[User] Sighing deeply when he did not get the hoped-for response, Subaru grudgingly walked around the ruin—

[Assistant] “—Well, there’s an entrance…” About halfway around the ruin, Subaru spotted a set of moss-covered stairs. When he climbed the stairs, careful not to slip, he found an opening with a dimly lit passage within—no doubt continuing into the ruin. He’d found his entrance. Naturally, the interior of the ruin was not lit, and the corridor he saw from the entrance continued into darkness. Even when he timidly called out, he heard nothing but the lonely echo of his own voice. Put bluntly, he didn’t have a good premonition in the slightest, but it is said that one can only get a tiger cub by going into a tiger’s den.

[User] “Not that I really want a tiger cub…but if it’s the girl who brought me here earlier, turning back now would be giving up the store.” Having come that far, Subaru did not doubt that the girl and the ruin were related. If the teleportation via the crystal was related to the girl as well, the ruin had to be related to the Sanctuary. In the first place, it should have been Emilia, the one possessing the crystal, who was teleported.

[Assistant] “Then it being me instead of Emilia wasn’t part of the plan…Whether snake or Oni, only way to know is to see what pops out…” The very fact that he’d been teleported had already limited their options. With no clear way to rendezvous with Emilia, Subaru decided it was best to accept the invitation and play along for the moment.

[User] “…” Breathing deep, Subaru clenched his teeth and stepped into the ruin. He employed the trick of keeping his right hand constantly against a wall to never lose his way in the dark. The sensation against his hand was less of a stone wall than of the slender, delicate vines covering it. The vines had overgrown the passage so thickly that it was hard to tell where the original wall stood, and it felt more like the artery of a living entity—the bizarre atmosphere of the ruin itself made him feel like he was entering the body of some giant creature.

[Assistant] “…” The only things he could hear in the darkness were his own breathing, his loudly beating heart, and his shoes. He had lost his sense of sight due to lack of light, and the cold, serene air robbed him of all use of his nose. His sense of hearing loomed large in his mind, but at some point, he’d lost track of the wall that he’d been touching. The feeling on his tongue was that of air mixed with sand and dust. Tasting nothing despite the sensation, Subaru relied more and more on his sense of hearing. The sounds of his shoes, his heartbeats, and his breathing were the only things he could depend on.


[User] His sweating increased, his heart quickened, and his soul raged, pleading for release. Where he was, what he was doing, whom he sought—these things grew vague. But he was seized by a powerful drive not to stand still. Someone kept pleading with him not to stop, to grit his teeth and bear the weight he carried on his shoulders. At some point, his mind became churned. The still-echoing voice, the warmth of a touch, an earnest plea, all mingled together when—

[Assistant] "I see. This is the desire that drives you. How curious, I must say." Amid the darkness, Subaru Natsuki heard the amused voice of a Witch.


[User] A faint wind tickled the back of Subaru’s neck, rekindling the chill that traveled up his spine. His back was moist from a great deal of cold sweat, and the overwhelming pressure he was under had not abated at all. He stood opposite the girl—Echidna—as she sat in a white chair, doing nothing besides tilting her teacup.

[Assistant] "It hurts to see you so on guard. However I seem to you, am I not but a single, innocent maiden?"

[User] "…Sorry, but lowering my guard for a girl I just met declaring herself the Witch of Greed is seriously not happening."

[Assistant] "Ah, I see. Certainly, that was another oversight on my part." Echidna touched the back of her hand to her lips as she giggled and smiled in an amused fashion.

[User] He opened and closed his sweat-drenched hands, as prepared as he could be to instantly overwhelm his opponent.

[Assistant] "There are a mountain of things you wish to ask. However, you do not know what may cause me to take offense. Therefore, you watch how your opponent moves in silence… The demeanor of a bird watching its prey, is it not?"

[User] "And you ignore me? Goodness, that wounds me on a fundamental level. As you can see, I am nothing more than an innocent maiden. I cannot help but wonder when a boy gazes at me with such eyes."

[Assistant] "You being a maiden on the inside is like a piece of paper with death flag written on the backside. Just so you know, my internal danger alarm is ringing like crazy."


[User] "It is natural for you to be on guard, but a coward like you can do nothing to me, can you? At the very least, I would like you to sit before the tea goes cold." Speaking these words, Echidna offered Subaru the empty seat opposite her.

[Assistant] On the white table between the two rested a cup of steaming tea, likely poured for Subaru’s benefit. Sit down, drink her tea, speak with her—that was what Echidna requested. Nothing would improve even if he refused. Indeed, the odds things would get worse were higher that way. Subaru had virtually no choice but to accept.


[User] "Let me ask you one thing… I was inside a ruin that was completely dark. Where is this, and when did I get teleported here?”

[Assistant] "Teleport… Ah, you mean that Dark spell. Unfortunately, you have misunderstood. What you experienced was not physical movement through space. I simply invited you into my castle for tea.”

[User] "Into your castle…for tea…?” Subaru knitted his brows at Echidna’s words, turning his eyes to the hill’s surroundings once more. The hill stood at the center of grassland rustled by the wind that seemed to continue infinitely. In all four directions, the world was completely flat with no obstacles to be seen, full of a sense of liberation. It was downright surreal. The fact that this didn’t seem like a real place lent weight to Echidna’s claim that he hadn’t been teleported.

[Assistant] "But there’s no castle here. If this is your territory, did some debt collector walk off with everything except two chairs and a table?”

[User] "Tee-hee-hee. You are amusing. Except for fellow Witches, I cannot even count on my hands the number of those who would speak with such impudence before me. I never thought the number would increase after my own death.” With a lighthearted laugh, Echidna counted the memories on her fingers, delighted with Subaru’s reply.

[Assistant] Subaru grimaced. He couldn’t simply ignore her demeanor, nor the significance of after my own death. In the first place, he had to consider her self-declared title. When he combined it with the current supernatural circumstance, he had no reason to doubt Echidna’s identity or her power.

[User] “Aw, shit! All right, all right already! I’ll sit! I’ll drink your tea!” With no way to advance or retreat, Subaru did the only thing he could out of visible despair, sitting across from Echidna and practically snatching the steaming cup from the table, draining its contents all at once. It was neither water, nor green tea, nor black. The drink had a mysterious flavor that wasn’t unpleasant.

[Assistant] For the first time, Echidna’s eyes went wide in apparent surprise at Subaru’s disdainful actions. "To drink something offered by a Witch in one gulp… You are quite a brave soul.”

[User] "Hah?! Like chickening out at this point is gonna do me any good. For starters, if you wanted to kill me, you’ll probably turn me to ash the next instant. No point being on my guard about one cup of tea.” Subaru waved off the smiling Echidna’s words, saying “Thank you for the drink” as he put the teacup down. "It wasn’t particularly good- or bad-tasting. What kind of tea is this…?”

[Assistant] "It is generated from my castle. I suppose you could call it my body fluids.”

[User] “Damn it, why’d you make me drink that? !” Subaru leaped from the chair to his feet, then went down onto his knees in what seemed to be an attempt to vomit what he had just imbibed. Echidna giggled and smiled at Subaru’s exaggerated reaction.


[User] “You wound me. When I examine my appearance, I do not think I seem quite that evil.”

[Assistant] “No matter how beautiful the girl, I don’t wanna drink anyone’s fluids without being ready for it! Wait, I can’t drink anything called body fluids, prepared or not!! I’m not a damn pervert! !” At the very least Subaru didn’t think he was inclined toward becoming aroused by secret ingredients like saliva and sweat.

[User] “Shit, can’t vomit it out…! Hey, this isn’t gonna make me sick, is it? !”

[Assistant] “You may rest at ease. They are body fluids, after all, and thus readily absorbed by the flesh.”

[User] “That isn’t exactly good news, so quit it with that face!” Echidna’s demeanor came off as proud for some reason, which made Subaru wince.

[Assistant] “Putting that aside, you are indeed a mysterious individual. The fact that you can stand unaffected before me like this is proof enough.”

[User] “What? Are you so beautiful that people normally shut their eyes when they see you? Just to make it clear, my eyes are fed a steady diet of the most beautiful girl around as far as I’m concerned. When I look at you, I can only go ‘Wow, she’s cute’ so many times.”

[Assistant] “No, a normal person in my presence would vomit. Amusing, isn’t it?”

[User] “What’s amusing about that? !” These exchanges, filled with concerning thoughts since the beginning of their time together, made Subaru feel exhausted in body and spirit as he slumped into his chair. He took another glance at the Witch before his eyes. She had white, seemingly bleached hair, and a black dress that seemed like something a person would wear at a funeral. Somehow, she seemed at once fickle and baby-faced, yet also mysteriously seductive. She certainly possessed a face that stirred the heart. But he felt pressure from her that was wholly undiluted, marking her as no normal being.

[Assistant] “Now then, while I am most pleased to have a fresh conversation partner like this, that is not the case for you, is it? You have things you wish to ask me, yes?”

[User] “…That, that’s right! I got swallowed up by the mood, but that’s right. You’re… No, before that, where is this place? I should be in some weird ruin. How’d I end up in your castle?” After the teleportation, Subaru had entered the ruin in search of clues about the Sanctuary. Somehow, he’d blindly stumbled into Echidna’s castle—the realm of the Witch of Greed.

[Assistant] “In the first place…are you really a Witch? According to what I’d heard, aside from the Witch of Jealousy, every other Witch in the world had been killed…”

[User] “Whatever doubts you might harbor, you are not mistaken in that assessment. Jealousy destroyed the other six Witches, and I am no exception.


[User] "This is merely my tomb.”

[Assistant] "Tomb… You mean I’m inside your grave?”

[User] Echidna’s collected reply made Subaru recall the sense he’d had before entering the ruin—that the solemn atmosphere was suggestive of a temple, or a tomb. "After my death, my soul became a captive of this place, the Witches’ Tomb. It is not my body but my spirit that has invited you into my castle. Put one way, you are inside my dream.”

[Assistant] "Just the spirit, is that even possible? Meaning my body’s sleeping outside somewhere?”

[User] "Why is it not possible? You know of a space similar to this, do you not?”

[Assistant] Echidna’s probing question caused Subaru’s breath to catch. "...I don’t know what you’re referring to, but what you’re saying isn’t wrong.”

[User] Echidna’s words were not lies.

[Assistant] "I get that this is inside a dream and inside of your tomb. So how do I get out of here?”

[User] "The method of awakening from a dream is simple. You must either strongly will yourself to awaken, or be awoken from the outside. Though it must be said, mine is a special dream. You might not be able to awaken unless I will it to be so.”

[Assistant] "—! Then don’t tell me you…!” Subaru’s gaze sharpened as Echidna’s emotionless statement shocked him.

[User] "You don’t intend to let me escape, then…?”

[Assistant] "Ah, it’s not really like that. If you really want to go back, I’ll send you back. I mean, it’s not that I called you here. You intruded all on your own, you know.”

[User] "Can’t you do something about my sense of tension? Mr. Serious can’t breathe like this, okay?”

