"What's with that dumbstruck look—like you just saw something impossible, like your brain can't believe what it's seeing, like you just witnessed the fever-dream conclusion of some grand hallucination?"
"…Roughly speaking, it's pretty much the same as my current state of mind—so much so that there's no need to correct any of your over-the-top commentary."
Right before him, Otto stood with both hands on his hips, letting out a weary sigh. Subaru sat on the floor, rotating his wrists as if confirming that the shackles were truly gone, and looked up at him in response.
After more than three days of captivity, his body creaked and screamed in pain with even the slightest movement. The sleeping position had been stiff enough to make turning over difficult, and he had been periodically flipped over at mealtimes, but beyond the restored blood flow, there were plenty of other problems he could only discover by actually trying to move. Especially— "Otto, I just got the blindfold off so I'm not sure, but… my right eye's vision is bad. No, not bad—it's gone. What's going on?"
"When you ask 'what's going on,' I hesitate to even answer… Would you prefer I dress it up politely, or would you rather I just give you the unvarnished truth?"
"Tell it to me nice so I don't go into shock, then hit me with the blunt version so I can accept reality."
"Greedy, aren't you. …Well, the starboard side of Mr. Natsuki's face has had its window of light sealed behind an inescapable curtain of darkness—"
"Okay, I didn't ask for a chuunibyou explanation, you can stop."
Otto had begun his explanation with just the kind of tone that would make Subaru's chuunibyou eye throb, so Subaru thrust out a hand to reject it mid-sentence. Then he pressed that hand against his right eye and, cautiously, checked the sensation.
—In the place where his right eye should have been, the sensation was as though it had been cleanly cut away. There was simply no vision to be had. Touching it, he finally understood the reason the organ had gone on strike.
No, it hadn't just gone on strike—it had packed up and gone home to live with its parents. To put it bluntly, all that remained in the right eye's place was an empty void.
"I was supposed to have been healed, wasn't I?"
"The bleeding was stopped and the shattered bones were set. But healing magic has its limits—it doesn't work on everything, and it's certainly not omnipotent. …Bringing back dead tissue is, well, a different matter."
Otto looked at Subaru with a pained expression as he trailed off. Subaru gave a weak, lopsided smile and said, "Can't be helped," then— "My head got caved in and I nearly died. Losing an eye is something I should probably accept. …If both eyes had gone, yeah, maybe I'd lose the will to live."
"Is that optimism, or are you giving up? Please, get it together. Without you, Natsuki-san, things are going to fall apart real fast."
Despite losing a vital organ—his right eye—Subaru's current state of mind was, to his own surprise, remarkably calm. Perhaps it was because the reality hadn't sunk in yet, or because, unlike when Garfiel had torn away most of his right arm, there was no accompanying pain and bleeding.
Garfiel's words had been both a lie and the truth. The blood had stopped, the wound had closed, there was no pain. Subaru had simply placed too much faith in all-powerful recovery magic—considered from the angle of recovery from a fatal wound, Garfiel had given him exactly the amount of treatment he'd described.
"Generous, or what? That guy's a real piece of work. You can never tell what he's thinking."
The man had put Subaru down when he attacked Roswaal, yet treated his wounds. Then he imprisoned Subaru until the 'Trial' ended and used him as a bargaining chip to force cooperation from
As if he already knew Subaru wouldn't say anything—as if he had no interest in whatever Subaru might have to say.
"Could it be that he already knows… through the 'Gospel,' too? Everyone's got one… If this place really is the Witch's experiment, then maybe it's only natural."
If everyone involved carried a book dictating the future and followed it obediently, wouldn't things be simpler for Subaru? Everyone united toward a single goal, marching happily toward a perfect ending. Wouldn't it be nice, just once, for the scenario to follow a straight, conventional path?
He had the ability to redo things, yet every time he started over, he was forced to grope around from scratch. Wasn't there supposed to be some greater salvation for someone in his position?
"…Moping about it isn't gonna move the story forward, and nobody's gonna save me anyway, damn it."
