"Honestly, why did you roll out of the toilet? Please don't say it's because there is a hidden door or passage in the toilet."
"Idiot, that's not what happened. I just wanted to pee with you, but this feeling triggered a small miracle."
"This kind of answer that can't be called an answer is scary!"
On the way to the reception room, Subaru casually talked to Otto, who had bumped into each other due to the "Gate of Opportunity", and at the same time gritted his teeth because the conversation with Beatrice ended in futility.
It cannot be said that it is completely in vain, as Beatrice said, she pointed out the way to the answer.
It's just that the process has added uneasiness and questions, but at least it's a reminder
"Alas...how difficult the future is."
"What's wrong? You sighed suddenly. As the saying goes, sighing will drive away good luck?"
"Because your future is so disturbing, I sigh on your behalf."
"Then it's my luck that's sighing! How can you do such a thing without permission!"
Subaru, who did not express his complex feelings but just talked a lot, made Otto angry. However, when the two of them were bickering and talking nonsense, they had already reached the reception room.
"Oh, Subaru-sama is here too. I'll prepare tea for you right away."
She thought Otto was the only one who came back, but when she discovered that Subaru was also there, Frandelica poured tea into a new cup and smelled the warm aroma of tea. Subaru sat down next to Emilia who was sitting on the sofa.
Next, when he glanced sideways at her, their eyes met exactly
"Subaru and Otto came back together, and they have a good relationship."
"I have said many times that this was a misunderstanding. My relationship with that guy ended after I bought his oil as agreed. Don't distort the facts!"
"That's nothing. It's a useless act of not being honest until the end and letting the bad guy complain first."
Witnessing Subaru's tsundere play with his face turned away, Otto was exhausted. During this period, Subaru took a sip of the tea that was handed to him and took a breath. As a result, Emilia chuckled and said:
"Is it abnormal to think that if you are in a good relationship and you quarrel?"
"I haven't heard of anyone using the term "abnormal" very often...and if there's a quarrel, most people would think it's because of a bad relationship, right? How could it be an exception?"
"Then Subaru and I also had a big fight. Is that considered a bad relationship?"
"...Emilia-chan, your eloquence has improved."
After being defeated by Emilia, Subaru looked embarrassed. Emilia narrowed her eyes and asked in a low voice:
"——You mean, have you had a good talk with Beatrice?"
Emilia didn't ask "Have we met?" but "Have we talked?"
It was because he believed that Subaru had been to the Forbidden Library that he asked this question. Although there was some doubt as to whether this could be called trust, it was a 50-50 split on whether he could respond to this trust.
"I've met, I've met Beatrice, but to say we had a good conversation...it's hard to say that."
"...That's it, but as expected, you can see her. During the time we lived here, Ram and I never saw Beatrice once, which is a bit regretful."
The way Emilia sticks out her tongue and makes a fuss is so cute, but Subaru's voice is weak——
This point seemed to be conveyed to her, her blue-purple pupils showed hesitation, not knowing whether to continue the topic.
And someone made a slight sound of clinking pottery
"Can I really enter Lady Beatrice's forbidden library..."
"What, do you doubt it?"
Subaru shrugged at her surprised look, and Frandelica shook her head and said with emotion:
"I have worked for the master for more than ten years. Looking back on the number of times I met Beatrice during this period, it is normal for me to be suspicious. After listening to what I said, you said: "I will go find Beatrice as usual, and I'll be there right away.
Come back!" and then ran out, so I didn't have a chance to confirm."
"Ah~ well, I can't make any excuses about this... maybe?"
"Honestly, I thought it would take you a few hours to see Lady Beatrice..."
Thinking of how he went out without explaining anything, Subaru shrank back and reflected.
"but"
Seeing Subaru like this, Frandelica went on to say this while staring at Emilia with a meaning.
"After that, Emilia-sama kept explaining to me how reliable Subaru-sama is, so I waited with expectation and uneasiness."
"Huh?"
"Wait! Frandelica!?"
Her unexpected remarks caused Subaru's confusion and Emilia's embarrassment to instantly overlap. Emilia stood up quickly, blushing, and waved her hands to Subaru desperately.
"Well, no, I did tell Frandelica about you, but she exaggerated..."
"No, I also listened along. You did say that Mr. Natsuki should not be underestimated."
"Even Otto is like this!"
Not only Frandelica, but also Otto betrayed her. Emilia blushed to the bottom of her ears, then she put her hand on her red cheek and kept stealing glances at Subaru.
Her rare reaction made Subaru clench his fist hard
"Why, I couldn't hear it on the spot...!"
