Humans Have Their Limits, But I... A Date With Emilia in the Royal Capital?
And so, Rem alone drove the dragon carriage from the outside.
Inside the carriage were only Natsuki Subaru, Emilia, and Roswaal.
It was said that it would only take six hours to reach the Royal Capital.
No more than half a day.
"Speaking of which, this dragon carriage is quite comfortable to sit in."
Natsuki Subaru carefully savored the feeling of riding in a dragon carriage for the second time.
After all, the first time was right after he had transmigrated. When he rode the dragon carriage, it was nighttime, and he was drowsy on the way back to Roswaal Manor from the Royal Capital, with no time to pay attention.
Only now did he discover that the texture of the dragon carriage seats and its overall design were unexpectedly comfortable and refined.
The scenery outside the window flew by at an astonishing speed. Based on his experience from his original world, the speed was probably over a hundred kilometers per hour.
No wonder this other world used dragon carriages as their primary mode of transportation.
Furthermore, even at such a speed, the vibrations from the carriage body were minimal, and the comfort level was comparable to that of a modern car.
"As expected of a dragon carriage, it can almost be compared to a car."
Looking at the flowing scenery outside the window, Natsuki Subaru couldn't help but think to himself.
"Oh my, oh my——Natsuki-kun is so curious about the dragon carriage——is that so?"
Seeing Natsuki Subaru looking left and right in the carriage, Roswaal blinked his heterochromatic eyes and smiled.
"It's not that I'm surprised, I just think the speed is really fast, like a car on a highway."
Having experienced modern airplanes and high-speed trains, Natsuki Subaru was actually accustomed to this kind of speed from an otherworld dragon carriage.
"Oh? A car——what is that?"
Roswaal tilted his head and pressed further, his heterochromatic eyes sparkling with inquisitive light.
"Err… it's a four-wheeled vehicle that runs on mechanical power, similar to a dragon carriage."
Natsuki Subaru explained, gesturing with his hands.
"But it doesn't need an earth dragon to pull it; it's driven by an internal combustion engine."
"An inter…nal combustion engine?"
Roswaal drew out his tone, looking very puzzled.
"What an unheard-of——term——It seems Natsuki-kun's hometown has quite a unique——magical engineering system, you know~"
"Well, about that..."
Natsuki Subaru scratched his head and said, "It's more science than magic... Forget it, it's too complicated to explain."
After all, explaining scientific principles in a world where magic reigns supreme was simply like playing a lute to a cow.
"Hehehe——Natsuki-kun's hometown is also an——interesting place, I see~"
Roswaal lightly tapped his chin and said meaningfully, "It's beyond the Great Waterfall, isn't it? That legendary——distant land where the giant dragon was exiled——I see~"
This old fox clearly knows my identity as a transmigrator through the Tome of Wisdom, yet he insists on feigning ignorance.
Natsuki Subaru silently rolled his eyes, then deliberately changed the subject:
"Right, speaking of the dragon carriage being so fast, is Rem really okay in the driver's seat? Although I'm not worried she'll fall off, by the time we reach the Royal Capital, Rem's hair and clothes will probably be a mess from the wind, right?"
"Subaru, the dragon carriage is protected by a Divine Protection, so you don't need to worry."
Emilia explained gently, her long silver hair swaying with the slight movement of the carriage.
"Oh, Divine Protection, huh. I didn't expect even earth dragons to have such a perk."
Natsuki Subaru said as if he had a sudden realization.
Speaking of which, in this other world, Divine Protections were a magical power, a blessing bestowed upon life by the world, similar to a legitimate cheat granted by heaven.
Divine Protections are blessings bestowed by the world when life is born.
Emilia nodded lightly and continued, "There are many kinds, and some races are naturally endowed with specific Divine Protections. For example, the earth dragon's Divine Protection of Wind Evasion is one of them."
"Divine Protection of Wind Evasion, huh. It certainly suits a mode of transport like the earth dragon."
Natsuki Subaru said thoughtfully, looking at the scenery rapidly passing by outside the window.
He remembered that the Divine Protections in this world were incredibly varied, from Otto's Divine Protection of Soul Language, Felt's Divine Protection of Wind, to Sword Saint Reinhard's hundreds of exaggerated Divine Protections.
That cheater, it's like he can get whatever Divine Protection he wants! This is basically the treatment of the world's favorite son, right?
In comparison, ordinary people awakening even one Divine Protection would be like winning the lottery.
