Chapter 16: Chapter 15: Preparation to Take Down Sloth

It takes about almost an hour for me to find the mark I left and manage to go back to the village. It is supposed to be faster however I decide to take my time because seriously, I need it, like really need it.

I... Simply can't rush things. Not in my mental state. I need a break, I don't care if it is risky but it was really necessary. I can't recheck my plan with my mind disturbed so I decide to clear my head first.

Doing nothing but stare at the sky with a blank mind seems to be working for me. At least I'm not as bad as one hour ago so...

It wasn't long before I could tell I was getting close to the village because the forest, the road and the trees around me now started to become familiar.

"Hm?"

I narrowed my eyes when I noticed there was a silhouette not far from me, just around the entrance of the village, my hand instinctively twitched, fingers flexed and ready to draw Excalibur if it was a spy from Witch Cult. Petelgeuse won't notice if one of his scum is missing and I don't want to have one lunatic close to the village that I personally know.

However when I focused my eyes further I caught a glimpse of blue hair and I blinked when I noticed the figure is certainly familiar.

It was...

"Aaron-sama!" She called from afar when notice me.

Rem.

"Rem." I called back while fastening my pace and approached her. I briefly observed my surroundings keenly and made sure my hearing and sense sharpened to make sure no one was spying on us. Finding none I focus back to her. "What are you doing here? I-"

"Nee-sama has told us everything." Rem cut me with a grave look. "The Witch Cult is going to attack Emilia-sama and so we had villagers ready to evacuate anytime, they now already pack their stuff. Does Aaron-sama manage to get what he wishes from the Witch Cult?"

Unlike her sister – I hold back a flinch when she mentions Ram's name – that talk to me with distrust and cold voice yesterday. Rem's voice was sincere, genuine, she truly believed in me, there was no ill and hostile intention in the slightest.

And knowing all of that makes me feel more guilty.

I should be yelling at her right now, angry that she told Ram about what happened in the city and my assault on Roswaal, angry that she basically ruined my relationship with Ram..

And if it was me from one hour ago standing in front of her, I would do that without hesitation.

Thankfully I already calmed down a bit and not let my emotions blind my mind anymore.

Yes, what she did is indeed bad for me but at same time I can't blame her since she only did what is right from her perspective

No matter how close I am to them, it doesn't change the fact that it was Roswaal who saved them on that fiery night. It was Roswaal who picked over them, taking them under his care, nurturing them, funding them, and protecting them. Even if he has his own agenda by doing that but it doesn't change all he did is saving them.

So of course it was her duty as his maid and as Ram's little sister to tell her what happened in the Capital, I practically threatened their master after all.

"Good." That was the only thing I could say right now. "Let's go back to the manor, I will explain everything in there."

"Aaron!"

The moment he stepped into the mansion he saw a silver blur coming in his direction, so fast it was as it made him think that the blur was going to strike him. Fortunately the 'silver blur' stopped only a few inches from him and he found his hand suddenly moved up

"Aaron!IheardeverythingfromRam!Ohmygosh!Areyouokay?!I-"

The words were barely coherent and it was only his sharp hearing sense that allowed him to put them together – again, barely. The half elf seems to bounce around him from one place to another, checking him like a mother bear inspecting her cub that just got into a fight.

It lightened his mood seeing this.

"Emi, Emi, calm down a bit." Aaron put his hands on her shoulder and pressed her to the ground to keep her from bouncing again. Seriously, it started to hurt his eyes. "I'm fine, nothing happened, everything went smooth, so stop blabbering, you will run out of oxygen." He said in an amused voice.

The half elf gave him a scrutinizing look from top to bottom before she nodded tentatively, red hue slowly spread to her cheeks. "Sorry." She meekly apologized, feeling embarrassed.

"It's fine. Now let's get this meeting done, I want to take a bath and eat Rem's food." He said while barely able to hold drool. Seriously, he only eats Wolgarm for a few days and then he roasts it on his own with salt, soy sauce, and sugar sometimes. It was only two nights but he wanted to eat her cooking, it was real food after all.

Great Gods, he really wants to eat it so badly.

"Aaron-sama you're drooling." Rem pointed with a smile.

Aaron turned to her and gave a dull look. "Very funny Rem, it's-"

"No, she is right." Emilia cut in with an amused voice. "You're really drooling."

Aaron blinked and touched his lips, then he felt the wetness and slightly slimy texture in there and quickly wiped it. "So I did." His face began to get warm from the heat that rushed to his cheeks, God dammit this is clearly embarrassing!

"Perhaps the talk about the Witch Cult can be later?" Rem suggested with a careful voice. There was a mirth that was barely restrained in there though. "Aaron-sama has been out for two nights, it will be better if Aaron-sama cleans himself first, Rem will prepare food for you."

Aaron licked his lips unconsciously, he really could use some food now, he still did not eat until now ever since he woke up after all.

Rem is nearly giggling at the sight she currently sees. The man looked very unsure, licking his lips and chewing the bottom part of it. It reminds her of a boy that was told to pick between two of his favorite toys.

It was very adorable in her opinion.

And is it just her or was his hair... Was the single strand of his hair that usually poked out just twitching?

Image of Aaron with a curious face and having his single strand of hair twitching crossed to her mind and Rem almost squealed at her the mental image.

Keyword : almost.

"Aaron-sama, it will be better to discuss things when your mind is clear. How long do we have before the Witch Cult attacks?"

"... About three days but I plan to deal with them tomorrow, the sooner the better."

"Then it's better if you take a bath and eat first." Rem suggested immediately. "This is still noon, we still have plenty of time Aaron-sama." She added when the man opened his mouth to respond. She saw he still had doubts about this and she decided to give the finisher. "Rem will make Aaron-sama's favorite steak, and Aaron-sama can eat as many as he wants."

That was the last nail that was needed for the coffin.

