"Barusu. Have you been making progress on your little scheme?"
Stepping out of the building and leaving behind the emotionally drained
Keeping his hand on the door handle, Subaru narrowed his eyes at Ram, who had apparently been waiting for him.
"Calling it a 'scheme' makes it sound way worse than it is, so I'd appreciate it if you'd stop."
"Two men, whispering and conspiring in the shadows, hiding all sorts of things from everyone. I won't say anything about that merchant being given free rein of the
The person Ram referred to as "that merchant" was almost certainly Otto.
Even though they were both staying in the Sanctuary, Ram and Otto had spent very little time together. Most of Ram's time was devoted to caring for Roswaal, so the amount of contact between them was minuscule at best. At most, there was a brief window to exchange words while waiting outside for Emilia during her Trials.
As for Otto, Subaru had brought him along on his own initiative, so it was only natural that Ram—unfamiliar with his character or accomplishments—would be wary of him.
For Subaru's part, Otto's personality aside, his abilities as a merchant were still an unknown quantity. When Subaru had introduced him to Roswaal, it seemed less like Roswaal had recognized his potential as a merchant and more like he'd seen aptitude in Otto as the straight man in a comedy duo.
That said, Roswaal had indeed given Otto permission to stay in the Sanctuary. They couldn't exactly be blatant about pushing him out, so Ram's suspicious gaze toward Otto remained unchanged.
"Well, that's something he should handle on his own. I don't particularly feel like stepping in to correct anyone's impression."
"What a poor showing for a friend. He cares about you that much, and yet shouldn't you be the one doing something to repay that?"
"Friend, huh? You've really got me there—I can't even argue with that. But do you seriously think he and I look like friends to you?"
"He was that casual and friendly with you, acting like you were close... If he weren't your friend, then what? If he could act that way toward a complete stranger with no connection whatsoever, that would actually be far more unsettling."
Ram hugged her own shoulder, making a gesture as though shivering. Her reaction and words drew a small smile to Subaru's lips and a quiet chuckle from deep in his throat.
Perhaps finding that suppressed laugh unsettling, Ram took a step backward while still clutching her shoulder, creating distance between them, before continuing— "So, Barusu, I'll repeat my first question. Have you been making progress on your scheme?"
"Progress is... a generous way to put it. There are quite a few parts that have hit a wall."
In any case, it was only natural that their intentions had been seen through.
Ram occupied a position that could be called one of Roswaal's trump cards—she was on his side of the contractual opposition. Subaru didn't know how much credibility she carried, but in Roswaal's current injured and immobile state, Ram was serving as his eyes and ears.
It was only to be expected that she'd be keeping tabs on their movements. The fact that she confronted them directly about it was very Ram-like.
"Aren't you here for Emilia's sake? Wasting your time just talking to me doesn't exactly help, does it?"
"The fact that Barusu came outside means you at least stayed until she fell asleep, yes? After screaming like that, she won't be waking up anytime soon."
"...That's a remarkably harsh assessment."
"It's an objective and candid opinion. Take notes."
Ram tossed those words aside without a shred of warmth, fixing her gaze on Subaru's downcast profile.
Under the pressure of her stare, Subaru silently suppressed a sigh.
—The bond between Emilia and
Even though he had事先 learned about it from Puck and had some understanding and resolve regarding Emilia's agitation, confusion, and grief that would follow the severing—when he actually saw her in that state, the wave of nostalgia that struck Subaru was beyond words.
Emilia, having lost her sole anchor, was half-mad with grief, screaming and crying.
Her beautiful silver hair was in disarray; her white skin bore the marks of her own nails. She was hurling everything within reach like a child throwing a tantrum, her emotions laid completely bare.
That she hadn't resorted to magic in her frenzy was a stroke of fortune—for both herself and everyone around her.
Regardless, Subaru—who had anticipated the severity of Emilia's shock—had waited outside the room and rushed in the moment he heard her scream, wrapping his arms around her.
For the next two and a half hours, he had shouldered everything: Emilia's fragmented voice, her lamentations, and her feeble destructive impulses. He had only just left after she finally fell asleep.
