"The possibility, as the price."
Verifying the words she'd been told, Petra furrowed her well-shaped brows.
Possibility — that was the price she had to pay to use Krind's mysterious power, "Transfer." She had imagined something straightforward like an enormous amount of Mana, or rare magic crystals — something easy to grasp like that — but...
"'The price is a possibility'? What's that even supposed to mean?"
Imaginary Subaru tilted his head exaggeratedly at the exact same question Petra was wrestling with. Taking full advantage of being an intangible phantom, he spun around horizontally in midair, making it abundantly clear that he wasn't buying Krind's explanation.
Of course, this adorable display was visible only to Petra.
"Wait — did this guy just say 'the
"...I don't exactly have a favorable impression of that 'Greedy Witch,' so I don't know how much I can trust her."
"Well, y'know, she's the type to give off the wrong impression. I'm not exactly at ease around her either, but when you think of it as just her being bad with people, it kinda changes how you look at her. She's definitely bad news though. Bad news."
"Right. My handkerchief—never mind."
Imaginary Subaru's voice trembled as he fixated on the part that went beyond mere price. Petra lowered her gaze.
The despairing scene she had witnessed in the *Book of the Dead*, and the method the *Witch* had prepared to end it — the one Subaru chose — were things Petra never wanted to speak of. She didn't want to look at them directly either, but they weren't something she could avert her eyes from, either. The most troublesome kind of thing.
At any rate — "So if he has a Witch Factor, that means the housemaster was a Sin Archbishop too?"
That was Millie, who in her own way had the natural talent for cutting straight through a conversation without reading the room. It was a phrase Petra had no memory of before reading the *Book of the Dead*, but apparently Millie had picked up knowledge about Witch Factors somewhere. The relationship between Witch Factors and the *Witch* — and by extension, the Sin Archbishops — was something Petra realized she would have to press for answers on as well.
Honestly — "If this Krind guy turns out to be a Sin Archbishop like Petelgeuse, how much of that friendly chat we just had can we really trust...?"
"Are you one to talk? You forgave
"What the hell are you talking about!? You think I'd forgive the *Gluttony* that did that to
"...Maybe you should look through my recent memories for a while."
Her relationship with
She was definitely a bad woman, so Petra's instincts had been right. —While this internal debate raged on, Petra kept her eyes on Krind alongside Millie.
She believed Krind wasn't a villain, and she knew of the precedent of Spica, the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony who had been forgiven — but that was a far cry from letting her guard down completely the way
"Millie's suspicions are only natural, but I am not a Sin Archbishop. Denial. To begin with, the Witch Factor of Melancholy is an exceptional case. An oddity. Even if someone were to be compatible with this Factor, they would not join the *Witch* or the Sin Archbishops. Excluded."
"——"
"The previous holder... the one compatible with the Witch Factor of Melancholy called himself the 'Lord of Melancholy.' Self-proclaimed — no, rather, it was what others called him. He was not the type to dwell on what he was called; his wife simply deemed it a fitting name. A term of endearment."
"Lord...?"
"Not a Witch but a *Lord*? I get it. Could've sworn he'd come out with 'Warlock' or something."
Imaginary Subaru snapped his fingers approvingly. Meanwhile, Petra murmured the word to herself and looked back at Krind.
Applying his earlier explanation to Krind himself — "So then, Krind, you're the 'Lord of Melancholy' too?"
"No. Denial. I am not compatible with the Witch Factor of Melancholy. That is precisely why I require a price to invoke its Authority. Unsuitable. Those who are compatible with a Witch Factor do not need to pay a price to use its power. It is a right to rewrite the world, recognized by Od Laguna. Standard."
"The right to rewrite the world, huh. You hear that and you think Od Laguna could stand to be a bit more selective about who they hand it out to."
"Agreed with Millie."
Petra pressed a finger to her lips as she processed the information — Millie pouting in dissatisfaction, Imaginary Subaru patting her head with his incorporeal hand.
