Subaru gently stroked her neck as she bristled, whispering "I feel the same way" in a small voice to express his agreement with her emotions.
Though their bond was born of only a brief companionship, the strength of what now tied Subaru and Patrasche together had been forged through facing the boundary of life and death together.
Through the reins, it almost felt like Patrasche's thoughts were passing directly to Subaru— "I hate to interrupt this tender moment, but would you mind not trying to seduce my earth dragon? yours is quite impressive as well. I fear she might follow you off."
"Wha—Patrasche! You little—were you hitting on her?! Who said I feel the same way as you! Get your head in the game when we've got a death battle coming up!"
"She won't fall for that sort of thing from you, bro, not after you flashed her the goods before we set out."
Ricardo, who had been resting his chin on his hand to the side, let out a deadpan comment at Patrasche's unexpected betrayal. Subaru choked on his own protest, and pushing past him to step forward was— "Reunite at a time like this? You sure do have it easy, Julius. Not even a few hours ago, we were fighting for our lives."
"Put that way, I have no grounds to defend myself. But allow me to correct you,
Ferris narrowed his eyes with a jab, and Julius shrugged before spouting that incomprehensible nonsense. Naturally, everyone's eyes narrowed at the meaningless alias, but he deflected their gazes with a composed smile and continued: "Suppose, purely hypothetically, that a person of knightly standing were to join a band of hirelings and fall to the level of a mercenary. Such a thing simply cannot be permitted. There is no record of a person named Julius Euclius joining
"Mya~r. As always, the proper chivalry of your house is such a pain. It's so much better being from a fallen noble household like Felis's."
"I wouldn't call chivalry a bother. The problem I see is having to be cautious about unnecessary politics just to help a friend. —As a side note, Julius Euclius's suspension was lifted last night at the change of day. I want that stated clearly."
"What a pointless preemptive strike… Does that alias even serve a purpose?"
Subaru listened in on the exchange between Julius and Ferris, clicking his tongue and grumbling. He looked away and twisted his lips—clearly sulking, and since that was precisely what he was doing, there was no getting out of it.
Julius glanced over at Subaru's muttering and, without pause, moved his earth dragon forward to take position directly in front of him.
"You look well—better than I expected, and that's what matters. How are you feeling?"
"—!"
Julius's question about his condition sent a jolt through Subaru's brain.
The inquiry—whether meant as mockery or mere sarcasm—was enough to dredge up memories from a few days ago, or from Subaru's perspective, nearly two weeks past.
Faced with what was, if anything, an even more provocative provocation meant as a feint, Subaru felt insults surging to the very edge of his throat. He barely managed to swallow them back and hold them in.
He cleared his throat, took a deep breath, composed his expression, and ran a hand through his short bangs with an affected flourish.
"Yeah, well, it was just a scratch? Slap some spit on it and it's basically healed. What about you? Supposed to be a reinforcement and you showed up awfully late, didn't you? Let me guess—you got too serious fighting amateurs and were busy writing up a report for the big shots?"
Drawing on the topic of the suspension, Subaru fired back with his trademark taunt. Julius's expression stiffened slightly.
"That's not what I meant. I wanted to talk about your honorable wound from the subjugation—but I'm glad that's healed too. It was never as serious as it looked, after all. You're quite skilled at soliciting sympathy, after all. You were rolling around writhing in exaggerated pain."
"Ahahahaha."
"Fufufufufu."
Dried laughter clashed between them, and the air began to crackle with a one-spark-and-it-blows tension.
One might have expected those around them to step in and mediate, but Ferris and Ricardo watched with the look of people thoroughly entertained by the show, and Mimi had slipped off to the other group to look for her brother. Naturally, the role of settling this fell to— "By all means, rekindle old acquaintances, but is this really the time? Both of you."
Stepping forward to deliver that admonition was the old swordsman astride his earth dragon—Wilhelm.
The Sword Saint's blade, borrowed from his lord, hung at his hip. Wilhelm looked straight ahead, meeting Julius's gaze, and narrowed his keen eyes.
"I cannot thank you enough for this reinforcement. Our fighting force has been significantly depleted in the battle against the
"Lord Wilhelm, there's no need for—"
Subaru cut in as Wilhelm's voice dropped low.
