"—!"
The instant a heavy thud rang out, every animal in the distance kicked off the ground at once.
Halfway across the plains, nestled in the shade of a small forest they'd spotted, deer-like creatures had been grazing. With their magnificently developed antlers and black fur, they were known as "black deer" — a common animal in this other world, native even to the
And among the herd that scattered in a panic at the sound and impact, one black deer had been left behind, crumpled atop the grass.
A thick arrow was lodged deep in its torso, having pierced its heart in a single shot.
Its four legs twitched feebly — postmortem spasms that would eventually slow and stop.
Either way— "I got the meat, no!"
"…The meat, eh. At least call it a black deer, ya know."
"Eh? What'd you just say, no? Kuna's voice is too quiet for me to hear, no!"
The one who let out the cry of triumph was Holy, who had drawn the mighty bow.
Wearing her usual cheerful smile, she tilted her head in puzzlement at the murmur from the girl beside her — Kuna — which she couldn't make out.
But Kuna, seeing that, pursed her lips— "Never mind, no! Bleed it out! Hurry up!"
"Ah, wait for me, no!"
As Kuna trudged off, Holy scrambled to follow. But before she could take more than a step, she went "whoa" and spun around.
There, in the direction of Holy's gaze, stood the shadow of their traveling companion— "Might as well take a little break, no. Subaru, that good with you, no?"
"…Ah, yeah, sure, no problem at all, I'm fine," Subaru answered Holy's suggestion, drenched in a waterfall of sweat.
Holy beamed with a "Good, no!" and chased after Kuna's retreating back. Watching them go, Subaru slowly sank to his knees on the spot.
Behind the exhausted Subaru,
△▼△▼△▼△ "No, seriously, I was underestimating things. If I weren't the eldest son, I'd have been whining. Being the eldest is the only reason I could take it — no way I'd have held up as a second son or the baby of the family."
Gathering up the dry branches he'd collected, Subaru made his excuses under the cool breeze.
Rem listened with a flat, unamused look, while Louis stared with that vacuous expression that made it impossible to know what she was thinking. Still, hearing the content of his speech, Rem sighed with exasperation.
"I don't understand what you mean. For starters, does having siblings or not actually have anything to do with endurance?"
"That was kind of a stock joke, but I feel like there's a real correlation between tolerance and number of siblings. Y'know, the oldest gets raised strict by the parents, and the youngest gets spoiled — you've heard that kind of thing, right?"
"I don't know even if you ask me. That doesn't apply to only children, does it?"
"In that case, you end up being spoiled AND raised strictly… I'm a man who perfectly fits the profile of being both the eldest son and the youngest as an only child."
Thinking about how loving his parents were, it was actually quite strange that Subaru had no siblings.
He was aware he'd monopolized both his father's and mother's love, and he sometimes wondered what it would have been like if he'd had brothers or sisters. But reality wasn't going to change.
"And besides, just because I'm not there doesn't mean my siblings aren't increasing right now…"
"——"
"Aa—oo—aa."
While Subaru let his imagination run wild, Louis played on Rem's knee beside him, eyes downcast.
During travel, the carrying frame was strapped to Subaru's back, but once set on the ground, it doubled as a chair — a nifty little device.
This meant there was no need to force Rem to constantly mount or dismount.
Though Rem might have felt humiliated at being dependent on Subaru's hands the entire time, that was a indignity she'd have to endure for a while.
"Siblings…"
"Hm?"
"Family who was born before me, or after me… did I have any?"
"Oh…"
The sudden question from Rem made Subaru catch his breath.
When he looked up, startled, Rem was idly twirling a strand of Louis's hair on her knee, her blue eyes turned toward him.
He couldn't read the emotions wavering in that faintly luminous gaze. He suspected Rem herself didn't fully understand them either.
But— "This is a first. You asking me about your memories."
"This is where we are, who you are, who I am, what I plan to do, what face I'm showing… I think I've asked questions like that many times before."
"Not the negative kind. And I don't think you've called me 'what face am I showing' yet…"
Subaru smiled wryly at Rem's needling, but felt a faint sense of relief.
