——For Subaru, this was his third visit to the village in total.
The first time he'd visited with
Even knowing how tiny it was, the village now felt like something far too large for Subaru to handle on his own.
Three hundred people—heavy words, but investigating every last one of them was impossible. And his window of opportunity, if he was being optimistic, was today and tomorrow at best.
"Still, you finished your work remarkably early today."
"Barusu was so sharp it was creepy. I wonder what got into him."
"Heh heh, it's my dormant potential finally blossoming. Ram-chi, don't be shy—you can go ahead and praise me straight up. Just don't fall for me!"
His morning's work had earned high praise, leaving him practically floating on air.
It was the result of pouring everything into wrapping up his mandatory tasks so the afternoon's shopping trip would be a sure thing. Usually when he threw himself into something this hard, he'd end up spinning his wheels—but this time, for some reason, the tension had melted away and he'd found himself approaching everything in a natural, relaxed state.
Naturally, the memory of
——He'd been put at ease, hadn't he.
The mental strain from his past interactions with the twins—ones that had forced him to put up a brave front—now hardly weighed on him at all.
A measure of nervousness remained, but that served to bolster his resolve and keep him on his toes in a good way.
So, just as he'd promised, Subaru strolled through the village with flowers in both hands—though his heart was perfectly calm, trembling no more than the barest degree.
That applied both to how he felt facing the two of them, and to the wariness he needed while operating in the village.
——He couldn't afford to act suspiciously and tip off the person of interest.
From last night's Q&A with
Before cursing someone, the curse artist had to touch their target—or at least make some form of physical contact. Viewed purely as an assassin, this was an extremely risky condition.
Compared to what his knowledge from the old world suggested—simply sniping from a safe distance would do—the curse artist had to expose themselves to considerable danger.
But it was precisely because they paid that price that the absolute fulfillment of the curse after activation was guaranteed.
In any case, "The suspect's profile hasn't changed—among the villagers I encountered on my previous two visits, it has to be one of them."
And if this person was a recent outsider who'd arrived within the last few days, that would essentially confirm it. Narrowing down the candidates would be easy.
Gazing at the quaint village scenery, Subaru spun his memories at full speed, combing through the past. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall every person he'd met in the village.
He'd spent most of his time inside the mansion up to this point—his eyes had been focused inward, so to speak—which meant digging up old memories was an additional struggle.
"Off the top of my head, there's… 'Rejuvenation Granny' and the youth brigade. 'Ram-Rem Fan Club,' 'Village Chief,' and the kids, I guess."
These were the most memorable faces in the village.
'Rejuvenation Granny' was an old woman with a truly impressive level of sexual harassment audacity—Subaru still had a fresh memory of her grinning lewdly while groping his backside. Apparently, she'd go around pinching any young man she found and muttering, "Rejuvenate, rejuvenate," or some nonsense like that.
The youth brigade was exactly what it sounded like—a group formed by the village's young men. Their leader was a loud, crew-cut, sports-club type who kept clapping Subaru on the shoulder, which was absolute torture for the indoor-type Subaru.
The 'Ram-Rem Fan Club' was just what he called them—neither Ram nor Rem had given it that official name. At first glance, they looked like a group very similar to the youth brigade, also led by a crew-cut leader. They apparently weren't fond of any man who got too friendly with Ram and Rem, and Subaru had endured plenty of shoulder-slapping harassment from them too.
And 'Village Chief' was a short, hunched-over old man. The top of his head was bald, but from either side of it, white hair sprouted upward like horns—a truly distinctive hairstyle. He had a magnificent white beard as well, and paired with his sharp gaze, his overall appearance was the very picture of a 'competent village chief.' Not that he actually served as village chief—he just had that sort of dignified bearing. That was why people called him 'Village Chief' in such an understated way. He'd go around poking people with his cane while grumbling, "Young people these days!"—making him a difficult one to deal with.
"Thinking about it now, there's a problem… pretty much everyone seems suspicious. And they all casually make contact with me every time. Four choices—well, technically three, since option two and three merge into one."