"Very well then, a bath and food first." He nodded with acceptance. "Making plans with an empty stomach is unwise after all." He turned to Emilia." We will talk later, okay?"

"Yes." Emilia nodded.

Aaron gives a smile to the half elf before turning to Rem and gives her a wider smile. It makes the oni's heart flutter for a moment, the blond then walks away to the direction of the stairs, intent to get his cloth and clean himself.

Rem watched this with a smile, she shook her head and held the giggle that was about to erupt from her mouth. Even if it was only a simple thing, she can't help but find the man's behavior very amusing and entertaining to watch. There is never a boring moment with him.

She was about to excuse herself from Emilia and went to the kitchen to prepare food but stopped when notice said the half elf staring at her.

The look she gives to her is... Strange. The oni caught a glimpse of sharpness and analytical look from the Royal Candidate, and dare she said... Irritation? Why is she irritated? What possibly could...

"Emilia-sama?"

The moment her name called the silver haired girl seemed to realize that she was staring, her violet eyes blinking once before she shook her head as if snapping from stupor.

"Ah, yes?"

The blue haired oni tilted her head and gave an appraising gaze for a second. "Are you okay? Emilia-sama you look disturbed."

"Disturbed?" Emilia repeated with a small frown and she turned around from her. "No, I'm fine. Anyway, Rem I will be back to my room, call me if he is done."

"Yes."

The blue haired maid watched as the Royal Candidate left, her calculating look turned to a small frown as well.

What was that about? Did she do something that made her upset?

She shakes her head and decides to think about it later, it is not important now. She has someone to feed, someone that can be considered special.

She goes to the kitchen while thinking of a certain blond.

Normally Rem would allow the man to start to discuss their plan and strategy just after he goes home. This is important after all, related to Witch Cult, a Cult that is filled with fanatic and crazy people, Rem has no intention to let them go or do whatever they want, she wants to crush and destroy them.

However she did not do that because when they were on their way back to the manor she noticed that he seemed not in the right state.

Something burdening his mind, he looked very troubled. He always walks and carries himself with confidence and a firm aura around him, even when he looks tired or exhausted but never once do they lose. However when they were on their way, those charismatic and strong air diminished from him.

Rem doesn't like that. She doesn't like to see him so troubled like that...

So she decided to push him to rest and relax his mind first and it wasn't a bad decision seeing they still have some time, one day. She is sure Aaron-sama has a plan to deal with the cult, even if it is only twenty four hours.

She has faith in him after all.

Aaron must say taking a proper bath and eating delicious food after spending two nights in the forest clearly puts him in a better mood. Not just the warm water refreshing his body but the delicious food that Rem provides makes the atmosphere to be... Less tense.

Don't get him wrong, he is still sulking after what happened with Ram but right now he can ignore them and focus on bigger tasks.

"Alright." He started as he stared at the residence of the manor; Beatrice, Rem, Ram, Emilia and Puck. "I don't know what Ram said, but I'm sure you all get the picture about it right? About the Witch Cult that is coming here. Everyone knows what they are right?"

"Garbage." Rem spoke the word harshly, as if spitting venom.

"Stain in the World." Ram added with equal tone.

"Barbarian and a disgusting bunch of people." Beatrice sniffed her nose in disdain.

"Lunatic with a meaningless goal." Puck remarked while lazily resting on the table.

They all turned to Emilia, silently asking for her opinion. The half elf blinked at the sudden attention and she squirmed a bit from that.

"Bad people?" She offered weakly, she is still not when comes into the center of attention like this even if they are familiar to her. While the others appear to be unfazed, Aaron in an instant gives her look, that look, the one that practically screams 'My Gods, where were you all this time?!' aloud to the point it becomes insulting. "Aaron! Don't be mean!" She whined.

"It is common sense." Aaron said flatly.

"I don't want to-"

"""It is common sense.""" Ram, Rem and Beatrice agreed at the same time while shooting blank looks at her.

The silver haired girl flinched at the trio assault and she mumbled under her breath while looking down, meanwhile Puck who was resting at the table tried his best to look innocent.

"Emi I can tolerate you about many things but that, Emi, the knowledge about Witch Cult is equal to one plus one equal to two." Aaron told the girl with a sigh. "Regardless, you were living in the forest so I can tolerate that but..." He turned to Puck. "Why in the name of Akasha and Root did you not tell her about this?!"

The whole residence's attention now turned to Puck, the cat spirit having the decency to look sheepish as he pawed the back of his furry head. "Well, truthfully it's because Lia didn't ask."

The ridiculous answer was enough to make Ram, Rem and Aaron shoot him a bewildered look while Beatrice simply palmed her face, apparently, the librarian spirit knows even this is crossing the line.

Not to mention Emilia also shot a disappointed look at her surrogate father.

"Puck-dono, no offense but, what. The. Hell?!" He emphasized the last three words with a mixture of enraged and bewildered expression

"I know you're mad and think it was ridiculous, I know you think so too Lia." Puck said when noticing the look from his surrogate daughter. "But that was the real reason, I have no other intention at all. Look there are some things you can live without knowing, then not knowing is fine too. If Lia asked me, I would have told her, but she didn't ask… People like that, if you just avoid them then it doesn't matter, right?"

Aaron's lips become thin at that, his face set to a solemn and stoic expression. "I agree wholly with that Puck-dono, some things are better to leave unknown. But you should know this is an important and different matter. Emi came out of the forest, to become King, she is fighting to win the Royal Selection! There is no way to avoid the Witch Cult like that."

"... You're right about that. The Witch Cult appears… I suspected it too." Puck pawed his forehead and sighed. "But it's not like I'm not going to tell Lia about them, make no mistake I will. What I don't expect is for them to appear this soon."

