Route A – The Two Who Almost Fought
"Then, please lend me your strength for now."
Subaru made his decision, speaking as he reached out his hand.
"Thank you for trusting me, Subaru. Since you've chosen to trust me, I hope you'll trust me all the way—in other words, rely on me as much as you need."
Reinhild froze for a moment, then realized what Subaru meant. She smiled and confidently grasped his hand.
.
.
.
"As expected, just regular apples. Boss, earlier you said you personally saw a silver-haired girl being robbed, and that she used ice magic to fight back—about how long ago was that?"
"About two two hours! So, customer, would you like any other fruit?"
"No, thank you for the information. But it looks like the easiest plan, stopping Felt's theft, has completely failed. Two hours ago, huh… So Emilia would have been robbed just after I revived. That's not something to laugh about."
After getting the information from the fruit vendor, Subaru sighed and walked toward Reinhild, who was eating an apple nearby.
As he walked, he rapidly thought through his next move.
Currently, Subaru had constructed a basic power ranking system in his mind based on the people he'd met: Catastrophe-level was Puck, top-tier was Elsa the Bowel Hunter, those who could hold their own against her were first-rate, those who could last a few blows were second-rate, and those who couldn't take a single hit were complete weaklings.
Even though he'd gained the power of someone between top-tier and first-rate—Reinhild—Subaru had already given up the idea of using her to directly fight Elsa.
He didn't want Reinhild to get hurt.
Instead, his best plan was to stop the weakest link, Felt, from stealing from Emilia.
But now it seemed that not only was that impossible in this loop—it might always be something only he could stop.
Even if they were both weaklings, Felt could probably beat ten of him.
"Subaru, are you okay? You don't look so well."
Reinhild handed him a fruit from her bag while asking with concern as he approached.
"Thanks. I'm just a little down because I realized a shortcut disappeared.
Looks like we'll have to move on to Plan B—the ambush strategy.
Reinhild, there might be some technically illegal stuff coming up. Would you be willing to turn a blind eye?"
The girl was silent for a few seconds, then shrugged and said, "I'm off duty today. I'm just aimlessly strolling around the capital. If I patrol or monitor anything on my own, the captain will yell at me. So I really am just taking a walk… By the way, unless there's a victim's accusation and solid evidence, a case won't hold up."
"Thanks."
Subaru said gratefully, then headed deeper into the slums with Reinhild.
Maybe it was some sixth sense for danger, but this time the streets were eerily empty.
The few people they did pass looked at Reinhild warily from a distance.
Reinhild's smile gradually disappeared, replaced by a thoughtful expression.
No matter how much Subaru joked around, it didn't seem to help.
"Alright, we're back here again. This time…"
Subaru kept talking to himself in a light tone, but it wasn't enough to fool his heart.
His heartbeat pounded, pulse quickened, and his hands grew heavy.
His mouth dried up, his tongue burned, and a ringing in his ears hammered at his brain.
For a moment, the horrific scenes he had witnessed in the room played out again before his eyes—the old man's corpse, his own slashed-open belly, a flying head, the ice beast, the corpses of the Iron Fangs, Julius frozen in ice…
"Subaru! Calm down. Deep breaths, deep breaths. I'm right here with you. Trust me—no matter what's inside, it can't hurt you."
Reinhild grabbed his head so their eyes met.
Seeing the confidence in her eyes, Subaru's fear slowly faded.
In her gaze, he saw a pathetic reflection of himself.
After several deep breaths, he patted Reinhild's hand to signal he was okay, then struck a dramatic pose pointing to the sky to lighten the mood.
"Sorry you had to see that. But thanks to that Reinhild energy boost, I'm feeling fantastic. Just sit back and watch me in action."
"Is that so… Then I'll stand right behind you and witness your brilliance."
Subaru stepped up to the heavy door of the loot storage.
His knees no longer trembled.
Knowing the girl behind him was watching gave him courage.
"Anyone in there?"
Subaru knocked and called out.
The door thudded heavily, but no one responded—only unbearable silence returned his call. A twinge of fear surfaced in Subaru's heart.
Was he too late again? That thought made him pound on the door harder.
"Is anyone… there? Please, answer me… Please."
Unable to withstand Subaru's strength, the door began to crack and the hinges bent—until—
"—So noisy! Don't know the password and code, and you're trying to break the door?!"
The person inside had no regard for the situation.
The door came flying at Subaru with a roar.
If he'd been alone, it would've knocked him flying.
But just before the door struck him, a precise force from behind halted the blow.
He could feel the wind of the swinging door brush his nose—maybe only two centimeters away—but he wasn't harmed.
The gentle force behind him steadied his body.
"Thanks, Reinhild. And Rom-jii, you're way too rough."
"You know me? How do you know about this place? Who told you?"
Old Man Rom aggressively tried to close the distance, but a girl stepped between them.
A bystander you'd forget just by looking—but Rom suddenly found his body refusing to move forward.
Even his hand holding the club trembled.
"Who the hell are you? What do you want?"
Rom watched the two in front of him warily.
That brief flash of fear behind the door hadn't been an illusion.
The girl's eyes—she looked like death wearing human skin.
But Rom was a giant, a warrior who'd fought in brutal wars, a man unafraid of death.
Most importantly, he had someone precious to protect.
So he summoned his courage to ask—if these people were targeting him, then dying here might protect Felt from harm.
"In any case, we're guests, you could say. Aren't you going to invite us in?"
Because of the battle they shared in the second loop, Subaru immediately noticed Rom's subtle preparations to attack.
He hurriedly stepped in front of Reinhild and spoke.
Maybe it was because of the old man's pressure, but Subaru felt a chill on his back.