Chapter 108: The Entire Water Gate City Has Fallen Into Chaos (Patreon)

Meanwhile, in the back garden of the Water Plumage Inn, water trickled quietly down the rockery and bonsai, ringing with a clear, airy chime.

That rare tranquility was soon broken by a hurried stir of presence. Natsuki Subaru, who had just stepped out of the pavilion carrying Beatrice, sensed the direction of the commotion almost at once. He didn't go back to his room to rest. Instead he walked straight to the courtyard entrance and slid the door open, in no particular hurry.

The moment the gap opened, Reinhard's grave face filled his vision.

No need to guess. If big brother, the current Sword Saint, was wearing that look, there was definitely trouble.

"Hey there, brothers. You're a little slower than I expected."

Subaru pulled back his right sleeve, pretended the golden bracer was a wristwatch, glanced at it, and grinned.

"The hems of your clothes are damp. Let me guess: did you stumble into a construction site, or run into a Sin Archbishop?"

"Possibly both."

Reinhard laughed along. At some point he'd become able to keep up with Subaru's thought process, which was barely distinguishable from nonsense, and he could even toss the banter back now. Fake brothers, it seemed, became real ones if you kept it up long enough.

"We were indeed ambushed, and we met the first Sin Archbishop, 'Wrath.' The details may be a little complicated, so I'll ask Mr. Geuse to explain."

"Indeed… the situation is quite complicated…"

Geuse swallowed, his gaze drifting, deliberately or not, toward Emilia, who had come out at the commotion. He seemed torn over whether to tell the whole truth.

Tell her that Sin Archbishop was the adoptive mother he'd mistakenly killed a hundred years ago? That she was not only back from the dead but dressed in some edgy getup, and as unhinged as he used to be? If he said that out loud, he was afraid Emilia would go mad right along with her.

"Hey, hey! Geuse? What on earth happened? Why does your face look so strange?"

Puck, vaguely sensing something, couldn't hold back any longer and popped out of the crystal on Emilia's chest. Ever since entering the Water Gate City, he'd felt some deeply familiar presence. He couldn't tell whether it was something he'd once been close to or something he'd hated, only that it probably had a great deal to do with him.

Geuse's expression only deepened his suspicion. Puck drifted right up to Geuse's ear and whispered something. Geuse gave him a startled look, fell silent for a moment, and then went on.

"Very well… That Wrath Sin Archbishop is… someone we once knew. Most likely because of Pandora's scheme, she has fallen into madness, just as I once did. If there's a chance, we should save her."

"And not only for Emilia's sake, but for the innocents of this city. Her Authority links the emotions of others and even shares every injury she takes. Resorting to force recklessly would only get the innocent citizens under her Authority killed."

"Is this person… connected to me too?"

Emilia pointed at herself, her eyes turning serious.

"I see. I understand the gist of it. I have to handle this myself. Subaru, please give me a chance, a chance to prove myself in front of you. I'm no longer the young lady who can only hide behind others."

"As the Witch Cult's Sin Archbishop of Envy, it's my responsibility and my duty to lead those old friends who've gone astray back to the right path. And I should rebuild the kind, moderate Witch Cult of old, shouldn't I? Right, Geuse?"

Geuse went completely rigid. Wait, Lady Emilia, you're serious?! The "Envy" role was nearly becoming real. This wasn't ordinary growth. She was practically sprinting toward becoming the Witch of Envy! He could hardly imagine what kind of monster Puck had raised while he himself had been mad.

Puck, for his part, only spread his little paws to say he didn't know either. Ever since Emilia met that brat named Natsuki Subaru, she'd drifted further and further from the innocent, carefree girl she used to be, and closer and closer to an ambitious, newborn witch. None of it had changed the kindness in her heart, but resolve at this level was honestly frightening.

