Datasets:

Chat-Error

/

rezero

like 0

wonder...?" "Hold up! I won't let anyone trash-talk Shamak, even if it's you, Beako...!" "In all seriousness, what happened to make Subaru this obsessed...?" Sighing deeply, Beatrice thrust the tip of her finger at Subaru's face even as he got all worked up. "Shamak forcibly prevents the spell's target from sensing the world around them. The strength of the effect scales with the skill of the caster, but for Betty, casting it on anyone is a simple matter." "Meaning...?" "I suppose I could put every person within the enemy's range under Shamak's influence. If our opponent compels comprehension and resonance, then Betty simply needs to sow incomprehension and chaos among them." "Hearing you put it that way makes it sound kind of terrible...but I get what you mean now!" Subaru slapped his knees, completely convinced by Beatrice's reasoning. Her solution had addressed every single one of Subaru's concerns, and she was proud of herself for suggesting it. "Okay, let's go! If we can nullify that ability, the battle will swing in our favor. After that... Uh, what comes after?" "The only remaining task would be vanquishing the Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins without Reinhard, no?" *** The point that Beatrice bluntly raised pressed Subaru into silence. "Just so you know, Betty will be focused on using Shamak, and it will also be necessary to cast Shamak upon anyone fighting the Archbishop the moment the enemy is defeated. Won't I be too preoccupied to do anything else, I wonder?" "Damn, okay. Well, this ain't good. We're back where we started." Having come this far, the initial hurdle had reappeared Subaru lacked combat strength. With Beatrice as Subaru's only backup, even if they could block the soulwashing, defeating Sirius on his own was out of the question. It irked him that the whip he'd practiced with so much would be of little use. "I'll just have to talk to the people in the square when we... Nah, there's no way to know if they'd buy it. I just happen to know his face, so I managed to convince Lachins to hear me out, but..." There were several people who seemed like capable fighters at the time-tower square. Unfortunately, the real difficulty was persuading them to cooperate. "In the first place, how do I get them to help when I don't even know what they're capable of? I need to think of something better than that..." " If that's the case, since you know what I can do and you can be sure I'll listen to whatever you have to say, maybe it's my time to shine?" *** The sound of a voice like a silver bell totally wrecked Subaru's train of thought in the span of an instant. The all-too-familiar voice made Subaru and Beatrice turn around with looks of surprise. Behind them, a beautiful silver-haired girl was standing there with her hands on her hips. Her completely unanticipated presence made Subaru draw in a sharp breath, his lips quivering as he raised a question. "E-Emilia-tan? What are you doing here...?" "You were acting really strange, so I assumed you were involved in something awful. I think it's a bad habit of yours to keep me out of the loop when things like this come up, Subaru." Emilia glared at Subaru as she scolded him like he was a naughty child. Subaru was too surprised by her sudden appearance to muster a proper response. "Didn't you agree to wait in the park? Are you a naughty girl, I wonder?" Seeing as how Subaru was still in a state of shock, Beatrice answered instead as she peered up at Emilia. Emilia prefaced her reply with a "Sorry" before she continued: "I really did intend to wait. But then Priscilla said..." "The girl in red?" "She said that if I didn't go after Subaru right away, I would regret it. If nothing was wrong, I planned to go right back...but I can't leave now after seeing you two talk so seriously this whole time." Subaru wanted to curse Priscilla, the culprit who'd gone and pressured Emilia to take action. She really did like to stir situations up. This was how she complicated things as if she'd planned it all out in advance. Thanks to her, the situation Subaru had wanted to avoid the most had just come together like it was scripted. "Emilia, I'm happy you feel that way. I really am, but right now..." "The Witch Cult is going to show up, right? I caught a little part of your conversation... Subaru, I won't go back even if you ask me to. I'm not exactly uninvolved when it comes to dealing with the Witch Cult." "Emilia!" Subaru inadvertently raised his voice as he tried to somehow convince Emilia to change her mind. It wasn't as if Subaru wanted to push Emilia away without good reason. If the opponent wasn't the Witch Cult, he would've immediately asked Emilia for her help. But given who they were facing this time, that was not an option. He didn't need logic or reasoning. It was painfully obvious what a terrible idea it would be. However, Emilia countered Subaru's pleas by drilling into him with her earnest eyes. "It's no use even if you pretend to be upset. The only time it bothers me when you're angry is when I've done something wrong. It's not me who won't listen to reason right now it's you, Subaru." "Argh..." Seeing those violet eyes staring straight at him made Subaru falter. On top of that, while Subaru was at a loss for words, Emilia pleaded with him. "Subaru, I understand that you're doing this to try and protect me. But that just means you'll get hurt again, so I absolutely refuse to turn a blind eye to all this. If you're fighting, then I'm fighting, too. If you're fighting to protect someone, then I'll help, just like you've been protecting me all this time, Subaru..." *** "I want a chance to protect you, too, Subaru. I mean, look. You seem like you might cry at any moment." He couldn't let his resolve waver, yet Emilia's pleas pushed him to the limit. Subaru had to summon his own courage to keep her away from danger. He needed a heart of steel that could withstand any and all hardship. And yet in that moment, Subaru was afraid. He was scared. He was terrified. Subaru had already lost his life three times in a single hour. Even Subaru Natsuki had never experienced so much death in such a brief span of time. To begin with, even if he had an eternity, it wouldn't be enough time for him to ever get used to dying. Death was always frightening. There was no getting used to it, nor could he allow himself to become numb to it. To be robbed of one's life meant losing a future. It was the denial of one's way of life, trampling on their existence, and a defilement of the soul; that was what being killed meant. Subaru had suffered that fate over and over again. I don't wanna die was the thought that loomed greatest in his mind at any given moment. No matter how much time passed, Subaru Natsuki was unable to conquer that weakness. "...Subaru, it's time to give up." With Subaru unable to mount a sensible rebuttal, Beatrice sighed deeply and spoke for him. "Beatrice..." "Don't you know full well how stubborn Emilia can be, I wonder? Now that she's aware, there is little you can do to dissuade her. Besides, I suppose Betty understands how Emilia feels and has no inclination to convince her otherwise." It wasn't that she couldn't. She simply didn't want to. That was what Beatrice, the crux of the operation, had decided. Emilia gazed at Subaru earnestly. Beatrice gazed at Subaru affectionately. Under the pair's gazes, Subaru's heart finally broke. "...The Witch Cult is probably targeting you. For starters, please put your safety first at all times." "Mm-hmm, okay. I know that you'll come save me even if I get captured, Subaru." "Please don't say something so ominous... Also, how much did you overhear?" A smile of relief came over Emilia as Subaru capitulated to her demands. Her expression immediately sobered when she recalled what a difficult foe awaited them. "I caught most of it. A bad person from the Witch Cult who uses magic like Nekt is coming. Beatrice is going to use Shamak to counter that, and we have to beat the bad guy in the meantime, right?" "Breaking everything down like that makes it sound like a Sunday morning cartoon, but I guess that's fine. So I can count on your help?" "Of course, leave it to me. I've grown lots and lots over the past year, you know." Putting both fists in front of her, Emilia assumed an adorable fighting stance. She was a little too relaxed, but she had the plan firmly in her mind. Of course, adding Emilia to the operation didn't alleviate all his worries, but "With Emilia-tan and Beako, there's no way we're gonna lose." Taking uncertainties and problems and turning them into advantages was just how guys like him rolled. "On that note, we're here. It's time." Between Beatrice's planning session and an unexpected rendezvous with Emilia, they arrived at the time-tower square right before the mysterious interloper was set to appear. The only thing that remained was deciding where to start the operation. To rescue Lusbel from inside the tower, drawing Sirius away from it would be ideal. "Emilia-tan, that weirdo's gonna pop out at the top of the tower anytime now. When she does, launch a preemptive strike with one big shot, would you? It'd be great if you could knock her off it. After that, assuming Beako can get set up, I want you to start combat on my signal. I'll be providing support." "Yeah, leave it to me. I'll do everything I can." Emilia nodded, acknowledging Subaru's instructions. Counting Beatrice, the three-person operation was ready to go. Then right after their plans had been set " She's here!" the sight of a dark figure leaning out from the time tower's window made Subaru unwittingly tense up. A slender form wrapped in a black robe swayed at the tower's edge. Beneath her, no one else in the square seemed to notice that someone was looking down on them from that vantage point. When seen from a bird's-eye view, it was immediately obvious how fragile the tranquility of a thin layer of ice truly was. With a single action, the stranger peering down from that lofty perch thoroughly shattered the delicate peace. *** Slowly, Sirius spread both arms wide. Though her bandages covered up most of her form, the ecstasy on her face was immediately apparent even at a distance. Finally, just as she was about to bring her two hands together with incredible force " Ul Hyuma!!" Instantly, a giant icicle appeared directly above the tower and collided with Sirius. A projectile of ice as thick as five Subarus tied together slammed into the tower. The sturdy wall immediately gave way as the icicle's tip impaled the upper structure of the tower. The spectacle nearly made Subaru drop his jaw. "E-Emilia-tan?" "You said to launch a preemptive strike, so I tried my best... Did I mess up?" "No, no, good job. You did well... I was just surprised that it was more preemptive than I expected." It was Subaru's fault for not giving more precise instructions about the timing, but it was the eccentric's fault for being so unguarded that Emilia didn't even hesitate in her initial attack. That took care of their first problem, at least. Their initial strike had been launched without sparing even a single thought to waiting and seeing what would happen. That was the kind of shock and awe that was needed to score a surprise victory. "Beako, think we got her?" "For the moment, I believe the people

around us think we did." When Subaru posed his question, Beatrice also displayed signs of surprise in her reply. Lowering his gaze to see for himself, Subaru concurred with what Beatrice had said. The people in the square ahead of them were all looking at Subaru and company or strictly speaking, at Emilia after she'd suddenly committed that act of mass destruction. As far as they were concerned, it was Subaru and the girls who were the real terrorists. He could claim This was preemptive attack to prevent actual terrorism all he wanted, but whether the crowd would believe him was anyone's guess. "Errr, we didn't mean any harm. See, we're..." " It's no use, Subaru. Get back behind me." Subaru tried to persuade the pedestrians with all the sincerity he could muster, but Emilia pulled him back by his shoulder. Then after she took a step forward to shield him, she raised her right hand and swung it in a downward arc. Instantly, a crack echoed in the air as a blue sword formed within Emilia's hand. It was a beautifully sculpted sword, boasting a slender, icy blade. Emilia trained its tip toward the crowd in the square without any hesitation. "Whoa, whoa, that's definitely too much! If we talk to them, I'm sure they'll understa..." "You're wrong. Look closer, Subaru. Their eyes they aren't sane." "What?" Gasping in response to Emilia's tense observation, Subaru studied the various people in the square. After a brief examination, Subaru noticed it, too. This was definitely not normal. Bulging veins marred the faces of everyone glaring at Subaru's party, and their bloodshot eyes gleamed red, not white. Every last one of them wore the exact same expression. Their cheeks were twisted, teeth bared like fangs as growls rose from their throats these were the products of nigh-unendurable emotions of wrath. "Beako! Is Shamak ready yet?!" Facing a frothing mob to the front, Subaru called out to Beatrice. However, the girl who was the linchpin of their plan ruefully bit her lip at the sight of the throng. "...I've made a mistake." "What?" "This blasphemy is fundamentally different from Nekt! This is closer to a curse or a hex than any proper magic. I suppose you could call it manipulation of souls themselves! This is not something a mere Shamak can deal with!" Beatrice's voice trembled with anger and distress. Hearing that, Subaru gritted his teeth. He didn't understand the principles at work in detail, but it was enough to know that Beatrice had judged that Operation Shamak could not be salvaged. And the fact that the people in the square were being consumed by a tremendous wave of emotion far beyond the norm meant that " It reeks." He heard a single word trickle out in a muted voice, like someone was casting a curse. It was a vicious word that seemed to resent all existence. "It reeks. It reeks. It reeks. It reeks. It reeks. It reeks. It reeks. I?t?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?r?e?e?k?s?! It reeks! It reeks, it reeks, it reeks!!!" A moment later, cracks ran along the icicle that had slammed into the upper portions of the time tower and impaled itself in the wall. In the span of a single breath, new fissures ran along the entirety of the mass of ice; an instant later, the icicle shattered into glimmering fragments. Standing among that dazzling diamond dust, which scattered under the rays of the sun, a single eccentric stood. She was not unscathed. Half of her white bandages were soaked with blood, and the tower's white wall was marred by the ichor dripping from her dangling left arm. As she stepped clear of the fallen rubble, her gait seemed unsteady. However, the insanity and ferocious emotions residing in the madwoman's eye was nothing like what Subaru had known until then. "It reeks...horribly... The stench of a woman. The filthy, abominable, awful stench of the half-demon that stole my precious from me. Even though you are not my precious, your fetid odor bears a remarkable resemblance. Aaaah, how dreadful!!" On the scant remains of the tower's top floor, Sirius clawed at her bloody bandages. He'd never seen her spit blood and send spittle flying as she shouted in pure hatred. Even if she was just as insane as before, her madness was taking a very different form. "Have you come to test my love, spirit?! Are you not satisfied with stealing my precious from me, filthy half-demon?!!" Spreading both arms wide in anger, Sirius screamed and lunged forward. As she hurtled from the top of the tower down toward the ground, the madwoman spouted flames from both hands as she raised them overhead. The crimson fire enveloped the chains around her hands, tracing a flaming trail behind her as Sirius landed in the square. Landing on all fours, both of her hands still burning, she lifted her face. She trained her eye upon Emilia, who held her ice sword at the ready, and Subaru, who was standing stiff No, she was actually focused on Beatrice, who was standing out front as if to shield Subaru. The next instant, Sirius shouted in a voice drenched in enough rage to burn the entire world to ashes. "I am! A member of the Witch Cult! The Archbishop of Wrath!" Bathed in the waves of heat emanating from those rising flames, the crowd in the square raised shrill voices, and all of them lifted their arms high. The waves of insanity and flames were completely at odds with Subaru's memories, and within that maelstrom, the madwoman introduced herself. " I am Sirius Romanée-Conti!! Shitty half-demon and shitty spirit, I will burn you both to ash, then scatter your remains before the grave of the husband you burned!!!" 2 With crimson flames residing in both hands, Sirius bellowed in rage, her face as fiendish as an ogre's. She was enveloped by her own dazzling inferno, and the zeal in her eyes burned just as bright. The avatar of Wrath glared at Subaru's party No, that wasn't accurate. After all "It reeks, reeksreeksreeksreeksreeksreeks you reek, you shitty half-demon...!" as Sirius hurled more insults, Subaru's existence didn't even register within her eye. Sirius's undivided gaze, one that seemed capable of searing someone to death with looks alone, was aimed at none other than Emilia and Beatrice, the two girls standing at Subaru's side. "The hell's wrong with her? This is totally different from what she looked like every other time..." Subaru could not hide his uneasiness at seeing Sirius's wrathful transformation and where her hatred was directed. In a very short span of time, Subaru had confronted Sirius on three occasions, and during each encounter, she had been though he hesitated to use the word normal. In those fleeting meetings, even if it was extremely difficult to call her a person who possessed common sense, she had also never acted like a creature that had abandoned all reason. She'd been logical to the end, a morally bankrupt person trying to impose her pet theories on ordinary folk who failed to understand her vision, and that was it. The version of Sirius before his eyes now stood in stark contrast this was Wrath incarnate. "I burn you and burn you, and still, you keep crawling out like maggots... You must hold some grudge against me, eh?! I am sad and depressed, yet I cannot be allowed to even grieve! Just how much...how much will you take...?!" "...I don't have any idea what you're trying to say." When Sirius began sending spittle flying with every word, offering nothing but blame and accusations, Emilia didn't give any ground as she replied. She didn't flinch or pull back a single step from the fiery verbal assault. She steadily trained the sword of ice in her hand on the crowd lined up behind Sirius. "If you're angry about something, I'll hear you out. I'm the one who attacked you all of a sudden, so it's natural for you to be angry. But this has nothing to do with the people around us. Let them go." "Don't look down on me from your high horse! If you wish for me to yield, then show it through your actions! It's only natural to be angry? Then apologize! Grovel and beg for forgiveness! And then I'll roast you from your ass to your bowels!!" "Hmm. Words don't seem to be getting through In that case, I have ideas of my own!" Enraged, Sirius blinked hard at Emilia's casual change of tone during their brief exchange. A moment later, Emilia leaped up from the ground, going from a low stance to lunge at Sirius. Emilia's slender body cut through the air as she swung the sword of ice with her arm, tracing a beautiful arc toward the top of the madwoman's shoulder. "Emilia?!" " Tch!!" Subaru's shout of surprise overlapped with Sirius's sound of irritation. Seeing the icy blade approaching her left shoulder, Sirius instantly raised her left arm in an attempt to counter Emilia's blow with blazing flames. However "You shitty half-demon!!" "Don't repeat that insult over and over. People will think I'm dirty or something." the pale tip of Emilia's blade did not lose to the flames as it collided with Sirius's raised left arm. However, the coiled golden chains enveloped in wreaths of fire gave off a high-pitched creaking sound as the ice sword crashed against Sirius's flaming limb. But fire and ice battled for only one brief instant. A second later, Emilia's weapon audibly shattered. "Serves you right!" Leaving only its hilt behind, the magic blade reverted to mana. Sirius raised a cry of victory and swung her flaming right arm at Emilia. It was a brutal attack with enough force to split stone walls. The moment it made contact, it would burn and gouge its target, leaving terrible wounds. In the blink of an eye, Emilia's unmatched beauty would be scarred forever but something else happened first. "Take that!" With a voice profoundly out of place, she knocked away Sirius's arm this time thanks to what had once been Emilia's ice sword. "Aah, aaah, aaaaaah! How frustrating!" Screaming, Sirius crossed both flaming arms above her head. Up above, Emilia was swinging her summoned hammer of ice downward with unspeakable force. She'd produced a maul of ice with a broad, blunt face to replace her broken sword. Sirius flew from that heavy, crushing blow, only for Emilia to give chase. "Yah! Hiyah! Yah! Take that! Uraaah! Hiyah!" "You piece of shit! Half-demon! Maggot! Insect! Whore! Disgusting eyesore!" With extraordinary body movements and her weapon's centrifugal force, Emilia was displaying far greater close-combat capability than Subaru had ever expected. The swings of the icy maul were weighty, keeping Sirius on the defense. It was a one-sided battle after Emilia completely seized the initiative. Thinking that she might prevail at this rate, Subaru clenched a fist hard. "We can win this... Wait, right now, that's bad! Emilia! The people in the square are still..." "Subaru, is it not a bad idea to let your guard down now of all times, I wonder?!" If Emilia struck Sirius down, the people around them would share the same fate right then and there. When Subaru tried to point out that danger, Beatrice's expression changed as she scolded him. Wondering what was wrong, Subaru looked back, only then realizing that countless gazes were turned toward him. """"" You shitty insect!!""""" "Aw, crap." The crowd shouted as they looked at Subaru as one, rage and vilification pouring from their bloodshot eyes. The madness they trained upon Subaru and Beatrice was identical to Sirius's. It was best to assume they'd been completely soulwashed by Sirius's Authority. Then in accordance with their irrepressible rage, they shifted their hostility toward Subaru and Beatrice. "So it's not just resonance she can brainwash people and make them into her own pawns?!" "This is not the time for such musings. Without a plan, I suppose all we can do is buy some time!" As Subaru clutched his head over how difficult this situation

was, Beatrice jumped onto his back. He supported her light body with his hands as the throng came rushing at them all at once. "Emilia, buy us some time, please!" "Don't expect me to do anything too crazy!" Upon hearing Emilia's dependable reply, Subaru sprang backward to escape from the mob. Fortunately, the movements of people who had lost their sanity were as slow and clumsy as a poorly controlled marionette. "Whoa! Wow! Cutting through, here! That was close! But now we're all clear!" Dodging the outstretched arms, Subaru evaded with sideways leaps to keep the throng at bay. The sight of a crowd rushing with empty expressions made it look like a scene straight out of a zombie movie. A similar feeling of terror had soaked into his bones. "Just running ain't gonna cut it! At this rate, all we can do is wait for reinforcements once people notice the huge commotion!" "Without a plan to deal with the opponent's power, wouldn't reinforcements only increase the casualties, I wonder? If we inadvertently cause Reinhard to come running, all that will do is turn Betty into a mere adorable little girl." "Then I'll really become the Moppet Mage... For the moment, no worries about summoning that hero right this moment." After all, Lachins, the one who would be their best option for sending Reinhard a signal, was currently chasing Subaru, raving at him with a bright-red face. Carried by the rest of the crowd, he looked like he was on the brink of a clash with one or two of his impromptu companions. When Lachins eventually pushed them back, his fellows immediately tripped over their own legs, causing them to tumble downward. Caring nothing for them, the rest of the crowd walked right over the two fallen while moving inexorably forward. It was a frightening sight. "I don't think they're feeling pain from all that adrenaline, but it'd be pretty dangerous without that, right?" "Given the way they are, it doesn't seem strange for them to trample one another to death." "Well, that's not good!" Subaru didn't want any casualties. That was the biggest objective he was fighting for so hard. Of course, Subaru understood that there were things beyond his own reach. Indeed, there were far more people whom Subaru couldn't reach. There were so many things he wanted to protect. But there was a limit to what he could do. " Still, I don't have any intention of deciding that limit myself!" "There's the Subaru that Betty knows best!" Receiving the greatest encouragement possible from behind, Subaru drew his whip from his hip holster. He had to save what lives he could. Accordingly, Subaru emotionally resigned himself to inflicting moderate amounts of damage. Charging toward the center of the throng, he locked onto Lachins, running at the head of the crowd. His target was someone whose face he knew. He couldn't call their relationship a good one, but Subaru's heart struggled with the idea of harming him all the same. "This is gonna hurt, but better than if it's someone I don't know! Sorry, Larry!" "Who's Larry?! I'm... Habhhh?!" As Lachins shouted on reflex, Subaru unfurled his whip, wrapping it around his victim's ankles. Subaru proceeded to yank the whip upward as hard as he could, dragging Lachins, who'd lost his balance, into the people surrounding him. "Take a time-out and cool your heads!" Charging toward him, Subaru rammed Lachins in the back, knocking him into the waterway. While Lachins raised a cry, Subaru kicked several others who were tottering down to join Lachins, removing more and more people from the front lines. "Now that that's taken care of... Lusbel!" As he whittled down the number of pursuers coming after them, Subaru raced all the way to the time tower. His objective was to secure Lusbel, who was surely still there on the topmost floor where Sirius had left him, intending to use him in her speech. "Beako, hang on tight!" Subaru called out to Beatrice, who was on his back, as the crowd blocked the way before him. Their arms and bodies mercilessly barred the way, but Subaru did not hesitate as he charged into their ranks once more. "Now I'll show you the improvised parkour that my mentor pounded into me!" As he shouted, Subaru quite literally slipped past countless legs and bodies as he broke through. These were the fruits of his daily training at the secret base in the forest. The skills that Clind had drilled into him greatly resembled the style of movement that Subaru knew from his world as parkour. Making use of his entire body, he stayed nimble and flexible to skillfully navigate the crowd, cutting right through it. Still supporting Beatrice on his back, Subaru tumbled his way into the time tower with amazing vigor. "I bit my tongue!" "Sorry about that! But saving the hostage up top comes first!" After answering his partner's objection, Subaru raced up the spiraling stairs with great haste. The remaining members of the crowd pursued from behind, but all their jostling was preventing them from climbing the stairs easily. Seizing the opportunity, Subaru and Beatrice stayed ahead of the pack until they finally reached the topmost floor. When he looked around, he saw that because Emilia's initial blow had half-destroyed the place, the wind could now pass through, making the air quality far better than it was in Subaru's memories. For an instant, his blood ran cold as he considered the possibility that even Lusbel had been blasted to bits, but "Nngh! Nnngh!" the boy bound by chains was there in a space that had narrowly managed to maintain its original shape. Though it was probably a stretch to say he was safe, Subaru raced over after confirming the boy was alive and in one piece. With Lusbel's bindings already complete, Subaru undid the painful-looking gag and tried to choose the best words to put him at ease. " Behind you!" "Bwah?!" "Gah, I wonder?!" Lusbel's teary-eyed warning made Subaru immediately lower his head, taking Beatrice along for the ride. Instantly, he felt the familiar presence of death whistle by his neck as something passed by. When he looked back, he saw a fox-man who'd leaped onto the uppermost floor to unleash a massive sword strike. The man was one of the people initially at the square who seemed capable of fighting. His white tail swayed as he launched another attack. "Beako!" "Shamak!!" Giving up on challenging such skill head-on, Beatrice instantly activated a spell that quickly enveloped the fox-man in black mist. The beast person lost all fighting capability while lost in the void proof that Shamak was effective. "That's the all-powerful Shamak for you! Doesn't this mean the link to Sirius got cut?!" "Who said anything about that, I wonder?! Even if he really is neutralized, the link is still active! I suppose it's likely that if that degenerate dies, many others will follow suit!" "Shiiit, what do we do?" "I'm thinking as hard as I can!" Leaving the unraveling of the mystery to Beatrice, Subaru could only trust in her and buy some time. The problem was how Emilia was shaping up against the real enemy. "Emilia is..." Hoisting Lusbel up, Subaru climbed over the wrecked windowsill and raced to the tower's exterior. Beneath him, fire and ice met each other in a furious exchange as Emilia and Sirius remained locked in combat. Subaru knew that over the last year, Emilia had continually trained herself in between her lessons about governance. Subaru knew very well that Emilia was far stronger than he. Even so, Subaru was worried for her. It wasn't an issue of who was stronger. To Subaru, Emilia was the girl he loved. That was the long and short of it. People might call such worries a trifling matter. But to him, that "Terya! Soya! Soooi!" Raising shouts that, as usual, somehow came off as silly, Emilia looked like she was a raging gale as she hounded Sirius with ruthless ice attacks. "Eeeiiiyah!" Spinning her body, Emilia danced as she closed in with twin swords of ice. Sirius swung burning golden chains about, shouting insults as she intercepted the blades, only for Emilia to crouch down as she spawned a new spear of ice, which she immediately used to swipe at Sirius's chest. With a painful cry, the force and impact hurled Sirius across the paving stones, leaving her rolling to a stop on the ground. Emilia was making full use of her vast mana capacity, launching high-speed combo attacks, fully intending to destroy her ice weapons in the process. When she used the martial art that Subaru had dubbed "Icebrand Arts," the fleeting nature of shattering ice engendered such phantasmal beauty, it was like watching the dance of a fairy. The remnants of ice that were smashed during the battle danced and scattered as glittering mana set the stage for the pair. Emilia and Sirius fire and ice employed contrasting weapons as they continued to pursue their deadly duel. "Uyaaa!" Pursuing Sirius as the woman rolled, Emilia twirled her icy spear around, lashing out with its haft. Down below, Sirius used crafty groundwork to evade the butt of the spear, then grabbed hold of it herself. "It is seething zeal that makes the heart tremble! Aa! Aah! Aaah! Wraaaath!" "Wha?!" In an instant, the spear of ice transformed into a spear of flame in Sirius's hands. When the heat made Emilia unwittingly let go, it was Sirius's turn to go on the offensive this time. The bandaged madwoman twirled the spear of flame, pursuing the leaping silver-haired girl to burn her to death in an aggressive counterattack. "Those lascivious eyes! That seductive bell-like voice! That licentious, glimmering silver hair! That indecent white skin! That indecent face! Aah, what a filthy woman! Is that how you make men swoon over you so?! Is that how you stole my precious from me, you thieving cat?!" "Wha?! Wait a Please do not say such strange things!!" Dodging the attack by letting it slide just past her chest, Emilia spawned another ice sword in her hand to intercept it. The three-pronged spear of flame was blocked head-on by a broad greatsword made of ice. The ice creaked as it held against the hungry flame, leaving Emilia and Sirius deadlocked as they glared at each other. "These eyes, this voice, this silver hair all of them were praised by the people I love! They're the same as the coolest woman in the whole world! If you say any more strange things about them, I'm going to be angry!" "Anger?! Anger, you say?! Don't make me laugh! That is mine! That is the treasure that I received from my most precious person! This duty, this name everything I have was a gift from my precious! To try to take this from me... Stop! Stopstopstopstopstopstopstop!!!" Sirius's voice gradually became even more piercing still, eventually rising to a tearful shriek. The spear of flame in the madwoman's arms snapped, at which point she crossed her arms, slamming the shortened pieces together with both arms. To counter the flaming-sword combo, Emilia split her own greatsword in two, turning them into a pair of ice daggers. But under that torrent of blows, it was Emilia who was on the defensive this time. It wasn't because Sirius had become noticeably stronger. It was the opposite Doubt had crept into Emilia's heart. Rage readily mixed with grief, and the surrounding people in the crowd moaned in agony as they cried tears of blood. That sight in the corner of Emilia's vision threw her thoughts off slightly. It was then that " Wah, aaaah?!" "Emilia?!" Subaru's eyes went wide at the sight of Emilia raising a shriek and dropping her twin daggers of ice. When Emilia fell on her knees to the pavement stones, Sirius laughed loudly with both blazing arms raised high. "Look! This is love! This is love! People loving one another, the ideal of the many becoming

one! Bonds are forged by our shared feelings, so that we might experience one another's joy and sadness! That is why this ending has been preordained! O pitiful half-demon, doomed to never obtain love here, you shall burn!" "...What love?" "What?" As Sirius crowed over the turning of the tables, Emilia's words brought her pealing laughter to a halt. Before the madwoman's fixated, wide-open eyes, Emilia looked squarely at her opponent's face and continued without fear. "If I am hearing your words correctly, you seem to think I am mistaken... Why?" The question that Emilia posed was born from her particularly acute sense of curiosity. But such an earnest plea only poured more fuel on the fires of Sirius's wrath. "That is because you do not even know the great truth! You filthy half-demon, living without even knowing what love is. And so you must perish! The very existence of a half-demon is a sin! Your birth was a mistake. It was a mistake for your father to meet your mother! When shit and an insect come together, a shitty insect is the only possible result. Your shit-smeared tale will now come to an end!" *** These were insults that even the kindhearted Emilia refused to pass unchallenged. It was absolute slander, condemning not only her existence, but even her parents for giving birth to her. "Ooh..." A trail of light drew a tiny voice out of Sirius as she backed up a step. Emilia had held her ice sword down low and slashed upward. The pale sword grazed Sirius, sending the fasteners of the madwoman's black robe flying. One more step forward, one lunge, and Emilia would land a clean hit. It was with this certainty that she raised her ice sword anew. " Eh?" "Nnngh!" Then she saw the girl wrapped up in chains within Sirius's arms, and time stopped. " Tina." Dazed, Subaru heard that murmur spill from Lusbel, who was still in his arms, and Subaru cursed Sirius for keeping the most sinister form of insurance on hand. Matching the instant of Emilia's sword attack, Sirius had suddenly yanked a chain out of thin air. Materializing from seemingly nowhere, a lone girl appeared right in Sirius's arms as her evil gambit succeeded. The golden chains that were coiled around the girl were the same as those that Subaru had seen wrapped around Lusbel inside the tower, and a flood of tears flowed from Lusbel's eyes the hostage was Tina, the very same childhood friend whom Lusbel had supposedly been protecting. Right as Subaru realized the new hostage's identity, anger consumed Emilia as she laid eyes on the crying girl. " That wrath is wasted on you." That was the moment Sirius smiled more wickedly than ever before. She then slammed her right arm against the ground, generating a blast of wind that sent Emilia flying backward. The resulting shockwave kicked up black dust over the center of the square. Emilia rolled onto the paving stones, unable to break her fall. She came to a rest faceup on the ground with her limbs spread out. "Ah..." Emilia squirmed about a little, but she only stirred to cough painfully, barely able to breathe. Seeing this, Sirius let Tina drop and roll at her feet as she raised both arms to the heavens. At that moment, the intensity of the flames enveloping them made them burn so bright, they seemed ready to split the entire sky asunder. And with flames still entwining her arms, Sirius boisterously applauded Emilia. "Such sweet passions are not for insects to embrace. Seeing that is just nauseating Now then, let me say thank you, and sorry." Crossing both arms above her head, Sirius increased the potency of the inferno enveloping her. "Emilia!" That instant, realizing that he needed to save Emilia, Subaru leaped down from the top of the tower without hesitation. Trusting Beatrice to soften their landing, he focused only on getting to Emilia as fast as he could. With Beatrice's magic reducing his body weight to nothing, Subaru safely slowed as he approached the ground. He got ready to charge forward. Or at least, he tried. "Move, legs, move!!" Subaru's limbs rattled and trembled, immobilized as if cowering in fear. The same went for Beatrice on his back and Lusbel in his arms. They couldn't stop shaking with fright. The emotions probably came from Tina, who had fallen at Sirius's feet, spreading from her to them. As she shrank from unprecedented fear, their hearts became one, leaving Subaru and Beatrice unable to shake off the waves of terror. "...E...milia...!" With his throat convulsing, his uncontrollable sobbing and nausea left him unable to even shout the name of the girl he loved. Subaru's voice likely would not have reached Emilia either way. What was Emilia thinking as she lay there, powerless before the approaching apocalyptic firestorm? This, too, would vanish in the hot white of the inferno burning everything to ash, remaining unknown for all eternity. *** The square was scorched by an incredible amount of heat. The heat wave seared skin and lungs alike. The spectacle of flame was so awe-inspiring that it could only be considered a true enigma. "Suba...ru..." As Subaru fell to his knees before the sea of flames, Beatrice called out to him from somewhere behind him. Subaru didn't look back. He was still bent forward, every inch of his entire body ruled by fear. He had become desperate even as he denied the reality unfolding before his eyes. Compared with the desolate alternative, he saw fear as salvation. If he didn't have to sear into his own eyes the worst of all worlds that had ever come about, then it would be better to simply stay there, ruled by fear foreve "Suba-Subaru! Subaru!" Even so, Beatrice continued calling out Subaru's name with even greater urgency. She smacked his head multiple times, but Subaru shook his head side to side. He couldn't stand. He had no reason to stand. ...Even if, at that moment, the madwoman stood directly before Subaru's eyes, ready to take his life. " I made it in time." The instant he heard that voice, Subaru's heart gave in to his fear of not knowing. He lifted his head, turning his eyes toward where the flame had fallen onto Emilia and wondering what had happened. There was a single man. Calmly standing on the paving stones, which spewed black smoke, he acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary. And in his arms, the man carried the girl whom Subaru had presumed lost, the girl whom he was sure had vanished. "Emi...lia..." The girl whom he had despaired over, the girl enveloped by the flames that he had failed to save her from she was still there. Eyes closed, she had gone limp unconscious. However, her chest rose and fell almost imperceptibly an unmistakable sign of life. She was not dead. Emilia was alive. "You're..." He was now looking at the person who had suddenly appeared to save Emilia from mortal peril. Subaru was glad to see that Emilia was safe, but even then, the fear tormenting his heart had not subsided as he called out to the man's back with a trembling voice. In response, the man slowly turned around. He relaxed his lips. "I have come for her. I am relieved I arrived in time. Truly." "Come for... What do you...?" " I have come to collect my bride. Is that not what one should do as a man nay, as a person?" Those unexpected words, spoken as if they were the most natural thing in the world, instantly brought Subaru's mind to a grinding halt. While Subaru was as still as a rock, a thin smile came over the young man with a shock of white hair. "I am the Witch Cult's Archbishop of Greed Regulus Corneas." "As promised I have come to make her my seventy-ninth wife." 3 The man in white had abruptly intervened in the battlefield of raging fire and ice. He was neither tall nor short and sported white hair and a symmetrical face that left a somewhat middling impression. His physique seemed to be the theoretical ideal of a man of medium height and medium build. Judging from his outward appearance alone, he seemed to have a weak presence that probably let him immediately blend in with any crowd. But the young man, who lacked defining features, had a name that could not be ignored. "The Archbishop of Greed...?!" Before Subaru's shocked eyes, the man Regulus stood serenely in the aftermath of the firestorm in the square. Regulus was calm after picking up Emilia, who was still unconscious, and enduring Sirius's apocalyptic inferno. "But I truly must say, I am glad I reached her in time. My lovely bride was nearly burned to cinders. Even I, a person who takes pride in requesting little from others, am not so strong as to stoically accept my lovely bride being turned into a pile of ashes. Well, that is only natural. I am not an abnormal person, so of course, I could not simply bear with such degeneracy." Looking down at Emilia, who was resting in his arms, Regulus spoke eloquently with an expression of relief on his face. The contents of his words were strangely out of place, but there was no mistaking from what he said that he was already ignoring the urgency of the situation from the get-go. Unfortunately, since Emilia was unconscious, there was no way for his show of concern to reach her, putting it all to waste. Watching Regulus take everything at his own pace, Subaru swallowed hard before he spoke up. "Wh-what do you think you're...?" " Excuse me." Suddenly, Regulus looked toward Subaru and interrupted his attempt to say something. Irritation shone clearly in his empty eyes as he sighed with a note of exasperated fatigue. "Do you not understand the meaning of courtesy? I introduced myself first, didn't I? The only considerate thing to do would be to introduce yourself to ensure that everything can smoothly proceed. Knowing each other's names is the first step to establishing a working relationship, yes? I am the kind of person who considers that important, you see, and so I have introduced myself. Of course, this is a basic level of consideration that normally shouldn't need to be explained am I wrong? I mean, normally, people simply understand. The fact that you did not and could not is that something you did on purpose? Or have you simply lived until this very day in such an obtuse manner? This is incredibly rude. To drop formalities with another is to express that you do not see the other party as worthy of politeness. In other words, that is denying their individuality. It is nothing less than infringing upon another's rights. You are infringing on my rights me, a rational man free of want or desire." "...A all right, I get it. My name is...Subaru Natsuki." Seeing that Regulus's eyes were becoming more and more tinged with madness as he rambled on and on, Subaru offered his name, heeding the alarm bells going off in his mind. Instantly, Regulus stopped moving his lips. He slowly narrowed his eyes. "...Yes, that's good. Respecting others is part and parcel of respecting yourself. Such concerns may be natural, but this is what creates a better world for all parties to live in. One should not yearn for too many things and accept happiness that is appropriate to one's station. By abandoning selfish desires, everyone may live within their means. Such is a wise and praiseworthy way of life." Regulus laid out his sound argument with such tranquility that it wouldn't be strange for someone to assume he was joking. But the glimmer in both of his eyes proved that this was no game. Just like with Sirius's logic, Regulus's words sounded like sane if flowery rhetoric at first glance. Yes, his remarks were the same, using superficially sound reasoning to gloss over the abominable statements nestled within "Thank

you for your opinion Now burn to ashes and begone!!" The instant he had the thought, Regulus stood there as a fire resembling an overflowing waterfall assailed him. The ferocious heat wave from the apocalyptic inferno enveloping the square made Subaru cover his face. Even though Regulus had introduced himself as a fellow Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins, Sirius had mercilessly scorched the other away for having interfered with her plan. And so without any time to counter her, Regulus and Emilia were engulfed by flame once more. "Subaru..." Behind his back, Beatrice's voice trembled as she grabbed onto his shoulder with enough strength to hurt. This was a sign of her concern for Emilia. Subaru knew exactly how she felt, so much so that it stung almost unbearably. But Greed was so off the charts that the pair's concerns held no meaning whatsoever. "Now just a moment. Who raised you to resort to flames before your words? If you wish to say something, then speak. Or are you a talentless fool who cannot even understand language?" Waving an arm in annoyance, Regulus extinguished the vortex of scorching flame. The firestorm vanished like it was nothing more than an illusion, with Regulus standing utterly unaffected at its center. Of course, the same went for Emilia there in his arms. Even after those flames had surrounded him, he didn't show a single drop of sweat, never mind a burn mark. "You and I are both Archbishops of the Seven Deadly Sins, yes? I know that you must be touched in the head. I have enough tolerance to overlook a great many things. However, you see..." Looking back, Regulus lowered his voice as he glared at Sirius. Taking stock of his gaze, Sirius continued to rub together the golden chains wrapped around both her arms as she gritted her teeth in hatred. "Just now, you intended to slay this girl by fire, yes? It is somewhat unreasonable to ask me to forgive that transgression. Since time immemorial, every story tells us that when the people we love are harmed, it undoubtedly stokes the fires of anger. That is a right that everyone possesses, and therefore, it is only natural that I am justified in seeking vengeance." "Anger?! Ha, do not make me laugh! A small, superficial man like you should not lightly utter such words! Anger is mine! It is the irreplaceable treasure that my precious bestowed upon me!" "What is it with you? Are you still obsessed with that fool who went ahead on his own and died? My, my, how creepy. Only a flawed person would cling to a dead man all this time. If someone you love dies, you should proactively search for another. That is a law of the world, the extent of nature, and to disobey makes you...quite the piece of garbage." "I know you laughed at his death do not dare to speak such lofty words to me!!" Showered in detached insults, Sirius sprayed spittle as she flew into a rage. Giving in to her anger, the madwoman broke a paving stone as she stepped forward to swing her flame-imbued golden chains at Regulus only for the blow to bounce right off the side of the man's face. The chains made a dull sound as they struck flesh again and again, going left and right as Sirius's blinding rage struck Regulus all over. The flaming trails left in their wake enveloped the young man as he stood perfectly still. "Begonebegonebegonebegonebegone! Turn to cinders along with that abominable half-demon!!" The next moment, the cage of fire converged toward the center, enveloping Regulus in a rising pillar of searing flames. Its height surpassed that of the wrecked time tower. Paving stones melted under the intense heat, and enough melted away at the center of the scorching fire, where Regulus stood, that a crater had formed. There was no mistaking that these flames were not something a mere human could endure. However, no matter how apocalyptic the inferno seemed " You know, you really should realize it by now. You just don't measure up, you see." There, in the crater that was burned by flames all over, a sad smile came over Regulus. Sure enough, he was unaffected by chain or flame. Emilia was intact within his arms as well. Subaru should have been happy to confirm once again that she was safe, but at the same time, he could see an end coming that would be difficult to avoid. If the fight continued, Sirius would be slain by Regulus. If that was the only issue, Subaru would've been fine with it. If anything, having the number of Archbishops of the Seven Deadly Sins whittled down through infighting was something to celebrate or it would've been if Sirius's death didn't affect all the surrounding people, that is. *** Even then, the fear racing through Subaru's body was undiminished. His knees buckled, and his lungs were unreliable, racked by pain that refused to subside. But in this situation "Subaru." his precious partner called him by name, scolding Subaru Natsuki for shirking and cowering. *** The warmth that he felt through his back lent strength to his bowed knees. They gave him the courage to defy his fear, to stand and face the twin natural disasters that were the madwoman of Wrath and the villain of Greed. If Subaru had been by himself, he probably would have long since succumbed to fear. Standing up would've been impossible. Subaru could only do so now because he wasn't alone. Unlike the people consumed by madness, Subaru had someone right by his side. That was why "...Lusbel. Can you stand and run on your own?" Putting the boy, whom he had carried in his arms, down on the ground, Subaru released him from his bonds. Lusbel gazed at Subaru, and then he turned to look at Sirius's feet out of concern for Tina. "I know you're worried. But leave that girl to us." "...Okay. Please save Tina somehow..." With teary eyes, Lusbel entrusted Subaru with his hope. Subaru accepted it with a solemn nod Lusbel's wish was noble. He wouldn't let anyone sully it. " Beatrice." "I know." Communicating his thought with a single call of her name, Subaru and Beatrice advanced toward the chaotic battlefield. Fear had knocked him down. The enemy they faced was almost incomprehensibly dangerous. But most importantly, Subaru had a reason to fight. "Hmm?" Right as he was busy glaring at Sirius, Regulus raised an eyebrow, having abruptly felt that something was off. The cause was probably the end of a whip wrapped around his slender neck. After flying through the air, the whip had found purchase on Regulus's neck, tightening along its length to rob him of his freedom. Taking this as a signal, Lusbel raced across the chaotic square. Watching his back... "Now stop touching my Emilia like she belongs to you...!" ...Subaru howled, the explosion in his heart triggered by unceasing love. He had no idea whatsoever how Regulus had fended off the flames. He could only assume it was probably the effect of an Authority, something on par with Petelgeuse's Unseen Hands and Sirius's soulwashing. It was safe to assume that he wouldn't be able to hurt Regulus. In that case, what about binding him with a whip to hinder his movements? " Shamak!" Additionally, Beatrice conjured Shamak, the greatest of all spells, and enveloped Regulus in a black cloud. Chanting while seated on Subaru's back, Beatrice had plunged the villain's thoughts into the void with perfect timing. If he could only pull the guy down within the darkness and take Emilia back "Do you have a death wish? Then you should just wait your turn. Do not make me bother with you." With a single step, Regulus completely blew away the black cloud surrounding him. It didn't seem like the spell, which was meant to obliterate the victim's five senses, had any effect on Regulus, who now turned his gaze toward Subaru and Beatrice as they raced forward. Instantly, Subaru felt every hair on his body stand up as he sensed impending death, and so he shouted: "Beako, now!!" "I suppose I'm ready!" Matching Subaru's voice, Beatrice began a complex ritual. This evoked one of the fruits of their spending almost every waking moment of the last year together. *** Howling as he chanted, Subaru sent mana to Beatrice directly from his broken Gate. This power served as the activation key to initiate an original spell, the only one of its kind in the whole world. This was E M M, one of the three spells jointly developed by Subaru and Beatrice. Watching it unfold, Regulus looked like he thought he was being pranked as he stretched his right hand toward Subaru. The five fingers he opened without fanfare contained such immense power that Subaru instinctively knew it was the same as death itself reaching for him. If they touched him, dying was unavoidable. However "Huh?!" the instant he thought he'd killed the pest, Regulus's fingertips brushed the surface of Subaru's body. But that was all. There was no blood spatter, nor was Subaru cruelly transformed into a corpse. This was the effect of E M M an invisible magic field that covered the entire body, an absolute defensive spell that physically cut a being off from the world, designed to prevent anything from interacting with Subaru whatsoever. "Uraaah!" As Regulus blinked hard, Subaru aimed a mighty punch right at his shocked face. He felt feedback; the punch had undoubtedly landed. But when Regulus recovered from the recoil, there was no mark on his face or any other sign that anything had happened. He had complete damage nullification in other words, a full-time E M M state. When Subaru thought about how his own E M M dispelled after taking one hit, the difference in power was staggering. "I'm still charging!" Before Regulus could counterattack, Beatrice informed Subaru about her progress toward the next spell. In the intervening time, Subaru was defenseless in a situation where both dodging and blocking were difficult meaning he would simply have to sacrifice a bit of his soul. "Do not act so high and " "Come!! Invisible Providence!!" Subaru howled again. A moment later, an invisible fist crashed into Regulus's irritated-looking face from below, slamming into his jaw. Interrupted by the blow, Regulus was sent reeling. Subaru closed the distance to try and rip Emilia out of his arms but then he stopped as he felt his intestines churning and a hot nausea rising up in his throat. "Ugh, ubhhh!" Covering his mouth, Subaru coughed. Blood dripped through the gaps in his fingers this was the cost he paid. The price of using this invisible force, a forbidden art that exceeded his body's capacity, was the corruption of Subaru Natsuki's soul and abject torture for his innards. "Subaru! Are you all right, I wonder?!" "Cough... Sorry, I messed up. Even though I wanted to get Emilia back right then..." Heaving up the clot of blood stuck in his throat, Subaru gritted his teeth at the fact that he'd been one step too slow. In the one year since the time he'd first used Invisible Providence, his cheap knockoff of Unseen Hands, he still hadn't mastered it. The unseeable, invisible black hand coming out of his chest was an incomplete Authority, and the price that it demanded was pain that racked his entire body and the deterioration of his soul. For all that, the effect was only a single punch a fact that made him want to cry. "But I still got something out of it... Getting hit by that guy is bad, but his movements are sluggish. Considering all the people I've seen to date, even Larry, Curly, and Moe could probably beat this guy." Regulus's style of fighting was amateurish, below even the likes of Subaru; he was barely more skilled than a total novice. His ability to nullify damage was very troublesome, but even lethal blows didn't mean anything

if they couldn't connect. Annoyed by that appraisal, Regulus adjusted his grip on Emilia. "What petty trickery... What if you harmed my lovely bride, flailing around like that? Even without someone teaching you manners, is it not natural to treat girls with kindness? Are you incapable of even that?" "You just can't stop grating on my nerves, can you? That girl's the one I treat the kindest in the whole world. What do you think you're doing, going 'lovely bride' this and 'lovely bride' that and all sorts of weird garbage?!" "I've told you before, yes? Do not make me repeat myself I have come to take this girl as my bride." Regulus's brazen reply treated the sacred institution of marriage with such nonchalance that it was incredibly off-putting. Even as he forced his quest of seeking love onto others, he prioritized only himself. His fundamentally warped logic was chill-inducing. "Previously, I was unable to uphold an identical vow. That is why I shall not yield this time. I will protect her. I will take her as my wife, cherish her, and enjoy the tranquility that I am due. I do not wish for many things, but if it is for the sake of protecting my small slice of happiness, I will not hesitate to exploit the power that I have been granted." For the first time, Subaru felt fear coming from Regulus's demeanor as the man shared what seemed to be his genuine thoughts. Seeing Subaru's reaction, Regulus went, "Ahh," seeming to accept something as he nodded. "I see now... You know, it might be cruel to say this, but it's futile to try and come between destined lovers. It pains me to say this, but everyone knows that it's quite unsightly to pine for someone who is already spoken for." "Shut up! Emilia-tan is my bride. No way am I giving her up to the likes of you!" "Heh, so Emilia is this girl's name? It has a nice ring to it. It makes me want to whisper to her, admiring her like a songbird. That name suits this charming girl perfectly, yes?" "You don't even...know her name...? What do you see in her that makes you ramble on and on about how she's your lovely bride?" "Her face." He was stunned. Subaru fell silent after hearing his instantaneous reply. Regulus cocked his head in confusion as the silence made him wonder if he'd been misunderstood. "Her face is exquisite. When it comes to love, that is everything, isn't it?" "Die." "Would it not be better if he was dead, I wonder?" Subaru and Beatrice's condemnations overlapped out of simple shared enmity. Simultaneously, Beatrice tapped Subaru's shoulder from behind his back, indicating that she was done charging. The details of how Regulus's damage-nullification Authority worked remained unclear, but they still had something to try. This was the third of the original spells from the SubaBeako combo " Whoa?!" The instant he took his first step forward, the ground between Subaru and Regulus suddenly cracked open, revealing a pit of roaring flames. The heat wave billowing up at Subaru made him recoil. He proceeded to back away, glaring at the perpetrator who had cut his counterattack short. It was Sirius, who had been content to simply observe the fight between Subaru and Regulus up to that point. "You...! Wait, the girl... Where did you put Tina?" There was no sign of the girl who'd been taken hostage and ought to have been at the madwoman's feet. However, she did not reply to Subaru, keeping her palms thrust out as she maintained her silence. He wasn't sure what the nutcase had in mind after observing the battle so far, but having her intervene was exceptionally worse. Dealing with Sirius herself was already difficult, especially considering how they had to work around her Authority. Sensing that the situation was deteriorating quickly, Subaru wiped cold sweat off his brow However, the situation had worsened far more than he had imagined. " I have found you." " Wha?" Finally, as she stood still, Sirius looked at Subaru, and No, she was only looking at Subaru and him alone as she continued murmuring. Sirius suddenly seemed as if she'd completely forgotten her bloodlust from moments before. The madwoman was now ignoring Regulus's very existence, giving her undivided attention to Subaru. Subaru's throat dried out instantly when he saw the crazed glint in her eye. Then the madwoman pulled back both arms, which she had thrust out, and gently pressed her hands against her cheeks. "I have found you. I have found you. I have found you. Ahh, ahh, ahhhh! Yes, there's no mistake! I am sorry, I am so sorry I didn't notice earlier! But ahh, it really was true!" "Wh-what the...?" "You were here all along, darling?! I searched everywhere but couldn't find you, and all your spares had been ripped away, nowhere to be found! I have searched for you for so, so, so, so, so, so, so, long...and now you have finally returned! My darling has returned to my side!" Her shrill, high-pitched voice was born from indecent passion. Continuing to press her hands to her cheeks, Sirius wriggled and writhed about, her slender hips shaking as her voice leaped with joy. When it finally dawned on Subaru that every aspect of her voice and her demeanor was a manifestation of seething romantic passion, he was struck with horror. "My feelings have reached you! Finally, my love has reached you! After all this time!" Utterly ignoring Subaru's shock, Sirius stretched both hands out toward him. Then with all the spirit that the madwoman possessed, she pronounced her love in a thundering voice. "I have been waiting aaaaall this time for you and only you...my beloved, beloved Petelgeuse!" 4 The repulsive zeal in that violet eye was all aimed at Subaru. The sight of Sirius's ecstatic gaze left him unable to do anything but draw in his breath. "...She is...staring at you, Subaru." "...I know, so please don't say it out loud and make me feel worse." When Beatrice whispered to him from his back, Subaru replied as he suppressed his fear as best as he could. He'd felt this terrible premonition during the first time around that one loop. "...This Romanée-Conti family thing almost sounded like an insane joke, but..." At first, he'd entertained the ridiculous idea of a famous family in the Witch Cult cranking out one Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins after another, but reality easily exceeded Subaru's expectations. "If you have to be a husband-and-wife team of Archbishops, then you should get to pick your bride... Well, I guess if she is your pick, there's nothing I can do about it, but..." "Please do not ignore me, Petelgeuse. You truly are naughty. Always acting so coldly toward me... It just, just, just frustrates me so much!" Over a year after they last met, Subaru was finding new reasons to resent Petelgeuse and his awful taste. Meanwhile, Sirius squirmed and pleaded with him in an ingratiating voice. Just the gestures from the bandaged madwoman were nightmarish enough, but seeing the soulwashed crowd performing the same gestures made the scene an outright comedy. The fact that their souls were being manipulated to make them go along with the madwoman's delusions really made it more of a tragedy, though. "And what's her basis for mistaking me for that Petelgeuse bastard in the first place? I don't resemble that jerk at all." "...Goodness, I simply cannot put up with this. Most likely, she saw your earlier trick, spurring her current disturbing delusion. She truly does not know the meaning of shame. Strong women are so difficult to deal with when they become convinced of something. It goes well beyond pitiable and simply becomes unsightly." Regulus, now out of sight and out of mind as far as Sirius was concerned, shrugged with unconcealed disdain on his face. But Subaru had learned something it was Invisible Providence that had caused this. Sirius had mistakenly identified that incomplete Authority as Unseen Hands. What made things worse was the fact that the evil spirit Petelgeuse had the power to possess and hijack the bodies of others. There was no room for doubt that the madwoman thought he was dwelling inside Subaru. Setting that deduction aside, Sirius's burning zeal from a moment before vanished like a mirage as she glared at Regulus with frigid eyes. "Yes, yes, thank you kindly. And so very, very sorry. Right now, I am in the middle of something. Do you understand? Comprehension is quite important, and mutual understanding is just as critical. You've finished what you came for, yes? Would you quickly take your leave now?" "Are you giving me an order? Do not make me laugh. Speaking of making me laugh, you called yourself Sirius Romanée-Conti, did you not? Would you notice already that using your feelings for him as an excuse to take his family name as your own without permission is just downright disturbing? In a sense, that is an infringement upon Petelgeuse's rights. Well, dead people don't have rights, so I suppose it's fine, really." "He and I loved each other!!" Regulus's words, filled with bottomless disdain, triggered another explosion of Sirius's emotions. "I mean, our eyes met over and over again daily! He never scolded me for taking out his things! He let me have his leftover food and said nothing even as I breathed in the air he breathed out! He never grimaced when I slept in the same bed that he had, and he even praised me for skillfully burning half-demons away! He gave me my name! He smiled! For me, me, me aloooone!!" Sirius's breath had become ragged, her bandages drenched with tears as she laid her feelings bare. The gruesome sight and the contents of her words made Subaru feel sorry for Sirius for the very first time. In addition, Sirius's indignation resonated, and the surrounding crowd was suffused with roiling emotions once again. Their faces became dark red, and the bleeding from their eyes and noses increased; it was clear from a single glance that their lives were being whittled away. "S-stop it! If this is for my sake, then don't drag the people around us into this! Behave, please!" "Behave, you say?" Thinking about the collateral damage, Subaru clung to a single thread of hope: trying to play on Sirius's yearning. When Subaru made that dangerous gamble, Sirius stared at him in a daze for a while. "...Ah-ha, ah-ha-ha, ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!" Embracing her slender body, Sirius guffawed at Subaru's words. Her reaction made Subaru tense up. Seeing this, Sirius tore her mouth open to form a crescent moon. "Even if you wish it, I refuse. I mean, we've finally reunited! We have finally met like this once more. And yet once again, you ask me to endure, to hold back?! How dare you tell me to wait while some spirit I've never seen clings to your back!! I will burn you!!!" Even as she spoke, her emotions raged as Sirius let out a roar and pointed at Subaru no, at Beatrice on Subaru's back. Sirius then shifted her other hand toward Regulus. "Either way, your real objective is the half-demon that man is carrying, isn't it?! Why are you so partial to a filthy, silver-haired half-demon?! Surely, you understand by now?! Why choose that wretched, vulgar, damned half-demon...?! If you love her that much, then I will burn her before your very eyes...!" "Geez, I don't even understand a thing you're saying anymore..." Screaming and even coughing up blood, Sirius vented her hatred toward both Emilia and the Witch of Jealousy. Wasn't resurrecting the Witch of Jealousy the Witch Cult's goal? Subaru couldn't understand why she treated the supposed object of their worship like it was the one thing she most hated in the entire world. More than that, it meant Sirius didn't share Petelgeuse's long-cherished desire in the slightest, didn't it? In any case, with Subaru's

hope for a breakthrough dashed, the situation had turned into a three-sided battlefield. That said, the side in the worst state was, without a doubt, Subaru's party. Despite surviving longer than in any other loop this time around, his failure to acquire any information except how dangerous their enemies were left him in all-consuming despair. But he couldn't simply stand there he had to save Emilia and the city. "Isn't it fine either way, I wonder?" From his back, the sound of a dependable voice bolstered Subaru's decision. Relying on that voice, Subaru moved to boldly leap toward the two Archbishops of the Seven Deadly Sins " Excuse me, I am sorry to interrupt when you are getting so motivated, but it is finally time, you see." "What?" Regulus cut in and dashed Subaru and Beatrice's resolve. Still carrying Emilia with one hand, he pointed toward the sky with his empty one. The next moment, the sound of a bell echoed in the sky above the City of Water. That tolling indicated that noon had arrived. Nodding in response, a melancholic smile came over Regulus as he spoke up. "With this, I no longer have free time to spare for you. At the very least, you should be thankful to the Gospel that... No. It is meaningless to thank a torn page. You should be thankful to me, then, for doing my part in obeying the Gospel." Leaving these words behind, Regulus turned his back on Subaru and Beatrice, having lost all interest in them. Dumbstruck by his sheer gall, Subaru immediately exploded. "Hold on a minute! 'Time,' you say? What about the time? What the hell are you talking about?!" "It is exactly as you heard. My free time has come to an end. We have something that we came to do in this city. Ahh, I do not mean merely me, but also the woman touched in the head over there. Isn't that right, Sirius?" Replying to Subaru's inquiry, Regulus motioned his chin toward Sirius as the latter stood still. When Subaru looked over, it was shocking how Sirius, who had been so enraged before, was obediently tucking her chains into her sleeves, looking like she wasn't satisfied with the outcome. Nonetheless, she was clearly getting ready to move on just like Regulus. What impudent, selfish, completely conceited people were they to do this much and then just drop it all and walk away? "Ahh, do not lament, Petelgeuse! I understand! I, too, wish so much to burn what is incomplete! To act like this before you... It fills me with such sadness that I wish to tear my chest apart! Is it not the same for you, darling?!" In stark contrast to Regulus's composure, Sirius clawed at her face in grief. Swallowed up by the madwoman's emotions, the crowd let out sobs and laments that filled the square. As that painful and revolting scene played out before him, Subaru ferociously broke into a sprint. Regulus was right there, carrying Emilia out of the square as if the conversation was already at an end. "Wait, you bastard! Don't carry on with the conversation all on your own! Put that girl down! If you don't..." "You see, a thought occurred to me." Stopping in his tracks, Regulus turned only his head toward Subaru, smiling. That smile petrified Subaru's body almost fatally so. "It is a lonely thing to have a ceremony without any attendants on the new bride's side, so it would be a little too coldhearted and pitiless of me not to invite you, the illicit lover Therefore, I will not kill you." As he spoke, Regulus lightly tapped a paving stone with the tip of his toe. With a gesture that made it seem like he was only adjusting the fit of his shoe, he shaved the top of the paving stone right off. The resulting debris flew toward Subaru's legs instantly causing his right leg to explode. " Eh?" A horrid cross section was revealed as if he'd been gouged by a massive beast's claw, neatly exposing Subaru's white bone, pink flesh, yellowish fat, and gray-colored blood vessels, which had been savagely severed. Incomprehension. Comprehension. A moment later, the pain reached his brain. "?!! Daaagh! Agaaaagh?!" His vision went pure white as terrible pain shot through him. It was as if a number of sharp needles had been stabbed into the crown of his head. Screaming, Subaru failed to break his fall as he tumbled to the ground. He then tried to stanch the leg injury with his hands. It was no use. The wound was too big. Subaru's hands alone could not plug it. "Subaru?! Subaru! Subaru, hold on! Let me !" Beatrice, falling to the ground alongside Subaru, hurriedly activated a healing spell as she realized the gravity of his injury. Seeing the pair reduced to that miserable state, Regulus nodded in apparent satisfaction. "Your demeanor toward me has been quite rude this whole time, but with this, let us call it even. I hope this pain serves as sufficient motivation for you to reflect upon your actions. Ahh, there is no need to thank me. I mean, this really isn't enough to thank someone for. It is merely a wake-up call that should be natural coming from any reasonable person." "Aaaaa! Gah, ghh, ugoaaah!!" That voice wasn't audible anymore. Pain, pain Subaru Natsuki was ruled by pain alone. His eyes were cloudy. He was clenching his back teeth so hard that they seemed ready to split in half. His vision was completely red. He didn't have any sense of up or down, left or right. Incomprehension. Incomprehensionincomprehension. He did not comprehend, but there was something he knew. "Emiliaaa...! Waghhh, urgh, goeee!" In the throes of excruciating pain, Subaru called out the name of the girl who was the only thing he cared about in that moment. But it was useless. As he gasped from pain, tiny Beatrice desperately tried to keep him from thrashing about as she continued treating him. However, as if to mock Beatrice's dedicated efforts, the situation continued to worsen. "...This isn't funny in the least." "My apologies. But this is no joke. This, too, is a matter of natural consequence." As Beatrice murmured despondently, Sirius replied from somewhere behind her in a melancholic voice. All around Sirius, people were writhing in pain. They were screaming from the crippling pain in their leg, identical to Subaru's wound. It was as if they'd all been maimed by the same beast. "If my beloved Petelgeuse had a chance to share a few words, he would say this: Pain makes us savor life, and life exists so that we may prove our love. I believe this to be true as well. That is why I have this wish! After all, love is the wish to become one! To see the same things, to feel the same things, to pass the time together, to end our lives together for love is all about joining with one another!" Spreading both hands wide, Sirius brought them together before her chest, producing a loud, explosive sound resembling applause. After indulging in the suffering of others with an expression of pure ecstasy, Sirius turned a hateful eye toward Beatrice. "Everyone should taste the same life as my precious. But I shall allow no such thing for you or for that filthy half-elf. Who would knowingly allow you to share anything with my precious?" "...Would you cease being so crazed with jealousy, I wonder? Betty has long become one with Subaru without turning into anything like you. Is Betty not Subaru's, I wonder?" *** Beatrice gave a retort, conceding nothing to Sirius and her manipulative words. The spirit and the madwoman sternly crossed gazes. But the madwoman quickly averted her eyes from the staring contest. "For now, I leave him to you, for the instructions of the Gospel must take precedence. Yes, I have little choice in the matter. So sorry. My apologies. But I will come to see you again soon. Yes, very soon indeed." To the end, Sirius directed her mad feelings of love toward Subaru, even as unbearable pain stripped him of conscious thought. On a final note, the madwoman gave Subaru a long stare of yearning before departing from the bloody square with a single leap. Beatrice could not even keep her eyes on Sirius's back as she faded into the distance. Before she realized it, all sight of Regulus, and Emilia with him, had vanished from the square. " Subaru." Subaru was unconscious, vomiting stomach fluids mixed with froth. Touching his leg, she continued to treat the still-bleeding wound. The site of the injury was large and deep; if she let her mind wander, he would almost certainly die of blood loss. Subaru's life was Beatrice's first priority. There were nearly fifty other wounded besides Subaru in the square. Thanks to the Authority of Wrath, they had suffered the same exact wound as him, but the effect of Beatrice's healing was not being shared. It was an abominable Authority. " Subaru, I am so sorry." Diligently tending to Subaru's health, Beatrice murmured frailly as she tried to stay strong. A tear fell from her one of her wide-open eyes, leaving a line as it coursed down her white cheek. "I am so sorry. Could I be any sorrier, I wonder...?" Beatrice apologized over and over, even though she knew that her voice could not reach Subaru, who had passed out from the pain. Even though she knew that her words changed nothing. "I am so sorry, Emilia...!" Sirius of Wrath had toyed with people's hearts, creating a long list of casualties in the process. And after a display of overwhelming might, Regulus of Greed had abducted Emilia. Two Archbishops of the Seven Deadly Sins had been unleashed upon the Water Gate City of Pristella. CHAPTER 3 *** 1 Dong, dong, dong. The low, weighty percussions of gongs seemed to come from everywhere at once, near and far. The flow of his blood had slowed it was an unpleasant feeling akin to having mud coursing in his arteries. His internal organs barely seemed to be working, and his guts felt like they were a rough collection of clay work; these kinds of mismatched sensations dominated his body. Oxygen wasn't traveling to his brain properly, either, making it hard to form thoughts, and what thoughts did form were unreliable. He felt a feeling of loss, as if his body was no longer his own " Ah." Abruptly, he felt his fading self being pulled back from the brink as raspy breaths trickled out from his lungs. Instantly, his hazy consciousness miraculously pieced itself back together, and Subaru Natsuki slowly opened his eyes. After becoming accustomed to darkness, his eyes were not ready to fully accept the white light now shooting into them. A shadow crossed right and left across his indistinct vision. It took him thirty seconds to realize that these were human silhouettes. He sensed the presence of hastily moving people, a dirty ceiling, and air that seemed to have a whiff of rust to it finally, he found that he was lying on something hard and that he was staring at those silhouettes in a daze. " Ohh, looks like ya woke up, Bro." Just when Subaru returned to reality, someone abruptly peered at him from close-up. This person was wearing a jet-black steel helm. From that gear alone, some might have taken him for one of the city's heavily equipped guards, but considering how much skin he exposed from the neck down and his obvious lack of one arm, those characteristics immediately told Subaru this was someone he knew. "Al...?" "Yep, it's Mr. Al. See me once, and you can't forget me even if you tried. This is still one helluva situation, though." The man in the steel helm Al shrugged and chuckled at his own words. As Subaru continued to grasp more and more of the situation, his mind began to whip around chaotically. What was a mercenary

in the employ of the Priscilla camp doing there? No, to begin with, where was he? Then just as that question occurred to Subaru "Aah! Subawu woke up, didn't he?! I told you to call me if he woke up, meow!" A loud voice rose as someone rushed over with a swift patter of feet. The newcomer thrust a finger not at Subaru, who was lying down, but at Al, who was standing beside him in his familiar steel helm. "You need to do as you're told, meow! Really, you're useless if you're just going to stand around, doing nothing helpful!" "Aren't you bein' a bit harsh? I'm the one who did all the work hauling Bro and the young lady over here, y'know." Al shrugged at being chewed out so much, but the one lecturing him didn't pay that the slightest heed. Instead, this person a lovely girl, or rather, a young man dressed like one turned to face Subaru. "Even Ferris..." "Yes, yes. It's Ferri, beloved by one and all. Okay, Subawu Natsuki, let me explain. This is a field hospital, and you were brought in with heavy injuries. Still with me?" Upon speaking those words, Ferris gave him an adorable wink. That cute gesture was very much at odds with the blood splatters that marred his white cheeks and outfit, a sight that conveyed in simple terms that the conditions here were nowhere near normal. Once he looked around, spurred by Ferris using the term field hospital, Subaru realized that what he first guessed was the scent of rust was actually the heavy odor of blood. He could see a whole slew of faintly moaning casualties. There seemed to be so many that even the gravely injured were lying on nothing more than sheets of cloth. Subaru belatedly found that he was in the exact same state. "What...is this...? The hell happened...?" "It seems you're still a bit confused, meow. Take it slow and remember what went down before you fainted. If you can recall that, then you'll have your answer." Ferris spoke to the confused Subaru in a hard and unkind tone. However, this wasn't an effort to dismiss Subaru; it was just a sign of how pressed Ferris was. As healers went, Ferris possessed peerless skill. With such a large number of wounded needing help, it wasn't hard to imagine just how critical his power was. In the first place, what kind of terrible incident could have produced such a large number of casualties ? "!! The Witch Cult!" "That's right... Honestly, they're just the worst, meow. I knew that already, but this made me feel like I didn't really understand until now. I never imagined they'd go this far." Biting his lip with regret, Ferris affirmed what Subaru had realized. Subaru understood his anger toward the Witch Cult. But as his memories gradually returned, Subaru had something even more important that he absolutely had to know. "E-Emilia?! What happened to Emilia and Beatrice?" *** "Both of them were in the square with me, and then..." Sitting up, Subaru grasped Ferris's slender shoulder when his words failed him. This was because from the way Ferris averted his eyes, Subaru could tell he was right to be worried. "Calm down and listen, okay?" said Ferris as a preamble to Subaru. "First, you absolutely need to rest, Subawu. You were badly hurt... As for Lady Emilia, we can't get in touch with her. From what you said just now, it doesn't seem like...you got separated because the city's in chaos, huh." Sure enough, Subaru's energy faded as Ferris gave him what could hardly be called good news. Emilia's safety or lack thereof was completely unknown. Paired with his memories from just before fainting, he certainly hadn't been wrong to think that Emilia had been whisked away by Regulus of Greed. Subaru had been helpless to stop him. As for Beatrice, if she was in the same place as he "Bro, if you're worried about your partner, she's sleepin' soundly over there." *** Al sat cross-legged, pointing toward Subaru's right side as he spoke. When he turned that way on reflex, he saw a curtain covering the space immediately beside him. He rushed over and practically tore it down. On the other side of that curtain, he spotted a girl wearing a dress, slumbering on a sheet of cloth. It was Beatrice. She lay faceup with her eyes closed. He couldn't spot any external injuries. When he took in the familiar sight of her sleeping adorably, Subaru let out a sigh of relief. "Beako...! Ahh, I'm glad she's safe. Really, I... Er, gyaaah!" "Ferri said to rest, yes? Do you understand what 'absolutely need to rest' means, meow?" Ferris was on him in moments, poking at Subaru's right leg and berating him in a voice that quivered in anger. Instantly, Subaru screamed, feeling as if a thunderbolt had struck the crown of his head. The back of his eyes flickered from pain that was intense enough to make him taste blood inside his mouth. When he looked down, wondering what was up, he saw that there was a thick bandage wrapped around his right leg. "Bro, when I found ya, it was so grotesque that I got cold, cold feet. Your leg was hangin' by the smallest flap of skin. A little bit more, and you would've ended up one limb short, just like me." Al revealed some information about what transpired after Subaru had passed out, indicating his own missing left arm with a flippant tone of voice for a bit of emphasis. His explanation, plus the thick bandage around his leg, made Subaru's hazy memories come back with a vengeance. Regulus. That man, the white-haired villain who spirited Emilia away, had launched an attack as he was leaving, gouging and ruining Subaru's leg as a parting gift. That was the source of the pain that had rendered him unconscious. "So you see, lovely Beatrice grafted your torn leg back together, and Ferri treated you on top of that. It should be just about healed right up, but you can't do anything crazy for a while, you hear me?" Crossing his arms to form an X, Ferris sternly forbade Subaru from straining his body. Subaru nodded listlessly at the instruction, as he was more preoccupied at seeing Beatrice asleep. "Beatrice...?" Having spent most of the last year in the same bed as her, he could tell that Beatrice was sleeping very soundly. But he had to wonder if this sleep was a little too deep, even for her. Though he had shrieked right beside her, she hadn't stirred in the slightest. "Is she really...sleeping? She didn't even twitch, did she?" "...Sleep might be the wrong word. Her state is closer to a coma than real sleep." "A coma?!" Upon hearing that far more dangerous-sounding term, Subaru hastily touched Beatrice's sleeping face. It was cold to the touch. Not a single cute reaction stirred her eyelashes or her lips. The echo of the word coma grew more credible as all traces of blood seemed to drain from Subaru's head. "It's a reaction from using every last bit of mana she had to spare. I told you, didn't I? Lovely Beatrice desperately grafted Subawu's leg together using healing magic." "That's... But even if she's been almost out of gas forever, I never thought she'd slip into a coma." "That would be true if Subawu was the only one hurt, right?" Ferris narrowed his eyes as he watched the pale-faced Subaru inhale sharply. Taking stock of the pair's conversation, Al used a finger to toy with the metallic parts of his steel helm as he spoke. "By the time I got to the square, they were all rollin' on the ground with the same wounds as you, Bro. That moppet managed to treat all of 'em with healing magic. Damn impressive, I gotta say." Subaru recognized the faces of the other patients who were lying down on sheets of cloth all around him, just like he was. The fox-man, the eyepatch woman, blood-drenched Lachins, and more, all of them with wounds on their right legs just like Subaru No, the wounds weren't merely in the same locations. They were identical. The resonance that came with Sirius's soulwashing had mauled everyone in the square the same way. Beatrice had wrung strength out of herself to heal not only him, but also everyone else as well. "Is Beatrice all right? You think she'll get better if she keeps resting like this?" "...To be honest, I think there's little hope of that. I might be the top healer in the kingdom, but spirits are outside my specialty. I think the best we can hope from letting her rest like this is maintaining her current condition." *** Ferris's explanations made Subaru harden his cheeks. If that was the most they could manage, then that meant she would have to remain asleep. When he heard that, the first thing that came to mind was the girl he'd left at the mansion despite how much he'd wanted to keep her near him. Seeing that remorseful reaction, Ferris realized his own slip of the tongue. "Sorry," he apologized. "I shouldn't have spoken like that just now. But I should mention that letting her sleep won't help her recover, and unlike an injury, it's not something Ferri can heal. The reason she's asleep is because she lacks mana, so if she gets supplied with some, she should awaken, but..." "Supply her with mana? If I could do that, things would be easy..." His insufficient mana supply was a chronic problem that had plagued him and Beatrice ever since they first forged a pact. As a special type of spirit, Beatrice could not accept mana unless it was supplied by Subaru, her contractor. And Subaru, the source of that all-important mana supply, was a louse who was incapable of properly storing sufficient amounts of mana. Subaru's helplessness was always a burden on Beatrice. He already owed her enough that it'd take a lifetime to pay her back, yet his debt to her seemed to constantly be growing. "It's not just about Beatrice, either. Emilia also needs my help...but here I am, stuck like this...!" His connection to Beatrice ran deeper than one nearly torn-off leg. Beatrice was also Subaru's connection to the possibilities beyond his reach, to his few fleeting hopes. Emilia was in peril. The city was in peril. He had to do something. If it was for their sake "Am I an idiot? Nah, I'm definitely an idiot. If I have time to cry about it... Mnghhh!" "Okay, that's far enough!" When Subaru tried to ignore the pain in his leg and stand, Ferris clamped both his hands down on his face. Ferris then forced Subaru to turn his head toward him, bringing their faces close, until they were only inches away from each other. "Why does it always have to be zero or a hundred with you, Subawu? Getting all mopey-dopey is bad, but running around willy-nilly puts everyone in a bind, too. Don't you get that?" "Mopey-dopey? Willy-nilly...?" "It's true, though, right? You don't even have little Beatrice to stand by you right now, so what can you do running off all by yourself? You are absolutely not allowed to waste the life you've been given." The way he said it might have sounded silly, but Ferris's words were infused with powerful, sincere feelings. *** After hearing Ferris's plea, Subaru felt the strength drain from his legs as he stopped trying to forcibly stand up. Then he heaved a great big sigh and decided to stay put while sorting out his feelings some other way. "Sorry. I got too restless... Come to think of it, I didn't thank you for the leg, either." "I don't really do this for words of thanks, you know. Though it's always nicer to hear some than not." "Thanks, really. You're a lifesaver.

