It was the sensation of being abandoned in a dark, cold place.
Dark as though eyelids were shut tight, cold like pressing one's cheek against abandoned iron—the kind of environment that left him nothing to hold onto. While savoring the feeling of shackles binding his entire body, he desperately cried out for salvation.
That was why he kept reaching out, frantically, lost in the act of stretching his hands toward anything within reach.
But at the very last moment, the reason he reached toward the white light descending before his eyes was different.
The light—no, it was a girl whose expression concealed a resolve born of sorrow. He hadn't reached out to her because he was seeking salvation. He'd reached out because he thought he had to save her.
And so, he twisted the chains that tried to even deny him the slightest movement, and extended this hand—his own hand.
His own, this hand— "—Small."
Staring at his hand that had come into his blurred field of vision,
The hand palm-facing the ceiling was his own hand, an extension of his shoulder. He could clench it, close it—it moved exactly as he willed. Without question, his own hand.
However, it was one size smaller than Subaru expected. A child's hand.
In other words— "I failed to return..."
He had labored and labored, struggling to grasp what should have been his comeback chance. It had literally cost him what felt like dying over and over, and yet that chance had slipped through these very fingers.
How much sacrifice had he paid for what he'd let go of?
How much—how much sacrifice— "—! Right, what am I doing!?"
In that instant, his hazy consciousness jolted back, and Subaru pressed the hand he'd been staring at to his face.
The memories returning to him connected the bizarre incident he'd encountered in the magical city with the even more harrowing game of tag against that terrifying Olbart.
Upon the countless "deaths" he'd accumulated, he had clawed out victory—and should have succeeded in having Olbart undo the "infantilization."
He remembered Olbart touching his chest, attempting to reverse Subaru's "infantilization."
The next moment, he'd expected words of love whispered into his ear—but instead— "My consciousness just blew out, and then... and then?"
Subaru groped through his muddled memories, trying to figure out what had happened. But no matter how hard he pushed or pulled, the door containing his severed memories refused to open.
As Subaru gritted his back teeth against the door's stubbornness and the mounting frustration— "Now, now, don't be so anxious. Take it easy. Fortunately, you've still got your life, and there's no rush—you could wait until the young lady accompanying you wakes up before doing anything."
"...Huh?"
A voice suddenly came from right beside him, and Subaru turned to look in stunned silence. There, lying next to him on the same hard cot, was a person propping their cheeks on both hands.
A person peering into Subaru's face from impossibly close range with a beaming, full-faced smile.
"Whoa!?"
"Whoa there. Nice reaction, but you might want to keep it down. Make too much noise and the island lord might glare at you and set up some troublesome death matches. Though, personally—"
"Eh, ah, eh..."
"I don't dislike that sort of twisted taste. In fact, I quite enjoy it."
Before Subaru, who had shot upright and was now going cross-eyed, the blue-haired man spoke with easy nonchalance.
He had long hair tied back behind his head and wore an outfit reminiscent of traditional Japanese garments—something rarely seen. Surprised by this unfamiliar face, Subaru swallowed and chose his words, chose his question.
An unfamiliar person. An unfamiliar place. An unfamiliar environment. An unfamiliar atmosphere— "...Who are you? Where is this place?"
"Oh, now that's a wonderful question! Simply excellent! Just as I hoped—no, even better!"
"Huh?"
Subaru had intended to watch cautiously, sizing up his opponent. But the other person's eyes lit up with delight, seized his hand before he could react, and shook it up and down so hard his shoulder nearly came out of its socket.
Subaru hadn't let his guard down. And yet, he'd been unable to react at all.
Before the stunned Subaru, the blue-haired person released his arm with a "phew," spun around on the spot like a dancer, and— "Allow me to answer! To you—whose eyes swirl with auspicious portent—as you stand on this island, having crossed the black lake, having arrived at
With theatrical gestures and a stage-worthy delivery, the stranger spoke with an audacity unusual for a first meeting. But the person paid Subaru's thoughts no mind whatsoever, carrying on with his performance as though it were his natural right.