"Well, you've certainly gotten surly. Can't blame you, given the situation you're in… But 'nobody's gonna save me' is a bit much, don't you think? Do you have any idea why I'm here?"
Otto caught Subaru's muttering and offered his sympathies, but pushed back on that last part.
Subaru stared blankly at Otto's smug, in-your-face expression, and then— "Oh, wait, right. What are you even doing here? Seriously, I've had nothing but time these past three or four days, so many thoughts bouncing around in my head it felt infinite, but you—your existence didn't even flicker across my mind for a single instant. Not even a little."
"Amazing! Even I have to admit that, hearing it said so flat-out—it's strangely refreshing!"
"I'm being dead serious. Your presence had completely vanished from my head. Seeing your face just now, I couldn't even tell for a second whether it was you or some fruit vendor old man."
"Who's the fruit vendor old man?!"
"He's where it all began for me. You could call him Mr. Save Point."
The current record-holder for most appearances as a Return by Death resurrection point: old man Kadomon.
Chuckling to himself as he pictured the scarred vendor, Subaru gathered his thoughts on the loss of his right eye and the sudden turn of events.
First, the person he needed to question was standing right in front of him. He wanted to know Otto's true intentions.
"Enough jokes and whatnot for now… There are things I want to ask you about."
"Well, of course. I'm curious myself what you did to end up locked in a place like this."
"—? Wasn't I put here on Roswaal's orders?"
According to Garfiel, Subaru had been imprisoned for the assault on Roswaal. Held under house arrest, and on that basis, Emilia was to undergo the 'Trial.' But— "I don't know exactly how much the Border Margrave is involved, but at the very least, the
"Split? What do you mean, split?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. There's a massive rift between the faction led by Lady Ryuzu, who says the evacuees—including you, Natsuki-san—should be released, and the faction opposing them. As for you personally, Garfiel's holding you, so your situation's been taken off the main table of debate."
Otto explained with a weary face, giving a simplified rundown of the disputes that had erupted over the past few days.
In short, exactly as Subaru had feared, tensions between the evacuees and the Sanctuary's residents had deepened, resentment had exploded, and skirmishes had broken out. From those initial cracks, even the Sanctuary's own residents had splintered into factions, and the Sanctuary had entered a state of division.
Subaru drew a sharp breath at the very scenario he'd dreaded, but continued with a "However—"
"Why all of a sudden? From what I saw… no, from what I expected—"
In the first world Subaru had experienced, the so-called split hadn't occurred by at least this fifth day. That was why Subaru's proposal to release the evacuees had gone through, and on the morning of the sixth day, the promise had been fulfilled.
The deterioration was accelerating too fast. As Subaru reached this conclusion, Otto shook his head and raised a single finger, saying, "Well, it's not exactly out of nowhere."
"The root cause of one of the problems is your thinking, Natsuki-san. That's a real issue."
"One of the causes?"
"I don't know what kind of relationship you had with the people of
"——"
"From the villagers' perspective, approaching
Subaru's mouth hung open in sheer astonishment.
Certainly, between the previous Sanctuary and this one, Subaru's presence—or absence—was one of the variables. He acknowledged that. But he had never once imagined that his own existence could have such a profound impact on the villagers' feelings—let alone serve as the trigger that split the Sanctuary itself.
Was Otto joking, or exaggerating? Subaru glanced at him skeptically, but Otto merely furrowed his brow in response—no other reaction. In other words, he was dead serious. The only remaining question was whether his eyes were really that perceptive, but— "On that point, I'd like to have a few more discussions before drawing any conclusions."
"I feel like I'm being unfairly judged again, but fine. More importantly, Natsuki-san, the reason I came here is directly related to that split."
"Related to the split… Oh, so you mean if I come back, I might be able to calm things down? No, that's way too much expectation to put on me—too much pressure…"
Subaru's habit of constant self-deprecation prevented him from taking Otto's words at face value. Even if his presence genuinely affected the hearts of the Arlam villagers, the explosion had already happened. He couldn't see how he could do anything about it now.