I owe you." "You are very welcome, meow." When Subaru piled on the thank-yous, Ferris gave a curt reply and finally took his hands off Subaru's face. "Al, you were a huge help, too. You carried me and Beako all the way here, right?" "Yep. By the way, I wanted you to thank me properly, too. That said, there's someone else you really oughtta be thankin' here, Bro." When Subaru tilted his head, wondering what that could mean, Al amusedly motioned with the jaw of his steel helm. When Subaru glanced in that direction, he saw a boy holding his knees as he slept in a corner of the room. "Lusbel..." "The little guy called me over with tears in his eyes, so I just couldn't ignore him. I followed him to the square that got painted red, red, red with Bro's and everyone else's blood, y'know? Seriously, I wanna praise myself for not blacking out then and there." It was in Al's nature to talk about everything like it was all a long-winded joke, but Subaru really did owe him a great deal. The same went for Lusbel, who had bravely returned with help. Even if he was with an adult, Subaru truly respected the boy for deciding to head back to that terrifying square, knowing full well what awaited him. It was thanks to Al and Lusbel's help that Subaru could hold Beatrice's hand as she slept. "So Beatrice's condition isn't going to deteriorate right this minute or anything, right?" "That, I can guarantee. All I'm saying is that we can't help her wake up right this minute." "Got it... Please fill me in on what's been happening. How's the city right now, and what is the Witch Cult up to?" Striving to maintain calm, Subaru tried to get a grasp on how things had been developing. When he posed that question, Ferris and Al exchanged looks, wondering where to begin. Before they had a chance " It would seem your timing is very good. I was just about to speak regarding precisely that." The new voice carried well and was backed by an undercurrent of strength. When he turned, Subaru caught sight of the speaker now arriving at the entrance to the field hospital. Long, green hair danced around her as the refreshing beauty came to a halt "Lady Crusch! This place is full of wounded... You didn't have to go out of your way to come here." "I am sorry, Ferris. I had no intention of invading your battleground. However, I heard that Master Subaru has awakened. How could I possibly ask him to come to me in his state?" As she explained her thought process, Crusch approached the cloth where Subaru sat. As opposed to what she had worn earlier in the morning, her attire retained vestiges of elegance while prioritizing ease of movement. He couldn't help but recall that this was very close to what Crusch looked like before she lost her memory "Seems like you're geared up for a fight, too, Crusch." "The circumstances being what they are, I made some preparations. Master Subaru, how is your leg injury?" "Thanks to your Ferris, me and Beako made it through somehow. If I tried hard, I think I could jump a couple of times without crying." "That is good to hear...or is it?" After hearing Subaru's irreverent quip, Crusch innocently tilted her head in apparent confusion. Out of the corner of his eye, Subaru could see Ferris silently mouthing the words You have to reeeeest! Subaru donned a proper and serious look. "So can you tell me what's going on in Pristella right now?" "Of course. However, there is something I must ask of you first Master Subaru, is there no mistaking that you encountered the Witch Cult's Archbishops of the Seven Deadly Sins?" "...Yeah, no doubt about that. My leg injury, and Emilia... Her kidnapping was all their doing as well. I saw them with my own eyes, and no one goes around pretending to be those guys." Surely, no one would be so suicidal as to falsely claim the title of an Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins. Regardless, Subaru had also seen part of Sirius's and Regulus's Authorities. And considering their revolting personalities, their identities were almost certain. After hearing Subaru's reply, Crusch murmured, "So Lady Emilia really was..." as she lowered the tone of her voice before continuing. "...It would seem we should indeed think of that broadcast as fact." "Broadcast?" Crusch drew herself up as the unexpected term reached Subaru's ears. "Well, there was a broadcast about one hour ago. Just like the morning broadcasts, it was conducted by using the metia in Pristella's city hall." "...Wait, it was the Witch Cult that made a broadcast? Did they hijack the metia there?" When Crusch had trouble picking her words, Subaru asked about the worst case he could think of. Crusch, Ferris, and Al nodded in silence, confirming his suspicions. "The broadcast was sudden, but the culprit's identity is clear. They were considerate enough to openly announce who they were, you see." "Announce... Right, that's exactly what they do. They always announce themselves before doing anything." Crusch's words, filled with righteous indignation, drew a deep nod from Subaru. Thinking back to the Archbishops of the Seven Deadly Sins whom Subaru had encountered to date, all of them had stated their names and titles without fail. It seemed like it was the one rule that was actually observed by these morally bankrupt people who were unable or unwilling to uphold any other societal norms. Was it Sirius who'd seized the broadcast, compelled by her incoherent delusions and a twisted desire to enter the limelight? Or was it Regulus, who cloaked himself in self-deception like a suit of armor? " Capella Emerada Lugunica, the Archbishop of Lust." "...Eh?" When a totally unfamiliar name made a sudden entrance, Subaru was dumbstruck as he looked at Crusch. She met his gaze head-on, the intensity in her amber eyes only growing stronger. "The broadcast made this declaration: The Water Gate City of Pristella has fallen into the hands of the Witch Cult." 2 "So you woke up, Natsuki. I'm glad; that's such a relief." Anastasia flashed Subaru an elegant smile the moment she saw him come in, with Al lending his shoulder for support. Unlike Crusch, she was wearing the same outfit as earlier in the day: a kimono and her white fox scarf wrapped around her neck. Combining that with her calm outward demeanor, she seemed to be the only one who was acting like this was just another day No, even she couldn't manage that. Subaru could see faint traces of fatigue pulling at the fringes of Anastasia's face. That only made sense. She was one of the concerned parties that was deeply affected by the Witch Cult's mayhem. "Sorry for oversleeping, Anastasia. Do I still have a seat?" "Not to worry, I have arranged a spot just for you. It's critical to talk to you about the people you ran into as soon as possible, Natsuki. So come on sit, sit!" Anastasia beckoned him by hand. Subaru favored his right leg as he walked to the round table at the center of the room. Borrowing Al's assistance, he plopped down into his chair, taking a breath as he scanned the room. "Whew, that's a lot comfier... Uh, so this is where we're gathering?" "This is the Witch Cult Disaster Response HQ. It is a bit seedy-lookin' for that, though." Chiming in after Subaru, Al played with the metal fixtures on his helm as he heaved a hearty sigh. Overhearing his murmur, Anastasia put her hands on her hips and closed one eye as she scolded him. "Come now, don't be like that, Al. I can appreciate how worried you are since your precious princess isn't here." "Well, not so much worried as scared. She'll definitely be angry that I'm not by her side in a situation like this." He shook his head in dread. The roster of attendees at the meeting certainly made his fears seem credible. They were inside a conference room, which was wide enough to accommodate twelve people. Multiple royal-selection candidates, including Anastasia, had assembled, but Al's master Priscilla was not among them. Of course, she hadn't been present when Emilia was whisked away by Regulus, either. "Come to think of it, my party's way too short on people. Not even Otto or Garfiel are here." "Unfortunately, it wasn't possible to gather everyone involved in the royal selection. On my end, Mimi hasn't come back since last night, either. Hopefully, Garfiel's with her." Anastasia touched a hand to her cheek, concerned that she didn't know the whereabouts of the girl whom she seemed to treat like a precious daughter. "If they're together, then there's no need to worry about them running into trouble... Anyway, why meet at this place?" Subaru gestured at the building in general. "Al called this the Witch Cult Disaster Response HQ, and that really does seem to be spot-on. The situation in the city sounds serious enough to warrant it, too... But why is the HQ set up inside the Muse Company?" Subaru finally asked the question that had been bugging him for a while now. Indeed, Subaru and the others were currently inside the Muse Company building, which was located on the affluent main boulevard of the city. He'd visited the magic crystal trading company's main store just a day earlier, and now it was operating as an emergency shelter. The wounded were being treated underground, while refugees were given guest rooms. With the state of his leg, Subaru, too, had been carried underground, where it was so overcrowded that coming up to the conference room had been quite a journey. "It's a nice, big building, so I get the appeal of using it as a shelter when push comes to shove, but a company's still a company, right? They're not usually the first choice for setting up a response HQ." "That's what you'd think at first, right? But there's a good reason. The biggest one is that Kiritaka is on the Council of Ten, which runs Pristella... Really, when you get down to it, he's the leading member of the city's top ten most influential people." "Are we talking about the same Kiritaka? Seriously?" Subaru's face tensed up as he recalled the not particularly pleasant run-in he'd had with the man just the day before. Of course, judging from Kiritaka's station and how much everyone seemed to trust him, Subaru figured that he possessed a talent that matched his status. It was just that his first impression of the man and the latest incident from the day before were difficult to reconcile with this new information. " Master Kiritaka is an upstanding and capable man. There's no reason to be concerned, Master Subaru." Crusch had read his thoughts right as she joined them in the conference room. Having split off midway up from the underground treatment area to fetch Wilhelm, she'd returned with a freshly dressed Ferris and the Sword Devil in tow. "Thank you for coming, Crusch. What about Kiritaka?" "It would seem he is too busy with the evacuation and dispatching of personnel to attend at this time. He said he would join our conference once matters calm down a little." After hearing Crusch's reply, Anastasia went, "I see, I see," with a nod. Watching the exchange, Wilhelm glanced at Subaru in his seat and the bandage on his leg. "Sir Subaru, what is the condition of your leg?" "About as good as it looks. Sorry for the pitiful state I'm in. Wilhelm, you're..." "I originally came to seek Sir Kiritaka's opinion on how to best allocate the city's forces. Having completed that bit of business, I am currently escorting Lady Crusch. That man is quite accomplished for his age." "Hnnngh... At this point, that's the only thing I can say..." With both Crusch and Wilhelm vouching for

him, Subaru could only conclude that his doubts about Kiritaka's ability had been misplaced. But if that was true, then just how important was Liliana to Kiritaka if she was able to provoke him that much? He brushed those pointless thoughts aside when Crusch called his name. "Master Subaru, it was immediately after hearing the broadcast that Lady Anastasia immediately suggested we relocate here. Thanks to our acquaintance with Sir Kiritaka and this building being designated as a shelter, Ferris has been able to use his abilities where they are most needed." "The fact that we were able to keep Subawu's leg in one piece was also thanks to that decision." Apparently, Kiritaka was so reliable that he was the main reason Anastasia had suggested they set up here. Crusch and Ferris both seemed to concur with that assessment. From the way they put it, Subaru had lucked out, given the terrible ordeal he'd been through. "Worst-case scenario, I could've bit the dust right then and there and taken Beako with me..." "But that didn't happen. That little girl did everything she could to get ya outta there. You're a lucky dude, Bro." Subaru managed a smile at Al's lighthearted take on things. If Subaru actually had any luck, he would've made it through the day without dying multiple times. Sadly, reality was not so accommodating. That was why Subaru didn't trust fortune even a little. Subaru Natsuki's good luck dried up in a back alley on the same day he'd been summoned to another world. "I'm all out of luck, so the only thing I can do is stay steady and work with what I've got." Even now, it was only thanks to Beatrice's sacrifice that he had any moves to make at all. Subaru had to rise to the occasion. "Incidentally, is everyone here? Setting aside Crusch's crew for the moment, Anastasia's team seems way more understaffed than usual..." Focusing on the matter at hand, Subaru mentioned the missing faces that he expected to be attending. Otto, who should've been at the Muse Company already for follow-up negotiations, was concerningly absent. Additionally, Julius, Ricardo, and the Iron Fangs, who served as Anastasia's main combat forces, were nowhere to be seen. On top of all that, neither Felt nor anyone associated with her was anywhere in sight. "Julius, the big doggy-man, and the Iron Fangs escorted Ferri over here. After that, they left to check on the other shelters." "They've been instructed to contact Ferris if they happen upon anyone gravely injured in the hopes of saving even one more life." "Gotcha. That's... Wait, what do you mean, 'contact him'?" In a world where cell phones weren't widespread or really available at all, there shouldn't have been an easy way to stay in touch remotely. However, Ferris responded to Subaru's doubts by saying, "Look," and raising his hand. In his palm was a folding mirror or more precisely, a metia that looked like one. "A conversation mirror?!" "Heh-heh, that's right. It's the same one we seized after the battle against the Witch Cult a year ago. Lady Anastasia has been keeping it safe, and she let us take it out for a spin." Ferris winked as he held up the metia that made it possible to communicate with anyone holding its opposite. It really did perform the same role a phone did. A year ago, this had been part of the spoils of war acquired after the battle with Petelgeuse, the Archbishop of Sloth. Now these metia were apparently seeing use again in another battle against the Witch Cult. "The ones that can connect with three mirrors at once are rare. It'd be a waste not to break them out at a time like this." "So the other ones got distributed to the guys out on patrol gotcha." It was karma that metia once owned by the Witch Cult would end up being used to fight them. Anastasia was incredibly well prepared to have them on hand, ready to go. "Okay, all that makes sense. But Otto's not involved in that, is he?" Subaru asked about Otto, who probably would've been irritated that he was being treated like an afterthought. It was none other than Subaru who'd proudly refer to Otto as a domestic adviser who could hold his own in a fight, but compared with Julius and Ricardo, he was overwhelmingly outclassed as a warrior. Subaru figured there was no way he'd be part of the crew that went out on patrol, but his question made Crusch lower her eyes. "Unfortunately, Master Otto is not here. He was nowhere to be seen by the time we arrived. He might be at one of the nearby shelters..." "Th-that guy's bad timing is just legendary..." Subaru cursed Otto's inability to be at the right place at the right time despite the fact that he was already supposed to be at the Muse Company to begin with. Regardless of where he was or what he was doing, it would be a serious problem if he wasn't safe and sound " I guess there's no need to worry. He's the last person I expect to slip up, so I'll save him for later." "I-is that really fine? Perhaps you should worry somewhat more..." "Nah, it's all good. In terms of pure fighting strength, he can't hold a candle to a guy like Wilhelm, but...when it comes to staying alive, Otto's basically second to none." "...You must...really trust him a great deal." "It's actually kinda embarrassing, so don't tell him I said that, okay?" If nothing else, Subaru fully intended to take that secret with him to the grave. Either way, he decided to trust that the patrolling unit was on the right track and that Otto was safe for the moment. The same went for the absent Garfiel. He'd worry about the lack of combat strength later. Setting them aside, the concern that suddenly came to mind was "Are Patlash and Fulfew still back at the inn? Both of them are sharp, so there's probably nothing to worry about... Come to think of it, Priscilla's one thing since she's staying in a different inn, but where's Felt and her people?" "We currently don't know the whereabouts of either party. I heard Lady Felt left the inn on some errand, but there is one element of uncertainty." "And that would be...?" "Apparently, she was planning to have a chat with a certain redhead who ruined the mood this morning." A troubled expression appeared on Anastasia's face. Subaru's was much the same. However, the one with the most concerning face of all was Wilhelm, who found it difficult to maintain his composure for obvious reasons. Seeing Wilhelm harden his cheeks as he went silent, Anastasia let out a little sigh. "That being said, Felt has Reinhard with her, so we shouldn't worry too much... Still, it's scary to not have any idea what that other little princess is up to." Changing topics, Anastasia pressed a hand to her cheek as she pointedly tried to probe Al for information. Al simply went, "Gimme a break..." as he responded with a throaty voice. "A guy like me can't tell what the princess is thinking. Well, I don't think she's gotten herself in trouble or anything, but my guess is that she ain't gonna just patiently sit and wait this out." "Come to think of it, Priscilla was with Liliana at the park in the First District. After we split up, I bumped into the guys who turned my leg into a chew toy, so I'm not sure what happened to her after that, but..." "The princess was in First District? ...That ain't too far from here." Processing the new information that Subaru had offered, Al rubbed his steel helm's jaw and sank into thought. Of course, the proper thing for a retainer to do after learning of his master's location would have been to rush out to her side. "Well, the princess probably has thoughts of her own. No need to dash off in a panic or anything." "Are...are you sure?" "Didn't you say so yourself, Bro? It's all about that trust, man. This is embarrassin', so make sure you don't tell the princess I said that." Subaru made a face when Al took his words and turned them around on him. Subaru's reservations aside, both of them understood the thought process behind the other's decision. "All right, sorry for making you bear with me while I took time to figure things out. Let's get to the topic at hand. Since we're in the Witch Cult Disaster Response HQ, tell me what's the plan?" "First, we're waiting for word from the unit we dispatched. However, the very fact that the Witch Cult broadcast originated from the government office's metia means..." "There is no mistaking that the city's four control towers have been seized." As she said that, Crusch stood by a window and gestured outside with her hand. Following where her fingers pointed, if Subaru squinted, he could make out a stonework tower connected to the city's exterior wall that must have been one of the control towers. These structures were administration facilities that regulated the amount of water as well as the flow rate of the city's always-running waterways. They occupied the cardinal directions, with one each in the north, south, east, and west. Only one of them was visible from the conference room, but " What's that flag I see up top?" In the distance, there was a fluttering banner rising over the tower. Subaru didn't remember seeing one while wandering around the city that morning or the day before. The flag had some kind of strange symbol traced on it using red dye. The eye pattern pricked at an unpleasant part of Subaru's memories. "That is the symbol of the Witch Cult. It's rare for them to engage in such public displays, but..." Like Crusch said, that symbol was the same one that marked the signature black outfits of the Witch Cultists. The robe that Sirius had been wearing sported it as well. And now it was on a flag flying over the control tower the message was crystal clear. "Let me guess: All four control towers have the same flag?" "That is correct. Now that they have seized the control towers, should they wish it, our enemies can submerge Pristella in water at any moment... Action must be taken immediately." Crusch made it obvious what an awful situation the city was currently in. This was like if a baby was holding the detonator for a nuclear bomb what made it far worse was that unlike a baby, the Archbishops of the Seven Deadly Sins understood perfectly well the value of the switch in their hands. "Are the city's residents panicking? Hearing that the Witch Cult has taken over the control towers can't be good news." "Thanks to Pristella's extensive preparations for floods, chaos in the city has been kept tamped down to a surprising degree. However, evacuating the city is no simple matter." One of Lugunica's five largest cities, Pristella had a population of roughly a hundred thousand. It wasn't impossible, but conducting a major evacuation of that many people without sparking a panic was far from easy. Factoring in the Witch Cult only made matters even more complicated, since it would be essential to avoid drawing their attention. "The city's main gate is the only real way in or out of the city, and one of the control towers is very close to it, so the enemy's really got us by the scruff of our necks. Speaking of those guys..." " The three Archbishops of the Seven Deadly Sins, huh?" Taking Ferris's meaning, Subaru highlighted the reason that the situation was so dire. Judging by the reactions around the room, everyone else was up to speed. It certainly wasn't good news, but it wasn't particularly surprising, either. They were simply wary of the threat that the enemy posed. "There's Wrath,

who wounded me along with the other people in the square; Greed, who carried off Emilia; and Lust, who's apparently broadcasting from the municipal offices... An all-star team of assholes." "You seem unexpectedly calm about this, Natsuki, even though Emilia was kidnapped and everything." "That's exactly why. If losing my cool and going berserk would get her back, I'd raise enough hell to make it into the history books. But it doesn't work that way, so..." Subaru had already made one blunder by losing his cool. The price was Emilia's abduction. Beatrice had settled the tab in his stead. He couldn't afford any more screwups. He needed a heart of steel so that he could take back everything. "Sir Subaru's feelings are admirable. I shall do everything in my meager power to assist you." "Thank you so much, Wilhelm. That's super reassuring." Wilhelm, who was incredibly invested in helping the two troubled lovebirds for personal reasons, had just pledged his support. That was alone was a big comfort. The Sword Devil's strength was indispensable if they wanted to last in a direct fight. "? What is it, Al?" It was then that Subaru abruptly noticed that Al had been watching the exchange between him and Wilhelm in silence. But when Subaru posed the question, Al offered a noncommittal "Nothing, really" and shrugged. "I was just thinking that you're pretty twisted in your own way, Bro Anyway, let's push on to the main topic." "R-right, suppose we should. Uh, so about that broadcast..." Even though what Al said bothered him, Subaru turned his attention back to the room as a whole to bring up something that had been bothering him since the initial discussion. Namely " This Archbishop of Lust called herself Capella Emerada Lugunica? What's up with that?" 3 Capella Emerada Lugunica. That was the name the Archbishop of Lust had used to introduce herself. Subaru hadn't personally heard the introduction, but the name alone was more than enough to catch his attention. In particular, he couldn't simply dismiss the Lugunica part. "The only people with Lugunica as their family name should be in the royal family, right? Why claim that name?" "Isn't it just to mess with us? The royal family all dyin' of illness is a pretty famous story, y'know?" "There must be some kind of scheme behind it. I believe it would be hasty of us to dismiss the matter as nothing more than a prank in poor taste." Al and Crusch aired their respective opinions about the doubt that Subaru harbored. Given this was the Witch Cult, either explanation was entirely possible and worth considering. " One thing does come to mind." It was then that Wilhelm raised a hand, cutting in with a new perspective. "And what might that be?" "While I do not have anything to add about the name Capella...there was most certainly a member of the Lugunica royal family who went by the name of Emerada Lugunica." *** Everyone blinked in surprise at this unexpected reveal. Wilhelm touched his chin and half closed his blue eyes as he rummaged through his memories. "Lady Emerada was alive prior to the Demi-human War...over fifty years ago. I have never met her personally, but records mention that she was a woman of exceptional beauty and wisdom." "So is this a case of them impersonating someone who actually existed? Maybe it's an attempt to ruin someone's good name?" That would be a rather petty and spiteful thing to do, but such an unsavory pastime was far from unthinkable when the Archbishops of the Seven Deadly Sins were involved. But then Wilhelm retorted with a quick "No," shaking his head at Subaru's remark. "I do not know the opponent's aim in doing this...but Lady Emerada was not someone who passed away with great deeds to her name. If anything, it is the opposite." "You mean..." "Lady Emerada succumbed to illness at a young age. However, not only was her death not mourned by the kingdom, but she was also denied a state funeral, as would be standard. The stated reason was that conditions at the time were too dire to hold a formal ceremony. However, the real reason is that the kingdom's people had no desire to do any such thing." Wilhelm's explanation left Subaru with such a disturbing sense of foreboding that he said nothing. Noticing this, Wilhelm let out a tiny sigh. "Lady Emerada was a terribly beautiful and wise person...but she was also reportedly cruel in the extreme, and constantly shrouded in an unfathomable darkness. As such, though she was part of the royal family, she was branded a heretic, and even news of her passing seemed to have been suppressed for some time." It must have been painful for Wilhelm to speak in uncertainties that reflected on the dignity of the kingdom he once served with his sword arm. He had sounded increasingly tongue-tied by the latter half of his tale. In contrast, choosing to go by the name of Emerada seemed to be a comment on the poor character of Lust after this revelation. "...There's no way it's the real person, so Lust is almost certainly just pretending to be Emerada." "Claiming the name of a royal who fell victim to illness is most likely an indirect form of harassment aimed at those who knew Emerada. I believe that most who masquerade as a member of the royal family do so to invite suspicion and mistrust." Wilhelm's conclusion made everyone present sigh with unsettled looks. Unlike Subaru and Al, who did not feel any particular allegiance toward the kingdom itself, Crusch and Wilhelm seemed stricken by what was happening. However, the strongest reaction came from someone besides them. " That's unforgivable." "Ferris?" Murmuring in a low growl, Ferris was shaking a fist. Though Ferris usually seemed ever aloof, rarely concerning himself with anything besides Crusch, he currently wore a mask of raw anger. The sight shocked Subaru. Lust's evil intentions were tantamount to spitting on the faces of the royal family of Lugunica. There was no doubt that to Ferris, a knight of the royal guard, this was a desecration of the highest order. At the same time, Subaru sensed that there was another reason for Ferris's rage that had nothing to do with fealty for the kingdom. " Ah." As Ferris harbored such deep, silent anger, Crusch moved close, gently taking his hand. Instantly, Ferris gasped and lifted his face, only to be met by Crusch's steady gaze and soft smile. "I-I'm sorry, Lady Crusch. I shouldn't have lost control like that..." "It is fine, Ferris. I am the one who should be sorry, for I suspect your anger is largely on my behalf." *** From the way Ferris lowered his head, Crusch's words must have hit the mark. It was probably true that Crusch's lost memories were the source of his aggravation. That they could not share that burden gnawed at him, undermining the powerful bonds that should have connected the liege and her retainer. "Yes, yes, let's all simmer down. Getting worked up at every little bit of mayhem our opponents cause would just be playing into their hand." It was then that Anastasia gathered everyone's attention with a resounding clap. As Subaru had surmised, she was quite accustomed to presiding over meetings with large numbers of people. She looked at everyone in the room before continuing: "Whatever Lust might be planning doesn't change the fact that she's our enemy. And it doesn't change the fact that she holds the control towers, which means she has us by the scruff of our necks." "Man, you change up fast... No wonder you're the one Princess pays the most attention to." "Why, thank you. The way you put it wasn't the most comforting, though." As Anastasia restored their focus and cleared the air, Al praised her by using his own frame of reference, drawing a troubled smile from Anastasia. Then he twisted his neck and said, "If anything, these Archbishops are so messed up in the head that trying to find the logic in their plans is probably a waste of time. More importantly, what are we gonna do about their demands?" "Demands? Wait, wait, this is news to me. What demands?" "Ahh, right, I was just about to bring up the contents of Lust's threat to get you up to speed, Natsuki." Subaru voiced his surprise at Al's mention of demands, and Anastasia confirmed that an explanation was coming. Her word choice hinted at the menace they were facing. "The Witch Cult took over the control towers and the city hall, but it would seem their objective is different than, say, destroying the city or massacring the residents. According to Lust, they're searching for something, and threatening the populace is simply a means to that end," Anastasia explained. "Then...in other words, they've taken the city hostage as some act of terrorism?" The reason he hadn't ever considered the possibility of the Witch Cult doing this sort of thing was simply because terrorists took hostages as a means of negotiation. Such rational acts of evil didn't match up with Subaru's internal idea of what the Witch Cult stood for and how they operated. "Natsuki, are you all right? You seem startled." "Nah, nah, I just didn't see that coming from their crew... Sorry, getting sidetracked. Anyway, what are they looking for?" It probably wasn't anything decent. There was also the possibility that with Emilia already secured, they had already gotten what they came for, but from the looks of things, that was unlikely. As Subaru made those deductions, Anastasia gently stroked the white fox scarf around her neck before she replied: " The Witch's bones." "...What?" That answer was so far beyond Subaru's expectations that his brain was unable to process those words. While he was reeling, Anastasia spoke up again. "The Witch's bones. That's why they came to this city." *** When that incomprehensible fact was thrust in his face once more, Subaru's words failed him. Trying to imagine what the Witch's bones were and their significance was a demand far beyond Subaru. In the first place, the very notion of the Witch having left her bones behind as some sort of relic sounded like a complete hoax. After all "The Witch of Jealousy, who swallowed up half the world long ago, was never destroyed and continues to slumber in a land far to the East, still coveting the world or so goes the tales that have been passed down for generations." Still holding Ferris's hand, Crusch directly addressed the source of Subaru's agitation. Swallowing, he simply responded with a "yeah" and a nod. "I heard that from Beako, too. The Witch of Jealousy isn't dead; she's just sealed away. But if that's the case, then how would she leave bones behind?" As he spoke, he couldn't help but remember his fleeting encounter with the Witch of Jealousy in the Sanctuary. She was a black shadow of a woman who exchanged only several scant words with him in the span of a few moments but for some reason, Subaru's heart rejected, stubbornly, the notion that she was dead in any way. He had no choice but to reject it. Subaru's soul wanted to cry out: It's impossible for her to be dead. And someday you will come to kill me, yes? Yes, those words, which were not a real promise, demanded and begged for him to reject the possibility that the Witch was dead. "That's right. There's no way that's true. It can't be..." The uneasiness filling Subaru made his breathing uneven. " Calm down, Bro. Look, about these Witch's bones... It's not like they have to belong to the infamous Witch of Jealousy, right?" " Wha?" Al grasped his shoulder, speaking those words in an effort to soothe him. Everyone else in the room turned their eyes on Al, though they couldn't see his expression under his steel helm. "So how about it? Like Bro and the young duchess

were sayin', the most famous Witch was sealed away and all, but there were other Witches, too, right?" "There are beings besides the Witch of Jealousy who we call witches as a term of convenience. During the Demi-human War, magic users cooperating with the Demi-human Alliance were often called witches as well, and they were greatly feared." "Meaning there's a precedent. Then..." "Well, it's a little different for this city. If a witch is mentioned here, then it must be about a real one rather than some imitation who's only a witch in name." Wilhelm had been the first to answer Al, but Anastasia's follow-up confidently drew a conclusion that Subaru found difficult to accept. "From that manner of speaking...I take it that Lady Anastasia has something in mind?" "Even I wouldn't be talking like this if I wasn't almost certain. The reason I wanted to meet up with Kiritaka after hearing Lust's broadcast is because of that same hunch, even if it meant going out of my way to make it happen." Anastasia narrowed her light-blue eyes as she divulged what she'd kept hidden up to that point. She then surveyed everyone's faces all at once. "Anyone can find this out with a little digging, but does everyone know how this Water Gate City came to be?" "...I heard that way back, this was originally supposed to be a trap for catching something." Subaru recalled that upon first arriving in Pristella, Beatrice had given him a history lesson as he admired the beautiful urban landscape. She hadn't elaborated on exactly what was supposed to be trapped, though. "That's correct," said Anastasia, nodding at Subaru's reply. "Apparently, this city was a trap set for the Witch. The Witch met her end here when the entire place was flooded. According to legend, her bones remain somewhere in this city, even today." "But the Witch of Jealousy was sealed and..." The full story about the city's past had been revealed in an unexpected fashion. Still, nothing seemed to add up. As Subaru began to disagree " Typhon drowned in a flood, right...? So this is where that happened, huh?" he was interrupted by a faint, halting murmur that originated from inside a steel helm. *** When Subaru looked over in surprise at the unanticipated mention of a certain name, Al was blithely playing with the metal fixtures of his helmet, having fallen deep into thought. But Subaru had no doubt that he'd just said the name Typhon. This was the name of the Witch of Pride, one of the six other Witches from the same era as the Witch of Jealousy. "The answer to your question is simple, Natsuki. There are Witches besides the Witch of Jealousy. There are almost no records remaining, but there certainly are oral legends. And one of them states that in this city..." " This is where the bones of the ancient Witch remain." Neither Anastasia nor Crusch heard Al's murmur as they steadily advanced the conversation. As a result, Subaru missed his chance to investigate deeper into Al's cryptic remark. Of course, when he took a moment to consider their current priorities, it was obvious this wasn't the time to get sidetracked. But if what Al murmured under his breath really was true, the Witch of Pride, whom Subaru had encountered at the Sanctuary the Witch who was a bundle of youthful innocence had perished in the very city that Subaru currently stood in. The thought alone made Subaru's chest ache. "What is the connection between the Witch's bones and Lady Anastasia making haste to meet with Master Kiritaka?" Returning to the topic at hand, Crusch once again asked about Anastasia's true intentions. Anastasia began her reply by winking. "The existence of the Witch's bones is a closely held secret in the Water Gate City...and the only people familiar with the legends and supposed whereabouts are on the Council of Ten. I figured I might as well try asking one." "Meaning only the big shots of the city have any idea... Anastasia, does that mean what I think it means? That you think it's better to give in to Lust's demands?" "Of course not. Complying with someone who threatens people to get what they want will only end with you being taken advantage of every single time. Anyway, I just wanted to confirm the current location of the bones... There's no guarantee that one of the Council of Ten won't do something stupid and tell Lust where they are, right?" "...I suppose that's true." Unlike Subaru's shallow mindset, Anastasia's assessments were swift and accurate. Negotiating with terrorists often did make things worse. In their current situation, the Archbishops would almost certainly flood the city the instant they recovered the Witch's bones. That was how assured Subaru was about their deceitful character. "See, I was looking into the details of this while you were asleep, Natsuki. When Kiritaka makes it up here, we can talk about these bones in more detail. Then we can decide on a proper response." "By 'response,' you mean..." " Whether to fight or to flee, of course." There was quiet determination in Anastasia's low voice. It was as if an angry blue flame had been lit within her. "I'm the one who called all the royal-selection candidates here to Pristella. Of course I feel responsible for the way things have turned out... I need to extract some compensation from these unexpected visitors after all they've done." Anastasia was the owner of a major company who didn't have any notable ability in combat worth speaking of. And yet her soft-spoken pronouncement made Subaru feel like a great beast had just clamped its fangs down on his neck. This was a sharp reminder that Anastasia Hoshin was one of the last people he wanted as an enemy. " Ahh, wait, wait. The conversation mirror's responding! It must be Julius and the others." Just as the conversation reached a lull, Ferris raised a hand with a look of surprise. He was holding the metia up, showing how the mirror's surface glowed white in search of a response. Setting it down on the round table so that everyone could see, Ferris gently touched the surface of the mirror with his hand. " It seems that Ferris and...everyone else is over there. I take it you can see me?" A tall, handsome man with purple hair rose to the mirror's surface. It was Julius Juukulius, who had gone out into the city to save lives. As soon as it was clear that Julius was on the other end, Anastasia rushed to place herself in front of the mirror with a rapid patter of feet. "Julius, I was getting worried after you didn't get in touch for a while. How's it looking outside?" "I am very sorry to have troubled you. The situation in the city is chaotic. The residents are becoming increasingly enraged by the Witch Cult... More importantly, there is something I must urgently convey without delay." Quickly cutting his reunion with Anastasia short, Julius instantly vanished from the mirror's surface. Displayed in the mirror in the stead of the tall, handsome man was a little cat-person wearing a monocle TB. It turned out that he, one of the three sibling lieutenants of the Iron Fangs, had been accompanying Julius. "TB? What's wrong? You seem upset..." "L-Lady Anastasia, this is very, very bad. Has my older sister returned yet?" Interrupting Anastasia, TB asked a frantic question. Bewildered by his disheveled appearance, Anastasia answered with a quick no, shaking her head. "Mimi hasn't been back. I was worried about her, too...TB?" A profound sense of dread could be felt from the other side of the mirror. However, there was still more to come. Suddenly, what looked like a ripple glided across the conversation mirror's glass surface. "Excuse me! Is Lady Anastasia there?! This is bad! Hetaro says that Mimi's in trouble!" An instant later, the third of the linked conversation mirrors connected to the call. Displayed on the mirror's surface was the dog-man Ricardo, staring into the mirror with his mouth wide open. But as soon as the image became clear, Ricardo's head was immediately pushed aside by a teary-eyed kitty-person. "Lady! Lady!! Big Sis is She's...!!" The one pleading in a tearful voice was Hetaro, TB's almost identical-looking brother. While the boy normally wore a meek expression, his face now was twisted up in abject sorrow. "Hetaro, calm down. What happened? Speak slowly and clearly." "Th-the effects of our blessing It's flowing from Big Sis and into us! Sh-she must've gotten hurt really bad... At this rate, Big Sis won't...!" "'Blessing'... You mean the blessing of thirds, yes? In other words, Mimi got injured at some point, and it's affecting Hetaro and TB, too? Do I have it right so far?" Hetaro and TB nodded simultaneously to confirm Anastasia's deductions. Listening to the conversation from behind, Subaru recalled hearing from Mimi that the blessing of thirds the one that tied the three siblings together made them share wounds and fatigue. Once upon a time back at the Roswaal Manor, a sudden change came over Ram when Rem had been in danger. This was similar to what Mimi and her brothers had which meant Mimi was currently in trouble. Urgency raced through everyone present, including on the other ends of the conversation mirrors, as they grasped this new development. Just as they processed the striking revelation that one of their own was clearly in mortal danger "Yoo-hoo, yoo-hoo-hoo, yahoo-hoo!" a brash voice that seemed to not care about the situation at all reverberated throughout the city. "What the...?" Subaru, unsure how to react to this abrupt announcement, instinctively turned his face toward the ceiling. The voice was coming from somewhere above. Not from the ceiling, but quite literally from the sky itself. This was the work of a metia that reached every corner of the city and the one using the municipal office's facilities to make this broadcast was the same Archbishop of Lust who had come up in conversation several times already. "To all you meatbags in the city: Are you having fun? Have you gotten hammered and horny from hearing my lovely voice for the umpteenth time today? Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!" It was a high-pitched, grating laugh. That haughty voice paid no heed to the feelings of those who were forced to listen. This was an assault on the ears of every person in the city. It had only taken Subaru moments to come to a realization the person making this broadcast had a vicious, ugly character. "So this is Lust... Man, does she have perfect timing or what?!" "Now then, all you meatbags who can't help but get hot and heavy at the sound of a beautiful girl's voice, I have a very important announcement from your oh-so-gentle and merciful broadcaster! So listen up! Pay attention! Cleaned out your ears yet?!" In contrast to Subaru, who was unable to conceal his restlessness, those hearing this kind of broadcast for the second time displayed a variety of reactions. Wariness, anger, hatred in any case, they were not nearly as shaken while waiting for the words that were bound to follow. What was the owner of this maddening, agonizing voice going to tell them? "Soooo it turns out that even though I asked you so, so nicely, a couple of people who clearly didn't get the message decided to target the municipal offices... This upsets me so much! Really, I can't exaggerate what complete and total morons you ignorant meatbags are!" "...We're not putting up with this anymore. Ricardo, Julius, listen closely: Go back to the municipal offices with Hetaro and TB and have them find out where Mimi wen " As the broadcast continued, Anastasia decided to address the most pressing issue. She gave orders to her knight and her loyal hound through the conversation mirrors to try and secure Mimi's safety. However, even as Anastasia strove to maintain her calm, the change in the situation made sport of even her. And

this came in what was, to all concerned, the worst of all possible forms. " Who goes there?!" Abruptly, Wilhelm shouted sharply toward the entrance to the conference room. As the Sword Devil readied his now-drawn blade, Subaru and the others turned in the same direction. An instant later, the door practically burst open as a lone figure raced into the conference room. For a moment, the sudden appearance of an intruder startled Subaru and the others, but the first to shed his surprise and raise his voice was none other than Subaru himself. "Garfiel?!" The familiar voice made Garfiel, out of breath and slick with sweat, lift his face. Noticing Subaru's presence, he drew near with a tottering, uncertain gait. Subaru only belatedly realized the cause of this uncharacteristic behavior and the strange atmosphere that had befallen the room. Garfiel was carrying something in his arms. No one was able to speak a word as Garfiel stopped before Subaru. Once he got that far, Garfiel crumpled to his knees, lowering his head as if clinging to Subaru. Then when he presented what lay in his bloodied arms, his throat trembled. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, General!! I'm...! I'm useless! Worthless...!!" There was a shriek. Garfiel howled in grief. Cradled in his bloodied arms was Mimi, who was visibly at death's door. CHAPTER 4 *** 1 Rewinding time to the day before Garfiel raced into the shelter *** As he walked along a city street at dusk, Garfiel's breath caught when he abruptly noticed someone's gaze on him. Standing at a street corner on the other side of a crowd was a black silhouette of a woman. Her reflection swayed gently on the water's surface. She was a familiar figure whom he saw at the edges of his vision from time to time though Garfiel knew full well this was not a real person, but the phantom of a woman who had once existed. He could not smell her. Given Garfiel's nose, it was impossible for him to miss picking up the scent of someone within eyeshot never mind the scent of blood that had hung around that woman, so poignant that it was ingrained in his nostrils, never fading no matter how much time passed. That was why Garfiel could speak with certainty: This woman was a phantom. Besides, he had also been the one who killed her Elsa Gramhilde with his very own hands. *** But all that time later, the woman's phantom continued to stare at Garfiel. Her smile had been so blackish red, like the darkest blood, that he could almost swear that he smelled the colors. Those lips made his chest ache to this day. The first time he'd noticed the wraith was about two months after leaving the Sanctuary. Right after an incident involving him as well as Subaru and Otto in a certain town, Garfiel started seeing her flickering into the edges of his vision every so often. Somehow, he understood the cause this echo reflected the weakness in Garfiel's heart. Garfiel had never properly put that incident behind him. Even though he saw himself as nothing but a coward, Subaru and the others kept saying over and over again that Garfiel had done well. When he thought back on it, he realized they'd always done that. His companions always overlooked his faults. But Garfiel had not forgotten everything he had done to the people who were now his comrades. One wrong step, and he surely would have ripped into Subaru and Otto with the very claws that he used to protect them. Even if he lacked the courage to do so, it would have become all too easy if he had fallen into despair. That was why Garfiel could not forgive his own weakness or his cowardice. Accordingly, Garfiel had accepted that he was seeing Elsa the first life he had ever taken because she was the manifestation of his weakness. The phantom's blood-colored smile mocked Garfiel the instant his heart foundered "Hey, Garf, are you listening? Right now, Mimi's talking about some really good things! Mimi really is!" A bubbly grin entered his view, blocking off that blood-colored smile in the distance. If this girl brought her beaming face any closer, he'd be able to feel her breath. Garfiel recoiled. "...Uh, right, I'm listening." "Good! Anyway, Hetaro and TB are such spoiled kids. It's really hard on me as their big sister!" Garfiel's reply was listless, but judging by her cackling laugh, the girl hadn't noticed. She had orange fur and round eyes that were overflowing with innocence. For whatever reason, the cat-person Mimi, a member of a rival camp, kept hanging around Garfiel every chance she got. At present, Garfiel and Mimi were taking an evening stroll through Pristella together. Garfiel would have preferred to be alone, but he'd blundered by letting Mimi find him and tag along. There was no way she had the ability to pick up on subtle social cues. Somehow, ever since arriving in Pristella No, ever since their first meeting at Roswaal Manor, she'd been particularly fond of him. At first, he'd assumed this was a vigilant investigation of a rival candidate's combat strength, but the way she talked and acted had made his initial suspicions fade. At this point, he assumed she'd simply taken a liking to him. Without any idea of why she might think that, he usually agreed to go along with most of her whims. "Grrr! Garf, you're making a weird face! Did something funny happen?" "Does this look like a happy face to you...? I don't wanna talk about it, and I got no obligation to." "You shouldn't use hard words like obligation and courtesy the way Joshua does, okay? Mimi thinks it's good to use regular words. Plus, smiling like an idiot like you always do is way cooler, Garf!" "The hell did you just say to my face?!" Perhaps she was sincerely trying to praise him, but Garfiel just got irritated and bared his fangs at her. The girl cried out with a "Waaah!" and smiled as she broke into a run. After going a short distance, Mimi came to a stop, grinning as she waited for him to catch up and the phantom who had surely been there earlier was nowhere to be seen. Garfiel had rushed out of the Water Raiment that evening because of the lingering effects of his interaction with Reinhard the Sword Saint. The current Sword Saint was known as the strongest not only in the Kingdom of Lugunica, but in all four of the great nations. Not only had Garfiel heard the run-of-the-mill rumors, but he'd also heard about the man directly from Subaru, who had met the living legend. That was why Garfiel had been longing for a chance to meet him in person someday. He'd firmly believed that this was a necessary rite of passage for him to become the strongest. To Garfiel, being called the strongest held a special meaning. He was sure that anyone who was born a man must have dreamed of being the strongest at least once. And everyone who had that dream forgot about it at some point over the course of a long life, yearning for that which they had abandoned. Garfiel did not want to forget that dream. That title was an absolute necessity for the cowardly Garfiel to protect the things that were most important to him. With that thought in mind, he chased after it without rest. That was why the fact that he had subconsciously backed down the instant he was face-to-face with the strongest was currently driving him to despair. He'd lived for a scant fifteen years, yet Garfiel had spent the majority of his life in training. He poured all his effort into mastering the martial arts, proving he could uphold his oath to protect what was precious to him with his own two hands. The instant he yielded ground in the face of real strength, it felt like he had betrayed his oath. Before he could make the Sword Saint draw his sword, before he could make the man brush away his honed fist, Garfiel had already lost. Garfiel, worries or not, you're damn strong. That was how Subaru tried to console Garfiel as he struggled in the quagmire of defeat. Those words ate at him so much that he thought it was an achievement he wasn't wailing pathetically that very moment. Provoked by those feelings, which were swirling in his chest with no outlet, she became visible the woman he had slain. Unable to ignore her presence, he'd raced into the Water Gate City at dusk all by himself. That had been the plan anyway. "Garf! Garf! Look, look! Hey, you can really see the sunset on the water it's so red! That's amazing! Look! So pretty!" Running around all excited, Mimi tugged on Garfiel's sleeve, pulled on his hair, and even leaped onto his back. His self-styled companion seemed not to know the meaning of thoughtfulness or mercy. Thanks to her, he couldn't even find a moment to wallow on his own. "Hey, simmer down already! Don't you get that I'm down in the dumps?!" "Hmm, nooope!" "Who answers right away to a question like that?!" Grabbing onto his arm, Mimi kept on tugging him along, forcing Garfiel to accompany her wherever she pleased. He could have flung her away and fled if he was of a mind to, but that would only end with her chasing him through the city. He wanted to avoid causing trouble for Subaru and the others. Ram and Frederica had also given him a strict warning before the group had set off for Pristella. He was to make sure his eccentricities bothered no one save Otto, who was an expert in cleaning up other people's messes. "Mm? What's with the gloomy face, Garf? Some kind of anvie...anpie...anmiety?" "Are you tryin' to say anxiety?" "That's right, anxiety! So what is it? Tell me, tell me!" Then and there, Mimi went, "Mm! Mm-hmm!" as she thrust a fist out to emphasize her request. Seeing the girl so eager for conversation made Garfiel clack his fangs, feeling like all the bitterness had simply drained away. Garfiel turned his gaze toward the waterway, narrowing his jade eyes. "...I guess the scenery is nice, eh?" "Yeah, for sure! It's amazing! It's super amazing! I wish the young lady could see it, too!" He only half listened to her rambling, but the sight of the sinking red sun reflected on the waterway was undeniably beautiful. With the sunset drenching the world in cinnabar red, its rays left vivid patches of yellow and white on the water's surface, burning that sweet, dazzling scenery into the hearts of all who laid eyes upon it. *** As that scene mesmerized him, Garfiel realized that his heart had become oddly peaceful. He should have been all alone, wallowing in the feelings of helplessness oozing out of him due to his disheartening defeat, but the sunniness of the girl by his side had kept Garfiel from sinking into a pit of despair. "Hmm, hmm, hmm." Standing next to Garfiel was Mimi, the girl in question, humming in high spirits. She tugged on Garfiel's loincloth as she swayed her head back and forth, clearly enjoying herself. All of a sudden, he realized that her hair and tail were the color of a vivid sunset. When he unwittingly reached a hand out and stroked her head, Mimi stretched her body up in apparent delight. "Fluffy, huh? Our lady does that a lot, too. She says it has heawing properties!" "Ahh, the general talks about healing properties and stuff, too. I feel like I kinda get what he means now." "Hey, Garf. Is feeling up Mimi's fluffiness good for you?" "Hold on, you made it sound really wrong just now!" Mimi only went, "Huh?" and innocently tilted her head, causing Garfiel to burst into laughter. The exchange made what negative emotions were still swirling

in his chest dissolve and go away. He could tell that his competitive spirit, presumably dampened by humiliation and a sense of defeat, had defiantly rebounded. "...No one becomes the strongest overnight. Me, I'm still in the middle of climbin'." "Oooh, that hill to become the strongest sounds really, really tall!" "Heh, you understand surprisingly well, don't ya? Yeah, that's right. That's what the road to becoming the strongest is like." When Mimi thrust a fist upward, Garfiel touched the white scar on his brow and clacked his fangs. He hated to admit it, but he'd regained his competitive spirit thanks to Mimi. If he'd brooded over things all by himself, who knew how long it would have taken for him to reach the same conclusion? " Ah! Garf, over there!" Right as he realized he felt grateful and couldn't bring himself to openly admit it, Mimi tugged hard on his sleeve. Her gaze was trained on a waterway that was glimmering bright red. When he looked over there, Garfiel saw it, too. A boat was moving by itself in the Great Waterway, which cut through the city. Some rope that had been keeping it moored to the opposite shore must have come undone. But that wasn't the real problem. "Those kiddies!" Mimi shouted in alarm at the vessel sitting in the path of the small boat that was running adrift. Five children were playing on the moored craft, unaware of the approaching boat. Upon hearing Mimi's voice, people in the vicinity of the waterway quickly recognized the danger of a collision. The nearby boat owner hastily ran toward the children, but he wouldn't make it in time. Noticing the ruckus, the children's faces went pale as they finally saw the approaching ship as well. At this rate, mere seconds remained until disaster " Hey, runts. You better thank that big sister over there for bein' the first to notice." "Garf!" Clearing the waterway in a single bound, Garf landed in the vessel that the children were aboard. The children's eyes went round with amazement at how Garfiel had appeared on a vessel in the water almost without making it sway at all. Taking advantage of their surprise, Garfiel scooped up all five children in one go, leaping once more to escape. Hardly a moment later, the two ships collided and foundered in the waterway. "There we go!!" Caught up in the capsizing of the two vessels, other boats began tipping over like dominoes. Having dropped the children off by the bankside, Garfiel grabbed hold of the rope connecting the remaining ships to the docks and pulled on it hard to right them by force. "Well, that's that!" As the force of the waves lessened, Garfiel meticulously retied the slackened ropes and flashed a smile at the children, who were now safe and sound. Afterward, he helped recover the two capsized vessels, and the boat owner bowed his head several times over in gratitude for Garfiel's strength and for keeping the damage to a bare minimum. Patting the shoulder of the unlucky boat owner, Garfiel paused to take a breath. It was then that "M-mister, thank you very much!" the children he saved spoke words of thanks all at once. When Garfiel looked over, he found that their gazes no longer contained surprise they were filled with awe. It was as Garfiel was having his moment with those children that applause began pouring down from all around. Enduring this with an embarrassed look, Garfiel lightly rubbed the scar on his forehead. "Don't even mention it. It was just coincidence I happened to... The damp evenin' wind told me, that's all. If someone in this Water Gate City started cryin', these waterways would overflow!" The sounds of applause suddenly dwindled when Garfiel responded with pride. For some reason, the voices of acclaim became distant, and the cheering became sparse and awkward. But unlike the other people around them, the reactions of the children remained just as dramatic. "Th-that was crazy!" "So cool!" "No retreat! No surrender!" "Ohh, that's a good one! Just like The holy lady's fist splits the ground asunder!" "Mister, what's your name? What should we call you?" As Garfiel puffed out his chest, one of the children posed that question. Instantly, Garfiel bared his sharp fangs, revealing a ferocious smile. "I'm no one important enough to be givin' out my name. If ya gotta call me somethin', then... Me, I'm a tiger. Yeah, a golden tiger. So people call me Gorgeous Tiger!" "Gorgeous!" "Tiger!!" When Garfiel struck a pose, stretching both arms up at an angle toward the heavens, the children got even more worked up, and they all imitated Garfiel. "Garf, that's amazing! Super cool!!" It was then that Mimi, running a roundabout route about the waterway, met up with Garfiel and the children at last. Her eyes glimmered like the rest of the group as she joined in, making the same mysterious pose. "Gorgeous!" "Gorgeous!" "Gorgeous Tiger!!" With all applause and cheering long gone, the boat owner was the only other person still on the waterway, his cheek twitching as he observed in silence. 2 After quickly taking a shine to the children, Garfiel ended up buying them food at a nearby stall. Then he stood tall and triumphant as he strutted around the city. "And then I said this: 'I've seen through your evil deeds, third-raters. Your wickedness and wicked faces ain't gettin' by my general and my bro!'" "Wow! That's so cool!" "Whoa! I got goosebumps!" As the fast-approaching night began to color Pristella's sky, Mimi and a blond boy cheered Garfiel on as he spun his tale. The latter was only six or seven, and he was one of the children whom Garfiel had saved on the waterway. The story that Garfiel was telling at the time was the cursed-goddess-statue incident, the one that had left the deepest impression upon him out of everything that had happened in the last year. At any rate, the trio of Subaru, Otto, and Garfiel had soon gotten deeply involved, and as a matter of course, they encountered the owner of a metia. Needless to say, a great deal of trouble ensued. Garfiel clacked his fangs cheerfully at having an audience so happy to listen to his stories. All three were currently on the way to the blond boy's residence; they were escorting him home. After taking the children to a food stall, Garfiel had a responsibility as the eldest person present to safely return them home. He'd already delivered the other four safe and sound. This child was the last. "Gotta say, for little runts, you kids sure went a long way from home." "Errr... Actually, we went to the park in the First District to hear the Songstress..." "The Songstress, huh? Accordin' to the general, she's got one hell of a singin' voice..." Garfiel crinkled his nose at the innocent admiration coming out of the boy's mouth. The boy was talking about Liliana, the famous Songstress of Pristella. It had been brief, but Garfiel had met the real deal at the Muse Company. To be blunt, she seemed like an extremely willful person, and he felt like she had fatal flaws irreconcilable with the rumors that she was a songstress of uncommon talent. "Garf, you haven't heard the Songstress sing? What a shame! Somehow, she's reaaally good!" "What, you actually got a good listen?" "Yeah! I didn't fall asleep till the very end! That's a huuuge achievement! Mimi's incredible, right? Praise me!" When Mimi presented her head, Garfiel gave her a perfunctory pat. Mimi went, "Yaaay!" anyway, racing forward with great delight as Garfiel turned toward the boy. "So did ya get to meet this Songstress you admire?" "Nah, seems we were a little too late... I wonder if my sister will be upset." "Sister? Why would she be upset?" "...Because I...left without telling anyone." "Ahh " From the boy's sullen face, it appeared that the plan was to keep his promise with his friends a secret from his family. But because he would be returning home later than expected, he couldn't help but be afraid of how his family would react, particularly this older sister of his. Garfiel understood that feeling painfully well. Older sisters were powerful creatures. He might even go as far as to say they were formidable walls that little brothers could never surpass. That's how it was for him when he finally reunited with his own sister even after spending ten years honing his body. One look at the young boy they were escorting home, and it was obvious that even contests of strength were hopeless. There was a despairing difference in power between older sisters and their younger brothers. "Got it. Just leave it to me." Though worried, the boy blinked hard when Garfiel reassuringly patted his own chest. "I know how scary big sisters can be, y'see. Me, I got a big sis, too, and the woman I love has a younger sister too. Kid, if your sister is upset, I'll listen to her lecture with you." "Gorgeous Tiger!" Deeply moved, the boy hugged Garfiel tightly. Garfiel hugged the boy back, only for Mimi to latch onto him from behind as well. Thus, with cargo hanging from the front and back, Garfiel pressed on toward the boy's house with wobbly steps and newfound resolve. "Gorgeous Tiger, huh?" The fact that the boy had called him that just then made Garfiel clench his fangs. The feelings of powerlessness that had driven him from the inn had not completely vanished by any means. He still lacked the confidence that he could bump into Reinhard at the ryokan and maintain his composure. Even so, the female phantom who was dressed in black and symbolized his sense of weakness was nowhere to be seen. This was probably thanks to the children who now revered him as Gorgeous Tiger, and the incomprehensible energy Mimi had instilled within him " Fred!" Right as Garfiel was beginning to dive into sentimentality, his ears shuddered when he heard that sharp, high-pitched voice. When he lifted his face, he saw a small figure racing toward him. Her long, blond hair flapped about as the stranger closed in on them like a comet. She came straight in, charging toward the boy, who was hugging onto Garfield. "Ah, Big Si... Gwah!" "Just how much were you trying to make me worry about you?!!" The boy had been clinging to Garfiel right up until his sister's kick sent him flying. Garfiel found himself admiring her kicking form and the impressive way she landed. That instant, the girl swiftly turned about, driving her heel into Garfiel's foot as she howled: "You shady goon! What were you doing with my Fred?!" "That hur... Well, I guess it don't actually hurt, but could you get off my foot, runt?" He'd already had his fill of runts, but Garfiel called the girl that nonetheless. From her silent reaction, the girl was a little taken aback that her preemptive strike had been ineffective. Perhaps looking at Garfiel's face up close made her suspect that she'd picked a fight with a violent person. Garfiel was similarly taken by surprise. To think that there existed another older sister besides Frederica who'd attack her younger brother without so much as a warning the moment they were reunited. Incidentally, Mimi leaped to catch the flying boy with a "Pwah!" and both of them ending up rolling to a stop, unharmed. All the same, Garfiel felt compelled to comment. "Can't really compliment a big sis kickin' her own little bro!" "Argh... W-well, sorry about that, but what's your deal anyway?! Just so you know, I won't let you lay one finger on Fred or me! I'm scary when I get angry!!" Garfiel's choice of words made the girl clench her teeth as she acknowledged the error of her own ways. She may have been the boy's older sister, but the girl was only about ten years old

herself, give or take right around the age when kids got too big for their britches. Taking Garfiel for a street punk based on appearances alone, she'd challenged him while wringing out all her courage with tears in her eyes. She was probably doing her best to divert attention away from her little brother. However, things were not going to go according to plan. "G-Gorgeous Tiger...please don't eat my sister..." The younger brother wedged himself between the tiger and his teary-eyed older sister. The pleading boy's words made the shielding girl open her eyes wide. However, the girl clenched her teeth and stood firm at her younger brother's side. Garfiel wasn't exactly sure what was happening, but this brother and sister had a beautiful, caring relationship. "Not that I approve of ya treatin' me like the villain here!" "Bad, bad! Garf, you can't be a bad guy! You're Garf! You're Gorgeous Tiger!" Joining back in after a short dash, Mimi bounded up and poked Garfiel in the forehead. It didn't hurt, but he felt like he shouldn't just ignore it, either. As Garfiel mulled over how to clear his name " Dear? Did you find Fred?" It was the sound of someone entirely unexpected that shattered the stalemate. It was the soft, gentle voice of a woman. The instant he heard it, he thought the sister and brother before his eyes might glance at each other's faces, but instead, they broke out running toward it in great haste. "The hell?" Right as Garfiel blinked in a daze at their sudden vigor, a new figure appeared from across the way. When the individual rounded a corner and came into sight, the siblings leaped into her arms. "Mommy!" "Mom, there's a scary stranger!! That Gorgeous something or other was holding Fred, and I...!" Catching the two as they tearfully clung to her was a casually dressed woman with long, blond hair. Going by what the siblings said, this was their mother, but Garfiel dearly hoped the mother didn't go by their words and assume he was someone suspicious. It would probably become incredibly complicated if she took her daughter at her word. Either way, having an adult capable of rational conversation come out was a huge help. Garfiel stepped forward, wanting to explain the situation before someone called the city guards " Huh?" With the children still clinging to her, the small smile she turned toward him stopped him dead in his tracks. "Garf?" Garfiel's jerky movement made Mimi look at him with a mystified face. However, Garfiel could not respond to Mimi's call. He was too preoccupied. His heart and eyes were filled with bewilderment. He was a storm of emotions, and his thoughts had fallen into utter chaos. Of course that was what happened. It was only natural. "Um, it seems that you were looking after my children. If you like, could we speak more at our house? It's very close by." Gently, the woman spoke with a tone that harbored no misgivings whatsoever. When the unguarded woman closed the distance, Garfiel widened his eyes at the sight of her. His sharp fangs refused to line up. The woman tilted her head curiously at the clattering sound of his teeth. That expression, that demeanor, that voice they shook Garfiel to the very core of his being. After all, standing there was " Mom?" That raspy voice was all that he managed to spill out from his throat for a reunion that should never have happened. 3 "I am so sorry. I didn't think we would have guests, so I didn't have a chance to tidy up very much." "Aww, don't worry about that! It's all right! Compared with Mimi's room, it's waaaay cleaner!" "My my, you are a girl, so that simply will not do. You must keep your own room clean." The woman gently stroked Mimi's head as the latter sat on a sofa, waving her feet around. Mimi purred happily and seemed to immediately relax. Garfiel kept his mouth shut tight as he gazed at the pair. The woman had long, luscious blond hair, fair skin, and a delicate physique. Her face was gentle, and there was softness in her jade eyes which, up close, greatly resembled those of Garfiel's older sister. From her youthful appearance, she looked like she was in her twenties, but her actual age had to be in the latter half of her thirties. After all, fifteen years had already passed since then. In spite of that, her appearance had changed little since he last saw her a fact that tore at Garfiel's heart with frightful intensity. "Mr., um, Gorgeous Tiger? Are you not fond of tea? I'm sorry. I went and prepared some without asking what you prefer..." As Garfiel held his silence, the woman a woman claiming the name of Liara Thompson lowered her eyes with a troubled expression. Garfiel replied with "Nah, that's not it" as he hastily raised his cup. "It ain't anythin' like that. I was just a little...surprised at how big this place is." "My, so that was it? True, our home is quite large. It is very much a chore to clean it every day and takes a fair bit of time... But it's strange, really." "...What is?" "I always ask guests what leaves they prefer, but this time, I just went ahead and picked this." How odd, Liara's smile seemed to say as she pressed a hand to her cheek. Garfiel brought the cup to his lips without a word. The taste and the temperature were exactly to his liking. Deeply disturbed by this, Garfiel searched for any disparities between Liara before him and the woman from his memories. Liara's attire and behavior suited someone living in a stately mansion. The woman in Garfiel's memories was a simple person who wore simple clothes and gave off the impression of naivete, knowing little of the world around her. This was one area in which they differed immensely. And yet everything about her presence that smiling face, that gentle voice, the tiniest of gestures led Garfiel astray. *** She had to be someone else. He was sure this was a different person. Liara treated Garfiel like she would with any acquaintance of her children. Furthermore, his mother wasn't such a skilled actress that she could pull this off. In his own mind, Garfiel desperately came to the conclusion that Liara Thompson was someone other than his mother Lisha Tinzel. This woman only looked identical. Garfiel was still nursing when he last saw his mother. The reason his memories of his mother were so vivid despite that was, regardless of how he felt about it, because the Sanctuary's Trial had shown him the past in normally unknowable detail. Thanks to that, Garfiel remembered his mother's face, voice and love. And that was how Garfiel learned of his mother's unfortunate death, which occurred right after she had separated from her own children. Therefore, a reunion with his mother was a wish that Garfiel would never see granted. This was just a different person who greatly resembled her. But if she was a different person, then why was her scent so familiar? "Mimi, the fur around your ears looks very fluffy. I wonder... May I touch it?" "Of course!" When Mimi offered her head, Liara happily patted it, savoring the comforting sensation of her fur. Her innocent, doe-like smile, the way she didn't know how to doubt others, and the unguarded way she'd invite a suspicious-looking man and a kitty-girl into her own home were really quite something. Everything about her behavior made Garfiel suspect that this Liara really might be his mother. Lisha, the mother of Garfiel and Frederica, was an unlucky woman. When her family was suffering under a crushing debt, she'd been sold to an illegal slave trader at a young age. After this slave trader was raided by demi-human bandits, she became the slave of beast people instead. Several years later, the bandits readily abandoned Lisha when she became pregnant with Frederica. Afterward, following one twist after another, she gave birth to Frederica while she was the captive of a different group of bandits. Garfiel had heard from his older sister, Frederica, that her first memories were of her time with the bandits. His sister had not spoken of what happened during that time, but judging from how they up and disappeared the instant Lisha became pregnant with Garfiel, it could not have been a wholesome environment at all. Spending her time with one misfortune rolling in after another, Lisha, with a young daughter in tow and a swelling belly, finally entered the care of Roswaal in the peaceful land of the Sanctuary. Your mother... Lisha, was it? I had few opportunities to exchange words with her, you seeee. She was quite a mysterious woman. Or rather, should I describe her as incoooomprehensible, perhaps? She is a woman who seemed to keep happiness very close to her. I believe she motivated herself by living for tomorrow since she was very young... Ahh, yes. I must have been jealous. This is probably why I Those were the uncharacteristic words that Roswaal used to describe Garfiel's mother. It was the first night that Otto had convinced Garfiel to try alcohol. That same night, Garfiel had gone to visit Roswaal in a drunken stupor. As Garfiel snapped at him with even more venom than usual, Roswaal abruptly spoke about his impressions of the young boy's mother. Garfiel thought he'd die from his hangover the next morning, but he hadn't lost the memories of the night before. Therefore, his recollection of Roswaal speaking about his mother was still fresh. Garfiel was more than a little grateful to the alcohol for leaving him with that much. At any rate, looking at the big picture, his mother was apparently an airhead whose brain had probably been permanently set to feel happiness. Had that not been the case, why would she have ever left a place of such peace in search of Garfiel's father, of whom Garfiel had nothing but painful memories? In the end, she'd ended up dying almost immediately after setting off. What in the world had she been thinking? Even after all that time later, he'd still never found the answer to where his mother's happiness had come from. "Mom, I'm getting hungry." It was then that the siblings returned hand in hand from their room after getting a new change of clothes. The older sister looked over the heads of their guests to call out to her mother and promptly hurried over to her side, sternly glaring at Garfiel with her jade eyes all the while. "Hey, Mom. It's suppertime already, so shouldn't our guests head on home?" "Oh, how can you say that? Mr. Gorgeous and Ms. Mimi helped Fred out, after all. He was apparently in danger of drowning while playing on a boat." "Hmph, are you sure about that? Wasn't it really this Gorgeous guy who probably rocked the boat in the first place? I bet he was probably planning on coming here to try and milk us for lots of money." "That's enough, young lady... But now that you mention it, he did save Fred. We should show him our thanks, so maybe offering some money would be the most proper." "Mom!!" Apparently, the girl felt like she had to do everything she could to protect her family. Unfortunately, her fervent efforts weren't quite clicking with her mother; Garfiel couldn't help but feel that she was flailing in the air. But the heartwarming exchange between parent and child bitterly pained Garfiel, like he was walking barefoot over a path of thorns. It was so agonizing that he could barely stand staying there any longer. "...Seems like we ain't all that welcome, so maybe we should head on out." "Ehhh, whyyy? Let's hang out just a little bit more!" "No way. This is like sculpting the Kokran, damn it." Mimi protested when Garfiel attempted to leave, but Garfiel wouldn't brook

any objections as he tried to forcibly drag the girl out with him. Liara made a sad face at Garfiel's assertion, whereas her daughter took the opportunity to stick her tongue out at him as she watched him go. As for the little brother "Don't go, Gorgeous Tiger!" Grabbing onto Garfiel's sleeve, he tried to bar Garfiel's path. Instantly, Garfiel hesitated to shake off those tiny fingers. He wasn't sure why he paused, but... "Sorry, kid. I got people waitin' for me. They'll be worried if I'm late. That's why I'm goin', okay?" Still unable to figure out why he froze for a moment, Garfiel put a hand on the boy's head as he explained. He'd been welcomed in, yet here he was, making his escape. If this was how it was going to be, he should never have accepted the invitation to begin with. Regret, regret, regret the only thing left throbbing deep in his chest was regret. "Fred, I know you're sad, but you have to let go of Mr. Gorgeous's clothing." Heeding Garfiel's words, Liara gently removed her son's fingers. Garfiel was relieved to have his sleeve free again. "We must not cause our guests distress by forcing them to stay. As the saying goes, For guests, hospitality, and a Sowarie." And then Liara's next words cut deep into Garfiel's defenseless soul. He had let his guard down after that initial wave of relief, only for that single phrase to shear through them, dredging up his memories. His sense of defeat toward Reinhard, his sense of powerlessness at having betrayed his own dream, his shock the instant he first set eyes upon Liara compared with that phrase, those were almost inconsequential. It was enough that he almost thought that his body was being torn asunder "Garf, let's go." It was then that Mimi, who had been so reluctant to leave, gently pulled on Garfiel's arm. When she proceeded toward the door, Garfiel silently followed along. Right as the two of them were headed to the entrance "I'm home... Oh, we have guests?" the door ahead of them opened, and a gentlemanly man sporting a full beard raised his eyebrows at the unexpected sight. He wore finely tailored clothes and had a lively air about him. His face looked like that of a capable man who was calm inside the home. His position was clear even before the children reacted to his return. "Errr, I don't believe we've met. Who might you be?" "Dad, this is Gorgeous Tiger!" "A shady person!" "Ehhh?" The starkly contrasting descriptions delivered by his son and daughter left the man their father rather confused. In search of rescue, he shifted his gaze to Liara, who was standing beside the children. The man's warm gaze caused Liara to loosen her cheeks slightly. That was unmistakably love on her face. Garfiel had hit his limit. "We're nobody. Nothin' to worry about. Time for us to be headin' out." Garfiel swiftly said his good-byes, continuing to hold Mimi's hand as he left the room with her in tow. Pushing past the man, who hastily gave way, Garfiel raced out, fleeing the house. "Gorgeous Tiger!" From behind, the boy called out to Garfiel in a sad voice. However, Garfiel had nothing left in him to muster a reply No, he just wasn't worthy. When he glanced over, he saw a black phantom encroaching on the edges of his vision. Smiling at him mockingly was a woman who was surely dead. Gorgeous? Tiger? Where was the golden tiger in him now? A tiger was strong. A tiger was mighty. Nothing ever shook a tiger. What part of him was a tiger just then? Would a real tiger be broken up over something like this?!! "Garf! Stop already!" *** Just as his thoughts were clouded in a crimson haze, one voice brought him back to his senses. When he turned, Garfiel realized that he'd been half dragging Mimi along. She had pleaded in pain. Looking closer, he could see that the girl's slender wrist had gone blue from the grip of his hand. "S-sorry... I didn't mean to..." "Garf, are you all right? You've been reaaally weird since earlier. Does your tummy hurt?" When Garfiel tried to apologize in a shaky voice, Mimi peered at him with concern. This was not a look of resentment over her wrist injury, but one of pure consideration alone. This pushed Garfiel's already sinking heart to even lower depths. An awkward silence fell over the two as a damp nighttime breeze blew over them. The sun had already set, and the city streets under the night sky were dotted by magic lamps. As the light of the magic fixtures reflected that of the setting sun, the waterway took on a tranquil, mysterious beauty, but Garfiel had no room left in his heart to enjoy the sight. "Pardon me, both of you!" It was then that the voice of an out-of-breath man drew near the pair that was standing on the street at night. When they looked over, they saw the man from earlier illuminated under the magic lamps. With his coat stripped off, he had finally reached the pair, his breath ragged as he rested his hands on his knees. "Haaah! Haaah! I managed to catch up with you. This really will not do... I had plenty of physical energy back in the day, but I've wasted away since I started doing nothing but desk work..." "...What is it? You got business with us or somethin'?" There was a barb in his voice when Garfiel addressed the man who'd caught up with them. It wasn't to the extent of Liara and the siblings, but there was no mistaking that he, too, was poison so far as Garfiel was concerned. Garfiel didn't intend to converse for long. He wanted to get out of there as fast as he possibly could. Seeing Garfiel's attitude, the man seemed to pick up that he was not being welcomed with open arms. "I heard the story from my wife. You two saved my son, didn't you? And yet I let you leave without speaking a single word of thanks. The height of impropriety." "...Ain't no big deal. Exaggeratin' stuff like that just ends up being a pain in the butt for me." "Everything about my children is very important to me. Please allow me to thank you. I am Galek Thompson, one of the officials in charge of running this city. If there is anything I can do for you..." "There really ain't anythin'..." When Garfiel tried to rebuff the tenacious man, Galek, his words got stuck in his throat. Suddenly, he had a thought he, Liara's husband, might know who she really was. "There's just one thing I wanna ask ya." "Yes, by all means. If it is something my position allows me to answer, I shall." Galek nodded toward Garfiel with an amicable smile. It was the same for Liara and for his son, Fred. Galek included, the Thompson family was far too fond of people. That daughter was the only one with a proper level of wariness in the bunch. That was how outside threats like Garfiel were able to take advantage of them. "Your wife... Is Liara her real name?" *** Instantly, the atmosphere changed. When Garfiel posed his question, Galek dropped the smile he'd worn to that point. Both his voice and expression were quiet as he rolled Garfiel's question over his tongue. "I wonder what do you mean by that?" "I mean what I said. Reid always faced his challengers head-on. I don't like roundabout stuff. Your wife... Is Liara her real name or not?" When Garfiel cut right to the point, the expression coming over Galek was one of clear consternation. He opened and closed his mouth several times, breathing hard in search of air and words. "You... Are you saying you know something about my wife?" "I'm the one who wants to know about her." Garfiel replied sincerely to Galek's wavering question. Detecting the genuine emotion at the core of that reply, Galek went silent, sinking into thought. As Garfiel waited for the words that would follow, he felt Mimi grasp his hand with her opposite hand from earlier. When he shifted his gaze in her direction, Mimi simply went, "Heh-heh " with a bubbly smile. "...It would seem I should speak truthfully with you." Breaking the silence, Galek uttered those words with a sigh. A deep weariness infused that voice, along with an unconcealable sense of guilt, causing Garfiel to narrow his brows. Then as Garfiel maintained his silence, Galek began to speak. "My wife, Liara...has no memories from before I met her fifteen years ago." "! No memories, ya say?" "It was a stormy night. I was just another merchant returning from a business deal when I came across the site of a large landslide. My future wife was caught up in that disaster and had been buried alive." The terms that Galek relayed landslide, buried alive made Garfiel's breath come to a halt. Bubbling up in his mind was the glimpse into the past he'd seen in the Sanctuary. An unsalvageable past, in which his mother had left Garfiel and Frederica behind, setting off from the settlement only to become engulfed in a landslide and lose her life But had his mother really died? He'd never even considered other possibilities. *** That terrifying concept made Garfiel clench his teeth hard so that they wouldn't chatter. He'd thought for certain that his mother had died. Even if his mother had been safe, if she had been tethered to life, he couldn't possibly imagine a reason why she wouldn't have returned to Garfiel and Frederica's side. "After she was rescued, she hovered on the edge of life and death, opening her eyes several days later just as I came to check on her. Then she spoke these words loud and clear 'Who am I?' she asked." Galek lowered his eyes, shaking his head from side to side. "Perhaps it is a side effect of her heart nearly stopping once. She didn't remember anything. All she knew, from the name tag on the clothes she wore, was that there was a Li in either her family name or her given name. And so she took the name of a flower that blooms at night. I have called her Liara ever since." After that, Galek's gaze grew distant as he spoke, but there was not a great deal to tell thereafter. After he took her into his care, the bonds between them naturally deepened, and it was not long before they fell in love. And ever since he'd taken Liara in, Galek's business had grown by leaps and bounds. Galek never questioned his belief that this good fortune was from bringing Liara back with him. Because of her, Galek had worked in this city as a man, a husband, and a father until the present day. That was why " I love my wife. I dearly love our children. Once upon a time, her past weighed upon my mind, but not anymore. No matter what happened to her before we met, she is my wife, the woman most precious to me." Galek spoke those words firmly and plainly with his chest out. These were the unshakable feelings that Galek felt for his wife, carried through from the moment they'd met to the present. *** Listening to his tale to the end, Garfiel silently looked up at the murky night sky. How did the waxing moon and the stars dotting the darkness feel as they gazed down at him in that moment? As Garfiel chose to stay silent, Galek's lips trembled more than once. He was hesitating. But then he firmly closed his eyes, brushing that hesitation aside. "I am truly sorry to ask you this. However, I wish to inquire nonetheless." *** "How...are you related to my wife, Liara?" Just how cruel a question was that to ask someone? Confronted by

the last thing he wanted to be asked, Garfiel slowly shifted his gaze from the sky back to the ground, and then finally to Galek. Galek looked at Garfiel with quiet, unshakable resolve in his eyes. Even Garfiel wasn't insensitive enough to miss the significance of those words and the emotions invested in them. More than that, he knew exactly what response he should give. *** He opened his mouth once, then closed it. He breathed in and out, in and out, over and over. His pulse was racing. His eyes felt unsteady. His head throbbed with pain. The urge to vomit kept welling up. He felt a storm of emotions raging inside as well as the ultimate sense of loss. During it all, Mimi held Garfiel's hand. "Me, I..." *** "I don't have...any relationship with your wife." He did it. He'd said it aloud. With those words, the torrent of emotions swirling inside his chest rapidly dissipated. What remained was a yawning, cavernous loss, an emptiness that made his limbs run cold. "I am...very sorry..." Lowering his eyes, his shoulders trembling, Galek bowed his head to Garfiel. But Galek's apology was not something Garfiel wanted. Enough. Just stop it. Don't hurt me anymore. What went wrong? Who's to blame? Who do I have to smash, to rip to shreds, to send flying, to get over this? What am I supposed to do with the pain in my heart that just won't go away? " Darling! Ahh, I'm so glad you're with Mr. Gorgeous and Ms. Mimi." *** He wanted to scream. He was on the verge of wailing like a weak little boy. In that moment, seeing her was more terrible than any poisoned blade for Garfiel. "Liara, why...?" "Because I thought you ran out in such a hurry that you would probably manage to catch them. I thought it was terrible for them to leave empty-handed, too..." Galek was just as surprised by the sudden appearance of his wife as Liara came over in a little run, passing by her husband's side. Then with Garfiel still rigid from shock, she gently extended a bag toward him. "These are some Sowarie sweets I made. Perhaps it is not so great a reward, but I have confidence in their taste. Please take this." "Ah..." With a perfectly innocent smile, she offered Garfiel the cruelest of gifts. Galek agonizingly lowered his face at the exchange between Garfiel and his wife. It was too painful for anyone to intervene. No one who understood the true nature of this meeting could do more. That was exactly why "Ohh! Yaaay! I love sweets! I'm gonna brag to the lady!" Grabbing the bag from Liara's hand, Mimi bore an outgoing, smiling demeanor that was completely out of touch. It was so at odds with the atmosphere from a few moments ago that it took a short while for Galek to accept what was happening. But only Liara, unaware of the circumstances, greeted Mimi's honest delight with a beaming smile. "I am so glad to hear you say that. Please give my best regards to this lady of yours." "Yep, yep, uuuunderstood! Super understooood!" Taking the sweets in her still-pallid hand, Mimi smiled as she gave a playful salute. Stuffing the bag in the satchel she carried over one shoulder, she used her long tail to thwap Garfiel on the back. "Time to go for real! Gorgeous Tiger and Gorgeous Mimi will be leaving now!" "Yes, do be careful. Mr. Gorgeous, take care not to fall into the waterway at night." When Mimi set off with a big wave of her hand, Liara gave a little wave back. With the pair trading hand-waves, the two men watched the exchange with morose faces. *** From there, Garfiel followed the pull of Mimi's hand and trailed behind her. Neither Mimi nor Garfiel said anything for a while, continuing to walk as Liara and Galek receded from sight. Finally, when Garfiel judged that they were far enough, he came to a stop. "Hey, runt... Er, whoa?!" "Hiyahhh!" The next instant, Mimi jumped, stretching Garfiel's arm. Kicking off from the ground in a flash, the pair leaped onto the roof of a nearby building. After going up three stories in one bound, Mimi stretched her back. "Mmm!! Amazing! It feels so good!" "Hey, don't gimme that! What gives all of a sudden...?" Mimi was enjoying the bracing wind as he drew close. But when she stared back at him with her round eyes, Garfiel was at a loss for words. He was oddly uncomfortable seeing how he looked reflected in her eyes. With Garfiel pressed into silence, Mimi abruptly tilted her head. "Garf, you look like you're gonna cry." "...Huh? What the hell are ya sayin'? No way I'm gonna do that." "I know you're strong, Garf, but that doesn't mean you have to act tough. Liara is Garf's mom, right?" *** When Mimi stepped into the crux of the matter, Garfiel drew in his breath, utterly unprepared. "Why do you...think that she's...?" "I mean, Garf's and Liara's scents are reaaally alike. And the scents of Liara's kids are a little like Garf's scent, too. So I figured just maaaybe " She didn't learn of Garfiel's family from the course of the conversation. Mimi had accurately arrived at the truth based on a feral sense of smell and base instinct. Words could be fabricated or suppressed. But Garfiel had no rebuttal for something based on a part of you that never changed. "What the hell...?" Garfiel sluggishly sank down then and there, leaning his listless head backward. Overhead, the stars and moon in the sky stared back down at him, their glimmering unchanged from before. "So am I right? Is Liara Garf's mom?" "...I dunno. Is that person...really my mom?" He didn't know. Truly, that was how Garfiel felt from the bottom of his heart. But just as Galek had told him and as demonstrated by Liara's own behavior, she had completely forgotten her own past as Lisha. Having forgotten everything, she'd given birth to children as Liara, living together with them as a happy family. "Ha. Now that I think of it, doesn't that make those two my little brother and sister?" He hadn't totally wrapped his head around it yet, but if they were siblings by a different father, then his relationship to them was exactly the same as what he had with Frederica. In other words, that boy and girl were his adorable younger siblings. Always the youngest child, Garfiel finally had the younger siblings he'd always wished for. Setting aside that no one wanted such a relationship. "Me tellin' her who I am ain't gonna help at all..." Liara had parted with her past life as Lisha. Even if Garfiel revealed everything he knew, it would not change the fact that she had spent fifteen years as Liara or that Lisha had lost those fifteen years. It would only hoist the burden of fifteen years' worth of guilt onto Liara and elicit a sense of loss over the time that Lisha would never get back. Galek would have to watch his wife struggle, and her children would no doubt be unable to understand their mother's suffering when they knew nothing of the circumstances. All that just for Garfiel's self-satisfaction. Even if Liara was recognized as Lisha then and there, the only one who would derive any closure from that was Garfiel. There was no way that Frederica or Ryuzu could have known Lisha had survived like this. If Garfiel did not tell them, then they surely would never know. Unless Garfiel spoke of it, there was no way for Liara's family to find out about the past, either. Their time as a happy family would remain protected and unchanged, peaceful as ever. If Garfiel could keep it all bottled up in his chest and just abandon his true desires, that would settle everything once and for all. And yet "Why am I...?" The resolve to cast them aside, the decision to forget, the courage to lock them away why is this so hard? Tiger, where have you gone? Show me the right path, the right way to be. Show me the strength to bear anything, to carry anything, and to stand up even so. Oh, tiger, please tell me... Because a real tiger wouldn't lose to anyone. *** Squatting down, biting back what was welling up inside, he felt an intense yearning clawing at his heart. Just when Garfiel wanted to cast everything aside, it was then that he noticed. "Gooood boy." Someone was hugging his head against their tiny chest and stroking his hair. *** As Garfiel sat there, Mimi embraced him from behind. Placing her chin against his crown, she gently stroked Garfiel's head with her little palm. It almost felt like the soft sensation was lessening the pain of the raging thoughts crawling around inside his skull. "The hell...do you think you're doin'...?" "Mm, I figured Garf wanted to cry, see... But you know, Mimi heard that men don't cry unless you make a place for them to do it, and that sounds like such a pain! That's definitely what the lady told me!" It was something that resembled an answer, but it wasn't quite all there. Trying to keep his heart and his voice from trembling, Garfiel had chosen those sparse, halting words with great care. Still embracing Garfiel, Mimi smiled teasingly at him. "So I bet you were thinking, I'm not sure where I am anymore, but it's probably in a woman's arms? That's what you figured, right? Yeah! A man can cry in the arms of the woman he loves!" "...Who'd fall in love with a little kid like you?" The first person who came to Garfiel's mind didn't behave like Mimi at all, acting cold and dismissive whenever he wanted kindness. And then she suddenly treated him nicely when he least expected it, only to punch him twice as hard later. What a dangerous woman. The girl before his eyes didn't have those things in common with her whatsoever and yet Mimi continued smiling. "Mm, but it's all right! Even if Garf hasn't fallen for Mimi, Mimi's already fallen for him! And now you're in Mimi's arms! The arms of the girl who loves Garf! So it's all right to cry!" " Ah." Her opinion was just too stupid. What is this, some kind of wordplay? A kid making things up as she goes along? This is a convenient excuse nothing more. It's nothing, so stop messing with me. Tiger, tiger, where have you gone? Come back inside this chest right now. Let out a ferocious roar, smack this shrinking back of mine, drag me back to my feet, and do something about these unbearable feelings. If you don't...I won't make it this time. "Mom..." Stop, stop, please stop. I don't wanna cry, I don't wanna be weak, I don't wanna talk in a tearful voice like this. I'm a tiger. A tiger. I'm the strongest. The mightiest. A stronger, harder shield than anyone else. That's "Mom! ...Mom! ......Mom...!!" "Good boy." "Why?! Why did you forget me?! After all this... Meeting you after all this time!! You won't even say my name... You won't...f-forgive me......!!" "It's all right. Garf, you're a very good boy!" "Moooooommm... Mooommm... Mooommm...!" Tiger, tiger, where have you gone? What do I look like right now? Stars, moon, sky, won't you tell me? What do I look like right now? *** If a tiger would never howl in pain, then what do I look like right now?!! 4 "All dry!" "Shaddap don't say that over and over!" The next day, well into Fire Time, Garfiel was wandering through the city alongside Mimi with a guilty look on his face. Mimi cackled as she tugged at the part of her white robe over her chest that was still dirty from Garfiel's tears, snot, and drool, though it was completely dried now. "That's filthy.

