"Well then, for the short time I was here, thank you for everything."
Subaru stood in the entrance hall, enduring a sense of embarrassment as he bowed his head, watched by everyone in the mansion—all four of them, excluding
Three days of his stay, the promised time limit had arrived, and the day Subaru was to leave the mansion had come.
Subaru's attire was simple: the same tracksuit he'd worn when summoned to this other world, a convenience store bag, and a tool pouch Roswaal had generously provided.
The tool pouch was quite heavy and apparently contained a considerable amount of money. Considering a noble's sense of money, peeking inside was a little frightening. Especially for Subaru, who currently lacked significant means of self-defense.
"Are you really sure? If you want a carriage, you could ask Roswaal to have one brought here."
Standing at the center of the send-off party,
"No, no, no, I'm fine. I'll take it slow, at a leisurely pace. I won't cause any more trouble, really."
"...Maybe because you're reliable, Subaru, I shouldn't worry? But still."
"Whoa, getting praised like that puts a bit of pressure on me! But really, it's fine. Someday, when I become a stronger, smarter, and richer man, I'll come rescue you on a white horse."
"Did you bring a handkerchief? Drinking water and... right, you need Ragmite for when it gets dark. And, and..."
"You're totally in mom mode!?"
Emilia's worry knew no bounds, eventually reaching the question, "Can you sleep alone without feeling lonely?" How much did he seem to need people?
Or maybe she was using intuition to sense the anxiety he couldn't suppress within himself.
"Well then, Subaru-kun, stay safe. It was a short time, but it was fun, wasn't it?"
He responded to the tall person extending their hand with a handshake and a smile.
"Yeah, thanks for everything. You even gave me souvenirs. I was really well taken care of."
"That's the most important thing. Oh right, about the souvenirs, don't lose them. I added a little extra on top of them, amounting to the memories of our three days together."
Roswaal winked at him, and Subaru understood the implication, nodding deeply as he shook the pouch on his back.
"I get it, it's hush money. I know, I won't say a word. I'd even swear on a dragon if you want."
"Being around you makes me lose sight of the essence of scheming. Besides, in this country, swearing on a dragon is the highest level of oath. I don't doubt you, but be sure to never forget that."
Despite the reminder, Subaru raised his hand, then turned that hand toward the twins behind Roswaal. To the two standing silently staring, he tapped their shoulders with his raised hand.
"You two were a huge help as well. Especially
"Sister, sister. Our guest is hopelessly bad at flattery."
"Rem, Rem, our guest is fatally lacking in taste."
"Oh, shut up! I really couldn't think of anything else. But thanks."
After saying his farewells to everyone, he turned his back before the lingering attachment could grow.
The twins rushed to open the door in the entrance hall, revealing the highway stretching straight to the nearby village.
He would walk for about twenty minutes to the village, then travel to another village. From there, he'd take a carriage to the royal capital—that was the plan Subaru had explained to everyone.
"Well, thanks for everything. Maybe we'll meet again someday."
"Yeah, take care. Don't get hurt."
Leaving a smile for Emilia, who was still concerned for him until the very end, Subaru stepped onto the highway as he was sent off.
The silver-haired girl kept waving from in front of the mansion until he was out of sight.
That distant gesture was endlessly endearing, reigniting the flame in Subaru's chest that had been fading due to his anxiety.
He walked alone along the highway for a while, then stopped.
Subaru checked his surroundings, confirming no one was nearby, then suddenly left the path and entered the forest. The forest flanking the highway was deep, connecting to the mountains, and Ram had sternly warned him not to enter due to the abundance of wild animals.
Ignoring that advice, Subaru pushed through the undergrowth, heading deeper into the forest. He climbed several slopes, getting scratched by protruding branches, but his pace didn't slacken.
After proceeding into the mountains for about fifteen more minutes...
"Okay, here it is."
Suddenly, the forest opened up, revealing a high sky in the expanded view. After climbing several slopes, Subaru had reached a small hill-like location in the mountains.
