"Don't ya think so, Si—? Whoa, you're huge?!"
Instantly, the gravitas of a full-fledged warrior dissipated, and the man— nay, the boy—opened his jade eyes wide, his inner turmoil plain as he gazed at Frederica from head to toe.
"S-seriously?! Is that really you, Sis?! The Sis I know was supposed to be this smaller, thinner, gentle, and delicate li'l thing, wasn't she?! This is closer to a big bro than a big si… Ogoah?!"
"You should not say such rude things upon meeting someone!"
Frederica rammed her knee into the boy, who'd given her one glance before he started ranting. The single blow sent the boy to his knees. As Frederica saw him wail with a gueh, she noticed it…the white scar on his forehead.
"You're… Are you Garf?"
"Don't kick people before ya figure that out. That's how the real
Frederica would…gueh!"
"Do not go casually addressing your older sister by name."
In the middle of moving to get up, Garfiel sank once more from a backhanded blow to the rear of his skull.
The sight made Frederica remember her younger days. Back in the Sanctuary, the siblings amused themselves not with toys but by fighting each other. With a nine-year age gap between them, Frederica's larger frame let her win handily against Garfiel. It was as if nothing had changed since then.
"No. Garf, you've grown so big…"
"Right now, hearin' that from Sis sounds like sarcasm! I'll have ya know, I'm definitely gettin' bigger from here on out! Ya won't be lookin' down on me forever!"
"Tee-hee, let me correct myself. Your body has grown a little larger, but you remain very small inside."
"What was that?!"
Baring his fangs, Garfiel seemed ready to fight to prove his sister wrong. Despite the timing, this exchange with her younger brother after a separation of ten years left Frederica with an almost unbelievable sense of happiness.
She'd always hoped that someday, the day would come when she could meet Garfiel outside the Sanctuary.
This was probably someone's doing. Ram? Emilia? Or perhaps Subaru? "Also, there was Master Otto, wasn't there…?"
"Ha! Don't even bother mentionin' that bro. The Migredo family's bridge falls all the time. He's in such a tough spot, even I feel for 'im."
Not that he was one to talk, but Otto's face, dejected from so much being said about him, came to mind. He somehow grasped that the man had talent, but he just gave off an aura that made you want to mouth off.
"Well then, may I finally interfere with your reunion, I wonder?"
"Well, ain't that considerate of ya to wait this long. At the rate we were goin', I was about to forget about beatin' your ass and just go home. I don't like poundin' women much, see."
"Oh my, how kind of you."
Interrupting the sibling conversation from another part of the corridor, the woman smiled thinly. Garfiel made a gesture toward her as if shooing away a fly. The sight made Frederica raise her eyebrows.
"Garf, underestimating that woman due to her appearance will only get you hurt."
"Ha! When it comes down to it, the only one I treat in this world as a woman is Ram."
"I am certain you think that sounds manly, but it would make Ram laugh out loud."
"What'd ya say?!"
Frederica had a look of disbelief as Garfiel turned toward her indignantly.
That instant, a pitch-black disc flew from the murderous woman's hand at incredible speed—no, this was no disc. This was a large knife spinning with incredible speed. Leaving even the sound of ripping the air trailing behind, the blade sailed toward Garfiel's head.
"Now, hold on."
A mere instant before it split his head apart, Garfiel agilely used his left arm to deflect the disc. The skillful alteration of the disc's angle sent the knife gliding straight up, making a high-pitched sound as it impaled the ceiling above.
"Me, I said I wanted to head back straightaway, ya know?"
"—Yes, and this is my reply."
Drawing a spare to replace the knife she had thrown, the woman advanced, her posture making it seem like she was crawling over the floor. Gripping the knife in a different way than the one she had hurled, the woman aimed to sever both Garfiel's ankles.
But watching the combat unfold from behind him, Frederica caught sight of another threat.
—A string attached to the hilt of the knife impaling the ceiling drew taut, pulling it straight toward the back of Garfiel's head—he couldn't even see it coming.
"Garf—" "Oh no ya don't!!"
It was a roar from none other than Garfiel that blotted out Frederica's shriek.
Garfiel howled, and he instantly moved his left hand with explosive, overwhelming force. His arm, thick and covered with golden fur, was a savage thing on a clearly different level compared with Frederica's transformation.
"I'm sendin' ya packin', bastard!!"
Surprise ran across even the assailant's eyes, and Garfiel did not let that opportunity slip.
He tilted his head in response to the blade from behind, just enough to get his vitals out of the way while prioritizing offense. With the shield on his mighty arm, he blocked the woman's blade, and a creaking sound arose as the woman was sent flying.
