[User] "What a hopeless idiot…but…" His stupidity had been fatal, but it had also revealed certain truths. This may have come naturally to the other Natsuki Subaru, but it was something the current Natsuki Subaru had not known. —For example, how had he gained the power of Return by Death? If this was a classic isekai story, then there should have been a god or some other supernatural being that summoned him. But if the old Natsuki Subaru didn’t have any memories of meeting a supernatural being, then it made sense why he didn’t remember receiving the power or being aware it existed. In his final moments, the other Natsuki Subaru had been convinced that he’d died for real. Or at least that’s how it felt to me. —And as he had that thought, Subaru suddenly realized something. I can’t objectively differentiate between myself and the other Natsuki Subaru in any meaningful way.

[Assistant] "I’m even more mixed-up than when I read Meili’s book…" When he’d dived into her book of the dead and gone through the moments of her life, he had experienced something like an intense gravitational pull that dragged him into her mind. Part of his personality had merged with hers and created a Meili that took up residence in his head, saying whatever she wanted and generally driving him crazy. On some level, he knew that it was a figment of his imagination and had nothing to do with the real Meili. Even then… "" There were obvious differences between his experience with Meili and what he was going through now. The primary reason was probably because the subject this time was himself. A version of him that wasn’t actually him. This was an impossible situation that was pushing him into an unexpected battle with himself. A battle with myself… It was a hackneyed turn of phrase, but it perfectly described the situation Subaru found himself in. Honestly, it wasn’t looking good. Subaru’s consciousness was being inextricably drawn into the other Natsuki Subaru.

[User] "—Emilia. Emilia, Emilia, Emilia, Emilia, Emilia." Subaru could feel himself being blotted out, so he chanted her name like it was a powerful spell. The reason for that was simple—the Natsuki Subaru in the book of the dead didn’t know her as Emilia. He had played the fool until the very end, never doubting the fake name he had been given. That was a difference between the current Subaru and his other self. Still terrified by the feeling of being whittled away, he gritted his teeth and looked down at his feet.

[Assistant] The book that he had dropped was lying there. He had watched the old Natsuki Subaru die once. It was odd to think back on it, as the book had started with the moment he first came to this world, the moment he had shouted like a moron about how the world was so different. With Meili’s book, it had started with her first memories—not that it changed much.


[User] “It was the same for you, right, Natsuki Subaru…?”

[Assistant] “In which case…the answer is somewhere past this moment…” Subaru picked up the book again. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath.

[User] With the book in hand, he counted one, two beats of his ■■■■■. And when it had calmed down, he slowly started walking.

[Assistant] Standing in front of the bookshelf, he stretched out a hand—

[User] “—The second volume.” The next volume had faintly revealed itself.


[Assistant] This Natsuki Subaru’s path was unsightly, haphazard, and unsalvageable.

[User] “What a failure. An amateur through and through. Sloppy movements, too. No blessing, no techniques. I figured he had some knowledge to fall back on, but nope. Why did he even try?” Tormented by a powerful enemy, the boy had been cut down without managing to mount any sort of real counterattack. And around him lay the bloody bodies of an old man and a blond girl. He had failed to save either of them. He couldn’t so much as lift a finger.

[Assistant] “Slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly losing warmth, growing ever colder.” Finally, his stomach was cut open and his eyes were cut out. He wasn’t long for this world, and he spent his dying moments blind and clinging to fear. Right up until the end, he was cowering, trembling, terrified, pathetic…

[User] “Hey, did you stab him?”

[Assistant] “What else was I supposed to do?! What if he ran away? It’d be a huge pain in the ass.”

[User] “Stop it, dumbass! Ah, this is no good. That’s a deep cut. He’s gonna die.” What an easygoing conversation to have over the body of someone who’s collapsed. If he didn’t focus on such trivial thoughts, he would be forced to confront the pain of being stabbed in the back. He was astounded from the bottom of his ■■■■■. How masterfully he avoided suffering and protected himself. Truly, a pointless death. A dog’s death, of no value to anyone. A fitting ending, though. Why can’t you just pour all of yourself into every second of your life?

[Assistant] Whatever. This world is over. I already knew that.


[Assistant] “Ugh…bgh…” Holding his mouth after facing another onslaught of death, Subaru knelt on the floor in the Taygeta archives. Unable to stay upright, he slumped forward onto the ground.

[User] “Haaah, haaah…” His breathing was ragged, and a hideous cold sweat drenched his body. Was it hot, or was it cold? Was it bitter? Sweet? Painful? Pleasant? All his emotions blended together as black became white and he couldn’t tell up from down anymore.

[Assistant] “That’s…book eight…” That was how many volumes he had gone through since finding the first book of the dead. He was retracing that Natsuki Subaru’s footsteps without skipping any deaths. And as he relived all those memories, a thought came to him. How simple, straightforward, and unbearably naive was Natsuki Subaru? The latest death he saw at the end of the eighth volume was the main reason.


[User] "Don’t dwell on the past…"

[Assistant] "I still…" …haven’t found it.

[User] "Book nine…"

[Assistant] Subaru braced himself to face the panic and chaos, the betrayal and despair, and the ever present swirling cycle of death.

[User] "I’m begging you, Natsuki Subaru. Hurry up and show me what makes you, you. Before my ■■■■■ gives out following your footsteps, your wounds, your deaths."

[Assistant] The deaths kept piling up as Subaru could hear his ■■■■■ cracking a little more with each agonizing wound, with each devastating loss. While letting out cries of incomprehension, he gritted his teeth in frustration when the miserable end came, then stood up again, pressing forward despite being covered in wounds and coughing up blood.


[User] A feat worthy of respect. Not giving up in these circumstances was nothing short of admirable. To grit his teeth and fight on, after everything he had gone through…it was incredible. I have to admit, it’s impressive. I’m definitely seeing you in a new light. …But this couldn’t be it. There had to be something else. There just had to be. “Something…” Anything… It just doesn’t make sense otherwise. He still hadn’t found what transformed the powerless, irredeemable Natsuki Subaru into the Natsuki Subaru who could save Emilia and everyone else. That was why he was still searching so desperately, so frantically. Every time he opened a book of the dead, he was at the mercy of every abrupt transition, experiencing every bit of shock and terror the other Natsuki Subaru had felt. Braving the excruciating agony of death, he searched with increasing desperation. But he couldn’t find a single clue…

[Assistant] "Uwaaaaaaah!! !" He slammed his head against the floor. It had been fine while he was watching it. But the moment he came back, shame gripped his ■■■■■.

[User] "Dad… Mom…" There was a Natsuki Subaru who spoke to his parents and apologized to them. That Natsuki Subaru said his farewells to them without a care. He said he loved them for his own satisfaction, despite knowing how much his disappearance would hurt them…

[Assistant] "Uh…bgh…aaaaaa." He threw up. And he wept. What was so painful, so distressful, was that he understood Natsuki Subaru’s feelings painfully well, and he also knew that his parents would forgive him. Don’t forgive me. Curse me. It would have been easier if they just yelled at me for being a terrible son. But they didn’t. His father and mother didn’t do what he expected. For his own sake, he wanted them to treat him like a failure of a son. But they would never do such a thing. Subaru’s father, Kenichi, and his mother, Nahoko, were the best parents. A part of him was unbelievably happy. A part of him completely agreed with Natsuki Subaru’s decision. And there was a part of him who wanted to be saved, even though he had no right. It was tying his ■■■■■ into knots. Is this it? Is this the crux of it all? Is this how you became the best Natsuki Subaru could be?

[User] "No…no, it can’t be! No! This isn’t right!" Scratching his head, he slammed his fist into his aching forehead and berated himself. Psychological relief wasn’t what he’d been looking for. It had to be something clearer, something with some real power. A special key. An ability. Some great power that only Natsuki Subaru knew about. Something that Natsuki Subaru alone had awakened, like how Subaru developed his Cor Leonis ability. There had to be a special something, and he had to find it. That was why Natsuki Subaru confronted death again.

[Assistant] "Tell me, Natsuki Subaru! What makes you special?! How can you be the only special one?! There has to be a reason!


[User] "Something that changed you! Something that made you different! That made you not some useless dumbass! Change me! I don’t want to be this useless, pathetic, weak, shitty little person anymore! I’m tired of it! I don’t want to see everyone suffer anymore! There must be something, right?! It doesn’t make any sense… There has to be… You’re different from me… Because if you’re not…” …Then there isn’t anything to do but…give up. "If you’re just as weak and lousy as me and don’t have any power…" After he’d been pushed to the brink so many times, someone was always there to give him a push. He wanted to return the favor, to repay the people who were so good to him. "I’m begging you, Natsuki Subaru, please. Please, stop this…" —It would have been so much simpler if you were a superman. —If you only looked like me but were totally different on the inside and had nothing in common with my weak body and ■■■■■. —That would have made it so much easier to understand why you can do things I never could… But… He tore books off the shelves and rushed headfirst into more deaths, wearing down his ■■■■■ with each one. His dogged determination was undeniable, but he was burning at both ends. Even so, he pushed on, refusing to give up hope on finding what he was searching for…

[Assistant] Subaru opened the next book. He braced himself. It might scramble his brain, or crush his ■■■■■, or defile his soul. But he couldn’t stop now. Losing that last thread of hope would be worse than any amount of suffering. "You understand, don’t you…Natsuki Subaru?" He spoke to someone who wasn’t there, looking for agreement. His voice sounded lifeless, but that was to be expected. The person he addressed didn’t merit excitement. The guy wasn’t all that. With a forlorn hope that none of that was true and that he would finally be able to put an end to this, he pulled out yet another book of the dead. Then—

[User] "—Yeah, I get exactly what you mean." It was a bright, white space. A quick glance confirmed Subaru wasn’t in the archive, nor was he a bodiless entity slipping into more memories. No, this was a different place but one that he recognized. This is…

[Assistant] "I get you, Natsuki Subaru."

[Assistant] "I mean, of course I do. You’re me." Standing there in that all-white world was Natsuki Subaru, waiting with those intimidating eyes he knew so well. 7 Short black hair, long torso, stumpy legs—and suspicious eyes that made him look like a murderer. An all-too-familiar face stared down at Natsuki Subaru, who had crumpled to the white floor.

[User] "Let’s take it from the top. What’s up, bro?"

[User] "Hmm, that’s a little confusing. If we wanted to be more precise, then… What’s up, other me?" In a daze, he looked up and stared at his face.


[User] "Natsuki Subaru…"

[Assistant] "…Am I detecting a weird kind of emphasis in there? Also, referring to yourself by your own full name is kinda weird. I guess it’s common enough in manga and stuff. Anyway, it is a bit of a question what we should call each other."

[User] "Natsuki Subaru…!" Getting angry at the Subaru who was standing there so carefree, Subaru stood up. And glaring at the thoughtless person right in front of him, he gnashed his teeth.

