"All right, it's done!"
Subaru stuck two branches he'd scavenged into a mound of snow before him and wiped the sweat from his brow.
It was a roughly one-hour amateur effort, but he had to admit he was rather impressed with the result. As the finished work took shape, the onlooking crowd let out murmurs of admiration.
"I've always had a feeling I've got a knack for this kind of thing. If times ever get tough, I'll team up with
"Oh, stop saying such ridiculous things. I'm not going to help you make it snow for something like that. ...But it's really, really well done."
Emilia let out a soft breath of white mist, sitting on the stone steps as she watched Subaru work.
What reflected in her violet eyes was the snow sculpture Subaru had finished—though calling it simply that would be somewhat misleading, so perhaps "snow statue" would be more accurate.
Gathering the snow that remained in the
Well, as long as Emilia and the Sanctuary's residents were happy, that was enough.
"I'm sure he didn't plan it, but I do think Barus is a fool, you know."
So spoke a voice, delivering a sharp assessment of Subaru.
She was a girl sitting on the stone steps just like Emilia, resting her head on the latter's lap. Having shed her trademark maid's outfit, she was now wrapped in a simple white garment.
Her uniform had been scorched—she had nearly lost her life. Her complexion was even paler than usual, but neither the tone of her voice nor the venom of her words had been affected. That was what mattered.
"If you two are going to babble on like this, wouldn't it kill you to be a little nicer to me—the very person responsible for all this commotion? I think I'm sorely lacking in appreciation here."
"Mm, you're right about that. I'm incredibly grateful to Subaru. But since I was the one who worked hard in his absence, I think he should be thanking me, if anything."
"Emilia-tan, you've gotten rather forward out of nowhere, haven't you...?"
In truth, it was Emilia who had protected the Sanctuary during Subaru and the others' absence. Without her guidance, it was unclear whether the residents who had entered the tomb could have escaped the
Whether Subaru would have thought of using the tomb as a shelter, even if he had been there, was far from certain. After all, his only thought had been to flee before it snowed.
"Well, it's a pleasant surprise that the Youth Brigade came back and lit a fire under Emilia. ...Seriously, that was a lifesaver."
Not to say everything had been smooth before, but this time there had been too many gambles.
The impression was that Subaru alone hadn't been enough, and he'd been constantly helped by those around him. He'd been determined to take on the toughest part, and yet— "That goes without saying. If we let Subaru do everything, we'd have no idea why we even exist. Subaru's been running around so much that he deserves a rest."
"Hey, but with neither the brains nor the brawn to be useful, running around like a headless chicken is pretty much the only move I've got."
"But that's not going to be the case anymore, is it?"
Emilia stroked
He'd overlooked some things, and he'd relied on others throughout, but for the most part, he'd managed to pick up everything that needed picking up. And from now on, he wouldn't have to keep wrestling with his problems alone.
Subaru no longer hesitated to lean on those around him, he wouldn't neglect his own efforts to make that possible, and there would always be someone ready to kick him in the rear when the time came.
"———"
Subaru lifted his gaze and looked from the square toward the tomb.
His eyes passed over Emilia sitting on the nearby stone steps and settled on the tomb's entrance. Two people had just stepped inside, into the tomb where the trial system had now ceased to function.
What were they talking about in there? It was concerning, but— "Well, I can read the atmosphere well enough to know they need some time alone."
They'd had countless chances to talk, yet had never once taken them.
They must have mountains of things piled up between them.
*** Flanking the transparent coffin on either side, a tall man and a young girl faced each other.
"Mother..."
The girl peered down into the coffin, gazing at the woman lying within the crystal, and murmured.
Her feet felt unmoored from the ground—a floating, weightless sensation. Part of it was the lingering high of battle, part was the sense of both loss and liberation at no longer having the place she'd occupied for so long, and the unreality of the scene before her played no small part either.
She had never imagined a day would come when she would see her mother's face again.
The woman resting in the coffin—the
Long, beautiful white hair. A face that was refined and intellectual, yet carried a softness to it. She could vividly recall the rare moments when her mother had smiled at her.
And the last instructions she had been given upon their parting—the words, all of it, came flooding back.
"Betty could not... keep her promise with Mother, could she. I'm sorry."
Betty stroked the coffin with her finger and began their reunion after four hundred years with an apology.