This was his intended spot. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, then brought into view the cliff before him—and, positioned just to the side of it, the building below.
The familiar mansion—it was none other than the Roswaal estate.
Circling the highway, taking a detour through the forest and mountains, he had arrived at this perfect vantage point overlooking the Roswaal mansion. Especially...
"I can see the west side well, where Emilia-tan's room is. If anything changes, I'll know right away."
From a distance, he could just make out her bedroom window with his eyesight. Apart from that, the position allowed him to grasp the entire western side of the mansion. If anyone approached from outside, he was confident he could spot them visually.
The third loop was already entering its fourth morning. According to Subaru's experience, there were about sixteen hours left until the same time as his previous death.
In other words, whatever abnormality was to occur at the mansion would happen then.
"Now, all that's left is to wait for it to happen."
Sixteen hours or so was manageable for Subaru's mental endurance.
Truthfully, he'd wanted to set up this situation immediately after the loop started three days ago, but forcing it would have drained his concentration too quickly, so he allowed himself three days.
Thanks to that, he was brimming with mental energy, physical stamina, and motivation.
The prerequisite Subaru had prepared was to detect the abnormality at the Roswaal mansion in advance, or create the conditions to rush in immediately if anything happened.
If he remained at the mansion, he would become a target of the attackers from the start, just like last time, and his consciousness would be clouded by the same magic.
In a situation where he needed even a fragment of information about the attackers, that would be fatal.
Therefore, Subaru had chosen a strategy using Emilia and the others as bait to lure out the attackers.
Of course, Subaru couldn't be completely ruthless, so he had prepared multiple contingency plans, intending to dash into the mansion and warn of an enemy attack the moment something happened.
"It would help if the enemy were cautious types who got scared off by my yelling."
Voicing that hopeful thought, Subaru lowered his tool pouch and rummaged inside. What he pulled out was a long rope he had borrowed from the mansion's storage. From his time as a servant, he knew exactly where such equipment was kept.
He'd smuggled it out and carried it here for emergencies.
He tied the rope to a thick nearby tree trunk and secured the other end to his body. Of course, if he used it as a lifeline as-is, the weight would kill him, so he made several knots along its length, preparing shock absorbers.
"All that's left is the small knife for cutting the rope... I just hope cutting the rope is all it's used for."
It was a small fruit knife, which he also considered using for self-injury if necessary.
It might blunt the initial assault of consciousness weakening from last time's magic. He doubted it would help with the subsequent weakness, though.
"Anything is better than having no means at all... Besides, this time is about preparing countermeasures for next time, right?"
He muttered to himself as if convincing himself, shaking his head to dispel his weakness.
Suddenly, the faces of the Roswaal mansion people he'd just bid farewell to came to mind.
This time, Subaru intended to use them as sacrificial pawns for the next loop. Just like in previous loops, despite having formed genuine bonds with them.
If he closed his eyes, he could recall the days of this four-day period.
He didn't think he'd become as close as last time, but he'd had many opportunities to interact with Ram and Rem, and he'd proactively sought out Emilia. He'd known, even as he did so, that this would now cause him pain.
It was a warning. It was the natural consequence. It was the punishment he deserved.
It was the kind of condemnation Subaru had to absolutely endure—the Subaru who had once devised a plan using them as sacrificial pawns, presupposing their loss.
He had interacted with them while thinking it was pitiful.
He had interacted with them while thinking it was endearing.
Enduring the pain like poking a finger into a wound, tearing flesh and splitting bone, Subaru spent these three days.
For the sake of forgetting nothing.
"I told you,
Therefore, he couldn't think of this time as something he could forget.
Until the very last, final moment, Subaru had to keep seeking the happy ending he desired.
No one had the right to decide that their existence, or their presence, were mere bubbles vanishing between the folds of time.
Crouching low, biting back on his teeth, Subaru hid his body among the trees and grass, watching the Roswaal mansion from a gap in the forest.
His breathing was shallow, and though his tense body should have been, his heartbeat was strangely calm. His entire being affirmed the resolve Subaru had made.
