The white void surrounding him vanished, and in its place stood a stone chamber lined with countless bookshelves.
Confirming that the Monolith he'd been touching was gone, Subaru decided that the chain of reasoning he'd followed had probably led him to the correct answer.
Probably — but— "You did it, Subaru! That was amaz—"
"Whoever thought this up has a seriously messed-up personality!!"
"Eeeh!? That's your first reaction!?"
Having witnessed the liberation of the Third Floor, "Taigeta,"
Glancing back at the bewildered Emilia and the others watching him, Subaru scratched his head and said, "Ah, sorry," then continued: "Don't get me wrong — cracking it the way I did is something to be proud of. But the fact that it *could* be cracked is actually a huge problem. Seriously, it's not fair."
"Is that so? I think it's great that you're such a know-it-all — that's what let us solve the puzzle, right?"
"It's less that I'm a know-it-all and more that the fact that it takes someone like me to solve it is the real issue."
Subaru scratched his head, but Emilia tilted hers with a puzzled expression.
He wondered how best to explain it, but even a detailed explanation would reveal a troublesome solution.
The "trial" that existed on the Third Floor, "Taigeta," was, as Subaru had described while solving it, modeled after the legend of Orion. In itself, that was the sort of thing where he could say, "Whoever thought this up must be an astronomy nerd or a romantic," and wash his hands of it. The real problem was that knowledge of the "Constellation Orion" was unobtainable in this world.
Orion itself, the fact that
If this world turned out to be the far-distant future of Subaru's world or the lost remnant of some ancient civilization, there might still be a possibility. But he'd already confirmed that this world's night sky looked completely different from the one he knew.
"I mean, if enough time had passed that the stars had shifted so much the sky looked entirely different, that'd be hopeless — but then Orion wouldn't still be around either."
If enough millennia had passed for Orion to vanish from the night sky, the legend of Orion would have disappeared long before that. Considering all of this, the conclusion he inevitably reached was singular: The person who designed this puzzle was someone who knew the same night sky as Subaru.
Or, put more harshly: it was a deranged individual who insisted on calling a puzzle solvable only by someone knowledgeable about an entirely different world's astronomy a "trial."
And given the conversation up to this point, there was no doubt that the person who crafted the question was the "Sage"
"So your master's got a pretty terrible personality, huh?"
"No, no, no, no — what are you saying? Badmouthing your own teacher isn't very teacher-like! And while I won't deny the personality part, the fact that it *can* be solved means they're definitely compassionate! If it were Reinhard, he'd set up some impossible condition — leave a copy of himself behind that you can only pass by beating, or something like that."
"That's unsettling too, but I wonder which scenario would be worse…"
Either way, the heroes who had defeated the "
Among this group, perhaps being tested on otherworldly knowledge was actually the better deal.
"So, about—"
As Shaula offered her non-apology, Anastasia cut in. She was glancing around the chamber, her fingers absently toying with her scarf, her gaze sweeping over each bookshelf packed tight with volumes.
"Natsuki-kun solved the trial, so that's that — but what's the role of this library, exactly? I'm curious what kind of books they've got."
"Shaula did explain that it's a treasury of knowledge where you can learn anything you wish to know…"
Julius nodded at Anastasia's question and glanced over at Shaula. But Shaula, who seemed to have forgotten everything she'd ever said, was busy playing with Meili, who was freely touching her exposed skin.
Expectations were low from the start, but it was probably safe to assume that getting Shaula to explain the "Taigeta" library was all but impossible.
"Judging from her reaction, it seems like opening Taigeta at all was a first for her. I suppose we'll just have to look around and find out for ourselves."
"Right. …Hey, aren't you kind of bouncing on your heels?"
"Maybe… I am."
"I figured you only had bad memories of the Forbidden Library."
"It's true that not all the memories are pleasant. But regardless, that place is where Betty spent four hundred years. And besides…"
"And besides?"
"That's where Subaru said 'Choose me' to win Betty over. Even if I wanted to forget, that's not a place I could."
"————"
At her unexpected words, Subaru's eyes went round. Beatrice turned her face away from him, but her ears were flushed crimson — she was clearly embarrassed.