She wanted to believe that Krind's denial of being a Sin Archbishop, or a *Lord*, was genuine. Then there was the special power that Witch Factors supposedly granted — a compatible person could use it freely, with no limit — and the rule that a non-compatible user had to pay a price. She accepted that as well.
If that was the cost of using Krind's "Compression" — rather than his "Transfer" — "For example, if I had Krind's Witch Factor, could I use 'Transfer' as much as I wanted without paying any price?"
"Petra! Don't go down that road — that's absolutely dangerous!"
"Why? You already know, don't you, Subaru? ...Your 'Return by Death' has to be the exact same thing as the Witch Factor Krind is talking about."
"That's..."
Imaginary Subaru fell silent, a bitter expression on his face, having hit on the truth of it.
At the tea party with Echidna, Subaru had admitted to bearing a Witch Factor — at the time, it was said to be that of the *Sloth* Sin Archbishop he had defeated moments before — but when you factored in the *Witch of Envy*'s obsessive attachment to Subaru, it was probably more than that alone.
"Return by Death" was neither magic nor sorcery nor any kind of technique — it was clearly something of a different nature, meaning it was highly likely to be an Authority. If so, then
"Then I'll become a *Witch* too. As long as I'm with Subaru, I'm not scared."
"...That might be jumping to conclusions. What if my 'Return by Death' has nothing to do with an Authority and is just, y'know, one of those god-given gifts that come standard with the isekai package?"
"You're terrible at lying, Subaru. You're always keeping secrets, but you can't lie to save your life."
Which was probably why he kept everything hidden and avoided any real conversation — so his tells wouldn't slip.
Cherishing the kindness of the one she loved, Petra closed her eyes and then looked back at Krind. He had widened his eyes slightly, looking as though he had been moved by the strength of her gaze — "I am sorry, but I cannot accept that proposal. Rejection."
"Wh — why?"
"First, there is no possibility that Petra would be compatible with the Witch Factor of Melancholy. That, and the Factor of 'Vanity' is an oddity — no, an outlier. An exceptional Factor, tuned for exactly one compatible person each — a Hero and a Saint. Custom-made. No one else can be compatible with it, and besides —"
"And besides?"
"Even those who were compatible could not escape the corruption of the mind. Regret."
Krind lowered his gaze, his lips pressed tight. His reaction told Petra that he had known the compatible ones in question — the Hero and the Saint. More than that, the sole compatible user of the Witch Factor of Melancholy, the one who had fallen to mental corruption — the *Lord of Melancholy* — was that Hero.
And if Krind held that *Lord*'s Witch Factor, then that Hero was no longer anywhere in this world — "Now, now, I can see you're having a very important conversation and all, but even after Petra's reckless resolve got shot down, shouldn't we get back to the main topic?"
"Hmm, reckless...?"
"Sure was. Even if something like a Witch Factor were to take a liking to you, I'm absolutely against it. Don't you dare go relying on that sort of power, okay?"
"Millie..."
You could tell without a shadow of doubt that those words came from the heart, born of genuine concern for Petra.
Millie knew about Witch Factors despite not having attended the *Witch*'s tea party. From the way she was speaking, she may well have encountered Witch Factor-bearing entities — Sin Archbishops — in the past. Her advice, however, was deeply ironic.
"——"
Imaginary Subaru gazed at Millie with a soft, complicated expression — too gentle to merely be called conflicted.
Given the events surrounding the *
The only reason Petra and Millie's relationship had not ended as merely victim and perpetrator of a *Death* was thanks to Subaru's "Return by Death."
That was precisely why Petra could not help thinking there might be a way to make it work — but — "...Okay, I understand."
"That's right. Good girl."
Millie's visible relief at Petra's answer was palpable. Petra squeezed her hand and nodded.
In any case, if the Witch Factor of Melancholy was not compatible with Petra, then the plan to take Krind's place as the Factor's bearer and ignore the price was off the table.
The notion of "Subaru is a *Lord*, so Petra becomes a *Witch*" was merely an appealing scenario — an option that should be discarded the moment it offered no real benefit.
