"——Three of you, we are almost at our destination."

Otto on the bridge reported this in the evening half a day after leaving the royal capital.

The report coming from the dialogue window made Subaru interrupt his words and look out the window.

"Oh, really? It's earlier than I thought."

"Perhaps the two of them had such a pleasant chat, and the road was smooth, so the speed was very fast. Because they set off in the morning, they were able to arrive before dark, so that the villagers could temporarily feel at ease."

"That's great. Nothing happened before we arrived at the village. It's a relief. Thank you for your hard work, Otto."

Emilia, who was sitting next to Subaru who leaned out and looked out the window, comforted Otto. Otto looked worried and put his head on his hands and said:

"No, it's such an honor to have Emilia-sama say this... If only Mr. Natsuki could be a little more honest and comfort me."

"Don't say that. It's hard for me to tell the truth. You have to be considerate of me."

"You can speak your mind so freely, but still have the nerve to say such things?"

"You!"

Otto, who was being treated casually, raised his voice. As a result, Subaru's attitude toward Otto earned Emilia a scolding

"I'm sorry, Otto, Subaru's bad habit is to tease the people he likes..."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, there is a misunderstanding! I have never done this to Emilia-chan, right?"

"But, you did it to Beatrice, right?"

"Considering the other party's lolita value, it's more of a linguistic problem than a misunderstanding!"

"Mr. Natsuki, Lady Emilia"

"What? I'm busy explaining why Emilia-chan misunderstood me..."

"We're about to reach the village...but it looks weird."

"——"

The sudden low call made Subaru and Emilia look at each other, and then quickly followed Otto's line of sight to the end of the road - the destination of Alam Village.

Familiar village scenery, deserted village, the appearance is the same as the last scene I saw

It is to allow the villagers to take refuge and stay away from the desolate situation after the threat of the Witch Cult, that is to say——

"——Ram and the others haven't come back yet?"

Yuexing, who returned from consciousness, looked outside and said in confusion

This was the conclusion reached by Subaru and others who walked around Alam Village separately after arriving.

The villagers who came back together also looked uneasy because they could not find the other villagers who had moved separately during the evacuation - the villagers who fled to the sanctuary.

"Ram once said that it takes about seven or eight hours to get to the "Sacred Realm" from here. We who stayed in the royal capital for three days have all returned, but they have not returned yet..."

"Don't jump to conclusions too quickly. You may just need to be cautious before confirming that the village is completely safe."

"We all know the situation, but that Roswaal still adopts passive measures to deal with it? In the previous commotion of Warcraft, he immediately used magic to solve it, but this time he was so careful. Isn't it strange?"

Roswaal, who can use magic to fly, should be able to easily scout his territory even if he acts cautiously. Even if he doesn't come, Ram who can use "clairvoyance" should be by his side.

Of course, news of the defeat of the Witch Cult should have reached them long ago, but no one returned to the mansion, which means——

"...Could it be that something happened to them in the "Sacred Realm"?"

"I guess so..." Yuexing shrugged.

Subaru and Emilia agreed and looked at each other

The worries of the two people were the same as those of the villagers who returned to Alam Village. They thought that they could reunite with their families when they returned to the village. Considering their mood, they had to confirm what happened as soon as possible.

otherwise--

"By the way, Emilia-chan... do you know where the "Sanctuary" is?"

"Eh? Subaru, don't you know?"

Emilia was shocked when she heard Subaru's question. Only then did the two of them realize the fundamental problem. No one knew the location of the key "Sanctuary", but it was a big problem that couldn't be simpler.

"Yuexing, do you know?" Subaru looked at Yuexing with expectant eyes.

The latter shook his head helplessly

"I only discovered this problem now, but what kind of place is the "Sanctuary"?" Emilia asked.

"I don't know... Roswaal said it was like a secret base, and..."

"besides?"

"...It's okay, it's nothing. I'm sorry. If I had known earlier, I would have asked first."

