"Did your head get knocked loose today?"
"Do you take me for some grand noble? Expecting people to call me 'Lady'..."
Felt rolled her eyes, speaking with sheer exasperation. How had she not noticed before that this guy had a penchant for spouting such nonsensical, groundless claims?
"Then how about we make a bet?" Gojo said. "If I pull it off..."
"If you pull it off, the money you owe me is wiped clean, and I'll do whatever you say," Felt countered with a look of disdain, crossing her arms as she stared him down.
"Deal!"
The corners of Gojo's mouth curled into a deep arc. "I hope you don't go back on your word when the time comes."
"Hmph. Go ask around the slums. Everyone knows Felt keeps her word."
"Then it's settled."
Gojo looked at Felt's confident expression, feeling a bit amused inwardly. He wondered how priceless her expression would be when she realized that she, like Emilia, was a candidate for the throne.
Just as he stepped out of Felt's room, Gojo saw Beatrice standing in the corridor, seemingly waiting for him.
"Looks like someone was waiting for me."
Beatrice didn't say a word. She simply walked to his room, pushed the door open, and stepped inside. Once inside, she took a seat in the chair at his desk. Gojo casually closed the door behind them; judging by her demeanor, she had something to say.
"The things you told me in the library... were they true?"
Gojo tilted his head, thinking for a moment. "To which part are you referring? I haven't told you any lies, regardless."
Beatrice pointed at Gojo's chest. The meaning was obvious.
"Of course. Didn't you feel it for yourself back then?"
"There are other means to achieve that kind of rapid regeneration," Beatrice said, watching him intently and speaking seriously.
"But the scent of the Witch? Surely no one these days can replicate it to that degree. Even those fanatics in the Witch Cult can't just make the scent on them become that thick at will."
Beatrice fell silent for a moment. "Do you know exactly what triggers it? If it's hard to talk about, you don't have to."
"It is indeed difficult to explain." Since it involved Subaru and risked drawing the "attention" of the Witch of Envy again, it wasn't something to be detailed lightly. "However, there is actually something I'll need your help with in a couple of days."
"Let's hear it. I'm not promising I'll agree."
"Help me lift a curse."
"Is that why you were asking about curses today?"
"Yeah, exactly." Gojo nodded.
"If it's you... even knowing about it, you can't avoid it?"
"The focus isn't me. Besides, I don't want to break the flow of events. Following the previous path is the best way to find the mastermind, isn't it?" Gojo sat on the bed, leaning back on his hands as he gazed lazily at the ceiling.
"Truly a low-class method, just like the person using it."
"Personal attacks aren't very cute behavior, you know~"
"That's quite the attitude for someone asking for a favor."
"Fine then... please, Lady Beatrice. How's that? Satisfied?"
Beatrice stood up and walked to the bedside, looking down at Gojo. "You—"
Before he could finish, she suddenly pressed her hand against his chest. What little mana he had left was once again forcibly siphoned out by her. Being forcefully drained of mana was certainly not a comfortable sensation. Fortunately, before crossing over, Gojo had fought against Cursed Energy countless times; he could completely ignore this level of pain.
"Hey, hey, hey. You're my contracted Spirit now. You could just borrow my mana directly, couldn't you? Like your brother, Puck. I've never seen him make Emilia suffer like this."
Gojo let his body go limp, falling back onto the bed in protest.
"Hmph. That's what you get for not speaking properly." Beatrice tilted her chin up with a willful, tsundere expression.
"Honestly. Be careful, or I'll go tell on you to Puck. Now that you're outside, you'll see him every day. You wouldn't want your brother to stop liking you once he hears how willful you're being, right?"
"Despicable!"
"Call it despicable if you like."
Seeing Gojo's unreasonable, shameless behavior, Beatrice couldn't be bothered to waste more words. She turned to leave. As she reached the door, she paused.
"Remember to work harder on increasing your mana. Don't drag Betty down."
With that, she pulled the door open and left.
Watching her go, Gojo chuckled. Regarding Spirits, he had learned quite a bit from Puck in the previous loops. For a Spirit Arts User, a Spirit was like family. This was perfectly exemplified by Emilia and Puck. It was a relationship of absolute trust; you could always leave your back to the other without fear of betrayal.
Having gained such a partner through a twist of fate, Gojo felt like he was in one of those light novels Subaru talked about. Through adventures and events, you gather new comrades one by one to form an adventuring party. Subaru and Felt had joined first, and now there was Beatrice.
As for Beatrice's parting words, Gojo understood. Back in the study, Roswaal had mentioned that her mana had previously been supplied by the library. Now that the library was gone, her mana was a finite resource; it wouldn't recover on its own. Using it up meant the end of her life.
After contracting with him, she could use his mana. However, to fully unleash her power as a Great Spirit, Gojo's current mana pool was still insufficient. After all, he had only started absorbing mana out of boredom on the way to the mansion. In the previous two loops, things hadn't developed this way, so he hadn't anticipated needing it.