He had intended to ask Ram to handle her change of clothes and help her clean up, and their encounter now suggested that she had been waiting with exactly that in mind. The sight of Ram holding a bucket of water and a cloth gave him a small but genuine sense of relief.
As Subaru reflected on this in his mind, Ram spoke in a quiet voice: "Barusu. —Do you really have faith in her?"
"......"
"If you'd been watching Emilia-sama's state these past few days, there isn't a single encouraging sign that she can overcome the 'Trial.' And the situation that already couldn't possibly get worse has gotten worse. The Great Spirit has left Emilia-sama's side, hasn't he?"
"...You know that much?"
"She was screaming loud enough to be heard from outside the building, over and over. Even a fool would notice. If even Barusu can notice, then Ram certainly can. Isn't that obvious?"
"That feels like a formula proving I'm equal to a fool, but I can't exactly deny it. That Emilia's situation has deteriorated further is an inescapable fact."
Honestly, Ram's concerns were a direct expression of Subaru's own worries.
He hadn't taken Puck's words at face value, but it was still a fact that Subaru had supported his proposal.
Puck's assertion that his very existence was a stopper preventing Emilia from confronting her true past. The doubts Subaru had harbored regarding the changes in each loop and Roswaal's Gospel.
All of these elements had tangled together, and Subaru had sided with Puck's decision, throwing Emilia into a cage of solitude. As a result, for the first time in her life, she was truly, genuinely alone.
What she needed to break free from that was time and a catalyst.
But Emilia currently lacked both. The situation didn't afford her the leisure to calm down and face matters, and the catalyst—the spark that could ignite something new—existed only within her.
Only Emilia herself could find that catalyst. Ram knew this too, which was why she couldn't bring herself to believe in that spark.
Subular agreed with Ram entirely—on every point except the last.
"Even so, I have faith in her, and I believe in her."
"...What a bright expression. How on earth do you manage such an irresponsible conviction?"
"I decided that the things worth believing in should be believed in. The existence of 'friends' who work hard for my sake, the existence of my beloved dragon—they saved me... and gradually, I started being able to believe in myself too."
"But what does that have to do with believing in Emilia-sama—"
"Once you can believe in yourself, don't you naturally want to believe in the aim of your own convictions? I love Emilia, and I want to be there for her. The reason I love her—sure, her appearance is a huge part of it. She's exactly my type visually. But the real reason runs much deeper."
Meeting Ram's skeptical gaze, Subaru shrugged.
Subaru had first begun to take notice of Emilia when, newly summoned to this other world with no one to rely on and no hope to cling to, she was the very first person to show him kindness.
Having his life saved, and through subsequent encounters with her, Subaru came to know the girl called Emilia and wanted to become her strength. There was the justification of repaying a debt, but at the time, he hadn't truly understood his own feelings.
After that, he lost her before his very eyes, experienced "Return by Death," restarted the world, and even as he lost the memories that should have been their first shared moments, Subaru rescued her from her fate of death and changed the future.
What happened at the mansion, the battle against the
In the royal capital, his life had been saved.
At the mansion, his broken heart had been saved once more.
His life and his heart had been saved, and wanting to repay her, he had hurt her through his own selfishness.
After gaining time apart, creating a rift between them, and having the chance to reflect on his own actions, he had stood up again.
Defeating the
Becoming aware of his intimate connection to the
"Because I love her."
"......"
"The her that I fell for is a hard worker, stubborn, not honest about her feelings, someone who can't bring herself to say 'I want to cry' when she wants to cry... and she's the kind of person who will pour herself into helping others without a moment's hesitation."
"That could just be your own bias. Emilia-sama does have a nature that prioritizes others over herself, but... isn't that because it was a way of protecting her own heart? A means of shielding herself from being looked down upon for her origins? Aren't you worried about being manipulated—taken advantage of through those very tactics?"
"Not at all."
To her lengthy series of questions, Subaru responded with just three simple words, leaving Ram momentarily speechless.
