Arc 6 “Memory Corridor"

Chapter 12: "The Watchtower's Baptism"

In an instant, the throbbing and burning pains were all gone, and Natsuki
Subaru returns.

"―――"

He wanted to praise himself for not screaming at the scene before him.

After the second "Return by death", Subaru had returned to the flower
gardens surrounded by the beasts again; he earnestly thought so, closing
his mouth with hands in panic.

"Chitchchachichi"

In a place dominated by the violent scent of flowers, what could be heard

was the sound of Meili clicking her tongue.

Stealing the attention of the Oiran bear standing in front of the dragon
carriage by shaking her fingers silently and letting out this sound from
her lips. Holding their breath, everyone was watching it.

Just a few minutes ago, he watched this same scene, this was the 2nd time
he was brought back at this time.

―are you kidding me?

Subaru's brain starts spinning at a high speed while trying to get the
picture of the events that happened to him.

He needs to switch his focus immediately. He had to forget that just a

moment ago, countless demon beasts chased after them, ending up in gore and
bloodshed. But before that happens, he had to deal with what was in front
of him.

The problem in front of him, right before his eyes.

He could hear something that sounded like calling a kitten. The actual
situation was totally different than that, but that thought was hindered by
the smell of flowers.

Smelly, sweet, noisy, annoying, itchy, painful, hot, which one was the
correct word to describe it?

"...?"

The more he thinks about it, the more it stresses his brain, but no
concrete solutions come to mind.

His brain can not keep up with the discrepancy between the current
situation and the situation that he had been experiencing up to now. Subaru
desperately tries to adapt to "now". He felt a little push against his
chest.

"―――"

Looking down, it was Beatrice’s small body leaning on his chest.

As Subaru completely embraced her against his chest, she looked up slightly
to show that he should be gripping the reins instead of her. Perhaps he
caught her in the immediate shock after "Return by death".

― He remembered the last "death", he remembered Beatrice's crying face and

tears.

"-hgh"

That's right.

This was the third time that Subaru had reached this situation.
He died here twice. The first time he had no clue how he had died, but the
second time, he could picture that death to some extent. But his suffering
at the moment of death was not clear.

Feeling like his internal organs were melted after simmering in a pot -
that feeling.

―- No, that should not be the priority. Now, the priority should be,

"Chitchchachi ...Chi"

Just as Subaru’s thoughts caught up to his second "death", Meili

successfully drew the attention of the Oiran bear. Following the clicking
of her tongue and movement of her fingers, the demon beast slowly diverted
its gaze from the dragon carriage and was guided to the right hand side.

There would be no problem if the Oiran bear leaves just like this. However,
Subaru knows that this won't be the case.

"――――"

Right next to the Oiran bear who was moving away, stood an earth dragon -
Gyan’s breathing was wild.

The pressure of facing the demon beast so close and the scent of flowers
that continues to spread violently - two kinds of pressure torment the
calmness of the earth dragon, which would make it snap abruptly.

If the earth dragon makes a noise, the swarm of the agitated demon beasts
will attack all at once. If so, it would result in nothing but a repetition
of the previous two “deaths”

"――――"

However, no one could notice the agitation of Gyan, except for Subaru.

Even Julius, who held the reins, also has attention unconsciously diverted
from the earth dragon, concentrating on the threat of the monsters in front
of them. Therefore, Subaru was the only one who could deal with it.

But how to deal with it?

He couldn’t speak. It was impossible to quickly approach and touch it.

There was a big risk in calling out to Julius and making him calm it down.
Before that, if he couldn’t make a decision right now, he wouldn't be able
to make it in time. What should he do――?

"――――"

Then, in the last seconds, Subaru closed his eyes.

If he can’t think of anything in this moment, he decided he would call up

Julius. Reviving back into his brain, he recalled the last two "deaths",
the onslaught of demon beasts and the light of the Watchtower..

At the moment of the second "death", he remembered that he was being held
by Beatrice, who cried and said, "Don't leave me alone."

Subaru: “Beako, I love you."

Betty: "...?"

He hugged her small body from the back and whispered those words in her
ear. Beatrice was surprised at the sudden expression of love, but the hand
over her mouth didn’t allow her to shout.

Instead, Subaru extended his "hand" towards Gyan at the front-right

corner.

The "Hands" which had gently caressed and wiped Beatrice’s tears just
before his "death".

― Invisible Providence.

Though, as his mouth was too busy confessing his love with a whisper, the
name of that technique was chanted only within his heart, unfortunately.

Just then, in the center of Subaru's body -a different sensation from when
the link with Beatrice drains his mana permeated from him- something dark
is summoned, arousing a silent cry.

Summoned into this world by an unspoken shout, the “Unseen Hand” of “

Sloth” comes forth to aide Natsuki Subaru in achieving his goals.

"――――"

The black hand that was created slowly manifested in this world from Subaru
’s chest. Of course, its existence cannot be seen by anyone except for
Subaru. As he was embracing Beatrice, the "Unseen hands" just went through
her, and it seemed like they did not make any unintended contact.

While admiring that fact, he could feel that something in him was being
drained away each second. Whether it was his soul or sanity, Subaru does
not know. However, he couldn’t take too much time if he doesn't want to
have to call up Julius.

The black magic stretches out to Gyan’s neck, who seemed like he was about
to roar at any moment. The palm slowly stroked his thick neck that was
coated with thick scales.

The big earth dragon trembled from being touched by someone, but somehow
his instincts probably felt that there was no hostility in that touch. The
earth dragon settles his rough breath and relaxes his body.

Julius: "- huh?"

Then, as Julius also noticed Gyan’s reaction, he pulled the reins and
calmed the earth dragon to his earnest. As expected from Julius he
skillfully handled the earth dragon, noticing its agitation, with what
could have otherwise been devastating.

Seeing that, Subaru immediately cut off the connection with the "Unseen
Hand". When the black palm is deprived of freedom, it dissipates in an
instant, and disappears into the parched wind of the sand sea, as if
nothing had happened.

"wow...fuh"

After dodging that bullet, Subaru took a long breath of relief.

At the same time, he felt like a dark black cloud was stuck in his chest,
and he wanted to vomit. Of course, things aren’t so easy. That sense of
loss is the price he paid for using the Invisible Providence, and it
remains engraved in the soul.

Thus, Subaru thinks about the feeling of loss being gouged in his chest.

Invisible Providence: The cost of using the “Unseen Hand”, the feeling of
loss and breathlessness due to its influence, is clearly "easier" than
before.

The first time that Subaru used the Invisible Providence was when he had
fought Garfiel in Sanctuary.
At that time, Subaru, who had unleashed his power in a feverish manner, was
attacked by this sense of loss and drunkenness that made half of his body
feel unstable.

It gave him a feeling of disgust to think of the opponent who used that
same power before Subaru, and it was no excuse that the incident happened
after not being able to beat Garfiel in the first place.

It was a strange ability-- rather, authority, that endlessly intrigued

Subaru with the dangers of using it, as well as the circumstances that made
it available to him. Therefore, he had never thought to actively use this
force until now.

Subaru's “Invisible Providence” has no power or flexibility like the

original "Unseen hands" of that madman. At best, wiping away tears or
stroking the head is all he can muster.

The cost is too expensive if he has to pay with his soul, but he thought
the only means was to meet it halfway.

Subaru: "It's not like I've gotten used to it."

Shaken with a feeling of loss and disgust, Subaru felt more anxiety than
relief.

It's always good to have more cards in your hands, is what Subaru
theorizes. But it doesn't mean that possessing multiple pairless jokers in
“Old Maid” would do you any good.

Of course, it would serve as the best hand of cards in other games.

Subaru: "uhuh."

Betty: "...just now, what have you been doing, I suppose?"

Subaru: "Oh? What...?"

As Subaru let out a small shriek amidst his worries , a grumpy voice
suddenly appeared.

It was like, if you were to open your eyes to see what’s happening, you
would see a face in front of you, as your eyes would meet Beatrice’s
eyes.

And that Beatrice looked quite unusual.

Subaru: “Beako, what happened to your head and dress?."

Betty: ". . . It's the result of Subaru being glued to Betty's hair and
clothes all the time. I wonder why I have to suffer such a humiliation!"

Subaru: "huh, me?"

In front of Subaru, who was tilting his head cluelessly, a furious Beatrice
was trying to hide the anger in her voice.

Her splendid drills were jumbled, and both the delicate dress and the white
cloak to protect the dress from the sand wind, were arranged eccentrically
and running at the forefront of fashion. It is a state-of-the-art pattern
that no one has ever thought of.

Betty: "- Your lack of self-awareness is irritating! You were very worried,
I suppose, but then it went on and on and on and on and on...That's enough!
...Do you even remember saying those words of love?"

Subaru: "No, I remember that. Beako, my LOVE is true."

Betty: "hmp!"

To those candid words, a red-faced Beatrice completely covered her head

with her cloak.

He really wanted to admire that unfamiliar cute appearance, but right now
he can’t play with Beatrice.

As a result of Subaru's unspeakable efforts, Gyan will not make a fuss and
will try to resume the march of the dragon carriage with Meili's ability.
However, Subaru goes through the gap that opened between the Oiran
bears and brought Patrasche close to the coach.

Subaru: "Julius, Meili. Let’s make a temporary retreat ― things are

bad."

It was because of the two "deaths" that he proposed a rework in their

strategy.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※

Meili: "I'm disappointed in you, big brother. It was only a bit tense, I
didn’t want to run away so soon"
Ram: "After all, Barusu is still Barusu. I thought after becoming Emilia-
sama’s knight, he would be a little better. But I guess a person’s
character doesn’t change that easily. Pulled out too early."

Subaru: "There’s no harm in just re-enforcing a safety measure!"

After somehow running back from the flower garden and returning to the
meeting place which they set up after breaking through "Sand Time", Subaru
was being stabbed with strict criticism for making the decision to
withdraw.

First, it was Meili who had successfully tamed the Oiran bears and opened
the way towards the tower, and then the second was Ram who had been stuck
by the window in the dragon carriage, prepared for any emergency
situation.

Subaru, who stopped the dragon carriage and requested a face-to-face

meeting on the sand, was shrinking as he was cornered about stopping their
progress on just his own opinion.

Emilia: "But, I don’t think that Subaru's judgment was wrong. Even if we
got reeeeally far through the flower gardens, I think that it’s still the
same situation as a little while ago. If we did that, you wouldn't have
been able to get out like we did now.

Meili: "Big sister doubts my ability? You believe big brother more than
me?"

Emilia: "We've come this far. I believe in both of them. But it is my

opinion that I especially want to believe what Subaru says. Sorry."

Subaru: "E・M・M ..."

She is EMILIA・MAJOR・ GODDESS, who fights against Meili's childish

rebuttals and puts her heart into it. Subaru puts his hands together, and
beside him, Beatrice fixed her messed up clothes and hair.

Betty: "So what do you intend to do after all? If you don’t trust the
mabeast girl, it is too reckless to pass through this flower garden, I
suppose. ...even if I had to, I wouldn't have been able to annihilate the
whole herd of this kind of beast, but that’s not the case."

Emilia: "If only Puck was here, oh well... I guess I’ll try my best?"
Subaru: "I really want it to be the last resort. And even if you completely
annihilate the Oiran bears here, I feel that other monsters will fill the
gaps and it will become an infinite loop. What do you say, Meili?"

Meili, who was by the water, pouts and turns her face away.

The girl crouches down, putting her chin over her knees, like a little
child,

Meili: "Whaaaat is it?"

Subaru: "From what we heard, it's unusual that the flower gardens would be
a territory for only Oiran bears. To put it bluntly, even if the bears aren
’t around, other demon beasts will fill their places"

Meili: "........It may be right, or it may be not right."

Subaru: “Which is it?”

Meili: "Yeah, what big brother said is right. But what are you gonna do?"

While affirming Subaru's point of view, Meili questions him back.

Receiving her dissatisfied look, Subaru frowns, and Julius shrugs his
shoulders.

Julius: “I understand Miss Meili's point. Subaru's worries are justified,

but there is nothing to be gained just by fretting over unexpected
situations. If we could predict what would happen and deal with it, we
wouldn't call it 'unexpected'."

Subaru: “Even so, just leaving it all in the hands of divine protection
and rushing in without thinking, is a different story. Or maybe I should
say, that proposal would be very out of your character. That's more like
Garfiel’s role.”

Julius: "Naturally, I would never suggest such recklessness. We should

decide what to do after a constructive discussion. Whether we proceed or
return, that is."

Just like before entering the flower gardens, Julius said this, raising his
two fingers.

As Subaru snorted at the gesture, everyone started to think about the

situation.
Ram: "What if Barusu acted as a decoy to lure out the demon beasts? Then
while they chase after him, we find a gap for us to break through."

Subaru: “United we stay!"

Ram: "Ram and the others will be safe, and we can set out to cure Rem. It's
a good idea."

Subaru: "I’ll be devoured!"

Emilia: "Still, I’ll work reeeeally hard to fight for everyone and
such..."

Subaru: "Emilia-tan, this is an unexpectedly meat-headed reaction."

Emilia: "Meat... Headed...huh, what are you saying suddenly? It's

embarrassing"

Subaru: "It's sudden for me! This doesn’t match the unconditionally
praising Emilia-tan?"

Julius: "Leave it to miss Meili’s divine protection, and we will advance

through the flower garden until the point we can... When we have reached
the limit, we will launch a preemptive attack and rush to the Watchtower.
It’s a powerful gamble."

Subaru: "I can’t explain it, but it will fail. I can't explain it, but I'm
sure"

Julius: “Hmm... You say this as if you have an absolutely certain basis."

Subaru: "Ah, I don't know. I can't say that for sure."

It is tough to dismiss the progression strategy without touching on the

forbidden subject of “Return by death”.

And in the discussion that seemed somewhat lacking in progress in terms of

the strategy, Subaru tried his luck with what he had noticed.

Because he had to prioritize Gyan’s shock, then afterward the retreat from
the flower gardens, he forgot to sort out the cause of those two "deaths"
which actually got him back in the first place.

The first time it was too sudden, and the second time it was a mess, and he
couldn’t say very clearly - but the cause of both of Subaru’s deaths was
related to the fact that the tower in front was glowing.
Subaru: "That tower glows, is there anyone else seen that ?"

“The Watchtower glows...?”

At Subaru’s question, everyone tilted their heads with surprised faces.

Subaru groaned at the poor response and that no one saw it. It's kind of
obvious.
Honestly, Subaru saw that light at approximately the same time of his
"death". If that light really had a killing intention, then those who saw
it would not live to tell the tale.

The secret attack that was carried out to kill him, he should think about
that" sounds really better to me.

Anastasia: "Natsuki-kun, you saw the tower glowing?"

Subaru: "What? Ah--, I might be mistaken, but I think it might have

lightened up."

Anastasia: "When did that happen?"

Subaru: ".....When I was in the flower garden, I think?"

He replied to Anastasia’s inquiry in the form of another question.

However, because there was a situation in the flower garden where he could
not raise his voice, it didn’t seem suspicious that he had kept quiet
about the tower’s light. Since Subaru saw the tower’s light both times
around when he activated "Return by death", it could also be risky to touch
the subject in this case.

For a second, he feels sorry that he can only report the truth in irregular
bits--

Subaru: “If the tower lights up, doesn’t that mean The-Sage-in-The-Tower-
san was watching us?”

Anastasia: “Not necessarily, it's night time too, it wouldn’t be strange

to use a light.”

Emilia: "I see. If “The Sage” noticed us, it may be a good idea to let
him know that we don’t mean any harm."
Except, since Subaru was so ambiguous about his argument, Emilia’s
thoughts went in a completely different direction. Of course, it is a
journey to seek friendly contact.

If the cause of the light is the Sage, it is natural that such an opinion
arises.

But to Subaru, who knows the light is anything but friendly, this would be
the same as running towards a cliff.

Subaru: "Wait, let’s try to sort out our information for now. And then let
’s decide whether or not to get in touch with the sage."

Emilia:"Sort out our information?"

Subaru: “Yeah, organize. Because, you know, it's all there. That light is
not necessarily a sign of life from the sage. It’s more, uh... There's a
possibility of it being a dangerous, searchlight-like light, isn't there?"

Emilia: “Search...light..."

Anastasia: "In other words, Natsuki-Kun suspects that the light he saw is
from a defense mechanism that the "Sage" has planted?"

Subaru: "That's it!"

While Emilia is in her head trying to figure out a word that she wasn’t
used to hearing, Anastasia/Scarf-dona gets to the true meaning of Subaru's
words. And hearing that and pondering, is Julius. The Knight murmurs, “Is
that so?” under his breath.

Julius: "I don't know whether the Sage has been alive for hundreds of
years, or if it’s only exaggeration. Might there be some legacy left
behind by the sage that still works as a device to protect the world?"

Subaru: "Oh, oh... I didn't think so far ahead, but it's possible."

Julius: "If that's the case, it would assume for convenience that everyone
approaching is one who schemes to resurrect the “Witch of Envy”, even
Royal messengers from the Kingdom. It has been a long-standing mystery as
to why the Sages, who were supposed to be friendly to the Kingdom, would be
as violent as stories told."

In Julius’s words, it sounded like he was somewhat relieved, and Subaru

admired that "So there’s also this way of thinking ?"
Indeed, if the defense system was prepared and left behind by the sages,
even after the death of its master, it would still refuse intruders. It is
not so strange for such a system to exist in a magical world.

Subaru: "If that’s the case, I want you to give me a break because this
trip will be a waste..."

Ram: "If the Sage is dead, but there is any information or documents left
by the Sage, it would be good too. It’s still too early to leave the world
in despair, Barusu."

Subaru: “I’m not gonna let Nee-sama’s bullying manner get to my head."

If Julius’s speculations are correct, the whole foundation of this journey

will be undermined. But even against such a possibility, Ram's
determination does not shake. As one would expect.

Anastasia: “In any case, to keep watch for hundreds of years without
rest... Although in no way realistic, I don’t know if it’s even possible.
Besides, I don’t think there's such a need to be disappointed about
whether the “Sage” Shaula is dead or alive.”

Emilia: "Really? Why?"

Anastasia: "If you are a long-lived species, it’s not particularly

surprising to be alive even now. Echidna’s birth itself was hundreds of
years ago."

Pulling out the white scarf from inside her robe, Anastasia laughs. In
response to that Emilia immediately touched her pendant, thinking of Puck.

Emilia: "Oh, my Puck also lives a long time. I'm not losing to that
Echidna."

Subaru: "Why are you competing, Emilia-Tan? Well, my Beako is quite a loli
granny too. Right?"

Betty: "Do you think Betty will just laugh and answer that, I suppose?
Disgusting."

As Beatrice sneers with anger, Subaru shrugs.

When the conversation diverted from the subject, Ram claps her hands.

Ram: "The Sage being dead or alive is not relevant to the discussion.
Leaving that aside, the problem is the true identity of the light that
Barusu saw. Whether that is dangerous, or just the illusion of Barusu’s,
we have to reach a conclusion."

Subaru: "Sooner or later, it won't be very doubtful whether the contents of

my report are true or false, to all of us."

Ram: “It's not about deciding if it's a lie or not, Ram will concede on
this matter."

It might be that, if they don’t reach a general agreement, there won’t be

any progress.

In any case, the discussion ends up returning to the subject of the true
identity of the light.

Subaru: “I..I think it’s dangerous. At least not friendly."

Julius: "And the basis is, just intuition?"

Subaru: "...Well, that's right."

Julius: "Right... That’s troublesome."

The light of the Watchtower - Subaru was convinced that it was the cause of
both of his "deaths", but it is very difficult to convey that fact. So, he
thought it would be impossible to use "intuition" as his reason, but
surprisingly, Ram seriously considered the reply.

And not only Ram but Emilia and Julius too.

Subaru: “Eh? Just on my intuition? Aren’t you more suspicious??"

Emilia: "If this was just a hunch, I think so, but it is Subaru's
intuition, right? In that case, it makes more sense to think about it than
to doubt it suddenly."

Julius: "Don't be so self-deprecating. You've been through this kind of

hopeless situation already, haven't you? There is a certain kind of
intuition that only works for such a person. To put it in other words, it's
sort of a rule of thumb....It's by no means something to make light of."

Ram: "Like when field mice change their territory before heavy rain. Barusu
’s intuition can’t be fooled."

Subaru: "It's just stupid enough. . . . . .Is that what you’re saying?"
Like a reflex reaction to the poisonous remarks thrown his way, Subaru’s
shoulders relaxed a little.

Not being able to reveal the source of his information, even to those close
to him, is an absurd reality. Subaru had come across the same situation
many times, but each time he was saved by the concern and trust of others,
in the same way, over and over again.

Rem in the royal capital. Otto and Ram in "Sanctuary". Emilia and Beatrice
in the city of Pristella. They all believed in Subaru, in what he was. And
so,

Subaru: “Even if you want to call them out friendly, there’s no way to do
it. If you even make a loud voice, Bear-san will come to welcome you before
the sage does.”

Julius: “That is something I want to avoid. Then, the realistic means

should be sending Emilia-sama's magic... Or so it seems..”

While looking towards the Watchtower, Julius stretches his right hand and
closes one of his eyes.

It's a gesture like a painter trying to figure out a distance. Then staying
like that, silently thinking for a moment,

Julius: “Roughly, from here to the Watchtower is around ten kilometers -

from the front of the flower garden, it is not a realistic range to cast
Emilia-sama’s magic.”

Subaru: “By the way, how far can you cast your magic Emilia-tan?"

Emilia: “The distance? Well, I haven't tried to measure it before, so I

don't know...But I don't think it can reach the tower from here. It will
disappear before it hits."

The silhouette of the “Watchtower” from this point is clearly closer than
the silhouette that was visible before the "Sand Time". In fact, closer
than they were after crossing the distance of the flower gardens.
Even so, the plan to aim at the tower from the front of the flower gardens
was not realistic.

Subaru: “In the first place, if you could pass just by sending a message,
Reinhard would be able to do it. Being that guy, it’s like.....couldn’t
he make a magical attack that could cover the distance way beyond 10
kilometers?”
Julius: "There is no way of knowing that, except asking him, Reinhard
probably didn't pass through "Sand Time" point when he challenged this
trial. Until now, we've only reached so far because our Miss
Anastasia...no, because Echidna knew the way."

Subaru: "Is that so?...ah, shit. Don’t you know anything more?"

As the proposal is rejected, Subaru points to Scarf-dona with a melancholic

voice. Then, playing her part as Anastasia, Scarf-dona appears skillfully
handling the muffler concealing her state,

Anastasia: "I don't know what to say. There was a road to go on the other
side of “Sand Time”, and it was an unprecedented achievement just to be
able to claim so. Shouldn't you give me more credit?”

Subaru: "We’re the first to get here, is that it? Knowing only half the
way off memory, like you are giving directions to the newspaper stand. That
’s a tough job. "

Anastasia: “Hm, you have a point.”

Subaru spouted a rude theory, but Scarf-dona didn’t try to refute it. The
Scarf fell silent and that pondering attitude also passed onto Anastasia.
Then, Anastasia raised her face suddenly,

Anastasia: “That's right. But now, it seems it’s better to sum up the
things we know at the moment.”

Subaru: “The things we know -- So...."

Anastasia: “Natsuki-kun’s light of the tower, as well as the supposed

danger of it, the extent of the demon beasts’ flower gardens in front of
the tower, the three “Sand Times", and... Is there something else?”

The information that Anastasia listed had all been established so far.

It is important to build a path and pave the way to a conclusion. Subaru

folds his arms and recalls the journey so far and the dangers he saw, for a
while.

Subaru: “Now, this is the place that we came to after choosing to cross
the "Sand Time" of the night. Then, it became too much of a burden on the
dragons to pass through that flower field. And then, it seems Meili kept
silent that she was bringing a monster along with us.”

Meili: "huh!?"
Subaru says while counting on his fingers, and Meili’s shoulders raise up
in a panic. At seeing the blatant reaction of the small girl, everyone’s
eyes turned to her.

Meili: “Wah-, wait, wait. Yes, big brother is right, but...How, how does
big brother know that?”

Subaru: “Guesswork. It was just a leading question.”

Julius: "Still, it seems that Subaru's imagination was right. ― what will
you do?"

Julius, in a quiet voice, asks about the procedure for Meili’s betrayal.
Hearing that attitude, Meili’s face turned pale, but Subaru didn’t want
to make matters worse.

Stopping Julius with his hand and fixing his eyes on Meili,

Subaru: "Don't worry. I'm not talking about scolding her. I understand it’
s just your insurance. Still, it was just a suspicious factor."

Meili: "Do, do you want me to let it go? Then, you won’t be angry?"

Subaru: "There's no need to let it go. If you think you need one, please
keep it. If we’re surrounded by a group of Oiran bears, or chased, it
would be a great help."

Meili: "------"

Thinking he must be joking, Meili widened her eyes and just nodded. Just to
be sure, Subaru looks back at Julius, who has yet to loosen his vigilant
eyes,

Subaru: "That's what children do. Let’s give her a pass.”

Julius: "If it is a child that can only be handled properly, I also do so

with my full power. However, the girl’s power is too strong to simply
trust and let her go. Even more so in the land of Augria, which can be said
to be the garden of demon beasts."

Subaru: "Even so. We’re all sharing the same Dragon Carriage, so please
get along."

When Subaru says so, Julius hesitates a bit and then stops going for his
sword.
Then, instead of the silent Julius, Emilia raised her hand.

Emilia: "So, Subaru. Let’s continue the talk from earlier."

Subaru: "Yes, yes. I'll go on."

Emilia: "When it comes to passing through the flower gardens...What do you

plan to do? Do you want to try the same thing with another “Sand Time”
and try out a different place?"

Subaru: "On the other hand, though.... Just a second, there’s something
I'd like to try."

Emilia: "Something you want to try?"

Emilia, who had no idea what Subaru was thinking, tilted her head in
confusion. Copying Emilia’s tilted head, Subaru turned his eyes toward the
flower gardens - the sea of flowers surrounding the Watchtower.

Of course, he couldn't see the end of it―

Subaru: “If the flower garden has an opening somewhere, at least we won't
have to worry about being targeted from all sides. Whether there is an edge
like that or not, it’s worth a try, right?”

※※※※※※※※※※※※※

―And so, their plan had all the participants going to check for the
existence of any edge on the flower gardens.

Julius: “If moving in separate groups, getting lost would be devastating

Besides, it won’t be sensible to advance in the immediate vicinity of
monsters without Miss Meili's assistance.”

Julius's point gained everyone’s unanimous approval.

Subaru also agreed on this and decided to give priority to safety rather
than convenience alone.

Subaru: "Well, I’d like to start departing soon, but..."

Everyone prepares to depart, getting on their respective dragon carriage or

earth dragon.
If they make the rule to always keep the Watchtower’s silhouette on their
right side, the party can make sure they are following North.

However, whether the rules of East, West, North, and South still work in
the dunes, is a different story.

Subaru: "When you calmly think about it, this whole place is also a strange
case of space-time distortion. If by going through the "Sand Time" you
arrive here, it’s somewhat similar to “door crossing”……"

Betty: "I don't know what Subaru is trying to say. The application of "door
crossing" surely distorts space, and makes the physical distance vague, I
suppose. Betty set up Subaru into it once, too."

Subaru: "You did, to me? When?"

Betty: "......I'll never forget it, on our first encounter, I suppose."

Subaru: “First encounter...Oh! In Roswaal’s mansion, when I cleared the

corridor that seemed to be an infinite loop! I'm sorry about that. Even
though you prepared it so hard, I’ll do my best not to do something like
that again. . . . . . Sorry?”

Betty: "You seriously apologizing for it is seriously frustrating! Forget

it, I suppose!"

Subaru: “You reminded me....”

Betty: "Tch-! That's it!"

Riding with him, Beatrice was getting somewhat angry, Subaru had no choice
but to take on the difficult task of handling the peculiar girl. For the
time being, he held her in his arms and calmed her down, commanded
Patrasche to walk towards the dragon carriage, and then

Subaru: “Are you ready there?”

Julius: "Without a problem. After that, Emilia-sama would like to do one

thing."

Emilia: "That's right."

Nodding to Julius, who had finished his preparations on the carriage’s

coach, Subaru looked up at the roof. As in their march into the flower
garden, Emilia’s position is still fixed on the roof of the dragon
carriage.
Subaru raised his hand to Emilia, who seemed enthusiastic while standing
high, and asked her to create a "Landmark" just like earlier.

Subaru: “Emilia-tan, please here. For the time being, this is our base
camp. Be as quiet as possible…...like, without disturbing the demon
beasts"

Emilia: “Okay, understood... If I wake up a demon beast with this, all the
trouble we went to being all quiet back then would be meaningless, right.
So, quietly, quietly, quiet--ly.”