"You say it yourself and then get shy — what are you trying to do?"
"It's proof that Betty's memories of the Forbidden Library end with the memory of Subaru. …It's really just that simple."
"You're so cute."
"Mukya—, I suppose!"
Overwhelmed by affection, Subaru ruffled Beatrice's hair until it was an absolute mess. Somewhere in the middle, she let out a catlike shriek and scampered away. Subaru watched her go with a satisfied look, then turned back to Anastasia and the others, who were staring at him with exasperated expressions.
"So, enough small talk — let's check out the library."
"You're too much, ya know. It's sweet to watch, but it's like a parent-child dynamic…"
"At least make it siblings."
Subaru stuck his tongue out at Anastasia's remark, then crouched down and surveyed the room again.
They were standing in the exact center of a cylindrical stone chamber. The structure was back on the same axis as the original tower, and the previously incomprehensibly vast space had turned out to be an illusion.
The Fifth and Sixth Floors were vast, featureless spaces with no notable features apart from the spiral staircase. The Fourth Floor, by contrast, was divided into multiple rooms — multipurpose dens, as Shaula would put them.
The Third Floor, however, occupied the same expanse but was crammed floor to ceiling with bookshelves. The tall shelves were packed with countless books. The room had several concentric tiered levels, with the center where they stood being the lowest, rising in steps toward the outer walls.
The collection was dizzyingly vast. Beatrice's Forbidden Library had been impressive in its own right, but in terms of sheer volume, this place was overwhelmingly superior.
"You'd want a search computer for finding specific books in here."
"Inside the Forbidden Library, Betty knew exactly where every book was."
"That's incredible. Are you a genius?"
Subaru marveled at Beatrice's quiet pride, then approached the nearest bookshelf.
The others had also each gravitated toward a shelf, but none seemed to have the courage to actually pick up a book.
"Subaru was the one who solved it, right? So maybe it's okay for anyone other than him to touch them?"
"Well, yeah — if only the correct answerer could read them, it wouldn't make sense to let Emilia-tan and the rest into the library when they only watched you solve it."
"Oh, right. Entering the library is basically permission in itself."
"Yeah, I think so — but Emilia-tan!?"
When Subaru laid out his reasoning for the cautious Emilia, she nodded with an expression of understanding. Then, with no hesitation at all, she pulled a book from the shelf right in front of her.
And, as if to prove she'd startled Subaru on purpose, she flipped through it casually.
"Hmm — seems like a normal book? Subaru, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, really. I was just blown away by your insane guts. I said it'd probably be fine, but now I'm the one who's worried."
"…? You said it would be fine, so it must be, right? Did I say something weird?"
Subaru was at a loss for words in the face of Emilia's genuinely confused expression. He pressed his palm over his face and murmured, "Ugh…"
"Something about the trust in your eyes is killing me."
"That's the weight of what you've built up, isn't it? And for what it's worth, you *did* solve the Taigeta puzzle that no one else could crack. That accomplishment can no longer be denied."
"This was just a lucky fluke. I just happened to be the right person."
Julius shrugged at Subaru's confusion, but the knight's words only made Subaru look away.
Emilia's trust, Beatrice's affection, Julius's sincerity — they were everything Subaru had wanted, yet having them given to him left an uneasy feeling that wouldn't dissipate.
He was always questioning whether he deserved any of it.
"Like Emilia said, these seem to be ordinary books. There doesn't appear to be some scary trap where they burst into flames the instant you touch them."
"The material of the books is… somewhat opaque. I can't tell the era either. But the contents…?"
Emilia's reckless initiative gave the others the courage to reach for books one after another. Still, one or two books out of this enormous collection couldn't possibly reveal everything — the world wasn't that simple.
Anastasia and Julius examined the contents and bindings, tilting their heads in puzzlement.
"How about you, Beako?"
"From what I can see, the format seems standardized. But every title is different. This one's 'Noah Libertas.' This one's '
The librarian blood in her veins must have been itching — Beatrice looked displeased at the haphazard organization. Subaru didn't recall her doing much tidying in the Forbidden Library, but the books had at least been categorized.
