Sky Curtain
[-After accepting Shaula's reserved welcome, Subaru was filled with mixed feelings. He had no intention of deceiving her.
But Shaula was overjoyed at their reunion after four hundred years, and Subaru was a different person from Flugel, who was supposed to have returned. If this was not betrayal, what else could it be called?
"I understand how you feel, but you don't need to worry too much, Subaru. Even if Shaula discovers you aren't her master, it won't turn into anything serious."
Noticing Subaru's troubled expression, Emilia spoke. She touched her braided hair and smiled confidently at the dispirited Subaru.
"Your assurance makes me happy, Emilia-tan... but what makes you say that?"
"After all, Shaula is a good girl. She saved us and you, and she's gotten along with all of us. In that case, there's no need to fight, is there?"
"...True."
That was a very optimistic opinion, but being overly pessimistic could also be called a bad habit. Even if Shaula learned the truth, that did not necessarily mean she would immediately become their enemy. Ideally, the truth coming to light would not affect her feelings, and they could maintain a good relationship.
"-Big brother? We're here, you know?"
Following the others while thinking about these things, Subaru was suddenly stopped by Meili's voice. They had brought him to a room diagonally opposite the "green room." Behind a plain door with no vines wrapped around it, the room contained stairs leading upstairs.
"Ordinary stairs, huh? Is the age of spiral staircases over?"
"The staircase we took up from below was certainly long, but the stairs connecting the fourth and third floors are still of a reasonable height. However, unlike the spiral staircase, which merely requires you to climb..."
"Unless we complete the trial, we haven't really gone up, right?"
Hearing Julius's explanation, Subaru summed it up. At the top of the stairs lay the trial they had attempted and failed several times. Rather than explaining its details verbally, seeing it would make things clearer. There was no penalty for failure, either. Since they all said so-
"No choice, then. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. -Let's go."
"Yes, that's the spirit."
"That's the spirit, I suppose."
"That's the spirit."
With Emilia, Beatrice, and Shaula each offering encouragement, Subaru took the lead up the stairs. Every step strengthened his resolve. Just like that, he easily entered the third floor, "Taygeta," without encountering any obstacles.
"This place is..."
The moment he entered, he sensed something wrong. Was it a collection of incongruities, or a space containing nothing but incongruity?
-A snow-white place. It should have been cylindrical, like the other floors, but what greeted Subaru at the top of the stairs was a strange space that was snow-white in every direction.
It should have been about as spacious as the previous floors, but in that excessively white space, he could see neither walls nor any sort of boundary. Looking up, he could not locate the ceiling. Looking down, only the staircase formed a black opening, while the rest of the floor was so white that he hesitated to walk on it. Unable to recognize the ground as ground, he had the illusion that he would fall if he stepped onto it.
The ceiling was the same-if they lost sight of the stairs leading down, they might well end up stranded on this floor.
That was the feeling Subaru had.
However, within that white space-directly ahead of the stairs-a strange object floated.
"Is that... a stone tablet?"
Seeing it, Subaru could not help saying that. It truly was an object he could describe in no other way.
A rectangular black slab with an extremely smooth texture.
Since it was not made of stone, he should not have called it a stone tablet, but it was not metal, either, so he did not know what to call it. If he had to give it a name, "monolith" would do.
The silent monolith possessed a strange buoyancy, floating several dozen centimeters above the ground.
For an approximate comparison of its length and width, it was about the size of a tatami mat.
"What is this incomprehensible thing?"
"If I had to say, a device that presents a riddle."
"Then what's the all-important riddle?"
"Touch that slab, and the trial will begin."
"So I just have to touch the monolith?"
"-Monolith, is it? How curious. It feels both familiar and appropriate. Let us call it that from now on."
Ignoring Julius, who had found resonance in a peculiar detail, Subaru stood before the monolith.
Even up close, it did not feel threatening. Aside from floating, it was just a slab.
Its floating in midair was the strangest part. This must have been what people called an unidentified object.
"All right, I'm touching it. Should we count down?"
"Oh, I want to do the countdown. Three, two, one..."
"Too fast, too fast!"
The moment Subaru spoke, Emilia raised her hand and immediately began counting down.
Subaru hurriedly turned back toward the monolith. Then-
"Zero-!"
In time with the countdown, he touched the monolith. The next second, light shone from inside it, and Subaru's vision wavered.
-No, it had not wavered. The monolith flashed with black light and rapidly multiplied all at once. Its surface gleamed as monoliths shot out from its back one after another.
The duplicated monoliths flew into the room at an astonishing speed, scattering and floating in the air with no discernible pattern to their positions.
Countless monoliths now occupied various points throughout the white space, and Subaru gaped at the transformation.
Then, as he stood dumbfounded, a voice rang out-not through his eardrums, but directly inside his head.
"-Touch the most brilliant moment of the hero destroyed by Shaula."
"-Huh!?"
Startled by the sudden voice, Subaru involuntarily pulled his hand back and stumbled backward, only for someone to support him from behind. That person was-
"Well? Do you understand our initial surprise now?"
