[ "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.
...
"My~ Emilia-Sama and Subaru. It feels truly~ like it's been a long time~ ah."
After joining up with Ram, Ram led them to Roswaal's temporary residence.
"If you really thought that, you should have taken more decent countermeasures… No, what on earth happened to you?" Subaru looked at the Roswaal in front of him, dazed. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"This… is not optimistic."
Anastasia was somewhat shocked.
"Hey, hey, why are you covered in wounds, nyaa?! You need urgent treatment!"
Ferris said, covering his mouth.
—
[ Roswaal lay on the bed… in a sense, one could say he was lying on a sickbed.
His entire body was wrapped in blood-stained bandages, bandages that wrapped him tightly; this injury looked like he was on the verge of death.
"Hey~ hey, are you really going to ask that? I am, after all, a man, and making such a fool of myself in public is also quite uncomfortable. Not asking for the reason would be the considerate thing to do, right?"
"How can you say that! What on earth happened, Roswaal? To be so severely injured… that it would actually be you who got hurt!" ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"So how did this injury come about?"
Ferris was extremely curious.
"It is the re~sult of me for~cibly attempting the trial. Because I am not a half-blood demi-human, I did not ful~fill the conditions, so entering the ruins by force results in punishment. The greater the magic, the grea~ter the damage from the punishment. So, it ended up like this."
Roswaal explained.
"Hmm? Then in that case, Subaru might just be pushed back, nyaa."
Ferris said.
"If that were the case, I should also only suffer mild discomfort."
Wilhelm said.
—
[ Then, Subaru and Emilia learned some things from Roswaal, such as that the villagers were settled in the "Great Sanctuary," that this place was Echidna's graveyard, etc.
"The stone was given to us by Frederica before we set off. Without a doubt, the stone reacted to the barrier, and thereby. Caused the transfer. Since it was Emilia who was originally holding the stone…"
The discussion continued.
"The target must have been Emilia-Sama. Is that what Barusu wants to say?" Ram added to Subaru's words.
"In other words, the original arrangement should have been for Emilia to faint due to the barrier's power first, and then be transported to another place by the shining stone. In this way, Subaru, who was transported away, was just for~tunate." Roswaal said. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Eh? What the master said and the actual function of the shining stone, how…"
Outside the screen, Frederica was dazed.
With the shining stone, half-blood demi-humans could enter the barrier; according to the original arrangement, Emilia-Sama should have safely arrived at the Sanctuary.
And because Lord Subaru wasn't holding the shining stone, he shouldn't have been transported away either.
—
[ "Um, Frederica said that the stone is necessary to pass through the barrier, so she made me bring the stone… Is what she said true?" Emilia asked Roswaal, trembling.
"Regrettably… what is needed to pass through the barrier is the correct procedure, not an item. In this way, this stone became proof of Frederica's ulterior motives." ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"…Master, that is not what you told me at the time, right?"
Outside the screen, Frederica looked at Roswaal and said.
"Oh my~ there was no other way. These were all ne~cessary steps to complete the plan."
Roswaal laughed awkwardly.
"Really, hurry up and apologize, Roswaal… Ah, I'm sorry, Frederica, I misunderstood you at the time."
"Ah, no, it is nothing. It was the Master's words that caused you to misunderstand."
—
[ "Moreover, the current situation of the 'Sanctuary' is not optimistic." Roswaal said on the screen.
"What does the situation of the 'Sanctuary' refer to? Has something happened here now?" Emilia asked worriedly.
"Don't you find it strange, Emilia-Sama, that the residents who fled to the 'Sanctuary,' and Ram and I, did not return to the mansion but chose to stay?"
"What? I thought… it was because Roswaal was injured."
Facing Emilia's explanation, Roswaal shook his head and said, "At present, all of us are in a situation of being under house arrest in the 'Sanctuary.' Whether it is me, Ram, or the villagers of Arlam Village… ah, from the moment you entered here, the two of you are the same too."
"Ah?" Natsuki Subaru and Emilia were stunned together. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Ah, I forgot to explain to everyone. The Sanctuary is a place where half-blood demi-humans cannot enter or leave, unless they have a shining stone."
Emilia said.
"But Subaru and Otto and the others… Oh~ ah."
Ferris suddenly understood.
Although they could leave, the problem was that Emilia-Sama could not leave.
If the core person couldn't leave, what was the point of them leaving?
—
[ "Isn't there any way to solve it? For example… Right! Since touching the barrier makes you faint, let someone who isn't affected by the barrier carry the fainted person out, or something…"
On the screen, they learned the fact that they couldn't leave, and then Garfiel joined the conversation.
Subaru thought of this method.
"Ah… Subaru, that's amazing! You're right. If we use this method, we can get everyone out~"
Emilia's face showed joy.
"That is indeed a pleasant suggestion, but this old woman advises you to give up that thought. This old woman does not want to become an empty shell without a soul." And at this moment, another person joined the conversation.
Light red long hair, pointed long ears.
The same as the doll Ryuzu that Subaru met before. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"This… there can be no mistake, there can be no mistake. Why… what is going on?"
Old Man Rom was completely thrown into chaos.
If the one who looked like a doll just now was just his old eyes playing tricks on him, then this one was definitely not a mistake.
He was silent for a moment, then couldn't help but raise his voice:
"Why are you here, Witch 'Sphinx'!"
"…"
On the other side, the Sword Demon Wilhelm also couldn't help but grip the hilt of his sword, bursting with sword qi.
"Hey, what are you talking about?!"
Garfiel was very dissatisfied.
"It seems I ne~ed to clari~fy one point~. That woman, that failed product of the teacher, has already been elimi~nated... This was told to me~ by Lady Priscilla's former hus~band, Leip Barielle~... my grand~mother's. Sim~ply put, she was heavily in~jured and fleeing at the time, my grand~mother went to pur~sue her, and then en~countered Leip-sama, who burned~ that wo~man to death~."
Roswaal said without dragging out his tone this time.
"Then… then, why does she look exactly the same?"
"Sim~ply put, she is a copy of the first-generation Ryu~zu. Natu~rally, she looks exac~tly the same~."
Roswaal answered Old Man Rom.
—
[ "I heard Gar-kun brought people from the outside in again… You really are a restless kid."
"Um, who are you…" Subaru dared not say more.
Just a moment ago, Ram whispered to Subaru to keep the previous encounter with the doll Ryuzu a secret.
"Pardon the late greeting, Emilia-Sama. This old woman is Ryuzu Bilma. This old woman is, for the time being, the representative of this settlement. As you can see, this old woman is just an old person." Ryuzu Bilma said so. ]
.....