As he'd told her, this was the first time Rem had asked him anything in a positive sense. He saw it as progress in their relationship.
Honestly, ever since leaving the Shudrak settlement, Subaru had been anxious the whole way.
After all, Rem — who had made her hostility and suspicion toward him so abundantly clear — hadn't refused his proposal to spend several days heading toward the town.
Frankly, he'd assumed the biggest obstacle to leaving the Shudrak settlement would be Rem's stubborn refusal to listen to a single word he said.
Yet Rem hadn't gone against his plan. She'd been cooperative. Rather than believing in miracles, he'd wondered what kind of disaster this foreshadowed.
But as things stood, Rem was cooperative. She hadn't made unreasonable demands on him from atop the carrying frame either. If anything, she'd restrained Louis — who kept squirming around trying to interrupt the march — even trying to lighten Subaru's burden.
"——"
"What is it? You don't want to talk?"
"No, no, that's a misunderstanding. It's just — you and me, things have been awkward, right?"
"They're awkward now too. And not just awkward — hostile."
"That hostility's softened a little, is what I'm thinking!"
Rem looked at him like she was staring at something repulsive, and Subaru felt his heart wounded anew. But he treasured even that wound as something Rem had given him, scratching his cheek with a finger.
"I don't know everything about Rem either. But I know more about Rem than you do right now. If there's something you want to ask, I'll answer whatever I can. But…"
"Whether I can believe it is up to me…"
"Mm."
Subaru gave a short nod and stole a glance at Rem.
She was gently combing through Louis's hair with her fingers, her brow furrowed in thought. After a moment, Rem met Subaru's gaze once more— "I don't understand."
"You don't understand… yourself?"
"You. I don't understand you at all. What I feel and what I see don't match."
Rem pressed her lips together firmly, and her gaze took on a cold intensity.
That wasn't emotional distance — it was heightened seriousness. Rem was scrutinizing him, her eyes sharpening with resolve.
At least she thought he was worth examining as a human being.
"…Considering I was treated as the incarnation of evil outright before, this feels like a huge leap forward."
"I still think you're one paper-thin sheet away from being the incarnation of evil. It's just that I now feel it's acceptable to have that single sheet of paper between us."
"——"
That added line felt like a handshake of concession from Rem.
With a sense of relief, Subaru reached out and clasped the invisible hand she'd offered. Rem looked puzzled at Subaru shaking hands with thin air, but— Still, in any case— "So, our relationship's gone from a thin sheet of ice to having a single tissue paper wedged in… What now? Anything you want to ask?"
"…Let me think a little more."
Subaru was ready to lay his heart bare, but Rem shook her head.
Rem wasn't ready — or rather, she wasn't ready yet to trust Subaru.
Maybe she was worried that if she listened to what he had to say while still unable to fully trust him, she'd only end up overwhelmed by the information.
Honestly, he couldn't deny he felt frustrated by Rem's caution.
"…Got it. I'll wait until you're ready."
"Don't say that like it's someone else's problem. Your day-to-day behavior could use some work, so I wouldn't put it past you."
"Hmm… So basically, if I rack up Rem's affection points and trust rating fast enough, I unlock the route sooner, huh?"
"I don't understand the meaning, but I did find that an unpleasant thing to say."
Subaru stroked his chin, satisfied with his own reasoning, while the sound of Rem's dissatisfaction levels rising once again filled the air.
Then, just as that conversation was playing out— "Kept you waiting, no! Finished butchering the black deer nice and neat, no!"
Holy returned, face beaming from ear to ear.
Draped over the end of a branch slung across her shoulder was the butchered black deer — she looked quite pleased with herself. Behind her, Kuna — who had apparently been helping with the butchering — looked utterly worn out.
"Why's it always gotta be me doing everything, dammit…"
"Because when Kuna does it, it comes out better, no! If our precious meat gets ruined, I'll keep eating and eating and never feel full, no!"