The White Whale subjugation had been one of the many walls Subaru had to clear under various conditions. His own self-righteous will had been firmly involved, and there was no reason for Wilhelm to feel like a burden.
It gnawed at Subaru that he couldn't explain everything, but he wanted to at least do away with that sense of guilt—and he opened his mouth to speak. But before the words came— "You've grown to have a fine face, Lord Wilhelm."
Julius murmured those words in a quiet voice, looking at the old man.
As Subaru raised his head, he caught the light in Wilhelm's eyes—that look of someone freed from a possession.
"You seem like a different man from when we last met. …I imagine Reinhard will be somewhat relieved by this as well."
"Yes, indeed."
Wilhelm rested his chin in his hand and lowered his eyes.
In that brief hesitation, how much conflict had churned within him?
Subaru, who didn't know the details, could only frown at the exchange—but the onlookers' gazes once again belonged to those who did understand.
Before Subaru, left feeling left out and none too pleased, Wilhelm raised his lowered face.
"I could not face that thing straight. I knew it had done nothing wrong, that it bore no malice—and still, I could not forgive it. …Some day, it shall have its reckoning."
"That alone will surely be enough for him to find his fulfillment."
Despite the bitterness lacing Wilhelm's voice, Julius affirmed it with a nod. Then slowly, he turned his intelligent gaze toward Subaru.
Naturally, Subaru straightened, bracing for another verbal skirmish—but— "I believe I owe you my thanks."
"Huh?"
Before Subaru, who blurted that out involuntarily, Julius gracefully descended from his earth dragon to the ground. Then, looking up at Subaru still atop Patrasche, he bowed.
"This subjugation of the White Whale was a grave responsibility that should have fallen upon the Knight Order. For ending a calamity that nations left unchecked for so many years—my gratitude—"
The eloquent display of gratitude caught Subaru completely off guard, his negative feelings toward Julius having been running the show until just a moment ago. As Subaru stood there flustered, Ferris chimed in with a "hey, hey, hey": "Let's get one thing straight—the subjugation of the White Whale was under the direction of Lord Karsten—Lady Crusch's achievement, mya. So don't get confused about that. The one who actually slew it was Grandpa Wilhelm."
"I'm well aware. That he himself lacked the power to defeat the White Whale—Julius informed me directly."
Julius maintained his pretense of being someone other than Julius. He acknowledged Ferris's statement, then added "However": "There's no denying that his presence played a major role in the subjugation. Ferris—that's something even you must surely acknowledge?"
"Nya. That's… well, yeah, but…"
Ferris pressed his index fingers together, fidgeting and mumbling as he retreated. Having thus wrapped the cat-ear girl around his finger, Julius turned back to Subaru: "Thanks to you, people can finally forget the days of living in fear of the fog. —Lady Anastasia will be overjoyed as well."
"I'd have taken that at face value if you'd stopped halfway, but adding the second half makes it real hard to say yes."
"And my friend's long-held regret… can finally reach a turning point."
Julius closed his eyes and let the words fall like a sigh.
Subaru understood that "that friend" likely referred to the red-haired hero, but he had no idea what kind of long-held regret that pretty boy carried.
Even someone like him—could there be a past that warranted such regret?
In any case, it certainly wasn't a bad feeling to offer genuine gratitude.
Wilhelm's long-cherished wish had been fulfilled—that was something to sincerely celebrate, and Subaru was aware that his own assistance had contributed, however modestly. And yet, Subaru's inner state in front of Julius was extraordinarily complex.
Though he put up a brave front, the first thing Subaru felt when faced with this handsome man was the cowardly part of himself that wanted to cower and retreat.
Even if he overcame that, what awaited him next was a defiant resistance guarded by the false bravado he used to mask his weakness. He genuinely appreciated the reinforcements, but if he started listing his grievances—about the character flaws of the lord who would station additional forces here, and Julius of all people—he'd never run out of complaints.
But Subaru let none of those negative feelings show on his face.
Instead, swallowing all that complicated mess, there was only one thing Subaru did: He flashed a bold, smug grin.