[Assistant] "Why are you here…and where is this place? Why am I here?!" Still staring at the nonchalant Subaru, he gestured to the white space all around them. The white, empty space, just like the corridors of memory, the cradle of Odo Ragna, where he had faced off against Louis Arneb.

[User] "Why am I here?!"

[Assistant] "—It’s proof that you caught up to me."

[Assistant] "You read the books of the dead and caught up to me. You should have seen everything you didn’t know. Every bit of my life in another world." Subaru answered his hoarse shout calmly. Everything from his calm demeanor to his composed attitude to his seemingly insightful way of talking, it all bothered him.

[User] —First of all, what is he saying with that nasty face? "I caught up to you?"

[Assistant] "That’s right. There isn’t anything else about me that you don’t know. So…"

[User] "—Bullshit!"

[User] "I caught up to you? You think this is a game?! Don’t lie to me! There’s still more! I still don’t know the most important, the most crucial thing!" Growling with a furious look in his eyes, Subaru grabbed Subaru by the chest. Subaru didn’t resist. He let himself be pulled close until they were close enough to feel each other’s breath as the other Subaru’s wild black eyes stared him down.

[Assistant] "Perfect! If you’re here, then just tell me! Why are you the way you are?! I didn’t see anything! I couldn’t find anything! Tell me…"

[User] "The reason I’m me?"

[Assistant] "That’s right! There must have been something, some spark that made you different. I want to…"

[User] "—You should have seen it already, though?" So close their eyes reflected in each other’s, Subaru calmly looked at Subaru without resisting. That lack of resistance made Subaru feel like he was being told he wasn’t even worth talking to. Like he was being looked down upon from some high-up vantage point…

[Assistant] "Don’t look at me like that!"

[User] "Gah!" Subaru slammed his fist into the face he couldn’t bear to look at anymore. There was a hard impact, and the other Subaru got knocked back. And nothing happened to the Subaru who had thrown the punch. The pain the other Subaru felt was his own. He was clearly his own being, separate from Natsuki Subaru.

[Assistant] "The way you keep talking like you know everything…I see, I get it." Subaru studied the Subaru who was kneeling after taking that punch and he finally understood something.


[User] “So you’re Louis? The Archbishop of Gluttony! Again? !”

[Assistant] “That’s what this really is, isn’t, Louis Arneb?! You can change what you look like, so you’re just trying to mess with my head!”

[User] “You want to devour me? To hijack me for real this time? I already dumped your ass last time. Don’t you know when to give up…? Do you really want to die and come back that bad? !”

[User] “Snap out of it already! You think this is some amazing power?! It’s just dying and getting another shot. Dying, retrying…and even then, the outcome is always shit, since the guy using it, me, is shit! That’s why…”

[User] “That’s why I couldn’t save anyone… That’s why everyone dies. Because I’m weak, everyone gets hurt. Right now, and however many times I repeat it, it feels like I can’t save anyone…” Subaru kneels.


[Assistant] “—Because you love everyone,” Subaru said to him, still kneeling.

[User] “…Because you love everyone. That’s why you can’t stop.” Rubbing the red spot on his cheek where he was punched, Subaru said it again.


[User] The boy who had the same clothes, the same face, the same name, and yet somehow seemed decisively different, looked directly into Natsuki Subaru’s eyes as he continued. "Honestly, just imagining how painful the situation you are in is enough to make me sick. Starting at the sixth stage at level one with no pickups. I hear you on all those complaints. It’s the same pain I’ve felt so many times before.” His face was etched by the countless experiences of powerlessness and ignorance— Subaru could tell because he had lived through them as well.

[Assistant] Subaru knew all the defeats, all the pain, all the cries of death that the other Subaru had experienced. He had seen them with his own eyes. He had experienced them all with his own body, his own ■■■■■.

[User] And precisely because he had experienced them, because he knew that none of it was a lie, he refused to accept what the Subaru in front of him was saying. He didn’t want to accept it.

[Assistant] “If I was stronger, if I was smarter, if I was more everything… It’s enough to drive you crazy, right?”

[User] “…As if you’d understand! What do you know?”

[Assistant] “I know. And you should know why I know.”

[User] “Grrr.” There was no force behind his rebuttal. That was only natural, because that would entail rejecting someone’s opinion, to brush it aside or crush it and declare they were wrong. But Subaru couldn’t muster that in response. Because he knew. In every sense, he knew everything there was to know about Natsuki Subaru.

[Assistant] “I shouldn’t have looked at your memories…”

[User] “You don’t get to complain about that after poking around in someone else’s diary.”

[Assistant] “I should never have looked at your memories!” Clenching his fists, Subaru railed against Subaru’s cheeky quip. But that was all the resistance he could muster.

[User] “I…I wanted to find some hope. If you were some amazing guy, and I could just figure out what made you so amazing, then maybe I could do the same thing. But…” But he knew. He had seen it all. The Natsuki Subaru standing over there was no different from him at all. He was just a weak nobody. Just a mediocre guy who had lived a life that Subaru didn’t know before, who had met people Subaru didn’t know before, who had made it through stories Subaru didn’t know before, who had experienced moments Subaru didn’t know before.

[Assistant] “—I wish I could say you’re wrong. But I can’t. Because I know exactly how you feel—since you are me.” He had seen the world the other Natsuki Subaru had seen and experienced. He had seen it all. How Natsuki Subaru had come to love this world, the people in it, Emilia and everyone. And he had seen all the wounds Natsuki Subaru had suffered to be able to keep loving it all. —Natsuki Subaru wasn’t some superman. That illusion had already been shattered.

[User] “Yeah, I know! I knew it!


[User] "You…you just can’t give up, no matter how many times you die. That’s all it is!! !" Subaru standing across from him had slammed into impossible walls over and over, just like him. And when it happened, he died over and over and over again, changing the situation, the way the encounters happened, the way things connected, until he was able to make it through—that was all. "The only reason you never give up is because you love everyone! You piece of shit! Why aren’t you a superman?! Why are you still just a stupid kid? !" He took as long as he had to, even if it meant enduring unspeakable agony. That was all. Natsuki Subaru was just a regular person. He didn’t have any extra tricks up his sleeve beyond what the current Subaru had. And he was terrible at playing the cards he did have. On top of it all, he had terrible, terrible luck.

[Assistant] "If there was at least something…" He murmured weakly, having lost all steam. He clenched his fist, wishing for something even though he knew it was impossible. "…Why did you disappear?"

[User] "Huh?"

[Assistant] "Why were you gone? Do you know how much I’ve suffered because you up and vanished…?" The unsolvable question that had started all of this. Why had the original Natsuki Subaru disappeared? Why was the current Natsuki Subaru born? What happened to the original Natsuki Subaru when his memories vanished like smoke? "Why did you disappear…?"

[User] "…That was me screwing up. I went into Taygeta to search for a solution to Reid. And luckily, I managed to find his book, but…"

[Assistant] "…Reid’s book was empty when you read it."

[User] "I bumped into Gluttony there. The rest you already know." Subaru scratched his head as he recalled his embarrassing mistake. Running into Louis in the corridors of time, the original Natsuki Subaru had his memories stolen. And forgetting all his adventurers in this new world up to that point, the current Natsuki Subaru, who couldn’t understand his own feelings, let alone those of the people around him, was born.

[Assistant] "Don’t beat yourself up too hard…is what I’d like to say, but I know that won’t help you feel much better. Since you are me."

[User] "…Natsuki Subaru is a weak nobody and an unsalvageable dumbass."

[Assistant] "Got that right."

[User] "But…" The other Subaru started to laugh as he agreed, but that last word made him raise his eyebrows. Subaru gave his other self a good long look before he finally finished his thought.

[Assistant] "—You’re an amazing guy, Natsuki Subaru." That was how he honestly felt after witnessing more than twenty cycles of returning by death.

[User] As he stared at the person standing right in front of him, his eyes slowly narrowed. He was tired of looking at that familiar face because it was his own ugly face staring back at him. It was him, but it wasn’t him. It was him, even if it didn’t feel like him.


[User] When he finally got a reaction out of him, it felt good. This was the first time something had actually gotten through. "…The most familiar stranger, huh?"

[Assistant] There were not many people who could like themselves from the bottom of their ■■■■■. Subaru hated himself in that sense. And Natsuki Subaru was probably no different. The new Subaru and the old Subaru both hated themselves. But from the position of the most familiar stranger, when the current Natsuki Subaru looked at the other Natsuki Subaru, even if it was embarrassing, his first thought was he’s cool. "Weak, pathetic, can’t do anything. But even so, you keep struggling. I respect that. That’s the you they all care about. So…"

[Assistant] "That was the whole point of reading your book of the dead." It wasn’t just to complain in the mirror about his own powerlessness and regrets. And it wasn’t to trace the roots of the superman Natsuki Subaru and fulfill some delusion of unlimited power, either. It was to understand that Natsuki Subaru was just a person. To accept that, and to respect it.

[User] "…What was that, all of a sudden? You’re embarrassing me, man."

[Assistant] The other Subaru had been frozen, listening intently. Suddenly he was moving and talking again. His eyes narrowed, and he glared at Subaru in annoyance—or perhaps in embarrassment.

[User] "It’s a bit weird for me to say this, but looking back on everything up to this, I’m amazed you could say that. You basically watched ‘Natsuki Subaru Starting Life in Another World from Zero.’"

[Assistant] "Yeah, it feels a bit weird seeing a protagonist with the same name as me."

[User] "Better than the heroine having the same name as your mom… What am I even talking about?"

[Assistant] Firing off a bit of banter, both Subarus eyed each other. Seeming almost a bit let down, the other Subaru pointed to himself.

[User] "So you’re going to believe me even after everything you said earlier? It’s not like you’ve ruled out me being Louis in disguise yet."

[Assistant] "I have. You didn’t change back when I punched you."

[User] "That logic is straight out of a manga and isn’t necessarily true, you know…"

[Assistant] Like the other Subaru was saying, that wasn’t really enough to be sure. But at this point, Subaru had let go of all his doubts. Probably because of what the other Subaru had said before. Even if Louis Arneb could consume all of someone else’s life from head to toe, that look on his face, the sound of his voice when he talked about how much he cared about everyone—that was something Subaru didn’t believe she could reproduce. Because she couldn’t understand happiness. She didn’t know what it meant to be fortunate or blessed…

[User] "She can’t love anyone, so she can’t understand the feelings of someone who returns through death for people they care about."

[User] "So why are you here? Were you waiting for me?" He acknowledged the Subaru in front of him.


[User] This was someone with the same roots as him. The question that naturally rose to the surface then was why the two of them had met here.

[Assistant] Stepping forward on the pure white floor, the other Subaru answered: “The reason we met here is because this is the one and only connection we have.”