Subaru slowly moves his hand gesturing to go slowly, and Emilia mimics it
while before their eyes, a tower of ice rises up from the sand floor.

It seemed like they were right in their judgment that it would proceed
quietly, in fact, the ice tower was built slowly and gently, and he could
not hear the usual sound of tensing in the air. A few parts came out
looking a bit weak, but it had a fine finish, and seemed to be able to
fulfill its role safely.

Emilia: "Is it okay?"

Subaru: "O.K. No problems. As expected, Emilia-tan!"

Giving the anxious Emilia a big ‘O’ and ‘K’, Subaru peeks in the
direction of the flower beds. There were concerns over if the demon beasts
would be able to sense mana activity, but fortunately, there was no signs
of any movement other than the sweet scent of nectar flowing from the
flower gardens.

Actually, it seemed quite dull.

Subaru: "Even now I wonder, why they pretend to be a flower garden...? If

they want to camouflage themselves, don't you think a desert is a strange
place to do it?"

Betty: "Demon beasts aren’t expected to have that much intelligence, I

suppose.. They’re simple, can't do anything except what is carved into
their instincts, and they think of nothing else. Animals are just like
this, I suppose."

Subaru: "I see. Very interesting―"

Beatrice’s makes a bitter evaluation at his bosom. Nodding at those words,
Subaru diverted his gaze to the flower garden and aimed to give the order
to their departure --and he noticed.

At the edge of his field of vision that looked towards the flower garden, a
change took place, something was different in the flower garden.

The Watchtower glowed.

Subaru: “--Emilia!!”

Emilia: "...!?"

This time Subaru raised his voice and called out to Emilia on the roof.
Hearing the urgency in his voice, Emilia held on tight to her position.
But, the effect of light exceeded it.

"...hk?"

Making a violent sharp sound, something hits the ice tower, and smashes it
to pieces.

The ice tower, which was long, thin and about ten meters tall, was nothing
but fragile. However, as if destroying a sand castle, the attack broke the
ice with ease, and reduced it to mana.

―Again, he couldn't see it. But, he understood.

Subaru: “I knew that light would attack――”

Betty: “Subaru! Next one is coming!”

While his body is bathed in crushed ice fragments, Subaru turns his neck to
Beatrice's call. Immediately after that, the Watchtower shines again, as
thought.

The light's next blow was aimed at Subaru.

― The light approaches at a speed that does not even allow them to blink,
and it targets his vital points with its single blow.

Its devastating power is already known to Subaru, who had died from it.

Therefore, the moment his brain detects that it has been targeted by the
light, "death" has already been determined.
"――――"

The light attacked, aiming straight for Subaru's forehead.

It is "death" itself, killing its prey without a sound, only leaving behind
a skewing wind. Natsuki Subaru is once again, at his wit’s end, about to
be killed in cold blood.

Subaru: “E. M. M”

Betty: “I suppose!”

―in this case, Natsuki Subaru was not the only one who was aimed at.

The sound echoed, and the attack that should have hit Subaru, misses.

The cause is simple: Subaru’s strength surpassed the power of the attack.

"E. M. M" is one of the three original spells Subaru developed with
Beatrice.

This particular one is “Absolute Defense Magic”.

During the activation of E. M. M, Subaru will not receive any interference

from the outside world. It is the result of applying all of Beatrice's Yin
magic skill and knowledge into manipulating time and space in a limited
area around Subaru.

Subaru: "I know the effect is similar to that bastard’s, but I kinda feel
weird...ah!?"

Regulus, Sin Archbishop representing "Greed", could stop the effect of time
in his body by the transferring of his heart.

E. M. M can be said to be a downsized version of that ability. However,

there is no harmful side effect like stopping the heart, and you can be
invincible as long as one’s mana is not exhausted.

In this situation, though, it's nothing more than buying some time.

Subaru: "But, ugh!? Just buying time? I’ve got important things to
do!?!?"

Betty: "Hey! Subaru, what are you screaming for!? Are you okay, I
suppose??"
Behind Subaru, Beatrice's worried voice yells as she shields them. It was
like this because even though they were being defended, sound and shock are
still transmitted.

After activating E. M. M, the light of the Watchtower seemed to wonder why

Subaru was not dying even after being hit again and again, so it kept
bombarding him with consecutive attacks.

Subaru: "Oi!? uf!? uh!?"

The speed of the rapid fire and the accuracy of its aim were
extraordinary.

Although the pain and shock passes right through Subaru's body,
unfortunately, it is human reflex to react with a yell when something hits
him.

Emilia: "Subaru! It’s already...eh!"

Watching Subaru being showered by a concentrated attack, Emilia tries to

cover him from atop the roof.

Looking to protect Subaru from the Watchtower’s attack, a thick and

enormous ice barrier is raised from the sandy ground. Perhaps, the toughest
defensive wall Emilia could create in an instant.

It was a shield from the attacks that were being shot at Subaru without any
other aim, but―

Emilia: "No way!?"

Julius: "Even the ice walls do not stand a chance!"

Emilia lets out a shriek and Julius a startled cry, as they could see, the
ice wall was crushed in one shot.

That unbelievable power--was not the only reason. The ice wall was struck,
but somehow weakened the light enough to avoid it hitting Subaru. A lot of
it bounced back and struck the sand, which blew up in a white smoke.

If you look at Emilia’s damaged ice wall, it was melted rather than
drilled.

Emilia: "Heat? Did the heat... melt the ice?"

Julius: “Something fell to the ground....a needle?"

Looking at the effects of the attack, Emilia and Julius get different
conclusions at the same time.

In the meantime, the attack continues. Subaru was assaulted by a staggering

amount of attacks, and even though he was in an invincible state, it was
exceeding their limit.

Betty: "Subaru! There's a problem!"

Subaru: "I’m listeni--ah! But I can’t--ugh!”

Betty: "If things keep going the way they are, we’ll be running out of
mana very soon, I suppose!"

Subaru: "Already!?"

Betty: "It’s almost over!"

At Beatrice’s cry, Subaru grinds his teeth while still being shot at.

Of course, what Beatrice means to say is not "Since mana is running out,
you should supply more, I suppose." but "Since mana is running out, we
should counterattack, I suppose."

Subaru: "Can you do it?”

Betty: "What a foolish question, I suppose!"

Beatrice doesn’t even answer his question.

Hearing the response of his trusted partner, Subaru loosens his jaw as he
prepares himself.

Subaru: “The third is incomplete. . . . . . . Let's go with the second

one!"

Betty: "I'm going to deactivate E. M. M right after it hits!"

There was no time.

Subaru looked at Emilia, Emilia looked at him and nodded. There was no time
to discuss concrete measures. But he believed it was conveyed.

Subaru: "-hkk!?"
The light sets off, and again Subaru suffers a direct hit. Because E. M. M
is activated, the attack will not reach him - it will be canceled.

Each of the original spells is a trump card that can only be used once a
day. Upon releasing E. M. M, Subaru will lose its protective function
against that light.

And they'll have to fight back before the next one reaches――,

???: “The light--!”

As if it could read Subaru’s actions, the next strike of light was even
faster.

So far, the speed, power and frequency are obviously meant to finish off
Subaru. Naturally, with Subaru's paper-thin defense, only one shot would be
enough to send him out of this world if it hits directly.

And so,----

Emilia: “Stop!”

A vortex of magical power gets casted in multiple manners in front of

Subaru, and creates walls of ice standing on the sand ground. This time the
defense that was not limited to only one wall, but six sheets of ice walls
were made in the same time.

The light struck straight into that six-sheet defense. It went through the
first one simply, the second one with ease, the third one like it was
nothing.

However, there was a slight resistance on the fourth sheet, and the fifth
one almost managed to stand up. And in the sixth and last one, the speed of
light was clearly dulled. ― But could still go through it.

The light penetrated through the sixth ice wall, and was about to pierce
through the forehead of defenseless Subaru.

― Just before it hit, a Knight’s Sword draws a semicircle, catching the

light that had lost its speed and cuts it off.

Julius: "Unfortunately, there are a number of women who will grieve if he

is hurt――"

Rushing from the dragon carriage to them and striking the light with a
slash of his sword without minding the danger, is Julius.
Emilia's defense weakened it, and Julius stopped it.

Even though he is slightly jealous of the combined technique, Subaru’s

preparation is complete.

Subaru: "Let's go! The second! Absolute invalidation magic "E · M · T"!"

Lifting up the hood that protected him from the sand, Subaru opened his
mouth wide and chanted.

Then, hiding behind Subaru’s back, Beatrice drained mana from Subaru and
multiplied it with her own magical power to cast a new spell.

"――――"

In the next moment, a light expands around Subaru and Beatrice, forming a
spherical field of about ten meters, also encompassing the dragon
carriage.

It was transparent in appearance, equally wrapped themselves in a sphere of

light.

However, the effect is enormous.

Julius: “This is...."

In front of the astonished Julius, the Watchtower again radiates light. He

sees it at the corner of his eyes and takes up his sword at once, instantly
opening his eyes wide.

The light went straight ahead, aiming directly for Subaru, but the moment
it entered the field, it simply had lost all of its force. The overwhelming
speed that seemingly surpassed even bullets disappeared, and the only thing
left behind after losing speed and power was a strange white object, that
was long and slender.

It was easily brought down by Julius’s swinging sword, falling on the sand
and scattering away.

Subaru: "A Needle, huh?"

Julius: "Something like that. No, more than that, Subaru, this magic..."
Subaru: “Wait, Wait, Wait! There are heaps of things I want to talk about,
but for now we have to withdraw! Get in the dragon carriage right away!
Let's get out of here! We can’t take too long!”

Julius: ". .! Understood! Let's hurry!"

With the call of urgency, Julius jumps into the dragon carriage along with
his questions. He took the reins immediately, and the dragon carriage
turned over its head towards the "Sand Time".

It would be a suicidal act to go towards the Watchtower now. This was the
right decision and he had no choice but to believe it.

Subaru: "Let's go! Don't get too far from me! Stay within the light!"

Emilia: "Wah, Subaru, Wow! Even though the light’s firing. ...."

Clinging to the roof of the running dragon carriage, Emilia watches Subaru
with astonishment.

It seems like even though it has no effect, the light continues to target
Subaru. But no matter how many attacks it launched, the light will simply
lose its power as soon as it enters the E · M · T field, and fall into the
sand as it is. The invalidation is absolute.

Julius: "At any rate, it's a great power. Is this yours and Beatrice-sama’
s trump card of some sort?"

Subaru: "One of the trump cards! I'm not going to spoil it! For now, our
priority should probably be getting away from the Watchtower!! No,
definitely!”

Julius: "I think it is an application of Yin magic, invalidating the

effects of mana within the range? If that's the case, it's the natural
enemy of mages...... No, you're a formidable opponent for anyone who uses
mana to aid their skills."

Subaru: "I would say, it only seems to give a relative advantage, it doesn
’t make me stronger. I'll still lose in a fair fight against a strong guy.
This is the ability that I developed thinking of when I’ll give Ros-chi a
black eye."

It seemed Julius had genuinely praised him, so he felt a little better.

Of course, escaping from the attack of the Watchtower also brought him
relief, but in any case, it was nothing more than “letting his guard down
”".

However, it was probably impossible to predict what “letting his guard

down” would bring right now, even for Subaru, so no one could be blamed.

Emilia: "Subaru! Are we going back to the dunes in front the flower garden
this way?"

Subaru: "For just a short time, but yeah! We need to polish and refine our
countermeasure anyhow--”

Saying that, “Sand Time”, the way to their retreat, swirls in the sandy
wind----The moment E · M · T field touches it, the "World" breaks.

Subaru: "huh--?"

Betty: "Damn it, I suppose!"

Until then, Beatrice had been clinging to his body with relief at getting
through the attacks.

Right in front of her, the view of the nightly sand dunes was tore apart as
she watched, making her voice tremble.

Betty: "The distortion of space is invalidated by E · M · T!"

Subaru: “Eh?"

Betty: "It’s like you said, I suppose! The distortion here is similar to
Betty's “door crossing” in that house. In other words, the distorted
space will return to its original state!"

Subaru: "What does that mean--?”

Subaru's question does not go on to the end, only the feeling of Beatrice
clinging to him remains.

As it is, the "World" is torn and unraveled like paper, coming apart, and
the crack in space swallowed up Patrasche with Subaru and Beatrice, and the
dragon carriage with Emilia and the others.

Subaru: “NOT good..... Emilia!?"

Emilia: "Subaru――"
Thrown down into the darkness, Subaru cried out while losing any effects of
gravity.

He didn't know where the dragon carriage was. But he could hear Emilia's
voice echoing in response to Subaru's cry.

Subaru: “This is――"

Bad, before he could say it, he was thrown out into the other side of the
broken space...

※※※※※※※※※※※※※

"――――"

The boundary between the flower field and the sand sea was broken, and it
was seen that a small group was swallowed in it.

"――――"

From very, very far away, watching, a shadow wriggled inside the tower.

It walked away from the window, stepped onto the cobblestones, and went
down a spiral staircase.

Its steps were slow, but gradually became faster and more impatient.

Shadow: “---Found him."

And, as if it hadn’t spoken in many years, let out a cracking murmur.

Except, no one who heard it would be mistaken, it sounded absolutely

delighted.

Shadow: “Found him.”

That was for sure.

Arc 6 "Memory Corridor"

Chapter 13: "Mockery of The Sand"
― Space distorted, the world broke, and they fell straight into the rift
in reality that resulted from it.

As if it was made of fragile thin paper, the world was easily torn apart.

Swallowed by the distorted space, Subaru’s eardrums heard no sound, which

was in stark contrast to the magnificent visuals around him.

He only heard a voice screaming, as if someone was calling him.

Even that voice also faded away, and before long, he could not hear it.

The feeling of someone holding his chest also went missing, and the hands
holding him were tore away from each other, drifting apart far away.

With no one around, abandoned in this empty place, it seemed like he became
completely alone.

While being tormented by such loneliness and sadness, Subaru's

consciousness began slowly emerging.

And then――

※※※※※※※※※※※※※
Ram: "How long are you going to sleep? Get up, lazy Barusu."

Subaru: "aahk?"

Feeling something sharp poking at his side,Subaru got up screaming in pain

at the shock.

Having jumped up reflexively, sand falls off from all around his body.
Coughing, he spits out dirt which had gotten into his mouth.

Subaru: "ahk! thu! ptuu! Huh! What? What happened??"

Rubbing his eyes, he checks his surroundings as he stands up. With shaky
knees and a poor foothold, he gets up comically. Beneath his feet, the fine
grains of sand were laid just as before.

As his consciousness returns, Subaru could determine that this was an

extension of the Augria dunes. However, the view around him was not clear.
Because it was dark, really dark.

In the darkness where he can’t even see his own hands, Subaru's eye caught
the presence of a small artificial light.

Ram: "You can sleep so well in such an emergency, it's amazing. I’m
speechless."

A bitter voice hits him, and the owner of the light snorts.

What is emitting the light is a type of manastone, and the light is made of
processed ragmite ore and fashioned into a tool like a lantern. Looking at
the face illuminated by the light, Subaru raised his eyebrows.

Subaru: "...Ram, is that you?"

Ram: "Who else can you see? Rem? I didn’t expect such a lame answer."

Subaru: "......You and Rem look alike, but it oozes from inside that you
are not her."

In response to Ram, who seems harsher than usual, Subaru gives a bitter
reply. He took the lantern out of her and looked around with the light.

Subaru: "This place, where is it? What happened?"

Ram: "Ram also wants to know the whereabouts of this place. As for what
happened, it is three times worse than what Barusu can imagine.”

Subaru: "Does that mean you expect me to be an optimist? Do you look down
on pessimists?"

Ram: "In this case, I wonder which is better."

That reply was probably accompanied by a shrug.

Even if she is right next to him, it’s hard to tell Ram’s state in the
darkness, as the space illuminated by the light is awfully large. Perhaps
it seems that they are in some sort of hollow space.

Overhead, there was a slightly tall ceiling, joined with walls that
indicated the extent of its depth.

Subaru: "Can't feel any air flow, can't see the sky. You mean we were
thrown in somewhere...?"

Ram: "If Beatrice-sama’s words before we were separated are true, the
space distortion is the cause, right?"

Subaru: "Separated.......That's right, separated! Where are the others!?"

While listening to Ram’s disinterested and emotionless demeanor, his

understanding caught up with reality.

Subaru moved the light from right to left, seeking a figure other than Ram
’s in their surroundings. However, as he searched the illuminated space,
the figure that he desperately wanted to see was not reflected.

Ram: "As you can see, we were separated. Barusu’s nullification magic
tricked the Watchtower... As a result, it’s not clear, but maybe instead
of going into the right path, we were trapped in a distorted space-time
where we’ll wander forever."

Subaru: "What are you saying!? Why are you so calm? The combination of me
and you... It's totally randomly shuffled!?"

At Ram’s calm expression, Subaru’s face turns pale and he raises his
voice.

Beatrice’s cries, space breaking apart right before his eyes, and he
instantly remembers it. The rift swallowed Subaru and the others’ whole
party and dragged them into another space.
At that time, Subaru and Ram were both travelling along, but they should
have been in different groups. Subaru was riding Patrasche, and Ram was in
the dragon carriage.

Ram: "It seems that this separation does not take into account who you are
in contact with to determine who accompanies who. As soon as we entered the
rift, Ram should have been hugging Rem... But it turned out like this."

Subaru: "I was also supposed to be clinging to Beako. And yet I can’t find
her ..... I can’t see her..... No way, there’s only Ram here with me?
What kind of grouping is this..."

If the condition of that separation was not contact, then is there any
other reason?

This group was made up of eight. There is no particular common feature that
only Subaru and Ram share... Again, is it completely random?

Subaru: "No, I’ll postpone guessing the conditions for now! More than
that, we have to hurry and join up with everyone....... No! There’s
something even more important! Rem!"

Ram: "――――"

Subaru: "You and I are two, so it's still good. If any of the others who
were separated were with someone else, there’s still hope. But if there's
someone who's alone, and if that's Rem...... That’s awful."

Emilia and Julius, who single-handedly took on all the fighting power in
this party, were no problem.

Meili and Beatrice could also manage to get by alone with their respective
abilities. In terms of Anastasia/Scarf-dona, there is probably a trump card
used to fight back against "Lust".

Although less honourable than other ones, Subaru and Ram’s combination was
still manageable.

― But, Rem was a different story.

Unlike the others, Rem is unable to perform any independent actions by

herself.

Even if there is someone with her, protecting the perpetually sleeping girl
would turn any kind of undertaking into a Herculean task. And the worst of
all, if Rem was completely isolated from others, then “death” would be
the only thing awaiting her in this lonely sand sea.

Subaru: "It's important for us to meet up with everyone else, but the top
priority is securing Rem! I can't leave her in such a lonely place. That
much is sure....Not at all. Absolutely not.......!"

Ram: "...... Barusu."

Subaru: "Cause I said I'd bring you here.......Thinking that you might be
able to wake up if you meet "The Sage". It’s useless. Absolutely, shit,
just Rem.......!"

Ram: "Barusu, calm down. Even I will lose it now....."

Subaru: "Why are you telling me to calm down? Are not you worried because
Rem is missing from your memory!?"

Ram: "- huh! There is no such thing!"

Imagining the worst possibility, Subaru starts mumbling desperately about

the future, and counting up his regrets. Hearing Subaru speak, Ram could
not stand it and exploded.

She grabs the confused Subaru by his collar and presses him hard against
the sand wall behind him.

Ram: "Do you think you're the only one who cares about Rem? Don’t push it
too far, Barusu. Even without my true feelings, Ram is still Rem’s older
sister. Don't make a fool of me."

Subaru: "――――"

Ram: "......I can still slightly feel my connection with her. So, at least
for now she is ok. That much is certain, so settle down for the time
being."

It’s not like that face expresses any emotion. However, seeing the
unbearable unease and sadness in her eyes as she tried to appear calm,
Subaru loosened the tension in his shoulders. Ram also moved her hands.
Released from being pushed on the wall, Subaru looks down in shame.

Subaru: "...... My bad. I'm sorry. Really, I was the worst idiot right
now."
Ram: "Just about, as usual. If Barusu starts to reflect on his life, it’ll
take a whole day. Stop wasting our time."

Subaru: "...... Uh, my bad."

Experiencing Ram’s sharp tongue and emotional testimony, Subaru finally

lets out a single apology. Then he slaps his cheeks with all his strength,
getting back his fighting spirit.

Although Ram assured him that Rem was safe, the fear of her being alone
couldn’t be dispelled. Their situation will not change if they don’t
reunite with the others soon.

Subaru: "Anyway, let's rush this reunion. Ram, can't you use your
connection with Rem to work out her location?"

Ram: “It's difficult. That girl is asleep, so the only thing transmitted
is her heartbeat. There are other means of “clairvoyance”, but...They’re
not too reliable."

Subaru: "Why?"

Ram: "This sand dunes, it’s full of mabeasts, and there are almost no
ordinary animals or plants around. "Clairvoyance" is not able to borrow
their sights if its wavelength does not match with Ram’s. It doesn't
synchronize with the Demon Beasts. And at this time, Ram is only able to
borrow the eyes from Barusu’s earth dragon."

Subaru: “Patrasche? No, that should be enough. I want to check if

Patrasche and Gyan are with someone, especially if we can rescue the whole
dragon carriage."

Ram: "...... That, wouldn’t be very useful."

At Ram’s disinterested attitude, Subaru feels frustrated and tilts his

head, deep in thought. Now was the time to collect as much information as
they could to get reunited again.

And yet, he couldn’t understand why Ram was hesitating here.

However, before he could touch on the subject of her true intentions, an

answer appeared in front of them both.

Subaru: "...?"
Subaru sees a light pass by from the corner of his eyes, different from the
lantern he was holding.

Subaru shivered as he had a bad experience with light passing through the
edge of his sight, but the light that appeared was shaken by a gentle
movement, totally different from that.

The light gradually comes closer, and slowly the figures become clearer,

Anastasia: "Ram-san and Natsuki-kun, it seems that your discussion is

over?"

Subaru: “- Anastasia and Patrasche?"

Hearing the familiar Kararagi dialect, Subaru’s head slightly lifted up in

surprise. In front of him, holding the lantern from which the light that
Subaru saw emanated, and straddling Patrasche’s back, is Anastasia.

At Anastasia’s question, Ram bows as she lifts the hem of her robe on the
spot.

Ram: "Thank you for your consideration, Anastasia-sama. May I ask, how are
the surroundings?"

Anastasia: "I just checked all the way back, but I could not see any of the
other children. There are only three of us out here... and this sort-of-
girl."

Ram: "Is that so?"

Annastasia: "There is no use worrying about it. Although it may be a

pitiful fact."

Ram: "Thank you for your concern. Oh, I see... I shall do so."

To Anastasia on top of the Dragon, Ram responded politely. From the course
of the conversation, Subaru vaguely understood that Anastasia had been
looking around.

But even convinced of that, there was not enough information to understand
what was going on.

Subaru: “Hey, Ram. Weren't we the only ones here? What does this mean, can
you explain?"
Ram: "I don't remember telling you that Ram and Barusu were alone. Barusu
was the one who made that rash judgment of his own accord. Unsightly."

Subaru: "You were so worried about Rem you failed to mention it, is what
you mean, charming Nee-sama."

Ram: “huh--"

Hearing Subaru, Ram snorted her nose with her usual tone.

Subaru walks towards Anastasia while recovering from that attitude.

Subaru: “Regardless of any deception, it’s good news that Anastasia is

safe. I'm relieved.”

Anastasia: "Are you not confusing this “deception” with a

misunderstanding?? I would be relieved to learn that I am not alone.
Besides, Natsuki-kun’s earth dragon Patrasche-chan was a very helpful good
girl."

Stepping on the saddle, Anastasia carefully tries to get down off of

Patrasche. And Patrasche immediately crouches down to help her descent.

As expected, a proper earth dragon. It’s a handsome earth dragon. But it’
s a female.

Subaru: "No one else is hiding, right? It’s genuinely just the four of
us?"

Anastasia: "Including Patrasche-chan, there is no doubt that we are four

people. Emilia-san and Julius would have no reason not to come forth...but,
I don't know about Meili-chan."

Subaru: "She might have taken advantage of the commotion to run away,
huh... You don’t have to say it.."

Picturing the girl with braided hair in his mind, Subaru thought about
Meili’s options.

Just before being separated, Meili’s secret insurance for having a demon
beast accompanying them was exposed by Subaru. Subaru who "Returned by
death" actually knows that Meili’s monster served to protect the dragon
carriage, both from the Watchtower and flocks of attacking Oiran bears.
However, since that was an event that didn’t happen in this loop,
essentially, the only one who knows Meili’s reason for having the sandworm
follow them is the girl herself.

In this particular situation, having Meili escape the group and try to
leave the sand dunes alone wouldn’t be strange.

Subaru: "But, she won’t do that..... is what I want to believe."

Anastasia: "Expectations? Or should it be trust?"

Subaru: "Make what you will of it. Leaving that aside, how are the
surroundings?"

Setting aside the topic of Meili, Subaru asks Anastasia for a report on her
inspection. She put her hands in the sleeves of the robe and tilted her
head, saying, "About that, huh."

Anastasia: “Judging from what I saw, we are certainly in the sand dunes,
but... perhaps this place could be the underground."

Subaru: "Underground? How could there be an underground in sand dunes?"

Anastasia: "Under the sand of the dunes. A cave... More of a cavity, so to

speak, but the temperature is obviously lower than above ground, and the
air also feels heavy."

Subaru nods as the girl swings her robe in an appealing gesture, joining
the front parts to keep out the cold.

Certainly, the chilliness of the atmosphere felt here is far stronger than
the earlier setting. In a space with a tall ceiling where you can’t see
the sky, it was a suitable guess.

Subaru: "Underneath the dunes... I’ve got a bad feeling about this. I pray
that this isn’t a sandworm’s lair."

Anastasia: "Uh...... That’s....."

It's a possible scenario.

In fact, they have witnessed the existence of sandworms inhabiting the

ground, and given the enormity of the individuals employed by Meili, this
cavity is just large enough for it to be possible. Considering the ecology
of eyeless sandworms, this dark space devoid of any light would be an exact
fit.
Subaru: "I mean, this team seriously lacks combat power..... Me, Ram and
Anastasia, is this a special front of non-combatants!?"

Ram: “Emilia-sama’s own knight, proudly describing himself as a non-

combatant... This is hopeless.”

Subaru: "I’m just stating the reality. Without Beatrice, I can’t be so

conceited and rely on my whip skills alone."

In terms of everyone’s self-defense measures, this really was a group that

lacked fighting power. Restrained Ram and Subaru without Beatrice, to name
a few.

Ram: "By the way, what about Beatrice-sama? Do you feel any connection
relating to your contract?"

Subaru: "Unfortunately, my and Beako’s heart are strongly tied, but not in
a realistic sense... No, Beatrice said before that she could feel me, but I
can’t.”

Ram: “Useless"

Subaru: "Shut up."

As Ram sighs and looks away, Subaru discreetly zoomed his face closer to
Anastasia. As he murmured at her calm composer,

Subaru: "So, can you fight? What do you say?"

Anastasia/Scarf-dona: "If it comes to it, of course I’ll fight no matter

what. But it will shorten Ana's life. I’d like to avoid it as much as
possible. I would be relying on you guys."

Subaru: "Those expectations will probably not be met. I don't know if

that's a good thing or bad."

For a moment, Subaru snorted at Anastasia, who appeared as Echidna.

Then, looking at Patrasche, who quietly awaited for instructions, Subaru

stroked the tip of her nose with his palm. The jet-black dragon kept silent
and nuzzled Subaru with her hard scales.

Subaru: “It hurts, it hurts, but... It's a relief. Without Emilia or

Beatrice...... But I'm relieved to have you. Except, it still doesn’t make
a complete group reunion."
Ram: "- Barusu."

As he was sharing his anxieties with Patrasche, at Ram’s call he looked

back at her. Then, Ram crossed her arms while facing Subaru and jerked her
chin towards Anastasia.

Ram: "We can't stand here forever. Let's move to meet up with others.
Fortunately, thanks to Anastasia, we have light. Ram and the rest will
proceed."

Subaru: “Oh.......I didn't know, the light was brought by Anastasia."

Anastasia: "Just before the dragon carriage was swallowed, I could only
grab the emergency bag that was prepared by Natsuki-kun. Thanks to you, I
was able to bring in the light, a knife, and some emergency food."

