At the moment of impact, cheekbones creaked, the tall figure went airborne with absurd ease and was slammed into the wall. Not content with that alone, the shock pierced the fragile wooden wall, sending the struck body hurtling outside amid a spray of wood splinters. The body skidded across the snow, trailing white smoke, and rolled end over end before coming to a stop.
"————————"
The body lay face-down on the ground without so much as a twitch, and a silence so profound it made one wonder if the person had died altogether filled the space.
Subaru looked back and forth between the tall figure that had been blown through the hole in the wall and the one still inside who had done the blowing. Meeting that gaze, the one responsible for the blow exhaled with satisfaction— "Ah… I did it, didn't I, hey?"
He clicked his sharp canines together and declared with a grin—the golden-haired boy, Garfiel Tinsel.
Watching
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ The group that had parted ways at the mansion reunited at the
Six people in total, including Garfiel, arrived at the Sanctuary with
Among them were
However, there was one other person who had tagged along as an add-on.
"Oh my, we meet again, big brother."
Saying this, bound up like a mackerel in the corner of the dragon carriage, was the girl with parted hair—Meili, the beast tamer who had orchestrated the magical beast attack on the mansion alongside Elsa.
At the sight of this unexpected reunion, Subaru was left speechless, but Meili showed no sign of remorse whatsoever, addressing him in the same familiar tone as when they had crossed paths at the mansion.
"Hey, hey, could you listen to me for a sec? That golden-haired guy is way too rough with girls, you know? Leaving someone all tied up in a bundle is just cruel, isn't it? You'd think so too, right, big brother?"
"Agreed. I don't know what he'd do to me, so I'd probably gag him too, just to be safe. …Since you were captured, what happened to Elsa?"
"No idea. But even Elsa probably couldn't survive that massive fire, could she? If so, she's finally dead, and I think that's fine by me."
Meili showed little interest whatsoever in the fate of Elsa, who should have been her comrade. Subaru furrowed his brow at her words.
"You've got some nerve asking for prisoner-of-war treatment. Probably won't be a very pleasant future waiting for you, considering what you did."
"Well, yeah, but I failed, so what can you do? Besides, even if I went back with my tail between my legs, Mama would just yell at me anyway."
"Mama, huh. I heard the word a few times at the mansion—someone who's like the boss of your group. …I suppose Roswaal could clear that up."
"Three meals a day, and no putting pickled plums in the food, please."
With that, Meili signaled the end of the conversation with her attitude and casually turned her back. Her treatment could be handled later. Either way, she was a valuable witness regarding the attack on the Roswaal Mansion.
It was quietly surprising that Garfiel had actually been the one to catch her.
After that, they confirmed the safety of the Sanctuary residents, and conversely, the villagers of Arlam. They heard that the refugees who had evacuated from the Sanctuary ahead of time had been safely protected in a nearby town, and everyone's safety was accounted for.
Just as Subaru was finally letting out a sigh of relief, the opening blow to settle things was struck.
"One good wallop and I let you off the hook—that's pretty generous of me, I'd say."
Garfiel muttered this as he swung the arm he had used to punch Roswaal, looking at the hole in the wall. Subaru understood wanting to say plenty of things to Roswaal himself, and he thought Garfiel's anger was entirely justified, but— "When that one wallop carries more force than ten of mine, it makes me want to tilt my head at the word 'generous'…"
"Quit stalling, Captain. Come on, you take a swing too."
Garfiel snorted at Subaru's halfhearted response and held something out to him. Subaru looked down to see what it was—a wooden branch that could only have been picked up in the forest.
It was impressively thick and long—rather like a wooden baseball bat.
"…What am I supposed to do with this?"
"I'm not gonna be so heartless as to make you take multiple swings. One swing is one swing, but if you put some real power into it with this, nobody has grounds to complain, right?"
"Seeing what just happened and then telling me to pile on? That's plenty heartless enough!"
On top of that, weapon use. Claiming that one swing is still one swing at that point was squarely in the realm of sophistry. However, Garfiel tilted his head at Subaru's response and jerked his chin toward the outside of the hole.
"But look, Captain—even if that's what you think, the others don't seem to agree, huh?"
"Huh?"
Drawn by Garfiel's sigh-like tone, Subaru looked outside. Just beyond, Frederica had Roswaal standing in front of her—held upright by Ram—and was raising her fist.
"My lord, brace yourself—!"
Frederica's muscular arm cut through the air, and her fist buried itself in the same left cheek Garfiel had struck. The pitiful tall figure went flying once more, this time slamming body-first into a tree trunk several meters away and stopping. The impact dislodged the snow accumulated on the branches, and as Roswaal crumbled, he was buried beneath an avalanche of white.
Frederica watched the result, nodded with satisfaction, and clapped her hands together.
"Huh!? Everyone's lining up for round two!?"
"Captain, you gotta settle things properly. If you don't pay for what you did now, it'll get really awkward later. I'm not planning on refusing to use healing magic on you or anything—Emilia-sama is standing by too, after all."
Dizzy and pulling his head out of the snow, Roswaal found Petra and Otto waiting in line for their turn. Ram pulled the beaten Roswaal back to his feet, and Emilia was on standby as the healer for when things got serious.
"Wait, isn't Emilia-tan just on healing duty? She's not actually waiting in line too, right? I mean, she'd technically be qualified to get in that line…"
"Who knows? Maybe there are some personality issues? Either way, it's pretty obvious, isn't it? So here, Captain."
Once again, the wooden bat was pushed into Subaru's hands. He accepted it reluctantly.
"So I've got to take my swing too, or I can't be part of the conversation?"
"I wouldn't go that far. But Captain, you'd like to sock that guy in the jaw too, wouldn't you? That's all there is to it."
Nudged forward, Subaru stepped outside.
Inside the hole in the wall, Garfiel gave him a thumbs up. It looked like he was imitating the gesture he'd just seen Subaru make. Receiving this send-off from his younger brother figure—who still felt a bit awkward—Subaru slowly joined the end of the queue to settle things with Roswaal.