[User] “Our connection…”

[Assistant] “Inside the tower, the only place you and me can meet is in the book of the dead that recorded the death where I had my memories eaten. That’s the only way for a Subaru with memories and a Subaru without them to come face-to-face.”

[User] “…That just brings me back to the first question. Why are you here?” He couldn’t accept that it was just the book of the dead with written on it bringing the two of them together. For that matter, it didn’t make a ton of sense for there to be a pile of books for every single death. If Natsuki Subaru’s death wasn’t observed and recorded from some point beyond this world, it shouldn’t even be possible. Had the Odo Ragna itself acted as an observer?

[Assistant] “In that case, it doesn’t make sense why Louis got so excited in the corridors of memory when she confirmed I was returning through death. If it could be confirmed from the outside…”

[User] “She’s just sitting in here. She isn’t the ruler or anything. The ruler is…probably someone even more nasty. Given everything, the most likely candidate is…”

[Assistant] ""Sage Flugel."" Both Subarus finished the thought together.

[User] ""Sage Flugel.""


[Assistant] After both confirmed that he was a shared enemy, the two of them looked at each other. Then, for the third time, he asked. “Hey, other me. Why are you here?”

[Assistant] “So you’re not gonna say you already know this time, huh?” He shrugged when the other Subaru fell silent. His banter went unanswered. Instead, what appeared in the other Subaru’s black eyes was the gleam that had been there from the start. He probably feels a bit guilty…

[User] “Hey, what do you think will happen when our memories get combined?” So Subaru deliberately brought it up in a cheerful tone.

[Assistant] “Are there any rules or anything for what happens in these sorts of stories?”

[User] “I dunno. There isn’t really a set answer, I think.”

[Assistant] “Honestly, you probably have more experience in this place, so do you know any special rules I don’t?”

[User] “You read my anatomy report, didn’t you? It’s fifty-fifty.”

[Assistant] “Fifty-fifty, huh?”

[User] “Fifty-fifty.”

[Assistant] “…What if we’re like matter and antimatter and we annihilate each other?”

[User] “Don’t say that. Win or lose, no hard feelings, yeah?”

[Assistant] “No, I’m definitely gonna have hard feelings. And if I would, that means you would, too.”

[User] “Well, yeah. Probably."


[User] "Yeah, not a lot of room in my ■■■■■.”

[Assistant] “What was that?”

[User] “Not a lot of room in my ■■■■■… Huh? Did I say something weird?”

[Assistant] “…No, probably just me mishearing.”

[Assistant] “Ah, right. Just in case, since you never know, there are a couple things I want to say. You mind?”

[User] “We’ve already come this far, so might as well.”

[Assistant] “You know more about the basics of this world…though that advantage is gone, now that I’ve read the books of the dead. But something else changed, too, right?”

[User] “Changed?”

[Assistant] “After losing our memories, I talked with everyone, got to know them…a volume of ‘Natsuki Subaru Starting Life in Another World from Zero’ that you haven’t seen.”

[Assistant] “First of all, Meili. She’s a bit of a land mine, but you can understand her if you talk to her, so make sure you do that. I’m definitely a big fan of Captain Meili right now.”

[User] “All right, got it.”

[Assistant] “Also, there’s a giant scorpion roaming around the tower, but that’s actually Shaula. She’s pretty damn dangerous, but…it’s not because she wanted to be that way. Save her, too.”

[User] “All right, got it.”

[Assistant] “Oh, right, and I forgot to say, but when I met Louis, Rem gave me a kick in the ass. I didn’t remember her at the time, so it wasn’t until reading the books that I realized what kind of girl she was…but yeah, that’s definitely my Rem.”

[User] “No, she’s my Rem.”

[Assistant] “No, mine.”

[User] “Mine.”

[Assistant] “Ram said there are things you can only see when the snowmelt finally comes… She really nailed it.”

[User] “Yeah, that’s right.”

[Assistant] “As for Julius…well, I don’t really have to say anything there. He’s not so unreliable that he needs someone like us to say something to him.”

[User] “Yeah, agreed.”

[Assistant] “Thanks for apologizing to Mom and Dad.”

[User] “Yeah.”

[Assistant] “Thanks for helping Otto and Garfiel.”

[User] “Yeah.”

[Assistant] “Thanks for helping Petra and Frederica and everyone in Earlham, too.”

[User] “Yeah.”

[Assistant] “Thanks for bringing Beatrice out and for taking her hand.”

[Assistant] “And Emilia…”

[Assistant] “Thanks for falling for Emilia. I like her, too. I really do.”

[User] “…Yeah, I understand.”

[Assistant] “Natsuki Subaru, you’re an incredible guy. I really do understand that, so I’m sure if it’s you, it’ll be fine.”

[User] “Yeah.”

[User] “Yeah… Right.”

[User] “Yeah. If it’s us…it’ll be fine.”

[Assistant] “Fine, huh?”

[User] “That’s right. It’ll be fine.”

[Assistant] “Because I know you’re really something.”

[User] “…True, yeah. There is one thing I need to tell you.”

[User] “Summer holiday’s over now.”


[Assistant] They put their hands together. That clichéd exchange was the last.

[User] “” He breathed in…and out. Most likely, the merger happened in an irregular way— No, this place wasn’t made to accommodate this sort of thing to begin with. Subaru’s very existence, this very situation was itself an error. So…

[Assistant] “” Subaru finally noticed the teardrop that rolled down his cheek and dripped from his chin.


[User] He just didn’t feel the urge to wipe it away, because it didn’t feel like his own tears. This came from someone else who was slowly merging into Subaru. As he breathed deeply in and out, he scanned his mind. And what was seared into his memories was…

[Assistant] “Ngh!” Suddenly, Natsuki Subaru flashed back to twenty-two deaths. They were all deaths experienced in this tower, struggling against an unfair fate—the question mark, the part that had been unsure if it would make the merge, had connected. It connected, but…

[User] “You had your own crazy tightrope to walk…” The other him who had praised him so much had endured such a lonely struggle. He finally realized how hard the other him had fought in such a difficult situation once he started believing in his friends. Yeah, you’re right…I really do respect you, Subaru.

[Assistant] Breathing deeply to calm the pounding in his chest, he nodded. And then Subaru raised his head and looked forward. The white space was unchanged. Blank space in the corridors of memory created by the irregular situation. In the location where, just moments ago, a second Subaru had been touching his hands. Looking down at the small figure sitting there, Subaru’s eyes narrowed. And…

[User] “So, did you see what you wanted to see, Louis Arneb?” Subaru quietly asked the Natsuki Subaru who had reached him after reading through all those books of the dead and then vanished—or rather, he asked Louis Arneb.


[User] Louis muttered to herself in the blank white space she had inhabited since she was born.

[Assistant] "Not because we especially wanted it that way, though."

[User] "That person was happy, but this one was even more happy. And there are lots and lots of unhappy people… How can they all live so haphazardly and lazily?"

[Assistant] "If they just let us do it, we could do so, so much better. They’re all so hapless."


[User] “Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic. If you’re going to live so pointlessly, then give that life to us. We could live it so, so, so much better. Every last one of you are all too incompetent.” Scorn-worthy lives lined her plate one after the other. Digesting countless numbers of them, she grew sick from the rage and frustration.

[Assistant] “Ah, you look like you are eating with such gusto, dear brother.”

[User] “Ah, you look so pleased eating, brother dearest.”

[Assistant] “Ah, meanwhile…we just want to vomit.”

[User] “We want to be happy.” In a white world, plowing through countless memories, that was her only wish. That was Louis Arneb’s one true wish—maybe anyone’s one true wish.

[Assistant] “We want to be happy.”

[User] “We want to be happy.”


[User] "Ah, we want to be happy."

[Assistant] Gluttony’s authority, Eclipse, made it possible. Gluttony’s power stole other people’s names and memories. Eclipse was a power that used those stolen goods to re-create a person—with that, Louis Arneb could begin her life. No one could control how they were born. She was sure that was the root of everyone’s unhappiness. But Louis was different. Louis had the right and the power to choose her birth, to choose her life. By stealing others’ memories and re-creating them using Eclipse, she could make them her own. She could choose her life—and make every correct choice. A happy family, kind parents, an affluent lifestyle, a blessed environment, good friends, and a soulmate. They were all nothing more than the same sort of happiness she had seen elsewhere. That wasn’t what she wanted. She was searching for the ultimate life. Louis Arneb hungered for the ultimate life. That was what she sought. So when she learned about Natsuki Subaru, she was ecstatic.


[User] Hearing a voice she should not have been able to hear: “—What did you just do to me, Louis Arneb?”

[Assistant] "Eh…?" She faced Natsuki Subaru for the first time. A trespasser in the corridors of memory, on her turf. That alone was already surprising enough, but what lit her chest alight was the ache of the memories she had eaten. Somewhere in the memories her brother had eaten was someone who felt very strongly about him. She summoned him, calling out sweetly like a memory, and then she forced him down when he flew into a rage. And with a passion that made her chest feel like it might explode, she devoured his name and memories. It was a good meal. She had fully digested his memories, and yet…

[User] "Mister, do you remember us?" Why was he still calm, even though she had eaten his memories? Why was he glaring at him with such hate-filled eyes? Why was her chest pounding, even when she was so bewildered? Why, why, why, why, why…?

[Assistant] “…Eh?” Seeking an answer for what had happened, she sank into the memories she had just gained. How to begin to describe the scale of the shock Louis felt in that moment? It was…

[User] "Why do you have memories of dying?"

[User] "Wait. It’s not just that, mister. It’s weird enough you have memories of dying. More than weird. But it doesn’t make any sense. Since…"

[User] "We don’t remember ever killing you, even though you have a memory of being killed in one of the memories we’ve eaten!" It was strange. A paradox that shouldn’t be possible. Was it the influence of Natsuki Subaru’s memories? Her repertoire was expanding, including a vocabulary she should not possibly have known. It was a paradox.


[User] An emergency caused by a paradox, Schrödinger’s Maxwell’s Einstein was Nicola Tesla… “What is this?! What is all this?! Memories aren’t delusions! The dregs of a soul aren’t something you can just warp at will! So! This is the world you saw, mister! This is your history…a story all your own!” Louis ran her fingers through her long, long blond hair as something inside her exploded. To think such an impossible, world-bending thing like this could exist.

[Assistant] “Mister, are you an Archbishop like us?”

[Assistant] “See! Petelgeuse is saying it in your memories, too! The factor is here! You’re Pride and… Isn’t that my seat? !” Tapping her temple with her finger, Louis devoured the memories to the bone. It was hard to believe. Unbelievable even. No one other than Gluttony could begin to believe it. But because Louis could share the same memories, she could see for herself the path that Natsuki Subaru had taken. Or rather, she didn’t have to believe it; she knew it for a fact. Because it was already the same path that Louis Arneb had taken now, too.

