An unexpected uphill battle had left the aftermath of fierce combat scattered across the sixth floor of the
Rising clouds of sand. A man and a woman, drenched in sweat and mud, locked in a grapple.
And the rest of the group, watching the two with cool, detached eyes.
"What's with those looks!? You think I'm— you think this is my fault!? I didn't do anything wrong! I didn't do anything wrong—!!"
"Subaru, please try not to be too disillusioning."
"I thought you might have had some redeeming qualities, but at the end of the day, Barusu is still Barusu."
Those were the impressions Julius and
In any case, "I'm glad we were able to regroup safely. It's encouraging that you've woken up as well… but the situation seems to be something that won't make sense without a verbal explanation."
"If I could explain, I would… damn it! Let go of me!"
"Iiiiieeeaaahhhh!"
Seeing Shaula clinging to his arm, Julius—who had his hand resting on his sword's hilt—shrugged. He must have judged that she had no intent to attack. Subaru agreed on that point, but the fact remained that peeling her off was a real struggle.
"Don't just stand there watching— help me pry her off…! She's got insane strength…"
"Your upper lip is stretching, you pervert Barusu."
"It's not stretching! Don't combine words and apply them willy-nilly!
"Ah, sorry. I wasn't actually trying to help at all."
"You're apologizing for that!? "
The stubborn Shaula refused to let go of Subaru's arm, and Emilia, with a strangely expressionless face, was pulling at Subaru's hair. For reference,
"What the heck… after all that trouble, the mood sure has changed fast, hasn't it?"
"Probably because big brother woke up, I think? I don't really like the noisy ones, but I— I think it's a good thing big brother woke up, yes."
Following behind Julius and Ram, Anastasia and Meili slowly descended the stairs and rejoined the group. With this, everyone except
Everyone had gathered, but in this state, there was no way they could settle down and have a proper conversation.
"An— y— way—! Everyone, calm down! Let's… talk."
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ Subaru, straining his throat fresh from sleep, managed to get the situation under control—or at least get everyone to listen.
That said, even within the circle they formed, Shaula still hadn't released his right arm, and Emilia was sitting seiza-style on his left side, close enough that their shoulders might touch. And Beatrice had claimed his lap. It was, by any external measure, a rather luxurious formation.
"How shameless."
"Did you not just witness the disaster unfolding a moment ago? Does my right side look like something I chose? My bones are creaking like crazy. If this keeps up, the arm is going to necrotize."
Snapping at Ram's remark, Subaru looked at his restrained right arm.
Being embraced by a half-naked beauty sounded like a dream scenario in theory, but in practice, the terror of fully locked joint pain, the flesh of his arm being squeezed, and the damage to his bones and nerves far outweighed any sensation of her soft skin. To put it bluntly, it was going to fall off.
"So before my arm gets torn off at the root, I'd like to move this along… but first, is everyone actually okay? I'm still worried about Rem and Patrasche being unaccounted for…"
"Still suspicious, are we? It's fine, you know. Everyone is safe and sound, I'm sure."
"Beatrice is right. That said, your concern is perfectly justified. You should pay them a proper visit later. —This time around, everyone really did have a close call."
Both Beatrice and Julius nodded in agreement with Subaru's relief at their reunion.
Julius, apparently recalling the events right after they'd parted ways in the sand sea, pulled a grim face.
"Right after the space split apart, all of us except you, Anastasia-sama, and Lady Ram fell somewhere beyond that beast's flower field. After a series of twists and turns, we eventually found shelter in the Watchtower."
"But since big— big brother and the others weren't there and we couldn't fight, we were really worried, yes."
Meili puffed out her cheeks in agreement, echoing what Beatrice had explained earlier.
Naturally, their anxiety made sense. When Subaru and the others had fallen beneath the sand sea, they too had been desperately worried about the group that had gone missing. It went both ways.
"Big sister was really panicking, you know. She went and bit into that Sage something awful. Even now, just thinking about it is frightening, yes."
"Meili! You really shouldn't be saying things like that!"
Emilia's face flushed red as she protested against Meili's sideways glance. The fact that the girl's statement was no exaggeration was crystal clear from Emilia's crimson reaction.
