—The fortified city of Garfiel was known as one of the five largest cities in the Volakia Empire.
Situated along the border of two neighboring nations—the
However, the legend of this city, celebrated for its impregnability, had been shattered more than a decade ago by the Archpriest of the Sin of Greed of the
The damage was the worst recorded in imperial history: thousands of the fortified city's standing soldiers perished, along with
Since then, deep scars had been carved into the fortified city, and to this day, full restoration and recovery of its functions remained incomplete, with tensions between nations maintained at a heightened state.
"So that was the situation of the fortified city as the Kingdom understood it."
At the deepest point of the city, carved into the mountainside of the adjacent Guildley Mountain, stood the Grand Fortress. Roswaal stood by the window of its conference room, surveying the cityscape below with a smile on his face.
The city had shelters of ample size and plentiful provisions, and the refugees and soldiers who had barely escaped the Imperial Capital were housed within them, finally finding a measure of relief.
Below, the realization of that scene employed the multiple fortresses that had been systematically constructed, yet among those structures, not a single one showed signs of being left unfinished.
"I heard the situation was quite different from this... There were persistent rumors that the fortified city was in the middle of reconstruction even within the Empire, you know."
Whether foreigners knew it or not, the truth of the fortified city had not been allowed to reach even the citizens of the Empire.
If any nation were to act on the assumption that the fortified city was incomplete, they would be met with the Empire's full preparedness.
Truly, the Empire was willing to weaponize even its own scandals for the sake of war—it was so admirable it bordered on exasperation.
And then, from that direction— "If the Kingdom's foremost mage held that understanding, then it seems our information control has been functioning quite well."
"Surely you wouldn't leave visible and audible vulnerabilities on blatant display. My, my, I tip my hat to the Empire's thoroughness."
A voice responded to his admiration, and Roswaal turned around with a shrug. Standing there before him was a white-haired old man—Prime Minister
He was the man whose desperate fighting had helped turn the tide during the previous attack on the chain of dragon carriages.
He had once been thrown from a dragon carriage and his survival was feared, but just in the nick of time, Frederica's rescue reached him while pursuing the carriage, and so he reunited with the others at the fortified city.
That said, the circumstances did not allow for an unscathed return.
"How are you feeling? The范围 of the burns was quite extensive."
"I appreciate your concern. Thanks to her, who possesses the power of a healer, I survived. My limbs are somewhat impaired, but... for us, that is more fortune than we deserve."
"——I see."
Berstetz spoke while leaning on his cane with one hand, his right leg dragging slightly.
No matter how potent healing magic might be, overcoming a result that far exceeded the person's own recovery limits would require nothing short of a miracle.
Unfortunately, Berstetz's miracle seemed to have ended at merely saving his life. Though the old man appeared to regard even that as an excessive miracle.
In any case— "Keeping casualties to a minimum and entering the fortified city without losing any notable fighting strength was a stroke of fortune. It's unfortunate that the Prime Minister is left with a lame leg, but no better result could have been hoped for."
That was Selena, who had entered the conference room alongside Roswaal.
She sat at one seat around the round table placed at the center of the room, tracing the scar on her own face with a finger, while pulling out the chair beside her for Berstetz.
At that considerate gesture—so unlike her—Berstetz gave a slight bow and took his seat.
"Count Dragroy's manners are uncouth, but her gestures show consideration... I find myself at a loss as to what to think of you."
"Don't overthink it. I'm the same either way. If this fortress were to crumble, I'd be running while carrying a withered tree of a Prime Minister on my back—and I'd share my candid opinions on the effort while doing so."
"I see. I struggle to comprehend that."
That straightforwardness was precisely what made Selena's appeal so complex, and Berstetz's response to it carried a similarly seasoned impression.
The swarm of Undead Wyverns and the assault led by the "Poison Princess." On top of that, the appearance of the Three-Headed
Yet, counting the survival of Berstetz, it could be said that the lineup had arrived at an almost miraculous resolution.
However, the manner in which that miracle occurred was a matter of controversy.
"Tell me—are you certain? That Lady Lamia can no longer be resurrected?"
Berstetz posed the question from his seat at the round table, and Roswaal noticed a faint warmth in his tone that was uncharacteristic of the man. Unlike Selena, Roswaal did not press the point indelicately.
