"You and Subaru-kun sure are awfully friendly, aren't you?"
When the two of them met up at the designated spot, that was the first thing
Her gaze was directed at the space between them—at the point where
Laughing off Rem's snap judgment, Subaru pointed at the scene in question.
"There's nothing weird going on? Ram-chi was just fed up with me because I was late. Sorry for keeping you waiting."
He gave a light flick of his sleeve to free himself, then apologized to Rem for making her wait. Even so, Rem's gaze still seemed to carry a slightly lowered temperature, though when Ram glided to stand beside him, her expression softened too.
Now that he had the composure to observe, Subaru could see just how rough around the edges Rem's psyche actually was despite appearing unshakable. Especially when it came to anything involving Ram, her dangerously possessive sister complex really came to the fore.
"Sis…"
"Subaru's already said it too, Rem. There's nothing going on. Right?"
Ram shut down her younger sister's pleading voice with that same immaculate expression. Rem stared blankly at her twin, then suddenly narrowed her eyes as if noticing something.
"Sis… did you perhaps see?"
"Yes."
"…Even though I told you so many times to stop."
"If it was necessary, then that's what needed to be done. Anything beyond that is a waste of words, Rem."
"You two having a private conversation leaves poor old me out in the cold. Come on, mix me in and let's chat together!"
Serious Rem, deflecting Ram. And barging in to joke around—Subaru. Rem, in particular, shot him a sharp, piercing look.
He wasn't sure what the reason was, but he'd apparently triggered some serious wariness in Rem. On the other hand, he seemed to have earned some goodwill from Ram. These twins were not easy to handle.
At this rate, things were heading straight for a bad ending.
He wanted to raise Rem's affection somehow, but he had no idea how.
For now— "Wh-wh-wh-what the—let's not be so grim, let's keep it fun. I'll carry whatever you need from the start—luggage, shopping, whatever."
He rolled his shoulders, rolled his hips, and made a show of being ready for labor.
The smaller bags from the shopping trip were probably already tucked into the bundles Rem and Ram were carrying. Subaru's job, if Ram's instructions were correct, was the big stuff—the kind that required a man's strength.
With that thought, he shifted his gaze to what lay behind the twins—and immediately regretted it.
There, sitting there in all its glory, was something that looked like a barrel the size of a person's entire torso.
"…Is there no limit to your cruelty?"
"Seven times."
"Huh?"
As Subaru's voice dropped with the mental image of an X slashed across his face, Rem's lips murmured that mysterious number. At Subaru's questioning tilt of the head, she regarded him with a testing look.
"Along the way, I plan to take breaks spaced around your schedule, Subaru-kun. Seven times is my prediction."
That bow—delivered with that same infuriating politeness—got Subaru thinking about the distance to the mansion. Roughly a twenty-minute walk. As the crow flies, it was less than three kilometers, but Subaru was painfully aware of his own lack of stamina.
Then, in silence, he approached the barrel and gingerly tested its weight. Maybe it was a paper tiger—all show. That pathetic hope was thoroughly crushed by the heavy thud that settled into his lower back.
Hauling this thing for three kilometers, with seven breaks— He twisted his waist, did some squats on the spot, stretched his back wide, and declared: "Let's try to keep it under ten."
Not defiance at being provoked by the "seven breaks" estimate—if anything, he was pre-setting expectations with an even worse prediction. He kind of liked himself for that.
"By the way, Ram guesses thirteen breaks."
"The fact that neither of you lets personal bias affect whether your assessments are harsh or lenient—I gotta hand it to you, you're both perfectly fair."
Even with a subtle gap in their affection ratings, Rem still seemed to evaluate him more favorably. That, in its own way, was enough to make him scratch his head.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ By the time the three of them arrived back at the mansion, the sun had sunk considerably—it was well past dusk.
He had collapsed under the weight of the luggage and proposed resting along the way roughly twelve times. His upper arms were already screaming from accumulated lactic acid, and his calves had developed a tremor like a cramp with no signs of stopping.
