[User] "Do you have any thoughts?" Julius raised an eyebrow as Subaru got hung up on something.

[Assistant] "No, it’s just that I have a bad experience running around in circles thanks to a different trial. The parallels here made me remember it."

[User] "I know the feeling. I had the same thought, too."

[Assistant] That naturally made Subaru a bit suspicious of Anastasia/Foxidna.

[User] "What? What did I do?"

[Assistant] “…I was just surprised with how knowledgeable you seem that you couldn’t manage to solve it. ‘The accumulated four hundred years of knowledge passed down in Kararagi!’ or something like that."

[User] "Sorry, I’m not much for stuff beyond business. So if anything, we’re all countin’ on you, Natsuki."

[Assistant] "Who, me?"

[User] Easily dodging the suspicion he couldn’t detail in the open, Anastasia turned the focus back onto Subaru before nodding and glancing over at Shaula. "Well, she’s awfully attached to you, so if you bring her along, maybe she’ll let a hint or two slip out, right?"

[Assistant] Counting on someone else to save you? Is it really that difficult of a problem?"

[User] "More like there are absolutely no clues. Rather than trying to explain, it would be easier if you just see it yourself."

[Assistant] It was not a good sign that the exam question was so hard that everyone was already looking for a loophole rather than face it head-on.

[User] "Okay, I got it. For now, let’s see what this exam is. If there’s no penalty for failing, then there’s no harm if things don’t work out."

[Assistant] "Yes, that’s right. Like Lady Anastasia, I have high hopes for you." Saying that, Julius led the way as the party prepared to challenge the examination again.

[User] Having people pin their hopes on him made Subaru uneasy, but it was a problem that they had banged their heads against for two days without any progress. He had to at least try. But for now… "Hey, Shaula, you got a moment?"

[Assistant] Beatrice had a dubious look on her face when Subaru called Shaula over on the way up to the third floor.

[User] "—? Subaru?"

[Assistant] They were at the back of the line and talking quietly enough that the others could not hear. Shaula was not on guard at all, her scorpiontail swinging as she smiled. "What is it?"

[User] "You’ll listen to what I tell you, right?"

[Assistant] "Anything too racy is no good, though."

[User] "Get your mind out of the gutter. You trying to kill the mood?"

[Assistant] "Isn’t that exactly what you’re doing?" Shaula pouted as Subaru scratched his head, unable to settle into his own pace.


[User] Almost everyone else tended to feel thrown off their rhythm when talking with Subaru, so he often used that to find openings for directing the conversation, but that plan wasn’t working so well with this woman. "Well, then I’ll just get straight to the point. I have a request, Shaula."

[Assistant] "Wh-what is it? You look so serious. By any chance, have you falle—?"

[User] "Do not cause any harm to me or my comrades."

[Assistant] "Your master’s order was to attack anyone who approached this tower, right? Since we’re inside now, we should be beyond the bounds of that order. So there’s no need to attack anymore. Do not—I repeat, do not cause us any harm.” Shaula’s eyes narrowed as Subaru reiterated his request. Looking her in the eye from that close, he noticed something different about her pupils. She had beautiful green eyes with mysterious small red points of light in the middle. It was a deep color that almost seemed to draw him in, and he started to forget to breathe—

[User] “Mmm, okay. I’ve memorized that as a new order from Master.”

[Assistant] “…Is that really fine?”

[User] “Fine or not’s got nothing to do with it. Master said it. Nonviolent disobedience.”

[Assistant] “You’re following the order, so it’s obedience, though, isn’t it?”

[User] “My body may be at your service, but you can’t steal my heart!” Shaula was still wearing a poised expression when Subaru flicked her in the forehead.

[Assistant] “Owww!” Shaula pulled back with teary eyes.

[User] Subaru sighed. It was unclear how effective his request would be, but at least he had tried. “All that’s left is to trust she’ll keep her word so long as I don’t betray her expectations.”

[Assistant] “In that case, there’s no need to worry. You betray estimations, but you don’t betray expectations.”

[User] “I appreciate that high rating, but I don’t really know what I should work on in this sort of situation…” Subaru had to live up to the Flugel in Shaula’s mind, but there was no clue how he should behave to pass as someone he knew nothing about. As of that moment, he couldn’t think of anything other than to perfectly perform his usual role as Subaru Natsuki. “Oh yeah, Shaula, I have one last question.”

[Assistant] “What’s up?” She answered with an untroubled, casual response, and Subaru brushed it off as he raised both his hands and then held up six fingers.

[User] “Maia, Electra, Taygeta, Alcyone, Celaeno, Asterope.” Not understanding what he was saying, Beatrice’s cute face looked troubled. Smiling at her, Subaru showed the fingers to Shaula. "From top to bottom, those are the names of the floors of the Pleiades Watchtower—or rather, the Great Pleiades Library…right?”

[Assistant] “Correctamundo. The first floor is Maia, and the second floor is Electra.”

[User] “Thought so. In which case…” Looking at Shaula, who was nodding, Subaru added a seventh finger. After drawing Beatrice and Shaula’s attention to it, he asked his true question. “Where is Merope?”

[Assistant] Shaula fell silent again.


[User] But this silence was different from when she was thinking. It was a sign she had been caught off guard. Her breath caught faintly, and Subaru judged he had touched on something important. "Betty doesn’t understand. What is Merope, Subaru?"

[Assistant] "The last member of a certain group of seven names. It’s weird not to have all seven if we’re talking about the Pleiades." The first through sixth floors had been given names. But those names came from a group of seven—the seven Pleiades sisters who appeared in a story about the stars that Subaru knew well. In which case, there should be another floor named after the seventh sister hidden somewhere, too. "A seventh floor, or else a zeroth floor? One or the other should exist."

[User] "Zeroth. It makes sense, since you named them… But it was a place made after you disappeared, so you shouldn’t know where it is."

[Assistant] Shaula was shocked when she confirmed Subaru’s supposition.

[User] However, Subaru did not feel any sense of accomplishment at uncovering a hidden secret. It was outweighed by acceptance. "A zeroth floor, meaning it should be above the first… Or no, since you didn’t call the sixth floor the lowest. In which case, it isn’t up, it’s underground—"

[Assistant] "—No good." Shaula immediately interrupted him. Subaru caught his breath at the intensity of her tone, but there was no change in Shaula’s face. She was still smiling, and her eyes were filled with trust. But there was a trace of loneliness, too. "The requirements haven’t been fulfilled yet. You came back to meet me in the middle of your journey, and that’s enough. So the zeroth floor is no good." Her tone was not particularly different, but there was something strange about her voice. It almost felt like a wall was going up. To Subaru’s ears, a trace of danger had seeped in, as if the promise she had just made was being threatened.

[User] "...Got it. I won’t ask anymore. Just keep the promise you made."

[Assistant] "Roger. I will. You can count on me." Shaula broke into a smile, getting excited as if she had already forgotten the floor conversation.

[User] Subaru heaved a sigh of relief when he heard her cheery response coming from behind him. "Subaru, if it ever becomes too much to bear, you can always talk to Betty."

[Assistant] "Mm, I’m all right. Just a lot to think about is all." Smiling weakly, he patted her head gently.

[User] Beatrice didn’t say anything else, but this little ritual of theirs helped Subaru calm down. The conversation with Shaula and the oddity of the image of Flugel had started to come to light. It was nothing too unexpected. But he was like Subaru, too. Subaru, Al, Hoshin, and now Flugel. A being who brought knowledge with him that did not exist in this world, leaving it to later generations. There was, without a doubt, only one explanation.


[User] Flugel was also a stranger in a foreign land, hailing from the same place as Subaru.

[Assistant] “A few hundred years ago, huh?” Mulling over that long, long span of time, Subaru wildly scratched his head. What had Flugel thought of this world? What had he hoped, had he sought, had he wanted to gain? After abandoning the title of Sage, how had he lived in this world? And while those thoughts filled Subaru’s mind…

[User] “Master.” Shaula breezily called out to him. She stopped walking, and a half step later, Subaru stopped as well.

[Assistant] “Huh?”

[User] Looking back, he was met head-on by Shaula’s smile. It was a sincerely happy, loving expression. "Welcome back, Master. From the bottom of my heart, I, Shaula, have always longed for the Sage Flugel’s return.”


[User] Subaru was unsure how to feel about Shaula’s formal welcome. He never intended to deceive her. But he was definitely not the Flugel Shaula had been waiting four hundred years for. If that isn’t a betrayal, then what is?

[Assistant] "I understand the feeling, but you don’t have to worry too much, Subaru. Even if Shaula realizes you aren’t her master, I’m sure it won’t be the end of the world." Noticing Subaru’s glum look, Emilia chimed in supportively. She flashed a smile brimming with confidence as she played with her braid.

[User] "I appreciate the vote of confidence, but what makes you say that?"

[Assistant] "I mean, she’s a good person, isn’t she? She helped us, and we are getting along perfectly fine. And there’s no reason to start a fight, right?"

[User] "…Right…" It was a far too optimistic outlook, but being too pessimistic all the time was also a bad habit. Even if Shaula learned the truth, that wouldn’t necessarily make them instant enemies. They just had to build a good rapport with her so that even if she found out, they could move past it without a confrontation. That was the ideal.

[Assistant] "—Mister? We’re here." Meili pulled Subaru out of his thoughts. They had reached a room on the opposite side of the circle from the green room. Past the simple door without any vines covering it, there was a staircase in the middle that led upward.

[User] "Just a normal set of stairs. Were spiral stairs out of season or something?"

[Assistant] "I suppose it’s natural to wonder, given the long set of stairs from the bottom floor, but the set going from the third to the fourth floor is a normal length. To begin with, unlike the spiral staircase where climbing is all that is required—"

[User] "Right, if we can’t clear the examination, we can’t actually reach the floor." Subaru finished Julius’s line of thought for him. The examination that they had already challenged and failed multiple times was waiting at the other end of those stairs. And according to the rest of the party, it would be faster if he saw it for himself. There’s no penalty for failing, either, and they know better, so if they say so…

[Assistant] "Might as well then. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Shall we?"

[User] "Mm-hmm, that’s the spirit."

[Assistant] "That’s the spirit."

[User] "That’s da spirit."

[Assistant] Emilia, Beatrice, and Shaula all agreed in their own way, and Subaru stepped onto the stairs. He steeled his resolve with each step. And almost disappointingly easily, he set foot onto the third floor, Taygeta.

[User] "This is…" The moment he entered the room, he felt something was off. It felt like walking into an anomaly, or more like a space where nothing felt right.