Instead, Roswaal tilted his chin slightly and said, "It appears that the other party discovered a way to unravel a hybrid technique combining the 'Relic of the Immortal King' with reconstruction magic. Lady
"'Saved' might be a somewhat arrogant way to put it."
Selena, without mercy, pointed out the very words Roswaal had hesitated to utter.
On that point, Roswaal had no clear answer either. He could not gauge whether a life resurrected as an undead would welcome that existence itself.
If he were to offer a personal opinion, he would not condemn the revival of life itself. However, the state of being resurrected as an undead— "—She was saved. Or rather, liberated. I believe either expression is fitting."
"Oh? That's coming from you, it's quite unexpected, Prime Minister."
At Berstetz's words, Selena raised her eyebrows and murmured with interest. Meeting her gaze, Berstetz placed both hands on the head of his cane and exhaled a long breath.
"I do not believe Lady Lamia would have accepted such a state. She herself must have been aware of her own defeat. ...That was an unwelcome resurrection."
"Then you're saying her being destroyed was what she truly desired? Yet for all that, she attacked in ever-increasing numbers—that seems a bit contradictory to me."
"...Even so, I believe Lady Lamia's true intentions lay elsewhere."
Berstetz narrowed his thread-like eyes, and his heavy murmur carried an unmistakable wish.
Roswaal felt as though he understood Berstetz's feelings. Unfortunately, Selena—who was resting her cheek on her fist—seemed entirely unmoved by it.
In any case, that would also be a key point of contention in their discussions.
"The enemy is formidable, and the situation is mired in chaos. We need to stand as one or we'll be in danger—this is no time for us to be squabbling among ourselves, is it, Subaru-kun?"
"...I know that without being told."
With an amused laugh, Roswaal called toward the entrance of the conference room.
The black-haired youth who had just opened the door and poked his face in responded with a grim expression.
※ "Since it was an emergency last time, we didn't get to talk properly, but let me share the information now. This person, Rui—or rather
"Wha—?!"
In the conference room of the Grand Fortress, at the very start of the discussions that had just begun, Subaru laid bare the identity of Spica, who stood beside him, holding nothing back.
Those who had already grasped the situation during the chain of dragon carriage battle naturally received this revelation quietly. The Imperial side, who knew nothing, reacted exactly as expected.
Dumbfounded shock came first, followed by a reaction whose nature was unchanged whether the revelation was truth or jest—namely, fury.
"What—what are you saying! An Archpriest!? Impossible! Do you have any idea this is the fortified city you're making such reckless claims in!? This very city was once reduced to ruin by an Archpriest!!"
That was
Having contributed greatly to the defense of the chain of dragon carriages and joining the meeting with his wounds barely treated, Goz's outburst was probably the consensus of everyone hearing this for the first time.
But this was no joke and no game.
"I've heard about that bastard Regulus going on a rampage in this city too. I don't know if this helps, but we put that guy down, so forget about him for now."
"I don't give a damn about that despicable villain! What matters is the sin carried by the accursed title of Archpriest! Do you even understand that!?"
"—I understand."
Goz's voice was so forceful it seemed to generate wind, creating the illusion that Subaru might be blown away. But Subaru did not back down a single step from Goz's roar, answering directly without hesitation.
Even the formidable Goz was taken aback by being answered head-on by a boy, his eyes widening as he went "Hmm."
"Now then?"
As Goz's momentum faltered, it was Berstetz who raised his hand. The Imperial Prime Minister looked at Subaru and the Spica beside him with his thread-thin eyes and said, "The fact that you volunteered this information means you deemed her presence and abilities necessary for the discussions ahead. Does that, in turn, mean you believe it is connected to the liberation of Lady Lamia from the undead's yoke?"
"Yeah, exactly. It's nice when things move fast. Honestly, I'd have been in trouble if you'd gone and gotten yourself killed, Berstetz."
Berstetz had inferred the general situation from the flow of discussion, and Subaru confirmed it with a nod, but found himself blurting that out in the process.
During the battle of the chain of carriages, Berstetz had faced Lamia alone, and at the cost of his life, managed to exclude her and her duplicates from the "Blessing of Windproof." That said, the action had been entirely of his own volition, and he had very nearly lost his life.