"Millie's right. Let's get back to the main topic. Resuming. Regardless, given the explanation I have given, a price must be paid. And that price is influence over the world. Possibility."
"...Could you go into a bit more detail?"
"For example, there is a spell that creates fire with a single incantation. Its convenience is self-evident, and countless futures are opened up by this spell. Promising. Cooking, medicine, metalwork, smithing, warfare — the list goes on. Vast. This is influence, and this is possibility. And —"
"If you offered that spell as the price... everything that should have happened because of that spell would just disappear?"
"Within that scope, the world regains the margin for possibility that should have been consumed. Within that margin — that whitespace — a non-compatible user can invoke the Authority of Melancholy. Complete."
With that finality in his tone, Petra understood that Krind had finished the explanation he needed to give.
She understood the gist. —It was, in essence, a resource problem. The resources that Od Laguna managed for the operation of the world were finite.
Krind's condition for using his Authority was this: the resources that should have been used up entirely would be left in surplus by offering something as payment, and that excess would be secretly siphoned off.
Having understood that much, Petra — perceptive and lovely as she was — caught on to one more thing.
"...When we went to the Empire, we had Krind use his Authority a lot. What about the price for that?"
"——That was handled by the Master. In confidence."
"...Seriously, I hate it."
With irritation and resentment, Petra felt like her stomach was going to boil over.
In that situation, when they had gone to rescue Subaru, everyone in the camp had given their all. Beatrice had kept sleeping because she believed she would reunite with Subaru. Otto had swallowed his principles and reached out to his family. Emilia had desperately pushed that plan forward, and of course Petra had done everything in her power as well.
And yet, the person who had paid the biggest price — without saying a single word about it — was Roswaal. For Petra, that was an outrageous insult.
"I wonder... maybe it's some kind of atonement? Like, 'Sorry about the *Sanctuary* and the manor' or something?"
"I don't think it's that simple. That's why I can't stand him!"
"Hmm, Petra's anger is quite justified..."
Imaginary Subaru still had not caught up to Petra's memories of the Empire, it seemed — he could not quite meet her in terms of emotion. But Petra certainly did not want him to understand this ugly, murky jealousy, either, so she tossed those murky feelings into the well of her heart and drove a nail into the lid, making sure never to peek inside.
Her accumulated grievances toward Roswaal were nothing new. And she could accept that Roswaal was the right person to fulfill the conditions for using Krind's Authority.
"The Master has plenty of things he could offer as payment — spells, magic tools..."
Of course, having plenty did not mean she would be fine with him giving away everything regardless.
Whether Od Laguna factored the depth of one's attachment into its evaluation, Petra did not know — but if you did not part with something that had shaped the world's *possibilities*, it was worthless. Petra did not believe you could move the world with something you had no attachment to.
—*Possibility* required passion and attachment.
To offer something devoid of that and expect an easy salvation — to think you could recover what truly mattered through such a cowardly calculus. That was a truly pathetic logic that could never hold up.
So Petra — "——I'll offer something too."
"Oh dear."
Millie murmured softly, having arrived at the same thought as Petra. While Imaginary Subaru blinked in surprise, Millie continued, saying "Well, after all —"
"The fact that I'm alive is, when you trace it all the way back, thanks to your brothers letting me go. I don't intend this to be some grand repayment, but doesn't it make for a clean story?"
"Petra — stop this girl — Millie! I don't know what happened between me and her, but I didn't save her with anything like that in mind!"
"Yeah, I know."
Petra accepted Imaginary Subaru's protests readily.
Subaru had saved Millie not out of any calculation — not because he wanted to burden her or earn some debt of gratitude — but simply because he wanted to save her.
Subaru would not want to close off that possibility for Millie.
"Millie, you're out. The most valuable thing you could offer is the divine blessing that lets you control Mabeasts, and if you lost that, you'd be worthless."
"My! Petra, that's so mean!"
"Sorry. Worthless was too much. You'd just be a cute girl and nothing more."
Honestly, Subaru and Emilia would probably say they would be fine with that anyway. But Millie herself would not accept being reduced to just a cute girl.
