— It was a mismatched button.
One gear out of place, and the story twisted violently off course. The rails of fate changed their path all too easily.
When the current that should have flowed was altered, the torrent of destiny tossed humans about like leaves.
And yet, if it were still possible to reach that unchanging shore beyond, untamed and unyielding— Then it could only be when an unshakeable, ironclad wish had utterly deceived its heavenly mandate.
That once-in-a-lifetime lie was the meaning of a man's entire existence.
△▼△▼△▼△ "Hah… hah…!"
Gasping for breath, running with every ounce of strength she had, the girl pulled the toddler's hand along.
Desperately, at full speed—and yet still too slow. The girl's left leg was injured, and this was unfamiliar land. No—to put it that way, this was an unfamiliar world for the girl.
A place she'd never seen before, a situation she knew nothing about, a position in the world she couldn't begin to grasp.
And— "Uu! Uu, aah-uu!"
The toddler she was pulling along, still unable to form words, whose name she didn't even know.
"—"
The girl bit her lip hard, drove back the cowardice that had crept into her mind, and faced forward.
She truly didn't know anything about her current situation. But there were things she did know: that she must not let go of this child's hand, and that she had to keep running.
Amid all that she didn't understand, her instincts screamed at her to flee. Running—that alone—was the only way left to her to express her will to resist.
"The people… over there…"
Tasting the pain of her laboring lungs, the girl called to mind one person within her chaotic heart. A black-haired boy with terrible eyes, a figure who brought a rush of negative impulses and strange sentiment— "Oh, a demon after all. That's rare."
"—!"
At the sudden, carefree voice that cut into her thoughts, the girl whipped around in shock.
What appeared in her pale-blue eyes was a woman keeping pace beside her—or rather, keeping pace in the air. An eye-patch-wearing woman with a single visible eye, beautiful with tawny skin exposed to the wind and the pointed animal ears of the dog-people. The sight of a woman flying through the air while holding a long tree branch in one hand drew a scream from the toddler in the girl's grasp.
The instant she heard that scream, the girl reflexively tried to swat the woman away with her free hand.
But— "Hm? You can't reach me. Sorry about that."
Her off-balance swing was caught effortlessly, and she was pulled in instead.
Their faces came so close they nearly touched nose to nose, and in the uncovered red eye behind the woman's patch, the girl saw her own reflection.
An unfamiliar face. A face that didn't belong to a world she didn't know—or rather, to a girl whose very self she didn't recognize.
"I was told to bring you back."
"—Ah."
The instant she registered her own face, the woman tapped the center of her chest with a fingertip, and the girl felt a slender shock radiate outward from that touch throughout her entire body.
It so easily stripped the strength from her limbs and forced her to her knees.
"Ugh!"
"And this one too."
Beside the crumpling girl, the valiant toddler was lunging at the woman.
But the woman caught the charge as easily as crushing an infant's grip, and the toddler received the same shock to the forehead as the girl had, collapsing with a limp "aah-uu?"
In the end, the girl and toddler's escape attempt came to an abrupt close.
"You… are…"
"Don't worry. You won't be… harmed. Sorry."
The girl dragged herself toward the dazed toddler and managed to squeeze out those words. The woman apologized in return—but it was no idle comfort, and the girl felt no relief in being told "sorry."
Whether to take that as sincerity or as social clumsiness—she had no way to choose between the two.
Just like the toddler who had lost consciousness first, reality was slowly receding.
"Off we go, little demon."
"I… am…"
She felt herself lifted into the woman's arms, but couldn't resist. As her consciousness faded to white, the girl's lips trembled feebly.
Demon—she didn't feel like one when called that. But any other name— "—
It was a name spoken by the black-haired boy, wrapped in a sickeningly foul stench.
It was probably some kind of illusion. After all, of all the names in that empty void of a self, it was the one that somehow felt the most natural to her ears.
△▼△▼△▼△ —This is bad.
The shock and alarm coursing through his mind like lightning drove
Why, why, why—there was no time to stop and ask such questions.
There was the mental sorting of the events just before, the sorrow that his long-awaited reunion hadn't taken its best possible form. Suppressed beneath that grief, he'd tried to steel himself against this unreasonable, incomprehensible dead end by thinking of the precious people he'd been separated from.
But— "Kakakaka! Young people sure are something else! Even I've never seen anything this reckless, unreasonable, and suicidal. Amazing, amazing."
The booming, hoarse laugh came accompanied by a steel hand-blade aimed straight at his heart.
A penetrating strike entered from his back, piercing clean through his body, and Subaru watched his own heart being pulled from his chest as he died instantly amid searing pain and shock.
× × × "How did a human like you slip past the dragons' watch, eh? Don't know, and not knowing is the height of disrespect, eh?"
The deceptively dainty figure of a destructive being lashed out in a rage, a fierce gale winding around that slender arm.
Without even being touched directly, Subaru was caught in the tempest whipped up by that arm, hurled body and soul against the castle wall, and died instantly as every bone in his body shattered.
× × × "You deceived me—my eyes. I don't know how. It's frightening."
The beautiful garden's ever-shifting stone statue voiced its terror and brought down its marble-column arms.
Once, twice—he dodged by leaping aside. But that couldn't last forever. The third strike grazed his foot and immobilized him; the fourth struck home. Subaru was compressed to roughly one-tenth his original size and died instantly.
× × × "—! Who goes there! Do you know whose castle this is, you fool!"
Brave, unbending righteous fury crackled with thorns sharp as blades.
His entire body was seized by purple vines bristling with those thorns, flesh was torn from flesh, and Subaru expired as the blood drained from him and the sentient, writhing barbs corroded his wounds beyond endurance, his consciousness shattered by unbearable pain.
× × × "There he is! Don't let him escape!!"
"The insolent wretch!"
"You think you can run?!"
Surrounded on all sides by the steel-wielding hunters driven by honed killing intent, Subaru lost all avenue of escape. Nobody listened to his pleas; blades pierced his entire body, and he collapsed beneath wound after lethal wound, drawing his last breath.
× × × "—From the very start—"
Had he made the wrong choice from the beginning? After repeating death five times, Subaru gritted his teeth.
At the new starting point of [Return by Death], he was already alone. Perhaps being left alone right there was the mistake of mistakes.
If he considered the possibility that she was going through the same hell he was, right this moment, his heart might crack and shatter from the turmoil alone.
What did he need?
What possibility had to be grasped?
Where was the checkpoint he had to reach?
He was walking a fraying, fragile tightrope, and he had to reach the other side at all costs. What, exactly, could he hope to reach?
"—"
He needed to draw attention—but carelessness would bring the kind of overwhelming opponents that his abilities could never hope to contend with, and he'd lose his life in an instant.
There were too many enemies, and not one of them showed mercy. Beings who had absolutely zero hesitation when it came to killing blocked his path.
To break through, to overcome—to thread that impossibly narrow gap of possibility— "—"
Running across a neatly trimmed lawn, Subaru headed in a direction different from any of the blocked paths he'd tried before, and there he spotted a lavish detached palace.
It was ornate and beautiful, but compared to the castle he'd been trial-and-erroring through just moments ago, it was comparatively unassuming—which gave him hope that its security might be lighter.
If he could at least get some information there… With that thought, Subaru broke an unoccupied window, unlocked it, and rolled inside.
The next instant— "You fool."
He had just cleared the windowsill and was about to set foot on the floor.
No sooner had that heavy, stern voice sounded than Subaru's legs were swept out from under him, and he was ruthlessly slammed headfirst into the ground.
"Gah!"
A grunt of pain escaped him, his vision flashing red—and in that instant, the worst-case scenario flashed through his mind.
After all, in the span of mere minutes, he had already died and been killed by entirely different people in entirely different ways.
If the same thing was about to happen here again—pained as he was—he was hardly surprised at his own resignation.
But— "How did you bypass the guards and infiltrate this far?"
The impact of the [death] he'd expected never came. Instead, a question.
Wincing in pain, sprawled in a starfish on the floor, Subaru looked up at the person who had questioned him—the person who had intercepted him in the detached palace.
"—"
Standing there was a dark-haired, dark-eyed man of striking, almost severity-beautiful features, dressed in crimson attire that practically screamed tailoring. He gazed down at Subaru with the piercing, unblinking stare of a raptor.
That gaze alone would have been enough to freeze Subaru in place—but it wasn't the only reason he couldn't move.
"Did you not hear my question? To offer no answer at all—that is the height of discourtesy."
In solemn voice and archaic speech, the man was about to pass judgment on Subaru's fate.
Yet Subaru's consciousness was fixated not on that cruel fact but on the anomaly before him—the mirror standing beside the man who loomed over him.
In the mirror, the reflection of the dark-haired man was different. The figure looking back was taller, white-haired, white-clad, a man with a white mask.
As Subaru held his breath at the strangeness of it, the real man clicked his tongue and snapped his fingers.
Then, like an ultimatum, he posed his question once more.
"There will not be a third time. Answer me."
At those repeated words, Subaru blinked and pulled himself back to the reality in front of him.
By then, the white figure that had been in the mirror was gone. All that remained was the man staring him down with a terrifyingly imposing air.
Facing him, Subaru swallowed hard, and then spoke.
"—My name is Natsuki Subaru."
It was a deeply inappropriate answer to whatever question the man might have been asking.
Subaru himself, even afterward, could never come up with a proper reason for why he had offered his real name—unchanged—at that moment.
Probably, it was the only intuitive answer that his shattered mind could produce, after being ground down by so many repetitions of unreasonable, incomprehensible [death].
Hearing an answer likely to rub every possible nerve the wrong way, the man— "—From Lugnica? The 'Lolita Handler,' is it?"
—frowned those perfectly shaped brows, a look of puzzlement entirely unbefitting that face, which seemed to hold all the arrogance of someone who had placed every worldly event on the palm of his hand.
—That was the very first mismatched button.
Natsuki Subaru, flung unexpectedly to the Holy Empire of Volacchia, and Vincent Volacchia, the pinnacle of the Sword Wolf nation—two men whose fates should never have crossed, brought together by a deception of destiny itself.
△▼△▼△▼△ "I've brought them."
Saying that, she strode boldly into the executive office of the detached palace—a girl with tawny skin, an extraordinary degree of exposed skin, a left eye covered by a patch, dog ears, and an overwhelming array of attributes.
Surprised by her arrival, Subaru quickly noticed Rem slung over one slender shoulder and an additional person tucked under her other arm, and he cried out "Rem!" as he rushed over.
"Are you hurt any—mmfgh!"
"Don't creep up on people like that."
The instant he tried to confirm she was all right, he felt a toe dig into his undefended solar plexus and writhed in agony.
The girl with the eye patch had simply lifted her bare foot with casual ease—but it wasn't leg strength. It was a precision technique that struck at vital points—no, it was something even more ruthless: a natural-born kicking ability that required no calculation whatsoever.
Even so, with his insides on fire from the blow, Subaru staggered toward Rem on the girl's shoulder, checked the flush on her cheek and her breathing, and let out a sigh of relief.
"…Looks like she's fine. She'll wake up properly, right?"
"I just put her to sleep. She'll be up soon. Same with the kid."
"Forget about that one. Honestly, I'd be fine if she stayed asleep forever."
"…Complicated relationship?"
"Not really. Rem is precious. She's not. That's all."
Subaru directed a sharp glare at the golden-haired girl clutched under the girl's other arm.
That blunt declaration made the girl widen her single red eye and purse her lips. She apparently didn't care for Subaru's answer, but he was only speaking the truth.
There was no way to sugarcoat it. Unlike Rem—brave, harmless, hardworking, and kind—this girl had committed unforgivable crimes. She was a monster of the highest order.
"—Louis Arneb."
Subaru murmured the name quietly. The girl—Archbishop of Gluttony.
She was currently sleeping, but in the battle at the
In any case— "Thank you for not hurting Rem. You are…?"
"Alaric."
"Thank you, Alaric! I owe you!"
Subaru bowed deeply to the girl—Alaric.
He doubted Alaric held him in high regard after his treatment of Louis, but Subaru himself felt a deep sense of gratitude and indebtedness toward Alaric.
And the one who had ordered Alaric to do this was— "That was a great help. Um…"
"—Vincent Volacchia."
"—"
"The seventy-seventh Emperor of the Holy Empire of Volacchia, Vincent Volacchia."
The dark-haired man seated behind the ebony desk introduced himself once more.
He was the one who had intercepted Subaru's intrusion and come within a hair's breadth of executing him for his affront, and if what he just said was true, he was the supreme ruler of the empire.
"Alaric?"
"True. …A little lie?"
"A little lie?"
"Alaric, don't speak out of turn. —If you wish for the thing you truly desire to be restored, then conduct yourself in a way that does not displease me."
"…Mm."
When Subaru sought confirmation, Alaric responded—but was chided by the handsome man—Vincent—and nodded with a slightly dissatisfied expression.
Alaric then set Rem and Louis down on the parlor sofa, putting them to sleep. Subaru wanted to keep the two sleeping ones as far apart as possible, but the atmosphere and his position didn't allow him to make such a claim, so he endured by merely clenching his fists.
This was the Holy Empire of Volacchia, after all.
The culture and common sense that Subaru had spent a year learning in this other world—this was an entirely different soil, an empire's capital ruled by a figure of supreme standing, neighboring the Kingdom of Lugnica.
"So then? 'Lolita Handler'—explain yourself once more."
"…How about calling me by my name, Natsuki Subaru, instead? Right now, as you can see, I don't have a lovely, charming, pretty girl to justify that title anywhere near me."
"What about this one?"
"She's not lovely, charming, or pretty."
Subaru answered indifferently, pointing at Louis, who had been thrust at him as a question. Then he turned his gaze to Vincent, and the Emperor closed one black eye.
"Speak, Natsuki Subaru."
"…No matter how many times you ask, my story won't change much. We were at the Sage's Tower at the far east of Lugnica. A lot happened there—leaving that aside—at the end, a portion of the
"…Sounds like a lie. A lie?"
"Even I know it sounds ridiculous as I'm telling it—but the thing is, there's no reason for me to tell you a story that's nothing but lies at this point, so please… believe me!"