[Assistant] "That is because, unlike you, Mr. Serious is not standing before me. Perhaps he is vomiting behind a tree?”

[User] "You said you didn’t call me. In other words, the elf who was outside isn’t involved in this? Or this crystal?” Subaru rummaged in his pocket, locating the blue crystal with his hand.


[User] Since she’d told him he was invited in spirit only, he was worried about what he was carrying, but Subaru had apparently arrived with everything he’d had on him.

[Assistant] putting an elbow to the table. “Unfortunately, though my complexion is in good order, I am quite dead. I know little of the happenings outside of my tomb. Therefore, I am not related either to the elf you speak of or to that blue crystal. Are you satisfied?”

[User] “I’m unsatisfied ’cause it means everything’s still a big mystery. But that’s the stuff I wanted to ask.” Subaru nodded at Echidna’s reply, returning the crystal to his pocket as he rose to his feet. He was unsure whether the crystal’s teleportation was truly unrelated to the Witch or not, but he had no reason to stay there any longer. Staying and chatting over tea left his primary objective, rendezvousing with Emilia, unaccomplished. “At any rate, if you’re gonna send me back, then send me. I’m super-worried about the girl I got split off from on the outside. If I’ve got the time to drink your body fluids, I wanna meet back up with her at the earliest second possible.”

[Assistant] “I do not mind, but are you really fine with that?”

[User] “With what…?”

[Assistant] “Leaving my little tea party—others wishing to speak with the Witch of Greed rarely have the opportunity, even if you do.” When she said it, Subaru realized it for the first time. He realized the true nature of the malaise he’d felt from the being called Echidna since arriving in that place—the strange oppressive feeling that continued without any hint of gradually abating.

[User] Echidna’s deep, black, bottomless eyes had a suspicious glint to them, as if they knew everything about Subaru. The true nature of that ill feeling was Echidna’s inexhaustible curiosity. It was her deep interest in the existence before her eyes that made her scrutinizing gaze feel so oppressive. “What are you? …Do you know the things I want to know?”

[Assistant] “And so you ask me the nature of my knowledge— Truly, you are an amusing one.”

[User] Subaru made his rapidly drying mouth move, wringing out his voice for the question he tossed her way.

[Assistant] The words made Echidna giggle and smile, and Subaru’s entire body was wrenched by a sense of oppression even greater than before. “There is no need to reflect deeply upon it. All that is required for questions and answers is for two beings to be present.”


[User] That instant, the air warped, and the landscape—the vast, blue sky and the grassland—suddenly began to fall apart. The sky cracked, the grassland melted, and the horizon of the world was smashed into tiny pieces. As the world crumbled without a sound, Subaru touched the table, seemingly clinging to the one certain thing left. The table, too, crumbled into dust, and Subaru closed his eyes, seemingly girding himself against a nonexistent tremor.

[Assistant] “All we need are words.


[User] “Your curiosity, your hunger to know—I acknowledge your greed.” Then he realized it: All that remained of the castle of dreams was the hill, and chairs for the two of them.

[Assistant] Subaru gingerly opened his eyes and sat in the opposite chair as he gazed at the Witch. Aside from her and the white chair, the world had been stripped down to its barest essentials, with nothing but gloomy, stagnant darkness spread over where the grassland had been. The one thing he was certain of was if he fell into it, there would be no coming back. That sent a chill running up Subaru’s spine as Echidna, in high spirits, joyfully clapped her hands toward him.

[User] “Now, what do you wish to ask about? Daphne, the Witch of Gluttony, creator of beasts in defiance of the will of Heaven to save the world from starvation? Camilla, the Witch of Lust, filled with love for the world, granter of emotions to they that are inhuman? Minerva, the Witch of Wrath, who, lamenting a world filled with conflict, sets people straight through her fists? Sekhmet, the Witch of Sloth, who, wanting a moment’s peace, drove the dragons beyond the Great Waterfalls for that reason alone? Or Typhon, the Witch of Pride, the young, innocent, merciless one who continued to render judgment onto sinners?”

[Assistant] He’d never heard of these—no, these were lost vestiges of history unrecorded in the present world. Hearing her speak the name of one Witch after another, Subaru was speechless.

[User] Echidna smiled all the more as she continued. “Or perhaps Echidna, the Witch of Greed, the embodiment of craving for knowledge, whose search for any and all wisdom lingers even after unto the afterlife?” Touching a hand to her own breast, Echidna said the words in a self-depreciating fashion. “Or perhaps,” she continued, “the Witch of Jealousy, the abominable woman who destroyed and consumed the other six, and made the whole world her enemy?”

[Assistant] Subaru Natsuki felt a powerful aura of death in the form of the girl seated before his eyes. That was the desolate insight Subaru had gained about Echidna, proven by her own witchy ways. She was a being nothing like him. It had nothing whatsoever to do with her enmity, or lack thereof. In the face of truly inescapable terror, it was easy for a person’s emotional responses to go on lockdown.

[User] “Awww. It seems I have intimidated you too greatly. It has always been thus; my lips grow too loose when I become interested in something. A Witch’s nature is truly a troublesome thing.”

[Assistant] With Subaru cowed into silence, Echidna remained seated as she voiced words of self-reflection. However, there was not a single trace of actual reflection. The wall separating the two remained absolute. The true nature of the malaise he’d subconsciously ignored until he realized its presence was laid bare a second time.

[User] “Knowing that makes me feel rather lonely. But you should begin to adjust to it soon.


[User] "I hope that this circumstance, where you cannot even look directly at my face, changes somewhat…” Echidna’s bizarre statement made Subaru grimace; the fear he tasted froze him stiff. But Echidna tilted her head, the black eyes she trained upon the uncomprehending Subaru indicating anticipation of some kind. Her white, bleached, beautiful hair fell down onto her shoulders. As Subaru gazed at it, he felt as if the agonizing seconds would extend for all eternity—but this came to a sudden halt.

[Assistant] “Haaa—ah?”

[User] “Mm, faster than I thought. That is a compatible person for you. It is helpful that you acclimated so quickly.”

[Assistant] “What…are you…talking about?” As Echidna nodded and smiled in satisfaction, Subaru broke out in a cold sweat and restrained his chest with a hand. His heart was loud, as if it had forgotten how to beat for a while, and his painfully numb limbs pleaded for mercy. However, he had escaped the fear that had held him in its grip until a moment before. It had vanished like magic.

[User] “You drank my tea, yes? That activated your Witch Factor and strengthened your resistance. Now you and I can speak. My, my, a very good thing for both of us, is it not?”

[Assistant] “Wait, wait, wait… I’ve heard that term before… I can’t just let it go. What did those body fluids from before do? What did you to do my body?”

[User] “Please do not misunderstand… I did not have you drink it with ill intent. If anything, I think rather fondly of you… That is a little embarrassing to say out loud.” Echidna’s cheeks reddened a bit, and she looked shy at having spoken so affectionately of him. But at that point Subaru was well past reacting to her games. What he wanted was her true intent.

[Assistant] “You have killed someone possessing Witch Factor in the last several days, yes? Upon his death, the Witch Factor selected you as its new bearer. It is thanks to this that you were able to safely enter my tomb.”

[User] “So you’re saying…the Witch Factor is the condition for being invited into this castle of dreams?”

[Assistant] “No, it is merely what qualified you to enter the tomb itself. You are an exception among exceptions. To begin with, you seem to have leaped quite a bit ahead of schedule—by rights, you should be aware of far more than you are…about me, about the tomb, and about the Sanctuary.”

[User] “—! You know about the Sanctuary? !” Pouncing on the term lobbed his way, Subaru closed the distance and grasped Echidna’s shoulders. When Subaru touched her slender shoulders and drew his face near, the beautiful Witch averted her gaze.

[Assistant] “…I have little experience in such matters, so I cannot decide if you are brave or simply brazen.”

[User] “Don’t make light of this! If you know about the Sanctuary, that makes this simple! Is this…no, do you know about the forest outside of the ruin? Should I think of that as the Sanctuary?”

[Assistant] “You’re so cold."


[User] "But you asked, so I shall answer: It is so. As you hoped, the area outside the ruin is the Sanctuary. Properly speaking, the Sanctuary is the name given to the place that protects this tomb.”

[Assistant] "Then…!” If he got out of the castle of dreams, raced out of the ruin, and cut through the forest, he could rendezvous with Emilia and the others. Even if he didn’t meet Emilia, he ought to be able to meet those dwelling in the Sanctuary and get out of his predicament. All that meant the elf who’d led him there was indeed a resident of the Sanctuary.

[User] “All of a sudden, I wanna go outside even more. You said you’d send me there, right?”

[Assistant] “Eh? Ahh, I guarantee it… I guarantee it, but I would be very lonely if you simply rushed off like that. Um, is there nothing else you wish to ask me?”

[User] “Sorry, but Emilia should be outside. I wanna link up with her more than I wanna talk with you. Besides…” Echidna furled her brows in dismay, her words causing Subaru to scratch the tip of his nose as he carried on. “You don’t know about things on the outside, right? It’s tough saying this after all that sound and fury, but to be honest, there’s not really anything I want to ask you…”

[Assistant] “…Eh? You’re kidding, right? That cannot be. I mean, I am the Witch of Greed, you know? People all over the world seek me to grasp at my knowledge: knights, people of privilege. You sit before me, permitted to ask anything to wish, and you say that?” Taken back as she was by the unexpected reply, Echidna’s expression distinctly faltered for the first time. The Witch flailed about as she exhausted all the words she could to prevent Subaru from leaving.

[User] “Calm down, let us speak. Certainly, I am ill versed regarding the present era. But in turn, I possess vast knowledge about the older era, to the point I can boast there is nothing I do not know about it. I possess historical truth no one remembers, undiminished after four centuries…and you possess an opportunity to gain that knowledge.”

[Assistant] “But I’m not all that interested in Witches. Even if we talk about them, they’re all dead, and there’s a lot of other things besides that I need to think about…”

[User] “Ehhh…!” As he made his farewells in earnest, the unsatisfied Echidna’s eyes grew tearful. Their positions had been completely reversed, with Subaru shrugging off the Witch who had felt so oppressive before. The image of the Witch of Greed had thus been ruined. Without malice, it seemed she was just an ordinary girl. Certainly, there was no lack of information he wanted to know. He’d like to know about the Witch Factor she’d spoken of, or the Sanctuary there to protect her tomb. Or perhaps, perhaps, perhaps—

[Assistant] “For example, that.


[User] "Do you know details about the Witch Cult’s Archbishops of the Seven Deadly Sins?”

[Assistant] "Archbishops of the Seven Deadly Sins? Hmm, unfortunately, I do not know the term. Could you tell me about them in more detail?"

[User] "Our positions really are reversed, sheesh… Well, if you don’t know, that’s fine." A smile came over Subaru at the sight of Echidna being thrown off—it hid the pain in his chest.