As if he were a leading actor who deserved nothing less than a standing ovation— "—
He spread his arms wide and struck a pose as he announced his name—like an actor's dramatic flourish on stage.
Of course, there was no such thing as stage acting in this world, so he wasn't imitating anything real. Still, that dramatic pose carried an intensity that stole one's breath.
Though, what truly robbed Subaru of his breath wasn't the dramatic posture—it was that familiar ring. The moment he realized where he'd heard it before, his face twisted.
He'd heard it from Abel's lips.
That name was one of the "Nine Divine Generals"—and Number One at that.
"I am Vollachia's Blue Lightning. The star of this world's stage!"
Facing someone who declared this so grandly, Subaru stared in mute astonishment.
The name and the title both matched his memory. They matched perfectly—except for one enormous problem.
Which was— "Vollachia's strongest is... a kid?"
The Cecilus Segmunt grinning before his eyes was a boy around the same age as the shrunken Subaru, looking every bit the mischievous brat.
--- The severe effects of the "infantilization" were eroding both Natsuki Subaru's body and mind.
The physical effects were obvious—Subaru now had the physical capabilities of a roughly ten-year-old child, just as he appeared. Strength, speed, stamina, explosiveness—all regressed to pre-pubescence.
Though, given that Subaru's baseline physical abilities had always been questionable by this other world's standards, the difference might have been negligible. A sad truth, but there it was.
Far more serious than the physical decline was the impact on what lay inside.
"My brain feels weaker..."
The phrasing was imprecise, but it captured his situation well enough.
His capacity for ideas, thinking, and drawing on knowledge had diminished. Even if the desk was the same one he'd always used, the drawers were harder to pull open, and the ones on higher shelves had become completely out of reach.
The hellish game of tag played out in the watchtower of Pleiades Keep against Olbart—he had needed an absurd number of trial-and-error attempts precisely because his thinking had deteriorated. Had he not shrunk, the solution would surely have come faster.
Probably, he could have avoided some of that pain, at least a little.
Fortunately, he'd made it through thanks not to himself, but to his precious people.
Their voices, their encouragement—he felt them resonating in his head— "No, no, that's not it..."
A warmth welled up unbidden, and Subaru hurriedly wiped at it with his hand.
A mingled sense of relief and melancholy—he suspected it was close to homesickness. Before the infantilization, busyness and a sense of responsibility had kept it at bay, but apparently a child's body came with a lower threshold for tears. If he wasn't careful, he'd break down sobbing.
"...Don't cry. Don't cry. Am I an idiot? Yeah, I'm an idiot."
No matter how much he lamented, the strength of his absent companions was beyond his reach.
Evaporating his tears through sheer will, Subaru forced himself back to the real issue. If he didn't do this, the chance to reunite with them would never come.
What mattered now wasn't his weakened mind or the homesickness welling up. He had to look squarely at the core of the problem.
That is to say— "Abel and Medium told me about Number One's age, didn't they...?"
Sniffling, Subaru searched his memory for the answer.
Cecilus Segmunt—he'd heard this person was the strongest of Vollachia's "Nine Divine Generals." Which meant he was the most powerful person in the entire Empire.
The whole reason they'd headed to the magical city Chaos Frame had been the plan to recruit Yorna—one of the Nine Divine Generals—as an ally. To reclaim the throne, they needed as many of the Nine on their side as possible.
So naturally, they should have discussed Number One as a group.
Which was why Subaru was prying open this stubborn drawer, trying to force out an answer— "All I can remember is that he had no charisma and wasn't very reliable..."
Whether that was because the impression had stuck, or because that was genuinely all he'd been told, the extent of Subaru's information on "Number One" ended there.
Unfortunately, it contained nothing about appearance or age—exactly what he needed now.
"But if the reason he has no charisma is that he's a child, that makes perfect sense."
In an Empire where strength was supposed to command respect, the strongest person having no following seemed like a paradox.
But if that strongest person was a child, it suddenly made sense. No matter how strong, plenty of adults would balk at following a kid.
Just as Subaru was reconciling his prior knowledge with this new information— "It seems you've reached some kind of conclusion."