He had laid out the facts, but Alaric still distrusted him with perfect legitimacy.
But it was Subaru who was actually the one who wanted things explained. The fight against the Archbishops of Gluttony at the Pleiades Watchtower had ended, he'd lost someone he couldn't afford to lose in the name of a "trial," and his heart had been just beginning to settle when this happened.
"By now,
"Your infiltration skills are impressive, but your excuses are pitiful for a spy—that's my assessment at present. The one notable thing is that you identified yourself as Natsuki Subaru."
"…It's not a lie, it's the truth. Did that really mean that much?"
"That the 'Lolita Handler' is the first knight of one of Lugnica's royal selection candidates is well known even in the empire. The
"I see…"
"There is a non-aggression pact between the empire and the kingdom. With you two here alone, I could easily declare that the kingdom has broken the agreement…"
"No, please, I'd really rather you didn't do that."
If his careless self-identification led to a state of war between the two nations, that would be catastrophic. This whole thing was genuinely an unfortunate misunderstanding—an unforeseen accident.
The problem was that Subaru had no way to prove it, and he could only desperately insist that these absurd-sounding facts were true— "Well, well—that seems a little too harsh, doesn't it, Your Excellency? I really don't see the kingdom having any spare energy to start a conflict right now, boku."
"—! Who—who's there?!"
A sudden third voice made Subaru spin around with a start. The office door was cracked open just slightly, and through the gap, a suspicious figure met his eyes.
The figure waved cheerfully at Subaru, then opened the door with a brazen grin and sauntered in.
"I come by the will of Heaven, Your Excellency."
"I don't recall summoning you."
"Like I said—by the will of Heaven, boku. These opportunities are so rare that I have to properly perform my duties as the Star Reader, don't I?"
The man who could smile so casually in the presence of Emperor Vincent was a handsome, gentle-faced man with long gray hair.
He gave off a completely different aura from the soldiers Subaru had seen in the castle or the Transcendents he'd encountered—judging by Subaru's reckoning, this wasn't someone who fought.
"Um, this person is…"
"I don't like him."
"I don't care about your likes and dislikes—I want to know his position."
"Oh, sorry, sorry, boku. I'm not very good at being tactful in these situations. I'm
"The Kingdom's Star Reader?"
Ubilk—the gentle-faced man who introduced himself as such—kept his amiable smile as he addressed Subaru, who tilted his head at the unfamiliar title.
But before Subaru could verify the meaning— "Natsuki Subaru is a Star Reader? Are you certain?"
"As for whether I'm certain—the Kingdom is technically outside my jurisdiction, so I have no way to verify. However, Your Excellency had already been drawing similar conclusions yourself, boku, if I'm not mistaken."
"A mere star-puppet like you presumes to divine my thoughts?"
"Heavens, no—boku wouldn't dream of presuming to read the mind of His Majesty Emperor Vincent Volacchia. …But, a word of advice, if I may."
"…Go ahead."
"I read the stars. —He will be of use to you, Your Excellency."
Ubilk said this in a light tone, cocking his head. Subaru, pointing at himself, couldn't help but say "Me?" out loud.
Honestly, between the vague Star Reader designation and the fact that this conversation about Subaru was happening entirely over his head, he was rather bewildered.
"Given our relationship with the kingdom, there's the risk of creating enmity that could cut off our ability to worry about things back home. It might be better to simply add him as an asset. And there's a perfectly good hostage right here, isn't there? It'll make things smoother for everyone, boku."
"Hostage… You mean Rem?! No way!"
"Hahaha, so honest. If you'd insisted the girl by your side had no value as a hostage, things might have gone differently."
"Guh…!"
"Or would you like to change your answer now? That the girl by your side is a worthless existence to Natsuki Subaru…?"
"Huh? Rem is someone more precious than my life!"
Subaru blurted this out exactly as intended, and watching Ubilk's smile deepen, he realized he'd been completely caught in the man's trap.
Even so, he couldn't pretend Rem meant nothing to him here—not even as a lie.
"I'm not Otto. I can't say something like that with a straight face."
*'You can't just reduce my negotiating tactics to me being a schemer!'* In the corner of his mind, imaginary Otto was shouting at the top of his lungs. Waving him away, Subaru looked toward Vincent.
Vincent was resting a finger on his slender chin, deliberating on Ubilk's proposal. But the look on his face already told Subaru the answer.
And sure enough— "—Natsuki Subaru, your situation is far from favorable. Regardless of the truth of the paltry explanation you just gave, you set foot in my nation—that is fact. And during a time when the empire is about to enter a state of war, no less."
"A state of war… Does that mean war!? Against whom… against what country?!"
"Here."
Flustered and dropping all formal speech, Subaru's question went unchallenged by Vincent, who simply tapped the floor with a toe.
It took Subaru a moment to connect that gesture to his question. Then understanding dawned.
"You mean… an internal conflict? Within the empire?"
"Correct. For this empire's throne, the Emperor and the rebels will wage war against each other."
"—"
The confirmation of war—of civil war—left Subaru momentarily speechless. Reaching out to the silent Subaru, Vincent declared.
With the gaze and bearing of an absolute predator—that of a raptor, the supreme强者—Vincent Volacchia proclaimed.
"However you came to be here, if you wish to live, you will cooperate, Natsuki Subaru. —To ensure that the empire I envision remains in the hands of Vincent Volacchia."
—This had gotten serious. Genuinely, catastrophically serious.
"—"
At Vincent Volacchia's declaration, Subaru's fury at the most extreme injustice since his summoning to this other world exploded within him.
He had encountered many unreasonable situations before. The ordeal at the Pleiades Watchtower had been one of the most punishing bouts of injustice imaginable.
But even those had a thread of continuity. There had been a progression, a gradual deterioration leading up to the unreasonable situation.
This was different.
Subaru had arrived in the Volacchia Empire through nothing more than a senseless, motiveless twist of fate. It would have been no less inexplicable if he'd been flung not to the imperial capital but to some border region, or even to the
If this wasn't called unreasonable, what was— "Oh."
"Hm…"
Suddenly, Alaric let out a sound, and on the sofa behind them, Rem stirred.
Recognizing the signs of awakening, Subaru spun toward Rem. Kneeling beside her on the sofa, he watched as her eyelashes-framed eyelids slowly opened, revealing pale-blue eyes in which he could see his own reflection.
"Rem! Thank goodness—are you okay? Does anything hurt? Any injuries? If anything feels wrong, we'll—"
"—Why are you here?!"
"Oof!"
The moment of worry was cut short as Rem, now awake, shoved Subaru away without hesitation. The force of it sent him flying, and he collided with Ubilk, who happened to be in the trajectory.
"Oh my?" Ubilk, eyes wide, caught the incoming Subaru, and the two tumbled together to the far end of the room.
Meanwhile, Rem sat up on the sofa and took in her surroundings— "Oh—where's that girl… Wait, you're—! The one from before!"
"…Your Excellency?"
"—This is the Emperor's residence. Keep your voice down."
Alaric's appearance in plain view intensified Rem's wariness. When Rem's gaze fell on Alaric, the girl drowsily looked toward Vincent, and the Emperor quietly sighed.
The Emperor was right—the situation desperately lacked any sense of tension— "Uu?"
Late to wake, Louis rubbed her eyes and tilted her head in puzzlement. That was the least tense image of all.
△▼△▼△▼△ —Illegal entry into the private residence of His Excellency Emperor Vincent Volacchia, located within the Crystal Palace at the northernmost point of
That was the crime Subaru and Rem had committed—one that would have earned them roughly seven executions, by Subaru's count.
Under the empire's laws, they were undeniably criminals. The only reason they hadn't been executed was not the Emperor's benevolent mercy— "If I had my way, I would detain you indefinitely until the most pressing issue is resolved, and remove the option of even putting you on an agenda altogether. You are a troublesome sort."
"You really don't mince words about calling someone a nuisance, do you?"
"Aren't you aware of it yourself? Under these circumstances, to proclaim yourself as a knight involved in Lugnica's royal selection—that, true or not, invites unnecessary trouble."
"…Unfortunately, in the Kingdom I'm only famous enough for people on the street to wave at me."
Even as he said this, Subaru reflected that his careless self-identification had been reckless. But if he hadn't revealed the name Natsuki Subaru at that moment, Vincent might have had him dispatched without a word of discussion.
The fact that Vincent had been willing to hear him out meant confronting him had been the right call.
"Everyone else just tried to take my head without asking…"
"I'm frankly amazed your head is still attached to your body. …Heading directly for the detached palace was also rather conspicuous—though that did help earn my trust."
On that point, it was simply process of elimination—every other route had been a dead end. But convincing this thin-eyed old man of that was clearly a lost cause.
Barestes Fondalfon. That was the name and title of this thin-eyed old man—and the reason he was wary of Subaru, an outsider.
"I know there's no way to convince you, but I have no schemes or plans. Honestly, I just want to go back to Lugnica as soon as possible."
"You're very right—there's no way to convince you. With the border crossings restricted and your identity as a potential operative still unconfirmed, sending you back there would be impossible."
"You're just drowning me in flawless logic…"
Barestes's ironclad words made Subaru sigh and slump.
The location was a corner of Lupugana, where Barestes's residence stood. Subaru's body had been placed under a kind of house arrest at the Prime Minister's estate, following a "merciful" sentence for his crime of trespassing.
Barestes, who enjoyed Emperor Vincent's favor, showed no slackening of vigilance toward Subaru, but accepted custody of him in a proper fashion. Subaru, for his part, bristled at the openly suspicious Barestes, but had no major complaints about his treatment.
If anything, the one thing that stung was his inability to take any decisive action to return to the Kingdom, having been thoroughly played by Vincent's scheme.
Or rather—the reason Subaru and the others had been placed in Barestes's residence, which was guarded more heavily even than the Crystal Palace or its detached palace— "—I'm back."
On his way back to the room assigned after his interrogation by Barestes, Subaru witnessed a Wyvern descend into the estate's garden in a swirl of wind, and a small figure dismount from its back.
There stood a girl with sky-blue hair and two black horns, dressed in an adorable outfit—a dragon-girl whose cute appearance belied incredible combat strength.
"Madeline-chan."
"…Don't call me that, human. Don't get friendly enough to add -chan to a dragon's name."
The returned dragon-girl, Madeline, noticed Subaru had called her name and snorted softly.
Like Subaru and the others, Madeline was apparently under Barestes's protection, and they crossed paths frequently at the estate. Of course, every encounter was marked by this same thorny attitude, so "good terms" would be a stretch.
Her hostility wasn't limited to Subaru—she was like this with everyone in the estate— "General Madeline, how did it go? Those requesting General Goz's release…"
"Kicked them to the curb. And let me be clear—I have no obligation to consider the petty circumstances of you lot, so I kicked them to the curb literally, bokka."
"No matter. If His Excellency the Emperor has determined you are necessary for suppression, then that is the empire's correct decision."
"Hmph. What a boring old man."
Madeline shrugged at Barestes's answer. On her back was a weapon roughly as large as she was—a boomerang.
The boomerang was flecked with spots of dried blood that hadn't been fully wiped away, which certainly connected to the "suppression" the two were discussing.
"General Madeline Eschart and General
Subaru murmured this quietly, then looked past the estate walls toward the orderly cityscape of the capital, sorting the various relationships in his mind.
When he'd first arrived, Subaru had known virtually nothing about the Volacchia Empire and could only stumble around blind. But after several days at the estate, he'd picked up a few things.
For instance, that the Madeline in front of him held the rank of General—one of the highest honors, granted only to the most elite—and was one of the "Nine Divine Generals," the empire's supreme combat forces.
Also, that Goz Ralfon, another member of the Nine Divine Generals known as the "Lion Knight," had rebelled against the Emperor and was now imprisoned in the Crystal Palace's dungeons, and that his soldiers were in disarray over the betrayal of the commander they'd trusted so deeply.
What Madeline had just been "kicking to the curb" was apparently a group of soldiers who had come to petition for Goz's pardon and release. By siding with Goz, who had turned his blade against the Emperor, they themselves could be branded traitors—so the response was understandable, if harsh.
"I think about it every day—the culture gap is just too extreme…"
Subaru would never admit that the Kingdom of Lugnica was as safe and peaceful as modern Japan—he'd died there too many times. But the Volacchia Empire clearly operated under entirely different rules, and distinguishing the line between normal and unacceptable was a constant struggle.
But he couldn't afford to be weak.
"If I fall apart, it'll be trouble for Rem. For Rem's sake…"
"—What about me?"
"Waaah!?"
As Subaru slapped his own cheeks to psych himself up, a voice came from behind, and he leaped in surprise with both hands clamped on his own face, spinning around—only to have someone collide with his waist with a resounding "Uu!" and nearly topple him.
"Don't get too close to him, Louis. He'll say something mean again."
"Uu-aah?"
"That's right. Listen to Rem. I will say mean things to you. Don't cling to me."
"Aah, aah-aah."
Subaru, having regained his balance, peeled the girl—Louis—off his waist and tossed her aside. She evaded with feline agility and, after pulling a pitiful abandoned-cat face, scurried back under Rem's outstretched arms.
Rem welcomed Louis back with an embrace, then directed a reproachful look at Subaru.
"You're so cold to such a small child. I can't understand it."
"Rem, I've told you many times—she's a bomb disguised as a kid. She's behaving now, but who knows when she'll go off. Just trust me on this…"
"…Trust you? Someone who smells this terrible? Impossible."
"—"
"What's with that touched look on your face?"
"No, it's just… being told I stink by you brings back memories. I'm suddenly getting emotional."
"Huh?"
The response from Rem, who held Louis, was cool and distant, and Subaru's feelings weren't being received particularly warmly.
He knew it was a lot to ask Rem to trust him blindly—she had no [memories], and with her sensitive nose, she could detect only the miasma that clung to him. But he endured.
Compared to the days when they couldn't even have this kind of exchange, it was a world of difference.
"…I really can't understand you."