[Assistant] "Yeah, it’s fine." He’d hoped. But those hopes had been easily dashed. So there was no point staying there any longer. If she knew nothing of the archbishops, she knew nothing of their Authorities, the damage they did, or ways to repair it. —Meaning she didn’t know how he could save Rem.

[User] "Can you send me out already? I’ll come chat with you over tea another time, okay?"

[Assistant] "Is that really a promise you can easily make with a dead person, and a Witch at that…?" With Subaru in a hurry to make his escape, his words made Echidna sigh, all poison seemingly drawn out of her. Then, in a resigned fashion, she waved an arm, and Subaru felt wind behind him. When he looked back, a single door had appeared in the world of bottomless darkness and a broken sky.

[User] "Pass through that door, and you shall awaken outside. Goodness, I have never had a tea party such as this."

[Assistant] "Sorry for not indulging in your hospitality. Incidentally, about this ruin… Can I ask, when I leave the tomb, where should I go to head toward the residents of the Sanctuary?"

[User] "I told you before. I know little about the outside. Quite naturally, I do not know the location of the settlement, either."

[Assistant] "Man, for a calm, collected know-it-all character, you really come up short…" He meant to needle her, but Subaru’s shoulders sank at how Echidna amply puffed out her quite average breasts. After that, he raised a hand toward her in lieu of words of departure, thus announcing he was taking his leave. Though he had been fiercely on guard at the beginning, it was a surprisingly gentle way to end a tea party with a Wit—.

[User] "—Now then, since you are heading back from a tea party with a Witch, it is about time I take the compensation due." Most improperly, it was a demand tossed toward him at the very, very end. Subaru, feeling horror as the echo of her words terribly clawed at his spirit, turned his head alone toward her.

[Assistant] "...It bears mentioning that I’m a pauper up there with the best of ’em. A Witch’s compensation is not paid in coin. What I seek from you is a pact. My terms are that you are forbidden from speaking to others about what took place at this tea party." Echidna, the Witch, said not in malice, but with nothing more than a quiet, gentle smile.


[User] "You are bound by a similar pact, so it is a simple matter for you, is it not?”

[Assistant] “A similar pact…” What Echidna described—facts known to him that he was forbidden to divulge to others—it was almost as if she was talking about Return by Death.

[User] “The invitation to the tea party, the Witch Factor taking root… Considering my good fortune in getting to know someone deeply interesting such as yourself, I too have gained greatly. That’s right, I shall grant you one final souvenir…” Stroking her white hair, Echidna stood up and stretched a pale finger toward Subaru’s chest.

[Assistant] Subaru found himself gazing at her slow movement, unable to budge an inch. To a bizarre extent, he could neither reject nor rebuff the finger that seemed to glide toward him.

[User] “I grant thee the qualification to challenge the trial of this Sanctuary.”

[Assistant] “The trial of…the Sanctuary?”

[User] “Even if you do not understand now, you will realize the value this place holds. I wonder what emotions you will bear toward me when that time comes… I very much look forward to finding out.” Pulling back the finger touching his chest, Echidna gently licked its tip. The gesture was seductive enough to give Subaru a chill, reconfirming in his mind her witchy nature. However amiable her behavior toward him, however teenage her smiling face, what was before his eyes was—

[Assistant] “You really are a Witch, huh?”

[User] “Yes, it is so. I am a very bad magic user, you see?” Along with those words, Echidna used that finger to give Subaru’s forehead a very light nudge.

[Assistant] Subaru seemed to fall back, tumbling downward; the next moment, the open door swallowed him whole. He fell into the darkness. Then the darkness vanished within the light. Cast out of the dream, the being called Subaru Natsuki floated upward—and outside, his consciousness awakened.


[User] “…aa, uu…” Moaning with a half-asleep voice, Subaru became aware that he was lying prone. He blinked several times, and reality poured into his vision, awakening him over the course of several seconds. Pressing his arms to the ground, he slowly lifted himself up.

[Assistant] “This, is… errr…?” He brushed off the dirt on his cheek with his fingers and squinted into the darkness. When he looked, Subaru saw that he had fallen inside an old ruin—to be precise, several tens of meters into the corridor leading into it. To his back was the entrance to the tomb, and it was from there that light entered into his eyes. Thanks to that, his escape route was plain to see, but it made for a pretty crummy ruin exploration.

[User] “Anyway, I’d better get out and hook back up with Emilia and Otto…” Shaking his heavy head, he placed a hand against the wall, wobbly as he rose to his feet. He had no business inside the ruin. The Sanctuary lay outside.


[User] Having gone astray, he needed to be outside to rendezvous with Emilia. He couldn’t quite put his finger on why he was so certain of that, but—

[Assistant] “I feel like, someone said that to me…”

[User] “Yo. Ya sure got some guts, comin’ straight out from a place like that, outsider.”

[Assistant] “Ah…?” As he exited the ruin with fragmented thoughts, a voice called out to him the instant his eyes narrowed from the light. His vision, accustomed to the dark, was hazy. As it gradually adjusted, Subaru found himself looking down at the surrounding landscape from the modestly elevated ruin. In front of the ruin was a single dragon carriage, and a young male driver with a most pitiable look on his face.

[User] “M-Mr. Natsuki…”

[Assistant] “Otto? What are you doing in a place like… No, before that, where’s Emilia? !”

[User] “Inside the dragon carriage! I-it has been most terrible since that moment! I-I…! !”

[Assistant] When Subaru raised his voice at the unexpected reunion.

[User] shouted back even louder. But thanks to that, Subaru was able to confirm Emilia’s presence, and this made his shoulders sink in relief. Otto was pleading about something, but that concern could wait. The immediate problem was—

[Assistant] “Hey, forget the whiny guy. I come first here, damn it!” The individual standing right beside the dragon carriage spoke to Subaru with a voice that issued seemingly through clenched teeth.

[User] Turning his face toward the speaker, Subaru shrugged. "What a coincidence. I was just thinking the same thing."

[Assistant] “Hah! That’s ‘ganglion before you think’ for ya!”

[User] “Gangl… Ah?” As Subaru knotted his brows at the mystery phrase mixed in with the reply, the other party took a step forward. With a coarse manner of speech and a hostile glint in his eyes, the speaker’s external appearance in no way betrayed Subaru’s first, ferocious impression of him. He had short, combed-back blond hair and a highly visible white scar on his forehead. There was ferocity in his sharp green eyes, and he was dressed in crude clothing Subaru could only call that of a country bumpkin. For a man, he was fairly short, especially in a stooped posture, but the dense, ghastly aura coursing from his entire body made certain others would not underestimate him due to his small stature. More than any of those things, the individual had one external feature that set him apart. And that was—

[Assistant] “Hey, are ya shakin’? Well, yer luck definitely ran out. Here ya are in a place ya shouldn’t be, and now I caught ya!” As the man spoke, his eyes narrowed, and he laughed—with a mouth full of sharp, extremely distinctive fangs.

[User] Subaru had déjà vu. He’d seen a smiling face just like that extremely recently.

[Assistant] “Well, if yer gonna curse yer bad luck, do like ‘Bazomazo swept away right and left’!”

[User] “Wait!


[User] "‘Tear and tear but Kalran’s skin’s still blue’… I ain’t listenin’!” Lending no ear to the voice urging him to stop, the fanged man stepped forward; the next instant, he vanished from sight.

[Assistant] An impact made Subaru’s breath catch. Before he realized it, he had been caught by his collar. When he turned his head to the side in surprise, the man’s ferocious glare was right beside him, close enough to share a breath—and his own feet were rising into the air.

[User] “Oowaa—! !” His view of the world was flipped upside down as he was hit by a powerful sense of floating, from which he understood that he had been hurled. Subaru proceeded to soar toward the dragon carriage in a powerful straight line. If he was to collide with it, he would suffer injury, be it light or heavy, but—

[Assistant] “You’re kidding—? !”

[User] “Da, huu—!” The voice of utter shock was not that of Subaru, but that of Otto as he watched through the fingers of the hands with which he covered his own face.

[Assistant] With no way to stop it, Subaru thought he’d collide with the dragon carriage, breaking every bone in his body. But, by seemingly miraculous coincidence—no, it was an inevitable reaction that rescued him from peril—

[User] “Patlash is simply too incredible!” The pitch-black land dragon neighed proudly as Otto’s voice praised her exploits. It was none other than Patlash’s benevolent decision that had saved Subaru from crashing into the dragon carriage. The land dragon had adeptly set the dragon carriage in motion on her own, thus ensuring that Subaru crashed into the door of the carriage proper. As a result, Subaru punched through the carriage door, sailing in only to have a seat bring him safely to a halt.

[Assistant] “Shit. That one was a little too… Hey, Patlash, wait!” Tumbling out of the seat, Subaru looked out of the carriage to see the land dragon roaring and charging the man. With a twist of her body, Patlash had unhitched herself from the dragon carriage, seemingly consumed with rage toward the man who had injured Subaru, baring her fangs to bring them to his neck.

[User] “Ha! That decision gave me chills. Yer a good land dragon…nah, a good woman.” However, the land dragon’s biting attack missed its mark, and the left arm the man thrust out stopped her in her tracks. Even so, Patlash put strength into her jaw, moving her head as if to bite the man’s arm off. But that head, and that jaw, stopped cold, her power inferior to the man’s simple brawn.

[Assistant] “I won’t hurt ya. Just put ya to sleep a bit.” As the land dragon’s pupils contracted in fright, the man proudly made that statement. Then, with the land dragon still biting his arm, he tucked a hand under her broad head and hurled her huge body.


[User] With a softness that belied the heroic image, he tossed down her large frame, quietly rendering the land dragon powerless.

[Assistant] “He threw Patlash…? !”

[User] “H-his skill is no joke… Eh? !” Subaru and Otto doubted their own eyes as the man before the pair leaped very high, onto the driver’s seat of the dragon carriage.


[Assistant] Otto adopted a combative pose in great haste. "D-do not underestimate me! I may not look it, but I too am a merchant! I have ways to deal with midjourney violence! Fear the power of Suwen School violence repulsion ar—dahuu!”

[User] “Shut up, amateur. Thanks to your land dragon, I’ll settle for half killin’ ya. Go to sleep.” The man flicked his forehead with a finger.

[Assistant] It was less of a finger strike than a forehead poke, but its might was such that Otto went down in the blink of an eye without so much as a groan.


[User] “—Ugh!” Biting his lip, Subaru looked back inside the dragon carriage.

[Assistant] Even now, Emilia had yet to return to consciousness. Subaru had to protect her no matter what it took.

[User] “Thank yer land dragon for fightin’ so hard. I’ll half kill ya and toss ya outside the forest. After I make ya swear that ya won’t tell anyone else about this place, ya hear me? !” Just as Subaru hardened his resolve, the man bared his fangs and boarded the carriage.

[Assistant] The sharp glint of his fangs at the tip of his upward swinging arm cleanly robbed his declaration about half-killing of all its persuasiveness. Before the man’s wicked deeds, Subaru raised both arms wide to shield Emilia and shouted.

