"--That was a pretty cool threat."
Fifteen minutes after the declaration of war with the Magical Beast Forest in sight, Ram said this as she glanced at Subaru standing next to her.
"If you think about it calmly, it's not like Barusu has to fight on the front lines."
「Oi, oi, wait a second. That is certainly true, but look at my brimming enthusiasm. I'm living a fantasy right now, using an honorable one-handed sword inherited from the village youth group!」
Subaru: "If Lady Beatrice hadn't stopped Balusu from going there unarmed, he probably wouldn't have been able to obtain that sword. Going there empty-handed would have made him a burden."
"I honestly can't deny that."
Subaru slumped his shoulders and took a sigh as he tried to grip the unfamiliar handle.
It was a one-handed sword with a black scabbard and a copper handle, the blade about the length of Subaru's arm. Subaru couldn't hide his confusion at how light it felt, as it was a weapon he had obtained following the advice of Beatrice, who had hastily stopped Subaru as he was about to enter the Forest of Demonic Beasts barehanded.
The seriousness of the situation only deepened with the passage of time. It was because of this sense of urgency that I almost chose to intervene immediately, but looking back on it calmly, I can honestly say that it was a suicidal act.
The tricky thing about that girl with the vertical rolls was that she pretended to be completely unapproachable, but in the end did a good job.
"By the way, can you use a sword, Barusu?"
"I don't know, it's a bit tricky. I have a second dan in middle school kendo, but I don't think you can treat real swordsmanship and school kendo the same."
Subaru responded as he felt the weight of the sword dangling from his waist.
I spent three years in middle school, and then whenever I had free time I would practice for no reason. I think I can use it to some extent compared to a beginner who has never touched it before, but I don't think I've progressed beyond the level of having scratched the surface.
The mismatched one-handed sword was a gift from a young man in the village youth group.
I couldn't just tell him honestly that I was about to enter the Forest of Magical Beasts, so I had to come up with a rather lame excuse before they handed him over, but it's unclear at this point how useful he will be.
And that's not all that has been entrusted to the village.
"In my pocket... I had some sweets, a beautiful stone, and woah! There was a bug in it!"
As he searched through his pockets, which were crammed with various items, Subaru cried out at the unpleasant sensation he felt. The winged insect, trapped in a cramped space, left Subaru's hand and disappeared into the depths of the forest. Seeing it off, Subaru made a motion of wiping his forehead,
"What a bunch of brats taking advantage of the situation. I'll give them a lecture later."
"It's proof that he admires me. I wonder what's so good about a guy like him."
"In the innocent eyes of a child, the true essence of who I am as a man shines."
Ram looked as if she was about to snort with a blank look in her eyes. Subaru shook his head from side to side and pointed his finger at her, "That's it."
"This time it's not just me, it's a thank you for Rem mixed in too. Actually, I'm more like the person who delivers it to Rem. Got it, just watch?"
"...I see."
Ram sounded hesitant to accept the situation, and Subaru nodded repeatedly with a satisfied look on his face.
The exchange before they left the village had touched a chord with Subaru, and he hoped that it had touched the same chord with Ram, who had been watching it as well.
--Leave the village and enter the forest of magical beasts.
As Subaru and the others tried to hide from the villagers and enter the forest, they were noticed by children who were still feeling the effects of having their mana stolen.
As they were about to thank Subaru and Rem in person, when they noticed them, they stuffed various things into Subaru's pockets as a token of appreciation.
The sweets, the beautiful rocks, even the winged insect were all expressions of their gratitude to them. There was no way they could treat them carelessly. The winged insect fled, though.
And so, seeing Subaru shaken at being forced to show such unnecessary gratitude, the children smiled and said to him,
"I want to thank Remrin too, so please bring her over later..."
How dangerous a place is she in right now, and why is she risking her life to fight?
Kids don't know that, and they don't need to know that.
because--,
"Don't worry, you little brats. Any mischievous brats who venture into a dark forest in the middle of the night will receive a lecture together with their rash actions without consulting their big sister."
We might also add a foolish boy who recklessly wanders into the forest and gets bitten all over by a dog, causing a great deal of trouble to those around him.
Wouldn't it be exhilarating to sit in seiza all night and listen to Muraosa's lecture?