[User] The inside should have been a cylinder, a simple extension of all the previous floors, but when Subaru entered the room, he was greeted by a strange expanse that spread out in every direction. The area should not have been noticeably larger than the previous floors, but the overwhelming whiteness made it impossible to see the walls, making it feel endless. Looking up, he couldn’t make out the ceiling, either. Looking down, there was just a single black hole where the stairs emerged from the floor below. Everything else was so white that he was almost scared to walk on it. He was hit by a disorienting feeling that the floor wasn’t there and he might just start falling into nothingness. The floor, ceiling, and walls were all the same. Subaru felt like he would end up wandering the vast emptiness if he lost track of where the stairs were. And right in front of him in that white space—directly in front of the stairs—there was a mysterious object floating in the air.

[Assistant] "A stone slab…?" That was his first impression. There wasn’t really any other way to describe it. It was a rectangular black slab made of a material that was almost slick to the touch. On closer examination, it didn’t seem to actually be stone, but he didn’t think it was metal, either, so he wasn’t sure what to call it. If I’m being dramatic, then maybe monolith would work. The silent monolith was floating mysteriously, hanging in the air a dozen inches off the ground. Based on its height and width, Subaru felt it resembled a large tatami mat floating in the air.

[User] "So this strange thing is…what, exactly?"

[Assistant] "If I was to put it into words, that is the device that sets up the puzzle for us." While Subaru was occupied by its strange brightness, Julius joined him in staring at the monolith. Thinking of the trouble this thing had already given him, Julius’s expression was severe.

[User] As Emilia and the others entered the white space, they drew close, possibly to counteract the pervasive feeling of emptiness. "I’d rather not spend a lot of time in a place like this."

[Assistant] "Agreed. Staying here too long is draining. And seeing a certain someone trip on the stairs while leaving is not good for my heart."

[User] "Come on, Julius, don’t be like that." Anastasia’s cheeks puffed up as she protested Julius’s joke. Judging by that reaction, she must have been the one who tripped earlier. But Subaru had no urge to laugh at that. The room had clearly been designed to screw with people’s senses. It was like a manifestation of its creator’s malice.

[Assistant] "So then, what do I do to get the riddle?"

[User] "Touch that slab and the examination will begin, I suppose."

[Assistant] "I just have to touch the monolith?"

[User] "—Monolith? An oddly fitting term. That’s a good word for it." Ignoring how Julius was impressed by the strangest things, Subaru stood in front of the monolith.


[User] Even looking at it from up close, it wasn’t like there was some odd pressure emanating from it or anything. Other than floating in the air, it was just an inscrutable slab. Though the fact that it was floating was incredibly mysterious, so it could be considered a mess of mysteries…

[Assistant] “Either way…I just touch it, right? Can I get a countdown?”

[User] “Ah, then I’ll do it. Three, two, one…”

[Assistant] “Too fast, too fast!” Emilia raised her hand and immediately started counting down. In time with her, Subaru spun to face the monolith.

[User] “Zero!”

[Assistant] Subaru touched it just as Emilia finished. The next instant, a swell of light shot out of the monolith, and suddenly, he started seeing double. No… It’s not me. The monolith suddenly started multiplying as its black surface gleamed. The front face shone while more monoliths appeared from behind it, one after the other. They flew at high speed around the white room, scattering to various points before stopping and hanging in the air. The sudden change took Subaru by total surprise. He watched in stunned silence as a voice echoed directly in his head.

[User] “Great hero destroyed by Shaula, touch upon his grandest splendor.”


[User] "—? !" Subaru reflexively pulled his hand away from the monolith. Frantically stumbling back, he felt someone supporting him from behind.

[Assistant] "Well, did you experience a bit of the surprise we felt at first?"

[User] "That’s what this was about? !" Subaru protested the moment he saw Julius’s faint smile.

[Assistant] Brushing away Julius’s hand, Subaru stood up on his own and faced the examination. The duplicate monoliths now filled the white space, leaving the one that Subaru had touched at the very center. There were so many now that it would have been a pain to count them all.

[User] "So this is the examination… That about sum it up, Shaula?"

[Assistant] "Is there any reason it shouldn’t? Let me see a bit of your cool side, Master." With Shaula’s easygoing support urging him on, Subaru scanned the room. Other than the monolith copies, there was no change in the vast white space. And looking closer, the new monoliths were not pure copy-pastes of the original. They had slight differences in size.

[User] "Other than that, the only thing that could be called a hint is that voice, huh?" Great hero destroyed by Shaula, touch upon his grandest splendor. It had not reached his ears. Instead, those words had apparently been whispered directly to his brain. Subaru hadn’t even given any thought to who the voice might have belonged to, perhaps because there had not actually been a sound. It almost felt like the voice in my head when I read to myself.

[Assistant] "If I had to describe it, I’d say it was my own voice… I guess that’s the exam question, then?"

[User] "Sorry to interrupt while you are thinking, but there are a few points of interest. It would probably be worthwhile to hear those before facing the question itself."

[Assistant] "So now you want to explain things first." Subaru frowned and stared at Julius, still sore about the minor prank. But Julius took it all in stride.

[User] "I said seeing it would be easier than explaining it. That was all. I had not expected you to be so surprised, so allow me to apologize for that."

[Assistant] "All right, all right! Sorry for being a scaredy-cat! So what are these points of interest?"

[User] "Very well. Try touching the stone slab—or monolith, as you called it—right over there."

[Assistant] "You really liked that, huh? I mean, it’s fine if you did…" Julius was apparently enjoying his word choice more than he had realized. Subaru shrugged and walked over to one of the newly created monoliths.

[User] "There’s not some kind of trap that will swallow up my arm when I touch it or anything, is there?"

[Assistant] "It will be fine. And if something like that was to happen, Betty will serve as your right arm for the rest of your life."

[User] "Ah, then I’ll be your left arm.


[User] “So don’t worry.”

[Assistant] “That would mean I lost both arms!” Spurred on by Beatrice’s and Emilia’s strong reassurances, Subaru worked up his courage and reached out to touch the monolith. He refused to be surprised no matter what happened—

[User] “Whoa? !” But he stood no chance. When his fingertip brushed the monolith, the black surface flashed brilliantly again. Reflexively covering his eyes, he shouted

[Assistant] “Again? !” before cautiously reopening them.

[User] “Huh? Where’d it go?”

[Assistant] “Heh-heh-heh, behind you, Master.” The monolith that should have been in front of him, and every other one that had filled the white space before, suddenly disappeared. Shaula gloated for no reason while Subaru tried to understand what happened. Turning around at her comment, he saw just a single monolith behind him. It was the original that had been there from the start when he entered the third floor.

[User] “All the others disappeared. Meaning what?”

[Assistant] “It has returned to its original state. Meaning the examination has concluded as a failure, I would imagine. Of course…” Walking past Subaru, who was dumbfounded, Julius approached the first monolith and touched its surface, and then the voice echoed in Subaru’s head again—

[User] “Great hero destroyed by Shaula, touch upon his grandest splendor.” At the same time as the question echoed in their heads again, new monoliths poured out of the original and scattered to their previous positions around the room. The examination had been reset.

[Assistant] “I see, so this is a retry. We can take the test as many times as we want.”

[User] “At least, that is our observation thus far. Also, to be clear, going around touching all of them in succession using a process of elimination is not considered an acceptable answer.”

[Assistant] “Ah, so you guys tried a scattershot approach.” Subaru read between the lines of Julius’s delicate explanation, and Emilia blushed.

[User] I see. Trying to touch all of them is definitely something she’d think of. And if that didn’t work out, then…

[Assistant] “An answer arrived at without thought is apparently not sufficient for whoever set this problem.”

[User] “Mm-hmm, there’s always teachers like that. Zero credit for answers that don’t show your work. It’s a good way to stop kids from cribbing from other people’s answers.”

[Assistant] Considering the whole point of a test at school, you could say that just an answer really isn’t enough. Though there was a time I complained about how tyrannical teachers were for using that sort of system.

[User] “At this point, though, I think the teacher was right…”

[Assistant] “Sorry to interrupt while you’re taking another trip down memory lane, but this is sort of your time to shine, Natsuki. So get a grip, would you?”

[User] “Er, uhh, sorry. But what do you mean by my time to shine?” Anastasia put her hand on her hip as Subaru cocked his head. Her eyes turned toward Shaula.

[Assistant] “Oh… You’re telling me to ask her what the answer is?”

[User] “I said it before, didn’t I? We’re counting on you.


[User] "She wouldn’t talk to us.”

[Assistant] “That’s a little hard to believe…” From what they said, Shaula was almost completely silent before he woke up, but from the moment he’d been awake, she couldn’t have been friendlier. Overfamiliar, even, so it was hard for him to imagine. But even if she was willing to talk, there was another big problem with asking her.

[User] “Hey, Shaula, you got any idea who it might mean by a hero that you destroyed?”

[Assistant] “Remembering the names of everyone you killed is for amateurs… A pro like me doesn’t remember anyone past the first hundred.” Shaula flashed an energetic thumbs-up.

[User] “Figures!” That was pretty much exactly what he expected. “However, if we leave it at that, the conversation cannot proceed. Ms. Shaula, do you really not remember anything? Even if it is just something minor?”

[Assistant] “I mean, you say that, but I just Hell’s Sniped everyone who got close to this tower, and the demon beasts outside cleaned up any corpses.”

[User] “Hmm, that’s weird, isn’t it? The exam here is to get access to the tower’s archive, right? It wouldn’t make sense if the answer was something Shaula did after the tower was built. The answer would need to be something that happened earlier in the timeline.” Catching the inconsistency in Shaula’s answer, Anastasia followed up. True, if the answer to the question was from something that happened after the tower was being managed, then it would screw up the whole order of events. In which case the natural interpretation is that the ‘hero destroyed by Shaula’ comes from before the tower was built.

[Assistant] “So this is from before you were just wildly killing everyone who approached this place. Think back. Your memory is so bad because your breasts and bottom are absorbing all the nutrients, I suppose.”

[User] “My mom picked this look for me. And even if you tell me to remember, I honestly can’t really think of anything. I mean, you’re asking about before this tower was made, right?"

[Assistant] They gathered around Shaula, trying to jog her memory. Weighed down by all their expectations, Shaula just groaned. It looked like there was little hope this would lead to an answer.

[User] “Assuming it’s not a lie, she was around four hundred years ago, wasn’t she? If we just list a bunch of famous people from back then, maybe she killed a couple of them?”

[Assistant] “What do you think I am, Master? I’m a gentle maiden who likes to nibble flowers.”

[User] “That’s not a maiden; it’s a caterpillar.”