"Why's that, yo! When you eat, you're supposed to store the food properly in your belly, ya weirdo!"
Kuna shouted at the carefree Holy, but Holy just laughed it off.
Then Holy's eyes fell on the bundle of dry branches Subaru had gathered.
"Oh, you collected these properly, no! Very impressive, no."
"I'm no good at hunting. Figured the least I could do was this… Mind teaching me how to start a fire?"
"Study? Never heard that word, no."
"It means teach me…"
Holy tilted her head, then caught Kuna's comment and grinned, saying "Right, no!"
She pulled a small black stone from her belongings, and with a quick strike that Subaru could clearly see, produced a spark that set the branches ablaze in no time.
"O-oh wow. That's amazing. Real craftsmanship."
"It's a fire-starting stone, no. Once you get the hang of it, it's easy. You try too, no."
"You'll really let me? Then, let me borrow it for a sec…"
Holy handed Subaru the fire-starting stone, and he imitated her movements as best he could. He failed the first three tries, but sparks finally flew on the fourth.
Now, to do the same over the dry branches— "It's lit!"
"Nice work, no! Now whenever the meat's ready, we can grill and eat it anytime, no!"
"What she means by 'meat' is the animal before it becomes actual meat, so don't take her literally, yo."
Holly and Kuna delivered diametrically opposite evaluations of Subaru's small sense of achievement. Keeping both reactions in his heart, Subaru watched the black deer meat sizzle over the campfire and changed the subject: "Speaking of which, Holy, you were incredible when you spotted that herd of deer. By the time I noticed, you'd already loosed your arrow."
"That was all thanks to Kuna spotting the herd, no! Thanks to her, we got fresh meat, no!"
"I just said there was a herd, that's all. …Quick-draw aside, any Shudrak can handle a bow, ya know."
"Anyone but Kuna, though, no."
"Ngh!"
Having her sore spot hit, Kuna's expression twisted in a grimace.
Seeing Kuna's reaction, Rem's eyes widened in surprise.
"Is that so? I heard from Miss Mizelda that Kuna had exceptional eyesight…"
"…Good eyes don't mean much if the arm's useless, dammit."
"With a bow, Kuna even loses to Utakata — so cute, no!"
"Shut up!"
Being ranked below Utakata, Kuna drove her hand into Holy's side in a chop. But Holy deflected the blow effortlessly with her ample body.
Rem watched their usual back-and-forth with an amused smile, but hearing talk of Utakata's archery left Subaru in a rather complicated frame of mind.
After all, he had once been killed by Utakata's poisoned arrow.
In terms of raw power, Utakata's weakness alone probably wouldn't have killed Subaru. But if the arrowhead was coated in poison, the lethality gap practically vanished.
Not that poison would be welcomed from a hunting perspective— "Besides…"
Touching his finger to his lips, Subaru found himself thinking about the powerful bow.
Before they'd been captured at the Imperial camp, there had been a "hunter" in the forest who attacked Subaru and Rem. An archer of remarkable skill who had once protected them from magical beasts, and once killed Subaru.
That hunter's identity remained unknown.
So when Holy had shot through the black deer, Subaru's blood had run cold.
But hearing about the Shudrak's skill with bows— "…Can I not think any further than 'someone from Shudrak'?"
At that point, Subaru and Rem had been suspicious interlopers who'd trespassed into the forest. It wouldn't have been unreasonable for someone to judge Subaru — who was calling out loudly for Rem — as a dangerous threat and try to eliminate him. The same went for the subsequent battle involving magical beasts.
For that matter, the hunter had protected them from the magical beasts. It wasn't inaccurate to say there wasn't enough reason to definitively call them an enemy.
"Holy and Kuna seem to get along well."
While Subaru was lost in thought, Rem's conversation with Holy and Kuna had picked up steam.
Rem had broached the subject of Holy and Kuna — the two young "Shudrak" members who'd been traveling with them.
But the only one who laughed at the remark about them being close was Holy. Kuna made a disgusted face, and even stuck out her tongue with a "Bleh."
