"Are you going to his place, Abel?"
Vincent stopped at the call from his side and turned around.
At the junction where he had crossed over—the point connecting multiple passenger cars into a single extended dragon carriage to share the Blessing of Wind Protection across all the earth dragons—a familiar girl with blue hair stood there, one eye closed.
Come to think of it, it had been a while since he had exchanged words with this girl.
"Did the uninvited guests from the Kingdom accomplish their purpose?"
"Their purpose wasn't me, it was—"
"Enough. Don't waste my time with lies you can't even believe yourself. Time is precious, especially in the current situation. You should understand that."
"———"
At Vincent's stern voice, the girl lowered her eyes and looked down.
However, she quickly raised her head, heeding Vincent's insistence that time was finite, and repeated her question: "Are you going to his place, Abel?"
"I am not Abel. I am Vincent Volakia."
To that question, Vincent replied without changing his expression.
Abel was a false name—one he had used out of convenience while on the run. It was borrowed from his family name, Abelux, from before he took the throne, and held no particular significance.
However, the discomfort of being called by that name was strong in him now.
"——. There was a report that he has awakened. I must confront him."
Suppressing his displeasure, Vincent answered the girl's question.
No matter what the girl thought, it would not change Vincent's course of action. He had never expected her to possess that kind of will or resolve in the first place.
Protected, swept along, tormented—arriving at the inevitable conclusion only after a long passage of time.
Like so many others, she was nothing more than one such ordinary person.
Therefore, Vincent had intended to cut the exchange short quickly.
But— "That person is not your enemy, Abel."
"——What?"
Rather than the expected silence and downward gaze, a reply came from the girl—one whose content was entirely unexpected—and Vincent furrowed his brow.
The girl stared back at him. In her pale blue eyes, there was a firm resolve.
A light that had not been present when they parted—now it pierced through him as if to pin him in place, timid yet dignified.
"——. I am Vincent Volakia. There will not be a third time."
"I'm sorry. But I have no memories, so I don't know much about His Majesty the Emperor, Vincent. That means I have nothing to say to Emperor Vincent specifically, but—"
"———"
"That person is not your enemy."
Without once averting her gaze, the girl repeated her assertion with emphasis.
Vincent understood her through the abilities she possessed. She was the rein for controlling
If she was fully aware of her position and still taking a strong stance against Vincent, that would have to be called remarkable courage—but it didn't seem to be the case.
And then— "What was your name again?"
"——
"A girl with no memories makes such declarations?"
"It's strange, isn't it? Even if neither my mind nor my heart remembers, sometimes the environment teaches you. There was someone who kept telling me, over and over, that I was Rem."
Whether it was gratitude or exasperation—even Rem herself couldn't tell what kind of statement that was.
However, she could tell that it didn't lead to feelings of aversion or loathing—and so Vincent decided the conversation was no longer needed.
He turned his back and walked on. Halfway through— "Rem. Don't let me waste my time in vain again. The next act of insolence, and I'll have your head."
With that, he ended his exchange with Rem.
And then— "How far will you eloquently speak, Natsuki Subaru? ——The 'Star Reader' of the Holy Dragon Kingdom."
△▼△▼△▼△ Sensing the hostility directed at him with every fiber of his being, Subaru faced the man.
Looking back, his relationship with this man could only be described as utterly baffling.
Their first meeting was in a forest, where he was a suspicious bandaged man camping outdoors. At the time, Subaru had been too desperate searching for the separated Rem and Louis to dig deep into it, but the man was far more than just a suspicious stranger.
Their second meeting was in a cage at the Shudrak settlement. Even as a prisoner, there was no explaining why the man carried himself with such authority. If he had had some escape plan, that would be one thing—but after that, he had been put through the Ceremony of Blood Oath, so he couldn't have had a plan.
After that, while borrowing Subaru's help to reclaim Rem, they had parted ways—yet knowing full well that Subaru and the others would have no choice but to return, Abel had shown a malicious side by not informing them of the situation.
Then, during the siege of the fortress city
He had made Priscilla seem to have an unusual relationship with him, been propositioned by Yorna as well, and in the Demon City, he had bluntly declared that Louis couldn't be left alive before they parted ways.