Finding a rare sense of satisfaction in her reaction, Subaru turned his head to glance back at the building.
He pictured Emilia, still lying on the bed.
"If I'm being used, then that's fine. Even if somewhere in the back of her mind, Emilia thinks of me as a tool she can use without breaking—as something utilitarian—that's fine with me."
"You don't resent being treated as a tool?"
"That's not it. What makes me happy is that even as a tool, I still have the will to stand up, to keep walking. As long as that spark remains in her to raise her head again... there's plenty I can do to help. She can use me as much as she wants."
"......"
At Subaru's declaration of his stance, Ram narrowed her eyes with visible discontent.
Her expression rarely showed much emotion, but Subaru actually found something refreshing about her current attitude. The way she received his acceptance of the word "tool"—it was almost as though she, more than anyone— "I actually thought you were the one who had it all figured out, Ram."
"—Why would you think that?"
"Because I've watched your attitude and behavior all this time. You've always been right on the edge... I recognized that you had an understanding of other people's stances."
"When you see a problem that someone else hasn't fully processed inside themselves, anyone would feel that way. And when you learn that someone else has managed to chew through the very issue you're struggling to swallow, it only intensifies that feeling."
After firing off those words at a rapid clip, Ram turned her gaze away as though embarrassed by what she'd said. Then she let out a small sigh and waved her hand at Subaru, who still stood in front of the door.
"That's enough. If you're a tool, then act like a tool and do your best for your master. Ram will do as she pleases on her end. That's Ram's freedom, isn't it?"
"Sure. You do what you need to do. —But..."
As Ram passed beside him and placed her hand on the door, Subaru called out to the back of her neck. Ram stopped and turned only her eyes toward him, searching for his meaning. He nodded and continued: "I'm not putting everything I have into Emilia out of pure selflessness."
"......"
"I have my own reasons for wanting things from Emilia. What I need can only come about with Emilia's cooperation. I just said something about her using me with ulterior motives... but I'm no different. I'm planning to make use of her just as calculatedly."
It was a harsh way to put it, but it was unavoidable when dealing with others—having ulterior motives while getting close to someone was simply part of human interaction.
Taken to its extreme, Subaru's desired future would ideally see everyone here reaching that goal. In other words, when Subaru ultimately achieved that future, it could be said that he'd used every last one of them.
Being used by Emilia? That was exactly what he wanted. And for Subaru's desired future, Subaru himself intended to use Emilia—clinging to her, forcibly wrapping his arms around her, and never letting go.
"......"
Without another word, Ram stepped past him and into the room without addressing him further.
The door began to close, and just before her small body was cut off from sight— "The Gospel's account no longer applies. —In this world, Roswaal is already free."
Whether those final words reached her, there was no answer.
The door shut with a soft click, and what happened inside was no longer something Subaru could know.
That said, there was virtually no chance that Emilia, once she awoke, would lash out at Ram. Partly because even after crying herself to exhaustion and falling asleep, Emilia likely had no energy left for that kind of outburst, but more importantly, her body would still need considerable time to fully wake.
"My real chance is tomorrow. The backup is the day after... either way, it's cutting it close."
When the deadline arrived, Roswaal would summon the snow, and the
In accordance with the contract with
—Thinking that, he reflected that it felt a bit late to be realizing it now.
"My feelings haven't changed—I still can't give up on that single future."
—Currently, Subaru's battle in the Sanctuary had entered its third day.
The deadline of his contract with Roswaal was the sixth day. On the sixth day, the catastrophe threatening both the Sanctuary and the mansion would be upon them with no way to avoid it, so the effective deadline was the night of the fifth day.
In other words, including tonight, there were only three remaining opportunities for Emilia to challenge the Tomb.
However, it was the first of those three precious chances, and— "Tonight's probably a wash."
Having learned of Puck's loss, Emilia had collapsed into tears from that morning and had cried herself to sleep just before noon. Since then, she had been in a deep sleep, with no sign of waking.
Even if she did wake before nightfall, how long would it take for Emilia to re-accept the reality of Puck's absence—the bond between her and Puck was neither short nor shallow enough to be processed in just a few hours.
