Following the trail of the dead cultists, Crusch, Felix, Julius and Rem arrived at the place where Leandro, Petelgeuse and what remained of Lye Batenkaitos were.
Lye's body was barely recognizable, resembling a pile of ground meat more than a person. Skull cracked, eyeless, crushed, and split in half, he was difficult to identify. The only clear clue was that he was a cult member. Petelgeuse, on the other hand, was in one piece, and in any case, he had already resembled a corpse long before his death.
Rem ignored the bodies of the archbishops and went to check on her companion.
Meanwhile, Crusch and Julius felt their stomachs turn at the sight of the Archbishop of Gluttony, brutally dismembered. Even Felix felt a slight unease, not because he was shocked by the sight but because he imagined what Lye must have felt in his final moments.
"Did Leandro do this?" Julius was incredulous and disgusted, not so much by what he saw as by the ominous feeling of seeing the dark side of a person he respected. "There's no way..."
"..." The duchess was deep in thought, frowning at the lack of context.
The spiritual knight was also meditating on this.
"He doesn't seem like the kind of person who would be physically capable of something like that. Besides, where would he get the courage... or the cruelty to do it? This doesn't fit with the personality he showed me... Or does it?"
Then the spiritual knight remembered what had happened a few days earlier, when Leandro castrated Gilbert von Falkenhayn, the man who had tried to murder Anastasia and Russell.
If he had been so cruel back then, it wasn't unreasonable to believe he could go much further with the evil cultists, given his resentment towards them.
"Although I myself said his talent is monstrous, I was far from imagining something like that. For him to have destroyed opponents of this caliber... I suppose he has several things in common with him."
Julius began to associate Leander's image with that of Wilhelm, finding similarities in their fighting ways... and their ambitious romantic choices.
"Master Felix, please use your healing magic on him!" Rem had noticed something that horrified her. Beneath Leandro's bandages, most of his wounds were so deep and thick that the bones inside were visible.
"Yes, right away!"
With a slight delay in his reaction, Felix crouched down beside Rem and began treating Leandro's wounds. The cat boy's healing power made his body as good as new.
A few seconds later, Leandro slowly opened his eyes.
"Ah..."
His gaze swept over everyone present as he regained consciousness and mentally reoriented himself. His expression softened when he saw Crusch and Rem.
"This was definitely worth it. Still, I wouldn't mind receiving a blowjob in gratitude."
Crusch snorted and raised an eyebrow, putting on an almost maternal tone when she spoke.
"Don't you get tired of getting into trouble?"
"Believe me, I would love to live in peace, but this is how things are."
Leandro felt a tug on the sleeve of his coat. Rem was pulling on it to get his attention.
"Are you feeling better?"
"I'm fully recovered."
"Well, then I won't hold back."
THUMP!
A dull thud was heard as Rem hit Leandro's head with her own. The young man was the one who suffered the most, letting out a groan and clutching his forehead.
"Ow! Why did you do that!?"
Instead of responding, Rem caught him in her arms. No matter how you looked at it, it looked more like a martial arts grab than a hug.
"Stop, Rem!" Leandro begged in a hoarse voice. "You'll crush me!"
"If I have to, I'll break your bones to stop you from running away! Every time you stray from me, your life is in danger, and there's nothing I can do to help you!"
Felix was alarmed by the maid's attitude and tried to separate her from the butler.
"Rem, stop! You'll make all my work useless if you break anything!"
Julius covered his face to hide an indecorous smile, and Crush sighed as he shook his head. The situation had gone from dramatic to comical in an instant.
Rem loosened her grip on Leandro a little, but didn't release him.
"Promises are worthless coming from you. If you want freedom, you have to give me a guarantee."
"Sure! I'll swear an oath on my soul whenever you want!" He sneered. "What kind of nonsense is this?"
"The same nonsense you have in your head! You almost died again, and I don't know how many times that's happened in a single day!"
She yelled at him, outraged by the audacity with which he complained.
"You two care so much for each other, nya. If you feel that way, shouldn't you be doing other things instead of fighting?" Felix mocked.
Leandro growled at Felix's comment, but had an idea that made him smile maliciously.
"What kind of things? Something like what you and I did in the stable last night?"
"Huh!? You and I didn't do anything last night!"
"Don't play dumb, you know you loved it."
Felix blushed and panicked, turning to his lady to clear things up with her.
"Lady Crusch, he's lying! You're the only person my eyes shine for-nya!"
Crusch sighed and gave her knight a reassuring nod.
"Felix, you can do whatever you want: you don't need to feel guilty or worry about what I think."
"Why do you say that as if you don't believe me? Your Divine Protection should confirm it!"
"Ahem."
Cutting the mood of the conversation, Julius coughed and spoke in a serious manner that disturbed the relaxed atmosphere.
"I'm glad to see you're okay, Leandro. I must say you were reckless to come alone."
The boy grimaced, as if Rem's telling him that wasn't enough...
"Yes I know..."
"On the other hand, what's done is done. What exactly happened here?"
When Julius asked that question, Leandro instinctively turned to see how the place had looked after his fight with...
"Ugh! Blergh!"
Seeing Lye Batenkaitos's dismembered body, Leandro felt a profound disgust, both at the grotesqueness of the image and at the fact that he himself had provoked it, a state of madness that momentarily stripped him of his moral compass. The sight disturbed him so much that he retched and finally vomited.
"Sorry, I'm not used to seeing these things..."
Leandro apologized weakly; his reaction surprised Julius. He had thought Leandro would be indifferent to the state he had left the Archbishop in, so this reaction was unexpected. Therefore, even though he didn't want to, the spiritual knight forced himself to pressure his friend.