"I'm begging you, don't let even the smart ones get infected with that Imperial way of thinking. Exchanging your life to accomplish something doesn't make you great or anything."
"On that matter, opinions likely vary... But at the very least, there is not much that can be gained by exchanging my life. Understood."
Berstetz spoke of yielding where one should, and standing firm where one could not. Subaru shared the same sentiment, so it seemed they would remain at an impasse on the subject of the value of life. Of course, Subaru had no intention whatsoever of letting them die gallantly in the line of duty.
"So then? Since you confirmed the Prime Minister's question, there's no denying that the Archpriest girl was effective against the undead. What exactly did she do?"
"It's hard to give a specific explanation, but..."
Resting her cheek on her fist at the round table, Selena prioritized curiosity over hostility toward Spica. She asked the natural question, and Subaru glanced at Spica.
The girl with blue eyes blinked, then raised her clasped hands.
"I think Spica has the Authority of Gluttony—she can eat the special powers of someone whose name she knows. That way, she can neutralize the术式 for unlimited zombie resurrection."
"That's such a vague explanation. You need to tell us more properly, or all that'll be left is anxiety and we won't feel any better at all!"
"I want to give a more convincing and concrete explanation too!"
Subaru gave his vague assertion a vigorous back, and Anastasia—ostensibly an ally—struck him without mercy.
But the hit was well-deserved, and the content was also unavoidably fatal. On the other hand, it was also true that this was the only way Subaru could explain it.
"In any case, Subaru's aim was on the mark. With that girl's Authority, that troublesome zombie princess was forced to retreat. That withdrawal wasn't a bluff or a fake."
"I also agree with Lady
"You two with your sentimental answers. But that's all just circumstantial evidence... You understand that without solid confirmation of its effectiveness, using it is a dangerously risky gamble, right?"
"That's... of course, I know that."
Even with Beatrice and Julius backing him up, the validity of Anastasia's logic was unshakable.
The correctness of her argument was evident from the Imperial side's response—they would need to be persuaded anew. The Empire was what needed protecting, but whether the risk of harboring an Archpriest was worth it for that purpose was, frankly speaking, a difficult judgment.
The "Star Reader"
The onslaught of zombies, once confirmed through Beatrice and the others' desperate research to be an application of the "Relic of the Immortal King" and reconstruction magic, had led Subaru to think of Spica's potential.
Using the Authority of Gluttony to interfere with the souls of the zombies—specifically, how Spica's Authority was exercised and how it led to results, as described above, remained unknown.
What they did know was that Lamia Godwin, the target of Spica's Authority, had not forgotten her "name," and neither had Abel, her half-sibling.
When Lamia departed, she had shown no signs of amnesia. Therefore, her "memories" had not been eaten either. —So then, what had Spica eaten?
In the current state of affairs, they had no choice but to pile up wild theories about fate, causation, roles, and whatever status ailments might have been attached at the time.
Of course, Subaru understood Anastasia's point that such reasoning lacked persuasive power.
"But if it's this girl, maybe she can stop the other 'zombies' too? I think that's reaaally important."
"I'm not saying I don't understand how you feel, Emilia-tan. We're also sick and tired of this whole 'Great Calamity' mess, and I want to jump at a strategy that might win just as much as you do. But the power of an Archpriest is too—"
"No, it's not that. Well, that too of course, but... what I really want to fix is that the people who died have become 'zombies.'"
"You want to... fix the zombies?"
"I can't explain it well, but... people who are no longer here being turned into 'zombies' and made to move around is reaaally horrible. Abel wouldn't have wanted to meet his sister like that either. And Midiam too."
Emilia lowered her eyes, framed by long lashes, and mentioned Midiam, who was not present.
Her absence was less a matter of being excluded from the meeting participants and more a matter of her current condition—caused by the last undead they had encountered during the chain of dragon carriage battle.
After receiving Spica's "Star Eater" and losing her power to multiply, Lamia had been on the verge of destruction. In response to her call, the Undead Wyvern had recovered her body, and the dragon rider who had become an undead had been操控led by it.
That person and the Flop and Midiam siblings had apparently been acquainted during their lifetimes.