[User] “Whoa, amazing! You really died! Horrifically! Pathetically! Over and over! No fair, no fair, no fair… No, it’s so lovely! This is…this is death!! !” Something that should not be possible, that should not exist, a memory of what lay beyond death. Something fundamentally different from any of that near-death experience urban myth stuff, too. The curtain fall that signaled a soul shattering, a life scattering, a breath ceasing…

[Assistant] “—Return by Death…” That was the great centerpiece of the memories that had taken root in her. Accumulating the experience of countless deaths, carving them all into a soul that should only have been able to experience one, Natsuki Subaru was brimming with sediment. And Natsuki Subaru had overcome every sort of difficulty.

[User] “—want it.” Why had Natsuki Subaru been able to reach the corridors of memory? Why was Natsuki Subaru not affected by Gluttony’s power? All those questions became like worthless confetti in the face of the ability to surpass death.

[Assistant] —Louis Arneb was searching for the greatest life. And having consumed all sorts of lives, she had reached the conclusion that the greatest life didn’t come from being wealthy or being loved by countless people, or being blessed with some great status. The greatest life was a life that went according to plan. A life where every hope, wish, and dream came true. A perfect world where there was no inconvenience, where there was no incompleteness, where there was no unreasonableness. Louis had always been searching for a way to make that happen. She had been searching inside herself for the answer all this time, but finally, she understood.

[User] “It’s Return by Death.” With that, she could undo anything she didn’t like, undo any mistakes. She could deal with the fact that there was no knowing what might happen in the future.


[User] “We can live the best life!”

[Assistant] “What to do? How do we steal it? If your Return by Death is an authority, then just eating you won’t be enough to take it. Things tied to memories and names are different. Witch Factor is the antithesis of the Odo Ragna! There’s no easy way to strip it out! So…” To steal an authority, she would have to steal the Witch Factor. But Louis didn’t know how to do that. She had never thought to steal any other Archbishop’s authority. The thought of even touching them was repulsive.

[User] “Wait! You can use Petelgeuse’s authority…?” The invisible hand in his memories, though it was massively degraded from its original form, was unmistakably the power that Petelgeuse had used. That meant Natsuki Subaru was living proof that it was possible to double-dip Witch Factors. To have multiple authorities. If she stole that ability from him…

[Assistant] “…We can live our own life!”

[User] “Ha-ha, isn’t that great? Don’t make us laugh! Someone who has everything could never understand the feelings of a have-not! A happy person can’t comprehend the full measure of another person’s unhappiness!” She was sick and tired of annoying arguments forced on her by others. No matter what pretty arguments Subaru might make, the truth was he had used his Return by Death to get here. There was no reason for her to tolerate any double standards. What she needed was to figure out how to steal his authority…

[Assistant] “…No, that’s not it. That’s not our way.” Hitting her fist on her palm, Louis welcomed this revelation. Somewhere along the way she had confused her ends with her means. That was a terrible mistake. She wanted to gain his authority to Return by Death. She wanted to live the best, most enjoyable life using it. But stealing it wasn’t the goal. After living so long as an Archbishop, she had come to think about everything in terms of violence, which clouded her mind. It was simple. If she just needed to get access to it instead of stealing it…

[User] “We can just become you.”

[Assistant] “We can just become you, if we just consume you with Gluttony’s authority…we can merge with you, Witch Factor and all.” Saying that, Louis pinched her cheek and pulled violently. It wasn’t to be cute, but to injure. Why? To rend her flesh and spill her blood, splitting off a part of herself.

[User] “The three great demon beasts. Those monsters were made the previous owner of our Witch Factor long, long ago. We can do something similar. We just never did is all, since there wasn’t much reason to…”

[Assistant] “But if we put our mind to it, we can do anything.” It was a monster of possibility. The infinite possibility of a creature before it was born.


[User] "That is our existence." Louis’s slowly spun words overlapped. The same voice resonated in stereo, and it was not the sort of thing that was just a trick of the mind. This was exactly what it sounded like. The same voice, in the same tone, spoken by the same person, but from two sources.

[Assistant] "I was surprised by your memories, mister. I didn’t know Arneb is a rabbit constellation. And it was shocking to find out you were the ones who destroyed the Great Rabbits."

[User] "But in that case, it shouldn’t be too surprising, right? Are you happy to see another cute little Louis? Or not? Not, right? You aren’t the type to crave little kids. Hmm, I see." Seeing him open his eyes in shock, Louis wrapped her arms around someone with the exact same face as her—around Louis. Because this was the corridors of memory, a place removed from reality. Louis was just a soul attached to a Witch Factor, without any body. That was the only reason this could work. She could peel off a bit of her soul, break herself into two, and create another being. It was probably not something that Lye or Roy could do, since they lost themselves when using Solar Eclipse. Making a copy of herself was the sort of wild feat that only Louis, with her weak sense of self, could pull off. And Louis, who alone could manage that, was the only one capable of reaching out to claim the ability of Return by Death.

[Assistant] The boy who was a receptacle for a Witch Factor was saying something. When she looked at him, a loving feeling welled up inside Louis, a desire for something apart from the allure of his power. It was vexing, so she relinquished the memories causing that feeling. Peeling it from her soul, she cast it aside as if it was no longer needed. No, not as if. It truly was no longer needed. All those memories were nothing more than a snack to allow her to hold on until she achieved the ultimate life. But Louis Arneb had finally found her full course.

[User] "We can do anything we put our mind to." To do that, Louis Arneb would eat away at Natsuki Subaru from the inside, and once she was done, she would consume him entirely from the outside and gain Natsuki Subaru for herself.

[Assistant] “—■■■■■■■■■■ ■■■■■■ it.” To the very end, the receptacle said something, refusing to go down smoothly.

[User] She ignored that and licked up every last dreg attached to his soul, completely inheriting his memories. She attuned herself with the now empty shell devoid of memories and readied herself to steal the memories of someone she had already eaten once before—in search of the greatest, the ultimate experience.


[User] Louis waited impatiently for the ultimate main dish that would grant her happiness to arrive…

[Assistant] "So, did you see what you wanted to see, Louis Arneb?"

[User] "Huh?" Louis’s eyes opened wide when she suddenly realized she was being addressed. Blinking repeatedly, she confirmed where she had woken up. A white world, a white floor, and a white sky. Standing upright in that pure white space, Louis touched her own face in a daze.

[Assistant] "" She patted her face all over to confirm it. There was no mirror here, so she couldn’t say for sure, but there was no mistaking that feeling. It was her own face. This wasn’t a place where any sort of entertainment could be found, and the only things she could really touch were her own face and body. It only took her an instant to confirm the shape of her own face. This was, without a doubt, Louis’s body. In a daze, she slowly checked herself. Right about the time she finished, that question came again.

[User] "Did you see what you wanted to see?"

[Assistant] Looking up, Louis saw the shabby boy with short black hair, a long torso and short legs, and menacing eyes. His name was Natsuki Subaru, and until moments ago, Louis had been him, too…

[User] “…Ah.” And he was the holder of Return by Death, making him a nightmarish being beyond imagination.

[Assistant] "Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!! !" She screamed. She screamed with all her might, raising her voice with all her being. If she didn’t do that, she would be crushed by it—the fear, the dread, the despair. She was trapped in the madness of the constant deaths repeating over and over and over.

[User] "Nooo! We don’t want to die! No no no no no no no no no no no! Noooo!! !" Clutching her head, she fell to the ground and pleaded desperately. Once she transformed into that being, Louis had experienced death at last. She had savored its taste. By allowing herself to be taken into a soul that could come back from death, she was able to experience an ability that could even go against the flow of time. The fresh, new stimulation that she so desired…she had wanted to know what sort of flavor death had. Even if it wasn’t as great as she expected, using the authority to Return by Death, the right to live a life with redos, was more than enough as a consolation prize. That was what she had thought—until she experienced death herself.

[Assistant] "That’s…that’s unbearable! That suffering! That loss! There’s no way we can bear it! It’s impossible! We don’t wanna! Nooo!" There was no easy way to die. There was no sweetness in death. Not once had she wished for her own death. Those were her experiences through more than twenty loops as Natsuki Subaru.

[User] "No human could endure that! Monster! You’re a monster!" No one could. It was impossible.


[User] "A human heart can’t endure its own death!! !"

[Assistant] We want to be happy. We want to be happy. We want to be happy. We want to be happy. We want to be happy. We want to be happy. We want to be happy. We want to be happy. We want… ed to be happy. We wanted to be happy.

[User] “We don’t want to die.” We don’t want to die. We don’t want to die. We don’t want to die. We don’t want to die. We don’t wanna die. We don’t wanna die. We don’t wanna die. We don’t wanna die. We don’t wanna die. We don’t wanna die. We don’t wanna die. We don’t wanna die. We don’t wanna die…

[Assistant] "I told you when you tried to eat me.” Slumping over and holding her head, Louis desperately tried to protect herself.

[User] “Like I warned you…you’ll definitely regret it.”


[Assistant] Standing in front of the girl weeping in terror from experiencing his Return by Death, Natsuki Subaru looked at the palm of his hand.

[User] “…Yeah, I really am incredible, Natsuki Subaru.” Clenching his hand, Subaru complimented himself, from the bottom of his heart.

[Assistant] “It’s weird.


[User] "Turns out I’m really something.” And he could say the same for Natsuki Subaru, who lost his memories and had reverted to the original state he was in when he first arrived in this new world, only to come all this way by reading the books of the dead. Starting from a complete blank slate in a new world, he had experienced as many deaths as Subaru had in a year, and he’d finally managed to rendezvous with Subaru here…

[Assistant] “Meili and Shaula…leave them to me.” Meili’s future was dark and at risk of closing off entirely because murder had become a habit for her. Shaula wanted her happiness to continue, even after being freed from her four hundred years of waiting.

[User] “Ram and Julius are both pushing themselves. And if the two of them are doing that, then…” Ram always knew the best choice and practiced a level of discretion that made her more reliable than anyone. Julius had lost his pillar but still held on to his conviction as he continued to swing his sword.

[Assistant] “Beatrice and Echidna, too—to think I would just be causing trouble from start to finish. Sheesh, what am I…?” Beatrice devotedly supported him and noticed his heart’s limits before anyone else. Echidna was the most suspicious of the memoryless Subaru but had still forgiven him in the end.

[User] "" And you, the one I will always be drawn to, no matter how many times I have to repeat things, and even if I lose my memory. That’s just how I want it. That’s how it has to be. I can’t imagine it any other way. That’s just how much… “E M T” With an expression of love and serenity on his lips, Subaru raised his head. He glanced over at Louis, who was still cradling her head and trembling.

[Assistant] "Hey.”

[User] “Eep!”