Even being rebuffed, the joy outweighed the pain for Subaru—and Rem seemed to be in a complex place about it all.
Still, the fact that she didn't completely push him away despite the miasma was because of that first incident at the Crystal Palace—when Subaru, realizing they'd been dropped somewhere dangerous, had offered himself as bait to let Rem and Louis escape. She had properly received that sacrifice and was trying to understand it.
After all, Subaru had experienced [Return by Death] countless times. The relief that the threat hadn't fallen on Rem was almost too much to bear.
That said, he'd like to get a little closer. For instance— "Girl with the demon blood, the dragon's back. Come help with the bath, boka."
"Yes, Madeline-san, I understand."
That kind of relationship—where Rem could accommodate even a rather bossy request with perfect composure.
"General Madeline and Lady Rem have grown quite close."
Barestes said exactly what Subaru had been thinking. A glance at the old man's profile revealed nothing from those thin eyes so narrow the pupils were invisible.
Whether he welcomed or deplored that relationship—or both—was impossible to tell.
"Barestes-san, you're not some kind of demi-human collector, are you?"
"If by that you mean someone who collects rare bloodlines, I can't deny it in the broadest sense. Powerful species, contrary to individual strength, are weak at protecting their bloodline. For the empire's future, they must be treated with care so their line doesn't die out."
"For the empire's future…"
"Are you interested in the details, Kingdom's 'Lolita Handler'?"
"Nidna tu know (No need to know)…"
Raising both hands, Subaru signaled that he was withdrawing his idle curiosity.
Curiosity killed the cat, and in the empire, that was taken literally. The empire showed no mercy to a cute cat, and it would certainly spare no mercy for a not-very-cute Subaru.
However— "A dragon-girl like Madeline-chan is one thing, but whether the demon clan is rare or whatever—Rem is my Rem."
"Huh? Don't say whatever you want. I can hear you."
"I'm not exactly whispering."
"Ugh!"
Rem, whose keen ears had caught everything, looked troubled at Subaru's words. Louis, clinging to her waist, was grinning with delight at something only she understood. Subaru found it annoying to be attached to, but having Louis pretend to be chummy with Rem in that way was mentally exhausting.
Just as Subaru was about to forcibly pry Louis away— "Natsuki Subaru, are you here?!"
That loud call of his name made Subaru look up in surprise.
At the estate's entrance stood a tall, lean figure with short green hair and sharp features—and recognizing the face, even if only vaguely, Subaru's lips twisted. It was someone he'd met before, even if only briefly.
"I'm Natsuki Subaru."
"I am Kahfma Ilruk. I hold the honorable rank of Second General of the Volacchia Empire. Natsuki Subaru—His Excellency the Emperor summons you."
Kahfma approached with a crisp bow and delivered the message.
At the words "summons from the Emperor," Subaru swallowed hard. He hadn't seen the Emperor in days, and Vincent, who was no doubt busy, wouldn't summon him without purpose.
In other words— "Kahfma-san, do you know why the Emperor wants to see me?"
"I do not have the authority to relay His Excellency's words in advance. What you need to know will be explained clearly by the Emperor himself."
That was the most military-like response Subaru had heard from anyone thus far. Kahfma's total loyalty and trust in the Emperor, at a time when the man called the Lion Knight had been imprisoned as a traitor, made him seem like the empire's sole remaining true knight.
In any case— "—Rem, I'm heading out for a bit. It might take a while, so go ahead and eat dinner without me."
"Don't be silly. …Be careful."
The fact that those last words were added reluctantly, almost grudgingly, gave Subaru an unbelievable surge of energy, and he grinned with renewed determination.
△▼△▼△▼△ "…Thinking I could keep going no matter what—that was a little hasty, I admit."
"What? Are you dissatisfied?"
"Of course I am. Isn't it obvious?"
Settling into the plush seat of a high-class Wyvern carriage, Subaru leaned on one knee and shot back at the ruthlessly cold Emperor who had just stated the obvious.
At this retort, the black-haired Emperor shrugged slightly.
"You should be aware that your position is not just complicated but outright detestable?"
"Detestable is too strong. I am aware of my complicated standing, and I've been grateful for the leniency—I do intend to repay that somehow. However…"
"—"
"I didn't ask to be separated from Rem and dragged all the way out here!"
Subaru's frustration exploded. He was currently being forced to accompany Vincent on a military expedition.
After Kahfma had arrived at Barestes's estate, Subaru had visited the castle, and Vincent had imperiously ordered him, "Accompany the expedition," without offering much explanation.
Before he knew it, he'd been swept along and loaded onto this Wyvern carriage—and now here he was.
"Kahfma-san said the Emperor would tell me everything I needed to know."
"Kahfma Ilruk's words were accurate. I will not hesitate to disclose whatever information you require."
"Then why haven't I been told anything beyond the destination being a city called Chaos Frame?"
"Do you need to know more than that?"
"Yes, I do!"
An expedition where the destination was the only piece of information was no longer a variety show—it was closer to a modern dark-market job posting, with all the compliance violations and the risk of being shipped overseas for forced labor.
Either way, it was ethically beyond the pale.
But the Emperor himself simply snorted.
"From what I can see, you don't look like someone wracked with anxiety about what's ahead."
The meaning behind those words was clear enough. What Vincent was pointing out was the current state of Subaru as reflected in those black eyes—or rather, of Natsumi Schwartz.
Beneath a wig of long, beautiful black hair and a set of red military-style garments chosen to conceal his figure, Subaru wore full makeup. In every respect, he was a completed feminine disguise.
"That said, I don't appreciate the cryptic remarks when I'm in this state."
"…Is there any point continuing the charade in front of me, who knows your identity?"
"You never know when it might come apart. God is in the details, as they say—and putting in that effort is what sincerity is about."
"—"
"Besides, the reason I'm accompanying you as Natsumi Schwartz is to comply with His Excellency the Emperor's wishes. Whatever the circumstances, having any record of my involvement in an imperial civil war is… out of the question."
Subaru Schwartz might not be an expert on inter-state friction, but he knew that所谓 internal interference—cooperation that crossed national borders—could backfire badly, regardless of intent.
It wouldn't simply be a feel-good story of the Kingdom's knight helping the empire in its hour of need. Fairy tales and reality were different things.
"Which is why I'm Natsumi Schwartz."
"—If you have no objections to your own disguise, I won't interfere. As long as your performance is reliable, I see no reason to impose constraints on individual preferences."
"Preferences…?"
"I'm not interested in a pointless debate. You were the one who asked for an explanation. If it were Ubilk, he'd require nothing—but you're apparently different."
"Don't compare me to that man of ambiguous position. And speaking of which—what exactly is he? A professional court jester at a medieval king's side, there to stave off boredom?"
"Jester he may be, but his role is not to entertain me. Naturally, your role will be the same. Ubilk was the one who recommended you for this expedition."
"…Ubilk-san recommended me?"
Subaru Schwartz recalled that easygoing handsome face and tilted his head.
From the start, Ubilk had maintained a mysterious sense of distance with Subaru Schwartz. Even stranger was the way Vincent and the other power brokers accommodated Ubilk's input. A Star Reader—if that prophetic-sounding role was what it seemed, it was one of those stock fantasy elements.
The problem was that this world very likely had real prophets, and given Ubilk's prophetic reputation, Subaru Schwartz might be considered one as well.
"I don't think we're the same, but not being able to explain the reason is frustrating."
Subaru Schwartz's [Return by Death] could, in a sense, be described as foreknowledge.
Subaru Schwartz himself seemed to view it simply as cheating at the future, but someone who learned of approaching threats through [Return by Death] and took steps to avoid them could easily be perceived as a prophet.
"A mysterious beauty winning over those in power as a prophet—that's textbook, really. But I'd prefer not to be misunderstood. …Especially since [Return by Death] has been acting strangely lately."
Subaru Schwartz's concern was the anomaly occurring within [Return by Death].
Before meeting Vincent at the Crystal Palace, Subaru Schwartz had repeated [Return by Death] many times. The reason was partly the empire's nationals' casual attitude toward killing, but more importantly, it was the short time interval between death and restart.
Naturally, the closer the restart point was to the point of death, the fewer options were available and the less time there was to take countermeasures. That was why Subaru Schwartz had endured so many terrifying [deaths]. The inexplicable anomaly in [Return by Death]—Subaru Schwartz hypothesized that it was related to being in the Volacchia Empire rather than the Kingdom of Lugnica.
"I'd rather not rely too much on that Wicked Witch
If the Witch of Envy was the one causing Subaru Schwartz's [Return by Death], then the distance between the Witch sealed at the far east of the Kingdom and Subaru Schwartz in the empire was significant. Simply put, it was possible that the Witch's authority was reaching less effectively.
If that were the case—what would happen if Subaru Schwartz died at the western edge of the Kararagi City-State, a far western power? There was no way to test it, and no desire to find out.
"In any case, I've been dragged all the way out here and separated from Rem. If nothing else, I want to do the job. Even if it's troublesome, won't you please explain?"
"Are you giving orders to your Emperor? I did say I didn't need your pretense of stilted courtesy, but you've switched over awfully fast."
"Well, at the moment, I don't seem to be losing my head over the guillotine, do I?"
"Guillotine… —To think of the 'Magritte Guillotine' here. How ironic."
"—?"
"Never mind. —The purpose of bringing you to the魔都 is not complicated. It is to exchange words with one of the Nine Divine Generals:
"Yorna Mishigure… The one they call 'Prismatic,' if I'm not mistaken?"
This proved Subaru Schwartz hadn't been slacking—his intelligence-gathering was paying off. At this, Vincent tilted his chin slightly without any particular emotion, which was textbook for this emperor. The fact that Goz had rebelled, Subaru Schwartz thought, probably had something to do with Vincent's utter lack of talent for validating subordinates.
Setting aside that suspicion, Vincent spoke in his usual dispassionate manner.
It was— "Alaric, sent to suppress the rebels, has not returned. She was likely killed or captured."
"—Alaric?!"
At this unexpected news, Subaru Schwartz's carefully made-up eyes went wide with shock.
Since their first meeting, Subaru Schwartz had never had another chance to see Alaric face-to-face, but Subaru Schwartz felt indebted to her. —When Subaru Schwartz had first encountered Vincent and been granted a seat at the negotiating table, the one who had requested Vincent to secure Rem's safety—and had successfully done so—was Alaric.
If Rem had been found by the same people who had so ruthlessly taken Subaru Schwartz's life, she might have suffered an unforgivable fate.
That was why Subaru Schwartz thought of Alaric as a benefactor— "Why didn't you tell me?!"
"There was no reason to. She is one of the empire's Generals—her status is a matter of state security. That I am telling you now is already an exception."
"—"
"For reasons that must remain classified, the 'One' is currently unavailable. Alaric, the 'Two,' was the empire's greatest combat force. With her out of commission, combined with the Goz Ralfon situation, we need the Nine Divine Generals to express a position of caution."
"To that end…"
"Correct."
Vincent crossed his arms and nodded. Subaru Schwartz looked down.
Inside his chest, a cold heartbeat throbbed with pain, and he still hadn't processed the misfortune that had befallen Alaric.
He understood Vincent's reasoning. But if Vincent had shared the facts with him immediately after something had happened to Alaric— "With [Return by Death]…"
He might have been able to save her.
Knowing full well that this was premature speculation given Alaric's uncertain status, the possibility nonetheless flickered through Subaru Schwartz's mind.
"And besides, Yorna Mishigure, to the best of my knowledge…"
"Has rebelled against me twice in the past."
"Exactly! And in this situation, you'd go visit such a person head-on?!"
Vincent Volacchia's eight-year reign had been, by the empire's historical standards, an extraordinarily stable period. The people called him the "Wise Emperor," and his support was solid—Subaru Schwartz had learned this in his days at the estate.
And within that reign, the person who had rebelled in every meaningful sense—the kind of rebellion that couldn't be brushed aside—was "Prismatic" Yorna Mishigure.
"Judging by any reasonable measure, she's someone who would absolutely seize this opportunity."
"That is precisely why I am going in person. That's all there is to it."
"A person of irreplaceable importance taking the initiative… The Volacchia spirit—it's terrifying…"
Subaru Schwartz drooped at the shoulders, and Vincent cocked his head at the unfamiliar word: "supi-rittsu?"
In a small act of retaliation, Subaru Schwartz resolved not to translate the modern term unless asked, and turned to stare out the carriage window, mentally committing to performing whatever role was expected of him in the魔都.
Setting aside Ubilk's motivations, what Vincent expected of Subaru Schwartz was, roughly speaking, a stitch in time—a preventive measure.
Subaru Schwartz had no idea how well known his exploits in the Kingdom of Lugnica were here in the Volacchia Empire. But no matter what exaggerated rumors had spread, meeting the real thing would surely lead to the conclusion that he wasn't that impressive—which was actually useful.
On the other hand, if the facts behind those exploits couldn't be ignored, then "a stitch in time" was about the best role he could hope for.
Therefore, Subaru Schwartz was about to slap his own cheeks for resolve, then thought better of it for fear of ruining his makeup. Instead, he flipped his long, glossy black hair with a feminine flourish.
"Understood, Your Majesty. For now, I'll do whatever it takes to return safely to the capital—no matter what happens. I'm quite good with a cane, you know!"
"—I have no idea what you're burning with enthusiasm for, but give it your all. Don't forget that something precious of yours is being held at Barestes's estate."
"I don't need the extra threat! Emilia-tan, Beako, Rem—they're all in a little corner of my head every second of the day!"
He had actually been motivated entirely on his own, unrelated to any threat, but the Emperor had to go and throw that in. —The man was so good at making enemies out of even popular figures like Goz Ralfon that maybe the blame really did lie with Vincent.
With that sliver of unease in his heart, Subaru Schwartz continued the journey toward their destination—the魔都 of Chaos Frame.
And— △▼△▼△▼△ "The enemy of my deceased sister—a black-haired, black-eyed traveler!!"
She was a woman with the tips of her black hair dyed blue, her eyes burning with fierce, savage hatred.