When they had parted, Echidna had instructed Betty to pass on her library of knowledge to "that person"—and had sent her on her way with those words. The forbidden library she'd been entrusted with, and the Gospels that foretold the future.
Neither of those things remained in Betty's hands now.
The Gospel that was to show her the future her mother had envisioned for her—all the knowledge Echidna had painstakingly accumulated over long years—everything had been swallowed by the flames that reduced all things to ash, vanishing from this world.
"Betty could not even meet 'that person'... and the books, she burned them all. There must be far too many things she needs to apologize for."
Betty judged herself to be a failure of a daughter.
She had been a foolish daughter who, even given four hundred years, could not fulfill a single instruction from her mother. And now, standing before the very mother she should not have been able to show her face to, the moment called for a sincere apology—and yet, "...And yet you look remarkably unburdened, don't you."
The tall man standing before her spoke with dispassionate ease, laying bare the contents of Betty's heart without ceremony.
She glanced up. Emerging from the darkness was a long-haired man, his lips slack and expressionless—Roswaal. It was a face she knew well, yet Betty could not help but notice something different about him.
Perhaps it was because the eyes of the man who had been consumed by his mad purpose since the day she first met him now held a confused, wandering quality—or perhaps because he had wiped away his clown's makeup and was showing his true face.
"If 'unburdened' is what you mean, then you've lost to me, Roswaal. Standing before Betty without your makeup on is practically breaking the rule set down by the previous head."
"That clown makeup was like war paint to me, y'know. Wearing it let me face people with the conviction of someone behind a mask. But I've come to realize something, Beako."
"Realize something?"
"Whether I wear makeup or not, aren't I just a clown through and through at this point? If that's the case, how much meaning is there really in whether I do or don't put it on?"
"Hmm. I see."
Betty tilted her chin in acknowledgment as Roswaal made an exaggerated, theatrical shrug. Fidgeting idly with her signature ringlet curls, the girl continued.
"As for you—surely you have something to say to Mother. This reunion with her must have been... your family's lifelong wish, wouldn't you say?"
"............"
"From the first Roswaal, who knew Mother personally, to the Roswaal who stands before me now, you must be nearly the tenth in line. The heads of the Mathers family have always been short-lived, so the ones who came poking their noses into the Forbidden Library changed with every generation. ...You were different from the very start, weren't you."
The history of the Mathers family was something Betty had watched unfold from the closest vantage point—even if she hadn't been deeply involved.
The first Roswaal, who had been Echidna's sole disciple. In his battle against the demon
After Echidna's death, he had lingered in the Forbidden Library, ignoring the catatonic Betty, pursuing something with manic obsession—and had likely passed that mission on to the next generation before dying.
From that point onward, every head of the Mathers family who succeeded the name Roswaal had replicated the first's magical power and breakthroughs in succession, expanding the family's influence.
And then came the current Roswaal—the man before her.
This
His abilities exceeded even those of the first Roswaal, who had been personally recognized by Echidna, and he had likely held the title of one of the most powerful magicians in the world.
"Even with such talent, you yourself could not escape the curse of the Mathers family, could you. Your lineage, dreaming only of reuniting with your deceased mother, walking an unforgiving path in single-minded devotion... Betty feels a measure of sympathy for you all."
"Is that so? But how different are we, really, you and I? You too were bound by your dead mother's words for four hundred years. No—unlike us, who passed the torch from generation to generation, you spent all that time alone, so your suffering is something no one could truly empathize with. We at least had purpose to drive us forward, while you simply crouched there doing nothing—that suffering of yours was something else entirely."
To Betty's words, Roswaal returned an equally weighty answer.
In the end, they were both the same.
The Mathers lineage, whose short lives overlapped just enough to pass their wish from one generation to the next, seeking reunion with a single person.
And Betty, who had shut away an endless life inside an empty cage, waiting for the day the promise would be fulfilled.
From an outside perspective, both were equally foolish clowns.
"———"
The two exchanged a silent gaze for a time.
But this quiet standoff was interrupted when Roswaal suddenly looked away.
"This is becoming a pointless argument. A couple of fools pointing at each other and snickering—there's a limit to how futile and ridiculous that can be, after all."
"...Well, that's certainly true enough."
"I have just one question, if I may?"