Anastasia pointed at Patrasche, where a small emergency bag was hanging on

the saddle. It is literally the equipment that Subaru had prepared for the
dragon carriage as an "emergency take-out".

Even if such opportunity doesn’t occur to use it, he felt relieved that he
had thought of it.

Subaru: "You shouldn’t have made fun of the wit I have in hand, after
all... From now on, let's not forget to check the emergency door at any
place where we will stay for the first time."

Ram: "Jokes aside, it is Barusu’s hand. So, I will give you a light as a
reward, please lead the way at once."

Subaru: “Huh...... This is reward?"

Passing him the lantern, both Ram and Anastasia get on Patrasche’s back.

This scene, regardless of how you see it, puts Subaru in the position of a
servant.

Anastasia: “As a matter of fact, it's easily a three-seater...there would

be plenty of room if Ram-san and I cramp in, wouldn’t it?"

Ram: "Let's stop there, Anastasia-sama. If he can get close, you can
imagine Barusu would happily try to touch my body."
Subaru: "You are imagining stuff all your own, but if you go that way I'll
imagine a lot more than that! Don’t mess with me! I’ll give you a taste
of puberty"

He strongly argues with his middle finger up, and Anastasia smiles
bitterly, as one would expect. Ram reacts as usual, as Subaru continues
walking the cave with one lantern in his hand.

Subaru and Ram's light skirmish made it seem like they had forgotten the
circumstances - but it surely hid their anxiety in each other's heart and
brought just a bit of relief to their minds.

Perhaps they both realized it, but didn’t say anything.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※

Although walking anxiously, Subaru and the others were advancing through
the Great Cave of the sand.

As expected, Patrasche is used to it, and there won’t be any problem with
her movement even if you were to put two heavy stones on her back. Apart
from the feeling of sand entering his boots, Subaru had learned the
technique for walking in the sand sea these past few days, and was able to
proceed without much difficulty.

Subaru: “The wind...... I can kind of feel it, and also can’t."

Ram: "I feel it. But given the wind's thinness, it's still a long way from
being connected to above ground."

Along the way, wetting his finger on his tongue, Subaru tried to examine
the airflow, but it wasn’t quite clear. On the other hand, as the wind-
sensitive Ram feels it out, she concludes that the exit is still far
ahead.

The way to this exit was what he wanted to give priority to, looking to
meet up with his companions. Unfortunately, though, there was no indication
that the signs of wind would be very reliable.

Ram: "Emilia-sama and Julius-sama shouldn’t get lost due to the guidance
of the lesser spirits. And that's why I doubt that there is a malicious
intent in the selection of this grouping."

Subaru: "Well, it is quite useful to be guided by a lesser spirit. Damn, in

my case Beako is so strong that she keeps away the lesser spirits. She’s
far beyond their capacity."
To be clear, this was something beyond Emilia and Julius’s exceptional
fighting power.

Even when setting out to look for a lost member, things may not proceed as
you would expect. You can only try not to overlook anything around you as
much as possible when you proceed.

Anastasia: "Ram-san, before Natsuki-kun woke up..... seemed considerably

shaken. Looking for Rem now, she seems to be hiding behind her attitude."

Subaru: "...... Is that so."

Secretly, Anastasia shares this story, which made his fight with Ram after
waking up feeling more and more awkward.

Subaru had spent the past year alongside Ram, after having the memories of
her sister completely erased. Any connection those two previously had must
have left behind some remains after being erased. If no one else, Subaru at
least had to believe so.

Anastasia: "Well, ain't fun seeing you huddled up all gloomy and miserable
like that, so why not look ahead if you’re so down about it? If you don't,
you might miss something important."

Subaru: "...... Don't throw me off like that. You, stop giving me those
nice words. I'm stuck in the exact same situation as the one you came
from."

Anastasia: "Sooner or later, I wish you would start thinking of me

separately from my originator. Your distaste for that girl is excessively
obstinate. This is something I’ve picked up with time."

Subaru: "I don't know any other approach. I'll keep it in a corner of my
mind."

The tongue-in-cheek talkative exchange seemed to distract from the

impatience and anxiety of not making any progress.

In the midst of that conversation, the party advances through the Great
Cave. Nothing really changes, the sand path and the sand walls --- walking
along that path there were few things to think about. That was,

Subaru: "Might be a mabeast nest, we have to be quite careful..... There’s

a chance we’ll run into one."
Ram: "That's what Ram is concerned about."

Kicking the sand under his feet, Subaru grumbles at Ram as she expresses a
similar opinion.

They continued into the Great Cave, and soon an hour had already passed.
With no one and nothing around, their anxiety, impatience and bad
premonitions continue to grow.

Of course, not having enemies show up is a welcome situation, but the

extensive silence couldn’t be any help to wipe out the bad feelings
regarding this place. ―As if, it was detached from the whole world―

Subaru: "No way, we couldn’t have been swallowed by a hyperspace that does
not connect to anywhere, right?"

Anastasia: "Well then, would you tell me where the wind we're relying on is
coming from? Do you think it’s the heavy breathing of an unusually big and
ferocious beast who owns this cave?"

Subaru: “That’s not even funny, it’s rather scary."

In fact, it would be no wonder even if that happened. They had already seen
it with their own eyes that even the world could be broken apart. Whatever
this rift is connected to, it would not be worth a surprise.

Ram: "Regardless of the maliciousness of this selection, it is hard to

believe that whoever set it up had considered it could be broken. We weren
’t aiming for it with the negation spell, it was just a coincidence."

Subaru: “What do you mean, precisely?”

Ram: "It is useless to imagine the worst scenario that this road, as it is,
is connected to the monster's stomach. - Look, see."

The lack of progress was leading to pessimistic theories, which Ram

rationally denies. Then, at the end of the explanation, she urged Subaru as
he stopped to look ahead.

Following her indication, Subaru holds out the lantern to look forward.
Then, the illuminated passage of the cavity gets narrow, in front of their
eyes―

Subaru: "It's a crossroad."

Anastasia: "Right or left, we have to make a choice. What do we do?"

Subaru: "According to my knowledge, Kurapika* said to choose right when the
time called for it." [TN: Hunter x Hunter reference.]

Anastasia: “Who’s that?"

Looking at it practically, he remembered hearing that people tend to

unconsciously choose to proceed left when they get lost. Perhaps it had to
do with dominance, as for the dominant hand, dominant leg, and other
complicated factors like those, or that’s what was said and thought of it
at the time.

For that reason, Subaru wanted to follow the theory of a skillful character
he once knew and chose the right path which he thought was correct, but -

Ram: "So, Barusu, which way do you want to go?"

Subaru: "...... Honestly speaking, left."

Ram: "What happened to Kurapika?"

Anastasia: “Who’s that?"

Subaru replies, Ram asks question after question, and just Anastasia just
pokes fun.

If you look only at those words as written, the exchange may appear to be
as such

― But in reality, the three people who exchanged words had a stiff
expression and worrisome looks on their faces. On top of that, even
Patrasche who can’t speak, was staring at the right path with stern eyes.

The cause was the overwhelming negativity they were feeling from the right
path.

Abstractly speaking, a detestable premonition. If you choose more words, it

was almost a dread.

“It’s deadly to select the right path”, their instincts were ringing
the alarm bell.

Subaru: “The right...... I think it’s dangerous. I have a feeling it's

not going to be pleasant."

Ram: "Surprisingly, I agree with Barusu. What you think Anastasia-sama?"

Anastasia: "According to the Kararagi rule it goes to the majority, by the
support of two votes...... Besides, I am honestly lacking the courage to
choose the right side."

As no sleeves would swing, Anastasia made the gesture of swinging both

hands as the answer for all.

Subaru is not the only one. Both Ram and Anastasia were having a strange
sensation from the path at the right, as well as Patrasche. Therefore, the
right road couldn’t be chosen.

Subaru: "Then, left? ......that also feels like choosing a terrible option
though."

Ram: "So, turning back? There's nothing we can get that way."

Subaru: "There’s nothing to lose is what you’re saying, I might just be

overly negative."

As Subaru failed to make a decision, Ram and Anastasia seemed ready to jump
in.

As he can not help but shrug his shoulders, Subaru steps forward to walk in
front of Patrasche. Straight towards the road on the left.

Embracing their hesitation as they advanced, it seems they grew their

distance from the right path in this great cave. He found that the pressure
that he felt through the walls of sand kept getting farther away, and the
stiffness in his shoulders was naturally released

Ram: “―What an unpleasant place."

She felt the same thing, and as he heard Ram murmuring, Subaru agrees in
silence.

At this crossroads, the right path caused overwhelming negative thoughts.

They chose the left road out of something like instinct to avoid the other,
but there was one more reason.

― Inside the Subaru's chest, he felt the presence of something shouting in

joy towards the right path.

It would be horrible to obey what it said.

It was also undeniably a major factor on why Subaru didn’t chose that
road.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※

The team of "non-combatants" went through the cavity, and a few more hours
passed by in the way.

Subaru: "――――"

Anastasia: "――――"

Ram: "――――"

As they slowly advanced their search on the great cave, the number of words
spoken between them dropped drastically .

With their fatigue, and not to mention the darkness, any sense of time was
fuzzy, but what was wearing down their spirit along the walk was silence.

In fact, Subaru felt like that several hours had passed, he didn’t know if
it was true.

There is a possibility that they had utilized the time better than they
thought, or even that they had completely wasted it.

What they knew for sure was that there was no progress, no more than that.

Subaru: "...... At that split, I wonder if we should have gone right."

Ram: "After that much silence, you can only think to complain? Stop it.
Shameful."

Murmuring, he moved his dry lips to complain, and Ram bitterly pierces
back.

However, her poison also lacked ambition. Not being able to find anything
like this, it caused her to also be slightly dominated by anxiety.

Although the foothold in the sand path was bad, there was some confidence
after already walking a few kilometers on it.

So if you couldn't see any end to the cave, you couldn't help but be swept
over by a bad feeling. It is natural that you would doubt that you made the
wrong choice.
Even more, if you reach a dead end, you'd have to give up.

Subaru: "The rapid fire of those lights above ground..... What do you think
it was?"

Subaru changed the direction of the topic, for fear that the negative
conversation would continue as it was.

The topic that turned up was the light of the Watchtower ― the defense
mechanism of the dunes, which seemed to have been prepared by the sage.

Ram: “It was a needle."

Subaru: "Needle?"

To that question, Ram responded with a few words. She spilled a sigh at
Subaru’s following question and gently stroked her pink hair,

Ram: “I don't know the small details, but it was firing long and narrow
needles enchanted with magical powers. The needles carried high heat,
probably the effect of firing magic. But the needle itself seemed to be
specially made. As it was repelled and fell on the sand, it disintegrated
and disappeared.”

Subaru: "......In that uproar, to see so properly."

Ram: "If you just looked at it, you would know about that much."

Without a doubt, it seemed Ram's observation power was not as ordinary as

she said so.

When Subaru just kept staring, Anastasia shook her head in amazement.

In Ram’s case, she was aware of her own talents, but was still speaking
sarcastically.

Subaru: "What do you think was the purpose?"

Ram: "Kill those approaching the Watchtower... It's a mystery why it

relentlessly aimed at Barusu. It’s standard practice to take down the
weaker enemies first, so that might be it."

Subaru: "Shit, I can't deny it!"

If you look at it from afar, you couldn’t help but arrive at the same
conclusion. Nonetheless, because of that they had no casualties.

The conclusion you reach is, it's good to have a weak, invincible, magical
Subaru.

But in that case――

Subaru: "It means, a friendly encounter with “The Sage” would be

difficult"

Anastasia: "I think it's premature to say so. If I’m not mistaken, did we
not set out with the intention of challenging these setbacks knowingly?
There is a chance for a discussion to occur, it’s what I think."

Ram: "At worst, our business is with the Sage’s knowledge, and not their
personality. If they don’t talk, you can just tie them up and give ‘em a
good shaking until they do."

Subaru: "Nee-sama, was that your villainous side talking!?"

Ram: "If there is something you want, take measures. It's not a child's
play."

As Subaru becomes dumbfounded, Ram remains strangely calm. Just hearing

those statements, he felt he was being reminded of how sweet and shallow
his own resolutions were.

Regardless of whether it’s actually done, there is no doubt that Ram is

prepared for it. That only is a proof that she is serious about Rem.

Subaru: "――――"

To touch Ram's resolve, Subaru might have to make some decisions regarding
his own resolutions.

He haven’t thought of getting his hands dirty for Rem. Rem is not to be
blamed for that either.

What he has to do is to be prepared to rip off the results.

When confronted with the existence of the Sage, no matter what kind of
opponent that is, he has to be absolutely determined, such resolution...

Patrasche: "----tsu"
Subaru: "Patrasche?"

At the same time, Patrasche holds her breath and Subaru bits his lips.

The dragon glares at the path with stern eyes and groans a little. Subaru,
who noticed that stare, also stopped his feet and returned to calm the
earth dragon. He stroked her neck and called out, "What’s wrong?"

Subaru: "Did you saw something? What……?"

Ram: "- Cause, that is..."

Ram said on behalf, interrupting Subaru. Anastasia frowns and looks at the
passage like Patrasche.

Of course, nothing could be seen anything in the extended darkness, but a

different feeling that appealed rather than seeing. ― Seeping inside the
nose was a smell of something burning.

Anastasia: "......Do you think it’s a smell of fire?"

Ram: "I can't think of anything else. But I don’t think something like a
kitchen could possibly be here."

Subaru: “If this is a fire... The cause behind this smell is civilized
people, right ?"

Ram & Anastasia: "――――"

At Subaru’s clinging question, neither Ram nor Anastasia could just easily
nod.

He could also understand the girls judgment. But the smell that was
drifting was clearly a scent of something supposedly burning. Ram said like
cooking something, but also the aroma was close to it.

It's a bonfire, or a stew for a meal. If that's the case,

Subaru: "Do you think there’s a possibility of that being Emilias?"

Anastasia: "If the premise was skipped to the same place, there is enough
possibility. Nevertheless, whether it’s rational or irrational to use fire
in such situation, I would leave that judgement to the rest"

Subaru: "――――"
Even if it’s discussed here, the answer won’t come as for who lays ahead
of the road.

If so, you should call out and check what your partner's intention is,

Anastasia: "Even people who are ahead of the road are not always friendly"

If not Emilias, could it be it’s the "Sage"? It’s hard to believe that
the sages who should be in the Watchtower would come down, or not.

In that case, if the sage continues to be hostile, a corresponding attack

is also to be expected.

Subaru: "......Hide the light and move forward? What I mean is, if they are
using fire then there is light on their side. We, at least, should hide."

Anastasia: "It's funny to keep speculating about it, we also have to check
what’s the cause is, so I think it's a reasonable idea."

Anastasia nods to Subaru's proposal, and after that Ram also quietly agrees
with it.

When the lights of the two lanterns were turned off, the party went back to
the path where the smell of fire was drifting from, relying only on the
Subaru’s light.

Ram: "Barusu"

Subaru: "What?"

Ram: "If anything happens, just leave it and run straight away. Don't hold
a grudge."

Subaru: “Curse me if I do that."

In the light held by Subaru, Ram slightly loosened her lips, and Subaru led
straight through the passage. When the scent of the fire gradually
increased, he felt Patrasche’s breath on his back,

Subaru: "...! It's the light."

Beyond the passage, he found a slightly shimmering red light.

Subaru immediately dropped his own light and instructed the three behind
him to be silent. Then he squatted down and stepped on the sand stealthily
to confirm the state of the light.

One step, two steps--as they moved forward, they could see that the light
was somewhat coming across the corner. The passage was slightly bent to the
left, and the fire was from there.

"――――"

Quietly reaching the turning point, and slightly peeking on the other side
while leaning against the wall. At that moment, the wind carrying a slight
heat tickled Subaru's forehead and unintentionally closed his eyes.

― Immediately after, Subaru's foot gouged down unexpectedly, the sand

slided and it rolled his body diagonally.

Subaru: "What the...?!?"

He couldn’t bear the surprise attack, and Subaru forgot to step and he
rolled down the slope. The fine particles of sand couldn’t and he slided
long down all the way to the bottom.

Thrusting down from the top of the sand hill, Subaru rolled down from a
steep slope of sand about ten meters high, again spat out sand and raised
his body.

Subaru: "Ugh! thu! Again sand...... No, that then. ……"

Subaru shakes his head and looks around. In this sudden surprise he dropped
his lantern. If it was somewhere nearby, he started searching for it
stretching his hand, and he touched something hard.

For an instant, he thought he had found the lantern, but it felt different
compared to the hardness of that he was holding. The surface was crisp and
pleasant to touch, like a wooden stick. When he lifted it up it was lighter
compared to its thickness and length.

Subaru: “What is it... ?"

Even if you looked closely, you wouldn’t know what it was in that pitch
black darkness.

When he timidly smelled it, it felt like the smell of charcoal――

Subaru: "――――"
The next moment when he was thinking that, a light came right behind him
suddenly.

The wisps that appeared in the back were red, shimmering and primitive, and
they were called flames. Then, as the flames began to light up the world,
Subaru saw the identity of the thing he grabbed.

- That's probably a creature's foot.

Things that were animals, burned down until it turned into charred remains,
as a result.

Around the place where Subaru was sitting, the remnants of former creatures
that became these charred remains were scattered, and Subaru had slipped
right into the middle of countless burned dead bodies.

Subaru: "Oh! Oh! Wow!?"

Throwing away the charred waste in his hand, Subaru aimed to retreat.
However, there was a terrible flame that existed behind while he tried to
retreat back, and his neck was burned by the heat wave, and this time he
fell down just on his face. And finally, he turned back and looked at it
face to face.

Monster: "----_____!"

Subaru was thrown out of reality facing a tremendous roar from his front.

Why all the demon beasts roars are so disgusting that they irritate human
beings to the limit of their disgust.

With such a high-pitched roar, it was like countless babies were crying all
at once.

It is a blasphemous creature that Subaru had never seen, it burns red in a

place full of burned bodies - it is truly a devil beast, but the fur color
is different from what he has seen in the past.

As far as Subaru knew, all of the demon beasts were distorted and ugly, but
they were often in such a form that they resembled an existing creature one
way or another.

Same for the White Whale or the Great Rabbit. In any case, there was a
basic foundation of an animal.
However, this time, the monster that exists in front of him, he doesn’t
want to apply the same concept.

Monster: "----_______!"

The monster cries again. At first glance, some similarities could be found
with a horse.

Thin, but strong four-legs that exist to charge over the earth. It is the
same as a horse that has a trunk supported by its four legs and a long tail
swaying from behind.

However, there was a human torso in the part where the horse's neck should
normally be, leading to the head. The human torso has two more arms, in
addition to the four legs. And there was no head above the neck of the
human torso. As from the neck to the top, the "horns" were growing.

The proof of the devil makes it easy to understand that it's different from
other animals.

The horns were growing in place of the head. It doesn't have a head.
Speaking of where the mouth raised the cry, from the chest till the belly
of the human torso was torn vertically, and in the oral cavity, the fully
grown horizontally aligned fangs were insuring their existence.

Subaru: "......It's a monster."

Even calling it a “Magical beast” was sort of absurd, rather it was a

profany of life.

To Subaru’s knowledge, it was close to a fantasy creature called Centaur,

a half-man and half-horse, but that was a distorted figure as if it had
been thrown out of production half way.

And the centaur, the mane of the flame was forming from the back human
torso part, burning the sand cavity with incredible power, surging up the
red light.

If you look at the fires' strength, it’s obvious that who created all the
burned dead bodies lay around there. Using fire meant civilized people or
whatever, was a mistake to embrace such expectations.

"――――"
The arms of the centaur was the human arm itself with five fingers.

The foot of the horse part of the centaur was the legs of horse itself
which formed hoofs too.

The figure was about six or seven meters long, and it could be said that it
was just the right size to walk in this hollow. ― That’s, the Lord of
this cavity is in front of you ―

Subaru: "...... It was a trap."

Holding his breath, Subaru despairs.

There was nothing he could do. He quickly turned his hand to the back of
his waist and grabbed the handle of the whip, but he didn't think he could
do anything with it.

And to the breathless Subaru, the Centaur tilts his eyeless head. Hearing
it from its mouth, bathing in its roar, fueling his fears.

"......"

For the moment, Subaru moved to create a gap.

He turns around on the sand, roughly kicks one of the charcoaled debris
that hits the centaurs. The corpses that went through the fire were well
burned and too light, and that there was no strength even if it hit. But
still, it's good to be in control. Clinging to the steep slope, trying to
return to the upper aisle. He would go back the road he came, but that didn
’t mind it. The problem was he didn't know how far this Centaur was going
to go. It's dubious how much appetite that thing had, as it burns its prey
this way. Of course, as far as he heard that the demon beast had the nature
to kill humans instinctively, though it does not always work according to
that. Still, if it was possible to turn the situation a little....

Subaru: "Ka fu――"

When he was thinking about it, Subaru noticed that his body was not
trembling.

Trying and create a diversion by kicking a charred debris, or climb the

steep sand slope and turn back or could reach out to the whip, Subaru could
do none of this.
― Because before he could get to it, the breath of the monster burned
Subaru.

Subaru: "Ahh."

As soon as the conception reached that his whole body was being burned,
Subaru screamed in pain and suffering. Perhaps because his throat was
burned, his lungs were burned, as he could not raise a bit of his voice.

When the burned skin formed bubbles, they swelled and burst instantly. The
fluids that had flown inside the body, which had never been seen before,
instantly evaporated, and the blood boils for real.

Subaru: "――――"

Never mind, rolling over on the ground in this suffering.

The muscles and fat were burned to the ground, melted and lumbered. The
pain faded far away, and Subaru experienced an illusion being drowned in
flames.

Burned and burned. He've read somewhere about the depth of the burn.

He heard that there were stages of the burn, and when it went to the third
stage, the scars would remain, and the skin would have to be transplanted.
He also heard that when a person burns 30% of the body's skin, that alone
makes breathing difficult and leads to death.

Subaru: "――――"

Short hair burns till the roots, and the eardrum and brain matter melted
and flowed out from the earlobe. The lips and gums evaporated and the teeth
were peeled off, and the tongue was gulped by the suffering of the heat
wave. It doesn't matter. He had already drowned. If it was burned, could it
be healed? Even though he was not confident with his face, if it gets
burned will it give him some kind of fancy appearance? To Emilia, to
Beatrice, to Rem.

Subaru: "--Ruh!"

Burning, the field of vision was burning. Everything is burning, turning

red, and going white.

Blood was eradicated by the tremendous heat, the eyelids melted away, the
fluids of the eyeball evaporated, it turned white and cloudy, and nothing
could be seen.

He just heard something. He heard someone calling. He heard the baby

crying. Someone came down beside him. Idiot. Why? I told you to run away.
Why did you come down here? But he didn't know what it meant to go down.
Moreover, what’s left or right?

A horse, a person. It melts and burns and sleepy.

Melts and disappears.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※

Ram: "How long are you going to sleep? Get up, lazy Barusu."

Subaru: "guah uh!?"

Subaru was pulled back to reality with a sharp poke, as his hands and feet
were unable to move, and his scorched thoughts collapsed.

Suddenly rising up his body, Subaru wipes cold sweat from his sand-laden
forehead.

Subaru: "Oh, oh ... what?"

Looking around.

Dark, He couldn't see anything. There was something that evoked fear just a
few seconds ago.

Subaru: “huh?"

Ram: " ... I am stunned. How frightened are you in the darkness? You are
not a child!"

Subaru: "....."

Unwillingly shivering his body, Subaru had his eyes open wide to her voice.

In the light of the lantern, Ram spills a small sigh. Then, when she
quietly kneeled down on the spot and stroked Subaru's cheeks with her hand.

Ram: "What a pitiful face"

Subaru: "......has my face melted?"

Ram: "- Except in front of Emilia-sama, I have never seen such a pitiful
sight."

The heat of the palm touching the cheek was so warm but it does not get
even close compared to what Subaru has just experienced.

Thanks to that feeling, the flames and the other warmth, Subaru finally
understood the situation.

Again, he have "Returned by death" and came back.

And here is the another save point other than the two "deaths" that he met
in the sand dunes.

So it’s said, you can't challenge the labyrinth of the sand without
risking your own life.

― he felt like the cold sand flowing on the sand sea silently mocking the
scorched Subaru.

Arc 6 “Memory Corridor"

Chapter 16 "Remnants of Chewing"

― The sound of something breaking, only consciousness continued to hear

endlessly.
Bones were being chewed, gray matter being crushed, eyeballs cracking as
liquid overflowed from them.

Cranium, the head’s bones are being crushed. Blocking what was inside,
that important thing was thoroughly defeated by the pressure of sharp
fangs, and it was clear that it was all turning into a pulpy mess.

Gray matter and spinal fluid flowing out together, mixing with an unknown
yellow liquid pooling on the forehead, where blood vessels tore like thin
mesh and red blood gushed forth. With all of that coming together,
consciousness and memory transformed into flesh-colored vomit.

Pain, there is pain. Stifling, too.

It felt like a cracking headache - and thinking so, the consciousness
bitterly smiled.

The pain from being shattered is not what it’s about.

There was nothing left to break, and everything important was already
smashed. Besides, even when the part that feels pain has collapsed, what is
left to say?

The brain that accumulates memory flowed out, the organs used for thinking
collapsed, the parts necessary for maintaining life in the first place were
severed from the root. Do you know what happens when that happens?

Once that is the case, humans will meet "death".

So, naturally, him too――.

Ram: "――rusu. Barusu. Get yourself together."

Beaten up and grabbed by the scruff of the neck, the intensely muddled
consciousness was forcefully brought into light. The first thing he felt
when returning was someone’s voice close to his ears scolding him with a
stern face. Not only was the sound of a trembling voice, but also a slight
feeling on his face as if it had been slapped.

Ram: "Barusu, if you don’t get up, I will burn off your eyelids."

Subaru: "――hk"

As the sleeping mind heard those dreadful statements, his consciousness

rapidly rose to the surface . As the voice called and dragged it out of
that dark world, consciousness passed through a suffocating environment
that appeared like the surface of water. And so, opening his eyelids before
they get burned,

Ram: "- Barusu, did you get up?"

Subaru: "----"

Immediately in front of him, he encountered Ram’s face, who narrowed her

light crimson eyes. His breathing came back, her face was so close that he
could touch her lips if he raised his mouth a bit. Of course, it does not
mean that such colorful circumstance could exist. The reason Ram was
leaning down so close is because the surroundings were so dark that they
couldn’t see each other’s faces unless they looked very closely, that was
there was to it.

When he became aware of Ram in front of him, his sense of touch started to
come back from the bottom up. Fine particles of sand rolled out from atop
his body. Subaru had been lying spread-eagled on the sand sea.

One breath, air leaked out of Subaru’s mouth, and Ram seemed to stare deep
into his eyes for a short moment, and then slowly with the other hand she
shined a lantern on his body. From the girl’s hand, an orange light tore
through the darkness, and Subaru understood that he was still trapped in
the labyrinth of sand―― No, he understood he had “Returned by death”.

Subaru: "I am....."

Looking around the darkness, Subaru gradually remembered what happened.

The shock at the moment of "death" was always vivid, and there was no sign
that shaking off the memories was at all something he had gotten used to.
Immersed in the trembling memory field, he struggled to remember the
meaning of his certain “death”, and Subaru’s last moments grazed past
his fingertips as he remembered it.

Subaru: "____"

His mind recollected the awful situation, as the lantern illuminated Ram’s
expression of hatred. And then, although they had a history of insults and
abuse to begin with, there was no meaning behind the murder that led to
that miserable end.

Subaru: "Ubu ......"

Ram: "Barusu?"
Making a confused face in front of Ram, Subaru involuntarily puts his hand
over his mouth.
Remembering the reality of Ram’s death just a couple of minutes ago and
wanting to scream―― was not it. Actually, facing Ram and reliving his
gruesome last moments, he wanted to vomit.

Subaru: “Ooog, eh, gh--”

For Subaru, his "deaths" had already exceeded the number that could be
counted by the fingers on both hands. And in this world with "Return by
death", it could be said that the experience of losing a close friend like
Emilia or Beatrice was the same as his own “death”.

However, for Subaru, he never got used to “death”. For his own, or the
"death" of someone else is equally the same. The fear of being dead himself
or thinking that someone in his family might die, tores his heart.

- Indeed, in the last loop, the tragedy of Ram's brutal death was a shock
he experienced for the first time.

He had seen her figure being torn by the belly, breaking her neck, having
her whole body mercilessly slashed, and then dying.

Each death was full of anguish and grief, and Subaru can’t compare people
’s deaths lining them up side by side. It doesn’t feel right. However, it
was the first time his head was crushed, chewed down and smashed.

