"Someone who should have disappeared four hundred years ago just had to come all the way to the present to get in my way-truly worthy of the name of Flugel the Sage. How hateful..."
Perhaps in some unknown corner of the world, perhaps in a space of consciousness no one could reach, Pandora, the Witch of Vainglory, vented her anger with a weary expression.
This space had originally been a refuge she built for herself-pieced together from fragments she had stolen, altered, and rewoven. But now even this place was trembling. The edges she had personally altered were thinning, as though some invisible force were peeling them away from outside.
And a certain peacefully sleeping vessel currently inhabited by the witch would surely welcome the light of a true dawn.
Her platinum hair drifted slightly in the windless void, as though drawn by some presence that did not belong to this world. That pull felt unfamiliar to her-so unfamiliar that it infuriated her.
She was accustomed to controlling everything, accustomed to having everything bend, transform, and rearrange itself according to her wishes. But now, even her hair was beginning to disobey her commands.
"The world's exceptions must be eradicated..."
Her voice was hoarse, as though it had been crushed deep in her throat before being squeezed out. In her anger, Pandora could no longer spare any thought for her former outward dignity, elegance, or courtesy.
"But what exactly did you do? You vile thief who stole part of my authority! Why must you obstruct my great ideal of remaking this world? Why won't you cherish this world properly?! Even trampling on other people's dreams and rights should have its limits!"
Her fingers tightly gripped the hem of her clothes, and something on the verge of losing control surged in her dark blue eyes.
She felt those rewritten edges thinning-they were anchors she had personally set four hundred years ago, the foundation she used to secure her presence.
But now that foundation was loosening, as though someone had begun pulling out her stakes one by one four hundred years ago.
Her voice echoed through the empty space of consciousness, carrying a twisted anger that seemed to have been crushed countless times. That anger had originally been sharp as a blade, yet the instant it left her mouth, it suddenly veered off course-its trailing notes shattered, as though something were producing a discordant echo at the edges of her voice.
Her words abruptly stopped halfway through, and then she noticed it herself.
"...So restoring my power really is urgent? Even my thoughts have been eroded by that Archbishop of Greed, Regulus."
Her voice sank, carrying the humiliation of someone who had just tripped over her own feet.
Regulus, the pawn she had long since used up and discarded.
The fragments of obsession she had implanted were now entwined in her words like roots that had not been completely cleared away.
Her power was waning, and even her thoughts were being polluted by a will that did not belong to her.
That fact itself unsettled her more than any enemy.
She had once believed herself to be the perfect vessel-she could accommodate any authority, endure the impact of any factor, and turn all power into nourishment for herself. But now she discovered that the fragments she had once casually discarded were turning against her. Those fragments were taking root inside her, sprouting, and blooming into flowers she had never anticipated.
"It's all that damned Sky Curtain's fault. It's nothing but stolen things, so why is it still draining my power even now..."
She began pacing slowly, each step like a footfall on thin ice that was breaking apart,
"Even the Authority I use to control birds and observe the world has become unstable. I finally managed to move the anchor four hundred years forward, so why was that fellow able to follow? Apart from Return by Death, what secret abilities does he have that I don't know about?"
Her fingertips traced meaningless arcs in the void. Those arcs dissipated before they could take shape, as though some force had cut them off at their source.
Her power was draining away like the last grains of sand in an hourglass. And she knew that the person responsible for all this-the person whose fate she had personally altered-was somewhere beyond her reach, inching closer to places she did not want him approaching.
She had once believed that if she erased the piece called "Flugel" from the board, eliminated every unstable element obstructing her, and administered punishment, she could control the entire game and truly establish the perfect world of universal love and freedom she envisioned.
To that end, she had not hesitated to wield her own authority against the world's source, Od Laguna, altering the original world.
The seven-member world-saving team wanted to stop her, which naturally made them enemies of the "entire world." Thus, she kept sowing discord in secret-tempting Flugel's beloved Satella into absorbing the Witch Factor of Envy, then continually amplifying its power to devastate half the world.
Making lovers part from one another.
Making lovers become enemies.
Such a splendid dramatic plot left Pandora eagerly anticipating what came next. Amid the intertwining of such magnificent love, what choices would the two make?
In the end, Flugel had no choice but to join forces with the Divine Dragon and Reid, working together to seal his beloved with Yin Magic, and, at Echidna's suggestion, establish the Pleiades Watchtower with the team...
Such a tremendous blow would surely be enough to make this otherworlder, filled from head to toe with uncertainty, sink into despondency and degradation, no longer daring to oppose her might.
So Pandora once again forced herself to endure the backlash of altering perception. While the world-saving team fought the calamities she had created, she replaced all the knowledge on the continent-leading even the all-knowing, all-powerful Witch of Greed, Echidna, astray, her experiments gradually veering toward distortion and destruction...
This was also a side effect of her Witch Factor. Once the source database behind her knowledge of everything was altered and polluted, that erroneous knowledge would eventually warp her.
Next came Farsale, the "Last Lion King"... As king of Lugunica, he had long since received a punishment tailored specifically for him by Pandora, the Witch of Vainglory-a curse that would destroy his descendants.
This was an evil act that would destroy a nation, and it also denied any possibility of providing Flugel with future assistance.
Then came Reid, the Sword Saint.
Of course, Pandora knew that directly confronting a powerful warrior who had attained the Heavenly Sword was inadvisable. But since the strong yearned to pursue power, this could also serve as praise for a powerful warrior's efforts to preserve the world's peace and love-
Then, in the world's name, let me grant you a powerful Divine Protection to be passed down through the generations, esteemed Sword Saint.
In the name of your glory-
The Divine Protection of the Sword Saint.
But as a powerful warrior, naturally you must become a guardian of the world. The strongest among your descendants will uphold the clause of "absolute loyalty" and contribute to this world. How magnificent and glorious!
And as the world's loyal warriors, naturally you must provide your master with a safe, suitable bedchamber in which to rest and recuperate. After all, what contributions your master has made to maintaining this world's love!
As for Hoshin of the "Wastes," he was merely an ordinary middle-aged man afraid of loneliness. This loving world grants you a pardon. Go to another lonely world that needs you and keep someone company. Give some care to that girl named Pandaemonium...
Such were the judgments Pandora passed upon them on the world's behalf. How righteous! How loving!
She often congratulated herself like this, utterly failing to notice what she had overlooked-Vigel, the Star Eyes, had already vanished without a trace.
And that pawn had returned to the board in another form.
He did not even remember who he was, yet he was still instinctively heading toward the center of her carefully arranged game. With every step, he dismantled the walls she had spent four hundred years building.
"No... I'm too sleepy."
She stopped walking, her dark blue eyes beginning to lose focus, like a bowstring that had suddenly lost its tension after being drawn taut for too long,
"I'll settle this with you once I've rested. Just you wait, Flugel. I'll show you who this world's true, eternal favorite really is..."
Her voice gradually faded, like light sinking into deep water. Her body slowly grew transparent, as though being reclaimed by this space of consciousness.
She could not accept it-before her consciousness sank completely into darkness, the last things she saw were the images playing across the Sky Curtain: Flugel standing inside that tower, surrounded by people.