The choices naturally collapsed into three that way. But that was as far as his information went. To dig any deeper, there was only one path forward— "Same old, same old—gotta take the direct approach again, don't I."
That was the only conclusion he could reach.
Subaru sighed at his own inability to think up anything other than brute-force methods, when— "What's wrong, Suba-ru?" "Does your tummy hurt?" "Are you hungry?"
Voices rang out from above him, one after another.
Craning his neck, Subaru looked behind him—toward the small figure clinging to his back.
It was a boy with short brown hair. He looked to be just under ten, probably around early elementary school age. The boy grinned when Subaru's gaze met his. And beyond him, several other small shadows clung to Subaru's legs and waist.
They were all children who barely reached Subaru's waist. There were four of them hanging directly onto him, and if he looked around, he estimated maybe ten in total.
Shouldering what felt like a negligible weight given his trained physique, Subaru prefaced with a "Well then" before saying— "You little ones wouldn't follow me across time and space just to bother me, would you?"
"What're you talking about?" "Did you hit your head?" "Is your tummy broken?"
"Obsessively fixating on my stomach, aren't we? What's with you guys, do you want me to be the diarrhea kid that badly?"
When Subaru said that, the children all burst into giggling laughter. It was less that the joke itself was funny and more that they'd simply reacted to the word "diarrhea."
Talking about bodily functions was apparently a universal ticket to getting huge laughs from kids, even across worlds.
"And my tendency to get dogpiled by children hasn't changed one bit, huh."
With a child who'd climbed onto his back pulling at his cheeks, Subaru could only slump his shoulders at the cruel reality of his constitution.
The antithesis to the absolute loner power born from social awkwardness—the true power of the 'Absolute Loneliness Force (children excepted)' had made its grand appearance.
"For some reason, I've always been popular with kids and old folks. Honestly, I'd be fine if just one person in this world liked me—"
He spun around and entertained the child riding on his back.
As peals of laughter echoed and cries of "Next, me, me!" swirled around him, Subaru led his entourage of children through the village.
Currently, Subaru was operating alone.
Well, not literally alone—he was encumbered from every angle—but in the sense that he wasn't with Ram or Rem, he was on his own.
The maid sisters he'd visited the village with had left some rather discouraging words behind before bustling off to do the shopping: "Big sister, big sister. Let's split up and grab the light stuff first."
"Rem, Rem. The heavy, hard-to-carry things—we'll leave those to Barusu."
They'd probably meant it as consideration for Subaru's wish to look around the village, but he really wished at least one of them had stayed behind. That way, he wouldn't have to deal with being swarmed by children— "…While I'm tense as hell doing a suspect greeting round."
Wiping cold sweat from his brow mentally, Subaru verbalized his plan once more to check its difficulty level.
The method Subaru had chosen to find the curse artist was extremely straightforward.
——He would use himself as bait to lure the curse artist out.
That didn't mean he'd just throw himself out there saying, "Come on, kill me!" Rather, he was deliberately considering stepping into the stage before that—the point where the curse formula would be inscribed on him.
He was aware this was an extremely risky decision. After all, once the curse artist activated their curse, the countdown to Subaru's death by wasting disease would begin.
He was positioning himself as the koi who hopped onto the cutting board of its own volition, waiting for the craftsman's knife to descend. Without getting on the cutting board, he'd never see the face of the unseen craftsman.
"At the very least, Beako told me she can dispel the curse formula itself."
Beatrice could remove curse formulas, and so could
"Suba-ru, you've got a scary face—" "A scary face!" "A weird face!"
"What kind of thing is that to say, pointing at someone's face? Little ones. Oh, and for the third time—I've been listening to you whisper back there!"
Injecting retorts as he went, Subaru dragged the children along through the village.
He couldn't shake them off, and they actually served as decent guides for locating the suspects.
Most importantly, for an assassin who couldn't afford to cause a scene in the village, there was no way they could attack Subaru while he walked around with such a large group of children. This was his human shield—that was the calculation.