Naturally, my lips curled up as I imagined the future.
And as Subaru grinned slightly,
"Even so, your steps are quite slow, Barusu."
Ram spoke as she turned to look at Subaru from far away, looking at him in shock.
Ram walked effortlessly through the forest, despite it being a difficult place to walk on. Even though she was wearing her usual maid outfit, her steps were no different to when she was crossing the gardens of a mansion.
On the other hand, Subaru
Subaru: "C-c-take it easy. I'm short on blood and guts. Come to think of it, I forgot to ask Emilia-tan to say goodbye!"
"I haven't said 'I'm home' yet, so the 'goodbye' I said last night is valid."
"I, I guess that's how it is...?"
Struggling with a shaky body and a shaking head, he staggers forward, using his sword in one hand as a walking stick.
The march was not fast by any stretch of the imagination, and this only made Ram, who was ahead of them, feel impatient.
Unlike last night, we searched the forest in the daylight hours. Visibility was much clearer than after sunset, but the dense foliage still made it difficult to see.
I thought I was walking in the same place as last night, but I couldn't deny the possibility that I was going in the wrong direction. I honestly think that if I had been alone, I might have ended up lost, not even knowing where to exit, because the depth of the forest can distort even the sense of direction of those who enter it.
"Balus, please wait a bit more. ――Clairvoyance, awakened."
Ram restrained me with her hand and muttered something, her right eye turning bright red.
Since entering the forest, Ram has been periodically using her clairvoyance to search for Rem, who should be in the forest. Unfortunately, however, she has yet to see any results.
Perhaps it was not within Ram's range, orーー,
"Don't imagine anything bad. Fate will be overjoyed to make it come true..."
I hit myself on the head to bury the worst-case scenario that came to mind.
Three or four hours had already passed since Rem had deceived her sister and the villagers and entered the forest. Compared to us, who were following her late, it was impossible to imagine how far into the forest she had gone. However, considering the extraordinary nature of her goal, running from one end of the forest to the other was not enough.
Once again, we are reminded of what Rem wants and how difficult it is for Subaru himself to survive.
Even though I understand that, I am still amazed at my own selfishness and can't make up my mind.
「Ah, how pathetic. Concentrate, concentrate, me. Just focus on guarding the defenseless Ram while she is using her Clairvoyance, and don't think about anything else.」
He unsheathed his one-handed sword and cut lightly through the air, checking how it felt.
The sound it makes cutting through the air is quiet, and it is slightly lighter than a bokuto. The length of the blade makes it easier to handle, and the only thing left to consider is whether or not you are prepared to handle a real sword.
"In real combat, they say it's hard to even line the blade with a real sword."
When handled by an amateur, the blade will wobble and will not be able to cut things in a straight line.
He raised his blade towards a thin tree branch in front of him, and with a single slash from directly below—the branch, about the thickness of Subaru's wrist, was easily severed, spinning and falling to the ground.
Subaru couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow," praising his skill. He sighed in admiration at how much less of a response it had, and continued his sword dance.
Once, twice, with each swing, branches and leaves fly everywhere, the ferocity of the slash increases.
Reaffirming that the three years of junior high school and the practice swings I had been doing thereafter had really paid off, I got carried away and swung the blade sideways.
"a"
With a high-pitched clang, the blade was buried halfway into the thick tree trunk.
Getting in was easy, escaping was difficult. The buried blade was barely budgeable, and Subaru broke out into a cold sweat as he looked back at Ram, confirming that she was still sharing his view with him through his clairvoyance, and with all his might, he put his foot down on the trunk and struggled to pull out his sword.
「This is bad, this is bad, this is really uncool! Losing my sword like this is so lame! Take it, get it out, even if it gets cut in half, just get it out...」
"--Balus, something is looking at me."
Behind Subaru, who was struggling to pull out the sword that had stabbed him, Ram, whose clairvoyance had caused her to lose sight of the immediate area, shouted.
--Subaru was startled by her warning that something was watching them. She could share the view of others, so that meant that the presence was,
"Get us within visual range...!"
Letting go of the handle that he couldn't pull out, Subaru frantically looked around. And to his left - a shadow leapt across the tree branches and approached him with incredible speed.
