——The story returns to the moment Subaru removed his hood and revealed his identity before the
With a snap of his fingers raised high overhead, Subaru fired off a triumphant declaration—and the Witch Cultists, who had been content to observe the situation up to that point, all moved at once.
One who held the Communication Mirror, and two standing on either side of Subaru, simultaneously plunged hands into their cloaks and drew out short daggers shaped like crosses—— "——You're slow to act."
A single remark, succinctly calling out the Witch Cultists' error in judgment, as the Sword Devil descended through the gap in the trees.
A silver flash tore through the air, and the arm of the devotee clutching the dagger was severed mid-bicep, spinning through the void. Blood sprayed in all directions, and the glint of the blade slashing through the darkness traced a cruelly beautiful arc.
The sound of the severed arm hitting the ground and the patter of blood striking dead leaves chained together. Yet even as agony from the loss of his arm wracked his body, the Witch Cultist did not let a single groan escape his throat and made the snap decision to retreat. Buckling to one knee, he pivoted and tried to flee—along with the other two, each darting in a different direction. However—— "I hate to tell you this, but you're already under our control."
The feet that tried to step forward sank into the ground, and all three lost their balance, dropping to their knees. As the men tried to rise, a blade was pressed against each of their necks.
Wilhelm had struck first. Julius followed up by softening the ground. And then—— "
Sporting a peace-sign expression, Ferris—for once having drawn a short dagger—cast a coy look toward Subaru.
Setting aside the flippant attitude, Subaru let out a sigh of relief that things had largely gone according to plan.
Aside from Subaru, only these three—high in both ability and trust—had joined the operation. The rest of their forces: the knights stayed behind in the village to guide the evacuation. As for the mercenary company, they had been sent off on a separate job. If this mission had failed, that insurance policy would have activated—— "Man, I'm glad that worked. If I'd choked after talking that big, it would've been beyond embarrassing. Ferris, patch them up. If they die before I can even ask questions, we're in trouble."
"Your lips are all dry and your face is blue, so I don't think you're in a position to be giving orders, nya~?"
A strained voice and parched lips. In the darkness, he'd pressed his hand to his forehead, thinking to hide his expression, but Ferris saw right through him. Subaru grimaced and shut his eyes just once.
The gruesome exchange that had unfolded before his eyes.
Even after the Mabeast incident and the battle against the
Feeling a dizzying sensation from the sheer unreality of the severed arm on the ground, Subaru shook his head lightly to drive away his weakness. While he was composing himself, Ferris applied hemostasis to the Witch Cultists to prevent blood loss, and Julius and Wilhelm bound them in sequence.
"Still, it's amazing you picked up on a spy among the traveling merchants, nya."
"It was obvious the blank letter of introduction had been swapped out. According to
Responding to Ferris's praise with a dry, experience-backed answer, Subaru looked at the prisoners and took a deep breath.
A gaunt man and an elderly man. And above all—the man who had held the Communication Mirror and tried to pass their information along to Petelgeuse. Subaru recognized his face.
"I remember now. You're someone named Ketty, aren't you?"
"Why——"
"Well, how about you? You can take your time agonizing over it—about as much as I have."
When the man—Ketty, a merchant—uttered a single question, Subaru gave a deliberately clueless reply. He'd felt a mild shock at the discovery that someone he knew was the enemy, but also a certain sense of understanding given how things had unfolded.
Ketty was someone Subaru had encountered during the very first loop originating from this royal capital.
After the highway had been engulfed in fog, Subaru had been abandoned by
And the second world—well, that was beyond saving. But in the third world: Driven by revenge, he'd charged down the highway and encountered a group of traveling merchants midway. The one managing that group was, once again, Ketty and Otto together. Subaru had hired Otto and his group as transportation for the villagers using the same idea as this time, said goodbye to Ketty who chose to stay behind saying he was "heading to the royal capital," and after that, the White Whale had appeared and the merchant group was devastated.
