Once everyone's minds were settled.
Gojo slipped out of the mansion without a sound, a packaged meal tucked under one arm, and made his way to the stretch of forest just beyond the grounds.
A quick scan of the trees, and he found the one he was looking for.
A slender figure dropped lightly from the branches the moment he arrived.
"Might be a bit cold by now, but the flavor's holding up."
He passed the wrapped meal over. Elsa took it with a small smile.
"I could have fended for myself, you know."
"A simple thank-you would be the right move here. The way you're going, I'll start to think I made a bad call."
"Terribly sorry. Would you like me to make it up to you properly?"
Her sultry features delivered the line with practiced seduction.
But Gojo could read her eyes clearly enough. Not a flicker of actual interest behind the performance.
"We head out tomorrow. You'll move separately, following at a distance."
"The place is unusual. Without the right token, you won't be able to get in."
"Is this you worrying about me?"
"You could call it that. Though a fair share of it's about your dear mother."
"Understood. I'll stay close tomorrow."
Because Emilia had already met Elsa, he had no plans to reveal her presence to anyone on that side. When the time came for her to climb aboard, it would be handled when nobody was looking.
"If anything happens tonight, don't worry about the rest. Head straight for the mansion."
"I figure even against that Mother of yours, you've got enough in the tank for that much."
With that handled, he turned and made his way back to the house.
The night passed quietly.
The next morning.
After Frederica's breakfast, the group prepared to set out.
Same lineup as the day before. Frederica stayed behind to keep the household running.
The only difference was that each of them now carried one of her crystals on their person.
Rem took the lead carriage, guiding the way.
The Sanctuary wasn't far from the mansion.
Half an hour or so of travel, and that was only because they had to wind through forest. On open road it would've been quicker.
"Hidden place, isn't it? If not for circumstances, a person could live a whole life and never end up somewhere like this."
Gojo peered out at the narrow path and the dense green closing in on either side.
"This area was never meant to be open to outsiders."
Betty gazed past the window, voice flat.
"Oh. Right. Forgot to mention something."
"What?"
"You and that Subaru boy carry a much heavier Witch's scent than anyone else here. When we cross into the Sanctuary, there's a decent chance it'll resonate with the Witch's aura inside."
"And?"
"What happens if it resonates?"
He turned a puzzled look on her.
"I'm not entirely sure either."
Betty gave a small shrug. "It won't be pleasant, though. Possible outcomes include fainting or some kind of injury..."
"That's all? Then it shouldn't matter much."
He tapped the side of his skull. "Reverse Cursed Technique's running around the clock. Keeps me tuned up."
"Even if my brain takes a hit, I can shake it off instantly."
"As for Subaru, with me around, he won't have any problems either."
He delivered it with his usual breezy confidence, entirely unbothered.
"Going by that logic, though, what about the Sin Archbishop of Lust when she shows up? Same thing happen to her?"
"No. The Sanctuary's main effect on a Sin Archbishop is blocking their entry. Nothing much beyond that."
As they spoke.
A boundary line came into view up ahead, and beyond it a village that stood apart from the surrounding woods.
"We're here. This is the Sanctuary."
As the carriages pushed forward.
From the lead carriage came Emilia's voice, sharp with worry.
The instant it reached him, Gojo felt his skull rattle, a wave of vertigo crashing through him without warning.
For anyone else, that would've meant immediate collapse. Subaru's fate.
For him, the dizziness hit and Reverse Cursed Technique scrubbed it out almost before he registered it. Normal, steady, back in seconds.
"Seems Subaru's rotten luck is holding strong."
He glanced at the lead carriage with a small grin.
The forward carriage rolled to a halt, and he stepped down. He passed his crystal to Meili with a pointed look.
She nodded and darted back the way they'd come, making for the boundary.
She deposited the crystal in the forest outside, slipped back through, and tossed her own crystal out before turning and running back to join them.
Meanwhile he'd made his way to Emilia's carriage, where she spoke in an anxious rush.
"Subaru, I don't know what happened, he just collapsed, this..."
Her face was tight with worry and guilt.
She didn't understand what had gone wrong, only that she felt at fault for it. Subaru, after all, had come on this trip largely for her sake.
That was how she saw it, anyway.
To see him suddenly unconscious left her unsettled.
"I haven't detected any enemies in the vicinity."
Reinhard's brow was furrowed as he swept the area and spoke low.
"Not an enemy. His Witch's scent is heavy enough that it resonated with the Sanctuary."
"Nothing serious. He'd come around on his own in a while."
"Or I can speed things up."
He reached in and laid a hand on Subaru's head. Reverse Cursed Technique kicked in.
In the time it took to blink, Subaru's eyes opened.
It wasn't a real injury, only vertigo. Equivalent to being drunk, and about that hard to undo.
"I... what happened to me?"
He spoke thickly, head still clouded.
"Nothing. You just dozed off for a minute."
Gojo clapped him on the shoulder with a grin.
"Huh, really? I don't even remember feeling sleepy."
Subaru mumbled it, rubbing at his temples as he sat up.
"All right. Let's keep moving. We're almost at the village."
The minor hiccup cost them nothing more than a moment.
Both carriages rolled forward into the village proper.
The place looked, at first glance, like any ordinary settlement.
At the sound of the carriages, figures began to emerge from the houses, eyeing the new arrivals with careful suspicion.
Every one of them carried some feature that marked them as other than fully human. Demi-humans, the lot of them.
Fortunately, when they spotted Rem at the reins, recognition flickered across the wary faces. No one moved for a weapon.