Seeing that it was a quadrupedal beast that he was already tired of seeing, Subaru immediately abandoned the act of drawing his sword. He bent down and picked up a few convenient stones,
"I don't have time to pull out my holy sword, so take this!!"
Aiming at the shadow leaping through the air, he threw a fist-sized rock with all his might. The spinning mass had the power to instantly incapacitate the target if it hit directly, but this was an amateur throw. Especially when the target was moving, it would be a miracle if he managed to hit it at all.
Subaru's successive throws were in vain, and every stone he threw vanished into the distance into the forest. As if mocking Subaru's clumsy resistance, the beast bent the branch and glided with a sharp movement - landing on the ground, it lowered its body just a few steps away from Subaru. But,
"Yes, welcome!!"
As if he had read his move, he unleashed a full swing that was somewhat of an uppercut.
The shot aimed at the face of the landing beast had chosen the iron scabbard, which had lost its contents, as its prey. It was perfectly timed, as he had predicted, to strike the beast once the stone had failed to ward it off. He had planned to crush the beast's nose with the thick handle of the scabbard.
"Huh!?"
There was an awful sound of a miss, and Subaru's feet slipped spectacularly on the dead grass.
At the moment of impact, the beast lowered its body even further and charged, slightly deflecting the point of intersection, and the sheath only managed to catch a small piece of the beast's fur on its back. Conversely, Subaru's bare back, which had been hit by the biggest of all swings, ended up being spread wide by the fangs of the twisting beast.
Directly behind him, the demonic beast scraped the ground and turned around, baring its fangs. Sensing fear at the nape of his neck, he tilted his head, and its sharp canines bit into Subaru's calf - right before,
"What are you playing at this crucial time?"
The storm catches the leaping demonic beast, greatly disrupting its movements as it floats in mid-air, causing it to miss its target.
The monster failed to take a defensive stance against the unexpected intervention. It rolled on the ground and immediately tried to stand up, but its limbs trembled violently and it was left crawling on the spot, unable to move.
Subaru re-gripped the sheath and stared at the motionless beast, breathing heavily. He raised the sheath up so he could strike at any time, and moved sideways towards Ram.
Ram pointed her palm at the crouching beast and, upon seeing Subaru standing next to her, snorted, "Hah!"
"Your armament has become quite poor in just a short space of time."
"I'll admit that my offensive power has dropped significantly and that's my fault. So, what's the situation now?"
Pointing at the motionless beast, he asks Ram what it must be doing. The beast has already closed its eyes and doesn't move a muscle, as if it were asleep.
After witnessing this, Ram gently lowered her palm, which was facing the demonic beast,
"It's done."
"teeth?"
"I told you it killed him."
Surprised by Ram's easy-going response, Subaru approached the beast, half believing it. He poked the body, which appeared to be asleep, with the tip of the sheath, and seeing no reaction, he decided to turn it over. Its limbs were spread limply, its tongue hanging out of its mouth, and it looked lifeless. It was definitely dead.
"What did I do to make this happen?"
"I told you, I have some wind magic. I used my wind blade to cut the tendons in his limbs, then closed his throat, killing him. I didn't intend to make him suffer for long."
Ram spoke as if it was nothing. Looking closely, it was clear to see that the tips of the limbs of the dead beast were dripping with blood, and the expression on its face indicated it was gasping in agony.
After checking all of this, Subaru couldn't help but have a lot of questions about Ram. How can she "use a little magic"? How is this not exhilarating enough for magic? This is no different from an assassin... etc.
However, it seemed Subaru wasn't the only one wanting to poke fun at his partner.
Before Subaru could select from the many candidates that had emerged, Ram looked at the one-handed sword that still remained halfway through the trunk,
"Useless"
"Ugh."
Concise, no-frills expressions are the most striking.
As Subaru kneels, clutching his chest, Ram shrugs lightly and moves towards the trunk where the sword is stuck. She then points her palm towards the tree, again gouging the surface of the trunk with her wind blade, and easily succeeds in freeing the sword. Subaru is frustrated, but hurriedly goes to block the one-handed sword that Ram has picked up and throws,
"Thanks, but let's stop spinning our bare swords vertically, okay!?"