The bowstring she drew sang through the air with a vicious snap, and the instant before the arrow would have struck, Subaru Schwartz shoved the Emperor beside him aside and took the shaft through his flank.
"Gah—"
Blood surged up to choke him. Drowning, Subaru Schwartz fell.
Watching Subaru Schwartz collapse before him, the Emperor—Vincent Volacchia—set his jaw and rushed to the blood-spreading figure on the ground.
"Natsumi Schwartz! What are you doing—you, of all people—"
"To think you'd say… 'of all people'… I make it a point… one good deed a day…"
"At a time like this, you still won't shut your mouth… Damn, that's a deep one."
Vincent pressed his hand to the wound, trying to stop the blood, and felt the gaping absence of flesh. Subaru Schwartz regretted becoming aware of the injury.
An entire side of his abdomen was blown away. It was unquestionably a fatal wound—he couldn't possibly survive. Yet Vincent lifted Subaru Schwartz's body and began to move.
"What… are you doing… We need to run…"
"I have no objection. That's precisely what I'm doing. You can watch the sky."
"The sky… that's only going to make me feel worse…"
Voice hollow, Subaru Schwartz looked up at the sky above Chaos Frame.
This魔都, home to a multitude of species, had a character all its own: the architectural styles of every race jostled together as though the spirit of compromise had been forgotten, creating a hotpot stew of a city. That Chaos Frame was now unrecognizable.
The scene sweeping through the city was not one of freedom upon freedom, but a war beyond mortals' understanding—a battle of Transcendents tearing apart, twisting, and smashing the very streets.
"Kakakaka! Didn't expect it to come to this, Alaric!"
"If you don't like it, back off."
"You think you can just bark orders in this city? Do you know who rules here?"
In the sky, countless explosions bloomed. A shadow darted across the rooftops—the old warrior, bounding with inhuman agility. Chasing after him, a dog-girl with legs replaced below the knee by living flame. And crashing between them, a fox-woman in a courtesan's garb, using a swaying iron tower as her perch— —The "Scheming Old Man" Orvalt Dunkelkern.
—The "Spirit Eater" Alaric.
—The "Prismatic" Yorna Mishigure.
None inferior in martial prowess, each bearing the title of one of the empire's Nine Divine Generals.
Three of them, each on a different side, waged war upon the very city of Chaos Frame.
"To think Alaric would side with them. —Failing to foresee her participation was my oversight."
Blasted by heat waves and shockwaves, Vincent kicked off the ruined streets with Subaru Schwartz in his arms, trying to distance them from the battlefield.
Vincent's trump card for this expedition—the one he'd brought along—was Orvalt, who was far too preoccupied with grinning and hunting two women's lives to spare them a glance.
Meanwhile, Yorna, as the魔都's mistress, was moving to fulfill her duty of territorial defense.
And Alaric—the one sent to suppress the rebellion and presumed lost— "—Vincent Volacchia!"
"—"
At the call of his name, Vincent stopped and turned.
On the rubble of a collapsed building stood the source of the voice—a figure in the same crimson attire and black hair as Vincent himself, wearing a demon mask to conceal his identity. The ringleader of the rebellion, conspiring with Goz Ralfon to seize the throne.
The masked man who had collaborated in Goz Ralfon's rebellion had come to Chaos Frame to win over Yorna's allegiance—and had arrived at the same time as Vincent and Subaru Schwartz.
"Thief—state your name."
"—Abel. Right now, I am Abel."
Face to face with Vincent, the masked man—Abel—introduced himself, and the air itself seemed to burn.
The taut silence stretched between them, and it was Abel's war-willing—accompanied by the missing Alaric—that had brought about the destruction of the魔都.
If Yorna Mishigure, whose position was uncommitted, refused to choose a side between the Emperor and the rebels, the best strategy was to prevent her from falling into the enemy's camp.
The moment that possibility was lost, the battle among those Transcendents would have begun.
"Abel…"
Vincent narrowed his eyes, confirming the name.
Having lost so much blood that his life was slipping away, Subaru Schwartz had no way to gauge what Vincent was feeling in that moment.
But Abel's other companions hadn't missed that momentary hesitation.
"—"
Turning toward Abel, Vincent failed to notice the remorseless assassin who emerged from the shadows of the debris behind him—a figure who approached without sound or presence.
The killer's axe aimed for the back of Vincent's exposed neck— "—Your Excellency!!"
A lash of purple vines, summoned by the blood-soaked Kahfma, intercepted the axe a hair's breadth from Vincent's neck.
It was Kahfma, bleeding profusely from head to toe, who had cried out and saved the Emperor from the ambush. The last of Vincent's companions, Kahfma used the unique abilities of his
But— "Oraaaa!!"
The enemy dodged the extending vine whip, and a new shadow landed beside him—a rough-faced, one-eyed dual swordsman and a bandana-clad axeman, both companions of Abel, rebels all.
"My apologies, my apologies!"
"Tch! Don't screw up your one trick!"
"'One trick'—that's harsh. But thanks for the cover. Can I still count on you?"
"You're a real piece of work. —Kahfma Ilruk, Second General. You're no burden."
The dual swordsman cracked his neck with a grin, while the bandana man fixed Vincent and Subaru Schwartz with cold eyes. Kahfma, battered beyond recognition, positioned himself between the two enemies and the Emperor.
"Leave this place to me! Your Excellency—take Miss Schwartz and go!"
"Don't pursue too far. Without Orvalt, our forces are limited. There are Shudrak's eyes, too."
"I understand! —Your Excellency, and Miss Schwartz as well—my life is the one you saved, and I will not let it be wasted!"
Wounded all over, Kahfma answered with fierce conviction. Vincent left him the battlefield and broke into a run.
This time, no matter what Abel said, he would not stop—having perceived that resolve, Abel too said nothing further, and the two enemies each withdrew from the scene.
And— "—Natsuki Subaru, the Kingdom's Star Reader. If you die, I cannot read what fills that void. Therefore—"
"—Uh…"
With the battlefield growing distant, ears ringing and heartbeat impossibly faint, Subaru Schwartz watched Vincent place a hand against his own face.
Then Vincent closed his eyes, and Subaru Schwartz—whose consciousness was fading—noticed something. He had never once seen Vincent close both eyes.
But that observation was immediately swept away by what came next.
"—The 'Blue' mask."
Vincent's face—peeled away.
The sound was like flesh torn from bone, like skin stripped from meat—a sound that made you wince just hearing it. The face of Vincent Volacchia came away in his own hands.
So peeled, the face slowly crumbled to dust.
"—"
The scene was like a nightmare in a sleepless night—or a glitch in a brain facing [death]. But the faceless Emperor pressed his other hand to his face and donned the next "mask."
In the next instant, Vincent's body shifted—the skeleton contracted, the frame shrank, his height diminished. Hair color, hairstyle, the very shape of him—all remade in a different image.
"…Felis?"
A beat later, there stood a familiar face: the adorable features and cat-ears of the person who was supposed to be glued to his master's side in the Kingdom of Lugnica.
"—"
—Vincent had become Felis.
There was no other way to describe the scene. Subaru Schwartz was struck dumb. But the person in question ignored Subaru Schwartz's confusion, raising a pale hand toward the wound.
In the next moment, gentle light spilled forth and began healing Subaru Schwartz's blown-open abdomen. That transcendent healing power—the kind that seemed to reverse time itself—was unmistakably Felis's.
The wound sealed, flesh rebuilt itself, and the organs and muscle fibers began repair. The blood that had been lost wouldn't return, but the body, prodded back to vitality, kicked into overdrive and the circulation changed dramatically.
The consciousness that had been fading slowly regained color, and Subaru Schwartz—no, Natsuki Subaru—still dressed as a woman, reached out to the figure before him.
He grabbed those slender shoulders and pulled them close, staring down at the one who was healing him.
"…You're not Capella, are you?"
"I have no idea why you would suspect—no…"
The face was Felis's, the voice was Felis's, but the speech patterns were Vincent's. At the dissonance, Subaru swallowed hard, and the false Felis shook her head slowly.
In the instant that followed, cracks appeared across the false Felis's face.
"—!"
Starting from the cheek, fractures spread, slowly eating away at Felis's lovely features.
"I'm going to use the mana that's stagnated within you. At this rate, the clogged drain will burst no matter what—so I won't accept complaints."
The false Felis didn't flinch at the spectacle, ignoring Subaru's shock, and continued healing his flank.
Gentle light healed the wound, healed it, healed it, and at last— "Done."
The moment she spoke, the cracks had consumed the entirety of the false Felis's face.
Just as Vincent's face had crumbled to dust, so too did the false Felis's—falling away in fine powder from the edges.
Having been healed and saved from death, Subaru nonetheless lay paralyzed, staring at the nightmarish scene unfolding before him.
Beneath the fallen mask of the false Felis, a new face appeared—not Vincent, not Felis, but someone he didn't recognize. No—not entirely unrecognized.
Once before, Subaru had glimpsed that face for a split second.
In the mirror in the detached palace—the face he'd chalked up to a trick of the emergency situation and hadn't pursued.
Long white hair and skin the color of snow, the entire figure dressed in white, with only those eyes—golden—shining. Tall, the person— "—
"Huh?"
"I noticed you seemed to be confusing me with someone else, so I corrected you."
The white-clad man who had introduced himself as Chisha Gold spoke, and Subaru realized belatedly that this was the answer to the Capella question from earlier.
The power he'd witnessed before his eyes—the ability to change one's own form into something else, and ultimately to heal even a fatal wound as Felis—was not something that could be described as mere disguise or mimicry.
"Wait—Chisha Gold, you're one of the Nine Divine Generals…"
"I will confirm that. I hold the position of the 'Four' among the Nine Divine Generals—though I am barely qualified, I serve as one of the empire's Generals."
"…The Emperor's body double?"
"When necessary. But that is no longer accurate in the current situation. The title that best describes me now is—"
Before Subaru's wide-open eyes, Chisha—still wearing the Emperor's clothes, with an expression impossible to read—narrowed his golden eyes and declared.
"—The rebel who has usurped the throne of the Holy Empire of Volacchia and mocked the Sword Wolf."
That was the true meeting between Natsuki Subaru and the "White Spider" Chisha Gold. —Two men whose fates should never have crossed, brought together by a deception of destiny itself.
△▼△▼△▼△ Chisha explained that his power to change form was called "Nou."
The mechanism was difficult to explain in detail, he said, but by stealing the color of the target and donning the resulting "mask," one could perfectly assume that being's existence.
Using this, Chisha had impersonated Vincent Volacchia to deceive the Emperor, and had used the "mask" of Felis, whom he'd had a prior connection with, to heal Subaru's wound.
Relieved that Chisha was definitively not Capella, the Archbishop of Lust, Subaru also thought— "Wait—the real Goz Ralfon, the one arrested for treason—did he get taken out because he realized you were impersonating the Emperor?"
"I will confirm that. General Goz was the empire's most loyal and courageous soldier. No matter what I said, he would never have listened if he knew I intended to harm the Emperor. That is why he had to be temporarily removed from the board in this manner."
"That's it—I knew it! No matter how much I gathered intelligence, I could never reach the conclusion that Goz would betray the Emperor. Because he didn't actually betray anyone!"
Snapping his fingers, Subaru grinned in vindication—but the grin couldn't survive the surge of joy that followed.
After all, Chisha had told him plainly. —He was a usurper of the throne, the ringleader of rebels throwing the Volacchia Empire into chaos.
"…If the Volacchia way is survival of the fittest, then what drove you to challenge the Emperor—Vincent Volacchia—as a man of the empire? Ambition?"
"Hmm—how would you assess that? Is my motivation ambition?"
"—No. I don't think so."
If the Volacchia system was the standard, and Chisha killed Vincent with his own hands, the Sword Wolf throne would change hands—that was the system's design. And yet, Chisha had replaced Vincent with his own image, hidden the Emperor's absence, and kept the status quo going.
There was no sincerity behind simply seizing the throne.
"So your goal isn't the throne. …I don't know what else it could be."
"I assume that's a conclusion drawn from listening to the 'stars' of the celestial observers?"
"Stars? …No, I like stars, but I've never actually talked to one. That was just experience and wishful thinking rolled into an ideal."
"Wishful thinking, you say…"
"Yeah, wishful thinking. I don't want the guy I protected at the cost of getting half my abdomen blown off to be a villain, and I don't want the guy who healed that blown-off abdomen to be an irredeemable monster. That's my wish."
He knew both hopes hung by far too thin a thread. But he trusted that Chisha—who had gone out of his way to reveal his deepest secret to save Subaru—wouldn't suddenly flip and attack for no reason.
Receiving Subaru's self-serving question, Chisha quietly tilted his head.
"I am taking the measures necessary to save this empire from a future of ruin."
"…Can't that be done together with the Emperor?"
"His Excellency Vincent is an extraordinarily wise man—but he does not understand the meaning of changing a conclusion once reached. While that is undeniably the most efficient and least wasteful approach, it is also why no one can defy him."
"But you… Chisha Gold… are different?"
"That is correct."
At Chisha's nod, Subaru touched his own flank and thought.
Chisha had played his trump card to save Subaru, then revealed his plan. Subaru couldn't maliciously suspect lies or schemes in this—there was simply no value in going to such elaborate lengths to trap someone like him.
The one thing Chisha consistently valued and deemed worth saving was the Emperor and the empire.
His actions, which no one would ever understand, rested on two pillars.
"One more thing I want to confirm."
"If it's something I can answer, I don't mind."
"That 'Nou' power—can you use it anytime, as many times as you need?"
"—I'm afraid not."
Chisha's tone dropped as he answered, and Subaru sighed. "As I thought."
The "mask" of Vincent that had been peeled away, the "mask" of Felis that had cracked—both had disintegrated into dust. That wasn't disappearance or loss; it was something closer to annihilation. He'd had a vague intuition that it wasn't something that could be used over and over.
Chisha's goal required the existence of Vincent Volacchia.
To that end, he had worn Vincent's "mask"—and then, donning the "mask" of Felis with her immense healing power, had spent both masks to save Subaru's life.
