CHAPTER 2

SETTING THE STAGE

1

Returning to the time when the expeditionary force continued its moving conference through the use of Nekt…

“We finally know there’s a spy in our midst. If we can make good use of him and feed him false info, we can give Emilia and the others time to flee to safety. Don’t you think so?”

“—”

Subaru spoke thus as he divulged a series of information while on the road toward the Mathers domain.

During the time the expeditionary force’s thoughts were shared via magic, this opinion sent vigorous arguments flying back and forth. While nodding at their various thoughts, Subaru raised a hand and spoke.

“Hey, listen. Just like we talked about, wiping out the fingers is nonnegotiable for kicking the Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins’ butt. That said, even just taking out those fingers is easier said than done. We have to be smart about this.”

“Purportedly, making use of your physical condition would allow us to draw out and fight the fingers one by one?”

“I can guarantee it. But either way, the fact that they have a spy means whatever we do will get passed on to the enemy. Even if we take out the spy first, they’ll know something’s up when he misses the regular time to call, so it amounts to the same thing. So I was thinking we flip this around on them and leak intel for him to send them—fake intel.”

As he replied to Julius, Subaru recalled the sight of the village being raided at the end of his last go-around. At the time, every last enemy had launched a combined attack on the village from the forest. Given the numbers of raiders, he was sure he was right in thinking so, and also that Petelgeuse had possessed the finger hiding among the traveling merchants.

—In other words, the traveling merchant named Kety, the Witch Cultist embedded with them.

One way or another, he was in contact with the fingers. Likely, unlike the other Witch Cultists accompanying Petelgeuse, he’d been assigned the duty of gathering intelligence about the surrounding area.

“That’s why we should turn this back on them. If we fool the spy, we fool the whole Witch Cult.”

“So that is why you wish to send Rajan and his group to the traveling merchants and tell them the rendezvous will be delayed?”

Subaru’s roundabout statement seemed to clear up Ricardo’s doubts, bringing him to agree.

Just like last time around, a small detachment of the Iron Fangs would be sent to greet the traveling merchants cooperating with the evacuation. But this time, those select few would deliver a rendezvous time with Subaru’s ruse attached. Before the Witch Cult’s spy could rendezvous with the expeditionary force, they’d dispose of a mountain of concerns he wanted dealt with beforehand, making it a race against time.

Incidentally, Subaru had recommended the fox-man and his team, casualties from the last time around, for those select few, hoping to keep them far from the fight.

“So this is less of a proposal and more an update after the fact. You have such a naughty personality, Subawu.”

“It’s like we’re talkin’ ’bout the little lady… No peaceful death down that path, y’know?”

“Setting Ferris aside, what’s with Ricardo’s assessment of his employer…?”

Ricardo was the one working for her, but his appraisal of Anastasia was harsh. The boisterously laughing thought that followed right after made Subaru assume it was simple lighthearted banter.

At any rate, the operation to confuse the spy was already underway. And, accepting this—

“Then our counterespionage plan is settled. Incidentally, what is the source of this information…?”

“How about I say my…nose for the Witch Cult?”

“—That is a thin basis, but I shall take that as meaning you have one. That is my reply.”

Julius responded to Subaru’s usual vague explanation with his own difficult-to-decipher inner thought. The thoughts he passed through Nekt were opaque compared to those of the others, perhaps because it was his own magic.

But there was no room to doubt the truth of his willingness to cooperate. So it would do for the moment.

“That’s fine, but what about the issue with the letter? Leaving it at just the blank page makes things difficult.”

“Ehh, why? If it’s completely blank, you can write whatever you want on it? Seems convenient to— Ouchie!”

“Sis, please be quiet.”

The cat siblings were the next ones to wedge themselves into the telepathic conversation. Actually, behind the telepathic exchange, a torrent of lighthearted thoughts flowed out from Mimi, but everyone was taking that in stride.

For his part, TB was paying serious attention to the operation. Subaru drew his chin in during the kitty siblings’ exchange, thinking over how to deal with the blank letter.

After all, thanks to that problem, Ram had launched a surprise attack on the expeditionary force, costing it precious time. The operation was in part a race against time, so a loss like that was to be avoided at all costs.

“What should we do, then?”

