With a “defensive” steel ball in hand, I continued the search of the night forest alongside Rem, who was in a battle-ready stance.

The moonlight was blocked by trees, and the pitch-black darkness of the forest was profound. As I avoided the trees blocking my way and pushed through the branches and leaves, injuries smeared with blood began to appear all over my body.

The small stings from the wounds added to the frustration of blindly searching through the dark.

The mental pressure from knowing that time was of the essence weighed heavily on Subaru.

“Honestly, I never expected it to be this dark. Rem, how are you holding up?”

“In the forest or the mountains, the blessing is—…more importantly, please don’t shout too loudly. Keep your breathing down; your heartbeat is too loud.”

“Wh-what?!”

I rebutted in a small voice, deliberately pausing as I followed behind Rem.

Without her, I would have surely lost my place and found myself stranded by now. Her footsteps were light and unhesitant, as if she could see in the dark.

While I couldn’t even discern the darkness of the forest, Rem was carving a path through it for me, ensuring I could walk easily.

With moonlight feeling distant down in the depths of darkness, the only thing I could rely on was Rem’s back in front of me. Her small figure appeared larger, and I couldn’t help but reach out to grasp the hem of her maid outfit.

“…What are you doing?”

“I was unintentionally clinging for dear life to the darkness—an image, if you will.”

“If you’re going to hold on for not getting lost, at least grab my shoulder or something.”

“I don’t want to impede your smooth progress. But I can’t contain my feelings of loneliness. That fragile little maiden’s heart just came out, huh…”

“What mouth said that…? You were a bit cool just a second ago.”

Rem looked at me, seemingly at a loss for words. Stopping in her tracks, she turned to look around while snorting slightly.

Pointing out her police-dog-like behavior, I asked,

“You’ve been sniffing around a bit, but can you really track with smell?”

“It’s the one thing you can’t fake. You can disguise appearance and voice, but that… emanating existence can’t be falsified.”

Rem’s confident declaration filled the air. All I could do was hope her sense of smell could reach our target.

As I watched her intently, I felt as if we had talked based on scent before. That time, yes, it was definitely “witch’s scent” we were concerned about. I had called it a vile smell, and Rem had recognized it.

Thinking back, Beatrice also mentioned something similar about me. The situation might not allow it now, but if we made it through this…

“—! There! It’s close, a creature’s scent!”

As I pondered, Rem turned her face to the right and narrowed her eyes. I followed her gaze, but only saw the changing darkness, unchanged.

With a sense of frustration, I turned back to Rem.

“Is it the children’s scent!?”

“I’m not sure, but it doesn’t smell like beasts.”

“That’s good enough! Let’s go!”

“This way.”

Lowering her body, Rem took off running, and I followed with her skirt still in my grip.

There seemed to be a note of buoyancy in her voice. The light I saw amidst the darkness seemed to draw my steps naturally.

Of course, excitement and anxiety go hand in hand.

Rem hadn’t definitively said that the scent belonged to the children, perhaps unconsciously acknowledging that fear within herself.

That’s why both of us need to find an answer as quickly as possible.

Leading the way, Rem swung the steel ball she held roughly, carving a path through the trees spread wide across the way. Her frantic method made me sense her impatience, and I inadvertently increased the strength of my kicks against the ground as I followed.

My breath grew ragged, and my legs felt heavy. However, my awareness remained sharp. Gradually, my eyes began to adjust to the pitch black, and I could faintly see the forest scenery beginning to emerge.

Then, suddenly, my view opened right in front of me. Within the forest, there was a space where the trees had parted. A small hill was set in that spot, where the sky opened up, and the moonlight shone down, creating an almost fantastical atmosphere.

In such a setting bathed in moonlight—

“The children!”

There they were, slumped on the green ground, lying with their limbs sprawled out.

I hurried over, along with Rem, to check on the children’s condition.

There were six in total on the ground. I couldn’t see any visible injuries on their exposed skin, all of them unconscious, but their breathing was still intact.

“They’re alive. —They’re alive!”

I clenched my fist and raised a cheer, relieved.

However, as I watched the sleeping girl beside me, Rem prefaced with “No…”

“They’re still breathing, but their fatigue is far too severe. If this continues…”

“Fatigue… Is it a curse!?”

Looking at their pallid faces gasping for breath like fish thrown on shore, cold sweat stood out on their foreheads, their features twisted in agony from nightmarish pain.