"Could you stop being so mean-!!"
Subaru's protest rang out thunderously, and Julius's wry smile only deepened his grievance.
The trial of the third floor, "Taygeta," of the Pleiades Great Library.
Time limit: "none." Attempt limit: "none." Challenger limit: "none."
-The trial began. Shaking off Julius's hand, Subaru planted his feet and faced the "trial" once more, alone.
With the monolith he had touched at their center, countless duplicate monoliths were scattered throughout the white space.
Honestly, so many monoliths had appeared that he could not be bothered to count them.
"This is the 'trial'... right, Shaula?"
"Let's say it is? I wanna see you looking cool, Master~"
With Shaula cheering behind him, Subaru surveyed the room. Aside from the countless monoliths, nothing inside the white room had changed.
-Looking closely, the additional monoliths were not all perfect copies. Their sizes differed subtly.
"Other than that, the only thing we could call a clue really is what we heard just now."
He thought of the voice that had sounded in his head the instant he touched the monolith.
"-Touch the most brilliant moment of the hero destroyed by Shaula."
It had not reached him through his eardrums, but whispered directly inside his skull. Since what he heard was not an actual sound, the concept of "someone's voice" did not apply.
If he had to describe it, it was like a sentence he had thought up himself interrupting his thoughts.
"Put that way, it would be my own voice... Was that the trial's question?"
"Subaru, forgive me for interrupting your thoughts, but there are a few things to keep in mind. Surely there is no penalty for listening before you begin."
"After what just happened, how do you have the nerve to say that?"
Remembering how irritating he had been, Subaru turned down the corners of his mouth and glared at Julius. But the other man casually brushed off his gaze.
"Seeing it yourself is quicker than having it explained. I merely put into practice what I told you beforehand. I did not expect you to be so startled, and for that, I apologize."
"Fine, fine, I scared myself. So sorry! Well? What should I keep in mind?"
"Yes. First, touch this stone tablet near you... no, this monolith."
"You like that word that much? Whatever, it doesn't matter..."
Julius was rather particular about the name. Subaru shrugged and approached a nearby monolith-not the first one, but one of the duplicates.
"It won't eat my hand the moment I touch it, will it?"
"Don't worry. Even if that does happen, Betty will be Subaru's right hand for the rest of her life, I suppose."
"Oh, then I'll be Subaru's left hand. So don't worry."
"You're assuming I'll lose both hands!"
With Emilia and Beatrice's powerful assurances, Subaru mustered the courage to reach toward the monolith.
Determined not to be startled no matter what happened, he touched it-
"Whoa!?"
He could not help it. The instant his uneasy fingers touched the monolith, the black slab once again erupted with intense light, so dazzling that Subaru covered his face and shouted:
"Again!?"
Then he timidly opened his eyes.
"Huh? Where'd the monolith go?"
"Heh heh heh, Master, behind you."
The monolith that had been in front of him-no, the countless monoliths scattered throughout the white space-had all vanished without a trace in an instant. Subaru was astonished, while Shaula seemed inexplicably proud.
Turning around at her words, he saw only one monolith behind him. -The original monolith that had been there when they first entered the third floor.
"All the others disappeared. What does that mean?"
"It has returned to its original state. Naturally, that means the 'trial' was failed..."
Passing the stunned Subaru, Julius walked boldly up to the original monolith.
Then he reached out and touched its surface, and the same words immediately rang in their heads again-
"-Touch the most brilliant moment of the hero destroyed by Shaula."
As the question repeated, the original monolith once again produced numerous duplicates, scattering them throughout the room as before and setting up the "trial" anew.
"I see. So that's a 'retry.' We can attempt it as many times as we like until we clear it."
"Yes, that is our current hypothesis. Incidentally, touching monoliths at random will not yield the answer... Of that much, I am certain."
"Oh, so you've already tried taking shots in the dark."
Subaru immediately understood Julius's gentle explanation.
At once, Emilia blushed in embarrassment. That made sense. Touching every one of them was certainly the sort of strategy Emilia would try. However, it seemed not to have gone well.
"Guessing answers at random seems to displease whoever set the question."
"Ah, that happens. Some teachers won't give you any points if you only write the answer on the test without showing your work. They've really covered their bases against cheating."
Going straight to the answer without showing the process did not count as a correct answer, in terms of the original purpose of learning.
He had heard before of students who were furious with their teachers, believing that grading standard was unreasonable.
"Only now do I understand how much thought those teachers put into it..."
"Sorry to interrupt your trip down memory lane, Natsuki, but this is where you come in. Hey, hey, come back to us."
"Huh? Ah, oh, sorry. But what do you mean, this is where I come in?"
Calling back Subaru, whose gaze had drifted into the distance, Anastasia put her hands on her hips. When Subaru looked puzzled, her pale blue-green eyes flicked toward Shaula.
"That look... You want me to get the answer out of her?"
