"At first I thought that this dingy place was interesting in its cluttered state, but once I got used to it, it wasn't anything to draw my eye at all. It's no use in easing my boredom."
The orange-haired girl muttered with a bored gaze, the hem of her dress fluttering at the end of her raised arm.
"So you've made such a bold statement after only looking around the back alleys for a few minutes. I'm sure the designers who designed the royal capital didn't expect the streets to be considered boring."
"Since the world exists for me, everything in this world should exist for my enjoyment. I don't understand the mind of someone who would adopt such a boring townscape. Even royalty is surprisingly blind. It seems that they may have gone extinct recently because of that."
"What an insolent statement to make in front of the King, you..."
Just listening to the girl's words made him nervous, and even though he knew there was no one around, Subaru couldn't help but shrink and look around.
The girl snorted at Subaru's cautious, or rather timid, behavior, and
"That's a pointless reaction and a pointless worry. To be scared of something so trivial means that you are just one of the many ordinary people."
"I'm well aware that I'm just an ordinary, ordinary person, so it's fine. I've already suffered the consequences today, so I don't want to get embroiled in any more of your careless remarks."
"That is truly pointless. You should be proud of having been involved, even as a minor player, in my glorious path. To find it dissatisfying is tantamount to going against reason."
「I don't want to waste any more time and cause trouble for my companions! I'm already completely out of time, but with each passing minute, my position gets worse! I'm completely out of the picture!
Just thinking about Emilia looking at him with that cold gaze sends chills down his spine. He also feels a strange tingling sensation. Even though he doesn't know what that mysterious sensation is, he somehow knows that it's the kind of sensation he shouldn't confirm.
So, if possible, I would like to avoid having to deal with this girl's strong ego any further.
Subaru felt a sense of crisis about this. However, the girl turned up the corners of her mouth as if to mock Subaru's complaint,
"How ridiculous. It would be rude to direct your attention to any other being while you are with me. In fact, I have a companion, but I don't think anything of being separated from her."
"Try and give that a little thought. I feel so sorry for your companion."
He was accompanying this arrogant and haughty girl. Subaru was able to briefly sense the hardships this person he had never met had experienced, and a burning sense of sympathy welled up within him.
She must be an unfortunate, pure beauty who is manipulated by an unreasonable young lady. Subaru, who has a weakness for ladylike characters, is definitely someone you'll want to check out.
"In exchange for that, being with this guy is a prerequisite for contacting the child."
「You're getting pretty cocky, calling me that bastard. If you offend me too much, you could even risk your life.」
「I'm getting sick of that kind of talk! How careful do I have to be not to step on any flags, dammit. Be a good boy, be a good boy, cheer up」
He walked around to the girl walking next to him, waved his hand and called out to her in a teasing manner. The girl frowned as if she had something on her mind, but then suddenly chuckled.
"Well, that's fine. A clown can only be a clown if he accepts himself as a clown. A fool who can't even decide where he belongs, there's no need to soil my hands."
"Are you making fun of me by saying something so intelligent?"
"If you accept that it's stupid, then you've achieved your goal. Whether you do it consciously or unconsciously is the difference."
Saying this in a tone of enlightenment, she cast a mocking look at Subaru who was walking ahead of her. Receiving that unpleasant gaze, Subaru realized clearly that he and she were not compatible.
"Well, it doesn't really matter."
They were just passing partners to begin with. They didn't even know each other's names, and if they went out onto the main street like this, they would probably turn their backs on each other and never see each other again.
Subaru doesn't have the philanthropic spirit to make friends with anyone, even if it means putting up with unpleasant feelings. Making an effort to like something you hate is the most abhorrent act in his eyes.
Even though he had made that judgment, he still had no intention of parting ways with the girl until they reached the main street, revealing Subaru's true nature as a person.
While the two were engaged in this unpleasant conversation, Grandpa Rom, who was the sort of person who would have been able to mediate between them, was nowhere to be found. He was reluctant to go out onto the main street, and flatly refused to accompany Subaru and the others.
The old man, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, maintained his nonchalant attitude, but Subaru could tell that his position was not particularly good.
Subaru had little understanding of either the royal capital or the slums, so he didn't know how much the stolen goods storehouse had been worth to the people of the slums. But he could tell from his conversation with the thugs earlier that Grandpa Rom's position as the owner of the stolen goods storehouse was fairly well known.
