——The dragon cart's speed increased, and violent shaking and the howl of wind reverberated through the cargo bed.
"Wh—whoa!"
"It's all right, hold on tight. There's nothing to be afraid of."
Huddled together and enduring the jostling,
What a strong girl, Emilia thought, sensing the strength in the young girl's attitude. The other children, too, could be seen biting down and holding back their terror, huddled together in a tight mass, following the example set by their elder.
Every single one of them was strong. They were undoubtedly on the verge of tears from anxiety and fear, yet not one of them surrendered to that weakness, suppressing their voices and holding themselves together.
It was precisely because the children's strength lay before her eyes that Emilia was able to keep herself from showing an unsightly face.
Under normal circumstances, a running dragon cart was supposed to be protected by the earth dragon's "Wind Breaker" blessing. The Wind Breaker blessing also applied to carts drawn by earth dragons, shielding those under its protection from external influences—wind, shaking, and other resistive forces.
However, this particular dragon cart had fallen outside the Wind Breaker's protection, and the burden of movement was falling directly on Emilia and the children inside.
The reason the blessing had dropped was simple: the cart had once come to a stop.
The earth dragon's Wind Breaker blessing was predicated on the earth dragon being in motion, and it was the type of blessing that was continuously deployed during travel. But once movement ceased, the blessing's effect would be interrupted, and it required a certain interval of time before it could be redeployed—a known drawback.
Given those circumstances, common sense dictated that a cart that had once stopped would allow sufficient time for the blessing to redeploy before setting off again. However— "——!"
This cart, which had not even spared the time for that brief stop, had no time left to observe such common sense.
Emilia squeezed the warm hand holding hers, then raised her head and strained her ears toward the situation beyond the cart, beyond the canvas covering.
The cart Emilia and the children were riding in had originally been used for merchant trade, so the cargo bed—excluding the driver's seat—had naturally been built with no consideration for passenger comfort. The cargo area, covered by canvas to protect goods from deterioration, had no small windows, and the interior—which received no sunlight—was lit only by the pale glow of Ragmoire ore they had brought along.
Blankets had been layered as flooring beneath them, makeshift seats had been arranged atop them, and everyone was sitting together in a tight huddle. Besides Emilia, there were seven children, and the remaining person serving as driver was a young man from the village's youth brigade.
The dragon cart carrying Emilia and her group led the way, with about four other carts carrying villagers and merchants trailing behind, and a knight riding an earth dragon solo served as their escort.
To protect themselves from bandits that operated within the territory, it had been two hours since they evacuated the village under the name of refugee evacuation—and the situation, which had been stable until then, had suddenly changed just over ten minutes ago.
To avoid provoking a group said to lurk within the forest, the convoy of carts had left the mansion and village prioritizing stealth as much as possible. The total of twelve evacuation carts had split into two groups along the way—one bound for the royal capital, one for the
For the hour after that, despite not being able to see the situation outside, the cart's journey along the highway should have been reasonably peaceful. But— "Milady Emilia, if I may have a moment of your time."
Feeling the light touch against her back, Emilia realized that the cart had stopped.
Before she could even wonder what that meant, a white-haired old man was already poking his head through the canvas curtain at the rear of the cart.
The old man who introduced himself as Wilhelm Trias was a knight of Crusch's camp, and though his gentle, warm smile gave an impression of mildness, Emilia could instinctively sense with her body—still inexperienced though she was in battle—that this man's skill was extraordinary.
Because of that, she could not help but feel an unnecessary tension whenever dealing with this person. This time, too, her response to his voice came a beat too late.
"To me," the old gentleman nodded slightly without remarking on the brief pause from Emilia's clipped "Yes," and continued: "A matter of some concern has arisen. For that reason, I would like to take several knights with me to conduct a 'sweep.' If I might have your permission."
"A... sweep?"
"Yes, a 'sweep.' It won't take much time. I intend to catch up and rejoin you shortly. Would that be all right?"
With Wilhelm bowing courteously, Emilia considered.
There was something odd about the old man's use of the word "sweep," and Emilia quickly realized he was being considerate of the children around her.
Without using direct language, Wilhelm was choosing to send Emilia's group—the ones being escorted—on ahead. If he was taking fighting strength with him toward some "matter of concern," then that meant— "I... need not—"
"——!"
