With Rem in combat readiness, holding an iron ball for "self-defense," the search through the nighttime forest continues.
The moonlight is blocked by the trees, and the darkness of the forest is deep. As I avoid the trees that stand in my way and push through the branches and leaves, I get abrasions all over my body that bleed.
The small wound stings and hurts, and the frustration of groping around in the dark.
Including the lack of time, these things place a great deal of mental pressure on Subaru.
"Honestly, I didn't expect it to be this dark. I'm surprised you're okay, Remrin."
"If you're in the forest or in the mountains, you'll have divine protection... but more importantly, please don't speak too loudly. Keep your breathing under control, and your heartbeat is too loud."
"Will it stop...?"
She argued in a low voice, separating each syllable, then slowly followed behind Rem, who was ahead of her.
Without her, she would have lost track of where she was and been stranded by now. Perhaps it was because of her ability to see in the dark, but Rem's steps were light and unwavering as she moved forward.
He traversed the dark forest, which Subaru couldn't even vaguely see, preparing a path for Subaru to walk on easily behind him.
Even the moonlight is far away in the depths of darkness, and the only thing I can rely on is Rem's back, walking in front of me. Her small body in front of me seems so large that I instinctively reach out and grab the hem of her maid uniform.
"...What are you doing?"
"A picture of someone clinging to something in the darkness, feeling lonely."
"If you're going to grab onto something to avoid getting separated, please grab onto something more properly, like your shoulder."
"I don't want to get in the way of your unwavering, unwavering back. But I can't help feeling lonely. That's the sad, innocent side of a young girl..."
"How dare you say that... you were looking a little cool just now."
Rem looked dumbfounded and speechless. With Subaru still holding the hem of her skirt, she stopped in her tracks, looked around, and snorted softly.
Pointing at the police dog-like behavior,
"You've been trying this a while now, but can you actually follow someone by smell?"
"That's the hardest thing to fake. Your appearance and voice can be faked, but the thing that emanates from your being can't be faked."
Rem's words are filled with confidence, and I can only pray that her sense of smell will reach Subaru and the others' target.
As he watched her, he suddenly remembered having had some sort of conversation with Rem before, based on the smell. Yes, that time, he was sure the "witch's smell" was a problem. Rem had said that Subaru had a disgusting smell.
Thinking back, Beatrice remembered saying something similar about Subaru. The current situation doesn't allow it, but if she remembers once things are settled――
"--! It's close, I can smell something alive."
Beside Subaru, who was lost in thought, Rem turned her head to the right and narrowed her eyes. Subaru was drawn to turn his eyes in the same direction, but all he saw was the same unchanging darkness.
Feeling frustrated by this, he turned to Rem.
"Does it smell like children?"
"I don't know, but it doesn't smell like an animal."
"That's fine. Let's go!"
"This way."
Rem crouched low and took off, and Subaru chased after her, still clutching the hem of her shirt.
Perhaps it was just my imagination, but there was a bouncy tone to Rem's voice. She saw a literal light in the darkness, and without even realizing it, her steps stumbled forward.
However, expectations and anxiety go hand in hand.
The fact that Rem's subconscious did not declare that the smell she picked up was that of children was probably because she was unconsciously acknowledging that anxiety.
That's why they needed to find the answer as quickly as possible.
Rem, who was ahead of him, was swinging the iron ball in her hand wildly, gouging out trees across the width of the road to make a path. Her cumbersome method was clearly impatient, and Subaru, who was chasing after her, naturally stomped his kicks harder.
He was out of breath, his legs were heavy, but his consciousness was clear. Gradually his eyes began to get used to the pitch blackness, and the view of the forest began to catch a glimpse of Subaru's field of vision.
Suddenly, Subaru's field of vision opened up before his eyes. In the middle of the forest, there was a gaping space between the trees. A small hill spread out before him, revealing an open sky, and the moonlight filtering in created an even more fantastical atmosphere.
On that small green hill, in a place blessed by the dazzling moonlight――
"Children!"
There were children lying exhausted on the green floor, with their limbs stretched out.
He rushes over and together with Rem checks to see if the children are safe.
There were six people lying on the ground. There was no visible skin trauma, and none of them were conscious, but they were still breathing.
"I'm alive! -- I'm alive!"
Making it in time, Subaru clenches his fist and cheers.
However, Rem, who was observing the condition of the girl sleeping beside him, prefaced her response with "No."
"He's still breathing, but he's extremely weak. If he carries on like this..."
"Weakness... a curse!"
Looking at them, the children were pale, panting like fish that had risen to the surface, their foreheads covered in cold sweat, and their sleeping faces looked painful, as if they were having a nightmare.