Incidentally, at that moment, Petra had just swung a wet cloth at Roswaal's face with a full wind-up.
The pleasant, moist sound echoed through the Sanctuary.
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ "Well then, now that the settling of accounts has been carried out to some degree, I'd like to discuss what happened and align our positions going forward."
After clearing his throat and taking charge of proceedings, Subaru scanned the faces gathered before him.
The cathedral was full of the key figures involved in the recent turmoil. Even so, it was quite a large number, and Subaru felt a twinkle of sentiment at how big the group had grown.
Present in the cathedral were the original Roswaal Mansion members—Subaru, Emilia,
Rem's body was currently entrusted to Ryuzu's house, where multiple Ryuzu clones were providing round-the-clock care.
"Subaru, you've got a faraway look in your eyes—are you okay? Are you still not at full strength?"
"No, it's nothing like that. I'm just feeling a bit sentimental. The Emilia camp has practically doubled overnight. And if you include the Sanctuary residents and the Arlam villagers, our numbers will keep growing a bit more."
"…Yeah, you're right."
At Subaru's words, Emilia shared a similar look and tucked her chin down.
During the Sanctuary crisis, Emilia had stood her ground of her own free will and fought the defense against the Great Rabbit. That had to have raised her standing—at the very least with the Sanctuary residents and the Arlam youth corps. She wasn't exactly a "person you can rely on in a crisis = a candidate for King" in the strictest sense, but compared to when they had been kept at arm's length, it was a world of difference.
If they simply had more opportunities to interact, Emilia's true character would come through. Subaru was hopeful that understanding would spread little by little.
"Anyway, I'm getting off topic. Let's get back to the main point. For now, we've shared what happened at the Sanctuary and the mansion, right? What's left is holding the person who pulled the trigger accountable—I'd like to hear the finer details, but…"
At Subaru's words, every gaze in the room turned toward the mastermind in question.
Slumped at the far end of the cathedral with his body resting on Ram's lap, Roswaal opened his eyes as he became aware of those stares.
"Oh my? After ganging up and thrashing a defenseless me like this, you're telling me you still aren't satisfied?"
"You brought it on yourself. Emilia-tan even healed you with magic, and you've still got the nerve to say something so brazen. What surprised me more, actually, was Ram."
"…What do you mean?"
Subaru stuck his tongue out at the unrepentant Roswaal and turned his attention to Ram. Ram, whose hand rested on Roswaal's on her lap, furrowed her brow at Subaru's words.
Subaru prefaced his response with "No, I just—"
"I'm surprised you actually watched Roswaal get beaten up without saying a word. I really thought you'd lose it when he took that kind of hit."
"What a foolish question, Barusu. …Ram doesn't believe Roswaal-sama is someone who never makes mistakes either. But if it's a mistaken path, I still want to be on his side. I can't help feeling that way. You can't even understand something like that? How foolish."
"Don't call me a fool twice in one conversation! But if that's your logic, then you—"
"Yes. Roswaal-sama did something that warranted being hit by Garfiel and the others. If so, being hit was unavoidable. Afterward, treating him gently and carefully is Ram's choice to make."
As ever, Ram's way of loving was manly and logical.
No one could fault her devotion to Roswaal. Only Garfiel wore a look of inner conflict, but his inability to say anything probably stemmed from the same way he'd always been talked around.
"What a strange girl you are. Getting burns like that on your stomach… If it weren't for Betty and the silver-haired girl, those scars would have remained forever."
It was Beatrice, sitting primly beside Subaru, who spoke to Ram.
The girl sat with her knees drawn up, leaning her weight against Subaru's left shoulder. She had worked together with Emilia to heal Ram's life-bound wounds, erased the scarring, and brought Ram back to this point.
"I'm grateful to Beatrice-sama and Emilia-sama. But I'd prefer not to be told what to love with the life that was bound to mine."
"Betty isn't that kind. Dedicating yourself to a man who's done all of this, even if it means getting hurt again—that's your freedom."
"…I won't do that again. That much, at least."
Tit for tat.
As Beatrice layered harsh words in response to Ram's declaration, Roswaal—who had been listening—straightened up and spoke.
"That much, I swear. Never again will I resort to the arrogant method of sacrificing someone present in this room in order to achieve my goals. I swear it on the soul of my master."
"————————"
"And besides, being punched by Beatrice three times is more than enough."
Raising his head and looking at Beatrice, Roswaal spoke with a joking air. Hearing this, Beatrice turned her face away with a huff.
"The second time was punishment for spouting something idiotic. I have no idea about the third."
"I'd like to think so. I'd also prefer not to receive retribution from everyone again. The mercilessness of Garfiel and Subaru-kun even had me prepared to die, I'll admit."
"You can't put my punch in the same category as his, can you? It wasn't that devastating."
Though, Subaru had to admit, he had genuinely been thinking that if he was going to hit Roswaal, he might as well make it count.
Watching Roswaal fail to stand after a swing that grazed the tip of his jaw and rattled his semicircular canals had been reasonably satisfying.
In any case, Roswaal's declaration carried a certain sincerity. If that was the case, there was no reason not to trust him. His change of heart likely owed something to Ram, who had desperately tried to burn the Gospel.
"Coming from someone who was so fixated on the Gospel, I have to say your current attitude is a bit anticlimactic. Honestly, I thought convincing a Roswaal-wa who'd given up and gone off the deep end was going to be the last job I had to do at the Sanctuary."
"I pricked the troublesome bud before it could sprout. No matter how you dress it up, I lost the bet with you. The moment I lost myself, turned my back on the Gospel and the contract, and summoned that snow. And you all thoroughly beat the results of that into the ground."
"…Well, Garfiel and Emilia-tan put in a lot of effort."
"Leaving your own name out of the crucial moment—that's one of your bad habits, isn't it? Regardless, the result is the result. You conquered every Trial that was thought to be impossible, and the Sanctuary has been freed. …I've lost."
"…Hey, Captain."
Roswaal shrugged with an expression of acceptance. As Subaru struggled for words, it was Garfiel who raised his hand to cut in.