"I need not be involved?" she asked. Even knowing it was rude to disregard his concern, she could not help but voice the question. Hearing Emilia's words, Wilhelm's eyes narrowed gently. It was the reaction he had expected. However— "Milady Emilia, please continue by cart and proceed with the evacuation. I leave the children in your care."
A faint smile on his lips, Wilhelm gazed at Emilia, and in his eyes there was no trace of the negative emotions she had anticipated. There was only a warm, benevolent glow—like that of a guardian watching over a troublesome child—and the fact that Emilia noticed it only deepened her confusion.
Before she could pursue the reason for that confusion, Wilhelm rested his hand on the canvas, turned his back, and said: "Since we have stopped, I expect considerable shaking along the way. Please, do not let go of the children's hands."
"Ah..."
"After all, you share the same kind of master-and-servant bond, don't you. —Your eyes are just like his."
With that final, wistful murmur, Wilhelm's figure was swallowed by the curtain and disappeared from view.
Emilia furrowed her brow, not understanding what that murmur meant, but almost at once she felt the cart lurch back into motion, and there was no time left to dwell on it.
And so, thrown into a state where they were buffeted by violent shaking and the roar of wind, huddled close with the children, the story returned to where it had been.
Wilhelm had left the cart convoy with several knights, and only two knights remained to guard the evacuation group. Emilia understood that the villagers riding the carts behind theirs were being shaken by the same impacts—that is to say, the same anxiety.
She could not see the situation outside, but she had a means of knowing it. That was— 『Back there, the old man and some others ran into someone. There's a fight breaking out.』
『Do you know the numbers?』
『Our side has eight, the enemy has sixteen... exactly double. But I don't think there's any real problem? That old man was seriously impressive, you know.』
Sending thoughts tinged with lightheartedness,
That had been a telepathic exchange with Puck in his unmanifested form; through the mana suffusing the atmosphere, Puck could grasp the outside situation to some degree. Through him, Emilia learned of the situation outside and worked to piece together what was happening.
Puck's existence as a Great Spirit actually represented a considerable waste of mana even in his manifested state alone. In combat, that mana consumption would multiply, and maintaining his existence for extended periods was a near-impossible feat even for Emilia.
Therefore, given the current urgency on top of everything else, Puck's form was now sealed within his core stone—the golem body. It was to preserve his full strength for any emergency that might arise.
『Well, also to keep me from popping out carelessly in front of the kids and getting used as a toy, I suppose.』
『You do have the kind of appearance that makes you seem like you'd be popular with children, so maybe it's good for putting anxious kids at ease.』
『You've got a scary imagination, my dear daughter. In any case, that's what the outside looks like.』
At Puck's response to Emilia's quip—or rather, her lighthearted thought—Emilia nodded inwardly and bit her lip at her own helplessness.
She had offered her help, and Wilhelm, even perceiving her intent, had chosen to refuse. That did not indicate her lack of ability—more accurately, it signified a lack of trust.
Even Wilhelm, who treated her with goodwill, could not lightly accept her proposal if he was considering her position. Though they were allies, Emilia and his lord were ultimately political adversaries. The difficulty of forging a purely friendly relationship between them had been driven home to her all too vividly.
Right now, that shackle of status was unbearably in the way.
She possessed neither the ability to match that status nor the authority to wield influence. Both inside and outside, she was known as a figurehead, and in truth, it was flattering at best to say she was suited for the role.
Crippled by those shackles, her freedom of action was restricted, and even now she could not extend her trembling hand to help these children who needed it.
At this rate, what was the purpose of— "——Subaru."
The moment that name left her lips in a small voice, Emilia realized how hopeless she was. The wretchedness of calling his name in this situation—the foolishness of having thrown away the right to do so—made the world go dark before her eyes.
She had abandoned him, and now, cornered in this desperate strait, she wanted to cling to him once more. That weakness, that wretchedness—after having hurt him so deeply with her own actions, leaving wounds that would not fade, tearing at his heart and pushing him away, how could she possibly call his name?
If she had any right to call his name now, if there was any occasion where she would be permitted to do so, it would be— "Everyone, it's going to be all right, so don't worry! No matter what happens, I'll protect all of you!"
Only in that moment, when she could make the resolve to protect someone, just as that boy did.
At Emilia's call, the children—shrunken down and holding hands—raised their faces. Their eyes were brimming with tears, their lips pressed tight with trembling anxiety. But the moment they looked into Emilia's purple-blue eyes, that expression seemed to retreat somewhere, and they nodded to each other before raising their voices together.