Giving up on catching the sword, he retrieved it from the ground. Wiping it off, he put it back in its sheath, and while Subaru was thinking about how cold it was, Ram suddenly tilted her head,
"Even so, Urgarm went towards Barusu instead of the defenseless Ram. Just like last night, he seems to be quite popular with them."
"Ah, that's right. My pheromones are pretty excited."
Placing his hands together lightly on the corpse of the demonic beast, Subaru then scratched his neck and vaguely agreed with Ram.
The feeling that he was the priority target of the demonic beasts had continued since last night. As these results piled up, Subaru's prediction became more and more certain.
Anyway,
"So, did you see Rem with your clairvoyance earlier?"
「No, unfortunately. Maybe it's deeper in the forest. We'd better hurry. …But the chances of being attacked by Barusu will increase exponentially.」
Glancing at Subaru from the side, Ram touches her pale cheek as if deep in thought.
Her gaze went back and forth between Subaru and the monster, then she nodded, seemingly coming to a conclusion.
"After all, it looks weak."
"So that's the conclusion you came to after much deliberation. Excuse me."
"Well, it seems easy."
"The fundamental parts haven't changed, Onee-sama."
"Things aren't going to get better if we just keep talking. Let's go find Rem."
"...R-Really?"
Having a partner who never lets up on her own pace makes things a little difficult for Subaru. She pretends not to know what is going on in his mind and heads off into the depths of the forest.
As he chased after her, Subaru suddenly blurted out something that had been on his mind.
"May I ask what a hornless tree is?"
These were the words Ram had spoken herself before entering the forest.
Although it was a vague word, it was easy to imagine what he was saying. Ram didn't stop in her tracks, and without even turning around,
"Just as I heard, it's a derogatory term given to fools who are demons but have lost their horns."
At the mention of the word demon, the scene from last night came back to Subaru's mind.
I remember seeing Rem laughing in the forest, covered in blood. I'll never forget the sharp white horn growing from her forehead. She looked just like the demons I know from fairy tales.
However, there was no sign of a horn on Ram's forehead, even though she was supposed to be her twin. Of course, there was a possibility that she had one underneath the white prim that was an essential part of a maid's outfit, but that possibility had just been denied by Ram herself.
Perhaps understanding Subaru's silent dissatisfaction, Ram ran her hands through her pink hair,
"I lost my only horn in a small scuffle. Since then, I've made it a rule to rely on Rem for everything."
"...Ah, did you hear something bad?"
"why?"
Ram, who was walking ahead of him, turned around and tilted her head in a puzzled manner. Subaru responded by scratching his cheek,
"Well, I don't know how important horns are to the demon race, but I imagine it's a pretty big problem. Also, I thought maybe I was being quite rude."
"If that's the case, then it's a bit late to have dug it up now. --Well, don't worry."
After threatening Subaru in a slightly lower voice, Ram's face lightened slightly,
"Whatever the situation was back then, I've calmed down now. By losing my horn, I've gained something and saved a life. I think that's part of my destiny."
That's a very generous thing to do, Subaru thought to himself.
However, after saying that, Ram prefaced her statement with "But," and a shadow fell over her face.
"I'm sure Rem doesn't think that way. ――That's why we need to find her quickly."
Ram turned around and gestured towards me to stop.
This is the time for Clairvoyance to step in. This time, I'll be on the lookout for anything and be on the lookout for her surroundings.
Her right eye turns bright red, and her vision travels from here to there. As she leaps from one place to the next, she transfers to another, searching for the presence of her interest.
Subaru doesn't know, nor does he want to ask, how the act of borrowing the vision of someone on the same wavelength makes the world look, or how much of a burden it places on the user.
Every time he used his clairvoyance, tears of blood ran down Ram's pale cheeks, his legs trembled as if he had been walking all day, and his body stubbornly walked forward, shaking as if he had had dizziness several times. But still, Ram did not stop walking through the forest.
Subaru felt that he shouldn't leave it to Ram, who would never say anything about how hard or painful it was.
In essence, she and the twin Rem were similar in the end. If it was up to them to push themselves, they would do it without hesitation.
The women in that mansion, including Emilia, tend to prioritize others a little too much.
