Chapter 192: Astonishing Wisdom! Hehe, hehe...

Meanwhile, on the other side of things, it was absolute chaos—

On the high ground, beneath the shade of a towering ancient tree, one could look down and take in the entire flower garden below, a riot of blossoms in full bloom.

But none of the people who had laid out picnic blankets here to wait had any interest in admiring that spectacular view.

They were all staring intently down at Natsuki Subaru and Emilia in the center of the garden, unwilling to miss a single detail of how the two interacted.

“Ooh, looks like they kissed, they kissed!”

Suddenly, the oni girl Reize—who had already rested up back in her room at the manor and regained her spirits—lay sprawled at the edge of the cliff, slapping the ground and shouting excitedly.

Earlier, Ram had helped her to an empty room to rest, but it wasn’t long before Rem came to ask Ram whether she wanted to go along with that human man on his outing.

At first Reize hadn’t been interested at all—perhaps the only thing that could have stirred any enthusiasm in her disheartened state was the chance to go kill members of the Witch Cult.

But then Rem had told her sister that the man was going out on a date this time, and Reize instantly perked up!

Her wisdom made her realize at once—this might not just be a simple outing, but a perfect opportunity to learn the preferences of the man named Natsuki Subaru!

The thought left Reize feeling a bit heavy and downcast.

The reason she cared so much about Subaru’s preferences was that, back in the manor’s dining room, her earlier behavior might have left him with a bad impression.

That simply wouldn’t do! She needed something from him, after all!

So she had to learn about the man’s tastes and preferences, then cater to them!

And that was exactly why she’d gotten so worked up just now upon seeing Natsuki Subaru and Emilia kiss!

Because her world-class wisdom had finally confirmed it—her earlier assessment of Subaru back in the dining room hadn’t been wrong at all!

With that thought, Reize secretly glanced over at Rem, who wasn’t far away, staring down at the garden below as if entranced.

On the surface Rem looked perfectly calm, but the way her small pink fists were clenched tight betrayed the turmoil underneath.

This woman was the real, legitimate wife who had actually been married to that man!

And yet now, she could only stand by like some powerless wife, watching that human man carry on with another woman!

As if having such a beautiful wife wasn’t enough—he had to go hug and kiss another woman right in front of her!

Truly, a sight to make men fall silent and women weep!

See? Wasn’t this exactly the “lecherous devil” she’d called him before?

At the thought, a proud, satisfied smile crept onto Reize’s lips.

But then again, if he weren’t like that, what opportunity would she have?

A man exactly like that, and yet he’d turned down her offer of herself back in the dining room—wasn’t that just saying no while his body said yes, pure face-saving nonsense?

A gleam of wisdom flickered in Reize’s eyes—she was certain she’d seen through the truth of it all!

If that was the case, then why not just tell Subaru privately? If no one else knew, surely he’d agree!

Or, if she were feeling even bolder—just assume he’d already agreed, and sneak into that human man’s bed at night. Then he wouldn’t even get the chance to refuse!

Reize’s eyes lit up at once, inspiration striking her all of a sudden—what a brilliant idea she’d come up with!

Just as Reize was busy congratulating herself, on the other side, perhaps because she’d been stared at for too long, Rem suddenly turned her head toward Reize, and their eyes met.

“Eep?!”

Caught red-handed with her own inner scheming, Reize froze stiff, letting out a short, faint yelp.

“Reize? Are you all right? You look a little pale—does something hurt?”

Rem blinked in surprise upon seeing it was Reize; she’d turned her head on a whim just now, never expecting it was because Reize had been staring at her the whole time.

But being looked at a couple of times was no big deal, and Reize wasn’t a stranger, either—they were of the same kind, and maybe she’d just been spacing out.

With that thought, Rem’s gaze softened. Toward this girl of her own kind, who in a past life had transformed into Black Tia and attacked her out of a misunderstanding, Rem actually felt a bit guilty.

Even though it had all been a misunderstanding, when Reize had transformed into Black Tia and lost her reason, becoming a threat, Subaru—for the sake of Rem, who was pregnant and about to give birth, and for the sake of the unborn child—had ultimately chosen to kill Reize.

So in this life, the gentle Rem hoped to look after and care for this girl as much as she could, as a way to make it up to her.

“It’s nothing, nothing…”

Faced with Rem’s gentle gaze, Reize’s heart was in turmoil, mixed with a growing sense of guilt.

Rem was… so pitiful, too! Even though that man had been stolen away by the silver-haired half-elf, she still forced down her sorrow to worry over her.

What a wonderful sister of her own kind, caring for her so much—and yet just now she’d been thinking such things about her. How shameful!

Reize silently berated herself, and then, moved by gratitude, quietly set a new goal in her heart.

She would help Rem snatch Natsuki Subaru back—out of the clutches of that silver-haired half-elf!

And the method, without a doubt, would be the brilliant plan she’d just come up with. With her charm, surely she could bring that fickle man Natsuki Subaru down in a single strike!

“Hmph, when is Subaru ever going to be done, I suppose? It’s already been exactly twenty minutes, fifty seconds, and fifty-five hundredths since Betty was last with Subaru!”

Betty was sitting at the edge of the cliff at that moment, her little feet dangling in the air, sulkily plucking petals off the flower in her hand one by one.

After everything she’d experienced in the viewing space, Betty was even more unwilling now to be apart from Natsuki Subaru for even a single second!

The sight of Subaru suffering over and over in those visions had wrenched her heart, and on top of that, everyone around him kept piling on pressure—sometimes even she herself… had added to that pressure on Subaru.

It felt as if the whole world were ganging up on Subaru.

But! Even if the world—even if Od Lagna himself—really were targeting Subaru, she would still stand firmly by his side!

Because they were the greatest partners in the whole world!

But…

The excitement that had just been bubbling in Betty suddenly drained away, as if doused with cold water, and she pouted unhappily.

But even though she and Subaru were the best partners in the world, they couldn’t even be together right now, I suppose!

How annoying!

Betty crossed her arms, puffed out her cheeks, and turned her head away in a sulk.

“Ah, Su-san’s in for a rough time after today.”

At that moment, Halibel, seated cross-legged on the towering tree behind everyone, stroked his long, slender wolf-like muzzle and sighed.

Out of a killer’s—or perhaps a ninja’s—instinct, he had unconsciously chosen this spot as his hiding place, one with enough cover and an open enough view.