TB sent over an ashen, nervous thought, wanting to hear a plan to deal with it. Others beside him also turned their minds toward Subaru, waiting for his reply.

At the center of that attention, Subaru folded his arms and told them how they would deal with the blank letter.

And that method was—

2

In the early morning, just as the world began to awaken, Ram lifted her head, sensing an indecipherable presence.

She was midway along the road cutting through open fields that stretched from the mansion to Earlham Village. Since Emilia had faced a bad experience with the villagers, Ram had left her back at the mansion on her way to prod and persuade the villagers to evacuate.

“—”

There was a slight rustle in the forest. Ram knotted her shapely brows as she sank into thought for a single moment.

Ram was a demon who had lost her horn. By nature, demons were acutely sensitive to changes in the forest and mountains. A sixth sense that differed from the other five informed her of a shift in the wind blowing from the direction of the highway.

Her small nose snorted. Ram, confirming that there was no hint of danger in the immediate vicinity, went down on one knee and concentrated on her forehead. She was activating her supernatural ability of Clairvoyance.

Clairvoyance was a secret art passed down among the demons that enabled them to synchronize with the vision of others, stealing their vision and seeing through their eyes.

Few demons had mastered the art to begin with; currently Ram was probably the only one. While it was activated, her awareness of her own surroundings was greatly diminished, limiting the places she could use it, but it was the crown jewel of reconnaissance abilities.

The master to whom Ram had pledged fealty had many enemies. For that reason, too, the supernatural ability was very helpful.

“—”

She disconnected herself from those deep feelings, concentrating the effect of her supernatural ability, and entered the vision of others.

Even where there were no people to affect, that was no hindrance so long as there were living creatures with the sense of sight. However, creatures with compatible wavelengths were limited, and in the past few days, she had been unable to grasp anything inside the forest where it mattered most.

However, that was not the case this time. She detected multiple compatible wavelengths from the direction of the highway that connected to the village. She entered one of them, seeing through its eyes.

“—”

The creature from which she borrowed that sight was a humanoid riding a giant beast of war—a great dog known as a liger. The rider was small in stature, slowly surveying the area with ferocious energy. He was not on guard, but nor was he at ease.

It was a power to see through the eyes of others. Naturally, his moving in contrast to Ram’s will inflicted motion sickness upon her. Ram immediately shifted to a different set of eyes from the next compatible vision, ascertaining the situation anew.

Fortunately, this set of eyes politely stared straight at the road ahead. The height of his gaze matched that of the previous set of eyes, and he too was riding a giant dog. She could scarcely tell the difference.

“…What numbers.”

However, that doubt evaporated when a great throng entered her borrowed field of view.

They were a group of forty or fifty people, each and every one armed. They galloped along the highway, tens of minutes away from the village. And she recognized the crest of the lion rampant on the armor of several of the armored men. This was the crest of the House of Karsten, proof they were of the same faction that had declared war via the blank letter the night before.

In other words, it was offensive action by a rival in the royal selection—

“Seizing on Master Roswaal’s absence to make their move…!”

Ram understood that it was an emergency situation, urgent circumstances demanding an immediate decision. If their goal was to inflict damage upon the Emilia camp, they would surely occupy Earlham Village.

She had to strike before that could happen, using every means available to her…

And just when Ram gritted her teeth, ready to cut the clairvoyant connection and race to the village—

“…Huh?”

—she let out a dumbstruck voice.

Her feet, ready to set off in a sprint, stopped, and Ram’s face grimaced extensively at the sight she beheld through the Clairvoyance.

It was that painful to comprehend just what she was seeing.

“—Barusu?”

A black-haired young man rode a land dragon at the forward tip of the formation, carrying a sign that he turned in every direction—as if to ensure it could be seen from front, back, left, and right.

Upon that placard was written in large characters:

THE LETTER IS WRONG. MY BAD.

3

Carrying those words in the manner of a white flag, Subaru and the rest of the expeditionary force arrived at Earlham Village without incident. However, when Ram appeared to greet them, she had a sour look on her face, and Subaru awkwardly shrank as he stood before her. Hah! Ram instantly snorted out as she spoke.

“First you send a blank letter, and now you appear at the head of an armed band? You do not appear to comprehend exactly whose domain this is.”

“But you didn’t launch a preemptive strike… That means there’s room to talk about this, right?”