[Assistant] “…Get a grip already.” Subaru scratched his cheek, watching her shudder so dramatically at a single sound. The girl looked young enough to be a little child. Seeing a girl like that tremble in terror, desperately trying to reject the world around her, did make something swell in his heart. The way she naturally stirred people’s protective instincts was as effective as it was sinister. It might even have been a pure and natural distillation of that emotion that she was forced to develop, since Louis Arneb, knowing so little of the world, was like a newborn child, in a sense. However…

[User] “This is your loss, Louis Arneb.” Natsuki Subaru wouldn’t forgive Louis Arneb, even when she wept like a baby. Louis’s eyes widened quietly at his merciless declaration. He watched the terror fill her eyes like ink spilled across a white page, but his heart was still, like a calm sea. This wasn’t a problem that could be excused just because she didn’t know the ways of the world. Louis and her brothers had committed countless inhuman, demonic sins that could never be forgiven.


[User] “If you’ve experienced a piece of me, then you probably know. But you Archbishops, your titles are the same as the Seven Deadly Sins. It’s definitely the sort of phrase that sets a nerd’s heart aflutter, but there’s also the Seven Heavenly Virtues, too.”

[Assistant] “But you…all of you violated that.”

[User] That was why the Archbishops were unforgivable. Why Louis Arneb was unforgivable. “Louis Arneb, you’ve lost. Acknowledge it and let everything go.” Subaru made his demand as Louis recoiled in terror.

[Assistant] “Release everyone you’ve ever consumed,” he said forcefully. “If you do…”

[User] “…I-if we do…then what?” Louis interrupted, slumped down on the white floor, holding her knees, her long, long blond hair spread out around her on the floor, peering out at Subaru from behind her hair, her eyes filled entirely with unmistakable dread.

[Assistant] “Free everyone you’ve eaten. Even if they’re dead, returning their names will give them back some dignity. And anyone still alive can reunite with their families. If you do that, I’ll—”

[User] “Let us go? There’s no way! Of course not!”

[Assistant] “Wha—?”

[User] “There’s no way you would let us go! You annihilate your enemies! Totally and completely! You pitch the perfect game all the way to the end! Because you can! That’s why there’s no way you wouldn’t! There’s no reason not to!” Louis erupted with overflowing emotion, saying what sounded almost like a joke. “Give back what we’ve eaten? Never! That’s our lifeline!


[User] "Without that, you can kill us! You’ve got it flipped! To not die, we can never give it back…we can’t!” Louis’s outburst was a true paroxysm. Her face was a mess, and it was impossible to tell if she was laughing, raging, or grieving and it was all tinged with terror. Everything flowing from her lips was tied directly to her fear. Whether she tried to introduce joy or anger or sadness was irrelevant. If the result would always be terror, what was there to be happy or angry or sad about? Subaru well understood Louis’s deep-rooted rejection. She cursed the whole world, battered by a swirl of doubt and suspicion until it felt like it was impossible to move. That was a hell Natsuki Subaru had also experienced. What freed him from that hell was having someone to hold his hand, because that warmth didn’t let Subaru escape. It was the silver-haired girl who had saved his life and his heart when he first came to this different world. It was the blue-haired girl who’d kindly hurt him as he tried to abandon everything. They were the reasons Natsuki Subaru had not remained trapped in that hell.

[Assistant] "” But Louis Arneb, drowning in terror before his eyes, didn’t have any support like that. It was a hackneyed expression, but no one can live alone. So to save the girl trapped by terror, someone would have to reach out a hand. Just like someone had reached out a hand to Subaru before. However…

[User] "I’m not going to save you." That someone wouldn’t be Subaru. The Archbishop had committed an unforgivable sin. That was Natsuki Subaru’s judgment.

[Assistant] "I won’t save you. And I won’t feel bad about it, either."

[User] "Eep." There was nothing but fear for Subaru in her wide eyes. Subaru was the only one here who could understand her terror, but he was also the source of it. So there was no escape for her. When her fear reached its limit, she rejected Subaru with every fiber of her being.

[Assistant] "I-it’s…it’s too much! !"

[User] "…This is…" Slowly, Subaru’s vision started to warp, and a change appeared in the corridors of time. As if the world detected the presence of a foreign object and was twisting in order to eliminate it. As a result, Subaru’s body began to sway.

[Assistant] "We don’t want to be in the same space as you a second longer! We physically can’t bear it! Our essence can’t bear it! Our fate can’t bear it! So disappear! Dear brother and brother dearest will eat you! Whichever one wants you! We’re out, though!" Her decision, frustrating as it was, was the best choice available to her. Removing Subaru’s presence, erasing him from this world. He had no way to stand his ground. Nothing to hold on to and only a vague sense of ground to stand on. His soul was being peeled away from this white realm.


[User] "If you don’t like me…you can just settle it yourself…"

[Assistant] "We won’t take the bait! You can’t get us to try to kill you! You just want to come back through death and take it out on us! We won’t let you! Our brothers will devour you! That’s how we’ll win!!" Louis glared at Subaru with her teeth bared while he simply tried to hold on.

[User] Understanding that he could no longer hold out, he took a deep breath. His black eyes pierced her…

[Assistant] “…Eep.”

[User] "If your brothers are your last resort, then fine. I’ll crush that hope and then make you pay. Prepare yourself, Louis Arneb." He pointed at the trembling, terrified girl. "All the things you don’t like, all the painful stuff, you’re going to carry that yourself. Don’t run away from your memories."

[Assistant] Shame and regret were crucial ingredients in the memories that shaped people. They were nourishment for the person that was Natsuki Subaru, and they were building blocks in the Natsuki Subaru who had come here after enduring so many deaths. If Natsuki Subaru was incredible, then it was because his shame and regret made him that way.

[User] "That said, I don’t want to go through that shame again." His vision started going white, and his thoughts grew distant. The corridors of memory unwound…


[Assistant] Now that the terrifying being was gone at last from the corridors of memory, Louis Arneb let out a long, long, trembling breath and confirmed she was still alive. "How…?" How could he be okay? She couldn’t understand it. Her understanding of Natsuki Subaru before and after experiencing death herself was completely different. She couldn’t understand him. It was impossible. She couldn’t steal everything from that terrifying monster. Why, for example, had she not been able to steal his memories from before he was isekai summoned, or whatever he called it? Gluttony’s power should have consumed all of the target’s memories from the moment they were born. And yet she could only steal a little over a year’s worth of memories from that thing. It was as if the Odo Ragna loathed the memories before that point, or else…

[User] “…Hey, this isn’t what we talked about.” Suddenly, a voice rang out in the corridors of memory where she should have been all alone. Louis spun around in shock, but her surprise quickly dissipated. Standing before her was…

[Assistant] "Us…"

[User] "Right, us. We drew the short end of the stick. We’ve been waiting this whole time with nothing to show for it. Did you set up the ultimate life environment with mister, like we planned?" A mirror-image Louis grinned back at her. Another her in the truest sense, created by splitting a soul that should have been one to create the same but also different being. And that other Louis had not experienced what she had. This sneering Louis felt almost alien.

[Assistant] "—? What is it, us? Why that look? Where is mister?"


[User] "Us being here means he entered the book of the dead again, right?” “”

[Assistant] “Hey, you did your job, right? We didn’t get him here, but you performed your role, didn’t you? Wow, wow. You slipped in neatly. That sillyhead didn’t even notice us inside him!” Dancing and clapping, the other Louis reminisced on that forbidden rendezvous.

[User] Of course, the original Louis knew about it, too, and didn’t need to be told. That was when Subaru connected to the corridors of memory from Reid Astrea’s book of the dead, trying to search for a way to deal with that tyrannical swordsman. That was where the splinter Louis made contact with the monster that had forgotten everything and tried her luck by consuming it—including Louis who was hidden as a Witch Factor. That plan failed, due to the resistance of memories that were supposed to have been consumed. However, if they had not gotten in the way then, Louis would have become one with that thing by now. When Louis thought about merging with that thing…

[Assistant] “Hey, what is it? Talk more! Tell us! You saw it, right? You heard it, right? Smelled it, right? Tasted it, right? Natsuki Subaru’s authority!”

[User] “—Don’t say its name!! !”

[Assistant] Speaking excitedly, the splinter Louis reached out her hand. But the moment it touched Louis’s shoulder, she erupted, brushing away her other half’s arm. “…Huh?”

[User] Of course, her other half didn’t understand why she was being rejected, and her expression clouded. But Louis didn’t have the composure to notice splinter Louis’s reaction. Louis clutched the shoulder that a stranger tried to touch and shook her head wildly as she fell back. “No! No, no, no! Don’t touch us! Don’t get any closer!” She was terrified. Terrified of the splinter Louis, of the person with the same face, the person who had experienced the same things as she had. The being that was the other half of her soul…felt like a complete stranger. And there was no telling what a stranger might do. A stranger wouldn’t protect Louis. A stranger could kill her. And she didn’t want to die. “Stay away! Stay away stay away stay away! Don’t get any closer! Don’t touch us!” She hugged her body, unable to do anything more than she had when she faced that thing.

[Assistant] Splinter Louis’s eyes widened in confusion at seeing Louis push her away. “Huh? What’s that about?” Splinter Louis clenched her hand that had been brushed away. And with a terribly strained voice, she looked down at Louis and gnashed her teeth. “What’s this? What, what, what’s going on? By what right and whose permission? !”

[User] “Eeep!”

[Assistant] “This isn’t what we planned! What is this?! What’s this reaction?! This attitude?! Answer us!” Flying into a rage at being rejected, the splinter advanced on the cowering original. Crouching down in front of the frozen Louis, she grabbed her trembling other half by the hair and hauled her up.


[User] Two identical faces were now eye to eye, close enough to feel each other’s breath. “Strange. Strange, strange, strange, isn’t it? It’s strange. That’s right, it’s strange. It’s too strange. We’re saying it’s too strange!! !”

[Assistant] “” “What about the plan? It went like we planned, didn’t it? You slipped into that empty mister and set our nasty plan in motion, didn’t you? Good job! He was scared! He believed he was just the closest stranger to Natsuki Subaru!”

[User] Louis said nothing as splinter Louis reviewed their plan. It was true that their plan had proceeded smoothly. Louis had experienced the Return by Death inside Subaru, and using her tricks, she had convinced Subaru to see Natsuki Subaru as a different person. All the while, splinter Louis had remained in the corridors of memory, ready to eat Subaru when he became a separate entity from Natsuki Subaru, to take his authority for herself. They had been one step away. “Even if it didn’t work, we could have done it again, tens, hundreds of times, even! The plan was to keep going until we stole his authority, wasn’t it?! It was just a small blunder! We can just steal his memories again and keep trying as many times as we want. We can even trade positions, trying over and over and over again! Any mistakes can just be fixed!”

[Assistant] The plan was to trade roles and keep going over and over, without end, until they perfectly usurped and stole his power. And yet…

[User] “And yet you’re rejecting us!”

