A/N: You thought it would be another year, but it was me, Dio! Or, er… a chapter.

Full disclosure, part of the reason for the delay was that I wanted to make sure the timelines of these two matched up without having to go back and edit a published chapter.

So if you missed it, I also released a chapter a couple of days ago. Read that one first!

"Lord Roswaal, it seems Sister is returning."

The blue-haired maid's words cut through the silence of the night. It was nearly midnight, but Roswaal wasn't even close to tired. The anticipation was almost killing him.

"Hmm? She's coming back earlier than pla~nned," he responded, feigning ignorance as he pulled his tea cup away from his lips. While it was true that Ram was headed back sooner than she had originally anticipated, from Roswaal's perspective, she was right on schedule.

"Since she's coming back so soon," he continued, "that must mean she had departed the capital at ni~ght."

He glanced back to Rem, still standing at perfect attention.

"Do you know what could have spurred this decision?"

Rem shook her head. "I'm sorry. I don't know why she's returning. But she doesn't feel agitated. I think she and Lady Emilia are fine."

Roswaal nodded. "We~ll, that's good. We'll discover why they are returning soon enough. When should they arrive?"

Rem closed her eyes, meditating on her inborn synthesia.

"I believe it will be an hour or two, Lord Roswaal."

"Hmm," Roswaal let out, considering his options. On the one hand, he wanted to be present for their return, but on the other, there were still a few things he needed to take care of in some of the surrounding villages. He had hoped to be at the manor for the arrival, but he could afford to leave his first meeting for the morning.

"Very well," he said. "You may as well prepa~re Lady Emilia's room for her. I will be departing momentarily, so you will not need to attend to me."

"Yes, understood."

Rem lifted the hems of her skirt in a perfect curtsy, then turned to depart.

Once the door closed, Roswaal gently placed down his teacup, and opened one of the drawers of his desk.

Inside was only a single item, a fairly thick black book, its cover unfaded and spine perfectly flat, such that it appeared brand new.

Just by looking at it, few would suspect that it was over four centuries old.

Roswaal picked it up, and carefully turned the pages. The book wasn't so delicate that thumbing through them a little roughly would damage them, but Roswaal never treated it with anything less than absolute respect.

He reached the spot he was after in short order, a bare fifty pages from the end of the book.

Those few dozen pages lay out the path that remained for Roswaal to achieve his long-held wish.

The instructions contained within grew more dense in time, those pages covering only the next few years. It would be tricky to make sure everything proceeded exactly as recorded in the writ.

But that was what the line before his eyes was for.

Roswaal couldn't help but hold his breath as he reread it.

"An assassin will steal the Candidate's insignia in the Capital on the thirty-sixth day of Bluesun, threatening her life. A Foreigner will help her retrieve it, and she will return with him that night."

The Tome was not the most descriptive book in the world. Names, details, unrelated events, all of it was completely ignored, the Tome only foretelling the vital events on Roswaal's chosen path.

Case in point, this 'Foreigner'.

The Tome mentioned him many times in the next fifty pages, and for good reason. He was paramount to achieving Roswaal's dream, no one else but him could possibly arrange events so perfectly.

But for all his import, the Tome never referred to him as anything but 'Foreigner'. Even Emilia had more of a description, though perhaps that was to be expected of a silver-haired half-elf.

Roswaal traced his finger down the page, burning the next few days of instructions into his memory.

One in particular had captivated his imagination for hundreds of years.

A conditional instruction. The first ever in the book, in four hundred years of writing.

"If the servants go to Arlam Village on the thirty-ninth day of Bluesun, leave the manor until the night of the fortieth day of Bluesun."

There were several such instructions. Not many, but enough that Roswaal examined them carefully.

And he couldn't help but notice that all of them were related to a certain 'Foreigner'. There was a chance that the Tome had built a small amount of leeway into its writ, to allow for minor changes in events, but Roswaal didn't think that was the case.

It was a perfected gospel, its prophecy was absolute from start to end.

No, what was important was that he would leave if—and only if—they decided to go.

Which, when combined with other events the Tome described, and the otherwise bizarre instructions left about the Crusch camp, painted a very interesting picture of this Foreigner's capabilities.

Roswaal had spent a very long time pondering the significance of those lines. He had made a thousand theories, weighing them up against one another, discounting some and disproving others.

It couldn't just be some form of future sight that informed his actions, the Tome was more than capable of fulfilling that role by itself. It couldn't be something based on the rather rare and chaotic luck manipulation, as those abilities were part of the domain of the world, and weren't beyond the vision of the perfected gospel, which tapped into the memories of the world itself.

No, it simply had to be something that the Tome simply couldn't do. Something beyond the power of the world, that Roswaal wouldn't be able to replicate even with all his skill in the magic arts.

The power to Redo.

He smiled, and took another sip of his tea.

It was starting to go cold, but a strand of Fire mana soon fixed that.

Rem would try and insist that she brew him another cup if she saw, but really, Roswaal didn't mind reheated tea. It all tasted the same to him.

He read over the opened page of the Tome one last time, and then reluctantly closed the cover.

Reading it over and over wouldn't help the time go faster. And the sooner he left, the sooner he would get back in the morning. It was a shame that he wouldn't be present for their arrival, but it was important that the manor not be disturbed for at least a week.

Roswaal wanted to be able to completely dedicate himself to watching over the Foreigner. To see with his own eyes the power that he held.

The sun had risen well into the sky by the time he returned. His errands had taken longer than he had expected, but he kept his anticipation hidden away. His mask was as perfect as ever.

He gently alighted in front of the main doors, and walked inside.

The twin Oni maids were already there, waiting for him. Ram regularly kept an eye on the surrounding lands with her clairvoyance, so she always spotted him when he was approaching from the skies.

"Lord Roswaal, welcome back," the two spoke in perfect harmony, bowing their heads.

When they straightened up, Ram continued, "While it is contrary to the plans we had made, I have elected to return from our trip to the capital early."

"I heard from Rem," Roswaal said. "And I'm most curi~ous as to what could have possibly happened."

Ram bowed her head meekly.

"In short, an assassin targeted Lady Emilia's candidacy," she said. "It is my shame to admit, I was not there to help her. If things had turned out differently, Lady Emilia would have been slain, and I take full responsibility for that."

"An assassin, you say?" Roswaal said in a concerned tone, as if he hadn't hired that assassin himself.

"That is troublesome news. But I can't allow you to blame yourself. The capital can be a turbulent place, and it is easy to lose tra~ck of a single person in its masses. However, I would like to hear the full story. Rem, could you prepare breakfast by yourself?"

The blue-haired maid nodded. "Of course, Lord Roswaal. I will see to it at once."

As she left, Roswaal turned his gaze back to Ram.

The conversation had lulled, so this would be the perfect time for her to bring up the Foreigner. Frankly, it was odd that she hadn't mentioned it first. A strange person coming out of nowhere to save the candidate he had backed? That would be suspicious no matter who it was, let alone someone from outside the country. Having that person in the manor would be something Roswaal should be made aware of as soon as possible.

But Ram said nothing, turning toward the stairs that would lead to the dining room.

Roswaal stood still for a moment, slightly confused. Shouldn't she tell him here?

Ram noticed his hesitation, and looked back at him. There was no trace of deceitfulness in her gaze, no intention of hiding things from him.

Did… did she think it wasn't important enough to mention right away?

Roswaal started following after her, trying to relax his face. He had drawn his lips back into a thin line while he hadn't been paying attention. Hopefully Ram would just think he was thinking about the assassination attempt.

"To begin with," Ram began, "I was separated from Lady Emilia just before midday. She had departed the inn on her usual trip to send a letter here."

"And as I instructed, you allowed her to go alone," Roswaal surmised. "Something I stand by, even now. After all, what kind of person can be considered a candidate to the throne if they cannot even navigate a short trip through the city unassisted?"

"As you say, I let her go alone," Ram said with a nod. "However, when she had not returned after fifteen minutes, I went out to look for her. Unfortunately, Lady Emilia chose to continue wandering after she had gotten lost, and I could not locate her with my clairvoyance. I searched for her until nightfall, but I could not find her. It was only after the sky lit up that I was able to determine her location."

"The sky?"

"Yes. Lady Emilia will have to give you the full story, but Sir Reinhard was able to protect her from the assassin. Allegedly, his final blow wrecked the slum house their battle took place in, and it caused great sky-lights to appear over the capital."

Roswaal felt his mouth go dry. "Sir Reinhard did?"

But surely…

"The slum, you said? It's odd for a Roy~al Knight to be patrolling that far out. Why was he there?"

Ram hesitated. "I apologise, but I did not meet him. He left before I arrived. Lady Emilia told me he found out about the assassin targeting her, but I did not know if she inquired further."

Roswaal stopped in his tracks.

"Ram," he said, his voice flat and emotionless.

The maid stopped, and gave him a concerned look.

"How many people came back on the carriage?"

Ram blinked, caught off guard by the question. "Two. Lady Emilia and myself."

Two. Two. Only two.

"What about him? What about the Foreigner?"

Ram only looked at him in befuddlement. "Lord Roswaal? What do you mean?"

He felt something fall in his stomach.

There was no way, it couldn't be, it couldn't—

"I see," he said coldly, forcing his traitorous feelings down. It was too soon to draw conclusions. Perhaps… perhaps there had been some kind of mistake. The world had not necessarily gone against the Tome's writ, maybe there was an innocent explanation behind this apparent divergence.

"Please summon Lady Emilia for breakfast," he said, walking briskly toward the dining room.

"Yes, as you wish."

Roswaal barely noticed the hallway as he walked. He was so deep in his thoughts it was doubtful he'd notice if he tripped down the stairs.

He felt a deep urge to hurry to his office and check his gospel to reread every word of the passage to make sure he hadn't misunderstood something. But it wouldn't help, he already had every word memorised.

It was reverberating in his head, turning over this way and that as Roswaal tried to make sense of the situation.

The thirty-sixth of Bluesun, an assassin will steal the insignia, she'll threaten Emilia, a Foreigner will help the girl retrieve it, and she will return with him that night.

He had checked the date and double-checked it, he had been counting the days down in his head over the last month. That couldn't possibly be wrong. Similarly, the attack had proceeded as planned, so the next two requirements had been fulfilled as well.

Ram would have told him if Emilia no longer possessed her insignia, so she must have been able to retrieve it.

That just left the fifth requirement.

She will return with him that night, Roswaal thought. The tome didn't mention Ram. Then perhaps she doesn't know? The Foreigner stowed away? Or has otherwise hidden himself from her?

It didn't seem likely, but it was something.

He reached the dining room and he sat down, lacing his fingers together.

There he waited, his mind still turning over the possibilities, until Emilia finally arrived, the maids in tow.

And behind them, came a little girl in a fine dress.

"Ah, Beatrice," he said, a smile touching his lips. He was sure it would have been a genuine one, if not for the situation. "I'm glad you could join us."

"Hmph! I'm only here because Bubby is, in fact" she declared. "So I'm not joining you, I'm joining Bubby, I suppose."

"Oh, come on, Betty," Puck said. "Surely you can eat with everyone else?"

"Hmph! Well, Betty won't refuse to eat if Bubby insists."

"Um, Lord Roswaal?" Emilia began hesitantly. "About yesterday—"

Roswaal lifted a hand. "Yes, I am quite curious about that. But first, we should eat. We have much to discuss, and I would not want to do so on an empty stomach."

It would sour Puck's opinion on him if he started interrogating Emilia before she had even eaten, and Roswaal might need to ask him questions as well. He was a patient man. He had waited four hundred years to see his teacher, he could afford to wait a few minutes more to learn what was going on. Even if his instincts were screaming at him learn everything he could as fast as possible.

At his words, Rem carefully laid the plates out before him, Emilia, and Beatrice. Just three places.

They ate in silence.

The food was as good as always, but it tasted like ashes in Roswaal's mouth. He gave no indication of that though. He didn't want Emilia to think something was wrong and clam up.

Once they were finished, Rem took their plates, and Roswaal got to his feet.

"I feel this may take a while. If you don't mind, Lady Emilia, could you accompany me to the lounge? Rem, prepare tea for us."

He glanced over to Puck, who was sitting in Beatrice's lap, lapping up soup from a spoon.

"Great Spirit, if you would accompany us? Any insight you can share would be invaluable."

"Hmm? Sure! Sorry Betty, looks like I might have to spend the day with you another time. But you could come as well, if you like. It'll be more fun to have someone petting my fur than to listen to Roswaal's worrying."

"Well, if Bubby insists, Betty will come, I suppose."

Once they were finally all seated, Roswaal turned his gaze on Emilia.

"Now, Lady Emilia. Please tell me everything. What happened?"

Emilia straightened up in her chair.

"Um… so, first, I went to deliver the letter. I posted it fine, but then I got lost, and couldn't find my way back. I ran into a girl who couldn't pay for the food she had eaten, so I tried to help, but then I realised I had lost my money pouch, so I performed tricks in the street for money, and somehow—"

Puck flew up in front of her face.

"I think we can skip to the part where the insignia was stolen, can't we?"

"...yes, I think so," Roswaal said, choosing to place the girl's previous words entirely out of mind. It would be quite the scandal if anyone found out a Royal Candidate had been performing tricks on the side of the street like a common charlatan… but she had been wearing the recognition-blocking cloak Roswaal had made for her.

And regardless, he didn't expect much from his half-elf charge.

"The insignia. How was it taken?"

"Um, yes!" Emilia said, sitting up straight. "I was finding my way back to the inn, when a small thief from the slums showed up and stole it out of my pocket. She was so fast that I barely saw her, and when I chased her, I wasn't able to catch up."

Roswaal nodded slowly.

"That sounds troublesome. How did you find her?"

Guidance from another, perhaps?

"Well, at first, I asked around, but then I realised that I could ask the spirits for help," Emilia said, dashing Roswaal's hopes.

"They said it sounded like she came from the slums, and I was able to follow her trail to one of the buildings there. There were some people who tried to get in my way, but they ran when they saw Puck."