[Assistant] “Don’t go too far, Subaru. If she doesn’t want to remember, then we don’t need to force her…”

[User] “Your kindness is a virtue and insanely charming, but this woman’s the type where the more you spoil her, the worse she’ll get! I can tell! I’m the same way!” This definitely isn’t simply a matter of not wanting to remember. She just has a terrible memory.


[User] “Still, though, even if we know the hero who was destroyed, how do we get the monoliths to accept it?”

[Assistant] “True, Natsuki. Even if we get that part, what is touching his greatest splendor?”

[User] Is it really going to come down to thumbing through Shaula’s memories?

[Assistant] “Buuuut we won’t make any progress just thinking about it like this. The half naked lady is willing to help, so it should be fine to ask her for anything we can figure out, if you ask me.” Meili sounded fed up as she played with Shaula’s hair while looking disinterestedly at the monoliths.

[User] “There aren’t any cute demon beasts, and there’s not any progress, so it isn’t any fun here. Hurry up… I want to go back to the manor.”

[Assistant] Everyone was at a loss for words at Meili’s spoiled statement. Subaru patted her head.

[User] “What?” Meili adjusted her position.

[Assistant] “…What did I do?”

[User] “Nothing. I was just thinking you were right. This place is covered in sand, and there are all sorts of crazy demon beasts outside. Let’s take care of everything, resolve all the problems…wake Rem up and find a way to help all the people who are in trouble, and then get out of here quick.”

[Assistant] Spinning our wheels and getting anxious without even trying anything is a waste of precious time.

[User] “Master, Master. You know there’s actually a really easy head to pat right next to hers.”

[Assistant] “Like I said, I know you’re the type that goes bad when you’re spoiled. Starting now, I’m going full spartan on you.”

[User] “Awwww.” Shaula’s cheeks puffed out, and she started sulking in earnest.

[Assistant] “We have received a request from the young lady, so shall we at least try whatever possibilities are staring us in the face?”

[User] “Yeah, that’s for the best. We can fail as many times as we want, so there’s no pressure. Most of the time in life you only get one chance, so this is mild compared to that.”

[Assistant] Time to make Shaula remember whichever hero she destroyed.

[User] “We’ll go with names we know… That’s a good starting point.


[User] "So what about Reid, the first Sword Saint. Did you kill him?”

[Assistant] “Eeeeeeep!! !” Shaula leaped back with a scream when Subaru tested out the first name that came to mind. Because of the sudden motion, Meili couldn’t hold on and started to fall.

[User] “Watch out!” Luckily, Subaru dove and caught her.

[Assistant] “Th-thanks, mister…”

[User] “No problem. It seems like it was a little my fault, too…though…” Carefully setting down Meili, Shaula had gotten smaller as she fled far in the distance. "Was the first Sword Saint really that scary?”

[Assistant] “Not possible. He was the honored forefather of Reinhard and Sir Wilhelm’s Astrea lineage. There is no doubt when it comes to the quality of either his swordsmanship or his good character. In the stories that have been passed down about him, he certainly seemed to have an unfettered, broadminded personality and certain quirks that diverge slightly from Reinhard and the others… But were he not of upstanding character, that would mean the history of the Astrea family to this day has become twisted.”

[User] “Okay, fair, but, at least for Japan, when you take a closer look at history, even skilled statesmen can look pretty terrible from different angles. Compared to that, I’d say this is a pretty mild sort of question…”

[Assistant] “Well, we won’t make much progress by simply speculating. Let’s have the woman who was a witness enlighten us. If you please…” When Subaru imagined out loud what Reid might have been like based on Shaula’s reaction, Julius went off on a long spiel. And to top it off, he even walked all over Subaru’s attempts at managing expectations. "Let us hear your impression of the first Sword Saint, Reid Astrea, Ms. Shaula. Allow me to ask your unreserved and honest opinion.”

[User] “He was an absolute trash human being.”

[Assistant] "Allow me to ask your unreserved and honest opinion.”

[User] “Don’t act like you didn’t hear her!” Subaru pointed at Shaula as Julius tried to ignore the inconvenient answer she had just given. "There you go, listen. The true history you wanted to know is right there.”

[Assistant] “…People of superior skill, be it greater or lesser, all have self-confidence. That is not something they should be blamed for. If anything, it is something to be proud of. For a man who left his name to history as the greatest swordsman of his time, that sort of behavior would be, well, considering the historical background, it is even suitable—”

[User] “This is the first time I’ve seen you this desperate.” Julius was faltering, seemingly unconvinced himself. Ignoring the man who seemed to be feeling a little bit let down at the truth of the history he had admired, Shaula continued sharing what kind of man Reid Astrea was.

[Assistant] “Well, basically, he was a terrible guy. A personality like a brat who just got bigger instead of growing up. And he loved bullying weaklings."


[User] "Though as far as that jerk was concerned, pretty much everyone was a weakling, so you could call it bullying the weak whenever he fought anyone. He totally wrecked me, too.” No matter how many hateful memories spilled out, the darkness in Shaula’s demeanor did not fade. It was like a child who had been picked on recounting all the injustices their bully had perpetrated on them.

[Assistant] “I remember that jerk. It’s only natural that you forget the things you do, but it’s impossible to forget what was done to you…”

[User] “If he could mistreat you, of all people, he must have been pretty monstrous. Either way, though, it looks like he’s not the hero this question means, so save it for later.”

[Assistant] “…………………Indeed. There are other things we should prioritize at the moment.”

[User] It was hard to say whether it was due to a purely scholarly interest or just his own personal interest, but Subaru had a feeling Julius would not be much use for a while. He felt a bit bad that Julius’s dreams had just been crushed, but they didn’t have any reason to care much about Reinhard’s ancestor at the moment. No matter how amazing the lineage might be, Reinhard was already more than amazing enough on his own, so Subaru considered that all just icing on the cake anyway. And at least when it came to the question of their fathers’ characters, Subaru was confident he was more blessed than Reinhard. “In which case, if we leave guessing random heroes to someone more knowledgeable about that topic…”

[Assistant] “Understood. Allow me to humbly accept that duty.”

[User] “I didn’t say you yet, but sure, have at it. Beako, can you help him?”

[Assistant] “Very well.”

[User] Leaving the job to someone fired up for it was for the best. And as an assistant, Beatrice was a good fit with her four centuries worth of knowledge. “Then what should we do?”

[Assistant] “Let’s give the surroundings a more thorough search.” While Julius and Beatrice were pursuing the hero angle with Shaula, Subaru took a different approach. To start, he turned his eyes to the layout of the swarm of monoliths. “They’re scattered, but is there some method to the madness? The first one is right in front of the stairs.”

[User] “The one that gave the question.”

[Assistant] Though they weren’t particularly tightly spaced, Subaru took great care not to touch any monoliths as he, Emilia, and Anastasia began examining them. “They all are slightly different sizes, which might have something to do with it? We can’t touch them to measure the size precisely, but—”

[User] “At a glance…it looks like maybe seven or eight are around the same size as the first one?”

[Assistant] “Maybe? Yeah, I think so, too. The ones reeeally far away are all small, I think. Touching them will still restart the test.”

[User] “Spoken like someone with experience… Ah, sorry, never mind.” Emilia looked at him with sad eyes, so Subaru bit back his needless jab.


[User] Moving back in front of the first monolith, the three of them put their heads together.

[Assistant] “Great hero destroyed by Shaula, touch upon his grandest splendor… It feels like someone trying to sound epic.”

[User] “It’s certainly an abstract sort of phrasing. But if this requires Shaula’s memories to solve it, then it’s a failure of a test, isn’t it?”

[Assistant] “I can’t really say I disagree.”

[User] For something that calls itself an examination, if the solution requires relying on someone other than the exam taker—and not just someone else, but the person who is supposed to be managing the tower—then that’s totally unfair.

[Assistant] They were currently on friendly terms with Shaula, through no fault or effort of their own, and had managed to get into the tower without fighting her, but were it not for that, they could have easily been in for a brutal fight to the death.

[User] Even if they had succeeded, it was very possible they would’ve had to kill her just to gain access to this place. “That would make it basically impossible to ever pass this examination.”

[Assistant] “If whoever set this up didn’t wany to let anyone pass, then that would be one way. Putting a powerful guardian as a first line of defense and then making it so that the exam was impossible to clear if that guardian was defeated.”

[User] “But you don’t think that’s what this is. Right?”

[Assistant] “Well, yeah.” Subaru smiled wryly with a nod as Emilia stared at him with eyes filled with expectation.

[User] It was Subaru’s weak point. He had no defense against people like Emilia or Beatrice giving him that look.

[Assistant] It was the same with Rem and Garfiel and Otto, too. And Petra and—there was no end to it if he really thought about it. Patlash and Ram were the only ones who didn’t do it.

[User] “Hmm. With a few notable exceptions, questions like this are generally designed to be solvable. If you really wanted to hide something, then it makes no sense to purposely give anyone a chance to find it.”

[Assistant] “Right, so you’re saying this is something different?”

[User] “Shaula said this is a great library where we could find anything we wanted to know or discover, right? That doesn’t sound like the sort of thing she would say off the top of her head. More like something she was told herself once. In which case it was her master who made this place and left it in Shaula’s care. In other words, her master intended for it to serve as a library from the beginning.”

[Assistant] And the more Subaru tugged the thread of that possibility, the more their current situation felt unnatural.

[User] The creator of the Great Pleiades Library must have intended for it to be used. That explained the examination and Shaula’s watch.

[Assistant] “So from the start, it’s something only people who can get along with Shaula can use?”

[User] “But Shaula was told to take out everyone who approaches the tower.”


[User] Shaula was under strict orders to erase everyone who approached the tower without exception. Us being on good terms with her is a complete coincidence. It’s way too limiting to assume that anyone who doesn’t luck into those exact circumstances isn’t allowed to challenge this tower.

[Assistant] "If that was it, then the requirements are strength, luck, and the charm to get on Shaula’s good side? That’s pretty unreasonable, if you ask me.”

[User] “…Yeah…”

[Assistant] Not being able to beat Shaula or kill her, or failing to get her help, all mean losing the right to challenge the Great Pleiades Library. It’s not exactly logical, but that seems like the only conclusion from what we know so far. But Subaru could not bring himself to just accept that, either.

[User] “Mm. Hmm.”

[Assistant] “Emilia?”

[User] "There is something that reeeally bothers me. It might not have anything to do with anything, but…”

[Assistant] “If something’s bothering you, just say it. It’s not like my theories are guaranteed to be right, and coming at it from different angles is generally a good idea.”