"I'm getting pretty shameless. Even I'm grossed out by my own thinking."
"Subaru, what's wrong?" "What happened?" "Did you go senile?"
"Nah, nothing."
As children grabbed at his feet, he patted their heads and laughed self-deprecatingly.
"Well, it's for my own sake. So work with me a little, okay?"
Come to think of it, he'd never really been fond of kids, had he?
Loud, clingy, selfish.
——Maybe he thought they were like him.
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ "I figured the free time was almost up, so I came to check on you, and…"
Ram tucked a hand into her pink hair and let out a sigh of exasperation.
Receiving her cold stare, Subaru swung his arms in wide circles.
"I wasn't doing anything weird! …Ah, sorry, just a little more. —Alright, arm swings and leg stretches!"
He moved his body in loose, dynamic motions, loosening every stiff muscle. The children mimicked his movements, and surrounding them—just a beat behind—was a group of elderly villagers and the youth brigade.
They finished with a deep breath, everyone synchronizing.
Then, as a final flourish, everyone thrust their hands toward the sky and shouted in unison— "Victory!!"
Cheers erupted. Subaru found himself high-fiving the people around him, then wiped the light sheen of sweat from his forehead and pushed through the chatting crowd to Ram's side. In stark contrast to Subaru's refreshed demeanor, Ram regarded him with eyes as cold as ice.
"So what was that little sideshow?"
"Sideshow? It wasn't anything that grand. I was just entertaining the ankle-biters, and the adults watching got into it too."
He'd pulled out Radio Taiso No. 2 as a way to deal with the nagging children all at once—the ones who kept demanding he play, play, recognize them, recognize them. Come to think of it, his stint as a radio exercise instructor had only lasted once before, and he'd seized this opportunity to take it public.
"Well, the reception exceeded even my expectations. Kids to grandparents—everyone enjoyed it! Maybe that's the secret to its enduring popularity over the years!"
"I don't know."
"She shot me down cold!"
Ram's deadpan response sent Subaru sprawling backward dramatically, and the children—having watched the whole thing—mimicked his reaction and toppled over too.
"Ram-chi's so cold." "Ram-chi's mean." "Ram-chi's scary."
"…Who taught them to call me that?"
"Well, it wasn't on purpose or anything. But you know, being approachable matters! If you keep your distance, you can't really see the other person's face. …It's lonely, you know? I think that… I think—"
"What a silver tongue you have. Ram doesn't mind that much, but Rem might find it unpleasant."
"Rem-rin?" "Rem-rin!" "Rem-rin-rin!"
Watching the children tilt their heads while echoing the name, Ram seemed to finally give up and shrugged her shoulders.
She turned back to Subaru.
"So, did you enjoy your time in the village?"
"——Yeah, on that front, everything went smoothly."
Answering Ram's question, Subaru curved his cheeks into a grin.
The village stroll—though it was only a pretext for making contact with the suspects—had gone off without a hitch, even exceeding Subaru's expectations.
It helped that these were conspicuous figures to begin with, but more importantly, they'd been the ones who wanted to make contact with Subaru in the first place. They'd shown up without him even needing to look, so regardless of the overall flow, he'd managed as much physical contact as last time—or more.
He'd been careful to avoid letting anyone touch him deliberately, and he'd exercised meticulous attention to make sure nobody besides the key named characters emerged as suspects.
"I would have loved to show off my evasive taijutsu—constantly changing angles, dodging left and right. …But when you've got this many ankle-biters swarming you, there's just no helping it."
He sighed at the children who still clung to every part of him. Unlike the adults—who would give up after one failed attempt—the kids' vitality was something he simply couldn't handle.
But with Ram here to pick him up, it was time to say goodbye to the young ones.
Subaru filled his eyes with parting reluctance and said, "Alright, I've got work to do—beat it, you brats. Oh, what a shame. If I had more time, I'd have played with you even longer. Ha ha, what a shame."