With the loss of his stolen goods, his position has fallen into a less than bright direction.
"It's heartless to say there's nothing we can do about it."
Though he understood his position, there was nothing Subaru could do for him. After all, Subaru was in a position to be considered a party to the incident in which the stolen goods storehouse was destroyed.
From Grandpa Rom's point of view, Subaru was one of the despicable people who had destroyed his workplace. Even though he deserved to be hit with hateful words, he didn't take them out on Subaru, proving he was a rational person.
Because I like his personality, I want to do whatever I can to make his wishes come true.
Unless I could at least find out where Felt was, I wouldn't be able to repay her.
If he followed the route that Grandpa Rom had explained to him, he would be able to safely reach the main road, even if it meant taking a slightly longer detour. He was obviously going to categorically refuse to have a second encounter with the thugs, so apart from the pointless exchange with the girl along the way, he had no reason to complain.
"--While I was thinking about this, we finally reached the exit."
As I made my way through the winding alleys, I finally came to see beyond the darkness onto a street where bright sunlight was streaming in. Judging from the continuous stream of people crossing the street, I assumed I was nearing a bustling shopping street or some similar place.
Subaru turned to the girl, thinking that this painful time was finally over.
"Once we go outside, we'll be complete strangers. I have to find my cute, cute companion, and I want to avoid any more trouble from hanging out with you. Your companion is probably desperately searching for you, so don't run around pointlessly and help them find you."
Prepared to be called cold-hearted and cold-blooded, Subaru pushes the girl away rather forcefully. She had been holding the pace up until this point, so he wanted revenge, but more than that, he judged that if he didn't make his intentions clearer, the girl in front of him wouldn't understand.
Perhaps because Subaru had stated it so clearly, the girl did not seem to take it in her own way. However, she still didn't forget to laugh fearlessly,
"There's no need to go out of my way to say that you and I have no relation. You are merely one of the countless stepping stones I have. Clinging to a roadside stone is of no use to me, the recipient of the world's love. --It's not like I'm particularly worried about you."
With her arms crossed to accentuate her ample chest, she glanced sideways at Subaru.
Her actions and words revealed hidden emotions that were contrary to her words, and even Subaru, who was insensitive to other people's subtleties, could easily see them.
"Are you scared that people will dislike you even though you're so arrogant? You're such a pain!"
"It is the law of this world that I am loved by all things in the universe. To go against that is to stray from reason. In fact, I am astonished at your irrationality."
"I'm confident in my lack of common sense too, but not as much as you!"
The tense atmosphere up until then had completely disappeared, and Subaru interjected with a loud voice.
If she had simply broken up with him with growing disgust, he would have been able to forget about her without any hard feelings, but she behaved like this. There's no doubt that she is a beautiful girl, so when she shows him a slightly lovable side like that, Subaru has a hard time dealing with it.
Although he has a strong ego and a habit of making remarks without considering other people's feelings, he is afraid of being disliked by others.
--It's as if I'm looking at someone, and it makes my heart itch.
"Oh, yeah, yeah, I get it, I get it. I don't mind, I don't mind."
For some reason, the venom had been taken out of him, and Subaru replied to her with a wry smile. The girl frowned in dissatisfaction and prefaced her answer with, "What is it?"
"It is natural for me to be loved. You bastard, don't say such obvious things."
"Ah, yes, yes, that's right. You're still a mental baby, so it's only natural that everyone loves you like a baby. Ababababa."
The funny faces he made were a big hit with the babies in the neighborhood. Since then, the moms in the neighborhood have been laughing out loud every time they see him. However, he wasn't making any funny faces at the time, so it left him with a feeling of emptiness.
Such a sad memory and this approach were inseparably linked. I was sure that this would be met with applause, but what was the girl's reaction?
"Hmm, I'll have a little pity on you."
Far from laughing, she sighed, put her fingers to her forehead, closed her eyes, and shook her head. Without even looking at Subaru, who had stiffened with a funny expression on his face,
"Whether consciously or unconsciously, it has become ingrained in you to behave like that. It is not your virtue. It is merely a flimsy shell that hides your weakness. It is unbearable to look at, along with your face."
"You said some serious things in the first half, and then casually made fun of my facial structure in the second half...!?"
