Back on Business Street, Natsuki Subaru immediately threw himself into searching for the fake Satella in question.

That said, all he could really do was stare at the crowd, eyes wide like a hawk. He believed that their encounter in the third world had happened not too far from the greengrocer, so for now, he was positioning himself around that vicinity.

There was a slight nag at his mind about the greengrocer’s face looking rather harsh, though.

“This time, the encounter was a little off, huh… But I know you’re a kind-hearted person deep down. I know it!”

He gave a thumbs-up and smiled at the stern-faced owner, who finally diverted his gaze, seemingly expressing that he’d seen something unpleasant.

Feeling rather lonely, Subaru retracted his thumb and once again surveyed the street.

Business Street was still packed with people of all kinds, a real sardine can situation.

Various inhabitants from the fantasy world. At last, he spotted a race one could only describe as “beastmen,” a dog-like species walking on two legs with the fluffiest of fur, and Natsuki Subaru’s excitement was at MAX. He just wanted to cuddle them, like, super badly!

“What the heck is that cuteness… they’re absolutely born winners, no lie. And then there’s Reinhardt and the fake Satella, it’s all too sinful.”

They were short and waddled adorably, exuding a small animal-esque charm. They could easily be arrested for ‘excessively cute’ vibes.

“Ugh… Calm down, my right arm… This isn’t the time to be all fluffy and sweet, have you forgotten the main issue!?”

He managed to restrain the arm that was instinctively reaching out to touch the fluffy creature, yet ended up watching its retreating back with lingering regret, finally allowing his gaze to shift back to his original position.

However, more than ten minutes had passed while he kept watch on Business Street, but there was not a single sight of the right candidate. Checking his phone, he noted that it had already been about an hour since he restarted in this world.

“Time’s feeling pretty weird, but according to my memory, there should’ve been some theft by now…?”

Just saying that sparked a bad feeling in the back of his mind.

Once such an ominous thought crossed his mind, there was no escaping it. Scratching his head, he exclaimed, “Ahh!” and “Urrr!” before reluctantly heading toward the greengrocer in front of him.

“Yo, old man.”

“What is it, broke boy?”

Facing Subaru, the greengrocer showed no concealment of his irritation.

Although it was true, being called that felt harsh, but Subaru didn’t give up as he said, “It’s true I’m broke, but hey… do you know if there’ve been any pickpocket incidents around here?”

“Asking questions without buying anything, you’ve got some guts, kid. Besides, those kinds of disturbances are, regrettably, not rare around here.”

“Seriously!?”

Surprised by the greengrocer’s mischievous reply, Subaru exclaimed, but it didn’t completely escape his mind. After all, the Thieves’ Repository was where stolen goods from all over the Royal Capital gathered. Given how extensive that place was, the level of crime could be easily inferred.

“Looks like all info has completely dried up…”

“—However, I remember the ruckus earlier; it was unusual. There were a couple of magic blasts in the street. Look there.”

Leaning forward, the greengrocer pointed toward a stall a few shops over to the left. Subaru’s gaze followed in that direction.

“Whoa, that’s awesome.”

“Traces of icicles that shot through like arrows. They disappeared in an instant, though.”

Right beside the stall, a thin alley led to a wall that had holes drilled into it.

There were four such holes, each about the size of a 500 yen coin. The fact that these holes had formed in a stone wall meant terrifying power and speed—just imagining the moment when they hit sent chills down his spine.

“Hitting with ice projectiles is different… This time it feels more extreme, the fake Satella.”

If he were to contact her in a wrong way, he could very well end up on the receiving end of that brutality. Just thinking about it made cold sweat start to bead on his forehead.

“But now I’ve fallen behind again.”

Setting that frightening imagination aside, Subaru wiped the sweat from his brow while murmuring.

Those traces of magic likely belonged to the fake Satella without a doubt. If it involved theft linked to her, it was safe to conclude that Felt was involved with the badge snatching.