Looking back now, Ketty had been present at every critical juncture of Subaru's actions, yet seemed to have avoided only trouble as if by design. That meant—— "You knew what was going on. If we'd left you alone, you would've fed everything—the location of the
"Fortunately, we managed to nip that in the bud. And with this, we can also get ahead of the
As Subaru gathered his thoughts, Julius took over with a slight nod. Subaru agreed—this had been an action born of hope, but—— "These guys seem pretty tight-lipped, though? If we try to force information out of them too aggressively, I get the feeling they'll just scream 'Glory to the Witch Cult!' and kill themselves."
"In fact, the Witch Cult does have an ingrained custom of fearing no death. For four hundred years, the reason their depths have remained unfathomable is partly due to this. Captured groups almost all commit suicide simultaneously, the truth buried in darkness…… It is not an uncommon occurrence."
Wilhelm confirmed Subaru's dim assessment.
At that textbook fanatic mentality, Subaru stuck out his tongue and said "Ugh," deeply worried that Ketty and the others might self-destruct right here and now.
But as if to dispel Subaru's concern, Ferris clapped his hands together loudly and—— "Alright, alright, no need for such dark talk. If that were a concern, why do you think Ferris-chan came all the way to the front lines, nya~?"
"Well, you heard there might be a spy and came trotting along all excited. I was honestly wondering what you'd even do here, since you have no combat ability."
"My, my, how rude, nya. Leave it to Ferris-chan to dispel that ridiculously unreasonable thought of yours, Subaru-kun~"
Ferris gave a charming wink, leaving Subaru exasperated, and then slowly approached the men. His large catlike pupils darted back and forth as he carefully observed all three. Locking onto the elderly man, he placed his right palm against the man's forehead.
His delicate fingers gripped the man's forehead mercilessly. A small exhale. And then—— "Churn——"
"——!!"
Ferris's palm glowed faintly, and a pale blue light enveloped the man's body from his forehead outward. It was the same sight as when he performed healing—and Subaru had received that very same restorative treatment many times to repair the abnormalities in his gate—but the effect was dramatically different.
"Ah…… guh…… ugh……"
Just when Subaru thought the man was bathed in blue-white light, the man's limbs began to convulse abruptly. His eyes went wide and his tongue loled out in agony.
His eyes bloodshot in an instant, drool ran from the corners of the screaming man's mouth. Dropping to the ground in a mess, the man thrashed about like a fish, gasping endlessly under unrelenting torment.
"Hey! What the hell are you——"
"Just making some adjustments to the water inside his body, giving him a hard time. Don't worry—I won't turn him into an invalid. ——I will turn him into a doll, though, nya~."
Subaru raised his voice at the sudden act of prisoner torture—done in a way that an onlooker couldn't even tell what was happening—but Ferris continued with a cool expression, humming a tune. The sight sent a chill down Subaru's spine, but a hand clapped his shoulder from behind. It was Wilhelm.
"It may appear rather rough, but when dealing with the Witch Cult, this is a necessary measure. I ask you to endure it as well, Subaru-dono."
"I'm not such a softy that my heart hurts watching an enemy get roughed up, but…… watching someone suffer this much does make me want an explanation, I'll admit."
Glancing sideways at the situation, Subaru twisted his mouth in dissatisfaction at Ferris's continued interrogation-like treatment of the man. Seeing Subaru standing there looking disgruntled, Julius raised a finger and said, "In simple terms,"—— "Under the guise of treatment, Ferris applied water-attribute magic to them, correct? It seems he can interfere with the mana channeled through it and seize a degree of control over the target."
"……In practical terms, what does that mean?"
"Any person Ferris touches becomes a docile little kitty who's obedient to Ferris-chan, nya, if their resistance is even slightly lower, nya~."
Ferris answered casually with a satisfied brush of his knee, responding with breezy gestures even to Subaru's skeptical gaze. Then, with a "Well then, shall we start?" he gestured toward the Witch Cultist he'd been touching.
"There's a time limit, but right now that man should be willing to talk, nya. Once the effect wears off, I'll need to wait a while before doing it again, nya."
