The instant the punk planted his foot on the ground, Subaru felt as though the world had tilted.
In reality, nothing of the sort could have happened. The weight of the earth wasn't so cheaply bought that a being the size of a human could shake its very foundations just by stepping on it.
And so, the world tilting had been nothing but Subaru's illusion.
In truth, the ground had simply peeled upward from the sole of Garfiel's foot, and with the motion of a folding screen being flipped, they and the dragon carriage had been launched skyward.
"No way—that's impossible—, right!?"
On the far end of their makeshift seesaw, the sensation of being propelled violently upward reached its peak, and as weightlessness enveloped them, the dragon carriage soared through the air. Including
The carriage then slammed into the ground with a tremendous crash, sending devastating shockwaves through both its interior and exterior while its entire frame groaned in protest. It was a high-quality dragon carriage. Its luxury wasn't limited to ornamental extravagance—its superior livability and durability were proof of that, and they performed admirably, sparing it from being destroyed. However, the carriage, which had ended up nearly on its side, was in no condition to start moving again.
In other words, there was no escape left. The only option was to face head-on the being capable of such a feat.
"Damn it, what the—"
Shaking his head, Subaru pressed a hand to his aching forehead as he leaned out from the driver's seat. His head had struck something during the fall and throbbed dully, but mercifully, there was no sensation of a cut, nor any sign of bleeding. A passing thought made him glance down, and it seemed Emilia in his arms was uninjured as well.
Relief welled up at that, but it was quickly replaced by frustration as he remembered the cause of this entire situation.
His gaze snapped upward in panic, and there—before him—was the very sight he had dreaded— "Patrasche—!!"
A roar. Bared fangs. The pitch-black earth dragon surged forward with its massive body, lunging at the diminutive shadow.
Using the loosened coupling between herself and the carriage, Patrasche had twisted free with a nimble burst of speed and was now counterattacking her assailant.
Her razor-sharp fangs possessed the cutting edge of a blade, and the crushing force of her jaws could shred flesh and shatter bone with ease. She aimed for the area beneath Garfiel's neck, carried by the wind, and clamped down with lethal intent without a moment's hesitation. But— "Sharp instincts. Good earth dragon… no, you're a fine woman, ain'tcha. 'The sound of breaking bones is also proof of love,' as they say—damn right about that."
"——!"
What had pierced into the gap between her closing jaws was the tip of an outstretched arm.
Garfiel had deliberately thrust his right hand forward for Patrasche to clamp down on. The earth dragon did exactly as he expected—she bit down on the arm, intending to shear off the tip and then leap for his torso. That was how it should have gone.
And yet, Patrasche couldn't move. Not just her body—even her jaw, despite having his arm locked within, wasn't budging an inch.
Had some special ability been used on her? Or was it magic?
These questions raced through Subaru's mind, but Garfiel answered them with action. The muscles in the arm he had jammed into her mouth swelled, and with brute strength that utterly eclipsed the force of her jaws, he pried them apart.
"Nice. You took action right away, and even now you haven't given up—that's even better. You pass."
"——!"
The pitch-black earth dragon lowered its body, and even with her mouth forced open, she whipped her hips around. Her jaw still clamped shut on the man's right arm, Patrasche's sweeping tail hummed through the air and struck for his cheek. Subaru had felt that tail's power before, but judging by the speed of Patrasche's movement now, it was immediately clear just how much she had been holding back before.
The blow was a literal full-force strike, imbued with enough hostility to easily send a human body flying. But even that was effortlessly caught mid-flight by Garfiel's left hand.
A dry crack rang out, and in the aftermath of the impact, all that remained was the sight of his left hand gripping the tip of her tail. Holding her head with his right and her tail with his left, Garfiel bared his teeth like a beast and grinned.
"I won't let you have a bad time. Take a little nap, yeah?"
With a wide circular swing, he sent Patrasche's enormous body gliding through the air as though she weighed nothing at all. She was spun around on the spot, and even she—had no words for the bewildering sensation of weightlessness that flashed across her eyes before she was gently deposited on her side on the ground.
The impact of her massive body striking the earth barely registered, and in the silence that followed, Patrasche lay defeated. Confronted by that sight, Subaru swallowed hard against his parched throat.
"Y-You threw Patrasche…?"
"She's got good instincts. I tossed her nice and gentle so it didn't hurt. And I'm gonna finish this before she can get back up!"
Garfiel's voice boomed over Subaru's shock, his grin widening as he vaulted lightly onto the tilted driver's seat. There, Otto—who had lost his balance in the upheaval—was scrambling to his feet as the intruder landed.