Roswaal raised a single finger, his tone carrying an edge of self-mockery as he evaluated their respective existences. Betty silently tilted her chin upward, her silence serving as assent.
The girl's response prompted Roswaal to glance down at Echidna, resting in the coffin, "Was Subaru-kun able to become your 'that person', I wonder?"
The question. And at the words "that person," Betty took a small, sharp breath. She had never directly discussed "that person" with Roswaal. And yet, she had considered it entirely possible that he, of all people, might know about her in ways she herself did not.
After all, everyone who had previously been allowed access to the Forbidden Library had originally been brought in by the preceding Roswaals. He could easily have heard their stories and passed them on to his descendants.
In the most straightforward sense, one could even say that Subaru himself was a person brought here by the current Roswaal.
—Though if she said that aloud, Subaru himself would probably protest.
"...Why are you laughing?"
"—Ah. My apologies. It's not that I was laughing at you, Roswaal. It's simply that the thought amused me when it crossed my mind."
It was amusing because she could picture exactly what the dark-haired young man would say, with perfect clarity. Whether that was because he was that simple, or because she didn't want to think any further, she wasn't sure.
But Betty shook her head at Roswaal's answer.
"That man... Subaru is not suited to be Betty's 'that person.'"
"...Oh?"
"To begin with, Subaru lacks every conceivable qualification to inherit Mother's library of knowledge. He has no learning, no sense of purpose in using what knowledge he has, no foundation for it. Besides, his face isn't handsome, his strength is pathetic, he can't use magic worth a damn, and his legs are short. Him being the 'that person' Betty waited four hundred years for? Utterly out of the question."
"Well, that's rather a harsh assessment, wouldn't you say?"
"Is it? Betty is harsh. That's why she squandered every opportunity that came her way over those four hundred years. ...Betty had been selfish, dragging 'that person' through all of it."
In hindsight, Betty felt something akin to guilt toward all those who had tried to lead her out of the Forbidden Library. They hadn't all been driven by ambition or self-interest. Among them, there had surely been words spoken out of genuine concern for Betty.
But Betty had turned away every single hand extended to her.
"Perhaps 'that person' was someone Betty was supposed to choose. She should have faced each person who called out to her and given them a proper answer. The person worthy of inheriting Echidna's knowledge from the Forbidden Library—perhaps Betty should have been the one to choose them."
"But the Subaru-kun you chose isn't suited to be 'that person,' is he?"
"No, he isn't. But perhaps that's fine. Betty didn't choose Subaru because he was 'that person.' She chose Subaru, plain and simple."
At Betty's answer, Roswaal's breath caught and his eyes widened.
Coming from him, who had revered and devoted himself to Echidna, it must have been a difficult answer to accept. Betty, who had stood in the same position only moments ago, understood his feelings with a pain so sharp it was almost physical.
And precisely because she understood, she felt the need to say everything she had to say.
"Subaru laughed off the notion of becoming 'that person.' He boasted that he could make you happier than some nameless, faceless person you'd never even met."
"That is... an arrogant answer."
"But I don't dislike arrogance."
Rather than being lectured with pretty words about what she should do, or being told how she herself could make use of Echidna's knowledge, Subaru had simply bared his intentions.
"Even so, no matter how you arrange things, you'll never be Subaru-kun's number one. That much is obvious from the way he is now... and I know that as well."
"I think you may be under a misconception, Roswaal."
"A misconception?"
"Betty didn't leave the Forbidden Library because she became Subaru's number one. She left the Forbidden Library because she wants to make Subaru her number one."
He told me to choose him. That's what he said.
That he'd be lonely without her, that he couldn't live without her.
Convenient words, she thought. Pleasant-sounding nonsense.
But Betty's heart had wavered. It had resonated. The heart that had been frozen in place for four hundred years had been shaken loose.
And once she had known the almost unbearable sense of liberation in taking his hand and stepping out of the Forbidden Library, she could never stop again.
"Even if it means Betty loses her qualifications as Mother's spirit for abandoning her role, Betty doesn't care. Betty is now the spirit of her contractor,
Perhaps this was, for Roswaal, a betrayal.
Betty had declared she was breaking free before he did—he who had been bound by Echidna's curse for four hundred years just as she had. Not by fulfilling the terms of their bond, but by casting her role aside.
