From RE0, Sato Kazuma decided to cheat on food and drink

Could Aqua be packaged as one of the candidates?

After all, Aqua has the ability to make any object she touches glow.

"Amelia, have the identities of all the candidates been announced yet?"

"I asked, Kazuma Sato."

"No, including myself, there should only be four candidates whose identities have been confirmed so far. We don't have any information about the last one yet."

Emilia shook her head.

"I see."

A meaningful smile appeared on Kazuma Sato's face.

"I don't know how to thank you all. If you would like, I sincerely invite you to come with me to the territory of Mezas. Lord Roswaal and I will treat you all very well!"

Emilia said very sincerely.

As she had previously mentioned, Roswaal L. Mezas is the supporter behind Emilia, a candidate for the throne, and also Lugnica's chief mage.

"Is there anything good to eat there?"

Upon hearing the relevant words, Aqua's eyes instantly lit up with light.

"I'm sure there's something you'll like!"

Emilia wore a gentle smile.

"Kazuma! Let's set off now!"

Aqua, on the other hand, looked impatient. Originally, she felt a little threatened because Emilia also had healing abilities, but her attitude changed completely after hearing about the delicious food.

"Wait a moment....."

Natsuki Subaru immediately interrupted their conversation.

"We...we still have one more place we must go!"

The place Natsuki Subaru was referring to was Felt and Rom's stronghold.

He knew very well that if he left like this, Felt and the others would probably still fall victim to Elsa's clutches, and Natsuki Subaru could not stand idly by.

In the previous playthrough, Subaru Natsuki could sense that Rom and Felt were not bad people. They didn't even know what the badge was; they had only accepted Erza's employment to save money to escape the slums.

Where do you need to go? Do you need my help?

Emilia asked curiously.

We're going to...

The words reached Natsuki Subaru's lips, but for a moment he didn't know how to say them.

After all, to Emilia, Felt was the thief who stole her crest, and besides, the matter of Return by Death was something she could never bring herself to say.

He worried that Emilia would suffer a cardiac arrest upon hearing about the return of death, just like Kazuma Sato had done before her.

At that moment, Kazuma Sato spoke up:

“I think we should go to the hideout of that thief. According to our investigation, her name seems to be Ferut.”

"Although stealing is wrong, now that the item has been found, I don't really want to pursue the matter any further."

Emilia shook her head, glancing in the direction Felt had run off in. After all, he seemed to be from the slums, and perhaps he was forced to make such a choice out of necessity.

"I do find some things a bit strange."

Kazuma Sato explained,

"Although this is proof of **, the badge looks very ordinary and is not valuable. Besides, Emilia, your status as a candidate should not have been made public yet, so the other party should not know what this is. However, Felt's goal seems very clear, so I think this matter is not so simple."

"Kazuma, do you mean they deliberately tried to steal this badge?"

Emilia's expression gradually turned serious.

"That's right, so I think this matter needs to be investigated."

"Lia, I feel like what this person said makes some sense."

Parker, who was standing next to her, turned to Emilia and said something.

"Okay, then please lead the way, He Zhen!"

Emilia nodded in agreement.

Immediately, the group headed towards Ferut's stronghold.

On the way, Natsuki Subaru was still a little worried that involving Emilia might cause some danger—

However, Kazuma Sato quickly provided an explanation.

Emilia's combat strength is not a concern for them at all.

In the first playthrough, when Kazuma Sato was asking around about the Demon King, he saw several huge ice spikes embedded in the city wall next to the plaza.

Based on the intelligence at the time, Kazuma Sato was able to determine that it was the magic Emilia used to catch up with Felt.

Although Elsa is agile, according to Kazuma Sato's observation, she does not seem to use magic, but only physical skills.

With Emilia's help, dealing with Elsa shouldn't be too difficult.

Chapter Seventeen: Panty Thief, I'm Going to Smash Your Head!

Meanwhile, in an old mansion in the slums.