Despite all of that, when Subaru heard the state of affairs engulfing the entire Empire after escaping the gladiatorial island, he had believed without a shred of doubt that it was this man's doing—the Emperor who had been driven from his throne.
The wise Emperor who had abandoned the imperial capital
"Don't be ridiculous. I can't peel fruit, to begin with. And where would I even find a linga?"
"What do you mean, where—"
As Subaru stepped into the bedroom and the approaching man questioned him, Subaru's gaze shifted to the side.
Was this some universal convention even in other worlds? Having fruit brought to visit the sick or injured was a standard courtesy. Sure enough, there was a basket of linga next to the bed.
Of course, the man could see it too.
"That fruit basket. It's bright red and looks delicious, right?"
"Fool. Are you trying to deceive me? A linga is a white fruit."
"Well, the inside is white once you peel it, but... Wait, this conversation—I feel like I've had this exact same exchange before, in the hazy depths of my memory."
It was a pretty vague memory, but he felt as though he'd had the same conversation quite a while ago.
He couldn't recall the specific details of who the other person had been, but he remembered having the same thought: so this was how extreme upper-class people could be.
In any case— "There are things even you don't know, huh. That's surprising."
For an opening exchange of words, it lacked a certain polish, but it didn't feel like a bad start, so Subaru said as much.
At his words, the man—Abel—reached into the fruit basket, took the knife that was lying there, and split a linga in half. Naturally, the white cross-section inside was revealed.
"———"
Whether seeing the undeniable answer made him willing to accept the reality of their earlier exchange, Abel set the knife down, left the halved fruit in the basket, and turned to face Subaru.
His dark eyes were still wet with unmistakable hostility.
"Don't tell me you're angry because your pride got hurt over the color of a linga. ...The thing earlier—where you called me that weird name."
"'Star Reader' of the Holy Dragon Kingdom."
"That's the one."
Consciously registering the title once more, Subaru furrowed his brow in confusion.
It wasn't an unfamiliar word. He was pretty sure he'd heard that fortune-teller who stayed by the Emperor's side in this Empire was called by that name.
A being that indicated the future, like the Dragon History Stone—the prophetic tablet—of the
"No, that's an even worse way of putting it... I think it was more like a 'peeking into tomorrow' kind of description."
"That understanding is correct. That is how I perceive that entity."
"Then you basically just called me a peeping tom. You aware of that?"
In certain eras, that might constitute an unpardonable insult worthy of being cut down on the spot. In modern terms as Subaru knew it, it would be grounds for a civil lawsuit over defamation.
However, at Subaru's retort, Abel's expression didn't waver in the slightest. He conveyed with eyes of the same black as Subaru's own, but with far greater depth, that he would not indulge in games.
Of course, Subaru had no intention of playing around either— "How much do you understand?"
"How much do I understand? The situation? If so, I haven't been told the details.
"———"
"The civil war is on pause, and everyone's fleeing the capital in the middle of the chaos—it could've been total bedlam, but it doesn't seem like there's been much commotion."
The dragon carriage kept running. The nighttime scenery outside the window was moving slowly, and even accounting for the Blessing of Wind Protection shielding them from swaying and the sound of wind, it was quiet.
The passenger car itself was probably well-insulated, but the fact that the dragon carriage never once stopped was evidence that no major problems had arisen.
Especially considering a massive migration on the scale of a hundred thousand people must be underway.
"The unifying power of the 'Nine Divine Generals' and all that probably plays a part, but that alone wouldn't be enough. You really were something else, you know that?"
"———"
"Honestly, when I heard the story about your right hand and your strategist betraying you and kicking you off the throne, I genuinely wondered whether it was okay for you to become Emperor again. But you were right to do it."
Leadership, charisma—the qualities of someone meant to stand above others.
That wasn't something that could be achieved through mere competence alone. It could be cultivated through grime and sweat, but a fair amount of it was also something one was born with.
The kind of thing that made someone the royal family of a nation, or the head of various organizations.
In that sense, Abel—who had firmly established his own footing when crisis struck—indeed had the potential for those around him to follow and look up to him.
"I hate to admit it, leaning toward the trusting side, but you were right as Emperor..."
"——Was that also part of your scheme?"
"Huh?"
Quiet, yet carrying definite emotion in his voice. It was so unexpected that Subaru's brain refused to process it.
