A quiet breath slipped from my lungs as I finally tore my gaze away from the moon. Rising from the stone alcove where I'd been sitting for the past hour, I stretched once, then began the walk back to my room.
The door opened with a soft creak, and I clicked it shut behind me. What greeted me was a decent-sized bedroom, simple, clean, functional.
A king-sized bed rested against the far wall, draped in crisp white sheets and neatly arranged pillows. Two side tables flanked it, one holding a glintstone lamp. I made a beeline for it, channeling a trickle of mana through my gate. The crystal flared to life, casting a cool blue glow that swept across the room like moonlight trapped in glass.
Now with light blooming over everything, I crossed to the windows beside the bed and tugged the curtains shut. No need for sunlight to harass me later.
That's when I noticed something deeply, profoundly upsetting.
Aside from the single bed and the infamous cuck chair parked uselessly in the corner, the room was… barren. Sparse. Empty in the way that made you wonder if someone had only just moved in. But the real horror?
There was no bathroom.
No adjoining door. No basin. No washroom tucked discreetly in a corner. Nothing.
For the first time in a while, I had to face it: I wasn't on Earth anymore. There was no plumbing. No shower. No glorious Astrea-tier bathroom luxury. Just a plain-ass room in a noble's manor that suddenly felt far less glamorous.
I sighed, long and defeated, before letting gravity claim me as I dropped onto the bed.
At least the mattress was nice. A little firm, a little soft, but no fluffy blankets like the guest room Reinhard had lent me. Just a generic wool cover tossed on top like an afterthought.
I pushed back to my feet, already debating whether I should just strip down and sleep dirty.
Then my gaze caught on my shoulder.
My undershirt was stiff with dried blood. The black fabric was crusted down to the elbow where it had soaked through, and underneath, I was still sticky and stained. I'd only cleaned my hand at the loot house. Not my body.
I was, in no uncertain terms, a filthy animal.
Another sigh clawed its way up my throat and out through gritted teeth. It wouldn't be the last before sunrise, I was sure of that.
I slipped the arm bag I'd… liberated off my shoulder and tucked it beneath one of the pillows. Then, shrugging into my Astrea jacket like armor, I turned back to the door.
'Not like I felt like sleeping anyway.'
I eased the door open and clicked it shut behind me, moving quietly through the dim hallway as I headed toward the stairway I'd spotted earlier, the same direction Emilia had gone.
Hopefully, I'd run into a maid. Someone who could help me out. Though that did raise a few inconvenient questions.
'How many people even know I'm here? Emilia didn't exactly announce our arrival. We were seen by two maids and a devious child in a teleporting library. Did those maids pass the word along not to scream if they saw me or Subaru wandering the halls?'
The more I thought about this, the more it all sounded like a massive pain in the ass. Maybe I should've just accepted the bloody shirt fate and ruined the bedsheets.
I descended the stairs and reached the second floor, only to be met with… nothing.
Same doors. Same walls. No signs. No hints of where a bathroom might be,
'What the fuck kind of hellhole is this?'
Naturally, that's when I ran into the one person I'd have rather avoided.
Rem.
She stood at the far end of the hallway, staring at me like I was some sort of demon she'd managed to catch sight of and now wanted to exorcise.
'God. She already hates my guts for some reason, and now I have to bother her with something as banal as asking where the bathroom is?'
This was going to wound my pride.
I raised a hand and gave her a small, casual wave. She flinched like I'd hurled a fireball.
I blinked. Tilted my head, still walking forward.
'Jesus. Do I seriously give off that much negative aura? Just waving makes her act like I'm trying to kill her?'
I was only a few doors away when Ram appeared, stepping into the hall and gliding toward her sister like a ghost in red. She leaned in close and whispered something, lips moving subtly.
Rem shook her head. Once. Twice. Clearly not thrilled.
I slowed down. Whatever they were discussing, it seemed personal. No point barging in.
Still… I had a strong suspicion the conversation was about me. And not in a flattering way, judging by the way Rem had been burning holes in my face with her eyes.
Eventually, the blue-haired maid gave a reluctant nod and turned away, heading back the way Ram had come.
With the tension deflating slightly, I stepped up to Ram.
"What does the guest need?" she asked, cutting right to the chase.
"Just directions to the nearest bathroom," I said, unbuttoning my jacket and tugging one side open to reveal the crusted, blood-soaked shirt beneath. "I'm kind of still a mess."
I gestured to the dried dark stains with a tired shrug.
"Figured I'd save you all the hassle of scrubbing blood out of white bedsheets."
Ram's eyes widened, just barely, a flicker of surprise.
"It would seem the guest is… unexpectedly considerate."
"I try," I murmured.
Ram led me in silence back down the hallway I'd come from, then past the stairwell into a side hallway where an inconspicuous door was placed. Opening the door, she revealed what could only be described as a private oasis for the obscenely rich. It was a Roman-style bath chamber that was massive.
