—What does "isekai" actually mean?
At
During that pause, the gazes in the room converged on Subaru. The emotions behind those stares varied, but the one thing they all shared was probably best described as suspicion.
Every single person in the room regarded the word "isekai" as something entirely unknown.
Which meant that the
"Isekai... now that you mention it, Subaru, you did used to say stuff like that from time to time."
"It does ring a bell. Given his usual behavior, I never thought it was anything more than idle nonsense, so I didn't pay it any mind."
"
Where Emilia pressed a finger to her lips and tilted her head with adorable seriousness, Subaru wore an entirely different expression—a grimace.
Ram responded with a cold "Hmph" and a flick of her nose. But that brief pause she'd given him had actually eased the initial shock somewhat.
Even Emilia and Ram—who should have been closest to him—Subaru had never told about the "other world" before.
What that meant, exactly, he wasn't sure. But— "Was there some kind of restriction? When I was thrown into this world, did some god or goddess make me swear not to tell? And for that matter, what mission do I even have for being here?"
He tilted his head, but not a single character of the word "mission" crossed his mind.
In his estimation, there had to be some force behind Subaru's other-world summoning. Based on his current knowledge, that force was most likely what could be called a "god."
That "god"—of whom he retained no memory—had assigned Subaru some role and sent him to this other world. That was, more or less, the convention in stories of this genre.
So if his memory loss was inconvenient for this "god," he could only hope some kind of safety net would kick in to set things right. He wanted to believe that whatever deity had dumped him into a fantasy world without a generous benefits package wasn't that cruel.
Or maybe— "—Maybe I should actually verify whether it's a prohibited topic or not."
"Subaru?"
Subaru licked his dry lips, searching for a way to counter the situation he'd been placed in.
He caught
Even if, in the absolute worst case, mentioning this topic had been forbidden by that supposed "god," it seemed unlikely that violating the taboo would result in some irreversible penalty.
Surely there wouldn't be some cruel trick where breaking the taboo would subject him to unbearable pain.
With a measure of unease and tension in his chest, Subaru steadied his breathing.
And then— "So, isekai—it's written with the characters for 'different' and 'world.' It means a world different from the one we're in right now."
"A different world... 'isekai'..."
"Right. And that's what this other world is..."
Emilia turned the word over in her mouth, testing the feel of the sounds, repeating it back. That reaction wasn't unique to her—everyone present was doing the same, tasting the unfamiliar term.
As the pronunciation "isekai" suggested, the word itself was being received as something entirely unknown.
This was predictable given how unfamiliar they all were with the term, but it seemed the concept of "a different world" simply wasn't common knowledge in this world.
At the same time, Subaru patted his own body all over.
"...Doesn't seem like anything's happening."
Having said it out loud, Subaru confirmed that nothing had changed about him. As far as he could tell, there were no signs of any anomaly. No pain, no tingling. No mysterious voice sadly informing him that "You've broken the rules," and no one around him was transforming into a crane for violating the prohibition.
The concern that had weighed on him was resolved without incident.
"Well, that's unexpected..."
He'd assumed there had to be some reason he'd never talked about the other world, but if this was how it played out, there didn't seem to be anything holding him back after all.
As Subaru tilted his head at this deflated feeling, Julius raised his hand and said, "A moment."
"I understand what the word 'other world' means. It does have the ring of a Subaru-esque coinage, but I have certain thoughts regarding its implications. Why do you keep invoking this other world?"
"Huh? Oh—right, yeah. I just explained what the word means, but that doesn't really tell a story, does it? Um, so basically..."
"Basically?"
Pressed by Julius's follow-up, Subaru acknowledged the gap in his explanation.
Then, after a brief throat-clearing, he said— "I'm from that other world. I wasn't born and raised in this world—I'm an outsider who ended up here partway through. Which means, for me, this world is the other world."
—There. He'd stated his position and circumstances clearly.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * —I'm a person who came to this world from another world. Nice to meet you.
Broadly speaking, that was what Subaru had revealed.
The shock his confession delivered to Emilia and the others was easy to imagine. After all, the very concept of an "other world" was something they hadn't even known existed. He'd just dropped a bomb on them.
It would have been no surprise if they'd felt their entire understanding of the world overturn, as though reality had been flipped on its head.
It was only after finishing his confession that Subaru realized the potential fallout, and cursed his own carelessness.