He glared at Roswaal with a sharp gaze, clicking his sharp fangs together.
"Are you seriously just gonna let this guy keep being one of us? Honestly, Captain, I still ain't satisfied!"
"Garfiel…"
"Of course I'm not! What do you think this bastard did to the Sanctuary and the mansion?! If you and the others hadn't been here, the village would've been turned into rabbit food, and the big sister and the girls at the mansion would've been played to death by those bowel women! You can't just lock up a guy who'd pull something like that and expect him not to stick a knife in your back again!"
Garfiel's roar shook the floor, and the entire cathedral trembled faintly.
Garfiel's point was valid. The act of punching Roswaal—each person taking their turn—was merely a ritual to create a framework for hearing his explanation. The fact remained that Roswaal had put everyone's lives at risk for his own purposes, and Subaru had witnessed people dying across multiple loops.
That everyone could now gather safely was due to nothing other than the countless worlds that had been sacrificed, and the fact that everyone had managed to cooperate on top of that.
Subaru, too, had anger he wanted to hurl at Roswaal, feelings he wanted to press him with. Just as Garfiel said, there were times he wanted to turn his back and declare them irreconcilable.
But— "Even so, Roswaal's power is something we need."
"Captain…!"
"For Emilia to win in the Royal Selection, Roswaal's cooperation is essential. If she loses her supporter, Emilia will be eliminated from the selection without recourse. Making him pay for what he did is only right… but we can't just say goodbye."
"You want me to forgive a guy who tried to kill my family!?"
"————————"
Garfiel's emotional words pierced Subaru.
Even if Subaru tried to beat him down with words alone, Garfiel would never accept it. Frederica. Ryuzu. Garfiel had nearly lost each of them.
For a boy who had devoted over ten years of his life to training in order to protect his family, Roswaal was undoubtedly an unforgivable enemy.
"I… will forgive him, my lord."
"…Big sister!?"
But the one who opposed Garfiel's stance was none other than his own blood relative, Frederica, who had nearly been killed herself.
At his sister's words, her long golden hair swaying, Garfiel's eyes went wide.
"What the hell are you saying!? This guy tried to kill you at the mansion—"
"Even so, I am alive now. Because Garfiel saved me."
"That's just retrospective logic! He tried to kill you! Big sister! Grandma! And that's… that's not all, is it!?"
"…For over ten years, I was cared for by my lord."
At Garfiel, whose shoulders heaved with emotion, Frederica narrowed her eyes. The loving gaze in them was almost moved by her little brother's fury.
"I took the hand my lord offered in pursuit of my own purpose. And in the time that followed, I learned a great deal, which is why I am here today. To put it in cruder terms, I made use of my lord's generosity for my own ends. In that sense, wouldn't the debt be zero?"
"Debts and lives aren't the same thing! What if he betrays us again—"
"Oh, sorry to interrupt when you're getting fired up, but may I say something?"
Frederica's words prompted Garfiel to press further, but this time it was Otto who cut in with a raised hand.
Garfiel's furious gaze locked onto him, but Otto received it calmly, making a "calm down, calm down" gesture.
"Setting Garfiel's emotional arguments aside for the moment, the possibility of Border Earl Roswaal doing something like this again… I think we can safely consider that to be zero."
"What did you just say, you bastard? Are you asleep? I'll put you to sleep—!"
"A contract. There is a contract between Natsuki-san and the Border Earl regarding how this resolution is to be interpreted. Isn't that right, Border Earl?"
Otto's response remained cool-headed even as Garfiel neared his boiling point. The fact that he confirmed the contract not with Subaru but with Roswaal showed shrewdness. Roswaal picked up on Otto's intent and opened his eyes slightly.
"What Otto-kun says is correct. As a result of the contract established between Subaru-kun and me, I cannot go against Subaru-kun's policy."
"Policy…"
"Throw away the Gospel, and cooperate to make Emilia the King. That's what I forced Roswaal into contracting for. Which means Roswaal can no longer pull a stunt like this."
Subaru picked up the thread and spoke the conclusion, grinding his teeth. Garfiel's jaw tightened.
The terms of the bet were Subaru's victory. The contract bound Roswaal, and having lost the Gospel, he could no longer force the future into the mold of what was written.
Whether that made Roswaal truly harmless was another matter.
"Even so, that doesn't erase what he did! If 'I won't do it again, I'm sorry' were enough, something called 'the Logos' revenge with just the right hand isn't enough' would never have happened!"
As Garfiel's shout continued to press the point, opinions remained divided on whether to accept or reject Roswaal's actions.
Those who agreed to accept: Subaru, Otto, Frederica.
Those who rejected: Garfiel, Petra.
Those who hadn't decided: Emilia, Ryuzu.
As for Beatrice and Ram, they maintained a stance of quiet observation regarding which way to go—their relationship with Roswaal was different from either camp.
"Petra…"
Like Garfiel, Petra openly displayed her anger toward Roswaal.
At Subaru's call, she was clutching the hem of her skirt with her face flushed red.
"No matter what Subaru-sama says, I don't want to forgive him. The lord… our lord tried to do something terrible to everyone in the village. Everyone trusted him. I thought he was a good person too…!"
"…That hits close to home."
Even Roswaal winced at the young girl's accusation.
Without the factions' ulterior motives or the finer details, Petra's opinion most reflected the feelings of the residents. It wasn't because she was a child. Her straightforward evaluation of Roswaal's conduct as a lord up to this point, combined with her anger at his betrayal, spoke volumes.
Currently, the fact that Roswaal was the mastermind behind the recent turmoil had not been communicated to the residents of Arlam or the Sanctuary.
Petra's presence at this gathering, essentially as a representative, was based on trust in the girl's sharpness—she had pieced together fragments of what had happened at the mansion, had come close to the truth, but had not spoken until she was certain.
If Petra had shown the immaturity of age by pressing for details, they might have papered things over with vague words. But that didn't happen.
"I've said it before, and I'll say it again: we need Roswaal's power. Cutting him off here means closing off Emilia's path. Even if he doesn't want to cooperate, we have to make him cooperate whether he likes it or not."