"So refreshing—" "While laughing—" "Are you really that happy?"
"Oh, shut up! If you actually want me to pay attention to you, think about how you talk to your elders! Kids calling an adult by their first name right off the bat—it's gonna make you realize just how low your social skills are and feel terrible about it!"
And having just yelled at children, Subaru keenly felt his own low social skills. A downward spiral.
Waving at the pouting children, Subaru followed Ram's eyes—she was signaling him to hurry to their meeting point with Rem. But just before they set off, someone tugged on his sleeve. He turned his head to find a brown-haired girl with pigtails shyly trying to hold him back.
"Oh?"
A surprised sound escaped Subaru involuntarily.
Unlike the kids who'd been aggressively in his face, this girl had been watching him from a step back, stealing glances.
He crouched down to meet the eyes of the girl, who had her head lowered.
"What's up? If you've got something to say, I'm all ears."
"Um… over here."
The girl tugged his sleeve and pointed in the opposite direction from where they were supposed to meet Rem.
Subaru couldn't bring himself to shake off that delicate tugging hand, so he glanced toward Ram as if asking permission. She let out a small breath.
"Go ahead and do as you please for a little while?"
"Wow, thanks, Senpai. Sure, let's see what this is about."
He let the girl lead him by the hand.
She took the lead, and the same group of children followed in a shuffling line behind her. Whether they knew the destination or not, every last one of them wore a mischievous grin and whispered among themselves.
"He's gonna be so surprised!" "He's gonna be so happy!" "He's gonna happy-pee!"
"Surprised, happy, and then happy-pee—am I a poorly trained puppy? With expectations that high, my contrarian side kind of doesn't want to be surprised at all…"
Nudged along by the children's snickering, Subaru followed the girl between houses and into a shaded corner with no sunlight.
And there, he found what the children had wanted to show him.
"Ah… right, this event existed too."
A voice of understanding escaped him, and Subaru clapped his hands together, nodding vigorously.
The girl released his hand and took off running. The quieter type, she returned breathless, cradling something in her arms, and presented it to Subaru.
It was a small creature that looked like a 'puppy,' covered in brown fur.
It looked like it had only just been born—its body length, even fully stretched, couldn't have reached thirty centimeters.
Its round, innocent eyes and soft-looking fur were more than enough to awaken the fur-lust in Subaru's blood as a self-proclaimed Mofumofu enthusiast.
His arm reached out of its own accord, but he barely managed to restrain himself and let out a long breath.
It was the pampered pet of the village, surrounded by children and adored—practically royalty. But based on past experience— "Hraaargh!"
"Called it…"
The instant Subaru approached, the creature bristled all over in a show of hostility.
Its tiny body trembling with wariness drew surprised looks from the children.
"It's usually so docile!" "It only hates Subaru!" "What'd you do to it, Suba-ru?"
"I'd love to know myself. Three times now—maybe this is just a compatibility issue between me and this little guy."
Despite the children's boos, Subaru observed the small animal that showed no signs of becoming friendly.
Assuming no ulterior motive, this would be his third encounter with this particular creature. Getting the exact same reaction from the same individual three times in a row almost made the loops worth it. For some reason, the loops Subaru experienced never let him repeat the exact same path as last time.
"But if I had my choice, I'd prefer a friendly reaction when it repeats like this."
Being disliked three times in a row genuinely stung.
Subaru fawning and flashing his ingratiating smile. Then suddenly, the puppy relaxed its guard, loosening its body. Seeing it curl up in the girl's arms, Subaru seized the moment and moved in.
"Well then, pardon me."
He directed his fur-elevated arms—raised by Puck—toward the ball of fur with everything he had.
First, a preliminary test: the head and back, then the belly's texture. From there, he moved to the extremities—the tips of the paws, the inner thighs—a route for connoisseurs. His recent favorites, the ears and tail, he saved for last.
"Ooh, as expected of the fluffball of my dreams. This is some top-tier mofumofu-cation! But yeah, strays do have some roughness to their fur. Daily brushing and love are what make the difference."