"If you insist on passing it, then it is none of my business."
The girl concludes her story like this, and makes no mention of Subaru's behavior afterwards.
Losing the opportunity to change his funny expression, Subaru, with his expression still distorted, tilted his head in disbelief at what she was saying.
Subaru didn't quite understand what she was trying to say.
As her attitude and actions show, she is a girl who lacks the consideration to make others understand even what she says.
No matter how deeply he pursued the matter, he would never get a clear answer. With that thought in mind, Subaru gave up on saying anything more to the girl.
Or perhaps, by labelling her as an incomprehensible presence, Subaru was able to avoid confronting her words here and there.
Although, no matter how Subaru responded in this particular situation, he probably wouldn't have gotten any further than that.
because--,
"--I finally found it."
The moment they stepped out onto the street, they were greeted by a voice like that.
Unlike the darkness of the back alley, the bright sunlight was shining brightly onto the main street. Subaru suddenly emerged from the darkness into the sun, his eyes burning in the sunlight and he squinted.
As if bearing that radiance, a girl in a white robe looked at Subaru.
His handsome eyebrows were knitted together in a tired and troubled manner, and his silver hair hidden under his hood swayed lightly. His lips formed a smile of relief on his handsome features, and his amethyst eyes were trembling faintly with emotions that were difficult to put into words.
One look at her melancholy beauty tells you just how concerned she is about Subaru's whereabouts.
Although a man feels sorry for making his partner feel uneasy, he is also happy that she is worried about him. Love is a complicated thing, and it applies to both men and women alike.
"Uh, Emily..."
As soon as I stepped onto the main street, the person I wanted to meet showed up.
Subaru's face brightened at how quickly they had met up, and he called out her name, but was suddenly cut off by something strange.
Looking in my direction, she lets out a soft sigh and a figure stands next to her.
Judging from his sturdy build, he was definitely a man. The four letters "cuckold" immediately came to Subaru's mind.
"Hey hey, what's going on?! What on earth is that man, Emilia-tan?"
He leapt forward and instantly got in between the man and Emilia. Shielding Emilia with his back, he stepped back, pointed his finger at her and glared at her - Subaru's expression stiffened as he tried to see the face of that hated man. And,
"Hey hey, young lady, young lady. Your companion seems to be pretty out of it, is he okay?"
The man shrugged and spoke to Emilia in a friendly manner - his voice was slightly muffled and hard to hear.
After all, his head was covered by a jet-black full-face helmet, so this was only natural.
A helmet that completely covers the face - if that was all, it wouldn't be considered a particularly eye-catching piece of clothing, but since this was the royal capital, the people walking down the streets were diverse in appearance.
Among them, people in armor and magician's uniforms were the most popular. Knights were even seen descending on the castle as guards. Subaru wouldn't have been so surprised to see people in full armor wandering around.
Even so, the reason why Subaru was stunned by the man's appearance was, of course, because his outfit was more unusual in the royal capital than a full body suit of armor.
"I find it refreshing and exciting when she suddenly treats me like a thief in a feminine manner."
"You have some pretty bad fashion sense, don't you?"
"You really don't know how to talk to your superiors. I'll let you off the hook because I'm a cool, good-natured guy, but depending on the other person, you could get your head chopped off."
In front of the screaming Subaru, the man pointed his finger at him and slapped his neck with glee.
The strangeness wasn't limited to the head - no, rather, it was strange precisely because it was there.
A jet black full face mask covered his head. From his neck down, armor of the same color would normally continue, but in fact, from his neck down, he was not wearing armor, but rather light clothing made of a cheap material like linen.
It doesn't look like it's woven from any special material, it's just light clothing. Not only the jacket but also the slippers are of the same style, and even the footwear is zori sandals.
I no longer understand the meaning of that combination.
The Subaru jersey was an unusual outfit in this world, but there was no doubt that the outfit of the man before him was also quite minor.
Or perhaps this is the standard in this world,
"That's not true, is it, Emilia-tan?!"
"Don't worry, Subaru. I was just as surprised by that person's outfit."
"That's right, you were so surprised, it was so cute. But then after that you offered to join me in looking for the lost child, which surprised me."
Laughing loudly, the man readily recounted the story of his first encounter with Emilia.