"Captain, that just means we're at an impasse."
"We are. So we have to find a compromise. What would it take for you to accept, even tentatively? Killing him—bad as it is—is off the table."
"—Tch."
As Garfiel started to stand, Beatrice rose from her seat beside Subaru in a preemptive move. Even a small girl was enough to loom over a seated boy.
Clicking his tongue at the gaze directed at him, Garfiel glared at Roswaal.
"First, housing, food, and clothing for the old folks who lived in the Sanctuary. Equal safety guaranteed for everyone who stays and everyone who leaves. That's the real first step in what big sister was trying to do."
"Very well. I'll take responsibility."
"Don't give me any excuses about the mansion burning down and losing your house and money!"
"What burned was Maes' estate annex. The main residence is separate. I have no intention of being so poorly prepared as to fall into a financial crisis."
Roswaal's confident reply surprised even Subaru. The fact that the mansion that had burned was merely a annex was news to him. He'd actually been a little worried about where they'd all live after leaving the Sanctuary, which now seemed foolish.
"In addition to that condition, make two promises… no, two 'contracts'."
"————————"
Roswaal was silent as Garfiel held up two fingers.
Garfiel folded one of his raised fingers.
"First, what the Captain just said. Swear before everyone here again that you'll keep those conditions. No more screwing around."
"…Very well. And the second?"
"Simple. —If you break that one, I'll personally crush your skull."
A bone-chilling killing intent radiated from Garfiel.
The killing intent, aimed straight at Roswaal, washed over everyone in the cathedral like an icy edge grazing their skin just from the aftershock.
"Very well. —I'll enter into that contract too."
The fact that Roswaal acquiesced just a few seconds later, and the killing intent dissipated like a receding tide, allowed Subaru to finally let out a breath and release the tension from his body.
Garfiel rested his chin on his crossed knee with a sullen expression.
"…That's all from me for now. You—big sister—accept that and be done with it."
"But…"
"Talk to your parents, talk to your friends—it won't make anyone happy."
Petra, who still looked like she wanted to say something more, fell silent at Garfiel's words. Then the girl turned to Frederica beside her with a tearful face, and when Frederica nodded, Petra pressed her face into her sister's chest, stifling sobs. It was a scene that made everyone's hearts ache.
"Anyway—guarantees for the residents of both Arlam and the Sanctuary, what happens to our base after the mansion burned down, and the matter of succession aside—can we consider the accountability and alignment of facts regarding this incident to be complete?"
Once Petra had calmed down, Subaru gathered his thoughts once more.
If there were no objections from anyone, the first stage of discussions surrounding the problems at the Sanctuary and the mansion would be concluded. The remaining issues would be addressed individually— "Yes."
But in the silence that followed, one person alone raised their hand.
None other than the leader of the group herself—the one who had not yet weighed in on Roswaal's treatment: Emilia.
Bathing in everyone's gaze, she turned to Subaru beside her and asked for permission to speak.
"Go ahead, Emilia-tan. This is your chance—say whatever you want."
"Then I'll take you up on that offer."
She nodded at Subaru and looked toward Roswaal. Receiving that gaze, Roswael raised a single eyebrow and waited with a look of surprise.
Then, Emilia spoke.
"Roswaal hasn't done the most important thing yet. We can't end this discussion until he does."
"The most important thing…?"
Emilia's words didn't ring any bells for Roswaal, and he wore a puzzled expression. Subaru tilted his head too, running through the possibilities of what Emilia could be talking about.
Watching those around her doing the same, Emilia let out a small sigh.
"When you do something wrong, you have to say 'I'm sorry.' Isn't that obvious?"
"————————"
"Just now, everyone was saying things like 'prove your remorse by doing this and that,' and Roswaal was swearing to his teacher 'I won't do anything bad anymore'—but isn't there something he should say before any of that? Roswaal, have you said it even once? I haven't heard it."
Cheeks puffed out and flushed red, Emilia launched into Roswaal.
The content was so childish that everyone was left speechless. But the one saying it was Emilia without a shred of doubt—she was genuinely, seriously angry about this.
Emilia was angry. Emilia almost never got truly angry. And yet, this rare fury was directed at Roswaal.
To make everyone remember what they had forgotten—to make the obvious, obvious again.
"Roswaal."
Subaru called Roswaal's name.
Looking dazed, Roswaal turned his gaze toward Subaru, and at the sight of that caught-off-guard expression, Subaru couldn't help but let his lips soften. Then: "Apologize, Roswaal. If you're going to keep going with us from here on, that's just the basic human thing to do."
"————————"
Subaru backed Emilia's words, and that sentiment was conveyed to everyone in the cathedral.
Under the weight of every gaze, Roswaal grasped the meaning and the demand directed at him, and drew in a breath.
"Yes, that's all that's needed."
Seeing Emilia smile at Roswaal's apology was a profoundly memorable sight.
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ —Staring down at the woman sleeping in the coffin, Subaru wore an indescribable expression.
"You're making a frightfully rude face at my teacher, aren't you?"
Peering at Subaru from the side and criticizing his expression was Roswaal.
In the innermost chamber of the tomb—two people, Subaru and Roswaal, faced each other across the coffin. There was no one to interpose between them; they had words that had to be exchanged.
But before that— "This is really the '
"Indeed. Preserved in her living beauty within magethyst, her body has continued to rest. To have the opportunity to meet again like this—my life has been well lived."
"From my perspective, I'm more creeped out by the stalker-level effort you put into possessing your descendants' bodies one after another."
"I heard the same thing from Beatrice—heeey."
Roswaal seemed amused, but Subaru wasn't in the mood to laugh.
He'd heard from Beatrice about the life-extension technique involving soul transcription that Roswaal had pursued. He'd made a similar joke before, but he'd never actually believed it was real.
In exchange, he was willing to accept that the entire Roswaal family's obsession with Echidna was really just Roswaal himself wearing the mask of a lineage.
"The guilt toward the descendants you hijacked… I don't even need to ask."
