Everything had been going so well.
They were supposed to be here as Roswaal's esteemed guests—saviors of a royal candidate—to reap the rewards. But look at things now. That idiot Gojo Satoru had, one after another, damaged the Count's mansion beyond recognition.
Earlier, while helping Rem, Felt had stared at the gap in the wall with a heart full of worry. She wondered if this would impact the money they were about to get their hands on. A gap that large would cost a fortune to repair in an ordinary home, let alone a noble's estate where the materials and craftsmanship were of a completely different caliber.
'Are we going to end up owing money instead of getting paid?'
At that thought, Felt felt the world go dark. If it turned out that way, it would be far too miserable.
"You bastard, get down here right now!" Felt shouted, her heart trembling. She wanted Gojo to come down and apologize immediately. If they apologized sincerely now, maybe the host wouldn't be too harsh and would ask for less compensation. Otherwise, her meager savings wouldn't even cover a fraction of the cost.
Felt's heart was truly bitter; ever since she met Gojo, not a single good thing had happened. Here she was, supposed to be enjoying good food and a comfortable life, only to find herself on the brink of bankruptcy.
"My bad, my bad."
Gojo flew down from the upper floor carrying Beatrice and landed in front of the group.
"Mr. Gojo, I hope you can provide a suitable reason. Otherwise, this behavior of a guest rampaging and destroying the host's home..." Ram stood in front of Roswaal, looking at Gojo with a cold expression. Though her tone remained polite, the hostility in her words was palpable.
"Easy, easy. Miss Ram, you're looking quite scary like that." Because Gojo was holding Beatrice, his attempt to wave his hands dismissively looked somewhat comical. "Besides, I don't think Roswaal would mind too much, would he?"
"Not necessarily~" Roswaal replied with a smile, using that peculiar, singing cadence. "This is a home that carries many of my memories. If it is destroyed just like that, I too would be quite saddened."
Gojo shook his head helplessly. "Honestly. Don't be so hostile." He walked toward them with Beatrice in his arms. "In a way, I should be considered to have done a good deed just now."
"Should be?" Felt stared at him suspiciously. If he had actually done something good, there might be room for negotiation to avoid paying so much. But could this guy really do a "good deed"? Felt had her doubts. If it were causing trouble, she'd believe it in a heartbeat; as for good deeds, that was another story.
"Why don't we head inside first? Beatrice is about to wake up."
Only then did everyone notice that Beatrice was in a strange state. Her eyes were open, yet she was motionless, like a statue.
Roswaal glanced at Beatrice and nodded. "Let us head inside, then."
The group entered the mansion. "Let's go to the study," Gojo said with a smile, looking at Roswaal.
Roswaal looked at the others. "The rest of you may return to your duties."
Emilia and Subaru exchanged a look, and Felt pouted. It was obvious they were going to have a private conversation and didn't want the others to overhear.
Inside the study.
Gojo had just sat down when Beatrice recovered from the effects of the Unlimited Void. Since he only wanted to stop her from interfering temporarily, he hadn't kept her under control for long. Given her strength and her experience over several hundred years, she possessed much greater adaptability than an average person.
As Beatrice snapped out of it, her small face flushed red at a speed visible to the naked eye. Before she could shout, Gojo spoke: "I destroyed the Forbidden Library."
Sitting across from him, the smiling Roswaal froze. "What?"
He seemed to think he had misheard, asking again with uncertainty. Perhaps he didn't even notice that he had dropped his peculiar accent.
"I destroyed the Forbidden Library..." Gojo repeated. This time, Beatrice's voice cut him off.
"You... do you have any idea what you've done?!" Beatrice screamed, her face crimson with rage.
After losing the Tome of Wisdom, Beatrice had decided that she would stay in the Forbidden Library for the rest of her life until she could no longer endure and ended her own existence. But that resolve had been completely shattered and demolished by Gojo.
Back in the library, though she was immobilized, she had been fully aware of Gojo's every move—including his intent to destroy the place. She had been screaming and resisting internally, wanting to stop him. But she could do nothing; she had to watch it all happen.
If the Tome of Wisdom was her last spiritual anchor, then the Forbidden Library was, in a way, her only home. Now her anchor was gone, and her home was gone. She was truly a person without a home or a future.
"Mr. Gojo, if this is a joke, it is not a funny one," Roswaal said, the smile completely gone from his face as he spoke each word with gravity.
"Isn't Beatrice's reaction obvious enough? Or do you think my relationship with her is so good that she'd join me in pulling a prank like this on you?"
Gojo's words plunged Roswaal into silence. Simultaneously, an invisible pressure began to radiate from him. Up until now, this man dressed like a clown, speaking with a weird accent, hadn't looked like a noble—let alone the Kingdom's Chief Magician.
But now, he was showing his true power. This was the raw authority of a man who held down the entire border single-handedly.
Yet, facing the pressure coming from Roswaal, Gojo didn't seem to feel it at all. He just looked down at Beatrice.