He had been thoroughly defeated by Rem's prediction, and a thin shred of pride—the kind that refused to bow to Ram's malice alone—was all that had carried Subaru this far on the journey.
"I'm here, I made it… Good job, me—GJ! Seriously GJ!"
"Sis, sis—Subaru-kun is crawling on the ground, positively ecstatic."
"Rem, Rem—Barusu is lying face-down on the ground like a dog, overcome with emotion."
"Oh, shut up—praise me for finishing before you start griping. A fragile, delicate guy like me breaks easy if you keep using the whip! I'm from a well-adjusted upbringing—I haven't experienced much failure!"
Since coming to this world, there had been nothing but whips. He was aware that a fair number of sweets had been handed his way too, but even factoring that in, the ratio was a bit much, wasn't it?
At any rate— "Yes, yes, good work."
"Yes, yes, nice hustle."
Dismissively acknowledging his efforts, Rem effortlessly lifted the barrel that had been set on the ground.
Subaru—a man who had once benched eighty kilograms—wasn't sure he could hoist this thing from his shoulders to overhead even at full effort. Rem scooped it up with one arm while cradling small items in the other.
The sheer audacity of that display was so absurd that Subaru couldn't help but grin.
"Was… was I even needed?"
"Nope? This is something Ram and Rem always do whenever Barusu isn't around. As you can see."
Ram offered zero comfort to the little boy inside Subaru.
Watching Rem's retreating figure—footsteps so brisk they practically came with their own sound effects—Subaru was acutely reminded of the pointlessness of his manual labor.
"Then why did you make me do it? …Was it seriously just harassment? Come on, senior—lay off the bullying, will you?"
"You don't understand, Barusu. It was consideration, of course."
"I don't get it. Consideration for what?"
At Subaru's question, Ram snorted, then shrugged with an exasperated air.
"Then tell me—would you rather Rem come back hauling a huge, enormous barrel on her shoulders while you strut along behind her with nothing but a few small bags of spices, looking all pleased with yourself, and have
"I'm on my knees in absolute admiration of my senior's consideration!"
He knelt before Ram's noble visage, expressing his deepest gratitude.
Being a guy who lets a girl smaller than him carry the heavy luggage while swaggering home with just the shopping bags—what kind of hellish portrait was that? Never mind being seen by Emilia—just imagining himself in a mirror would be enough to drown in despair. His already paper-thin masculine index would be scraped clean off.
And then— "Sis, Roswaal-sama is—"
Rem returned ahead of them, carrying the luggage inside. At the mention of the mansion's master's name, it was Ram who reacted with lightning speed.
The effect that name had on Ram was extraordinary—it swept away the languid air she always carried about her, and she briskly took position beside her sister, tidying her appearance as she walked.
Then— "What are you doing, Barusu? You intend to keep Roswaal-sama waiting?"
"I can't read your telepathic twin channel, you know. What—is this a 'servants, assemble' thing?"
Given the look you'd give a slow child, Subaru scratched his head and hurried after them. On the way, he tried to tidy up his appearance in imitation of Ram, then opened the front door of the mansion to find— "Oh my, you're both here together? Saves me the trouble~"
Roswaal, the master of the mansion, stood with arms spread wide, awaiting the three of them.
Long indigo hair, mismatched blue and yellow eyes. A handsome man wearing a languid, slack smile—but something about his aura was different from usual.
"Outsider's clothes, hmm?"
"Correct-a-roo! Well, honestly, I'm not too fond of them myself~ If I wear my usual getup, there are always jealous types making trouble, so I've no choice but to throw on formal wear every so often~"
The man who normally favored oversized collars, geometric patterns, and colors that practically blended into the background—whose playful excess knew no bounds—was now dressed in perfectly proper attire, just as he'd been when they first met.
Subaru floated two possibilities at the sight of Roswaal's outfit.
