Roswaal offered his thanks in that same peculiar drawl of his.
Only, listening to it, Gojo couldn't shake the feeling that every word came out through gritted teeth.
"Lord Roswaal, are you truly healed?"
Ram, not reading into any of it, rushed forward and seized his hand.
"Mm. All of it."
He nodded, unwinding the bandages from one arm and holding up unblemished skin to show her.
"So, Ram, as a maid, what should you be saying right about now?"
Gojo grinned down at her, smug as anything.
"I'm sorry for earlier. It was my fault. Thank you for healing Lord Roswaal's injuries."
Without hesitation, she bent into a deep bow.
Rem hurried over and joined her sister in expressing her thanks.
"If you really want to thank me, let me have some of Rem's desserts again. Been a while. I've missed them."
"Of course."
Rem gave a serious little nod.
With his injuries mended, there was no reason for Roswaal to linger in bed. Gojo and the others stepped out at Ram's cue to give the man space to change.
When they filed back in, Roswaal had returned to his usual clown getup, every detail of his painted self back in place.
"Seems you've bounced back completely. I was thinking it might be time to move on to more interesting topics."
Felt wasted no time. She'd come here with exactly one agenda: money. Everything else was background noise.
"Interesting topics, is it? Certainly, certainly. Though, Lady Felt, you've all come such a long way. It would be terribly rude not to see you properly settled first."
"Perhaps after dinner this evening, we can go into the details then."
Roswaal, it seemed, still had reservations. He had no desire to air his arrangement with Felt in front of Emilia.
"You're the host. Suit yourself."
Felt shrugged. So long as the coins came through, she didn't care about the timing.
"You want to talk to Emilia about the Trial, right? No problem, we'll clear out."
Gojo said it with perfect courtesy.
Without waiting for a reply, he caught Subaru by the sleeve and steered the group toward the door, leaving Emilia's party behind in the room.
"Actually, there's no real need..."
Roswaal's protest trailed off. Gojo and the others were already gone, and the bustle of the cottage drained out behind them.
He had no intention of giving Roswaal an opening. No intention, either, of getting tangled up in whatever mess the man was spinning.
Key principle: don't take the bait.
Their objective was money. Collect it, leave.
Whatever game Roswaal wanted to run, he could run it alone. None of their concern.
"So that guy really is angling for us as well, huh."
"When you dragged us out just now, he was definitely trying to keep us in there."
Felt curled her lip.
"Good. You've got it. No need to say any of it out loud."
"When we go back in, stick to the money. Everything else, ignore it."
Gojo pressed the point, making sure she didn't lose sight of the plan.
"I don't need the reminder. You're the one who should be careful not to get roped in."
She turned and jabbed a finger at Subaru's chest.
Subaru opened his mouth to protest, then closed it. The unease gnawing at him won out, and what came out instead was a subdued, "What about Emilia, though? If she ends up having to do this Trial..."
"I already healed Roswaal, didn't I? If he wants to support Emilia, let him handle it himself."
Gojo gave him an odd look. "You're worrying a little more than you need to, aren't you?"
"It's just, because of what happened before..."
Subaru fumbled the words, unable to finish.
"Don't sweat it. We're not leaving any time soon. I just can't be bothered with their mess."
"And if Emilia gets hurt or anything like that, I'll step in. We're friends too, after all, aren't we?"
The reassurance took the edge off Subaru's nerves.
Emilia didn't stay in the room long. The door opened again before much time had passed.
"Lady Felt. Lord Roswaal would like to see you now."
Ram spoke from the doorway.
Emilia stepped out, a trace of shadow on her face.
"Let's go."
Felt beckoned, and Gojo and Reinhard followed her back inside.
Roswaal sat on the edge of the bed, a smile waiting for them.
"Roswaal. You've been pretty light on sincerity lately."
"Meanwhile I've been putting in plenty of effort. And what do I get? Absolutely nothing in return."
"For a backer, that's not a strong showing."
Felt laid it out with no dressing, straight to the point.
"My apologies. There are reasons. Since coming to the Sanctuary, I've been cut off from most outside news. Many things reach me late."
Roswaal didn't push back, only offered a rueful smile.
"It's fine. You know me. I'm a generous sort. As long as the sincerity's there, none of it's a problem."
"Five hundred Holy Gold Coins. Would that suit you, Lady Felt?"
"Afraid that doesn't quite cover it."
Felt wasn't the penniless pickpocket from the slums anymore.
After dealing with enough nobles and merchants, her appetite had grown accordingly.
"Then what figure did Lady Felt have in mind?"
"Eight hundred."
"The White Whale, plus two Sin Archbishops. I'd say that's a fair price."
"And my list of backers has grown considerably. To keep your position, a little more investment wouldn't hurt."
"Don't worry, though. As long as the price is right, you'll always be my most trusted supporter, Roswaal."
He gave a resigned laugh.
"Lady Felt's growth truly is astonishing."
"Which is precisely why the price is reasonable."
"Eight hundred Holy Gold Coins, however, isn't a small sum. Outside of unusual circumstances, one doesn't keep that much on hand."
"It'll take a little time to gather. I'd ask Lady Felt to stay in the Sanctuary a while longer."
"As long as it's not too long, no problem."
Felt nodded easily.