Petra understood that painfully well. —No matter what everyone around them thought, a cute girl could not *just* be a cute girl.
"——Petra. Millie."
A voice reached them, somewhat out of the blue, and Petra and the others turned sharply toward the dragon carriage. There — jumping down from the carriage bed and running toward them — was a young girl: Flam.
During their transit through the
"I have fulfilled the conditions for the Divine Blessing of Telepathic Speech. I can contact my sister... Grassis. I should be able to exchange messages with
"——"
Rather than confirming each other's safety first, Flam quickly relayed her situation — prioritizing the information.
She must have wanted to contact Reinhard and the others about the clash with the *Witch of Envy* the moment she woke, but she had held that back. For that alone, Petra was grateful.
Felt's camp, having received word from Flam, would already know about the atrocity Al had committed and would be moving to resolve the situation — that much was clear.
"With Reinhard unable to act, I'm not sure how much we can count on Felt or Old Man
"——No. We can't insist on handling this alone."
"Petra..."
"This isn't just our problem anymore — it's the Kingdom's problem."
Al had gone rogue, and Natsuki Subaru and Beatrice had been taken — the situation could no longer be considered a micro-scale problem. It had descended into a national, even world-scale crisis, with the *Sword Saint*, the *Divine Dragon*, and the *Witch of Envy* all entangled.
Therefore, those who understood the situation best — Petra and the others — could not afford to hoard their information.
"Flam, find out where Felt and the others are right away. With Krind here, we can regroup with them as soon as we know the location."
"——Understood!"
At Petra's organized instructions, Flam glanced at Krind for just a moment — suppressing her desire to ask for more details — and agreed immediately.
In her place, it was Millie who tugged on Petra's sleeve. "Petra?"
"We haven't finished talking about the price to hand over to the housemaster yet."
"No — I've already decided on that."
"Huh?"
Millie's eyes went wide at that answer. Petra gently uncurled Millie's fingers from her sleeve and strode over to Krind, glancing sideways at Imaginary Subaru.
He was watching Petra's every move intently, and even though she knew he was nothing more than the convenient phantom she herself was seeing — "Just cover your ears for a second."
Imaginary Subaru hesitated for a beat at Petra's request, then obediently complied. Once he had his ears covered, Petra stood on her tiptoes and said, "Krind." She brought her mouth close to his ear and whispered something to him.
It was — "——"
"——Would that count as a price?"
Petra lowered her heel. At her quieted question, Krind stared at her, eyes wide. Petra tilted her head — a gesture she herself recognized as the ultimate in cuteness — and Krind exhaled.
A long, deep sigh as he removed his monocle. Then he gazed at Petra with his true face.
"That would be possible, by rough estimate. But Petra, that —"
"Good."
"——"
"I already knew. —That I have a *possibility* that can move the world."
Petra boldly thumped her chest and refused to let Krind say any more.
Only Krind had heard the question she asked, and she had gotten her answer. With that answer, Petra held her head high — Krind was Krind. Whether his evaluation aligned with Od Laguna's was not guaranteed, but at least Krind had acknowledged the value of that *possibility*.
"I'll offer the price, Krind. All of us together — no, the world... no, honestly, the world doesn't matter. I just want to help the people who are important to me."
"——Understood, Petra. Of all the girls I know, you are the bravest. My admiration."
Krind bowed deeply — the way he did toward Annerose and Roswaal, or the way he did for people he truly, genuinely admired.
Returning his smile, Petra noticed Millie's gaze fixed on her. Seeing her round eyes filled with something like anxiety, Petra gently pulled her close.
"I don't know, but you're definitely the biggest fool there is, Petra."
"Hehe, how mean. I'm smart, and I'm both cute *and* cool."
Responding with such self-aggrandizing words, Petra glanced over Millie's shoulder at Imaginary Subaru, who was standing there looking lost.
Finally lowering his hands from his ears, Imaginary Subaru wore that face — no matter how many times she looked at it, it never stopped being endearing. Meeting that face, Petra updated her personal record for peak cuteness and declared: "Subaru, I love you."