How much time had passed since they'd started running?
Between the inability to feel any outside light and the unaccounted period of unconsciousness, Subaru could only guess that several hours to half a day had elapsed since it all began.
"It seems we've miraculously shaken off our pursuers, but..."
Subaru steadied his ragged breathing, wiped the sweat from his chin, and glanced behind him through the oppressive stench, straining to hear any footsteps from their invisible chasers.
Just a little while ago, they'd been relentlessly pursued by a group of Kingdom soldiers, with no time to so much as catch their breath.
Their path had been blocked, escape routes cut off, and the choice between being caught or forcing a breakthrough had flickered through his mind again and again—each option a razor's edge from disaster—but— "That huge earthquake helped us get away... Come to think of it, I don't remember running into any earthquakes since coming here. What was that about?"
"Betty was startled by that rumbling too... but now is our chance. Subaru, are you going to show what you can do? Make sure to cast healing magic on those burns."
"Oh, thanks."
With that, Subaru gently set down
Beatrice carefully opened and closed her palm, then placed her hand over Subaru's right arm—the one wrapped in a handkerchief serving as a bandage—and enveloped it in a faint glow of healing light.
The dull, persistent ache that had gnawed at him began to ease, and Subaru let out an involuntary sigh.
"I knew you'd been enduring it in silence. If it was hurting so much, you should have told me sooner."
"No, while I was panicking, I honestly forgot about it entirely. The moment I calmed down, the pain came rushing back all at once. Hurry... please help me..."
"Good grief, what a hopeless boy. I'll finish quickly, so don't you dare start crying."
"Thanks, Beako! ...Is the mana cost pretty steep?"
"...Honestly, there's not much to spare."
"Right. Figures."
At Beatrice's answer, Subaru scratched his cheek with his free hand.
After all, he'd gone all out at Miklotov's mansion. Between Yin magic Minya, repeated Shamaks, and even E.M.T., his reserves serving as Beatrice's external mana tank must have been nearly bottomed out.
He really wanted to lament just how poorly suited he was to this otherworld.
"Back in the Empire, I was doing way better with that stuff, though... Maybe I can fit more dreams in when I'm in a smaller body?"
"That was because your Od had been warped into an extremely unnatural state. Betty doesn't have fond memories of that. Who knows how much human experimentation it took to pull that off."
"Even after that's no longer a threat and I've left the Empire behind, Olbart—or rather, the shinobi's darkness just keeps growing, huh..."
It made sense, really. Shaping something as fundamental as one's Od—essentially one's soul—into any desired form wasn't something you could learn without practice. Which meant Olbart and the shinobi village had spent countless years doing exactly that. The title "Wicked Elder" wasn't unwarranted.
"—It appears the soldiers are preoccupied with dealing with that rumbling. The wariness carried on the wind has receded, and the tension has lessened. For the moment, we've successfully shaken them off."
It was Crusch who spoke up, her sharp eyes scanning the surroundings.
Illuminating the sewer with a dim lamp powered by a low-output Ragmite crystal, Crusch narrowed her uncovered amber eye—the one not hidden beneath her eyepatch—and watched Subaru receive his treatment in silence.
For a brief moment, Subaru was puzzled by her reaction, but then he realized: the glow of healing magic must have reminded her of something painfully close and unforgettable.
"...That's not something we can discuss right now, is it."
Honestly, events had been moving at a breakneck pace.
Ever since the encounter with Al at the
—The truth was, he'd been hoping to talk to Crusch about
The reason and true intention behind dismissing Ferris—he'd wanted to confirm it with Crusch, find some kind of compromise, and help mend the rift that had formed between them.
Ferris would probably call that meddlesome arrogance, but Subaru couldn't care less.
To others, he was an insufferably selfish, arrogant man. That was who Natsuki Subaru was.
"—I want you to know."
"Hmm?"
"I'm grateful. That you came after me, in that situation."
"————"
The sudden drop in her voice caught Subaru off guard, and he fell silent.
Just those words—gratitude—were enough to make this half-day of nonstop flight feel worthwhile, and he knew that was embarrassingly cheap of him. But at the very least, if he hadn't chosen to follow her back there, he never would have heard them.
"But I can't exactly say 'you're welcome' with a clear conscience. My burns hurt, and it seems like you shielded me from Tigre, but the whole fight started because of you in the first place, Crusch. And I've definitely caused
"Subaru, Subaru—just because your thoughts are scattered doesn't mean you get to muss up Betty's hair like that. It'll ruin Betty's cuteness!"