Neither to her mother nor to Roswaal would it be anything other than brazen shamelessness.
"———"
Her heart had already decided. Her hand had already been taken.
Betty would now spend her days burning vibrant, untarnished memories into her mind—so that after the long, long passage of time, she would not forget what mattered most.
So she simply waited, silently, for Roswaal to say what he would.
"There's no need to brace yourself so. I'm not the spokesperson for Witch Echidna or anything of the sort. Whatever answer you arrived at, I have no right to meddle with it. Do as you please."
"Roswaal..."
"Besides, even if you hadn't thrown it all away, Echidna's order regarding you would never have been fulfilled. I was the one who tried to sacrifice you to prioritize my own desires. If anyone is the traitor here, that would be the greater betrayal by far."
"———"
As though confessing, Roswaal acknowledged the sin of what had transpired in the mansion.
Just as Betty had realized in the Forbidden Library, it was Roswaal who had plotted to take Betty's life within the mansion. And she was convinced it had all been done according to what was written in his Gospel, though she could not see how the pieces connected.
"Roswaal. What happened to your Gospel?"
"...It was burned. By the hand of a wicked maid who defied her master. So all futures have turned to ash. Or perhaps everything was already that way—who's to say?"
"Everything, just... empty, with no future in sight. And yet you, too, look remarkably unburdened."
"—That... I'm not so sure about."
Roswaal hung his head, a perfect mirror of Betty's earlier retort. Then he reached a hand—one that could not touch—toward Echidna in the coffin.
"Losing sight of the path that surely leads to the answer I seek is a frightening, sorrowful thing. ...But there may be joy in reading a story I've never read before. It's been over four hundred years since I last felt anything like it, so I can't be certain it's the real thing."
"...?"
Betty furrowed her brow at the subtle strangeness of his words.
Seeing this, Roswaal allowed a small smile to cross his lips and said, with self-deprecation, "You know, we really haven't exchanged enough words, you and I."
"I suppose not. We had the time, though—at the beginning, when we could only be blind. We lived under the same roof. We had more than enough time to talk. And yet, though we were looking at the same thing, we kept avoiding the conversation, almost as though we were afraid of it."
"Roswaal, what are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying... we could have spent this time together the way we once did in the Teacher's study."
"Tea—!?"
At Roswaal's gentle words, Betty caught the echo of something familiar and drew a sharp breath.
Understanding what that implied, she let it settle, then spoke with a trembling exhale, "Could it be... you're Roswaal?"
"I've always been Roswaal."
"No! That's not what I... You know perfectly well!"
"Just joking. You're right, of course—I am. I am Roswaal,
The moment he changed his mode of address, Betty saw two figures superimposed before her eyes.
The tall man with dark blue hair, and alongside him, the image of a younger man with the same shade of hair—the brilliant, spirited youth who had once revered Echidna and followed in her wake.
"If that's the case... Roswaal, what did you...!?"
"The principle is an application of the soul-transference technology from among the Teacher's research into immortality. I selected the lowest-risk experiment conducted here in the Sanctuary and performed it upon myself."
"Soul transference... copying consciousness and memories into an empty vessel to achieve subjective immortality... but that experiment was incomplete! The soul never properly took root!"
"The affinity between the vessel and the soul was insufficient, yes. The project stalled once... but I forced the issue. If the affinity between vessel and soul was the problem, then narrowing that gap would overcome it."
The affinity between vessel and soul—that had been the flaw that halted the research.
It was one result of Echidna's maniacal intellectual curiosity in the wake of using Ryuzu Meyer as the Sanctuary's core, wondering whether the crystallized Ryuzu could be repurposed for another experiment.
But the duplicated Ryuzu's body had possessed no capacity to accept another soul, and the experiment had failed. And Roswaal had cleared that obstacle by bringing the vessel and soul closer together.
Betty grasped the meaning, and understood what stood before her in its truest sense.
—The first Roswaal had been passing down his wish through an unbroken line, transcribing his soul into the bodies of his closest descendants, generation after generation.
"You'd call me a monster for that, would you, Beatrice?"
"............"
"Would you call me a monster for wishing only to reunite with the Teacher, and for using my ignorant descendants as vessels?"
Roswaal's words pierced Betty to the core.
