The growl came from behind me.
I looked up.
A wall of muscle and anger was already descending.
"—!"
I barely had time to register the shape of a beastman before a massive hand slammed into my chest and drove me backward.
Stone cracked beneath my spine.
The impact knocked the air out of me.
Something heavy pinned my shoulders.
Holy shit that kinda hurt.
Damn Subaru's body IS durable, I'd be pancake with my body.
Hot breath washed over my face.
Yellow eyes.
Fangs.
A snarl so vicious it felt like it could tear the air apart.
"Who the hell are ya?!"
Garfiel Tinsel.
Right.
Of course it's Garfiel.
His claws dug into the stone beside my head.
One wrong move and he'd probably rip my throat out before I could blink.
His face was inches from mine, twisted with suspicion and rage.
"Ya got no business bein' here, outsider."
His grip tightened.
"Speak."
I stared at him calmly.
Okay.
This is fine.
This is just a very large, very angry security system.
I took a slow breath.
Then I said the password.
"Frederica Baumann."
Garfiel froze.
His eyes narrowed.
"...What?"
"I have Roswaal's crystal."
For a moment, the entire Sanctuary seemed to stop breathing.
Garfiel's pupils shrank.
His nostrils flared.
He stared at me like I'd just spoken a forbidden spell.
Then—
His murderous expression cracked.
Not vanished.
Just... shifted.
The rage didn't disappear.
It got redirected.
"...Ya what?"
"I have Roswaal's crystal."
I kept my voice even.
"Roswaal asked your sister to give it to me."
Garfiel's claws loosened by a fraction.
His face twisted through three different emotions in rapid succession.
Suspicion.
Confusion.
And then, very briefly—
Embarrassment.
"...Frederica?"
"Yes."
"...My sister?"
"Yes."
He stared at me.
Then at my chest.
Then back at my face.
His grip on my shirt remained iron-tight, but the intent behind it had changed from murder to extremely aggressive interrogation.
"Where is it?"
I slowly reached into my pocket.
Garfiel's entire body tensed.
I pulled out the crystal.
The moment he saw it, his eyes widened.
His ears twitched.
He snatched the crystal out of my hand with startling speed.
Then he stared at it.
Silence.
His expression went blank.
Then angry.
Then blank again.
Then—
"...Tch."
He clicked his tongue and finally let go of my shirt.
I immediately sat up.
My back hurt.
My ribs hurt.
My dignity hurt.
Garfiel stood over me, glaring down like I'd personally offended his bloodline.
"Why the hell do ya have Roswaal's crystal?"
"She gave it to me."
"Why?"
"I just said because Roswaal said so."
"Why?"
"Are you going through the stages of grief?"
"Why?"
"I'm beginning to think you're asking the wrong question."
He scowled.
"Don't get smart with me."
"I'm not getting smart."
"I'll break your nose."
"That seems unnecessary."
He snapped his tongue, but this time it sounded less murderous and more irritated.
He turned the crystal over in his hand, then looked back at me with narrowed eyes.
"...Frederica really gave this to ya?"
"Yes."
"...And ya didn't steal it?"
"No."
"...And ya ain't lyin'?"
"I'm very tired, but no."
He stared at me for another long moment.
Then he clicked his tongue again.
"Tch. Fine."
Just like that, the killing intent evaporated.
Not completely.
Garfiel still looked like he wanted to punch me for existing.
But the immediate threat of being disemboweled had passed.
He shoved the crystal into his pocket.
Then jerked his chin toward the corridor behind him.
"C'mon."
I blinked.
"...That's it?"
"What, ya want me to thank ya?"
"No, I was expecting more stabbing."
He snorted.
"Ya got Frederica's crystal. That means ya ain't here to cause trouble."
"That's a very generous interpretation."
"Shut it."
He turned and started walking.
I got to my feet, dusted myself off, and followed.
The corridor was dim and cold, the stone walls worn smooth by age.
Garfiel walked ahead of me with the confidence of someone who had never once considered the possibility that a hallway might not belong to him.
After a few steps, he glanced back.
"Ya got a name, outsider?"
"Subaru."
He frowned.
"...That a weird name."
"I've heard."
He grunted.
