The prison tower descended into temporary chaos, and those whose faces had gone pale hurried back and forth, left and right.
Watching the commotion from afar, Subaru leaned his back against a nearby section of the wall and sat with his knees drawn up.
"————"
He rested his forehead against his knees and let out a deep breath.
There had been far too many shocking things today. Seeing a gruesome corpse without any mental preparation had been one thing, but for that body to have been— "Are you… alright?"
A voice called out to him as his face was buried in his knees, and Subaru slowly raised his head. There was
She crouched down beside him, peered at his face, and gently wiped his dejected features with the damp handkerchief she held. The slightly moistened cloth was cool, and Subaru breathed a sigh of relief, murmuring, "Sorry."
"For what? …You must have seen something terrible in there."
"Yeah. Part of it was not wanting you to run into him, but it was a good thing I had Rem wait outside, just in case. It's better that Rem didn't have to see something like that."
"Don't be so overprotective. Back in the Volacchia Empire, I saw plenty of death. At this point, something like that…"
"I know. But if you don't have to be exposed to it, I'd rather you weren't. Someone trying to help another person and not having enough strength and dying for it—that's one thing. But the way he died… that type of death has absolutely nothing good about it, no matter how you look at it."
Subaru wouldn't deny the existence of meaningful death, or death that came from having upheld one's convictions.
If he could deny those things, he wouldn't have let Priscilla go without a word.
But the death he had just witnessed in the prison tower—the grotesque demise of
There is no sane meaning to be found in taking the lives of others and then desecrating their corpses like that.
What remained was either an evil scheme, or a fury so intense that it wouldn't be satisfied without tormenting even a soulless shell—hatred was something the Sin Archbishop was certainly entitled to, but no one deserved to die in such a wretched manner.
"Goddammit…"
Feeling a churning in his chest, Subaru clicked his tongue in frustration.
That was anger at whoever had torn Roy to pieces, and simultaneously it was the vexation of watching the authority of Gluttony—which had seemed within reach of a solution—slip further away again.
Honestly, he couldn't help but think it. If Subaru and the others had headed straight for the royal capital without detouring after linking up with Reinhardt, Roy might not have ended up dead.
And ultimately, Subaru had a way to verify it. In truth, back when his body had been shrunk and he'd been in full imperial-bred Subaru mode, he would have pulled the trigger without hesitation.
But— "—Al."
Subaru squeezed the Al Crystal hanging from his neck and bit the inside of his cheek.
Hypothetically, if Subaru were to lose his life now and "Return by Death," his most recent restart point would be the
And
"————"
It wasn't that it was impossible as an option. The limitations of Ol Shamac weren't the reason.
It was simply that Natsuki Subaru didn't have the courage to return to that scene and face Al once more. He hadn't been able to stop Al because he'd been clinging to the slim hope that they could talk it through and change his mind—and now he might end up sealed away himself.
If that happened, he'd be foiling his own mess onto his comrades once again. To avoid that, Subaru couldn't bring himself to take the reckless plunge of "Return by Death."
But then what would happen to Rem? To the victims of Gluttony?—Just as he thought that…
"…You always do this. You insist on shouldering everything yourself."
Without warning, a hand covered his own—the one gripping the Al Crystal—and Subaru looked up to find Rem staring straight at him.
He couldn't help but hold his breath. Rem narrowed her pale blue eyes as she fixed him with that unwavering gaze, and said: "I'll say this much—please don't treat restoring my 'memories' as your obligation. My 'memories' are my problem. Having you shoulder every last bit of it as if it were your own burden… that's a problem for me."
"That's… No, that's not it. That's not what I mean. Your memories—I'm the one who has to get them back."
"And that is precisely the wrong way to think about it. Why is it that you, of all people, are the one wracking your head over my problem? That's my burden. It doesn't belong to you alone."
"That's…"
Subaru's gaze wavered, and he found himself unable to say anything under Rem's eyes.
What flashed through his mind was the cold shock he'd felt back in the castle city when Rem had told him, "You are not a hero"—the moment he thought he might die. Was she going to take away even his right to struggle for Rem's sake, just like then?