"When earth dragons gallop across the land, the Divine Protection allows them to be unaffected by wind resistance."
Emilia paused for a moment and continued to explain, "And this effect extends to the connected dragon carriage, so you won't feel strong winds inside the carriage either."
"So, Rem outside is also within the protective range of the Divine Protection of Wind Evasion. There's no need to worry about her being blown by the wind; she just needs to focus on driving the earth dragon."
Natsuki Subaru quickly understood the principle.
"However, if the earth dragon's Divine Protection of Wind Evasion is interrupted, it takes some time to reactivate."
Emilia added.
"I see."
Natsuki Subaru nodded in understanding.
It seemed this wind evasion effect was effective for the entire dragon carriage, including the passengers inside.
At this moment, the scenery outside the window suddenly accelerated, attracting Natsuki Subaru's attention:
"Wow! This speed is definitely over the limit, right? It's really convenient that there are no traffic police in this other world!"
"Although I don't know what Subaru means by traffic police, earth dragons do indeed run faster on the plains."
Emilia was amused by Natsuki Subaru's reaction and said, lightly covering her mouth with her slender fingers, "But with the Divine Protection of Wind Evasion, you won't feel uncomfortable even at this speed."
"Speaking of Divine Protections..."
Natsuki Subaru suddenly turned around, propped his hands on the seat, leaned his body slightly forward, and looked into Emilia's reddish-purple eyes, saying,
"Emilia-chan must have some special Divine Protection too, right? Like, a Divine Protection of Super Cuteness or something?"
"Subaru… Divine Protections are very sacred blessings…"
Emilia's voice gradually softened, her long silver hair falling over her chest as she lowered her head,
"And… a half-elf like me wouldn't be blessed by the world…"
The air in the carriage seemed to freeze in an instant.
Oh no, the direction of this conversation isn't good...
Sensing the suddenly heavy atmosphere in the carriage, Natsuki Subaru waved his hands, put on a bright smile, and said cheerfully:
"No, Emilia-chan is clearly so gentle and kind, the world must have just forgotten to give you a Divine Protection! If you ask me, you definitely have a Divine Protection of a 'Smile That Makes People Want to Protect It'!"
"Eh..." Emilia was stunned, her silver eyelashes trembling lightly. After a moment of silence, "Thank you, Subaru. However, for this Royal Selection, I've actually been very worried."
"Worried... you mean?"
"After my identity is revealed, the public's reaction..."
Emilia unconsciously tightened her grip on her skirt, the elven ears between her silver hair twitching slightly. "Although Roswaal said preparations have been made, but..."
Oh no, Emilia is raising such an obvious flag!
Natsuki Subaru inwardly cried out in alarm.
After all, as a candidate for the Royal Selection, Emilia's identity would sooner or later be made public; this was unavoidable.
He remembered that the people of this world had deep-seated prejudices against silver-haired half-elves, confusing Emilia's half-elf appearance with that of the Witch of Envy.
To most people, both were symbols of disaster.
Thinking of this, Natsuki Subaru took a deep breath, looked firmly at Emilia, raised his fist, and said solemnly:
"Your exclusive knight is here! If anyone dares to say anything bad about Emilia-chan, I'll use my fists... Ah, no, I'll use my eloquent tongue to persuade them! Coincidentally, what I'm best at is changing others' minds, inspiring people, giving speeches, and things like that. Back in school, I was honored with the title of the Strongest Debater!"
"Pfft..."
Emilia was amused by Natsuki Subaru's appearance, but then covered her mouth somewhat embarrassed, her reddish-purple eyes shining with a gentle light,
"Subaru is always like this. Even though he often encounters danger himself, he's always the first to stand up and protect others."
"This is different!"
Natsuki Subaru forcefully patted his chest, making a thumping sound.
"Protecting Emilia-chan's smile is my responsibility as a knight, and... being able to see you worry about me like this proves my efforts haven't been in vain."
The carriage fell into silence for a moment, only the slight sound of the dragon carriage moving echoing in their ears.
Emilia turned to look at the scenery rapidly passing by outside the window, her silver hair glowing softly in the sunlight:
"Actually… I'm already prepared to be ostracized by everyone, but if I can take this opportunity, even if it's just to change people's views on half-elves a little bit..."
She really is the Emilia who always thinks of others.
Natsuki Subaru gazed at her delicate profile, silently making a vow in his heart.
This time, I will definitely change that future.
I won't let you bear these things alone anymore, Emilia.
"The current me also has the ability to protect Emilia."