"I don't get what Subaru's saying…" "Mofumofu? Mofu-ri-cation?" "A grown man getting all dreamy over a puppy is kind of creepy…"
"Three for three—who's the third?!" Subaru yelped.
The chestnut-haired pretty boy who'd volunteered for the third spot smiled innocently at Subaru's retort. Cut that moment out and he'd look like an angel—that was definitely what inflated his ego.
"How many girls is he gonna make cry in the future. …But seriously, mofumofu really is something—the pinnacle of human culture."
As the soft texture soothed his roughened heart, Subaru became ensnared in the mysterious charm of mofumofu.
No wonder cat cafés were so popular. In normal circumstances, who would even think to combine cats with a café from a hygiene standpoint? The person who came up with it must have been a truly exceptional Mofumofuist.
"Fluffball and Mofumofuist are drawn together by fate. That's poetic. And you, little guy, are adorable. Although, there are a few spots that bother me. Oh—there's a ten-yen… no, a one-yen bald spot on the top of your head. It's going white, too—what did you bang your—ouch!"
Was pointing out the insecurity the trigger? The puppy, which had been tolerating him until now, suddenly bared its teeth.
It sank its small fangs into his left hand with a crunch, and when he hastily pulled free, a thin line of blood trailed across the back of his hand.
Subaru looked at the wound and said, "Well, well…"
"What a rate of event completion. Even the wound's in almost the same spot—wait, did you time-leap too?"
He lightly dabbed at the bleeding cut as he asked, but the small animal—now fully on guard again—answered only with threatening growls.
Once more, a standoff between a man and a beast. The children watching this unfold commented: "Because he got cocky." "That's what happens when you touch it without permission." "And this one's a girl, you know."
"The points of criticism keep drifting… and nobody's worried about me at all. By now, the tsundere should've warmed up and gone dere!"
He protested the children's attitude, but not a single one listened. If anything, his loud voice had startled the creature— The puppy shuddered, wriggled free from the girl's arms, and bolted toward the bushes.
"Ah." "Ah." "Ah."
"Now all three of you say it in unison?! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! It's always like this!"
Subaru stamped his feet, apologized profusely, then waved goodbye to the children who went off to look for the puppy.
Parting ways with them—children who, until the very end, had left their marks all over various parts of his body—Subaru hurried back to where Ram was waiting.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
The tall maid leaned against the wall with her arms crossed. She cracked one eye open at Subaru's approach.
"I'd like to discuss the fact that the junior I sent off expecting him back quickly returned with his hair in a shambles, his clothes in disarray, and blood dripping from his left hand."
"I really am sorry! A lot happened—you can see for yourself."
"I can. I was watching, so I know most of it."
Ram's composed features showed a trace of worry, and she let out a small sigh.
Subaru frowned at her uncharacteristic behavior, but in the next moment, Ram looked at him and let out a short "Hmph" before saying, "That wound and that appearance—embarrassing. Let's head to Rem quickly. She can heal both."
"Oh-ho~ Ram-chi is the 'can't use healing magic' type?"
"I can perform the crude method of cutting off the afflicted area."
"That's way too dangerous for a folk remedy!"
Subaru couldn't hide his horror. Then, without warning, Ram stepped closer, tugged his sleeve, and began leading the way.
It was rare for her to be the one to initiate contact like this, and when Subaru blinked in surprise, she turned her head just slightly.
"Barusu. Coming or not?"
"I'm coming. With you."
As he answered, Subaru caught the briefest flash of Ram's lips softening.
Just like that, he walked along with her leading him by the sleeve.
He thought, not for the first time, that if she were always this honest, she'd be adorable—then again, perhaps it was precisely because she was always honest with herself that such cutting remarks came flying out of her.
Honesty, too, depended on the time and place.
With that thought in his mind, Subaru followed Ram toward where Rem was waiting—walking slowly, more gently than usual, sensing that same unhurried pace in the back that guided him.