[User] "This is the final resting place of the Witch named Echidna, once known as the Witch of Greed—and to me, these grounds are holy."

[Assistant] "The Witch Echidna…" The tone with which Roswaal replied to the question, and put the name to his lips, made Subaru’s breath catch. His reply was quiet and gentle, yet filled with sharpness that clawed at the mind. There was no echo of his normal clownish demeanor; what filled his voice was emotion that pounded hard into Subaru’s chest. The instant Roswaal invoked Echidna’s name, his expression looked softer for what might have been the very first time.

[User] Seeing the side of his face, Ram, attending at his bedside, gently lowered her eyes.

[Assistant] For some reason, the name Echidna—a name he shouldn’t have known—strangely churned within him.

[User] "Subaru, are you all right? Is something wrong?"

[Assistant] "Nah, I’m fine… More importantly, we know this is the place a Witch died. But, Roswaal, why are you safekeeping a place with a history like that? Do you have some kind of connection with this Witch?"

[User] "The reason is simple. This land has been under the care of the Mathers family, passed down from generation to generation. It began under the lord of this house at the time…the Roswaal from which I inherit this name. In other words, it is from this Roswaal in history that this Sanctuary has been passed down."

[Assistant] "'In history’… Then the Mathers family has been involved with the Witch of Greed since long…" Emilia touches her own lips, knitting her refined eyebrows.

[User] "—Echidna."

[Assistant] "Eh?" Emilia’s eyes opened wide when the name alone was abruptly slipped in.

[User] Roswaal trains his eyes toward Emilia. "Echidna." Roswaal repeats, making certain she heard him. "Pleaaaase, employ her name when referring to her. Calling her the Witch of Greed implies all sorts of nefaaarious things, does it not? And it is somewhat looooong."

[Assistant] "Errr, I understand. Then can I take this to mean…this is Echidna’s final resting place, and the Mathers family has taken care of it because it was involved with her for a reeeally long time?"

[User] "Yes, that is correct. Having said that, ‘taken care of it’ is somewhat exaggerated. Echidna’s barrier means that outsiders cannot pass through the Lost Woods without the proper formalities. On top of that, the barrier has a special effect on those whose blood fulfills a particular condition. You have experienced this as well, Lady Emilia?"

[Assistant] "It’s true, I lost consciousness when I came into contact with the barrier. But, according to Garfiel, the barrier only causes trouble when half-bloods like me come into contact with it. It didn’t do anything to Subaru, right?"

[User] "Er, actually, I can’t really say it did nothing to me…"

[Assistant] "Eh?


[User] "What do you mean by that?” Subaru scratched his cheek and murmured.

[Assistant] Emilia lifted her face in surprise. She didn’t know that once the barrier had knocked her out, Subaru had been teleported while she slept.

[User] “Subaru, if something happened, tell me. We decided we’d discuss important things, didn’t we?”

[Assistant] “We did, but this is…”

[User] “Subaru.” The earnest gaze and the plea of her voice made Subaru’s shoulders sink in resignation.

[Assistant] From there, he took the blue crystal out of his pocket and explained the circumstances to all present. He explained that the crystal had reacted to the barrier, teleporting Subaru alone to a different location in the Sanctuary. There he’d met a girl, been led to the ruin, and lost consciousness while inside. Later, he’d been caught by Garfiel and brought along, bringing them back to the present. “Frederica handed over this crystal before we left the mansion. There’s no question it reacted to the barrier and made the teleport happen. Emilia was the one carrying the crystal to begin with, so…”

[User] “Barusu, what you are trying to say is that Lady Emilia must have been the target?” As Subaru spoke of the circumstances, Ram summarized the last part in his stead.

[Assistant] Subaru draw in his chin, “And then I hooked back up safe and sound. Body doesn’t have…anything special wrong with it.” Subaru rotated a wrist, smiling at Emilia as he asserted his robustness of health.

[User] As he smiled at Emilia, she lowered her head and gingerly posed a question to Roswaal. “Frederica said the crystal was necessary to pass through the barrier, and why she was giving it to me… Was that true?”

[Assistant] “…Unfortunately, the proper formalities for passing through the barrier do not involve an object. I suppose that is proof Frederica was up to some kind of scheeeeme.”

[User] Roswaal’s reply made Emilia’s words catch in her throat as her listless shoulders sank.


[User] "Frederica’s worked for you a long time, right? Over ten years is what I heard."

[Assistant] "…Yes, that girl was still veeeery young when I first employed her. She is a very capable girl, and not once has she acted in defiiiiance of my will…"

[User] When Subaru posed a question in Emilia’s stead, Roswaal shook his head in apparent dismay. Then he glanced meaningfully toward the edge of his vision, whereupon Ram accepted his gaze with a solemn nod. "And so Frederica’s scheme has ended in tears… That just now was a joke."

[Assistant] "Was it really a joke? It sounded pretty serious to me…"

[User] "It was. But the punishment will not be—now we know that Frederica is deeply related to the present circumstance here in the Sanctuary."

[Assistant] To Ram, Frederica was a coworker of particularly long standing. Knowing her coworker had been unfaithful, she nonetheless spoke calmly, her face betraying no unrest concerning that fact.

[User] "What do you mean by the circumstances in the Sanctuary? What is happening here right now?"

[Assistant] "Lady Emilia, did you not think it strange? That Ram and I, and the villagers fleeing to the Sanctuary, remained in this place rather than return to the mansion?"

[User] "Eh? That’s… I thought it must be because of your wounds, Roswaal."

[Assistant] In point of fact, Roswaal, lying on the bed, bore wounds that were quite deep. Even if he was to return to the mansion for treatment, he couldn’t be moved without having recovered to at least some minimal degree. But Roswaal shook his head, seemingly telling her that was not the reason.

[User] "Currently, all present fiiiiind ourselves imprisoned in the Sanctuary… Ram, the villagers, and myself… Ah, now that you have entered, that includes the two of you as well."

[Assistant] "Huh?" Subaru and Emilia were both dumbstruck at the casual yet explosive statement.


[User] "…Imprisoned? That doesn’t, well, have a very nice ring to it." Somehow, Subaru managed to recover from the initial shock and wring out those words.

[Assistant] Emilia managed to swallow down her own surprise, giving the injured Roswaal a painful stare as she said, "Then, Roswaal, don’t tell me that those wounds were from…" Emilia was in shock as she combined the sight of him wounded with his earlier statement.

[User] Neither could Subaru, having arrived at the same thought, conceal his own shock. "There’s someone in this village who can overpower Roswaal, hurt him this much, and keep him captive? That’s no laughing matter." Subaru touched a hand to his chin, nervously pondering a foe powerful far beyond his expectations. Roswaal was the kingdom’s preeminent magic user; the demon beast disturbance had proven that in earnest. Subaru could not believe that anyone could easily put Roswaal through this much pain and suffering. Who in the world had done this to—

[Assistant] "Wha—? You’re still doin’ chitchat? You shouldn’t push a wounded guy too much."


[User] "‘Make a mottled Kuchibashi run and it turns black,’ you know?”

[Assistant] “—!” Surprised by the sudden voice, Subaru turned around in a hurry.

[User] Garfiel, who’d appeared at the entrance to the room, took a look around the room and whistled toward Emilia. "Hey now, what’s this greeting all of a sudden? Wha—? Are you that ticked off with me?”

[Assistant] "I’m being on the safe side, since the earlier conversation made me think the most dangerous person here is you.”

[User] Garfiel audibly clenched his teeth in amusement.

[Assistant] Emilia stood on guard with Subaru and Roswaal at her back, seemingly to shield them from him.

[User] Subaru blinked hard. "Hey, what’d you do with Otto? He was with you, right?”

[Assistant] "Ahh? What, that noisy guy? Him, well… You get it, don’t ya?” Garfiel nodded defiantly, and his sharp gaze turned even sharper.

[User] Subaru, sensing bottomless hostility from his statement, felt the hairs on his back stand up.

[Assistant] Emilia lowered her stance, as if she had the same sense from Garfiel as he.


[User] "Ha! Fine, if you want a piece of me, I’ll be happy to… Daaah? !”

[Assistant] It is not fine at all. Know your place, stupid Garf.” Ram smashed Garfiel apart with the powerful impact sound of an iron tray. Circling around his back during the exchange, it was Ram who had brought Garfiel down with a single, merciless blow. As Garfiel writhed in agony, Ram looked down at him, sighing as she addressed the others.

[User] "Lady Emilia, Subaru, it is equally unsightly of you to jump to conclusions so quickly. Garf has nothing to do with Master Roswaal’s injuries… He may look like a simpleton, but he is not quite that thoughtless.”

[Assistant] “…Is that so?”

[User] "Yes, Lady Emilia, he had nooothing to do with it. I was about to say so that very moment.”

[Assistant] Emilia lowered her arms, astonished. Then she rushed over to Garfiel, kneeling upon the floor, in great haste. "I-I’m very sorry! I completely misunderstood… I was certain you’d eaten Otto or something…!”

[User] "Wow, Emilia-tan, your ideas are really something! Even I didn’t think he’d gone that far!” Though it was certainly true Subaru suspected Otto’s life had been in danger, he hadn’t suspected Garfiel of doing such a thing. Following in the flustered Emilia’s footsteps, Subaru checked to see how Garfiel was doing.

[Assistant] Garfiel, shaking the head Ram had struck with that hearty blow, opened his mouth wide at the pair’s assertions. "As if I’d munch on a guy like that."


[User] “He’s noisy, and he says stuff a guy ain’t emotionally prepared for, so I ditched him back at the dragon carriage.”

[Assistant] “You’re being pretty vague there, and you kick up a ruckus even without Otto…”

[User] His suggestive demeanor had caused a misunderstanding that had nearly led to a great disaster. That disaster had been averted by Ram. “Thanks a bundle, Ram. Don’t want any unnecessary bloodshe— Hold on, your tray’s all bent out of shape!”

[Assistant] “A necessary loss to stop Garf. Next time, it would seem I should use the corner, not the flat of the tray.” Ram took inspiration from the bent tray for how she would deal with him next time.

[User] Setting Ram’s demeanor aside, Garfiel, the victim of her pummeling, plopped himself into a chair in a corner of the room.

[Assistant] Then he rubbed his head as he looked at Ram and said, “Ram, if you feel sorry ’bout that at all, how ’bout some tea?”

[User] “Please wait while I head out briefly to gather fallen leaves.” Making a sound from her nose at the grandiose request, Ram really did head out of the house.

[Assistant] Subaru had to wonder just what she intended to do with fallen leaves. Though that tugged at his mind, what also tugged at it was the ardor with which Garfiel watched Ram’s back as she departed. “I was wondering this from the exchange at the village entrance too…but what? You have a thing for Ram?”

[User] “She’s a fine woman, ain’t she? Ain’t exactly weird for males to be attracted to strong, capable females.”