"I see. And once you found the thief?"

Emilia appeared to deflate.

"Reinhard was already there," she admitted, "with the thief and her accomplice already apprehended. Then, when the assassin showed up, he was able to deal with her easily, even though he did destroy the building. I felt sorry for the old man, but Reinhard seemed like he was going to pay for the damages… at least, he said so, before he ran off with the thief. She did save me, so I asked that he not punish her, but he said he had to take her anyway…"

Roswaal tuned her out, carefully running through the events she had described.

The Tome's writ indicated that Emilia would be saved by a foreigner, and though Reinhard was many, many things, a foreigner was not one of them.

No one else had been there to help from Emilia's description, and not once had she mentioned another person.

The two of them had truly come back alone.

The world had diverged from the writ.

It felt like the ground was falling away from beneath his feet. He had feared this would happen one day. That due to a lack of strength, he would be unable to actualize his long-held wish. But this… to be thwarted by someone simply failing to show up? How could it be? What could have possibly happened?

Roswaal closed his eyes, controlling his breathing to calm himself.

All was not lost yet. There was one last detail in Emilia's story which required further attention.

"Why was Reinhard already present?" he asked. "Ram told me that he learned of the danger to you somehow?"

Emilia nodded. "Yes, he said someone had tipped him off. He said… 'It was an unusual tip, but I could tell it was truthful.' He said he came right away once he heard, since the assassin is apparently quite notorious. Elsa, I think he said? The Bowel Hunter."

"Indeed she is," Roswaal said. That was one of the reasons he had hired her. Emilia and the Great Spirit of Fire were powerful, no regular assassin would be enough to 'threaten her life'. He had even given her a special cloak to help cover her weakness to magic, but it would not have done much to protect her against the Sword Saint.

But her words, combined with Roswaal's knowledge of the Tome's writ, and the instructions he had given to the Bowel Hunter, painted a picture of what had happened.

Reinhard would not have been there if he had not been tipped off. Going off Roswaal's instructions alone, Emilia should have been killed.

Which meant someone had intervened to save her.

Someone who had learned of Elsa's intentions, despite her being one of the best assassins in the business, and with her apparently being none the wiser.

Either that person was unfathomably skilled in subterfuge… or that person was the one Roswaal was searching for.

A person with the power to Redo.

"Did Reinhard mention anything about the person who informed him of the threat to your life?" Roswaal asked. "Who he was, or what he looked like?"

Emilia tilted her head.

"I was curious about that too, but Reinhard said he didn't know him. He actually asked me if I recognised him. Apparently, he was in fine clothes like a noble, but bizarre, like nothing he had ever seen before. He had black hair, and 'hard' eyes, though I didn't really understand that. Reinhard said he seemed to know me, but I've never met anyone like that."

She glanced back at Roswaal.

"Was that no good?"

Roswaal shook his head.

"No, that is adequate," he said, his mind already racing as he tried to figure out exactly what had transpired.

As he predicted, during the first attempt, Emilia must have encountered the Foreigner. They must have failed to overcome Elsa, and the Foreigner activated his power.

Then…

He frowned.

There was no telling how many Redos the Foreigner had attempted. But it was clear that by the end of them, he had decided that the best way to proceed was to send Reinhard to Emilia's side, and not be there himself.

Therefore, the fourth requirement of the Tome's passage had been fulfilled as well. The Foreigner had indeed helped Emilia retrieve her insignia.

So why did he not return with her?

What had gone wrong in that time that no longer existed?

From his reading of the Tome, Roswaal had come to understand that the Foreigner would come to care deeply about Emilia. That was a large part of her significance to the writ.

Did she fail to ensnare him? Roswaal thought, opening his eyes and focusing his gaze on his charge. She's always been skittish around people, perhaps she and the Great Spirit did something to convince him to keep his distance.

He felt a flash of anger at the thought that the girl would fail at the one thing he expected of her, but he forced it down. He didn't know for sure what had caused the Foreigner to turn away, and he wasn't going to risk the trust he currently had with Emilia.

The Foreigner had used his power of Redo to save her life. That had to imply he held some measure of affection for her. Therefore, Roswaal might still be able to use her for her original purpose.

"I think," he began, "you should rest for the day, Lady Emilia. The experience yesterday must have been hard on you. We will pick up your lessons again tomorrow, and perhaps we'll do something to expand your knowledge of the capital city's layout."

Emilia looked down in embarrassment.

"I… probably should, shouldn't I?"

She nodded resolutely. "Yes, I will. I'll make sure not to get lost like that again."

Roswaal forced a smile onto his face, and got to his feet.

"If that is everything, there are things I must see to. This event will likely lead to trouble, and I would not want to leave it to fester."

Roswaal shot through the air at blistering speed.

He normally flew at the same pace as a ground dragon, but when he pushed himself, he could move significantly faster.

Mentally, he was lambasting his former self for his hands-off attitude. If he had made excuses to be out of the manor for the previous day, he could have cloaked himself in one of the recognition-blocking robes, and watched over Emilia to make sure she acted appropriately, or remove any other obstacles that stood in the way of his Tome's direction.

Surely, if he had been watching during those failed worlds, he would have been able to guide the Foreigner into choosing the right path.

Alas, it was too late now. All he could do was try to bring the world back into alignment with the writ.

The sprawling expanse of Lugunica's capital city finally came into view, and Roswaal began to descend.

A few heads turned towards him as he descended into the middle strata, but his visits to the Merchant Guild were not an uncommon sight, so no one bothered him.

He nodded to the guards as he entered, then headed up the stairs.

Some degree of his internal feelings must have shown on his face, because servants hastened to get out of his way, bowing and trying to avoid his gaze.

"Lord Margrave!?" a secretary cried out as he reached the reception area of the second floor. She hastened to her feet, her eyes going to a calendar on the wall.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise you had a meeting—"

"I don't," Roswaal interrupted. "This is unscheduled. Is the Treasurer free now? I have urgent matters to discuss with him."

The secretary frantically glanced between the calendar and at the door at the back of the room.

So he wasn't free, but she didn't want to inform him of that fact.

"It's fine," a voice called out from behind the door. "Please come in, Margrave."

Roswaal nodded to the secretary as he passed, and entered the Treasurer's main office.

The room was frightfully plain for a member of Lugunica's most important officials. Cabinets lined the walls, with a single large desk placed at the centre of the room. If not for the grand, sweeping windows in the place of the back wall, one would be forgiven for believing that the room belonged to a low-level archivist.

A single man stood alone in the room, his back to Roswaal as he gazed out over the city.

The main building of the Merchant Guild was positioned close to the edge of the middle strata, over one of the sheer cliffs that separated it from the lower city. The views were almost as great as the ones from the palace.

"You know, Roswaal," Russell Fellow said, his grey eyes inscrutable as ever as he turned to face him, "you really should try to get along with people better. I'd say you almost gave my poor secretary a heart attack."

"Maybe so," Roswaal said, stepping closer to the desk. "But I have many important things to do. Niceties ca~n wait, wouldn't you agree?"

"Indeed, I could toast to that."

He pulled out his chair, and gestured for Roswaal to sit.

"What brings you here in such a rush?" he asked once they were both seated. "It must be terrible to have brought you back to the capital so soon. Truthfully, I had not expected to see you again for at least a month."

"I wouldn't say 'terrible', merely urgent," Roswaal said. "You are no dou~bt aware of what took place in the slums last night?"

Russell's brow creased into a frown.

"In broad strokes, yes, but the specifics escape me for the moment. I know the Sword Saint was… 'overly enthusiastic' in his attempt to eliminate some manner of ruffian. I've asked Marcos to warn him to be more careful, but that monster can barely control his strength at the best of times."

Russell let out a long-suffering sigh.

"But I can't imagine you're simply here to hear about that?" he asked, turning his gaze back to Roswaal.

"You are correct, I am not," Roswaal answered, then began to narrate an abridged version of the events Emilia had relayed to him. He didn't mention that Emilia had lost her insignia, and he skimmed past why she was in the slums in the first place.

But Russell wouldn't inquire about those minor holes in his story. Not when he brought up Elsa's assassination attempt.

"As you can imagine, this is quite a troubleso~me situation for me," Roswaal finished. "The candidate in my charge came very close to being killed, and there's no trace as to why, or who ordered it."

Russell rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"And there's no telling what the consequences to the kingdom might be, should it have come to pass before the selection could begin," he mused. "In that case I suppose you want me to use my 'contacts' to try and find the assassin? I can send the word out, but the Tongues aren't expansive enough to reliably detect someone with the Bowel Hunter's reputation."

"That will have to do, for now," Roswaal said, though of course, he didn't care one whit if Elsa was found or not.

"But on that note, there was someone else I'd like you to search for. A person who may be invo~lved, who tipped Reinhard off in the first place," Roswaal said, using every scrap of his self-control not to allow a trace of emotion onto his face.

If he slipped up, Russell would notice, and perhaps grow suspicious. And if he was suspicious, he might investigate the boy. And if he did that, he might figure out his power to Redo.

And that would be the worst result possible.

"'A black-haired with hard eyes' is the description he gave," Roswaal continued. "'Wearing bizarre yet fine clothing'. I find it unusual that a random citizen would have the ability to find out about this attempt, and the wherewithal to warn Sir Reinhard directly. I would like to find that person. It is my belief that it would be best to locate him and determine exactly what transpi~red that day."

Russell remained silent for a moment, his eyes unfocused as he considered Roswaal's words.

"Yes, I can see why you would be interested," the man allowed. "I'll have a look around. If I find him, shall I dispatch a collection squad to pick him up?"

Roswaal concealed a shudder and shook his head. "No, nothing of the sort. Regardless of who he is, he offered a great aid to Lady Emilia. That sort of thing should be rewarded, no~?"

"'Rewarded', you say?" Russell repeated, then his mouth twitched up in an amused smile. "I'll admit, sometimes I think you're too soft, Roswaal. Well, as you wish. If I can track him down, I'll send word to you. But I wouldn't hold out hope. The capital is a big place, and there are many places to hide."

"I understand," Roswaal said, getting to his feet. "I only ask that you do what you can."

Now that Russell was on the prowl, a small amount of urgency had gone out of the situation. Catching the Foreigner was unlikely to be a quick affair, the important thing was to prepare to catch him if his experience the previous day had convinced him to leave the capital behind.

Roswaal wasn't going to rest properly until all of his plans were in motion, but he could afford to take a short break to plan, and to write a very important letter.

With a final flourish of his quill, Roswaal signed his name onto the paper, and curled it up into a scroll.

Sending it was going to be troublesome, he was going to have to bribe a civil official in order to send a messenger bird across the southern border.

It was a necessary trouble though.

Roswaal had a valuable contact on that side of the border, the Lady Serena Dracroy, leader of Vollachia's Flying Dragon Squadron. She was tasked with guarding the border between the two great countries, and if anyone was going to attempt a crossing, she'd be the first to know.

Roswaal's message was rather vague in his reasons, but the request was quite clear. He was calling in a favour with her in order to get her to help him catch the Foreigner, including the description Reinhard had given. Roswaal asked that if he was found, he would be treated gently, and Roswaal be contacted immediately. Preferably without telling the Foreigner anything about Roswaal's request.

Serena would probably find his cloak-and-dagger behaviour amusing, but she would play along. She was not an ally to the same extent as Russell, but she was trustworthy.

With her help, the south would be secure.

He sighed, putting the quill down and reaching under his cloak and pulled out his precious Tome.

He opened it to the fateful line that hadn't come to pass, then started flicking through the pages, eyes darting to various passages, trying to glean some inkling of how he could drag the world back on track.

The first thing to consider was the problem of Ram. She was to be his weapon against the Divine Dragon, and in order to recruit her to his side, he had made a bet with her.

If the Tome ever stopped foretelling his future, he would be hers to do with as she pleased. It would make an ordinary man tremble to think of the horrific torture that Oni God would inflict on the man who had allowed her village to be destroyed.

Roswaal was not ordinary. He had long planned to give himself over to her, once his long-desired wish had been fulfilled.

But this was too early.

He had no intention of giving up so easily, nor did he want to lose one of his most valuable pawns.

So he would simply not inform her of the divergence. She had never read the Tome for herself, so she would never know the truth unless he revealed it to her.

That left the second problem.

He didn't know the whereabouts of the Foreigner, nor how he would retrieve him without the Tome's guidance.

Russell's aid was a good start, and with the power to Redo, Roswaal had no doubt that the Foreigner would eventually do something to attract the Treasurer's attention.

The problem was that 'eventually'.

Certain events had to be lined up precisely for his Teacher's resurrection, and in Roswaal's study of the Tome, he had concluded that delaying them was not going to be possible.

He couldn't afford to wait years for the Foreigner to expose himself.

Therefore, Roswaal was going to have to lure him out. And luckily, he already had his bait.

Emilia.

The Foreigner had cared about her enough to save her once, perhaps he'd do so again.

Roswaal flicked his eyes over the passages, reading the next few months of the future.

The Selection, he decided. It's the only event significant enough that it's sure to catch his attention, and one that I can easily manipulate. If I leave Emilia in the capital, she'll attract the Witch's Cult. Even if he doesn't want to help her, he'll definitely act to save himself. It's in two months. That gives plenty of time for him to befriend some of the locals. Even if he can use his Redos to get himself out of the city, he won't want to abandon them.

Roswaal felt a slight smile rising on his lips. His initial panic was starting to fade, as his mind worked to reveal the path back to his desired future.

I'll need to make sure he stays in the capital until then. Due to the current recession, he's unlikely to travel elsewhere in the kingdom, but the other countries might be a problem. If he chooses to return to his homeland…

Roswaal shook his head. No, he won't get the opportunity. I'll make it impossible for him to leave the country. The southern border is already closed, and Serena will keep an eye on it. I can use my position as Margrave to close the northern one. As for the west…

Roswaal pursed his lips, deep in thought. His powers as Margrave didn't extend far into that region, but given the current collapse in the country's administration, Roswaal was looking after a much larger area than his rank would usually demand. If he called in a few favours, it wasn't impossible he'd be able to close the west border as well.