"…Please don't make that face. Like a wet puppy."
"Huh?"
"Well, I misspoke. Even if they're wet, puppies are still cute, so your look is more like a wet… a wet dragonet, perhaps."
"…I'd rather be called cool than cute, for the record."
"I'm not praising you. And don't get the wrong idea."
Being told he had the wrong idea left Subaru flustered. After a deliberate pause, Rem gathered her words and said: "I understand the general situation. Someone who was trapped in this tower—someone connected to
"…Hearing it put that way, I really do sound like an awful person, huh?"
"It seems you've finally figured out where you stand."
Rem's deadpan delivery carefully paved the road to Subaru's understanding with painstaking precision. Listening to her, Subaru gradually regained the breathing room he had lost through his own self-imposed pressure.
Perhaps she could read the shift in his expression, because Rem's eyes softened at the corners, and she let out what seemed like a sigh of relief.
"I'm upset too, you know. Right at the brink where my 'memories' might return… But when I see you looking even more frustrated than I am, I don't have the luxury of feeling sorry for myself."
"Well, I'm glad Rem isn't feeling down, at least."
"Huh? Instead, you're the one moping around and making us all worry?"
"I'm sorry about that!"
Under Rem's stern gaze, Subaru clutched his head and offered his apology.
To think he'd be treated as a thief who stole her right to feel down. But it was Subaru's honest feeling. He wished Rem and
"It seems like you think it's fine to mope all by yourself, and I hate that."
"Rem…"
"I believe that your bad habit is that whenever something goes wrong, you think it's entirely your own fault. That's why you try to find the solution alone. Won't you stop that already?"
"…So basically, you're saying I shouldn't worry by myself?"
"That's what I've been saying from the start."
"Were you? I don't—actually, yeah, you probably were. Yeah, you were! You were saying that! I was just too stupid to notice! Stupid, stupid!"
Rem turned her face away with a huff, and Subaru clonked himself on the head repeatedly. As he did, a separate wave of guilt swelled up from within.
After all, Rem had been purely worried about Subaru and had come to him of her own accord. Yet because Subaru hadn't properly faced the issue, he'd been unable to accept Rem's kindness head-on and had made her say things she didn't need to say.
"Sorry. I dragged you all the way here with such enthusiasm, and then I let everyone get their hopes up for nothing."
"Don't blame yourself for that. But…."
"But?"
"You're putting an extra burden on Spica."
With both Sin Archbishops of Gluttony—
In other words, the "Names" and "Memories" devoured by Gluttony, which still had not been restored, now rested on Spica's shoulders as the sole hope for their recovery.
Rem looked anxious about the pressure this would place on Spica, but— "Spica wouldn't think of it as an extra burden, probably. …Still, I'll get in touch with Abel and make sure he keeps an eye on her surroundings. Have Ceci on alert too. Whether Ceci's actually capable of that is another story."
"…Yes."
The tragedy that had befallen Gluttony meant that the same threat could close in on Spica. Subaru shared Rem's concerns and resolved to exert his influence in Volacchia. He'd defined what he needed to do, and he didn't want anything getting in the way of Spica's safety while she remained in Volacchia.
To that end, he'd do whatever it took—even if people called him overprotective.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Just as Subaru and Rem's conversation reached a lull, the one who strolled up with a light wave of his hand was Reinhardt, who had emerged from inside the prison tower. Reinhardt had
"Reinhardt, what's the situation inside? Sirius—"
"Fortunately—well, whether I can call it that… Almost entirely as I'd suspected, she was unharmed in the underground cells. The individual cells in the prison tower are all isolated; apparently, Gluttony didn't even know they were being held in the same tower. And it wasn't just her. None of the other prisoners were harmed either."
"So Sirius and the other prisoners are all safe. That's definitely good news, though I'm not sure how cleanly I can split that off from the rest… Still, at least there's one clear takeaway."