If anything, his current state—having lost an right eye—would only add fuel to their anger.
So Subaru shook his head with a troubled expression in response to Otto's proposal, but Otto waved his hand dismissively, piling negation upon negation.
"I never said you had that kind of power—don't flatter yourself that much."
"We're even, so I won't push back on that, but you're overselling it too. …So why drag me out at all?"
"I want to prevent a large-scale clash between the evacuees and the Sanctuary side. That's all. So, I was hoping you might lend a hand in the escape from the Sanctuary."
"Escape? Lend a hand?"
The alarming nature of the word made Subaru narrow his left eye. He rolled the word around in his mouth, mulling it over. And then it struck him—what Otto was planning.
Subaru wet his lips at the sheer audacity and said, "No way—"
"You plan to smuggle the villagers out while the Sanctuary faction is too busy fighting amongst themselves to maintain control. And you want me to help with the escape—is that it?"
"You've got it. Nothing beats a man who cuts to the chase. Time is short, and ideally I'd want you to cooperate unconditionally, but—"
"I'll need to review the whole plan first. I can't just charge in without a strategy. It does feel like there's an opportunity, but if we get spotted by the opposing faction, there'll be no excuses."
Most importantly, provoking the faction that opposed the Sanctuary's liberation could jeopardize the safety of Emilia, Roswaal, and the others who'd been absorbed into the Sanctuary's internal politics. Roswaal could go to hell for all Subaru cared, but he wanted to avoid any harm coming to Emilia, Ram, or
"Those are exactly the faces I'd like to keep safe—mine included."
"It's natural for men to take hits where it counts. I'm old-fashioned about that stuff. 'As long as the husband's healthy, who cares if he's away' and all that."
"That's the first time I've heard that phrase, and I'm pretty sure you're using it wrong."
Otto pointed out the error with a deadpan expression. Subaru scowched, then cleared his throat and steered the conversation back.
"If this isn't some desperate, seat-of-the-pants gamble, then tell me the plan. Whether I cooperate or report you—I'll decide after I hear it."
"The fact that 'report you' is an option is genuinely terrifying… The plan is simple. I've already made arrangements with the Sanctuary's moderate faction. While they hold off the radicals, we'll break through the barrier with a dragon carriage. After that, we say goodbye."
"That's way too reckless. And who exactly are these collaborators—"
"I'll tell you that once you've clearly stated that you'll cooperate, Natsuki-san. What I need from you is persuading the villagers and handling Garfiel, whose movements are unpredictable. He's more likely to listen to you."
"So I'm just bait, huh? Can't argue with that."
Otto's read was spot-on regarding Garfiel. With Subaru and the evacuees present, Garfiel would absolutely fixate on Subaru and charge in, regardless of the bigger picture. But getting to that point would require considerable effort— "Wait, Garfiel's position isn't even clear anymore. He should be on the moderate side since he's practically one of Ryuzu's people, right?"
"That's how he was originally counted, but apparently his approach toward you and Emilia made it hard to pin him down. The consensus is to not treat him as an outright enemy, but to deal with him as a potential one."
"That collaborator of yours really has their eyes open, huh. …Including me, by the way. What happens if I refuse to cooperate?"
"In that case, they'd spread word that you were released and focus on removing Garfiel—a person with high potential for hostility—as an obstacle."
"Perfect. You little punk. At this point, with my hands and feet free, I'm obviously going against Garfiel's wishes anyway. Dammit—I've got no choice but to ride with you."
Subaru scratched his head furiously, forced to accept the reality that he was already in Otto's—and his collaborator's—palms. At this point, he had no option but to dance to their tune.
Then again, he wasn't as resentful about it as his words might have suggested.
Because if Otto's actions led to the evacuees' escape from the Sanctuary, it might provide an answer to the desolate, uninhabited Sanctuary Subaru had witnessed.
