After finishing his conversation with Frederica, Subaru stood in the third-floor corridor of the mansion's main building—the same floor that housed Roswaal's office.
Whether his heavy head was due to accumulated fatigue, or whether his mind was simply wavering over how to tackle the ordeal waiting ahead— "And once again, I've got no choice but to wing it, huh..."
Scratching at the back of his neck, Subaru pulled a face at how meager his hand was.
He felt he had gathered far more information than last time, but whether it directly connected to the problems ahead—on the surface, there was no way to tell.
He had to feel his way forward, fitting invisible puzzle pieces into place against the picture they were meant to complete. That foreboding sense of the unknown loomed over him.
"Subaru-sama. What will you do?"
The voice came from Frederica, who stood composedly at his side.
After their discussion in the drawing room, Frederica had accompanied him here. Subaru gave a vague "Yeah" in response and— "Frederica, ever since you came back, you haven't seen
"That's right. I was never given much opportunity to see her in the first place, but this time around, I haven't seen her once. It's quite embarrassing, really."
"Nah, in this case it just means she's gotten way too serious about playing hide-and-seek. Can't blame you for not finding her."
In truth, if one were truly trying to track down Beatrice, who had disappeared beyond "Door Crossing," the only option would be to try every door that might lead to the Forbidden Library. If that only meant the mansion, it would be one thing, but recalling that she had once connected to
"Then what will you do, Subaru-sama? You said you have something to talk to Beatrice-sama about, correct?"
"If she's truly hiding, then nobody can find the right answer. That's just a fact."
As Subaru repeated his earlier words, Frederica furrowed her brows. Cracking his neck at her skeptical look, he raised a finger— "The important part is what comes next. If she's truly hiding, no one can find her. But if she's NOT truly hiding, then it's a different story."
"Not... truly?"
"There's nobody who plays hide-and-seek because they don't want to be found. Everyone hides with the hope that someday, someone will find them—that's what hide-and-seek is. And then there's the tricky part of the human heart: sometimes, the person you want to find you might just be the seeker."
As he spoke, Subaru took a few steps and made a quick left turn. At the end of the corridor after the ninety-degree bend, next to Roswaal's office—was the document room. A cramped space stuffed to the brim with paper documents, the room Otto had nearly lost his mind organizing once before.
Subaru placed his hand on the door and felt the sensation of the "right answer" through the doorknob.
"Strangely enough, the moment I'm about to open it—or rather, the instant I think about opening it—I know whether it's the right answer. I think I was just shown how that works, actually."
"Subaru-sama..."
"So, without further ado—"
Bathing in Frederica's concerned voice from behind him, Subaru made a sound effect with his mouth and flung the door open. Beyond it, he felt the sensation of space warping—the unique aroma of old books that have endured countless years wafting out from within.
The paper documents kept in there for immediate disposal utterly failed to produce that rich, deep scent of paper and ink.
"I don't plan on being late coming back, but if it gets too dark, don't forget to send Petra back to the village."
Keeping his hand on the doorknob, Subaru called out to the surprised Frederica.
Frederica blinked several times, then pinched the hem of her skirt and curtsied.
"I will await your return. Please, do have a safe trip."
"You know, it's dangerously easy to start getting a big head when someone sees you off like that."
Having been seen off with such diligent care by the maid, Subaru stepped through the door and into the room. As it closed behind him with a click, he felt as though he heard the sound of wind where none should exist—space twisted. The connection that had been there vanished, and the Forbidden Library was once again isolated from the world.
And then— "Took you long enough."
A flat, thoroughly unwelcoming voice greeted Subaru. Unable to stop a wry smile from spreading across his face, he gave a small wave.
"Yo, Beako. First time I've seen your face in ages, and you're still tiny as ever."
"Your wisecracks would be more than enough to last a lifetime even if I never heard another one. Truly... hopelessly insufferable."
Perched on the middle rung of a wooden step stool, Beatrice hugged a black-bound book to her chest.
Looking at her like that, Subaru thought how she always seemed to be sitting in that exact spot. Inside the Forbidden Library, there were proper desks and chairs. And yet, this girl's default position for greeting visitors was always there. He didn't know why, but something stung in his chest, and Subaru gritted his back teeth.
"Going to watch that vacuous face of yours deteriorate further, I suppose? You're free to bruise your ego and fret all you like, but doing it in front of Betty is unpleasant, so stop it immediately."
"How demanding. Sorry, but I don't have any reason to grant that request. Not until I can confirm that there's something properly established between us that would make that kind of arrangement work."
Through implication, Subaru conveyed that he was already aware of Beatrice's circumstances from the previous loop. Hearing this, Beatrice's composure cracked slightly with a hint of hostility, and she murmured "So that's how it is..." under her breath.
"Fine. Perhaps we can consider that we've both already laid all our cards on the table."