[User] “Really? In that case…this examination really feels a lot like the trials.” Subaru and Anastasia both went quiet at that. For different reasons, though. Anastasia because she did not understand the comparison, and Subaru because he did.

[Assistant] “Getting in my way again, Echidna…”

[User] “I don’t think Echidna has anything to do with this examination… But you reeeally seem to hate her.”

[Assistant] “If you ever meet someone who seems like a savior only for them to turn out to be the mastermind behind it all, you’ll end up like me, too.” Ever since the events at the Sanctuary, Emilia and Subaru had only talked about the Witch once or twice. And when he brought up the content of the trials, Emilia struggled to answer, so he had refrained from probing any further. The one thing they both shared about it was that “Echidna is an evil, sadistic bitch.” Emilia had a more roundabout, polite way of saying it, but that was exactly how Subaru put it. I noticed it when the examination was first brought up, but especially once the test started, it felt like the trials. So maybe a part of the system, or even a big piece of it, is the same as that tomb.

[User] “Thinking back, the trials could be attempted an unlimited number of times, too.”

[Assistant] “And the examinations here are for the third, second, and first floors, so there are three of them, too.” Subaru and Emilia looked at each other, realizing the similarities were piling up. The existence of the Sage and a four-century time span. Naturally thinking about that brought the witches to mind, too. What were the odds that they had no connection at all?

[User] “Yeah, but even knowing that much isn’t going to give us an answer here.” Emilia quickly stopped that line of thought.


[User] “…Or maybe not?”

[Assistant] “If we assume this is something that is supposed to be solvable, then it can’t be done without Shaula. But what if that thought itself is wrong?”

[User] There is a shared point between the two of them, other than the sadism of the people setting the tests, it’s that there is a margin of thought possible.

[Assistant] “There’s a chance we can clear this tower without Shaula…”

[User] “If you’ve thought of something, Natsuki, then—” Anastasia started to say.

[Assistant] "Shh." Putting her finger to her lips to silence Anastasia, Emilia looked at Subaru, her eyes filling with confidence.

[User] “We mistakenly believed that Shaula was responsible for Flugel’s achievements. The Sage’s greatest accomplishment is sealing the Witch together with his comrades. But the Witch of Jealousy would never be called a hero, and she wasn’t destroyed, either.”

[Assistant] “What if there’s a Shaula that Shaula doesn’t know about?”

[User] “Beako! Can you come here a sec?”

[Assistant] "Betty likes the look on your face."

[User] “Don’t you always like it?”

[Assistant] "This time is especially good." Subaru held out his hand to her as she said that without any shame.

[User] “It’s simple—I want to jump high up for a bit using Murak.”

[Assistant] “…Don’t tell Betty you’ve given up and are trying to break through the ceiling.”

[User] “Don’t sound so exasperated. Of course not."


[User] "I want to be able to look down at the monoliths from above.”

[Assistant] "Look down at the monolith…" Emilia murmured as she looked back at the monolith, behind Subaru.

[User] Beatrice did not understand the reason, but she did not ask anything else. Exhaling slightly, she pulled Subaru’s hand closer, tighter. "Murak.”

[Assistant] A faint light purple surged in reply to Beatrice’s incantation and shrouded Subaru’s body. It was a spell that dampened the effects of gravity and sharply enhanced agility. A light hop was enough to go up a yard in the air, and a full-strength jump—

[User] "Here…we…go!” Still holding Beatrice’s hand, Subaru’s body leaped high. He was around six or seven yards up, but his body did not crash into the ceiling that should have been there. It was as if the ceiling simply didn’t exist in the infinite white space, like the whole floor of the tower had been expanded. Because of that, Subaru could look down at the entire room from above. "Just like I thought.”

[Assistant] "Did you get what you wanted?”

[User] "Yep. This is the worst kind of terrible.” Subaru’s cheeks twisted as he nodded at Beatrice’s question. Falling gently, Subaru carried Beatrice like a princess all the way down. "I know the hero’s name.”

[Assistant] "Really? !”

[User] Subaru shared his confidence to Emilia, who had watched his leap from start to finish.

[Assistant] Emilia was stunned, and Anastasia’s eyes widened.

[User] "I’m not going to doubt you now, but…how did you get the answer, Natsuki?”

[Assistant] "It’s nothing that special. You guys not managing to solve it isn’t because you were bad or missed something. There are hardly any people who have a chance of answering it.” That was why he had said it was the worst kind of terrible. Making it past the obstacle of Shaula, understanding the actual contents of the question, and just the fundamental ability to know the answer, between all of that, the people who could do it were already badly limited. "The hero destroyed by Shaula? His name is Orion.”

[User] "Orion…?” Everyone looked at Shaula with a dubious look when Subaru said that name.

[Assistant] But Shaula herself shook her head vigorously. "Never heard of the guy! Seriously, I don’t know who you’re talkin’ about. Even if I did kill him, anyone who didn’t make it here can’t be a hero, right? So it’s not my fault. How do you like that defense?! I’m smart!”

[User] "Which is exactly why we suspected this obviously not-so-smart person might have simply forgotten, but it’s not that, either. The Shaula in question isn’t talking about her in the first place.”

[Assistant] "I’m the only Shaula! It’s the name I got from Master!”


[User] “I’m saying there was a story behind the name your master gave you.” Putting his finger on Shaula’s nose, Subaru pushed her back as she tried to argue. And then Subaru walked over in front of the first monolith.

[Assistant] “The origin of the name Shaula… Is that another thing that only you know?”

[User] “It’s not just me. But back where I’m from, there is a star called Shaula. It means needle, but it’s not just any needle. It’s a scorpion’s tail.” She insisted that her hairstyle was a scorpiontail. Whether that was a hint or just her natural airheadedness is up for debate, but either way, there were a couple of things to link Shaula, scorpion, and needle together.

[Assistant] “According to legend, the great hero Orion was getting full of himself, so the gods chose a scorpion to deal with him. Once it jabbed him, he died and transformed into stars in the sky. And for its achievement, the scorpion was also turned into a constellation. It’s said that even now, Orion is afraid of the scorpion and runs away from it in the night sky…”

[User] “When Subaru breaks it down so much, even a heroic tale ends up sounding disappointing.”

[Assistant] “Anyway, there’s this concept of constellations, images of people or animals or whatever traced by the stars. They’re also called asterisms. And so, if you look down at the monoliths from above…” That was why he had used Beatrice’s magic to lighten his body to reach that critical vantage point. The black points of the monoliths in a sea of white—ordinarily, the colors would have been flipped, but the black stars in the white world connected, forming an asterism that Subaru knew well.

[User] There were seven other monoliths the same size as the original one, for a total of eight. The number and distribution of them matched the main stars of the constellation of Orion. And if that connected with the “touch upon his greatest splendor”…

[Assistant] “The first monolith is in the center. Basically around where Alnilam would be. So if we trace out the constellation from there, then…”

[User] “Then?”

[Assistant] “Grandest splendor is a bit of a trick question. The truth is stars have a different way of shining. Some are just constantly bright, but others flicker. Because of that, depending on how you look at it, there are two most splendorous stars in Orion…” When looking at it from above, there was Betelgeuse in the upper left, Orion’s right shoulder, and Rigel in the lower right, Orion’s left leg. Rigel was constant, but Betelgeuse had a variable light. Answering both wasn’t a clean solution to the problem, but—

[User] “If it was me, I would choose Rigel.” Betelgeuse brought to mind unpleasant memories of someone with a similar-sounding name.

[Assistant] Subaru touched the monolith that represented Rigel. The next instant, the room was enveloped in a brilliant white light.


[User] Sound and color and everything else were blown away. "...Ohhhhh..." When the light cleared, they were standing in a space hewn from stone—in the middle of the tower, surrounded by massive walls of books.

[Assistant] The white space surrounding them disappeared and was replaced by countless shelves of books extending all the way to the ceiling. Confirming that the monolith he touched had disappeared, too, Subaru was reassured that his answer had been correct.

[User] "You did it! You’re amazing, Sub—"

[Assistant] "Whoever thought this up is the worst!"

[User] "Huh?! That’s your first reaction?!" Seeing that the third floor, Taygeta, had been unlocked, Emilia’s cheers turned to shock at Subaru’s reaction.

[Assistant] His face was puckered into a frown as his complaint echoed. "Getting the answer right is definitely an achievement, if I do say so myself, but the solution is a huge freaking problem. This wasn’t fair at all."

[User] "R-really? I just think it’s great that you know so much."

[Assistant] "The issue isn’t about how much I know, but that anyone who wasn’t like me would never be able to solve it. That’s the problem." Subaru scratched his head.

[User] Emilia just looked confused.

[Assistant] He tried to think of how to explain it, but getting into the details would be a bit dangerous, too. "Your master has a really nasty personality from the looks of it."

[User] "Whoa, whoa, whoa, what are you saying? It’s not like you to dunk on yourself! Can’t really argue with the nasty bit, but at least there’s some compassion in it being solvable! Reid would definitely give an impossible problem…like leave a clone of himself and not let anyone through who couldn’t beat him."

[Assistant] "That’s a scary thought, too, but I’m not sure which is actually more difficult to solve."

[User] Either way, it was looking a lot like the heroes who defeated the Witch of Envy in the past all had personality issues. Considering that, it might actually be better if knowledge of a different universe was the only thing being tested.

[Assistant] "Still, though, there sure are a lot of books here." Ignoring their little post-test review, Anastasia examined the bookshelves surrounding them.


[User] Petting the fur of her scarf, she stared at a shelf filled with books. "We made it through the examination thanks to your great work. That’s all well and good, but what is the role of this archive? What sorts of books are kept here?”

[Assistant] “According to Ms. Shaula’s explanation, it is a treasure trove of knowledge, but…”

[User] “Judging by her reaction, this is probably the first time Taygeta has ever been opened. There’s nothing to do but look around ourselves, I suppose.”

[Assistant] “I guess so… You seem in awfully high spirits.”

[User] “That’s… Well, maybe a little.” Moving beside Subaru and grabbing his sleeve, Beatrice was speaking faster than usual. There was a bit of a gleam in her eyes as she looked around with great interest at the archive that lay before her.

[Assistant] Realizing why, Subaru found it charming despite the situation. “I had assumed you didn’t have any good memories about the forbidden archive.”

[User] “…It’s true they were not all good memories. But whatever else it was, it was also the place that Betty spent four hundred years. And also…”

[Assistant] “Also?”

[User] “It is where you told Betty to choose you. It’s not a place Betty could forget even if she tried.”

[Assistant] “You’re a cutie.”

[User] “Mrgh!” As affection welled inside him, Subaru stroked the top of her head. Beatrice let out a feline cry of satisfaction before quickly taking off to tear through the shelves of books.