Subaru looked up at the voice and found Cecilus—the blue-haired boy—standing right in front of him, still holding the exact same dramatic pose from before.
Subaru had completely ignored him while lost in thought, and he blinked.
"S-sorry. I left you hanging there the whole time."
"Oh no, no, pay it no mind! I'm used to being ignored during discussions, you know! Being left sitting there in silence is old hat! Ahahaha!"
"I... see..."
Cecilus flashed his white teeth and cheerfully confessed this rather sad fact about himself.
Subaru was taken aback by the attitude, but if the boy wasn't offended by the rude treatment, that was a relief. He had a mountain of questions he wanted to ask.
So many, in fact, he didn't know where to start.
"Sorry about being rude. I'll apologize again. I'm..."
"Like I said! No problem whatsoever! I don't mean that rudeness and contempt are perfectly acceptable, of course, but I have enough magnanimity to let a certain amount slide. Being petty and narrow-minded just screams 'background character' and 'extra,' doesn't it?"
"O-oh, yeah. Thanks, that helps. So I'm..."
"Oh, speaking of which! You were thinking hard about something, so I didn't ask, but how was my pose just now? It was pretty much my all-out dramatic expression, so I'd love to know if it landed! I'm considering adding it to my introduction routine—or at least putting it in the running!"
"W-wait, let me finish what I was saying..."
"Right, right! There's so much I want to ask too, I can barely contain my curiosity! How about it! Tell me all about everything in vivid detail—"
"Listen to me!!"
Subaru tried to speak calmly, but the other's lightning-fast patter cut off every attempt.
Afraid of being swept away by the momentum, Subaru instinctively raised his voice. The moment he did, Cecilus's sharp eyes went wide with surprise.
"Oh dear, did I do it again?"
"That was, like, a template-level response in my world..."
"Le-vel? Tem-plete?"
"It's a word from my homeland that means something like 'degree' or 'cliché.'"
"Oh ho, from your homeland! How intriguing! Ah, that's what I shouldn't do, then."
The Blue Lightning's eyes sparkled, and he immediately lunged at whatever caught his interest.
Maybe that epithet—like lightning, falling from great heights—symbolized his character's all-too-honest relationship with desire. He was completely restless.
—Though perhaps that, too, was an act to conceal his true nature.
"So, so, what will you tell me? I can barely contain my excitement wondering what I'll get to hear! Aaah, I feel so alive!"
"...It doesn't look like an act at all."
A boy whose glittering eyes hungered for the story Subaru would tell.
An attitude that seemed completely removed from deceit and scheming—it was questionable whether he was capable of lying at all. For that matter, what purpose would there be in setting traps for Subaru in his current state?
Without Abel at his side, Subaru was nobody in the Empire. —Of course, there were exceptions who would relentlessly target his life, but still.
"But those are the extreme of the extreme, and I'd rather never meet them again if possible."
"—? What's wrong?"
"Just talking to myself. Oh, and my name is Natsuki Subaru... ah."
Subaru tilted his head at Cecilus's confusion, introduced himself to deflect it, then immediately thought "stupid"—realizing his carelessness.
When cross-dressing, he'd gone by "Natsuki Schwartz" and been careful not to let his real name spread carelessly through the Empire. But a child's thoughtlessness had undone all that.
What if—just barely possible—someone in Cecilus's position, one of the Empire's greatest generals, knew the names of the Royal Selection candidates from the neighboring
"...The family name is Natsuki. My given name is Subaru."
"I see, I see! Then I'll call you Subaru! Though if I find a better name, I'll switch on a whim, so don't hold it against me."
Cecilus waved his hand with a casual air, his expression utterly blank—as if the name didn't ring a single bell.
Subaru felt relieved by that, but a small seed of doubt also sprouted in his mind. Was this boy really Cecilus Segmunt?
"......"
Come to think of it, self-identification alone was something anyone could do. Of course, the boy in front of him was no exception. Just as Subaru had self-identified as "Natsuki Subaru."
Naturally, the name and epithet of Vollachia's strongest, the Blue Lightning, were well known.