"You should always look down at your feet like me. I hate how uncool you are."
I kicked the grass under my feet. Then, the scattered grass got into my mouth and the dirt got into my eyes. It was a big miscalculation. I frantically kicked it, feeling extremely embarrassed at my indecisiveness.
But, thinking that this kind of foolishness suited him, Subaru had the illusion that his somewhat stiffened feelings had eased just a little.
that's why,
"Ram, are you worried about Rem?"
He asked, knowing it would be no good to disturb her consciousness while she was using her clairvoyance.
Ram, whose eyes were bloodshot and whose eyes were not focused on the situation, said a beat later.
"Of course. It's true that she is stronger than Ram. But that's no reason not to be worried."
"...Yeah"
Subaru: "No matter what she does, she may be much better than him, but Ram is still his older sister. That position will never waver."
With firm resolve, she exercised her position as older sister.
Until he found this out, Subaru had admitted that he had seriously underestimated her, thinking that she was only using her position to show off.
And now that he had admitted it, Subaru had no choice but to prepare himself.
"The ideal situation would have been to meet up with Rem first."
He said as he scratched his head and began doing stretching exercises.
Perhaps sensing something unsatisfying about Subaru's attitude, Ram, who had not achieved any results, ended her Clairvoyance and regained her sight.
She wiped the blood from her right eye with a cloth she had taken out of her pocket, then frowned suspiciously.
"Balus, what are you planning to do?"
"As it stands, it seems like I only came along to hold you back. Before we entered the forest, I told you that I would be of help in helping Rem."
Although there was some doubt, the odds of winning had improved to about seven to three. Of course, there was some concern about the real luck of drawing the remaining three, but
Subaru: "It's rare for someone with a 73 to have a high chance of winning. I can't just throw it away. ーーRam, are you willing to take a slightly risky path?"
"A young man in the middle of a forest with a ravenous beast - a maiden could hardly be in a more dangerous situation."
"You're just saying that, sister."
Subaru laughed, then took a deep breath and opened his eyes wide.
If Subaru was right, then this should change the situation. Even though he knew it was necessary, he couldn't stop the fear from building up in his heart.
--It's too late to stop being scared now. It's obvious that people are timid. Even if they're scared and holding back, there's no complaint if they can put their plans into action.
Subaru spoke, scolding himself, not sure whether it was weak or strong.
If Subaru was right, it was coming.
"Ram, actually I'm――"
--"I'm returning to death," he blurted out.
Subaru tried to break the taboo by telling her what he was forbidden to say. Ram's expression froze, as she had been preparing herself for what Subaru was about to say.
No――Time had stopped.
The world loses color, sound disappears, and the concept of time is completely blown away.
And so, in this world where stagnation was equally imposed on everything, one being who managed to escape these restrictions suddenly appeared before Subaru's very eyes.
"--Here it comes."
The murmuring doesn't actually become sound.
But I put all my venom into it, hoping that it would reach the one in front of me. If it resonates with me even a little, I'll feel relieved and very happy.
--In a world where time has stopped, the only thing unaffected by it is a black mist.
It appeared out of nowhere, and in front of the bluffing Subaru, the outline of an arm began to take shape. Fingers were born, a wrist developed, an elbow sprouted, and an upper arm developed - up to that point, it was the same mutation that the mist had witnessed in the previous times. However, this time, as it was the third time, there were even more changes.
"Up to my shoulders..."
Beyond the upper arms is what appears to be a shoulder.
The thing that stretched from the fingertips to the shoulder was already worthy of being called a proper "arm."
From the moment he first saw it, a clearer image gradually began to form. Each time he saw it, Subaru feared the mist would erode it even more, but he was given no time to savor it in detail.
Feeling eerie about the growing black mist, Subaru slides his fingers into his chest without hesitation.
It goes over the thin flesh of the chest, strokes the ribs, and heads straight for the heart protected inside the sternum.
Even though you know it's coming, once the pain exceeds a certain point it becomes unbearable.
The pain of having my heart gripped directly was indescribable without screaming and thrashing about like crazy.
The long, painful, unbearable hours of pain continue.