As he spoke, Ferris slowly turned his head and looked at the two remaining Witch Cultists, his smile deepening.
"There are still two more, so it's totally fine, nya~"
"Sometimes I catch a glimpse of your sadistic side and it seriously creeps me out. ……You're not actually serious, are you?"
"If we get the information we need, there won't be any need for me to get serious, nya~?"
Ferris pressed a finger to his lips and swayed, laughing off Subaru's concerns.
At that attitude, Subaru looked to Wilhelm and Julius for their opinions, but both shook their heads in unison—— "It is not a method that would be praised on humanitarian grounds, but we have no choice but to treat it as a small evil before a greater good. As for the remaining two, I would like to take them to the royal capital intact if possible."
"They are a valuable source of information. The Witch Cult has been operating in the shadows for a long time. To get a grip on their tail, we must make use of them effectively."
Both men's opinions aligned with Ferris, and Subaru—recognizing that this was no time to be picky about methods—turned a blind eye to his remaining dissatisfaction.
He then cleared his throat, faced the Witch Cultist who now wore a vacant expression, and—— "Let's start with what I want to know. How many Witch Cultists participated in this raid? How many groups are hiding in the forest?"
"————"
"Hey, you were supposed to be answering honestly—don't go silent on me."
When the question was met with silence, Subaru looked at Ferris with suspicion, and the healer waggled his slender shoulders with his tongue poking out.
"No matter how much of a genius Ferris is, I can't answer things the person doesn't know, nya. I don't know that silence counts as an answer, nya. Move on, next, next!"
"I'm not satisfied with that. Fine—tell me about the Sin Archbishop leading your group. Name, appearance, and abilities."
"The Archbishop's…… name is Petelgeuse…… A thin man with green hair…… a gaunt face with bones showing through……"
The man answered Subaru's questions meekly in a halting voice. As Subaru listened, he thought, "Ah, so even his followers think he's thin in a sickly way," finding a strange sort of understanding. He pressed on with his questions. But—— "What abilities can he use?"
"————"
"How many fingers—agents—has he planted in the forest?"
"————"
"His birthday and blood type and favorite body part of a girl?"
"————"
"This is hopeless!"
Subaru's patience gauge snapped at the sheer number of non-responses.
They'd been told upfront that the man couldn't answer what he didn't know, but interrogating someone with this much classified information was exhausting. At this point, Subaru might actually have more information than they did.
As Subaru scratched his head in frustration, Ferris—who had ostensibly stepped back—came over and tapped his shoulder.
"Oh, Ferris can't help it, Subaru-kun, nya~"
"That's easy for you to say, Ferris—they're too ignorant, nya……"
"Nya-what? Where did that come from?"
"The cat-ear thing is similar to—oh wait, he actually doesn't have cat ears!"
Deciding Subaru's response was just nonsense, Ferris let out a sigh and swapped roles with Subaru for the interrogation. Implicitly called out for his shortcomings, Subaru hung his head as he handed over the floor, but—— "Hmm…… and this is——"
He picked up an object that had fallen to the ground—the Communication Mirror, unused, that had dropped from Ketty's hand. Brushing off the grass and dirt and staring at it, he found it bore a strong resemblance to a folding hand mirror he was familiar with. A compact, perhaps, would be the closest analogy.
"A mysterious item that lets you transform if you whisper a magic word…… well, it is technically a mysterious item. Abracadabra Amensomen."
Muttering random incantations, Subaru opened and closed the compact in his hand repeatedly. In the mirror, he caught sight of his own grim expression for the first time in a while, and upon closer inspection saw that a mixture of dirt, sweat, and blood made him look terrible. No way
While using that judgment as consolation for the current turn of events, a sudden change came over the hand mirror. Its edges began to glow and heat up without warning.
"Wha—o——huh? Did I accidentally touch something weird?"