Running into the strongest in Vollachia by sheer coincidence in a place this suspicious was too convenient. More naturally, this was a child who admired the name and title of the Blue Lightning and had claimed the epithet for himself.
"Oh my? You seem rather suspicious. What's on your mind?"
"...Are you really the Blue Lightning?"
"There it is! I get asked that every single time!"
Subaru had aimed straight, putting his suspicion out bluntly since he was no good at probing. Cecilus burst into laughter.
Whether this boy should even still be called Cecilus was questionable, but it seemed other people besides Subaru had doubts about his identity too.
However— "Declaring 'I'm the real deal' in words is easy, but that doesn't prove anything, does it? And as for hidden details about me that could serve as proof—even if I shared them, you couldn't tell real from fake. You don't know me that well, Subaru."
"That's... yeah, you're right."
"Then arguing about whether I'm real or fake would be a waste of time! Let's cut the waste and move on to the next topic! That's far more constructive—I'm a specialist in destruction, after all!"
Subaru felt like he'd been smoothly talked into submission through sheer force of personality and fast talking, but when someone barraged him without pause for breath, there was no room for objection. Besides, while extreme, his argument was valid.
Subaru had no way to verify whether this was the real Blue Lightning. He didn't even have a clue. Suspecting the provisional Cecilus wouldn't lead to any answers.
In that case— "......"
Setting Cecilus aside as his focus of interest, the next question that arose was about the situation itself.
He'd been trying to get Olbart to undo the "infantilization," and then his consciousness had gone blank—no, it had been swallowed by something far darker and vanished.
But he hadn't simply fainted from nothing; that much was obvious.
For one, the bed Subaru was lying on was a sorry piece of furniture.
Even in the resource-scarce Shudrak settlement, efforts had been made to make beds comfortable with soft grasses and plants. This bed bore no such consideration whatsoever.
It was just a platform—lie down on it and that was enough.
Contributing to this grim impression was the room's contents, or rather, the lack thereof.
Cracked gray walls, a floor stained with grime that wouldn't come out, damp air that felt oppressive in his chest. Comfortable was not a word that applied.
It felt like being locked in a cell.
"Ceci, can I ask you something?"
"Ceci! What's that? Could that possibly be for me?"
"I wasn't sure whether I could call you Cecilus when I can't tell if you're real or fake..."
Not that he was planning to meet the real Cecilus someday or anything—it was just the compromise Subaru had reached for this boy of indeterminate authenticity.
Calling him "provisional Cecilus" would be rude, and frankly a hassle. Aside from the suspiciously familiar behavior, his attitude was quite friendly, and Subaru didn't want to be disliked.
"He might be the friendliest person in the Empire... no wait, he probably can't beat Medium or Flop. But it'd be close."
That said, there were cases where someone started friendly and then flipped completely, so overconfidence was inadvisable.
If that was the case, then the fact that
Hadn't Flop been the one to speak up back then? He probably couldn't stand seeing Subaru with Rem.
"Ceci, Ceci, is it... What a special ring to it! A curious resonance! Come to think of it, I've never been called by a nickname before. What a fresh, delightful experience!"
Meanwhile, Cecilus was riding the high of receiving his first-ever nickname.
Subaru had chosen something rather simple, but if it made Cecilus this happy, pouring cold water on it would be rude—and there was no need for an alternative. He didn't have any other ideas, anyway.
"So, getting back to the subject... This isn't Chaos Frame, is it?"
"Chaos Frame... the magical city? No, not at all. Quite the opposite—it's on the complete other side of the Empire from east to west! Like I said, this is Ginunhive, the Gladiatorial Island."
"Ginunhive..."
Rolling the unfamiliar word around on his tongue, Subaru twisted his lips.
Setting aside the place name, that title gave him a bad feeling. If Chaos Frame had been called the "magical city" because so many demi-humans lived there, then Ginunhive must have its own reason for its title.
Ginunhive, which was to say— "—Gladiatorial Island?"
The word "gladiator" conjured images readily enough, and it was familiar.
Yes—he was sure it was a word Al had occasionally grumbled about. Something about having spent over a decade as a gladiator somewhere, dying over and over.
