"What do you plan to do now?" Ricardo asked Dona Fox.
Dona Fox closed her eyes and said nothing.
"You did the right thing. Giving up was the sensible choice. But you should at least fulfill your responsibility to the Hoshin Company. You have to dissolve the company, then arrange jobs for the employees."
Ricardo was discussing the future with Dona Fox.
Suddenly, a tremor like an earthquake came from beneath their feet.
The next moment, a wall of water appeared ahead and rushed toward them like a vehicle barreling out of control, about to crush the entire city beneath it.
In an instant, Ricardo grabbed Dona Fox.
But the current still swallowed them both in a flash.
The flood disaster that had once been prevented struck the recuperating Water Gate City again.
Natsuki Subaru looked down at the city being crushed by the current and sighed softly.
"With a city designed like this, once the water pours in, there's nowhere to escape."
"Just like flooding an anthill. The effect is overwhelming."
"It really does live up to being a city built to oppose the Witch Cult."
The current below submerged the fleeing residents, and houses collapsed one after another.
This plan had come from the Roswaal inside his mind.
With Roswaal's knowledge and advice, along with Natsuki Subaru having Shaula move the four control towers, there truly was no longer anyone who could escape the Water Gate City.
Roswaal stood beside him, looking down at the tragedy below as though admiring the terrifying effects of the flood.
Behind him, Frederica wore a look of disgust.
Petra held Natsuki Subaru's hand and quietly told him that Shaula had completed the planned operation. Now, probably not even the shelters would be spared the flood.
Natsuki Subaru looked at Petra.
Involving such a young child in the plan, along with all the people caught up in the incident, filled him with a belated sense of guilt.
An apologetic look appeared on his face.
Seeing Natsuki Subaru's expression, Frederica's voice turned cold.
"Rather than making that face, you should have given up in the first place."
Natsuki Subaru looked at her.
That was the kind of person Frederica was.
She cared more about the tragedies suffered by those around her than her own hardships.
Even as a mere phantom in his mind, she could not fully comply with Natsuki Subaru's actions and plans.
These retainers in his mind were all acting with the ultimate goal of bringing back "Natsuki Subaru."
Yet Frederica still could not turn a blind eye to the tragedy before her.
In that respect, she really was very much like her younger brother, Garfiel.
"So, what do you intend to do?" Roswaal asked Natsuki Subaru.
Natsuki Subaru looked down at the Water Gate City.
"Let's start with the most troublesome person."
For a moment, everyone outside the screen was speechless.
They marveled at the audacity of Natsuki Subaru's scheme, while also feeling disgust toward the Roswaal who appeared in his mind and supplied him with ideas.
The Water Gate City's layout, shelters, control towers, currents, and escape routes had all been incorporated into the plan.
The instant the flood poured in, that recuperating city became a water prison that trapped everyone inside.
Just then, the screen abruptly cut out.
A new question appeared.
[Two observers will be randomly selected for this round of questions.] [In the Gluttony route's future, whom did Natsuki Subaru consider the most troublesome person?] [A. Reinhard] [B. Garfiel] [C. Otto Suwen] [D. Echidna (Dona Fox)] [Selected respondents: Felt, Ram.]
After the question appeared, everyone fell silent.
The current shown on the screen moments earlier still seemed to linger before everyone's eyes.
The entire Water Gate City had been engulfed by the flood, the control towers had been moved, the shelters had been rendered useless, and countless ordinary people had been caught up in it.
It was already an appalling atrocity.
[Felt: Me?] [Felt: I choose A.] [Felt: Reinhard is the strongest. No one can beat him. Once he gets there, he'll cut through any plan with a single swing of his sword, right?] [Reinhard: Lady Felt...] [Emilia: But the question seems to be asking who Subaru considers the most troublesome.] [Felt: Who could be more troublesome than Reinhard? B, C, and D combined couldn't beat him.] [Reinhard: In a head-on battle, Lady Felt's assessment is correct.] [Reinhard: However, I suspect the screen isn't asking about combat strength.] [Ram: I choose C.] [Ram: As irritating as it is, among the people Barusu knows, this person should be the most troublesome.] [Otto: Huh?] [Otto: Why would you think that?] [Otto: I'm already flattered just to be among the options. I never imagined I could be compared with those people.]
The screen immediately announced the answer.
[Answers complete.] [Felt answered incorrectly.] [Ram answered correctly.] [Correct answer: C. Otto Suwen.]
The chat fell silent.
[Ram: The strongest person isn't necessarily the most troublesome.] [Ram: If an idiot like Barusu truly wanted to destroy a city, of course he would find a way to avoid a head-on battle.] [Ram: Reinhard is absurdly strong, so the threat he poses is out in the open.] [Ram: But Otto Suwen is different.] [Ram: He's noisy normally, and even noisier when it matters.] [Ram: As long as he's alive, he'll work somewhere Barusu can't see, gradually putting the situation Barusu has thrown into chaos back in order.] [Otto: Miss Ram...] [Otto: I can't tell whether you're praising me or insulting me.] [Ram: Ram wasn't praising you.] [Otto: Then you really were insulting me!]
Natsuki Subaru looked at that name.
Otto Suwen.
He still did not remember this person.
But Reikin had mentioned that name before dying.
Now Ram, too, had chosen him without hesitation.
It stirred an indescribable feeling in Natsuki Subaru's heart.
Only after a while did words appear in the chat again.
[Felt: Ah-what the hell is this?] [Felt: Tch, that Otto doesn't look like much of a fighter.] [Reinhard: Precisely for that reason, he's easier to overlook.] [Reinhard: Lady Felt, the screen is right. Getting people caught in chaos to take action again isn't something just anyone can do.] [Felt: You sure admitted that quickly.] [Reinhard: Because it's the truth.]
Otto finally could not hold back his complaints.
[Otto: Seriously, why am I being singled out by the enemy here...?] [Otto: This isn't anything to be happy about.] [Anastasia: Being considered troublesome by the enemy is already very high praise, Mr. Otto.] [Otto: Miss Anastasia, please don't say it in that tone too!]
Emilia looked at the screen, her voice very soft.
[Emilia: Mr. Otto, thank you.]
Otto abruptly fell silent.
That future had not happened here yet.
His present self had not done anything yet, either.
Yet those words of thanks still came through the screen.
They reached that person who always complained, who always got dragged into trouble, yet could never bring himself to leave others alone.
[Calculating rewards.] [Correct respondent: Ram.] [Reward one: Memory fragments concerning Rem (Natsuki Subaru's perspective]
The instant that line appeared, Ram's expression finally changed.
[Ram: Rem?]
She called out her younger sister's name almost immediately.
But the screen did not respond.
The next instant, the black screen before Ram's eyes suddenly expanded.