One that was indispensable for his goal, and one that could serve as a trump card in an emergency—each given up separately.
Having been saved at that cost, Natsuki Subaru couldn't simply walk away. —He couldn't feel no sense of obligation toward the person who had done this for him.
"Tell me more, Chisha."
"—"
"You didn't do this on a lark or a whim. If a future of ruin is coming, then this isn't just someone else's problem. This country has my Rem held hostage. I have my own reason to do something about the empire."
He knew the reasoning was a stretch, but Subaru made this declaration anyway.
If the famously "Wise Emperor" Vincent Volacchia and the brilliantly clever Chisha Gold were both struggling against an impending ruin, then there would surely be a chance for Subaru's modest abilities to help. —No, he would seize that chance with his own two hands.
So— "—'Great Calamity.'"
"Tai…sai? A great calamity?"
Chisha confirmed with a nod.
A great calamity—the perfect name for the ruined future awaiting the Volacchia Empire.
Speaking those words, Chisha looked Subaru straight in the eye and continued.
With an expression devoid of color, but with undeniable heat in his voice.
"I will take measures to save the Volacchia Empire from this Great Calamity. To that end, I must create a board."
"I'm in."
He had made up his mind. As it happened, the journey to ascertain Yorna Mishigure's disposition had presented Subaru with the same opportunity to make this decision.
He worried deeply about the Kingdom—about Emilia, Beako, and the others. He wanted to reunite with all of them soon. Even without [memories], he wanted to bring the Rem who had awakened to meet them.
But he couldn't abandon the Volacchia Empire. He couldn't abandon Chisha.
"There's no choice where I can't do it—I'm helping. —Bring it on, fate."
△▼△▼△▼△ "—Governor, must I repeat myself? This is a direct order from His Excellency Emperor Vincent Volacchia!"
"I understand your position. But I have been entrusted with the role of governor of this island, and I cannot simply bend the laws that have been enacted."
"Keek! You stone-head! Big-headed know-it-all! And just who do you think I am? I am the woman who will become the consort of His Excellency Emperor Vincent Volacchia!"
Thumping her prosthetic chest with dramatic flair, Natsuki Subaru—no, once again Natsumi Schwartz—made this bold declaration, lying through his teeth.
Standing before this shamelessly improvising Schwartz was a man so terrifying he could give a child nightmares—Gustaf Morello, his fangs visible as he closed his mouth, his four muscular arms crossed in a stern posture.
A physique like a pro wrestler, blue skin, and twice as many arms as normal marked Gustaf as a member of the "Multi-Armed Tribe."
But his role—the thing that mattered most to Subaru Schwartz—was— "—Governor of the 'Sword Slave Island' of
"That is indeed my correct title. Thank you for reminding me, Chisha Gold, General."
"No, that is my line—if anything, it's you I'd like to appreciate the company of the one I brought. That is why I summoned you here."
"Oh? What do you mean, General Chisha? Surely a mere 'General' like you wouldn't presume to criticize me—someone who enjoys His Excellency's favor?"
Shutting her fan with a sharp snap, Subaru Schwartz—seated next to Chisha—glared at the pale-faced man's profile with all the haughtiness she could muster. Gustaf's browless forehead creased at these words, while Chisha simply shrugged with an unruffled expression.
"Criticize? Hardly. Governor Gustaf's stance is simply an expression of his sincere desire to faithfully fulfill His Excellency's orders—that is to say, loyalty to the Excellency whom Natsumi-san reveres. It is those who cannot see that who are truly failing to align with His Excellency's wishes."
"Wh—!"
Face flushed, Subaru Schwartz trembled with indignation. Glancing from her to Gustaf, Chisha saw the Governor had clenched both fists on his crossed arms, then discreetly hidden them behind his back while clearing his throat.
If you thought this was satisfying to watch, it turned out Gustaf wasn't such a bad personality after all. —Subaru Schwartz's hard work playing the detestable villainess was paying off.
Chisha, who sincerely empathized with the troops on the ground, and Subaru Schwartz, the out-of-touch consort candidate, with no field experience. This candy-and-cane strategy was necessary to stem the rebels' expanding influence and boost the imperial side's odds of victory.
—Some time had passed since Subaru and Chisha formed their alliance against the Great Calamity.
The chaos in the魔都 of Chaos Frame had settled down. Orvalt and Kahfma had barely survived. Abel's forces—Alaric and the two men—had withdrawn, and the battle ended in a stalemate.
However, Yorna Mishigure, based in Chaos Frame, declared she would join neither the Emperor nor the rebels, and chose to fortify the ruined魔都 behind defensive lines.
In the end, Subaru's lost half an abdomen and Chisha's loss of Vincent's essential "mask" could both be considered losses with nothing to show for them.
"On top of that, Barestes had Madeline-chan attack the fortified city all on his own… If Barestes knew Chisha-san was impersonating the Emperor, shouldn't he coordinate better?"
"As it happens, Prime Minister Barestes and I are aligned on policy, but there is a fundamental incompatibility at the root. In the final analysis, that old man is nothing other than a Sword Wolf of the empire, and as such, he and I are destined to diverge in the end. In that case…"
"We just hide the inevitable disagreement and keep going?"
"Currently, we're occupied with countering the rebels' growing momentum. For the time being, I believe we can assume that Prime Minister Barestes won't notice what Chisha-san and I are doing."
That was Chisha's analysis, and even calling it optimistic was generous.
Barestes—who was more hot-blooded than his appearance suggested—had learned of the Chaos Frame skirmish and immediately launched an assault on the fortified city where the rebels had established their base.
Madeline's Wyvern fleet had conducted a devastating one-sided aerial bombardment, nearly destroying the city. The rebels had abandoned their stronghold and scattered—or so the reports said. But the one rallying them was Abel, and according to Chisha, the real Emperor wasn't about to be caught off guard either.
Abel's camp was spreading rumors that the Emperor in the capital was a fake, creating confusion among the populace. The best way to refute that was for Vincent Volacchia to appear before the people, but Chisha—who had lost the Emperor's "mask"—couldn't do so.
As a result, all Chisha could do was the equivalent of a stopgap—verbally denying the rumors and capturing those who spread them.
Additionally, the disparity in military strength between the imperial forces and the rebels was becoming problematic.
"While General Kahfma survived, his return to the front lines will take some time. General Orvalt lost an arm, and failing to bring Yorna to our side was a real blow."
"Orvalt-san…"
"You needn't look so grim. Without your quick thinking and advice, General Orvalt would have lost more than just an arm, and General Kahfma likely would have lost his life. If both had fallen, I don't know whether we would have made it back safely."
Chisha tried to console the darkening Subaru, but the situation was complicated.
The unexpected deathmatch in Chaos Frame had dragged Subaru into the merciless battle between Transcendents, and he'd experienced [Return by Death] multiple times.
The greatest shock of all was that Orvalt—supposedly the third-strongest in the empire—was killed by Alaric's strike in numerous iterations during his fight with her. Kahfma faced similar crises, and Subaru had tried again and again to prevent them.
"All of that… because of that bandana guy…"
In the end, the fatal blow usually came from Alaric—but the one who created the lethal situation was always the bandana guy.
The reason Subaru could only call him that—the only nickname he could come up with—was that despite repeated encounters through [Return by Death], the man had never once revealed a scrap of personal information. Even to his rough dual-swordsman partner, the bandana guy never let his real name slip.
Honestly, the betrayal by Alaric—someone Subaru considered a benefactor—was a shock, and the terrifying power of the empire's second-strongest was spine-chilling.
And yet, Subaru was strangely more afraid of the bandana guy than of Alaric.
The absolute killing intent and the unnervingly cold, heatless eyes—this was the kind of man a deposed Emperor had recruited to his cause. Where on earth had he found such a creature?
In any case— "Having Alaric alone on the enemy side effectively negates any numerical advantage."
"That can't be… Well, actually, having seen the Chaos Frame battle, I can't really argue. Alaric-chan has that ridiculous power because of her background—the 'Two' title isn't just for show. And on top of that, there's been talk of a powerful reinforcement joining the rebels."
"As if Alaric-chan alone wasn't bad enough… Isn't the Emperor taking too much heat? Is it really safe for him to return to the throne?"
"In the final accounting, I believe the numbers will balance out."
When a calculating person like Chisha said that, Subaru wanted to believe him. But Chisha kept dodging Subaru's questions about the Emperor's character—why was that?
The things Chisha had said and done while wearing Vincent's "mask" were, if they reflected the real Emperor, reasons why the man himself probably hated to talk about it. Vincent Volacchia was probably the type who was so competent that his words never quite caught up. His subordinates must have had a hard time.
"So what do we do? Issue some impressive decree to rally the troops and prevent desertions… Or just tell imprisoned Goz the whole story?"
"That would be quite a gamble. That said, the Alaric problem is vexing."
"Someone who can handle Alaric-chan, huh? By the way, Chisha-san is also one of the Nine Divine Generals, but as a fighter…"
"I have some proficiency, but facing Alaric head-on, I'd be dust in seconds."
"You really scream 'brains over brawn,' don't you? I figured… Actually, thinking about the Nine Divine Generals—there are ones who aren't in the capital and aren't helping Abel either. What happened to them besides Yorna?"
Idly curious about the overall composition of the Nine Divine Generals, Subaru tilted his head.
There were nine of them, so there should be nine people. Some Generals, like Kahfma, were exceptions, but in principle, one General's rank was matched by one opponent. Each was a one-against-a-thousand Transcendent, so if they needed someone to handle Alaric, that was where to look.
"General Nine, Madeline Eschart, is under Prime Minister Barestes. General Eight,
"And General Five, Goz Ralfon, was falsely accused and imprisoned. General Four is Chisha Gold, a rebel. General Three, Orvalt Dunkelkern, is wounded. General Two, Alaric-chan, has switched sides and can't be controlled. …Wait—what about General One?"
"—"
"General One is conspicuously absent. I think—Cecilus Segmnt?"
"We can leave Cecilus out of this for now."
"You can't leave him out! If we're talking about stopping Alaric-chan, isn't he the first name that should come up? Pit the 'One' against the 'Two'! I've faced 'Invincible' against 'Strongest' before! I know how it works!"
Subaru slapped his knee—what had taken him so long? This was the best idea yet.
As far as Subaru had heard, the rumor that the empire's strongest—the "Blue Thunder" of Volacchia—had betrayed the Emperor and defected to Abel's side hadn't reached his ears.
So he should be here. The empire's strongest warrior.
"I've heard he's a bit of a problem child, but if he's what it takes to handle Alaric-chan, that's a risk worth taking…"
"A 'bit' of a problem? You think of him as merely 'a bit of a problem'?"
"Huh? Excuse me? Chisha-san?"
Chisha broke his words into clipped syllables, and Subaru couldn't follow. Chisha leaned in close, and his pallid, thin face—free of color—bore an unmistakable weight of toil and anguish.
"Just how much effort I have put into keeping Cecilus chained to the rank of General—could I hear what you call 'a bit of a problem,' Natsuki?"
"This is bad—some kind of switch just got flipped! Sorry, sorry! Just a bystander's opinion!"
"No. Now that I've opened up, Natsuki and I are in this together. Aligning our perceptions is essential. So, I'll start. The things I could say about Cecilus—doubling all the fingers on both hands wouldn't be enough—"
"Help! Heeelp!!"
—So it was that, after being subjected to a torrent of every feeling Chisha harbored toward Cecilus, Subaru ultimately concluded that the man was, in fact, necessary.
After that, Subaru and Chisha devised a plan. Vincent Volacchia, unable to appear in public, was announced to be "ill"—and Barestes was left to manage the imperial citizens, who were spiraling into the absurd debates of "A man who collapses during a civil war has no right to be Emperor" and "If the Emperor fell to illness, will the next Emperor be illness too?"—while the two of them flew to various locations.
"Rem! Was everything okay while I was away? Any injuries? Any discomfort? I hate not being able to take you with me, but if anything happened, tell me everything. Is there anything you want to tell me while you can?"
"You came back in such a rush—what's going on? More importantly, your errand should be finished, so why are you still cross-dressing?"
"Because word getting out that I'm involved in the empire's internal conflict would be a problem—the disguise is now a necessity. That's the situation."
"…—……—………That so?"
"You looked like you didn't understand for a moment!"
"It's nothing. In any case, I'm glad you're safe."
"Yeah! Well, I did have half my abdomen blown off and almost died, but…"
"What?"
"Uu-aah!"
Of course, returning to the capital meant checking on Rem was top priority.
Rem's leg still had some lingering numbness, but she could move considerably better now. True to her caring nature, she had made herself quite comfortable at Barestes's estate. Even without [memories], glimpses of the Rem Subaru knew filled his heart with warmth.
Louis, as always, was circling around nearby—which was aggravating.
"Oh, speaking of that Natsumi Schwartz disguise—"
"Yeah? What about it? Got something to say? Like, how cute I am?"
"No. …I've heard a rumor. That you're going to become the consort."
"That. Not 'become' exactly—more like spreading a rumor that I might. It's part of the strategy. With various circumstances limiting the Emperor's movement, I'm acting as his proxy. Well, the proxy's proxy, technically."
"—Isn't that dangerous?"
"I won't say it's without danger. But for outsiders like me and Rem, the empire has always been a tiger's den we had to enter. If that's what it takes to walk out with our heads high, I'll accept the danger. As much as possible, with the odds in our favor!"
"And that high-odds strategy is cross-dressing?"
"That's right. …Eh, not cute?"
"…—……—………Take this seriously."
Receiving Rem's half-hearted encouragement, Subaru Schwartz departed on his mission to secure allies.
The purpose along the way was to bolster the morale of the imperial troops stationed across the land—and for that, the "Wise Emperor's" consort candidate, Natsumi Schwartz, who had never actually taken a husband, proved invaluable.
Carrying herself with supreme confidence, proclaiming herself the Emperor's proxy, and accompanied by Chisha Gold of the Nine Divine Generals to lend credibility—this was more than sufficient.
