The exploration phase enters the Poor District, showing signs of ongoing difficulties— or so it seemed, until an unexpected development arises where Subaru ends up being useful.

“Somehow, the surrounding people are unnaturally kind. What’s going on… Did I just hit a popularity peak at this timing!? It’s been since kindergarten!”

Back when he was little, Subaru was quite the adorable sight with long hair and often mistaken for a girl. Fast forward over a decade later, and here we are.

“It’s probably… just a hunch, but…”

“Tell me! I want to hear the scientific… no, magical explanation, since it’s fantasy!”

“I think it’s probably due to my appearance. I’m filthy and there are bloodstains all over; these people are having a rough time too, so maybe they can’t bear to watch.”

“That clears up the doubt! Makes total sense, damn it!”

So that explains why everyone is being so nice.

Some old lady even offered him something that resembled dried fruit, saying, “Eat this and live strong!” Hesitantly, he tried a small piece, only to discover it had a hard texture with a hint of sweetness. Then came the overwhelming stench wafting through him. His nose was assaulted from the inside.

“Whoa! I thought it was kindness, but it was poison! Poison! My whole body feels like it’s on fire! This is bad! I might die! Or worse, socially die from embarrassment!”

“I thought you’d gotten something nice, but that’s a blessing fruit, you see. Eating it stimulates the mana in your body which helps heal wounds. The effect varies per person, and most of the time it’s just a placebo, but…”

Seeing Subaru panting from heat and sweat, Satella placed a finger to her lips.

“From the looks of it, Subaru seems to have a very high mana circulation. If you take too much, you might die.”

“I wish you’d told me before I ate it! What am I supposed to do now!?”

“Hmm… Pack.”

Responding to her call, Pack slipped out from Satella’s silver locks. His movements were painfully slow and he seemed quite lethargic.

He must not have been paying attention to the conversation, as he rubbed his large eyes and said, “Nyaa? I’m almost at my limit, you know…”

“Just fill your belly a bit before sleeping. Look, there’s a midnight snack right in front of you.”

Feeling the sting in her voice, Subaru noticed Pack’s black eyes glimmering like they were in front of his favorite food.

“Can I eat it?”

“Just… don’t hurt me, okay?”

Thinking, “There’s no way he’ll bite me headfirst, right?” he put on a relaxed expression in return.

Pack replied with an ambiguous “Aye aye”, stretching his tiny body firmly on Satella’s shoulder before exclaiming, “Well then, I’ll dig in~!”

Right after, Subaru felt an overwhelming sensation as something unknown inside him was forcefully extracted.

It was a sensation that was hard to describe. If he had to, it felt like everything was being pulled out through every pore in his body.

“Thanks for the meal.”

With a courteous gesture, Pack put his hands together. Subaru, intending to respond with a customary “It was a feast,” suddenly felt a chilling sensation wash over him.

From being hot, he now felt cold—but not just cold in a casual way; it was bone-deep, chillingly cold.

Seeing Subaru instinctively clutch his shoulders, Satella glared at Pack.

“Pack.”

“Sorry, sorry! It’s been a while, I misjudged the amount. But Subaru’s mana feels strange. It’s smooth and easy to use even though he hasn’t used it much, so I might have drawn too much.”

With a playful tap on his head, Pack giggled, but for Subaru, who was on the receiving end, it was far from funny.

Once again, the terms mana and gates, which were unfamiliar, popped up.

“Probably something like MP… which is painful because it got aspirated,” he mused, showcasing his extensive gaming knowledge.

The real problem is how valuable MP is in this world. If the price of MP recovery items is exorbitantly high, then it could pose a significant problem.

“I’m sorry. I’ll make sure to apologize later.”

“I’m sorry too! But I don’t regret it! It was tasty!”

Pack’s behavior reminded Subaru of some protagonist in a manga, while Satella merely lightly scolded him. It didn’t seem that grave a problem after all.

Then, it was embarrassing to keep shivering in resentment.

“Hey, there’s nothing to worry about! The hot part is over. Now, let’s chase down the culprit that I figured out. The culprit that I figured out.”

“I get that you’re happy to have been useful, but saying that twice makes you look kinda silly.”

Subaru had turned into a minor bragging fool while trying to change the subject.

Satella, looking slightly disappointed by this insight, exchanged a wry smile with Subaru. Just as the two were gearing up to head further into the Poor District…

“Sorry, I can’t hold on any longer.”

With that, Pack leaned weakly against Satella’s neck.

