"Miss Frederica, thank you for your hard work."
As fatigue and thirst set in, someone gently offered her black tea. Its fragrance surprised Frederica slightly, and she looked at the person.
The man smiling at her with gentle features in appreciation of her efforts was someone she had to look down at. Tall and slender, Frederica was already taller than most men, but the person before her was small even compared with an average woman. His generosity, however, was the opposite of his height, and over the past few days, he had made a deep and favorable impression on her.
"-Lord Decker, thank you for your consideration."
On the top floor of the city hall, amid a crowd busy at work, the man-Decker O'Connell-personally brewed and offered her black tea, which Frederica gratefully accepted.
The soft, mellow fragrance filled her nostrils, bringing an involuntary smile to her face. Normally, as a maid, she should have handled this work, but the role assigned to Frederica in the Empire now made her hesitate to perform duties that had long since become second nature.
On the surface, Frederica was serving as a bodyguard for an important person in the Empire. Thinking about it now, since Otto and Garfiel's roles had not changed, there had actually been no need for her to abandon her occupation as a maid, but she had realized that too late.
Thus, she simply enjoyed the hot tea brewed by the commander bearing the heavy responsibilities here, gently moistening her tongue and throat. In fact, it was precisely because Decker had taken the initiative that she had discovered how skilled he was at brewing tea.
"An Imperial 'general' is quite good at this sort of thing, too."
"Haha, I'm honored by your praise. Though I couldn't say how the tea brewed by the other 'generals' would taste. In my case, my many sisters back home trained me."
"I see. Then I must thank your sisters, Lord Decker. Even amid all this bustle, they've allowed us to enjoy such delicious tea."
"Yes, after all, you never know what might prove useful someday... Of course, for a beauty such as yourself, Miss Frederica, I put more care into it than I would for my family."
There was no ulterior intent behind Decker's smoothly delivered words, so Frederica naturally accepted the compliment. Perhaps his sincerity was the result of living with so many sisters.
His attitude when complimenting women held such deep admiration that it could even make one feel embarrassed.
Initially, when she heard that someone nicknamed the "Womanizer" represented this city, she had been quite nervous and approached him warily.
"It would be quite troubling if anything happened to Emilia, Lady Petra, or Lady Beatrice."
But after meeting Decker in person, those worries had vanished.
The city had been plunged into chaos by a flying dragon disaster, yet outsiders had helped save lives. Perhaps that favorable impression was why Decker and the others had so readily accepted Frederica's group.
They also had Otto to thank for immediately seeking out the town's representative upon their arrival. His judgment had been entirely correct.
"I heard he won Lady Mizelda over the moment they met. Lord Otto really is dependable at times like these."
Had Otto himself heard that, he might have shrieked,
"I think there's something wrong with how you phrased that!"
But Frederica quietly nodded. Despite that thought, having Otto around had been an immense help to her.
After all, as things stood, Frederica and Otto, the older members of Emilia's group, bore considerable responsibility.
-Because Roswaal and Ram were acting separately from them.
"-"
After sneaking into the Empire to search for Subaru and Rem, everyone had split into two groups.
One consisted of Roswaal and Ram, and the other of the remaining six.
Emilia's group was responsible for making detailed inquiries, while the other two went to visit an Imperial noble said to have dealings with Roswaal.
Frederica had never had a clear grasp of whom Roswaal associated closely with, but she had never imagined his reach extended into the Empire. In any case, since asking an acquaintance was an option, Roswaal went to negotiate, while the group of six searched for Subaru and Rem through other avenues.
As a result, Frederica and Otto's duties had grown heavier.
"Though Lady Emilia is very enthusiastic and believes she must do her utmost, too."
She could not help smiling at the thought of how active Emilia had become, brimming with motivation and responsibility because she considered herself the oldest. If Emilia's camp strictly observed seniority and age, Puck and Beatrice would be the oldest, followed by Emilia.
Unable to replenish her mana after being separated from Subaru, Beatrice had entered an "energy-saving" state to limit her expenditure, spending most of her time asleep. That was why Emilia, the second oldest among them, was burning with enthusiasm.
In recognition of her eagerness, the group entrusted the final decisions to Emilia and continued searching for their lost companions.
-It was during that process that they heard a suspicious rumor.
"Rebels rising up against the Empire, and a black-haired girl supporting their leader..."
Upon hearing that the woman was named "Natsumi Schwarz," Frederica had completely stopped thinking, unable to understand what it meant.
Why would someone have the same name as a person she knew? As she struggled with her confusion, Otto solved the puzzle, explaining that the name was actually a message Subaru wanted to convey.
"Because he thinks dressing as a woman is the answer to everything... And apparently, it actually has helped somewhat, which only encourages that thinking even more. It worries me just thinking about it."