"But—don't underestimate me! I am, at the end of the day, a traveling merchant! I've always factored in the possibility of being attacked by thugs on the road! So, if you don't want to become the victim of the Suwen Family's Thug-Repelling Technique, I strongly recommend you surrender right abo—uff!"
"Shut it, amateur. There's no way a half-baked technique like that could beat me. Sleep tight."
The moment Otto struck a fighting pose with blazing spirit, the forefinger of Garfiel—still leisurely approaching—flicked him square in the forehead.
A finger flick—more like a flicking poke, really—yet it produced a fearsome sound as it sent Otto's lean body toppling backward onto the driver's seat. He clutched his forehead, groaning soundlessly in agony. He'd live, but that was one more obstacle cleared.
"Now then, looks like you two are all that's left."
Snorting, the punk fixed them with a gaze sharp enough to slice them in two. From where he stood on the driver's seat to Subaru was roughly four long strides—and for a man who had closed the distance with Otto in a blink of an eye without Subaru even noticing, that distance was virtually nothing.
Subaru held his breath and scrambled for a way out, but nothing came to mind. The only person among them who might stand a chance against this man was Emilia, but she was still unconscious from an unknown cause. And above all, he had to protect her.
"I'm—"
"You don't get it, do you—no matter how deep you dig, it's just blue skin—! I ain't listening—!"
The sound of a foot lightly kicking the floor, and in the blink of an eye, Garfiel's compact frame appeared before Subaru's eyes. His arm was raised, fingers splayed, and the five claws about to descend made it all too easy to imagine himself being shredded to pieces.
Faced with the vision of his body scattered in five directions, Subaru could do only one thing. He threw himself forward to shield Emilia in his arms from the blow.
"——!"
Had a few seconds passed? Or merely a moment?
Eyes shut tight, Subaru covered Emilia with his entire body and waited—but the expected impact took an agonizingly long time to arrive. Cautiously, he opened his eyes, and saw the five spread fingers frozen in front of his face. Beyond them stood the punk, his eyes filled with something unreadable.
The man looked down at Subaru, who had unconsciously stopped breathing, and cracked his neck with a loud pop.
"You prioritized protecting the woman over counterattacking. Well now, that's interesting. If you got yourself killed, she'd be done for anyway, wouldn't she? Bad judgment, if you ask me."
A truth he absolutely didn't want to hear, yet Subaru couldn't argue. His silence only seemed to further irritate Garfiel, who waved a clawed palm dismissively.
"And you took too long getting back up. Doesn't mean you're completely useless since you could move at all… but you're definitely no good. That much is certain."
"You—"
"Hm?"
Garfiel delivered his harsh assessment on points that were completely opaque to Subaru. Despite that, Subaru somehow managed to move his frozen throat and called out to him. The moment he did, Garfiel's vicious expression twisted even further with irritation, and he leaned in close.
"Talk louder. Use a bigger voice. What'd you say?"
"You're Garfiel, right? That's your name? And you're a friend of Roswaal's or Frederica's or something?"
"…Frederica?"
At Subaru's question, Garfiel's expression—for the first time—lost its aggressive edge. He blinked with a blank look that, in that instant alone, revealed the innocent charm of a carnivore that had momentarily forgotten blood. Then he quickly covered it with a bitter scowl.
"Why that name… Wait, hold on. The woman you're holding—is that the one with the silver hair? The half-devil?"
"She's a half-elf. Don't talk about her like that in front of her."
"Ha! What's with the sudden fire in your eyes, huh?"
The moment the derogatory term left Garfiel's lips, Subaru's tone had exploded. Pure fury drove it, and every trace of his earlier fear vanished from it. Hearing this, Garfiel clenched his teeth with gleeful delight and clacked them together.
"So wait—that means this is the Emilia everybody's been talking about, huh? There shouldn't be any half-devils coming near this place who aren't connected to Roswaal."
"You—"
Ignoring Subaru's response and deliberately emphasizing the words "half-devil," Garfiel made Subaru half-rise to his feet. But Garfiel's open palm preempted him, stopping him cold.
"'A fool who bites red-hot iron only gets hurt.' You can't beat me. Look at the gap in our strength and behave yourself. …Didn't I say I wouldn't hurt you?"
He held out his palm, then closed it into a fist and cracked his knuckles, issuing a clear threat. The disparity in their combat ability was obvious, and until he understood what this man was capable of, any unnecessary resistance would only make things worse. For now, he had to swallow his anger and wait for a chance to settle the score later. That was the right call.
