—That was the shared sentiment of everyone watching the scene, a feeling of helpless frustration.
"Guh-hey, sis. That load looks heavy. Let me carry it for ya?"
"Garf... it's quite alright. I can't keep being treated as a guest forever; it's rather stifling. So I'm just helping out a little. You should relax and take it easy, Garf."
"O-oh. R-right. Yell if ya need anythin'."
Standing still, Garfiel scratched his cheek with a finger as he offered that terse reply to Frederica, who was pushing a cart. Frederica, for her part, watched him for a moment before seeming to shake it off and refocus her attention on her work.
Small wheels bit into the floor, making a faint sound as they carried the cart down the mansion's corridor.
Garfiel watched his sister's receding figure with a dazed expression.
"...So frustrating."
He tore at his short blonde hair, let out a groan, and walked off in the opposite direction. Subaru, who had been watching this awkward exchange from around the corner of the hallway, pressed a hand to his forehead, lamenting the exasperating dynamic.
"It's been a whole week since they reunited calmly... but those two look incredibly tense, don't they?"
That observation came from
Feeling Emilia's sigh drift away, Subaru stood up and stretched his lower back.
"It's a reunion after ten years... and they had zero contact during those ten years. I heard the parting wasn't exactly a 'let's both do our best' kind of cheerful farewell, so I get that they're stiff, but..."
He crossed his arms and tilted his head.
He got it, but it was still frustrating. Exasperating. Made his back itch just watching.
Ever since reuniting, the Garfiel and Frederica siblings had been like that. What was particularly annoying was that they only put on a decent show for others when people were watching.
Garfiel seemed impulsive and simple, but he was surprisingly sharp and could put on an act. Frederica's acting ability went without saying. Yet despite not seeming to coordinate, those two had managed to fool many onlookers over the past few days.
Of course, Subaru had run into them being alone together suspiciously often, and this time Emilia had witnessed it too.
"From Garfiel's side, it seems like he's trying to bridge the gap, but Frederica doesn't seem able to look at him straight on. They finally meet again after so long, so why?"
"After a parting with complications, simply celebrating the reunion becomes difficult. Well, that's just my manga knowledge talking... The problem seems to be Frederica, huh?"
As Emilia said, Garfiel seemed ready to open up. But Frederica's attitude was less than ideal.
Probably, what Frederica felt was a sense of guilt towards her brother. She had left Garfiel behind in the 'Holy Ground'. During that time, Garfiel had honed his fangs over what was no small amount of time, and nurtured the heart of a stubborn child.
About a third of the trouble surrounding the recent 'Holy Ground' incident could be attributed to that. She certainly bore some responsibility for bringing about that situation.
That said, it wasn't as if Frederica had deliberately trapped Garfiel. It wasn't a matter of谁 being at fault. Or rather, if you had to point fingers, Roswaal was the one to blame.
So, neither Subaru nor anyone else was thinking of blaming Frederica or Garfiel.
—However, the thoughts of those around them and the thoughts of the people involved were likely different.
"It's a thorny situation, huh..."
In the end, it was a story of Frederica's sense of responsibility being too strong.
Originally, Frederica had stepped out into the world to create a place for the inhabitants of the 'Holy Ground' so they wouldn't be stranded when that location was lost. It was a decision too noble and heavy for a girl around ten years old. Perhaps even that resolve stemmed from the act of leaving Garfiel behind.
As a result, the 'Holy Ground' was lost, and the very event Frederica had feared became reality.
Thanks to her efforts, arrangements were being clumsily formed across various places to accept the 'Holy Ground's inhabitants. That achievement was something she herself could be proud of.
Yet, the guilt outweighed the sense of accomplishment, likely because her self-blame was too strong.
"Seriously, that's no good. If you did something amazing, you should hold your head high!"
"Yeah, I think so too. And if you feel you did something bad, you should apologize properly. Then get forgiven... I hope those two can get along."
The hallway was already empty of both Garfiel and Frederica.
Emilia narrowed her violet eyes wistfully towards the spot where the two had stood moments ago. Glancing at her profile, Subaru nodded, saying, "Yeah, you're right."
"Alright then. Maybe we should give them a little push to see if we can help them out."
"A push... you mean help them make up?"
"Exactly. Siblings with a strained relationship, stiff ties between people. If they're too stuck to move on their own, us outsiders can shake things up and let in some fresh air, can't we?"
Clapping his hands, Subaru held up a finger, striking a proposing pose.
Emilia was silent for a while in thought, then nodded with a resolved expression.
"Right. Yeah, I do want family to get along. Okay, let's do it! We'll try our very best and get those two to reconcile!"
"'Try our very best' sounds a bit archaic..." Subaru murmured vaguely to the motivated Emilia, who had clenched her little fists.
As he did, he thought how long it had been since he'd had this kind of exchange and banter.