His gray fur seemed to glow slightly, trembling delicately as if it might disappear at any moment.

“He’s fading out strangely.”

“He’s pushing himself quite a bit. I mean, he’s materialized using mana, so when he disappears, he turns to mist. —Sorry, but, the jewel, please.”

“Understood. Sorry for pushing you, Pack. Rest well.”

From her pouch, Satella produced a palm-sized green crystal. It had a different vibe than a jewel; in Subaru’s knowledge, a better term would be crystal.

Pack made his way down her shoulder and gently embraced the crystal, looking back at Satella.

“I’m sure you know, but don’t push yourself too hard. If it comes to it, use the ‘Odo’ to summon me back.”

“I know. I’m not a child; I can manage my limits.”

“Well, that’s debatable. I’m not so sure about my daughter’s instincts in that regard. I’m counting on you, Subaru.”

She formed a smile thick with compassion and shifted her gaze from a disgruntled Satella to Subaru.

Watching them felt like observing a parent-child exchange.

As he was being nudged by their interactions, Subaru thumped his chest and declared, “Alright, leave it to me! Count on my instinct sensor. If I sense ‘dangerous risk’, I’ll turn tail right away!”

“I can’t catch half of what you just said, but please.”

—”Well then, good night. Be careful.”

After one last glance at Satella, Pack disappeared from the world.

As he had said, his form dissipated into fragments of light and vanished. It was a sight that would never happen in his original world, sending a shiver down Subaru’s spine.

Once Pack was gone, Satella gently caressed the crystal in her palm, securely tucking it away into her pocket.

From the flow of events, it was likely that Pack’s core spirit was contained within that crystal.

“Just the two of us now… but don’t think any strange thoughts, okay? I can use magic.”

Unaware of Subaru’s inner worries, Satella’s guarded declaration came off as something from a noir setting. Subaru instinctively raised his hand to shake his head.

“That’s absurd! Being alone with a girl like this? It’s a situation I haven’t found myself in since elementary school! There’s no way I could do anything!”

“Your reasoning is so ridiculous it’s surprisingly convincing… Alright, then let’s move ahead. But be even more cautious since Pack is no longer around.”

With an inflated chest, Subaru seemed to have disarmed Satella’s icy demeanor. She retied the string of her robe and stepped forward.

“I’ll act as the front-line and you’ll keep alert in the back. If something happens, call for me immediately. Don’t try to act on your own. It’s not that I want to hurt you, but… you’re weak.”

“Starting with that preamble, you can’t be all that scary…”

To keep her cold image intact, she should have omitted the “you’re weak” part.

Her inability to hide that thought made it clear she had a soft spot.

Goading Satella’s seemingly displeased expression, they began their search now that it was just the two of them.

Though in reality, their tasks didn’t change much. They searched for residents to ask for information about the person they were looking for based on descriptions.

Subaru served as the listener, and naturally, he grew more accustomed to the role as they conducted more rounds of inquiries.

“Could it be Felt? She’s that skinny little blonde girl, right?”

The fourteenth man they questioned after starting the search was the one who had casually chatted with Subaru, “Hey, brother, how’s business?”

Making a sympathetic face at Subaru’s ragged appearance, the brother said, “If it’s that Felt girl, she must have stashed whatever she stole in the Thieves’ Repository by now. She must’ve put a tag on it for the owner to sell it off later in the market.”

“That’s a weird system… what if the owner just makes off with everything?”

“The owner is trusted not to do that. But still, even if you say it’s stolen, they won’t just hand it back. You’ve got to negotiate well if you want to buy it back.”

While he smiled kindly, it was just common sense in the Poor District that those who’d been stolen from were the fools.

They managed to extract the location of the Thieves’ Repository from him, so it seemed they’d soon get a chance to reunite with the stolen goods.

However, another issue came to light. Namely, the fact that they were both utterly broke.

“Even if we’re buying back what was stolen, what do we do? Given our disadvantage, I can smell a hefty price tag in this situation.”

“Why do we have to pay money just to get back what was stolen…?”

As the conversation shifted toward finances, Satella’s face grew troubled.

Her muttering, albeit sound reasoning, would fall on ears that wouldn’t comprehend such concepts. It was sensible to follow the man’s advice to wrap things up peacefully and definitely.

Still,

“Isn’t that stolen badge clearly valuable? It feels like we’d get gouged regardless of the value…”

“…There’s a small gem in the center of it. I’m not certain how much it would sell for, but I can say it’s definitely not cheap.”