"What a villain face~"
"That's quite irritating."
"Oh no, he's gonna throw hands!"
"His nostrils are all puffy!"
"Hey, hey, the boos from my own side are savage! I crack a joke about my achievement and I get this?!"
Subaru spat his indignation at the hostile audience, breathing hard, then turned back to Julius. With a shout and a deep breath to steady himself: "So in the end, what do you actually want? Why are you even here?"
"You really pulled it off, didn't you?"
"Excuse me?"
Rather than answering Subaru's question, Julius spoke in a tone tinged with emotion.
Before Subaru could ask again, Julius shook his head with a "no" and said: "I want to make sure you understand. The 'Iron Fang,' which has a contractual relationship with Lady Anastasia, was lent to Lady Crusch during the White Whale subjugation—to you, specifically."
"Huh? Really? But I thought the duchess said—"
"Onee-chan, please stay quiet."
Mimi tried to interject in response to Julius's statement, but the cat-type beastman at her side had already blocked her. Keeping those exchanges in his peripheral vision, Subaru frowned and listened to Julius's words.
Seeing Subaru's attitude, Julius raised his hand lightly and continued: "In other words—"
"The moment the White Whale was slain, our reason for cooperating ceased to exist. We are officially relieved of duty. —And yet, what is it that you intend to do now?"
"Julius is such a forgetful silly. Before we set off, the duchess said all sorts of things, right? Mimi doesn't remember though."
"Please be quiet."
The kitten comedy duo at his back was distractingly persistent, but Subaru was starting to understand what Julius was getting at. That is to say: "Pull out or keep fighting as reinforcements—pick one, right here, right now?"
"I've been instructed to sell high, as it were. Or perhaps our strength is no longer needed?"
Julius gestured openly to the forces behind him, pressing Subaru for a decision.
That said, this was no time for hasty judgment born of irritation. It would be easy for Subaru to drive them off in a fit of anger, but that would be the foolish act of cutting his own forces before the greatest wall that lay ahead.
But neither could he simply accept the "high price" Julius was offering. Issuing blank checks endlessly was a terrible negotiating tactic, and more importantly, Subaru's decisions weighed the lives of many alongside the future of a single girl.
As Subaru fell silent, he glanced sideways. Wilhelm and Ferris, standing nearby, showed no sign of intervening and simply waited. If Subaru asked for their help here, they would surely maneuver to hire the Iron Fang on behalf of the "Crusch camp."
But that would only change who held the debt to a different party. Right now, Subaru and Crusch were in a delicate balance—one debt each—and changing that by furthering the weight of one side, especially given how much Subaru valued debts of gratitude, would be unwise.
Looking toward Ricardo's mercenary squad, Ricardo had his arms crossed, dark eyes closed, maintaining a stance of quiet observation. Mimi mimicked him, eyes shut, occasionally twitching her orange cat ears and twitching her adorable little nose.
Earlier, Ricardo's reasons for fighting alongside them against the
"Dirty. As expected of a money-grubbing bastard, so dirty…"
"You sure talk a lot for someone looking at my face like that. I'll have you know, this ain't what I want either. Leaning on someone's weakness like this—that's not my style. It's just that I love money even more, is all…"
"Your moral conflict is laughably shallow! I wasn't counting on you in the first place!"
There was no way he would ask for help from the enemy leader—even if it was a figurehead boss like Ricardo. The awful truth was that Subaru's options had been reduced to a single answer: yes.
If he accepted, he could balance the scales with the Crusch camp, but he would also end up in unilateral debt to Anastasia. It was an agonizing decision, but Subaru had no choice but to grit his teeth and swallow his frustration—he couldn't refuse the reinforcements.
If only he could pass through this without incurring any debts— "Fog… White Whale… the road, and the deadline, and the end… the
Lost in heated thought, Subaru suddenly let a string of words slip from his mouth. Those disconnected fragments of thought began to align around a faint thread of connection, and then— "What if the White Whale subjugation… isn't over yet?"
"Now that's an interesting statement."
Julius narrowed his eyes at Subaru's seemingly spur-of-the-moment remark.