With an expression somewhere between surprise and understanding, Otto gave his opinion.
Subaru was also worried about causing conflict between the Kingdom and the Empire, so he wanted to conceal his identity. That was the conclusion the group ultimately reached.
Emilia alone kept asking until the end, "Why use the name 'Natsumi'...?"
She still found it strange that he had used the name of a woman he knew.
In any case-
"Miss Natsumi should be back before long. Miss Emilia and Miss Petra will finally have their wish."
"-Yes, indeed."
Decker nodded to Frederica, who had sunk into thought while enjoying the tea's fragrance. It had been confirmed that Natsumi Schwarz was actually Subaru, whom Emilia's group knew, and they expected to reunite with him soon.
The problem was that Rem, the other person they were searching for, had already-
"...If only we had managed to keep Miss Rem safe."
"It couldn't be helped under those circumstances. No one will blame you or the others, Lord Decker. Though it is certainly unfortunate."
As Decker lowered his eyes and spoke, Frederica slowly shook her head. Both people they were searching for had indeed been in the fortified city.
However, Subaru had gone out to negotiate with other cities, causing them to miss one another, while Rem had been abducted during the flying dragon disaster.
Apparently, she had volunteered to become a hostage in order to force the invading member of the Nine Divine Generals to retreat.
"-. She had only just awakened, yet she has already made it clear that she truly is Ram's sister."
Worried about Rem's safety, Frederica nevertheless voiced that impression.
Because of the Authority of the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, Frederica could not remember anything about Rem, whose "name" had been stolen. At the very least, she had no memory of ever interacting with her while she was awake.
All she knew came from Subaru's accounts and the fact that she looked identical to her twin sister, Ram. But it seemed her boldness was just like Ram's, too.
Otherwise, she would not have negotiated without yielding an inch even before one of the Nine Divine Generals, saving the city at its moment of crisis.
And since the other party had accepted the terms of the negotiation, they had reason to keep Rem alive.
Being able to believe that through logical reasoning was at least some consolation.
Otherwise, Frederica and the others should have set off immediately to track Rem down.
Of course, to be honest, she still wanted to rush out and search for her right now.
"If Ram were here, right now... No, she's a clever girl, so who can say?"
It was hard to say. That was Frederica's thought as someone who knew Ram well. Ram was intelligent, but also deeply affectionate. Frederica knew Subaru visited Rem every night, and Ram went to her younger sister's room just as often, if not far more frequently.
She wanted the sisters to be reunited.
-Because no matter how haughty she was, Ram was her dear little sister.
"Miss Frederica, please don't trouble yourself too much. The city's situation has settled down for now. We can finally discuss what comes next."
Decker spoke out of concern for Frederica, who had lightly pressed a hand to her chest. As he said, the wounds left by the flying dragons that had attacked the fortified city had finally been closed, and matters were sufficiently in order to discuss their next steps.
Of course, future developments depended on the direction those discussions took-
"-Second-Class General Decker!"
Just as she was about to answer Decker, a sharp, tense voice, though not an urgent one, rang through the city hall. The person who rushed up the stairs was one of Decker's subordinates.
"What is it?"
Decker turned and asked. His subordinate came before him and pressed a fist against his palm in front of his chest.
"I have a report. Several carriages have arrived south of the city, all from the Demon City."
"-! From the Demon City. Then!"
At the report, Frederica could not help leaning forward. Normally, she would have felt embarrassed by that, but now she could not spare it a thought. Seeing her reaction, Decker nodded deeply as well.
"They've returned? Just what I'd expect of someone important who wastes no time. Inform Miss Priscilla, Miss Petra, and the others immediately."
"Yes, sir!"
The people they had been discussing had returned. The good news filled Frederica with excitement as well. Her spirits, which had sunk over concern for Rem's safety, lifted somewhat. At the very least, they should have accomplished half their goal.
"What wonderful news, Miss Frederica."
Seeing her touch her chest in relief, Decker smiled gently.
"Yes."
Hearing his words, Frederica wanted to respond with her gratitude.
But-
"-Second-Class General, there is actually a problem."
The Imperial soldier interrupted Frederica before she could speak. Moreover, his unsettling opening made her catch her breath.
Decker seemed equally concerned. Looking toward his subordinate, who had spoken in a low voice, he lowered his own tone slightly and demanded,
"What is it?"
His subordinate hesitated for a moment, then-
"Although the carriages came from the Demon City, Miss Natsumi Schwarz was not among them... Apparently, she went missing in Chaosflame."
Indeed, fate cruelly announced that its pranks would continue.
Panting, she ran like the wind, taking care not to jostle the head of the girl in her arms.