She saw Shaula smile at him. That kind of smile was what Pandora hated most. It was something that had not faded even after four hundred years, something she had long since judged "should disappear."
Her platinum hair flickered one final time, like a candle flame's last struggle before going out, and then the entire space fell silent. That silence was not peaceful. It was more like a bowstring being drawn taut, waiting for the moment the fingers would release it.
And at that very moment, another story was slowly unfolding upon the Sky Curtain.
Sky Curtain
["Whoa! Scary! It's so high! There aren't any handrails. Walking here is nerve-racking!"
"Wait, you can't do that, Subaru! It's dangerous to go near the edge!"
As Beatrice frantically tried to stop him, Subaru looked down from the edge of the spiral staircase. Joseph and the dragon carriage waiting on the tower's lowest floor looked as small as beans. They were only halfway up the staircase spiraling clockwise along the tower's interior, yet the height was already terrifying.
"It's probably a few dozen meters from downstairs to upstairs... but with this ridiculously huge spiral staircase, our legs have to cover a few thousand meters. That's inconvenient. What was this tower's architect thinking?"
"From what we heard earlier, Mr. Flugel built it, didn't he? He lived four hundred years ago, after all. Maybe his thinking was very different from ours."
"Even a generation gap should have limits. And speaking of which..."
Holding Beatrice's hand, Subaru answered Emilia, who was walking behind them, then looked farther back toward the very end of their party. There were-
"Come on, naked lady, could you stop bouncing so much?"
"Heeey, you're awfully high-and-mighty for someone riding on another person's back."
"Walking up and down hundreds of stairs is exhausting, you know."
"I'm telling you, squeaking away on my back tickles... Ah! Don't pull my hair!"
With that, Shaula pouted at Meili on her back. Yet there was no sense of hostility in their exchange. The two got along surprisingly well.
-The party was currently climbing the spiral staircase from the lowest floor. Julius and Anastasia led the way, followed by Ram, Subaru and Beatrice, Emilia, and finally the aforementioned Meili-Shaula pair. That pairing at the rear had come about because Meili had thrown a tantrum, too tired to climb the stairs, and Shaula had volunteered to carry her. However-
"Apparently she doesn't just like every child..."
"You too, Subaru. If you get tired, just say so. If it comes to it, I can carry you too."
"It won't come to that. I'm a guy."
Emilia's offer was tempting, but as a man, Subaru firmly declined. Rather than suffer such a blow to his masculine dignity, he would sooner owe Julius a favor. In any case-
"Oh? What's wrong, Master? Looking at me so passionately... Have you finally noticed my charms after four hundred years?!"
"That took way too long! Oh, sorry to interrupt while you're playing with Meili using your ponytail..."
"It's not a ponytail. It's a scorpion tail."
"Huh?"
"A scorpion tail."
"Oh. Okay, okay. Anyway..."
"Scorpion tail..."
"I said I got it! Why are you so hung up on that?! Scorpion tail this, scorpion tail that! Scorpion tail, scorpion tail, scorp tail... I can't shorten it!"
Since she emphasized it so strongly, Subaru respected her wishes while continuing with the matter at hand. Naturally, the subject was the name that had come up in his conversation with Emilia-
"We talked about this downstairs, but is your master really Flugel?"
"Of course. It's your own name, and you keep asking about it. Give it a rest, Master... Ah! Are you deliberately making me say it over and over to get my attention?"
Her eyes sparkling, Shaula fidgeted coyly and stole glances at Subaru.
"You don't have to do that. My heart has always belonged to you, Master. All my devotion is for you. Here, take it!"
"Ptooey!"
"Why did you throw it away?!"
Shaula gestured as though tossing him her affection, and Subaru threw it straight down the stairwell before clearing his throat. If he kept letting Shaula dictate the pace, this conversation would never end.
"Anyway, Mr. Flugel was the person who planted Flugel's Great Tree, right?"
"What's that? Does 'great tree' mean a really big tree?"
While Shaula mourned her discarded affection, Meili asked from her back. Subaru nodded.
"There's a tree on the Lifaus Highway that towers into the clouds. It's called Flugel's Great Tree. Looking at it gets my boyish heart racing."
"Heh, really? If it's that tall, I'd like to see it too."
"Sorry. I chopped it down."
"You're so mean, big brother!"
Having immediately cut down Meili's wish and been branded a villain for it, Subaru smiled wryly.
-Flugel's Great Tree. About a year earlier, that tree had become their trump card in the White Whale subjugation battle Subaru had participated in. Fighting the White Whale, one of the three great mabeasts, they had felled the tree to deliver a fatal blow to the enormous beast. The cloud-piercing tree pinned the mabeast of "mist" beneath it, preventing it from moving. In the end, the Sword Demon, who had spent fourteen years pursuing that mabeast, personally finished it off.
"I never expected to hear the name of Mr. Flugel, who planted that tree, again here... Come to think of it, I did hear he was called a Sage."
"But a Sage nobody knows the deeds of... Being called a Sage for planting a tree sounds pretty funny."
"Judging by his achievements alone, it is true that they fall short of the title of Sage. Perhaps he was skilled at publicizing his accomplishments... Like you."
"When have I ever exaggerated my accomplishments?!"
The unexpected assessment left Subaru rather displeased. Ram, who had delivered it, remained perfectly cool. Listening up ahead, Anastasia nodded in agreement. With Julius holding her hand, she turned around.
"From the sound of things, it's probably that. Miss Shaula's and Mr. Flugel's accomplishments got reversed for later generations... Or, more precisely, passed off?"
"You mean Mr. Flugel spread word that Shaula had done the things he did?"
Emilia's eyes widened in surprise at Anastasia's theory. Anastasia nodded and looked at Shaula again.
"That's my guess, anyway. Is your master the sort of person who'd do something like that?"
"Hmm, honestly, I don't understand what Master's thinking most of the time. But Master doesn't like standing out, so dumping troublesome rumors and gossip on me and running away himself sounds exactly like something he'd do."
It was speculation on both sides, but Shaula endorsed Anastasia's theory. Hearing it, however, left Subaru thoroughly puzzled.
"If he really wanted to hide it, how did he still end up being remembered as a Sage?"
"Let me think. A book I read before said... Mr. Flugel's name spread because he carved 'Flugel was here' into the great tree."
"What kind of anecdote is that?! Was he a student on a graduation trip?!"
Forget hiding himself-that was an outright explosion of self-expression. Subaru could not help shouting.
"Sure, Rem stopped me when I tried to do something similar... If he actually did it, then Mr. Flugel was a complete idiot too."
"His name took on a life of its own, and Flugel the Sage became a mysterious great man celebrated throughout the world. Yet after all this time, only today have we heard from another Sage that he truly was a great man... Hmm. Being present as a gap in history is filled is rather exciting."
"Don't start talking like a history nerd..."
Learning the inside story of history from centuries ago moved Julius deeply. Julius, whose knowledge of magic ran deep and who became quite talkative when explaining it, might actually have been a knowledge nerd.