[Assistant] “We’re not dividing chicks by male and female, so stop chirping about that, sheesh…”

[User] Garfiel had replied openly to Subaru’s question, but his road to romance was treacherous. Ram’s affection for Roswaal ran deep, hanging over his prospects almost like a curse— That was an unmistakable side of romance in any world, but—

[Assistant] “Well, then. Based on that reaction, you don’t look like ya talked about the important stuff yet. You’re free to turn into pieces of garbage if ya want, but…you should talk ’bout it to Lady Emilia, at least.”

[User] “To me?” With Ram absent from the room, Garfiel tapped his foot as he refocused the conversation.

[Assistant] Emilia was surprised that her own name was in his statement, but Garfiel paid her surprise no heed, sending his dangerous look stabbing right through Roswaal. “The fact she got past the barrier means she’s wrapped up in our business. What the hell’s with this peaceful, pleasant conversation? You people playin’ around or somethin’? !”

[User] “I’m not sure why you have a bee in your bonnet, but…this business we’re wrapped up in doesn’t sound unrelated to this whole imprisoned business.”

[Assistant] Garfiel, as snippy as ever, narrowed his eyes at Subaru’s assertion.

[User] Feeling as if he was facing off against a fierce, overbearing beast, Subaru put the conversation to that point in order in his head and said: “According to Roswaal, this isn’t imprisonment by brute force.


[User] "Regardless of how you look and act, you can’t be short-tempered and violent enough to…” For an instant, being hurled by Garfiel reemerged in his memories. “…to do that kind of thing.”

[Assistant] "Subaru, you seemed reeeally unsure just now…”

[User] Subaru, on the receiving end of a rare quip from Emilia, looked straight at Garfiel.

[Assistant] Receiving his gaze, Garfiel said, “Go on,” urging Subaru to continue.

[User] "I’ll listen. If you ain’t the dirt stuck to a half-demon’s foot, that is.”

[Assistant] "Half-elf. Next time I’ll get Roswaal to light your butt on fire.” Garfiel lowered his head as Subaru shamelessly proclaimed he would borrow another’s power for his retribution.

[User] At his reaction, Subaru lifted a finger, turning that finger to indicate the Sanctuary outside. “I’ll continue. Now that imprisonment by force has been crossed off the list, what other way can I think of? To be honest, I don’t have much information to go on…but there’s one thing that sticks out in my mind.”

[Assistant] “…You mean the barrier?”

[User] “That’s right. You’re so smart, Emilia-tan.”

[Assistant] Coming up with the answer on her own, Emilia had sounded unsure in her answer, but her view was in line with Subaru’s own.

[User] If neither Garfiel’s brawn nor Roswaal’s injuries was responsible for the imprisonment in the Sanctuary, it left the barrier as the only possibility—the barrier with a special effect originally meant to protect the Sanctuary. If it had been a simple barrier, Subaru might not have come to such a farfetched idea, but at any rate… “When she came in contact with the barrier, Emilia fainted. According to Garfiel, that’s not an effect limited to Emilia—it’s like that for most of the people living in this Sanctuary, he said.”

[Assistant] “In other words, Subaru…you think that it’s the barrier’s effect that’s keeping Roswaal and the others in here and preventing them from returning to the mansion?”

[User] “There you go again! Exactly. Wow, Emilia-tan and I are in perfect sync today!” Elated that they were thinking along the same lines, Subaru went for a high five. But, when Emilia tilted her head rather than play along, Subaru gently eased his hand down and looked at Garfiel. “So, that’s what I was thinking, but…am I right?”

[Assistant] “…Sorry, I’ve gotta drop my assessment of ya. Three steps down from a piece of mud.”

[User] “That assessment is pretty out there, but, mm, I’ll aim to gradually raise it back up.” Taking that as a roundabout way of saying yes, Subaru nodded and looked over to Roswaal.

[Assistant] As he did so, Roswaal closed one eye at Subaru’s and Emilia’s thought processes, amusement resting in his yellow eye. “My myyyy, there truly has been quite a change in the span of several days. The optimism in both Subaru and Lady Emilia is quite reassuring. It was well worth making my heart that of an Oni and letting matters be.”

[User] “I have a mountain of things to say to you later about that ‘letting matters be’ part.


[User] "Keep in mind, if you weren’t wounded, the iron fist of my anger wouldn’t be a soft thing."

[Assistant] "Myyyy, how frightening." Subaru brandished a clenched fist.

[User] "But right now, talking about the barrier comes first. Is that reaction the cause of the imprisonment?"

[Assistant] "I cannot call it correct in the strictest sense. However, it is not far off from the truth. It is a fact that the cause of our being hindered here in the Sanctuary is a circumstance involving that barrier."

[User] "So the fact you’ve been stuck here anyway means…"

[Assistant] "That’s ’cause the people under the barrier’s effect are gettin’ in their way."

[User] Garfiel's sharp, green eyes glared back at Subaru and the others.

[Assistant] "Way I see it, it’s a simple story. As long as the barrier’s up, we can’t get out of the Sanctuary. The barrier’s got nothing to do with ya…but that ain’t very fair, is it?"

[User] "…Then because you want to get out but can’t, you’re holding Roswaal and the others captive? Even to the point someone gets hurt like this?" Subaru, feeling like the issue had just become very petty, felt anger toward the short-tempered act.

[Assistant] "Say whatever you want about it. But it’s not like it don’t have anything to do with ya?" Garfiel grimaced unpleasantly.

[User] "…So, for the same reason, you don’t intend to let us go, either?"

[Assistant] "No, no! It ain’t that, it’s way simpler! Your precious little princess can’t get out of the Sanctuary for the same reason me and the grannies can’t, damn it! !"

[User] "Ah…" Subaru gaped when Garfiel laughed loudly and pointed at Emilia.

[Assistant] "Can’t anything be done about that? Like… Right! If the barrier knocks people out when they touch it, how about having them carried out by people not under its effect…"

[User] "Ah, Subaru, amazing! We could use that method to get people o—"

[Assistant] "An amusing suggestion, but ’tis best avoided.


[User] “If you do not seek to leave us as soulless husks, at least.”

[Assistant] The intervention of an unfamiliar voice caused Subaru to turn toward the entrance. Just like Garfiel had done earlier, a small figure was standing there—whereupon Subaru let out an “Eh?”

[User] "You’re that… Agh—hot-hot-hot-hot-hot? !"

[Assistant] "Here, Barusu. Tea, as requested.”

[User] Subaru, surprised by their reunion, instantly began to speak, but the sudden feeling of a hot, steaming drink pressed against his cheek made Subaru yell from the burning pain, tumbling onto the room’s floor.

[Assistant] Ram gazed down at Subaru’s state with a look of scorn. “Such a big fuss. How unsightly for a man.”

[User] “That has nothing to do with being a man or not! You burned my cheek, you know?! What were you thinking?” Sitting up in the face of heartless, merciless abuse, Subaru vented his grudges with tearful eyes.

[Assistant] “Goodness,” Ram pressed a damp cloth to Subaru’s cheek as she said. “Please keep quiet about the elf from before.”

[User] “Huh?” Subaru said, dumbfounded and wide-eyed as Ram was so close that she was practically touching his ear.

[Assistant] Ram said nothing about that and handed a different steaming cup to Garfiel and said, “The very essence of crude tea.”

[User] “Ain’t that usually said with more, oh, modesty?”

[Assistant] “It is the juice from fallen leaves. You should be grateful it was poured by Ram’s hands and drink it to the bottom.”

[User] Subaru put his own thoughts aside as he watched the terrible treatment she gave the man.

[Assistant] “Subaru, are you all right? Should I cool your cheek with ice?”

[User] “A-ahh, it’s okay, I’m all right. I’m used to Ram doing crazy stuff. It’s like an everyday ritual.”

[Assistant] “I-is that so… When did things become like that while my back was turned?”

[User] That prompted Subaru to reminisce about the tragedies of his life as a servant. But it was not that upon which Subaru’s mind was focused; rather, it was Ram’s whisper into his ear. She’d told him to keep quiet about the elf. But his questions about that were soon answered.

[Assistant] “I’d heard Young Gar brought in humans from the outside again… Quite a rambunctious youngster.” Speaking those words, the elf concerned lowered her eyelids. The voice, the expression, the emotions lacking from the earlier individual—they felt as if they came from someone very old, something that threw Subaru off.

[User] “Err, and you are…?”

[Assistant] “I apologize for my late introduction, Lady Emilia. I am Ryuzu Bilma. I suppose you might call me this village’s representative.


[User] "As you can see, I am a tottering old woman.”

[Assistant] "R-right… You are as old as you look…”

[User] Ryuzu bowed and named herself, her declaration made Emilia seem conflicted.

[Assistant] Apparently, he wasn’t the only one thrown for a loop at Ryuzu, who looked like a young girl, declaring herself a tottering old woman. On the outside, she looked like an adorable early teen. She was dressed only in a white robe, one that made it impossible to see her limbs past her cuffs and hem. Furthermore, her words and actions from her years of maturity clashed with her appearance—

[User] “It’s a loli hag in the flesh…! I thought I might see that stereotype here someday…”

[Assistant] “To think I would be called ‘hag’ upon a first meeting. The youngster is ruder than even Young Gar and Young Ros…”

[User] “When you add loli to the pejorative hag, it goes from an insult to a badge of honor. It is a status highly esteemed back in my homeland. No, I’m serious.” Replying with appropriate flippancy, Subaru tried to somehow put a lid on the chaos inside his own mind. Ryuzu was the spitting image of the girl in the forest, but the air she gave off was clearly different. And Ram had forbidden him from speaking of the other girl’s existence. Something’s goin’ on here, said Subaru’s instincts, ringing like an alarm bell, but…

[Assistant] “Hmm… Very well, then. So you must be Barusu… Young Su, in other words.”

[User] “Paired with the ‘Young Gar’ thing, calling me that makes it sound like we’ll start getting treated as brothers, but that’s fine. Just please at least remember that my proper name is Subaru Natsuki.” Subaru introduced himself to nip the mistaken name, obtained via Rem, in the bud.

[Assistant] His line caused Ryuzu to slap her hip, saying, “I get it, I get it,” in an elderly fashion before she said, “Now, Young Gar, would you be a sensible boy and yield your chair to me?”

[User] “Ya get ticked off when I treat ya like a hag, but you turn into a totterin’ old woman when it’s convenient, damn it…”

[Assistant] “Did you say something?”

[User] “Nuttin’…” Garfiel clicked his tongue and yielded the chair in which he sat to Ryuzu. As he did, he brushed some dust off the chair and, in deeply devoted fashion, lent Ryuzu a hand so that she could sit in it more easily.

[Assistant] “Somehow you seem like some hick from the countryside whose rudeness is all mouth…”

[User] “Oh, shut up, third rate! What are you comparin’ me t—? Whoa! This tea’s awful! It tastes like grass!!" Garfiel grimaced spectacularly at the fallen leaf tea Ram had poured for him.


[User] “So, now that Ryuzu is with us, let’s get back to the earlier topic… What’s your basis for saying my idea’s bad?” He took advantage of that interlude to get the topic back on track again.

[Assistant] “Earlier, Miss Ryuzu said something reeeally scary sounding, but…” She glanced sidelong at Ryuzu.

[User] Subaru nodded at her words. “She said ‘soulless husks,’ right? What did you mean by that?”