As a result, Subaru couldn't dodge the outstretched hand and was pushed by the forehead onto the bed. Before he could protest, he felt something sharp against his throat.
He quickly realized it was the tip of the fruit knife that had been used to cut the linga moments ago.
Even after realizing that, he didn't understand the intent. The meaning of Abel directing that knife at Subaru with hostility—no, with the same hatred that had been conveyed in his voice— "———"
At close range, with each other's breaths reaching them, Subaru and Abel glared at each other.
If Subaru carelessly raised his voice and called for help here, Abel would not hesitate to slit his throat with the knife.
But at the same time, the reason he wasn't doing that immediately was because Abel had a reason not to.
"What... what are you doing...?"
"Who should be asking that question is you. How much of this outcome did you foresee? Has everything up to this point gone exactly according to your design?"
"That's why...! I'm telling you, I don't know what you're talking about! What could I possibly be scheming—"
"——Why did you leave Chisha behind instead of me?"
More piercing than the blade at his throat was the voice that cut into him. It silenced Subaru and made the hand gripping the knife tremble.
Through gritted teeth, Abel glared at Subaru from point-blank range and spoke.
They were not words Subaru could immediately understand.
"Abel..."
"I am Vincent Volakia."
"———"
"I am not Abel. I am none other than the seventy-seventh Emperor of the Volakia Empire, Vincent Volakia. ——And that is the outcome you desired."
Squeezing the words out, Abel—no, Vincent—identified himself with a tone of loathing.
As if he were cursing himself for claiming that name, and Subaru furrowed his brow, unable to grasp the meaning of that attitude. Because surely— "Weren't you fighting to get that name and crown back...?"
"No. I strove to fulfill the Emperor's duty. The pact with the 'Shudrak people,' the fall of the fortress city, the negotiations with
"The Emperor's... duty...?"
"On that throne, Vincent Volakia would fall. To leave behind measures to resist the 'Great Calamity' that would begin from that moment—an effort to prevent the destruction of the Empire. That is my duty."
"Hah..."
For the first time, Vincent detailed the specifics of his own scheme, and Subaru let out a raspy breath.
The unfamiliar term "Great Calamity" was startling enough, but what surprised Subaru even more was Vincent's manner of speaking itself.
He had said that Vincent Volakia would fall, and that the "Great Calamity" would begin.
And he had said he would leave behind measures to resist that "Great Calamity."
Not to explore, but to leave behind.
With that phrasing, it was as though— "It sounds like you knew damn well you were going to die..."
Subaru murmured, acutely aware of the cold point of death pressed against his neck.
Or perhaps it was Subaru who stood close to death—in front of that, Vincent's dark eyes swayed unnervingly. Subaru intuited the truth of the vast, unfathomable void beyond that jet-black darkness.
It was resignation, dressed up in the language of defiance.
"Yes. I made my own death part of the plan. To leave behind a strategy so that even if Vincent Volakia fell, the Volakia Empire would not perish. That is my duty."
And when that intuition was confirmed by Vincent himself, in the next instant Subaru's thoughts turned red and his emotions erupted.
"Don't screw with me!"
Baring his teeth and glaring, Subaru stared down Vincent—or rather, this coward—and roared. A sharp pain shot through his neck, but that could wait.
Right now, punching this smug-faced coward was far more important.
"After dragging all those people around, making them cross dangerous bridges, forcing them through unnecessary detours—and you were planning to die in the end!? What the hell!?"
"I am not joking! Every path you described was a road that needed to be traveled. Even if its conclusion was my death, it cannot compare to the matter of the Empire's survival!"
"That's not what I mean! What I'm saying is, why were you the first one to give up on your own life! A great disaster? I don't give a damn! You should be alive to face it!"
"Don't spout nonsense when you don't understand. The Great Calamity cannot occur while I am alive. This strategy was built on that premise. If that were overturned—"
"Who says it can't be overturned!? You're smart—couldn't you trick the Great Calamity or whatever and lure it out—"
"——It was your 'Star Readers' who told me it couldn't be overturned!"
Vincent had been suppressing his emotions as he answered the emotionally charged Subaru. But those emotions now exploded in front of Subaru's eyes.
The outburst was so beyond what Vincent had anticipated that he had to catch the blade of the knife he'd been pointing at Subaru with his opposite hand—otherwise, there was no telling where its tip would have plunged.