Subaru nodded with a bitter expression at Reinhardt's report, which confirmed the results of his sweep through the tower.
In other words, the perpetrator's target in the prison tower had been singular— "The Sin Archbishop of Gluttony."
Subaru and Reinhardt's answers overlapped, and the two exchanged a glance and nodded.
Given the state of the scene, that was the only way to describe it. But even that certainty came with its own questions.
"…According to Beatrice's account, it wouldn't have been a simple matter either."
"Have you finished verifying? Your understanding should be correct."
Rem glanced toward Subaru, and Beatrice inclined her chin in acknowledgment, then moved to stand beside Subaru. Taking his hand gently, Beatrice observed his condition and said: "Feeling any better?"
"Not good, but better than before. Sorry for leaving the investigation to you."
"That's what Betty said herself. Besides, there's not much even Betty can do for a corpse. What Betty can offer is, at most, the perspective of a Great Spirit."
"I'd love to hear that perspective, if you don't mind. I'm not well-versed in this sort of thing."
Reinhardt's prompt drew all three pairs of eyes toward Beatrice, who had closed one eye in thought. She gave a small "ahem" and addressed the group as though delivering a lecture: "That body of Gluttony's had been locked in place using shadow magic. Since Betty and Julius cooperated on it, it was a rock-solid security setup—not something that can be undone with just any trick. …It's frustrating that I couldn't come up with that advanced variation on my own."
"The prison tower staff has confirmed that as well. The captured Gluttony had been completely… as though turned into a single stone slab, frozen in place."
"Not just the captive themselves—even from the outside, there was no way to lay a hand on them. To break that seal would require a corresponding level of proficiency in shadow magic."
"That's not all. Even if you extracted him from the monolith, you'd then have to deal with Roy when he burst out. Deal with him and—"
"—take his life. In other words, two stages would be necessary." Rem concluded.
The group fell silent with grim expressions.
As had become clear, killing Roy in his monolith state required both the shadow magic expertise to dissolve the monolith and the combat strength to kill Roy afterward. Neither was something that could be achieved overnight, and neither type of talent was exactly lying around on the streets.
"Moreover, they managed to infiltrate the prison tower past its security network. Shadow magic, combat prowess, and stealth—fulfilling all three conditions is no easy feat."
"With all the grudges we've piled up, I'd almost cling to the conclusion that Olbart was the culprit."
Unfortunately, even if he was the "Vicious Old Man," Olbart probably couldn't meet the shadow magic requirement.
Or maybe among the shinobi's techniques there was something with a similar effect, and if someone told Subaru Olbart had done it quietly, he might—barely—believe it, given the man's abilities.
"I'm sure Volacchia does have a national character that leans toward aggression, but even so, given the current state of their country, I doubt they'd recklessly make a move that would jeopardize diplomatic relations. In fact, I've heard that even the reason Emilia's camp went to the royal capital was tied to the Volacchia matter."
"…Yeah. I'd rather believe that the wolves of that country have gotten at least a little more reasonable than suspect them of having a death wish. But everything about this was bad, Reinhardt."
"Bad? Did I do something to apologize for?"
"You went out of your way to make a detour to help me bring Rem along, and you even smoothed the way for us to enter the prison tower with all those arrangements. And yet, in the end, it all turned out like this… ah."
"—gramps."
Subaru was about to apologize for making him go through all that trouble for nothing, but he suddenly noticed Rem's cold stare fixed on him.
Was this, too, part of that bad habit of assuming everything was his fault?
Still, the feeling was genuine, and retracting it felt awkward.
"The results didn't pan out, and that's regrettable. But I'm grateful that you did everything you could."
"That! That's my Beatrice! And what about you, Rem-san?"
"Haaah…"
"A sigh?!"
From her cold stare, Rem shifted to a resigned sigh, and Subaru slapped his hands over his face. Watching the exchange, Reinhardt let a small smile cross his lips.
Then, still wearing that gentle smile, he spoke.
"What? It's not such a big deal. —You're welcome, after all."