Aaron's eyes narrowed slightly, his jaw and fist clenched unconsciously. He knows what Puck tried to do, he really did. In Canon Witch Cult, make their move to Emilia because her face is shown to the public for Royal Selection, her existence revealed to the World.

But here... She did not, at least not yet.

You can say thanks to him for that.

It was without doubt that he is believed as a descendant of Dragon by the Royal Guard, Noble, and Sage Council. He is as good as Demigod, a man that shares the same blood with the Great Dragon that they praise and worship as God, even if it is not Volcanica but it doesn't change the fact it is still Dragon, one of Volcanina's kin.

And people still are not ready to know that there is a Demigod walking among them. There will be panic and outrage just by revealing Emilia's existence, many will protest about her worth as a candidate to be King. If you add his existence and say that the Demigod supports her...

That is why the announcement was delayed for a week. The Sage Council is currently discussing how they should do this and how they will handle the reaction from the public that comes afterward.

They need something good to reveal his existence and his support for Emilia, something big that is reassuring.

"Can we discuss this later?" Puck asked while scratching his furry head. "Don't we have something more important to talk about?"

An attempt to avoid this conversation but he is right. Right now they have something else to discuss.

"Alright, the Witch Cult." Aaron nodded and stared at them one by one. "I managed to gain information that there would be at least a hundred cultists led by Archbishop of Sloth, Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti."

"A hundred..." Emilia murmured. "That... That was quite a lot." Her voice and face show a concerned expression.

"True, and they are all clearly far from rookie, at least they have one or two experiences." Aaron agreed with a grim face. "Five or four of them is easy to take down for someone at our caliber, but twenty? That is something else..." He said. "Though it won't be too hard for me or Puck-dono or Beatrice-san."

Which is true, he did not try to get cocky but he stated a fact. He can deal with twenty or fifty of them on his own, with Magic Resistance and Mana Burst, he can easily decimate all of them. True he won't leave unscathed but he still can take them down.

Though if there were Petelgeuse it would be a different story.

"The problem is that I'm not sure just how wide their range is." Aaron continued while giving a glance to Rem who nodded and stepped forward then unfold some paper on the table, showing a map of the area around the manor. "I pretty much circled one or two kilometers from the village." He made a circle mark where he traveled days ago. "And I stopped in one of the caves that are located here." He made another mark. "They all pretty much came to me afterward, and the Archbishop certainly is going to stay there as well, along with a group of cultists. If this is only a small operation I would suggest we go launch an all-out strike on him but..."

"I think I get it." Emilia muttered as she keenly observed the map. "You're afraid they're going to target the villagers."

"Exactly." Aaron nodded with a solemn expression. "I'm sure they come here not only for you, there's no doubt they are also going to target the village."

The half elf jaw clenched unconsciously, the thought of people in the village that... That has accepted her, laughing, chatting and joking with her despite her appearance that resembles the Witch of Envy to be targeted made her angry.

She won't let that happen! Not to them!

"What do you suggest Aaron?" She asked, her eyes and voice sharp. This is not Emilia who is joking, laughing, and being an airhead. No, this is Emilia who has faced the World, standing in front of those who hate her due to her appearance but not showing any sign of cowering or backing away. This is Emilia who stands in front of Nobles, Royal Guard, and Sage Council as one of the candidates to be Queen of Lugnica and declare her ideal for the Kingdom.

Aaron felt the corner of his lips tugging upward slightly, it seems his attempt to make Emilia grow a backbone started to show results.

"In terms of power, we surpass them." Aaron said, his eyes flickered to Puck. "We know that Puck-dono can easily kill dozens of them with few attacks, I don't think the Archbishop will be a problem if he goes all out." Which is true, Puck pretty much obliterates Petelgeuse when he transforms into his monstrous form, freezing him alive without much difficulty and even his soul. "And I am also confident I can go fight the Archbishop by myself, but the problem is our range and area. Puck-dono and I can't be in the same place at the same time."

He doesn't need an army from Crusch or Anastasia to deal with the Witch Cult, no. Contrary to what everyone believes, Emilia's camp actually is the strongest among other Royal Candidates – save for Felt who have Reinhard on her side. They have army, group of people that strong, yes, but Emilia have Puck on her side, the spirit that dubbed as the Beast of the End

And the cat spirit himself is already an army and monster that needs thousands of soldiers – save for Reinhard – or more to be brought down. Combined with his strength, they have enough power to deal with the Witch Cult.

But the main problem is their range. He and Puck can't be at the same place at the same time. He will deal with Petelgeuse and a few of his fingers that are close to him, but what about others that spread around the forest? Puck can handle them, yes, but what if their number is actually more than he anticipated?

That is why he discusses them now.

"Their target is me but they are going to attack the village." Emilia nodded in agreement. "They can use them as hostages."

"True, and to prevent that we must strike them before they are ready." His green eyes shift to the girls and the spirit one by one. "Tomorrow, when Puck-dono is at the peak of his strength, we will strike."

"Tomorrow?" Beatrice's eyes narrowed. "Betty thought that wouldn't be a bad idea, but it still seems too hasty, I suppose."

"Agree but the faster we deal with them the better for us. It means they won't be able to spread and make a base for their defense."

"Strike while they are all in one place." Puck nodded and gave an understanding look. "That is a good idea."

"But surely they would have already spread by now." Emilia pointed out. "They are not going to sit and do nothing."

"Which is why we must strike them as fast as possible. But since it was impossible to attack them now, we changed it to tomorrow." Aaron replied before he took out some Conversing Mirror. "Thankfully I managed to snatch one of these from them."

"And we can use this to pinpoint their location." Emilia's face brightened as she stared at the mirror. "Good job Aaron!"

"Thank you for your praise, Your Highness." Aaron replied with a smirk. "But is there someone who knows how to do that?"

"Ram do." Ram said, voice stoic and blank. "Ram understands how to track another mirror through one."

