"Well then, I'm off for a bit. I won't be back until tomorrow though… but as I've said many times before, there's no need to force yourself to take the 'Trial', so you should rest a bit."
"I know, I know. Subaru, don't look so worried. I'll follow your instructions and rest quietly today."
Saying this, Emilia pouts, looks up at Subaru from the car, and acts sulky.
Subaru smiled wryly at her adorable behavior, consciously trying not to show the pain he felt in his heart.
It was just before noon, a few hours after my morning discussion with Garfiel and my visit to Emilia's on the same day.
"Natsuki-san, we've finished our preparations. All that's left now is to depart."
"Yeah, you're really fast at your job. The way you cleared the stage and fled the scene was admirable. Can I call you 'Otto the Night Runner' from now on?"
"I don't know what the word 'running away in the night' means, but I'm sure it has a dishonorable ring to it, so I'll refuse."
Otto, who had called out to him, curled his lips in disgust at Subaru's reply, but this time Subaru gave a bitter smile, this time without any ulterior motives. Looking behind him, he saw that there was another dragon carriage in line, separate from the one Subaru and his comrades were riding in.
There were a total of six vehicles, each capable of accommodating 42 people. This included the refugees from Aram Village and the peddlers who accompanied them.
"Even so, I was surprised at how easily they accepted me. To be honest, I was prepared for them to be quite strict."
"That's because Barusu cleverly talked to Garf first. Lord Lewes is an understanding person, and if Garf hadn't interfered, there would have been no difficulty in the discussion."
As Subaru scratched his neck, Ram, dressed as a waitress, spoke up from under the dragon carriage. Under her pink hair, she looked up at him with the same disrespectful expression as always,
"As for Ram, I would like to complain about the fact that no negotiations were held to return Roswaal-sama to the mansion."
"You're too suitable to be the hostage of all hostages. I couldn't come up with any good words to bring it to negotiations. Just being able to bring everyone back to the village is an achievement, so please consider it that."
Subaru: "Considering Barusu, I'll leave it at that. You should be grateful, Ram."
"Wouldn't it be a loss for me to say thank you here?"
Trembling at Ram who was claiming all the credit for everything in the world, Subaru took another look at Emilia, who was fidgeting beside her.
Her amethyst eyes were filled with sadness and anxiety, but when she noticed Subaru looking at her, she drove those emotions away.
"Thanks. If Subaru hadn't mentioned it, I might never have noticed."
"Emilia-tan is in a difficult position, so you can leave it to us to look after the people around you. First, the most important thing is right in front of you. We'll see that everything else works out, so you can rest assured."
I slapped my chest vigorously, and Emilia put her hand to her mouth and burst out in a small sigh. Then, wiping away the tears that had formed in her eyes with her fingers, she nodded and said, "Yes."
"I get it. I'm counting on you, Subaru. So…"
"I know. I'll come right back after I drop everyone off. If you forgot any of your favorite stuffed animals at the mansion, I'll bring them over then, okay?"
"I graduated from that age a long time ago. And I never asked you to come back sooner. Of course, I'd be happy if you came back sooner, but..."
"So what were you trying to say?"
"...Be careful. I'm glad you got here early, but it would be better if nothing happened."
"Oh my, I'm excited."
Feeling his heart throb with longing, Subaru stepped back, clutching his heart that had been pierced by the bullet. Emilia tilted her head at her unconscious remark, but Subaru took a deep breath, turned his palm towards her,
「OK OK, I understand. I will return to you quickly and safely. Shall we pinky swear?」
"What if I lied to you? Petra? …Okay, I get it. I'll do it."
"Oh my, so honest."
Bending his knee to Emilia as she approached him, Subaru and Emilia's fingers intertwined on the ground and in the car. Then, after the usual words were spoken, their fingers were cut and a promise was made.
Staring intently at the cut finger, Emilia then reflected Subaru in her amethyst eyes,
"Subaru. To a spiritist, a promise is…"
Subaru: "It's extremely important, isn't it? I have learned my lesson and come to a painful realization. I won't break my promise to Emilia-tan again. I will try my best to keep promises to other people as well. Please accept that."
"Hmm, I can't help it."
