When he first heard
From what Subaru had heard, Old Man Nur was the island's healer—meaning, he played at being a doctor—but before coming here, he had never so much as tended to another person's wounds.
He had been here since before the governor, who oversaw the island's administration, replaced Gustaf. During those harsher, deadlier times, he had stumbled into the role of healer almost by chance.
It started with simply pressing a dirty rag onto the stumped arm of a sword slave's wound.
From there, people started dragging him out more and more whenever someone needed patching up, and eventually he was ordered to work as the healer in the infirmary so he wouldn't have to stand in the arena as a sword slave.
After spending many long years as a healer, he had survived his fair share of crucibles befitting his position.
Thanks to that, he could manage wound suturing and simple medicine compounding. He had even bared his yellowed teeth and laughed, saying he was probably set for life as a healer.
It pained Subaru to see Old Man Nur's face twist up like that. He felt genuinely apologetic.
But if Subaru was going to carry out what he wanted—and what he needed—to do on this island, it was something he simply couldn't go without.
That was why he had made the request of Old Man Nur, a man doing noble work saving lives.
"—So can you prepare something that'll kill a person instantly, just from a bite or a lick?"
△▼△▼△▼△ Subaru felt bad for what he'd done to Old Man Nur.
But it was necessary. Fainting in the middle of a fight and surviving in a half-dead state was the bigger problem for Subaru—he needed a do-over option, and he needed to have one.
And once he had that option in hand, Natsuki Subaru would be flawless.
"Though, longer legs would make things a bit easier,"
he grumbled—a complaint born from the one time in battle he came up short a single stride.
Of course, that one stride could be forcibly compensated for by leaping out twice as fast on the next opportunity. He would repeat his trial and error, find the best move, and seize the desired future with his own hands.
So— "That's enough! You have survived the 'Sparca'! By my authority as a pro, I hereby accept you all as members of the Sword Slave Island!"
A deep, resonant command rang out, celebrating the end of the fierce battle that had unfolded in the arena.
In the center of the arena, face up, lay the corpse of a gladiatorial beast with two swords—one large, one small—embedded in its torso. Both wings on its arms and its long tail had been hacked off, leaving it in a sorry state.
Still, those wings for movement and that sharp tail had been genuinely, truly troublesome.
To deal any damage to the main body, taking out those two features was absolutely necessary, so Subaru wanted it on record that they hadn't beaten it up any more than was required.
And— "Gustaf, seriously?"
Still breathing heavily, Subaru looked up at Gustaf standing in the guests' box.
The island's ruler stood with his four muscular arms crossed, having witnessed the conclusion of the 'Sparca' to the very end. The impression he gave was of an inflexible stickler, and he really had declared the outcome word for identical word.
It was hard to chalk it up to pure coincidence that this time and Subaru's previous match used the exact same phrasing. Gustaf's calls were probably the same every single time.
That aside— "We… we did it! We survived! We survived!"
"We're alive…! Ah, waaah!"
"Guh-hi… hi…"
"I… I can't believe it. I thought it was the end of the world…"
"Could it be, we've died and gone beyond Od Laguna?"
Five people surrounded the gladiatorial beast's corpse, each celebrating the victory in their own way, dazed.
Orthon, Hitz, Nadlei, Kuonson, and Kodori. All were lizardmen, but not a single one was the same species. The victory equation had been built on grasping each individual's personality and their coordination.
Just like with Vaitz's group, they could not have won if even one member had been missing. —Of course, without Subaru it would have been impossible regardless.
"But we won…"
Snapping his fingers with a sharp click, Subaru pointed a finger up at Gustaf in the guests' box.
To Subaru's provocative gesture, Gustaf didn't move his stern expression—he simply narrowed his eyes in response.
Without another word, Gustaf turned his back, descended from the guests' box, and headed back inside the island.
Cleaning up the corpse and handling the surviving sword slaves were left to his underlings, the jailers.
"Schwartz!"
"Oh."
As Subaru watched Gustaf leave, someone called out to him, rushing over. It was Hia-in, who had leapt down from the spectator stands and was running toward him.
His scales were standing on end all over his body, and he grabbed Subaru's shoulder with his webbed, broad fingers— "What the hell were you thinking!? No, first of all, why did you join the 'Sparca' in the—"
"Punishment. It's a punishment."
"A… punishment?"
"Right. I heard it from some of the other sword slaves. If you defy Gustaf or the jailers—the island's management—the first time is a warning, and after that it's punishment. Serious offenders get fed to the Curses."
Subaru had talked to multiple sword slaves and done his due diligence on this point.
Everyone seemed to know about Gustaf's desire to keep the number of sword slaves from dropping any more than necessary, and the rules were understood in common.