Hearing this, Subaru looked at Emilia intently,
"Emilia-tan, your kindness is an extremely beautiful quality, but you should be more careful with who you deal with. Do you know why poisonous mushrooms look poisonous? They are there to tell those around you that 'I'm poisonous, I'm dangerous, if you eat me you'll die', to prevent harm from occurring?"
"Hey, hey, when I hear that, I can't think of any other way to interpret it other than making me sound like a dangerous person, that's terrible, isn't it?"
"Someone as suspicious as you are, in my hometown where the overprotection of children is extremely advanced, would be reported immediately. An emergency morning assembly would be held at the nearby elementary school."
Eventually, it got to the point where a notice was being handed out just by walking down the street during the day on a weekday.
Was it just Subaru's prejudice that made him feel that this excessive defensiveness still wasn't helping children much?
With such pointless thoughts in mind, Subaru turned to Emilia,
"Anyway, I always tell Emilia-tan to be careful of cars and men, right? Men are wolves in particular, so it's no good to smile at them defenselessly… are you mad?"
"I was just wondering if Subaru would remember what I said to him, listening to what he said to me. No, I mean nothing by it."
Subaru regretted his mistake and wanted to cover his face.
However, the lecture was fortunately interrupted. The source of the lecture was not the three people who had been in the conversation, but
"Hmm, it's quite thoughtful of you to wait wherever I go. That's a more noble intention than I thought, Al."
"...Honestly, I can't deny that it was just a coincidence, but I don't want to upset the princess by saying that, so I'll just nod. Yes, that's right!"
The man, the man called Al, laughed at the girl who stepped forward and spoke arrogantly. He then roughly stroked the orange girl's head with his palm, and pulled her body next to him.
"It's quite a strange coincidence, but it seems the person the young lady was looking for and the person I was looking for were traveling together. Maybe this is fate."
Subaru: "The red thread between me and Emilia-tan has just been tugged at, and I believe there is no fate between these two pairs, I believe!"
"He's a man of few words."
Subaru's response made Al laugh softly, and he waved the hand that had been caressing the girl. From the moment before, his actions had been expressed solely with the movement of his right hand.
That was only natural, since the man in front of him didn't have a left arm where it should have been.
He has a jet black helmet on his one arm, and light clothing that doesn't match his intimidating appearance.
Judging from the tone of his voice and his appearance aside from his face, he was probably a generation older than her. Despite this, he didn't give the impression of being a superior, likely due to his carefree attitude as well as his clothing.
A positive way to describe it is friendly. A negative way to describe it is restless adult.
「I mean, are you the one accompanying her?! What about the promise of having a neat and beautiful girl who is always being bossed around and causing trouble?!」
"It's not going to work out that way, so you'll just have to make do with an old man. -- Miss?"
While Subaru couldn't hide his dissatisfaction with the situation not going as he had expected, the nonchalant man turned to Emilia with a puzzled look on his face.
Because of the man's attitude, Subaru belatedly noticed something was off with Emilia.
Emilia had been acting strangely, staying silent and not joining in the conversation for a while now.
She picks up the edge of her hood to subtly hide her face, and hides behind Subaru, trying to block his line of sight.
There was only one person she was trying to hide from, and it was clear to see from where she was standing that she was.
"What is it, just look at me. Your beauty will make you regret leaving. I am certainly the creation of a sinful god, but gazing at you in silence would be rude."
"Sorry, but if you're looking for a treat for the eyes, then we've got a good selection to choose from… It looks like we've both found the person we were looking for, so it's probably time to disband."
The person Emilia was trying to hide from - Subaru coldly responded to the girl's words and directed the water at Al instead of her.
Subaru didn't know why, but Emilia was hesitant to reveal any more of herself here. Subaru's choice was to respect her wishes. And to do so, he should negotiate with someone who seemed more likely to agree, rather than someone who would be unable to.
It was unclear whether Al had sensed Subaru's true intentions, but he didn't particularly deny what he had said,
"Well, that's fine. I know how tiring it is to deal with a princess."
"...I have quite a bit of sympathy for you. No, seriously."
"If you deal with them with the tolerance of an adult, it won't be that tiring. It would be cruel to ask that of a brat your age, though."