Setting aside Beatrice's indignation, Subaru noticed something as he looked at the spines.
"The titles of these books… could they all be people's names?"
"Let's see… yes, it seems so. This one is 'Palma Eule,' and this one is 'Coyote.'"
"None of them ring a bell. I can't claim to be widely read, but I don't recognize a single name from what I know. Though I imagine a thorough search might turn up something."
"If you don't recognize them, then probably nobody here does either."
Whether it was genuine humility or modesty was unclear, but Julius had been increasingly showing his history-geek side lately. If even *he* didn't know these names, then the people-name titles were probably just unfamiliar figures.
Subaru picked up a random book and opened it. The text was written in the world's unique scripts — basic script, and what appeared to be other writing systems.
When the book was a Gospel, it was written in geometric characters that only the rightful owner could read, but none of these books had such tricks applied.
Either the text was too fine or the writing itself was too boring, because no matter how many pages Subaru skimmed, nothing stuck in his head. But that was a common problem with uninteresting books.
"I'll ask Anastasia too, just to be sure… Do you recognize any of the names?"
"Hmm~ Nope, not at all."
On the pretext of being thorough, Subaru checked with Anastasia alone. More precisely, he was checking with
Eridna very well might possess more knowledge than Julius. The only reason she'd have to lie here was if the spirit had been hostile from the start — which she hadn't been, so far.
Taking that report at face value, Subaru was at a loss for what to do.
"It might be too early to despair. If you want to hide a tree, put it in a forest… I've got a bad feeling that a book stuffed with crucial information could be buried somewhere in these shelves."
"Don't give up halfway! This is way more positive than a puzzle you can't solve. You've got to stay motivated!"
Confronted by the staggering number of books, Subaru's resolve was already beginning to crumble at the thought of the difficulties ahead. Emilia clenched her small fist and called out to encourage him.
Mimicking Emilia's fighting pose, Subaru turned back to the shelves. Every title was a name he'd never seen before. If only he could stumble across a familiar name — he ran his finger along the spines, tracing the titles, when— "…?"
Midway through, his finger stopped on a faintly familiar title.
Hooking his finger over the spine, he tilted the book and pulled it from the tightly packed shelf. The name on the cover was one he knew.
He picked it up almost reflexively and opened it. He scanned the contents of a book bearing the name of an acquaintance — and then, it hit him.
—His consciousness plunged into darkness.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ —There was a girl. One girl.
A girl so young it felt almost wrong to call her that.
A thin body in rough, coarse clothing, tanned brown skin, and green hair.
She was young enough to be called a child, yet her heart was consumed by worries without end.
They were the sort of worries that could never be answered — for the girl, they were a fundamental burden she'd carried since birth.
"————"
An unending mental torment, the supreme question that never ceased.
It concerned the logic that governed the world — its black and white, that is, good and evil.
Right and wrong.
Though countless choices existed in the world, every action was ultimately judged as one or the other.
For the girl, still a child, there was a reason — a necessity — to dwell on this truth.
The one who split the girl's world into black and white, good and evil, good cause and ill, was her father.
"————"
Her father made his living by severing the heads of the guilty and delivering punishment fitting their crimes.
His trade was granting criminals who had sinned the fitting punishment — death — at the end of their lives.
"——An executioner."
The girl had watched her father's work, the nature of the execution ground, since she was young.
The revolting cruelty, the death throes of the condemned, the execution ground ruled by blood and death.
—It was none other than her father's will that kept showing her "death."
That crimes received punishment, and that evil bore its recompense.
Her father sought to pass on to her the way of good and evil in the world, as he believed it — as an executioner.
His will was noble, a lofty philosophy without question.
But for a girl so young, it was self-serving — she was far too young to grasp ideals.
The girl witnessed death after death, smelled the scent of blood, and seared into her mind the sight of sinners receiving their punishment.
The result was that before she could learn the sanctity of life or the logic of human mortality, she learned the punishment fitting for crime.
Good deeds birthed good causes, evil deeds summoned ill consequences, and the sinner's soul was progressively corrupted to match its punishment.