"I—it's okay!" "Don't worry about us, big sis!" "B-because we made a promise, so it's fine, and we absolutely won't let go of your hand!"
They put on brave voices that were easy to see through, and the children clung to Emilia's entire body. Fingers, wrists, shoulders, waist—clutched from every side, Emilia stiffened with surprise, having never experienced so much physical contact with others at once. But it was not an unpleasant sensation.
There was just one thing that gave her an inexplicable sense of unease— "A promise... You made a promise with someone? What kind?"
"That big sis wouldn't let go of us." "That we had to stay with you, or you'd do something reckless." "That someone needed to keep watch over you, or they'd worry."
The answers came one after another, and Emilia felt a surprised smile tug at her face. Though something like an odd defiance stirred at those words, she sealed her lips, aware that without the children, she had no idea what state she would be in. Was that also Ram's doing—though, Emilia wondered, did she even have that kind of time? Besides, the way they put it was exactly like— "——!"
At that thought, a faint ache pricked Emilia's chest from a strange premonition.
Once noticed, that ache asserted itself with accelerating force, wearing down Emilia's patience as her eyes wavered in confusion.
She closed her mouth as if deep in thought, then licked her lips. Her dry lips loosened with unexpected moisture, and she let the question slip out on her breath: "Worried about me...? Who told you that?"
"Oh, no, that's—you can't say that—"
The one who changed expression and reflexively tried to stop the words was Petra. She shook her shoulder-length reddish-brown hair and tried to cling to Emilia to prevent it, but she was too late.
"Subaru!" "Subaru said so!" "That big sis gets lonely and someone has to look out for her!" "Subaru said—oh wait, was I not supposed to say that...?"
The children tripped over each other to bring up that name, and when the last child realized their slip and clapped a hand over their mouth, they all looked at each other in belated awareness. Petra pressed her palms to her face and murmured "Aaahh," and at the name that had burst forth again and again, Emilia blinked.
"Su...baru?"
She had had a feeling. From the way the children spoke, Emilia could picture his figure.
But denial raced ahead—because that couldn't be. Because Emilia had hurt him with terrible words and abandoned him at that royal castle.
At the place where, above all others, he surely wanted Emilia to reach out her hand, she had withdrawn her own and turned her back. At the most crucial moment, when he was searching for the thing he needed most, she had rejected him.
So how could his name come to her now, at the moment when she most cursed her own powerlessness?
That shouldn't be possible. It simply couldn't be.
Emilia's life had been a life without expectations.
Whenever she expected something, she was betrayed. Whenever she hoped, the hope was ground away and lost its luster. Through countless experiences, Emilia had come to accept that painful reality as unavoidable.
And so she feared, on an instinctive level, entertaining expectations toward those around her. Even in moments when she wanted to, the fear came first, and she could not bring herself to reach out.
Being pushed away. Being distanced from. For her, those were the natural course of things.
Being drawn close. Being needed. For her, those were things that existed outside the realm of possibility.
And so she had rejected Subaru too—the one who acted familiar, who was ready to throw everything away for her.
She couldn't trust it. Not his actions, his attitude, or his words—but her own heart's capacity to receive them.
When she expected, and expected, and expected, and the accumulated weight of it all collapsed, Emilia was struck down harder than if she had been cut to the bone.
The fear of that was what had driven her to refuse the time she could have spent facing Subaru.
If he was going to be driven away eventually, it was better to drive him away herself first.
Before something decisive accumulated between them—something that would come crashing down.
And yet, why— "Subaru was in the village? He came back?"
As the children fell into awkward silence, Emilia's stunned whisper escaped.
The cart was still hurtling forward, and its cause had not been shaken off. She could not free the children from their fear, and yet she herself could not move from that spot.
In the midst of that very situation, the name she had heard struck her heart with violent force.
The children's silence was, by itself, an affirmation of her question.
If he—Subaru—had returned to the village and was involved in this evacuation, then everything would fall into place.
Ram, who was not supposed to be able to leave the village, had somehow arranged things with the expedition party with an ease that bordered on the uncanny. The villagers, who should have been growing increasingly anxious and resentful with each passing day, had accepted this evacuation without objection. And the expedition party itself—arriving in a land they had never visited, managing to orchestrate a situation like this without creating friction with the local inhabitants—should have been impossible.
