One-way traffic

Accelerator has already expressed his opinion: well, this guy is an idiot.

"So, what are your wishes?"

Roswaal then turned his attention to the other two.

"Well... I don't really have any wishes, I just want to be able to come and go from this house freely. Usually, I follow Acura around."

"I see. In that case, I will grant your wish as well."

In this way, only one person remained.

Roswaal stared intently at the first person in front of him and said with a smile.

"So, what is your wish?"

The first ability user originally intended to simply utter a wish that was made up on the spot.

But, in that very instant...

—A unique sense of unease began to linger in my mind.

That was a prompt from the soul system.

A word that hadn't been mentioned for who knows how long suddenly surfaced in his mind.

"Before that, I need to ask you something."

"Hmm~?"

That's it.

Under the watchful eyes of Roswaal and everyone else, Accelerator raised his head.

"I say you."

He whispered what he wanted to say.

"Do you know where the Witch Cult guys are?"

Chapter 43: Let's have a friendly spar with the court magician?

Witch Cult.

This is a well-known term in this country, no, perhaps even in the world.

The group that worships the Witch of Envy, Satella, is a completely evil cult that brings scourge to humanity.

This is something that even young children would definitely know.

However, at this moment, the number one superpowered individual spoke these words without any hesitation.

"Oh? That's really interesting."

Roswaal placed his hands together in front of him, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Why bring up those guys from the Witch Cult at a time like this?"

"The reason is quite simple, isn't it?"

And so, the first one said softly, without any hesitation.

"I need to find those guys."

It was almost a split second.

The atmosphere around them plummeted to rock bottom.

"Well--!"

Natsuki Subaru, who was originally planning to continue enjoying the meal, froze on the spot. He turned his head stiffly and looked around in disbelief.

Two pressures, pushed to their limits, are gathering.

Those two auras emanated from Roswaal's side.

Without a doubt, it was those two maids.

Rem and Ram were trying their best to suppress their aura, but the moment Accelerator uttered the words "Witch Cult," they were completely unable to suppress it.

Unparalleled malice, targeting, and hostility erupted mercilessly in all directions.

Even Hatsune Miku and Emilia, who are unrelated to it, can clearly sense it.

The expressions of the people present were all surprised, except for the first person and Roswaal, who remained calm.

Roswaal wore a calm smile, while the number one esper looked at him indifferently.

But they can sense it.

The most serious source of this resentful aura was actually the blue-haired maid.

She was almost about to blurt it out, her delicate body trembling slightly as she stared intently at Accelerator with eyes like a demon.

"Rem."

Roswaal had only called out softly.

"The guest's drink is almost gone, go and pour them a cup of fruit tea."

In an instant, Rem managed to completely suppress her almost explosive aura, but her gloomy presence was impossible to ignore.

She walked step by step, picked up the teapot, and went to Accelerator to pour him a cup of tea.

The person sitting to the side could almost feel the hostility approaching them like a knife.

Is it impossible to hide it any longer? This maid.

The first person's expression remained as calm as ever. He nonchalantly accepted the teacup Rem handed him, even though he could feel the force in her wrist the instant he took it.

It doesn't matter how it's done.

Anyway, even if this guy wanted to kill me, he couldn't possibly hurt me.

Rem put the teapot aside again and returned to Roswaal's side.

"Oh dear~ It seems my maid isn't in a good mood today. I'm so sorry for the little mishap this caused our guests!"

"Really? Anyway, it doesn't matter to me."

Accelerator looked at Roswaal again.

"And then, what's your answer—?"

"Before that, I'd like to ask a question. Accelerator, right... So, may I just call you Accelerator-kun?"

"as you like."

"That's wonderful!"

Roswaal's expression remained unchanged from the very beginning.

"Yifang-kun, why are you asking me this question? Or rather, why did you decide to inquire about the Witch Cult?"

"What kind of relationship do you have with those people in the Witch Cult?"

It looked like he was deliberately testing me.

Accelerator could sense that after Roswaal asked these questions, the two maids' attention was entirely on him, almost like snipers responsible for assassinating others. If Accelerator's answer was even slightly wrong, they might pull the trigger immediately.

But as I've already said, the first person doesn't care about this kind of thing at all.

"There's nothing special about it. I've never even met those guys. I just need to talk to them about something."

He waved his hand, his pigeon-blood eyes revealing an indifferent expression.

"It's like a mission. For some necessary reasons, I have to make contact with those guys who don't even know where they are. Or do you think I want to do this?"

It is indeed a task.

Although he didn't know why the soul system had brought him into contact with the Witch Cult, he was certain that he had to investigate the matter in relation to the Witch Cult no matter what.

The simplest and most straightforward way is to find these guys directly.

"I see, that makes me feel much more at ease~"

Roswaal also placed his hands on either side, revealing a thoughtful smile.

"You seem to have the wrong person. Although I am the kingdom's number one magician, unfortunately, even I cannot immediately provide you with information about the Witch Cult. After all, those guys always operate in a very secretive manner."

"However, you did save Lady Emilia and repel those dangerous Bowel Hunters, so it would be great if I could help you."

The court's foremost magician shifted his body and leaned forward slightly.

"I'll help you find information related to them."

"In that case, wouldn't it be enough to repay your kindness in saving Lady Emilia?"

Everyone was focused on the first-place winner, but the first-place ability user, who should have been the most nervous, remained extremely calm throughout.

I've experienced situations like this countless times back in Academy City, where the darkness was so overwhelming it was nauseating.

"As long as you understand."

"Oh dear~ that's truly cause for celebration! In that case, the three of you will be staying at my Roswaal's mansion for the time being!"

The extremely comical tone seemed to liven up the atmosphere, making the originally very oppressive air flow.

Subaru Natsuki, Hatsune Miku, and Emilia's expressions finally looked much better.

"Phew... That scared me to death. I don't understand what you guys were talking about, but it seems to be some very serious topics."

"Hmph, it's really not a big deal~"

Roswaal picked up the wine glass beside him.

At that moment, his eyes seemed to gleam with some kind of light.

It's about time.

"Then, Beatrice."

"What are you doing? Betty really wants to know what kind of clown like you is trying to do by coming to see her."

Beatrice, who had never cared about such scenes, suddenly looked at Roswaal with annoyance.

It seems she doesn't give a friendly look to anyone except Parker.

"It's nothing, I just discovered something interesting."

"Oh? Someone like you actually finds something interesting?"

“That’s right.”

Roswaal chuckled and said just that.

"Surely someone went through the library books last night?"

"Well--?"

Beatrice stood there, stunned.

The others looked over with some confusion, but Roswaal alone still wore that same smile.

"Well, it's okay. I'm not that stingy. It's just that the books in that library are all part of my property, so I still need to check the situation first."

"...Hmph, whatever."

Upon receiving Beatrice's approval, a glint flashed in Roswaal's eyes.

"Fangjun."

He looked in the direction of the first Level 5 superpowered individual.

"You must have gone to the library last night, right?"

"That's it."

Accelerator nonchalantly picked up a piece of black meat and said as he ate.

"Because the corridor seemed to have no end, I found a door with extremely unstable spatial orientation and went inside. As a result, I ended up in an unusually large library."

"You even found the library door in one go! That's amazing!"

Well, next.

Roswaal then continued.

"However, no matter what, those books are still my property, and I will still care about them after reading them. So, I want to confirm the actual results."