Following his burning feelings, he ran with all his might and reached that place.
Contrary to the heart pumping hot blood deep within his chest, the air was so piercingly cold that his breath turned white—and in that frigid world, he found the back he had been searching for.
"————"
A slender, supple back leapt into his vision, and his heart nearly burst on the spot.
Overwhelming affection surged through his chest, but he barely managed to hold back his impulse. Now was not the time to let his heart explode and die of lovesickness.
Gritting his molars hard, he caught sight of the face of the hostile figure beyond that back straining in battle.
Long, dark brown hair, and shabby clothes that looked like rags wrapped around the body. Most striking of all was the grotesque gaze—one that had trampled over and devoured the lives of others, quite literally.
"——Rai Batenkaitos!!"
He roared at the top of his lungs, asserting his presence and drawing the other's attention.
Even a single instant of diverted attention would be a win. Of course, it meant attacks might come his way instead, but if it reduced the harm to her, that was all that mattered.
Using his surging feelings of love as fuel, he could fly through the sky right now if he had to.
"If it raises the odds even a little, then I'll do it."
He stopped short of the frozen floor, braced his core, and glared at Rai. He watched the other's movements with everything he had, ready for whatever came— "Ah..."
That mental resolve of Subaru's was shattered when a pair of violet eyes turned toward him in that instant.
"————"
Black eyes and violet eyes—gazes crossed.
In that moment, the wave of emotion that welled up in her eyes was enormous, threatening to sweep him away. Her eyes always sought to seize his heart and drag it under.
Because they made him want to somehow scoop up every last one of the countless feelings dwelling within them.
And so— "Wait, it's dangerous! Um, you might not know who I am, but that one over there is the enemy! Leave this to me! You might not know who I am, but—!"
He blinked at the sight of her frantically waving her hands and calling out to him in warning.
A beat later, the meaning of her words sank in. Deep within him, there was indeed a 'memory' of being told this exact same thing. At the same time, he understood what had happened.
And he truly thought—it was a good thing he was the first one to arrive here.
He knew what to say, knew how to call out to her.
More than that, what he had wanted to say the first time welled up inside him, and— "It's okay,
For troubling her, worrying her, and making her wait—he was sorry.
Pouring those feelings into his words, he smiled apologetically and nodded. Then, looking at the silver-haired girl as understanding spread across her eyes, he continued.
Pointing his right hand skyward and placing his other hand on his hip, he struck a pose.
There was no need to do it, but doing it helped steel his resolve. And for that— "My name is
"Subaru—!!"
"Oof!?"
Right after he declared with a satisfied grin, the silver-haired girl—Emilia—crashed into him at tremendous speed.
She tackled him with that momentum, and Subaru reeled backward, barely managing to support Emilia's weight. Not that he had to worry—she was light as an angel's feather. No problem at all.
If there was a problem— "Emilia-tan!? That was sudden and I'm startled, but you're super soft and smell really nice! Did you change your shampoo!?"
"You idiot, Subaru! You're such a huge idiot! I was so, so worried! And then you went and did that... Idiot! Big, big idiot!"
"I'm being called a massive idiot! Well, I can't really argue with that..."
Held in his arms, Subaru was overwhelmed as Emilia berated him with her large eyes. The whole time they remained pressed together, so Subaru's heart was in complete chaos and his vocabulary had deserted him.
Anyway, though it pained him to let go, Subaru grasped Emilia's slender shoulders and separated their bodies— "Sorry for making you worry. But, I'm back. ...Reunited? Reattached? You could say I've become the complete Natsuki Subaru—either way, I'm okay."
"Ah..."
"I'm putting every past version of Natsuki Subaru behind me. —Natsuki Subaru, reborn."
He rattled it off in a rush, trying to force Emilia into a state of relief. But at Subaru's words, Emilia blinked, then gently touched his chest with her finger.
It was a ticklish, tender sensation. When Subaru involuntarily shuddered— "Were we able to become one again, properly?"
"————"
"Because Subaru without his memories was still Subaru. So even though Subaru remembered everything... that Subaru who tried so hard during that short time..."
"—Yeah. It's okay."
Still touching his chest, Emilia confirmed Subaru's footsteps in halting words.
There existed a Natsuki Subaru who could be interpreted as having become one through the consolidation of 'memories'—or as having erased parts of himself—and the time spent connecting hearts with that Subaru lived on within them too.
—Ah, then it was simple.
"Inside me and inside you, Emilia-tan, 'I' was definitely still there. So it really is okay, Emilia-tan."
"...Mm."