Emilia apologized vaguely, Subaru shook his head and reflected on himself

Although he was anxious to evacuate the villagers, Subaru was the most stupid person. In the worst case scenario, he should be able to get clues about the location of the "Sanctuary" by searching the mansion.

"In that case, let's go back to the mansion first and settle down with Rem...Otto, you don't have anywhere to stay, so come with me."

"Uh-huh? Living in Uncle Border's mansion? Me, it's easier for me to sleep on a dragon carriage!"

"It's so noisy. I'm sorry to be implicated. Everyone, please wait here for a moment!"

Subaru said this to the villagers, forcing the begging Otto to obey. This statement could not eliminate all the uneasiness, but they still sent Subaru and the three away with determination.

Under the watch of the villagers, the dragon carriage was driven for another ten minutes - at the end of the street was the extremely solemn and nostalgic Roswaal mansion.

"It looks huge from a distance, but in reality it's even bigger... I feel more and more like I'm in the wrong place."

"I was scared when I came here. The really scary guys haven't come back yet."

When Subaru deliberately told Otto, who was frightened by the majesty of the mansion, the dragon carriage was passing through the main entrance and entering the courtyard. As long as the dragon carriage was parked in front of the entrance, the mansion he longed for was really waiting for him.

"Ignore what Mr. Natsuki is thinking, is it better to park the dragon carriage in the dragon stable? Miss Rem is sleeping on the bed..."

"——If Rem, someone will take care of it."

Subaru smacked his lips and interrupted Otto's speech. Otto, who thought he had made a good suggestion, grimaced when he heard this response.

"...I'm sorry, please park the dragon carriage and Patrasio behind the mansion. I'll go inside to make preparations first."

"I understand, don't worry about me, Mr. Natsuki"

Otto accepted the apology and went to the Dragon Stable, seemingly not taking it to heart at all.

Yuexing picked up Rem and stepped off the carriage, then followed Subaru and Emilia to the entrance of the mansion.

"I suddenly thought, if you don't remember to lock the door when you go out, wouldn't a thief or something like that break in?"

"The doorkeeper... doesn't count, but with Beatrice here, I don't think there's anything to worry about. "Even if you knock on the door, Betty won't come out to greet you."

Without touching on the interaction between Subaru and Otto, Emilia told a joke that did not suit her personality.

"Maybe he will rush out towards Parker."

"It would be funny if that was really the case."

Emilia said this with a smile and knocked on the door half-jokingly. A sharp and hard sound sounded in the mansion, but as expected, there was no response from the master or the servant——

"—Here comes, please wait a moment."

"--Huh?"

There shouldn't be, but there was an answer, which made the three of them stunned at the same time. Then before the three of them came to their senses, the entrance door of the mansion slowly opened.

"——Welcome back, Lady Emilia, my subordinates are looking forward to your return."

The woman standing behind the double doors held her skirt and bent her knees to welcome the two people with perfect etiquette.

She has long shiny golden hair, clear emerald green eyes like gems, and a slender figure wrapped in a classic maid outfit. Her perfect dress reflects her pure and lovely femininity.

She is about twenty years old, and she is a blameless maid no matter where you look at it - the only problem is that she is not the only maid in the Roswaal Residence.

Seeing the maid he had never seen before made Subaru stiff, but the tension was immediately relieved.

Because Emilia, who was stunned beside Subaru, frowned and said:

"Flandelica?"

"Yes"

Emilia directly said the other person's name, and the woman responded, and then she—Flandelika let go of her hand holding the hem of her skirt.

"After taking the vacation bestowed upon me by my master, I, Frandelica Baumann, am back."

Frandelika slowly raised her head and smiled kindly at the two of them.

After seeing her smile, Subaru's jaw almost dropped——

"Thank you for the long journey. Let me take you to your room first..."

"The face is so scary——!"

Natsuki Subaru's scream was so loud that it even echoed in the sky above Roswaal Mansion.

——Flandelika’s smile was ruined by her mouth full of fangs that strangely asserted her presence.
To be continued...