"Hey, is this really okay? Are we good? I'm not, like, super out of place here, right?"
"More than being out of place, this is straight-up trespassing. The princess is fine with it, so I won't say anything… but don't do anything weird. I'm not gonna go out of my way to cover for you."
They moved through the corridor of the royal castle, the sound of boots echoing off polished stone. Al walked beside them, dragging Tanaka along by the arm. He didn't yank or pull hard—but Tanaka wasn't walking on his own either. His feet shuffled slightly with each step, like a puppet. His body showed no resistance… but no willingness either.
_______________________
"Priscilla-sama," Rem said, bowing deeply, her voice tight with urgency. "I'm terribly sorry for what happened earlier—but please, let Tanaka-Kun go."
After hearing the full story, the puzzle pieces finally clicked in her mind. The odd vocabulary, the strange ideas and inventions, the inability to read or write... it all pointed in one direction.
Beyond the Great Cascade.
Unbelievable? Maybe. But when seen through that lens, everything started to make sense.
In a way, Rem felt relief. At least this meant they weren't spies. Not traitors. Not enemies.
But as she turned her gaze to Tanaka, that sense of reassurance crumbled.
Subaru had taken the revelation in stride—somehow. But Tanaka...
He looked like a man who had his heart ripped off.
"Tanaka-Kun!" she called out, voice raised now—but he didn't respond. He didn't even flinch.
Roswaal's orders were clear: Do not interfere with Subaru and Tanaka's actions. Not even if Emilia-Sama objects. But her instincts screamed otherwise.
She was clearly disobeying her masters orders.
From beside her, Priscilla glanced toward Tanaka as Al continued to drag him forward.
He had a decent face, hair color that was very rare but still familiar, and his clothes—though strange—weren't the most bizarre thing she'd seen.
But something about him unsettled her.
His eyes.
They were vacant. Hollow. Like glass windows looking into a house with all the lights shut off. A soul without direction. A man stripped of purpose.
To someone like Priscilla, who despised stagnation and weakness above all else, there was nothing more revolting.
Add to that the rudeness he had displayed earlier—and his presence was a dull blemish on her perfectly manicured world.
Execution would've been justified.
But...
"He is coming. That is my decision. Any objections are trifles not worth addressing."
Her intuition whispered otherwise. And Priscilla always listened to her intuition.
As Rem stepped forward, intending to follow them inside, she was blocked by a wall of guards. Their expressions were stone-faced, unmoved by her protests.
Only Priscilla and her selected attendants were allowed to enter. Al. Subaru. And Tanaka.
"Tanaka-Kun!" she called again—louder this time. But her voice didn't reach him.
Subaru turned to her, offering a faint smile.
"I'll keep an eye on him," he said. "Just wait for us to come back."
Despite Al's casual demeanor, Subaru could feel it—the tension in the air. Al's grip might have been relaxed, but the man was ready to draw his blade at any moment. No hesitation. No warning.
They had pushed their luck far enough and he didn't want to test it any further.
_______________________
The girl leading them—the one striding confidently through the passageway of the central tower on the upper floors of the royal castle—was the center of countless gazes. Yet, she carried herself with an attitude befitting her luxurious attire and exquisite beauty.
The ones watching her walk were the fully armed guards standing in rows along the corridor. Subaru, trying to keep up with her pace, felt anything but calm while walking through a path flanked by soldiers holding swords aloft.
He just wanted this corridor to end quickly. Overwhelmed by the weight of the guards' silent stares, he picked up his pace and inadvertently caught up to the girl ahead.
No—rather, they had reached the end of the passageway, arriving at their destination.
"A huge door at the end of a corridor lined with soldiers…"
The double doors before them were so large they had to tilt their heads to take them all in. Even from the outside, the sheer size of the entrance hinted at the grandeur of what lay beyond.
Being in the central tower of the royal castle, deep within the capital, did little to ease Subaru's growing sense of foreboding. The ominous feeling had latched onto his mind, shaking him relentlessly.
As Subaru was swallowed by these dark thoughts, the girl leading them exchanged words with the imposing figure standing before the door.
The fully armored giant removed his helmet, revealing sharp, intelligent eyes that measured both the girl and her companions.
He appeared to be in his late thirties, his rugged features more severe than handsome. The deeply chiseled lines of his face bore the weight of experience, exuding the presence of a battle-hardened soldier.
"We have been expecting you, Lady Priscilla."
With a voice as heavy as his appearance, he bowed deeply.
Priscilla, responding with a haughty nod, gestured toward the two behind her.
With a voice as heavy as his appearance, he bowed deeply.
Priscilla, responding with a haughty nod, gestured toward the three behind her.
"They are with me. One is my knight, and the other… let's say, my fruit courier."
"H-Hey, wait a second—!"