"A new development. I hope everything goes smoothly this time."
The chaos of the first day had truly turned the mansion upside down. For the next few days, the sisters' top priority was repairing the damage. Repairing the estate properly was no simple task; it wasn't something a few random laborers could fix with some simple hammering.
Early one morning, Rem set off in the dragon carriage to fetch skilled craftsmen. Given the damage to the study and the wing, it wasn't going to be fixed overnight.
However, that wasn't Gojo's concern. It wasn't that he didn't want to help, but Beatrice wouldn't give him the time. Like the strictest of tutors, she pushed him constantly to meditate and accumulate mana.
Fortunately, there wasn't much else to do during those days. Gojo simply reminded Subaru to continue with his date as before. And just as he expected, the little loli Great Spirit actually got along quite well with Felt. Whether it was because they looked closer in age or because they both had grievances against him, the two were often seen playing with Puck. While Gojo was busy accumulating mana, his ears were filled with the laughter of the two girls and the Spirit.
As for Roswaal, he remained the same as in the previous loops. No special events occurred following the destruction of the library.
Time flew by, and soon it was the day of Subaru's date. Barring any accidents, the mastermind would be revealed today.
At noon, Subaru and Emilia returned. Despite it being his third time on this date, Subaru was still in high spirits. After lunch, Gojo slung an arm around Subaru, who was chatting away with Emilia.
"Emilia, you don't mind if I borrow Subaru for a bit, do you?"
"Not at all! Don't worry about me," Emilia replied quickly with a shake of her head.
"What's up, Satoru?" Subaru asked once they were away. "It's still daytime. Isn't it a bit early?"
"Doesn't matter. We just need to confirm if the one who placed the curse is in the village."
Gojo brought Subaru to his room, where Beatrice was already waiting.
"Beatrice, check him for a curse."
"Is he the one who was cursed?" Beatrice hopped off the bed and walked over to Subaru on her slender legs.
"Yeah."
Beatrice pressed her hand against Subaru. "A Yin affinity... how rare." She glanced at Gojo, then continued her sensing. "Hmm. There is indeed a curse. There, solved."
A puff of black smoke rose as she spoke. It originated from the area where Subaru's hand was wrapped in bandages. Subaru stared at his wound, his expression freezing.
"How..."
This was his third time through. He had considered many possibilities, but he never would have imagined that the thing that killed him was that harmless-looking little dog in the village.
Subaru looked at Gojo suddenly. "Satoru! This is bad! The kids in the village really like that dog. If they get bitten too..."
Gojo patted Subaru's shoulder. "Relax. With Beatrice here, there won't be a problem. And we won't let the one behind this get away."
Gojo was actually quite interested in a dog that could cast curses. He had only read about Mabeasts in books; he had never encountered one.
Checking the time, Gojo smiled at the two. "Since it's still early, let's head to the village together."
"Let's go!"
"Why does Betty have to go too?"
Ignoring Beatrice's protest, Gojo tucked her under his arm and left the mansion with Subaru.
From the mansion to the village was but an instant. As soon as they arrived, Beatrice spoke up.
"I didn't realize you were so capable. You barely have any mana, yet you can perform instantaneous movement?"
In higher levels of Yin magic, one could touch upon time and space, but it was a completely different concept from Gojo's teleportation. There was a vast gap between the two. In this world, there was teleportation magic, but no "flicker" movement magic.
"If I didn't have some skill, I'd be too embarrassed to contract with you," Gojo said. His words made Beatrice tilt her head up slightly; she clearly enjoyed the praise.
The group entered the village. "Subaru, lead the way. Let's find that dog." Gojo walked down the village path with a light step, as if on a tour. Subaru nodded; he was more than familiar with the area by now.
However, after searching the entire village, they couldn't find the group of children Subaru mentioned.
"Granny, have you seen Petra and the others?" Subaru resorted to asking a villager. After asking around, they got a lead—the kids had seemingly headed toward the village fence.
They followed the path to the edge of the village. Beyond the fence lay the Cremaldy Lost Forest, which surrounded the mansion.
"Looks like the kids went into the forest," Gojo said, looking at the footprints on the ground.
"If they really went in there, pray they haven't gone far," Beatrice said calmly, staring into the woods.
"Why?" Subaru asked.
"This is the Cremaldy Lost Forest. Ordinary people don't just get lost; the forest is filled with countless Mabeasts. See that on the tree?" Beatrice pointed to a device on a tree that looked like a street lamp. "That's a barrier. It keeps the Mabeasts from threatening the villagers. But if you walk out on your own, that's a different story. And look—the barrier on that tree has failed. That's how the Mabeast that bit you was able to enter the village."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go save Petra and the others!" Subaru cried urgently. As a high schooler who was just a bit of a shut-in, Subaru was fundamentally kind-hearted. Even if he had only known these kids through multiple loops, he considered them friends.