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

However, before she could say another word, Kazuma Sato hoisted Beatrice onto his back like a sandbag.

"?"

"Thank goodness Betty is a little girl. If it were Aqua, I would have been exhausted!"

After carrying Beatrice on his back, Kazuma Sato immediately turned around to look for Aqua.

"Wasteful Goddess! Where are you?!"

"I'm here, Kazuma!"

Aqua's distinctive voice pierced through the mist and reached Kazuma Sato's ears. He followed the sound and finally found Aqua walking towards him.

"Kazuma, what's going on?! How did this fog suddenly spread? I can't see anything at all!"

"I don't know either, I feel like it's that beluga whale's doing! Where's Subaru! Subaru!"

Kazuma Sato shouted Natsuki Subaru's name loudly. Although they hadn't been far from Natsuki Subaru before, they couldn't see his location at all now.

This was no ordinary fog; it was extremely dense, as if the world before us had been completely replaced by a grayish-white expanse. Any landmarks that could indicate direction were swallowed up, and the boundaries between east, west, south, and north were blurred at this moment.

The calls of beluga whales echoed all around, along with the howling wind, almost drowning out Kazuma Sato's voice.

He didn't dare to move around casually, for fear of getting further and further away from Subaru Natsuki.

“Kazuma!”

"I'm here!"

Kazuma Sato finally caught Subaru Natsuki's voice. Carrying Beatrice on his back and holding Aqua's hand, he quickly walked towards the sound of Subaru's voice.

In Kazuma Sato's memory, even with seemingly superhuman eyesight, Aqua would definitely get lost if she left his side for just three seconds in this environment.

Subaru Natsuki and Kazuma Sato communicated with each other, pinpointing each other's locations, and finally saw each other.

All that's left is for Beatrice to use magic to teleport them away!

But at that very moment, they heard a very ominous sound, as if the ground had been torn in half by something.

A terrifying shockwave struck with a speed that exceeded everyone's reaction time.

It appears to be composed of mist, yet it is distinctly different, resembling more of a high-speed, sharp blade.

In the thick fog, their vision was cut off, and they had no time to react.

And the person closest to him was Subaru Natsuki.

The next second, Subaru Natsuki's body was engulfed by the mist—

. . . . . .

"Pleiades!"

Kazuma Sato excitedly stretched out his hand forward.

However, the surrounding environment has changed.

He has returned to his mansion.

At this very moment, standing before Kazuma Sato was Russell, who had been splashed with hot tea.

At this point in the previous cycle, I was at home having tea with Russell, discussing future collaborations.

"Ah ah ah ah ah!"

Aqua reacted immediately and rushed to Russell's side to cast a healing spell.

Russell was breathing heavily, looking at Kazuma Sato in front of him with a surprised expression.

Because of Aqua, Russell didn't suffer any burns, but the pain from being splashed with hot tea lingered in his memory.

Wha, what's going on?

Weren't we just talking about a collaboration? And it seems like things are progressing quite well.

Why did Kazuma Sato suddenly turn against him?

Could it be that......

Russell couldn't help but have a guess.

Does Kazuma Sato possess the ability to understand people's inner thoughts?

Although Russell was ostensibly discussing cooperation with Kazuma Sato, he was actually secretly observing Kazuma Sato and Aqua's every move, trying to obtain more important information from them.

The next second, Kazuma Sato's hot tea was already splashed over.

Is it a warning?

If that's really the case....

Was it all part of a plan when Aqua and the others approached me for cooperation earlier?

But all of this was just Russell's conjecture. He wasn't sure if it was true, so he could only swallow hard and wait for the other party to say something in order to judge their attitude.

Kazuma Sato also felt somewhat guilty at this moment.

Subaru, why do you always have to save at this time?

I'm so sorry, Russell...

Actually, you've already been splashed with hot tea twice...

Logically speaking, Russell should be furious, right?

It's really inappropriate to speak now; I'll apologize profusely when he gets angry.

but.....

Russell, why are you so quiet...?

Kazuma Sato and Russell sat facing each other, neither of them speaking first.

"Hey, are you two having a contest of not blinking?"