"You did it, didn't you? How did it happen?"
That simple question evoked a deathly silence. All eyes focused on the young butler, who was still recovering from the shock.
"Julius, that's a little..."
Felix began to reprimand him, but Leandro firmly interrupted him.
"I killed Sloth with a shot to the head. Gluttony was more complicated. I was forced to use the authority I'd gained."
"You got what?!" Felix asked, incredulous.
"When I killed Sloth, for some reason I gained his authority. That allowed me to kill the other archbishop."
Rem had begun to tremble. She looked at Leandro with something resembling fear, but she wasn't afraid of him, but of the entity stalking him with so much... love? No, it was definitely something closer to obsession.
"The Witch of Envy continues to favor you even when you kill her supposed followers and representatives... What are you to her? What meaning does your existence have in her eyes?"
Pointing to Lye's remains, Felix put into words what Julius was thinking.
"Why did you kill him like that? You gave the other one a quick death, but this one..."
Leandro was quick to respond.
"He tortured me; you can confirm that by the wounds you healed a moment ago. That bastard pushed my mind to its limits, and I lost it for a while." He explained, annoyed by the cautious expression on everyone's faces. "I don't usually act like a savage, even when it comes to a cultist, but he asked for it."
"I'm more interested in what you said before. Does the Archbishop's death mean you've obtained the Authority of Gluttony?"
This time it was Crusch who asked. Leandro immediately denied it.
"No. I would be aware of it if that were the case."
Julius's eyes sparkled as he spoke; he felt a mixture of admiration and concern for his friend. A witch factor could be a double-edged sword, as it was a dark, corrupting power.
"It's horrible. Utterly horrible." He shook his head, disgusted at the idea of having something so profane attached to him, intertwined with his very essence.
"And fascinating." Felix added. "I had no idea that authority could be transferred like that."
"By the way, it would be dangerous if this information were to spread." The butler said. "I trust you can keep it a secret."
There was no threat in Leandro's tone. He had genuine faith in them, or at least that's how it appeared.
"How's the mission going? Were there any problems?" He asked immediately afterward, without waiting for the others' response to what he had said before.
"Not if we don't count this." The Duchess looked relieved. "As far as I know, we haven't had any deaths."
"Then I won't have to offer you my life. Thank goodness, huh?"
"It would have been a way to get you to my camp, but it's not worth it if someone has to die." She said, crossing her arms.
"You would never be willing to do something like that. That's why you would be a great queen."
Crusch smiled softly at Leandro's flattering remark. Rem and Felix, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow. Meanwhile, Julius was deep in thought, his face serious.
"Well, I think we should go. I owe you all a lot. If I'd been alone, I never would have been able to stop the cult."
"I doubt we would have had the same luck against the White Whale without your intervention. I have no claim on you or Emilia's camp; we are allies, after all."
She extended her hand and he shook it.
"Yes, we are. Wow, to think that less than three months ago I was an unemployed antisocial and now I'm rubbing shoulders with political figures. Not bad at all, huh?"
Crusch turned to look at Felix and nodded.
"We should meet up with the others and get everything in order before returning to the royal capital."
As everyone prepared to leave, Leandro walked slowly to a specific spot and began searching for something on the ground.
"Oh, there you are." He bent down and picked up his revolver. "I can't get rid of you, just yet."
He sighed and put it back in its sheath. For a few seconds, his gaze wandered around the place and stopped when he saw the bodies of Petelgeuse and Lye.
"True, I should collect their Gospels, just in case..."
***
There was still a large group in the village. When I approached, I saw a familiar man tied to a pole. I smiled and untied him as he looked at me apprehensively.
"Thanks for saving me, even though I'm not in the mood to say that, damn it!"
Even the opening lines were exactly as I remembered. This world was my new reality, but it still seemed to retain some script tweaks.
"What's your name, friend?"
"Otto Suwen, I am a merchant and..."
I listened to his painful account of how he ended up here, nodding occasionally to show I was paying attention (I actually got distracted and missed most of what he said); when he finished, I patted him on the arm and played my card.
"Otto, I want you to work with me for a while."
"Excuse me?"
"I am a steward at the manor of the lord of these lands, Margrave Roswaal L. Mathers. He will compensate you adequately for your services, I can guarantee it."
"Ah, I..."
"Don't worry, the danger from the cult is over. It must have been quite a scare becoming a sacrifice, huh?" I chuckled. "Look, I just need you to do carriage work; carrying people or objects, that sort of thing."
I tried to make it clear that I wouldn't take no for an answer, since I barely gave him time to think about the proposal, much less have any second thoughts.
"I guess it won't hurt... I need money, anyway."
"Good decision! We have to go now, so let's get to work."
I helped him up and dragged him with me. He was still trying to process everything, feeling overwhelmed by the pace of the plot.
"Oh, hey, sir... You haven't told me your name yet."
"Don't treat me so formally. We're the same age."
"Okay... So, may I know your name?"
"Leandro Lagostena, nice to meet you." I summarized. "This is Rem, a servant at the mansion."
We had arrived at the place where everyone was gathered, all preparing their carriages and/or mounts for the journey to the royal capital. I pointed to the blue-haired beauty and spontaneously introduced her.
"I'm Otto Suwen. L-Let's get along."
Despite Otto's nervousness, Rem bowed and displayed her perfect manners. I was fascinated by the pose she struck in her maid outfit (newsflash: I have weird fetishes).
"Nice to meet you, Master Otto."
A few minutes later, Rem and I boarded the carriage driven by Otto and set off for the royal capital.
I couldn't believe I was already entering the fourth arc. I was almost there to meet Garfield, Echidna, and the other Witches of Sin.