[User] “Wait! You’re Frederica’s… You’re involved with Roswaal and his people, right? !”

[Assistant] “—! Huhhh?” With a loud voice and a scowl on his face, the man stopped his blow right before it connected with the tip of Subaru’s nose. “…What the hell is that name doin’ comin’ outta your mouth?”

[User] “Hmm, I wonder why? Think about it nice and hard.”

[Assistant] “Already did. I dunno. I’ll think about it more after I smash your face in!”

[User] “Cut it out with that nasty way of thinking!! We’re with Roswaal, geez! !” When his opponent took a step toward him in earnest, Subaru hastily raised both hands high and pleaded his case.

[Assistant] His words made the man’s sharp fangs audibly clench. After thinking it over for a while, he said:


[User] "Aah? Wait, you’re sayin’ the one sleepin’ is that Lady Emilia chick?"

[Assistant] "You know…Emilia’s name?"

[User] This time, it was Subaru’s turn to be surprised, because the man had referred to the sleeping Emilia as Lady.

[Assistant] His reaction made the man cross his arms, nodding with a smug face as he answered. "Oh yeah, heard all ’bout her. The silver-haired half-demon that bastard Roswaal’s taken in, right?"

[User] "She’s a half-elf. Don’t call her that in front of her ever again."

[Assistant] "Hah! Well lookie here, guess you can put some backbone into your voice." The man gave Subaru a sharp, scornful gaze before making a sound through his fangs and turning his back.

[User] Then, when he left the dragon carriage, Subaru suddenly rushed over, gripping the door and forcing it closed.

[Assistant] The man’s shoulders jumped at Subaru’s violent action. He shrugged, looking back. "Relax already. I ain’t worked up no more. I don’t wanna have Ram yellin’ at me."

[User] "I really relate to how you feel about that, but…that doesn’t answer my first question, you know?"

[Assistant] "Ahh?" Though the man spread both arms wide, asserting that he had no intention of fighting, Subaru did not lower his guard. Such behavior made the man sink into thought briefly, finally making an ahhh noise and nodding as if he finally understood before he spoke. "—Me, I’m Garfiel. Haven’t you heard of me?"

[User] "So you’re Garfiel…!" Garfiel was the name of the individual he’d been told over and over again to be wary of back at the mansion. Subaru’s brow furled at the gobsmacking development of having encountered the man himself so soon.

[Assistant] His reaction made Garfiel click his tongue, then stare intently at Subaru. "I’ve got somethin’ to ask you, then. How’d you know I’m related to Frederica?"

[User] "…You’re…seriously asking me that?" When Subaru batted the question back, Garfiel audibly bared his fangs in visible displeasure. Taking his silence as a yes, Subaru felt energy draining from him as he scratched his face and replied.

[Assistant] "Anyone could tell just by looking at your face, sheesh." The shape of his fang-filled face was undoubtable proof that he was related to Frederica by blood.


[User] "You’ve calmed down?"

[Assistant] "—Yeah, sorry. I really caused you a lot of trouble."

[User] "Ya sure did. Look at my shirt. I’ve got tears and snot all over the middle of it. I can’t walk around and have the neighbors see me like this, it’s embarrassing." Subaru was no longer crying when Kenichi flicked his forehead with a finger, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile. With that grin on his face, he gazed at Subaru who, after bawling his eyes out, wore an expression that was equal parts sad and apologetic. Kenichi sighed as he spoke again.

[Assistant] "I’m not sure what you were sobbing like that for, but it’s embarrassing, so I’ll keep it a secret. Be grateful to me for that at least."

[User] “…Yeah. I’m grateful. Truly, from the bottom of my heart, more than anyone in the world.”

[Assistant] "If you put it that way even I’m gonna blush…" When his father scratched his own face with an embarrassed smile, Subaru lowered his listless gaze. Kenichi’s shoulders sank when he saw his son’s demeanor. Then he waved as if shooing a fly away as he pushed on.

[User] "OK, crybaby, head home already. Daddy’s still in the mood to stroll around a bit, so I’ll head back after a little detour. I’ll get weird looks if I’m walking around with a guy crying like you."

[Assistant] “…They’d wonder what in the world that father and son are doing at their age, huh?”

[User] "Damn right they would. If I go back home with you together now, I’ll get embarrassed by weird rumors between my friends, so…"

[Assistant] “You know, those are, like, famous last words, so watch out, okay?” Poking fun at his father’s statement reflexively, Subaru felt painful nostalgia running through his heart. Gritting his teeth and biting it back down by force, Subaru went,

[User] “Later,” raising a hand Kenichi’s way.

[Assistant] "I’ll head back first, then. Just make sure the cops don’t stop you for anything, ’kay, Daddy?”

[User] "Sorry, I ain’t biting on that joke. Everyone round these parts knows me already."

[Assistant] “I wasn’t joking.” Once again, he was saved by his father’s unchanging demeanor. Subaru hated himself for that. Just how much did he crave the chance to depend on and wish to be indulged by others? He really was incorrigible.

[User] “…” He didn’t want to show Kenichi such weakness any longer. Taking a single, deep breath, Subaru then turned his back on his father, setting his mind on becoming a stronger person. At that rate, he was set to walk out at a rapid pace, departing as quickly as poss—

[Assistant] “—Hey, Subaru.” From behind, Kenichi’s voice brought his feet to a spontaneous halt.

[User] "I’m sure you’ve got a lot of stuff goin’ on, so I only have one thing to say to you."

[User] “Hang in there—I’ve got high hopes for you, Son.” Subaru had always clenched a worry of betraying his father’s expectations without ever letting it go.


[User] "Yeah, you can count on me, Daddy.” His back still turned, Subaru extended an arm. He thrust a finger toward the heavens, speaking in a loud voice.

[Assistant] "My name is Subaru Natsuki. Son of Kenichi Natsuki—I can do anything, and that’s how it’s gonna be. Your son’s hot stuff.”

[User] "Yeah, I know. I made half of ya, after all!”

[Assistant] Hee-hee,” went Kenichi, his faith-filled, laughing voice showering Subaru from behind.

[User] Subaru's own lips broke into a smile. Back still turned, he set off. His knees weren’t shaking. His heart wasn’t wavering. He simply stared straight ahead as he walked forward. Behind him was the man he had looked up to for so long. This time, Subaru would let that man watch his back as he walked on. He did that while thinking to himself how much strength he had needed from others to achieve that one simple thing. Then Subaru Natsuki continued walking forward, never to stop again.


[Assistant] With his arms through the sleeves his freshly ironed white shirt, Subaru put his legs through his good-as-new slacks. Waging a difficult battle, he tied his deep-green necktie in front of the mirror before finally putting on his navy-blue blazer. “Student Subaru Natsuki, complete… Man, it’s been around three months, huh?” Checking his completed version reflected in the mirror, Subaru breathed out, his face proclaiming that one task was done. There hadn’t been a Subaru wearing his long-sleeved student uniform reflected in the mirror for quite a while. He recalled that tying the necktie of his blazer-type high school uniform every morning had been a real pain in the butt. Flicking a finger off the flat knot of the necktie, he turned his back to his reflection and picked up his schoolbag. For all appearances, that much, at least, looked well within the realm of perfect preparation by a student preparing to attend high school.

[User] “Unfortunately, it’s about time the third homeroom period started. Ain’t well within at all.” Scratching his head with a bitter smile, Subaru stretched his hand out a little on his way out of the room. Stopping just before he left, he looked back. To Subaru, who’d never experienced a change in residence, that room was the only place he could call “my own room.” Since entering middle school, he’d spent over five years in that room. It would be the last time he saw that place, too.

[Assistant] Subaru said nothing. He merely lowered his head in silence. That single gesture contained five years’ worth of feelings in it. When his long, long period of bowing ended, Subaru lifted his head and departed the room with sunnier feelings. He proceeded to head down the stairs to the first floor, pushing open the living room door.


[User] "Oh my, when you asked me where your uniform was, I thought you might burn it, so I made all kinds of preparations…all for nothing, it would seem.”

[Assistant] “Your son asks where his uniform is and the first thing you think of is burning it? Wait, when you guessed I’d burn it, your ‘preparations’ meant getting sweet potatoes and sausage skewers ready…?” The reclothed Subaru was met by his mother, Nahoko, who seemed quite disappointed her off-the-cuff prediction had not borne fruit. Behind his mother, he saw that she was done preparing for a barbecue in the cramped kitchen.

[User] Subaru had returned home and asked Nahoko where his uniform was. Having shaken free of his past, her son had made the statement with a sunny look on his face—and this had been his mother’s reaction.

[Assistant] “I give up on whether it’s good guessing or bad, but this angle is definitely not what I expected…”

[User] “Yes, yes, it looks very good on you. The outfit cancels out the foul look in your eyes. You look rather calm…”

[Assistant] “Mom, your current approach is taking all my serenity away from me!”

[User] “—? What are you all riled up about? Hey, want to glug down some mayonnaise with Mom?” With a mystified look, Nahoko presented the mayonnaise she’d placed on the table.

[Assistant] The mayonnaise in the Natsuki residence was somewhat famous to all local mayo lovers. Kenichi, Nahoko, and of course Subaru employed various mayonnaises, and glugging mayo was a daily sight during mealtime, getting out of the bath, and sometimes even in the middle of the night. Indeed, when Subaru fell into distress from lack of mayonnaise in that other world, he’d used modern knowledge to successfully re-create mayonnaise on that end. Mayonnaise was inseparable from the Natsuki family. It was a must-have item.

[User] “But right now, I don’t feel like…”

[Assistant] “I suppose not.” The mayonnaise had SU written on the lid, marking it as belonging to Subaru. When he gently pushed the mayonnaise offered to him away, Nahoko gave a knowing nod.

[User] “I mean, Subaru, you really don’t like mayonnaise that much, do you?”

[User] “You were just licking it with Dad and Mom because we like it so much, weren’t you?” Placing the mayonnaise marked for Subaru on the table, Nahoko murmured thusly in roundabout fashion.

[Assistant] Hearing this, Subaru gasped in surprise.

[User] “Wh-what basis do you have for…?” He breathed in, virtually wringing out his voice before gingerly posing a question.

[Assistant] “Well, Subaru. If it was the world or mayonnaise, which would you choose?”

[User] “Er, probably the world…”

[Assistant] “You see?”

[User] “That’s a really bad example! Don’t go ‘You see?’ with that smug look! Anyone picking mayonnaise there isn’t picking out of love for mayo, but hatred for the world! !” As he raised his voice at Nahoko’s rather off-the-mark view, Subaru’s shoulders heaved with heavy breaths as he glared at the mayonnaise on the table—on the inside, he wasn’t calm in the slightest.


[User] Whether he was a card-carrying member or not, Subaru had pride as a mayo lover, enough that if someone asked him to pick between it and a deserted tropical island, he’d pick mayonnaise in a heartbeat. But if asked the reason he was so hung up on mayonnaise in the first place, he’d have to say— “I guess I hard-core have a complex for a happy family…”

[Assistant] “You’d slap super on it?”

