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That madman, Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti—
The Sin Archbishop of Sloth makes his appearance.
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"Ah, I apologize."
Julius, the most excellent knight, apologized for his lapse in composure.
But no one here blamed him, as everyone was in shock.
"Eh... G... Geuse?"
The most shocked was, of course, Emilia.
He was simply not the Geuse she knew.
He looked emaciated and lifeless, but his eyes were intensely and fanatically diligent.
"Geuse..."
Beatrice showed a heavy and sad expression.
Beatrice had long heard that Geuse had been brainwashed by the Witch of Vanity, Pandora, but seeing it with her own eyes still made her heart ache.
"Ahem, Geuse is truly pitiful."
Puck's expression was as heavy as Beatrice's.
"It's been~ a long time... hasn't it~?"
Roswaal no longer drew out his words.
"Geuse... after being brainwashed by Pandora, he became like... this..."
Emilia was clearly the most unable to accept it.
No, he has already passed away peacefully, don't... grieve too much.
I just hope that in this world... he can also rest in peace.
Emilia tried her best to suppress her sorrow and continued to look at the screen—
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"So, what do you want from a recluse like me?"
"Don't you know? In this country, at this moment, a foolish activity is about to take place!"
"Are you talking about... the Royal Selection?"
"Precisely! The Royal Selection! But, that's not the problem! What's important isn't the Royal Selection, but the existence of participating in it! That silver-haired half-witch!"
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"I remember... the madman Petelgeuse wanted to conduct a so-called 'trial. '"
Julius recalled.
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"That attire! That origin! It is a blasphemy against the Witch! It is an existence we cannot ignore! Now is the time for the trial! To see if she possesses the capacity befitting a Witch, and if so, to bring her under our banner! We must test her!"
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"Sorry. My dear daughter won't join your Witch Cult. Although you wouldn't use conventional methods to get Lia to join the Witch Cult, would you?"
Puck flew from Emilia's shoulder to her palm as he spoke.
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"So... you want my help?"
"That's right, that's right! Although I've told others as well, those unfaithful fellows can hardly respond! The only possible 'Wrath' is currently very far from the kingdom... Therefore, we must go!"
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"In the original world, only Petelgeuse conducted the so-called 'trial. ' Now that Petelgeuse has... Subaru as an 'accomplice', he extends an invitation to him."
Julius analyzed.
"Speaking of which... it seems Petelgeuse originally wanted other Archbishops to come, but they probably wouldn't help. Only Wrath Archbishop who might help is far from the kingdom... Could they be in the Water Gate City?"
Otto added and asked.
"However, even in this world, Subar-dono's love for Lady Emilia remains unchanged. So... this is just using Petelgeuse."
Wilhelm said as such.
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"Understood. Ah, speaking of which, if the Witch Satella is to descend into the world using a half-witch as a vessel, what will happen to the person who is the vessel?"
Subaru asked, seemingly casually.
"She will be sacrificed! But, it is incredibly glorious! If possible, I would like to exchange with her! If sacrificing this body can satisfy Satella, no matter how many times, no matter how painful, I can endure it, only hoping to welcome the time of reunion!"
"Is that so? She will be sacrificed—"
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"Ah—that smile, as expected, he's going to..."
Elsa saw Subaru's dark and wicked smile and licked her red lips.
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"Well. Even if I say this, you probably won't believe me."
Subaru took out a sharp sword from his clothes, stabbed it into the madman's body, and twisted it back and forth.
"Wh-why..."
"Petelgeuse-san, among the people I hate, you're actually one of the better ones."
Petelgeuse then fell...
"Traitor! A traitor who betrayed the Witch's love! Unforgivable, unforgivable, unforgivable!!"
"You've worked hard to prepare until now. Pretending to be mentally ill, but you've considered everything so thoroughly. Speaking of which, I've repeated this over four hundred times to stop you. So, you're the person I've spoken to the most in this world, and I even felt a bit of friendship... So, targeting Emilia. Regret it forever."
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"F-four... four hundred times..."
Emilia finds it hard to believe.
How much pain did he have to endure?
Just for me!?
"Ah—four hundred times, that feeling of hatred—it's unbearable."
Elsa watched the screen with fascination.
"Friend... friendship or something... with that guy... haha... it's a bit hard to accept."
Otto scratched his cheek with a wry smile, a way he concealed his pain.
"But... Subaru can indeed see the 'Unseen Hand', but how did Subaru break Petelgeuse's 'Fingers'? Also, there's 'Possession'."
Just as Julius was wondering, the screen provided the answer—
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"Your, body!"
Petelgeuse used all his strength to try to seize Subaru's body.
However...
A faint red light flickered on Subaru's finger.
"You can't possess a spirit mage who has a contract with spirits, right? Sin Archbishop of Sloth, Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti."
"Natsuki Subaru!"
Facing Petelgeuse's death throes, Subaru kicked him away and stabbed his face fiercely.
The Witch Cult's Sin Archbishop of Sloth, Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti, died on the spot.
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"Ah ah! I'm about to appear next!"
Meili recalled, pointing at the screen.
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"Hmm? It seems it's over here."
Meili rode Guiltylowe, known as the Black King of the Forest, to Subaru's side.
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"Whoa! It's Guiltylowe!"
Otto couldn't forget this big guy.
It was when they were still in the Sanctuary that Subaru took Otto and the others to Roswaal's mansion to rescue people, and Meili came with this Behemoth.
What did Natsuki-san say? A face like a lion?
"Mm-hmm, that... It's called 'Fingers', right? I solved it. When Big Brother was about to kill that disgusting uncle, I was quite confused because, in my eyes at the time, that disgusting uncle was Big Brother's companion. But oh well, let's just call it repaying a favor."
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Meili on the screen also showed confusion:
"But is this okay? Aren't these people Big Brother's companions?"
"Is that so. If he hadn't planned to kill me in the end, maybe we would have just been friends with a bit of an age gap. But unfortunately, he still planned to kill me, so unfortunately, we're not friends."
Subaru shrugged, and Meili pointed at her lower lip with her finger:
"Hmm—then, because I don't plan to kill Big Brother, am I Big Brother's friend?"
"From that logic, you're right. I'm your friend, Meili."
"Ah, that's great. In that case, including Petra and the others, I have many friends."
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"Eh, Petra? Right, speaking of which, the reason Petra isn't here is..."
Emilia suddenly remembered Petra.
"That's right, why isn't that child...?"
The blonde maid, Garfiel's sister, Petra's beloved senior "Frederica Baumann" also thought so.
The people present were basically more or less related to Subaru; even Priscilla and the others had a shallow relationship of "knowing" him, so Petra should also be here.
But she wasn't.
The screen was still playing.
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"Eh, that's surprising. Although it's a bit rude to say, you actually have friends."
Meili smiled upon hearing this:
"Yes, I do. But, well, they've all been killed by me."