"I've heard plenty of scholars are oddballs. Maybe this guy has scholarly tendencies too..."
"Sorry to interrupt your thoughts, but please watch your step.-We've reached the next floor."
"Oh?"
Looking up at the warning, Subaru found the end of the spiral staircase right before him. Julius and Anastasia reached the floor first, and Subaru and the others followed. Before them was another open space, different from the floor below. The first thing that caught his eye was-
"Whoa, that's one huge door..."
Subaru could not help exclaiming at the enormous door towering before him, over ten meters in both width and height. It was made of a mysterious material that looked like stone, perhaps the same as the tower's walls.
"This is the proper entrance to the tower, I suppose. It is unnecessarily large, but it did open and close properly when Betty and the others came in."
"I see, so you came in through here... Hmm, wait?"
Hearing that everyone had entered the Watchtower through this door, Subaru sensed something amiss. In the spacious area around them, there was no route downstairs other than the spiral staircase.
"In that case, how did Joseph and the dragon carriage get to the lowest floor? The stairs aren't wide enough for the carriage..."
"Oh, Shaula carried the dragon carriage and the ground dragon. She just hoisted them up and took them downstairs."
"...Pardon?"
He thought he must have misheard, but Emilia, who answered with a cute gesture, remained perfectly composed. None of the others showed any intention of correcting her either. Seeing this, Shaula proudly thrust out her ample chest and snorted.
"She's right. I carried them. Oh, something like that was a piece of cake."
"I'm more inclined to keep my distance than thank you. Even Reinhard couldn't do that, could he?"
In Subaru's mind, Reinhard was undoubtedly the person furthest removed from the bounds of humanity, but even he could not casually carry a dragon carriage. He could cleave the world with sword pressure, walk on water, and even come back from the dead once, but to display monstrous strength like that-
"Actually, could he do it? Now I'm a little worried. Does that guy even count as human?"
Setting aside his thoughts about his friend, he now understood why the dragon carriage was on the lowest floor. So opening and closing the enormous door before them relied on Shaula's monstrous strength-in other words, manual labor.
"At least, when I pushed the door, it did not move an inch. That was also why, after we became separated and entered the tower, we could no longer go looking for you and Lady Anastasia."
"I see. It's as heavy as it looks. In that respect, it's just like the ruins of an ancient civilization. I can't help getting excited..."
Subaru did not dislike buildings brimming with this kind of fantasy atmosphere, but unfortunately, there was no time now to stop and admire them. While looking at the door, he began to feel a faint grittiness on his tongue. Perhaps because it led outside. Looking closely, he saw yellow sand swirling nearby.
"The sandy wind's strong, but sand still rides it inside, so we'd better be careful. Underestimating the sand here for even a moment won't do your health any favors."
"Because the dunes' sand contains miasma. Only a trace, but it would be wise not to underestimate it."
"Yeah, I agree. But-"
Agreeing with Anastasia and Julius, Subaru nodded and looked up. They had finally reached this floor after climbing a long staircase from the lowest level, yet the Pleiades Watchtower's towering walls continued upward. At the very least, the spiral staircase still extended another floor higher.
"Just seeing more stairs makes me tired... but it's finally starting to feel real."
"Feel real?"
"Yeah.-That we're here at our destination, the Pleiades Watchtower."
Subaru spoke quietly, and all his companions, starting with Emilia beside him, nodded. Yes, that was exactly it. Though they had reached their destination, they had yet to find the means of help everyone was waiting for Subaru and the others to bring back. Still, they had certainly cleared the first hurdle. They had indeed reached a place no one before them had reached, the Pleiades Watchtower at the far end of the Augria Sand Dunes.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Allow me to correct you, Master."
But Shaula raised a finger and wagged it, telling Subaru not to get sentimental just yet. Subaru turned to look at her and found a mischievous grin on her face.
"At that level of understanding, I can only give you ninety-nine points."
"That's practically a perfect score!"
"You're missing the important part! Besides, your score is only that high because my love for Master inflated it!"
Shaula slapped her forehead, reflecting on how lenient her grading had been. Still carrying Meili on her back, she walked ahead of everyone, then spun around theatrically. Spreading both hands with her back to the enormous doors, she said:
"The so-called Pleiades Watchtower is only a temporary name, and its duties are only temporary too. Now that Master is back, this place will return to its original purpose."
"Its original purpose...?"
"Yes.-A great library where you can find anything you want to know, anything you want to discover."
"-!"
Shaula's explanation left Subaru deeply shaken. Why? Because that was the answer they-no, that Subaru had desperately wanted. Only omniscience could save the ignorant. They had come here to gain that omniscience. And the answer to omniscience was called-
"-The Pleiades Great Library gives Master a very, very, very, veeeery warm welcome home!"]
"..." In the hall, someone softly repeated that name. "Flugel."
On the Sky Curtain, Subaru's gaze passed over the crowd toward the rear of the group, as though trying to recover some long-forgotten memory from those endless stairs and ancient names.
Meanwhile, in the hall outside the Sky Curtain, everyone's eyes returned to Ubilk. He nodded gently, his fingers brushing the patterns on the old star chart, as though confirming in this way that the history he was watching had truly happened.
In the firelight, those patterns shimmered with a fine silver-blue sheen, as though answering some summons from four hundred years ago.
"Those are the stairs leading to the trials inside the tower."
Otto rested his chin on his hand, his voice carrying that peculiarly analytical focus of his.
"In other words, Miss Shaula wants to guide them to where the answers are. She just wants Mr. Subaru to reach it himself rather than take him there directly."
"But that assumes the beautiful girl is willing to give them answers."
Medium quietly picked up the conversation, as though talking to himself. As an Imperial citizen with no connection whatsoever to Emilia's camp, he had neither a direct position nor a motive to judge what everyone had experienced at the Sage's Tower.
But when he had just seen that beautiful, lively, enthusiastic girl Shaula, his admiration and excitement had still made him unable to resist thinking about and commenting on what appeared on the Sky Curtain.
With his intelligence and ingenuity, Medium had indeed offered some key insights, even as an "uninvolved party."
He paused, then continued as though explaining to Otto.
"The tower's real function isn't to shut people out, but to test whether visitors deserve entry. Besides, a trial like this must have rules of its own-and by the look of it, only that girl knows them."
"You really are resourceful, Mr. Medium. Knowing the tower's rules certainly could decide whether someone lives or dies."
Otto replied with that particular caution that only surfaced when he was thinking.
"Although Shaula has acknowledged Natsuki Subaru's identity, even Subaru himself couldn't acknowledge that he was the 'Sage' Flugel at the time... So I'm worried Shaula might conceal some of the trial's rules. If so, Lady Emilia and Lady Anastasia... everyone must have had a very difficult time conquering the tower."
He remembered the details Emilia had described on their journey-Natsuki Subaru's memory loss, the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony's attack on the tower, and the challenges and trials involving the Sword Saint Reid and the Divine Dragon Volcanica. Of course, outwitting and battling the Divine Dragon Volcanica to successfully pass the trial-that had indeed been Lady Emilia's achievement.