Go wash it off at some waterin' hole somewhere." "Mm, isn't it fiiine? I'll change when we get back to the inn... I didn't return yesterday, so the lady's gotta be real mad! Hetaro and TB will probably be crying!" "...Sorry about that." "Don't worry about it... Mimi told Garf he's a good, good boy and let him cry himself dry that's all." Garfiel's meager apology brought a naive smile to Mimi's face. He couldn't lift his head up at all. He'd made a fool of himself, crying all night long, and before he realized it, he'd slumped down and fallen asleep in her arms. He was somehow remaining calm at the moment, but he couldn't keep up with Mimi's everyday antics at all today. In the end, Garfiel harbored feelings of guilt and couldn't bring himself to say proper words of thanks. "So what are we doing this morning? Going to meet your mom?" "Pfft...! Wh-what are you talkin' about?! Meet her...? Like hell I am!" Garfiel was deep in thought when that explosive suggestion made him open his eyes wide in shock. Mimi simply responded with an "Oh really?" as she tilted her head with an innocent look on her face. "But Liara is Garf's mom, right? Don't you have lots to talk about?" "You really didn't pay attention to anything that came up yesterday, did you?" Though she had instinctually cut right to the heart of the matter, Mimi apparently hadn't picked up on any of the finer details. Mulling over how he ought to explain to her his difficult position in relation to that family, Garfiel quickly discarded the idea. The answer came out with his tears the night before. "It's fine. Mo... That person is better off not knowin' I'm her son." "Garf, you're fine with that?" "It's fine... Ah, haven't thought about if I should tell Sis or Granny, though." If they knew the facts, Frederica and Ryuzu would probably agonize over it just like he was. If that's really what came to pass, Garfiel might eventually end up regretting speaking to them about it. But if the situation was reversed, Garfiel absolutely would have wanted to know the truth. After all, even if the only thing that accomplished was sharing that cruel conclusion, both women were still family to Garfiel. "Mm, that's so complicated! Mimi doesn't even know for sure if she has a mother!" "...You don't know your own mom?" "That's right... Mimi and Hetaro and TB none of us know anything about our parents. Seems like we got abandoned because it was too hard to raise triplets. So Rossi took us in, and now we're with the lady and the captain! We're all family!" "...That's a pretty big family, huh?" He was able to glean that Mimi had lived a hard life. From the casual way she spoke, it hadn't been all tragic, but he somehow understood that it certainly wasn't easy. Mimi didn't let any of that show, however. Without any deep thought behind it, Garfiel patted her on the head. " Wah!" Instantly, Mimi brushed his hand aside and hopped backward. Garfiel was surprised by her dramatic reaction. Mimi went, "Ughhhhhh," making noises with a red face. "For some reason, I've been feeling weird since yesterday. I get all mushy and tingly when I get close to Garf." "O-oh, I see. That sounds rough... Maybe we should walk a little farther apart, then?" "I don't wanna. So we should stand not too far but not too close!" Inching slightly closer, Mimi walked alongside him, just out of arm's reach. He felt that Mimi's face was a little red as she made a beaming smile from that position. "Ah, come to think of it, we have Sowarie! Let's eat some!" "Ahhh, right." Seemingly trying to distract him from the redness on her cheeks, Mimi took the bag of sweets out of the satchel slung over her shoulder. For an instant, Garfiel's chest throbbed in pain at the sight of the bag, but he accepted the sweet that Mimi offered to him, gazing at the treat in the palm of his hand. A Sowarie was a sweet-tasting baked pastry fashioned out of bread dough with cream and bean jam inside; it was a noontime snack that was tasty and filling. Given the time of day, they were basically having big, round Sowarie for breakfast. "Mm-hmm! Sweet! Tasty! Yum-yum!" "...They're good, huh." Mimi's praise was over-the-top, but Garfiel found the flavor striking as well. It was impressive not too sweet and incredibly soft and fluffy. They would've probably tasted even better fresh. If this had been his mother's specialty, perhaps he'd had a number of chances to savor this himself " Man, I'm getting too sentimental." Clicking his tongue at those lingering attachments, Garfiel stuffed the remaining Sowarie into his cheeks whole. Mimi opened her mouth wide in an attempt to copy him and managed to get cream all over her face. Garfiel sank into thought once again as he helped her wipe it off. Truthfully, the previous day had been full of ups and downs. Each event had served as a trial, but one unambiguously good thing had happened. Though he'd put on such an unsightly display the day before, the phantom was nowhere to be seen this morning. If that phantom was a representation of weakness in Garfiel's heart, it wouldn't have been strange for the events of the previous night to trigger it and bring it into even sharper relief. But that hadn't happened at all. Just maybe, that phantom might never appear before him ever again. If so, this was an opportunity granted by the sheer presence of the girl who'd stayed beside him " Ahem, ahem! Can all you meatbags hear this?" That instant, a voice suddenly greeted Garfiel and Mimi's eardrums. "If you meatbags are listening to my voice, go ahead and shake in your boots, and any meatbags not listening, would you just drop dead and save me a whooole lot of trouble? Bwa-ha-ha-ha!" After exchanging looks as that voice continued rambling, Garfiel and Mimi simultaneously turned to the sky. It was because that voice seemed to be calling out to them from there. "What the hell's with that stupid-soundin' voice...?" "Mimi knows! This voice is coming from some super-awesome metia! In this city, you can hear singing every morning thanks to it. Yesterday, I slept through it, though!" As Garfiel questioned the source of the voice, Mimi raised a hand up and rattled off a quick explanation. Garfiel assumed she meant that they were hearing someone via the power of a special metia and not that it was simply a very loud voice. The whole time that exchange was going on, that high-pitched voice continued pouring down from the sky. "So, so, so did any idiots take me up on that offer and die just now? If there aren't any, then so be it, but it sure would put a damper on my mood after I got all excited to talk up a storm!" The annoying voice reverberated across the Water Gate City, drawing looks of surprise and bewilderment from every pedestrian who heard it. Even they didn't seem to have any idea who the speaker was as they, too, stared up at the sky in confusion. According to Mimi's explanation, the metia was normally used to send singing to every corner of the city each morning, but Garfiel was thoroughly convinced that the owner of this voice was incapable of anything so sensitive. Her objective was unclear. Her character was vulgar. What he did know "Breathe in, breathe out: That's all it takes for mongrels like you to ruin my mood. You really are pieces of trash with no redeemable value at all, aren't ya?! If all you do is eat, go into heat, and drool without doing anything with your lives, then it'd be better if you were corpses instead! Know what? Just die already! Please just die already! Really, I'm begging you! Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!" was that the speaker was incredibly twisted. "Garf... This is reaaally creepy." With the speaker's motive still unclear, that unpleasant voice made Garfiel clench his fist in anger. Tugging at his sleeve, Mimi's normal sunniness had been subdued as she gazed at the sky with concern. Seeing her like that really got to Garfiel somehow. That kind of expression didn't belong on her face. "Now then, all you meatbags ignoring my entirely valid opinion, have any of you ignorant slobs finally noticed the purpose of this broadcast? The reeeal purpose?" "Hmm...? What purpose is there besides gettin' on everyone's nerves...?" " The fact that my voice is reaching you means that I...or rather, we have taken control of this city's heart, doesn't it? Ah, incidentally, the four control towers at the edge of the city are also in our hands!" "!! The control towers?!" That ominous statement dripped with malice and made Garfiel's breath catch. He'd heard that the four control towers in the city were crucial facilities for regulating the volume of water across the entirety of Pristella. It was said that their functions were unchanged from when the Water Gate City was used to trap a being of tremendous power so very long ago and now they had fallen into the hands of this mysterious entity. It was tantamount to this maniac holding the entire city hostage. "Now this city is a miniature garden where we can go around amusing ourselves, abusing and toying with you as we please, oh my! You meatbags are just like insects in a cage, aren't you?! No cards to play! No bright prospects! No dreams or hopes! Do you get what that means, huh?!" Garfiel grimaced as the sadistic voice being broadcast across the city cracked. Simultaneously, the people in the surrounding area were only now beginning to belatedly comprehend the gravity of the situation; disorder and dismay were spreading. Seemingly pleased at the mounting chaos, the announcer spoke even shriller, becoming more self-absorbed. "Do you get it? Did you get it through your thick skulls? You're so pathetic, every last one of you running around in a panic as you finally realize what I've been telling you all along! It's too pathetic! Anyway, I, a being of profound beauty and mercy, have happy news for you irredeemable, pathetic bastards!" *** "My objective is the Witch's bones kept somewhere in this city! I want them. I want them so much that it aches and keeps me up at night, so could you please put in some effort? If you deliver what I ask...I'll probably even reconsider the control-tower thing!" Having taken the entire city hostage, the speaker now presented her demand. The item she mentioned, the Witch's bones, made Garfiel grimace, but the surrounding unrest only deepened. The high-pitched voice cackled, as if the speaker had been waiting for that very moment above all others. "Bwa-ha! Oh nooo, if I don't finally introduce myself, people like you will start trying to escape from reality right about now, huh? That's why I, one of the wise and marvelous, will point out what's happening loud and clear so that even you can understand it!" With that malicious voice leading the city by the nose and chaos beginning to swirl around them, Garfiel and Mimi drew shoulder to shoulder, girding themselves for whatever might get announced next. It was then that the now-familiar voice declared in the broadcast with complete satisfaction "I am the Witch Cult's Archbishop of Lust "It's me, Capella Emerada Lugunica! Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!! Revere, worship, kneel, and beg and piss and shit in your pants as you pathetically wail, meatbags! Bwa-ha-ha-ha!!" 5 Immediately after that malicious broadcast, the situation began to move fluidly, like flowing water. The appearance of the Witch Cult and someone claiming to be an Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins had sown chaos and disorder, but arguably, the citizens of Pristella were still moving in an orderly manner. Even if they were unsettled, they did as

the city's everyday rehearsals trained them; the surrounding people began leading the way toward the nearest shelter. The citizens guided any outsiders unfamiliar with the procedures. The people close to Garfiel and Mimi called out to them, too, but the pair declined, hurrying to link back up with their comrades. If they didn't meet up with Subaru and the others at the Water Raiment and put a stop to the Witch Cult's tyranny " Ahh, Mr. Gorgeous!" *** The voice made Garfiel reflexively freeze in place. When he looked back, running down the street behind Garfiel and Mimi was Liara, who was reassured to have found people she knew. Enduring the aching in his chest, Garfiel turned to face her. "Ms. Mimi, I'm glad you're safe, too. That broadcast had me worried." "Yep, I'm all right! Ah, the Sowarie were delicious! We had a feast!" Since Garfiel failed to respond immediately, Mimi replied for both of them. Garfiel thought it was pathetic of him even as he rested easier knowing that Liara was unharmed. "Glad everyone's safe and sound. Now get movin' toward the shelter. We've gotta..." "Yes, I am all right... But, um, Mr. Gorgeous..." Even when Garfiel bid his farewells and tried to extricate himself as quickly as possible, Liara continued still in an awkward voice. Then she clasped both hands together in front of her. "Have you seen my children? They went out early this morning to play...but neither of them were at the nearest shelter." "?!! Those kids?" Surprised by the unexpected development, Garfiel plucked out one of his own short golden locks in frustration. "Well, shit, of course you're worked up about that..." "Y-yes. Also, that broadcast... The metia required to conduct it is at city hall, where my husband works... I'm worried about whether something happened to him." Voicing her concerns, Liara bit her lip as she looked in the direction of the building. City hall lay at the center of Pristella, which itself was divided into four districts: north, south, east, and west. It was the place that governed all core city functions. It was also the place that Lust had declared to be under her control. Just what kind of damage had the perpetrator of such a cruel, deranged broadcast inflicted on the people at city hall? Deep in his chest, Garfiel's heartbeat sounded like an alarm bell, and his thoughts were extremely limited. His unseen younger brother and sister, Galek left behind in a danger zone, Liara running around at that very moment out of concern for her family where danger to this group was concerned, Garfiel couldn't just calmly sit back and watch. "General, Lady Emilia..." Subaru, Emilia, Beatrice, and Otto all appeared in the back of Garfiel's mind. It was none other than them whom Garfiel had come to the Water Gate City to protect. What good was he if he wasn't at their side then and there? He didn't offer much beyond his fighting ability. But simultaneously, his heart could not turn from his newly found younger siblings, Galek, and the sight of his mother standing before his very eyes. It was time to choose. A decision pressed upon Garfiel that would determine which path his fate would take. "I am sorry for troubling you like this... Please forget everything I told you, Mr. Gorgeous." "...Ah." "I am being exceptionally unfair to you right now. It's quite all right. Those children hear the city broadcasts every day, too, and since long ago, nothing ever slips by that man..." Liara put on a brave smile to appease the hesitant Garfiel. But her hands, which were apparently folded in prayer, trembled. Her face had gone pale, seemingly drained of blood. It was a desperate performance. She was trying not to saddle Garfiel and Mimi with duties they were not obligated to take on. Just like she'd tried to do when she left him and his older sister in the Sanctuary to search for his father in the outside world. His heart had swayed between the two choices, but that throbbing memory made him come to a swift conclusion. "...I'll find your children, and your husband." "Mr. Gorgeous?" Liara opened her eyes wide with surprise at his unexpected reply. Nodding firmly in Liara's direction, Garfiel looked down at Mimi's hand as it gripped his own. During the time he was thinking and the time he was deciding, she'd simply waited in silence for Garfiel to choose. She had little brothers and other people she wanted to protect, too. He couldn't force her to go with his whims any longer. "From this point on, it's just me bein' selfish. You go back and... Owww!!" "As if!" In the middle of saying his good-bye, Mimi dug her heel into Garfiel's foot. Her body was light, but that kick was angled to provide maximum penetrating force. Garfiel groaned from the pain as Mimi puffed out her chest. "Mimi's offended that Garf thinks she'll run away after he said something so cool! Mimi's coming, too! Totally coming!" "Why ...? Nah, I get it sorry." " This is where you say thanks!" " Yeah, thanks." "You are very welcome! Yay!" When a silly smile came over Mimi's face, Garfiel smiled back, feeling like a great weight had been lifted. As Liara watched in astonishment, the pair turned to face her once more. "We'll find 'em. You go stay at the nearest shelter. Better to stick with the others and wait for us to take care of this." "B-but...why are you going this far for me?" Indeed, why was he? Liara's shaking eyes pressed Garfiel for the true reason behind his decision. This was not out of worry or doubt. She had a simple misgiving this was an act of benevolence without any basis that she could think of. Garfiel clacked his fangs at her words and flashed a fiendish smile. "Because I'm the golden tiger! I'm Gorgeous! Tiger!!" "And because Mimi is Gorgeous Mimi!!" Shouting those words in excessively loud voices, they glanced down at Liara, who blinked in surprise as the pair leaped away as one. With his mother far below, Garfiel turned to face the wind and make full use of his nose. "Garf, what'll we do?" "Track 'em by scent. I remember how they smell just fine!!" "All righty!" Settling on a plan while almost yelling to be heard, Garfiel and Mimi practically flew as they raced through the Water Gate City. Mimi was sticking with him in his moment of recklessness as he put off his duties and prioritized his personal matters even as various factors tried to convince him to reject that choice. Wrestling with them all, Garfiel touched the scar on his forehead. He decided he would think it through later and simply followed his heart. In the end, this was just faster. There was no reason to pick and choose when he could take everything. This was the way of the Emilia faction something Garfiel had picked up over the past year. "Garf! This scent! It's coming from over there!" " Yeah, no mistakin' that! Good work!" Garfiel belatedly confirmed that Mimi had sniffed out the scents they were searching for. They had found lingering traces of the two siblings. They were leading toward District One he recalled the conversation he'd had with Fred the night before. "I get it now! So those two went off to see the Songstress at that park again this mornin'?!" Meaning the younger brother had risen early after reflecting upon his mistake the previous day, and his foulmouthed sister had ended up going with him as a result. Therefore, he reasoned that they had to be at the shelter located close by. The park was close to the Water Raiment, and it was a place where they could quickly rendezvous with Subaru and the others " City hall." A moment before kicking off the ground, Garfiel had caught a glimpse of city hall. There, at the center of the city, which had fallen to Lust, was the final person he was searching for Once more, it was time to choose. "Garf, what'll we do?" When Mimi asked, pressing him to decide, Garfiel asked himself that very question. Just what kind of person should Garfiel peg Galek as? Should Garfiel think of him as the hateful man who stole his mother away or see him as the great benefactor who saved his mother's life? Unlike the siblings, who were linked to him through his mother's blood, he and Garfiel were not connected in any way. If he was basing his choices on blood connections, Garfiel had no duty to rescue Galek. But what would happen to Liara and the kids if they lost him? A blank space in a family could never be filled Garfiel knew that better than anyone. "...City hall that's where the Archbishop who did that damn broadcast earlier is holed up." "Mmm, probably, yeah." "She shook the city all up, and between the general and your little bros, there's lots to worry about... But a mettore's heart is in its head. If we smash the cause of everythin', we can settle this real fast." "! You mean we can save everybody! Amazing! That's amazing!" Mimi leaped at Garfiel as he explained the logic behind his decision. But her long tail immediately rose up, its tip pointing toward city hall. "But is that really all right? I'm getting a sort of bad feeling that's making my hair stand up." "Can't underestimate intuition. My ears got tired from how many times the general told me that the Archbishops of the Seven Deadly Sins are bad news. Still..." The only person Garfiel knew who was connected to Witches was the Witch who had a foul personality and was slumbering in the Sanctuary's tomb. It was a fact that she was imbued with incredible power. But Garfiel never, ever had felt like he'd lose to her in a contest of strength. Whatever the case, the Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins had to be taken down for the city to be freed. "It'd be great if we could just shut her up. At the very least, I wanna get a good look at the enemy's face." "You mean ree-con? Mm...okay! Let's go do some ree-con!" Though Mimi had seemed initially cautious about the dangers, she agreed with Garfiel's plan in the end. Mimi readied the beloved staff that she carried on her back, and Garfiel slipped his silvery shields onto both arms. After giving his gear a final check and confirming that the steel was wrapped around his thick arms, Garfiel was ready for combat. "Let's go." With that brief declaration, the two broke into a run toward city hall. The Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins Subaru'd beaten a year earlier apparently had a considerable number of followers with him. The combat power of the disciples had been middling at best, but at any rate, there'd been a lot of them. And of course, they were good at blending into crowds. They'd have to deal with that on the fly and take back city hall by force. Garfiel had presented it as reconnaissance to Mimi for expediency's sake, but in his heart, he intended to overwhelm the enemy with speed and violence. At least, that was the plan until he picked up the exceptionally dense odor of blood seeping from city hall. *** As the pair stopped, that thick stench of iron was wafting over from the street right in front of them. If they went straight ahead and turned the corner, city hall would be right in front of their noses. There was no doubting from whence the scent hailed. "Garf, don't! Don't...!" The instant Garfiel tried to advance toward the scent of blood, Mimi grasped his loincloth. She shook her head in rejection, almost in tears as she repeated, "Don't." But he couldn't turn back. If he retreated, he wouldn't be able to fulfill Liara's Lisha's wish. "If you don't wanna go, stay here. Me,

I'll rip this asshole's head off alone if I have to!" "Garf!" Shaking off Mimi's grip, Garfiel raced down the street. Rounding the corner, his vision opened up. City hall was right before him, and when he laid eyes on the square that led to the building a tragedy awaited him. *** The scent of blood was so strong that it made him crinkle his nose, and a single glance was enough for him to recognize the traces of a gruesome slaughter. The square in front of city hall, which was surrounded by waterways on three sides, was overflowing with so much blood that it was almost impossible to tell what color the paving stones used to be. A great many had already perished, their corpses tumbled into pools of their own blood based on their equipment, these victims had been Pristellan guardsmen. They'd likely heard the broadcast and had valiantly come running in defense of their city. Then their lives were savagely torn asunder. The corpses numbered thirty or so, but even that grisly detail was not what attracted Garfiel's attention most. Rather, it was the two figures standing side by side at the center of the square, surrounded by those corpses. *** The first was a huge man, large enough that Garfiel had to look up to stare at him. He was gripping large swords in both hands, calmly gazing toward Garfiel's way. The other was a figure with a slender, feminine physique, and this one held a long, slim, single-edged blade, her stance exhibiting such beauty that it made Garfiel tremble. Both were dressed in black outfits from head to foot. Garfiel couldn't get a good look at their faces. "...But judgin' by the way you carry yourself like a warrior and that smell of blood comin' off ya, you two are the ones who did this, right?" Garfiel clacked his fangs as he spoke to the two standing boldly in that bloody square. But neither opponent responded to his provocations. He felt the scar on his forehead throb. "Garf... Those two they're reaaally strong!" With a pattering of footsteps, Mimi caught up with Garfiel and stood alongside him. As he had expected, she, too, was floored by the gruesome state of the square, but her tiny form was taut with caution that exceeded her surprise. His earlier impression that their opponents had shown no reaction had been in error the moment Garfiel and Mimi stepped into the square, they were struck by a ghastly, malevolent atmosphere and a cutting aura that seemed sharp as a blade itself. The pair waiting in the square were so dangerous and hostile that it was immediately obvious they were exceedingly difficult foes. Garfiel felt so threatened that his throat suddenly went dry; it was as if the point of a sword was resting against his beating heart. Their enemies were clearly masters who had stepped beyond the realm of mere mortals and unless he surpassed these sentinels, he could not fulfill his oath. "Ha, this is gettin' interestin'...!" Smiling, Garfiel banged together the shields covering his arms before his chest in an attempt to rouse himself. The screech of metal on metal and a shower of sparks illuminated the beast contained within his timid heart. But even as Garfiel worked himself up, Mimi spread both arms wide and stood in front of him as she shouted. "D-don't! Garf! Not these two! They're too strong! Mimi and Garf can't take them alone! Stop!" "! Can't know till we try it. Ain't no way I'm acceptin' absolutes as set in stone." The words that Mimi used in an attempt to stop Garfiel stabbed at the cracks in Garfiel's heart. Clicking his tongue at his sore insecurities, Garfiel indicated the pair with his chin. "Besides, even if we tuck our tails and run, those two ain't gonna just let us walk outta here. Someone's gotta do this." "Th-then only once! We go clang, pull back, and run. Anything else is no good! Just Mimi and Garf aren't enough! It's hopeless without the captain and Julius!" Seeing that Mimi still wanted to run, Garfiel firmly dug in and refused. Mimi's pleas were the right call. Each of the two before them possessed superhuman might their danger level was equal to, if not greater than, that of the Bowel Hunter. Garfiel largely agreed that facing them unprepared was suicidal. Or at least, he agreed in theory, but accepting it as fact was a different story. The two before his eyes were a wall. Blocking his path with overwhelming power, they represented a wall that he had to challenge and overcome. Having lost to Reinhard without a fight, could he really bear to run from his opponents twice over? He yearned to be the strongest. He had pride in himself. He was aware that he was the shield for his precious comrades. And in a different form than he had wished, he'd reunited with his mother and her new family. To his mother, the safety or peril of the man who had saved her was *** Mimi gave Garfiel a concerned stare as these bewildering emotions whirled about inside him. The sight of her waiting for his decision made him recall the night he had spent protected by her warmth. Instantly, Garfiel shook his head as the obstinacy that held him in place had melted away. "...All right. We'll do like you said. Give it all we got for just one hit, then we pull out. We'll gather our crew and then come back to mount our real attack that's fine, right?" "Mm! Yeah! Let's go and do our best-best!" Mimi looked relieved that Garfiel had reined in his recklessness. Now on the same page, they turned as one to face their enemies. The pair opposing them had watched their exchange in silence. It wouldn't have been strange for them to attack during Garfiel and Mimi's debate, but they had not, be it out of pride, mercy, or composure Garfiel and Mimi would make them regret that. *** Without any signal, Garfiel and Mimi simultaneously launched themselves at their opponents. Garfiel ended up matched up against the woman with his strength, and Mimi, the big man with her maneuverability. As Garfiel drew near with the speed of an arrow, the woman remained calmly poised, not moving a muscle. The distance between them vanished in the blink of an eye, and at five to four paces out, Garfiel initiated the first attack, swinging up with a bestial claw. Instantly, a sword flashed with such entrancing beauty, it was enough to make anyone watching lose themselves in it. " Gah!" That moment, Garfiel threw his right shield up to intercept the sword as he kicked toward the woman's open chest. She dodged it without even the slightest wasted movement. As her body twisted away, her blade, which had been caught on his shield, was freed for a renewed attack. Neck, shoulder, arm the longsword twisted like a snake to defend them all as a chorus of sword meeting shield rang out. Evading a strike, Garfiel instantaneously retaliated with another kick; the woman blocked this with her scabbard as she was sent flying back. "The hell?" Garfiel raised an eyebrow at how light the woman felt. To his right, Mimi ran circles around her huge opponent and slipped under his massive greatswords, waving her staff to conduct a magic attack. When a blue explosion rocked her opponent and put him on the back foot, it seemed like that was as good a time as any for them to evacuate from the square. The huge, tottering man wouldn't be able to catch Mimi. It shouldn't be difficult for her to escape unscathed. As for the woman he'd driven back, she was in no position to withstand a follow-up attack from Garfiel. "For starters, we'll take one down!!" Therefore, he decided it was time to strike. Garfiel bared his fangs and leaped toward the woman. With her blade still where the shield had last deflected it, he whipped his claw toward the woman's wide-open torso. "You're min !" He had her right where he wanted her the instant he was certain of this, death closed in on him from behind. *** The distance between him and the giant vanished. That ghastly aura was the only warning Garfiel got. Curtailing his attack, he flipped his body back and leaped up. Not a moment later, a greatsword swung downward and smashed his body into the ground. "Gah, arghhh?!" Caught up in the shock wave, the force blew Garfiel's thoughts away as he hacked up a clump of blood. After bouncing off the ground, he felt another blow close in on him from the side. He was lucky that his arm made it just in time to catch the greatsword with his shield. Even with the lessened impact, he was still sent skipping across the ground and the surface of the water. Pursuing Garfiel as he soared through the air, the giant and the woman simultaneously leaped up. Death was near. Aiming to catch him in a merciless pincer attack, they came in from both sides, keeping Garfiel pinned in the middle. He deflected the longsword coming from the front with a shield and evaded a savage greatsword swing from behind by kicking the weapon away at the last moment. Guessing the path the sword would take, Garfiel miraculously managed to parry it. But as a shower of sparks scorched his cheeks, Garfiel's body was crushed by greatsword swings that came from above and below. "Gwuh!" His hip bones and ribs strained, then snapped. The blunt trauma alone left his vision bloodred as he was pushed to the brink of death. Even as groans of pain and globules of blood spilled from his mouth, he never stopped searching for a path that would lead him to survival. However, these two powerful foes would permit no such thing. Still speechless, his attackers turned their soundless slashes into heartless bloodlust as they continued to assail Garfiel. The woman's swordsmanship was sharp, representing the epitome of how beautiful death could be. The weight of her individual blows could not compare with that of the giant, but the skilled footwork and technique with which she wielded her long blade meant that the slightest misstep on Garfiel's part would inevitably result in a lethal blow slipping past his guard. The large man's fighting style was crude and violent, but the chaos and lack of polish served to optimize its destructiveness. He swung swords that a normal person would struggle to lift up even with two arms, while he wielded them with a single hand each, raging like an implacable storm of destruction incarnate. "Ngh! Aaaaaah!!" On one side, there were dazzling sword slashes that flowed like water. On the other, there were destructive sword swings that would crush anything that stood in their path, like an implacable maelstrom. Battered by these two very different styles of swordsmanship that sat at the opposite extremes of sound and motion, Garfiel's mind was reaching its limit. He was avoiding and parrying death on pure instinct, only narrowly escaping from multiple fatal blows. At this rate, he would inevitably be sliced to death or crushed by the sheer weight of heavy sword strokes It is because you will kill me that you are my first love, Garfiel Tinzel. The instant death entered his thoughts, that sweet, dark invitation to what lay beyond life echoed loudly within him. Instantly, his head seethed as he abandoned those clouded musings. He roared: "Graaaaaah!!" His explosive increase in aggression diminished the ferocity of the incoming attacks ever so slightly. The skeletal structure of Garfiel's face audibly changed, and both of his muscular arms bulged in size as golden fur began covering all his exposed skin. Transforming only his upper body usually lowered his ability to reason and replaced it with an animallike combativeness, but if anything, his thoughts grew clearer. Roaring at the silent pair, he used his

blessing of the earth spirit to make the ground beneath his feet explode. Sending blood and gravel flying as he flew across the gore-drenched battlefield helped interfere with the enemy's coordination. The sudden change in footing had caused the woman to lose her balance because of her light weight. A bestial claw, sharp as any blade, didn't miss this opportunity. Just before the blow struck the woman's windpipe, the giant got in between to shield her. A single blow from the mighty tiger was about to rend that thick mass of flesh *** An explosive sound rang out, leaving Garfiel thunderstruck. Garfiel's blow had been halted by the massive man's arms. However, these were not the same arms carrying the greatswords. Opening up his outfit, the giant had used additional, hidden arms to stop Garfiel's attack with brute force. All told, four arms were now out, leaving no obvious openings. This overwhelming combination of attack and defense completely stymied Garfiel's counterattack. Instantly, the mighty tiger that should have been the epitome of aggression was brought to a standstill. In other words, in a battlefield where life and death were decided from moment to moment, his life was unguarded and exposed. Circling around from behind the towering man, the female attacker closed in on Garfiel from his blind spot, sword at the ready. Her attack almost seemed like a beautiful sword dance. And in his current state, she could easily lop off Garfiel's head like he was a scarecrow. Even as death approached from behind, Garfiel had no moves to make. Sensing death coming from the front and the back, he caught a shadowy figure in the corner of his vision flashing him a bloody smile as she laughed "Choyasaaa!!" A powerful shout interrupted, summoning a blue magic wall that blocked the woman's sword. The wall made a sound like ice cracking as the blade slid across the barrier's surface and thrust harmlessly toward the ground. Mimi had returned to the field of battle, saving Garfiel in the nick of time. "Garf, you said you'd run right away!" As Mimi clutched her staff, her first words were a blunt criticism of Garfiel's refusal to follow their plan. Hearing her voice coming from behind his back in his half-transformed state, Garfiel realized what a fool he had been. Desperate for results, he'd courted death by misjudging how formidable his opponents were. If Mimi hadn't been there, Garfiel would have undoubtedly met a grisly end his life cut short without ever achieving his dream of becoming the strongest. " Ohooooaaaaagh!!" Pushing aside the relief that he felt at being saved, Garfiel howled and yanked his arm free from his grappling opponent. Kicking the giant in the chest, he didn't bother to see the results as he leaped clear to rejoin Mimi. Putting an arm around her slender waist, he poured strength into his legs. It was time to take Mimi and retreat. Following her initial suggestion, they'd gather their comrades and return in force. *** Right before he could jump, the woman pursued him in a low stance. Mimi turned her staff toward the approaching woman, deploying a triple-layered magical barrier surpassing what she'd summoned before and using the thick walls to bar the woman's path. Garfiel was glad he had Mimi here with him. She'd saved him time and again. As that thought occurred to him, Garfiel was already flexing his legs, and " Ah." There was a soft, strained cry and a light impact. He heard something that sounded like ice breaking. This caught him by surprise, and he wondered what had happened as he finished leaping away. Paving stones shattered as the half-beast sailed into the sky, seemingly streaming a trail of fresh blood in his wake. Fresh blood... Where the hell was it coming from? "Hey, shorty?" The moment he called out to her, Garfiel swiftly released his half-transfiguration and returned to human form. However, the chill that ran up his spine was all that occupied him, to the point that he didn't even notice the unsettling feeling of his fur falling out. Mimi was limp in his arms. When he looked down, he saw that the woman was peering up at Garfiel in the sky, pulling back the longsword she had thrust at them. He noticed that the longsword was stained in blood along half its length. *** He could feel something warm spreading across his stomach. The girl in his arms was not moving. Her staff...was falling to the ground. He landed, then bounded once more. Leaping onto the roof of the nearest building, Garfiel fled without regard for anything else. There was no pursuit. The two foes simply watched as the wounded weaklings escaped. What their enemies thought of them and their abilities wasn't important at the moment. Jumping five more times to distance them from the square, Garfiel broke the roof of the building that he picked to land on, then set down the girl in his arms. Mimi's eyes were closed. A great deal of blood was still coursing out of her pierced chest. Hastily, he stripped away her clothes around the source of bleeding and checked the wound. Fortunately, it apparently missed her vitals. Of course, she was in danger if she wasn't treated immediately, but a user of healing magic was right there with her. Pressing a hand to the wound, Garfiel poured magic energy into Mimi's body. Well aware that he wasn't cut out for the role, he'd put his soul into learning healing magic. He wanted the power so that he could manage if something happened to anyone in the Sanctuary. That was why Garfiel had focused his efforts on studying healing magic, and in the process, he had learned a decent amount about treating the wounded in general. It was time to put all that hard work to use. It was an opportunity to show how far he'd come. This was surely the exact situation he'd wanted to prepare for. Even a wound this serious would close up in a flash with some healing mana. Touching his palm to the open wound, he could sense the blood coursing beneath the skin, the flesh, the innards, and the healing magic he was pouring in. He poured and poured, but the wound... It wasn't closing. "Why won't...?" He heard someone speaking in a very frail voice. He wanted to kill whoever was speaking in such a pathetic voice at a time like this. Lifting his face, he looked around. There was no one else there. He immediately realized that the voice...had been his own. I was the one who sounded that weak? Why did I let out a voice like that? That's just... That's just like...like "!! Close! Close, close, damn it! Heal, heal, healhealheal!!!" He kept pouring all the mana his body could muster into the healing magic. Ignoring his own wounds, he sent waves of healing energy into Mimi's battered body, filling it with gentle power. And yet the wound that needed to close would not. "...No...way." Unable to accept the reality before him, Garfiel spat out in a frail voice once more. Then he slugged his own cheek, cutting his lip with his own fangs, and used the pain to rouse himself. This wasn't the time to wallow in despair. There had to be a way. There just had to. He knew it existed. Of course it did. He was just too stupid to realize it. He had to think. Not knowing was no reason to give up. At any rate, he had to do something to save this girl. She was the one who'd helped Garfiel cry. It wasn't right for this girl to die for his sake. *** Clacking his fangs, Garfiel was still in a daze as he leaped off that roof. Keeping pressure on the girl's wound, he tried to stop the bleeding as he continued attempting his ineffective healing magic. There was a scent of blood, and death, hanging over the city. He didn't spot another soul as he reviewed all available information in his mind. I'll take anyone who can help. Please just save this girl. Someone, somewhere, please show me a miracle. Please tell me. If there's anything that I can do, then tell me how to save this girl. He was so desperate that he was even willing to trade his life for hers if it came to it. Garfiel focused everything on his sense of smell. The scent of water, the scent of blood, the scent of violence fanned by emotions run amok, the scent of scorched flesh amid those countless smells, Garfiel's nose picked out the one he wanted. He knew this one. And it was the one that Garfiel had been searching for. Leaping over obstacles, racing forward, Garfiel was feverish by the time he finally reached his destination. He arrived at the same building he had visited just the day before and rushed into one of the rooms inside. A large number of people were shocked to see his bloodied form. He had no time to explain. Swiveling his head, Garfiel searched for the man he could rely on. "Garfiel?!" Someone called his name. Turning, he spotted the one he was looking for. He lifted his head. Straight ahead at the back of the room, he saw Subaru. Subaru Natsuki. To Garfiel, this man symbolized miracles; he was the personification of the ray of light that revealed hope in the direst of situations. With tottering feet and a heavy head, he raced toward his hope while carrying an all-too-light weight in his arms. Subaru's cheeks stiffened as he got a good look at Garfiel. He had noticed Mimi's limp body in his arms. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, General!! I'm...! I'm useless! Worthless...!!" Dropping to his knees in front of Subaru, he held up Mimi. Then he despaired, cursing his own foolishness. He hadn't protected his family. He'd failed to fulfill his oath to serve as a shield. He'd challenged the enemy on his own judgment and been routed, and as a result, this kindhearted girl was now on the brink of death. "Garfiel, what did...? No, we'll leave that for later! Ferris!" "I know! Quick, lay her down!" Taking Mimi from Garfiel's arms, Subaru set her down on the long table. Garfiel simply watched as the nearby, pretty cat-eared girl put a hand upon Mimi's wound. The next instant, an overwhelming amount of healing mana swelled up. This was incomparable with what Garfiel could wield. If Garfiel's healing magic was a drop of rain, this person's power was a thundering waterfall. It was so great that even bringing the dead back to life seemed within reach. Garfiel felt like his soul slipped out of his body as he gazed upon such godlike healing power in a daze. Then Subaru gently rested a hand upon his shoulder. When Garfiel slowly looked up at him, Subaru nodded. He only noticed now that Subaru's leg was heavily bandaged. "Not gonna sugarcoat it and call this a good situation, but you did well getting this far. With Ferris here, it's the best place you could've brought her. We'll be able to save Mimi thanks to you." "Thanks...to me...?" What was Subaru saying? Thanks to Garfiel, Mimi would be saved? What was he even talking about? Wasn't it Garfiel's fault that Mimi had ended up like this to begin with? Even so, Subaru had naturally arrived at the conclusion that she'd been saved by Garfiel's good judgment. But that was all wrong. He felt lost. His thoughts were empty and hollow. The disgust and guilt tortured him and seemed like they would never stop. There was a persistent ringing in his ears that wouldn't go away. He found the insistent pain of his own wounds laughable and out of place. I want blame. I want pain. I don't want anyone to forgive me for my stupidity. Garfiel's wish was one that would be granted.

After all, the world was not so forgiving. There would be a price to pay for his errors but the bill would come in the most loathsome way possible. "Ferris, what's the matter...?" Sensing that something was wrong, Subaru suddenly asked a tentative question. In front of him, the treatment to save Mimi's life was still underway. An incredible stream of mana was flowing. It was so awesome that even the residual energy seemed powerful enough to cure all ills. And yet the girl employing this breathtaking power had a desperate look about her as she shook her head. "Why...? The wound...isn't closing! I can't help her like this! I don't understand!!" As that pained report echoed through the room, Garfiel slumped against the wall and crumpled to the ground. The wall was cold. The floor was cold. He was covered in blood. The wound would not heal. *** As Garfiel hung his head, the phantom woman in black gazed upon him. She said nothing. She didn't make a sound. She didn't even smile. Her black, hollow eyes told him nothing. Nothing except that the price for his mistake was being repaid in blood. CHAPTER 5 *** 1 "Old Man Wil! Carry her! I can't stop the bleeding here!" Seeing Ferris change his expression, Wilhelm did as he instructed and picked up Mimi's bloodied body. The two proceeded to rush out of the conference room with urgent steps, heading to the field hospital in the structure's basement. With healing magic being ineffective, they had no choice but to fall back onto ordinary medical treatments. Fortunately, Ferris was skilled not only in healing magic, but also surgical techniques as well. If not for that, it was likely that there would be nothing else they could do but despair. "Has my heartache reached any of you even a little? Really, for beings lower than insects trapped inside a box, how are you so slow on the uptake? I wuv it! Bwa-ha-ha-ha!!" Even as some of them were making heroic efforts to save a life, Lust continued her menacing broadcast. In truth, this could no longer be considered a broadcast that was meant to intimidate its listeners. It was simply being used to mock and scorn, to spit upon the valiant efforts of others. It was a sadistic ritual. *** Under that downpour of malice, Subaru looked at Garfiel, who had flopped against the wall. Covering his face with both hands and hanging his head, Garfiel sported wounds all over his body. They were definitely not the kind that could be ignored. However, the gravest wound was not to his body, but his heart. "You scum are even lower than insects! And now that you've deeply hurt me, I really want some payback for this pain to my heart! My heart will be assuaged by what I said before! I expect great things from the smarter meatbags among you!" Lust redoubled her malice during that time as well. Subaru focused on her voice, searching for a way to land even a single retaliatory blow against this villain who kept rambling without a care for those who were forced to keep listening to her. Information, weaknesses, clues about the enemy, anything would do with that mindset, he noticed a particular sound. Besides Lust's high-pitched, earsplitting voice, there was also the sound of her clapping and stomping her feet. She acted like a child who was struggling to settle down, and that certainly also grated on Subaru's nerves but he was focused on something else. He heard...another sound. The source was most likely right beside the broadcasting metia, unintentionally mixing in with her voice and reaching Subaru's ears through the broadcast. Then Subaru's sense of reason instinctively rejected the identity of that sound. Don't pay attention. Stop. You don't need to know Don't give in to your cowardice. *** Biting down hard on his lip, Subaru used the pain to come back to his senses. He clenched his teeth as he examined the nature of what he had just rejected. Concentration, rejection, comprehension, rejection, comprehension, comprehension, comprehension That was what hummed in Subaru's ears. The buzzing of an unbelievable quantity of insects was mixed in with the threatening broadcast. It was incredibly anxiety-inducing, the manifestation of a nightmare that provoked an instinctive disgust, and the instant Subaru realized that, he "Incidentally, isn't it about time for the smarter meatbags among you to notice something that you really should've kept ignoring?" " Ah." She pointed out with terrifying timing that she'd planned for them to hear it all along. "Bwa-ha-ha-ha! You should've just been enchanted by my beautiful voice, but now you're paying the price because you just haaad to do something pointless. Speaking of which, the stupid try-hards who tried to force their way in should be having a real bad time right about now." Subaru was stunned. She had basically just revealed that they were still dancing in the palm of her hand. Toying with their minds like this wasn't enough to sate Lust's malicious appetite. She smacked her lips and made sure everyone could hear it. "I'm so deeply hurt that you would slap away the hand that I held out! That's why I figured it's time to stop holding back and time to tighten up a bit around here. And all you meatbags who got excited when I mentioned making things tighter just now, I'll have to teach you what the word serious really means! Bwa-ha-ha-ha! Bwa-ha-ha! Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! ...Haaah." Her laughing gradually lost strength, and by the end, only a tedious sigh trickled forth. That sharp drop in emotion made it sound like Lust had decided to forsake everyone else as she continued: " I'll start by turning the meatbags at my feet into mincemeat." *** "If you want to avoid that, I've only got one demand. If you're going to surrender, then just get it over with already and bow your heads as low as you can. That's the smart thing to do, right?" Calmly, with none of the excitement she had shown just moments ago, Lust thrust her demand onto the city. That sudden reversal and a threat that promised gore made Subaru gasp for breath. Then Lust's disturbing moment of composure ended with such ease and speed that Subaru could have sworn the change was audible. "Well, that's all from little ol' me! ...And I said this already, but here's a friendly reminder that we've set up camp in the control towers, so don't try anything funny. The sight of a drowning human's face is so awful, I almost can't bear to look at one again! Bwa-ha-ha-ha!" With one last screeching laugh, the spiteful broadcast finally came to an end. It had been a completely one-sided statement of intent that left just as suddenly as it had arrived. Her way of speaking was perfectly in character for an Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins a manifestation of ugliness in a new form. "M-messing with us like that..." At the same time the broadcast ended, Subaru no longer heard the buzzing that had put his heart in a vise. His body instantly relaxed, and as soon as it did, the first words out of his breathless mouth were grumbles. Of course, trash-talking someone who couldn't hear it was little more than the distant whimpers of a beaten dog. Subaru clenched his fist in frustration at his total inability to even say a retort that would reach their enemy. " Subaru, can you hear me?" Abruptly, Subaru heard a voice calling his name from the round table. When he looked over, he saw that the conversation mirror, which had been abandoned in haste, had not lost its glow and was currently displaying a morose knight's face upon its surface. "Yeah, I hear you. You caught the broadcast just now, right?" "But of course. Loath as I am to say it, that voice surely reached every corner of the city. There is Mimi's condition to consider as well. TB and I shall return to you. We will speak again once we arrive." "Yeah..." Once he finished that short exchange with Julius, Subaru closed his eyes once before turning toward the conference-room window. "...We can talk it over soon." The red-eyed flag fluttering atop the control tower in the distance looked like it was laughing at the Water Gate City. 2 A short time later, Julius and the others who had ventured outside returned to the designated shelter. "B-Big Sis, hang in there...!" "Keep fighting, Big Sis..." Concerned for their unconscious sister, Hetaro and TB continued calling out to Mimi. Feeling their sister's wounds due to their shared blessing even now, both brothers had pain and grief carved onto their faces in equal measure. "Every second counts! Keep pressure on the wound to stem the bleeding... Argh! This method is so outdated...!" Ferris was too worked up for anyone else to get a single word in. Everyone present understood what was at stake. Critically wounded, Mimi could be entrusted to none but him. "Sir Subaru." It was then that Wilhelm called to Subaru with an austere expression. Sensing unconcealable anguish from the man's subdued voice and seeing the deep creases marring his forehead, Subaru nodded. He had a pretty good idea what was upsetting the elderly butler. "Mimi's wound won't close. It's probably..." "...It is almost certainly due to the blessing of the grim reaper." Picking up where Subaru left off, Wilhelm spoke those words with resolve. The blessing of the grim reaper was a terrifying power that afflicted any wound caused by the bearer of the blessing with a curse that kept it from healing. Based on what they had seen, there was little doubt this was why healing magic had no effect on Mimi's injury. Additionally, from all Subaru had heard, there was only one individual he knew who possessed such a blessing. Theresia van Astrea, the prior generation of Sword Saint Wilhelm's departed wife. "I'm scared to ask this...but, Wilhelm, is your arm...?" *** When Subaru asked, Wilhelm stripped off his butler's jacket without a word. The old wound on his left shoulder was concealed under bandages it was the unhealed gouge that his wife had left upon him. The bandages wrapping the wound that had been carved in him by the blessing of the grim reaper were faintly red and wet. "If that's still bleeding, then..." "My old wound has reopened. It seems that I cannot pretend to be uninvolved." Putting his jacket back on, Wilhelm quietly murmured. Subaru couldn't think of anything to say to him. However, what dwelled in Wilhelm's eyes was neither hope nor relief, but anger. Even though he'd discovered the possibility that his wife, the one he had supposedly lost so long ago, might still be alive " My wife passed away fifteen years ago. That fact has not changed." Pushing down the roiling emotions he must have been feeling, Wilhelm refuted what Subaru had been thinking as he leveled his gaze directly at him. That moment, Subaru thought he could feel a small part of Wilhelm's surging desire to fight. "Someone out there is involved in her death, in the desecration of her soul. I swear upon my sword and the days I spent together with my wife they shall pay." With an indomitable resolve, the Sword Devil had become as tenacious as hardened steel. Anyone who set eyes upon this man would realize that there was nothing else to be said. Cheap condolences and consolations would only be an affront to his determination. *** Standing beside Wilhelm, Subaru quietly took a breath. Ferris continued doing everything he could while Hetaro and TB stayed huddled at Mimi's side. Ferris soon shooed away the rest, sending them to an adjacent waiting room. Subaru and the others continued discussing plans as they changed locations. He was still deeply worried about Mimi's condition, but the city's situation didn't allow him to focus on Mimi alone. The most pressing issue they needed to discuss was " As you have

all heard, the Archbishop made a second broadcast. The lives of the hostages at city hall may not have very long." One of their group raised a hand and shed the jacket of his white suit as he kicked off the conversation. He was a man with meticulously combed hair and an elegant face however, his expression was taut. This palpable desire to deal with the formidable problem left before them belonged to none other than the president of the Muse Company, Kiritaka Muse. Right up until moments before, Kiritaka had been doing his best to get a grasp on the situation while suppressing disorder across the entire city as one of the Council of Ten, but after hearing the earlier broadcast, he decided to participate in the urgent meeting that was currently being held. Given that he was a central figure in the city, Subaru had wanted to confirm something with him right at the start. "There's no time, so I'll get straight to the point Kiritaka, could you give us an explanation about the Witch's bones?" It was Anastasia who cut to the chase without the slightest hesitation, taking a position at the front of the waiting room. She discarded the demure attitude she usually adopted, turning a sharp, serious look toward Kiritaka. Realizing from her keen gaze that Anastasia was serious, Kiritaka nodded and assented to her request. "I suppose there is no point hiding it at this juncture. Therefore, in brief... The Witch's bones do exist, and they are here in the city. Only the people on the Council of Ten know where they are... Of course, I am one of them." "...So the bones seriously exist?" When Kiritaka confirmed as much, everyone present drew in a small, short breath. It was tangible proof that the establishment of the city four centuries prior had indeed been related to a Witch. But Kiritaka met their general reaction with a "However" before continuing his explanation. "I must say this bluntly. The Witch's bones absolutely cannot be moved. Accordingly, we cannot comply with the opponent's demand. The bones cannot be used as a bargaining chip." "Master Kiritaka, is it simply your opinion that they should not be moved?" "No. I am not saying they cannot be moved due to custom or adherence to ancient history. In a situation where human lives hang in the balance, such things are not even worth considering." "Then are you saying that...?" "They physically cannot be moved." Kiritaka's reply to Crusch's question was firm, but his follow-up to Subaru's words was mostly listless. It was an oddly roundabout way to ultimately say they could not be moved even if someone wanted to. The Witch's bones if Al's murmur was to be believed, the chance that they were relics of Typhon was high. She'd been a young girl and barely any different from Beatrice in stature, so it was hard to imagine that the difficulty in moving them was due to size or weight. There had to be another reason. "Maybe it's more about where they're currently located or the role they play?" "That would make sense. If the Witch's bones truly do exist but they're kept a secret from everyone except the city's council, there should be a fairly important reason for it." Anastasia quickly agreed with Subaru's conjecture. The pair's hypothesis made Kiritaka visibly tense up before letting out a resigned sigh. "...As you have surmised, special power dwells within the Witch's bones power sufficient to serve as the foundation of this city. Without the bones, the Water Gate City is unsustainable." "What happens if they're moved?" "It seems that all present are aware of how this city was founded. Should the bones be moved, the city will undoubtedly sustain damage on par with that legendary event... No, it would likely be an even greater disaster than that. The result would be the same as if the Witch Cult flung the water gates of this city wide open." "...I see. And that's why you can't move 'em." As he made that remark, Subaru glanced at Crusch. She shook her head side to side in response. The power of the blessing of wind reading allowed Crusch to tell whether the words of others were truth or lies. There were a number of loopholes, but it was a pretty safe bet that this meant Kiritaka's statement was not willful deception. In other words, handing the Witch's bones over was tantamount to destroying the city. By including such a terrible condition in her proposed deal, Lust had clearly miscalculated. "Or perhaps we should assume that she came up with her terms knowing full well what it would mean for the city." It was then that Julius murmured an alternative explanation with a faint crease in the brow of his forehead. Having returned with TB and joined the renewed meeting, he swept his hair to the side when he noticed all attention gathering upon him. "After visiting several shelters, I can safely say that the residents of the city have endured well. Even so, there will be no end to the number of people who find this current situation hopeless. Without understanding the consequences it will entail, some may even demand that the Witch's bones should be handed over." "You mean Lust is getting off on seeing the city rip itself apart? ...That's a sick joke." It was a pessimistic bit of speculation, but at the same time, it was difficult to rule out. When Capella, the Archbishop of Lust, made her broadcast, all of them had gotten a glimpse of the joy she got out of sadistically toying with people's hearts. Perhaps the real objective of making the entire city hear her voice was simply to tyrannize the hearts of others " We ain't handin' over those bones, and we sure as hell ain't entertainin' their stupid demands. It wouldn't change a damn thing." It was a quiet declaration. The tenor of that voice made Subaru lift his face with a strong sense that something was off. He found the quietness of that voice deeply unsettling. This was because the one who just spoke was always so strong and spirited a far cry from the impression of the subdued, muted emotion the voice gave off now. Sporting charred-brown fur and a large, muscular frame, the demi-human dog-man Ricardo was normally bold with his words and his actions. Like Julius, he had returned from his excursion and now stood in silence with his thick arms crossed, seemingly thinking hard about something. Then he slowly walked over to the wall and broke the silence again. "I didn't say thanks yet. Bro, if ya hadn't brought Mimi here, there's no doubt in my mind she'd be dead. I owe you one. Big-time. Seriously, thank you." Ricardo sank down and sat cross-legged, pressing his head to the floor as he conveyed his gratitude. His words were directed at none other than Garfiel, who was still slumped against the wall, his head hanging like a rag doll's. *** Despondent, Garfiel had only barely managed to do as Subaru instructed and cast healing magic upon his own wounds. He opened his jade eyes, revealing a frail, clouded gaze filled with bewilderment and remorse. Based on what Garfiel had wailed when he brought Mimi in, it was clear he felt responsible for Mimi's condition. As her guardian, Ricardo had a right to blame him for what had happened. And yet instead of accusing Garfiel, Ricardo had chosen to bow his head. Ricardo's sincerity stabbed deep into Garfiel's heart, driving the boy further into the grasping hands of guilt. "Well? Shouldn't we stop dancin' around the issue here and ask what we need to ask?" It was Al who pointed out their inactivity from his seat at the long table. Fiddling with the seams of his helm, he surveyed all those present. "That nutty broadcast earlier can't be unrelated to those two rushing in here all a mess. They're crucial live witnesses who just returned from city hall. That's a big deal, am I right?" Though wounded, Garfiel jerked his chin up. Al shrugged with a familiar disinterest. His aloof demeanor came off as insensitive, but he asserted that was what the situation called for. There was no doubt that Garfiel and Mimi had confronted their enemies at city hall. Perhaps that had been a hasty decision, but the two had tried in their own way to do the best they could. And they'd paid the price in fact, Mimi was still paying for it even as they spoke. "Garfiel, it might be tough to talk about it, but please tell us what happened. I get that no chump could've put you through the wringer like that. But..." *** "...we have to give a serious thrashing to all the morons who attacked this city. We'll need your strength to make that happen. I can't afford to let you stay down in the dumps like this." He knew it was a cruel demand to make. But Subaru gave it to Garfiel straight and spoke from the heart. Garfiel had challenged the enemy based on his personal judgment but had failed to protect Mimi. It was easy for Subaru to imagine what crushing regret and responsibility must have weighed on Garfiel's chest. That was only natural. Subaru himself felt the exact same way Garfiel did. "...We heard...that broadcast. Me and the runt headed for the center of the city all because I wanted to give that bastard broadcastin' out of city hall a good beatdown." Haltingly, his face still angled toward the floor, Garfiel began to speak. Suspending his treatment, he clenched a fist so hard that it nearly broke the bones in his hand. That was the only way he could keep his churning emotions from exploding. "There were a whole lotta dead people in front of city hall. I think they were city guards. The ones who did them in were a pair, a big man and a thin woman. Both fought with swords, and they..." Garfiel's fangs trembled as his words trailed off. What he had left unsaid were no doubt Garfiel's defeat and the cause of Mimi's wound, which refused all attempted treatments. What made Subaru want to doubt his ears was that it was a complete mystery who that pair might be. The fact that they were acting in concert with Lust meant they were definitely Witch Cultists. But as Subaru knew, no Archbishops matched the physical characteristics that Garfiel had mentioned. They were unknown Witch Cultists who weren't even Archbishops. What's more "Both of 'em are a match for... Actually, I think they're stronger than me." Garfiel seemed weak, seemingly shrinking in on himself as he agonized over that thought. His awe at his opponents' might and his guilt for letting Mimi get hurt left Garfiel looking incredibly small. " Looks like ya got a pretty good grasp on the strength and weakness of your opponents." "Ricardo..." Ricardo had kept his head pressed to the floor right up until he made that comment. An instant later, a terrifying, ferocious, and bestial presence filled the room. "Tell me, Bro. Of the two ya mentioned, which one is it? Which one do I cut apart to avenge Mimi?" If Ricardo's exhaustive thanks were sincere, then he was equally sincere in just how far he would go to rip and tear his enemy to sate his thirst for vengeance. Taken aback by that daunting show of brutality, Garfiel hesitated slightly. "...It was the woman who got the runt. It happened when Mimi covered for me." "That was Mimi's choice. I ain't gonna criticize her decision." "I get it. I get ya. No one... Not a single person's blamin' me...but I do! That's why I gotta give it to that woman...!!" Practically flying to his feet, Garfiel wore a mournful look on his face as he shouted his desire for retribution. Rising in turn, Ricardo stared down at the boy across their

difference in height. "That was a good howl. A man never goes back on his word. Now stand up and fight." "Yeah...yeah! Damn right I will! I'm gonna do it...!" Garfiel howled as if he was tearing into something with his jaws as the light returned to his clouded eyes. There was some bravado at work, but now angry, Garfiel had sworn to Ricardo that he would avenge Mimi. Acknowledging his resolve, Ricardo nodded and glanced momentarily toward Subaru. Though it should have been Subaru giving Garfiel that extra push he needed, Ricardo had thoughtfully acted in his stead. The captain of the Iron Fangs was as good at helping people back to their feet as Subaru expected. "Thanks to Garfiel's report, we now know the degree of danger that awaits us at city hall...and have learned about the sacrifices made by the guards who fought with the resolve to die in defense of the city. Next..." Now that Ricardo had lit a fire under Garfiel, Julius pulled the conversation back on topic, faintly narrowing his yellow eyes as he looked at Subaru. "Subaru, what would you do?" "...Whoa, that's an awfully sloppy way to pass the reins over to someone else." Subaru grimaced at Julius's uncharacteristically haphazard manner of speaking. Julius's only response was a smug chuckle. "I was simply thinking back to the battle with Sloth. I was hoping that you might be particularly effective against the Witch Cult once again. As such, I reasoned that you might come up with a plan that would not have occurred to me." "Don't get carried away, man. If I was that effective against 'em, my leg wouldn't have ended up like this." "That is unfortunate. However, there is also the matter of Lady Emilia. Surely, you do not wish to leave her in her current predicament. I simply wish to confirm what you intend to do." It may not have been the answer he hoped for, but Julius didn't seem particularly disappointed. Of course, he of all people hadn't expected Subaru to turn out to be some kind of mystical Witch Cult killer. Subaru himself immediately understood that it was the second issue Julius had brought up that was the real point. "...Greed is the one who kidnapped Emilia. Even now, his selfish pet theories have every hair on my body standing on end. I don't wanna leave Emilia with that bastard one second longer than I have to." "By that, you mean you are prioritizing Lady Emilia's rescue?" "Damn right I am is what I'd like to say, but..." When he tried to give Julius's question a confident answer, Subaru broke off with a sigh. He did want to get Emilia back as soon as possible. That was, without question, Subaru's true feelings on the matter. The idea of leaving Emilia in the hands of someone with such warped thinking for any period of time made him want to hurl. But the city's dire state and Lust's demands did not permit Subaru to act out of emotion. "We can't let Lust do as she pleases. If we don't stop her, she's gonna wreak absolute havoc with people's minds Plus, that metia is a serious problem." "Agreed. The metia in city hall is a chain that binds everyone in the city." A voice that could reach every part of the city was plenty menacing enough. Lust was clearly aware of its efficacy, but Subaru had a different concern in mind. There was someone else inside the city, someone with an Authority that amplified emotions and made them resonate with those of anyone in the vicinity. If that ability was augmented to a despairing degree by that metia, what would happen? A pandemic of explosively irresistible madness would spread, and the city would be annihilated. To save Emilia, they had to prevent the destruction of the city and regain control over that metia. Both goals required defeating Lust at city hall. Accomplishing this was the first step on the path to rescuing Emilia from Greed's clutches. "The enemy has seized the four control towers as well as the municipal offices at the center of the city. That said, the priority target is obvious. Getting Lust out of city hall comes first. Plus, if Lust was serious during that broadcast earlier, the lives of the people inside city hall are more at risk the longer we wait." "I see... A most valuable opinion. It largely matches my own thoughts." When Subaru detailed his plan, Julius nodded in apparent satisfaction. In all likelihood, the handsome knight had internally come to the same conclusion much sooner. Perhaps making Subaru say it out loud was to test whether Subaru had lost his cool and reached a hasty conclusion. "Good, good. Let's review and take stock." Lightly clapping, Anastasia resumed her self-appointed duty as master of ceremonies. Spreading her hands, she fixed Subaru with her round, light-blue eyes. "I support following Natsuki's plan. I agree that leaving the broadcast metia in that person's hands is dangerous... The longer we let her be, the greater the chance the city's residents might lose the will to carry on and force our hand." "I also concur with the two of you. If we allow the enemy free rein, our options shall gradually diminish. If we are making our move, the sooner the better." With a crisp posture, Crusch agreed with Subaru and Anastasia's conclusion. Just as she had said, they were currently well staffed and ready for a fight. The Muse Company was currently housing Garfiel, Ricardo, Julius, and Wilhelm, distinguished warriors all. Adding in the Iron Fangs and Kiritaka's private forces, the White Dragon's Scale, would enhance their strength even further. However, Kiritaka interrupted that line of thought as he shook his head side to side with a grim face. "I am very sorry. Currently, my personal troops are carrying out a different mission at my direction. They are securing the members of the Council of Ten and escorting them here." "Shit, that's... Nah, that's something you need to do. If one of them blabs, the city'll be destroyed by something other than the water gates. That said, I'd love to improve our chances somehow..." If it was possible, Subaru would've preferred to face the enemy at the same strength they'd been able to field during the battle with Petelgeuse at minimum. After all, they were currently facing no less than three Archbishops of the Seven Deadly Sins, so by simple arithmetic, he assumed the fight would be three times as tough. " Nah, you probably don't need to worry about that, right?" "Al? What do you mean?" Al suddenly interrupted Subaru's train of thought. Twisting his neck, he said, "Well, you know?" as a preamble. "Bro, you're worried about city hall turning into a haunt for the Archbishops of the Seven Deadly Sins, right? But didn't they say in that last broadcast that they've set up camp in each of the control towers?" "? What of it? Is there something odd about that?" "!! Ohhh, I get it now! Yeah, you're right!" Ricardo voiced his confusion, but Subaru grasped what he was getting at. Apparently, they'd each stationed themselves in different control towers and what did that expression imply? "The Archbishops took over the control towers at the same time...but I don't think they're working together like a big happy family. They're the kind of people who'd be willing to start turning on one another even as their enemies close in on them." Subaru pointedly recalled how Sirius and Regulus had nearly gone for each other's throats. Had it not been for Subaru being in the way, the falling-out in the time-tower square would probably have ended with one of them going down. In the first place, the terms harmonious and group activity didn't suit them in the slightest. Could such hyper-individual personalities really rein it in and coordinate properly? "The fact that no one else spoke during Lust's broadcast seems to support that theory. They're all way too keen on promoting their own causes to leave something like that to anyone else." "I cannot call that anything other than a very subjective opinion... However, it is oddly convincing." Subaru's conviction left Julius furrowing his refined eyebrows as the man shut one eye and considered the plausibility of it all. There was no question that this was the most speculative theory they had discussed so far. However, Subaru was certain in his deductions. Having come face-to-face with three Archbishops of the Seven Deadly Sins and having had indirect contact with a fourth, Subaru Natsuki believed wholeheartedly in their warped character. Then just as their counterattack on city hall suddenly seemed genuinely within reach " Whew. Somehow, I managed to finish the treatment." The door to the adjacent room opened, and Ferris emerged, covered in a sheen of sweat as he tottered forward. Covered in bloodstains despite having already changed clothes once, he wiped his brow with a towel as he gave Anastasia his report. "Lady Anastasia, I have done everything I can. The rest..." "How's Mimi? Can ya save her? You will, right?" Ricardo's breathing was ragged as he talked to Ferris over Anastasia's head, hoping for good news. Behind Ricardo, Garfiel stared at Ferris as if clinging to his every word. With their gazes and earnest pleas focused on him, as well as the attention of everyone else in the room, Ferris lowered his eyes. "The wound still isn't closed. For now, I did what I could and stopped the bleeding using primitive methods... Then borrowing the power of the blessing shared between Mimi and her little brothers, we're somehow keeping her going for the moment." "By 'blessing,' do you mean the blessing of thirds? What's that gonna do to them?" "That blessing gives the power to share wounds and fatigue between the three of them to begin with, right? They forced that bond to strengthen, taking a greater share from Mimi's wounds than they normally would. That's extended our time limit, but..." " When Big Sis's life runs out, it means we will die as well, I presume." From the door to the other room, someone behind Ferris cut in with a voice that was short of breath. When Ferris moved to the side, everyone could see Hetaro and TB sitting on the floor of the adjacent room. A simple cot lay between them, and resting on it was Mimi. Their older sister continued to sleep as the two younger brothers gently held her hands However, their free hands were pressed to their own chests in obvious signs of pain. " Ya pair of fools. I swear the both of you don't have a lick of sense." "...When I think of this as Big Sis's pain, I feel a little bit happy I can share it with her." "I am not quite as taken with this as my older brother seems to be. Therefore, captain, I trust that you will do something about this as soon as possible After all, should we die, the three of us will absolutely haunt you." Shouldering a portion of their sister's wounds, the two little brothers braved the same mortal danger. Their courage made Ricardo's fangs tremble. In an attempt to console him, Ferris put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Don't be angry with them. These kids are just desperate to help Mimi." Ferris was standing up for the choice that the two cat-people made. But really, his voice was thick with his own regrets over his lack of ability. "It isn't your fault, Ferris. Besides, I'm guessing those two came up with that idea on their own, didn't they? These children are such a handful. They never stop to think whenever their beloved big sister is involved." With a thin smile, Anastasia indicated that she understood her subordinates' her family's decision. Then Anastasia seemed to slowly bite down on her teeth. "Ricardo." "If we're gonna do it, we do it fast. Otherwise, there ain't

no point. Am I wrong, boss?" When called upon, Ricardo replied without hesitation. From his low growl, it was clear there was no one capable of calling a halt to his determination to fight nor was there anyone who failed to comprehend the feelings urging him onward. With a click of his heels, Julius straightened his back and gave Anastasia a reverent knight's salute. "Lady Anastasia, should you command it, all members of the Iron Fangs can move at once." "Thank you. Our Iron Fangs will secure the route to city hall. After that, ideally, the elites will launch their assault and take control of the building without delay. Our enemies are a looming man, a slender woman, and the Archbishop of Lust." "On our side, we've got Garfiel, Ricardo, Wilhelm, and Julius, right?" " I shall participate as well." It was Crusch who raised her voice. Her long, green hair was tied back, and a longsword hung at her hip. She retightened the straps of her boots as she boldly volunteered for the front lines. "Are you sure you're up for this, Crusch?" "I may not be as I once was, but I have retrained with Wilhelm as my teacher. I also have the power of the blessing of wind reading. I have no intention of weighing anyone down." Before she'd lost her memory, Crusch had been mighty enough to be one of the heavy hitters during the battle against the White Whale. But now Subaru wasn't sure where she stood in strength. If he was blunt, even her gravitas didn't compare with the old Crusch, and he didn't think her current personality was suited to fighting, but "Lady Crusch's natural talents have not waned whatsoever. Her strength with the sword is sufficient. I guarantee it." Apparently wanting to dispel Subaru's concerns, Wilhelm gave his firm stamp of approval. Touching a hand to the hilt of his own sword, he turned both of his blue eyes toward his master. "However, please do not overexert yourself. I respectfully ask that you prioritize your own safety." "It is a noble's duty to stand before the masses, endure the rigors of combat, and shed blood, if need be. Shirking that responsibility in the name of self-preservation would only cause the blameless populace to suffer instead. I will fight, Wilhelm." "...What a headstrong liege I serve. Of course, this is exactly why I have pledged my sword to you." Crusch held strong even as Wilhelm cautioned her. Seeing him stand straighter in approval at his master's reply, Ferris swiftly raised a hand. "Yes! Yes! Me too! Your lovely Ferri will accompany you! Please let me come along!" "Ferris, go to the other shelters and treat whoever is in need. I am happy you are thinking of me, but even if it is for my sake, do not lose sight of which battlefield you should be attending to." "Uuuuuuurgh..." His request denied, Ferris desperately racked his brain for some way to protest. But unable to find any fault with Crusch's eminently reasonable argument, he soon gave in with a tearful face. "Old Man Wil, take care of Lady Crusch. You absolutely have to keep her safe." "Of course. I shall see it through, even if it means I will meet my end in this land." Wilhelm's reply was brimming with powerful, noble determination. In the end, with Crusch added to the mix, the core force tasked with retaking city hall numbered five people. Just as he was reviewing their roster, Subaru noticed Al sitting on the stairs. "Can we depend on you for the coming fight? I've never seen you duke it out, but..." "Weeell, actually, about that... This pep rally is real inspiring and all, but..." "? What's up?" Al scratched the back of his neck as he stood up. Then while pressing a palm against the scabbard of the falchion resting on the back of his hip, he turned his head and looked somewhat uncomfortable. "Sorry about this, but I can't go to city hall. The situation's changed. I've gotta split off from you guys to go find Princess and link up with her." "Huh?! The hell are you talking about at a time like this?!" "I said sorry, didn't I? I really am about all this." When Subaru was taken aback by his sudden declaration, Al gave a vague apology, but this wasn't something that could be settled with a quick apology. He wanted to know what in the world Al was thinking. "For starters, weren't you the one who said you didn't need to worry about Priscilla?" "That was before I got all sorts of new data and had to revise everything. Besides, even if I'm there, I ain't no use in a boss fight at city hall. If I'm just gonna hold the crew back, I might as well not be there. Am I wrong?" "Y-you..." When Al asserted his own powerlessness, Subaru couldn't do anything but gape. Al had been a full participant in the meeting up until that point, so he understood exactly what was at stake. If they didn't take back city hall and send Lust packing, the entire city would be in danger. There was no way he didn't understand that. " Sir Al, you will not reconsider?" Setting Subaru's bewilderment aside for the moment, Julius took the opportunity to pose an additional question toward Al. Turning to address The Finest of Knights, Al simply said, "Yeah," and nodded without enthusiasm. "Sorry, I won't be changing my mind... Unlike you guys, I haven't been able to hook back up with my master." "It is only natural for a vassal to think of his liege. I shall not criticize you for that." "That's appreciated. I'm glad you understand." Al's reply to Julius's elegant words somehow came off as cold. It was just that he seemed guilty for going against everyone's decision and opting to act on his own. Then he looked at Subaru once more. "This isn't exactly what I was talking about, but you're in the same position, right, Bro? I think I've gotta prioritize a woman who's important to me over going to city hall." *** "That said, I'm pretty sure there's a limit to what you can do with that leg anyhow." Al's assertion made Subaru's face crumple as if he'd sustained a painful blow. In a sense, Al's position was totally reasonable. Whatever spin Subaru might put on it, Emilia's safety was not assured whatsoever. It was completely possible that she was in peril that very moment. And with his leg so badly injured, Subaru had few sane choices to pick from. In response to Al's words, there wasn't much Subaru could do. "Aaarghhhhhhh...!" "W-wait Subawu?! What are you doing?!" Enduring the excruciating pain in his right leg, Subaru somehow managed to rise to his feet. Seeing Subaru exert his grievously hurt leg so terribly, his physician, Ferris, hastily rushed over and slapped him on the head. "Owww, that hurts." "Of course it hurts! I told you, you have to rest, so why do you keep being so reckless?! Do you have a problem with Ferri's diagnosis? Because it wouldn't be strange if your leg fell right off!" "I, uh, wanted to prove my resolve, or something like that. Ferris, you of all people should understand how I feel." "Uuugh..." Caught by Subaru's intense black eyes from up close, Ferris pouted and struggled to form a response. This was Subaru's reply, both to Al's words and to his companions who were heading toward a place of death. If his choices had decreased due to his leg wound, he would simply have to push through on grit and guts alone. Al had cited his lack of power as a reason not to participate. That undoubtedly applied to Subaru as well. But Subaru had the heart of a trickster. If he could at least support the others with that, then " There's meaning in pushing myself. This is what I can do for Emilia's sake." "...Are you saying even if you lose your leg, you'll have no regrets?" "Of course I'd have regrets. But they'd only get worse if I back down here and now." "Sigh... If you're going to go this far, you might as well have kept acting cool right up until the very end." Sighing in exasperation, Ferris reached a hand toward Subaru, who was breathing hard as he endured the pain. Then he stroked the thick bandage over his patient's right leg. "I'll use my special trick, then." "What's that? Er...wait a Ow, that hurts! That hurts a lot! Wait, ow, ow, ow! It really...doesn't...hurt?" Gradually, his leg was enveloped in the faint light and heat coming from Ferris's hand. Bit by bit, the stabbing pain was drawn out, and soon, it felt better than ever. "Hey, are you serious...?! If you had such convenient magic all along, don't be stingy and just use it sooner! Yes, yes, yes! I can move! I can..." With the pain completely gone, Subaru emphatically stomped on the floor several times. After that, he slapped his leg where the wound had been. When he did so, he felt something wet on his palm. He saw that it had become deep red. His right leg's wound had split open and was bleeding with a fair bit of force. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, it's not healed?!" "I never said I healed it. I only asked if you'd regret losing the leg. All I did was remove your sense of pain. If you try hard enough, you should even be able to run around." Subaru was stunned by how much he was bleeding as Ferris tied a fresh bandage over the wound. Just like he had explained, his leg didn't hurt at all. It was painfully obvious that this rather unnatural state did mean he could push it to some extent. "Any strain you put on your leg will absolutely have serious effects, so try to be careful!" "...Got it. This is a huge help. I owe you." "...There's absolutely no way Subawu is going to listen to what Ferri says, is there?" As Subaru checked the condition of his leg and nodded, Ferris puffed up his cheeks and turned away in a huff. Subaru would have loved to protest and say, That's not true, but he had no idea what he'd resort to until the choice was upon him. He had learned not to make promises he couldn't keep. "All right, I'm adding myself to the team that's mounting an attack on city hall. Just letting you know in advance, there's no use trying to stop me. It's true that I can't exactly contribute a ton in raw power, but even I have stuff I can do..." "What do ya mean, 'try to stop ya'? A guy like you is worth a hundred men. We're dependin' on ya." "I can do things like... Wait, what?" Expecting a hail of objections, Subaru was ready to justify his presence, but Ricardo accepted his proposal without any hesitation. Noticing that Subaru was surprised by his reply, he elaborated and said, "Bro, I saw how hard ya worked, both during our rumble with the White Whale and when we fought Sloth. It ain't just Julius and Wilhelm who rate ya highly." *** Ricardo's unexpected appraisal left Subaru struggling to find words. When he looked around the room, seeking answers, he saw Julius shrugging and Wilhelm nodding deeply. It seemed that neither had any objections. On top of that, Crusch was faintly smiling as well. "Needless to say, I would be glad to have your support. By all means, Master Subaru, join us." "You serious? This seems a little weird, but..." Subaru was totally confused, unaccustomed to being counted as someone who could contribute in battle without question. "Geez, you gonna be that reckless here...?" When that string of exchanges brought a grumble spilling out of Al, Subaru turned toward him. "I get what you're saying, but

I still think this is the best call. I do feel sorry, though." "No need to say sorry to me. You should just do what you want, Bro. I'll be doing the same Ah, I will give ya one piece of advice, though." "Advice?" When Al abruptly raised a finger and said something unexpected, Subaru cocked his head. Then in a voice that sounded totally emotionless, he said one thing. " If Gluttony shows up, don't say your real names." A shudder ran up Subaru's spine. That word of caution had come with no warning, and simply hearing it was enough to claw at his heart. Eyes wide, Subaru stared straight at Al. Glancing at his dumbfounded face, Al shrugged nonchalantly. "Hope the two of us meet again safe and sound, Bro." He left him with those carefree words. 3 The Water Gate City of Pristella had gone so quiet that the events of that morning felt like a mirage. As Subaru walked along the paving stone–lined streets, a slight glance to the side would have been all it took to get a perfect view of the peacefully crystal clear waterway, belying the crisis currently gripping the city. Looking at the serenely flowing water might have seemed like it could wash away the vortex of chaos swirling inside his chest, but that would be a lie. The melancholy that he felt could not be relieved with such simple means. "Priscilla and her people always leave a mess behind... Man, did he lay down a real doozy before he left, though." Subaru was grumbling about the explosive parting message he had gotten right as they were on the verge of departing from the Muse Company. His surprise at hearing Al bring up Gluttony was no small thing in and of itself, but that wasn't the only piece of information the cryptic man had offered up. Afterward, Al had added one more thing. "...So it's possible that all the Archbishops are in Pristella right now, huh?" Now that he thought about it, that was more than plausible. At present, three Archbishops of the Seven Deadly Sins had already been confirmed to be inside the city. Plus, they knew the Witch Cult had taken over the four control towers on top of seizing city hall. Given that five places had been captured, if each was under the control of one of the leaders of the Witch Cult, then Wrath, Greed, Lust, Gluttony, and Pride were all in attendance. " You are too deep in thought, Subaru. You should calm down a little." "Argh..." While brooding over the possibilities, someone abruptly tapped his shoulder. It was only then that Subaru noticed he'd forgotten to even breathe. When he glanced over, he saw Julius was right beside him, staring with an anxious look on his face. Subaru recoiled immediately. That overreaction made Julius snort with a "Hmph," before continuing to speak. "From the looks of it, you have regained your senses." "Yeah, I'm actually pretty grateful for that... I really did wade in a little too deep." "Little wonder. To be blunt, you have too much hanging over you. There is taking back city hall and securing Lady Emilia's safety. And then there is the potential presence of your fated foe, Gluttony." *** "Were I in your position, I would have my doubts whether I could remain as calm as you are. On that score, your efforts are more than sufficient. You should take pride in them." "What's with you...? Don't creep me out like..." Subaru furrowed his brows, feeling a chill after receiving that overly considerate compliment. He understood that Julius meant him no ill will, but how his friendly demeanor made him feel was a separate matter. Still, thanks to Julius's thoughtfulness, Subaru regained enough composure to properly examine his surroundings. At the moment, with Subaru included, the six members of the group tasked with retaking city hall were walking through the city. Garfiel and Ricardo, both boasting keen senses of smell, led the group from the front. Crusch and Wilhelm followed behind the pair, and Subaru and Julius brought up the rear. They walked in formation, on guard against attacks the Witch Cult might launch, but fortunately, there was no sign of any enemy presence so far, let alone an assault. Instead, what came into sharper relief were the various things smoldering deep inside each of the members of the assault team. In Subaru's case, the injury to his leg, his fraught escape with Beatrice, and, more than anything else, not knowing whether Emilia was safe ate at him. The added flicker of Gluttony's presence left his mind teetering on the edge. Much like him, the other members of the party harbored various issues in their own minds. Garfiel and Ricardo were concerned for Mimi's well-being; Wilhelm's wound, which was left by his departed wife, had deep implications; and Crusch was struck by the possibility that Gluttony, to whom she, too, was tied by destiny, might be somewhere in the city. Before heading out, Subaru had sworn to the sleeping Beatrice that he'd come back with good news, but his worries did not abate in the slightest. "On that point, you're pretty much the only one here with a calm and collected mind, aren't you?" "Considering my concern for Mimi and the others' well-being, I would hardly claim to be calm. I am, however, striving to be as calm as I can manage." "And I'm thankful for that... Hey, you think we can win?" Gently, Subaru averted his eyes and posed the question in a quiet voice so that none but Julius could hear. He detected Julius's breath catching ever so slightly. "...It is rather unusual for you to ask me, in particular." "I think I'm being stupid, too... I'd rather have our strongest guy here and not have to worry like this, though." "...In this sort of situation where the innocent could be hurt, it is inconceivable that Reinhard would not move. The very fact that he has not yet revealed himself should be taken as an indication that some kind of commensurate problem has befallen him. This includes the likelihood that he is engaged with Witch Cultists somewhere else." Even though Subaru hadn't named anyone in particular, Julius listed off all the possibilities he could think of. As a matter of fact, Subaru had already experienced a lap where Reinhard had engaged the Witch Cult in combat. But this time, the man hadn't been seen ever since the Witch Cult had attacked in earnest. Naturally, this conspicuous absence and the question of exactly whom he and Felt had sauntered off to meet were major points of concern. "Gahhh, how long am I just gonna grope around in the dark? If he ain't here, he ain't here. Worrying's not gonna make worries go away, and it's not about whether we can win; it's that we will win. Time to get my head in the game...!" Continuously stressing about every concern that came along would summon dark clouds over any warrior. Subaru slapped his cheeks with both hands, brushing aside his welling feelings of frailty as he let out a strong and sharp breath of air. Glancing at the sight, Julius narrowed his eyes a bit without a word. Thinking the reaction odd, Subaru tried to press the issue when " Smells of blood. A lot of it, too." Still on point, Ricardo scouted ahead with his nose. Garfiel nodded in silence. Right then, the report from their top two trackers confirmed that they were getting close to the tall building visible on the other side of the street city hall. It was here where Subaru and the others halted for a moment to make their final preparations. *** Garfiel equipped his shields on both arms, and Ricardo adjusted the way he carried his large hatchet. And with a look resembling a quiet sea breeze in Wilhelm's eyes, those three projected a sense of incredible tension. To Garfiel and Ricardo, the opponents waiting for them in the square ahead were targets for vengeance, and as for Wilhelm...exactly what this impending encounter would mean to him was something Subaru just had to know. "I had my flower buds survey the area, but it seems there is no sign of troops lying in ambush. According to Mr. Kiritaka, the only entrance into city hall is from the front There is no option save challenging them head-on." Julius had used a number of his six contracted greater spirits to check the surrounding area; he was enveloped by pale lights as they gave him their reports. Subaru was simply grateful for the news that there was no ambush lying in wait for them. "Can't you get the spirits to take a look inside the building, too? If we could find out where the enemy is and how they've set up, this'd be a lot easier." "Unfortunately, I am not inclined to force the ladies to go that far. There is no guarantee that the enemy has not learned from Sloth's defeat and taken anti-spirit measures." "Yeah, nothing good'll come from them getting nailed and depleting your fighting strength, huh?" Julius's power was directly connected to the number of greater spirits he had and the number of options they put at his disposal. Plus, Subaru wanted to avoid the risk of them probing too deep for recon and alerting the enemy to their imminent attack. Above all else, the longer it took them to act, the greater the danger posed to the hostages in city hall. "Let's go, just like we planned it. The exact details are gonna depend on the enemy's composition and positioning, but basically, we'll stack several people to fight each one. Relying on numbers, we'll focus 'em down one at a time and then take back city hall. But " "If we believe we are at a disadvantage, we must instantly make the decision to retreat...correct?" When Subaru spoke, taking the reins of the group as if by nature, Crusch turned a serious look toward him. Replying to her with a firm "That's right," Subaru surveyed the faces of everyone present. In his companions, he saw tension, wariness, and, more than anything else, the will to fight. He nodded and gave the signal. " Let's go!" On his call, Subaru and the others broke into a run toward city hall as one. Rounding a corner, they rushed into the square that sat in front of city hall. Swift as ever, Garfiel ran at the head of the pack, and when the square came in sight, he narrowed his green eyes and shouted: "The square's full of guard corpses! Don't let it shake ya or slow ya down..." The instant they charged into the square, the scent of blood that Ricardo had mentioned slipped into Subaru's nostrils. And filling his vision was a mountain of corpses, just as Garfiel had spoken of or not. " Eh?" Garfiel had just yelled for them to not stop moving. And yet the instant he set his eyes on that sight, Subaru couldn't help but slow down, dropping the speed of his sprint a notch. But it wasn't just Subaru. The other five were no exception. That was how completely the sight that greeted them in the square exceeded their expectations. *** According to Garfiel, the square was filled with the numerous corpses of the guards who had fallen in an attempt to take back city hall. And it was true that the current condition of the square seemed to also point to that ghastly truth. There was a dense odor of spilled blood, and the paving stones were dyed red to the point that it evoked the expression a sea of blood. However, there was not even a single corpse lying around. In their stead were bizarre creatures. They were pink-colored masses of flesh. As far as descriptions went, Subaru felt that this was the most fitting. Their pink-colored surfaces were glossy, warped, and irregular

in form, like mud dumplings made by little children. They were large enough that Subaru couldn't comfortably put both arms around one, and there were at least twenty of them. The flesh piles of unknown origin formed a sporadic line. The reception put everyone's footsteps out of kilter " It's them!!" Immediately after, Garfiel, running first among them, looked overhead and howled. With the shock over the flesh creatures yet to recede, everyone forced their gazes upward. Two figures were leaping straight down at them from city hall's upper level, jumping right toward them with a slash of the swords they wielded. "! Here I go!!" As their enemies sailed down before them, Crusch valiantly stepped forward and held her longsword at the ready. Then she unleashed invisible blades this was her skill One Blow, One Hundred Felled. Slicing the air at an angle, this was Crusch's lethal sword technique that took full advantage of her blessing of wind reading. The slicing attack was carried on the air, extending the reach of her sword strikes by tens of yards and providing her with an ultra-long-range option. This slicing attack had deeply wounded even the White Whale, and now it was hurtling forward. A moment later, it scored a direct hit on the two figures in midair. "You got 'em?!" "No! They were able to defend! I did not land a hit!" When Subaru's voice went shrill from excitement, Crusch shook her head with a bitter look on her face. The pair, a giant man and a slender woman, landed as they fended off the blades of wind with their respective weapons. Paving stones exploded under the huge man's feet; the woman stood quietly in the pool of blood without even disturbing the air around her. They appeared on the stage as polar opposites, with a pair of greatswords and an uninscribed longsword. The sight of the black outfits covering them from head to toe was emblematic of the horrid fashion sense displayed by adherents of the Witch Cult. The moment after Subaru took this all in, the two enemy figures leaned forward ever so slightly and launched their counterattacks. However, before those two varieties of wicked blades could reach him "Even if they have fended off Lady Crusch's sword blows, there is no escaping the rainbow's yoke!" three different, dazzling colors circled around the Witch Cultists' heads, summoning a cylindrically shaped aurora to seal the enemy's movements. Of the six greater spirits serving Julius, three acted in unison to catch the cultists. The cylinder of light must have had incredible restraining power, for the Witch Cultists went down on their knees from incredible pressure upon them. It was then that Garfiel, Wilhelm, and Ricardo launched savage, ferocious attacks. *** Blunt and edged, each of the respective blows was an attack able to inflict a mortal wound. Ricardo aimed for the big man's head with his huge hatchet, while Garfiel's fist and Wilhelm's sword aimed at the woman, all of them entering lethal range *** The kneeling woman spun around the longsword in her hand, sweeping at Garfiel's and Wilhelm's feet. Instantly, the two leaped to evade her sword, but the woman turned her body to move perfectly parallel to the sword's arc, spreading one of her long legs to snag Garfiel around his neck and forcing him to pull her out of the effective range of the magic spell. "The hell?!" With the rainbow-colored force field throwing off his movements, Garfiel was stooped over as the woman broke the bridge of his nose with her knee. She then grabbed hold of Garfiel's arm as he recoiled, using its shield to easily deflect Wilhelm's flurry of sword attacks. The unbelievable technique left Garfiel raising a painful cry, whereas Wilhelm let out a groan. The price of that stagnation was a spinning kick that dug into the aged swordsman's abdomen, with the blow causing Wilhelm to bend forward; after a half spin around his stooped body, the woman launched a backward spinning kick that laid him out on the ground. *** At the same time, the sound of an eruption exploded between Ricardo and the giant. The large hatchet swinging down at the crouching man was blocked by two greatswords crossed over his head. The screech of steel creaking against steel rang out, at which point Ricardo punched down several times with his unoccupied fist. The blunt blows hammered the great hatchet from behind, bringing the dull cuts ever closer to the huge man's head. But finding himself this pressed, the giant promptly reacted by unleashing a new pair of arms from the inside of his black robe. Now using four arms to block his blows, the bizarre creature made Ricardo's face twist up, bringing a savage expression to his face. "I've heard of your kind before, member of the many-armed tribe! Four arms ain't nothin'!" Though his enemy tried to block him, Ricardo spurred himself onward, heedlessly banging on his great hatchet. If his opponent had four arms, he'd just have to wring out more power from his two. But Ricardo's intentions were betrayed when the giant unveiled yet another hidden trick. Two more arms appeared from under the black robe, along with two more greatswords. "The hell...?!" Four arms were devoted to defending with two greatswords, while two more arms and greatswords went on the attack. With one turn, the attacker and the defender had switched completely; Ricardo backed up a step as the tide turned against him. " Garghhh!" A seventh and an eighth arm came flying from the giant's back, punching, punching, and punching Ricardo's chin some more. The giant man caused blood to spill from Ricardo, sending him crashing into the far side of the square. *** The group supposedly had the initiative, but the attacks of all three of the close-range team were intercepted, with the woman sword fighter and the giant launching merciless follow-up attacks. "As if I'm letting that happen!" It was then that the slow-footed Subaru finally caught up and made his move. He launched his whip at a significant range, making a rending sound as it struck the paving stones with force. The snapping sound from the whip, which ripped through the air at close to the speed of sound, caused a moment's hesitation in the two cultists. "Fusion magic Ul Gora!!" Immediately after, Julius rattled off an incantation as his greater spirits returned to him, generating a crimson whirlwind in moments. The swirling wind was then engulfed in fire, the resulting flames forcing the Witch Cultists to leap away to safety. The heat wave of the enormous inferno made Subaru unwittingly gawk. "The hell is that?! Were you always a hardcore spell caster?!" "No, this is nothing more than a bluff. It is too unrefined to be used as a proper attack. Accordingly..." When Julius replied bitterly to Subaru's question, the scene before them proved his words true. Having fallen back in the face of the flaming whirlwind, the retreating woman lashed out once with her longsword and that was all it took to sever the wind's core, disturbing the spell's composition and causing the whirlwind to collapse, then vanish. The frighteningly keen sword sense that the woman sword fighter boasted combined with the giant's four massive swords and eight arms, making them seem like twin heralds of doom. Fear shot up Subaru's spine as he continued watching them pull off superhuman feats that were even more impressive than the ones he'd heard them do. "Going all out at them and having nothing to show for it is a pretty major shock." When he glanced over, Garfiel and the others, who had escaped thanks to Julius's backup, were all wiping off blood and catching their breath. But the sense of despair at the fact that their melee fighters had been mostly overwhelmed was not something so easily brushed aside. However, it would have been wrong to assume they had run out of cards to play. "We know they're pretty nuts in close combat, but they're seriously wide-open against long-range attacks." Julius's magic, Crusch's wind blades, and even Subaru's whip had been effective to varying degrees. It was possible that even if his whiplashes did hit, they would be easily shrugged off and ignored, but there was no mistaking that Julius and Crusch could launch attacks that might make the difference between victory or defeat. *** The repulsive piles of flesh dotting the surrounding area weighed on his mind, but he tore his attention away from those unearthly objects. The right thing to do was prioritize taking down the two in front of them "Everyone, let's attack again. We'll make Julius and Crusch our main attackers, and..." " Bwa-ha-ha-ha! You came, you came, you really came, didn't you?!" *** Suddenly, the scene was interrupted by high-pitched, silly-sounding laughter that seemed completely out of place on the battlefield. This incredibly grating voice brought the giant and the woman to their knees on the spot. Simultaneously, as nigh-unendurable terror urged Subaru and the others to hold their breath, the laughing voice still trembled in derisive mirth. "All it took was a few threats to reel such big fish in. How do you meatbags even live when you're this stupid, ugly, and shallow-minded? I wouldn't be able to deal with that! Bwa-ha-ha-ha!" " It can't be." Searching for the source of the voice, Subaru's gaze wandered when he noticed Crusch gasp right beside him. Her amber eyes had shot wide-open as she looked toward the roof of city hall. Realizing that the speaker, Lust, had to be over there, Subaru turned in the same direction. That was when he finally understood the true meaning behind the raspy echo of Crusch's dazed murmur. "Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!! What's with that face?! Such a stupid face! Did you practice it just for me? If you did, I want to reward you!! How about my spit? Would my saliva make you overjoyed? That should literally be mouthwatering for meatbag scum like you!!" The nonsensical laughter echoed as the speaker standing on the roof of city hall no, standing above it gazed down upon Subaru and the others from her vantage point with scorn. Then she flapped the large, malevolent black wings on her back once. "Let me reintroduce myself! I'm the Witch Cult's Archbishop of Lust!!" Her red eyes glimmered with cruel delight as she Lust laughed with renewed disdain. The single, black dragon claiming the title of the Archbishop of Lust gazed down at the surface, laughing scornfully. "Capella Emerada Lugunica that's meee! Now die, you rotten sacks of meat!!" 4 Circling in the sky high above city hall, the black dragon continued its mocking laughter. It had sharp, ferocious fangs, magnificent black wings that gathered the wind underneath to soar through the skies, plus a daunting face, and it was encased in a hide of rocklike scales this was well and truly what Subaru imagined a dragon would be. Some of its features resembled Patlash, the land dragon, but they were incomparable in the size of their frames and the raw power they possessed. If a land dragon was on par with a horse, then the black dragon overhead was best likened to an elephant. The sight of it spreading its wings and leisurely gliding around brought no words to mind save nightmare. "Gawking at me with those passionate gazes means you're all turned on, aren't you? What, are you animals in heat the whole year? Are you enjoying this chance to ogle me? Oh noooo, whatever shall I do?!" "...Well, this dragon's so expressive that it gives me chills." Writhing in midair, Capella the black dragon twisting its reptilian form into vulgar shapes behaved in a way that left Subaru unable to conceal his disgust. How could he take anything else away from the mouthy dragon's first impression being this twisted? It was impossible not to feel repulsed by Capella, who came off as human in all the wrong ways. "If it was doable, I would have liked to confront Lust in order."