"Oh, sorry... Wait, it's really—what a mess... I can't bear to look!"
"That's obviously not true! Even if her hairstyle is all disheveled, Betty's adorableness isn't diminished one bit—it's an entirely new charm point!"
Her treatment interrupted but unable to stop mid-spell, Beatrice yelled at Subaru from the sidelines as his idle hands continued to tousle her hair.
That familiar banter loosened the tension that had been clenching his very insides, and Subaru felt a small measure of relief. —And it was right then, when he relaxed without thinking, that it happened.
"Hm."
"—! Crusch, did you just laugh?"
A soft sound that made the air tremble reached Subaru's ears, and his eyes went wide.
There, standing against the grimy sewer wall, was Crusch with a hand over her mouth. Meeting Subaru's gaze, she said a simple "Sorry," and then: "I couldn't help myself, watching that exchange devoid of any tension. How immature of me."
"I don't have a comeback for the tension thing, but being able to relax like that is way better than staying wound up all the time. All I've gotten to see from you is a scary face."
"A scary face, hm. Well, I do have this eye to contend with."
"I mean, even with just one eye, you're still beautiful, Crusch."
"————"
"Subaru..."
"Huh!? Did the mood just get bad again?!"
Crusch narrowed her eye as she held her hand to her eyepatch, and Beatrice looked at Subaru with exasperation as he flustered. But Crusch let out a small sigh, slowly shook her head, and said: "You are... no, you are both strong."
"If you're talking about me and Beako, then yes, plural is correct. Without Beako, I'm basically a nobody. But still—"
"But still?"
"...You used to have that kind of strength too, Crusch."
At those words, Crusch's lips pressed tight.
Seeing that, Subaru regretted pushing too far. An expression that had briefly softened had now hardened once more.
As Subaru hesitated over what to say next, Beatrice gave his arm a light tap.
"There, it's done. For now, there shouldn't be any serious problems."
"Right, thanks. ...Yeah, it feels a bit tight, but not bad."
"Keep the handkerchief on for now. It might get itchy, and the skin could be peeling, so be careful not to scratch it."
"That sounds terrifying. Got it. —Anyway."
Thanking Beatrice twice over for giving him a well-timed pause, Subaru turned back to Crusch. The treatment was done, and they'd temporarily shaken their pursuers. That meant there was a whole lot he wanted to talk about with her.
First and most urgent— "Crusch, do you have any leads? In this situation?"
"Leads... Before things came to this, yes. But I cut them down with my own hands."
"With a phrasing like that... the person you were counting on was—"
"Yes.
"Oh my god..."
At her flat confirmation, Subaru looked skyward in despair, only to have his gaze bounce off the low, grimy ceiling of the sewer.
Subaru had no room to talk—he himself had been only too eager to rely on Miklotov for intelligence about the Kingdom. If even Crusch, who'd been placed in such a difficult position as a Royal Selection candidate because of the Dragon Church, had thought the same, it spoke volumes about Miklotov's character.
But— "Miklotov had a plot tantamount to national subversion hidden in his belly...?"
"Yes. —Lord McMahon had welcomed my unplanned visit cordially. However, he asked me to wait in a separate room, as he had guests arriving."
"A separate room. And then?"
"From that room, I noticed suspicious activity with the guests he was about to receive. When I went to question him about it, the mansion's staff blocked my path—and after that, you know the rest."
"What we saw..."
Slain Miklotov, servants and guards collapsed throughout the mansion. Even having the events that led to those killings laid out for him, it was still a hard answer to swallow.
In the end, the basis for Crusch's suspicion of Miklotov and his people boiled down to "suspicious activity"—that is, the information provided by her Divine Blessing of Wind Reading. That was the problem.
"————"
Obviously, Subaru couldn't share in the absolute trust she placed in her Divine Blessing of Wind Reading. So, beyond his desire to believe in Crusch, he couldn't find real certainty.
And that was— "—It's the same as it was for me back then."
As he talked with Crusch, Subaru felt a crushing weight in his chest.
This was a mirror image of a past exchange—the opposite of its original configuration. Back when the Royal Selection had just begun, Subaru's eyes had been clouded by hatred toward the Sloth Sin Archbishop,
Crusch's current behavior was exactly the same as when Subaru had thrown a tantrum over information he'd gained through Return by Death—a method no one else could possibly understand—and raged because no one would listen.