But judging solely from the circumstances shown on the Sky Curtain, if Natsuki Subaru really did lose his memories afterward, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
After all, how immense a burden did the hero Natsuki Subaru already bear as he saved everyone through repeated Returns by Death? Not only did he have to experience death himself, he also had to witness the horrific fates of everyone he treasured.
Otto could not imagine it, nor could he allow himself to-perhaps no one but Subaru himself knew the pain involved.
He knew perfectly well that even before Subaru disappeared, everyone at the mansion had already been unconsciously relying on him, relying on his unerringly precise, almost prophetic intuition, relying on his innate compassion and gentleness.
They had long since come to see him as irreplaceable. That was why, after the black mist swallowed Natsuki Subaru and he disappeared, they had hurried to the Empire without stopping.
"Lord Subaru must also have contributed more than anyone else to everyone's conquest of the Sage's Tower."
Otto spoke softly, as though confirming something to himself.
Like Otto, all the people in the hall could do was believe in their companion, Natsuki Subaru-and not merely because of his identity as the "Sage" Flugel.
The Sky Curtain continued to unfold.
[-The door to the room at their destination was covered in green vines.
"This is..."
Faced with the strange door, Subaru could not help voicing his surprise. This was the first proper plant life he had seen since entering the Augria Sand Dunes. The miasma-laden sandstorms threatened plant growth, so throughout that vast sea of sand, he had seen nothing that could be called nature apart from the sand itself.
"The only exceptions were those disgusting witchbeasts disguised as flowers..."
The Courtesan Bears, which normally inhabited forests, had created an unnatural sea of flowers amid the sands. They could be counted among the few natural things of a different color he had seen these past few days. Though they were so bizarre that their mimicry had failed to serve any purpose-
" "
While Subaru stood lost in thought, a figure slipped past him and touched the vine-covered door without hesitation. Immediately, the door behind the vines slid smoothly open.
"Aren't you coming, Subaru?"
"...I'm coming too."
Ram, who had opened the door, asked tentatively, and Subaru kicked his unease aside and moved forward.
Following the slender figure ahead, he openly stepped past the vines into the room. As he could have guessed from outside, the vines coiling around the door had indeed invaded the interior as well. What had once been an ordinary stone room was now conquered by greenery everywhere he looked-the ceiling, floor, and walls. It felt like some hidden ruin abandoned for hundreds of years.
"This is one serious jungle. I think Shaula called it the 'green room'..."
Subaru thought the name could not have been more fitting. Then he casually looked back and jumped.-The entrance had been sealed by vines.
"Wha-!? Hey, Ram! We're locked in!?"
"Stop making a fuss.-This room seems to limit the number of people allowed inside. It's a rule set by its owner."
"Who owns the room?"
"-A spirit."
After that brief answer to the wary Subaru, Ram briskly headed deeper into the room. Subaru gave the closed door a single glance, then immediately scratched his head and hurried after her.
Stepping over and passing through the endless vines stretching across the room, he advanced through the greenery-dominated space. Then, when he reached the area at the back-
"Rem... and Patrasche."
At the deepest part of the green room was a space with an atmosphere entirely different from the tangled path leading there. Lush grasses grew thickly, overlapping to form a bed dotted with flowers. Rem lay on that bed, decorated with green grass and tiny blossoms.
" "
Her pale, pink-tinged cheeks remained rosy, and her sleeping face had not changed at all. Her chest rose and fell with faint breaths; aside from her body heat, that was the only proof she was still alive.
The sight of her afflicted with "Sleeping Beauty" symptoms nevertheless brought him such relief that his knees almost buckled.]
"...Subaru and Rem both went inside."
Emilia's voice came from outside the image, carrying a trace of worry that showed despite her efforts to suppress it.
"The spirit in that room has no consciousness. It only heals the injuries and illnesses of those who enter. But-"
"But that doesn't work on Miss Rem."
Petra finished the sentence for her. Her fingers clenched around her skirt, and her breathing grew a little shallower, because she knew Subaru hoped to find a way to cure Rem here.
She hoped Subaru's wish would not come to nothing.
She watched Subaru slowly approach the figure surrounded by grass and flowers on the Sky Curtain. His steps were slower than usual, as though each one was confirming that the figure lying in the bed was indeed still breathing.
"Rem is sleeping so peacefully."
Petra said softly, "It's a shame I don't have any memories of her, but I've seen her portrait. She really is beautiful."
"She's still beautiful now."
Ram's voice came from beside her, her tone flat, as though correcting an insignificant fact. But her grip on the handle tightened a little, as though afraid others might fail to notice that something else lay hidden beneath that flatness.
She watched the figure lying in the flower bed on the Sky Curtain, her gaze lingering a moment longer than usual before she looked away again.
In the hall, Emilia tilted her head slightly, as though feeling glad for Subaru.
She did not know how many more attempts bordering on despair Subaru would have to endure after entering that tower-as long as Rem was safe, he would still have the strength to keep moving forward.
And she herself seemed able to draw a little courage from that distance as well.
"That girl named Rem..."
Seeing the symptoms of "Sleeping Beauty," Heinkel could not help becoming a little distracted.
His voice sounded as though it had been squeezed through his nose, carrying the weight of a certain resonance he himself was reluctant to acknowledge.
But as he spoke, his eyes never left the Sky Curtain, and his hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. His wife, too, slept in a similar, endlessly prolonged bed, waiting somewhere he was unwilling to touch.
He could not say that aloud, so he could only hide those feelings in a few brief words, as though hiding a match that had not yet gone out.
What he regretted, however, was that the girl had been able to wake up-surely because of that hero from Emilia's camp, which opposed Lady Priscilla. His identity was even that of the "Sage" Flugel from four hundred years ago.
Yet he himself could do nothing for his sleeping wife... Even though he now knew the girl named Rem had been affected by the Authority of Gluttony, he still did not know why his wife Louanna slept.
"Even if it were Gluttony..."
He lowered his voice almost to a whisper, as though talking to himself.
"Then even if it meant dying, as long as I could find the culprit and drag them back to the royal capital, there would still be hope. So why can't I find a cause, why can't I find an enemy!"
He was disappointed in his own incompetence-unable to find a solution, powerless, beyond saving.
He had already been ready to stop watching the Sky Curtain and had turned to stagger toward a corner, wanting to numb himself with alcohol again.
But just then, he remembered the incredible legend that Stargazer Ubilk had told.
"Pandora, the Witch of Vainglory... Pandora, the Witch of Vainglory... If she's the one behind everything!"
He stopped abruptly, as though he had suddenly found a rope in the darkness. Since his ancestor, the first Sword Saint Reid, had also belonged to the "Sage" Flugel's world-saving group, wouldn't it be inevitable for the Witch of Vainglory Pandora to target them?
Perhaps that wretched witch had cursed the entire Sword Saint succession and tampered with it!
"Looking at it that way, the reason that brat Reinhard has such low emotional intelligence... Never mind..."
"There's something more important! If Mother Theresia was targeted by that witch too-after all, even Satella became the twisted Witch of Envy because of her, so pinning Mother's death on the White Whale wouldn't be difficult. All those monsters four hundred years ago couldn't completely get rid of that demon, and that... Stargazer even said that bastard has come to this era..."