Frantically, Subaru fiddled with the Communication Mirror in his hands, but the light only grew stronger, showing no sign of fading. His suspicion that he'd broken it intensified, and at the same time he broke into a cold sweat remembering a conversation with a certain bald old man about how "magical artifacts fetch extremely high prices on the market."
Watching Subaru's silent fiscal crisis unfold, Julius noticed and—— "Subaru, what on earth are you——"
"I-I didn't do anything! I was just fiddling with it, nothing special! But now it's doing something weird……"
"Could it be that you've unlocked the activation formula?"
At Subaru's flustered explanation, Julius looked briefly surprised before hurrying over. He examined the Communication Mirror resting on Subaru's palm, then stared at it as if seeing something unbelievable.
"Communication Mirrors are among the more commonly circulated magical artifacts, but connecting to a paired mirror requires a specific procedure. In particular, the activation formula is the only part the connected party can freely manipulate, so the only ways to extract it are to learn it from someone who knows……"
"Huh? What? What does that mean, exactly?"
"It means you've essentially accomplished what Ferris was trying to extract through interrogation. If you can remove the Communication Mirror's activation formula and locate the mirror it's connected to——"
Julius took the Communication Mirror from Subaru's bewildered hands and began operating it while channeling mana through his fingertips. The scene bore a passing resemblance to someone using a smartphone or tablet, leaving Subaru—who was still stuck in the feature-phone era—with nothing to do but wait obediently.
But the seemingly complex operation was over in mere seconds.
"——Well done, Subaru. I've just located another Communication Mirror connected to this one."
"Seriously…… So it's like a GPS function? You can tell from here?"
"I don't know what a 'GPS' is, but I do know the Communication Mirror's location. It connects to two places…… One is inside the forest, but the other is a bit farther away."
Subaru raised his gaze from the Communication Mirror to follow Julius's line of sight toward the other side of the forest. Though the view was blocked by the green canopy, if Subaru's sense of direction wasn't wrong, Julius was looking toward the mountain range—a place Subaru had been before.
To the west of the village—the forest where the Ulgruma pack had been, no less.
After Roswaal's Mabeast extermination, dangerous creatures were probably few and far between there. The steep cliffs were a place Subaru had once "jumped" from, so the grudge between him and that land was far from shallow.
"The Witch Cult is over there, huh…… That's one I didn't know about."
Petelgeuse's "fingers"—from that name, Subaru had assumed there were roughly ten hideouts for the madman's subordinates. He had already identified about eight of those locations from his two previous loops.
And if the three embedded among the traveling merchants were one of the unknown spots, then the location just revealed would be the very last one.
"The Communication Mirror shows two locations. Can we assume there are no mirrors at the other hideouts?"
"Even if they're relatively common, Communication Mirrors are still rare magical artifacts. The method of creation is known, but considering the cost and time required——the labor investment doesn't quite make it worthwhile."
Julius shrugged, and Subaru—while nodding—held a different opinion.
Subaru hadn't particularly been interested in military or wartime information back in his original world. Even so, he understood the importance of the speed and accuracy of information transmission.
This technology that they were dismissing as "not worthwhile"—could they even imagine the potential for development it held?
"Well, let's set aside my dreams of widespread mobile phones for now. What matters is that it's reliable. If detailed intelligence depends entirely on Communication Mirrors, and there are only two connected locations……"
——One was most likely with Petelgeuse himself.
It was only natural for the leader of the group, the head of the command structure, to possess a Communication Mirror. A mirror for a spy embedded in an opposing group, and if there was one more, then it would be—— "Reinforcements or a hidden card…… Either way, I've got their tail."
Clenching his fist tight, Subaru bit his lip as the situation shifted.
Then, turning to share the intelligence with Ferris—who was still conducting his interrogation—and Wilhelm, who was standing guard—— "Lucky break—the Communication Mirror cooperated. Now the remaining……"
"——!!"
Subaru approached carelessly with one hand raised. The instant the two remaining prisoners—who had been docile until now—caught sight of the glowing Communication Mirror in his hand, their demeanor changed violently.