"The Mathers family was originally founded for exactly that purpose. I began it, I continued it, and I built it. No one can criticize me, and I feel not the slightest discomfort."
"A splendid model of the stalker's art."
"Not quite that extreme. More importantly—I'd like to confirm something with you. About the woman who called herself Echidna in the Trials, and the story that she was someone different."
Subaru narrowed his eyes as Roswaal pressed him with a question.
The discrepancy between the Echidna Roswaal described and the Echidna Subaru had met in the Dream Castle. That was the shock Subaru had experienced upon finding the woman in the coffin.
Subaru looked again at the woman in the coffin.
Long white hair, translucent skin. Beautiful features, a slender figure wrapped in a black dress. Every individual detail matched Echidna. And yet, she was clearly a different person.
The Echidna Subaru knew appeared slightly younger than the woman in the coffin. Her features leaned more toward charm than pure beauty, and her white hair was shorter and neater.
They weren't unalike. If someone said they were sisters, one might believe it readily.
But— "Teacher was supposed to have been alone in the world. She had no sister, and apart from Beatrice, no one she could call a daughter. I know that better than anyone."
"Then who was the Echidna in the Trials? It didn't feel like a younger version of this person… They were two different people. It's not a question of age—even I can tell that much."
"An unrelated party cannot simply intrude on the Trials. If that person was running things, she must have been connected to them somehow. Or perhaps someone acted from outside without my knowledge… That is also possible. However—"
Roswaal didn't continue, but Subaru sensed that he had dismissed that possibility. He didn't know the reason—perhaps he was confident in his own stalker capabilities. The idea that someone could slip past his notice and harm his teacher was, apparently, inconceivable. Subaru hoped that wasn't the case.
"I have the feeling you're imagining something rather rude."
"That's your imagination—and your fault. Besides, Emilia says she saw the same Echidna that I did in the Trials. At the very least, not this one."
When Subaru had first examined the woman in the coffin, Emilia had been present. It was at that moment they realized that the woman Beatrice called mother was a different person named Echidna.
Who the Echidna in the Dream Castle really was—that conclusion had still not been reached before the conversation with Roswaal began.
"Can I enter the Dream Castle again using the Trial system?"
"The system was shut down when we destroyed the mechanism. It was already a lost technology, and the conditions are complex. Plus the miasma that had enveloped the tomb has dissipated. This is now nothing more than a historically significant stone graveyard."
"Is that so…"
The simultaneous weight of disappointment at what could not be verified and the inability to see the Echidna of the Dream Castle again pressed down on Subaru. For better or worse, including the sense of betrayal, he hadn't thought poorly of his interactions with her and the Witches surrounding her.
And so, having lost that opportunity brought him a genuine sense of desolation.
"…We'll set aside what can't be helped for now. So, what are you going to do with this woman's body? Bury it?"
"I have no intention of burial or cremation, Subaru-kun. I hope you won't misunderstand. …I am seeking reunion with my teacher, but what I've been waiting for is not to meet my teacher's corpse. That was merely a means to an end."
"What do you mean?"
Subaru raised his eyebrows, distrust and wariness building.
He had assumed Roswaal's desire for a reunion with his beloved meant seeing the body preserved in the tomb. Admittedly, he might not have thought so before learning that a woman's body was actually there—but once he knew that Roswaal's teacher lay within, his assumption was understandable.
However, Roswaal flatly denied Subaru's interpretation.
"What I desire is to exchange words again with a teacher whose blood flows, whose soul dwells, and whose breath has returned. Recovering the body is merely the first step in the process."
"Bringing a dead person back to life…!? Is there really magic in this world that can do such a thing!?"
"Don't misunderstand. This is simply about the fact that my teacher's eyes remain intact. There is no magic that could recall any life that has met its natural death. Resurrection is a convenience that Od Laguna would never permit."
"Od Laguna?"
Subaru grimaced at the unfamiliar term.
"Od Laguna is, well… one might say it is the reservoir of mana existing at the source of the world. No—or rather, if the world itself were one living organism, the core of it. The Od of the world, as it were. Where exactly it exists, whether it has a will or not—everything is beyond the realm of speculation."
"The Od of the world… and you're saying it wouldn't permit this?"
"To explain that, I'd need to briefly trace the history of magic up to the present day."
"In three lines."
"That would be difficult."
At Subaru's request for a summary, Roswaal touched his chin and chose his words carefully. Then he began explaining, breaking things down as simply as possible.
"All magic currently existing in this world was developed by magic users who existed in the past. In the beginning, those gifted at handling mana began using magic suited to their attributes. As the proportion of magic users grew and disparities in ability emerged, it became difficult to classify them without names or systems."
"So magic got given names and divided by attribute."
"Precisely. As the knowledge and techniques of magic spread, individuals of extraordinary talent began to appear. They developed entirely new uses for mana, different from existing magic, and created new spells. The advancement of magic has always continued through the cycle: a handful of geniuses make new discoveries, and the masses of ordinary magic users afterward exhaust every possible application."
"You're clearly a member of that handful, given how pointed that explanation is."
"I've had more than my share of unpleasant experiences."
In any era and any world, those who are too brilliant are shunned by those around them. Roswaal had undoubtedly suffered from such looks and interference in his less mature days. Now, he would surely smile and exact revenge without being caught.
"So how does Od Laguna connect to all of this?"
"Magic and mana—the existence of the source of that power. As research progressed, individuals emerged who approached mana in entirely different ways from existing methods, creating magic of astonishing power. These all exerted influence beyond comparison with ordinary magic—some could single-handedly reshape terrain. —And when that happened, they invariably saw the same thing."
"…………"
"Faintly—mana, the very thing they handled as a matter of course. But a vastly different, colossal mass of power, utterly unlike any mana they had touched before. Every magic user who awakened to what could be called forbidden arts saw this enormous mana before them, and before long, their minds broke."
"That's Od Laguna… the source of the world?"
"Just as the human body recoils from disease and injury, the world shows a rejection response against anything that might shake its foundations. The one who first published findings on Od Laguna said something to that effect. In truth, the common thread among those whose minds were shattered by witnessing Od Laguna was that they had all reached magic capable of rewriting the history of magic itself."