△▼△▼△▼△ "…I see, so Gluttony… Hmph, it's so frustrating that things just never seem to go our way."
In a room at the royal residence, Emilia received the report of what had happened at the prison tower, and she furrowed her elegant brows while her pale complexion stood out all the more as she let that complaint escape.
The tiredness seeping through her demeanor was unusual for Emilia, who was normally brimming with energy. That said, Subaru was well aware that a portion of that fatigue was his doing, and he felt wretched about it.
—After parting ways with Reinhardt, who returned to
Nearly all of Emilia's camp was gathered at the residence—everyone except Roswaal and Frederica, who had departed for the Bariel domain with Schult.
In other words— "Even though you rushed all the way to the royal capital with your body at its limit, it was a wasted trip. You really got my hopes up for nothing, Barusu."
"Just so you know, everyone besides you is disappointed too, and my own frustration is off the charts. I was about to shed tears of blood."
"Hah! Tears of blood? That's just the blood vessels around the eyes bursting from shock.
"Creepy! Being shocked doesn't mean you get to go full psycho!"
Ram, whose aggression ran higher than usual, was also present.
This was expected. When Subaru had been planning to bring Rem to the royal capital, Ram—who had insisted on being told the purpose—had immediately demanded to come along. The sisterly desire to not be absent for the moment Rem's "memories" returned was completely understandable, and Subaru, who wanted Ram there, had agreed.
However, the cumulative toll of the journey—from challenging the Pleiades Watchtower, to the forced incursion into the Empire—must have been enormous. Ram had been holding it together on sheer willpower, but with this latest endeavor ending in a whiff, the thread of tension had finally snapped, and despite her biting remarks, she had collapsed into exhaustion.
In the end, after delivering her parting shot at Subaru, she had been led away by Rem and Petra straight to her bedroom, where she would apparently be bedridden for a while.
"Of course, Ram isn't the only one who's hit hard—this applies to all of us. Natsuki-san's group's troubles, the murder at the prison tower, and now the appearance of the 'Dragon Church' and the chaos caused by the person at its center over the Royal Selection."
Having seen Ram out, Otto, with his characteristically downturned eyebrows, grumbled.
He had been part of the advance team with Emilia to the royal capital and had been tasked with delivering a thorough report at the castle, including Priscilla's death and the "Calamity" in the Volacchia Empire. Among those items were the agreements regarding the future relationship between the Empire and the Kingdom that Abel had entrusted to them—something he had been rather proud of carrying out on behalf of both the camp and the Kingdom.
And now, struck from an unexpected angle and completely blindsided, his mental preparation had been rendered utterly moot. Even Subaru couldn't find it in himself to tease Otto about it.
As they sat there, Subaru wondered what on earth to bring up first— "—Tell me about Al."
As if cutting straight through Subaru's hesitation, Emilia selected that topic as the first order of business.
Flam, Felt's attendant, had the ability to send information to the twins regardless of distance. Using that power, a rough account of what had happened at the Pleiades Watchtower had already been relayed. But it had been only a summary; the details were another matter entirely.
Understanding the anxious feelings of everyone present, Subaru explained in full.
Going to the Pleiades Watchtower. Searching for the "Book of the Dead." How Al had betrayed them that night, attempting to harm Subaru and the others, and how Subaru had preemptively sealed him away. The reasons behind Al's actions—and how there had been no opportunity to discuss the root of it all.
However, that he had no intention of severing ties with Al, not without letting them know.
"—Mhm, I feel the same way as Subaru. I think that's the best."
After hearing him out, Emilia had thought for a while before affirming Subaru's position, and that made him genuinely happy. Her deep purple eyes swayed with complex emotion, but she held Subaru's gaze steady—fixing her eyes quietly on the Al Crystal around his neck—before nodding.
Along the way, Beatrice, Petra, and the others had already been informed of Subaru's thinking. So the only ones forming new impressions from his explanation now were Emilia, who gave that response; Otto, whose face looked like he'd just bitten into a persimmon; and— "—Al loved Priscilla. I can't say more than that."