"I told you, didn't I? I've got high hopes for you, Natsuki. After all, that girl won't talk to us."
"That sounds hard to believe to me..."
According to his companions, Shaula had remained silent before he woke up. But after he woke, she was not merely friendly; she was practically grinning and acting as though they were old pals, which was why Subaru said that.
For that matter, even if they could hold a conversation, there was a problem before that.
"Uh, Shaula. It says this has to do with a hero you destroyed, so if anyone comes to mind, tell me."
"Remembering the names of every person you kill is something only second-rate people do... A first-rate person like me stopped counting after a hundred."
"Thought so!"
Shaula's proud response, delivered with a thumbs-up, was exactly what Subaru had expected.
"But if we leave it at that, we won't get anywhere. Miss Shaula, do you really remember nothing? Even something small would do."
"No use asking me. I just one-sidedly Hell-Sniped anyone approaching the tower, and the demon beasts outside disposed of the bodies."
"Hmm, but isn't that strange? This is a 'trial' to decide whether to open the library, right? If the question has to do with Miss Shaula's actions after the tower was built, the timeline doesn't add up. If it's being used as a question, it ought to be something from before the tower was built."
Detecting something wrong in Shaula's words, Anastasia pointed out the problem. Indeed, if this trial's question had only been posed after Shaula began managing the tower, there would be a problem with the timeline.
Therefore, "Shaula destroying a hero" naturally referred to something before the tower was built.
"In other words, before you started killing people at random. Come on, think. If all your nutrients go to your boobs and butt, your memory's going to suffer."
"My mom chose how I look~ But, but, even if you tell me to remember, honestly, I can't. Before the tower was built, huh?"
Everyone surrounded Shaula, desperately trying to stir her memories, but despite bearing all their expectations, she only made strange groaning noises and produced no results.
"Seriously? You were around four hundred years ago, right? Just name a few famous people from back then. You must've killed two or three of them, at least?"
"Master, what do you take me for? I'm just a young maiden who eats flower petals."
"That's not a maiden. That's a caterpillar."
"Subaru, that's too harsh. If she doesn't want to remember, don't force her to..."
"Your kindness is a tremendous virtue and part of your charm, Emilia-tan. But she's the type who gets more useless the more you spoil her! I know that very well! Because we're the same!"
Subaru could say with certainty that Shaula's inability to remember was not because she did not want to recall it. Her memory was simply poor. In fact, everyone in their group had problems concerning memory, and he would have liked to discuss the subject properly if possible, but Shaula was an entirely exceptional case and needed to be discussed separately.
"But even if we learn who the hero she destroyed was, how do we get the monolith to accept the answer?"
"Just as Natsuki says, once we know the answer, how do we 'touch their most brilliant moment'?"
Since touching a monolith determined whether they passed or failed the "trial," the final method of answering was probably "touching the correct monolith."
But the problem was how to find the "correct monolith" and how to answer. In the first place, would digging up Shaula's memories tell them?
"But racking your brains like this won't get us anywhere, will it? Now that the naked lady's finally willing to help, why don't you ask her something she might know?"
As the adults stumbled right at the start, Meili cut in irritably. Playing with Shaula's scorpion tail, she gazed listlessly at the cluster of monoliths.
"There aren't any demon beasts, and nothing's moving forward. Staying here isn't any fun at all. Hurry up and get things done. I want to go back to the mansion."
Meili's words, which in a sense spoiled the mood, left everyone speechless. She immediately asked:
"What?"
Subaru patted her head.
"What is it?"
"Nothing. I just thought you were right. Yeah. This place is nothing but sand, with dangerous demon beasts roaming outside. We should hurry up and settle things... wake Rem up, find a way to save everyone, and get out of here as fast as we can."
Worrying and pacing before they had even begun was only wasting precious time. That would play right into the hands of the malicious person who had prepared this "test."
"Master, Master. Actually, beside this little one, there's another head that feels really nice to pat."
"I told you, didn't I? You're the sort who only gets worse the more you're spoiled. So from now on, it's Spartan training."
"Whaaat-!"
Shaula puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction and went into a full sulk. But before even ten seconds had passed, she forgot all about it and started humming. She really was easy to handle.
"All right, since our young lady is so eager, let's not hold back. We'll try every possible method."
"Mm, that would be best. It doesn't matter how many times we fail, so we can take it easy. Most things in life are decided in a single attempt... What a kind 'test' this is."
Encouraged by Meili, Julius and Anastasia came to an agreement as well. And so, just as they prepared to once again get the person in question to remember "the hero destroyed by Shaula"-
"Anyway, names that ring a bell... Let's see. Oh, what about Reid? He was the first 'Sword Saint,' right? Didn't you kill him?"
"Eeeeek-!!"
Subaru had only tossed out a name at random, but Shaula shrieked and leaped backward. Meili, who was on her back, could not react in time and fell off. Subaru hurriedly caught her.
"Watch out!"
"Th-thank you, mister..."
"No problem. Seems like my careless remark caused it anyway... But seriously..."