Ferris had only cast his spell on one of them; the other two twisted their faces into feral expressions and, still bound, lunged toward him.
"Wha——"
Frozen in the instant, Subaru felt Ketty—still bound—lunge with bared teeth aimed at his throat. But just before those teeth could reach—— "Forgive me——"
A cutting blow flashed through the air, and Ketty's torso was cleaved cleanly in two from top to bottom.
Showering the ground with organs and blood, Ketty let out a bestial roar, convulsing on the ground with his lower half severed—and died with a savage expression frozen on his face.
Unlike Ketty, who had received Wilhelm's slash, the other man—— "Blub-blub-blub-blub-aaghh-blaaah-blah-blah-blah——"
He crumpled face-first to the ground mid-lunge, his limbs trembling, his tongue extended as if his throat had gone hoarse, his eyes bloodshot.
His skin had turned a shade of red visible even in the darkness, his blood vessels swollen from internal pressure, and the entire surface of his body was covered in a dense pattern of green.
"……You've gotta be kidding me."
Muttering, Subaru realized he'd sunk to his ground at some point. Julius, coming from behind, offered a shoulder and helped him stand. His legs below the knees refused to cooperate, and it took considerable effort to get upright.
"His will to fight was so strong that I could not moderate my force. My apologies."
Wilhelm wiped the blood from his treasured sword and sheathed it, apologizing for cutting down Ketty. Then, crouching to examine the body of the other convulsing man—— "He, too, no longer draws breath. ——Ferris, that was a cruel thing to do."
"Well, it was a sudden attack, nya, so I had no choice. I won't let Subaru-kun get his neck bitten off and have Lady Crusch get angry at me, nya~. ……What's wrong?"
Ferris stuck out his tongue at Wilhelm, who had confirmed the man's death. Without looking at their exchange, Subaru stared at the body of the man who had died covered in what looked like blisters.
An expression full of agony—so disfigured that his original features were unrecognizable at a glance. It was far too undignified a death for a human being, and above all—— "I didn't see you touch him, but…… did you do this?"
"Yep. A little application of water magic. ——The same gentle mana that heals wounds becomes poison when too much is poured in. When the water inside a body gets too riled up, it becomes a problem, nya~?"
Unrepentant, Ferris flicked the cat ears atop his head. Subaru could not hide the horror he felt.
The man's manner of death—it was enough to make even Wilhelm, who had just cut down another man moments ago, grimace. To have pulled that off and shown not a shred of remorse——Subaru couldn't help but feel something deeply unsettling.
And above all, based on what Ferris had just said—— "You……"
"Hmm~?"
"……No, it's nothing. The other guy—he'll be fine, right?"
Shaking his head slightly, Subaru abandoned the follow-up question as a can of worms best left closed.
The swallowed question was this: ——Could you kill me the same way?
Ferris's magic that rampaged the water inside a body. If it was limited to those who had received healing mana from Ferris's hands, then Subaru himself squarely met that condition.
And what flashed through his mind was the death from the overwhelming pain of the previous attack—blood boiling throughout his body, even his brain searing with violent heat.
If Ferris had been the one who caused that, then the manner of death was exactly the same as this man's—— "The survivor is supposed to be taken to the royal capital for interrogation…… that's the plan, right?"
"This one still has Ferris's suggestion in effect, so there should be no problem. And Subaru-dono—you mentioned the Communication Mirror?"
As Subaru's face grew pale and he averted his gaze from Ferris, Wilhelm took charge. He casually positioned himself to block Subaru's view of both the corpse and Ferris, and—— "If we've pinpointed their location, we should launch a surprise attack. Sooner or later, they'll grow suspicious when no scheduled contact comes through, and our advantage will be lost. We must act before that happens."
"……You're right, yeah. We'll do that. We will."
Nodding at Wilhelm's proposal, Subaru organized his thoughts.
Petelgeuse. Eight known hideouts, their locations confirmed through experience. The newly revealed final location. The Communication Mirror. Emilia and the others fleeing. The battle. Possession. Spirit arts.
