"Long time no see, Ram!"
Emilia got off the dragon carriage and smiled and greeted Ram, whom she hadn't seen in a long time.
"Long time no see, Emilia-sama!" Ram immediately bowed deeply, "Roswaal-sama has been waiting inside, please come in. Garfiel, just arrange the carriage and the coachman."
"You know how to command people – but that's what I like about you!" Garfiel said with a smile.
Ayanokouji had observed Garfiel's attitude and judged that his fondness for Ram was genuine.
"Hey driver, follow me here!" Garfiel said as he walked back.
"Can you use an honorific title?" Otto didn't say anything, and drove the dragon carriage, following him.
Everyone soon followed Ram into the room. The room was small and dark. On a slightly worn-out bed, Roswaal, covered in bandages, was leaning against the head of the bed. He greeted them with a strange tone that had long been lost: "Emilia-sama, Ayanokouji-sama, long time no see."
Ayanokouji observed him, following Echidna's previous words. Currently, Roswaal was severely injured for being rejected for trying to participate in the trial. However, he believed that with Roswaal's power, he could use healing magic. It shouldn't be a problem to heal himself with magic, especially since it had been a long time since they left.
Whether Roswaal's wounds had already healed long ago, or he deliberately did not use healing magic on himself and maintained this condition, or the damage he suffered could not be easily healed.
But regardless of the situation, Roswaal's stay in Sanctuary was to revive Echidna.
But Roswaal did not know that Ayanokouji already knew about his disguise.
"Betty?"
Roswaal's eyes focused on Beatrice, and surprise crossed his face.
"This is truly embarrassing." Beatrice stood in front of the bed and said to Roswaal arrogantly.
"Have you found that person?" Roswaal's eyes shifted to Ayanokouji's face, and a meaningful smile appeared on his face, "That is indeed Ayanokouji-sama."
"Huh, you don't need to worry about who Betty chooses to be that person!"
"What happened to your injury?" Ayanokouji asked slowly. Although he knew the answer, he could not point it out himself.
"It's because..." Roswaal then explained the reason for his injury, explaining things about Sanctuary to them.
"...This is the Witch's Grave. This is where Echidna, once known as the 'Witch of Greed', died." Roswaal said slowly, "The Mathers family has managed this place from generation to generation."
"Witch of Greed..." Emilia's expression gradually became serious.
"—Echidna, please call her by her name when you call her. Witch of Greed sounds too exaggerated." Roswaal said with a smile, but his tone became very firm.
Ayanokouji looked at him carefully. Roswaal usually used clown makeup and a strange voice to cover his emotions, but when he mentioned Echidna just now, he could clearly feel that his mood fluctuated.
'Do you have a strong attachment to the Witch of Greed Echidna? Is it because of a teacher-student relationship, or a relationship between a man and a woman?'
He did not understand Roswaal's feelings towards Echidna. Determination arose from such emotions. Perhaps both, but there was no doubt that Echidna was clearly a weakness for Roswaal.
He might be able to use Echidna to control Roswaal.
Roswaal's feelings towards Echidna were very prominent.
"Mother..." Beatrice also whispered to herself in a low voice. Only Ayanokouji heard her words.
"What's wrong, you're not finished talking?"
Garfiel entered and said impatiently – but after seeing Beatrice, his voice softened halfway.
"All Demi-Humans are trapped here and cannot leave, and the villagers have also gathered. As long as there is no riot, we will eat and sleep three times a day." Garfiel's expression gradually changed. "But I have a request, which is to let Emilia challenge the trial. If the barrier is not opened, then no villagers can leave! Of course, Emilia cannot leave either."
"It seems that Betty did not give you enough lessons." Beatrice raised her hand and was about to release her magic, which made Garfiel slightly angry.
But at that moment, Ayanokouji reached out his hand.
"Betty, don't worry, save your magic power." Ayanokouji said gently.
"But this person is like a fly, very annoying!" Beatrice puffed up her cheeks and said, "He's really daring to threaten you."
"Behave obediently." Ayanokouji placed his hand on Beatrice's head and gently stroked it, "I will tell you another story tonight."
"Do you think Betty is still a child? And there are so many people..." Beatrice's face turned red and her whole body trembled, "But you have to keep your promise..."
❀❀❀
"Betty-sama is so cute."
In Roswaal's mansion, Rem, who was observing the illusion through the window, turned to Beatrice and said.
"Wuwu, no, stop talking! That's not Betty, it's fake!" Beatrice covered her face with her hands, not daring to lift her head to look at the sky, "This is all wrong, Betty won't admit it!"
