——After being unceremoniously tossed out of the Forbidden Library by
The reception Subaru received upon returning to the living room was the same group of faces, waiting in the same arrangement as before he'd left. The only difference, perhaps, was that Otto had taken the seat Subaru had previously occupied and appeared to have been engaged in some manner of conversation with
Making no effort to hide his displeasure at another man being chummy with Emilia, Subaru turned toward Otto with an unmasked scowl.
"Hey, while I was gone, did you and Emilia-tan have some lovey-dovey talk or something? You can just die."
"I'm simply not the type who can sit around in silence or spend my time doing nothing. And honestly, the very first thing you say when you get back is *that*? Being the target of your foul mood is really ungrateful, you know."
"Don't look at me like you've got me all figured out! You're just some guy who buys up oil, fulfills his promise, and goes on his way. Don't get any ideas!"
"Could you stop talking like there's something going on between the two of us!?"
Turning away and putting on a tsundere act while Otto raised his voice in protest, Subaru promptly lost interest in him and turned to Emilia.
She had been waiting for their exchange to end without inserting herself into the conversation, and upon receiving his gaze, she looked up at him from where she sat.
"——Did you get to meet with Beatrice?"
It was a worried inquiry. It was, in essence, an unspoken question: *Did you accomplish the reason you left the room?* The answer to that question was YES. The answer to her intention, however, was a resounding NO.
He'd managed contact, but couldn't bring up the crucial topic. It was the kind of hopeless situation that made him want to laugh at himself for being the protagonist of some wishy-washy, indecisive dating sim.
Though even he had to admit there wasn't *that* much of a gap between reality and that fantasy.
"Nope, it was a total bust."
"I see. Yeah, but I guess there's nothing to be done about it. Once Beatrice slips away through a door, there's no way to find her. Even
"No, no, I actually did meet her. But she was in a terrible mood—or rather, totally indifferent, I couldn't tell—and she wouldn't answer any of my questions. Pretty dumb, honestly."
"...You *met* her?"
Subaru cut in, correcting Emilia's assumption that he hadn't been able to contact Beatrice at all. She opened her eyes in surprise at his answer, and though he felt a twinge of awkwardness at her reaction, he gave a firm nod.
"My razor-sharp instincts led me straight to the room she was in. I mean, even though I met her, my conversational skills are so low I completely failed to accomplish anything."
"I've thought this for a while, but Subaru and Beatrice... you two are pretty close, aren't you?"
Emilia pressed a finger to her lip and murmured in a low, contemplative voice.
Hearing this, Subaru's face twisted into the most unpleasant grimace he could muster. That said, it wasn't entirely unconscious—he was putting it on, at least partially, on purpose.
"Me and Beako being buddy-buddy? Spare me. We've been at each other's throats since the day we met. She's the type to drain your mana the very first time you talk to her. I don't think enough time has passed to overwrite that first impression."
"But you made up with Julius, who you had all that trouble with? Subaru, you're so weird about holding grudges that are, like, *super* pointless sometimes."
"I'm the kind of idiot who keeps insisting that it takes pointless stubbornness to be a real man. Plus, I haven't made up with Julius. I hate him. *Four. Word.*"
"Sure, sure."
Emilia let out a small laugh, cheerfully dismissing his claim despite his protests. Subaru puckered his lips in dissatisfaction, but inwardly he was relieved that the conversation had been deflected so smoothly.
The words he'd exchanged with Beatrice still hadn't settled properly in his mind. Combined with the sad expression she'd worn at the end, he had no idea how to process it all.
"Come to think of it, where'd Frederica run off to? Leaving Otto alone with my Emilia-tan—talk about a colossal lapse in judgment."
"Whether I'm *your* anything is a conversation for another time... Frederica is out preparing one of the guest rooms. ——A room for
"Oh, right."
Subaru's voice dropped a notch, and Emilia's eyes softened with sorrow.
Though he regretted causing her such an expression, Subaru couldn't contain the pang of grief that filled his chest whenever he thought of Rem.
Still, with just a blink and a shake of his head, he wiped the sentiment from his face, not wanting to burden Emilia further with worry. He let his lips relax.