Then, after a pause—
"Frederica's doin' alright?"
I looked at him.
He wasn't facing me anymore.
His voice had gone a little quieter.
Not soft.
Just less hostile.
"She's fine."
"...Yeah?"
"She seemed worried about you."
That made him click his tongue again, but this time it sounded almost embarrassed.
"Tch. She always worries too much."
"Older sister behavior."
"Don't start."
I didn't.
We walked in silence for a while.
The path ended at a temporary wooden cabin perched near the edge of the Sanctuary.
It looked like someone had taken the concept of "emergency shelter" and built it out of planks, nails, and desperation.
A single lantern hung by the door.
The walls were rough.
The roof looked like it had been assembled by people who had never once trusted gravity.
Garfiel shoved the door open with his shoulder.
"Oi. We're here."
I stepped inside.
And immediately saw the entire cast assembled like some kind of extremely inconvenient reunion.
Emilia sat on one of the benches, looking pale but conscious now, her hands folded tightly in her lap.
Otto was beside her, still wearing the expression of a man who had been dragged through several layers of reality and had not yet recovered.
Rem stood nearby, calm and attentive, though her eyes flicked toward me the moment I entered.
Ram stood with her arms folded near the wall, looking as though she had already decided this entire situation was beneath her.
And in the center of it all—
Roswaal L. Mathers lay in a narrow bed, wrapped in enough bandages to qualify as a mummy with political ambitions.
One eye was visible.
It was open.
And smiling.
Of course it was smiling.
"Ahhh," Roswaal drawled, his voice still carrying that theatrical lilt even from a bed of pain. "Subaru-kuuuuuuuuun. You have returned."
I looked at him.
Then at the bandages.
Then back at him.
So this is the clown's emergency skin.
Garfiel folded his arms.
"Found him wanderin' around the Sanctuary. Said he had Frederica's crystal."
Roswaal's visible eye sharpened almost imperceptibly.
"Is that so?"
I gave him a polite nod.
"Yep."
His smile widened.
"Then it seems the situation has progressed rather nicely."
There it is.
The tone.
The cadence.
The exact same flavor of smug, theatrical manipulation Subaru had walked into in canon.
I could practically hear the trap doors opening behind the words.
Roswaal continued, voice soft and coaxing.
"Subaru-kun. I have a request."
I already knew where this was going.
He lifted one bandaged hand with all the grace of a stage magician revealing the final trick.
"Go back to the mansion."
Everyone in the cabin went still.
Roswaal's eye remained fixed on me.
"I left instructions with Ram to have Frederica guide you. There are answers waiting for you at the manor."
Yep.
That one.
The canon bait.
The "please walk directly into the murder house" speech.
The "if you go home now, you will absolutely be stabbed by a woman with knives and a child with a bad attitude" invitation.
I stared at him for a second.
Then smiled.
Not because I was amused.
Because I had just recognized the shape of the trap.
"Interesting."
Roswaal's eye narrowed slightly.
I turned my head.
"Everyone, could you step outside for a moment?"
The room blinked.
Otto looked at me first.
"Eh?"
Emilia frowned.
"Subaru?"
Rem's gaze sharpened.
"Subaru-kun, what are you—"
Garfiel immediately bristled.
"Oi. What're ya plannin'?"
Ram's expression didn't change, which somehow made her look even more judgmental.
Roswaal remained smiling.
I kept my voice calm.
"I need to speak with Roswaal privately."
Garfiel's eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
"Because if I say it in front of everyone, it'll take longer."
That did not help.
Emilia looked worried.
"Subaru, if something's wrong—"
"It's fine."
It wasn't.
But that wasn't the point.
I pointed toward the door.
"Please."
There was a pause.
Then, one by one, they began to move.
Otto stood first, muttering something under his breath about how this was exactly the kind of thing he hated.
Emilia hesitated, then rose slowly, still looking uncertain.
Rem gave me a small, unreadable look before following her.
Ram clicked her tongue softly, as if offended by the concept of being asked to leave a room she had already judged unworthy of her presence.
Garfiel lingered the longest.
He glared at me.
Then at Roswaal.
Then back at me.
"Ya better not be causin' trouble."