——All that existed was "nothing."
Vaguely, that consciousness glanced around. "Glanced around" wasn't quite the right expression for it.
The consciousness had no eyes. It had no hands, no feet—no body at all. Nothing but a nameless awareness, lacking any physical form, floating in the void.
Without understanding anything, without conveying anything, it surveyed its surroundings.
Darkness. Above that, nothing at all. A room—or what might have been a room—so utterly black that the boundary between ceiling and wall was indistinguishable, and there was no way to estimate its size. A world swallowed by pitch.
Then, without warning, meaning was born in that eternal darkness.
A human silhouette appeared directly ahead of the consciousness.
Thin, and likewise cloaked in pitch-black—its contours were indistinct. Particularly from the upper body upward, a haze clung to it, strongly obstructing the consciousness's ability to perceive.
With the figure's appearance, the consciousness experienced sensation for the first time.
And before that sensation could cool, the shadow moved languidly, reaching out toward the consciousness as though trying to convey something.
Unclear. Nothing came through.
And yet, for some reason, the consciousness could not look away from that figure—— *"——We still can't meet."* Leaving behind that faint whisper, the world suddenly vanished.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * The moment he woke, the strongest thought in Subaru's mind was: *Thank you, Mom and Dad, for giving me a healthy body.* He had leapt from a cliff and plummeted headfirst into the ground. There was no doubt his cervical vertebrae had nearly snapped from the impact. And yet, that Subaru—the one who had suffered such a fate—was not granted immediate eternal rest—— "Wait, so I didn't die on the spot and I still have a little consciousness left…? This isn't even in the same ballpark as 'must've gotten lucky.'"
Beside the carcass of the horned beast that had died from the fall, he lay immobilized, wracked by excruciating agony—a death countdown measured in seconds.
He would probably lose his life before long, he figured. But even so, the subjective experience felt like it stretched for hours.
If
"I'm never killing myself again. Not for anything. Even if I die, I'm not doing that."
Recalling the self-interrogation that had led him to that moment, he literally wanted to die all over again.
For all the cool composure he'd put on, his inner self had been that much of a coward. He could hardly call what he'd done a decisive act of will.
But—— "So… I'm back…"
Reaching out, clenching his fist, Subaru confirmed where he was.
A soft bed. Tidy sheets. The familiar reddish-brown samue-like garment. And—— "Sis, Sis. Our guest still seems to be half-asleep."
"
The twin girls stood hand in hand at the foot of his bed, watching him with two pairs of eyes.
The familiar voices, the familiar gestures. A powerful greeting that had been repeated four times before, and was now entering its fifth.
There was a mountain of things he wanted to say. Feelings that burned in his chest, desperate to be spoken. And yet, none of them would come out, as though lodged in his throat.
Seeing Rem alive and well. Seeing
"Guest, Guest, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"Guest, Guest, what's the matter? Did you have a relapse of some chronic condition?"
Seeing Subaru clutch his chest in silence right after looking at them, the twins exchanged puzzled glances. They split to either side and approached the bed, reaching out to console the crouching Subaru.
And just as they drew close—— "Gabacho."
"Eh?"
"Ah?"
With those sound effects slipping from his mouth, Subaru threw his arms around both twins in a crushing embrace.
Blue hair on his right. Pink hair on his left. Their small bodies fit easily within a single arm each. He pressed his face between the twins' heads—now meeting face-to-face in front—and savored the feel of their hair against his cheeks.
"Aaah, I'm home—I'm home, I finally made it. Right here, exactly where I wanted to be. Fi·nal·ly!"
He rubbed his face roughly against both their heads, then patted them on the back and released them.
The twins, unable to fully hide their composure shaken by Subaru's sudden embrace, quickly recovered their senses and leapt away from the bed as though spring-loaded.
"Sis, Sis. We've been made a plaything by our Guest."
"Rem, Rem. We've been made the targets of our Guest's bestial desires."
"Ha! That's not it. Sorry, ladies, but you both fall just slightly and regrettably outside my strike zone. Remember that! I'm not really into younger girls! And girls should have long hair—long hair!"