If Emilia and Beatrice were to be swallowed up in a vortex of confusion and despair over this, Subaru—the one who'd brought it on—would bear the responsibility.
And how exactly did one comfort a beautiful girl who'd collapsed in tears? He had no experience with that.
For a few seconds, Subaru harbored that anxiety, then he glanced at the faces of those who'd heard his confession.
He'd expected them all to have gone pale with shock—but— "So, that means you came from beyond the Great Waterfall, right?"
"Huh? The Great Waterfall?"
Emilia furrowed her brow with an uncertain expression and spoke up hesitantly, and Subaru's eyes went wide.
He didn't recognize the term. "Waterfall"—he assumed that meant a waterfall, and the "Great Waterfall" would be a larger version of that. He could assume it meant a massive waterfall.
—No, wait. What did a giant waterfall have to do with the other world?
"No, no, that's completely different. It has nothing to do with any waterfall. I'm talking about a world that's entirely different from here—from this place and all the common sense you know..."
"That's what lies beyond the Great Waterfall, isn't it? I wonder how they say it in Barusu's homeland... no, maybe it's actually the reverse from his homeland's perspective. With the Great Waterfall in between, these kingdoms over here are the ones that are the 'other world.' It actually makes his eccentric behavior make sense."
"Indeed. It explains why, no matter how thoroughly we investigated Natsuki-kun's background, we could never get a full picture—he was someone from beyond the Great Waterfall."
"Wait, hold on—you're all just accepting that so casually!?"
Not just Emilia, but even the seemingly level-headed Ram and Echidna were nodding in agreement with that conclusion.
The degree of trust Subaru's companions placed in the mysterious waterfall was baffling. The idea that an other world lay beyond the Great Waterfall—on the other side of the falls—was, from Subaru's perspective, straight out of some Wonderland.
"While you may not remember this, Subaru, there are quite a few accounts of people who arrived from beyond the Great Waterfall."
"The edge of the world... where the water meets the end... I don't mind the sound of that, but—"
"The Great Waterfall is said to be the boundary between this side and the far side—a barrier that none but dragons can cross. No one knows what lies beyond it. Which means that, on the rare occasion someone has crossed that boundary, no one has grounds to call their words lies or fabrications."
Beatrice provided the foundation for her audience's willingness to accept, explaining it for Subaru's benefit.
The details were somewhat difficult for Subaru to imagine, given his lack of familiarity with this world's circumstances. But considering the term "Great Waterfall" and what he'd just been told— "So this is kind of like a floating continent, and there's another continent you can only reach if you're a dragon?"
"Ugh."
"Don't sigh at me like that in such a disappointed tone. That's hurtful."
Subaru's attempt at a rough explanation drew a withering look from Ram.
Still, the others more or less shared Subaru's underlying thought. In short, the "floating continent theory" was off the mark.
"If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. ...Though if the theory had been right, I might've been hoping for a nice dragon-ride experience with a scream or two along the way."
"Say things like that and your cute little earth dragon might get jealous, ya know."
"Oh, right. That black earth dragon—is that my earth dragon? I'll have to ride it later."
"Me too! Me too, I'll get jealous too! Boss, you should pay more attention to me, pet me more, and love me more, ya know~! Now that you've lost your memories, it's a relationship restart! From zero, ya know!"
"Would you shut up and stop clinging to me. Also, don't go poking at the whole memory-loss thing so casually just because it's not your problem."
Subaru's exchange with Meili, who sat hugging her knees, was interrupted by
Shaula's words cut close without mercy, but for the current Subaru, that was actually more of a relief. Being treated too carefully was, in its own way, its own kind of pain.
"————"
Subaru cast a quick glance at the atmosphere around him.
In his original world, Subaru had a reputation for being "unable to read the room," but that depended on the time, place, and circumstances. No matter how low one's aptitude, when the flavor and color were strong enough, even he could read the mood.
Emilia and Beatrice went without saying, but even Ram, Julius, and Anastasia-Echidna—their attitudes all showed concern for Subaru.
For better or worse, the Subaru who'd existed before his memory loss must have gotten along well with all of them. He was envious. He'd honestly like to know what kind of magic they'd used to make that happen.
Even if they told him, though, he doubted his current self could replicate it.