Punishment meant forced participation in a 'match' unrelated to your own—specifically, the 'Sparca.' "The 'Sparca' is basically an initiation rite for people who become sword slaves for the first time. Those who've already been sword slaves don't participate. They've got their own 'matches' to deal with, and there's no reason to."
On top of that, the 'match' participants for the 'Sparca' were randomly selected from the group of new sword slaves who had arrived at the island at that time. Meaning, compatibility, preferences—none of it could be chosen.
You were grouped with people whose abilities, specialties, and backgrounds you barely understood, and you had to break through a gladiatorial beast in coordination with them. It was exactly that kind of mad trial.
No benefit to doing it, yet far too high a risk of death—a deadly game in every sense.
The sword slaves all agreed: the 'Sparca' was the single harshest death match on the Sword Slave Island.
"Though, right now, with Segmunt around, the match you're forced into with Segmunt has apparently become the worst one in people's minds."
"—. I get why you mixed yourself into the 'Sparca.' But—"
"But?"
"First of all! Why did you even receive a punishment in the first place!? To get thrown into the 'Sparca' right after talking with him up there—that's weird, right! It's like…"
Hia-in cut himself off mid-rant, his eyes darting away.
Sensing the hesitation to voice the rest of his thought, Subaru gave a small shrug. He had a rough idea what Hia-in wanted to say.
"Like I did it to save Orthon and the others?"
"—!"
"You're not wrong. If I hadn't been there, they all would've been killed."
In truth, even with Subaru present, the battle had been a mess.
Becoming one with people even less suited to fighting than Hia-in required starting with becoming part of their group—and since they stuck together as lizardmen, Subaru had to infiltrate that circle first.
That was where having seen the Chaos Frame had been surprisingly useful, though.
"They were all aiming for the Chaos Frame, right?"
"Huh…"
"You should really have a proper talk about that. You've finally gotten the chance to reunite, after all."
Saying this, Subaru placed his hand over Hia-in's, which rested on his shoulder.
Hia-in's narrow, slitted eyes widened as he stared intently into Subaru's black pupils. Meeting that gaze, Subaru jerked his chin toward the five.
They too were gradually regaining enough awareness to look around, still soaking in the joy of survival. One of them, Kodori, noticed Hia-in.
And then— "Hia-in! It's Hia-in! You're alive… you're alive!"
Kodori's voice rang out, his face brightening with delight. The other four turned to look at Hia-in as well. They spoke over one another, celebrating Hia-in's presence with unmistakable positive emotion.
Watching that, and seeing Hia-in's face scrunch up— "This chance was bought with my life on the line. Savor it properly, brother."
Subaru slapped the hunched-back lizardman and sent him toward his companions.
Hia-in hesitated several times before finally shuffling forward— "Sch—Schwartz!"
"Hm?"
"…Thanks."
That was all he said. Then Hia-in walked over to the five who were waiting for him.
There was no hostility or ill will from Orthon and the others toward Hia-in. Subaru already knew why those five had been captured and brought to Sword Slave Island.
If they could talk it through properly, there was no reason for them to be at each other's throats.
"…Schwartz-sama?"
"Whoa!"
While Subaru watched Hia-in's reunion with his companions, a voice from behind startled him.
He jumped so hard he coughed, then— "Geez, scared me half to death…! Don't sneak up on people like that!"
"That is my line! What do you think you're doing, all of a sudden… Do you have a death wish!?"
"I don't want to die!"
It was
The young girl's furious protests pressed down on Subaru, but he shook his head. Even so, Tanza's expression made it clear she wasn't buying his excuse at all.
"Your sudden participation in the 'Sparca' caught me terribly off guard. And it was the result of you, of your own volition, lashing out at Governor Gustaf—I can only think you have no regard for your life."
"So that's a misunderstanding. I don't think there's anyone who understands the value of life more than me. That's exactly why I saved Hia-in's friends, isn't it?"
"You're talking about your own life. …Admittedly, things worked out in the end, but from where I was watching, there were countless moments where things could have gone terribly wrong. This was nothing but a miracle."
"A miracle, huh."
Tanza's voice dropped, her realistic gaze reproaching Subaru's recklessness.
She was right that there had been many heart-stopping moments. He understood why Tanza wanted to call it a miracle. —But that wasn't what it was.
"Miracles are something you get from the gods. This—I grabbed with my own hands."
So this was no miracle.
It was proof that Natsuki Subaru had kicked that godforsaken fate in the teeth.
"…You took such a reckless gamble just to save Hia-in's companions? Or is this retaliation for the back-and-forth taunting with Segmunt-sama?"
"No, it's true that Segmunt ticked me off, but if I were risking my life over that, I'd be way too unhinged… Saving Hia-in's companions had a clear purpose too."
"…………"
"Suspicious eyes! Serious suspicious eyes!"
The persuasive power of Subaru's explanation cratered spectacularly.
Tanza's look of utter distrust—like she was staring at a culprit caught red-handed—made Subaru droop. "I'm telling the truth…" he muttered weakly.