My heart went out of rhythm, blood was pumping out of control, and my whole body screamed in pain. Tears of blood spurted out of my eyes, and my clenched molars involuntarily cracked and shattered.
Subaru was in so much pain that it would not have been surprising if something so severe had happened, yet he was restraining himself, unable to release it through any outward reaction; he could only continue to endure it.
Eventually, the painful time faded away, and the field of vision became completely white――,
"--Balus?"
Upon hearing the call, Subaru found himself on his knees.
Drooling was trickling from his downcast mouth, and he hurriedly wiped it with his sleeve and stood up.
"Dangerous, dangerous, a daydream."
Subaru: "Just like Barusu, he's just recovering from an illness. Don't push yourself too hard, leave it to Ram. So, what should we do about Rem…"
As she spoke, Ram suddenly changed her expression and looked around.
In the silent forest, the only sounds were the branches swaying in the wind and the faint rustling of leaves. As Ram listened intently to these sounds, she saw Subaru,
"What did you do, Barusu?"
"...I decided to take a bit of a painful gamble."
There is no trace of that pain left anywhere in my body now.
Although he found the method repulsive, leaving only mental scars, he was at least a little grateful that he still had the physical strength to move around.
After all――,
"The wind is blowing... the smell of animals is getting closer. And there are a lot of them."
As the deep greenery began to rustle and lose its stillness, Ram's face suddenly fixed to the right. Drawn in that direction, she saw several red dots of light approaching from afar.
First there were five. Ram turned to face them, expecting to encounter them in just over ten seconds. Next to her, Subaru drew his one-handed sword from its sheath and prepared for the inevitable battle.
"I still haven't found Rem...!"
"Well, don't worry. We'll probably be able to meet up before too long."
"How can you be so sure?"
Ram was glaring at him with a sharp gaze, but he just shrugged.
"Rem's goal is to hunt down all the magical beasts in the forest. --As long as I'm here, they'll keep coming to see me as their prey. So eventually, Rem will have no choice but to come here."
I've been thinking about it for a long time. I've been wondering about it for a long time.
The reason why the demonic beast chose Subaru as its target.
In this repeating loop, Subaru would be cursed every time he encountered a magical beast. Rather than being an unavoidable fate, it was due to a kind of compulsion that caused Subaru to be chosen as the target whenever he encountered a magical beast.
The monsters overreact to Subaru's presence. The answer to why this is the case can be found from the words of a person who had a similar overreaction.
"The witch's scent."
Magical beasts are external enemies of mankind that are said to have been created by witches.
And they always overreacted to Subaru, who smelled like the witch. It was probably for the same reason that Subaru was attacked every time he entered the forest.
If the faint scent of it will attract the demonic beasts and make them appear, then let them smell it loud and clear.
It was so spectacular that all the magical beasts in the forest, all the ones that had cursed Subaru, gathered together, and even Rem, who had been chasing them, joined them.
That was the plan Subaru had come up with, to reunite with Rem and save himself as well.
--It's called the 『Natsuki Subaru Decoy Operation』.
As always, his fighting style did not put him at the forefront, but his plan worked well.
Once before, when he had been about to tell Emilia about Return by Death and a mist had appeared, he had remembered a few words that Beatrice had quietly uttered, and that helped him.
As the mist appeared, the witch's scent surrounding Subaru grew stronger.
--Perhaps that mist has something to do with the witch.
Therefore, whenever that mist appeared, the witch's presence emanating from Subaru grew stronger, ultimately acting as live bait to lure in the magical beasts.
The agony that cannot be conveyed to anyone and the excruciating pain that cannot be reported to anyone.
Subaru's mouth twisted as he felt the exhilaration of having taken advantage of the fate that had prepared all of this for him, leaving the threat looming before his very eyes behind.
--Ahh, I have finally dealt revenge on the fate that orchestrated this loop!
Cheering in his heart, he gripped his sword again and prepared to face the approaching demonic beast.
Then he spoke loudly to Ram, who was standing next to him.
"Well then, I'm really relying on you when it comes to fighting, so please take care of it!"
"Look back at what you said objectively later."
Following Ram's sigh, a blade of wind crashed into the herd approaching head-on.
--The battle with the demonic beasts was about to begin once again, with a new cast.