She hadn't even passed the Sanctuary's trial yet. Those dust-covered memories hadn't been unlocked. And Emilia was already like this. If she passed the trial someday, with her current determination and methods, she might march straight to Pandora, the root of all suffering, and lecture her on the stakes. Never mind how unpleasant things would get between the two of them. Puck genuinely worried whether the world could withstand the two of them making a mess of it.

Oh, and he'd nearly forgotten Natsuki Subaru. That guy was no easy customer either.

Protecting Emilia was Puck's reason for existing, but now it looked like the girl needed his protection less and less. If she wanted to do something dangerous, he might have to hang onto her with everything he had. In the past, that would have been utterly unthinkable.

He could only hope everything would end well… probably…

Muttering to himself, Puck exchanged a despairing look with Geuse, then looked toward Subaru with a trace of hope. That guy was still holding down his hat brim, playing it cool, so there was no telling what expression he wore or what he was thinking.

This was the man who had overturned Roswaal's four-hundred-year scheme, and who had now turned his precious Lia into this. To say Puck had no complaints would be a lie. But the problem was that all he could do now was pin his hopes on Natsuki Subaru displaying his divine might and covering everything.

After all, someone who got along so well with Reinhard, the chosen one of Od Laguna, couldn't possibly want to destroy the world, right?

With that thought, Puck gave a conciliatory little meow, floated onto Subaru's shoulder, and waved his tiny paws in a boxing stance.

"Subaru, since Lia says so, why not trust her just this once? Anyway, with you and the current Sword Saint around, nothing too terrible should happen, right? It's only three Sin Archbishops. We can take them out with a few punches and kicks! Hyah~"

On the surface, the little gray cat was just playing cute. Inside, he'd long since gone numb. He couldn't stop Lia from doing what she wanted, so all he could do was beg this great Buddha to show mercy and protect Lia while he was at it. In his memory, the man loved petting cats, so Puck would sacrifice himself today and let him pet to his heart's content!

But Subaru just gave him a cold eye-roll, curled a finger, and flicked him away.

"Shoo! You bad-influence cat! Grown-ups are talking, don't butt in."

Subaru brushed away the nonexistent dust from his shoulder and looked at Emilia, his expression softening again.

"Nothing that stupid cat says is reliable. Emilia, since they're your acquaintances, it's your specialty anyway. Handling this one is perfect for you. Just disguise yourselves a bit so she doesn't recognize you and go berserk. That would be a real headache."

"Also, let me repeat: kissing doesn't cause that kind of thing. Please remember that."

"Ah… Mm!"

Emilia's face instantly turned red, and she nodded rapidly like a pecking chick, her earlier resolve gone without a trace. In that instant, Puck understood exactly why Subaru suddenly had so many complaints about him.

Haah… He'd brought this on himself. Like a knocked-out front tooth, he'd have to swallow it, crying if he had to.

"Good, next question." Subaru clapped his hands and pulled the topic back on track. "Reinhard, who exactly had the guts to ambush you guys? Even someone with respawns on tap wouldn't dare try that!"

"Was it the Wrath Sin Archbishop you saw in the plaza earlier?"

Emilia, her face still burning, hurried to ask, eager to look composed.

Reinhard shook his head. Before these trusted companions he no longer needed to disguise himself with perfection, and in those clear, gentle azure eyes surfaced a rare pain and chill.

"The one who attacked us was the previous Sword Saint, my grandmother, Lady Theresia van Astrea."

The hall went silent.

Emilia sucked in a breath and covered her mouth without thinking.

"Lady Theresia… the hero who died in the Great Conquest? How could…"

"I'm guessing she was revived by some forbidden art, like puppeteering a corpse?"

The smile vanished from Subaru's face. He knew Theresia all too well, and the thought of that possibility lit an unnamed fire in his chest.

"This is probably the Witch Cult's handiwork too, isn't it, Mr. Geuse?"

Geuse nodded silently, saying nothing.

"And she retreated after the fight?" Subaru continued.