"——Ferris."
"What is it, nya~?"
"If you can control that person, then you could also use the Communication Mirror to make him talk to the other end, right?"
Accelerating his thoughts, Subaru opened his eyes and posed the question to Ferris. Ferris blinked once, then broke into a pleased smile.
"I can, nya. Feeding false information to the connected party through the Communication Mirror? That's child's play, nya. ——Shall we do it?"
"Yeah, let's do it. But nothing too elaborate. I don't want them catching on because he said something sloppy. Something like, 'No change in the situation. Continue standing by.' That's plenty."
As long as the other end didn't learn of their situation, Subaru knew from experience that they would maintain their vigil until at least midnight.
As long as the fact of their escape by dragon carriage wasn't exposed, keeping Emilia and the villagers out of danger was not difficult.
"Find out their method of scheduled contact and have them relay the current information to both connected locations."
"There might be code words or something, so keep that in mind, nya. Fufufun, Subaru-kun might be growing up a little—Ferris is so happy, nya~."
Nodding at Subaru's instructions, Ferris took the Communication Mirror with a cheerful demeanor and turned back to the man. Watching from behind as Ferris hummed a tune while conducting interrogation and intelligence gathering, Subaru called Wilhelm and Julius over.
"I have a request for both of you—or rather, I'd like you to accept your roles as we enter the final phase. Is that alright?"
Do everything in one's power and await fate's judgment—to win, every available move must be played.
Fate had never once smiled upon Subaru without him doing a single thing.
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ——The Witch Cultists embedded among the traveling merchants had been swept clean, and the internal threat was eliminated. The immediate concern had been put to rest.
"Farewell—"
The image of Emilia saying that as she climbed into the dragon carriage, casting a gaze toward Subaru and the others staying behind in the village—one that mingled gratitude with worry—was seared into his heart.
Subaru, who had donned a robe that blocked recognition and had not revealed his identity to her, felt a pain beyond words. If he could speak from the heart, he would confess everything right now and take her hand.
"Well, for now I can only endure and keep thinking about it. I have the memory of holding her hand without being pushed away, so I'm not going to cry or anything."
With a careless quip to deflect his own feelings, he saw off the dragon carriage alongside the knights.
Several mounted knights accompanied the carriage, guarding it on its evacuation route. They took extra care to avoid drawing attention, splitting into two groups midway.
One group heading to the Sanctuary with Ram, and one heading to the royal capital with Emilia. Roswaal would greet the Sanctuary group, and Crusch would be waiting for the capital group. Thorough insurance had been arranged, meaning their safety was, in a sense, far more assured than Subaru's.
The children who'd begged to ride with Emilia had climbed into the carriage holding her hand tightly. Emilia's joyful expression at that response came back to Subaru's mind, filling his own heart with warmth.
Somewhat troubling was Petra's gaze as she boarded the carriage beside Emilia—it seemed to burn with a kind of competitive spirit, but he judged it probably wouldn't affect things too much. Petra was, after all, a girl who listened well to Subaru's words.
"Use these happy feelings to wash away the anxiety, and get Emilia and the others out of here while the situation allows. ……I've really become a terrible bastard who manipulates people's hearts. The guy the neighborhood used to whisper about as someone who couldn't read the room or people's emotions—what a difference."
He had also asked the children to follow two rules inside the carriage: 'Don't mention Subaru's name' and 'Don't let Emilia go outside.' He believed that in the previous loop, both of these factors—especially the second—had been why she'd returned to the battlefield.
If someone had been riding in Emilia's carriage back then, someone who could have stopped her from going—that disaster might never have happened.
If there had been someone who cared about her deeply enough to hold her back, gentle Emilia surely wouldn't have been able to dismiss it.
Subaru had intentionally created this situation by giving the children a role and by keeping his own existence hidden from Emilia.
When she learned the full picture later, she might despise him for it.