He spent a moment considering it, then shook his head.

I couldn't keep it closed for two months, and regardless, it would arouse too many suspicions. In that case… I'll have to make arrangements.

That would take time. First, he should return to the manor and leave orders to adapt to the Foreigner's absence.

His eyes went to a particular passage half-way down the opened page,

'On the night of the thirty-ninth day of Bluesun, the Foreigner will prevent the casualties of a mabeast incursion into Arlam village. On the night of the fortieth day of Bluesun, Roswaal L Mathers will annihilate the gathered mabeasts in the forests of the domain.'

A mabeast incursion, Roswaal thought. Likely something intended to give him practise with his ability. That event is unnecessary now.

And even if Roswaal wanted to fulfil this particular order, he wouldn't be able to, considering he had no way to gather the mabeasts together.

I'll have Rem strengthen the barrier stones the next time she visits, he finally decided. That will remove the threat to the village. The infestation can be cleared out another time.

He reached the area of Costuul late in the night.

It had taken an hour to pen and send his letter, after which he had flown out again, stopping at the manor only long enough to check up on Emilia and give the new instructions to the maids.

He descended rapidly through the air, heading for the faint light of a solitary building.

He landed out the front, and strode up to the doors, rapping out three firm knocks.

It was past midnight, but the night staff would still be awake. While Roswaal could always just let himself in, it was more polite to let the servants know he had come to visit. It was important to be polite. This technically wasn't his manor, even if he had hired most of the servants.

A bare moment after he withdrew his hand, the door opened, revealing a blue-haired young man, elegantly dressed in a butler's outfit, a single monocle hanging in front of his bright green eye.

He stood aside for Roswaal to enter, then closed the door behind him.

"Welcome, my Lord," he said, bowing as he turned back to face him. "My Lady has already retired for the night, however, if you wish, I can send for her. Inquiry."

Roswaal shook his head.

"That won't be necessary. But I would appreciate it if you could have one of the guest rooms prepared for me. I will be imposing on you for the night."

The butler nodded, and flicked his hand. Two servants, both Demi-humans, moved out of the shadows and began moving upstairs.

"Very well. In that case, my Lady will see you in the morning. Scheduled."

"I'm afraid there is more," Roswaal interrupted before the man could turn to follow the others. "I must recall you into my service, Clind."

The butler, Clind, one of Roswaal's oldest acquaintances, tilted his head, waiting for Roswaal to continue.

"You must go to Priestella," Roswaal ordered. "There is a boy I'm looking for. He has black hair, 'hard' eyes, and was at one point clothed in 'fine yet bizarre' clothing. There exists the possibility that he is in possession of an Authority."

Clind perked his head up, now directing his full attention towards Roswaal.

While Roswaal didn't know for certain that the Foreigner's ability was the same type as that of the Witches of old, it was amongst the strongest of his theories.

And Clind had the ability to perceive such things, so having him keep an eye out for it could only help find the boy.

"Regardless if he does possess one or not, you are to watch over the city," Roswaal continued, "and ensure that if he arrives, he does not leave until I can be informed."

He hesitated. That should be enough to catch the Foreigner… but if for some reason, the boy had decided to make a break for another country, he could be well on his way to the Watergate city by now. It would take almost two weeks for Clind to travel there by carriage, and in that time, the Foreigner could slip out of Roswaal's grasp.

"For the sake of this mission, you'll need the use of your power," Roswaal finally decided. "Therefore, I'll offer one— no, two magics as compensation. One to travel there immediately, and one to contact me if he is found. And you may use my funds in the city vaults as you see fit to accomplish this mission."

Clind blinked, then slowly spoke.

"If that is what your lordship wishes. Confirmation. However, Lady Annerose will require—"

"I will have additional aid hired to make up for your absence," Roswaal interrupted. "You needn't concern yourself with it."

Clind remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

A bare instant later, he was gone, whisked away across space by the power of a stolen shard of a dead man's Authority.

A most useful ability. Though the price Clind demanded before he'd use it for Roswaal's sake was quite steep, it was an option Roswaal liked to have on occasion.

But still…

His hand unintentionally went to his chest, the sharp pain of a flayed soul still as awful as ever.

He couldn't help rummaging through his mind in the aftermath, recalling the memories of his first life, of his treasured lessons with his teacher.

They were as pristine and clear as ever, but they felt lighter than before. Like he had forgotten something important.

If he had to put a number on it, he'd say they were about two magics less.

"Uncle!?"

The small girl's cry echoed through the breakfast hall as Roswaal entered the room, her fork dropping to her plate as she sprang to her feet.

"You mean you did arrive last night? I thought the servants were just trying to trick me! You should have— No, Clind should have woken me! Where is he? I hope he—"

"I required his services," Roswaal interrupted. "I have taken him back into my employ, and it will be several months before he can return. You needn't fear, I shall be sure to hire replacements."

A look of shock passed over the girl's face, and Roswaal felt a pang of regret. He was not usually so curt with her… No, he didn't think he had ever spoken in such a manner to the girl.

Annerose Miload, the current head of the Miload family, and Roswaal's current heir, was one of Roswaal's greatest weaknesses. One of far too many.

"I am sorry that he could not say so much as goodbye," Roswaal continued. "But this matter is urgent."

Annerose nodded slowly, with a seriousness that would make one doubt her true age. "Yes, you certainly seem on edge. If I may ask, what has happened?"

Roswaal considered for a moment, debating what to tell her, then finally decided on the truth. Or at least a version of it.

He told her the same story he had shared with Russell, revealing Emilia's misadventure in the capital, and the assassin that had almost taken her life.

"Is Emily alright?" Annerose blurted out once he finished. "Is she safe? And why aren't you there, protecting her? What if the assassin comes back!?"

"The manor is protected," Roswaal assured her. "And the assassin was injured during her fight with the Sword Saint. She will not likely attack again for a while. In that time, I am taking steps to apprehend her."

Annerose scowled at him.

"Fine. Do what you need to do here, then return to Emily's side at once. Don't bother trying to get more servants in, I'll do it myself."

Roswaal hesitated, then inclined his head. "If you insist. I will do as you please."

It took most of the day to prepare the local bureaucracy to close the border crossings. He didn't reveal why he was doing it, but the local officials worked tirelessly by his orders, sending out missives and drafting the documents that would suspend travel between Lugunica and Gusteko.

His actions would undoubtedly affect the Bluesun trade, but this time of year was slow anyway, and he didn't intend to leave the border closed past Greensun. By then, he'd have found the Foreigner, and if not…

He shuddered to even think of it.

Finally, his tasks were finished. The northern border was secure, Priestella was under observation, the Vollachian Flying Dragon Squadron would be watching the south, and the Six Tongues were scouring the kingdom.

Perhaps he'd get lucky, and find a lead before the Royal Selection, but even if he didn't, Roswaal was confident his plan for that week would be enough to lure him back on the track of his Tome's writ.

He flew back to the manor at a more leisurely pace than he had previously been using, which was still almost as fast as a ground dragon. He would have to rest up, he had been ignoring his body for too long, and he needed to be ready to fly out the moment he received news of the Foreigner.

It was a shame he had never been able to mass produce the long range communication mirrors. As it was, they only had enough to connect the country's five great cities, forcing the other areas to rely on messenger birds, or actual human messengers for especially sensitive matters.

He could potentially move his household into the capital while his allies searched for the boy, but that would arouse suspicions about what he was up to.

That was the problem of having an ally like Russell. You had to be very careful about what you revealed. Especially when Roswaal's interests did not entirely match up with those of the kingdom.

He'd have to make do. The delay for messenger birds from the capital wasn't terrible, and the task he had asked of Russell shouldn't alert the Foreigner to Roswaal's approach.

But still… perhaps there was more he could do to search for the boy. There were about even odds that the power to redo was the result of an Authority, meaning that a couple of servants in Roswaal's employ might have the capacity to detect him.

One was Clind, but his oldest ally was required to block off the Watergate city. While the power to detect the Mark of the Witch had a considerable range, enough to cover all of Priestella, it would not cover an area as expansive as the capital.

However, Roswaal had a spare.

Ever since he had met her, Rem had been able to detect Witch Cultists. She hadn't been able to pick up Clind's stolen authority, but the butler had said that was a special case. Perhaps if Roswaal brought her to visit the capital, and took care to explain that those who bore that scent weren't necessarily Witch Cultists, she might be able to speed up the search. It could take a week or two to cover the entire city, but he had the time now.

He mightn't even need to bring the Witch's Cult to the capital.

But… it was probably better to leave it for a few days.

There was administrative work he couldn't let sit idle, and he had to balance his desire to find the Foreigner with his duties as Margrave. It wouldn't do to successfully retrieve the boy, but lose the trust of his allies while doing so. He had to strike a balance, as much as he wanted to rush out and drag the world back into alignment with his Tome.

He slowly floated down through the sky, shielding his eyes from the rising sun.

He had returned much earlier today. Breakfast likely wouldn't be ready yet.

Though… it was odd that he didn't spot anyone in the garden. It should be around the time that Emilia went out to talk to her contracted minor spirits.

Perhaps she had finished early in order to throw herself into her studies? She had seemed quite dedicated the last time he had spoken to her.

His feet touched the front steps, and he walked to the door.

Inside, the foyer was deserted.

Roswaal glanced around, but there were no maids waiting for his return. That was odd. Very odd indeed.

Ram always spotted him when he approached from the skies.

Always.

His feet had started moving before he had even finished processing the thought.

Perhaps the twins were scrambling to prepare a larger breakfast? He had not informed them of when he would be returning, so they must not have made enough, at least until Ram spotted him. Still, he would have thought one of them would come to explain things.

Surely there was an innocent explanation for their behaviour. Surely the inordinate stillness in the air was just his imagination.

But all his rationalisations and explanations fell away the moment he heard the sound. It was a wail, a terrible, desperate howl of grief that struck at Roswaal's very soul.

Ram's voice.

She was sobbing her soul out in a wordless cry, her anguish clear to anyone who would listen. There was only one thing in the world that would leave her that devastated.

With a leaden heart, Roswaal began walking. The sobs and cries grew louder and louder as he approached the servants' quarters, his mind trying to rationalise what he was hearing, trying to come up with an innocent explanation.

But in his heart, he knew there wasn't one.

He reached the final hallway before his maids' rooms, and hesitated. He was so close now that he could hear even Ram's quietest sobs.

If she hated him before, she was going to absolutely despise him now.

He turned the corner, and entered Rem's bedroom.

Emilia and Beatrice were already in the room. They were standing by the wall, Emilia with a sombre expression, Puck sitting on Beatrice's shoulder.

Ram was by the bed, her body curled up over it. She had already expended all her energy crying her heart out, and collapsed where she lay.

The sheets were uneven and crumpled, and even from his distance, Roswaal could see they were stained with tears.

Ram heard him enter, but could barely turn to face him. She tried to speak, her lips trembling as she mouthed the words, but nothing came out but her sobs.

Roswaal stepped closer, kneeling by her side and placing a hand on her shoulder.

He looked upon the bed, and his lying mind could not avoid the truth any longer.

Rem lay peacefully, her face pale and her body still.

She wasn't breathing.

And she never would again.

"It was death by debilitation, in fact," Beatrice said, her voice unusually chilly. "Her body contains no mana at all, likely taken from her by some manner of curse, I suppose."

"A curse," Roswaal whispered, almost unable to believe the words.

He pulled off one glove, stuffing it into a pocket of his robes, then reached out and brushed some of the blue strands of hair away from Rem's eyes.

Her skin was cold to the touch, and had already started to stiffen. He couldn't detect even the faintest traces of mana from her corpse.

Which meant she had likely been cursed by a wolgarm.

He pursed his lips, his hand clenching into a fist. He thought he had dealt with the problem of the mabeast infestation, but he had miscalculated. It was due to his own arrogance. He should have known that the Tome had a reason for wanting the Foreigner to solve that problem.

"Ros…waal…"

Ram whispered, her teary eyes looking up at him.

Roswaal stared at her for a moment, then slowly unclenched his fist, and placed his hand on her head.

"A curse," he confirmed. "That's the cause of this. Her mana is almost entirely gone. And it doesn't look like she is harmed physically."

He paused.

"She didn't suffer. It would have been painless while she was asleep."

Ram broke down crying again at his words.

Roswaal spared a glance at the others in the room, inclining his head toward the door.

Emilia opened her mouth, seemingly trying to come up with some words to express her solidarity, but all she could come up with was a simple, "I'm sorry." Neither Great Spirit said a word.

The three left, and Roswaal stayed by Ram's side, letting her cry her eyes out anew. When she finally looked back up, her red eyes were blazing through her tears.

"Who did this?"

"Not who, but what. A wolgarm, most likely," Roswaal answered. "It seems most likely that one got into the village."

Ram nodded, then lurched to her feet, turning to the door. Roswaal caught her hand, and she turned back to him.

"Wait," he ordered. "You need mana. And I will be accompanying you."

Ram stared at him, then her gaze went to Rem.

Her lip quivered, and she turned away again.

"I… Fine. But… but not here."

Roswaal nodded his understanding, letting go of her hand.

Once she had passed through the door, he turned back to Rem.

His fingers twirled through the air, and strands of Fire and Yin emerged from his gate, wrapping around her body like a web, a simple preservation spell that would maintain her current state until… until Ram decided what she wanted to do.

Once it was finished, Roswaal stared at her for a moment longer.

There was so much he felt, so many things he wished he could have said, but in the end, none of them mattered.

He leaned over, and whispered, "For what little it's worth, I am sorry. I hadn't wanted this for you. But you don't need to worry. Your elder sister will avenge you. Just as she will one day avenge your village."

With that, he left the room.

