4
“P-Princess! You were safe!”
Everyone, Subaru included, was surprised by Priscilla’s sudden appearance. But among them all, the quickest to snap back to reality was her retainer, Al, who quickly dashed over to her.
“I was worried, since I couldn’t find you anywhere I looked… Gragh!”
“You fool.”
The joy at reuniting with her lasted but a moment, though, as she smacked Al upside the head with a splendid crack. The sound echoed in the conference room, and Al was sent flying, only coming to stop after landing in a heap next to Liliana. Knowing from personal experience just how powerful that fan could be, Subaru reflexively groaned.
“Explain yourself, Al. Not only did you fail to accompany me, but I find you here playing around with these commoners. You and Schult have a duty to watch me, heed my voice, bask in my scent, and obey my every command. Nothing more and nothing less. And you, Schult: making your master personally search for you? Does your impudence know no bounds?”
“Ugh. My humblest apologies, Lady Priscilla…”
As she mercilessly kicked Al, a young, pink-haired butler peeped nervously out from behind her back—Schult, the person she had been searching for.
“So you really did manage to follow through on that… That really is some amazing tenacity.”
Priscilla had led Liliana and Schult through a city filled with menacing demi-beasts where violence and chaos could erupt at any moment thanks to the cultists’ devious machinations. The way she carried herself and her general sense of absolute confidence easily surpassed Subaru’s wildest expectations yet again.
“It was like that at the inn this morning, too. You really like to surprise people, don’t you?”
“You commoners merely collapse into shudders when faced with my peerless beauty and presence. If you would then bow your head in that awe, I might grant you mercy, but every last one of you is utterly lacking in charm. Of particular note…”
Priscilla and Anastasia did not seem to get along particularly well, and they engaged in a bit of verbal fencing, but after that, Priscilla turned her eyes to Subaru as she trailed off. The pressure made him a little claustrophobic as he managed to ask, “What?”
“…That clumsy broadcast earlier. That was your voice, was it not?”
“…And what if it was?”
“Hmph. There is no need to be so tense. I am fair in judging results. I simply call it like I see it—and currently, the eyes of the masses have turned to you. And I have decided to take them back with my own hands.”
“…Ummm, so in other words…?”
“Do not make me spell everything out for you. My noble lips do not need the pointless labor.”
Her eyes narrowed confrontationally as she sat herself down in one of the seats around the table, leaned back with a squeak, and crossed her arms, emphasizing her buxom figure.
“So report the current situation and be quick about it. You will become my hands and legs and fulfill thy roles. And be grateful, for I shall reward you by joining your plan.”
“W-wait, Princess! Are you seriously planning to go at it with those cultists?!”
“Would you have me flee, Al? If so, impudence would not begin to describe your transgression.”
Al tried to argue with Priscilla, who had sat down and announced her participation in the plan, but she glared back at him, causing the iron-helmed man to tremble.
“It was I who decided to visit this city, and it will be I who decides when to leave this city. I will brook no other person’s directions. Particularly not the mad ramblings of zealots.”
“ ”
“—Everything in this world exists for my convenience. As my retainer and jester, you should know as much, Al. My very existence is the embodiment of the will of the world. My actions themselves are divine providence.”
There was no breaking Priscilla’s steel will—no, diamond would probably be more accurate. And Al should have known that better than anyone else there.
“Um, uh, that is just how Lady Priscilla is, so…”
“…Yeah, I know. Sorry for worryin’ ya, Schult.”
Al shrugged his one arm weakly and smiled wryly at Schult, who had struggled to find the words to comfort him. The prickly air he had directed at Subaru moments earlier disappeared.
He had made up his mind—Priscilla’s domineering personality had finally done the job.
“Otto, maybe we could step out for a real quick moment?”
“Yes, of course.”
Al lost out to Priscilla’s demands and started calmly explaining the situation to her. Taking advantage of that lull, Subaru led Otto out into the hall to pick up a certain topic—the restoration of the book of knowledge—and to press him on what he had been thinking when he’d decided on that wild course of action.
“Garfiel, call us back once the conversation’s moved on,” Subaru said before leaving the room.
They stood across from each other out in the hall. Otto looked at Subaru quietly before starting in.
“It was one year ago. Immediately after cleaning up the problems in the Sanctuary. After the marquis’s snowstorm melted away, while I was looking around the village, I found it by chance… No, it was not by chance. I was explicitly searching for it due to what Ms. Ram had said.”
“If you found it there, then that would mean there’s no mistake that it was the remnants of Roswaal’s book.”
“Yes. His was the one whose contents I wanted to confirm. And for once, I was in luck.”
It was a bit of self-deprecating humor about his naturally poor fortunes, but Subaru was not in the mood to share a laugh when it came to these books. There was already a bad taste lingering in his mouth from talking about them, and when he saw that, Otto’s smile disappeared as well. And then he took a deep breath and sighed heavily.