And at the same time— "Do we have a visitor?"
"Are you going out?"
The twins voiced his exact thoughts simultaneously.
At the servants' question, Roswaal gave a wry smile.
"Ram's the winner—going out. I've received a bit of a troublesome report, you see. I'm heading over to Garfiel's place to confirm. Don't think I'll be late, though~"
The name was a first hearing, and Subaru had no idea whether it was a person or a place.
But following the twins' lead—as if that alone told them everything—Subaru simply nodded along with Roswaal's words, offering no objection.
The three of their attitudes drew a magnanimous nod from Roswaal.
"So that's the situation—I'll be away from the mansion for a bit. Either way, I don't think I'll be back tonight—Ram, Rem. I leave it to you~"
"Of course—your orders are absolute."
"Yes—I'd give my life."
At their immediate, unwavering responses, Roswaal acknowledged them with just his eyes, then turned his mismatched gaze on Subaru. Slightly pressed down by the intensity of that stare, Subaru shifted.
"Sorry, but I haven't pledged a life-or-death level of loyalty just yet?"
"That's perfectly fine. It'd be heavy and uncomfortable if you swore something like that out of the blue. But still~ I'll be entrusting you as well, Subaru-kun."
He clapped Subaru's shoulder, then closed one eye so that only the yellow one reflected Subaru's image.
"I'm getting a foul feeling about this. Don't worry about me, but… please do look after Emilia-sama carefully, won't you~?"
"—Yeah. You've got my word on that."
No need to be told.
He didn't know how much Roswaal suspected about the situation. He didn't know—but Subaru answered clearly, all the same.
—An unprecedented development.
This was, without question, the kind of development that meant the world had changed because of Subaru's actions.
Accepting Subaru's nod, Roswaal gave a satisfied one of his own.
Then, leaving a few words for his loyal twin servants— "Well then, I'll be off. Here's hoping nothing happens, 'course~"
In that slightly low voice, he murmured, and Roswaal's back disappeared through the entrance.
After briefly seeing him off with a bow, Subaru paused.
"Oh wait—I just realized you two aren't going with him. And there's no sign of a carriage or anything outside… He's going on foot?"
At Subaru's question, twin expressions of exasperation settled into the twins' eyes.
"There'd be no point in going. We'd only be a burden."
"Loyalty alone won't let you fly. Plus, it'd be a bit scandalous if the wind blew up our skirts."
"Whoa, whoa—those were some dangerous words I can't just let slide…"
To Subaru, their combat power was on par with Elsa's nightmare level, yet both of them were keenly aware of their own inadequacy. And if Ram's words could be trusted— "Oh man, he's really gone."
Subaru shoved open the front door Roswaal had vanished through and confirmed that no trace of his master remained outside. He scanned the sky with his eyes, and there—near the sunset on the horizon—a tiny silhouette, barely the size of a bean, could just make out the flutter of a cloak. Undoubtedly Roswaal, in solo flight.
"So he can actually fly through the air… Is that something you can do with the 'Shadow' attribute?"
"You'd need a reasonable command of wind, fire, and earth as well."
At Ram's words, Subaru covered his face at the thought of how far off that day might be.
His lack of magical talent had already been firmly certified by both a court magician and a spirit.
The day he'd fly freely through the sky—who knew when that would come.
Setting such sentimentality aside— "With Roswaal-sama gone, our work doesn't change. If anything, now that he's not here, we should be all the more diligent."
"What a goody-two-shoes thing to say. But yeah, let's do this."
Nodding along with Rem's eager words, Subaru's mind was racing.
The situation had shifted once more.
And this was unmistakably the kind of shift that heralded an attack. The twins were no doubt redoubling their efforts on mansion security, but for Subaru—who knew for certain that an assault was coming—his thoughts went elsewhere.
The curse user's true identity—he needed to get a grip on it as soon as possible.