Behind him, the beastman mercenaries were one thing, but the members of the subjugation force—especially Wilhelm, whose eyes had gone wide—made Subaru's conscience sting.
But in a sense entirely separate from the fulfillment of the old man's wish, he had realized there was a problem that couldn't be left unaddressed. That is— "The White Whale—a mabeast that produces fog—could be a tool of the Witch Cult. I know someone who said as much."
—That had been in the third world, in other words, the final scene of the previous loop.
Surrounded by the Witch Cult in the forest, unable to evade Petelgeuse's Unseen Hands, defeated, kicked away from
That lunatic had hurled vile insults, but amid the filth, he had spoken a truth: The road blockade was complete. No one could cross through the fog.
Why did he know that? Why did he speak of it as though it were his own doing? And most damning of all, the words uttered afterward by the beast that would freeze the world—the
"Petelgeuse brought the White Whale to the road—and the man who greedily devoured it told me that with a knowing look. If that's true, if the White Whale is really one of the Witch Cult's pawns, then it appearing must be connected to where I was headed."
If Petelgeuse had called the White Whale to the road, blocking entry and exit to the Mathers domain, then his purpose was unquestionably their insane design. The White Whale's blockade of the road had been aimed at the mansion—to attack Emilia.
"The Witch Cult's going to answer for this. For this round, and for four hundred years—all of it, piled together. And only then can we say the White Whale subjugation is truly complete."
"—"
"This is a job your employer assigned with a reward on the table, mercenary. Don't you dare drop it halfway. Or what—you going to break contract and bail?"
Subaru declared it boldly, watching Julius's reaction.
Inwardly, he was impressed by how thin the basis for his own argument was, but the fact that he could put on that brazen smile regardless—that was who Subaru had become.
It was a deduction pieced together from information scattered across the future. More than that, it was based on things he'd heard in an even more fragmented state, when his consciousness had been unclear, making the reliability questionable even by his own estimate.
He had stitched it together into something resembling a shape, but he wasn't sure it would be enough to convince anyone. Still, if it could provide a foothold to continue the negotiation— "Let's call it… a passing grade, shall we?"
"Huh?"
"I'll make some adjustments to make it more convincing, but I'll largely accept your argument as presented. And Lady Anastasia's face will remain intact."
"Wait, hold on!"
Subaru held up a hand to stop Julius. But Julius took in Subaru's panic calmly and said: "What is it? The mercenary squad will continue its cooperation. The compensation has already been paid by Lady Anastasia. There shouldn't be any problem, right?"
"Just like that…? What's with that easygoing attitude of yours! You…"
Subaru was about to say more when he caught himself—horrified at his own pettiness.
He realized that seeing Julius, this fine man, reading into his circumstances and offering cooperation in response to his clumsy arguments—he wished Julius were different from what he was.
That he realized, in the depths of his heart, he wanted Julius to remain someone he could never get along with—someone he could simply hate.
"Well, it's not like it's for free. If he were some dumbass, I'd fleece him once and be done, but with a smart opponent, there are endless opportunities to fleece him again."
"So in the end, the fleecing never changes…"
When Ricardo cut into the conversation, Subaru seized the chance to pile on, retreating to the easier ground—hating that even that felt like a escape.
Subaru's self-loathing and loathing of others mixed together, and the situation grew uglier by the moment.
But facing that, Subaru let out a long, deep breath.
"I was… wrong. Shit, I'm sorry. Goddammit. This isn't even what I want to say. Back then, I was the one who—"
Hand pressed to his forehead, Subaru struggled to force out something rational. But the words wouldn't come. He understood it in his head.
When Julius had arrived with reinforcements, making clear his willingness to fight—this was a moment for gratitude. What happened before had been the result of Subaru's own recklessness, and now that he could reflect calmly, it was obvious who was in the wrong.
Even with regard to what Julius had done back then—and the consequences it had brought.
"—"
Julius stood without a word, waiting for Subaru's halting speech.
He surely understood what Subaru was trying to say, and he could have spoken the answer before Subaru even managed it.
But he didn't. And Subaru found that unforgiveness—hateful beyond measure. If only he could have simply hated him, kept hating him, stayed in that comfortable space of pure animosity— "I was wrong. I'm sorry. I apol—I apologize."