He also saw Rams beautiful face being crushed by fangs without mercy. That
was also a tragedy done in the hands of Patrasche, who was also one of the
most trusted beings for Subaru.

Subaru: "....... “

Being desperate was not the same as remembering. The more he tried to
forget Ram’s miserable end... the clearer the pink hair and the remnants
of the head that remained in the mouth of the earth dragon, gets engraved
in Subaru’s head.

As a result, it was not possible to get over the urge to vomit, so Subaru
turned toward sand. However, his throat and stomach have not recovered from
the impact of "Return by death", they just clamped and wouldn’t obey
Subaru's will.

Subaru: "Hey, oh! ...!

Ram: "...... Is this just because you woke up suddenly? Miserable."

Tackling the ground, desperately trying to vomit the contents of his

stomach, nothing came out. He was surprised because his throat was dry and
not even a drop of saliva came out.

He couldn't see Ram’s expression looking at him with a lantern, but the
surprised tone in her voice was easily heard.

Naturally, the coldness reminded him of events just before that "death".
The passion that led to the murderous intent was rising for no reason, and
the abuse that spewed out in the beginning and joined the violent passion
the impulse that drove to the urge inside the chest, it became dreadful.

However,

Ram: "- Don’t bite"

Subaru: "-hk"

In a word, the preamble Ram sat down beside Subaru and lifted up his chin.
The kneeling Subaru was surprised for a moment, Ram opened Subaru’s mouth,
with the same uninterested look as always― then thrusted her white fingers
onto the back of Subaru’s throat.

Subaru: ".........”

Ram: "I knew that Barusu’s unskillfullness was hard-core, but this is just
like a baby."

Having someone else’s fingers entering his throat, Subaru felt like his
esophagus was being rudely violated.

But then, the stomach and the throat, which had resisted vomiting until
then, gave a new surprise. This time it desperately began to push out the
gastric juice and saliva all together.
With tearful eyes, Subaru gets rid of his urge to vomit on the sand by
letting out the stomach’s content. He only spit out gastric juice and
drool, but it was still much better than it was before vomiting.

Subaru: "Eh, bastard ...... ha, bad ... Well, ok, okay ... oh ..."

Ram: "So? I'm glad that you seem satisfied."

Subaru: "You......."

Subaru wiping his mouth with a sleeve, Ram shrugs her shoulders and returns
to her usual childish attitude.

Despite her attitude, it was true that she was guilty of treating him like
a baby. There was no room to argue that, and Ram’s palm was still gently
stroking Subaru's back.
It was hard to understand, her bitter affection.

Subaru: "The hand, it’s all right. More than that, this place......"

Ram: "You remember that the barrier got broken and the sandy sea cracked in
front of us? That swallowed our dragon carriage there, and as a result we
got thrown in here."

Ram threw out her considerations while Subaru looked at the surroundings.
Subaru was hesitant to decide whether to embrace the relief or anxiety for
the continuation of the "Return by death" in response to her remark.

However, in either case, action must be taken quickly. According to that

judgment, trying to keep up with the words - "When you awoke in the
underground, did Barusu worry about Rem? What about Emilia? What about
Beatrice-sama? Did you worry about someone you did not find?"

Subaru: "――"

What revitalized his mind was those sharp and depressed words of Ram's. The
discord that invited the last events - the situation where friends killed
each other, was obviously abnormal. He must come back to his senses, but he
can hardly return to himself recalling the situation. In the first place,
the trick was abnormal. The accumulation of negative emotions was amplified
to the extent that it became so absurd to the point of killing each other
in a bloody fight.

Ram: "Barusu?"

Ram tilts her head at Subaru’s state as his words don’t come out.
The last time they talked, that abnormal situation followed suit. But of
course, there was no meaning in being concerned about the words Ram said in
such a state. ―But it was inaccurate to say that everything said was a
lie.
The fact is that Subaru felt that Ram’s dissatisfaction or indignation was
not fake but true, even though it was amplified to the extent that it was
abnormal. Not everything was untrue.

Then, it was true that Subaru's attitude seemed like he didn’t worry about
Emilia and the others, and Ram had held some grudge at his wording. If
consideration was given to that feeling, Subaru should be worried about
Emilia here in any shape.

Actually, he was worried, so it wasn’t a lie to act that way. However, he

just knew that he couldn’t do anything about what he was worried about.

Subaru: "――"

In the meantime, Subaru realized deception should be packed in words. He

knew it was necessary to avoid a discussion, but still hesitated to deceive
Ram by lying. Calculatively worrying about his peers and deceiving others―
disgusting. Naturally, that’s hard to swallow. Because that's how you get
someone’s displeasure, because it means nothing to some extent.

Subaru: "That...... Everyone......."

Ram: "――It is useless to blame yourself so much, there is no point in

pursuing what you are not responsible for... There should be something to
give priority over wasting time like that."

However, before Subaru could speak his words of worry, Ram reached her own
conclusion on Subaru's feelings. That being said, she had misread the
expression of Subaru, who had a serious face. It was rare to see through
Ram's heart with her erroneous words and actions, which was evidence that
she was impatient.

Ram: "Besides, we've already wasted time with Barusu’s vomiting."

Of course, Ram never displays such threatening behaviour of her own heart.
Subaru was lost in judgment as to what to make of Ram’s attitude, who
could be very stubborn. After that, Ram moved first without saying
anything. While she wiped the finger which was thrusted into Subaru's
mouth, she turned the lantern toward the back of the labyrinth.

Ram: "We can’t stay here, I need to be with Rem and... and we have to join
up with Emilia-sama."

Subaru: "I know....here, where is this place?"

Ram: "Besides Ram and Barusu, ah... it seems like you came back."
Ram turns back, and following her words and gaze, coming from the other
side of the labyrinth were Anastasia and Patrasche with a shaking light,
fluctuating and swaying. Subaru's eyes shook slightly, as he saw the jet
black dragon mixed in the dark.

The glamorous and ferocious beautiful face that was illuminated by the
flickering orange light.
A row of fangs like blades that could be seen in the closed mouth, crushed
the girl's head, and even Subaru himself all of a sudden―.

Those things can’t happen normally.

Subaru: "Idiot, I am ... ... no, I'm stupid"

Clenching his teeth, Subaru tried to push back his fear. In that abnormal
situation, the directed murderous intention couldn’t be real. For Subaru,
the experience of being killed by Patrasche was carved into his heart as a
scar that could not be healed. Still, Subaru should have repeatedly
confronted the existence that killed him.

Subaru: “Yeah, even Rem and Ram, at first ....."

But now Ram and Rem, have become very close. Subaru remembered the
dedicated support they gave him and forgave them. At first the relationship
was at its worst, there were times when his life was targeted and he was
deprived.

Compared to that, it’s a good thing that those previous events were not
true.

Subaru: "Yes, that's right... that should be,"

He embraced his shoulders and grabbed his skin as if he was feeling the
cold. In the basement of the sand sea, this place dominated by sand and
darkness, it was certainly cold. However, the reason for feeling cold was
different from that of outside.

Anastasia: "―Natsuki-kun, you seem to have woken up"

Ram:"―Thanks. So, how is the surrounding?"

In the front, Ram and Anastasia were talking. He should be able to find a
balance between the strategy of this labyrinth of sand based on the
information he got today. Originally, Subaru had blended in there and there
were many things he had to say. But even now, the priority was to calm his
mind and to stop the shaking of his knees.

With "Returning by death", he should have left behind the events and
impacts immediately before "death". But even if you try to quench it, fear
emerges and the passion of that moment revives.

Subaru kept endlessly resisting to disperse those feelings.

Subaru: "――"

In such state, Subaru was looking at the lonely jet-black earth dragon.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※

―The heart of Subaru which should have "Returned by death" has not
returned to its original state.

Apart from such circumstances, the contents of the exploration of the four
underground labyrinths time loops were almost identical.

In search of others, the group headed by Subaru slowly moved in the cold
darkness. With the lantern lighting up a small area, the journey is slow
and frustrating, while the rest of the roadside was drenched in shadows.

"――"

Truth be told, Subaru wants to omit the road selection. For Subaru, this
had been the way he’d gone twice already. There was no way Emilia and the
rest were strolling in the area that he could see. If it was said that it
did not mean to appeal to two people at the back, omitting himself and not
speaking up was impossible.

As a result, it was not even settled at all, and even as the frustrating
march upped its pace, Subaru’s impatience only rose as time went by.

Anastasia: "Everyone else is probably okay... in our case, we’re just

barely in luck to have Patrasche-chan here."

Subaru & Ram: "――――"

Anastasia: "If you think about a situation without any ride, it’s hell for
men in this sand sea. Anxiety is normal due to insufficient battle
strength..."
Subaru & Ram: "――――"

Anastasia: "At worst, I will not hesitate to make use of my trump card, but
I'm afraid it would eat up Anastasia's lifetime. So let me rely on the two
of you?"

Subaru & Ram: "――――"

Anastasia: "... .... Hey! Would both Natsuki-sama and Ram-san care to talk?
Well, for a little while I am the only one talking."

As their exploration expanded, Anastasia chatted continuously as she

indicated her crossness. Subaru stopped and looked back at her complaints
about the silent environment. Anastasia then brightened up her face, taking
a deep breath,

Subaru: "Well, we’ve run out of things to talk about... for now we are
sort of desperate to find the other guys. I don't have time to chatter
uselessly."

Anastasia: "There's no twaddle or anything. I'm talking to you about the

future plan. And, it is usually Natsuki-kun's role that the chat continues.
Only now, it is quiet, the two girl’s...... No, us four’s anxieties are
going up."

Subaru: "Four, huh."

As Subaru pouts his lips, Anastasia doesn’t lose her will to fight.
The “two girls” referred to Ram and Anastasia, but if you rephrased them
as four people it would be the result of adding Echidona and Patrasche.
Strictly because of the Anastasia = Echidona state, it is a scene to
paraphrase with three people― but it is not a problem to correct in the
first place.

Subaru: "――"

For Anastasia who is puffing her cheeks, Subaru thinks narrowing his black
eyes.
The real Anastasia is dormant, and only now she appeared as Scarf dona.
Even so, her behavior had become so familiar, it seemed as if she had
blended in. It is unfortunate that neither Subaru nor Ram held the
initiative to see her true intentions from her expression or behavior.

―In the discord that culminated last time in killing each other, though
the thing about Ram and Patrasche was conscious because of the enormity of
the endings, Anastasi’s attitude was also discomforting.
Ram's enmity and Patrasche's attack, the two who apparently had gone crazy,
were easy to understand.
However, it was hard to judge whether Anastasia had fallen into insanity at
first sight, and he didn’t know what was in her mind until the last
moment.

Of course, due to the difference in strength, Anastasia was killed by Ram,

but the cunningness was not a thing to worry about, such as concealing a
knife in emergency bag or making a pretense to seize it. Normally, you have
to be unconscious to be caught off guard and killed in a strange way.

Subaru: "......Do whatever."

――To think, have they always been hostile to him?

Subaru: "――"

Facing ahead, Subaru hit himself hiding from Ram and Anastasia.
His mouth was cut with just one punch without a miss, and he felt a sharp
pain as his tongue tasted blood.

Then he would hurt himself to dispel the cloudiness of his consciousness.

Ram and Anastasia, they are not acting abnormally.

It was Subaru who was not able to let go of the abnormality now.

Subaru: "Great, It's funny that I can't understand myself, just shivering"

Has he gone crazy or is everyone else insane?

Subaru had become a little haughty, so everything except him was wrong.
Ultimately, of course, it was all a mistake. Straying himself, Subaru
arrogantly decided that he was right, acting like a fool denying the
surroundings.
Finally, he was told that he was wrong, it was pointed out from the
beginning that he could acknowledge it. It's an accurate, vivid memory...

However, the current Subaru acknowledges its abnormality in normalcy.

It's terrible not being able to tame the abnormality, so much that it's
dreadfully horrible.

At this point, Subaru remembers. This desolate sensation in his heart,

where the loneliness drives into craving madness. This was the horizon that
the madman, Petelgeuse Romanee Conti had reached. Being aware of his own
madness, recognizing his abnormality simply, this was the view that Madman
saw.

Ram: "Barusu, what's wrong?"

While he was feeling disgusting empathy, Ram’s voice fell on trembling

Subaru's back. Subaru swallowed the blood mixed with saliva and looked back
at those two, acting like nothing happened.

Subaru: "Nothing, just sand in my shoes makes me feel uncomfortable."

Ram: “Barusu being silent in particular, Ram's heart doesn’t care even a
bit, but behind Anastasia-sama’s words, there is also a reason.”

Subaru: "What?"

Ram: "Even if it’s you who are silent, holding back something won’t ease
a woman’s anxiety. If you want to do that, then hide it better."

Subaru: "――"

Subaru once again bends his lips to those words.

The meaning of Ram's words was obvious, it couldn’t be mistaken. Then he
also noticed that Ram’s words were translations of Anastasia's hard to
understand words. It seemed as if he was being seen through, and his heart
rather began to scatter.

Subaru: "It's vague, I don’t think I can explain by saying it..."

Ram: "It is too bad that the meaning of Barusu's words are not
understandable now. If you're worried about something, you should pay more
attention to it.”

Anastasia: "Ram-san is really an unforgiving opponent for Natsuki-kun."

Tutting at Subaru’s words, Ram’s usual sharp tongue strikes back. With
bitterness and sharpness close to being poisonous, Anastasia gives a bitter
smile. To Anastasia’s calm composure, Ram shrugged her shoulders,

Ram: "Please be relieved, Barusu is pretty happy, cause he’s a pervert who
enjoys suffering."

Subaru: "What the hell are you talking about? Why on earth are you judging
on what I am? Don’t turn me into a punching bag so freely, okay? you know?
The only one you can hit, is a guy who's ready to hit you?"
Ram: "Hmph"

Snorting her nose, Ram’s attitude of making a fool out of a fool is almost
her usual self.
Unlike Subaru's mood, her already being able to return to her self-
indulgent self was envious. Enviously being envious or just hateful, he
feels disgusted just thinking about her.

However, even though they are having the usual chit-chats, the color of
disturbing shadows would soon be diluted.

Subaru: "Explaining something that is difficult to explain... I am just a

little paranoid now."

"――"

When he said it again, it sounded more futile than he had imagined.

It’s also worth mentioning that Ram and Anastasia may act surprised in
response to that.

"――"

Looking at it, Patrasche seemed to be somewhat amazed.

For Patrasche, who is clever and able to discern the reason behind things,
it is possible that she sees Subaru as weak minded now. Rather, if she
quits being with Subaru and starts serving a proper lord it would be way
better for her.
Actually, he felt like even Ram and Anastasia were better at handling
Patrasche. If she thinks that he was an obstacle for that, it is natural to
peel her tusks into Subaru―

Subaru: "Stop, stop it..."

Anastasia: "I understand it was more serious than how stupid it sounded
when put it into words."

Anastasia evaluates Subaru, who was staring at Patrasche and was gradually
getting swayed. When it was realized that the reason was ridiculous, relief
and anxiety simultaneously increased. It was like the girls had excluded
Subaru from their choices... Before that happens, still―.

Subaru: "I, am a really bad person"

Anastasia: “This, perhaps it would be easier if we seriously tied him up
and carried him, no?”

Turning his face red or making it pale, Anastasia threw a spoon at Subaru
who was making faces. Ram curls her eyebrow thinking “However” about
Anastasia's observation.

Ram: "Even if we do tie up Barusu’s hands and legs, it won’t be a

fundamental solution."

Subaru: "Do not use such words that you might make an enemy out of me."

Ram: "It's not that of a big deal, but I don't want to turn Ram an enemy of
Emilia-sama and Beatrice-sama....... I won’t be able to face Rem again."

Thinking about Ram, Subaru struggles not to harbour any hostility against
her. While fighting with such emotions, there was in fact a good thing.

In really, that isn’t something to think about in this situation.

However, making a journey to explore the Pleiades Watchtower, in the
labyrinth of sand twice going through "Return by death" till now, a
question which has to be asked,

―When it comes to Rem, Ram reacts awfully sensitively.

Subaru: "――"

Of course for Subaru it’s a good sign that Ram cares about Rem.
For Rem, who is erased from everyone's memory other than Subaru, only
Subaru has a bond with her. Although, it certainly brings a special feeling
in Subaru, but it does not bring any meaning in a practical sense.

As for the isolated circumstances of Rem, Ram is trying to get closer to

her family as much as possible.
Of course, no memory of Rem is left in her, that’s the sad fact he came to
know over the past year. On the other hand, however, there is no doubt that
Ram accepts the existence of another girl alike herself, Rem, more heavily
than "the truth informed by Subaru".

And apparently those feelings were so much so "that was beyond Subaru’s
imagination", perhaps the actual feelings were being brought back to Ram.

That can be seen from the explosion of discontent in the previous labyrinth
loop ― which triggered the outburst for Subaru's lack of consideration.
She could not remember. Yet, Ram’s feelings were comparable to what he
could remember.
The feeling was deeper than what Subaru thought.

― But in reality, is it only that?

Ram: "... It’s unpleasant"

Subaru: "No, it's disgusting. Not even that. It’s damn paranoia!"

Ram: "Have you gotten yourself up on a pedestal? There's no use."

Subaru: "If I am on a pedestal, aren’t you taking yourself on a god-level

pedestal and looking down on others?"

Thus, it is safe to say that the relationships have not changed from usual.
Even though the mood changes instantaneously and the warm feelings turn
into cold hearted hostility.
Only at that time, you could hate someone.

Anastasia: "If you look carefully, Natsuki-kun’s behaviour....what should

be the cause?"

Ram: "Did you also notice that Anastasia-sama?"

Anastasia: "Well, it seems that Natsuki-kun is obviously affected to some

extent. I think."

Because of the circumstances, Subaru was being invaded by the paranoia of

suspecting anything and everything, Ram and Anastasia looked at each other
as if they were getting some hint. Rather, only Subaru knew the real
reason. With both of their perceptions, they were becoming even more
cautious. Alas, while speaking so, it was clear that Subaru's every move
was being carefully observed to an extent that it was getting annoying.

Subaru: "Annoying......huh, how foolish."

Anastasia: "Did you say something?"

Subaru: "Just my stupidity. Therefore, what do you think?"

While puzzling the minds in their own sensitivity, Ram and Anastasia were
also getting puzzled. Then, in response to Subaru's question, they turned
ahead together.
Being lured by the development looking forward, they could definitely
understand what he said.

―The crossroads have appeared in front of the eyes.

Anastasia: "I felt the disgusting wind flowing from a while ago, but... now
I realized the source."

Ram: "This bad wind invokes discord. As Meili described it, Barusu’s body
odor seems to summon demon beasts. And by nature, the affinity is bad...
No, I wonder if it’s better."

Subaru: “Do you understand what this disgusting feeling is?”

Ram: "Barusu’s present condition and if Barusu’s body odor multiplies the
factor by many times, the answer would be the same."

Subaru: "Don’t say body odor so many times!"

In the past two loops, they unanimously agreed on the subject of "bad
feeling". Then, Subaru’s current physical condition and present
circumstances were intertwined. Thus a different opinion was born.

Ram and Anastasia looked at each other and nodded together,

Ram & Anastasia: "Miasma."

Subaru: "The Witch’s, huh. Then, going ahead would mean... "

Anastasia: "Though I'm not sure, it is a well-known fact that there is a

"Witch's shrine" beyond the sand dunes. Oh, and since the sand sea
distorsion is solvable, even if it was connected by some accident.....”

Ram: "It turned out to be an unexpected shortcut, or something like that.

Therefore...”
The miasma caused their souls to become corrupted and stirred up a discord
that ended up in killing each other.
On top of that, the possibility of that statement’s existence, Anastasia
smiles bitterly and points at the way.

The crossroads splitting into two, miasma drifting from the right and the
centaur’s nest on the left.
Of course, about the threats lurking in the left road, he intended to
cleverly speak after this ― but for the time being, which way should they
go?

Anastasia: "So, which way do you think is the right answer?"

At Anastasia's question, Subaru and Ram looked away from each other.
But their voices had joined together unintentionally when said.

Subaru & Ram: "―Left"

That was the case.

Arc 6 – Chapter 24, Witch of Wrath

Backstory
— a woman, there existed a single woman.

The woman was very emotional. The woman was always crying. She was very sensitive to
pain and kept crying all the time.

One reason why she grieved and lamented was due to her own inability to forgive.

The woman was surrounded by conflicts, by fights, by scrambles.

No matter how many times she raised her voice, no matter how many people she caught hold
of, her sorrow was endless, and her frustration did not meet it’s end. That’s why the woman
cursed her destiny.

After cursing, cursing, cursing her destiny, the woman noticed. It is useless to cry, no matter
how much you do so.

After noticing that, the next thing the woman wanted was just pure strength.

To have the power to punish anyone and to overwhelm everyone, the woman pushed herself
to her limit, gained as much power as she could, and struggled as much as she wished to.

What was needed, was not the power to hurt. A power that takes away power, it is not such a
thing either.

She wished for such overwhelming strength that nobody could compete with. She believed
that that would stop the fighting.

The woman who kept shedding tears, wished for a power that would stop her from crying.

A battle where two sides of power collide, could not be stopped if you remained helpless.
The voice does not reach through. The wish does not come true. Keeping the lamentation
aside, despair covers the sky.

Why, are you hurting others. Why, do you think that you should keep living while hurting
others. Why, why, why, don’t you think that another way is possible.

“Children are crying. Old people are crying. Men are crying. Women are crying. Everyone is
crying. Why—!!”

To stop that, she wanted strength.

She trained herself, withstood any pain and pushed through with her will of steel.

Eventually, the woman will reach through. To her desired power, an overwhelming strength
that pretty much nobody would be able to keep up with.

The woman, standing on the battlefield, screams loudly to stop the fighting.

Scooping all the power with her force, she crushed all the lamentation with force, beat down
every malice that had power, and her tears stopped flowing.

She beats the ones who were holding swords, kicks the ones that relied on using magic,
crushed the things that struck with fangs, and crushed everything that was seeking a fight.

However, the more the woman resists, the stronger the ones with the swords, magic, and
fangs get.

It is like a spiral, a spiral of conflict.

Other than the powerful competing forces, nobody individually knows the answer. So nobody
knows that there are other ways than fighting and winning.

“How come—!!”

She thinks that she, herself, in the long run, was being violent.

Lowering her blood-wet fist, the woman returned, and while looking at the sky painted in
blood, she cried out.

The fights cannot be stopped. All the hard work and effort was in vain, and the tears of ego
do not stop flowing.

Finally, desperation enters the chest of the woman, who was running endlessly.

Tears flowed. They overflowed.

These were not the warm tears which continued to flow endlessly, these were the cold tears
of helplessness and disappointment.

But at the same time, there was another emotion that springs up.
Her chest gets dyed a darkening black, but rather than that, her field of vision turns red and
her mind goes white.

The crying woman does know the identity of that feeling.

Knowing just the name of that emotion, the woman now begins to understand the begging of
that feeling.

It was not because of sadness that she cried. She was just mad at herself. The name of this
feeling, is what people call rage — no, this is what people call “Wrath”.

To those who compel to shed tears, to those who do not stop fighting, to those whose lives
surely meet an unexpected end someday.

— Have a taste of my fist.

One day, the woman stood up, pounded the soil with her knee and started running again.

She jumps into the midst of the people, who were still fighting, beats their face, and shouts.

Stop the fight. Look at the sky. Listen to the wind. Smell the flowers. Live with your families
and lovers.

With the woman’s voice, for the first time, tremors ran through the battlefield.

Fists that could send a crack through the earth, kicks that could roar through the sky, all of
these made the most of the people’s feelings.

The wounds get blocked, the screams become silent, the knees get healed due to warmth, and
there was no longer any meaning in left in the battle.

The tears of the people stopped. People wanted to thank the woman. Raising their voice,
waving their hands, they laugh. But then, they notice that woman was already gone.

Of course.

The woman still has something she needs to do. She does not have the time to look back,
there was no reason for her to stop her feet.

No one is crying, no one is fighting, nothing is robbed away, she sought such a world.

Running, running, continuing her running, the woman continues to shake her fist.

Until all tears are stopped. Until the warm streams of droplets on her cheeks stop.

— “The Witch of Wrath” burned with a sorrowful anger and kept on running.
Arc 6 – Chapter 25, Witch of Sloth
Backstory

— a woman, there existed a single woman.

The woman was being oppressed. By her family, by her friends, by the people beloved to her,
she was despised and hated.

Before she was born, there were expectations from her. She betrayed them all the day she was
born.

What was left within their hearts was only discouragement and disappointment, what was
given to her was only despair and mockery. Those were the only belongings of that woman.

There was a desire of that clan. The second coming of their founder, the former embodiment
of glory and prosperity, who was called ‘God’.

Every unknown secret technique, and all outrageous, contraindications were used, and the
fruit of it all was that woman.

However, this resultant woman betrayed their desire, and her family and beloved saw her
only with eyes filled with despair and disappointment.

“Just live in some corner and then die. That is what you deserve for your crime.”

Eventually the girl child was abandoned in a grassland by her family.

Without knowing the art of survival, she was abandoned, and as just a girl child, she should
not have had survived.

But the woman had the power to live without using the techniques to live.

Ironically, what the family committed for fulfilling their desire, it only proved to be a bad
feast for the innocent child.

Without any knowledge of words, with no wisdom whatsoever, just according to her instincts
the woman survived long in the grassland.

Kill the beast, consume its very living blood, crawl around the ground, and lick the remnants
on the mud.

As time quickly passed, the child became a girl, and the girl became a woman, and it soon
became difficult for her to live in the grassland.

Listening to the rumour of a woman living in a desolated mountain like a wild beast, men aim
for that life and the woman is caught.
The captured woman is beautiful, the men do not take away her life, and the woman is kept.

As the woman’s consciousness eventually complies with the men, she gradually comes down
to the village from the grassland.

Losing any need to work hard for living, being exposed to the men’s desires, she lived to only
live through the days.

One day the woman is sleeping on a bed, and she gets what she did not know from the men.

Language, knowledge, the way of life, emotions.

The way she was treated changed, she was given gifts to be decorated, and the woman is
treated like a jewel.

That day, the woman embraces the strange feelings she had for the men.

What the woman noticed that day was not something similar to appreciation or obligation.

The woman broke the necks of all the men in that house while embracing that feeling.

Easily, effortlessly, without any difficulty, in a moment, she killed them all together, killed
them.

She gets out of that, and through the grassland, the woman returns to her hometown without
any hesitation.

For the family that lived there, for her beloved those who shared the same blood as her, for
the clan members who had much bigger bodies than her, the woman felt strange feelings.

The woman does not notice at that time that what she felt was vengeance and hatred.

But, to those painfully suffering voices crying and asking for forgiveness, the woman smiled
from the bottom of heart for the first time.

“Get crushed here, and die in such a pitiful way. — that is, what you deserve for your crime.”

In order to gain that pleasure, one after another, the woman crushed her family, her blood
relatives, and the wish of her clan members.

Carefully, very carefully, nothing should be left, without overdoing it, leisurely, one by one,
with absolute certainty.

Eventually when all of her family died and everything was over, the woman came back to the
place where she had spent time with the men.

She abandoned the dead bodies of her family, but she carefully buried the dead bodies of the
men.

Then the woman took a deep, deep breath in the residential area.
The happiness the woman felt for the first time, was that of the feeling of rest and relief.

She will not get in the way of anyone anymore. Thinking and acting are useless, just fall
asleep.

— “The Witch of Sloth” continues to intensify her peace of mind and does it endlessly.

Arc 6 – Chapter 23, Witch of Pride’s

Backstory
–A woman, there existed a single woman.

She was still young so one may hesitate calling her a woman.

Coarse clothes on a thin body, green hair with a dark skin burnt by the sun.

A woman of that age should be rightfully called a girl, but her heart was dominated by
unending unrest.

It was a natural question to that woman which was never answered.

“—-”

It continued to bother her head all the time, that unending supreme question.

It existed in this world, that white and black — good and evil, that is.

Correct things, wrongdoings.

–Even if there are countless actions in the world, all of those actions would be evaluated as
either of them.

For the woman who was still a girl, there was a reason to continue worrying about it. It was
inevitable.

The one who divides the woman’s world into white and black, good and evil, good cause and
evil cause, these two, was the woman’s own father.

The woman’s father beheaded the heads of the sinners, and his work was to give appropriate
punishments for their crimes.

To give appropriate punishment, to the sinner who committed the crime, to give an end to
those lives was the father’s work.

“–Executioner.”
That was what the woman said after seeing her father executing and the execution facility,
since a young age.

