"How did your talk with him go?"
"About the same as usual, and if anything, even more annoying than usual. Read between the lines."
"I see. I'll file that under 'about the same as usual,' then."
Leaving the drawing room and heading toward the mansion's east wing, the group found their guide this time to be Frederica. The fierce-looking maid, with her long golden hair and impeccably donned uniform, exchanged polite greetings—finally, as one of the mansion's proper maids—with Anastasia and Julius. Then she turned to Subaru, who was trudging along with a sour expression.
"Did Garf prove useful to everyone during your travels and in the city? I made sure to tell him all manner of things before he left, but to think he'd come back with such severe injuries… I was worried he might be causing trouble for Lady
"Yes, there's no need to worry. Garfiel worked incredibly hard for us. He and Otto-kun are resting quietly now… I do hope he's actually resting quietly. I asked him to take it easy, at least."
"My worthless brother has caused you such distress. I apologize."
Even Emilia couldn't offer a fully reassuring endorsement, leaving Frederica looking abashed.
All things considered, Garfiel's behavior was a constant source of concern for Petra,
Garfiel's strength had always been exceptional for his age of fifteen. Listening to accounts of his fierce battles against the "Hakugei" and the "Guiltylowe," he might have still been far from self-proclaimed strongest, but he was undeniably one of the top fighters not just in Emilia's camp, but across the entire continent.
His greatest weakness was likely still his immaturity—that fragile mental state. Once he overcame that, he would ascend to yet another level.
Still, there was no need to rush that journey. Steadily and surely, like climbing stairs one step at a time—that was the proper way to grow at the age of fifteen.
Besides— "There might also be a reason he couldn't come straight back this time, you know."
"You mean Mimi?"
"That, too, but…"
Emilia chimed in with an air of casual eavesdropping, and Subaru managed a wry smile.
Even Emilia, who supposedly had no understanding of romantic love between men and women, apparently possessed a healthy curiosity when it came to other people's love lives. She was thoroughly fascinated by the relationship between Garfiel and Mimi.
Of course, Garfiel had put his life on the line to shield Emilia, and Mimi had been flagrantly open about her feelings before and after battle. It was only natural that affection had grown between them.
To be blunt, Subaru was no exception to this. When someone you held in favorable regard relentlessly threw their feelings at you, no man remained unmoved.
Having some personal experience in that department, Subaru couldn't really cast judgment.
How Garfiel would respond to both his feelings for Ram and Mimi's affection was something worth watching in the days to come.
But separately from all that, Garfiel had left behind an unresolved issue in the city of Priestella.
"—Subaru? Did you need something from me?"
"No, nothing from my end. I just figured it wouldn't be my place to say anything about this."
When Subaru stared meaningful at Frederica's profile, the woman in question questioned the intent behind his gaze. Deflecting her query, Subaru let his imagination drift to Garfiel's heart. The family Garfiel had been concerned about in Priestella—a family with golden hair and jade-green eyes, reminiscent of the features shared between Frederica and Garfiel themselves.
The relationship between that family and Garfiel, and what it meant for his bond with Frederica.
Surely, that was something Garfiel would want to report to his family—Frederica, Ryuzu, and the rest—with his chest puffed out in pride.
"That's why I'm not saying a word.
"Oh, speaking of Garfiel—he made some really close friends in Priestella, and those kids were…"
"Emilia-tan, Emilia-tan! You're ruining my inner monologue!"
Her natural tendency to bridge every gap was threatening to undermine the whole thing, so Subaru clamped a hand over Emilia's mouth. Leaving them alone was asking for trouble in terms of synergy, so he resolved to set aside some time and properly brief Emilia on all the background details.
He gave a disarming smile and a wave to Frederica, whose expression had grown ever more suspicious.
"Sorry to interrupt while you're all warm and chummy, but where exactly are we headed?"
"Ah, there's a place we call the 'Zashiki-Roro.' The person we're looking for is there."
"Ah, that person, then. —Do you think the talks will go well?"
"Hard to say until we try. At the very least, it's worth hearing her out as a backup plan."