When time was the scarcest resource, every event that occurred demanded more time to deal with. Even knowing it was futile, it was impossible not to curse the wicked machinations of the gods.
"You made her cry so much just by disappearing... I'm half-envious of you and a hundred times more resentful, Puck."
Visualizing the image of a small gray cat in his mind, Subaru shook his head slightly and pressed forward.
In the current situation, there was little Subaru could do for the sleeping Emilia. At best, he could hold her hand. If that could shield her from nightmares, he would gladly do it for however many hours it took.
But just as Emilia had no time to spare, neither did Subaru.
For the wager, he still hadn't accumulated enough.
It was a strategy with several uncertain variables, but by gathering every scrap of anything promising and piecing it all together, adding every possible asset to his hand, his odds had finally reached fifty-fifty. And even that was being generous.
"So that's why I've got high hopes for this little chat, Ryuzu-san."
"I've got high hopes for you too, Suu-boy. ...The other two made sure to press me about it."
At the sound of gravel crunching beneath small feet, a tiny figure—Ryuzu—appeared at the meeting spot.
She wore a stern expression that didn't match her youthful appearance. After scanning the meeting point Subaru had chosen, she continued with "However..."
"To think you'd pick this place as our meeting spot... You really do have a mean streak, Suu-boy."
"I think it's actually a solid choice in terms of not being interrupted. If it were in front of the crystal, I'd probably say something I shouldn't, and honestly, I can't imagine a future where I ever get used to that smell, no matter how many times I come."
He pinched his nose, indicating his revulsion toward the laboratory whose stench invaded the nostrils and seeped into every fiber. The mention of her birthplace had come off as a dig, but Ryuzu herself seemed to share the sentiment. She gave a small laugh at Subaru's words and nodded. "That's true enough."
"So instead, you settle on Garu-boy's secret hideout. As a shelter, there were certainly other candidates..."
"The village could have anyone eavesdropping. Garfiel and Frederica's memory house... wasn't a bad option either, but both you and I are in a position where being overheard would be a problem, right?"
"Indeed."
Ryuzu's face broke into a grin as she nodded in agreement to Subaru's shrug. She then stepped into the crude shack assembled from scrap wood and decaying lumber.
"Sorry, but I don't have a comfortable sofa prepared. For an old man brimming with filial piety, the fact that I can't offer up a single chair is a tragedy."
"My, my. So you're going to make an old woman stand, are you? Young people these days, honestly."
"Oh, that line is peak elderly. You're really leaning into the senior-citizen act, huh."
Ryuzu struck her lower back—though it wasn't even bent—and feigned creakiness with theatrical flair. Subaru smiled wryly, then guided her to the center of the shack while leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
"Having a nice chat with a cute girl in a place like this isn't exactly the worst thing for my state of mind, you know."
"Calling me a cute girl is a bit much. Don't I surpass that age bracket by a fair margin?"
"When it comes to age, my main heroine is pretty far up there too. Well, as it's recently come to light, her physical age and mental age don't quite match up."
Actual age: around one hundred. Appearance: eighteen. Mental age: fourteen.
The complexity of Emilia's profile was wonderful—truly the kind of thing that kept Subaru from ever getting bored. He'd thought she was a loli-baba, but it turned out she was more of a baba-loli.
He'd finally figured out why she was so childish and weak despite her appearance, why her ideals were so lofty, and why her speech sometimes sounded so old-fashioned. There was no room for hesitation—not anymore.
"For her sake too, I want to do everything I can. —So, let me pick your brain, Ryuzu Sigma."
"Shig... What did you call me?"
"Sorry, I just started calling you that. Having four Ryuzus and calling them all 'Ryuzu-san' is inconvenient, so I came up with shorthand just for myself. Alpha, Beta, Sigma, Theta."
"......"
Ryuzu pressed her hand to her mouth in contemplation at Subaru's stumble from the very start.
Sensing that he hadn't exactly offended her—her reaction was too muted for that—Subaru quickly raised a finger toward Sigma before she could question him further.