A brutal act, cruel deeds acted upon the living attendants, the execution place was dominated
by blood and death.

— the fact that the woman continued to see “death”, was not her own will but her father’s
instead.

There will be a punishment for the crime committed, evil is rewarded with a bad fruit.

The father tried to tell the woman about the existence of good and evil in the world, and to
believe in himself as an executioner.

The father’s intention was sublime, and must have had been backed by a noble thought.

However, considering the youthfulness of the woman, it was solitary and it was too early to
expect ideals from her.

The woman saw several deaths, smelled the scent of blood, and burnt the sinner that had to be
punished.

As a result of that, the woman studied the significance of life and appropriate punishment for
sins before learning about the theory of death.

Good causes produce good deeds, evil causes cause evil, the sinners’ souls are defiled in
accordance with their punishment.

Understanding her father’s teachings, the woman wanted a way to “punish sins”. She asked
for what could be a guide on as to what balanced as good and what defined unfavourable evil.

“—-”

However, the balance the woman was looking for did not exist in the area she was looking for
it.

There is no simple answer as to what is good or evil, what is right or wrong, sins and
punishments depended upon several factors.

“—-”

However, the woman, still young, doesn’t know how to compromise or give up and does not
stop.

There must be an answer. There must be a right balance held for what is good and evil.

The answers had to be given to the unending questions in the heart.

“—-”
The days of that conflict continue, but suddenly the answer was given like a grace of heaven.

She broke her father’s cup, and the woman was extremely frightened for the crime she had
committed.

Prepared for getting her neck dropped, the woman confessed her sin to her father.

“–Confessing your mistake, and apologizing for it is correct.”

The woman’s father forgave her carelessness, with a smile on his face as well.

The young woman understood the smile of her father and the feeling of the palm stroking her
head.

–The balance to measure the crime committed is within the criminal’s own heart, nothing
other than that.

Even if no one saw it, the sinner himself is aware of his sin.

Good and evil, are unknown. They’re difficult. No right guidelines for correctness can be
found. Cannot be located.

However, the consciousness about the sin is within oneself. There is no criteria for giving
appropriate punishment to the sin. However, the consciousness about the appropriate
punishment for the sin is still within oneself.

The woman understood that, the woman was satisfied by that, and finally got the balance.

The young woman uncovered the preciousness of life, and ignoring the rule of giving death to
the person, uncovered the sins that were deserving of appropriate punishment.

“—-”

The woman walks out under the sun to her executor father and acquaint herself to the
punishment he deserved for his sin.

To expose the sinner’s desire to punish.

“—-”

The division of right and wrong, true and false, real and false, was all the culmination of life
for the woman.

To the woman’s question, some laugh, some worry, some get confused.

But the answer to the woman’s question is the same for everyone.

–The appropriate extent of the punishment needed for the sin, is within oneself’s heart.

Take a look around. Nobody is there. There are only the sinners who have been punished.
In the end, overcoming her father’s shattered fragments, the woman walks out looking for the
sin that needs to be punished in order to give justice to the sinner.

–“The Witch of Pride” questioned sins, punished, and continued judging sinners.

Arc 6 – Chapter 27, Witch of Lust

Backstory
–a woman, there existed a single woman.

The woman, from all aspects, was born and raised as an ordinary village girl.

Loved by her parents, loved by her brothers, she was an ordinary woman who loved her
family back as well.

A marriage is decided by the house, like how all village daughters get fixed in a little corner
of the cold village. That was the doubtless way of life paved for women.

Such mediocrity of the woman was shattered by a crowd of powerful people who visited the
village.

With the bad habit of only wanting what others owned, the powerful forcefully wanted that
woman without knowing what was good for themselves.

Even if it’s just a cold village in a small country, the disparity between the powerful could not
be erased. The woman cannot go against the request of the powerful. Absurd fate, with no
other obtainable outcome.

However, the woman was loved. By her family, by the family she was going to marry into,
by the village.

The people burn up in anger, which eventually results in fighting.

The fire spreads, the villagers become militant, and finally burn all the powerful down.

One night, the woman’s position changed dramatically. From a mere ordinary village girl, a
group of men who acted as warriors, proposed for marriage.

With the continued flame, the surroundings took an even dangerous turn as powerful
appeared one after another.

It went back to everyone who wished for that woman.

In the blink of an eye, the burning flares burn the small country, neighbouring countries, and
even the great country.

The knowledge about the existence of that woman spreads, and people start rumouring that
she was a heavenly princess of beauty.
The fantasies and illusions overlap, and the slender body of that woman gets seemingly
continually crushed by the growing interests and expectations.

Nobody notices anything about that. Neither her family nor the family she was to marry into,
neither the citizens, nobody looked at the woman.

When she shook hands, the crowds shouted, if she walked down the road, the people call her
out with a wave of tears.

“This, is…… strange. Y-You are mistake……n……”

Covering her face, denying it. This cannot be, this is not possible. I am just a mere village
girl, neither a heavenly princess of beauty nor a glittering, thrilling woman of the country, but
just a village girl.

Where is such worth in myself.

People are drunk with dreams. Deceived by illusions and dancing for their ideals.

Eventually, the flames, which originated from that woman, start burning away everything
even without any brute force.

On top of that all, the proposer kneels in front of that woman. And, holds her.

“–I love you. This victory, these smiling faces of people, everything of it was given to me by
you.”

The burning capital, the stacks of corpses, the people shivering in madness.

The villagers who were with her, the family who loved her, the marriage that was to happen
with the wish of happiness of that woman.

There is nobody anywhere anymore.

–The woman left without giving an answer to the proposal. Discarding everything, the
villagers, her family.

It’s not that she has given it all away. Neither did she wish for this. The woman just lost
everything she had.

Losing the things she was supposed to have, her beloved, the woman walks alone on the
burnt field.

Even still, dreams, fantasies, ideals do not let the woman escape.

With not a single exception, everyone loves that woman, desire that woman, wish for that
woman, making her lose everything.

Everyone loves the woman. It is like a curse. Those who loved, did not even know about
what true love is.
“The Witch of Lust” continued to be loved which brought destruction, as she continued
seeking for the love she lost.

Arc 6 – Chapter 30, Witch of Greed

Backstory
A woman; a lonesome woman.

This woman worried about everything; about each and every struggling person in the world.

Nothing in this small world was hidden from her view. To her, everything, everyone, was a
child who needed protection.

Such a fragile world, with such fragile people, would be so easy to subjugate.

But the woman sought not to control this world. Instead, she sought to shelter it from harm.

And thus, her wretched war of trial and error began. But protecting and advising and saving
the entire world proved to be too heavy a burden, for the woman’s lonely hands could not
reach everyone.

Although she could see every solution, she lacked a way solve every problem.

For the first time, the woman cursed her own inadequacy.

Even if she saw a calamity, she was short on helping hands.

Even if she was immersed in a building crisis, she could do nothing to prevent it. She could
never do enough.

She could reach what was in front of her, but she couldn’t cross an impossible distance. She
could deal with pressing affairs, but she couldn’t turn back the unforgiving wheel of time.

There was so much beyond her reach.

Her supposed power had not granted her wish. Her arrogant wisdom lit no path to hope.

And thus, even as she cast warding spells, the woman fell into despair. Submerged by an
endless sea of regret, each sorrowful wail she could not prevent shattered her broken heart
afresh.

Finally, the woman understood.

I can’t. There’s no way. It’s impossible.

This exorbitant, lofty wish was unattainable, especially for one lonesome woman.
She knew. She realized. She understood. Her wish was impossible. But. Even so…
If her own vigilant hands weren’t enough, she would find more. Simply by not being alone,
by finding others who shared her wish, she could reach everyone.

Her mind felt cleansed. The once hazy path had finally become clear.

Her wish could finally reach her once inexorable lament, those once inevitable tragedies.

Extending peace offerings to the conquerors, introducing a cleansing celestial sword to war
torn battlefields, forming warding contracts with great dragons, these would lead to the
fulfillment of that wish.

Surely, she could fulfill it. Surely, it would come. The promised denouement of her great
wish.

No matter what, at any cost, soon, maybe tomorrow. It was, of course, on its way—.

“Saved. They’ll all be saved. The way to save them, I can see it. —The path to salvation.”

Even if there were a price to pay in blood, she needed to prevail, for leaving her struggle
unfinished would render it meaningless.

Even if her newfound comrades were to break their vow, even if her celestial sword’s smiles
were vanish forever, even if her dragon were to levant to faraway skies, she could not
surrender.

Even if her first allies left her side, she lose her way, for the once lonesome woman was no
longer alone.

“There’s a truth here. Ah, I need it. —This sacred knowledge.”

She walks a road paved with corpses, designating countless lives as sacrifices, all for the sake
of grasping her greatest aspiration.

One day, with the sufficient amount of knowledge, her hands would reach each and every
tear.

For the first time, she truly believes that she can reach it.

So, consumed by that sacred wish, the woman struggles through the excruciating despair.

The [Witch of Greed] bleeds avarice in the wake of her yearning.

Arc 6 – Chapter 26, Witch of Gluttony

Backstory
— a woman, there existed a single woman.
The woman was trembling. The woman was standing on the limit of madness. The woman
was standing on the polar region of starvation.

She roared in the solitary castle, bent towards the throne of the sky, lost her teeth, her mouth
was split open, and she was hungry.

The woman was a human the day she was born, but now she is no longer a person.

It all started a few years earlier, when the man who ruled this land suffered from an incurable
disease.

The man weakened each passing day, and afraid of the approaching death, he reached out for
every mean to prolong his life.

Eventually he reached a contraindicative technique in which a lot of lives must be gathered to

prolong his own life, a bad exchange.

Many lives were sacrificed, many lives became meaningless, and there that stood that lone
woman as the next sacrifice.

Who am I, what is my name, what kind of family did I have and who was family, such
memories get burned away.

The woman was only a meagre tool. On the nurse’s bed, the man’s life was eroded by his
sickness and he now could only waited for death.

The woman survived, although her life was supposed to be an innocent life only to be spent.

The flesh does not get destroyed, the power springs up, and lights up a life that had been left
behind by time.

The man, who was the victim of the sickness, realised that his desires and wishes lied within
the woman’s body.

The man rejoiced the outcome, and delaying the memorial service of the victims, punished
the woman by detaining her.

— when she took notice, the woman found herself suffering from hunger in an abandoned,
isolated castle.

Her cruel hunger overcomes her thoughts, her memories are devoured by violent thirst. She
does not have any memories. She does not understand anything. However, her whole body
was bound and she had no freedom.

Exhausting the food in the castle, she vomited out the contents of the stomach and repeatedly
chewed it again.

At last, with limitless hunger, she got to the stone walls, chewed the throne, and cut off and
ate the carpet.
At this rate, she will starve and die. Her immortal body will starve to death.

“Guruguru, guruguru. Guruguru, guruguru……”

Forgetting everything due to her starvation, the woman finally sees a vision.

In the solitary castle, running around freely is a group of dogs with bestial hair.

She does not mind hallucinations. Even if she is not physically filled, she will be satisfied
with just the feeling of being full.

With such feelings in her heart, the woman crawls and stands head to head with the beasts.
She eats them. She eats them up.

She was filled. She threw it up right after. She licked what she had vomited out. She chews it
again. She vomits it, and eats it again.

There was a taste in that vision, in that mistaken observation, in that desire, in that taste. It
has a shape. She rolls it on her tongue. When she notices it, the entire inside of the castle was
transformed into dogs and dreadful beasts.

“Ah, hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah ha~a”

She was delighted. The following days were filled with her eating, eating more, eating and
filling herself, filling herself and vomiting it all out. She became pinched with this hunger
and this cycle, of eating, and spilling it all out.

From out of nowhere – no, she gave rebirth to those hideous beasts.

One day, the woman’s restrains could not endure the beasts while she was eating, and they all
get outside and get freed.

Now, with freedom, the woman crawled and left the castle.

The beasts also follow the woman and leave the castle. They scatter around the earth, here
and there.

Hungry, hungrier, the woman left the boring castle with no doubts in her mind.

Someday, the day will come when this hunger and thirst shall be satisfied.

— “The Witch of Gluttony” gives birth to a group of monsters and continued to be hungry
with her inexhaustible hunger.

Chapter 33 [■■■・■■■]
Left behind by a myriad of fluttering feathers, abyss descended on the balcony in the night.
Fearless birds spread their wings and took to flight into the murky night sky.
One could almost say that falling from that lonely sky would have been easier than remaining
in this place.
If only that were true, Subaru would have wholeheartedly embraced that notion―― at least,
aside from this suffocating situation, that would have been the next-worst thing.

[――――]

The location was the Watchtower, on a balcony hidden by the night.

Julius stood there, blocking the doorway, with doubt carved into his handsome features and
rigid cheeks. In front of his line of sight, were Subaru and Echidona, who had been secretly
conversing in the night――to Julius, she would have been Anastasia, since they looked
exactly alike.

[Julius: ――what you said just now, what did you mean?]

In that tense, congealing space, Julius repeated this over and over.
The bewildered content of his words was no different from the moment before, but his voice
sounded weaker with every repetition, like proof of the of the depth of his sorrow.

――When, did you start listening to the conversation?

[――――]

Faced with Julius’ question, Subaru forced his halted thoughts to move, and landed on this
question. When did he start listening, that’s the most important thing.
The content of that conversation with Echidona=Anastasia just now, was definitely not
something he should have been allowed to hear before he had been prepared. For in this
Watchtower-expedition, the secrets kept by Subaru and Echidona were simply far too deep.

Things ranging from Artificial Spirits, Witch of Greed, Authority of Gluttony, and their
various implications…
Subaru had hidden them all from Julius, having judged that they would only complicate
things, and bring him nothing but suffering.
More than anything, was the fact that Anastasia’s spirit was sleeping, and that right now, the
one inhabiting her body was the Artificial Spirit of Echidona.
In other words――

[Anastasia: ――Ah~, come on, Natsuki-kun, stop looking like that]

[Subaru: ……Huh?]

Suddenly, lightly poking the stiff Subaru in the chest with her finger, Echidona put on a
charming smile.
Her tone and attitude were so perfectly like Anastasia’s, that for a moment, Subaru bulged his
eyes in stupefaction and could not be entirely certain what was happening.
Leaving Subaru behind, as if dancing, Echidona did a turn on the spot, and,
[Anastasia: I’m sorry, Julius. But it’s not like we’re leaving you out of the loop, you know. I
just thought I’d talk with Natsuki-kun about some of the important things that’ll be happening
after we leave the Pleiades Watchtower, that’s all]

[――――]

[Anastasia: We had to leave the green room since Rem and the baby ground dragon were
there, you know? It’s not like we’re afraid of any special secret leaking out, but I was just in
the mood for something extra secretive. So we moved around…… and this just happened to
be only suitable place we could find. That’s all]

Clapping her hands together in front of her chest, Echidona slightly tilted her head as if to say
[Forgive me?]
That adorable gesture appeared to be just the kind of thing Anastasia would think of. But,
unlike the one trying to distract away from the vital part of the story, Anastasia would never
sink as low as this.
As if trying to cover up an unfavorable scene after the other person had already seen it, the
words only came across as barren and superficial―― actually, one might as well replace the
“as if” with “certainly” there.

It was a very undesirable situation. Having been caught off-guard, Echidona probably shared
Subaru’s opinion. The only difference was that she just happened to be quicker than Subaru
in taking action.
And then――

[Julius: ――You are not Anastasia-sama, are you]

[――――]

[Julius: Echidona, I want you to tell me. Even when it’s already come to this point, the fact
that you are still trying to hide it from me, tells me you probably weren’t a bad person before
you died]

Through a faint glimmer of hesitation, Julius asked Echidona to her face. Hearing this,
Echidona muttered [Why that’s just……], and for a moment, appeared to be preparing to
refute him, but,

[Julius: Echidona]

Once again, Julius stopped her with his call. And, just like this, she turned Anastasia’s face
toward Subaru with an indescribable emotion stirring within those light onion-green eyes.
But at this point, even Subaru couldn’t think of a way to salvage this.

[Subaru: Julius, where do you want us to begin?]

[Julius: ……From Anastasia-sama’s body]

In response to Subaru’s question, Julius replied in a choked voice.

That much was more than enough to discern his disturbed emotional state. But even so, it
must be said, that only a man like Julius would have been able to remain calm at a time like
this, even if only on the surface.
Or perhaps, it may simply have gone too far beyond his limits, and too far beyond what
emotions can convey.

[Echidona: Ever since the battle with the Witch Cult in Priestella city, Ana’s spirit has been
sleeping deep inside her body. So, right now, the one moving her body isn’t Ana herself. But
I, playing her role in her stead, until today]

Echidona probably thought it was no longer possible to go on pretending.

Plainly, without any set-up, she simply spoke as if laying out the facts.

In the middle of defending Priestella against the Witch Cult, Echidona took Anastasia’s
place, and dueled with the Witch-Cultists―― After that, Anastasia’s spirit had been asleep
ever since.
They had hidden this from Julius and Ricardo, and all the members of the Iron-Fang before
they set out for the Pleiades Watchtower.
――This fact, was only shared between Subaru and Echidona.

[Julius: Why, would you only share this information with Subaru?]

[Echidona: He was not under the influence of the Sin-Archbishop’s Authority, and so he was
the only person outside the chaos of the situation. Besides, I, an Artificial Spirits of the same
roots as Beatrice, have sealed a contract with a Spirits-Arts user as well. I must confess this
was not my original intention. Only……]

[Julius: ――. Only?]

[Echidona: Only…… he saw through my act as Ana, so I had no choice but to tell him]

Hearing this explanation of why only Subaru came to know that it was Echidona inside
Anastasia’s body, Julius’ eyes began to tremble beyond control.
Of course. Because Subaru saw through Echidona’s performance――

[Julius: Someone who barely knows her, something even a stranger should notice… I call
myself her Knight and I didn’t even notice it……]

[Subaru: Stop, you dumbass! You can’t say that!]

[Julius: ――――]

[Subaru: Your situation…… you were just in a bad situation! There was a huge thing that just
happened to you, tying you down! And it wasn’t just you, there’s Ricardo and Mimi as well,
wasn’t there? I only noticed because…… anyway it just happened by chance!]

Listening to Julius mocking himself with those words, Subaru tried to put a stop to his self-
injury. However, in his failure of his duty as a Knight, there were no words that could console
him.

In reality, just what could Julius have done? Was he really to blame for this?
The Lord he devoted his loyalty to, his comrades with whom he swore his oath, his fellow
Knights that have always been his companions, and all the many, many more, everything he
had accumulated up to now in his life as a Knight, had collapsed like a wall of sand. How can
he stand before them again?
Stalwart. Elegant. A Knight. How could he ever be called that again.
If being a Knight meant never permitting oneself to succumb to one’s pain like a common
human being, then being a Knight was a curse for Julius Euculius.

[Julius: It is the duty of a Knight to eliminate chance, and be certain at all times]

[Subaru: ――! Then a Knight is…… nothing but a troublesome title isn’t it……]

[Julius: Take back those words, and do not say them to me again. I…… right now I, I’m
afraid I’ve lost some part of myself……]

Subaru’s consoling rationalization simply bounced off in the face of Julius’ Knightly
convictions. Watching as Subaru fell speechless from the emotions clogging up his throat,
Julius shook his head.

[Julius: Let’s get back on topic. ――Echidona, what is your intention?]

[Echidona: ……To return this body to Ana. That, is the reason I brought you all to the
Pleiades Watchtower, even more importantly than the victims of Gluttony and Lust]

[Julius: In other words, you mean to say you never wanted this. And you have no way to
restore Anastasia-sama…… even if I slay you]

Placing his hand on the Knight’s sword at his waist, Julius narrowed his eyes and threw her
this perilous question.
Receiving this, Echidona cast down her eyes, and gently touched her own chest.

[Echidona: That I am an evil spirit, and have taken over Ana’s body for that reason…… I
cannot give you any evidence to refute that speculation. So, if you are convinced that I am
lying to you, even if you choose to destroy me, I cannot stop you]

But, at the end of her last syllable, Echidona continued after pausing only a beat.

[Echidona: But in that case, any possibility of restoring the consciousness of Ana’s empty
shell will be extinguished by your hand…… In the worst case, it will become difficult to
even preserve her life, and there is a chance that she will die]

Echidona cut down Julius’ suggestion, and laid out her thoughts. Then, having said this, she
softly lifted up her hands,

[Echidona: Of course, this is only a nonsense possibility I had no choice but to come up with
because I want to live. Even I, cannot say for sure whether my death would be the solution. If
I must die so that Ana could live, I feel like I would be alright with that. Though I really don’t
want to die]

[Julius: And why, would you be willing to do that for Anastasia-sama?]

[Echidona: The relationship between Ana and I are not complete. Therefore, perhaps it would
not be right for a common spirit to take a Spirits Arts user’s rightful place……]

Cutting off her words there, Echidona looked at Julius and Subaru in turn.
It seemed almost as though she was admiring the odd-looking pair who shared a bond quite
different than that of a Spirit and a Spirits Arts user.

[Echidona: I like Ana. And I have been at her side ever since she was a young child. So I do
not wish to abandon her, and I want her to be happy. ――That, is my reason]

[Julius: ――――]

[Echidona: Julius, I did not reveal this fact to you because it would have only lead to
unnecessary confusion. Ana herself had wanted to keep my existence secret, if possible. In
fact, she was the reason I had remained hidden all the way until what happened in Priestella.
It was all thanks to that child]

Even back in Priestella, Julius would have been quite shocked if Anastasia announced that
Echidona had been hiding inside her all that time.
Subaru, who had prioritized retrieving Emilia above all else, could not possibly imagine what
storm must be churning within Julius’ chest at that moment.

Only, in such a short span of time, what his Lord had kept hidden―― as well as the secret
pertaining to the fundamentals of Anastasia herself, were all revealed to him at a time when
they should not have been revealed. Just how much must all of this be weighing on Julius?

[Julius: ……I can understand your relationship with Anastasia-sama. It is difficult to believe
everything. But, I have no choice but to believe you. At least, in that it would be thoughtless
to do anything to you right now]

[Echidona: Oh, is that so? I am glad you chose rationally, Julius. I’m sure Ana would be glad
as well]

[Julius: ――――]

Letting go of the hilt of his Knight’s sword, Julius did not respond to Echidona’s words, and
only remained in silence.
But he was far from having understood it, and it left him a sense of shame to think about it.
Yet, in the blink of a moment, Julius cast this out of his mind, and,

[Julius: I just want to confirm this. Anastasia-sama’s Od is the price for your ability to
continue to manifest yourself…… so naturally, the more you strain yourself, the heavier the
burden on Anastasia-sama’s body will be. Is that correct?]

[Echidona: Correct. That’s the right way to understand it. If I eat well, sleep well, get some
moderate exercise…… take a generally healthy approach to life, it’d be just enough to
counteract the toll on Ana’s Od]

[Julius: If that’s the case…… then why did you pull that stunt on the second level?]
Just as Echidona was slightly recovering herself, lightheartedly joking in between her words,
Julius struck her with this unexpected question.
Considering what happened on the second level, it’s only understandable that he would point
this out――

[Julius: During my fight with the second-level examiner, Reid Astrea, Anastasia-sama……
using Anastasia-sama’s body… you casted magic… to assist me]

It was at the time of the first clash between Julius and Reid.
Faced with the overwhelming power of Reid’s swordsmanship, when Julius was helpless and
on the verge of defeat, Echidona casted her enormous magical power toward Reid.
Far from being a decisive strike, instead, the load on Anastasia’s body went over her limit,
and she fainted. But the problem was not the result.
It was why did she do it. Just that.

[Julius: The burden of that act on Anastasia-sama’s body could not have been light. After
saying so much, your actions are still conflicting with your claims. So why?]

[Subaru: That’s……]

What Julius pointed out was also what Subaru had been wondering.
Back there, Echidona acted when Julius had been beaten, and carrying an expression as
though he was prepared to die. There seemed to be a lie somewhere, yet it didn’t feel like it
was precalculated.
It must be pure speculation. But could Echidona have chosen to help Julius simply because,
living inside Anastasia, they had already spent so much time together―― could it be
something as simple as that?

However, to Subaru’s doubts, and to Julius’ question, Echidona only replied [I’m sorry], and
deeply bowed on the spot,

[Echidona: Even I feel like a failure there. How should I say this, to a bystander, it might just
seem embarrassing, but I made that decision from a strategic point of view]

[Julius: A strategic decision?]

[Echidona: At the time, I had no idea whether the examiner of the second level had intent to
kill. If I did not do it, we might have lost the fighting power of Julius. Of course, I wanted to
avoid it, for Ana. Besides, Reid Astrea had his back turned…… and so it seemed a perfect
opportunity, in my eyes. But not only did it fail, I‘ve caused you trouble]

Apologizing, and adding one more at the end for good measure, Echidona slowly raised up
her body.
There were no contradictions within her explanation. While it was true that to a bystander, it
would have looked like foolish behavior, Subaru couldn’t find any basis to refute her
reasoning. Emotional ones aside.

Could such a story really be swallowed so easily?

But, before Subaru could pursue the point any further,
[Julius: ――Alright. But please be careful not to do anything rash in the future. Not for
anyone else, only for Anastasia-sama]

[Echidona: Understood]

[Subaru: Wha-!?]

Julius gestured that he had understood and accepted, and nodded back at Echidona. Watching
their exchange, Subaru kicked at the floor as if he wasn’t sure if they were joking.

[Subaru: How can you be convinced by that……]

[Julius: Subaru, I am convinced. Echidona will refrain from doing anything rash in the future.
What else is there to say? ――This is a matter between Anastasia-sama and Echidona, and
between Anastasia-sama and myself]

[Subaru: ――――]

[Julius: It seems you have been caught up in this by some strange mistake. But, this is an
internal matter within the Anastasia camp. This is not your pain to bear]

Listening to Julius trying to distance him from the problem, Subaru clenched the back of his
jaw.
It’s not as if Subaru was carrying this pain because he one-sidedly wanted to.

[Subaru: I, whether or not I take this upon myself is my own business isn’t it!]

[Julius: So you can take this upon yourself, yet deny me the right to face my own problems?
……I don’t seem to recall you ever telling me about Anastasia-sama and Echidona]

[Subaru: ――gh]

[Julius: Sorry. I shouldn’t have said it. ……But it is the truth]

Wrenching this out in a choked voice, Julius turned his eyes away.
Within that voice, that stubbornness, Subaru finally noticed it.

Julius had not remained calm at all.

Far from hiding the tempest raging in his heart, he could not even keep it from seeping
through to the surface.

Having lost his own existence, even the one thing that remained to him, his loyalty to his
Lord, was a lie, and their promise to tell each other every concern had been broken.
Even so, the man named Julius was not supposed to be subject to emotions.

[Julius: I don’t intend to argue. For Anastasia-sama, we must find a way to deal with this
situation as soon as possible. Echidona, I hope I can count on your sincere cooperation]

[Echidona: ……Of course. Since you have already found out, I suppose there is no reason for
me to continue playing Ana anymore. Well, if you can tolerate me in the form of Ana, that is]
[Julius: That is fine. I must restore Anastasia-sama to the way she was, and looking at this
form will remind me of what I must do]

Hearing of his intention to hurt himself to strengthen his resolve, Echidona put on a sad
expression. But Julius had already turned up to the sky, without seeing her face.
As if noticing for the very first time that the night sky from atop the balcony was untouched
by the Miasma, he squinted his eyes under the radiance of the stars.

[Julius: There is no reason to stay here for long. Let’s go back inside. As for Anastasia-
sama’s body and Echidona…… let’s tell Emilia-sama and the others tomorrow]

[Echidona: Ohoh, alright. I will prepare for it as well]

Saying this, Julius gently took Echidona’s hand and began to walk. Surely, it was exactly the
same as what he had always done for Anastasia.
Whatever was inside, his loyalty to Anastasia will not change. ――Even if she was sleeping
deep within her body, even if she had forgotten Julius.

[Subaru: Julius!]

Feeling something painful at the sight of his figure, Subaru shouted out to him.
Having been abandoned by memories while he still remembered everything about the others,
having nothing left except to struggle, desperately relying on that sentiment―― Having been
there himself, he understood that pain.
Even if he was forgotten, he cannot forget. That thought alone gave him the impulse to move.

[Julius: ――――]

Julius halted his steps, and, still holding onto Echidona, did not turn around.
The fact that his back remained perfectly straight, in spite of all the turmoil within his heart,
was just totally frustrating.

[Subaru: You… isn’t there something you want to say to me]

Regarding Echidona, regarding Anastasia’s body, he had kept it all from him.
Tonight, he had promised to take over for spending time in the green room, but Subaru broke
that promise, and secretly met with Echidona on the balcony.