Behind them, Julius wore a complicated expression, deep in thought. In truth, Subaru was well aware of how many problems this proposal carried. But if things went well, it could significantly reduce the risks of their upcoming journey.
"Besides, she's taken a real liking to Subaru, so it should be fine, right?"
"The one she's genuinely attached to is more like Garfiel than me. Maybe she's into feline-type people… and hey, don't come any closer."
He responded to Emilia's optimism with a wry smile, and that was when Frederica came to a stop. At the same time, the group was confronted by a floor of the mansion that was unmistakably different in atmosphere from the rest.
The general layout was the same as the original mansion—a true Roswaal estate—but the underground section of the east wing was the one place where the change was obvious.
The mansion's core, with all the essential living facilities concentrated in the central main wing. The servants' quarters and guest rooms, along with multipurpose facilities, were housed in the west wing. The east wing served as storage and archives for the Mathers family's historical legacy, books, and other possessions.
Only the underground portion of the east wing was an exception. Within that cold, stone-built space, the subterranean nature of a nobleman's mansion was paired with a clear, unmistakable purpose.
"My, what a dreadful atmosphere this place has."
Anastasia sniffed, delivering a succinct assessment of the shift in mood. And it was an evaluation no one could deny—a unanimous verdict. The air pervading this floor could only be described as "unpleasant."
"It's not quite miasma, but my body doesn't feel right at all."
"I imagine the building's structural design and the original purpose of this facility both play a role, but ultimately, it's the presence lurking within."
Anastasia and Julius exchanged words as they gazed down the staircase leading into the dark underground. They had already been told this was the "Zashiki-Roro," so the two of them must have had a near-accurate idea of what this underground facility was.
"Then allow me to show you the way. Please be careful not to slip."
With that, Frederica led the way down the stairs. The tall woman's back disappeared downward, and the rest followed. Julius and the others wore expressions of grim resolve.
On the stone staircase, their footsteps echoed with unnervingly loud clarity. Cold air drifted up from below, faintly stirring their bangs—an itch on the nerves that was inexplicably aggravating.
"I shall open it."
At the bottom of the stairs, an iron door loomed directly before them. The door was fitted with multiple sturdy locks, and Frederica proceeded to undo them one by one.
Click by click, the locks and bolts were disengaged. The iron door groaned open with a creak. Beyond it stretched a stone corridor, and at its very end, yet another door could be seen.
"The person in question is on the other side of that door."
Frederica stepped aside, lowering her head. With a nod to acknowledge her gesture, Subaru took the lead, and the four of them walked straight toward the far door.
—The door at the very end of the underground passage had no lock.
All it took was reaching for the handle and pushing it open to be face-to-face with whoever was inside.
Tentatively, Subaru touched the door. He held his breath and glanced behind him.
"—"
Emilia, Julius, and Anastasia were all watching Subaru's every move intently. He nodded to the three of them, took a deep breath, and gripped the handle with renewed resolve.
Then, with a sound, the iron door was pushed open—and— "Graaah, graaah! I'm gonna eaaat youuu!"
"Nyahh! Help meee, nooooo!"
"Hee hee hee hee! No matter how much you beg for help, nobody's coming!"
As the door swung open, bright light spilled into the corridor, accompanied by a flood of voices.
Beyond the open door, inside the room, a girl sat with her back to them, surrounded by a multitude of stuffed animals. She held a doll in each hand, busily playing with them.
Switching between voices, she was playing every role at once, utterly absorbed.
"Of course they'll come! Because, because, they promised they'd come when I was in trouble… huh?"
The girl hugged a small girl doll to her chest, rose to her feet, and suddenly seemed to notice something. Turning around fearfully, she saw Subaru and the others standing frozen at the entrance, and her large, round eyes went wide.
Brown hair worn in pigtails. A plain, endearing face. A young girl.
"Hey. How've you been?"
For starters, Subaru raised his hand and called out, pretending nothing was amiss.
"B-Bro, you idiot! At least knock before you come in!"
Predictably, his little prank earned him a furious shout.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ "So that's the gist of it. This is Meili, our mansion's resident prisoner, who's going to be advising us on the matter of the magical beasts."