"Which means I need to go pull Rem out of the carriage soon. Can't just leave her sitting in there forever... Oh, and, uh—sorry about earlier, Otto."
"No, it's fine. I wasn't bothered. For you, Natsuki-san... well, she's someone with a lot of history, isn't she? I can't exactly tell you not to get worked up in a state like that."
"The thought of Otto's grimy fingers, dirtied by money, touching *my* Rem—I just can't handle it. I'm really sorry."
"You're clearly not sorry at all, though! And another thing, you just called another girl '*my*' something! Is that really okay to say!?"
"I was just using you as a foil to make Emilia-tan jealous. My cute little love strategy. Don't make me spell it out, idiot."
"You literally said it out loud yourself!"
Subaru grinned at Otto's predictably overblown reaction, then cast a sidelong glance at Emilia. She'd been watching Subaru and Otto go back and forth—her lips had relaxed slightly, and the worry from before was gone. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Then— "Subaru and Otto-kun, you two are like, *really* close, huh? Even though you've barely known each other at all."
"Oh no, are you jealous over *that* too!? Compared to what I've got with Emilia-tan, Otto is nothing—he's just a distraction. I want to play with real fire with Emilia-tan."
"Why am I always the one getting dumped!? Forget whether it's true or not, that's what really ticks me off!"
As the two men heated up further, Emilia burst out laughing.
She pressed a hand to her mouth, her shoulders shaking with barely contained laughter, and prefaced with a single "Sorry" before saying: "I know this probably isn't the right time to be laughing, but I just can't help it. You two might end up being, like, lifelong friends."
"I'm a traveling merchant, you know? Once business is done, we part ways—besides, I simply cannot tolerate any guy without a romantic partner getting close to Emilia-tan."
"I don't even understand what you mean and I already know this is going to be a meaningless conversation from our short acquaintance—! Ugh, I hate that!"
Otto clutched his head, his face turning blue. Subaru let out a harsh breath through his nose and curled his lips.
It was somewhat exaggerated, but it was also an undeniable truth. For Subaru, who had confessed his feelings to Emilia and was now approaching her with the intensity of a bird on the wing, any other man getting close to her set his jealousy blazing like a wildfire.
His possessiveness, his jealousy—surely he had more of both than anyone else.
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ The idle banter in the living room came to an end when Frederica returned from preparing the guest room.
"I think I'll go take a look at the state of the nearby village. I've already obtained the purchase agreements for the other merchants' cargo as well, and I can handle distribution to the village to some extent under my own authority. The costs will be covered by the Margrave later, of course."
With that, Otto dashed off toward the village with boundless energy, not showing any trace of travel fatigue.
Though his proposal carried a hint of the calculating merchant he could be, it was nothing short of vital support for
Subaru couldn't help but feel grateful for the way Otto hid that kindness behind a veneer of self-interest, and he had to resort to spitting on the ground as if to cover his own appreciation.
"I have prepared one of the servants' rooms exactly as instructed. ...Strangely enough, one room appeared to have been meticulously cleaned already."
"Meticulously cleaned... The room on the second floor, at the very end of the hall?"
"——Yes, that's right. That particular room was spotless, as if everything except the bed had been thrown out. ...Do you happen to know anything about it?"
Subaru did his best to keep his eyes from wavering as Frederica brought up the prepared room.
The room she described—on the east side of the mansion, second floor, at the very end—had originally been used as Rem's room. Learning that its contents had been cleaned away drove home to Subaru just how powerful the erasure effect of "Gluttony" truly was.
"...No. I just had a feeling, that's all. Nothing meaningful about it."
Frederica seemed to understand, and she didn't press further. She truly was an exceptionally capable maid, just as Subaru had suspected. Between Rem and Frederica, the vast Roswaal mansion had originally been kept running by the two of them. Excluding Ram, that is.
Heading around to the back of the mansion and approaching the connected carriage, Subaru was greeted by a small whinny.
He spotted
The earth dragon with its jet-black hide noticed Subaru's approach and let out a spirited call, stretching its neck toward him as he drew near to express its affection.