Focusing on the curse—a repeated affliction I had faced many times—Subaru bit his lip.

“Isn’t there anything we can do? Can Rem break the curse?”

“With my skills… it’s impossible. If only my sister were here to see this…”

Like Subaru, who felt pressured by his mounting anxiety, Rem also lamented her own lack of power. But she shook her head as if shaking off that weakness and said,

“In any case, I’ll cast healing magic, even if it only brings temporary relief. We need to restore their strength, even a little.”

“Yeah, please. What can I do?”

“Keep watch of the surroundings. Also, gather the children around me.”

I followed Rem’s instructions and lined up the children in front of her. Looking at the struggling breaths of those children, Rem drew a circle in the ground using the iron handle.

The circle enveloped the children entirely; she crouched down, touching the edge, and said,

“Water of healing, bestow your blessings—”

Following her chant, a gentle blue light started to rise within that simple circle, softly enveloping the children’s bodies, slowly seeping into them.

Even with limited knowledge of magic, I could perceive it—the gentle, warm shimmer was a wave of healing energy.

As time passed, the light soaked into the children’s bodies, and their rough breathing began to ease slightly.

“Wow, Rem. This is amazing…”

“I told you it was just temporary relief. While we can still communicate with the mana within their bodies, we might be okay, but if that runs out—this patchwork won’t hold. We need to eliminate the root cause as soon as possible.”

“Breaking the curse, huh? That can only be done back at the mansion with Beatrice and Pack. Alright, let’s head back. I’ll carry the kids…”

“—Subaru?”

Just as I steeled myself for an immediate retreat, I was surprised to hear my name called. Turning toward the voice, I saw a brown-haired boy opening his eyes slightly.

It looked like he was regaining consciousness, and with labored breaths, the boy murmured,

“Subaru… Sub…”

“You’re awake, Ruka. Good, strong boy. But don’t overdo it. We’re taking you home soon, and we’ll say goodbye to the reasons for your pain. Just rest quietly for now…”

“One… more in… deeper….”

“…Huh, what did you say?”

Ruka struggled to relay something with fragmented words.

Feeling a must-not-miss clue from that broken bit of information, I asked again. But Ruka had already closed his eyes again, losing consciousness.

“Damn it,” I muttered softly under my breath and then turned my gaze deeper into the forest.

“If the group from earlier is the missing children… Ah, damn it! That girl with the braids is nowhere to be found!”

All six children lying here were familiar faces to me. However, absent from this scene was the girl who had guided me to the puppy during the day. A shy girl who hadn’t been able to weave into the group properly.

She was nowhere to be seen. And Ruka, with his flickering awareness, hadn’t expressed “help” or “pain,” but rather that “girl was taken deeper.”

A child, still not even ten years old, threatened by death, cared not for himself but for the safety of his friend.

“Dammit.”

I cursed once more, standing up.

Ruka’s brief exchange with me seemed to have not been fully heard, and with a question mark in her eyes, Rem looked back at me, pointing her finger.

“I have a question, Rem. If I keep the healing magic on the children, can we extend the timer?”

“…Currently yes. But really, that will just serve as a delay. Rem would end up engrossed in this spot.”

Unable to decipher my intent, Rem responded with hesitance.

Hearing that, my mind was racing. What could I do? What’s the best course for me, who was of no use here?

There was only one solution I could think of. It would certainly be a gamble, but—

“Rem. One of the kids has been taken deeper. I think the beast we were talking about is likely there.”

“Deeper… but if they’ve been taken one by one, that means—”

I halted Rem, who was about to voice her worst thoughts, with an upturned palm. Locking her words, I frowned and said,

“I know the situation is grim, but we managed to save the lives of the kids who were in a pretty bad state. Then we should do everything we can to save the rest, right?”

“If we try to gather more than we can return with, we might spill what we already have.”

“That’s why I need you, Rem!”

Rem was taken aback by my insistence. With my arms wide, I reasoned,

“If you can carry all six kids and escape without trouble, it shouldn’t be too tough for you! I also consider myself somewhat strong, but I can hardly carry six kids. At most two, and pushing it to three. I can’t use recovery magic, and frankly, I can do next to nothing here. Then, let’s put the available pieces to good use!”