Checking the heft of his knight's sword, Julius peered up at the dragon overhead as he commented in a quiet voice. Mentally agreeing with those words, Subaru saw the pair of sword fighters down on the surface apparently stiffening from awe at the appearance of their comrade, the winged dragon overhead. The two of them knelt as if in reverence for the winged dragon that was their master, even as they kept an eye on Subaru and the rest of the party without ever letting their guard down. They were such formidable foes by themselves that adding in the black dragon would put the group at an overwhelming disadvantage. However " When fighting a dragon, the important thing is to break its wings as soon as possible, bringing it crashing to the ground. If we permit it to fly in the sky as it pleases, it will rain dragon breath upon us unopposed. We must avoid this at all costs." With all of them unsettled by the appearance of the dragon, Wilhelm delivered that bold pronouncement at the center of their formation. His words, filled with such certainty, made Subaru unconsciously glance over toward the Sword Devil. "From how you said that just now, it kinda sounds like you have experience fighting dragons." "Once, nearly four decades ago, I crossed swords with Bargren the Black Dragon, who appeared in the south of the kingdom. Compared with that one, this dragon is far too small. Should we lop off her head once, she will surely perish." "What, once wasn't enough for this Bargren guy?" "I lopped off all three of his heads." There is only one to lop off this time, implied his deeply reassuring words. The evocative tale of that legendary duel to the death bolstered Subaru's spirits as he adjusted the grip on his whip. Privately deciding that he needed to hear that heroic tale in detail later, he girded himself to rejoin the battle. The others' morale had recovered as well. Seeing that Subaru and company's hearts were unbroken, Capella went, "Wuh?" as if totally taken off guard. "My, my, a die-hard bunch, aren't you? Normally, after being screwed around with so much, reinforcements arrive, and oh, look, it's the Archbishop!! The usual routine is for weaklings like you to try to run with your little tails between your legs. Or did I mistake you for the wrong kind of insect?" " Quit yappin' on and on! I don't care whether you're a big lizard or an Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins! Everyone who gets in my way, I'm gonna smash 'em, send 'em flyin', and beat 'em down!" When Capella made her bizarrely long tongue dance and form such wicked words, Garfiel turned his fist on her. Detecting such incredible hostility directed toward her, Capella went, "Eh? Ehhhhhhh?" and laughed. "Bwa-ha! I think beaten dogs howling in the distance are the annoying ones. Ohh, that's right, you're not a beaten dog you're a beaten cat, was it? Meow, meow, meow, meow, your face went beet red when you cried over that kitty girl dying didn't you? Poor widdle kitty!" *** Garfiel listened to nearly unendurable words of abuse as they clawed at the weakness in his heart. Seeing the painful look on the side of his face, Subaru took a step to stand in front of Garfiel. "General..." With his adorable little brother calling his name out, Subaru glared at Capella overhead without saying a word. Noticing his gaze, the black dragon narrowed its red eyes, clearly finding it unpleasant. "Huh? What's with you? Even compared with the other meatbags, you have the most out-of-place scent, you know? How did you even get mixed in all this? Did you get loooost?" "Shut up. The more you talk, the more you're ruining my internal idea of dragons. Also, quit claiming the name of that princess. I feel sorry for her." "Claiming? What in the world are you talking abou...?" "Also, you people are so sloppy, it's painful to watch! You big shots should be biding your time and coming out one by one! Who the hell just shows up all at once without paying any attention to the pacing?! Who do you think you are, trampling on people's daily lives looking like that? Are you pretending to be a god?!" *** The caustic words that Subaru unleashed with the force of a volley of arrows made Capella open her eyes wide, taking her aback for a moment. Seeing a black dragon look dumbfounded was quite a spectacle in and of itself, but that hadn't been Subaru's aim. Of course, he couldn't deny that his tirade contained more than a fair bit of his real feelings, but the actual purpose was "That's enough stalling from me! Nail her, Julius!" "On occasion, I admire your brashness from the bottom of my heart." As Subaru clapped his hands together, Julius immediately replied from behind, gathering light upon the tip of his knight's sword. When all six greater spirits assembled within the blade, The Finest of Knights swung it like a musical conductor. "What a petty little trick you're trying to use on...!" "Burn under the light of the rainbow! Al Clauzeria!" The tip of the sword, which he thrust out, emitted a rainbow-colored beam, unleashing a swirling aurora. The rainbow attack, which contained the combined might of six greater spirits, shot out in a straight line, aimed right at the black dragon circling directly overhead. Instantly, the beam burst apart, enveloping the roof of city hall with an explosion of light. The sky was dyed in the surreal colors of the beautiful aurora a purifying ritual to purge all evil. The spell, which had been wielded so fiercely in the battle with Petelgeuse, now bared its fangs at Capella. "Gaaaaaah!!" Struck by a direct hit from the rainbow light, Capella raised a high-pitched shriek. *** With this strike serving as a signal for combat to resume, the kneeling pair of sword fighters kicked off the ground once more, quickly approaching Subaru and the others. A fluttering longsword and several whirling greatswords were intercepted by the white-haired Sword Devil and a ferocious golden-haired tiger. "As if I'd let ya!!" Making his battered will to fight burn even higher, Garfiel blocked the giant's greatswords with both shields. The vigorous impact rocked Garfiel back on his heels, but he did not retreat a single step. Beside him, the swordswoman was being pressured by Wilhelm's slashing sword attacks, forcing her backward. "Do not assume you can retreat with ease! I must know for certain!" The Sword Devil dealt out more attacks without mercy. However, the woman skillfully wielded her longsword, parrying each and every sword blow while evading pursuit with highly polished footwork. Her body almost seemed like it was designed for the sole purpose of wielding a sword. Wilhelm was exhibiting swordsmanship on the same level that he had brought out during the fight against the White Whale. The swordswoman engaging him displayed excellence in technique and creativity, along with a superhuman sense of balance. Lashing blades whistled through the air and scraped against the ground as they ran along their paths, parrying, redirecting, and defeating each other's blows. Not even sound could intrude as their incredible sword duel continued, each attack and defense so polished that it was no exaggeration to call it the pinnacle of the sword. "Uraaaaa!!" The other battlefield nearby was a cruder scene as half-beast and giant swordsman clashed head-on. Garfiel raised a battle cry as he and the giant slammed into each other with mighty blows. This was a contest of wild savagery that was incomparable with the elegant battle of sword masters. The fighting style of the sword-wielding giant could not be cleanly categorized as that of a trained swordsman. Against an opponent employing what was ultimately refined brutality, Garfiel counterattacked with his personal brand of brawling. Bones creaked, flesh ruptured, and souls cracked in the grand, chaotic battle of titanic blows, with the clashing of shield against greatsword reverberating like a symphony of percussion instruments. Their fight also sent sparks flying everywhere, distracting the eyes as well as the ears. Wilhelm's duel had gone eerily silent, while Garfiel's battlefield was a roaring thunderstorm. Lacking the ability to intrude upon any of those matches, Subaru was left alone in the three-sided battle. But there was no time to bemoan his lack of strength. Before he had a chance, a new move revealed itself upon the game board. And this was "Master Subaru, look out!!" "Pull back!!" Right after two voices called out, Crusch came flying in from the side, tackling Subaru. Pinned under her soft body, he watched as Ricardo stepped forward. Ricardo opened his large maw and let a howl erupt from the space between his rows of sharp fangs "Wahaaah!!" His howling voice made the very air quake as the resulting sound became a shock wave that was imbued with enough destructive force to reshape the world around them. It was a Howling Wave an attack similar to what Mimi and her little brothers had used to great effect during the battles against the White Whale and Petelgeuse. However, the frightening thing was that Ricardo could, on his own, unleash a blow on par with what had required the cooperation of all three siblings. *** Ricardo's target had been a plume of hungry black flames that was chewing through the aurora and descending onto the surface. The thick spouts of fire, which was blacker than darkness itself, collided head-on with the Howling Wave in midair. Instantly, the flames were snuffed out by the shock wave without offering any resistance, leaving the lingering embers to scatter here and there all over the field of battle. But if anything, this helped the black flames become even more effective. "The hell's with this black fire...? It ain't goin' out?" The flying black flames continued to blaze ceaselessly, whether they sat atop paving stones, waterways, or masses of flesh. The area that was covered by the wave of writhing flames expanded bit by bit, encroaching upon the world more and more as if they were alive. Like setting oil on the surface of water aflame, the black flames continued asserting their presence. *** The downpour of black flames had not touched Subaru or the others, erasing the aurora in their stead by disrupting its magical composition. Julius's wary gaze was still focused on the black dragon, which had spewed the black flames. Following his lead, the sight of the black dragon entered Subaru's vision as well " Eek! Oh no, oh no, staring at someone from such a harsh angle is turning you on, isn't it? Stooop, don't look! Stop violating me with your eyes! Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! If I told you that it's forbidden to touch the dancing girls, are you going to say searing them with magic doesn't count as touching...? Bwa-ha-ha-ha!" Unleashing another stream of vulgar words, Capella looked fine and well as she landed on top of the city-hall roof. But this was not in the sense of being unscathed If anything, the effects of Julius's spell had been profound. As the black dragon rested her wings, both of those wings were still aflame from coming into contact with the aurora, with bone poking out from molten membrane in some places. The damage did not end there; her internal organs were boiling from the scorching heat deep in her seared abdomen, and the right half of the dragon's head had been sent flying, leaving that stupidly laughing tongue in tatters as one of her eyeballs hung freely. Half-alive and half-dead didn't even cover it. From this terrible spectacle, she was already on the brink of death. However, it was not this alarming sight that caused Subaru to swallow his breath, Julius and Ricardo to narrow their eyebrows, and Crusch to inadvertently raise a feminine-sounding yelp. All those terrible wounds were regenerating at a speed that was outright disgusting. Blood vessels wriggled, flesh

swelled up, bones broke audibly, torn tissues mended, and Capella's destroyed flesh repaired itself with swiftness that was a far cry from any norm. The speed of this healing ability made her cells seethe, vaporizing the blood coursing through them and causing it to rise as a ghoulish red vapor. "So are you satisfied now that you've caused even my beautiful viscera to be exposed for everyone to see? You're all perverts with such uncontrollable lust that you'd do anything to see even your beloved meatbag's rectum, aren't you? Hey, hey, are you satisfied? Hey, are you totally sweaty because you had your fill?" "You're... What the hell...is that?" "Asking something you can figure out the answer to just by looking makes you a fool through and through, doesn't it? But I will reply because of the depths of my compassion. As you can see, I have conquered death! I am a complete being!!" As Capella embraced herself with her healed wings, her grandiose words rocked Subaru. A complete being put another way, Capella was calling herself immortal. And after seeing half her head get blown away only to heal it at great speed without relinquishing life, there was a strong case to be made that she was telling the truth. One had bodies to spare, one dragged others to the grave, one was an invincible being, and one was an immortal monster "! Damned Archbishops of the Seven Deadly Sins!" "Ah, somehow, I feel like you lumped me in with those jerks just now. Could you please stop that? I mean, come on! People will start calling my character into question!" When Subaru resentfully clicked his tongue, Capella rejected him with vivid displeasure. In that time, the black dragon, her body largely finished regenerating, slowly raised her heavy hips "Oops. Whoa there. Coming through." The next instant, the distant ring of the time tower's bell echoed across the city's sky. Hearing this, Capella's motions came to a full stop, and when the black dragon tilted her long head, she let out a languid "Ahh " as she gazed wistfully at the sky, watching evening approach. "Seems like it's the appointed hour. Your clumsy faces really aren't bad, but a bigger stage awaits me, so excuse me while I go back inside!" "Huh?! W-wait!" "Why should I?! My beautiful voice needs to echo across the sky! How exactly will these fools stuck in the insect cage suffer? Stay tuned for the broadcast and find out! As for you, do entertain my minions and then die and rot as you see fit! Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Laughing loudly, Capella unilaterally declared that the time for talk was over and then turned around on the spot. The black dragon's huge body then promptly vanished into the roof. It seemed that Lust was genuinely intent on leaving the battlefield. Of course, the right thing was to think she was making Subaru and company lower their guard as part of some sort of ruse, but "If we let her go, there is no telling what she might finally inflict upon the hostages. We must make haste." "If she broadcasts it live, morale will crumble, and panic will spread across the city like wildfire. Shit! No way forward except through, huh? Man, we have to chase her in there? In a situation like this?" It was clearly a bad move, but they had no other cards to play. In the first place, they'd challenged the enemy at city hall because rescuing the hostages and stopping the broadcast was a top priority. If that meant dancing on the enemy's palm, they just had to grin and bear it. "Guess that's settled, then. Leave the folks outside to me and those two. Julius, Bro, and Ms. Crusch will charge in." Ricardo announced his plan to Subaru and Crusch as they pondered. Subaru's eyes questioned whether he had any basis for his unwavering judgment. "Ain't nothin' special. Just intuition, Bro! Intuition! ...The mountain of intuition I've built up from surviving a ton of battles!" "So we're just trusting your gut?! Maybe that's the best thing to rely on...!" Concurring with Ricardo's judgment, Subaru leaped up on the spot. Then lending a hand to Crusch, who'd saved him from the black dragon's flames, he helped her to her feet. "You really saved me back there, Crusch. Usually, it's the other way around." "Let's keep it a secret from Ferris and Lady Emilia." His eyes went round at the unexpected reply, but he grasped that this turn of phrase was Crusch's way of lightening the mood. As he focused on the task before him, Subaru clenched his teeth then and called out to Garfiel, who was still caught in a battle of frenzied blows. "Garfiel! We're going ahead to stop Lust! Once we're done here, we gotta go save Emilia! Don't lose!" "!! Go and get it done, General! Me, I'm seein' this through!!" Slipping between the gaps of whipping greatswords, Garfiel sent sparks flying as he howled his reply. "Wilhelm, I leave this place to you!" "Understood!" Beside Subaru, Crusch shouted a few brief words of encouragement to the Sword Devil, who replied as he unleashed a flurry of countless silver flashes. Finally, Subaru and Crusch broke into a run, heading straight for city hall with Julius taking point. Of course, the two warriors whom Lust had entrusted with guarding the place tried to move to bar their way, but "Line up like that, and you're basically just food for me!!!" Ricardo leaped toward them and used his powerful shout to blow both sword fighters away as they attempted to impede Subaru and the others' advance. The giant and the swordswoman used their own evasive techniques to avoid taking any damage from the howling wave. But the partners of the dances that the enigmatic pair had pulled out from prematurely did not let them escape without a fight. "Do not be so cold. I am right here, devoted to you every step of the way!" "Don't go showin' your ass in the middle of a fight! I'll tear your tail fur out and give you a real thrashin'!!" Sword against sword, and fist against slam furious blows met again and again, allowing no one in that square even a moment's respite. The two Witch Cultists were being hindered, and if they insisted on giving chase, Ricardo would stop them by force. With reliable allies covering their backs, Subaru and the others headed straight for city hall, reaching it by the shortest possible route. "Subaru! I will carve you a path! I entrust Lady Crusch to you!" On the verge of racing into the building, Julius raised his knight's sword high as the greater spirits gave off a dazzling radiance. Wondering what was happening, Subaru blinked furiously when, right before his eyes, Julius was enveloped in an explosive wind that materialized directly below him, his mantle fluttering as Julius sailed into the sky. "Why did yo...?! Crusch, pardon me!" Feeling the same wind buoying his own legs, Subaru forcefully picked up Crusch as she ran alongside. Lighter than I figured, he idly thought; a moment later, Subaru's legs peeled away from the ground as he shot into the air. "Waaaaaaaaaah!!" Picked up so suddenly and unsure how to deal with the abrupt weightlessness, Crusch raised a loud yell. The two kept on going, sailing over the wall surrounding city hall and finally flying all the way to the roof. "Crusch, hang on tight!" Shouting, Subaru supported Crusch with one hand as he drew his whip out with the other. Holding her breath, Crusch clung to Subaru for dear life as he used his whip and instantly wrapped it around the roof's railing. Taking advantage of this foothold, Subaru and Crusch traced a large, semicircular arc toward city hall's roof. The instant they landed, Subaru spread his legs wide as he fell to the floor. "Guhohhhh!!" Feeling a numbness that was impossible to ignore run through his legs, Subaru heard an improper sound coming from his right leg. Having so swiftly betrayed Ferris's admonition telling him not to push it, Subaru released Crusch from his arm. "...Crusch, are you all right?" "I I am fine. But, Master Subaru, your leg..." "It's all right don't worry about it. It doesn't hurt. Also, if you mention this to Ferris, he might kill me, so, uh..." Genuinely fearful of such a future, Subaru gingerly turned his eyes toward the roof. What he saw was not Capella, who'd been burned by the rainbow, but only a roof that had been wrecked by the black dragon's movements. The only thing on the roof itself was a single door leading to the building's interior. According to Kiritaka, the metia was located on the building's uppermost floor. Having moved Subaru and Crusch here and taken the shortest route to pursue Capella, Julius brushed back his mantle and looked at the pair. Flipping off the handsome knight with his middle finger, Subaru tried to race to the door leading inside when " Ah-ha-ha. Settle down right there, ladies and gentlemen." Loud laughter stopped Subaru in his tracks. Suddenly, the metal door was kicked apart from the inside, blown off its hinges. A new person came on the scene with the sound of bare feet, stepping upon the door, which had fallen so dramatically. *** At a glance, their newest opponent seemed like a young boy. One thought so because he was small in stature with a youthful face, and the voice they heard sounded like it had yet to crack from puberty. But one glance at the boy's eyes was enough to realize that such sentiments were deeply mistaken. No proper human being would have such warped eyes that seemed like all the vices of the world were fermenting within them. "We're so happy. We're so glad. We're so delighted. We're so overjoyed. Happy thoughts help us feel happy! Drink! Gorge!! The longer we have to wait, the emptier our belly becomes! And the more we savor the very first bite!" His scorched-brown hair was tied up in a braid, and his small physique was wrapped in a long robe, with long hems, cuffs, and sleeves that hung about. There was a sadistic smile plastered onto his youthful face, and his smile showed that he had teeth like a shark's. All these characteristics matched the identity of someone Subaru had heard about before. "Hmm? Why do you look so annoyed, mister? Could it be that you have some kind of grudge against one of us guys? We're tryin' and tryin' to remember, but we're really bad at faces. Really, we're no good at remembering at all..." Enduring Subaru's withering gaze, the boy adopted a cruel smile that was reminiscent of a cat toying with a mouse. This attitude grated on Subaru's nerves as he exhaled, striving to remain calm. "Hey, you shitty brat. If you just walked in here because you have no sense of direction, now's the time to surrender. That's pretty stupid, but it's forgivable. Still..." "We are the Witch Cult's Archbishop of " Subaru did everything he could to remain calm. To try and keep a cool head. He tried and tried and tried. " Gluttony, Roy Alphard!" Attempting to maintain his calm any further was impossible. "Gluttonyyy!!!" The instant the boy openly declared himself as Gluttony, Subaru unleashed the fastest and mightiest whip blow of his life. The tip of the whip tore through the air, mercilessly scoring the face of his greatest foe. A direct hit should have peeled the skin back and rent the flesh, leaving a scar so severe that anyone who saw it wouldn't dare look at it twice, and this blow " Well, lots of people hold a grudge against us because of our feeding." Catching the tip of the whip with his teeth, Gluttony spoke those words without a single ounce of shame. 5 Subaru's merciless blow, literally the greatest blow he had ever mustered in his life, had been stopped

cold without much fanfare. Still biting the tip of the whip, Gluttony the one who had presented himself as Roy Alphard waved his hands in the air as if appealing to the audience. Faced with this foe, Subaru could feel his thoughts boiling. This Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins was the key to awakening the still-sleeping Rem. "Your luck's run out!" "You shall not escape! Prepare yourself!" Standing at Subaru's side as he shouted, Crusch unleashed her One Blow, One Hundred Felled skill at Alphard of Gluttony. The raging blade of wind sliced through the still air of the rooftop, allowing the resulting violent gales to engulf the air in its wake. This scattered shock waves in all directions, and of course, the slicing attack bore down mercilessly upon Alphard "Ha-ha-ha, that's really something! As a funny parlor trick, that is." *** Alphard went low, dropping onto all fours to evade the invisible blade of wind. He proceeded to bend and fold his short limbs, licking his chops as he turned to fully face Crusch. "From the feel of that move of yours, your flavor might be right up our alley!" The instant after he spoke the words, Alphard shot up like a bullet, exhibiting enough explosive force to smash through the roof. Unhinging his yawning jaws, the sight of his bare, sharp fangs made Subaru think of a feral, starving beast. But the level of danger that this boy posed was incomparable with any mere animal. This was one part of the nightmarish chaos that had befallen the city. In contrast to Alphard, Crusch put her hips into her sword attacks, unleashing a thrust that was too fast to be followed by eye. Her target was the enemy's face, aiming to mercilessly impale the brain behind it "Good form! But! Not enough polish!! As you are now, you're barely gonna be an appetizer to us!" As he howled, Roy Alphard rotated his arms disturbingly, as if he didn't need to bother with his joints. Instantly, a fierce scratching sound tore through the blue sky, and Crusch's arm was immediately thrown back. This was thanks to the concealed weapons known as tiger claws, which Alphard had equipped on the fingertips of both hands. "As if I'll let you!" A moment before Alphard could claw out Crusch's beautiful face, Subaru wrapped his whip around her slender hips. "Eep!" cried Crusch as Subaru yanked her over to safety, pulling her right out of the range of the claws. But dismayed at having his prey snatched from him, Alphard altered his route with a single bound "Good, nice, great, wonderful! Did you think you could escape?! If anything, we'll get you and your pal over there, too! Drink!! Gorge!!" Carrying Crusch, Subaru fell back, with Alphard drooling in hot pursuit. The chase made Subaru twist up his face. "I didn't think...my role is..." " To always play the decoy. Even now, you are incredibly effective!" "Whaaa?!" By wholeheartedly pursuing Subaru, who looked like an easy target, Alphard had left himself wide-open in turn Julius, now in midair, had waited for that moment to pound his rainbow-sword blow home. Instantly twisting his body, Alphard attempted to evade the glimmering sword flash. However, the brilliant arc of The Finest's sword strike homed in on his foe and drew fresh blood from Gluttony, who rolled onto the floor. "Gaaah! Now that's a surprise! Er..." "Then I shall provide you with further surprise. Blossom, my lovely flower buds!" When Alphard slapped the floor and leaped to his feet, Julius pursued him with a merciless follow-up attack. The six greater spirits swirling above the knight's head glimmered like a rainbow as they swept across the roof in a beautiful display. "Don't push yourself too much, spirit mage!!" "Formally, I am a Spirit Knight. I have heard rumors that you are a gourmet, but will you grant my lovely buds a warm reception?" "Oh, I'll give 'em a real passionate welcome! I'll rip 'em apart like the annoying pests they are!!" As the approaching aurora seared his vision, Alphard brimmed with slavish appetite. To seal off his enemy's avenues of escape, Julius pursued Gluttony with seemingly endless sword strikes from every angle. Subaru would have liked to support him without a moment's delay, but Alphard's almost-feral movements, which had him darting all over the roof, prevented Julius from landing a clean hit. He had to do something with Gluttony with Alphard right there " Remember your objective, Moppet Mage!" Just then, a voice's shout reached the rooftop, calling out with a completely inappropriate moniker. *** In accordance with Al's warning, Julius had concealed Subaru's true name while communicating with just his yellow eyes whenever he could. As the knight continued with his rainbow swordplay, Subaru didn't need him to spell everything out to understand his intent. Julius was saying to let him deal with Gluttony while Subaru went to stop the slaughter and broadcast. "Hey, hey, hey, hey, you sure about runnin'? Pal, you have a grudge against us, don't ya? Destined foes always, like, taste the richest. The ultimate in deep delights? To eat, gnaw, eat, lick, nibble, eat, bite, tear, crush, gorge! Drink!! Let me do all that, okay?!" Leaping around, Gluttony hurled insults, trying to draw hesitance out of Subaru. In fact, Gluttony had. To Subaru, defeating Gluttony was the singular goal he had pursued for over a year. He'd dreamed of this day so many times that he'd stopped counting. Defeating him would save a girl. Subaru would be able to see her again. He'd come this far believing that. To just let that chance slip through his fingers " Master Subaru." Subaru's melancholy was shattered when Crusch looked up from his own arms and called out to him. From up close, he could see a powerful, powerful conviction and an ever-so-slight sway of regret. It was none other than Crusch who had as powerful a link to Gluttony as he. To her someone who had her memories stolen by Gluttony, someone who was forced to go forward groping through a world that was blank when it shouldn't be the foe before them was the key to getting her memories and her old self back. Even knowing that, she had chosen to fulfill her duty over helping herself. They were badly lacking both time and the strength to soundly defeat their greatest enemy. Subaru and Crusch's standpoints were the same. That was exactly why Subaru was the only one able to fully appreciate how noble her decision was. He was hesitant. He was reluctant. He'd probably regret this. But Sorry, Rem. Please wait just a little longer. " Damn it all! Fine, I get it! Hey, Juli! Don't you dare lose on me!" "That is my line. Make sure to fulfill your duty as the substitute knight of the Valkyrie!" "Let us entrust this to Master 'Juli' and go, Master 'Moppet Mage'!" Scratching his head, Subaru set his rueful thoughts aside and took Crusch's hand. Then relying upon the boundary lines generated by the aurora, they escaped Gluttony's attack range. Their destination was the door leading inside or not. They would have to veer toward the rooftop's bent railing. Vaulting it in one stride, Subaru supported Crusch as he took one last look at the battle unfolding behind them. " Go!!" However, noticing his gaze, Julius wouldn't permit him to waste time worrying about him until everything was settled. Internally clicking his tongue at that annoying attitude, Subaru swore to complain to his face later. Then grabbing Crusch by her slender hips, he launched himself into the air once more " Crusch, plan B!" "Pl-please do not let go!" Ferris'll kill me if he hears about this, Subaru mused as he crouched, holding on to Crusch tightly and then leaping down from the roof of the city-hall building in one go. Naturally, gravity pulled on them, and soon, they were plummeting headfirst toward the square. Halfway through the fall, the whip, which had been anchored to the railing above, reached its limit and brought them to a stop, leaving Subaru bearing the weight of two people on his shoulders. " Nghhh!" Enduring the pain of his creaking bones with sheer willpower alone, Subaru and Crusch traced a large curve through the air as they swung toward the wall. Then with both feet extended toward the glass window in their path, Subaru slammed into it and broke right through. "Raaaah!!" "Eeeep!" Glass fragments flew all over the place as Subaru and Crusch rolled into the room they'd aimed for. Pushing hard on the floor with one hand, Subaru let up a second cry as he released Crusch from his grasp. Instantly settling down, the pair looked around, confirming that this place was indeed their objective. This was the room on the topmost floor of city hall, in which the metia for broadcasts was placed. The assault team had worked out beforehand that they would fly to the uppermost floor. Of the various methods Subaru had devised, he'd ended up using the most dramatic, but with the exception of what happened to his leg, the operation had mostly gone off without a hitch. Subaru pictured Ferris's indignant face in his mind as he glanced toward the back of the room, for the enormous presence of the device set into the wall stole his thoughts. Even in this city, this was the most precious and important thing " So this is the metia?" It was the most peculiar metia of all the ones that Subaru had seen to date. The device he spotted was designed for expanding and enhancing the user's voice, increasing the range of its reach. Relying only upon magic crystals for its power source, this was a "machine" shaped like a pipe organ. And while Subaru was unwittingly letting the metia steal his attention " Master Subaru!!" The sharp cry and the shock wave erupting from a savage collision of sword and claw behind him brought Subaru back to his senses. His body went rigid as he turned around and saw Crusch engaged in a mesmerizing sword dance, delivering a painful blow to the scales of the black dragon sitting at the back of the room. Howling in agony was the black dragon of Lust, the culprit of repeated acts of evil that targeted the residents of the city. " Capella!" Leaving Subaru behind as he shouted, the black dragon and the Valkyrie engaged in a ferocious back-and-forth that covered the entire room. The room contained not only a metia, but also a conference table, chairs, fixtures, and the like along the walls. Naturally, these furnishings were quickly blown away one after another by the powerful shock waves that marked the furious battle, leaving the items broken beyond recognition. But in this back-and-forth, Crusch's masterful attacks held the upper hand. In that room, the dragon was clearly at a disadvantage, unable to freely swing her large frame about. This was probably because the black dragon had never expected Subaru and Crusch to come flying through the window. The black dragon had probably been keeping watch over the room's proper entrance, its flame trained toward it the whole time. While she was busy guarding that side, Subaru and Crusch launched a surprise attack by coming in from the roof this was their plan B. "Yaaaaah!" Freed from her fear of high places, Crusch raised a valiant battle cry as she drove her sword home again and again. Crusch's wind attacks exhibited their true might not in long-range combat, but up close. In an enclosed space with nowhere to run, the invisible blades mercilessly bit into the black dragon's hide. " Orrrggghhh!!" "Look out! Get...down?" Caught up in the moment, Subaru did his best to roll and flee when the dragon bellowed and breathed a stream of pitch-black flames. However, in the middle of his dramatic escape, Subaru realized something. There was a bound, squirming girl wriggling under the bleeding black dragon's feet. *** Instantly, Subaru felt the urge to vomit as he realized Lust's

lowly scheme, in which she cunningly used a hostage in the same way that Wrath had. In the end, the Archbishops of the Seven Deadly Sins resorted to similar means to make their opponents falter. He'd been defeated by the same ploy before, and as a result, Emilia had been whisked away from him. "Uooooh!!" With that fact lighting a fire in his heart, Subaru exhibited his greatest level of concentration as he slid directly under Capella's feet. Ducking under her head, he slipped between her legs, resolutely sliding over broken glass as he went straight to the girl. Picking up her trembling body, he also slammed his whip into the black dragon's back. It did no apparent damage, but it did certainly make him feel better. However, Crusch followed up with a sword slash that was not nearly so gentle. *** "No quarter! Pay for the wicked deeds that are bringing calamity and disorder to the city!" As the black dragon clutched her head in a show of fear, Crusch sliced her blade down at her from the front. Perhaps the Archbishop was just that brittle when forced onto the defensive, for Capella continued to endure a stream of attacks, seemingly helpless against the steel blade. Her wings were rent, her fangs were broken, and the scales of her long neck were shorn, making the dragon scream from the pain. Crusch raised a long, slender leg, delivering a powerful kick to the dragon's torso. The force must have been far greater than any kick Subaru could muster. The strength of that attack pushed the huge dragon backward, forcing it toward a still-intact window. Hers were not the actions of someone with a chance of victory. She was simply buckling under the weight of Crusch's strength. " It ends here!" *** Not lending her ears to Lust to the very end, Crusch slammed her blades of wind into the black dragon's torso and wings, sweeping across her neck and slamming her massive body into the wall again. Finally, the window gave way, and Lust was completely blown outside. Plummeting with the remains of the window, the black dragon instantly spread her wings, but one wing was broken at the root, and the other was ineffective due to countless lacerations. Her regeneration wasn't fast enough and so her fall was inevitable. A few seconds later, the sound of Lust slamming into the ground reached them. It was a heavy, wet splat, like meat being slammed against a wall, or a wet mop being dropped on the floor. "I shall check and keep watch. Master Subaru, please see to that girl." "R-right, gotcha." Crusch walked over to the window that the black dragon had fallen through, never lowering her guard. Feeling reassured as he watched her from behind, Subaru gently released the captive girl from her bonds. "Auuugh..." "It's all right. Just now, that strong, beautiful lady over there taught the bad dragon a lesson. We can't really afford to take our time, so let me cut to the chase... Do you know what happened to...the other people?" Subaru spoke to the girl, who still seemed disoriented by the sheer fear and bewilderment that naturally came with getting caught up in a battle between a warrior and a dragon. Kneeling to talk to her at eye level, Subaru posed his question as gently as possible. The young girl blinked several times, not responding right away. Then slowly, she seemed like she was gasping for air as she moved her lips several times. "Th-the room over there... Everyone's in there." Her voice shaking, the girl pointed to a door on the other side of the room that was still marred with the fresh signs of combat. Setting his eyes upon that door, Subaru somehow refrained from putting to his lips the question that immediately rose in the back of his mind whether the captured people were dead or alive. But asking the girl such a thing was far too cruel, and far too thoughtless. But seeing as how there was no sign of activity or life of any kind after the massive battle that had just occurred, he was not very hopeful. *** Patting the still-worried girl on the head, Subaru slowly turned toward the other room. His limbs grew heavy and cold. Subaru keenly felt the sheen of sweat forming on his back. He wanted to believe that this being a broadcast room, no sound was leaking out simply because of soundproofing. "Master Subaru?" "It's all right. I'll check in a sec... What about Lust?" "...There is no problem over here, either. For whatever reason, there is no sign of her moving from where she fell." Crusch replied as she warily kept an eye on Lust below. Hearing this, Subaru took a deep breath and stood before the door. Then he reached his hand out to the knob. It was possible there were still Witch Cultists lurking behind this door as well. Despite that consideration, Subaru had no better option than to simply check. However, for some reason, he was convinced that there was no need for such concern. And as a matter of fact, he wasn't wrong. There were no Witch Cultists standing guard inside the room. After all, the room didn't need guarding. *** Gazes. They were gazes. Gazes, gazes, gazes, gazes. g?a?z?e?s?g?a?z?e?s?g?a?z?e?s?g?a?z?e?s?g?a?z?e?s?g?a?z?e?s?g?a?z?e?s?g?a?z?e?s?g?a?z?e?s?g?a?z?e?s?g?a?z?e?s?g?a?z?e?s?g?a?z?e?s?g?a?z?e?s?g?a?z?e?s?g?a?z?e?s?g?a?z?e?s?g?a?z?e?s?g?a?z?e?s?g?a?z?e?s?g?a?z?e?s?g?a?z?e?s?g?a?z?e?s?g?a?z?e?s?. As Subaru screamed, he saw countless, wordless gazes. No, it was nothing more than Subaru's impression that they were looking at him. Subaru had no way to know if they actually observed the world around them. He could not comprehend such a thing. All he could do was scream. This was what being at a loss for words truly meant. His mind had frozen over, unable to assemble even a single thought. However, he did know one thing. Now he knew the true nature of the ear-grating background noise he'd heard during Lust's threatening broadcast. "...What...is this?" When an incoherent voice finally managed to trickle out, that noise filled the room all at once. What greeted Subaru was endless buzzing that brought feelings of fear, delight, rejection, and many countless others. Within that dimly lit room, a vast quantity of multifaceted eyes glowed red as they wriggled, moving to and fro as they stared at Subaru, who stood perfectly still. These were...flies. They were, without a shadow of a doubt, flies. The room was jammed full of...a huge number of human-size flies. "!! Master Subar... Ah." "?! Crusch?!" Subaru, his brain bleached white by the revolting sight, turned back when he heard a sudden scream. Even as the buzzing of the flies' wings pervaded his ear in response to the scream, Subaru looked and saw what happened. He saw Crusch crumple to the floor, and the wretched smile coming over the girl, who was kicking her. The girl stroked her short, blond hair with her palm, her red eyes gleaming and glimmering as she stared at Subaru. "Bwa-ha-ha-ha! Really, how can you be such suckers? Did you really think you were getting one up on me? Me?! That's not even worth a laugh! Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!" As Crusch lay prostrate in a pool of her own blood, the girl stomped on her, cackling in a high-pitched voice a voice that Subaru only realized then was familiar to him. There was no doubt. "It's me, your dear Capella! Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!!" Sticking her tongue out, Capella winked and posed for effect, laughing with utter disdain at Subaru for his impudence. 6 Behind him was the giant insect cage, packed with flies. A pool of the black dragon's blood, which had splattered inside the room, spread farther. Standing amid the gruesome spectacles she herself had brought about and trampling all over Crusch was the small girl no, the Archbishop of Lust. A fang-like tooth poked out of Capella Emerada Lugunica's mouth as she continued to laugh. "Wha-what the hell is this...?!" "It's pointless for meatbags like you to even think about it! Ain't the best thing just accepting the facts in front of your own eyes? A beautiful girl trembles and quakes before you, but behold! She is actually an Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins!" Subaru was unable to hide his inner turmoil as Capella danced before him, sticking her tongue out in a vulgar fashion. Crusch had fallen at Capella's feet, and her eyes had rolled back. Her convulsions were a dangerous sign of her current condition. No noticeable external wounds caught his eye, and he didn't know exactly what had happened to her. But those were grave symptoms. If he didn't get her out of here immediately, it would soon be too late. "Your heads aren't much for thinking to begin with, are they? In this situation, why would there be a little morsel of meat just sitting around here at city hall? How you can even live with that stupid, moronic Ahh, a girl's in trouble I have to save her mindset is beyond me!" "Sh-shut it. There's all kinds of things I wanna ask you right now...but first, get your feet off her." "Huh? Aren't you so glad to see my bare feet that you're breaking out in a sweat? Or do you have an obsession with the slab of meat currently savoring the soles of my feet? I do have such an erotic body, after all. You just can't get enough of me, can you? Bwa-ha-ha-ha!" "!! She's not someone a person like you should be stepping on!!" Capella stepped on Crusch's chest, grinding her heel in. With her acts of casual violence and mocking laughter driving him past the boiling point, Subaru's emotions raged as he rose off the ground, whip at the ready. "Ohh?" Raising a voice feigning ignorance, Capella opened her eyes wide as she watched Subaru move. Subaru swung his whip, aiming not at Capella, but at a piece of the rubble that was a by-product of Crusch's fight with the black dragon. Subaru deftly entwined his whip around a handful of stones, twisting his wrist to launch them at Capella's head. *** Not knowing his enemy's means of attack, close combat would be the height of idiocy. In the first place, Subaru lacked the power to directly engage an Archbishop in combat. Even though the blood was rushing to his head, he was still painfully aware of his own powerlessness. That was why Subaru needed to prioritize not the annihilation of his foe, but finding a way out of this situation. He needed to recover Crusch, get away from this place, and link up with one of his comrades. The debris that he hurled had more than enough mass to cave in an unprotected human skull. Whether his impromptu projectile was blocked or evaded, he couldn't get Crusch up and moving while she was still firmly under that girl's feet. So his plan was to create an opening to collect Crusch and then "Come on, hit!" "Fine by meee." *** When Subaru shouted to rouse himself, Capella shot back with a calm and measured reply. Immediately after, he heard the sound of something hard breaking flesh and bone. Then blood began pouring from Capella's head as it snapped back. Struck on the defenseless side of her skull, the girl had her forehead torn open; her blond hair was stained a dark crimson. The girl's face, lovely and sweet, was cruelly crushed and deformed as he watched on. " Uuugh." Having the left eye from that half-smashed face stare at him was a startling sight that unexpectedly seized Subaru's heart. He'd only meant to create an opening. He'd just done what some might have called the most foolish thing possible. "Why do you all hate dancing in the palm of my lovely hand this much? I just adore how you're all such hopeless idiots. Bwa-ha-ha-ha!" " Grrraaahhh!" The instant his thoughts froze, Capella's mocking laugh and a black whirlwind slammed into Subaru from the side and sent him flying. Struck on the entire right side of his body, as if he'd

been slapped by the hand of a giant, Subaru skipped across the floor, taking a desk in the room with him as he tumbled away. Completely battered and beaten up, Subaru came to a stop when he bumped into the far wall. Coughing, he lifted his head, wondering what had happened. That was when he saw "Bwa-ha, what's with the face? Am I so beautiful that your voice won't come out?" "...What...are those?" "Mmm? Ah, you mean these. Well, well, well. I wonder what they look like to a meatbag like you?" When Subaru forgot his pain, his voice barely coming out, Capella turned her back to him and amusedly waved her butt back and forth. There was something strange jutting out from the shapely behind she thrust out toward him, something that did not belong. This was a black, thick reptile's No, it was a dragon's tail. A dragon's tail protruded from her backside. Having reached that conclusion, he belatedly realized that it must have been that tail that had hit him earlier. "Don't tell me you're a...dragon taking human form?" "Yes, there it is. The irrational argument that you can't help spouting because of your low brain capacity and a total lack of critical thinking! I've been so kind to sprinkle these breadcrumb clues, but it turns out scum like you need a good kick to see the whole picture!" Her mood souring from Subaru's apparently incorrect deduction, Capella swung at him with her huge tail once more. Instantly evading with a quick jump to the side, Subaru watched as she crashed her long tail into the floor and created cracks. Then he took a breath of "Letting your guard down at this point just makes all your other effort pointless!" " Gah!" A huge fist slammed into Subaru's wide-open face without warning. When he rebounded off the floor from the force of the impact, he was then launched into the ceiling by the tail, which had been waiting for him. His body collided with the ceiling then, and as he helplessly spun and fell, countless bladelike feathers tore him up on the way down, scattering droplets of blood all over. "Gngh, gaaaaah!!" A painful cry escaped his throat as his back was slashed and gouged. When Subaru hit the floor again, he desperately tried to get his mind working again. He'd just been slugged, thrown, and cut up what did that mean? Subaru's face had been punched with the massive arm of a beast. He'd been tossed into the air by the black-dragon tail, and he'd been sliced open by sharp, bladelike bird feathers and all these had spawned from the body of the girl, who was looking down at Subaru as he wheezed in pain. "Shouldn't you be able to figure out the answer by now?" A huge bestial arm, a black dragon's tail, a monstrous bird's wings. Each could only be described as grotesque. As he set his eyes upon her form, no other words could come to mind. If something came to mind other than words, it was physiological disgust at encountering an unnatural being that shouldn't exist. She was a grotesque monster, a fiend, et cetera. Her true nature was "Transmutation, transformation...!" "Bwa-ha!" For the first time, Subaru's muted reply drew a laugh of genuine satisfaction from Capella. "I am the Archbishop of Lust, Capella Emerada Lugunica I exist to monopolize all this world's love and admiration for myself. I, the one who deserves to be loved the most, can answer anyone's perverse desires. I am the ultimate manifestation of any aesthetic that exists. I can even transform into a beautiful girl according to your tastes. I am a devoted woman, after all! Bwa-ha-ha-ha!!" As she said whatever she pleased, Capella freely altered her form in front of Subaru. She shifted from her grotesque form to that of a rustic-looking boy, then immediately lengthened her limbs and turned into a voluptuous femme fatale. In what seemed to be the blink of an eye, she changed again, becoming the apparent epitome of an unfortunate village girl, and an instant later, she took the form of a very young girl, an obscene smile rising to her cherubic face. "See? So which me do you like the most?" *** He was speechless. Words refused to form. All his heart comprehended was that this was the worst thing possible. Her morals were seemingly nonexistent. Though a plain and simple ability, Lust's Authority allowed her to violate and trample upon anyone's system of values. It specialized in putting herself on display. When he looked, the terrible wound that had been caused by the hurled debris was already closed, and there was no sign she was ever hurt. Perhaps she had covered up the scar with her incredible regenerative ability or used her transformation ability instead. Either way, he'd uncovered the trick behind the black dragon and the little girl, the two forms Capella had taken. At first, he'd suspected she had a Petelgeuse-like ability to possess others, but If this was the case, the whole incident with the black dragon getting blown outside city hall through a window didn't make much sense. "The fact that it did nothing except breathe fire should've been an obvious clue. Also, setting aside that I left the lizard in the exact spot you'd expect a trap to be, where'd all your doubts go when it didn't immediately move to respond to your intrusion and it didn't speak with my beaaaautiful voice?" "...Wait... Waitwaitwait, wait up a second." Reading Subaru's thoughts from the minute changes in his facial expression, Capella cackled with contempt. Her form became that of a graceful woman with long, swaying hair, then a gentleman with a crimson mustache and beard; even the tenor of her voice changed, leaving him questioning whom he was talking with. But the instant that misgiving spawned inside his chest, it led to an appropriate, logically consistent deduction that refused to vanish. If Capella's Authority of Lust allowed her to freely transmute and transform then what if this wasn't limited to her body alone and could be used on others as well? "Even with your head and its limited blood flow, you should understand where that lizard and those flies really came from, right?" Touching a hand to her mouth, Capella acted like a malevolent stage performer as she pressed Subaru for an answer. Aware that he was forcibly following her script, Subaru replied, his teeth shaking at their roots. This most awful, most terrible, most wretched of nightmares was " All of them are people in city hall who were transformed by you?" "Yes, that's correct. But you're too slow, so no prize! You're a slow, clumsy bag of meat, and whatever purpose you exist for, shockingly, is beyond even my understanding!" "You can't...understand? That's what I want to say to you, goddamn it!!" Capella had confessed to her cruel, monstrous actions with an expression that didn't have the barest pangs of conscience. In the dimly lit room, the multifaceted eyes glowed red and stared at Subaru as one. They flapped wings that they could not use to fly, desperately broadcasting that incessant sound. Probably because they were crying for help. "I don't get it! Turning people into...into flies? What's the meaning of that?!" "Are you saying it's repulsive?" "It makes every hair on my body stand up! You...! You people are just...!" "Well, can't be helped if it makes you feel bad. You can't avoid feeling disgusted is that what you're saying?" *** There were no longer words that could accurately describe what Subaru felt. Changing people into flies, toying with their lives it was far worse than merely killing them. It was the worst. It was the lowest. In a span of a few hours, Subaru had met four Archbishops whom he would never be able to coexist with even if he had a whole eternity. Sirius of Wrath toyed with other people's emotions and was a madwoman obsessed with her own self-centered love. Regulus of Greed forced his own values onto others and was a villain who placed himself above all others. Alphard of Gluttony was a blasphemer who stole the names and memories of people, trampling upon the proof of their very existence. And Capella of Lust was a monster who spat upon and blotted out the values revered by ordinary human beings. Each and every one was accursed, beyond saving, and stark raving mad. The gap between him and them absolutely could not be filled. That conclusion alone made Subaru's vision go red. However, Capella gazed upon Subaru's anguished expression of righteous indignation as she continued: " Yes. You hate what you find repulsive, what makes you feel bad. So what of it?" She smiled, as if there was nothing that could make her happier. *** He didn't understand what she was getting at. He didn't have the means to understand it to begin with. They might as well have been the words of an alien from outer space. He couldn't understand. Her values and her very way of life were just too different. "When you saw all these stupidly huge flies, you felt an instinctive revulsion. You thought it was disgusting. Well, you're right. No one could love creatures like that. It'd be unnatural." She continued changing her form left and right, talking in a jumble of voices as she kept altering her speech alongside her rapidly shifting appearance. "They're ugly and creepy to anyone's eyes. I changed those piece-of-trash meatbags into filthy insects that are too pitiful to even look at. You can't love any of them, either. Of course you can't." The monster before him had pitch-black eyes, eyes that saw nothing, eyes filled with bottomless darkness. "People are creatures who can't live without loving someone. But since they're creatures who can't love something that's strange or revolting, then by process of elimination, they can't live without loving something they can love." Capella spoke with a passionate voice, almost as if she was speaking about how ordinary lovers fell in love. *** Subaru's mind had gone blank. He could not understand the confession of the monster tilting her head, acting like she had made the greatest discovery of the modern age. He wanted to get away that very moment. He didn't want to breathe the same air as her for a single second longer. He didn't want to be anywhere he could see her. He didn't want to feel her on his skin. He didn't want to hear her voice. After all, this monster loved Subaru Natsuki. It wasn't just Subaru. The victim she turned into a black dragon, the great many people she turned into flies, Crusch, whom she was even now trampling underfoot, Julius fighting above them, Garfiel, Wilhelm, and Ricardo, and the giant and the woman they were fighting in the square, all the people in the city she loved...all of them. It was because she loved them that she did everything she could think of to make them love her. To this monster, that was simply how love worked. "So you see, I am kind and deeply compassionate, and I am simply a woman drowning in the love of the many. I monopolize all the love and admiration in the world for myself, but that means I can't slack off in my efforts to be loved, you see. To be loved by you, I'll turn into whatever version of me best suits your tastes. To make you look at me, I'll rob you of all interest in anything else. I don't mind if you loved someone else to begin with. After all, this is the end for you. You'll come to love me. I'm giving it my all to make sure you do, see? My personal charm only goes up and up and up and up and up and up and up! The charm of the meatbags who aren't me only goes down and down and down and down and down

and down and down!" "...Just...kill me now." "Hah? Why? I'm all about making people love me. I wouldn't even dream of doing something so barbaric. Even if you're a completely useless sack of meat, you have value so long as your love is focused on me... My desire for recognition is just a tiiiny bit stronger than most people's. That's why I want even one more person to tell me one more word of affection and to love me for even one more second. Get it? That's all I'm asking." *** "Got it." "Ohh, you finally came around? Well then, put your love for me into words, dissolve in love right there, and turn into a mass of flesh to my liking..." "Die." Lacking the luxury of free thought, Subaru wished only for the death of the monster standing before him. This was his enemy. He didn't want or need any more information. He swung his whip, slamming it at his feet. Taken aback, the monster instantly backed away, finally freeing Crusch. Subaru crouched down and picked her up. How many times had he done that today? Her light body secure in his arms, he immediately leaped away. Realizing what had just happened, Capella's eyes filled with powerful, all-consuming hatred. "So in the end, you're just a male piece of meat that's obsessed with female meat, huh? Don't even bother denying it. You can put whatever pretty spin on it you want. Ohh, you love a girl because she's pretty. Oh, you love a girl because she's cute. You love soft things that make you feel good, don't you? Don't get all high-and-mighty with me!!" "Whoooa?!" Glaring at Subaru as he drew away, Capella let spittle fly as she reached out with both arms. One arm transformed and grew a serpent's head while the other formed a lion's head The grotesque limbs stretched out to chase Subaru, weaving through the room to sink their fangs into him and tear him apart. His right leg was bleeding again. He didn't feel any pain, and at this point, he sincerely didn't care if it tore off in the process. Putting the entirety of his soul into protecting the warmth cradled within his arms, Subaru focused all his athletic ability into evading Capella's pursuit. "Is that breeding mare really that important to you?! Then you'd better hang on to her tight in the next life, hugging her and never letting go! That body of a filthy temptress! Those eyes that invite sympathy! Those lips whispering sweet nothings! That nice-feeling fleshy flesh-flesh! You just can't get enough! That's why you're trying so hard, right?!" "! You ass, stop putting words in my mouth! That's not how it is between me and her!" "Oh, shut up! There's a heady, female scent coming from that female meat! That goes the same for the male scent coming from your male meat! Did it really never come to mind? Can you swear you haven't had even one indecent thought for just one second? If you have, even for a second, that means you're just a male slab of meat desperately searching for a female slab of meat! How am I wrong?! Just try telling me how I'm wrong!" A serpent's fangs, a lion's maw, a dragon's tail, enormous bestial arms, and monstrous bird feathers were tearing the room apart. Letting out an anguished cry, Subaru searched for the remotest chance for victory in that raging storm of destruction. Even if he tried to escape, Capella was barring the room's entrance. Her form was in flux, swelling and contracting and constantly shifting between woman, girl, boy, and elder, creating an anomaly so ugly that it scarcely seemed real. "You haven't stroked her hair? You haven't touched her lips? You haven't embraced her body? Haven't you adorned those tawdry, sweaty thoughts of yours with that pretty word love? Give me a break. You're just mistaking love for something else. You all just went off on your own, smugly dressing up carnal desires with such flowery words and phrases." There was a glower of madness in Capella's eyes as she stared at Subaru, transforming into her most repulsive form yet. Her hair was long and silver, glistening in the moonlight. Her eyes were violet, like encrusted gemstones. Her skin was white, reminiscent of powder snow. Her limbs were long and slender, her body amply curved. Some fine details were different, but what appeared there was "You just don't wanna be open about all your carnal passions out in public! Don't go dressing them up with words like love. How about it? How's this, how's this? This is how hard I'm working to be loved by you! Look at this! Can you still speak? Do you still have something to say? Tell me your promised, inevitable denial!" Taking the form of a beautiful silver-haired girl, the monster howled as it made a face that she would never, ever have made. " I love her because I was attracted to her heart! I was attracted to her nobility, her gentleness, her compassion, her open mind, her smiling face when she looks at the sky, her devoted way of life, her stubborn refusal to brook any unfairness, her weak side that she only shows to me, her determination to always do what she can and try her best, her voice that puts my heart at ease, her affectionate eyes, her gaze that tickles my heart, her lips that whisper love, her hands that warm mine, her touch that makes my heart beat faster, and her beautiful hair that flutters in the wind! I believe with all my heart that we were destined to be together. Because she was the only one who acknowledged me. Because she was the one who stayed by my side when things were hard. Because she was the one who taught me what was truly important. Because we've always, always been together. Because I want to live the rest of my life seeing and feeling the same things as her. Because we promised. Because I'll never forget that promise. Because she knows the version of me that I can't show to anyone else. Because she's the only one who knows the real me. Because she's the one whose eyes I'll never be able to fool. Because she knows how deep my loneliness goes. Because she's the one who lets me forget my bitter memories. Because she's the one who taught me how to love. Because you were the one wiping the tears I cried. Because you found me in the middle of everything else that was happening. Because you showed me things I'd never seen before. Because you're the only one who truly understands me. Because I can't live without you. Because you're everything to me. Because you make my chest run hot. Because when you're around, all the colors in the world seem brighter. Because without you, I can't feel happiness. Because I can't live without you anymore. Because in the middle of a life full of lies, this is the only feeling that's real." Rattling off the words like she was chanting a curse, the silver-haired monster's expression died a little with each additional phrase. But as she rambled on and on about all the reasons one might claim to love another, Capella raised her head, her beauty and charm and obscenity all twisted up in a strange, bizarre expression of adoration and hate as she shouted: " Those are just flowery words every last one of them!!" *** "Don't think you can just use words that sound nice and leave out the rest! All this stuff about what's on the inside, blah blah, personality, blah blah, our natures are compatible, blah blah it's all just noise! External appearance, facial appearance the only thing that attracts your meat to other meat is visual stimulation! If love really tied two people together, then why don't you try dressing things up with those glimmering words, stare with those glimmering eyes, and talk about your glimmering future after your lover's been turned into a fly?! Can you love her? Of course you can't! It repulses you, doesn't it?! It's disturbing, isn't it?! You can't help but feel disgusted, right?! You're the one who said that to me, loud and clear!!" Her crazed, feral, abusive words, her persecution complex, her jealousy, her hatred, and her profound delusions were how she kept herself from falling apart. Spraying her spittle as she ranted, Capella seemed to be losing even her tenuous grasp on her sanity, destroying more of the room as she wailed hysterically. The great serpent hissed, the lion roared, and soon, Subaru could no longer hear Capella's shouts. They became a storm of noise, and the room crumbled in multiple places. Caught up in the shock wave, Subaru couldn't figure out where to move or even where to look beyond the hovering cloud of dust particles. Were his feet still touching the ground? Was his half-torn leg still in one piece? The only thing he was sure of was the beating heart of the woman resting in his arms. That one certainty suffused his body with courage. But this valiant struggle suddenly came to a crashing halt. "Meatbag, look at meeeee!" " Gaaah!!" Plowing through the dust cloud, the lion head wildly charged at Subaru and sank its fangs into his leg. His right leg was already barely hanging on, so when the lion tore into it, the limb came off at the femur and flew into the air. Exceeding the effects of Ferris's special technique, the intense pain of losing the leg made his brain boil, and his vision went red. He hit the ground. Crusch spilled out of his arms. He flailed around, his blood pouring out in great, big surges. Putting pressure on the wound was out of the question. His leg was gone. His lifeblood flowed out like he was a waterfall. His near-shattered mind vaguely understood that all that red represented what little remained of Subaru Natsuki's life. "Haaah, my head hurts. My oh my, it seems I lost myself in a moment of arousal. How embarrassing. Bwa-ha!" Subaru was lying faceup, the whites of his eyes showing as he weakly convulsed. He'd managed to put his palm on the wound, but it was not up to the task of stanching the flow. But the force of the bleeding was gradually lessening. This was because all the blood in his body was draining quickly. "Oh no somehow, you seem to be dying. Seeing a meatbag in such agony makes the pain in a person's heart too easy to understand. It's too bitter a sight for me, really." "Ah, aah, ah " "The female meat will probably die, too, huh? How regrettable. Her body suits me just right, so there were all kinds of things I still wanted to try Ahh, that's right " He could see nothing. He understood nothing. Something...was breathing close by... Crouching down at Subaru's side, the smiling monster gently put a hand on his leg wound. "Well, I suppose I should see just what kind of unsightly mass of meat I can turn you into, huh?" Capella held her own wrist in the air, using her opposing hand to slice it at the wrist and causing it to bleed. The pitch-black ichor spilled out with incredible force, flowing toward the wound in Subaru's right leg. Blood mixed with blood. Subaru's red blood and Capella's black blood were coming together, dissolving into each other and causing a festering scent to rise. A moment later "?! Ooh, aaaghOOAO?!" "Bwa-ha-ha!! Does it hurt? Hey, tell me, does it hurt? My blood is so much more highborn than the likes of yours. After all, it's mixed with the blood of a dragon. It's gonna be really something if you lose to the curse in the blood. Between you and the female meat there, I wonder who's gonna hold on longer?" Capella made an amused sound in her

throat, but it was impossible for Subaru to reply. In a state close to death, a point where even pain was a vague concept, he'd received a sudden shock. The black blood that had been poured onto him wriggled on top of Subaru's wound, ever so slowly penetrating deeper into his body. He was being overwritten by something that was not him. This was different from pain or agony. It was fear that originated from another dimension entirely Yes, fear was the only word that fit. It was scary. Scary. Terrifying. He didn't understand. He wasn't even being allowed to die. Crusch or him, the monster had said. If so, was she undergoing the same torment as him? Subaru was just so weak, unable to do...anything. Crusch, Beatrice, Rem, Emilia, everyone, everyone, everyone "Eh, iii, aaagh " "Bwa-ha-ha-ha!! Oh my, oh my, once again, you reject my love. That means you'll be reborn as an unsightly pathetic piece of meat, doesn't it? Now, it's finally time for me to..." Gazing adoringly as Subaru fainted in agony, Capella slowly rose to her feet. Her form returned to that of the blond, red-eyed girl once more whereupon Capella suddenly looked back. There, where the glass window and the wall had been broken, a crisp breeze was blowing in "Heh, you're one tough customer, aren't you?" *** Crawling up from ground level, to which it had fallen, the black dragon let out a roar upon sighting its hated foe and released a stream of black flames straight at Capella from its wide-open maw. The next instant, the upper floor of city hall was engulfed in pitch-black flames. 7 Sensing someone calling her name, Emilia felt her consciousness flitting back to reality. When she slowly emerged from her slumber, the first thing she noticed was something smooth enveloping her. It was a pleasant sensation, as if she was embraced by an animal with warm, soft fur. Previously, this was a feeling she could savor on a daily basis, and it was something that made her hazy memories throb. " Ah." The nostalgia left her eyelids damp and heavy. Wiping those teardrops away with the back of her hand, she cut her lingering attachments to that warmth and chose to wake up instead. Slowly, she opened her eyes, which were rimmed with long eyelashes, and took in the world around her with her large, round, violet eyes. She saw a tall ceiling, and a room with unfamiliar furnishings. It wasn't a place she had ever been to before. She was atop a bed, wrapped in blankets that felt high-class. "Where...am I...?" With a shake of her still somewhat fuzzy head, Emilia slowly sat up. She felt a bit languid, but she couldn't feel any pain or distress troubling her body. The familiar feeling of sluggishness was an aftereffect from using too much magic and abusing her Gate, which she was not yet used to exerting. Then having remembered that far, Emilia recalled exactly what had happened. "That's...right. I was in the square, fighting the woman in the bandages..." If she closed her eyes, she could almost see the madwoman, her entire body wrapped in bandages the one calling herself the Archbishop of Wrath. A shudder ran through Emilia as she remembered the hatred and the terrifying combat capability that had been directed her way. Emilia had held the advantage for a time during the fight, but the tables eventually turned, and she had been assailed by an overwhelming flame "I...fainted after that. But I'm still alive and well." There was no mistaking that she'd been on the losing end of that battle and had subsequently faced mortal peril. Surviving despite such dire straits meant that someone had to have saved her. Of course, Subaru's face was the first that came to mind. The leading candidate was surely Subaru. If anyone was going to come and save Emilia, she hoped from the bottom of her heart that it would be him. Though if she had lost out to Subaru after so much grandstanding, it'd be too mortifying to bear. "Mmm, this isn't the time to be in the dumps. I'm so far behind already; I don't have time to stop and reflect. I'll think about it while I walk." Touching her hands to her own pale cheeks, Emilia roused herself and slipped off the bed. Given the bed and the blanket, someone had definitely been nursing her. She reminded herself to thank that person, find out what had happened since she was last awake, and figure out what had happened to Subaru and the "Uhhh, why am I naked?" Just when she was about to boldly set off, Emilia realized that she didn't so much as have a shift dress. With her naked body fully exposed, Emilia tilted her head as she wrapped the blanket around herself like a cloak. She looked around the room, but nothing else wearable was there to be found. "Mm, what'll I do? I believe it's considered unladylike to walk around like this, but..." Bashfully reserved was a phrase that Puck had pounded into her during his time as her father figure. Now that Puck was gone, she had continued her studies with Annerose serving as her substitute mentor. According to Annerose's teachings, Emilia was clearly a failure of a student for wandering about in her current, nearly nude state. "But I'm worried about everyone else right now, and it's an emergency situation, so she'd make an exception, right?" She had to confirm as soon as possible whether things had been settled with the Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins. Citing those circumstances as her just cause, Emilia left the room with a single blanket over her. Exiting into the hallway, she confirmed that this was definitely a building she'd never seen before. It was just that the interior of the room she had woken up in clashed badly with everything else. A cold, antiseptic atmosphere seemed to permeate the corridor and the rest of the building. It was probably the room with the bed that was the only exception. Thinking this, she quickly accepted the mismatch between the atmospheres of the building and the room. This building was not for living in, but rather, it was supposed to be a place for work. The proof was in the faint, lively sound of water, and the mechanical sound of some kind of gears turning " Ahh, it seems that you have awakened. I am truly glad. I feel heartfelt relief knowing that you are safe." When that voice was suddenly called out to her, Emilia felt a twinge of surprise as she turned around. As she did, she spotted a lone young man, whom she had previously bumped into on the city street, now standing there in the corridor. While he smiled as he watched Emilia, she noted his white hair and his nearly all-white clothing. The young man still had a friendly smile on his face as he casually walked over to her. "But I cannot commend you for walking out as soon as you awoke. You put a great deal of stress on your body in various ways. If something happened to you, it might be an issue later, would it not? I would sincerely like you to take proper care of yourself. I mean, that body is no longer yours alone." "Errr, and you are?" Emilia's eyes went round at the sheer force with which the young man spoke in such rapid succession. They were surely strangers, and yet the way he closed the distance to within a single pace of her felt a lot like how she would interact with Subaru. However, the decisive difference between him and Subaru was the warmth or lack of in their words. Subaru's consideration for others was one of his cowardly virtues, but the young man standing before Emilia possessed none of that whatsoever. Where his own words and actions were concerned, it was clear that he did not spare a single effort toward the flattery of others. Emilia had been getting such a strange impression of the young man since that single exchange. The young man gave a generous nod in response to her question, with Emilia's internal thoughts left aside. "Ahh, that's right. Sorry, sorry. I was able to gaze upon your sleeping face, but this is the first time you are looking at me, yes? Ahh, strictly speaking, it is not the first time, but there is little point in speaking of that. Even if you and I share a relationship of future blessings, I cannot be careless about the proper order of events. I apologize without reserve. See, I am a person capable of such a thing." "Er, uhh..." The eloquent words that the young man used without pause left Emilia feeling like any reply she could muster would be rather awkward. This was partly due to her being overwhelmed by the firmness of his demeanor, but more than that, a growing suspicion that something was deeply wrong kept eating away at Emilia. It was pleading to Emilia from a distant corner of her mind. She just couldn't shake the feeling that she knew this young man from somewhere. "It is unfortunate that such an important event is taking place in such a dreary corridor. Yet surely, you will look back upon this as a special memory of ours as well. People are filled aplenty with small bits of everyday happiness. I think that will be especially true in my time with you. Don't you think so, Emilia?" "I...don't remember giving you my name... So who are you?" "Oh, I'm sorry. It is a bad habit of mine that I lose sight of everything around me when my feelings swell and crest. Even I think my own overly sensitive personality is lamentable when it gets all like this. This time, I was daydreaming too much while conversing with you, perhaps? Ahh, yes, my name." In a truly convoluted, roundabout manner, the young man's words finally arrived at the topic at hand. The unease that Emilia felt about him personally, and her odd, persistent foreboding that accompanied his strangely familiar presence both lit a fire within Emilia, leaving her unable to pull her eyes away from the young man's actions. Emilia instinctively understood that whether she lived or died was directly linked to the slightest move of his hand. The young man suddenly spread both arms wide, reverentially bowing to her. "My name is Regulus Corneas. I work for a certain organization. However, that is not important where you are concerned. To you, there is but one thing you need to know about me. I am your precious husband, and you are my beloved seventy-ninth bride." "...Eh?" The young man, who introduced himself as Regulus, seemed enthralled as he spoke these words, but she did not understand their meaning. Emilia was perplexed as she furrowed her delicate brows. However, Regulus did not even notice her subconscious refusal, as he simply gazed at Emilia and the single layer of fabric wrapped around her body. "That outfit is poison to the eyes. Wait, I will have fresh clothes brought to you. Rest at ease. Your dress will be changed by my wives, others in the same position as you. They are accustomed to dressing someone in bridal attire." "Wait, what do you mean by that? No, more importantly, what do you mean by 'your bride'...?" "That's right, I forgot something very important! Oh, what was I thinking? That was a very close call." Regulus, who literally had ears yet did not hear, grasped Emilia by her shoulders. Emilia grimaced at the strength he put into his fingertips, but the young man did not pay her discomfort the slightest heed. All he did was bring their faces so close that their foreheads nearly touched as he peered into her violet eyes. "I forgot a very, very important question. The wedding ceremony comes after. Emilia, this is very important, so

