“Ugh, ah…”

“Ah, ah, sniffling and crying, what a troublesome situation you’ve gotten yourself into,” Roswaal remarked.

Subaru, sniffling and sobbing uncontrollably, had his back plastered against Roswaal’s. Roswaal shrugged, idly scratching his cheek with his finger.

— It was an unbelievable, incredible experience.

In the ten seconds of despair that had befallen Subaru, how many ‘deaths’ had he endured before reaching the eleven seconds beyond that? It felt miraculous that the shattered soul within him hadn’t completely vanished.

Yet, he had arrived after such a hellish experience.

“Uaah…”

Clinging tightly to Subaru’s arm, Lui let out a whimper.

She hadn’t shared the same experience as Subaru, but through countless repetitive trial and error, she had followed Subaru to the same fate, losing her life many times.

It was impossible for her to have landed that peculiar victory without her presence.

“I… really don’t understand you.”

“Uuh…”

“But, if it weren’t for you, it would have been impossible… Thank you.”

Subaru’s heart was a total mess, in utter turmoil.

He knew who Lui had wronged and what kind of history there was between them. Despite knowing, a wave of gratitude overflowed out of him.

And not just gratitude overflowed from Subaru.

“Uaah, uuh…”

“Lui?”

The dam broke suddenly.

Upon hearing Subaru’s clumsy words of gratitude, tears welled in Lui’s big round eyes, and almost immediately, they flowed down her cheeks.

With tears streaming down her face in a torrent, it seemed like she didn’t know how to stop them.

“Lui, you’re crying, you’re really crying…”

“Uuh, uuh!”

Even though she likely realized she was crying, Lui made no effort to stop or wipe away her tears. All the while, she clung onto Subaru’s arm, as if she feared that if she let go, she would disappear.

“Wipe your face, you fool, you fool…”

Watching Lui’s tears made Subaru’s own emotional tide threaten to erupt again. The tears he had shed, the sobbing he had spilled, were countless already.

Would they keep crying like this together forever…?

“— You both did well, you fought through it.”

“Ah…”

“You can cry as much as you want. The lord of this magic city allows it.”

A long arm stretched out from behind and gently embraced Subaru and Lui.

In the warmth and softness of the words spoken, Subaru widened his eyes in surprise, captivated by the beautiful profile that was so close. Long eyelashes and lips painted in crimson, shining blue eyes that seemed to absorb every trouble and pain, glimmered magnificently.

Subaru knew what kind of person the owner of those eyes was.

Therefore, he also understood that those words and warmth carried no ulterior motive, just kindness.

He understood that he would be forgiven even if he entrusted everything to her.

“Ugh… ah, uah, aah…”

“Uauh… uauh, uah, u… uauh…!”

“There, there… Children have the privilege to cry and cling to an adult’s chest. If you would have my chest, feel free to cry your heart out.”

Looking up, Subaru’s tears began to flow again. Lui, clinging tight to him.

Warmed by both of their embraces, Yorna gently patted their small backs. This quiet moment, born from their struggles, unfolded within the stronghold of Crimson Lapis Castle, and…

“I, the one being burdened here, don’t even know how I should be reacting,” Roswaal lamented.

“Shush.”

And so, the rude old man was silenced by the magic city’s master.

△▼△▼△▼△

“So, do you have any excuses, Roswaal?”

“Excuses? Did I ever have any? It was that fox girl who charged at me on a whim!”

“——-“

After continuing Subaru’s big sobbing, they finally entered into a calmer discussion—but the atmosphere within the stronghold suddenly grew tense.

The cause was naturally Roswaal, who sat nonchalantly.

He lazily rested his backside against the roof, scratching his ear with his pinky finger.

“I was just following orders, you know? Well, I might have taken some shortcuts, but hey, just look at your boy here, same deal with him.”

“Ugh… but…”

“Well, well, it’s best if you listen in, kid. I mean, if everything goes off the rails, it’ll be me who benefits the most. Ha ha ha!”