[User] “That’d make it a Super Family Complex aka Sufami, and that just sounds wrong.” Having engaged in such absurd conversation, Subaru let out a long breath with a pained smile. Then he slowly picked up the mayonnaise atop the table.

[Assistant] “Ah…”

[User] “Mmm, delicious! Genuine mayonnaise really is way different! Can’t enjoy this taste anywhere but my homeland! Over there isn’t bad, either, but it’s a pale shadow compared to the real deal!” Wringing off the lid from the nearly full mayonnaise jar, he guzzled it down in one go. The tasty acidic flavor atop his tongue raced through him, with heat shooting down his throat that seemed to burn his chest. This was the supreme, a-mayo-zing taste that mayo addicts could not help but love.

[Assistant] “Maybe I don’t love mayonnaise as much as you two do, but I’m still a genuine mayo lover. I swear on the mayo lids of all the mayo I’ve licked to this day.” Incidentally, Subaru had kept the lids from his old mayonnaise jars, stuffing them into a corner of his room. They actually numbered 776—

[User] “And this makes triple sevens. I’ll have to stick it in my collection later.”

[Assistant] “Ohh, congratulations on your third seven. Your father was really happy when he got his fourth a little while back.”

[User] “My love’s literally incomparable to his!” Nahoko accepted the empty mayonnaise bottle with an amused look. His mother’s comment made his sense of accomplishment feel somewhat tarnished, but Subaru immediately smoothed over his feelings.

[Assistant] “Well…guess I’d better head off, then.”

[User] “Ah, if you’re going to the store, I want some cream puffs, so make sure to buy some.”

[Assistant] “You see me like this, put your guessing gears in motion, and you say that? !” As he spread both arms out to show off his school uniform, Nahoko went “I’m kidding, I’m kidding” and smiled at her son as she said, “Ah, you’re going to school now? Mom’s happy for you, but…won’t you stand out in a bad way? If you can put it off till tomorrow, why not put it off?”

[User] “Hey, stop putting a damper on your son’s enthusiasm like that. Even if others are strict with me, I’m soft on myself and a slacker to the core, you know.”

[Assistant] “If you were really like that, your mother wouldn’t have such a hard time, Subaru.” When Subaru quipped at his own expense, Nahoko pretended not to get it as she shook her head.


[User] Subaru narrows his eyes at her reply.

[Assistant] "All right then" Nahoko straightens her back as she says, "Well then, hold on a second. Mom’s going to get her coat.”

[User] “What do you mean, wait… Hold on, you’re coming with me?! Having a parent go with you to school when you quit being a hermit is, like, a level worse than a humiliation game!”

[Assistant] “I’m not going all the way to school. I’m just going out to the store to buy mayonnaise and cream puffs. What, I can’t indulge you that much?”

[User] “Huh?! That makes it sound like I was asking you to come with me?!” The incomprehensible flow of events made Subaru’s eyes bulge.

[Assistant] “Yes, yes,” Nahoko said in a perfunctory reply as she headed to her own room.

[User] It felt like a prelude to having a parent chaperone him to school for sure. "No, no… Man, gimme a break here.” As he spoke those words, Subaru’s cheeks faintly relaxed from relief. At that point, even Subaru was aware the reason for his relief was that the time when he’d have to say goodbye to his mother had been pushed a little farther down the road.


[Assistant] “It’s been a long time since I’ve walked side by side with you, Subaru.”

[User] “I suppose so. We were together when you went shopping at night quite a bit.”

[Assistant] “Sigh. You know, given the flow of the current conversation, I’m speaking about daytime, not nighttime. You really must pick up on the context and the literary intent.”

[User] “Where that subject’s concerned, you’re the only one I can’t accept hearing that from, Mom!”

[Assistant] Even understanding all that, though, Subaru happened to like speaking with his mother. “I’m glad that it’s warm today. What did you talk to your Dad about?”

[User] “Ohhh, there it is, Mom’s beginner-level ‘first half disconnected from the second half’ conversation topic! I know you don’t mean anything special by it, but ummm…” As they walked side by side on the way to school, Subaru tried to wrap his head around the question his mother had posed. The details of his conversation with Kenichi involved Subaru’s confessing his embarrassing internal complexes and bawling his eyes out, but that didn’t amount to a proper explanation. Also, he didn’t want to say it in those words. It had been a necessary conversation, but he’d cut himself off from the emotions he imagined were unique to that place. No way in hell was he going to start crying again on a public street. “Ahh, it wasn’t really anything major.


[User] "Actually, we talked a bit about old times with Mr. Ikeda.”

[Assistant] “Ahh, Ikeda, yes. He moved after winning at the horse races, and his young wife there swindled the shirt off his back, so he had to do manual labor until the sun scorched his skin pitch dark, didn’t he?”

[User] “The tragic development in the second half of that is news to me!”

[Assistant] “Ill-gotten money really is no good for you. His heart may be in sorry shape at the moment, but his mind is still holding up, so he sends letters.”

[User] “So you experienced being stripped bare in an unfamiliar land, Mr. Ikeda… I can relate! !” Though Subaru had been in a different world rather than a different country, he’d experienced things not so different from what Mr. Ikeda had been through. Though Mr. Ikeda was little more than an acquaintance whose face Subaru had known when he was little, for some reason, he harbored a strong feeling of fellowship with the man. Subaru inwardly prayed for his good health.

[Assistant] Nahoko made a mmm sound, then said, “So, talking about old times made you want to go to school?”

[User] “Ahh, well…that’s the simple version, yeah. There were a whole bunch of triggers making me look back, and that led to it.”

[Assistant] “So you stopped trying to do anything and everything just like your Dad, then.”

[Assistant] Nahoko spoke with a gentle tone that did not permit him any escape. A wry smile came over her, making it look as if she was about to break into a hum. The look in her eyes was the only sharp thing about her, but you could never tell what his mother was thinking by looking at her. However, Subaru had the distinct feeling she’d cut him off at the pass. "You’re a hardworking type, Subaru, and you do all kinds of things in haste. Thanks to your father blindly taking interest in so many things, you’ve had plenty of opportunities… It wore you out, didn’t you?”

[User] “M-Mom…how much did you realize I was…”

[Assistant] “Now, now, Subaru.” The true feelings Subaru had continued to conceal, even to himself, had been plain to Nahoko all along. Subaru was still at a loss for words when Nahoko, pulling slightly in front, turned back to face him. "It’s often said the child looks at the parent far more than the parent thinks.”

[Assistant] “But the reverse is also true. The parent is also always watching the child, much more than the child thinks. Subaru, even your mother has been watching over you the whole time, you see?”

[User] Truly, he could do nothing but gape dumbfounded. He’d been so convinced he’d kept his inner feelings hidden, but in truth, it had all been in vain. This in spite of the fact that he’d thought himself lonely and miserable with not a single person the wiser.


[User] "Uh-oh, we’re up to Mom’s intermediate-level ‘question that resurrects the past midconversation’!”

[Assistant] "In my own way, huh?” Subaru ignored the context surrounding the words and echoed his mother’s words.

[User] “Yes. Over the course of thinking, I wanna be just like Dad, you’ll end up just like Subaru.”

[Assistant] Nahoko acted quite satisfied with the conclusion Subaru arrived at, then headed forward, coming to a halt at a fork in the road as she indicated the path to the right. "Well, the convenience store is this way, so this is as far as Mom’s going with you… Will you be all right?”

[User] “I haven’t been…maybe I have been wounded deeply enough for you to worry, yeah.”

[Assistant] “I’m all right. There’s some things I need to do and some things I want to do, but I’ll chew on ’em all. I don’t have even one reason to shut myself in anymore.” Subaru said to put his mother at ease.

[User] “That so? I’m glad to hear that. Good luck, then.” Nahoko apparently pleased with Subaru’s reply as she nodded, then headed down the right path with a visible skip in her step.

[Assistant] Subaru went down the left path, parting from his mother. Probably for far, far longer than his mother thought.


[User] “Mom!” Unable to bear silently gazing at her back and watching her go, Subaru brought his mother to a stop with a loud voice.

[Assistant] Nahoko's feet came to a stop; she twisted her hips and looked back.

[User] "Ah…” Subaru seared the ever-normal, never-changing image of his mother into his eyelids. "Goodbye." Subaru hesitated to speak the words, considering sparing his mother from seeing her crying face.

[Assistant] “There’s something I have to do. So it’ll be a long goodbye.” Subaru pulled the wool over her eyes out of consideration for her, and himself.

[User] "…” Nahoko greeted the spoken words with silence.

[Assistant] “It’s kind of far away, so I won’t be able to stay in touch.


[User] “I think you’ll probably worry about a bunch of things. I…can’t firmly say I won’t do anything dangerous. If push came to shove, I’d say it’s all pretty dangerous, because the girl I’ve gotta save gets herself in all kinds of dangerous messes.” His mouth moved rapidly. The information he wanted to enumerate, the words he wished to speak, poured out of him. “I think Dad and Mom are both gonna worry about me a lot. You’ve worried enough about me where you can see me, and now I’ll be somewhere you can’t. But I’ll be thinking of you no matter where I am, and I’ll never forget about either of you…”

[Assistant] “Subaru.”

[User] “I’ll never think I don’t wanna be Mom and Dad’s child ever again, and I’ll never hate myself again. I know those words don’t really let you send me off with peace of mind, but…”

[Assistant] “Subaru.” Even Subaru no longer understood what he was saying when Nahoko called out to him from very close. When he looked up, his mother was standing right before his eyes.

[User] “Subaru—it’s all right.”

[Assistant] “…Wh-whaddaya mean, all right?”

[User] “I know exactly what you’re trying to say, Subaru. So you don’t need to try so hard to find the words.”

[Assistant] “You…know…? But how…!”

[User] “Because…I’m your mother, Subaru.” There was not a single shred of logic behind the statement. So why did it feel irrefutable? The backs of his eyes grew hot. He’d sensed the same thing only a few hours before. Just how many times would Subaru need to bawl like a little child? How many tears had to flow before he could regain an unshakable heart of steel?

[Assistant] “I-I’m like…a little kid here… So lame…”

[User] “If it’s lame to cry when you need it, then that makes every single baby born in the world lame as well.”

[Assistant] “That’s not…what I mean…”

[User] “Yes, yes, I told you, I get it. From Mom and Dad’s point of view, you’ll be our child no matter what your age, Subaru… When you want to cry, go ahead and cry.” The world began to blur. Tears came running out. Subaru hid his face behind the sleeve he used to rub it so his mother wouldn’t see it. Out of respect for Subaru’s stubbornness, Nahoko didn’t peer any closer. All she did was slowly stroke the short hair on Subaru’s head. As she stroked him, Subaru straightened his back.

[Assistant] “…Sorry, Mom. In the end, I can’t do a damn thing for either of you.”