"I've been corrupted… hurt by brother… *sniff sniff*…"
In the corner of the room, squatting among a circle of stuffed animals and looking thoroughly dejected, was the girl Subaru introduced as Meili. Julius pressed a finger to the bridge of his nose and shook his head.
Casting a sidelong glance at the girl while admonishing Subaru for his theatrics, Julius said: "There's fault on our end for not fully briefing ourselves beforehand, but… you have a remarkably poor character yourself. You simply can't resist pulling a stunt at every opportunity, can you?"
"I wouldn't call it a stunt, exactly… okay, I'll admit it was in bad taste. But she really is dangerous, you know! That's not a joke."
At Subaru's defense, Julius regarded him with deep suspicion. Paying no mind to the distrustful men, Emilia and Anastasia approached Meili side by side.
"Sorry, Meili. I'll make sure to scold Subaru properly later."
"My, what a cute little thing! Between
"That's a terrible thing to say—don't say that with such conviction! I didn't collect little girls on purpose, you know!"
The nickname "Lolicon" was rapidly gaining threatening credibility, and Subaru wished people would stop making jokes like that.
In any case, the thoroughly sulky Meili refused to listen to a single word from Emilia or Anastasia. The fact that someone with such childish sensibilities could be so stubborn was oddly incongruent.
"Meili."
"Can't heaaaar youuu."
"Meili, come on."
"Don't knoooow."
And there it was. Once she locked herself in a refusal to listen, she was impossible to deal with.
So Subaru decided to deploy his final measure right away. Reaching behind his back, he produced what he had been hiding and thrust it toward Meili.
"Here, Meili. A souvenir—take it. A new stuffed animal: the Dare Panda."
"—! Oh, it's so cute!"
What Subaru held out was a stuffed animal he'd been quietly stitching together during the carriage ride back from Priestella.
Over the past year, Subaru's domestic skills had improved by leaps and bounds—sewing included. He could make stuffed animals, and at this rate, he might even be able to tailor women's clothing.
The new stuffed animal was modeled after a panda, with the added flair of a "wilted from the heat" aesthetic. He felt he had seen something similar somewhere before, but it wasn't something he'd assert across dimensions, so he let it go.
Presented with the new creation, Meili's eyes lit up as she accepted it.
"It's so cute! A new friend! What should I name you… Got it! You shall be called Da Panda!"
"That's… remarkably on the nose."
Setting aside her naming sense, her ability to see through to the essence of things was genuinely impressive.
Clutching the panda plushie tenderly, Meili turned back to Subaru and the rest with her mood restored.
"Oh, by the way—welcome home, brother and big sisters! You were gone for such a long time. Petra was lonely, you know?"
"Was it a little over a month? And now we're about to go on another trip, so Petra's probably going to be mad at me…"
"Petra loves you so much, brother. …Oh, new faces?"
Rearranging the scattered stuffed animals back onto the shelf, Meili finally seemed to register Julius and the others. Julius looked surprised by her rapid mood shift, but Anastasia nodded with a practiced expression.
"Compared to Mimi, this is practically a breeze in terms of being jerked around."
"When you put it that way… you're right. Let's be grateful to Mimi."
The master and servant reached an odd consensus there. Then Julius suddenly let his gaze wander around the room. Taking in the underground space, he remarked: "Still, they called it a 'zashiki-ro,' so I was imagining far harsher conditions… but it's surprisingly livable in here, isn't it?"
"Because the occupant is a girl, and nobody wanted to make her suffer. …There are reasons we can't exactly let her go freely, so it's complicated."
Emilia's brow furrowed with a look of inadequacy. But as she said, the "zashiki-ro"—Meili's living quarters—was, frankly speaking, remarkably lenient for a place of confinement. The stone corridor looked cold enough, but the room at the very end had bright-colored wallpaper and carpet, and since Meili wasn't restrained in any way, she was free to move about. The shelves were lined with several of Subaru's handmade stuffed animals, and books and toys for passing the time were scattered about.
She wasn't deprived of meals, and bathing and sanitation posed no problems. In short, it was an ideal shut-in paradise. Subaru himself might have preferred it.