This would mean he had lost his way to join the fake Satella.

At the very least, based on Subaru’s experience, there was no sure way to reunite with her.

Therefore, what needed to be prioritized was…

“Meeting up with Felt who has the badge. If possible, I’d like to catch her before she enters the Thieves’ Repository and swap my phone for her badge.”

Given that he had already been brutally murdered twice in that location, the truth was that he didn’t want to get anywhere near that Thieves’ Repository.

To be precise, what he really wanted to avoid was the moment when Elsa was involved with the Thieves’ Repository.

“If I’m slow again, it’ll be déjà vu of the first time. But if I meet up with Old Man Rom and wait for Felt, I’d end up repeating the second time entirely…”

The key concern remained Felt’s whereabouts.

Right now, she was probably running around desperately trying to lose the pursuing fake Satella. Naturally, she wasn’t just running non-stop, so he thought she might get caught somewhere, but for Subaru, who wasn’t well-versed in the geography of the Royal Capital, that made it a tough task.

“If I use ‘Return by Death,’ I could just turn this into a ‘dump run’ to investigate…?”

While it seemed like a potentially effective method, Subaru shook his head, promptly dismissing the idea.

First off, factoring in his experience dying three times, he seriously doubted his ability to make the decision to die in order to return. Dying had been excruciatingly painful each time, literally. If he could avoid it, he’d rather save the final taste of that for the moment on the tatami mat when he dies.

Additionally, there was always an underlying anxiety regarding the effective range of the ‘Return by Death’ mechanism. Ending up with zero lives on a dump run would not be something to laugh about.

“In the end, I can only strive as hard as I can while I’m alive. Ridiculously obvious, but that’s the truth.”

Twisting his waist and grinding down, he stretched widely in place to warm up.

He waved at the greengrocer who looked more than a little annoyed by his impromptu calisthenics in front of the shop.

“So, thanks for the help, old man. I’m really going this time. Next time, I’m definitely buying some ringers from you.”

“Yeah, if you’re buying, you’re a customer. But you better get to work, broke boy.”

“You bet. –I swear, next time I’ll come with money.”

Being sent off with scant enthusiasm, Subaru dashed off.

He was headed toward the Poor District—though in a different direction from the Thieves’ Repository. Heading toward the Thieves’ Repository would trigger some bad flags, as earlier discussions had clarified. Instead, he’d attack from another angle.

※※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

“This seems to be where Felt’s den is… So it’s a couple of blocks further down this street.”

“Thanks, man. That really helped.”

“Don’t mention it, brother. –Uh, just take care of yourself, okay?”

With that, the middle-aged face vanished behind the creaking door, leaving Subaru to reflect quietly on how from start to finish, the sympathetic look never left the man’s forced grin, causing Subaru to clasp his fists gently at the success of his plan.

Covered in mud and dust, he looked nasty even in the eyes of the Poor District’s residents.

“I concocted this plan based on my experiences from the first and second times I visited the Poor District… And it’s been really effective.”

Saying that, Subaru brushed the caked mud off his jersey sleeves.

After arriving in the Poor District and tracing Felt’s destination, he’d come up with this shabby appearance as part of his strategy.

In the first world, when he toured the Poor District with the fake Satella, the residents had shown him significant sympathy and cooperation in response to the thrashed and torn-up Subaru.

In the second go-round, the reaction was cold and rebuffed without any damage, a stark contrast. Reflected on that, this time, he had purposely exaggerated his shabby appearance to blend in.

“Well, I almost stepped on some unidentifiable animal droppings, though.”

It was a good thing he didn’t roll in it, that’s for sure.

Surviving with only his sneakers ruined, he felt like he’d saved face and even his life.

Unfortunately, while Subaru thought that way, he was already knee-deep in filth, with no honor left to spare.

“That makes four pieces of intel, and so far, three of them align.”

The sympathizers in the Poor District had provided a total of four pieces of information. At present, things were looking good as three of those pointed to the same location where Felt was likely staying. As long as the residents weren’t conspiring against him, the information was mostly reliable.