But Roswaal's expression—utterly, unnervingly calm—had something almost expectant in it, as though he were waiting for Betty to pass judgment.
Perhaps Roswaal, too, wanted to be judged. Just as Betty had reported to him—the Roswaal who still yearned for Echidna—that she had abandoned her contract with the Witch.
Perhaps he wanted Betty, who knew Echidna, to render judgment on his actions. On his single-minded, obsessive one-sided devotion that had lasted four hundred years.
"That's... not Betty's role to address. I'll say this, though—Betty had very little interaction with your descendants. Well, in hindsight, I suppose that was all you, so I don't feel any greater disgust toward you for using them as stepping stones than the words convey. Though I do think 'ew.'"
"'Ew,' is it? You don't mince words, do you, Beako."
"But really, that's all there is to it. More than that, I'd like to simply be glad that someone I knew four hundred years ago is still alive."
"...Is that so."
At Betty's answer, Roswaal closed his eyes. Perhaps it wasn't the answer he'd been looking for, but that was no longer Betty's concern.
Betty would convey her feelings honestly. She had decided as much when she left the Forbidden Library. For the time being, "Roswaal. Would you squat down over there for a moment?"
"Squat? Here?"
Betty pointed at the ground, and Roswaal tilted his head. At Betty's nod, he crouched down with wide eyes.
Watching Roswaal lower himself, Betty removed the shoe from her right foot. She fitted it firmly into her right hand, "Now grit your teeth."
"—Guh!?"
At just the right height, her right hand—now wielding the shoe—delivered a sharp slap across his face.
The satisfying crack rang out, and Roswaal's head snapped to the side. He pressed his hand to his reddened cheek, eyes spinning.
In the meantime, Betty calmly slipped her shoe back on.
"Betty is generous, so she'll call it even with that. ...In any case, it's nothing more than a result. Subaru also forgave you, so Betty supposes she will too."
"I imagine that's nothing more than the result of everyone surviving, isn't it."
"That's right. And Subaru, who ran around to make sure nobody died, was amazing. You should take a page from his book."
"—Ha... hahaha! Is that so! That I should follow his example! Ha ha! Well, well... ah, isn't that just hilarious."
Standing before Betty with her hands on her hips, Roswaal laughed as though he had heard the finest joke ever conceived. He leaned back in uncontrollable mirth, bumping his head against the wall behind him, and let out a long, deep sigh.
"I'm sorry. —I don't believe I did anything wrong. At least, allow me to say that much."
"You don't need to apologize to Betty. If you're going to apologize, do it to everyone else."
At Betty's blunt response, Roswaal nodded quietly.
"Fair enough."
Then, still seated on the ground, he gazed up at the coffin.
And then, "Beatrice. From here, this is a consultation between just you and me again."
"———"
At Roswaal's lowered voice, Betty narrowed her eyes.
She crossed her arms and jerked her chin in a "go ahead and talk" gesture. Having witnessed this, Roswaal placed his hand on the coffin and rose to his feet, gazing at Echidna within.
Holding a nearly maddening passion in his mismatched eyes, "—If a true reunion with the Teacher could be made possible, would you help me make it happen?"
*** "They're really taking their time in there. I'm sure there's a lot to talk about, but come on—they're overdoing it."
Growing restless with the unchanging situation, Subaru pursed his lips while waiting in the square.
By now, he had made roughly ten more snow sculptures. A total of nearly thirty, each with a different expression, all modeled after Puck—the Sanctuary's residents and Emilia alike were utterly captivated.
Incidentally, Ram—who had been enviously borrowing Emilia's lap until recently—had recovered considerably and was now leaning back leisurely on the stone steps. However, she kept glancing toward the tomb, so there was no question she was worried about what was happening inside.
Beatrice, who had awakened. And Roswaal, in his current tenuous state.
Subaru didn't think anything violent would happen, but he could understand Ram's concern. He had never confirmed from Roswaal's own lips whether the man had truly calmed down after reaching some kind of resolution.
Still, he'd been assuming everything would be fine on his own.
"Well, I left it to Beako, knowing full well what I was getting into."
The length of their history went back further for Beatrice than for Ram. Betty had told Subaru that there was a woman's remains inside the tomb—Echidna's.
If they were going to discuss that, it was better left to the two who knew those days firsthand.