Their opponent had clearly accelerated their moves, and today's visit to the village must have been the trigger.
Which meant Subaru's deduction was correct: an assassin was hiding among them.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ "And with that—it's time for the long-awaited Beako show."
He pushed open the door and stepped into the Forbidden Library.
With that brazen manner of intrusion,
"You're the only one who breaks through Betty's 'Door Crossing' so nonchalantly. How do you even do it?"
"It's instinct. The sixth sense inside me whispers."
He closed the door, stepped inside, and headed toward Beatrice. She watched his approach with an expression of pure distaste, but when she caught the serious note in his face, her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Your expression's different from half a day ago, I see. You're a busy one."
"I wouldn't mind taking it easy myself. But apparently the world's the kind of place that won't let me—even that's too busy."
With crises dropping one after another, keeping up was all a regular guy could manage.
Fumbling forward through all of this and that, it wasn't uncommon for things to end up completely boxed in.
Right now, he was cornered—but he also held the confidence that his opponent was equally cornered.
"I need you to check something for me. I just zoomed through bath duty to get here fast."
"If your priority list puts the bath above whatever this is, it can't be that important."
"It's not so much the bath as Rem's affection rating management that's the priority… No, never mind that."
Cleaning the vast bath was grueling work. Even now, having grown somewhat accustomed to it, it was still heavy enough labor to leave his whole body drained. And the consequences of slacking on that front—Rem's reaction—were terrifying.
Especially since, with Subaru being all buddy-buddy with her sister, Rem's affection in this loop was already pretty low.
Even if he found the curse user, if Rem's affection dropped enough to lock in a bad ending, Subaru would have no rest in peace.
It was a tightrope walk between two threats—like a two-timing man juggling two relationships.
Though he supposed there weren't many two-timing situations where a mistake in flag management led directly to death.
"And besides, it's not like it was anything sexy."
"You're drifting off-topic again. …So, what do you want with Betty?"
"Oh, right—that…"
For starters, Subaru fell silent before Beatrice, who looked willing to hear him out. He debated how to bring it up, nodded once, and said: "I think I might be cursed—could you check for me?"
"…What exactly are you saying?"
"I think I might be cursed—could you check for me?"
"Who said you could repeat the exact same thing twice?! It's only been half a day since you told me about the curse user! There are limits to how easily influenced you can be…"
Thinking it was just some paranoid delusion, Beatrice slammed her book shut with rough hands and stomped over—only for her momentum to fizzle midway. What replaced her irritation was a color of suspicion, then certainty, staining her adorable expression.
Stopping in her tracks, Beatrice looked up at Subaru with quizzical eyes.
"There are traces of a术式 on you… You really are cursed."
"For real? I kinda already had a feeling, but actually hearing someone say it is pretty rough."
He'd steeled himself for the possibility of being cursed, but having it confirmed by someone else still hit hard.
It meant his theory was correct—and that the assassin was indeed hiding among those friendly villagers.
"Can you tell what kind of curse it is?"
"Just looking at the术式 won't tell you that. Betty's knowledge of curse术 is limited, and it's not exactly something I want to learn about. Still, nine times out of ten, it's the kind that takes your life."
No threat behind those words—just a flat, matter-of-fact delivery from Beatrice.
Subaru nodded quietly at her pronouncement. That curses could wield that kind of power was something he'd experienced firsthand.
Perhaps surprised by his composed expression, Beatrice blinked her large eyes.
"You've got nerve. Aren't you afraid of dying?"
"Huh? Are you stupid? Dying is terrifying! There's nothing scarier in this world. 'Death would be a mercy'—if anyone's going to say something like that, I'd like them to do it after they're dead."
That was one truth he'd earned in this other world—one he would never relinquish.
'Death' was absolute. One must never treat it lightly. And comparing it carelessly—the ability to do so was the privilege of those who didn't truly understand it.
And precisely because he understood, because he had tasted 'death' many times over, he had clawed his way back through this world—to avoid feeling something even worse than death.