Drop by drop, blood dripped from Vincent's left hand, which had grabbed the blade's tip, staining the white sheets in scattered spots.
But both Subaru and Vincent had their attention not on the dripping blood, but on each other's eyes—and the existence that lay beyond them.
Once again, Vincent had called Subaru "Star Reader."
That was the reason Vincent Volakia harbored hatred and hostility toward Natsuki Subaru—to the point of aiming a knife at him.
And because Subaru understood that, the question remained unresolved.
"The Star Readers told you that...?"
"——. The Star Readers, who hear the voices of observers from beyond the sky, outside the framework of the world. They foretell events that may come to pass and provide the opportunity to minimize harm. But that is a matter of the scale of damage. It is not a matter of prevention."
With a bitter voice, as devoid of emotion as possible, Vincent began to speak.
What he described struck a chord with Subaru. If the Star Readers truly foresaw the future, he knew from personal experience that it could not be easily changed.
Whether one called it the force of fate or the natural flow of time—it sought to trace the shape of what was predetermined, and though one could challenge the tragedy looming before them, it would bring one to their knees.
The Star Readers' prophecies were similar to what Subaru had experienced.
For instance, even when Subaru experienced "Return by Death" due to a natural disaster, he could urge everyone to evacuate in preparation, but he could not stop the disaster itself.
Whether he could stop all the destruction it caused—every broken building, every lost life—was something that could only be tested, but there was no doubt it was difficult.
"The Star Readers have repeatedly foreseen crises facing the Empire. To the extent possible, we responded to those crises, but casualties could not be entirely avoided. That is why a strategy was necessary."
"A strategy...?"
"A strategy to minimize damage and bring the loss of lives as close to zero as possible."
——What could be done so that more people could overcome the catastrophe awaiting in the future. What could be done so that more people would not be left behind.
If Vincent Volakia had been anguishing over how to make that a reality— "The ones who whispered of my death were you, the Star Readers. From your own mouths, how can you now tell me to overturn my death? Are you... are you toying with me...!?"
"W-wait, wait! This whole time, I've been telling you, I'm not a Star Reader or anything—"
"——You are one who sees what has not yet come to pass. Stop deceiving me, Natsuki Subaru."
With those words, Subaru felt as if his heart had stopped.
In the process of pouring out his inner feelings, the Emperor's mask had been stripped away, and what lay beneath was not Vincent Volakia, but the face of a flawed man named Abel.
And with the words that man spoke directly to him, Subaru understood.
"——Ah."
He understood why Vincent—no, Abel—had called him "Star Reader."
Abel had seen through Subaru's "Return by Death."
More precisely, he hadn't seen through the "Return by Death" itself, but had perceived the truth—that Subaru lost his life, reversed time, and brought back information about the future. That he possessed a means of knowing what was to come.
And he had understood that to be the same thing as the "Star Reader" prophecies he knew.
"———"
Now that he thought about it, it was a natural and understandable misunderstanding.
Because Subaru himself, upon hearing Abel's explanation of the Star Readers, had been searching for commonalities with his own "Return by Death," pursuing understanding and conviction.
Having learned of the Star Readers' abilities, if Subaru—who possessed something greater than their power—produced comparable results, it was entirely unsurprising to find a connection—or rather, an identity—between them.
Abel's perception was keen. His power of insight scrutinized matters correctly.
With that sharp eye, it had been immediately clear to him that Subaru had not survived the crises in the Empire through mere inexperience and dumb luck alone.
That was why.
"So that's why you always listened carefully to my opinions?"
If he interpreted Subaru's suggestions as the result of choosing the best course after seeing the future, then no matter how absurd the proposal sounded, he could not dismiss it outright.
Not burning the Shudrak settlement, cross-dressing for the assault on the fortress city, the journey to the Demon City
That was how Abel had tried to draw Subaru—who might be a Star Reader—into the game board where the Empire's survival hung in the balance. As one of the means of resistance after his own loss.
And yet— "...You left me behind instead of Chisha."
"———"
"Natsuki Subaru, you are an ordinary person."
His voice was different from before—not suppressing emotion, but absent of it entirely.
He wasn't trying to hold back emotion. If he were, you would hear the living emotion groaning, reaching out.