Curse - Subaru bit his lip as he objectively observed the magic that had attacked him countless times.
"Can't you do something, anything? Can't you break the curse, Rem?"
"Rem's skills are not enough... if only my sister was watching over this."
Just like Subaru, who was being hasty with impatience, Rem also regretfully admitted that she was not strong enough. However, she quickly shook her head to shake off that feeling of weakness,
"Anyway, I'll cast a healing spell on you, even if it's just for comfort. I need to get some of my strength back."
"Oh please, what should I do?"
"Please be vigilant in your surroundings. And gather the children in one place."
Following Rem's instructions, she lined up the children in front of her. Looking down painfully at the children breathing heavily, Rem used an iron handle to carve a circle into the ground.
The circle completely envelops the children, and they squat down and touch the edge.
"May the healing power of the waters be your blessing--"
Following the chant, a pale blue light emerged in the rough circle and gently covered the sleeping children's bodies, slowly allowing the light to seep into their bodies.
The glow was a gentle, soft sparkle that even Subaru, who had little knowledge of magic, could sense was a healing vibration.
As time passed, the light penetrated the children's bodies, and gradually their labored breathing began to change into a gentler, albeit slighter, sounder breathing.
"That's amazing, Rem. This is..."
"I told you, it's just a placebo effect. You may be fine as long as I can speak to the mana in your body like this, but once it's depleted, it won't even be a temporary fix. We need to eliminate the root cause as soon as possible."
"The curse needs lifting. For that we have no choice but to return to the mansion and ask Bearko and Puck for help. All right, let's go back. Carry the children on our backs..."
Subaru: "ーーSubaru?"
Just as he was preparing to retreat immediately, Subaru was startled to hear someone call his name. Turning towards the voice, he saw a brown-haired boy with his eyes half-open.
The boy, who seemed to have regained consciousness, reflected Subaru in his eyes and gasped in pain.
"Subaru, Subaru..."
"You're awake, Luca? Good, you're a good boy and a strong boy. But don't push yourself. I'll bring you back right away and let you say goodbye to the reason you're suffering. I'll leave it to you, so just rest quietly for now…"
"Alone, deep inside...still...deep inside."
"...Hey, what was it?"
Luca tries to communicate something in a fragmented manner.
Sensing something he couldn't overlook in that fragmentary information, Subaru asked again, but his voice didn't reach Luca, who had closed his eyes again and lost consciousness.
Subaru muttered a soft "Damn it," and then turned his gaze towards the depths of the forest.
"If the people who were there that afternoon were the missing kids... Ah, damn it, it's true. I can't find the girl with the braids anywhere."
There were six people sleeping here, all children whose names Subaru knew. However, the one person missing was the girl who had led Subaru to the puppy earlier in the day. A timid girl who was shy and had a hard time joining Subaru's group.
The child was nowhere to be seen. Then, with a brief moment of consciousness regained, Lucas didn't say "help me" or "it hurts," but instead said, "the child has been taken further inside."
A child not yet even ten years old, whose life was still in danger, was concerned not about his own safety but that of others, his friends.
"Dammit."
Cursing once more, Subaru stood up.
Subaru turned to Rem, who had a quizzical expression on her face, perhaps not having heard the conversation with Lucas, and pointed his finger at her, asking her a question.
"Question, Rem. If we keep casting healing spells on the children, will we be able to extend the time limit?"
"...Currently, it is possible. But, it would only be a way to buy time. Rem would end up being completely preoccupied with this situation."
Unable to read Subaru's intentions, Rem's response was unclear.
Listening to this, Subaru's brain raced. What should he do? What was the best course of action for him, a useless person in this situation?
There is only one method I can think of. It would be quite a gamble, but――
"Rem. One of the children has been taken further inside. I think that's probably where that demonic beast is."
"My dear... but if they were taken away one by one..."
As Rem tried to speak her worst-case scenario, Subaru held out his palm to stop her. With her words silenced, Subaru frowned and said,
"I know the situation is bad. But we managed to save the lives of those children who we thought were in grave danger. So we should try to save the rest, right?"
"You might get greedy and spill things that you could have picked up and put back."
"So, Rem, this is to stop that from happening, right?"
Rem kept asking, but she couldn't help but scoff. Subaru spread his arms out in front of her.
"With Rem's strength, it's not impossible for her to carry six children and run away, right? Conversely, I thought I was pretty strong myself, but carrying six brats is impossible. Two at most, three at the most. I can't use healing magic, so there's next to nothing I can do here right now. So we should make good use of the free pieces."
"..."
"I'll go and check on the back. Rem, take the children and return to the village for now. --Don't worry, I won't do anything reckless or unreasonable, I can't do anything. Leave the children with the villagers, and then Rem will fly back to you."