He carefully set Meili on the floor. The fleeing Shaula had already run so far across the room that she looked tiny.
"What, was the first 'Sword Saint' that scary?"
"Don't be ridiculous. He was the ancestor of Reinhard and Master Wilhelm-the Astrea family, in other words. His swordsmanship goes without saying, and his noble character is beyond question. Admittedly, the anecdotes he left behind suggest a bold, unrestrained personality, different from Reinhard and the others... But otherwise, wouldn't that mean the history of the Astrea family passed down to this day had been distorted?"
"Well, looking back through history, the same thing can be treated completely differently whenever those in power change their perspective. It's happened in Japanese history too. Compared to that, you could say this is a pretty reasonable suspicion..."
"Good grief, this is going nowhere. Very well. We have a living witness here. Her testimony will be conclusive evidence. Go on, ask her."
Subaru imagined Reid's personality based on Shaula's reaction. Julius had talked at length in response, but finally decided to laugh off Subaru's defensive stance.
"Your impressions of the first 'Sword Saint,' Reid Astrea. Miss Shaula, please speak freely. We are all ears."
"Scum."
"Please speak freely. We are all ears."
"Don't pretend you didn't hear her!!"
Julius turned a deaf ear to inconvenient information, and Subaru angrily pointed at Shaula.
"Come on, listen. The historical truth you want to know is right in front of you."
"...Talented individuals possess a certain degree of confidence. That is not something to condemn; rather, it deserves praise. As a peerless swordsman whose name went down in history, he would naturally display such behavior. Yes, examining the historical context should explain why-"
"This is the first time I've seen you try so hard."
Perhaps aware that no explanation would sound convincing, Julius was becoming incoherent.
The history he admired concealed a truth that betrayed his expectations. Leaving Julius aside for the moment, Shaula launched into an unending account of "the true face of Reid Astrea."
"Ugh, anyway, he was just an awful guy. His personality was like a brat who'd grown bigger, and his favorite thing was picking on the weak. That said, most people looked weak to that piece of scum, so whoever he fought, he was picking on the weak. He put me through hell too."
Hateful memories poured out endlessly, and Shaula's negative feelings never faded. It was exactly the attitude of someone recalling what their bully had done.
"I remember everything about that scumbag perfectly. Even if he forgot, the people he tormented would never forget. That's only natural..."
"If he could take you down, he must've been a monster too. Well, he doesn't seem connected to the 'test,' so we can talk about him later."
"-. ---. Precisely. There are more pressing matters to attend to."
"Only prioritizing them now? Isn't that a waste of time?"
Subaru could not tell whether it came from scholarly interest or simple curiosity, but he judged that Julius probably would not be useful for a while. He felt bad for the disillusioned Julius, but unfortunately, Subaru currently had no interest whatsoever in Reinhard's ancestor. However impressive his bloodline might be, Reinhard himself was already absurdly strong, so there was no need for hindsight. Besides, at least when it came to his "father's" character, Subaru was confident he had the advantage.
"In that case, we'll just have to list names and guess blindly. Let's leave that to someone who knows this stuff."
"Understood. Gladly."
"I haven't said I meant you yet, but fine. Go on, Beatrice. Help him."
"I know, I suppose."
Giving work to someone eager to do it was the mark of a good leader. With Beatrice and her four hundred years of knowledge supporting him, everything should be covered.
"Then what should we do?"
"We'll take another good look around and walk about."
Since Julius and Beatrice would approach it from the hero angle, Subaru ought to investigate from another direction. First, he would focus on the arrangement of the replicated monoliths.
"They look random, but there's actually a pattern, right? What we know for sure is that the one by the stairs is the original."
"The monolith that gives us the question, right?"
The gaps between the monoliths were not so narrow that they had to take special care to avoid touching them. Subaru examined the monoliths in the room with Emilia and Anastasia.
Their sizes differed slightly, but several were roughly the same size. Since they could not touch them, there was no way to measure their exact dimensions, but-
"At a glance... there are seven or eight the same size as the original monolith?"
"Are there? Yes, I think so too. The ones reaaally far away are all small. But touching them makes us start over."
"You sound just like a repeat offender... Oh, sorry. Never mind."
Emilia gave him a wounded look, and Subaru hurriedly cut himself off. He returned to the original monolith, exchanged glances with the two of them, and sank into thought.
"Touch the brightest moment of the hero destroyed by Shaula... It sounds like it's talking about something cool he did."
"It must be figurative. Unfortunately, if we have to rely on Miss Shaula's memory, wouldn't that make the question flawed?"
"Well, when you put it that way, yeah."
It called itself a "test," yet solving it depended on someone else-and that person was the caretaker stationed inside the tower. There was something fundamentally wrong with that arrangement.
Subaru's group had made friendly contact-although they had not expected it, they had ended up entering the tower without becoming Shaula's enemies. Otherwise, however, they would have been locked in a fight to the death. Even if they successfully entered the tower, they might have had to defeat Shaula.
"Then it would be impossible to ever pass the 'test.'"