Subaru touched his fingertips to the nose that came within reach, running them over the rough hide.
"Sorry I didn't even properly say 'good work' earlier, Patrasche. There was a lot going on, I know, but I'm counting on you from here on out, partner."
"———"
In response to Subaru's words, Patrasche pressed its rough tongue against his palm. Watching the two of them interact with such warmth, Frederica tilted her head.
"You've certainly earned its trust. I'm quite impressed that you've managed to tame such an obviously exceptional earth dragon so thoroughly."
"I didn't really do anything to tame it, though? If regular earth dragons are hard to win over, it's probably because Patrasche just has a deeper bond with people than other earth dragons. Or maybe it puts up with me because I'm so unreliable—either way."
This was no false modesty. In the mere three or four days since they'd met, Subaru had been saved by this good-natured earth dragon more times than he could count. He'd given nothing in return, and so there was no other way to describe it: meeting Patrasche had been nothing short of a stroke of incredible luck.
Perhaps sensing Subaru's self-assessment, Patrasche lifted the head it had been resting on Subaru's hand and, catching him off guard, nuzzled its nose against his cheek. Startled by the sudden move and wincing at the sensation of having his cheek scraped like a file, Subaru let out a wry laugh.
"Something about the way you are, Subaru-sama, has suddenly become quite clear to me. ——You have your hands full too, don't you?"
"———"
It wasn't Subaru, who was busy dealing with Patrasche, but Frederica who spoke to the earth dragon with a soft gaze full of sentiment.
Patrasche paused briefly at her words, turning its reptilian eyes toward her once before resuming its playful nuzzling of Subaru.
It was, in Subaru's unknowing view, a brief moment where the hearts of the women around him quietly connected.
In any case— "Sorry to keep you waiting, Rem. It was dark and cramped in there, wasn't it? I'll carry you to your room now."
After spending some time playing with Patrasche, Subaru headed to the carriage in the garage—to Rem, who had been left sleeping inside.
Still in the same state, still lost in her deep slumber, Rem offered no complaints to Subaru. There was no pouting, no turning her cheek away with puffed-out cheeks muttering "Subaru-kun is mean." There was no smiling warmly at his apologies. Nothing at all.
"——I had heard, but to see it for myself... it's quite a shock."
Behind Subaru, who had been caught up in such sentiment, Frederica couldn't hide her astonishment at the sight of Rem for the first time. When Subaru tilted his head at her shock, she shook her head with a small "No" and said: "She looks so much like Ram as I remember her. The only difference is the hair color... So the twins really were true."
"I know your memories were erased, so you probably have your doubts, but I'm glad you believe me. It'd mean a lot if you could think of it as not some cruel prank."
Subaru nodded in understanding of Frederica's surprise, then extended his hand and placed it against Rem's cheek.
For some reason, he could feel neither warmth nor cold. There was no doubt that biological functions were still occurring, but there was nothing left inside the body that housed a person.
He'd already confirmed this many times over, and doing so again only reopened wounds in his heart that refused to heal. And yet, even knowing that, he couldn't stop himself from checking.
"Subaru-sama. I could carry her for you, if you'd like..."
"I want to do this. Let me. I want to be the one to bring Rem home to the mansion... to her room. I know I'm being selfish, and I'm sorry for that."
"No, it was rather touching, actually. You look like a murderer with that expression, but you're actually quite kind, aren't you?"
"That subtle burn actually really hurts!"
Subaru shot back at Frederica's remark, then scooped Rem into his arms. He'd already carried her like this several times, but she was so light.
This was the body that had stood before Subaru and fought on, long past the point of being useful, all to protect him. The more he thought about it, the more an overwhelming sense of tenderness welled up inside him.
"I'm gonna wake you up soon, okay? So for now, just be angry at me—the guy who's feeling the softness of your body against his fingertips right now."
"That sounds like a good line, but it kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth."
With Frederica's exasperated words as a final note, the group departed from the carriage. Subaru gave a single nod of farewell to Patrasche, who poked its head out of the stable, and then followed Frederica's lead into the mansion.
Toward the servants' quarters on the east side—the room that would become Rem's bedroom, the place that had originally been her room.