It was perhaps in poor taste, but he was honestly glad they'd been worried about him.
"I see, I see. So Emilia-tan was worried about me? And Beako apparently cried half to death with worry too. I'm a blessed man."
"Oh honestly, Subaru, there you go joking around again. …Besides, Beatrice didn't cry half to death. About half, maybe. Right?"
"If you're going to be considerate, follow through all the way, you airhead…!"
"—Huh?"
The fact that she had indeed been reduced to tears was laid bare, and Beatrice sulked, but Emilia didn't notice. Subaru smiled warmly at their heartwarming exchange, then looked up at Julius.
"So that means you were pretty shaken up too. Too bad I couldn't see that face of yours."
"Of course, I was quite distraught. Forget about yourself— Anastasia-sama and Lady Ram. Having two helpless women carried off beyond our reach was a devastating blow. You missed the sight of me going pale and scrambling about in a panic, but rest assured, I'm only now letting my frayed nerves settle."
"How is it that a story about being too shaken to do anything comes out sounding so elegant?"
Julius touched his bangs out of habit, smiling wryly, and Subaru curled his lip.
Neither putting on a brave front nor showing weakness—it was an utterly uninteresting result. At that, Meili let out a small snort of laughter at the exchange between the two.
Wondering what was so funny, Subaru looked over, and she held her braid to her mouth.
"Nothing at all, yes."
She deflected with a meaningful smile and nothing more.
"Well, I get it now—everyone who got separated was worried about us too. The fact that no one is missing is what lets us look back and laugh about it."
"Only someone as thick-skinned and bold as Barusu would put it that way. Ram's delicate body and tiny heart are still threatening to burst from anxiety and fear just thinking about it."
"The sister who, by all accounts, should have the hairiest heart of anyone I know is saying that?"
In truth, among all the people Subaru knew, Ram boasted one of the strongest mentalities around. Naturally, her comment was just idle talk to be ignored—except that Subaru couldn't help but stare at Ram's face, sitting right in front of him.
Fair skin, pale pink eyes. Needless to say, refined features and a cool beauty. A countenance like a bewitching fruit caught between charm and elegance. No matter how you looked at her, it was unmistakably the Ram he knew.
"—Stop staring at me with those unpleasant eyes. What are you thinking, gazing at me like that?"
"Just… thinking that it's really you, Ram."
"That's it, I give up on you."
"Don't just pass judgment without even specifying a subject! That's not what I mean…"
Ram dismissed Subaru's words as a wisecrack, and Subaru stammered, fumbling for words.
What surfaced in his mind was the incident just before he'd lost consciousness underground—the sight of Ram, injured, shielding Subaru from the Centaur. Her slender back, covered in wounds, standing against a powerful enemy with no chance of winning. Witnessing her unflinching resolve in the face of injury had made him taste the terror of loss, and now, the two of them had safely returned alive.
He confirmed that reality by exchanging words with her, just like they always did.
"Yeah, this is the right distance between us. It got weirdly hostile at times, and heavy at others, but looking back, that was also… no, I guess that doesn't quite make it a fond memory."
"You're mumbling and I can't make out a word. Spit it out. Like a man."
"I'm just glad we're both safe. And… thanks for protecting me at the end."
"…What a waste of time."
"You'd say that!? "
Here he was, sincerely expressing gratitude, and she was a lady utterly devoid of appreciation.
At Subaru's sulking, Emilia giggled.
"It's fine, Subaru. Ram's just a little embarrassed."
"The sister is embarrassed…? An earthquake would be more convincing than that."
"N— no, that's not true. Probably. It's because Subaru was holding her the whole time until Ram woke up, and she feels awkward about it. She was even rough when she pushed him away afterward."
"Emilia-sama!"
Emilia had whispered it quietly, but Ram reacted fiercely to the words. Either she'd read Emilia's lips or she had some sixth sense—she narrowed her eyes in a rare display of irritation.
"I would advise you not to project your own standards onto everything. Ram has no desire to serve someone who's too dense to understand human hearts."
"…That dense person isn't me, is it?"