As for what to do with Echidna's remains, that was a topic Subaru could join later.
"Besides, it'll be easier to plan our next move once Garfiel and the others rejoin us."
If they had escaped the mansion safely, they should be heading straight for the Sanctuary. Subaru had asked a member of the Youth Brigade to pass along a message, and one of the returned dragon carriages had been sent to
Given the snow blanketing the Sanctuary and the damage to be cleaned up, having some breathing room before making decisions was a good thing. It was enough time to collect their thoughts, at least.
Subaru had thrown himself into making snow sculptures to the point of losing track of time, and he felt considerably calmer for it. He should be able to have a level-headed conversation with Roswaal.
He could. He absolutely could. He was pretty sure he could.
"Subaru, good work... but why are you flailing your arms around like that?"
"Oh, no reason? I'm definitely not shadow-boxing the face of that despicable old hag! I think someone probably already took care of that for me!"
"Is that so?"
Emilia tilted her head, having wandered over without quite grasping what he'd meant.
Then she settled beside him, admiring the impressive lineup of snow sculptures stretching out before them.
"All these sculptures... a mountain of Puck. He'd be so happy if he could see them."
"Would he? I feel like he'd complain, 'I was supposed to be way cuter than this, you know.'"
"Oh, that was a really good impression. And Puck... oh, looks like he's sleeping right now."
Emilia laughed at Subaru's impression, then drew a blue crystal from her breast pocket and murmured.
The deep blue crystal had been shaped into a roughly polished form, and now it caught the sunlight reflecting off the snow in Emilia's hand.
Sealed within that crystal was Puck, whose contract with Emilia had been dissolved.
"But in that state, you can't summon him like before, right?"
"Mm, that's right. This crystal doesn't have enough purity to contain a spirit as powerful as Puck. Right now, I've mostly had Puck reduce his activity to keep the crystal from breaking, but... in this condition, I probably can't touch him or talk to him."
"So you need a proper stone. Like the green one from before."
The crystal pendant Emilia had worn around her neck. It had shattered to pieces upon the dissolution of her contract with Puck, but apparently it had been an exceedingly rare type of crystal.
It had originally been brought by Puck when he formed his contract with Emilia, and even Emilia didn't know where to obtain another.
"But someday, I'll definitely find a stone to match it and get Puck back. And then... I want to talk to him about a lot of things. How he kept things from me, how I was able to find what I needed because of him—all of it."
Determination gleaming in her violet eyes, Emilia stroked the crystal's surface with tender affection.
Her profile was so strikingly beautiful it took Subaru's breath away. When Emilia noticed him staring and raised an eyebrow in question, Subaru rubbed his nose.
"Uh, no, it's just... Emilia-tan, you've changed somehow. Like, you were always adorable, but you've gotten a little... tougher?"
"That's thanks to you and everyone else. I've only ever received things. I want to be able to give back all those things to everyone, soon."
"Received, huh... I feel like I've been doing nothing but that myself."
Both Subaru and Emilia had known the sting of powerlessness.
That didn't mean they wanted to wallow in it together. Emilia's current attitude made Subaru feel both encouraged and a little lonely.
He'd finally gained at least some of the strength to support her—and yet Emilia had already surged ahead on her own to the point where she didn't even seem to need it.
He was always running, and yet somehow it felt like he could never catch up.
"By the way, Subaru... um, well..."
"Hmm?"
"The two of them in the tomb are taking a long time, aren't they. ...Yeah, really long."
As Subaru wallowed in sentiment, Emilia suddenly began speaking in a halting, fumbling manner. Her eyes kept darting toward the tomb, which remained unchanged.
But even as the tomb showed no signs of activity, Emilia's own complexion was changing dramatically. Her profile flushed crimson, and even the tips of her ears—slightly longer than those of her kin—turned bright red. Seeing this, Subaru panicked.
"Emilia-tan?! Your face is turning red at an alarming rate—are you okay?!"
"I-I'm fine. Totally fine. More importantly, um, I have something to talk to you about."
"Y-yes, how formal."
Matching Emilia's unexpected politeness, Subaru found himself answering in kind.
Emilia glanced around, confirmed no one was nearby, then stared at Subaru with her still-crimson face—more specifically, at his mouth.
"So, um... Subaru, you said that you... l-like me, right?"