Understanding her father's teachings this way, the girl came to crave "the punishment fitting for crime." To that end, she sought the scales of good that could serve as her guide — the scales that defined evil as evil.
"————"
But the scales she sought did not exist within the range she searched.
There were no simple answers to the good and evil of things. Right and wrong, crime and punishment — all were shaped by countless factors.
"————"
But the girl, still young and unacquainted with compromise or resignation, would not stop.
She had to find an answer. She had to enshrine in her heart the scales that weighed good and evil fairly.
She had to present an answer to the question that burned ceaselessly within her.
"————"
The days of anguish continued, and then — like a gift from the heavens — the answer came suddenly.
Breaking her father's wine cup, the girl was seized with tremendous fear over the sin she had committed.
Or perhaps, even prepared to have her head lopped off, the girl confessed her transgression to her father.
"——Acknowledging and apologizing for one's own mistakes was the right thing to do."
Her father forgave the fault, even smiling as he told her so.
With his gentle smile and the sensation of his hand stroking her head, the young girl understood: —The scales by which a sin was measured existed nowhere but within the sinner's own heart.
Even if no one else saw it, the sinner's own heart knew.
Good and evil — she didn't know. It was difficult. Right and wrong had no sure guide. She couldn't find one.
But the consciousness of guilt existed within her.
There was no standard for punishment fitting for the crime. But the awareness of sin fitting for punishment was within her.
The girl understood. She was satisfied. She had finally obtained her scales.
Without ever learning the sanctity of life or the logic of human mortality, the young girl had uncovered the sin fitting for punishment.
"————"
Imitating her executioner father, the girl stepped out into the world — to expose the hearts of sinners deserving of punishment.
"————"
It was the culmination of her life: the act of dividing good from evil, right from wrong, truth from falsehood.
Some laughed at the girl's question. Some were troubled. Some were bewildered.
But the result was the same for all who answered.
—The sin fitting for punishment resided in one's own heart.
She looked around. No one was here. There were only sinners who had received their punishment.
Stepping over the scattered fragments of those broken apart, and finally stepping over the last fragment of her father, the girl set out in search of sin worthy of punishment — to fulfill the wish that had been bestowed upon her.
—The "Witch of Pride" questioned sin, delivered punishment, and continued to judge sinners.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ Having witnessed the beginning of the familiar "Witch," Subaru's consciousness returned — accompanied by pain.
"Ghh—!!"
With a tearing sensation, his awareness was ripped free from the book. Domineering the sensation of dried blood clinging to his skin, he wrenched himself away without a shred of concern for the cost.
The pain wasn't in his head or his body — it was in his soul.
His soul had been pulled into the book, and extracting it from there was what caused the agony.
"Subaru!"
"—Ah!"
A voice pierced him from the side, and simultaneously a sharp blow struck his wrist. Emilia had stepped in and chopped her hand down on his forearm.
The impact sent Subaru's hand flying, and the book he'd been clutching fell to the floor. It landed open, face-down, and Subaru staggered back against the shelf.
"O-Oh…?"
"Ar-Are you okay? You looked really terrible just now…"
Subaru nodded vaguely at Emilia, who was supporting him with a worried look, and steadied his breathing. He hadn't been running, yet his heart was hammering and his breath remained ragged.
He pressed his hand to his chest, where his heart kept pounding, and took several deep breaths. His gaze wandered everywhere before finally settling on Emilia and calming.
"You okay?"
"Seeing your face calms me down. Just give me a second longer."
"Sure, but what happened?"
Emilia accepted Subaru's needy comment at face value, keeping her hand on his shoulder as she asked. At her words, Beatrice moved and reached for the book on the floor.
"Did you make a weird face after touching this boo—"
"Wait, Beatrice! Don't touch it!"
"…?"
Subaru tried to stop Beatrice before she could pick it up, but the girl had already scooped the book into her arms. Not having looked inside, Beatrice tilted her head quizzically at his alarm and read the title aloud.
"—
"A-Ah… what about you?"
In response to Beatrice's question, Subaru started to ask, "You don't know it either?" But her reply — whether affirmative or negative — seemed like it would trail off, so he furrowed his brow, unsure what to say.