"If they never intended anyone to clear it, that would be the answer. Put a powerful guard in place as a defense mechanism, and if intruders defeat that guard, the 'test' becomes impossible to clear."
"But you don't think that's the case... do you, Subaru?"
"Yeah."
Faced with Emilia's expectant gaze, Subaru nodded with a faint, wry smile.
He could not handle that look. Whenever Emilia or Beatrice looked at him that way, he was helpless.
Rem did it too, and occasionally Garfiel and Otto. Petra as well-the list was endless once he started thinking about it.
The only ones who did not look at Subaru that way were probably Patrasche and Ram.
"Hmm... Apart from exceptions, puzzles are generally made on the assumption that they'll be solved. If you really want to hide something, the best approach is not to leave any possibility of it being found."
"But this place does the opposite... What do you think, Natsuki?"
"This is a great library where you can obtain the knowledge you want-Shaula said that, right? I don't think she came up with that line herself. If she was repeating what someone taught her, then the person who built this library and put her in charge could only be her master. Her master made this place a library."
The more he unraveled the possibilities, the more glaring the unnatural aspects of their situation became. The creator of the Pleiades Great Library should have intended the building to serve its original purpose. That was why they had left the "tests" and Shaula here-to select its users.
"Could it have been set up from the start so that only people who get along with Shaula can use it?"
"But Shaula said she was ordered to eliminate everyone who approached the tower, didn't she?"
-Exactly. Shaula's orders were to "eliminate everyone who approaches the tower," and the group had only formed a friendly relationship with her by chance. A setup where they could not qualify to challenge the tower without that coincidence was far too unreasonable.
"In that case, what's required is strength, luck, and the charm to get along with Miss Shaula? I'd say that's asking far too much."
"...Exactly."
If they lost to Shaula or killed her, they could not obtain her help, meaning they would lose their qualification to challenge the Pleiades Great Library. Absurd as it was, listing the conditions that had brought them this far led to no other conclusion. Yet Subaru could not shake his discomfort with simply accepting that. Just then-
"Hmm-hmmm-"
"Emilia-tan?"
"It really does bother me. Though it might not be related..."
"If something's bothering you, say it, whatever it is. My thinking isn't necessarily right either. Looking at things from different angles is usually good."
"Really? Then... I think this 'test' really does resemble the 'trials.'"
Emilia's thought silenced Subaru and Anastasia at the same time. Their reasons differed, however: Anastasia fell silent because she did not understand, while Subaru did because he shared the feeling.
"Are you going to stand in my way again, Echidna...?"
"I don't think this 'test' has anything to do with Echidna... But you reaaally hate her, Subaru."
"Once you've experienced your savior turning out to be the mastermind, you end up like me."
Since the events in the Sanctuary, Emilia and Subaru had only discussed the "witches" once or twice. Even when the subject touched on the "trials," Emilia was vague, so he had not pressed further. The two agreed that "Echidna has a terrible personality." Emilia put it mildly, but Subaru bluntly called her character defective. When they heard about the "test," they had said it resembled the "trials." Even the way it began was similar to the "trials," so perhaps that too was part of the system-or rather, most of it resembled the tomb.
"Come to think of it, the 'trials' didn't really have an attempt limit either."
"And there are three 'tests' here: on the third, second, and first floors."
Struck keenly by the similarities, Subaru and Emilia looked at each other. The existence of the "Sage," and the passage of four hundred years. Examining those things naturally brought that "witch" to mind. Were the intersections of history unavoidable?
"But, um, sorry. Just knowing that doesn't give us an answer."
At that thought, Emilia hurriedly broke off the conversation. Her conclusion was right. Even if this place was not unconnected to the tomb, that had nothing to do with Taygeta's "test." As before, they could only rely on Shaula for the name of "the hero destroyed by Shaula"-
"...Were we wrong?"
"Subaru?"
"If this place assumes its puzzle can be solved, then the idea that we can't solve it without dealing with Shaula... wasn't that wrong from the start?"
This was the "Sage's" tower, and that was the "Witch's" tomb. Both question-setters were malicious. If that was their common ground, there was still room to reason further. -Although the "Witch" tested people with her "trials," she had not given them hardships that made reaching a result impossible. -If the "Sage" was testing people with "tests," surely he would not give them hardships that made reaching a result impossible either.
"The possibility of clearing the tower without Shaula..."
"Natsuki, if you've thought of something..."
"Shh-"
Seeing Subaru deep in thought, Anastasia started to speak to him, but Emilia stopped her. Holding a finger to her lips to signal silence, Emilia directed an expectant gaze toward Subaru. Completely unaware of those expectations, Subaru thought with all his might.
People challenging the tower might enter after defeating Shaula. In that case, whether "Shaula" was present had no bearing on this "test."
"We mistook Flugel's achievements for Shaula's and firmly believed it. The 'Sage's' greatest achievement was sealing the Witch together with his companions. But even with that mistake, nobody would call the 'Witch of Envy' a hero, and she wasn't destroyed."