But there was nothing. The emotion hadn't been suppressed—it had died.
With that dead voice, Abel directed colorless words at Subaru.
"You are sweet, inexperienced, young, and full of bitterness. Neither notably virtuous nor notably malicious. If nothing came up, you would do nothing, and you would have died as an ordinary person."
The matter-of-fact assessment of Subaru's character left absolutely no room for rebuttal.
Just as Abel judged, Subaru could not become a special person. His body and mind were steeped in youth, and even if his spirit could return to the days when he was considered a prodigy, he was acutely aware of the future version of himself—a thoroughly mediocre person.
But— "You were given an opportunity beyond what an ordinary person deserves. You exploited it to the fullest and have survived until this very moment. You have neither been notably virtuous nor notably malicious, leaning strongly in neither direction."
"Abel..."
"You are an ordinary person. ...Then why?"
Abel clenched his teeth hard and stared at Subaru.
His expression had discarded all nobility, all dignity, all composure, all confidence—revealing the bare face behind the Emperor's mask, and his voice trembled.
And with that trembling voice, he screamed.
"Why did you save me instead, Natsuki Subaru!?"
"———"
"You have no ties to this Empire, no obligations. The only thing you needed to do was protect the few people you'd come to know by today. That alone should have been enough. Why did you save me!? Why did you think to save someone as incompatible with you as me...!?"
"———"
"Why...?"
The hoarseness of his voice spoke to the enormity of Abel's anguish.
The knife he gripped so tightly bit deeper into his hand, the blood flowing more freely, looking agonizing—so Subaru instinctively tried to make him release the knife and stanch the blood.
But— "Don't touch me!"
"Ugh—"
His hand was violently shaken away, and in that instant, Subaru felt pain in his outstretched hand.
Looking down, he saw that the knife in Abel's hand had cut his hand as well, and blood was dripping from it too.
The two faced each other, and between them, blood dripped freely onto the sheets.
Ignoring the blood, the stained sheets, and the floor— "...What you just did, reaching out your hand—that, too. That is the most baffling thing about you, the quality most incompatible with me."
"———"
"You follow the emotions of each moment, each instant, and trample even your own previous convictions and beliefs. You break what you've promised to uphold, you readily reverse what you've decided should be, you cannot even distinguish who should be saved from who shouldn't, and you recklessly reach out your hand."
"——Ah."
Subaru caught his breath at Abel's burning gaze and his words.
The pain of his bleeding wound faded into the distance—what froze Subaru's thoughts was that Abel's words now meant exactly the same thing that had tormented him most recently.
'—But, do you really think you'd be able to choose whether to save Katchua or not?' "———"
Those were words hurled before he had regained consciousness—before he had even let go of awareness.
Words from
Todd too had not judged Subaru based on "Return by Death" or "Star Reader," but perhaps through the keen perception honed as a werewolf, he had seen through Subaru's peculiar nature and defined him that way.
'You're all over the place! You look at yourself like you don't care when you die, you weigh other people's lives on your own selfish scales, and when things come to this, you resist like your life depends on it. It's creepy!' "——!"
Todd's cold gaze and empty voice overlaid with those of the Abel before him.
Abel's gaze and voice held the heat of anger, but the two overlapped all the same. Surely the reason was that both were acts of severance from Subaru.
A preface to rejecting Natsuki Subaru—a being incompatible with his own way of existence—and removing him from the world.
'You don't even realize how awful it is. You pick and choose whose lives to save. You decide freely who to save and who to let die. You cherish anyone who bares their belly to you, but you don't give a damn about anyone who doesn't. I don't hesitate to bare my belly or show my teeth to anyone, but...' 'I could never get along with someone who decides whether others live or die on a whim.' That was what Todd said had driven him to violence—Subaru's way of thinking and his attitude.
Of course, Subaru wasn't about to swallow that whole and blame himself. He had done what he believed was right, in his own way. If he flip-flopped on that now, he wouldn't be able to face the companions who had believed in him and followed him all this time.
But at the same time, there was a truth he could not deny.
——That he was choosing who to let live and who to let die.
Through the authority of "Return by Death," Subaru had changed the fates of those dear to him.