"So this time—I'm breaking through, fate."
He thrust a finger toward the heavens, hurling a declaration of war at whatever unknowable, supernatural force was watching.
Then he turned back to Beatrice.
"So—hurry up and remove the curse. Time's not on my side."
At the very least, he needed to identify the culprit and strike before they made their move.
Getting the first chance to go on the offensive, Subaru felt his nerves fray. Beatrice tilted her head at him.
"Why exactly should Betty have to save your life?"
"I knew you'd say something like that, so I prepped my persuasion. If I die, Pakkun will be heartbroken."
"…Nii-chan wouldn't be all that shaken up by one or two humans like you dying, would he?"
"No, no—if I die, Emilia-tan will be devastated. If Emilia-tan is devastated, Pakkun takes damage too. And then where does that leave you, the one who could have prevented it but didn't?"
"You're resorting to threats while begging for your life?! I can only conclude your head has completely gone soft!"
Beatrice stamped the ground in frustration—but she apparently couldn't come up with an effective counter.
She let out a long sigh to settle her own agitation, then beckoned Subaru closer.
"I suppose I'll be moved by your silver tongue. But this is it—Betty will never be involved with you again after this."
"Honestly? I can't promise that either. When I'm in a tight spot, I'm absolutely coming to borrow your power. I'll gnaw your legs clean off, grind you into powder, and drink you in soup."
"Do you have any self-awareness of the fact that you're in a position to be helped?"
"I've got a reputation for getting my way. I wasn't a shut-in for nothing, y'know."
Subaru flashed a thumbs-up and a grin. Beatrice shook her head with a look of resignation.
Then, suddenly, she conjured a white light in her palm and touched Subaru's body.
"I'm going to destroy the curse mark etched by the术式 now. This is the spot the curse user touched directly, so it should at least serve as a reference."
"Right-o—all the groundwork's laid. Rest easy."
Watching the glowing palm draw closer, Subaru checked his own body once more.
He'd made each suspect touch him at a different spot. The only exception was the rejuvenated old woman, who'd ignored his intentions entirely and grabbed his ass—but if Beatrice's hand headed there, that would be the moment.
On the assumption that the old woman was the culprit, he'd simultaneously indict Beatrice for groping.
That was Subaru's plan—but— "—Huh?"
Beatrice's palm landed somewhere completely unexpected.
Warm light seeped into his skin, carrying a gentle heat. A faint itch welled up—spreading outward from within—and finally— "A dark… mist?"
It was pulled out directly into Beatrice's glowing hand as a wisp of black mist.
The itch vanished, and he could feel that this was what had been causing it. The mist, cupped in Beatrice's palm— "Utterly foul."
It was crushed with a squelching sound and disappeared.
Beatrice shook her hand, scattering the mist and light. Noticing Subaru watching her, she spoke: "It's done. You should be fine now."
Hearing those words, Subaru let out a deep breath.
He realized he'd been holding his breath without noticing—tension that betrayed his own nervousness—but there was something more pressing to ask than to mock himself about it.
"Hey, Beako."
"That name…"
"The place your palm just touched—that's where the curse user touched me, right?"
Beatrice nodded at Subaru's insistent, repeated question.
That single nod told Subaru everything he needed to know about the true identity of the curse user behind it all.
If things had gone according to plan, the next step after identifying the culprit would have been to wait until tomorrow.
To negotiate with Ram and Rem, and with Roswaal as the mansion's head, and only then draw out the village's curse user and resolve the situation.
That had been the vision in Subaru's mind—but— "I have to get to the village—!"
Without so much as a word of thanks to Beatrice, he burst through the door.
His original purpose—his plans—everything cast aside, what consumed Subaru's racing mind was nothing but unrelenting curses hurled at a merciless fate.
"Wherever I go, wherever I go… Don't screw with me!"
He poured every ounce of rage into his footsteps and ran.
He ran.