It was a bad idea to play along with Meili.
"LEAVE MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE ALONEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
It was impossible to get rid of the Ulgarms: no matter how many kicks I gave them or how many stones I threw at them, they kept coming.
My body was covered in bites and tears, but I didn't stop running. The monsters galloped behind me, snorting rhythmically.
I knew I wouldn't be able to run away for long because of my chubby body. I also wouldn't be able to fight the mawbeasts, since not even Subaru was able to deal with them on his own.
Luckily, I found some high ground and strategically positioned myself to provide some cover from the Ulgarm's furious attacks. Still, my strength drained pathetically quickly.
One of the hounds leaped at me and knocked me down, destroying my defense and allowing everyone to surround me. I silently cursed my lack of physical condition and prepared to be brutally gnawed.
—El Huma!
I heard Rem's voice, and a second later, several ice projectiles appeared and struck the Ulgarm pack. I got up with some difficulty and ran to the maid.
"You saved me, thank you."
"The village children said you disappeared with a little girl." Rem had a hostile expression. "Can you explain that?"
The situation suggested I was a possible pedophile for taking a little girl into the woods under the guise of playing hide-and-seek. Ironically, telling the truth could make things worse.
"She went into hiding during the game, and I think she crossed the barrier. The mabeasts must have captured her."
"I don't understand how they put you in such a bind. You're supposed to want to eliminate the Witch Cult, but you can't fight Ulgarm? What was your plan then?"
There was disappointment in Rem's tone. Nothing new, I'm very good at making bad impressions.
"Can we talk about this later?! Maybe when that poor little girl's life isn't in danger?!"
That's it, let's use manipulation tactics to evade the reality that I'm ridiculously weak.
"..."
Rem hesitated, her resolve torn between duty and morality. I felt she'd refuse if I let her think, so I feigned bravery and started walking deeper into the forest without waiting for her.
"Wait! What do you think you're doing?!"
"Try not to waste time!"
"Lord Roswaal didn't order you to do that! This isn't part of your duties!"
"We represent the Margrave of these lands! What message will it send to the rest of the world if a girl dies here, when we could save her?! If you don't want to risk it, leave."
Manipulation will raise the nation. Rem had to take the bait, or I'd probably die and have to repeat almost a week of my life. In a way, that would be convenient, and I could think of a better plan to persuade Meili now that I know how she'll react.
"No, those thoughts are very dangerous. If I decide to die every time things get difficult or aren't exactly the way I want, I'll end up like the Subaru who accepted the contract with Echidna."
"Why do you care so much? You barely know those children."
Rem was still not convinced.
"Does that matter? I don't want to let bad things happen if I can avoid it."
I haven't been very truthful since I arrived at the mansion. In fact, I think I've lied more times in this world than I did in my entire life before being transported here.
However, that phrase was the absolute truth. Knowing what's going to happen, or what might happen, makes me feel responsible, because I know I'm capable of changing history.
I want a good result. Not the best; I'll settle for a good one.
"Tsk. You're too stubborn."
She ran to catch up with me. I smiled inwardly and quickened my pace.
We made our way through the witchbeast-infested forest. Rem ended up using her Morning Star and demonic horn when they surrounded us, but after an intense search, we found Meili in a clearing in the forest.
"You took too long, Mister!" She was sitting on a large rock, swinging her legs in the air in boredom. She gave me an adorably angry face when she saw me.
Rem didn't see the warning grimace I gave Meili. Despite my gesture, the girl just tilted her head in confusion, unable to understand my signal.
Then I realized that Rem wasn't visible from Meili's perspective, as the trees were obscuring her.
"Meili! Are you okay?!"
I went to her pretending to be worried, but secretly whispered to her:
"You're an innocent little girl, remember? There's someone else here."
"Oh... Mister, you cheated by bringing a date."
"You didn't say anything about what I could or couldn't do to find you. Next time, be more specific about the rules of the 'game'."
I scoffed, she had been very naive to give such a superficial and vague explanation about the conditions for this proposal of hers.
"Hmm... Okay, you win this time." Meili pouted but reluctantly agreed. "I'm so scared! Help me, Mister! I want to go back to Petra and the others!"
She started acting like she's supposed to. I nodded and took her hand protectively to lead her back.
"Let's-"
"Leandro, stay away from her."
Rem's voice sounded unexpectedly deep, authoritative and menacing. She had stopped right in front of us, gripping the chains of her Morning Star tightly.
"What's wrong, Rem? Is something wrong?"
"It's the girl. There's no way she's in the heart of the forest without being bitten by the mabeasts. Besides, it doesn't make sense for her to have traveled so far on her own from the same starting point as us. I suspect this is a trap or a diversion."
I immediately wanted to smack myself in the forehead for not thinking about the obviousness of Meili's oversight. In canon, she would appear unconscious, and Subaru would protect her without suspecting anything about her.
The difference was that in that case, Meili had almost everything planned out and prepared for an alibi, but in this case, the context was very different: we were playing a game, and no outsider was supposed to show up. Rem was no idiot, and she quickly realized something was wrong.
