—For the
It began the moment Petra Leyte, a simple village girl before she became the Witch of Melancholy, happened to read something as preposterous as
It began the moment she learned that Natsuki Subaru had been fighting continuously, trading his own death to change the fates of countless people.
It began the moment she realized what kind of person Natsuki Subaru was—one who found joy in certain things, sorrow in others, happiness and misfortune in still others—and through sharing those carefree days together, came to cherish him.
—Gathering all those varied reasons, bundling them together, wrapping them up into a single package, it had been decided.
"After all, you'd want to do something about Al-san too, right Subaru?"
Honestly, from Petra's perspective, it was a ridiculous proposition. If you went through and counted off, one by one, the things Al had done, you'd run out of fingers on both hands and still need to mobilize the "Invisible Hands" just to finish counting. That was how many irredeemable things Al had piled up. —But that didn't make her think he was a rotten person to the core who'd done all of it while sneering at everything.
"Am I getting poisoned by the influence of Subaru's books too...?"
She'd be the first to admit it, but Petra was a realist, and the scope of what she could carry was narrow. More than narrow—she deliberately kept it narrow.
Because, she was confident that if she used the full capacity of the vessel she possessed, it was quite a sizable container she could fill. She wasn't ashamed to say so.
But even with that capacity, she didn't think she could fill every last corner and cherish it all.
And yet— "Subaru, you greedy thing..."
But that was what she loved about him. —Correction: she loved that too.
And because she couldn't change that about Natsuki Subaru, Petra Leyte would do what she had to.
It was a painful decision—one that cut through her like a searing blade, that tore her heart apart without mercy.
To send Natsuki Subaru back via "Return by Death" and reset every last event.
From the moment she decided to leave the
She had forcefully asserted that she was the possessor of the Witch Factor of "Melancholy," centralized nearly all of the costs associated with using its Authority onto herself, cut without hesitation at every bargaining card she could part with, and offered up every scrap of information she could convey—thereby determining the course of action for the "Aldebarasters."
"If the Witch of Envy is going on a rampage because I read the book—then that's something we can use too, right?"
A question had lingered in Petra's heart ever since she realized the effect of the Authority of
And could that very thing become Al's strategy for driving off the Witch of Envy? After all, he had said he didn't intend to destroy the world.
So, when the full might of the "Aldebarasters" defeated Roy Alphard, Petra had bound the barely-breathing Roy and made her promise.
"If you want to eat me, I'll create the chance."
Of course, it was a promise she intended to break ruthlessly if she didn't need to keep it.
Having been negatively influenced by Natsuki Subaru, Petra was the kind of outlaw who wouldn't bat an eye at breaking a promise to someone she disliked.
And just in case—when that moment actually came—she had also secured a reliable ally.
"
She thought, quietly and sincerely, stripped of all the bias born from Natsuki Subaru's enormous influence on her.
Rem had realized that Natsuki Subaru was the person who'd been sacrificing his life to fight—on her own. She'd initially believed it was "Time Regression," and while the catalyst for her figuring out the truth had been Old Man
Rem had figured it out by herself. —At the same time that this made her happy, it also left a pang of frustration.
"But that's exactly why I can entrust this to Rem-oneesama. ...No, it has to be Rem-oneesama. No one else will do."
Even if something wonderful happened along the way, even if she gained something too precious to let go of, Petra Leyte had decided she would turn it all upside down and erase it as though it had never been.
And that included—properly—the moment she welcomed Rem, who had finally reclaimed her "name" and "memories," who had returned in the truest sense. Even that would be wiped away.
Knowing this, Petra had a duty to involve Rem.
As a comrade who also understood she was going to disappear—as two women who, from the bottom of their hearts, wanted to make sure not a single thing slipped through the cracks for the person they loved most in all the world.
Only someone who was utterly convinced this was the only way—who was willing to throw everything away for love—could be entrusted with this.