All of those difficulties could be cleared simply by placing the piece that was the boy.
If it was Subaru who had returned leading the expedition, Ram would have been able to approach negotiations with them without preconception. The villagers, owing him an enormous debt, would have shown willingness to accept his proposal. And they certainly would not have treated the expedition he brought with disrespect.
Above all, the fact that he had stayed behind in the village with the expedition, drawing the danger toward himself so the villagers and Emilia could escape—if she thought about it, it was just like him. Excessively like him.
Because it was precisely what
"Why—"
The murmur that slipped out was steeped in a desolate color, her purple-blue eyes wavering faintly with trembling emotion.
If these actions were truly Subaru's, then they were not so different from everything he had done before. After she had hurt him so, driven him away—still, he remained Subaru.
"After hurting him so much, after causing him so much pain, after making him look so sad... why, Subaru, why would you still—"
She didn't know if he was trying to save her.
That question she had hurled at Subaru at the royal selection ceremony, in the training grounds, when he had fallen body and soul to the very bottom.
At that time, Subaru had not given her an answer.
The answer that came back made no sense, the words he tried to rephrase were swallowed and never made it out, and the result was Emilia's parting from him.
She had offered a question, but no answer came back.
And even now, that answer remained unknown to her.
She had believed that ending things without knowing was the right thing for both of them.
"Why—!"
"Something like that—!"
At Emilia's strangled words, Petra flushed red and twisted her lips. The girl's expression—looking as though she knew the answer to Emilia's question perfectly well—made Emilia gaze at her with pleading eyes. But before either of them could open their mouths— "——!?"
The dragon cart swerved with tremendous force, and the bodies of Emilia and the others inside were violently thrown about. Instinctively, Emilia grabbed the wall with one hand and pulled Petra close with the other. Petra, in turn, grabbed the boy next to her, and the chain continued until everyone was barely linked together.
But there was no time for relief—the cart continued to swerve. The movements were evasive, as if fleeing something.
『Ria—something's coming from behind at incredible speed—!』
『——!!』
At Puck's urgent warning, Emilia raised her head and turned it toward the rear.
Beyond the canvas that billowed in the wind, with flashes of the outside flickering in and out of view—the cause of all this swerving, something in hot pursuit, was there.
*Intercept*, Emilia thought, moving on instinct. But her body, rising to stand, was held back by a light weight and could not move.
She lowered her gaze and saw them. Curled up right beside her, their faces set with desperate determination as they looked up at her, clinging to the hem of her clothes, to her hands—refusing to let go under any circumstances.
"We won't let go!" "You can't go!" "We have to keep our promise!"
The children gripped Emilia tightly and would not release her.
Before the restraint—which she could have shaken off if she truly tried—Emilia could not move. Petra, looking up at her, opened her tear-prone eyes wide and cried: "Now big sis is the one who's going to make Subaru cry!?"
"——!?"
That shout sent a violent tremor through her, and this time, Emilia truly could not move.
And the instant her body stopped stirring, the cart lurched into a hard sideways skid, and centrifugal force crashed over them.
The jarring rotational force of the sudden braking threw Emilia's light body into the air, children in tow. But the blankets spread beneath them prevented a brutal impact with the floor. Swallowed by the shock, Emilia raised her head and shook it.
"What on earth is—"
"Ria! Something's coming right behind us!"
In the emergency, Puck materialized and floated in midair, pointing toward the rear inside the tilting cart. Following his voice and gesture, Emilia whipped her head around and instinctively shielded the children behind her, staring at the canvas.
Mana swelled around her, and a cold chill crept slowly through the narrow confines of the cart. Then she felt the presence of someone approaching, and the curtain was thrown aside.
The face of Emilia—who had been about to begin an incantation—went slack with astonishment.
"Why—"
A single boy, breathing hard, shoulders heaving, climbed into the dragon cart. At the sight of him, Emilia's purple-blue eyes trembled wildly, overwhelmed by confusion.
Lips quivering, forgetting the situation entirely, Emilia called out in a thin, fragile voice: "——Subaru."
She called his name.
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ Looking back on it, Subaru thought it had been a terrible first meeting.
Summoned to another world, and for about an hour—glancing right and then left and then right again, finding nothing he could understand—he had been dumped into a situation where he knew nothing at all, utterly and literally at a loss.