In a low voice, wrung from the depths of himself, Subaru spoke the words.
For Subaru, this was a memory too wretched to revisit, but a confrontation he had to face sooner or later in order to move forward—an opponent with whom he would eventually have to settle things.
Julius heard Subaru's apology and quietly closed his eyes. Then, slowly, he inclined his chin: "I, too, must apologize for my discourtesy. I will not retract everything I said and did that day, but for looking down upon you—that, sincerely—"
Julius responded to Subaru's apology in kind.
Sincerity poured from his words, and Subaru felt the ugly emotions that had been festering inside him dissolve—effortlessly, almost startlingly.
And because he felt that, Subaru stepped down from Patrasche to stand on the ground at the same level as the 'knight' before him, meeting him face to face at the same height.
"I was wrong. But—"
"Mm."
"I hate you. —I know that's wrong, and I'm grateful for what you did for us today, but I hate you. Really, from the bottom of my heart—I hate you so much it's insane!"
He punctuated the final sentence with deliberate pauses between each clause, driving the words home.
Julius stood there dumbfounded for a moment, then—his expression suddenly breaking into something different— "That's fine. After all, I don't particularly feel like becoming friends with you either."
He said that—flipping his hair with an infuriatingly dramatic flourish—laughing as he did.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ First, they needed to organize their thoughts.
Sitting in a circle, the key figures gathered to discuss what lay ahead.
At the center sat Subaru, with Julius, Ferris, Ricardo, and Wilhelm forming the ring around him.
"Uh, honestly, I'm not really the type to organize things or run meetings, so when you all look at me with those serious eyes, it's kind of embarrassing…"
Being surrounded once more by people whose physical and mental fortitude exceeded his own made Subaru shrink back. He had always been a shut-in in his world, and he knew full well he wasn't the sort of person who could lead others.
But they regarded him with eyes that held a certain trust, and—troublingly—Subaru didn't hate the feeling.
"So anyway, let me summarize. From here, we're heading to the Mathers domain… or more precisely, Roswaal's mansion. There, most likely—no, almost certainly—the Witch Cult will show their face."
"The Witch Cult…?"
The mention of the Witch Cult brought gravity to every face. Many of them had been mentally preparing through the flow of conversation up to this point, but there was apparently still a weight to knowing the enemy was real.
Subaru didn't know how widely the Witch Cult's existence was known in this world or how they were perceived, but for Subaru, their very existence could be summed up in a single word: "the worst."
Judging by everyone's reactions, that seemed to be common knowledge.
"Subaru. How did you notice the connection between the White Whale and the Witch Cult?"
Julius called him by his name—casually, familiarly. Since that earlier moment of honest confession, Julius had been notably at ease with him. Honestly, Subaru had mixed feelings about that too, but— "Believe it or not, I've had the misfortune of running into Witch Cult members. Didn't end well, and the memories are anything but pleasant, but… one of them let something slip."
"I see. …So the Knight Order's speculation wasn't wrong after all."
"That's right. The materials Grandpa Wilhelm dug up seemed to reach the same conclusion."
"You already knew?"
Julius showed understanding at Subaru's words, and Ferris nodded in agreement. Subaru looked surprised by their reaction, but Wilhelm shook his head slowly.
"We only noticed the connection by chance. The overlap between the White Whale's appearance patterns and the Witch Cult's activity records was suspiciously high. It wasn't conclusive evidence, but—"
"The White Whale being the main show and the Witch Cult the bonus—that's how it looked. Ferris was half-skeptical at first too, though~"
"The Knight Order had heard similar rumors as well. Though they were treated as nothing more than hearsay… a matter for laughter, really."
Julius shrugged, and Wilhelm let out a sigh: "Can't be helped." Listening to their exchange, Subaru scratched his head: "So there was already groundwork for people to believe this—that's a stroke of luck for me. Anyway, trusting what a Witch Cult member said… that sounds pretty unreliable, but I'm certain the White Whale is connected to them. Mabeasts were created by the Witch of Envy, right?"