"What's with that reaction and that face? Both are unbefitting of beautiful young women."
"Just reminded me of this annoying bond I can't escape. I've been put through hell by her…"
"Ahahaha, Kuna's the type who has it rough, no!"
"Whose fault is that!"
Fuming, Kuna grabbed Holy and shook her by the shoulders. But the difference in their builds was stark — Holy, with nearly twice the mass of the slender Kuna, didn't budge an inch.
In the end, Kuna — who realized she'd exhaust herself before making any headway — slumped her shoulders and ground her teeth in frustration. "Dammit," she cursed.
"Holy and I were born on the same day, no! We're neighbors, like sisters, no!"
"Having you as either a sister or a younger sister is the last thing I want…"
"Oh, looks like it's getting nicely browned, no!"
"Listen to me!!"
Kuna's resistance echoed futilely in the face of Holy's thoroughly maddening pace.
Watching them, Subaru couldn't help but see a resemblance between the way Kuna was being pulled around and a certain hardworking, combat-prone internal affairs minister.
"Kuna dyes her hair green, so we've got overlapping image colors… Even in scenes she doesn't appear in, she's the type who makes her presence felt, that one."
Had the person in question been listening, she probably would have claimed, "You're accusing me of something that's completely baseless, aren't you!" but since she wasn't here, Subaru filed it away as an auditory hallucination.
But as Holy and Kuna bickered about the color of the cooking meat, Rem's eyes softened slightly, and Subaru caught her murmuring: "…How nice, to have someone you can talk to that openly…"
"…Ah, Rem, can I say one thing?"
Underneath that murmur was genuine, clear-cut envy.
For Rem, who had no memories, everyone around her — including Subaru — was like an invader emerging from the darkness. There probably hadn't been a single moment of true peace of mind.
He didn't know if he could ease that tautness in her heart, but— "What is it?"
"I said I'd stay quiet until you felt like asking, but let me let one thing slip."
"——"
"You have an older sister. Your twin sister, who loves you with all her heart. …So no matter where you are, you're never truly alone."
Hearing Subaru's words, Rem's already round eyes opened even wider.
After blurting it out, Subaru questioned whether he should have held back, but quickly told himself it was the right call.
Rem had just said she'd wait until she could trust him — he could have been roundly told off for spilling this before even the tip of her tongue had dried.
But Rem wasn't the only one at her limit.
At the very least, he could share Rem's existence with her.
"I can't be sure, but if you close your eyes and think about her, you might be able to feel it. That's what they call twin synesthesia, apparently."
"Synesthesia…"
Hesitantly, Rem placed a tentative hand over her own chest and closed her eyes.
She held still, extending her consciousness out into the dark sea of night, searching for the other half of herself — her twin sister, born on the same day from the same mother.
But— "…I can't feel anything."
"Is that so… I figured it'd be tough without a clear image in mind."
Rem shook her head slowly, reporting the failure of the synesthesia.
For an instant, Subaru felt a flicker of anxiety — had something happened to Ram, who she couldn't connect with? — but he judged that the distance, both physical and spiritual, was simply too great.
Honestly, if the synesthesia had worked, he felt like everything could have turned around at once, so it was a real shame. But he couldn't let that show.
The one who felt it most was Rem.
For now, he needed to support Rem in her frustration— "…Ah."
"Hm?"
But while Subaru was searching for words of comfort, a faint sigh escaped Rem's lips.
The reason was Rem's hand on her own chest, and the hand layered over it — Louis's. Louis, still resting her head on Rem's knee, had quietly placed her hand on top of Rem's, looking up at her with concern.
At Louis's gesture, Rem's lips softened gently.
"Thank you. I'm fine."
"Aa."
When Rem smiled bravely, Louis smiled happily in return.
Seeing the warm atmosphere between them, Subaru gritted his back teeth over being late to the scene and having his role stolen.
"Dammit… You really are my enemy, aren't you…!"
"Why do you always jump to that conclusion? Don't you think it's immature?"
Rem glared at Subaru for glaring at Louis. Louis, oblivious, waved her arms and legs happily under Subaru's gaze.
