Subaru's face changed. He'd never dated anyone, but even he knew a jealous woman was a terrifying thing.
Let alone the Witch of Envy, whose power was in a league of its own.
He turned wide eyes on Gojo.
"Satoru, you have to help me. I've never had anything close to a relationship. I don't know how to handle this."
The words tumbled out in a rush.
"Asking me's not gonna get you anywhere."
Gojo flicked his bangs back. "Plenty of girls have been into me, sure, but I've never dated either."
"And with my looks..."
He kept going, but Subaru had already tuned out.
Without another word, Subaru shot up and bolted for the door.
"Oi, where are you going?"
"To ask somebody else."
Gojo watched him disappear and scratched his head.
Someone else?
Good luck. Nobody around here's got any experience to offer.
He wasn't exaggerating.
Looking over the people he knew in the village, not one of them fit the description.
On the Emilia side, from Emilia herself down to Rem and Ram, with Roswaal somewhere in the middle, none of them gave off the faintest whiff of romantic history.
Felt's camp was even more of a lost cause.
Unless Subaru went knocking on Demi-human doors for wisdom.
But this was a village of maybe fifty Demi-humans. Gojo couldn't picture any of them having jealousy problems.
From what he'd observed, there were hardly any people of the same age group around. Jealousy required a partner first, and partners were thin on the ground.
He trailed after Subaru at an unhurried pace.
Then he watched Subaru zero in on the last person on earth likely to have useful romantic advice.
Reinhard.
"Reinhard, have you ever dated anyone? If a girl's jealous, do you know what to do? Any way to calm her down?"
The blunt question dragged Reinhard, already in his nightclothes and on his way to bed, back into full wakefulness.
Pajamas on, face blank and caught somewhere between confused and awkward, he stared at Subaru.
"My apologies, Subaru."
"I'm not sure what's prompted you to ask me this, but I'm afraid I have no experience in the matter."
"What about Divine Protections? Is there a Divine Protection that could guide me, or tell me what to do?"
The words came out jagged with panic.
Reinhard didn't quite know whether to laugh or sigh.
"Divine Protections aren't universal remedies. I've certainly never heard of one that teaches you how to get along with women."
Reinhard gave a helpless shake of the head.
Subaru's face fell flat.
Without another beat, he spun around and took off.
"Satoru, what's got into him?"
Reinhard, still reeling from the whirlwind visit, looked to Gojo for an explanation.
"Nothing too serious. He's just caught in the middle of a dispute between two women and trying to find some harmonious middle ground."
Reinhard took this in with grave attention. "As his friend, I believe the proper approach to matters of the heart is..."
"Ahem. Honestly, I think he'd benefit more from hearing that straight from you."
Gojo had no appetite for a lecture on romance.
Especially one delivered without the main character present, leaving him stuck as the audience.
"I'm heading off."
He slipped away, chasing after Subaru.
Reinhard watched them go with a vague sense that something about the whole exchange didn't quite add up. He couldn't put his finger on what.
After leaving Reinhard, Subaru looked ready to go find the next person on his list.
Gojo caught his arm.
"Who were you planning to hit up next?"
"Ros... Roswaal?"
A hesitant glance.
"Not tonight. Have you seen the time?"
"Tomorrow. Right now you need to sleep. You've had a long enough day already."
Pounding on doors at this hour with weird questions wasn't going to win him any favors.
"Tomorrow we'll round everyone up and ask properly..."
"No. Not yet. I don't want Emilia finding out."
Subaru shook his head hard, trying to shut down the idea.
"Fine, fine. Your call."
Gojo steered him back to his room and watched him trudge inside, shoulders sunk low with worry.
Tangled up over a woman already.
Lucky he didn't have that problem. Would've been a pain.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, Gojo was up earlier than usual for a change.
The moment he stepped outside, he spotted Subaru with dark circles under his eyes, pestering Rem about something.
He got close enough to hear. Same question he'd thrown at Reinhard the night before.
"You don't let up, do you."
Subaru turned at the voice, mouth twisting into something miserable.
"What else am I supposed to do, Satoru? Unless you've got a better idea?"
"I don't know the specifics, but that plan of yours sounds like something a scumbag would cook up."
Rem's expression made no secret of her disapproval.
Clearly, she hadn't been any more useful than Reinhard.
"Don't give up. Come on, we'll ask around some more. Maybe somebody'll surprise us."
"Plenty of villagers here. Try the older ones."
"Guess it's worth a shot."
Subaru nodded, resigned.
They left Rem and started working the village like NPCs in an RPG, Subaru striking up conversations with anyone who'd listen.
A full circuit later.
Subaru had to admit it.
Nothing. Not a single piece of advice worth using.
"If I can't come up with something, I don't even want to go back into the Trial."
"Hold on."
Gojo cut him off, face turning serious.
"Subaru, we've been running around this village for a while now."
"Notice anything?"
"Notice what?"
A blank look.
"Where's Emilia?"
"It's been hours since morning and we haven't seen her once."