Shocked by the fact that someone close to them had become an undead, and now that the crisis had passed, Midiam had sequestered herself in a room in the fortress, refusing to show her face.
The ever-bright, ever-positive Midiam had been forced into such a state by that incident.
Subaru's heart ached for her too, but he hadn't been able to care for her the way Emilia had. So even now, Emilia's words hit him with a jolt.
He had been so focused on the threat of the zombies that he'd failed to consider the grief they brought.
"...My thoughts on this are a bit different from Emilia's, but there's no doubt those zombies are a troublesome thing. They were resurrected in an inherently unnatural form. The fact that they have no defects at all is actually the more convenient side of things."
While Subaru felt chagrin at Emilia's sentiment, it was Otto who interjected.
Having observed the situation for a while, he leaned his back against the fortress wall and looked up at the ceiling.
"The zombies aren't merely resurrected beings. Ignoring the fact that some of them were... one woman appearing in many copies, we've still seen a great many zombies. I doubt all of them bore grudges against His Majesty the Emperor from when they were alive. Surely not."
"Yeah, surely not."
"Surely that's too much even for them, right?"
Otto's questioning and defense carried just enough weight to earn grudging nods from Subaru and the others.
No matter how Abel might appear to others as an irredeemably cold-blooded and high-handed emperor, there was no denying that he was also an emperor who commanded respect as well as resentment.
Through their travels across the Empire to date, Subaru had actually witnessed and heard about that incredible truth.
Which meant— "We should consider that the hostile sentiment directed toward His Majesty Vincent and the Volakia Empire was implanted or amplified during the process of their resurrection as zombies."
"Brainwashing, in other words. ...I think that's a reasonable assessment."
"...I heard from the soldiers fighting in the back. When a fellow soldier was taken down, that soldier would immediately rise as a zombie and attack them—does that really happen?"
"They fight side by side as allies one moment, and the instant they become zombies, they turn and attack. Otto-dono's assessment appears to be correct."
"—Yes."
Otto, who had offered his private view on the zombies, responded curtly to Julius's agreement. Subaru frowned at the wall he sensed between them, but neither Julius nor Anastasia seemed to care, accepting it naturally.
In any case— "Subaru-kun, about Otto's opinion—we happened to be discussing the same thing with the Prime Minister and Count Dragroy just before you arrived. According to that discussion... now, don't make that face."
"The deeper question of Roswaal's relationship with the domestic official can wait for another day. The Prime Minister shares a similar view. Wouldn't you agree?"
Directed by both Roswaal and Selena, Berstetz nodded. He kept both hands on his cane and surveyed the meeting participants with his inscrutable, thread-thin eyes.
"Knowing Lady Lamia's character, she would not have desired a second life. Still less would she have schemed to overturn the death of her first life through such means."
"So she was really brainwashed to come at us like that, totally enthusiastic about it?"
"That is what should be assumed. ...Of course, there remains the possibility that even in her resurrected state, unable to resist, the current Empire did not stint on testing whether it was still worth surviving—as an act of mercy."
"Then the Volakia imperial family—!"
"Please, not that enthusiasm right now..."
Prefacing it with the caveat that a normal person would not have made such a judgment—and yet, even with normal faculties intact, they might still have reached an abnormal conclusion—Berstetz was, for some reason, proud of that.
In any case, it seemed they had reached a shared understanding that the zombies' thoughts were not normal.
"Resurrected zombies oppose us without exception. In that sense too, just as Emilia-tan says, I want to stop the enemy's zombie attacks as quickly as possible. For that, Spica's power is essential. In practical terms, I think this is non-negotiable."
"That many zombies? You're going to take the time to eat each and every one? If we're talking practical terms, that can't be ignored either."
"If it's necessary, I'll do it. I didn't grab this girl's hand with the resolve to take only the good bits and throw the rest away."
Tightly—beyond just a metaphorical sense—Subaru clasped Spica's hand and declared to Otto.
Receiving that gaze from Subaru, Otto directed a probing look toward Spica, as if trying to see into her heart. Those unrelenting, skeptical eyes—Spica met them by squeezing Subaru's hand back.
"Uwah-uwah!"
