[ "Are you out of your mind? Why would you do this? You don't even… what on earth is this for…"
"I say, Natsuki-san." Otto brushed back his hair, adjusted his hat, and then spoke:
"Is it really that strange for me to want to save a friend?"
"…" Subaru fell silent, looking as if he were deep in thought.
"Why are you so surprised that your face is completely frozen? You really are something!" ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"To cast aside profit as a merchant, and instead risk danger in the capacity of a friend to save Natsuki unconditionally. Not bad, Suwen."
Anastasia watched and smiled.
It was precisely because of her upbringing and her life creed that she understood the nobility and preciousness of such an action all the more.
"As expected of Brother Otto! Fearing no authority—"
"That 'authority' was you, Garfiel, wasn't it? You've got some nerve saying that."
Ram squinted at Garfiel.
"Ah, my bad, my bad. Besides, that Garfiel technically isn't the great me, is he?"
"Still, I suppose I'll acknowledge you just a little bit. You actually pulled it off, Otto."
Ram looked toward Otto.
Without even using Clairvoyance, how did Otto manage to find Subaru while on the run?
Otto really is… not to be underestimated.
"Indeed. Otto is truly amazing."
Reinhard smiled and praised Otto.
With so many people searching and failing to find him, Otto managed to do it.
Many people were looking at Otto in a whole new light.
"But what's going on, what's going on? Why is the lad frozen like that? Is he so moved that he's stunned?"
Felt said.
—
[ It seemed Subaru was so moved that he was left speechless.
That made sense—
"No, wait, someone, I don't even know, suddenly popped up… Mr. Fiend… who was that again?"
Yet, this was Subaru's reply.
"Your conclusion is completely wrong from start to finish! Not 'fiend,' it's 'friend'! Friend!"
"Friend… friend? Who with whom?"
"Me! And Natsuki-san!"
Subaru's eyes widened, and he said nothing. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Fi… fiend? What on earth is a 'fiend'?"
Felt couldn't help but tilt her head in confusion.
"…I think I understand."
Yuriusu said.
"Aside from the Emilia Camp, the help Subaru has received long-term has always been compensated, a transaction of interests. Subaru has already forgotten the existence of a 'friend'—someone who can help unconditionally, even risking danger for it."
( Translator-kun: It's because of Crusch and Anastasia that Subaru forgets what a 'friend' is. )
Yuriusu spoke while showing a slightly lonely expression.
Could he have forgotten about me, too? My friend.
"Furthermore, Otto is a merchant, and his first few interactions with Otto were also because of business transactions,"
Anastasia added.
—
[ Otto stamped his feet in frustration, pointing at Subaru and himself, scratching his head as he said:
"Ah, seriously! Indeed! The fact that I came here is partly because our interests aligned! It's because I need you to arrange for me to meet the Margrave, and because I provided help in rescuing Emilia-Sama, which is why this transaction exists. But in the end, the most important reason is that when I was captured by the Witch Cult, Natsuki-san and the subjugation force saved me!"
"…"
"But once you strip away all those complicated reasons, in my eyes, Natsuki-san is simply a friend. Even though your usual attitude toward me isn't very good and I have my complaints, I believe this is the kind of distance friends should keep."
"…Pfft-hah!"
"Huh?"
"Wahahahaha! Fri… friend? A friend! Ah, so that's it, that's it! Otto, you want to be my friend!"
Subaru laughed wildly, repeatedly slapping Otto's shoulder with his hand. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"He's being so sincere, so why is Subaru still laughing at him? Honestly."
Emilia was a bit displeased.
Shouldn't he be properly grateful?
"…Emilia-Sama, I believe Subaru-dono is laughing at himself,"
Wilhelm said.
Subaru was laughing at himself.
Laughing at his own foolish self.
—
[ "Pwahaha, a friend! Ah, damn it! Otto, you bastard, you absolute bastard!" Subaru continued to slam his hand onto Otto's shoulder.
"Ouch, that hurts! What are you doing? Yes, I actually blurted out something like that. What a massive fool I am! I knew Natsuki-san would laugh at me! But you don't have to laugh this hard!"
"No, no, no, how can I hold back my laughter? I'm not laughing because you're strange… but because I feel like I've been so incredibly stupid. I just can't stand myself, so I can only laugh."
Just as Wilhelm said, Subaru was indeed laughing at himself.
"Natsuki-san?"
Subaru clutched his stomach, laughing until tears came to his eyes. Then he took a deep breath and said to Otto (Honkai: Impact Third):
"My bad. You are my friend, Otto—thanks for coming to save me." ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Sigh, as long as it wasn't just my own one-sided wishful thinking that Natsuki-san was my friend."
Otto let out a sigh.
"Well, that friendship dynamic would be way too humble, wouldn't it?"
Felt couldn't help but complain.
"Hmm… I feel like this scene is extremely important for Subaru. This isn't just a physical rescue, but a mental salvation as well."
Puck said.
"Simply put, his Sanity points just got restored."
Al said.
Letting a brother believe that true warmth still exists in the world.
"…I was too inconsiderate of Subaru's feelings."
On the other side, Emilia lowered her head and said.
Under those circumstances, having already forgotten the existence of a 'friend,' it was only natural for Subaru to react that way.
"Subaru-kun…"
Rem's heart ached for Subaru once more.
Having witnessed too many things bound by mutual interests, he had even forgotten one of humanity's most basic needs: friendship.
—
[ "By the way, it really stinks in there… seriously, what on earth is that smell?" Subaru said.
Subaru and Otto walked out of the place.
"I don't know. It's different from a fishy stench or rot, but it can ruin your nose. It feels a bit like the smell of oil or medicine…"
"If we treat it as an irritating gas, it should probably belong to the same category as ammonia or something. No, let's look into these things later. I felt this way when I was captured; after all, there weren't even any bugs or rats inside."
"The prison environment is indeed very strange. That's why I originally planned to use my Divine Protection to conduct a carpet search for Natsuki-san, but if I hadn't noticed this sense of incongruity, it would have been close."
"Incongruity?"
"If I want to, I can use my Divine Protection to listen to the voices of bugs and birds without any restraint. Since there aren't many quiet places in this world without even the sounds of bugs and birds, if you find a place like that, it's only human nature to think it's strange." ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"It seems it's different from what I thought."
The Otto off-screen said.
He had originally thought he had found Subaru by listening to the sounds of various animals.
But he didn't expect it to be the exact opposite—it was precisely because he couldn't hear them that he found him.
He found him using reverse thinking.
"So that's it. No wonder Ram's Clairvoyance didn't work."
Ram came to a sudden realization.
There were no living creatures in that place, so how could Ram see anything?
Next, since Subaru was already out, it was time to consider realistic problems.
Such as the attack on the mansion, the conversation with Roswaal, Emilia's trial, and so on.
—