In the meantime, Beatrice opened the book and peered inside.
"You idiot—!"
"That's quite rude of you. It seems no different from any other book, though."
Subaru braced himself for the same shock to hit Beatrice — but the girl showed no reaction to the contents at all. Treated the same as any other book, she thrust it at Subaru with a dissatisfied expression.
"But it clearly wasn't the same for you, Subaru… That's what it looked like."
"…Right. But why only me?"
"Could it be — like the room's test — that only Subaru can perceive it? Or maybe only the person who solved the puzzle is affected…"
"If that's the case, then their personality is even worse than I thought…"
Subaru shook his head with a sense of foreboding at Emilia's musings. Either way, he had no desire to open the book he'd been handed again.
—What flickered through his mind was the memory of the "girl," experienced with disturbingly vivid sensation.
There had been scent, taste in the air, the feel of the earth beneath his feet, and the weight of a life shattered.
To have pulled back from reliving someone else's memories with that level of intensity was nothing short of a miracle.
Or else he might have been swallowed whole by another person's life.
That fear of the incomprehensible and the revulsion were very real within that experience.
"Subaru, where did you meet this person called Typhon?"
"It's hard to explain… or wait, would it not be difficult for you, Emilia-tan? You wouldn't know her since you haven't met, but she was at the Tomb."
"The Tomb—"
At that word, Emilia and Beatrice simultaneously froze.
The "Trem" was a place of deep connection not only for Subaru but also for Emilia and Beatrice. Though thinking about the "Witches' Tea Party" that had unfolded there, it wouldn't be strange for them to know Typhon.
Then again, Subaru wasn't sure if
"Typhon was one of the Witches from the past. The Witch of Pride — she looked like a brown-haired lolicon on Beako's level. She was basically the embodiment of the phrase 'innocent cruelty.'"
At Subaru's explanation, both Emilia and Beatrice shook their heads — they had no recollection.
It seemed Echidna's little Witch exhibition had been a special arrangement just for Subaru. Even if she'd done it for her own purposes, you had to admire her creativity.
"Innocent cruelty… huh?"
Saying it aloud, Subaru recalled Typhon, whom he'd spent only a brief time with.
Even accounting for the fact that it was in a mental landscape, having his limbs shattered by her was not an easy thing to forget. They'd healed immediately after, sure, but the shock of losing your limbs didn't simply fade.
Still, at the root of her — the glimpses of something aberrant he'd caught — he felt he now understood the surface reason, thanks to this "reading." Whether that understanding actually connected to deeper comprehension was an entirely separate matter.
"In any case, I just read that book and experienced Typhon's… memories? Life? Backstory? Something like that. It was not pleasant."
"Watching your reaction made that pretty clear… Reliving someone else's memories. It sounds more and more like the trials at the Tomb."
"Back there it was a head-on battle with my own memories. Well, it was a piece of cake, obviously."
"Y-Yeah. A total breeze."
Ignoring the fact that there had been tearful sobbing, repeated failures, and near-broken spirits, Subaru and Emilia nodded at each other.
Beatrice regarded their attitudes with a flat look, then brushed the dust from the book.
"A book that lets you relive another person's memories… In other words, a means of reaching into the past. If that's the case, then the idea of a library where you can learn anything you want to know…"
"Beako, you've got an idea—"
Beatrice was muttering to herself, absorbed in thought about the event and its implications. But before Subaru could finish his question to her, another voice cut in.
"—!"
The shout came from Julius and the others, who had been examining a different bookshelf. Subaru looked over to see Julius on one knee, clutching a book, a sound like a pained groan escaping him.
Anastasia hurried to his side, shook his shoulder with a startled expression, and wrenched the book from his grasp.
"Julius? Julius, pull it together! Can you hear my voice?"
"…Anastasia-sama."
"That's right. Slow down, take a deep breath. …Okay, you're good, right?"
Showing exactly the same behavior Subaru had moments ago, Julius's consciousness returned to reality. Even haggard, Julius managed to look somehow picturesque, and Anastasia let out a visible sigh of relief.