“A gem, huh… that complicates things.”

Even someone without knowledge could instantly tell a gem was valuable.

It seemed there was no technique in this world to create imitations, so nearly anything resembling a gem could be counted as genuine. Naturally, the price would reflect that.

While Subaru understood there was no element of relief to be found, he couldn’t shake the oddity in Satella’s statement. She claimed not to know the value of the badge, which should belong to her.

Though there was a good chance it was a gift, it still felt suspicious.

“For now, let’s head to this Thieves’ Repository and think things over. Depending on how the negotiation goes, we might get a better deal…”

In the worst case, it might inflict serious damage on Subaru, but at least there were some means of negotiation.

Noting Subaru’s vague words, Satella furrowed her brow, but Subaru brushed off her concern with a wave.

After approximately ten minutes of fluctuating thoughts about making ends meet…

—They arrived at what appeared to be the so-called Thieves’ Repository; the building loomed before them, and they exchanged glances.

“Wow, it’s bigger than I expected.”

“I understand now why they didn’t call it a shed but a repository… If what’s inside is indeed all stolen goods, that’s quite the problem.”

Of course, since items were regularly sold off, it likely wouldn’t be filled to the brim with stolen goods.

While Subaru thought this internally, the Thieves’ Repository loomed before him with a deceptive appearance that didn’t match its crude name, waiting for their visit.

From Subaru’s knowledge, it was roughly the size of a convenience store. And that wasn’t just the structure; it included the parking lot as well.

Though it was a single-story building, it was large enough to park at least twenty cars. No previous sights of small, filthy ruins or shanty-like houses could be seen around, only the repository behind strong walls, literally standing at the farthest reaches of the Poor District.

“And those tall walls…?”

“They’re probably the royal capital’s defenses. Seems we’ve reached the edge without even realizing it.”

With Satella’s words, Subaru absentmindedly visualized a map of the royal capital he was currently in.

Most likely, it was a quadrangular shape enclosed by tall walls on all four sides. Inside would be a castle in the center or at the northernmost point, with the Poor District located farther away.

After what felt like two or three hours since they started searching, it seemed the royal capital was rather expansive. Although, it was hard to provide a comparison given the lack of boundaries unlike in Japan.

“Well then, if rumors are true, there should be a repository owner inside who’s gathered the stolen goods… What’s our approach gonna be?”

“Honestly, we’ll say we’re looking for something stolen. If we find it inside, we’ll ask for it back.”

Despite having argued numerous times that this approach wouldn’t fly, Satella refused to consider any alternatives.

It seemed her nature dictated that she was fundamentally straightforward. Accepting dishonest tactics and rationalizing it just wouldn’t fly for her.

Because of that nature, she was helping Subaru even though it didn’t benefit her.

“Ah, I get it. Well then, let me take care of this.”

Seeing the chances of it getting all messy, Subaru had no choice but to shoulder the responsibility.

As a last resort—he knew it was a bit early for such an ace up his sleeve, but the stakes were too high for him to be indecisive. Subaru was quick to make decisions in situations like this.

On the other hand, it was Satella who looked somewhat taken aback at his suggestion.

With her gaze that bore just a hint of suspicion towards Subaru’s confidence, she said, “Alright. I’ll trust your decision.”

“I get that you can’t easily agree. I know I haven’t earned any trust up to this point. But I have a plan, so believe me… wait, what!?”

“W-why are you so surprised?”

“Because the flow was totally leading up to a dispute, right?! ‘You want me to trust an incompetent loser like you? I’d trust a dog over you!’ That’s the kind of reaction I was mentally preparing for!”

“I would never say something so cruel!”

Satella, not swallowing Subaru’s paranoia, huffed at him. However, after a cough, she locked her amethyst gaze into his.

“True, until now, Subaru has been utterly useless and hasn’t done anything deserving of reconsideration, but…”

“What a delightful evaluation. I can’t argue with that!”

“But I don’t think you’re just thoughtless, nor do I believe you’re someone who’d deceive.”

Trying to prepare a self-deprecating retort, Subaru was momentarily silenced by Satella’s words.

And then, taking a breath, she continued.

“I’ll trust Subaru… But I’ll approach it with the mindset that any good outcome would just be a bonus.”

“Maybe try saying, ‘I’ll be counting on you’ instead of, ‘We’ll see where it goes’? It’d be more encouraging.”

“I can’t just say that and mean it! But I will do my best.”

In every possible way, she was a girl who couldn’t bring herself to tell a lie.

