"Emilia-tan~! Have you finished the paperwork already?"
A black-haired boy burst through the door. He was wearing weird black, white, and orange clothing which Emilia hadn't seen anyone else wear. Despite this, she had already grown accustomed to it. While he waited for an answer, his smile kept growing wider.
"Ummm... Sorry, Subaru, I haven't finished yet."
"Critical damage..."
Theatrically, Subaru placed his hand on his heart and slowly fell backwards to the floor, but as he lay there, he suddenly raised one arm.
"Don't worry, Emilia-tan." He gave her a thumbs-up. "I'll wait as much as you want me to!"
"Subaru... you really are a dummy." After chuckling a bit and watching Subaru leave the room with a huge grin, Emilia went back to her work. After all, being a Royal Candidate didn't come without any drawbacks. She had to spend most of her days locked in her room, checking piles of documents.
"I wonder what this 'date' Subaru was talking about..." Scratching the back of her head, Emilia wandered around her room. "He did mention something about it before, but we never got the chance."
She took one final look at the pile of documents left. "At least two hours," she murmured.
By the time she finished, it might be too late. Only a few hours remained until dawn. Being completely unaware of what a 'date' was, Emilia didn't know if they would be able to go on it if it got dark outside.
"I suppose I could finish this tomorrow." She sighed. "I hate leaving work undone, though..."
After a last glance at what she would now rename "Tomorrow's work," she stood up and started walking toward the door. But just as she placed her hand on the doorknob, she remembered Subaru's words: You have to wear your best clothes, alright?
A bit reluctant, she changed into what she thought looked best—a short white dress along with a purple corset-like waist section and a matching ribbon. She checked herself in the mirror and nodded. With a genuine smile on her face, she finally opened the door, but as she stepped through, the world around her vanished.
Emilia fell into a pit of endless darkness.
"Suba—" Her joyful call was cut short.
◇
As she processed what was going on, her body was in free fall.
What do I do!? Where am I!? What is going on!?
Panic and anxiety flooded her body in an instant.
Everywhere she looked, she was met with the same sight. Darkness. Nothingness. She found herself unable to differentiate up from down and right from left. She only knew one thing: she was falling.
"――Icicle Line!"
Nothing happened.
"Ice Brand Arts!"
Her magic was instantly nullified, making her efforts useless.
"Hahaha, how amusing! What will you do now?"
From beyond what her eyes could distinguish, a voice made a sudden appearance.
"Wh-What? Who are you?"
Emilia gritted her teeth.
"Ice Brand Arts!"
"Why would you try that again? Don't you understand by now that it doesn't work?"
"Then—what am I... supposed to do...?" asked Emilia as she tried to control her breathing.
"Do about what?"
Incredibly, Emilia was about to lose her temper. Whoever was falling with her wasn't helping the situation at all.
Emilia's voice trembled. "What do you mean?! We're going to die when we land!"
"Ha! Ironic!"
"Ah!?"
Now the situation was ironic!? Just what kind of person was she dealing with? She was doomed—unable to use magic, and with no possibility of escaping the fall, there was nothing else to do.
"Agh... sorry, Subaru, Rem, Ram, Puck, Roswa—"
"Why are you apologizing?"
"What is wrong with you, mister!? We are going to die!"
"We are?"
"If you have any magic to save us, use it now!"
"Why?"
"To break the fall!"
"What fall?"
"What do you...!? Ah...? How...?"
When she looked down again, there was a... floor? Something she would describe as black clouds filled the place.
"You finally noticed. It took you long enough."
Facing away from the voice, Emilia let out an exhausted sigh.
"If you knew all along, you could have told me, mister."
It had all been a misunderstanding. Emilia was thankful that she hadn't said anything she would regret now. It wasn't every day that she got this stressed.
"Well, I'm sorry I got so agitated earlier. It was rude of me to scream at—"
"AND SO THE FIRST ACT ENDS! AMAZING, JUST AMAZING!"
"Wh-What?" Emilia turned around and started following the voice. Its shout startled her, but she didn't know where she was, so any company would be welcome. However, no matter how much she walked, the voice always seemed to stay the same distance away.
"Mister? Are you walking away?"
"AND NOW FOR THE SECOND ACT TO BEGIN!"
The moment those words were spoken, Emilia's eyes went white and she collapsed to the ground.