[User] “You know, I didn’t give birth to you because I wanted something from you. I gave birth to you because I wanted to give. Subaru, your mother gave birth to you because she wanted to give you love.” How much of this, the very definition of love, Subaru had already received from her was simply incalculable. “If you really want to do something for Mom, take those feelings and give them to someone else.


[User] "And if you happen to give that love to a girl you like, Subaru…isn’t that wonderful?"

[Assistant] “…Yeah, it’s wonderful.”

[User] "Of course it is. What your mother says is never wrong." Nahoko toyed with Subaru’s forelocks with her fingers with a satisfied smile. The feeling of those fingers tickled Subaru, making him smile back at her with his tear-marred face.

[Assistant] “Aw man, I’m super pathetic, just crying and crying…”

[User] “It’s fine to cry. Subaru, you cried so much when you were born. At first, everyone cries in an ugly way. A lot of things happen, and you cry in lots of places.”

[Assistant] "But if, after crying a lot, you end with a smile, everything’s all right. What’s important is not where you start, or what happens midway, but how it ends.”

[User] “So if the results are good, everything’s OK, then?”

[Assistant] “You’re taking that the wrong way. Consider this homework from your mother.”


[User] “—Well, I’m headin’ off.”

[Assistant] “Mm-hmm, go ahead.”

[User] Turning his head back at the end, he forced his cheeks to move and make a smile, leaving that awkward, smiling face behind for his mother, Subaru turned his back to her and walked forward.


[Assistant] “Ah, that’s right. Subaru, Subaru, I forgot.” Then, just when he was all hyped up to get going, a scatterbrained voice called out to him from behind. Subaru, worried about what the very, very end might bring, turned to see his mother raise a hand.

[User] “Come back soon.” Then, with a little wave of her hand, his mother spoke those words with a pleasant smile.


[Assistant] At the school campus, he didn’t see a single student, or teacher, or anyone. When he headed from the entrance to the foot locker, he opened the ill-fitting door that had remained closed for a while. He switched from outdoor shoes to indoor shoes, then walked into the linoleum-floored corridor. Third year, sixth class, seat twenty-two. That was Subaru Natsuki’s spot in school. The classroom for third-year high school students, the senior class of the school, was on the first floor. His own footsteps echoed down the silent corridor as Subaru wasted no time heading to his own classroom. Then he stood in front of the door and took a deep breath. “…” Putting his hand on the door, he slid it sideways, opening it wide in one go. That instant, Subaru, blatantly arriving so very late, had reproachful stares converge on him from all over the classr—

[User] "—I must say, you came far sooner than I expected."

[Assistant] No such thing happened. When he surveyed his classroom after so long, the seats, including Subaru’s own, in the back row and against the window, were empty everywhere he looked—save a single seat filled in the very center. Then the individual sitting in that seat turned toward Subaru, seat and all.

[User] "Welcome— Tell me, what did you gain from the time you spent facing your own past?" Stroking her own white hair, such was the question that the Witch of Greed posed to him, her eyes filled with inquisitiveness.


[User] Emilia crumpled onto the floor, Subaru still had no idea what had happened. "It’s all right, it’s all right. I’m here. You’re not alone. It’s okay." As Emilia shuddered in tears, Subaru tried his best to console her, to protect her, to care for her. He gathered her in his arms and gently stroked her back.

[Assistant] “…ve me, Dad. Save me… Puck, Puck…Pucckkk…”


[User] "She finally calmed down a short while ago and is now sound asleep." Ram whispered the news when she came out of the room after Subaru had questioned her with a glance.

[Assistant] Subaru turns his worried eyes toward the closed door.

[User] "That expression isn’t like you, Barusu. Normally you have such a sloppy face. Now that I have seen that somber grimace of yours, I truly have no wish to see it ever again.”

[Assistant] “Nobody asked you… Sorry, making you worry about me like that.”

[User] "Ha!" Ram walked away.

[Assistant] Subaru bit his lip as he turned his eyes toward the door one last time. "Ohh? I wonder, is Lady Emilia already weeeell?” Cutting short his lingering sentiments at the closed door, he chased Ram deeper into the building.


[User] When he stepped into the room farthest back, he was greeted by Roswaal, lying upon the bed.

[Assistant] “Yeah. Right now she’s sleeping in her room. Thanks to Ram, she shouldn’t have to see any nightmares.”

[User] "I used aromatic tea that acts as a sedative. Normally it would not work, but the Great Spirit is not currently at her side, so…" After Subaru replied to Roswaal, Ram put a hand on her pouch as she added her words to his.


[User] "I still have this nagging suspicion you’ve been serving me poison all that time…"

[Assistant] "Too large a dose of any base ingredient for tea will become poison, nothing more. You are a petty man to hold a grudge all this time." Speaking those words with a composed expression, Ram stood right at Roswaal’s bedside.

[User] "Garfiel dragged his feet, but Ryuzu being so sensible was a huge help."

[Assistant] "Due to her age and seniooority, she has learned the value of discreeeetion. Even Garfiel understands that they cannot achieve their objectives without our cooperation, you see."

[User] Roswaal’s words made Subaru recall how they’d looked when Subaru had parted ways with them at the tomb.

[Assistant] "If we intend to liberate them, they’ll lend us a hand, huh? Damn complicated situation to be in…"

[User] "Because Lady Emilia is with us, our interests are aligned. The obstinacy their side has displaaayed to date should ease… Incidentally, I heard that a follower of yours was preeesent?"

[Assistant] "Follower… Ah, you mean Otto? He’s, well, we stuffed him in the Cathedral for tonight. He actually came to the Sanctuary because he wanted to meet you in the first place, Roswaal, but…"

[User] "Buuuut what?"

[Assistant] Roswaal had one eye closed as Subaru scratched his head.

[User] "We’re talking internal camp business from here on. I don’t intend to drag a half-outsider like him into our problems past the point of no return."

[Assistant] "I see, a wise decision. It would seeeem that you do not enjoy involving friends of yours in your troubles."

[User] "I wouldn’t exactly call us friends, but…well, pretty much, yeah." Having mulled over and accepted the circumstances, Subaru shrugged his shoulders, making no great effort to deny the point.

[Assistant] "How about tonight we hammer out important stuff for this camp that we’ve been kicking down the road?"

[User] "You were the instigator behind the hunt for the White Whale, you dispatched the Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins of the Witch Cult taking aim at the mansion and the village, you formed an alliance with Lady Crusch, candidate for the throne. That seems to be your meritorious seeervice record." Roswaal’s white-painted brow wrinkled as the detached tone of his voice deepened.

[Assistant] When Subaru attempted to speak about their internal affairs, it was Roswaal’s mouth that summarized the ferocious combat occurring in his absence that Subaru should have spoken about first.


[User] When they were enumerated like that, even Subaru thought his exploits sounded unreal, but he made no effort to deny them; all of it was pure fact.

[Assistant] “I had not asked in detail before the evacuation…but I cannot think the contents anything but fiction.”

[User] “I thought you might say that, but there’s no point hiding it, and I hadn’t boasted about it before! Now come on and praise me! !”

[Assistant] “Yes, yes, good boy, good boy.”

[User] “Put some heart in it! !”

[Assistant] In contrast to the serious Subaru, Ram treated him as flippantly as ever. However, the dull edge to the sarcasm behind her words was likely due to her surprise that Subaru had truly done all of those things. And the same seemed to go for Roswaal, silent as he strove to comprehend those facts.

[User] “These are unexpected, unanticipated results.” Lowering his eyes with extremely deep feeling, Roswaal spoke thus as his breath trickled out.

[Assistant] Subaru, utterly convinced Roswaal would praise him in some halfway frivolous manner, was dumbstruck by his reaction.

[User] Then Roswaal fixed Subaru in his differently colored eyes as he said, “Subaru. Do you recall the declaration you made at the beginning of the royal selection?”

[Assistant] “Like I could forget it. Like I should ever forget it. I remember each and every word.” Suddenly, he recalled the abominable memory, and the shame and self-loathing of it scorched his breast. Even if the numerous people of power and influence in that place had laughed it all off, Subaru alone was not permitted to forget, so that he might never repeat the recklessness, naivete, and stupidity of forgetting what was really important ever again.

[User] “In that light, I think your meritorious service should be rewarded. You have proven the words you spoke in that place—upon our safe departure from this place, I shall appoint you knight.”

[Assistant] “Subduing the White Whale with the duchess and taking down an Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins are exploits that should be commended. You shall be known as Subaru Natsuki, knight. No one will laugh at you anymore.”

[User] In the name of helping Emilia, he’d opened his big, fat mouth as a youth ignorant of his position. His naive dreams were broken on harsh reality time and time again. He had fallen first into despair, then madness; then he’d cast everything aside as he raced forward with vengeance in his heart, only to be saved by deep feelings of love— These were the events that had brought him to where he was now. The prestige Roswaal promised would demonstrate all that time had actually meant something. It would mean everything Rem had done would also be rewarded; though memories of her actions existed in the minds of none, save Subaru himself.

[Assistant] “…If doing so gives meaning to that battle, I…gratefully accept.”

[User] “You should be proud of these exploits.


[User] “With your own power, you have won the right to stand at Emilia’s side.” “…It wasn’t…my power alone.” Subaru murmured it quietly enough that only he must have heard it.

[Assistant] When Roswaal knitted his brows as a result, Subaru tightly closed his eyes for a moment, audibly cracked his neck, then continued. “You acting serious really throws me off. I’m grateful we can move this talk along, mind you.”

[User] “You wouuuund me. Am I not always serious? Besides, I promised, did I not? That I would face you directly the next time.”

[Assistant] “…You as in me and Emilia. Emilia really should be here, but she’s not…”

[User] “Oh myyyy. You are quite mistaken.” When Roswaal averted his face, apparently uncomfortable at being misunderstood, Subaru’s breath caught a little. Roswaal closed one eye as he corrected Subaru’s correction, leaving the gaze of his yellow eye alone—that was his tell when he was hiding something deep within himself.

[Assistant] Subaru got a bad feeling when he looked at Roswaal’s eye and considered the earlier statement. “What do you…mean by that? Why did you go out of your way to leave Emilia out of this?”

[User] “Is it not rather oooobvious? Dirty matters should be discussed only between trusted coconspiiirators. I am not so gracious as to include someone I do not fully trust in such a meeting.”

[Assistant] “You mean you don’t trust Emilia? What the hell are you talking about out of the blue like that? !” When Roswaal, resting his back against the bed, calmly revealed his opinion, it drove Subaru into a rage. Of course it did. He was practically saying Emilia was not worthy of his trust. He—Roswaal L. Mathers, none other than Emilia’s backer in the royal selection. “You’re the one who nominated Emilia for the throne! Where do you get off saying that you don’t trust Emilia…!” Giving in to his anger, Subaru closed the distance between them to say what was on his mind. He violently rubbed his brow with his fingers over and over as if it were a spell meant to convince his head, flush with blood, to calm down. It was his bad habit to suddenly lose it in the middle of a conversation. Just how much had he run in circles at the royal capital because of that short temper? He focused on deep breathing. Breathe in, breathe out. He did this a second time, and then a third. “…Let’s…talk about everything in order, starting with this coconspirator business.”