"You were able to speak with Beatrice-sama, weren't you?"
As they walked, the question came suddenly.
Subaru, who had been carefully watching his step as they ascended the stairs, looked up at Frederica's back ahead of him. She narrowed the pupils of her sharp eyes and looked down at him with an expression that seemed only threatening. However, Subaru—having been similarly misunderstood by people his entire life due to his own unfriendly-looking eyes—could tell that wasn't her intent.
When she sensed that Subaru had confirmed her question with his silence— "Is she doing well? Since I returned to the mansion, I haven't yet had the chance to see her face."
"I told Emilia-tan too, but she seemed fine... probably. She was in a worse mood than usual, so we didn't exactly have a proper conversation, though."
"I see..."
Her expression wasn't bright—whether out of concern or something else, Subaru couldn't tell.
Watching that expression, a question suddenly occurred to Subaru. He was curious about this girl named Beatrice and her place within the mansion.
Until now, Subaru had never pressed her on her position or origins.
A girl who resided in Roswaal's Margrave mansion, in a mysterious space created by magic called the Forbidden Library, and who received treatment from both Ram and Rem as something between a guest and a noble.
Yet on the other hand, she was a contracted spirit of Emilia, a candidate in the Royal Selection, and she looked up to
"So, um, Frederica, have you been working at this mansion for a long time?"
"Oh my, are you curious? You seem to have quite an interest in Emilia-sama, the girl in your arms... and Beatrice-sama."
"Please don't casually throw Beako in there—I don't have a younger-girl fetish. It's pretty obvious my hands are full with Emilia-tan and Rem. As for Frederica... honestly, even in this short time, I'd say you're not really my type."
"Then I've fallen out of favor."
"It's that whole vibe of trying to play me like a fiddle that screams Roswaal's staff, and it doesn't work for me. Ah, I mean that purely in terms of personality compatibility—it's not that I dislike you or anything."
At Subaru's attempt to smooth things over, Frederica blinked, then covered her mouth lined with those fearsome fangs and let out a laugh.
"There's no need to worry on that account. You do worry a lot, Subaru-sama."
"When we first met, I hurt you. You laughed it off, but at least half of what I said was honest, wasn't it?"
"———"
This time, it was Frederica who looked genuinely surprised, her eyes widening as the smile vanished from her face and she fixed her gaze on Subaru. Her yellow eyes locked onto his, and he could feel her attempting to peer straight through to his innermost self.
She let out a small sigh.
"I'm not accustomed to having people see through to the inside of my heart. I would appreciate it if you didn't dig too deep."
"I just smoothed over a spot I'd already trampled on. I can't exactly talk about others when my own resting expression is this menacing... though, well, my whole family's like that."
Both of his parents had unfriendly faces, so naturally the son they produced turned out the same way.
Dinner time, the whole family gathered around the table in dead silence, eating mayo-covered things with no expression—they probably looked like they were performing dark magic at the dinner table.
Seeing Subaru make a disgusted face at his own objective memories, Frederica sighed again.
"It's not unpleasantness, but you're certainly a strange one. I can understand why Emilia-sama treats you the way she does."
"Emilia-tan does what?"
"Nothing at all. If I said any more, Emilia-sama would truly get angry with me. But tell me—what would you do with the information about how long I've served here?"
Shaking her head, Frederica steered the conversation back on track.
Though still bothered by something, Subaru shifted gears and prefaced with "So, um..."
"Basically, I wanted to talk about Beako—Beatrice. If you've been working as a maid in this mansion for a long time, I was wondering how long Beatrice's been here."
He hadn't asked directly, but Frederica was probably a few years older than Subaru—maybe twenty-three or twenty-four, by his estimate. Even if she'd been a maid for a decade and you reverse-calculated Beatrice's apparent age of roughly twelve, it seemed like she should know.
But to Subaru's question, Frederica shook her head.
"I'm afraid I don't know. Beatrice-sama had already sequestered herself in the Forbidden Library before I began working in this mansion."
"Ah, well, I guess that can't be helped. Your tenure as a maid doesn't perfectly overlap with the time you spent at Roswaal's mansion. If it was just about hardening yourself through the years in this place—"
"No, you're wrong, Subaru-sama."
