"I see, I understand the situation."

A woman tilted her glass and licked the white trace from the thin rim with her tongue. Her name was Elsa. Each of her gestures was tantalizing, and while Felt was explaining the situation, Subaru was constantly flustered by her frequent sidelong glances.

"So, that's the negotiation to jack up the price. I don't care who takes the emblem; I’ll sell it to the highest bidder."

"You have quite the personality, I don't dislike it. — So, how much did that gentleman offer?"

Ten holy gold coins, that was the amount they proposed. Naturally, since it was a competition, they assumed he had offered more than that. Deciding that a hesitant attitude would be a disadvantage here, Subaru activated the camera function on his phone three times. The flash lit up the storehouse and captured an image of Elsa on the screen.

Elsa slightly raised an eyebrow at Subaru's actions, but showed no further reaction. He showed her the screen and said,

"I'm offering this magic device. It's probably a one-of-a-kind rare item in the world. According to that muscle-headed old man, it's worth no less than twenty holy gold coins."

"A magic device..."

Looking at her image on the screen, Elsa nodded in understanding in front of the phone. She seemed to realize that Subaru’s barter wasn’t a bluff. She then took out a small leather pouch from her breast pocket, presumably containing the holy gold coins as payment. She placed it on the table. The heavy sound of metal coins rubbing against each other could be heard through the pouch. Felt's pupils narrowed like a cat's, while Old Man Rom restrained her. Subaru was waiting for her next move and Elsa clasped her white fingers on the table.

"Actually, my client has given me a bit of extra money. If you were hesitant, I was considering offering a bit more."

"A client... does that mean, Elsa, you were also just asked to take the emblem, like Felt?"

"That's right. The one who wants it is my client. ...Are you, by any chance, in the same business?"

Subaru, who wanted a badge in exchange for the magic device, seemed to arouse curiosity in Elsa.
Even when asked if they were in the same business, it was hard to tell what Elsa's profession was.
Since she was asked to come and retrieve it, it felt like she was some kind of delivery service. In any case,

"If you're in the same line of work as me, that means you're unemployed!"

"And the unemployed guy set a huge price. How much do you think your master would price you at?"

At Felt’s provocative tone, Elsa silently opened the mouth of her bag.
What tumbled out of the inverted leather bag were holy gold coins that shone a dazzling silver-white light.
At the sound of clinking metal, Felt’s eyes sparkled, and even Old Man Rom made a slight grumbling noise. Subaru, on the other hand, was more focused on counting the coins than their brilliance.
If the count was correct—

"Exactly twenty coins."

"These twenty holy gold coins are everything my employer gave me. It seems they appraised you as being worth that much... but it might be a bit tight."

The question was directed at Old Man Rom over Felt’s shoulder.
After counting the holy gold coins, Old Man Rom glanced down at Subaru, who was looking uneasy, and laughed.

"Don't make such a childish face. It's unseemly for a man. ...Indeed, twenty holy gold coins is an exorbitant reward. However, I did say it wouldn’t be less than twenty."

His large, rough hand ruffled Subaru’s short black hair roughly.
Already feeling hungover and now being shaken didn’t do Subaru’s mood any favors, but

"In my estimation, this negotiation will sway in Subaru's favor. I feel sorry for you and your employer, but you ought to put the coins back in the bag and go home."

At Old Man Rom's words, pushing back the holy gold coins with his calloused hand, Subaru's worst mood flipped into utter joy.
Felt raised her hands in agreement, and Elsa, too, shrugged without much sign of disappointment. Subaru's reaction, standing up and making a fist-pump, was a bit over the top.

“What’s wrong with that! Come on, it’s fine! I’m happy! This is like, my first real accomplishment here! So a little fist-pump, come on!?”

“No one’s really saying anything, you’re just overexcited, bro. As long as I profit, it's all good with me.”

"My employer shouldn't particularly mind even if it isn't at hand. There's no need to be that persistent."

While Felt was teasing the blushing Subaru, Elsa, who had gotten to her feet, remained calm.
It wasn't that he had been expecting a sore-loser line of surrender from the negotiations, but he was bothered that she didn't seem particularly concerned despite not completing the job.

"Ah, sorry, Elsa. I guess I'll probably get scolded or something, huh?"

"It can't be helped. Unless it's my fault, in this case, it's bad that the employer tried to minimize expenditures."

"To say twenty gold coins isn't enough means little consolation."

"Well, my good fortune was just overwhelming! Has my era finally arrived?"

Unlike the sympathetic men towards Elsa, Felt's attitude was thoroughly oblivious to the atmosphere.
In any case, it's fair to say that the negotiation, which had been troubling Subaru, was now settled.
That was also a hopeful step towards repaying the debt to Satella, who first helped Subaru in this world.

Originally, Subaru should probably tell Satella about Felt, who stole the insignia, and Elsa, who ordered the theft, but the actual damage was limited to Satella's mental stress and Subaru's cellphone.
They had only talked a little, but Subaru did not have the strong spirit to feel like throwing them into jail.
This was the epitome of opportunism.

"Well then, although the negotiations ended poorly, I'll take my leave now."

Everyone saw Elsa off as she stood up.
After finishing the remaining milk and licking it up with an overtly sensual tongue movement, Elsa fixated her gaze on Subaru as if suddenly remembering something.
Her black eyes locked onto Subaru's chest, as if strangling him.

"――By the way, what are you planning to do with that insignia once you have it?"

