Subaru thought that the feeling of waking up from sleep was similar to the sensation of emerging from the surface of the water.
When he opened his eyelids, the tilted sunlight burned his eyes, making him grimace from the brightness as he rubbed them. He was the type who woke up easily; once his eyes opened, he would immediately become fully conscious.

"Ah, you're awake?"

The voice came from directly above, from right over Subaru's head as he lay down.
Turning his face toward the voice, Subaru realized that he had been lying on the ground, dozing off while leaning against something soft.

"Don't move yet. You hit your head, so it's not safe."

The voice that worried over him was gentle, and beneath his head was an unusual feeling of bliss.
Reflecting on the events just before he lost consciousness, Subaru quickly arrived at the conclusion that he was in a remarkably fortunate situation from a young man's perspective.

—Could this truly be the legendary lap pillow from a beautiful girl?!

Obeying this heavenly gift, Subaru pretended to roll over to savor the sensation of her thighs.
In a circular motion, his cheek reached a feeling of supreme comfort, and the surprisingly fluffy texture pushed against his entire face.
—He thought, “Beautiful girls are hairier than I expected.”

“Like hell that’s true—!”

“I'm glad you're awake (in a falsetto).”

Looking up while retorting, his vision which had finally fully awakened reflected the world around him correctly.
In front of Subaru's eyes, in his upside-down view, there was a huge cat's face.
The cat put on an overly affectionate smile-like expression,

"It was a thoughtful gesture to let you wake up happily (in a falsetto)."

"For now, please stop with that irritating falsetto."

In this unusual situation where he was being given a lap pillow by a human-sized cat, Subaru made only that one request. After that, he decided to enjoy the fluffy sensation against his cheek since it was a rare opportunity.

"Fluffy... Fluffy... What kind of thing did you create, oh God?"

"Oh, being appreciated this much makes me feel that it was worth the trouble to become gigantic. Right?"

Scratching its head with an embarrassed gesture, the giant cat winked as if seeking agreement.
Standing at the entrance of the alley, giving a dissatisfied look with her arms crossed, was the silver-haired girl.
There was no mistake; she was the girl who had been vividly burned into Subaru's memory and eyes just before he lost consciousness.

"Does that mean you're the tiny-sized cat from earlier?"

"Heh heh, I can change my size freely, making me convenient to carry around. And with my humorous talk, I brighten up any dull day. One per person! Your companion in life. For more details, inquire at the Spirit Council."

The cat skillfully snapped its fingers and delivered its sales pitch. Though the content was somewhat vague, Subaru decided it was likely just part of the cat's style.
He then shifted his focus to the girl approaching.

"Somehow, you ended up staying with me until I woke up..."

"Don't get the wrong idea. I stayed because there was something I wanted to ask you. If it weren't for that, I would have left you behind. Yes, I would have. So don't misunderstand."

With repeated emphasis, Subaru couldn't press any further.
The strong tone in which the beautiful girl spoke made it hard for Subaru, who had a communication level of 1 and especially a communication level with the opposite sex of 1, to do anything but nod along regardless of the content.

"So, the reason I used healing magic on your injuries and let you enjoy Puck's belly pillow until you woke up was all for my own convenience. Therefore, you'll be paying me back for that."

"That's a roundabout yet straightforward request, coated with a bit of guilt-tripping."

The reasoning was almost a textbook example of the saying "A kindness is not for others but for oneself."
In response to Subaru's reply, the girl, still with a stern expression, shook her head.

"Not at all, it's completely one-sided. —So, you have some idea about my stolen insignia, don't you?"

A bit timidly accepting the terms, Subaru was then asked in a softened tone.
The question puzzled Subaru, and he couldn’t help but tilt his head in confusion.
To be honest, he felt like he had heard the exact same question just before losing consciousness.

"Did I hit my head hard during the brief time I was unconscious?"

"You were only out for about five minutes, and as far as I know, nothing of the sort happened."

"So, is it déjà vu? Or maybe my latent ability has awakened, allowing me to experience events from the near future beforehand?"

The ability name 'Come Back the Day Before Yesterday'... how about that?
It seems like it might be useful in the sense of having a precise answer ready for questions. Or perhaps it's possible to go back before a test and deal with those tricky questions that have been bothering you. Dreams expand.

"Oh, I was a shut-in!"

"Can you not ignore my intentions and run wild? So, the answer to the question?"

"Uh, in that case, um... I can't think of anything off the top of my head."

When it comes to an insignia, it’s probably the kind of badge that lawyers, prosecutors, and self-defense officials wear to prove their identity.
Unfortunately, Subaru doesn’t remember seeing anything like that over the past hour.
If he could return home, he would probably have a mountain of toy badges he collected as a child, but not only does he not know how to get back, offering those would probably just make him a target for ice block attacks.

Therefore, Subaru cannot respond to her expectations.
However, the girl nodded without showing any disappointment at Subaru’s answer,

"That’s right. Then it can’t be helped. But since I got the information that you don’t know anything, I have properly received the compensation for treating your injury."

she declared her complete loss in a manner that would surprise even a scam artist.
Leaving the dumbfounded Subaru behind, she clapped her hands loudly as if to clear away the matter,

"Well then, I’m off. Sorry, but I’m in a hurry. Your injuries should be healed now, and since I’ve threatened them, I don’t think those people will bother you anymore, but going into a deserted alley at this hour by yourself is like being a suicide candidate. Oh, that’s not concern, it’s advice. Next time if you end up in a similar situation, there’s no benefit for me in helping you, so if you expect me to help, you’ll be in trouble."

She said everything at a rapid pace, and perhaps taking Subaru’s silence as agreement, the girl muttered "Alright" in satisfaction and turned her body around.
Her long silver hair swayed along with her movements, shining fantastically even in the dark alley.