With a clear, firm tone, Frederica cut off the possibility Subaru had been considering.
She straightened her spine before Subaru, whose brow was now furrowed, and her fierce features bore a unmistakable look of melancholy.
"The only mansion where I worked as a maid was the Margrave's estate. And the first time I was brought in as a servant, I was twelve years old. That was over ten years ago now."
"...Wait, that doesn't add up, does it? Because if you count backward from there, that would mean Beako was holed up in that moldy room since she was still tottering around on unsteady legs—"
"Oh, you've figured it out, haven't you?"
As if catching Subaru in the act of refusing to accept the truth, Frederica shook her head.
Her attitude seemed to confirm the question that had been floating in Subaru's mind, and he realized with sudden clarity the answer he hadn't previously given enough thought.
In other words, that girl in the Forbidden Library— "Her appearance hasn't changed. ...She really isn't human, is she?"
"Bound by an ancient pact to guard the Forbidden Library from the very dawn of the Mathers family—a custodian, and nothing less. That is the Great Spirit, Beatrice-sama."
There was no falsehood in Frederica's words, and Subaru could do nothing but accept them.
The true identity of the girl he'd been interacting with all this time was something that existed on an entirely different plane from anything he'd known.
"Same 'Great Spirit' title as Puck, but she looks and acts way, way different."
"The absence of a contractor, the nature of the pact... No, this is beyond what I should be speaking about. Please forget I said anything."
"No way, not a chance."
How many times had the uninformed Subaru been jerked around by someone who knew more than he did?
Frederica showed no intention of touching on what she'd just said, completely unmoved by Subaru's withering glare. Seeing that attitude, Subaru sighed, realizing there was no way to continue that thread of conversation.
He then recalled that they'd stopped talking for some time and were still standing there.
"Frederica."
"Do forgive me, Subaru-sama. I let my tongue slip a bit too far. It's just that having someone who cares about Beatrice-sama appear—it made me quite happy. Please, do forgive me."
"That's fine and all, but my arms are about to give out."
With his upper arms trembling, Subaru looked up at Frederica with a stiff face.
He'd put on a brave front about how she was light, how love made everything possible, and all sorts of other noble sentiments—but the reality of arm strength, muscle endurance, and every other physical consideration crashed down on him with no regard for such poetry.
"Oh dear."
"Please, just move! Quickly! I'm begging you!"
Rather than lowering Rem to the floor or—in a moment of truly spectacular poor judgment—handing her over to Frederica mid-carry, Subaru pushed aside Frederica's offer to swap and hurried toward the guest room.
He heard the light patter of footsteps behind him as Frederica followed. Reflecting on how terribly he'd cut short what had been a genuinely meaningful conversation, Subaru arrived at Rem's room, where— "You were... a while."
Emilia was waiting for them with a look of mild restlessness on her face.
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ Subaru laid Rem on the bed and pulled the blanket up to her chest.
Her chest rose and fell with her breathing, and the beating of her heart within announced the continuation of her life. How long would she spend in this room before the day of her awakening finally came?
"That's all up to me, isn't it," Subaru muttered, renewing his resolve. He brushed the bangs from Rem's forehead with his finger, then turned to face Emilia standing behind him.
"Sorry for the wait. I got into a pretty long chat with Frederica. My arms paid the price for it, though."
"If you had a good conversation, that's great. What were you talking to Frederica about?"
"I was doing some groundwork on rehabilitating our shut-in. The length and origin of the withdrawal period are closely linked to how you approach the recovery process, so..."
"Oh, is that so? You sure know a lot about this 'withdrawal' thing. That's impressive."
Emilia's innocent praise of Subaru's expertise stabbed him right in the chest. Especially because she meant it so genuinely.
At Subaru's pained grimace, Emilia tilted her head with an innocent expression. He let out a wry laugh, and she gave a small shrug.
"So, you couldn't get anything out of Beatrice?"
"She's tight-lipped, totally immovable. By the way—I keep asking, but... what about Puck?"