"So from here on out, expect nothing less than Perfect Natsuki Subaru! With all the frustration I've built up from this onslaught as my detonator, let's go toward a brilliant future—let's go!"
"Sorry, I don't really get what you're saying."
Emilia answered with a gentle shake of her head at Subaru's grinning face with its thumbs-up.
Even that dismissive attitude was endearing and he longed for it—Subaru wanted to stay like this, being affectionate with Emilia, whether for minutes, hours, or days—but— "How about it, that emotional reunion should be enough by now, right?"
Saying that, calling out from afar to the cautiously touching Subaru and Emilia, was the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, a sinister smile on his face.
However, Subaru raised an eyebrow at the fact that the other hadn't attacked during this time— "Yeah. I didn't expect you'd actually wait so patiently. Had a change of heart?"
"A change of heart? What an absurd notion! It's just that we're 'gourmands,' you see? Like, what you'd call a gourmet from a big brother's perspective? As those who know the joy of food, we want to give proper care to the presentation, too. A dirty table ruins the appetite. Right?"
Rai cackled in a shrill voice while delivering this utterly impractical table etiquette speech. Listening to that grating laugh, Subaru nodded deeply.
And then— "I see, that makes sense. I was starting to think..."
"Starting to think?"
"That you were scared because your precious little sister got wrecked so badly."
"——!!"
Immediately after, the composed smile that had been plastered on Rai's face transformed completely.
The smile vanished in an instant, replaced by a blazing, seething rage. Driven by that intense fury, Rai's body kicked off the frozen corridor and came charging forward in the blink of an eye.
"What could you possibly know about our Rui—!!"
"I don't know a damn thing. All I got was someone barging into my body without permission. I don't know what she was thinking, and I don't want to know."
Rai's dagger bore down on Subaru with genuine fury—perhaps the only person Rai truly cared about was his sister. But Subaru showed no fear at the approaching footsteps of 'death.' If Rai, consumed by passion, could see only Subaru, then things were going exactly as planned— "Don't forget I'm here too, okay!?"
"Guh—!"
Along with her brave cry, Emilia's long, slender leg traced a beautiful arc. It swung around with powerful momentum and struck Rai square in the face as he charged head-on.
The instant of impact triggered Emilia's ice combat art, Ice Brand Arts, which came with the bonus of reinforcing her striking toes with ice boots.
"Uraaaah!"
Putting all her strength into her white leg, Emilia whipped her kick—the one that had shattered the enemy's front teeth—with everything she had. Rai's small frame couldn't withstand the force and went flying, skidding across the frozen floor and tumbling deep into the corridor.
Then Emilia aimed her palm and unleashed ice stakes that mercilessly pursued the fallen Rui, the ice dust filling the corridor and successfully inflicting devastating damage on 'Gluttony.' "It worked! That's the combo of my taunting and Emilia-tan's adorable murderous intent!"
"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"
"Absolutely! You're the best! You're adorable! I want to marry you!"
"Not bad... Oh, stop goofing around!"
The slight blush on Emilia's cheeks and her sharp glare were unexpected. Subaru had assumed she'd brush it off more coolly, so the embarrassment bounced right back at him.
"No good, no good, I'm getting carried away just because I met Emilia-tan. The flirting comes after I've done everything I need to do and sorted out all our problems."
"Subaru! We don't know if we've beaten them yet! So stay on your guard!"
"I know! If we could finish them off here, I'd actually be thrilled, but..."
Regaining their composure almost simultaneously, Subaru and Emilia turned their focus to breaking through the situation—Emilia to Rai Batenkaitos before her, Subaru to the problems surrounding the
Five obstacles—even with Natsuki Subaru's identity crisis resolved, they continued to threaten the watchtower and Subaru's allies inside it.
However, some conditions had changed. For instance, the devastating shadow that had been closing in—like a ticking clock running out—threatening to swallow the tower whole and ruin everything.
That was— "If that's the penalty I've been imagining all along..."
The catastrophe of the shadow swallowing everything was a repeat of the disaster they had encountered before at the '
In other words, the cause should have been Rui Alneb existing inside Subaru.
Now that Rui Alneb had been purged and her presence eliminated from within Subaru, whether that shadow would devour the Pleiades Watchtower was anyone's guess—a toss-up.
So while there was no option to rely on that and take things slowly— "Emilia-tan! I have an idea!"
"! Understood! Then let's do it!"
"I haven't even said anything yet!?"
The moment Subaru's thoughts organized into a plan and he called out, Emilia agreed wholeheartedly without any explanation whatsoever.
To the surprised Subaru, Emilia answered firmly— "If it's something Subaru thought of, then it came after he put in his best effort to think it through! I can trust it far more than if I tried to come up with an answer right now!"
