After the screen went dark, the sounds of the Water Gate City still seemed to linger in everyone's ears.
The roar of murky water smashing through walls, the dull crack of bones breaking as Garfiel was kicked into the rubble, Otto's final word, "fake," and the sight of Reinhard being forced to turn and chase the white light-none of it faded with the screen.
That scene had happened too fast.
Before anyone could even react to Garfiel falling, the white light had already pierced Otto. It happened so fast that the small sense of relief everyone felt when Reinhard appeared vanished completely at the sight of the Gluttony Route's Natsuki Subaru pointing toward Felt's escape route.
The strongest Sword Saint had appeared on the battlefield.
The Natsuki Subaru of that Gluttony Route had not tried to defeat him head-on.
He had made the Sword Saint turn away to save someone else.
Everyone knew Reinhard would turn away.
Felt's name was the first to light up.
[Felt: Reinhard.]
[Felt: In that situation, you'd come save me, right?]
Reinhard replied quickly.
[Reinhard: Yes.]
There was no hesitation, nor did he make any excuses for himself.
Looking at that one word, Felt felt even more stifled.
Of course she knew Reinhard would come save her. There had never been any doubt about his answer. But precisely because there was no doubt, she realized clearly for the first time that standing beside the Sword Saint did not mean she would always be safe.
Sometimes, she could become the reason someone forced Reinhard off the battlefield. She was a burden, too.
That infuriated her, even more than seeing an absurdly powerful enemy did.
[Felt: Tch, that's a disgusting way to fight.]
[Felt: Can't beat you, so he goes after me.]
[Felt: And you really would come running to save me, too.]
Reinhard did not argue.
If that same white light shot toward Felt again, he would still chase after it.
That was Reinhard the Sword Saint.
And it was something the Natsuki Subaru of that Gluttony Route could exploit.
Al's tone was as flippant as ever, but there was little humor in his words in the chat.
[Al: Can't hurt the man himself, so you hit someone he's certain to save.]
[Al: My bro in that route has a brain so rotten it's oozing pus.]
Those words silenced the chat again.
It sounded like a joke.
But everyone knew his plan was more than just rotten.
He had destroyed the Water Gate City's evacuation procedures in advance.
He had stationed Shaula up high beforehand to snipe the fleeing people.
He had eliminated every small animal Otto could contact in advance.
He knew the "boss's" voice would shake Garfiel and distract him, so he had stood behind him himself, waiting for Garfiel to turn around and confirm that face.
He knew Reinhard would protect Felt, so he had sent the white light shooting in that direction.
He had not treated anyone as insignificant.
Even the rats in the gutters, the birds beneath the eaves, and the chirping insects behind broken walls-he had silenced them all beforehand.
Crusch looked at where the screen had gone dark, her expression growing increasingly grave.
[Crusch: He didn't use Shaula's brute strength to overwhelm everyone.]
[Crusch: He dismantled every position from which they could be effective.]
[Crusch: Otto's Divine Protection, Garfiel's trust, the person Reinhard protected-he incorporated all of them into his plan.]
Anastasia's words followed close behind.
[Anastasia: Even the most inconspicuous little animals.]
[Anastasia: When most people encounter Mr. Otto, they'd probably watch out for his mouth, his mind, and the people around him.]
[Anastasia: But Mr. Natsuki in that route didn't even spare the rats in the city. He respected Otto to the utmost.]
[Anastasia: This isn't a question of taking someone seriously anymore.]
[Anastasia: This is practically fear, isn't it?]
Otto watched his name appear in the chat again and again, remaining silent for a long time.
He had heard far too many voices just now.
"Otto."
"Mr. Otto."
"Lord Otto."
"The most troublesome one."
"The highest praise of your life."
Before those assessments directed at him could even begin to feel real, he saw his body on the screen torn apart by white light. It was a strange feeling, and a peculiar one.
[Otto: Honestly, I'm not happy about any of this right now.]
[Otto: Everyone thinks so highly of me, and then I die a moment later.]
[Otto: That's a terrible way to receive the highest praise of my life.]
Normally, remarks like that would probably have earned a few jokes.
But this time, no one laughed.
Because everyone had seen it: even when the Otto on the screen had been driven to his last resort, he was still searching for something he could use.
After Garfiel fell, he had not bowed his head.
After all the small animals his Divine Protection of Soul of Language could contact had been eliminated, he had still checked one place after another for any that had been missed.
After every hope had been cut off, he had raised his head, looked at that monster wearing a familiar face, and slowly uttered the word "fake."
No one within the screen could see that courage.
But it made everyone outside the screen remember the name Otto Suwen.
That merchant who stood amid the sound of water, nearly bent beneath despair, yet still trying to use a human mind to pry open a crack in a hopeless situation.
Outside the screen, Natsuki Subaru stared at the darkened image, saying nothing for a long time.
Otto, Garfiel, Reinhard, Felt.
His self in that Gluttony Route had accounted for every one of them.
Otto could relay messages through his Divine Protection of Soul of Language, so he had eliminated the small animals beforehand.
Garfiel would be shaken and distracted by the "boss's" voice, so he had made Shaula wait behind him.
Reinhard would definitely save Felt, so he had made Old Man Rom point out her location and sent the white light shooting toward her.
He had underestimated no one.
As Natsuki Subaru thought of this, his fingers slowly tightened.
But that man looked down on himself.
He looked down on the person he was now, his hands covered in blood, having taken wrong turns all along the way, yet still named Natsuki Subaru.
He had said he underestimated no one except himself.
Betty gripped the hem of his clothes.
"Subaru."
Natsuki Subaru lowered his head and saw Betty looking up at him.
Emilia took his hand as well.
She did not ask whether he was thinking of doing something alone again.
But the worry in those purple eyes had already said it all.
Ever since they had seen on the screen that Natsuki Subaru could travel to other worldlines, they had been worried, afraid he would do something foolish.
If he used the Observer's Passage Right now, went to that Gluttony Route, and stood before that other self, could he save him?
Three minutes.
What could he say? What could he do?
"You're not a fake. You're Natsuki Subaru, too. Stop this."
Could those words really bring that other self back?
The Gluttony Subaru on the screen had even sealed off Otto's final Divine Protection of Soul of Language beforehand. That man did not trust his own judgment, so he had borrowed the voices of Emilia, Betty, Ram, Roswaal, and Petra.
He did not underestimate Otto, Garfiel, or Reinhard.
He had not even spared the rats in the gutters or the birds beneath the eaves.
But he looked down on himself. In the face of such an enormous inferiority complex, what use would that kind of help be?
He had excluded his current self, hands covered in blood and having gone wrong every step of the way, from "Natsuki Subaru."
Natsuki Subaru opened his mouth, but in the end, he only said quietly:
"Going over there now won't save him."
At those words, Betty and Emilia seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, their bodies relaxing.
Natsuki Subaru looked at the screen.
"I'm not what he needs right now."
"He needs someone who can prove for him that he's still Natsuki Subaru."
"And even if I went over there now, I couldn't resolve the wrongs he's committed. I can't help him right now."
But... that time will come.
Resolve filled Natsuki Subaru's eyes as he thought silently to himself.
Looking at Natsuki Subaru before her, Betty smiled knowingly.
"No matter what you want to do, Subaru, Betty will support you."
Seeing his resolute expression, Emilia finally lost a little of the worry in her eyes and could not help smiling softly.
"Yes, that's more like you, Subaru."
Then, as though afraid those words would put too much pressure on him, she hurriedly added something else.
"But even if you aren't this strong, Subaru, I'll always be by your side."