Emilia let out a smile. Seeing this, Subaru straightened his knees and swung his hips, then looked up at the sky and raised both his hands to the heavens,
"Well then, let's set off for sure this time. Our destination is Aram Village, with a total of 44 people! It's quite a big move, but I'm counting on you all!"
Subaru's call is answered with a spirited response, and the great migration begins.
--After negotiations, they freed the hostages and took them back to the village.
※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※
After finishing his discussion with Garfiel and gazing at the dejected sleeping face of Emilia, Subaru comes to a decision - to accept Garfiel's proposal and negotiate for the release of the hostages from Sanctuary.
After putting Emilia to bed, Subaru waited for everyone to wake up, then gathered the important people at Lewes' house and made his previous proposal.
Given the verbal battle with Garfiel, it was expected that there would be considerable opposition, but in reality, Lewes only nodded along with Subaru's opinion, and far from opposing it, the negotiations even suggested some concessions. In the end, things went as expected, but it was hard to shake the feeling that it was a disappointment.
Afterwards, he told Emilia, who had woken up, what had happened, and then gave the same explanation to the refugees who had gathered at the cathedral. At first the villagers were shocked and frozen, but when they found out they could return to the village safely, their joy was so great that even Subaru was happy.
It had been Subaru's idea that they had been forced into this situation in the first place, but when Subaru explained their freedom the villagers were so grateful to him that they had overcome some rather embarrassing moments to come.
"Still, it was unexpected."
The one who spoke was Otto, who was holding the reins next to Subaru.
Just like on the way there, Subaru was sitting next to Patrasche and Furufoo, pulling the carriage, and he responded to his words with a "Huh?"
"Weren't you sleeping just now?"
"I was just lost in thought, don't make such assumptions. I was half unconscious so I didn't hear you. What's the matter?"
"If you're going to deceive me, then you should deceive me until the very end… So, you see, this situation was unexpected."
Subaru's responses to Otto were as rough as ever. Otto had grown accustomed to Subaru's warmth and didn't respond much. He turned his head as if to ask about the content of what he had said,
"I didn't think they would release the villagers so easily. From a merchant's point of view, it's better to hold on to as many weaknesses as you can for the future."
"Is that really what you're saying from a merchant's point of view? Isn't it an evil magistrate? In my mind, you're changing jobs more and more into shady ones. Can't you do something about that?"
Thinking back, I don't really remember seeing Otto behaving like a proper merchant. The only thing he listed as selling was a large amount of oil, so I wondered if he was actually an arsonist or something like that. It was a little late now, but I began to have doubts about his background.
"What's with that look, like you're looking at a suspicious person?"
"You have the same eyes as a suspicious person. Are you really a merchant? Have you ever acted like one in front of me?"
"You were forced to do all sorts of confidential paperwork and bookkeeping right in front of Natsuki-san! Do you have a bad memory!?"
"Well, if you think of it as a cleverly guided espionage operation, it would be more reliable to think of them as agents rather than merchants…"
"If you want to guide Natsuki-san's unpredictable ideas, it'd be easier if you were a god."
"Hey, did you hear, Patrasche? The guy next to me is talking about becoming a god... that's a bit dangerous."
"Ah, damn it! Why are you saying that... Ah! Even Patrasche-chan is starting to feel sorry for me! Can't you stop that!"
When Subaru called out to Patrasche, she cried softly, and Otto, hearing this, clutched his head in despair. It seemed that Patrasche's words had contained her own opinion of Otto. The protection of 『Soul of Words』 was also troublesome. And,
"You guys are the same no matter where you go, hey."
As he spoke, Garfiel, running alongside the dragon carriage, muttered in exasperation.
The line of dragon carriages was still running along the animal trails in the forest, and wasn't going very fast. But the earth dragons were still much faster than Subaru at full speed. Garfiel easily caught up with that speed as he accompanied the evacuation group from the Sanctuary.
Without even taking a breath, he kicked the ground lightly and flew forward,
"Tsk, if you'd made it into something like 'The Horse-Chaser Bakimu's Quick Story' it would have been cute."
"Normally, idioms are short phrases that are meant to convey your intentions in a way that is easy for the other person to understand, but... I haven't felt like I've been able to have a conversation with you even once so far."
"Huh? What are you talking about, you idiot."