Seeing him so pathetic, Tanza let out a soft sigh— "Then, Schwartz-sama, what is this purpose of yours?"
"That is…"
Regaining her composure, Tanza asked her question. Subaru turned around once more.
There was Hia-in, talking with his five companions. Hia-in's voice was slightly raised, audible even from this distance.
So— "Let's talk after giving them a little more time."
"…Schwartz-sama?"
"Suspicious eyes! Seriously suspicious eyes!"
Internally exasperated with his own untrustworthiness, Subaru quietly stuck a finger into his mouth. He carefully confirmed the position of the package wedged behind his molar.
"…………"
There it was—the final option Subaru had asked Old Man Nur to compound.
He refused to let a careless mistake ruin this run that he had won through a desperate challenge. He had to be vigilant enough to avoid dying from a stupid blunder.
—Thinking that, Subaru pushed the package of 'medicine' behind his molar.
△▼△▼△▼△ "From what Orthon and the others said, the Chaos Frame has apparently been destroyed."
"…………"
Hia-in's report left him looking bitter, and Tanza's round eyebrows drooped as she bowed her head.
She had been imagining the worst, but being told it was true didn't lessen the blow. It was like knowing you were about to fall and still feeling the pain when you hit the ground.
Now that the 'Sparca' was over and Orthon's group had safely survived and been accepted as sword slaves, they were apparently being led around by the jailers and shown the island's facilities and common areas.
Though they were companions, Hia-in belonged to a different 'match,' so he couldn't join them. That was why he had come to show his face in the room he shared with Subaru and the others.
And he had brought the information Subaru had been eager to hear.
"You were after stuff from the outside world, right? Being stuck on this island, there's no way outside news gets in here."
"Half and half. No, let's call it seventy-thirty. Seventy for you and Orthon's sake."
"You keep saying stuff like that, you creepy kid!"
It was fairly sincere, but Hia-in crossed his arms and turned his face away, playing it cool.
The fact that Hia-in had sorted through his own feelings and was now thinking about why Subaru had joined the 'Sparca' made Subaru genuinely happy.
And there was something almost bright about Hia-in's expression—probably because he'd managed to hear the crucial details from Orthon's group.
That was— "…Those idiots got captured trying to buy me back from a slave merchant. You just can't save everyone, can you?"
"The gods and fate are heartless. So I stepped in. …Let's just say we saved them, alright?"
"What do you mean, 'we'? You're the only one who actually participated in the 'Sparca.'"
"I could say that Hia-in was on his knees, crying his eyes out, begging 'Please, please save us, Schwartz-sama'…"
"Save the dreaming for when you're asleep!"
A hand shot out and grabbed his head, shaking him back and forth. Once he let go of the dizzy Subaru and snorted through his nose, Hia-in noticed Tanza's mood.
After hearing about the Chaos Frame, she was looking down, and Hia-in called out "Chibi" to her— "You down about the Chaos Frame? What's the—"
"…The Chaos Frame is my hometown. On the verge of collapse, the city—"
"O-oh… That's, uh, that's rough…"
Caught off guard by her answer, Hia-in's eyes darted around. It was typical of him, being weak with unexpected situations. But quickly, he raised his voice again.
"Still, the city might have been wrecked, but it's not like everyone living there got wiped out. The people of the city are all together somewhere else… uh, though it's a bit of a sore subject."
"A sore subject…?"
"Well, I'm not sure how much of this you can believe…"
Prefacing it like that, Hia-in hesitated before continuing. But Tanza's interest—and Subaru's—had already turned toward the rest of the story.
Sensing that, Hia-in let out a deep sigh and then— "Apparently there's a huge rebellion going on outside. The Chaos Frame people have joined the rebellion, apparently. I mean, the capital of the
"Lady Yorna is not a fool."
"W-wrong! I'm sorry! I don't know the reason, but I'm sorry!"
Hia-in's fast-talking explanation faltered when Tanza's sharp gaze pierced him, his voice cracking.
Once again, he'd earned her ire with unnecessary bravado. But behind him, Subaru found several things in the story to feel relieved about.
Assuming he believed Hia-in's secondhand account of Orthon's group.
"Even if the Chaos Frame is done for, Yorna and the people of the city are safe. If the rebellion is making waves, Abel and the others must be okay too."
A battle to retake the imperial capital would be impossible without Abel.
In other words, Abel was alive. He could only hope Medium and Taritta, and Al, were safe as well. —And that Louis was safe at Yorna's side.
"…I really can't afford to take my time."
Hearing fragments of the situation outside made the desire to leave the island even stronger.
He was worried about everyone in the Chaos Frame, of course, but he was also worried about Yorna and Abel's group—and about the people of
He had a feeling he'd be scolded again when she found out he'd shrunk.