"Most of my cards are questionable at best in terms of effectiveness, but I'll have you fill in the gaps with your imagination as we go."
"Do as you please. Either way..."
Beatrice's taut expression suddenly softened.
As the mask of stubbornness peeled away, what peeked through beneath was a gentle smile and a fragile shimmer in her eyes—and Subaru was rendered speechless, as though something had lodged in his throat.
And then Beatrice said, "A long, long, long time of contract comes to an end. By finishing the end of the end, will Betty finally be freed from this stagnation?"
—and she said it so sorrowfully.
--- "By finishing the end of the end, huh... You sure don't hold back on the poetic language."
Facing Beatrice, who already appeared fully prepared, Subaru shrugged as a show of feint. His gaze darted to the black book in her hand—if Roswaal's words were correct, this was one of only two complete copies of the "Gospel" that still existed in the world.
It was said to carry information about the future, serving as a prophecy of sorts. But to Subaru, it also felt like a set of instructions sent from the future, dictating "this is how the future should be."
In fact, Petelgeuse of the
"Is that knowing look on your face also thanks to that book?"
"...How much do you actually know about this book, anyway?"
"Roswaal spilled quite a bit here and there. I think I've got the broad strokes. That it shares similar properties with the Gospel the Witch Cult possesses, but it's the superior version. That only two copies remain in the world, and that you and Roswaal are each holding one."
"Roswaal truly has a loose tongue. Given what he's after, I can only imagine he was positively delighted to share."
At Beatrice's contemptuous tone, Subaru furrowed his brows.
Normally, Beatrice's assessment of Roswaal was pretty poor. But there had always been a certain casualness to it—something born of their close relationship. However, there was not a trace of that in her current words.
From the bottom of her heart, Beatrice now felt genuine disgust toward Roswaal.
"I don't really get your relationship with Roswaal either. You two split a book that only two copies exist of in the entire world, he entered into a contract with your entire bloodline, and he lets you live in his mansion—despite all that—"
"What exactly are you trying to say? Be clear."
"Alright then, I'll spell it out. Your position in all this is too vague."
Beatrice narrowed her eyes. An oppressive force that didn't match her adorable features emanated from her, and Subaru felt as though a gust of wind had struck him.
Having cut straight to the heart of the matter, the atmosphere surrounding Beatrice shifted dramatically.
"Roswaal's position—I've got a rough idea now. He's the head of a family that made a contract with the
"............"
"But your role doesn't fit into any of that. Roswaal is in the position of having contracted with the Witch of Greed. In other words, he's an apostle of Greed."
Rather than calling her the Witch of Greed, Subaru clung to the name "
To the best of his ability, he figured his own position was similar—as an apostle of Greed, just like Roswaal. Of course, Subaru had been pushed into it by Echidna's hand against his will, while Roswaal had likely inherited his role in much the same way as his family name.
"I don't know if the Gospel the Witch Cult has shares the same roots as the complete version you and Roswaal hold. My guess is the creator is different. And while I have no idea who makes the Witch Cult's Gospels, I can make a guess about who made the two complete ones."
"...Who?"
"—Echidna."
The moment that name left his lips, Subaru knew that Beatrice had stopped breathing.
And he understood that this name was no small matter for Beatrice.
In Echidna's dream castle, Subaru had seen the artifact she possessed—the so-called "Tome of Wisdom," said to rival omniscience itself.
The essence of the Tome of Wisdom differed from that of the Gospel, but in terms of its binding and being a magical tome beyond mortal comprehension, they were alike. And connecting that to the recent gathering of the Tome's holder and related parties at the "Sanctuary"—the answer seemed almost self-evident.
"The Gospels you and Roswaal hold were made by Echidna. Roswaal's is probably the one that has been passed down through the Mathers family for generations. So how did you come to acquire your Gospel?"
"............"
"Here's a question. About your Door Crossing—"
Raising a finger and tempering his momentum, Subaru shifted to a different topic.
Beatrice's eyes flickered at his conversational tactic, and she tensed, bracing for what he might say next.
Subaru posed his question to her.
"—The range of your Door Crossing. When it comes to selecting your target, what are the limits?"
"...I'm not sure what you intend to do with that information."
"If what I hear confirms my guess, then it'll lead to a development that proves my theory."
Crossing his arms, Subaru pressed forward as Beatrice clamped her mouth shut.
Beatrice hesitated, her lips trembling. Then, as if resigned, she closed her eyes— "Betty's Door Crossing connects spaces within the same building. Or a nearby place that Betty knows. The distance it can reach isn't all that far."
"There's probably one more condition, isn't there?"
"You think Betty would simply tell you that?"
"Then I'll guess for you. —Even if the distance is great, you can connect your Door Crossing to a place you have a deep bond with. How's that?"