She felt like she was being executed in public, and Rem's praise sounded like mockery in her ears. If possible, Beatrice really wanted to erase everyone's memories in the world and make everyone lose their sight.
"Betty is feeling unwell, Betty wants to rest!" Beatrice said loudly, then she opened the nearest door straight to the Forbidden Library, and closed the door firmly.
Rem was full of doubts, but she didn't ask anything else and left immediately.
After Rem left, another door opened slightly, and Beatrice, with eyes like petals, slowly stretched her head from the door crack and raised her head to look at the sky.
Although she felt embarrassed, she still wanted to continue and see what would happen next.
❰❱SKY SCREEN❰❱
"I'm targeting the villagers. If you two want to leave... It's fine, as long as Emilia continues to participate in the trial."
Garfiel looked at Ayanokouji and Beatrice and spoke immediately, but his body instinctively moved back.
Beatrice had previously hit him more than a hundred times like a toy ball. He still remembered the pain, and judging from their conversation just now, Beatrice didn't even take Roswaal seriously as an enemy, and the other party had no direct interest with him.
Garfiel was also very afraid of Ayanokouji. This person could truly make that terrifying girl so obedient.
Ayanokouji pondered for a moment. He knew that he would not be able to leave Sanctuary easily for now.
His main goal was to support Emilia on the throne, and then eliminate all unstable factors. Although Crusch had withdrawn from the throne selection now, Emilia had an absolute advantage, but if she had no way to leave Sanctuary, then that would be a different problem.
If Emilia could pass what was called a trial, leaving from here would be the best plan.
Furthermore, Ayanokouji also wanted to know Roswaal's method and Echidna's true identity, so he thought of staying in Sanctuary temporarily.
However, if the situation here was too difficult to resolve, he would also choose to leave Sanctuary and return to the capital of the kingdom.
Because besides Emilia, he also had a backup plan – Felt.
If Emilia truly had no way to break through the trial, then Ayanokouji would also return to the capital of the kingdom and announce that Felt was a throne candidate and a noble by blood, to regain throne qualification.
At that time, to ensure that Felt could ascend the throne without interference, Ayanokouji also had to make sure that Emilia would not leave Sanctuary. He also needed to use some small methods to do so. Even if he wanted to, killing Emilia was also one of the possible choices.
But that meant he would need to spend a lot of energy to deal with Emilia and Roswaal, and he also needed to transfer Emilia's power to Felt's hands, which was very troublesome, so if possible, Ayanokouji would still prioritize helping Emilia break through the trial.
But first, he needed to know the contents of the trial, and that would not be known until the trial began in the evening.
"Where are the villagers?" Ayanokouji asked, then turned to Emilia, "Let's express condolences to those villagers."
Because Emilia was the current first choice, Ayanokouji would continue to support her on the grounds that she could pass the trial.
If Emilia was allowed to comfort the villagers, she would gain more support from the villagers to leave Sanctuary, they should be able to spread this and get further support from others.
"Yes!" Emilia nodded enthusiastically.
Before Ayanokouji left, he stared around Roswaal. He could sense that Roswaal was watching him.
He knew that Roswaal had ill intentions, but this was one of the advantages of his intelligence, so he had not chosen to reveal it for now.
The camera turned. In the blink of an eye, Garfiel had brought Ayanokouji and the others to the door of an abandoned church. There were two Demi-Humans holding rough weapons guarding on both sides of the door to prevent the villagers of the Nature Village from sneaking out.
Ayanokouji carefully observed these two people. Although they were holding weapons, their bodies looked full of defects. If they were ordinary people, he could easily defeat them, but considering the Demi-Human characteristics within them, he could not guarantee that he would definitely win, as the Demi-Human race in general had strength beyond ordinary humans, just like Rom and Garfiel.
"Ayanokouji-sama!"
As Ayanokouji slowly opened the door, the villagers inside turned their attention to him at the same time. Those who were lying down or doing something immediately stood up and faced him.
Although a certain amount of time had passed, these villagers clearly remembered how Ayanokouji had gone to save the children without hesitation when the Demon Beast attacked. Since that day, the villagers had great respect for him.
They might never have imagined that the person who caused the attack was Ayanokouji himself.
It could even be said that he was the fundamental reason why they were now trapped in Sanctuary.
"Is everyone okay?" Ayanokouji asked.
In his eyes, the value of these people was not good, but considering what might happen in the future, he still deliberately asked with feigned concern.
"Thank you, Ayanokouji-sama, nothing happened to us!"
"If it weren't for Ayanokouji-sama, we would have been killed by the monster!"
"Thank you very much, Ayanokouji-sama!"
Everyone expressed their gratitude, and Emilia also entered nervously.