——As a result of discussions with Frandelica, the time to go to the "Sacred Area" is scheduled for the morning two days later.
"Honestly, it makes me anxious to just wait..." Subaru lay on the chair looking bored.
"This is understandable. Who told us that there is no other way to get in?" Yuexing shrugged.
After all, Frandelica, who said she wanted to show the way, did not back down from the fact that it would take two days to prepare.
"Cremalti Lost Forest..." The Sanctuary" uses that as a special barrier to protect itself. The barrier will repel outsiders and cause them to get lost, so it is commonly called the Lost Forest. To eliminate the problems caused by the barrier
If there is any impact, you have to spend two days preparing for it.”
The above is Frandelica’s explanation, very few words.
Subaru, who at first felt that the word "barrier" was making a fuss, finally understood and accepted after listening to Frandelica's explanation that the "sacred realm" does have its own special characteristics.
"A place that accepts problematic demihumans..."
After revealing the special nature of what he was told, Subaru scratched his head hard.
As far as race is concerned, there is a gap between humans and demi-humans. It can be said to be a convention in fantasy worlds. This world is no exception. There are also many words and deeds in Lugnica Kingdom that look down upon demi-humans.
Despising demi-humans——In this discriminatory mentality, the most profound hostility is towards half-elves.
Despite this, there may be equality policies or other measures implemented in the royal capital, and quite a few demihumans can be seen in the commercial streets and slums, but not in the noble streets and the royal city——
"If you read history books, you will know that the civil war known as the "Asian War" took place less than a hundred years ago. In this case, I have heard Liliana sing a song related to this."
Liliana was a bard who stopped by the Roswaal Mansion during her travels. The song she sang during her brief stay at the Mansion certainly touched upon this aspect of history.
"Now that I think about it, "Sword Demon Love Song" is very similar to Mr. Wilhelm's alias. Maybe his title "Sword Demon" comes from that song..."
Overlay the heroic swordsman pictured in your mind with the heroic legend in your mind
——As a matter of fact, even though the protagonist of "Sword Demon Love Song" is none other than Wilhelm himself, Subaru's inner little plot caused him to feel that the historical figures were not consistent with the people he knew.
"——Ah, Lord Tsukisei, Lord Subaru is indeed here too."
As the door opened quietly, the voice also entered the room. He turned around and met the eyes of the girl peeking through the crack in the door.
A girl with reddish brown hair decorated with a bow enters the room shyly
"It's almost time to leave, but you are not in the room. I can't find you anywhere. I just want to say that the two adults are here."
"Being a servant is something I get used to early... I mean, technically speaking, I'm still a servant, but I've ignored this aspect."
"But I think Subaru is more suitable for fancy clothes than...Subaru-sama is more suitable for uniforms."
"Although I am very careful about what I say, I still have to learn how to use words."
Smiling bitterly at the girl who hurriedly changed her honorific title, Subaru stood up from the chair, stretched, and stared at him with round eyes. The person who did this was the young girl wearing a maid uniform—Petra Wright.
Petra, who lives in Aram Village, is a girl who has been close to Subaru since long ago.
And there's a reason why she's wearing a maid outfit like this
"After all, it has only been two days since we recruited maids from the village... It has only been one day since you started working in the mansion, and you have already been able to find me without getting lost. You have made up your mind to leave your loved ones at such a young age. It is very great."
"I am already twelve years old. I have long been...an adult who can complete my work. Subaru-sama, please treat me as an adult."
"Obviously he is just a child. Is there really no problem at this age? In modern times, he would be caught drinking tea..." Yuexing said softly.
"I will consider it when you become a master of honorifics and get the true inheritance from Frandelica. Therefore, until the words "trainee maid" are removed from your current title, you will be treated like a child by me."
Making fun of Petra, who was pretending to be precocious, Subaru touched her head. He thought she would run away, but he didn't expect her to yell "Yeah--" and happily hugged Subaru.
In any case, the way Petra came to work as a maid in this mansion was very simple.
In order to manage the vast mansion, Frandelica felt that she could not do it on her own, so she recruited helpers from the village of Alam, and the person who applied was Petra.
At first she was uneasy at her young age, but Petra has a great personality and adaptability.
"Subaru-sama is a capable child with a bright future. Among the children I have brought up so far, he is second to none... Ah, Subaru-sama, please sit down."
In the past two days, Frandelica, who is responsible for guiding Petra, made such a comment. In fact, Petra is a rare talent who can master the affairs of the mansion in detail in a short period of time.
He even knew where Subaru would go when he was free——
"You're here to say goodbye to Miss Rem, right? Together with Lord Yuexing."
"...Well, that's right. Although I don't plan to stay there for too long, while everyone is away, I'd like you to take care of Rem, Petra."
Staring at the moon and stars indoors - Rem lying on the bed in her private room
Her appearance never changes no matter how many times she comes or how long she stays by her side.