"That's what's said to be the case. Mabeasts—both their existence and their origin—remain enigmatic. Sometimes they breed like ordinary creatures, and sometimes they appear suddenly, like the White Whale. Though the White Whale is a rare exception—there are only a couple others, like the
"I feel like you just dropped something I can't let slide, but can we move on? I'm scared."
Everyone nodded in agreement, so Subaru cleared his throat and continued.
With the premise of facing the Witch Cult established, the next thing everyone needed to know was: "The Witch Cult is targeting Emilia, and they're prepared to burn not just the mansion but the nearby villages to the ground. That's why we have to drive those bastards out somehow."
"Drive them out. You sure use gentle words, mya~."
Ferris narrowed his glossy eyes, extending his words with deliberate innuendo. A chill ran down Subaru's spine—though the other party was a man.
"What do you mean, gentle?"
"Why not just cut them all down? If you look at all the records, that's the only correct way to deal with them, nya?"
"……"
Hearing Ferris casually drop a declaration of massacre, Subaru opened his mouth in shock.
Not because the extreme statement surprised him—but because it surprised him that he himself had used such gentle language.
He had been repeating it over and over in his mind: they needed to die, they deserved to die. The fact that he'd used the phrase "drive them out" meant something had changed.
That was surely because, in Subaru's heart, what needed to be prioritized had shifted.
"If we can protect the mansion and the villagers, that's enough for now. Drive the Witch Cult out, beat them back, crush them, kill them, twist them, tear them, burn them, shred them to—"
"O-okay. Your anger toward them is more than clear enough."
"Whoa—I slipped! No, that's not it! It's not like I'm brimming with rage and hatred preparing for battle! Don't you dare suspect that I only got close to Emilia-tan for that reason!"
"Nobody said anything like that, nya?!"
As they talked, Subaru's anger began to well up again, and as a result, he unsettled both Julius and Ferris. But the unsolicited clarification had yielded one unexpected reward.
In the previous world, Subaru's motives had been suspected—but apparently, in this timeline, no one had questioned them at all. What had changed, Subaru wondered.
"Well, there's absolutely no room for doubt about the Witch Cult making their move. Given their pattern of activity, it was anticipated the moment Lady Emilia announced her candidacy for the royal selection."
Julius touched his chin in agreement. That mannerism was so familiar, and since Subaru had never had the chance to question it before, he raised his hand: "I'm curious—where does everyone's conviction that the Witch Cult would move if Emilia's name came up actually come from? Most people seem to accept it, which is kind of weird… The Witch Cult is shrouded in mystery in a lot of ways."
"You really don't know, and you're the one asking the questions?" Ferris tilted his head in exasperation. Being mocked for his ignorance was an expected response, and Subaru held up a hand toward Ferris's face: "We don't have time for roundabout talk. Let's get to it. So what's the deal?"
"I suppose it's odd for the one who doesn't know to be directing the conversation, but here it goes. The Witch Cult's most prized object of worship is the Witch of Envy,
"Barely. Honestly, I only know the surface—I've only read about it in a picture book."
"Almost nobody left alive has seen the real thing, so that's only natural. Even I only know what I've heard. Anyway, as long as you know the Witch Cult worships Satella. So—did you know that this Satella witch was a half-elf?"
"That, yeah, I did."
Subaru's picture book hadn't contained that level of detail, but when he'd asked
Plus, in the royal capital, Emilia's appearance and heritage were frequently compared to the "Witch of Envy"—a constant topic of discussion. That was not something she should be blamed for, and Subaru had always been outraged by it.
"Emilia-tan looks just like the Witch—that's the connection, right? But that's no reason to blame her. It's a case of misplaced vengeance against the wrong target."
"Most people wouldn't see it that way. That's all it takes for Satella's followers. So back to the Witch Cult—it's simple, really. The existence of half-elves is anathema to them."
"Huh?"
The dumbfounded sound escaped Subaru's throat before he could stop it.