“That sign was a message for me, obviously. I am the only one who would understand such a thing.”

Ram sighed in visible exasperation as she set eyes on the wooden placard Subaru carried at his side. An apology in huge I-script was written on the sign in white paint. This was the master plan Subaru had developed midmarch for countering the blank letter of goodwill—or rather, he’d responded with the blunt truth.

“I should beat you senseless. The characters are so sloppy that I was nearly unable to read them.”

“Hey, you taught me these characters! Aren’t you used to seeing them by now?!”

“Unfortunately, I forgot about them as quickly as an ingrate forgets the generosity shown to him.”

“Unnghhhhh…!”

Ram’s characteristically harsh statement left Subaru hemming and hawing, unable to give any retort. Watching his reaction, she folded her arms and continued her lecture.

“So? According to what I have heard, Barusu, you soured Lady Emilia’s mood in grand fashion and she abandoned you in the royal capital… How dare you return to show your face?”

“You really have no mercy, do you?! I’m not gonna argue with each and every point, but here I am, daring to return and show my face! Not that I came back empty-handed!”

With a hand, he indicated the expeditionary force lined up behind him to put his exploits from the royal capital on display.

Subaru’s declaration caused Ram to narrow her eyes. As she proceeded to survey the expeditionary force, she spoke.

“It is fine to boast, but as your objective is unclear, the humans of the village are on guard. I too am concerned that anything might happen… My songbird heart is nearly ready to burst.”

“You mean your heart has wings sprouting from it? Doesn’t that make it a really strong heart?”

“If you make too many wisecracks I shall slice that nose off your face.”

“Man, it’s been a few days and this reunion feels really off-kilt— Wait, my nose?!”

The savage declaration sent Subaru covering his face and backing off a step as his gaze shifted from Ram to the village behind her.

Of course, the ruckus was such that the villagers noticed the expeditionary force immediately, whereupon they turned concerned eyes toward the knights lined up in the village square. However—

“Hey, at the head of them, that’s Master Subaru, isn’t it?”

“It really is. That’s Master Subaru speaking to Miss Ram. He’s come back?”

“Ahh, it’s Subaru! He’s back!”

The villagers’ wariness relented slightly when they realized Subaru was acting as the group’s representative. Thanks to that, in their eyes, the group was upgraded from “never before seen” to “under the command of someone we know.”

“And now we have to upgrade that to ‘reliable reinforcements brought by someone we know’…”

“That is no simple matter. In the first place, I have not yet accepted all of this. I cannot readily believe that a letter bearing a wax seal was merely in error.”

“That’s part of the enemy’s trap… You noticed the jerks hiding in the forest, right?”

“”

Subaru lowered his voice to a whisper. Ram kept silent with a sober look on her face.

It was plain as day that both the Witch Cult lurking in the forest and the blank letter incident had put Ram on guard the last time around. Subaru addressed Ram’s concerns as he moved the conversation forward.

“Ferris, Wilhelm, over here! Ram, you know both of them, too, right?”

Obeying Subaru’s call, the pair came over to his side. “Yes,” said Ram, looking over Ferris and Wilhelm as they stood side by side; her expression vanished as she straightened her back.

The pair from Crusch’s camp acknowledged Rem’s posture by granting her their respect.

“I am called Wilhelm Trias. I have come as Lady Crusch’s representative.”

“I’m Ferris, Lady Crusch’s personal knight. Old Man Wil’s the captain of the group behind us, so that makes Ferri the vibrant flower, meow.”

The austere Wilhelm and the flippant-to-the-last Ferris were a shining example of polar opposites. Ram responded to both extremes by politely grasping the hem of her skirt and making a formal curtsy.

“I graciously accept your polite greetings. I am called Ram. I am employed here, at the mansion of Marquis Roswaal L. Mathers, in the capacity of senior servant.”

Ram’s cheekiness in naming herself senior servant made Subaru grimace, but he held his tongue. Ram was indisputably in charge of the mansion while Rem was absent. Personally, he would have preferred she call herself acting senior servant, or if not senior for a day, then at least senior servant for the last week, but oh well.

“Either way, these two and the people behind us are proof that Crusch is cooperating with us. This is what Roswaal wants, too. No complaints, right?”