It was a low, emotionally frigid question.
The sweet tone reached him as if to forbid falsehood, assaulting Subaru's eardrums.

"...Ah, I'm going to return it to its original owner."

After he said it, Subaru realized his blatant slip of the tongue.
In front of the girl who had stolen and the person who had hired her to steal, he declared that he would return what was stolen to the one from whom it had been taken.
It was a declaration equivalent to a proclamation of hostility.

"――So, you're involved then."

――It carried enough meaning to prompt Elsa to realize her cold murderous intent.

"Uu――!?"

A sudden impact from the side.
The blow around his waist made his body slide sideways, and Subaru rolled pitifully on the ground without being able to brace himself.
Among the pain, shock, and spinning vision, he reflexively hit the ground and when he lifted his face, he found Felt clinging to his waist as if hugging him.

"What are you――"

"Are you stupid!? Dodge, are you trying to die!?"

The insult that should have followed was drowned out by a louder yell.
Subaru, showing surprise, looked upward from his low posture and saw Elsa standing there facing them.

"Oh, you managed to dodge it."

Elsa tilted her head looking puzzled.
In her hand, a mismatched weapon was held, glinting dully.

――Kukri knife, Subaru's knowledge matched that to the weapon.
A knife nearly thirty centimeters in blade length, the blade was folded in a curve, a type of sword commonly referred to as having an inward curve. He had heard it described as a weapon that could cut through its target with the weight at the tip like an axe.

Brandishing that blade, Elsa wore the same smile as before.
Judging by her stance, the blade had been swung once. If so, it was Felt who had jumped in to protect and save Subaru from its trajectory.

The fact that his life was determined by a momentary exchange beyond his consciousness caused a delayed horror to race through Subaru’s mind.
Alarm bells rang out, his heart rapidly pumping blood like a pounding drum. Feeling as if his entire body had become a heart, he couldn't stop the trembling in the arms that supported him.

Despite Subaru's pathetic state, the situation continued to unfold.

"Oooooooo――!!"

With a roar, it was Old Man Rom who leapt at Elsa, brandishing his deadly blade. He swung the club, which he hadn't let go of during the negotiations, aiming to crush Elsa's skull with the spiked weapon. The speed at which the club was swung was extraordinary. Wielding a blunt weapon weighing no less than ten kilograms like a twig was truly a feat made possible only by the brute strength of a giant.

The club struck the ground of the warehouse directly, creating an illusion of the entire building shaking from the impact. Shattered wooden planks from the floor and scattered stolen goods were blown away by the shockwave, and an extraordinary battle exceeding the bounds of common sense began right before the eyes of a collapsed Subaru.

"It's my first time fighting a giant."

"Don't be ridiculous, little girl. — I'll turn you into minced meat and feed you to the big rats!"

The sideways swing of the club indeed had the power as declared by Old Man Rom. If the speed and force of that weapon were to combine, any half-hearted defense would be no better than a paper shield. Inside the confined space of the room, where escape routes were limited, a single hit from that club posed a deadly threat.

However, facing that brutal strength, Elsa's skill was equally in the realm of the extraordinary. While swaying the kukri knife dangling in one hand, her dark silhouette circled smoothly within the lethal storm. In the face of a weapon that would surely kill if it hit, she dodged by a hairbreadth, confusing Old Man Rom as she evaded.

This is bad, Subaru instinctively thought. If this goes on, something decisively wrong is about to happen.

"This is bad..."

"Relax. There's no way Old Man Rom will be beaten! Ever since I can remember, I've never seen him lose a fight!"

Only able to voice his trembling anxiety, Subaru was countered by Felt, who shouted her trust with a momentum that seemed to encourage herself. Her words were filled with an unshakable trust built up over the years. The relationship of mutual respect they had, despite their banter, must have been forged over a considerable period of time. But unlike Felt, who shouted her trust, Subaru was pessimistic. This wasn't the kind of 'fight' she had seen up until now. This was a 'fight to the death.'

"—Take this!"

Before Subaru's anxiety could take shape, a change occurred in the battle.

Old Man Rom let out a roar and kicked up the table. The wooden table, which had served as the stage for negotiations just moments ago, was smashed into pieces, scattering wood fragments and completely obscuring Elsa's view.

It was a curtain of broken wood.

Towards the other side of that curtain, Old Man Rom hurled his club with all his might.
The full-force strike, coming from above, had enough power to crush even a car. However,

"—Old Man Rom!"

Felt's anguished scream rang out from her throat.
Subaru saw the result of that scream.

Spinning and flying through the air was Old Man Rom's right arm, still gripping the club.
The thick and sturdy arm was severed from the shoulder, spinning through the air, showering blood, and smashing against the wall.
Subaru and Felt were drenched from head to toe in the rain of blood that splattered throughout the room. But there was no time to focus on the fresh blood.

"At least, I can take you down with me—!"

With his right arm severed at the shoulder and blood pouring out as if from a hose, Old Man Rom hurled his massive body forward, aiming at Elsa with his remaining arm, ignoring his wound.
The shattered table pieces fell to the floor, and beyond them, Elsa stood in a stance after swinging her blade.

It was faster for Old Man Rom's massive body to crush Elsa's slender frame than for the Kukri knife's blade to flash.

Such a fleeting yet desperate charge by Old Man Rom, risking his life,

"I forgot to mention—thank you for the milk."

was thwarted by the flash of a broken glass held in Elsa's other hand.