3.3

By the time the three returned to the mansion, the sunrays were heavily tilted, as it was well into the evening.

As they stood before Roswaal Manor, bathed by the evening sun, a lone man collapsed onto the ground.

It was none other than Subaru Natsuki. He set the oversize keg aside and flopped onto the ground, breathing hard.

"I made it… I made it! …Good job, me! Totally good job!"

"Yes, yes, well done."

"Yes, yes, much appreciated."

The twin maids sandwiched the fallen Subaru as they gave him stiff, formal thanks for his labors.

Ram's coolness was entirely normal, but Rem's bluntness was no doubt due to her anger at seeing Ram leading Subaru by his hand when they met up after shopping in the village.

The first words out of Rem's mouth had been, "You and Sister seem to be getting along nicely."

That made Subaru regret the decisions he had made. He wanted to make up for it somehow, so when she'd made him carry a heavy barrel back to the mansion out of apparent spite, he hoped it would improve her impression of him just a little.

Rem spoke down toward Subaru.

"Well, then, we shall return to the mansion ahead of you. Take your time."

She then picked up the large barrel as if it were filled with feathers.

Subaru could bench-press about 175 pounds, but he had serious doubts that he could lift that barrel above his shoulders. And yet, he'd just seen Rem pick up the heavy object with one hand while still carrying miscellaneous objects in her other arm.

Subaru laughed drily at the pretty picture it all made.

"You didn't need me to carry that, did you?"

"As you can see, not at all."

Ram wasn't minded to pamper Subaru's inner boy at all. As he saw Rem casually walk off while carrying the cask, he was painfully aware that his grunt work had been meaningless.

"So why'd you make me do it, then? Was it seriously just a grudge against me? Stop bullying the new guy, sheesh."

"Do you not understand, Barusu? It is out of consideration for you, of course."

"I don't get what you mean by 'consideration' here."

"Barusu, what would Lady Emilia think if she saw you coming back carrying nothing but a small bag full of spices behind Rem while she carried a large, heavy object?"

"You're such a considerate supervisor, it leaves me speechless!"

As Ram knelt, he expressed deep gratitude toward her. If Subaru had come back full of himself carrying a little bag while a girl smaller than him lugged around something huge…and Emilia had seen… Just picturing it was enough to make him want to die.

Rem, who had gone to the mansion ahead of them, returned during their exchange, looking down at the two.

"Sister, Master Roswaal summons us."

Ram responded quickly to the mention of her master on her little sister's lips. Instantly, her usual laid-back attitude vanished; she straightened herself and looked down at Subaru.

"What are you doing, Barusu? Do you intend to make Master Roswaal wait?"

"Just because you two know something doesn't mean I do. Er, what, this is a meeting with all the servants?"

Subaru felt like he was being treated like a child who was slow on the uptake as he followed behind the others. Along the way, he straightened himself in accordance with Ram's lessons and opened the mansion's front doors. As he did so, Roswaal, the lord of the manor, awaited the three with open arms.

"Ohhhh, you were together, were you nooot? That indeed saves me some tiiime."

He had indigo hair and oddly colored eyes, one blue, one yellow. He had the delicate build of a pretty boy, but the clown makeup adorning his face put it all to waste. But all that included, the air he gave off felt different somehow.

"Are you wearing that to go out somewhere?"

"Precisely. I actually do not faaavor formal wear like this, either, but it cannot be heeelped. The other paaarty is troublesome to deal with in normal attire, so I am forced to go out wearing thiiis."

Usually, Roswaal indulged in his eccentric taste in clothing. It had been some time since Subaru had seen him wearing something with geometrical patterns, lacking the usual clownish spirit. Or rather, it was the very first time.

Subaru could think of only two possibilities as to why Roswaal would be wearing such an outfit. Ram and Rem, thinking the same thing as Subaru, aired both possibilities simultaneously.

"Entertaining a guest?"

"Going on a trip?"

Faced with questions from all his servants, a pained smile came over Roswaal as he pointed at Ram.

"Ram is correct… I am heading out. A somewhat troooublesome message has arrived, you see. There is something I must check in the environs of Garfiel, though I do not plan on being very laaate."

Having never heard that particular word before, Subaru couldn't be certain whether it was the name of a person or a place. But given that the twins seemed to know what he was talking about, Subaru nodded without objection.

"For that reaaason, I do not believe I shall be back tonight, so…Ram, Rem, I leave matters in your hands."

"Yes, if you command it."

"Yes, even at the cost of my life."

Roswaal acknowledged the pair's immediate replies with his oddly colored eyes alone before gazing at Subaru with them. Subaru, feeling backed into a corner by the differently colored glints, squirmed uncomfortably.

"Sorry, I'm not loyal enough to swear even at the cost of my life yet."

"That is fine and weeell. If you swore that all of a sudden, it would feel raaather disconcerting. But I leave things in yooour hands as well, Subaru."

Roswaal patted Subaru's shoulder, one eye closed, so that only his yellow iris was visible.

"This has a fishy aroma to it. I can cooount on you to take care of Lady Emilia, yes?"

"Yeah, you can seriously count on me for that."

That went without saying.

Subaru didn't know how much of a read Roswaal had on the situation. He didn't know, but he'd picked up this much…

—This had never happened before.

Perhaps it truly meant that Subaru's actions had changed the world around him.

Nodding, Roswaal gave Subaru a satisfied smile before giving his faithful twin retainers various instructions.

"Well, theeen, I shall be off. I pray that nothing shall occuuur."

As he spoke, Roswaal went out the entrance, with the three of them watching him go. But Subaru belatedly realized that there was no coach or carriage to whisk Roswaal away.

Surely Roswaal wasn't going to walk—

"Well, I leave it in your hands—"

When Roswaal spoke, his overcoat flapped as he made a light leap. And then, Subaru saw: Roswaal's body sailed up into the sky, wind wrapping around it as he soared at high speed. Subaru's mouth opened in surprise as Roswaal rose almost as high as the clouds, heading toward the mountains, growing smaller, and finally vanishing from view.

"H-he flew… Geez, magic's amazing stuff."

Subaru voiced his admiration at the solo flying he had just witnessed. In contrast, the sisters, clearly accustomed to Roswaal's flight magic, quickly switched gears. They instantly established the order of affairs in the mansion in the absence of their master.

"Even if Master Roswaal is absent, our duties do not change. Indeed, the fact that he is not present means we must be even more diligent," said Rem.

"That's a nice professional attitude. Okay, then, let's get this started!"

Rem began divvying up work as Subaru rolled up his sleeves, burning with enthusiasm.

Of course, he wasn't just fired up about work but about the changing situation, too.

The change clearly made the twins expect a potential attack on the mansion. They would be securely guarding the mansion, but Subaru, who knew with certainty an attack was coming, was even more on guard than they.

He needed to discover the shaman's identity without a single moment to lose.

If the other side was acting faster, there was no doubt in his mind that the visit to the village that day had triggered it. In other words, Subaru's decoy plan had worked as he had meant it to.

All Subaru had to do now was confirm his suspicions and smoke the shaman out.