“……”

“I’ll check deeper. Rem, you take the children and head back to the village. —Don’t worry; I won’t do anything reckless or impossible. Just leave the kids with the villagers, and you can fly back!”

Rem silently listened to my wild theories.

Receiving no warm response from her unyielding gaze, I pressed on with my persuasive speech.

“The kid deeper inside… well, if it’s the worst scenario, I’ll retreat. But if there’s even a glimmer of hope, I should at least buy some time.”

“We don’t know who we’re dealing with, nor how long it’ll take for you to get back. In the worst-case scenario, you could lose our chance to regroup…”

Perhaps she found my judgment unacceptable; Rem grabbed the sleeve of my shirt and pressed her argument.

Whether anxious for my safety or unable to comprehend my reckless plan, I hoped for the former as I smiled wryly, freeing her fingers from my sleeve, only to take her fingers again.

“Don’t worry, I won’t lose track of you.”

“What’s your basis for that…?”

“I have a reason.”

Laughing, I touched my nose and then pointed at her face.

“You have confidence in your nose, right? Plus, it just so happens that I emit quite an obnoxious scent, and well, L and V have pointed that out a few times.”

With silence, Rem’s eyes widened in shock.

Pointing at her in dual acknowledgment, I shot back at the Rem who didn’t know this side of me,

“Even if nobody else notices, you’ll surely spot my scent. The stench that clings to me—the lingering hint of a felon—am I right?”

“Subaru-kun… how much do you know…?”

“I can’t say. So much ambiguity; yesterday, today, tomorrow, no matter how many times I try, I just don’t reach the answer I want.”

With the abrupt shift in topics, Rem wore a bewildered expression. I couldn’t help but feel astonished at my own mindset that could regard this as a joke.

Truly, I thought, I had developed a thick skin.

“As much as you seem to want to ask me a pile of questions, I have a ton of things I want to ask you too. Therefore, once everything settles down, let’s talk. An all-nighter in each other’s rooms in pajamas having late-night girl talk. It’s a promise.”

With that, I intertwined my fingers with hers, holding onto her hand.

Our pinkies linked, Rem looked at me with perplexed eyes. Before her, I shook our connected fingers up and down.

“Now we’re pinky-promised.”

“W-what was that…?”

“That’s a ritual from my hometown! Breaking it means you’ll have to swallow a thousand needles. The damage of one becomes a thousand, you know—an instant death technique in an RPG where your HP is only in the hundreds.”

As I piled it on, my absurd act seemed to surpass her grasp. With no words left for her further confusion, I prefaced,

“In short, I trust you, Rem. So I want to act in a way that earns your trust back. Let’s make that promise now.”

“———”

“I told you! I’m bound to keep promises and ensure others do too. So there’s no reason to worry, I’ll be just fine!”

“Pfft—”

Unable to hold back anymore, Rem let out an exasperated sigh and a weak laugh.

In that moment, she chuckled lightly, and instinctively, Subaru joined her subdued laughter.

After a round of laughter, when Rem finally raised her face, she said,

“I’ve made a promise. —I really will ask you a lot of things.”

“I’ll tell you everything about that childhood crush. Except for the name of my current crush, of course!”

“I already know that.”

“You do, huh? Well, not that she’ll find out anyway!”

In this moment, it felt like an interaction we had left behind somewhere.

Recreating that, Subaru felt a sense of satisfaction. Rem, too, with a serious look, said,

“I’ll return right away. Please, don’t do anything reckless. Emilia-sama will get mad at you.”

“I don’t want to incur Emilia-tan’s wrath either; I’ll be careful. —Besides, I’m feeling a bit like a demon today.”

“A demon…?”

“It’s like the demon version of being godly! My new favorite lately!”

I crossed my arms and spread my legs, striking a new pose as if grasping at the void.

What Rem thought of Subaru’s frivolous bravado was anyone’s guess.

She didn’t comment on that attitude and simply said,

“I’ll be back soon.”

With those words, she picked up the children all at once. The small girl hoisting six children on those tiny shoulders looked like some street performance, even in these circumstances. Watching her retreating back, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Left alone on that small hill in the forest, I took a deep breath in the descending silence and slowly turned toward my destination.

“Alright then, let’s get this done, Subaru.”

I said, attempting to rally myself despite trembling, and bit my pinky, then bolted forward.

—Will what awaits me be despair, hope, or something else?

The morning of the fourth day, which should have arrived countless times, now felt so far away.