"——No luck. No response from this end either. He does this sometimes, but the timing is *so* bad this time. Seriously, it's a real problem."
Emilia reached into the space before her chest and drew out a green crystal stone. The pendant-style gem emitted a soft glow, its interior shimmering with an ethereal light that housed the Great Spirit within.
It was the vessel of Puck, the Great Spirit contracted to Emilia, and Subaru knew that the spirit typically materialized and entered and exited through it.
But as their exchange made clear, for the past several days, Puck's presence hadn't been inside the crystal. An absence—though that wasn't quite the right word either, since he wasn't responding to their calls either.
"Does this happen sometimes? But if he's gone, it leaves Emilia-tan in a tough spot too."
"When he's really needed—when I truly have to borrow his power—he comes back. So I don't think he's ignoring me entirely. But what he does when he's not around... he's never told me, not even once."
Looking apologetic, Emilia spoke. Subaru scratched his head with a grunt.
But once again, the fact that someone who seemed to know more than he let on had clamped his mouth shut left Subaru unable to hide his disappointment. Now two key figures who might answer his many burning questions had both gone silent.
"Puck and Beako, both clamming up on me at the same time... Talk about a losing hand."
"Seriously. ...Hey, Subaru, what should we do?"
Emilia looked to Subaru, who was pressing his hand to his forehead in thought, seeking his judgment.
He glanced down at her and saw the unmistakable trust shining in those pleading eyes directed at him, and despite the gravity of the situation, he couldn't help but feel happy. That she was relying on him—he could feel it clearly, even in the suffocating deadlock they were in.
"Since both of them, who seem to know so much, have gone silent... I think the only move left is to go to the next source. ...Of course, just because we know where he is doesn't mean he'll talk to us."
"Roswaal."
"I think it's about time we sat down and had a real, open conversation—everything on the table, holding nothing back."
Emilia, who had read the situation perfectly, nodded in agreement. The fact that Subaru's conclusion so neatly aligned with hers suggested she'd already been thinking along the same lines. Emilia let out a visible sigh of relief.
"Good, I'm glad you're on board, Subaru. I kept worrying you'd push back, the way Roswaal or Ram did."
"I might oppose some things depending on what you say, but basically I'm Emilia-tan's full-time supporter. Even if I do oppose something, I want you to believe it's only because I love you that much."
"Oh, love... Subaru, you really say the smoothest things with a straight face."
Caught off guard by Subaru's shameless flirting, Emilia turned her face to the side. Subaru clenched his fist at the slight blush on her cheek. Without meeting his gaze, Emilia continued: "Which brings me to a proposal for you, Subaru—the Subaru who's going to be on my side."
"Yesss, tell me everything. Command me."
Subaru placed a hand on his chest and bowed with exaggerated servility. Emilia pursed her lips at his antics—"You're doing it again"—and turned back to him.
After a small breath, she looked straight into his dark eyes.
"There are things we need to talk to Roswaal about, and there are the evacuees from the village to think about too, right? So I've decided—I'm going to the '
"The 'Sanctuary'..."
It was a name that had been mentioned many times in the Roswaal mansion.
Subaru unfortunately didn't know its location, having failed to reach it before. But Ram's evacuation team—the B Team, as it were—had used it as their destination when fleeing the
With Petelgeuse's Witch Cult forces now defeated, the threat to the Sanctuary should have been lifted, just as it had been for the mansion.
"I was told it's a place we'll eventually have to visit, and I think now is the perfect opportunity. Besides, I've already decided that this time, I'm going to have a real talk with Roswaal."
"W-w-wait, hold on! You're not going to leave me behind, are you?!"
"Huh?"
Emilia was in the middle of laying out her plan when Subaru thrust his palm at her, putting a damper on her enthusiasm. But even so, he had to say it.
"I can see you're fired up, and I agree with the plan— but please don't leave me behind. I know I'm weak and slow on the uptake, but I can't stand the thought of not being able to fight by your side. I know I'm being selfish, but—!"
He pressed on desperately. Emilia's eyes went wide.
But these were his true feelings. Subaru would follow Emilia. Without being at her side, he couldn't protect her. He couldn't fight for her.