"...Lord Yuexing, it's time to set off"
Pulling the sleeves of the silent moon star, Petra ends the time of farewell
Go to the meeting point - the entrance
"Although I know, I still have to say, there is no result on my side, but what about your side?"
"They are all guest rooms here... Are there really such magical rooms? You're not lying to me, are you?"
"It's no wonder that you are suspicious, but you also know about Beatrice's existence, right? She is the electric drill loli who was playing hide and seek in the house before."
"It's not about the dress, it's about the electric drill..."
Petra, who was embarrassed by Subaru's description, closed the door that was opened last. In this way, all the doors on this floor were opened. Unfortunately, she still couldn't find the door leading to the Forbidden Library.
"It would be really troublesome to hide seriously... What the hell is that guy doing?"
With a bitter look on his face, Subaru blamed the girl who never appeared again after that.
Even though he decided to go to the "Sanctuary", this was different from Beatrice's final attitude. In the past two days, Subaru searched the mansion as much as possible to find the girl, but to no avail.
So I still don’t understand her relationship with the “Sanctuary” and the truth behind that sad expression——
"Because Beatrice is not in the Forbidden Library now, it is useless no matter how you open the door," Yuexing said
"Why are you doing this? Can't you just say goodbye before leaving?!" Subaru lowered his head.
"Who knows, I guess I just don't want to chat with you." Yuexing waved his hand.
"Forget it, anyway, Petra will help me pay attention to Beatrice regularly. Occasionally open the door like this and take a look, maybe you will meet her randomly."
"...Sir Subaru, don't you have too many things to ask of me?"
Subaru shamelessly entrusted a bunch of things, and even Petra couldn't help but frown. There were a lot of things to remember in the new environment, but Subaru couldn't help but add to her burden.
"I know, I'm sorry, but I can only ask you, I'm really sorry."
"...You can only ask me?"
"Well, that's right"
Frandelica takes good care of Rem, but has too much respect for Beatrice. It would be a bit inappropriate to ask her to care about Beatrice now. From this point of view, Petra is close to Beatrice.
Si's age and appearance, I shouldn't be overly respectful to her
After considering various conditions, Beatrice had no choice but to leave the matter to Petra——
"Hehehe~ I really can't help it. Since it's come to this point, just leave it to me."
"Oh, really? It helped a lot. Petra is a good child, so well-behaved."
Petra's attitude suddenly softened, and Subaru breathed a sigh of relief while touching the smiling girl's head. This way, Beatrice would not end up in a situation where no one cares about her.
Just once, it would be great if I had a chance to talk to her
"——Sir Subaru, Lord Tsukisei, Petra, this way"
The two of them walked towards the entrance hall while talking. Emilia and Frandelica were already waiting there. Frandelika saluted, and Petra quickly followed.
"Petra, fortunately you found two adults, they are very powerful."
"Yes, Sister Frandelica, please feel free to give me your instructions regarding Subaru-sama."
"Wow, you are so confident."
Seeing Petra proudly puffing out her chest, Emilia and Frandelica looked at each other and smiled. Then Emilia tilted her little head towards Subaru who came to her side and said:
"Good morning, did you sleep well?"
"Emilia-chan is the one. She didn't oversleep because she was looking forward to the excursion. Although there seems to be someone who did such a stupid thing..."
"Ah, you mean Otto? If so, don't worry. Otto got up early and is currently inspecting the dragon carriage in front of the mansion."
"What, it makes me worry about him in vain, but that's right...after all, that guy is betting his life."
The discussion with Roswaal is very likely to have influenced Otto's business life. It is natural to work hard for the most important event in life, and this hard work is very reliable now.
"Then think about how to comfort the guy who will regret his lack of ability in the end."
"Can you please stop saying such useless words when I come back to call you!?"
Otto, who had just returned to the lobby, complained with his eyes wide open. Hearing the comforting lament early in the morning, Subaru took a deep breath and said:
"Okay, we have all the necessary conversations, and we are ready to go!"
"Don't you feel any guilt at all? Ah~ forget it, it's all gone!"
Under the leadership of Otto, who readily surrendered, everyone walked to the front yard of the mansion. The dragon carriage was already parked in front of the entrance. The black earth dragon and the blue earth dragon were already ready.
Especially the black earth dragon - Patrasio stretched his nose towards Subaru to attract his attention
"Same as usual, still loves to act coquettishly towards me"
"But the dragon in question just said, "Can you touch me?""
"The arrogant and arrogant dragon species setting is really the only thing left...?"
Otto relied on the "blessing of the spirit of speech" to act as a translator between different species, and what he said made Subaru full of doubts.
Everyone unanimously said that Patrasio was difficult to serve, but Subaru, whose favorability level exploded when they first met, couldn't feel it at all. Now he just stretched out his hand, and he stretched his neck to rub against it. Contrary to appearance
The attitude of family members made the corners of my mouth lose their temper.