"Not at all. If Emilia-sama is a being of flawless emotional intelligence with no trace of denseness, then this is simply a nonsensical rambling from a foolish girl who doesn't understand you at all."
"Right. Hmm, let me think about that for a moment."
Beneath Ram's surgically precise barbs laced with sarcasm, Emilia actually began to contemplate the matter seriously. In the meantime, Ram glared at Subaru with a blade-sharp gaze and mouthed the words "Forget it."
Under that fierce pressure, Subaru involuntarily nodded—then remembered that when he'd woken up, there had been a trace of someone having slept beside him in his bed. He'd assumed it was Beatrice at the time, but combining that with what he'd just heard— "Oh, I forgot. I forgot about it. I said I forgot."
"Good. You're not a dense— rather, Emilia-sama, that's enough."
"Ugh, Ram… you're starting to show less and less restraint toward me, aren't you…?"
Emilia shot her a reproachful look, but Ram accepted it with an expression of complete innocence.
In any case, it was clear Ram didn't want that topic touched any further, so Subaru averted his gaze and turned to the last member of their party—Anastasia.
She was sitting primly beside Julius, fiddling with the pom-pom decoration on her hat as usual, and upon catching Subaru's eye, she gave a broad smile.
"Oh, are you done talking? I was starting to think you'd forgotten all about me, Natsuki-kun."
"Allow me a little ego-driven priorities, will you? I'm just glad you're safe too. In that final fight underground, I couldn't even tell what was happening anymore."
"I was tossed into pitch darkness and scared out of my wits, you know. But Natsuki-kun, Ram-san, and… Patrasche-chan were fighting so hard the beasts ignored me entirely. I couldn't be of any help there, but I like to think I made up for it in the negotiation."
"Negotiation?"
"With the 'Sage' who saved us over there."
Anastasia pointed to Subaru's right arm, where Shaula was still nuzzling against his cheek.
At the word "negotiation," Subaru grimaced, but Anastasia laughed it off.
"No, no, we were flummoxed too. See, until just now, she wouldn't answer a single question no matter how much we pushed or pulled—but suddenly she's completely smitten with Natsuki-kun."
"Quiet? That's what she was?"
"Not her— Shaula-sseu. Master~"
"Annoying…"
Subaru sighed exasperatedly at the shrugging Anastasia and the pouting Shaula.
Looking at the situation objectively, Anastasia's side had reason to complain. But Subaru had his own argument too. In reality, everything had been completely unforeseeable.
"When someone with maxed-out affinity suddenly latches onto you, even if they're a gorgeous woman, it's not exactly a heart-fluttering situation when your own affinity is zero…"
"—! Did you just call me gorgeous!?"
"What convenient ears you've got!"
Subaru tried again to pry Shaula off with his free left arm, pushing against her head. But the more he struggled, the stronger her grip became, and he ultimately surrendered.
In the end, still pinned, he huffed and shook his head.
"For now, let's set the small stuff aside and talk about what needs talking about. I'm sick of scrambling around because of half-baked explanations. I've got questions for you."
"Okay, okay— anything Master says goes-sseu!"
"I see, your cooperation is much appreciated. Then, I'd like to ask—are you the 'Sage' who has been living in hiding within this Pleiades Watchtower? Is that a correct understanding?"
"Puii-sseu."
"Answer me! You just said you'd talk!"
Shaula, who'd seemed perfectly friendly just moments ago, deliberately looked away from Julius's question. At her blatant rudeness, Subaru yelled at her, and she puffed her cheeks in his direction.
"Oh my, oh my, what a terrible Master-sseu. You're the one who told me never to say more than necessary, never to tell, never to teach anything to anyone who asks anything— and told me to stick to it, Master-sseu! I'm just faithfully following that teaching! It's outrageous to be scolded! Lawsuit-sseu!"
"That Master of yours sounds like a real piece of work!"
"Right, right. Master is a truly awful person-sseu. I demand a deep apology and reflection."
"And yet you keep calling anyone you please 'Master'… What is it, Emilia-tan, what's with that look?"