"—Ah, damn it! Why'd you have to say something so nice!"
Raking his hands through his hair, Subaru stomped the ground hard in response to that ticklish warmth of trust. Then he pointed toward the far end of the corridor where ice dust was swirling— "For now, Emilia-tan, hit him with one more!"
"Hyah!"
With a thunderous boom, Emilia dropped an ice block into the far end of the corridor.
If that unhesitating strike could be the finishing blow on Rai, that would be ideal—but that was wishful thinking. Sure enough, Emilia squinted at where the ice block had landed and let out a small cry— "Subaru! The Sin Archbishop from earlier..."
"Tch, tough bastard. But it's not like it did zero damage."
From the look on Emilia's face as she turned back, Subaru understood that Rai had vanished from the point of impact.
That cockroach-level tenacity was exasperating, but the fact that he'd recognized the dire situation and temporarily withdrew set him apart from Petelgeuse, who was driven by diligence into sheer stupidity, or Regulus, who didn't own a single synonym for 'humility.' However, it was impossible that he'd retreat from the tower.
"Emilia-tan! First, let's regroup with everyone else! We need to reassign our personnel! If everyone doesn't give their best, we can't break through this situation!"
"Huh!? But is it okay to let him get away like that?"
"Honestly, if that last hit could've finished him off, I would've loved to..."
Since Rai had pulled back, he'd be buying time to recover with everything he had. In that case, the time and certainty needed to take him down were hard to calculate.
If that was the case, they'd prioritize tactical operations for now and leave his life in reserve.
"Don't worry, he won't leave the tower. I really got under his skin talking about Rui... his little sister. A delusional siscon like that won't back down."
"Siscon...?"
"It means someone obsessed with their little sister. In their case, it's the bad kind of sister obsession."
At the very least, Rui didn't seem to harbor any affection for Rai, Roy, or her actual brothers. To devote himself to Rui without knowing that made him either a pitiful victim or a roleplay maniac intoxicated by his own part.
But ironically, the Sin Archbishops' uniquely warped way of being twisted was something he could count on.
"Anyone who can adapt flexibly and adjust on the fly wouldn't have become a Sin Archbishop in the first place."
That was Subaru's assessment of Sin Archbishops, forged through repeated unwanted encounters.
Therefore, cornering the tenacious Rai Batenkaitos wouldn't be easy. Meanwhile, the situation Subaru wasn't touching would only continue to deteriorate.
Before that happened— "Emilia-tan! Let's get to everyone!"
"Mm, understood! But where everyone is..."
"That's what my Suba-Navigation is for."
The Natsuki Subaru Navigation System.
—In short, Suba-Navi. He activated 'Cor Leonis.' "————"
Activating an Authority where familiar sensations coexisted with unfamiliar ones gave him a strange sense of nostalgia.
Conscious of the location of his own pulsing heart, he expanded his perception outward like ripples emanating from a heartbeat. It was similar to the image of a sonar, using the echo of sound to map the surroundings.
However, what he felt was the warmth and faint glow of his allies—a far more limited sensation.
—But despite lacking versatility, being specialized solely for sensing the presence of allies made it the most valuable Authority Subaru and his group had right now.
Using those faint lights sensed through his Authority as guides, Subaru raised his head.
First, just as he had hurried to reunite with Emilia, he now prioritized reuniting with the group she had helped escape earlier. That was to say— "——First, I'll retrieve my adorable partner!"
△▼△▼△▼△ —From the sensations transmitted through 'Cor Leonis,' Subaru was beginning to grasp the majority of what was happening at the Pleiades Watchtower.
At best, what the Authority's effects told him were the individual conditions of his allies and a hazy sense of distance with himself at the center. He couldn't share their field of view or know their exact condition.
Even so, if an ally was wounded, he could shoulder the wound; if they were hungover, he could take on the hangover. That was the effect of Subaru's 'Greed' Authority, and its applications were numerous.
"Subaru, are you okay? You look pale..."
"Mm, yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine. Well, I'm being a little tough about it, but I'm still okay. This much? I can totally handle it."
As they ran side by side down the corridor, Emilia fretted over Subaru's heavy breathing. Touched by her silver-bell voice and violet eyes, Subaru spoke his true feelings.
It hurt. But he could endure it. That was the honest truth.
"————"
Subaru's pale complexion that Emilia had pointed out was, of course, partly due to the back-and-forth with Rui to recover his 'memories.' Mental exhaustion was difficult to recover from, and rebuilding a worn-down spirit was no easy task.