How powerful those spells had been, no one knew.
All magic had its theories half-revealed, but completed spellwork was destroyed—along with the mind of the magic user who conceived it—before it could be put into practice or made public.
"So resurrection of the dead is one of them?"
"The desire to reunite with a lost loved one—that feeling is universal, and a certain number of geniuses were moved by it. They all reached the threshold, only to lose their minds to Od Laguna."
"…………"
It struck Subaru as ironic.
Whether Od Laguna actually existed, whether it had actually broken the minds of magic users—none of that was certain. And yet, they had pursued it. The limits of their own talent. Or the fulfillment of a wish that everyone yearned for.
"There's even a theory that Od Laguna is the world's will governing everything in this existence. Far-fetched as it is, there are even claims that 'blessings' are actually bestowed by Od Laguna."
"Keeping their distance, then coming to interfere… The folks above the clouds are inconsistent no matter where you go."
"That's an interesting expression—'the folks above the clouds.'"
Roswaal laughed at Subaru's treatment of Od Laguna as equivalent to a deity, without knowing the reasoning behind it. It had been an unexpected lesson, but the main topic lay elsewhere.
Subaru collected himself and steered the conversation back.
"So the reunion with your teacher that you're seeking wouldn't incur Od Laguna's wrath."
"Exactly. It doesn't involve activating any forbidden technique, nor does it require any special power or spellwork. Honestly, I'm more worried that your existence might incur Od Laguna's displeasure than my own methods."
"…I had the same thought just now, actually."
"Return by Death"—he had no intention of revealing the details to Roswaal, but Subaru's ability could be considered, depending on perspective, a violation of the taboo against resurrection.
In truth, Subaru had used Return by Death to alter his own fate of death, and furthermore to save the lives of those around him. If Od Laguna had its eyes on that, it would be hard to imagine he met the strict criteria Roswaal had described.
Or perhaps the being that granted Subaru Return by Death possessed power that surpassed even Od Laguna's.
"Just imagining it gives me the creeps. So, your method…"
"Sorry, but I have no intention of telling you that at this stage."
Roswaal cut Subaru off sharply as he tried to press the question.
For a moment, Subaru didn't understand what he'd just heard, and his eyes went blank.
"Wha—huh? What did you just say?"
"Exactly what I said. I do not intend to teach you the means by which I will achieve my ultimate goal. That, at least, is not included in the terms of our contract."
"Well, I suppose that's true… but still!"
"There is one thing I want to make perfectly clear, Subaru-kun."
At Subaru's attempt to press on, Roswaal responded in a cold voice. He circled around the coffin, approached Subaru, and looking down at him, raised a finger.
"Having lost the Gospel as my guide, I have lost the path of 'how things should be.' But I have absolutely no intention of abandoning my goal. My previous approach is impossible given the contract binding me to you. And if I attempted any petty interference, Garfiel would tear my head off—so that's out as well."
"…Right, that's true. Then what options do you have? Besides revealing your goals and asking for our cooperation, what path is left to you?"
"A simple matter. —I will continue to watch you."
"————————"
Watch. At this far from gentle proposal, Subaru was struck speechless. Gazing down at him, Roswaal's mismatched eyes burned with the same intent.
"Fortunately, your goal of making Emilia the Queen aligns with the path I need to take to achieve mine. In theory, this was where you were supposed to obtain an unshakeable will of steel and become a battered knight who would serve Emilia-sama no matter what he lost."
"…………"
"But that path was severed. And instead, you chose to walk a harder, more painful path—the thorny road. I salute your decision, and at the same time, I pity you."
"What did you say?"
Not something to let slide. Subaru glared at Roswaal, who simply shook his head—an expression born of genuine pity for Subaru.
He held up his palm to the irritated, questioning Subaru.
"You were supposed to learn the meaning of loss here. To accept loss and still protect what truly mattered—to become a 'sage.' I wanted to save you, even from that."
"There's nothing sage-like about that! Swallowing the loss—what's wise about that!"
"Having rejected loss and decided to pick up everything, you will be hurt going forward. Hurt beyond repair, lose things over and over, throw yourself into recovering what was lost, and continue accumulating invisible wounds. It is a path of utter pitifulness."
"——!"
"And the choice you made—to reject being a 'sage' and embrace being a 'fool'—I will never be kind about. Of course not. You chose to walk this path."
Reaching out, Roswaal placed a hand on the shoulder of the speechless Subaru.
Subaru's body trembled faintly. Roswaal brought his face close and whispered as if into his ear.
"Going forward, if anyone you should protect is lost around you, I will without hesitation burn those who remain, and turn to ash myself."
"…!?"
"You decided to pick up everything. Not a single piece can be lost. A lost world must not carry into the future. As long as there is any possibility that your future—the future where you have accepted loss—leads to a future I do not desire, I will deny it. —With the Gospel gone, the only thing that can guide me to my goal is you, Subaru-kun, and the path you walk."
Pulling back, Roswaal lightly pushed Subaru's chest.
It was barely any force, yet Subaru staggered as though struck, his back hitting the wall behind him, leaving him winded.
The man standing before him—Roswael L. Mathers—was terrifying.
His approach had changed. He would stop relying on the Gospel and cease forcing hardship onto Subaru, Emilia, and the others for the sake of his objective. If Subaru wished it, he would cooperate and lend his full strength to making Emilia Queen.
But if Subaru showed even the slightest sign of straying, Roswaal was prepared to overturn everything in an instant and destroy it all.
Not a lie, not a pretense—not anything of the sort. Roswaal would absolutely do it.
"Now, now, there's no need to be so frightened. As long as you remain yourself and continue fulfilling your role, I will cooperate with you with everything I have. —That is the contract between the two of us."
"…The lesson here is to read contracts more carefully, I guess."
"Your task, Subaru-kun, is to not let a single person from today's gathering be lost. Bring Emilia-sama to the heights with everyone intact, and I too will be able to fulfill my goal there. I will be able to reunite with my teacher."