She groaned powerfully, as if proclaiming her resolve to walk a path of thorns.
Hearing Spica's response, Otto exhaled through his nose.
"I should mention—persuading me is pointless. Whether to actually incorporate her into the operation, I don't have the authority to decide that."
"Even if you don't have speaking authority in the meeting, your presence carries a lot of weight among us. At the very least, if you can't convince the people closest to you, how can you convince anyone else?"
"I see. Then perhaps I should have been harsher in my evaluation."
Shrugging with a weary air, Otto's reply nonetheless showed no sign of retracting his position.
From his perspective, the moment he had allowed Spica's "Star Eater" to be used against Lamia during the chain of carriage battle, he had already made the resolve to pull on the same rope.
Subaru simply disliked not confirming that and leaving things in a comfortable haze.
"You sure seem reassured, but I haven't been properly convinced yet, you know?"
"Ngh... On the contrary, what would it take to satisfy you, Anastasia?"
Even with a consensus among the insiders, the half-outsider Anastasia stood as an obstacle.
At the very least, she was in the same boat as them in this Empire. She raised a finger to her lips in response to Subaru's bitter question.
"Really, I'd want you to think about that part yourself too, but it's a whole lot better than humming and hawing over an answer you can't produce. —First, we need confirmation of what she can do, and ideally, confirmation of any aftereffects."
"What she can do and the aftereffects..."
"What she can do is make sure the 'zombies' can't get up again, right? But the aftereffects..."
"Natsuki-kun and Emilia-tan, you both know what a terrible thing the Authority of Gluttony is."
At Anastasia's quiet observation, Subaru held his breath and Emilia's eyes widened.
That was something they could not simply gloss over, naturally.
The Authority of Gluttony—the victims it had brought numbered across the world.
Even within this conference room alone were Emilia and Julius, and inside the fortress was
If they were going to deliberately make use of that Authority, it was only natural to assess the risks.
"...As of now, nobody's forgotten about that girl who multiplied, have they?"
"Right. But nobody thinks she ate nothing either. It might not be a 'name' or 'memories,' but what happens to her further down the line, after what she did eat accumulates?"
"That is..."
"You were really suspicious about it, Natsuki-kun—she might not revert back to how she originally was, you know?"
Anastasia's relentless pursuit left Subaru with no choice but to fall silent.
All he could offer was a groundless, emotional prayer—a hope. The girl who had been given a new name, Spica rather than Louis Arneb, and had chosen to live differently.
He hoped that this Authority—something one might say she was born with—would be guided toward a direction where more people affirmed it as righteous.
"Lady Anastasia, that is something that cannot be verified. Of course, I don't think we should neglect caution, but..."
"I can't produce proof that I'm not proposing a dubious scheme either. In that case, I at least want the certainty that there's a return worth the risk of going down a dangerous path."
"That is, confirmation of the results of using young Lady Spica's Authority?"
Julius touched the scar below his left eye, and Anastasia gave a short nod.
She then looked at both Subaru and Spica together.
"No merchant goes to negotiate with a treasure whose value isn't clear. At the very least, if we don't understand how it's useful, even the sales pitch will miss the mark."
"That's quite right."
From the fact that Lamia's assault had ceased, it was almost certainly true that she had been defeated.
However, the only other evidence existed in Ubilk's prophecies as the "Star Reader"—whose existence and words were suspicious. As long as lingering concerns could not be resolved, Anastasia was already making a considerable concession.
At the very least, they needed to reach a point where everyone could agree that Spica's "Star Eater" was genuinely effective against zombies— "—Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of spending time on verification."
A deep voice cut in, rudely搅乱 the atmosphere of Subaru's disadvantage.
Everyone's eyes snapped toward the entrance, where a lean figure with black hair had appeared—the supposed protagonist of the meeting, who had arrived late.
Flanked by Flop and, for some reason, Jamal, Abel strode forward without hesitation and boldly sat down at an empty seat at the round table without breaking stride.
And then— "What's with those dumbfounded looks?"
"You showed up so imperially late that I was surprised. They told me to start without you, but what were you doing?"
"There was something I needed to confirm urgently. That was the main reason I had the fortified city rushed to. —The true meaning behind the words that great fool left behind. I needed to see for myself."
