Information Source
The familiar sky and stench—Subaru slightly adjusted his angle, and sure enough, Rem was looking at him with a bewildered expression.
Perhaps because he was in a good mood, for the first time in a while, a brief half-second fantasy flickered in his mind.
But considering Rem's attitude toward him, and that person with the heavenly smile, Subaru decisively shook his head and killed off his delusions.
"Blissful... blissful."
Soaked in the large bath built by Roswaal, Subaru let out a comfortable groan and began thinking about the details of their grand escape.
Though calling it "thinking" might be too generous—it was more accurate to say he was recalling all his previous failures.
"Subaru-kun, Subaru-kun."
Startled, Subaru snapped open his eyes and sat up. His whole body felt dizzy and light-headed. Looking around, he saw Rem gently fanning him.
"Did I pass out from soaking too long? How much time passed? What's the current situation? Who changed my clothes? Was it you, Rem?"
While blaming himself for making such a careless mistake, Subaru tried to prop himself up using the bench.
"You shouldn't force yourself."
A gender-neutral voice—Otto's—came from nearby.
Only after being helped up by Rem did Subaru notice his presence.
"We've confirmed the possible presence of Witch Cultists. Lord Otto, Lord Brian, and I came to look for you. When you didn't respond to our calls, Lord Otto and Lord Brian carried you out. It was Lord Otto who changed your clothes as well."
"Miss Rem, Mr. Brian, I'd like to speak with Subaru-kun alone. Could I ask you to wait outside for a moment?"
"It's okay, Rem. I want to talk with Otto too."
Once the curtain fell again, Subaru withdrew his gaze, took a few sips of the water Otto handed him, and began sharing his intelligence.
Though the source of the information was questionable, Subaru knew that based on his performance in the Astrea conflict and Otto's merchant mindset, Otto wouldn't pry too deeply—and his loyalty to Reinhild would push him to take action.
"I understand the power of Sloth. To take him down, we have to deal with his ten 'Fingers'. They're spread too thin—eight directions centered on the mansion, Arlam village, and his own hiding place.
It's too dispersed.
On top of that, we have the problems with Lady Emilia and Lady Beatrice. Retreat really is the best choice. But what about the villagers?"
The Astrea camp was one that protected the people, and Emilia's camp was also inherently kind.
So abandoning the villagers wasn't an option—they were essentially a heavy burden they couldn't discard.
Subaru sighed with a trace of regret but quickly pulled himself together.
He already knew this, and he wasn't the type to be cold-hearted. Since he had a way forward, he was willing to do everything he could to save as many people as possible.
"To retreat, we have to overcome several hurdles."
Subaru held up his left hand.
"1. Eliminate the Petelgeuse squad ambushing Arlam village."
"2. Find a way to stall the 'Ring Finger' in the Sanctuary direction, whom we've never encountered before."
"3. Convince the villagers of Arlam to leave."
"4. Secure transport for the entire village's relocation."
"5. Conceal the intel from Emilia."
Then he raised his right hand with a wry expression.
"6. Prepare for Sloth's pursuit."
Though it looked straightforward on the surface, in reality, resolving any single one of these issues was like climbing a mountain.
For example, the first two: each "Finger" possessed some version of the Invisible Hands, giving them terrifying combat ability.
And they couldn't be killed.
That alone was bad enough.
But if the cultists realized they were merely being stalled, as fanatic devotees, they would likely commit suicide just to ensure the ritual's continuation.
"The Arlam village squad is easier.
Petelgeuse's Finger there is still human, so no matter how dedicated she is, she still needs sleep.
I can time a sedative to kick in during her sleep cycle.
Then it's just a matter of wiping out the cultist rotation team in an instant."
Subaru spoke with confidence.
"Understood. Tomorrow I'll have Brian and the others rotate in and replace part of the personnel. But for the roadblock..."
Both of them fell silent.
They knew someone would have to risk their life to hold the cultists off.
Subaru could even name the person suited for it.
"Actually, the communication mirror can be tracked, so they should be able to survive if we use that."
Subaru said uncertainly.
Otto was silent for a moment, then nodded.
They both knew this was the best option they had for now.
"Next is the villagers of Arlam. I need your help here, Otto."
Indeed, the villagers were another huge issue.
Because Emilia, a silver-haired half-elf, resembled the Witch of Envy who nearly destroyed the world, her reputation was in the gutter.
And Roswaal had done nothing to help.
So the villagers outright rejected Emilia—more than rejected, they were hostile toward her.
But now Subaru could somewhat understand their fear.
Though his memory of that event was already fuzzy, based on the goals of the Witch Cult's trial and Echidna's analysis of the Witch of Envy, Subaru was almost certain that the incomplete Witch of Envy had resurrected by borrowing Emilia's body.
Just thinking about the power she had as an incomplete entity—it was easy to understand why people feared her.
"If only we could help them get to know Emilia a little first. One day of prep just isn't enough. If only the return point was a bit earlier..."
Subaru sighed, feeling helpless, then looked at Otto with hopeful eyes.
"I get it. I'll handle securing the dragon carriages for evacuation and whatever tools we need to convince the villagers. But…"
"I get it—you supply the funds, I'll supply the reputation. I'm pretty friendly with the village chief."
Subaru answered before Otto could finish.
And indeed, the solution was surprisingly simple.
Back then, Otto had used the power of money to influence the situation, even though Subaru had been parched and desperate.
But after several loops, Subaru was reassured to find that Otto's money alone wasn't enough—his own tiny bit of public goodwill, earned through five days of morning exercises and dancing with the village aunties, was absolutely necessary.
"Lastly, there's the issue with Emilia."
Holding his dizzy head, Subaru sighed. The abrupt planning right after nearly passing out in the bath made the vertigo worse.
"Like I just said, Emilia's mental state isn't stable. If she learns Arlam village might be annihilated because of her, it could trigger a breakdown.
I can probably convince Rem, but just to be safe, I want to make it seem like the Witch Cult appeared because of me. Otto, can you manage that?"
"If you're that prepared, then I have no problem. But... I'm really curious where you're getting this intel.
Some of it's top-secret.
Details that should be impossible to know. Even Reinhild said it—you seem to know everything."
Subaru thought of a certain white-haired witch, shook his head, then smiled suddenly and said:
"I only know what I know. As for the source of my intel... Beatrice told me. She also has a Gospel."
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