"Anyway, thanks for agreeing to talk. Given your stance today, Ryuzu-san, you could have easily chosen not to engage with me at all."
"If 'Sigma' is easier to call me, then Sigma is fine. Since we'll be discussing individuals, being able to distinguish between us is useful. There was never any need for that before, but..."
"Oh? Then I'll take you up on that. If you'd prefer something cuter, I can swap your name with one of the other three—"
"No, Sigma is fine. Actually—Sigma is good."
Ryuzu's answer before and after carried subtly different nuances.
Subaru blinked but sensed that Ryuzu had no intention of continuing this thread. She said "So then," signaling a change of topic— "I think I understand, but... what exactly do you want me to talk about, Suu-boy? What about the situation surrounding the Sanctuary do you wish to know?"
"Basically everything I don't already know. But for now, specifically—what you saw in the Tomb. The Alpha from the day before yesterday told me that two Ryuzus had taken on the 'Trial.' Sigma, you're one of them, correct?"
"Correct. I am one of the two Ryuzus who entered the Tomb. That said, I only went in once, and for a short time at that... I simply stepped in to retrieve Garu-boy, who had entered the Tomb in violation of the rules."
The content of Ryuzu Sigma's account matched what Frederica had told Subaru previously.
The story of Garfiel, who had entered the Tomb in pursuit of the Sanctuary's liberation and failed to return from the Trial, prompting his sister to seek help from Ryuzu. The Ryuzu who had been asked by Frederica was this very Sigma.
"Just 'stepped in'... but once you went inside, you must have seen something, right? Sigma, your own... past, I mean."
"......"
"If you were completely rejected by the Tomb the way Roswaal is, your body would have refused you the moment you tried to enter. Roswaal said his body nearly burst apart, and
"It's also possible I had the resolve to be the one to get hurt, though."
"That would be a beautiful story in its own way. ...But then I wouldn't understand the real reason Sigma opposes the Sanctuary's liberation. The pieces don't fit."
"......"
Information that hadn't been confided to him—that Ryuzu Sigma and Theta were both opposed to the Sanctuary's liberation—Subaru had put it into words, and Sigma chose silence over denial.
In effect, that silent acknowledgment was as good as confirmation.
"Sigma must have seen her own past inside the Tomb. Because of what she saw, Sigma is averse to the possibility of the Sanctuary being liberated. What did you see?"
"......"
"If there's a possibility of what you saw, it would be from around the time Sigma was born. Perhaps from the moment she emerged from the crystal, or maybe even..."
"Ryuzu Meier's past, perhaps?"
Ryuzu Σ cut to the core before Subaru could finish.
Subaru pressed his lips together in silence, though inwardly he believed that was the case.
Four replicas, born and given the name Ryuzu Meier, who had served as the Sanctuary's representatives. If there was a past worth regretting, it wouldn't have been after their birth, but before it—before they became the Ryuzus they were now, Subaru reasoned.
The fact that this wasn't entirely off the mark was evident from Sigma's current reaction.
"If what you saw was the real Ryuzu Meier's past inside that crystal... then I can more or less understand why Sigma is afraid. Because there's a reason it was sealed in the crystal."
"......"
It was Echidna, the Witch of Greed, who had sealed Ryuzu Meier within the crystal and incorporated her into the apparatus that produced replicas.
If Sigma had experienced the memory of that moment—sealed away by a Witch's hand—it was entirely plausible as a reason for giving up on the Trial. But— "How much do you actually know, Suu-boy?"
"......"
"Very few people within this Sanctuary know what happened to Ryuzu Meier in there. None of them would be the type to tell you."
There was something in Sigma's profile that hesitated to put words to what she was thinking. Without meeting Subaru's silent gaze, Sigma looked up at the ceiling with its conspicuous holes.
"Rozu-boy, and the other Ryuzu who knows the Tomb besides me... they wouldn't tell you. So then, Suu-boy, where did you hear this?"
"......"
Here, Subaru hesitated over how to answer.
Though it seemed like an innocent question, it was anything but simple.