However— "A peculiar atmosphere, something close to miasma, continues to seep out endlessly from her."
"That does seem to be coming from her as well."
Under the others' gazes, Meili nodded with a bright smile. Yet from that plainly innocent-looking girl, a ghastly, bone-chilling aura bled through—impossible to fully conceal. This was the foremost reason Meili was kept confined here and not released.
"As we discussed on the carriage, this girl's background was essentially that of an assassin who targeted Emilia and the rest of us. That's fair to say, right?"
"That alone already sounds like cause for concern, but do go on."
"That was a loaded way of putting it… Anyway, she's an assassin. And what this girl does with her small body—put simply, she controls magical beasts. She's a 'Beast Master.'"
"That's right. I get along really well with the bad animal friends."
Meili puffed out her chest with a smug "eh heh," but the content of her revelation was nothing short of shocking.
Magical beasts were, by nature, creatures that would never become tame to humans—they were enemies of mankind. The sole exception, supposedly, was that if a beast's horn was broken, it would obey the one who broke it. But— "In Meili's case, she can exert influence regardless of whether the horn exists or not. I don't really understand the logic even when it's explained to me," Subaru said.
"Mama told me that for magical beasts, I serve the same role as a 'horn.' That's why I can be friends with all the magical beast friends!"
The role of a magical beast's horn—what that actually meant remained hazy.
After all, in this world, no research had ever been conducted into the ecology of magical beasts. Certainly, there were people who made a living hunting them, but even they probably only understood the beasts' habits, not from a scholarly perspective.
"At first, Meili came to attack us alongside one other person. Garfiel defeated the other one, and we captured this girl. Since then, she's been sheltered here in the mansion."
"But why? If she was an enemy, wouldn't it have been better to just finish her off? …Although, I suppose it would be hard to do that to a small child…"
"…I can't even fathom killing her. But releasing her isn't easy either. Because, according to her—"
"Mom would be angry at me. Elsa is dead, and I failed too, so if she finds me, she'll definitely kill me. That's why staying here is the safest."
Meili answered in a casual tone, though shadows crept across her features. She had lost her partner Elsa, failed in her mission. Their guardian—presumably the boss of their assassination ring—would never forgive that failure. Banishing her only to face her punishment… that was indeed her own consequence, and it had nothing to do with Subaru and the others.
"But it's safe to say the dream readings would be terrible."
"You and Lady Emilia's way of thinking is nothing new, Subaru. We're merely outsiders, and it would be out of line for us to offer our full opinions. …By the way, about this 'mother'?"
"No clue. Besides 'Mama,' everything about her is a secret. According to Meili, she doesn't even know what the woman looks like. What kind of family is that?"
But when your line of work was assassination, perhaps living in the shadows was unavoidable. In any case, extracting information about this mother from Meili and eliminating future threats seemed difficult.
"That bastard Roswaal—even with Elsa dead, he says there's no point of contact now? Useless…"
"Did you say something?"
"Talking to myself."
The crest incident that occurred the day Subaru was summoned to the royal capital had been orchestrated by Roswaal. Naturally, Elsa—who had targeted Emilia's life—had also been operating on his commission. Following the thread back to when she was hired should have made it easy to identify the contact point. But for some reason, that lead had gone cold when the contact died. The subsequent attack by Elsa and Meili, if Roswaal's word was to be trusted, had nothing to do with his plans. The existence of that "mother" was unsettling.
"In any case, that's where things stand with Meili. She's here because circumstances demand it. We're not trying to coddle her, at least not intentionally."
"By that measure, though, Subaru, you've all been going a bit easy on her."
"As for that—I prioritize pleasant dream readings!"
After all, having a playful little girl confined in a cold underground space was heartbreaking. It wasn't something you could just forget if you tried, and ignoring it would yield terrible dream readings.
So if there was no particular grudge to hold, it was better to let her live in comfort.
"…Normally speaking, wouldn't she have a grudge against you?"
"…Huh?"
"She did say you tried to kill her, didn't she? So wouldn't—"
"Well, senseless malice exists, and evil is evil regardless of age. But if someone without the capacity for judgment was ordered to commit evil, then the one who gave the order bears the blame. Especially when it comes to children. If they had the capacity to think for themselves and chose to do it anyway, then the conditions would be the same. But an eye for an eye—that's just the Code of Hammurabi, and it only ever leads to more negatives."