"Anyway, to sum up the story just now... the edge of this world is the Great Waterfall, a massive waterfall. Occasionally, people come through from the other side. And I'm one of them."
"Listening to your story, that does seem to be the only way to think about it... but is that not right?"
"Hmm."
At Emilia's meaningful look, Subaru crossed his arms and groaned.
The reality was that their understanding didn't just miss the mark—it was quite far off from what Subaru had intended. But even if Subaru went on at length about the difference between "isekai" and the Great Waterfall, there was a good chance it wouldn't change anything.
"Basically, you see—"
In this world, the concept of "isekai" simply did not exist.
Whether Emilia's understanding of "beyond the Great Waterfall" truly pointed to where Subaru had come from—some other world—he couldn't say. It was entirely possible that there was indeed a separate continent beyond the waterfall, and that records of a Columbus-like figure who'd arrived from there had been left behind as an eccentric oddity.
If that was the case, then any hope of achieving a correct understanding of "isekai" was a lost cause.
"By the way, the old me—the one who hadn't lost his memories—never actually told you about the other world, did he?"
"Now that you mention it, he did say 'isekai' from time to time... but this is the first time he ever actually explained it to us properly."
"Same from Emilia."
Emilia and Beatrice answered in words; the others confirmed with gestures.
The old Subaru had never told them about the other world. Perhaps he'd judged that, just like now, explaining it wouldn't have been understood.
Or else— "—Maybe he had a lock on his heart, and the topic was something he couldn't talk about."
"Subaru?"
"Hm? Nah, it's nothing. Oh—say, are there other so-called isekai people besides me? Anyone from beyond the Great Waterfall, or castaways, or anything like that?"
Perhaps there were many drifters from the other world, and there existed some community or autonomous region composed solely of people like that.
But Julius slowly shook his head at Subaru's hopeful suggestion.
"Regrettably, the existence of so-called drifters—as you describe them—is extremely rare. In fact, the vast majority of those who claim to have come from beyond the Great Waterfall are either liars or people with a penchant for fantasy. They fabricate elaborate tales and prey on people's curiosity or wallets."
"Ah, yeah... that makes sense..."
Since there was no way to verify the claims, people were free to embellish them without restraint. Between dreamy tales and jaded narratives, when imagination and fabrication ran unchecked, it became a breeding ground for fantasy.
Even if someone like Subaru—an actual other-worlder—did exist, their words, actions, and writings would be buried among countless falsehoods, rendered unfindable.
"Honestly, my interest in what lies beyond the Great Waterfall is inexhaustible. However, it appears to have no bearing on the current situation. I believe it would be wise to focus on the one thing that has been clarified—namely, Natsuki-kun's knowledge and his hitherto unexplained background—and leave it at that."
Just as an awkward silence began to form, it was Echidna who cut the topic short.
It had been her question to Subaru in the first place that had started this tangent, so Subaru wasn't entirely satisfied, but he had no objection either.
—Besides, the more he talked about his old world, the more he'd have to face the problems he'd abandoned and left behind. That was heavy. That was painful.
For now, by focusing on the emergency in front of him, he wanted to forget about that.
"That's about all there is to me. I know everyone's worried and cares about me, but sitting around talking about it isn't going to get us anywhere. So, I think it's about time we—"
He didn't know if this was the direct cause of his memory loss.
But he wanted to verify what had happened at the place Subaru had apparently headed to last—the place where, presumably, everything had begun.
"Shall we look into what happened at the 'Taigeta' library, then?"
Beatrice picked up the thread and said as much, and Subaru nodded deeply in return.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * And so, the group set off for the library known as "Taigeta."
Subaru was tense about what might be waiting for them, but even before reaching the destination, the journey itself proved to be quite the ordeal.
The reason for that was— "Um, Emilia? Why are you holding my hand so tightly?"
"Huh? Well, if I leave Subaru alone, I'll worry. I need you within arm's reach... and if that's the case, wouldn't it just be easier to hold hands from the start?"
"That conclusion is so blunt, and I kind of love it, but it's pretty embarrassing! Really embarrassing!"
With that, cheek flushed with heat, Subaru lifted the hand Emilia was gripping.
Her slender, lovely fingers held his without malice, with a soft grip that made Subaru worry, from the bottom of his heart, whether he was clammy-palmed.
At his words, Emilia raised her brows in a show of irritation and said, "Honestly—"
"You say that, but you're holding hands with Beatrice too, so what's the difference?"