And smoothly, Subaru Schwartz and Chisha traveled to their destination— "—Oh my, oh my, oh my—a guest from outside, visiting me! I haven't actually participated in the island's events yet, but the rumors have already spread! Truly, this world's leading star actor is impossible to conceal!"
And so, Subaru Schwartz and Chisha came face-to-face on Sword Slave Island with Cecilus Segmnt—a boy who was even younger-looking than the rumors suggested, loud as a lit firecracker.
Chisha had been quite resistant to the idea of calling in Cecilus as a substitute for the missing decisive factor, but a supreme existence couldn't be replaced. So Subaru Schwartz had enthusiastically recruited Cecilus, determined to enlist one more swing of the sword in the fight against the Great Calamity—and— △▼△▼△▼△ "Now then, now then—this is the main event! Those far away, hear it by reputation! Those near, come see it for yourselves! The star actor Cecilus Segmnt, taking the stage!!"
The wind howled as Cecilus, unarmed, stood at the island side of the drawbridge connecting the island to the mainland, striking a bold pose—facing the mass of black shadows pressing in on the island.
What those beings were and how dangerous they were—Subaru Schwartz knew all too well, and could only be overwhelmed by Cecilus's stage presence.
—Cecilus Segmnt, the "One" of the Nine Divine Generals. The plan to extract him from Sword Slave Island had been enormously, incredibly difficult.
The Governor charged with managing the island, Gustaf Morello, was exceedingly stubborn and inflexible, and he refused to budge even before the combined persuasion of Subaru Schwartz and Chisha.
Having been ordered by the real Vincent to keep the island's prisoners—the Sword Slaves—inside, Gustaf resisted all formal procedures and made things miserable for Subaru Schwartz and his group.
The most troublesome obstacle was the "Curse Law"—a mechanism that killed any Sword Slave who tried to leave the island by force.
The curse, which Gustaf's magical artifact channeled, covered the entire island and even applied to Subaru Schwartz and the others who had entered unknowingly, preventing their departure.
As a result, Subaru Schwartz endured multiple unexpected struggles, but the island's challenges extended beyond Gustaf alone.
The target—Cecilus Segmnt—was equally resistant.
"I won't unconditionally accept my freedom just like that. A blank sheet offers freedom in drawing and writing, but the chance of that being produced randomly and without direction becoming a masterpiece is astronomically low. Every great work requires passion and a certain direction."
"You mean something like client demands, or a delivery deadline?"
"How wonderful! Talking with the consort candidate is stimulating my inspiration with fresh vocabulary at a rapid pace! And I suspect what you're saying is correct! Stories need a destination."
"In that case, if you'd come with us—"
"Whether I can go with you, the consort candidate, is something I haven't decided yet! I'm a star actor in high demand—and the encouragement of all those who still anticipate my performance falls upon my heart like a drumbeat!"
Cecilus gave the impression of listening to Subaru Schwartz's persuasion while doing the exact opposite.
Though a few sizes smaller than expected, Cecilus's fundamental stubbornness was very much intact—a level of difficulty on par with Gustaf.
Even so, Subaru Schwartz worked with Chisha, together tackling the two great obstacles to conquering Sword Slave Island—Gustaf and Cecilus.
And in the end— "…That is the Witch?"
Waves of the undulating lake crashed in, and behind Cecilus—whose back was being splashed with spray—Gustaf, standing alongside Subaru Schwartz, whispered in a voice tight with suppressed shock.
The Witch. Yes—the Witch. The most powerful, untamable, ultimate threat—manifesting on Sword Slave Island and standing before Subaru Schwartz and the others.
Cecilus, laughing. Subaru Schwartz and Gustaf, frozen in terror.
And Chisha—the "White Spider" who had just donned Subaru Schwartz's "mask"—collapsed against Subaru Schwartz's arm, weeping blood tears, his face contorted in the most agonized expression yet.
"It couldn't be… because I wore his 'mask'…?"
The Witch of Envy had always forbidden Subaru from speaking of [Return by Death].
Subaru knew the horror of that penalty firsthand, and he had abandoned all thought of revealing [Return by Death], struggling to ensure the power's victims remained limited to himself.
He had never imagined that the prohibition would extend even to Chisha, who had worn his "mask."
"—"
Chisha, weeping blood, had not technically been able to wear Subaru's "mask." He had tried, but the "Nou" had rejected him at the moment of activation—the mask had shattered.
But the Witch was not so generous as to overlook a mere attempt. By the time they noticed, the sky's color had changed, sinister winds had begun to blow, and the world was starting to break.
And slowly, as an emissary of the end, the Witch approached the island— "The world is vast and magnificent, full of surprises. —This is getting fun, everyone."
Cecilus, his words stripped of all bravado and pretense, declared this with perfect composure as Subaru Schwartz was battered from within by the throbbing of his own heart.
This crisis, this predicament, the approaching annihilation—Cecilus Segmnt received it all with a smile. The sight of it sent a chill through Subaru Schwartz's soul. He couldn't tell if it was fear or something closer to admiration.
"I sense a threat, certainly… but also a slight wavering…"
"Chisha-san!"
"You startled me. …Being looked down on by a Cecilus of that size is something I'd rather avoid."
Chisha answered in a tone that was clearly forced bravery, then straightened from Subaru Schwartz's support.
Wiping the blood tears from his white cheeks, Chisha slapped Gustaf's back and brought the Sword Slave Island Governor back to his senses.
"Chisha Gold, General… My duty—"
"There is a role only you can fulfill. What did His Excellency Emperor Vincent Volacchia command you to do?"
"That was—"
"We will handle this. —Do your duty, Gustaf Morello!"
The words were spoken with force. Gustaf tightened his fang-lined mouth, then spun and sprinted toward the island's central structure.
Sword Slave Island housed many Sword Slaves and their overseers. Only Gustaf could coordinate them all to keep them out of harm's way.
And— "I would suggest you also retreat to a safe location?"
"A safe location… Where on this island could that possibly be?"
Chisha shook his head at Subaru Schwartz's question, and Subaru Schwartz stood as well.
The Witch's shadow—drawn up as if from the black waters of the lake, growing to the size of a small hill as it bore down—was vast enough to swallow everything on the island whole.
As a penalty for transgressing the prohibition, it was similar to the scene in the
But right now— "If there's no difference where I stand, I'll watch. —No matter how many times it takes."
"A cryptic phrase, but somehow it lands just right."
Clutching his own elbow, Subaru Schwartz steeled himself to stay.
In truth, there was nowhere to run. And if those who possessed the power to resist the Witch couldn't do it, then all Subaru Schwartz could do was create an opportunity—a way to break the situation open.
Facing the Witch, fully prepared to [return by death], Chisha stepped forward—to stand alongside the blue-haired boy at the front line— "The long-awaited spotlight, the grand stage, the grand finale! To stand beside me in the moment when I shine brightest—that means you've made up your mind, yes?"
"At your size, that mouth of yours is remarkable… Made up my mind?"
"Ha ha ha, no need to deflect! Since arriving on Sword Slave Island, you've been avoiding me, haven't you? The consort candidate tried every trick in the book to win me over, but you caught my interest by avoiding me! Whether that was intentional or not—I don't know! But given how things have turned out, I have no choice but to be expectant!"
"Expectation. —From you, no less. What a headache."
Cecilus, who had become a child and lost his connection with Chisha—Chisha, who bore this fact as something natural, was almost certainly deeply involved in Cecilus's current state.
Thinking this, Subaru Schwartz simply watched the two standing side by side and thought: "…Reliable."
—This was the sight that Vincent Volacchia had been watching.
No matter how powerful the enemy that stood before them, to have Chisha and Cecilus standing at his side was to believe that any foe could be crushed, subdued, and a path carved through.
Before Subaru Schwartz, whose heartbeat confirmed this certainty, Chisha moved first.
Slowly, Chisha reached toward his own white face and donned the "mask"—.
"—'Thunder' mask."
With a sound like grinding bone, his build shifted—the thickness of his muscles, the shape of his body, all changed.
Watching this grotesque yet fascinating "Nou" transformation, what struck Subaru Schwartz was the thought of a hero's transformation sequence.
In the sense that it made you anticipate what was about to happen, it was undoubtedly a transformation sequence. And when that sequence concluded, there stood— "Oho, oho! What a breathtakingly beautiful young man! There's a certain resemblance to someone I know, but how do you feel?"
"Your reaction is disappointingly consistent."
Standing beside Cecilus, Chisha had taken on the form of a blue-haired young man. With the real thing standing right beside him, even Subaru Schwartz behind them could tell at a glance.
—This was the original Cecilus Segmnt, recreated through "Nou." The presence of the "Blue Thunder," strongest of Volacchia, before he had shrunk.
"I'll exploit the gap. Can you keep up?"
"Oh, ho, ho! I wouldn't dream of leaving behind someone whose beauty is etched into the heart just by a glimpse! Consort candidate—no blinking!"
Accepting the provocation from Chisha in his original form, and showing consideration by addressing Subaru Schwartz one last time, Cecilus tapped the ground with a scythe.
Beside him, Chisha made exactly the same gesture—two Cecilus of different sizes exchanged glances, and in a flash, two streaks of lightning seared across the sky, striking out toward the incompletely manifested Witch.
It was, without exaggeration, the kind of scene that should be told for ages in legend.
Two streaks of lightning colliding with the black-shadowed horror—a spectacular performance on a once-in-a-lifetime grand stage.
△▼△▼△▼△ "…Tomorrow, the full-scale conflict will likely begin."
Standing on the balcony of the detached palace, looking out at the glittering Crystal Palace, Chisha held a wine cup and murmured.
The castle, illuminated by night and reflecting dazzling light in countless directions, was a distant sight. Subaru, too, held a cup—his contained milk—and stood beside Chisha. "I see…" he sighed.
"—"
A silence settled between them, and Subaru found it a struggle to keep the complicated emotions churning inside him caged. But this was not the kind of difficulty that could be overcome with clever tricks. This was the stubborn enemy that had plagued him ever since he'd saved Chisha in Chaos Frame, and Chisha had saved him, and they'd formed an alliance and decided to intervene in the empire's problems.
As Subaru chipped away at this formidable adversary from both sides, Chisha raised his cup to his lips, wet his tongue with wine, and called, "Natsuki-dono."
"You have helped me a great deal. Let me express my gratitude once more."
"Whoa, whoa—don't get sentimental. Guys who do that 'putting their affairs in order' routine before the decisive battle are just setting up a flag, you know."
"A flag… You mean what Cecilus calls 'foreshadowing'?"
"Yeah, that—Cessie's thing."
Cecilus's particular way of phrasing things was admittedly obscure, but once decoded, it often hit the nail on the head in a surprisingly insightful way.
Though its manifestation had been incomplete, Cecilus had repelled the Witch on Sword Slave Island together with Chisha. Overjoyed at "the stage I've been waiting for!", Cecilus had bounded off the island and was now, for better or worse, awaiting his cue in the capital with characteristic ease.
The specific circumstances behind Cecilus's transformation into a child were unknown, but if his thinking and emotions had rejuvenated along with his appearance, there was a question of whether those fresh sensibilities would be lost if he returned to his original form. That would be a shame.
"Cecilus has always been like that, regardless."
"Seriously? That's reassuring… wait, no—it's worrying for a different reason. If Cessie is 'One' and Alaric-chan is like that, Volacchia was running fine despite all that?"
"Everything was thanks to His Excellency Emperor Vincent Volacchia's management. —Therefore, this particular attempt is one where even I have no certainty of success. In practice, there were far too many surprises."
"Like my showing up."
"You say that yourself."
Chisha's lips twitched upward at Subaru's words.
If they were talking about surprises, Subaru was hardly behind Chisha. From the moment he'd been flung to the Volacchia Empire, not a single thing had gone according to plan.
"If anything, the fact that Natsumi Schwartz's existence has been verified in both the Kingdom and the Empire is something, I guess."
"…I have no right to complain, given that I've been exploiting you, but I do wonder whether those skills were honed in the Kingdom."
"Ah, leveling up is from Lugnica, but skill acquisition was somewhere else—my hometown, across the Great Waterfall, so to speak… Oh no,
"Across the Great Waterfall. —I see. That makes sense."
Subaru's fingertips trembled with the phantom need for Beato-mist as Chisha nodded, apparently struck by something. Given the flow of conversation, it wasn't about Subaru Schwartz but about what came after—the Great Waterfall, perhaps.
"Originally, I had a few doubts. It's natural that your values, as a citizen of the Kingdom, differ from ours in the empire—but the gap is too wide."
"The gap is too wide?"
"Bluntly put—you value life too highly. —Or more precisely, the lives of others."
Running a finger along his own slender chin, Chisha spoke.
That the value of life was significant—that was natural. Each life was singular. There might be exceptions, but setting those aside, it was an absolute truth.
And that was precisely why no one should have the opportunity to live taken away from them.
"You saved me at Chaos Frame, didn't you, Chisha-san? By peeling off Vincent's mask and donning Felis's, you triggered a chain of unforeseen events."
"That was because you had value to me. By my value system, the loss of your death in that moment would have been far greater. But you don't see things through that lens of self-interest. That difference in worldview comes from a different foundation."
"I know the way you think can change based on where you grew up and the water you drank. I hate the empire, for the record."
"Ha—you're refreshingly frank about it."
"I hate the empire. But hating the empire doesn't mean I can hate everyone who lives on its soil. My value system is just… like that."
It wasn't anything special—or at least, Subaru didn't think so.
Naturally, the harsh values of the Volacchia Empire were extreme, and even measured against the Kingdom of Lugnica, Subaru's thinking was naive. Despite living in this other world for over a year, he felt he would never get used to exchanging lives.
Being judged for that was understandable, in a way. But being praised for it—he felt that it was no such grand thing.
"And anyway, Chisha-san, you believe me? That I came from beyond the Great Waterfall?"
"Your way of thinking, several techniques—all foreign to anything I've heard or seen. A Witch Cultist raised in an abnormal environment who somehow developed social skills—when the alternative is defining you that terrifyingly, I find it easier on the heart to believe you're a visitor from across the Great Waterfall."