He had twisted and altered the destinies of people who would have had no choice but to lose their lives, to wound each other, to seize precious things from one another, and to shut out any chance of understanding.
Through Subaru's decisions and actions, the number of people around him who died or fell into misfortune should have undeniably decreased.
But Natsuki Subaru had not been able to save everyone.
Whether he chose not to save them or couldn't save them—the difference between positive and negative did not change the stubborn, immovable fact that he had made that choice and moved forward without rewinding time.
He had not annihilated every "enemy."
But he had never saved every "enemy" either. How exactly had Subaru been choosing between those he saved and those he didn't?
Todd had feared that it came down to nothing more than Subaru's personal likes and dislikes.
"No, that's not it, Natsuki Subaru. Yours is not even a matter of personal favoritism toward others."
"...Eh?"
The unresolved rift with Todd—Subaru was about to confront it once more, but Abel's words, delivered with a shake of his head, stopped him in his tracks.
Subaru held his breath and looked up as Abel spoke.
"If you chose who to save and who not to save based on your subjective personal preferences, I could have understood that. But you save even people you despise. Just as I do."
"That's not..."
He tried to deny it outright, but the words wouldn't come.
Whether Subaru hated Abel enough to abandon him at the last moment—that was something he could only discover by looking deep within himself. But it was a fact that he had reached out his hand to someone he despised.
He hadn't been able to let go. Despite his struggles, Subaru had stayed with Louis until today.
If someone said he had reached out even to someone he despised, that was exactly what he had done.
"——Take the Kingdom's people and leave Volakia."
Stunned, still reflecting on his own actions, Subaru was struck by the sudden command.
Slowly raising his gaze, he saw that Abel had returned the knife to the fruit basket, and the fury had drained from his expression. He spoke with the same composure as before.
He continued, addressing the surprise on Subaru's face at the sudden shift in demeanor and the weight of his words: "From here on, the Empire will enter its battle against the 'Great Calamity.' The board I constructed differs from the actual situation in critical ways, but there is still a way. You are not needed there."
"What..."
"I listened to foolishness. No matter what your intentions may have been, what has happened must be taken as having happened. To question the right or wrong of it—that is the height of futility."
These were less words directed at Subaru and more words directed at himself.
Abel was unilaterally bringing to a close everything from their emotional exchange here—every aspect of their interaction, emotional and otherwise.
This was unlike him in every way.
The name "Chisha," which had come up both when Abel was emotional and when he had seemed devoid of emotion, was one Subaru also knew.
From how Abel had phrased it, Chisha—who was believed to have lost his life during the battle for the imperial capital—and Abel's true question was why Subaru hadn't saved him.
Having sealed away that true feeling, Abel was pretending it never happened and attempting to move on.
"Prepare for your return home. All arrangements necessary for crossing the border have been completed. Everything after that is the Empire's problem—my problem."
The shift back to his self-referential pronoun was a declaration of his resolve: to lock away Abel's behavior and proceed as Emperor Vincent Volakia.
And the meaning that held for him—the weight of the decision born from that resolve—was something Subaru could not comprehend.
Natsuki Subaru could not understand Vincent Volakia.
Vincent Volakia could not understand Natsuki Subaru.
And so, this barren moment would end with nothing more than both of them shedding blood— 'You're a monster. Way worse than that zombie.' He couldn't understand. The gap couldn't be closed. The severance couldn't be avoided. He had unilaterally decided all of that, unilaterally imposed it, unilaterally brought it to an end.
Hadn't he regretted having it ended that way, you massive idiot?
"Hey, Abel."
The Emperor, who had turned his back and signaled with his posture that their conversation was over, was heading for the door. At the retreating slender back, Subaru called out. The Emperor quietly exhaled and stopped in his tracks.
Remaining still, the Emperor turned with eyes and expression devoid of warmth.
"Understand this. I am Vincent Volakia, and a man called Abel does not—"
"——Shut up. Grit your teeth."
Using the bouncing springs of the bed, Subaru launched himself forward and drove his fist into that composed face.
Into that cheek—into that arrogant cheek that had unilaterally decided everything was over and told him to leave, into that detestable cheek that harbored his true feelings and everything else—in short, into that cheek that made him so unbearably, infuriatingly angry, the cheek he had always, always wanted to hit, Subaru's small, blood-stained fist was buried.