He could feel the air shift, prickling the back of his neck—the atmosphere of a crucible that Subaru had experienced countless times. Different from the feeling of a life-or-death struggle, this was something that would determine the course of whatever life-or-death struggle followed.
A sensation similar to when he'd sought help from Crusch before the battle against the White Whale.
In other words, the direction this very conversation took would be a pivotal moment that tipped the scales of the Sanctuary's future.
"......"
Silence fell once more, and Subaru contemplated deeply.
The answer Sigma sought from him would have enormous consequences.
Subaru had never been particularly perceptive about others' emotions. If anything, he was hopelessly obtuse when it came to subtlety. He couldn't even think fast enough on his feet—only when his mind burned white-hot did he manage to reach a baseline level of human competence.
In this moment, the answer Subaru should give was— "I heard it from Echidna. Inside the Tomb."
"—From the Witch."
The moment the Witch's name was uttered, Sigma's expression stiffened ever so slightly.
Subaru had learned from his time in the Sanctuary just how much weight Echidna's name carried. Roswaal disliked being asked to call Echidna the "Witch of Greed," while Garfiel and the Ryuzus seemed to avoid the name "Echidna" altogether.
Echidna's name was probably taboo to them. Whether for good or ill, invoking it would inevitably stir up the past.
Whether touching upon the taboo would yield a favorable or disastrous result was anyone's guess, but Subaru had made his choice.
"Right now, I've been stripped of the qualifications, but there was a time when I had the right to challenge the Tomb. So I know from personal experience—roughly—what happens during the 'Trial.' What Echidna is plotting, why she created this Sanctuary, and why she spawned replicas like you, Sigma."
"...I'd figured you had been told by Rozu-boy, but your understanding goes far deeper than that."
"So when it comes to the background, I know more than you'd expect. If you think I can be trusted with what I'm about to share, then consider it material for judging what to tell me."
"Talking yourself down again."
At Subaru's deliberately modest words, Sigma gave a wry smile. She then pressed her small palm to her forehead and let out a long sigh.
That was the ritual she needed to reach her decision.
"If you already know about the Witch's connection to the Sanctuary, as well as my relationship with Ryuzu Meier, it would be stranger to keep hiding things..."
"Then—"
"Don't rush. I understand your feelings, Suu-boy, but it's not that simple. —What you said you wanted to ask me was about the past that Ryuzu saw in the 'Trial.'"
Yes—Subaru began to nod in affirmation, then caught himself, sensing something subtly off.
Sigma had deliberately used the word "Ryuzu" instead of "I." As Subaru furrowed his brow to figure out the implication, Sigma murmured, "Sharp," at almost the exact same moment— "If you're asking about 'the past that I saw in the Tomb,' then my answer is 'I don't know.' I never underwent the Tomb's 'Trial.' The one who came back out of the Tomb was me, Sigma, that much is true. However."
"...So what does that mean?"
"It's simple. Suu-boy, didn't you find it strange from the start? There was only one opportunity for a Ryuzu to enter the Tomb to retrieve Garu-boy. And yet, two Ryuzu Meier replicas entered the Tomb. This discrepancy between the number of opportunities and the number of people."
"Oh..."
Only now, with the observation laid bare, did Subaru realize just how dense he'd been. Now that it was pointed out, it was obvious. Two Ryuzus had entered the Tomb, but there had only been one opportunity—there could only be one answer to resolve that contradiction.
"The Ryuzu who went inside and the Ryuzu who came out were different..."
"That's right. To put it in Suu-boy's terms... the one who came out was me, Sigma. And the one who went in was Ryuzu—the one called Theta. The one who saw the past was Theta. I simply carried Garu-boy out on my back. As far as position goes, I wouldn't say I oppose the Sanctuary's liberation so much as I'm a neutral party by process of elimination."
Therefore, Ryuzu continued, catching sight of Subaru's face as his hopes began to falter, and said: "—If there's anything I can tell you, it would be fragments of that past which Garu-boy has desperately kept hidden—fragments of what he witnessed with his own eyes."