Ram seemed to have made a decision, and she turned to look at the head of the house.
"Lord Roswaal, Ram really cannot rest easy leaving Rem alone. Please allow Ram to go with Rem."
"Of course~ Green-kun is an important companion of ours after all~ Ram, you must bring his life back!"
Roswaal spoke with such righteous dignity that even the unconscious Grin couldn't quite bear it, regaining a bit of consciousness from the chaos.
"Cough, cough... Cut the act... you bastard... you're the one who... arranged this... cough, cough..."
Grin's voice was extremely faint, almost unheard by anyone.
Seeing Grin's reaction, Emilia quickly grabbed his hand.
"Hey, Grin, Grin, can you hear me?"
This time, Grin had no reaction at all.
Emilia stood up and said in a panic, "I'm going too!"
Roswaal reached out and blocked Emilia's path.
"Lady Emilia~ For your safety, you must stay inside the Mansion. This could very well be a trap set by another faction!"
Subaru Natsuki also advised in a low voice, "It really is too dangerous outside, Emilia. Let's just... let's wait a bit. Rem is so strong, she'll definitely be fine."
"How... could this be..."
A sense of powerlessness welled up in Emilia's heart.
She looked at Grin's sickly pale face, her hands tightly clutching the crystal stone where Puck resided.
Puck, what should I do?
Puck, please save Grin.
The person in question, Grin, had no real sense of anything at this moment.
It was like sinking into an unfathomable bay, descending endlessly without a finish line.
He didn't need to breathe; his eyes lost focus, and his ears could only hazily catch a word or two.
After an unknown amount of time, faint and intermittent voices drifted down from the distant surface of the sea.
"Grin... Grin... please wake up quickly..."
"Grin, don't sleep so soundly... it's time to get up..."
"Grin... next time... let's watch the cherry blossoms together..."
Buzz!
Ripples appeared in the space above Grin's body.
A black magic circle expanded instantly, and a pitch-black book emerged from its center.
The pages flipped on their own, suddenly stopping at the content for "beauty and the beast."
Colorful light burned like fire, and the illustration of a half-wolf, half-lion behemoth began to rapidly gain color.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, strange characters resembling ghostly talismans faded onto the pages.
[beast prince, Unlock Condition: Deeply mired in a curse.]
[Status: Unlocked.]
Abilities: Beast Instinct, Taijutsu, Noble Etiquette
Divine Protection: Blessing of the Forest. Flourishing vegetation will fill your beastly body; all plants within your sight will share their life with you.
Betty was the first to notice the abnormality in the room.
A pot of alpine lilies of the valley on the bedside table actually began to wither without warning.
"Emilia, stand behind me."
Emilia asked with a face full of confusion, "What's wrong, Beatrice?"
"Don't ask, just come here. Something is happening!"
Betty's tone took on a hint of urgency. With her brother Puck away, she had to protect this child.
Roswaal noticed it too; whether it was in the hallway or the garden, the green plants were all starting to wither.
"Oh my~ Could it be that the flowers in the Mansion have also been hit by a strange curse?"
Betty widened her purple eyes, carefully observing the flow of mana nearby.
Soon, a look of surprise appeared on her face.
"It seems the life force of these plants is all converging onto Grin!"
..."So you really are in league with the wolves, Meli!"
Petra's weak voice rang out across the wilderness.
At this moment, she was being pinned under the paw of a giant canine Mabeast.
On the back of the Mabeast sat a Little Girl, none other than Meli Portroute.
By now, Meli had shed her morning disguise of fragility and quietness, and her plain clothes had been replaced by a finely tailored dark purple lace gown.
Her pupils were distinct purple rhombuses; when she looked up, her gaze was hazy yet carried a hint of enchantment, as if she could see through the desires and fears in the depths of one's heart.
"Haha, Petra, it makes me sad to hear you say that about me."
"However, what surprises me is that you actually managed to hide the other children. That's quite impressive. If I hadn't noticed beforehand, I might not have caught a single one."
Although Petra was very scared, she still acted bravely.
"We were clearly friends, so why are you doing this!"
"Of course we're friends, Petra. Don't worry, as a friend, I'll make sure you die very easily."
Meli revealed a sickly smile. The canine Mabeast she sat upon, King Volgam, seemed to understand its master's words, slowly raising its front paw and aiming for Petra's neck.
Petra could no longer hold it in and burst into tears. She closed her eyes in despair and shouted loudly, "Someone will come to save me!"
"Hahaha, Petra-chan, you really are naively cute. When you say someone will come to save you, you don't mean those two big sisters in the forest, do you?"
Meli said mockingly, her gaze also drifting toward the center of the forest.
"Regrettably, Petra-chan, the big sisters are surrounded by a swarm of Mabeasts. They might even meet the gods before you do."
"No, I made a promise with Big Brother Grin. He will definitely come to save me!"
Petra responded with all her might.
Facing death, the Little Girl still began to sob.
Following Grin's instructions, she had quietly told her little companions to hide in the cellar, and they hadn't come out even by nightfall.
As for Petra, she was spotted by Meli on her way to notify Village Chief Grandma.
She protected everyone, yet happened to leave herself out.
"Don't make me laugh, Petra. Big Brother Grin? You don't mean that guy who got bitten by an Ulgarum at noon, do you? Hahahaha, by now he's long since turned into a dried-up corpse!"
Petra shook her head violently. "No, he'll come to save me. He'll definitely come!"
Petra didn't dare to believe otherwise, because Grin was her last saving grace.
"That's not right..."
Meli learned some information from the mental feedback of the Ulgarum; that guy who had been cursed actually didn't seem to be dead!
"How is that possible? Based on the amount of mana extracted, it's already exceeded the mana capacity of five normal people."
Awoo! Awoo!
The pack of Ulgarum Mabeasts in the forest began to let out wails of grief.
The wind swept through the woods carrying unease, first kicking up a rustling commotion, the sound of leaves rubbing together as dense as driving rain.
Crack, crack!
Amidst the noise, the sounds of tree trunks snapping and vines being torn apart mixed together, multiple sounds rapidly spreading through the empty forest.
Immediately after, the low growls of Mabeasts surged from the depths, their heavy breathing like drumbeats hitting the tree trunks.
Sharp shrieks pierced the twilight, and occasionally, the severed limbs and broken bodies of Mabeasts could be seen being tossed into the air.
Roar!
An earth-shattering roar pierced through the entire forest, marking the start of the storm.