He had ducked into an alley and there, quite naturally, encountered thugs who preyed on weaklings like him, and he had nearly lost his life just hours into his interdimensional trip.
Beaten to a pulp, caked in dust and mud, and on the verge of being killed right then and there—it was then that Subaru had encountered that silver light.
He remembered every last one of her words from that moment, her manner, her nobility.
It was because those memories could never, never, never, never be forgotten that Natsuki Subaru could still stand on two feet and live in this world.
"Natsuki-san, over there!!!"
Cutting through the relentless onslaught of Petelgeuse's fanatic pursuit and racing down the Lifaus Highway, the dragon cart carrying Subaru—in the midst of an endless grassland, Otto's eyes were scanning the horizon, and he called out to Subaru in a high voice.
Following his cry and gaze, Subaru could make out faint shadows shifting at a distant position that grazed the horizon—something was there, clearly distinct from any trick of the eye.
Certain of the tangible existence, Subaru clenched his fist.
"That's it! Otto—I need everything you've got!"
"You don't even have to ask—I'm giving it everything!"
The reins were lashed, the dry crack of leather echoed, and the two earth dragons snarled.
The jet-black earth dragon fixed its gaze straight ahead, and Subaru could feel it straining with everything it had to fulfill his will as it pulled the cart forward.
Rescued by their first meeting, he had accompanied her in searching for what she had lost. Even when Subaru proved useless, she had not abandoned him, and she—probably overwhelmed with her own problems—had never given up on either him or herself.
Stubborn, proud, bullheaded, and kind—Subaru had come to know that about her.
He remembered the feeling of walking at her side, embarrassed and with his heart pounding with feelings that did not suit him.
And he remembered those sweet emotions being ruined by his own unforgivable actions.
His belly torn open, sinking in a sea of blood, consciousness stolen away by the heat of agony and the cold of blood loss.
And yet, her voice—and the moment her body was torn apart—those were etched so deeply into his heart that nothing could ever replace them.
At that moment, he had sworn. Subaru had indeed made a promise.
*"I will—I swear I will save you."* He had fought to keep that promise. Stacking death upon death, carving through fate, somehow pushing past the agony—only then did Subaru meet her again, save her, and earn her smile.
The stirring of emotions from that moment, the rush of a thousand feelings—Subaru would never forget it.
Ahead, the landscape blurred by the earth dragon's speed was beginning to take shape.
It was a battle between a group clad entirely in black and knights astride earth dragons. Already numerous bodies lay fallen on the ground, and weaving through the carnage with terrifying speed was— "——Wilhelm-san!!"
"Subaru-dono!?"
At Subaru's call from the speeding cart, Wilhelm—who had just cut down a single
He flicked the blood from his sword, his expression questioning at Subaru's appearance, but— "Where's Emilia!?"
Sensing the urgency flooding Subaru's face as he screamed the follow-up question, Wilhelm immediately cast aside his doubts, and with the tip of his blade pointed further ahead in their direction of travel.
"Straight ahead! Due straight—toward the Great Tree!"
Raising his gaze, Subaru looked further beyond the horizon.
Realizing it, the Lifaus Highway had already crossed the midpoint on the royal capital side—they were approaching the vicinity of Flügel's Great Tree, where the decisive battle against the
Nodding without slowing, Subaru burst straight through the battlefield where Wilhelm and his men were locked in combat. He did not stop to ask about their well-being. That would be an insult to their fighting spirit, and besides—Subaru had already spoken the words he needed to exchange at the moment of their parting.
Subaru had entrusted Wilhelm with Emilia and the others. Wilhelm had answered that he would handle it.
And so, there was no need for Subaru to stop here, nor for Wilhelm to ask anything further of him.
Even their exchange of glances lasted only a heartbeat before Subaru's dragon cart left Wilhelm behind.
The sudden appearance of the cart made the Witch Cult followers hesitate, and several of them kicked off the ground to give chase. But— "Your opponent is me."
Two figures in black, momentarily caught off guard, were cut down by the Sword Demon's blade from directly behind. Splattered with blood, the Sword Demon—his body half-soaked in red—watched the departing cart with a satisfied look.
"A perfect opportunity to repay a debt to the one who saved me. And better yet, the one who asked it of me understands without a word. —How truly fortunate."
With the prized sword given to him by his mistress in his right hand, Wilhelm caught a knight's sword thrown to him by a subordinate in his left. He raised both swords in a crossed guard, and from beneath the gleam of the blades, his gaze pierced through the enemy.