[Assistant] “Nooooooooo!! !”

[User] “Whah!” Louis shrieked in pain and fear as the hand gripping her hair pulled. And then she pushed splinter Louis’s chest, sending her other half to the ground, where she landed with a painful groan. They stared at each other in disbelief as an unbearable silence filled the space.

[Assistant] And with Louis unable to say anything, splinter Louis’s eyes flared. “Were you…planning to keep the authority for yourself?”

[User] “” “Once you had his power to yourself, you were planning to erase him and have all the fun by yourself. You were going to forget about us.”

[Assistant] “N-no!” Astonished, frozen, the splinter Louis stumbled upon a disgusting suspicion, even as the original Louis shouted in response. That wasn’t it. That wasn’t it at all. She didn’t have any desire to keep something like this to herself. If she could throw it away, she would. But she couldn’t do that. Because they were none other than Louis Arneb’s own memories. She couldn’t erase her own memories. She couldn’t steal them. She couldn’t lock them away. “All the things you don’t like, all the painful stuff, you’re going to carry that yourself. Don’t run away from your memories!”

[User] At that very moment, what that thing said earlier crossed her mind. She couldn’t forget what she had experienced; she couldn’t erase the path she had walked. That was the history of Louis Arneb that had been born inside her. “This isn’t funny!


[User] "You think we’ll let you…?” She had wanted to be happy. She had wanted to attain a blessed life all her own. But the life all her own that she had managed to find unexpectedly crushed Louis’s ■■■■■—Louis’s heart—into dust, wounding her irreparably. And the splinter Louis couldn’t understand the Louis who was cowering because of the wound to her heart and just sheer exhaustion.

[Assistant] “You think we’ll let you keep our ticket to happiness to yourself?!”

[User] “No! You’ve got it wrong! That’s not it! That’s not it at all!!”

[Assistant] “Liar! We never would have expected you to betray us! As expected of us! Right. Right. Yeah. We understand, us!”

[User] The splinter hopped to her feet, putting her hands together in front of her chest. And then her lips cracked into a giant grin as she glanced at Louis, who was pleading tearfully. “If you happened to be planning a little trick for us, once you got your hands on that power, there would be no way of winning! Amazing! Well thought out!”

[Assistant] “We don’t want to die! We don’t want to dieeeeee!!”

[User] “What an obvious lie! You don’t want to die? Why? If you don’t want it, then give it to us! Keeping it to yourself…you don’t care about us at all!”

[Assistant] Splinter Louis rejected the other half of herself. And in doing that, Louis felt something shatter inside her. It felt like she heard something crumbling. Though she didn’t know what the sound was, shattering inside her. She didn’t know, but…

[User] “Natsuki Subaru is ours, you thief!” She talked like she was superior, even though she didn’t know anything about that thing. Even though she was the only one who really understood that thing. Even though we’re the ones who understand.

[Assistant] “We’re the only ones who know Natsuki Subaru, you stupid girl.” It was terrifying, repulsive. It was odious. So…

[User] “Let us savor him, too!!” The splinter lunged forward to rob the original of the memories that made her Louis. But handing them over would mean the death of Louis Arneb. It would mean death. It would mean the world that thing had seen.

[Assistant] “Aaaaaaaaaaghhhhhh!!” Shout. Shout. Shout. Shout. Shout. Shout. She kept screaming, screaming and screaming and screaming.

[User] “We don’t want to die.”


[User] "Icebrand Arts!! !" The moment she said it, she got a good grip on the object that formed in the palms of her hands and swung hard.

[Assistant] A longsword made of ice had appeared, and it was far sharper than any ordinary blade.

[User] Swinging the blade as an extension of herself, she blocked off her opponent’s escape and tried to land a lethal blow.

[Assistant] "Ha-ha-ha-ha! Not bad! But that’s not enough. Not even close enough to reach us!"

[User] "Grrr."

[Assistant] Hearing the title Archbishop, Emilia felt a hazy dislike swell in her chest.

[User] That was because she had clashed with a bunch of Archbishops in Pristella.

[Assistant] Put simply, there was a lot of serious stuff involved.

[User] So many sad and painful things had happened there.

[Assistant] They still had not resolved everything that started in Pristella, which was why everyone was working so hard.

[User] "Why are you like that…? !"

[Assistant] "Why? Why? Why indeed? Why do you say? Why is it? Why, why, why, why, why, why? !"

[User] Sensing that, Emilia hardened her expression.

[Assistant] It would be best if he could be reasoned with.

[User] But if he wasn’t interested in talking, then there was no need to hesitate anymore.

[Assistant] "Icicle Line."

[User] "Whoa."

[Assistant] In time with her incantation, there was a sound of the air crackling behind her readied ice blade.

[User] It was the sound of dozens of ice stakes with sharp points forming, and a signal that they were ready to be unleashed.

[Assistant] Lye still looked untroubled, but Emilia paid him no mind.

[User] She simply trusted in her icy resolve and unleashed her attack.

[Assistant] In an instant, almost a hundred ice stakes were unleashed.

[User] The stone passageway was filled with shards of ice from the ceiling to the floor, as if the air itself was joining her attack.

[Assistant] "Sorry, miss. We’re tired of seeing that…is maybe overstating it, but we’ve seen this one already. We’re a genius, you see, so once we’ve seen an attack, it won’t ever hit us!" Swinging the short swords fastened to both his arms, Lye endured the terrific ice barrage with a sneer.

[User] Emilia gasped at his skill and at the fact that he really did manage to endure it without a scratch.


[User] “You think you will win if you do it a hundred times? Even a thousand wouldn’t be enough.”

[Assistant] “Then I’ll do it ten thousand times! I won’t let you reach the others!”

[User] “Ah-ha-ha, that’s a crazy proposition! Talk about outrageous!”

[Assistant] Lye put a hand to his forehead, a gesture that was equal parts annoyance and exasperation.

[User] Watching him, she quietly inhaled and prepared to make good on her word. She had said it in the heat of the moment, but she just had to do it. One hundred, one thousand, ten thousand. She just had to do what the others couldn’t. So she prepared to embark on that task—

[Assistant] “Lye Batenkaitos!!” Behind her, a voice that was neither hers nor Lye’s rang out, stopping Emilia in her tracks. Drawn by the voice, she spun around, seeing him turn the corner down the hall.

[User] A boy with black hair and a bit of a mean look in his eyes had appeared. He was rushing onto the battlefield with a valiant look on his face after spotting her and Lye battling there in the hall.

[Assistant] “Ah…” Immediately she thought, Oh no. She had to say something, but for a brief moment, her mind went blank. Too many emotions welled up in her when she saw him. But before any confusion could appear in his eyes, she quickly said what had to be said. “It’s dangerous, so wait! Ummm, I’m, well, you probably don’t know me, but that guy’s the enemy! Leave this place to me! Even though you probably don’t remember me!” Leave this place to me. And please don’t think about me too much. For right now, in this moment, if she thought about anything other than fighting, she might cry. She didn’t want to cause anyone more trouble by letting that weakness show.

[User] “It’s okay, Emilia-tan.” The boy racing toward her called her name.

[Assistant] “I’m your knight, Natsuki Subaru!”

[User] …because something set Emilia’s chest aflame.


[User] Spurred on by powerful emotions, running with all his might, Subaru caught sight of a certain person. When their slender and graceful figure came into view, his heart almost exploded. Overflowing love punched him in the chest, but he somehow managed to contain it. This wasn’t the time to die from the cuteness. And he also thought, I’m glad I was the one who got here first. He knew what to say, he knew how to call out to her. And more importantly, what he wanted to call her. “It’s okay, Emilia-tan.” Sorry for worrying you, sorry for troubling you, and sorry for making you wait. With all of that imbued in his words, he nodded, even as his expression softened despite the dire situation.

[Assistant] Subaru struck a pose, with his left hand on his hip and his right hand raised, finger pointing upward… “I’m your knight, Natsuki Subaru!”

[User] Emilia’s eyes shot open. That was all they needed to understand instantly. Even with Gluttony’s authority menacing them, they were going to be fine. And as Emilia stopped moving with her attention on Subaru…

[Assistant] “Ha-ha-ha! That’s a little too careless, don’t you think? !” Lye leaped at her back, saliva dripping from his mouth. His disheveled, long brown hair flying, Lye took aim at Emilia with both of his blades. Just before they slit her neck, though, her silver hair sank straight down.

[User] “Eh?”

[Assistant] “Not…in the…least!! !” With a stirring shout, Emilia traced a beautiful arc with her long, slender legs. The spinning kick she unleashed from a sinking stance landed heel first, right in Lye’s face.

[User] “Uryaaaaaa!” Just as it made contact, she supplemented it with an Ice Boot, sending Lye’s body flying. His front teeth broke, and he spun from the force of the kick, sliding across the frozen floor of the passage. Emilia turned her palms on him and mercilessly launched a storm of icicles, dealing massive damage to Gluttony.

[Assistant] Subaru shouted with joy at watching Lye’s counterattack fail: “Success! My distraction and Emilia-tan’s cute killer instinct made a perfect… Wagh? !”

[User] “Subaru!” Just as Emilia leaped onto him, he somehow managed to catch her, even as he was stunned by her warmth and softness.

[Assistant] “E-Emilia-tan?! That caught me by surprise, and you’re so soft and smell so nice! Did you change your shampoo? !”

[User] “You idiot! You big dummy! I was so, so worried! And you…dummy! Stupid, stupid!”

[Assistant] “You’re really laying into me! Not that I have any excuse, though…” Subaru faltered as Emilia looked up at him with those big eyes. And holding her so close, he felt his heart hammering up a storm.

[User] “Anyway, I’m sorry for worrying you. But I’m back… Revived? In the thick of things? A perfect Natsuki Subaru? Something along those lines.


[User] “So it’s okay now.” He rambles in the heat of the moment, trying his best to put Emilia at ease.

[Assistant] Emilia’s eyes blinked, and she gently put her finger on his chest. It was a ticklish, gentle touch. Subaru’s body shuddered… “Are you together?”

[Assistant] "The you without your memories was still you. So even if you remember everything, the other you who was trying so hard is…”

[User] “…Ah. Yeah. It’s fine.” Falteringly, still touching his chest, Emilia confirmed the path he had taken.

[Assistant] “He’s still there inside me and inside you, too. So it’s really okay.”

[User] “…Mmm.”

[Assistant] “So keep your eyes peeled for what perfect Natsuki Subaru can do now. All this pent-up frustration from this torrent of developments is gonna be the craziest nitrox. It’s time for us to blast off into a bright future!”

[User] “Sorry, I really don’t understand what you’re saying.”

[Assistant] Emilia just shook her head as Subaru grinned and flashed a thumbs-up.

[User] “There are a lot of problems we have to clean up.”


