——For Subaru, this marked his second return from the
"The first time, though, I got put through the wringer..."
He scratched his cheek and climbed down from
After parting ways with Ryuzu, Subaru and his group of evacuees had made it safely back to
"Otto staying behind in the village with everyone overjoy—same as last time. Honestly, I wanted him to come along as a human shield, but..."
He had hesitated to force the issue and insist on company for the trip back to the estate. More than anything, if there was a genuine possibility of danger, having Otto along as a bodyguard seemed like a bad idea. He was the type who wouldn't know what to do in a sudden crisis.
Even if Subaru couldn't beat Otto in a straight fistfight, that didn't make the man a one-man army. The last thing Subaru needed was to have his guts spilled in front of a gut-muncher.
"Please, let nothing have happened..."
Last time, Subaru had returned to the estate six days after the Trials began. This time it was day three—meaning he had three more days of leeway compared to before.
The assault on the estate had almost certainly occurred the night Subaru was killed. That much was confirmed by deductions from multiple angles. The problem was, "Three more days... So that means sweet-talking Frederica into spilling the beans, bolting back to the Sanctuary, resolving the Sanctuary's problems on the fly, and then racing back to the estate. On pure time alone, it's not impossible, but..."
The constraints on actually pulling off that theoretical plan were severe.
The route between the Sanctuary and the estate took roughly eight hours one way. The round trip alone consumed nearly an entire day. Factor in dead time between stops, and the time Subaru had at his disposal became even more punishing.
"There were a few candidate solutions for dealing with the problem... but the best-case, 'everything goes our way' route is probably too much to ask for."
Given the advance warning of Elsa's assault, Subaru's best option was to repel the assassin. And not just barely—he wanted a decisive, crushing victory that would rid him of the fear of her shadow forever.
To achieve that, he needed combat power surpassing Elsa's, which meant either Roswaal or Garfiel had to be present. And realistically, the odds of bringing both of them back to the estate were not high.
"In the end, I've got no choice but to go with the second-best option..."
He raked his fingers through his hair and groaned in frustration. Patrasche pressed her snout against his shoulder. Subaru managed a wry smile at the earth dragon's face rubbing against him, and stroked the rock-like texture of her neck.
"The payoff would justify the risk, but I can't exactly prepare odds to match. Looks like I'm down to the 'grab my ass and run, scatter the spiderlings' strategy."
It was the same conclusion that had crossed his mind during the fight with the
Last time, he had seen as many possibilities as the pieces available to him. This time, his hand was painfully thin. Just detecting and dodging the expected attack in advance would be a godsend.
That said, there was another problem.
"The people at the estate. Whether
Of course, in the worst case, he was prepared to physically stuff them into the dragon carriage and kidnap them. He didn't see himself winning a contest of strength against either of them, but if he shoved their most irreplaceable things in their faces and steamrolled ahead, he'd find a way. No—he would make it work.
"——Haa."
He let out a small breath, suddenly aware of the weight of responsibility pressing down on his back.
How many lives would hinge on his words, his actions, the resolve he showed? He had felt something similar the night before the battle against the
"Standing here scared witless in front of the gate isn't going to help. I don't even know what's going on inside yet. First, let me see everyone's faces and make sure they're safe..."
"See their faces?"
"Then I can figure out how to convince them. Yeah. It's not like I understand any of this anyway. I could just make up some excuse about Roswaal's orders and wing it..."
"Oh my, what a terrible man you are, Subaru."
"Right? The kind of roguishly naughty bad boy that girls swoon over..."
As he spoke, Subaru heard a stifled giggle and turned around. There, standing in the estate's front courtyard on the other side of the gate, was a little maid—the familiar young girl, Petra.
Subaru's eyebrows shot up in surprise. She tilted her head adorably, her chestnut hair swaying.
"Welcome home, Subaru-sama. You've returned sooner than expected."
"Yeah, I'm home... I can see Frederica's elite education in every inch of that greeting."