As Subaru hung his head in silence, Roswaal let out a long breath and nodded.
Then, straightening his back with a click of his heels: "Upon returning to the main residence, I, Roswael L. Mathers, Border Earl, will formally appoint
"…………"
A knighthood.
It was what Subaru had desperately wanted—the qualification to stand at Emilia's side.
Even in this context, the joy was halved, but having stated it this openly, Roswaal would certainly keep his word. There was no benefit to Roswaal in refusing to cooperate with Subaru.
Seeing Subaru nod in silent acceptance, Roswaal turned and headed for the exit. The conversation was over—that was the meaning.
But just before his footsteps left the room, Roswaal stopped and looked back.
"Oh, yes—since I've just spoken of fully cooperating with you, I should report this properly too."
"…What now?"
"I commissioned the 'Bowel Hunter' to kill Beatrice—that much is true. But the attacks by the 'Beast Master' in both the previous incident and this one were entirely unrelated to my intentions."
"—Huh?"
Subaru's mouth fell open. He had thought, "What more could there possibly be?"
Unable to grasp the meaning of what Roswaal had said, Subaru froze, demanding an explanation. Roswaal closed one eye.
"As I said—the incident in the capital and the killing of Beatrice were my commissions. But I never ordered the killing of Frederica or Petra, and there was no time to convey the finer details. The commission itself was carried out before the Royal Selection began, in accordance with the Gospel's writing."
"What—how is that possible!? Elsa and that girl were comrades! If so—"
"Meaning that an intent separate from mine was at work in the attack on the mansion—including the 'Bowel Hunter.'"
"————————"
"How dreadfully unrelenting the hardships are. Isn't there a certain thrill to it?"
Leaving those ironic words behind, Roswaal's footsteps receded at last.
Left alone, Subaru's mind still reeling from the voice echoing in his skull, he couldn't make himself move and leaned against the cold wall of the tomb.
The problem he thought had been resolved still smoldered with embers.
Feeling the lingering heat of those coals, Subaru clutched his head and let out a deep sigh.
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ "You have such a gloomy face."
The one who rescued Subaru from spiraling into thought was a grumpy, childish voice.
At some point he had sat down on the floor, and Subaru could see the hem of a dress swaying before him. Tracing his gaze upward over the lavish fabric, he found a lovely face looking down at him, arms crossed.
"Beako."
"I don't know what Roswaal said to you, but a contracted partner of Betty's shouldn't make such a face. It lowers Betty's standing, you know."
"That's a serious problem. I just said I'd put on a good face and here I am being pathetic."
Patting his cheeks, Subaru shook his head.
Beatrice knelt down to bring her eyes level with his and squinted.
"You must have been told something truly awful. …I can listen to your complaints, if you'd like. A special service, just for now."
"Flying into a little girl's chest to cry would be the worst look ever, so I'll pass. But if things get really bad, I'll dive in without hesitation."
"Well, if the mood strikes me when that happens, I might just hold you."
Snorting, Beatrice stood, and Subaru heaved himself up as well.
Brushing off his seat and turning forward, he collided with the profile of Beatrice gazing at the coffin.
"…That's your mother."
"And she's an Echidna different from the one Subaru knows."
Neither Subaru nor Beatrice knew what that meant.
Still, Subaru was glad that Beatrice had been able to reunite—if only with a corpse. If the one sleeping here had been the Echidna Subaru knew, it would have been a tragedy for both Beatrice and Roswaal. Subaru would have been happy to see Roswaal frustrated, given his current mood, but he never wanted to see Beatrice grieve again.
After all, Beatrice had already lost one reunion she had wished for.
"I wonder what happened to Ryuzu Meyer's crystal."
"…I don't know."
At Beatrice's murmur, Subaru felt his own despondency deepen.
Deep in the Sanctuary forest, the abandoned Echidna research facility. There, the original Ryuzu Meyer—the system that produced Ryuzu clones, and the core that functioned as the Sanctuary's barrier—was supposed to have been resting.
Just like the woman in the coffin before them, Ryuzu Meyer was supposed to have been sealed in a crystal.
—But that crystal had vanished without a trace.
Beatrice, who had set out with Subaru to reunite with her old friend, had been struck speechless at the sight. Subaru, too, regretted not having gone to check first on his own.
The room where the crystal had been was missing a chunk of its floor. Ryuzu Meyer's body—and the pedestal that had supported the crystal—were gone entirely.
Amid the foul odor filling the room, they suspected she might have fallen underground. Emilia dispatched minor spirits to investigate below, but found nothing. Beneath the facility was a hollow that connected through a tunnel-like passage into the forest.
The thief who had taken the crystal knew about that passage and had waited for the barrier to fall before extracting it—there was no other conclusion.
What the thief's purpose was didn't matter at this point.
What mattered was that the reunion with Beatrice's friend—which should have taken place—had been stolen. Beatrice had acted composed, but there was no way she wasn't hurting.
He would retrieve it. The reunion that was meant to be would happen.
Subaru steeled himself to that resolve.
"Though, honestly, for all my big talk, I'm pretty limited in what I can do on my own."
Rolling his shoulder and stretching out his arm, Subaru acknowledged his own powerlessness with a bitter smile.
In terms of raw strength, he'd have to rely on Beatrice above all, and also on Emilia and Garfiel.
In terms of wits, Otto had helped him before, and he'd sometimes have to depend on Roswaal, as much as he disliked it. In other areas, Frederica and Petra surely had a great deal to offer as well.
As ever, the range of Subaru's arms—both literal and figurative—was short and narrow.
"Subaru, what are you laughing about?"
"Nah, just that being weak is pathetic sometimes, but not always. Going forward too, I'll have to keep relying on you, Beako."
"I think I understand what you mean, and also don't understand it."
Beatrice may not have grasped the full meaning of Subaru's words, but she clearly felt the weight of being relied upon, and she offered a faint smile. Subaru nodded at that smile, prefacing with "Well, obviously—"
"I wasn't expecting you to understand everything. It'd be embarrassing to have my feelings read. Still, being a Spirit User is something else, huh? I've never channeled that much magic in my life, so I got a little carried away."