[Assistant] "I meant exactly what I said. When the mixed come into contact with the barrier, they lose consciousness. But I cannot call that impression quite correct. The souls of the mixed are repelled by the barrier, it is more correct to say.”

[User] “The souls are repelled…? Err?” She didn’t seem to quite get that explanation for the mechanism by which the barrier knocked people out.

[Assistant] Subaru gawked at Ryuzu, somehow managing to digest her words. “In other words, if the mixed force their way across the barrier, body and soul will be separated from each other? And that’ll leave the soul inside the barrier without a body… That’s how I should interpret ‘husk’?”

[User] "Ho-ho, the boy understands rather quickly. That is the long and short of it.”

[Assistant] After she saw that smile, Emilia’s eyes were still wide with surprise when she looked at Roswaal. “B-but how is that related to Roswaal’s injuries? If the barrier’s power does not function for anyone except those of mixed blood, someone else inflicted those wounds on Roswaal…and it wasn’t Garfiel, right?”

[User] Roswaal’s shoulders sank. “As Ram said earlier, he is not quite thaaat thoughtless of a man— Though I do not denyyy that Garfiel is capable of inflicting such pain upon me.”

[Assistant] “Serious…?” Subaru was aghast.

[User] “He is serious.” Ram’s brief words affirmed they were true.

[Assistant] “Me, I feel like I should be kind of insulted by the way you’re talkin’, th— Ram, don’t make a scary face like that! Anyway, it wasn’t me. He got hurt like that ’cause the trial rejected ’im.” Whether he knew the depth of their surprise or not, Garfiel violently dragged the conversation forward.

[User] “…First the Sanctuary has a barrier from a Witch, and now there’s a trial. Just gets better and better.” Subaru gaped and gulped, calming his mind down somewhat as he voiced his thoughts.

[Assistant] “I suppose soooo,” He stroked the bandages over his chest as he continued. “Howeeeever, this is most likely the final piece of information to be added.


[User] "Those who are qualified obtain the right to take the trial to lift the barrier. My wounds are proof of what happens when that precondition is disregaaarded.”

[Assistant] “Disregarded the precondition? For the trial…?”

[User] “The precondition is to have blood affected by the barrier—in other words, to have mixed blood. If anyone else undertakes the trial, their flesh is repelled and shredded.”

[Assistant] “—!” Gasped in surprise simultaneously with Emilia.

[User] “—!” Gasped in surprise simultaneously with Subaru.

[Assistant] Countless lacerations ran across Roswaal's upper body, almost like a bomb had exploded inside him, with blood oozing out that very moment.

[User] “So let me get straight to issuin' ya our demands.” Speaking those words, Garfiel pointed straight toward the shocked Subaru—no, toward Emilia.

[Assistant] He seemed to be saying that Emilia was needed to resolve the circumstances involving the Sanctuary.

[User] “Lift the barrier around this Sanctuary. To do that, take the trial. Until that’s lifted, no one leaves—not that you personally can leave anyway.”


[Assistant] The instant Subaru stepped into the place called the Cathedral, he felt a change in the air. It was not a bad change. Surprise registered where, until that moment, a quiet atmosphere without conversation had reigned, followed by a cascade of attention—and the onrush of joy.

[User] “Master Subaru!”

[Assistant] “Ohh, thank goodness you are safe!”

[User] “Is everyone else all right? !”

[Assistant] The ones welcoming Subaru when he showed himself were the people lodging in the Cathedral—the people of Earlham Village who had evacuated, fleeing from the Witch Cult to the Sanctuary together with Ram.

[User] “I’m the one who told you to take refuge here, after all. I’m glad you’re all safe.”

[Assistant] “Master Subaru, it is we who are glad you are safe… How is the village, and the others?”

[User] “Yeah, relax about that, okay? We drove off the dangerous folks, and the people evacuating to the royal capital are back in the village. No one’s hurt, they’re all in great shape.”

[Assistant] “Ohh—!”

[User] Subaru pounded his chest, giving the villagers his metaphorical stamp of approval, all the villagers’ faces brightened.

[Assistant] Subaru responded to their reactions with a smile as he finally took a look around the Cathedral.

[User] The stonework structure had a high ceiling, and was filled with a solemn, serene air that lived up to the name.

[Assistant] So far as Subaru knew, the atmosphere was probably close to that of the chapel of a church.


[User] Because the temple site was fairly large, it was able to comfortably accommodate the fifty-odd residents who had evacuated. Put frankly, there had to be many inconveniences involved, and they did raise such dissatisfactions with Subaru as they said

[Assistant] “We’re worried about the fields and livestock we left behind. Besides, we’re separated from our children, too, so…”

[User] “But are the lord’s injuries all right? Such terrible wounds, for our sakes…”

[Assistant] Their statements, showing less concern about the disorder in their daily lives than pure concern for the future, hurt Subaru’s heart. Here they were, far from their families, with their own lord bearing wounds. The seeds of their anxieties were inexhaustible. But Subaru’s feet had brought him there to bring an end to their situation. For that reason, among others, Subaru loudly cleared his throat, drawing all eyes of the villagers upon him.

[User] “Err, listen to me, everyone! As you know, the dangerous elements threatening the village have been driven off! The other group that evacuated has returned to the village, and they’re waiting for you to return as we speak!”

[Assistant] The moment Subaru reached “waiting for you to return,” shadows of anxiety came over the villagers’ faces. Naturally, they too knew why they remained in the Sanctuary. They also knew Roswaal had sustained his wounds with the aim of liberating them. However—

[User] “Looks like you all know that getting out of here won’t be easy. But it’s all right! After all, there’s a girl right here to undertake the trial to free everyone!”

[Assistant] “Master Subaru…you can’t mean? !”

[User] “Whoa, whoa… Nah, it isn’t me. If I could, I’d do it in a heartbeat, but…” Subaru scratched his head with a pained smile at the reaction from the freshly enthused villagers.

[Assistant] His words were no lie. If he could be the challenger, he’d take the trial without a moment’s hesitation. But Subaru did not fulfill the conditions to challenge the barrier. Accordingly, the one who would undertake the trial would be—

[User] “I’m sure you all know her—the royal candidate, Emilia. She’s facing the trial.”

[Assistant] “” Subaru’s declaration sent the villagers gasping once more.

[User] Nodding back at their reactions, Subaru reached a beckoning hand toward the entrance to the temple—and the girl waiting there for him. After a moment’s hesitation, Emilia slowly revealed herself, silver hair flowing behind her. Her cheeks were stiff from tension as Subaru stood at her side and surveyed the villagers. Those gazes had rejected her once before. Now, she had the courage to face them without the “identification scrambler” robe. Even so, Emilia bit her lip, bowing her head deeply then and there.

[Assistant] “I—I am sorry to have made you wait. In place of your lord, Roswaal L. Mathers, I shall undertake the trial of this Sanctuary. I may not seem very formidable…but I’m sure I will overcome and liberate everyone from this barrier.” At first, she was timid, with little confidence, but by the end, she was speaking more quickly and fluently.


[User] Emilia’s proclamation left the villagers perplexed as they looked at one another’s faces.

[Assistant] "…" Emilia kept her head lowered as she awaited the villagers’ response. Her lips were tightly pursed.

[User] The old woman walked closer to Emilia, nodding and speaking. "A few days ago, you lowered your head to us, and we rejected your assistance. In spite of this, you reach your hand out to us once more. Why? For the sake of the royal selection?”

[User] “To maintain the support of the populace, you lower your head and say that you shall save us. That is natural. I have no complaint about this, if that is indeed the case. But what we find frightening…is that we do not understand the reason why.”

[Assistant] “You don’t understand the reason why…?” Emilia asked, eyes shaking in bewilderment at the old woman.

[User] “We rejected you because you are a half-elf. We do not understand the reason why you, a half-elf, would do this again despite that. That is what we wish to know.”

[Assistant] "And that you are not a Witch beyond our ability to comprehend.”

[User] "…" For an instant, Emilia shifted her eyes toward Subaru, who was standing by her side. Her gaze clung to him, apparently in search of an answer.

[Assistant] Subaru tucked in his chin, nudging her forward without a word.

[User] “I…have no confidence that I can give an eloquent reply to your question. Right now, I do not have any reeeally convincing words to make you all accept what I say.”

[Assistant] “It’s just… It may have been a short time, but I spent the last several days with the family members who aren’t here with you."


[User] "So I thought all over again…families need to be together." Emilia touched her own chest as if looking for something, stroking the dim crystal hanging from her neck.

[Assistant] "I want to return you to your families. That is…not a promise I made in that village, but it is something I swore to myself. That is what I want to fulfill. That’s all."

[User] "I haven’t really thought much about…maintaining your support and so on. But, if possible, I’d like everyone to…no, err, rather, I want to…get along with all of you." At the very, very end, Emilia’s words weakened, and the pace of her speech slowed.

[Assistant] The silence continued for seconds, perhaps tens of seconds…

[User] "Lady Emilia."

[Assistant] “…Y-yes?”

[User] "We know this is very selfish of us to say—however, please take good care of us."

[Assistant] For a moment, Emilia looked like her thought process had ground to a halt, unable to digest the meaning of those words. But when she saw the old woman’s head bowing before her, she finally grasped their meaning.

[User] "Ah…I—I may be a greenhorn, but please bear with me!"

[Assistant] "No one says greenhorn anymore." Subaru gave a pained smile, instantly tossing his own quip on top of the obsolete language sailing out.

[User] Emilia had no time to deal with it, for she was busy dealing with other villagers’ follow-up comments, engaging in scattered conversation.

[Assistant] Satisfied at the turn of events, Subaru distanced himself from the throng and headed to the entrance of the Cathedral.


[User] "Lady Emilia seems to have…changed somewhat. Did you put her up to this, Barusu?" And there stood Ram.

[Assistant] "This is something she came up with on her own. You shouldn’t go crediting someone’s determination to someone else, you know."

[User] "…I suppose not. Ram is at fault this time."

[Assistant] The apology, rare coming from her, surprised Subaru, which made Ram narrow her pink eyes.

[User] "What? Even Ram apologizes when she feels she has done wrong. It simply does not happen very often."

[Assistant] "From time to time, I’m seriously envious of that brimming-with-confidence attitude you have."

[User] "It is not a matter of confidence whatsoever. It is natural providence that Ram is correct so often."

[Assistant] The way Ram crossed her arms in self-affirmation grander than mere overconfidence ever could be made Subaru’s shoulders sink.

[User] "With this, Lady Emilia shall undertake the trial. She has received voices of support from the villagers…just as Master Roswaal wished."

[Assistant] "Hey, stop saying it like that. Emilia doesn’t calculate things like that, you know."

[User] "And you intend to shoulder the burden of the dirty work yourself, Barusu?"


[User] "How heroic.” Ram’s slender lips eased up a little as she bantered with Subaru in sarcastic fashion.

[Assistant] But Subaru didn’t feel genuine scorn for him from either her eyes or the tenor of her voice. Perhaps what he sensed was distress. He couldn’t say That’s not like her. Ram’s kindness just happened to be difficult to see on the surface.