So— "Go to hell."
"Hm?"
"I don't want to get hurt. You'd beat me black and blue. But—no. That doesn't give you the right to look down on someone when you know it would make her cry."
He gently laid Emilia on the dragon carriage's cargo bed and brushed the hair from her forehead with his finger. Then, rising to his feet, Subaru locked eyes with Garfiel, who watched him quietly, at a distance so close their foreheads could touch. Breath-close. Within arm's reach.
"Take back that stupid name you called her. And never use it again."
"…You wanna make me listen to you? I don't think you've got what it takes. Cheek, gut, shin—I'll beat every part of you blue. How's that sound, huh?"
"Try it. I won't go down for free. I'll bite the hand that punches me, grab the arm that goes for my gut, spit on the foot that kicks me—I'll make sure I hit back at least once."
Matching threat for threat, Subaru obeyed the searing fury boiling up in his chest. Before him, Garfiel's quiet hostility sent chills racing through his entire body. Literally—one kick from him would be the end of Subaru. Their earlier exchange had made that clear.
Garfiel was an individual whose fighting ability put him squarely among the absurdly powerful figures Subaru had encountered in this other world. He might not reach the heights where Reinhard stood, but he could compete with the likes of Wilhelm or Julius.
Even the minuscule retaliation Subaru had just threatened was, in practice, virtually impossible to carry through.
And yet, Subaru stood his ground and stared Garfiel down. Knowing he would lose was no reason to back down. The reason he could not back down was right behind him.
"—Pfft."
"—Huh?"
It was a strange, involuntary burst of air that suddenly leaked out.
In the middle of their staredown, it slipped through like a gap in the tension, suddenly wedging itself between the two of them. Subaru shot a confused look, and in response, Garfiel moved— "Pffahahaha! Now that's what I call a proper retort! You've actually got guts, don't you?!"
"What are you—ow! Hey, what, that hurts! Quit it—OW!"
Laughing hard enough to shake his shoulders, Garfiel slapped Subaru's back with full force, over and over. It had nothing to do with hostility or aggression—it was purely physical contact, seeking nothing more than the act of touching—but delivered without a shred of restraint, it simply drained what little stamina Subaru had left.
"Alright, you pass. I'll let you through. I don't like half-devils—half-elves, whatever—but if you've got the guts to go that far to protect a woman, I'll let it slide for your sake."
"I appreciate you correcting yourself, but—I said it hurts! How long are you gonna keep hitting me! Are you trying to kill me?!"
Shaking off Garfiel's still-enthusiastic arm, Subaru retreated a few steps. The punk cocked his head, then folded his muscular arms.
"Don't be so uptight. Forget about what happened before and let it flow down the river. A small man means small things, you know?"
"That proverb you just said sounds familiar, but I don't need your concern! Any—way!"
Garfiel wagged his finger at Subaru with a little shake of his whole body, tilting his chin upward with casual arrogance. Subaru fired back, his tone rough.
"You're Garfiel, and you're an acquaintance of Roswaal's—that's right, isn't it? I was pretty freaked out by the sudden contact, but there's no hostile intent anymore, right?!"
"Don't make so much noise, damn. It's not like I'm gonna eat you."
"With how violent you were just now, who'd believe that…?"
Garfiel stuck a finger in his ear, looking irritated—but at Subaru's appeal, he nodded in understanding, as if to say, "Fair enough." He was still hard to read, but the fact that he could be reasoned with was somehow a relief. Then Subaru remembered something urgent.
"R-Right—that's not even the issue! Emilia collapsed out of nowhere. She was talking normally just a while ago!"
"Collapsed, that half-elf? Yeah, no kidding. Do you have any idea where you are? What did you expect?"
Subaru rushed to Emilia's side. Her expression was the same, her breathing still ragged and labored. As Subaru fretted over her suffering form, Garfiel simply shrugged with a dismissive air. Subaru shot the man his best "explain yourself," and Garfiel furrowed his brow with mild exasperation.
"You said you came here after hearing it from Roswaal and Frederica, right? Then this should be obvious… Wait. You didn't know?"
When Subaru shook his head at the very start of the explanation, Garfiel clicked his tongue in annoyance. He muttered something inside his mouth—"That damn pervert…"—making it obvious who he was cursing out.
"And Frederica didn't tell you either? That woman—guess she's picked up her master's personality in the time I haven't seen her. Unbelievable."