Abel answered without a hint of remorse, and Subaru hesitated to press further.
He could imagine that the "great fool" Abel referred to was probably the subordinate who had deceived him, defeated him, and yet kept him alive.
But on the other hand, Subaru was curious about what had driven Abel to rush to this fortified city.
"Is that the story Abel told you about? The reason you came here in such a hurry?"
"Of course, the fact that this location was the most suitable for receiving refugees was also true, but—"
"Spare us the roundabout stuff and just tell us, will you? What did you mean earlier when you said there's no time?"
Emilia and Anastasia both directed their questions at Abel.
The same question was on everyone's minds in the conference room. Meeting those gazes that demanded the truth behind his words, Abel closed one eye and rapped the round table with his fingers.
A hard sound rang out, and the attention of everyone present was drawn inexorably to his hand.
"I'll be brief. What I wanted to confirm at this fortified city was the location and condition of the divine realm that lies before you—the Great Spirit of the Empire connected to the Four Great Ones, the 'Mass of Stone.'"
"The Four Great Ones... and a Great Spirit? One of the Four Great Spirits?"
"That's right."
Suddenly, unexpected information came flying out, and Subaru blinked repeatedly.
He had learned about the Four Great Spirits when he first arrived in this other world, and had been taught about them again when he formed a contract with Beatrice and became a spirit arts user.
The most powerful spirits among the spirits of this world—though the credibility of that was somewhat suspect given that one of their number was that mousy, clueless cat.
"So the Empire had been tracking the location of one of the Four Great, the 'Mass of Stone,'
"Is-is that really something to be that surprised about?"
"Naturally. The City-State's 'Maze Runner,' the Sacred Kingdom's 'Spirit Beast'—both command unwavering faith and awe in their respective nations. The 'Mass of Stone' is a being of similar power."
"If you could establish a cooperative relationship with one of the Four Great Spirits, that would be a matter of national significance... That would be way bigger news than the fortified city being under reconstruction, right?"
Hearing Julius and Anastasia each emphasize the gravity of the matter in succession, Subaru could only stare wide-eyed with genuine shock.
However, since no one corrected them, and since Emilia and Beatrice were both wearing somewhat proud expressions, it was clear that their understanding was correct.
The problem was— "If you rushed to the fortified city to confirm the location and condition of the 'Mass of Stone,' does that mean the Great Spirit is here? Certainly, if its power could be borrowed, it would be a tremendous reinforcement, but..."
Against an endless tide of enemies, Spica's "Star Eater" alone was not enough.
Naturally, any fighting strength available to hold back the zombie onslaught until "Star Eater" could be deployed would be welcome. Or perhaps, as
"Unfortunately, things don't work out that way. You all remember that His Majesty the Emperor said there wasn't much time, right?"
"Flop?"
Flop gently shook his head to halt Subaru's optimistic thinking.
Like Midiam, he was someone who always maintained a bright, positive outlook, but now his expression was taut and serious as he spoke.
For whatever reason, he had accompanied Abel and seen the same thing. If this was Flop's expression after reaching a conclusion before the rest of them— "The aid from the 'Mass of Stone' that you're hoping for cannot be obtained. Worse, the very existence of the 'Mass of Stone' has become an advantage for the enemy's... 'Great Calamity.'"
"What do you mean? The Great Spirit is—"
"In the enemy's hands. Most likely, it is the extraordinary mana of the 'Mass of Stone' that the 'Great Calamity' is exploiting to raise the undead from their graves without limit. That is why they continue to surge forth endlessly."
"————"
"And furthermore—"
Subaru's eyes went wide at the worst possible report, and he looked at Abel with disbelief as the latter prepared to continue. But that was not enough to stop his words.
In the tense atmosphere of the conference room, Abel pressed on without pause.
Those words were— "Though I said endlessly, that is not strictly accurate. No matter how extraordinary the mana of the 'Mass of Stone' may be, it will eventually be depleted. And when that happens, the land of the Empire will meet its end. —Because the divine realm protected by the 'Mass of Stone'—the power that supports the very soil of Volakia—will be lost, and collapse will be inevitable."
It was, in truth, the dire report itself—announcing the true nature of the "Great Calamity" that would destroy the Empire.