At the very least, if the plan succeeded, the evacuees could disappear from the Sanctuary without Subaru lifting a finger. The problem was that this wouldn't solve the deeper mystery.
"In the end, it doesn't answer why not a single Sanctuary resident—the people who supposedly couldn't leave—was anywhere to be found…"
The conclusion that those who could go outside had gone outside was acceptable, regardless of the process. But it didn't explain the absence of those who shouldn't have been able to leave. Either way, he needed to get out of here to observe how the situation unfolded.
Following Otto's proposal and seeing this chapter through to its end—it wouldn't be a waste.
"Now that I think of it—I'm amazed you managed to find me. This place feels like it's some kind of hidden room, even within the Sanctuary."
Based on Garfiel's words and what he'd been able to observe of the room's interior over his long captivity, Subaru cracked his neck.
The dim room had only crystal lamps floating as a light source, and the windowless walls admitted no outside light. The construction was wooden and crude—damp spots that suggested leaking could be found in several places. The dripping water that had been grating on Subaru's nerves while blindfolded was likely caused by these defects. What a nuisance.
"Finding this place by conventional means must have been tough. It's less a hidden room and more of a secret base kind of vibe, if you ask me."
"Once I actually looked around inside, I got the same impression. The handcrafted feel of this place—it really doesn't feel like professional carpentry. It's got the aura of some overpowered young guy building something from scratch with nothing but instinct and gut feelings."
The image Subaru had held of his prison room and this crude shack were wildly different. It was nothing more than a cramped little room.
As Subaru took in this assessment, Otto made a "setting that aside" gesture and continued.
"I'm the one who found you. I think this is a moment that deserves genuine praise—how does Natsuki-san feel about it?"
"I'm genuinely impressed. And grateful. How'd you find me?"
"Heh heh heh. Want to know? I bet you do. I can tell you want to know."
"Yeah, I want to know. You didn't, like, use your Blessing of Word Spirits to gather intel from every bug, lizard, and plant in the forest or something, did you?"
"That's exactly what I did, so could you please return the sense of superiority I was reveling in?!"
Subaru had nailed it, and Otto collapsed in despair at his spoilsport of a deduction. Yet Subaru, who had only said it as a joke, was privately astonished to have it confirmed.
Even knowing about it, the sheer versatility of Otto's Blessing of Word Spirits was staggering.
Previously, Subaru had followed Otto's guidance and used Patrasche to rescue Emilia's group. At that time too, Otto had listened to the insects and plants to find shortcuts through seemingly insurmountable distances.
"Your Blessing really is convenient."
"…It's not all that great, actually."
Despite Subaru's genuine admiration, Otto's response was oddly low-energy. Subaru furrowed his brow, but Otto didn't let him press further, clenching his fist and saying, "Anyway—"
"Before long, Emilia-sama's 'Trial' will begin. During that time, Garfiel will have to head to the tomb and leave this place. In other words, now is our chance."
"There's way too little prep time before we actually move. …Not that I can complain—partly because I wasn't found sooner, and partly because you've got a fire under your ass and the schedule's razor-tight."
Subaru grumbled at Otto's urgency, but already assuming a cooperative posture, he twisted his body to check its condition. It wasn't great, but he'd been provided meals and even his bodily functions had been attended to—regularly, at that. Looking back, the fact that he didn't know who had handled that was mortifyingly embarrassing, but he remembered the time he'd been hospitalized for a broken leg.
In any case, aside from the creaking joints, there were no other problems. He was about to nod at Otto and move out—when— "Oh, one last thing—can I ask?"
"…What now? Please, make this the last one. If we take too long, the plan will advance to the next stage and we'll be left looking like fools."
"Sorry, sorry. …Why are you helping me cross this dangerous bridge? What's in it for you?"
"——"
Otto's face, which had been riding high on momentum, went blank at Subaru's question.
It was, honestly, the first question he should have asked. For both the evacuees and the Sanctuary residents, avoiding a clash was a win-win. It was desirable for Subaru, and it would help Emilia and Roswaal. But— "I can't see where the benefit to you comes in. Maybe my brain's too slow to figure it out, but… until I understand that, something just feels off."