But what was really causing Subaru's suffering had a far more straightforward cause—
"She'd definitely be unhappy if she knew I was taking on her burdens without permission, but..."
Ram, with her strong sense of responsibility, absolutely detested having someone else shoulder her burdens. If he were to propose face-to-face that he wanted to share her hardships, she'd scoff at him and probably stuff a steamed sweet potato up his nose for good measure.
So he'd just carry Ram's burden on his own. He wouldn't give her the chance to refuse.
And so— "Subaru!"
As they turned the corner of the corridor, Emilia called out to Subaru after spotting what lay ahead. He understood the meaning of her call—his Heart of the Lion was already pulsing in response.
These were the allies who should have been creating distance and leaving the battlefield while Emilia engaged Rai.
An earth dragon of jet black, with a blue-haired girl riding on its back. The one holding the reins was her twin sister, and standing beside them was a young girl in a dress— "Beako!!"
"
"? S-Subaru and some unknown girl are here!?"
Beatrice spun around, astonished at Subaru and Emilia rushing toward her at full speed. But heedless of her shock, Subaru and Emilia both lunged at her almost simultaneously.
Without hesitation, they scooped up the shrieking little girl— "Wow, Beako! Beako, you're so light! So cute! You've got such a smart-looking face!"
"W-w-w-w..."
"Look, Beatrice! Subaru remembered everything! Ah, but he might not know who I am... But Subaru remembered me! I'm so, so happy about that..."
"W-wait, I suppose! Wait, I say! It's like a known anniversary and an unknown anniversary arrived at the same time, and Betty's head is in complete chaos!"
Tossed about by Subaru and Emilia's words, Beatrice was beaten back and forth until her eyes were spinning. However, she quickly held up a palm, silencing Emilia first— "...Subaru."
"Yeah."
"You truly remembered everything, I suppose? Everything about Betty too—everything about how you spent your time with Betty?"
"Yeah, that's right. Don't make that worried face. I remembered everything, and if you want, I could make up as much as you like. The full history of you and me—the real and the imagined."
"There's no need to fabricate things that never happened, I suppose! Honestly!"
Still held in his arms, Beatrice cupped Subaru's face between both hands. Watching his cheeks squish together and his mouth pucker up from up close, Beatrice heaved a deep sigh.
Then, with her characteristic patterned eyes trembling— "Subaru truly does nothing but drag Betty around, I suppose."
"My contract says I'm not supposed to let you get bored, remember? Also, you once told me I wasn't a superman, but..."
"?"
"Objectively speaking, aren't I pretty much a superman?"
Subaru closed one eye and winked at Beatrice with a grin. For an instant, Beatrice's eyes went wide, and then she puffed out her cheeks.
"Don't get cocky, I suppose!"
"Feel free to let me. I'm the type who works better when I'm riding high. As for the rest..."
"————"
Glancing sideways, he saw Ram standing there with a stern expression. She narrowed her pink eyes and pierced Subaru with a gaze that didn't merely pierce—it bored right through him.
"Ah, Big Sister?"
"My, how quickly the ice melts. As expected, this is just typical Barusu making a mountain out of a molehill."
"...Well, it was basically just about one day's worth of stuff."
Being told it was a mountain out of a molehill, Subaru could do nothing but laugh bitterly.
In reality, considering the nearly twenty deaths Subaru had experienced and the mental burden of processing them as his own reality, it was hard to believe that was only a single day.
From Subaru's perspective, it felt like he'd been amnesiac for years.
"But I've made my grand return. Please welcome the man who can give a hundred and fifty percent for everyone—Natsuki Subaru."
"Hmph! Fine. Say whatever you want. It's just that even if merciful Ram were to overlook this..."
"Overlook this? ...Gluttony!?"
"What is that!?"
Ram delivered those words with deliberate pauses. The moment Subaru tilted his head in confusion, a tail swipe from the earth dragon swept in from his blind spot, sending him flying along with Beatrice.
Still spinning, Subaru and Beatrice were caught by a soft embrace. It was Emilia, who had positioned herself to catch them. She gently supported Subaru's body from behind, smiling softly— "
"————"
Following Emilia's gaze, a majestic figure of jet black let out a snort of satisfaction.
Having taken that powerful tail strike, Subaru held the dazed Beatrice in his arms— "Acting like some old-school tsundere... No, I'm sorry. I really worried you too, didn't I? After all..."
"————"
Supported by Emilia and back on his feet, Subaru faced Patrasche's sharp gaze head-on. Thinking back to the unwavering devotion of his beloved dragon during the time he had no 'memories'— "Really, I owe everything to you. I love you."