[User] “Very well. Once you understand that point, it should serve as a reply to your earlier misgivings.”

[Assistant] Subaru chained down his anger, which made Roswaal appear quite satisfied. Subaru crossed his arms and glared at the man, silently prodding him to continue.

[User] “Now then, first, the true meaning behind my use of coconspirator in regards to you…it is quite simple. I wish you to continue providing Lady Emilia aid as you have done to date.


[User] “Do as much as your feelings dictate until the day she sits upon the throne.”

[Assistant] “That goes without saying…but what the hell will you be doing?”

[User] “Naturally, I shall do the same. Lady Emilia shall have my full support for victory in the royal selection so that she may become the ruler of this kingdom. You see, you and I share the same goal. Thus, we are coconspirators.”

[Assistant] “If that’s all you were planning, I’d just call you an ally. Coconspirator means something different.” Gritting his teeth as Roswaal presented his terms, Subaru controlled the tone of his voice. He didn’t think Roswaal would invoke the word coconspirators if his motives were limited to the proper ones he had just presented. In the first place, there would be no reason to exclude Emilia from the conversation if that were true. Besides—

[User] “What you’re saying is full of contradictions. If you seriously wanted to put Emilia on the throne, what’s your excuse for slacking off before coming here to the Sanctuary?”

[Assistant] “What do you meaaan by slacking off?”

[User] “That’s obvious! It was common knowledge Emilia publicly entering the royal selection would set the Witch Cult off on a rampage! Everyone said, ‘Oh, Roswaal has to have prepared countermeasures,’ so where the hell were they?! If that’s not slacking off, what is? !” Subaru replied to Roswaal’s feigned innocence with anger as he pounded home the suspicion he’d wanted to express for some time. Once he’d reached a boiling point, his dissatisfaction had only grown and grown without pause—

[Assistant] “For starters, you hid info on the Witch Cult from Emilia, didn’t you? Emilia didn’t know a damn thing about the Witch Cult. She didn’t understand at all what would happen when she joined the royal selection. If she’d known, everything could’ve gone differently! None of that would have had to…!” As Subaru spoke, those hellish scenes came rushing back to mind, hells he had peered into several times over. The villagers slaughtered, the children cruelly put to death, how Petra’s corpse had stripped his mind bare, how Ram’s dead body had carved a hole out of his soul, how Rem’s death had robbed him of even the ability to mourn, and how Emilia’s death—

[User] “…You should have been there. If you’d been there, none of that would have happened. So why…weren’t you there…?”

[Assistant] “Barusu…” The unconcealable pain and anguish in his voice made even Ram’s cheeks stiffen. No tears flowed from him. However, with a disheveled face, Subaru accused Roswaal. Only Subaru, who had seen those hellish scenes, had the right to accuse him.

[User] “If you’d stayed behind and protected everyone…I…”

[Assistant] “But while I was absent, you fulfilled my duty in my place, exploits that would make even a knight’s heart swell in pride…”

[User] “—! That’s not the point!” His gratitude for being honored with the prestigious title of knight rapidly diminished. Certainly, being awarded the knightly title gave firm meaning to that battle.


[User] That battle, in and of itself, was a symbol of his mistakes. If that battle had never happened—

[Assistant] "Barusu, please, calm yourself." Ram glared at him from right up close as Subaru unwittingly took a step forward. She shielded Roswaal behind her back, quiet anger resting in her pink eyes.

[User] "Master Roswaal is injured. Even so, he can surely put a stop to any violence from one such as you with a single finger… I shall permit no rudeness when I am present, Barusu."

[Assistant] "You’re okay with this? It’s the same for you, he left you behind like a sacrificial pawn! Roswaal curled his tail and ran from the Witch Cult! Are you telling me I’m wrong?!"

[User] "I accept that without reservation. Ram forgives all Master Roswaal’s deeds, including however she might be treated, or even eventually cast aside."

[Assistant] "Then you forgive Rem being sacrificed for stupid stuff like this, too?!" The incomprehensible loyalty in Ram’s reply set off Subaru like nothing else.

[User] He had avoided the issue several times, telling himself it wasn’t the right time, putting off the truth he needed to speak to her about Rem—and how her memory had faded from the world, now existing only within Subaru’s heart. With the master she had served for many years, even with her older twin sister who was her other half, Rem—

[Assistant] "—? I know not of whom you speak, but no other name means anything to me. To Ram, Master Roswaal is everything, and all others come second." The words Subaru had spat out, giving in to his emotions, were cut down by Ram without the slightest hesitation.

[User] Drained of strength, Subaru retreated a distance greater than the step forward he had made.

[Assistant] Ram knit her brows at the sight of Subaru’s shoulders sinking, whereupon Roswaal weightily shook his head.

[User] "Ram, stand aside. This conversation is between him and me only. I permit you to attend, but I do not permit you to speak. You understaaand, yes?"

[Assistant] "…Yes. I have no excuse for intruding." Ram bowed, then attended Roswaal’s bedside once more.

[User] As Subaru watched the exchange, he felt something like a breeze blowing through his exceptionally empty chest.

[Assistant] Both of Roswaal’s eyes narrowed at the sight of Subaru hanging his head at that desolate reality. "Tonight, I respond to you in earnest. This is what I have decided. Thaaaat is why I shall respond to the doubts you toss at me with the truth."

[Assistant] "Why did I conceal information from Lady Emilia that I should have disclosed? Why was I absent from the mansion when the Witch Cult was coming to attack? These questions have a single answer."

[User] Subaru put strength into his neck and lifted up his head.


[User] When accepting someone’s reply to your suspicions, you at least had to look him in the eye. As Subaru did so...

[Assistant] "—I guided events so they would be resolved without me needing to confront the Witch Cult." Roswaal closed one eye and said.

[User] “…Huh?” Subaru was dumbstruck, unable to digest the meaning of the words Roswaal had spoken openly while looking him in the eyes. When he crunched, chewed, and swallowed the words down, tasting their meaning with his brain, the contents permeated his very soul.

[Assistant] “I don’t…get it. Then you mean…what? You ran? You actually did get cold feet when the Witch Cult was coming, and then…? How…could you!”

[User] “Is it truly incomprehensible? That I, among the kingdom’s sages, a prominent man of influence…I, capable of a violent rampage even greater than the menace of the Witch Cult, would avoid battle with the Cult?”

[Assistant] “Damn right it is! You of all people could’ve easily taken care of all of—”

[User] “That is precisely why I did not. Had I resolved the matter, no credit would have gone to Lady Emilia, nor would there be any fame to be won by you, would there? That would have rendered it meaningless.”

[Assistant] “Wh-wha…?” Subaru genuinely couldn’t comprehend what was being said to him. The statement would have been a hundred times better if it had been a joke or Roswaal toying with him. But Roswaal’s face showed nothing that could fulfill Subaru’s wish.

[User] Roswaal kept one eye closed as he continued. "The effect was tremeeendous, was it not? Indeed, ever since the Witch Cult was driven off, the attitude of the residents of Earlham Village toward Lady Emilia has been the complete opposite of what it once was. She has gone from a Witch beyond their comprehension to the savior whose efforts protected their very lives…and their assessment of you has similarly risen, yes?”

[Assistant] “Y-you… Do you even understand what you said just now…?” The jolt inside Subaru’s throat made his voice quiver indistinctly.

[User] However, the sounds that were not garbled made Roswaal cock his head, his lack of comprehension clear. It was that demeanor that gripped the bottom of Subaru’s heart in incomprehensible fear. Roswaal had essentially said this: His understanding of the menace of the Witch Cult had been in no way deficient. He had anticipated that the Cult would launch an attack. And, so forewarned, he had used the expected disaster for public relations purposes. But—

[Assistant] “That’s just judging by hindsight. It ended up that way, that’s all. If you’d resolved it all, Emilia definitely…maybe Emilia and the villagers would still be in the same place. But—!” He recalled the scene from the previous evening—Emilia exchanging words with the residents who had evacuated to the Sanctuary, where they had entrusted their hopes to her. Certainly, that scene might never have become reality if things hadn’t gone as Roswaal had planned them. “But that’s all hindsight!!"


[User] "Did you even think about how many people would die because you weren’t there to save them?! Certainly, the casualties were minimized. I worked my ass off for that! But they weren’t zero. People died!”

[Assistant] “Allow me to express my regret for the harm that befell our allies. It is, of course, only natural that our enemies are dead. The Witch Cult force was laid to waste, not a single member surviving. I could not have done it better myself. For this, you seek to apooologize to me?”

[User] “—!! No! No, no, no, that’s not it! That’s not it at all!” Subaru weakly shook his head, rejecting Roswaal’s words. Why wasn’t he getting through? Why didn’t he get it? Roswaal’s intent had been just too cruel, too heartless. It was fine to charge straight toward your goal, but couldn’t he just listen? But this wasn’t simply charging forward. It was as if he was ignoring every obstacle that had fallen upon the roadway before him.

[Assistant] “…If I’d stayed a piece of garbage that couldn’t accomplish anything, where would you be then? The result would be that nobody was saved, not Emilia, not the villagers.” As a matter of fact, Subaru had laid eyes upon that result multiple times over. If anything, that result was inevitable. In most worlds, entrusting the matter to Subaru Natsuki had led to the worst-case scenario.

[User] “—I left it in your hands…because I trusted you.”

[Assistant] Subaru wanted to know if that reply was sincere. When he heard it, all he could do was laugh out loud in despair.

[User] “…That means you don’t intend to give me a serious answer.”

[Assistant] “Perhaps it is not the answer you hoped for, but I have stated the truth. I decided that tonight, I would not deceive you in any way. If I cannot speak of something, I shall say so, and if something is inconvenient, I shall hold my tongue, but I swear to you that no words I have spoken are lies.” Roswaal’s words were solemn. However, they invited too much distrust for belief. From the conversations they’d had to date, Subaru had no faith left over to take his words at face value.


[User] “I say again: Where this matter is concerned, I made the decision to trust you. I trusted that you would strive for Lady Emilia’s sake, that you would exhaust all efforts to achieve an alliance with Lady Crusch, that you would put your life on the line to successfully fend off the attack by the Witch Cult, and thus increase your renown.”

[Assistant] “What do you know about me?! You’ve known me for only two months. Do I look like a man who can accomplish things like that? !” Subaru was indignant. He was fed up with eloquent, pretty-sounding phrases that only made his ears hurt. His teeth were bared, his beady eyes grew tense, and Subaru pointed straight at Roswaal as he howled.

[User] “There’s no way in hell. When you parted ways with me, I was a piece of garbage through and through. It was only after that I changed from garbage to something halfway decent. What came after was only because it was the only thing left to find inside of me— What did you see that lets you trust me like that?”

