Just as Elsa had said, the Witch Cult was an extremely dangerous group of lunatics. The only witch they revered was the Witch of Envy. As for the other witches, they denied their legitimacy and even harbored a degree of hostility toward them. For the cult, the Gospel was a crucial item, and they largely acted in accordance with its prophecies.
Judging from their obsession with Emilia, their objective was to bring the Witch of Envy back into the world. To achieve this, a suitable vessel was essential. Thus, a "silver-haired half-elf" became their target. After capture, the subject would undergo trials—if deemed qualified, she would serve as the vessel; if not, her very existence would be judged a blasphemy against the Witch of Envy, and she would be executed.
Because this cult showed no interest in overthrowing governments, the nations of the continent largely turned a blind eye. The cost of a large-scale campaign against them was too high, and it might even bring disaster upon one's own country. Thus, even Lugunica maintained only public arrest warrants while taking little actual action.
For Lillian, he had initially had no intention of provoking these people. But upon further thought, he concluded that they had to be eliminated. Their potential threat was simply too great. It was obvious they would never spare Emilia. Lillian was not particularly concerned with protecting her personally—but if she died, Subaru would also die and reset time, which would only create further complications.
Therefore, the sooner this group was dealt with, the better. Lillian himself lacked sufficient strength, but he could make use of the Sword Saint's power—that was his plan. Others might prove unreliable, but if Reinhard took action, there would be no problem.
At present, the target he had hired Elsa to investigate was the Archbishop of Sloth, who had recently been active near the Mathers domain. Among all the Sin Archbishops, Sloth was relatively weaker. The "Unseen Hands" possessed overwhelming power but lacked speed, and the methods to counter them were comparatively simple. Although not everyone could see them directly like Subaru, raising dust or similar measures could reveal their presence—or, for a powerful mage like Roswaal, simply bombarding the area with large-scale long-range magic would suffice.
Before Elsa left, Lillian had specifically instructed her on this matter. Naturally, he required only that she discover their location. Combat was entirely unnecessary and not part of the mission.
After seeing her off, Lillian returned to his room and sat in his chair, reflecting on the events of the day. So much had happened in a single day—it was a chaotic mess. Looking back on his own performance at the royal selection meeting, he realized there had been many flaws. For instance, why had he questioned only Emilia about her specific measures, rather than asking the other candidates? While it could be explained as hostility toward someone resembling the Witch of Envy, a perceptive observer would surely notice something amiss.
Some might even think the two of them had deliberately staged a performance together. Lillian suspected Priscilla might have thought exactly that, which was why she had been so furious that she would not even allow him through the door. Though arrogant, she was also extremely intelligent and highly sensitive to such matters.
As for other concerns… Lillian picked up a pen and unconsciously wrote the name "Betty" on a sheet of paper.
Since learning about curse magic from the old mage Priscilla had introduced, he had been unable to stop thinking about the blonde girl. More precisely, he was interested in the forbidden library she managed. If he could obtain that, perhaps among its vast magical records there would be spell formulas related to "lifespan."
Regarding Betty, Lillian knew she was a great spirit created by the Witch of Greed, one who had mastered Yin magic and brought it to its utmost limits, capable of freely wielding powerful spells such as time freezing and spatial transfer. The reason she remained in the forbidden library was a contract—one made with the Witch of Greed—to guard the library until "that person" arrived.
Who was "that person"? No one knew. She had already waited for several hundred years, and only when Subaru appeared did matters begin to change. Yet whether Subaru was truly that person remained uncertain; no clear answer had ever been given.
However, regardless of who that person might be, the books within the forbidden library physically existed—it was not some intangible "mental archive." In other words, if one could defeat its guardian, Betty, every book there would become accessible for reading. Yet defeating her would be extremely difficult and would require careful planning. Alternatively, gaining her cooperation through friendly means might prove far more efficient.
With that in mind… Lillian wrote down the names "Emilia" and "Roswaal" as well.
Betty rarely left the mansion, so he would have to go there himself. However, the events at the royal selection meeting earlier that day had already caused Roswaal to harbor murderous intent toward him. If he went alone, he might well be intercepted and killed. If he went together with Emilia, would the protection of the great spirit Puck temporarily ensure his safety? No—Puck, when accompanying Emilia, was not in his true form. He had struggled even against Elsa, let alone against Roswaal. Moreover, if Ram and Rem became involved in a fight, they would undoubtedly side with Roswaal…
The matter had temporarily reached a deadlock. Lillian pinched the bridge of his nose and, after a moment, sighed. He pulled a book on magic from the shelf and began studying it.