[Assistant] “I’d love a computer index to find the book we’re looking for.”

[User] “Betty knew exactly where everything in the archive was.”

[Assistant] “You’re something. Are you a genius?” Amazed by Beatrice’s private pride, Subaru moved over to a nearby bookshelf. Looking around, Emilia and the others were walking toward various shelves, but they did not seem ready to reach out and pick up a book. “You were the one who solved it, right? So is it okay for anyone else to touch them?”

[User] “Ah, right, I don’t really know. But if only the person who answered it can read them, then it would be weird for people who just watched it being solved to be in here at all, wouldn’t it?”

[Assistant] “Ah. True. I guess us being allowed in would mean we probably have permission.”

[User] “I would think so, but…Emilia? !” Fully convinced by that explanation, Emilia pulled a book off the shelf in front of her. And before Subaru could say anything else, she started flipping through it. “Mmm, it’s a normal book…I think.


[User] "What is it, Subaru?"

[Assistant] "Nothing, I literally fell in love with her all over again after that crazy courage… I know I said it, but that was just me saying it.”

[User] “—? As long as you say it’s true, then it’s fine, right? What? Did I say something strange?” Emilia looked genuinely confused, leaving Subaru speechless.

[Assistant] Subaru covered his face with his hand, gripped by a difficult-to-express emotion as he groaned.

[User] “This is what you have built up. And it’s true that you solved the riddle of Taygeta that none of us could answer. There should be no denying that achievement.”

[Assistant] “That was just a random shot in the dark. It just happened to be me is all.”

[User] Julius shrugged at his bewilderment, but Subaru looked away from the knight.

[Assistant] Subaru was always doubting whether he really deserved to have any of it.

[User] “Emilia’s right, it’s just a normal book. There don’t seem to be any scary traps, either.”

[Assistant] “The book is made of…hard to say. I can’t tell how old it is, either. As for what’s written in it…?” Emilia had a proactive, poison-tester approach, and seeing that, others reached out and picked up a book, too. But the world was not such a simple place that they could learn everything from just one or two books.

[User] “What is it, Beako?”

[Assistant] “At a glance, it looks like the books are all the same size. But the titles are all different. This one is Noah Libertas, this one is Aegon Voller… The ordering does not make sense, either.” Perhaps it was the itch of her librarian blood, but Beatrice wasn’t happy with how the books had been seemingly randomly organized.

[User] “The book titles… Are they all people’s names?” Setting aside her indignation, Subaru noticed something while looking at the spines of the books.

[Assistant] “Hmm… It appears so. This is Palma Eure, and here is Coyote.”

[User] “They are all unfamiliar names. I cannot claim the greatest discernment, but as far as I am aware, these are not names I’ve encountered before. Of course, if I properly look around at everything, it might be different, but…”

[Assistant] is not known. If you don’t know them, then I doubt anyone does.” Julius, who has been really letting his history nerd flag fly lately, doesn’t know them.

[User] Subaru grabbed a book from the shelf himself, but the spiral lettering was the usual combination of scripts for this world’s language...maybe they’re not people’s names?

[Assistant] “—Mmmm, nope.” Subaru checked with Foxidna, too.


[User] "It’s too soon to quit, though. The best place to hide a tree is in a forest… Maybe the books packed with all sorts of knowledge are hidden away, buried in the shelves. Though that would be a massive pain.”

[Assistant] “Don’t give up so easily. It’s a lot more constructive than solving an impossible riddle, isn’t it? We have to try!”

[User] Faced with a massive wall of books, Emilia clenched her little fists and fired herself up.

[Assistant] And, as if her fist pump bore fruit, when Subaru looked back at the shelves and traced out a title with his finger, he noticed something. While tracing it out, Subaru’s finger suddenly stopped. Hooking the top of the spine with his finger and tilting, he slipped it off the shelf. The book’s title was a name that he knew. “” Picking it up idly, Subaru opened the book. As he started to look through the book—it hit. —He blacked out.


[User] However, considering the woman’s age, it was also self-righteous, and it was too soon to demand such ideals of her. Having watched many people go to their deaths, she’d had the stench of blood and the sight of criminals being punished etched into her mind. As a result, she learned the appropriate punishment for sin before she ever learned the sanctity of life or the natural order of life and death. Good deeds begot good karma while evil deeds begot evil karma, corrupting the souls of sinners until they were fit to be punished. With a firm understanding of her father’s teachings, she sought punishments to fit crimes. And so she desired a compass to guide herself, a scale of righteousness by which she could judge evil deeds as evil.

[Assistant] However, the scale she sought did not exist anywhere that she looked. There was no simple way to judge things good or evil. Right and wrong, crime and punishment were influenced by many different factors.

[User] She was still young and knew neither compromise nor resignation. She needed to reach an answer. She needed to imbue within her heart a worthy scale with which to judge good and evil. She needed to reach an answer to the question in her breast that refused to fade.

[Assistant] Her days of anguish continued until suddenly, as if blessed from above, she received the answer. After breaking her father’s wine cup, she cowered terribly at the crime she had committed. Resolving herself to be beheaded, she confessed her sin to her father.

[User] She confesses her sin to her father, resolving herself to be beheaded.

[Assistant] "Confessing your mistakes and apologizing is the right thing to do." Her father forgave her indiscretion, even smiling as he said that to her, patting her head.

[User] Seeing his smile and feeling his hand patting her head, the young woman understood. —The measure of wrongdoing lay in none other than the heart of the criminal themselves. Even if no one witnessed it, a criminal’s heart still knew their sin. For good, she still did not know. Good was more difficult. There was no compass for good. She could not find a sure guide. But guilt lay within one’s own mind. There was no standard for what punishment befit what crime. But the consciousness of a crime befitting punishment did exist within one’s self. The woman understood that and was satisfied, having finally found her scale. The young woman, still unaware of the sanctity of life or the nature of life and death, had finally uncovered crimes worthy of punishment.

[Assistant] Following the model of her executioner father, she set out into the world so that she might deliver fitting punishments to crimes. To lay bare the hearts of sinners who merited punishment.

[User] The division of good and evil, right and wrong, sincerity and insincerity would be the culmination of her life’s work. Faced with her question, some laughed, some looked concerned, and some were confused. But the result of all their answers was the same.


[User] Agony racked Subaru as he regained consciousness after learning the origin of a Witch he had met once before. “Gaahhh!” It was like his consciousness was being audibly pulled back out of the book. Consumed by the feeling of sticky dried blood clinging to him, it was a ripping feeling that paid no heed to outer layers being peeled away in the process. The pain wasn’t in his head or his body. It was in his soul. His soul had been pulled into the book, and the pain came from tearing it back out.

[Assistant] Emilia’s voice rang out from beside him as the book slipped from his hand. It landed upside down and splayed across the ground as she steadied his shoulder. “Subaru!”

[User] “Y-yeah…?”

[Assistant] “A-are you okay? You sounded reeeally hurt just now…”

[User] “Y-yeah, I managed not to get torn away…I think? I am here, right?” Clenching his chest as his heart pounded furiously, Subaru took several deep breaths. His eyes were looking all around before finally stopping at Emilia. “Ah, seeing your face is a relief. Just let me rest on your shoulder a bit more.”

[Assistant] Accepting his request, she continued to support him. “That’s fine, but what happened?”

[User] Listening to that, Beatrice moved to pick up the book that had fallen to the floor. “He had a strange look on his face when he touched this—”

[Assistant] “Wait, Beatrice! Don’t touch it!” Subaru tried to stop her from picking up the book, but before he could say anything, she had already lifted it up. She had not looked inside it yet, but she furrowed her brow at Subaru’s warning as she read the title. “—Typhon. Is that a name you know, Subaru?”

[User] “Yeah… Don’t you…?” Subaru stopped himself before finishing the rest of the question.

[Assistant] But she did not answer in the affirmative or the negative. She looked at a loss, her expression clouding in confusion at what Subaru had said. Meanwhile, she opened the book and looked at the pages. “Don’t!”

[User] “What a rude thing to say. It is not any different from any of the other books, I suppose.”

[Assistant] He was afraid she would be hit by the same shock that had struck him, but she didn’t have any particular reaction to the contents of the book. It was the same as the rest to her. “But it was not the same as any other book to you, I suppose…”

[User] “…Yeah. But why just me?”

[Assistant] “Could it be like the problem before where only you could understand it?


[User] "Or maybe the effect only applies to you because you solved the problem…?”

[Assistant] “If so, then this is just getting nastier and nastier…” Subaru had a bad feeling as he shook his head. —What had appeared in his mind, what he had experienced, was that woman’s memories in vivid, terrifyingly rich detail. The smell, the taste, the feeling, and the weight of all the lives shattered. Subaru felt like it was a miracle he had made it back after experiencing someone else’s memories so intensely. It seemed all too possible he could’ve gotten swallowed up in someone else’s life. He had felt that fear and revulsion in the experience just then.

[User] “Subaru, who is this Typhon?”

[Assistant] “It’s a bit hard to explain… No, I guess maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to explain to you? If you don’t know the name, then I guess you didn’t meet her, but she was in the tomb.”

[User] Emilia and Beatrice both froze in shock at that.

[Assistant] “Typhon was one of the Witches who existed in the past. The Witch of Pride. She’s a tyke, sort of like Beako, but with tanned skin. She was like the embodiment of the innocent cruelty of kids.”

[User] Emilia and Beatrice both shook their heads, not having any idea who he was describing.

[Assistant] I guess that Witch’s Tea Party was a special show just for me. Even if it was all for her own purposes, she really pulled out all the stops.

[User] “Innocent cruelty, huh…” When he described that, he reflexively remembered the Typhon he had spent that little bit of time with. Even if it was in a weird spirit realm, it was hard to forget how she had broken his arms and legs. Even though they had immediately been healed, the shock of losing all four limbs wasn’t something that faded away. But it felt like he had touched on a little fragment of her aberrant nature after that “reading session.” Of course, that didn’t mean he could suddenly understand her way of thinking.

[Assistant] “Either way, when I read the book just now, I saw this Typhon girl’s…memories? Life? Roots? Living it vicariously or something like that. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, though.”

[User] “Vicariously experiencing people’s memories? That feels more and more like the trials in the tomb.”

[Assistant] “That time, it was a head-on showdown with your memories, though. I mean, it was obviously no trouble at all there.”

[User] “R-right, no trouble.” Conveniently ignoring the episodes of bawling and mental breakdowns after facing the challenges over and over again, Subaru and Emilia simply nodded.