He could make excuses. There were reasons. It’s not that he meant to……
But, regardless of what he meant, or whatever his reasons, or excuses, his heart could not pull
free.

So why won’t you raise your voice to shout at me? Swear at me, and just let out your rage?

Subaru couldn’t be sure whether it was his own sense of guilt, or whether Julius truly thought
this.
Surely, Julius wouldn’t.
Raise his voice, or spit out abuses――

[Julius: ――There is]

[Subaru: ――――]

[Julius: I understand. Why you thought you should hide this truth from me. You meant no
harm. It was only out of concern and consideration. I agree with your apprehensions. If we
switched places, I would have kept my silence as well]

[Subaru: ――――]

[Julius: ――But, even so]

Looking up to the sky. With a voice as if wrenching it out.

[Julius: Whether it is myself, or Anastasia-sama, or you, I don’t want to be thought of as

someone unworthy of being a Knight]

He didn’t need any special procedures to get back into the tower.
Just like the way he entered the balcony, he only had to crawl down below waist-level to get
through the hidden passage and come out inside the tower. While crawling on his knees, the
pointless thought suddenly occurred to him that Julius must have crawled through here in the
exact same way.

Unfortunately, since he had already crawled back earlier, Subaru lost his chance to record this
into memory.
It was because he was so overwhelmed by Julius’ last words, that he remained there
speechlessly for a while.

[Subaru: ――――]

If he didn’t say anything, then he wasn’t dishonest, he thought. ――Except, that wasn’t the
case.
Most likely, Julius believed that even if he had shouted and sworn at Subaru who was
plagued by guilt, it would not have brought him any comfort. And since his virtue would not
allow it, he could not throw his rage and complaints, but only swallow them silently on the
spot.

But, that was not the case.

The words Julius left behind in the end, had stuck into his heart like a thorn.

Perhaps, Subaru would have felt better if he had been yelled at. But since he did not want to
feel better, perhaps it was best that Julius hadn’t said anything.
However, the reality was not like that. The thorn left by Julius insisted on pain, and blood
continued to flow from its piercing wound. Deep enough to make him hesitate about pulling
it out.

[Subaru: I can’t…… go back to the green room anymore]

Chances are, Julius had already escorted Echidona back to the green room by now. After that,
it would be unlikely that he’d go search for a bed in the dragon carriage left in the lower
levels.
This deep-rooted problem―― the sheer depth which was the fault of Subaru’s own poor
judgment, was not something that can be cleared up overnight. At least, it would take time,
and simply holding calm discussions will not be enough to resolve it.

Thinking about it that way, he felt a little embarrassed about going back to the dragon
carriage. Even though he knew Julius would not go back there, he would still feel somewhat
guilty about tugging himself into a warm futon right now.

However, at this late hour, there was no one Subaru could spill his heart to.
The sleeping Rem and Subaru’s best-buddy Patrasche were both in the green room, where he
was too afraid to approach because of Julius and Echidona.
And he couldn’t exactly wake Emilia and Beatrice up to make them listen to his whining.
So, at this point, there was no one Subaru could――

[Ram: ――Barusu?]

Hearing that voice, Subaru made a quiet sound with his throat and halted his steps. Turning
around, surprised, in the middle of the fourth-level passageway―― where footsteps struck
on the stone floor, he saw the form of the pink-haired girl, Ram.
Ram’s light-red eyes were wide open, looking over Subaru from head to toe.

[Ram: It’s been a while since I’ve seen you make that face. Disreputable]

[Subaru: ……why’re you immediately saying that right after we meet. Come to think of it,
what’re you doing here this late?]

[Ram: I could ask you the same thing…… although, what Barusu could be up to at this hour
would be unimaginable]

In front of Ram, who crossed her arms as she approached him, Subaru tightened his cheeks at
her words.
Just the thought of what she might actually be imagining pulled a shadow over Subaru’s face.
Seeing Subaru do this, Ram shrugged her shoulders sadly,

[Ram: Anyway, you were bothering Rem with your whining again, weren’t you? Even
though Ram’s little sister is cute and forgiving, don’t be too unreasonable]

[Subaru: ……Ah, yeah. Well, you’re right]

[Ram: ――?]

Seeing Ram’s eyes slightly widen as she heard this, Subaru let out a bitter smile.
He didn’t tell her his true feelings, but only what she might have guessed based on his daily
activities. It was true, just as Ram said, that Subaru often spent his nights at Rem’s bedside.
In fact, he had already done so tonight. And it was only natural that Ram would think he had
just left.
But today, it was not only that――

[Ram: Stop making that miserable face]

[Subaru: Oogh]

[Ram: With that pathetic, miserable expression, you look even lower than a base manservant.
Looking like that, people will begin to suspect Emilia-sama’s character for taking a Barusu as
her Knight. Please revise]

He felt Ram’s finger flicking his drooping forehead.

Subaru’s eyes teared up from the force, and just as he was about to protest, Ram
disinterestedly humphed through her nose, shutting him back up. All the while, she herself
seemed perfectly at ease.

[Subaru: ……Gees, really, ane-sama is ane-sama, after all]

[Ram: Hah. Please don’t disgust me with your thoughts]

Subaru commented while stroking his forehead, and Ram put on an expression as if disgusted
from the bottom of her heart. To be consoled by such an attitude, he really must be pathetic.
No part of what she said had carried any expression of warmth or sympathy, but, somehow,
that was what it meant to him.

[Subaru: Ram, what were you doing at this hour anyway?]

[Ram: Disgusting]

[Subaru: Don’t just suddenly end the conversation like that! We only just started……]

Hopelessly shrugging his shoulder, Subaru let out a quiet sigh, and turned his eyes to the
passageway behind Ram―― where she had come from.
Although the fourth floor was very wide, there was nothing particularly remarkable here.
There was a green room, and the luggage they brought up from the dragon carriage. And――

[Subaru: ……The staircase to the second floor?]

[Ram: ――――]

[Subaru: Unless, you went up there. Alone?]

[Ram: Don’t worry. I’m not as reckless as him. It doesn’t seem like it, but I’m not conceited
enough to think I can do anything with Reid Astrea alone]

Imagining something he’d rather not think about, Subaru twisted his lips, and Ram laughed
through her nose as she denied his suspicions.
Hearing her subtle reference to Julius’ stubbornness hidden within her words, the mere
thought of it twisted at the thorn in Subaru’s chest.

[Ram: It seems, something happened between you and Julius. Had a fight?]

[Subaru: Am I that easy to read?]

[Ram: Barusu is as easy to read as Ram is intelligent. The latter has more to do with it, but
it’s nothing to worry about. ……No, of course the former has plenty to do with as well. It
won’t take long to get everything out of you under torture]

[Subaru: The fact that you’re assuming I’d be placed under torture is kind of frightening, you
know]

Watching Subaru pick at his own cheek, Ram just squinted her eyes. Seeing that she wasn’t
kidding, Subaru shuddered a little.
It’s true, that considering Subaru’s position, it was not entirely unlikely that Emilia’s enemies
in the Royal Selection might resort to this kind of barbaric measures. Maybe it would be a
good idea to watch out for that, after all.

[Subaru: In that case, what were you doing here……]

[Ram: ――I didn’t go up to the second floor. I only tried to go up]

[Subaru: ……I thought you just said you weren’t that reckless. Unless… were you thinking
of attacking him while he’s asleep?]

Subaru had no qualms about using any means necessary to win. It might be understandable if
Ram thought the same and planned to stealth attack Reid in his sleep.
The question was whether this Reid, which appeared to have been reproduced from the
records of the past, really slept. And, even if he did sleep, could she really manage it?

[Ram: Unfortunately, it’s impossible to attack him while he’s sleeping. I turned back halfway
up the stairs. He really is an abnormal monster. He’d almost make Garf look cute]

[Subaru: Although, after getting to know Garfiel, he is pretty cute……]

[Ram: Not his antics, I meant the level of danger he poses]

The way she put it, she didn’t actually deny that Garfiel’s antics were cute, but since they
were in the middle of something more important, Subaru squeezed his brows and forgot
about it.

[Ram: I am convinced now. If one side has no qualms about using any means necessary, then
the other side would use any means necessary as well. Like we’ve discussed, in order to beat
him, we must not let him take it too seriously, and only then satisfy his conditions]

[Subaru: ……Just to make sure of that, you went up to the second level alone?]

[Ram: Do I have to say it again. I didn’t go up to the second level. It’s too difficult for Ram at
this moment]

Confirming that they simply weren’t strong enough, Ram warned of the need for preparations
before challenging the second level again. Speaking of needing more time, the thought of his
argument with Echidona and Julius resurfaced once more, and Subaru couldn’t help but take
on a difficult expression.
[Ram: Barusu?]

[Subaru: N, no, it’s nothing…… Well, it’s not totally nothing, but it doesn’t matter right now.
Most likely, we’ll have a proper talk tomorrow]

[Ram: A remarkably ambiguous statement]

[Subaru: That’s kinda what I was going for, but, it’s not what you think. As expected, even
here, I’ve done something ungrateful, and it’s a bit hard to recover from it this time]

He’s done enough for now. It was a strange crack that he wasn’t sure if he could completely
mend, and he wouldn’t want to complicate it any more and spread the crack even wider.
Watching Subaru go limp, Ram still wasn’t convinced, but decided to let it go.

[Ram: In any case, conquering the second floor…… defeating Reid will require more time
and effort. At least, it would be nice if we could count on Shaula’s support]

[Subaru: Well, it wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that she couldn’t exactly be counted on.
Although, if she didn’t help us earlier, we’d all be charred black under the sand right now]

Without Shaula, they would never have been able to reach the exam on the second level in
the first place. But even with that in mind, she had been a disappointing Sage ever since they
entered the tower.
Of course, if they could borrow the examiner’s own hand to pass the exam, it would be quite
exceptional indeed.

[Ram: If we only ever take the high road, we’re bound to get stuck in a deadlock here]

[Subaru: It’s not like I think it’d be better to take a more innocent approach. But, purely on a
case by case basis…… it just wouldn’t work this time]

[Ram: You say that so effortlessly…… Ram, doesn’t have that kind of leisure]

Dissatisfied with Subaru’s answer, Ram shrugged her shoulders. And, while slowly turning
her back,

[Ram: If you don’t go to bed soon it’ll hurt your performance tomorrow. I’ll head back to the
dragon carriage as well]

[Subaru: Aahh, yeah. I, uh……]

He wanted to explain why he couldn’t go back, but it was too difficult. On the other hand,
looking back and seeing Subaru mumbling this way, Ram spilled a small sigh.

[Ram: As you like. But if you drag us down because you didn’t get enough sleep, I’ll twist it
off]

[Subaru: Aah, no…… twist what off!?]

[Ram: I’ll leave that to your imagination]

With a wave of her hand, Ram headed in the direction of the stairs to the lower levels.
Without touching on what he didn’t want to touch on, leaving him to stand up by his own
efforts, could that have been her consideration?
Watching the thin back walking into the distance, even know that she won’t see it, Subaru
raised up his hand.

[Subaru: Good night, ne-sama. See you tomorrow]

[Ram: ……Ram is not Barusu’s ane-sama. Stop calling me that]

Her last denial carried no strength within it, as if she had already accepted, and only resisted
for the sake of it.
Watching Ram’s figure disappear after leaving those words behind, Subaru clicked the bones
in his neck and whispered [Ah, what am I gonna do now].

He can’t go to the dragon carriage anymore. And it’s too difficult to return to the green room.
In that case, he could either find some other place to rest until the morning, or find a place
where he could do something meaningful with his time.

[Subaru: If I just want a place to sleep, I could find a suitable room……]

The top candidate would be the room where they stored their luggage.
The dragon carriage’s cargo and food supplies have all been moved into that room, though
it’ll be hard to find something he could use as a pillow. The bottleneck was just how to find
some way to reduce the pain on his body while sleeping on the floor, aside from sleeping in
the dragon carriage.
Or――

[Subaru: Think about how to conquer the second floor, how to defeat Reid]

Honestly, that would be the most constructive choice.

Most of the problems surrounding their current situation were about capturing this
Watchtower. Though it can’t be said with certainty, it would nevertheless play a huge role in
improving their situation.
That evening, the consensus they reached on how to defeat Reid was to make him not take
something seriously and then seriously satisfy his conditions, or something vague along those
lines.
At the very least, if there was a chance he could reduce some of that vagueness――

[Subaru: ――That’s it]

And, coming to this point, Subaru snapped his fingers.

As the idea flashed through his mind like a lightning strike, Subaru changed the direction of
his steps with a bash.

[Subaru: If this goes well……]

Though he cannot say for sure, it should be a move that could greatly advance the situation.
Setting his heart on that thought, Subaru sprinted toward his goal.
――In the Watchtower in the night, loud, spirited echoes of Subaru’s footsteps rang out.
――Only the lonely echoes of a single person’s footsteps.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※

――The sensation of waking, was like the moment of emerging out of the water’s surface.

Pulling the dreaming, unconscious body upwards, using a breath to restore the entire body to
reality, the consciousness slowly reawakened, and, breaking through the water’s surface, he
was born.
If sleep was death, and wakefulness was life―― then that description would not have been
far off.

Anyways, such poetic sentiments aside, he gradually began to wake――

[???: ――Subaru! Hey, Subaru, are you alright?]

[Subaru: Th-the wha!?]

The moment he opened his eyes, immediately stricken by the beautiful face in front of him,
Subaru rolled to the side.
And, not rolling very far before running out of surface, he dropped a short distance and
landed on his shoulder.

[Subaru: Ngya!]

[???: Eek! Subaru, you alright!? Why did you start rolling all of a sudden!?]

[Subaru: N, no, it’s not like I willing decided to roll or anything……]

Squeezing his banged-up shoulder and lightly shaking his head, he pushed himself up. And
then, in the blink of an eye, Subaru was confused.

It was a green room.

The entire interior of the room was covered by sprawling ivy that completely hid the walls
behind them. If he was told that the whole outlandish-looking room was made of ivy, he
probably would’ve believed it.

And apparently, Subaru was lying on the floor beside a bed woven from ivy at the very center
of the room. That was probably what he rolled off of… would be his analysis of the situation.
It was funny that Subaru could make such judgment so calmly, but there was reason for that.

[???: Hmm, it looks like you didn’t hit anything too hard. That’s good. But I got reeeaaaally
worried, you know, you shouldn’t scare me like that]

[????: Emilia, if you say it like that, Subaru won’t reflect on it, I suppose. If you don’t say it
more severely, Betty’s worries won’t get through to him]
[???: I guess you’re right. But I’m surprised Beatrice would be saying that. After going into
such a panic when you couldn’t find Subaru, you were almost in tears when you found him
lying there……]

[????: You don’t have to mention that part can you not mention that part, I suppose!]

In front of his eyes, the conversation started going out of control.

Nodding stupidly to the rhythm of the bickering that made him want to smile, Subaru turned
around. Sitting on the floor and breathing behind him, was some kind of huge animal.

[Subaru: ――――]

There was, a giant lizard. With black scales covering all over its skin, it was a huge lizard the
size of a horse. The strangest part was that it was gently snuggling up to Subaru’s neck with
its nose.
Seeing that it was friendly, Subaru gently petted the lizard on its head.
And then, he let out a sigh.

[Subaru: In other words, this is it]

Calm, and collected, slowly, he breathed out these words.

Seeing Subaru like this, the two girls in front of him tilted their heads.

[??? + ????: ――Subaru?]

And, like two sisters speaking with the same breath, they simultaneously called Subaru’s
name.
A silver-haired girl who was so beautiful that his eyes wanted to explode, and a fairy-like
little girl in a pretty dress.

A beautiful silver-haired girl, a Drill-Loli, a giant lizard, and a room made of ivy――
Subaru opened his mouth wide, and shouted it out.

――Because this is, this is, this is.

[Subaru: I’VE BEEN SUMMONED TO A PARALLEL WORL――D!?]

-=Arc 6 Chapter 33 End=-

Chapter 34
[Coming Out Of The Convenience Store, There Was A
Wondrous World]
Natsuki Subaru was born into the lax educational environment of the Heisei-era Japan.

If we were to tell the whole story of the entire 17 years of his life, it would probably take all
17 years to do it.
So, if we omit those parts and just briefly explain his current position, it would be along the
lines of “A Third-Year Highschool Hikikomori”.
Or, in a little more detail, it would be “A Hopeless Shit Who Goes Against His Parents’
Expectations And Shuts Himself In His Own Shell At A Time When Exams Are Coming
Up”.

He had no particular reasons for withdrawing himself.

One ordinary weekday, the thought just occurred to him, “it’d be a pain to get up today”, and
from there, his absenteeism was under way.
Slipping further and further like this, the amount of time he stayed away from school grew
longer, and, before he knew it, he had become a shut-in who made his parents cry.
Day after day, he spent in indulgent slothfulness, cutting off all communication, languoring
on in this state, until――

[Subaru: In the end, I got summoned to a Parallel World……huh]

[???: Subaru?]

While he was busy muttering to himself and trying hard to organize some understanding of
the current situation, two white hands grabbed onto his cheeks. Looking up, there was a
beautiful silver-haired girl in front of his eyes.

――Honestly, a very beautiful girl.

With long silver hair that gleamed like moonlight and violet eyes like embedded gemstones.
Her long lashes were trembling as she watched him with a worried gaze that took her beauty
beyond the natural order of the world, such that it gave him the illusion that he was seeing
some divine art-piece magnificent enough to make all the artists of the world give up their
pens.
And then, there was the question, why would such a beautiful girl be squeezing his face in a
close enough range that they could feel each other’s breaths?

[Subaru: Nnnnnnnn?]

Her smell is super nice.

[???: Subaru?]

[Subaru: I-I’m Natsuki Subaru]

His name being called once again by that voice like the ring of a silver chime, Subaru
spasmed out a smile in reply.
Not just his face, but even his voice was shaking, and it wasn’t entirely clear whether that
could be called a smile. And, for reasons Subaru could not understand, this girl seemed to be
especially close to him. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be talking and staring at him in such a
super-close distance like this.
[???: Umm, Suba……ru. Sorry, but… you’re acting a little strange]

[Subaru: S-strange…… ? What, like my eyes, or something like that?]

[???: Uuuh, no. Your eyes are still reeaaally scary-looking like usual, I guess it’s nothing]

[Subaru: My eyes are usually reeaally scary-looking!?]

Trying to calm himself down by joking around a bit, he instead got hit by that totally
unexpected comment. Watching Subaru recoil from that remark, the girl stuck out her tongue
a little with [You’re always like this].
So cute. What’s going on with this girl? Why does she seem so terribly close to him?
And just, what did she mean by “always like this”, and acting so worried――

[????: ――Emilia, you might have come to that conclusion too rashly. In fact, something
does seem off, I suppose]

[???: ――? But, Subaru’s eyes just always look like that, I think]

[????: I’m not talking about Subaru’s scary eyes right now! I don’t really care if his eyes look
scary, I suppose!]

[Subaru: What’s with this about my eyes being scary-looking! It’s a bad hobby to be picking
on other people’s weak points, you know! What’s with you guys…… ah, no, I mean, you two
are, kinda cute and all……]

Subaru jumped himself up with great force and started blowing up in front of the beautiful
girl and the one she was talking to―― cute and fairy-like, a little girl in an extravagant
dress, sporting a pair of no less elegant swirling drill-curls…. but his voice quickly trailed off.
Inherently blunt, he had started blurting this out without thinking, before he realized that on
the other end were two girls he had just met. Shutting himself up, he seriously recognized that
he shouldn’t have snapped.

――But the situation was too strange.

If what Subaru imagined was correct, these two girls must be important KEY-PERSONs, like
the villagers of the first village or something like that.
So, Subaru should straighten himself up and focus on first impressions.

[Subaru: Ahem]

Coughing once, intending to start over, Subaru turned to face the two in front of him.
Taking the two shocked-looking girls and the giant black lizard curled up behind his back
into his gaze, Subaru took a step back, and,

[Subaru: ――Let me introduce myself again. My name is Natsuki Subaru!]

Jabbing a finger toward the ceiling, he held his waist with the other hand and struck out a
POSE.
Sadly, there was no shiny reflective ball or Disco music, but Subaru sparkled his teeth as he
said this and tried to make the most of it.
[Subaru: Shamefully ignorant, blown here by the immortal winds of Gods and Demons! An
uncouth vagrant, but nonetheless pleased to meet thee!]

[???+????: ――――]

Listening to him proclaiming this at the top of his voice, for a moment, the other two could
only stare at him stupidly.
Getting no reaction at all, Subaru only continued maintaining his pose. As if whoever moves
first would lose, he decided he was in it to win it.
And so, after about ten seconds had passed in silence, the two girls looked at each other, and
then,

[???: Well but…… we already know… you?]

[????: This is way too late for self-introductions isn’t it]

[Subaru: Whuaa!?]

And just like that, yanked out of his high-spirited self-introduction, his thoughts spilled out
into that groan.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※

――It was only a little later when the seriousness of the situation became apparent.

He was rather proud of that self-introduction, but seeing the way it was received, Subaru
couldn’t help but bend his neck. But, after that, hearing it again from the two girls, it was
clear why they were so surprised.
Subaru and the girls’ memories were different―― while Subaru was supposed to be meeting
them for the first time, they already knew who Subaru was.
Of course, there were no such memories on Subaru’s side. So then――

[???: In other words, Subaru…… you don’t remember anything? About this tower, about
what happened in Priestella…… and, even, about Ram, and Beatrice…… and about me too?]

[Subaru: Uuum…… yeah, that, seems to be, yes]

[???: ――――]

Seeing Subaru with his knees neatly folded and stuttering out his reply, the beautiful girl
widened her eyes. The sight of her pupils violently trembling sent an sense of intense guilt
into Subaru’s heart.
But she was not the only one who was shocked by Subaru’s reply.

[????: Your memories…… are gone? No way, there’s no way that could happen……]

Muttering this in a whisper, was the pale-faced little girl.

Even more confused than the pretty girl, the younger girl was not spared from the shock.
Sitting on the side of the ivy-bed, the little girl sitting beside him was softly tugging on his
sleeve. Seeing her delicate fingers lightly trembling, Subaru felt a pain inside his heart.
[Subaru: ――――]

Facing the two girls, shocked and lost in front of him, Subaru tried to think of something to
say, but unfortunately, nothing came to him. Honestly, there was so much cold water dumped
on him at once that it would’ve been enough to drown in.

――Initially, what Subaru thought had happened was him “Just getting summoned to a
Parallel World”.

While getting summoned to a Parallel World, even with the “Just” attached to it, was already
far beyond what would be considered common sense, it turned out to be even further away
than he had imagined―― Although, one could say, he almost had the right answer.

As far as Subaru was concerned, this was not the familiar world he had lived in for seventeen
years.
It was clearly evident just by looking at the outlandish clothing, and the inhuman beauty of
these two girls. If that still wasn’t enough, the giant black lizard the size of a horse should
also be submitted to the court as evidence.
He had heard of Komodo Dragons that were supposed to be pretty big, but that would be
nothing compared to the stature of this black lizard. And with the organic bed and chairs
made out of ivy added to that, we have a pretty clear case on our hands.

――In other words, this was a World outside all common sense. An alternate, Parallel
World.
Belonging in the so-called Fantasy-genre, a world wholly unknown to Subaru.

===

Then the next question would be, why was Subaru summoned here, and which sorcerer had
summoned him.
At first, he thought it was the two girls in front of him, since that’s just how stories usually
pan out, and he figured they were probably the main heroines here―― but following that
train of thought would be a little strange.
As previously mentioned, the girls knew Subaru, yet Subaru had no memory of this. Their
understandings were at odds.

[Subaru: Then I’ve met them already, but I just forgot about it…… that’s…]

Trying to process the new information from their latest exchange, Subaru made a difficult
face.
At the very least, Subaru’s CAPACITY was already quite overloaded when it dawned on him
that he was summoned to a Parallel World. If he were to also understand that he had actually
been active in this Parallel World for quite some time before this, Subaru’s plate was really in
no condition to take this on.

Frankly, Subaru would’ve been more inclined to say something like [Is that even possible?]
and laugh the matter off.

But the girl and the loli seemed dead-serious, and didn’t seem to be lying, either. Of course,
Subaru had no memories of the things these girls were talking about, and he would have
stubbornly denied them if he wasn’t feeling so guilty about the look on these girls’ faces.
In fact, if he had to pick between his own opinions or the girls’, he’d probably believe the
girls since he wasn’t even close to trusting himself enough.
Of course, that wasn’t his only reason. ――A stronger clue would be the changes to his
body.

[Subaru: ……Yeah, this doesn’t seem to be the same body I came out of the convenience
store with]

Mumbling this, Subaru held up his right arm and opened and closed his fist.
It might have been psychological, but his arm felt a little stronger than before. And on his
palm, there seemed to be a few more calluses that he didn’t realize were there. These weren’t
calluses that came from swinging bamboo swords, because, after all, he hadn’t practiced with
bamboo swords for over a year now.
Also, those weren’t the only changes to his arm.

[Subaru: GUROTESQUE?]

Turning his arm over, Subaru frowned up his face when he saw its backhand side.
His arm not only felt slightly stronger, but its appearance had become grotesque as well.
From his right elbow, all the way up to his wrist, there was a long pattern of black spots――
they bulged out like veins and covered over his arm like a tattoo someone with rather bad
taste might’ve gotten.
If it didn’t seem so organic, it might have been mistaken for a tattoo, but no matter how he
picked at it, it was just a part of his arm. Undeniably grotesque.

[???+????: ――――]

So he scratched at it even harder.

When tracing it with his fingers, the texture felt no different from his skin. It didn’t hurt on its
own, and there wasn’t any strange numbness either. And, digging his nails into it, the
corresponding sharp pain came just as he would expect.
If he scratched to his heart’s content, he wondered if the black skin would break and bleed.
――And if it did bleed, would the blood be red?

[???: Subaru……]

[Subaru: Huh! No no, nothing? I just, thought my arm got sunburnt to WELL-DONE and was
a little bothered by it. That’s all]

Although he was a bit shocked by the change, when he heard the pretty girl’s worried call, he
immediately tried glossing it over with a joke.
One could say it’s fortunate, but Subaru wasn’t someone who balked at the sight of wounds
on his own body. It’s not that he wouldn’t feel guilty about damaging the body his parents
gave him, but even without this, his sense of guilt towards his parents was already piling on
over and over at this point.
Still, this was a pretty wide area. If he wore long sleeves and maybe some gloves he could
probably keep it from ruining anyone else’s mood.
[Subaru: I usually wear long sleeves anyway, and it’s not illegal to equip some fingerless
gloves too. If I ever get into a dangerous situation, I can just yank off the glove and show
them the black arm…… and they’ll be like “No way, that guy’s got BLACK ARM……!”
Isn’t that just exciting to think about?]

[???+????: ――――]

Subaru licked his lips and swooshed his arm around like crazy.
Considering the changes to his arm, as well the strangeness of the whole situation, the
believability of the girls’ explanations were very high.

In the first place, Subaru’s most recent memory was “Immediately after shopping at the
convenience store”.
Subaru was definitely wearing his jersey when he finished shopping, but, right now, far from
his favorite old jersey, he was wearing some sort of dirty worn-out travelling clothes. Nor
was he wearing sneakers on his feet, and his WELL-DONE over-sunburnt arm wasn’t
holding a shopping bag either.
Indeed, he had not only jumped Worlds, but had leaped through time as well.

Coming out of the convenience store, the moment he blinked his eyes, he woke up here――
that was Subaru’s understanding of it.
If so, then at which moment did he lose consciousness? By the time he realized he had been
sleeping, he was woken up by a call. So then, what was the blank void before this?

――He was summoned to a Parallel World from outside the convenience store, and after
some time had passed, he lost his memories.

“Summoned to a Parallel World”, sounds like the unraveling of a dream he had dreamt who
knows how many times before―― yet he could not simply be pleased to accept this terrible,
unexpected gift.
Unbeknownst to Subaru, Subaru had lived for a time in this Parallel World, and it was a fact
that over that time, Subaru had interacted with and gotten know these girls he couldn’t
recognize.
Would it really be alright to believe them, believe in their good will, and stay here with them?

[???+????――――]

[Subaru: Ah, aaaahhh, uuuuuhhhh, that, that’s right! I can understand why you’re feeling
down, but I’ll just say one thing, let’s pull ourselves together and GET OUR SPIRITS UP!]

After thinking long and hard about it, Subaru suddenly puffed up with spirit and shouted that
out of the blue.
Beside him and in front of him, the downcast expressions on the two girls sent his heart into a
passionate boil.