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ It was only a fleeting moment after the various problems surrounding the 'Holy Ground' had settled when the Emilia camp was struck by the massive headache of post-event cleanup and securing a new base.
The mansion, burned to the ground by Roswaal's scheme (though he denied involvement in part).
Even if they rebuilt, reconstructing something reduced to charred ruins would take time. Apparently, even in this world, there was no convenient magic to restore lost forms or alchemical technology to assemble buildings instantly.
The only option was to hire carpenters from nearby villages or towns, or specialists who built noble mansions and villas.
"In the first place, that mansion was a villa separate from the main residence—a place to hide Emilia-sama before the Royal Selection made her too conspicuous. Once the Selection properly started, we intended to move base to the main residence before long. So, it's really not that big a problem."
That was Roswaal's answer when they sought a new base after the fire.
Apparently, besides the burned villa, the Mathers family owned several other properties, and the one designated as the main residence was being prepared as their future base.
Aside from the staff assigned to manage it, the main residence was uninhabited.
Once preparations to welcome the masters were complete, they would move their base there.
The problem was where to stay until then.
"Rest assured, I have made provisions for that as well. Not far from here, one of my relatives has a mansion. It's a branch family of the Mathers. We can trouble them for lodging. Though we shouldn't impose too heavily by arriving en masse."
Roswaal's "relative" was an uneasy factor, but no one present had any other option but to accept the proposal.
So, as a result of their discussion, the main figures of the Emilia camp would rely on that distant relative's mansion. As for the inhabitants of the 'Holy Ground' and
It was Frederica who had been laying this groundwork, which was a straightforward credit to her capabilities and judgment.
Originally, the inhabitants of the 'Holy Ground' were mostly half-elves or similar mixes, with no one drastically different in appearance from humans, so blending in wouldn't be too difficult.
The differences in habits from not knowing the outside world—the kind people of Arlam Village would surely guide them through without complaint.
Even with appearances in order, various problems would continue to pile up. Yet the fact that no major troubles had occurred yet was thanks to everyone doing their best.
Hopefully, before anything else happened, they could resolve the issues they could see.
—The improvement of Garfiel and Frederica's sibling relationship was deemed a problem to be solved during this time of peaceful boredom.
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ "So that's the story. We're officially launching Operation: Garfiel and Frederica Make Nice... any bright ideas?"
"The first words out of your mouth upon entering a room are such drivel? The sin of interrupting
With a voice devoid of emotion, Ram, seated in a chair, glared up at Subaru.
As usual, her expression was unreadable, but from Subaru's perspective—honed by years of Ram-reading practice—he could see a faint swirl of emotion in her eyes. Right now, Ram's dominant emotion was 'irritation'.
"You always look at me with that gaze, but does it basically mean you're annoyed when dealing with me? Aren't you tired being irritated all day?"
"Rest easy. It's only when I'm facing someone I can't be bothered to talk to, or someone I deem not worth the effort of interacting with."
"Oh, good, I'm safe... Wait a minute."
Subaru frowned, realizing Ram was implying he was one of those people. At his reaction, Ram let out a soft snort and closed the book in her hand.
She then stood up and offered the seat she had just vacated to Emilia, who was standing beside Subaru.
"Emilia-sama, please."
"Thanks, but it's okay. We won't stay long, so we'll be leaving soon."
"I see. Then I won't stand on ceremony."
"Guess you won't extend that courtesy to me. And you really don't stand on ceremony, do you, Big Sis?"
Ram promptly sat back down in the seat she had just offered, making Subaru shrug. However, one part of his words made Ram's brow twitch slightly.
The words that provoked Ram's reaction were probably 'Big Sis'.
"
"...Yes. She sleeps quietly today as well, so deeply you wonder if she's even alive."
In response to Emilia's concerned voice, Ram answered, her voice lowering slightly.
Following their gaze, right beside where Ram sat was a bed, and in it slept a young girl.
Short blue hair, and features identical to Ram's sleeping face. She wore light blue sleepwear, but the only difference from Ram was perhaps the size of her chest, which pushed up the blanket.
The name of the girl who continued to sleep, needless to say, was Rem.
Even after the Roswaal mansion burned down and they moved base, the girl continued to sleep. Until the cause was removed, she would likely remain asleep.
And that—, "Are you still unwilling to accept it?"
"I told you, didn't I? Before we've even exchanged words, I'm not so thoughtless as to swallow everything whole just like that. ...Though it's also because the thing in front of me is too convincing to dismiss out of hand."
Ram answered, a complex emotion swimming in her pale red eyes, and Subaru's lips twisted.
Looking at Ram's expression as she watched the sleeping Rem—Subaru, knowing their previous relationship—found it deeply sorrowful. The older sister adored the younger, the younger revered the older.