Subaru, grinning, accepted her request and ventured toward the entrance of the Thieves’ Repository.

His steps might not have felt light, but somehow, he was buoyed by hope and a flicker of trust. If he didn’t return with a tale of heroics, he would genuinely be regarded as utterly useless.

As he walked, he glanced at his hand—holding the plastic bag he had never mentioned until now.

Inside were the few items he had brought from the modern world. They were his only possessions, things he could call treasures. If any of these could be useful, he might end up with a barter that worked.

He had no idea how much the badge was worth; it was unlikely to bear any rarity greater than a cell phone’s worth in this world.

For Subaru, it may turn out to be painful, but using a few possessions as bargaining chips made negotiation realistic.

And not telling her about it was his final resort—a card that, in this world, held no value. If he got a chance to play it, he would do so without hesitation—that was the right choice.

“Uh, is anyone home?”

Standing before the door, he knocked on the wooden barrier. It echoed with an unexpected low sound; however, there was no response from inside.

Warily, he reached for the handle, and the door opened effortlessly as if it had no lock to begin with.

The lightless room felt entirely like a blindman’s game in the night’s dark. It raised questions as to why there was no guard presence at a place supposedly filled with stolen goods.

“Maybe they’re on a toilet break, but… hello? Is anyone there?”

Peeking his head inside, he found a total darkness that even moonlight couldn’t pierce. The stagnant air and a rancid smell greeted him, yet Subaru steeled himself and stepped inside.

He turned back to Satella before the search began.

“It wouldn’t be great if both of us end up inside and get mistaken as thieves, so stay outside, okay?”

“Are you sure? I think it might be better if I went in…”

“With me calling out like this, there’s no way something would just suddenly jump us. It’d be worse to startle the owner returning from the outside, so please.”

After Subaru bowed his head, Satella paused to think before reaching into her robe. She then produced a white stone.

“Please at least take this light with you. Call out if anyone’s here, whether it’s empty or otherwise.”

“Got it. I’ll be careful… but how do I make it shine?”

“You don’t know how to use the Ragmite? You really are quite the ignorant one, Subaru.”

With an incredulous yet amused tone, she lightly tapped the stone against the wall.

As soon as she did, the white stone began to emit a soft glow. Though the light was faint, barely illuminating a few meters around him, it was ample to ensure his steps were safe.

“Nowadays, most people rely on mana-infused magical lights, but this is so handy; I always find it useful. If it dies, just do the same again and it’ll light right back up.”

“I see… what a convenient mechanism. Alright, I’m going to take a look inside.”

Brandishing the softly glowing Ragmite, Subaru cautiously entered. He heard her voice echo behind him saying, “Don’t push yourself.”

In the dim light now illuminative, Subaru found himself facing a small counter as he passed through the entrance. Perhaps this place used to be a tavern or something of the like; he could guess someone had once sat there on the broken wooden boxes piled above the counter.

The counter, seemingly fulfilling the role of a reception area, had various small boxes, pots, and a few weapons scattered carelessly atop it.

Not being knowledgeable, he couldn’t gauge their worth, but it was clear even to an amateur that these items looked rather unremarkable.

“Of course, anything that looks valuable is likely deeper in.”

Next to misplaced stolen items were wooden tags inscribed with what looked like carved names. If the first guy’s recounting about this place was accurate, these tagged items were the names of the thieves who had provided the stolen goods. Collecting these tags and turning them into the guards might even lead to nab all at once.

“The concept of aliases is hard to say, but in such cases, corruption must be at play, and the country’s dark sides are likely connected with these shady folks.”

The destination for the stolen goods could be highly suspect.

Subaru’s mind meandered with unpleasant imaginations that were likely mere stories in novels and manga as he ventured deeper within the building.

Although the place remained empty, further inside he could easily see the sizes and values of the stolen items increasing despite the meager light.

No doubt the badge with a gem lay deepest in there.

With such thoughts twinging at him, his urgency heightened, and at that moment—

“Hmm?”

With a sudden discomfort felt beneath his shoes, Subaru halted. It wasn’t a firm sensation from stepping on something. No, it was more of a feeling of being pulled up from below; the ground had a strange stickiness to it.

Lifting his foot, he touched the sole of his sneaker with his fingertips, only to find a viscous liquid plastered all over. It had that odd, tacky quality, and it aroused feelings of innate revulsion.

“What is this?”

He brought his fingers close to his nose to sniff, but with the indoor air already thick and stale, it was impossible to make out. But naturally, he had no intention of tasting it.