Ram was waiting for him in the foyer. Her arms were shaking with rage, and blood had started to seep from the scar on her forehead, a sign that she was beginning to overuse her clairvoyance.

"Several children from the village have also gone missing," she growled when she became aware of his approach. Her eyes were still unfocused, seeing something completely different than the world in front of her face.

"Yesterday, Rem mentioned that they were playing with a stray dog. That must have been the wolgarm."

A stray dog? So it was already inside the barrier. Roswaal felt his heart fall. I sent her to her death.

Ram paused, then asked in a very quiet voice.

"Did you know? Did your damned Tome tell you about this?"

Did you know? Roswaal mused. Not 'Is this your fault'. Similar questions, but very different answers.

"I did not," he answered. "This event had no relevance to the Writ."

Ram's shoulders fell, and he saw some of the fight leave her.

She didn't say anything further, so Roswaal lifted a finger to her forehead, channelling mana through her scar.

It wasn't much, but she'd be able to fight to her heart's content for the day.

No, perhaps that was the wrong way to phrase it. Her heart would never be content. But she wouldn't kill herself in her thirst for vengeance now.

That day, the surrounding forests were devastated as if a great storm had passed through.

Trees were uprooted, large scars were cut into the landscape, and quite a few of the rocky outcroppings were erased from the map.

The servant and master hunted together, great explosions driving mabeasts out of hiding, furious blades of wind drenching the ground in blood.

The sun rose, peaked, and fell, and by the time the sky had gone red, there were almost no wolgarm left in the region.

But it still wasn't enough to sate her.

Ram howled with the wind, blood pouring from her head, her eyes blazing as she used her clairvoyance to try and track down every last one of the beasts.

All Roswaal could do was watch from the sky, using precise attacks to keep anything from getting too close to her, and occasionally blasting lines of fire to keep her targets from getting away.

She was injuring herself, but he had done what he could.

Now all he could do was let her tire herself out. He'd surely be able to convince Beatrice to look after her once they returned to the manor.

He only needed her to be able to defeat the dragon. Nothing else mattered.

Nothing.

"You look terrible."

Roswaal sighed, and eased himself down into his chair.

"So I've been told."

He directed his gaze across the desk, where Russell was signing documents with remarkable efficiency. Each page was barely in front of him for a second before he marked it and cast it aside, already filling the space with a new one.

It had been just over a month since Roswaal had last met with the man, and in that time, the treasurer had sent weekly reports of the situation. However, there were some things that couldn't be said in letters. Roswaal would have visited earlier, but…

"I've heard a few disquieting rumours from your lands," Russell continued. "Specifically around Arlam. I've already taken measures to quell them, but I'd ask that you try to maintain information security a little better in future."

He raised his eyes to meet Roswaal's.

"What happened? From what I gathered, it was some kind of mabeast attack?"

"An infiltration," Roswaal confirmed. "One of the children's bodies was missing, and the villagers claim she was only in the village for a few days beforehand. Some testimony indicates she may have also been guiding the mabeast while it had infiltrated the village."

"Ah, so that would be the girl you asked me to look for? I was surprised to get another message from you so soon," Russell said. He continued cycling through his documents, thinking for a moment.

"I do not believe there will be much progress on that front. I have the roads to Preistella under surveillance, but she may have attempted an illegal border crossing to Gusteko through the wilderness. With at least one mabeast under her control, the trip would be survivable."

He pursed his lips, visually displeased that someone would escape his grasp.

"For now, the rumours seem to have been contained," he continued. "Luckily, it's already been a few weeks. How long ago did it happen, exactly? Four weeks?"

"Closer to five," Roswaal replied.

Russell nodded, then glanced up to meet Roswaal's eyes again.

"Don't let this cloud your vision overmuch. It happens sometimes. And you have a tendency to… over-empathise. Not all of those rumours were about the deaths. Allegedly, smoke columns were seen from a large section of forestland in your domain?"

Roswaal remained silent for a moment.

"One of the dead was a household servant."

Russell's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. "Ah. My apologies. I wasn't aware."

Roswaal didn't respond, his mind dragged back to the manor by the mere mention of Rem.

Ram had not recovered. She had lost all the light in her eyes, and though the discovery of the missing child had sparked some embers, without a firm lead, she had nothing to expend herself on.

She had not yet decided what to do with Rem's body, so Roswaal had continued to refresh the preservation spell on her.

He had recalled Frederica to fill in the twins' absence, but he was likely going to need to bring in more servants.

He sighed. He had been neglecting the manor in recent days, trying to keep on top of his responsibilities as Margrave while still searching for the Foreigner. And on that note…

"How are the other searches going?"

Russell lifted a hand and wavered it in a so-so gesture. "For the Bowel Hunter? We've lost all trace of her. I'm afraid even closing the north border hasn't helped us much. As for the informant… It's progressing. Black hair is rare, but in a country as large as this one, it's still easy to find thousands. Even just limiting the search to noteworthy individuals in the capital, there are still too many to narrow down to an acceptable level."

He put down his pen, then reached behind his desk, and Roswaal heard the click of a drawer opening.

"This collates all the likely subjects at the moment, based on the criteria you provided, what little extra we've managed to get from the Sword Saint, and my own personal opinions of the skill he displayed," Russell said, placing a folder in front of Roswaal.

"But I'm afraid you won't find much. The most likely subject is a thief, allegedly from Vollachia, who is part of a small gang in the slums. He may have been in the right area to discover her, but his skill in subterfuge seems… lacking. I'm unsure he'd survive if he laid eyes on the bowel hunter, but if she was trying to keep a low profile, it's possible he could have escaped."

He closed his eyes, twirling his pen in his hand.

"There are a few other noteworthy possibilities. A suspected burglar who prowls the richer areas of the lower strata; a rogue from out east, who usually works in corporate espionage; and a mercenary for hire, though that one's build seems a little large to be our target."

He waved his hands through the air. "There are even less likely suspects, but I suspect we'd be here all day if I had to describe them. All kinds of people could be responsible, from mercenaries, thieves, city guards, or even the occasional merchant."

He paused.

"You might have to consider letting this go. The Six Tongues will keep looking, but even they can't find a trail this cold."

Roswaal hid the clenching of his fist under the desk.

"Just another month," Roswaal said. "That's all I ask."

If he hadn't found the Foreigner by that time, it was all pointless anyway.

"Master Roswaal, your meal is ready."

Roswaal barely responded to his maid's words. There were still documents he needed to go through, plans that needed to be made. Without the Tome's guidance, he had to examine every detail twice as carefully, to make sure everything was ready for the moment he would set everything back on track.

If he happened to miss a few meals in service of that goal, then so be it.

"I will take it in the study," he said, his eyes never stopping, tracing the words on the pages before him.

With a quiet clink, Frederica placed a plate in front of him, and a second later, placed a knife and fork to either side of it.

"As you wish," drawing back once she had finished. "I expected as much, and have already brought it for you."

Roswaal stared down at the plate for a moment, then, without touching it, looked up at her.

Frederica met his eyes, her expression stern, but Roswaal could still see the traces of exhaustion she was trying to hide.

The past few weeks had not been kind to her. She had hurried back to the manor as soon as she received word from Roswaal, and was now managing the maintenance almost single-handedly.

Ram was still trying to work to keep her mind off things… but it wasn't helping. She was pushing herself too hard, and Roswaal was too busy to attend to her, which left Frederica to try and manage her.

"Thank you," Roswaal said. No need to make her life harder than it already was. "You can go."

She did not.

She stood still for a moment, then said, "If I might be so bold, Master Roswaal, I believe you should talk to Ram. And not about her revenge or anything of the sort. Try and take her mind off recent events."

Roswaal sighed. "I'm afraid my words will do more harm than good. It is better that she spends her time as she pleases."

Frederica pursed her lips.

"It's also affecting Lady Emilia's mental state. She can hardly concentrate on her lessons."

Emilia was another task that Roswaal had pushed on Frederica. Previously Ram had mostly handled it, but that was no longer feasible.

"I understand. You may lighten her studies. Her knowledge of Lugunican history is sufficient for the time being, she may rest in place of those lessons."

Frederica grimaced. "As you wish. However, I feel—"

"I am sorry, Frederica," Roswaal interrupted, "but I cannot afford to devote more time to this."

It wouldn't help anyway. Though Emilia seemed to be trying to hide it from his maid, Roswaal knew that she was also struggling due to the limitations Puck was facing.

Her own poor mental state made it more difficult for the spirit to manifest, which Roswaal was using as cover for a particular sealing magic.

The time Puck could remain awake would grow shorter each day, until the spirit would be able to appear at all, leaving Emilia vulnerable to the Witch's Cult.

Her depression was to Roswaal's benefit. He would not be doing anything to lighten her burden in any real way.

Frederica didn't seem happy with his choices, but she was loyal enough that she was willing to let the matter drop, for the time being, at least.

"There is one last thing," she said, pulling out an envelope and immediately capturing Roswaal's full attention. "You received a letter from the merchant's guild this morning."

"Roswaal," the treasurer greeted as he entered the study. "I'm glad you could come on such short notice."

Roswaal shook his head. "No, it's fine. You said it was urgent, and might relate to the informant. What did you find?"

Russell shrugged noncommittally.

"It's unclear. But I suspect I may have found a lead."

Roswaal had to control himself not to let a trace of his eagerness show.

"Of what sort?" he asked. "And how strong of a lead?"

Russell shrugged. "Not very strong. But by and far the best I've heard wind of. Not to mention… well, you should sit down first."

Roswaal sat down in the offered seat, and Russell took a moment to find a folder from the drawers of his desk.

"This is the situation as it stands," he said, pushing over to Roswaal. "But to summarise the most important points first… the Witch's Cult has infiltrated the city…"

Roswaal froze solid.

It was still several days until the Royal selection was to take place, it was far too early for the Witch's Cult to get involved. Could this ruin his plan to bring them into the city and bait the Foreigner out?

"...and the person who tipped us off to this fact has gone into hiding," Russell continued, banishing Roswaal's fears before they had even fully formed.

"A person?" Roswaal interrupted before the treasurer could finish. "Do you mean…?"

Russell pursed his lips. "The informant who contacted the Sword Saint about the assassination attempt? It's impossible to say for sure… I did not have the opportunity to meet the man, but I'm told he matched the description closely. I firmly believe this is the person you have been looking for."

Roswaal felt a smile rise on his lips, and he didn't try to fight it, merely schooling his expression to try and appear more at ease, that his heart was not trembling with excitement.

The Foreigner was here, and he was taking action against the Witch's Cult in the city. Roswaal's plan must have worked.

There was hope yet.

Russell tsked, drawing Roswaal's eyes back to him.

"Judging from that look on your face, you still plan to reward him? I don't suppose I could convince you to let the matter drop?"

Roswaal tilted his head. "No, I don't see any reason to. Why? Has something happened?"

Russell shook his head. "No, it's more what didn't happen. He has known about the cult's presence in the city for a significant amount of time, at least a month…"

Roswaal's eyes widened. A month? He has that much leeway?

"...and he has done little to inform the city," Russell continued, heedless of Roswaal's amazement, "aside from some minor tip-offs to the knights. He appears to have his own agenda, and given the situation, Lady Karsten gave her approval for him to be taken into custody."

Roswaal frowned. "Lady Karsten? Why would her approval be necessary? Your authority would cover this situation, no?"

"Ah, I haven't explained fully," Russell said, tapping the sheaf of papers in front of Roswaal. "I should give you some time to read over the documents. I've included everything about the informant, but truthfully, there isn't much. It's like he appeared out of nowhere that day."

Roswaal nodded, and took the pages into his lap, eyes flicking over them quickly.

For the first time in four hundred years, it appeared he had a name for this mysterious Foreigner.

'Subaru Natsuki.' A very strange name. Most certainly a foreigner's name. The alternating constant and vowel sounds bore some resemblance to the names of some regions to the east, in Kararagi, but even there, the style wasn't common.

His eyes flicked further, skipping through the description of his features and odd clothing, to his known activities.

It appeared that he was a merchant. A rather successful one, if Russell's information was to be believed.

He had been partnered with another merchant—a Lugunican native, 'Otto Suwen'—in order to sell luxury foodstuffs, but their company had taken an abrupt turn into weaponry a few weeks ago. They quickly sold those weapons to Crusch Karsten in order to secure a partnership with her.

Roswaal found it very difficult to keep his face under control as he read those words.

In the original world described by the Tome, this 'Subaru' would have been left in Crusch's care after the royal selection, and would then lead her army to kill the White Whale and the Sin Archbishop of Sloth.

Was this the result of the efforts of previous Roswaals? Had he somehow convinced Subaru to get close to the Crusch camp in order to bring the world into closer alignment with the Tome? His plan had been to draw Subaru closer to Emilia, and hopefully convince him to align with her camp, but perhaps that had already occurred.

If Subaru had shared some of his worries, would one of the previous Roswaals have advised him to seek help from the Duchess?

It was a distinct possibility.

Roswaal smiled wryly. It was a difficult thing, trying to play a game when he did not know the full state of the board, nor remembered the previous moves he had taken.

He narrowed his eyes, reading through the timeline of events carefully.

Subaru had shifted his behaviour in a major way when he decided to go almost all-in on weapons, clearly because he knew Lady Crusch would be interested in them.

However, according to the interviews Russell had conducted with the business partner and others Subaru had contact with, the first concrete indication that he knew about the Witch's Cult came only a little over a week ago, when he first approached a spy to investigate them.

That could imply a rather short maximum duration of his power. If Roswaal was looking at the result of two separate runs of Redos—that Subaru had gone back to profit off Crusch's plans, then come back again after the Witch's Cult attacked—that implied he could go back… around around two and a half weeks, assuming the cult was able to attack the capital with the same speed that had been described in the Tome for their attack on his manor.

Roswaal rubbed his chin.

It would be important to figure out exactly what the limits on the power were, if Roswaal was going to use it most effectively.

He moved on, paying particular attention to the interview that had been conducted with the spy. Interestingly, Subaru seemed to already know quite a bit about their forces in the city, and the locations of their main bases.