Rem and Ram's sisterly relationship had been the very embodiment of that beautiful familial love.
Yet Rem continued to sleep, and within Ram's memories, the name and recollection of that beloved younger sister did not exist.
Even though he knew it, had anticipated it, Subaru felt a surge of helpless emotion.
But still—, "Despite your complicated feelings, you come here every day, don't you?"
"...I wonder why that is. Honestly, even Ram doesn't know what Ram wants. It's just that, somehow, being near this child who calls herself Ram's sister soothes my mind. ...No, there are also unsettling feelings."
"Unsettling feelings?"
"Because I see the same face as my own... it's more than that, I suppose. When I gaze at this child's sleeping face, something stirs deep within my chest. It's a feeling of chasing after an elusive mist, a sensation that I can never quite grasp."
As Ram gently placed a hand on her own chest, Subaru held his breath.
In a world where Rem's memories were lost and everyone but Subaru had forgotten her—within Ram, the only blood relative, the girl's existence remained like a thorn.
Ram herself didn't seem to know the name of that thorn, but if it was what this girl, whom her older sister revered, had left behind, that was probably a sufficient starting point.
"I can tell you stories about her, her personality, anything I know, if you want?"
"—I think it's better you don't."
When Subaru offered to help recover her memories, Ram shook her head.
When Subaru frowned, Ram placed a hand on her lips, considering.
"It's like this void of unfulfillment. There's a hole where this child's existence once was inside Ram. If that's the case, no matter what you pour into it, it will surely spill out. Even though I'm presented with the most obvious condition—that this child is Ram's sister based on appearance alone—it doesn't feel real. The moment I stop coming to see her every day... I feel like even these feelings I hold right now might vanish."
"...So that's the curse of the
Emilia, who had been listening silently, interjected with an expression she couldn't let pass. Before Ram, Emilia's brow was furrowed with a rare flash of anger.
"A Gluttony that devours 'names' and 'memories'... I never had a good image of the Witch Cult to begin with, but this might be the final straw."
"...The Witch Cult."
At Ram's confession, Emilia lowered her eyes and murmured the words softly.
On the other hand, Subaru was shocked by Ram's deduction and sickened by its cruelty.
For Subaru, who clearly remembered Rem, the feeling was distant, but Rem's existence hadn't been 'lost' from the memories of Ram and Emilia. It was being 'continuously lost'. Like the sand in an hourglass that never stopped falling, it spilled endlessly even now.
"So in the end, unless we cut off the cause, there's nothing we can do, huh..."
The more Subaru spoke of his memories, the faster the sand would fall. Or perhaps even from Subaru, memories might vanish the moment they were spoken aloud.
Ram's concern was likely that Rem would vanish from this world entirely.
"It seems Emilia-sama has her own thoughts on the Witch Cult."
Beside the silent Subaru, Ram looked up at Emilia. Under Ram's pale red gaze, Emilia's pale profile stiffened, and then she slowly nodded.
"Up until now, I've had... various thoughts about the '
"————"
"I had... sort of put it in the category of things I wanted to forget on my own. But now that I've remembered, the 'that' inside me and the 'that' of today... I just can't think of them as the same. What happened between then, and how they became like this... I want to know."
"Emilia-tan, I hate to say this, but... those guys aren't really the types you can talk to reasonably, you know? It'll probably be painful for you."
Subaru didn't mean to crush Emilia's resolve, but it wasn't fair to stay silent.
The Witch Cult Subaru knew, from head to toe, was a mass of malice made entirely of fanatics. He didn't know what the 'that' Emilia spoke of had been in the past. But the current Witch Cult was 'that'.
"Thank you. For worrying about me."
In response to Subaru's concern, Emilia offered a faint smile and shook her head.
"It's okay, I understand. The events in my memory, the people I was with... that was over a hundred years ago. There's no way they could still be alive. A hundred years is a really long time for human lifespans. So, I'm not thinking we can meet again."
"But you want to know what happened... is that it?"
"Sorry, for being selfish. But I feel like I'm the only one who needs to know. What happened in that place, what feelings existed there... Jiwu and Mother's feelings... I was the only one who saw it."
As if picturing the two figures in her mind, Emilia's eyes were lonely, yet her lips held a gentle smile.
Her mother's name, and Jiwu. That was Emilia's precious memory, and a memory that connected to the Witch Cult that seemed nothing like the Witch Cult she knew now.
"I'm getting complicated feelings, Jiwu-san..." Subaru muttered under his breath, sighing with what sounded like resentment towards someone he'd never met.
The complex feeling of Emilia calling that name with familiarity and sorrow. If the Witch Cult's policies hadn't changed since that person named Jiwu was part of it, Emilia wouldn't be in such a dire situation.
If they were going to stand by Emilia as allies, they should have been on her side from start to finish. Such selfish grumbling flickered through his mind.