At the bizarre conversation between Subaru and Shaula, Emilia had narrowed her round eyes. Subaru braced himself, wondering if she was having another mysterious episode, but she said "No, nothing like that…"
"It may not be anything major, but… what is it. Subaru, doesn't the way that Shaula girl talks kind of… feel similar to you?"
"I don't talk like some bottom-rung delinquent!?"
"Not that— more like, her manner of speaking. You know how Subaru always cracks jokes even during serious conversations? It feels like that."
"So that's what people thought of me!? "
Subaru was floored by the unflattering evaluation, but Emilia seemed entirely unbothered. If anything, "Hmm… now that you mention it…"
"You mean she converses on Barusu's level? How frightening."
"I actually quite like the way big brother talks, yes?"
"But if everyone talked like that, it'd be hard on the stomach, wouldn't it?"
The surrounding chorus of agreement and lukewarm评价left Subaru gaping. But before he could respond, one tiny girl erupted in fury—Beatrice.
"Really, all you do is say whatever you please. And you—you've been too familiar and clingy with Subaru this entire time! Do you have any idea how much trouble Beatrice went through just to hold Subaru's hand? It's not fair, I suppose!"
The topic had veered off course halfway through, but Beatrice's protective spirit was touching. However, Shaula deflected Beatrice's protest with an expression that no beautiful girl should ever wear.
The sheer indifference radiating from Shaula's face pushed Beatrice's already tiny patience to its limit.
But before she could act, Subaru's chop landed on Shaula's forehead.
"Cut it out, will you?"
"It hurts… well, not really, but abuse!? Abuse-sseu…! Master raised a hand against me! See you in court-sseu!"
"Shut up! And have a proper conversation with everyone else too! We're not getting anywhere!"
"…Is that really okay?"
"It is! In fact, I insist! Please get serious for once!"
At Subaru's earnest plea, Shaula blinked in genuine surprise. Then her expression gradually shifted—through surprise, understanding, acceptance, and delight, in that order.
And then— "Wahoo! Permission to talk has been granted-sseu! No more need to play the mysterious, enigmatic beautiful girl-sseu! Hooray!"
"That element was already completely gone!!!"
Her face broke into a radiant smile—the kind where, if she'd had a tail, it would have been wagging at full speed.
In fact, Shaula's ponytail thrashed wildly with joy, and her arm, still locked around Subaru's, repeatedly smacked him in the cheek and forehead.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ "So—you're the 'Sage' everyone's been talking about, right?"
After the commotion finally died down, they finally—truly finally—arrived at the question that should have been asked before any of it started.
Shaula, having been released from his right arm, was now sitting cross-legged in the center of the circle, surrounded by the group. For the record, his right arm was numb and couldn't be raised. It wouldn't move.
"————"
"Answer me. You're the 'Sage,' right?"
"Hmm~ that's a tough question to answer-sseu."
Met with silence, Subaru repeated the same question. Shaula's expression turned sour, like she'd bitten into a pickled plum, and she gave a vague response.
At that reply, Subaru furrowed his brow, his confusion plain. But it was Emilia who raised her hand in his stead. Prefacing with "Well then—"
"Whether or not you're the 'Sage'… you're the one who's been keeping watch over those dunes inside this tower, right?"
"Ah, that's definitely me-sseu! Four hundred years, day after day, I've been staring into the sand, day after day, enduring tears and drought— the days of unspeakable thirst, yes!"
"Poor thing…"
"Emilia-tan, don't let her get to you. And you— stop layering in extra sentiment."
At Shaula's trembling-fist response, Emilia's eyes glistened with empathy. Subaru, trying to calm her down, caught Julius's eye, signaling based on what Shaula had just said.
Julius tucked his chin and took over the conversation.
"Then let me ask again. The deeds known to the public as those of the 'Sage'— is it your understanding that for four hundred years, you have been the one shouldering that role? Shaula-sama."
"Oh, calling me '-sama' makes me blush~ I'm not used to it, so just call me by my name, please! 'Shaula-sama' sounds so… hehe."
"Then let me rephrase. —Is it true that the one known to the world as the 'Sage' is none other than you, Shaula?"
"Well, how should I put it-sseu? When you say 'known to the world,' I've never left this tower, so I have no idea what rumors are floating around outside. It might have gotten warped in strange ways, you know-sseu? Like how I'm apparently called the 'Sage.'"