Subaru rushed over and called out, "You okay?"
"Read too many hard books and got a brain fever? I know exactly how that feels."
"Admittedly, I've been far removed from a life of reading of late. As a knight who must be well-versed in both martial and literary arts, it's a shameful state of affairs. I should follow your example, Subaru — your depth of insight in solving that riddle so effortlessly was impressive."
"Well, if you went through the same thing I did, the toll on your soul must've been enormous. And yet you can be elegant and composed right after — I hate you for it."
Unaware of Subaru's internal resentment, Emilia delivered a light chop to the back of Julius's head.
"Ow."
"Don't be snippy just on reflex. Julius, are you really okay?"
"I apologize for causing you concern. I'm embarrassed by how dramatically I reacted. …That said, it was a harrowing experience for the heart."
Concealing his distress, Julius replied to Emilia with grace. But the thin sheen of sweat on his forehead betrayed how shaken he still was. Anastasia, standing on tiptoe, pressed a handkerchief to his brow, and Julius bowed his head with exaggerated gratitude.
"Acting tough is本能 for boys, so I get it, but when it's tough, you say it's tough, okay? If you push yourself and collapse, you'll just be a burden on everyone around you."
"Yes. Thank you for your concern."
"Mm-hmm, Anastasia's absolutely right. Isn't she, Subaru?"
"I don't know why you're asking me to back that up, but yeah!"
With that exchange between the two pairs of master and servant concluded, all attention turned to the book in Anastasia's arms.
Julius had apparently read its contents and undergone the same experience Subaru had. Looking at the spine, the title inscribed there was— "—Barloy Temugliff. Know him?"
"Doesn't ring a bell. Definitely not."
Emilia glanced sideways at Subaru as he read it aloud, and he nodded with confidence.
Even so, he was pretty good with names. From
There was no one named Barloy in that inventory. But the person who furrowed their brow at the name, looking as if something vaguely clicked, was Anastasia.
"That name… I think I've heard it before. Let me see… yeah, that's right. Wasn't there a general in the Volachia Empire with that name?"
"——He was a *former* general."
Julius corrected Anastasia's hazy recollection. Just from that exchange, it was clear the person in question had some connection to Julius.
But the distance of that title made Subaru furrow his brow.
"Volachia's that country to the south, right? And you know a general from there?"
"For the second time — *former* general. Is it really so surprising? I am, after all, a member of the Royal Knights. The Kingdom of Lugnica and the Volachia Empire are neighbors, so it's not strange to know someone's name unilaterally."
"Ah, so you know him one-sidedly…"
Taking in Julius's explanation, Subaru nodded thoughtfully. Then he let out a small breath, reached out swiftly, and snatched the "Barloy" book from Anastasia.
"Natsuki-kun?"
"Sorry for the surprise. But there's something I want to check."
Anastasia's eyes went round as the book was taken from her. Subaru ran his fingers across the cover, then flipped it open and scanned the contents.
For a fleeting moment, he braced himself for the "reliving" to hit — but he doubted it would, and he was right.
"I picked it up because the name was one I knew one-sidedly too, but nothing happened."
"…Subaru."
"What matters between us right now is trust, isn't it? And as for whether that exists between you and me… I'd like to think it's not completely one-sided."
"——That's a cheap shot."
Julius averted his gaze as Subaru glared at him.
Touching his bangs, he said: "There is no one here I trust more than all of you. The spiritual support I couldn't even receive from Reinhard — I've received it from Anastasia-sama and from you."
"…That's kind of creeping me out."
"My tongue itched just saying it."
Subaru scratched the tip of his nose while Julius closed his eyes, still holding his bangs. Then he sighed and promptly bowed deeply to Anastasia and Emilia.
"I owe you both an apology, Anastasia-sama. Emilia-sama. I allowed a trivial personal matter to color my response just now. In a setting where we should be sharing the contents of the book, that was inexcusable."
"Whether we forgive you or not depends on the magnitudes of Anastasia and me. What do you think?"
"Basically everything I wanted to say got said by Subaru and Anastasia. So right now, that's all I'm thinking. Period."