"Seriously? The information gap is that wide? …I should have listened more carefully to Beako's stories…"
Apparently, the bar for belief was "less insane than thinking he's a Witch Cultist."
Even in Emilia's camp, Subaru's backstory was the kind of thing people let slide. Chisha believing him—however much mental gymnastics it took—was appreciated, and Subaru resolved to be more careful about how he brought it up going forward.
"Good thing I didn't blurt out my backstory to Rem on a whim. My favorability rating was barely scraping the bottom of the barrel as it is."
"It has been abnormally low to begin with, I think."
The comment was sympathetic. During the process of opening up to each other, Subaru had explained that Rem had been a victim of the Archbishop of Gluttony and had consequently forgotten everything about Subaru.
However, given Chisha's interpretation of the Great Waterfall story, there was also the possibility that Chisha would think Subaru was a sinister stalker with a twisted obsession with Rem—rather than believing the "visitors from beyond" explanation at face value.
"—I originally had no intention of calling Cecilus back."
"Eh?"
At the sudden shift in the conversation's direction, Subaru was caught off guard.
Chisha set his wine cup on the balcony railing and slowly opened and closed his empty hand, gazing at the Crystal Palace—or rather, the capital itself—with those golden eyes.
At this change in mood, Subaru too set down his cup and looked out at the same view.
"As you may have guessed, the one who transformed Cecilus into that child was me, using 'Nou.' I sent him to Sword Slave Island for specific reasons. All of it was—"
"To prepare for the coming Great Calamity, right? Shrinking Cessie and throwing him on the island—I still don't see what there was to gain, but… Oh wait, maybe it's the same thing as with Goz?"
"Close enough. After all, no one can stand on the same level as Cecilus Segmnt. —With the possible exception of the Sword Saint and the Admiration Saint."
"…You're name-dropping again. Truly a global franchise, that Reinhard."
The truth was, Subaru had witnessed Cecilus's combat ability firsthand. In the battle against the Witch, the "Blue Thunder's" true power had been on full display—though the one wielding it had been Chisha wearing the adult Cecilus's "mask," not Cecilus himself.
Having seen Reinhardt's transcendent combat power up close twice, Subaru recognized that the adult Cecilus's strength was genuinely in that same league.
But— "When we're talking strength, sure. But standing side by side requires more than that, doesn't it?"
"—Meaning?"
"I don't know—it's like when I watched Chisha-san and Cessie take on that shadow on Ginunhive, and with me being in my Natsumi-Schwartz-Heroine-Mental mode—I just felt it. The two of you standing together were the strongest in the empire."
"—"
"It's not because Chisha-san could become the adult Cessie. What I felt wasn't about strength. It's not that strong equals victory—this is on a completely different level… I can't put it into words!"
Subaru scratched his head, searching for a way to convey the feeling he'd had.
It wasn't the same as strong-being-strong, or the same as two equal forces combining. It was the difference between 1+1=2 and 1+1 equals something much, much bigger—a sense of the extraordinary.
"To be honest, I've done way too many things on my own. Maybe if the real Emperor knew everything, he'd be furious and refuse to forgive us. But I think Vincent is the luckiest man alive."
"You think His Excellency is fortunate? I agree."
"Oh, you're not going to be modest about this?"
"It is essential, as my role within the empire, to accurately assess others' abilities—my own capabilities included. In this land of the Sword Wolf, anyone who doesn't show their true strength gets eaten alive."
"Super-meritocracy, super-abilityism, super-competition-principle… I get it, but I think Volacchia isn't just that. That's where my hope is."
So saying, Subaru leaned back against the railing and looked up at the night sky.
At the Crystal Palace's northern end, the star-shaped fortress city of Lupugana lay below, and above it, countless stars shone. Subaru squinted at their unknown names.
Stars with no names, no connection, no familiarity—this sky that he shouldn't have been able to see felt to Subaru exactly like the people he'd met in Volacchia.
"Barestes turned out to be surprisingly hot-blooded. Chisha-san said he was super-imperialist, but I think he's a man of passion. Probably the type who secretly cherishes promises and oaths. Madeline-chan still keeps her walls up, but she's actually quite caring. I think she was well-served by the people around her. Now she's trying to find the right way to use her kindness."
"Those are… rather soft-hearted observations. But quite interesting—I'd like to hear more."
"It's nothing that grand. Orvalt, even after losing an arm, doesn't carry himself with any sense of tragedy—maybe that's just experience. He acts tough, but I suspect he has a surprising soft spot for the younger generation. I haven't been able to talk with Moguro much yet, but I honestly think he might be the most decent person in the empire."
After the Chaos Frame expedition, Orvalt had, as if to ease Subaru's guilt, not attached a prosthetic weapon to his missing arm. Moguro, who guarded the Crystal Palace, hadn't crossed paths with Subaru much since Subaru was always outside the city, but in his few interactions, there was a quiet concern—and he often asked about Alaric and the imprisoned Goz.
"Kahfma-san is actually hilarious because the healing magic Rem remembered how to use actually worked on him, so now he's become Rem's die-hard fan. But between him and Madeline-chan, I'm grateful that there are people looking out for Rem while I'm running around. And Ubilk is… ah, how do I put it… the lubricating oil of the organization…"
"If nothing comes to mind, you don't need to force it."
"Cessie is Cessie, so I'll skip him… That leaves Chisha-san."
"—"
"Somehow, ever since I was flung to the empire, Chisha-san has been helping me… bossing me around? Dragging me along…"
"Whichever you settle on, I'm insulted by the elegance of it."
Chisha sighed at Subaru, whose evaluation was hard to pin down.
Bossing him around or dragging him along, Chisha accepted. But having saved Subaru treated as an insult was quintessentially Chisha Gold.
Still, including all those qualities—they had spent a short time in close proximity, and that counted for something.
"Good or bad, Chisha-san accounts for about eighty percent of my Volacchia episodes. To me, Volacchia Empire equals Chisha Gold."
"I'm honored. But this is the land of the Sword Wolf—the Volacchia Empire is His Excellency Vincent Volacchia's nation. I'd appreciate it if you revised that view."
Shrugging with a touch of humor, the man who had driven Emperor Vincent Volacchia from his throne and run roughshod through the empire said this.
Subaru called it "Nice Joke," and the two laughed together for a while.
Then— "This might set off a flag or a piece of foreshadowing, and I'm debating whether to say it… But after Chisha-san's plan succeeds—what then?"
"What do you mean?"
"No, it's just—what you've done, what you've done. Even if you told the whole truth, there's no guarantee the real Emperor would forgive you, right? So… I'm just saying. If you ever lose your place in the empire, I'll be your guide to the Kingdom of Lugnica!"
"Oh? You, Natsuki-dono, who came from beyond the Great Waterfall, guiding me through the Kingdom of Lugnica?"
"Well, I've lived there for over a year, so I can at least show you around the neighborhood!"
In any case, even if he could bring Rem back to the Kingdom of Lugnica, he didn't want to limit their reunion to just recovering her [memories]. He wanted to travel the land she knew.
Of course, with Emilia's royal selection, there wasn't much free time. But having that journey include Emilia, Beako, and even the white Sword Wolf chased from the empire—that wouldn't be a bad thing at all.
"You're in a position supporting a half-elf with all sorts of problems—that kind of hand-waving is a bit lacking in principle, I think. The moderator in your faction must have an exhausting job."
"Guh… That's fine! She's the type who enjoys shouldering burdens, and she told me I could say anything without having to put on airs!"
"You do put on airs, though."
Subaru pouted at the perfectly reasonable counter.
That deflection—was he essentially being turned down? Of course, he'd known from the start that suggesting a post-empire future to Chisha, who was fighting for the empire's tomorrow, was wildly presumptuous.
"I don't like the 'nowhere left to go, backed into a corner' approach. That's why I'll always offer a hand."
"Natsuki-dono…"
"Right! Flag-planting before the decisive battle—complete! The only thing left to say is… ah, thank you for looking after Rem. You really helped me out. …It's complicated, but thank you too, Louis."
While Subaru had been absent from the capital, Louis and Rem's relationship had apparently deepened further.
Louis was currently showing no trace of Archbishop-of-Gluttony-level evil—on the contrary, she seemed to be devoting herself to Rem. But the root nature was unknown. Even setting that aside, bringing Rem back to the Kingdom raised the headache of what to do with Louis.
That was probably an item for Otto's consultation pile.
"—"
As Subaru was mentally plotting the expansion of Otto's stomach ulcers, Chisha—rarely furrowed—pursed his lips, opened them, closed them. Opened, closed. Three times.
It seemed like some form of hesitation, and Subaru tilted his head.
"Chisha-san, are you setting up a flag?"
"—No. Rather, the opposite—I nearly made a remark that could have become foreshadowing, so I held back. I was about to fall into Cecilus's and your trap."
"I'm in Cessie's category?! Seriously?!"
Chuckling, Chisha left much unsaid and raised his cup to take a sip of wine.
Alone, this man had devised a scheme to repel the Great Calamity that shook the empire, and might have to live the rest of his life with fingers pointed at his back even after the truth came to light. The fruition of his fight—fighting even the lord to whom he had pledged loyalty—was approaching.
Subaru prayed for its success, but he also now had a clear path home to the Kingdom of Lugnica, and he clenched his fist.
Then, following the surge of heat in his chest, he punched his fist toward the sky.
"Let's do this, Chisha-san. This fight—our victory!"
"I'm not the type to get that fired up… But I respect the spirit."
So saying, Chisha raised his cup to the night—not from impulse, but deliberately—and knocked it against Subaru's fist.
A battle born of the senseless injustice they hadn't chosen—no, a partnership of co-conspirators. A night of genuine oath between the great liars who had deceived the Volacchia Empire.
—And it was the last night Natsuki Subaru and Chisha Gold would share.
△▼△▼△▼△ Shaken by the shoulders, slapped on the cheek, and guided back to consciousness, Natsuki Subaru woke to find himself not in Barestes's estate but in a cramped box.
"Uu!"
The one who helped rouse him with that high-pitched cry was Louis Arneb, squeezed into the same tight space.
Beyond her grinning face, Subaru spotted Rem, and he lunged upward, cracking his head against the box's ceiling and letting out a yelp.
And then— "—We're in a Wyvern carriage heading for the Kingdom of Lugnica. I could hear them saying so."
"Wh—what?! How… But the rebellion—"
"I don't know! It was completely sudden. I was forced onto the carriage… You never woke up at all, though."
"No way—my sleep-wake cycle is fine; with all that commotion I would have—"
Would have woken up, he was about to say—then matched it against the fact that he hadn't. At that moment, the thing that flashed through his mind was the milk from last night.
The milk Chisha had prepared for him on the balcony of the detached palace. He'd felt a crushing wave of drowsiness as soon as he finished talking. He'd staggered to his assigned room, slept like the dead— "Chisha set me up…! What was he thinking… Am I an idiot. Yes, I'm an idiot. Who the hell can figure out what Chisha-san is thinking?"
It was obvious. Chisha's goal in engineering this situation was clear.
Chisha planned to go alone. Having borrowed Subaru's help to arrange the board, Chisha decided—just as he'd done with the Emperor—to remove Subaru from the equation and face the final battle with the Great Calamity by himself.
Had he always intended this? When had Subaru been deceived? Those useless, futile questions raged in his mind—then he shut them out.
Lamenting right now was pointless.
"How do we get out…"
"I don't think it's possible. I tried several times, but the box is sturdiness personified—it doesn't budge. Apparently, we'll be released once we cross the border into the Kingdom."
"That won't get me back in time for the capital battle! Hey! Oi! Someone! Let us out! Open it! I am Natsumi Schwartz, consort candidate of His Excellency Emperor Vincent Volacchia—!!"
Subaru pounded on the box walls and shouted, playing the Natsumi Schwartz card, but the carriage driver paid no attention. Naturally—Chisha had surely instructed them to ignore whatever the waking captives said.
"—Invisible Providence."
Gritting his teeth, Subaru activated the invisible arm within him—[Invisible Providence]—to try to break the box.
But unlike its original wielder, the Archbishop of Sloth, Subaru's version was essentially a third arm with limited capability. If both his own arms couldn't break the walls, adding one more wouldn't help.
"If only the box's lock had been simple enough for me to pick with Invisible Providence…"
Feeling only the backlash of his body straining, Subaru gnashed his teeth at the failed strategy.
Beside him, Rem—wearing a taut expression, having already struggled and managed to create several small dents in the wall about the width of a fingertip—shared his frustration. She too was unwilling to leave the empire at this moment.
Placed at Barestes's estate as a hostage, Rem had recalled her healing techniques during her stay and become a valued asset in the empire. She'd found a sense of purpose and built relationships—there were even friends, Subaru had heard.
"Madeline-san and Katua-san are still in the capital, and I haven't even…"
She probably hadn't even had the chance to say goodbye.
Subaru's last words to Chisha, he realized with a sinking feeling, had been something like "I need to use the bathroom before bed." Even though his drowsiness had been beyond his control—what a state of affairs.
"Damn it! Let us out! At least let's talk this through! Don't just go ahead on your own!"
"Uu—auh?"
"Shut up! I don't have time to deal with you right now!"
Louis peeked at Subaru as he pounded the wall, her expression concerned, and he barked at her. He was fully aware it was nothing but displaced anger—and even if she was the Archbishop of Gluttony, hating himself for lashing out at her was nauseating.
In his stead, Rem gently pulled Louis into a hug from behind.
And— "Uu?"
"…I'm not okay. I don't want to worry you, Louis, so I want to say everything is fine—but right now, it's not. For either of me or him."
Louis, held in Rem's arms, blinked at the tears brimming in Rem's eyes. Then, her expression stiffening just slightly, she reached out a hand and touched Subaru.
The touch made Subaru clench his jaw. —The next instant.
"—Uh?"
The next moment, before he realized his vision had blurred, Subaru was sitting on a highway.
"Huh, what—wait—outside is one thing, but I'm too far outside!"
Confusion. He staggered to his feet—and the shock was shared by all three of them. Rem, still holding Louis, was sitting on the road as well.