"... Very well, I will leave that to you then. And can you use your Clairvoyance ability to make sure they are also there?"

"Yes."

At the cold response Aaron only nodded stiffly before turning back to everyone, he was perfectly aware of how Puck eyes trailed between him and Ram but he ignored it.

"Beatrice-san, the library of yours, I take it that since you have control over it and it can be accessed from all rooms in this mansion it means you can use some kind of space manipulation spell?"

"... You mean teleport?" Beatrice asked. "Yes, Betty can."

"How far is your teleportation range?"

"Hmph. Betty's teleport range is quite far but it is limited to a few places, the library and the village are two of them. I suppose." Beatrice answered with a wrinkling nose. Truthfully she didn't like this situation, she didn't want to go out and fight like this, she rather spent time in her library and reading her books.

But since the Witch Cult is targeting this manor, it means they are going to target her place as well. Then it might be better to cleanse them before they come to disturb her. Really, what a troublesome bunch of people, those crazy lunatics, they always bring problems to others.

And the boy that sits not far from her has proven himself to be competent and good enough until now so she will let him take command for this operation.

Meanwhile Aaron nodded, that was to be expected, Beatrice has teleported Emilia from the village back to manor and Subaru to Sanctuary, the distance between those places is quite far so this should be no problem.

This is it... There's no need for an army to deal with the Witch Cult. With Beatrice's teleportation and Puck's strength...

"Then Beatrice-san can you accompany Ram to track our enemy?" He asked. "I can handle the mana problem if you need more." He then turned to Ram. "How about you?" He offered, his voice void and hollow when saying this.

Ram is only silent at the offer, her pink eyes peering over the blond without any emotion. Her mind momentarily drived back to the night when he gave her mana and shook her head.

"Ram refuses, Ram can do it by herself." She answered plainly.

"If you feel so." He replied in a blank voice, giving her a respectful nod before he shifted his attention back to everyone. "Alright then, tomorrow morning Beatrice-san and Ram will pinpoint our target location, after that you two will return to us and we will start to form a plan to hit them."

"Speaking about them, we should do something about the villagers." Emilia pointed out to him. "We already told them that there might be something dangerous lurking in the forest and have them ready to evacuate anytime but that's it."

"... And what would you suggest, Emi?"

Emila put a thoughtful expression, her hand rubbing her chin, her eyebrow scrunched in concentration. "I... Think we should tell them. About the Witch Cult."

Aaron turns her and tilts his head. "Why? It will cause a commotion, something that we are trying to avoid."

"It won't." Emilia replied in a firm voice. "The villagers, they were all not troubled when they saw me for the first time, and they also had experience with Wolgarm." The former is actually bigger than the latter of course, and thanks to that the villager has the experience of not jumping to a conclusion in an instant. "True there will be commotion but it won't be big and..." She frowned and twitched a bit in her seat. "I don't like lying to them. They deserve to know about this..."

"... And let's just say we did, then what are we going to do? What are we going to tell them? We order them to leave?"

"... No." Emilia answered after a moment of thinking. "We can't do that, if we tell them to leave they will be vulnerable, the Witch Cult can cut them when they are on their way."

Aaron smiled, pride swelling inside him at Emilia's answer. "Well said, that was absolutely right. We can't let them escape, not in this situation, leaving the village without preparation will do nothing but cause problems." He responded with a nod. "You learn quick Emi, I'm proud of you."

Emila beamed, practically preening at the praise as she felt a warm sensation blooming inside her.

"Anyway." Aaron turned back to everyone, with his face set back to a stoic expression. "So the decision has been made. However it is still going to be better if the villagers move, but only after we clean a few Witch Cult so they are not paying attention to them. We are not going to evacuate them fully, only those who are defenseless and can't fight like children or women. The purpose of this is of course for their safety, who knows there might be some stray cultists that lurked around and found them accidentally."

"... Good idea." Emilia nodded in agreement. "But we are still going to need someone to protect them, two people at least, for the one who's in the village and for those that are evacuating."

"I have a plan for that, however I can't be sure. Let's see how the Witch Cult divides themselves tomorrow, after that I can make alterations in my plan."

"If you say so then." Emilia gives another nod, trusting Aaron completely. "So what now?"

"Now? We prepare ourselves." Aaron states sternly. "There's weaponry inside here right?" He asked Rem.

"Yes, albeit not much but we do have few." Rem nodded. "Aaron-sama wants to arm the villagers?"

"Yes."

"Rem believes the numbers will be sufficient enough. Rem shall make preparations after this."

"Good, then..." Aaron glanced at everyone, his green eyes shifted from one to another. "This meeting is finished, we will hold a new one tomorrow at 7 Solartime in the village after we inform them about this."

Hopefully nothing will go wrong. Theoretically nothing could go wrong, he already made this plan for a week and checked the flaw, he already tried to use various scenarios and the chance of this plan's success is high.

But there is still a chance everything goes to the hill. What if some unknown factor comes and interferes? Just like what happened in the Royal Selection.

It doesn't matter though, right now all he can do is plan for the worst and hope for the best

"And that is our situation." Emilia said aloud while looking at the villagers that gathered in the central area. "I know this is a bit sudden, and you all don't like this." That was very obvious judging by how anxious a few villagers looked, if she was in their position she would be too, the idea of leaving their home even only for a moment is not a comfortable one, especially knowing there is danger lurking around.

"And I know you all are also afraid and worried, but have no fear, Aaron and I already make plans to handle this situation, and as long as you all follow it everything will be fine." She bit her lips, feeling uncertain as everyone's eyes focused on her. She still has problems talking to the public after all. "I... I have no solid proof everything will be alright in the end since anything could happen and the best I can say is..."

She took a deep breath, the memory of Aaron smiling proudly and said he trusted her flashed in her mind and she felt her confidence back.