Letting out a painful yelp, the woman rolled. Glancing at that, Garfiel pulled the knife out of his shoulder.
"Ha! Even without his arms, Kurgan felled his foe, ya know! If ya think I'm shakin' in my boots over one arm, ya got another thing coming, idiot!" "You're the idiot!"
"Adahhh?!"
While Garfiel was celebrating his victory, his older sister angrily slammed her fist into the back of his skull.
"Fighting as if you're trying to get yourself injured… Grandmother would cry if she saw this!"
"Ugh…n-not like I care what the old hag thinks of this…"
Frederica's lecture made Garfiel look away as he excused himself. Sighing deeply at her own younger brother's attitude, Frederica was also surprised at his strength. One might even say she was moved by it.
Garfiel had studied hard over these ten years they had spent apart. And it was not Frederica alone who was moved by that strength—
"—Nicely done. Nicely done indeed. A truly active child. Quite marvelous."
Her voice shuddering with admiration, the woman stood up with blood trickling from the corner of her lips. However, the woman merrily licked it, smiling, her cheeks reddening as if enamored.
"Hey, Fre… Sis, you know this chick named Rem?"
"—? Y-yes, she is here at the mansion. I heard from Master Subaru that she is Ram's younger sister."
Garfiel's sudden shift to a completely disconnected subject left Frederica bewildered.
From the girl's external appearance, there was no doubting she was Ram's younger sister, yet she existed nowhere in Frederica's memories. The still-sleeping girl had fallen out of her recollections, as had whatever relationship she might have had with her.
"She looks like Ram?"
"Exactly like her. However, you may not use her as a substitute."
"Like I'd do some scumbag thing like that. Just wanted to check for sure
—Sis, I got a favor to ask."
Cutting off his words, Garfiel continued glaring at the woman as he spoke
to Frederica.
"When ya see the chance, take this Rem chick and go. Me, I'm gonna have my hands full with this one."
"Wh-what are you saying?! I will fight also! The two of us together can…"
"I wonder. Can you, really?"
Garfiel was trying to fight alone. Frederica attempted to convince him otherwise, but the assailant's voice interfered. Frederica sternly glared at her.
"I would rather you not make such a scary face, though. Besides, I believe your younger brother can attest that my opinion is not off the mark."
"…Garf?"
The woman's words brought a questioning look over Frederica's face as she called out to her younger brother. Once she did, Garfiel spoke.
"Sorry, Sis. This ain't some half-hearted opponent ya can take on while watchin' out for someone behind ya."
"Wha…?!"
"Hey, don't misunderstand, Sis. It ain't like I'm sayin' you'd be in the way or anything."
There's no other way to take it, thought Frederica, but Garfiel kept glaring at the woman as he responded to Frederica's dubious gaze.
"I figure if she 'n' I get serious, the area around us is gonna take one hell of a beatin'."
Garfiel pointed to himself and then toward the woman. The joyful smile that came over the woman seemed to agree with his words as she toyed with her long, triple-braided hair and leaned forward.
"I suppose so. I'm sure it will be so… Therefore, I think it is best that you step back."
" "
Both of them could sense it. This was a battlefield for the strong alone, for those possessing strength that separated them from others. Frederica, understanding her power excluded her from that realm, felt her body seemingly catch on fire with regrets.
—To have spent ten years for the sake of reuniting with her younger brother, yet be unable to give him any help when he needed it most…
"Don't go thinkin' about no silly things like that, Sis."
"Garf…"
"Ya see my arm, right? These shields, they're the ones I used to play with you when I was a li'l brat. Back when I was runnin' round with you all day
long—that was the startin' point of me becomin' the greatest." This time, Garfiel's words truly surprised Frederica.
His tone of voice, which betrayed no consideration, no consolation, no such emotions whatsoever, set Frederica's chest ablaze, for she felt a tangible sense that her younger brother had grown in her absence.
"The general taught me the power of numbers the hard way, but unfortunately, this is where the other extreme comes into play…"
With his elder sister's gaze still on him and maintaining the brunt of his enemy's focus, Garfiel stepped forward.
"—So come get some. I'm celebratin' leavin' the Sanctuary. The party starts now and lasts till I smash apart the first wall standin' in my way!!"
3
—Let us briefly go back in time, switching to a scene where a dragon carriage was heading to Roswaal Manor.
"Okay? The people who need to be rescued in the mansion number four in total, all girls."
From the driver's seat of the dragon carriage, which was running at full speed, Subaru lifted up four fingers as he gave his explanation.
The landscape sped by as the dragon carriage took advantage of its wind repel blessing to race along a neglected road. Relying once more on the land dragon who had saved him over and over, Subaru nodded toward his fellow passengers with a dead-serious face.
