He let out a soft breath.
"Yeah."
Shaula fell quiet for a while.
Such quiet was rare for her. Shaula had always been noisy before, as though she wanted to cram four hundred years of waiting into one "Master" after another. But now, she leaned against Natsuki Subaru, holding him so gently that even she kept checking.
"Does it hurt, Master?"
"No."
"Shaula isn't using too much force?"
"No."
"And Shaula hasn't broken Master?"
"I'm not made of glass."
Natsuki Subaru looked exasperated. She was only hugging him, yet somehow he felt as though Shaula was treating him like someone terribly fragile.
Ram glanced at him.
"With Barusu in his current state, it's hard to say."
"Miss Ram, don't lower my rating at a time like this."
Betty added in a muffled voice.
"Forget about your rating at a time like this, I suppose."
Listening to them talk, Shaula loosened her arms around Subaru a little more. She buried her face beside his shoulder, and only after a long while did she speak very quietly:
"Then can Shaula stay beside Master too?"
Natsuki Subaru looked down at her.
Shaula did not look up. Her fingers merely tightened a little around his clothes. Those words were nothing like her usual clamor, nor like the nearly shattered sobs in the screen of light. They were more like a child who had only just learned to approach others, earnestly asking where she belonged for the first time.
Natsuki Subaru was silent for a moment, then raised a hand and patted her back.
"Yeah, you can."
Shaula's shoulders gave a small tremble.
She did not immediately shout or cling to him any tighter. She simply stayed quietly against his side. The green room's door was right behind them, the corridor was hardly bright, and physical exhaustion still weighed heavily on him. But seeing Shaula hold him so carefully, along with Betty's and Emilia's concern and Ram standing beside them without leaving, helped Natsuki Subaru regain his breathing rhythm little by little.
After a while, Shaula suddenly raised her head and stared intently at him.
"Are you hungry, Master?"
"No."
"Thirsty?"
"Not particularly."
"Tired? Sleepy? Want to rest?"
"That question was right on target."
Shaula's eyes lit up.
"Then Master has to go to sleep right now!"
As soon as she finished, she turned to Emilia and Betty, as though waiting for them to back her up. Natsuki Subaru immediately had a bad feeling.
"Wait, I don't think it's time for a forced shutdown yet."
"Subaru needs rest." Emilia did not take his side this time, her tone gentle but firm. "You were already pushing yourself too hard just now."
Betty also tightened her grip on his hand.
"Subaru has no right to object right now, I suppose."
Ram looked at him and calmly dealt another blow.
"Barusu the patient has no human rights."
"Miss Ram, didn't you just say something very dangerous?"
"Barusu misheard."
Listening to them talk, Shaula suddenly nodded earnestly.
"Patients need to be taken care of!"
"There's nothing wrong with that in itself, but the way you're all looking at me is making me nervous."
Shaula stood up as though she had suddenly received an important mission.
"Shaula will take care of Master!"
Looking at her brimming with enthusiasm, Natsuki Subaru actually felt a little touched for a moment. But that feeling did not last long. Before long, Shaula returned from the direction of the neighboring room with a basin of water in her arms.
To be precise, it was a basin big enough to nearly bury Natsuki Subaru's face in.
Natsuki Subaru stared at the basin in silence for a few seconds.
"Shaula."
"Yes!"
"I don't really feel like I need to wash my face right now, but since you've brought it over, I'll freshen up. Thanks."
Shaula tilted her head in confusion.
As though he had understood her confusion, Natsuki Subaru asked incredulously.
"This whole basin isn't for me to drink, is it?"
"Master said so!"
"Didn't I say I wasn't particularly thirsty?"
Holding the basin, Shaula pondered to herself.
"Is it too much?"
"Would you listen to me?"
Natsuki Subaru finally burst out laughing.
Betty looked up at Shaula, her expression turning complicated.
"Shaula, if Subaru wants water, a cup will do."
