One-way traffic

He leaned against the door.

He wanted to vent his anger, but he had no idea who to vent it on.

The girl who had just walked around the village with him that morning, playing with the children, chatting with the village elders, and bringing back the resources needed for the house site—and just like that—

Am I really going to die like this?

Emilia, Hatsune Miku, Roswaal—everyone fell completely silent at that moment.

An eerie silence.

"...Who is it?"

After a long while, the voice slowly rang out.

The girl stood up, and she said this softly, as if collapsing.

"Who cast the curse on Rem?"

"...A sorcerer's curse can only be successfully executed after there is some contact with the person being cursed."

In other words, only those who have actually come into contact with Rem can be considered casters.

So, who is the most likely candidate?

"Rem, she went to Aram Village with Subaru this morning, right?"

Roswaal abandoned his usual clownish demeanor and looked at him very seriously.

"In that case, it's very likely that they're from the village."

"...Really, is that all?"

Ram turned his head.

Those eyes looked like those of a demon at that moment.

She stared intently at Subaru Natsuki, who was standing to one side.

"Hey Ram! You wouldn't—"

"El Fura!!"

The storm tore the air apart in an instant.

To everyone's surprise, at this moment, Ram raised his hand, manipulated wind magic, and unleashed a burst of energy towards Subaru Natsuki.

Natsuki Subaru knew perfectly well that he hadn't noticed any of this, and even his expression was one of astonishment.

then.

BOOM! ...

A shadow stood in front of him.

"Varied……?!"

Ram's eyes widened.

With white hair and pigeon-blood eyes, the monster dressed in gray and white striped clothes stood in front of him.

Accelerator.

The villain, who hadn't uttered a single word or participated in anything from beginning to end, made his move.

Before the stunned Subaru Natsuki, the top-ranked Level 5 esper looked over indifferently. He simply raised one hand, letting his reflexive arm mercilessly shatter Ram's wind magic.

"what are you doing?"

"That's the question I should be asking you. What are you trying to do?"

"As you can see, of course we need to eliminate the mastermind behind Rem's murder!!"

"...What nonsense are you talking about?"

Accelerator stared wide-eyed at Ram in front of him.

"Isn't that right?!"

Ram shouted, tears streaming down his face.

"Isn't this the person Rem has had the most contact with? She went to the village with this man this morning, and she's had countless encounters with him before that. If it's not him, then who else could it be but you?!"

"Please calm down, Miss Ram...!"

"Ram doesn't want to! Ram's... Ram's sister Rem is going to die!! Do you understand how that feels?! Do you understand?!"

Bang——! !

They don't care at all who are watching.

The first monster slammed its right foot into the ground, causing the house to shake for about three seconds.

He drew everyone's attention.

"Don't get me wrong, maid."

He spoke slowly and deliberately, raising his head towards Ram in front of him.

In that instant, Ram saw it.

Standing before him was a monster, a real monster that would rush up and destroy everything if he said another word.

he said calmly.

"I know better than anyone that there are more tragedies in this world than there are stars in the sky."

"And then what? Just because tragedy befell you, does that mean those guys have to act like you and make a scene? Utterly boring."

"And what are you now? Trying to protect your sister? Or are you just blinded by rage? Even among villains, you're just the most despicable and low-class. If that's all you've got, then your ideals are truly pathetic."

"you……!!"

"Ram."

Roswaal interrupted Ram before he could speak.

“What Yifang said is absolutely right, Rem is indeed in danger... but we can’t let this cause trouble for Subaru.”

"What do you mean by framing me! Lord Roswaal! This guy has clearly been in contact with Rem so many times, it's obvious he's—"

"Are you even listening to me, maid?"

Beatrice turned her head away speechlessly.

"If it really was this guy named Natsuki Subaru who framed the maid, then according to you, the maid shouldn't be the only one who had contact with him on a daily basis. In that case, shouldn't you have been cursed along with him by now?"

“This…this point…”

"Besides, this guy looks like a useless shut-in with inadequate magic power, who probably doesn't even know how to use a door properly. You don't actually think this little guy, who might not even be able to kill a magical beast, is actually some kind of sorcerer material, do you?"

"By the way, you don't need to doubt this guy at all."

As Beatrice spoke, she also gave the strongest Level 5 superpowered user a very displeased look.

"Although I hate to admit it, this guy is ridiculously strong. He can deflect my magic even without doing anything. The power he uses is not ordinary magic or blessing. If this guy really wanted to kill someone, he could do it with a wave of his hand. In fact, even that clown magician in the whole mansion can only barely fight him to a draw. You don't really think that this kind of guy would need to use such a despicable thing as cursing others, do you?"

In other words, the person least likely to curse Rem in this house is Accelerator.

If he really wanted to kill someone, he wouldn't care about anyone in this house. He could even reflect Beatrice's magic, and even Roswaal could only barely fight him to a draw.

Does such a being need to resort to such despicable curses and spells to attack others?

"Then what should we do...?"

Ram leaned against the wall again.

Tears streamed down her face, and her expression turned into a pleading one.

"Ram is fine no matter what... Ram just wants... Rem to get better again!!"

"Please, Lady Beatrice... even if it costs Ram's life, please... save Rem!!"

Hatsune Miku and Emilia couldn't even look directly at each other.

No matter how furious, riotous, or disrespectful Ram was, the reason for all of those things was Rem.

She really wanted to save Rem, to help her own biological sister.

but.

"That's why I said... it would be best if we could find a sorcerer."

Beatrice sighed again.

"Based on where this maid went before, the sorcerer should be located in that village, but there's simply not enough time. Even if we get to the village, we might not be able to find the real sorcerer..."

"If we can deal with the sorcerer, this maid might be alright."

But that's simply a pipe dream.

No one could find the sorcerer in such a short time and then eliminate him. Beatrice couldn't, Roswaal couldn't, and almost none of them had that ability.

“Rem…”

Ram crawled from the ground directly to Rem's bedside, as if climbing.

Tears fell onto the bed as Ram stared intently at her sister, who was nearly lifeless. She was utterly devastated.

"No...don't do that..."

Hatsune Miku's eyes trembled slightly, and she felt an overwhelming urge to cry.

Is there really no other way?!

Then, someone stood in front of Ram.

Ram looked up in surprise and saw that the white-haired, red-eyed person who had been confronting her earlier had come to Rem's bedside.

That's what the other party said.

"Get away."

"Eh…?"

Ram blinked in surprise.

"What...what do you want to do?!"

"I told you to get out of the way."

He simply stared at Ram, and an unimaginable sense of oppression spread throughout the girl's body.

Ram gritted his teeth and had no choice but to step back.

Accelerator sat down directly on the edge of the bed.

"Hey, what are you planning to do?"

Beatrice looked at Accelerator beside her in confusion. He was now... placing his hand on Rem's body.

What is this?

"Don't move around too much. If you touch anything dangerous, this maid might just die—"

"Stop babbling, you blonde loli."

Accelerator ignored everyone around him.

He placed his right hand straight on Rem's head and gently closed his eyes.

Then--

"Female, DNA sequence close to human, height 154 cm, heart rate greater than 120."

"Stimulus response rate is abnormal, below 47.683%, and conscious-motor rate is 3.8%..."

What--?

Almost everyone looked over in astonishment.

What is this doing?

"If only there were sedatives and thin medicated patches, that would be even more effective with a little bit of a stimulant. Unfortunately, such high-tech stuff is simply impossible in this shitty world."

He locked onto a certain location.

Is this it?