Femininity resides in the hair—that was Subaru's firm conviction.
Therefore, women looked better with long hair. And a silver-haired heroine was Subaru's definition of justice. On top of that, a slightly older girl who'd spoil him now and then sealed the deal. And so—— "
"Sis, Sis. I don't quite understand what he's saying, but I think we're being insulted."
"Rem, Rem. It sounds like crazy talk, but I feel like we're being put down."
The twins' reactions were rather harsh to Subaru's rapid-fire barrage.
But Subaru bounced up from bed in response. Standing barefoot on the floor, he spun sharply on the spot. He turned at the center of the room, pointed all ten fingers at the two still standing frozen by the bed, and declared: "Now listen—hey, listen to me. Do yourselves a favor, clean out your ears, and lend me your undivided attention."
He held out his palm to the two silent girls, opening and closing it in a pointless flourish.
"I get that there are a lot of complicated reasons behind what you two did—I totally get that. I get it like crazy. But even so, let me say my piece."
Watching him as though sizing him up, the twins urged him to continue with their silence.
The appraising had probably already begun. Aware of that gaze, Subaru considered how he might struggle and fumble to earn their trust——no, such delicate strategy was beyond him.
He was terrible with people, to begin with.
If he'd possessed the high-level social skills to read someone's expression and respond appropriately in every situation, he never would have become a shut-in—and he'd have fared much better in this world too.
So, even knowing how sharp their gazes were, Subaru could do little about it. Any informational advantage was negligible.
Therefore, what Subaru said to them at this point was not a declaration of war—it was nothing more than a promise to himself.
In other words: "I believe in you two, so let's get along."
Just as he had the first time, he would face them with nothing but earnest effort.
On the first day he'd been summoned to this other world, Subaru had felt the same way.
Even if he'd known what kind of future awaited him, he lacked the power to make full use of that knowledge. So the only choice was to live with every ounce of his being, to claw through the situation before him, and to make the most of the chance he'd been given.
At Subaru's proposal, the two stared wide-eyed, exchanging a silent look. What passed between them in that wordless communication was impossible to divine—but Subaru wasn't patient enough to meekly await their verdict.
Besides, he'd already decided to leave that meekness behind this time.
"Being left in the cold is lonely, you meanies! The world is far bigger and more open than that. So stop wallowing in your own little world and let's really get to know each other! With whom? With me!"
"Sis, Sis. Our Guest, now that he's awake, seems like an incredibly troublesome person."
"Rem, Rem. Our Guest is annoying to death now that he's finally up."
"But you two must extend your sincerity even to a pain-in-the-neck like me! Whoa, it's been a while since I got to play the guest! Even if it's just for a moment, this feels great—yeah!"
It felt like all the pent-up frustration was fueling an explosion of energy.
Relying on a tongue that ran even more freely than usual, Subaru's words ricocheted every which way——when: "——Couldn't you have woken up a little more quietly?"
The voice came from the doorway.
Turning to look, a silver-haired girl stood just beside the open door. She gave it a light knock with her knuckle, her beautiful brows furrowing with exasperation.
"I'm glad you seem energetic, but you just got out of bed—you shouldn't be making that much noise."
"Don't worry, Emilia-tan. You're my number one star!"
"What are you even talking about!?"
He gave a thumbs-up, flashing his teeth in a triumphant grin.
At the full force of Subaru's antics, Emilia pressed a hand to her forehead.
"Um…"
She let her gaze wander as though choosing her words, then: "Anyway, good morning. I'm glad you're safe."
She smiled, visibly relieved.
Subaru returned her nod with a grin of his own.
"Yeah, good morning. —Then, shall we get started?"
The three women cocked their heads, unable to parse his intent.
Chuckling wryly at them, Subaru waved his hand and declared: "The Roswaal mansion, one week—the conquest begins!"
Not to anyone in particular, but to himself—he spoke as though making a vow.
——Now, let's set the story in motion.
So he could look up at the people he cherished, and at the morning he longed to see.
The first day of the fifth time over—dawn breaks at the Roswaal mansion.