Watching her pluck the hem of her skirt and execute a little curtsy, Subaru couldn't help but feel his cheeks relax in relief. Pushing open the gate with his hand, he stepped inside, dead tired. He guided the following Patrasche toward the dragon stable, then looked down at Petra, who had fallen into step beside him.
"——?"
Seeing Subaru staring at her, she looked puzzled for a moment, then quickly turned away and busied herself tidying her hair and clothes with her hands. Satisfied with the results, she gave a decisive nod—'there'—and turned back to Subaru with a smile that was even more radiant and lovely than before.
"What is it, Subaru-sama?"
Her smile had evolved, growing more dazzling, more enchanting than the one she'd worn moments ago.
The combination of girlish charm and a face that hinted at a brilliant future gave her expression an almost bewitching quality—the kind of smile that could captivate any young man her age.
A smile crafted with perfect awareness of how she appeared to others, calculated down to the last detail. Directed at Subaru, it made him catch his breath— "Aaargh! Seriously, you're way too cute!"
"W-Wah!?"
Completely oblivious to the calculating intent behind her smile, he let his emotions take over and pulled the girl into a hug, wrapping his arms around her small body. Then, in a gesture that was simultaneously rough and tender, he ruffled her hair without a shred of restraint.
Petra let out a confused cry at the suddenness of it all.
"Standing there looking all forlorn without the faintest clue how other people feel. You little—you little! Ugh, seriously!"
"Wh-What's wrong!? Come on, Subaru, it's still too early..."
"I swear, you little..."
"——Subaru?"
Petra, her cheeks flushed and her body squirming in his arms, suddenly changed her expression. Still nestled in the cradle of his arms, she looked up at Subaru's face as his voice dropped low. The embarrassment that had suffused her features moments ago vanished.
"Does something... hurt?"
She reached out a fingertip, concern written across her face, and gently touched Subaru's trembling cheek. He caught her fingers with his palm and held them there softly, then shook his head.
"No."
He breathed in through his nose, held it. Then he opened the eyes he hadn't realized he'd shut.
"I was just genuinely, truly relieved. That's all. Welcome home, Petra. I mean—I'm home."
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ——After settling Patrasche back in the stable and holding Petra's hand (which she had insisted on), Subaru returned to the estate. Fortunately, according to Petra, nothing of note had happened since they had left.
"Right now, Frederica-nee-sama has gone out to check the mountain barrier, so you might have to wait a little while for her to get back..."
Hearing Petra relay the head maid's absence, Subaru recalled the mountain barrier—the sealing barrier that had been used to contain the Juggernaut. The Juggernaut itself had been destroyed, but the barrier apparently remained active.
Even without the Juggernaut, the barrier had the property of blocking malevolent magical beasts and similar threats, and maintaining it was apparently one of the responsibilities shared between Arlam Village and its stewards—the Roswaal faction.
"Once everyone from the village gets back, they'll probably have to do rounds to check for breaches in the barrier, but for now everyone's still trickling in, so Frederica-nee-sama is..."
"That 'nee-sama' you've been slipping in lately really tells me you two have gotten closer, huh. It's kind of endearing, actually. Oh, and—everyone from the village is back."
"Really?"
Subaru pointed a finger toward the village. Petra's eyes lit up, her voice jumping with excitement.
Her family had been part of the group evacuated to the capital side, so her parents should have returned to the village safely. Still, she had been separated from the neighbors and friends she'd grown up with. Learning they were all right, she clapped her hands in delight.
"Go see them later, why don't you? Just showing off that maid outfit would make them happy, I bet."
"Mm! I'll go change into something else and come back, once Frederica-nee-sama gives me permission!"
"No, you don't have to change... You look cute in that, so if you just showed everyone..."
"Hee hee, cute? Cute?"
"Cute, cute. So just show everyone—"
"Mm! I'm going to change and come back!"
No matter how many times he chose "no," it was drowned out like thunder drowning out a whisper.
Whether it was some point of pride she refused to budge on, Subaru couldn't tell. Petra's response was rock-solid, and he abandoned any further attempts at persuasion.