His words came faster and faster, as though he were grasping an increasingly clear thread.
"If it really was you, then for Mother and my wife alike-I'll find a way to make you repay it a hundredfold!"
The formerly dispirited Heinkel seemed to have seized a lifeline and found a direction, swearing to make the culprit pay.
The Sky Curtain continued playing.
["She really is safe..."
"I told you. Or would Ram lie about Rem?"
"I never said that. I just couldn't relax until I saw her myself, so I couldn't help it... Patrasche, I'm glad you're all right too."
Answering Ram with a faint, wry smile, he approached Patrasche, who sat beside Rem with her legs folded beneath her. Green grass cushioned her body too, and she gazed at Subaru with composure, looking much as she did in the dragon stable.
"Back underground, you pushed yourself again to protect me. Honestly, you."
When Subaru stroked her neck with his palm, Patrasche rubbed the tip of her snout against his chest. That affectionate gesture reassured him, but doubts began creeping in again.
"I know your heroine persona is the type who'd rather protect than be protected, but don't make me worry so much. This time I really thought we were done for... Ow, ow, ow, ow!"
"-Rrr."
When he admonished Patrasche, who had shown such courage underground, she scraped her scales hard against Subaru's neck.
"Wh-why, why, why...?"
"Since Otto isn't here, Ram will translate for him.-'You're the last person who should talk, Barusu.' That's it. Ram agrees."
Folding her arms, Ram offered her uninhibited opinion of the interaction between human and dragon. In fact, judging from Patrasche's eyes, Ram's translation was probably almost entirely correct.
"Damn it, so you can be reckless, but I can't...?"
"It's a matter of survival odds, isn't it? However you look at it, that ground dragon has a better chance of surviving than Barusu. Barusu is practically a candle in the wind."
"A candle burns brightest right before it goes out, you know. You're such a nag."]
On the Sky Curtain, Subaru could not hold his head up under the combined assault from Ram and Patrasche. In the end, he could only defend his actions with the line, "A candle burns brightest right before it goes out." It was a typical "Natsuki Subaru-style" excuse-self-mocking, defiant, and carrying that stubbornness that made him keep digging in even though he knew his reasoning was absurd.
Garfiel could not help laughing at the sight, but his smile soon faded somewhat.
"Captain... He knows he's spoutin' nonsense, but he says it anyway. It's always like this. He makes it sound like he's fine with it, but he still ends up takin' everythin' onto his own shoulders."
"That is because he knows he will not die."
Priscilla's voice suddenly rang out, her tone carrying that particular composure of hers, as though she had already seen every hidden card.
"Or rather, he long ago ceased to care for the way of living that means following the rules to survive. There are two kinds of people in this world. One fears death, and so lives with scrupulous caution; the other does not fear death, and so lives without restraint. But he-he neither fears death nor wishes those he cares about to die. So he can only place himself between every danger and every protection."
Al said nothing, but nodded.
The movement was slight, as though he already knew every discussion would ultimately lead to the same conclusion: Subaru would fight desperately to live for the sake of others' lives, and would also abandon his own chance to live for their sake. That was his choice. All they could choose was whether to stand beside him when he made it, or wait in the distance for him to return covered in wounds.
Watching Subaru's bedraggled yet stubborn figure on the Sky Curtain, he remembered having seen someone similar somewhere-perhaps long ago, perhaps only recently-someone who could clearly have dodged, yet insisted on meeting things head-on. He did not know why those memories came to mind, but he did not pursue them further.
[Under the fierce glares of Ram and his beloved dragon, Subaru hung his head in dejection. Then, while checking Patrasche's condition, he saw that a warm, faint light surrounded the wounds where her scales had been gouged away.
"The spirit's power seems to speed up the healing."
"You said the owner of this room was a spirit... Where's the spirit in question?"
"You're a spirit arts user, yet you don't know? This room is the spirit itself."
At Ram's words, Subaru drew a sharp breath, still stroking Patrasche. Only after her reminder did he notice the dense Mana filling the room-and the tremendous effect it had on the greenery in this green room. It felt like being healed from within, as though he were inside a hyperbaric oxygen chamber.
"I can sort of tell. This really is a spirit... Can he talk?"
"The spirit here is a variant... Though, admittedly, every spirit is unique. Lady Emilia's great spirit and Lady Beatrice too... What's unusual about this spirit is that it seems to have no will of its own. It simply heals the injuries and illnesses of living creatures that enter."
As she spoke, Ram walked over to Rem. As though showing consideration for the older sister caring for her younger sister, the vines stirred behind Ram and twined together to form a green chair. Ram sat down, creating the scene of a family member visiting a hospitalized patient.
"That's seriously impressive."
"At least among the spirits I've met so far, this one is the most gentlemanly. Barusu should learn a little from it. Learn from this spirit's behavior, and that of the knight Julius."
"I have issues with both of those."
Driving both proposed role models out of his mind, Subaru scratched Patrasche's neck and told her to get some proper rest, then had her lower her head and relax.
"I understand this place can heal Patrasche's wounds, but it doesn't work on Rem... Just like you said downstairs?"
"What is neither injury nor illness cannot be healed. That seems to be the spirit's judgment."
"...I see."
Subaru sighed, tasting once again the disappointment he had already experienced downstairs. Still, even though it did not regard her as someone to be treated, the spirit in this room remained considerate toward the sleeping Rem. Its response to Ram earlier could be called proof of that.
"In the end, nothing's changed."
"...If you want to change things, we have to accomplish what we came to this tower for."
"The Pleiades Great Library, huh."
Standing beside Ram and looking down at Rem's sleeping face, Subaru murmured.-The Pleiades Great Library. That was the Pleiades Watchtower's original name and original function. If Shaula's words could be trusted, then the "answers" their group sought were here.
"Get the answers and wake Rem up.-That goal hasn't changed."
"...Is that so? Good, then."
Ram took Rem's hand without even looking at Subaru as he stated his resolve. Though her manner was cold, it meant he could safely leave Rem in her care.
"By the way, Ram gets a grass chair, but I don't? Isn't this blatant sexism?"
"Animals naturally rank others in their minds. Spirits do too."
"Rem once told me the same thing."
Before they had become close, Rem had once assessed Subaru's relationship with the children of Arlam Village that way. Looking back on it now made him nostalgic. It had been a long time since he had shown his face in Arlam Village, too.
"Before reminiscing about the past, there's something to do."
Subaru scattered the rising loneliness with a breath and patted his cheeks.
"All right! ...I'm heading back to everyone. What about you?"
"You wouldn't be able to relax if no one watched over Rem, would you? Ram will take care of that. It's what I came here for in the first place."
"Well, yeah... true. Then I'll leave Rem to you."
"Watching is all I can do, though."
"Just having you watch over her means something."
Ram rarely belittled herself. After reassuring her, Subaru looked back at Rem. Her sleeping face looked neither peaceful nor uncomfortable, and she remained asleep with a dreamlike expression. He reached toward her forehead beneath her bangs and gently stroked it. He was glad he could do that. Yet he knew he wanted more. So Subaru spoke.