He wiped the unpleasant substance against the wall, pushing the discomfort away, and urged the light forward to investigate the source.

“…What?”

That’s when the truth of it struck him.

Under the faint glow, he first identified a casually discarded “arm” lying on the ground. Strangely, it appeared to be missing the section from the elbow up.

Moving the light to locate its counterpart, he soon spotted a “leg” relatively close, thankfully still attached to a torso that still had the other necessary body parts.

—It was the corpse of a large man, gruesomely severed at the neck and one arm missing.

“Hyuh…”

Upon noticing the corpse, a soundless gasp escaped Subaru’s lips.

At that moment, what overwhelmed Subaru’s mind was not fear, despair, or astonishment; rather, a suffocating vacuum filled his thoughts, robbing him of all ability to rationalize.

There was no room for options like “flee” or “stay.”

He stood frozen, absorbing the horrifying scene before him until his mind could completely consume it.

And this ultimately brought about a catastrophic consequence for Subaru’s fate.

“—Ah, so you found me. I suppose it can’t be helped. Yes, indeed, it cannot be helped.”

It was a woman’s voice that echoed.

Low, cold, and somehow tinged with amusement.

“Gua—!”

There was no time to turn around.

Just as he tried to orient himself towards the voice, his body was struck by an unexpected force that threw him against the wall.

The Ragmite flew from his grasp, and the world became a blur of darkness.

But Subaru wasn’t directing his thoughts at that. Instead, he was barely cognizant of an overwhelming—

“Guuuuuh… ah, heat!”

—overwhelming “heat” that dominated his entire being.

—This is seriously bad news.

Feeling the hard ground pressing into his face, Subaru realized he had collapsed face-down.

He couldn’t muster the strength in his limbs, his fingers lost to the sensation. Only the scorching heat engulfing the center of his body remained.

—Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot.

As he opened his mouth to scream, what spewed forth was not a cry, but a torrent of blood.

He coughed violently, expelling the very essence of his life from his throat. Gagging, he spat blood, bubbles forming at the edges of his mouth, staining the ground an even deeper shade of crimson.

—Ah, so all of this is my blood.

Subaru was losing so much blood it pooled around him. The average human contains about 8% of their body weight in blood; losing a third of that figure could become fatal—

At this point, he felt convinced he’d bled it all dry.

His spitting blood seemed to have finally ceased, but the “heat” consuming him showed no signs of letting up. His fingers partially moved towards his abdomen, where an unimaginable feeling awaited him, further confirming his convictions.

—What the hell, is my stomach ruptured?

No wonder it felt so burning hot. It seemed he was confusing “pain” with “heat.”

Through a deep gash, his torso was nearly split in two, only kept loosely connected by a sliver of skin at the waist.

In essence, it appeared he had encountered the infamous “game over.”

The moment he processed this realization, his consciousness rapidly slipped away.

Even the “heat” that had compelled him to writhe in agony faded off, as if everything stimulating his body was piled up next to him, drawing all he felt further away.

What remained behind was merely a body that was denied companionship from its “soul.”

With the final vestige of his consciousness, he managed to move slightly; his neck tilted up.

Before him, a black shoe traversed across a floor drenched in crimson like it was some kind of decorative rug.

Someone was there. And that someone was likely the one to have taken his life.

Strangely, not an inkling of a desire to witness that person’s face crept into Subaru’s thoughts.

Confronted with someone who would end his existence, his recollective instincts didn’t display the slightest urge to guess who they were.

All he wished for was— that she would be safe.

“—Baru?”

Through it all, a voice rang out like sweet chimes.

In the haze preventing him from distinguishing where his ears ended and his nose began, it felt more likely to be an auditory hallucination.

Yet, even if the voice stemmed from a memory he recreated, it was profoundly soothing and stirred his emotions deeply.

So—

“—Ah!”

A brief scream erupted, as the blood-drenched carpet welcomed a new participant.

His collapsed body sprawled beside, and there lay his own arm hopelessly extending outward.

The white hand that had fallen limply intertwined with his bloodied hand.

It must’ve all been coincidental.

As if still holding on, his fingers faintly squeezed back, matching the motion.

“…State apparent.”

As he seized his fading consciousness, he forced himself to turn back, buying precious moments.

Both “pain” and “heat” retreated far away, becoming futile struggles and howls from a beaten dog.

Yet even so—

“I will… save you.”

—Just you wait.

In the next moment, Natsuki Subaru lost his life.