[Assistant] “…It would seem our conversation for this evening is at an impaaasse.” Roswaal declared the conversation over, almost as if he could see straight into Subaru’s inner being.

[User] “Though your esteem of me has plummeted, I cannot call that a pure disappointment… Incidentally, I think I hardly need to confirm, but concerning tonight, Lady Emilia…”

[Assistant] “I’m not saying a word. Like I could tell her anyway. Besides, whatever you’re planning, whether you’re laughin’ behind whatever face you make or not…what matters now is the result of Emilia’s own choices.”

[User] “Though you are governed by anger, within your mind, you correctly grasp the situation. For the sake of Lady Emilia’s royal selection, there must be no discord created between her, myself, and the villagers.”

[Assistant] “Meaning you have become an adult—you are a worthy coconspirator indeed.”

[User] “…There’s no good death waitin’ for you.”

[Assistant] “I am aware of this. I shall without doubt fall into hell.


[User] "Therefore, I must exhaust all efforts to bring my ambition to fruition in this era before that day comes.” Subaru breathed hard at the stifling situation as Roswaal gave him the adoring gaze a predator had for his prey. Subaru returned that gaze in enmity before turning his back. The conversation was over. He didn’t want to spend another instant in the man’s presence.

[Assistant] "I have one last thing to ask you. I’m not sure you’ll want to give me a straight answer, though.”

[User] “What is it? My earlier promise, to answer truthfully, remains in effect. Ask whatever you wiiiish.”

[Assistant] "It’s about Beatrice.” The instant Subaru invoked that name, all composure vanished from Roswaal’s face.

[User] “Beatrice,” he murmured to himself, regaining the aloof, clownish demeanor that had reigned until the moment before. “You pay a great deeeal of attention to that girl. What is it you wish to ask?”

[Assistant] “I had a chance to speak with her before coming here to the Sanctuary, and though she wouldn’t tell me much…she said all the answers to my doubts can be found here. If you’re in a mood to speak seriously, what do you think she meant by that?”

[User] “Before I reply to that question, there is something I wish to ask for myself.”

[Assistant] “…What, then?”

[User] “To aid Lady Emilia, you entered the tomb. By whatever twist of fate, it seems the tomb’s punishment did not go into effect… Did you meet someone within the tomb?”

[Assistant] Subaru sinked into thought for one brief moment.

[User] “What are you talking about? It was inside a tomb. Like there was room to meet anyone. A zombie, maybe?”

[Assistant] “I do not know what you mean by ‘zombi,’ but…no, that answer is suffiiicient. Thus, my reply to your question is simple: it is not yet time to speak about the matter.”

[User] “Ha! So that’s your story in the end.


[User] "When will you be able to talk about it, then?"

[Assistant] "That depends on you. Though, if possible, I would like tonight’s pact to be invoked as soooon as possible."

[User] "—?" His manner of speech was deeply suggestive, but Roswaal did not seem ready to explain any further.

[Assistant] Thinking back, Subaru felt deeply despondent at how evasive Roswaal had been from start to finish. Everything, even the prestige that came with the title of knight, had been for the purpose of setting up a favorable conversation with Subaru.

[User] "Well then, Subaru. Let us share pleaaasant conversation again."

[Assistant] "…" Subaru, showered by Roswaal’s sarcastic-sounding words even on the eve of his departure, vengefully slammed the door shut.


[User] Subaru scratched his head at the fact that he’d been addressed by name despite entering the room with great care. When he quietly closed the door and turned around

[Assistant] "Subaru?" The girl on the bed—Emilia—seemed to have just awakened from a deep sleep as their eyes met.

[User] "Sorry, did I wake you?"

[Assistant] "No…I woke up a little earlier. I was surprised you were sooo quiet, Subaru."

[User] "Keeping the noise down when I walk has become a habit. But my scheme has been foiled. I was actually thinking I’d play a prank on Emilia-tan while she slept…"

[Assistant] "A prank…? You mean like writing on my face?"

[User] "You got me! I definitely don’t have the courage to try a worse prank, either…!" The way Emilia tilted her head, the thought of other things between boy and girl not even crossing her mind, took the wind out of Subaru’s sails. Regardless, now that she’d awoken, he sat by her side and checked the state of everything else. The color of her face and her breathing were both normal. Her face was cute, too. She’d returned to her normal self without any noticeable issues.

[Assistant] "I’m sorry, Subaru. I reeeally lost it when I woke up in the tomb."

[User] "Eh, ah, that’s fine, that’s fine. More importantly, I was worried you might have bumped something when you first fell down. It really is a lot easier on both of us if I can watch you without being separated."

[Assistant] "…Yeah, it might well be."

[User] "Mm?" Subaru, replying in what he thought was his usual flippant tone, narrowed his brows at Emilia’s reaction. She lowered her eyes, looking as if she was thinking about something as she clutched Subaru’s sleeve. It was as if she were unconsciously grasping his hand to allay her worries. Subaru stared at the gesture when—

[Assistant] "—? Ah!" Following Subaru’s gaze, Emilia was startled when she realized her fingers were grasping the sleeve of his tracksuit. She proceeded to release her fingers, her face reddening as she waved her hand to and fro.

[User] "I-I didn’t mean to. Huh, that’s strange. Why did I do something like…"

[Assistant] "My, my, Emilia-tan finally wants me enough to subconsciously reach out her hand."


[User] "Hey, if you want to rely on me for everything, you can just come out and say it.”

[Assistant] “That’s…totally not it. My hand probably just…slipped.”

[User] “You sure denied that fast, and what do you mean by slipped? !”

[Assistant] Emilia shook her head at the half-joking assertion, wearing a strained, embarrassed smile.

[User] Subaru did not press the issue. After all, she didn’t seem to want to talk about the worries subconsciously connected to her actions just then. And naturally, those were related to the trial that night… "Can I ask you something about the trial? What kind of past did you see inside?”

[Assistant] “—!! Subaru, how do you know about…?”

[User] “If it’s tough to talk about, I won’t ask about the details. I have a past I don’t wanna talk about, too.”

[Assistant] “Th-that’s not what I… How…do you know that the trial showed me my past?” As Emilia’s violet eyes opened wide, her words made Subaru let an ah! out of his throat.

[User] Certainly, no one was supposed to know the details of the test within the tomb before entering, and even then, they would only find out if they were challengers themselves. Of course, Subaru could have just told Emilia that he’d undergone the trial just like she had, but— “” Looking back at Emilia’s trembling eyes, Subaru swallowed the words with which to convey that fact. Given that she was already shaken and discouraged, he feared that telling Emilia he’d taken the same trial, but had overcome it, might push her farther into a corner. Nor was this the only reason not to tell her. Accordingly, Subaru closed his eyes, pushing the role of the villain onto someone absent from that place. "That jerk Roswaal was keeping quiet that he knew about the trial. He said something about facing your past, but, ah, I don’t really know the details past that…”

[Assistant] “Is that so… Did Roswaal…say anything else?”

[User] “Err, maybe that it’s three parts in all, and seeing the past is the first one?” A barefaced lie, Subaru’s reply made Emilia look dispirited.

[Assistant] “Three parts…,” she echoed. At least she didn’t question Subaru’s assertion that Roswaal was the source of the information. In reality, he’d heard it from , but he avoided such a problematic explanation. "Setting the number of problems aside, today’s challenge…didn’t go all that well, did it?”

[User] “…Mm. So it would seem. I tried hard, but it suddenly ended midway…”

[Assistant] “Sorry, I think that’s because I woke you up. Seems being touched from the outside wakes you up. Come to think of it, I feel like I got told that from the start.”

[User] “Who…told you that?”

[Assistant] “…Who was it, I wonder.” The creases of Subaru’s brow deepened as he tried to wrap his head around it. The thought easily rolled off his tongue, but where had the idea come from? When he thought about it, nothing came to mind, so he put off forming a conclusion. "Let’s switch topics. Tonight was no good."


[User] "But that just means you can take it again. You can take it as many times as you need to… So the rest is up to how you feel, Emilia-tan.”

[Assistant] “How I…feel?”

[User] “I could tell from the look on your face as you slept that it wasn’t a warm, fuzzy past. But if it’s not you who liberates this Sanctuary, there’s no meaning to it… That’s what I think, anyway— For that, are you going to challenge it again?”

[Assistant] “” When pressed to choose, Emilia took in a deep breath and fell silent. Her trembling fingers went to her own neck, touching the green crystal that dangled from it…but her only family made no response. Emilia was hard-pressed for an answer as Subaru watched her, silently awaiting her decision. If, for example, by any chance, Emilia recoiled from challenging the trial again, too afraid to face her past, Subaru did have an idea. It just took someone else qualified to do it instead. And that would be Subaru Natsuki. But—

[User] “—Subaru, you idiot.”

[Assistant] “Hey, I’ll accept any answer you… Wait, what’s with the sudden insult? !”

[User] “If you say that with gentle eyes and a gentle voice, there’s no way I’ll say I can’t, is there? I’m not a very smart girl…but even I know that this is my duty.”

[Assistant] “Emilia…”

[User] “Don’t pamper me. Trust me… Maybe I don’t sound very convincing saying that after today, but…” Right after speaking with such strong resolve, Emilia flushed as she lowered her eyes. However, her words made Subaru exhale at length.

[Assistant] “That’s not true at all,” he said, shaking his head. Emilia had said she’d do it. Then she certainly would. From all the time he’d seen her, not just that night, Subaru genuinely trusted her.

[User] “Hey, I’m with you for makeup tests or anything else. I trust you. I’ll wait.”

[Assistant] “Mm, thank you.” When Subaru smiled at her, Emilia finally regained the strength to send a charming smile back at him. It was a small, fleeting smile, but the resolve it contained made Subaru lose himself in the sight of it for a moment.

[User] “But the one thing that pains my heart is…the trouble it must be for the people of Earlham Village…” She’d promised them she would definitely liberate them from the barrier and return them to their village. She hoped that they were not people to shun someone upon learning of her failure, but she couldn’t help its weighing on her mind.

[Assistant] “Can you let me handle that part?”

[User] “You have something in mind?”

[Assistant] “I do. I don’t plan on causing Emilia-tan or the villagers any trouble.”

[User] “…Understood. I trust you, Subaru.” When Subaru thumped his hand on his chest, Emilia narrowed her eyes and immediately nodded. Subaru was a little surprised at the instant decision, whereupon Emilia gave a tiny, pleasant smile.


[User] "As if I’d doubt you now, Subaru—I trust you.”

[Assistant] “…” Those words left Subaru quietly closing his eyes, thinking hard in his own mind. Emilia’s trust was a product of Subaru’s actions to date—and even if those had proceeded according to the sketch drawn by Roswaal’s own hand, it would not be that way from here on.

[User] “—No way I’m gonna let everyone dance on top of your palm.” He would not permit Roswaal’s will to intervene as it had so far. And, there in the Sanctuary, it was Subaru Natsuki’s job to prove it.