[User] “So you’re worried about Emilia, too, huh? I’m a little surprised.”

[Assistant] “…Ram is the epitome of kindness and benevolence. Besides, if Lady Emilia can perform as Master Roswaal hopes, there will be meaning to his body’s having been whittled down like that. Of course I am concerned.”

[User] “Roswaal went pretty far, putting his own body on the line…” Subaru’s morose statement put a pained face on Subaru as he let those words trickle out. As to what Roswaal’s true intentions regarding the Sanctuary were, Subaru could only sigh. Roswaal, lacking the proper qualifications, had undertaken the trial only to be rejected by the enchantment, suffering grave wounds that left him at death’s door. Such a reckless challenge could only have calculations bordering on madness behind it, things no normal person could even conceive of. Passing the trial was unavoidable if the barrier of the Sanctuary was to be lifted—and, faced with this fact, Roswaal had taken the initiative, sustaining wounds as a result. That even Roswaal, in an attempt to fulfill his duties as lord, was unable to succeed in the trial had established to all his people the difficulty of the matter. He had acted without hesitation before his people, wounding his name, reputation, and even body in the process—

[Assistant] “And here comes Emilia out of the blue, galloping in to undertake the trial and liberate the Sanctuary…”

[User] “The residents of this Sanctuary and the refugees held captive… Either way, they shall have a great deal for which to thank Lady Emilia. It would be good if they thought of her being a half-elf as a trifling matter…”

[Assistant] “People’s hearts don’t dance in your palm that much… Besides, Emilia doesn’t weigh things like that. You and I both need to have that fact sink in.” Subaru watched from a distance as the villagers interacted with Emilia at the center of the Cathedral with hard, smiling faces. He understood Roswaal’s thinking. This was a necessary challenge if she was to make it to the end of the royal selection ahead. He could appreciate the true intent behind Roswaal’s telling Emilia this place would, at some point, be necessary to her. But he could not raise both hands high in approval. This was Subaru’s stubbornness at work.

[User] “Incidentally, Barusu…there really is nothing wrong with your body?”

[Assistant] “Ah, yeah, no problem. I wasn’t lying when I said as much when I talked about the teleport.


[User] “Even though Roswaal got all beat up like that, I only fainted… Dunno what to say.”

[Assistant] “I suppose you should be grateful to have such a puny Gate.”

[User] “It’s the truth, so I can’t argue, but geez…!” Raising his voice, Subaru gave his hips a big twist on the spot before continuing. “Um, I was surprised that the ruin I teleported to was the place for the trial. Plus, there’s the thing about bad stuff happening to unqualified people trying to get in… Totally a trap that kills on first sight.”

[Assistant] “You saw from Master Roswaal’s wounds, right? Even someone blessed with only an average Gate should receive a rather stiff punishment. There is no telling what would have happened to Lady Emilia if she’d entered unawares, either.”

[User] “…You think Frederica planned it like that?” Subaru lowered his voice and aired the suspicion he’d been harboring for a while.

[Assistant] Ram sank into thought for a brief moment, then closed one eye as she said, “I wonder. The circumstantial evidence suggests Frederica planned something. In point of fact, Lady Emilia only avoided such a fate by a hairbreadth, escaping by Barusu’s noble…relatively noble sacrifice.”

[User] “Hey, don’t correct that. Well, I don’t mind you correcting the ‘sacrifice’ part because I got through it fine, but if I had sacrificed myself, call it noble even if it’s a lie!”

[Assistant] “I shall take it under advisement. In regards to Frederica, there is something I ought to tell you, Barusu.” Following that preamble, Ram confirmed the state of the area around her with a sharp gaze. It was as if she wanted to be careful that no one overheard their conversation— No, it was not “as if” at all. Ram approached a half-step closer to Subaru, her voice a whisper as she spoke. “Not everyone living in the Sanctuary supports being liberated from it.”

[User] “—! What do you mean by that?”

[Assistant] “There is also the matter of the elf being hidden from Miss Ryuzu and Garf, as well as Frederica’s actions…but Miss Ryuzu is only the titular leader, guiding the militants like Garf. Among the residents, there are also those who do not desire liberation from the Sanctuary and who choose to remain sheltered within the barrier.”

[User] “Sheltered inside the barrier… What’s up with that?” Subaru, knitting his brows at Ram’s warning, indicated incomprehension toward the behind-the-scenes maneuvering. If all was according to Garfiel’s explanation, everyone living in the Sanctuary was of mixed blood. Naturally, that meant they were affected by the barrier and unable to leave…so long as the barrier existed, at least.

[Assistant] “They’re fine with this. To those who wish to stay, the current state, with minimal interaction with the outside, is ideal. And thus, to break this state is…highly troublesome to them.”

[User] “You think Frederica’s working with folks like that?”

[Assistant] “It is possible."


[User] "At present, it is mere supposition based on the available information.” With Ram’s subtext sounding like Do not even suggest I am being emotional.

[Assistant] Subaru backed off and dropped the subject. However, the words left Subaru twisting his lips, his internal nervousness undiminished. Reflexively, his hand touched the white handkerchief tied around his own neck. “And that is? A rather old-fashioned protective charm, yes?”

[User] “Petra… Ah, a cute girl in the village. She gave this to me before I left. She was hired as a new maid to help Frederica out at the mansion… That’s why I’m worried.”

[Assistant] If Frederica was operating from a position of malice, it was quite possible she’d take Petra hostage. He’d never forgive himself if something happened to the girl who’d offered her cooperation in such good faith. Even more than that, Rem was back at the mansion. He’d spoken exhaustively to Frederica about just how important the girl was, both to him and to the other people at the mansion.

[User] Ram exhaled and said, “Ah, that,” in reply to Subaru’s misgivings, then continued. “Rest at ease. Frederica would never do ill to a new worker at the mansion. She has surely not fallen into heresy such as that. You need not be concerned for the girl.”

[Assistant] “…Do you trust Frederica, or do you not trust Frederica? Which is it…?”

[User] “I know not what she schemes. But that Frederica is indeed Frederica, I do not doubt.” Having asserted the point with such force, Ram averted her gaze from Subaru’s face. She folded her slender arms and motioned with her chin—indicating Emilia at the center of the Cathedral. “Be careful, Barusu. The most certain means for those opposed to liberating the Sanctuary to achieve their aims is to cause Lady Emilia harm. We do not know who our enemies are. Remain ever vigilant.”

[Assistant] “So this is secret from Ryuzu and Garfiel, too, huh…? Those two being opposed to liberation is too far-fetched, I suppose?”

[User] “Even if those two are not involved, someone related to them might be. It is best that as few people know as possible…even if one of them has very loose lips, yes?”

[Assistant] Subaru couldn’t even manage a groan as she drove the implication in like a nail, making it painfully clear just whom she meant. Either way, now that he was in the Sanctuary, Ram’s warning was exceptionally important. In particular, he’d never have known there was an antiliberation faction if she hadn’t told him. “Man, that girl really did look just like Ryuzu…”

[User] Ryuzu herself might disagree, but he couldn’t imagine they were unrelated. There was a mountain of things he wanted to ask her about, not least of which was her own lineage. However, this was not the time to question her about his various misgivings. “Master Roswaal made time for you this evening.


[User] “Be satisfied with that.”

[Assistant] “After seeing those wounds I’m not gonna complain… I still feel like suspecting that was part of his scheme, though.”

[User] “That is even more farfetched. Garf came to see how Master Roswaal was doing… Does he look like the kind of man who would cooperate with Master Roswaal’s plans?”

[Assistant] “You’re pretty harsh with the guy who’s fallen for you!”

[User] “Even though he knows it is hopeless.” That last comment was the harshest of all, enough to make Subaru sympathize with the absent Garfiel.

[Assistant] “This evening, huh?” Once his sympathy ran its course, he murmured to himself about the time pledged to them for conversation. Unlike during the day, when they had been able to ask little about the circumstances surrounding the Sanctuary, Roswaal had set time aside so that they could speak about those matters. However, the time promised to them would come after Emilia undertook the trial.

[User] “It would seem the sun is finally setting.” Ram murmured as she turned her head outside the temple, looking up as the sky of the setting sun was repainted in the colors of the night. Night was coming. A night when people would be tested by the trial so as to set the Sanctuary free.


[Assistant] "Thanks to that, we were able to hook up safe and sound. Thank goodness for fire! Right, Otto?”

[User] "Look me in the eye once and try saying that one more time! Damn it all!” There in the Sanctuary, in the clearing illuminated by the bonfire, Otto’s face was red with anger as his outraged voice echoed. He stamped the ground with his foot, thrusting a shaking finger at Subaru as he ranted.

[Assistant] “Do you think this is something that can be papered over with a little light conversation?! You completely left me behind at the dragon carriage, unable to move away from it, since morning, you understand? !”

[User] “Having said that, you’re the one who told Garfiel you’d stay with the dragon carriage, right? Patlash, my fave dragon, was here, too, so you shouldn’t have been lonely… Well, it’s a fact that I forgot you, though.”

[Assistant] “That fact sinks deeply into my empty stomach!” Subaru’s brazen reply left Otto fuming amid the bonfire light breaching the darkness of night.


[User] After arriving in the Sanctuary, he’d been on the same page when stabling the dragon carriage was left to him, but, having been completely forgotten over the course of furious conversation, had only just reunited with Subaru under his own power. Incidentally, it was already the dead of night, with supper at the Cathedral long over. "I can’t really call it an awesome-tasting meal, but beggars can’t be choosers.”

[Assistant] “So I am not only a chooser, but a beggar as well?! I really am holding a grudge over this!”

[User] “My bad, my bad. I’ll apologize properly later… Right now, I’ve gotta focus over here.” Otto drew close, Subaru nudged his forehead back, giving a pained smile as his gaze shifted elsewhere.

[Assistant] When Otto followed suit, he narrowed his eyes, gazing at the girl at the center of the clearing surrounded by faint points of light. “Lady Emilia and minor spirits, yes? Just how many difficult issues arose while I was unaware?”

[User] “‘Difficult issues’… Don’t say it like anything and everything’s all troublesome stuff we’ve got on our shoulders.”

[Assistant] “Am I wrong to call these issues difficult, then?”

[User] “They’re difficult issues. Ultradifficult. On top of that, Emilia has to take ’em on all by herself.” Humphing at the knowing look on Otto’s face, Subaru proceeded to walk over to Emilia.

[Assistant] With her eyes closed as she received the blessings of the minor spirits, she sensed his presence, lifting her face and pursing her lips. “Get enough cheers of support from the minor spirits to satisfy you?”

[User] “Mm, it’s all right. But I suppose I do want one final push.”

[Assistant] “May I?”

[User] “If you want to, Subaru. Please.”

[Assistant] “Good luck, don’t lose! E M D—! !”

[User] Emilia let out a little laugh at Subaru’s enthusiastic cheer, briefly adding “Thank you” before shifting her gaze toward the tomb she was to challenge.

[Assistant] Standing beside her, Subaru licked his lips and looked up at the ruin, which gave off a very different impression compared to during the day. “It is a tomb, so it’s waaaaay creepier at night than daytime. You’re all right, Emilia-tan?”