"Yes. She had no desire to keep fighting." Reinhard gripped the hilt of the Dragon Sword tightly. "Now that Grandfather and Father have fully reconciled, I had steeled myself to gather Grandmother's remains with my own hands and grant her rest. But she had no intention of a hard fight. The moment I struck, she fled through the water without hesitation."

"That's not how a mindless fanatic acts. It seems someone is directing her actions behind the scenes. At least for now, it looks like she didn't attack us to assassinate anyone. She was probing our strength."

"Is that so?" Subaru arched an eyebrow and looked toward Geuse. "Interesting. Mr. Geuse, in the arrangement you knew of, besides Wrath, who are the other two Sin Archbishops in the Water Gate City? How much do you know about them?"

Geuse nodded and took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm as he dug through the deepest fragments of his memory. It was a long while before he finally spoke.

"The Greed Sin Archbishop, Regulus Corneas, is a pathologically selfish loner. He claims to 'want nothing,' yet he is neurotically protective of his 'rights.' I don't know exactly what his Authority is, but he seems completely immune to every outside attack. Even a stone he casually tosses can smash a man into pulp."

"As for Gluttony… they're a pair of villains named Lye and Roy who delight in devouring other people's names and memories. Much like the White Whale, those whose names and memories they've eaten are completely forgotten by everyone. Over the decades, who knows how many victims there have been."

"Wait… something's off!"

Subaru stroked his chin and suddenly spoke up.

"Subaru? What's off?" Emilia looked up.

"The organization doesn't add up!"

Subaru turned around and gestured in the air.

"By Mr. Geuse's account, Regulus is a terminal contrarian who listens to no one and spouts nothing but rights and duties. Those two gluttonous slobs can't fit half an ounce of strategy in their heads past planning their next binge. And Wrath… no offense, but from the description, she doesn't sound like a strategist either."

"Of all the Sin Archbishops I know, the only ones with the brains to organize something this large-scale are Mr. Geuse and Capella, who died without even leaving ashes. The remaining three are freaks who'd need maximum-security riot cells in any asylum. They don't look like they have any plan at all. Even if Mr. Geuse left some contingencies behind, that couldn't support the organization these guys have now, right?"

"They send the previous Sword Saint to test the current Sword Saint, stage mind-hijacking in the plaza to turn civilians into hostages, and presumably someone's still lurking around planning something huge. Does that make sense? Is that scientific? If this pack of schemers with their own agendas could cooperate on their own, pigs could climb the Water Gate tower upside down!"

Julius's eyes sharpened as understanding dawned. "You mean… someone above them is giving the orders?"

"The Witch of Vainglory, Pandora."

Subaru spat out the name coldly.

"Besides that elusive old hag who plays with causality and memory, nobody in this world can tie these rabid dogs to a single rope."

"Pan! Do! Ra!"

At that name, uncontainable hatred ignited in Geuse's eyes. Several Invisible Providence-like arms nearly burst from his body and flailed wildly, held back only by his desperate effort.

"So Mr. Geuse has a deep grudge against the mastermind too. That makes things easier."

Subaru clapped his hands again, shoved them into his coat pockets, and a flicker of cold light crossed his eyes.

"I don't know what that woman is after, but she definitely wants to stir up a bloodbath. While these guys are gathered together, my suggestion is to physically eliminate these Sin Archbishops and the Witch of Vainglory all at once, and rid the world of a few great scourges for good!"

—Hehehe! For once you've said something that pleases me, you dull man! Natsuki Subaru!

The instant he finished, Deathwing's sweet voice, deliberately mimicking Priscilla's, echoed through his mind.

—It should have been done long ago! The corpses of those Sin Archbishops will be the finest offerings to establish our authority in this world! Let them die slowly… and painfully!

—Especially that damned woman, Pandora!

Deathwing's voice carried a barely concealed, fierce hatred, aimed squarely at the "love" Pandora had shown the so-called "Dragon of Finality," Natsuki Subaru, when she first appeared.

That man, past, present, and future, belonged to only one person: herself—