Rem listened in silence to Subaru's absurd reasoning.
While her gaze didn't soften at all, Subaru continued to talk and speak furiously,
"The child in the back... well, if the worst case scenario occurs, I'll turn back too. But, if there's still hope, I can at least buy some time."
"Not only do we not know what kind of opponent we are facing, but we also don't know how long it will take for Rem to return. In the worst case scenario, we might lose sight of her and not be able to meet up…"
Perhaps finding Subaru's decision difficult to accept, Rem grabbed him by the sleeve and continued to argue.
Was he worried about Subaru's safety, or was he simply unable to accept Subaru's reckless plan?
Hoping that it was the former, Subaru gave a wry smile and removed her fingers from his sleeve. Then he took her fingers,
"Don't worry, I won't lose sight of you."
"On what basis..."
"There is evidence to support that."
Laughing, Subaru touched his nose with his finger, then pointed at her face,
"You're confident about your nose, right? And actually, L-rin and V-chan have pointed out to me a few times that I have a pretty nasty smell."
Rem went quiet and opened her eyes wide.
In response to her shock, he pointed his finger at her again, as if to get revenge on the Rem of the past, the Rem that this Rem did not know.
"Even if no one else notices, you're the only one who notices my smell. The stench that clings to me, the lingering scent of a criminal -- right?"
"Subaru-kun... how much do you know...?"
"Well, there are so many things I don't understand. There are so many things I don't understand, and no matter how many times I try again and again, yesterday, today, and tomorrow, I just can't seem to find the answer I want."
Rem looks confused by the sudden change in topic. On the one hand, he thinks her reaction is inevitable, but on the other hand, he is quite amazed at his own state of mind, being able to laugh about it.
I want to give myself a pat on the back for having developed such thick skin.
"Just like you have a lot of things you want to ask me, I have a lot of things I want to ask you. So, when everything's settled, let's talk. We'll spend the whole night in our rooms, in our pajamas, having some late-night girl talk. I promise."
Then he forcefully intertwined her fingers with his own, which he was still holding in his hand.
With their pinkies intertwined, Rem looks at Subaru with a confused look in her eyes. In front of Rem, Subaru shook his intertwined fingers up and down,
"Yuubi cut it off."
"W-what was that just now...?"
"It's a promised ritual from my hometown. If you break it, you'll end up swallowing a thousand needles. One hit will deal a thousand points of damage, so in an RPG where HP is in the triple digits, it would be an instant death move."
Subaru's words and actions were now beyond Rem's understanding. Rem was so perplexed she couldn't speak, and Subaru prefaced his statement with "In short,"
"I believe in you, Remrin. That's why I want to act in a way that you can believe in me. Let's make a promise now to achieve that."
"――――"
"I told you, right? I'm the type of person who keeps my promises, and makes others keep theirs. So I'm fine with you not worrying about me."
"P-p ...
Finally unable to bear it any longer, Rem let out an exasperated sigh and laughed weakly.
Unable to completely suppress the urge to laugh, Rem continued to laugh softly, and as if drawn in, Subaru also laughed, keeping his voice quiet.
And so, after laughing for a while, Rem looked up and said,
"I promised. --Really, I'll tell you all about it."
"I'll tell you anything, even the name of my first love. Except for the name of the girl I'm currently in love with."
"I already know that."
"But it won't reach him!"
My interactions with her felt like I had left her behind somewhere.
Subaru felt a sense of satisfaction as he recreated it. Rem also looked serious.
"I will be back immediately. Please do not do anything reckless. Lady Emilia will be angry with you."
Subaru: "I don't want to get scolded by Emilia-tan either, so I'll be careful. —But, it'll be fine. I was acting pretty devilish today, after all."
"A demon...?"
"A demon version of Kagakure! My latest favorite!"
A new pose with arms crossed and legs spread, grasping into the void.
What did Rem think of Subaru's frivolous bravado?
She didn't comment on Subaru's attitude,
"See you later."
With those words, she picked up the children in her arms. The sight of the petite girl carrying six children on her small shoulders, even though they were all young, was reminiscent of a street performer, and Subaru couldn't help but smile as he watched her back walk away, despite the situation.
Left alone on a small hill in the middle of the forest, in a world that was falling silent, Subaru took a deep breath and slowly turned towards the direction in question.
"Well then, shall we do it, Subaru-san?"
"I'm sorry," he said, trying to encourage himself as he began to tremble, then he bit hard into the little finger on which he'd made the promise before running off.
--What awaits you ahead - hope or despair?
The morning of the fourth day, which I'm sure has arrived many times before, now seems far away