[Assistant] “Setting aside for the moment the two of you acting tough, this is a book that allows the reader to vicariously experience others’ memories. In other words, it is a way to retrace the past. That must mean the library allows visitors to learn what they wish to know—” Beatrice was deep in thought about what had happened to Subaru, but before she could finish, there was another shout.


[User] "—Agh." The groan came from the shelf where Julius and Anastasia were investigating. Looking over, they saw Julius kneeling on the ground with a book in his hand.

[Assistant] Close behind him, Anastasia looked stunned as she shook his shoulder before pulling the book away. "Julius? Julius, get a hold of yourself! Can you hear me?"

[User] "Lady…Anastasia…"

[Assistant] "There we go. Take deep breaths. Are you all right?"

[User] Looking similar to Subaru just moments earlier, Julius’s consciousness returned to reality. Anastasia had a look of relief on her face. Even exhausted, he looked like a figure from a painting.

[Assistant] "Whoa there, overheating after reading too many difficult books? I get it, but…owwwww."

[User] "Don’t tease people on instinct. Julius, are you really okay?" Emilia gently but firmly pulled Subaru’s ear as he started to taunt Julius.

[Assistant] His face was slightly pale as he shook his head at Emilia’s caring words. "My humblest apologies for worrying you. I’m ashamed of myself for such a dramatic reaction… However, it truly was an experience that was bad for the heart." Julius elegantly answered Emilia while hiding his worry. However, he could not hide the cold sweat that had appeared on his brow.

[User] Anastasia gently wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. "It’s a boy’s natural instinct to act tough, so there’s no helping it, I suppose, but there’s nothing wrong with saying you’re hurting. Forcing yourself until you can’t take it anymore just causes problems for everyone else, too."

[Assistant] "Yes, Lady Anastasia. Thank you for your concern."

[User] "Mm-hmm, Anastasia is exactly right, Subaru."

[Assistant] "I don’t know why you are reminding me, but yes, she is!"


[User] With both camp leaders and their knights having finished that little interlude, the focus turned to the book in Anastasia’s arms. The one that Julius had looked at and probably experienced the same sort of thing as Subaru had. Looking at the spine, Subaru saw that the title was— "—Balleroy Temeglyph. Do you know the name?"

[Assistant] "I’ve never heard it. Pretty sure." Emilia glanced at Subaru after reading it, but Subaru shook his head.

[User] And despite everything else, he had confidence in his memory. He remembered everyone he had met, from Earlham Village to the fruit merchant in the capital.

[Assistant] "I’ve heard the name before. If I remember correctly… Right, one of the Volakian Empire’s generals was named that, I think?"

[User] "—More precisely, a former general." Julius supplemented Anastasia’s vague memory.

[Assistant] That was enough to tell that it was someone Julius had some connection with. "But Volakia is to the south, right? You know a general from there?"

[User] "Former general. It is not so shocking a thing, is it? I am a member of the royal guard. The Kingdom of Lugunica and the Empire of Volakia are neighboring countries, so there were plenty of chances for me to know the name of a general in their army."

[Assistant] "I see, so a one-sided acquaintance, then." Subaru’s eyes narrowed, and he nodded at that explanation.


[User] Glancing at Anastasia, he took the Balleroy book from her hands. And hesitating for just a moment, he opened it. However—

[Assistant] “I know the guy indirectly now, too, and I tried to read it, but nothing happened.”

[User] “…Subaru…”

[Assistant] “What matters between all of us right now is trust, right? If you asked whether we trusted each other, I wouldn’t have said no…or was that just me?”

[User] “—That is an unfair thing to say.” Julius averted his eyes as Subaru leveled a pointed look at him.

[Assistant] “Other than the people here, there is no one I can place my trust in. You and Lady Anastasia support me mentally in a way that even Reinhard does not.”

[User] “…I feel a little sick hearing it put that way.”

[Assistant] “It did not feel pleasant rolling off my lips, either.” Subaru rubbed his nose.

[User] Julius touched his hair while closing his eyes. He sighed, then bowed to Anastasia and Emilia. “Allow me to offer an apology, Lady Anastasia, Lady Emilia. I allowed a trivial personal feeling to seep into my answer. It was an unforgivable, self-interested action when I should have shared the contents of the book.”

[Assistant] “Whether we can forgive it or not is up to me and Emilia, so what do you think?”

[User] “Subaru and Anastasia mostly covered what I was going to mention. ‘So what?’ is all I have to say now, I think.”

[Assistant] Emilia and Anastasia easily accepted his apology, and Julius bowed deeply one last time.


[User] “—Balleroy Temeglyph. In the Volakian Empire, which is known for its ruthless meritocracy, there are nine generals who are considered the country’s strongest warriors, the Nine Divine Generals. And he was one of that nine.”

[Assistant] “Nine Divine Generals… That’s a pretty intense title. I don’t hate that naming sense, though.”

[User] “All of them are peerless warriors. In terms of pure strength on a national level, the Volakian Empire is an equal match to the Kingdom of Lugunica, or possibly even stronger. In military terms, excepting the Covenant with the Divine Dragon and the existence of Reinhard, our kingdom would be hard-pressed in a battle against them.”

[Assistant] “It seems a little strange to immediately assume there’d be a fight…” Subaru scratched his cheek while quietly filing Julius’s fighting strength estimate away in his head.

[User] “So if you’re talking about this Balleroy guy in the past tense, then…”

[Assistant] “Yes, he has passed. He was both a man possessed of rare strength, a noble warrior, and a master worthy of respect.


[User] "And the one who took his life…was none other than I.” Julius had a clouded expression as he spoke of the final moment of a foreign country’s general.

[Assistant] “You took the life of a general…of another country even. That’s a pretty surprising story.”

[User] “Lady Anastasia, you… No, indeed, you would not remember now.” Julius looked down as Anastasia reacted as if hearing it for the first time. From his reaction, it was probably something he had shared with Anastasia before he had been erased from her memories and before Foxidna had taken over.

[Assistant] “Um, if the book I studied is correct, aren’t Lugunica and Volakia on reeeally bad terms, though…”

[User] “Wouldn’t you killing a general of theirs lead to a war?”

[Assistant] Julius nodded, looking a little bit relieved at their honest, simple doubt. “It was the result of a rather complicated situation. It was something that Reinhard and Ferris were involved with, too, but…put simply, the former general was plotting a coup d’état of the empire. The reason I ended up having an audience with him was because I happened to be staying in the Volakian Empire at the time it was happening.”

[User] “Those two, too, huh? Wait, wasn’t Reinhard not allowed to be exported?”

[Assistant] “A special dispensation was granted. The Volakian emperor wished to meet him… And even for you, using the word export there is rather inappropriate, don’t you think?”

[User] “I just couldn’t think of the word on the spot. What should I have used, smuggled?” It fit in the sense of taking something out of the country that wasn’t supposed to be taken out. Having experienced anew just how unbelievable Reinhard was in Pristella, it was not hard to imagine the nightmare any military force would have to deal with if Reinhard was in their country. Subaru could understand why they had treaties basically banning him from getting too close to the border.

[Assistant] “Anyway, this former general’s name was Balleroy Temeglyph. And as a result of our duel, I survived, as you can see, but it was a hard-fought affair. Even a single misstep, and our positions would surely have been reversed… He was a person whose loss was deeply felt.”

[User] “You are putting him on a pretty high pedestal there. This is someone who planned a coup and then failed, right?”

[Assistant] “I did not ask the details of the situation. However, having crossed swords with him, I am quite sure that he did not participate in a coup out of desire for personal gain or profit.” The forcefulness of that argument was proof enough that he had become a lingering sore point for Julius.

[User] And because he could feel that, Subaru cocked his head. “I understand that you’ve acknowledged him."


[User] "But in that case, and I don’t really know how to put this but…I can’t imagine he would be happy knowing that the person who beat him felt the way you do.”

[Assistant] "How do you mean?”

[User] "Exactly what I said.” Considering Julius’s personality, it was natural he would want to praise an opponent who was truly powerful, but if that opponent really was a warrior, then all the more so, the results of the battle decided everything. “I’m sure he would feel better if the person who beat him was just proud of winning instead of qualifying the victory with all sorts of excuses. Though for my purposes, I can’t really ignore the fact that if you had lost back then, I wouldn’t have been turned into a punching bag in front of a big crowd when the selection started.”

[Assistant] "…If that had happened, Reinhard would have taken the role of pummeling you in the training yard.”

[User] "He would have annihilated me!”

[Assistant] Julius finally broke into a slight smile.

[User] Satisfied with that, Subaru fell silent and shrugged as Julius picked up where he left off.

[Assistant] “We’ve gotten a little off track. That is the connection between Sir Balleroy and I. Apologies. As a rule, it is an event that is forbidden to be discussed publicly, but it is also a difficult memory for me.”

[User] “That definitely isn’t the sort of thing anyone should be spreading around. Okay. I’ll keep my lips zipped.”

[Assistant] “Mm-hmm. I understand. I’ll also keep my lips…zipped?”


[User] With Julius’s explanation, Subaru and Emilia both agreed to keep it secret. And with the identity of the person whose memories Julius had experienced now known…

[Assistant] "Betty thinks she understands now. The books here allow people who know the person to experience said person’s memories vicariously.”

[User] “Mine was a Witch, and Julius’s was a former general? That sounds believable.”

[Assistant] “I think I heard a word there that needs a bit more explanation, Natsuki. Are you friends with a Witch? Considering your circle of friends, you’re totally a Witch Cultist, aren’t you?”

[User] “I’m pretty scared myself, but my character isn’t that over-the-top. I’m more worried about my painful lack of distinguishing traits.” Subaru shrugged in resignation. Reacting to his response, Emilia, Beatrice, and even Julius all looked like they had bitten into something sour. “Anyway, we at least understand the general design of the books in this archive. Now that we have that figured out, can I bring up something scary?”

[Assistant] “I don’t really want to hear it, but what?”

[User] “The books in this archive… They all have people’s names written on them, right?” Anastasia pointed at the two books titled Balleroy and Typhon. Subaru looked at them, afraid to hear what was coming next as he nodded.

[Assistant] “Right.”

[User] “That imperial general and Natsuki’s witchy friend’s books—”

[Assistant] “She isn’t my friend.”

[User] “—his witchy friend’s book is here.


[User] "That means there are books for people who have passed.” I’m not sure whether Typhon should really be classed as deceased, but since the tomb where the tea party was held is gone now, I guess she should be completely dead. I can’t be so sure about Echidna considering how many question marks there still are surrounding Foxidna. Despite that one little hangnail in the back of his mind, though, Anastasia raised her hands and gestured all around the room.