"———!"
Beatrice's eyes went wide as she drew a sharp breath.
Her reaction confirmed the hypothesis Subaru had been turning over in his mind.
"If your concentration is disrupted and you perform Door Crossing anyway, how is the destination selected?"
"...Don't—"
"In moments of panic, everyone reverts to actions and words that come naturally. When it comes to something like Door Crossing, it wouldn't be strange for a place you're deeply attached to to come to mind."
"...ight, perhaps."
"You received the Gospel made by Echidna, and your Door Crossing connected the Sanctuary to the library. —That means—"
"—Please, stop!"
The girl rose from the step stool, her face twisted in a plea as she looked at Subaru. Her lips were pressed tight, her eyes glistening with tears.
Subaru was certain he had just shoved his dirty hands into a place she never wanted touched.
Feeling a stinging, uncomfortable sensation rising in his chest, Subaru shook his head.
"No. I won't stop. I know that a certain place in the Sanctuary connects to here via your Door Crossing. And the reason that happens is exactly what you were desperately trying to deny just now."
"............"
"Beatrice. You're involved with the Sanctuary too, aren't you? What is your relationship with Echidna?"
Knowing full well that he was kicking down the door into this girl's most guarded emotions with muddy boots, Subaru crushed his hesitation and pressed Beatrice with his questions.
Through Door Crossing, Subaru had been sent to the Sanctuary's facility for immortality experiments.
The fact that the space opened in a moment of panic connected to that place meant it held deep significance for Beatrice.
As a spirit, she retained a strong memory of the facility where Ryuzu Meyer's copies were made. And considering that she had received the Gospel from Echidna— "Beatrice... Whose spirit did you make a contract with?"
"———!!"
"I once asked
"............Ah..."
"Until now, I just assumed—stupidly—that contract was with Roswaal. You live in this mansion, you manage the library within it, so it seemed like the natural conclusion... but now I'm starting to think that might not be the case."
As Subaru drove his words like a blade again and again, Beatrice couldn't even manage proper responses, her trembling lips releasing faint, weak breaths.
Her small frame seemed to shrink even smaller, and the grip on the Gospel she clutched to herself tightened, as though seeking something to cling to. An unbearably fragile posture, as though enduring something that could not be borne.
Seeing this—knowing full well what he was looking at—Subaru said it.
"—You contracted with Echidna, didn't you?"
—And that was the beginning of the end of the end.
--- The moment the question was asked, Beatrice crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut.
"Bea—!?"
The girl collapsed to her knees. With a hard thud, accompanied by the rustling of scattering pages, the contents of the Gospel spilled from Beatrice's hands onto the floor.
A book that had been carried constantly, opened again and again, traced by fingers countless times—its durability had long since reached its limit. The impact of the fall caused the spine to separate from the text block, and pages scattered across the floor like a layer of white carpet.
"The Gospel... wait, what?"
Several pages fluttered all the way to Subaru's feet. He crouched down and picked one up without thinking. His mind flashed to the Gospel that Petelgeuse had possessed—that book with pages crammed full of tiny, dense script, its characters squirming as though the madness of its owner had infected the ink.
Holding the page he'd picked up, Subaru was lost in that brief reverie—but it vanished the instant he actually looked at what was in his hands. Because— "What... huh? It's blank?"
Neither the front nor the back of the page Subaru held bore any writing whatsoever.
Hurriedly, he picked up another page from the floor, but that one was blank too. Could it be a coincidence that he'd caught pages from the unwritten latter half? he wondered— "No way."
Still crouched, Subaru surveyed the pages scattered around Beatrice and realized— Not a single one of the pages blanketing the floor bore any writing at all.
Out of well over a hundred scattered pages, what were the odds that every last one was showing its blank side?
"A Gospel... with nothing written in it?"
Rather than believe in the miracle that every page had landed blank-face-up, it was more logical to conclude that every page had been filled with blankness—as though their contents had been erased.
And following that rational thought, he was struck by the irrational reality before him.
"Why would one of only two complete copies of the Gospel have nothing written in it? Is it some kind of gimmick where only the owner can read the text? Is Petelgeuse's version no help as reference?"
If they were talking about complete versus incomplete versions, the Gospel Subaru had as reference was the incomplete one. That one had been readable even to non-owners, and now that its owner was gone, Subaru had taken custody of it. Fortunately, no additional text had appeared in it since Petelgeuse's death.
Therefore, Subaru had assumed that whoever owned a Gospel, its contents would be visible to anyone.
"It's been quite a while now... hasn't it."
"—What?"
"That Gospel stopped showing Betty any future at all... many, many years ago..."
Still sitting on the floor with her face turned downward, Beatrice murmured haltingly.
Subaru wanted to ask what she meant, but he restrained himself and waited without pressing.