---
The next day.
Early in the morning, the tavern was not very crowded. When Lillian arrived, he discovered that Emilia was already there, seated in a corner.
Lillian walked over and sat across from her. Once seated, his back conveniently blocked the view of those behind him, so Emilia—no longer needing to worry about her true appearance being seen—removed the hood of her magic cloak. The silver-haired half-elf revealed her true form.
"It's much more pleasant looking at you like this," he said. For a normal man, there was naturally a difference between looking at a beautiful young woman and an ordinary man's face.
"…You're here," Emilia replied. She did not detect any teasing or admiration in Lillian's words, so she neither felt embarrassed nor annoyed. "You're very punctual."
"You came early."
Lillian knew Emilia was someone who valued promises greatly. After forming contracts, all spirits carried out their duties faithfully. Unlike humans—who often made promises on a whim and forgot them within days—spirits took such commitments seriously. Because of this, spirits generally held a rather distant attitude toward humans, and those willing to form contracts with them were few. Although Emilia was only a half-elf, she clearly inherited this trait and placed great importance on making and honoring agreements.
This was likely why, in the original storyline, she had been disappointed in Subaru—he had broken their agreements several times. Even though they were merely small promises rather than matters of life and death, she still cared deeply about them.
"What did you want to talk about?" Lillian asked.
"At the royal selection meeting… why did you question me like that?" Emilia looked at him seriously, her blue-violet eyes burning with intensity. "Later, I realized—you were helping me, weren't you?"
"Oh, that." Lillian replied casually, "There wasn't any special reason. I just can't stand people who keep clinging to appearances to make their arguments. And don't assume I had any other motive."
He did have other motives, of course, but he could not reveal them. Still, he was not lying. Although his actions were partly influenced by concerns regarding Subaru, he genuinely disliked the rhetoric those people had used. Even without Subaru, he would still have spoken out—just not in quite the same way. After all, he was not the type who could remain indifferent when something did not concern him. He was still the kind of person who felt uncomfortable seeing good people treated unjustly.
"…."
Emilia fell silent upon hearing this, unsure how to respond to such goodwill. After a moment, she said, "Thank you." Then she added, "However, that doesn't mean I approve of what you did before."
He guessed she was referring to the incident with the trio of thugs. Her memory really is sharp—I'd nearly forgotten about that myself…
Thinking this, Lillian said, "Emilia—may I call you that?" After she nodded, he continued. "I admit that my actions at the time were procedurally wrong. But sometimes procedure alone isn't enough, especially when the procedures themselves are still imperfect. Let me give you an example—do you think vigilantes should exist?"
"Of course not," Emilia shook her head immediately. "Using violence to oppose violence tramples on the law."
"That's true," Lillian said. "But what if the law itself is incomplete? For example, regarding demi-humans. You said earlier that the law should protect their rights, but in reality that isn't happening… What should be done then?"
Emilia thought for a moment. "In that case, new laws must be enacted as soon as possible. That is precisely why I'm running for the throne. I want to become king and reform this nation's laws."
"But laws aren't decided by a single individual. They require compromise and balance among different social classes… Setting that aside, suppose you truly manage to change the law—how would you deal with the resentment that exists before those changes take effect?"
"…."
"In Lugunica, many people from the lower classes rarely report matters to the authorities, whether human or demi-human. Private punishment is extremely common. From beating a captured thief to group street fights… Who can clearly judge right or wrong in such grudges? So many people simply accept it by default. Perhaps in places with a well-developed legal system things would be different, but in Lugunica… you should understand. Everyone publicly says that private justice is unacceptable, but if you truly believe that, you'll simply become the one others bully."
Seeing Emilia frown, Lillian smiled slightly. "What, you don't believe me? Then why do you wear that magic cloak? Try walking through the streets without it. Disgusted stares, vile insults—some might even throw stones at you. Wouldn't that count as private punishment? And if you reported it to the authorities, would they arrest all those citizens?"
"…."
Emilia pondered his words, clenching and loosening her hands before biting her lip and asking, "Then what do you think should be done?"
"In my homeland, we have a saying," Lillian replied. "'When the granaries are full, people learn propriety; when clothing and food are sufficient, people understand honor and shame.' At its core, every problem is an economic one. Solve the economic issues first, and everything else becomes much easier. So here's my advice—don't focus solely on equality. Also consider how to make the people wealthier and improve their quality of life. During this process, combine it with your guiding ideals so that people gradually form the belief that your principles bring prosperity… That way, many things can be achieved with half the effort."