[Assistant] “Doesn’t that probably mean there’s books for people from all around the world and from the distant past up to now? If that’s true…finding the book of whoever we’re looking for… How long is that going to take?”

[User] Subaru looked at the endless shelves of books Anastasia was gesturing toward, and he had a thought. I take it back. The guy who created this tower isn’t the worst. —He’s the absolute worst.


[User] "Still, this is really too much." Meili murmured as she looked around the bookshelves while playing with her braided hair.

[Assistant] Subaru turned away from the shelf he had been looking at. "Why? Now that we figured out the trick, has it piqued your interest?"

[User] "Hard to say…but the more dead people you know, the more books you can read, right? That might be a pretty good fit for me."

[Assistant] Subaru’s hand stopped at Meili’s casual remark.

[User] She looked almost confused by his response, but that idea troubled him.

[Assistant] "Sympathy is a one-sided way of looking at it, too…"

[User] After finally unlocking the Taygeta archive, their party was currently facing off against the vast wealth of books through trial and error. It was a library that allowed readers to experience the memories of the deceased and learn things they could never have known. From just that description, it might have seemed like the possibilities were endless, but…

[Assistant] "If the scarf lady is correct, then everyone who has died has a book here, right? But is it everyone who’s ever lived, or just those who’ve been around since this tower was made?"

[User] "No clue. Even if it was just since the tower was built, that would mean around four hundred years’ worth of records…of books of the dead. There’s no way we can get through all of them."

[Assistant] Even just skimming the titles would take a massive amount of time. Ever since Subaru and Julius both found hits, the group had yet to pull any more. It was a testament to the sheer scale of four hundred years of history.

[User] "I don’t necessarily mind not having to go through that again…"

[Assistant] "Don’t complain so much. Beatrice and Big Sister will worry if they hear you. And what will that half naked lady think?"

[User] "Don’t make it sound like I’ve got a ton of love interests… I mean, I can’t completely deny it, either, but just for appearance’s sake, I’m going to. And about Shaula…" Subaru shrugged before glancing over at Shaula.

[Assistant] The moment she noticed Subaru’s gaze, her eyes gleamed, and she blew him a kiss.

[User] He went out of his way to brush it aside.

[Assistant] "Heh-heh… You’re a bad man, mister."

[User] "For some reason, hearing that from you hurts even more than hearing it from Ram or Anastasia."

[Assistant] Having a little girl thinking the worst of him hit home a teeny bit harder.


[User] Feeling a dull ache in his chest, Subaru scratched his head. "Hey, the timing is a bit strange, but can I ask you about something?”

[Assistant] “Ehhh? …Don’t you have enough girls already, mister?”

[User] “You’ve got it all wrong! It’s not like that!”

[Assistant] “Just kidding… If you want to ask something, then just go ahead and ask.” Cocking her head, Meili’s eyes narrowed coquettishly. There was an air about her that was almost alluring.

[User] “If you say so, then here goes nothing… When did you become a killer?”

[Assistant] “—Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

[User] “Eh?! What?! Why are you laughing at that?” He had tried to ask it with as much solemnity as he could muster, but the way she burst out laughing left Subaru bewildered.

[Assistant] Meili wiped the tears from her eyes before she answered. “Sorry, it just seemed like a question you maybe should have asked sooner. I mean, I’ve been at your mansion for like a year now, right? How did you not care about that until after we came to this sandy tower?”

[User] “I guess when you put it that way… So I shouldn’t have just been giving you plushies?”

[Assistant] “You know, it’s because you gave me presents that I like you, mister. Hee-hee.” Putting her hand to her mouth, Meili’s eyes were playful as she looked at Subaru.

[User] He had a point. It was terribly late to be wondering that now. The only reason Subaru had thought of it then was because they were in an archive filled with the memories of the dead. Because the feeling of death is undeniably all around us here… “I just forgot about it until we started poking around in a place like this…”

[Assistant] “You forgot?”

[User] “For the past year, you’ve been in the girl-playing-with-dolls category, is all. I don’t think I’m the only one who sees you that way, either.”

[Assistant] Of course, he wasn’t so easygoing that he totally forgot how dangerous Meili could be. In fact, right after they had caught her and locked her away in the mansion, they had been extremely on guard. But she never tried to escape or make any attempts to harm anyone at the mansion, and so over time, they relaxed around her. “It was complicated, but you got along with Petra pretty well, too, right?”

[User] “Haaah… You know Petra was really, really stubborn, right?”

[Assistant] “She was?”

[User] “Mm-hmm. She said she didn’t know if I was a friend or foe, so I could do whatever I wanted to her. I couldn’t betray her after that.”

[Assistant] “Wow, that’s amazing. Petra’s a little devil…” Hearing that Petra had been working so hard behind the scenes, Subaru was surprised. He had no idea that Petra and Meili’s heart-warming friendship had that kind of backstory.


[User] “I didn’t think I was making anyone besides Otto or Roswaal work that hard…”

[Assistant] “I think everyone is doing their best to make sure you and Big Sister…especially her…can stay how you are.” Meili nodded at Subaru’s analysis as she hugged her legs and rested her chin on her knees.

[User] Acting to protect Emilia. That was Subaru’s duty as her knight, but everyone in their camp shared that feeling in their heart in some form. Subaru had intended to pay better attention to that, but with these sorts of things, he was always a step behind the more perceptive people in the group. He wouldn’t have guessed that included Petra, too. Let Emilia be Emilia. While they weren’t overprotective about it, that was what everyone in their group wanted. “…I started working five or six years ago.”

[Assistant] “…You’re willing to talk about it?”

[User] “I was the one who said just ask if you wanted to know something. It’s not like I’m dead set on hiding it.” Meili tilted her head, her blue hair slipping from her shoulders as she looked a little bit exasperated. The way her braid swayed caught Subaru’s eyes as she started to elaborate matter-of-factly. “Like I said before, in my case it was more like obeying Mama than doing a job. She was really, really scary if you didn’t do as she said.”

[Assistant] “Mama, huh?” Subaru understood that Meili didn’t mean her actual mother. In one sense, she was a bit like a foster mother maybe, but as far as Subaru was concerned, she was the mother of the distortions in Meili’s character and didn’t deserve any amount of respect. Using terror to force a young girl like her to carry out orders and mold her into a killer… “She knew from the start that I could make demon beasts listen to me, so that part wasn’t an issue. That was why she picked me up in the first place.”

[User] “Wait a sec. Picked you up? So then…”

[Assistant] “—? Ah, yeah, I was abandoned. I was thrown away in a forest before I could remember anything and raised by demon beasts.” She was talking like it wasn’t worth noting, but it was quite the shocking story. Being raised by demon beasts as a baby…

[User] “It’s not really the time to be commenting about actually getting raised by wolves. Also, can demon beasts even raise a baby?”

[Assistant] “It would be impossible for a normal kid. But I had the ability to get along with demon beasts from birth… That was why I was apparently saved.” Meili stopped there for a moment as Subaru looked speechless. “Well, anyway, this blessing is probably why I was abandoned, too… So it’s hard to say if it was good or bad. Heh-heh.”

[User] “Meili…”

[Assistant] "Hmm? Was that not funny? I thought that would get a laugh." Meili feigned looking hurt as Subaru struggled with what to even say to her.


[User] Should he stick to the sorrowful look or was it the moment for a little black humor? In any event, Subaru’s heart wasn’t armored enough to choose the latter. "Don’t look like that, mister. It doesn’t bother me at all."

[Assistant] "It doesn’t…?"

[User] "Lots of people born with blessings suffer. Mister advisor and the fanged mister, too… I’m sure they would understand." She brought up Otto and Garfiel as two examples of the hardships that were unavoidable for people born with blessings. Otto had said something similar before, too. Even blessings that might seem convenient at a glance caused untold difficulties that could only be understood by those who actually had to deal with them. "I was abandoned because of my blessing, then picked up because of it. I did the work I did, and that’s how I ended up here with all of you… It’s funny how things work."

[Assistant] "...That’s certainly an eventful life…"

[User] "If you ask me, ending up not killing would have seemed a lot more unnatural."

[Assistant] "That debate is already over, though. Don’t do it again. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve done it before. Nothing’s changed… Anyway, just as a hypothetical…"

[User] "What?" Meili cocked her head and looked up at Subaru as he pointed to the shelves. There were countless books. If they really were the traces of everyone who had lived in this world… "If your parents’ books are somewhere in the stacks here…would you want to read them?"

[Assistant] "My parents? Not Mama, but my actual parents?" Subaru nodded as Meili looked surprised.

[User] It wasn’t impossible. Meili said that her parents had abandoned her as a baby, but she had no way of knowing that. It was entirely possible there was some sort of extenuating circumstance that forced their hand, and the answer to that question might be in their books.

[Assistant] "I don’t care at all, though?" She responded with a puzzled look. It wasn’t acting tough or putting on a brave face. Those were her honest feelings on the matter. She didn’t even feel any hatred or hostility. It was just plain and simple apathy.

[User] "I see…"

[Assistant] "Don’t misunderstand, mister. I don’t resent being abandoned by my parents. They don’t matter enough for that." In Meili’s life, the parents who abandoned her were not objects of interest. From her point of view, other than the initial act of bringing her into the world, they had never interacted.

[User] I guess that’s how it is. Subaru exhaled. A journey to find oneself was a clichéd way of describing it, but Subaru felt like there was meaning in discovering one’s roots. At the same time, that was just the opinion of an outsider. If Meili didn’t feel that way, he had no choice but to accept it. "In which case, the value of these bookshelves existing is feeling more and more dubious…"

[Assistant] "Incidentally, what were you going to do if I said I did want to read them?"

[User] "...? Look for them, obviously.


[User] "I mean, doing that right away would be impossible, but we could do some research into your past, and if we could figure out a name, make some time to ch—”

[Assistant] "You really are a dummy, mister."

[User] "What’d I do to deserve that?!" It was such a simple insult that all Subaru could do was raise his voice.

[Assistant] Meili just shook her head and stood up. Dusting off her bottom, she glanced over toward the bookshelves. "I mean, there’s no way you could find the book you’re looking for in all of these."

[User] "If you ask me, as long as there’s a chance, it’s worth trying."

[Assistant] "Well, that’s too bad. Since there isn’t anyone’s book I want to read…" It was faint, but her voice trailed off ever so slightly.

[User] Subaru furrowed his brow. "Hmm?"

[Assistant] "Just a thought… More books show up here when people die, right?"

[User] "Yeah. At least I think so."

[Assistant] "How does that work, I wonder? If you died right here and now, would your book suddenly pop into existence? I am curious about that."

