Chapter 24: Anti-Priscilla Alliance (Patreon)

"It's just that you two were too fast..."

Subaru Natsuki gave a wry smile. It wasn't really a complaint or a rebuke — if anything, he was thrilled out of his mind.

Felt was one thing — she was already his person, after all. If something happened to Felt, if she got hurt, of course he'd drop everything else and see to her first. But Anna, someone he'd only just met, worrying about him too? That warmed his heart more than he expected.

Oh man, this other world was just too good!

Aside from that first encounter with Ton, Chin, and Kan, it seemed like everyone he met here was a good person, and he got along with all of them so well. The compatibility was honestly amazing.

He was touched!

"More importantly, little me thinks this is genuinely strange." Anastasia tapped a slender finger against her lips, thinking sharply, and quickly arrived at a conclusion. "Why do these accidents keep happening at such a convenient timing... Hmm, let me think — is Priscilla the kind of spiteful person who won't tolerate a single word said against her?"

Crash!

For some reason, the wall on this side had dried and weathered over time, and since it hadn't been maintained in ages, the impact of the falling debris above shook it loose, cracking off a chunk that toppled outward. This section of wall, heavy and solid, came crashing down right toward Anastasia.

Prepared this time, Subaru Natsuki's eyes turned serious and he moved to pull her away — but Felt thought faster. Her Divine Protection of Wind kicked in, and her whole body shot forward at incredible speed, beating Subaru to it and roughly yanking Anastasia out of danger.

But Anna wasn't grateful to Felt in the slightest. She just shot her a mildly irritated glance.

Anastasia: "..."

This little shrimp of a girl was even taking the chance to get back at her!

Felt: "Heh!"

She flashed a big, bright grin, swaying her head side to side, positively glowing with satisfaction.

"All right, that confirms it."

Anastasia set aside her mounting resentment and got down to business. "Miss Priscilla really is something else. Whether or not this power comes from a Divine Protection, the fact that it works even from this far away is quite the headache for little me... If just saying one bad word triggers retribution, then everything else is going to be even harder to manage."

Whether opposing Priscilla might draw the effects of her fortune down on oneself too was hard to say for certain.

Felt clicked her tongue venomously. "That's ridiculous. What kind of person is she even?"

She was the rebellious type — the more people told her not to badmouth someone, the more she wanted to. But if it had been a straight fight, that would've been one thing. This kind of retribution through pure luck was infuriating even when you managed to dodge it.

Had either of them been paying attention, they might have noticed that today happened to be the day with the strongest sunlight of the whole year, and it was now nearly noon — the very peak of the day's sunlight.

But neither of them made that connection. Instead, Anastasia's eyes glinted slyly as she turned her gaze to Subaru's phone. "That thing... it wouldn't just happen to break too, would it?"

After all, that device could replay Priscilla's humiliating history of being insulted, over and over.

"Eh? No way, please don't let that happen! This is my only phone — I can't even buy a replacement here! Please, please don't break!"

Subaru Natsuki panicked and hurriedly hit replay on the recording. But surprisingly, nothing happened to the phone at all — it played through the entire recording, including all the insults against Priscilla, without a hitch. Even more surprising, Subaru himself came out completely unscathed.

The only ones who suffered were, once again, Anastasia and Felt, who'd been listening to the recording together — another accident struck them, though by now they had enough experience to dodge it and escape unharmed.

Comparing the variables side by side, even Felt figured it out instantly: the reason the phone hadn't broken was obviously because it belonged to that idiot Subaru, and it was in his hands. But why? What was the difference between him and them?

Felt rolled around dramatically. "Not fair! Not fair, not fair, not fair! Damn it, you said we were on the same side — and you've been keeping secrets from me this whole time?! I'm gonna pound you flat!"

"Hurry up and kick out this random, completely unrelated, shameless, brazen-faced stranger who's been hanging around here being an eyesore, and then tell me why! Ugh, I'm dying of curiosity here!"

That wasn't even subtle anymore — it was outright provocation and slander.

Anastasia arched one lovely eyebrow, keeping her smile in place, her tone unhurried and gentle as she offered a helpful little reminder. "Even parents and children need some privacy and secrets between them, don't they? Pressing too hard isn't going to win anyone's favor. If it were little me, I certainly wouldn't go prying into such confidential matters."

"Though this might be little me speaking out of turn, but Subaru-kun really shouldn't let just anyone know everything so clearly. Even if you trust someone with all your heart, if they've got a hot temper or a loose tongue, even an innocent slip could still let something out."

Well, if such a cheap provocation could actually work on her, she wouldn't have gotten to where she was today, would she?

Between Felt — practically family to Subaru by now — and herself, a brand-new friend, if it came down to an open confrontation, she didn't need to guess which side Subaru would favor. She wasn't about to fight a battle she was destined to lose.

Declaring war outright was simply unnecessary. All it took was a little leverage here, a little counterattack there, and a touch of gentle kindness — that was more than enough.

"—Well then, let's leave it here for today."

Anastasia smiled sweetly, cutting in with perfect timing a split second before Felt's face turned the color of pig liver from rage and she could retaliate — timed so precisely that Felt had no chance to speak, let alone interrupt her. "Though this little episode happened, it seems as long as no one brings up anything about Priscilla again, there won't be any further consequences. Little me is curious, of course, but there's no need to dig any deeper into it right now."

"More importantly, little me cares far more about the deal with Subaru-kun. If that's settled, then we're bound by fate now... Well then, if you'll excuse little me, I'll take my leave. Subaru-kun, Felt-chan."

She struck just the right balance, and everything came from genuine sincerity. Though there was a foxlike cunning to her, it only added to her charm.

Whether it was her fluffy scarf, her soft flowing clothes, that swaying head of purple hair, her adorably cute face, or her even cuter eyes, voice, and expressions — there was truly nothing about her one could find fault with.

Unless, of course, that someone was named Felt, who could conjure faults out of thin air.

But Subaru, caught in the middle and torn between the two of them, wasn't about to give Felt any more chances to pick a fight. He let out a long sigh of relief. "Good thing it was you, Anna... See you tomorrow!"

If it had been anyone else on the receiving end of Felt's constant needling like this, they surely wouldn't have handled it with the same good grace as Anna.

The more he thought about it, the more touched he felt.

Anna was truly great. No further words needed!