"—. If only I could show Rem that she can rely on me."
Personally, he felt his head was clearer now and he was in better shape, but he couldn't deny that from the outside he looked utterly unconvincing. Tanza's lingering, suspicious gaze—it probably wasn't unrelated to his smaller body.
Anyway— "Got it. Thanks, Hia-in. That helped."
"The one being helped here is… well, whatever. As long as you get it."
Hia-in mumbled in response to Subaru's gratitude. Subaru smiled slightly at that, and was about to turn to Tanza when— "Schwartz. The governor requests your presence."
Outside the common room, the one who had spoken was a jailer of the Sword Slave Island, dressed in a black uniform. At those words, Hia-in's expression stiffened, and Tanza's eyes went wide.
She looked at the jailer— "Governor Gustaf wants Schwartz-sama? Why…"
"I was not informed. There is no need to explain. Come quietly. Or else…"
"It's fine! I'll come along quietly, no need to get all combative. …By the way, is it punishment if I refuse?"
"…………"
"Joking, joking."
The middle-aged jailer's lips curled at Subaru's quip, one eye shut.
His attitude made it plain that he didn't much like Subaru. And who could blame him. This particular jailer had been present for Subaru's conversation with Gustaf before the 'Sparca.' He had witnessed the moment Subaru became subject to punishment—the very reason he'd joined the 'Sparca.' From his perspective, Subaru had to seem utterly incomprehensible.
A crazy kid who volunteered to enter the 'Sparca' of his own free will.
"Well, I'm off for a bit. Tanza, be a good girl and wait here."
"…Schwartz-sama, I trust you will refrain from causing too much trouble."
"Mm, I can't even argue with that."
Tanza's strangled tone of voice only deepened Subaru's wry smile. Following the jailer, who urged him to hurry with a wordless gesture, Subaru stepped out of the room.
From behind, Hia-in called out to him.
"Hey, uh, Schwartz—"
"Hm? Something wrong?"
"N-nothing… Just, uh… be careful out there, will ya? Even someone like you, if the numbers in our 'match' drop, it's gonna be trouble for us."
The bluntness of his worried words made Subaru look blankly surprised. Then he burst out a quick "Pfft" and nodded back at Hia-in.
"Sure, got it. See you later then."
Waving casually, Subaru parted ways with Tanza and Hia-in. Then, following behind the jailer who walked ahead— "Was Gustaf angry?"
"…The governor is not an emotional man. Unlike me."
The unspoken 'don't provoke me with that extra remark' made Subaru shrink his shoulders sheepishly.
△▼△▼△▼△ —And so, the two of them watched as Schwartz was taken away.
"Hey, what did Schwartz do this time…"
"He was just escorted away by a jailer, but did he do something besides the 'Sparca'?"
Vaitz and Idra appeared in the doorway of the room where Tanza and Hia-in remained. Both of them had been in the spectator stands, watching Schwartz's 'Sparca.' Naturally, they had a mountain of questions about what had prompted that kind of reckless stunt.
That said, they weren't as desperate as Hia-in had been, so they hadn't been rash enough to leap down from the spectator stands— "Tanza, do you know what's going on?"
"I… seem to know, yet also seem not to. It's complicated. Schwartz-sama strikes me as someone who keeps secrets from everyone."
"He's certainly hard to pin down… though he does have a certain caliber…"
Tanza's murmured words prompted Vaitz and Idra to exchange a glance and sigh.
As the three talked, Hia-in sat silent. Though it was hard to read the complexion of a lizardman, his shifting eyes clearly showed he was wrestling with something.
In the end, all three called out to him by name— "Schwartz's" "Hia-in-sama"
"What's with that face…"
"Well, you see… the, the three of you probably realized too, right? That Schwartz joining the 'Sparca' was intentional…"
"Given what we saw… I'd say everyone did."
Idra answered Hia-in's halting words, with Tanza and Vaitz nodding in agreement.
That was probably the universal understanding of every sword slave who had watched that arena battle. And from anyone's perspective, today's 'Sparca' would not have been achieved without Schwartz's performance.
"I don't know what he was thinking, doing something like that…"
"—Yeah, I don't either. But, but listen—"
"But? But what?"
"I don't know exactly why he did that, but the fact that he could do it, that is… maybe…"
The three could tell what Hia-in wasn't quite saying—maybe I know why.
It wasn't a question of why Schwartz had joined the 'Sparca'—it was why Schwartz had joined the 'Sparca' and survived. For Tanza, and especially for Vaitz and Idra, that was no idle curiosity.
It was exactly why Hia-in received such intent stares, and he swallowed hard.
And then— "This is, uh, just something I heard from the newcomers who just arrived from outside, but apparently there's talk going around outside that the emperor has a lost heir somewhere. And the thing about that is—"
"…………"
"—They say it's a kid with black hair and black eyes."