Emilia also came over and earnestly gestured.
"Right, a cup is enough. Subaru won't be able to finish it if there's too much."
Shaula looked down at the basin, then at Natsuki Subaru, as though checking exactly how much he could drink. After a moment, she looked somewhat troubled.
"Taking care of Master is so hard."
Seeing that everyone was actually thinking about this question, Natsuki Subaru nearly lost his composure. But when he saw that she was genuinely troubled, he swallowed his words.
"It's your first time, Shaula. That's normal. You'll get much better at it later."
"First time?"
"Yeah. Everyone makes mistakes their first time taking care of someone."
Shaula blinked.
Natsuki Subaru took the basin from her. Of course, he did not actually lift it up and drink from it; he merely scooped out a little water with a small cup nearby. Betty watched him without saying anything more. Emilia, meanwhile, laughed softly beside them.
Even knowing what Shaula had been like in the screen of light, they could not bring themselves to dislike someone who liked Natsuki Subaru so much now. Wasn't she essentially just like a child?
Shaula stared at the cup for a long time, as though she had finally memorized an important piece of knowledge.
"Next time, Shaula will use a cup for Master."
"Right."
"No basins."
"Unless I turn into Patrasche."
Ram spoke flatly.
"Even if Barusu turned into an earth dragon, he would still be the most troublesome one."
"Why does even the earth dragon version of me get disliked?"
Holding the now-vacated basin, Shaula stared blankly at Natsuki Subaru, then suddenly smiled.
That smile still very much resembled the old Shaula's: bright and direct, as though she might throw herself at him and shout "Master" at any moment. Yet something about her had changed. She would stop, watch his expression, worry when she failed to do something properly, and earnestly remember what others taught her.
Looking at her, Natsuki Subaru suddenly felt that the reward the screen of light had given had not been a lie.
Shaula really was learning to become Shaula.
Their rest did not last very long.
Rather than crowd back into the green room, they went to a room on the other side of the corridor and stopped there for a while. Natsuki Subaru sat back against a chair, Betty sat on his lap, and Emilia placed a cup of water in his hand. Shaula crouched on the chair beside him, one hand on her knee and the other resting on the chair's back, watching him intently.
"...Are you observing a rare witchbeast?"
Betty huffed.
"We're observing a dangerous patient."
Shaula immediately nodded.
"Dangerous patient Master."
"Don't learn so quickly at times like this."
Hearing him speak, Emilia came over and felt his forehead.
"Subaru, are you feeling better?"
"A little."
Betty lifted her head to look at him, only to bump straight into Natsuki Subaru's chin.
"Ooh."
"Ow, ow, ow... Betty, is this a new examination method?"
Betty held her forehead, tears nearly springing to her eyes, but still stared stubbornly at him.
"Betty is checking whether Subaru is lying, I suppose."
Natsuki Subaru rubbed his chin, then gently rubbed Betty's head.
"I really am feeling a little better. I'm not pushing myself so hard that I need to be subdued immediately."
Ram looked over from the side.
"So you are still pushing yourself."
"Your standards are too strict, Miss Ram."
"They're just right for Barusu as he is now."
What misery, Natsuki Subaru thought. To prevent them from actually forcing him back to rest, he slowly sat up straight and spoke:
"I want to go to the library."
At those words, the room fell silent for a moment.
Betty's grip on his hand immediately tightened.
"Subaru."
"I know. I know what you're worried about."
Natsuki Subaru quickly raised his hands in surrender.
"I just want to check a lead. Ever since I lost my memories, there's been something strange."
Emilia looked at him without immediately agreeing.
"What is it?"
"Reid's Book of the Dead."
Natsuki Subaru looked down at his fingers, his voice quiet.
"If my previous self wanted to get past Reid's trial too, he would definitely have touched that book. Now that I've lost my memories, that book is very likely one of the causes."
Betty frowned.
"Subaru still wants to touch something that dangerous?"