A sensation of his body obeying him like never before.
Gaining that precious sensation, Subaru continued to wait intently for the moment.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ Hiding his body, waiting for the moment to come.
Tension made his body stiff, anxiety made his heart tremble uneasily, and impatience caused extraneous things to appear in his vision.
Quietly avoiding such unconscious interference, Subaru continued to hold his breath.
Six hours had already passed, and the world, once near midday, was now bathed in the vivid orange of a sunset sky.
Thinking back, this was the time when, in previous loops, he would have been heading to the village for shopping with either Ram or Rem.
However, this time he hadn't confirmed either of them leaving the mansion. Without Subaru, perhaps that shopping event simply didn't occur.
"Just purely because one person's food was saved up, the shopping got postponed to tomorrow... Is that it? Knowing that objectively feels strange."
Having been silent for over six hours, his sudden murmur was hoarser than he'd thought. He smiled bitterly, took out the water-filled tube from his tool pouch, and moistened his throat with the cold water. It had the simplicity of a bamboo tube, but the water inside remained cold no matter how much time passed—a mysterious tool. He assumed it was another tool related to magic.
"Only six hours, pathetic. I can't afford to lose focus now, get serious, Subaru!"
Saying this, he slapped his cheeks, the dry sound bringing his consciousness back into focus.
There was still nearly half a day left until his estimated time. If he broke down here, the future was grim.
He had to pull himself together and return to his lookout post.
Fortunately—or unfortunately—that was the very moment Subaru switched his mindset.
"——!"
A faint, alien sound captured his eardrums. The instant he sensed it, his body threw itself sideways without a shred of hesitation.
Putting all his senses into it, executing the pre-planned evasive action.
It was effective, saving Subaru's body spectacularly from that ambush threat.
Immediately after, he heard the shattering sound of a heavy object smashing a tree in half. The felled trees swept up those around them, creating a chaotic rustle of leaves and branches breaking apart.
Through it, Subaru burst into a run, leaping towards the cliff in one swift motion.
"Gaaah!"
Despite biting down, a scream he couldn't fully suppress escaped. The sensation of his intestines turning inside out as he fell from a high place washed over him. However, after dropping only a few meters, that momentum was abruptly halted. The rope tied tightly around his waist dug in, and with a groan of pain...
"Emergency... escape!"
He said, cutting the rope with the knife. His freed body resumed falling, his shoe soles biting into the angled cliff face, sliding down as he roughly landed on the ground.
Without a moment's pause to catch his breath, Subaru chose to flee, casting aside all thoughts of appearance. He threw away his tool pouch to lighten his load, and dashed down the mountain with literally just himself.
Running out of breath...
"I saw it! ...Haa! I saw it!"
The object that had mowed down the trees was a spiky iron ball the size of a person's embrace. You could call it a bowling ball with lethal function, a romantic weapon connected to its wielder by a long, long 'chain'—the Morningstar.
The alien sound in the mountains was the clanking of the chain connecting the iron balls. That familiar sound was undoubtedly the murder weapon that had taken Subaru's life that night.
Seeing its power and intimidation, Subaru now found his teeth chattering with fear.
If that mass came hurtling with sharpness, it wouldn't be surprising for the body it struck to shatter completely. Understanding why his left side had been torn away made perfect sense.
"But... it's coming this way!"
Stepping over branches, leaping across gullies, traversing bad footing while spitting curses.
It was an expected action. Given the likelihood was similar to the attack on the Roswaal mansion, an attack on Subaru after leaving the estate was entirely possible.
If they intended to kill everyone involved, it was unlikely Subaru, who had stayed for three days, would be removed from the list. And choosing Subaru as a target meant...
"Essentially, it means they've been watching that mansion for days."
The attackers had been observing the mansion for several days.
Therefore, they wouldn't exclude Subaru from their targets after he left. More importantly, the fact that they found him hiding was the ultimate proof.
If they hadn't been following Subaru after he left the mansion, how could they have done that?