Without a doubt, they were confused and heartbroken about this situation.
While it was still a bit hard for Subaru to accept that he was the primary cause of this, he
knew he was the only person who could fix it.
So, extending out a hand to each of the astonished girls in a deliberately flashy gesture,
[Subaru: As far as I know, these cases of ACUTE ONSET AMNESIA usually get better due
to some sudden plot development so there’s no need to be too worried. If it’s anything like in
movies, it usually gets resolved in one or two hours and then everything goes back to normal
for some cliched happy ending. Tragedy is the best SPICE to lead up to grand happy endings,
after all!]

[???: Sorry, I kind of have no idea what you’re talking about…]

[Subaru: Ouggghh kay……?]

[???: But……]

Immediately after Subaru laid down his rapid-fire delivery full of bravado, the beautiful girl
informed him that she didn’t understand any of that. Subaru felt like deflating at those words,
but the girl quickly shook her head.
And then, lightly scratching the corner of her eye, with a sudden smile,

[???: Subaru is still Subaru, after all…… Mn, I’m relieved]

[Subaru: Eh. I-is that right? If you say that, then I guess I feel a little bit relieved as well……]

[???: Eiiiiii!]

[Subaru: W-what did you suddenly do that for!?]

With a spirited cry, the pretty girl slammed her palms onto her own cheeks with a force that
cannot be overlooked. Clapping down with both hands at once with a crisp sound ringing out,
the girl’s cheeks turned bright red.
Seeing Subaru thrown into complete disarray at the sight of that gesture, the pretty girl lightly
shook her head, and,

[???: There, I got my spirit back. Being like that is no-good, is it? How could we keep
making that troubled face when Subaru must be feeling even more troubled than we are]

[Subaru: It may not look like it, but this girl is crazy ferocious……]

[???: Quick, Beatrice too!]

With her cheeks still bright red, the pretty girl’s dashing declaration stunned Subaru into a
state of shock. And then, with the same fervor, she called to the now petrified little girl sitting
beside Subaru.
In front of the pretty girl’s intimidating presence, the little girl in a dress shriveled back a bit,
but,

[???: I’m shocked too, and I also understand the sadness…… but right now, we have to think
about the one who’s taking this the hardest. We have to do something for him, don’t we?]

[????: B-Betty is……]

[???: ――――]
The little girl closed her mouth as if searching for what to say.
Seeing her child-like indecision, the pretty girl didn’t say a thing, and only watched and
waited for her response.
She could have continued on and pressured her to change her heart. But the girl didn’t do
this. And the reason, was most likely because she had faith in the little girl.

Unable to remember them, Subaru couldn’t possibly understand the trust that existed between
these two.

[????: Subaru…… must be very distraught right now, I suppose]

[Subaru: ……Well I, didn’t really, say that?]

Making an ultra-small effort to salvage some dignity, Subaru quibbled. But seeing that the
loli wasn’t convinced by this, Subaru ended up scratching his head, and,

[Subaru: Aaahh, honestly, yeah. Yes, I want you to please help me!]

[????: ――――]

After being pushed into a corner, he admitted to the true state of his mind. Seeing this, the
little girl’s eyes widened. In her thin, pale blue eyes, were a pair of the strangest pupils――
that is, for some reason, Subaru seemed to be seeing the wings of butterflies.

[????: ……aaaauuggghhh, just, really! Subaru is just the most hopeless Contractor in the
world!]

The next moment, as if those butterfly wings had fluttered up a tornado, the loli’s attitude
took a 180-degree turn. Crossing her short arms, the little girl shouted this out in an
exacerbated voice.
Seeing her like this, the pretty girl smiled, and Subaru’s shoulders jumped up. And then,
pointing a finger directly at Subaru’s nose,

[????: All the time, you’re just throwing up all sorts of trouble to annoy Betty, I suppose! If
you don’t stop it with these, these sloppy, irresponsible shenanigans even Betty is not going
to love you anymore!]

[Subaru: Ooh, ooooooooh……th, then, t-that means?]

[????: But since you’re sincerely begging for Betty’s help, I’ll let this one go, I suppose.
――At any rate, without Betty, Subaru will just be a hopeless lonely wimp who can’t go on
living]

[Subaru: Did you have to put it like that!?]

The incredible rate at which the loli escalated the conversation knocked Subaru straight into
shell-shock. Without this girl, would he really get so lonely that he couldn’t go on living
anymore? How exaggerated could it get?
[????: Hmph, even if you tell me you’ve forgotten, I’ll make you remember, I suppose.
――Betty’s Contractor is just a mopey, fussy guy who, no matter what happens, is never
going to take on any sort of sepia-colors in my reminiscences or anything like that]

[Subaru: There was a lot in there I didn’t understand… but was all that supposed to be talking
about me!?]

Setting “Contractor”, or whatever words he felt like he couldn’t ignore, aside, the downcast
expression on the little girl’s face seemed to have lifted. And so he decided to resist the urge
to object for now.

Frankly, it was still quite difficult for Subaru to just calmly accept the current situation.
The mess in his head still hadn’t been sorted out, he still hadn’t completely come to terms
with reality, and he couldn’t exactly swallow all the explanations as fact.
But even so, for now, the girls’ feelings had been conveyed to him.

[Subaru: My name is NATSUKI SUBARU. I just got here and don’t even know the left from
right yet, but I assume we’re probably friends. And I realize this is a bit brazen, but, I’d like
to ask you two a favor]

Jumping up once more, Subaru jabbed a finger toward the ceiling and announced his name.
And then, shooting his arms toward the two girls in front of him, he tilted his head, and,

[Subaru: ――Would you mind… telling me your names please?]

[???+ ????: ――――]

Hearing those words, for some reason, the pretty girl’s throat froze up, and the little girl
blinked her eyes.
But this only lasted for a moment.
Then, setting that aside at once, smiles gradually emerged on their faces.

[Emilia: My name is Emilia, just Emilia. Nice to meet you, Subaru]

[Beatrice: Betty is the Great Spirit Beatrice, and Subaru is Betty’s Contractor, you know]

And, just like this, they told him their names.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※

===

So, after all that, Subaru managed to complete his self-introduction to Emilia and Beatrice for
the second time. But――

[*Everyone*: ――――]
Over the breakfast table, after explaining why everyone had to reintroduce themselves again,
the general mood was like sitting on a mat full of needles.
Naturally, Emilia and Beatrice were present. And aside from those two and himself, there
were five other ladies and gentlemen in attendance―― the ratio between gentlemen and
ladies was a bit skewed, but at least both genders were represented.
Emilia explained that they had all followed Subaru to this Tower―― (which, from the
inside, he didn’t even realize was a tower), and that they were his companions currently
putting their heads together to capture this Tower.

If we were to describe each of these fabulous members in turn, it would be―― a glamorous
busty young lady in a sexy outfit, a pretty little girl with a bewitching aura unbefitting of her
age, a cute-faced girl with peach-colored hair and an enchanting gaze, an elegant girl with
youthful features and a gentle air about her, and, lastly, a handsome young man with upright
features surrounded by an air of nobility.
“Everyone is physically attractive,” was Subaru’s miserable realization about this Parallel
World at this point.

[Subaru: Well… just from personal preference… I still think the beautiful silver-haired
Emilia-chan takes first place…]

[*Everyone*: ――――]

He whispered that random unnutritious thought out loud and met an extremely cold reception
in return.
Well obviously. After all, they’ve just been told that Subaru lost his memories―― and had
forgotten every single one of them. It was inevitable they’d be as stumped as Emilia and
Beatrice were.

[Emilia: So, I guess everyone is pretty shocked…… Subaru is in quite a situation right now.
But, even in a situation like this…… no, precisely because the situation is like this, we should
give him our support]

Saying this, Emilia pitched in to help Subaru sum up his situation.

Nonetheless, even in the short time that he’s gotten to know her, he could already tell that she
wasn’t very good at public speaking. It was only when Beatrice spoke her piece that they able
to take control of the conversation that was rolling all over the place.
Thanks to that, Subaru’s condition was just barely communicated to everyone present,
when――

[*Peach-Colored-Haired Girl*: ――Emilia-sama, may I?]

Raising her hand, the girl with peach-colored hair asked Emilia for permission to speak.
Emilia, who was addressed with the respectful “sama”, nodded [Mmhm] as a matter of
course.

[Emilia: That girl is Ram. She’s a maid from the Mansion…… maid, do you know what that
is?]

[Subaru: NO-PROBLEM…… but, a Mansion-Maid, you say. Mn, I think I got it]
The pretty peach-color-haired girl named Ram―― according to Emilia’s supplementary
information, was apparently a Maid. Judging from the fact that she had a maid with her,
Subaru could more or less imagine what Emilia’s identity might be, while Ram, who couldn’t
care less about that train of thought right now, shot a pale-red, piercing glare at Subaru,

[Ram: Is this some kind of prank, Barusu?]

[Subaru: I know I can’t help but come off as suspicious here, but that’s the truth. Also, what’s
with turning my name into a Blinding-Curse, oy. ……And, the sleeping girl back there, are
you her older sister?]

[Ram: ――――]

Being called by that blockhead name, Subaru frowned up his face and objected. Hearing this,
Ram narrowed her eyes.
His question was about the girl in the green-colored room he had woken up in―― who was
not among those present here.
With bright, light-blue hair, and facial features identical to Ram’s―― she was sleeping, and
no matter what kind of commotion was being thrown up around her, she went on sleeping as
though it had anything to do with her. After introducing himself for the second time, she was
the first person Subaru asked Emilia and Beatrice about.

According to them, finding a way to wake her from her unwaking slumber was one of the
primary reasons they came to capture this Tower.

[Subaru: Sorry I caused all this trouble when you’re trying to wake up your sister. But I
honestly have no idea what’s going on with a lot of things right now. So please insult me all
you want once I get my memories back]

[Ram: ……The way you said that… you really don’t remember? That frivolous attitude and
tone doesn’t seem any different from regular Barusu]

[Subaru: When you put it like that, it almost sounds like I still got all my good qualities from
before. That’s good news, right? Well, like they say, “a man’s nature doesn’t change so
easily”, so please treat the new me the same way you treated me before!]

Subaru puffed himself up with spirit, and Ram only stared at this irresponsible attitude in
disbelief.
Like nothing changed at all. Subaru was so much like his usual self that she couldn’t help but
have such doubts. Apart from the memory loss, it was true that it didn’t seem all that bad.
At least, in terms of interactions, there was no need to worry about anything feeling off.

[Subaru: So that’s basi…… Uuoouuhh!?]

[*Busty Girl*: Teacher-sama~?]

Just as he was about to take a breath after Ram’s questioning, Subaru almost flipped upside
down when he felt a sweet breath blowing into his ear. Completing his emergency sideways-
trajectory, he looked back and saw the glamorous black-haired girl standing in a position
close enough to lick his left ear.
Wearing a black bikini, hot-pants, and a cloak―― the girl seemed to be aiming for a rather
specific fetishism. But, what freaked Subaru out wasn’t her clothing, but her movement.
Only a moment ago, she was sitting cross-legged across from him on the floor. How did she
manage to get up and sneak beside him?

[Subaru: Uh, the uhhh……]

[Shaula: It’s Shaula! Teacher-sama’s favorite disciple, and the Stars-Keeper of this Pleiades
Watchtowerrrr!]

[Subaru: Stars Keeper……? Also, by Teacher-sama… you mean me……?]

[Shaula: Yessu!]

Beaming a smile that could outshine the sun at Subaru, who was pointing a finger at himself,
the beautiful girl――Shaula nodded. The sight of that carefree smile completely turned
Subaru’s impression on its head.
In terms of outer appearance, she seemed to be the girl closest to marriageable age in the
group, and, combined with that fashion choice, he originally thought there was an especially
mature attractiveness about her. But her attitude was like a ten-year-old. Or rather, like a
puppy that’s overjoyed to be noticed by its master, or something like that.

In fact, not too far from Subaru’s impression, Shaula was wagging her black ponytail behind
her like a dog wagging its tail.

[Shaula: Say, Teacher-sama… you’re still not tired of playing around like thisuu? Just how
many times do you have to forget me before you cut that outtt?]

[Subaru: It’s not like it’s a matter of having had enough or not! Actually, are you telling me
my memories get blown away very often!? Did crossing dimensions make my memories easy
to blow away or something!?]

Hearing Shaula’s air-headed comment, Subaru looked around at the others to make sure.
Although Subaru had been barely able to accept the reality of his memory loss, having it
happen frequently was a whole other story. That’s not just acute anymore, that’d be a chronic
condition. If he’s constantly losing his memories because of some endemic Parallel World
disease, that’s quite a bit more serious than just making daily life inconvenient.

[Subaru: What is it? Do I really lose my memories that often?]

[Beatrice: No, of course not. Calm down, I suppose. Shaula, don’t make Subaru more
confused than he already is. He’s just finally settled down too……]

Holding Subaru’s left hand, Beatrice, who was sitting beside him all along, sighed. She shot
Shaula a piercing stare, and in return, Shaula stuck out her tongue with [Wleh~],

[Shaula: I wasn’t trying to trouble Teacher-sama, you knowww. Ah, but then, if that makes
Teacher-sama’s head filled with Shaula, then that’s ok too isn’t itttt. Oooh I’m such a
fiendish girllll. Teacher-sama, do you like fiendish girlsuu?]
[Subaru: At this point in time, fiendish just means confusing, so no thank you. Right now I
only want help from Angel/Goddess/Fairy-types, so I’ll leave half-naked older-sister-types
for another time]

[Shaula: Tchiiiii, that’s so meannnn! Even though my boobs are so big, Teacher-sama’s so
meannnn~]

In front of Shaula’s ever-escalating affection towards him, Subaru declined her offer with an
awkward smile. Honestly, he didn’t dislike her at all, but he could tell that her affection was
not directed at the Subaru of this moment, but at the “Teacher-sama” Subaru of her
devotions.
In fact, Emilia and Beatrice’s fondness of him must have been the same as well――

[*Little Girl With Indigo-Blue Hair*: Really, Onii-san is such a headache-san]

Regardless of Subaru’s inner thoughts, the little girl commented in her sweet voice.
She was a little girl who appeared to be about the same age as Beatrice, but unlike Beatrice’s
fairy-like features, her face was still within the realm of human cuteness. Her indigo blue hair
was tied in a French braid, and a rather unbecoming seductive gaze was being sent out from
her eyes.

[Subaru: I should like to have a word with your parents, bei-bee~]

[*Little Girl With Indigo-Blue Hair*: ――. It’d be better if you don’t. Onii-san and mommy
won’t get along, you know. Also, aren’t we talking about Onii-san’s memories right now?]

[Subaru: Even if you say that, there’s no way to get them back right away…… For now, let’s
just start with your name. Tell me that, and we’ll have taken the first step in our friendship,
you know!]

[*Indigo-Blue-Haired Little Girl*: Pffu…… friendship]

Not sure what was funny, but the little girl covered her mouth and quietly snickered. It was
like a snicker somewhere in between mocking and speechlessness, and yet, it was neither of
the two.
Subaru couldn’t understand why she was laughing like that, but,

[Meili: I’m Meili, Onii-san. If you haven’t forgotten your sewing skills along with your
memories, I still hope you could make me stuffed animals again]

[Subaru: OooOh, my hidden power has already been revealed? Sounds like I’m pretty fond of
Meili, huh. Are you also my little-sister-protegee like Beatrice?]

[Beatrice: That girl was an assassin sent to murder Subaru and Betty in our house, I suppose]

[Subaru: What kind of joke is that!?]

Beatrice dumped a rather heavy-weight joke on him, but, for some reason, no one else was
denying it. Unless… Subaru looked at Meili, and she gave him a little smile and waved her
hand.
Subaru had no idea what actually happened, but this little girl being an assassin―― still
sounded a bit unrealistic. Although, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to stay on the safe side.

[Subaru: So then, Ram and Shaula and Meili have all introduced themselves. Then the next
would be……]

Setting his various questions about Meili aside for now, Subaru turned his sights on the
remaining two people―― to the light-purple-haired girl in a scarf, and the handsome-
featured youth.
Of all those present, only these two hadn’t uttered a single word since they explained
Subaru’s situation. And, to Subaru, with the gender ratio excessively tilted towards females,
that youth was the only person of the same gender as him. So he was quite looking forward to
what he had to say, but,

[*Handsome Youth*: ――――]

The silent youth’s yellow pupils were trembling, and a ghastly aura was emanating from him
as he sat there. It was an atmosphere that made one hesitate to speak to him, and Subaru
couldn’t say a word.
Even for Subaru, who was universally recognized for his inability to read the mood, seeing
the youth like this made him reluctant to set foot into his world.
Perhaps, out of all the people in this room, he was the one whom this had hit the hardest.

[*Light-Purple-Haired Girl*: Just……]

[*Handsome Youth*: …Gh]

[*Light-Purple-Haired Girl*: Just, give him a little time. That’s fine, right?]

In that youth’s stead, the pretty girl in a scarf lightly raised her hand and said this. Her
clothing seemed to be quite a bit warmer than the others, and, contrary to her cute
appearance, her tone was a tad tomboyish―― somewhat reminiscent of what they call a
Boku-ko back home. And just like this, she sliced through the congealing atmosphere.
Either way, her words salvaged the conversation. Although, for some reason, Emilia and
everyone else seemed terribly confused about something just now.

[Subaru: Aah, yeah, of course. It’s my bad for suddenly shocking everyone with this……]

[*Light-Purple-Haired Girl*: The way I* see it, it’s not only that……] (*’Boku’, the
masculine ‘I’)

[Subaru: Ooooh, it is a Boku-ko?]

So this girl who gave off the impression of a Boku-ko, actually did refer to herself with
“Boku”.
With a thoughtful expression, the girl played with her scarf and wryly smiled at Subaru’s
words,
[“Anastasia”: For now, you may call me Anastasia. In fact, if it weren’t for your shocking
revelation, it would have been me in your place, making a shocking revelation of my own.
But it seems, there’s been a mixup]

(These incredible fan arts are by @HaruSabin)

 ===

(From @Rezero_official)

===

===

[Subaru: A shocking… revelation……?]

Unsure what kind of revelation she was planning to make, Subaru seemed perplexed by her
words, but Anastasia only lightly smiled, and did not answer him. All the while, watching
their exchange, the expressions on Emilia and Beatrice’s faces also seemed as though they
were puzzled by something.
They didn’t know what Anastasia was going to confess either―― but there appeared to be
something else that was bothering them.

[Ram: In any case, it seems Knight Julius needs some time to settle down…… so let’s
prepare breakfast in the meantime. Emilia-sama, can I borrow Barusu to fetch some water
with me?]

[Subaru: Eh?]

Standing up from her seat, Ram patted her knees as she said this.
Instead of indulging in the stagnancy of the situation, she suggested making use of the time. It
made sense, yet something about it felt off as Emilia’s face seemed surprised by this
unexpected request.
No matter what, to ask an amnesiac Subaru to accompany her would just be――

[Emilia: Subaru’s memories are muddled up, maybe it’s better to let him rest……]

[Ram: Even if we let him rest, there is no way for him to recover his memories right away.
Barusu said this himself. Besides, whether or not he has his memories, Barusu is still a
servant under Roswaal-sama’s employment. He’s just a bit more forgetful than usual, to use
that as an excuse for slacking off is unforgivable]

[Subaru: That’s pretty harsh, Ram-chan…… Ram-san?]

[Ram: ――――]

Ram shot him a glare, and Subaru’s shoulders shriveled up into a ball.
Even so, perhaps Ram was right. Although Subaru was currently in a difficult situation, he
wouldn’t feel comfortable being overly pampered because of it.
Besides――

[Subaru: ――――]

Watching the downcast youth supported by Anastasia, Subaru felt that he shouldn’t be there,
at least until the youth had settled down.
Or maybe it was because she noticed this, that she wanted to bring Subaru out of the room.

[Subaru: If that’s the case, I shouldn’t underestimate you, Ram……]

[Ram: ……Anyways, let’s go, Barusu. I don’t expect other capabilities from you, but at least
you should have no problem drawing water]

[Emilia: Oh, then we could……]

[Ram: You shouldn’t spoil Barusu, if you want what’s best for him]

Perhaps calling her name without any suffixes was the correct answer, since Ram didn’t
object that time. Instead, she stopped Emilia, who wanted to come along.
Just as Emilia was about to argue, Subaru cut in, [It’s fine it’s fine],

[Subaru: Ram’s got a point. Aside from what’s in my brain, my body is fine. I heard that I’m
supposed to be a servant? Like a scullery boy? Seems like it I guess, so in that case I should
go draw some water and resume my duties]

[Emilia: …….Subaru you’re not a servant, you’re my…]

[Subaru: I’m your, what? ――! Unless uh, I..I’m, your lll…ll..l-lover or……]

[Emilia: No no, it’s absolutely totally not that at all]

[Subaru: It’s absolutely totally not that at all!? Well, yeah I guess……]
Breathing heavily through his nostrils, asking this full of hope, he was immediately shot
down by Emilia.
She was definitely his type all the way, but this highborn flower was too far out of his reach.
Memories or not, how could Subaru possibly hope to come within reach of such a cute girl
like her?

[Subaru: Anyways, don’t mind me, go take care of your end. Hopefully by the time I come
back, he’ll feel a little better……]

[Emilia: ……Mn, you’re right. I understand. I’ll… try to talk to him somehow]

Putting jokes aside, Subaru lowered his voice and whispered this to Emilia while pointing in
the direction of the young man. The youth seemed to be exchanging words with Anastasia,
but for some reason, he didn’t appear to be feeling any better.
It would be great if Emilia and Beatrice could slightly lift his spirits.
Either way, he wasn’t expecting Shaula or Meili to be of much help in the matter.

[Subaru: Of course, the most dependable one here is Betty. I’ll leave it to you, Contract-ko]

[Beatrice: ――. I’d prefer if you don’t call me that]

[Subaru: ――? Aw really? Then, just Beatrice?]

[Beatrice: ……That’s… good enough for now. Subaru can leave it to Betty]

Still holding his hand, Beatrice slightly objected to what Subaru called her. Seeing her
reaction, Subaru got the feeling that he made the wrong choice in the end, but still didn’t
know how to fix it.
Then, Beatrice let go of Subaru’s hand and turned her eyes toward Ram,

[Beatrice: Older twin-sister, I’ll entrust Subaru to you, I suppose]

[Ram: Understood. But we’re not going far, I doubt it will be dangerous?]

[Beatrice: It was precisely in that kind of un-dangerous place that Subaru dropped all his
memories, you know]

[Ram: Good point]

[Subaru: Uugghh, no counter-argument at all……]

Listening to the exchange between Beatrice and Ram, Subaru was stuck with this unpleasant
consensus. Just then, Emilia brought back a water bucket from the edge of the room.
Handing the bucket to Subaru,

[Emilia: Just go slowly with Ram and take your time. I’ll try my best to calm him down
before you get back]

[Subaru: Ah, alright, do your best. I’ll leave it to you, Emilia-chan]

[Emilia: ――. Mhm]

For just a moment, there was a pause before she replied, but Subaru didn’t pursue it.

[Ram: Barusu]

Ram called for him to hurry up, and Subaru took the bucket in one hand and followed her out
of the room. As he left, he stole a glance in the direction of the youth, but he still didn’t
appear to be in a state to talk.

[Subaru: ……So uh, would it be alright if I ask what the problem was?]

[Ram: You mean Knight Julius? That is quite cruel of you, Barusu]

[Subaru: It’s, cruel……?]

There was now only the two of them. Walking down the hallway side by side with Ram,
Subaru asked about the youth who seemed to have been more shocked than anyone else in the
room.
Her reply was that he was cruel, and he had picked up that the youth’s name was Julius, a
name that gave off quite a smart impression, he thought.

[Subaru: I guess we can leave him to Emilia and Beatrice, that’s why you brought me out
here, isn’t it. It wasn’t just to fetch water, right?]

Having put a little distance between the room and themselves, Subaru got straight to the
point.

[Ram:――――]

[Subaru: Not talking, huh. I mean, I’m not saying that for sure, I could be wrong and it could
turn out to be really super embarrassing for me maybe]

[Ram:――――]

[Subaru: ……Unless, it was really just to get water? Um uh, if that’s the case please forget
what I said, uhh, now that I think about it, all that smug-faced “Something must be up?” was
just totally cringey right now]

[Ram:――――]

[Subaru: Ah?]

Thinking he probably got it wrong, Subaru’s face was starting to tense up from the lack of a
response. But, just as he was trying to find some way to smooth it over, Ram stopped in her
tracks.
Going ahead for two extra steps before realizing that she had stopped, Subaru stopped as well
and turned around towards Ram.
She lightly brushed her peach-colored hair, and,
[Ram: ――That’s enough, dumbass, you can drop the act now Barusu]

Then, with a slight tinge of anger in her light-red pupils, she spoke.

[Subaru: Eh? The act……?]

[Ram: That’s the whole point of changing locations, you understand that don’t you? You
didn’t have to make a girl so embarrassed. Disgusting]

[Subaru: Disgusting!]

Not understanding what she was trying to say, Subaru furrowed his brows. But in the
meantime, Ram hugged her own elbows, and shook her head at his stupid-looking expression.

[Ram: Anyways, Barusu must’ve come up with some kind of half-assed plan again, didn’t
you? Nevermind the indiscrete Emilia-sama, the opposing faction Anastasia-sama, and the
untrustworthy Shaula…… at least tell Ram what you’re thinking]

――That way, they can better coordinate in case something goes wrong.

With that as the subtext, Ram plainly said this to Subaru.

Receiving this, Subaru’s eyes drifted for a bit, before bringing up his right arm and scratching
hard at his hair.

[Subaru: About that, um. Ram, what you said just now. It’s not that I don’t understand,
but…..]

[Ram: But?]

[Subaru: Sorry, but, this is really not an act or a prank or anything. I really don’t remember.
Sorry I can’t live up to your expectations]

[Ram: Stubborn. I know Barusu always likes to go at it alone, but this time it concerns me as
well. Ram has a stake in what happens to Rem. So I’m afraid you have to let me in on this]

[Subaru: No, but I mean……]

Who’s being stubborn here? Subaru felt himself at a loss with Ram insisting like this.
No doubt she couldn’t accept the fact that he had lost his memories, but seeing her so
obstinate, Subaru didn’t know what to do. In the end, how would pretending to lose his
memories help capture this tower, anyway?

[Ram: Even though Ram doesn’t understand…… If it’s Barusu, Barusu always has a plan.
So, come clean with me. I will keep it secret]

[Subaru: Although sharing a secret just between the two of us sounds enticing and all……]

She didn’t know the details, but she was certain Subaru had a plan.
The way Ram said this made him so surprised that he stood there stunned for a moment. But
even if she questioned him with this flimsy logic, Subaru wouldn’t know what to tell her.
Come to think of it, she said “If it’s Subaru”. Just how much faith did she have in him?
But, while Subaru was busy being occupied with these thoughts, Ram――

[Ram: Barusu]

[Subaru: Hm? ……Egh, oy!?]

Suddenly taking a step forward, Ram closed in and swung her arm, and the bucket flew from
Subaru’s left hand. Metal struck upon the stone floor, and its high-pitched noise rang down
the hallway.
Shocked, Subaru was about to raise his voice to ask her why she did that. But――

[Subaru: Uuogh]

A hand clenched onto his collar, and by the time he noticed he had lost his balance, he was
pinned against the wall.
Letting out a small cry at the pain of his back striking against the wall, Subaru realized it was
because of the small statured girl in front of him.
He realized it, but he didn’t know why.

[Subaru: What, what’re you doing……]

[Ram: Tell me. If you don’t cut this out, Ram also has some other ideas]

[Subaru: ――T! What the hell’s with you! Didn’t I tell you I got nothing!? I’m not lying to
you! I…]

Faced with her quiet threat and use of violence, even Subaru’s patience had reached its limit.
How many times did he have to say it before she believed him?
Just like this, he tried to grab of Ram’s wrist that was clenching onto his collar, when――

[Ram: ――That’s enough! Spit it out!!]

[Subaru: ――――]

Hearing this up-close bark, Subaru’s anger scattered away through his ears.
Perhaps it was the shock――but it was not only that. There was shock. But after the shock of
this sudden scream, he felt her strength falling away.
But, aside from this, there was still something else stopping him from moving.

[Ram: Spit it… out……]

Her voice was trembling.

Hearing this, even without his memories, Subaru nonetheless felt its impact.
The impact was not only because she had betrayed his impression of her, but because of
another, indeterminate reason as well.

[Ram: ……Please, spit it… out]

[Subaru: r…am?]
[Ram: ……please]

Softly, leaning her forehead against his chest, the girl spilled this out in a trembling voice.
Having lost all of the force of a moment ago, the only thing that remained was sorrow.