Subaru barely stopped himself from protesting, suddenly aware of how precarious their situation was. He shut his mouth just in time.
The knight barely reacted to Subaru's exaggerated expressions, keeping his stony gaze on Priscilla before repeating:
"…A fruit courier?"
"That's right. A lowly fool whose sole duty is to bring me sweet, crimson Linga fruit."
The knight's stony gaze shifted toward Subaru, but he said nothing. His attention turned instead to the quietest of the group.
"What about this man?" he asked, his eyes narrowing as they settled on Tanaka.
"He is a jester. A curiosity I've picked up on a whim to amuse myself. He is harmless. No issue, yes?"
The knight's expression tightened, but he didn't argue.
"I must seek Lord Miklotov's permission before granting them access—"
Priscilla raised a single finger, cutting him off like one might silence a child.
"What I decide is, in essence, the will of the world itself. Your doubts are an affront. Now, let us pass, Marcus."
As if following a predetermined script, the knight did not argue against her imperious declaration.
Light truly radiated from his pupils as he brought a hand to his eyes and spoke.
"No dangerous magical reactions or weapons detected. The only armament brought in is your greatsword, Knight."
He stepped aside.
The door groaned as it began to open, ancient hinges creaking under the weight. A gust of cold air rolled out from within, brushing against their skin like a whisper from the abyss.
Subaru felt the chill in his bones. Al's grip on Tanaka tightened ever so slightly.
Priscilla didn't hesitate. She walked forward without a word, the hem of her dress sweeping across the stone floor like a royal decree.
Gleaming golden decorations adorned the walls, while extravagant chandeliers cast light even in the middle of the day. Despite the chamber's gymnasium-like scale, its sparse furnishings made it seem almost wastefully empty. But considering the purpose of this room, its design made sense.
At the very center, at the far end of the hall, there was a slight elevation—a throne atop a modestly raised platform.
Behind it, the wall bore the carved insignia of a dragon, giving the seated ruler the impression of either bearing its power or being protected by it.
This was unmistakably the throne room of the royal castle. And that throne could only be the throne of Lugunica.
After his gaze was inevitably drawn to the throne, Subaru cautiously looked around.
Unlike the corridor outside, there were no armed guards standing at attention. Instead, only a handful of people were present—so few they could be counted on two hands.
And among them—
"—Subaru?"
A silver-haired girl turned to him in wide-eyed surprise.
As if she could hardly believe what she was seeing, she blinked, her deep violet eyes swirling with confusion and other emotions.
Bathed in the full force of her stunned gaze, Subaru's heart pounded painfully in his chest.
He raised a hand to his head, winked with one eye, and stuck out his tongue.
"Oops… I kinda ended up here."
A heavy silence fell upon the throne room, blanketing it in an unspoken tension.
*********************************************************************************************************
Hollow.
Empty.
A void, gnawing from within. A cavernous nothingness stretching wide inside his chest—silent and unrelenting.
Pain struck, not sharp like a wound, but dull and enduring, like a heartbeat that refused to fade.
Don't want to do anything.
Don't want to talk with anyone.
Don't want to move.
Don't want to think.
Don't want to be here.
"Tana▓▓▓"
A voice—faint, distant. As if underwater.He couldn't make it out. Couldn't find the will to care.
None of it mattered.
Everything he had worked for… everything he had believed in, fought for, sacrificed for—gone.Not shattered.Erased.
He was being dragged forward. Or perhaps he was walking—he couldn't tell.He didn't resist. Didn't question. Didn't react.
Just… followed.
Blink.
The ceiling stares back, unfeeling.
Swallow.
The lump in his throat remained lodged, stubborn and suffocating.
Breathe.
Even that feels unnecessary.
____
_____
______
[???]"Tanaka? What are you doing here?"
A voice cut through the haze.
Not a murmur. Not a ghost.
Clear. Soft. Familiar.
It reached him.
Tanaka's head slowly tilted upward—mechanically, as if the motion belonged to someone else. His dull eyes met hers.
And there she was.Emilia.
Tanaka looked at her, void is apparent in his eyes.
Shock painted across her features, but it wasn't just surprise.There was something else layered beneath her wide-eyed stare—Confusion.Concern.And faintly… disappointment.
His lips parted slightly, but no words came.He simply stared at her.
And in that moment—just by looking into her face—He remembered.
Where he was.What he had done.Why he shouldn't have come.
This place… this moment… this meeting…
It was all for nothing.
He had dragged himself here, broke their promise, and for what?
To make things worse. To cause her problems.Again.
The emptiness inside him twisted—not from despair, but from guilt.
Thick and bitter, it began to crawl through the numbness, setting fire to the hollow he had been hiding in.
"…I'm sorry."
A simple phrase, barely audible.
That was all he could say.