"I'll be back soon."
"----"
Of course, there was no response. Ram knew those words weren't meant for her, so she didn't answer tactlessly either. Satisfied with that, Subaru headed toward the door of the "green room."
"I hear you're a gentleman... please take care of Rem and Patrasche."
Before leaving, he touched the vines on the wall and said this to the spirit protecting the room. They couldn't converse, but perhaps his sincerity would get through. His gratitude, too, of course. Even if it was only for his own satisfaction, he conveyed it anyway and prepared to leave-
"Speaking of which, you said staying beside Rem was your duty, so why did you go all the way downstairs?"
"----"
"It's not like you rushed down because you heard I'd woken up, right? If there was a reason, tell me first..."
"Leave. Now."
"Huh? No, I just thought that if something was bothering you, it might be a clue..."
"Get out."
Intimidated by the fierce eruption of demonic aura, Subaru said no more and could only retreat dejectedly from the "green room."
"I can never tell what Ram's thinking, but lately she's been especially hard to read."
"Hmm, I don't think so. Ram may act that way, but she's surprisingly honest. I think it's cute how she tries to hide that honest side."
"It's rare to hear you say something like an older person... though you actually are older than her."
"That's right. I'm the big sister, after all. I'm older than everyone here... well, not quite."
"Heh-heh. Betty is the big sister, in fact. That's an indisputable fact no one can change. You're all welcome to look up to Betty."
That conversation arose after he left the "green room" and rejoined the people waiting for him. Emilia looked disappointed at losing her title as the group's oldest member, while Beatrice proudly puffed out her chest. Honestly, though, neither was acting like a big sister should. Besides, discussing who was the oldest among their current party was a rather delicate subject.
"Hmm? What's the matter, Natsuki? Got something you want to say to me?"
"No. I was just thinking a lot of us don't look our actual ages."
"Really? People often tell me I look younger than I am, too. It's hard to be happy about that, but underestimate me and you could easily come to grief."
Anastasia smiled, her expression blending business and humor, but he couldn't tell what she really thought.
Her childish appearance certainly differed from her actual age, but Subaru wasn't thinking of her superficial exterior. He meant what was inside her-Scarf Dona.
If Scarf Dona shared Beatrice's origins, she was undoubtedly a contender in the oldest-member race.
Besides, it was a rather heavy secret to reveal as a consequence of such a conversation.
"And there's another strong contender here for oldest member."
"Oh? What's wrong, Master? Haha-so you hate the grassy smell of the 'green room'? I get it. I don't like it either. I hate that room."
"Like I'd say that about the spirit looking after Rem and Patrasche. Keep talking nonsense and I'll stuff grass up your nose."
Subaru backed away from Shaula as she leaned close, sniffing loudly, and poked the bridge of her nose.
"Enough of that. Let's talk about the Pleiades Great Library."
"Yes, let's. You barely said anything before, but you can tell us more now, can't you, Shaula?"
"Sure! If Master asks, there's no way I could refuse."
Urged on by Subaru and Emilia, Shaula nodded with a silly grin. Then she tapped the floor with the toe of her shoe and spoke.
"Like I said earlier, this tower's real name is the 'Pleiades Great Library.' The entrance is on the fifth floor, 'Celaeno,' and the sixth floor below the stairs is 'Asterope.' Then this is the fourth floor, 'Alcyone.' Following so far?"
"You even went out of your way to name every floor... I'm keeping up so far."
Subaru nodded at Shaula's explanation and glanced around.
They were currently on the fourth floor-one level above the fifth floor where the main entrance stood, and likewise only accessible by a spiral staircase.
As the "green room" demonstrated, the tower's interior changed significantly from the fourth floor onward. The biggest difference was that the entire floor was no longer visible at a glance.
The spacious circular area was divided into many rooms. The stairs connected to the center of the fourth floor, so checking every room would probably take quite some time.
"The fourth floor, 'Alcyone,' is basically where I live. I've left my stuff lying around everywhere, so I'll get embarrassed if you keep staring."
"----"
"Master's eyes look so serious. Scary. Oh-that must be it! Usually, I watch the dunes from over there. Anyone trying to approach the tower, I shoot them all down, pew-pew!"
"So that light really was you..."
He'd only half believed it before, but with her saying so herself, there was no mistaking it.
The white lights fired from the Pleiades Watchtower, which had killed Subaru twice in the dunes and later split up the party, really had been Shaula's doing.
"That put us through hell. What was it?"
"Hell's Snipe, to keep pests away from the tower."
"...What did you say?"
"Hell's Snipe."
Hearing the English attack name, Subaru's expression stiffened. How should he put it? The name was simple and easy to understand, but tacky.
"Ah, but thank goodness Hell's Snipe didn't hit you, Master. If the Gate of Dimensions hadn't been lifted, my attacks wouldn't have stopped until they hit."
"Wait, wait, that's too many new words! Dimensions?"
"The Gate of Dimensions. A little trick set up to keep people from approaching the tower."
From Shaula's tone, Subaru could tell that this Gate of Dimensions was the mechanism mixed into the "sand wind" that distorted space across the sand sea. Though it had broken in the end-
"But thanks to that, I realized it was you, Master, so all's well that ends well. If I'd hit you, even you would've gotten mad at me, right?"
"Ah, well, hard to say. Would getting mad alone settle it?"
In fact, she'd hit him twice, and of course, he'd died both times.
Rather than anger, he felt more unease. Facing his killer without any anger welling up was an exceedingly rare occurrence.
Shaula bore full responsibility for both incidents, but questioning her would be pointless, so his feelings were closer to resignation.
"But if that hit him, big brother would die too, wouldn't he? Then it wouldn't be a question of whether he got mad."
As Subaru resigned himself and forgave her, Meili poked Shaula's side. Hearing what she said, Shaula laughed heartily.
"Bwahahaha! What are you saying? My master wouldn't die from something like that. He's always been someone you couldn't tell was dead or alive anyway."
"But, but, if a sandworm attacked him hard, he'd definitely die..."
"I don't know about worms or bears or whatever. Anyway, my master doesn't die. That's the important part. If he died, he wouldn't be Master."
Laughing broadly, Shaula gazed happily at Subaru. Her trust was as innocent and complete as a child's.
What she placed in Flugel was probably an ideal beyond anyone else's imagination, built up within her heart until it was unshakable.
If he betrayed that ideal-just thinking about it sent a chill through him.
"...Who knows what she'll do if she finds out Subaru isn't Flugel."
"Correcting her or coming clean to her both sound pretty bad..."
Sensing what Subaru was thinking, Beatrice quietly warned him. In fact, the only reason Shaula was friendly toward the party-no, toward Subaru-was that she had mistaken him for her master. This was a situation that demanded extreme caution.
"If we became enemies, we'd have to count on Emilia and Julius, along with Betty and Subaru, all taking her on together to subdue her."
In other words, Shaula was an explosive that could detonate when a certain fuse was lit, making her extremely dangerous by nature. But-
"When she's welcoming us so openly, it's really hard to dislike her..."