[User] “I’m a little worried, but it’s nothing. This is something I have to do.” Clenching a pale fist, Emilia took a deep breath infused with plenty of vigor. At the same time, Subaru began to worry that she looked a little too worked up.

[Assistant] “Hah! Well, she’s full of pep. Ya’d better be, not that I’m expectin’ anything from ya!”

[User] Turning toward the voice, Subaru saw two short figures walking through the entrance to the clearing—one a young-looking girl, and the other a teenage boy. “Garfiel and Ryuzu.”

[Assistant] In addition, Ram came in, following in Garfiel and Ryuzu’s footsteps. It seemed they were the only ones who would be watching Emilia undertake the trial. “It’s a little lonely having this be the entire audience.”

[User] “The humans of Earlham Village have been forbidden from venturing out at night.


[User] "There is no proper lighting for them at this hour, after all…"

[Assistant] "Besides, we do not want to kick up an unnecessary ruckus. The elderly are very sensitive at night."

[User] "Ya sure wake up bright and early in the mornin’, though!" Ram and the others replied to Subaru’s musing in sequence as they lined up before the tomb in good order.

[Assistant] Ram was a proxy for the injured Roswaal; Garfiel and Ryuzu represented the interests of the Sanctuary. Subaru, Emilia’s retainer, and the outsider Otto filled out the roster. Otto was the only one whose presence seemed tentative and not strictly necessary, but setting that aside…

[User] "I’ll watch you take up the challenge in place of the people from the village. I’m sure they really wanted to cheer you on."

[Assistant] "Mm, thank you. I’ll work hard to fulfill your expectations, those of the villagers…and everyone else watching."

[User] "—?" It was only when Emilia added the part at the very end that her gaze shifted beyond the clearing.

[Assistant] Subaru wondered what her gesture meant, but he had no time to pursue the matter. Emilia exhaled briefly and turned back toward the tomb, walking toward the stairway at the entrance. The next moment, there was—

[User] "A light, from the tomb…" It was Otto who murmured it, but his surprise was shared by everyone present. The five watched as the surface of the ruin Emilia was to challenge glowed with a faint light, seemingly welcoming the challenger, illuminating the Witch’s final resting place with a green, phosphorescent glow that seemed to sink into the darkness.

[Assistant] "This is proof that the tomb recognizes Lady Emilia as being qualified to undertake the trial." Ryuzu looked up at the phosphorescent light surrounding the tomb, putting into words the reason for the beautiful scene. Subaru and the others were speechless as they stared at it, with only Emilia unhesitant as she climbed the stairs. Then, when she reached the top of the stairs, she was greeted by the entrance to the deep, dark ruin biding its time.

[User] "—I am off." Subaru felt like he heard her speak those words in a little voice. He watched Emilia proceed into the tomb’s corridor until he could no longer see her back. The entire ruin remained enveloped in the phosphorescent light; the trial had surely begun. The ruin had rent Roswaal’s body into tatters and had caused Subaru to faint and lose consciousness. When Emilia stepped within, worry welled in Subaru, almost as if someone were grasping his beating heart—

[Assistant] "Do not be concerned, Young Su. The tomb has firmly welcomed Lady Emilia into it. The light you see is proof of that. You need not worry that she will bounce off like Young Ros."

[User] "The image of him bouncing off is bouncing right off of me… Er, sorry. You’re just being concerned for me…"

[Assistant] "Ho-ho. I do not get upset when someone apologizes.


[User] “Perhaps that is why I was too soft in raising Young Gar.” Subaru put on a strained smile, struck by the great contrast between her little-girl appearance and the elderly smiling face she presented.

[Assistant] As Ryuzu spoke, she glanced sidelong at Garfiel, watching over the tomb some distance away. "I was just thinking…"

[User] “Mm? About what?”

[Assistant] “The trial of this tomb—only those of mixed blood affected by the barrier can take it, right? Now that I think about it, Ryuzu, have you or Garfiel done it already?”

[User] “Logically, it is possible to merely undergo the trial. However, we cannot liberate the Sanctuary. This is because of the never-ending pact that binds us residents to this place.”

[Assistant] “…Another pact, huh?” Subaru’s distasteful tone and the bitter look on his face made Ryuzu raise an eyebrow.

[User] “Ohh? Young Su, you dislike pacts?”

[Assistant] “I don’t have a good impression of them. I have bad memories of trials over the last few weeks, too. The guy I hate most in this whole world talked about them a bunch.”

[User] “My, my, what a poor impression indeed. It must cause the spirit-user girl no small amount of trouble.”

[Assistant] "Accepting it and liking it are two different things. I’ll keep putting a red line through them in my lexicon going forward.”

[User] “Obstinate, aren’t you…? Well, a little stubbornness in a young one like you is adorable, too…”


[Assistant] Subaru saw a whiff of chagrin rising onto the side of Ryuzu’s face.

[User] From there, time proceeded to flow. Subaru did nothing and said nothing as he waited for Emilia to return. There was no visible change in Garfiel. Ryuzu continued to stand beside Subaru in silence. When he shifted his gaze a little, he was surprised to see pleasant-looking conversation passing between Ram and Otto.


[User] He was about to think fruitless things, such as I’ll have to get him to spill conversation tips for Ram later—but something happened first.

[Assistant] "Ah?" When the change met the eyes of all others present, they instantly gasped as one. Reflexively, Subaru blinked and looked back, by which time the source of light over all that time had already been lost. In other words, the almost dazzling phosphorescent glow surrounding the tomb…had been extinguished.

[User] "The light’s gone?! Hey, is everything all right?!"

[Assistant] "The light of the tomb should not cease so long as the trial continues…"

[User] "Meaning something went wrong?! Emilia!" Raising his voice at the sudden disaster, Subaru raced toward the tomb without a first or second thought.

[Assistant] "W-wait, Young Su! You are not qualified to enter the t—!" Ryuzu reached toward his back, shouting with urgency in her voice.

[User] "Aaah? What the hell?!"

[Assistant] Garfiel's voice trailed off in shock, leaving a bewildered Garfiel to send spittle flying as he picked up where she’d left off.

[User] Ram and Otto were just as surprised; even Subaru’s breath faintly caught. The tomb lit up the instant Subaru’s foot hit the steps, beginning to radiate a green, phosphorescent light.

[Assistant] "The same as Lady Emilia… Er, Mr. Natsuki!"

[User] "If I can get in, it’s the answer to my prayers! Everyone stay outside! I’ll call if anything happens!"

[Assistant] "Barusu!"

[User] Shrugging off the voices trying to stop him, Subaru raced up the stairs and dived into the tomb. The ruin’s air was cold and dry. The corridor in which his steps echoed was enveloped by the same green, phosphorescent light covering the outer walls, giving him a pretty good view of the moss- and vine-covered interior. The strange sensation accompanying each and every step clawed at his chest. The scene, the location somehow seemed familiar to him, the inside of his head anguished as if being violated by some unknown memory.

[Assistant] "Of course I know this place… I came here before, in the dayt—!!" Deciding that his memory from that time was the culprit, he impulsively stomped on the thought in his head with a shoe as he dived deeper. The air deep in the ruin was stagnant, invading his nostrils with a dusty scent. He felt his lungs worsen with each and every breath. He shook his head as he went deeper, deeper, deeper—

[User] "A room?" When he finally reached the end of the corridor, Subaru beheld a door before his eyes that led into a small room. The grimy stone door was already open, having abandoned its duty of warding off intruders, so Subaru slipped in without resistance.

[Assistant] "…" He raced into the room, a cramped chamber surrounded by stone walls. Strangely, the vines and moss had not encroached upon it, and it had deteriorated only insofar as the ruin’s age would suggest. In back of the not-particularly-large stone room was another closed door that likely led deeper still, and in front of it—

[User] "—Emilia!"


[User] !' A silver-haired girl was spread out on the floor, seemingly having sprawled her limbs when she collapsed upon it. Unable to see her face from the entrance, Subaru desperately ran to her side. He didn’t know what had happened. All he knew was that he had to pick her up and escape from the tomb as soon as poss—

[Assistant] "—First, face your past.” The next instant, Subaru gasped when a voice seemed to whisper right into his ears.

[User] Strength drained from him, leaving him no time to ponder what the voice might be. His knees buckled, and Subaru’s body went down like a doll, making no move to break his fall. Since he was in midrun, he tumbled onto the floor with limbs sprawled like a snow angel, ending up right next to Emilia by pure chance. I’ve fallen right beside her once before, haven’t I? he suddenly thought. Before he could recall the memory, his first memory of death, Subaru’s thoughts were swallowed up by the darkness—


[Assistant] As he always did, when Subaru awoke from slumber, he felt short of breath, as if his head were breaking the surface of the water. The feeling was much like that of floating in a sea of unconsciousness, floating upward in search of the air called reality. Then, when his awakening lungs had breathed in enough of that reality, Subaru’s mind awo—

[User] "GOOD MOOOOOOOORNING, SOOOOON—! !”

[Assistant] “Hmrabhttnn? !” That cool, refreshing morning, his poetic rise from slumber, was smashed to pieces by an incredibly destructive impact. From above, something heavy squeezed the air out of his body, forcing Subaru to let out a cry much like a frog being squished. He batted the top of the futon away as he hacked and coughed.

[User] "Hey, hey, heyyy, what’s the matter? That’s just my diving press to wake you up with love! Same as usual. Really gets those carelessness-is-your-greatest-enemy fires burning, huh?”

[Assistant] “Koff! Koff!… That’s expecting way too…much from a guy who’s asleep… Wait, just now…” What the heck happened? he wondered, lifting his face with tearful eyes. As Subaru brought half his body out of bed, the other party pointed a finger to the ceiling right before Subaru’s eyes. And then—

[User] "What is it with you? You’ve got the look of a guy looking at his father buck naked in the morning!” It was his father—Kenichi Natsuki—as he posed half-naked there in the morning, blessing his son’s awakening with a cackling laugh.


[User] The annoying cackling, laughing voice made Subaru appreciate that yet another normal morning had arrived. He was in his own, very familiar room. There was a bookshelf stuffed with manga and light novels on the wall, and the student desk he’d been using since a young age held a variety of small tools and the fruits of various hobbies scattered over it. In the back of the room was an old television used exclusively for gaming, and before that was the very familiar sight of his half-naked father. Such was the morning scenery surrounding Subaru Natsuki atop the now-unmade bed.

[Assistant] "…" But amid that very familiar scenery, he felt an odd stirring in his chest—

[User] "Heyyy, are you ignoring me?! If you ignore me I’m gonna cry! I’m your real daddy related to you by blood and no spring chicken. Do you really think I can take that? There’s no way. I’ll die from embarrassment!"

[Assistant] "Same goes for me, then! Or rather, the press just now killed me. Now I will sleep forever." Subaru responded appropriately to his half-naked father’s statement and ducked under the futon.

[User] Faced with his son’s cold demeanor, his father—Kenichi—groaned out in dissatisfaction. "Well, whaaaat is this?! Is this your rebellious phase?! Shit, I thought it’d come someday, but I never expected it’d be this morning. I should’ve spent less time preparing breakfast and more time preparing to speak with my own son…! !"