"The difference between holding hands with a little girl and holding hands with a beautiful girl is the difference between a cold rain and—no, it's the difference between heaven and earth, between a little girl and a beautiful girl!"
"Sorry, I have no idea what you're saying."
Subaru frantically rattled off excuses, but Emilia had no intention of being lenient toward the man who'd, through sheer carelessness, managed to lose his memories. Curse you, memories. Curse the self who dropped them.
"That statement is certainly not one I can overlook, but Emilia is right. Subaru, you should simply sit still and let Betty and Emilia protect you properly."
"I get that, but if Beatrice were in the middle, with me and Emilia on either side—that would be the cute-couple style, and I'd welcome it. But this way, doesn't it look kinda lame?"
"Not being lame wouldn't be very Subaru-like, would it?"
"What kind of evaluation is that!?"
Even from Beatrice—whom Subaru was holding hands with on the opposite side—he received a devastating assessment.
Alongside their concern, Subaru was struck by the persistent little gestures of consideration from all around.
Julius, leading the group, turned back frequently. Echidna, following behind him, explained at every turn what lay around each corner.
Ram's words, when she spoke, were sharp as ever. But Subaru alone knew that she was suffering more than her outward appearance suggested, and his mind churned over whether he should consult someone about it. But who could he confide in about Ram's situation? He couldn't make that call.
In the end, the only people whose easy banter at the back of the group brought Subaru any real emotional relief were Meili and Shaula.
"Although... I can't say I'm being much help."
"...Hey now, you're thinking something awfully rude, aren't ya, mister?"
"Boss's head's always like that. Don't even bother worrying about it, ya know. If you ever peeked in there, it'd be all pink and honestly pretty gross. Brain's pink, ya know—Perverted Academy, ya know."
"It's neither perverted nor an academy. Where do you even get this stuff?"
"From Boss, ya know! Everything I know comes straight from Boss!"
Conversations with those two gave him a headache. But even that felt strangely comforting—which meant he was in pretty bad shape.
In any case, the group exchanged such banter along the way as they climbed the stairs and arrived at the third-floor space known as "Taigeta."
The fatigue from this journey far exceeded what the time and distance should have warranted, but— "So this is 'Taigeta'... just like I'd heard. Books everywhere."
Subaru swept his gaze across the library, taking in the staggering collection, and let out a breath of admiration.
It was, indeed, a sight beyond expectation.
Subaru had been an avid reader himself—light novels, manga, strategy guides—but he'd never experienced being surrounded by this many books. Naturally, a national library might surpass this, but that victory would simply be a product of the difference in floor space.
In any case, what this panorama represented was not merely a large collection— "I was told these are the 'books of the dead'... which means the number of books equals the number of the dead. If they've been continuously recorded since the time of Homo sapiens, the sheer volume of records is enough to make one's head spin."
He didn't know the scale of this world, but if every dead person's record was faithfully transcribed into a book, the total would be beyond counting. Even if he wanted to find a specific book—the name of someone he'd known in death—finding it seemed utterly impossible.
"A modern library would definitely need a search function, but does this place have one?"
"I'm not sure what you mean by a search function, I suppose. But there's no librarian here like Betty. We'll have to go through everything by hand, I suppose."
"It's like searching for a dropped hundred-yen coin in a desert..."
With a groan, Subaru reached for the nearest book.
He pulled a volume from the shelf and held it easily in one hand. At a glance, it didn't seem particularly special—just an ordinary book. The design was minimal, with no embellishments beyond the title itself. If there was one problem— "Damn it. I can't read the title."
The characters on the cover—squirming like earthworms—were completely illegible.
According to Emilia and the others, the book's title was the name of the "deceased." If it was someone with a connection to you, you could supposedly re-read memories from their lifetime. But with the text looking like this, Subaru had no way of deciphering it. Though whether such a connection would even matter right now, when his own memory was in jeopardy, was questionable.
"Hmm, this might be difficult...—!"
"Subaru!"
Startled by the sudden shout, Subaru whipped around.
In the next instant, the book was wrenched from his hands. Emilia had snatched it away and was clutching it to her chest, having leaped back several steps.
"Wh-what, Emilia?"
"Don't be so reckless! Subaru, don't you understand? You might have lost your memories right here, in this very place!"