As things stood, it was hard to decide how to treat her. Still, Subaru had no particularly negative feelings toward her. Even counting those two instances of "Return by Death," she had undeniably saved him underground. He didn't feel she was an enemy. Regulus and Petelgeuse had been much easier to identify as enemies.
"...Damn, just remembering those two puts me in a bad mood. Obviously, but the disgust really hits home."
"-? Master, what's wrong?"
"Nothing."
His conversation with Beatrice had brought those loathsome men to mind, and Subaru couldn't help grimacing. Noticing this, Shaula reached out in concern, but Subaru caught her hand and kept her at a distance.
"There's just one thing I want to check. You snipe people heading for the tower because..."
"Because Master ordered me to, of course! For these four hundred years, I've watched the sand sea every single day, living a life so moving and tragic it would wring every last tear out of you...!"
"You poor thing..."
Shaula spoke with overflowing emotion, and the easily sympathetic Emilia couldn't help shedding a tear for her. Setting Emilia's E・M・T behavior aside, Shaula seemed to have no doubts or guilt about her actions. That wasn't because of some emotional deficiency-
"Simply because she was ordered to... there's no point questioning a tool about how it's used."
"Exactly, exactly! I'm Master's tool! Well said, shorty!"
Beatrice's frightening assessment earned Shaula's wholehearted agreement and a beaming smile. Her expressions and moods changed in an instant, and then there was her understanding of her own worth just now-Shaula's values were probably completely unlike those of ordinary people. That was likely why their conversations felt so disjointed.
"There's a lot to question about your values, but we'll talk about that later. We've gotten way off track, so let's get back to the original topic. You were explaining the tower's layout... we've heard about the sixth through fourth floors. What's above them?"
"Starting on the third floor, 'Taygeta,' are the testing grounds. To test whether you have the right to enter the archive."
"...The archive."
At those words, Subaru clenched his fist, expressing that this was just what he wanted. The Pleiades Great Library-if its name wasn't a lie, then of course it would have an archive filled with accumulated knowledge. That was precisely why the party had traveled so far across the sand sea.
"But 'testing grounds' sounds concerning. And the right to enter the archive..."
"-Is currently our greatest challenge and obstacle."
As Subaru fretted over it, Julius closed one eye and shrugged, his tone seeming to reproach his own inadequacy, and looked up at the ceiling. The ceiling-no, the third floor, the testing grounds called "Taygeta."
"I see. So you all tried it while I was asleep. How did it go?"
"I'm sorry to disappoint your expectations, but we've essentially made no progress. With Miss Shaula guiding us, reaching the third floor itself was no problem. However..."
"However?"
"What awaited us there was an inscrutable riddle. We couldn't find any clues to solve it, and two days passed with us at a complete loss."
Julius had always had a habit of being humble, even putting himself down, but judging by the others' expressions, things weren't looking good. It seemed they really hadn't achieved anything.
"But nothing happens even if you take the test and fail. We've gone in several times and been fine afterward... we simply didn't pass."
"I see. A damned hard problem... but a test. A test, huh."
"-? Has something occurred to you?"
Seeing Subaru so concerned about the test, Julius raised an eyebrow and asked. But Subaru's concern wasn't what he was hoping for.
"Nothing, it just brought back some unpleasant memories of getting jerked around by some 'trials' before. The two words are so similar I couldn't help connecting them."
"I know how you feel, Subaru. I was thinking the same thing."
Subaru and Emilia shared that feeling. Of course, they were talking about the tomb's "trials" in the "Sanctuary." Setting up challenges to test challengers was precisely the kind of system that nasty witch liked. With that thought, Subaru suddenly found Anastasia-or rather, Scarf Dona-suspicious.
"What? Something wrong with me?"
"...I was thinking even the knowledgeable Miss Anastasia couldn't solve it. After all, you've accumulated four hundred years of Kararagi's knowledge."
"Sorry about that. I don't know a thing outside of buying and selling. That's why I'm counting on you, Natsuki."
"Counting on me?"
She breezily dodged the doubts he couldn't state openly and tossed the conversation back to him. As Subaru stared in surprise, Anastasia nodded and glanced at Shaula.
"Exactly. That girl seems awfully attached to you, Natsuki. If you come along, maybe she'll let something about the test slip?"
"...Reaping the rewards without doing the work, huh. Is the question that hard?"
"Rather than hard, we haven't got a single clue. It'll be quicker to see it than explain."
He supposed the test question really must be difficult. Still, he was more accustomed to looking for unorthodox shortcuts than tackling things head-on, though that was hardly a good tendency.
"Got it. Let's look at the test first, then. If there's no penalty for failing, there's no point standing around hesitating."
"Yes, exactly. Like Lady Anastasia, I have high hopes for you."
With Julius, who had said this, leading the way, everyone, Subaru included, decided to take another shot at the test. Having their hopes placed on him was embarrassing, but this was a problem Emilia and the others hadn't found a way through after two days of trying. It was right in front of him, so he had to do whatever he could-
"Hey, Shaula. Can I have a word?"
"-? Subaru?"
On the stairs to the third floor, Subaru called Shaula over, puzzling Beatrice. The three of them were at the very back of the group, their voices lowered so their companions couldn't hear. At his call, Shaula swung her scorpion tail and smiled without a trace of wariness. "What is it, what is it?"
"Will you do anything I tell you?"
"Nothing too dirty, okay?"
"Don't establish that right off the bat. Are you trying to ruin my bit?"
"You're the one who specializes in ruining bits, Master. We're even."
Shaula pouted, and Subaru scratched his head, thrown off his rhythm. Most people had their rhythm disrupted when talking to Subaru, and his method was to take that opportunity to find an opening, but it didn't work on Shaula.
"Fine, I'll just get straight to the point. Shaula, I have a favor to ask."
"W-what is it? You're so serious. Master, don't tell me you want me to..."
"-Please don't harm me or my companions."
"----"
"Your master's order was to attack people approaching the tower... right? Those of us already inside the tower should be excluded. So there's no need to attack us. You mustn't hurt us. Absolutely not."
Shaula narrowed her eyes as Subaru repeated his warning. Looking at her eyes up close, he finally noticed how unusual her pupils were.
There were several tiny points of red light within her beautiful green irises, a truly peculiar sight.
Their color was so deep he couldn't help being drawn in, and Subaru even forgot to breathe-
"Yep, okay. I've memorized Master's new order perfectly."
"...Is that all right?"
"It's not a question of all right or not. Master said it. Nonviolent disobedience."]
In the hall, Al's shoulders shifted slightly, as though his breathing had caught for a moment, before settling again.
"-Nonviolent disobedience."
He repeated those words softly,
"Bro... even in a situation like that, you were trying to avoid conflict."
"That's because he didn't want to turn trust into a weapon."
Otto's voice carried a steadier calm, as though he had weathered a great deal along the way,
"Shaula was willing to keep that promise because she truly believed Subaru was her master. If he used that to hurt her, Subaru wouldn't be Subaru anymore."
"That's Master Subaru for you!"