"There's no way I can say that in front of you! It's so embarrassing... That's enough, Frandelica! Keep talking!"
"Oh, I used to pretend to be stupid and get away with it, but now I can't see how cute you are."
Frandelica smiled with her mouth covered, and her eyes shifted from Emilia who was losing her temper to Subaru.
"That's it, I heard Emilia-sama talking about a lot of things about Subaru-sama... no, a lot of things."
"Fa-land-dai-li-ka!"
"Okay, okay, I understand - therefore, we decided that no matter whether Subaru-sama can find the Forbidden Library or not, we can't stop here."
"Can't you stop here?"
The riddle-like words left Subaru Zhang Er Kong scratching his head and frowning in confusion.
"In other words, please ask Frandelica to tell you the whereabouts of the "Sanctuary""
Yuexing came out from the side, looked at Frandelica and said
"Yuexing, you also know this information?!"
"I've been in the Forbidden Library from the beginning, how did you just ignore me?"
"Aha, I'm really sorry about that."
Seeing this, Frandelica sighed and said
"Although I was told to keep it a secret as much as possible...but it seems that everyone already knows it."
"In that case, I want to ask Subaru for a favor..."
Emilia lowered her eyes and said
Hearing her say the word "please", Subaru suddenly had a bad feeling
Because before, I had been "requested" by her like this before something started——
"Wait a minute! Does your request mean... that you want me to wait for you in the mansion?"
"Huh?"
"If so, pause first! We need to discuss this first! My physical condition cannot be said to be completely healed, and Phyllis has explicitly told me not to mess around, but life is not just about fighting! Rather, my strengths are
It’s a brain war, although it’s a language error to say so!”
Subaru became more and more excited as he spoke, and Emilia's eyes widened in surprise.
However, now is a scene that requires momentum. The current situation is the same as when he went to the royal capital to announce his participation in the king's election. However, there is a decisive difference between the two, and that is Subaru's own psychological preparation.
This time I am not following Emilia recklessly. This is the biggest difference.
"It's useless to stop me. I want to go with you, don't think of leaving me behind..."
"How could I leave you? Let's go together."
"I don't want to be left behind. No, no, no... what did you just say?"
Subaru, who was so excited that even his words became poor, asked back with a face as if he had been beaten. Seeing him like this, Emilia put the hand that was touching his shoulder against her chest and said:
"I said, let's go together, I will be very uneasy alone."
"————"
"I have decided to rely on you and I need your help."
——Emilia’s calm appeal shocked Subaru so much that he was speechless.
He opened his mouth stupidly but made no sound. Emilia's expression was shrouded in uneasiness, and her blue-purple pupils were hesitant. She touched her long silver hair and said:
"Um...did I say something strange again?"
"...My motivation button is controlled by Emilia-chan. It is on or off. It will automatically execute as long as you say a word. It's really unbearable."
Subaru covered his face with his palms and sighed at Emilia's confession.
"Huh? Huh?"
Disturbed by the confusing words, Emilia fell into confusion, and Subaru stuck out his tongue and said:
"Hello back to you"
Because right now, Subaru is tasting the taste of playing with Emilia’s mood.
"——It seems that a conclusion has been reached."
"Yeah, I'm sorry to show off, I just couldn't help it."
"Flash...?"
Frandelica originally wanted to restart the topic, but she couldn't understand a single word in Subaru's words. Emilia next to her also raised a question mark, but she immediately straightened her posture and stared at Frandelika.
The sight was approved, Frandelica leaned forward and said
"As mentioned just now, I have no objection to informing the location of the "Sacred Realm", but I hope you will be given some time to prepare... about two days."
"Get ready... that's what you said. If we set off together, there will be no one to guard the house. You should really..."
"No, I will stay in the mansion and not go with you. It is your duty to go to the "Sanctuary" and my duty is to manage the mansion."
"You said you didn't want to go with us!? Then how are we going to get to the "Sacred Area"?"
Subaru was surprised that she didn't want to go with him
Frandelica's assistance was not to lead the way to the "Sanctuary" but to inform her of the location. No wonder Emilia was uneasy. After learning the truth of the conversation just now, Subaru noticed one thing at the same time.
That was Otto Siven's attitude of holding his chest with confidence and standing proudly.
"Why are those people over there holding their nostrils so arrogantly? We are talking about important things."
"Hmph, hum, hum, you don't have enough insight, Mr. Natsuki, come to think of it, don't you think it's weird that I'm here when we're talking about important things?"