"No, that's a bit of an overreaction..."
At Emilia's alarmed words, Subaru rubbed his cheek with a wry smile.
But it seemed he was the only one taking the situation lightly.
"Subaru, Emilia is right. Perhaps you should refrain from acting on instinct."
"I share that opinion. Reckless action should be avoided."
"Mm..."
Both Beatrice and Julius piled on with their warnings, and Subaru choked on his response.
What welled up in his chest wasn't resentment—it was shame, born of the nagging feeling that he'd done something clumsy.
He probably had been a bit careless, now that he thought about it.
"Pfft! Boss is getting scolded! And he's all sulky about it! But hey, I still love you even when you're pathetic and bratty, ya know!"
"Shut up. Don't make fun of someone who's genuinely reflecting."
"Now, now. I'd hate for you to interrupt the conversation like that again. In truth, Natsuki-kun's actions were somewhat rash... but we did learn something."
Echidna stepped in, cutting off Shaula before Subaru could snap back. Then, she gently smoothed her scarf with one hand and said— "Natsuki-kun, you couldn't read the book's title. Isn't that right?"
"—? Yeah, that's right."
"What we can learn from this is that when someone loses their memory the way he did, it impairs their literacy—or more precisely, their cognitive abilities. The references to the other world may have been caused by the same thing..."
"I hate to say it, but Subaru only began learning to read and write after he came to Roswaal's mansion."
"————"
Echidna, who'd been about to deliver this conclusion with confidence, was shut down by Beatrice's retort. Paying no mind to Echidna's reaction, Beatrice crossed her short arms and continued— "Before arriving at the mansion, Subaru couldn't even read or write a single letter. His tutor—the elder of the sisters—is well aware of this."
"That is correct, Lady Beatrice. Originally, Barusu could barely manage to read or write, so Ram tutored him with great dedication. ...Looking at his current state, it appears all that effort has been wasted."
"Sorry about that! I had no idea there was a backstory like that!"
Subaru raised his voice in apology at Ram's bitter accusation. As this heated exchange played out, Echidna cleared her throat.
"Ahem. It seems I was off the mark. Please forget my hypothesis."
"No, it wasn't quite as far off as all that. At the very least, we've now established that Subaru's memory loss occurred after he came to Lugunica."
"In other words, Barusu is utterly useless in this library. A dead weight."
Ram supplemented Julius's confirmation with her usual acerbity. By now, anything Subaru said in response would only dig the hole deeper, so he held his tongue. Julius, however, nodded and said— "Putting aside the manner of expression—she's right. Either way, we can't have Subaru attempting a recreation of last night. It would be best for the rest of us to search for clues."
"Mm, that does seem safest."
"I have no objections. Lady Emilia, Lady Beatrice—is that acceptable with you as well?"
Ram hugged her own elbow as she spoke. Beatrice nodded and said, "Very well." Then Emilia turned her earnest gaze on Subaru and said— "Subaru, please, just wait quietly. I promise—I will find your lost memories. We will."
"Y-yeah. It's frustrating that I can't do anything, but I'll put my trust in you guys and wait quietly."
"Can you really wait quietly? You won't go wandering off on your own?"
"You're really pressing the point, huh! I'll be fine! I'm not five years old—I can handle waiting quietly. I'll even make a promise if you want."
"So you really weren't planning on waiting quietly after all..."
"What!? How does that follow!?"
He'd tried to reassure her by making a promise, only to earn even more distrust.
Looking around, he found that Julius and Echidna aside, even Beatrice and Ram were shrugging as if to say, "Well, obviously."
In any case— "Subaru, just stay quietly in the corner and wait."
At Emilia's earnest plea, Subaru reluctantly took up a waiting position at the edge of the library.
Hugging his knees and watching from a distance, he saw Emilia and the others split into two groups to search the library separately. The groupings were Emilia-Beatrice-Ram on one side, and Julius-Echidna on the other.
He wasn't quite sure how it worked, but Emilia and Echidna each seemed to function as the leaders of their respective lopsided teams.
"Looks like the reason they're searching in pairs is insurance so they don't end up like our mister over there. That guy really is talented at bringing problems into every situation, ya know."
"I don't have my memories, but the problem IS that I don't have my memories, so I can't really argue... Though I definitely don't want to be lectured by an assassin."
"You really worry about the silliest things."
