An old promise, dusted off.
Subaru's head bobbed like a toy drum.
"I knew you were a good guy, Gojo!"
"Save the flattery. Once you've learned Jujutsu, you're handling all the trouble from then on."
Gojo yawned. "Come on, let's head down and take a look."
They dropped from the sky and landed at the village's edge.
"You don't need me for the rest of this. I'll wait here. Go do your thing."
"Right, got it."
Most of the village was asleep, but scattered lights still glowed in windows. Enough to see by. Nothing to worry about.
Subaru took off toward the houses, eager as a kid on a treasure hunt.
Gojo watched him go.
An invisible force gathered beneath his feet. His tall frame rose from the ground, stopping a dozen centimeters up, hovering in silence.
His eyes narrowed, fixing on something in the distance. Then he drifted toward it, soundless, cutting through the dark like a ghost. No rustle of cloth. No displacement of air.
He came to a stop at the far corner of the village.
Standing behind a haystack, Gojo watched a figure retreating into the night sky. Something knowing and sharp settled in his gaze.
"You're a strange one, aren't you, Roswaal."
There was no mistake. Under the Six Eyes, the departing figure was unmistakable.
Roswaal. No question.
What he'd been doing here at this hour, though, was another matter entirely.
Gojo couldn't say. But nothing about it felt right.
Given the way this era worked, a man of Roswaal's station would have no reason to visit a place like this. Not in his lifetime. These were his subjects, his territory, but a lord didn't make house calls to farming villages. Let alone in the dead of night.
Even if he couldn't sleep, even if he wanted fresh air, this wasn't where you'd go.
Unless he had something to hide.
Gojo turned the thought over, connecting it to the oddities he'd already noticed about Roswaal's behavior. Then there was tomorrow. Subaru and Emilia, coming to this exact village.
He couldn't pin down a motive yet, but the whole thing reeked of coincidence. Too neat. Too convenient.
Is he making a move against us, or against Emilia?
Nothing clicked. He'd spent too little time around Roswaal to read him properly. For now, all he could do was watch and wait.
At least he knew to keep his guard up.
"Strange guy."
Gojo floated up to a rooftop and swept his gaze across the village. Nothing out of the ordinary. No one besides Subaru moving through the darkened streets.
He lay back on the roof tiles, plucked a blade of grass, and stuck it between his teeth. Arms folded behind his head, he stared up at the moon.
Roswaal's behavior gnawed at him.
What if this guy's playing both sides? Publicly backing Emilia, but secretly working for another candidate?
Everything he'd seen pointed that way.
As a supporter, Roswaal was remarkably uninvested. The assassination attempt on Emilia in the capital was bad enough. But since arriving at the mansion, Gojo hadn't seen him make a single move to court other nobles or build a coalition of support for her.
He'd prodded Puck about it during their conversations, keeping the questions casual, indirect. Puck's answer had been telling: almost nothing. Roswaal had done almost nothing on Emilia's behalf.
That alone was suspicious.
A supporter who didn't support his candidate. What was the point?
The only logical conclusion was the one Gojo had already landed on. Roswaal might be someone else's agent entirely.
But it was all speculation. Nothing solid.
"Guess I'll have to see what tomorrow brings."
He yawned and muttered it to the night sky.
Subaru didn't take long. Before much time had passed, the sound of footsteps and a voice calling Gojo's name drifted through the village.
"Pick your spot?"
Gojo dropped from the rooftop as Subaru came around the corner.
The sudden appearance nearly sent him out of his skin.
"Where did you come from?! You scared the hell out of me." Subaru clutched his chest, then brightened. "But yeah, I found a great spot. There's this flower field over on the east side. Even at night it looked gorgeous. During the day it's probably incredible. I'll take Emilia there for sure."
His face was pure daydream.
"Good. Then let's head back. It's getting late, and if you don't sleep, you'll age faster than you think."
Gojo grabbed him by the collar again, and in a flash, both figures vanished from the village.
---
The next morning, after breakfast.
"Lia, make sure you wear your cloak. And if anything happens, use the Conversation Mirror to contact us right away."
Puck hovered beside the Dragon Carriage, fussing over Emilia with the nervous energy of a father sending his daughter off to school.
"I will. We'll be back before you know it, so don't worry too much, okay? The village is close. Nothing's going to happen."
Emilia smiled at his worried little face.
"Don't worry, Puck. I'll protect Emilia, no matter what!"
Subaru said it with absolute seriousness. No bravado, no theatrics. The earnestness in his voice carried a weight that was hard to dismiss.
Puck floated up and pressed a tiny paw against the top of Subaru's head.
"If you disappoint me, there will be consequences."
"I won't! Not a chance!"
The conviction was total. No one watching could doubt that if danger came, this boy would throw himself in front of it without hesitation.
After one last round of reminders, Rem took the reins. The Dragon Carriage rolled out with Subaru and Emilia aboard.
"I still don't feel great about this." Puck watched the carriage shrink into the distance and sighed.
"You sound like a worried father."
"That's because I am Lia's father!"
Puck planted his paws on his hips, chin raised, dead serious.
"Right, right. A cat that gave birth to a human. Remarkable."
"Are you trying to pick a fight with a Great Spirit?"
"Does being a Great Spirit mean you can birth humans now?"
"You ignorant human. You have no idea how deep the bond between Lia and me runs..."
The two of them bickered their way back toward the mansion.
Gojo kept one eye on the situation as they walked.
Roswaal, he noted, showed no sign of leaving today. He was in his study, reading.