"…Is that so?"
"Then again, I'm basically being carried on your back through the whole thing, so it's not really something to brag about. Even if they call me a Spirit User, I don't really feel it."
The contract with Beatrice had also been highly condensed by the collapse of the Forbidden Library.
Of course, there was the undeniable sense of connection when she had answered to her name and settled into his arms.
"Subaru. —There's something important I need to tell you."
"Oh?"
Beatrice suddenly addressed him with a serious expression.
Subaru tilted his head and waited for her to continue.
"First, Subaru became a Spirit User by contracting with Betty… but Betty's status as a spirit is fundamentally different from others. So thinking of yourself as a pure Spirit User would be a bit of a different affair."
"Well, the other spirits I know aren't humanoid, and Pack was pretty much the only one who could talk and move around with a will of his own. I can tell it's different."
The Spirit Users Subaru knew up to this point were Emilia and Julius. Emilia had contracted with Pack, and also had good rapport with minor spirits. Julius, conversely, had formed contracts with multiple quasi-spirits more powerful than minor spirits, functioning as a formidable Spirit User.
There was one more exceptional case—the
"Betty… no, strictly speaking, Betty and Niichaa are fundamentally different beings from other spirits. We are artificial spirits, created by Mother… the Witch Echidna. And to be blunt, technically creating us by perfected means is extremely difficult… compared to normal spirits, we are incomparably more powerful, but we have certain drawbacks."
"Drawbacks…"
A flash of humiliation crossed Beatrice's face at the word.
Beatrice, whose pride was fierce and whose devotion to her mother was extraordinary—acknowledging that a fundamental part of her existence was flawed must have been painful.
But with a single exhalation, Beatrice swept that weakness away.
"Niichaa and Betty each have different drawbacks… but Betty's primary one is that she monopolizes the contractor."
"Monopolizes the contractor?"
"In short, simply maintaining the contract with Betty consumes nearly all of the contractor's capacity as a Spirit User. So… Subaru, who has contracted with Betty, cannot contract with any other spirit. This applies to minor spirits and quasi-spirits alike."
"…Ah, so that's how it is."
Subaru nodded multiple times, fully understanding.
In other words, maintaining his contract with Beatrice ate up so much of his resources that he had no capacity left to accept contracts with other spirits.
Whereas Emilia could rely on minor spirits instead of Pack depending on the situation, Subaru—bound to Beatrice—could not do the same.
"It's a little disappointing, I guess, but I'll accept it. The benefits of having you as a partner far outweigh the drawbacks. And I'm not planning to let you go just because of a contract with minor spirits or anything."
"Y-You…"
Hearing Subaru's answer, Beatrice's anxious expression softened slightly. But she quickly schooled her features, cleared her throat, and continued.
"Well, there's still a bit more, I suppose. But compared to what we just discussed, it's a minor issue. You can relax while I explain."
"Sure. Honestly, I'm lost on just about everything, so go ahead and tell me."
"Well, Betty is—just a little—compared to other spirits, her rank as a spirit is quite high, so… the fuel efficiency is terrible."
"Fuel efficiency… Are we talking about cars now?"
In games too, the more powerful the magic or summon, the higher the MP cost. That balance between cost and power was fuel efficiency. Beatrice looked reluctant as she continued.
"Huh? But for all your talk about bad fuel efficiency, you were firing off magic left and right during the fight with the Great Rabbit, even using me to cast, and you weren't draining me at all?"
"That was drawn from the mana Betty had been stockpiling for a long time. If Betty had siphoned what her magic required right from the start on our first outing, Subaru would have dried up before the battle was even half over. I'd appreciate some gratitude for that."
"W-Well, yeah. If I tried to do that, I'd be wrung out completely."
Continuous Miya shots followed by a final, massive Al Shamak. One shot of Shamak would leave Subaru running on empty—there was no way it could sustain Beatrice's power.
"But you can't keep doing that going forward, right? Since I'm officially your contracted partner, I need to supply you with mana. That's only natural."
"I'll be relying on you on that front. Betty and Niichaa—artificial spirits—cannot naturally generate mana from a core Od. We can only receive it from the atmosphere or from our contractors. And Betty can only receive it from humans."
"Is that so… Then how were you managing at the mansion?"
"…I was just… taking a little bit from everyone there without telling them."
Perhaps the guilt was real, because Beatrice said it while turning her face away. Watching, Subaru saw her cheeks flush rapidly. He didn't know what Mana Drain signified among spirits, but judging from Beatrice's reaction, it was clearly not proper etiquette.
"I won't press that since you're clearly reflecting deeply on it, Beako. So if my mana covers your daily needs going forward, how much of the stockpile you had left is remaining?"
Subaru's mana reserves were limited, and Beatrice's fuel efficiency was terrible. Naturally, Beatrice's powerful spells would have to be drawn from her remaining stockpiled mana bit by bit.
Therefore, knowing exactly how much was left was essential.
"…None."
"…Huh?"
"There isn't any. All four hundred years' worth of stockpiled mana was spent in that first battle. The loss of the Forbidden Library took quite a lot as well… and the final Al Shamak was the finishing blow. All the mana Betty had stored is gone."
In other words, it meant this: Beatrice's stockpiled mana: zero.
Subaru's mana: barely enough to maintain Beatrice as a spirit day to day.
Beatrice, with terrible fuel efficiency—couldn't accumulate enough mana for powerful spells. And because of the contract with Beatrice, Subaru couldn't receive assistance from minor spirits.
"So what you're telling me is… all we've created is a team of a Spirit User and a spirit that can't use magic!?"
"W-Well, I suppose you could put it that way."
"I can't put it any other way! What? Seriously!?"
In conclusion, Subaru had gained a spirit upon becoming a Spirit User—and that was all.
"I'm suddenly really worried about where this is going!? Are we going to be okay!?"
"Ehehheh, perhaps."
"I can't laugh at that!!"
The newly born team—two people who, combined, didn't even amount to one competent Spirit User.
Their bickering echoed through the tomb for a long, long time.