It wasn't conceit—he needed to be there for her. Not because he expected anything in return, but because it was something he wanted to do for its own sake.
Emilia stared at him, visibly surprised by his intensity. Sensing this, Subaru decided that if he was going to overwhelm her objections, now was the moment.
"Even if you try to stop me, it's pointless. I'm going with Emilia-tan. No way I'm being left behind—whether it's the Sanctuary or Roswaal standing in our way, no obstacle can withstand the blazing fire of my lo—"
"Of course I'm not leaving you behind. Come with me."
"Won't leave me behind won't leave me behi—wait, what'd you just say?!"
Subaru, who had been on the verge of throwing himself to the ground and flailing his limbs, caught himself halfway into a sitting position and looked at Emilia in disbelief.
Hearing this, Emilia covered her mouth with one hand, her face slightly flushed.
"I said, come with me. I'm... really anxious going alone."
"Emilia-tan..."
"I'm counting on you, Subaru. I don't think you're weak, or stupid. I need your strength."
"———"
The impact of those words on Subaru was beyond what any language could capture.
He stood there with his mouth hanging open, struck speechless. A flicker of anxiety crossed Emilia's face. She let her raised hand drift uncertainly, as if debating whether to reach out and touch him.
"Ah, um, w-what's wrong? Did I say something weird again?"
"My motivation switch is in your hands, Emilia-tan. Turning it on, turning it off—it's all automatic, responding to a single word from you. Unbelievable."
Subaru covered his face with his palms and murmured those words, leaving Emilia completely off-balance.
In truth, Emilia couldn't read his intent and was left thoroughly bewildered—"Huh? Huh? What do you mean?"—but Subaru silently savored the moment. After all, she'd just turned the tables on him with an even greater display of flustering charm, and he was feeling every bit of it.
"It seems like you two have reached an understanding."
"Waaah!?"
From the outside, their exchange could only be interpreted as flirting, and this tender moment was mercilessly cut short when Frederica knocked on the opened door and made her entrance.
Emilia didn't appear surprised by Frederica's arrival, but Subaru couldn't help but glare at her even as he tried to hide his racing heart. Frederica, for her part, was certainly aware of Subaru's feelings but showed not a hint of consideration behind that cool, menacing expression.
"I have no objection to the two of you going to the 'Sanctuary.' However, I will need about two days to prepare."
"Prepare? Does that mean you're coming with us, Frederica?"
"No, I'll remain here to manage the mansion. Instead, I will teach the location of the Sanctuary to the earth dragon that Subaru-sama brought."
"To Patrasche?"
Surprised by the unexpected proposal, Subaru's eyes went wide.
Frederica nodded matter-of-factly.
"Earth dragons are intelligent creatures. If properly instructed, they can navigate without a guide. That one in particular seemed quite clever. There should be no problem."
"You just keep getting more valuable, Patrasche. Seriously, how did such a perfect flag get planted?"
"More importantly, there are several things I must tell you both."
Subaru tilted his head at this odd comment, but Frederica ignored his reaction. She straightened her strong frame and fixed both of them with a steady gaze.
"If you are going to the Sanctuary, there are several things I want you to keep in mind. Especially you, Emilia-sama, given your origins—please be cautious."
"——Yes, I'm prepared. It's supposed to be a place with a lot of baggage, after all."
Emilia met Frederica's almost threatening warning with a strong, unwavering gaze and a firm nod.
Subaru stood beside her, equally respectful of her resolve.
"To be honest, I don't really know much about the Sanctuary beyond its name... But my top priority is to be useful to Emilia-tan. So tell me everything."
"My, how refreshingly pure in your impurity."
Exasperation and admiration flickered simultaneously through Frederica's eyes. She blinked once, pressing both sentiments back down, then raised a single finger.
"Very well. Let me tell you about the Sanctuary. And there is one more thing I want you to remember."
"Remember?"
"What is it?"
When Subaru and Emilia tilted their heads in unison, Frederica gave a small nod, lowered her voice just slightly, and spoke.
"——Be wary of a man named Garfiel. Of all the people you will encounter in the Sanctuary, he is the one you must be most careful around."