"Have faith in me, in us. Trust us. We will go through this without much problem and anyone dying, I will keep you all safe."

She finished her speech by putting on a determined face and making sure to tilt her head up, high enough so everyone could see her expression and eyes. Aaron always said to stare straight at people's faces to convince them, to show your spirit, your determination.

And she is going to do exactly what he said, he has yet to disappoint her after all.

The villager is only silent for a moment. Then they all begin to look at each other, begin to whisper, their low voices echoed in the area and Emilia can hear what they all say, as half elf she have better hearing sense than normal men – these pointy ears are not just for decoration you know – after all. They all hesitate, uncertain, afraid, and worry, all of the things that she already expected in the first place.

Then one woman steps forward, purple hair, tied into a high ponytail, clad in an orange shirt that looks like a net, her brown eyes sparkling with mischief and there is a rogue grin plastered over her face.

"Meh, why not?" She asked aloud with a shrug. "I mean, you are already one of us."

"Anko..." Emilia murmured the woman's name, her eyes shone with appreciation.

Another woman steps forward, having long salmon colored hair that reaches her shoulder and pink eyes, she gives a supporting smile while staring at her. "Anko is right, Emilia, you're part of this village. You do not need to be afraid that we are going to abandon you, you have already done so much to us by saving Petra and every child from Curse that inflicted by the Wolgarm."

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"Cleo..." Emilia murmured as she stared at her.

"That's right! Emilia-sama you do not need to worry!"

"We will follow your instructions!"

"Yeah! This is payback for you and Aaron-sama!"

"Have no fear Emilia-sama! Your words are my command!"

"For our cute and beloved Emilia-sama!"

The half elf felt her eyes getting wet and there was a very pleasant sensation crawling inside her chest. This feeling... What is this feeling? She... To be trusted and treated like this... Even if she has silver hair and looks like the Witch of Envy herself, these people, they still...

At that moment Emilia makes a vow to the World that she will always look over this village, and when she becomes King, she will not forget just how precious and kind everyone is in this place.

She will pay them back, one way or another.

"Though I kind of worry." Anko said while putting on a fake troubled face. "I mean, you make plans? The clumsy and airhead Emilia makes a plan? Well damn! Now I fear for my life!" She exclaimed in a dramatic manner.

"Anko!" Emilia protested the woman's remark.

The villagers, including Anko, let out a laugh at the response, the tense and heavy atmosphere a moment ago dismissed into an airy and cheerful one.

"Alright folks! Gather your things!" Ken clapped his hands together with a grin. "We will meet again here after we finish packing!"

The villager murmurs in agreement before they decide to go away, back to their own home and gather their belongings to evacuate.

Emilia watched all of this with a smile, she gave a wave to Anko who wink and Cleo who grinned at her. Those two, they really have helped her a lot by talking aloud like that, she clearly owes them for sure.

She turned to her back, her eyes fell on Aaron who was chatting with Rem that was holding out his Metia, the blue haired oni seemed fascinated by something it showed and the blond seemed also happy to talk about it.

She felt irked at this, here she was making a public speech and trying to reassure the public but he did not even bother to pay attention to her?! How could he?! She huffed her cheeks and stomped forward to them.

As she approaches them, Aaron seems aware of her presence as she gets near to him and he turns to her. She was about to open her mouth to say something but he cut her.

"Nice speech Emi, I know you can do it."

The angry words and irritated feeling that crawled inside her froze in her throat at the sudden praise.

"You were listening?"

"Of course I did." He nodded with eyebrow quirks, as if the idea of not listening to her was ridiculous. He tapped his ear once and tilted his head slightly. "I have a good sense of hearing."

Well... She doesn't know how to respond to that, she feels embarrassed, she should know better that there is no way he is not paying attention to her, she means, they are like teacher and student after all! So of course as her unofficial mentor and teacher she will look after her!

It has no connection or link to the strange feeling that she has, nope, absolutely no, whoever said that is a liar.

"Though I have to agree with Anko-san, I feel kind of worried if it was you who made the plan." He added with a small grin.

"Aaron!" She complained, her eyes glaring at him who only chuckled and she huffed her cheeks in annoyance.

She clearly should expect this one from him, he is that annoying despite his gallant and gentle personality.

"What were you talking about anyway?" She asked as she stared at Rem who only glanced at her and Aaron the moment she arrived.

"Nothing much, only about my nephew." He answered flippantly.

"Nephew?"

"Yes, Rem, can I take that back?"

"Yes Aaron-sama."

He took the metia back from the maid, tapping it a few times before he flipped it and showed it to her. The screen displays a picture of a small girl, she appears to be at the age of three or four, wearing a pink polka dot dress, having round styled black hair with the top part tied in an upward direction.

She is cute alright, Emilia admits that, the way her lips curled front in kissing motion, yeah she is indeed cute. One thing caught her attention the most.

"It is her cheeks isn't it?" She asked in a dry voice.

Indeed, the cute small girl's cheeks were certainly quite... Puffy. It looks soft enough to be pinched.

"Yes." He admitted in a serious voice, he seems to have no shame to acknowledge that judging by his straight face. "Her name is Chloe, and she is one of the cutest things in the World!"

"... I... I see..." She doesn't know how to reply to his words, judging by Rem's face who looks exasperated – but amused as well – the blue oni also having similar thoughts. "One of the cutest?"

"Angel is still number one of course." He declared. "Nothing can beat my sister in that aspect."

She did not bother to make a retort about that statement, even if he rarely talked about his family or his past but it was well known to everyone in Margrave Residence that Aaron Pendragon likes his sister a lot, so arguing with him in that aspect will be useless.

So she only observe the metia she hold once again, briefly her eyes wandering to foreign language and symbol that plastered over the screen, she didn't know what they mean and Aaron said it was his home language, it looks like interesting enough, maybe she could ask him to teach her about it, knowing more about him is something that she wants after all.

