(Subaru's POV)

It was the fourth day now, aka judgement day.

For the last few days, I trained under Puck sensei's tutelage- dodging all his ice shards, rolling about in the mud, cutting down icicles(blunt ofc) and getting bruised and battered in the process.

As for Fred, he holed up in the library. I couldn't ask him what he was doing since he never even came out of the library. And when I went to check up on him, I couldn't even talk to him. The entire forbidden library was filled with heat waves and I felt like I was in an oven.

Our preparation was nowhere near enough, but we had a trump card on our hand. And we hoped that it would work.

"So, what's the plan?" he asked me on the way to the village.

We were going to Arlam now. The maids were with us just like last time.

"We reach there, you make explosions. When you feel like losing, you call Beatrice. And then they are goners." It was as simple as that.

"I see. But what about the villagers?"

"I will try to convince them. If they don't listen to us, we can ask the maids to use the authority of Ros-chi. And better, you can just fire at them instead if they still refuse to listen."

"You are making me the villain here, you know? And I ain't got infinite mana." he frowned in disapproval.

"It's alright, it's alright. They aren't gonna die as long as you control your power. Or you can just miss your aim on purpose.

On that matter," I pause a bit to catch my breath since my stamina was really low,

"What were you doing in the library for the last couple of days? I tried to get in, but it was too hot. How are you ok with all that?" I asked him the most reasonable question there could be.

"Oh, sorry about that. Actually, I found out later that the magic and equipment that I use don't follow the laws of this world. So trying to judge me by this world's standards was totally useless. So, I searched up my inventory, and luckily I found a book that my waifu NPC used apparently. It had some tips on how to manage my body and magic.

Long story short, I was cultivating and Beatrice was helping me out too."

"Cultivation? Are you saying that your game was a Chinese martial arts game??" I imagined Fred turning into some young master. He'd fit the bill perfectly.

"No. Not at all. Uh...

sigh*

Just leave it for now. I'll fill you in on the details later on.

Go and tell Ram about the outbreak while I try to convince Rem. The village is almost in sight now."

I nod and jog off towards Ram to tell her about the incident.

"Are you sure about this Barusu?" Ram stared at me. She was as emotionless as always but now I could feel her sceptical gaze.

"Yes."

"What if you are just fooling around? The village is surrounded by a barrier which was made by Roswaal-sama. For it to fail-" he tried to dump me in her doubts but I cut her off.

"I am saying that the monsters aren't from the jungle.

They're Harpies! Harpies, you know?

Monsters that look like women but aren't!!

They have wings and Sharp claws and can scoop you from the ground like a fish!!

They are really dangerous!! And they even got this boss monster which is like their queen and other special types like mages and all!

Do you get me?

It's really important!!

Huff..huff…

Who would make a terrible joke like that in the first place?"

She stares at me for another couple of moments, before turning away to look at Rem.

"Did Frederick-sama tell you this? The outbreak?"

"No. it was me.

I told him. He didn't know about it."

Hearing my words she sharply turned her gaze towards me. Did I say something wrong?

"Is something wrong?

You are making me nervous."

"You said it like you have seen it before.

But you don't have the looks of that.

And what do you get something out of saving the villagers?" uh…she was still not convinced. Or, was she doubting me?

"Do I need to get something in return for saving people?" That was the only reason which I could give.

"?"

Why would I need something to help people? No, this was no longer about some simple help. It was about their lives. They are going to die. And if I didn't do anything about it, I don't know if I will ever be able to take the guilt out of my head. I would probably die every day thinking about how I could've saved them but didn't.

It was not something new for me. I saved Emilia before, and now I will save the villagers.

"It's OK if you don't believe me. You don't need to help me. I and Frederick will deal with this on our own somehow.

I just…

I just didn't want something to happen to you, so I felt that it would be better to tell you.

Sorry for not telling you guys about this before, but I have my circumstances."

"...

I took Barusu for a smart and cunning snake, but you were nothing more than a foolish dog.

A foolish but loyal dog.

I will trust you this once. But be prepared for the outcome if you meant it as a bad joke.

I will personally make sure about that."

"You don't need to make sure about anything nee-sama, it's going to happen and we need to act quickly." Alright, I managed to convince her.

I turned back to look at how it was going on Fred's end. He noticed my stare and waved me back with a thumbs up with his teeth flashing.

It was a success.

I looked at Rem too and she gave me a determined nod.

(3rd person POV)

"Everyone!

This is an emergency!

You need to hide in your houses!

Monsters are going to attack!

It's dangerous in the opening!!" A raven-haired boy in the village square was shouting out at the top of his lungs. But to his disdain, no one paid him any attention. At the very best, some people took a glance at him sympathetically and moved on shaking their heads.

"Hey…hah…hah…

What's wrong with these people? Why aren't they listening to me." he complained, breathing heavily. His voice was hoarse due to strain.

"It was my fault for letting you tell the people about the outbreak.

Barursu, I forgot that you were just a stupid monkey. I am sorry." Ram shook her head.

"Nee-san, Subaru-kun tried his best though." Rem tried to defend him

"But it didn't make any difference in the end." Fred was as blunt as always.

"You guys, stop ganging up on me. It's making me feel more pathetic." The boy couldn't help but cry due to his pathetic state.

"Sorry about that Subaru, it's just the truth." Fred landed the last attack.

With a downcast look and a back bent with resignation, Subaru came down from the podium.

(T_T he's just like me!!)

"Ram you go. I will take care of the background effects."

Saying so, Fred summoned his favourite sword from the inventory and held it upright with both his hands. He closed his eyes and focused his mana on the sword. Slowly and slowly, yellow and red veins appeared on his face and his whole arms and hands. Mana flowed from all over his body through the veins and to the sword which developed similar veins. The sword started glowing bright yellow after a few seconds and it looked like a second sun, spreading its radiance everywhere. A small streak of light escaped the sword and flew heavenwards with great speed. Subsequently, the sword lost all its light.

This scene made the passersby stare at him blankly with uneasy looks on their faces. The elderly and children took a few steps back while some of the young men rushed to call for more people thinking that the village was under attack. But before they could call for any help-

BOOOOOM!

A huge explosion shook the village sending shockwaves all around. The people closed their ears in fear and looked at the remnants of the explosion- a red haze, high in the air. It would've obliterated them for sure if he wanted. They looked back at the man who was the cause of the explosion.

Sensing that he had all the eyes on him, Fred directed his gaze at Ram, who was now on the pedestal.

Consequently, the villagers all feel obliged to take a look at the maid of the mansion.

"Attention, please!

This is being addressed to all the villagers of Arlam.

Please go back to your houses.

There is going to be a monster outbreak here shortly so please go back to your houses and don't come out until we say so.

I am saying this as a maid of the Father's Household.

I repeat…" her voice was being amplified by a strange cone-like device which she held in her hand. Thanks to it, announcements could be heard from any corner of the village.

And it didn't take long for panic to spread like wildfire. All the people stormed back to their homes. Some parents came out of their houses and rushed to take their children who were playing some distance away, near the boundary of the forest barrier.

However, only one child remained there alone. She looked left and right trying to figure out what was going on.

A young man with cobalt-blue hair and burning red eyes approached her, and said,

"Meili Portroute, there's no time for explanation. Come with me."

[Who is this onii-chan?

How did he know my name? Did I get exposed?] She was cooking up a retreat plan at the back of her head right now.

"Child, in the name of your Mama, just goddamn come with me!"