The possibility of a mistaken premise ended there. Or perhaps the "Sage" Flugel had other heroic deeds credited to Shaula that Subaru simply did not know about. But if so, it would be too unnatural for neither Julius nor Beatrice to think of them-and so an inevitable possibility emerged.
"Even if we don't know Shaula is Shaula, as long as there's a Shaula."
Subaru repeated something he had said before. He was not organizing his thoughts-quite the opposite. It was proof that, having discarded one possibility, he had reached another. And that was-
"Beako! Come here a second!"
Following the possibility that had flashed through his mind, Subaru raised his head and called Beatrice. Julius was talking to Shaula about all sorts of things, trying to pry open the doors of her memory. Beatrice, beside him, immediately jumped up at Subaru's call.
"That expression is the Subaru Betty likes."
"You like me all the time, don't you?"
"Especially now."
Beatrice spoke without a trace of embarrassment, and Subaru held out his hand to her. She took it, looking at Subaru with her round blue eyes. Those eyes asked, "What are we doing?" Subaru nodded and said:
"It's simple. We'll use Murak to jump really high."
"...You haven't given up and decided to break through the ceiling to go upstairs, have you?"
"Don't spoil the mood. Of course not. I just want to look down at these monoliths from above."
"Look down at the monoliths..."
Hearing Subaru's words, Emilia turned toward the monoliths behind him and murmured. Beatrice did not understand his intention, but she had no plans to ask further. She breathed out lightly, then tugged firmly on the hand she held.
"Murak, then."
Pale purple ripples obeyed Beatrice's chant, gently enveloping Subaru's body. It was magic that set aside gravity's influence and made the body light as a feather. A small hop alone could take him over a meter high. If he kicked off the floor hard-
"Heave-ho!"
Holding Beatrice's hand, Subaru soared into the air. He rose roughly six or seven meters, but did not hit the ceiling that should have been there. In this space of white on every side, the floor extended as though no ceiling existed. Thus, Subaru could look down from above and take in the entire room.
"-Just as I thought."
"Did you accomplish what you wanted?"
"Yeah. This place really is malicious to the extreme."
Beatrice asked from his arms, and Subaru nodded with a grimace as he felt her gaze. Then he landed lightly and, still holding her, said, "I know the hero's name."
"Really!?"
Subaru made the declaration confidently to Emilia, who had watched him go from thought to carrying out his jump. Emilia was surprised, and Anastasia gaped as well. "The hero destroyed by Shaula-his name is Orion."
"Orion...?"
At that name, everyone looked puzzled and turned toward Shaula, but the woman herself shook her head desperately.
"I don't know him! No, seriously, I really don't know that person! Even if I killed him, how would I know there was a hero among the people who never made it here? So it's not my fault. How's that for an airtight argument! I'm so smart!"
"Since she doesn't look smart, I initially suspected she'd simply forgotten, but that wasn't it. Because the 'Shaula' in this question isn't her."
"I'm the only Shaula! It's the name Master gave me!"
"The name your master gave you already had an original source."
Shaula charged forward in a rage, and Subaru pressed against her nose to push her back. Then he stepped forward and stood before the original monolith.
"The origin of Shaula's name... Don't tell me it's something only you know again, Subaru?"
"I'm not the only one who knows it. There's a star called 'Shaula' back in my homeland. It means 'stinger.' And what kind of stinger is it? A 'scorpion's' stinger."
Scorpion tail-that was what Shaula insisted her hairstyle be called. He did not know whether she deliberately meant it as a hint or was simply an airhead. Either way, several factors had led Subaru to connect "Shaula" with "scorpion" and "stinger."
"According to legend, the hero Orion got too full of himself, so a god sent a scorpion to deal with him. It stung him to death, and he became a constellation in the sky. The scorpion that killed Orion also became a constellation for that achievement, and it's still up there scaring the pants off Orion..."
"When you explain it, Subaru, heroic tales sound rather shabby."
"Anyway, when you draw the shapes of people or animals using several stars, that's called a constellation, or you could call it a star grouping. And when I looked down at these monoliths from above, one appeared."
He had used Beatrice's magic to lighten his body, then jumped up to look down at the monoliths. Black monoliths dotted a white world-the colors should have been reversed, but the pattern formed by those black stars floating in white space was a "star grouping" Subaru knew well. Seven were the same size as the original monolith, making eight in total. The eight points formed Orion, perfectly matching the arrangement and number of its principal stars. Then, connecting that to "the brightest moment"-
"The original monolith is right in the middle. So, let's call it Alnilam for now. Then, matching that to the constellation's shape... we draw Orion."
"And then?"
"'The brightest moment' sounds very close to 'the brightest one.' Stars actually shine in all sorts of ways. Some stay bright all the time, while others only shine intensely now and then. Since the riddle is asking for Orion's brightest star, two fit that meaning..."
