[ "I feel like I got knocked out for absolutely nothing! Where am I supposed to vent all this rage?"
"What an annoying coachman. Don't sweat the small stuff, didn't he already apologize to you?"
"Apologize? When did that happen? You don't mean when he said, 'Sorry, trash, the Great Self was just in a hurry,' do you? That wasn't an apology, that was just further verbal abuse, wasn't it?"
As the dragon carriage resumed its forward motion, Otto complained to Garfiel with evident dissatisfaction. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Garf, didn't you say you apologized for that? You call that an apology?"
Ram glanced sideways at Garfiel.
"Ah, don't look at the Great Self with those eyes, Ram! When I see the Boss next time, I'll apologize properly… Ah, right, erm, sorry about that, Bro Otto."
"Eh? Oh, um. It's fine."
"Ah, I haven't expressed my gratitude yet. Thank you, Otto."
Emilia spoke to Otto.
"This… first an apology, then thanks, how am I supposed to respond to all this… Anyway, um, you're welcome."
"But really, why did the Emelia faint in the first place? And why did the Lil'bro get teleported there?"
On the other side, Felt expressed her confusion.
"Because when contacting the barrier, mixed-blood demi-humans will fall unconscious due to the barrier's power, and the pyroxene crystal negates this effect. At that time, Subaru-sama believed the crystal was dangerous and took it from Emilia-sama, causing her to lose consciousness."
Frederica paused for a moment, then continued:
"As for Subaru-sama… it is said the crystal has another function: to cause those without permission to lose their way. It appears specifically to be random teleportation."
Frederica answered.
"That explanation was relatively simple, but acceptable enough to understand, I suppose."
Beatrice said.
Hearing this, Felt nodded, seemingly understanding yet still somewhat perplexed.
"Ah, come to think of it, this seems to be Suwen's second meritorious deed, doesn't it?"
On the other side, Anastasia said with a smile.
The first was discovering the magic stone that was about to detonate, and bringing Subaru there just in time to prevent the impending disaster.
The second was here; if not for Otto, Emilia might well have been attacked by Garfiel.
"Eh? Am I actually more important than I thought?"
"Does that even need saying?"
Garfiel affirmed and confirmed Otto's query.
Furthermore, not a single member of the Emilia camp offered a rebuttal or showed an expression of disagreement.
"You're making me blush. Watch the screen, let's just watch the screen."
Otto waved his hands in response.
—
[ "Ah… Hah…" On the bed within the dragon carriage, Emilia's eyelashes trembled slightly as she slowly opened her eyes.
"Ah… Emilia!"
Subaru hurriedly trotted to her side, taking her hand to check her temperature. "Thank goodness you're alright. Sigh, I was scared to death…"
"Subaru, um… Eh?!" Emilia noticed Garfiel, who was currently still a stranger to her.
She leapt up abruptly, shielding Subaru behind her back, and stared straight at Garfiel, declaring: "Who are you? I'm warning you right now, I won't let you lay a single finger on Subaru!" ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Oh—what a wonderful relationship, protecting each other like that."
Felix laughed.
"…"
Rem remained silent, but a smile graced her face as she thought:
Although Rem would still prefer to take care of Subaru-kun herself, entrusting Subaru-kun to Emilia-sama is something I can do with peace of mind.
"Th-that's just natural, isn't it? At the very least, for Rem's sake, I have to take good care of Subaru… No, that's not it. I should say, I want to protect those who are important to me."
Emilia blushed crimson. She had intended to cover it up, but ended up speaking the truth.
"Oh, important people, nyaa? Old Father feels so lonely."
"Puck!"
—
[ "Wait a sec, wait a sec, Emilia-tan! Hearing you say that makes me happy, but also gives me mixed feelings. He's fine! A lot happened while you were asleep, but we've already come to an understanding. That guy is Garfiel. Does that ring a bell?"
"You said he's Garfiel… is he the person Frederica mentioned to us?" Just like that, Emilia's misunderstanding regarding Garfiel was resolved.
.....
"Emilia-sama and her two attendants, welcome." Approaching the settlement, Garfiel looked at Emilia and the others as he spoke. Although he used honorifics, his tone carried not a shred of respect.
Then, he spread his arms wide and said: "Although Roswaal pretentiously calls this place 'Sanctuary'… this place ain't worthy of such a pretty word. It's just a dead-end laboratory for a bunch of half-baked holdovers living in a herd."
"Laboratory?" Emilia frowned.
"Half-baked…" Subaru also frowned.
Garfiel laughed boisterously: "The Great Self thinks calling it the 'Witch of Greed's' Grave is the only correct name."
"Witch of Greed?" Subaru tilted his head.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute! What on earth is the 'Witch of Greed'? Doesn't 'Witch' refer to the 'Witch of Envy'?" ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"But looking at this… could it be that Natsuki-san…?"
Otto asked.
At the time, he hadn't thought it strange; after all, Natsuki-san's lack of common sense was common knowledge.
But looking back now, Natsuki-san should have known.
"It seems Mother sealed away that memory."
Beatrice explained thus.
Roswaal also nodded silently.
—
[ "Excuse me. It seems we've arrived at the village… is it a village? We seem to have settled. Can we enter?" Otto, sitting in the coachman's seat, interrupted their conversation.
"So this is 'Sanctuary'…" Looking at the settlement before her, Emilia whispered.
"It's thick with a gloomy atmosphere…" Subaru sighed.
It wasn't strange to say so, after all… ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Ugh… how should I put it? Very retro? That's not quite right either…"
Anastasia said.
"Why does it feel even worse than the slums where I'm from?"
Felt remarked.
The architecture here, rather than being retro, seemed more primitive.
Stone houses piled up from large rocks covered in moss and ivy were scattered sparsely about.
And there were many stone towers at the entrance.
"Even though it's called 'Sanctuary,' Feris-chan thought it would be a much nicer place."
Felix said.
Visually speaking, this place seemed to have absolutely no relation to the word "Sanctuary."
"If I remember correctly, Ram is about to come out."
Ram said.
"Ram-san, when you say 'about to come out'…"
"How lewd."
"I haven't even said anything yet!"
Otto awkwardly turned his face toward the screen.
—
[ "The Great Self will warn ya first, the guys inside are even gloomier. It's full of old geezers and hags with sour looks on their faces. Makes ya wanna sigh, 'Both people and things get old sooner or later,' huh."
"That's the first time you've used an idiom where I can actually understand the meaning. You make the settlement sound pretty miserable."
"Just find a random spot to park the dragon carriage…" Garfiel ignored Subaru's quip, and then a familiar voice rang out—
"Garf, you've returned. That took quite a while." Ahead, a young girl with perfect posture appeared.
"Yo, you actually came out specifically to welcome us? That's rare. Did that bastard finally kick the bucket?" Garfiel said.
"If that were true, this place would be scorched earth from Ram venting her anger. That it has not evolved to that stage is something you should thank Roswaal-sama for properly."
That young girl, Ram, replied. ]
.....