"Now, now, Miss Rem, no need to be so hostile. Everyone knows how Subaru feels about Emilia. Out of every person in this entire world, he's the last one who'd ever hurt her."
Gojo's grin was all innocence, not a trace of the confrontation they'd actually come here for.
"Gojo, what are you talking about..."
Emilia's cheeks flushed. Being teased like this in front of so many people was more than the girl could handle gracefully.
"Where's Roswaal? Get him out here. He's the whole reason we came."
Felt had zero interest in small talk. Her mind was locked on one thing: extracting money from Roswaal's coffers.
"Lord Roswaal left to attend to an urgent matter on his territory. If there's something you need, I can pass along the message when he returns."
"Gone?" Gojo studied Rem, something playful and sharp lurking behind the word.
"The assembly had barely ended when he flew off," Emilia offered. "He almost didn't come to the capital at all. If attendance hadn't been mandatory, he would've skipped it entirely."
Gojo's gaze slid toward Subaru. The suspicion in his eyes deepened.
It made sense that their own group could anticipate certain events. They'd lived through this stretch of time once already. But Roswaal? How had he known to vanish before they arrived?
The absurd thought flickered through his mind: Did he loop back too?
Gone as quickly as it came. If Roswaal shared their ability, his behavior in the previous timeline wouldn't have played out the way it did. Too many details contradicted it.
Which left only one explanation. Roswaal had planned his departure from the start, both this time and last time, to distance himself from suspicion. His later return to the Royal Capital, his deliberate visit to their group, all of it had been calculated. Engineered to achieve some specific goal.
What goal, exactly, remained murky. But connecting the dots from the previous loop, one thing was clear: Roswaal had wanted someone from their group to accompany Emilia back to the mansion. The target wasn't necessarily Subaru. The decision to send him had been their own, born from group discussion and the inconvenient fact that Reinhard had been unavailable.
If Reinhard had gone instead, none of this would have happened.
Which made Roswaal's behavior stranger still. Had he not been targeting anyone specific? Was the man content to throw chaos at whoever happened to walk into the trap, regardless of who it was?
Gojo turned the puzzle over and found no satisfying answer. Roswaal's logic defied normal reasoning. Trying to predict him using a sane person's framework was a fool's errand.
"What a shame," he said, smiling at Emilia. "We had a few things we wanted to chat with him about. Guess it'll have to wait."
He sidestepped to Subaru and gave him a shove between the shoulder blades.
"Weren't you dying to talk to Emilia? Stop standing there like a post."
Then, turning to Rem: "Miss Rem, I trust you wouldn't mind letting me sample your desserts again? It's been too long."
"If I refuse, you'll threaten to have Lord Roswaal hand me over to you as a gift. Something along those lines."
"Can you blame me? Carol's getting on in years, and I'd never dream of tearing her away from her family."
"So Ram doesn't count as family in your eyes."
"I never said that. You're putting words in my mouth."
The bickering carried them through the front doors and into the mansion, the rest of the group trailing behind.
Subaru pulled Emilia aside. Gojo and the others settled into the parlor.
"If Roswaal's not here, what's the point of sticking around?" Felt slumped in her chair, visibly deflated. "Let that idiot chat up Emilia on his own time. No money, no reason to stay."
"Patience." Gojo waved her off and turned to Reinhard. "Have you ever fought a Sin Archbishop?"
"A Sin Archbishop?" Reinhard paused. "I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. I've never engaged one directly. I've encountered rank-and-file Witch Cult members, but nothing beyond that."
"Hmm."
"Why the sudden interest in the Witch Cult?" Felt frowned. "Instead of worrying about that, shouldn't you be figuring out how to get... how to move forward with our plan?"
She caught herself a syllable away from saying "money" in mixed company.
"The Bowel Hunter had a bounty on her head. Sin Archbishops and Witch Cult members must have bounties too, right?"
"Of course." Reinhard nodded. "Every Sin Archbishop carries an extremely high bounty. Ordinary cultists are worth less, but the reward is still substantial."
"Money," Gojo said, stretching the word out with a lazy drawl.
"What is wrong with you? Did Roswaal infect you with something?" Felt scooted her chair back. "Why are you talking in that creepy voice all of a sudden?"
"I've got an idea, Felt. Want to hear it?"
He grinned at her.
"What?"
"If it's about needing cash, you can stop right..."
"It's not. It's about the Witch Cult. I have reliable intelligence on a group of cultists and their location."
"Seriously?"
The boredom evaporated. Felt sat bolt upright, abandoning the distance she'd carefully put between them, and planted herself on the armrest of his chair.
"Lady Felt, please mind your..."
Reinhard's gentle reminder was cut short by a throwing knife whistling past his ear. Not that it posed any threat.
"Don't interrupt. Gojo, keep going."
"It's solid intel. And I think that as a Royal Candidate of Lugunica, it's your duty to bring these fanatics to justice for the safety of the kingdom. Don't you agree?"
He tipped his sunglasses up and winked.