"————"
"...You're not going to send me flying like you always do?"
Whenever he made a light declaration of love, he was invariably met with a ladylike rebuke from Patrasche—but not this time. Or perhaps— "This earth dragon can tell the difference between a joke and the real thing, I suppose."
"...Yeah, I guess so."
Not knowing when they'd grown so close, Beatrice interpreted Patrasche's feelings. Since there was no rejecting tail swipe, Beatrice's translation had to be correct.
If Beatrice picked up translation abilities too, Otto would truly be out of a job.
"—
On Patrasche's back, Rem sat secured in the saddle.
Naturally, no joyful voice could come from her about Subaru's recovered 'memories'—she was still asleep. But looking at Rem's profile stirred something entirely different in Subaru's chest.
"————"
In that white world, when he was about to be taken in by Rui Alneb's sweet words and fall prey to the venomous fangs of 'Gluttony'—if there hadn't been a voice to kick that helpless coward in the backside— Her very existence truly refused to let Natsuki Subaru go, even when he had forgotten himself.
That was why he had overcome a total of forty 'deaths' and come back once more.
"Well, sentimentality can wait. Anyway, my memories are back. I appreciate everyone wanting to hold a celebration, but let's clean up this situation first."
"Quite the ego, assuming anyone would throw you a celebration. Who knows what happened in this short time... And also—"
"—Huh. Me?"
Ram snorted at Subaru's lowered voice, then her gaze shifted to Emilia. What surfaced in her eyes was her usual arrogance, paired with an equal measure of bewilderment.
It was already obvious from Beatrice's reaction, but sure enough— "I'm Emilia. Looks like you don't remember me."
"...I know you're the one who helped Ram and the others escape earlier. But beyond that, I can't remember anything. Lady Beatrice is..."
"Betty is the same. ...It must be the effect of Gluttony's Authority, I suppose."
At Ram's nod, Beatrice lowered her gaze as well.
The same thing that had happened to Julius in
"————"
"As long as you understand that much, I'm okay right now. Ever since I found out Subaru remembered me, I've been feeling really great."
Hmph, Emilia flexed her white arm into a muscle pose and smiled bravely—no, it wasn't bravado. She genuinely looked like someone who feared nothing.
At that supremely confident demeanor, not just Subaru but even Beatrice was left speechless. And in a rare occurrence, even Ram seemed unable to contain her surprise, her eyes going wide.
"Huh? Did I say something weird?"
"...Well, not weird exactly, but it was seriously cool."
Subaru scratched his cheek as he answered Emilia's slightly flustered reaction. A beat after his words, it was Ram who exhaled a deep breath and said— "You said Emilia. Strangely enough, looking at you makes the corner of Ram's head feel terribly itchy. ...The same thing happened with Rem."
"That means..."
"That having you vanish from my head and filling that hole was difficult. Hard to imagine Ram having anyone like that besides Rem, though."
Ram narrowed her eyes, tracing with her finger the existence of Emilia that had vanished from within her. At her words, Subaru was struck by an oddly out-of-place sense of emotion.
Ram spoke this way, but Subaru—who had observed their relationship from the sidelines—had no doubt that Ram had truly valued Emilia. Given that those accumulated years had been lost, it was only natural that Ram would feel some sense of recognition.
However— "This throbbing I feel in my head when I look at you—that's the answer to whatever relationship Ram had with you. So rest assured. —Ram does not like being made a fool of."
"—. That goes the same for me. I will absolutely, definitely get you back."
"Yes, with a hundred million times the interest."
"That's too much!?"
Between Emilia and Ram exchanging fearless smiles, Subaru felt a surge of confidence.
Had her 'name' been stolen, she should have been isolated, and her relationships should have crumbled. But Emilia had refused to yield to isolation, maintaining a strong core within her heart. Thanks to that, the collapse that should have begun with her couldn't shake the foundation Subaru and Ram stood on.
And on top of that— "Barusu, propose your plan. But don't think that just because you remembered who you were, you can make up for all the ground you've lost."
"I already know that, but what a thing to say!"
Still, the fact that she showed willingness to cooperate without needing to be convinced was a relief.
After all, the predicament this tower in the Sea of Sand found itself in was far too dire for the slow approach of building trust, explaining the situation, and confronting each problem while forging bonds.
Therefore— "We're going to beat that festival of gluttony those three worst siblings started with the power of our bonds!"
"Yes!"
"Naturally."
"Hah!"
Three different responses came, and Subaru nodded deeply at each one.
And then— "——It's all scattered, but it feels like I'm home!"
With that, he gave voice to a small but certain surge of emotion before the storm.