Gojo's brow drew down.
"Emilia?"
"You're right. She's usually up early."
Subaru caught up fast once the name registered.
"Maybe she slept in today?"
He scratched his head, offering the innocent suggestion.
"Idiot."
"Doesn't it occur to you that Emilia might have gone to do the Trial by herself?"
Gojo gave him a look of pure exasperation.
"What?!"
The words hit Subaru like a door unlocking in his skull. All the color drained out of his face.
He knew Emilia. That was exactly the kind of thing she'd do.
He took off toward the tomb without another word.
Gojo followed the reckless sprint.
At the entrance, Subaru tried to push inside.
An invisible force stopped him cold at the threshold.
Someone was inside. The Trial was in progress. No one else could enter.
Not until it ended.
He couldn't get in. Couldn't see who it was.
But staring into the dim mouth of the tomb, Subaru felt it in his gut. The person in there had to be Emilia.
To be sure, he tore back through the village.
He scoured every corner. No Emilia.
"Looks like Lady Emilia is the one in the Trial."
Roswaal stood at the tomb with his arms folded, painted face tinged with something like concern.
"Emilia."
Subaru paced in front of the entrance, jaw locked tight, unable to stand still.
"Easy. Pacing isn't going to change anything right now."
Gojo tried to steady him.
"Have a little faith in her. If something's wrong, I'll heal her the second she's out. Relax."
There was nothing else to be done.
Worry wouldn't open that door.
The only option was to wait.
The wait stretched into afternoon.
Subaru, who'd been drifting between the entrance and the grass and testing the barrier every few minutes, finally felt the invisible wall vanish.
"It's over!"
He cried out and bolted inside.
The others followed. The second they crossed into the gloom, they saw a slight figure lying on the ground.
Emilia. Unconscious.
Subaru rushed to her, gathered her up, and carried her to Gojo with panic written all over his face.
"Satoru!"
No need to say more. Gojo already had a hand on her forehead.
Reverse Cursed Technique.
Moments later, her eyes opened.
But.
The Emilia who woke up wasn't the same Emilia. She huddled in Subaru's arms, shivering, eyes glassy and empty, like someone who'd been broken open somewhere deep.
"Emilia, it's okay. You're safe now."
Subaru's voice cracked soft over her.
She gave no sign of hearing him. Said nothing.
The expression on her face was the same one Subaru himself had worn after the Witch Cult got hold of him.
Except Subaru had held up better than this.
He'd already walked through death a handful of times by then. That gave him a stronger spine than most.
Emilia didn't have that.
Seeing no change in her condition, Roswaal spoke quietly.
"Let's get Lady Emilia out of here first."
Once they cleared the tomb, Emilia's color improved a shade. Whatever had happened in there had carved something deep into her.
They brought her back to her room.
She stayed glassy-eyed, vacant.
She didn't respond when spoken to, sitting there like a doll that someone had forgotten to wind, all the life gone out of it.
Subaru moved closer to try to comfort her. She pulled her knees to her chest and shrank back.
No way to reach her. Not like this.
"I fixed what I could on the physical side. The rest isn't something I can heal."
Gojo shook his head, palms empty.
Emilia wasn't Subaru.
Subaru had a harder core, plus Return by Death in his back pocket. Even aggressive methods had been on the table for him.
"Emilia..."
Looking at her, Subaru felt a pain that cut deeper than anything the Witch Cult or the Witches in the Trial had done to him.
"I think we should give Lady Emilia some space."
"Wounds of the mind can't be rushed. They need time."
Roswaal's voice stayed slow and measured.
"He's right. Rest is what Lady Emilia needs right now."
Reinhard nodded in agreement.
There wasn't much anyone could do about psychological trauma. Self-healing over time was the only real path.
Subaru's case had been an outlier. He'd had Gojo beside him, someone who knew him inside out.
Otherwise.
Without an iron conviction holding him upright, Subaru would've needed a long time to claw his way back too.
Looking at Emilia now, Subaru wanted to say something. The words wouldn't come.
He knew better than anyone that there was nothing he could do.
Out in the hallway, he stood off to the side, wilted.
"Sigh. If only Emilia hadn't gone in alone."
Felt's face went complicated as she took in the scene.
On paper the two girls were rivals. In practice there was no real friction between them.
What had happened to Emilia hit her too.
The comment wasn't aimed at anyone in particular. But Subaru caught it.
Something clicked behind his eyes. His head came up, and he looked at Gojo. An idea had surfaced.
"This is my oversight. I didn't think Lady Emilia would attempt the Trial on her own."
Roswaal hung his head, voice heavy with self-reproach.
"Lord Roswaal."
Ram spoke to him gently.
No one had a workable answer.
"Lady Felt, if you have a moment, I'd like a word."
The group was about to scatter when Roswaal turned to Felt, flicking a glance at Gojo as he spoke.
Gojo caught the meaning. Time for a different kind of conversation.
"Sure. No problem."
Felt nodded and tipped her chin at Gojo.