Shaula's previously slack expression underwent a complete transformation—her gaze deepened with thoughtfulness, and her entire demeanor shifted. The depth of that probing look was such that even Julius narrowed his eyes in response.
Even if it hadn't been Julius, those words couldn't be brushed aside. Because if what Shaula said was true— "If you're not the 'Sage,' then the legend of 'Sage Shaula' is entirely based on false hearsay. Or is there someone else besides you who goes by the name 'Sage Shaula'?"
"I don't know who that 'Sage Shaula' is in the outside world-sseu, but as far as I know, I don't know anyone else named Shaula. This name was given to me by Master, so unless Master gave the same name to someone else… but still."
Shaula's gaze flickered briefly toward Subaru, but—beyond the question of anyone else—Subaru had never given anyone the name Shaula in the first place.
That said, there was undeniably a certain ring to the name 'Shaula.' Shaula was also the name of a star—one of the stars that form the constellation Scorpius. The meaning was 'needle.' Naturally, his thoughts drifted to the white light that had been fired from the Watchtower, but he decided to set that line of inquiry aside for now. The priority at the moment was a different issue.
"Master doesn't seem to remember, so Shaula is definitely just my name-sseu. The name Master gave to me, and me alone… I don't need any other Shaula."
"I see. You seem to hold your Master in very high regard. —What a troublesome person they must have been."
"Stop looking at me while you say that. I'm innocent. Presumed innocent until proven guilty."
"'When in doubt, punish the accused'… that's what Ram believes."
"Let's have some faith in the rule of law, shall we?"
Putting aside the banter, there was no detectable falsehood in Shaula's words and actions. If that was the case, then perhaps the legend itself was what had diverged.
Meanwhile, paying no attention to their discussion, Anastasia was rummaging through her pockets. And then, of all things, she produced several coins from her coin purse.
"You're not suddenly going on about money, are you?"
"It's a hobby of mine—fiddling with coins helps me think… but that's not what this is about. Here, take a good look at these Kingdom coins and you'll see."
With that, Anastasia tossed the coins to the uncomprehending Subaru. He caught them in a hurry, and found she'd thrown him four coins—a copper coin, a silver coin, a gold coin, and a divine gold coin.
She surely wasn't offering them as pocket change or a bribe to Shaula. Following her instructions, Subaru examined the coins and noticed the designs engraved on them.
He hadn't really paid close attention to money before, but— "So they engrave pictures and patterns on coins everywhere. That's kind of fascinating."
"Not really? You need to be able to tell which country's coins they are… plus, currency has always existed alongside a nation's history. That's why things deeply connected to a nation's history get engraved on them."
"Mm…?"
Listening to Anastasia's explanation, Subaru focused on the coins' markings. Looking closely, sure enough, each coin bore a different design— "On the divine gold coin there's the 'Divine Dragon,' the gold coin has the 'First Sword Saint,' the silver coin has the 'Sage,' and the copper coin has the 'Royal Castle of Lugunica.' You didn't know that?"
"Wha— Emilia-tan is acting like some kind of trivia character…!"
"I mean, you should obviously know this. Do you just not even look at coins when you shop, Subaru?"
At Emilia's pointed question, Subaru whistled and tried to deflect. While doing so, he confirmed that the engravings matched her description exactly.
The divine gold coin bore a dragon, the gold coin a sharp-eyed man, the copper coin a royal castle, and what was engraved on the silver coin— "A young, handsome guy, huh. Nothing at all like Shaula."
"But the person who people think is Shaula in the wider world is this guy right here."
What was engraved was a handsome man with long hair and refined, noble features. Naturally, even from different angles, it was nothing like a half-naked beauty.
Shaula, the actual person in question, tugged at him saying "Let me see-sseu!" so he handed it over. She studied the silver coin intently, then— "Huh, that's well done-sseu. Looks just like Master."
"How does it look like me!? —Ah, wait, if the 'Sage' engraved here is your Master, then you're saying this looks like the Master in your memory?"
"Oh please, what are you even saying-sseu? My Master is only Master-sseu."