Rem, who had returned to the sitting room together with Petra after putting Ram to bed.
Thus, the camp's stance on Al's actions was temporarily settled. Whether it was to keep the atmosphere from turning sour, Otto held his tongue—Subaru decided he'd have Garfiel drag it out of him later—and slapped himself on both cheeks.
Al, the prison tower—neither had any move available right now. If that was the case, the only remaining topic they could discuss was— "—Let's talk about Fillore, from the 'Dragon Church'."
The topic of Fillore—a figure who could potentially shake the very foundation of the Royal Selection.
"————"
The instant that subject was broached, the atmosphere in the sitting room shifted entirely. Not so much with tension or strain, but more with a broad, muddled confusion.
In truth, Subaru felt the same as everyone else—they were all thoroughly bewildered.
"So, what's even going on at the castle right now? The premise that the 'Dragon Church' doesn't interfere with politics, the sixth person whose emblem lit up, the fact that she bears the same name as the princess who disappeared fifteen years ago—all of that hit us out of nowhere, right?"
"Um, apparently all of it is right in the middle of being discussed. But this time, the Church broke its 'rules' because they wanted to help the victims in
"—She healed Crusch's condition. Emilia-tan and Otto both saw it, right?"
"Yes, I saw it for myself. Right, Otto-kun?"
"I wasn't exactly in a position to stare intently at a lady, but at the very least, the black writhing marks that had been visible in her domain seemed to have disappeared."
Beside the nodding Emilia, Otto's gaze flicked briefly toward Subaru's leg.
Was he suggesting that, under the same conditions, Subaru's leg could be healed too? Honestly, it wasn't a major inconvenience, but every time they bathed together, it probably made Otto and Garfiel feel awkward—so if it could be fixed, Subaru would want it fixed.
"But making a deal with the 'Dragon Church' over that is pretty scary too… Oh!"
"Oh no, big brother, you're trembling! What's wrong?"
"I was just thinking this might fall under the 'you put yourself last' category of things I'll get scolded for…"
"If you understand that, then try to carry yourself with more dignity."
Being poked by Meili and looked at with exasperation by Rem, Subaru could only offer an awkward "ahem, ahem" cough in a poor attempt to deflect.
Then—as though not intending to assist Subaru in the slightest—Garfiel spoke up from where he sat perched on the window frame.
"Y'know," he began, scratching his head roughly and hesitantly, "there's a whole lotta complicated circumstances and whatnot. So what I'm about to say here, that's just how I feel, got it?"
"Garfiel… Hmm, go ahead. What is it?"
"…I say, if they can heal the folks in Priestella, then hurry up and heal 'em already, or let us get healed. It ain't just been tough stuff—Black Dragons and flies and all that."
Garfiel hugged one knee, half his body bathed in sunlight, and his plea was raw and earnest.
In Priestella, Garfiel had grown close to a family. The father of that family had been transformed into a Black Dragon during the battle by the hand of Sloth, and had even been used as a decoy at one point. His dragonized body remained as it was, frozen in ice alongside the other victims under Emilia's care, kept dormant in a corner of the city.
Given that this was the person in question, who else would you ask for help?
"And I agree with that. When there are people who are suffering, who are hurting, and there's a way to help them, then it doesn't matter who does the helping. That's what I believe."
"Oh? Subaru, you're saying something like that? Even though you insisted that waking up Rem-neesama was something you wanted to do yourself, and you kept charging into dangerous situations headfirst."
"Now that you mention it, I may have said something like that… You remember that pretty well, Petra!"
"I won't forget. Because, I was actually pretty shaken by that. I thought Rem-neesama was being unfair, and I thought to myself, 'He's telling me this, and I'm not the kind of girl who crumbles.'"
Petra pursed her lips mischievously, and Subaru scratched his head, completely at a loss for a retort.
In truth, before Rem woke up, he had sworn that anyone could do it as long as the person sleeping eventually opened their eyes—and yet he'd grumbled that he wanted to be the one to do it. He was a little afraid to see how Rem was reacting to that, so he kept his eyes averted.