Meanwhile Aaron himself only can shake his head in amusement at the way Emilia is staring at his cellphone, it never ceases to amuse him seeing how primitive – in the technology aspect – people are awing his cellphone.

Normally he is not going to let people check on his phone, who knows what they might stumble into but he already takes precaution and locks his gallery, he also already sets each picture in separate folders to ensure they won't open things that they shouldn't see.

Like pictures of his real self or his family – cousins and nephew not counted and Angel is too cute to not be shared with others – and everything that related to Re:Zero, he only added fantasy pictures or one that he had when he was at the Cosplay Show.

"Umm... Emm... Oh!"

A particular noise that Emilia let out made the blond face turn to her, only for him to blink when the half elf expressed tight emotion in her face.

"Aaron... Who is this?"

The half elf asked the question while showing the phone to Aaron who looked at it.

It was a picture of him when he was at a cosplay contest, one of his hands draped over his sword while having a stoic face to the camera. He is not alone however, standing near him – practically snuggling to him – is someone that is very familiar to him, she wore a blue frilly dress, her head rested on his shoulder, her blue eyes opened wide and looked so innocent, her smile itself is sweet and beautiful.

It was his friend, and she cosplaying as Manaka Sajyou, the First Master of Saber from Fate Prototype.

"That is my friend..." He said to the half elf, he briefly felt movement from behind him and caught sight of blue hair peering over his shoulder. "Her name is Nathania, I usually call her Nia. In that outfit, she is known as Manaka Sajyou."

"Manaka Sajyou..." Rem rolled the name in her tongue, he noticed there was something strange in her voice.

Emilia looked at the picture, her face tightened further. "You seem very close to her."

"You can say so, we are quite close." Nathania is one of his oldest friends, his best friend from highschool. While in the past there were some... Situation where he has a crush on her – which led to an awkward moment – but that is already water under the bridge, right now the woman is someone he can consider as sister or family.

Though he must admit it is kinda ironic seeing he is cosplaying as Saber but he harbors a slight feeling to her, someone who cosplays as Manaka Sajyou.

Well, Nathania is cute and pretty after all, so he can't be blamed fully.

"... You seem close to many girls." Emilia murmured under her breath as she stared at the picture. She got to see the picture by accident actually – her finger slipped in the first place and a new image appeared afterward – and she didn't want to intrude but after seeing this... She had this strange feeling that told her to check on this metia to see more of his picture.

Tempted as she was – and she really did – but she knew it was a privacy violation and she didn't want to do that to her friend, so she begrudgingly handed the phone back to Aaron.

Only for it to be snatched by Rem.

"Rem?"

"So this is Manaka Sajyou."

The blue haired oni glowered at the phone she held, her blue eyes shooting glare at the blue eyes of 'Manaka Sajyou' with ferocity. And by the way her grip became tightened on his phone, Aaron was afraid that his cellphone might snap into two.

"Rem, can I have my metia back? I don't want it to break." Aaron asked as he grabbed the top of his phone and gently tugged it from the blue haired maid's hand.

"Ah."

The oni let him take the device away however it was clear her good mood was already nowhere to be seen judging by her pout and stink eyes.

Aaron instantly sends it back to astral state, not wanting to risk his cellphone anymore, he briefly glances at Emilia to ask for some clearance, only for the half elf to turn away when their eyes meet shortly.

'What the hell? Are they jealous?' Well they indeed look very close in there, they use that pose because it was cosplay, and Manaka Sajyou is known to have an unhealthy obsession toward Saber in the first place.

He would be lying if he did not enjoy it as well, Nathania is cute and pretty, plus she is his friend and also kind, what kind of guy doesn't like it?

Besides, she may look petite in that picture but her 'petite' figure is actually a healthy one and...

Of course he is not going to refuse it if Rem or Emilia asks him to take a picture with that kind of pose with him. He may ask why and feel awkward but he won't deny he is going to like it.

It is hormones working alright? And he is a healthy boy, so sue him!

Still... To be jealous like this... He had his suspicion that Rem already harbored feelings for him – Emilia did not count, she doesn't know what love is – but this cleared everything.

He doesn't know how to respond to this situation, on one hand having a cute and hot girl like Rem having a crush on him is flattering but on another hand, he did not wish to get into a relationship with anyone.

It will do nothing but hinder him after all.

Suddenly a sound of something teared apart reached his ears, he spun, followed by Emilia and Rem, and saw the source, it was a portal, one that familiar, from the hole in space certain librarian spirit and pink oni come out. The latter is actually being carried by the former despite their difference in size much to everyone's surprise.

"Nee-sama!" Rem instantly gasped and approached her sister who now gently dropped to the ground, Emilia who on her side also ran to the pink oni.

Aaron meanwhile only stood and watched things impassively, he already knew things like this will happen after all.

Emilia wasted no time checking Ram's condition, just from the outside she can tell the pink haired maid wasn't in good condition. There is blood pouring down from her eyes and ears, and she also appears to be in deep pain judging by her whimper and occasional flinch.

"It is not as bad as it looks, in fact." Beatrice commented, face also stoic. "Overall, she just exhausted herself, she doesn't have enough mana."

"That..." Emilia bit her lips, that is not something she can handle or cure, mana exhaustion is something different entirely.

"Oi, boy! Come here and do your job, I suppose!" Beatrice yelled to Aaron who only stood motionlessly.

"N-NO!" Ram croaked out, her eyes that closed snap to open only for them to be forced shut once again from the pain. "R-Ram, R-Ram d-doesn't-"

SMACK!

A good smack to her forehead by Beatrice sends the pink haired oni to the land of the dream before she can finish her words.

"Betty doesn't care if you're going to die, but at least don't do so in front of Betty." Beatrice deadpanned before she turned back to Aaron. "She's clear and safe, I suppose." She said, presenting Ram as if the girl was an animal that just tamed.