"I don't think that's silly! In the first place..."
Subaru raised his voice in protest, then clicked his tongue and shifted his gaze to the side.
Leaning against the wall nearby, away from the bookshelves and keeping Subaru company, was a girl with braided hair—Meili.
She fixed Subaru with a languid gaze that was far too mature for her age, and tilted her head.
"I've been wondering this for a while, but you're not joining the search?"
"Nope, I'm not. Because I'm not really a proper member of your group, ya know."
"Not a proper member..."
"I told you, remember? An assassin... well, a failed one, so maybe a former assassin. Originally, I was just helping out a little around here. That's all I know about myself."
"So it's like... parole conditions? ...Either way, enlisting a former assassin in your party takes some nerve."
"Yes... it really does, doesn't it? It really is quite something."
Meili pressed a hand to her lips and giggled, ending the conversation there.
Subaru snorted at her attitude, then said— "I've heard your take, Meili, but what about you?"
"Me? Me, ya know? I can't read or write, so I'm no help at all. Same as Boss—I don't understand anything about the contents of these books."
Shaula, leaning against the wall on Subaru's opposite side, laughed outright. Then she reached over and pulled Subaru's left arm against her ample body.
The sensation was soft and warm. He reflexively pulled free.
"Whoa!"
"Aww, Boss, you're so mean, ya know~"
"That's not about being mean—cut it out. A girl shouldn't be so forward—save that kind of thing for... a guy you like. No, even a guy you like would probably be put off if you went at him like that out of the blue. That's a hundred percent harmful and zero percent beneficial."
"Hmph~. There you go about women's dignity again, ya know. Boss, you really haven't changed, ya know."
Shaula pursed her lips, unhappy with Subaru's attitude. But Subaru, hearing her words, felt a subtle pang.
"Boss?"
"Do you think I haven't changed, either?"
Subaru asked that question almost involuntarily, turning to Shaula.
The sentiment that he "hadn't changed" had been voiced several times in the few hours since he'd awakened. For Subaru, it was both a comfort and a curse.
—To be praised for not changing. To be mourned for not having changed.
"Hmm, I dunno, ya know~"
But Shaula, setting aside Subaru's inner conflict entirely, answered simply and without hesitation.
Even Subaru could only stare blankly at that response. Or perhaps it had been a mistake to let her overhear even a sliver of this delicate worry.
"You... No. I was the fool for asking you."
"Hmm~! Boss isn't a fool, ya know! Don't talk like that—even if you're Boss, I'll get mad, ya know. You're an amazing person, Boss, so I want you to hold your head high, ya know!"
"I really don't get your whole stance."
She'd laughed at him for looking dejected, and now she was angry on his behalf the moment he grew self-deprecating. The only thing that remained consistent was that the topic involved Subaru.
At Subaru's confusion, Shaula puffed out her ample chest, placed her hands on her hips, and grinned.
"Changed or not changed, Boss is Boss, so it doesn't matter, ya know. Whatever Boss does, I'll just follow along, ya know."
"—And if that leads somewhere strange?"
"Well! If it does, I'll force the door open myself, ya know. Boss might have forgotten, but that's just how Boss and I are, ya know."
"————"
The stream of guileless words, the absolute absence of pretense in Shaula's manner—being struck by it again and again, Subaru drew a shallow, unsteady breath.
Then, unable to face Shaula, he turned his head away.
"Mister?"
"—!"
Turning the other way, he found Meili there, so he spun back again.
"What's wrong, Boss?"
"Gah—! Enough!"
With no escape to either side, Subaru collapsed onto his haunches and glared at the floor. He wrapped both arms around his head as though shielding it from the world, hiding his face from everyone.
On either side of him, Meili and Shaula exchanged glances.
They couldn't possibly understand. —No, he didn't want them to understand.
That he could feel saved by words so empty, so thoughtless, so full of gaps.
That he felt—as though he'd been told, more eloquently than any words could manage, that he didn't need to try so hard.
"You sure are a strange one, mister."
"Boss has always been strange. But I love even that about him, ya know."
Over their heads, the two girls carried on their exchange, and Subaru had nothing to say.
But for the briefest moment, the urgency that had been pressing on his heart eased—just a little.
—It was only a few minutes before Emilia and the others returned empty-handed that Subaru finally managed to ride out the impulse and get back to his feet.