Of course, Crusch appeared far more rational than the idiot Subaru had been back then.
But unlike the powerless Subaru of that time, Crusch had both strength and standing.
"—I can't do it."
"...Subaru?"
"If it's the same as what I went through, then I can't just abandon you here, Crusch. Whether I help or try to stop you, I can't walk away."
Subaru bit his lip and clenched his fist. Beatrice watched him in silence.
Back then, Crusch had been on the verge of the great battle against the
Now it was Subaru's turn. —If she was right, he would stand beside her. If she was wrong, he would stand in her way, even by force. For that sake.
"Crusch, I—"
"—Wait, Natsuki Subaru."
Just as Subaru was about to voice the resolve clicking into place, Crusch stopped him.
But this wasn't a case of being deflated—Crusch's expression was far too serious. She closed the distance between them, shielding Subaru behind her, and peered into the darkness of the sewer.
Subaru looked in the same direction she was staring, but his eyes saw nothing— "—Someone is there. Even if they hold their breath, emotions ride the wind. They cannot escape my sight."
"—! We should have shaken off those soldiers..."
"A group with different intentions, I'd wager. I should warn you—remaining silent won't benefit you. Or I may assume hostile intent—"
"—Wait, wait, wait! Don't jump the gun! I get it! I get it, okay?!"
It was in that moment—Crusch, hand already on the dagger she'd drawn at some point, was bracing to strike—that the voice came hurrying back from the darkness ahead of the waterway, prompted by the rising tension and wariness.
After the initial surprise that Crusch's eyes had been right, Subaru frowned at the voice itself. —He knew it.
"That voice just now..."
"Dammit! I'm heading over there right now! Got it? Don't come at me! I've got zero intention of fighting you guys!"
"That depends on your approach. I can't make careless promises. Besides, you're one against three—the numbers aren't in your—"
"—Could it be that you're Chin?"
"What?"
The man growled while Crusch, still on guard, raised an eyebrow at Subaru's question. Beatrice, who had drawn close to Subaru's side, murmured softly: "That's... I'm pretty sure that's the man we saw in
"Yeah, it is. He's been under
"—Felt sent me to find you guys. Tch, what a lame entrance."
With an irritated tongue-click, the man slowly emerged from the darkness with both hands raised.
As expected, it was a man even rougher-looking than Subaru—a shifty-eyed, four-whites-showing brute who had at some point joined Felt's camp. One of the three alley thugs of Ton Chin Kan: Rachins.
"Oh, Chin...! You never fail to surprise me every time you show up."
"Shut it! I told you before—my name's not Chin! It's Rachins!"
"Chin, maybe."
"I said it ain't Chin, runt!"
"A daredevil Chin."
Ignoring Subaru's genuine delight at seeing a familiar face, Rachins and Beatrice bickered pointlessly.
It had been since Priestella that Subaru had last seen Rachins—specifically, since Sirius's rampage that had kicked off the
"No, but seriously, it's great to see a familiar face. There's something I need to ask you—"
"Stop right there, Chin or whatever. Unlike Natsuki Subaru, I don't know you."
"Crusch?!"
Where Subaru had reflexively rejoiced at reconnecting with an acquaintance, Crusch's wariness hadn't diminished one bit—dagger in hand, her sharp gaze fixed on Rachins.
Now that he thought about it, Rachins hadn't stayed at the Waterlogged Pavilion, and after the contact with Sirius, he'd dropped off the front lines entirely, so there'd been no opportunity for him and Crusch to meet.
Crusch's caution was perfectly natural—and that was what Subaru assumed— "Huh? You don't know me? The Karsten Duchy sure is a cold bunch, ain't it."
"...What?"
"Well, sure, I'm not exactly in a position to chat casually with someone of your noble stature, but you learned swordsmanship from my old man, didn't you? To hear you say 'I'm not familiar with him'—guess dear old dad really didn't teach you much."
"————"
Crusch looked taken aback by Rachins's bold declaration, tongue lolling as he spoke. Meanwhile, Subaru himself could only gape at Rachins's sheer, audacious nerve.
"Come on, even if you're bluffing, that's going a bit too far—"
"I'm not bluffing! ...I do come from a decent family, y'know. Well, you could count our noble connections on one hand, but we've at least rubbed shoulders with duchies."
"For real? Because if you're making that up, your imagination is on another level..."