Shaking his head, Garfiel exhaled his frustration through heavy breathing. Then he noticed the questioning look in Subaru's eyes and raised a hand dismissively.
"I got it, I got it. She doesn't look great, but her life isn't in any danger. But if you don't want to see her looking any worse than she does now, you'd better get away from here quickly. I'll guide you to the village."
"If we leave here, she'll wake up?"
"That's what I said, isn't it? Let's move. Hey, you—how long are you gonna lie there? Get up."
With no intention of explaining further, Garfiel didn't even bother to hide his crude manner as he turned and strode toward the driver's seat, where he kicked the still-groaning Otto.
"Oww!" Otto cried out.
"You're the driver, aren't you? I've fixed the carriage's tilt. You drive it the rest of the way to the village. I'll kick your ass into the dirt if you don't."
"Wait—what exactly is going on here!? From what I just heard, I'm the one who got the raw end of this deal!"
Otto exploded at the sheer unfairness of it all and rose to his feet to confront Garfiel. Quite the bravery from a man who had just been on the receiving end of a truly painful lesson—and Garfiel apparently shared that assessment, because he turned to Subaru.
"Hey. Is this guy always this energetic?"
"Can you not ask him to evaluate me! Look at me with your own eyes and judge me for yourself! And for starters—apologize! Apologize to me!"
"Hey! What, you suddenly got all fired up? You looking down on me too!? I just hit you once when there was no need to go that far—give me a break!"
"Both of you, shut up! Emilia-tan is suffering while we just stand here! Grab the reins already! And you—get the carriage upright!"
Three men shouted at each other from atop the driver's seat.
Placed in the cargo bed, Emilia still hadn't regained consciousness from the unknown cause of her collapse. Yet, her finely sculpted brow furrowed ever so slightly, and in a pained voice barely above a whisper: "…So noisy…"
She murmured it like a sleep-talking child, in a tiny voice.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ "Now that we're properly at it—I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Garfiel… ah, just Garfiel is fine. I'm the strongest there is. Nice to meetcha."
"Right, I'm
Seated across from each other in the now-moving dragon carriage, Subaru and Garfiel exchanged introductions. Garfiel extended his hand, and when Subaru shook it back, the man looked at him with puzzlement.
"I said it. Something weird about that?"
"Well, honestly, I never expected someone to straight-up declare 'I'm the strongest.' That said, aren't you carrying around a pretty oversized signboard?"
"You saying I don't deserve to call myself the strongest?"
"I admit you're insanely strong, no question. But when it comes to whether you're truly the strongest… there's always that one person who pops up in my head."
Calling to mind the image of a certain crimson-haired knight, Subaru compared him mentally with the Garfiel sitting before him. Judging from their exchange, Garfiel was clearly a formidable hand-to-hand combatant, but even so, no one was blowing houses apart with a single kick—no, wait. Garfiel had actually done something just as absurd by stomping the ground once and sending the dragon carriage flipping over. He might genuinely be on par with that Sword Saint in terms of sheer absurdity.
Even thinking it through, the image of Reinhard at the top of Subaru's mental ranking simply refused to budge. He didn't fully understand himself why he kept giving that knight such special treatment, but there it was.
"Ha! Well, whatever. Eventually, I'll prove with my own hands that I'm the strongest and overturn that wrong notion of yours. Until then, just think of me as… something like a 'red-nosed, cold-sensitive todonos,' got it?"
"I don't even know what I'm supposed to think…"
As expected, the metaphor didn't land, and Subaru tilted his head. But Garfiel had no intention of explaining, so he crossed his arms behind his head, leaned back into his seat, and relaxed. The conversation having run dry, Subaru gazed out the small window while absent-mindedly running his fingers through the silver hair of Emilia resting on his lap.
Still unconscious, Emilia's expression had softened from before. As Garfiel had said, moving away from the spot seemed to have helped at least a little. And that thought led to another concern.
"Hey. I didn't get to ask earlier, but you're a friend of Roswaal's… right?"
"You shoulda heard my name at least. I mean, I said 'just Garfiel,' but I'm way beyond just being one of Roswaal's people. I'm the strongest, period."
"That's not really answering the question… I feel like I heard someone mention you as an influential person, though."
Could it be that Garfiel had been called an "influential person" precisely because of his combat strength? If so, he wasn't the political ally Subaru had expected, but rather a muscle-bound one.
Making friendly contact with someone they needed to be wary of on the eve of arriving at the
"I've got even more things I need to ask Roswaal when I reach the Sanctuary. I'm supposed to be solving problems, but it feels like all I'm doing is making more. What's going on?"