The sudden sensation of leaning one’s weight disappeared, and Subaru hurriedly righted himself as he nearly fell.

When he turned around, the enormous, fat cat that had been there until just moments ago was gone, and it had returned to the palm-sized form he had first seen. The cat floated like a balloon drifting in the wind and headed toward the girl’s back.

“Sorry. My child isn’t very honest. Please don’t think badly of him.”

With a tone that included a laugh, the cat landed softly on the girl’s shoulder. The girl stroked the cat’s back once as if to confirm its presence, and then it vanished into her silver hair.

Watching her gallant departing figure, Subaru repeatedly pondered the cat’s earlier words.
—Apparently, that girl is not straightforward, judging from her words and actions.

The girl, who had apparently been robbed, was chasing after the person who stole something precious from her. Along the way, she found Subaru, who was unrelated and being assaulted, and took the time to save him despite it cutting into her pursuit of the thief. On top of that, she went out of her way to heal the collapsed Subaru, stood guard until he woke up, and made sure to ask repeated questions that she had likely already heard, ensuring Subaru wouldn’t feel indebted to her.

This isn’t just a matter of not being straightforward.
Subaru had never met someone who deliberately executed such a troublesome level of consideration.

For the girl, there was no gain at all from getting involved with Subaru.
Considering that she lost track of the fleeing thief and had to spend time healing Subaru, if you think about the balance of it, it would be overwhelmingly negative.
The girl had every right to blame Subaru, and Subaru had a duty to accept any such scolding.

However, in the end, the girl did not blame Subaru, nor did he hear any words of apology.
Because for the girl, saving Subaru was all exactly according to her self-centered plans.

“Living like that, you’re going to suffer a lot of losses.”

Standing up while saying this, Subaru brushed off the dust-covered dirt from his tracksuit.
The beloved tracksuit, though noticeably dirty, had barely a scratch or tear. More importantly, the pain from all the kicks and hits had completely disappeared.
Rotating his shoulders and moving his legs to check his condition, he once again realized the irrational power of magic.
And likewise, he marveled at how extraordinary the girl was, accepting a trivial reward after doing so much for him.

"—Hey, wait up!"

At the entrance of the alley, in the direction leading to the main street, he called out to the girl who turned her neck to look back.
Rubbing her long silver hair with her hand, she looked back at him with annoyance.

"What? The conversation is over. We are now unrelated strangers. Our lives crossed for just a brief moment; we are complete strangers."

"Don't say something so heart-piercing! Besides, even if you think it's over, I certainly don't feel that way at all."

Subaru ran up to the girl with a pleading look in her cold eyes.
Thinking for a moment how he looked like a rejected man chasing after a woman, he spread his arms wide to block her path and said,

"It's something precious to you, right? Let me help you."

"But you don't know anything..."

"True, I don't know the thief's name, background, or preferences, but at least I know what she looks like! A pretty girl with noticeable fangs and blonde hair! She was shorter than you, had a smaller chest, and was probably two or three years younger, something like that, really!?"

When flustered, Subaru had a bad habit of speaking rapidly and getting overly excited.
This time, his bad habit was fully at work, and he himself was shocked by his own words.
—Why am I mentioning preferences and chest size? And saying "pretty girl" and "really"? What's up with this self-imposed foreigner act? I dropped English back in middle school.

During his first summer vacation in middle school, Subaru had lost his English textbook, and since then, he had completely cut ties with foreign words. A kind of personal isolation.
For someone like him to nonchalantly use English in daily conversation—.

Subaru was about to dive into a lengthy recollection due to his nervousness and regret.
His back was drenched with cold sweat. His underarms and hands were also sweaty, making his arms feel awful. He was surrounded on all sides by palpitations, breathlessness, dizziness, anemia, nasal congestion, and a migraine.
What saved him from this self-imposed dire situation was—

"Weird guy."

It was the voice of a girl who had tilted her head and placed a hand to her mouth as if regarding a rare creature.
She scrutinized Subaru as if appraising him and said,

"Just so you know, I can't offer you any thanks. As you can see, I don't have a single penny."

"It was all taken from me."

"Rest assured, I'm also practically penniless."

"There's nothing reassuring about that."

Consciously ignoring the frequent interjections, Subaru thumped his chest and said,

"Besides, I don't need any thanks. In the first place, I want to help because I want to offer my gratitude."

"I haven't done anything that warrants gratitude. If it's about the injury, I've already been compensated properly."

The girl remained stubborn in her stance.
Seeing her obstinate attitude, Subaru gave a wry smile and prefaced his next words with, "In that case,"

"I'll help you for my own sake too. My goal is, yes, to do good deeds."

"Good deeds?"

"Yes, by doing them, I can go to heaven after I die. Apparently, a dream-like, carefree, lazy life awaits me there. So, for that reason, let me help you."

Although he didn't quite understand what he was saying himself, Subaru said what he wanted to say.
The girl appeared contemplative as she looked at Subaru's satisfied expression. However, as she pondered, the gray cat perched on her shoulder nudged her cheek with its paw and said,

"I don't sense any malice, so I think you should accept his help. Searching without any leads in a city as large as the royal capital would be nothing short of reckless."

"But... I..."

"I think being stubborn can be endearing, but being stubborn and losing sight of your goal is foolish. I don't want to think of my daughter as a foolish child."

The girl raised her eyebrows at the provocatively admonishing little cat.
Then she agonized over it for a few seconds, with a "Ooh," "Hmm," and "But" in a strangely suggestive manner, before finally saying,

"Really, I can't give you any thanks."

With that, she took Subaru's outstretched hand.