As the carriages pressed deeper into the village, a familiar figure came into view.
Short pink hair. A small, trim silhouette.
Ram.
"Sister!"
Rem's face lit up, the call bursting out of her as she steered the carriage in.
"Leave the carriage here. Lord Roswaal has been expecting you for some time."
"Long time, Ram. I hear the mansion got absolutely trashed under your care."
Gojo hopped down and lobbed the jab at her.
"Your personality remains as dreadful as ever, guest."
"Come on, how can you say that? I'm quite fond of you and Rem."
"A guest who wreaks havoc at his host's home and slanders the loyal, hardworking maid. Ram sees no fondness in that."
"Sharp tongue as ever."
With the carriages secured, Ram led them to a modest cottage, knocked softly, and stepped inside.
"Lord Roswaal. Lady Emilia and the others have arrived."
The interior was small enough to take in at a glance.
Roswaal lay on a plain bed, a book open in his hands. At the sound of them entering, his eyes lifted, and an apologetic smile crossed his face.
"My apologies. This is the only condition in which I can receive you."
"My, my. Looks like you took a real beating. Didn't expect that from you."
Gojo crossed to the bedside and leaned on the rail, studying him.
"I overestimated myself a touch. This is no more than I deserve."
"No healer on hand? Waiting it out yourself is going to take a while."
"This is the resting place of my ancestor's teacher. I don't care to bring anyone not worthy of trust within these grounds."
Internally Gojo scoffed at that. Outwardly he kept his face smooth.
People you don't trust, is it. Didn't seem to mind inviting us lot in at all.
"So, how did you end up like this? Ambushed?"
Felt pushed forward with a concerned look of her own, though from where Gojo stood, her concern was of a specific flavor. She was worried that in his current state, there might not be enough left in him to shake loose for payment.
"Nothing of the sort. After the assembly ended, I rode through the night to meet the representatives of my domain. Wanted to raise the alert. Put everyone on guard against the Witch Cult."
"Afterward I returned to the Sanctuary. I intend to complete the Trial my ancestor's teacher left behind, break the Sanctuary open, and better support Lady Emilia."
Roswaal delivered the speech with measured calm, and every line of it was engineered to move a listener.
If a person didn't already know about the web of schemes he'd been spinning against Emilia behind closed doors, that person might honestly believe he'd gone and wounded himself half to death for her sake.
"I see. Truly moving, Roswaal."
"If I were a girl, and someone were this willing to sacrifice for me, I might just offer myself up to him on the spot."
"What do you mean, offer yourself up? I can do the same kind of thing for Emilia too!"
The phrase set Subaru off like a live wire, and he blurted it out with full throat, staking his claim at once.
"Subaru remains exactly as he was."
Roswaal gave him a gentle, warm look.
"If it wouldn't trouble you, Subaru, you might consider attempting the Trial yourself. Lady Emilia, as well."
"Honestly. Not mentioning us at all. That stings a little."
"Gojo. You're already powerful enough that I don't think you need it."
"Besides, besides, I am a supporter of Lady Emilia. A touch of favoritism is only natural."
"Tsk tsk. Subaru's my companion. I'd hate to watch him put through the wringer like that."
"Still, since you're being so moving about all of this, Roswaal, let me lend a hand."
The corner of his mouth twitched up, and Betty, who knew him, read the signal at a glance. Nothing good was coming.
Sure enough.
Mid-sentence, he reached out and yanked the blanket off Roswaal's body.
Emilia flinched and clapped her hands over her eyes.
Before Felt could even react, Reinhard had slid forward and positioned himself between her and the bed.
Thankfully, what lay beneath the blanket was nothing to scar anyone.
Roswaal's thin frame was swaddled in bandages head to toe, mummy-style, and the overall effect was genuinely pathetic.
"What are you doing?"
Ram, ever faithful, stepped forward to stop him.
"Relax, relax. Nothing strange on the agenda."
"Roswaal-dear has done us plenty of favors, after all."
With that, he laid his palm flat against the bandaged chest.
"Your loyalty's admirable. Let me give you a hand."
Reverse Cursed Technique, engage.
Send Subaru into whatever this so-called Trial was?
Knowing Roswaal's flavor of scheme, that invitation was lined with teeth. Absolutely nothing good waiting at the end of it.
Fine then. You handle it yourself.
You've been playing the loyal martyr card. Let's cure you of it.
Healing at this scale wasn't going to dent his reserves in any meaningful way.
The effect of Reverse Cursed Technique was outrageous. Roswaal's wounds closed before everyone's eyes, flesh knitting itself back together.
He felt the shift moving through his body, and a flicker of genuine surprise passed across his painted face.
Before he could gather himself, Gojo was already withdrawing his hand.
"There we go."
He turned to Ram. "Your Lord Roswaal's injuries are all patched up."
"He can head right back to the Trial."
"No worries, even if he gets hurt again. As long as he doesn't die outright, I can put him back together."
"So. Moved yet?"
Gojo beamed down at the man, all teeth.
"Now you can go put yourself through the wringer for Emilia all over again."
Roswaal took stock of his own body. Every wound, closed. For a breath he said nothing.
What had begun as a carefully staged suffering gambit had run headlong into something he hadn't accounted for. Gojo wasn't merely strong. The man also happened to carry healing power on a scale Roswaal had never seen.
That was the piece he hadn't factored in.
And now, with his wounds erased by another man's hand, the whole plan had slipped several steps sideways.
"Truly, my thanks, Master Gojo."
...
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