"We finally found you!"
Before Rem could pull Tsukasa out of the alley, several familiar voices sounded from the alley entrance.
In stark contrast to the narrow, dim alleyway, the main street outside was bathed in the high-hanging sun, the sunlight so intensely dazzling it felt like it would scorch one's vision.
Standing with their backs to that brilliant light were Emilia, dressed in a white robe, and Subaru, who looked utterly helpless beside her.
The moment she saw Tsukasa and Rem safe and sound, Subaru's tightly furrowed brow visibly relaxed. But at the same time, she nervously twisted her black hair ends with her fingers, her expression filled with the unspoken thought, 'As expected, something went wrong again.'
"Yo! You guys made it?"
Tsukasa, acting as if he hadn't noticed their worry, raised his hand first and greeted them in a casual tone.
Although the method of reunion was a bit unexpected, it was nice that it saved them the trouble of waiting.
Just then, Tsukasa raised an eyebrow slightly. His Six Eyes captured a figure with a noticeable presence right behind Emilia and Subaru, clinging close to Emilia's shadow. Judging from the feedback, it was a rather sturdy male.
"Oh my? Has our Emilia been hit on again?" He stretched his body and pointed a finger at the vague figure next to Emilia, his tone clearly teasing.
Hearing this, the dark lines on Subaru's forehead deepened several layers. She quickly walked over to Tsukasa and slapped him on the back, her voice full of exasperation. "Hit on, my foot! What in the world are you thinking about all day?"
"Miss."
The sturdy man whom Tsukasa pointed out as the "hustler," asked Emilia beside him in a strange, 'old man' sounding voice, "Your companion... is he missing a few screws in his head? Is he really okay?"
"Huh? What did you say?"
Hearing this, Tsukasa's expression immediately soured, and he was about to stride toward the man.
"You cut it out right now!" Subaru quickly grabbed his arm tightly.
At this moment, the sturdy man voluntarily stepped forward, moving out of Emilia's shadow and exposing his full appearance to everyone.
What drew attention was the helmet covering almost his entire face—jet black, finely constructed, and possessing an ominous sense of enclosure.
He wore a gray cloak over a rough linen shirt and trousers, and on his feet were socks and something resembling sandals.
Most peculiar was the weapon hanging behind his waist: a massive blade.
This mix-and-match, yet highly impactful, outfit alone was striking enough.
Tsukasa scrutinized him from head to toe, not bothering to hide the disdain on his face. "That getup of yours... your taste is atrociously bad. Do you need this great master to teach you what aesthetics are?"
"Don't worry, Tsukasa,"
Subaru interjected, her tone equally helpless, "You're not the only one shocked by that outfit. Lia and I were genuinely startled when we first met him."
"That's right."
The man donning a helmet seemed completely unfazed by others' judgments, instead chuckling merrily.
"Their expressions when they met me were priceless, truly adorable. But hey, we're all poor souls who lost a companion, so we teamed up to help each other look for people."
He casually stated the reason for traveling with Emilia and Subaru.
"Huh? A guy who looks like you loses people too?"
Tsukasa's suspicion slipped out. "Don't tell me... you're actually a human trafficker?"
"Brother, you shouldn't throw accusations like that around." The burly man waved his hand, his tone still flippant.
Just as Subaru was getting a headache and preparing to forcibly end the increasingly ridiculous squabble between the two—
An arrogant female voice sounded from the depths of the alley, as if hitting the pause button on the farce.
"Hmph. Waiting at the location designated by me is barely a passing grade, Al. You are worthy of praise."
Everyone's gaze instantly followed the sound, focusing on the orange-haired girl in a blood-red dress who slowly emerged from the shadows—Priscilla Barielle.
Hearing Priscilla's condescending praise, the burly man, known as "Al," scratched the back of his jet-black helmet, a motion that looked somewhat comical.
'Oh dear, honestly, I can't deny the feeling of having accidentally and coincidentally gotten lost.'
'But saying it out loud would definitely displease princess, wouldn't it? What a pain. Forget it, I'll just obediently claim this credit for now.'
He turned to Priscilla and replied in a slightly comical tone, "Ah, yes. Just as princess wisely pointed out, your humble servant was indeed waiting here for your arrival."
After speaking, he took a few casual steps and stood beside Priscilla.
"Oh?"
Tsukasa watched this scene, crossing his arms and displaying a knowing, yet teasing, smile. "So you, this arrogant Princess, actually have a retainer? But still..."
His gaze swept over Al's strange attire. "Just like your mistress, your taste and style are quite unique."
Al seemed half a beat slow in reacting to the teasing, then chuckled and waved his right hand. "Young man, that's quite a thing to say. Even if princess didn't have a retainer, she's still immensely powerful, alright? As for me, I'm just... well, an errand boy? Or maybe a mood setter?"
From the moment they met until now, all of Al's movements, whether waving, scratching his head, or walking, only used his right hand.
The reason was simple: the left cuff of his linen shirt was empty, swaying gently in the breeze.
This man had lost his entire left arm.
A single arm, a face-obscuring jet-black helmet, and clothing as crude as a vagrant's that completely clashed with his intimidating "appearance"...
These elements combined to create an extremely contradictory yet unforgettable presence.
Judging solely by his voice and the hard-lined contour of the lower half of his face, which wasn't covered by the helmet, he was likely more than ten years older than Tsukasa.
However, neither Emilia nor Subaru could easily regard him as a "senior" worthy of respect.
This was likely consistent with the aura emanating from his outfit—a frivolous, casual, even somewhat cynical attitude.
To put it nicely, he was someone who made people lower their guard and feel close to him. To put it harshly, he was an unreliable "weird old man" lacking in seriousness.