"There's basically no time to spare…or rather, whatever the timing, the assassins will definitely launch their attack the moment we arrive. We've got to rescue every last one of the four."
"So for buyin' time…there's Sis, and that's about it, huh? Man, already been ten years since I've seen her face…"
Garfiel crinkled his nose, with Subaru's words leaving him in an awkward state.
He had stayed in the Sanctuary, remained there out of stubbornness for many years. No doubt he felt plenty guilty for having pegged Frederica a traitor when she had been busy trying to create a place for him in the outside world.
"Well, just gotta ask you to put that aside with a poof and make up real fast with a pshaw."
"Poof and pshaw… General, c'mon!"
"But on a more serious note, we really must defer our complaints. That said, you truly have not spoken to her even once since the separation? According to Miss Ram, there did seem to be some comings and goings with
the Sanctuary, so have you sent a letter, perhaps?"
"Me, I didn't send any, and the ones that came… I handed 'em all to the old hag without readin' 'em."
As Garfiel made a pouting face, Subaru and Otto went "Ah!" and covered their faces. His attitude toward his sister was completely, 100 percent that of a child. Their reunion would surely be quite a moving thing to see.
"I am worried about Miss Frederica, but the one in the most danger would be Petra, yes?"
"Yeah, I think so. Petra is Roswaal Manor's new maid… She's a sharp cookie with a bright future. Special attention required."
Subaru concurred with Otto's opinion. As a matter of fact, Petra's projected death rate was 100 percent unless they did something. Of course, the other three were also in peril, but in Petra's case, her lack of combat ability was a fatal flaw.
Though, in terms of being unable to fight back, there was one other in identical danger—
"There's Rem… Ram's little sister. I'm sure Garfiel doesn't remember her, though…"
"Me, I still half don't believe it. Ya said she's exactly like Ram, like a twin? If I've known her for a long time like that, would I really forget?"
He understood why Garfiel found it difficult to swallow. But the attack Rem suffered obliterated her existence, causing even her older sister, Ram, to forget her. Thinking about that made Subaru's chest tighten as he continued.
"But there's a silver lining to this. I'm just guessing, but Rem probably isn't a target of the assassins. Just from the fact that they were hired… because Rem…"
Fell off the edge of the world. Subaru couldn't bring himself to finish.
Otto continued in his place.
"…However, if they find Miss Rem at the mansion, she will not escape unscathed. Is that not so?"
Otto's words made him listlessly nod. Subaru understood what he meant.
The assassins—Elsa and Meili—were not good-natured professionals. They were morally bankrupt people who thought nothing of involving innocents. Rem and the people of Earlham Village were thoroughly unsafe around them.
"We must pray that the opponent does not begin by opening the door to the room where Miss Rem sleeps… To be honest, I cannot call depending on the enemy a sound plan."
"…I'll be depending on you and the enemy both. That's Subaru Natsuki's Reverse Fuurinkazan tactical doctrine."
"S-so cool…!!"
Subaru couldn't deny that the conditions were pretty desperate, but Garfiel's eyes were glimmering. This all-too-fitting reaction pained his heart, but after all the current business was taken care of, he really needed to make some time and give Garfiel a lecture about real tactics taught by Sun Tzu.
And while it was fine and well to imagine a happy, peaceful future—
"I've gotta say, this has been really freaking me out hard. Is this actually helping?"
"We're in a hurry, right? Me, I ain't doin' this 'cause I wanna."
Subaru's words and oddly indecisive attitude made Garfiel clack his fangs in dismay.
Subaru understood Garfiel's point, but he wanted him to appreciate how it made others feel. After all, that moment, Garfiel was outside, leaning into the dragon carriage, participating in the conversation as he held on to the windowsill.
Under the windowsill, Garfiel was running at full speed immediately beside one of the dragon carriage's wagon wheels. The soles of his feet were pounding hard into the ground. Of course, this wasn't something he had come up with for no purpose, but…
"Look, I defeated an enemy before by dragging him into a wagon wheel, so I'm scared about accidents… If you make one false move and end up getting scattered across the countryside, I'm gonna have PTSD for sure, and then I'll be out of options for the mansion, too…"
"Wha? General, you're a worrywart, aren't ya? It's all right, sheesh. See, seeee!"
"Stop it!! You're killin' me!! I'll die before you do!!"
Garfiel started to play around while still hanging alongside, making Subaru raise a wail in complaint. The beastly boy's grip was strong enough to warp the windowsill. Even knowing there was not even a remote chance of an accident, Subaru felt it was still bad for his heart.
