Naoki Number Two.
The entity of memories separated by Naoki.
After Merry and Ritsuka mentioned him, everyone finally realized he had disappeared at some point. In fact, thinking back carefully, it seemed he had vanished since the previous battle.
"Did no one notice he disappeared?"
[You definitely wouldn't have noticed, because you were fighting at the time. Actually, I didn't notice it myself back then. I only realized it when compiling information later. To be able to escape from so many people, even undetected by Naoki, it seems Naoki Number Two is hiding a lot else.]
Naoki possessed surveillance Magecraft capable of monitoring every inch of Britain's land. Except for the Land of Shadows, anything that happened on this island of Britain, he could know precisely.
However, he showed no surprise at all regarding Naoki Number Two's disappearance...
"Does Naoki Number Two have a way to hide himself?"
[Who knows? But at the very least, ordinary disappearance Magecraft won't work. I don't believe Naoki's surveillance Magecraft could be fooled by just disappearance Magecraft—well, let's not talk about this for now, we can interrogate him properly after we catch him.]
[The key point is what he mentioned before—about the contract between Naoki and the World.]
Naoki Number Two once said that the reason Naoki could possess nearly infinite Mana was because he signed a contract with the World, exchanging the Holy Sword left behind forever and discarding his self from Proper Human History for nearly infinite Mana.
And as long as Naoki retrieved the Holy Sword and took back the self from Proper Human History that he had separated, he would instantly weaken to his normal condition.
That is, the Naoki they saw most often.
Although in that state Naoki's power was still equivalent to a Divine Spirit, at least he was far, far weaker than now. Weak enough to be defeated, requiring only a few people to unite and overcome him.
[The Holy Sword is carried by Naoki Number Two, and he himself is the individual separated by Naoki. We just need to find him and have him reunite with Naoki.]
After that, the action of destroying the throne could proceed smoothly.
"That means, we have to find that person first now... But where is he?"
[Why not just ask directly?]
"Ask... You mean ask Naoki?" Aoko frowned, "Will Naoki tell us?"
[Don't worry, he wouldn't refuse to tell something that minor, and I think he himself is quite curious about the existence of his other self.]
The solution Merry provided made everyone smile wryly, but what she said was true. At least from Naoki's attitude, such a small favor shouldn't be a problem, as long as they hid their initial intention well.
"No, that's not right. Hiding our intention won't work." Okita raised her hand. "Master seems to always use mind-reading Magecraft. Even if we don't tell the truth, he'll know immediately."
[Don't worry about that, I actually left a Magecraft seal on all of you. Later, I'll use an illusion to help hide it.]
Merry said while laughing, uttering words that made everyone's blood pressure rise slightly.
A Magecraft seal?
On everyone?
Aoko: "You really do a lot of things without us noticing, Merry!"
[Hehehe, force of habit. I'll help you remove them later, for now just leave them be. Who knows, they might come in handy?]
"Tch! After we get back, I'll settle this with you properly!"
"In that case... I won't participate in this operation."
At this moment, Rei suddenly raised her hand and spoke.
Hearing this, the others were momentarily stunned.
"Sister, you... why say that suddenly?" Ayaka asked, confused, "Even though Naoki will—"
"I said, it has nothing to do with me."
Rei laughed: "I am Master's puppet, given life by Master. My goal in coming to this Lostbelt was to bring Master back to Proper Human History. But now, even if I do nothing, I can still return to Proper Human History with Master, so of course I don't need to take any action."
"Are you serious?" Aoko frowned deeply, "Naoki plans to destroy the entirety of Britain."
"Yes, I know, but that has nothing to do with me." Rei said in a natural tone. "Aoko, is it because we've been together for so long that you've forgotten? Originally, I was also a woman prepared to kill all humans in the world for Ayaka's sake. Just a small island, it's none of my concern."
"You—!"
"Besides, the memory erasure Master mentioned doesn't apply to me either. After all, my essence is a puppet; backing up memories isn't difficult. As for marriage with Master, I think that's easier to achieve—In short, Ayaka and I see no need to destroy the throne. We will not participate in this operation."
After saying that, Rei stood up and walked towards the exit.
"Oh, right, of course, I also won't help Master fight you all. After all, we've been sisters for many years. I will observe completely from a third-party position. See you later."
"W-wait, Sister, wait for me a moment!"
Ayaka hurriedly stood up to chase after her.
Watching the Sajyou siblings leave, the air in the room fell silent for a moment, then Angelica also stood up and walked towards the door.
"Wait a minute, Angelica, are you the same as Rei?" Aoko called out to her, "You all... really don't care about our world—"
"I think it's fine."
Angelica replied.
"I am a puppet who has lost over ninety percent of my emotions. What sustains me is Natsukawa-sama. Therefore, following Natsukawa-sama is my sole purpose in life, even if he wants to erase my memories. Please excuse me, everyone."
"..."
Under everyone's gaze, Angelica also left the room.
With this, two people had left the room. Ayaka should return later, but losing Rei and Angelica, two key combat forces, might make things difficult later...
"There shouldn't be anyone else wanting to leave."
"I actually wanted to." Arcueid, who had been quiet until now, raised her hand, causing the hearts of everyone present to skip a beat. But Arcueid quickly lowered her hand while laughing, "But I won't actually leave. Although I'm not interested in your idea of protecting Proper Human History's society, I want to properly thrash the current Naoki, so I'll help you."
"If you left, we'd truly have to give up." Aoko broke out in a cold sweat, "Then, let me confirm once more, everyone here besides Arcueid wants to stop Naoki, correct?"
Stopping Naoki, protecting Britain in Proper Human History.
That was essentially what they wanted to do. Even though he was someone they loved, they couldn't simply let him destroy Britain and subsequently become an enemy of the world.
Seeing everyone nod slightly, Aoko breathed a sigh of relief.
"Then, let's start preparations now."
"The sooner the better, before the problem grows bigger."