Aqua stared blankly at the two people in front of her.

Finally, Russell broke the silence.

However, Russell was well aware of whether his guess was correct or not, and that maintaining a good relationship with Aqua's camp was the most important thing.

"Well, Lady Aqua and Lady Shin, I'm afraid the whole world will soon undergo earth-shattering changes. The royal family suddenly died mysteriously from a strange illness, the Dragon Chronicle Stone has a prophecy about the five Dragon Maidens, and perhaps a series of masters will follow."

Russell smiled.

"However, I believe that no matter what happens, you will have the last laugh. In my heart, Lady Aqua has the highest chance of winning among the candidates!"

"Really?!"

A flicker of surprise crossed Aqua's face, but she quickly replaced it with an expression of utter nonchalance.

"But if it were me, it would be perfectly reasonable."

Kazuma Sato was also somewhat surprised.

Wait, Russell isn't angry at all?

"Regarding future cooperation..."

"I'm really looking forward to future cooperation! We can lower our profit sharing a bit more! This will further protect your interests, Master Kazuma! I will also do my best to support you both in the future!"

Russell stood up with a smile, making his stance clear to the two people in front of him.

During this time, Six Tongues still couldn't find out about Aqua and Kazuma Sato's background, which made Russell increasingly feel that Kazuma Sato was not simple.

The other person's act of splashing water on me was a warning.

Aqua then displayed healing abilities no less than Felix, who possessed the title of 'Blue', which served as a deterrent.

Those two are probably the most dangerous among the candidates.

Chapter 80: I am the Arrogant Archbishop, Natsuki Subaru!

Not long after, Russell had already left the mansion.

Before leaving, they also discussed the profit sharing for their future collaboration. Russell even offered to reduce his share to increase the profits for Sato and Kazuma.

This left Kazuma Sato completely baffled for a while.

He got splashed while sleeping, and he wasn't angry at all?

Are all the people in this world... a little bit mentally unstable?

Kazuma Sato always felt that there was something strange about Russell.

Could it be that...

Was Russell a masochist?

Forget it, let's talk about this later.

Kazuma Sato sat in his chair, reflecting on the events of the previous timeline.

Although the Witch Cult has been largely dealt with, Petitchius is probably not completely dead.

After all, this guy's ability to transfer his body is just too troublesome.

Kazuma Sato currently has no way of determining whether Petitchius's ability to transfer his body is subject to any limitations.

If we want to completely defeat that guy, we need to find a way to suppress this ability.

Moreover, it seems that the other party's target is not only Emilia; they also seemed quite excited when they saw Aqua earlier.

If we don't deal with Petitchius and the witch cult behind him, this guy will probably come looking for us eventually.

This is incredibly troublesome.

What's more, the white whale appeared out of nowhere at the end.

What kind of monster is it?

Kazuma Sato sighed and turned to look at Aqua beside him.

Even with Beatrice, it probably wouldn't be enough to deal with that kind of monster.

It has to be at least at the military level.

"Hey Kazuma, have you thought about what you're going to do next?"

Aqua looked at Kazuma Sato expectantly and asked.

"I don't have any ideas for now."

Kazuma Sato shook his head; the situation in this world was far more complicated than he had imagined.

Dealing with Petitchius alone is troublesome enough.

Is there any way to solve this problem once and for all?

Moreover, he needs more manpower.

"It's about time, isn't it? Useless goddess, go open the door."

"Ah."

Aqua nodded, walked to the door, and opened it.

Almost simultaneously, a flustered Subaru Natsuki appeared before them.

Natsuki Subaru rushed into the mansion, grabbed a teacup and took a big gulp, then slumped into a chair.

"Why did that strange monster appear at the end?! What kind of monster was it...?"

Subaru Natsuki's eyes were filled with confusion, and he couldn't help but let out another long sigh.

"Well... I don't know either."

Kazuma Sato scratched his head.

Beatrice previously stated that the beluga whales were likely attracted here because they sensed the large amount of mana being released.

If that's true, then in a sense...

It was Kazuma Sato who attracted the beluga whale.

Given the critical situation at the time, Kazuma Sato didn't have many other options.