◇
Witch!
Get away from us!
Monster!
...liar.
My name is... Satella, isn't that what you said?
Useless.
Dying again and again.
Naive.
Childish.
You… were the cause of my suffering.
Wake from your slumber.
◇
The moment she woke up, she gasped for air. A nightmare? That voice belonged to—
"No time to lose! I, the audience, am hoping for an amusing experience. You better not let me down!"
"Huh?"
That's right… she had fallen when she opened the door and was running after that voice, but after that, her memories vanished. Had she passed out?
"Um… excuse me, can you repeat that? I don't think I understood what you said."
"That's going to be a no-no, sorry. Do you wish to bore the audience? How selfish…"
"No, it's not that—"
"Don't fret! Dear me, the audience. This will be an unforgettable experience!"
Emilia, who had been sitting on the cloudy floor, tilted her head to the side.
"Now… THE SECOND ACT SHALL COMMENCE!"
As the statement was made, Emilia's vision started to blur. The darkness began vanishing, and colors started returning.
Bricks… Round… Stairs…
She didn't recognize the place. But that wasn't the only thing.
"My body isn't listening to me." She was standing at the very edge of something she couldn't identify. "Hey, mister! I-I don't like this! Do you know how to stop this? You have been saying weird things all this time. Is it somehow related to this?"
The sensation of feeling every nerve in her body while it moved as if it disregarded her desires was unpleasant at best. That, combined with being one step away from a real fall, was nerve-wracking. Emilia could feel her whole body trembling, but at the same time, it wasn't.
Her "body" sighed, even though she hadn't planned to. She felt the urge as if it were hers, but the whole action moved without her approval. Her body simply didn't listen to her.
"Mister? Are you there—AAAAAGH!!!!"
She received a slight push in the back.
"HEEELP! MISTER, WHERE HAVE YOU GONE!? THIS IS THE SAME AS BEFORE, RIGHT?! ANY MOMENT NOW, RIGHT?! I SHOULD REALIZE THAT I'M NOT ACTUALLY FALLING, RIGHT?!"
It certainly didn't have the same feeling as before, and Emilia knew it. She couldn't even breathe—vomit clogged her throat.
"HELLO!? HELP ME!"
No one answered.
"ICICLE LINE! ICICLE LINE! ICICLE LINE! ICICLE LINE!" Emilia gritted her teeth. "WHY IS IT NOT WORKING?!"
I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared. I don't want to die yet. I have to save everyone from the forest. I have to win the Royal Selection. I promised Subaru I would go on that date with him, I have to keep my promise. I have to survive!
"ICE BRAND ARTS!!!" Again, nothing happened.
The floor was close, so close… she would… she would…
◇
"You got lucky this time, didn't you?"
She jolted awake again.
"Wh-wh-what is going on? Who are you?" She stepped back a few steps from the direction the voice came from. "What did you do to me?"
"That's a whole lotta questions, don't you think? This ain't no talk show, and I ain't no celebrity."
"I-I don't know what you're talking about." She could hardly get her words out. Just a second ago… she should have hit the ground.
"Hmmm, I guess not. Well, you're just lucky I passed out there. You shouldn't expect to have any more nice endings like that." The voice had an unserious tone. It was on the mature side. If she had to say, it was a bit similar to someone from the camp whom she treasured dearly.
"I don't have a clue what you're talking about. Just get me out of here and back to the mansion… please."
"Demanding and being polite at the same time. That's a trick that might work on many people… Hmmmm, perhaps I should start using it too."
"―――"
"Anyway… I feel like this dialogue could be cut short. I, the audience, want to see how desperate you are. However, we need action too, you know?"
Emilia furrowed her brow. She didn't understand anything. Where was she? Who was she talking to? What was she doing there? What was that fall when she first arrived? What about the second fall she had experienced moments ago, which should have ended in her death? What was the problem with her body when she fell? Why had she regained control over her body? How did the place nullify magic? How had he gotten there in the first place? Was the voice the one behind it all? And if yes, why?
"We need action, and for that…"
Emilia's vision blurred. "No, no, no, no, no… not again." The darkness she had hated, she now wished for. Was she about to be put in a fall again? The feeling of having vomit clog her throat was one she never wanted to experience again.
"Brace yourself, I, the audience, because the real show is about to begin."
PART 1 END