He twisted his head around to check the meaning of what he'd been told, but no one around him showed a particular reaction toward Ricardo. That meant this was common knowledge— "Why? Think about it normally… I mean, tracing the thought processes of people like them is disgusting enough, but normally, wouldn't persecuting a half-elf—the same as the very Witch they worship—be a stretch…"
"It's because they worship her, because they believe her to be the ultimate being, that they cannot tolerate a being who is similar yet different. Close, but not the same—an imitation. —That existence—"
The voice was ice-cold, infused with a killing intent that seemed to seep into one's bones.
Subaru looked up, instinctively turning toward the source of that voice. The person who had spoken was looking back at him, and their eyes locked—it felt as though Subaru's very soul was being peered into, and he froze in place. But the person in question simply— "Nya~n, Ferris is just speculating, you know~?"
Dropped the expression, stuck out her tongue, and dissolved the atmosphere as if it had never existed.
That 180-degree transformation left Subaru speechless, but Ferris, seemingly oblivious to his distress, leaned forward: "The Witch Cult's reasons for existing have been crazy from the start—nothing new there, right? I don't think that's the issue. The real question is who's leading the ones targeting Lady Emilia."
"A Sin Archbishop, huh."
"—! You know about that?"
Subaru seized on the word that appeared in the new thread of conversation, sparked by Ferris's redirection.
The Sin Archbishop—that was the title Petelgeuse had claimed, explaining that he was the one who embodied "Sloth."
"The Witch Cult's Sin Archbishops—are they well-known?"
"They're people who exist, at least. It's said that long ago, before the Witch of Envy went on her rampage, there were other witches besides Satella."
"Pride. Wrath. Sloth. Greed. Gluttony. Lust.—Six witches bearing the names of the deadly sins. And each was said to have been devoured by Satella, who inherited the name of Envy."
Six witches bearing the names of the sins—this was something Subaru had heard before, somewhere.
In this world, the "Witch" referred exclusively to the Witch of Envy, Satella. The other witches of the deadly sins were said to no longer exist. But— "The Witch Cult's leaders—whether that's the right word or not—those in that position are said to have inherited the names of those lost witches in their stead. Envy is the symbol of their worship: Satella. That means the other six—the six Sin Archbishops…"
"Six people…"
Subaru swallowed at Julius's explanation, breaking into a cold sweat at the unfathomable depth of the Witch Cult.
The moment Petelgeuse had claimed the title of "Sloth," it had been reasonable to assume others existed who bore the other sins. The Seven Deadly Sins—while for Subaru they were familiar subcultural buzzwords, chock-full of that chuunibyou flair—the lived experience of "Sloth" had left too foul an impression to find them exciting.
But— "The White Whale, which should have been 'Gluttony,' we took down. Another Sin Archbishop is apparently going to show up in the Mathers domain we're heading to. This is our chance to take out the Witch Cult in one blow."
"Ooh, feeling bold. But yeah, Ferris agrees—this is a great opportunity to crush the Witch Cult, the organization no one could pin down. They've done plenty of contemptible things."
"The Knight Order has suffered for a long time at the hands of an enemy with no visible trail to follow. It's not just me—many knights feel that way. Having this chance is a blessing."
Ferris and Julius endorsed Subaru's proposal. Ricardo wore a warlike grin, and Wilhelm simply bowed his head in solemn assent.
With that decided, what Subaru needed to do was formulate a strategy leveraging his current fighting forces and his knowledge of the future. —That said, the plan itself was exceedingly simple, and a contingency had already been put in place.
"I had to work with half this number in the worst-case scenario, but with Julius joining up, the manpower issue is solved. I think we can do this."
"Just one correction—my name is Yuri. I do happen to be on good terms with the eldest son of House Euclius, but please do be mindful of that."
"That persona only works in official settings—otherwise it's just annoying! If you were really serious about pretending to be someone else, you wouldn't show up in a Knight of the Royal Guard's uniform! Your cover is paper-thin!"
Subaru shouted down Julius's halfhearted disguise, and still breathing hard, swept his gaze across every face. Then, clearing his throat once— "Alright then, the simple explanation of how to hunt Witch Cult members—a monkey could do it—begins now!"
Baring his teeth in a villain's grin, Subaru unveiled his strategy.
The moon tilted over the plain—the last night before clashing with the Witch Cult began to lighten, and the final day of this loop dawned.