He'd lost his left arm in the process but somehow survived, escaping that place.
If so, then this was— "Could this be... a death game venue...?"
"A death game? Is that another word from your homeland? What does it mean?"
"...Like a Colosseum. A place where people fight to the death."
"Ah, I see! Then I grasp it quickly! This is indeed a death game venue!"
"——!"
A terrible chill seized Subaru. As he fearfully voiced his suspicion, Cecilus laughed.
With his light, airy tone and hands clasped before him, Subaru could have sworn he'd misheard. But no matter how long he waited, the words he wanted to hear never came from Cecilus's lips.
—No, something did slip out. But it wasn't what he wanted to hear.
"So, welcome to the Gladiatorial Island. Young ones like you and me rarely end up here—quite rare, in fact—and even those who do tend not to live long. So I have high hopes!"
"You—"
"You?"
"This is insane! That's... that's got to be some kind of mistake!"
Subaru's face went pale, his voice cracking as he shouted at Cecilus.
This was simply too much to accept. The idea that he was in such a place—it had to be a mistake.
"Because until I woke up, I was in Chaos Frame—"
"No, no, you were on this cot the entire time, even while sleeping. You were thrashing about. I understand the discomfort makes for bad dreams, but even then, you weren't in Chaos Frame—"
"That's not what I mean! You know that, right!?"
"Hmm."
Subaru bristled at Cecilus's obtuseness, snapping at him through gritted teeth.
Cecilus closed one eye at the outburst and settled into a listening posture without interrupting. His expression made Subaru's gaze dart around the room as he spoke.
"I was in Chaos Frame. Me being here is a mistake. There were others with me."
"Even if you call it a mistake, you are, in fact, here. If I accepted that logic, I'd be the one who'd been teleported from this island to the magical city."
"If I ended up on the Gladiatorial Island, couldn't the reverse be true too!?"
"That's an interesting thought. —If that were the case, I could tell you right away."
Subaru's frustration was met with a shrug from Cecilus, who quietly extended his arm. His slender finger pointed toward the far wall of the room.
—No, not the wall. He was pointing at a barred window set into it.
Moist wind flowed inward through the window, positioned high up, but connecting to the outside.
"No, no, no, no...!"
Lips trembling, Subaru scrambled off the bed.
His bare feet hit the cold floor and his head swam with a wave of weakness, but he fought it down and rushed to the window. He jumped, grabbed the iron bars, and hauled himself up awkwardly, resting his chin on the window frame.
Then, straining to see the view outside— "A... sea?"
"Yes, a lake."
Looking at the landscape beyond the window, Subaru stared blankly and murmured.
Cecilus picked up the murmur and moved to confirm it. But Cecilus's confirmation was wrong. Subaru had said "sea," not "lake"—he hadn't misspoken.
That was right. Cecilus had gotten it wrong. If Cecilus was wrong about that, maybe the view outside was wrong too.
Of course, Subaru knew perfectly well that was just wishful thinking.
"A black lake as far as the eye can see..."
"The entire island is surrounded by a lake. The only way to cross to the opposite shore is via a single drawbridge, which must be raised or lowered. A natural fortress—or a prison!"
Unable to hold himself up any longer, Subaru slid down from the window with a thud. He sank to his knees on the floor, head hanging, while Cecilus's patter continued at full force.
In such a hopeless place—why was this boy so upbeat?
"Why..."
"Hmm?"
"Why are you so cheerful about this?"
If Subaru had been an adult, he probably would have hesitated and been unable to ask so directly.
With no self-restraint as a child, the question simply tumbled out.
To Subaru's disarmingly honest question, Cecilus turned around with eyes brimming with childlike excitement and said: "Because I can feel it—the end of the prologue!"
"Prologue..."
"Pitiful me, thrown into this 'death game venue' with only a vague understanding of what's happening, condemned to fight one bloody battle after another! And now, carried on the wind into my midst—a fresh breeze bearing an omen entirely different from the scent of blood! It would be a lie to say the story won't move from here!"