He cracked his neck, let out a deep breath, and said, "Well, then."
He stopped walking.
They were on the second floor of the estate. His shoes slid across the carpet as he looked up at the door ahead. Petra, who had been holding his hand, quietly let go. She was a perceptive child who knew how to read the room.
"Sorry, Petra. I need a little time alone with her."
"I know. I'll be in the west wing doing the rest of my cleaning. Just call if you need anything."
As if she'd understood before he even spoke, Petra shed her girlishness and assumed the composure of a maid, gave a small curtsy, and left.
Taking advantage of her thoughtfulness—while berating himself for it, given the urgency of the situation—Subaru rapped his own forehead lightly.
Even so— "This is what it comes down to when you talk about priorities, huh."
He pushed open the door and stepped slowly inside.
A room where time seemed not to move. On the simple bed placed in the sparse room lay a single girl. The familiar waitress uniform had been exchanged for a light-blue nightgown.
Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was so faint it was almost inaudible. But the quiet, steady beat of her heart was proof—tiny, precious proof—that her life still held on.
"...Rem."
The emotions packed into those two syllables as Subaru spoke her name—who could comprehend them? A ceaseless torrent of feeling directed at the one and only person in all the world.
He had steeled his heart like steel, resolving to face any hardship without wavering. He had decided not to lean on anyone, to move forward with his head held high.
——That resolve and determination dissipated the instant he stood before her.
He had told
"How pathetic... I really am weak, through and through."
The moment he was in Rem's presence, Subaru reverted to the weak
Back to the moment when he had first found the strength to stand—because Rem had affirmed him on the basis of devotion.
Slowly, he reached out and brushed the bangs from her sleeping face with his finger. There was no change in her expression. The one who had been "eaten" still had no path to return.
And yet, if he left her like this—if he did nothing—she would lose even this body. That much was certain.
"You might not have had any intention of it, but because of you, I've found my resolve."
He felt the fragile, peeled-away surface of his heart being coated in new steel.
The sight of Rem sleeping, the steady pulse of her heart, the simple fact that she was there—it all returned Natsuki Subaru to who he had been. To the transformative rush of feeling from that moment.
"Because you told me it was okay to be weak, because you told me to keep getting stronger... I'll find a way. I'll stand up as many times as it takes."
Pain, suffering, hardship—no matter how much misery awaited, her wholehearted love healed Subaru, and his desire to answer that love drove him forward.
"You, Petra, everyone else... I'm going to get every single one of you out of here safe."
He gently stroked her forehead, fighting down the urge to touch her longer. And then, in the drafty room, he sat down in the chair beside the bed and simply stayed by her side in silence.
That was all—spending a portion of the precious, irreplaceable time he had, pouring every drop of it into her. That was the fullest measure of his heart that Subaru could offer her now.
How much of that quiet time passed?
Without warning, a knock pulled Subaru—gazed dazedly at Rem—back to reality. He looked up, turned toward the door, and called, "Come in."
"I hope you'll pardon the intrusion. —I am glad above all else to see you have returned safely, Subaru-sama."
The door opened with a stately sweep, and in walked the tall woman.
Her long golden hair swayed with each step; she carried herself with an elegance that had become second nature. It was Frederica.
She took in the sight of Subaru at Rem's bedside, gave a small nod, and said: "There are many things I would like to ask you... but that applies equally to you, Subaru-sama. Shall we change locations? Even though she is asleep, I imagine there are matters she would rather not overhear."
"I appreciate a woman who gets to the point. —Do you have any idea what I want to talk about?"
"Perhaps."
Accepting her measured response with a quiet breath, Subaru rose from his seat. One last time, he touched Rem's sleeping face, clenched his fist as if severing his lingering attachment, and spoke.
"Your rough, foul-mouthed little brother. The gap moe of a loli on the outside and an old woman on the inside. The Sanctuary as an experimental facility. And Roswaal's schemes. I'm looking forward to seeing how much of that you'll actually answer."
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ "Since the master has not yet returned, the Trials must not be over, I take it."