The three of them, in the same arrangement they'd been in the box, now on the highway— "That was a teleport… Transfer? No way…"
"Uu!"
Before Subaru, who had intuited the answer, it was Louis who raised her hand.
This was Louis's power—or rather, the authority of the Archbishop of Gluttony. The Gluttony who had resided at the Pleiades Watchtower had consumed the ability to teleport short distances from someone. Louis had used it to teleport Subaru and Rem out of the carriage.
"Louis, you're incredible…"
"…She did well. Though I hate admitting that, this is the time. Can you teleport us all the way back to the capital?!"
"Uu? Auh, uu-aauh?"
Grasping Louis's shoulders and shaking her head, Subaru watched her shake her head no. He let out a frustrated sound.
Escaping the carriage was a blessing, but they'd likely been transported far from the capital. From here, on foot, with Rem's leg still not fully healed—how long would the journey back take?
Actually, as bad as it felt for Rem, the thought flickered: he could tell her to head for the Kingdom border while he went back to the capital alone— "—"
Suddenly, a shrill sound came from Rem, and Subaru spun around. The source was a small whistle-like object pressed to her lips.
Seeing Subaru's confusion, Rem said, "It's a dragon-bone whistle."
"Madeline-san gave it to me. When I mended her clothes before—she said they were precious to her and wanted to repay me. She said if I blew this whistle—"
"If you blew the whistle—huh!?"
The dragon-bone whistle that Madeline had provided bore immediate fruit. Descending from the sky was what must have been one of the Wyverns that the dragon-girl Madeline commanded in large numbers.
A Wyvern that, outside of special training, would never obey a human—that beast knelt before Rem, who held the whistle, lowering its head in submission.
Madeline had surely instructed it to serve Rem.
"If this one will carry us, we can reach the capital!"
"You were seriously planning to leave me and Louis behind and return to the capital alone, weren't you?"
"Sorry about that! But I didn't mean any harm! I just love and cherish you, that's all!"
"Huh? I'm not letting you ride."
"I'm sorry! Please, just let me ride!"
Seeing through his panic and conflicting emotions, Subaru pleaded frantically. At his words, Rem sighed, drew Louis close with an outstretched arm— "I don't know what speed it can reach. Hold on tight."
"Right! And in all honesty, riding a flying Wyvern is a first for me—but this isn't the time for that!"
Being borne aloft on the back of a flying creature—it wasn't an everyday experience. The only time Subaru had flown under similar conditions was with Roswaal.
Nursing those idle thoughts, Subaru wrapped an arm around Rem's and Louis's waists, lifted them, and leaped onto the Wyvern's back.
And then, apologizing to Rem's "Wait a minute!"— "Let's go, capital! Don't think the story ends with us dropping out!"
△▼△▼△▼△ "…Chisha-san, the time is now."
On the eve of the decisive battle for the capital, Ubilk visited Chisha with this message.
Chisha, who bore the title of Star Reader—the "stars" being the celestial observers, beings who maintained this world's order and considered absolute separation the natural state—felt nausea at the contact.
"'Contact'—that's Natsuki-dono's influence."
Ch意识 to the word he'd murmured in his own chest, and Chisha's lips softened.
Subaru, his companions Rem and Louis—all put to sleep and transported overnight from the capital toward the Kingdom border. The soldiers, loyal to Chisha, accepted these orders without question—the instructions to distance themselves from the battlefield.
Chisha found himself unexpectedly grateful for the people he'd been given.
"Of course they would! After all, I'm here by your side—there's no question about that!"
"…I already issued deployment orders, but why are you here?"
Chisha frowned at the "Blue Thunder" in child form, who had appeared in the corridors of the Crystal Palace. Cecilus waved off the question with a dismissive gesture and shouted, "Nonsense!"
"You know what I am! As the world's leading star actor, I am guaranteed to arrive on the grand stage in time for the curtain call. And as you can see, I am here for the great battle shaking the empire!"
"That is because Natsumi Schwartz and I came to retrieve you."
"Th·at·is exactly what I mean! The guidance that visits me when it's needed! Even if—hypothetically—you hadn't come for me! Even if no one had come at all! I would surely have been on this battlefield! No matter what cruel trick fate might play!"
"Even so—the Star Reader herself usually delivers star-transmitted messages with more subtlety. But with you, words are wasted."
"Naturally. How can a wishy-washy, easily bent human win the audience's love as a leading star? A sword may be absent, but conviction is always present. Not just me—Natsumi-san and you as well."
Pointing a finger, Cecilus spoke with his usual flair. So perfectly usual that Subaru forgot, for just a moment, that Cecilus was in his younger form.
Natsumi—and the one Cecilus called Natsumi Schwartz, who was also Natsuki Subaru—truly did have the conviction Cecilus spoke of.
Then—did Chisha Gold have it?
"Of course I do. —Because you are one of the actors I have acknowledged."
"You were not the one who chose me, though. That much I will say."
"Oh, how harsh. Ho-ho-ho—it seems the opening of the battle is imminent."
Cecilus sniffed the air and looked out the window, narrowing those blue eyes.
Whether this was just a habit or genuine preternatural sense for the scent of battle, Chisha had no way to tell.
But as Cecilus turned on his heel, ready to march at last to the battlefield he'd been ordered to, Chisha called out, "Cecilus."
"We've already exchanged our words once, so I'll keep this brief—since this may be our last opportunity."
"Oh, oh? What is it? Give me something that'll send the star actor off in style."
"It has been surprisingly pleasant—driving the carriage side by side, hearing the wheels upon the road. —I wish you fair battle, Cecilus Segmnt."
"—"
The voice that came out was gentler than even Chisha had expected, and he quietly absorbed his own surprise. Cecilus blinked at the words, then broke into his familiar grin.
"—Perfect!!"
△▼△▼△▼△ Deceiving, fabricating, lying, conspiring, trapping, setting up, deceiving, deceiving, deceiving.
He didn't enjoy deceiving. But it was his specialty.
The "Nou" that had come to Chisha Gold was an accident—but in hindsight, it felt like a necessity. No—like a thread of foreshadowing.
Was that too much of a storyteller's mindset?
"Still, I can't help it. How many years did I spend with Cecilus, exposed to that carefree, spirited barrage of words?"
Even without sharing his perspective, the influence was undeniable.
Not everything Cecilus said was foolish. There was surprising depth to some of his words.
The idea that everyone is an actor, with a role to play on a stage—that was a concept Chisha understood. And if that was so—what was Chisha Gold's role?
"Strange—I find no great emotion in returning to the throne I was cast from."
"—"
The man who had arrived walked the red carpet with the confidence of ownership, and Chisha, welcoming him from the throne, narrowed his golden eyes.
The man who appeared was the dark-haired beauty in crimson—wearing a demon mask. And in a cruel irony, the one whose trade was wearing "masks" now faced the empire's rebel leader—no, this was the true and sole Emperor of the Holy Empire of Volacchia: Vincent Volacchia himself.
"—You allied with Barestes and cast me out. Is your wish fulfilled?"
Having been stripped of everything, beset by countless hardships, Vincent had returned to his castle.
He was no physical powerhouse. Cast from the throne, he had no allies to call upon—truly, only his own intellect and words were his weapons. And yet, his triumphant return.
The empire's pinnacle, Chisha Gold's lord, asking whether his wish was fulfilled.
"Unfortunately, I can't yet say it has been. That is why, for just a little longer, I need your cooperation."
"You've taken everything from me, and still you want more from me? You were more covetous than I had estimated. —But you are deceiving me."
"—"
"By removing me from the throne, what you hoped to gain was nothing but a phantom. You have merely expanded the war's flames—the empire burns uselessly. —I could put an end to it now, you know."
Speaking, Vincent reached for his face and removed the demon mask.
Beneath it—now that the "mask" was gone, even Chisha couldn't reproduce his lord's face, only a reflection in the mirror. He was clearly worse for wear. His complexion was slightly paler than when he'd sat the throne, and his cheekbones more pronounced.
But the fatigue of his emperor's daily duties paled compared to the exhaustion of running to reclaim the throne. Vincent's self-neglect was excessive.
—Yes, this Emperor neglected himself far too much.
"I—"
"—Your Excellency."
Chisha cut off whatever Vincent was about to say.
In that instant—even with eyes still open—faces flashed through his mind. Every face, every one he had deceived. Carrying that guilt, Chisha exhaled.
"—You tend to overlook the board from too high above. That is your greatest flaw."
In that instant, Chisha reached behind his back, brought his hands to his face, and donned the "mask." With a grinding sound, his body changed—his height decreased, his muscular build shifted, his chest swelled. And what materialized before Vincent was Chisha's trump card— "—'Sun' mask."
The "mask" of the one who had been called by that name and who now stood as one of Lugnica's royal selection candidates—Vincent Volacchia's greatest weakness.
At the sight of this impossible encounter, Vincent froze. Chisha kicked off the floor and flew at him, lightly, almost gracefully, extending a hand toward the rigid Emperor's face—and then— "—'Wise Emperor' mask."
Swiftly, using "Nou," Chisha created Vincent's new "mask" and donned it, peeling off the Priscilla mask he'd just worn.
The sound of transformation continued to echo as Chisha endured his shifting body. He added one final action toward the rigid Vincent.
He snatched the demon mask from the floor and placed it once more over the real Emperor's face.
"You—"
For whom, by what means, and why—for the consequences of what had happened, the too-wise Emperor's voice trembled as he demanded answers. But without Chisha's words, the Emperor would never find them.
As Chisha had said just a moment ago.
Viewing the board from above, thinking in terms of efficiency, assigning uniform value to every piece.
Because Vincent lacked the self-awareness that he himself was a player on the stage, Chisha's true intention would never reach him.
But that was fine. It didn't need to reach him.
What Chisha wanted was a result.
Whether the inconsequential bit player, Cheshire Trim, who had donned the "mask" of Chisha Gold and used everything he'd gained to deceive all that deception—would obtain what he sought.
He would not be there to witness it himself. But he was certain.
If he could deceive the celestial observers, trap the Great Calamity, and deceive Vincent Volacchia completely—then what Chisha desired would surely shine.
So— "—"
Shoved away, his cheek stung slightly through the demon mask.
An expression whose true meaning, he was sure, would be misunderstood by many. The Emperor, who was too wise yet too sparing with words that shouldn't be spared, had fewer words than ever for even that expression.
Perhaps only Chisha—who had spent so many years at this man's side—could correctly interpret the meaning behind it.
"Yes, but—"
Perhaps, maybe, just maybe—he let himself hope.
That there might be someone who could see this Emperor—Vincent Volacchia, brilliantly wise, but so foolishly self-deprecating—straight and true.
It couldn't be helped that he thought so.
"—"
As Chisha, wearing the Emperor's mask, was sent crashing through the castle wall and a beam of light pierced his chest—through the window, he saw it.
—The co-conspirator he thought he'd pushed far away, riding the back of a Wyvern, hurling himself toward this very spot.
With a heart pierced through, no one could survive.
Therefore, this was an inevitable event—a destined conclusion.
"—"
The man died.
As Cheshire Trim, then as Chisha Gold, and finally as Vincent Volacchia—the man died.
Before the lord he had served and the co-conspirator who had helped deceive that lord— he died.
—That was everything that happened in that single moment.
△▼△▼△▼△ —And so, the story converged to its proper shape, and the Great Calamity arrived.
Hordes of reanimated dead, led by the Witch who wished for the empire's destruction, burned the world.
The Nine Divine Generals, gathered under banners different from what the true history had prescribed—or having changed the very outcome of life and death—burned their souls to give everything their martial prowess could offer.
The girls who had crossed into a neighboring kingdom to find the precious boy they'd been separated from witnessed the empire's devastating turning point, and never lost hope, burning the bonds between them.
And the sun-like woman who wielded one half of the two "Sun Swords" that should never have existed—driven to illuminate her unchanging, unbowed beauty in answer to the reanimated horde's corruption and the Witch's rage against herself—burned her soul.
At the heart of that story, painted in flame and flame and flame, those who had witnessed the death of the man who had deceived everything stood with voices hoarse, tears of blood, hearts cracking—burning fate itself.
"—Get up! Don't give up! Giving up is the one thing I'll absolutely never forgive! You already know why he told that lie!!"
"Silence, fool. What could you possibly understand about my story? I am—"
"You are!!"
"—The Holy Empire of Volacchia's seventy-seventh Emperor, Vincent Volacchia."
Trembling on the verge of collapse, the man stood.
Struggling to hold together a heart that threatened to break into sobs, the boy clenched his fist.
Blaming himself for the powerlessness he'd shown, yet raising his face because there was still something he could do—the girl lifted her head, and the small child clinging to her pointed at the Great Calamity shaking the capital and howled.
Through the gaping hole in the shattered castle wall, the men looked down upon the city streets.
Standing together, eyes meeting, Natsuki Subaru and Vincent Volacchia—the two whose fates should have crossed sooner, the two entrusted by the man who had deceived destiny—faced forward, to destroy the onrushing Great Calamity and seize the future that man had desired.
"I am your Emperor, Vincent Volacchia. —The Sword Wolf of the empire—one of its fangs."
"My name is Natsuki Subaru, a passing thunderbolt who got caught up in all this—but I'm a co-conspirator of the great liar Chisha Gold!"
The two declared their positions, loud and powerful, letting their voices ring across the capital sky.
With the Great Calamity coming—against a horrid tide of enemies—Natsuki Subaru grinned crookedly, knowing that the board had been arranged to concentrate maximum fighting power in the capital.
And— "I accept the baton that was handed to me. —Bring it on, fate!!"
△▼△▼△▼△ —It was a mismatched button.
One gear out of place, and the story twisted violently off course. The rails of fate changed their path all too easily.
When the current that should not have flowed was altered, the torrent of destiny tossed humans about like leaves.
And yet.
If it were still possible to reach that unchanging shore beyond, untamed and unyielding— Then it could only be when an unshakeable, ironclad wish had utterly deceived its heavenly mandate.
That once-in-a-lifetime lie was the meaning of a man's entire existence—and— "—This, I declare, shall be my one and only grand finale."