[User] "I see! Unfortunately, I’m not going to test out that hypothesis for you!" Subaru found it almost insulting that she might have thought he would just accept anything she suggested. As far as he was concerned, he wasn’t going to stake his life on it.

[Assistant] Meili’s lips curled in a pout. "You two look like you are having fun. Did you find something?"

[User] Hearing their exchange, Emilia, who had been looking around all the shelves, came over to check on them. There was expectation in her eyes, but unfortunately, they had nothing but conversation to share.

[Assistant] Subaru felt bad that they didn’t have more to offer when… "Ah, Big Sister, listen, listen. Mister was hitting on me."

[User] "I was not! In fact, we talked about how precious you are, Emilia!"

[Assistant] "That makes me reeeally happy, but you shouldn’t deny it so loudly. If you act like that, you’ll make Meili sad, right?" Emilia didn’t even pretend to be embarrassed as she casually brushed off Subaru’s reaffirmation of love. After gently scolding Subaru, she turned to Meili and apologized. "Sorry, Subaru has a habit of trying to show off. I’ll have a proper talk with him, so just tell him he’s cool and forgive him for now."

[User] "...What do you think of mister?"

[Assistant] "...? Subaru is my important and special knight…" Emilia’s eyes widened, not getting the point of the question.

[User] Seeing that, Meili smiled weakly, and she looked over at Subaru, whose shoulders had slumped. "Looks like a rough road ahead for you, mister." A grave, pained silence was all Subaru could muster in response.


[Assistant] "Where is the path up to the next floor, anyway?"

[User] "We don’t have any clues for that yet…" Emilia cocked her head while Subaru twisted his in the opposite direction.


[User] After being completely and utterly outplayed by a little girl, Subaru was enduring the bitter taste left in his mouth as he and Emilia were forced to consider a change in plans.

[Assistant] “It feels like this archive is too much for us to handle right now…”

[User] “Mm-hmm… Even if we manage to find a name we know, the chances they know what we want to learn… It seems really low.” Emilia’s eyes sagged regretfully, but she was right.

[Assistant] “Most likely, the information we want should be on another floor.”

[User] “But can we even go up? I tried hopping up on one of the shelves, and it was no good.”

[Assistant] “That was bold of you…”

[User] “Ah, it’s okay. Puck taught me a lot about making sure my skirt didn’t flip up. A ‘graceful comportment befitting a proper girl.’ I’m always careful about that.”

[Assistant] “I’m not sure whether I want to compliment Puck or be mad at him… Either way…” Setting aside that shocking revelation, Emilia’s failed attempt was enough to say that they couldn’t forcibly break through to the next floor.

[User] “I’d love to see the look on his parents’ faces when they realize they raised a monster… Though fat chance of that when I haven’t even seen what the man himself looks like.”

[Assistant] “…Subaru, a moment if I might?” Julius called out to him.

[User] “How is it? Find anything?”

[Assistant] “Unfortunately, I cannot claim any results worthy of the name.


[User] Despite my best efforts, I could not discern any sort of organization system that governs how the books are arranged. They do not appear to be sorted by name or chronologically.

[Assistant] “It was already fairly clear they’re not organized by name, but no luck with time, either, huh…?”

[User] Figuring out how the books of the dead were arranged was their one hope for deciphering how to use the Taygeta archive. If there was an easier way to search for specific books, it might have been quite useful. The topic of how books were added had come up in that conversation with Meili, but if they weren’t arranged in any discernible chronological order, then it wasn’t very relevant. “All we know so far is that we don’t know anything. We were wonderin’ what you two found.”

[Assistant] “Mmmm, sorry. We didn’t find anything on top of the shelves, either…”

[User] “Ah, so that’s why you climbed up before. I was wonderin’ what that was about…”

[Assistant] Anastasia flashed a slight, wry smile. “May I?”

[User] Julius raised a finger as he looked at Emilia. “I suspect it is the same conclusion you reached, but this Taygeta archive is too much for us. We do not have nearly enough time to study everything in such an enormous archive.”

[Assistant] “Mm-hmm, we were thinking the same thing. That’s why we were looking for the stairs to the next examination.”

[User] “That is a worthwhile search. However, at the same time, I would like to find some sort of way to make use of this.”

[Assistant] “…Did you have something in mind then?”

[User] “Yes, of course. As a proposal, we could raise an army.”

[Assistant] Touching on their extreme lack of people for the task, Julius answered with the straightest of faces. “An army…?”

[User] Emilia’s eyes widened in open confusion, but Subaru snapped his fingers.

[Assistant] “Ahhh, I hadn’t thought about it that way, but that’s totally an option now that the barrier keeping people from coming to the tower has disappeared. And assuming they can clear the demon beast–infested desert…”

[User] “…Then they can reach the tower. Even so, it is quite the adventure. However, with the option of throwing people at the problem now available, there is more than enough value in reporting what we have discovered to the kingdom.”

[Assistant] “The research value is definitely huge… They might be able to fill in a lot of the moth-eaten gaps in the histories you love so much.”

[User] “That is merely a delightful secondary benefit.” Julius quickly fired back at Subaru’s joke, but then he shook his head. “No, I would be lying if I said I did not have some hope of that possibility. Apologies, my suggestion had selfish motives.”

[Assistant] “You don’t need to get bent out of shape over it. There’s nothing wrong about selfish motivations. If that’s how you’re taking this, what about someone who moves one hundred percent on ulterior motives like me?


[User] "What am I supposed to do?” By and large, Subaru expected some sort of return on his actions, and he did not expect he could abandon selfish motives and act out of duty alone. Subaru’s guiding philosophy was always to focus on himself. “It isn’t worth that much effort to avoid. Besides, at least as far as I can remember, Anastasia’s reason for wanting to claim the throne was purely selfish, too. Right?”

[Assistant] “Mm-hmm. You aren’t wrong. It’s to satisfy something I want personally. And as a result, the people around me also benefit. That’s all it is.” Anastasia smiled, seemingly unbothered by Subaru’s rude—or at least blunt—point. She touched her scarf and kneaded the white fur. “But Julius being like that and me how I am makes for an interesting pairing. At least that’s what I think, but what do you think?”

[User] “Personally speaking, it’s convenient that our rivals aren’t in perfect alignment, so the longer you guys have ideological differences, the better— Oww! That hurt, Emilia!”

[Assistant] “Don’t say things like that. I don’t know that much about either of you, so I don’t want to step out of line. But in whatever way my opponents might be praiseworthy, I’m going to do my best in my own way, working hard with my knight and everyone else.” Grabbing Subaru’s sleeve when she said “my knight,” Emilia held her head high.

[User] Subaru’s heart warmed as he watched her from the side, and he exhaled slowly through his nose. “I might be a tenderfoot, but I won’t lose.”

[Assistant] “There’s a word you don’t hear too often anymore.”

[User] “…From time to time, you two seriously scare me. I can’t tell what parts are serious and what parts aren’t.”

[Assistant] “Me aside, Emilia is pretty much always completely serious and earnest. That’s what makes her charming, right?” Julius grimaced at Subaru’s wink

[User] It was up to Anastasia to clap her hands and get things back on track. “All right, all right. So then, getting back to the previous topic… Given that we don’t have enough people, we were talking about whether we should bring in help from outside, right?”

[Assistant] “Yes, my Lady, that is correct. At this point, it should be possible to dispatch a dedicated team of investigators to this tower. They might be able to find not only the path to the next floor, but also something helpful in this archive—”

[User] “Mmm, that makes sense. It does, but I’m preeetty scared of it.”

[Assistant] “Scared, my Lady?”

[User] Anastasia slowly shook her head, interrupting Julius’s heated explanation. Seeing her knight furrow his brow, she raised her finger. “It’s like this. I’d definitely welcome more hands to help here. It’s tough looking around this whole floor. Especially with how short I am and all, just siftin’ through the shelves is a real pain.” Anastasia tapped the back of her neck. “But the cornerstone of trade is putting yourself in other people’s shoes.


[User] "Well, it’s not limited to trade, more like a rule of thumb that’s useful in all sorts of situations. Anyway, try thinking things through with that in mind."

[Assistant] "Think about it from the other side’s perspective? But who is the other side?"

[User] "The person who made this tower, set up the examination, and placed Shaula here…that person. Think from his perspective. You can see it once you do, right?"

[Assistant] "What, a horrifically twisted personality?"

[User] "Like we can’t even imagine, probably." Anastasia nodded in agreement with Subaru’s answer.

[Assistant] Emilia and Julius had troubled expressions as they heard that answer because they were earnest and good-natured.

[User] Subaru and Anastasia were both on the more twisted side of the spectrum, which was why they were naturally in sync on this.

[Assistant] Anastasia’s right. If a twisted jerk wanted to make it even harder to clear the tower, then…

[User] "Shaula! There’s something I want to ask you. Come here a sec."

[Assistant] "Master? Hold on! I’ll be right there!" Without anything else to do, Shaula had been playing with Meili near the stairs leading down, but she leaped up when Subaru called her. She literally flew through the air and slid across the floor, landing in a formal sitting position right in front of Subaru.

[User] "What is it? What is it? Is there something you want me to do, Master?"

[Assistant] "I feel guilty when you look at me so excitedly… Anyway, you know where the stairs to the second floor—"

[User] "No clue! I’ve never been higher than the fourth floor before!"

[Assistant] "In four hundred years? That’s reeeally surprising…" If what Shaula says is to be believed, she has spent four hundred years in the tower. If she really did just stay focused on watching the dunes outside that whole time, her level of devotion is way too admirable. Enough that it would be hard to deal with being treated as a master by her.

[User] "Shaula, mind if I ask something, too?" Anastasia, who was in the process of laying out her own theory, interjected.

[Assistant] "You’re what? The Great Pleiades Library’s guardian, right?"

[User] "Like I said."

[Assistant] "I see. In that case, my guess is…four. No, maybe five?"

[User] "Hmm?"

[Assistant] "The secret rules you were told in order to protect this tower. There are five, right?"

[User] "—Ugh? !" Anastasia wore an elegant, restrained smile when she saw how Shaula was shaken. The way her wide eyes and shoulders twitched said everything, proving that Anastasia’s suspicion was correct.

[Assistant] But Subaru and the rest didn’t understand what Anastasia was driving at. "Rules? And secret? What are you talking about?"

[User] "Y-you’ve got it wrong, Master! Also, it’s not like I’m hiding things—I just didn’t say anything because you didn’t ask. I want to make sure the record shows that!"

[Assistant] "Just spill it already." Shaula frantically tried to cover her ass after her secret was revealed, but Subaru didn’t give her anywhere to run.