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

This is even worse than Aqua!

“Parker has stayed out all day before, but I’ve never encountered anything like this before.”

Emilia lowered her head with some worry, holding the crystal pendant on her chest in both hands.

"Hey, Roswaal, did you do something?"

Kazuma Sato turned his gaze to Roswaal.

"I did have that plan before, intending to find a way to restrict Parker's movements, since Parker is a very troublesome part of my plan."

Roswaal smiled and said, at this moment he had reverted to his previous clown makeup, and his way of speaking had once again changed to that strange, eccentric tone with its ups and downs.

After all, everyone was used to his 'abnormal' behavior, so it was quite unusual for him to suddenly become a normal person.

"It's really you!"

"Wait a moment. I did have such a plan, but I didn't have time to carry it out. My original plan was to wait until you dealt with the Witch Cult incident before casting a spell on Emilia. Unfortunately, you found me first, and I didn't have a chance to do so."

After Roswaal finished speaking, he shrugged.

"I think it's Emilia's own fault that Parker can't show up."

"My own fault?"

“Parker has a contract with you, so you will be responsible for supplying him with mana. Perhaps because of you now, mana is becoming increasingly scarce.”

Roswaal explained,

“Another possibility is that Emilia, there is a problem with your mental state. The contract will also be affected by your mental state. Perhaps it is because you have been wavering recently.”

"shake....."

Emilia murmured to herself.

Ever since Emilia heard the name Fortuna from Jus, she has been unable to forget it.

The sadness remained hidden in my heart.

“I see... Thank you for your honesty, Roswaal.”

Emilia said to Roswaal very seriously,

"But I also hope that you won't do those dangerous things again in the future."

"Don't worry, I know. After all, there's more than one path we can choose now."

Roswaal narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at Aqua, before quickly shifting his gaze to Emilia.

"But don't worry, Emilia. Since I have already promised to support Emilia in ascending the throne, I will not go back on my word."

"Roswaal, Aqua and the others are still here."

Subaru Natsuki reminded him.

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter who becomes king in the end."

Kazuma Sato yawned.

Kazuma Sato has absolutely no interest in things like the King of Symmetry.

Managing a country sounds incredibly complicated just to imagine.

not to mention.....

Kazuma Sato simply couldn't imagine what the country would become if Aqua became queen.

It will surely turn into a scene of hell on earth...

If he could, Kazuma Sato would just want to be a moderately wealthy man, living a life free from financial worries.

Aqua fabricated the identities of the candidates so that they could enjoy privileges during this period.

Kazuma Sato never expected to encounter so many troublesome things.

"How casual!"

Roswaal said with a smile.

"By the way, where's Jules? Didn't he come?"

Natsuki Subaru asked with some doubt, assuming that Jus would come to the Sanctuary no matter what.

"Jules said that Emilia is now independent and doesn't need his company anymore, and he also has some things to take care of himself."

"That's what Kazuma Sato said."

Jus is now investigating matters concerning Fortuna, and has even gone to the dungeon to question Regulus.

However, so far nothing has been gained.

The group chatted as they rode the dragon carriage to the Holy Land.

After a long journey, the dragon carriage finally came to a slow stop.

"It seems we've arrived."

Roswaal smiled and looked out the window, then prepared to get out of the car.

"Wait a moment."

"what happened?"

Roswaal turned his head and saw Kazuma Sato walking towards him.

"There is a very important matter to deal with."

As he spoke, Kazuma Sato took something out of his luggage.

Demon-Sealing Stone Handcuffs.

Kazuma Sato handcuffed Roswaal's hands directly.

“…”

"To prevent problems from arising, Roswaal."

"Um...."

Roswaal nodded; he really couldn't say anything at the moment.

Kazuma Sato and the others got off the bus, and what came into view was an incredibly ancient building.

"Lord Kazuma, we've arrived!"

At the same time, the driver of the earth dragon got out of the carriage, walked up to Kazuma Sato, and said with a smile.

"Thank you for your hard work. What's your name...?"

"Just call me Otto, or Kazuma-sama!"

"Okay, Otto, then please wait here for a moment."

Kazuma Sato said to Otto, and then walked towards the building with Subaru Natsuki and the others.

"Roswaal, what's this for?"

"I asked, Kazuma Sato."

"This is the place of trial."

"What exactly is the trial?"

"I don't know the specifics, because I'm not qualified to participate in the trial. Only those with half-blood are qualified to participate in the trial—and only those with half-blood can freely enter and leave the Holy Domain."

When Roswaal refers to "half-blooded," he is referring to beings who possess half-human and half-human blood.

Emilia is one of them.

"Then Emilia going in would mean she'd immediately begin the trial?"

"Theoretically speaking, it's not time yet, so there shouldn't be any problems."

"It's so dark in here."

Natsuki Subaru looked around at his surroundings as he spoke—

Suddenly, the scene before his eyes changed.

A verdant grassland appeared before him, with an incredibly blue sky above.

I was just in a closed building a moment ago, wasn't I?

What's going on?

"Kazuma! Aqua! Emilia!"

Just as Natsuki Subaru was calling out the other people's names, he suddenly saw a small pavilion in front of him.

A woman dressed in a black robe was looking at him with a smile.

Her long, snow-white hair cascaded down her back, and her fair skin and delicate features created an almost perfect face. However, her deep black eyes gave off a chilling feeling, like a pair of black holes that were about to completely devour Subaru Natsuki.

"It's finally here~"

The woman said with a smile.

"Who are you? Did you orchestrate all of this?"

“My name is Echidna, or perhaps it’s easier to understand as the Witch of Greed.”

Echidna smiled at Subaru Natsuki and said her name.

"You, you're Echidna?"

Natsuki Subaru looked at the other person with some surprise.

"Oh? It seems you already know me. Please have a seat."

Subaru Natsuki sat opposite Echidna, who snapped her fingers, and a cup of tea instantly appeared in front of him. He picked up the tea and drank it all in one gulp.

"Because it's made from my bodily fluids~"

As Echidna uttered these words with a smile, Subaru Natsuki almost spat out his drink.

"Where exactly is this place?"

"This is the dream city I created~ It's where souls reside, and you came here with only your consciousness and soul."

"City of Dreams..."

Natsuki Subaru felt a slight headache.

Roswaal previously stated that the soul of the Witch of Greed, Echidna, still exists in some form.

Is this the city of dreams?

"What do you want to know? Meeting me is something many people dream of~"

Echidna stared intently at Subaru Natsuki.

What she called "desire" was her thirst for knowledge; she longed to understand everything about the world.

She was also the most knowledgeable person in the world, and the entire Forbidden Library was her masterpiece.

And it's only a part of it.

Her power is the Book of Wisdom, the memory of the world, which allows Echidna to know almost everything that exists in this world.

Just then, Subaru Natsuki's body trembled violently as he felt an unbearable pain in his heart.

"As expected of a qualified candidate, they adapted very quickly!"

Echidna said that everything that was happening now was within her calculations.

"What are you saying....."

"It can activate the sluggish factor within you and increase your resistance. It's because you possess the witch factor that you were able to come here... wait!"

Echidna's expression suddenly changed drastically. Her brows furrowed, and she leaned forward, looking at Subaru Natsuki with a shocked expression.

"Why isn't it there? What could be wrong? What's going on?"

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you talking about?"

Subaru Natsuki, whose physical condition had recovered somewhat, asked breathlessly.

"Where did the sloth factor you should have possessed go? Sloth Archbishop, that guy should have been killed by you by now!"