"Then let me ask again. How does it look like me!?"
Shaula compared the engraving on the silver coin to Subaru, and he cleared his throat.
The hairstyle was different, the eyes were different, and they didn't even seem to be the same race. The only thing that matched was probably just gender. If judging solely by the category of "good-looking," Julius was actually closer to the coin than Subaru was.
But Shaula, unconvinced, shot him a dissatisfied look.
"From what I can see, it's a pretty accurate depiction-sseu. Has hair, two eyes and ears, a nose and mouth…"
"We're on that level!? You're not complimenting a kindergartner's crayon drawing!?"
"I have to agree that this Sage and Subaru don't really look alike…"
Shaula was sulking, but Subaru—and clearly Emilia too—ruled against her. It was only natural. But Shaula still wore an expression of disagreement.
"But see, I'm really bad at comparing faces-sseu. Whether it's a man or a woman, that's about the only difference I notice—after that, most faces look the same-sseu. …And size, I suppose."
"Did you just throw in that last bit while looking at Beako just now, I wonder?"
"Beatrice being small and cute is one-of-a-kind, so that's fine. More importantly, with those trash-tier aesthetic standards, how did you ever conclude I was your Master!? You've got the wrong person, completely!"
Seizing on Shaula's excuse, Subaru moved to clear his name from this baseless accusation. After all, it had been an absurd claim from the very beginning. There was never any need to consider the possibility—Subaru had absolutely no connection to Shaula. So that was a relief.
But just as he thought that, Shaula shook her head.
"Oh, the way I found Master had nothing to do with looks, so that's not the issue-sseu."
"Has nothing to do with looks—then how did you figure it out? An aura or something?"
"Smell."
"————"
"Well, you know, someone who reeks this badly—so pungent it could bend your nose, absolutely stinking to high heaven and totally fine with it—there's no one like that except Master-sseu!"
"I've genuinely never been insulted that badly before! What— I'm that terrible!? "
The moment the word "smell" dropped, Subaru had steeled himself for an instant. But the sheer tactlessness of Shaula's follow-up words shattered that resolve in one blow.
His face flushing at the unfair evaluation, Subaru glared at Shaula, who looked at him with genuine puzzlement.
"Why are you angry-sseu? Oh, was it because I said 'terrible'? It's okay-sseu! Master's smell is genuinely awful, but it's the kind of awful that makes you want to sniff over and over again-sseu! It's not like vomit or anything—more like exotic cuisine! So it's fine!"
"A girl shouldn't talk about vomit so casually! And that's not a comeback!"
Subaru buried his face in his palms and crumpled in mortification.
"What is this… I mean, I was getting used to the verbal abuse, but being humiliated like this is too much. What have I done…"
"R— it's okay, Subaru. I understand, truly. So let's have a good bath later, alright?"
"I'm not being understood at all!"
As Subaru moped in defeat and Emilia tried to comfort him, Beatrice sighed. Then the girl crossed her arms, still leaning her back against Subaru.
"So do you understand now why you mistook him for someone you didn't know?"
"I didn't make a mistake-sseu. For a little brat, you're awfully cheeky."
"Unfortunately, that little brat happens to be your precious Master's partner. Oh, but if it was a case of mistaken identity, then he wasn't Master at all, was he? How rude of me."
"————"
"————"
Quietly, sparks flew between Beatrice and Shaula's eyes.
The conversation had been completely derailed from the original topic, but trying to get it back on track with these people was an exercise in futility. At this rate, it was the voice of reason that always ended up bearing the brunt.
"Beatrice-sama, perhaps you should save the rivalry for after this is finished. After this important discussion, you're welcome to fight over who Subaru's owner is."
"Subaru isn't owned by anyone. That's what makes him good."
"…Yes, yes."
With a look of complete exasperation, Ram reined in Beatrice's anger. Then, narrowing her eyes, she addressed Shaula—who was still glaring daggers at Beatrice.
"In any case, it's fortunate that you're willing to talk now. You wouldn't even entertain a basic conversation earlier, but you should be fine now?"
"Mm, now that I've got Master's permission, it's okay-sseu. That said, I'm not kind enough to answer everything you ask. In fact, I'm not even that knowledgeable-sseu."