"That's awfully idealistic. Do you think the people she's killed up to this point would accept that reasoning?"
"I don't. And if those people wanted to take revenge on Meili, that's their prerogative. If someone I knew had died, I wouldn't be forgiving like this either."
In the end, Subaru's opinions and way of thinking shifted drastically depending on how he encountered someone. If people called that fickle, driven by emotion, lacking a core principle—so be it. That was probably true.
"When I was a kid, the responsibilities I couldn't shoulder on my own were taken up by my parents and other adults. So when there's a child close to me—one I can get along with—who can't take responsibility for something, I think it's okay to try and take it for them. That's all."
"…What a precious perspective. Thank you for that."
Anastasia, who had gradually lost interest midway through, offered that as a closing remark. Of course, Subaru didn't take offense—that was probably the normal reaction. In any organization that valued strict judgment, evil would be judged as evil regardless of age. The only reason this kind of leniency existed was because their camp was a lenient one. And Subaru didn't think that atmosphere and environment were a bad thing.
"I—"
"Hm?"
"I don't think what Subaru's saying is all that strange."
"…Thanks."
He hadn't been seeking complete affirmation, but words like that were a comfort.
Turning back to Meili—who had been left out of the conversation despite being its subject—Subaru lowered himself to her eye level.
"There's something I need your help with. Would you be willing to come along?"
"…Sure. I'll come with you, brother."
To Subaru's request, Meili nodded quietly.
Neither Subaru nor anyone else pointed out what he thought he glimpsed—the faint sheen of tears at the corners of her eyes as she buried her face in the panda plushie she held.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ "If it's the
After hearing Subaru and the others out, Meili spoke while fidgeting with her pigtails. She closed her eyes, recalling memories.
"I went to replenish my hand of magical beast friends. There were so many magical beasts there that it went really fast, but…"
"But?"
"Are you guys really going? I think… anyone besides me would probably die…?"
Even from the eyes of a girl devoid of moral compass, Subaru and the group's plan apparently seemed reckless. How extreme was the situation she had experienced for even the foremost magical beast expert's opinion to carry such weight?
"I'd love to hear an experienced person's account, but the 'you'll die if you go' opinion has already been thoroughly debated, so there's no point bringing it up again. And as far as navigating the desert labyrinth goes, we already have a plan prepared on our end."
"That'd be us!"
Anastasia waved her hand cheerfully, advertising her role as guide.
However, merely avoiding getting lost only earned about thirty points out of a hundred for conquering the desert en route to the Watchtower—guaranteed failure, in other words. In truth, unless a perfect solution was found for this problem, surviving the crossing was probably impossible.
Three problems lay ahead: the "Desert Labyrinth," the "Magical Beast Lair," and the "Sage's Eye."
If Anastasia—
"So, do you have any ideas—like a way to avoid magical beasts, or even lure them away?"
"If brother ran off alone, a whole bunch of them would definitely come!"
"I've already tried that several times and paid the price for it."
Once at the mansion a year ago, once on the plains with the whale. Time to retire that strategy.
Of course, if it was the only option, he wouldn't hesitate. But being stranded alone in the middle of the desert was something he wanted to avoid if at all possible.
"If brother doesn't work, you could get a bunch of decoy people instead. Magical beasts always go for living creatures over regular food, so that might work."
"That's absolutely not okay! I'm against it! I'm opposed!"
"You don't need to be that worked up about it—nobody's going to choose any of you, so it's fine."
Still, constructive ideas didn't seem forthcoming. If even Meili, who had more experience with magical beast ecology than anyone else, couldn't think of an effective strategy, there wasn't much they could do.
"So in the end, we just have to fight through any magical beasts that attack? We'd be counting on Emilia and Julius for that."
"Your conspicuously leaving yourself out of that equation is an interesting indicator of your self-assessment… But do you think it's feasible?"
