually means — in over 90% of cases — they're really in love."
Reinhild fell silent.
With two love-struck parents, she understood the look of deep affection more than anyone.
Personally, she didn't feel like Subaru looked at Lady Emilia with the "willing to give up everything" kind of gaze.
However, Felix's theory — grounded in emotional insight — was flawless.
"What about the reward?"
Reinhild changed the subject.
"Though I'd love to say we don't need to talk about rewards because of our relationship… I may need your help soon.
Reinhild, is there a way for you to always sense when I call you, meow?"
Reinhild looked at Felix for a while, then realized that this dangerous task had to be carried out personally.
She took Felix's hand.
"I understand. Empathy-based Divine Protections without a blood connection are very fragile. You'd need a level of pain like losing an arm for me to feel it — and it only works once.
And… I'm not omnipotent. It'll take time for me to get to you, so please be careful."
"Thank you," said Felix.