And amid all the prickly tension between Subaru and the others— "It's done, no!"
"It's still raw!!"
—those two, whose relationship was already firmly established, raised their voices.
△▼△▼△▼△ —All told, it took four days for the party to safely arrive at
"So that's Guaral… Quite the imposing wall."
In the distance stood a walled citadel city, encircled by towering ramparts.
The sight bore little resemblance to what Subaru had imagined from hearing it was a nearby town, and he found himself struck by a mix of surprise at being proven wrong and the pleasant feeling of an unexpected windfall.
"That's one tough-looking town… Do giants come around or something?"
"The giant tribe? Nah, I heard they were on the verge of extinction ages ago, yo."
"Really? Then the old guy I know might be the last giant…"
Subaru made that idle remark in response to Kuna's serious answer. He was surprised to learn that
"Come to think of it, aside from
It was a common fantasy trope that long-lived species had long lifespans but weak reproductive capacity, keeping their numbers limited.
Added to that, this world's fear of the
"Thinking about Emilia-tan when Emilia-tan isn't here. Dammit, I haven't seen Beako in a while either. My Emilia and Beako deficiency is getting critical."
The prescription for both nutritional deficiencies was contact with Emilia and
In all seriousness, the mental fatigue from prolonged anxiety and tension was considerable, so just being able to hear the voices of those two — his source of comfort — helped enormously.
"I miss Ram, Petra, Frederica, and the others' voices… At this point, even Roswaal's voice would do."
"Could you stop mumbling pointless inner monologues?"
"Ah, sorry."
Rem called him out from his position in the carrying frame on his back.
Throughout the journey, Subaru had carried Rem without once handing her off to anyone else. On the first and second days, he hadn't yet found the right rhythm, and the wasted energy had been obvious. But from the third day on, once he'd gotten the hang of pacing and balance, their progress had sped up considerably.
"Now, there's no one who can rival me in carrying Rem."
"Don't compete over something so undignified. Also, Holy and the others are—"
In their back-to-back position, Rem was referring to what was behind Subaru. Following her words, Subaru turned around to find Holy and Kuna.
And scratching her head wearily, Kuna stood beside Holy, who took one step toward Subaru— "Well then, since we've arrived safe and sound, this is goodbye, no!"
"Ah… You two aren't going into the town?"
"There's no point for us to go in. Our job was to escort you here, yo."
"I see. …Thank you both so much. You really helped."
At the sudden farewell, Subaru reminded himself that this had been the arrangement all along.
The two of them had only come along out of goodwill from the Shudrak people. During the journey, they'd helped him countless times, and he'd grown far too comfortable relying on them.
Holy, whose hunting skill and cheerful personality had made the journey enjoyable.
Kuna, whose earnestness and surprising breadth of knowledge had been a steadying presence whenever Subaru asked.
Parting with them, Subaru would now finally be traveling with just Rem— no, with Rem and Louis.
There had always been others at the Imperial camp and the Shudrak settlement, but this time was different.
"…Tch, quit making that pathetic face, yo."
"Sorry. Pathetic face— whoa!?"
Just as Subaru's dark eyes wavered with uncertainty about what lay ahead, Kuna thrust something toward him.
He caught it instinctively, the unexpected weight pulling him forward. It was a long, thin white package — the same one Holy had been carrying on her back throughout the journey.
He'd assumed it was a travel essential belonging to them.
"Now that I think about it, she never opened it even once… What is this?"
"It's yours, no! The clan chief told me to hand it over once we reached the town safely, no."
"It's mine, and I'm supposed to get it when we reach town…?"
Subaru furrowed his brows, unable to grasp the meaning behind Holy's words. But Kuna cut in with a blunt "Just open it."
Subaru lowered the carrying frame to the ground and unwrapped the white package.
Inside was— "Ah…"
"Is this… a horn?"
In Subaru's arms sat a white mass roughly the size of a full embrace. Rem's murmur told Subaru what it was — a horn. A magical beast's horn.