Having moved from Rem's bedroom to the reception room, the two of them sat facing each other.
Frederica placed a steaming cup of tea before Subaru and settled into the chair opposite. Her first words were as above. Subaru stirred his tea with a spoon, nodded, and said, "Yeah."
"You don't waste time, do you. —Though I will say, knowing as much as you clearly do and still sending me off with barely any information... I've got some gripes about that."
"I will not offer excuses. It is a fact that I did not disclose everything I know about the Sanctuary, the Trials, or my worthless younger brother."
Her tone was perfectly even. Not a trace of guilt or similar emotion colored her words. And yet it wasn't quite the same as brazenness. It would be hard to call it suppressed emotion, either. It was a carefully maintained blankness that revealed nothing of her inner workings.
The same type as
"Like I said back in that room, there are several things I want to know. But should I even expect to get all the answers?"
"...I'm afraid that expectation will not be entirely met. As long as the Sanctuary has not been released, the contract between myself and the master remains in effect. So long as I am bound by that contract, the facts I can share with you are limited."
"Another contract. Everyone's got one of those."
Subaru pressed his hand to his forehead and bit down on his annoyance.
He wanted to shout that such contracts could be interpreted flexibly, but he had sworn to Emilia that he would keep his promises. The hypocrisy of forcing others to break theirs sat poorly with him.
"I can ask some details about the contract, though, right?"
"No. It is a contract between myself and Lord Roswaal, and so long as it exists, the information I can disclose from my end is restricted. —That is all I can say on this matter."
"Nothing new there. Damn it. He's pulling strings I can't even see. At this point I genuinely think he's working against us."
He clicked his tongue at the stubborn reality and the evasiveness of the people involved, then composed himself and took a sip of tea. It still tasted like leaves, but after drinking it this many times, he was at least beginning to distinguish between high-quality leaves and ordinary ones. —According to his tongue, this was the expensive kind.
"Anyway, enough of that. —You're Frederica, from the Sanctuary, and Garfiel's older sister. That information checks out, right? Or are you going to tell me you can't answer that either?"
"That is perfectly fine to discuss. The details—more precisely, it would be accurate to say I was not 'born' in the Sanctuary but rather raised there. By the time I was old enough to be aware of things, I was living in the Sanctuary, so calling it my origin is close enough to the truth."
"Not born there... Come to think of it, Ryuzu said something similar. Something about Roswaal bringing half-elf people from outside and housing them in that place."
It was something Ryuzu had told him during the dragon carriage ride back. At the time, she had rebuffed him, so he hadn't been able to press further.
"If half-bloods can't get through the barrier, then bringing them there from outside is basically imprisonment. Why would anyone do that? And the people in that place didn't exactly seem like prisoners..."
They had all seemed to be living peacefully, without any particular complaints.
At the very least, they hadn't displayed the claustrophobia or anger of people who had been forcibly confined against their will.
Which meant the people brought from outside had also accepted life in the Sanctuary. —What was the point of all this?
"Subaru-sama, are you aware of the Demi-Human War?"
"...Demi-Human War. The words sound vaguely familiar."
If he dug back far enough in his memories, he thought he had heard the term two or three times. Above all, the term itself conveyed its meaning with brutal clarity.
Hearing Subaru's uncertain reply, Frederica ran her long golden fingers through her hair, touched a hand to the corner of her mouth where sharp fangs peeked through, and said: "To unravel the Sanctuary's reason for existing and Lord Roswaal's intentions, I must first tell you a little about the Demi-Human War."
She stood and moved toward the back of the reception room. Subaru watched her go. She returned carrying a box that had been sitting on a table in the back.
"There is no need to be so guarded. It is simply some confectionery."
She offered a small, warm smile as she set the box in front of Subaru.
Rare sweets, the kind that could only be sampled at the Roswaal estate—delicacies unique to this world.
Subaru looked between the box extended as a snack and Frederica's face.
"I suspect this will be a long and rather dull tale. So please, make yourself comfortable."