Beatrice's gaze fell on the scattered pages. She pressed her hand against them, crumpling them with a soft crunch. Her fingertips trembled, and there were tears threaded through her voice.
"The role Betty was given was to maintain the library of knowledge. To keep guarding this place until the day of reunion comes... I suppose."
"The library of knowledge... this place?"
Rising to his feet, Subaru surveyed the towering shelves filling the room. The countless books lining them—the contents of a library he had reached for on more than one occasion—he had always assumed they were works owned by the Mathers family.
"Are all of these books Echidna's as well?"
"She was someone who loved... collecting knowledge."
"Enough to call herself a Witch, so I'd say so."
She literally declared herself the embodiment of insatiable curiosity. Given her boast about wanting to know everything in the world, it was no wonder she bore the name of Greed. The vast collection on these shelves was the fruit of that relentless pursuit of knowledge.
And Beatrice was the librarian tasked with overseeing this repository of Echidna's knowledge.
"From the way you're talking... it seems you've entered the tomb."
"Yeah, I have. Had a rough time of it, suffered through some painful stuff... but I think it was worth it in the end. Echidna's useful as a sounding board, but she's a double-edged sword."
She was invaluable as someone he could confide his "Return by Death" to—but doing so invited the Witch of Envy. The catch was that dying once was an absolute requirement, so ideally, he'd avoid it. But he would endure it again if necessary.
"Earlier, you said the Gospel hadn't shown you the future for years..."
"That's... the truth."
"I'm not doubting you. Well, actually, I am. Because if that were true, then you... even though the Gospel had nothing written in it..."
—You still helped me, over and over again.
The parting between Subaru and Beatrice that had occurred two loops prior. That was also when he first learned of the Gospel in Beatrice's possession, and the shock it delivered had been by no means small.
Everything Beatrice had done up to that point—her actions, her feelings—all of it had been because it was written in the Gospel. There had been no room for her own thoughts or emotions to enter. That was what he had been made to believe.
And so, even though he was looking at a devastated girl before him, Subaru felt a sense of relief so clear and sharp within himself that he could plainly perceive it.
Beatrice's actions up to now had truly reflected her own heart—and knowing that brought him comfort. He didn't understand why this could bring him such relief.
But even without understanding the fundamental reason, this was what Subaru had come to think.
That he wanted Beatrice to feel fondly toward him, without reason. He didn't know what had led him to feel that way about her.
"Why... did you help me? It wasn't written in your Gospel, was it? You could have just left me alone."
He knew it was a roundabout, unpleasant way to frame the question.
He was placing the burden of an answer on Beatrice, even while understanding what he truly wanted. And he hated himself for choosing this cowardly approach when he understood so clearly.
What Subaru really wanted to ask Beatrice was simply this: —Aren't you on my side?
"Betty... helped... helped you because..."
"Yeah. You've helped me in so many ways. The curse of the Juggernaut, healing me when I was on the brink of death, telling me the truth when that curse should have killed me—"
Beyond those moments too, Subaru had been saved by Beatrice countless times.
In that loop that started in this very mansion—when he'd been killed by
He had not forgotten. In that time of loneliness and fear, Beatrice had protected Subaru. It was a bond that no longer existed in this world, but persisted only within him—an indelible connection.
And so— "You, whether it had anything to do with a Gospel or not—"
"In the end... she told me."
Discarding all other concerns, would Beatrice take his side?
Could she become the one he could place his full trust in—after losing Rem, after being unable to show Emilia his weakness?
It was, in a sense, an unbearably selfish wish.
And then— "Eventually, 'that person' would visit Betty's library. She told me to keep guarding the library until that day came."
"...That person?"
"She told me. The role of protecting the Forbidden Library until 'that person' comes—that is the role Betty was given. But whether you are 'that person' or not... Betty doesn't know."
Subaru had been gazing at Beatrice with intensity in his eyes, but at her dark, gloomy tone, that light drained away. A furrow formed between his brows as unease clouded his expression.
He didn't know what Beatrice was about to say. He didn't know. He didn't know—but somehow, he felt he mustn't let her say it.
"Betty doesn't know whether you're 'that person' or not... but—"
"Wait, Beatrice. We're both getting way ahead of ourselves here. Let's calm down—"
"Whether you're 'that person' or not... perhaps it doesn't matter anymore."
Beatrice, who had been looking down, raised her face.
Two ringlets swayed with the movement of her head—wandering, uncertain, as though reflecting both her heart and Subaru's.
A bad premonition squeezed his chest. Without the power to dispel it— "Even if you're not 'that person,' it doesn't matter anymore. So—"
"Bea—"
"Will you kill Betty, and end this contract? End the end of the end, and put Betty... out of her misery?"
Beatrice's eyes glistened with tears, her lips curving into a weak smile.
"Will you become 'that person'—"