Garfiel wrinkled his nose in displeasure. Subaru shrugged at the carnivorous expression and said to Garfiel, who kicked the ground from the car, "Now that you mention it,"
"Even though you offered to guide us, you don't show any signs of leading the way. Have you abandoned your role?"
"That's not what I meant. It's just that your earth dragon is too clever. Even though it's only driven along that road once, it remembers it almost perfectly."
"Well, she's the child we're proud of, so that's a piece of cake. What's more, she could also do things like jumping through a hoop of fire, ball-ball riding, or riding a unicycle… Hey, don't meander around, Patrasche-san!?"
Subaru panics as Patrasche shows her refusal to perform such ridiculous tricks through the way she drives. Seeing this, Garfiel snorts and asks, "What are you doing?", then looks at Otto, who is holding the reins,
"So, it seems like that big bro over there said something interesting. It's better to hold on to your weakness, was that it?"
"Yes, I do think so. Although I don't think it's a very good idea… I think the more hostages there are, the more options you have. That's why, if you want to create a sense of crisis, the more methods you can use…"
"Hey hey hey, is this guy really a merchant? He must have done something bad and can't stay in his country anymore!"
"Why is my opinion solidified in that direction?"
Subaru tilted his head, thinking that the current situation was surely Otto's own fault. Then, as if to bring the conversation back on track, Subaru prefaced it with "Anyway,"
"I did talk to Garfiel about it, though. I got him to accept his conditions, so... well, that meant things didn't get complicated this time."
"Conditions... what do you mean?"
Subaru seemed reluctant to answer, but it was Garfiel who lifted the corner of his mouth in response to Otto's question. He opened his mouth, revealing his sharp canines, and said,
"It's simple, you know? Let's have Subaru take on the remaining 'Trials' in place of that crybaby princess and have him quickly liberate the 'Sanctuary'."
"it is..."
Otto's eyes widened at Garfiel's words, and he glanced sideways at Subaru. He continued to hesitate, opening and closing his mouth several times, then,
"Natsuki, are you okay?"
"What do you mean by okay?"
"That is partly due to the burden that Natsuki-san will have to undergo the Trials, but more importantly, is it really okay to take that role away from Emilia-sama?"
Subaru had also been troubled by the subject, and although Otto seemed reluctant to say it, he had clearly cut to the point. When Subaru frowned at what he had said, he continued,
"Of course, I don't really understand the details of the Trials, and I'm well aware that Lady Emilia's situation is not good. But, if Lady Emilia wants to survive the royal selection, she will need the support of the people of the Sanctuary and her territory. To squander this opportunity…"
"It's unclear how much time it will take. If her support base starts to waver in the meantime, it will all end in failure. And above all, Emilia herself…"
"A limit, you say? I don't think so. I've seen you before, but Lady Emilia seems like a person with a strong core. Although she does lose her composure right after completing the Trial and emerging from the tomb, she remains calm in other situations."
Subaru bit his lip in response to Otto's reasonable argument.
Yes, in Otto's eyes, Emilia's situation didn't seem as pushed to the limit as Subaru thought.
--Without realizing that it was a mask that she could only wear when someone other than Subaru was around.
Just as she had done when sending off the evacuees, in situations involving third parties other than Subaru, Emilia was able to remain as calm as ever.
Instead, whenever she was alone with Subaru, she would instantly lose the composure she had maintained up until that point, and fall into that unstable morning state.
No one could simply conclude that this was because she was relying on Subaru.
Subaru was hesitant, and Otto wanted to continue speaking. However, it wasn't Subaru who dampened his spirits,
「That's enough about that. We're approaching the border of the 『Sanctuary』 soon. I won't be able to get out from there.」
"...Just for reference, if you still try to force your way through, what will happen to you?"
"I've never tried it, so I don't know, but when I think about when I was a princess, doesn't it take my mind off it? Anyway, that's not important."
Subaru took advantage of the digression and jumped on board, and Garfiel bent his head and leapt into the air. With such agility he leapt silently onto the back of Subaru's dragon carriage, and pointed his finger at the two as they turned to look back at him.
"The condition is, send the others back to the village and you guys go back... Ah, I don't really need that bro over there."
"Don't be silly. I'll be back too. After all, I still haven't had a proper audience with Margrave Mathers!"