As Cecilus rambled on, gesturing and holding up fingers, Subaru couldn't understand a word. —No, that wasn't true. He understood perfectly well. He just didn't want to.
Because truly grasping what Cecilus was saying meant— "After all, it would be a sacrilege against proper storytelling to keep a star actor caged backstage! That simply wouldn't do!"
—The strongest in Vollachia, the Blue Lightning, was a story-obsessed lunatic.
--- A story-seeker who craved drama, Cecilus Segmunt was a talker.
So much so that one might suspect he'd continue chattering endlessly if left alone.
"So, I was sort of taking a casual stroll outside when I happened upon you, having just crawled ashore! Incredible, isn't it? This kind of thing doesn't just happen every day. Truly fateful! Or shall I say, story-worthy!"
"......"
"You probably don't know this about me, but I've always had pretty good intuition. Today I felt like the wind was beckoning me, so I went walking and found you. It's frightening to be the favored one of the world."
"......"
"And of course, the fact that you survived that situation means you too are favored by the world! Let me put on a good show—Subaru... Barru... hmm?"
Cecilus tilted his head, muttering to himself about something.
Subaru let the meaningless, substance-free chatter wash over him while padding forward on bare feet across the cold stone floor.
Stepping out of the room where he'd woken and wandering this unknown land was reckless.
But there were things he needed to confirm.
"It's true, right? That I wasn't alone?"
"Hm? Oh yes, quite true. And I must commend you for it—rescuing your companion in addition to surviving that ordeal! Truly an act blessed with both luck and courage... the work of a certain kind of talent!"
"Talent and courage, whatever. So, this companion—"
"She was a small girl. About the same size as... oh! That's actually quite a nice-sounding name, isn't it?"
The conversation had strayed easily from the main point, but he'd gotten the information he wanted.
What Cecilus was apparently pondering was the nickname Subaru had given him in retaliation. As long as it wasn't something truly horrible, anything would be fine.
What mattered was the information just beyond that— "—Louis."
If the person was around Subaru's age—well, around the age Subaru currently was—then the obvious candidate was Louis. Medium had been shrunk to roughly the same age, but she hadn't been in the watchtower, so she was off the table.
Honestly, Subaru's feelings about Louis were a tangled mess.
"I have no intention of abandoning you until that answer is confirmed. And besides, if your power could..."
If Louis's "transfer" ability could be used, they might be able to escape this dangerous island.
The full picture of the island was still unclear, and Cecilus was the only person he'd encountered, but from what the boy had described, it was undeniably the worst possible environment for a child.
Therefore— "I need to get off this island. As soon as possible."
"A grand ambition, but there are many walls in the way. From what I've heard, only one person has ever escaped from here. In fact, that escape is what led to the creation of the 'Curse Rules.'"
"Then I'll be the second. No—the third, counting my companion."
Subaru shot back without thinking as his determination was challenged. Hearing this, Cecilus raised his eyebrows slightly, then let out a high-pitched whistle.
It seemed to have pleased him somehow, but Subaru didn't have the luxury of dwelling on it.
And then— "Suba, it's here."
After walking for a while down a dim, damp, cold corridor, Cecilus suddenly stopped. He'd clasped his hands behind his head and jutted his chin toward a room with a grimy wooden door.
Subaru looked up at the door. "What is this place?"
"This is the healing room. Also called the corpse room, since quite a few people who didn't quite die in the arena come here to finish the job."
"Y-you mean it heals people? Where are the healers?"
"Healers! We have Rejuvenators to some degree, but nobody with such rare magical abilities is stationed here. If they were, there'd be fewer corpses—but that goes against the island lord's policy."
"......"
Subaru fell silent at the offhand reply.
It had slipped his mind, but magic healers were extremely rare in the
But an infirmary with no healers, where Louis had been thrown— "The girl with you was severely weakened, so she was brought here for that reason. This room's nominal purpose is treating the injured, after all, so there are basic supplies—blankets and such. Treatment for us gladiators is as I described, and the sleeping conditions were terrible, right?"
"...Only you're a gladiator, Ceci."