Holding his head, Subaru's expression clouded at the growing number of difficulties ahead. Garfiel heard him and let out a quiet tongue-click, revealing his sharp canines for a moment.
"The Sanctuary, huh…"
At the loaded murmur, Subaru looked up. Garfiel gave a small wave of his hand. Then he stood and faced the direction they were heading—toward their destination, the Sanctuary.
"You've been swallowing everything Roswaal told you, so that's what you've been calling it. Whether you don't know or you haven't been told—either way, it's bullshit."
"I honestly agree, but let's not badmouth him behind his back—that's pretty rotten. …Hey, did I say something wrong?"
It was obvious that hearing the word "Sanctuary" had soured Garfiel's mood. Subaru wondered if he'd misspoken, but the man's response was simple.
Without warning, a strange, humorless smirk appeared on his face.
"Your princess should be waking up any time now. We've gotten pretty far from the barrier."
"The barrier? What are you—oh, Emilia-tan?"
Before he could finish the question, Subaru noticed Emilia stirring on his lap and called her name. Her eyes opened faintly, and with a hazy gaze she looked around the interior of the dragon carriage. Not yet fully conscious, her violet eyes found Subaru.
"Morning… Suba-ru…"
"Waking up has never been cuter, but now's not the time, Emilia-tan. You're not feeling weird anywhere, or getting headaches, or anything?"
"Huh? No, not really. I don't feel strange at all…"
Mid-conversation, her consciousness seemed to fully return, and Emilia sat up abruptly. Subaru jerked his head back—they nearly headbutted each other—and during that instant, Emilia, completely oblivious, turned to face him.
"Are you okay, Suba-ru? I said I'd protect you, but I collapsed…"
"Don't worry, I scraped through somehow! The dialogue contact paid off. Humans can connect through the communication tool that is language—I've taken the first step toward proving that here today. Even though I'm socially inept."
Subaru steadied Emilia by touching her shoulder as she leaned in close, spouting nonsense while observing her condition. She could stand and walk, her eyes moved properly, her complexion was fine, and her speech wasn't slurred. Plus—she was super cute. Just like always.
"See? I told you it'd be fine."
As if he'd been waiting for Subaru's relief, Garfiel laughed. At the sound, Emilia seemed to notice for the first time that there was a stranger present. Startled, she immediately positioned herself to shield Subaru and faced Garfiel.
"—Who are you?! I should warn you—I won't let you lay a single finger on Subaru."
"Emilia-tan, it's fine, really! And please stop making statements that establish me as the protagonist! My heroine meter is already at its limit!"
Subaru gently pulled her back from behind, easing her combat stance, and then turned to Garfiel, gesturing toward him.
"That's Garfiel. He showed up right after you collapsed and boarded the dragon carriage. Well, 'showed up' might be generous—he attacked it—but right now he's accompanying us to the Sanctuary."
"Garfiel…? Is this him? The one Frederica told me about?"
"What she told you—I'm curious, but let's save that for later. We're almost at the village."
To Emilia, who felt the same apprehension Subaru had earlier, Garfiel didn't even give time to sort through it all. He just jerked his chin forward. And as he indicated, the trees ahead seemed to part, revealing the outline of a village—their destination.
"Welcome, Lady Emilia and company."
He added the honorific—but it carried absolutely no respect or goodwill. If anything, it was weighed down with contempt.
Without realizing it, Subaru's gaze hardened while Emilia's face filled with confusion. Bathed in the looks from both of them, Garfiel still didn't soften his attitude. Spreading both arms wide, he declared: "Roswaal, with all his airs, calls it the 'Sanctuary'—but what it really is is the end result of a dead-end testing ground where a bunch of half-breeds huddle together."
"A testing ground…?"
"Half-breeds—"
While Subaru and Emilia each registered different parts of his words, Garfiel placed a hand over his mouth—where his prominent canines were on full display—and laughed, masking what was clearly a deeply conflicted set of emotions.
"We residents call it the 'Graveyard of the Greedy
A self-mocking laugh echoed faintly through the interior of the dragon carriage.
Low and quiet, like a curse—and like a blessing—it resonated.
Listening to it, Subaru simply and quietly worried for the girl beside him, and thought: If the Witch once again tried to obstruct her path, then it would have to be him—the one who scattered the cinders that tried to block her way.
The Sanctuary was drawing near.
—The place that would irrevocably change the path of Natsuki Subaru. And of Emilia.