The one wrong turn had come from a rather hard-of-hearing old woman, so she surely didn’t mean to deceive him. Maybe.

“With this, I think I’ve got a handle on her den… The problem is whether she’ll actually return.”

While he had found the information about Felt’s usual spot, it wasn’t certain she would return there—considering the moment she had to run away, she might avoid her own hideout for fear of revealing her location to the pursuers. In that case, it would only mean bad luck.

“Overthinking it won’t help. There’s no sense in worrying about what can’t be changed, all right.”

Subaru really shone with his decision-making here.

Shaking off the stuck mud, he set off towards the depths of the Poor District. When he first came here, he couldn’t even slip out behind the fake Satella, but now he felt he’d grown. He really wanted to pat himself on the back.

“A little treat for myself after all this hard effort… Should I pop open another corn pot or what?”

While digging into a plastic bag to find his snack, he nearly collided with a person emerging from the other side of the street.

He quickly sidestepped, bumping into the narrow alley wall instead. “Oof!” he gasped as the air was knocked from his lungs. Seeing him, the person he almost collided with brushed their hair to the side with a gentle motion, saying,

“Oh, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

“No worries, no worries. Believe it or not, I’m tougher than I look!”

Trying to puff out his chest and confirm his toughness, he looked up at the person and completely lost his words.

Upon hearing his high-pitched voice, the black-haired woman let out a small “fufu” of laughter.

“What a fun kid you are. Are you really okay though?”

She brushed her hair behind her ear, and the simple act felt oddly alluring, sending Subaru’s internal thoughts spiraling as he felt that every one of her actions was just dripping with seduction.

An alluring, sultry beauty — the kind of person he absolutely wanted to avoid encountering again.

The exact opponent who had disemboweled him twice — Elsa was standing before him.

“—You don’t need to be so scared; I won’t do anything.”

“No way, I’m not scared, okay? What makes you think I’m some scaredy-cat? I mean, like, that really scares me, you know? That’s just a real downer, something to freak me out.”

“You smell…”

Ignoring Subaru’s attempts to put on a brave face, Elsa narrowed her snake-like eyes.

As Subaru tilted his head, asking, “Smell?” she lightly crinkled her attractive nose and replied,

“When a person is scared, they emit a scent of fear. You’re scared right now… And you’re also angry. At me.”

With a gleeful expression, Elsa exposed his internal thought process while looking up at him.

Subaru, responding with a silent smile, took a deep breath to try and quell the pounding in his chest.

What she said was true.

He was indeed scared of her. Out of all beings in this world, she stood far and away as the scariest individual standing before him.

Moreover, she was also the most detestable person in this entire world.

He genuinely wished he could knock her out, but more than that, he desperately wanted to flee from this very location.

After all, she was the one who had killed him twice. Who would laugh at Subaru, who shivered in pure terror?

Subaru remained silent while Elsa’s piercing gaze scrutinized him. Even under her withering glare, he didn’t let the slight weakness of looking away appear on his face.

Moistening her lips with her tongue, she said,

“…I’m a bit curious, but fine. I can’t stir up trouble right now, anyway.”

“Oh, what a reasonable thing to say. If you keep scaring me, I might reflect poorly on your beauty!”

“Oh, you’re quite skilled. —If you can hide your hostility, that would be even more impressive.”

A long finger lightly pressed against his forehead, setting his stiffened body free with that single motion.

Exhaling, while easing his shoulders, Elsa touched her finger to her lips, saying,

“So excuse me. I have a feeling we might meet again.”

“Next time, I could really use a bright place filled with lots of people to relax.”

That bitter sarcasm was all he could muster.

With a playful smile, Elsa swirled her black cloak and melted into the shadows of the alleyway. Watching her literally vanish, Subaru felt exhaustion wash over him as he leaned against the wall.