[Assistant] "You say that, but what are you tryin’ to do with a guy’s legs… Hey, wait a— Ow! Owwww!"

[User] "Okaaay, I’ve decided that today, I’ll have a heart-to-heart talk with you! First, let’s talk with our muscles! You just try breaking out of my figure-four leg lock infused with looove! Oh yeaaah—!" With Subaru’s legs bound in a lock atop the bed, Kenichi lay down facing the opposite direction as he applied pressure to the joints.

[Assistant] Unable to resist, Subaru let out a painful cry.

[User] "Gwahahah! What’s wrong, what’s wrong? You work out every day so you can grow big and strong, so aren’t you ashamed of having such a hard time against one middle-aged ma— Ah, wait a second! Ow! Owwww!" Kenichi greeted Subaru's cry with a laugh as he mocked his son.

[Assistant] "You’re a fool to pick a figure-four leg lock, it’s weak against reversals. You’re getting old, Dad! All I have to do is reverse my body and the damage flies the other way! Here’s my revenge for you putting a figure-four leg lock on… Ah, wait! You can’t reverse my reversal… Owow! Owowowow!" As the victim shifted that morning, painful cries arose.


[User] "Your mom is getting pretty hungry over here and wants to eat breakfast.” When an uneven knock and a casual voice flew into the room, the pair engaged in a war of holds came to a complete halt. Both of them teary-eyed from pain, they looked at the entryway, where a single woman stood—a middle-aged woman with a foul look in her eyes.

[Assistant] At first sight, one might think the look grave, filled with considerable displeasure, but in truth, she wasn’t the kind of person to think anything of the sort on the inside, something Subaru knew from seventeen years of being acquainted with her. Subaru could derive all that from a single glance at her foul look, for the woman appearing was his mother, Nahoko Natsuki.

[User] Nahoko’s words made Kenichi go “Whoopsie!”

[Assistant] "Sorry, sorry. I lost myself scuffling with Subaru there. You could’ve eaten without us, you know…" He stuck his tongue out while leaping to his feet and said

[User] "—? Why would I, when we can eat as a family? It’s better to eat with everyone together." When Kenichi turned his attention her way, Nahoko inclined her head with a mystified look.

[Assistant] "That’s right, so very right. That’s my bride! You really get it. Breakfast is much tastier when everyone’s faces are gathered in one place!" His wife’s reply sent Kenichi nodding strongly several times over.

[User] "The taste doesn’t change. Everyone eating together means I can wash all the plates at once, though."

[Assistant] Ah, you were talking about the cleanup? Sorry, I guess I got overly worked up by my lonesome.” Kenichi said a rather nice line, but Nahoko’s statement bluntly shot it down. Kenichi's shoulders sink as a result.

[User] "You’re coming for breakfast, too, Subaru. Your mom worked hard for your sake today, after all." To this, she added a thin smile, which only those close to her understood meant she was in a very good mood indeed.


[Assistant] "Whoa, this is amazin’, Subaru. It’s a super-special course. It’s like a green forest." Thus spoke Kenichi, gone from half-naked to clothed, as he went down to the first floor with Subaru. Standing by his father, who wore comically eye-catching glasses

[User] Subaru gazed at the dining table and sighed. “I’m straight-up grateful. Mm, I seriously feel that way…but what’s up, Mom? Why is my plate the only one with a big pile of green peas plopped on top of it?"

[Assistant] Just as Kenichi had pointed out, before Subaru’s spot on the dining table was a special course, a large heaping pile of green peas. Incidentally, Subaru really didn’t like green peas. He was bad with green vegetables in general, but especially these.

[User] "Hey now, you’re always saying how you hate green peas, aren’t you, Subaru?


[User] "It’s not good to be picky about your food, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to make you eat lots and put that whole business to rest.”

[Assistant] "So you relied on a memory you’d eventually forget anyway and decided to correct my likes and dislikes. But what do you mean, this opportunity…? Is today some kind of special day or something?”

[User] "Heh, you’re so naive, Subaru. The day that is today…no, any day, any hour is precious time that will never return again in your life, so today may not be special, but it’s special in its own way…”

[Assistant] “You can, um, stop now.”

[User] Kenichi wedged himself into the conversation, throwing him for a bit of a loop.

[Assistant] Subaru sat down with resignation on his face. Then the first thing he did was push the plate packed with green peas away from him. "Anyway, I’ll accept the feelings you felt for me on their own merit…but I’ll pass on the green peas. I’m not eating these things even if it’s Armageddon.”

[User] “Sheesh, that kind of like-and-dislike stuff will be a big hindrance to life down the road. Ah, Mom, there’s some tomato in my salad. I hate tomato, so give me something else to eat.”

[Assistant] “That’s my father for you, damn it…the first part of what he says has nothing to do with the second.”

[User] The husband passed the tomato in his salad on to his wife, stealing the boiled egg from her salad in turn. Such trades between husband and wife were always occurring in the Natsuki residence. Glancing sidelong at that, Subaru pressed his hands together over everything on the menu except the green peas, which that morning consisted of tofu, miso soup, and honey toast heavy on the honey.

[Assistant] “I think you’re always doing this, but why the eclectic Japanese-style food?”

[User] “Mom used seaweed as an ingredient in the miso soup. I like strawberry jam on my toast, too.”

[Assistant] The reply was not an answer, nor was it consistent with that day’s menu. If he pointed that out, Nahoko would no doubt simply give him a mystified look. Accordingly, Subaru didn’t trouble himself with pointing it out.

[User] “Mm, this miso soup… That’s Mom for you. You’ve gotten better at this behind my back, haven’t you?”

[Assistant] “You can tell? Actually, I recorded a thirty-minute cooking channel video yesterday over lunchtime.”

[User] “No way she watched it.”

[Assistant] Kenichi’s statement felt strongly appropriate to the moment, and Nahoko’s reply felt incongruous with equal strength. Furthermore, if Nahoko’s statement were dragged in line with the truth, it would likely go from her having recorded the show to her having only recorded it, most likely never to consider it again.

[User] “Setting that aside, what are you gonna do about this plate of green peas? I tried to pass it to Daddy, Daddy passed it to Mom, and Mom passed it to me, and we’ve been going around in circles…”

[Assistant] “But Mom hates green peas.


[User] "I hate even looking at them.”

[Assistant] “And you were trying to overcome me being picky? !"

[User] “Ah, don’t misunderstand me, it’s not just green peas that Mom hates, it’s all food that’s little and round like that. It feels icky to put them in my mouth.”

[Assistant] “That’s not a misunderstanding, then—if anything it just sounds even fishier than before!” Deflated by his mother’s impactful statement, Subaru grudgingly pushed the plate of green peas Kenichi’s way.

[User] “Well, it’s the husband’s place to take responsibility for the wife, so I’ll leave it to Daddy to reap the fruits of defeat.”

[Assistant] “Hey, don’t make me feel all lonely here, Subaru. We’re family getting along like few do these days, right? In other words, if Mom hates it, Daddy hates it, too.”

[User] “Man, I really feel for this forest of green, nobody’s happy with it!”

[Assistant] “Guess we’ll have to plop ’em into pilaf until they’re all gone. Heh-heh-heh…” Kenichi made a face like a mischievous brat as he said this.

[User] Readily promised to cooperate in their disposal, no longer having to solo the green peas.

[Assistant] “I hate even looking at them,” Nahoko declared, completely rejecting them in every way.

[User] In the end, it became a competition between the two men to dispose of the green peas, and the family breakfast finally came to an end.

[Assistant] “It was a feast.”

[User] “Oh, it was nothing special. OK, let’s wash all the dinnerware in the sink, then it’s a race to school to help with digestion, Subaru!”

[Assistant] “I keep telling you, give it up with this cliché rushing-me-off-to-school routine. I’m gonna sleep till noon.” As the dinnerware was piled into the sink, Kenichi made the offer with a glint of his teeth, leaving Subaru to listlessly shake his head.


[User] Subaru scratched his head as he went toward his bedroom—then his feet stopped.

[Assistant] “—Ugnh!” A throbbing pain ran across his temples, making Subaru strongly rub his head and eyes. The light flashing on the backs of his eyelids made him blink, and he felt like he could hear something hot smoldering inside his chest. —Something was off. Something about that morning was odd.

[User] Subaru?" From the back of his head, the halted Subaru felt the gazes of his parents. Subaru knew just what emotions were infused into his father’s gaze, his mother’s gaze, the gazes of both his parents. He didn’t turn around. He silenced his head, practically fleeing—no, literally fleeing to his own room.

[Assistant] “What? Why, why am I getting these weird feelings like this…?” Touching a hand to his own breast, Subaru sensed his rapid heartbeats, and even fear. Practically crumbling, he knelt on top of the futon, focusing his restless mind on the clock mounted on the wall. The time was eight AM—school started at eight thirty, and it was a twenty-minute jog from home.


[User] If he changed clothes, he could just make it without being late.

[Assistant] But Subaru made no sign of changing clothes as he stared at the movement of the clock from atop the futon. Gradually, the second hand notched forward, and the minute hand moved to ten—crossing the deadline. From then on, he would not make it in time for school to begin. However he might struggle, that was absolute.

[User] “…So it can’t be helped. Yeah, it can’t be helped.”

[Assistant] Perhaps, if there’d been just a little more time until he could harden his resolve, he might have made it to school. But reality had imposed its time limit on Subaru to an exceptional extent. He’d gone beyond it. Therefore, no more would the choice press upon him that day. And yet—

[User] “…Usually, this would calm me down, wouldn’t it? What gives…?” His breath was ragged, his heart rate wouldn’t settle, and Subaru desperately tried to suppress the shaking of his body.

[Assistant] This was the time for his daily ritual of fear to come to a close. Even though he knew that the same fear would come every day at the same hour, that day’s had exceeded all bounds. That morning, no one would censure Subaru any longer. No one would hurry him, or back him into a corner. Whether to go to school—the time that tiny question would cause such powerful pain to Subaru had come to an end. It had been several months since he had rejected school and become a delinquent. Though this had given root to a powerful sense of inferiority and self-revulsion, he became relieved every time he confirmed that the time to go to school had passed. This was something Subaru had repeated many times over. Thus, the palpable sense of relief should have been well ingrained in Subaru’s flesh. And yet…

[User] “What is it, today of all days…?”

[Assistant] The sense of guilt and self-hatred, the clinging sense of unpleasantness…they just wouldn’t vanish. He didn’t know where the sense of nervousness plucking at his chest was coming from. Without understanding how to set his breathing straight, Subaru agonized on top of the futon, smeared in disagreeable sweat. Now that he thought back, something had been off from the moment he’d awoken that morning. His father, Kenichi, hatching schemes like that to wake Subaru up was a daily fact of life. Once Subaru stopped going to school, becoming a good-for-nothing in name and fact, his father’s approach toward him hadn’t changed from before. And yet, the physical contact, the conversing, the holds from his father, now hurt for a different reason. Even if his mother, Nahoko, had all kinds of harebrained ideas that strayed from the mark, with those that misfired, like the one that morning, far more common than those that did not, she’d always put Subaru first—always, for seventeen years. Even so, his mother’s gaze that morning had instilled a sense of loneliness and thoughts of self-reproach well beyond the norm.