Al shrugged at Subaru's rather serious words and dropped his gaze to the girl. Though he couldn't see the eyes inside the helmet, the aura he exuded was similar to that of a father watching over his beloved daughter.
I vaguely get the feeling that it's not a bad relationship.
"Well, we're going this way... but what about you?"
"In that case, we will come this way too."
"...Then, let's go the opposite direction."
"In that case, we will also do the opposite..."
"How troublesome, have you fallen in love with me?! Are you a choloine?!"
"I was just joking, but stop complaining. A boring man will die a boring death."
The girl continued to speak with a bored look until the very end, and walked off with her companion in a dignified manner. There was not the slightest bit of hesitation behind her, and it was no fun to be cut off so abruptly, even though that was what I had hoped for.
So Subaru decided to give the departing girl a final stab of revenge.
"Hey, take it, arrogant girl."
"You have been licking my mouth quite a bit. I will order Al to take your head..."
The girl was about to say something ominous when she turned around, her red eyes widening slightly.
Flying before her in a parabolic arc was the linga that Subaru had hurled poorly. The two lingas took a gentle trajectory towards the girl and landed neatly in her hands.
After making sure she received it, Subaru smiled,
"I'll give it to you, it's the Linga of Bonds. Next time, even if some bad adult dangles a Linga as bait, you shouldn't waver."
"I wasn't in the alley for some stupid reason."
"Your position in my mind is fixed and unshakable. Just accept it."
Forcing Ringa onto him with his violent logic, Subaru tugs Emilia's arm and turns his back on them. Just before he turns her around, he regrets his actions, thinking that if he had just put his arm around her shoulders, she might not have rejected him. Even after regretting this, he convinces himself that just holding hands will be enough for now.
As the two quickly left, a voice called out from across the street,
"---My dear, thank you for helping me search!"
A muffled voice, but one that was filled with gratitude, shouted out.
※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※
After parting ways with the arrogant girl and her mismatched-looking guardian, Subaru walked down the street for a while before coming to a halt.
"Hey, Emilia-tan. That painful guy is gone now, but can we talk now?"
While observing his surroundings, Subaru called out to Emilia, who had also stopped. She had remained silent up until this point, and as she pulled her hood over her head, she wasn't even showing her face to Subaru.
Subaru was worried that he had said something to upset her during his conversation with the girls earlier.
"…Um, sorry, Subaru. I was spacing out for a bit."
Emilia blinked as if she had suddenly come to her senses and muttered to herself.
Subaru was relieved that he'd managed to get the first word out, and while he secretly hid his relief inside his heart, he acted silly,
"You can space out in front of me as much as you like, okay? In the meantime, I'll have the chance to do all those things to you that I can't say out loud."
"You can't say it with your mouth...?"
As Subaru spoke, his fingers moving wildly, waves suddenly appeared in Emilia's amethyst eyes. Seeing the ripples swaying her large eyes, Subaru tilted his head and said,
「Yes, it's something that's hard to put into words. But before you know it, Emilia-tan will be fascinated by the movements of my Golden Fingers, and eventually her body will be transformed into one that can't live without me... Hey, it feels like my hair at the back is frozen, but is it just my imagination?!」
"I don't think it's just your imagination."
Subaru felt a slight chill in the air physically cooling the back of his neck. At the same time, a resounding sensation in his mind echoed through the air, reminding him of the forced telepathy he had experienced just an hour ago.
Feeling the silent anger of the unseen grey kitten, Emilia's guardian, Subaru made gestures in a cold sweat,
"But you know what, I'm a brave Japanese man, so I wouldn't do something so outrageous without consent. I don't want to do it unless we've clearly communicated our feelings to each other in a suite with a view of the nightscape first, you know!"
As Subaru spoke, thinking like a young girl, there was the sound of someone unseen letting out a sigh.
It seemed he'd somehow escaped punishment, and Subaru felt a different kind of relief from his shoulders. In response to this, Emilia pursed her lips tightly,
"Subaru. --The girl from earlier."
"Eh, what's this, Emilia-tan jealous? Is she getting jealous or something? Seriously, after two weeks of hard work—the day my efforts are finally going to bear fruit."
"ーーSubaru."
Subaru interrupted Emilia to speak of his own desire, but Emilia interrupted him again, calling his name in a strong tone.
His expression was serious, and there was even passion in his amethyst gaze, so even Subaru sensed something was wrong and stopped fooling around.