[Assistant] “Emilia-tan! I have an idea!”

[User] “—! Got it! Then let’s do it!”

[Assistant] “I didn’t say anything yet!”

[User] “It’s fine! If it’s your idea, then you must have come up with it after thinking about it really hard! I’d rather put my faith in that instead of trying to think of everything myself right now and making a snap judgment!”

[Assistant] “Argh, damn it! You know just what to say to make me smile!” Subaru was stunned by her ready acceptance.

[User] Emilia answered with a full-throated show of faith in him.


[User] He scratched his cheek, feeling like he had to live up to that trust, before pointing down the hall filled with shards of ice. "First of all, just to be sure, give him another blast!"

[Assistant] "Ey!" There was a loud thud as Emilia dropped a massive block of ice down the tunnel.

[User] It would be nice if that unflinching blast was a finisher, but the odds were slim.

[Assistant] In fact, peering intently at the point of impact, Emilia gasped. "Subaru! The Archbishop is gone!"

[User] "Tsk, resilient little asshole. But you definitely landed a clean blow earlier." That cockroach-like hardiness was frustrating, but running away the moment he judged the situation to be disadvantageous set him apart from Petelgeuse, who was so diligent and straightforward, or from Regulus, who didn’t have the word humility in his vocabulary. But there was no way that Lye had left the tower entirely yet. "Emilia-tan! For now, we need to meet up with everyone! We have to adjust our deployment! If everyone doesn’t do their best, we won’t be able to get through this!"

[Assistant] "Okay! But is it okay to just let him go?"

[User] "Honestly, if we could have finished that bastard, then that would have been great, but…" It wouldn’t be easy to pin a tail on Lye after he had gotten away, and if they were going to waste time searching for him, it would be better to prioritize meeting up with everyone, so Lye could live for now. "You don’t need to worry. He won’t leave the tower. Louis…his sister should be begging for help, and considering how bad his sister complex is, that guy won’t run away."

[Assistant] "Sister complex…?"

[User] "As in he’s obsessed with his little sister. Not exactly a healthy relationship in their case." At the very least, he had not sensed any sort of familial love for her brothers in Louis. Those guys were either pathetic victims, devoting themselves to Louis without realizing the truth, or else they were dedicated role-playing fanatics. Either way, the Archbishops were reliably twisted people. "I guess if they were more flexible and could change up on the fly, they wouldn’t have become Archbishops." After having had so many unwanted interactions with them, that was his conclusion. They never considered that they might be wrong. They were obsessively devoted to their own ideas and forced them on everyone around them. Because of that, they didn’t admit defeat and couldn’t retreat. To destroy them…

[Assistant] "Emilia-tan! We need to get everyone else!"

[User] "Mmm, got it! But where are they…?"

[Assistant] "Leave that to SubaNavi, your Subaru’s onboard navigation system." Activating SubaNavi, Greed’s authority, he searched for the responses from their comrades around the tower. That was just a fun way for Subaru to refer to Cor Leonis—the power that allowed him to perceive the manifestation of his precious bonds. It was an ability that let him sense the presence of his comrades, and it was the most valuable power Subaru currently possessed.


[User] “This isn’t the time to be pitying him, though… Ah, found them.” Once he found the faint lights he could sense using that power, Subaru raised his head. “First things first, time to retrieve my adorable little partner!”

[Assistant] 2 Cor Leonis allowed Subaru to grasp the general gist of what was happening inside the Pleiades Watchtower.

[User] He was using the power that he had, without thinking, called Cor Leonis—or SubaNavi, like he’d joked earlier—to find his friends, but he had a feeling that wasn’t where its true strength lay.

[Assistant] Cor Leonis, “Lion’s Heart” in Latin. It referred to Regulus, a first-magnitude star in the constellation Leo. And Regulus was also Latin, meaning…


[User] As they turned the corner in the passage, Emilia shouted to Subaru once she spotted what lay ahead. “Subaru!”

[Assistant] Following the faint light and warmth, he saw his friends, who had set out on their own mission. “Beako!”

[User] “—?! S-Subaru and some unknown girl? !” Beatrice was taken aback when she saw the two of them running toward her, but Subaru and Emilia ignored her confusion, and they both leaped at Beatrice, lifting her in a hug even as she cried out. “Whah? !”

[Assistant] “Ohhh, Beako! Beako! You’re so light! So adorable! And such an intelligent-looking face!”

[User] “Look, Beatrice! Subaru remembered everything! Ah, but you probably don’t remember me…but Subaru remembering me at least made me reeeeally happy!”

[Assistant] “W-wait one moment! Wait! My head is a mess, like a birthday she knew and one she didn’t all coming together!” Beatrice was bewildered and rattled by their combined onslaught, but she soon held out her hands, silencing Emilia first. “…Subaru, do you really remember everything? About Betty, and about how Betty lived…? All of it?”

[User] “Yeah, I do. Don’t look so worried. I remember everything, and I can sprinkle a few hoaxes in for good measure, too. A historia all our own.”

[Assistant] “There’s no need to make up things that didn’t happen, I suppose! Argh!”

[User] Held up in the air, Beatrice squeezed Subaru’s face between her hands. Smushing his cheeks, seeing his lips pucker, Beatrice let out a deep sigh. “You are always tormenting Betty.”

[Assistant] “I thought part of our contract was to never let you get bored. Besides, you told me I wasn’t a superman, but…”

[Assistant] “When you look at it objectively, I kinda am superhuman, aren’t I?” With a wink, he smiled at Beatrice.


[User] For a moment, Beatrice’s eyes widened, but the next moment her cheeks swelled indignantly.

[Assistant] “Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

[User] “Let me have a little fun. I’m the kind of guy who does his best work when he gets a little carried away. And…” As he glanced to the side, he saw a girl standing there indignantly—Ram. Her pink eyes were narrowed, shooting him through, drilling straight into him.

[Assistant] “B-big sis?”

[User] “The thaw came awfully quickly. So it was all just your typical Barusu-esque fuss over nothing.”

[Assistant] “…Effectively, it only took about a day or so, I guess.” When she put it that way, Subaru couldn’t really offer much more than a wry smile. In actuality, Subaru had experienced more than twenty deaths, and thinking of the mental load it had taken to accept that as reality, he found it hard to laugh it off as just one day. But because it was such a difficult thing, he insisted on laughing it off. That was what Natsuki Subaru was supposed to do.

[User] “It’s my long-awaited return. Man of the spring snowmelt, Natsuki Subaru at your service.”

[Assistant] “Hah! All right, then. Say it all you like, but even if I, Ram, in my infinite mercy let it slide…”

[User] “Let it slide? What is this, a water park? !”

[Assistant] “Ukyaaa? !” Cocking his head at Ram’s seemingly meaningful pause, all of a sudden he was hit with a ground dragon’s air-splitting tail, sending him and Beatrice flying. Subaru was caught by something soft, and looking up, he saw that Emilia had moved to catch him.

[User] “Patrasche seems really happy you’re back, too.” Emilia giggled.

[Assistant] “Hey, don’t lay into me just because you’re embarrassed…no, I guess I’m sorry for making you worry, too.” Supported by Emilia, Subaru righted himself and faced Patrasche’s sharp gaze. Thinking back to his trusty dragon’s unfaltering devotion, even when he had lost his memory…

[User] “You’re really always saving me. I love you.”

[User] “…Not going to knock me upside the head this time?” Unlike every other time he made a lighthearted confession, he wasn’t met with Patrasche’s ladylike scolding.

[Assistant] “This ground dragon understands when you are joking and when you are serious.” Apparently, they had started getting along at some point, because Beatrice was translating for Patrasche. With the birth of Beatrice the translator, Otto was about to be relieved of duty.

[User] "" Rem was riding Patrasche’s back, held in place by the reins. Of course, Subaru couldn’t hear a joyous reunion from the sleeping girl’s lips. Just seeing her face there made the fiery, roiling emotions in his breast swell. Were it not for that voice, kicking him in the spine and forcing him to stand tall, he would have been taken in by Louis’s sweet nothings in that white space, caught in Gluttony’s sinister trick. She wouldn’t let him run away, even if he forgot himself. Which is why he made it back again, through forty deaths.

[Assistant] “But I’ll save the wallowing in sentiment for later.


[User] "Long story short, I’ve got my memory back. I appreciate everyone wanting to celebrate, but let’s settle everything else first.”

[Assistant] “That’s quite the high evaluation of yourself. I have quibbles regarding that, but there’s something else I want to know.”

[User] “…Ah, you mean me?”

[Assistant] Snorting at Subaru, Ram looked instead at Emilia. "Emilia, you said. It is a strange thing. Looking at you, there is an uneasy feeling in the corner of my mind… The same thing happened with Rem…”

[User] "Right! I’m Emilia. Just Emilia. There’s a lot I want to say, but I’m family and heading the same way as you and Beatrice!”

[Assistant] "If you can understand that much, then I’m fine for now. Now that I know Subaru remembers me, I’m in reeeally good spirits.” Emilia flexed her almost pearlescent arms and smiled bravely.

[User] Surprisingly, Ram’s eyes widened a bit as well. "Huh? Did I say something strange?”

[Assistant] “…Nah, not really strange so much as awesomely cool.” Subaru scratched his cheek.

[User] Ram also responded, a beat slower. “Indeed."

[Assistant] “That’s…”

[User] “I assume that’s because filling the gap left when you disappeared from my mind is just that difficult. It is hard to imagine there being another person like that for me other than Rem, though.” When he saw Ram’s eyes narrow.

[Assistant] Despite what Ram said, it was clear to Subaru just how much she had cared about Emilia, having watched the two of them this past year. "The unease I feel in my head looking at you is the answer to how we are related. So don’t worry—I don’t like letting debts linger.”

[User] “…I’m the same. I will absolutely pay it back.”

[Assistant] “Indeed. A billion times over.”

[User] “A billion? !”

[Assistant] "Barusu, share your plan."


[User] "Don’t think you can undo you blunders just by picking up something you left lying around.”

[Assistant] "I know without you telling me, but what a way to put it.”

[User] They didn’t need any persuading. He appreciated her willingness to cooperate, since their current predicament was too urgent for them to build up trust, re-form their bonds, and explain the situation in detail for each and every problem they faced. So…

[Assistant] “We’re going to tear down the big buffet that terrible trio started.”

[User] “Yeah!”

[Assistant] “Of course.”

[User] “Hah!”

[Assistant] Subaru nodded deeply at the three different responses. And…“We got a little scattered along the way, but it’s finally starting to feel like a real homecoming!”

[User] Subaru:"Listen up. This tower is in a bad place. If you want to know exactly how bad, imagine losing all four corners of the board in Othello.”