"Ahahaha, that's right! Now then, let's proceed to the emotional reunion!"
Reading through Subaru's thoughts on two levels, Cecilus clapped him on the shoulder.
Subaru swallowed his retort under the force of the gesture, steeled himself, and approached the door. Pushing it open, he grimaced at the foul smell pouring out.
The stench was a nauseating mix of blood and rot—the height of unhygiene.
Was sanitation simply dead here? In the not-entirely-large room, worn-out tools and haphazardly washed bandages hung drying. Amid these thoroughly unpleasant conditions— "Your companion is asleep over there."
"—! Louis!"
Cecilus pointed to a bed in the back as Subaru's gaze darted around.
True to its role as a makeshift medical room, there were two beds slightly better than the one Subaru had been lying on. On the further one, a small figure was bundled under a blanket.
Driven by urgency, Subaru rushed over. Even as he fumbled for what to say to Louis, he moved quickly.
But— "...Huh?"
Rushing up and reaching to shake that small shoulder, Subaru froze in shock.
Not because he couldn't find words. —Because he couldn't find the person to speak to.
The girl who had been laid there—the one who had supposedly been brought to the island alongside Subaru—was not the Louis who had complicated Subaru's heart in so many ways.
Two horns that stood out against the small head, flaxen hair trimmed evenly at the shoulders. Stripped of the ornate kimono and reduced to a simple undergarment, her diminutive body lay bundled on the bed.
This was not Louis.
Nor was it Medium, who had accompanied them to the magical city of Chaos Frame and been shrunk by Olbart's technique.
What lay before him was— "...T-
His trembling voice drew no response from the sleeping girl.
But no response was needed—one look told the whole story. The girl who was neither Louis nor Medium was Tanza, the deer-human servant of Yorna Misigua, mistress of the magical city.
"Why—why is she here...?"
"Oh dear. Did I do something wrong again?"
Subaru stared in shock at a face so different from what he'd expected. Behind him, Cecilus played dumb.
Of course, it wasn't his fault. It wasn't his fault, but— "This is wrong! I was told Louis was here!"
"Was that so? I'm pretty sure I said there was a girl who'd come to the island with Subaru. That she turned out to be someone other than who you expected is surprising to me too."
"Ugh..."
Subaru couldn't counter Cecilus's perfectly reasonable explanation and found himself at a loss for words.
He had to concede the point—he was the one who'd assumed "the girl companion" meant Louis.
But this was wrong. Why was Tanza here with Subaru?
If Tanza was the one who'd been with him— "What happened to Louis...?"
Pressing his hand to his head, Subaru worried about the safety of the unseen Louis.
Because of her identity, Abel, Al, and Medium viewed Louis with suspicion. Yorna might protect her, but only because she didn't know who Louis really was.
If Yorna learned that Louis was a Sin Archbishop, her stance would change—just as Medium's had.
And Subaru could find no reason for Abel and the others to keep Louis's identity hidden.
"I have to bring her back to Rem..."
Louis's existence was the thin, fragile thread connecting the memoryless Rem to Subaru.
Louis had followed without permission, but Subaru had his own reasons for needing to bring her back. Above all, Subaru himself hadn't decided what to do about Louis.
And yet, he didn't know where Louis was, and he was somehow on this island.
"This is no time for that...!"
Everything was a jumbled mess, and Subaru's thoughts wouldn't come together.
But he knew one thing for certain—he needed to get back to Chaos Frame from this island immediately.
"If possible, I should bring her too—"
"Oh my, is that all right? I thought she wasn't the one you were hoping to find?"
"She wasn't. But there's no reason to leave her behind, is there? Besides, Yorna must be looking for her too."
Yorna, whose love ran so deep that she wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice herself even for a child she'd only just met.
Without her, Subaru never could have won his game of tag against Olbart—or even placed that strange old man at the center of the wager to begin with.
So returning Tanza to Yorna would be a natural way to repay her kindness.
"I admire your enthusiasm and your thinking, but as I mentioned, I believe it will be difficult."
However, Cecilus's response poured cold water on Subaru's feelings.