"Uh, what? Emilia-tan, what are you doing with that serious look on your face..."
"Please don't make fun of me. What are you doing with that girl, Subaru…"
Emilia is trying to pursue something about Subaru, and while he is shaken by her request, he needs to give her some sort of satisfactory answer.
--Subaru's rare and sincere thoughts were,
"I finally found it! You've given me so much trouble!"
A rough, boisterous, angry voice seemed to overwrite their conversation, drowning it out.
Surprised, Subaru looks around in shock.
What had been a quiet but busy street moments ago was now surrounded by men with rough-looking features.
Leading the group was Ton, a man Subaru recognized very well. Chin and Kan were nowhere to be found, but he looked down on Subaru and the others, grinning,
"You made a fool of me a while ago. I wanted to repay you for that, so I was looking for you and that girl."
"...You get all your friends involved in retaliation for a small argument; I'm disappointed in your perverse nature. No matter how much you're mocked, no matter how frustrated you are, you still clean up your own mess. You always take responsibility for everything. That's the kind of man you are... That's what I've always believed...!"
"Don't say things that will hurt my feelings! What do you know about me?"
Listening to the spitting man's foul language, Subaru quietly observed his surroundings.
There were about fifteen or sixteen men standing on either side of the street, blocking it. All of them were carrying inconspicuous weapons - short sticks or knives, and it seemed they had managed to keep the others away. There were no civilians in sight who might get caught up in the action.
I believe that the guards will either report the incident or notice something is wrong and rush to the scene, but it's honestly a gamble whether an opportunistic hero like Reinhard will make it in time.
It's difficult to escape, and waiting for someone to help is unrealistic.
Therefore, the most effective way to get through this situation is to
"It's a shameful thing to say, but I think relying on Emilia-tan and Puck is the best thing I can do...!"
"It's really pathetic, but I don't think it's bad that you're willing to admit your own powerlessness without any hesitation."
Puck, hearing Subaru's refreshingly dependent attitude, praised him.
Subaru nodded exaggeratedly at those words, which were not even sarcastic, and then, dancing as he stood in front of Emilia,
「Anyway, that's why I'm giving you guys a warning first. Let me tell you, if you attack, you'll be the ones who regret it, you know?」
"Can't you see the numbers? I know you want to look cool in front of the ladies, but you're the one who's going to end up suffering and crying, you idiot."
"Don't jump to conclusions. It's not me who's going to beat you up, it's the cute girl behind me. Serves you right!"
「Hey, try and act cool in front of the girls!」
Listening to Ton's grand, angry yell with ease, Subaru turned to Emilia and said, "Come on," and gestured with his arm to the men surrounding them,
"If I decide to rely on you, I'll leave everything to you. That's why, Emilia-tan. Just get rid of them quickly and easily. If you want, we can make snow sculptures of them all and hold a Lugnica Snow Festival."
"Just looking into your mind, you're saying some scary things. ...But I don't think there's any need for that."
Puck let slip to Subaru that he was thinking of creating a street lined with ice sculptures and naming it Eternal Force Blizzard Street.
Subaru let out a question mark in response to his words, "Hmm?"
"--What's the fuss about if you follow Subaru-kun's scent?"
At almost the same time, a blue-haired maid fell from the sky, uttering such a sickly line.
Rem came down spinning vertically through the air, clutching the hem of her skirt as she landed with an explosion-like sound effect――She swept away the dust with her arms, drawing the attention of everyone around her,
"So, Subaru-kun, is there anything you would like to say to Rem?"
"Rem is an incredible maid who can really get to the spot! I'm falling in love with her all over again!"
"When you praise me like that, I end up feeling embarrassed."
While the thugs are excited by Rem's sudden appearance, Subaru and Rem's interactions continue as normal today.
Rem's cheeks were red with excitement at Subaru's cheers. Ton was the first to take action, his veins popping out as he watched the two of them talk.
Just then, Rem stepped in between Subaru and Ton. The intimidating man grabbed her by the shoulder, overcome with emotion,
"Hey, you out of place maid. We have something to talk about with you brats--"
That threat, which must have been as forceful as it could be, disappears into the distance without being finished.
Rem grabbed Ton by the collar and slammed him headfirst into the ground. His body slowly rolled over, upside down, his eyes rolling back as he lay motionless.