“What an… unexpected reunion. Seriously. Was she lurking around here near the Thieves’ Repository…?”

He almost felt like his heart might crumble at that unanticipated encounter.

In terms of mental preparation, she had left a more significant impact on him than the fake Satella. He prayed that this would be the last time he would see her.

“I think Felt’s den is deeper in here, but… No way she’s already been here after Elsa made a mess, right…?”

A total weirdo who revels in slicing open people’s bellies.

It wouldn’t be strange if she merely knocked off a couple of people to pass the time while waiting for things to unfold. Especially since they were in the depths of the Poor District, his imagination spiraled in the worst possible direction.

“She should be fine, maybe. I didn’t smell any blood, nor did I see any splatter, so maybe.”

It’s hard to distinguish blood amongst the stench of refuse and decay, plus the darkness made it impossible to spot any bloodstains, but he truly wanted to believe nothing was there.

He couldn’t draw the courage to dash off, so he resumed stealthily walking forward.

He snuck along, occasionally jumping at the flutter of insect wings or the sound of glass bottles clinking together as he explored, muttering “eep!” and “whoah!” along the way.

Eventually, he stumbled upon a ramshackle little hovel, about five minutes after encountering Elsa.

“This should be the place, but… Is this even anyone’s dwelling?”

Standing before what seemed like a wooden plank door, Subaru couldn’t help but tilt his head in confusion.

The size of the shabby hovel in front of him was roughly equivalent to two portable toilets at a construction site. It was practically just enough room to stand in half a tatami mat.

“This *is* supposed to be a hideout, so I guess it can’t be wrong, but…”

Yet still, he felt sympathy if such a small girl lived here. Her greedy desire for money was more understandable given the circumstances.

“She’s got to shrink her little body just to survive in a place like this. I can see how her very nature could become twisted. Man, such a shame. Poor thing… Ah, so pitiful.”

“Wow, you’re going overboard; that’s grim. You think seeing someone else’s bed is that awful, dude?”

Caught up in feeling sorry for her while mouthing off to himself, he turned around at the voice.

What met his gaze was a petite blonde girl, glaring at him with narrowed eyes — Felt.

Her outfit and posture looked unchanged, but her usual shabby appearance seemed even dirtier now, likely a sign indicating how intensely this escape had been.

“Why are you looking at me with such a pitying look? You think I’m just some nasty little girl?”

“I was feeling something different… But anyway, it’s good to see you.”

Subaru felt relief wash over him at finding Felt, her blatant discontent visible.

It was genuinely a joyful moment to locate the Felt he had been searching for, especially after the traumatic near-miss with Elsa.

“What, you here to bother me?” she snorted.

She continued to stare at him with an alert demeanor and said,

“Since you’ve come this far, I assume you have something to discuss with me? Your outfit suggests you don’t live around here.”

“Wow, you really can tell, huh? Not lumping me in with the others,” Subaru replied.

“Even folks around here manage to clean themselves up a little. The way you openly flaunt your messiness is just too over the top. Honestly, you’re looking grimy enough to outdo even me.”

Felt was still a piece of work, and Subaru felt his sympathy evaporating in an instant as he thought, “Seriously, she’s just relentless!”

She then leaned back, asking, “So? What’s your business? If it’s a job for theft, I’ll need some upfront cash. Depending on the target’s quality, I might ask for more.”

“A commission for theft? You’ve got some guts there. Is having sticky fingers really that much of a brag?”

“Survival is survival, buddy. Without this, I’d have to sell my body. So, what’ll it be? Or do you have something else in mind? Depending on the situation…”

She produced a small knife, seemingly conjured out of thin air, emphasizing her dexterous flair.

If the situation got tense, that knife would serve as a reminder to tread carefully.

If it came down to fighting her, just having a weapon would mean Subaru had no chance of winning. He’d probably blink and find himself getting stabbed in the alley in a ‘Bad Ending 2’ scenario.

“Here’s what I need from you. —I want to buy the badge you stole.”