Subaru wasn't trying to suspect Otto—but the gap in his logic was real. For Otto, this whole Sanctuary business was tangential at best. Normally, none of this—not even the Royal Selection—had anything to do with him.
The moment he'd decided the mess was too troublesome, he'd had the option of cutting ties and evacuating alone. Even factoring in his desire to maintain a connection with the Border Margrave, the current situation was, at best, 'a terrible bet to place.' Even if not to Subaru's degree, Otto shouldn't have been able to see any light at the end of the tunnel.
Which was precisely why Subaru couldn't understand why Otto was going this far to help.
As mentioned, over these past three days, Subaru had been so consumed by his own despair that he'd genuinely forgotten Otto existed. He hadn't harbored a single question or suspicion about the man. In a sense, that was its own form of trust—a kind of escapist faith that said there couldn't possibly be yet another crisis to worry about, given how dire everything else already was.
And so, he needed to know Otto's true intentions—before something overturned that trust.
If even Otto harbored a betrayal Subaru couldn't see coming, then— "Answer me, Otto. Why are you going to all this trouble?"
A quiet question. It was a small but definitive watershed.
Subaru held his breath and waited for Otto's answer. Otto swallowed the question, chose his words carefully, and looked back at Subaru.
"What kind of person do you think I am, Natsuki-san?"
"The kind of guy who reaches for a coin on the ground with one hand and drops everything he was carrying in the other… That's the image I've got."
"That's absolutely terrible! …And the fact that I can't even deny it, because it's basically what I've done, is infuriating!"
The image of Otto as Subaru imagined him—or perhaps as he desperately wished Otto to be.
Having lodged his one-word rebuttal, Otto shook his head wearily, muttering, "Honestly—"
"You see, Natsuki-san—"
"…Yeah."
"—Is trying to help a friend really so strange?"
—For a heartbeat, Subaru didn't understand what he'd just heard. Time inside him stopped.
It took several seconds to restart. But even after it did, the meaning of those words didn't quite penetrate. What had Otto just said?
Yūjin? What was a Yūjin again? Was there someone by that name around here?
"Wh-why are you making that shocked face and freezing up? This guy…"
"A name I don't recognize just came out of nowhere—I couldn't keep up. So, this Yūjin person—is that, um?"
"I don't know what conclusion you reached, but it's wrong from top to bottom! Not Yūjin—yūjin! A friend!"
"A friend!? Who and who!?"
"You and me!"
Subaru's eyes went wide in disbelief. Otto, equally flabbergasted, stamped the ground and waved his hands.
"I was captured by the
"——"
"But when you strip away all those complicated issues, I consider you a friend, Natsuki-san. I've got plenty of complaints about how you usually treat me, but being able to call each other idiots and tell each other to get lost—that's part of that kind of bond."
Toward the end, Otto's voice turned shy, and he scratched his nose, averting his gaze.
Subaru remained silent, listening to Otto's words. When Otto finished, he looked at Subaru's non-reaction with a puzzled expression.
A flicker of anxiety crossed his face—because Subaru had said nothing that even remotely resembled acceptance. Maybe he thought Subaru was forcing this friendship on him.
Imagining Otto's inner turmoil, a feeling welled up inside Subaru. And the reaction that feeling produced was— "Pfft—"
"Huh?"
"AHAHAHAHA! F-friend? A frieeeend? Oh, I see, I see. Otto—you wanted to be friends with me!?"
"Whaaaat?!"
Unable to contain himself, Subaru burst out laughing and clapped Otto roughly on the shoulder. The laughter showed no sign of stopping—clutching his stomach, Subaru stomped the ground— "BWAHAHA! Friends! Oh, you little punk. Otto, you absolute scumbag—"
"That hurts, that hurts! What are you doing?! Ugh—I was an idiot for saying it! I already knew, okay?! That you didn't think of me that way! But laughing that hard is a bit much, isn't it?!"