[User] Everything was the same as usual, not a thing out of place. And yet, he’d sensed something off about his parents, and about himself. “The heck. What the heck, what happened? Yesterday wasn’t anything spec— Ugh!” When he thought back to the day before in search of the cause of that morning’s change in tone, fireworks scattered inside his head. The pain interrupted his thought process, feeling strangely as if it was preventing Subaru’s attempt to touch on his own memory. To prove whether it was so, Subaru would have to challenge the sea of his memory once more—and this he did not do. There was no special reason for the odd pain that morning. That day, his feelings of guilt had simply decided to assert themselves as pain. Probably he had been unable to look either of his parents straight in the eye because—

[Assistant] "Subaru, can I come in for juuust a bit?" A voice came through the door, but the door opened before he could reply.

[User] When he let out a heavy breath and turned his head toward it, Kenichi was moonwalking his way into his own son’s room. Subaru spontaneously smacked his forehead. “…Coming in before I answer kind of defeats the point of asking me, doesn’t it?”

[Assistant] “Hey, now. With the hard bonds tying me and you, father and son, together, that’s not really nece— Er, it kind of is! Sorry, I wasn’t considering that you’re in puberty. I’ll come again after you’ve taken care of things.”

[User] “Don’t go back to form and lob weirdly realistic conclusions out like that! I wasn’t even doing anything!” When a crack was evident in the chain between father and son, he made a show of consideration. When Subaru spoke with a ragged voice, Kenichi went “Reaaally?” with a suspicious air and entered the room once more. Then he sat on the futon and crossed his arms in Subaru’s direction.

[Assistant] “Well, it’s fine. We’ll leave what just happened as a secret shared by the two of us alone.”

[User] “There’s nothing that needs to be a secret! Just be honest, sheesh! All you’re doing is assaulting me before I get back to sleep again!”

[Assistant] “I get it, I get it— So, then. Let’s get to the point. Actually, Subaru, I took time off from work today. Surprised?”

[User] “…Yeah, I figured that. Daddy’s not at the house on a Monday morning very often. And?”

[Assistant] “Don’t be hasty jumping to conclusions. A father-son conversation is like boxing. The jab comes first.” Kenichi’s laid-back smile and demeanor made Subaru feel like he was just drawing out the conversation. He was dancing around the main issue, using words and gestures to make light of things and giving himself and his opponent time to harden their resolve. This was a kind of habit in interpersonal relations Subaru knew well. It was not simply because the apple did not fall far from the tree—there was a separate reason, one steeped in incorrigible idiocy. “—Ow!


[User] "!” The instant he embraced that sentiment, a sharp pain ran through Subaru’s head once more. He began to vaguely suspect just what was causing the pain. But Subaru averted his gaze from Kenichi as he said, “…And? Now that you’ve landed the jab, what’s Daddy’s right-handed punch, your conversation topic, gonna be?”

[Assistant] "Yes, let’s see. Subaru, do you have a girl you like?”

[User] “What is this, middle school?! !”

[Assistant] “Ohh, that overreaction is like making a confession, don’t ya know?”

[User] “What gives with you saying that with that smug look on your face? Exasperated sighs of lament don’t mean anything, you know.” He’d meant to paper over the sentiment, but that blow had been an unexpected one.

[Assistant] But, as a matter of fact, the assertion was off the mark, because Subaru didn’t have any interest in such things at that time. He had neither the interest nor a belief that he ought to have one.

[User] “Keh, well, aren’t you boring. I laid it all out when you were little, didn’t I? Girls have a weakness for promises that happened years ago and situations like that, so go make some and set up some flags, damn it!”

[Assistant] “If I sincerely took that as truth, I’d have every girl in town pointing me out as a dishonest bastard. I already have too many sins to deal with…you trying to drive me down into a living hell?”

[User] “…If only you’d inherited my gentle mask. You’ve got Mom’s I-don’t-give-a-damn look, plus Daddy’s short legs and bad jokes. Your status points are pretty low, huh?”

[Assistant] “I’ve been sayin’ that since I had a umbilical cord…” The tension dropped between father and son as they bantered about their hardwired genetic situations.

[User] As the diversion ran its course, Subaru returned to “So?” once more and asked, “What was the issue at hand, anyway? After this, I have an important duty to fulfill: sleeping two to three more hours. So if what you want draws a total beeeep, then talk to Mom downstairs, okay?”

[Assistant] “Don’t brush me off all natural like that. Besides, this talk would just fly over Mom’s head. My wife and your mom is the worst woman at guessing in the whole world. That’s why I can’t let her out of my sight, but…” The natural way he tossed out fond phrases bored Subaru, his adolescent son, to tears.

[User] When Subaru hung his head, Kenichi went “Hmm,” then twisted his neck a bit and smiled mischievously as he said, “Well, it happens to be nice weather out—how ’bout we dress up and have a little father-son talk outside?”


[Assistant] "Ohh, Ken. Not often I see you in the morning. They finally fired you, huh?”

[User] “Don’t be stupid. Nothing’s getting done in that place without me.


[User] "Felt bad to work so much that I’m stealing everyone else’s job, so I’ve gotta lay off once in a while." Kenichi lobbed his insult with a raise of his middle finger, smiling toward the owner of a nearby bakery as he passed on his bicycle.

[Assistant] He proceeded to toss warm words the store owner’s way as the latter vanished around a bend, adding afterward, "Sheesh, everyone talks like I got fired just ’cause they see me taking a day off. Is it so bad I’m nurturing a loving family here? And if I was fired, I’d get a new job before I got busted."

[User] "…As a person you’re nurturing, I’m praying you don’t toss any heart-stopping surprises like that on me.” Hands thrust into his tracksuit pockets, Subaru watched the conversation with the baker from a distance, with sinking shoulders.

[Assistant] "Hey, hey." Kenichi went at his son’s demeanor, adjusting the position of his highly conspicuous glasses as he said, "It’s bad enough in your own darned room, but there you are, making that suspicious face when I’ve dragged you out and the sun’s shining this bright on a nice crisp morning like this. You might get stopped by a cop like that.”

[User] “If I got stopped by a cop, it’d be because Daddy dragged me out at a time like this!! I…said I didn’t wanna, but you twisted my arm anyway.”

[Assistant] “What are you sayin’? That foot dragging was just goin’ through the motions. You really love everything about Daddy, don’t ya, Subaru? Relax, I love you, too. Next after Mom, that is!”

[User] Their stroll recommenced, and Kenichi’s feelings didn’t seem all that hurt as he gave Subaru a slap on his back.

[Assistant] Subaru grimaced at the force of it, but that moment, his thoughts were stolen by an even greater ache in his breast. After all, simply walking close to his father instilled so much pain, he felt like it would crush his chest.

[User] “Don’t be all guarded like that. It’s not like I’m gonna talk about anything scary. It’s an actual legit father-son talk.”

[Assistant] "‘Legit father-son talk,’ eh?”

[User] “Yep, legit father-son talk— Incidentally, Subaru, which would you rather have…a little brother or a little sister?”

[Assistant] “Being asked that at seventeen is nothing but scary! !” He’d lost count of the unexpected blows, but this one left Subaru aghast, voice coarsened.

[User] Seeing his son like that, Kenichi went “I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” showing off his teeth with a smile. “Well, Mom and I are certainly still on lovey-dovey terms, but at our age we really don’t wanna see more than one of you. So be happy. You’re monopolizing my and Mom’s love.”

[Assistant] “Ahh, right, right. Happy, happy… You really are joking, right?”

[User] “That sounds like the lead up to Nooo, do you hate me that much? and that kind of stuff, huh?” When the possibility it wasn’t merely a joke finally surfaced, Subaru wordlessly reflected on that possibility.


[User] Taking in the insecure, objecting gaze, Kenichi laughed keh, keh as he nodded.

[Assistant] Subaru and his father were walking on a footpath a short distance from home… Subaru glanced at the trees as he walked with his father around town.

[User] "Ken, what are you doing here in the morning? It’s a late hour for starting pachinko, don’t ya know.”

[Assistant] “Oh my, Kenichi. By any chance, were you seduced by the aroma of curry in the daytime?”

[User] “Oh wow, you’re here, Ken? Now that’s really funny. Isn’t this bad for you? It’s funny, though…” The bright, sunny, average day made the time fly as father and son walked around town that morning, with numerous voices tossed their way. —No, the voices were not being tossed their way. They were limited to the father, Kenichi, alone.


[Assistant] “Kenny, it’s been a while. You still hanging out with Ikeda, hmm?”

[User] “That Ikeda guy? He won big at horse racing and used the money to retire and vanish ten years ago. He still sends New Year’s cards, summer greeting cards, winter greeting cards, Christmas cards, and cards on his mom and pop’s birthdays, though.”

[Assistant] “I wouldn’t call someone in touch that much ‘vanished’…”

[User] Subaru inadvertently interrupted with a quip, he quickly covered his mouth.

[Assistant] Overhearing his murmur, Kenichi and the solidly built old man he was speaking to looked over. The old man spurring the conversation must have gone way back with Kenichi, his eyes going round as he looked at Subaru. "Kenny, it’s not often you bring someone along with you… Could that child be…?”

[User] “Ahh, yeah. This is my son. Nah, I should correct that, my beloved son!”

[Assistant] “Ohh, I knew it! Somehow, he seemed like the spitting image of you when you were… Ahhh, maybe not so much. He takes after his mother, perhaps?”

[User] “Errr, ha-ha… I get that a lot. Especially about the look of my eyes.”

[Assistant] When Subaru gave that noncommittal reply, the old man eagerly nodded. “I am surprised, though.


[User] "That Kenny got old enough to have a boy this big? Guess I’m getting old, too. If Ikeda was drowning, I don’t have any strength in my body left to go swim and save him."

[Assistant] "Well, I don’t think even that Ikeda guy is enough of a kid to go play in the river and drown…"

[User] "I certainly hope not. Ikeda and your father just won’t settle down like they should at their ages… Did you know they both used to be brats who walked around town kicking up all kinds of ruckus?"

[Assistant] “…Well, kinda." Subaru’s reply was on the awkward side.

[User] Receiving this, the old man knotted his eyes with a somewhat suspicious look. "Come to think of it…today’s Monday, isn’t it? What are you doing with your father at this hour?"

[Assistant] “—! !” The question he did not want asked, the words he did not want to hear, made Subaru’s heart strongly jump. Next came the sharp, stabbing pain like that which had visited him in his own bedroom. Spontaneously, Subaru clutched his painful head and closed his eyes, wringing out "I’m sorry" as he turned his back upon the old man.

[User] "Ah, hey, Subaru! Sorry, pops. I’ll come again when we can take our time!"