"Gah!"
He was concentrating too much on his thoughts, and in that instant, his footing was careless.
Tree roots caught Subaru's foot, sending his momentum-filled body tumbling spectacularly. He rolled across the ground, sliding down the slope. Just then, the iron ball passed precisely over where his head had been.
If he hadn't been rolling, that thought sent a shiver of terror down Subaru's spine.
He rolled sideways to stand up, spitting out the dirt that had gotten into his mouth, and resumed his escape. He had completely lost the path by now, but he couldn't stop running.
He was out of breath. His lungs hurt. Above all, Subaru lacked stamina.
He had above-average confidence in all kinds of athletic abilities, but stamina was truly his weakness. A chase scene on a mountain path was hopeless just thinking about it. And since it was hopeless just thinking about it, actually doing it would be even more hopeless.
In other words...
"So, being cornered was... inevitable, huh?"
Before him, a cliff rose like a wall, imprisoning Subaru.
The stone wall, revealing hard, sharp fragments, was a natural fortress that refused to be climbed or used as a foothold. Of course, Subaru currently had no means to overcome this.
Turning around, he took a deep breath, exhaled, and steadied himself, readying his stance.
Ahead, the darkness of the forest had deepened unnoticed, and this place, where the sunset was hidden by the trees, was filled with a sense of isolation as if cut off from the world.
"If you're coming... then come!"
Chasing away the faint voice with false bravado, Subaru unzipped his tracksuit top and removed the jacket. Holding it open with both hands, he waited silently for the attacker to arrive.
He was cornered. He was trapped. Subaru was now nothing more than helpless prey caught in a predator's snare.
But he couldn't just let himself be eaten without a fight.
He had paid such a heavy price. At the very least, he would take compensation that matched it.
—In that instant, violence, trailing the sound of chains, flew at high speed from the depths of the darkness.
"Is this... thing... inside!?"
Facing a blow that meant certain death, Subaru's body displayed a reflex that defied common sense.
He lifted the tracksuit jacket held in both hands, scooping up the incoming iron ball from directly beneath, deflecting its momentum slightly, and avoiding a direct hit to his torso by a paper-thin margin.
Of course, his arms were wrenched from the jacket, and his body, which hadn't fully absorbed the impact, slammed against the rock wall—hardly unscathed.
But when he looked up and saw the missed iron ball embedded in the wall, Subaru broke into a grin of satisfaction and firmly grasped the fully extended chain.
Then, looking towards the opposite end of the chain—where the attacker holding it was...
"Alright, show yourself, you bastard! It took me a whole week to see your face!"
He roared, cursing viciously to encourage himself.
No matter who appeared, he would stare intently into the darkness, determined not to let them escape his gaze.
He was in a desperate situation, but he had somehow survived.
Perhaps, without using this time as a sacrifice, he could even repel the attacker who had revealed themselves.
A detached part of Subaru's mind conjured thoughts that could only be called optimistic.
Desperately reaching for the glimmer of hope he saw in a situation he had once nearly given up on.
In that light were Emilia, the twins, the cheeky girl, and Roswaal. The feeling that his cheeks would involuntarily soften as he momentarily forgot the situation, and then...
"—I'm sorry about this."
The chains rattled, indicating the owner's approach as the extended links swayed.
But ignoring that faint sensation, Subaru's eyes were wide open.
His lips trembled, and a voiceless moan escaped his throat.
Unconsciously, his fingers released the chain they'd held, and his head gave a weak, involuntary shake side to side, as if in denial.
Stepping on grass, crossing branches, her figure slowly emerged from the darkness.
Wearing a black-based apron dress, adorned with a pure-white white primrose in her hair, she gripped the handle of the chain connected to the iron ball that starkly contrasted her small frame...
"It would have been best if you had ended without noticing anything at all."
Shaking her blue hair, tilting her head slightly with that familiar, expressionless face...
"You're kidding... Rem."
The girl he thought he wanted to protect was raising the iron ball before him.