"Huh? Is that right? Haven't we introduced each other yet?"
「That's right! I was there for almost a week, but whenever I went there it was either inconvenient or they were on vacation... I was turned away by Ram-san all the time!」
Otto was breathing heavily and shaking his shoulders. Considering his terrible timing, it felt like it was due to a godlike lack of luck, but――
"Well, it's probably intentional. Ever since the day of the Trial, they've made up a reason to not let me meet them either."
Subaru voiced his speculation only to himself.
Ever since the day they first took on the Trial, Subaru had barely had a proper meeting with Roswaal. On the surface, he had been concentrating on recuperating from his injuries, just as Otto had been kept away by Ram, but it was clear that there was more to it than that.
After all, the moment Subaru spoke of taking on the Trial in the first place, he was practically kicked out.
It was impressive how Roswaal's expression changed when he heard that Subaru had taken on the Trial and that Emilia had not passed it. It was the first time I had ever seen such an expression.
The clown mask that he always wore with composure fell away, revealing a moment of intense emotion behind it - it was anger, sadness, or something more complex.
Since then, Subaru has never met him face to face.
"Sorry for overthinking it, but anyway, if you're coming back, use the same route. Be careful not to get attacked this time, and in case of worst case scenario, don't forget the password."
"Password?"
"When crossing this border, if you say the password properly, you have to be treated as an attacker, you know? The password is, 'Byalabyala is under Grimoire'."
"Eh? What? Bye-bye Grimoli?"
The worst case scenario: the password is an incomprehensible idiomatic expression.
Subaru frowned and immediately guessed who had come up with the password. Garfiel had his arms crossed, and looked completely normal, while Otto hurriedly wrote down the password for him. Leaving the memory to him, Subaru sighed at Garfiel,
"Anyway, if I say that, they'll let me through, right?"
"It's not like I'm the only one keeping watch. There are some hotheads among us who are hotheaded, you know? To those guys, you guys are just the perfect pawns to interfere with the Trial."
"...Come to think of it, you said that before."
A group led by Ryuzu wish to be released from the Sanctuary. There is also an opposing faction whose goal is to remain within the Sanctuary.
Garfiel's warning was likely to mean that when coming into contact with the latter faction, it was best not to give them an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
"Okay, I get it. Thank you for all your help... Although, I'll see you again in about half a day, so thank you."
"It's an old hag's request, so don't worry about it. Anyway, what's that?"
After expressing his gratitude, Garfiel waved his hand and became vague in his words. Subaru frowned at his uncharacteristic attitude. Then, he continued, "Ah..."
"If you go back to the mansion, Frederica will hate it, right?"
"Yeah, he must be there. Come to think of it, he said something that sounded like he knew her. What's up?"
"It's like a long-standing friendship. I don't really have anything to say, but..."
"I'll let him know you were worried. Maybe he'll say something."
"...I'm not asking you to do that."
Garfiel averted his gaze, then, shaking off Subaru's grin, leapt again. He jumped from the dragon carriage to the ground, and separated from the evacuation group in front of the border between the Sanctuary and the forest, looking us on our way with his hands on his hips,
"Don't run away, Subaru! Keep your promise even if it means your death! That's the only condition I'll let you escape!"
"Ah, don't worry. Lately, my power to keep promises has been incredible."
Responding with a smile to the farewell words that reverberated throughout the forest, Subaru raised his fist at Garfiel as he retreated into the distance. Garfiel responded by raising his fist in unison.
Garfiel continued to see Subaru and the others off with his fist raised, until they vanished into the shadows of the forest.
※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※
--After passing through the boundary and leaving the forest, there were no major problems on the journey.
The journey from the Sanctuary to the mansion takes about eight hours if there are no obstacles. Although they took two breaks along the way, the villagers' desire to return to their village prevailed, and they quickly cut the breaks short, making for a pointless forced journey.
Thanks to that, the evacuees arrived back at Arlam Village exactly eight hours later. They had left just after noon, and it had been just a few hours since night had completely fallen on the world.
"My butt hurts from sitting for so long... but it was good."
Getting off the dragon carriage and twisting his hips, Subaru let out a sigh of relief.