"It's... I..."
I tried to find an excuse, a justification to save the day, but I was speechless. Besides, if I persisted in defending Meili, it would make it very obvious that I was involved, and I could already imagine being tortured alongside Meili.
"Ah."
Suddenly, between one blink of an eye and the next, I saw an arrow appear in Rem's chest. Blood slowly oozed from her pierced flesh, and her expression changed to one of surprise, then fear, and finally indifference. Her lifeless body fell to the ground.
It took me several seconds to process the fact that Rem was dead. When I did, terror shook my body with a premonitory chill, the same chill I'd felt when I was first killed.
It is said that when you're in a life-or-death situation, your instincts take over and your emotions come out, exposing your true self.
At that moment, all I wanted was to run and save myself. In fact, that's exactly what I did, carrying Meili with me through the trees.
"What was that?! Is there a murderer here?! Mister, let me take care of him!"
"Silly! Rem is dead! There's no way you can do better than her!"
As I reached the 100-meter mark, my body began to run out of energy, and my lungs were on fire, as were my legs. I'd never cursed my lack of fitness more than I did then.
"Haa... Haa... Shit, it can't be!"
I had to let go of Meili and pushed her to keep running without me.
"Go and ask for help..."
But she ignored me. She was a rebellious pup raised by the beasts and trained by Elsa. There was no way Meili would obey my command.
Instead of fleeing, he summoned the remaining mabeasts and sent them to find the person who shot the arrow. However, the assassin struck again much sooner than he could have imagined.
"Ah!"
Meili let out a small gasp as another arrow whizzed by from somewhere nearby, piercing her small torso in the same place as the arrow that killed Rem. I assumed that was where her heart was.
"NO, MOTHERFUCK!"
With a mixture of panic and fury, I screamed as I watched the little girl fall. Silence reigned throughout the forest, interrupted only by the whisper of the wind.
Knowing I couldn't run away, I decided to try to identify or recognize some trait of the killer to gain information about him (or her). But I wouldn't be able to do that if the bastard killed me from a distance, like he had done to Rem and Meili.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH! COME AND SHOW YOUR FACE! DON'T BE A COWARD, LOOK ME IN THE EYES IF YOU'RE GOING TO KILL ME!"
I didn't have much hope for such a crude strategy, but to my surprise and delight, I soon saw a figure emerge from the shadows. It was wearing the typical cultist costume and holding a crossbow. Judging by its physical build, it appeared to be a man.
"So you're one of them, huh?"
"..."
"Someone like you isn't supposed to be involved in the story, much less in the second arc. Who are you?"
"..."
The guy didn't make a sound as he raised his gun, pointing it at my body.
"Then you won't say anything." I sighed in frustration at not being able to find out anything more. "Next time I'll be prepared to deal with you."
I looked him in the eye as I told him, even though the disguise covered his face. My voice and hands trembled with fear. I wasn't ready to die, even if I had done it before.
I didn't want to, but there was no choice, and that was what bothered me the most. Knowing I was completely powerless in this situation.
A second later, the arrow struck my chest, piercing my heart and killing me almost instantly.
***
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
I instinctively screamed as a horrible pain hit my chest, but the transition was so quick that I apparently let out my scream on the bed in the mansion's guest room, scaring a pair of twin maids.
"Dear guest?!"
I let out all the air I'd been holding and focused on catching my breath, slowing down my breathing to calm the frantic beating of my newly alive heart. Nerves left me drenched in sweat.
"I'm sorry, I had a nightmare." I lied again, as usual, since apparently lies were an indispensable part of my life in this world. "My name is Leandro. What are you two called?"
They both exchanged a worried look, but then relaxed a little and bowed to me.
"My name is Ram and I am a maid at the mansion of Marquis Lord Roswaal L. Mathers."
"My name is Rem and I am a maid at the mansion of Marquis Lord Roswaal L. Mathers."
"You guys really take being twins seriously..."
As I was interacting with the sisters, the door opened and Emilia walked in.
"I see you've already met Rem and Ram. How are you feeling?"
"Much better now that I see you... Wait, I didn't mean that! I mean, it's not like I'm lying, but I don't want to sound like a stalker saying things like this when we've barely met..."
Nah, just kill me again. I want to start over so I can say a better line.
"Sister, sister, the dear guest seems to be a creepy guy."
"Rem, Rem, the dear guest has many mental problems."
"It wasn't necessary to say it." I covered my face, embarrassed. That damn romantic impulse with Emilia wasn't even natural. I couldn't help it, and it made me incredibly nervous every time I was with her.
Trying to distance myself emotionally from that embarrassing situation, I thought about the mysterious murderer. Everything pointed to him being from the Witch Cult, but I'd never seen or heard of such a character before. He carried a crossbow and was able to kill Rem, even though he caught her off guard, but still...
"This is bad. The second arc wasn't supposed to have this much difficulty jump. An enemy like that is going to make things very difficult for me... How am I going to defeat him? Or rather, could I defeat him?"