"Uh, yes. I did. I love you."
"That's... really, really wonderful."
Hearing the word "wonderful" at the end of that sentence sent a chill down Subaru's spine.
Because the word that followed "wonderful" in his imagination could only be one thing. This was unmistakably heading toward the dreaded "let's just be friends" territory.
"But like I said before, I'm going to keep waiting for Emilia-tan to turn to me, and I'll keep trying my best to make that happen."
"That's... also really nice to hear. But honestly, even when you say things like that, I still don't really understand what it means to like someone."
"............"
"Back on the dragon carriage, and again in the tomb this time—you keep telling me you love me, and I can't give you anything in return. I thought that was... really cruel of me."
As Emilia's words grew weaker, Subaru let out a silent sigh of relief.
In other words, Emilia's answer was: status quo. Same as before—and that was fine.
As long as she hadn't been turned off by his repeated, stubborn confessions, everything was okay. As long as Emilia was still uncertain, Subaru could reach out his hand as many times as it took.
This slight disconnect between Subaru and Emilia, their feelings misaligned by a hair—all of it became irrelevant with Emilia's next words.
"But! I think we should properly discuss the baby in my stomach!"
"———"
———.
————————————.
———————————————————————.
"Pardon?"
"I don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet, but either way, we need to love it properly! But I've never been taught anything about this, so I don't know what to do... I think this is something I need to talk about with the father."
"Wh-wh-whoa, whoa, wait, wait—"
Emilia was babbling at full speed, her face flushed red, and Subaru's brain simply could not keep up.
Emilia, too, was speaking rapidly and breathing hard—clearly in a state of high excitement. There was no way he could have a rational conversation with her in her current state.
"Emilia-tan, first, take a deep breath and calm down. I'm also taking a deep breath and trying to calm down. Ah, there's snow right at the right spot."
He crouched and scooped up some snow, pressing it to his face to physically cool his head. Listening to Emilia's deep breaths, Subaru forced himself to think clearly.
A baby in Emilia's belly. The mother was Emilia. The father was Subaru. None of this made sense. Subaru was absolutely certain he had never climbed any stairs to adulthood.
"Emilia-tan. A baby—you mean a newborn baby, right?"
"Y-yes. I know this is terrible timing with the Royal Selection, but... the baby didn't ask for this, and I want to give it a truly happy life! I want this child to be properly loved by the person who should love it first."
Emilia's resolve was noble and beautiful.
But they were talking past each other. Subaru had never done anything like that with Emilia. Which meant Emilia had done it with someone else. No—he didn't even want to think about that.
"Emilia-tan... babies aren't delivered by storks, and you can't just harvest them from cabbage patches, you know?"
"But men and women have to kiss to make a baby, don't they?"
"———"
He was speechless.
Speechless at Emilia's total lack of knowledge, and at the adorable wrongness of her assumption.
"Subaru? What's wrong? Hey, Subaru."
With a completely innocent expression, Emilia called his name while he sat in stunned silence.
Her face carried a strength that seemed to stem from an emerging awareness of motherhood. Perhaps that was why Subaru had sensed something tougher about her. If so, was it wrong to correct this misunderstanding?
—No. Absolutely not. There was no time for that. If left unchecked, Emilia would proceed with her phantom pregnancy, gradually talking to the imaginary swelling in her belly with increasing maternal devotion. That would be adorable in its own way, but it was a problem.
"Subaru... are you regretting the kiss...?"
"Of course not! I want to do it as many times as you want!"
"R-really..."
As the misunderstanding deepened further, Subaru regretted his reflexive response.
From Emilia's perspective, he had just said he wanted to make babies as many times as possible. The feelings were there, but that was something that would come after many, many steps in between.
So now, as that very first step, he needed to give Emilia the correct knowledge.
But the fact that Subaru had to be the one to do this—what kind of situation was that?
"I curse you, Puck...!"
He muttered his grievance toward the cat spirit who was absent, still sleeping deep within the crystal stone.
In his mind's eye, he could almost see the small cat putting a hand to his head and sticking out his tongue with a "tee-hee."
—In the midst of his turmoil, Subaru realized he should leave the detailed explanation to Ram or Frederica. This epiphany came while Emilia was in the middle of pestering him to pick out a name for the baby.