"That's why I'm bringing you all along."
Betty froze.
Natsuki Subaru looked at her, trying to keep his tone light.
"Before the screen of light starts up again, I want to sort out the mess in my head. At the very least, I can't keep waiting until something hits me in the face before regretting that I didn't think one step further."
Ram glanced at him.
"You make it sound as though thinking one step further would keep Barusu out of trouble."
"Miss Ram, you have a very good point, but could you be a little more tactful right now?"
"No."
After saying that, Ram added another remark.
"But if we're going, we're going together. If there's any danger, Barusu had better learn to call for help first."
"Of course."
After hearing the words "Book of the Dead," Shaula did not speak immediately.
She did not really understand Reid's book, nor the clues Natsuki Subaru was talking about. But she remembered the images in the screen of light. She remembered the other Master standing before rows of bookshelves, his expression growing worse and worse, his whole demeanor becoming stranger and stranger.
Shaula looked down at Natsuki Subaru.
"Is it a book that makes Master feel bad?"
Natsuki Subaru paused.
"...Probably."
Shaula nodded.
"Then Shaula will go too."
Betty raised her head to look at her.
Shaula did not immediately press close as she usually did, nor loudly declare that she would go wherever Master went. First, she looked at Emilia, who was supporting Subaru, then at Betty on his lap, and finally at Ram standing nearby.
"Emilia is very worried about Master."
Emilia nodded gently.
"Yes, I'm very worried about Subaru."
"Betty is angry."
Betty instinctively frowned.
"Betty isn't angry at all, I suppose."
"You are."
Shaula answered quickly, then looked at Ram.
"Ram talks very harshly, but she looks like she cares about Master too."
Ram's eyebrow twitched slightly, as though she wanted to say something, but in the end, she merely looked away.
Emilia looked at Shaula and couldn't help giving a soft laugh.
"You've been paying close attention, Shaula."
Shaula couldn't tell whether that counted as praise. She looked back at Natsuki Subaru, her voice a little quieter than usual.
"Everyone is by Master's side."
She paused, as though she had finally found the words she most wanted to say.
"Shaula wants to be there too."
Natsuki Subaru looked at her, unsure how to answer for a moment.
Normally, he probably would have brushed it off with a joke. Something like, "My otherworldly nursing team keeps getting more luxurious," or, "Miss Shaula has finally decided to join the patient escort squad." But Shaula's gaze was too earnest.
She had seen Emilia's worry, Betty's anger, and Ram's awkward concern. She wanted to stand here too.
Natsuki Subaru fell silent for a moment, then slowly let out a breath.
"You can."
Shaula's eyes lit up.
Natsuki Subaru looked at her and added something else.
"But we need to agree on a few things."
Shaula immediately sat up straight.
"Yes!"
"No killing people on a whim, no acting recklessly, no..."
"Then can I send bad things flying?"
"Uh... that depends on the situation."
Shaula seemed to commit this complicated rule to memory in earnest.
Betty gave a soft huff.
"Subaru hardly has any right to tell others not to act recklessly when he makes people worry so much himself, I suppose."
Natsuki Subaru gave an awkward smile.
"That's why I need you all."
Betty looked up at him and seemed reasonably satisfied with that answer, so she didn't press him further.
Natsuki Subaru turned back to Shaula.
"Also, I know you're very strong."
Shaula's eyes brightened.
"Yes, Shaula is very strong."
"So I'm asking you to go in front this time."
Shaula froze for a moment.
Natsuki Subaru smiled.
"Watch the path for me, and keep an eye on everyone too. Betty, Emilia, Ram-I'm counting on you to look after them all."
Shaula turned to look at Emilia, then Betty, and finally Ram. It was as though she had realized for the first time that "Master" wasn't the only name involved in what she would be doing next.
Only after a long while did she nod firmly.
"Yes."
She stood a little straighter and saluted, as though she had accepted a very important mission.
"Shaula will remember."