"A man going to meet the woman he cares about—what right does anyone have to interfere? You and I both are far too bloody to be lingering at a reunion. —All of you, just fall as corpses and be done with it."
At that death sentence, the Witch Cult followers—who should have been devoid of emotion—stiffened.
Amid the taut tension, the Sword Demon charged forward with a grin. The grin was complex—at once the grin of a demon reveling in bathing in blood, and the wry smile of an old man looking back on the foolishness of his youth.
——The day he genuinely began to think he would live on in this other world.
Reuniting with her, meeting a new cast of companions, Subaru had found a place where he belonged.
If he could live at her side, be of help to her, do something for her—he had been satisfied even without being able to see the future.
And then that life had suddenly fractured, and he was trapped in a cycle of being crushed by despair.
There had been people he wanted to believe in, and he had pushed himself too hard because he wanted to protect them, and yet the agony of not being believed back had made him want to throw everything away—and then there had been a moment when someone accepted that weak version of him.
He was saved. He was protected. He had shown off the most pathetic side of himself, and only then did he manage to stand.
Standing up, running, being hurt, starting over, steeling himself to pursue an ideal, Subaru once again encountered daily happiness and spent those times in celebration with her.
"Natsuki-san, I can see them! The evacuation carts—it's them, right!"
"Yeah—no doubt about it!"
Spotting the convoy of carts retreating at full speed from the battlefield, Subaru felt his own pulse quicken.
Before Subaru could put his surging feelings into words, Otto, reading his intent, urged
As the distance closed rapidly, Subaru could see confusion spreading among the group up ahead as they noticed the pursuers catching up.
Seeing the cart begin to swerve, Subaru felt the anxiety—knowing it was necessary but still frustrating all the same. He shouted with all his might, hoping the drivers could hear.
"Stop! It's me! I'm not an enemy! Stop—please stop—!!"
It was a desperate plea, but those fleeing were equally desperate.
With their intentions still crossed, it was only when they had drawn nearly alongside each other that the driver finally recognized Subaru— "Subaru-dono—!?"
"Stop! It's an emergency! I need to check what's inside!"
Sensing something extraordinary in the urgency of Subaru's face, the driver pulled the reins and signaled the earth dragon to halt. In an instant, the cart swerved wildly, the momentum not fully spent, and bounced with a violent crash that nearly tipped it sideways.
"Ia, get out! Otto, free Patrasche!"
And before the cart had even fully stopped—as it was still decelerating—Subaru's body launched from the vehicle. There was no graceful landing to speak of; he was flung by inertia and hit the ground clumsily, rolling to absorb the impact, then immediately springing to his feet and running to the cart's side.
The cart he ran to was the lead one—a canvas-covered cargo wagon that had been badly tilted by the jolt. At Subaru's call, Ia emerged from his hair and settled on his fingertip, announcing her presence with crackling heat.
Emboldened by that warmth, Subaru rushed to the cart, pulled back the canvas, and thrust his head inside—sunlight piercing the gloom opened up his field of vision— "——Subaru."
When he realized it was that silver-bell voice calling his name, Subaru was struck by a shock so great he felt he might crumble to the ground on the spot.
At the end of his gaze, staring at him with dazed eyes, was a beautiful girl with silver hair and purple-blue eyes. A girl he had pursued again and again, wished for again and again, been broken again and again, and yet could not give up on.
Surging emotions battered his chest, and Subaru fought to hold back the torrent of passion that threatened to spill from his eyes and mouth.
He shook his head, cutting through those swirling feelings in a single instant.
"Ia! Can you find it!?"
The faint glow at his fingertip danced through the air, responding to Subaru's call as it floated around the inside of the cart. That dreamlike search was soon at its end.
The trajectory of Ia, who had been drifting while searching for her target, suddenly wavered. The spirit drifted to one edge of the cart and hovered up and down, as if saying *there's something here*.
Subaru rushed over, squinted, and searched the spot the lesser spirit had indicated. One of the floorboards was slightly discolored—only that single board appeared to be newly replaced.
"Puck! Can you peel away just this section without damaging anything else!?"
"What are you doing, showing up out of nowhere and suddenly—ah, I see."
Despite the long-awaited reunion, Puck made a disgruntled face at being talked to in a one-sided torrent—but only for an instant. The Great Spirit must have sensed the same thing the lesser spirit had detected beneath the floor Subaru indicated.