That implied he was already making progress towards driving the Witch's Cult off. He must have Redone at least… twice. Probably more. The first time he would have been caught off-guard, and he would not have this much knowledge about the cult's movements the second.

Yet, Roswaal didn't think this would be his final attempt.

Russell's neat handwriting described how the business partner had grown suspicious, how the spy had betrayed her employer, and Crusch's report of Subaru's enraged outburst once the cultist hideouts were attacked.

Subaru had made mistakes. Too many for him to have gone through this particular plan before.

The fact that he acted so immaturely boded well for Roswaal's plans. It was far easier to control someone driven by anger than someone who dispassionately examined their situation.

Still, Roswaal thought it would be good to meet him in person, and see what could be gleaned from his behaviour, and pick up any hints about what transpired in the previous worlds.

Perhaps encourage him to approach the Emilia camp in future attempts? That was the initial plan, but would that run contrary to the plans the previous Roswaals had set in motion? Was there something he didn't yet know, that made him start pushing Subaru back into alignment with the writ already?

He flicked his eyes back to the documents. They finished with a brief description of Subaru's arrest, after which he had been confined to a room in the Karsten estate. That had occurred that very morning.

It shouldn't be too difficult to secure a meeting then.

He looked up, and met Russell's eyes.

"Before you ask the obvious question," the treasurer began, "while I would be more than happy to allow you to meet him, that's not possible at the moment. He escaped not long ago."

A rare look of frustration flickered across his face momentarily.

"Worse, there's no indication of how he did it. I checked the room myself. There was no sign that he forced his way out. While I hate to distrust Lady Crusch, I suspect he had help from someone in her employ."

"Hmm," Roswaal shrugged noncommittally. He knew of a few techniques that could bypass the usual methods of blocking magic, but he doubted that Subaru had spent enough time Redoing to learn them. Russell's theory was most likely correct, he had some kind of help from someone in Crusch's camp.

Would that imply that he was holding something secret to blackmail them with? Was he more prepared than Roswaal had assumed, and his outburst was faked, in order to push the Crusch camp in the direction he wanted?

Roswaal shook his head.

It wouldn't be wise to overthink Subaru's motivations. The Tome had not described an overly calculating demeanour, rather, it seemed the boy was brash and impulsive, and every indication from the report in front of him seemed to confirm that fact.

Therefore, it would be best to assume Roswaal's plan was working.

He would endeavour to meet Subaru before he chose to Redo, and hopefully continue to push him down the correct path.

"Very well," he said aloud. "I have some business to attend to, so I will remain in the city for a few days. In that time, if he reappears…"

Russell nodded. "I will contact you at once."

Their business finished, Roswaal stood to leave.

Depending on how much they had spoken in previous attempts, Subaru may try and contact him for aid. If they had spoken at all in the previous worlds, Roswaal would surely have told Subaru to rely on him.

He'd remain a few days so he could be contacted. Perhaps he'd even bring Emilia to the city early? But that wasn't likely to go down well with the officials, not when they knew the city was crawling with cultists.

And if Subaru didn't reach out, then Roswaal would watch and adapt as events unfolded.

Subaru did not contact him. Nor did he reappear at all before the day of the Royal Selection.

That was unfortunate, but Roswaal wasn't overly displeased by that turn of events. Judging from his outburst and paranoia, Subaru was heavily invested in seeing the cult defeated. He wouldn't just abandon the city to them, Roswaal was certain of it.

It was a bit surprising that the world still continued, Roswaal would have thought that he would Redo after losing the trust of Crusch.

But his escape from her manor suggested that he still had a use for this attempt, so Roswaal wasn't going to begrudge him it.

He flew back to his manor only long enough to retrieve Emilia, then immediately set off again for the capital.

Emilia didn't speak much on the trip.

Puck had still not come out of his crystal, the combination of Roswaal's magic and Emilia's mental distress keeping him in slumber.

Now all he had to do was leave Emilia in harm's way, and bait Subaru out from wherever he was hiding.

Perhaps that was the boy's plan? To approach Emilia before the cult could attack her, and get her out of danger?

Roswaal tilted his head as he considered it.

That would likely mean abandoning the capital, and it wouldn't end the threat the cult posed to her life immediately, but it would buy them time to prepare, and Subaru might be willing to accept that.

After a moment's thought, Roswaal found he didn't disagree with that plan. The capital was important to the nation, but not necessarily important to Roswaal's requirements. Securing Subaru's aid was far more important, and having him voluntarily give up the city, to only hold onto his most important thing, would mean Roswaal wouldn't need to pound that lesson into him with the Sanctuary.

"Lady Emilia," he spoke, looking over at his charge.

The half-elf's eyes snapped up to meet his.

"Yes! What is it?"

"Don't worry, it is merely advice I wanted to give you. If we get separated for any reason in the city, I believe you should put your faith in the kindness of strangers. There are those who believe in you and will try to help you, regardless of your heritage."

"Oh," Emilia said, her eyes falling again, a trace of disbelief in her tone.

She was still upset from the loss of Rem. The silly girl almost acted like she was responsible for her death at times.

Roswaal held in a sigh.

He didn't expect much from her, he reminded himself. All she needed to do was stay in one piece until Subaru could make her the queen.

"I believe there is one more thing to discuss, before we can truly begin the selection," Roswaal said, his voice loud and authoritative, carrying through the throne room.

The selection had so far proceeded smoothly, despite it being common knowledge that the Witch's Cult was in the city. There had been a small amount of trouble with Emilia's presence, enough that Marcos had to speak up to silence the whisperings, but the people were reasonable enough. None would truly dare go against the words of the dragon tablet.

And on that note…

"The Dragon Tablet ordered us to hold a Royal Selection," he continued, "but said nothing of how such a selection would be decided. It would not do to proceed through the next three years with differing ideas of what would qualify one to become the ruler."

The original plan was to keep Emilia in the city so that the Witch's Cult would attack and drag Subaru into the conflict. Even though Subaru had now been found, Roswaal had no intention of changing the plan. He didn't want Subaru to catch on to his knowledge of the power. Not yet, at least.

It was Miklotov who responded first.

"A good point, Margrave Mathers," he said, stroking his beard. "It was assumed that the Council of Elders would judge the contributions of all candidates against each other. Do you believe a different method would be more fair?"

"I believe everyone should have a chance to bring their desires and views forward," he answered. Obviously he didn't care anything about how the selection would be decided. Putting Emilia on the throne would be handled by Subaru, regardless of the method of judgement.

All he needed was to drag out this meeting for a few days, to give the cult a chance to attack the city.

"No."

Roswaal blinked, and looked over towards the one who had uttered that declaration.

Crusch Karsten frowned up at him, her arms crossed.

"While normally I would praise your meticulousness, Lord Roswaal, in this case, I do not believe further discussion is wise. There exists a clear and present threat to this city, one we do not fully understand the scale of, and it would not serve us to spend our time arguing. I propose that we shelve any such decision until after this crisis has been averted."

Roswaal's eye twitched, but he kept his face neutral. He had been prepared to deal with some level of objection…

But this was Crusch speaking. She had spoken with Subaru. She had been the one he had decided to approach.

Could she possibly know more than she let on?

Someone in her camp must have let Subaru go free. With her Divine Protection, any such person would be quickly located, but she hadn't reported anyone to Russell. Was Subaru released on her orders?

"I'm in agreement," Anastasia Hoshin spoke up. "I can't say I fancy remaining in such a dangerous environment. And we all know this event is only going to rile them up more."

Roswaal flicked his eyes to her, then to the other candidates and the Council of Elders. He could see most of them agreed with the sentiment, but he didn't think it would be beyond him to convince them to take his side.

His gaze went back to Crusch.

The plan was to keep Emilia in the city. But the situation had changed. Subaru was involved now. Wouldn't the best course of action be to start dragging him to the manor? Was this the path the previous Roswaals had decided to walk?

He bowed his head to the duchess.

"Of course, you are correct. I'm afraid I've been too preoccupied with other matters. My concerns can be addressed in full at another point."

In the next few days, The Priscilla and Anastasia camps left the city, but whether it was to deal with external matters or to get away from the Witch's Cult, Roswaal couldn't tell, and didn't care enough to find out.

The Felt camp was stuck in the city, as Russell seemed adamant that Reinhard use his myriad talents to help uncover the Witch Cultists.

The only candidate who remained by choice was Lady Crusch. She was still being secretive about what her purpose in gathering arms and soldiers was, leading to some concerned speculation among the nobility, but Roswaal had already been given the answer by the Tome.

Her foolish crusade against the White Whale would be proceeding on schedule.

As for Emilia… Roswaal had no choice but to send her back to the manor.

While it would be within his power to keep her in the capital, holed away in some inn, such a course of action would alienate too many key individuals.

Even assuming that this world would fail—something he was no longer completely sure of—he couldn't afford to lose Russell's support. His organisation was Roswaal's only hope of finding Subaru before the end, as slim a hope as it was.

Roswaal had accompanied them as far as the manor, but immediately flew back to the capital.

According to the timeline set out by the Tome, it would take at least five days for the cult to prepare their attack on his manor, as that was when Subaru would have swooped in during the correct world. Perhaps they would take an additional few days to launch their attack, or perhaps Subaru had been fated to arrive in the nick of time.

This world was markedly different from the one he had been preparing for. The Witch's Cult's hideouts in the capital had been raided and burned, no doubt kicking the hornet's nest in the process.

Even assuming that Subaru's quarrel with Crusch was some kind of ruse, there was no guarantee that her forces would be enough to overcome the White Whale, the Sin Archbishop of Sloth, as well as whatever else the riled up Witch's Cult chose to deploy.

Therefore, he had to be within Subaru's reach, had to be contactable so that the boy could still access any vital information from him. Would they still require his assistance? Would his absence cause Subaru to withdraw from the camp? How did he feel about Emilia now, what did he think of Roswaal, why didn't he come with her back to the manor?

The questions reverberated through his head, growing stronger with every passing hour.

But the one person who could answer them was nowhere to be found

Early in the morning, on the third day since the selection, Roswaal departed the city.

He was cutting it a bit close, but he had wanted to keep an eye on the city until the last possible moment.

Part of him feared that Subaru's unknown ability had already brought him into the next world, and Roswaal would be forced to watch his plans fall apart in this one. In his heart of hearts, he had hoped that the ability would erase him and everything else when Subaru chose to activate it, but such a thing would be too convenient for Roswaal.

But as he didn't know the particulars, he would have to dedicate himself to fulfilling the plan as if it still had meaning.

To begin with, he had to prepare the evacuation route Emilia would take back to the capital. It would be unthinkable to have her die so far away that Puck's devastation wouldn't reach the city. Perhaps he would have her evacuate through the fog?

Roswaal had been paying attention to the reports from the Lifaus Plains, but no sign of the mist had appeared. That didn't mean much though. The White Whale was capricious, appearing in the blink of an eye and vanishing just as quickly.

It was doubtful that Emilia would make it through the mist on her own, especially with Puck still sealed, but that would be no problem. Roswaal would have no choice but to leave Emilia's side in order to drive it away, allowing her to approach the capital, but unfortunately also distracting him enough that the cult would be able to track her unhindered.

Should he sabotage the carriage? It would guarantee that she would die at the most opportune time, but there was the risk of Subaru discovering it.

Better to let things take their natural course. It wasn't like she would be able to reach the capital anyway.

He felt a slight disturbance in the mana of the atmosphere, and frowned, his mind momentarily dragged back to the present.

There was some kind of pull to the north, one that seemed eerily familiar…

Then he felt the cold wind, and his spine froze.

He recognised that feeling. It was Puck's trump card. No, that name no longer adequately described him.

The Beast of the End had appeared once more.

Roswaal burst forward at breakneck speed, the trees blazing past underneath him, an icy feeling rising in his gut.

Puck wouldn't have been able to break out of the seal alone. Which could only mean that he was no longer bound by his contract with Emilia. Which meant she was dead.

The cult had struck earlier than Roswaal had anticipated.

It couldn't be. Surely Subaru wouldn't have let this happen? Surely he had plans to be there?

But Crucsh hadn't moved from the capital. He couldn't have gone alone, could he have?

Roswaal grit his teeth, and breathed in with his gate, sucking the mana out of his surroundings, surfing so much of it into his Od that he could feel it start to strain at the edge of breaking. He would need every last drop of it if he was forced into a battle here.

Then he shot forward, into the brewing storm.

He saw Puck's silhouette long before anything else.

The Beast of the End had revealed his true power, taking on his titanic form and beginning the process of ending the world.

As he got closer, Roswaal spotted what remained of the manor grounds, now covered in a thick layer of snow.

The manor itself has been torn open, likely the result of Puck's transformation.

The Beast of the End spotted him as Roswaal drew near, and let out a thunderous growl.

"Roswaal."

The court mage stopped, well out of range of Puck's claws, but still close enough to converse.

"Puck," he said, a simple spell of Wind carrying the words through the howling of the storm. "I take it you've regained your memories?"

"Mostly. For all the good they do," Puck growled. "Tell me, before I crush you beneath my feet. Was this all a part of your schemes? Keeping me from protecting 'Lia until it was too late?"

It was an empty threat, Roswaal knew. Puck's goal now was to bring about the end of the world, and to do that, he would need to overcome the insurmountable obstacle, Reinhard. He wouldn't waste a scrap of his power until the Sword Saint arrived.

"No," Roswaal replied. "This is… a mistake."

Puck snarled and tensed as if to leap, but Roswaal darted back, well out of his range.

"A mistake!" he roared. "Lia is dead, and you call that a mistake!? Tell me, Roswaal! What did you hope to accomplish with all this!? Why is Lia dead!?"

"I don't know," Roswaal said. "But I intend to find out."

He considered the grounds. If Subaru truly had come here, then he was already dead. Possibly killed by the cult before he could activate his ability, or more likely by Puck himself in his rampage. In that case…

"Did you see a boy?" he asked.