[Assistant] "R-right… It seems I shouldn’t have said that. Apologize to the lad for me, would you?" The conversation exchanged behind him did not enter his ears. At any rate, Subaru tried to run from the pain threatening to crack his skull, seeking a place where he could get the pounding heartbeats in his chest to calm down, fleeing from the embankment with rapid steps.

[User] "It’s nothing you need to apologize for—and the rest is his problem." While he fled, he never heard Kenichi utter those words behind his back.


[Assistant] "Here, a cold, tasty cola packed with loooove. If you give it a nice, good shake, it’s even tastier… Well, I’d like to say that, but this doesn’t seem to be the time."

[User] “…No one has time to pack anything with love on the way back from the vending machine." Accepting it, Subaru felt the coolness of the can on his palm as he put his fingers on the pull tab. Then, after a moment’s thought, he pointed the can’s lid toward no one in particular before putting strength into his fingers—The instant he opened the lid, the contents spewed out with incredible force, reducing its contents by about a third. And, witnessing this—

[Assistant] "Tch."

[User] "Don’t click your tongue! I’ve seen this movie before! Aww, my hand’s all sticky now!" Shaking off his cola-bathed hand, Subaru clicked his own tongue at Kenichi’s childish prank. Then he put the lightened can to his lips, swallowing down and healing his parched throat in one sitting. He savored the carbonic acid bouncing down his throat, wishing it would wash away even the discomfort welling in his chest.


[User] “…A little.” Replying with a sober look, Subaru sank his weight into the bench upon which his butt rested.

[Assistant] As his son proceeded to heave a deep sigh, Kenichi, standing right in front of him, opened his can of cola and brought it to his own lips.

[User] “…Incidentally, it took you a bit of time just to go to the vending machine and back. Did something happen?” He wanted to change the subject, and soon.

[Assistant] “Mm? Ah, nothing big. I just met a high school girl skipping class on my way to the machine. I lectured her about going to school, treated her to juice, traded e-mail addresses, and sent her on her way.”

[User] “There’s no way I’m believing you got to trading e-mail addresses in that short a time!”

[Assistant] “Is that so?” Kenichi asked Subaru, and he inclined his head as he said, “It doesn’t take that much for a girl to give out her e-mail at least. My cell phone’s address book has almost three whole pages full of high school girls’ addresses I’ve picked up on the way.”

[User] “Even if I went to a government office or something I’d probably only get two. Daddy, you’re not gonna get caught for some weird offense, are you?”

[Assistant] “Moron. I’m not interested in doing anything indecent with high school girls. They’re children. The destination for my love was set long ago. My passions are for my family alone.”

[User] “Categorizing it like that makes it sound like I’m included, you know? !”

[Assistant] “…Well, I do love you. Like a puppy!”

[User] “Like hell you do! Which one’s the moron here? !”

[Assistant] Kenichi responded to Subaru’s angry voice with a vulgar, cackling laugh.

[Assistant] “Looks like you’re in pretty bad shape across the board.


[User] "That being the case, Subaru, how ’bout I carry you home on my back?”

[Assistant] “I don’t need that, and I don’t need to go back… Even if I go back, it’ll be together and all.”

[User] So what, even my body decided to finally chew me out?

[Assistant] I dunno who you are or from where, but what the hell do you know about me?

[User] “Hey now, Subaru. Let’s change the topic—you have a girl you like, or something?”

[Assistant] “Subaru.”

[User] “Huh?” Lifting his face, he tried to locate where the whisper in his ear had come from. But, however much his gaze wandered, he could not locate the speaker.

[Assistant] “What’s wrong? You look like a guy just about to blurt out the name of the pretty girl he’s not supposed to have.”

[User] “I really do look like that, so I can’t say anything about it…but did someone call out my name just now? Daddy, don’t tell me you’ve been practicing mimicking a pretty girl’s tone of voice?”

[Assistant] “Daddy has a variety of little tricks, but that one is not among them. OK, gimme about a month.”

[User] “I wasn’t giving you suggestions! Really, the heck was that?”

[Assistant] “So, back to the earlier question. Have a girl you like?”

[User] “…What is it with all this?


[User] "Even if I had one, why ask her name? Not like you’d know who she is, Daddy."

[Assistant] "You’re the one who doesn’t know that. For all you know, maybe I have the e-mail address of the girl you like on my cell phone?"

[User] "Even a century-long love grows cold."

[Assistant] To that blunt retort, Kenichi went “Whaaat?” raining “Boos” upon him in dismay.

[User] Glancing at the behavior wholly inappropriate for a man his age, Subaru drank the rest of his cola in one gulp, leaving the can dry. "You don’t need to put it off anymore. You can come right out and say it: ‘Why aren’t you going to school?’ and whatever."

[Assistant] "And here I was actually being considerate to someone for once. You’re a son who can’t read the mood— Well, it’s not like you’re wrong, that actually is what I wanted to talk to you about…"

[User] "...I think I’m doing a bad thing to both of you."

[Assistant] "You don’t really need to think about that. I had a vague idea you had something on your mind, and even if you weren’t thinking, well, I can overlook a decent amount of that, so no need to dwell."

[User] With Subaru airing his side of things a little.

[Assistant] Kenichi drank his own pop can dry and sat on the bench. A gentle, refreshing breeze blew between father and son as they sat side by side. The two proceeded to stare ahead, neither looking at the other’s face as they wove their words. "This might not exactly be the prevailing view, but I don’t think school is everything. I mean, you won’t hear that out of my mouth when I didn’t take school seriously, either. I even skipped my graduation ceremony.”

[User] "And that’s why, when you got your high school graduation certificate, you were with a woman two grades below you when she was graduating. My ears are octopuses from hearing that one over and over."

[Assistant] "Well I’ll make you listen to it till they turn to squids. Since this is me talking, if you don’t want to go to school, I don’t really think you need to. Now that I’m my age, I do think Sure would’ve been nice if I’d taken school seriously, but that’s not something you’re gonna get for a while."

[User] Kenichi seemed to be gazing somewhere far off as Subaru stared at the side of his face, internally cursing his father for being underhanded. Even though he normally played dumb and showed only his flippant side, he’d set the clownish behavior aside in a place like that. It wasn’t fair, not fair at all, enough to make him feel like crying. "These days, human beings seem to live till they’re eighty years old. Isn’t that great? If you have eighty years, you can get one or two of ’em back while you’re still young. Luckily, I earn some pretty decent money. Like this," went Kenichi, tracing a circle with his finger as he laughed with a vulgar look.


[User] Subaru didn’t even make a sound to Kenichi to show he was keeping up, but his father nodded several times, showing no sign of caring. "Going through life, you bump into questions without answers that leap out at ya. In my case, I move around and go looking for ’em, but for all I know, maybe you can find answers to some questions rolling around in your room. If you’re mulling something over, I ain’t gonna complain. If you give up, though…then I might give ya a piece of my mind."

[Assistant] “…Why?”

[User] “Hm?”

[Assistant] “Why did you feel like talking about this all of a sudden today? It’s not like it’s some kind of special day, right? It’s just a…green peas commemoration day.”

[User] “That plate sure was full of ’em, huh?” Though he’d emptied the cola just moments before, it suddenly seemed very dry inside Subaru’s mouth. As Subaru seemed to gasp for air, his father patiently waited for a reply. Watching from the side as Subaru became agitated, Kenichi went

[Assistant] “Hmm,” twisting his neck several times before saying, "Why, I wonder. I just happened to be off work, and I was wiping myself with a dry towel this morning, and I was like…the horoscope said Aquarius would have a great day, plus there was the look on your face this morning… Somehow, you looked just a little better, so I figured you might be up to talking about it.”

[User] “My face looked better?"

[Assistant] “I’m talking about the expression on your face. Your face itself is the same, and you still have that villainous look in your eyes just like your mother.” Setting the three-whites-eyes business aside, Subaru touched his own face with a hand as he mulled over Kenichi’s words. There was no proof for what his father had said. That his face was better meant that there had been a change. But whence in Subaru’s way of life to date had such a change come about? Nowhere. Therefore, Kenichi had to have misread him. Nothing had changed yesterday, nor would it tomorrow. That was fine, and that was what he intended. If he kept it up, no doubt at some point Kenichi and Nahoko would realize it—just what, exactly, Subaru was really after. “—Nhhha!” The moment he thought it, an impact shot through his brain enough to make him think fireworks had gone off in front of his eyes. His heart rate became like an alarm bell; he could hear the exaggerated sound of blood flowing through his eardrums. The world going hazy before his eyes and his having a rising urge to vomit had a common cause: the unpleasant feeling inside his chest had begun to assert itself once more. The sharp pain in his head, the uncomfortable feeling in his chest—both were trying to tell Subaru something.

[User] "Hey now, you seriously look like you’re having a hard time.


[User] “Are you all right, Subaru?” Kenichi couldn’t ignore the sight; he reached out a hand to Subaru’s shoulder with a worried look on his face.

[Assistant] When Subaru felt the touch of his palm, he lifted up his face, sweat on his brow as he tried to think of some kind of reply.

[User] “It’s been hard for you, hasn’t it?”

[Assistant] “—? !” Subaru’s entire body ran hot when the silver bell voice made his ears quiver once more. It was a voice full of affection and sympathy. The voice seemed to melt Subaru’s strained heart, impeding his suffering as the swelling heat swallowed up the pain and the cracks therein. The voice was scorching him. He chased after it. Without restraint, he clung to it to take back—

[User] “Thank you, Subaru.”

[Assistant] “You’re…” The sight of silver hair dancing in the wind was seared into his vision. She gazed straight at Subaru with eyes like radiant, violet gemstones. The words she wove with her lips were all filled with loveliness. “For coming to save me.” What, what, what, what, what the hell? Who, who, who, who, who, who, who was this?

[User] “—Subaru.” His breath caught. His throat was hot. Something was welling behind his scorched eyes. “May the blessings of the spirits be with you.” His fingertips trembled. He couldn’t put strength into his legs. His lungs convulsed, and his soul began to scream. “I think you’re the one who’s reaaally incredible, Subaru.” He covered his face with his shaking hands, holding back the sobs in his trembling throat. The welling heat was trickling from his eyes…

[Assistant] “—Subaru, why do you come to save me?” The answers to his questions were already inside him. The instant he found them, the ferocious emotions and the sense of discomfort inside Subaru both vanished. The skull-splitting pain, the rising urge to vomit, the dizziness making the world grow hazy, the heartbeats growing more urgent as a decision seemed to draw near—where all of them converged, Subaru Natsuki found his answer. He lifted his face, wiping away the tears that seemed due to trickle down any moment. As if to shake off the tears of regret on that sleeve, he strongly, strongly clenched his fist. And then—

[User] “Sorry to make you worry. I’m all right now.”

[Assistant] “That so? If you’re just down in the dumps, that’s fine, but don’t make me worry so much.”

[User] “Yeah, my bad. Besides, about the question from earlier…” Shrugging off the hand of his father supporting his shoulder, Subaru turned toward him. As they sat closely on the bench, his father’s face was peering into his own with a look of concern. Now that he thought about it, he realized that even though they’d exchanged words many times that day, he had not looked straight at his father’s face even once. Wanting to flee even then, he smiled bitterly at his own weakness.