I want you to answer me straight from your heart. It is very important for our future." *** The bizarre level of intensity made Emilia hold her breath as she maintained her silence. Regulus smiled, perhaps taking Emilia's silence as tacit consent. As he smiled, he asked, "Emilia, are you a virgin? That is the only truly important thing, you see." *** His head was hot, and his mind was ablaze, but a chill coursed through his veins, and he felt like he was gradually freezing over. " Rghaaa!" He gritted his teeth and slammed his fists together ferociously, willing his sluggish blood to start moving again. Skillfully using the silver steel covering his arms, he shield-bashed his enemy's thick arm, the impact shattering the stone pavement below them. That attack contained every scrap of strength he could muster, and he could feel a powerful reverberation shooting through his shoulder, but there was no indication that it had been a decisive blow. If anything, victory seemed to be getting further and further away with every move he made. The enormous, black-robed inhuman figure before Garfiel was unmoved. Its eight arms were moving wildly, absorbing his attacks, deflecting them, and delivering their own destructive counters with a practiced precision optimized for killing. Garfiel's cheeks, chest, and legs were all battered, bleeding, or both. He desperately tried to hold his ground even as his thoughts threatened to scatter from the pain and impact of each blow. He knew his opponent's four swords were a complete offensive and defensive package they were the famed set called the Devil Cleavers, the legendary blades wielded by the ultimate god of war. And Garfiel's opponent was using those famed weapons like an extension of its body. No, not like an extension. For a warrior who had true mastery and enough experience, a weapon really could become a part of the body. In which case, based on how this mysterious warrior was using the Devil Cleavers, then maybe " Gah?!" A solid punch connected with Garfiel's jaw, taking advantage of an opening right as his thoughts had started to wander. "Bh, gh...aaaa!" His bones groaned, and his vision started going red. The punch had rattled his brain, draining the strength from his knees for an instant. But that brief moment of vulnerability was more than enough to be lethal in mortal combat. And the war god who had once claimed to be the strongest in the land would not miss that moment. Each following its own path, all four swords raced toward a different vital point. The head, the neck, the chest, the waist if any of these swings connected, Garfiel would die or, at the very least, be unable to keep fighting. And at the moment, he could do nothing to drive back the specter of death fast approaching. Gritting his teeth, he looked around his reddening world, searching for any way out. And as he desperately clung to life, a phantom came into view, as if amused by his impending doom. A woman in a black robe with a crimson smile was peering down at him in his unsightly state. " Eyes up, numbskull!" A roar rang out, followed closely by the sound of steel clashing and the dull thud of something biting into flesh. A broad, furry back appeared in front of Garfiel, shielding him after he failed to move in time. Ricardo had blocked the swords with his big hunting knife, using his torso to catch the one attack he'd failed to parry. "Gh, gaaah! That hurt, ya son of a bitch!" Coughing up blood, Ricardo pushed back with all his might, knocking away the swords. Taking advantage of the momentum, the war god leaped backward to gain some distance. Now that he had some breathing room, Garfiel shook his head and adjusted his stance as he stepped forward, lining up alongside the man who had protected him. "My bad, tha " "This ain't the time for that! Are your eyes workin'?!" Ricardo cut off his apology. "It's do-or-die!" "Y-yeah, don't have to tell me twice!" Hearing that, Garfiel tried to harden his resolve. "We gotta go all out just to have a shot at winning..." But even now, he was having trouble. His spirit was flagging like he was a drenched alley cat. Irritation, impatience, and a growing sense of self-loathing churned in his chest, almost as if they were trying to put an end to his miserable self. And his head was filled with a vortex of pointless thoughts, so maybe he really was trying to get himself killed. A powerful enemy was standing before him, one he couldn't afford to take his eyes off of, and yet a corner of his mind couldn't help but focus on the black-robed woman flitting in and out of view at the edge of his vision. Even though the city hall they needed to reclaim was right in front of him. Even though his comrades were up there waiting for them to come to the rescue. Even though every second longer he took meant another second of suffering for the girl he needed to help at all costs. "Hoo-ooooooooohh!" Recalling that bloody moment of regret sent his rage past the boiling point, and all the hair on his body stood on end. Goose bumps stood out for a moment before golden fur started appearing as he transformed into a beast. His body creaked as his bone structure changed and his small body grew larger. He would stifle all his unnecessary thoughts, all his self-hatred everything and become a tiger to obliterate the foe standing in his way. Transform, Garfiel Tinzel. Mow everything down. If you can do that " But will that really undo everything?" All of a sudden, a bewitching woman's voice tickled his ears, penetrating the consciousness that had been on the verge of dissipating. It was a voice that shouldn't exist. And just when it stole away his focus "What?!" There was a thunderous boom from above, and Ricardo was looking up, eyes wide. Seeing that, Garfiel looked up, too, his green eyes finding a scene that left him dumbfounded. Flames erupted out of the top floor of the building. An enormous explosion blew out the windows, spewing fire hot enough to melt glass. The source was a black dragon sticking halfway out of the building, its wings covered in blood as they flapped. That black dragon had to be the loathsome Archbishop of Lust. "General...!" As Garfiel called out to the person who was supposed to be fighting the dragon, the strength he had put into his clenched fangs started slipping away. For a split second, the charred black corpse of his friend appeared in his mind, and his heart leaped into his throat. And because of that, he was slow to react to the violent change that came immediately afterward. *** Far in the distance, an ear-shattering roar erupted near the city's walls. The sound of something enormous groaning echoed throughout the city as a fearsome harbinger of what was to come. Something colossal was approaching the city center, drawing closer to city hall, preceded by a growing tremor running through the ground. When he felt the vibrations beneath him becoming more intense, it set off alarms in Garfiel's head. "C'mon now, this ain't even funny......" Beside him, Ricardo's face stiffened. Even someone as brave and fearless in combat as he grew hoarse when faced with something so implacable. It was only natural, though. Because the tremors they were feeling and the deafening boom they had heard were actually " Sir Garfiel! Sir Ricardo! Get to high ground!" A sharp voice broke through the mental freeze that had held Garfiel. The warning came from the Sword Devil, the old man who had been trading blows nearby with the longsword-wielding cultist for the past two minutes. After crossing blades with his opponent one last time, Wilhelm quickly put some distance between them as he prepared to heed his own warning. But even leaping straight up, Wilhelm was unable to clear the gargantuan wave crashing toward them. "Gh." Wilhelm was swallowed up by a wall of water taller than most of the surrounding buildings. After witnessing that, Garfiel was only a moment away from suffering the exact same fate. He dug in his heels on the stone pavement, readying himself for the shock " Bgh!" But his stance was easily broken by the intensity of the onrushing water. Hit by a force like the power of nature itself given form, Garfiel's body was completely engulfed and at the mercy of the pitch-black world he'd been thrust into. After what felt like an unbearably long time, his fingers caught on something, so he pulled with all his might, at last dragging his head out of the water. "Ghah! Daaaamn it all! Where did...everybody go...?!" Having grabbed the metal railing on a rooftop, Garfiel scanned his surroundings. The force of the churning water was ruthless, and everything around him had been consumed by the muddy torrent. Only a handful of particularly tall buildings were just peeking out of the water, and he was barely holding out against the powerful current. "Boss man! Sword Devil...!" He called out to the other two members of his party, who must have gotten caught up in the same disaster, and he was concerned about where their enemies might have gone off to but that thought was erased just moments later. As he clung there unable to move, he noticed something happening at the half-submerged city hall. The black dragon spread its wings and started flying away, leaving the upper floor still burning. The dragon was covered in wounds, and its claws dexterously held two people a green-haired woman and a black-haired boy. "Gen " Garfiel's eyes widened, and he started to call out, but water rushed into his mouth, and he couldn't breathe. His fingers slipped, and he could do nothing but watch as the two of them were taken away by the enemy *** Filled with shame, Garfiel desperately fought to keep his eyes on the damned black dragon. And as he did, he saw the dragon's flight suddenly get disrupted as it let out a shrill cry. The reason was the fangs of a great serpent that bit into the black dragon's wing. The serpent had suddenly appeared and lashed out at the dragon, calling the dragon a coward and viciously tearing into its wings. An instant later, the boy was released from the dragon's claws as it shuddered violently. *** His eyes wide open, Garfiel could only watch as it happened. He could only watch as the boy was swallowed up by the roiling waters that were in the process of consuming the entire city. He had fallen beneath the surface unconscious and was undoubtedly being carried away by the current, unable to resist, going far away, to a place where Garfiel could not reach him. "Wait..." Stretching his hand out toward the silhouette that instantly vanished somewhere below, Garfiel was dragged away by another surge. He desperately kept his head above water, shouting as he was pulled farther and farther away. "Aaaaah!" Eventually, he slipped beneath the surface, still seeking Subaru Natsuki and cursing his own uselessness. Screaming without making a sound. CHAPTER 1 *** 1 "Emilia, are you a virgin? This is crucial." For a split second, Emilia couldn't process what she was being asked. *** She was surprised by the suddenness of the question, but the situation being what it was, she struggled with how she should respond to such an odd confrontation. With only a single blanket to cover herself, Emilia took a deep breath. As she was forced to confront such an incomprehensible situation and try to understand what was going on, Emilia's instinct was to try to recall everything that had happened so far. Following an invitation from Anastasia, a fellow royal-selection candidate, she had traveled to the Water Gate City of Pristella, one of the five great cities in the Kingdom

of Lugunica. During her time there, she met with Crusch and Felt, two other candidates who had also received invitations from Anastasia, and they all enjoyed the welcoming, peaceful atmosphere. The next day, after a rather tense breakfast, she set off into town with Subaru and Beatrice, running into the Songstress Liliana...and then finding out that Subaru and Beatrice were facing off against one of the Witch Cult Archbishops by themselves. As soon as she learned this, Emilia quickly joined the fight. Their enigmatic foe may have been covered from head to toe in bandages, but she proved to be a powerful opponent, wielding flames and chains with equal skill. Emilia fought her hard, but they had been pushed to a point where defeat was looking inevitable when What did happen after that? When Emilia came to, she was lying on an unknown bed in a room she did not recognize inside an unfamiliar building. And when she stepped outside the room to see what was going on, she found herself in the hallway face-to-face with a white-haired man dressed in an all-white suit. Standing before him, she was unable to move, even forgetting to breathe. Who is he, where are we, and why am I here? Now, as Emilia caught her breath and started to think "Ah, my apologies. It seems I've surprised you. I must admit that was an error on my part." The white-haired man Regulus Corneas smiled and raised his hand. "I am sorry for the sudden question. Truly, I apologize. You see, I'm the sort of man who can genuinely apologize when I believe I am in the wrong. There are utterly unbearable louts in this world who refuse to recognize their own faults and merely shift blame with an unending stream of excuses, but on a fundamental level, I stand apart from such lowly, inferior people. You agree, don't you?" "Ummm... Yes, it's important to be able to apologize from your heart, sure..." "Just so! That's it exactly. Being able to apologize is crucial. Thank goodness. People who can't even understand something as simple as that are far more common than you would think, but since we both share that understanding, I'm sure we will get along famously in our married life. That's a relief. There is no mistaking we were fated to be joined together." Regulus's eyes sparkled excitedly as he nodded to himself over and over, completely ignoring Emilia's apparent shock. After looking her up and down, he continued. "You see, I'm not inquiring as to your chastity out of a vulgar curiosity. As I said, we are husband and wife, and spouses must of course be joined together out of a powerful bond of mutual love and understanding. In order to maintain a relationship like that, it is only natural that it is a requirement that both parties must entrust all of themselves to their partner. Which is why I would like to be sure." "Sure of what...?" "Sure that you have not been touched by another man. But to be clear, I ask this with only love in my heart, so while it might cause you some small amount of discomfort, I really must insist. It's my duty both as your husband and as a man." Regulus's thoughts flowed out with great expressiveness and verbosity. Emilia felt something was off about Regulus himself as she was tossed about by the flood of words. *** She was overwhelmed by the vehemence of his insistence, but that was not all. His figure, his voice...something about him was stirring the depths of her memories. But she couldn't seem to figure out why, and it soon slipped away, before she could manage to figure it out. But she could say one thing for sure this man was incredibly focused on one certain word. "So please allow me to ask again: Emilia, are you a virgin?" "Um, can you explain what that means? I'm sorry, that's not a word I'm very familiar with." Faced with the same question once again, Emilia averted her purple eyes apologetically. It was clearly something that held great meaning to Regulus, but she simply didn't understand what he was getting at. "...What?" Regulus's expression tensed when he heard that. Right as Emilia was starting to feel uneasy, his eyes suddenly widened. " Marvelous. You truly are the manifestation of my ideal maiden!" Regulus exclaimed, grabbing her hands as an animated smile crossed his face. Emilia's eyes widened in shock, but Regulus paid no heed to her response and celebrated like a child who had just gotten his hands on the toy he had been dreaming of for so long. He nodded to himself over and over, and his eyes gleamed with a feverish light as he stepped in closer. "Yes, I knew it! I had always had some misgivings as to whether using virginity as a metric was really the best way to answer this question. But that's it exactly true purity lies in the heart. Physical virtue is only natural and expected! But what truly matters is being immaculate in spirit as well... As fulfilled as I am, you have still managed to reveal a new truth to me!" "Ah, um, that's nice, I think...?" "Indeed it is. And let me say, you pass with flying colors. You are perfectly suited to be my wife. And in the future, I won't have to do something as silly as inquiring into the virginity of my brides. Anyone impure enough to understand the very concept would only diminish the value of the station. A woman who has committed adultery in her heart is not fit to be my wife." Letting go of Emilia's hand, Regulus rapturously regaled her with the future he saw for them. She still couldn't quite grasp the true meaning of what he was saying. In fact, all of his talk about being husband and wife had come out of nowhere. In her mind, husband and wife described the loving relationship her father and mother shared, which seemed at odds with Regulus's idea of marriage. Maybe he was thinking of something else that merely sounded similar? "Ah, how careless of me. I've said too much. I shouldn't leave you standing there in such a state for so long. Let's get you a change of clothes." Noticing Emilia's bewildered silence, Regulus clapped his hands. "Come along, #184." A door opened on his command, and a doll-like figure joined the two of them in the hall. *** The beautiful woman in a white dress approached, elegantly trailing long blond hair. Her pure, unblemished white outfit must have been coordinated with Regulus, whose appearance radiated all white. Standing silently at Regulus's side, she politely curtsied as she looked at Emilia. There was no emotion in the woman's expression. Emilia's breath caught as she noticed the lifeless, doll-like eyes. "Prepare a change of clothes for her for #79. Once she is ready, go help the others prepare for the ceremony. She will be joining all of you, so do try to get along and look after her." *** "Mm-hmm. You've stopped smiling like I requested. Good girl. You are an excellent wife." Regulus smiled, satisfied by the woman's silence and lack of expression as she did nothing more than nod. He then stepped toward Emilia, who still had not grasped what was going on, and, as if it were nothing, he reached his hand out and caressed her silver hair without a hint of hesitation. Her body stiffened in response to a gesture that felt entirely different when a certain black-haired boy did it. "Well then, I shall see you later. She will make you even more beautiful." "Right..." Emilia was filled with doubt and resistance, but at the same time, her instincts were telling her not to openly defy this man, that Regulus Corneas possessed great power. A horrifyingly vast amount of power. "Good girl." Nodding at her short response, Regulus smiled and leisurely turned away. She watched him disappear down the hall, and when he was finally out of view, her shoulders gradually relaxed at last. Her body had instinctively tensed up, completely on guard against him without her ever realizing it. His mere presence felt just as menacing as the horde of great rabbits " This way." The woman's voice was beautiful, like a perfectly tuned harp. But there was no emotion in her voice, either. And something about that pained Emilia. "Your clothes." "Um, I really appreciate it, but I have a lot of questions. Like where is this, for starters? I was in the great plaza in Pristella, and then Ah! Wait!" Ignoring Emilia's questions, the woman had quickly started walking. "Um, could you please listen? I really need to send a message to my friends. I'm sure they're all worried about me, and I'm worried about what happened to them, too..." *** "Excuse me, are you listening? Can you hear me? ...Arghhhh." The woman just kept walking forward, back straight, not lending an ear to Emilia. And as Emilia started to pout after all her questions were ignored, the woman finally led her to the room beside the one she had woken up in. It held all sorts of clothes and accessories, almost like the dressing room in a castle. But just like the place she had woken up in, something about this room made it feel different from the coldness that the rest of the building radiated. "There are so many clothes, but...this wasn't originally what this room was for, was it?" "These were all brought here by our husband. Please get dressed, #79." "...Is that number supposed to mean me? He Regulus called me that, too. Who are you?" "I am #184, one of his wives just like you." Closing the door, her back to it, the woman who called herself #184 responded. Her voice was as cold and emotionless as before, but Emilia was still a bit relieved to just be able to talk with her. "Thank goodness you finally responded. Um, what should I call you again...?" "#184. Please be careful; he is picky about the numbers." Hearing that warning, Emilia placed her hand on her own chest. "...That number thing is bothering me, too, but I assume it's safe to say that when he was talking about marriage and spouses, he meant me? If so, I don't recall ever agreeing to marry Regulus..." Thinking back, she could not remember ever arranging anything of the sort. #184 narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. "You may not have such intentions, but he most certainly does. And your will has no bearing on his desires." "That's strange, though. Marriage is something two people who love each other do together, right? I don't even know him." This discussion about marriage didn't mesh at all with how Emilia understood the concept. And from what #184 was saying, Regulus sounded less like a good husband and more like... " It's like he's one of the wicked kings I've read about." *** Emilia was still busy studying for the royal selection, and the names of many kings filled the pages of history, including some whose names were recorded for not particularly flattering reasons. Dictators, for example rulers who refused to listen to others and insisted on obstinately following their own course above all else. "That's a perfect description of him." "Huh?" "His bearing is undoubtedly that of a king... He is well deserving of the title 'the little king,'" #184 murmured softly. Emilia could not catch what the woman had said, so she asked her to repeat it, but #184 tightly pursed her lips. "......Your clothes." "What? Wait..." #184 was even more unyielding than before to cover up her momentary slip of the tongue. She stepped forward to remove the blanket Emilia was using to cover her body " Gh?!" Without warning, a loud noise and violent tremor rocked the town. "Watch out!" Emilia caught #184, who had stumbled from the sudden jolt and blast. Emilia swung her head around

and then leaped to the window of the changing room. Searching for the source of the noise, she saw something unbelievable. "That's...the floodgate?!" Her lips quivered, and her purple eyes opened wide as she watched a huge floodgate one of the massive devices that controlled the flow of water in all the city's waterways open with an ominous groan. With nothing to hold it back any longer, the water rushed into the city all at once. Pristella was laid out like a bowl, designed so that water would flow toward the lower levels to the center of the town. In the distance, the heart of the city was visible city hall. And that tall structure was already being swallowed up by water. "That's..." The roads were flooded as a rolling wave swept away people and goods alike. Emilia clutched the windowsill in shock, hearing the imagined pandemonium in the back of her mind. It was beyond anything she could imagine, and while she watched in shock, all the people were tossed about, desperately struggling to survive. What had happened? The city's residents and her fellow candidates who had also traveled here were they safe? And there was another who came to mind. "Subaru..." Her knight was somewhere out there, too. Was he safe? She closed her eyes, imaging his smile as she prayed for his safety. Praying, pleading, Emilia kept her eyes shut tight. 2 Voices were echoing far, far in the distance. *** Voices that he could not identify. Male, female, young, old? Were they coming from above him or below him? He couldn't say. It sounded like a battle cry. Then it was more like a grieving wail. A scream, a sob, an enraged bellow, a jagged lamentation. All these sounds rained down around him like a waterfall, crashed over him like a giant wave, swirled around him like an inescapable vortex. It was almost like someone he had finally met after a long, long time was opening up about everything they had held back for years. And, swallowed up by the unending deluge of voices, he lost track of where he even was. *** Hands, legs, head, bottom, chest, back it all blurred together. In that enormous swell of voices, his sense of self was gradually melting away, losing shape. He was becoming indistinct, fading and scattering until the countless voices were all that remained. The voices became dark and stagnant, intent on breaking down his identity, reducing and draining it. He was sinking into that darkness, unable to resist. But right when he was about to resign himself to merciful oblivion, he realized there was a thread bound inextricably around his core that rejected the stagnation around him. *** There was something writhing deep inside him, a thread that refused to stop fighting the black stagnation the two forces claimed ownership of his self, fighting, each trying to steal him away, to kill the other off. And then finally...finally 3 " Imbecile. How long must you insist on imposing your clueless, carefree face on the world?" "Gh, aaaaaaaah!!!" Subaru Natsuki awoke with a scream as he experienced the feeling of his face being gripped by a crimson flame. He jolted up at the intense heat enveloping his face, and the pain of it scorched his eyes. He groaned and flailed on the ground while cradling his face. His heart was pounding, and it felt like all the blood in his body was boiling from the heat "Wh-what what happened...?" "Ohh, what a pitiful creature. Such an ill-kept head to begin with, and now that it has been bleached out by all the water, apparently nothing remains on the inside. At this rate, you won't even be fit for your role as a jester." "That outrageous arrogance and lack of consideration for others..." Subaru wiped away the tears welling up as he turned toward the source of the caustic voice verbally lashing him. His blurry vision gradually cleared, and what appeared was a beautiful girl who seemed like a walking personification of the color red "So it is you, Priscilla." Priscilla sniffed haughtily, crossing her arms, almost like she was deliberately emphasizing her well-endowed chest. "Who else would I be? As if another as beautiful as I could exist in this world. If your eyes fail to detect something that obvious, it would be best to spoon them out and at least save yourself the trouble of carrying around such useless appendages." "There's no way that would be better! And I feel obligated to point out that when it comes to beautiful women, the other royal-selection candidates are all top-tier knockouts... Not that that matters anyway!" Subaru had gotten sucked into Priscilla's pace and reflexively retorted before he got ahold of himself. He had been unconscious and had woken up to discover Priscilla was with him. His first thought was that he had died and restarted another loop at the park, which would've placed him just before the Archbishop of Wrath, Sirius, was scheduled to start her atrocity in the plaza by the time tower. Right as Subaru started to wonder why he had been returned to that point after dying... "Where is this...?" That guess went out the window as he realized he did not recognize his surroundings. There was none of the natural greenery that filled the park. He was in a narrow alley. And for some reason, it was muddy and filled with puddles. "And it's not just the ground, either... I'm practically dripping here." Grabbing the sleeve of his tracksuit, Subaru was baffled by his waterlogged condition. His whole body was wet. As if he had cannonballed into a bath with all his clothes on. Had there been some torrential rainstorm while he was out? If not, then "Did I fall into the canal? Or was there some terrible flood...?" " Yes, sirree! That's exactly what happened! Your humblest Liliana was trembling so much in awe at it all that it's almost like I've invented a new dance! See!" Subaru's fearful guess was affirmed by the surprise entry of a voice that came with musical accompaniment. The source of both suddenly appeared from behind Priscilla. Dark skin and an oddly aggressive manner of speech marked her as the city of water's peerless Songstress. "Liliana! I'm glad you're safe... Turns out you were with Priscilla!" "I mean, you and Lady Emilia and the little lady all left me behind with Lady Priscilla in the park! And with the whole town gone topsy-turvy like this, I was so scared, I couldn't bear to move a single step away from the oh-so-reliable Lady Priscilla's side." She didn't hesitate at all to whine before latching on to Priscilla's waist. It was the sort of brazen behavior that normally would've earned her a one-way trip to the executioner's chop from Priscilla, but for some reason she was extraordinarily tolerant of Liliana because of her rare talent. Liliana was trembling like a fawn as Priscilla nodded and patted her head. "As the diva said, soon after you left the park, a boorish rabble defiled the waters of the city. Exceedingly merciful as I might be, even I cannot forgive such an outrage. I was on my way to relieve them of their heads when I noticed a certain foolish commoner floating in the water." "Ahh, I see. And this foolish commoner floating in the water... Did you perhaps mean me by that?" Subaru asked, pointing to himself. Priscilla just sniffed as if to say, Who else could it be? Choosing to interpret that as an affirmative, Subaru felt his confusion grow. "I was floating in the water...? Why? That doesn't make any sense..." He thought back to the last thing he could remember: Subaru had been on the top floor of the city hall building. He had been defeated by a dreadful monster, the Archbishop of Lust. Capella had used Lust's Authority to freely transform herself into a beastly form, and unable to withstand her fierce barrage of attacks, Subaru's right leg had come free. After losing a lot of blood, he had been writhing in pain... "But I've still got my leg. It's still connected. The bandage is coming undone, but... Ugh?!" The wrap around his badly wounded leg had gotten filthy from being drenched in blood and fetid water. But as he removed it to check his leg, he shouted in disgust at what lay beneath. "Wh-what happened?! Ugh?! Wh-wh-wh-what is that?!" *** Drawn by Subaru's response, Liliana came closer out of curiosity and immediately turned pale. Beside her, Priscilla peered down, eyes filled with revulsion. All three of them were looking at Subaru's right leg, which should have been torn off during the fighting with Capella. But despite his remembering differently, it was still attached and covered by hideous black flesh. *** He felt no pain in his foot. Caught up in the shock of seeing the condition of his limb, he rolled up the leg of his pants, revealing the full extent of the black, wriggling, vein-like protrusions extending up from his foot. A cautious touch confirmed the leg had some give to it, similar to that of normal human flesh. Ignoring its appearance, he could even call it fully healed. "To be clear, your limbs were all attached when we found you. That hideous leg has nothing to do with us. And judging from the look on your face, it's clear you weren't born this way." "...Thanks for catching me up while I was dealing with the shock of finding this nasty stuff that someone embroidered on my leg without my permission... There's no way this is the result of healing magic, right?" Nodding along to Priscilla's response, Subaru ruled out what seemed to be the most likely way it could have happened. As far as he knew, healing magic operated under the basic principle of increasing the natural recovery ability of a patient's body. It was not regeneration, so scars would be left after healing. In fact, there were plenty of those on Subaru's body already. But the dark mass on his leg was nothing like those scars. He could confidently say it was not the result of healing magic. The healing magic he knew was a gentler, warmer, miraculous power that saved not only bodies but even souls. The sort of thing that Ferris was proud of, that Beatrice had mastered as if it came naturally to her, that Garfiel had studied for the sake of his wish, that Rem had so earnestly offered freely. This black mark on his leg was a blasphemous desecration of that sort of miracle. "Just to be sure, commoner, am I correct in assuming that your leg was not originally some sort of oddity that could reattach itself even after being violently removed?" "That sounds like you're asking just to ask, but yeah, my body doesn't work that way. I've had my leg torn off before, but I died... Almost died that time." "You've had a body part torn off before?! What a life!" When Liliana heard such an absurd answer to an absurd question, her excitement bubbled up. But when he thought back to what had happened before, at least during that first loop, there had been no sign of his body gluing itself back together. And there hadn't been any situation later in which he'd ever displayed any kind of hyper-regeneration, either. Priscilla nodded and simply said "I see" at his response. "Don't raise your voice," she ordered curtly as she swung the fan in her hand with the flick of a wrist. Unable to follow the red fan's path, Subaru and Liliana peeled their eyes in an attempt to figure out what was going on, but her target became all too clear before long. " Gh!" There was a faint numbness, and then Subaru's leg was struck by a burning heat. The edge of her fan had grazed his leg, leaving a sharp gouge in his thigh. Subaru was hit by two different shocks: The

first came from the realization of how skilled she must be to do something like that with a fan, and the second came from the realization that she was the kind of person who could slice open someone else's leg with zero hesitation. But both thoughts were erased by the even greater shock of what happened next. The cut on his leg was deep enough to reveal bone until the black flesh swallowed it up. Within seconds, it was as if it the wound had never been there at all. *** Subaru gingerly touched the spot with his finger, at a loss for words at the revolting miracle that had just taken place. The site of the wound was completely fine. The pain had disappeared, too. "Ummmmmm, I could be wrong, but there might be something wrong with your leg...," Liliana commented nervously. "It's weird how normal it feels. What is even going on with my body...?" Subaru was shocked by the unnatural healing. Something is wrong with my leg. What the hell happened? " Wait, is it because Capella dripped blood on my leg...?" It had happened when his consciousness was fading from the pain and the loss of so much blood after he lost his right leg. It was not a clear enough memory for him to be absolutely sure, but he was fairly confident he remembered her cutting her own wrist and dripping the blood over his wound. Capella had said something about it while he was suffering from the unbearable pain. "Something about becoming a hideous lump of flesh and doing the same thing to Crusch..." "Sharing her blood, you say? That sounds rather like some sort of curse. I've heard that many of the rituals that northern practitioners of such arts are fond of using involve such roundabout rites. Perhaps it's something along those lines?" "Curses, curses... Right, a blood curse. That's it! A dragon! She said something about dragon blood!" Priscilla's low voice triggered something in the foggy recesses of Subaru's memories. Right before he had passed out, while he was writhing in pain from coming into contact with her blood, she had claimed that dragon blood flowed in her veins. Whether that was metaphorical or just a straight-up fabrication, it might be a good clue worth following up. "Dragon blood... That's one of the three great treasures left to the royal family of Lugunica by the Holy Dragon." "I dunno any details, just that something like that exists..." Subaru furrowed his brow. " It grants abundance to lands withered and barren, rejuvenates all destruction that has been wrought, heals the most incurable illnesses in an instant, and becomes a light to wash away indelible despair. Those are the properties of the blood of the great and Holy Dragon." *** A lyrical response reached Subaru's eardrums. There was a mysterious look on Liliana's face as she plucked her lyulyre and softly sang. Acknowledging Subaru's gaze, she bowed solemnly. "It's a verse from the fellowship of the Holy Dragon Volcanica as passed down in the Kingdom of Lugunica. The great treasures bequeathed to the kingdom were the dragon's blood, the Dragon Tablet, and the Covenant." "...That dragon blood sure sounds like it could do just about everything." Subaru was a bit taken aback by how different Liliana could be when it came to songs and folklore, but he was more concerned with what her verse had described. Rejuvenated destruction and healed illness came pretty close to describing his leg's strange condition, but the parts about treating barren lands and light that washed away despair felt more questionable when he looked at the hideous black pattern on his body. And when he considered that this hunch was based on something Capella had said, it became even more dubious. "I don't know what caused it, but considering the wounds I had before going into that fight were healed, too, I guess I should count it as a plus... Gh! Hey, that hurts! What do you think you're doing?!" "You really do insist on being noisy. Don't make a fuss over something so minor," Priscilla responded in a bored tone after grazing the nape of Subaru's neck with her fan. She looked at the edge of her fan and flicked it with her finger. "Hmmm, wounds to other parts of your body don't appear to be affected. If we were to tentatively accept that leg of yours as the blessing of the dragon's blood, it would seem the sacred dragon is a far cry from the legends that have been passed down." "What?! What are you saying, Lady Priscilla?! No matter how voluptuous and beautiful and buxom you are, there are certain things that cannot be said! No matter how voluptuous you are!" "Oh, you would dare oppose me? Disdain for the Holy Dragon must sit quite poorly with you." "Naturally! The Holy Dragon Volcanica is a living legend! To we who sing to preserve the legends of the past for the future, to us bards, the Holy Dragon is our greatest benefactor! If I let contempt for the Holy Dragon pass without comment, I and my honor would both cry!" "That spirit is admirable. But now what? How will you make me retract my words?" "Please remove Sir Natsuki's head from his neck! Right here and now! Then watch and behold as the Holy Dragon's blood and its miraculous power rejoin his severed head with his body where he stands! If you would please!" "There's no way that would work!" Subaru howled at the absurd one-act play unfolding before him. Unfortunately, the nape of his neck was still hurting. As Priscilla had said, it looked like the healing was limited to his right leg, and it would probably be safer to assume it was really just the parts around the black flesh. "Anyway, this isn't the time for experiments. The authenticity of the dragon blood aside, if my leg is like this, I'm more worried about Crusch. If she suffered something along the lines of what happened to my leg...and also, before that..." Setting aside the oddity of his leg, Subaru finally returned to his first question. The one that the weirdness with his leg had made him forget why had he been floating in the water? "What happened to everyone? Garfiel and Wilhelm and the others were fighting with me..." "Ah, um, as to the reason, you see, the truth is..." Liliana raised her hand. "Wait, you know what happened?!" As Subaru leaned in, she pointed out into the distance. Following where she was pointing, Subaru was baffled by the sight. He could not see anything particularly special or out of the ordinary. It was just the wall surrounding the city and one of the four floodgates that held back the water around the city "Wha ?" After getting that far, Subaru remembered that both he and the ground were soaking wet. Liliana had even said it at the start. The canals had overflowed. "No matter how dull a fool you might be, even you should understand by now." The crimson-eyed girl nodded when she saw Subaru's ashen face. Priscilla opened her fan with an audible crack and covered her lips with it as she spoke. "It is as you suspect. One of the great floodgates was opened, and a torrent of water surged into the city. You were floating because you had been caught in the flood." 4 One of the city's great sluice gates had been opened, allowing a deluge of water to consume Pristella. The mass of water had left the confines of the city's channels, creating a flash flood that spilled out into every corner of the city. That much water was unheard of, and almost half the city had been submerged at one point. The still-flooded roads scattered here and there around the city were a remnant of that. It was miraculous that Subaru had survived the flood and was simply plucked out of one of the canals. "The one silver lining is that the gate that was opened was quickly closed again, which is way better than just leaving it open. And almost all the residents managed to escape to the shelters, too...," Liliana explained. "But not all of them." "...Most likely, yes. It's sad and unfortunate and heartrending to say, though," she said, nodding in response to Subaru's regretful murmur. Thanks to her, he had a general grasp of what had happened to the city while he was unconscious. A massive flood from the gate being opened, which would have required access to the control towers that controlled the gates. The only ones who could have done it were the members of the Witch Cult, who were currently occupying the towers. Meaning the flood had been their doing, and "It was revenge for attacking city hall, then. Makes sense." Priscilla had reached the same conclusion as Subaru. "Ngh." Subaru grimaced. "What, do you mean to tell me you didn't expect your actions to have consequences? If you act, so will your enemy. Making an example early on is just standard practice," Priscilla declared mercilessly. "If anything, this feels almost half-hearted," she continued, fanning herself gently as she tried to deduce the Witch Cult's aims. "I would have expected something even more despicable if they are as disgraceful a rabble as the rumors say. I suppose I should assume they value the items they demanded on the broadcast as too important to allow themselves to get too carried away." Hearing her cold, calculating deductions, Subaru was chagrined to realize that his actions were likely what had brought about the current situation. Ever since coming to the city of water, he had suffered a string of complete and absolute failures: He had been killed by Sirius three times; Emilia had been kidnapped by Regulus; Beatrice was in a coma after saving him; he had gone to city hall in order to face Capella with his friends, only to end up being toyed with by her; and to top it all off, the town had been almost totally flooded by the cultists in retribution. He was on the verge of exploding in anger at how pathetic he was. Subaru covered his face with his hand and stared up at the sky. "Um, um... Please don't brood, Sir Natsuki. The situation is definitely awful, though almost 'What's next, tying my arms and legs and throwing me in a lake?!' levels of terrible!" Liliana was waving her hands and legs as she held her lyulyre against her scrawny body, and her twin tails flapped around on either side of her face. That she still did not give in to despair, even in this dire situation, was splendid, truly worthy of praise. And "Aaaargh! Damn it! You think I'll let it end like this after losing this much?!" "Wah?!" The hand covering Subaru's face clenched into a fist as he howled. Liliana, who had been intending to raise his spirits, leaped backward instead to cling to Priscilla in shock at the sudden shout. Naturally, Priscilla dodged the bard and casually knocked her aside. Ignoring Liliana's cute cry as she hit the ground, Priscilla looked at Subaru with something akin to interest for the first time. "That's unexpected. So you refuse to break over something so trifling, I take it?" "Setting aside the question of whether this is trifling or not, that's the general idea. This is nothing compared to that nasty Witch's trials. It's way too early to be giving up on anything." Every battle had been a loss, his right leg was covered in some alien black substance, and the city was headed downhill fast but he wasn't about to give in just because of all that. Now that he had a firm grasp on the current situation, he steeled his will as he came to a conclusion about what he should do first. " I need to meet up with everyone who stayed back at the Muse Company. Once we regroup,

we can kick those assholes out of the city for good." "Can you really do that?" "That isn't the real question. It's whether we do it or don't. And I'm not about to choose don't. Whatever we do, though, priority number one needs to be rejoining the crew. What are you going to do?" *** There was a flame dancing in Priscilla's eyes. She stood there silently, waiting for Subaru to continue. "You know, I still haven't forgotten what happened back at the Water Raiment Inn if anything, I'm still holding a grudge about it but this and that are two different things. But being with someone you know is good for peace of mind, and Al was with us, too, not long before this. It might be easier for you to find him if we stick together." "Al was with you?" "Yeah, though he left before the fight. He was wandering around the city looking for you." Al had split off from the group before the assault on city hall, but Subaru was still a little worried about whether he had gotten caught up in the flood. He wanted to assume Al was safe, what with how aloof and perceptive he seemed to be, but... Hearing that, Priscilla thought for a moment. "I understand your line of thought, but I have something I must see to first. And I have no intention of accepting your invitation if it means putting that off." "What could be so...?" "But your show of resolve wasn't half bad. So I'll grant you a reward." "A reward?" Subaru cocked his head at the unexpected response. Priscilla reached out and grabbed Subaru by the shirt and pulled him to the ground, where he fell down next to Liliana with a grunt. He looked up in order to give Priscilla an earful for suddenly throwing him down "What the hell was that for all of a...? Wha ?!" until he saw a misshapen silhouette leap out violently at Priscilla. *** The grotesque being howled sinisterly as it launched itself high into the air. It had four short, hound-like legs and twisted fangs lining its mouth. Just that would mark it as little more than a particularly ugly beast, but everything else was abnormal. It had swords and spears protruding from its back and torso. Not hanging from its body. Not stuck into it. The weapons were growing out of its body. It was literally a fusion of flesh and steel creating a truly hideous silhouette. "That's...not a demon beast! What is that?!" "Ahhhhhhh! That's a demi-beast!" Liliana screamed as she crawled across the ground. While that was going on in the background, the grotesque monster that Liliana called a demi-beast took aim at Priscilla's pale neck. Its sickening, unclean fangs drew near, but Priscilla easily deflected it to the side with the fan in her hand, forcefully knocking it down. One of the swords fused with its body gouged the earth underneath, creating a groove in the ground between Subaru and Liliana. A shout froze in his throat as he saw how sharp and dangerous it was. "Well? Unsightly, isn't it? These hideous, inferior brutes are rampant in the city right now. Not even beasts, and yet insufficient as tools. Incomplete from birth, a botched job from creation thus demi-beasts." Priscilla stood there calmly, having knocked aside the demi-beast with her fan as Subaru watched stiffly. He was shocked by how at ease she appeared as he pulled Liliana away from where the demi-beast had fallen. Behind them, the demi-beast writhed in agony as it leaped up, its spit-flecked jowls twisting around as it searched for the one who had attacked it. Something about it felt off to Subaru, and he quickly realized why. Its eyes. "It doesn't have any eyes... Did something blind it? Wait, did it just never have them to begin with? What?" Its head looked similar to a dog's. It had a snout with a vaguely canine nose and jaws, but there were no eyes where there should have been. It was true that some creatures simply didn't develop vision, then, but this one had empty, hollowed-out pits where eyes would have been. It had eye sockets but no eyeballs. There were no scars or any other signs that they'd been removed, either. It was all incredibly cryptic. What were demi-beasts? "Look closely, commoner. If you would wander this city, you might encounter one of these monstrosities at any time. They are coarse and incomplete creatures, but they have enough strength to easily hunt down one or two helpless fools." "Hey, who's supposed to be helpless?! I've..." Subaru reached for his trusty whip to drive home his point, but he had lost it either in the fight with Capella or else when he fell into the water. Farewell, Guilty Whip. And with him unable to deny the helpless-fool point anymore, Priscilla intentionally made a sound with her shoe, drawing the demi-beast's attention toward her. Gnashing its fangs, it obediently bounded toward her, drawn by the sound. "Look how it clings to sound. It is comical how inexperienced they are in dealing with their world without sight. That shows this is not their natural state. But that is just the sort of being they are." "What are you saying...? Hold on a second! You said they're all over town? There are more like this out there?!" "They have spawned everywhere. Without eyes, without ears, without a mouth...like a mockery of a living creature, they are all flawed in some form or another. One can only assume their creator's sense of beauty is catastrophically broken." Right after Priscilla said that, the demi-beast launched itself into the air again. Unable to see, it relied on its ears to leap toward her approximate location. Naturally, she swayed out of the way of such a clumsy attack with ease. When the demi-beast's fangs caught only air, it quickly turned after landing and prepared to attack again " What a truly pitiful existence. In my great mercy, I shall grant you rest." And, having said that, Priscilla slowly drew a crimson sword from the sky. *** Subaru was shocked by the sudden appearance of the sword, but more than that, he was enchanted by the sword's beauty. The bright-red blade that appeared was gilded with strange and beautiful ornamentation. It was radiant enough to be easily worthy of being called a treasure sword. From the hilt to the blade, it was entirely scarlet, and in Priscilla's hand it glimmered brilliantly, like she held a living flame. " Ah." Cloaked in an inferno that enchanted all who beheld it, the sword flashed as Priscilla allowed the blind demi-beast to experience the blade firsthand in all its glory. The creature split down the middle and then burst into flames. There were no dying cries as the single crimson slash transformed the demi-beast into cinders. "The gleam of this sword of sunlight and the knowledge that demi-beasts abound are my reward for your determination," Priscilla said as Subaru watched the demi-beast's death with eyes wide open. Looking over at her, he saw that the crimson sword was already gone from her hand, replaced by her usual fan. It almost felt like it had been an illusion, but the demi-beast's ashes were proof enough that it had been real. "That's quite the foolish look on your face. Don't tell me you missed your opportunity to see something you will never see again? If so, my whim shan't visit again, so you have only your own unworthiness to blame." "...There's so much to comment on there that I'm not even sure where to start. What even is your actual power?" "What an empty question. I can't even work up the will to answer." Priscilla fanned herself leisurely as she openly ignored Subaru's question. Liliana, whom Subaru had forgotten he was still holding under his arm, started flapping her arms and legs. "Come on, Sir Natsuki!" "Huh? Ah, my bad. Did I touch somewhere inappropriate? Though where would that even be on you?" "How rude! They may be small, but they are there! But this isn't the time for that!" Twisting her body, she slipped free from Subaru's arm, hit the ground with a thud, and quickly leaped to her feet. She left Subaru and Priscilla behind and ran to the intersection up ahead. Peering around the corner, she waved at them to come over. "I knew it! Look! There is someone hurt here! Help! Please help him!" "There is?! Were they attacked by that demi-beast?!" Subaru frantically rushed over to Liliana. There was a young man lying facedown in a pool of blood. He had wounds on his shoulder and back. "Are you okay?! Hey! Crap, he's totally out of it. The wounds aren't too deep, but..." There was no response when Subaru called out to the young man. After checking his wounds, Subaru quickly tore the man's shirt and performed simple first aid. "You seem quite familiar with how to deal with this sort of thing..." "It's the product of my mentor's spartan training. I'm amazed you noticed he was here, though." "Yes, I was sure I heard something. Like a heartrending voice pleading for aid." "What are you, some hero of justice...? All righty, that'll do for first aid." Subaru sighed in relief after stopping the bleeding and tying off a splint. The wound did not look life-threatening, at least. "But we can't just leave him lying here, either. What do we do...?" "Then carry him, commoner. My goal is the shelter down this street. If you take him there, they should be able to stabilize him." "There's a shelter nearby? Right, you mentioned having some errand or other when you turned me down..." "Let's go. Do not slow me further." Paying no heed to Subaru, Priscilla said whatever she pleased and then started walking away. Subaru silently shook his head and then lifted up the unconscious man. He felt a dark irony that he was practically relying on his blackened right leg to brace himself as he followed Priscilla. Liliana tottered along behind them, still full of concern about the young man's fate. "Time and again you really do seem to be a man with good timing." "What?" Priscilla flashed a dark, crimson smile. "You should etch into your eyes one more time just what the current state of this city is." 5 There was an odd air to the area. Even Subaru could notice almost immediately from the way his skin crawled. *** When they stepped into the shelter carrying a wounded person, they were met by many different gazes. A moist, cloying, depressing emotion rested within those eyes. An oppressive, vague negative feeling that was uncomfortable to be around and made it hard to breathe. This location was apparently a shelter that had been constructed in the basement of one of the buildings in the fourth district. It had been designed to protect residents in the event of flooding, and its sturdy door had been sealed, keeping all the water out. But even so, the mere fact that they had escaped the flooding was not enough to soothe everyone's worries, given all the danger threatening their city. That much was clear enough from the way they buried their heads in their knees and from the potent fear that appeared in every face that wasn't just looking down at the ground. "This is bad for the heart. What is this feeling...?" Leaving the injured man in the care of the healer on duty in the simple medical room setup at the shelter, Subaru slowly looked around the underground area, gulping bitterly. There were a lot of people. There were enough crowded here belowground to make the shelter feel cramped. But it was quiet. Very quiet. They were holding their breaths, avoiding one another's gazes, looking down in silence. As if they were trying to avoid drawing attention to the fact that they were still alive.

"I see, he's not here, either." Priscilla was cast from a different mold, though, able to carry herself without any hesitation even in this uniquely oppressive environment. On the one hand, it was certainly a regal quality to remain so unaffected by one's surroundings, but it also did nothing to ease the fear and uncertainty gripping people's hearts, which made her seem more like a tyrant than anything else in the moment. Almost naturally, something akin to annoyance started welling up in Subaru's chest. Priscilla was always so full of arrogant self-confidence, and he felt a sudden urge to tear at her face, to peel away that haughty mask "At the end of the day, a mediocre man remains a mediocrity. You've been completely bewitched after such a short time." "Wh-what are you talking about...?" "There was a barbarous gleam in your pupils. It is only natural that the mere sight of me ignites lustful passion, but the desire to harm beauty is mere brute savagery. Can you truly say you know not of what I speak? Well?" Interrogated by the woman whose face he had just considered clawing off, Subaru was suddenly dumbfounded. *** Why had his emotions boiled over so suddenly? It was not that odd for him to feel antagonistic toward her, but there had been no reason for it to suddenly get so intense and violent. It was almost like he had lost control of his emotions. "No way..." As that thought occurred to him, a chill ran up his spine. The discomfort grew and grew until his arms and legs were trembling, and he couldn't keep his teeth from chattering. The way his emotions were unnaturally shifting in a way he could not control reminded him of something. "Sirius... Wrath's Authority...? Is that what's causing this?!" Subaru pinched his cheek, clearing his head with a dose of pain as he gritted his teeth. Naturally, Sirius was not in the shelter. Subaru could not hear her voice, either. But he could not escape that sense of gloom, that unpleasant sensation of being tossed into a pot of simmering emotions until they were all scorched black. The moment after Subaru realized what was happening and how dangerous it was " What's your problem? The hell do ya think you're staring at?!" A middle-aged man near the back of the shelter shouted, teeth bared and face red. His rage seemed to be directed at a younger man near him. His anger still obvious on his face, the older man approached the younger man and gave him a hard shove in the chest. "If you've got something to say, then say it! Well?! What's your problem?!" " Ngh! Fine, you really want to know?! Take a look around you! You aren't a boy anymore! Have some self-control! We don't all need to know how pissed you are! It's a pain in the ass for the rest of us, you washed-up piece of shit!" "Stop it! Stop it! Please, just stop it!" The younger man's rage exploded at the older man's provocation, and the woman beside him started crying as she cradled her head. Unable to hold back her emotions, she started sobbing uncontrollably, which only stoked the older man's anger and the younger man's righteous fury. And the explosion of emotions did not stop there. "This isn't good! The other people are getting affected..." It was slow at first but quickly picked up speed a wave of intense emotions spread throughout the shelter. The explosive increase in noise after the previous silence made it feel like pandemonium had broken out in the blink of an eye. "This isn't good! Priscilla! If we don't do something, people are gonna die!" "Fool. You've lost your calm as badly as they have. Just sit down and shut up." "Is this really the time for that?! Even in a situation like this, you're still... Gh." Impatience turned his vision red, and he tried to grab Priscilla, but she evaded his hands with a simple sway and grabbed his hair, pulling his face close to hers. "Gah?!" "Listen, commoner. Your fears will become reality. The unpleasant feeling that corrupted this city's water will warp people's hearts, steal their rationality, and rob them of their kindness. However " Priscilla coldly explained the tragedy that would befall the shelter as Subaru's face tensed and his lips quivered. But as she trailed off, she looked to the center of the room. Subaru naturally followed her gaze. Standing there was... "Hark. Lend me your ears Pristella wavers, reflected in the water's surface." The plucked strings of the lyulyre created clear, high-pitched chords that pierced the pandemonium. In an instant, that sound shattered the rage and grief that had gripped the shelter. Everything paused for a brief moment. And into that split-second gap, something slipped: Music. *** Right as feverish emotions were about to boil over, an ephemeral melody emerged from the lyulyre's strings. And everyone who heard it was shaken to the soul by the voice that accompanied it. Liliana's tongue danced, giving form and shape to the song welling up inside her. That strain of music struck the people, Subaru, and even Priscilla alike, captivating the crowd from the moment the sounds hit their ears and making their bodies, their minds, and their very souls tremble. Her song had stolen their hearts. There was no other way to put it. They were taken back and returned to their rightful owners. Subaru could feel himself being set free from the confining emotions of Wrath's invisible web. This was the power of song. The brilliance of Liliana's music, the music the Songstress unleashed, was a power beyond reason capable of shaking people to their very core " Thank you very much for your kind attention," Liliana said with a bow. By the time she finished, the dark emotions that had dominated the shelter were long gone. There was only a thunderous round of applause that welled up naturally from all sides. 6 "Thank you! Thank you! My apologies for such an embarrassing sight." "You..." With her performance over, and after the ripples of her singing voice had faded, and she had finished introducing herself to her tearful audience, the Songstress faded away and Liliana took her place. When Liliana winked awkwardly and gave Subaru a thumbs-up, his shoulders slumped not because of some inexplicable emotion but because of his own exasperation. "So you've returned to your senses. That is quite the accomplishment by the diva." "I don't really have room to argue. You seemed fine even without the song, though...and for some reason that actually makes sense to me. Wrath's Authority was creating a resonance with everyone's emotions." For Priscilla, whose ego was so strong and whose sympathetic impulses were so limited, it made sense that the effect of Wrath's Authority would be weaker. At least that was how Subaru interpreted it, given the calm demeanor she had projected both before and after the song. The pandemonium in the shelter was unmistakably the effect of Sirius's ability. The worst possible outcome had been avoided thanks to Liliana's song, but it gave Subaru chills to think of what might have happened without her. Most likely, the original impetus had been something trivial, but everyone in the shelter was under intense stress from the oppressive, closed-off atmosphere and the presence of a dangerous group in the city. And when they were unable to fully manage that pressure, darker thoughts started to slip into their hearts, which Sirius's Authority then amplified until even the most minor friction with someone else in the shelter could set it all off. And when it exploded, the resulting damage created a pandemic of intense emotions that could lead only to tragedy. And that was "That is the unsightly, meaningless reality currently occurring everywhere around the city." *** "You described this unpleasant atmosphere as an Authority, did you not? 'Wrath's Authority.'" "...Yeah, that's right. This is the work of one of the Witch Cult Archbishops." Priscilla's crimson eyes narrowed in distaste. Even without the effects of any Authority, Subaru could sympathize with the ire resting deep within her gaze. Subaru had thought he had a sufficiently healthy respect for how dangerous Sirius's ability to amplify and propagate emotions was, but his understanding had been too simplistic. It seemed all too possible now that Wrath's Authority had extended its reach across every part of Pristella. And the majority of people in the city had fled to the shelters. If they felt the effects of that ability with so much fear and unease in their hearts, the potential for disaster would be unimaginable. "The careful training to always go to the shelters if anything happens has totally played into their hands here." If Wrath's ability could share and amplify people's emotions, the strength of the effect should be proportional to the number of people inside the area of effect. The people around you became mirrors for emotions, and you in turn became a mirror for them, accelerating and amplifying the effect. People being near others strengthened Wrath's ability and increased its potential to infect more people and spread. This observation spoke to the lie Sirius was hiding. Hers was not a power for allowing people to understand one another at all. It was a nightmarish power that forced people to isolate themselves and remain alone in a situation where fear and unease dominated the mood. "That makes me a tiny smidge vexed, so I believe I shall have to hold out a bit longer." "Liliana..." Subaru absorbed Liliana's words with quiet surprise as she pointed to the deepening furrows in her brow. It was clear now that her music had the ability to free people from Sirius's Authority. And she, fully aware that it had that effect, had been traveling from shelter to shelter, singing as she went. When she had been staying at Roswaal's manor and her music had invited trouble, she had gone so far as to say "I don't want my singing to be used as a tool," even when her life was hanging in the balance. For that same Liliana to use her singing like this "What the situation calls for is captivating people with song, which is right up my alley!" Liliana said with another lousy wink. There was no denying she was the city's Songstress. "So then that goal you mentioned before is helping Liliana go around to all the shelters?" Subaru asked Priscilla. If that was the case, that would mean Priscilla was also acting out of concern about the chaos that had struck the city. Right as Subaru was on the verge of reconsidering his view of her and realizing that perhaps he had badly misunderstood what lay in her heart, that train of thought was suddenly interrupted. "Fool, as if I would bother with something so inconsequential as that." Subaru pursed his lips at the textbook Priscilla response. "Inconsequential? ...Fine, then what is your goal? Why are you visiting all the shelters?" "I'm looking for Schult. If I don't, he will almost certainly cry. And I cannot stand seeing a child's teary face." *** Subaru's mind froze at the unexpected response. It was something only Priscilla would say. Not noticing his reaction, Priscilla shrugged as if to indicate she had little choice in the matter. "Al can take care of himself. The fate of another fool is of no concern to me. But Schult's charm is irreplaceable, so I have to recover him personally. He's quite the troublesome retainer." Considering there were no stronger emotions in her voice, it was a fair guess that was how she really felt. But the reason she gave for moving around a city embroiled in such trouble to search for her lost young retainer was not something Subaru had expected. It was surprising, but he could accept it. It was indisputable that she was busily walking around looking for her servant, after all. And she just happened to be helping Liliana with her

goal as well in the process. "What's that look on your face?" Priscilla looked over at him suspiciously, but Subaru waved it off with a vague "It's nothing" and a sigh. But he felt like he understood. And that was enough, given the situation. Taking a deep breath and filling his lungs, Subaru looked out at the now-stable mood of the shelter. "This shelter should be fine now. I'm going to go now like I said before. I need to meet back up with everyone." "Aye-aye! Lady Priscilla and I are going to another shelter now. Music is still needed... I am grateful to be a bard, so now's the time to cash in and earn some more self-respect!" "Phrasing!" Despite the grave situation, Subaru could not help laughing and latching on to how she put it. He turned to Priscilla again. It had only been a short while, but he was grateful for the many things she had given him. He never would have guessed the day would come when he could interact with her so genuinely. "Thank you for all your help. Let's meet again after all this is over. And you should really look for Al, too." "As if I would lend an ear to anyone's instructions. I will simply do as I please. You should run along now and worry about cleansing this city's befouled waters. If you manage to actually accomplish something, I shall personally reward you." "Just so you know, unlike your retainers, I don't have any particular interest in licking your boots." And with that, Subaru turned away from them as Liliana saluted, and Priscilla was not even bothering to look at him anymore. He departed from the shelter and started racing through the city. Priscilla and Liliana would head to another shelter to stop another latent explosion of emotion that was just waiting to go off. He could trust them to take care of that, so Subaru would need to follow through on his own role. "First is Muse... If everyone is still okay, then that's where they would go." The Muse Company was far from the fourth district. But he had all the motivation he needed. All that was left was to steel his nerve. This isn't even close to being over. Not by a long shot. And I'm going to prove it. 7 *** A blind, bloody-smelling demi-beast was sniffing at the ground in front of him. Holding his breath to keep from being noticed, Subaru examined it, feeling a sense of righteous anger as he compared it to the other demi-beasts he had come close to encountering. The demi-beasts Priscilla had labeled hideous, and Liliana had scorned earlier for their inability to sing, came in a multitude of forms, and Subaru had felt reluctant to lump them all together under the same repulsive description. In exchange for lacking something eyes, ears, mouth their bodies were fused with swords or shields or other inorganic objects. They had been transformed into something that could not naturally occur in some horrible design. The demi-beasts were the unnatural creation of an aberrant mind. So turning it around, if he could accept that they were unnatural life-forms, then it was entirely believable they had actually been designed. And there was at least one being currently in the city who was capable of manipulating the bodies of living creatures. "Capella, you piece of shit..." The demi-beasts' parent, or perhaps creator would be the better word, appeared in Subaru's head. The Archbishop of Lust, Capella, practically an embodiment of all the malice of the human world. Subaru could absolutely believe that she would create such incomplete creatures as demi-beasts and set them loose all around the city. But that thought raised a question: Then where is she getting the ingredients for the demi-beasts? *** "Ah." When he gritted his teeth, he inadvertently twisted his foot slightly, grinding a pebble against the ground beneath his heel. The blind demi-beast immediately turned its head toward the sound and violently dashed over toward Subaru. The ax growing out of its head was heavy, making it look absurd as it ran. The edge of the ax scraped the ground, sending sparks flying continuously as it closed in. Subaru leaped aside as it approached. Then he used a slight groove in the wall as a foothold to acrobatically launch himself over the demi-beast. "And up we go!" His right leg was in disgustingly good shape, and he could move better than ever because of it. He easily leaped over the demi-beast and left that stretch of road behind as it frantically spun around searching for him. " Girrrrrrrrrrrah!" All of a sudden, an awkward shout rang out. Subaru evaded the surprise attack by jumping straight up and spreading his legs. The demi-beast passed under him, but having lost his balance, Subaru rolled when he hit the ground. He was planning to use the momentum of the roll to start running away when "...Crap..." Right in front of him was another demi-beast, quietly standing there, barring his path. It was one without a mouth, which was why it had grumbled instead of roared. The one whose charge he had just dodged had no ears, meaning all three types roaming the city were represented here. *** They were surrounding him front, back, and to one side, cornering him. Looking to the open side, he saw the wall of a dilapidated building that was deteriorating from age and lack of maintenance. With enough momentum and motivation, it wouldn't be impossible to get over. The goal would be something like what Felt had done when they first met. The way she had run, leaving Subaru behind begging for help with Larry, Curly, and Moe surrounding him thinking back on it now, he could not help feeling an odd sense of fate that those four had ended up in the same camp. Soothing his nerves with some pointless thoughts, Subaru crouched. The demi-beasts surrounding him bent their knees, but Subaru was ready to go for the wall one step ahead of them " Please don't move, Subaru. I don't want to miss." But a voice that was far surer an option than trying to get out of the situation on his own made him abandon that desperate plan. The three demi-beasts barreled down on Subaru as he stopped, all aiming to hit him with their blend of ax and fangs, swords and claws but none of them reached him. Because each and every one of their attacks was deflected and knocked back by a single slender knight's blade. "My apologies, but his continued survival is necessary for this city. I humbly request that you withdraw!" The elegant knight Julius Juukulius attacked the three demi-beasts simultaneously with sword and spirits. His sharp blade cut through the eyeless beast's torso in a single broad sweep while the earless and mouthless ones were swallowed up in a red glimmer and consumed by flames. Purged by a raging inferno, the warped creatures turned to ash and collapsed without a sound. But the blind beast continued to attack despite having sustained an obviously lethal wound. "Julius!" "You need not worry." The eyeless beast's head was sent rolling by an elegant, arcing slash. This was not the time nor place for idle thoughts, but it was truly a beautiful slash, one that held Subaru's gaze. The flash of steel precisely struck at the weakest point of the demi-beast's neck, ending its life without prolonging its pain. If there could be any mercy in the act of ending a life, then that attack had been the embodiment of it. No matter how incomprehensible the creature's unnatural vitality might be, losing its head was still lethal. The same went for reducing its entire body to cinders. Subaru felt a strong sense of pity for the demi-beasts as they fell. "Are you unhurt, Subaru?" Flicking the blade that had cut down the demi-beast, Julius turned to Subaru. "Yeah." Subaru nodded. "That was a dangerous spot to be in, though. Thanks for the help. And from the looks of it, you're doing okay, too." "I cannot deny that. In the end, I was swept up in the flood from the gate opening, which left the battle at city hall unsettled. I was concerned when I saw you fall into the water and lost track of you." Julius shook his head slightly as he placed his hand on Subaru's shoulder. Surprisingly, there was an unconcealable trace of relief in the gesture. As if he was still processing the fact that Subaru had returned alive. "What happened at the tower? Honestly, I can't really remember much of the back end of the fight with Capella...with Lust." "You don't remember? A black dragon attacked the upper floor and carried you and Duchess Crusch away. I immediately went after the black dragon to try and retrieve the two of you when the floodgate opened..." "And in the chaos, I ended up falling into the water and getting washed away?" "If I was to be honest, I had thought your chances of surviving were fifty-fifty at best. You did well to make it back safely." Julius kept nodding to himself, his hand still on Subaru's shoulder, welcoming his return. Hearing that, Subaru realized his situation had been far more dire than he realized. But against all odds, he had returned safe and sound. And now he had been reunited with Julius. "What about everyone else? Are they safe? I remember Crusch was in trouble. I was hurrying to get back to the Muse Company just now..." "I understand the feeling, but for now calm yourself, please. Allow me to alleviate your first concern: Everyone who went to take back city hall returned alive... Knowing that you have survived and are safe, I can now say that confidently." "Everyone made it back alive... I see..." Overcome by relief after hearing that news, Subaru slumped down to the ground. He had been more anxious about that than he had realized, and for a moment he could not force his quivering knees to carry his weight. "After facing so many powerful enemies, I'm glad everyone survived... And there weren't any losses to that flood, either?" "It was a perilous situation. From what Sir Wilhelm said, they were close to being overwhelmed by the enemy when the water hit, and it was entirely possible we would have suffered losses if the battle continued. It's ironic to think that was the Witch Cult's doing." Subaru furrowed his brow. There was more scorn directed at himself than regret in Julius's voice. From what he was saying, it sounded like that flood that had exacted such a terrible price from the city as a whole had actually been a massive boon to Subaru and the others fighting at city hall. And it was probably at least partially because of it that Capella had failed to kill Subaru and Crusch when they were at death's door. Which meant that the Witch Cult had shot itself in the foot by opening the floodgate when it had. Though it was also doubtful whether it put much stock in the outcome of a single battle. "There are several other things that I have to tell you, but for now, it's good that we did not miss each other. Currently, the Muse Company is empty, and no one is there. You were about to waste a trip." "No one? Why? Anastasia, Ferris, and my Beako should still be there..." "Regarding that, try to remain calm while I explain." Subaru gulped as things took a disquieting turn. Seeing that, Julius took a breath before continuing. "...While we were attacking city hall, the Muse Company was also attacked. Their aim was the gentleman Kiritaka of the Council of Ten, but in the end, Lady Anastasia took command, and those who remained were forced to abandon that base." "It was attacked?! But it was a shelter! There were lots of wounded people

there, right?!" Other than the Iron Fangs members there as guards, the vast majority of the people at the company had been noncombatants including Beatrice, who was in a coma, and Mimi, who had sustained an incurable wound from the blessing of the grim reaper. Hetaro and TB shared the burden of their sister's wound and were in a dangerous condition, too. There was no way they could have safely fled an attack with so many people in that sort of condition "Wait! What happened to Beatrice? To everyone?!" "They succeeded in just barely getting all the wounded out safely at immense personal effort. Lady Beatrice and Mimi and her brothers were also safely carried away. However, the whereabouts of Mr. Kiritaka Muse and the members of the White Dragon's Scale who stayed behind with him at the Muse Company are currently unknown... We don't know whether they survived." "Damn it! I'm sure Liliana would be sad if she heard that..." Even hearing that Beatrice was safe, Subaru could not really be happy given the losses that might have been incurred. Considering the enemy's goal, it made sense that Kiritaka would be targeted. The Witch Cult's demand was for the Witch's bones to be turned over to them, and only members of the Council of Ten could tell them the location. "Having lost the Muse Company, we have shifted to using city hall as a base. We should head there. Everyone is worried about you, and Garfiel in particular is running himself ragged." "That's not good, but we're heading to city hall? We took it back?" "When the gate was opened and our battle there was cut short by the massive surge of water, our enemies abandoned the building. However, they broadcast one final message before they did so. Did you hear it?" "...That was right around when I was bobbing in the water." Subaru pursed his lips. It did not sound like recovering city hall was really something that could be celebrated. Hearing his response, Julius furrowed his brow and hesitated for a moment before responding. "It was after they caused the canals to overrun and were wreaking havoc in every part of the city. I was struggling to grasp the chaotic situation myself when Lust's voice rang out from the sky." *** Subaru quietly urged Julius to continue. Seeing that, Julius nodded and took a long, deep breath. "Lust...or perhaps I should say the Witch Cult placed additional demands in order to free the city as punishment for attacking the tower. In addition to the Witch's bones, they had three new demands." "...Which were?" " A book called the book of knowledge. An artificial spirit. And also..." Just those two alone were more than enough to provoke Subaru, but the final demand actually made Julius pause even after he'd said that much. Seeing him hesitate, Subaru steeled himself as he wondered just how repulsive the final demand could possibly be. However, Subaru quickly realized that that hesitation was out of consideration for him. Because the final demand was the most absurd, the most out of place, and the most impossible for Subaru to accept. "...the wedding of the silver-haired maiden. Something you would surely never allow." CHAPTER 2 *** 1 Looking out at the flooding city, Emilia gripped the windowsill tightly enough to warp it. There was another booming sound as the opened floodgate closed again. It was over in the blink of an eye. The city had escaped being completely flooded, but the damage was still massive. Buildings had been destroyed, and there was no question that people must have gotten hurt or worse. Thinking of the damage the water was causing, Emilia frantically started to go out the window "Whatever you might be thinking, it would be wiser to stop." A cool voice stopped Emilia, who had already stepped onto the windowsill and was getting ready to leap down. It was the cold beauty #184, who seemed entirely unshaken by everything that was going on. Faced with her piercing gaze, Emilia narrowed her purple eyes sharply. "Wiser how? You saw what just happened, didn't you? I have to go help!" "Your feelings are understandable, but were you to leave now, it would only cause even more suffering, since he...our husband does not wish for you to leave." "That again?!" Emilia bit her lip in irritation that Regulus could overtly restrict her freedom. It was clear from their interactions up to that point that #184 was entirely subservient to Regulus, but that was not how Emilia felt. She was resolute that she was not his wife. "Even if you disagree, can you truly not imagine what he might do if something he found undesirable was to come to pass?" "That's..." "First he would punish the wife who acted against his wishes. Then he would punish whatever or whoever motivated his wife to act against his wishes. I am absolutely confident that is how he would respond." Hearing that, Emilia thought back to her brief encounter with Regulus. He liked to talk, but that by itself was not necessarily bad. The boy Emilia knew so well also often had a lot to say. But unlike him, Regulus showed absolutely no regard for the person he spoke with. His speech and actions and focus were all one-sided because of his sense of omnipotence. Regulus Corneas was stronger than almost anyone else Emilia had ever encountered before. He might even be a match for Reinhard. And now #184 was earnestly warning Emilia not to upset him. And yet " That isn't enough of a reason for me to stop." "...Even if your life is in danger?" "There are people out there who are in danger right now. If I just secretly slip out and then slip back in, wouldn't that still be fine?" Emilia's magic should be useful in dealing with flooding. She could freely shape ice, manipulating it in such a way that it would not cause any problems when it melted. If it would be a problem for Regulus to find out, then she could just do it stealthily, even if that was not really her forte. #184 paused for a few seconds and then let out a long sigh. "...Are you actually serious?" "Huh? I was really serious... Did I not sound serious?" Emilia asked in shock. She had been trying to plead as earnestly as she could, so if it had come across as a joke, that would be a problem. Seeing Emilia's reaction, #184 looked outside. "If you are concerned about harm befalling the residents due to the flooding, you needn't worry. The vast majority of people should have already fled to the shelters and should have escaped the worst of the flooding." "Shelters...? Right, the morning broadcast mentioned that! Then everyone is hiding out there?" "Since several hours ago." "Oh, I see... That's a relief, then." Emilia placed her hand on her chest. Of course that would not make the physical damage of the flooding disappear, but it was fortunate. At least that meant there would be no tragedy of countless people getting swallowed up in the floodwaters. "...You trust what I just said?" "Eh? Should I not?" "I am his wife... Do you really think I wouldn't lie for my husband's sake?" #184 was clawing away at Emilia's heart, as if testing her. And accepting that provocation, Emilia considered her words for a brief moment. " But you seemed sincere, so I'm sure you weren't lying." Emilia shook her head, choosing to believe in #184's sincerity rather than assume malice. And if she was going to lie, there would have been easier, more convincing lies, but she had responded without any doubt at all in what she was saying. Because her conscience did not trouble her about it. " Ah." #184 opened her eyes slightly in surprise. Seeing that reaction, Emilia felt like it was the first time she had gotten a glimpse of her natural range of expression. "So you can actually look surprised. Maybe we can finally have a proper conversation." "...That was unbecoming of me. Anything more will incur his ire." "Getting upset that his wife showed a little emotion when she would be so much more beautiful if she could smile just seems really weird." "Weird doesn't begin to describe it... Ngh I should warn you." Her emotional control fraying in the face of Emilia's smile, #184 quickly caught her breath before continuing. "What he likes is your normal face, that exact expression. I suggest you not change it in front of him do not get visibly happy or sad, things like that. It would probably be best if you don't open your mouth as well." "I shouldn't talk? Why not?" "Because no one knows what might draw his ire." #184's behavior around Regulus was dictated by her fear of crossing one of his lines. Fear was limiting her emotions. Emilia wanted to do something to help her. She could tell from talking with her that she was wise and the sort of beauty who could light up a room with a smile. "You mustn't furrow your brow, either. It upsets him." "I'm thinking as hard as I can about what I can do to keep Regulus from getting between us having a proper conversation," Emilia responded earnestly. Hearing that, #184 caught her breath slightly. There was the slightest hesitation in her cool eyes. "Ummm..." Something about what #184 was starting to say was different. But "Hello, all you meatbags! I hope this finds you in good health as you tremble in the fetal position! In my deep and praiseworthy benevolence, I'm broadcasting my beautiful voice for you little shits to cling to for comfort! Are you happy now? Are you having fun? Are you dancing and singing and writhing in agony? Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" A shrill voice rang through the air, cutting #184 off. " Wah! Wh-what's that?!" Emilia looked around in shock as a callous voice suddenly filled the sky above the city. Instinctively looking up, Emilia realized that it was a broadcast using a metia. The same one that had been filled with concern for the people of the city in the morning, and the same one that had carried Liliana's singing across the whole city. The impression the broadcast imparted could change dramatically depending on how the speaker used it. At the very least, Emilia certainly did not believe that the person speaking now had much claim to deep and praiseworthy benevolence. "Well then, I have an important announcement for all you twisted sacks of shit! Somehow, even after all the warnings you were given, a swarm of incompetent meatbags came after me in a good old-fashioned raid! Well, not that I expected any less, so I had already made arrangements to greet them. But it's still annoying, you know!" The voice was light, and the broadcaster almost seemed to be indulging in the moment, but there was also a clear irritation mixed in as the sinister proclamation continued. "Anyway, I was honestly thinking, Ah, whatever, screw it. Just open the floodgates and sink the whole place to the bottom of the lake, and them's the breaks, you know? I mean, it's hurtful when people just straight up ignore everything I make the effort to say! In fact, I've still got some wounds aching from it all. It's an affront and an assault on my goodwill and on me personally!" " Ngh." Emilia shuddered at the threat of opening the floodgates. The massive flood that had just happened was from just one gate being open for just a few seconds. If they were all flung open it would cause far, far more damage. The shelters were currently still safe, but if the entire town was completely flooded, they would surely not escape the destruction. For such a sadistic broadcaster to have that sort of power was immeasurably dangerous. "But..." Emilia noticed that the broadcaster did not seem to have any intention of actually following through on

that threat at the moment. If they were really serious, they could have just left the gates open to begin with. But they had not done that. There had to be something they wanted more than they wanted to submerge the city. "But I'm not some witch, after all. I'm magnanimous. Like the loving mother you never had. So in light of my generosity, I decided why not give you shitheels one last chance." And just as Emilia was thinking there must be more they wanted, the voice on the broadcast offered an alternative, confirming her hunch. However, it was not going to be an alternative that demonstrated the speaker's magnanimity and loving, motherly generosity. "Hooooowever! Out of consideration for how you've hurt me, damages have to be considered, too. Just accepting the previous ask won't be enough! So in addition to my first request, there are three new ones...ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Three more things we want!" The voice continued huskily. " The first is the charitable donation of the book of knowledge, which I'm sure someone has brought into this city." The voice continued mockingly. " The second is the charitable donation of the artificial spirit that's wandering around this city." The voice continued sneeringly. " And the third is... Huh? Ah, the wedding of the silver-haired maiden... In other words, just don't get in the way of it happening. As if I know what that's about, though." The voice continued detestably. "And finally, the Witch's body that I requested before makes four! Fulfilling these four requests is the one and only thing you mooks can do to survive! Everything else is pointless! Impossible! Mad! As proven by how that little attack on city hall failed!" The broadcaster's voice one-sidedly and abusively assaulted all corners of the city. And just like Emilia had thought, the enemy had made demands in exchange for not flooding the city entirely. But her gut was also telling her that there was no way they would honor their end of the deal. They would surely open all four of the floodgates around the city the moment they got everything they wanted. "Aaanyway! That's all the happy news from me! I suggest you start your unsightly scramble to find the things we want so you can beg for your lives! Every one of them is definitely somewhere here in this city! Figure out which of your neighbors or which of the bigwigs or whoever is hiding them so you can steal them and present them to me! Ah-ha-ha-ha!" High-pitched laughter was the final sound anyone heard before the broadcast abruptly ended. As the echoes of that sharp laugh faded, all that remained was oppressive silence. When Emilia felt like a restraint had suddenly been removed, she finally realized that she had been holding her breath. It had been a terrifying voice with the power to ensnare the hearts of those who lent it an ear. It was not just a natural devilishness, either. The person behind it was extraordinarily skilled at using her voice to manipulate others. It was a skill born from natural talent carefully honed and fully brought to bear. "That voice just now..." Emilia touched her hand to her throat. " That was the Archbishop of Lust, Capella Emerada Lugunica," #184 responded coldly. Looking over at her, just an arm's length away, Emilia saw that all emotion had disappeared from her expression and eyes. Emilia felt both frustration and shame when she saw her emotionless gaze. Just before the broadcast, she had been about to tell Emilia something, but "As you heard, currently the town is at the mercy of the Witch Cult. They will not hesitate to punish careless actions. I'm sure you understand that, yes?" "Wait... I understand about the Witch Cult, but before I came here, I ran into someone else who called themself an Archbishop. Not Lust though, Wrath..." "Yes. There are multiple Archbishops here in this town currently. Our husband is one as well," #184 said, averting her eyes. " Regulus is...an Archbishop." When she heard that, it all clicked for Emilia. The pressure she had felt from him was similar to what Sirius had radiated when Emilia had encountered the Archbishop of Wrath in front of the time tower. If that was true, then there were at least three Archbishops in Pristella, and they had the ability to control the floodgates. And the broadcast just then as well as the current situation were demonstrations "So do you finally understand now what a precarious position you are currently in?" " ? My position?" "...Please recall the four demands that Archbishop Capella mentioned." Emilia thought back to the broadcast. Setting aside the Witch's bones and the book of knowledge, which did not ring a bell, she could think of a connection for the artificial spirit. And the other one, which did not make any sense... "'The wedding of the silver-haired maiden'... That one seemed weirder than the others." "" #184 stared at her silently. " Wait, you don't mean... Is that last one about me?" Emilia finally realized what that demand might mean and went wide-eyed. She had never been called something like a silver-haired maiden before, and she had no interest in getting married, so she had been slow in realizing she was part of the Witch Cult's objectives. But if the broadcast's demands were for the things the Archbishops wanted, then the only person who would be planning a wedding had to be Regulus. And Emilia was the only person to whom he was proposing marriage. So if Emilia ran away without a plan " Pristella will be turned into the bottom of a lake." "It seems you now understand the situation. Let us take care of your clothes. Fortunately, I took your measurements while you were sleeping. A bridal outfit matching his tastes has already been prepared." #184 reached out to the blanket Emilia was covering herself with. For a second, she froze, but thinking back to the broadcast, she stopped resisting. Besides, her running around with nothing but a sheet for clothing would have deeply bothered Puck and Annerose. "So then, you were the one who undressed me?" "Did you think he did that? He would not touch a woman's skin in that way. He just wants to assert his ownership... That's the reason why he inquires about his wives' virginity, too." "There's that virginity thing again. What does that mean?" "...I could hardly believe it before, but do you really not know?" Apparently, it was entirely standard knowledge, but Emilia in her ignorance was hit by a cool response from #184. She made a note to herself to make sure to look it up later. Once everything was over. "I wonder if Subaru and the others are okay..." If the entire city was under the control of the Witch Cult, then she was certain Subaru and Beatrice were doing their best to take back the town. And there were other candidates for the crown besides Emilia in the city. It would be nice if they were all safe... " You mentioned that name before as well. Is it the name of a male?" "Yes. He's my knight. I'm sure he's really worried about me. But I'm at least as worried about him... I hope he isn't doing anything too reckless." Or so she said, but she still knew he almost certainly was pushing himself terribly hard. And she had definitely made him really worried by disappearing like that. The worry that Subaru might have died did not even cross her mind. He had Beatrice with him, and she could not really imagine him ending up in a life-threatening situation in the first place. He could probably manage to find a way out no matter what happened around him. But that did not keep her from being worried about him or feeling guilty for making him worry. Emilia was badly disappointed in herself for troubling him. "......" #184's eyes opened slightly as she watched Emilia thinking about Subaru. "Please be careful never to mention that man's name in front of our husband." "...Just to be sure, why?" "To put it in his terms, because he will start to doubt whether you truly are a virgin at heart." "There's that word again..." Having that used as a reason without any explanation of what it meant was bothering Emilia. But #184 just picked up the white dress she had prepared for Emilia and held it up to her body before nodding in satisfaction. It looked resplendent while feeling refined to the touch. It was a truly beautiful dress that was very obviously of high quality. "It looks a little hard to move in." "It would be wise not to say complaints aloud. Now, let's get you dressed." Emilia did as she was told as #184 helped her with practiced ease, slipping Emilia's arms into the sleeves. For now, she decided to do as #184 and Regulus said. A thoughtless attempt to escape would only expose the city to further danger. She would need to carefully plot her actions. 2 " You useless !" When he entered city hall, the first thing Subaru heard was grief-stricken rage. His ears were assaulted by a cracking, agitated voice. It was a familiar voice, but that was the first time he had ever heard such raw emotion in it. The shout was filled with unbearable resentment and accompanied by a sharp, dry slap that filled the room. "Quit it! What's the point of tryin' to pin the blame like this! It's not any one person's fault, and you know that as well as any of us!" A heated argument was taking place in the lobby, fracturing the mood. Seeing that, Subaru bit his lip, feeling pathetic as a twinge of regret hit his chest. The lobby was big, with a reception counter and a waiting room. There were still signs of the struggle, broken chairs and tables pushed up against the walls, but it had at least been cleaned up some. And in the very center of the lobby were three people: a teary-eyed Ferris, Ricardo, who had grabbed his arm and whose fangs were showing, and Wilhelm, whose cheek was red after he'd stood there and taken Ferris's slap to the face. The old swordsman looked down weakly, his blue eyes remorseful as the other two argued. "...I have no excuse." "Make one up! Tell me there was some reason, any reason why there was no other way! Give me something so I can accept what happened! Apologizing won't change anything!" "I get how you feel. We're all feeling rotten about what happened. But..." "'Feeling rotten'...? How is that supposed to help anyone? You're useless! Spineless cowards! Every last one of you! Why...why didn't anyone help Lady Crusch...?" Ferris was breathing raggedly as he glared at Wilhelm and Ricardo before falling to his knees. Neither of them had any response to his tearful reproach. Ferris clawed at the hard floor as they Subaru and Julius included could only watch. His beautifully kept nails and fingers warped painfully, almost like he was punishing himself. "...What's the point of fame and title if I'm useless in a moment like this...?! Worthless! ...Worthless, worthless, worthless!" Tears poured from his eyes as he cursed himself. It would almost have been easier if he had pointed his rage at any of the people around him, but knowing that his rage was directed at his own powerlessness, no one could do anything to ease his grief. Everyone in the room was already regretting their own weakness, their own failures. "...You made it back, Bro. And you too, Julius." Unable to say anything to Ferris, who was collapsed on the ground, Ricardo called out when he noticed Subaru and Julius standing at the entrance. Subaru nodded slightly and walked over to the three of them. "Sir Subaru...it's good to see you safe." "You too, Wilhelm. Ricardo. Though it's not all sunshine..." "Apologies for such an unseemly scene... Ferris..." " I know, I

know." Nodding to Subaru, Wilhelm called to Ferris. He violently wiped his face with his sleeves and stood up, acting like nothing had happened. He reached his hand out to Subaru's body, examining him as he stood there, still shocked by the scene he had walked in on. Finally, Ferris peered into Subaru's eyes. "...Yeah, you seem fine. Nothing strange or out of order. What's your name and where are you from?" "Huh? Oh. The name's Subaru Natsuki, and I'm from Japan." "It must be deep in the countryside, because I've never heard of it... Anyway, I'll be with Lady Crusch." Ferris listlessly brushed off Subaru's answer as a bad joke before turning away and departing from the lobby. Subaru could not think of the words to say as his slender frame moved away. "Sir Subaru, apologies, but I'll be taking my leave. I'll also be with my master," Wilhelm said before following Ferris. When the two of them left, the tense air of the lobby softened ever so slightly. "I got word from Julius that he went out to get you. The lass there and Wilhelm happened to get into an argument, and, well..." "It's understandable. Ever since we joined back up, Ferris has been concentrating on healing the wounded and caring for Lady Crusch above all else... Though, it has been a particularly harsh time for Sir Wilhelm," Julius said as he tapped his conversation mirror in his pocket. He had used that metia to give Ricardo a heads-up that he was coming back with Subaru while they were on their way. Ferris had come down to check out Subaru, which led to starting that scene. "Haaah, what a shit show..." Subaru couldn't get Ferris's voice, or the grief and rage he directed at himself and everyone else, out of his head. But he also felt uneasy, wondering what about Crusch's condition could be that bad. "By the way, you dropped this, Bro." "Hmm? Wait, what?! This is..." Ricardo tossed something over to Subaru, whose expression had started to cloud. He caught it only to realize it was a shiny black whip Guilty Whip, his trusted weapon that he thought he'd lost forever. "You found it for me? Thanks. That gives me a couple more cards I can play if needed, at least." "You don't have to thank me. You were the one who used it to tie the duchess girl and that black dragon together. All I did was just untie it and hold on to it." "If I tied the black dragon and Crusch together, then...? What happened...?" Ricardo's response just left Subaru with more questions as he hooked the whip back on his hip. "Exactly what it sounds like. The black dragon that sped out of the top floor flew you and Lady Crusch away from Lust. The duchess was unconscious, so you tied her to the dragon using your whip to keep her from falling." "And then, after managing that final act, I ended up falling myself? If she ended up okay in the end, I'd call it a pretty clutch play if I do say so myself, but..." "" Julius paused slightly before affirming Subaru's suspicion. "Ferris has been trying everything he can, but the duchess's condition remains poor." Crusch had been bathed in Capella's blood, just like Subaru remembering the fleshy black pattern on his right leg, Subaru felt his mouth dry out. "Can you be a bit more specific?" "...I'm sure it has to do with something Lust did. A foreign substance has taken to Lady Crusch's body and is afflicting her. Ferris's lack of composure is the result of her current state. It is unbearable to see." Julius's tone dropped. Judging from that, Crusch's condition was very serious. Subaru had experienced the terror of something foreign eating away at him right after he was splashed with Capella's blood. It was not just pain or distress it was repulsive on an entirely different level. If Crusch was suffering the same torment that Subaru had felt in that moment, then... " Right! Dragon blood! Capella said something about dragon blood!" "Dragon blood? You mean the Holy Dragon's blood passed down in the kingdom?" Julius asked, furrowing his brow. "I don't know if it's anything as showy as some sacred dragon or whatever. Did Crusch say anything herself?" "No, the duchess has yet to regain consciousness, so I'm sure Ferris has not heard anything about it." "So she hasn't woken up... Do you think the blood thing might at least give us a clue?" "I could not begin to say, but Ferris might be able to figure something out, so we should let him know as soon as possible." "Ah, yeah, that's right. I'll hurry..." " Hold up, Bro. I'll go for you." *** It was something that might be able to change the situation. Subaru leaped at the mere possibility, but Ricardo stopped him short. The massive dog-faced man who was like the dictionary definition of a kindhearted person had folded his arms with a rather gentle look on his face, shaking his head with a depth of consideration fitting for a man of his age. "You haven't seen her yet. Better off stayin' that way." "...What do you mean by that?" "Exactly what I said... She's a beautiful lass, which makes seein' her like that all the harder." It was an answer that not only fanned Subaru's unease but actively made him imagine an even worse situation but Ricardo was not trying to hide anything, either. He was simply telling Subaru to accept and understand the situation. He was a nice guy, but he was not trying to protect some youngster's heart from everything bad in the world. In that sense, his was a fittingly wild way of living that respected strength. He did not treat Subaru like a child. He had an adult's thoughtfulness, but he made it clear he was not going to always watch over him like that, either. "I'll take care of this. You take him to see my boss." Ricardo scratched his head before grabbing Julius's shoulder with his big hand. " And this ain't like you. Straighten up, ya blockhead." " My apologies. I'll leave Ferris to you." Julius furrowed his brow in self-reflection. "See ya later, Bro. I'm glad you made it out okay," Ricardo said before heading deeper into the building. "We are using a large room upstairs as an infirmary. Lady Beatrice and Mimi, Hetaro, and TB are there, too, naturally. But Duchess Crusch is..." "In a different room, right...? Do you agree it'd be better for me not to see her?" "...Unless the duchess herself desires it." In other words, he agreed with Ricardo. Honestly, Subaru wanted to confirm with his own two eyes that Crusch was really okay. Even if his comrades were all advising against it. But that was Subaru's ego talking no one wanted him to go see her in her current state. "Over here. You should speak with Lady Anastasia." In the end, Julius brought him to the center of the building without his being able to say anything. As they left the battered lobby, the walls and floor of the hallway they walked down still showed traces of meaningless destruction. It was clear just what sort of acts the Witch Cult had committed while in control of the building. Naturally, this was not the only building hit, either. Similar destruction had been visited on several other important structures, but Lust and Gluttony had gone wild on city hall in particular. Lust and Gluttony. Thinking of them again caused feelings of shame to well up in Subaru's breast. "Julius, about Gluttony..." "...Both sides suffered casualties, but there was no decisive blow. Like the battle on the ground, the chaos of the black dragon's appearance and the flood made escape possible." "I see...," Subaru murmured faintly. From the fact that it had not come up yet at all, it had seemed the hope of actually defeating Gluttony was pretty slim, but hearing confirmation that Gluttony had gotten away was unexpectedly depressing. In just a single day, he had crossed paths with four Archbishops, but Gluttony the one who had sent Rem into a slumber from which she could not wake, the very person who had removed all memory of her from the world was special. Honestly, if nothing else, Subaru wanted to tear Gluttony limb from limb with his own two hands. "...My apologies, I failed to accomplish the task you entrusted to me." "Stop it. If you keep apologizing for everything, it'll turn into a habit. Ricardo already mentioned that you're not yourself lately. Don't make me call you a blockhead, too." *** "We all screwed up here, so all of us are going to have to work together to fix it or is the Finest Knight going to call it quits after one little blemish on his record?" Julius's eyes opened wide as Subaru shrugged provocatively. Julius's lips quivered. "...You really don't hold back. Talking so big even in a situation like this... You really don't know the meaning of fear, do you?" "I know the meaning of fear. I know the scariest thing there is in this world. I've experienced it, too. Which is why I'm always struggling so hard to avoid going through it again." Subaru was painfully aware of what had gone wrong. He blamed himself, too. He was reflecting on his own failures. Which was exactly why he could not stop moving forward. The scariest thing in the world was losing the connections he shared with someone precious. No longer being able to wish for the shared blessings that should have been. To have that possibility cut off for all eternity. And that most terrifying of possibilities was currently threatening every person in the city. So "There are still things we can do." Putting his renewed determination into words, Subaru nodded to Julius. If you mess up, then make up for it by taking action. You aren't the only one who's frustrated. Before the threat was broadcast, Julius's brother Joshua had left the inn in order to gather information about Gluttony. From the fact that his name had not come up since, it was safe to assume his whereabouts were unknown. In a way, that gave Julius and the rest of them a strong connection with Gluttony, too " Well, you look better than I expected. That's a relief." As Subaru was thinking about that, a voice called out from the other end of the hallway. Looking up suddenly, he breathed a sigh of relief on seeing the woman at the other end. The beautiful woman with a soft, gentle face the woman Julius had sworn to serve, Anastasia. "What, were you listening? That's not very nice." "I was walking around a bit to clear my head when I happened to hear your voice. I thought it'd be rude to interrupt y'all in the middle of such an important conversation." Anastasia elegantly touched her hand to her cheek before turning her pale-aqua eyes to Julius and thanking him for his service. "It's good you managed to bring Natsuki back. Now Garfiel will finally be able to calm down and talk some when he gets back." "From the sound of that, I guess Garfiel isn't here." "He's running all over the place out there, hardly taking a break at all. Checking the situation at nearby shelters, hunting down those odd brutes who appeared in the center of the town...and more than anything, searching for his precious general." "He was looking for me...?" It was obvious once he thought about it. Subaru had gotten swallowed up by the flood and gone missing in the middle of the fight. There was no way Garfiel would be able to sit still in that kind of situation. He would definitely try to use his nose to go looking for Subaru, so it was not strange at all that he would be rushing all around the city. "But with the situation being