Petra's eyes lit up for a moment, then dimmed again.
"But back then, even Lord Subaru didn't know his own identity as Flugel the 'Sage,' did he? She waited four hundred years, just like Lady Beatrice... But in that case, even though Subaru and everyone would leave again after finishing the trials..."
"-So she was pretending."
Priscilla's languid voice picked up the thread, as though something had caught her interest.
"But what she wanted wasn't to return to the past. She had waited until Subaru came. Even if he wasn't really Flugel, she was willing to believe he was-because that was the only thing she could hold on to, the reason she could keep staying there. After finally meeting again, of course she wouldn't want to part."
The hall fell silent for a moment. Then Vincent's voice came from behind his demon mask:
"-So that woman named Shaula never took a single step outside that tower in four hundred years?"
"It was to keep a promise."
Ubilk said, "She turned her life into a statue of a gatekeeper."
["Isn't doing what you're ordered to do obedience?"
"You can do whatever you want with my body, but don't think you can control my heart too!"
Shaula wore a perfectly serious expression, and Subaru flicked her forehead to make her back away. "Oww~" Once she had moved away, her eyes brimming with tears, Subaru sighed. He didn't know how much good his request would do, but at least he had repeatedly impressed it upon her first.
"Now all I can do is trust that as long as I don't betray her expectations, she'll keep her promise."
"You don't need to worry about that. You defy predictions, Subaru, but you never betray expectations."
"Thanks for thinking so highly of me, but in this situation, I don't know what I should be working at..."
What Subaru couldn't betray were Shaula's expectations of Flugel. But he had no idea how to play someone he didn't know. All he could think of was to start by being the usual Natsuki Subaru.
"Oh, right, Shaula. I have one last question."
"What is it~?"
Shaula answered with a lazy expression and a silly grin. Subaru closed one eye and casually raised both hands. Then he held up six fingers.
"Maia, Electra, Taygeta, Alcyone, Celaeno, Asterope."
Beatrice looked bewildered, not understanding what Subaru was saying. Subaru smiled at her, then spoke to Shaula without lowering his fingers:
"This Pleiades Watchtower... The floor names in what was originally the Pleiades Great Library, from top to bottom... Did I get them right?"
"Exactly right~. The first floor is 'Maia,' and the second is 'Electra.'"
"Just as I thought. Then..."
Seeing Shaula nod, he added another finger to the six he already held up. After making sure both she and Beatrice had seen the seventh raised finger, Subaru asked.
"Then where's Merope?"
"--"
Shaula fell silent again at Subaru's question. But unlike her earlier thoughtful silence, this was the stunned silence of someone caught off guard. Seeing her draw a slight, sharp breath, Subaru knew he had touched on the heart of the matter.
"I don't understand. Subaru, what's Merope?"
"The name of the last of the seven sisters. Since this is Pleiades, it would be strange not to have all seven."
Floors one through six all had names, and they were arranged in order of age. But those names came from the seven sisters-the seven sisters of the Pleiades, one of the star stories Subaru knew well. In that case, there should be another hidden floor named after the youngest sister.
"The seventh floor, or floor zero? Either way, there should be one."
"Floor zero. You named it, Master, so of course you'd know... But that place was only finished after you were gone, so you shouldn't know where it is."
Shaula confirmed Subaru's guess, greatly startling Beatrice. But Subaru felt no sense of accomplishment at uncovering something hidden. What he felt was more a sense of understanding.
"Floor zero is above the first floor... No, you never said the sixth floor was the lowest. In that case, it's not above us, it's underground..."
"-That's not allowed."
Shaula swiftly cut him off as he tried to confirm its location. Her forceful tone startled Subaru, but her expression hadn't changed. She still wore a smile and a trusting gaze. Only a slight loneliness showed at the corners of her eyes.
"The conditions haven't been met yet. I'm happy enough that you stopped by to see me on your way, Master. So floor zero is off-limits."
Her tone was the same as before, but in its place he could sense an inexplicably unyielding barrier. To Subaru's ears, it sounded dangerous enough to threaten the verbal promise they had just made.
"-. I understand. I won't ask any more. Make sure you keep the promise we just made."
"I know~. I'll keep it~. I'll keep it nice and tight~."
At once, Shaula beamed, so happy and animated that she seemed to have forgotten their exchange just now. Listening to the lively voice behind him, Subaru let out a deep breath.
"Subaru, you can tell me anytime if you're tired."
"Yeah, I'm fine. There's just a lot to think about."
Beatrice spoke with concern, and Subaru gave her a faint smile, gently stroking her head. Beatrice said nothing more, but this was also a ritual Subaru performed to calm himself.
The conversation with Shaula, and the peculiarities of Flugel that emerged from the information he had gathered so far. It was nothing much. He was just like Subaru. Subaru, Al, Hoshin, and Flugel.
-People who possessed knowledge that should not have existed in this world, and passed it down to later generations.
There was only one answer, beyond any doubt.
-Flugel, too, was a foreigner from the same homeland as Subaru.
"Hundreds of years ago, huh."
His thoughts racing toward that distant age, Subaru roughly scratched his head. What had Flugel thought about in this other world, what had he considered, what had he sought, and what had he hoped for? After abandoning the title of "Sage," how had he lived in this world? Subaru couldn't help thinking about those questions. Then someone called to him from the side-
"Master."
"Hm?"
Shaula called out to Subaru without reserve. Since she had stopped walking, Subaru stopped as well, then turned around and found himself face-to-face with her smile. It was a bashful smile, her expression truly happy, almost tender.
"Let me say it again. Welcome back, Master.-I, Shaula, have long awaited the return of Flugel the 'wise man' with all my heart."]
For that moment, no one in the hall spoke. Those final words, carrying the weight of four hundred years of waiting, seemed to sink into deep water, each person absorbing their ripples where they stood.
Then Garfiel slammed a fist into the wall, the sound especially clear in the silence. "She knew everything."
"She chose to believe in the boss, even if he didn't even know who he was."
"...Because she didn't want to lose him a second time."
Petra spoke softly, her voice so quiet it was as though she feared disturbing something.
"She didn't want to be left behind again. So as long as Lord Subaru was willing to come back, even if he remembered nothing, she would pretend everything was still all right."
Someone in the hall drew a quiet breath. It was as though the edge of a wound that was still growing had been touched in that very instant.
"...So that was it."
Vincent's voice came from behind his mask, but it wasn't as sharp as before-instead, it carried something even he was reluctant to acknowledge, a sense of finally seeing one layer of the chessboard clearly.
"Flugel-that man who called himself a Sage-planted a tree, built a tower, and left behind a gatekeeper."
"And then he left."
Otto picked up the sentence, his voice carrying a quiet certainty, as though he were putting the final chess piece in its proper place.
"But he never told her when he would return."
"So he left behind a wait that would never end. Someone who knew she wouldn't be remembered, yet still chose to remain where she was."
Vincent's voice grew lower.
The Sky Curtain slowly darkened. But in that final image, Shaula's smile was like a door being closed-she knew no one would ever come through from the other side again, yet still chose to leave it there.
And this time, the people outside the door finally saw it.