"That response alone makes it obvious that you're not the Sage."
Shaula puffed out her generous chest proudly, boldly proclaiming her own ignorance. Ram, matching her, pushed out her own flat chest and looked more imperious than anyone else in the room.
"You are Shaula, but you are not the 'Sage.' In that case—do you have any knowledge of the 'Sword Saint' and the 'Divine Dragon'?"
"Kensei and Shinryu?"
"Their names are Reid and
"Blegh."
At Ram's question, Shaula pulled a bitter face and stuck out her tongue.
Her reaction made it clear she knew both names. Without a word, Ram prompted her for more, and Shaula, still sitting cross-legged, swayed her body left and right.
"Of course I know them-sseu. Club-wielding Reid and the sarcastic Volcanica are old acquaintances-sseu. Haven't seen them even once since we parted, but I bet they're doing fine-sseu?"
"One of them… Reid is dead. Long ago."
"For real-sseu!? He was the kind of guy who wouldn't die even if you killed him, and he's dead!? How did he die!? Did he eat something weird!?"
"It was old age. No one can defy the heavens' decree."
"Old age… ah, right. That's right. Reid was human, wasn't he."
Learning of an acquaintance's death, Shaula lowered her eyes with a subdued expression. Even her ponytail seemed to droop lifelessly, and her shoulders sagged. She looked genuinely sad.
Whatever her behavior and mannerisms had been up to this point, the sight of her mourning a friend was equally poignant.
Even Subaru, who was just now recovering his composure, felt something catch in his throat at Shaula's profile.
"So, Volcanica's still doing well?"
"Well, that one's a dragon."
"Ah, right, it's a dragon-sseu. I guess between the two, it would've been better if Volcanica was the one who died, huh~"
"Now there's something."
Still, she showed only the faintest trace of sorrow before swiftly switching gears. Her remark about the other acquaintance was blunt, but she looked refreshingly unburdened.
And with that clear expression, Ram closed one eye thoughtfully and posed her question.
"You remember Reid and Volcanica. …Then you should know your Master's name, shouldn't you?"
"————"
At Ram's question, Subaru and the others collectively held their breath.
Only Shaula, the one being asked, tilted her head with a vacant look and replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Ram's question was, indeed, extremely effective for unraveling the mystery of the 'Sage.' With the equation 'Sage' = Shaula having collapsed, if there was another person who had achieved the feats that earned the title of 'Sage'—then naturally, that person needed to be found.
Shaula had somehow mistaken that person for Subaru, but she surely couldn't gloss over a name. Surely, the miracle of a 'Sage' named
And that prayer was granted. —In a form stranger than he could have imagined.
"What's weird about being curious about Master's name-sseu? You're Master's companions, so you should already know, right?"
"Unfortunately, your Master slammed his head on a toilet bowl and lost quite a few marbles."
"What's with the toilet specifically?"
"Master, you did it again-sseu…"
"Again!?"
Shaula looked at him with sympathy, and Subaru experienced a humiliation he didn't deserve. But apparently satisfied with that answer, Shaula bounced to her feet like a spring— "Then I'll make the announcement from my own lips-sseu! Master's name… yes, that name belonging to the Great Sage! If anyone is to be called the 'Sage,' it's no one but Master!"
"Skip the preamble!"
"So impatient~ But that's just like Master, too."
Shaula struck a dramatic pose, drawing it out, but at Subaru's demand she pouted and stuck out her tongue. Then she held a finger to her cheek and spoke with an oddly childlike gesture.
"
"…Huh?"
"Master's name is Flugel-sseu. The Great Sage Flugel, Shaula's Master."
The moment she spoke those words, Shaula beamed with a full-faced smile, her chest swelling with pride.
There was no mistaking it—the pure respect, gratitude, and affection poured into those words left no doubt about the reverence Shaula held for Flugel.
The reactions from Subaru and the others, however, were decidedly mixed.
After all—the name rang a bell.
"…That's the guy who planted the trees, isn't it?"
And so, Subaru tilted his head at the name of the great man whose path had crossed his own, once, long ago.