Puck's animal eyes stared at him unwaveringly, the seconds dragging on, until the beast finally spoke.

"A boy?"

"A black-haired boy. Likely an authority holder. He would have approached Emilia if he had come here."

Puck snorted.

"I cannot smell the Witch's Scent. But no. I have seen no such person."

Puck could be lying… but Roswaal didn't think he was. There was no reason for him to do so.

"Very well," he said. "In that case, there is nothing left for me here. And for what little it's worth… good luck."

"I don't need your well-wishes, Roswaal," Puck rumbled. "If you aren't going to try and interfere, leave. Even if it weakens me to do so, I will not allow you to join your forces with the Sword Saint."

Roswaal let a moment pass, but there was nothing left to say.

He shot away from the eye of the storm, outpacing the expanding cloud of snow and cold.

Towards the capital.

Towards the person who had betrayed the writ of the Tome.

Towards Subaru.

How did one fight someone with control over time itself?

It was a thought that had surfaced every so often over the four hundred years of Roswaal's lives. It had never seemed a very pressing issue, but altogether, he had spent quite a bit of time on it.

As a result, Roswaal was quite certain.

He couldn't.

Subaru as described in the Tome's writ was not a very talented individual. In fact, from every indication Roswaal had been able to gleam, he was a perfectly ordinary person in every way bar one.

It was his ability that made him so valuable, and so tricky to plan around.

Sure, Roswaal could easily overpower the boy, but what good would that do when Subaru flickered the time crystals and sent himself into the past?

He would have time to prepare, to scheme, to find one of Roswaal's many, many weaknesses, and even if he didn't… well, he always had another chance. As many chances as he needed.

Not to mention, Roswaal hadn't even known that they were in conflict, nor did he even know when his ability would bring him back to. The Tome wasn't clear on exactly why or how Subaru's redo point updated, but there clearly was some kind of mechanism for it, given the sudden miraculous knowledge he received half-way through some of the future events described.

It seemed safe to bet that a sudden change in mindset could cause that point to update. Roswaal had to make sure it didn't go past the point where his wish could no longer be fulfilled.

He would be walking into Subaru's plans again and again until the boy finally figured out a way to get what he wanted.

Therefore, Roswaal's victory condition was not to overcome Subaru, but to negotiate.

He didn't have anything to bargain with but Emilia's life, so he was likely going to need to make sacrifices. As long as Subaru still put Emilia on the throne, resurrecting Echidna would still be possible. Some aspects of the plan would be more troublesome depending on the demands he made, and it was going to be very difficult to make sure Subaru didn't give up on her, at least until he was able to put him through the Sanctuary.

But that was a problem for the next Roswaals. This one was going to have to force Subaru to the negotiating table.

Roswaal surrounded his face with a bubble of wind, then began to ascend higher and higher. By the time he cleared Puck's expanding storm, he was so high that not even the best of Vollachia's dragon knights would be able to reach him.

He could see the city, growing closer as Roswaal hurtled towards it. It wouldn't be long before Puck's influence reached it, but it was unlikely to suffer any harm before the Sword Saint ended him.

A pity, but nothing Roswaal couldn't deal with.

He waited until he was directly above the city, sucking in what mana he could at this altitude, and mentally running through his plan one last time. To cut off every possible escape route, to force Subaru into submission no matter what plan he made.

It wasn't perfect, but it was all Roswaal was capable of coming up with.

If it didn't work, then no version of Roswaal would ever get to meet his teacher.

He took a breath, then closed his eyes, allowing the bubble of air around his head to fade away, leaving only his flight magic active.

Spells were quite delicate works. They required fine control of mana as it exited a person's gate, and the slightest disturbance in this process could ruin them.

This locked most people into maintaining only a single spell at a time, or tying them off and abandoning them in order to cast new ones.

Roswaal, through great practice, talent, and the knowledge of his teacher, had managed to break past this barrier.

He could maintain his flight magic with nothing but his will, and now he added to it, the fingers of his right hand weaving strands of Wind to disperse his presence, the fingers of his left folding Yang into a cloak that would bend light around him to render him invisible.

Of the knights, only Marcos and Reinhard would be able to spot him now.

Then he dived.

Gravity and his magic propelled him well beyond the speed of sound, but he didn't leave so much as a breeze in his wake, his magic settling the air behind him before it had even noticed that he had passed.

As he plummeted towards the ground, his feet tap-danced against the empty air, and a fourth spell joined the procession, a combination of Yin and Yang that threw his sight far from his body.

For a brief moment, he could make out the blurry image of an office and a pen running over paperwork, from the viewpoint of a man seated at a desk.

Before he could get a better view, something gave way in his head, and he was forced to end the spell. He could feel moisture from his nose, and he could feel a chill in his forehead.

Even a mild and inferior version of the Oni's signature technique had proved too much for his human body.

But he had accomplished his goal. He knew where his first target was.

He stopped dead still in the air, not fifty metres from the ground, having made not a sound, then he shot forward, his legs dancing to another tune, Wind spreading out around him to silence even the faintest of noises as he crashed head first through the largest window of the merchant's guild.

Only then did Roswaal allow his spells to drop.

Russell looked up from his paperwork, surprise on his face.

"Roswaal? Where did you—"

He paused, eyes going to the shattered glass on the floor, then turning his head to the window.

"There is no time to explain," Roswaal said, his voice deathly quiet. "Lady Emilia has been attacked by the cult. I need to know where Marcos, the Sword Saint, Lady Crusch, and Subaru are at the present moment."

Russell tilted his head in confusion.

"The cult? But why haven't you… and Subaru? The informant?"

Roswaal could see a trace of suspicion rising on Russell's face, but thankfully, it wasn't enough to overturn the relationship Roswaal had built with him over the last decade.

"Marcos should be in the palace, and Lady Crusch is at her estate," he said, his eyes flicking to his desk.

"The Sword Saint should still be patrolling the city, though if the cult has attacked elsewhere that might not be as necessary now. As for Subaru, I still have no leads, but I have been watching over his contacts," he said, retrieving a document from a drawer.

"The elf spy was in a tavern on bright street, and I believe the merchant was seen last leaving the Crusch estate, returning to his inn on Earth street."

He glanced up at Roswaal. "But I must ask, how does that have any relevance to the danger Emilia is in? I can understand you may wish to enlist Marcos and Lady Crusch, but—"

Roswaal clapped a hand on Russell's shoulder.

"You truly don't know?"

Russell narrowed his eyes, now looking at Roswaal warily.

"No. Roswaal, what is going on?"

Roswaal considered Russell's words, but even if the treasurer was lying, there was no way Roswaal would be able to tell. He didn't have talent with people, and Russell had it in spades.

Which left only one thing. Tying up loose ends.

"Goa."

Russell didn't even have time to scream before the fire stole the air from his lungs, incinerating his flesh in moments. Even his bones were reduced to ashes by the intensity of the flame.

With a flurry of Wind, Roswaal gathered the remains and cast them out the shattered window, his spell carrying them so that they would spread out over the city, such that they wouldn't be trackable with magical means.

A regrettable action, but a necessary one. There was no telling what might develop in Roswaal's conflict with Subaru, and Russell had too much potential to interfere with Roswaal's plan too much to spare his life.

But… it was fortunate that the next Roswaal would not remember this deed.

He forced his mind to turn aside. There was still two things left to accomplish in the guild building.

He pulsed mana through the building, feeling the gates of every living being present.

With a spell of Earth, he was able to get a fairly accurate picture of the building, and carefully examined the prison underneath the guild.

Technically, it wasn't supposed to exist, but Russell liked to keep valuable pieces close to his chest.

If this wasn't the first redo, and Subaru had approached the treasurer, telling impossible tales of Roswaal's future treachery, then Russell would doubtlessly keep him contained here. The treasurer was crafty, and while he might not believe Subaru's words, he would certainly be interested enough to investigate, perhaps interested enough to figure out exactly what Subaru's ability was.

But the dungeon was empty at the moment. That was slightly unfortunate. It would have been beneficial for Roswaal to appear before Subaru as a saviour.

That left his second task.

He strode to the cabinets at the side of the room, and probed them with strands of mana. The merchant's guild held a certain amount of collateral and reserves, but not all of that was in coinage. Sometimes rare and expensive objects would be used, and there was no way that Russell would allow them to be stored away from his watchful eye.

It only took a moment for Roswaal to find what he was looking for, and only a moment longer for him to rip the security spells to pieces and open the drawer.

Inside sat ten transparent crystals, not one of them larger than Roswaal's pinky finger.

Pyroxene crystals.

They were very small, extremely pure pieces of lagmite, so much so that they started to hold properties beyond those of regular magic stones.

None were as pure as the one that Emilia had worn around her neck, and their quality couldn't match the quantity of the enormous piece of lagmite hidden away in the Sanctuary.

But they would do.

With deft movements of his fingers and the sharp utterances of the old magical tongue, Roswaal cast ten identical spells in quick succession, manipulating his own gate to scramble his mana signature to be unrecognisable, and tying the magic to the crystals.

Instantly, the room began to chill, as the stones began to suck the mana out of the air to fuel their magic.

On their own, they would not be able to freeze the entire city, but they would help ensure that Puck's storm would devastate the region, even if Reinhard reached him soon.

With a flick of his hand, Roswaal created Wind spells, five at a time, sending the stones careening out into the city.

He followed them, his two spells to hide his presence snapping back into place.

A brief application of Earth magic was able to repair the window to an acceptable state, which left Roswaal free to take a moment and catch his breath.

He looked out over the city, at the imposing towers of the palace, looming over the city, and the overcast skies, bringing the cold in from the north.

It only took minutes for him to reach his next destination, the knight's quarters of the palace.

He snapped out a small pulse of mana to feel the gates of everyone in the vicinity, potentially alerting them to Roswaal's presence if they were on the lookout, but also confirming that there was no danger of an ambush.

He could only sense the rough locations and strengths of the gates within his range, but that was enough. He manoeuvred out of direct line-of-sight of the building, then combined Yin and Yang, once again forcing his body to undergo the strain of the far-seeing spell.

It only took an instant for Roswaal to achieve his goal. Marcos was still present.

Roswaal's intrusion seemed to have increased his wariness, the Captain of the Knight seeming to have sensed Roswaal's subtle probing, but he didn't appear to be especially alert aside from that.

Subaru had not approached him, not in this Redo.

Marcos was another of Roswaal's strongest allies, but not nearly as distrustful as Russell. If the Captain of the Knights had been approached by Subaru, he would have sent a message to Roswaal immediately, but it was good to have confirmation.

His business at the palace finished, he shot up into the air, then looped down towards the middle strata.

As he flew, he noticed a disturbance in the surrounding mana, and glanced towards the source.

Roswaal's eyesight was excellent, but it still took a spell for him to make out the flash of red leaving the north gate.

It seemed Reinhard had noticed the effects of the Beast of the End. Fortunately for Roswaal, it came too late to save the city.

He came down on top of the Karsten estate. Not onto the grounds, nor before their front door.

He landed on the roof, and pulsed mana through the region.

The grounds were swarming with soldiers. Gates of varying strengths crawled all over the grounds and within the manor. It seemed being discrete was the way to go.

He hovered down along one of the walls, then silenced his surroundings as he broke through a window for the second time that evening.

He had emerged in a small guest room, not far from the office.

It took a moment for him to recall the general layout of this particular manor—it had been nearly two hundred years since he had last visited it—but once he had it, he strode out into the hallways.

At this hour, most of the servants were downstairs, preparing the evening meal, so no one crossed Roswaal's path.

He stopped at the doorway for a moment, pulsing mana to ensure that no one was inside, then entered.

The room was dim, the half-drawn curtains blocking most of the evening light, but there was still enough for Roswaal to work with.

Lady Crusch was the meticulous sort. She hadn't left a single page out on her desk, and her bookshelves were as neat as could be, leaving no indication of what she had needed to consult with recently. There wasn't even the faintest layer of dust in the room.

But that meticulousness could be a weakness too. She would keep what she was currently working on close at hand.

With a swirl of Wind and a click of the locks, the drawers of Crusch's desk opened, and the documents contained within emptied out onto the table before him.

A normal person would have taken hours to go through so many pages, but Roswaal was a professional. He managed almost a quarter of the administrative paperwork in the kingdom by himself, so he was well-practised with reading large amounts of information quickly.

Most of it dealt with mundane matters, the salaries of servants, the state of the Karsten lands, and other superfluous things. Some of it was more curious, such as the details of the forces she had gathered under her banner, but Roswaal was already aware of the most important details.

There was even a map with locations marked down. There were no labels on the map, but Roswaal could guess the meaning from his existing knowledge.

They were the locations of all known attacks by the White Whale.

Now that it was laid out before him, he could see the traces of a pattern there, not too obvious, but definitely one Roswaal could work out if he so desired.

He had thought the girl's ambition was a fool's dream, but it seemed that even without Subaru, she'd still be able to track down the beast. Though without the power to Redo on her side, her forces would likely end up suffering heavier casualties than described in the Tome, perhaps even to the extent that the mabeast would prove triumphant.

He shook his head and moved on.

After a few more minutes of searching, he had to admit defeat. If Crusch had some kind of agreement with Subaru, she had made no written record of it. He had even broken into the hidden compartments of the cabinets, but to no avail.

It was frustrating.

While ensuring the city was drowned in snow would probably be enough to force him to Redo, Roswaal wasn't about to take that chance. He had to meet him, to begin to direct him back onto the correct path.

And Subaru's mysterious disappearance from under Crusch's nose was the best lead he had.

He allowed himself a small sigh, before hardening his heart.

He had hoped to extract the information he required painlessly, but it seemed that wasn't going to be possible anymore.

The Karsten estate was large enough that several hundred soldiers could be hosted on the grounds, but few of those dwelt in the manor itself.