"Absolutely." Felt's spine straightened, her expression shifting to something almost statesmanlike. "As a Royal Candidate, this is my responsibility. I owe it to everyone who's placed their faith in me."
Reinhard watched the two of them perform their little duet, a faint look of resignation settling across his features.
"Then it's decided. We leave as soon as we're ready and take them all down in one sweep."
"Right now?" Felt glanced at the darkening sky beyond the window. "That's awfully fast."
"Money's safest in your own pocket, isn't it?"
"You're right. Every day those people draw breath is another day the citizens of Lugunica suffer!"
Her face was the picture of solemn conviction.
"After I finish my dessert, we go. Where are they, anyway?"
She was already on her feet, eager and buzzing, Reinhard's opinion thoroughly disregarded.
"Near Roswaal's territory."
"Roswaal's territory?"
Felt and Reinhard exchanged a look. Pieces clicked into place. So that was why Gojo had brought them here now.
"That's a long way, though. Even if we leave right this..."
"Shh. Lady Felt doesn't need to worry about logistics. Leave it to me." He gave her a thumbs-up, the very image of trustworthy competence.
"Fine, fine. Your call."
"Ah, lovely Miss Rem, there you are. Once I've finished and you've cleared the dishes, would you mind fetching Subaru for me?"
"That idiot's coming too?" Felt tilted her head.
"Not just Subaru." Gojo pointed at the small figure who'd been sitting quietly in the corner the entire time, doing her best impression of furniture. "Meili's joining us."
Meili blinked. "Huh?"
The dainty dessert didn't stand a chance. Gojo demolished it in moments, licked the spoon clean, and set it down. Everything was in order.
Rem gathered the dishes and left. Minutes later, Subaru and Emilia walked into the parlor.
Subaru's eyes were rimmed with red, unmistakably post-crying. Emilia's expression beside him told an equally clear story: deep concern laced with utter bewilderment.
Whatever Subaru had said to her during their private conversation, it had been the kind of thing a boy who'd watched her die in another life might say. Gojo hadn't eavesdropped, but he could picture the scene well enough.
"Alright, Subaru. Time to move."
"Where?"
"To do something fun." Gojo clamped a hand on top of his head, grinning.
Understanding flooded Subaru's face.
"Got it." He turned to Emilia. "We're heading out. I'll come back to see you tomorrow. Until then, stay inside. Don't go anywhere..."
He was still trying to squeeze in more warnings when Gojo grabbed his collar and hauled him toward the door.
"Don't worry about him, Emilia. Ignore everything he said. See you tomorrow."
A wave, and they were gone.
"Uh... okay."
Emilia stood in the parlor, thoroughly confused, and managed a slow nod at the empty doorway.
Outside the mansion, Gojo rapped his knuckles against Subaru's skull.
"You have a real talent for making people uncomfortable."
Subaru pressed his lips together. He knew. For this version of Emilia, who hadn't experienced any of what he'd been through, his behavior was nothing but alarming and confusing.
But after everything he'd seen, standing in front of her alive and whole, keeping his emotions in check had been impossible.
"I know."
A pause.
"But right now, I feel like I should thank the Witch of Envy."
"Hey, hey, hey." Felt cut in before anyone else could react. "Do not say that kind of thing in public. Ever. If someone hears you, getting punched will be the least of your problems."
The Witch of Envy had nearly destroyed the world. Expressing gratitude toward her out loud was a one-way ticket to being reported as a Witch Cult sympathizer.
To everyone else, Subaru's words sounded like they were about Emilia. Only Gojo and Betty understood what he actually meant. He was thanking the Witch for giving him a second chance. Without Return by Death, the world where Emilia died before his eyes would have been all there was.
"Alright, alright, he'll keep it to himself."
"Forget that. How are we getting there? Should we arrange a Dragon Carriage now?"
Felt looked at Gojo, puzzled.
"No need for all that. I'll take you myself. First, we need to get outside the city."
Nobody questioned it. They piled into a Dragon Carriage, rode to the edge of the Royal Capital, and passed through the gates. Gojo left the carriage with the guards on duty, asking them to send it back, then led the group a good distance beyond the walls.
"This should do."
He placed a hand on Reinhard's shoulder.
"I'll take you first. Wait there for us. I'll come back for the others one at a time."
Reinhard had no idea what method Gojo intended to use, but he didn't ask. He nodded.
Gojo tightened his grip and glanced at Betty. With her here, the rest of the group would be safe enough while he made the trips.
Wind exploded outward.
Everyone squinted against the blast. When their eyes opened, Gojo and Reinhard were gone.
At that same instant, the two of them materialized in a stretch of countryside impossibly far from the Royal Capital. A distance that should have taken days by carriage, crossed in a single heartbeat.
"If you've got any gasps of amazement or words of praise, feel free to lay them on thick. I've heard it all before, but coming from you, it might hit different."
...
Get early access to 40 chapters ahead on my Patreon!
patreon.com/fawkess