“If Master Roswaal wills it, Ram shall obey— It would seem he accomplished his objective in leaving you behind at the capital. Though I believe he shall have your head for the blank letter, Barusu.”

“Hey, can you cut it with the violent imagery? Why do you have such a brutal thought process?”

He felt like he was back in medieval times, but Ram freshly ignored his complaints. Instead she turned toward the representatives of the reinforcements.

“So you have been traveling with my apprentice servant… My condolences.”

“Though he is prone to exorbitant actions and showing too much of his emotions, Sir Subaru is a person of high promise. Even at my age, he has aided me many times.”

“Ferri won’t go as far as Old Man Wil, but…well, I’ll just take Ram’s words as they were offered. I’ll say, mmm, I think he’s brushed up a little, meow.”

The assessments from Wilhelm and Ferris made Ram sigh with an even more grudging look on her face.

Though the topic was a rather uncomfortable one, Subaru scratched his cheek, glossing over how he really felt. Immediately after, he clapped his hands together and started over, explaining the situation to Ram in detail.

“Anyway, leave smashing the enemies in the forest to the expeditionary force. I want you to cooperate with that and something in a different direction. Are you willing?”

“That depends on the details. I do not wish to make a hasty promise only to have Barusu’s filthy, poisonous fangs sink into me.”

“Hey, the looks I give you aren’t that dirty, you know?!”

“That’s a boy for you, not saying it was zero…”

Faced with Ram’s poison tongue, Ferris’s casual banter, and stern eyes shifted his way, Subaru cleared his throat. From there, having kept them waiting long enough, he elucidated the circumstances required, both in front of and behind the curtain, to make his plan come to fruition.

“I want your help in picking where to evacuate the people in the village and to guide them there. I want to make sure not to involve the villagers while we fight the enemies in the forest.”

“I understand what you are saying. However, we have no means of escape.”

“I’ve arranged the legs to carry ’em out on. From here on out, traveling merchants with dragon carriages will be assembling here, bit by bit from every direction. We’ll have the villagers get aboard and haul ’em out.”

“Assembled from all directions…? How?”

“—Money. We’ll just have to eat the costs, okay?”

Subaru’s “insurance policy” had cost a great deal of money. The treasury paying it was Roswaal’s, and on top of that, it was without his having granted permission. Ram sighed deeply when she discerned that from Subaru’s manner of speech.

“…Understood. I will support your effort. It is an emergency, after all.”

“Seriously?! Huge help! Worst case, I was gonna have to promise to pay it back when I make it big!”

“Only those who are fit to actually rise to prominence may promise such a thing— However, Ram’s consent is by no means the end of the matter.”

After giving a stern assessment about his future prospects, Ram shifted an even sterner look over her shoulder. Subaru didn’t need to follow her gaze; he knew exactly what Ram was trying to tell him.

The people of Earlham Village were behind Ram, still anxious about their situation. Even if Ram was willing to lead them out, convincing them would prove the highest hurdle of all.

He had prior experience from the last go-around, but the result of that effort still tasted bitter in his mouth. The closest word he had to describe the emotion summoned by that memory was fear.

He’d only scratched the surface of the discrimination and repudiation facing Emilia.

“”

Time was short—precious time gained from feeding false information to the Witch Cult. And yet, Subaru hesitated, wondering what the first words out of his mouth ought to be.

“Subawu, if you can’t do it, I’ll…”

“—Ferris.”

When Ferris tried to be considerate to Subaru, offering to speak in his place, Wilhelm called his name. A single glance from the Sword Devil halted Ferris’s gesture in its tracks. He turned his eyes toward Subaru and spoke.

“Sir Subaru, this is not a duty you may shirk… You understand, yes?”

When Wilhelm asked this in a low voice, Subaru winked once and nodded firmly.

Subaru gave Ferris a thankful glance for his concern before stepping past Ram and advancing straight into the village square. To the front were the villagers with worried faces; to his back were his comrades in the expeditionary force. He felt the tension from both stab into him.

As for the first words out of his mouth, those very important words, he still hadn’t decided. But he would begin with the best word for wiping away the villagers’ concerns and fears.

“Everyo—”

“—Master Subaru. Please, let us drop all pretenses. Everyone in the village understands.”

However, Subaru couldn’t even get that first word out.