"No—no way—how could I not laugh! You're not the one who's wrong. …It's me—I'm such a colossal idiot that laughing's the only thing I can do."
Subaru wiped away the tears that had sprung up from his explosive laughter with his left hand, then gradually reined in his mirth and straightened up. He looked Otto in the eye.
Otto wore the expression of someone regretting ever having said the word "friend." But facing him, what had arrived in Subaru's heart was gratitude—and an overwhelming, irrepressible sense of apology.
—What did it matter what Otto's scheme was. What did it matter if there might be an ulterior motive. What did it matter that he couldn't be sure whom to trust.
Otto had called Subaru his friend, and had come to help because he was worried. And before even trusting the man's character, Subaru had jumped to suspicion.
He had been so certain that something was wrong—and imagined that something to be dripping with malice.
He had been so lost in the chaos that he'd forgotten how the people around him felt, believing only in the existence of ill will while forgetting the existence of unconditional kindness. What an ingrate.
—What exactly did
He had only died a few times and restarted from scratch—what could he possibly have figured out? He hadn't even noticed the loyalty of a friend standing right beside him.
Subaru's self-mockery and self-reproach—Otto, unaware of any of it, still wore a look of confusion. Subaru formed a smile, drew in a breath that felt strangely light, and said: "I'm sorry. You're my friend, Otto. —Thank you for coming to save me."
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ The building where Garfiel had imprisoned Subaru was located in a forested area, removed from the settlement where the Sanctuary's residents lived, along a route so winding and complex that without Otto leading the way, escape would have been impossible.
"Looking at it this way, your Blessing really is indispensable."
"Keep your voice down. I don't have the route memorized either—I'm relying on the plants, frogs, and lizards. If I tick them off, they'll trick me into heading off a cliff."
"Nature's terrifying!"
Otto chose his path carefully, listening intently. Subaru followed behind, unaccustomed to having vision in only one eye, stumbling clumsily between the trees.
The lack of depth perception and the blind right half were genuinely painful. The full weight of his loss would probably hit him later, but it was already doing plenty to hamper his mobility.
Yet, oddly, he felt no resentment toward Garfiel.
The self-awareness that he had brought it on himself through his own actions, combined with the enigma of Garfiel's contradictory nature—those factors kept any grudge from forming.
If he had a bit more room for imagination, he felt he might be able to shape his thoughts about Garfiel into something more coherent.
"Between that and the unconfirmed 'Gospel,' I need more information."
For now, he had to shelve it.
Frustrated but resigned, Subaru winced as a branch grazed his right ear. Carefully avoiding missteps, he leaped over a root and— "I can see it. We're about to reach the settlement."
At Otto's call, Subaru strained his hazy vision forward. Through the gaps in the trees, beyond the dark green, pinpoints of settlement lights flickered.
They emerged from the forest, and starlight and moonlight poured down from the sky at once, clearing what had been nothing but darkness.
Subaru exhaled, surveyed his surroundings, and confirmed that he and Otto had returned to the Sanctuary's settlement. It was nighttime, the moon was up, and Emilia's challenge to the 'Trial' at the tomb had almost certainly begun.
He wanted to rush there, to be at her side. But suppressing that impulse, Subaru turned to Otto.
"If the Trial's in full swing right now, this is when we move. What's the arrangement? Where do we meet this collaborator?"
"The collaborator—"
Raising his head at Subaru's rapid-fire questions, Otto was about to gesture toward the settlement. But his movement was cut short. The reason was a voice.
"—You don't need to worry. I'm already here."
The voice cut into their conversation, and with the sound of steady footsteps, a figure emerged toward them.
An apron dress in black and white. The white apron gleamed in the starlight, lending a fantastical air to her silhouette—still young, yet undeniably lovely.
"First, I'll congratulate you on your safe return… Well, that much at least. Welcome back, Barusu."
Peach-colored hair swaying, her words as poisonous as ever, Ram stood before them—Otto's collaborator, wearing an expression as cool as a winter breeze.