Aaron's lips curled to a dry smile as he approached the fallen form of Ram "How very generous of you Beatrice-san." He remarked as he kneel on the pink oni, his fingers brushing the hair that covers where her horn is supposed to. For a moment he considered letting the oni be, knowing that healing her will damage their relationship further but that thought brushed aside in an instant.

He will never be able to forgive himself if all of them survive but she died here alone...

So he sat on the ground, he gently tugged Ram's head and placed it on his lap, his palm met the sliced horn and he let his mana flow there, feeding the cripple appendage softly.

"Beatrice-san, their position?" Aaron asked.

"They are divided into three." Beatrice answered "The farthest to the village is about three kilometers away on the northwest from here, they already built a small cave – probably using magic – and guard the post. The second is in the east, probably around two kilometers, they currently still set the base. And the last one, the nearest, is one kilometer northeast from us, the Archbishop is there, I suppose." She paused, putting a thoughtful face as she dug her brain further. "And also there's another one, but this group were patrolling around instead of staying in a place, they move constantly so Betty can't track their precise location, not without the mirror."

Aaron scrunched his eyebrow at that, lips curled slightly. "That group must be marking the area around the village, planting traps to prevent anyone from escaping or entering the village." He murmured. "The numbers?"

"The northwest has 47 men, the east 29, the northeast around 17, and the group that is patrolling is about 38, in fact."

Aaron's face turned to scowl at the number. That was too many for his liking. While he can dispose of them all but he only can do it one by one, he can't be at two places at the same time after all.

This is clearly not good... The Witch Cult divides themselves too much... And there are only four of them, and one must escort the villagers that evacuate while the other guard the village, which means it leaves only two people...

'No, I'm thinking too small. I have Beatrice with me, I can teleport back to the village if I want to. Which means...' He turned to Beatrice. "Beatrice-san, track down the patrolling group, we get them first."

"... You want to ensure the village's safety first, I suppose." Beatrice grunted. If the patrolling group is gone then the Witch Cult will momentarily blind enough so the villager can slip away. "A wise thing. Very well, Betty will teleport you to them."

He nodded before turning to Emilia. "Do you get it?"

"Yes." Emilia nodded as she unfold the map that they carry. "According to Beatrice-san, this is where the Witch Cult is right now." She showed a few areas in the map that marked "Which means the safest path would be through here. Which will lead to Sanctuary."

Aaron stiffened when hearing that, Sanctuary... Place where Echidna was sealed... Oh how he wishes to avoid that damn place!

He glanced back at the map, his eyes scanning the area that marked and their surroundings, and he grit his teeth inwardly when notice that the path to Capital is blocked by the base of the Witch Cult, they can't use that road without getting their attention.

'The mansion... If I recall there is a secret path underneath it, maybe I can evacuate them there and...' And what then? Where does that path lead to? He doesn't know where it goes, he does not remember much about the details. It is because the novel itself is barely translated and he only read through synopsis in wikia mostly.

It was too risky.

But if he sends them to Sanctuary... It is not risky anymore, but it certainly will bring problems.

He doesn't want to meet Echidna... He doesn't want to go through the trial and let that Witch free! She is too much like Magus from Type Moon for her liking, and the Magus from there is certainly not the best example of Human being.

Not to mention Echidna herself is a sociopath, a genius sociopath.

'Then let them stay here! It was safer! Place traps around here.'

And what about the unknown factor? The so-called sacrifice to test Emilia?

Under normal circumstances he is going to let the village stay here, however there are unknown factors lurking around. If the villagers stay in here, this place will be too cramped to be used for the battlefield by then, and it will be very risky for them all, the enemy can use the defenseless to strike them.

And even if he uses the secret passage or sends them to manor... The unknown that lurking could be waiting for them...

However, if he led them to Sanctuary he was sure that the villagers would be safe when they reached there. Why? Because that is what Roswaal wanted in the first place. If the villager goes there they will be 'trapped' and Emilia forced to take Trial.

Damn that man... Even now he still stands in front of his path...

But his path is the simplest, the best and the-

'No! I can't allow him to win, I already follow his web deep enough. Time to step up the game, I use my own way.'

There's no need for Sanctuary... There's no need for Arc Four to happen. He doesn't want to let Echidna free or meet that woman, ever.

"Send them to the mansion." Aaron said firmly. "There's no need to send them to Sanctuary, the distance was too far and too risky."

"... You're right." Emilia agreed with him after a moment of silence. "It was too risky, I agree with you. There's also a secret passage underneath the mansion that leads outside in case things happen, and there is also a small basement in there with food and drink, it is a shelter." She nodded in acceptance. "I support the idea."

"Then it was decided." Aaron spoke quickly, too quick perhaps, cutting anyone else before they could say anything else. "The villager goes to the Mansion." He decided aloud

Then he paused and turned to everyone, green eyes keenly observing everyone's facial expression, trying to find someone that disagreed and ready to shoot them down.

He waited, waited, and waited...

...

That's it?

"No one protested?" He asked.

A chorus of "No", "Nope", and a grunt from Beatrice is the response he got.

And Aaron let out breath through his nostril, heavier and longer than normal.

That's it? They all accept? No Sanctuary? Is that mean... There is no Arc Four? No Echidna? Without the villager 'trapped' in there Emilia and he won't have any reason to visit that place, no reason to follow the trial.

That's it?

"If you're done doubting yourself boy, can we continue now?" Beatrice asked in a dull voice, obviously she sensed something strange with the blond and normally she was going to let it be but right now they were in the middle of something.

She wants to finish this as soon as possible after all.

"Ah? R-Right." Aaron coughed, trying his best to bury the glee and relief inside him. Celebrate later, he has to focus now, it will be useless if the villager or one of Emilia's Camp dies "The villager will go to the mansion, but they are going to need an escort there just to make sure they do not run into any other cultist." He glanced at Ram's unconscious form who was squirming in his lap from the mana transfer. "I guess Ram can do that."