Many people had arrived south of the city in carriages from the Demon City of Chaosflame. Upon hearing that news, Emilia had set her silver hair dancing as she rushed toward the reunion she had so long awaited.
"We'll see Subaru any moment now, Beatrice...!"
The little girl sleeping with her eyes closed in Emilia's arms was Beatrice.
To awaken her, who spent long periods asleep to limit her expenditure, she first needed to touch Subaru, her contracted partner, and receive mana from him.
Subaru's constitution also meant that problems would arise unless he gave Beatrice the mana inside him, so the two truly shared a fate.
Their close relationship, always holding hands and bringing smiles to those who saw them, had been forcibly torn apart after Subaru was sent flying to the Empire, resulting in this serious situation.
They had to get Subaru and Beatrice together as soon as possible.
And-
"-Subaru."
Emilia herself also wanted to confirm Subaru's safety as soon as she could. She had not been this restless since Puck unilaterally broke their contract and disappeared on his own-no, this was even worse than that.
Puck would probably be all right alone, but Subaru was different.
Unless someone who understood Subaru was by his side.
"Ooh, sorry!"
Forcing open her closed eyes, Emilia created a shortcut toward the city hall ahead.
She really should have gone through the entrance and taken the stairs to the top floor, but she was so anxious that she formed an ice foothold beneath her feet instead. Riding the pillar of ice rising straight from the ground, she shot upward with Beatrice in her arms.
Although she startled the guards and citizens, she simply could not help herself-
"Subaru!"
"Hmm, Emilia?"
Once the ice pillar reached the height of the top floor, Emilia jumped into the building.
Quite a few people had already gathered inside the city hall, and every one of them was startled by her momentum.
Among them, the one who calmly accepted her entrance was a woman with a strikingly powerful gaze and one prosthetic leg-Mizelda, leader of the people of Shudraq. Tapping the tip of her wooden prosthesis against the floor, she gazed at the ice pillar behind Emilia.
"You use magic in such convenient ways. Fundamentally different from us."
"Yes, because I was in a ve~ry big hurry... Ah, sorry for startling everyone! Um, well, I'll get rid of it right away. There!"
As Mizelda expressed her admiration, Emilia hurriedly broke the ice pillar down into mana.
In the Kingdom, using magic this way was quite normal, but in the Empire, magic users themselves were extremely rare. Although she had heard that many people in the Empire were warlike, she still found it very strange.
"In most cases, it's over as long as you defeat the opponent before they use magic."
"I agree with that, too. But you can't be too far away from them. It only works up close."
"That's when my bow comes into play. Though Taritta is better with a bow than I am."
Mizelda said that with a smile, and Emilia smiled back.
"I see."
She had heard the name "Taritta" many times. That person was presumably Mizelda's younger sister.
"-! R-right. Everyone who went south has returned, haven't they?"
Other things had distracted her for a moment, but this was why she had used magic to shorten her journey and hurry here.
Adjusting Beatrice in her arms, she looked around the top-floor hall. Here and there, she could see unfamiliar people dressed for travel, presumably evidence that they had arrived at the fortified city by carriage.
"Subaru! Are you here!? Everyone's come to get you! Otto and Petra... Lady Petra will be here soon, too!"
She looked all around, searching the crowd for the black-haired girl she longed to see.
As soon as she heard at the private home where they were staying that a caravan had reached the city, Emilia had excitedly picked Beatrice up and rushed to the city hall ahead of Petra and Otto.
Those two were surely hurrying toward the city hall to see Subaru as well. She felt the same as they did, but it was unfair of her to arrive first, panting for breath. Even knowing that, she still wanted to see Subaru sooner.
Beatrice felt the same, but she and Subaru-
"-! Subaru!"
Someone suddenly tapped her shoulder from behind, and Emilia turned reflexively.
Her reaction was so strong that the person who had tapped her shoulder was startled enough for their eyes to nearly pop out. But the person behind her with wide eyes was not the Subaru she was searching for.
"Emilia..."
"Ah, Frederica... You got here first. Um, well..."
Feeling awkward, Emilia did not know what expression to make. Of course, Frederica was worried about Subaru, too, so there was nothing strange about her already being at the city hall.
"Um, have you spoken to Subaru? You see, I want Beatrice to see him. I have things I want to say to Subaru, too, but Beatrice should go first..."
"-. There is something I must tell you."
"Huh?"
As Emilia made excuses for her impatience, Frederica lowered her beautiful emerald eyes slightly, her voice low as well. Emilia did not understand why she was behaving that way.
"Ah, Garfiel..."
Looking over, she saw that Frederica was not the only one already at the city hall. Garfiel was there, too.