Natsuki Subaru thought to himself, conveniently calling up the system panel that only he could see:
Host: Natsuki Subaru
Level: 19
Occupation: None
Title: Wolf Slayer
Spirit: 90
Strength: 114
Agility: 92
Stamina: 79
Health: 1350/1350
Mana: 2200/2200
Experience: 1040/550000
Allocatable Points: 0
Skills: Life Resilience, Advanced Dagger Arts, Throwing Dagger, Blessing of the Great Witch God Kandiaru, Sprint.
"After completing daily tasks these days and adding all the attribute points to strength, it's unknowingly reached 114 points. I can clearly feel my strength steadily improving every day."
Natsuki Subaru felt the power surging within his body, silently assessing his current combat strength.
Then, his gaze involuntarily shifted to Roswaal, who was resting with his eyes closed at the other end of the carriage. A complex emotion flashed in Natsuki Subaru's eyes:
"However… compared to this old fox, I should still be quite a bit weaker."
"Speaking of which, this bastard clearly possesses such powerful strength, yet he always stands by and does nothing at critical moments."
Natsuki Subaru thought, gritting his teeth.
If it weren't for Roswaal repeatedly watching coldly from the sidelines, the tragedies in the original work would never have happened, and the Natsuki Subaru in the original work wouldn't have had to experience Return by Death so many times.
What was even more hateful was that this guy always deliberately set traps to test the Natsuki Subaru in the original work, causing him to die needlessly several more times.
What Roswaal does, it's truly not something a human would do!
Four hundred years of accumulation have allowed this heterochromatic-eyed magician to reach the pinnacle of human magic.
Natsuki Subaru assessed Roswaal with his peripheral vision.
He remembered it being mentioned in the original work that Roswaal had even fought Puck head-on.
Although Puck was recognized as a monster in terms of stats, Roswaal, relying on his yellow eye that could see through and break all magic, had fought him to a standstill.
However, Natsuki Subaru also knew very well that Puck hadn't used his true power in that battle.
After all, Puck in his Beast of the End form was practically a mobile natural disaster. If he were to go all out, it wouldn't be a spar, but a devastating battle of life and death.
"In that case…"
Natsuki Subaru calculated inwardly,
"Roswaal indeed represents the limit of human magicians. His mana reserves are second only to Emilia's, he's proficient in almost all schools of magic except healing, and he even has some close combat ability."
Thinking of this, Natsuki Subaru couldn't help but frown,
"This kind of all-rounded opponent is indeed extremely troublesome."
Not only could the opponent cast various attribute magics, but he also possessed hundreds of years of combat experience, like an insurmountable mountain.
But then, Natsuki Subaru secretly cheered himself up.
"Actually, there's no need to worry too much. With the player system, my growth is cheat-like."
Each level-up brought a comprehensive improvement in all attributes, making his potential far exceed that of any genius in this world.
Although his current level 19 strength isn't enough to contend with Roswaal, what about level 29? Level 39? Or even higher…
"Also, no matter how powerful the magic, it's useless if it doesn't hit the target."
Natsuki Subaru clenched his fist, a glint in his eyes.
"As long as my speed and strength are fast enough, I can definitely defeat him."
Ultimately, Roswaal was just the strongest magician among humans.
And the limits of humans were, after all, limited.
Unless he abandoned his human identity and stopped being human! Otherwise, how could he compare to those existences that transcended convention?
"I don't need to rely on Roswaal, and I certainly don't expect that Puck who always messes up at critical moments..."
Thinking of Puck's reputation as a "god in internal conflicts, but useless in external ones," Natsuki Subaru couldn't help but rub his temples.
That spirit always disappeared at the most critical moments, but when it came to dealing with his own people, he was more active than anyone.
As for Roswaal, although his strength was unfathomable, he was always pretending and holding back.
The dragon carriage swayed gently, the scenery outside the window flying by like a revolving lantern.
Natsuki Subaru gazed at the receding scenery, making a vow in his heart:
"One day, I will surpass all these so-called powerhouses!"
___
Greetings! ✨ Walnut here!
🔥 AN INCREDIBLE OFFER IS ON THE TABLE! 🔥
We're only 13 members away from our 65-member goal! 🎯
The second we hit it, 10 BONUS CHAPTERS for ALL STORIES will be released to everyone. No exceptions!
🪦 Your membership is the key. Let's make it happen!
100 powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone! 5 reviews = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone!
Secure your early access before it's too late!
👻 patreon.com/Walnutchan