Anyway— "Let me put aside what I said in the past and look ahead. …However the castle's discussions turn out, now that it's been proven the 'Dragon Church' has a method to heal them, the treatment of the people of Priestella should go forward… Right?"
"Exactly. No matter which direction the heated debate tilts, I don't think that part will be held in question. Whether people treat it as a mere debt to the 'Dragon Church' or see it as something greater—that will be where the focus lies."
"The sixth candidate… the priestess资格-holder, huh."
Ultimately, how that person's status would be handled wasn't something Subaru and his camp could determine on their own.
It would depend on how the people at the castle—more specifically, the "Council of Wise Men"—defined it, and from there, Emilia's camp would decide its stance as well.
Thinking that far, what nagged at Subaru was Fillore herself.
"Emilia-tan, you met her in person. What kind of person was she?"
"Hmm… I thought she was suuuper hardworking and a really nice girl."
"I see. What about Meili?"
"Huh? Meili? I think Meili is suuuper kind-hearted, a real hard worker, and a really nice girl."
"I get what you're trying to say, but stop using me as a punching bag!"
He wasn't doubting Emilia's judgment exactly, but when it came to Emilia, she could very well end up writing off just about anyone as a serious, sincere, hardworking nice person. Though in Meili's case, Subaru's own assessment was much the same, so that alone wasn't reason to question Emilia's eye for people.
Ideally, he should have just asked for Abel's opinion instead.
"What about Otto? Did you catch even a glimpse? What was your impression?"
"We didn't exchange many words, but I got the impression of a devout believer of the 'Dragon Church.' Sincere, someone who considers serving others the highest calling, and…."
"And?"
"She seemed a bit thoughtless, if I'm honest. From what I've heard, this whole thing was Fillore's own decision made against the Church's wishes."
"Her own decision? Healing Crusch? And lighting up the emblem?"
"The former, yes—the latter seems to have just happened. Either way, given the circumstances, it really does seem like the 'Dragon Church' wanted to keep her existence hidden."
"That's… quite something."
No one present had an answer to the "why" that hung in Subaru's mind.
In truth, whether Fillore was actually the princess who had vanished fifteen years ago or not. Whether the appearance—bearing the characteristics of the Lugunica royal bloodline—and her name were what they seemed. Why the "Dragon Church" had concealed her existence, allowing the Royal Selection to begin and progress unchecked.
There were simply too many mysteries. Too many—so much so that— "Hey, Emilia-tan—"
"You know, Subaru, actually—"
Just as Subaru raised his face to voice a sudden thought, both he and Emilia spoke at the same time. The two exchanged wide-eyed looks, felt their thoughts pass between them through sheer eye contact, and burst out laughing together.
It seemed Emilia was thinking the exact same thing.
In other words— "—What do you say we go and meet this Fillore person face to face?"
△▼△▼△▼△ Come to think of it, Subaru had never properly grasped the full picture of the royal capital, Lugunica.
He had memories of various places—the fountain in the commoner district where his grand otherworldly summoning had taken place, the fruit shop in the shopping district where he'd crossed paths with the owner on numerous occasions, the various candidates' bases where he'd been treated roughly after his spectacular falling-out with Emilia, and the slums where the loot house had stood. But those were all just a fraction of the sprawling capital.
So the quiet chapel of the "Dragon Church," tucked away in a corner of the commoner district, was something of a case of not seeing what was right under his nose—as if it had been built entirely outside his awareness.
"I can't believe there was a church this easy to find…"
"You were suuuper surprised, weren't you? But, well, churches… you know, in Priestella, I saw one where it looked like my wedding with Regulus was about to take place."
"The one where I busted through the doors! Come to think of it, that was a 'Dragon Church' too?"
The ironclad combination of church and wedding had ignited Subaru's savior complex with a passion to rescue Emilia at all costs, leaving him no room to consider the background. But looking back now, yes—it had been a church, and in a kingdom without a tradition of worshipping gods, a church naturally tied to the "Dragon Church."
