Chapter 176: Leakage
"Barusu, stop."
"What is it, senpai?"
Ram looked at Natsuki Subaru, who had stopped walking and turned to face her.
From his expression, she could see his puzzlement, and those eyes staring straight at her seemed to be asking what business she had with him.
"Of course, it's because of Roswaal's order to properly supervise the useless Barusu and make sure you rest."
Ram snorted with her hands on her waist, puffing out her not-so-prominent chest.
"Barusu, you should be grateful. Having the world's most adorable Ram supervising you as you rest is something you only earned by overdrawing hundreds of years' worth of luck. Be properly grateful and go to bed."
"Yes, yes, since it's senpai's order, I can't very well act ungrateful. But before resting, we should first go and meet up with Emilia and the others. We also need to inform the villagers, tell them that everything is already over. That they'll soon be able to go home."
Ram's brows furrowed, and her tone carried dissatisfaction.
"Barusu, you need to rest. The things you mentioned, Ram will inform them."
"I know."
Subaru turned his head toward the window, calmly gazing at the outside scenery, and slowly spoke:
"I know that the gentle senpai will go and inform them.
I could laze around in bed, wait until I'm rested, and then leave this place together with everyone. But I want to personally tell them. I just want peace of mind…"
After saying that, Subaru didn't continue speaking with Ram. Instead, he turned and headed for the door, his steps gradually accelerating from a slow pace.
Feeling something was off, Ram held her doubts in her heart and followed him, saying:
"I'll take you there. You've only just arrived at the Sanctuary, you probably don't know where they've been settled."
"Mm, thanks, senpai. Somehow, senpai feels really reliable right now."
"Hmph, Ram has always been reliable. It's just that Barusu is too dull to notice."
"So in the end, it's still my fault? Back at the mansion, whenever you could slack off, senpai, you'd unhesitatingly dump all the work onto me."
"Mind your words, Barusu. Everything senpai did was for your sake as a junior. Besides, weren't you enjoying it yourself?"
"Enjoying it? Hm, I guess so, since it was what I wanted to do…"
Walking through the Sanctuary with Ram, Subaru observed his surroundings.
He saw crude buildings piled together with stone, utterly lacking in beauty. He saw the beastmen whose gazes on him were filled with indescribable, complicated emotions.
The Sanctuary? This place was nothing but a tomb. Not only the tomb of the Witch, but also the tomb of these demi-humans. Dressed no better than people in the royal capital's slums, they exuded a kind of numbness that words could not describe.
"Barusu, what are you looking at?"
"Ah… nothing. It's just my first time coming to a place like this, so I was a little curious. Besides, I should memorize the way properly, so the world's most adorable senpai doesn't have to work too hard."
"Heh, if you really don't want Ram to work too hard, Barusu, then you should be lying in bed resting right now, while Ram enjoys her leisurely time at your side."
"…Senpai, you really are kind…"
"Even if you flatter me like that, Barusu, Ram won't give you any reward."
"I wasn't saying it to get a reward."
Subaru sighed helplessly, as if defeated by Ram. Just as he was about to say something, her voice entered his ears, making his steps halt.
Standing in place, Subaru turned his head to look at Ram, who had walked a few steps ahead but now turned sideways to face him. His throat moved, and he wore a dazzling smile.
"Honestly, senpai, that kind of joke isn't funny at all."
"Ram wasn't joking with you. Barusu, you can tell."
Indeed… Ram would never joke about something so important.
And it was precisely because he knew this that it meant something had to be going on! That recognition churned ceaselessly in his mind.
The Sanctuary that no one could leave was also the Witch's tomb. And then there was Roswaal, shrouded in enormous suspicion—he would definitely do something!
"What's wrong, Barusu? Not walking anymore?"
"Ah… even if I go now, I don't know what I should say to everyone."
Yes, if he went now, what could he even say? Spout some empty words without understanding anything? That wasn't right. What he most needed to do was to understand all the causes and effects first.
And then—stay vigilant of Roswaal's possible moves!
Grinding his teeth, Subaru clenched his fists.
There was a "living witch" here! From their conversation earlier, he had already guessed her purpose in rough outline—her target was definitely him!
Even if not him directly, it would still be related to him!
And this was Roswaal's domain. It was impossible not to suspect some connection between him and the witch… Wait. If there was really a connection…
The Witch Cult.
Realizing this, Subaru's eyes widened.
He took a deep breath, wanting to spin around and immediately rush back to question Roswaal! Even if he had to be rough, it didn't matter!
He had to make Roswaal spill everything he had done!
If he didn't, then—even if nothing happened to him personally—the people around him would definitely not remain safe!
Thinking carefully about Roswaal's words… He was using Subaru. For him to say that so bluntly meant he wasn't afraid of Subaru toppling his gameboard.
Under that premise, it was hard not to think that Roswaal must be holding some weakness of his… And his weakness…
Roswaal had expressed gratitude for Subaru's "failures" before arriving here.
The inescapable Sanctuary… The words hostages practically screamed in Subaru's mind, his anger barely contained.
"Barusu?"
"Ah… sorry, senpai. Could you tell me about the current situation here? Anything at all!"
"Don't worry, Barusu. Ram will tell you everything. After all, Roswaal-sama ordered me to. But before that, Emilia-sama must also be present."
"Emilia? What does this have to do with Emilia?"
"Because Emilia-sama is the most important person for the liberation of the Sanctuary. Don't look so puzzled. If you want to know the truth, then come with Ram to see Emilia-sama."
Hearing this, although Subaru was extremely anxious and wanted to know the truth as soon as possible, he could only nod and agree to Ram's words, leaving with her.
Walking behind Ram, Subaru didn't notice that deep within his eyes, something was wildly flickering.
'Roswaal… what exactly are you planning?!'
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