At Subaru's suggestion, Julius posed the question of practicality to Meili. Looking back and forth between Emilia and Julius, Meili replied: "I think it probably wouldn't work. Can you two use magic nonstop for about a week?"
"That's like the last desperate days of trench warfare!"
"I… could try…?"
"No good! The conversation is going in a terrible direction! Emilia-tan's hair and skin will get all rough! Rejected!"
A brute-force approach was, from the ground up, impractical.
He didn't know exactly what Meili had witnessed, but if her childish exaggeration had any basis in reality, they absolutely could not afford to take that risk.
"What about smearing magical beast blood on the carriage to throw off other beasts' sense of smell?"
"No, earth dragons can't be fooled, and for all we know it might attract even more beasts, like sharks to blood. How about hiring escorts? Or at this point, something like the massive army we had for the
"That won't work either. Remember the story I told you about the challengers who aimed for the
"Unless it was something on the level of the White Whale, we'd just get swarmed by sheer numbers. It'd be great if there was something as easy as bug spray for keeping magical beasts away."
Subaru's body odor—or rather, the
"Would it work to have Roswaal grab us and attack from the air?"
"If we could slip past the Sage's Eye, that might have been an option."
"Ugh, crap—that too, huh?"
The Sage's Eye.
Even if they avoided the desert and the beasts, the Sage's problem remained. No one who had attempted this before had successfully slipped past, so there was no telling what it would do—but at the very least, it would help if they could narrow the problem down to a single issue.
"—Oh, fine, I guess I have no choice."
"Hm?"
Surrounded in a circle on the floor, Subaru and the others were racking their brains when Meili finally spoke up. Rising to her feet, she gave a small shake of her head in front of the seated group.
"I can come with you. If I'm there, I can handle the magical beasts however you need. I can drive them away, tame them, make them fight each other—even feed them to that Sage person if you like."
"No! Everything after 'drive them away' is off the table!? Besides—"
Subaru's eyes went wide at the extreme suggestions, but more than that, he was stunned by the proposal itself. That Meili would volunteer to leave the mansion—something she had never once expressed willingness to do.
"You're scared of going outside, aren't you? Are you sure about this?"
"It's not like I'll run into Mom the second I step out. I'm scared of being found, but I can't stay inside forever either."
The awareness that she would eventually have to leave was surprising. But perhaps it was inevitable. They had taken turns visiting her room over time, but she still spent far more hours alone in that room. She must have had enough quiet contemplation to make the silence itself terrifying.
Being alone in a room was comfort and terror in equal measure. And that feeling, even after it numbed, would return whenever it pleased to torment the heart.
"Subaru…"
When Subaru sensed a strange resonance with Meili's feelings, Emilia gently tugged his sleeve. He understood what she was thinking, because he felt the same way.
"This won't be a fun outing. There's a guide, sure, but we're crossing a desert. You'll be there, but we're going through a magical beast nest. And to top it all off, a scary Sage might be watching."
"It's been a while since I've had a walk outside—sounds just about right to me?"
Meili said it with a defiant upward gaze, pressing her advantage. He couldn't tell how much of that was bravado and how much was genuine—but— "You're the trump card for the magical beast problem, right?"
"Yeah, that's right. Count on me, Meili."
"You don't even need to ask."
Emilia and Subaru exchanged a glance, then nodded toward Meili. The girl straightened up slightly, declared it as such, and hugged the panda in her arms even tighter.
And so, with the journey's prospects having taken a step forward, Julius—who had watched the whole exchange unfold—crossed his arms and offered one remark, with an expression of genuine admiration.
"I hate to say it, but you really do seem to have a talent for courting young girls. …Not exactly a skill you'd want to be known for."
"That's exactly the kind of thing you guys say to keep pushing me into the 'loli collector' role! And for the record, Meili isn't even that small! We're talking about actual little—"
At Julius's utterly unhelpful remark, Subaru stamped his feet and pointed toward the door. And just then, the door opened from the other side, revealing— "—And what's all the commotion about? What trouble has Subaru gotten himself into this time?"
The person in question—the young girl—had finished her private audience with Roswaal and rejoined them. There was yet another fuss after that, but it was an incident that went without saying, and so the matter was closed for the time being.