If it was someone who would exhaust themselves searching desperately for a better answer right up to the bitter end, you couldn't hand over something this cruel.
That was why, here, Petra and Rem would see this through together.
"Subaru and
She wanted to thank them. To say thank you in the truest sense of the word.
As Petra Leyte, who had read the Book of the Dead and knew everything, she wanted to cheer on Emilia as she walked the thorn-strewn path, and Natsuki Subaru, who had chosen to support her with everything he had.
That wasn't possible. Petra Leyte would try her hardest, but she would return to being a village girl who knew nothing.
That was frustrating, and it was sad, and she could never say "thank you" and "I'm sorry" enough.
Still— "...Did I do everything I could?"
Within the limited circumstances, hadn't she done everything in her power to the absolute fullest?
Al had assembled an all-star lineup just so he wouldn't lose—yet this side only had one shot at it. The sheer unfairness of having to push back against all that with only a single try was staggering.
But she did it. She pulled it off. The fact that Otto—who shouldn't have had any memories—had joined in was honestly a bit overwhelming, but all of it, every bit, was the gift of everyone's participation.
"Heheh, this is pretty impressive, don't you think? Are you falling for me?"
"—Yeah. I think I am."
She tilted her head and welcomed him with the cutest face she could possibly manage, one she'd rehearsed to perfection.
At Petra's adorable gesture and question, Imaginary Subaru gave a bashful smile. Was this Petra's artifice, trying to get him to say what she wanted to hear? Or was it the kind of thing the real Subaru might have said with complete sincerity?
"Well, I should probably take the answer I want to hear, since I'm about to disappear anyway."
She gently reached out and placed her hand atop the hand she couldn't touch, interlacing their fingers. Surely this much phantom privilege could be allowed. She had worked so incredibly hard, after all.
—Come to think of it, can I ask you something? Well, it's weird for me to ask, given my position."
"Hmm? What is it?"
—Before
"If I didn't tell you, then how about you just let it go without asking?"
"Come on, that's just cruel."
Even his pathetic expression looked endearing to her, and Petra let out a small laugh.
But as expected—even if he was Imaginary—Subaru was Subaru. The things Petra had hidden because she didn't want him to see or know, he would never pry into on his own, even if he was just a resident of her mind.
Relieved by this, Petra stuck out her tongue playfully.
"Nah-nah, not telling~"
She made Imaginary Subaru grimace, but personally, Petra wanted to keep this one hidden.
A single maiden's secret—even from Imaginary Subaru—was perfectly fine to have. And this particular maiden's secret came with just a little bit of maiden's cunning.
At that moment, Petra had sacrificed to Clind a certain possibility of her own.
It was— "That I might become Subaru's wife."
Clind—who knew the depth of Petra's feelings—had been visibly stunned by what she offered. He, who bore the heavy history of the dragon people, had looked at Petra with reverence as she selflessly offered up her own possibility, and that deeply moved reaction was not something she would easily forget.
That was exactly why she had felt so guilty. —Because with that price, Petra had confirmed something.
"If I can offer that as payment, then I truly do have the possibility of that future."
Given the nature of the Witch Factor of "Melancholy," what she had technically sacrificed was probably her "influence on the world through the various efforts Petra would make to obtain a future in which she married Subaru."
But at that moment, such fine details meant nothing to Petra.
What mattered was that Petra Leyte believed in a future where she would become Natsuki Subaru's wife.
And the Witch Factor—the very thing that touched the core of the world—had proven it for her.
It was that certainty that had let her make up her mind, and run full-tilt all the way to the very end.
So— "Do your best, me. —Whether I can seize that chance is up to how hard I try!"
That was the yell from a village girl who became the Witch of Melancholy and used the Witch Factor for her own happiness, directed at a future version of herself who wouldn't become the Witch of Melancholy.
—It was a tough, resolute yell of love from a girl of another world, just a little bit heavy.