Viewed directly from above, there was "Petelgeuse" at the upper left, Orion's right shoulder, and "Rigel" at the lower right, representing Orion's left foot. "Rigel" always shone brilliantly, while "Petelgeuse" was a variable star that occasionally emitted intense light. However, neither choice was a perfect answer-
"I'd choose 'Rigel.'"
After all, the name Petelgeuse carried unpleasant memories. And so, Subaru touched the monolith for "Rigel," at Orion's left foot.
"--"
The next second, dazzling white light filled the entire room. Sound and scenery vanished without a trace, everything was swept away, and before long-
"...Ohhh."
When the light faded, the group stood in a stone-built space-inside the stone tower, in the very center of a room surrounded by countless bookshelves.
--
The image on the Sky Curtain slowly faded, but the lingering warmth of the silence in the hall remained longer than the image itself.
Otto was the first to break the silence. He slowly exhaled, as though he had just surfaced from a long underwater swim. Taking off his glasses, he gently rubbed between his brows with his thumb and forefinger, his voice lower than usual:
"Mr. Subaru used his knowledge of the stars from his homeland to solve this floor's puzzle."
He paused, as though checking whether what he had just said was accurate.
"He doesn't know he's Flugel, but he's still doing what Flugel would do. This isn't a coincidence-this is the plan itself."
"Flugel put his memories of the starry sky into his own original name, 'Subaru,' somewhere Subaru might recall at any moment."
"Even if he forgot everything, he would still remember the right stars at the right time."
Petra stood beside him, lightly clutching her skirt, her gaze still fixed on the spot where the Sky Curtain had vanished.
After witnessing Lord Subaru's extensive knowledge of his homeland's constellations, Petra felt pride well up from the bottom of her heart.
"That's Lord Subaru for you! He solved a puzzle none of us understood in an instant!"
But once her excitement subsided, she gave it some thought as well. Then her voice gradually softened, carrying a caution as though she feared disturbing something:
"Lord Subaru brought the stars of his homeland to this world, then used them to solve a puzzle from four hundred years ago. He doesn't remember anything at all, but those things are still following him, as though... as though he was never truly lost."
"What do you call that again... fate?"
Garfiel rubbed his chin, as though digesting what he had just seen, then sheepishly rubbed his head.
"But there sure are a lot of names for those stars. Why can't I seem to remember 'em? 'Rigel' this, 'Orion' that... Captain really is amazing. He's seriously wise when it comes to this stuff!"
Garfiel's voice came from nearby, carrying that distinctive roughness of his that only became more apparent when he tried to hide some tender feeling.
"Captain solved the puzzle Flugel carved into the tower four hundred years ago using his knowledge of his homeland's stars. Ain't that just-helping himself?"
He scratched his head.
"No, should I say his 'self from four hundred years ago' was helping his 'self four hundred years later'? What a mess. My head can't keep up!"
"Captain said those stars seemed to be hiding from him-that's because he was the one who hid 'em in the first place. He hid the key on himself, then forgot he'd hidden it."
He scratched the back of his head, as though trying to digest a thought that only grew more tangled the longer he considered it.
"Garfiel, all that muttering to yourself is really annoying! Doesn't one of those sayings of yours go, 'One person cannot move a Quain Stone'? Go think it over with Otto and the others. Don't bother Ram!"
Watching Garfiel scratch at his head in bewilderment, Ram could only shake her head helplessly. She stood quietly where she was, her pale red eyes lowered, as though looking somewhere farther away than the floor.
After saying that, she fell silent for a moment before speaking again, her tone as flat as though she were stating something inconsequential:
"...That idiot Barusu even made leaving himself a way out this convoluted. He could have simply carved a clear explanation onto a stone tablet-but no, he had to hide it in the stars, in names, in places other people can't remember."
She paused.
"But that's precisely why that idiot Barusu could find it himself."
Beatrice sat on a low stool in the corner, hugging her knees and curling into a ball, as though trying to make herself small enough.
Her gaze rested on her clasped fingers, and her voice was muffled, less sharp than usual:
"He only saw the whole puzzle because Betty helped Subaru fly into the air. Subaru couldn't have looked down at the arrangement of those tablets alone. So... Subaru and Betty found that answer together."
Her fingers tightened slightly, and she too felt proud of it.
"That man from four hundred years ago probably never imagined it either-that he would need a companion to help him see those stars clearly."
"Setting a test for yourself counts as being learned? You lot really are amusing."
"Still, this truly is... unexpected."
Priscilla remained half-reclined on her lounge chair, idly tapping its armrest with her folding fan. Her orange hair hung beside her shoulders, slipping down as she tilted her head slightly.
"That boy from another world solved the Sage's puzzle with the stars of his homeland-and he himself is the Sage's reincarnation. Setting a trap for himself, then walking into it to unravel it himself. This is far more entertaining than those clichéd biographies of emperors."
She gave a soft laugh, its amusement faint, more like a sign of approval.
"-The story grows more interesting the longer I watch. All this time I have spent sitting here has not been wasted."
"I should have realized sooner."