what is, even Ricardo said the scent was gone or too muddled together with everything else. It's funny that Julius was the one to find you when he was originally just going to the Muse Company." "So then Garfiel's still running around town without knowing anything?" "I told him to come back and check in here once every hour to be sure, so the next time he comes back, you should be able to see him. But more importantly..." Anastasia slipped into a deep silence as she looked Subaru over. Subaru instinctively straightened his posture, feeling like his body was being appraised by her intellectual gaze. Anastasia's expression suddenly softened a bit when she saw his reaction. "Yeah, it doesn't look like you're forcing yourself. There's no hiding from my eyes." "I'm not trying to hide anything. So now that you've decided I'm healthy, what of it?" Anastasia stepped closer to Subaru. " I was kinda hopin' to have an important conversation with ya, Natsuki," she said quietly. Subaru lightly deflected both the close range and the pressure behind her voice with a simple "What kind of important conversation?" "You heard it, too, right? Before she left the tower, the Archbishop of Lust changed the deal and added a bunch more demands You aren't planning to just give in to them, right?" "Damn straight. I'm pretty pissed. About ready to snap, even." When he realized she was referring to the unacceptable marriage demand, a vein practically popped out on Subaru's forehead. Hearing that, Anastasia nodded, satisfied. "Julius, I'm going to have an important conversation with Natsuki now. Can you manage things while I'm doing that?" "If those are your orders. However, what might be the nature of this important conversation?" "You don't have to worry; I won't do anything bad to him honest." A not-very-cute, impenetrable smile crossed Anastasia's face as she puffed out her chest. Acknowledging his master's clear-cut orders, Julius did not question her any further. Looking away from her knight, Anastasia turned back to Subaru. She smiled as he caught his breath, lost in her pale-aqua eyes. "So then, let's have a little chat. This is a big one, since it'll affect the fate of this city." Anastasia casually stated this as she put a hand to her white fox scarf. 3 An important discussion that would affect the fate of the city. Most likely that was what she really thought and not an idle exaggeration. And quickly realizing that made Subaru far more tense. It was like his disorganized resolve and determination had been given direction. " After I split off from Priscilla and Liliana, I headed for the Muse Company by myself. And along the way I met up with Julius, which is how I ended up back here." Subaru took a little breath after briefly explaining what had happened to him. The two of them were talking in a conference room on the second floor of the building. A map of Pristella was spread out on the table in the center of the room with various characters and signs written on it. The floodgate control towers at the four edges of the city, the floodgates, and even more precise details "All the shelters, too? No surprise a city this big has a ton of shelters... That really minimized the damage from the flooding, but they're causing their own problems, too." The chaos he had encountered at the shelter flashed through the back of his mind as he looked at the map. Sirius's Authority amplifying the feelings of unease and trapping the city's residents into a negative feedback loop. That same sort of scene was surely happening all around the city. And the ones dealing with that problem in an unexpected way were " Mm-hmm, mm-hmm... Yeah, thank you. That explains a lot. I wouldn't have guessed the missing princess gallivanted off to do that, but if anything, I guess that's very much her kind of thing." "Ah, yeah, I get you there. She's reliably unpredictable." Anastasia's mouth curled into a vague smile when they briefly mentioned how Priscilla's insane drive for action was often directed in an entirely unpredictable way, but her expression tensed again just as quickly. She looked straight at Subaru. "So about that leg of yours that got torn off and then stuck back on... Is it really okay?" "Fortunately, there haven't been any issues even when I'm running or jumping around. It looks terrible, but I can show you if you want." "Yeah, let me see it." Anastasia immediately nodded. Subaru was a little surprised, but he rolled up the right leg of his pants. Seeing the blackened flesh consuming his leg, Anastasia winced slightly. "It really doesn't hurt? It looks like it should be aching." "I won't ask if you want to touch it, but yeah, it really doesn't hurt. It feels the same when I touch it, too. But anytime I get injured here, it seems to heal faster." "...I assume that isn't the greatest feeling, either. But if it doesn't cause you any issues while running or jumping, then I guess that's good, since we're going to be needing you to do a lot more before this is over." While she still had some hang-ups, Anastasia had accepted the situation as it was and come to the same conclusion Subaru had. There was no way to get rid of the blackened flesh, but it was not affecting his ability to act. Given that, it could drop to the back of the priority queue, and they could focus on more immediately pressing problems. For example " The victims of Lust's Authority, the people working here who were turned into flies... For now, they've all been gathered in one place here on the third floor." "How did you find out about them without me or Crusch...?" "The black dragon that was carrying the duchess. We managed to figure out how to communicate. And the people who were turned into flies were still conscious and willing to follow our directions... I can't really say whether it was the right thing to do, though." Subaru did not have an answer for her doubts, either. If their brains were changed along with their appearance, then there would not be any worries about their anguish at getting transformed, but that would be the same as them losing their sense of self, which would be its own unbearable problem. But was it even possible to say that they maintained their sense of self after being transformed into entirely different entities? That was not a question that could begin to be answered by someone who had not experienced it firsthand. "They can't even control their bodies freely, which has at least prevented any suicides. But I'm sure some of them still haven't accepted what has happened to them... It was at least good that we could protect them before it came to that." "Suicide? That's just..." "Do you really think that's something we don't need to worry about?" "Ugh..." Subaru did not have an easy answer for that question, either. But it was clear that even with how far off the rails the situation had gotten, Anastasia was dealing with things in a much more coolheaded way than Subaru. And it was also clear that she was genuinely relieved at having managed to get things there without letting anyone get hurt or getting hurt themselves. "As long as you're still alive, there's still hope. But if your body or spirit dies, then hope dies with it. Don't stop, no matter how grim things seem. Just stay alive," Anastasia murmured, more to herself than to Subaru. And if that strained, desperate clinging was her view on life and death, then Subaru was in full agreement. Stay alive no matter what, even if it meant guzzling down mud to survive. As long as life remained, a chance to fight back would come someday. And in order to get that chance "There's a mountain of other problems to deal with. Wrath's Authority running rampant, Lust's victims going through hell, Gluttony wherever they are and whatever it is they want, and Greed, who doesn't make any sense at all..." "All we can do is take it one step at a time and crush them one by one." Subaru clenched his fist. Anastasia looked up at him from her seat in front of the map on the table. Subaru met her gaze before taking a deep breath. When he stopped to think about it, it was an odd situation. He never would have imagined that, by themselves, he and Anastasia would try to figure out how to deal with the problems afflicting a city that had been plunged into chaos. " We haven't spoken face-to-face like this since the night before the White Whale hunt, have we?" "What a coincidence. I was just thinking the same thing. We were talking about facing off against a dangerous enemy that time, too, huh...? I guess this'll be our second time as witnesses to history in the making," Subaru replied. "Witnessing history, huh? That's a pretty haughty way to put it. But yeah, I suppose it's true." Subaru looked dubious as Anastasia nodded to herself, mulling something over. It felt out of character for her. She was usually so direct about everything, but she seemed to be hesitating for some reason. "Let's not beat around the bush, Anastasia. I guess we don't really know each other well enough to say we don't need to hold anything back, but you went out of your way to have Julius leave us alone, so you must have something you wanted to talk about, right?" She had instructed Julius to leave the two of them alone because she had a reason. And hearing that, Anastasia said "Yeah" with a nod and exhaled. And then she looked Subaru in the eye as she began to speak. "Let me ask you directly, then: Beatrice is an artificial spirit, isn't she?" *** Subaru caught his breath. Something about Anastasia's question made it sound like she was already certain of the answer. Beatrice was an artificial spirit who had been created by the Witch of Greed, Echidna. But there was no way anyone outside Emilia's camp would know that. Which meant that regardless of Anastasia's apparent confidence, Subaru could just play dumb. But " Yeah, that's right. Beatrice is an artificial spirit, and most likely the cultists had her in mind when they mentioned it in their demands." Subaru quietly acknowledged Anastasia's suspicion without trying to dodge the subject. Of the three demands added in the broadcast after the flood, the one about turning over the artificial spirit meant, in other words, giving the cultists Beatrice. Which was one of the two main reasons Subaru's response to them was to flip them the bird and tell them to buzz off. "Her origin is a little unique, but other than being incomparably cute, there isn't anything particularly special about her. I can't even guess what they might want with her." Not that there was no cause for concern, though. Her mother was that nasty Witch, after all. It wouldn't be that shocking if the same Witch of Greed who had tried to make Subaru a puppet in order to indulge her curiosity had also left some kind of bomb lying dormant in Beatrice, and it was possible the cultists were after her because of something like that. "I doubt anyone else in the city is carrying around an artificial spirit, so it's safe to assume that they are after Beatrice... Anastasia...?" Having said that much, Subaru cocked his head. Anastasia was listening to his answer with wide eyes and a look of shock on her face. "Huh? Uh, yeah..." She nodded, still surprised. "You're awfully...open about it. Even though it might put her in danger." "We're trying to figure out who the enemy are after, right? They're the only ones who would benefit if I held back now. And

given the situation, I'm the one who needs everyone's help the most, so it's natural I lay my cards on the table first," Subaru responded with a shrug. "...Yeah, they really are the only ones who benefit from us holding back..." Anastasia's soft response had a heaviness to it, but before Subaru could probe further, Anastasia touched her scarf, which was seeming more and more like a nervous habit of hers, before shaking her head. "I had thought it would be difficult to say in front of everyone else, but I guess I was worried over nothing." "Everyone in our camp knows about Beako, so it would've gotten out sooner or later. Besides, I have no intention of negotiating with terrorists, and I assume we're on the same page there, right?" "Agreed. I don't know what a terro-whatever is, but I refuse to let the cultists get even one of their demands met. If we gave them what they wanted, there's no mistaking they would just sink the city anyway and I refuse to let that happen." Anastasia's suddenly overwhelming resolve gave Subaru goose bumps. Feeling it that powerfully from up close finally made him realize what the source of her intense emotions was. She was burning up from a rage that she could not fully tamp down. It had been hard to notice with her beautiful figure and gentle demeanor and the calm way she behaved, but even so, her wrath had lit a fire inside of her. And the source of that anger was surely something that had happened before she fled to city hall "Anastasia, what happened at the Muse Company?" He had heard from Julius that the Muse Company had been attacked and that at the end of a deadly fight, Anastasia and the others had barely managed to escape with their lives, but at the cost of Kiritaka Muse and the White Dragon's Scale, one of the city's council members and his personal guards, going missing meaning the already grave situation had only gotten worse. And on top of that, the normally calm and collected Anastasia could not fully control her own emotions. Subaru was careful broaching the topic, aware that something particularly bad had likely happened. "...It was after Julius and Ricardo went with y'all to take back city hall." Anastasia did her best to contain the emotion creeping into her voice. At the same time that they had been fighting over there, Anastasia and the Muse Company had been viciously attacked " An Archbishop with bandages covering her whole body attacked us." 4 "Lady Anastasia, we've ascertained something troubling." Kiritaka looked pale as he broached the subject. Anastasia furrowed her brow. She had just received a report from her conversation mirror on the table that the squad dispatched to retake city hall was engaging the cultists. Once the battle started, all she could do was sit and wait for good news. It was frustrating, but given that she could not take part in battle, her only choice was to ride out times like this with prayers and faith in her people. That was why she had silently prepared herself in front of the conversation mirror like always, but "That doesn't sound like good news. What happened?" "I imagine you are aware that I've ordered my subordinates to protect the members of the Council of Ten." "You mentioned that, yes. If they are captured by the other side, then it would only be a matter of time before the location of the Witch's bones you are hiding gets out. You don't mean to say..." Anastasia's expression clouded. "Has someone been caught and the location already been revealed...?" "...No, it is far graver than that. The Council of Ten has been wiped out. According to the reports, every last member other than me has been slain." "What?" Anastasia had prepared herself for the worst, but that was even darker news than she could have imagined. Seeing her reaction, Kiritaka shook his head, visibly agitated. "Every last one. My subordinates confirmed they were all found dead either at their homes or in their workplaces. Judging from the conditions of their bodies, they were likely dead before the first broadcast occurred." "Wait a minute; that doesn't make any sense. Aren't they after the remains...?" Getting that far, Anastasia suddenly came to a perfectly reasonable explanation. She had just naturally said "they," but the Witch Cult was not the sort of group that logically worked together toward a single goal. Currently, there were at least three different Archbishops whose presence in Pristella had been confirmed, but the plan to take back city hall had been predicated in part on the assumption that they were ill-suited to working together. When she considered that as well as the fact that the members of the council had been killed, a hypothesis started to present itself. Though it was hard to believe... "Only members of the Council of Ten know the location of the Witch's bones. And the recovery of the remains is their goal. And yet someone is murdering the people who know that location one after the other... It doesn't make sense unless there are two competing goals at work here." "One faction that wants the Witch's bones, and another faction that wants to stop them?" Kiritaka had apparently reached the same conclusion. "...If Natsuki is to be believed, it might not even be only two different sides." Anastasia responded with an even more unappealing thought. Honestly, it would almost be funny was it not so deadly serious: The cultists were maliciously illogical. Their inability to work together was both an opening to exploit and one of the sources of their utter unpredictability. And as galling as it was to say about the lost members of the council, their deaths could not even really be called the worst outcome, since they meant the remains were still safe from being stolen, and the city wouldn't be immediately plunged beneath the waves. But they also made clear "I'm sure you realize it, too, Mr. Kiritaka, but..." "Their next target is surely this company and me. Lady Anastasia, you should prepare to evacuate the premises." " What are you planning?" Dispensing with the details, Anastasia questioned Kiritaka directly about what he intended to do. She recognized his resolve as a representative of the city and his strong sense of duty as a member of the Council of Ten. She could understand his position, but "Don't go throwing your life away, y'hear? No matter what happens, just keep breathing." Kiritaka raised his eyebrows in surprise as Anastasia forcefully stared him down. "...I'm surprised. I would have expected you to be more inclined to cut losses." "Did you think I was obsessed with money above all else? My company trades under the motto 'Your friendly neighborhood shop.'" "Pardon me. Were time permitting, I would have loved to get to know you better over a meal, but..." "You've got your Songstress you've set your heart on, right? Don't go cheating on her behind her back." "Yes, you're right and unfortunately time won't permit it, either." Anastasia's jaw clenched. He was right. There was no time. If the enemy who was after the council members was coming for Kiritaka next, then the Muse Company would be an ideal hunting ground and there were far too many people there who could not fight. "I'm aware it is not my place to do so, but I've already ordered my subordinates to begin escorting all those who fled here as well as anyone who is injured to the nearest shelter. You should take the members of the Iron Fangs and Ferris and escape as well. My subordinates and I will act separately. It is too dangerous for me to go with you." "You have some place in mind to go, right?" "Of course. I have no intention of sitting around waiting to die..." Kiritaka straightened the sleeves of his white outfit and flashed a smile. And then, all of a sudden, a shock wave shot through the building, breaking all the windows at once. " gh!" The crashing sound of a storm of broken glass pummeled Anastasia's ears. She immediately dove to the floor. Always be on guard Was it not for the habit she had formed as a young girl, it would not have been a pretty sight. She would have been showered by a wave of jagged glass shards. Slipping the conversation mirror she had reflexively grabbed into her pocket, Anastasia looked up. Kiritaka had also dropped to the floor, but he immediately leaped up and shouted out the door. "What happened?! Someone report..." " Sorry? And thank you." The voice sent a shudder down Anastasia's spine, and she immediately grabbed Kiritaka's sleeve and pulled him down with all her might. She was light, but when she used her full body weight, the slender Kiritaka could not resist and fell down backward. A golden chain tore through the stone wall, passing right through where he had been standing. A cloud of dust jumped into the air, accompanied by the grating cacophony of destruction as the golden chain spun and wreaked havoc across the entire floor. *** Kiritaka just barely avoided the attack thanks to Anastasia pulling at his sleeve. Just a second slower, and he would have been split in two at the stomach. After just barely avoiding disaster thanks to that split-second reaction, the two merchants had barely any time to recover before an unwelcome guest greeted them. "Ahh, aaaaah, magnificent. Caring for one another, helping one another, entrusting oneself to another those bonds are what allowed you to survive! You've shown me something so...so wonderfully beautiful. It deserves a round of applause." A high, cracking voice rang out as someone approached, glass crunching underfoot with each step. Anastasia and Kiritaka caught their breath as the footsteps finally reached them. The half-broken door was kicked in. Breaking through the door by force, a grotesque figure emerged from the dust cloud a hideous presence covered from head to toe in white bandages, with silver hair and purple eyes that seemed to be glaring at everything in the world. It was someone who matched a description Anastasia had heard just recently "...The Archbishop of Wrath..." "Oh, to think you would know little old me without even needing an introduction! How embarrassing. My reputation precedes me, apparently. It would be nice if it wasn't due to nasty rumors." When she put her hand in front of her mouth, the chain rattled intrusively. And there did not seem to be any deceit in the way she showed embarrassment. It seemed to be her genuine reaction, which only made her seem all the more abnormal. Her figure, her presence, her speech it was almost like she was a foreign entity in the world. "I am Sirius Romanée-Conti, serving as Archbishop of Wrath. I hope you'll treat me kindly." The monster, Sirius, bowed politely, greeting them with unreserved affection. In the face of such a twisted being, Anastasia could not help but gasp for air, as if her soul were desperately trying to free itself. The monster smiling endearingly at them had just seconds earlier wrought destruction on the building. It was weird that she did not seem to feel any shame at that. That she did not seem to think anything at all of it. "Can you stand, Lady Anastasia?" The monster was just a stone's throw away. Kiritaka cursed his quivering knees as he forced himself to his feet. Anastasia had started to respond when she felt a swell of animosity rising in her heart. "Huh? Wh ? Do you even need to ask...?" A swell of fear rose, threatening to break her spirit as she tried to stand. She could not maintain the strength in her slender legs, and her gasping for breath grew more and more pained. Forget standing; she was on the verge of collapsing on the spot. But right as that concern flared "Ugh!" "Hah!" " gh?!" An intense shock wave

turned the shards of glass scattered around the room into a deadly whirlwind. The bandaged creature absorbed the full brunt of it with a groan and fell back. The ceiling cracked between the monster and Anastasia, and two shadows fell to the ground two small figures, orange ears and tails standing on end, the cat siblings howling on all fours. Anastasia had been overwhelmed by dread, but when she saw them, her eyes shot open. "Hetaro! TB!" "Are you safe, miss?!" "That's the Archbishop... Gh!" They only glanced back, still focused on Sirius. Their high shouts stirred Anastasia's heart. She stomped her foot with everything she had. "I'm...fine. This is nothing! But are y'all okay?!" The kitten siblings were supposed to be sleeping and recovering from the heavy wounds they had endured in order to keep their elder sister Mimi alive despite the incurable wound she had received. They should not have been able to move, and yet here they were. Anastasia was worried that something terrible had happened to Mimi, but... "That's not it, Lady Anastasia!" " F-Ferris?" Overhead, Anastasia spotted a cat-eared girl who turned out to actually be the knight who specialized in wind, Ferris peering down from the hole the two had made in the ceiling. Ferris shook his head as he pointed to Hetaro and TB. "Ferri used a forbidden technique! The same thing I did with Subawu's leg!" "Natsuki's..." Hearing that, Anastasia remembered what condition Subaru had been in when the attack squad departed. After encountering cultists earlier, Subaru had been badly wounded, to the point where he had trouble even walking. But he was still determined to fight, so Ferris had performed a special intervention, using a technique that let him not feel the pain. But if that was the only reason TB and Hetaro were standing, then *** Blood was pooling at their feet. Crimson already stained the bandages wrapped around their bodies beneath their white robes. In exchange for not feeling pain, the two of them no, all three of them were having their lives shaved away. Unease swelled, tearing at Anastasia's heart, burning away inside her " Miss! Eyes forward!!" "Hetaro..." "Sis would have told us to help you no matter how much it might hurt! We're just following through! What about you? What will you do, miss?" *** Anastasia gulped at Hetaro's question. He was normally so well behaved and reserved, usually having to be the responsible one who held back the uninhibited Mimi or the boisterous Ricardo. But this time, he was howling and coughing up blood. Faced with that, what would Anastasia what would Anastasia Hoshin do? " Hetaro, TB, stall for time. Can you two hold out for two minutes?" The strain visible on her face, she asked them to carry a heavy load on their small backs. The two of them did not even turn, their long tails swaying left and right. "Sis would say, 'Leave it to me!'" "We'd be pretty cool if we could pull it off!" Hetaro and TB were still smiling, even in the face of everything. They kicked off the floor and then the wall, closing with the enemy. Sirius blocked their staffs with her arms. Faced with the two brothers' teamwork, the monster's purple eyes flared. "Such adorable sibling love. Are you twins? Ah, how truly endearing..." "Sorry, but !" "We're the younger two of triplets!" The metallic chain spun, crashing into a blue magic barrier. Leaving the battlefield being viciously carved away to the brothers, Anastasia looked up. "Ferris! Use my people to get Mimi and Beatrice out of here! We'll meet back up outside!" " Ngh. Y-yes, ma'am! Understood!" Seeing Ferris slip away from the hole, Anastasia grabbed Kiritaka's sleeve and ran to the window. The door out of the room had become a battlefield that the two of them could not pass, so they would simply have to use an emergency exit, and it wasn't like there were any other choices. "Ugh, kh..." Stepping out of the window frame, she set one foot on the ledge outside. At the lip was an emergency ladder that was set up to allow travel downstairs along the outside of the building. Anastasia clenched her fingers tightly, using the pain to stop trembling before climbing down. They had been on the third floor of the building, so they went back inside at the second-floor window. "It's a little...too soon...to breathe easy..." Hetaro and TB were still fighting strong on the floor above. The longer it took, though, the more dangerous it became for them, and the more dangerous it became for Mimi, too. It would not be difficult for Ferris to get everyone out of the fourth floor if he directed the Iron Fangs well. The problem was where to go after escaping the Muse Company building " Meeting up with everyone who went to city hall would be best," Anastasia concluded after getting her head in gear. "Agreed. It would be best to preserve the greatest chance possible of you joining up with them," Kiritaka said, panting. She understood what he was getting at. It was the same sort of logic he had expressed before Sirius appeared. The enemy was after the Council of Ten, so they needed to limit the damage while preserving a way out as well as they could. Knowing just how hard it would be to get away with that Archbishop harrying them while they tried to escape. "Try to hurry to the center of the city as quickly as you can. My subordinates and I will draw that thing's attention." Anastasia could not say anything in the face of his determination. The more calmly she tried to think it through, the clearer it became that that was the most reasonable conclusion. They could not save everyone, so at the very least they needed to make deliberate decisions that would save the most people instead. "Young master, we've made our preparations. Let's do this in style." As the two of them went out into the hall, Kiritaka's subordinates, the White Dragon's Scale, were gathering. Seeing them already prepared for battle, Kiritaka calmly shrugged. "In style, huh? You know, I was always more partial to reserved and calm performances..." "I don't want a lecture about reserve from the man who fell head over heels for Liliana! What a crock!" The men waiting for the order to rush past the line between life and death burst into laughter. It was too close a relationship to be described by a word like subordinate, but Anastasia could see herself in Kiritaka. He loved the White Dragon's Scale just as she loved the Iron Fangs, and he was putting his life on the line to protect his beautiful city alongside his beloved comrades. No one who saw it could fail to be struck by the tragic heroism of it. The faces of men going off to fight for something they loved, for something they took pride in. "...That's not fair at all..." Anastasia murmured to herself. " Lady Anastasia, I leave Pristella in your hands." Kiritaka entrusted Anastasia with his beloved city as he prepared to set foot on the battlefield. Anastasia bit her lip at his earnest plea as he continued his voice filled with love, expectation, and devotion. "Please protect this beautiful city...and my beloved Songstress from these villains." 5 "Mr. Kiritaka and the folks from the White Dragon's Scale stayed behind while we retreated with Hetaro and TB that's what happened at the company building." "And you joined back up with everyone else here at city hall?" "Mm-hmm. It was rough with the floodgate opening while we were in the middle of moving everybody. If we'd been any slower to notice, we'd be up the creek by now...but we avoided the worst of it." Anastasia paused, having finished telling her lurid story. Subaru heaved a big sigh. They had done well to hold off Sirius's assault on the Muse Company and then escape with such minimal losses considering how little fighting power had stayed behind after they committed almost everything to the city hall assault. "The city's representatives, the Council of Ten, have been destroyed. Mr. Kiritaka's gone missing...and that same Mr. Kiritaka left this town to me to protect and there's no way I'm not living up to that promise." Anastasia shook her head at what Subaru was thinking, her clenched hands white as her nails dug into her palms, almost like she was engraving the duty with which she had been entrusted into her skin like a curse. Subaru finally realized what the real source of the rage she was feeling was. "Getting saved is a debt, and debts have to be settled. That's my pride as a Kararagi merchant and my obligation if I'm gonna call myself Hoshin." Anastasia's powerful, pointed determination, her firm stance, made it clear to Subaru just how fierce the struggle at the Muse Company must have been. There was no telling how bad the damage would have been was it not for Kiritaka and his party's heroic rearguard action and that did not even begin to describe the true impact of the events that had transpired there. If it had not been for him, not only Anastasia but also Beatrice would have been in danger. Every one of Subaru's comrades there, everyone he knew at the Muse Company, had been saved by Kiritaka's decision. "Debts have to be settled, huh...? Then I don't have much choice but to pay my dues as well." Subaru apologized from the bottom of his heart to the man who had gone missing for all the rude things he had thought about him before. After everyone did every last thing in their power to hold the line, they had managed to just barely hang on to a chance to stage a comeback but there were still many dead who could not be saved anymore, a fact that tortured Subaru's heart. And it only made it worse, given how much he now owed the man, to think that Kiritaka was likely one of them. "Sorry for going out of order on you. But the gist of it is: I've got my reasons to not back down. And I'd bet you're in the same spot, right?" "Yeah, you got that right. I dunno what they want with an artificial spirit, but I'll be damned if I let them lay a finger on my Beako." Subaru clenched his fists, his hatred for the cultists clear to see. "Mm, that'll do, then." Anastasia looked down at the map on the table again and pointed to the control towers at the four edges of the city. "In that case, let's press on. The other things the cultists demanded..." "About that, I've got something I should tell you." Of the four demands the cultists had listed in the broadcast, they had covered the artificial spirit, but there was another one that Subaru happened to know about. Naturally, since what they were asking for was "The book of knowledge it no longer exists in this world anymore. Burned to ashes." "...Care to explain? I couldn't figure anything out about that book, and it has been bothering me." If he was being honest, it was nothing more than an abominable cursed tome as far as he was concerned. It had been the impetus for Roswaal's actions behind the scenes while they were in the Sanctuary and had driven Beatrice to four hundred years of solitude in the archive of forbidden books. It would be hard for him to view it in a positive light even if he tried his hardest. And that was also because it was unique in what it contained. "How do I put it...? The book of knowledge is sort of like a prototype of the Gospels that the cultists have...it's what the Gospels were originally based on and is also a more complete version. It's set up to predict the future the same way the Dragon Tablet works, apparently." "That sounds pretty hard to believe, but you

said it was burned?" "Yeah. There were two books, and they were both burned. So it shouldn't exist anymore." "You keep saying 'exist.' Where'd you hear that?" "...From the Witch who made them..." Subaru's face screwed into a scowl. Anastasia's eyes widened at his response. She chewed over the word Witch for a moment, as if making sure she'd heard him right. "And this isn't your usual joking around, right? You're serious?" "Yeah, deadly serious. You said it before yourself, right? There were other witches besides the Witch of Jealousy. One even died in this city, and her remains are still here somewhere, right?" "That's a dead one, though. That's still believable. But from what you said, it sure sounds like you actually met a witch and talked to her. And from the look on your face, it wasn't exactly pleasant, either." "Yeah, I met one and talked to her, all right. And got tricked and set up by her, too. And, well, a lot happened. You get the picture." It would be a long story if he talked about everything that had happened in the Sanctuary and in the tomb. It was a bit rude, but there was not much Subaru could say about the Witch Echidna. Or more bluntly, he really did not want to talk about her. For better or worse, Echidna had lodged some sharp thorns deep in Subaru's heart that were not going to just go away. "Anyway, the only two copies of it that existed in this world were both burned, so the cultists missed their mark there. It should be safe to just ignore that demand of theirs." " But can you really trust what that witch you met said?" Anastasia fired back adroitly. *** Subaru was at a loss for a moment, his eyes snapping open in shock at how the gears in his head had just stopped turning. "You've got your thoughts about her and clearly don't trust her at all. But you still believe what she said. Sounds like she is a bit of a troublesome sort of person for you." "...I couldn't agree more. You pretty much summed it all up perfectly. I have no intention of trusting her, so it's weird that I don't doubt that at all." The things Echidna had said, the understanding she had shown: They had all been a performance in order to turn Subaru into her puppet. But did that mean he should assume everything she'd said was a lie? And was that vague uncertainty just him wanting to believe there was more to her, or was he still just getting led around by the nose by that know-it-all Witch? The same Witch who had sympathized with how painful Subaru's Return by Death was. "I can't comment on your connection with that Witch, and I'm grateful to at least get a little more information. But..." "But?" Subaru furrowed his brow, his uncertainty about what he really thought leaving a bad taste in his mouth. "The cultists went out of their way to demand it on the broadcast. Maybe they just didn't know the book had been burned, but...I think we should consider other possibilities." Subaru looked down as Anastasia gently talked around the point. It did not exist; that was what Subaru wanted to believe: The book of knowledge did not currently exist. If that was a lie, it would mean Echidna had lied to Subaru again. And while he could not explain why, that would make him feel disappointed for some reason. " Natsuki." But as he slipped into a sea of thoughts, Anastasia's voice pulled him back. "Ah, my bad. Um, so what's left is..." "There's still the Witch's bones, but we can just leave that for now. The city hasn't been sunk, which is proof enough they don't have the bones yet...though it doesn't tell us anything about Mr. Kiritaka's current status." "Yeah...and the last demand was..." " 'The silver-haired maiden's wedding.'" Anastasia supplied the words Subaru struggled to say. Her gaze bore only a simple question. There was no particularly deep meaning to it, just a doubt born of not being able to grasp what his aim was. There was no one who could fail to guess who 'the silver-haired maiden' meant. As for why the cultists insisted on that demand "That bastard doesn't have any ulterior motive or anything. He absolutely meant it exactly how it sounds. He's serious about putting on a wedding." "...With everything going on here?" "He's an Archbishop of the Witch Cult. He'd do what he wanted in the middle of Armageddon. They all would. And what pisses me off even more is he has the strength to make it happen." The image of the white-haired man carrying Emilia under his arm flashed through his head. When he was taking her away, he had insisted that all that mattered was appearance. A villain with nothing less than a loathsome level of transcendent strength the Archbishop of Greed, Regulus Corneas. Subaru could not say exactly who was responsible for the other demands, but he could confidently say that the marriage demand was 100 percent Greed's. "That freaking nutjob... No, I guess that fits all of them. Beatrice, the book of knowledge that may or may not even exist anymore, the fate of this whole city, and Emilia! You think I'd let them have anything?! Over my dead body!" It was hard to believe they could concoct a more insane setup. The only explanation he could come up with was that they were all, every last one of them, living under some different idea of rationality or common sense, some extradimensional way of thinking. A monster, a blasphemer, a mystery, and a villain. Throw in the not-so-dearly-departed, crazed evil spirit for good measure. They were a gathering of all the mortal realm's sins, incarnations of the world's dark side: the Archbishops of the Deadly Sins. "...I was hoping for just that sort of reaction, but that was even better than I expected." Seeing Subaru breathing hard after getting so worked up, Anastasia relaxed her expression in a moment of approval. But there was no mistaking it for a cheerful smile. It was a manifestation of the rage that had created an unstoppable impulse in her heart. "You looked an awful lot like Ricardo there." "I'll pretend I didn't hear that. Can't go messing things up between us until after we take back the city," Anastasia joked before her expression turned serious again. "Like we discussed, we won't give them anything. I've got a duty to see through here. To Mr. Kiritaka, for sure, but also to Emilia and Crusch." *** "Emilia and Crusch and the rest of you came to Pristella on my invitation. All of you are my guests. Letting you get hurt like this... I ain't gonna take this humiliation lying down." Her pale-aquamarine eyes were filled with deep resolve, and she stared into Subaru's eyes, asking if he was ready to fight. "We'll need to be prepared to make the necessary sacrifices. Looks like you've made up your mind, too." "Necessary sacrifices..." "Everyone's shrinking back 'cause we lost, but can y'all accept where things are standing right now? I sure won't. I'm gonna fight with everything I can lay hands on. I'll worry about excuses for why I lost when I'm dead." Her usually gentle, peaceful expression was consumed by a savage drive. "There is always another chance, as long as you're still alive. I won't let people throw away their lives. It's too heartbreaking." The determination welling from her small, slender body was powerful enough to make Subaru forget she was not someone who spent her time out on the battlefield No, that wasn't quite right. They were already standing on her battlefield. And when it came to talks like these, Anastasia Hoshin was a grizzled veteran. "It's entirely possible Lust has the ability to change Crusch and the people she transformed back. And we still don't know where Mr. Kiritaka is, but that's all. And you aren't planning on just leaving your precious princess in some stranger's hands, either, right?" " Hell no! If they're going to give us four demands, then we should hit back with a little something of our own." Subaru was tired of getting pummeled so one-sidedly. Fed up with just doing what he was told. "We'll save Emilia from that freak, kick Gluttony's ass and get him to spit out Rem's memories, bash Sirius for screwing with the entire city's emotions, and make Capella beg for mercy while changing everyone back! Then we save the city, and boom, everybody lives happily ever after!" "Yeah, that sounds good to me." Subaru thrust out his fist, and Anastasia gently wrapped her hand around it. It was not the reaction he'd expected, but it was at least proof they were on the same wavelength. Anastasia still wanted to put up a fierce fight, and Subaru could stand behind that sentiment wholeheartedly. So "Let's save this city, Ms. Anastasia. We'll do it with our own hands." Nodding to Anastasia, Subaru looked down at the map on the table again. It marked every location in the city, but it could not show the faces of the people living there. So he closed his eyes and imagined something else instead. He etched Emilia, Rem, and all the people he wanted to save onto the insides of his eyelids. In order to keep fighting to save the city and all the people who were precious to him. 6 "Milady. And Subaru, too. So you were here." Julius was standing in the doorway, a trace of relief appearing in his eyes. Stepping over the crack running through the floor with his long legs, he entered the room and approached the two of them. In what was surely an unconscious habit, he touched his bangs as his golden eyes looked out across the trampled, scorched-black room on the top floor of the tower. "Why are you here?" "Natsuki said he wanted to check something. We only just came up here," Anastasia said, gesturing with her chin to where Subaru was kneeling on the sooty floor. Subaru was looking farther back in the room, to where a distinctive-looking metia was located. It was the broadcast metia used to communicate with the entire city. It should have been swept up in the battle with Capella and the black dragon's attack, but it had almost miraculously avoided any damage. Subaru breathed easily as he made sure it was still working. "I see... How did your discussion with Subaru go?" "It went a little long, but I'd say it was a constructive talk. It looks like he's had it up to here with everything, same as me. How are things on your end?" "As you instructed, I set the members of the Iron Fangs to patrol in shifts. For better or worse, there have not been any noteworthy developments..." "That sure sounds like bad news. Without an obvious turn for the better, things are just gonna get worse as time passes... That's just how unease works," Anastasia responded as she gently caressed her scarf. Subaru looked up at Julius. "I visited one shelter before coming here. Any word how things are at the other ones?" "It pains me to be unable to share good tidings, but unfortunately the situation is poor everywhere. In most shelters, the people are currently in no condition to act, and most are just staring at their feet in fear and anxiety. The cultists' proclamation has had a profound effect on morale." Subaru stood up and murmured, "Proclamation..." "Lust's final threat before abandoning city hall. In addition to announcing the four demands, she also announced that those of us who attacked the tower had been turned back." "...So she told everyone we lost. Framing it as a defeat is definitely exacerbating things." Which was precisely what Capella had been aiming for. Sirius's Authority combined perfectly with the psychological effect of

the broadcast. Between that and Sirius's attack on the Muse Company while they were going after Capella at the tower, despite their not making any effort to work together, they'd still managed to create the worst possible duet. And because of that, the townspeople's will had been broken, and they were getting pulled into a downward spiral, which was inexorably dragging them further into the depths of despair. "It pains me to say, but it would be good fortune if they merely lost the will to remain standing. There are many who are responding in other ways. Several places are on the verge of crossing a dangerous threshold." "What's happening with those shelters?" "We are rushing over as fast as we can to limit injuries to the best of our ability, but..." Julius hesitated, but that was more than enough to make the dark implication obvious. Still " There's no stopping the flood once the dam bursts. Some shelters are beyond saving. And there have been more than a few deaths, too. It's cowardly to avert our eyes from reality." "...Milady..." Anastasia's words forced him to face head-on the fact that there had already been losses. A more satisfactory look finally appeared on Julius's face, and seeing that, Anastasia focused her increasingly scrutinizing gaze on her knight. "Pretending you don't see it won't make it disappear. The truth is all around us... What's gotten into you, Julius?" "I would never..." "This isn't like you at all." At first her voice was harsh and stern, but it gradually grew softer and more fragile, her eyes wavering. For just a second, the concern she was feeling for him was visible. But she hid it again in the blink of an eye, reopening her pursed lips. "...There have been victims. And there will be more. Given that we are trying to save as many people as possible, there is no avoiding the fact that we'll have to give up on a few. We don't have enough hands to do everything. So at the very least we can't turn a blind eye to what that entails." *** "At least Natsuki is properly standing on his own two feet. Accepting that there have been losses and demonstrating the resolve for what's to come. But what about you, Julius?" Doubt filled Julius's golden eyes no, it had been there the whole time, swaying faintly, unsteady. And seeing that doubt in Julius's eyes, Subaru finally realized something. Wrath's Authority was affecting city hall, too. Ferris wallowing in his grief, Wilhelm bound by self-doubt and self-reproach, Ricardo baring his fangs in righteous indignation and annoyance, Garfiel running all over town in a fit of anxiety, Anastasia almost desperately doing her best to meet the expectations of the duty she had been entrusted with, and Julius struggling to break free from his indecision. They were all expressing their emotions, baring their hearts more because of the influence of Sirius's ability. And Subaru was surely doing the same, too. *** As Subaru came to that realization, Julius and Anastasia stared at each other. Julius was unable to escape his doubts, and a look of anguish crossed his handsome face as he closed his eyes. Anastasia's logic was sound. She was telling him not to look away from the reality in front of him and demanding he show the resolve to face a fight in which sacrifices would be inevitable. And hearing that, Julius knew that he needed to set aside the troubles eating away at him. He tried again to steel his resolve. To join his master on the path to a victory that would only open up after he made many sacrifices and suffered many losses. If you tried to carry a giant armful of abbles, it would be impossible to avoid letting one or two slip away. And eventually the whole thing would come falling down. In order to avoid that, you had to pick which abbles to carry and which to leave behind. Even a child could understand that concept. However " I think you're misunderstanding something, Anastasia," Subaru cut in for the first time. The other two looked over at him. While the feelings in their eyes were different, Subaru could tell they were not just emotional. Both were still thinking. "I swore to rescue this city together with you, but I have no intention of trying to sacrifice the few for the sake of the many." "...We decided on our main goal. I was pretty sure of that from what we discussed." Anastasia's eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me you're gonna start with that unreasonable stuff now, too? If so, then you haven't changed at all from that first time I laid eyes on you back at the castle. Even if it wasn't the usual path, you've become a proper knight now, haven't you?" "That's right. I'm a full-fledged knight. And because I'm a knight, there are some things I just can't give up on. That I refuse to give up on. If I gave up on them now, my reputation as a knight would be ruined," Subaru said as he changed positions, moving next to Julius. He shrugged as Julius stood there frozen in place looking at him, and then Subaru puffed out his chest. If you were holding an armful of abbles, it was only natural that you eventually could not hold on to all of them. But because he was a knight, the things that Subaru was holding in his hands what Julius was holding in his hands they were not just a bunch of abbles. They were something far more precious. Something irreplaceable. They were not abbles that would not say anything if you gave up and let them fall. They were the lives of people. People who could cry and who got angry, too. People with families, with friends and people they loved. "I have no intention of letting a single one of them fall. Talking about resolve and determination sounds cool, but that's just giving up with extra steps. And there's nothing cool about that." " Ngh. Again with your foolishness... There were sacrifices during the battle with the White Whale and in the fight with the cultists afterward, too, but you weren't spouting this same stupidly stubborn stuff then." " Don't take me for a fool, Anastasia." Subaru's gaze sharpened when Anastasia brought up the White Whale and Petelgeuse. He was not going to back down on that point or let it go unchallenged. She was barking up the wrong tree if she thought that was how things would go. "The people who fought and fell in those fights were ready to give their lives. It's sad that they died, and they definitely didn't want to die, but they knew what they were getting into. And that makes all the difference we can't assume the residents of this city are the same." It was a convenient argument, and maybe it did not really follow, and it was certainly easy to point to the double standard of criticizing one form of resolve while holding up a different kind. But it was a fact that there was a discernable difference. There was a certain resolve required in situations where lives were being put on the line. "The cultists made this city a battlefield, and that's on them. But it's wrong to let yourself get dragged into that same thinking and start talking about resolve when it comes to the normal, everyday people who got caught up in all this." "Whether we like it or not, the decision the cultists made is going to cause a lot of people who aren't resolved to get hurt anyway, at which point they're just going to have to steel themselves." "There. That's wrong. The cultists have made their own decision, and people who actually have the resolve should be the ones to go after them. If you ask me, having that resolve while always keeping that distinction in mind is what it means to be a knight. That's how I would hope a knight would act, and that's what I teach the kids in the village, too." After he had been knighted and gotten fawned over here and there, when Subaru finally became a proper knight like he had always imagined, that was the path he had naturally chosen. And when he swore to always live that way, the children had looked at him with sparkling eyes, so ever since he had tried to never bring shame to that vow. And because when Emilia, who had been beside him, heard it, her eyes had shone, too. "I'm Emilia's knight. I want to fight for her. But that doesn't mean I'm only fighting to protect her. Julius is your knight, Anastasia. He wants to fight for you more than anyone else. If you order him, he'll listen to you but that isn't enough to be satisfied. Because knights are by nature greedy people who want to look cool." *** "I always try to look cool even if it kills me. And so does Julius. Because he's the Finest of Knights. That means he tries harder than anyone else to look the part." Subaru pointed to Julius with his thumb as Anastasia fell silent. Partway through, Julius, who had been listening silently, suddenly caught his breath, and his eyes widened. An out-of-place, satisfied grin appeared on Subaru's face when he saw how badly that had caught the both of them off guard. "You talked about necessary sacrifices before. But what I said was 'Let's save this city.' Cities and countries aren't just a bunch of buildings or swaths of land. They're made up of people. At least according to a bunch of mangas and games." Choosing at the outset to give up on someone and trying to save someone but failing were two different things. It was easy enough to convince yourself to discard a person in order to create a world you could be satisfied with, but " Infecting other people with that self-satisfaction is what makes you no good. That there's a heroic delusion that'll swallow a crowd whole." *** Another person suddenly butted in right as Subaru was in the process of trying to turn his naive belief into an idealistic theory. Subaru caught his breath and turned around. It was a slightly muffled voice that sounded familiar. There was almost a hint of irony in the voice, a cynical, pessimistic, philosophical tint to those words as the man wearing a black helmet met Subaru's gaze. "Stare as hard as you like, it's not going to change the fact that I didn't bring you any presents. You'll just have to make do with my smile. Not that you can see it like this, though." " Al." The man in the iron helm shrugged as he joked with Subaru from the doorway. He had chosen to act independently before Subaru and the others left for the assault on city hall, and his whereabouts had been unknown ever since. He slowly stepped into the room and headed over to them. Still under the influence of her intense emotions just before, Anastasia responded gruffly. "You're back awfully early." "Strictly speaking, I'm not back, since this is a different place from before, but I feel bad about appearing again right after leaving, too. Sorry for being a nuisance, but I didn't come here because I particularly wanted to, either." Al remained aloof in the face of Anastasia's sharp response, but he wasn't making light of the situation. As the mood in the room tensed, Subaru spoke up again. "Hey, I've got a lot I'd like to say, but at least you made it out safe. I was worried you got washed away." "...I was lucky I happened to be on high ground when the water level started rising. And by chance, I happened to get a message for you, Bro. So don't go shooting the messenger." Subaru furrowed his brow as Al responded with a casual tone and a

shrug. Given the situation, Subaru was hard-pressed to imagine whom the message could be from. "Messenger? Who would send a message in a situation like this...?" " It's from your precious, precious princess." " ?! From Emilia?!" Subaru was thunderstruck by Al's startling revelation, and he stared wide-eyed as if questioning whether the man was serious. Because of Al's obscuring helmet, there was no way to glean any information from his eyes, but he nodded. "Even I wouldn't joke about something like that. It's exactly what I said, a message from your young master she's seriously doin' crazy stuff behind enemy lines. Scaaaary," Al said with a causal shrug. In contrast to his usual flippancy or his stinging irony, he gave an actual sigh. He looked Subaru in the eye and continued. "The blushing bride is waiting for her Prince Charming to come take her away before the wedding I'm jealous, Bro." CHAPTER 3 *** 1 " Yes, that's it exactly. As I thought, white really suits you." "...Thank you..." Regulus responded cheerfully to seeing Emilia in her new white dress. After getting dressed by #184, she had been led from the changing room to Regulus's room, where he was waiting. *** This room was adorned with a twisted splendor far removed from the building's overall cold feeling. Emilia furrowed her brow slightly, chalking it up to Regulus's tastes. Also, he was wearing a different outfit from when she had seen him in the hallway. It was still all white, but this time it seemed more formal. Noticing Emilia's gaze, he lightly plucked at his collar. "Our wedding is a special occasion, after all. I considered wearing my standard, unadorned outfit, but I would never think to embarrass you with a pointless fixation. Consideration for each other, a mutual give-and-take that's the ideal relationship between a husband and wife. And of course, you needn't worry yourself about troubling me over something as minor as this. I just want you to understand the depths of my generosity and willingness to change myself to a reasonable degree for your sake." As usual, he talked a dizzying amount. As far as Emilia could follow, the basic content of what he was saying was entirely reasonable, but for some reason, she could not help but hesitate a bit before nodding along. But one thing she could say for sure was that he was unmistakably one of the Witch Cult Archbishops. It was clear enough from the broadcast and what #184 had said, and understanding that and then actually standing across from him again in person, it was impossible to ignore the bizarre presence he had. Her instincts were screaming out in her head. They were telling her that an immense threat to her life was standing there before her. And that reality caused her soul as it would cause any person's to cower and want to plead for mercy. That was why he felt so abnormal. "You look down. A sunken look does not suit your face at all... No, this complex expression is cute in its own way, but it isn't your best look. Is there something troubling you?" *** Emilia froze as Regulus casually touched her cheek. She had not thought that she had looked away, but he had closed the wide gap between them in the blink of an eye. Regulus closed one eye as he examined Emilia's still-tense expression. "#184, did something happen while she was getting dressed?" Regulus pressed the woman standing next to Emilia when Emilia did not immediately respond. "...Apologies, but perhaps it might be the effect of Lady Capella's most recent broadcast," #184 responded smoothly, as if she had already thought of the response. "Broadcast? Ah, that. I just ignored it, since that animalistic reprobate's voice is as grating as ever, but I see hearing that for the first time could certainly upset a girl. That was an oversight on my part." Loathing and scorn crept into Regulus's expression as he scoffed, accepting that explanation. "You need not worry yourself about the vile slurs of that blighted, shallow-minded mass of inferiority complexes masquerading as a woman. Unlike her, utterly unworthy of any being's love, your face is worthy of my affections. From the day you were born, you stood above that thing. Have confidence in yourself." "Ummm..." "Still troubled? That reprobate really went overboard. I cannot stand seeing that hideous face, but I'll have to lodge my complaints with her directly after this is over. Setting that aside for now, though...what should we do in order to rescue the bride's mood with our joyous ceremony right before us?" Regulus asked, cocking his head. Emilia thought carefully about how to respond. She could imagine two main choices if she wanted to escape. The first was to break free from her position as essentially a hostage. Honestly, she could most likely slip away from #184 and get out of the building without too much difficulty. But if she did that, the floodgates would be opened, drowning the city. And from what she had seen of Regulus so far, if she was asked whether he would really go that far, she would be forced to say he almost certainly would. There was just too much risk involved with that gamble, so she had no choice but to scrap that plan. There was the bank shot where she fought and beat him then and there in a surprise attack but that was most likely impossible. Her instincts were telling her that she could not defeat him by herself. The fundamental problem was a lack of options, so Emilia chose the other path: the bitter, painful choice of avoiding a rash decision and devoting herself to using this as a unique opportunity to gather information. "Such a troubled expression. I was merely asking what to do in order to improve your mood, but do you not have an answer? It is true that we are not officially husband and wife until the ceremony is carried out, but in effect, we should for all intents and purposes already treat each other as such. Given that, what should a proper wife do for her husband? For the sake of our future harmonious matrimony, should you not also strive to fulfill your duty, nay, responsibility?" Regulus's speech accelerated as he quickly grew impatient with Emilia's silence. "Ah, I'm sorry. Right... I may be a tad tired still. Would it perhaps be okay for me to rest a bit?" "Tired?" Regulus arched his brow, putting his hand to his chin, repeating the word tired several times. " I see. I was not attentive enough. My apologies. I shall strive to do better. It's only natural that you would be tired with all the sudden happenings occurring all at once. In that case, there is no issue with you returning to your room and resting for a while. There is another outfit planned for you for the ceremony, so you need not worry about lying down in the dress you're currently wearing. My wives and I will take care of the venue's preparations." "The venue..." "Yes, there's a chapel attached to this building. It is modest, but well suited for our purposes. We are preparing for the wedding ceremony there. All my wives are here to welcome the newest member of our family. I'm sure that's reassuring news for you. My pride and joy, my admirable, beautiful wives." He nodded to himself smugly as he threw open the window of the room and waved Emilia over. Standing next to him like he gestured for her to do, she could see the neighboring building by looking out the window. It was a chapel or more precisely, a building where weddings and other ceremonies were held. She could see the bustling activity happening inside through the open doors and the big windows lining the walls that allowed in voluminous sunlight. There were several figures moving around the building, bringing in decorations and ornaments and generally preparing for the ceremony. Every person she saw working down there was a beautiful woman, and every last one was wearing a stunning outfit. "I have had a total of two hundred and ninety-one wives...though sadly, death has forced me to part with many of them. Currently, I have fifty-three wives with me, and that will rise to fifty-four once our ceremony is complete. It goes without saying, of course, that I love all of them equally. Twisted does not begin to describe the idea of a husband who plays favorites. I would never do something so dishonorable. I share the appropriate love in the appropriate way at the appropriate time for all I will love you and all of them equally." "Th-thank you... I'll be...sure to keep that in mind..." Emilia was taken aback as she carefully, nervously tried to find her way to an answer that was maybe correct. She was behaving almost exactly the same way #184 reacted in her fear of Regulus. Being constantly exposed to his violently oppressive presence was enough to wear down even the strongest hearts. That was likely the main reason his wives all had their will to resist sapped away. "Good girl. Now head on back and rest. I'll have someone send for you once the preparations are complete." Fortunately, her limp response did not seem to have hit a nerve, and he merely indicated she should return to her room out of a seemingly genuine concern for her condition. Not resisting, Emilia stepped away from him and headed for the door with #184. She could go back to her bedroom and start planning how to get out of the situation "I was thinking, though, it was careless of me not to notice my bride's fatigue, but does it not strike you that the person who was by her side the most should have noticed it, too?" *** when Regulus's voice called out right as she was about to open the door. A chill ran down her spine, and she immediately grabbed something else with her outstretched hand. " Watch out!" "Eh?" #184 widened her eyes at suddenly being grabbed. Emilia pulled her close and leaped to the side. And immediately afterward, a breeze blew through the spot where #184 had been standing, and the wall and door exploded like they had been hit by a giant's hand. The floor peeled away, and the destruction continued in a straight line out into the stone hallway. *** The wave of devastation splintered the room and crushed the entrance. Seeing that overwhelming show of force, Emilia was speechless as she clung to #184. Realizing the target of that destruction, #184 tensed and curled up, making herself smaller. Regulus, who had only casually swung his right arm, tilted his head at the two of them. "Ah, apologies, apologies. That was careless of me thank goodness nothing happened to the two of you." *** "Anyway, I have something to attend to, so I'll be in the other room. Oh, and perhaps we should have your hair done up before the ceremony? I think that would really amplify your natural allure. You are lovely as is, of course, but no effort should be spared at becoming even more beautiful. Naturally, I am content with my happy and satisfied state, but I would never protest your efforts to improve yourself. Doing one's best for someone who loves you is the most fundamental level of etiquette a person can express, after all." Regulus smiled at Emilia as if that earlier act of destruction was of little note, then he left behind his wife and soon-to-be wife, holding each other on the ground. Once his white back was no longer visible down the hallway, Emilia let out a long breath. "...What was that?" It made no sense at all. Both the reason for the action and the way that he acted, neither of them made any sense. "...Thank you for saving me," #184 said before slipping free from Emilia's dumbfounded embrace. The agitation she had just felt

disappeared from her face, and she stood up and adjusted her hair. And then she began to clean up the destruction wrought by a wave of Regulus's hand. "Wait! This doesn't make sense at all! You were almost killed just now!" Emilia took issue with how #184 accepted the violence of just a moment before and moved on to another task. Regulus's presence was menacing, and maybe there was some logic guiding his actions and words that others could not follow, but even if that was the case "If I hadn't pulled you away, that would have hit you. You were even trembling." "And what of it? I thanked you for saving me. Please don't expect any more than that from me. Anything more would be overstepping bounds." "This isn't about bounds or obligations! It's more important, more precious than that!" #184 stubbornly refused to face Emilia. And Emilia could tell that it was simple self-preservation that was keeping her heart locked away. She could understand it, but that did not mean she could accept it. "Regulus said that everyone was equal. So does that mean that all the wives in the chapel are like this, too? Everyone is just cowering in fear of him, always watching him, trying to get by without drawing his attention? Just accepting that he tried to kill you... It doesn't make sense at all!" "That's just one dynamic between husbands and wives. Once you've experienced it more, you will grow used to it...or if you don't, then that will be the end of you." #184 did not even turn to answer Emilia's desperate pleading. It was enough to make Emilia feel like she and #184 were living in two different worlds. "That doesn't make any sense at all... Isn't getting married what people who are happy together and love each other do? But I'm not happy, you don't look happy, and none of them look happy, either. Am I wrong?" "...Yes, you are wrong. Being happy together is not a requirement for getting married. There is no requirement that a husband and wife love each other, either. The only requirement is being around each other all the time you get used to being married." #184 did not deny that she did not want to be in her current position, and yet she still affirmed her current status. It was a twisted, misguided point of view. Marriage was something that was supposed to be desired, not just something that couples got used to. "Please do as he said. Go back to your room and try to rest. Take the dress off if you would like. I will come by before the ceremony to do your hair." *** With that, #184 focused on cleaning up the rubble and tidying the wrecked room. Emilia tried to say something to her, but her words faltered and failed to come out. No matter what words she chose, they would not have any weight to them as long as she was unable to do anything about Regulus. She pulled back her outstretched hand, clenching her fist regretfully at her inability to reach out. 2 " All right, that should be good!" Wiping her forehead with her forearm, Emilia nodded in satisfaction at her handiwork. Rejected by #184, she had returned to her bedroom, but she had not sulked at her own powerlessness in a fit of depression or anything cute like that. She had of course been depressed at her powerlessness, but it also spurred her on. She could not abandon #184 and the other women forced to be Regulus's wives and constantly endure his whims. Her spirit was roiling with determination. But no matter how much she screamed or pouted, there was probably no way she could change Regulus's mind. And if she tried to fight fire with fire, she would just lose against his overwhelming strength. So she had searched for another path forward, following Subaru's example. "Subaru wouldn't just rush into things without thinking it through first. It all starts with preparation." She pulled the sheets over the ice sculpture shaped like her that was lying on the bed, making it look like she was obediently sleeping. No one looking in from the door would be able to notice it was not really Emilia. And having done that, she would spend the time until the ceremony "Here we go." She smoothly slipped out the window and headed out to gather more information. Raising her hands, she crafted a ledge of ice on the outside of the building and easily escaped her room. She could have simply escaped at this point, but that was out of the question, given the situation, so she started looking for useful information instead. "This really was one of the floodgate control towers." Emilia had headed for the top of the building first in order to get a grasp of her surroundings and where she was being kept, and it perfectly matched the control towers she had seen earlier. With the cultists occupying the towers, they had control of the city's floodgates. There was a sinister red flag hoisted from the top of the tower, emphasizing that it was being occupied. And the three other towers all sported the same red flag. "They took all four of the towers, so the city is helpless..." Straining her purple eyes to see the other towers in the distance, Emilia slipped into thought. Just a single gate opening had caused that much damage, so even if she entirely froze the tower she was in to prevent it from activating, there were still three more. "If only there were four of me..." If there were, she could freeze all four towers at once. And also, if there were four of her, two of them could teach each other her studies while one learned how to cook and the other chatted with Subaru. It would solve a lot of different problems all at once, but unfortunately, things were not that simple. "There's still just one of me, no matter how much I might wish otherwise...which means I'm going to have to get someone's help." Her reliable friends and the other candidates would surely be planning something to take back the city. And they were all either clearer thinkers or stronger or able to do more than Emilia. But Emilia was probably the only one who had been caught by the enemy, which meant she was the only one who could probe the enemy position from the inside. I'm alone. I was separated from everyone else and now I'm in the middle of enemy territory. Turning that hopeless situation around in her head was something she had learned from Subaru Natsuki. "There is a chapel right next to the tower, so that means this should be the tower in the third district. With so many Archbishops here, it should be useful to know which one is in which tower." As best as Emilia could tell, the upper hand in the fighting would be more an issue of compatibility than one of true strength. Regulus and Sirius were powerful, too, but beating them would come down to which people were arrayed against them. And unfortunately, Emilia could not imagine how to defeat someone as powerful as Regulus. "If they can just tell who is where, though, then they should be able to think of a way to pull it off." Putting a massive amount of trust in that assessment, Emilia leaped down from the roof in order to carry out her role. The hem of her white dress fluttered in the wind as she used a scaffold of ice to clamber down. If anyone looking up happened to see her, they would almost undoubtedly think her a witch beyond human ken, but there were not many in the town with the courage to raise their heads and look to the towers where the Witch Cult's flag flew. Emilia flew down the control tower, enjoying that one small blessing. 3 " Tell me, do you think I want to be having this pointless conversation right now?" The moment she heard that annoyed voice, Emilia landed on a larger ice foothold, leaned her back against the wall, and held her breath Regulus's voice was coming from a room in the chapel right behind her. Emilia had learned a lot in just a short time running all around the tower. First of all, there were no signs of any cultists other than Regulus at that tower she could not see any trace of anyone other than his wives. She had struggled to believe it, but she had even carefully approached the control room for the floodgate, so it was safe to say the tower's defense was full of holes. It was hard for her to determine if it was from carelessness, confidence, or was just natural given Regulus's impossible strength, but she took it as good news that they did not have to worry about anyone other than Regulus here. But that was still not enough. She needed to get something more decisively useful. And just as she was thinking that, she heard his voice. Emilia created a foothold from ice just beneath the window to his room and hid there, listening to what was happening inside. Her nerves tensed when she realized he was talking to someone. She was afraid it was one of his wives, in case he was about to attack her like he just had #184. If that happened, she would have to stop him, even if it meant revealing her rebellious intentions. *** Emilia pursed her lips as she made a mirror of ice in her hand and carefully peered into the room. The cool mirror reflected a waiting room on the second floor of the chapel. Unlike the control tower, it had a majestic appearance appropriate for a building where ceremonies were held. The waiting room was not gaudy; instead, it gave off a tranquil and sublime feeling. Or at least, it would have if not for the ominous and dreadful white-suited figure standing in the middle of the room. "...No one's there?" Tilting her ice mirror to look around the room, Emilia furrowed her brow. There were no other people visible in the room. Had it only been a loud complaint to himself? That would not have been that shocking, but straining her eyes, Emilia realized it was not that, either. He was definitely talking to someone more specifically, he was addressing a mirror in his hand. "How many times must I repeat myself? I only came here to find my fated bride. And having found her, I am holding a wedding. A wedding is something to be celebrated and certainly should not be disrupted. A brute who would do such a thing betrays themself to be a petty, small-minded villain who begrudges others their happiness. Though I am well aware you all have always been filth." Regulus was talking to someone on the other end of the mirror. It was a conversation mirror a metia that allowed its user to speak with whoever had the other mirror, wherever they were. Regulus was using it to talk to someone somewhere else. "It is not as if I have any particular interest in your actions. But opening the floodgate, that is unacceptable. It is not a part of the plan. And I can only interpret your willingness to do something unplanned that upsets my bride as a desire to ruin the wedding I'm painstakingly preparing. And clouding my bride's face, sullying the joyful occasion of my blessed marriage what should be the most sunny and happy of stages in my life that is an injurious infringement of my rights." Regulus's annoyance was growing as he spoke. Emilia could feel a burning sensation on the back of her neck as she realized that he must be talking to another cultist, seemingly one connected to the flooding that had just hit the city *** "You are aware, are you

not, that I can see your tower quite clearly just across the city from here?" Regulus said, suddenly throwing the window open. Just beneath the window, Emilia stifled a shout at the sudden movement. She held her breath, praying that he would not notice her below as she focused on what he was saying. Fortunately, he seemed oblivious to her presence and continued speaking from his vantage point like nothing was out of the ordinary. "It isn't even so far away that I can't see it. It would be a simple matter for me to blow your tower away from here if I so desired it. A word of caution: Do not assume that you and I are equals. You'd best treat this with the imperative of an order... What?" Judging from how Regulus was looking off into the distance, Emilia gathered that the person he was talking to was in the tower directly across the city. And that person was "You weren't the one who opened the floodgate? What sort of excuse do you think that is supposed to be? You were the one who made that grandstanding threat on the broadcast, were you not? Claiming now that you were not the one who opened the floodgate is utterly unconvincing... You shouldn't tell such pointless lies, you repulsive reprobate." *** "Well, either way, I've conveyed my demand. And after your tactless display, at least the people in the city won't interrupt the proceedings between my bride and me... Once the stage is properly set, I shall hold my marriage, and then I will leave the city with my wives. It is on you to achieve whatever it is you want before then." Spitting that out, Regulus closed the cover on the mirror in his hand. Standing at the window, he narrowed his eyes as he brushed back his hair. "What an asinine excuse. 'Some rat sniffing around.' Do you take me for a fool? Trying to hide your own incompetence while treating it as a word of caution. You only confess your own pettiness by clinging to such trivial pride. And assuming just because you were had that others would be, too, is the mark of a rotten character, though that is not the only thing rotten about you, I suppose." Regulus expressed a heartfelt loathing for someone who belonged to the same organization that he did. Sitting outside the window, Emilia was the only one who heard his muttering, and recognizing Regulus's remoteness from others, the way he was in conflict with everyone and made no effort to change that, she felt a gloomy despair. Just then, there was a knock on the door. " May I enter, sir?" "...Come in." A woman stepped into the waiting room. Another woman besides #184, though she was also beautiful and similarly dressed up. It was clear at a glance from her frozen eyes and expression that she was another one of Regulus's wives. "The preparations for the ceremony are continuing apace. We have begun the interior decoration, however...as you requested to direct the interior design personally, I came to let you know we are ready," the woman responded with a polite curtsy. "Ah, it's already time? Yes, right. Let's get to it, then." Regulus nodded. He walked away from the window and left the room together with the woman. The door closed, and Regulus's presence faded into the distance. Silence fell over the waiting room. "Haaaah... That was close. I almost made a sound." Emilia patted her chest as she hopped through the window and into the room once she was sure it was safe. She still had plenty of mana in reserve, but that bit of covert movement had drained her mental reserves. Taking a deep breath at clearing the first hurdle, Emilia parsed what she had heard. "The control tower visible straight across from here... If I'm right, this is the third district's tower, so the one across the city is in the first district and based on the conversation, the one there should be the Archbishop of Lust." Parking herself where Regulus had been standing, she looked out in the same direction he had, confirming her guess for the location. He had not mentioned a name, but he had identified the person he was talking to as the one behind the broadcast and called them a reprobate, which all but confirmed he had been talking to Lust. That meant that Lust was based in the first district, and Regulus was in the third. Even just that much should be at least a little bit useful for the others. The only remaining problem was "How do I tell them?" Emilia cocked her head in thought as she crossed her arms. Sharing the information she had gathered was the most challenging part. Even though she had managed to get something worthwhile, it would be meaningless if she could not find a way to share it. The only thing she could think of was perhaps making a big sheet of ice on top of the tower and writing it out on that, but that would be visible to anyone and would likely fail. She could maybe rush over to them directly to tell them and then slip back into the control tower as if nothing had happened... "If I was out that long, it would definitely get noticed..." The defenses seemed full of holes, but counting on that to save her was as good as acting without a plan at all. She could not endanger so many people's lives on such a risky gamble. "If only there was some reliable way... Huh?" As she looked around the room, desperately trying to think of something, she arched her brows. It looked the same as when she had peeked in using the ice mirror, but there was something on the desk that caught her attention. The conversation mirror that Regulus had just been using. He had tossed it down in a fit of frustration after he was done. Picking it up, Emilia stared at it. "If would be nice if it could just connect to any mirror..." But unfortunately, conversation mirrors were not that convenient. They could only communicate with mirrors imbued with matching magic. There were some capable of communicating with more than just a single paired mirror, but for the most part, they only worked in fixed pairs. Even if Emilia activated it, the person on the other end would be none other than the Archbishop of Lust. "It would be nice to try to talk with that Lust person once." But Emilia didn't have it in her to hold a composed conversation at the moment, and it would only reveal that she was moving around behind Regulus's back. Thinking about it realistically, she had no choice but to give up on using the mirror to communicate with everyone. She could also just break it there to keep Regulus out of contact with the other cultists, but "It doesn't really seem like they are working together anyway. What do I do...?" She could not afford to take a pointless risk that would reveal the presence of a mole. But while Emilia grappled with what to do, something happened. The mirror she had set on the desk activated, and a white light shone out from behind the cover. "Ah." Emilia took a step back from the desk in surprise. But the light from the mirror did not stop. It meant that the person on the other end was trying to connect. All Emilia had to do was open the cover, and it would connect. But she was not sure what to do. It went without saying that the person on the other end was almost certainly someone connected to the cultists, if not Lust herself. There was no benefit to answering, but it was also possible for things to be leaked via the mirror, as they had been when she overheard Regulus. In one sense, it was possible to justify turning a blind eye to the downsides. After worrying and thinking about it, Emilia decided to *** She flipped the mirror so it was pointing away from her before opening the cover. The two mirrors connected, but the person on the other end would not be able to see Emilia. They would surely notice something was off, but if she was lucky, they might let something slip first. That was her working theory, at least, and she ended up getting rewarded from an entirely unexpected angle. " Oh, there's a response. Wait, there's no one there. What's going on? That ain't how it's supposed to work. Did I mess something up?" "Eh?" Unexpectedly, the voice she heard through the mirror was a man's voice. She was caught off balance after having assumed she would be connected to Lust. But that was not the only reason for her shock. The voice was familiar. She had heard it just that morning at the Water Raiment Inn " Al? Is that you, Al?" "...Whoa, whoa, hold up, it went this route?" Emilia flipped the mirror, blinking as she saw who was on the other end. It was Priscilla's black-helmed retainer, Al. Naturally, he could see her, too, and even though she could not see his face through the helm, she could tell he was shocked as well. "Um, this is unexpected. How did you happen across this conversation mirror?" "The truth is: I'm in the middle of sneaking around investigating things. And just as I was looking around the room where this mirror happened to be, it started flashing... Oh, right!" "Wh-what?" "Hey, Al, can you get in contact with Subaru and the others? There was something I wanted to let them know." Eyes sparkling at the miracle of someone she knew having been on the other end of the mirror, Emilia decided to make the best of the situation. Caught up in her momentum, Al responded without thinking too deeply on it. "Y-yeah...I guess so? I'll let him know you're safe and want him to come save you..." "Tell him Regulus, the white-haired Archbishop, is in the control tower in the third district. And also the Archbishop of Lust is apparently in the first district's tower. There aren't any other cultists in the third district, but Regulus is really strong, so don't let your guard down." *** "It would be better if I could investigate the other towers, too, but I don't know where Sirius is. But there was that broadcast, too, so tell him to make sure to protect Beatrice, too. And, um..." " Wait a second." Emilia was going through the list of things to tell Subaru when Al stopped her. Hearing that, she looked surprised as she asked, "What is it?" "I knew you were tough and hyper-positive, but there's gotta be some other things on your mind, too, right? Considering the situation you're in and all." "This was all I could manage after thinking hard about what to do and following through... Was there a better way I missed?" "Nah! That's not what I mean... I mean you don't have to be trying so hard, forcing yourself to do this and that. You're a captured princess, after all." "Hmm..." Emilia's eyes wavered as she caught her breath, taken aback by his strong tone. "No need to be reckless or try the impossible. It's okay to want Bro...Subaru Natsuki to save you..." "I'm sorry for worrying you, Al. No, I should say thank you but it's okay." "It is...?" "I'm not forcing myself to keep going. And it might sound a little strange, but " Emilia naturally broke into a smile. Despite being all alone behind enemy lines, despite being so close to such a powerful being, and despite being in the most danger she had ever been in in her life. " I never doubted that Subaru will come save me. That's why I want to do everything I can to make it less dangerous when he

eventually does." *** That was unmistakably how she truly felt. She was absolutely sure that Subaru would come save her. But she was also determined to not just sit back and leave everything to him. "Please, Al. I'll be sure to apologize to Priscilla later for asking for your help with such a selfish favor..." "...You really don't doubt that there will be a later, do you? Damn, that's sure something." Touching the seam of his helm with his finger, Al heaved a deep, heavy sigh. "Fine, I got it. I'll let them all know what you told me. You can rest easy and just play the captured princess now. All that's left is for you to wait for Prince Charming to save you." "Subaru's the one who will save me, though, not some prince..." "Ah, right! Bro, right! My bad! I messed that up! But seriously, just sit still and don't do anything crazy. This isn't a game." "Mm-hmm, I understand. You be careful, too, please." Emilia nodded at the serious warning that followed Al's joking response. Hearing that, Al snorted a little and then shut off the mirror. The light disappeared from Emilia's end, and it went back to being a simple mirror. "...Phew. Now it will at least get back to Subaru and the others." Blessed with an unexpected opportunity to share what she had learned, for once Emilia was grateful for her fortune. Putting the mirror back on the desk, she left out the window again, careful not to leave any traces of her having been in the room, and then returned to the control tower and back to her room. She judged that she had reached her time limit for wandering around gathering information. The mirror's connecting to Al had been a coincidence, not something that would ever happen again. Considering that, she really had been blessed. It was unbelievably lucky that it had just happened to connect with someone outside the Witch Cult so she could send a message and that that someone had been Al, of all people. If it was Al, he would definitely be able to get her message back. "...Huh? Why am I so sure of that?" Emilia was confused as to why she was so confident that her preparations were perfect after having left the rest to Al. But an answer soon started to form in her head. Something about Al reminded her almost of Subaru. That was probably why she was so sure. Emilia did not think about it more deeply than that as she scrambled back up the ice scaffolding. 4 The blushing bride is waiting for her Prince Charming to come take her away. After claiming to be a messenger sent by Emilia, that was what Al said. Subaru caught his breath and then slowly chewed it over. "Don't gimme that 'I wouldn't lie to you' bullshit. There's no way Emilia would say something that on point. Don't make me kick your ass." "Sheesh, the two of you together couldn't find a funny bone if it smacked you in the face. Got me worrying I'm losing my edge." "Like I give a damn about your edge! Quit screwing around, man..." Al could not hide his disappointment, his shoulders slumping as Subaru shouted. Subaru started to approach him to seriously demand what he really meant, when " General!" "Whoa?!" He was stopped by a bolt out of the blue that came tumbling into the room and ran straight into him. Subaru took a big step back to keep from being bowled over by the unintentional tackle. Somehow managing to stay on his feet, when he looked down at his waist, he saw a blond mop of hair clinging to him. Between the shout and the hair, he quickly realized it was the little-brother figure he had not seen for a few hours. "Garfiel! You were all right! Where'd you come from all of a sudden...?" "That's my line! You were...and I...I was...!" "Wh-whoa, are you crying...?" From the way his voice was catching and how he was hiding his face, Subaru was worried he might be crying, but Garfiel looked up with his face all disheveled. "I'm not crying! I was a little on edge is all...! You and Bro and Lady Emilia and Beatrice and everyone were all..." His eyes were just barely still dry, but he was red all the way to the ears, almost failing to hold back the tears that were threatening to come bubbling up. But this was not the time or place to be teasing him. It was plain to see exactly how distraught Garfiel had been. Everyone he had come to Pristella with had been either unconscious or missing. And on top of that, he had come as a guard, and yet he was the only one who had made it out safe. Just imagining the despair he must have been feeling was plenty uncomfortable. And in the end, he had spent the past several hours not listening to Anastasia or anyone else and constantly searching all over the city for Subaru. "I'm sorry for worrying you. But as you can see, I'm okay. Though I came back a little darker in some places..." "Huh? Darker? What do you...?" "We can discuss that later. So is it just a coincidence that you showed up at almost the same time as Garfiel?" Subaru asked Al as he patted Garfiel's head. "I can wait if you want," Al said, cocking his head. "This is your moving reunion with your little bro, right? Take your time." "A part of me is screaming that this probably can't wait. So what is it?" "Well, in that case... Yeah, you ain't wrong. I agreed to deliver your princess's message, but it's not like I can just be casually wandering about, you know?" Al nodded in confirmation before alluding to the dangerous state of the city. He most likely was referring to the demi-beasts prowling the streets in search of prey, and perhaps he even meant people who had lost control and were acting under the impulses of Sirius's Authority, too. "So you just happened to encounter Garfiel while headed here?" Julius asked. "...I was searching for the general since he got swept up in the water, but because of the floodgate opening, the whole city got sloshed, and I couldn't track his scent. I was still desperately lookin' for any new scent, but just when I thought I found somethin' similar..." "It was me. I wish I could show you how fast he just deflated. It's not like I did anything wrong, either, but I still felt kinda bad," Al explained lightheartedly. But it was no laughing matter for Garfiel, and as expected, he glared at Al angrily. "Who asked you, coward? And I sure as hell wouldn't be bringin' ya here if ya didn't claim to have a message from Lady Emilia." "That makes two of us. It's not like I wanted to go out of my way and come here if she hadn't asked me to deliver a message. I haven't even found my own princess yet." Between Al's going his own way before the city hall fight and this most recent spat, he and Garfiel did not get along well. Subaru slipped between the two of them, holding Garfiel back as he started to snap at Al. "Quit making fun of someone not even half your age. And if you're still looking for Priscilla, I ran into her in the fourth district. She was there with Liliana, the Songstress, going around to all the shelters looking for that Schult kid." "Really? Weird how we ran into each other's masters like that. Was she all right?" "It looked like she was doing fine. She's a weird one." Subaru had originally chalked Priscilla up as unaffected by Sirius's Authority due to some inherent inability to empathize with others, but he'd eventually realized that wasn't really the case. Which meant either there were differences in how much it affected individuals, or else "We've gotten a little off track, but...do you really have a message from Emilia? Or was that just another one of your bad jokes?" Growing increasingly exasperated by the aimless conversation, Anastasia finally asked Al for the message directly. "The former," Al said as he scratched the visor of his helmet. "I wasn't lying about her waiting to be saved, either, but that's not the main point. Since she was up close and personal with the enemy, she seized the chance to gather some information about their positioning and managed to get word back to us." "She did what? ...Emilia-tan? She did something that smart?" "You're Lady Emilia's knight, are you not? You should take more care when speaking of your master," Julius scolded. Still, Al's message from Emilia was unexpected in any number of ways. Most importantly, the information she had passed along would be unfathomably useful. "Lust is in the control tower in the first district, and there is a white-haired Archbishop in the third district. She also said the white-haired guy didn't have any cultists with him. And that you have to take care of Beatrice." "Those are all pretty important, even that last bit...and that's a huge help, actually." Emilia had somehow managed to figure out where two of the Archbishops were stationed and had successfully passed her findings to Al. Knowing how impossible Regulus was to deal with, it wasn't hard for Subaru to imagine the dangers she must've braved in order to secure that information. But "How did you manage to get in contact with her? There's no way you could have just stumbled into each other out on the street." "Like I said before, it was just by chance. The stars were all aligned or something. I was out walking around in the city when I picked up a conversation mirror that the cultists were using. And it happened to connect to her." "How lucky can you be...?" Al's explanation was lacking, and it was clear he had no intention of being more forthcoming. But it was not an out-and-out lie, and it clearly wasn't a joke or just him shooting the breeze, either. Subaru could sense a certain seriousness to Al's response that made him trust it. "I know it's weird to say when I'm the one who brought this guy here, but are you seriously gonna take him at his word, General?" "I believe him. The last bit about being worried for Beatrice sounds exactly like something she'd say." *** "That's not enough to be sure, but...I'd like to think Emilia would do her best and not give up, even in this crappy situation." If she could be that single-mindedly positive and believe in Subaru despite everything that had happened, then he would give his all and try to save her in the same way. "Though, it would be nice if she didn't overdo it and try anything too reckless, either..." "I'm with you there, man. She's way too energetic for someone stuck behind enemy lines." Judging from Al's reaction after he'd actually spoken with Emilia, she was not at all acting the part of the damsel in distress, even if she seemed like she was born to play one in some theater show or movie. If anything, that unusual bravery was just like her, which made Subaru proud. "Anyway, that was her message, so my job's done here... So what are all you doin' here, and what's that huge metia for?" "Naturally, this is the headquarters for the take-back-the-city-from-the-cultists squad. And the metia back there is a broadcast device that can carry a voice to the entire city... It's our trump card for turning this thing around." "You don't say." Al chuckled at Subaru's self-assured response. On the other hand, Garfiel was shocked enough for the both of them. His sharp fangs were trembling as he looked at Subaru. "Did you think of something that can

turn everything around, General?" "Yeah, something that might have a decent shot Do you know how to use this metia, Anastasia? Or if not you, does anyone else?" Subaru asked as he looked over at it. "...Something like this wouldn't be too hard for me to get going," Anastasia responded. Subaru nodded to himself as he continued looking around the room. Garfiel and Al, plus Julius and Anastasia four people who were well suited for sounding out his idea. "As you all know, Wrath's Authority is currently putting everyone inside the shelters around the city on edge, and these places are ready to blow. It's okay as long as they're still just smoldering, but there's no telling when they might go off." "Yeah, you've got that right. I checked in on a bunch of them while lookin' for you, but..." Garfiel's expression clouded. He must have seen something unsettling in the short time that he'd been running around. It looked like he was struggling to stay calm, as if there was something bothering him besides his general concern for their friends. Subaru noticed it but decided to keep the focus on the current topic first. If things went the way Subaru was imagining, then whatever was bothering Garfiel might be resolved in the process, too. "Between the cultists' broadcast and the current state of the city...it's only expected that everyone's worries would balloon while they're stuck far from home and forced to hide out without any sign of things getting better. And that only gets worse when people are crammed into a small space together. The shelter system is actually stoking the fire...though, even without them, people would end up congregating anyway, I guess." "That is the most insidious aspect of Wrath's ability. It makes you feel more alone, eats away at your heart, and even threatens your life. It's absolutely unforgivable," Julius commented with quiet anger. Anastasia glanced over at him as she touched a hand to her fox scarf, then looked at Subaru. " I have a good idea what exactly it is you are thinking of doing." "Well, yeah. I mean, I did come all the way up here to make sure the metia was still functioning, after all," Subaru said, grinning awkwardly as he scratched his head. Al and Julius also caught on from their exchange and turned toward the metia in the back of the room. Garfiel alone hadn't figured it out yet, cocking his head in confusion. "What...? What are you planning to do, General?" "Basically, Bro is thinking of turnin' Wrath's Authority on its head." "Huh? What does that mean...?" " Sirius's ability is amplifying the unease that all the residents of the city are feeling. And Lust's nasty broadcast was what lit the fuse. In which case..." "We just need to inspire people's hopes the same way that the cultists preyed on their fear." Julius said, finishing the thought, and Subaru nodded in hearty agreement. Sirius's Authority shared and amplified people's emotions but that was all it did. While it could heighten existing emotions, it couldn't do anything to emotions that weren't already there. And if that was true, then if they could just paint over the unease and fear running rampant through the city and replace it with hope... "That hope would spread and fill the city instead." " ! Ohhhhh! That's right! If you do that, no one'll start killing one another! And all the people who've given up will feel better...!" Garfiel's eyes shone as he punched his fists together in front of his chest. There was a resounding crack as they hit. "Time to make it happen!" Garfiel grinned. "We've got the metia right here. No point wasting time. Let's do it now..." "Wait. It ain't that simple. It's not like I didn't consider that option, too." Anastasia cut in, putting the brakes on the idea. "Huh? Why are you stopping us? You know what's happening out there right now." "Yes, I do, and I've thought about it at least as much as you have. But that's exactly why I can't just say do as you please... How do you think the cultists will react when they hear the broadcast?" Garfiel gulped. "The floodgate opened after we attacked city hall, almost like it was meant as retaliation or like they wanted to show what happens when people go against them. If that happens again, they might not close the gates next time." "I'm worried about that, too...but there's something about that theory that doesn't quite fit." While agreeing with her concern, Subaru glanced at Julius. "Yes?" Julius's eyes narrowed. "Allow me to ask, what is it that seems off to you?" "...I was unconscious, so I can't really say for sure, but the person who got transformed into a black dragon carried Crusch and me away from Capella, and right after that the floodgate opened, and the water interrupted the fighting. That's when I fell into the water. Does that sound about right?" "Yes. That matches what I remember of the events. What of it?" "Doesn't the order of events seem kinda off? And which floodgate was it that opened?" "Which floodgate? If I recall, it was the one in the first quart... Ah." As she thought back to answer Subaru's question, Anastasia's eyes widened. A moment later, Julius also murmured, "Oh-ho." "The first district's gate was the one that opened. But if Lady Emilia's information is correct, then that would be..." "But Lust wasn't in the tower then, right? And the timing of the gate opening doesn't make sense at all. Because the flooding was what helped us escape, and then it closed again immediately after, right? It's true that the cultists don't act super consistently, but there should still be some logic to what they do." It would be foolish to write off everything the cultists did as irrational just because they were cultists. The Archbishops all acted on thought patterns that were incomprehensible to normal people, but each still followed their own twisted logic or set of rules. And in that context, opening the floodgate at that point just did not make any kind of sense at all. It was almost like someone else with a different goal had been behind it. Of course, it was possible that that whole line of thought was off base, but "They left the metia here without breaking it. And after we were gone, they even sent out another broadcast before leaving. They had plenty of time to break this if they wanted to." "So are you saying that us using the metia is part of their calculations? What could they possibly get out of that...?" Anastasia's voice trembled as she tried to understand. " They don't have a reason for anything," Al cut in with a husky voice. Then, as if regretting his unintentional remark, he clicked his tongue in annoyance. When he caught Subaru looking at him, he shook his head slowly. "They don't care one bit about anything we do. They've never lost, and they've never even considered the possibility. A dragon doesn't give a damn what some ants crawling around its feet are planning," Al spat. He sounded awfully confident in his analysis. *** Al looked away as if he had said something he shouldn't have. His behavior was very unusual lately. Was it because of Wrath's Authority? If so, what was being amplified? Anger? Sadness? The only thing Subaru could say for sure was that Al had given them advice about the Archbishop of Sloth before they had gone to the tower before. It was clear he knew something about the Witch Cult that he wasn't sharing. But even if he pressed Al on it, it was clear as day he wouldn't answer. Right as that thought crossed Subaru's mind " Let's go for the broadcast plan, then." "Anastasia..." Perhaps having reached the same conclusion as Subaru, Anastasia changed her vote. The main strike against the plan was that they didn't know how the cultists would react. But if she was satisfied on that point, then there was just one hurdle left. "So who do we get to do the broadcast, and what do they say to inspire the townsfolk?" "Who...?" Subaru furrowed his brow and looked over at the metia. The broadcast would have to inspire hope in the people around the city and blow away the unease eating at their hearts. The person best suited for that "Aren't you perfect for the job, Anastasia? You're a royal-selection candidate and famous around these parts to boot. If you tell them we're still fighting the good fight, then..." "It really pains me to say this, since it's practically admitting I'm not good enough, but I don't think you should really expect me saying somethin' here to have that big of an effect." *** Anastasia outright rejected Subaru's suggestion. He couldn't understand why, though. She was one of the candidates for the throne. It had been announced all throughout the country, so the people in Pristella would all recognize her. And she was famous enough that few could claim to be as well-known as she was in the whole kingdom, let alone in Pristella. "If all we were talking about was fame, then sure, I'd be a solid choice. If that was all it took, then I'd gladly say whatever I had to. But that just ain't how these things go. My name doesn't have the sway to rid people of their fear of the cultists. I'm better than someone they've never heard of, but only just." "B-but !" "That's not enough, and you know it. They need hope. The kind of hope that can blow away all their fears and convince them to stand up again." Subaru was speechless. Honestly, he wanted to tell her she wasn't being strong-willed enough and that she should reconsider. But it was painfully obvious that she was the one most disappointed in herself for her lack of power. *** Seeing her small fists white and trembling as she clenched them tight, Subaru tamped down his irritation. She hadn't spoken up without thinking. It was the opposite. After thinking it through from every angle, she had correctly judged that she was not the right person for the job. "If it was enough to just trick them, then it wouldn't be impossible. I could probably convince half the people listening. But that's not what you want to do, right? You're the one who didn't want to cut our losses before we even tried anything." "That's... In that case, what about Crusch? She had a gravitas to her words during the ceremony at the castle and during the White Whale fight, too. If it's her, then..." "...Yeah, if it were her, then that might be enough. But we're talking about the Crusch from back then. She doesn't have that same gravitas now, and in her current state, we can't drag her up here and stand her in front of the metia anyway." *** Subaru was the only one who hadn't been able to confirm her condition with his own eyes, so he didn't know what was causing Anastasia's pained expression or the pity drawn on Julius and Garfiel's faces. Ferris and Wilhelm's grief from earlier flickered at the back of his mind. "Then what about you, Julius? You could..." "Apologies, but I cannot meet your expectations." "Mm-hmm... I'm proud of my knight, and he's certainly an elite member of the Royal Guard. But how well do his personal accomplishments stack up when it comes to dealing with the Witch Cult? If we're just talking fame, then I'm more famous, and if you wanted skill at speaking, then I'd still be more likely to succeed." Crusch could not fill the role, and both Julius and Anastasia shot down the possibility of putting Julius forward. In that case, the only choices left were Wilhelm and Ricardo, or maybe if they could pull Priscilla or Liliana away from their tour of all