"Then, Wedding Emilia-tan was lovely to look at, but the whole incident itself is a terrible memory for me, so my impression of the 'Dragon Church' starts in the negatives."
"Betty wasn't present, but a Sin Archbishop never does anything wholesome, does she? But letting that spoil your impression of the 'Dragon Church' is just nitpicking, I think."
"Well, her wisecracking isn't exactly anything new."
"Beating from Beatrice and boos from Rem… Do girls really dream about wedding dresses? So saying bad things about a church gives off a bad image?"
At Subaru's tentative question, Beatrice and Rem exchanged glances and then shrugged in unison. Seeing their reaction, Subaru's shoulders slumped—but Emilia, hiding her smile behind her hand, put him at ease.
With that smile in his peripheral vision, Subaru picked himself up.
"After all, even though a bunch of different errands got tangled up in there, this group—me and Emilia-tan, plus Beako and Rem—is kind of a dream party, wouldn't you say?"
"I don't know about dreamy, but it's definitely an uncommon lineup."
"Now that you mention it, that's true. Beatrice rarely came out with us until Subaru pulled her out of the forbidden library. Rem was probably the same way before she fell asleep."
"I have no memory of that, but I'm sure that's how it was. I'm having fun being able to go out with Emilia-san and Beatrice, too."
"Hey, you just deliberately left me out, didn't you? That makes me lonely… that makes me sad…"
That said, it was a rare and welcome combination, so Subaru took it in stride.
For the time being, this group was the "let's go visit Fillore of the Dragon Church" team—a party carrying out a reconnaissance mission.
Well, the chapel where the "Dragon Church" personnel would surely be was finally drawing near, and Subaru was just wondering what pretext they could use to call Fillore out when— "—Enough! Stop calling me a liar! Fine, I'll show you! This is proof that I entered the castle!"
A bold, ringing voice drifted over from within the grounds of a large building enclosed by stone walls—from the structure's roofline and layout, it was almost certainly the church.
As Subaru blinked at the commotion, he and the others saw it—a faint, warm red glow rising from beyond the stone wall, pulsing as though asserting its presence.
"Is that perhaps…"
"Whoa! That's so cool!"
"It really lit up! What did you do? What did you do?"
"She finally stole it! She's a thief!"
"Liar wasn't enough, and now I'm a thief!? What do you take me for!? I am a nun! A bearer of miracles! All but a saint!"
The clamor of children's voices and the woman responding to them reached their ears. Exchanging glances, Subaru and the others hurried around the stone wall.
And when the wall ended and they reached the main entrance to the church grounds— "See, look! This is the brilliance of our 'Dragon,' which burns to ash the hearts of the wicked! And so the sacred texts say: 'Man is born of the earth, and the Dragon descends from heaven. Those who forget to look upward, who delude themselves into thinking they bear wings upon their own backs—let their fall teach them the weight of their sin!'"
"Kyaaah!"
"Waaaah!"
"Ugyaaah!"
The woman declaimed all this in a booming voice, holding aloft a glowing red light—the dragon orb of the emblem—as she chased the squealing, fleeing children around the grounds.
She hadn't noticed the visitors. "OHOHOHO!" she laughed, giving pursuit with the emblem blazing, when— "Now, who will repent before the blinding radiance of the most exalted and sacred 'Dragon'… Oh?"
She stopped in her tracks with a jolt. The nun craned her head around with an audible creak, caught sight of Subaru and the others watching the spectacle, and her jaw dropped.
Looking at the golden-haired, red-eyed nun's reaction, Subaru didn't know what to say. But beside him, Emilia rummaged through her pocket, pulled out her own emblem, and held it up.
"Look, look! I can do the same thing!"
Glowing red—just like Fillore's—Emilia innocently, angelically, and with absolutely no malice whatsoever, showed off that she had one too.
Watching Fillore's neck, face, and ears flush crimson all at once until her pale skin was utterly consumed by embarrassment, Subaru blinked and thought, somewhat vacantly: She really is like an instant water heater.