Vincent's voice came from behind his mask, carrying an appraisal he made no effort to conceal now, as though a game board had been reset.
"Natsuki Subaru-no, Flugel-his understanding of nations, his grasp of human hearts, that intuition of his that seems to see through every trap-none of it can be explained by 'good luck.' That is someone who has already traveled this road once. Even if he has forgotten the road, his feet still remember how to walk it. Flugel, the 'Sage' from four hundred years ago, left the entire board to himself four hundred years later. And I-I originally thought I was the one moving the pieces."
He paused.
"Now it seems I am merely a piece in this grand game."
Al retreated to the wall and leaned against the cold stone. His iron mask concealed every expression, but something was changing rapidly in his exposed eyes. He kept his voice very low:
"...Bro, this isn't something a 'secret' can explain anymore. You left yourself a tower, a gatekeeper, and a whole sky full of star puzzles. You broke yourself in half, leaving one half four hundred years in the past to set everything up, and pushing the other half four hundred years into the future to walk into it."
He reached up and touched the edge of his helmet, as though checking that the iron shell was still there.
"Even I don't know what to say anymore. You're way too hard on yourself."
Heinkel said nothing. He stood on the other side of the hall, clutching an empty wineglass, its rim already white beneath his grip.
His gaze rested not on the fading Sky Curtain, but somewhere farther away-on his own empty palms.
He thought of his wife, Louanna-she too was asleep, and she too had never awakened. He did not know whether her slumber had anything to do with that plan spanning four hundred years, even though in his mind he had already made that hateful witch who altered the world the target of his revenge and hostility.
He simply felt, all of a sudden, that while solving the puzzle, the boy named Natsuki Subaru was also, in some way, answering for everyone a bewilderment Heinkel could not put into words. He murmured something, his voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible:
"...If only he could solve the mystery of that slumber. Even just one."
Medium stood beside Night Weeping with his hands folded across his chest, his posture relaxed but not careless.
He nodded slightly, as though expressing a measure of admiration through the gesture:
"I see-that 'Natsumi Schwarz' really is admirable. The tower's puzzle required knowledge that didn't belong to this world-and he happened to possess that knowledge. I suppose that's what they call 'fate.'"
Night Weeping did not immediately respond. She gently turned the pipe in her hand, her gaze resting on the remnants of the completely darkened Sky Curtain, as though looking through those embers at something farther away. Only after a moment did she slowly speak:
"Every floor of the tower has a story. And that child used the stars of his homeland to find the path to the fourth floor, and then to the library. Coincidence alone cannot explain that."
Mizelda sat on a rough wooden stool, the prosthesis replacing one foot tapping lightly against the floor with a steady, measured sound. She was more accustomed than most of those present to observing quietly, and to making judgments only after observing.
"When that boy from another world flew up inside the tower, his gaze was straight ahead. He saw the arrangement of those tablets not because he was lucky, but because his eyes were always searching for something he recognized."
She nodded. "Using stars he knew to find his way-that was clever."
Emilia had been standing at the front of the crowd the whole time, her hands clasped before her. She had not spoken earlier, not because she had nothing to say, but because those words were settling in her heart, slowly yet irreversibly.
Looking toward where the Sky Curtain had faded, she spoke softly, her voice like a thin mist floating on the water:
"When Subaru was solving that puzzle, he wasn't thinking, 'Who am I?' or 'Why do I know these things?' He was only doing what he's always done-keeping going until he found what he needed."
She paused.
"He never needed to know he was Flugel. He only needed to keep being himself. He's always been like that."
Night Weeping shifted her pipe to her other hand. She tilted her head slightly, as though weighing how heavily those words rested in her heart.
"He kept moving forward-even if he himself had laid that road four hundred years ago."
The hall fell quiet for a moment. Everyone was digesting what they had just seen in their own way-the starlight spanning four hundred years, the boy flying through that white space, and that chosen string of stars named "Rigel."
Finally, Beatrice hopped down from her stool and brushed nonexistent dust from her skirt. Her voice was not loud, but it carried a certainty strong enough to reach throughout the hall:
"That was only the first trial. He'll keep going-just as he always has."
She turned her back on the place where the Sky Curtain had vanished, her gaze resting on the hall's door-that door leading to the roads outside that had yet to be traveled.
"Betty is waiting. Everyone is waiting. Even if he forgets those roads, there will always be someone to walk them with him."
The hall fell silent for an instant.
"No, so he left this tower."
Otto broke the silence.
"He left Shaula-left the trials-left an entire plan. Not so others would finish walking the rest of the road for him. He simply wanted his self four hundred years later to be able to stop and take a look as he passed by."
"To look at the roads he once traveled."
Emilia softly picked up where he left off.
"To look at the people he once loved-and those who once loved him. Subaru, I think I'm gradually beginning to understand your thoughts, and my own. Thank you."
"I swear that after this, you won't have to carry all the weight on your shoulders anymore, or be the one walking alone ahead, bearing the greatest hardship. Thank you, my knight. Thank you... my-love."