With Petra and the others arriving a little later, every member of Emilia's group who had come to Guaral was now present. They had all come to welcome Subaru after their long separation.
Yes, Emilia had been so looking forward to their reunion-
"Unfortunately, Lord Subaru has gone missing once again in the Demon City of Chaosflame... Lord Subaru was not in any of the returning carriages."
Frederica delivered the report with great pain and sadness.
"Bro and Rem got taken away? What the heck happened!?"
Her round eyes wide, the girl stamped her feet and shouted. Her long golden hair was partly braided and partly tied into ponytails, the many ties on her head creating a distinctive hairstyle.
The girl, who looked eleven or twelve, gazed around at the adults in bewilderment. They were in the city hall of the fortified city of Guaral.
Those gathered in the hall on the top floor were connected either to this city or to the turmoil in the Empire.
Why had members of their camp gotten caught up in this turmoil? The question made Otto Suwen want to clutch his head and scream.
But they were facing Imperials who flew a national flag bearing a wolf pierced by a sword, so he could not show weakness, and had kept his expression tightly set in advance.
"I came back and the whole city was a mess, and even the walls were gone! This is awful! And my big brother's missing too. I was so shocked my eyes started spinning~!"
"Ah~ ooh~"
As the girl stamped hard against the floor and spoke, her eyes and head really did start spinning.
The little girl beside her, who looked about the same age, was also blond. Affected by her, she began to groan as well.
The two girls' complaints left the adults unable to hide their bewilderment and confusion.
The situation certainly needed someone to step in and mediate, but Otto kept wondering whether he should intervene, held back from acting by an inexplicable inner conflict.
"...That groaning child, haven't I seen her somewhere...?"
Otto felt he had seen the little girl who could not form meaningful words beside the girl who had spoken first somewhere before.
He generally never forgot anyone he had spoken to, but his memories grew hazy if he had been dead drunk.
Since starting work in Emilia's camp, he had done his utmost to avoid drinking so much that he lost his memory, but perhaps he had still met this little girl while utterly drunk?
"Hey, are my brother and the others okay? Does anyone know...?"
"-Before that, may I confirm something, miss?"
"Hmm? What is it, what is it, dear Dickel?"
Leaving the brooding Otto aside, the one who spoke to the girl was Dickel, the city's representative. Otto had spoken with him several times already and regarded him as trustworthy.
At least, people in the Empire who could be reasoned with were truly rare. Dickel furrowed his thick eyebrows and looked down at the girl.
"If my understanding is correct, are you Miss Medium herself?"
"Huh? Yes, why? Can't you tell just by looking?"
"Ooh~!"
The girl put her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest-she had been addressed as Medium, and the little girl beside her whom Otto could not place struck the same pose.
Her words left Dickel looking confused, and his gaze turned to the figure on Medium's other side. Then-
"-Lord Abel, what is this?"
"The result of Olbart Dunkelkenn's technique. Her answer just now failed to address the heart of your question because of her inherent disposition, not because she now looks like this."
"I see, so it was First General Olbart's doing... I'm glad you're all safe and sound."
"If you can call this safe and sound."
Looking relieved by the explanation, Dickel lightly touched his chin. The person who had prompted that response casually folded his arms and glanced at Medium.
"Those who stayed behind are confused. Your shrunken appearance startled them."
"Me?... Ah! Right! Sorry, sorry, I've gotten used to being small! Everyone, I've shrunk! Just like little Subaru!"
Raising her hands with her little body, Medium explained her situation to everyone.
Otto still did not understand even after hearing that, but the other Imperials gave off an air of comprehension. Their own lack of understanding certainly had to do with insufficient information, but Otto's group had not missed the unmissable detail in what she had just said.
"-Subaru."
"Ooh, ah, ooh..."
The sound came at the same time as the quiet murmur, and perhaps both meant to express the same thing. Clearly different from her earlier groans, the meaningful sound came from the downcast little girl beside Medium. And the one who had spoken a word with the same meaning as hers was-
"Are you worried about Subaru too?"
It was Emilia, concerned about the little girl. Holding the sleeping Beatrice in her arms, she was one of those particularly disheartened to hear that Subaru was not among those who had returned from the Demon City.
Compared with her and Petra, Otto's dejection was hardly worth mentioning.
But that was not because he had had a feeling that their reunion might not go so smoothly this time.
In any case-
"Ooh~. Ah~ ooh."
"No, I don't think it's your fault. Subaru not being here really does make me ve~ry sad, but now isn't the time to worry, because Subaru has it harder than we do."
"Ooh..."
"Are you worried? Thank you. You're having a hard time too."
Emilia could communicate with the dejected little girl. Although the little girl could not utter any words with a clear meaning, Emilia seemed to understand her, looking straight into her eyes as they conversed.