His small hands trembled, and a converging torrent of mana flash-froze a single floorboard. Subaru stomped through it from above, thrust his hand into the hole, and— "——Found it!"
From the bottom of the hole, Subaru pulled out a burlap sack and peered frantically inside.
Inside, packed tight—as Otto had testified—was a dense mass of magic ore. The ore glowed with a faint, dull light, and even now it seemed to be gradually intensifying in heat—no, in fact, it was already beginning to radiate dangerous warmth.
—Was there a time limit? Or had finding and disturbing it set something off? Perhaps the jostling from the cart had been the trigger.
Whatever the reason, the magic ore in his hands was heating up—which meant it had entered the sequence just before detonation.
"Puck, stopping this explosion—is it possible?"
"Stopping it? I don't think so. But protecting everyone from it—might not be impossible."
Puck shook his head at Subaru's plea, but dangled the existence of his trump card to guarantee Emilia's safety. That meant Puck would manifest in his true form and, with overwhelming power, forcibly shield everyone from the explosion—a desperate, brute-force solution.
Subaru understood the principle, and in truth, Puck could probably pull it off. But even so— "That won't work!"
Subaru shook his head and rejected Puck's proposal.
He believed that plan could indeed protect everyone. But if they did that, every person present would witness the Great Spirit in his true form, and that otherworldly visage would be seared into everyone's memories.
The immense power—and Emilia, the contractor who commanded it. For her, whose relationship with the villagers still harbored deep-seated friction, how profound an impact would that impression have?
He pressed his hand to his forehead and turned his thoughts.
Come up with something. The total quantity of magic ore was enormous; done poorly, this entire area could be reduced to a scorched plain. In this situation where the explosion could happen at any moment, even the idea of carrying it somewhere far away was dubious. And yet, leaving everything to Puck would cast a shadow of unease over Emilia's path forward. Even if he accepted that some things were beyond the value of a life, it was too early to throw in the towel before even thinking. He didn't have the right to decide whether this was or wasn't beyond the value of a life. So he would think. For her sake, for Emilia's sake—for real this time, in the truest sense, something he could do for her.
"——I see."
A murmur slipped out. There was one—just one idea that had sparked.
Whether he could actually pull it off was uncertain, and the conclusion was absurd. But if there was a possibility, this was the only method he could think of—and the odds, miraculously, remained.
The instant the idea struck, Subaru's body moved as if spring-loaded.
He hefted the burlap sack—too heavy to easily lift with both arms—clutched it to himself, and leaped from the cart. But on his back, a voice stopped him— "Wait...!"
It was Emilia's trembling voice.
The feet that should not stop came to a halt. The body that should not turn, turned. The eyes that should not look—looked straight ahead. In a moment where there was no time to exchange words, he was about to exchange them anyway.
"Subaru... why...!"
That "why" carried within it every "why" that existed—not just in this moment.
It encompassed his having charged into this scene, the meaning of having created this situation, and stretched much further back—surely, it was a retake of the exchange they had in that room in the royal castle.
At that time, Subaru had been unable to give her an answer.
The torrent of his own unsorted emotions from that time came rushing back. Not one of them was entirely wrong. But none were right, either.
A single chance had been offered, and he had lost it again—a moment deferred.
Reuniting with Emilia, being given the chance to exchange words—the feelings and words he wanted to convey were piled like mountains. Like stars. Enough that even after pouring them all out, there would be more.
So many words surged up, rising to his lips, then vanishing.
A thousand feelings, emotions accumulated over time—his entire being, his whole soul, was demanding this very moment.
What should he say? What should he convey?
What words should he choose? What attitude should he face her with?
"Why...?"
The question came again.
He drew a small breath, and Subaru said just one thing: "——I love you, Emilia."
—That was the single meaning behind Subaru living on, battered and scarred as he was.
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ In one breath, he said it, then burst through the canvas and leaped from the cart.
The instant the sunlight scorched his eyes and he grimaced, a dark figure stepped in front of him, shielding him from the glare. It was Patrasche. His partner had already turned its back as if to say he understood everything—before even hearing Subaru's voice.
Subaru reached out and vaulted onto Patrasche's back. He clutched the heated burlap sack between his chest and the dragon's back, seized the reins, and pulled taut. The earth dragon roared, and after a heartbeat's pause, Patrasche surged forward—straight toward the sun.