His manner of speaking and behavior hadn't changed from the start, but Cecilus's assessment was fundamentally blunt. That said, Subaru couldn't afford to be deflated by the harsh reality.
"I heard you. You're saying it's hard to get off. But if we find a boat, or lower that drawbridge you mentioned—"
"Ah, the drawbridge must be 'raised,' actually. That's difficult too, of course, but the real problem lies elsewhere entirely. The biggest issue is the Curse Rules, the Curse Rules."
"Curse Rules...?"
An unfamiliar term, but being called the biggest problem meant it couldn't be ignored.
As Subaru furrowed his brow, Cecilus said "Indeed" and tucked both hands into the sleeves of his kimono.
"Cursed rules—the Curse Rules. These are the laws laid down by the lord of this Gladiatorial Island, Ginunhive. Terribly troublesome and overwhelmingly powerful. Break them—die! Defy them—die! Resist—die! A curse of death!"
"...Ah."
"They blanket the entire island. Do you understand?"
Cecilus twirled around on the spot as he spoke, sleeves fluttering.
His light, airy delivery carried no weight of seriousness, but laughing it off as a lie seemed impossible—the very existence of this death curse fit all too well with what the Empire was supposed to be like.
"S-so then, nobody can ever leave?"
"Yes, that's correct. If they could, I'd have escaped long ago. The lake monsters are fearsome opponents, but I can run on water if I put my mind to it. Did you know? The technique for running on water—you extend your left foot before your right foot sinks—"
Cecilus launched into a well-worn explanation, lecturing the stunned Subaru.
Apparently there was a method for running on water that involved quick steps before the first foot could sink. Given the superhumans of this world, plenty of people could probably pull it off. But this was no time for that kind of escapism.
"Th-this island lord person... they're the one casting the curse? Then couldn't we get them to undo it? I'm here by mistake—"
"Ha ha ha, what a funny joke! Whether it was a mistake, a mix-up, or plain wrong—once you set foot on the island and the curse mark is branded on you, you're a gladiator. The mark remaining even after your role is assigned is simply proof of that."
"——!"
His desperate hope was shot down, and Subaru involuntarily gasped.
Whenever he heard the word "curse," nothing but bad memories surfaced. And sure enough, those memories were now being overwritten by something worse.
"This isn't... a joke..."
Without knowing how, in a place he didn't know, alongside a girl he barely knew—thrown in. And on top of that, if he tried to leave this unknown place on his own, he might die because of a curse placed by someone he didn't know—having learned this from someone he barely knew.
What could he possibly trust? How could he navigate this situation— "...That's right. That's it! Ceci! You're one of the Nine Divine Generals, aren't you!?"
"Oh?"
"Then couldn't you contact someone on the outside? Uh, the sleeping girl, or someone from Yorna's place in Chaos Frame..."
Wild-eyed with sudden inspiration, Subaru seized Cecilus by both shoulders.
Cecilus closed one eye at the sensation, and Subaru forgot his own shame.
Just moments ago, he'd treated Cecilus like a lying boy who cried wolf—and now he was hoping this person truly was what he claimed: the Blue Lightning.
That Cecilus was one of Vollachia's Nine Divine Generals, the Empire's strongest, and someone who'd approached him with such friendly familiarity—so maybe he'd be willing to help.
It was a desperately opportunistic thought—a child's impulse, nothing more.
And therefore, Subaru's hopes crumbled, as they always did.
Or rather, if his thinking hadn't been dulled by the "infantilization," Subaru might have caught the obvious flaw himself.
Which was— "Um, Suba?"
"Y-yeah, what?"
"That Kyū Shinshō you keep mentioning—what exactly is it?"
"...Huh?"
Still holding Cecilus by both shoulders, Subaru stared blankly.
Subaru's brain ground to a halt, unable to process what he'd just heard. And to the stunned Subaru, Cecilus continued with an air of "actually..."
"The truth is, I'm not entirely sure why I'm here myself. I think the story will move forward through some development or other—but I had a feeling it might be you."
With this bombshell dropped onto young Subaru's already overwhelmed mind, Cecilus Segmunt smiled.