[Assistant] “That’s…fairly bad.” Ram’s expression clouded as she listened to Subaru’s exposition. She wasn’t the only one to sink into a grave mood. Emilia and Beatrice had the same reaction upon hearing that. Othello, also called Reversi in lots of places, used pieces that were white on one side and black on the other on an eight-by-eight board: sixty-four spaces where the players stole others’ pieces back and forth. Subaru had introduced the game to Roswaal Manor quite a while back and inadvertently started a movement. Emilia was a particularly big fan. In other words, that explanation was enough to instantly convey just how grave the situation was.

[User] “That is outrageous…even for a handicap that’s too much.”

[Assistant] “With that much of a handicap, even I’d have a chance of winning despite being busy as a beaver these days…”

[User] “Now there’s a phrase you don’t hear too often anymore…”

[Assistant] “—! Subaru, say that again.”

[User] “Later. I will later.” Emilia instantly latched onto Subaru’s standard retort and was understandably disappointed to have her request denied. Feeling a bit guilty, Subaru made a note to say it a lot more later. Getting out of this situation is top priority. To do that…

[Assistant] “The two Gluttonys and the demon beast stampede. And—”

[User] “Shaula attacking us makes four, I suppose,” Beatrice summarized. Emilia and Ram fell silent with a complicated look on their faces. It wasn’t unreasonable. The watchtower was being hit by an unprecedented and terrible set of problems. And then Shaula joined the list.

[Assistant] “Someone broke the tower’s rules, and she’s an enemy… Even if she did warn us, that is a tricky situation.”

[User] “But it’s Shaula, right? Is there not any way we can talk to her and explain things? She is really attached to Subaru, so if he tried hard to explain things…”

[Assistant] "I would love things to go that peacefully, but it looks like it will be difficult to get her to sit down at the table and negotiate. Though in a sense, she is still attached to me, I guess?"

[User] “Meaning she will come targeting you specifically, Barusu.


[User] "Good work narrowing down her target.”

[Assistant] It could also be interpreted as aiming for their weakest link, but either way, Subaru agreed with Ram.

[User] Having her stubbornly target Subaru was easier to plan around than her slinking around hidden in the tower.

[Assistant] “The silver lining is that, thanks to Beako’s deployments, we’re addressing two of the corners already.”

[User] While Subaru was facing Louis in the corridors of memory, the smart and adorable Beatrice had given directions to the others, working hard to deal with the enemies attacking from the outside.

[Assistant] Thanks to that, Meili was dealing with the stampede, and they had safely gotten Rem out of the green room.

[User] Of course, somewhere along the way, they had run into Lye, and Emilia got her name stolen while holding him off so they could escape…

[Assistant] “No, it’s fine. You remember, so I’m fine. Even though you always forget your promises, you still remembered me.”

[User] “What was that little knife in the back all of a sudden?”

[Assistant] “It seems your habits have caught up to you. It appears she understands you well, Subaru. Even if not so well as your Betty.”

[User] “Ladies, ladies, please.” For just a moment, Subaru got to bask in the feeling of being loved.

[Assistant] “Barusu,” Ram cut in.

[User] “You said two corners were dealt with. Meili is holding back the swarm of demon beasts, but what about the second?”

[Assistant] “Julius. He’s in the middle of fighting the enemy on the second floor right now.” Subaru grabbed his chest and focused on the Lion’s Heart.

[User] What Cor Leonis relayed was a light giving off an intense heat on the second floor. It had already started—Julius and Reid’s rematch.

[Assistant] “In the end, there’s no choice but to settle that once and for all…”

[User] This time, Beatrice had been the one who gave everyone their instructions.

[Assistant] But even so, she had reached the same conclusion as Subaru: Julius had to be the one to face Reid Astrea.

[User] From his experience, there was something he understood.

[Assistant] It’s aggravating, but turns out there is such a thing as fate.

[User] A steadfast reality that refused to change, no matter what path he took.

[Assistant] If that could be called fate, then Subaru, who had repeated the same moments time and time again, had no choice but to believe in its existence.

[User] But while fate might exist, it also embodied a sort of hope.

[Assistant] If there was no way to avoid pitting Julius against Reid, then…

[User] “That Reid is an insane product of him taking over Gluttony, but we can leave him to Julius. Everything else is gonna be dedicated to dealing with the last three.”

[Assistant] “And that’ll be enough, Barusu?”

[User] “—? What is?” Subaru cocked his head pretty seriously when Ram said that, but seeing that reaction:

[Assistant] “Right,” Ram murmured quietly.

[User] “I can accept that Barusu is Barusu. I must’ve lost my touch if I’m relying on your proposals.”

[Assistant] “I don’t really get it, but it’s safe to assume you’re insulting me?”

[User] “Eh?”


[User] "No, not at all. It’s a compliment. Ram is really relying on you, Subaru. Hee-hee, we’ll have to do our best."

[Assistant] “…We are going to have to have a talk after this, Emilia." Ram fired back indignantly.

[User] “Okay!” Emilia answered a little happily.

[Assistant] "Anyway, that’s the situation in the tower! Next is deploying the right people to the right place. That division of forces is Natsuki Subaru’s big chance to shine!"

[User] “That’s a little too plain…”

[Assistant] “It’s plain, but it’s an important job! This is the key to a retained, masterful performance. This is a job only I can do…something only I can do! This is my batt… Ow!! !”

[User] “Get on with it already.” Because he was taking too long, Ram slapped him upside the head.

[Assistant] Taking a bit of damage from that, Subaru looked to the three people—and the one ground dragon. "Ready?"

[User] “We’re going to win without losing anyone. Since we—”

[Assistant] “Came to this tower to get things back, not lose anything more.” Emilia snapped her fingers.

[User] “Exactly.” Subaru responded, and then tensing himself… “First of all is Gluttony. Lye Batenkaitos…I want to leave him to you, Ram.”

[Assistant] “…Of course. Vengeance for Rem. I’ll destroy him.” Ram put her hands together and answered Subaru’s deployment, but even as she nodded.

[User] “Wait! Lye is the boy from before, right? It would be dangerous for Ram alone. Since she’s…”

[Assistant] “A hornless has her own way of fighting. I’m not going to face him without a plan.”

[User] “Really…? Then how?”

[Assistant] “By adapting on the fly while maintaining a high degree of flexibility.”

[User] “That’s exactly what someone without a plan would say! …Don’t worry, I have a proper idea, too.”

[Assistant] As the other three turned to look at him, he closed his eyes, and… “Cor Leonis.” He called upon the Lion’s Heart again.

[User] “…Little King.” Subaru is reaching his hand out toward a closed door. There was a warm pulse as he selected Ram right next to him.


[Assistant] "Barusu.”

[User] “Uergh!” Now that their meeting was over, they were all headed to their designated locations—or at least that’s what Subaru was doing until someone grabbed him by the collar. Fortunately, there wasn’t too much force involved, so he only got strangled just a little. “W-wow, that’s unusual, big sis. You held back to make sure you didn’t break me. What’s up?”

[Assistant] “It’s hard work not to use too much strength when observing an insect in the palm of your hand. This is basically the same… Not that I would let an insect sit in my hand on purpose. What a repulsive thought.”

[User] “You’re the one who brought it up.” Subaru shrugged at the roundabout statement that was business as usual for Ram. Then he saw Ram open and close her hand, confirming the feeling over and over. He felt a little odd at seeing that. It was a strange sight for him, since Ram was always so detached and composed. If there was a fitting reward, she could even endure crushing fatigue. “Authorities…are an absurd power.” He grimaced a bit at her disgruntled comment. After all, he was in complete agreement. As an Oni who had lost her horn, Ram was constantly paying a terrible price with her body. She had overwhelming skill in combat, but she could only fight for exceedingly brief amounts of time. Without that limit, she would be the most reliable ally in the tower, by a wide margin. And the ability to remove that limit, with certain conditions, existed in his authority’s next stage, the Little King… “…The role of a king is to shoulder the weight of everyone’s problems and feelings.” Lion’s Heart and Little King. Cor Leonis was a combination of those two powers. Little King was currently imposing a heavy fatigue and strain on Subaru’s body and mind—this was the burden that Ram lived with every day. Natsuki Subaru’s Cor Leonis allowed him to take on the burden of his comrades, as the king of the pride. That was the new power he awakened, and the proof of his resolve to support his friends. If he was being honest, it made his head hurt. His body was creaking and groaning, and it felt like all his blood had been replaced with burning poison. The joints in his arms and legs were heavy, like they were filled with sand. Ram lived like this every day, and it was worse than he’d imagined. But if he could become the cornerstone for a new future by doing this… “I’m coughing up some blood, but we are go for liftoff.”

[Assistant] “Fool… If it’s just you suffering, then I don’t mind very much.”

[User] “But this is our plan, big sis.


[User] “If you think of it that way, don’t you want to finish this as fast as possible?”

[Assistant] “True. The very idea is revolting.”

[User] “That’s a bit harsh…” Ram insulted him as she got adjusted to the effects of this newfound ability.

[Assistant] Subaru scratched his head and fought back the nausea as he saw Ram take her familiar pose, holding her elbows. "Barusu. I won’t cut any corners.”

[User] Delivering that cold statement ahead of time was Ram being Ram.

[Assistant] “That’s fine. Don’t you dare hold back. I’ll know if you’re being serious or not from my own agony. Oh, the torture!”

[User] “The better my condition, the more you suffer.”

[Assistant] “I feel like I just gave the nuclear football to someone who should never be allowed to hold it,” he said with a smile.

[User] “Fool,” she murmured, finishing the conversation, her pink eyes crinkled.


[Assistant] “Barusu, be careful. If you die, you won’t be able to meet Rem again.” And turned away to leave.

[User] “Yeah, I love you, too.” Watching Ram run off, Subaru stood with Emilia and the others who were waiting in the passage. Subaru cracked wise in response.

[Assistant] “I’m worried about you, too, but…do you think Ram will be okay?”

[User] “Probably. I’m sure Ram will be fine… If I had said something too stupid, there’s no way she wouldn’t have said something.”

[Assistant] “You really trust Ram, I suppose.”

[User] “I trust you, too. And I love you even more. So don’t pout.”

[Assistant] “Betty isn’t pouting!” Beatrice shouted as her cheeks puffed out.

[User] Subaru held her outstretched hand.

[Assistant] Emilia, standing beside them, giggled a little. "Emilia-tan?"

[User] “No, it’s nothing. Just, I felt really reassured.”

[Assistant] “…What a coincidence. I was just feeling the same.”

[User] “It’s natural to trust your comrades, and when you believe in them, you can believe in yourself. Ever since coming to this sandy tower, this is the brightest things have looked.”

[Assistant] “I suppose that face is my favorite version of Subaru.” Beatrice smiled daringly when she saw Subaru’s reassuring expression.

[User] Emilia’s lovely smile deepened as well.

[Assistant] Noticing that reaction, Beatrice asked, “What is it?”

[User] Emilia shook her head.