Before everyone could recover from hearing Rem's name, Felt suddenly clicked her tongue, as though she had remembered something.
[Felt: Wait.]
[Felt: There's someone even more troublesome, isn't there?]
[Felt: Reinhard.]
Once that name fell, everyone's gaze seemed to be drawn toward it.
Reinhard.
Natsuki Subaru in the Gluttony Route could indeed use Felt to hold him back and escape the Water Gate City with the help of the white light and Shaula.
But killing Reinhard?
That was almost another matter entirely.
Reinhard's text soon appeared.
[Reinhard: I cannot say that I will never be defeated.]
[Reinhard: But judging solely by the methods shown on the screen, he would have great difficulty killing me. Not just because of my evasion. First Sight and the Divine Protection of Second Coming render your direct attacks ineffective.]
[Reinhard: Not to mention that I also possess the Divine Protection of the Phoenix, and after reviving, I can continue to obtain the "Divine Protection of the Phoenix: Continued."]
Felt frowned even more deeply as she read that line.
[Felt: So it'd be absurdly difficult for that guy to kill you, right?]
Al's text appeared as well.
[Al: If Bro wants to kill the Sword Saint, he'd probably have to find the one possibility that exists among hundreds or thousands of possibilities first.]
[Al: And make sure the Sword Saint doesn't sprout a few more divine protections specifically to counter him.]
That sounded like a joke, but no one actually laughed.
Reinhard was almost impossible to kill.
The part involving Rem could not be completed.
Those gaps that could not be filled.
Then could Natsuki Subaru in the Gluttony Route truly reach that so-called "end"?
[Crusch: From a strategic standpoint, his plan lacks the conditions necessary for completion.]
[Crusch: Even the most meticulous plan requires a reachable endpoint.]
[Crusch: But as things stand, that endpoint seems to have been blocked from the very beginning.]
Wilhelm's text appeared next.
[Wilhelm: An enemy he cannot cut down, a book he cannot obtain, memories he cannot complete.]
[Wilhelm: That child is chasing a sword he will never be able to grasp.]
Felix remained silent for quite some time before finally speaking.
[Felix: And his mind wouldn't hold up either, would it?]
[Felix: Every additional book he reads means another person's memories being crammed into his head.]
[Felix: Even with Return by Death, this is already beyond what ordinary treatment can handle, meow.]
Priscilla's name lit up as well.
[Priscilla: Laughable.]
[Priscilla: He wishes to become his true self, yet pieces himself together by swallowing the memories of others.]
[Priscilla: Even if he finishes, what he assembles that way will be nothing more than a doll covered in cracks.]
Those words were harsh.
But that was indeed what Natsuki Subaru in the Gluttony Route had been doing all along.
He read Books of the Dead, stuffing the "Natsuki Subaru" seen through the eyes of friends, companions, and enemies into his mind.
Then he used those voices to tell himself that the real Natsuki Subaru should be able to do anything.
[Al: Your words sting as much as ever, Princess.]
[Al: But this time, you really hit the mark.]
[Al: Bro wants to piece together a complete version of himself, but the materials themselves are out of stock.]
Felt could not help clicking her tongue when she saw that.
[Felt: In the end, he can't reach that "end" at all, can he?]
[Felt: He can't kill Reinhard, he can't read Rem's book, and there's a whole pile of other messy problems.]
[Felt: Then what happens to his promise with Shaula?]
Those words left many of them stunned.
The promise.
Shaula would be last.
Master would do it himself.
The image of Shaula smiling as she hooked her little finger around Natsuki Subaru's earlier surfaced in everyone's minds again.
[Al: Wait, when you think about it that way, that promise really does seem to have become a good thing for Shaula.]
[Al: Since Bro can't reach the end, Shaula will stay by his side forever.]
[Al: She wanted to stay with him until the end, and that "end" turned into a lifelong promise.]
Ricardo grew serious for once as well.
[Ricardo: So you're saying that little lass would actually be happy?]
[Ricardo: Always following him, always being needed, always waiting for that end.]
[Ricardo: Tch, that really doesn't sit right.]
[Mimi: But Shaula smiled so happily.]
[Mimi: Mimi could tell. She really thought it was a good thing.]
Those innocent words only made the discussion area quieter.
[Julius: To Shaula, being kept until the end means that she has been chosen.]
[Julius: Even if that choice ends in death, she still considers it an honor.]
[Julius: That loyalty has already strayed from its normal form.]
Betty tightened her grip on the hem of Natsuki Subaru's clothes.
"So..."
Her voice was very low.
"Did that Shaula actually get what she wanted?"
Natsuki Subaru did not answer.
Because that question was too difficult to answer.
Judging only by Shaula's own smile, it did indeed look like happiness.
She was needed.
She was kept by his side.
She was allowed to stay with him until the end.
And because that "end" was so distant that it was almost unreachable, she could remain beside Natsuki Subaru forever.
But that happiness grew along a twisted path.
She would happily accompany that gradually crumbling Natsuki Subaru.
Happily wait for a promise of death that might never come.
Happily treat every day as proof that she was still being chosen.
Emilia looked at the screen, her voice so soft that she seemed afraid of disturbing something.
"But that isn't right."
Natsuki Subaru looked at her.
Emilia did not avoid his gaze.
"Even if Shaula feels happy, we can't let her stay in a place like that forever."
"She should know that companionship doesn't need to be proven through death."
Betty raised her head as well.
"Subaru."
She did not release her grip on the hem of Natsuki Subaru's clothes.
"Betty doesn't like that smile, I suppose."
Natsuki Subaru looked at her.
Betty stared at the screen, her voice lowering a little.
"She was clearly happy, but seeing it didn't feel reassuring at all."
Natsuki Subaru looked at the two options on the screen.
[A. Yes.]
[B. No.]
The answer was already very clear.
The gap involving Rem could not be filled.
Reinhard could not be killed.
Shaula's so-called "end" was merely pushed farther away by that impassable road.
After a moment of silence, Natsuki Subaru said softly:
"I choose B."
Betty's grip on his clothes tightened slightly.
Without looking away, Natsuki Subaru stroked the top of Betty's head.
"That road won't take him where he wants to go."
Betty lowered her head.
After a while, she looked at the screen as well.
"Betty chooses B too."
"Betty believes in Subaru, I suppose."
[Natsuki Subaru selected: B.]
[Beatrice selected: B.]
The screen paused for an instant.
What appeared was not the answer. Instead, new footage began to play.
Inside the Sage's Tower, Natsuki Subaru slowly opened his eyes.
He saw his own hand, his little finger still hooked around Shaula's.
The promise they had just made seemed to linger in the previous second.
As Natsuki Subaru looked at their linked fingers, his expression gradually froze.
"...Why?"
Shaula tilted her head.
"Master?"
Natsuki Subaru slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over his surroundings.
Bookshelves, stone walls-this was the Sage's Tower.
And Shaula stood before him, her face filled with confusion.
His throat bobbed, and a bad feeling rose within him.
"Why are we here?"