At its center sat a wide, circular pool recessed into the tiled floor, its surface gently rippling with heat. The water shimmered faintly in the dim golden light, fed by some unseen mechanism that kept it perpetually warm. Wisps of steam drifted upward, painting the air with a soft, hazy glow.
Polished stone pillars stretched up toward a vaulted ceiling, their presence entirely decorative and absolutely pretentious.
"Does the guest require assistance with bathing or the cleaning of his clothes?"
Not a question I was prepared to answer today.
"No, but thank you," I said. "I'll be fine. And thanks for guiding me here."
She gave a barely perceptible tilt of the head, then walked off. The soft clack of her shoes faded until the door clicked shut behind her.
The quiet that followed felt cavernous.
My boots echoed against the tile as I moved deeper inside, the thick humidity wrapping around my shoulders like a warm towel. I made my way to a bench and slowly began peeling off my clothes, stiff with blood and fatigue. Every movement was a reminder of how battered I really was.
Once stripped, I sat down and reached for a wooden bucket.
'This was a thing for public baths, right? You rinse before getting in. Bathing etiquette or whatever.'
Made enough sense.
I filled the bucket from the tap it rested under and splashed the hot water over my body. Primitive or not, it did the job, and the water was hot, so I didn't have much to complain about.
I glanced around, hoping to spot some soap, but came up empty.
'So we're on a bring-your-own-soap policy? Really?'
Whatever. I'd live.
I stepped into the circular pool, and a groan slipped out before I could stop it. After the day I'd just had, this was divine.
Lowering myself until I was mostly submerged, I let the heat wrap around my aching body and forced myself to think.
Time to sort through the mess.
I was here for one reason. One objective. Figure out if Subaru is the Witch's chosen. Everything else? Background noise. My life, my future, depended on that answer.
If time resets and it's not him, then I need to get the hell out. Clean break. If it resets all the way back to the capital, I steer Reinhard away from Emilia. No diversions. I could send knights to deal with Elsa, or nuke her myself with Reinhard's help. Whatever it takes. No more distractions.
But if it is him, if Subaru really is the one the Witch is helping, then I have to make a call.
Neutralize him permanently?
Or keep following the guy around?
Track him. Stay close. Gather information. And if it's possible… find a way to kill the Witch of Envy herself.
That was the endgame.
I could drag the guy back to the capital. Force him in front of Reinhard and… lock him up? Maybe they have some means of eliminating time loopers?
'But… is that what I want?'
The idea of killing Subaru or imprisoning him didn't sit well with me. Not just morally, but practically. Making a time-looper your enemy? Probably the dumbest possible move short of stabbing Reinhard in broad daylight.
I had no idea what the limits of the time loopers' powers were. Subaru himself seemed weak, but was it a front?
What if the real threat wasn't him, but the Witch who wanted him protected?
And honestly? He didn't seem like a bad kid. A little annoying, sure. But not evil. Not cruel. Not someone deserving of torture or psychological collapse.
I liked to think I was better than that.
Besides, talk is cheap. When it came down to it, if the moment arrived, could I actually do it?
Could I lie to his face and lure him back to the capital? Watch as he's taken away, never to see the light of day again?
Right now? I didn't think so. Maybe that would change if he turned out to be a bad person.
I lifted my head from the water and swept my white hair back, the ends clinging wetly to my skin. Leaning into the slope of the bath, I let the heat soak into my bones and my thoughts spiral deeper.
'Why didn't I just have Reinhard check if Subaru had miasma in the first place?'
We were all in the same room. Why didn't he say anything to me? Could he not tell? Would the time looper have miasma? They were connected to the Witch, so logic said yes, but what if they didn't?
'Too many unknowns.'
This was making my head hurt. So I shifted thoughts.
So. I get the reward from Emilia. Figure out what Subaru's doing with his reward. And then play it by ear, I suppose.
'Jeez. That monstrous little girl has me parroting her speech tic now.'
I shook my head and splashed another wave of warm water across my face.
'Playing things by ear, huh? I guess I don't really need to worry about things like finding time to think about stuff. After all, my Authority gives me infinite time to think. Whenever I need it.'
Authority.
What even was this thing?
Why was I given it?
Reinhard had mentioned that those with Authorities usually belonged to the… Witch's Cult.
Oh.
A laugh bubbled up and escaped before I could stop it.
"Ahaha…"
The Witch's Cult.
The same lunatics who worship the woman I'm trying to kill.
'If I'm going to figure out how to deal with that bitch, then those freaks might be the best source of information out there.'
Reason and Judgement
Time shattered, and I flashed back to the memory at the Astrea Estate training ground where Reinahard had given me the breakdown on the Cult.
"Authorities are still poorly understood, though. Both they and the Witch's Cult remain shrouded in mystery. The key figures of the Cult, the Sin Archbishops, each claim to represent one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Whether each Archbishop possesses an Authority that truly reflects those sins is… uncertain."