"It won't be long. Just a few days. Nothing that'll hold things up."
"Good. You know how it is. The competition's getting fiercer by the day. Time is money."
"If it stretches too long, we'll be talking different numbers."
The smile she wore was bright, and every word out of her mouth had the ring of coin on coin.
"Lady Felt is quite right. That won't be an issue."
Roswaal inclined his head, agreeable as ever.
From start to finish, he hadn't pushed back on a single one of her demands, hadn't haggled even once.
"For the next few days, please consider the Sanctuary your lodging. Conditions are modest, I'm afraid. I hope you'll bear with it."
"That's fine. We won't hold it against you."
With the deal settled, Gojo turned to Roswaal.
"If there's nothing else, we'll go get some rest. It's getting late, and the trip here took it out of us."
"How thoughtless of me. Ram, see everyone to their quarters."
Ram nodded. "Yes, Lord Roswaal. This way, please."
She led them a few minutes through the village and stopped in front of a modest house.
"This will be your lodging. The rooms inside are yours to choose."
"If you need anything else, let me know."
"I want Rem to make some desserts."
Gojo's hand shot up like a schoolboy's.
"Within reason, naturally. Outrageous requests will be denied."
Ram rolled her eyes, turned on her heel, and walked off without giving him a chance to say anything more.
"Man. So this is what you get for not being a Royal Candidate."
He shook his head, mock-wounded.
"You'd get smacked for absurd requests whether you were a Candidate or not."
Felt snorted and made for her room.
"Betty, your contractor's being bullied."
"Serves you right."
"Zero compassion from you people."
Once everyone had claimed a room, the night was well along.
Gojo stretched out on the bed but didn't sleep.
A few minutes passed. Then he rose, opened the door, and slipped out.
Deep into the night.
The sparsely populated village lay still, no sound to speak of anywhere.
Save for Roswaal's cottage, not even a stray light burned in the windows.
Under the pale wash of moonlight, Gojo walked the small path, retracing the route they'd come in by.
It didn't take long to reach the entrance to the village. He stopped there.
Without a crystal on him, stepping past the boundary wasn't an option. No sense setting off alarms.
He stood at the crossing for a beat, then pulled off his shades and turned to look behind him.
"Didn't expect someone else would be up at this hour having the same trouble sleeping as me."
The surrounding woods stayed quiet. His words hung in the air like he was talking to himself. No answer came.
"Honestly. Why is it that when someone gives you an honest piece of advice, nobody ever wants to believe it? Or would you rather I came closer and said it looking you in the eye?"
Those ice-blue eyes fixed on a specific point in the dark.
"Don't think fancy eyes mean you can see through everything. Even a wind that can talk shouldn't go trying to stir the lion guarding its nest!"
A young man's voice cut through the dark, edged with hostility.
A rustling followed, something pushing through the undergrowth.
The figure that emerged was solid, well-built.
Blond hair swept back in rough, defiant spikes. Eyes sharp with warning.
Most arresting of all were the teeth. A full mouth of them, every one filed to a point.
Taken together, he gave off the impression of some fierce beast that had spotted an intruder on its territory.
Everything about him bristled with hostility.
Gojo studied him, gave him a thorough once-over, then clapped his hands together.
"No wonder you looked familiar."
"You're Frederica's son, right!"
Blond hair, fangs, strikingly similar features, plus the demi-human heritage. Gojo's brain had connected the dots the second the face came into view.
"Huh?!"
The young man's fierce expression faltered. Whatever he'd been braced for, it hadn't been that.
"The hell are you talking about?!"
"Oh, no? That's a shame."
"Must be brother and sister, then. You two look awfully alike. Can't blame me for the mix-up."
Gojo said it with an easy laugh, not the least bit embarrassed.
"Right, what's your name? I'm Satoru Gojo. Just got to the village today."
"This lord has no reason to hand out his name to suspicious characters."
The young man's voice was ice, the words clipped.
"There it is. Kids your age always have attitude problems."
Gojo slid his shades back on and adopted the air of an elder statesman.
"You're not that much younger than me."
The retort came with a scowl.
"Still makes me your senior."
"And I'm Roswaal's honored guest. I'd say you ought to show the appropriate attitude, rather than the rudeness on display at the moment."
"Frederica's got such good manners. Are the two of you really that opposite? Quite the contrast..."
Crack.
The rest of the thought got swallowed by a dull, heavy sound.
The tree beside the young man shuddered. Leaves drifted down in a slow shower from the impact.
"I don't care who you are. Anyone who means harm to this village doesn't leave here."
The words came down like a vow, ironclad and final.
"All right, all right, I'm not saying I can't sympathize. Kids your age always have these edgy ideas about wanting to protect something."
"But charging in and running your mouth without knowing the first thing tends to cause people trouble."
Gojo scratched his head. "How about you head back and get some sleep? It's late. If you've got questions, take them to Roswaal."
"I'm sure he'll give you an explanation. Me, I'm still trying to enjoy my walk..."
He trailed off, then let out a soft sigh.
What he'd seen in the boy's eyes told him all he needed to know.
The young man had no intention of letting him walk off alone. The look he was wearing made that much clear.
"See, this is why edgy types get so few friends."
"Subaru's cuter than you by a mile."
Gojo spoke without hurry, then started walking straight toward him.
...
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