The atmosphere in the green room had only just eased a little.
Natsuki Subaru leaned against the stone bed, his expression a little calmer. Suddenly, he felt a moment of confusion, unsure what he should do in the future.
Betty held his hand and refused to let go. Emilia sat on his other side, glancing at his face now and then, as though checking whether he felt unwell.
Ram stood near the doorway with her arms folded. Although she said nothing more, she showed no intention of leaving either.
Subaru had wanted to say something.
Something like, "I'm really fine," or, "You don't all have to be so nervous." But after those two sentences circled through his head, he swallowed them back down.
He felt no one would believe him even if he said them.
In the end, he could only slowly brace himself against the stone bed and sit a little straighter.
"I'd like to go outside for a bit."
Betty's grip on his hand tightened at once.
"Subaru."
"I'm not going to do anything dangerous."
Natsuki Subaru hurriedly raised his other hand in surrender.
"I just feel like staying here only makes my head more of a mess. Even after seeing the possibilities for my future, I still don't know what I should do right now."
Emilia studied his face without immediately agreeing, her blue-violet eyes full of worry.
"You look so tired right now, Subaru."
"I know."
"Do you really?"
"...I probably do."
"That answer only makes me more worried, I suppose."
Betty frowned up at him. Ram also spoke in an even tone.
"If Barusu can't even judge whether he can stand steadily, Ram suggests pinning him straight back down and making him rest properly for a while."
"Miss Ram, is there absolutely no room for negotiation in that suggestion?"
"If you want some, there can be."
Ram glanced at him.
"You can choose between being pinned back down by Lady Emilia or by Betty."
"You call that a choice?"
Natsuki Subaru complained, but did not pull free of their hands. He tried to stand, and the moment his feet touched the ground, his body swayed.
Emilia immediately placed Natsuki Subaru's hand on her shoulder to support him. Betty stood beside him as well, her expression growing even grimmer.
"See?"
There was a hint of anger in Betty's voice.
"This is how you are right now, Subaru. You can't even walk steadily, and you still want to go out alone?"
"I didn't say alone."
Natsuki Subaru looked down at the lineup of caretakers on either side of him and smiled.
"As things stand, I don't have permission to go out alone anyway, do I?"
Ram nodded coolly.
"Barusu has finally, finally gained an accurate understanding of his situation."
"That doesn't sound like a compliment at all."
"It wasn't."
A sudden flurry of hurried footsteps came from the quiet corridor outside.
Then half a head slowly peeked out from the shadows beside the doorway.
Long, dark brown hair slipped down over her shoulder as Shaula peered around from beside the door. She did not step into the green room, only clung to the wall outside, exposing half her face. Her eyes stared straight at Natsuki Subaru, as though, having finally found him, she no longer knew whether she should approach him right away.
Natsuki Subaru met her gaze.
"...Shaula?"
Shaula's fingers tightened a little against the edge of the wall.
"Are you coming out, Master?"
She asked very softly. Nothing like her usual boisterous self, Shaula had suddenly become cautious.
Her tone was different from usual. She did not immediately throw herself at him, nor did she noisily shout about hugging him. She simply stood outside the door, not even letting her toes cross the threshold, as though remembering that she could not casually add another person to this room, and as though, for the first time, she had begun to care whether approaching might cause trouble for others.
Emilia looked at Shaula, then back at Subaru, gently steadying his shoulder.
"It looks like Shaula's waiting outside for you."
"Yeah."
Looking at the head peeking through the doorway, Natsuki Subaru suddenly felt something tug gently inside him.
Half-supported by Emilia and Betty, he walked to the door. Ram stepped outside ahead of them to make room. Only after Natsuki Subaru had actually crossed out of the green room did Shaula draw a little closer.
She must have run in quite a hurry. Her breathing had yet to settle completely, and the corners of her eyes were slightly red.
She did not throw herself at him.
She stood before Natsuki Subaru and looked down at him, her gaze moving from his face to his shoulders, then to the hand Betty held, before finally stopping on his lips, which had yet to regain their full color.
"Master looks so exhausted. Are you going to die?"
"That's a scary way to put it. It's nowhere near that bad."
"Then... are you about to pass out?"
Natsuki Subaru pressed a hand to his forehead.
"That isn't much better."
Shaula lowered her head, as though genuinely beginning to consider how to describe Subaru's current state. Looking at her troubled expression, Natsuki Subaru had wanted to smile, but the moment the corners of his mouth moved, the dryness in his throat forced him to cough twice.
Emilia immediately steadied him, then patted his back.
Betty's eyes filled with worry at once as well.
Ram spoke evenly.
"It seems Barusu's body hasn't fully recovered yet, so stop trying to act tough in front of us."
"Miss Ram, I'm just a little thirsty. Don't make me out to be that fragile."
"It seems you have no self-awareness whatsoever?"
Betty nodded.
"Subaru has already pushed himself far too much."
For a moment, Natsuki Subaru did not know whom to argue with.
Shaula, however, did not laugh along. She took half a step forward, then stopped, as though checking the distance. Only after a long while did she say quietly:
"Master, you mustn't be like you were on the screen."
Natsuki Subaru froze. What does that mean? Is she talking about me seeking death in the Gluttony Route?
Shaula looked at him, her voice much lower than usual.
"You have to keep living, Master."
The words came out awkwardly. Natsuki Subaru looked into her eyes and discovered that she was actually serious.
"Well, even if I wanted to live forever, that'd be pretty impossible, wouldn't it? But I'll try."
Natsuki Subaru smiled.
Shaula seemed to finally breathe a sigh of relief.
She slowly reached out, stopped with her hands in midair, then looked at Betty and Emilia.
"Can Shaula hug Master?"
Betty immediately raised her head.
"No jumping on him, and no squashing Betty between you, I suppose."
Emilia also nodded very seriously.
"Be gentle. Subaru looks very weak right now."
Shaula looked down at her hands, as though considering exactly how much strength "be gentle" meant. After a long while, she carefully leaned closer and wrapped her arms around Subaru's shoulders in a motion that could almost be called clumsy.
She did not squeeze.
In fact, she was so careful that the hug was a little awkward.
Natsuki Subaru paused, then raised the hand he could still move and gently patted her back.
"Is this enough?"
Shaula's shoulders trembled slightly as she greedily breathed in the air around Natsuki Subaru.
"Yes, this is enough. Does it hurt, Master? Should I be gentler?"
"No... it doesn't. This is fine."
"Shaula hasn't broken Master like this, has she?"
"I'm not made of glass."
Natsuki Subaru made an odd face, somehow feeling as though this had become an adults-only channel, then shook his head to cast aside those stray thoughts.
Ram glanced at him.
"With Barusu in his current condition, that's hard to say."
"Miss Ram, don't lower my rating at a time like this."
Betty added in a muffled voice.
"Never mind that at a time like this."
Listening to them speak, Shaula loosened her arms around Subaru a little more. She buried her face beside his shoulder, her voice so quiet that she almost seemed to be confirming it to herself.
"Now that Shaula has Master in her arms, she'll never let go again for the rest of her life."
Her voice faded in an instant. Natsuki Subaru had not heard her very clearly, catching only a little of the beginning.
The green room's door was right behind him, the corridor was not particularly bright, and physical exhaustion still weighed heavily on him. Yet seeing Shaula hug him so carefully.
Along with Betty and Emilia's concern, and the sight of Ram standing beside them without leaving, it all helped him find the rhythm of his breathing again, little by little.