“What do you honestly think of Marquis Mathers?”
“Of Roswaal?” Subaru thought about it for a moment. “I think I can’t let my guard down around him. And there was the thing a year ago, too. But his real goal is clear now, and as long as our goals are aligned, he isn’t a threat. Right now…he’s more of an accomplice.”
“—I cannot find it in myself to trust Marquis Mathers in the least,” Otto responded bitterly, almost seeming to write off Subaru’s thoughts as far too easygoing.
The sharpness of that response made Subaru catch his breath.
“‘The thing a year ago’? Yes, that’s right. There was the situation last year in the Sanctuary. And before that, he seems to have schemed many different things as well. Though when it comes to this topic, both you and Lady Emilia seem to have been content to easily forgive him.”
“…I haven’t forgiven him at all. I’m still pretty pissed about what he did, and it still bothers me. But that doesn’t change the fact that we need him. I just think that getting all up in arms about it won’t help anything, and Emilia’s the same.”
“And I’m saying that that, that right there, is naive. I did not, however, say that it was a bad thing.”
Otto glared at Subaru as if he was looking at something incredibly vexing. Subaru could understand the irritation he was feeling, he really could, but…
“It is all right. You and Lady Emilia can be that way. There is no need for either of you to change at all. Because I will be there on guard where you are not.”
“Be on guard?”
“My job is taking care of internal matters, so I have had many opportunities to interact with the marquis. And during the past year of observation, I have not noticed any signs of schemes or suspicious artifice. However, that is only in the present tense. I cannot speak to what he might have done in the time before that. Say, for example, if he had perhaps arranged some sort of long-term scheme.”
Subaru was at a loss for words. He could feel the weight of how much Otto was watching out for them, constantly thinking and planning and observing. The doubts he had regarding Roswaal were well-founded. And it was only natural that every action would provoke a reaction. For better or worse—if anything, precisely because it was bad.
“If he was obeying the directions for the future laid out in the book of knowledge, then by looking at the book, it should be possible to determine what, if anything, he arranged. And that will surely be beneficial at some point in the future.”
Otto explained with clenched fists, as this time Subaru experienced irritation welling up inside himself.
Just like Otto had said, he had been the one best able to observe Roswaal from up close during the past year. And Otto had watched his each and every move without letting down his guard the entire time. And having done that, he’d judged that there had been no traces of hidden machinations over that time. That was a relief, but an inability to let it go at that was Subaru’s worrisome friend’s bad habit.
—In his own way, Otto wanted to trust Roswaal. But regardless of how he felt about the current Roswaal and his future actions, he could not just easily forgive the past schemes that might or might not even exist.
“So what you wanted out of the book of knowledge wasn’t anything about the future.”
“It was what was recorded in the past. I wanted confirmation that no one else inside our camp will be hurt. That is why I retrieved the book and sent it out to be restored… I’m sorry for my selfish actions.”
Otto lowered his head and apologized. Subaru had nothing to say, since he or Emilia also should have noticed the things that Otto had been worrying about. He was struck again by just how much Otto was saving him day in and day out without his even realizing it.
Why would he go so far for—?
“I’m not going to talk about that. It would just be boring.”
Realizing what Subaru must have been thinking from his expression, Otto raised his head and cut him off. In the end, the discomfort just deepened as Subaru scratched his head and sighed.
“I understand now. And I can understand why you picked up the book. I’m not mad, either…but them wanting the book is definitely a problem. What are we going to do about it?”
“Regardless of the result, I was thinking of recovering the book now, whatever state it might be in. It’s quite possible that Darts has been injured in all of this, and I don’t want it to fall into the cultists’ hands even by chance. It is my responsibility.”
“…Taking back the four towers is our top priority. We can’t afford to divert any fighting forces for that.”
“Need I remind you that I managed to make my way through this dangerous city and even bring the Sword Saint with me? And while I may look like this, I’m particularly skilled at finding a way to survive by relying upon the aid of animals around me,” Otto explained, pointing to his lips in a veiled reference to his blessing of language.
In actual fact, when it came to just staying alive, Subaru trusted Otto more than anyone else. And with the enemy’s main forces holed up in the towers, Otto’s chances of success were not terrible.
“That’s not enough to remove all doubt, but that’s the same for everyone simply by being here in this city, and you have to put all your effort into recovering Lady Emilia. We both have weighty responsibilities.”
“I know. I’ll slap Greed down and marry Emilia. Those are my jobs here.”
“Feel free to do your best on the latter if you’d like, but that’s the spirit, at least.”
Seeing Subaru steel his resolve again, Otto turned back toward the meeting room. Nodding at his suggestion to return, Subaru started to turn toward the door as well—
“—Sir Subaru.”
A soft voice called from the stairway, stopping him in his tracks.
Turning back, he was met by Wilhelm’s gaze. The same Wilhelm who should have been by Crusch’s side.
“You go back first, Otto.”