Even knowing the future through Return by Death, using that as a reason to deceive someone's heart and manipulate them to his advantage was not something that could be forgiven. That was why—— "I'll keep this a secret for the rest of my life, absolutely……"
He wasn't such a good person that he'd say "as long as I don't get caught, it's fine," but neither was he masochistic enough to volunteer the truth. He resolved to carry this to his grave.
And then, to Subaru—— "The villagers and the half-elf seem to have already left."
A rough voice rumbled as Ricard, the beastman, approached with his massive frame swaying and a huge machete slung over his shoulder. At the slight splatter of blood on his figure, Subaru grimaced and let out a small sigh.
"Don't call my precious Emilia-tan a 'half-elf,' you half-wolf."
"Oh wow, being called a half-wolf is even more humiliating than I expected! What a lesson learned! Masterful, truly masterful!"
Subaru could only smile wryly at the hearty laughter that swallowed his sarcasm whole. Then, suddenly dropping his expression, he looked up toward the forest.
"So, how did it go? The ambush?"
"They already knew where the other side was, and the other side had absolutely no precautions set up. Blowing it after that would be something only mercenaries who'd tossed away their gold would do. We did it beautifully, we did."
Ricard grinned fiercely, baring his fangs.
As if to prove his words, mercenaries riding Ligers poured out of the forest one after another, charging around the now-empty village to confirm their unscathed status.
"Yahoo! Slaughter fest!"
"We properly captured prisoners, you know. Please stop saying things that sound terrible, sis."
Watching the brother and sister run around with a conversation that was both heartwarming and terrifying, Subaru assessed the results as excellent.
Even knowing the odds were favorable, from the perspective of those who'd sent them off, it had been an anxiety-ridden moment.
Seeing them safe and sound, Subaru finally let out a breath of relief.
"Ahh, also, there's a bit of a problem, though."
But Ricard lowered his voice, folding his tall frame to lean in close. Feeling something ominous in the man's demeanor, Subaru furrowed his brow.
"What, what? I've got a bad feeling about this, so please at least say it in an upbeat way."
"Is that right? Well then, allow me to say it freely!!"
Taking Subaru entirely seriously, Ricard bellowed the response at a volume that could rupture eardrums. The ringing echoed through Subaru's skull as he grimaced, while Mimi circcling on her Liger nearby cheered, "Yahoo! Festival time!"
"Shut up! Not like that! I went through all this trouble to evacuate everyone quietly—what happens if they catch wind of our movements now?!"
"Big bro! Big bro! Your voice is plenty loud too!"
Ricard burst out laughing at Subaru's shouting.
Unable to reconcile the man's shift in demeanor, Subaru shook his head and said, "Enough,"—— "Just tell me. If something came up, I need to know before we execute the plan so we can adjust. Right now, we need to eliminate as many unknowns as possible……"
"No, nothing went wrong with the plan, probably. It's just that while capturing the Witch Cultists, there was this separate issue we ran into."
"Separate issue……?"
Unable to understand what Ricard was getting at, Subaru tilted his head in doubt. Ricard nodded and, deciding it was faster to show than tell, raised his arm and—— "Hey, bring that guy over here."
The subordinate who received the order nodded and hurried off, returning with a Liger in tow.
On its back sat a person bound with ropes. As the figure gradually drew closer, Subaru's expression shifted through doubt, anxiety, and finally recognition—— "We raided the Witch Cult's hideout, and this guy was in the back. Seems our buddy here had the bad luck of getting caught by them, nya, I mean, it looks like that's how it was."
Ricard scratched his head as he spoke. Before him, the person with a muzzle strapped over his mouth let out a groan. The figure seemed to be complaining about mistreatment, or perhaps begging for his life—either way, it was a rather pathetic sight. Once Subaru had pushed past the initial shock—— "Pfft."
He couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
Pointing a finger at the bound, immobilized figure, he doubled over—— "You were missing, so I figured you were captured—it's you, Otto!"
And so he shouted the name of the last character to appear, the one who'd been too unlucky to make an appearance until now.