"I don't know the reason at all. Could it be that I saved your life in a previous life?"
Putting aside the concept of reincarnation, the place is in a different world, so it is impossible to have anything to do with the past life. Let's just treat it as a simple compatibility, and this is a rare blessing for Subaru.
"Of course, the luckiest thing for me is meeting Emilia-chan!"
"Huh? I'm sorry, I didn't listen carefully. Can you say it again?"
"If you don't say it smoothly, you'll be too shy to say it a second time! Let's leave it until tomorrow!"
Frustrated by his stupid personality, Subaru was dejected, while Emilia looked confused.
But she immediately changed her mood and faced Frandelica again
"Then, I'll leave it to you about the mansion. Rem, Petra, and Beatrice are all going to trouble you."
"Please leave it to me. Lady Emilia, please be careful on the road - and please take this."
Just like what Subaru asked, Emilia also asked Frandelika to pay attention again. Frandelika accepted the request and bowed, and finally took something out of her arms and handed it over. It was a necklace - a necklace.
Necklace with transparent blue pyroxene
"As long as you have this, you can pass through the barrier of the forest and enter the "sacred realm". The rest is for the earth dragon to take you to the place I mentioned."
"Is this stone the condition for passing the barrier... Will this take two days?"
Looking at the pyroxene in Frandelica's hand, Subaru asked a simple question and tilted his head. It seemed to be a rare pyroxene. Where did she get it from when she hadn't gone out in the past two days?
Hearing Subaru's question, Frandelica covered her mouth and smiled.
"Strictly speaking, it cannot be said that it took two days to prepare... I can only say that it is not unlucky. In short, the "place" and "qualifications" are all present, and the next step is to have awareness and a strong will."
"It's an exaggeration, I just don't hate it."
"Well, we know something important, and we will be careful not to lose it... Frandelica"
Seeing that Frandelica spoke so seriously, Emilia nodded deeply, but then frowned. This was because the hand that took the pyroxene was firmly held by Frandelica.
"————"
In an instant, the emerald green and blue-purple gazes entwined with each other, and Frandelica's cheeks stiffened slightly. However, she used the action of closing her eyes to overcome the impulse that made her cheeks stiff, and then calmly let go of Emilia's hand.
"Lady Emilia, I leave the "Sanctuary" to you. Also, please don't forget what I said."
"Yeah, um, no problem. Just what kind of place is the "sacred realm" and..."
"——Please pay attention to Jaffier"
"Well, I understand, you have to pay attention to Jaffier, I will definitely pay attention."
After carefully accepting the repeated warnings, Emilia took the pyroxene into her arms. Seeing such a move, it meant that she was about to set off——
"Um! Master Subaru...can you please accept this?"
Petra blushed and raised her hand, and handed something to Subaru. Following the procedure of handing over items to Frandelica, Petra handed over a featureless pure white handkerchief.
Subaru, who was originally surprised by Frandelica's appearance, asked in surprise at this unexpected move.
"This is?"
"Accepting white handkerchiefs from others when seeing off, staining them during the trip and returning them - although not many people do this now, this has been an ancient custom to pray for safe travels."
"Oh~ So that's it. I understand. Thank you, Petra. I will return you safely."
After being taught the meaning of handing over the white handkerchief, Subaru tied the handkerchief around his wrist. Upon hearing the response, Petra lowered her red face and quickly hid behind Frandelica.
"Oh? Why this sudden reaction? The sudden rebellious period makes me so lonely."
"Seeing you like this, Subaru-sama really has no right to blame Emilia-sama."
"Me? Did I say something strange?"
Frandelica sighed, while Subaru and Emilia tilted their heads at the same time to think about what she was talking about, but in the end no one answered their questions, and the two of them were pushed to the prepared dragon carriage.
"Okay, okay, please hurry up, because the "Sacred Area" Cremalti Lost Forest will become very dangerous at night."
"I know, I know, I'll leave it to the villagers. Also, the stored meinais should be disposed of before they go bad."
"How do you compare these two things..."
Pushed by the tired voice, Subaru and Emilia got into the carriage, and then looked outside through the window. The maids, one big and one small, looked dignified and looked up at the carriage side by side.
"I will pray that everyone is safe and sound. Please also say hello to Master and Ram for me."
"Subaru-sama, please protect your big sister. Also, those of you who talk a lot, please do your best."
"Isn't it too much to say too much about me!?"
Ignoring Otto's reaction, Frandelica and Petra silently saluted and made the most perfect farewell.
After turning its back on the farewell figure, the dragon carriage set off at full speed
"Then, let's go! Otto, please give me some advice."
"I can't accept this kind of treatment!"
Otto, who was treated hastily from beginning to end, was left sighing in the mansion.