It wasn't much. But it was enough.
Reinhard had said I emitted the same level of miasma as a Sin Archbishop. And miasma came from contact with the Witch, or from someone bearing a Witch Factor.
Which meant the Cultists were one or the other. Or both.
And me?
I possessed the Authority of Pride.
Reinhard had said I gave off a concerning level of miasma, enough that I was on par with a Sin Archbishop.
Another path forward was slowly unraveling before me.
'If I could join this Cult... Pose as a Sin Archbishop... I might be able to play the ultimate double agent. Use them to find the Witch and deal with her, and then relay all my findings back to Reinhard and have the kingdom deal with the Cult .'
I let time slip forward again.
The bath was still steaming gently. Ripples danced across the surface of the water.
I stared into it.
Dull golden eyes stared back.
And a smile, twisted, crooked, dangerous, curled onto my lips.
"Sin Archbishop of the Witch's Cult," I whispered. "Representing Pride... Ethan Caldwell."
A warmth spread from my core.
From my Authority.
The star burned just a little brighter as I tied the title to my name.
'You like titles?'
I shrugged mentally. 'I guess I do too. And yeah… Sin Archbishop. It does go pretty hard.'
But no matter how cool the title sounded, the Cult itself was a black box.
What little I knew didn't exactly paint them in a good light.
Reinhard had mentioned they attacked villages, leaving few survivors.
Even back on Earth, cults never came with a good connotation.
And here? With magic, miasma, and the Witch of Envy?
No chance in hell they were just a bunch of misunderstood loners.
They called themselves the Witch's Cult.
They worshipped her.
And that monster had once tried to erase the entire world.
Still… maybe there was another path. Something cleaner. Safer than joining a cult.
This was all just theoretical anyway.
'What was it I said during Reason and Judgement?'
'Speculation will get us nowhere.'
Right.
I stood and stepped out of the bath, water streaming down my skin in warm rivulets.
My body felt better.
Still sore, but no longer screaming.
With some sleep, I might actually feel human in the morning.
Drying off and getting dressed was a chore. And by the end of it, I was left standing topless, staring at my still-bloody undershirt, and slapped with the truth that I had no backup clothes.
'Fuck. Should've asked Ram for a shirt. Massive blunder.'
I glanced around the bathing room uselessly. No magical dressers. No conjured wardrobe. Just me and the consequences of my poor planning.
Letting out a huff, I got to washing.
It took twenty minutes of hand-scrubbing at the tap before I finally muttered, "Fuck this, it's good enough."
'Now for the second phase of my genius plan.'
I moved over to the driest corner of the chamber and laid the shirt on the tile.
Was this insane?
'Probably not as crazy as casting a fire spell in front of a child with little experience.'
Was this stupid?
'Maybe. I dunno.'
A fireball flared to life in my palm, heat licking at the air. I flipped my hand palm-down and hovered the flame over the shirt like I was roasting laundry over a campfire.
'Nobody ever said I was the smartest guy around.'
I kept the heat steady for five minutes before cutting the mana and inspecting my work.
No ash.
Dry shirt.
Except for the left sleeve.
A quick wave of another fireball sorted that out.
Now I had a shirt that was dry, questionably clean, and entirely wearable.
'I'm a literal genius.'
Smirking as I slipped it on, I made my way out of the bath chamber with a bounce in my step. I'd washed off. I'd soaked. I'd spiraled over my life. Now all that was left was collapsing into bed and dying for eight hours.
'Maybe my life ain't so bad after all.'
The walk back was quiet.
No maids popped out screaming.
Rem didn't jump me with holy water.
Subaru didn't burst from his room to say something dumb.
Click.
Door closed.
Now then. Is this paranoid as hell?
'Yeah. Probably.'
I walked to the corner of the room and picked up the lone cuck chair, then wedged it under the doorknob. Stepping back, I stared at it.
'Should I do more?'
I took my sword off my hip, slid the sheath under the bed, and left the hilt poking out for a quick grab. Would it help? Who the fuck knows.
Next, I checked the arm bag I'd stashed under my pillow.
Inventory:
– Thirty-five holy gold coins
– A pair of brown leather gloves
– A dagger
– A piece of moldy cheese I hadn't noticed before
'Incredible.'
I slipped the dagger under my pillow, bagged up the rest, and stripped down to just my shirt and underwear.
Because let's be real… who the hell sleeps with their pants on?
Tucking myself under the covers, I kept the lamp on, hugged the bag of money and moldy cheese like a body pillow, and let sleep take me.
Author's Note:
A little bit of a slice of life chapter for once. Just Ethan and his thoughts.
When's the last time any of you got to lounge around in a hot bath? Writing this chapter made me realize it's been years... all I do is shower nowadays. Maybe I should go take a hot soak myself.