"I'm sorry about the Tome of Wisdom, and I didn't consult you about the Forbidden Library. However, I think for you, this might be the best outcome, so I did it."
"What do you know?!" Beatrice cried. "That was a pact between Betty and Mother! It was a place Betty chose to guard willingly! You... you...!"
Beatrice argued fiercely, but under Gojo's clear, steady gaze, her voice gradually lowered. In truth, she had no real ground to refute him. From the moment she mockingly told him to destroy the Tome in the next loop, to seeing him actually destroy the library—after the initial panic and shock, what she felt most was a sense of liberation.
As long as "That Person" didn't appear and as long as the library existed, she was bound by the contract to guard it. No matter how long it took. Even if the world ended. Because of her adherence to the contract, she couldn't even commit suicide.
Once upon a time, Beatrice had wondered if an enemy would ever arrive, find the library, and kill her to end her mission. But unfortunately, for hundreds of years, nothing of the sort had happened. The Mathers family remained prosperous, and the library connected to the mansion was well-protected. Paradoxically, a layer of protection had been added to the outside of her cage.
Back in the library, she had heard Gojo's words and seen his actions. While she instinctively resisted, there was a part of her deep down that had yearned for this. Beatrice could lie to anyone, but she couldn't lie to her own heart.
Now that the destruction of the library was a reality, she felt a profound sense of release. She was relieved that she no longer had to waste her time in that lonely, silent place.
It was hard to say Gojo's actions were wrong. While he had broken her ancient contract with her mother, he had also saved her. He had rescued her from her prison and freed her from a futureless existence.
"Mr. Gojo," Roswaal said, "you helped Lady Emilia, so you should have been a guest of honor for the Mathers family. But your actions are simply too much. The Forbidden Library is of great significance to the Mathers family, and for you to destroy it is an unforgivable act!"
Roswaal watched Beatrice cry and didn't see her argue back. His heart stirred, and his expression grew even more solemn. The mana in the air grew active following his words.
Speaking coldly, Roswaal held his hands out, and several flickering points of light appeared above his palms. The lights were only about the size of a finger, in four colors: red, yellow, blue, and green. As they wavered, they emitted a faint glow, filling the room with a kaleidoscope of colors. Yet, within this brilliance that filled the study, there was a massive threat.
Gojo looked at Roswaal's expression; clearly, there was nothing left to discuss. The destruction of the library had made the current head of the Mathers family very unhappy.
"Actually, I think we can still keep talking. If you move now, you'll definitely regret it later." Facing the pressure of the Kingdom's Chief Magician, Gojo still wore a slightly flippant smile, as if the threat didn't exist.
"Once you have paid the appropriate price, perhaps then I won't mind giving you that chance."
Just as the words left his mouth, the lights in Roswaal's hands erupted in a dazzling brilliance. Gojo sighed and shook his head with a chuckle. He hadn't wanted to reveal certain things to Roswaal so early, but he could only hope the man wouldn't truly regret this in a moment.
Gojo thought as he prepared to pull Beatrice behind him to avoid the crossfire. But at that moment, his hand felt empty—Beatrice had disappeared.
"Enough, Roswaal."
A deep purple light suddenly erupted within that dazzling array of colors. The purple was incredibly bright, like a shining star, surging and powerful. And from within that light came a voice Gojo knew very well.
It was Beatrice!
The deep purple radiance was also something he recognized: Yin Mana.
"Beatrice, do you know what you are doing?"
The light faded. Roswaal stood behind his desk, looking coldly at Beatrice. "He destroyed the Forbidden Library you were meant to guard. That is your failure and the crime he committed. As the guardian of the library, you are actually protecting him?"
Beatrice turned her head slightly and gave Gojo a complicated look. "Betty is the guardian of the Forbidden Library. That is Betty's business; it does not require your interference."
"This is the Mathers family mansion, and I am the head of the Mathers family. This is not a matter for you to decide alone." Roswaal didn't back down an inch, his attitude firm. "Furthermore, Beatrice. As a Spirit, now that you have no library to provide you with mana, do you think you are any match for me?"
"That is not for you to worry about!" Beatrice said firmly, unmoved.
Gojo's actions had indeed broken her contract and destroyed the library. Logically, she should be angry and hate him. But she couldn't lie to herself. Even if she no longer had the library to provide mana... even if exhausting her mana meant her death... this liberation was better than being trapped in that library forever.
"Looks like things are getting ugly. Hey, Betty, do you need a hand?"
Amidst the standoff, Gojo's flippant voice rang in Beatrice's ear, and a large hand landed on her head, ruffling her hair.
"Idiot. What do you think you're doing right now? You...!"
Seeing this, a flash of something unreadable crossed Roswaal's eyes, and he suddenly struck. Mana surged through the air. As a Great Spirit, Beatrice was acutely sensitive to mana and reacted instantly. She gathered her meager remaining mana and moved to block Roswaal's attack.
But this time, Roswaal wasn't going to be so easy to handle. Attacks and spells rained down toward Beatrice in an endless, relentless stream.