"Either way, Garfiel's blessing of the earth spirit has no effect unless his feet are on the ground, so let us pass this off as a necessary measure to ensure
Garfiel's as close to tip-top condition as possible."
"But from the outside, this looks like we're doing our best to shake off a guy who's desperately trying to get inside the carriage. Plus we actually are dragging along a delusional fourteen-year old."
"You do realize that if anyone saw this, neither the truth nor what it seems like would save my reputation, yes?!"
Otto, holding the reins, wailed; Subaru nodded, too. It was a supremely strange sight that could get someone reported and pulled over—yet, there was meaning to Garfiel's acrobatic feat.
Emilia had used her magic to heal the wounds he'd incurred during his violent battle with Subaru and the others. However, one could not call the mana and blood inside his body that he'd lost, or other measures of endurance, fully recovered. This seemingly unjust treatment was an improvised way to supplement those things during the time they traveled between the Sanctuary and the mansion.
This was to make Garfiel's blessing of the earth spirit the trump card for their mansion strategy.
"Also, one last thing, General. We stopped the talk midway—only heard 'bout three people so far."
"—Yeah."
Garfiel lifted up his body and peered into the dragon carriage. He directed the question toward Subaru, but he also sent Otto a questioning look. Otto shook his head, though.
"Unfortunately, I have not met the final person, either. But according to what we heard from Miss Shima, she is someone in a somewhat difficult position, it would seem."
"Bro, did ya somehow make someone hate you before you even met them?
You all right?"
"I'd like to believe that's not why we haven't had a chance to meet yet!"
Seeing the disquiet in Garfiel's eyes, Otto put on a desperate look as he made his rebuttal. The noisy exchange between the pair was probably an attempt to be considerate toward Subaru.
Perhaps—yes, most likely, they were trying to discuss a topic that was difficult for him to talk about.
"The last person…is Beatrice. I have to be the one to bring her out." Turning toward the pair, Subaru did not use the timid word probably.
It was unthinkable to even say it out loud before he acted. He would bring her out. And Subaru had to be the one to do it— Upon learning of her past, that was what Subaru had firmly decided.
"I'll bring Beatrice out. I'll drag her out. I have to do it." It was none other than Subaru who absolutely had to be the one.
Even if Beatrice refused it, even if she acted like she didn't want it…
"If that's what the general says, that's how it's gonna be."
"We really must deftly evacuate the nearby villagers, too, to avoid unforeseen circumstances. I suppose it would be best if I was in charge of this."
Presented with Subaru's resolve, Garfiel and Otto promised their own cooperation.
Subaru had his role to play. And they had roles of their own.
Geez. I have two seriously dependable people on my side…
"Thanks, you pair of idiots."
"You are truly incapable of giving even simple thanks, you single idiot!!"
4
—The thick musk of old books emanated from the other side of the opened door.
Perhaps this odor had accumulated from the long days and months the books had spent in this place. Or if he could believe that it was a room where time had stopped, the passage of days and months had nothing to do with it at all.
"The Sanctuary made me think of a lot of little things like that. As the librarian, what do you think?"
"—Why…?"
Without permission from the custodian of the room, Subaru bluntly stepped into the archive.
Just like usual, there was an atmosphere equal parts tranquil and gloomy. There were no glass windows to let in rays of sunlight or even the smallest of shutters for ventilation. Staying for any length of time would dampen his spirits and most certainly be bad for his heart.
That was probably why Subaru had always wanted to bring the girl out of this place.
"…Why have you come here, I wonder? I do not remember inviting you."
"Sorry, but I'm a man who shows up whether he's been invited or not.
Back in middle school, I popped up at a classmate's birthday party uninvited. Can't forget how awkward that was at the time."
Naturally, even Subaru had endeavored to pay more heed to the atmosphere after an experience like that. But of course, he was the most boisterous of anyone that day by far, and no one ever invited him to a birthday thereafter.
"That actually hurt me so much that it was almost like my chest got cut open, so I'll set that story aside for another time."
"This time or next, will you begin speaking of it whenever it pleases you,
I wonder…? You are an arbitrary man in every respect."
"Yeah, I am. That's why I came here whether you like it or not." He knew that the girl before him had drawn in her breath.
With a theatrical gesture, Subaru bowed, seemingly to work himself into the girl's blue eyes.
And then—
"I'm getting you out of here, Beatrice— This time, my hand's gonna lead you right out under the big ol' sun, and we'll play around until that dress is totally black from mud."
Faced with Subaru's provocative words, the girl—Beatrice—remained seated on the same stool as she always did, clutching her own book.
With those arms still wrapped tight around her black-bound book, she stared at Subaru, trembling.