"Wouldn't it be better to leave that to Rem?" Rem asked.

"No, you were needed here. If the cultist somehow finds out their patrol is gone then they will go straight to the village. Or you can be used to strike at one of their bases." Aaron denied before he rubbed his chin. "Now, the only thing we need to do is to get the patrolling group but we have to do it fast and quickly so they don't have a chance to report it to the Archbishop." If Petelgeuse knows they were assaulted, things will be very messy.

"Hmph." Beatrice smirked. "Leave that to Betty, I suppose." She crosses her arms and puts on an arrogant face. "Betty can eliminate them while also preventing them from using their mirror."

Aaron blinked, once, twice, clearly surprised the librarian offered herself like this. "If Beatrice-san said so then..." He said reluctantly. "How fast can you get them?"

"Their numbers do not even reach fifty, they will need a hundred to make this into a challenge." Beatrice snorted. "Betty will be back in the next five minutes."

A portal opened behind the librarian spirit and she stepped back, allowing the hole in space to swallow her whole and take her away before Aaron could say anything else.

The pseudo Saber only can stare at where the blonde loli existed a few seconds ago, his mind trying to comprehend just what exactly happened? Not like he minds that Beatrice goes and finishes them off but...

"That was unusual right? Right?" He asked Rem and Emilia who nodded in agreement.

"Beatrice-sama is usually not one who loves to do some job." Rem said with a troubled face. "It is very uncharacteristic of her to..."

"I may not know her for a long time but I can agree with Rem on that part." Emilia added with equal expression.

"Hmm, it's because of you Aaron."

A familiar voice came from Emilia's direction, top of her head precisely, the trio looked there and granted by the sight of Puck that manifested himself.

"You all done with the people I take?" Puck asked as he stretched his limbs. "Morning Lia."

"Good morning Puck." Emilia greeted him back with a smile. "Did you just awake?"

"Mmm, a few minutes ago, I woke up in part where Betty explained the cult position."

"Puck-dono, what do you mean by because of me?"

"You are overloading Betty Aaron." Puck answered while curling his tail. "Your mana in the first place is already potent, just a drop is enough to cast a middle-tier spell, and you give to Betty a lot. If you give that amount to humans they will explode but since Betty is spirit." He shrugs and points to the blond.

"So... She's like... Having too much sugar in her system?"

"Yep, that is totally right."

"But... True I gave her mana a lot more than usual but when in manor she never..."

"It's because of Betty in the manor, in her library." Puck replied. "That place is Betty territory, she is powerful in there, she has total control over that place, all mana that you gave to her she stores around the mansion or library." He explained to the pseudo Saber. "But you give Betty mana in here right? Well, she is quite far from her place and she can't just dump that mana so easily so she holds all of them by herself and the result..."

Aaron's face turned to slight concern as he caught what the cat spirit meant. "She's going to be okay, right? I mean, when the mana inside her is reduced back to normal there won't be any side effects right?"

"You don't need to worry about that, as long as Betty returns to her library there won't be anything bad happening to her. Even if she did not, the side effect is probably only small exhaustion or things like that."

"I see..."

"But still... Sending Beatrice alone."

"Hmmm rest assured Lia, Betty is not without strength. Her mana is at her peak and she can use her best spell without any hesitation, you should worry about Witch Cult rather than her." Puck said in a reassuring voice l. "Though I don't think they deserve to be worried."

Puck was right, Aaron himself already knew about that. That is the reason why he let the blonde loli go by herself. Beatrice is powerful, one of the strongest characters in Re:Zero, she is capable of going toe on toe against Roswaal.

She only loses against Elsa in Canon because she was limited in mana and caught off guard, she also can deal with Archbishop of Gluttony in Arc Five if she has enough mana, the problem is she never did.

But now she has enough mana, enough power to back her spell... Aaron won't hesitate to say that Beatrice right now is on the same level with Caster-level Servant, even better than few as matter of fact.

And she specializes in Shadow or Yin Magic, a magic that is related to curse, debuff, and even space and time, he had no doubt she can easily intercept the signal the converse mirror sends to each other.

Which means the patrolling group is as good as dead.

'And she is created by Echidna, the same woman who also turned Puck to an artificial spirit.' More reason to not let that woman out from her seal, regardless how useful she could be in the future if he got her as an ally.

"Aaron, I suggest you stop transferring mana to Ram now, you don't want her to go through the same thing as Betty."

Puck's voice broke him from his stupor and he quickly pulled his hand away from Ram's forehead on reflex.

"Ah, sorry, I was thinking about our plan." He said as he gently put Ram's head on the ground that was covered by his coat.

"... Aaron, is there something that happened between you and Ram?" Emilia asked. "You two barely talked to each other yesterday." Which means a lot, Ram and Aaron are always, always, talking to each other, bantering, arguing and trying to ridicule each other.

But ever since he returned to the mansion yesterday they only talked when it was necessary, and even that they still look like they wish to be anywhere but near to each other.

Aaron fell into silence as he heard the question, his mind contemplating the best thing he should say. "I'm not surprised, we weren't that subtle after all." He said while letting out a small sigh. "We have a small disagreement." Small? No shit, if it was small then Puck is a harmless beast. "Let's leave it at that, now is not the time, we have something else to focus on."

He knows they are still curious, he can feel Rem's eyes digging to him but he ignores it, he then stands and brushes his thighs slightly, he briefly glances at Ram's peaceful sleeping face and feels something heavy appear on his stomach when caught sight of her peaceful face but he ignores the feeling.

Not now.

He focused on Emilia, Rem, and Puck. "Alright, let's assume Beatrice-san has done dealing with those guys. This is what we are going to do now."

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