Accepting the apology from Emilia and Anastasia without delay, Julius bowed deeply once more. Subaru could read his heart as clearly as if he'd held it in his hand.
When someone who'd done wrong sincerely mustered the courage to apologize, they became weak to being forgiven. It was a sensation Subaru knew intimately, so it wasn't exactly foreign to him.
"Barloy Temugliff. A former general of the Volachia Empire — but a man who is already deceased. And the one who took his life was none other than myself."
"You killed another country's general. That's quite a surprise."
"Anastasia-sama — well, I suppose you've forgotten."
"————"
As Julius began his confession with resigned resolve, Anastasia narrowed her eyes.
Given Julius's current attitude, the information had probably been shared between Julius before his memories were altered and Anastasia before Eridna took over.
Still, Anastasia — who should have been hearing this for the first time, conditionally — didn't seem particularly shocked, but Subaru and Emilia were genuinely stunned.
"Um, according to my research, Lugnica and Volachia have a really terrible relationship…"
"And you went and killed one of their generals? Doesn't that cause wars or something?"
At their straightforward, innocent questions, Julius showed a faintly relieved expression.
"It's the result of a tangle of complex circumstances. It's not unrelated to Reinhard or Felix either, but to put it briefly: the former general was plotting a coup d'état within the Empire. The reason I ended up facing him was that I happened to be in the Empire at the time."
"Those two again. Wasn't Reinhard supposed to be export-banned?"
"A special exception was granted. The Emperor of the Empire wanted to meet him personally. …Even you should realize that 'export' isn't really the right word for Reinhard, I hope."
"I just couldn't think of the right word in the moment. What should I have said? Smuggling?"
In the sense of something you shouldn't bring in, it wasn't necessarily the wrong term. Having re-experienced Reinhard's otherworldliness firsthand at Pristella, the nightmare of Reinhard being on the enemy side was easy to imagine.
Including a clause like "keep him away from the border" in an international treaty suddenly made perfect sense.
"In any case, the former general's name was Barloy Temugliff. I'm sorry. As a matter of principle, I was forbidden from disclosing the circumstances, and for me personally, it's a bitter memory."
"So there are things you can't talk about openly. Got it. I'll zip my lip."
"Mm, got it. I'll zip mine too."
With Julius's side of the story now clear, Subaru and Emilia agreed to keep the secret.
And so, with the identity of the person whose experience Julius had relived now revealed— "I think I get it now. In other words, the books here let the reader relive the past of someone they 'knew,' right?"
"I got a Witch, and Julius got a former general. That seems about right."
"Wait, I just heard a word I can't let slide — Natsuki-kun, you're acquainted with a *Witch* too? Man, your social circle is terrifying. You're basically
"I'm terrified of it myself, but I'm not nearly that colorful as a person. Being bland is my current crisis."
At Anastasia's remark, Subaru shrugged — and then Emilia, Beatrice, and even Julius all made expressions like they'd bitten into something sour.
As Subaru scowled at their unexpectedly harsh reaction, Anastasia sighed and said: "Alright, I think we've got the gist of what the library is. But — can I say something scary?"
"I don't really want to hear it, but go ahead."
"All the books in this library have people's names on them, right?"
Stating the obvious, Anastasia looked to Subaru for confirmation. He nodded, already dreading what would follow.
Then Anastasia pointed at the "Barloy" book and the "Typhon" book Beatrice was holding.
"The former Empire general's book, and Natsuki-kun's friend the Witch's book."
"She's not my friend."
"Even if the Witch was just a *buddy*, the fact that her book is here means there are books belonging to dead people."
"————"
Calling Typhon's state "deceased" still felt strange, but with the Tomb's space — the tea party venue — now gone, it was probably safe to assume she and the others were truly dead.
As for Echidna, between her and Eridna there were too many suspicious points to feel at ease.
Setting aside Subaru's inner unease, Anastasia spread her arms wide and gestured in a slow circle, indicating the entire library.
"If all the books here contain the names of every person from the past up to the present — then how long would it take to find the specific person you're looking for?"
—Correction: The creator of this library doesn't have a bad personality.
—The personality is the absolute worst.