It was the first time I experienced transfer without losing consciousness.

The odd sensation of stepping onto a place that should not be where I was meant to be. The strange feeling of a completely different atmosphere touching my skin when I should have felt the familiar air. Ignoring gravity, disregarding inertia, and the resulting discomfort in my insides.

All of these unpleasant feelings mixed into one.

As Subaru, pushed by Beatrice, flew out of the Forbidden Library, it was the sensation I felt upon regaining consciousness.

“I thought I was prepared for you to do something unexpected, but to have my common sense so lightly shattered like this… it’s hard to keep calm.”

“Next time, I’ll show you at the New Year’s hidden talent event. It’s a combination technique of me and… the drill loli girl. This is, in the village, right?”

“That should be the case. By the way, if my assumption is correct, you probably came out through a door to a barn or something.”

Pointing at the ground, Julius looked at Subaru with a somewhat pitying expression. Following his finger, Subaru realized he had stepped in a large amount of bird droppings.

“Did I just transported from the toilet to a chicken coop covered in poop… what a hassle right when I came back.”

Complaining as he lifted his foot, Subaru slowly moved outside the barn. Inside, the chicken-like birds resumed pecking at their feed, seemingly relived by Subaru’s departure.

Glancing at that scene, Subaru turned his head around to check the surroundings. It was undoubtedly the scenery of the village he had passed through just a moment ago.

“Could that have just been transfer magic? If so, you’ve had a very rare experience. The spell that connects separate spaces is nearly extinct in the shadow system of magic. There should be very few who can handle it.”

“What a lucky… I mean, it’s not like that. What am I supposed to do with that foolish girl…!”

Responding lightly to Julius’s admiration, Subaru’s eyes reflected anger as he looked back at the mansion. The image floating in his mind was of the girl with cream-colored hair styled in vertical curls, who had abruptly cut off their conversation and acted on her own.

The sorrowful expression she showed at their parting burned into his eyelids.

“What’s wrong with wearing such a face? What a joke. If it comes to this, I’d have to drag her out forcefully…”

“You might want to refrain from that.”

As Subaru rolled up his sleeves and motivated himself, a suddenly pleasant voice halted him. With a hum, he paused, recognizing that familiar voice, and his movements ceased.

Slowly, he awkwardly turned around—only to notice the gray-furred cat floating towards him.

At the same time, Julius also noticed its presence and straightened his back, bowing politely.

“It’s been a while, Great Spirit.”

“You don’t need to be so formal. My status as a spirit is just for show, and I don’t intend to grant benefits to anyone except for Ria. Yes, I am truly a freeloader in the spirit world…”

“There’s no need for reason to venerate such a powerful being. To add to that, I too am but a mere spirit mage. Including the semi-spirits in our contract, I have no reason not to respect you.”

“So elegant, splendid splendid.”

While extending his beard with his hands, Pack listened to Julius’s overly polite words. Subaru looked up at him, a chilled sweat trickling down his back.

His heart raced, feeling a prickling sensation in his limbs. Emilia was nowhere to be found around Pack. She was off doing something alone. The thought caused a serious unease in him.

“If you’re going to stare at me with those hot eyes, it troubles me, Subaru. I get it; it’s unbearable how cute I am since it’s been a while, but…”

“Well, as a mere fluffist, I can’t deny it, and that’s what’s scary.”

Unfazed by Subaru’s feelings, Pack spoke playfully. Shrugging his shoulders in response, Subaru resisted the mental strain but still felt his heart pounding.

If he were to name this feeling, it would have to be ‘fear.’

He harbored a pure fear of the small cat in front of him, casually saying silly things while swinging its long tail.

Should it ever show its true power, Subaru would be blown away like dust. He had already experienced that three times.

Telling himself not to be tense or scared was a cruel notion.

“So, what did you mean by that earlier?”

“About earlier?”

“Don’t forget your own words so easily… you just stopped me from going to pick up Beatrice.”

Realizing that Pack genuinely seemed to have forgotten his own statements irritated Subaru, yet he suppressed his complexes and repeated his question. With a light clap of his hands, Pack responded after a moment.

“It means just that. If you’re thinking of trying to take Betty away, you’d best forget it. You talked and were pushed away, right? Well, that’s her answer.”

“It’s dangerous for her to remain in the mansion. It’s highly likely the Witch Cult thugs will act up. This is not a time for leisurely thinking that she won’t be found…”

“I doubt I can break through Betty’s doorways, and if I could, it would be as expected. That’s her answer.”

Subaru instinctively widened his eyes and held his breath at the words tossed at him.

He wanted to ask if it was some sort of joke, but the little cat in front of him maintained its serious expression, and he couldn’t help but take that attitude at face value.

“Isn’t that just too cruel? That girl is so attached to you, and you, of all people—”

“I think of her as a sister too. But that family love and the way of choosing fate are two completely different stories. They shouldn’t be treated as one.”

“You…!”