"Indeed. This matter is not suitable for outsiders to hear. Does this mansion have a dungeon?"
"I didn't ask to be converted to this idea!"
“There is a solitary room, and it is guaranteed to be quite comfortable.”
"Please, Miss Frandelica, please don't be so smooth and just continue!"
Although it is a joke, the existence of the solitary room symbolizes the dark side of Roswaal Mansion.
In any case, Otto, who had boarded the two-man pirate ship, drooped his shoulders listlessly.
"Okay, you two, you can't exclude Otto like this."
It was Emilia who was filled with righteous indignation and spoke up on Otto's behalf. She was angry with her hands on her waist and took turns glaring at Subaru and Frandelica who were working hand in hand to punish them.
"It's rare that he takes the initiative to help. You guys are going too far. If Otto doesn't help, wouldn't it be very difficult to go to the "Sanctuary"?"
"Oh...! Did you hear that, Mr. Natsuki? This is the answer you should have!"
"Ah, I can finally shout out the long-lost E.M.T. E.M.T!"
"Yi! Enmu kick...?"
Subaru yelled a self-composed word that he hadn't said in a long time, causing Otto's confusion to reach the highest level today.
Ignoring his confusion, Subaru grasped the situation from Emilia's words.
"That is to say, I had Otto's assistance before arriving at the Sanctuary. Frankly speaking, I could only leave it to Patrasio to drive the dragon chariot, so it was a big help, but..."
"It's just what? That kind of statement with ulterior motives, you don't appreciate my kindness so much?"
"I'm sorry to say, except for the scary-looking fruit stall owner, I don't expect free kindness. Of course, in terms of human nature, kindness is a good thing, but when it comes to businessmen who use things other than goodwill as guarantees, things are even worse.
Simple and easy to say”
Cardmon, Anastasia, Russell, and businessmen related to the king all come to mind one after another. Otto is more inclined to Cardmon in terms of personality, but after all, the merchant's characteristics are still biased towards the latter two——
"I've already seen what your intentions are. You want to pretend to be generous and help Emilia a little so as to impress her supporter Roswaal? For you, the reason for approaching us is not so much that you want me.
Buying your oil and contacting Roswaal is the key point."
"Uh, no way, you can reveal other people's wishful thinking to such an extent..."
"Otto...is this really the case?"
"Lady Emilia's innocent eyes hurt me so much! I'm sorry! That's it! But I don't intend to do other bad things. Please believe me and forgive me!"
Otto, who lost to innocence and wanted to be serious but couldn't, confessed. This attitude made Subaru shake his head and sigh, and patted Emilia on the shoulder.
"Forget it, don't blame Otto too much. Acting for someone from the bottom of your heart only out of goodwill is easy for Emilia-chan, but it is difficult for others to do it."
"I don't think I'm that great... Subaru either?"
"I have dedicated my whole life for Emilia-chan, and it is 100% hidden. Since my motives are not 100% pure, it can be considered very pure, right?"
"So, I actually have a very good impression of you who has obvious ambitions, so don't worry."
"I can't let go after being told this by Mr. Natsuki..."
After responding to the frustrated Otto with a mischievous smile, Subaru looked at Yuexing
"Brother, I have to trouble you about things like life safety."
Yuexing nodded and said nothing
Subaru faces Frandelica again
"I know Otto will help. As for safety issues, just leave it to Yuexing. Let's find out how to get to the "Sacred Realm"."
"Understood - have you two ever heard the master mention the "sacred realm" before?"
Frandelica asked them, who were sitting side by side on the sofa and listening intently. Subaru and Emilia looked at each other and said:
"To be honest, I've barely heard of it. It's all very fragmentary information, like a secret base a few hours away from here... But since it's been used as a priority evacuation option, what I want to talk about should be the "Sanctuary""
"My words...Roswaal once said once before that it is a place that I must visit one day..."
"A place you must visit someday...?"
The unexpected statement made Subaru look at Emilia in surprise. Emilia lowered her gaze as if she was sorry. However, before Subaru could question——
"It's very similar to what the master would say."
Frandelica finished speaking with a slight smile, closed her eyes, then lifted up her skirt on the spot, bowed deeply, and then——
"The next thing I want to talk about is the location and entry method of the "Cremalti Sanctuary" that must not be leaked, as well as the name that must not be forgotten after going to the "Sanctuary""
"————"
"Please pay attention to the character Gaphiel. In the "Sacred Realm", he is the person you must be most careful to deal with, Lady Emilia."
With complex emotions in her open emerald green pupils, Frandelica spoke the name.