All around, squeals of joy at the reunion echoed throughout the village at night, some even shedding tears of joy. Considering the peril that had befallen the village, Subaru knew that such reactions were in no way exaggerated. And so, no one was laughing at them.
I returned to Arlam Village after a few days, and with the villagers back, it was lively again, even at night. The villagers who had mostly looked gloomy in the Sanctuary were now all smiling.
Those who stayed behind to welcome them back could also breathe a sigh of relief, seeing their families return safely.
"Natsuki-san, are you going to do a somersault right away?"
And so, as Subaru watched over the others from a place far from the hustle and bustle around them, Otto, who had been looking around restlessly, came running up to him.
Subaru shook his head at Otto, who was breathing heavily,
"As expected, you're being too hasty. Let's take a short break first. Besides, I have to show up at the mansion and explain the situation to Frederica and Petra."
"Oh, that's true. But I also had to settle things with my fellow merchants."
"Have you had a discussion with a fellow merchant?"
Otto was pointing at the six dragon carriages, each of whose owners stood there.
They had been hired under the pretext of evacuating the villagers, and had been subjected to the same misfortune of being confined to the Sanctuary as the others. Each of them was relieved to be released from that situation, but when they looked at Subaru,
"Maybe it's just my imagination. Even though this is another world, I feel like I can see dollar signs in my eyes."
"Originally, the conditions when we were hired were to buy the cargo and then negotiate other fees. So we thought we should reach a consensus on how much we should actually charge. Ah, of course we won't ask for anything exorbitant. However, they have also been under a fair bit of strain with this hostage situation… so prepare yourself for it to be a bit tough."
"Well, it's not my wallet that will be affected. If you go easy on the adaptation, it won't be so bad to make Roz-chan's face turn pale every once in a while, right?"
"As expected of Natsuki-san. I understand what you're saying!"
Clapping his hands, an excited Otto headed towards his fellow peddlers.
The merchants' cheers echoed through the village at night as Otto returned home with the good news. Subaru felt that the cheers were louder than those of the villagers, who were happy to be reunited, but he made a conscious effort to ignore such things and got up.
For the time being, there should be no problems for the villagers. Otto will be in charge of the bills from the peddlers, and Roswaal will be the one to handle them. Subaru headed for the mansion, slightly looking forward to seeing the look of displeasure on Roswaal's face when that happened.
It was a fifteen minute walk from Arlam Village - and at the end of that journey, there was the solitary Roswaal Mansion.
In the darkness of the night, only the lights of the mansion stand out in the shadows, and I think that when viewed from a distance like this after the sun has set, it has a rather mysterious atmosphere.
As I stood in front of the gate and felt this way, I casually looked around the mansion and, naturally, most of the lights were off, leaving only the entrance hall, the servants' rooms, and one room near the top floor - I think it was Roswaal's office.
"Otto processed the invoices, but I'm sure something else has increased in the week since then."
Frederica proved to be a versatile maid, rivalling Otto in clerical skills, but that wasn't all she had to do. Even with Petra as an added force, maintaining the entire mansion still required a great deal of effort.
When I think about them working hard on clerical tasks until late at night like this, I can imagine how hard it must be.
"No matter what, we have to drag that bastard Otto into the depths and make him work like a horse as an administrative processing machine for the Emilia camp. Let's make him a paperwork machine."
The young man was probably smiling with anticipation of a big fortune in the village right now. Subaru pushed open the gate and entered the mansion grounds while pondering how he could cleverly lure him into a trap.
He went to the front door and knocked on it with a knocker designed with a hawk-like bird.
"Sorry for calling so late. I'm here from the fire department."
A high-pitched knock echoed through the darkness of the night, followed by the usual random calling.
After saying that, he wondered how fires and disasters would be dealt with in this world. Subaru tilted his head and sank into such pointless thoughts. However,
"No reply."
He had certainly expected someone like Frederica to respond with the speed of the wind, so this reaction came as a disappointment.
Subaru waited for a little while, but when he decided that no one was coming to pick him up, he gave up waiting. He boldly pushed open the door,
"Yay, I'm home now. Dinner! Bath! Sleep!"
He gave three orders, posing as if he were a patriarch. But there was still zero reaction to this.