Lady Crusch did not keep an especially large staff, but there were enough that Roswaal could not afford to move carelessly. Roswaal's dual stealth spells made it easy to walk through the hallways unobserved. Even someone with extreme sensitivity to mana wouldn't be able to distinguish Roswaal from his surroundings, thanks to the Wind dispersing his presence throughout the building.

Though in the end, he didn't end up passing even one servant. Crusch was not hosting a large number of people in the building itself, so the maintenance required was minimal.

In that case, most of the servants would be on break. That was good. It would mean less collateral damage, if things came to that.

According to rumour, Lady Crusch usually dined alone, but as Roswaal approached, he heard two voices speaking from within the dining room.

That voice… I believe that would be Sir Felix. He shouldn't be a problem.

He flicked his magic through the surroundings to be sure that no one was coming to interrupt, then dropped his stealth spells and opened the door.

The conversation in the room died in an instant, both the duchess and the Blue looking at him with surprise.

"I apologise for my sudden interruption," Roswaal said before either could speak, "but the situation is quite urgent."

"Lord Roswaal?" Crusch asked in bewilderment, standing up from the table. "What is the matter? Why were you not escorted in?"

She was wearing a dress instead of her usual military attire. Curious, but ultimately of no importance.

"There was no one to greet me when I entered, and I could not afford to wait," Roswaal replied, being mindful not to tell any overt lies. The Divine Protection of Wind Indication allowed its user to see the emotional state of anyone in eyesight, meaning Lady Crusch would be able to pick out the moment Roswaal uttered an untruth.

However, even if he didn't lie directly, she would still be able to see the emotions swirling in his chest.

What did she see that made her eyes open with uncharacteristic expressiveness?

Was it fear she sensed in him? Anger? Desperation? Roswaal didn't even know at that point.

But it didn't matter. The key to maintaining the upper hand in the conversation was to keep pressing her, to not let her process what was happening.

"Wait just a minute!"

Felix spoke up before Roswaal could continue, pointing an angry finger at Roswaal, stepping in front of Lady Crusch as if to protect her.

"Even if you're a margrave, you can't just burst into Lady Crusch's private dwelling without notice like this! Why should we listen—"

"Lady Emilia has been attacked by the Witch's Cult," Roswaal said before Felix could go further. The knight was entirely correct, which was why Roswaal had to drown him out before he could convince Lady Crusch to throw him out.

"Russell suspects that they have had help from an individual," he continued, "known as Subaru Natsuki, who was last seen in your custody. I need to know if you have any information as to his whereabouts. Urgently."

Crusch blinked. "There was no proof of Mister Natsuki's involvement with them. I verified myself that he had nothing to do with them."

"Be that as it may, I must locate him. Russell did not believe that he was capable of leaving your custody alone, and I do not believe anyone could sneak past you to aid him, Duchess."

Crusch blinked. "You believe that I let him go free?"

"That's ridiculous!" Felix cried out in outrage. "Lady Crusch would never—"

"No, Lord Roswaal's concern is reasonable," Crusch said, bringing a hand up to massage her temple. "I had not realised Lord Fellow considered me a suspect in Mister Natsuki's disappearance, though now I see I should have. I will, of course, cooperate with the investigation… but you mentioned this was urgent? I'm sorry to say, I have no idea where Mister Natsuki is, nor do I have any idea how he escaped this manor."

Roswaal's mouth hardened into a line.

"Truly? You swear this?"

Crusch nodded. "Yes. On the Karsten name."

Roswaal sighed.

"I'm afraid that's not enough."

He flared his gate, calling on his mana, and watched as both of his opponents did the same.

Crusch wore a shocked expression, but her training was such that she responded to his threat instinctively. Felix, on the other hand, had been suspicious of him from the beginning, and leapt in front of Crusch to protect her from whatever Roswaal could throw at them.

In a normal situation, when two mages faced one, the duo would have a significant advantage, as they would be able to bring out twice as many spells as the opponent, and pursue twice as many strategies. It took a considerable amount of talent in order for one person to stand up to that potential.

Roswaal had far more than a 'considerable' amount of talent, and this was not a true two against one.

Crusch brought up a barrier of Wind, still somehow thinking that there must be a misunderstanding, thus holding her back from her best options, whereas Felix's Divine Protection of Water prevented him from using any magic that was not based in healing, meaning he wouldn't be useful in a magical duel in the first place.

In response to their paltry defences, Roswaal brought out five spells.

One of Wind, to break Crusch's barrier, shattering it into hundreds of pieces like it was little more than glass.

Two of Fire and Earth, to wrap the duo in flaming chains, bringing them to the floor and drawing screams of surprise and anger.

Two of Yin, to latch onto their gates and interfere with any spells they tried to cast.

The fight was over before it had truly begun. And now Roswaal was on a time limit. Crusch had gathered hundreds of soldiers for her crusade against the White Whale, and some of them had considerable ability. Including one that Roswaal would very much rather not meet. They could not have failed to notice the flaring of mana, and they would be rushing to investigate at that very moment.

"Tell me the truth," he whispered, striding forward and leaning down in front of Lady Crusch's face. "Where is Subaru?"

"Let her go!" Felix shouted, struggling uselessly against the magical chains. Roswaal ignored him.

"Mar…grave?" Crusch hissed out, her eyes focusing on him despite the pain she must be feeling. "You… you can't possibly think—"

Roswaal narrowed his eyes and intensified the flames, the chains burning deeper into the duchess's flesh.

How many more seconds did he have before the first soldier broke into the room? Ten? Less?

"Stop! Let her go!"

Roswaal wasn't going to be able to get an answer out of Lady Crusch. She wouldn't let something like pain get in her way.

But she still had weaknesses.

Weaknesses like a confidant, one she shared everything with, one who would do anything, reveal anything, in order to keep her safe.

Roswaal was torturing Crusch, but he was interrogating Felix. Who, just like Roswaal himself, would give up everything under the sun for the one thing he had chosen to live his life for.

"Please!" the knight cried out, struggling in vain trying to get free. "We don't know anything! Let her go!"

He was not lying. He couldn't be. They truly didn't know.

Felix's eyes snapped to the doorway, and Roswaal whirled, seizing the power of his gate.

His eyes landed on the shadow of an approaching figure, and four centuries of experience told Roswaal he wasn't going to be able to cast a spell in time. The figure was approaching too rapidly for that.

Mana surged into his hands and legs, and Roswaal backpedalled, his gate already fluttering the beginnings of a spell.

"AL—"

There was a glint of steel, and the shadow was on him, an old man in a butler's uniform, swinging a sword at his neck with all the weight of a mountain.

Roswaal lashed out with his hand, activating a technique he had learned in another life, and striking the side of the incoming blade.

In terms of spellwork, there was not a single living entity in the world that could match Roswaal. Unfortunately for him, this battle wasn't one of spells, but of mana. And though he was talented in many areas, Roswaal's talent in mana enhancement was only excellent, not capable of matching the true monsters of the world.

His palm hit the side of the blade, discharging into the metal with great force, but the man's mana responded in kind, countering Roswaal's efforts. He only managed to deflect the sword's path a hair's breadth, but that was enough to avoid his neck being sliced open.

"—GO—"

Then he saw the second sword.

The butler was dual-wielding two longswords in a way that Roswaal recognised, the memories beginning to rise in his head.

He couldn't avoid it.

He thrust out his other hand, intercepting the course of the blade. Once again his technique battled the man's mana enhancement through the metal, and once more, Roswaal was overwhelmed.

The sword cut through his hand, slicing it in two from between his index and middle fingers, right down to the wrist. That slowed the sword enough that it couldn't claim his life.

But it wasn't enough. The butler had his first sword in position now, and Roswaal couldn't avoid it. He'd have to brace and try to take it non-lethally. So long as his head and heart survived… so long as he could still find Subaru…!

His eyes met those of his attacker, and he saw them widen, felt his own widen, as they recognised each other.

Wilhelm van Astrea. A ghost from a past life.

"Jul—?"

Wilhelm hesitated for a split second, unintentionally voicing the question in his head, mistaking Roswaal for one of his predecessors.

A split second was all Roswaal needed.

"—A!"

Wilhelm, tensed, beginning to backstep, but he had thrown away his chance to dodge when he charged straight at Roswaal.

The fireball exploded out of Roswaal's gate, catching Wilhelm in the midsection and blasting him away, along with everything else in that general direction.

Crusch and her knight were simply erased, burned to ashes by the intensity of the blaze. The wood planks of the floor ignited and disintegrated, filling the air with sparks, and even the back wall exploded outwards from the force of Roswaal's spell.

But Roswaal didn't relax for a moment, his next two spells finishing in the following moments.

A second fireball followed the first, blazing its way through the manor, erasing everything between him and Wilhelm. It was impossible that the man would actually survive a full-strength Al Goa at point-blank range, but Roswaal wasn't going to risk it.

A bare second later, he threw the third spell, a nameless one of his own creation, a bundle of elemental magics in the form of four coloured orbs, specifically designed to tear through entities with mana enhancement.

The ground rumbled beneath his feet, the structure of the manor beginning to give way under the force of Roswaal's assault. But that didn't matter. His flight spell came up, and Roswaal lifted into the air, rushing forward and blasting out Wind to reveal…

Wilhelm's broken body.

Half his face had been burned away, and his right arm was nothing more than a charred stump. Roswaal couldn't even see where everything below his waist had gone.

It seemed the legend of the Sword Devil had come to an end with a whimper.

Roswaal felt cold.

Feelings rose up inside him, ones he knew would turn against him if he dwelt on them, sinking their fangs into his fragile mind, so he ignored them.

With a flick of his hand, the roof of the manor exploded outwards, blasting flaming timbers across the grounds.

Rising up into the sky, his invisibility spells once more hiding him from sight, Roswaal glanced around at the swarming soldiers.

He shouldn't leave any loose ends. But he couldn't risk killing Subaru before the boy could use his ability, and as unlikely as it seemed, he could still be present.

With a flurry of his fingers, the fires of the manor intensified, then blasted out over the grounds, damning all present to die a painful death.

Painful, but slow. Subaru would have time to Redo if got caught in them.

He grit his teeth. That had been his last major lead. He still had no idea where Subaru was, whether or not he had given up on Emilia, what his intentions for the future were.

He ascended into the sky, moving away from the site of the conflagration so he wouldn't be there when Marcos came running.

It wasn't that he thought he could be defeated in a battle between them. He simply didn't want to see the Captain of the Knights' face.

All wasn't lost quite yet. Russell had provided the locations of Subaru's two associates, and it wouldn't be too hard to track them down.

Unfortunately, the elf had known nothing. All Roswaal had accomplished with her was burning down another building.

As he flew down the street to the merchant's inn, the very last chance to find Subaru, snow began to fall. Puck's storm had reached them at last. Combined with Roswaal's spells, the city would be smothered within the hour.

His eyes searched the surroundings for the traits Russell's documents had indicated for the merchant easily enough. A green cloak and ushanka, a style popular in Picoutatte, and ashen grey hair.

Roswaal had no hope that the merchant would know anything. But he had to try anyway.

He spotted a green cloak, a young man standing atop an old ruined fort. It only took a second to pick out the other details, his green headwear off-centre and his grey hair dishevelled.

It seemed Roswaal had found his last lead.

He descended from the sky, looking down at the merchant with soulless eyes. The man had been speaking to someone, but whatever conversation they had seemed to be finished. The other man was walking away, leaving the merchant disquieted.

Roswaal blinked.

The other man… his clothes were strange. White and black, with highlights of orange… one might even call them 'bizarre'.

His eyes widened, and he blasted his mana out, clearing the snow between them, attracting the duo's attention.

The man turned, one arm trying to shield his face from the wind, and his eye's met Roswaal's.

Perhaps it was hope. Perhaps it was instinct. But in that moment, Roswaal felt he knew.

It was him.

He wasn't attempting to save Emilia from the manor, he wasn't leading Crusch's forces against the Whale, and he wasn't struggling against the cult. He was standing at ease in the capital, waiting to see if he could survive Emilia's death.

He had given up on her.

"Subaru Natsuki," Roswaal said, all the complex emotions that had been running through his mind falling silent at last. He couldn't rely on subterfuge at this point. It seemed he would have to try honesty.

"You must Redo."

He could see shades standing all around him, wearing the faces he did not want to see. Frederica, Russell, Wilhelm, Emilia… Ram. If the world did not reset, they would be lost forever. To join all the other faces he had let down.

The boy looked up at him, the shocked expression clear on his face.

"Roswaal?" his mouth whispered.

So they had met before.

"Lady Emilia is dead," Roswaal said. "The Witch's Cult slew her in the manor. Where you left her."

Subaru shook his head.

"No, wait, you said… Did you say Redo?"

His eyes locked onto Roswaal's, and his whole body had started to tremble.

"You knew," the boy whispered.

Roswaal felt the barest trace of mana, and four spirits flickered into existence around him.

"You knew. How long… no, it must have been since the start! You knew the entire time!?"

"Knew what?" the merchant interjected. "Subaru, what is going on? You know Lord Roswaal?"

"Not now, Otto," Subaru hissed, still looking up at Roswaal. "Answer me! Why haven't you said anything!?"

The situation was developing poorly. Roswaal would have to try and conjure some goodwill before the world reset. But at least, it seemed this was the first time they were talking candidly to one another. Things could still improve.

He descended, landing on the building a few metres from Subaru.

The merchant moved forward, seemingly to defend the boy, but Subaru waved him back.

Roswaal glanced at the other man. If all he wanted to do was force Subaru to go back, killing him would likely be all that it took. But that was not all he wanted, so that was not an option.

"I know that this must sound terrible," Roswaal began, looking back at Subaru. "But please try to imagine things from my situation. An ability like yours is almost unbelievable. Anyone would want to verify its existence before bringing it up. Else it would be like accusing someone of being able to spin gold from straw."

"You… what? You weren't sure?" Subaru said.

There was a trace of nervousness on his face, and one hand had been raised as if to protect his chest. Then, as Roswaal had guessed in the past, was this ability an Authority? The Witch must have been preventing him from revealing it by his own will.