Subaru reflexively stepped forward in anger at Pack’s harshly rational answer, unable to believe that the cat could take such a stance. He stretched out his arm in an attempt to correct this logic, but—

“Subaru, that’s enough.”

“Guh, you’re stopping me too? Am I wrong… is it me that’s mistaken…!”

“I’m not grasping the full circumstances, but that’s not the case. Trying to change the mind of the Great Spirit is a fruitless endeavor. The values don’t align between us and those people. There’s no way we can come to terms.”

Julius intervened, stopping Subaru with an arm, shaking his head. As he said this, Pack nonchalantly looked down on the angrily flustered Subaru as if he were unfazed by their interaction, as if he were feeling nothing at all.

“What’s wrong?”

Blinking his big eyes, Pack tilted his cute little head, asking.

However, that voice and expression and attitude without a care seemed extraordinarily strange to Subaru in the current moment.

Subaru had known Pack for a significant time since even before this world summoned them. He had shared many words with the man when he encountered Emilia at the same time, and despite his otherworldly status, he had grown fond of him and thought they were getting along just fine.

However, this internal aspect of Pack, which he believed to be someone he knew well, was utterly incomprehensible to Subaru at present.

He was supposed to be more human than he looked, capable of laughing, getting angry to the point of shaking, or even mourning someone’s regret.

“If Emilia heard this, she would surely be angry.”

“—That’s none of your business, Subaru.”

For the first time, Pack’s voice spoke a clear denial.

Raising his gaze, Pack turned away while floating in the air. Then he said,

“In any case, Betty won’t show her face anymore. The Witch Cult won’t keenly notice even the Forbidden Library. For that girl, staying hidden is definitely safer. If she’s family, you must trust her.”

“…If she’s family, shouldn’t we correct the paths we think are wrong?”

“Wanting to rescue and protect anyone and everyone. Subaru, those are words only a proper person who can firmly take care of themselves should say.”

Pack’s blunt cut to Subaru’s intense feelings made him burst into anger and his foot moved forward. He couldn’t believe Pack would take such an attitude, and he intended to correct it by reaching out. But—

“Subaru, stop right there.”

“Guh, you’re stopping me too… Am I wrong… am I mistaken…?!”

“I don’t fully get the situation, but it’s not right. Trying to change the Great Spirit’s thoughts is futile. Our perspectives and theirs are too different to reconcile.”

Julius held Subaru back with his arm and shook his head. His words signified their different values. The look on Pack’s uninterested face only highlighted the chill of the atmosphere surrounding Subaru.

“What’s wrong?”

Pack blinked his big round eyes, tilting his head in a slightly bemused manner.

The normalcy in his benign voice struck Subaru sharply.

The bond between Subaru and Pack couldn’t be explained. They had shared so many moments, but now, just a depth of trust seemed like a narrow gap.

“Subaru, why do you look so pained?”

The silence between them had grown thick.

“Do you really not understand?” Subaru replied impatiently, his frustration fighting with the depth of the problem at hand.

“Are you distressed?” Pack asked, appearing genuinely curious.

Overwhelmed by that simple question, Subaru felt a smidge of anger creep up. This change in dynamic only exacerbated his inner pressure.

“It’s complicated!” Subaru burst out.

Pack only gazed at him and continued, “We all care about each other.”

And so, Subaru was momentarily stunned by the weight of those simple words—a family bond, however strained, spoke volumes to him in that moment.

But still, that bond felt fragile next to the scale of dangers they were facing.

“You’re thinking about too many things, Subaru. Just trust those you care about. I’m counting on you.”

“Trust… huh?”

The gravity of that truth struck him hard—there was no simple answer.

“I suppose I’ll have to drag her out no matter what…” Subaru thought to himself.

“Let’s prepare, then. We will handle everything as it comes,” Pack concluded, but Subaru wasn’t quite ready to relent.

“Fine. I’ll do it my way,” he replied curtly, and his resolve strengthened as he steered back on course.

This feeling of unfairness evaporated as he found focus again.

“Magic Cult… Prepare yourselves for a fight!”

“All right,” Julius nodded firmly, moving back into his determined stance.

“We’ll take them down!” Subaru echoed.

“Let’s go!”

And that was the moment chaos unfurled once again, just before the battle began.

But first—the laughter echoed in the distance.

**BOOM!**

A sound that blasted through their resolve and sent vibrations deep into their bones.

“What was that?!”

Subaru’s heart raced.

A piercing impact rang in his ears as he glimpsed something catastrophic—

“Subaru!” yelled Julius, raising his hand.

“What—!”

But it was too late; the source was clear.

The cart meant for Petelgeuse exploded into oblivion.

“No way—!!”

Just as the thought hit him, he realized the magnitude of his naiveté.

Everyone around fell silent, disbelief etched on their faces.

Yet looming above them, the Witch Cult appeared.

A grinning girl stood at the front, her eerie smile twisted in malign joy.

“Now, let the end begin—death!!”

A shadow loomed over them, dark and encompassing.

It reached out, a chill slithered through the air, wrapping itself around their hearts.

The battle had truly begun.