Roswaal burst into an uproarious laugh as Subaru stumbled over his words.

In reality, Roswaal’s claims were valid. If he were to object to Roswaal’s misuse of the rules, it would lead to a situation where rules would be ignored entirely, making it nearly impossible to defeat Shinobi Roswaal.

Roswaal had many hidden techniques and did not hesitate to involve others. Subaru had learned throughout his time in the empire just how troublesome such an opponent could be.

“You know, I feel like Roswaal resembles a certain scary guy I know…”

“Is that so? Then it’s definitely best to take him out. He’s probably a troublesome guy, after all.”

“In that case, we need your support for stopping Roswaal’s breath right here.”

“Hey, hey, looks like I’m really not liked here, huh? Well, I guess that makes sense…”

The tense air became even sharper, courtesy of Yorna’s one-sided animosity.

Roswaal, on the receiving end of that animosity, completely relaxed and regarded her with a complete dismissal of combat readiness. Of course, he could switch that mindset in an instant.

Yet, Yorna had every reason to be angry, and Subaru felt a a strong rage towards Roswaal as well. However, there was a significant reason why he couldn’t act purely on that anger.

That being, the state of his own diminished limbs and the uncooperative head that seemed to be malfunctioning.

“Roswaal, about the spell cast upon us…”

“Oh, that… Well, if I die, it won’t wear off, that’s for sure. There might be an alternative method, but I’ve never seen anyone who’s been freed from it.”

“So it seems…”

“Think of it as like a safety net. I mean, it’s considered a secret technique in my village, so the general rule is to dispose of corpses completely, covering all traces.”

Roswaal casually mentioned something chillingly nonchalant.

At the same time, Subaru felt a tinge of admiration for having navigated that precarious tightrope.

If Yorna had managed to defeat Roswaal, even then, if Roswaal had died, Subaru and the others would remain in their ‘child-formed’ state as well.

They’d still be in the form of Natsuki Subaru.

Such a thought sent shivers down his spine.

“I might not know the exact details, but I’ve heard you’ve done something atrocious to these children.”

Yorna asserted with her pipe between her lips, inhaling the scented smoke as she glared at Roswaal.

When she sought to gather support from him, she had conveyed as openly as she could, omitting the jumbled intricacies. Among the omitted parts was the influence of Roswaal’s technique that resulted in Subaru’s child form.

If the ‘child form’ placed upon him were ever dispelled by Roswaal’s hand, Subaru would return to his original body.

When that happened, Subaru planned to apologize profusely, hoping Yorna would forgive him for what he buried deep in his heart. — Surely such a turn of events wouldn’t completely change her perception of him.

Yorna was someone he wanted to believe would understand if he could just talk to her.

“Lord Roswaal, you acknowledge your defeat in our previous conflict, correct?”

“Oh, I admit it. To be defeated like that is complete failure. Honestly, my luck was only salvaged by not being dead.”

“Defeated, you say?”

“I expected to have a fair match, thinking it would surely be that monk over there who’d perform best,” Roswaal said, completely unperturbed by Subaru’s concern.

“Aren’t you being a bit too casual when it comes to your tone?” Roswaal’s easygoing approach troubled Subaru further.

“After all, the one most unfazed is surely the quirk of this old fellow,” Roswaal chortled, examining Subaru with an entirely different demeanor.

Subaru thought to himself that if he aimed to stop Roswaal, he needed to push forward, but an easier path would see no fight.

As Roswaal droned on, Subaru clenched his fists tightly, unwilling to weaken under Roswaal’s demeanor.

Focusing solely on avoidance brought more gravity to the place.

Apparently, Yorna was done waiting for him to answer.

“What would a genuine fight truly be?”

“Have you not had enough? Give an honest answer.”

And with that slight tug on their strings, a burst of agreement rippled through the air, sending a quiet challenge in every direction.

As always, in tense moments, it was hard for others to let go.

Things had been mostly quiet and settled, keeping at bay the trouble. That hefty chill made it hard to breathe.