The one speaking, interrupting Subaru’s word-without-a-plan, was the cornerstone of the village—a small-statured, white-haired, elderly man. He was the one the villagers called Muraosa, a name in no way related to his occupation as village headman. Normally his demeanor made one suspect he was a senile old man, but at that moment, his voice and gaze held no trace of that whatsoever.

Subaru felt overwhelmed by the glint in his eye as the elder touched his beard and continued.

“We understand how dire things must be if you have brought such dangerous persons to deal with it. We have already heard from Miss Ram about the…suspicious presence in the forest.”

“No, that’s…”

“Stop trying to fool us…! We knew before anyone said a word!!”

Following in Muraosa’s wake, the leader of the village’s young men raised a bitter cry. The last go-around, his plea had been the trigger for the villagers to put their fears and anxieties on display. This time proved no different.

“So the ones in the forest, they really are…!”

“What’s with our lord? Didn’t he foresee that this would happen?!”

“Why did the lord speak in support of a half-elf…of a half-demon…?”

The young man’s cry ripped the bandage off, causing the villagers to look at one another and share their fears and worries. It was the sight Subaru had most feared, and had most wanted to avoid.

It was the worst of all spectacles, for even with an intervening Return by Death, and so many valiant efforts to deal with so many things, he still hadn’t known how to stop things from getting to this point—

“”

He probably couldn’t eliminate such a deep-seated discriminatory mind-set in that one moment. When he recalled events from the last time around, he thought that a similar compromise would make things easier.

Considering the menace posed by the Witch Cult, the right decision was to kick other issues down the road. If he gained their grudging acceptance, prioritizing the evacuation, then—

“The girl I know, she acts tough, she’s stubborn, hardheaded…and she worries about anyone seeing that she’s lonely.”

“”

The words Subaru spoke seemed wholly unrelated to his inner thought process.

The villagers gazed in bewilderment, wondering what in the world Subaru was saying. The members of the expeditionary force had similar reactions. However, their expressions of surprise abated as they listened closely.

They offered their ears, listening to Subaru’s words.

“She always chooses to hurt herself for someone else’s sake. Even though she gets hurt so easily, she always picks the path that winds up with her getting hurt. She’s gentle and kindhearted to the core, she fusses over things like a little kid, she gets teary-eyed even when she hasn’t eaten a green bepper, she makes such a cute face when she smiles…”

“What are you talking abo—?”

“—I’m talking about Emilia, the half-elf up at the mansion.”

When someone interrupted, Subaru replied with a calm voice.

His answer surprised the villagers. The little smile coming over Subaru’s lips surprised them even more. Given the circumstances, and their words of distress but a few moments before, his reaction seemed very much out of place.

“I understand why you’re worried. Also that you think the cause of everything is R…Master Roswaal, your lord, and his support of a half-elf girl in the royal selection that began at the royal capital.”

“”

“That girl’s name is Emilia. Really, you all know her already, don’t you? She’s the girl who’s been spending months alongside you.”

Subaru’s exhortation made the villagers exchange glances. From their reactions, there had to be recognition remaining within their memories. Even if, all that time, her face and her identity had been hidden, they’d seen her with Subaru in the village many times, and at the very least, they remembered the time they’d spent with her.

“I understand that you’re all worried and scared. I also understand that when the chips are down, it feels good to blame things on something that’s easy to understand.”

It was human instinct to protect the mind by slamming the emotions into something nearby. Subaru could not criticize them for that. He, of all people, didn’t have the right to do so.

But he chastised himself. His heart was tormented because he understood this so well. Once upon a time, Subaru had coped with pain the way the villagers were doing in the present.

“I’m sure, though, you all actually understand. Pushing your worries onto someone else won’t make things better.”

“”

“That girl is someone who smiled with everyone. That girl is someone who wants to laugh with everyone. I know. She’s said so. I want you to stop ignoring that, and stop hurting her.”

He had no confidence that his own voice lacked worry and sorrow. He wanted to punch himself for having the gall to say such a thing. After all, it was Subaru who had hurt Emilia, ignored her feelings, and trampled upon her heart more than anyone.

He’d regretted it at the time. The grief had pierced Subaru’s chest ever since. Maybe that was why.