Feeling a nostalgic sensation from skating alone, Subaru decided to head upstairs first - to the servants' quarters - and search for Petra.
"Frederica is in the office. First, I need to meet Petra... and then I need to find Beako."
The three people currently remaining in the mansion came to mind one after another.
Putting aside the reunion with the pretentious Petra and the polite but rude Frederica, Subaru had to prepare himself somewhat for a reunion with the girl with the vertical curls.
The way I broke up with her last time was the way we broke up.
I wasn't able to get any answers to my most pressing questions, but I was chased away with a tearful voice and a crumpled face, and that was the end of it.
"It's weird to say I'm apologizing though. I don't know if I did anything wrong..."
Still, I thought that if we met and talked, something would change.
I feel like I've made some progress by breaking away from the past once again. With my current mindset, I feel like I can face her again in a different way.
For that reason,
"I thought we should start with a preliminary battle..."
I knocked, then opened the door forcefully to surprise them, but was disappointed again.
He hadn't expected to encounter an awkward and happy moment while changing clothes with a girl as the other person, but it seemed he never encountered such a scene as she was already empty in the room.
The room was neat and tidy, decorated with cute accessories that reflected Petra's tastes - however, the owner of the room was nowhere to be seen.
Subaru tilted his head in the room lit by the light of the crystal lamp,
"Leaving the lights on isn't like the reliable Petra... If she's not here, perhaps she's studying in her study?"
It's a possible story for the Spartan Frederica.
It may be that they are aiming to turn Petra into an all-round maid by teaching her clerical work in addition to her waitressing duties. That would be a great help, but Subaru, who is already lagging behind Petra in housekeeping skills, is at a loss.
"No no, I'm still more skilled at arithmetic than you! Don't underestimate modern Japanese compulsory education!"
As he spoke, he ran up the stairs, two steps at a time, to the top floor - and when he reached the middle of the corridor and in front of the double doors, he cleared his throat once more and knocked.
A hard sound echoed, and it must have reached the room. However, there was still no response.
"――――"
That was odd no matter how you look at it, and Subaru raised his guard up even further. Trying to disguise himself by making it sound like he was making a joke, Subaru's eyes darted from one end of the corridor to the other, then to the door of the office. He pressed his ear to the door, straining his ears to hear what was going on inside, but not a sound could be heard through the thick door. There was little chance of him getting any information from outside at this rate.
--Petra's room hadn't been ransacked. It was in a neat and tidy state, and the bed had been made as if she was planning to sleep in it.
A quick look around the mansion revealed nothing out of the ordinary. Frederica's meticulous work had been carried out, and there was not a speck of dust left on the window frames.
Therefore, Subaru's vigilance was heightened only because he could not see them,
"----!"
With a slight pressure, he opened the door noiselessly.
Suddenly, light leaking from inside the room shines into the hallway, and using that light to guide his eyes, he sees what's inside. An ebony desk and a leather chair. A bookshelf along the wall, and a breeze blowing through. The windows are closed. He feels a cold wind blowing through. He intuitively knows something's wrong.
Slipping smoothly into the room, Subaru followed the direction of the wind and noticed something.
The shelf at the back of the room slid sideways, revealing a hidden door in the wall that was normally hidden. Beyond that was a series of spiral staircases that continued on for a long time, all the way down to the ground below――
"That's right. There was a secret passage like this. I remember, I remember."
That was during the previous loop.
After the villagers of Aram were massacred by the Witch's Cult and he found Rem and Ram's bodies in the mansion, in despair, Subaru arrived here with his ego on the verge of collapse.
And then we went through this hidden passage into the basement, where――
"Packed on ice, I think."
He had no proof, but he remembered seeing a row of frozen corpses of members of the Witch Cult who had likely followed Emilia and the others when they had taken the same passageway, and that Subaru had met the same fate as them, having been "Returned by Death."
After that, I had forgotten to check the underground passage because I didn't think it was important.
"But why now...?"
The fact that they took advantage of this means that there was at least a need to evacuate.
And who could have used it? It would naturally be someone who was in the mansion and knew about the existence of this passage - Frederica. The simple conclusion is that she took Petra and escaped through this passage somewhere. The problem is,
"To get away from what?"
Being an intelligent woman, there must have been a good reason behind her decision.
