Preparing for Battle
—Only one day has been rewound!
For a moment, Subaru panicked due to the time pressure, but he quickly noticed Beatrice's gaze.
He hurriedly suppressed his emotions and forced a smile.
Carrying the tray, Subaru moved forward, then suddenly fell heavily to the ground.
"Eh?" Subaru voiced his confusion. He felt his body was full of strength.
He wanted to laugh off the mishap as a joke, but he didn't hear his own voice, and his vision gradually darkened.
"Hey, what are you playing at now? Hmm? Is this exhaustion? This is no place to sleep, you're really giving Betty trouble. Well, consider it a reward for dessert." —So tsundere. With that last thought, Subaru slipped into sleep.
Suddenly, Subaru opened his eyes wide and immediately confirmed he was lying on his bed in his own room.
"Subaru-kun, you're awake. Would you like some water? Are you feeling unwell...?" The familiar maid noticed Subaru's awakening and hurried over with a worried look.
—What should I say? What do I want to say? Subaru opened his mouth without clear words.
"Rem." "Yes, it's Rem." "May I ask what's wrong? You look like you're meeting someone who died. Even if you weren't so worried, Rem is here safely. She's Subaru's Rem."
For Rem, this was a very rare playful tone of conversation.
Subaru's exhausted posture must have looked very painful to her.
However, the phrase "like meeting someone who died" was not funny at all.
"Ah, ah, it's nothing, nothing. I had a nightmare. By the way, how long have I been asleep?" Subaru finally calmed down and nervously asked about the length of his unconsciousness.
"Three hours." "Three hours?" Subaru thought about the words of the madman Petelgeuse.
Though he disliked him, Subaru understood the man's attitude toward the trial.
Subaru believed that barring accidents, the trial would definitely begin on schedule, and even if there were accidents, it would start on time.
'Considering the sunlight intensity when I escaped, there should be at least 20 hours left. It's shorter in the capital, so it's acceptable.'
Subaru slumped down on the bed and exhaled in relief, noticing Rem looking at him with concern.
"Ah, it's nothing, I'm just a bit tired. I'll rest a bit more. Rem, you go ahead and get busy." "Understood." Subaru felt as if Rem's gaze saw right through him, but she still rose and moved to the door, then opened it.
"If it's at Subaru's request, Rem will do anything." Suddenly, Rem spoke seriously and slowly closed the door.
After some unknown time passed, a calmer Subaru sat at his desk, took out paper and pen, and began sorting out the current situation.
[Trial?]
Subaru looked at the word and rapidly thought about recent big changes in Roswaal's territory.
[My arrival and Emilia's candidacy for the royal selection have been made public.]
"Considering the Witch Cult and the two recent incidents, these are probably the only relevant matters.
Petelgeuse said his Gospel Book did not include me, so the trial's target is most likely Emilia."
Subaru was relieved confirming it wasn't because of him. But Subaru was no escapist like in his previous life—he immediately thought of Reinhild, who always did the right thing, and Rem who had saved him desperately. He sighed and thought rapidly.
"How can I get rid of that Petelgeuse guy?" Subaru entered deep thought.
Although Sloth wasn't invincible like Lust, the Invisible Hands and unknown mental attacks were powerful abilities, and Sloth himself seemed capable of magic, plus he had a squad of elite soldiers.
"Fingers, right? Petelgeuse mentioned gaps in the fingers—that is, the cultists who can use weakening powers. It should be only fingers, not toes, right?" Subaru pondered and confirmed Petelgeuse only mentioned fingers.
[Attack or defense?]
Subaru stared at the paper and considered: the strongest fighter Beatrice could not leave the mansion, and nearly two months as a knight taught Subaru not everyone would trust him unconditionally like Reinhild.
"Emilia looks tired and the hostility isn't fully gone. Though without Beatrice and Emilia, the enemy controls the forest. If I use the Witch's residual scent on myself to lure Petelgeuse..." Subaru's mind pictured Petelgeuse's mad proclamations of love and the sacredness of the trial.
"If I proactively want to meet him, he will choose to meet me. Even for the smooth progress of the trial, he'd meet me as a variable, and to maintain the blockade, he might come alone."
Subaru became excited instantly and began thinking about Sloth's survivability.
Sloth's cut-off hand hadn't healed, so he likely lacked Lust's bug-level regeneration.
If Subaru exposed his ability to see the Invisible Hands, he could fully attract Sloth's attention for a few seconds.
[First inform Brian that the opponent uses earth magic, then use the Witch's scent to lure Petelgeuse out, reveal the ability to see the Invisible Hands to attract his attention, then Brian strikes with a sneak attack.]
Subaru put down his pen.
"That should be fine. After all, I'm probably more favored now." Subaru sniffed his arm but could not sense the Witch's residual scent.
—I should check with Rem later.
.
.
.
"The conversation mirror can't be used. Brian, go fetch Alva. Miss Rem, please notify Lady Emilia." Otto put down the mirror and said to everyone present.
Once the room was left with just Subaru and Otto. Subaru looked seriously at Otto.
"By the way, why does Subaru think I'm the one who brought the Witch Cultists?" Otto's eyes gradually sharpened.
"Because if it was me, action would have been taken earlier. Emilia was attacked by Lust's assassin, so I feel Sloth came for you." Subaru said expressionlessly.
He knew Otto had never seen a living Sin Archbishop and hoped to use this crisis to clarify Otto's intentions.
"Although I think it's unlikely, we need to unite. My goal is to fix this." Otto finally sighed and took out a familiar item—the Wisdom Book once belonging to Roswaal.
"Though it's been repaired at Watergate, its function still hasn't recovered."