"That is so," Roswaal replied. "And I feared what would happen should I carelessly reveal it. After all, one never knows where such abilities come from, though I suspect your patron… isn't the most generous, shall we say?"

Subaru flinched at those words, and his fingers grasped his chest.

"What do you know?" the boy ground out.

"I'm afraid I can't reveal much," Roswaal replied. Despite the boy's hostility… he didn't think things were going too terribly. Once he reset, and had a few days to clear his head, tried a few Redos against the cult and failed, he would undoubtedly come to Roswaal for aid.

"Contracts are difficult things," he continued by way of explanation. "I would not have approached you myself had the situation not been so dire."

Subaru's lips formed a line. "You mean Emilia."

Roswaal nodded. "Indeed. I was not able to protect her, and now the Beast of the End rampages. He will lay waste to the entire region before the Sword Saint can put him down. I'm afraid this city is already lost."

Subaru tensed when he heard that. Because he knew of Puck's ability? Or perhaps valued the spirit's life?

Roswaal took the opportunity to step closer, spreading his arms wide. "I understand you might be cautious of my intentions, so you needn't agree to anything. I won't remember any deal we made anyway, so there's no point. However, I will give you a code phrase."

Subaru tilted his head.

"Tell me, 'The Warlock was vanquished by B', and I will understand your situation," Roswaal said. "I will do my best to help you in your efforts, provided you work in my sponsored candidate's best interests."

That particular tidbit of information was not something that could be learned from any living source, bar two. If Subaru brought it up, then the future Roswaals would know something had gone terribly, terribly wrong, and know to step carefully.

"Hold on!" the merchant interrupted, and Roswaal had to force his face not to scowl.

"I haven't been able to follow this conversation for a while now, but Lord Roswaal, you know about Subaru's… situation?"

Through sheer force of will, Roswaal was able to hold his face neutral as he turned towards the merchant.

"That is correct. Though, I'm afraid I cannot clarify it."

Otto's eyes lit up. "Then, Lord Roswaal, could you testify on Subaru's behalf? If you could at least help explain—"

"That will not be possible any more," Roswaal interrupted, turning his eyes back to Subaru.

"I'm sure you understand why. You must use your ability. This world holds no more meaning."

Subaru didn't seem convinced. In fact, while his rage seemed to have receded, what replaced it was the colder, more calculated kind of anger.

"You could have said something," he whispered, not even looking at his friend. "You could have done anything to let me know you knew."

"That would be difficult, as I have said," Roswaal tried to reason. "And please think. Surely I have been nothing but courteous to you when we have met in your past?"

Subaru hesitated, and Roswaal struggled to hide his relief. His guess had been correct. The previous Roswaals had not done anything to earn Subaru's ire, or had managed to hide their actions, as Roswaal himself had done over the last hour.

The boy was just angry at his situation and lashing out. If Roswaal could give him another firm push, he would surely take Roswaal's side in the next worlds.

"You are always welcome to visit," he said. "I would be happy to work with you on any concerns you might have."

But from the way Subaru's teeth clenched and the flash of anger on his face, it appeared that had been the wrong thing to say.

"Visit you? And go to your manor? Work with you? And meet your servants?"

Subaru almost growled out the words. There was hate in his eyes, but what it was directed at, Roswaal couldn't tell.

"After what she did!? That murderess!?"

Roswaal blinked. He couldn't understand Subaru's words. There was no one in the manor who would treat Subaru purely if he was Roswaal's guest.

"Who?" he asked.

Subaru scowled. "You wouldn't believe me anyway. It's a choice between someone you've just met and a lifelong servant."

A servant. Frederica would never… so it must have been Ram. Perhaps he did something to make her think he was responsible for the village curse.

"Tell me this the next time we meet," he urged. "I will make sure to explain things to Ram."

"Ram?" Subaru asked. "So your mind goes to her first? Well, they are twins. I guess they're both crazy."

It took Roswaal a frightfully long moment to decipher those words.

It hadn't been Ram that hurt him. He knew Ram had a twin. He thought that twin was crazy.

He met Rem, Roswaal realised. But she died. That means… that means…

He did originally come to the manor. He accompanied Emilia back… and then Rem smelled the Witch on him. And whatever happened, it was soon enough that he was able to reset to before he met Emilia.

To think that the greatest failings of the time has been a result of his own servant's actions.

"That…" Roswaal began, unsure how to salvage the situation, his mind going silent.

But he didn't get the opportunity to try.

In his shock, he had let down his guard, and that gap left room for a surprise attack. Roswaal barely sensed the rumble of earth in time, whipping around and blasting fire at the source.

Marcos Gildark charged right through the flames, barreling towards the fortress with his sword drawn.

Roswaal hissed and took to the sky. He had fought Marcos seriously once before in his youth, and had only bested the knight due to his refusal to fight with full sincerity.

The Marcos before him now seemed to have no intention of holding back. His entire form had been replaced with stone, the knight using his ultimate technique to encase himself in rock.

How did he get here so soon? There's no way he was able to recognise my mana signature at the Karsten estate.

"Roswaal," the three metre knight of rock ground out, his voice distorted by his magic. "I do not want to do this. Tell me. Why did—"

"Jiwald," Roswaal interrupted, creating a beam of light that cut the street in half. There was nothing important he could learn from Marcos, but the knight could easily turn Subaru against him if the looper were to learn of Roswaal's actions over the last hour.

The knight just stood and took the blow, the white beam barely scratching the mana circulating through his armour.

Roswaal grit his teeth.

It must have been the Blue. I reduced him to ashes, but with the Divine Protection of Water, it's not impossible that he would be able to heal himself. Which meant he would have been able to tell Marcos everything.

"I see," Marcos said, a trace of disappointment in his voice, as he took a combat stance. "In that case, I will not hold back."

Roswaal grimaced, and shot higher into the sky, pointing his palm down and twirling his fingers, blasting out his four coloured orbs of destruction, his feet dancing the steps to another spell.

Marcos raised his sword to deflect the orbs, but he needn't have bothered. Roswaal's spells impacted the ground around the knight, cracking the street and throwing up rock and dust.

A smokescreen wouldn't help Roswaal avoid Marcos's perceptions, but it would hide the knight from Subaru's sight.

Marcos was going to be a valuable ally to future Roswaals, and he would prefer the details of this fight weren't obvious to Subaru.

With a final stomp of his feet in midair, his spell activated, shattering the ground under Marcos and destabilising the surrounding buildings.

The knight held firm.

In fact, Roswaal's spell seemed to have only aided him, as he kicked up boulders into the air and punched them with his rock-encased fists, launching them at Roswaal.

He had to bob and weave around them in midair. There was no chance that one would actually land a blow on him, not when he could just retreat further into the sky, but that would mean being driven further away from Subaru.

He grimaced, then spun together four spells, three sets of his four-colour orbs with the waving of his hands, and with his voice…

"Al Jiwald!"

Yang magic had never been one of Roswaal's strengths. He always found it unwieldy compared to Fire, his preferred method of dealing with obstacles.

But Fire magic on the scale required to break through the Captain of the Knight's defences would burn down half the city, and Roswaal still had to keep in mind his appearance in Subaru's eyes.

And though he didn't favour the attribute, that didn't mean Roswaal lacked skill in it.

A beam of pure white light crossed the distance between them in an instant. Marcos managed to bring his sword up to block the strike, and Roswaal sensed the ripple of mana as his spell impacted with the knight's mana enhancement.

It wasn't going to be enough. Though Al Jiwald was the greatest of Yang's offensive spells, it lacked the power to break through Marcos's defence, not without Roswaal spending an inordinate amount of mana on the effort.

But luckily, that spell had been little more than a distraction to keep Marcos in place.

Twelve orbs of multicoloured light rained down on the knight, too close now for a warrior who focused on defence to dodge.

Four orbs of Water crashed into the rock armour like a raging river, eroding it away.

Four orbs of Fire exploded as they made contact, melting the stone and leaving it glowing red.

Four orbs of Wind blasted into his body, the opposing magic disrupting the power of his technique and softening it.

Four orbs of Earth landed on his limbs, cracking the armour open, if only slightly.

The damage almost immediately faded away as Marcos cycled his mana again, but the situation was clear.

Roswaal was going to win if nothing changed.

But unless he was willing to use more power on the assault, that could take an unacceptably long time.

Roswaal flared his gate to its utmost, activating his six-fold magic to create five sets of orbs, leaving only one spell to maintain his flight.

Marcos in turn gathered his mana, funnelling it all into his sword, which he held low behind him, crouched down as if preparing to parry Roswaal's spells.

Twenty stars materialised around Roswaal, and with a wave of his hand, they launched themselves at the knight.

Marcos tensed, then the earth beneath his feet exploded, the knight flinging himself into the air.

Time seemed to slow down.

Roswaal's eyes widened and he began to fly back, but Marcos had jumped far too fast for him to get out of the way.

Twenty orbs of light tore into Marcos, the speed of the knight's approach combined with the destructive power of the spells shattering his armour and tearing into his flesh, the man using his own body to protect the sword still held behind him.

In an instant, Roswaal understood his strategy. The knight intended to take the brunt of Roswaal's attack head-on, and then unleash a devastating counter with the last of his strength. It was the only strategy that had a possibility of success in their current battle, and Roswaal had very nearly blundered into Marcos's trap. But alas, Roswaal had noticed, and so, the knight's fate was sealed.

Rather than retreating, Roswaal lunged forward, getting inside Marcos's guard before the knight had expected him too, before he could slice Roswaal in twain, reaching out with his uninjured hand.

In a previous fight, Roswaal had used his Fa Jin technique to win the duel. A move that very nearly had cost him, as Marcos's unparalleled ability as a child of war had allowed him to almost replicate the technique.

To this day, Roswaal suspected the knight had let him win the bout, something he definitely wouldn't do during this fight.

But Roswaal had no intention of allowing that technique to be used this time. There was no time to even cast a spell, but Roswaal was the greatest mage in the world, and that came with options a normal person wouldn't think were possible.

He cannibalised his own flight spell, modifying the spell formula in the brief instant between his approach and when he reached out to the knight.

As soon as his palm made contact, the repurposed flight magic activated, blasting both combatants apart.

Roswaal tumbled through the air, whipping out Wind to stabilise himself and grant him some semblance of a soft landing.

Marcos, on the other hand, was blasted directly into the ground, the magic he had woven into his sword discharging explosively.

The street they had been fighting on disappeared.

Rock tore through the surrounding buildings, levelling them in an instant. The ground rumbled with the excess of Earth mana, then heaved to and fro as the magic was expelled, cracks appearing in the ground and tearing many more houses down.

Roswaal spun together another flight spell and took off.

The dust made it difficult to see, but he could still sense Marcos's presence in the middle of the devastation, his gate still disturbing the mana of his surroundings.

"Al Goa!"

The fireball consumed the entire dust cloud, and finally put an end to the Captain of the Knights.

At least Roswaal hadn't had to see the dead body this time.

He glanced towards Subaru to confirm his safety, and his heart skipped a beat.

The old fortress had collapsed.

It hadn't been designed to withstand anywhere close to the destructive force of two of the present-day's strongest. Half of it had been reduced to rubble, and the other half was crumbling before Roswaal's eyes.

His eyes surveyed the wreckage desperately. Surely Subaru couldn't have…? Surely he chose to Redo before he…?

He spotted a flash of green, and he snapped his head around.

The merchant had escaped the combat zone unharmed, and he was dragging a bundle away with him.

No, not a bundle.

It was Subaru Natsuki, eyes closed, collapsed onto the ground, blood running down the side of his face.

Roswaal was over them in a second.

"Lor—! Lord Ros—"

Roswaal didn't wait to hear what the merchant had to say. He blasted the young man away with a burst of Wind and scooped Subaru up in one smooth motion.

He has a pulse. He's alive. This can still be fixed.

He could feel his heart beating rapidly with some emotion. Fear. He was afraid.

Healing magic. He needs a healer at once. The Blue is against me, but there are more. In the castle, with the guards, in some of the noble houses. Where is the fastest? Where do I go?

He was already flying through the air, Subaru held safely in his arms. Never had he cursed his lack of ability with healing magic more than in that moment.

It can't end like this. I must find a healer, they only need to be good enough to wake him up so he can use his ability. Emilia could have done it, Rem could have done it, Beatrice could do it, any one of them but me could.

He was halfway to the middle strata. He couldn't rely on the knights, they already knew of his treachery. The guards might have been informed as well, but Roswaal could cow them into obedience.

If I can just get to them, this all will be fixed, Emilia and Russell and Wilhelm and Marcos and Ram will be returned to life, all of this won't have been for naught and my wish might still be fulfilled and I'll still be able to see—

End of Arc 2

A/N: Yes, I did finish an arc in the middle of a sentence. The me of three years ago thought it would be funny. The me of now agrees.

Anyway, now that we're here, I wanted to do a bit of a retrospective, reveal some of my future plans.

The end of arc 2 had originally been the point I was planning to do some rewrites and start working on other stories as well, however, I'm going to be putting that off for a while yet.

When I made those plans, I hadn't expected it to take me three years to get here.

I probably will at least edit arc 1, to make some details of the story more immediately obvious and combine the first two chapters.

Also, I'm going to be heavily cutting back on chapter size. If I get to around 5k words, I'm going to stop worrying about cliff hangers and just publish. As it is, I let things balloon out to the point where it becomes difficult to work on the chapter, since I'm keeping in mind way too much context. A shorter write/edit cycle will be way easier to work with, plus probably easier to read.

I'm going to target 3-5k words, but I'll leave myself a bit of flex. We'll see after a while if I need to set harder limits for myself.

Lastly, I wrote another story in cooperation with Raj, about Crusch, Felix, and Fourier, in a world where Subaru isn't going to show up for a hundred years. If you want to check that out, you can find it listed with my stories. "Return of the Lion King"

That's all for now, I'll be back soonish with arc 3.