But when someone said something with that much conviction, it started to sound true. People's hearts and words were unreliable things.
Even so, Subaru cautiously glanced at Crusch— "...—...—...—... Perhaps, are you the son of Sir Rikkelto Hoffman, who once served as an instructor to the
"Hah! Heard that? The Karsten Duke's memory finally clicked, it seems."
"So it's true?!"
"Seems legit, huh."
Taking her time, Crusch finally dredged up a single name. Rachins confirmed it with a nod, and Subaru and Beatrice exchanged looks.
So Rachins really was from a Lugnican noble family.
"Then how did you end up as a thug bullying the weak in the alleys?"
"None of your damn business! People have their own stories—stop digging!"
"We have our stories too, Betty would say. It looks like whatever brought you here probably isn't unrelated to that story of yours either."
"Guh...!"
"Right. What Beako said. ...Crusch, you can lower that. I'm pretty sure Chin here is alright. I'll vouch for him."
"...If he acts suspiciously, or if the wind blows, I'll cut him down."
"If you cut every time the wind blows, I'd be the one who can't handle that...!"
Trembling before the scowling Rachins, Crusch slowly lowered her dagger and eased her guard—though she didn't sheathe it, keeping her single eye trained on Rachins's every move.
Regardless— "Thanks for coming to find us. How did you track us down?"
"No big trick. You weren't the only ones we were looking for.
"So you just got lucky and stumbled on us? Not some great method after all, huh."
"Shut it, runt. We found you—that's what matters. —So, what's going on with you guys?"
"I'd like to explain, but it'd take forever and I'm not sure you'd buy it anyway. So let me hear your side first. —How are Emilia and the others?"
Knowing it was rude, Subaru pushed past Rachins's question and asked instead.
Ever since fleeing Miklotov's mansion, he'd had no chance to get proper outside information. Anxiety, worry, and frustration had turned his insides to mush.
"The fact that Crusch and I are together should have reached Emilia's ears. Which means she must be worried sick, and I've probably caused her nothing but trouble and—"
Double the burden: the mental strain of worry and the physical strain of being interrogated by the Kingdom. On top of that, the camp was in total disarray. —But Subaru's expectations were completely overturned.
And overturned in a way he never could have imagined.
"Oh, uh..."
"—?"
Rachins widened his shifty eyes slightly, then—for once—adopted a look of concern for Subaru, and spoke.
It was— "Your half-elf got detained in the Royal Castle. The rest of your camp took off and went into hiding. —Just like you, they're all wanted."
△▼△▼△▼△ —Emilia's detention at the Royal Castle, and
That was nothing short of catastrophic news.
Subaru chewed over what Rachins had told him again and again, forcing his brain to swallow every last bit of it. He put in the effort, trying desperately to make it all fit.
But— "W-Why would it come to that...?"
"...Even Betty didn't see this one coming."
Subaru's face went pale as he mumbled those words, then noticed his teeth were chattering.
It seemed that when something truly defied comprehension, it could strip the very warmth from a person. Cold blood coursed through his body, and his fingertips tingled with the illusion of frostbite.
Beatrice took his hand, gently sharing her warmth. But the trembling wouldn't stop. —The situation was worse than even Subaru's bleakest imagination.
"My... my fault—Emilia, everyone—"
"As if you'd want to say something that pathetic, so cut it out with the self-blame. Look at this situation—any way you slice it, you've been set up."
"Huh?"
A ringing pierced Subaru's ears and he swayed, blinking. Rachins crossed his arms and clicked his tongue irritably at Subaru's reaction.
Just now, Rachins had said it as though it were obvious—that they'd been "set up."
"Set up? What do you mean..."
"What do you mean, what do you mean—it's exactly what it sounds like. Seriously, don't you think it's weird? Shady stuff has been piling up on all sides way too fast."
To the dazed Subaru, Rachins shrugged with an exasperated sigh.
In place of Subaru, whose mind had gone numb as if part of his brain had short-circuited, Beatrice picked up the thread: "You mean... like us being chased, Emilia being locked up in the castle..."
"That's not all. Your camp's people bolting without a second thought—they must've realized someone was coming to kill them."
"Kill them...!?"
"It's a figure of speech, a figure of speech! They can't just up and assassinate a Royal Selection candidate. ...That's why that brat managed to send us out beforehand."
The alarming word had Subaru's eyes going wide, and Rachins kicked the grimy wall