the shelters in the city "...Ummm..." As Subaru struggled with all the options being shot down after they'd finally come up with a way to deal with Wrath, Garfiel raised his hand. His clear green eyes widened as he looked straight at Subaru. " Is there any reason you can't do it, General?" "...Huh?" Subaru was completely caught off guard. He opened his mouth, not totally sure what he had just heard. He could not believe that Garfiel would joke around in a situation like this *** But that thought shattered when he was faced with the gleam in the boy's straightforward gaze. A blank formed as his thoughts crumbled. And Garfiel stepped firmly into that opening. "There's no one but you. Not a royal-selection candidate, not a knight from the Royal Guard, and not the famed Sword Devil. You. I mean...it's obvious." "Garfiel..." "You're the one who has already defeated a Witch Cult Archbishop you defeated Sloth. No one else's got that to their name. And right now, that means more...it means more than anythin'." There was passion in Garfiel's voice, and his gaze grew gradually more intense. Gritting his teeth, he looked up at Subaru pleadingly. "Here's a man who's already beat one Archbishop in this town occupied by cultists. There can't be anyone better for the job. Maybe the Sword Saint Reinhard if he were here, but there's only Subaru Natsuki! You're the only one, General!" Garfiel spread his arms, almost howling. "Ngh!" Overwhelmed by the force of his words, Subaru unconsciously took a step back, bumping into someone standing right behind him. Glancing back, he saw a tall, slender figure supporting him. It was Julius. He looked at Subaru with the same straightforward eyes as Garfiel and nodded. "I agree. If we're going to do this, then you're the only choice that makes sense, Natsuki." "Not you too..." Behind Julius, Anastasia was burying her face in her scarf. There was a swirl of indignation and annoyance at herself for her own inability to play the part, but it was also colored by a silent understanding because she wanted to protect the city whatever the cost. Having understood that point at last, Subaru finally realized the huge burden of hope that had just landed on his shoulders. "You too, Julius? Are you serious?" "...Do you remember back at the castle, your outburst at the knights and when I defeated you on the training grounds?" Julius asked. Subaru caught his breath and then slowly exhaled. "That moment is a finalist in my top three for regret and humiliation. I'll never forget it for as long as I live." "I remember it well, too. Your baseless proclamation, the disgraceful way you besmirched the knightly order...but I also remember you joining in the Battle of the White Whale after that, and when you managed to defeat Sloth as well." *** "If there is anyone in this city whose voice could ease the fear and unease of the people...then I believe that person must be none other than you. I know that if you ever asked for aid, I would gladly be there to heed your call and lend my hand. And there would be many others who would answer the call as well. Garfiel would surely stand at the head, and I would of course be there, too. You would do well to remember that." This was an oath sworn out of an incredibly powerful sense of trust. *** Subaru lost his bearings, shocked to his core, and he struggled to breathe at the level of trust he'd been granted. Swiveling his head, he saw Anastasia. She nodded. Turning again, he looked to Garfiel. He flashed a toothy grin and held out his fist. Julius's eyes had never left Subaru. Turning to face Subaru head-on, he nodded elegantly. How badly can you overestimate someone? *** He had felt this way before as well, when interacting with Wilhelm and Crusch and Reinhard. They were misunderstanding who he was. They were badly mistaken. They were all far more worthy of praise. They worked far, far harder than he did. They were indescribably nobler. And the way they all praised Subaru, reached out to him, and treated him as a friend as if it were the obvious, natural thing to do that had always tormented him. These people he respected, people who treated him as an equal, people whom he could never hope to match... He didn't want them to acknowledge him like that. It made him anxious. He was sure that, at any moment, his real self would slip out and he would just end up disappointing them. He would only disappoint them and make them regret everything when they realized that the real Subaru was pathetic, weak, helpless. He had always believed that. And yet... " General." Garfiel, Anastasia, and Julius were all expecting so much from Subaru. Even though he was always so desperate, always on the verge of being crushed under the weight of their expectations, they were adding more and more to the load, as if his desperation was not enough. That...that was the path Subaru Natsuki walked. The path of a boy who had once sworn to be a single girl's hero. Somewhere along the way, he realized that he couldn't stay just her hero. He'd needed to " If you're not sure, then just leave it be, Bro." Subaru's face tensed as a gruff voice called out. Looking up, Subaru was greeted by a gloomy gaze. "You're spoutin' that crap now of all times?!" Garfiel exploded. Rushing in, Garfiel grabbed Al's thick neck, as if to say he could snap it at any time if he wanted, glaring daggers at him all the while. "You shut your damn mouth! What do you know about the general?! Nobody asked you!" "I could say the same to you. Is saying 'General' supposed to cast some magic spell? That the name of some superman who can solve any problem?" Al fired back coldly. *** Al touched Garfiel's arm. Garfiel's expression suddenly changed, and he quickly pulled away. Garfiel was clearly not sure why he had reacted that way as Al leaned into his face, headbutting Garfiel with his black helm. "Looks like you're leaning on him pretty hard, but is he really all that special? You could beat him in a straight-up brawl, and when it comes to smarts, he wouldn't beat that young lady or her knight over there." "Who asked you? Don't talk about the general that way! You don't know just how much he..." "If only he could just put the whole world on his shoulders and keep on rollin'. Now, that would be somethin' to see. Awe-inspiring, even. Just what you'd want from the star at center stage. But your average background character can't carry that kinda weight. I can't, and Bro can't, either. And now you're forcing him to take on this massive burden...for what? You ever think about how he must feel?" That last line caused Garfiel's expression to tremble. He had seemingly realized something, and the powerful momentum he had been riding dissipated. Al pulled back and looked over Garfiel's head at Subaru. "Hey, Bro, that girl is the most important thing to you right now, isn't she?" There was a hint of disappointment in Al's voice. As if he knew the answer already and had no expectations of Subaru at all. *** Anastasia and Julius were silent, watching the two of them. They had already said what they had to say. All that was left was to leave it to Subaru's judgment. "I I...I... Ge-gen..." Garfiel looked up and then immediately back down again, unsure what to say. He was hesitating. He'd started to call Subaru General like always, but he could not finish saying it when he thought about the meaning it held. And the one person there who had no expectations of Subaru at all continued. "I'm gonna do what I have to for my princess, for Priscilla. I'm just gonna leave everything else for later. If I can just protect her and myself and Schult, then that's enough for me." "Al..." "You should do the same, Bro. Just focus on that little lady... Save Emilia, and that'll have to be enough. The cultists are just vermin that'll pop up again somewhere else even if you go out of your way to exterminate them here. They're like a demon that just keeps coming back to haunt you. Getting involved with them'll only make things worse," Al said, his voice wavering a little uncontrollably, as if he was clinging to something. Al's suggestion was one possible answer. Subaru was in complete agreement with him about the cultists being vermin. There was nothing to be gained by getting too deeply involved with them. There was no denying that. But that was not the choice before him. The cultists had already gotten involved with them. Subaru was going to have to act in order to deal with the sparks they had set off. From Al's point of view, though, that would just lead to the question "Why?" Naturally, it was true that the situation was bad with Emilia held captive. But even if she was not involved, Subaru would not be able to choose to run away. That was because... "I wouldn't need a reason to pull a kid back to the sidewalk if they wandered out on a red light. I wouldn't even think twice... It's probably something like that." *** Al caught his breath at that. Only Al, though. The meaning was lost on the other three, but Subaru was satisfied that he had gotten his point across. "I'm not going to worry about the little things. I'm here, so I want to do the most I can to help. I know full well there are lots of things I can't do. But still." It was surely something Subaru Natsuki should not do. " If you're going to do this, Bro, then you're going to be carrying the full weight of that heroic delusion." Heroic delusion. Al had said that when he had first entered the room. He kept his eyes on Subaru to the end. "You can't afford to lose. You have to win. You'll be fighting while carrying everyone's hopes and expectations, all while leading them to some happy future. If you make that choice now, you'll have to follow through." "...Not being able to afford to lose is how it's always been for me." "The weight ain't the same at all. If you lose, then it won't just end with your loss, Bro." He couldn't understand what Al was getting at. It was always like that for Subaru. Every time he fought, losing meant risking far more than just one fight. It meant losing everything that he wanted to protect. It was like that every single time. There was never a time it had not been like that. If he could lose without losing anything, then he would never fight in the first place. The reason he still fought was that there were things he could only protect by fighting. And right here and now, those things were many and enormous. "That's all? That's how it's always been." *** Exhaling, Subaru made up his mind. His heart, which had been pounding badly before, was calm, and his eyes were clearer than ever. Al caught his breath. Subaru could tell he was dumbfounded even without seeing his face. "You don't have to hold back, Garfiel. Just call me what you always do." " Ah." "It was embarrassing at first, but at this point it just feels right. I can't promise I'll be able to live up to your expectations, but I'll do everything I can." Subaru smiled at Garfiel, who was floundering in front of him. For some reason, it felt like he was smiling particularly naturally. Seeing that, Garfiel caught his breath. "General... Ahh! General! You are definitely my general...!" Garfiel's fists clenched, and his fangs

trembled as he repeated the nickname like an incantation. "You aren't making any sense at all." Smiling wryly, Subaru turned back to Anastasia and Julius. "Let's do this, Anastasia. If you think my voice can reach the people, then I'll do it." "...You sure? If you choose to be the symbol of hope all by yourself..." "It won't change what I'm going to do in the end. Hero has a nice ring to it. Well, actually, it's embarrassing as hell, and calling yourself a hero is sort of..." Subaru scratched his nose in a show of bashfulness. "But if it's playing the role of the hero, then I already decided to do that a year ago. If I don't follow through now, I could never show my face to those people looking up to me. And I wouldn't be able to keep up with the person I'm trying to catch." " If you say so. No helpin' it, I guess; boys are always tryin' to look cool." Anastasia smiled hopelessly and held out her fist in front of Subaru's chest. He answered in kind by holding out his fist and bumping it against hers. It was proof they were on the same wavelength, even though they had messed it up once downstairs. "Don't laugh if I screw up the lines. And don't sigh, either. In fact, you'd be doing me a huge favor if you just don't listen at all." "I won't laugh, nor will I sigh. And I shall listen closely until the very end," Julius shot back. "Tch." Then Subaru turned his head to Al. "Thanks for worrying about me, Al Thanks to that I was able to find my resolve." He said nothing more. And Al probably did not want to hear that thanks, either. But Subaru had felt it was necessary to at least say that much, so he had. *** Subaru turned to face the subject of all that debate: the metia waiting in silence at the other end of the room. He thought about what he should say while standing in front of it. Naturally, he did not have the contents of the speech in mind yet. He didn't even know if there was a right answer. But for some reason there was no unease or confusion. It was all rather mysterious. Perhaps because in his mind it really was the same as always. Because he knew that he was just going to have to try to look good, like always. 5 A gloomy silence had fallen over the shelter. *** The air was filled with faint, stifled sobs and the restless rustling of people unable to hold still. A girl hugged her knees and looked down as she heard those noises unpleasantly breaking the silence. She was a small girl with blond hair. Resting her chin on her white knees, she drew closer to the weight beside her the young boy leaning against her left shoulder. He was her younger brother and had been sobbing just moments earlier. Now he was exhausted and had slipped into a fitful slumber. She started to caress her brother's head, but she paused, afraid of waking him up. She was sure that if he could sleep, then it would be better for him to get some rest. Staring into her brother's tearstained face, she prayed that he could at least find peace in his dreams, because the world outside of dreams was far too cruel for her brother, who was still so young. It had been half a day since the broadcast announcing that the control towers for Pristella's floodgates had been captured. She and her brother had been out in the city plaza that morning when they heard the announcement. The announcement itself had been hard to believe, and the voice making the proclamation had sounded almost like it was chanting a hideous curse. Scared for their parents, the girl had taken her frightened little brother by the hand and fled to a nearby shelter with the adults in the plaza. Faced with the unexpected, they had done as they had always been told and sought shelter. That was the result of the instructions that were broadcast every morning. If she was being honest, the little girl never really listened closely to anything in the morning broadcasts other than the Songstress's singing, but she was astonished at the adults' foresight and planning. But everything that had happened after they had fled to the shelters had been too unpredictable even for the adults. The appearance of the Witch Cult. Occupation of the control towers. Cryptic threats and demands and then the flooding that came not long after. The vicious woman's voice had riled up unease and hatred in the hearts of all the people cowering in the shelters. Her unbearable voice and unsettling words had been more than powerful enough to sink the whole city into despair. They were locked away in a gloomy shelter with no way to contact anyone outside. There were no signs of anything getting better, and one of the floodgates had even been opened for a second, forcing them to hear the sound of all that water crashing over the city. The shelters had originally been constructed as a countermeasure against intermittent flooding, so there had not been many injuries or deaths due to the earlier flood but that meant very little to the people still cowering in fear. The voices that had encouraged everyone at first had gradually weakened and then started to grow uneasy and angry at the silence, and before long there had been people making no effort to hide their rage, which had spread, creating a mood of aimless disagreement and annoyance, becoming a silent madness that scratched at everyone, spreading everywhere like wildfire. And then the flooding had snapped the last thread of their nerves, bringing on the collapse. A swelling, violent mood filled the air, a dangerous atmosphere that could quickly devolve from people glaring at one another to their yelling at one another to their hurting one another to their even killing one another, all with just a single spark. "Agh." The only reason it had not exploded yet was that right as their nerves were strained to their limit, the girl's little brother had started crying. The seething adults had still had the good sense and pride not to be violent in front of a sobbing child. But even then, they had come dangerously close to the edge. In the end, though, the explosion had been delayed by her brother's crying. And the girl had cried softly as she patted her brother's head, hugging him from behind. After that, there had been no more quarrels in their shelter. But that was only holding thanks to a fragile equilibrium. Everyone knew it was just a temporary respite. If another buildup began, a child's tears would not be enough to keep the peace. And because they knew that, the people in the shelter who should have been working together were all staying away from one another, trying to protect themselves by not provoking anyone else. For their own sakes for everyone else's sake, it was best for everyone to not draw any unwanted attention, to remain apart and isolated. They waited for time to pass, desperation on their faces. Trusting themselves to the faint, fragile hope that something, anything might get better. *** The girl suddenly looked up, noticing an omen of that change. Waiting quietly, eagerly for news of any development, the girl noticed a slight change in the air. Several people around her looked up for the first time in hours, too, noticing the same thing she had. It was a familiar feeling to anyone living in Pristella. The precursor of a broadcast by the metia at city hall. Sensing that, the girl tensed, holding back the urge to vomit welling in her throat as best she could. She had wanted a change, but she'd meant a change for the better. A broadcast could only mean the terrifying Witch Cult was about to say something again. What new impossibility would that earsplitting voice demand of the city while spewing so much bile? But the girl's the people's pessimistic prediction was " Um, can everyone actually hear me through this? Mic test, mic test. One, two. One, two." turned on its head by the voice of a young man who sounded almost like he was playing around. *** Unlike in the last two broadcasts, this was the voice of a boy who sounded unsure of himself. Not the familiar, famous man from the daily broadcasts or the boisterous Songstress this was a voice she had never heard before. The girl's eyes widened, and so did the adults' as they glanced at one another, wondering what was happening. But not noticing their reactions, the boy spoke several more times, making sure that his voice was heard by everyone across the entire city, before finally clearing his throat once he was confident it was working. And then "It looks like this is actually broadcasting, then. First of all, let me apologize for surprising you. I imagine a lot of you were worried or steeling yourself wondering what you would be told next. But please don't worry. I'm not a member of the Witch Cult." "...It's not the Witch Cult..." The volume of the boy's voice was wavering slightly as he used a metia he had never handled before. But the shock at what he was saying easily outweighed that, and no one bothered dwelling on that small point. The people's gloomy expressions started to change as they looked up at the broadcast echoing down from on high. "A-are we...saved?" someone murmured, as the faint seed of hope they had been holding on to started to grow. The hope conveyed by that murmur spread to the whole shelter to the whole city. It was natural. If someone who was not a cultist was using the metia at city hall, then that meant that someone had to have taken back the building from the invaders. If there was someone who could reconquer city hall, then they could seize the control towers, too "Run all of those hooligans out of here...!" "And I'm sorry for getting your hopes up, but the cultists are not gone yet. We've taken back city hall, but they still hold the control towers. Their demands have not been met yet, and there is still a danger of the city being flooded. I'm sorry, but you deserve to know the truth." *** However, their fragile hope was shattered by none other than the boy on the broadcast. The way he spoke, it was almost like he was reading the minds of the people in the shelters. It seemed a cruel thing to do, to smother the seed of a faint hope so immediately. The eyes that had been filled with hope clouded again as they were told that their belief that they would be freed from their fears was mistaken. And soon, their anger was pointed not at the cultists, who were like a natural disaster, but at the boy speaking to them. " I'm sorry." But he had also anticipated the masses' venting at him. "Where are you all right now? I imagine most of you are in the shelters, but there are probably some of you who didn't go to the shelters. I'm sure you are all feeling worried and anxious. I can understand feeling scared and wanting to just curl up. And I'm sure there are some of you wondering who I think I am, going and getting everyone's hopes up for nothing." *** "I'm just a regular guy. I've been tossed around by this crazy situation just like all of you. I'm on the verge of being crushed by the madness of it all. Just like you. My knees are quaking in fear. Just like you. That's all I am. I actually had a bit of an argument with the people telling

me to do this before I agreed to talk to you like this. I still think this is too big, too important a job for me. If I'm being honest, I think there are probably other people who would have been more suited to talking to all of you like this. In fact, I'm sure of it." His voice was wavering as he spoke, as if showing that he really did understand how they all felt in a sea of fear and unease. He was open and honest, sharing his timidity, his insecurity. Everyone listening, the girl included, was past the point of suspicion or disappointment and could only feel confused. Everyone wanted a little hope. Even if it was fake, even if it was fragile, they wanted something to hold on to. So why was he the one standing in front of the metia? He'd said it himself, hadn't he? There must be someone else better for it. So then, why was he ? "But right now, it's just me. I'm the one here speaking to you. People way more special than I am told me that I should do this. That there was a meaning in me doing it... My voice is trembling, isn't it? I'm not the sort of guy meant to be standing in front of a crowd. I don't have the words or the charisma to lead everyone. I'm weak, pathetic, and even in a moment as important as this, I can't help wanting to run away..." His tone gradually sank, drawing everyone listening gradually to the depths of despair. His weak, hoarse voice grated on their hearts, which were already tortured by fear, causing their stomachs to constrict. If he had been somewhere they could reach, they would have wanted to shut him up as soon as possible. "Sister..." At some point, her younger brother had woken up, and he called out to her. She hugged her brother tight and held him close. Desperately clinging to him so that the weak, penetrating voice from the metia would not reach his ears, so that he would not be crushed by that hopelessness and despair. And while she was protecting her brother, her own ears were exposed, forcibly swept along on the path of the boy's weakness as he continued. "...and hoping that I can just plug my ears and ignore everything while someone else takes care of everything because I don't know what to do..." "Nooo..." The girl closed her eyes tight, shaking her head, trying to keep away the grief and despair. The boy's words described exactly what everyone in the shelters, everyone in the city cowering in fear of the cultists was feeling in the depths of their hearts. That was the weakness eating away at the girl's heart and the cowardice that had taken root in the depths of the adults' hearts and the fear that plagued her little brother's mind. This was the despair that no one would be able to fix. She could not bear the boy's voice forcing her to face the unresolvable reality in front of her. It was so unbearable, so terrifying... " But even so. Even with all that, I can't run away from this. So I'm going to fight. That's the sort of person I am." She could hardly believe what he said, his voice still wavering. " Eh?" She opened her eyes and looked up, sure that she had just misheard him. She could not see the voice's owner. But she did see other faces around the room looking up with the same shock she was feeling. There was a beat of silence as he chose his words and got his voice under control. And then "Let me ask you again: Where are you right now? Did you flee to a shelter? Are you hiding in your home? Are you all alone and scared? Is someone else there with you? Is that person someone precious to you? Even if you didn't know them before, are they familiar now after all these harrowing hours together?" *** "I know it's not my place to say this, and it might be difficult for you, but please try not to wall yourself off. When you are all alone, it's easy to fill your head with all sorts of meaningless thoughts. I know, I've been there, too. So please try not to be by yourself. Stay together with someone else. And also " He inhaled, a faint hesitation in the back of his voice. "If you can, try to look that person in the eye." *** As if led on by his words, the girl slowly looked down into her arms. Her brother was looking up at her. She met his quavering, uncertain green eyes. "Whose face did you look at? Was it someone special to you or someone you had never met before a few hours ago? Or maybe it was a friend... They probably look terrible right now. Was their face teary? Pained? I doubt anyone is smiling right now. No, maybe there are some people. Trying their best to put on a smile to keep you from worrying. If they are, then they are truly amazing people. If someone precious to you smiled for you like that, you should be proud. And then you should compare their expression now to the smile you remember." Her brother's eyes were wet and weary. He was all rumpled and looked like he might burst into tears again at any moment. And seeing herself reflected in her brother's eyes, she saw that she had become expressionless and had a vacant look on her face. " Are you really okay with things staying like this?" "...No..." A soft reply slipped from the girl's lips. It was weak and faint. A voice she could barely hear herself. And yet... "I'm not. I can't forgive it. I don't want to accept it." The boy's voice continued strongly, almost as if he had heard her. "I have people I care about. I have comrades who mean the world to me. And I can't forgive the people who made them suffer and feel so sad. And I don't want them to force themselves to smile for me, either. It's enough to make me want to scream. I'm not stupid; I know her real smile is way more beautiful than that." "Sister..." "I can't just let it end like this. I could never live it down if I just gave up now. There's no way I can let things stay this way. They're the ones who are wrong, and I'm not going to sit back and let the bad guys win. I don't want to admit I lost to them." "Fredo..." She gently pulled her brother closer as he called out to her, pressing her forehead to his. It was warm. The warmth of life. She could not tell whether the heat was coming from her brother or her, but she could feel it nonetheless. "I want to run away, but I can't. I want to cry, but I can't just cry. The enemy is dangerous, but I don't want to just lose. So I'll fight. I know full well that I'm weak, that I'm not smart. But I'll still fight. Because they are the ones who are wrong. I'll fight to prove to the people I love that the ones who made them so sad were wrong. That's why I'm fighting and I want you all to fight, too." *** Her breath caught in her throat as it became tight. She felt pathetic for her moment of weakness. Because the tremor in his voice disappeared, and she could hear in his voice the path that he was pointing to. She understood his feelings. The meaning of his words was painfully clear to her. That was exactly how she felt, too. She wanted to fight. She wanted to run the bad guys out of the city if she could. But she and her little brother were small and young. They couldn't do anything. They were powerless, ignorant, weak, so there wasn't " Please don't misunderstand me, though." But the boy's voice provided shelter as she berated herself for her weakness. "When I say I want you to fight, I don't mean rush out into the streets with whatever weapons you can find. In fact, please don't do anything so rash. I don't mean you should form a mob and go running around looking for cultists to fight. What I want is for you to keep your head up." "Keep my...head up..." "Nothing changes when you stare down at your feet. You can't burn a hole in the ground no matter how long you look at it, and even if you could, that wouldn't help anyone... So please, keep your head up. Keep your eyes in front of you." Raising her head, she looked not at her knees or her brother's blond hair but at the shelter. And as she looked around, she met the gazes of others who had also been struck by despair. They had all instinctively looked up at the boy's urging, just like she had. "If you look around you, I'm sure you'll meet someone else's gaze. They are feeling the same unease, the same desire to just run away from it all, but...they also don't want to lose. Your loved ones, and the person whose eyes you just met, and if you count yourself, that's already three people. And depending on where you are, it might be even more people than that." Like he said, when she looked up, she could see several different people's faces. The feelings in their eyes were complicated and muddled, and her eyes probably looked the same to them. But somewhere along the way she'd stopped feeling like she was just cowering in fear. "I hope you understand now that you are not alone. That feeling is a powerful thing even all by itself. Not wanting to see the sad face of someone you care about. Not wanting to look lame to the person whose eyes you just met. I can't be the only one who's that shallow and stubborn, can I?" *** The voice was pleading with them, calling out to them, trying to raise their spirits and inspire their courage, and yet it sounded to the girl almost like the boy was looking for something to cling to himself. And finally, she realized. His heart had not changed at all from the very beginning of the broadcast. Even as he hated his own weakness, even as he regretted the things he lacked, he had not given up. He talked about himself that was the only weapon he had. And he spoke to everyone about the things he was sure they all had in common. "I want to believe. I'm weak. And pathetic. But I haven't given up yet. Please let me believe that I'm not the only weakling who doesn't know how to give up." It was a cowardly voice and a cruel request. In a situation where everyone was pleading for help, here he was, shamelessly pleading with them, begging them all to give him something to believe in "Or am I really the only one?" His voice faltered and lost confidence. No, there had never been any confidence in his voice from the start. Irritation welled. Stop it! Even if she did not know what to shout "...No..." It was as soft as a gnat's buzz, just a faint voice that barely crossed her lips. She would not reach him with a voice that soft. Louder. She had to answer his question. For the weak guy on the other end who was also afraid of being alone "Am I the only one who can still keep going...? Who still wants to fight?" *** The girl's eyes flared as she screamed. The voice carried through the shelter. And her voice was not the only one. *** She and another person who had

raised their head had responded. Their cries struggled against the sadness, the weakness, and the fear that rested in their hearts. If that had been what the boy was planning, then they had played right into his hands. But why should she care?! If that weak, trembling voice, that unreliable rebuke, that meager encouragement, and that trust desperately clinging to faith alone had been nothing but a cheap performance, if he really had played them that perfectly, then there was no reason to feel bad about falling for it. But if it wasn't an act, if that had been what he truly believed, warts and all, then they couldn't let him stand alone. "I'm not, right?" *** "You can still fight, right? You won't let the weakness consume you, right?" "I won't lose... I don't want to lose!" There was a fire in her chest now. Her jaw clenched as an emotion different from anger welled up inside her. And she was not the only one. All around her were people swallowing that same feeling as it turned into an inferno of emotion. Just minutes earlier, all of their hearts had been consumed by unease, but now a different, fierier emotion was uniting them. "If the person beside you is special to you, then hold their hand and have faith. If your neighbor is someone you don't know, then give them a nod and do your best to stand together. Do your best to fight so that neither you nor they break. And as long as you all don't give in, I'll keep fighting without giving up, too. I'll fight...and I'll win." *** They were in a shelter far away from city hall, after all. No matter how much they raised their voices and shouted, there was no way their yells would reach him. And yet it sounded like there was a sense of relief in his voice, as if he had heard their cries, and his voice quivered as he made that declaration. I'll fight...and I'll win. No one doubted he could do it. They absolutely trusted he could make it come true. Just like he had trusted that they would not give in to despair. They believed that the boy would be victorious in the most dangerous battle to come. How could they believe that? Because his voice was sure " I am Subaru Natsuki, the spirit user who defeated the Witch Cult Archbishop of Sloth." There was a stir when he revealed his identity. It was a proclamation that the girl did not understand, but the people around her did. The shock was enormous, but not in a negative way. First was astonishment, and then understanding and finally hope and trust began to spread explosively, swallowing up the girl's heart in the swell of emotions. "My comrades and I will take care of the cultists in the city! So please, trust us and keep fighting, too. Hold the hand of someone precious to you and give that feeling of weakness a good thrashing. And as for the rest..." *** "...just leave everything else to me!" Voices cried out as a singular hope multiplied and spread. Looking down at her brother cradled in her arms, she could see hope lighting up his green eyes, too. Confirming that, she hugged him tight. His arms timidly wrapped around her waist, too, and she looked up at the ceiling as she felt the warmth of his hug. The boy who could not hide his own fear, his own unease, who could not hide anything from them, had sworn he would still fight, carrying the hopes and expectations of all the people in the city on his back until the very end. She did not know his face, but in her heart, he was a picture-book hero, and she closed her eyes as if praying that he would be blessed with every good fortune she could imagine. Because he would surely break if she didn't. Because he was just your average, everyday boy who was struggling against the outrageous for someone precious to him. 6 " Haaaaah." Moving away from the pipe organ–shaped metia, Subaru took a deep breath. Wiping away the sweat on his brow, the expression of all his worries and nervousness, he suddenly realized his legs were trembling and his jaw was tensed, and he hoped that his current mess of emotions had not come out in his voice. "Ahhh, that was rough..." Subaru sighed as he rolled his neck at the unexpectedly heavy exhaustion. Honestly, he had lost himself in talking partway through and could not remember the details of what he'd said. It was not all gone, but parts of it were fuzzy. Had he actually conveyed everything that had been in the draft note that Anastasia had given him? "Huh?" As he contemplated what he had done, he suddenly realized that the room was awfully quiet. The people who had been watching in the room, Anastasia and everyone else, were silent. *** Anastasia, Garfiel, Julius, and Al had all been watching, and somewhere during the broadcast, Ricardo had joined them. They were a group not known for being short on words normally, and yet they were all silent. Subaru could only assume he must have really badly screwed up the broadcast. " Natsuki." "Ugh! I'm sorry! I swear I'll do better next time!" "Huh? Why are you apologizing? You really are an oddball." All wound up from self-doubt, Subaru reflexively started to apologize, but Anastasia just laughed in confusion as she elegantly touched her hand to her cheek. "It's a bit of a strange question to ask after that, but are you by any chance ?" "Am I what?" "A former con artist or something?" "Where'd that come from?! As you can see, I'm just your average, everyday schoolboy... Well, I guess in a sense, I'm not even that!" "Ah, that's not what I mean. I didn't mean it as an insult. The way you wound them up was just too perfect... Bringin' the audience down low and then liftin' them up to a new high. You had the process down cold like you've been doing it for years," Anastasia said, waving her hand as she nodded in a combination of admiration and praise. "Huh?" Subaru cocked his head. "I don't know anything about that. Honestly, my head went fuzzy somewhere in the middle, and I had no clue what I was saying. I only remember up to when the note started looking blurry, and I stopped trying to read from it." "You pretty much totally ignored my draft from that point on. And you even started going on some tangent that was totally different from what we discussed beforehand. Do you have any clue how much I was worrying watching you from over here...?" "Ugh... I'm really sorry about that! But wasn't it basically the gist of the draft? If it was that far off, you would have stopped me, right?" The note that he had forgotten in the heat of the moment had been filled with Anastasia's negotiation techniques and the little mood-lightening jokes and witty remarks that Subaru had put in to clear away the fear the people of the city were feeling. Even if he had messed up reading it back, it should be fine as long as he had hit the high notes "Not much point in dwelling on it now, but you didn't really even touch on anything we wrote down. Not even a little bit." "Eh?" Anastasia breezily denied Subaru's optimistic view. Subaru stiffened, and he looked around the room for confirmation from the others. But the four other people all confirmed what Anastasia had said in their own ways. "Lady Anastasia is correct, Subaru," Julius said, stepping out and tilting his chin austerely. "Your speech was certainly not what we discussed beforehand. In particular, I was of a mind to press you on why you did not reveal that you had defeated Sloth until near the end, when that was supposed to be shared early on." "Wait, really?! If I didn't even say that much, then I was just some nobody for most of that! If it was that bad, you should have stopped me! Even if it messes up the mood, if you thought it would be better to start over, then you should have stopped me!" "Start over? That would be absurd." Subaru could only judge that he had screwed up badly enough to ruin the whole point of the broadcast, but Julius shook his head with a serious look on his face. It almost seemed like he was feeling some sort of respect for Subaru. "It was a splendid speech." "...Huh?" Subaru stared at him dubiously. "Forgetting the contents of the draft was not a problem at all. You managed to come through even better than we could have hoped when you put it in your own words. I have nothing but praise for your performance. I cannot help but see in you the same Subaru I witnessed during the battles with the White Whale and Sloth." Julius hailed him with praise that was far more than he deserved. It was unlike him, and Subaru could sense a silent excitement radiating from the Finest of Knights. And when he realized that, it immediately felt absurd to him. "Don't make fun of me. For a while now, it's felt like your jokes aren't funny at all." "If it sounds like a joke to you, then it is because you think too little of yourself. But that is also part of why you were able to give the speech that you did. That was something that no one other than you could have done." "You really are just taunting me, aren't you?" Julius's unbending stance even in such an urgent situation annoyed Subaru. He was used to Julius's sarcastic jabs, but this was not the time for another pointless back-and-forth. If he had screwed up the speech, then they needed to do something else quickly. "That was supposed to quell everyone's fears, so it would be a problem if it made everyone even more unsure. Someone else should do the next one..." "There should be limits to how self-deprecating you can be, right? It's not like anyone else enjoys hearing it," Anastasia cut in, annoyance blazing in the backs of her eyes as she glared sharply at Subaru. "It looks like you really don't remember it at all, so I'll come out and say it for you your speech was perfect. Much better than what I thought up. You're a natural demagogue." "The lady's right! Yeaaah, that was sure somethin'! You really have a way with words! That was smooth, Bro! With a gilded tongue like that, you could get all the ladies or talk a kid out of his snack." "I would never take candy from a baby! And 'demagogue' sure doesn't sound like a compliment, either!" Subaru's eyes flared at Anastasia and Ricardo's explanations. But the two of them just glanced at each other and then shrugged, seemingly without any ill will. It half looked as if they had practiced their timing, but they also did not seem to be messing around with Subaru. It was clear from Garfiel's expression, too, from the way he was holding his breath and peering at Subaru's face. "What did you think, Garfiel? How was the broadcast?" "...That's why you're my general. I wasn't wrong to follow you out of the Sanctuary. That's what I thought." "...Your expectations are always just a little bit too heavy for me..." "But it's 'cause of what you always do to earn them," Garfiel said, breaking into a toothy grin. "Then I guess I should quit trying to escape responsibility," Subaru said, scratching his head. Everything that had happened since he started speaking into the metia still didn't really feel real. "I sort of feel like I said something along those lines during the speech, too." "You did." Anastasia laughed,

rubbing her scarf. "If anything, I'm worried you inspired them too much, and people might try to do something unwise. Even we felt the effects up here, thanks to Wrath's ability." "When you put it that way, it sounds more and more like a lie... If it were true, that would be some blessing of eloquence–level performance," Subaru joked as he looked over at Al, who had started moving to the corner of the room at some point. Noticing his gaze, Al silently looked away and made a point of slumping his shoulders. Al had been against the broadcast, so if he was reacting like that, then that had to mean Subaru really had pulled it off like everyone was saying. "It will be a big help if the people can calm down a little bit now. Is there anything else we can do?" "If you want anything more than that, all that's left is to get rid of the source of all this. They're gonna know we're coming, after your great performance." "Even so, they're still just going to do whatever they have planned out. I guess we'll have to count on their irrational thinking when it comes to that, but we have to try to settle things as quickly as possible." Regardless of how well the broadcast had gone, the cultists still had the ability to destroy the city. We have to kick their asses for sure this time before they can do what they came to do. "And in order to do that, we need to take down all four control towers at the same time, huh?" "There are four Archbishops and two powerful people helping them. There's the demi-beast problem to deal with, too, so we're gonna have to figure out how to divide our forces to deal with 'em." The key to saving the city was capturing all four control towers simultaneously, which meant concentrating all their fighting power in one group like they had during the first raid on city hall would be hard. If they targeted the control towers one by one, then one of the other Archbishops could just open the floodgates. Subaru could not imagine them managing to successfully pull off that gamble four times in a row. There were six people on the enemy's side. Meanwhile, Crusch was down for the count. They were low on cards and pieces to play "Then how about adding a trump card to the field?" *** As Subaru was going over the numbers they had, a voice suddenly interrupted him. Spinning around, he saw a figure standing in the doorway. Subaru's eyebrows rose, and then he exhaled and flashed a wry smile. "Disappear for a few hours and now you think you're a trump card?" "Certainly not in comparison to the man who took on the task of addressing the masses... And here I was, sure that I didn't have any heroes for friends. I guess that was an oversight on my part." "I don't think that really fits me, either." Subaru shrugged and walked over and gave the newcomer a high five. As he saw their lighthearted exchange, Garfiel's eyes gleamed. "Bro!! You were okay?!" "I was running for dear life, but somehow I managed to get out alive." It was Otto Suwen, their missing friend looking worse for wear but seemingly uninjured. Otto held his hand up for another high five as Garfiel dashed over, but Garfiel leaped into him at full speed, wrapping his arms around Otto's waist. "Wah?! Wh-what?! Wh-what is it, Garfiel?! Were you really that happy to...? Owww! Ow, ow, ow! Too strong!" "Aahhh, thank goodness... Not that I was worried about you at all, though...!" "Y-you aren't very convincing... Ngh..." Just like with Subaru, Garfiel rejoiced with all his might at reuniting with Otto. After a little bit, and after Garfiel released him, Otto steadied his breath and then flashed a wry smile. "Still, though, I'm glad to see the both of you safe. You are both far more stubborn and resilient than I am, so I wasn't too worried." "You don't say. Actually, I wasn't that worried about you, either. I wonder why?" "Hard to say. I guess that's just Otto's natural virtue?" "Come on, it doesn't have to be as much as Garfiel, but you should have been at least a little worried about me, Mr. Natsuki! I was running around headlong into this dangerous emergency situation all by myself!" But there was not really much weight to what he said, either, since he actually had managed to join back up with everyone safely. Still, though, as they were enjoying their happy reunion, Anastasia broke in, clapping her hands and saying, "Yeah, yeah." "What a relief, what a relief. I'm glad you made it out alive, Otto. There's a lot I'd like to ask about what you were doing during all this, but before that..." Her tone shifted as she looked Otto in the eye. "What you said earlier sounded rather important... Would you care to explain what exactly you meant by that?" "You mean the trump card, right? It's quite simple, really. I brought someone with me, though if he'd entered first, the celebration of my safe return would have gotten completely drowned out." Otto explained the sad fact as he stepped aside, clearing the way. Taking that as a sign, the person who had been patiently waiting on the other side started walking in. And when that person stepped into the room " My apologies for being late." Just that one line was enough for them to feel like a whole army had just shown up at the gates. *** It almost felt like a breeze was blowing, fanning a flame that had suddenly ignited before them. What's more, he really was that strong. The fighting power they had been desperate for, the ultimate support, had finally arrived, and it set their hearts ablaze. "Reinhard van Astrea of the Sword Saint lineage It is late, but allow me to join you as well." Saying that, the fire burning bright, the Sword Saint announced his desire to join the battle. CHAPTER 4 *** 1 "I am sorry for being unable to aid you at the crucial moment. I have no excuse for my failure." Reinhard apologized as everyone's attention focused on him. And as the Sword Saint lowered his head, no one could muster an immediate response. It would be simple enough to smooth the awkwardness over on a surface level, but they could not hide their true feelings with something so half-hearted. It was still true that during the few hours when they most desperately needed every last bit of fighting power, Reinhard had been nowhere to be found. They could not help wondering what would have happened if he had joined the assault on city hall. Because of that, none of them could assure him that it was all water under the bridge. No one except "You got that right, you jerk. Do you know how much trouble we had while you were gone?" Subaru, who followed that up with a pointed little jab to the Sword Saint's chest. His only reaction was to look at Subaru apologetically. Subaru simply snorted. "And if you were gonna come at all, you should have done it fifteen minutes earlier. I ended up having to give a performance way outside my comfort zone thanks to you. That was supposed to have been your job." "Forgive me... However, that was an excellent speech worthy of your reputation. Even if I had been asked to do the same, I would not have been able to manage a broadcast that stirred the people's courage so magnificently. You were the right choice for that task." "I think people would be looking for different things if it was you and not me." Subaru jabbed Reinhard in the chest once more for good measure after receiving his wry smile and praise. And then, as the hero still looked apologetic, Subaru held his finger out in front of Reinhard's face. "Reinhard, forget a hundred other people. I'd take you over a thousand soldiers. So how 'bout it, can I pin that much hope on you? I'll be counting on you." *** Even that did not even begin to describe how reassuring his presence was. Having Reinhard's help was like knowing a full army of reinforcements stood at their back. Reinhard blinked his blue eyes at how open Subaru's anticipation was. But his surprise soon faded as the Sword Saint's lips curved into a smile. "Yes, you can count on me. If that is what you want, then I'll live up to your expectations." "Oooh, so reliable... I can feel my heart fluttering." Subaru flashed Reinhard a smile, putting him at ease before turning to the others and pointing back at him. "All right, we've got Reinhard with us now. You guys should say whatever you want to say while you can. At times like this, it feels way worse to be all awkward and careful around one another. Besides, it isn't every day you get a chance to tell off the Sword Saint when he's practically begging you to be mad at him. Let him have a piece of your mind." *** "And once you're done picking on him, let's get down to business and figure out how to save everyone," Subaru announced with an easy wink. He could hear some startled breaths but saw that Otto and Garfiel simply broke into grins at Subaru's familiar tough act. Well, it was fine as long as at least one or two people could tell how he really felt. He had just done a whole speech about not shouldering everything yourself, after all. 2 Afterward, everyone voiced their own complaints with Reinhard (details omitted), and then they got settled in the conference room and prepared to discuss the best way to retake Pristella. Otto and Reinhard had rejoined the party and while Otto's fighting power was negligible, Reinhard's assistance was a game changer. With that in mind, Subaru wanted to move the discussion along, but before that "By the way, what happened to Felt? She was with you when all this started, right?" Subaru asked Reinhard before they broached the first subject. Reinhard's expression darkened a bit at that. Though he had been looking like that most of the time since getting there. "To be clear, I'm not blaming you or anything. It's not like I think you just holed up somewhere safe to protect Felt or anything...," Subaru said, softening the blow. "Agreed," Anastasia added nonchalantly, "but I would like to know what you were doing and where you were doing it while we were out of communication. It's not like we're playin' house here, after all." She petted her fox scarf as she looked Reinhard directly in the eye. The focus of her question was what Felt's faction had done that morning the group had apparently gone to see Reinhard's father, Heinkel, to discuss something and what their members had done since. Wilhelm obviously didn't get along with him, but it seemed like everyone in the Astrea family found interacting with Heinkel rather awkward. Subaru was probably not the best person to say it, but it almost felt like "It's like a family that gives the cold shoulder to a kid who holed up for years and turned into a professional NEET..." "Apologies for interrupting while you indulge in your odd imagination, but if Mr. Reinhard is finding it difficult to speak on the matter, perhaps I can elaborate?" Hoping to set aside Subaru and the alien analogy he was entertaining, Otto offered to clear things up. The way he looked at Reinhard almost made it seem like he already knew what had happened. "Oh yeah, you were with Reinhard, but don't tell me that was from before all this even started?" "Not since it started. I only met up with them at the very end of

it all... Even so, I have a general grasp of the situation." "Thank you, Otto. But it is my family's problem, and it involves Lady Felt as well. This is a difficult subject for me, but I should be the one to explain." Reinhard shook his head, and then, after pausing for a second, said, "First of all, I've said it many times already, but allow me to apologize once more. I should have been the first person to come your aid, and yet it was only at this late hour that I was able to join you. You have my deepest apologies." "...On that point, I do believe our position is unchanged. It is difficult to wholeheartedly forgive your absence, but you are nonetheless essential to the coming battle. If you wish to make amends, I ask you do it with your sword," Julius responded, nudging Reinhard forward in his own way. Reinhard's expression softened at his friend's words, and he added a soft "Thank you" before continuing. "When the Witch Cult carried out their first broadcast, Lady Felt and I were leaving the second district to go speak with Vice-Captain Heinkel." Reinhard's voice was wooden as he referred to his father by his official title. That alone was sufficient to show just how strained their relationship must be and how wide the gulf between them truly was. "It's not exactly my place to comment, but she really decided to go talk to him after everything that happened at breakfast?" asked Subaru. "She is not so irresponsible as to shirk what must be done out of mere personal discomfort. She set forth fully intending to negotiate with the vice-captain. And naturally, I accompanied her in that." "Incidentally, I suppose I shouldn't ask how the negotiation went." "That does involve internal matters, after all. But it would be fair to say that discussions were not overly favorable." Reinhard's tone obliquely indicated how much of a struggle the meeting had been. And even without that clue, it had been a negotiation between Felt, who was still impulsive and straightforward by nature, even if she had grown, and Heinkel, who made no effort at all to hide his base vulgarity. It was not hard to imagine things getting complicated fast. And while they were going at it "That was when the first broadcast occurred. I could hardly believe my ears, but I immediately thought to act. I had actually made certain arrangements beforehand in the event of an emergency. In fact, I even prepared a way for Lachins and the others to reach me if the need arose." "Ah, yeah, I know. I...well, I had a chance to talk to Lachins." Subaru was familiar with the magic signal that Reinhard could use as a beacon to home in on after spotting it in the sky. Lachins had actually used it during one of the loops when Subaru asked him to summon Reinhard. Unfortunately, the "just call Reinhard" plan had been put on hold because of Sirius's nasty ability. But Reinhard had not been exaggerating about intending to come immediately if he got the signal from one of his allies. And yet he had not been able to do anything for hours while the cultists had free rein. What could possibly have stopped him ? " Lady Felt was held hostage by Vice-Captain Heinkel." *** For a second, Subaru failed to understand. And it was not just him, either. Everyone in the room was at a loss for words at the absurdity of that statement. "It was an irrevocable failure on my part. And with Lady Felt at sword point, I failed to find an opening to counterattack and remained held there." As he gritted his teeth at the shameful memory, Reinhard's expression was etched with the regret burning inside him. Hearing that, Subaru realized why Reinhard's face had darkened when he was first asked what had happened. The master he had sworn to serve had been taken hostage by his own father, of all people. And because of that, he had been unable to leave. It was shocking to think about how troubled he must've been and how much heartache he must have endured. And it had not ended there, either. There was an even darker possibility. "...So then...what? Was he an agent of the cultists?" Reinhard's shocking admission opened the door to a cruel and terrible possibility. Subaru had heard that cultists sometimes wormed their way into local governments undetected, but he didn't want to imagine what it might be like to discover someone in your family could be one. Particularly not after learning about all the different terrible, nauseating Archbishops who existed besides Petelgeuse. " I don't know. If he was, then..." But Subaru's theory seemed to be provoking complex feelings in Reinhard. Subaru himself looked dubious, as did half the people around the table, but Anastasia, Julius, and Otto all seemed to have reached a different conclusion. Reinhard furrowed his brow and slowly shook his head. "I have no intention of defending him on the basis of our blood relation, but the vice-captain is almost certainly not connected to the cultists. At the very least, there is no reason to suspect that based on what he said after taking Lady Felt hostage." "That's absurd. Why would he take her hostage, then? What would be the point...?" That was when Subaru noticed it. Given Reinhard's melancholic expression and the matching miserable looks that Otto, Anastasia, and Julius all sported, there was a reason Subaru could think of for Heinkel to do that. It was a terrible reason, utterly beyond redemption, but not one that he could simply laugh off as unthinkable. "You can't mean...he stopped you from leaving...in order to protect himself?" " . He said so himself. 'Your precious master and the father whose blood runs in your veins are both here. Would you really abandon them to save some strangers you've never seen before?'" "What kind of father would say something like that?!" Subaru's anger boiled over, and he slammed his fist into the wall. He had been weathering extreme flashes of emotion all day, ever since morning, but he never would have guessed such rage would be caused by someone not connected with the Witch Cult. If he was going to end up hating people, it would've been preferable to limit it to just people connected to the Cult. "Lady Felt said that he was just bluffing. That she would be fine and that I should go fight. But I disobeyed her command and stayed. I'm the one to blame." "Like hell you are! There isn't anyone here who doesn't know exactly who's to blame!" "Even so, that choice was mine. I am the one who made it." Reinhard would not yield responsibility, no matter how much Subaru might shout. He could only regret that stubbornness verging on a perverse, meaningless obstinacy. "In the end, it remained a stalemate. I was unable to act in the aftermath...and the situation remained unchanged during the second broadcast as well... I'm sure Lady Felt was disappointed in me." He could not hide his own disappointment in himself. It was practically dripping from his expression, which just made it all the sadder that he did not realize how hurt he looked. Based on what he had seen that morning and the night before, it looked to Subaru like Felt and Reinhard's relationship had changed quite a bit over the past year. And it seemed the insertion of his father into all of it had brought about another major shift. "So then, what happened to Felt?" Anastasia directed the conversation forward again, not touching on the look on Reinhard's face. She was the only royal-selection candidate present, as well as having been entrusted to decide the fate of the city by Kiritaka, a representative of the Council of Ten. At the very least, she was keeping her sympathy to herself while prioritizing the smooth continuation of the discussion. "You're here now, so is it safe to assume the problem was resolved?" "Yes, Lady Felt has met up with her retainers, and at her judgment, she is currently standing by at a shelter with the vice-captain, who has been placed under arrest." "Under arrest? As in you caught him?" "His arms and legs have been bound, and he has been gagged. Lady Felt contented herself with meting out that much punishment. Was it not for Otto's help, it might have been much more difficult." "Wait, that's when Otto showed up?" Subaru was surprised, given there had been no sign of Otto making an appearance before this. "It's true," Otto himself said as he adjusted his hat. "Though it was sheer happenstance that I stumbled upon them. Having seen their interactions at the inn, though, I quickly grasped the gist of the situation." There had been the incident in the morning that had touched on the deeply rooted problems of the Astrea family and the territory managed by Felt's faction. Having seen all that and then actually bearing witness to Heinkel holding Felt hostage just to keep Reinhard from leaving, a person didn't have to be a genius to guess what was happening. "I judged it the worst possible situation for Mr. Reinhard to be unable to act while the cultists were freely running around. Just the thought of it was bone-chilling, so I knew I had to do something." "And that's when you pummeled Heinkel and saved Felt?" "Wait! Wait! Don't just nod along like that's obviously how it would go! I wouldn't do something that rash! I merely distracted him with a simple spell to create an opening for Lady Felt to escape." Otto sighed as he corrected Subaru's mistaken guess. "Thankfully, there was no difficulty finding everyone, what with your big performance. It would have been nice if I could have helped sooner, but I had quite a lot on my plate." There had been a few digressions, but Reinhard was nodding, acknowledging that Otto had indeed come to their aid. Otto had really put in a lot of work behind the scenes, like always. He was the ultimate behind-the-scenes talent. "Still, though, what were you doing up until then, Bro? Honestly, given your strength, wandering around out on the streets would be suicide." "I was a little surprised at how vigorous your concern for me was earlier, but I really did endure all sorts of twists and turns... I suppose I should elaborate." Clearing his throat, Otto pointed outside the tower. "This morning, as I had planned, I headed to the Muse Company alone in order to reinitiate negotiations with Mr. Kiritaka. However, I had some time to spare, so I got off the dragon boat early to walk the rest of the way... That was where I encountered the Witch Cult." "You mean the broadcast? No, wait, that would've been too early." Capella's first broadcast had been after the noon bell. Even with a leisurely detour, there was no way Otto wouldn't have reached the company before noon. Otto nodded. "Correct, it was not the broadcast. On the way to the Muse Company, I encountered the actual Witch Cult... In fact, I encountered someone who called themself an Archbishop. Near the second district's control tower." "An Archbishop appeared before the broadcast went out?!" Subaru was shocked, but it was not that unbelievable a story when he thought it through. Sirius and Regulus had also been doing as they pleased at the time tower before the broadcast. Other than Capella, who was occupying city hall, the Archbishops had apparently been free to wander the town and take in the sights. And the one he had encountered could not have been any of the aforementioned three. "So then, the one you met was...the Archbishop of Gluttony, huh?" "...Yes. At least that was how they identified themself. And I cannot imagine any reason to lie about it, so I am certain it's true. They looked like

a child, but I doubt actual age has any bearing on their appearance." Otto's description matched with the Roy Alphard Subaru had seen. He didn't want to know the standard for selecting Archbishops, but Gluttony had been a child. A child whose arms and legs were not fully grown and who had clearly never finished maturing...a child with a hideous, scornful grin. "I assumed it was some thoughtless child's mischief at first, but when I tried to draw the attention of the person guarding the tower...he was pulverized. Literally. With a splat." *** "After watching someone's entire body get smashed flat, I had no choice but to believe. The nearby guards and the city's security forces quickly surrounded the Archbishop...but they did not stand a chance." The way Otto's face paled spoke to how gruesome the encounter with Gluttony had been. An average person could not hope to lay hands on Gluttony, and Otto had been powerless to do anything. Dragged into the battle without any choice, Otto had given it his best shot, but "In the end, the control tower was captured, and I could not say whether anyone else managed to escape." "You did well coming away from something like that still in one piece. You were facing an Archbishop, after all." "That was through no action of my own. It was only thanks to the people around me. Members of the White Dragon's Scale who joined the battle recognized me and gave their all to allow me a chance to escape." "...Them again, huh?" Kiritaka's personal troops had played a crucial role there, too. They were the cornerstone of Pristella's defenses, and the majority of them had gone missing, together with Kiritaka himself. And now it was clear that at least some of them had given their lives fighting Gluttony in order to fulfill their duty. "I fled into the waterways during the confusion. Hearing the cultists' broadcast later, I realized I could no longer act carelessly, so I moved discreetly...which is when I encountered Mr. Reinhard's group." "So that's how you met up." And then resolving the stalemate over there brought them back to the present. Subaru's face twisted up as he listened to the tightrope walk that Otto had endured to survive and meet back up with everybody. His path had been no less trying or death-defying than anyone else's in the room. "And there were even people who sacrificed themselves to buy you time to escape. That's rough." "Truly it pains me as a merchant to be unable to repay my debts." Otto bit his lip, mortified by the weight of what he was bearing. Debts must be settled Anastasia had said it, too, but it was a pet saying that Otto had a habit of pulling out. Under that creed, he had to do something to make good on his debt. "So I shall pay it back by guaranteeing the fate of this city and judging by your performance earlier, I suppose I can count on you to do enough work for the both of us, Mr. Natsuki." "Damn it, Otto..." Subaru's anxious nerves relaxed a bit at the sudden change in tone as Otto gave him a wink. The tightness in his shoulders went away tension that had been there ever since he began his speech. *** What Otto was getting at was that he had his own reasons to fight. And by conveying that, he was letting Subaru know that he wouldn't let his friend shoulder the fate of the city alone. He was trying to tell Subaru there was no need to get too worked up. "Ngh..." Subaru's face felt hot, an intense embarrassment welling up at having his tough-guy act seen through. Who did Subaru think he was? Someone who could decide the fate of a city? A symbol of hope and the people's wishes? It was ridiculous to even imagine. The city and the people who resided within it were not so insignificant and light that Subaru could shoulder them all by himself. How had he forgotten that until Otto pointed it out? "If you take your little bit of strength and add in my little bit of strength and top it off with Garfiel's stupid amount of strength, it all adds up to something quite sizable. Why not think of it like that?" "'None can lift the quain stone alone,' huh? Every once in a while, you're kind of amazing, you know that?" Subaru pulled out one of Garfiel's inscrutable sayings and found himself amazed yet again by Otto's steady hand. Otto was always saving him. He suspected that even if he tried his hardest, he would probably never be able to pay him back for everything he'd done, so he decided to do whatever he could to be worthy of his friend. "Ain't that a nice group you've got there? Really know how to keep things moving, don't ya? It's heartwarming." "Ah, my bad, we kind of started talking like it was just the two of us." "It's fine, it's fine. Besides, it looks like Natsuki's finally relaxed a bit," Anastasia teased, welcoming the change. She had noticed how tense he really was. Scratching his head sheepishly, Subaru quickly changed topics. "Now that we've covered what you two were doing, the next topic we should be discussing is..." " I would like to address the four demands that the Witch Cult made," Julius proposed. His golden eyes narrowed as he pointedly held up four fingers and looked around the room. "They are not to be negotiated with, of course, but it is crucial to know what they are after. We know the silver-haired maiden, and we know about the Witch's bones from what Mr. Kiritaka told us, but..." "An artificial spirit and the book of knowledge..." Reinhard furrowed his brow. "I've no clue as to what that book might be, and as for the former, the very idea of an artificial spirit sounds dubious as well. Does such a thing even exist?" His doubts were shared by many in the room. No one outside of Emilia's camp would have heard of either of those things before. Other than Anastasia, whom Subaru had told earlier. *** Subaru glanced over at Anastasia. She was just looking at him, and as if sensing his intent, she nodded. Subaru decided that he would have to explain the two demands to everyone as well. " Sorry to interject yet again, but if I may." But before Subaru could say anything, Otto raised his hand. Seeing that, Subaru guessed he was thinking of revealing that Beatrice was an artificial spirit. He had been about to explain that himself anyway, so he wasn't against it, but "If it's Beako, then I can..." "No, this is about the book of knowledge, not Beatrice." "Hn?" Subaru's eyes widened in surprise. Not looking at Subaru, Otto sighed slightly in resignation. "I'm sorry I'm the one who brought that into the city." 3 Everyone in the room was utterly shocked by Otto's explosive confession. They weren't sure such a book even existed, and yet the person in possession of it had just announced himself to them all. Surprise was a natural reaction, but Subaru's shock was immeasurable because he had been so sure that he had already seen the last of that book that both copies were burned and gone from the world. "Wh-why did you?" "First, I should be clear to prevent misunderstandings. While I did bring the item that would be called the book of knowledge into the city, I am not the one currently in possession of it. And the cultists' demand was a bolt out of the blue for me as well." "That's a roundabout way of puttin' it. What exactly do you mean?" Noticing Subaru's troubled reaction and Otto's studiously calm response, Anastasia cocked her head. "Allow me to explain." Otto nodded. "I suspect that most of you are not aware of the book of knowledge. Put frankly, it is apparently the origin from which the Gospels that cultists possess are derived those suspicious magic tomes that record the future of their owner. Its passages are also supposedly far more precise than the Gospels." "The origin of the Gospels? When put that way, it makes some sense that they would want it. It is a blasphemous comparison, but I suppose it is similar to the Dragon Tablet?" "Unfortunately, it's a bit difficult for me to say, because the book of knowledge was largely burned by the time I obtained it and was little more than charred scraps." "Charred scraps..." Otto's words also described the fate of the two tomes in Subaru's memories. Beatrice's book had been burned in the fire along with all the rest of the contents of the forbidden archive. Meanwhile, Roswaal's book had been burned by Ram and lost in the Sanctuary. As he had told Anastasia before, both of the books had been burned to ash. Which meant that if Otto had picked up the charred remains of one, it was most likely to have been Roswaal's copy. "Ah, I think I know what you were after, Otto. The restorer Darts, right?" "...There's no hiding anything from you. Yes, that was it precisely." Otto nodded in resignation at Anastasia's quick thinking. And Julius and Reinhard both seemed to understand as well from that exchange. "Wait up there. Don't go leaving me behind as the only one not getting it. What's this 'restorer' thing about?" "Exactly what it sounds like. A specialist in magic who restores items. Darts is particularly well-known for his skill when it comes to this craft. If it's him, then he could even restore a book from its mere ashes." "From its ashes?! Wait, that's actually possible?!" "On the strength of that reputation, I secretly requested the restoration of the book of knowledge. So unless he took it during the evacuation, the book is currently being kept in Darts's workplace," Otto said, revealing the location of one of the objects the cultists demanded. "...When did you have time to ask him to do a job like that, Otto?" "After the negotiations at the Muse Company collapsed and I parted ways with everyone yesterday. Darts is deeply curious about ancient and rare items, and he was quite enthusiastic about taking the job..." When he had heard the cultists' demand during the broadcast, Otto had probably been thrown for a loop. And his story explained how the burned book of knowledge could be in the city. But what Subaru could not understand was what Otto's real reason for restoring the book had been. As had been made eminently clear, Subaru did not think highly of the book of knowledge. And considering the pent-up grudge he bore against the Witch who'd made it, he had honestly felt pretty good about its being burned to ashes. So why had Otto wanted to restore that devil's book? "I will have to ask that you allow me to leave out how I came to be in possession of it and what my goals were in restoring it. I merely wanted to make clear that the book actually exists and where it is currently. Any further, and it becomes an internal matter." "At the very least, one of the factions in the Witch Cult has named the book of knowledge as its goal. Where do you believe that the blame for that lies?" Julius pressed. "I believe that there is no point in trying to pin responsibility for the actions of the Witch Cult on anyone other than the Witch Cult themselves. If I were to be hounded regarding that, though, then I would have no choice but to respond with similar boorishness," Otto fired back, his eyes narrowed as he looked at Anastasia. Between the lines, he was clearly asking whether blame should also be placed on the one who had invited the royal-selection candidates to the city in the first place; whether blame was not to remain solely with

the cultists. Seeing that, Julius shook his head. "Apologies, that was wrongheaded of me. Naturally, I did not mean to blame you. Their crimes are their own, of course, and they are the ones who must atone for those crimes." "I agree." Otto nodded. Then, faced with Subaru's doubts, Otto looked him in the eye and said, "We can discuss it later." He meant he would reveal his true goal in due time. That meant he was asking Subaru to set aside his doubts for the moment and come back to the topic later in private. "Either way, it is clear that the book of knowledge actually does exist. In which case, we should assume for the sake of our planning at least that the artificial spirit also exists," Reinhard said, shifting to a new topic with the previous one more or less settled. And that meant the topic that Subaru had started to bring up before Otto's unexpected confession. "On that note, Anastasia, I was thinking of telling them..." "Mm. Yeah, I guess we should." *** Anastasia's gaze seemed distant for a moment. Feeling odd about her reaction, Subaru clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "Can I have your attention? Sorry for always talking, but I've got something to say about the artificial spirit." "Are you sure, Mr. Natsuki?" Otto checked, realizing what Subaru was going to say. It was a topic that touched on Beatrice's origin, so he probably judged it to be a delicate subject, but Subaru had decided that it was necessary to explain. Everyone in the room was an ally, and the conflicts among different camps could be set aside for the moment. "I'm not going to hold anything back here. The artificial spirit they're after is my partner Beako Beatrice. Right now, she's recuperating with the injured." "Lady Beatrice? I see. That makes sense..." Julius nodded in acceptance. "Makes sense?" Subaru cocked his head. "Ah." Julius touched his hair. "I knew that Lady Beatrice was a powerful spirit, but I felt a somewhat mysterious signal coming from her. Upon my learning that she is not a natural spirit, it makes sense." "...Is that just something that any decent spirit user would recognize?" "I'm not sure what you are getting... Ahhh, you are worried about her. I see." "If they could tell at a glance, or by getting close to her, that would be a problem." Currently, the cultists had demanded an artificial spirit, but they had not named Beatrice specifically, so it was unclear just how much information they really had about the artificial spirit. If the enemy did not know what she looked like or her name, then they could simply keep Beatrice's true identity a secret and not let anyone else find out. But if the enemy had a way of checking, then it would be a lot harder for Subaru to leave Beatrice's side. "You need not worry," Julius said to put Subaru at ease. "The reason I felt an oddity was because I have been blessed with so many opportunities to interact with spirits due to my blessing. It would be safe to assume that most people would not be able to notice under normal circumstances." "I see... Gotcha. That's...yeah, that's a relief." Hearing that, Subaru exhaled the weight that had built up in his lungs. Reinhard and everyone else nodded, indicating that they had not noticed Beatrice was a special spirit in that regard. At least Subaru would not have to worry about her drawing all sorts of dangerous attention. "Still, though, that crazy book, and the spirit thing, too basically everything comes back to your place." "...You don't have to tell me that. I'm starting to despair for the world. Maybe I got cursed somewhere along the line or something." "Despair for the world? That's a riot!" Ricardo opened his mouth wide, and his booming laugh shattered the mood building in the room. That unrestrained laughter helped Subaru right himself just a bit. *** The truth was just like he said, though. The cultists were coming straight for Emilia's faction with their demands. Otto and Julius's back-and-forth had ended with an agreement that no one was to blame for what the Witch Cult did other than the Witch Cult itself, but with so many things overlapping, it was entirely possible that the others would start to turn a cold eye on Emilia's camp. But by making a point of saying it like that, Ricardo nipped the friction in the bud. He rarely fussed about the details, or perhaps was just plain careless, but as expected of the leader of the Iron Fangs, Ricardo could read the room and set the mood like the best of them. Although "If anything, I'm almost startin' to wonder if you're actually human yourself! You lived through gettin' washed away by the flood, after all. You hidin' anything from us?" "You are reading the room, right? That was intentional, right? It's starting to feel like that was just natural, which is a scary thought." "You're best off not thinking too hard about it. By and large, he's not thinking anything at all when he does that." Subaru was starting to regret his admiration for Ricardo's rude act, which seemed less and less like an act, but Anastasia just shrugged it off before continuing. "Anyway, the artificial spirit definitely exists, too. Naturally, just like with what Otto was sayin', we aren't gonna give 'em anything they want. Right, Natsuki?" "Damn straight. I'm not giving up Beako until I die of old age. And I'm gonna cuddle up with her to sleep even when I'm an old man. So there's no way in hell I'm gonna let the likes of them get their hands on her." Seeing Subaru's unyielding determination not to give in to the cultists' demands, Reinhard nodded firmly. "Understood. We cannot afford to accept even one of their demands. Depending on the situation, the wedding ceremony could perhaps have been overlooked, but " "No! That's a hard-and-fast nay! Because the person that white-haired asshole is trying to marry is my Emilia-tan!" " ?! I had a bad feeling about it, but it really was Lady Emilia, then! I had assumed her not being here was because she had taken shelter...!" Reinhard stared in wonder, and Otto turned pale in shock. Seeing that, Subaru apologized for not explaining sooner. "I'm ashamed to admit it, but she was taken away right before my eyes. That 'silver-haired maiden' is Emilia. But I'm not going to let that happen. I'm the one who's gonna marry Emilia." Subaru pounded his chest with an eruption of righteous indignation and love. *** Otto clutched his head at Subaru's out-and-out proclamation, and Reinhard's eyes widened. "...Huh? Did I say something weird?" "Not weird so much as... I'm surprised to hear you actually say it out loud. I was astonished by your performance over the metia earlier as well, but I just felt it again now. You're a real man's man, ain't ya, Natsuki?" "What's with that tepid response?! I really did say something weird, didn't I?!" Anastasia shook her head no as Ricardo obviously snickered. And Garfiel's nodding with arms crossed and Otto's slumping were just the usual responses. "Even you're looking at me weird, Reinhard." "I was surprised and astonished like Lady Anastasia I suppose. I had, to some extent, sensed how you felt, but I would not have expected you to express your feelings toward Lady Emilia so explicitly and confidently." The surprise fading, Reinhard's cheeks softened, and from the look in his eyes he appeared to be genuinely moved. Subaru could hardly believe he was getting teased by someone as honest and forthright as him. Which would mean Julius, that paragon of knightly chivalry, must be pretty annoyed *** "Julius?" However, when Subaru nervously turned around, Julius's reaction was nothing like what he'd expected. Julius's golden eyes were narrowed, watching Subaru with what almost felt like jealousy. An earnest yearning that stirred the depths of his heart. "" Julius returned to his senses after a moment. "Apologies. I was just thinking about something. Did you need something?" "No, it's fine... Ah! Anyway, moving on!" Realizing he had lost track of the conversation for a moment, Subaru spun around to take in the room. "I'm going to get Emilia back with my own two hands, and I'll kick Greed's ass to do it. There's no room for negotiation on that." "Very well, then that's what we shall do. If that is how it is, then he is not someone who can be overlooked or forgiven." As he agreed with Subaru's determination, Reinhard's eagerness for battle welled up. Getting goose bumps from that, Subaru continued, "Also, it looks like you're feeling pessimistic, Otto, but it isn't all bad. Even after she was caught, Emilia-tan didn't just sit around waiting for us to make our move, either. She managed to get in contact with Al once and pass us some info on the enemy." "Lady Emilia did something that sophisticated?! Is she all right?!" "You could at least comment on how dangerous that must have been, man... Anyway, can you fill them in on what she told you, Al?" It was clear from his reaction just what Otto had expected of Emilia, but Subaru lobbed the conversation to the man leaning against the wall in the corner of the room. *** Al slowly raised his head and stepped away from the wall sluggishly. For some reason, he had been like that ever since Subaru's speech. Between that and the intense exchange before the speech, everything about him seemed very different from usual. It was really starting to bother Subaru. But Al just nodded listlessly as Subaru focused a concerned gaze on him. "Yeah... That little lady wasn't discouraged at all about being behind enemy lines. Maybe she was confident she wouldn't be killed since Greed wanted to marry her." "Yeah...I'm not so sure about that part." Subaru tilted his head as Al scratched at the seam of his helm. It was not that unreasonable a thought, but in Emilia's case, Subaru suspected she would have done basically the same thing even if the situation had been drastically different. For better or worse, she always prioritized others over herself. That side of her made Subaru happy, but it was also incredibly worrying at times. He had wanted more information about her and wanted her to be safe while she was captured, so even just knowing that much was fortunate, but... "...Emilia let us know which control tower is controlled by Greed and which one is controlled by Lust. And from Otto's story, we can be fairly confident which tower contains Gluttony, right?" "Correct, it was the control tower in the second district. And from Emilia's timely intelligence report, we know Lust is in the first district and Greed is in the third district, which makes the fourth district Wrath by process of elimination. That's valuable enough information to merit her doing something rash," Anastasia summarized. "So there you have it," Subaru said with a light snap and a wink. Greeted with wry smiles, Subaru, undiscouraged, turned his finger to Al. "And we're grateful to you for bringing this information back, too...so what are you sulking about, Al? Is it just 'cause I didn't listen to your warning...?" "I ain't sulking. An old guy like me gettin' bent out of a shape like that wouldn't be cute anyway." "Cute's got nothing to do with it... I don't really want to admit it, but we got our asses kicked pretty hard the last go-round, and I don't want to fall into the same trap as before." Subaru spread his fingers, holding out his hand to Al. Al looked down at the hand through his visor and then looked back at Subaru dubiously. "I want you to help us out this time. Fight the good fight so I can save my love." Subaru papered over his more earnest feelings

with a joke as he waited for Al's response, trusting that in the end he would just crack wise and give in. But " If that's really how you feel, then I'm not against helping out." There was no intimacy in Al's voice as he brushed Subaru's hand away in seeming annoyance. *** "Uh..." Subaru felt a chill down his spine. The tone that was so clearly different from normal and the gaze he could not read behind the pitch-black helm caught him off guard. In that moment, Al pointed a wild, frayed rage right at Subaru. Subaru recognized that mysterious, almost violently aggressive feeling as something he had encountered before. But he could not remember where he had sensed it or the form it had taken then. He simply couldn't connect the two. And while he continued struggling to make sense of it all, their awkward stare-down continued "Hark. Please lend me thine ears Thine eyes evoke a heated, racing heart." "Ugh ?!" "Eep?!" Totally caught off guard by the sudden interjection, Subaru spun around, sending the newcomer flying with a shocked gasp. She went rolling backward for some distance before dramatically crashing into the spare tables lining the wall. "Ugyah! My elbows! My knees! The pain of every bone in my body breaking! All six of my ribs just snapped! I'm sure of it!" The small figure curled up under the tables, writhing in pain with an earsplitting scream. Subaru's eyes widened as he turned around and caught his breath. The girl rolling around on the floor, unleashing every last bit of her quirky personality, was "Liliana?! Wait, if you're here, then that means..." " Naturally, I brought her here myself, commoner." "Oh." Right after confirming Liliana's presence, the owner of that voice, the walking embodiment of arrogance, stepped into the room. Footsteps rang out, luxuriously and magnificently, emphasizing the overwhelming aura of the brilliantly red woman. Her bloody crimson eyes lorded over the occupants as she pulled a fan from her voluptuous cleavage. "The actors have all gathered. I suppose I should praise your prudence in waiting for the guest of honor to assume her seat. Be sure to maintain that diligent attitude going forward." Smiling and apparently in a very good mood, the crimson beauty Priscilla Bariel joined the fray. 4 "P-Princess! You were safe!" Everyone, Subaru included, was surprised by Priscilla's sudden appearance. But among them all, the quickest to snap back to reality was her retainer, Al, who quickly dashed over to her. "I was worried, since I couldn't find you anywhere I looked... Gragh!" "You fool." The joy at reuniting with her lasted but a moment, though, as she smacked Al upside the head with a splendid crack. The sound echoed in the conference room, and Al was sent flying, only coming to stop after landing in a heap next to Liliana. Knowing from personal experience just how powerful that fan could be, Subaru reflexively groaned. "Explain yourself, Al. Not only did you fail to accompany me, but I find you here playing around with these commoners. You and Schult have a duty to watch me, heed my voice, bask in my scent, and obey my every command. Nothing more and nothing less. And you, Schult: making your master personally search for you? Does your impudence know no bounds?" "Ugh. My humblest apologies, Lady Priscilla..." As she mercilessly kicked Al, a young, pink-haired butler peeped nervously out from behind her back Schult, the person she had been searching for. "So you really did manage to follow through on that... That really is some amazing tenacity." Priscilla had led Liliana and Schult through a city filled with menacing demi-beasts where violence and chaos could erupt at any moment thanks to the cultists' devious machinations. The way she carried herself and her general sense of absolute confidence easily surpassed Subaru's wildest expectations yet again. "It was like that at the inn this morning, too. You really like to surprise people, don't you?" "You commoners merely collapse into shudders when faced with my peerless beauty and presence. If you would then bow your head in that awe, I might grant you mercy, but every last one of you is utterly lacking in charm. Of particular note..." Priscilla and Anastasia did not seem to get along particularly well, and they engaged in a bit of verbal fencing, but after that, Priscilla turned her eyes to Subaru as she trailed off. The pressure made him a little claustrophobic as he managed to ask, "What?" "...That clumsy broadcast earlier. That was your voice, was it not?" "...And what if it was?" "Hmph. There is no need to be so tense. I am fair in judging results. I simply call it like I see it and currently, the eyes of the masses have turned to you. And I have decided to take them back with my own hands." "...Ummm, so in other words...?" "Do not make me spell everything out for you. My noble lips do not need the pointless labor." Her eyes narrowed confrontationally as she sat herself down in one of the seats around the table, leaned back with a squeak, and crossed her arms, emphasizing her buxom figure. "So report the current situation and be quick about it. You will become my hands and legs and fulfill thy roles. And be grateful, for I shall reward you by joining your plan." "W-wait, Princess! Are you seriously planning to go at it with those cultists?!" "Would you have me flee, Al? If so, impudence would not begin to describe your transgression." Al tried to argue with Priscilla, who had sat down and announced her participation in the plan, but she glared back at him, causing the iron-helmed man to tremble. "It was I who decided to visit this city, and it will be I who decides when to leave this city. I will brook no other person's directions. Particularly not the mad ramblings of zealots." *** " Everything in this world exists for my convenience. As my retainer and jester, you should know as much, Al. My very existence is the embodiment of the will of the world. My actions themselves are divine providence." There was no breaking Priscilla's steel will no, diamond would probably be more accurate. And Al should have known that better than anyone else there. "Um, uh, that is just how Lady Priscilla is, so..." "...Yeah, I know. Sorry for worryin' ya, Schult." Al shrugged his one arm weakly and smiled wryly at Schult, who had struggled to find the words to comfort him. The prickly air he had directed at Subaru moments earlier disappeared. He had made up his mind Priscilla's domineering personality had finally done the job. "Otto, maybe we could step out for a real quick moment?" "Yes, of course." Al lost out to Priscilla's demands and started calmly explaining the situation to her. Taking advantage of that lull, Subaru led Otto out into the hall to pick up a certain topic the restoration of the book of knowledge and to press him on what he had been thinking when he'd decided on that wild course of action. "Garfiel, call us back once the conversation's moved on," Subaru said before leaving the room. They stood across from each other out in the hall. Otto looked at Subaru quietly before starting in. "It was one year ago. Immediately after cleaning up the problems in the Sanctuary. After the marquis's snowstorm melted away, while I was looking around the village, I found it by chance... No, it was not by chance. I was explicitly searching for it due to what Ms. Ram had said." "If you found it there, then that would mean there's no mistake that it was the remnants of Roswaal's book." "Yes. His was the one whose contents I wanted to confirm. And for once, I was in luck." It was a bit of self-deprecating humor about his naturally poor fortunes, but Subaru was not in the mood to share a laugh when it came to these books. There was already a bad taste lingering in his mouth from talking about them, and when he saw that, Otto's smile disappeared as well. And then he took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "What do you honestly think of Marquis Mathers?" "Of Roswaal?" Subaru thought about it for a moment. "I think I can't let my guard down around him. And there was the thing a year ago, too. But his real goal is clear now, and as long as our goals are aligned, he isn't a threat. Right now...he's more of an accomplice." " I cannot find it in myself to trust Marquis Mathers in the least," Otto responded bitterly, almost seeming to write off Subaru's thoughts as far too easygoing. The sharpness of that response made Subaru catch his breath. "'The thing a year ago'? Yes, that's right. There was the situation last year in the Sanctuary. And before that, he seems to have schemed many different things as well. Though when it comes to this topic, both you and Lady Emilia seem to have been content to easily forgive him." "...I haven't forgiven him at all. I'm still pretty pissed about what he did, and it still bothers me. But that doesn't change the fact that we need him. I just think that getting all up in arms about it won't help anything, and Emilia's the same." "And I'm saying that that, that right there, is naive. I did not, however, say that it was a bad thing." Otto glared at Subaru as if he was looking at something incredibly vexing. Subaru could understand the irritation he was feeling, he really could, but... "It is all right. You and Lady Emilia can be that way. There is no need for either of you to change at all. Because I will be there on guard where you are not." "Be on guard?" "My job is taking care of internal matters, so I have had many opportunities to interact with the marquis. And during the past year of observation, I have not noticed any signs of schemes or suspicious artifice. However, that is only in the present tense. I cannot speak to what he might have done in the time before that. Say, for example, if he had perhaps arranged some sort of long-term scheme." Subaru was at a loss for words. He could feel the weight of how much Otto was watching out for them, constantly thinking and planning and observing. The doubts he had regarding Roswaal were well-founded. And it was only natural that every action would provoke a reaction. For better or worse if anything, precisely because it was bad. "If he was obeying the directions for the future laid out in the book of knowledge, then by looking at the book, it should be possible to determine what, if anything, he arranged. And that will surely be beneficial at some point in the future." Otto explained with clenched fists, as this time Subaru experienced irritation welling up inside himself. Just like Otto had said, he had been the one best able to observe Roswaal from up close during the past year. And Otto had watched his each and every move without letting down his guard the entire time. And having done that, he'd judged that there had been no traces of hidden machinations over that time. That was a relief, but an inability to let it go at that was Subaru's worrisome friend's bad habit. In his own way, Otto wanted to trust Roswaal. But regardless of how he felt about the current Roswaal and his future actions, he could not just easily forgive the past schemes that might or might not even exist. "So what you wanted out of the book of knowledge wasn't anything about the future." "It was what was recorded in the past. I wanted confirmation that no one else inside our camp will be hurt. That is why I retrieved the book and