She wasn’t crying. Because she wasn’t so fragile.

She wasn’t grieving. Because she wasn’t so kind to herself.

――Only, held within that voice, was a sorrow that had no place to go.
――To whom, or where, or what was it pointed?

[Ram: If even Barusu has forgotten, then Ram is…….then Rem……]

[Subaru: ――――]

[Ram: Then Rem… she……]

Rem, was the name of her little sister.

Sleeping in a bed in the Green Room, a sleeping princess who looked exactly like her.

That girl, and her older sister in front of him, just what must have happened between Subaru
and them? It was not something Subaru could imagine at this moment.

All Subaru knew was that Ram was truly relying on whatever he had forgotten.

[Subaru: ……I’m sorry]

Dropping down his arms, watching her as she pressed her forehead against his chest so he
could not see her expression, Subaru quietly apologized.

Was it an apology for what he had forgotten, or an apology because he couldn’t answer her?
It was probably both, and some other emotions mixed in as well.

[――――]

Other than that, Ram didn’t say anything more.

Subaru didn’t say anything either. Only, feeling Ram grabbing tightly onto his shirt, he
closed his eyes.

――Only the bucket that had rolled onto the floor was staring at the two, helplessly leaning
against each other.

-=Arc 6 Chapter 34 End=-

Chapter 35
[Thin-Ice Relations]
[???: Subaru knows how painful it is to be forgotten. So… forgetting someone… he would
never joke about something like that]

[――――]

On their way back to the room, Subaru inadvertently held his breath when heard the voice
from inside.
Even though he couldn’t see who was speaking, he knew from the voice, beautiful like a
silver chime, that it was Emilia. Listening to her say his name in her slightly tense voice,
Subaru couldn’t help but strain his cheeks into an awkward smile.

Carried within that voice was a powerful trust, and an equally powerful plea.
It was from Emilia to “Natsuki Subaru”, and certainly not to this Subaru. He acutely
understood this.

[Ram: ……would never joke about something like that. Yes. Never thought I’d say this, but
Emilia-sama is right]

Also hearing that voice, Ram, who accompanied Subaru, whispered this self-derisive
comment under her breath. Unlike Subaru, who was carrying the water-filled bucket, she was
empty-handed and holding her elbows, her nails digging into her white skin.
Almost like a reminder to herself, a regret, and an extension of the pain of an unfulfillable
vow.

[Subaru: Ram……]

[Ram: It was just a pointless joke, forget you ever heard it. It’ll only worry Emilia-sama if
you bring it up. So for the sake of Ram’s impeccable reputation, keep it to yourself. If you
dare mention it t……]

[Subaru: ――――]

[Ram: ……It seems you, really don’t remember]

If he dares mention it, something scary will happen. That was probably what she was trying
to say. Or perhaps, she was expecting Subaru to counter with a quip before she did so.
Just like before, when the connection between her and her younger sister was brought up, he
thought he saw a glimpse of disappointment flashing across her pale-red eyes. But that
sadness disappeared in an instant.
The fact that she wouldn’t let him tell anyone, was it because Ram was too strong for that, or
because she was too weak?

He didn’t know what lay in the depths of her heart.

Only, faintly, on the center of Subaru chest, there was still a lingering trace of where her head
had rested.

[Ram: ――Sorry to keep you waiting. We’ve returned]

Without giving him any time to think, Ram resumed her steps and headed into the room. That
stubborn attitude might just be Ram expressing her insistence on the matter. Seeing this,
Subaru had no choice but to respect her feelings and not mention the matter.
Subaru entered a few steps behind her, a more or less strained atmosphere spread throughout
the room.
But even so, it was still somewhat better than immediately after Subaru made his shocking
revelation.
As proof of that, after Emilia greeted the returning Subaru with [Thanks for the hard work],
the next voice that followed was,

[Julius: ……Earlier, I showed you an unsightly side of me. Is it alright if we start over?]

[Subaru: Oh, ohh. I should be the one t… I mean, I’m the one who surprised you w……. Ahh
no, I shouldn’t have interrupted you. Please go on]

[Julius: There is no need to be so restrained. If you’re so formal with me, I wouldn’t feel at
ease]

Saying this, a faint smile emerged on the purple haired youth――Julius’s face.
Earlier, he was the one who had turned pale at Subaru’s revelation. Subaru didn’t know what
Emilia and Beatrice might’ve said to him while he was gone fetching water, but he seemed to
have recovered enough strength to speak.
Only, there were still the words Ram said to him in the corridor. ――When he asked her
about Julius, she told him that he was too cruel. Just what could she have meant by that?

[Julius: Let us start again, I am Julius Euculius. This is Anastasia-sama…… I serve as her
Knight. And you…… are like a friend, of sorts]

[Subaru: I see, nice to meet you…… but, why did that last part not feel very confident there?]

[Julius: Unfortunately, we might have had a slightly different understanding of our

relationship. I myself think of you as a friend, but as for what you think of me, it’s……]

[Subaru: Literally… lost to memory, huh]

[Julius: ――. That is, quite true]

Picking up a certain elegance in his words and conduct, Subaru bent his lips.
According to Emilia, he was the only other male member of their company on this journey
into these treacherous environments―― so, naturally, there must have been considerable
trust between them.
But then again, considering Julius’ knightly air and their exchange just now, even without
memories, Subaru could imagine his previous-self having made a terrible first impression.

[Emilia: It’s alright, there’s no need to worry. Subaru and Julius are reeaally good friends.
We were there, so we can all attest to that]

[Meili: That’s right. There’s no reason to be so worried about this, is there? Knight-Onii-
san’s already got plenty of other problems to worry about]
Watching their exchange, Emilia cut herself in with her hands on her hips, and Meili
mockingly concurred with a mischievous look in her eyes.
Whereas Emilia’s words were purely out of concern for Subaru and Julius’ first meeting,
Meili’s seemed to be insinuating something entirely different altogether.
Subaru furrowed his brows when he heard this, while Julius nodded as if having understood
her meaning.

[Julius: Why, yes. What Meili said is true. Subaru, although we do need to discuss what
happened to you, it is not the only problem we are presently faced with. In this regard, please
allow me to explain]

[Ram: This, would it be related to Anastasia-sama’s strange behavior this morning?]

[Julius: ……Your observation is correct, Miss Ram]

Ram said this, leaning against a wall, and Julius slightly cast down his eyes in reply. Seeing
this, Ram narrowed her eyes towards Anastasia, and let out a small sigh.

[Ram: Barusu, give me the water bucket. I will begin preparing the meal]

[Subaru: ……Aren’t we about to discuss something important?]

[Ram: I will be still in the same room. So I can still hear everything. ……Working will help
take my mind off of things]

Brusquely saying this, Ram snatched the water bucket from Subaru’s hand and headed
towards the luggage-filled corner of the room. Then, they saw her slender back setting about
exactly that task.

[Emilia: Sorry. Ram… she isn’t usually like this……]

[“Anastasia”: Of course, there is no need to mind. It is understandable that she would feel this
way. ――Seeing the desired information one couldn’t wait to pull out of the other person’s
throat suddenly fly so far away, anyone would feel this way]

Anastasia calmly shook her head to Emilia’s apology. And, hearing Anastasia’s reply, both
Emilia and Beatrice made a difficult expression.
Subaru didn’t know what might have crossed their minds―― but the answer to that soon
came from Anastasia’s own mouth.

[“Anastasia”: Now then, even though after all the confusion this morning, I would honestly
do not wish to burden you with any more surprises…… I do think that keeping it hidden
would only sow the seeds for discord down the road. Therefore, if your accepting soils would
permit it, allow me to confide something in you]

[Beatrice: ……Such an arrogant and roundabout thing to say. Hurry up and get to the point, I
suppose]

[“Anastasia”: There is no need to be so frightened, Beatrice. ――One could say we are as

close as sisters, you and I. In fact, it is just as you guessed]
[Beatrice: ――――]

Beatrice’s cheeks froze at Anastasia’s words. Standing beside Subaru, as if naturally seeking
something to rely on, the young girl’s fingers lightly grasped onto Subaru’ sleeve.
Subaru cast her a side glance, and after some hesitation took her hand. The tips of her fingers
were faintly quivering from the shock, but soon, the small palm accepted this warmth in turn.

[“Anastasia”: ……Your relationship with your Contractor is indeed amicable and ideal. I
wish I could have had the same perfect relationship with Ana, but unfortunately, it is not
going so well]

[Emilia: You are addressing Anastasia-san like you’re talking about someone else. So that
means, you’re……]

[“Anastasia”: Ah, yes, you guessed correctly. ――Right now, the consciousness inhabiting
this body is not Ana’s. Anastasia Hoshin is sleeping deep inside this body. And the one
addressing you now would be something of a deceased ghost that has temporarily taken over
this fleshly form]

Emilia’s breath choked up, and Beatrice held tighter onto Subaru. Julius’ face wringed with
pain at her confession, and Meili still looked bored as ever. Only Shaula, sitting cross-legged
beside Meili, was completely aloof to the conversation, with her attention solely focused on
Ram who was preparing the meal.
With her back turned, no one could make out Ram’s expression as she continued about her
work.
Lastly, for Subaru――

[Subaru: ……What’re you guys talking about? I didn’t get any of that]

Left all the way behind, naturally, he could only make a difficult expression.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※

――The body of the girl named Anastasia Hoshin was now dominated by another existence,
while her own existence was soundly sleeping.

Simply put, that was what “Anastasia”―― or, the spirit by the name of Echidona, had
explained.
It seemed that fact was quite shocking to Emilia and Beatrice, while for Subaru, rather than
shock, it only served to exacerbate his confusion.

Subaru barely had any impressions of Anastasia in the first place. Imagine someone came up
and told him right when they first met that “I used to be Anastasia, but now I’m actually this
other person”.

[Subaru: ……I-is that so… That’s uh. That’s… pretty big news, huh]

He couldn’t exactly react except like it was someone else’s affairs.

No doubt, it was only from the reactions of those around him that he figured that this was a
pretty serious situation. After all, they came to this tower for a reason.
It was in order to find a way to save the girl that kept on sleeping, and to help those people
struck with some unknown disease, that they came here. ――Or at least, that’s what he had
been told.

[Ram: We barely just got here and the key people are already falling apart…… Barusu
dropped his memories somewhere, and Anastasia-sama’s consciousness is deep in the
abyss…]

[Subaru: Ugh… doesn’t look good at all, huh……]

Listening to Ram’s blunt remark, Subaru dejectedly held his head.

The problems were just piling up―― Subaru hadn’t even sorted out his own mess, and more
difficulties just kept coming. They were going nowhere.
In that case――

[Emilia: Everyone, I think even if we hang our heads like this, we won’t solve anything. I
understand the frustration, I do…… but, we can’t let our spirits down]

[――――]

[Emilia: A lot of people’s hopes are riding on us coming to this tower. What happened to
Subaru and Anastasia-san, that is a big deal. But…]

Emilia clapped her hands together and gathered everyone’s attention to herself.
Then, after pausing a beat, she scanned her amethyst eyes over everyone present,

[Emilia: We can’t stop here. ――We musn’t give up, that’s what I’ve always been taught]

Emilia said this firmly as she looked at each member’s face in turn. Her gaze finally fell on
Subaru, who held his breath as he was pierced by their amethyst charm.
Naturally, his chest heated up. He didn’t know what to say, but he could see the expectation
in her eyes. Receiving it, and feeling like he must do something, Subaru tightened his fist.

[Beatrice: Ow! That hurts! Oy, Subaru!]

[Subaru: Ah, my ba……no, not bad! Because this is proof of my determination!]

[Beatrice: Even if you say that with a straight face it still hurt when it hurt, I suppose! Reflect
on your actions now!]

[Subaru: S-sorry. Hurting you was my bad. But my determination was not! Yeah, that’s
right!]

Subaru apologized to Beatrice’s protests that her delicate wrist was being squished, but he
quickly shook his head.
He could see that the situation as worrying. But simply worrying about unsolvable problems
wouldn’t move anything forward at all. Subaru knew this from personal experience, in fact.
If Subaru was alone, he would certainly have lost his way. But, he wasn’t alone. Even if he
had forgotten everything on his end, there was still Emilia and the others. And so――
[Subaru: It’s true, my memories slipping away all of a sudden has caused you a lot of trouble,
I’m sorry about that. But that doesn’t mean it’s hopeless. Think of it another way. Who
knows, maybe now I’m freed from the unnecessary fetters and ready to burst out with new
ideas like a fresh spring or something. Then that means we’re ready to break out of this mess,
doesn’t it?]

[“Anastasia”: ……that’s… quite a progressive take on it]

[Subaru: Would you rather go backwards instead? All the important things are ahead of us.
They say the Goddess of Fortune only shows her bangs, you know? Besides, when it comes
to capturing this tower, maybe we’ll need to come up with a more flexible idea. One that isn’t
confined by the conventions of this world, like, AN IDEA FROM ANOTHER WORLD!]

“Anastasia”―― or rather, Echidona, wryly smiled at that momentous remark, but she was
pushed back by an even more momentous retort. Even though he was just bluffing, what he
said was right, and there was a need to break out of the current atmosphere.
Listening to Subaru’s thoughts, the difficult expressions on everyone’s faces began to change.

[Emilia: ……Mmn, that’s right. Subaru has always gotten over all sorts of trouble like this.
So, this time, you’ll definitely get us through it too]

[Subaru: Oooh! That’s the spirit! Though that kinda sounds like I’ll have to do all the work
here… but since you’re counting on me, I’ll do my best. Such a cute girl is asking for my
help, after all!]

[Emilia: Thank you, Subaru. ――Hm, I’m glad. Subaru is still Subaru, after all]

[Subaru: ――――]

Hearing Emilia’s whisper as she put a hand to her ample chest in relief, Subaru was almost
caught off-guard.

――“Subaru is still Subaru, after all”

Hearing her sigh of relief from the bottom of her heart, Subaru felt relieved as well.
“I guess that’s enough”, he thought.
Little by little, this self would be able to fill the hole left by the Natsuki Subaru she knew. If
he could do just that, then he should be able to smooth over all the jumbled relationships
here.

[Julius: ……Well well, that sure is optimistic]

[Subaru: Huh?]

Just when Subaru was relieved by Emilia’s words, Julius suddenly cut in. Sensing Subaru’s
gaze, he shrugged, and loosened his lips with [Nothing],

[Julius: I just thought, memories or not, it’s still as impossible as ever to tell whether you’re
brave or reckless. On the other hand, perhaps you would only think this because you’ve
forgotten the enormity of the obstacle we are facing]
[Subaru: Oy, why’s there always something annoying about the stuff you say? Unless…… no
way, is that just your true nature? Julius-san…… I mean, just Julius]

[Julius: ……I see. It’s just as Emilia-sama said, memories or not really doesn’t matter. One’s
nature is not so easy changed]

[Subaru: I guess I can kind of imagine what kind of relationship we have now. We must be
more comfortable with each other than anything else, huh]

They were not harsh words of malice, but an exchange of friendly jabs. Nevertheless, Subaru
was convinced that there was a certain sense of distance between them.
His initial impression wasn’t wrong. Subaru and Julius mustn’t have liked each other very
much when they first met. But afterwards, through various things they’ve experienced
together, their relationship must have improved to the point where they could travel to this
tower together――

[Subaru: Then I’ll be counting on you, Julius. Until I get my memories back, I’ll trouble you
for a little longer]

[Julius: Yeah, it can’t be helped. Then I will reignedly accept this as my duty. ――Memories
are just a trivial matter. I see. ……That’s right]

Julius quietly nodded to Subaru’s friendly address, and the topic ended there.
His memories were lost, and the problems just kept coming. This definitely wasn’t something
one would meet with a bright face, that was a fact, but to face it nonetheless was a testament
to his strength.

[Julius: When the person in question isn’t all that concerned, perhaps that is a grace as well]

[Subaru: I just don’t show it. There’s actually a whole storm churning in my chest right now.
But, I’ll take the opportunity to get healed by some alone-time with Emilia-chan later]

[Emilia: ――? You want a lap pillow?]

[Subaru: Auhm, no. I’m sorry. Isn’t that uh… a bit rushed]

After saying it with his chest pumped up and his spirits high, Subaru suddenly shrunk. Not
expecting Emilia to be so willing to give him such tender healing, his heart started cowering
in fear.
Moreover, it’s a lap pillow. Naturally, his gaze fell onto her soft white thighs――

[Ram: It’s ready. Come help carry it, Barusu-pervert]

[Subaru: OW!?]

Feeling something kick in back of his knees, Subaru let out a wail on the spot and collapsed
to the floor. All the while, Ram looked down on him with a look of disdain, as if chastising
him for his indecency.
[Ram: Your useless positivity is one of your only virtues, Barusu. Use that positivity to set up
the food. As well as for cleaning, tidying, and various other chores]

[Subaru: You just want to slack off, don’t you……]

[Shaula: Ooh! Teacher-sama, I’ll help as well-su~! F-o-o-d! F-o-o-d!]

Just as Subaru was protesting Ram’s forceful transfer of responsibilities, he was immediately
cut off by Shaula’s pressing desire for sustenance. Seeing Shaula beginning to carry out the
plates, Subaru had no choice but to join in the preparations.

[Subaru: Lets see the menu…… that kinda just looks like preserved rations]

[Ram: In fact, it is precisely preserved rations. The few fresh foods Emilia-sama brought over
have already ran out. So the diet will be quite bland in the foreseeable future]

[Subaru: Well, hopefully we can capture this tower quickly and get back to somewhere more
populated]

He had heard it said that people’s hearts are only at ease once there are ample food and
clothing. In that sense, he wasn’t sure just how long they could last in this tower.
Particularly in regards to food, in the absence of his memory, Subaru’s only impression of the
“Taste of this Parallel World” was the taste of preserved rations. Which was rather miserable.

[Echidona: Sorry to bring this up while you’re eating, but there is something I want to
confirm with you, Subaru-kun]

[Subaru: Hungry… starving…… What, me? Something you wanted to ask me?]

Roleplaying as someone who has been treated like a slave and given nothing but miserable
scraps ever since he was summoned to this Parallel World, Subaru protested against the
injustice. But he stopped eating when he heard Echidona’s words.

[Echidona: It’s nothing, but while I apologize for bringing this up this when everyone is
united against our situation, I would like Subaru-kun to share a bit more with us about what
happened to him. After all, your memories were the only ones that has been affected by this
tower. Conversely, who knows if the same thing might happen to any of our memories as
well?]

[Subaru: Right, makes sense. Even though having the person involved do it might be a bit
difficult… amnesia can be pretty inconvenient, you know]

[Beatrice: The way you said it make me wonder if you really see yourself as being involved, I
suppose……]

Seeing Subaru nod in agreement, Beatrice could only manage a baffled expression.
But, Echidona’s concerns were reasonable. And the truth is, Subaru also needed to know how
he lost his memories. The clues to restoring his memories must be tied to how he lost them in
the first place.
[――――]

At the table, to Subaru’s right was Beatrice, and to his left was Emilia. Those two were at his
side when he woke――he wanted to know just what kind of memories could have prompted
them to sit there of their own accord, and to place in him such baseless trust and warmth.
――Or rather, it was that he needed to remember, because it was his duty.

[Subaru: But still… I woke up without remembering anything, so I don’t really know what
happened. ……Emilia-chan and everyone, where exactly did you guys find me?]

※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※

[Emilia: This morning… we couldn’t find you in the dragon carriage. As you were also
nowhere to be found in any of the rooms on fourth floor… we were pretty worried.]

Subaru’s curiosity was piqued by the word dragon carriage, but he did not open his mouth in
fear of interrupting Emilia’s story. Perhaps, the lizard which stood in the Green Room was
related to Earth Dragons in some way? It seems as if the carriage was drawn in the same fashion
as horse-drawn carriages used to be. His curiosity in wanting to see the thing in action had to
be postponed.

[Beatrice: Betty was not at her wit’s end as much as Emilia was, in fact. Simply, I was worried
that I wasn’t able to understand the whereabouts of my contractor within this strange tower, I
suppose. So, we went searching around the tower for you…]

[Subaru: … searching for me?]

[Emilia: We found you collapsed on the third floor, in the white library, and then brought you
to the Green Room.]

Subaru breathed out an “Uhh” after hearing Emilia and Beatrice’s joint explanation.

[Julius: The third floor is one of the floors within this tower. We are currently on the fourth
floor, trying to reach the topmost floor – that is, the first floor in our efforts to capture the
tower… it was thanks to your knowledge that we have already reached the third floor.]

[Subaru: Thanks for explaining… huuh, thanks to my knowledge!?]

Julius fills in Subaru with the missing details, explaining how the tower was structured.
Although, to Subaru, the contents seemed to be quite lacking in credibility. However, Emilia
continues her speech:

[Emilia: That’s how it happened. All we heard was gibberish, but Subaru was able to solve it
all by himself… you were reaaaalllly amazing.]

[Subaru: Hahaha, thank you… gibberish, I don’t hear that term used often nowadays.] 1

[Emilia: ……]

[Subaru: Did I say something strange?]

Though Subaru had intended to praise Emilia, she remained silent as if concealing
embarrassment in hearing these words. For a second, he had seen the traces of some strong
emotion flicker across her eyes, like a ripple in a pond, but he didn’t know what it was.

[Subaru: By the way, so you brought me here, to that room full of grass…]

[Beatrice: That room is protected by a special spirit. That spirit has the power to heal people’s
wounds… that is why Rem’s also sleeping there, in fact.]

[Subaru: Okay, okay, I see. So, that’s why I was also brought in… By the way, what are the
chances that my memory disappeared due to that room?]

[Emilia: That’s…]

Subaru closes one of his eyes as Emilia is about to reply and plunges into thought. After all, if
the spirit took the form of some kind of plant, Subaru doubts that the spirit could necessarily
be benevolent – after all it could possess an intrinsic nature of cruelty.

Flowers can be pretty, and filled with sweet nectar to attract insects to carry their pollen.
However, sometimes, carnivorous plants can be camouflaged as such, so that they can drain
the life force from their prey.

Instead of healing his body, it could have absorbed his memory. Such a possibility existed.

[Echidna: It’s quite a wild idea, but it’s very doubtful. I’ve been in that room longer than you
have, and nothing untoward has happened to me.]

[Subaru: …is my condition linked to how the original owner of your body isn’t able to come
out, somehow?]

[Echidna: Regarding Ana, that happened before we came to the tower. Her condition has no
relevance to the Green Room. That’s right… did the Earth Dragon who was in the room forget
you?]

[Subaru: Huh?]

[Echidna: That Earth Dragon has a deep bond with you. Suppose, for argument’s sake, her
memory was taken away from her by the room’s spirit… don’t you think she would probably
ignore you?]

Echidna reminds Subaru of the Earth Dragon that had been near him when he woke up.
Certainly that Earth Dragon was extremely friendly towards Subaru. It was convinced that it
was Subaru’s Earth Dragon. It was quite surprising.

[Subaru: That Earth Dragon, she’s a female…?]

[Echidna: Let’s get back on topic. The chances of that room causing such wickedness are not
high at all. I think that the problem occurred on the third floor, in the room you collapsed in –
The Third Floor’s Taygeta’s library.]
[Emilia: Yeah, yes. In that room, Subaru was collapsed on the white floor…]

Emilia grips her wrist tightly, as she reflected back at that moment.

[Emilia: I was in a panic… I carried you from that room, and then went to call everyone, but…]

[Beatrice: Subaru woke up during that time, and then he found himself in this condition, in fact.
Therefore, it would be difficult to imagine that the Green Room would have time to do such a
deed, I suppose. After all, going to that library…]

If there had been a cause to his memory loss, it would likely be that the origin was the library.
It seemed like a common point of view had been reached, but Subaru didn’t really understand
it.

That’s because his power of imagination probably does not reach to what kind of room ‘the
library’ in reality actually could be other than a simple library.

[Subaru: Taygeta? What kind of room is this Taygeta library? Somehow, that sounds
familiar…]

[Julius: That library is the place where『The Books of the Dead』exist.]

[Subaru:『The Books of the Dead』… is this still junior high…, hey!]

Showing interest, Subaru attempts to get to grips with the existence of these『Books of the
Dead.』 But just as he reacted, Julius continues to speak, saying: “Although there is no
concrete confirmation.”

[Julius: There are a number of books bearing the names of people who are now deceased from
around the world, in this library. To read the books, you likely have to be qualified to do so by
knowing the person who had died.]

[Subaru: What bad taste… what is written in those books?]

[Julius: The past life of the dead is written there. Intense memories are scorched into your mind;
it is not an experience you would like to try over and over again.]

There was such a weight to Julius’ words in his explanation, which could only have been
expressed by one who had personally experienced this sensation. It seemed to Subaru that the
memories of the dead were not something he wanted to have scorched into his mind. To say it
frankly, experiencing this sort of shock was not something he was keen to do. And…, if he had
collapsed in a library where such experiences are possible…

[Subaru: Was I reading one of those books and collapsed? No way, is that what destroyed my
memory?]

[Echidna: I can’t say that the possibility isn’t there. About that, 『Sage』, what do you think?]

[Shaula: … maybe, are you talking to meee?]

While nodding at Subaru’s guess, Echidna turned to face Shaula. Subaru found that Sage was
a really disproportionate way of calling her. He wondered why she was named as such – to him
Shaula looked like the furthest thing from a『Sage』in this room.

[Shaula: Even if I have to repeat it many times, my answer will not chaaange! I don’t know
much about the tower, except its ruuuuulesu! Now that you mention it, I am strict with rule
breaking. Whatever Master did in the tower, it has no relatiooooon!]

[Subaru: To begin with, I don’t know why Shaula is calling me master, but…]

[Ram: Don’t worry. Barusu’s answer is all too similar as before he lost his memory. You’re
just using this as an excuse because it’s convenient… disgusting!]

[Subaru: How did you allow yourself to come to that conclusion!]

Subaru looked on in bewilderment at Shaula’s declaration – her gaze seemed to emanate deep,
deep affection. Even if he could appreciate the environment he was in, which had this
glamorous, beautiful woman present in it, not understanding the source of her affection only
yields way to confusion and bewilderment for Subaru. Besides, this woman’s deep affection
gives him a strange feeling of unease; it felt completely different from the sincere feelings
which Beatrice and Emilia had shown him. He doesn’t understand whether this is a harmful
effect of his memory being gone or not.

[Subaru: In any case, that library feels suspicious. If it’s perhaps our only clue that can lead us
to returning my memories back, then it’s worthwhile going there and checking it out.]

[Julius: Yes, we should do that. Even under normal circumstances, difficult problems happen
one after the other. There are seldom times where problems and misfortune never crop up.
Besides, in these circumstances, you must honestly realise that…]

[Subaru: What must I realise?]

[Julius: … you, oh, just how many things are you making up for?] 2

In hearing Julius’ words, Subaru closes one of his eyes and snorts. It was not from
embarrassment that he had reacted like this; he smiles bitterly. On Natsuki Subaru they must
depend on, even at the end. Bad things come in threes – misfortunes never occur alone. Once
again, Subaru had been unaware of the burden he felt that was on him.3

[Subaru: Anyways, after I finish eating, I’d like to go to the library and if the memories that I
lost are scattered around there, I’d like to go pick them up and refill my mind with them.]

[Emilia: That’s a weird way of saying it… you really are Subaru!]

[Subaru: You really are Subaru… saying that, huh, wait, it’s probably not a compliment!?]

Emilia smiled gently at the flustered Subaru. The tension that had been filling the air seemed
to have relaxed a bit. A plan had been decided; Subaru started to begin to feel a little bit more
positive towards their course of action.
[Echidna: I am sorry to interrupt you, Natsuki-kun, there’s just one thing I want to ask you.]

[Subaru: Well, since you’re already speaking, go ahead. What is it?]

[Echidna: No, this isn’t related to your memory, or capturing the tower, it’s something I wish
to ask out of curiosity… ]

Echidna starts to stroke her wavy hair, and with an adorable look on her face, compounded by
a look of deep intelligence in her light blue eyes, she asks:

[Echidna: What does that word you speak quite often of, “Parallel World”, mean?]

※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※

 [1] Probably references the fact that Emilia talks in an old-fashioned way.
 [2] The use of 補って in this sentence is confusing. This exchange between Julius and
Subaru was tricky to decipher. Think Julius is referring back to the night before
(Eridna’s confessions) and how Subaru was at fault and should be making up for it.
 [3] Not such a strong translation here, the gist should roughly be okay though. Also, I
translated the proverb to the common English one which states threes but does not
necessarily mean three specifically in this context.

※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※