He recognized it. He'd seen it twice, the clearest view during the "Ceremony of Bloodshed."
"Could this be Elgina's horn?"
"That's right, no! You were the one who broke it off, so it's yours, no!"
"It's valuable, yo. A beast that big'd sell for a lot."
"—!"
Hearing that it could fetch a high price, Subaru was stunned by their generosity.
In other words, Holy and Kuna had been carrying this magical beast's horn, intending for Subaru and his companions to sell it for travel funds on their way back to the Kingdom of Lugunica.
They'd hauled this burden along without ever saying a word about it.
"You must've been carrying something this heavy the whole time…"
"You were carrying Rem on your back the whole time too, ya know."
"And besides, I'm super strong, no! So it was nothing!"
Both Kuna and Holy wore expressions that said it was no big deal, hearing how moved Subaru was by their thoughtfulness.
Words truly failed Subaru.
"——"
They'd helped him along the way, even arranged travel funds for him. And yet Subaru was parting from them to return to his own country — while Holy and the others would rejoin their Shudrak comrades and join Abel in the battle to retake the Imperial Capital.
Along that path, many lives would be lost and saved— "I…"
"—Don't you go thinking stupid things, yo."
"——"
"Fight to protect the things you want to protect. We're doing the same thing."
The words had been about to burst from Subaru's mouth, but Kuna cut him off sharply.
Maintaining her usual languid air, she glared at Subaru with an annoyed expression.
Kuna, who was always complaining and always irritable toward Holy. Yet she had never once shown signs of abandoning the Shudrak or hating Holy.
She considered it only natural to fight alongside Abel as a member of the Shudrak.
—That was proof that she knew exactly what her "thing worth protecting" was.
"You're spacing out. I've got good eyes, so I can tell right away when you're being stupid."
"And then once Kuna tells me, I'll go BOOM with my bow and arrow, no!"
"…Yeah, that's terrifying."
Subaru understood that he'd been gently but firmly pushed back.
If he acted on impulse here, he would trample on the kindness of these two — no, of the Shudrak people. He couldn't do that to those who had called him a comrade.
"I'll gratefully accept this as travel funds. Thank you both for everything!"
Taking their meaning to heart, Subaru swallowed the feelings rising in his chest.
In their own ways, Holy and Kuna nodded.
"Holy, Kuna, thank you for the journey. I won't forget my gratitude to you both, and to all the Shudrak people."
"Make sure you remember, yo. You seem like the type to forget things."
"That's going too far, no."
Wanting at least to say a proper farewell, Rem climbed down from the carrying frame to see them off.
Surprisingly, Louis also showed reluctance to part from Holy and Kuna. She seemed to have grown particularly close to Holy, who treated her without reservation, and for a while Louis clung to Holy's midsection, refusing to let go.
"Hey, Subaru. Don't forget — I'll be watching you, yo."
"Also that, no!"
"Yeah! Thank you, really! Thank you so much!"
Turning their backs on the two waving vigorously, Subaru and his companions set off on their three-person journey.
The magical beast horn had been repacked, and Subaru — unable to spare his hands — had entrusted it to Louis to carry on her back. A painful decision, but perhaps thanks to Holy and Kuna's words, Louis seemed determined not to drop the package, and she followed obediently behind Subaru and Rem.
"She's been seeing all sorts of things too, you know."
"…I know she's a bundle of curiosity."
From behind him on his back, Rem said as much, and Subaru answered with a bitter expression.
Louis Arneb, Archbishop of the Great Sin of "Gluttony," had devoured countless lives, searching for the optimal life for herself — a researcher at best, an omnivore at worst.
So one slightly earnest display from her wasn't going to change Subaru's impression of her.
It shouldn't change.
"Let's go."
Feeling Rem sigh behind him, Subaru set off.
Louis's footsteps could be heard following behind him.
Three people together, like when they'd first broken into the Volakian Empire.
Finally, it was fair to say all three were facing the same direction as they moved forward.
And they passed through the gates of the citadel city, Guaral.