Felt picked up a glass of milk from the table and downed it in one gulp, as if drinking alcohol. After letting out a satisfied "Ah," she began to complain to Mr. Rom beside her about the events of the day.

"That guy today was really inexplicable! He didn't seem to be thinking straight!"

Ferut slumped her upper body onto the table, looking annoyed.

"I must kill that guy!"

After hearing Felt recount what had happened that day, Old Man Rom, who was standing nearby, became even more furious.

Ferut was someone he treated like his precious granddaughter!

That guy actually dared to steal Felt's panties!

We must smash his skull with a big club!

While Ferut was also very unhappy, she was more puzzled.

What methods did that guy use to steal things from me today?

Is it magic?

Ferut was filled with curiosity.

If I could master that ability, maybe Felt could become the king of thieves in the slums and steal my way to the top!

Just as Ferut was fantasizing about living the life of a rich person in the future, she suddenly remembered a knock on the door.

"Who?"

Mr. Rom stepped forward, his eyes filled with caution.

Just then, the person outside the door uttered the code word for the stronghold.

Ferut's eyebrows twitched slightly.

This voice sounds somewhat familiar.

"Are you a regular customer?"

Grandpa Rom pushed the door open, only to be met with an unfamiliar face.

Kazuma Sato.

"You must be Lord Rom, I—"

Before Sato Kazuma could finish speaking, Rom had already picked up a spiked club from the side and smashed it down on his head.

Fortunately, Kazuma Sato reacted quickly, taking a large step back to avoid Rom's attack.

"What's going on? Why are you attacking me as soon as you see me?"

Kazuma Sato shouted anxiously.

"You're the one who's trying to take advantage of Felt, aren't you! Felt said it was someone wearing weird clothes and with a lewd expression on their face!"

"Hey, hey, hey, what makes you think that a description can identify me?!"

"I think that hits the nail on the head and gets to the heart of your matter."

Behind Kazuma Sato, Aqua said with a smile.

"If you want to lay a hand on Felt, you'd better ask the club in my hand for permission first!"

As he spoke, Mr. Rom raised his weapon again and brought it down on Sato Kazuma's head.

At this critical moment, Emilia's incredibly clear voice rang out:

"That's it!"

She raised her hand, and an ice spike formed in mid-air, then flew out, piercing through the spiked club in Rom's hand and pinning it to the wall.

Tell me everything you know!

. . . . . .

A few minutes later.

"...That's all we know! We were just hired on behalf of someone else; we have no idea what this badge is for!"

Ferut quickly said.

Faced with the powerful mage, Felt and Rom had no choice but to honestly recount the entire story.

Emilia pursed her lips, her expression becoming very serious.

She could tell that Ferut and Grandpa Rom were not lying.

Do you know who the client is?

"I don't know, we've never asked... In our line of work, we basically just do things for money... But she should be back soon."

"Then let's wait for her here."

Emilia said.

The other party was so clearly trying to take away my badge; their purpose was obvious: to force me out of the royal selection.

But who exactly wants to do this?

Many questions arose in Emilia's mind like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, but she had no answers to them at the moment.

The only way is to wait for the client to show up and confront her face to face.

"Lia, it's almost time. The rest is up to you!"

As dusk approached, Puck yawned, spoke to Emilia, and then disappeared into the crystal pendant on Emilia's chest.

"Elves have 9-to-5 jobs too?"

Kazuma Sato couldn't help but sigh.

Aqua, standing nearby, looked around the various stolen items in the mansion with curiosity, even picking up and playing with some of the things she found interesting.

Natsuki Subaru looked extremely nervous.

He knew perfectly well that the man who had taken his life twice before was about to arrive.

Just then, the familiar voice rang out again.

That was the sound of the sharp heels of high heels hitting the ground.

What came into everyone's view was Elsa, shrouded in a black robe.

"Sigh, I never expected it to turn out like this~"

Elsa wore an ambiguous smile and looked meaningfully at everyone present.

"You're the one who commissioned Felt to steal my badge, aren't you! What exactly is your purpose?!"

Emilia demanded an answer in a sharp voice.