Behind him, Otto sat stunned. The young man with the crew cut who had been driving the cart was frozen in disbelief. And then, from within the cart, the children and Emilia burst forth.
He could hear voices. Voices calling his name. He would not turn around. He could not turn around.
The feelings he needed to convey, the words he wanted to say—he had managed to leave them all behind.
There was nothing more Subaru needed to do at that place. There was only what he needed to do now.
Patrasche became the wind. Because of the halt, the Wind Breaker blessing had not been redeployed, and shaking and wind bore down on Subaru without mercy. But the jet-black earth dragon defended his master with deft movements, and Subaru entrusted everything, placing his entire being in its care.
Buffeted by the shaking and the wind, Subaru fixed his gaze straight ahead.
It should be right here. His certainty quickly became fact, and Subaru drove Patrasche toward what had come into view.
The heat radiating from the magic ore—the ore seething on the other side of the burlap sack was beginning to glow red—and the searing warmth scorched Subaru's belly and Patrasche's back. Gritting his teeth, he wrapped his arms tighter, determined not to let go. Through the encroaching pain, Subaru saw it in tear-blurred eyes.
—It was the Great Tree, the legendary remnant that had lain broken at its roots for countless ages, and at its base, fallen and headless, was the carcass of a colossal mabeast.
They had barely managed to transport just the head. The remaining body had been frozen in ice of extraordinary density to prevent decay, and the cold emanating from it was so intense that breath turned white even at a distance.
Driving Patrasche to the side of the White Whale's massive carcass, Subaru plunged toward the center of the fallen remains—where the Sword Demon's slash had carved a deep, gaping wound.
"——!"
Leaping from Patrasche's body, Subaru shoved the burlap sack into the wound. Though frozen stiff, the gap was large enough to engulf the sack entirely.
Instantly reversing, Subaru grabbed the reins of the approaching Patrasche and wheeled around at once. They looped around the carcass and dove to the far side of the fallen Great Tree.
Dragging Subaru—who was half-dangling—Patrasche tore across the grassland. Subaru felt mana converging behind them, and both his throat and the earth dragon's throat let out a roar.
Violent tremors and the roar of wind alone engulfed the world. His body was swept along with the force, and the sensation of impact told him they had reached their destination.
He was slammed hard against the trunk of a tree, and Patrasche curled its body to cover Subaru completely from above. —The next instant, "——!!"
An immense shockwave, a gale of force, and a deafening detonation shook the highway. The blast leaped over the carcass and the Great Tree, scorching the exposed skin of Subaru and Patrasche.
Behind closed eyelids, the red glow threatened to pierce through to the eyeballs beyond, and Subaru, still gripping tightly, clenched his teeth and endured the pain.
The shockwave threatened to carry his entire body away, and he could feel the massive Great Tree shifting under the force of the blast—gradually, that shockwave and the heat subsided, and— "——?"
Noticing that everything he could feel had gone silent, Subaru raised his head in a daze.
He had meant to check with his voice, but the ringing in his ears was so overwhelming he could hear nothing. His open eyelids registered nothing at all—apparently even the optic nerve had taken severe damage.
He reached out a hand and touched the skin of the earth dragon beside him; only the sensation of its body shifting confirmed it, and finally his shoulders relaxed with relief.
He could see nothing. He could hear nothing.
But he was alive. And Patrasche, too, was apparently alive.
He could feel something wet repeatedly nuzzling his soot-covered face. He couldn't see it, but it might have been Patrasche's tongue. A thought arose—that it was endearing, like a dog—alongside a visceral fear, as if his skin were being sanded.
But neither the voice nor the hand that might have stopped it could move.
He was simply exhausted. Too many things—truly too many—had piled on top of each other.
Wasn't it all right, just for a moment, to rest now?
He felt his consciousness slowly receding, and surrendered to the encroaching darkness.
His vision would not clear. His body would not move. His ears, still, heard nothing.
"——!"
Only the faintest vibration of air grazed his skin, and his neck—somehow—turned toward it.
He could hear nothing. He should have been able to hear nothing. And yet, inexplicably, he felt a profound sense of ease.
He could hear nothing. Right now, nothing— "——SUBARU!!"
Ah, what was that. —There, he had heard it after all.
With that final sigh of relief, Subaru's consciousness sank into a deep, deep sleep.