"—But Ram is not confident she can behave as gently as Emilia-sama."
That was a voice, still quiet as always, but imbued with a chilling malice.
Subaru unconsciously held his breath, looking at Ram's profile as she sat watching Rem. She was expressionless, but the overly red light in her eyes danced.
"Whatever the Witch Cult does is no concern of Ram's. I won't interfere with Emilia-sama's desire to hear their story. However, please remember that Ram's revenge and that matter are entirely separate."
"Ram..."
"Witch Cult, Gluttony, whatever—Ram repays what she receives, whether it be favor or enmity. Those despicable curs who drill holes in people's hearts—they deserve to be torn limb from limb."
Rage and demonic presence overflowed from her small frame, making her silhouette seem to blur.
It was as if the overwhelming, massive presence of a 'Demon' stood there in her place.
"Gluttony will be killed by Ram so thoroughly that even remembering the act would be frightening."
That wasn't just determination; it was a death sentence.
The sentence was pronounced here, though its target was absent and the voice remained calm. Nevertheless, it was undoubtedly a death sentence—feeling as if an icicle had been driven into his back, Subaru hesitated to even speak.
"————"
After that, a deep silence fell over the room.
No one dared move, lest the sound break the tension or ruin the fragile atmosphere. It was the person who had created the tension who broke it first.
"That was unlike me," she sighed.
At those words, the previous atmosphere vanished instantly. Subaru relaxed his shoulders in relief.
"Nah, not really. The Ram I know has always been a protective older sister, violent parts included, when it came to her little sis."
"...Is that so?"
Though the words had been fierce, they were undoubtedly born of pure concern for Rem. Subaru appreciated only that part and felt happy for Ram's feelings.
Besides, Subaru couldn't forgive 'Gluttony' either. If possible, he wanted to take Gluttony's head himself, not even yielding that to Ram.
The sensation of killing someone—his desperate battle with Petelgeuse hadn't left Subaru with a clear sense of accomplishment. Or perhaps, at the crucial moment, his hesitation to take a life might be holding him back.
Still, his resolve to defeat 'Gluttony' to save Rem was firm.
"...We got off track." He scratched his head, hiding the dark thoughts he'd just had behind his expression.
Ram had watched with meaning, Emilia with concern, but he managed to smile at them both.
"You're right. You're trying to disrupt Ram's peaceful, unexpected holiday, so you should have come with a suitable purpose."
"What kind of brazen pressure is that? For the record, Frederica is in the same boat as you, but she's helping with the mansion chores because she feels bad about being treated as a guest."
"Ram is recovering from an injury. Besides, Frederica, who works despite being a guest, is the one who can't read the room. ...She probably can't sit still with Garf nearby, and someone like
"Clind?"
The name Ram had spoken with distaste belonged to the young butler serving at the Mathers branch family where Subaru and the others were staying.
He was a slender, handsome young man with an incredible 'competent gentleman' aura. Reminiscent of Julius, but unlike him, his manners were refined and he was extremely considerate.
That was precisely why Subaru found it strange that Ram didn't seem to view him favorably. Though perhaps, from Ram's perspective, everyone except Roswaal looked that way.
"If you want to know about the poor compatibility between Frederica and Clind, ask them yourselves. More importantly, I want to get back to my book, so state your business quickly."
"Sorry for our long conversation. Subaru mentioned it first, but it's about Frederica and Garfiel..."
With Ram's imperious air, Emilia finally steered the conversation back on track.
They had formulated a plan to fix the awkward relationship between Garfiel and Frederica, but it had immediately run aground on the crucial details.
The reason was that neither Subaru nor Emilia had much experience tackling the task of repairing a sibling relationship.
Subaru was an unshakeable only child, and Emilia was too.
Having never been blessed with siblings, the answers regarding a blood tie different from a parent-child one didn't come easily. In their case, even their parental relationships were somewhat unusual, but that was beside the point.
Therefore, they had sought advice and walked around the mansion, eventually arriving at Ram, whose location was clearly known.
After all, for Subaru, she was the closest sibling he knew. Currently, the relationship between the two existed only in Subaru's memories, but considering they had built a good relationship as sisters, perhaps she could offer some useful insights.
Moreover, Ram was an old acquaintance of the siblings involved, Garfiel and Frederica. Perhaps from episodes unknown to them, she might think of an approach to bridge the ten-year gap between the two.
Projecting eyes full of such hopes towards Ram, Emilia's lips stopped moving.
Frowning at the stiffened Emilia, Subaru followed her gaze to whatever she was staring at, and his own gaze halted there as well.
"...What is it?"
Ram, meeting their stares, narrowed her eyes uncomfortably.
In her hands was the book that had caught their attention.
It was titled *How to Bridge the Distance with a Younger Brother or Sister*.
—It seemed they weren't the only ones struggling with sibling relationships.