However, since there were no signs of an attack inside the mansion, the impending danger was detected in advance. Subaru's memory of the Witch Cult came to mind, but he shook his head and drove the thought away.
"If that's the case, it's really strange that Frederica didn't even leave a note. Besides, the people of Arlam village didn't notice anything… If dangerous people like the Witch Cult are coming, they'd take action to avoid dragging the villagers into it."
At the very least, Frederica had no doubts about supporting Emilia in Roswaal's team. If that was the case, she should have done the best she could to deal with the situation. If the villagers didn't know about this, it didn't mean they were part of the Witch Cult.
anyway,
"Frederica and Petra have probably left the mansion. ...Then, I will."
Just as Subaru was about to step out, heading down the corridor to meet up with Frederica and the others, he was stopped in his tracks by a girl whose name had not yet come to mind in his thoughts up to this point.
Even if Frederica had decided to escape, would that girl have accompanied her in her escape?
"The Beatrice I know isn't that kind of brat."
Those cheeky vertical curls would surely have her turning down Frederica's proposal.
And then he would shut himself up in his own private Forbidden Library, pretending that he was fine no matter what happened, and would ignore all the worries and consideration from those around him, and then he would surely have a lonely look on his face.
"I'll drag him out...!"
Even if no one else takes her away, Subaru is the one who thinks he will do it.
It doesn't matter how strong she believes her castle to be.
There was no way he could leave a little girl there, knowing how dangerous it was.
"If that's decided――!"
Turning his back on the secret passage, Subaru exhaled sharply and ran out of the office.
The most surefire way to find Beatrice would be to open every single door in the mansion. Subaru would "sort of" get a sense of which door in the process might lead to Beatrice's Forbidden Library. He could use that as a guide to find her.
First, open all the doors on the top floor――
"Toto?"
But as he took off running, his feet suddenly tangled and he fell.
It was a really bad start, and I felt more embarrassed than ashamed. Just when I was trying to look cool, this didn't quite work.
Subaru put his hands on the carpet in the hallway and turned around to see what he had tripped over. He saw something lying on the ground just past the door to the office.
The pink stripe was quite long, continuing all the way to Subaru's feet, a few steps away. He followed it, wondering just how far it continued, but it turned out to be nothing.
ーーIt had spilled out from Subaru's torn side.
"--teeth?"
The left side of his clothes was neatly ripped open, revealing pink innards spilling out.
It had started the moment he'd left the door to his office, and now that he'd entangled himself at Subaru's feet and taken hold of his leg, that meant that before he even knew it, his stomach had been cut open.
"...Obu"
The moment he swallowed them, a blood clot rose up and blocked his throat, and his vision turned bright red.
Unable to withstand the abdominal pressure, his internal organs began to overflow, and as he tried to push them back into his body with his trembling fingertips, he lacked the strength and collapsed to his knees. Unable to support himself, his upper body slumped over.
He didn't know what had happened. Subaru had certainly just started driving away.
"--I told you, didn't I? I made a promise, didn't I?"
Suddenly I heard a voice.
Someone called out from directly in front, above the fallen Subaru's head.
I don't have the strength to lift my head. My consciousness revolves around my overflowing organs, my blood flowing, and I'm desperately trying to grab hold of the world that's receding into the distance.
Subaru's body temperature was dropping rapidly, and every time he coughed, blood clots clogged his throat, staining his face, while his eyes, which were beginning to blur, desperately tried to grasp the world.
My intuition told me it was over.
While he understood that somewhere in his heart, Subaru scolded himself, telling himself that he couldn't let it end like this.
I can't end it without getting something. I can't end it without grabbing at least one thing. Something, something something something something something.
Footsteps created ripples, and a black figure appeared on top of the blood clots that stained the hallway bright red.
Black outfit. Slender. Black hair. A seductive gaze as she looks down at me lovingly.
Subaru recognized those experiences, and remembering the feeling of having his stomach cut open, he understood.
It wasn't a witch cult, just a definite threat.
"Until next time we meet, take good care of your intestines."
An extraordinary declaration of love.
Subaru grasps something definite and his consciousness fades.
Faded, faded, faded, dull, dull, until finally.
Something disappears, ends, and then -- begins again.
--The curtain rises on the fourth loop.