Maybe, possibly, definitely, he's not dead.
"Rem judges them to be a threat to the safety of Subaru-kun and Emilia-sama."
Rem spoke in a low voice and took on a blank, work-mode look.
And yet, the fact that she was calling out to Subaru first suggested that she hadn't quite sorted out her priorities.
Thinking about this, Subaru sympathized with the clearly frightened thugs. He joined his hands together in prayer in his heart, and offered them the smallest token of sympathy,
"Rem."
"yes"
"Don't kill him, okay?"
"Yes, three-quarters killed."
With the probability of a 75% kill confirmed, Rem slowly began to move.
Some people jump at her in a fit of desperation, some turn their backs to her to run away, and some crouch down without knowing why.
--Her punishment was showered down equally on all of them.
"Wow, that's amazing."
Subaru exclaimed in amazement at the sight of people flying effortlessly through the air.
His mind was completely focused on ending the turmoil in front of him, and he maintained a calmness that seemed detached from the commotion. His amethyst eyes stared at him,
"ーーSubaru."
I didn't even notice her pleading whisper.
※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※
Meanwhile, the commotion is spreading to the girl and Al who had separated from Subaru and the others.
He turns his back on Subaru and the others and walks for a while, then attacks them in a place where the crowds subtly thin out, using the same method. Two people whom Subaru has named Chin Kan have come with them, and including them, their numbers are slightly larger, but they are larger than their numbers.
Compared to Subaru and his friends, the girl's appearance had drawn their interest more. Or perhaps she simply attracted more of the thugs' anger.
"So, you're going to have to suffer a little. Just a little."
Chin laughed in a lewd tone as he looked lustfully at the girl's body.
The men surrounding her had a similarly vulgar light in their eyes, and it was clear without them saying what they planned to do to her after they captured her.
And as for the girl who was the object of such lustful gazes,
"...Hmm, it's sweet and sour. I guess the inside is definitely a linga after all. That also removes the possibility that the clown from earlier painted the fruit red for fun. I'm surprised, linga is red."
"Oh my, my princess, can you see reality?"
The girl cuts the lingam in her hand with a dagger and brings it to her mouth, ignoring the men. The thugs become increasingly angry when they notice this, and Al speaks up, as if to speak for them.
The men all agreed that she should tell him that. The girl then looked up at Al who was calling out to her, and,
"Please be clear about what you want to say. I don't like to beat around the bush."
"Then I'll tell you frankly. There are two lingas, so one of them is mine, isn't it?"
"Ha, how ridiculous. Understand? I received both of the lingams the jester threw. Therefore, both of these belong to me."
"There are two of them so you should split it between the two of you. Use common sense."
Sighing tiredly, Al shrugged his shoulders as if seeking approval from the men around him.
However, there was no way Al would give them the answer they were looking for, since he had originally betrayed their expectations.
"Oh, oh, what a murderous aura. You two are all in a row and you can't even take a playful joke, how pathetic."
"I am not joking. I will not do the lingam. Both are mine."
Al let out a bitter smile from behind his helmet at the stubborn girl.
This exchange seemed to have finally reached the end of the thugs' patience.
With clear hostility, each of them slowly began to close the gap, prey in hand. They also seemed to notice that Al looked strange, but considering his emaciated appearance from the neck down and the fact that he only had one arm, they probably concluded that together they were no match for him.
It was a formation that seemed to be used to beating down individuals in groups. While praising the movement with a sarcastic sigh, Al turned his head to the girl,
"So, Princess, what do you want the world to do?"
"My choice is in fact the world's choice. Seems you understand, Al?"
"To a certain extent."
Nodding in satisfaction at Al's words, the girl took another bite of the linga, her cheeks relaxing at the sweet and sour taste, an angelic smile forming on her adorable face.
and,
"I am in a good mood right now. ーーTherefore, I will not kill you."
He said this as if it were a matter of course, with the innocence of an angel plucking the wings of an insect.
Hearing this, Al turned towards the men. His hands went to the back of his waist and grasped the hilt of a wide sword that was attached to his side.
There was a slow clank as the sword was pulled from its sheath.
With that as background music,
"--Yes, Mamu."
A brilliant, blood-colored smile was born inside the jet-black helmet.