He regretted allowing her to make that face. He regretted making her put on that face.

He didn’t want anyone else to go through that.

“Please—I’m begging you.”

Subaru lowered his head toward the villagers as he made his earnest plea.

The thing he was asking seemed completely unrelated to their most imminent problems, a waste of precious time. Even though Subaru had to speak to them about evacuating, his words were about something completely different. It was as if he was reconfirming for himself just what terrible things had been said to Emilia over and over.

“”

Indeed, the villagers looked conflicted, at a loss as to what reaction they ought to have to Subaru’s words. Even if it had been the topic they were speaking about, the conclusion clashed with the issue at hand.

Mutual bewilderment left them perplexed. However, that was not the only thing born from it.

“—Petra?”

Hearing the sound of small footsteps, Subaru called out the name of the little girl walking to his side.

The girl with reddish-brown hair—Petra—was a village girl Subaru knew well. She responded to Subaru’s call with a nod as she reached Subaru’s side, turning around as she stood to face the villagers with him.

Then her next words proved that she did not only seem to be taking his side—she was.

“Why won’t anyone listen to what Subaru’s saying?”

It was guileless. It was brutally honest. That was why her chastising tore a hole into their hearts.

“Subaru’s so worried, he looks about to cry. Why won’t anyone help him?”

“That’s…”

“When I was in trouble, when everyone was in trouble, Subaru came through, didn’t he? He’ll probably come through for us today, too, right? Then why…?”

Adults had too many walls up to launch the attack called “innocence” that only children were capable of. With the adults cowed into silence, Petra gazed sadly at them before grasping Subaru’s hand.

“The older girl at the mansion, that’s the girl always wearing white, isn’t it? She was the one bringing potato stamps when we did the radio aerobics.”

“…Yeah, that’s right. She was the stamp girl. She wanted to mingle with everyone, but she couldn’t just come out and say so. That’s just how she is.”

Subaru grinned as Petra’s words brought him back to the peaceful days they’d spent together.

It became a ritual. Every day, Emilia would accompany Subaru down to the village and do radio aerobics with the villagers. Emilia was always watching when Subaru gave his stamp of approval with the potato stamps he’d carved himself.

These everyday scenes were the tangible bonds Emilia had formed with the villagers.

That fact made understanding and hesitation rise upon the adults’ faces. But no adult grumbling or hesitation had any traction with children. Other hands rose as different children rushed over to Subaru’s side.

“I’m okay with Big Sis, too!” “If Petra’s fine with her, then I’m fine with her!” “We won’t let Big Bro be the only one to act cool!” “Subaru’s gonna cry, so we’ve gotta help him!” “Yeah!!”

The children made a ruckus; their voices seemed to blow the previous atmosphere away. Seeing the children lined up against them, the anxiety-ridden adults glanced at each other’s faces.

They needed one final push. Faced with their indecision, Subaru stepped forward. With both arms, he held on to the children, pulling them in as tightly as he could.

“I don’t expect everyone to accept her just like that. But I want an opportunity without you rejecting her at the start. I want you to give her a chance.”

“A chance…?”

“A chance to be a girl you can get along with…a chance for you to understand each other.”

As Subaru elaborated on his words, his hands let go of the children he had held, freeing him to get on his knees and show that his resolve went far beyond bowing.

“”

Even Ram’s eyes widened as murmurs spread.

But of all assembled, it was Wilhelm, Ferris, and the other members of the expeditionary force behind Subaru who watched his entreaty in silence.

It was enough. Though it was embarrassing, he had no reason to hesitate.

“Everyone, there’s a lot of things I’d like to say, but right now, this is the only thing I want to ask of you. And one thing more: Let us protect the time needed to make that chance happen.”

“”

“Please… This is why I came back.”

His voice came to a halt. The villagers were silent.

That was to be expected—as far as they were concerned, Subaru was their savior, yet there he was, pressing his own forehead to the ground as he made his plea…a plea to “let them” protect.

Their positions were completely reversed. But the sight of the Subaru they knew like that was—

“—Oh geez, Master Subaru, there’s just no winnin’ against you.”

Speaking those words, and roughly scratching his head in the process, was none other than the leader of the young men who had caused their eruption of worry to begin with. He had a guilty look on his face as he walked over to Subaru and reached out with a hand.