sent it out to be restored... I'm sorry for my selfish actions." Otto lowered his head and apologized. Subaru had nothing to say, since he or Emilia also should have noticed the things that Otto had been worrying about. He was struck again by just how much Otto was saving him day in and day out without his even realizing it. Why would he go so far for ? "I'm not going to talk about that. It would just be boring." Realizing what Subaru must have been thinking from his expression, Otto raised his head and cut him off. In the end, the discomfort just deepened as Subaru scratched his head and sighed. "I understand now. And I can understand why you picked up the book. I'm not mad, either...but them wanting the book is definitely a problem. What are we going to do about it?" "Regardless of the result, I was thinking of recovering the book now, whatever state it might be in. It's quite possible that Darts has been injured in all of this, and I don't want it to fall into the cultists' hands even by chance. It is my responsibility." "...Taking back the four towers is our top priority. We can't afford to divert any fighting forces for that." "Need I remind you that I managed to make my way through this dangerous city and even bring the Sword Saint with me? And while I may look like this, I'm particularly skilled at finding a way to survive by relying upon the aid of animals around me," Otto explained, pointing to his lips in a veiled reference to his blessing of language. In actual fact, when it came to just staying alive, Subaru trusted Otto more than anyone else. And with the enemy's main forces holed up in the towers, Otto's chances of success were not terrible. "That's not enough to remove all doubt, but that's the same for everyone simply by being here in this city, and you have to put all your effort into recovering Lady Emilia. We both have weighty responsibilities." "I know. I'll slap Greed down and marry Emilia. Those are my jobs here." "Feel free to do your best on the latter if you'd like, but that's the spirit, at least." Seeing Subaru steel his resolve again, Otto turned back toward the meeting room. Nodding at his suggestion to return, Subaru started to turn toward the door as well " Sir Subaru." A soft voice called from the stairway, stopping him in his tracks. Turning back, he was met by Wilhelm's gaze. The same Wilhelm who should have been by Crusch's side. "You go back first, Otto." "Understood. I'll keep the discussion on track." Nodding to Wilhelm, Otto returned to the meeting room. Meanwhile, Subaru headed over to Wilhelm, who bowed slightly. "My humblest apologies for not joining the meeting. I've caused you all nothing but trouble." "It is what it is, Wilhelm. No one thinks badly of you for it. And um...how is Ms. Crusch?" He had heard that she was in a poor state in fact, he had practically been told she had been hurt badly. Badly enough that it would be difficult for her to be seen like that, given her beauty. Seeing the concern that Subaru could not fully hide, Wilhelm averted his blue eyes. "She opened her eyes just moments ago. It is still too early to say for sure, though..." "She woke up?! That's a huge relief! I was so worried." " Lady Crusch asked me to call for you. Could I perhaps trouble you to accompany me?" Subaru rejoiced at the good news, but he cocked his head at Wilhelm's next statement. Of course he would gladly welcome the chance to talk to Crusch. And he wanted to be able to confirm with his own two eyes that she was safe. But "She has requested it herself. Still, please understand that Ferris is by no means excited about it." "...No, he wouldn't be, would he?" What Ferris had said before was still eating away at his heart. Subaru had been the only person in the position to save Crusch during the battle with Capella on the top floor of the tower. Ultimately, he hadn't been able to give her any reliable help, and Ferris likely hadn't forgiven him for that yet on an emotional level, even if he understood the reasons. And Subaru could understand that feeling so badly it hurt. "Ferris might say something impolitic, but please do not heed it. And if possible, I would ask you to forgive it. He understands, but there are some feelings that he just cannot help." "I can understand hating everyone around you when you can't do anything to help someone precious to you. I don't want to assume that one moment's darkness is all there is to a person." If venting like that could help him calm down a little bit, then who could blame him? Subaru had the resolve to stand there and take it if that was what he needed. "...This way." Closing his eyes at that, Wilhelm led Subaru to his master's room. For a moment, their two sets of controlled footsteps echoed in the hallway. "Sir Subaru, there is one thing I would like to report from the battle at the tower." "What? Something other than Crusch...?" "It is about the cultists who accompanied the Archbishop...those two fighters." Subaru caught his breath slightly. It was a problem he had imagined. Mimi had received a wound that would not close, and Wilhelm's old wound had reopened. The two extraordinarily powerful swordsmen that the cultists had brought with them "One of them is Eight-Arms Kurgan. A general of the Empire of Volakia and a swordsman who desired to be the strongest above all else. He was an eight-armed greatsword user who wielded four different greatswords. He died over ten years ago." "If he died already, then, um, doesn't that...?" "And the other one..." Wilhelm continued, cutting Subaru off. He stopped walking and Subaru stopped as well. His back to Subaru, Wilhelm remained silent. Subaru instinctively took a step forward, coming up beside him and immediately regretted it. That was something he should not have seen. " The other is the previous Sword Saint, Theresia van Astrea. My wife, who should have fallen to the White Whale and died in the expedition fifteen years ago." His voice remained calm. That alone spoke volumes about how sturdy his mental fortitude was. But it didn't matter one bit when Subaru saw how painfully warped the Sword Devil's face was. Rage and pain and a swirling, dark emotion that could not be described in a single word were threatening to tear the man apart. "Is there any chance that your wife and the empire's general are somehow both still alive...?" "...No, it is not possible. My wife and Kurgan are both dead. That is an indisputable fact. However, there is a fool somewhere on this earth who has disgraced their memories in death." Wilhelm gritted his teeth as he confirmed that his wife really was dead. Subaru thought about that. A blasphemous desecration of the dead. In other words, a type of necromancy. Some sort of magic to manipulate corpses was a staple of fantasy genres. Naturally, in a fictional world, it would not be that odd for a magic for reviving the dead to exist, but there was no convenient magic like that in this world. The dead could not be revived. That was an unwritten ironclad rule that Subaru had learned over the course of the past year and change. So Kurgan and Theresia's being there was not the result of resurrection, but of someone using magic in order to turn the dead into puppets. "There were once those who could manipulate the dead using a forbidden technique. During the Demi-human War decades ago, several people joined the demi-human side during the kingdom's internal struggle and became the kingdom's greatest enemies by raising a host of corpses to add to their ranks." "The kingdom's greatest enemies, capable of raising a host of the dead..." "The hero of the demi-humans Libre Fermi, the great strategist Valga Cromwell, and " Wilhelm paused for a second. "The witch Sphinx. A being most foul who caused an ocean of blood to be spilled by both humans and demi-humans alike without even batting an eye. The one and only witch other than the Witch of Envy who left her bloody name in the kingdom's history." 5 Wilhelm named a witch Subaru had never heard of before. The witches Subaru knew were Envy Satella and the six others associated with the deadly sins, whom he'd met in Echidna's tomb. That there were more witches came out of nowhere. "Then, do you think that that Sphinx is connected with this situation now?" "No. My apologies, I was not clear enough. The witch Sphinx was destroyed back during that war and is most certainly dead. She is surely not connected to the current incident." "She's dead? You're sure, right? A witch pretending to die in order to be able to act freely sort of fits the mental image I have of them." There was the way Satella appeared whenever Subaru came close to the taboo of revealing his Return by Death ability, and there was the way Echidna was living it up in her domain after having died, too. "They don't die no matter how many times you kill them, almost like cockroaches..." "I cannot speak to the sort of impression you may have of witches, but Sphinx was merely referred to as a witch out of convenience. The more important point is the magic that Sphinx used." "Which is a magic to raise the dead...?" "At the time, they were commonly called corpse soldiers. That taboo technique is the most likely culprit behind the current situation." Corpse soldiers was a blunt, easy-to-understand, and brutal phrase. A dead person, someone who had been lost, was moving again, and calling them a corpse soldier hammered home the reality of the situation. And Wilhelm's beloved wife was being used as one of those corpse soldiers. Subaru could not even begin to imagine what he was feeling. "My wife passed away. I was unable to protect her." *** Subaru regretted his bitter expression, because it had made Wilhelm feel compelled to say it again. His foolish inability to keep his emotions from showing had forced Wilhelm to repeat it. There was nothing he could say as he watched the older swordsman's face. Not a single thing. "Apologies for keeping you here so long. I mustn't make Lady Crusch wait any longer. Please proceed inside." Wilhelm bowed and pointed to the door at the end of the hall. The farthest room. That was where Crusch was waiting for Subaru. His feet were heavy, like the bottoms of his shoes were clinging to the floor. That was surely an expression of the weakness of his heart as he started to feel daunted. " It's me. Subaru Natsuki. Crusch?" Knocking on the door, he called out hoarsely. There was a moment's silence, and then the door slowly opened inward. "Subawu..." Ferris appeared on the other side. His gruesome appearance made Subaru catch his breath. His eyes were swollen and red from crying, and his chestnut hair was an absolute mess. His body was covered in spatters of blood that belonged to other people, and perhaps because he had not even spared a thought to wipe them away, there were even dried blood spots on his cheeks and neck. "...Ah, I was...I was told Crusch asked for me..." "Mm. She's in bed... Don't you dare pull anything." His voice was strained, a hint of hatred seeping into the warning. But the hatred was not directed at Subaru. It was an all-encompassing hate. What was consuming Ferris was an aimless rage, a hatred of everything in the world. Taking a deep breath, Subaru continued inside behind Ferris. The room was not

very large. Originally it had been a break room, and it was divided into several little spaces with beds for naps. And Crusch was in the one farthest to the back. The woman lying on the simple bed noticed Subaru. "...Sir Su-baru?" Her lips moved, calling his name. In trying to respond, Subaru felt his throat clench. Steeling himself and feigning calm, responding in such a way as to keep her from worrying he could not even do something as simple as that. "A-pologies for my un-sightly appear-ance..." "...No, no... That's not...that's not it...at all..." Seeing Subaru stiffen, Crusch apologized weakly, but Subaru desperately spoke up, trying to smooth things over, flustered by her pained demeanor. She had been afflicted by a horrific black curse after having been bathed in Capella's blood. Her neck, arms, legs huge swathes of her skin were covered in a mottled black pattern. It was not hard to imagine that it was the same for the skin that was not showing as well. The network of black veins spreading across her body pulsed unnaturally, like a venomous snake constricting itself around her slender body. The hideous curse was an insult to her hale, unblemished skin. And of course the affliction did not stop at her neck. Her dignified, sharp beauty, which brought to mind the keenest of blades the whole left side of her face was enveloped by a mottled splotch of black. The right side of her face remained clear, almost as if by malicious design, forcing Subaru to constantly compare the two sides, evoking an anger that something so noble had been so deliberately defiled. Her left eye was covered by an eye patch, and he was hesitant to even imagine what the eye underneath looked like. He could understand why everyone had so adamantly insisted on his not seeing Crusch in her current state. The sheer difference between how badly they had been affected it was just too cruel. "Is this...is this really the same dragon's blood curse as I have?" If so, then what could possibly explain the cruel difference between their conditions? The same black pattern was covering his right leg, but beyond the appearance, there had been no effect on his leg at all. It did not hurt, and nothing about it felt off. But it was clearly different for Crusch. Her pained wheezing, the way she trembled every time the network of vessels pulsed as if she were experiencing tremendous pain... "Ferris..." He turned to Ferris, one of the best healers in all the kingdom, to ask if he could do anything, but that did nothing more than rub salt in the wound as Ferris bit his lips at his own powerlessness. He dug his nails into his arms as he looked down. He regretted his powerlessness more than anyone else ever could. Given what he knew about their relationship, Subaru could be sure that Ferris had tried every possible method to help her far more things than Subaru could begin to imagine. "Crusch... Why...?" Why had she called for him when she was clearly suffering so much? He doubted she could do anything. Was there something she wanted to say? Did she want vengeance against Lust for doing that to her? To curse Subaru? He placed his ear close to Crusch's lips as she wheezed painfully, not wanting to miss anything she might say. "...Th-ank good-ness you are safe..." *** "I heard...you were exposed to the blood...like I was..." She seemed relieved. There was a gentleness to her voice. The next moment, Subaru realized what he had really been feeling and almost wanted to die from anger at his own pettiness. He had been thinking that it would be so much easier if she just blamed him. Because of that, he had looked down on her noble spirit and doubted her virtue. She had simply been worried for him, worried that he was suffering the same excruciating pain that she was. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." For doubting her, for her having to suffer like that, for being unable to do anything to relieve her pain: It all melded together into one great ball of remorse. He instinctively reached out, taking Crusch's limp hand. Her hand was covered by the mottled blackness. It looked distorted and was slick to the touch, which only emphasized the terrible state she was in. But "Gh, ahh?!" For a moment, an intense pain coursed through his veins, like he had grabbed a red-hot iron. Pain shot through his hand, and he reflexively let go of Crusch's hand and looked at his own. His hand, which should have been normal, now had the same black pattern. "Let me see your hand!" Ferris took his hand, examining it as he stared in shock. The light of healing magic enveloped the dark veins, but there was no trace of pain nor sign of the black affliction fading. But Subaru realized what had happened instead. "Ferris! Crusch's hand!" "What...?" Spinning around, Ferris widened his yellow eyes. The reason for his shock was Crusch's right hand, the one that Subaru had held. The swollen blackness on her right hand had faded ever so slightly. "Did it shift to my body from hers...?" There didn't seem to be any other way to explain the way their bodies had reacted. The stark difference in what their hands looked like now was proof. The curse afflicting Crusch's body had shifted to Subaru. "B-but nothing happened to me! I touched her countless times while caring for her... See? It isn't moving! I I..." Hearing Subaru's hypothesis, Ferris touched the black flesh and tearfully shook his head. He was overwhelmed with anguish not by the possibility of a treatment, but at his own inability to do anything. The stark reality before him his own inability to save his master was just a never-ending series of difficult-to-bear blows. "Even though I can't help her..." "Move aside, Ferris... I need to test this..." He felt bad for Ferris and the shock he must have been feeling, but verifying what was happening took precedence. Setting Ferris aside, Subaru faced Crusch again. She looked confused at what was happening as she looked up at him, her right eye tearing up. Subaru held out his hand, touching her cheek so that his hand covered her left eye, the one masked by an eye patch. "Gh-gaaaaaaaaah!" Immediately after, it felt like his brain was being seared and magma was flowing through his veins. The curse afflicting Crusch's body traveled through his fingers, seemingly burning, melting, and bursting his nerves as they went. Was this what Crusch was feeling with every moment that passed? She had been bearing something like that and even still had been worried about him? In that case, he would " Ahhh." Before realizing it, Subaru fell back to the floor, his mouth puckering and sputtering like that of a fish out of water. Beside him, Ferris, who was watching Crusch... "That's..." Had it had at least a little effect? Crusch's right eye was blinking in shock. The sign of the curse, the black pattern running across her left cheek, had faded somewhat. Seeing that, Subaru knew he had gotten some response. Lifting himself heavily, he prepared to try again. If it could change that much from one time, then if he repeated the action enough, she could be saved "You mustn't, Sir Subaru... Have you not noticed?" "What?" But it was Crusch herself who stopped him. Her amber eyes were focused on his outstretched hand. Following her gaze, he noticed what she was seeing and belatedly understood what she was saying. His right arm was covered by swollen black masses just like his right leg. That part was fine, though. He had successfully taken the curse from Crusch. That change was exactly what he wanted. That alone would not shake his resolve. But the amount of curse he had gained was also clearly not commensurate with the amount that had been taken from her. He had just lessened the curse on her left hand and part of her face, but his right arm from his elbow down to the back of his hand was covered in the black mass. It was not a one-to-one exchange. It was one to ten, maybe even more. "That's not enough to stop me." The instant he absorbed it, it hurt. But once it was inside him, it showed no sign of hurting or eating away at him. Unlike Crusch's, his pain only lasted for an instant. And there was no question which of the two of them was better suited to bearing the hideousness of the curse. If it would save Crusch, then he could put up with parts of his body getting hideous-looking welts. "You mustn't, Sir Subaru... I cannot accept that." "Don't be stupid. I'm fine with a little bit of pain. This is way better than getting an impulsive tattoo, anyway. So..." "There is no guarantee it will remain that way... If the both of us are unable to fight...that would be fatal given the current situation..." Crusch was worried more about the people of the city than about her own fate. That was a logical point, but Subaru didn't think everything could be decided so logically. "Ferris, stop Sir Subaru..." "I I... Lady Crusch, I..." "Please. Right now, the people need him more than they need me..." Ferris hesitated precisely because Crusch was absolutely the most important thing to him in the entire world. And no one could blame him for that hesitation and doubt. No one in the room was wrong. But merely not being wrong did not make them right. "Do not be swept away in a burst of emotion. Please, Sir Subaru..." "I understand what you're trying to say, Crusch, but I still " "You said it, did you not? 'Just leave everything else to me.'" *** His desire to prioritize the ones closest to him was broken by Crusch's plea. The words she chose, the strength with which she spoke, had he really said that himself? And, having heard him say that, Crusch was now telling him to follow through, to keep his word? "Say it to me, too, please." *** "'Leave everything else to me.'" She waited for Subaru's response with a pained smile. Catching his breath, moving his tongue inside his dry mouth, Subaru quietly closed his eyes. Having been scolded for clinging to the chance to save someone right in front of him without thinking of what would come later, having been told something he should not have needed to be told, then at the very least Then at the very least, for that one moment, he should do what she wanted "Crusch, please take your time and rest." "...Sir Subaru..." "You can leave everything else to me." " Thank you." He could at least fulfill the role asked of him, say the words that she wanted to hear from him. *** Hearing that, she exhaled a deep breath, as if relieved. Then she weakly closed her eyes proof that she had only been carrying on as she had through sheer force of will. Her breathing became shallower, and she was soon too busy battling the encroaching curse again to pay attention to anything else. In order to free her from that even a minute sooner "Sorry, Ferris, but I have to go." "...What should I do?" Adjusting Crusch's blanket, Subaru stood up and spoke softly. Ferris looked exhausted as he turned to Subaru for some sort of consolation. Honestly, he wanted to just tell him to stay by Crusch's side. But Ferris's abilities would not allow that, given the situation. "We need your strength. There are sure to be more people hurt going forward. There are going to be a lot of people we won't be able to save without you. So please." "...But I couldn't even save the one person I most wanted to save..." "Ferris..." "Sorry, that was stupid of me... Let me stay here with her

a little longer." Turning away, Ferris sat down in the chair next to the bed. Subaru tapped his shoulder lightly, glanced at Crusch's resting face, and then left the room. When he entered the hallway, he was greeted by Wilhelm, whose head was lowered just like when he had left. Perhaps realizing what had happened inside, he thanked Subaru. "You have my gratitude for answering Lady Crusch's wish." "It's not anywhere near as noble as you make it sound. If anything, she lit a fire in my belly... What the hell is going on with my body, though?" Absorbing Crusch's curse, and also seemingly weakening the effects of the dragon's blood, and then the resistance to the Witch Factor, and his ability to Return by Death... It was all incredibly shady. Would he ever get a proper answer to all these questions? "Either way, I'm going to have to try this again with her after everything else is all cleared up." "Is your right arm truly well?" "Yeah, though I know it looks terrible. Guess I'll have to stick to long sleeves and maybe some gloves, too. But if a couple of permanent scars are all it takes to save a pretty girl, then you won't find me complaining." It was his body, and he did feel a certain amount of reluctance. But his flippant statement was also fairly close to how Subaru truly felt about it. If there was no other solution, then he would be fine with bearing her curse for her. Even if it ended up covering his whole body in that nasty mottled black, he could just apologize to Emilia and Rem and Beatrice and ask for their forgiveness. "That's something to worry about once we get through all this. Let's head downstairs. They should be getting to how to attack the towers around now." " Reinhard is down there now." As Subaru started to hurry to the conference room, he was stopped in his tracks by Wilhelm's murmur. For a split second, he flashed back to the scene at the Water Raiment Inn. The reconciliation between grandfather and grandson, and the way it had been ruined and their chance at reconciliation stopped in its tracks "Please do not misunderstand, Sir Subaru." However, Wilhelm shook his head, allaying Subaru's fears. "I do not feel any resistance to fighting together with Reinhard. But I have one request for you." "A request?" " Could I ask you not to reveal the identity of the corpse soldiers to Reinhard?" *** Subaru was at a loss, unsure what the meaning of Wilhelm's soft-spoken request was. He had only just heard about them from Wilhelm: a technique that desecrated the dead and had been used in the city this time to "Do you mean don't tell him about your wife...about his grandmother?" "Yes. I don't want him...I don't want my grandson to have to deal with my wife being turned into a corpse soldier. He would surely blame himself. And it is no one's fault but my own." "Your fault? It's " He wanted to say it was not Wilhelm's fault at all. But he could not say something like that so thoughtlessly. Recalling the scene from that morning, he also remembered what Heinkel had said. Something that should have had no credibility at all but even so, Wilhelm had not denied it. He'd said that Wilhelm had blamed Reinhard for his wife's death. It was hard to believe, but neither of them had denied the charge. "Sir Subaru, are you aware that the blessing of the Sword Saint is a unique one?" "...Not particularly. Mostly just that it's a blessing that all the people called Sword Saint in history had and that having it made them super powerful." "At a high level, that is not mistaken, but there is one point where the blessing of the Sword Saint is notably different from all other blessings. That point is that it is an inherited blessing." "An inherited blessing?" Wilhelm nodded as Subaru exhaled. The old swordsman's eyes were closed, his expression twisted as if he was remembering a painful past. "It was inherited through the generations, passed down from the original Sword Saint, Reid Astrea. The blessing resides in the Astrea family's bloodline, and the next Sword Saint always arises from a descendent of their house. My wife inherited it from the last Sword Saint, and Reinhard inherited it from her." "A blessing inherited among family... I see, so that's how it was. So when you lost your wife, it was inherited by Reinhard." Something caught in Subaru's head as he tried to understand the situation. The previous Sword Saint had fallen to the White Whale, and as a result, Reinhard had inherited the blessing. It was a painful past, but in a sense, it was just the natural order of succession as well. But the argument that the Astrea family had had earlier that morning did not fit with the official story. Wilhelm's grief, Heinkel's scorn, and Reinhard's silence all of them seemed to be arguing against the legitimacy of the blessing's inheritance in some shape or form. And the reason for that was "It occurred in the midst of the battle with the White Whale." *** " Reinhard inherited the blessing while my wife was in the middle of the hunt. She lost her blessing during the fighting and became nothing more than a single regular woman, which left her unable to support the rear guard alone." That was the origin of the rift in the Astrea family. The blessing had been transferred to the next generation while she was right in the middle of fighting during the White Whale hunt. This would have left the former Sword Saint on the battlefield without her blessing. And entrusted with the rear guard of the enormous force, she'd fought to protect the lives of the many soldiers who depended on her and breathed her last in the course of duty. "It was none other than I who stole the sword away from my wife. It was I who made the woman beloved by the Sword God abandon her sword. And that was what invited her doom." "Wilhelm..." "The Sword God did not forgive my wife for her betrayal. Imagining what she must have thought, having her blessing go away on the battlefield, leaving her nothing but the sword I had made her abandon to rely on...I could not accept it. It is true that I berated Reinhard for inheriting the blessing. Fool that I was, I could not forgive my young grandson, who was grieving his grandmother's death and struggling with the far-too-heavy fate he had been burdened with. I assure you I regret it deeply." The regret he had shared with Subaru the night before this was the mistake he had made. Reinhard was not at fault at all, but despite understanding that, in his grief, Wilhelm had refused to acknowledge the fact. As a result, a fatal fracture had split the Astrea family, dividing them. "I do not want to go through that pain again. Because Reinhard was not to blame at all for her death. There is no reason for my grandson to shoulder that burden at all." Because of that, he wanted to resolve it with his own sword, without revealing the truth to Reinhard. Subaru could understand those feelings, that regret, and that resolve so badly it hurt. In which case "Crusch and Ferris, and your wife and Reinhard... If you try to carry everything by yourself, you'll be crushed under the weight of it all. And even if I keep quiet about the corpse soldiers, they'll still show up somewhere." "That is an unnecessary concern." "Eh...?" Subaru was trying to warn him that it was an unrealistic gamble with poor odds, but Wilhelm merely smiled. The Sword Devil's expression warped into a fiercely valiant grin. " There is no way that my wife that Theresia won't come to meet me." 6 *** The mood tensed when Subaru returned to the conference room. The reason was Wilhelm. He and Reinhard traded glances, and after a silent exchange of sorts, they adopted positions standing on opposite sides of the room. Subaru could not help the complex feeling he had knowing what Wilhelm had on his mind, but there was nothing he could say, so he reclaimed the empty seat at the table between Garfiel and Otto. "Sorry for the delay. Where are we at?" "The explanation is more or less done. How were things up there...? What of Lady Crusch's condition?" "...Not great. Not hopeless, either, though. There might just be something we can do for her, but it'll have to wait until we've dealt with the cultists first." "I see. That, at least, is a bit of good news." Otto straightened himself up, and the others sitting around the table looked a little bit relieved. Unfortunately for them, Subaru was not going to explain exactly how he could help her. He knew that if he did, someone was sure to try to stop him, so he would just ask for forgiveness instead of permission if things came down to it. Though the best thing would obviously be if they could beat Lust and find a way to get rid of the mottled blackness entirely. "Either way, it is unlikely Crusch will be rejoining the fight. And Ferris wants to stay with her, so that means the relief squad and the people from the Iron Fangs will probably need to stay here. How's that sound to you guys?" "City hall's right in the middle of the city, so it makes sense to set up our command post here. It's not going to change the basic plan for a simultaneous attack on all four of the control towers, either. But..." "But?" "There's someone who's got her own thoughts about that plan." Anastasia glanced over the table at the person sitting across from her. It didn't take much imagination to guess whom she meant without even needing to look. Even in their current predicament, the crimson candidate casually fanned herself, showing no spirit of cooperation at all. "Priscilla? What crazy idea do you have now?" "It sounds as if you presume to know me, commoner. Then tell me, could you predict this? I shall go to the control tower in the fourth district to behead that Wrath or whatever resides there." "Wh...?" Priscilla looked smug as her majestic declaration caught Subaru entirely off guard. He was well and truly taken aback by her plan. Anastasia nodded when she saw the shock on his face. "See? She's been like that the whole time. I've been trying to figure out what to do about it." "We have to stop her, obviously...is what I'd like to say, but..." Ordinarily, her suggestion would be unbelievably rash, but when he thought it through coolheadedly, there was a certain merit to her plan, too. Crusch had joined the attack on city hall earlier, so he could not reject Priscilla's suggestion just because she was a royal-selection candidate. And there was no way to argue that she was lacking in strength. At the very least, she was powerful enough to easily slay the ferocious demi-beasts roaming the city. She did not pale in comparison to Crusch in her swordsmanship, either. As an amateur who had observed dozens of experts, that was how Subaru rated her strength. "This is asinine. I possess both strength and beauty. So what reason is there to hesitate? Do not think me a fool who renders herself useless in the opening scenes or some weakling who never had the strength to stand and fight in the first place." "I do not believe I can allow that to pass without comment. I am certain you could not possibly be referring to my master as a fool, could you?" "It sounds as if you have someone in mind, old man. Being forced to leave the stage during a warmup before the main performance even

starts could hardly be called the action of a person fated to play a leading role. I suppose it was just a misjudgment on my part to have expected more." Priscilla and Wilhelm were clashing dangerously from word one. Ordinarily, it was a situation to just let something like that go, but for various reasons, Wilhelm was not quite composed enough to let it slide. And Priscilla was so totally unchanged from her normal self that it was hard to imagine her ever not behaving like that. "Yeah, yeah. I'm the weakling and the fool, so let's just move on. Quit arguin' among ourselves." "I'm not so kind as to unconditionally lend an ear to the prattling of a weakling, she-fox." "Being weak isn't the same as being incapable of winning. And how are you going to get the people around you to act how you want without a little show of magnanimity? We're all pissed off here, so just have a little patience." "Hmph." Subaru was amazed at Anastasia's mediation skills as he watched her talk the both of them down and silence their squabbling. They both still looked annoyed, but Priscilla retracted her prickly attitude, and Wilhelm sheathed his sharp aura. Of course, the mood could hardly be called harmonious. Given the situation, they had to prioritize moving the conversation forward regardless of how some people felt about one another. "Then, would that mean Sir Al will be accompanying you to slay the Archbishop of Wrath?" "Spare me your nonsense. Bringing that jester would only darken my glorious procession. And obviously, I will be leaving Schult here as well. He is only with me to be a pet." "...In that case, were you perhaps actually intending to go there by yourself?" Julius pressed in a sharp tone, as if to say there was no way that that could be acceptable. "Yeah, Princess," Al responded, agreeing with Julius. "Even you can't just declare you'll be fine alone. At the very least, take the Sword Saint with you..." "Don't go giving away our strongest trump card with a cheap 'at the very least'! And you, do you actually have some plan that makes you think you can win?" "Of course. And in the first place, don't jump to conclusions. I never said I would be going alone. The diva there and I shall hunt the Archbishop of Wrath together." Priscilla snapped her fan closed and pointed it at the corner of the room. "The diva..." Liliana was sitting cross-legged on the ground there, dozing off with her lyulyre in her arms. She snapped back to reality at suddenly being called onstage. Her jaw dropped as she responded. "Y-you chose me?! And for what reason would you suddenly do that?!" "Commoner, there was no lie in the previous conversation, correct? That irksome chaotic presence proliferating throughout the city was something evoked by the Archbishop of Wrath's impudent Authority?" "Y-yeah, there's no mistaking it..." Remembering how the residents in the shelter had been set free by Liliana's singing, Subaru inhaled sharply. He had considered using Liliana's music to counter Wrath's Authority as well, but the problems were the danger of bringing her to a battlefield and her reluctance to use her singing as essentially a weapon a tool to counter that Authority "Can you explain, Subaru? What is the connection between Miss Liliana and the Archbishop of Wrath?" asked Anastasia. "...You heard about how Wrath's Authority works, right? It creates a resonance between the hearts and minds of the city's residents, which has been causing unrest and panic to spread unchecked. We used the broadcast to amplify and spread courage, but Liliana's singing can do the same thing. Honestly, it can probably do an even better job." After all, they only had to hear Liliana's singing. There was no need for the tightrope walk that Subaru had carefully navigated after carefully choosing his words and mustering what little courage he had to offer. Her music was the real deal just her singing could captivate people's hearts, and experiencing that pure passion firsthand was enough to free people's hearts from Sirius's Authority. "How much did your singing move the masses' hearts when we were going around between the shelters before? You need only do the same again. Merely steal away the hearts of the vulgar masses." "Wh-what a violent logic! B-but I only encouraged people with my singing. I don't have any confidence at all that I can meet such a weighty expectation..." "I see. So then you do not have faith that the music you have inherited from your forebears in eras long past will succeed." The way Priscilla sniffed expressed such disdain that it caused Liliana's eyes to change instantly. She had been trying to beg out of the fight with a servile, polite smile, but her expression suddenly turned serious. "What do you mean by that?" "It should not require deep thought to understand. Those are the songs you have so devoutly continued singing, and yet in the moment when people's hearts are crying out for salvation, you shrink back and fall silent? I have no need for such a craven, whipped dog. At least a wild mutt still howls freely. Hark, a eulogy for a whipped dog." "A-ah, ah! You said it! There are some things you just shouldn't say! Fine, then! I'll do it! I'll let you hear it! If I remained silent now, I would lose everything! If I hesitated now, Mr. Kiritaka would spin in his grave!" Priscilla's tremendous instigation brought on a terrific explosion from Liliana. Her face was bright red as she fired back, plucking the lyulyre's strings at high speed. "I was of a mood to sing a requiem for the fallen Kiritaka, but nay! A scramble to steal away hearts? I say let them come! The songs that I have inherited would never lose to some mysterious ability no one has ever heard of! Because the power of music is even more mysterious!" In a fit of excitement, Liliana leaped atop the round table and played her lyulyre while lying down. Flustered by her performance, Otto and Schult quickly pulled her back down to the floor. Subaru ignored Liliana, who was starting to compose a rock ballad in the corner of the room, as he looked Priscilla in the eye. "I know full well that both her singing voice and her stupidity are on the level of national treasures. And I also agree she could be a perfect counter for Wrath's ability. But there's no proof it will work as planned, either." "I would never embark on a fight where I had any chance of losing. The very logic of this world proceeds only in the manner that is most convenient to me. And there is no one who values her singing more highly than I. I shan't allow her to suffer a single scratch above her shoulders." "...Singing starts with the diaphragm, so I'm pretty sure it won't mean much if there's anything missing from her waist up." Priscilla was showing no sign of yielding, but Subaru wanted one final nudge. If there was at least some proof they could point to that Liliana's singing would work against Sirius, then... "Hey, Reinhard, by any chance, do you have some kind of ability to see the power that people have right, blessings? Do you have some kind of ability to see blessings or something?" "There is a divine protection called the blessing of judgment that allows one to know people's blessings. I see. If she truly does bear a songstress blessing, then that could serve as evidence to accept Lady Priscilla's contention." Reinhard rested his hand on his chin in thought. Subaru had turned to him because he figured he might as well try, but it was only natural that Reinhard did not just magically have the solution to something like that. "Don't worry about it." Subaru waved him off. "That was too much to hope for. Anyway, if we could just get a little bit of data about how much effect Liliana's singing has..." "There is no need for that I was just blessed with one." "Huh? Blessed with what, a child? You've got to be kidding me, right?" That was the first thing that came to mind at that turn of phrase. Smiling awkwardly at Subaru's reaction, Reinhard looked closely at Liliana. Liliana seemed to writhe under his gaze, but he ignored her reaction. "That is surprising. She is indeed a bearer of the blessing of telepathy." "I'm more surprised by you than her blessing, honestly. Huh? Wait, what did you just say? You were granted something?" "This isn't the time for joking around. Put simply, the telepathy blessing is one that allows the bearer to convey their feelings to others. Ordinarily, it just acts on a level that allows one to share one's thoughts with another who is particularly intimate, but...singing? I had never considered that possibility before." Reinhard was purely admiring the power of Liliana's songs, but Subaru still had not scooped up his jaw from where it had dropped when Reinhard started explaining the blessing. He had called Reinhard's strength a cheat and beyond superhuman before, but this was just too much. He was way too beloved by God, the world, or fate. Whatever was responsible, simply granting the blessing the moment Reinhard desired it... *** When he thought it through that far, Subaru noticed something tripping him up. There was not really any way for him to describe what had just happened other than by saying Reinhard had received the blessing he desired on the spot. In and of itself, that was an incredibly envious position. But it also felt like something was tremendously wrong about it in a way that he couldn't quite place. Either way, though "Nay! Please entrust this task to me! I shall surely follow through. Have no fear. I shall do nothing but sing. Nothing but...sing. Just singing...right? There's nothing else, right? Right? Right, Lady Priscilla?!" "Where'd that concern come from all of a sudden...? Anyway, for now I suppose we can leave the Archbishop of Wrath to Priscilla and Liliana? And we've got Reinhard's seal of approval that she should be able to counter Wrath's Authority." "I guess I can accept that. Everyone else okay with it?" Ignoring Liliana, whose face was blinking back and forth between stop and go, Subaru checked around the table, with Anastasia responding for the group. There was still some reservation on everyone else's face, but they all seemed ready to accept it on a theoretical level. The only one who looked entirely at ease was Priscilla herself. "How absurd. I'm the one whose life is being staked on this diva's voice. Do you really believe I would risk my fate on something I did not trust completely? Her singing is worthy of that much." When she put it that way, Subaru really didn't have anything else he could say. It was true, after all. Priscilla was the one who had seen the potential in Liliana, and she was the one who would be fighting Sirius while entrusting her fate to that potential. There was no mistaking that she was heroic in her own right and excelled in ingenuity and prudence despite how she spoke and behaved. "Still, though, I want to do whatever I can to reduce the risks..." "Why? It would never happen, even hypothetically, but were I to die it would only benefit your master. Her greatest obstacle would disappear without any effort on her part. Shouldn't you welcome that?" "Don't you dare assume that." *** Subaru immediately shot down Priscilla's intimation with a cold look. Trying to win by increasing the odds of another candidate's dying in order to boost Emilia's chances would be the lowest of the low. He didn't want anyone to die. And he would certainly not welcome that result if it truly did come to pass. "You got what you wanted,

right, Princess? Let's just let it be now... Princess?" "...It's nothing, I was just caught unawares by a thought I had not considered." *** "What, are you sulking? How cute for such a hulking man." "...It's not that at all." Looking away, Al propped his head up on his arm as if it was no concern of his. Priscilla harrumphed and leaned back in her seat, done speaking. Finally the discussion could move on to the next topic. "After several twists and turns...as for the other groupings...I have a suggestion. The first district, where Lust is waiting, the one we all have a bone to pick with that is probably where the enemy's greatest concentration of forces will be. The Archbishop as well as two cultists. And possibly a slew of demi-beasts, too." "You suspect that they are all Lust's personal forces?" "Given how the demi-beasts look, it seems a safe bet they are connected to Lust. As for the two cultists..." " They are most likely sword masters being manipulated by a technique to control the dead: corpse soldiers," Wilhelm interjected. Subaru was a little bit surprised that he'd volunteered that information himself. "Corpse soldiers," Julius murmured to himself. "I've seen note of them in past records. The result of a deplorable, forbidden technique from the era of the Demi-human War. The witch Sphinx's taboo magic." "She has claimed to be a member of the royal family who is long dead and claimed to have the dragon's blood that is locked away in the castle. Even if the claim about dragon blood is in fact merely a bluff, she does appear to have an extreme obsession with the kingdom and its history. It is possible she is capable of employing forbidden techniques that have been sealed away in the kingdom's dark past." "It feels as though that logic is a tad of a reach... Can you truly be sure?" As expected of Julius, he was latching on precisely where Subaru would rather he not dig too deeply. He could always just say that one of the corpse soldiers was Theresia, and that would be proof enough, but that was exactly the point that Wilhelm had asked him not to bring up around Reinhard. This meant Subaru was stuck trying to figure out a way to get out of it without saying that too explicitly. " If they were corpse soldiers, then the one I was duking it out with had to be Eight-Arms Kurgan." And it was Garfiel sitting right next to him who came to the rescue. Garfiel had his arms crossed and was scowling with his teeth bared. "A swordsman that strong with eight arms...there ain't anyone else it could be. Not that I can think of, at least. You got anyone else, Finest Knight?" "You fought with them personally, so if you say so, then I would defer to your experience. Among the many-armed tribes, it is exceedingly rare for one to be born with eight arms. If that someone was also extraordinary strong, then..." "There ain't anyone else it can be. And that other woman's gotta be on the same level as him." "Corpse soldiers, you say? And going so far as to use a woman as well. Lust is a rather detestable opponent." Miraculously, Garfiel and Julius had managed to advance the conversation just enough without dwelling on Theresia's true identity. Reinhard's brow furrowed a bit at the point about one of the corpse soldiers being a woman, though "There's no mistaking they are using corpse soldiers. Fortunately, they don't seem to be able to turn the whole graveyard on us. There's either some kind of limit on numbers, or maybe Lust just prefers quality over quantity." "And the taboo technique of corpse soldiers that disgraces the dead is a fitting technique given the Archbishop of Lust's self-avowed interests. I see. It is painful to wrap my head around the possibility, but there is a logic to it. I can accept it." "The convincing piece of evidence being how terrible her personality is is a pretty grim indictment, though," Subaru said, grimacing bitterly. There were similar expressions around the table as they all nodded in agreement. Capella was the one who had conducted the citywide broadcasts, so she was the one cultist everyone could immediately recognize as being utterly twisted and rotten to the core. And as luck would have it, that shared recognition was enough to convince the room. "Anyway, back to what I was going to say before... I wanted to leave dealing with Lust to Wilhelm, and if possible Garfiel as well." "Wh ? General?!" Once he decided the room was ready, Subaru put forth his original proposal: sending Wilhelm and Garfiel to deal with Lust. Their reactions were polar opposites. Wilhelm nodded quietly, having already expected this, while Garfiel, who was completely caught by surprise, opened his eyes wide in shock. From his perspective, that was a natural reaction "You're going to go save Lady Emilia, aren't you, General? In that case, I should..." "I'm grateful you'd say that, and trust me, it'd be incredibly reassuring to have you with me. But I think this is our best answer from a force-distribution perspective... Besides, you have your own scores to settle, right?" *** Garfiel fell silent. That line hit right where it hurt. Wilhelm was not the only one with a connection to Lust and her troops. The man who had been changed into a black dragon by Lust's Authority was someone Garfiel knew. And also, Lust's subordinate, the corpse soldier Theresia, had "Mimi got it bad, and her two brothers shared it, too. All three of them have been unconscious since fighting to get away from the Muse Company You get it, right?" The blessing of the grim reaper was extraordinarily powerful. Just a single wound would continue eating away at someone until their life force gave out. There was no escape from that death without defeating the person who possessed the blessing. Garfiel had his reasons to be fighting on that battlefield just like Wilhelm did. "As you are all aware, my master, Lady Crusch, is currently suffering due to the effect of Lust's contemptible ability. As Lady Crusch's vassal, I have a duty to fight for my master." "If possible, I was hoping to learn more about this supposed link to dragon blood from Lust. Was that also part of why you're rarin' to go there, Mr. Wilhelm?" asked Anastasia. "It is as you suggest. Because of that, I would like you all to leave the slaying of Lust to me..." Wilhelm's swirling bloodlust filled the room. Everyone hesitated to argue with his unshakable resolve and his loyalty to his master. All except for his one blood relation. " I am against this proposal." "...Reinhard..." "You are not calm and collected, Grandfather. I can understand your hostility toward the Archbishop who so grievously harmed Lady Crusch, of course. However, that anger will only cloud your sword strikes." "...You would argue that I cannot adequately serve Lady Crusch while insufficiently calm?" "Out of concern for Lady Crusch, we cannot afford to fail to defeat Lust. In that case, it should be I who takes that role. At the very least, I will not fall behind the enemy in terms of composure." Reinhard's logic was sound and based in a desire to resolve things in the surest way possible. And it was true enough that Wilhelm was not entirely coolheaded about the fight that lay before him. But when Reinhard said it, Wilhelm's no, the Sword Devil's lips curled into a sneer. It was by no means a kindly old man's smile it was the grin of a ferocious beast. "My not being calm and collected is only natural, Reinhard." "Yes, but..." "Who do you think I am? What do you think your grandfather is? I am the man hailed as the Sword Devil. A hopeless man stuck in the middle of transforming himself into a mere blade, and unable to follow through with conviction, ended up falling in love with a woman. But it is precisely because of that half-heartedness that I never once held back in the slightest in the face of what needed to be done." His fierce grin had banished his gentle expression. And now that he had broken free of that facade, what appeared was the face of a devil starved for blood and the clash of steel. The devil who was bewitched by the blade, his blue eyes only ever seeking a single other light "When I've decided to bare my sword, my heart burns with an unbearable heat. Not coolheaded? That is how I always am on the battlefield. And yet I've still lived to this ripe old age. I have no interest in rotting away without fulfilling my duty to my master. Your concern is neither needed nor desired." "That argument is mere idealism..." "Conviction is nothing but idealism backed by a resolve to see things through to the very end. Having persisted fourteen years, my rusted blade was still sharp enough to claim vengeance for my wife it is too soon for me to sheathe it for the last time." It was Wilhelm's conviction that had avenged Reinhard's grandmother in the Battle of the White Whale. And there was nothing Reinhard could say in response to that. However, he averted his eyes, still unable to fully accept it. "The battlefield that needs you is elsewhere, Reinhard," Wilhelm continued. "And where exactly might that be?" " Please take Reinhard with you in the battle you are about to embark on, Sir Subaru." The Sword Devil looked Subaru in the eye. "You will have to face Greed in order to recover Lady Emilia. Please have Reinhard be your blade for that battle." "Wilhelm..." Subaru scratched his cheek and sighed softly at Wilhelm's proposal. He then turned to face Reinhard and met his blue-eyed gaze. "I was going to get to that next, but...yeah, I want you to help me fight Greed. There's no way we can beat that crazy narcissist without you." It was possible to generally guess the Authorities of the Archbishops from the phenomena that happened around them, and based on that, the Authority that Regulus had was on a whole other level in terms of lethality. There was no way to explain what happened as being the result of anything other than something absurd like invincibility. He didn't want to believe it was true invincibility, with no weakness or opening of any kind, but "We need someone strong enough to fight Regulus head-to-head in order to figure out how to defeat his apparent invulnerability. In terms of offense and defense, if we compare them head-on, he's almost certainly the most powerful of the Archbishops by far. So I want you to lend me your strength." *** "If you frame it as me planning to slam invincibility and the most powerful force into each other to see what happens, that makes it sound like some weird test of strength." Pair the illogical with the illogical and the absurd with the absurd. Even if he wanted to fight fire with fire, that was not usually an option, so the one time he actually got the chance to do it, Subaru was not going to be picky about it. He was sure that that was the best choice. "An opponent who is unaffected by attacks of any kind, you say? Certainly, if there were a monster like that, then I would be the best choice. But..." " I'm asking you, too. Could you please help the general and Lady Emilia?" Reinhard was still unsure, even after hearing about Regulus's invulnerability, but to his surprise, Garfiel stood up and lowered his head. He kept his forehead pressed to the table as he bowed low in order to plead with Reinhard. "I'm a failure as a guard. Since coming to this city, I haven't been able to carry out any of the roles I

was given, the things I had to do no matter what. Because of that, on the biggest stage of this huge fight, I'm here desperately trying to repay the debts I owe other people instead of being able to fight for my own camp...so please!" Garfiel's fangs were trembling as he accepted his own weakness and the results of his own failures. "Garfiel..." The red-haired Sword Saint fell silent for a moment " Then give me your word. Just as you have your expectations of me, I will hold you to the same standards. Give me your word that you will surely follow through on your end as well." "Ah...yeah. Yeah, leave it to me! Between me and the Sword Devil, there ain't no enemy that can stand in our way!" Garfiel straightened up, his fangs grinding. "Okay. Then I will trust in your and my grandfather's victory and I shall become Subaru's blade." Reinhard nodded. *** And like that, the Sword Devil and the Sword Saint grandfather and grandson, two fellow swordsmen exchanged gazes and shared a firm nod. With Reinhard finally agreeing to join his fight, Subaru was sure he wouldn't feel more confident even if he had an army a million strong at his back. "Sorry for the selfish request, Reinhard." "It's fine. I don't mind. No matter the battlefield, I will always do my best. So if I can help you and Lady Emilia in the process, then all the better." "I really am sorry for always relying on you. I know I've already relied on you far too much because of how strong you are, but...I'll do my best to make up for anything you might be lacking, so you can count on me." *** For a second, Reinhard fell silent, and his eyes widened. Subaru cocked his head at the odd reaction, but Reinhard just shook his head and chuckled softly. "No, it's nothing to you, I imagine Yes, I'll be counting on you to take care of whatever I cannot." " ? Yeah, feel free to get your hopes up, 'cause I know I've got high hopes for you." With that, they had confirmed the groups that would be attacking the first three control towers. That left just one " By process of elimination, Ricardo and I will be tasked with Gluttony." Julius spoke stiffly, drawing everyone's attention. As he said, of everyone who had gathered in city hall who could fight, the only ones left who could face Gluttony were he and Ricardo. But "...Are you all right, Julius? You've seemed a bit off for a while now." "My apologies for worrying you. However, I am well. If we are talking about physical condition, then I cannot really complain with Subaru here." "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" "Naturally, a consideration for the state of your right leg. Please don't snap at me like that. I had no intention of getting into it with you in this moment." "Mrgh..." Subaru felt a little sad getting parried so flatly. Anastasia was not the only one who felt Julius was acting rather strangely. Subaru did as well. But he couldn't tell what the source of the strange behavior was. And Julius declined to answer the deeper question as he nodded gracefully, a resolute gleam in his eyes. "Ricardo and I shall take the remaining Archbishop, Gluttony, an opponent we encountered at city hall and have a connection with In other times, he is an opponent you or Sir Wilhelm would have preferred to have drawn, but having been entrusted with him anyway, rest assured that we will prevail." "...Yeah, I guess so." Julius said aloud exactly what Subaru had been thinking. Defeating the Archbishop of Gluttony was precisely what Subaru had wanted to accomplish himself. And Wilhelm, with Crusch suffering on the floor above, was in the same position as Subaru. Gluttony's Authority, the ability to consume memories and names when Subaru thought of how Rem had suffered due to that power and was even now in a wakeless slumber, he wanted nothing more than to crush Gluttony with his own two hands. Punch, kick, stomp, and make that cultist regret everything until there was nothing but tearful pleas for forgiveness that was what he wanted to do. And he was yielding that chance to someone else "I really don't want to leave it to anyone else. You know I wanted to bring Rem back myself. I believed that was my role." *** "But still, if I don't get a choice about it, if I have to leave it to someone else, then I want to leave it to you. Don't get the wrong idea, this was process of elimination... Still, you are the person I trust with this. As much as I don't like it, you are one of the few people I could bear to have take my place." Rem's memories and her very existence were still being held hostage. Emilia was being held hostage and was waiting to be rescued. They were both precious to Subaru, both people who had to be saved no matter what. He wanted to be able to show off for both of them. Because Subaru was Emilia's knight and Rem's hero. "I'll defeat Greed and bring Emilia back, so I'll let you beat the crap out of Gluttony this time... Don't screw it up." " I shall live up to your expectations. This time, this time for sure." Julius nodded deeply, accepting Subaru's faith in him. The Finest Knight then looked to Wilhelm and nodded slightly. "Sir Wilhelm." "Sir Subaru managed to say most everything that I wanted to say. It is true that I cannot forgive Gluttony for what happened...therefore I shall entrust that to you as well, Sir Julius. There are just slightly too many rogues in this city at the moment." "Agreed. I shall accept your thoughts." Bathed in Wilhelm's keen battle aura, Julius quietly closed his eyes, taking encouragement from it. And watching their exchanges quietly, Ricardo opened his toothy mouth wide. "Man, y'all sure like to talk like I'm not here! Not that it really bothers me, though! And I can't say you're wrong about this bein' the best deployment, either." "You're the kinda guy who's down for just about anything. And there's nothin' cute about a guy as big as you gettin' all pouty... Take care of Julius, though." "Don't you worry. You ever known me to tell a lie, Lady Anna?" "...Could you quit with the names already? I am your master." Ricardo guffawed as Anastasia's cheeks puffed out in a cute pout. Ricardo's black eyes were filled with a pained kindness as he looked down at Anastasia. "In that case, all the matchups are settled." Looking around the table, everyone nodded at Subaru's concluding statement. "The fourth tower, Wrath, will go to the Priscilla-and-Liliana pair. And Al will stay behind for defense... That's all right with you, yes?" "A fool who would dare try to control people's hearts while I remain on this earth? Absurd. I will grant that empty-headed dunce a fitting punishment." "I shall sing, sing, and sing, for I am but a mass of flesh whose purpose is naught but to sing. I shan't regret my life, but I shall regret my stage. All right, I can do this. I can feel it now! I've got this!" *** Priscilla was fanning herself as Liliana focused her all on a mysterious sort of auto-suggestion. Al's expression was hidden, but it was clear as day that he had not really come to terms with the situation yet. And it was just as clear that Priscilla had no intention of paying his discomfort any heed. There were still a lot of questions about how their pair was going to work, but they were the ones most confident of success. "Next is the first district, Garfiel and Wilhelm taking down Lust." "Yeah! This is gonna be like Mezoreia's panorama. I'll grab it all with this fist of mine." "Please leave it to us we shall settle things with the corpse soldiers as well." They had a difficult battle ahead of them, but the two of them probably had the strongest spirits. The Sword Devil Wilhelm fighting out of fealty to his master and for the sake of the beloved wife he had never forgotten. And Garfiel in search of a resolution to the shapeless emotions rumbling around in his soul. They were both setting out for a battle with things they could not concede hanging in the balance. "And the second district. Julius and Ricardo, you two are taking on Gluttony." "It is the role I've been entrusted. If I cannot live up to that trust, then I can hardly call myself a knight." "My family got hit real hard by those bastards. I'll knock 'em around 'til they're beggin' for mercy." When it came to connections with the cultists, the two of them had been relatively far removed from them until today. But having people close to them fall in battle and having been entrusted with the feelings of Subaru and their other comrades, they had more than enough reason to fight. They would be able to wield their swords freely. They were comrades with whom Subaru had walked the fine line between life and death before. He did not need a reason to be able to trust them. "And finally, Reinhard and I will take Greed in the third district. I'll be counting on you." " Yes, leave it to me. And I'll be counting on you as well, Subaru." Reinhard nodded easily. However, that alone was more than enough reassurance, proof that his mind was already clear and focused even before the fight began in earnest. As they were about to take the fight to the cultists, they couldn't afford any mistakes. Subaru pointedly straightened up and stood tall. And with the deployments all confirmed, Anastasia clapped her hands. "In that case, if everything's decided, all that's left is handing out the conversation mirrors... We have three. Assuming I keep one here at the base, who's going to take the other two?" "If possible, I'd like the Wrath team to have one. As for the other...either the Lust or Gluttony team would be fine." "Why's that?" "Wrath's Authority is affecting the entire city. That being gone or not changes the situation in a big way, so it would be best to get that report as soon as possible." Hearing that, everyone nodded. As for the remaining one, he figured it was fine for either of the two remaining non-Greed teams to take it. The reason for that "Put bluntly, Reinhard is handling Greed. His Authority seems to be some kind of conditional invincibility, so while I don't want to be overly optimistic, there is a nonzero chance of us finishing up with him real quick. If that happens, I want Reinhard to be able to join up with whichever team needs the most help." "And depending on how the conditions in the city change, we can give directions to the general populace from here using the broadcast metia. That's another thing that becomes a more viable option once Wrath is down," Otto added. "That's quite prudent. You're gettin' awfully reliable, ain't ya, Natsuki?" Anastasia smiled in admiration before tossing the mirror in her hand over to Priscilla, who deftly caught it with her fan and rolled it over to Liliana. "Wh-wh-wha ?!" "You take it, diva. I do not carry anything heavier than silverware." "You lazy... As if that fan of yours isn't heavy enough with all those decorations." "Don't be ridiculous. Can you not appreciate its elegant design? Do you not comprehend the beauty of this chasing and engraving? It does not begin to compare to that shoddy item lying there. Do not dare hold it to the same standard as mere silverware." "So it is heavier than silverware..." Priscilla's obstinacy aside, it was decided that Liliana would take the conversation mirror. After watching her slip it

into the bosom of her small outfit, they gave the last one to Wilhelm. It was Julius who made that decision, sliding it across the table to the older gentleman. "In consideration for the differing number of enemies in both locations, it would be best for the Lust team to have a means of instant contact. I don't believe either of you is likely to fail, but please report in if you deem the situation to be dire." "Understood. Though I agree that such a situation is unlikely to occur." Wilhelm slipped the final mirror into his breast pocket in accordance with Julius's suggestion. With that, they had divided up the squads and distributed the items they had to pass around. They had made their preparations for the decisive battle. "Let's wait a little bit, and then all of us should leave at once. This is the official start of our plan to take back the city," Subaru said. There was tension in everyone's face as they all nodded. There was a quiet weight closing in on them that felt wrong to Subaru. "Do you guys not get the feeling that us looking all serious and depressed like this is just going to lead to everything going wrong?" "That's another odd thing for you to say, Mr. Natsuki. What are you talking about?" Otto responded with a bitter expression. "It's not odd at all. It's important. It's an iron rule of life that no matter how many or how few people you manage to bring together, a group with no morale and no unity is just a mob. So what do we do to keep that from happening? Maybe have everyone say something all at once or something? Even if it's just for show." Subaru stood up and clapped his hands together loudly. Then he held his fist up for all of them to see. "Let's do this, guys! We're gonna throw everyone who gets in our way out of the city! We'll show those cultists who's the boss and get our happy ending back!" *** Hearing that, everyone looked at one another, and then, a half beat later, they held their hands up one after the other. "Ooooaaah!" They all raised their voices, and Subaru's lips cracked into a smile as he felt the electric excitement crackling over his skin. Their cries were all over the place, they felt aimless, and it was hard to say those gathered were really united given the mixture of fists and palms raised in the air. But these were Subaru Natsuki's comrades. The people he would fight alongside in order to retake the city. It was hard to come by a group as fine as they. They had been beaten up good, cornered badly enough that for a moment there it had looked like they were not going to be able to recover. But they had returned to fight. The final decisive battle for the Water Gate City was beginning. " We're gonna win this fight!" And the meeting of the round table ended with that final, fittingly Subaru-esque line. 7 Having finished her secret conversation with Al, Emilia had returned to the bedroom and disposed of the ice sculpture that she had used as a body double. Nothing seemed to have been disturbed, so it appeared her absence had gone unnoticed. Or else they had been thrown off by the finely crafted ice sculpture. Emilia regretfully returned the sculpture to mana as she appreciated her handiwork. "...I'm surprised. I did not expect you to return." "Eep!" All of a sudden, a voice called out from behind her, causing Emilia to jolt in shock before turning around. When she did, she saw #184 standing at the entrance, looking right at her. She had last seen her cleaning up the room Regulus had destroyed, but there she was, her eyes narrowing as she watched Emilia panic before letting out a small sigh. "You went to such effort to leave a replacement behind. Did you have a change of heart?" "What? A replacement? I'm not sure what you mean. I've been resting here the whole time since I was tired. Right here in bed... Ah, it's cold! Ah, I mean it's not cold at all!" *** The bed was absolutely freezing from having an ice sculpture lying on it the whole time she was gone, so it was practically rejecting her body warmth. But admitting that would only confirm her lie, so she resolutely endured the cold and went to lie down in the bed. "See, I've been here all along. I would never have done something like run away." "...Yes, of course. My mistake. But that would truly be odd. Why did you not simply run away while you could?" #184 asked quietly. "...If I did that, it would have been bad for you and the other wives and the people in the city," Emilia responded, sticking her legs out of the covers and sitting on the edge of the bed. #184's eyes were cool and emotionless but something about her felt off to Emilia. At first it was just a vague feeling of unease, but it gradually came into a fuzzy focus. The emotion hidden deep in her eyes looked almost like a desperate plea. "Did you by chance want me to run away?" *** "But why? If I did that, then it would be bad for you and the others." Thinking back on their exchange, Emilia started to wonder if #184 had noticed the ice sculpture left on the bed but chosen not to report it to Regulus. By doing that, she would delay the realization that Emilia was gone, which would've given her more time to get away. In reality, Emilia had had no intention of fleeing, so her effort had gone to waste, but "No, if you hadn't hidden it for me, Regulus would have found out I was sneaking around investigating. So thank you anyway..." "Please don't thank me. In the end it did not amount to anything I had intended to muster just a little bit of bravery at the end of my life, but even that was meaningless." *** With that, #184 tightly clenched her arms. Her hands were visibly trembling. Emilia realized that her delaying the report she was supposed to give had taken every last bit of her courage. Regulus had casually tried to kill #184 out of nothing more than a mild irritation. If that was an everyday sort of occurrence, then she and all the other wives were living day in and day out with death hanging right over their heads. How much courage had it taken to endure that level of terror that had become an everyday phenomenon? "Why did you come back?" " Um." "It would have been better if I had just been consumed by his anger after you never returned. Whatever became of the city, whatever became of us. This just means it will go on and on. This unchanging, never-ending time will just continue until it all ends." #184 spoke fervently, half clinging to Emilia, half cursing her. Biting her lip, Emilia stood up. "In that case, if you could stand up once, then let's try again together. I haven't given up yet." "I can't. I gathered what little willpower I had left and got nothing in return. Just thinking about trying again makes everything inside me freeze... Anything more is impossible." #184 shook her head desperately as Emilia watched, unable to say anything. Her eyes locked on to Emilia as she continued, the light in her eyes frozen no, dead. "You are free to decide that you will not give up. However, I will never have that choice ever again. And I'm sure the other women in this hell are the same." *** "I was just a normal girl living in a small village in a mountain valley with my family. In order to marry me, he eradicated my mother and father, my siblings, my neighbors, and all the villagers who merely knew my name and face. All his wives have experienced similar fates." Her eyes dead and dull the whole while, #184 spoke of what had happened when Regulus demanded her hand in marriage. It was a horrific, almost unbelievable story, but the only ones who could laugh it off as a joke would be those fortunate enough not to know Regulus. He was more than capable of committing such heinous acts. That was unmistakably something he would do. He had created a paradise of his own making, served by the wives he had forcibly wedded. "...Regulus said there were two hundred and ninety-one..." "Yes. And two hundred and thirty-eight have already passed away, leaving only the fifty-three here in this city." "Those wives who passed away..." "Do you really need me to spell it out?" Her hoarse response scoffed at Emilia's question. No, it was more self-deprecating than that. #184 was exhausted with existing and with the curse that had consumed their lives. She had reached the present day at the cost of her very will to resist. And after trudging her way through those terror-filled days, she'd stumbled upon evidence of Emilia, the one whom Regulus had chosen to be his new wife, running away. What had #184 felt in that moment? Her statement that she would never have the will to resist again had surely been true in a far deeper sense than Emilia realized. Emilia had only just begun to scratch the surface of what it took to spend a life with Regulus, but for #184 for all the women here, it was something that had already shaved away pieces of their very souls. *** Though it had not been intentional, Emilia realized just how important a thing she had shattered, and realizing that, she lost sight of what she could possibly say to #184. Even if she said something baseless in the heat of the moment, it would never reach this woman. She frantically searched for the words, anything she could possibly say to reassure or bolster #184. She was desperately, desperately searching, but she could not come up with anything. There didn't seem to be a right answer. No ideal or essential wisdom. No matter how she looked, she could not find the words to tell #184 the thing she most wanted to convey. Emilia was terrified from the depths of her heart, as if it would all slip away from the palm of her hand. A cold despair crept into her heart. And at just that instant " Um, can everyone actually hear me through this? Mic test, mic test. One, two. One, two." the voice Emilia most wanted to hear rang out from above, as if extending a hand to her. 8 It was a faltering performance. Even if a listener was inclined to be generous, it could not be called impressive. "It looks like this is actually broadcasting, then. First of all, let me apologize for surprising you. I imagine a lot of you were worried or steeling yourself wondering what you would be told next. But please don't worry. I'm not a member of the Witch Cult." Even though it would have been fine to lie, it was brutally honest even where it did not need to be, not even hiding the sort of thing that would cause the people listening to feel more anxious. And yet, at the very end of it all, it said, as if to kick away everyone's unease " But even so. Even with all that, I can't run away from this. So I'm going to fight. That's the sort of person I am." It was a shock and almost certainly exactly what Emilia wanted most in that moment. It was the thing that the people of the city most wanted in that moment. "I want to believe. I'm weak. And pathetic. But I haven't given up yet. Please let me believe that I'm not the only weakling who

doesn't know how to give up." Ahhh, it really is not fair at all. Trembling and meandering but obviously his best effort, it made anyone listening almost want to cry. It almost felt like the speaker's pulse could be heard through his voice, even though that was obviously impossible. It nearly brought tears to her eyes. "Or am I really the only one?" No, no you're not. "Am I the only one who can still keep going...who still wants to fight?" No, I'm okay. I can keep going. "I'm not, right?" No, you're not. Absolutely, from the bottom of my heart, you're not alone. "You can still fight, right? You won't let the weakness consume you, right?" I can hear your voice, so I'm okay. It's fine. I'm not scared of anything. " I am Subaru Natsuki, the spirit user who defeated the Witch Cult Archbishop of Sloth." Just hearing that alone was enough to blow away all the cold despair encroaching on Emilia's heart. Even though just a little while earlier it had felt like she had fallen into an inescapable dark abyss. Even though she had been unable to move forward or backward, cursing her own powerlessness. Just hearing that voice had relieved her. Had satisfied her. Because he had said it. Emilia's knight had said it. " Just leave everything else to me!" He had said to leave it to him. So no matter how dark things might seem, he would blow it all away. No matter how impossible or absurd, he would overcome all the odds. There was no doubt he would succeed. That was why "...That voice just now..." " That was my knight. He's always really trying his best." The broadcast ended as suddenly as it had begun, leaving a stunned #184 in turmoil. And standing before her, Emilia held her hand to her heart and smiled softly. *** Looking into Emilia's eyes, #184 opened her own eyes wide, and she was at a loss for words. It was because of how Emilia looked as she spoke about her knight, but Emilia did not realize it. She then looked #184 in the eye as she continued. "I won't run. I won't disappear and leave you all here." " ! Why?" "You shared your painful past with me, as well as what you're feeling now. But as scared as you must have been, you still tried to help me." Even if it was only once, even if she felt broken down and lost, she had fought back; she had conquered her fear even if only for an instant. So Emilia would do the same she would do her best not to bend or break. "I want you and everyone else to be able to find happiness. A wedding is a ceremony to bring happiness to two people who love each other very much. The bride has to be happy, too." When she thought of marriage, she imagined a scene of blissful happiness between two people who adored each other. In the back of her mind, she saw the image of Fortuna and Geuse they had not been married, so they never became husband and wife, but that was what Emilia wished for them. For their sakes, Emilia dearly wanted them to have been able to be married. Their relationship, the way they loved each other that was surely what a proper marriage should be like. "I know people who loved each other but weren't able to get married. And to this day, it makes my heart hurt to think of them." That was why " I can't stand the idea of a marriage that isn't happy. I don't want that sort of relationship for anyone." Just thinking of it made her stomach roil. She hated the very idea of it. Emilia fundamentally refused to give in to something like that, so she would not give up on the city or on #184 or any of the women here. She would carry them all in her own hands. And if that was not enough, she would borrow someone else's hands, too someone like her knight. "Th-that is a lovely thought, but...as I said before, if there were anything to be done, it would be for you to escape alone." "Alone...? No, that isn't what we should do at all." Emilia shook her head, gently rejecting #184's statement. #184 had revealed she was alone in the world, with no one left to turn to but that wasn't true. Not any longer. It was none other than Emilia's knight who had revealed that when his voice could be heard all throughout the city. But she had no intention of just leaving everything to him. "I was never alone. That was dangerous; I almost forgot that." "What are you planning?" Even though she was insistent that it was none of her concern, #184 was still asking what Emilia's plan was. Seeing her riled emotions, her frozen emotions stirring into life, Emilia could not help an odd feeling that that was the same sort of thing Subaru saw. To #184's shock, her response was "We're going to hold a wedding ceremony." CHAPTER 5 *** 1 The preparations for the ceremony in the chapel continued apace as planned. Fortunately, Regulus's irritation had not exploded in the chapel, and the austere, dignified building was still standing. The gleaming decorations for the ceremony were safely in place. Having decided to face the wedding ceremony, Emilia was in the wardrobe room getting her hair styled to look the part of a bride by #184 and a couple of Regulus's other wives. It had been a long time since she'd had her hair set in a style this complex. Puck used to tweak her hair every morning, but she had neglected it ever since he had vanished. She mostly went without doing anything complicated to her hair, excepting the rare occasions when Annerose did something fancy for her. Her long silver hair was braided and carefully done up. Her outfit was adorned with accessories to accentuate the beautiful, pure white of her dress without verging on ostentation. With that, Emilia's bridal makeover was complete. Seeing herself in the mirror, she was amazed by their skill. It was quite different from her usual appearance. She mostly just kept things simple and tied her hair back without much effort unless Subaru was helping out that day, and she usually made a point of not wearing accessories in order to be able to move more freely, but her current hairstyle and accessories were solely focused on enhancing her ladylike allure. "It feels like this is all just wasted on me, though..." The women who had helped her change all sighed heavily at that. Just like #184, they had all said nothing more than the bare minimum necessary while helping her change. Feeling inadequate when she heard their heavy sighs, Emilia straightened her back. Her silver hair shimmered like moonlight streaming against her slender back. "Let's go. Be careful to not upset our husband," a tall, red-haired woman said before taking the lead, with Emilia following behind her. #184, who had been ordered to accompany the procession, was helping carry the train of her dress. *** She intentionally kept her expression motionless, but there was a faint unease in her eyes. As the only person who had heard Emilia declare she would face the ceremony in her own way, she had especially turbulent emotions. She had no idea at all what Emilia had in mind for the coming ceremony, but she had apparently chosen not to mention her unease to Regulus. And that was enough. Her simple presence was enough to support Emilia's resolve. In the chapel, the guests present were already gathered, waiting for Emilia's arrival. *** There was a red carpet over the central path, with the guests beautifully arrayed along either side of the carpet. They were all Regulus's wives fifty women every last one besides the three in Emilia's procession. And waiting in front of the altar at the end of the carpeted aisle was Regulus, standing calmly in a white tuxedo. The red-haired woman led Emilia directly to him. Emilia glanced at the expressions of the women lining the aisle but found nothing more than calculated, practiced, expressionless faces. Beneath the gaze of this masked audience, Emilia approached the altar. The women in her procession stepped away, taking their places among the women lining the aisle. All except for #184, who moved to the opposite side of the altar, a faint tension on her face as she began officiating the wedding ceremony. Her body still facing #184 and the altar, Emilia turned to look at Regulus. "I'm surprised. The previous dress was magnificent, but this wedding gown is truly unmatched. My eyes were not mistaken when I first saw you. We really are the most fitting pair in the world." Regulus nodded to himself, satisfied with Emilia's appearance. He brushed back his white hair. "Still, seeing this, I can see I was right to leave the seat of #79 open. I had a feeling that there would someday be someone worthy to take it. And the confidence and decisiveness to trust in that decision and follow through are quite amazing, if I do say so myself. Believing in yourself through thick and thin is not something just anyone can do." "About that number... Why was there an open seat?" Now that she had entered the chapel and was standing before the altar, the first words out of Emilia's mouth were a question. Her question clashed heavily with the mood of the ceremony and didn't complement Regulus or his self-satisfied, flowery rhetoric. But the question didn't dampen his mood. He merely cocked his head. "Hmm? Ah, that. Previously, there was another woman I set eyes upon who I thought would be fitting for that number. Unfortunately, before we could be wed, I judged her to be unsuitable. But when it came to the most important point of appearance, she was incredibly close to my ideal. I left the seat unfilled in order to remember her, out of a sense of lingering attachment, I suppose...but thanks to that, I was able to meet you. Truly, ours was a fated encounter." "Before..." As Regulus spoke of fate, Emilia was hung up on another part of what he'd said. Something that felt very off. A clear oddity that came whenever she interacted with him; an invisible unease that was gradually coming into view, but one she still could not quite pin down. And as she was thinking that, Regulus adjusted the collar of his matching tuxedo. "Well then, shall we exchange our vows? Unfortunately, we will have to settle for a shortened ceremony without official witnesses, but you don't mind, do you? Such an important ceremony is not for fussing over details but for cementing our binding love. Fretting over appearances only to neglect the substance of it all is truly nonsensical, and yet, it is a rather trite and common mistake. Naturally, I would never stoop to such folly." #184 began her preparations behind the altar as Regulus's torrent continued unabated. #184 performed the preparations that the officiant was normally supposed to take care of with a practiced ease that indicated this was not the first of Regulus's weddings that she had presided over. "Obsessing over appearances and losing sight of the point is just absurd. Form over substance? It's all the more unsightly because people like that don't even realize that everyone is laughing at them behind their back. Though I suppose that by living in ignorance, they are happier for it." Regulus did not even pay any attention to #184 and her sadly practiced ease. She seemed something like the leader of the wives. And from the fact that Regulus had tried to kill her on a whim, it was clear that he did not view his wives as actual people. It was a little late to be reaching that conclusion there, but she simply couldn't forgive his

revolting behavior. " Hey, Regulus. There are a few things I would like to tell you before the ceremony." Because of that, she had a declaration for him while she was standing there, face-to-face with him. #184's face tensed at that. There was a slight wave of unease spreading among the wives lining the pews as well. "That's true. Once we've exchanged vows, we are man and wife. There are things that can only be discussed before that." But unexpectedly, Regulus responded with an approving nod. "In fact, I also have something I should disclose about our upcoming married life. It could wait until after the ceremony, but it is important to be mentally prepared when embarking on something this important. It would be a tragedy for a marriage to suffer the fate of 'This wasn't what I had imagined.' In order to avoid that, we should both freely share our thoughts. As future husband and wife and as individuals. Right?" "Yes, exactly. It's really important since we are individuals." "Yes! Fantastic! It seems like we can truly understand each other. Then, I have insisted on a few promises from my other wives, so I suppose I should start there. Don't worry, the promises are the same for everyone, so it isn't anything too demanding. If anything, you could even say they are almost natural for a wife." Regulus shrugged humorously as he held up a finger. "The first is once we have exchanged vows, you are forbidden to smile." " Huh?" Emilia furrowed her brow, clearly failing to understand the point of his demand. Still holding his finger up, Regulus slowly shook his head. "You see, I like your face. Truly, I love it. I choose my wives based on their faces. A beautiful, sweet, and alluring face is a requirement for my wives. Every last one of the two hundred and ninety-one wives I've wed has had a beautiful face. And your face is lovely as well. That is why I chose to make you my wife. Do you understand?" *** "This is something I've thought about for a long time, but there are many people in this world who simply do as they please. Far more than you would imagine. It is common to hear tales of lovers or married couples whose love has faded, no? They presumably loved each other at some point, and yet when they actually began living together, various areas where they were incompatible were revealed. Food preferences, habits, hobbies, schedules... There is a truly large number of people who are trash and offer up selfish excuses for falling out of love with someone they supposedly loved once. From the depths of my heart, those people are utterly worthless." Regulus was still smiling, truly enjoying himself as he spoke about such detestable garbage innocently, unrestrainedly, and with a sense of righteous indignation as well as a lack of understanding for people who made light of love. "They are each and every one of them selfish. You loved them? Then why would you drift apart over something as trifling as mere aesthetic differences? Isn't that the height of foolishness? That is why I choose partners based on their faces. As long as they have a face that I love, my love will never fade, no matter what kind of person they end up being. Because it is their face that I love. As long as that remains, my love will be eternal." *** "Whether they are the sort of person who doesn't pick up their clothes, whether they are a serial murderer who only kills children, whether they can't cook even if their life depended on it, whether they were sold off by their family to pay off a loan, whether they don't make any effort to prevent colors running in the laundry, whether they are the sort of off-kilter person who snuffs the life from small animals, whether their sense of style is absolutely appalling, whether they are obsessed with money, whether they don't bathe and smell like refuse, or whether they were genuinely planning to destroy the whole world I don't mind." Regulus pointed to the other fifty-three women in the chapel one after the other as he spoke. Emilia could not say how many people in the building actually fell into any of those categories. But she could at least say that he was not lying. He would love anyone without distinction. It was impartial. He was talking about an unquestioning love proclaiming that he loved each and every one of his wives without qualification. But Emilia could not see the connection between that treatise on love and the requirement he was asking of her. "What is the correlation between that and not smiling, though?" "It's simple. There are people whose normal expression is cute and beautiful, and yet when they smile, they become ugly, aren't there? I can't accept that. That's why. I said 'forbidden to smile,' but really any and all changes of expression are out of bounds. Basically, the thought that your lovely face might become ugly is unbearable to me. It would be a net loss for the world. That is why. So don't laugh. Don't cry. Don't get mad. Don't rejoice. Just stay like this with your beautiful face, always." *** The second part had been a command, with Regulus grabbing her chin and leaning in so close that she could feel his breath on her skin. That was the promise Regulus wanted. Though it could hardly be called a promise, since it was clear as day what would happen to anyone who disobeyed. But if it had simply been a command or a demand of obedience, then at least it would not have a hollow ring to it. "You said you wouldn't fall out of love with someone as long as you liked their face. So what happened before?" "Hmm?" "If I hadn't grabbed her arm, she would have died by your hand." Emilia pointed to #184 on the other side of the altar. #184 froze as Regulus glanced over at her. And after thinking about it for a second, he nodded slightly, as if remembering. "Ah, that is an unfortunate misunderstanding. That had nothing to do with a change in my love for her. It was merely that she upset my mood because of her inadequate attention. That was why I thought she should take responsibility for it." "What? If that isn't fickle, then..." "No, that isn't it at all. I still love her face. Therefore my love is unchanged. It would remain unchanged even if she was to die. It's a common thing to hear, right? Even when someone you love dies, they will still live on in your heart. Your love will continue on without fading. That is precisely how I feel." *** Holding his hand to his chest, Regulus spoke in the clear voice of a stage actor. It was a perfect, flawless logic that started and ended with him. It left no room for other people's thoughts to intrude. It was entirely flawless in its incompleteness. In the face of how much he had built up and refined his way of life, Emilia felt completely let down. Even in that moment, she had wanted to believe. She had wanted to believe that even if he was one of the Archbishops of the Witch Cult, there was some way they could get through to each other. "By any chance...do you happen to have some complaint with me? If you did, that would be just a little bit vexing. I've made so much effort and compromised on so much out of consideration for you, and you won't even acknowledge it? That's one of those things that make you question a person on a fundamental level. If you ask me, that simply wouldn't happen if you would just spend a little effort thinking about others and putting yourself in their shoes." When he noticed Emilia's silence, for the first time Regulus's brow furrowed suspiciously. That probably meant that this was the first time he was truly seeing his bride-to-be. But nothing else changed about how he interacted with her. "Concern for others is the most basic of basics when dealing with people. And negligence in that most fundamental of things is a sign that you don't view the person you are interacting with as worthy of even that much effort. In other words, it is an action that reveals a contempt for me as an individual. A grievous infringement of my rights. That is not something I can forgive." A dangerous mood radiated from Regulus's whole body as he spoke. It warped the air around him, and a dangerous air filled the chapel that almost seemed to grip everyone else's lungs. And standing directly in front of the madman responsible, Emilia inhaled softly. " I think that marriage is something really happy." "...Huh?" "It's a ceremony that gives shape to the thoughts of people who love each other and truly want to be together. It is something that happens when a person finds another person that they really love out of all the people in the world, and that person loves them back...and I think that is really amazing." Regulus looked suspicious as he saw Emilia smiling there in her bridal attire. But while he could not read the situation, the expressions of the women in the pews and #184 behind the altar clouded over. They were expressions that showed fear of the direction the wedding ceremony was taking and concern for Emilia, who stood at the center of it all. They were wonderful, kindhearted souls who were worried about what was about to happen to someone else. "Regulus, why do you refer to your wives by number?" "A fixation on form of address? That's just another mode of obsessing over form. A truly surface-level relationship. It is simply proof of a lack of confidence in your ability to continue your love without unnecessary trappings. I am not swayed by such trivial self-aggrandizement. My love is unqualified and pure, so that truth will remain without any unneeded elements getting in the way. Isn't that just the truth of the matter?" "It is but I don't hate it when Subaru calls me Emilia-tan." "Subaru...?" Suddenly hearing something that he could not let pass, Regulus raised his eyebrows in displeasure. But Emilia ignored the dangerous change and continued. "The way he feels is all there in his voice when he calls me Emilia-tan. And when he sometimes just calls me Emilia, it is always obvious that it's a special moment. I don't think that is meaningless at all. A name should have that sort of thought behind it." "You spoke very eloquently on that subject, but who exactly is Subaru? That's a person's name, right? A man's name, right? Isn't a woman mentioning the name of another man when she's standing at the altar about to be married just a little too irrational? Even if he was someone you had hardly any interaction with, it would be hurtful to your partner. It is hurtful, in fact. You know that, right?" "He isn't someone I've had hardly any interaction with. Subaru is my one and only knight, the one who calls my name while saying that he loves me." "What?!" Regulus's dreadful aura swelled at those words. #184 and all the other wives tensed up at the sudden, violent shift in demeanor. "Don't move! If you do, I'll erase everything below her head." *** "Let's have an explanation. Be careful with your words and do your best to make sure there are no misunderstandings. I don't want this wedding to turn into someone's funeral. You understand, right?" Regulus's shoulders trembled as he shouted, biting back the humiliation he was feeling. Everyone in the pews froze, but Emilia faced his swelling rage with an unchanged, calm expression and a clear state of mind. The broadcast had given Emilia courage. She wanted to be able to live

up to that. "Marriage is something two people who love each other share together. But I don't have the qualifications for that." *** "I've never once loved a man as a woman before. So when Subaru tells me so insistently that he loves me, I can't give him the answer he is hoping for, or the other answer, either. And I know how hurtful that is and how much it has bothered him. But..." Regulus fell silent. However, Emilia no longer saw the man standing before her. Everyone in the chapel could tell. Regulus was not reflected in her eyes at all. But Regulus could not accept that fact as he bit his lip. "I've never experienced falling in love with someone. But I am sure that I will fall in love with someone someday. I will love someone as a woman. And when that happens, I already know who it will be. So..." Taking a breath, she looked at Regulus while focused on someone else entirely. " I will not be yours." " ! So that's how it is! I certainly don't have any more intention of wedding such a selfish, wanton woman as you! So that's a relief!" When he accepted Emilia's rejection, Regulus's face turned red as he grew enraged. He extended his fingers in a fit of anger as a chill welled up from Emilia's body and she prepared to attack. Her first clash with his incomprehensible destructive ability *** Just as both of their attacks were about to start, a powerful crack resounded through the chapel. Something flew through the air like an arrow, striking Regulus head-on. What hit him as he stood there in his white tuxedo was a wooden door one of the two great wooden doors that stood at the entrance of the chapel sent flying by a tremendously powerful impact. It had flown all the way from the entrance and struck Regulus. And "We both kicked in at the same time, but the results were so different. What are your legs even made of?!" "Apologies, I failed to hold back. I did at least aim properly at the target, though, so could you perhaps forgive my earlier mistake?" "Yeah, but our coolness levels are totally different now. My kick opened the door, but your kick turned the door into a direct attack..." Two figures appeared in the doorway of the magnificent chapel, joking around with each other. A black-haired boy and a red-haired young man. " Ah." Emilia's eyes widened at the sight of them, and Regulus brushed aside the door like it was an annoying gnat. He was wholly uninjured, but there was a tremendous displeasure in his eyes as he glared at the two interlopers. "That is some nerve, barging your way into a sacred wedding. Who are you and what gifts have you brought, I wonder? Well?" The two wedding crashers glanced at each other in response to Regulus's bluster and then nodded at each other. "Subaru Natsuki, a spirit knight whose spirit is currently not present." "Reinhard van Astrea of the Sword Saint family." Reinhard took a step forward as he introduced himself. Beside him, Subaru winked at Emilia and then pointed to Regulus, his expression hardening. "I object to this wedding! I'll be taking that bride!" 2 The battle that would decide the fate of the city of water the simultaneous assault on all four control towers had begun. Relying on all the information they had gathered, both actively and accidentally, the fighting forces of each camp gathered themselves into their various units and set off for their respective targets, leaving those who remained behind at the base to wait with bated breath for reports of victory. Or at least, that was the unpleasant fate to which Otto Suwen would have liked to resign himself, but it was not to be. Instead, he had left city hall alone and was stealthily running around a city roiling with danger around every bend. "I should be stoppin' ya, but I can't deny wanting to be sure about where the book of knowledge they were wanting actually is You drew the short end of the stick this time, Otto." That was what Anastasia had said when she saw him off back at city hall. She would have preferred that Otto stay put, and she probably had wanted to use him as another set of eyes to analyze the reports that would be filtering in from the battlefield. With the group at city hall taking the command role for this battle, the more eyes and more heads the better. But Otto had a personal responsibility when it came to the book of knowledge. They were working together with the other factions, but if the situation somehow managed to actually be resolved, it would become a competition again, and he had to avoid any chance the other camps might get their hands on the book of knowledge. If he was being honest, he would have preferred not discussing exactly what sort of magical book it was in front of everyone else, either, but Subaru and Garfiel were not fond of that sort of covert politicking. Feeling like he was the bad guy for some reason, Otto heaved a sigh. "When did I end up becoming the sort of person to run all around like this for other people's sakes...?" Adjusting his hat, Otto ran into a question that he'd struggled with countless times during the past year. His position was unexpected, his relationship to other people was unexpected, and his own feelings were unexpected. What would his family think if they saw him running all around with nary a thought about how to turn a profit from it? "Even Oslo would probably make fun of me, let alone Regin..." Imagining his older and younger brothers' differing reactions, Otto curled his lips slightly into a wry smile. Slipping into an emotional train of thought that Subaru, were he there, would surely start raising alarms about triggering death flags and whatnot, Otto ran through the narrow streets of the city, on guard against demi-beasts. The malformed and grotesque creatures were guarding the control towers being occupied by the Archbishops and were incredibly threatening to any noncombatants wandering the city. But they could be managed with enough caution. That was something Otto had learned during his time out in the city before he joined up with everyone else at city hall. Because of that, the danger he faced was minimal. If he could not demonstrate the pride of a member of the team who couldn't fight directly in battle now, who knew when he would get another chance? "...Heh, would have been nice if I could have at least tricked myself." He clutched his chest, and Otto's expression melted into a self-deprecating laugh as he felt just how badly his heart was racing. The Witch Cult, Archbishops, cultists they were all things tied to terrifying memories for Otto. The events that had led to his meeting Subaru and everyone else a year earlier were just the flip side of how he had almost lost his life. He could not forget the fear he'd felt toward the Archbishop then, no matter how he tried. He could not forget the Archbishop of Sloth's sunken, dark eyes in the moment he'd thoughtlessly stolen away someone else's life. He would never forget the image of the mad fanatics who'd offered up their own flesh in accordance with his orders without any thought of pain or suffering. He could not forget the silence that had filled the world around him as he pleaded for someone, anyone to help him. He had never been more terrified than in that moment. He had never feared the void as he had then. Facing off against Garfiel, running away from the Bowel Hunter, and being attacked by a mob of demon beasts all paled in comparison. That was how dark a pall the encounter with the Witch Cult had cast on Otto's heart. And yet, there was no mistaking that he would have to face that fear again. He had chosen of his own volition a place to call home where he would surely have to face the Cult again. He could not just leave Emilia, Subaru, Beatrice, Garfiel, Ram, Frederica, and Petra alone Otto cared about all of them. He had never intended to stay in any one place, and yet somewhere along the line it had just become too comfortable. Even knowing he would encounter the enemy that terrified him the most, he could not abandon his home. If it would protect that place he called home, if they needed him to stand beside them, then he would stifle his fear and support them in all the ways they could not support themselves. Because of that "No matter what it takes, I have to take care of my job myself." His words were to reinforce his fearful heart and also a warning for the enemy to hear. When Otto stopped moving, there was a small figure standing in front of him. There was a stone bridge over a canal just ahead, and on the other side was a plaza, where the small figure was standing. There were actually several figures in the plaza, but in the moment, Otto's attention was focused on a single one standing in the midst of them. The world grew quiet. Painfully so. He could not hear anything at all. The voices of living creatures fell silent as they desperately tried to hide their presences and blend into the background. Otto Suwen knew that feeling. And because he recognized it, his heart was surprisingly, truly, astonishingly calm, even as the figure before him slowly lowered its arms and its long mess of brown hair and turned around. " Hello, mister." The figure's lips cracked sinisterly as it flashed a terrifying grin. " I am Lye Batenkaitos, the Witch Cult Archbishop of Gluttony. Welcome to my feeding ground!" His red tongue danced inside his toothy mouth as the Archbishop who should not have been there cackled. Another unexpected life-and-death battle begins for a noncombatant as well.