“Understood. I’ll keep the discussion on track.”
Nodding to Wilhelm, Otto returned to the meeting room. Meanwhile, Subaru headed over to Wilhelm, who bowed slightly.
“My humblest apologies for not joining the meeting. I’ve caused you all nothing but trouble.”
“It is what it is, Wilhelm. No one thinks badly of you for it. And um…how is Ms. Crusch?”
He had heard that she was in a poor state—in fact, he had practically been told she had been hurt badly. Badly enough that it would be difficult for her to be seen like that, given her beauty.
Seeing the concern that Subaru could not fully hide, Wilhelm averted his blue eyes.
“She opened her eyes just moments ago. It is still too early to say for sure, though…”
“She woke up?! That’s a huge relief! I was so worried.”
“—Lady Crusch asked me to call for you. Could I perhaps trouble you to accompany me?”
Subaru rejoiced at the good news, but he cocked his head at Wilhelm’s next statement. Of course he would gladly welcome the chance to talk to Crusch. And he wanted to be able to confirm with his own two eyes that she was safe. But—
“She has requested it herself. Still, please understand that Ferris is by no means excited about it.”
“…No, he wouldn’t be, would he?”
What Ferris had said before was still eating away at his heart.
Subaru had been the only person in the position to save Crusch during the battle with Capella on the top floor of the tower. Ultimately, he hadn’t been able to give her any reliable help, and Ferris likely hadn’t forgiven him for that yet on an emotional level, even if he understood the reasons.
And Subaru could understand that feeling so badly it hurt.
“Ferris might say something impolitic, but please do not heed it. And if possible, I would ask you to forgive it. He understands, but there are some feelings that he just cannot help.”
“I can understand hating everyone around you when you can’t do anything to help someone precious to you. I don’t want to assume that one moment’s darkness is all there is to a person.”
If venting like that could help him calm down a little bit, then who could blame him? Subaru had the resolve to stand there and take it if that was what he needed.
“…This way.”
Closing his eyes at that, Wilhelm led Subaru to his master’s room.
For a moment, their two sets of controlled footsteps echoed in the hallway.
“Sir Subaru, there is one thing I would like to report from the battle at the tower.”
“What? Something other than Crusch…?”
“It is about the cultists who accompanied the Archbishop…those two fighters.”
Subaru caught his breath slightly. It was a problem he had imagined. Mimi had received a wound that would not close, and Wilhelm’s old wound had reopened. The two extraordinarily powerful swordsmen that the cultists had brought with them—
“One of them is Eight-Arms Kurgan. A general of the Empire of Volakia and a swordsman who desired to be the strongest above all else. He was an eight-armed greatsword user who wielded four different greatswords. He died over ten years ago.”
“If he died already, then, um, doesn’t that…?”
“And the other one…”
Wilhelm continued, cutting Subaru off. He stopped walking and Subaru stopped as well. His back to Subaru, Wilhelm remained silent. Subaru instinctively took a step forward, coming up beside him—and immediately regretted it.
That was something he should not have seen.
“—The other is the previous Sword Saint, Theresia van Astrea. My wife, who should have fallen to the White Whale and died in the expedition fifteen years ago.”
His voice remained calm. That alone spoke volumes about how sturdy his mental fortitude was. But it didn’t matter one bit when Subaru saw how painfully warped the Sword Devil’s face was. Rage and pain and a swirling, dark emotion that could not be described in a single word were threatening to tear the man apart.
“Is there any chance that your wife and the empire’s general are somehow both still alive…?”
“…No, it is not possible. My wife and Kurgan are both dead. That is an indisputable fact. However, there is a fool somewhere on this earth who has disgraced their memories in death.”
Wilhelm gritted his teeth as he confirmed that his wife really was dead. Subaru thought about that.
—A blasphemous desecration of the dead.
In other words, a type of necromancy. Some sort of magic to manipulate corpses was a staple of fantasy genres. Naturally, in a fictional world, it would not be that odd for a magic for reviving the dead to exist, but there was no convenient magic like that in this world.
The dead could not be revived. That was an unwritten ironclad rule that Subaru had learned over the course of the past year and change. So Kurgan and Theresia’s being there was not the result of resurrection, but of someone using magic in order to turn the dead into puppets.
“There were once those who could manipulate the dead using a forbidden technique. During the Demi-human War decades ago, several people joined the demi-human side during the kingdom’s internal struggle and became the kingdom’s greatest enemies by raising a host of corpses to add to their ranks.”
“The kingdom’s greatest enemies, capable of raising a host of the dead…”
“The hero of the demi-humans Libre Fermi, the great strategist Valga Cromwell, and—” Wilhelm paused for a second. “The witch Sphinx. A being most foul who caused an ocean of blood to be spilled by both humans and demi-humans alike without even batting an eye. The one and only witch other than the Witch of Envy who left her bloody name in the kingdom’s history.”
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