Sky Curtain
["Julius, you must stay here and recover properly. No going out on your own again!"
Emilia forcibly pushed the wounded Julius into the "green room," her instructions stern.
"I understand. Having repeatedly burdened Lady Emilia and everyone else, how could I dare disobey again? I shall, of course, rest quietly."
"You could've summed that up with 'understood,' but you had to make it that long..."
"You made my Emilia-tan worry so much! We can't just let this slide. Patrasche, keep an eye on Julius for me. If he tries anything reckless, use Earth Dragon Chomp Chomp Chomp!"
Patrasche whinnied, gladly accepting the task. As the most understanding companion in Emilia's camp, she had a self-reproachful look in her eyes, as though she still regretted failing to stop Julius from acting alone earlier.
The next moment, Emilia sharply tugged Subaru's ear.
"Ow... Emilia-tan..."
"Julius has already done everything he could, so stop teasing him-and you have to promise me you won't run off everywhere either, Subaru."
"Roger, roger, okay!"
"Then I shall rest here with peace of mind. Recuperating in the company of so many young ladies is a rare luxury indeed."
"Just a reminder: apart from Miss Anastasia, all the girls in this room favor Subaru."
"Yes, yes, Lord Little Girl Tamer. I never expected you to be so proud of yourself. You've even won over the earth dragon."
Julius teased him aloud.
"I don't belong to Subaru. I've thought it over carefully. Subaru is my knight, so Subaru ought to belong to me."
"That makes me so happy, but I can't help feeling embarrassed too!"
Emilia lightly pressed her fingertips to her lips. Her straightforward words were bolder than Subaru could have imagined, leaving him with a jumble of feelings. He turned toward Julius inside the room.
It took time to emerge from the shadows in one's heart. Subaru merely wanted to make sure Julius still had the strength to take another step.
"Anyway, just rest for now. If remembering what happened makes you want to curl up holding your head, remember that Patrasche's watching you."
"Rest assured, I would never behave so disgracefully-elegance is the bare minimum for a knight."
"Looks like you're finally back to your usual self."
"Heh."
Hearing Julius's familiar response, Subaru felt somewhat relieved and smiled.
Subaru was privately thankful he had not let him walk that long staircase alone.
If that company could soothe his inner wounds even slightly, then the lesson Subaru had learned from his public humiliation at the royal castle had meant something.
"Patrasche, I'm counting on you."
After that final request to the earth dragon, Subaru left the "green room" with Emilia.
As he stepped outside, Subaru could sense Patrasche watching Julius without budging an inch, prompting a helpless, wry smile from him. Just as expected of Patrasche: faithful to her instructions and thoroughly reliable.
After leaving Julius to recover in the green room, they met Ram and Beatrice outside.
Subaru, Emilia, Ram, and Beatrice sat down on the floor, along with-
"I want you to tell us all about that Reid, Shaula!"
"Whoa, Master, you're scary! But I don't mind you being strict at all, Master. As they say, complaints on the lips mean affection in the heart."
"Listen to her, Master. Isn't that far too frivolous?"
"Big Sister, I'm innocent!"
"Anyway, the man on the top floor has to be Reid Astrea. As someone who witnessed those days firsthand, I want to ask you what kind of person he was."
"He was a scoundrel."
"You already said that, and we've seen it ourselves."
"Tell us anything that comes to mind. The Sword Saint Reid's personality, habits, relationships, likes, dislikes, and weaknesses. Focus on his weaknesses!"
"Such an aggressive approach! If I knew his weaknesses, I'd have taken revenge ages ago. In other words, he's completely invulnerable!"
"Tch. Utterly useless."
"This lady feels even more overbearing than Master..."
Looking at the forceful Ram, Shaula muttered under her breath, puffing her cheeks slightly. At Ram's cold glance, she immediately shrank back and hurried behind Subaru.
"Why hide? You're clearly stronger than Ram."
"It's not just about strength. Master must be frightened deep down. Our hearts are connected, so that fear passed to me."
"You're just a coward. Don't pin it on me."
The soft sensation against his back unsettled Subaru. He reached back and grabbed Shaula by the neck, and when she refused to move, he had to drag her in front of him.
The questioning resumed.
"Tell me... you don't know anything about this trial in the first place, do you?"
"Even if you don't know the Sword Saint's weaknesses, surely you know his habits in battle? If he has a set fighting style, we might find an opening."
"Habits? Come to think of it, when I confronted him to get revenge for his harassment, he kept scratching his butt while we fought! That counts, right?"
"He was probably just deliberately making fun of you..."
"There's one other thing: he can't resist beautiful women. My guess is that any good-looking woman could pass the trial without trouble."
"That would leave only Julius and me unable to pass... That's pretty troublesome."
"We have to find conditions Reid will accept and work toward them... This trial is still extremely difficult."
"We don't have time to plan things out slowly."
Shaula sat cross-legged and looked around at everyone, her tone casual. Subaru could not help frowning. She paid him no mind, however, her eyes sparkling.
"Master, it doesn't matter how long you intend to stay. I've already waited hundreds of years for you."
"That's..."
"It doesn't matter how long it takes, as long as you complete the 'trials.' I'll stay here and watch-days, years, even another few hundred years would be fine."
There was a weighty significance hidden in Shaula's words that Subaru and the others could not simply dismiss as a joke.
She smiled and spoke gently, but the goodwill in her heart was directed at Subaru alone. Having spent four hundred long years alone in this tower, every word she spoke weighed heavily on them.
She had followed the Sage's instructions, guarding the Watchtower all this time.
She had also said that no one was permitted to leave the tower without completing every trial. Even if Subaru was the master she adored, she would show him no mercy if he broke the rules.
However friendly and well-meaning she was, she was certainly not their companion.
On their path to conquering the Sage's Tower, this guardian of the constellations-
"Why not just stay in the tower and live here freely with me!"
The girl's bright smile made Subaru keenly aware that he absolutely could not trust her without reservation.
"We have to find another way..."
"Let's set the discussion aside and get ready to eat."
"Speaking of which... your table manners really are nonexistent."
"Nom, nom-huh? Master, did you say something?"
With her mouth stuffed full and her cheeks bulging, Shaula blinked at the frowning Subaru.
Plenty of people relied on their looks to get away with behaving carelessly, but Shaula was particularly outrageous, almost on par with Liliana.]
"Huh? Wait, why did my name suddenly come up?"
Liliana felt thoroughly wronged. As a bard based in the Water Gate City, she was lively by nature, and sometimes grew so excited while singing that she bit her tongue.
"The Sky Curtain finally mentions my name, and this is how I appear in this great hero's memories..."
"But this hero really does have some connection to Flugel, the 'Sage' from four hundred years ago... No, if they're the same person, how did this hero cross those long four hundred years? And what purpose did he have?"
"Maybe it was to continue his great work of saving the world! Four whole centuries-how many magnificent epics would be born! How many sincere, moving friendships and romances would remain! Just imagining it makes my blood boil!"
"Inspiration strikes! I can't help composing a new song-"
Her slender fingertips gently brushed her lyulyre, and a melodious song slowly drifted out.
"At the end of windblown sands, a lonely tower stands
Its keeper waits in silence, counting starlight across the sky
She waits in anguish for a vanished name
Through four hundred years of endless night, her longing never fades"
"Natsuki Subaru-the hero who crosses time and space
Bearing starlight from another land, he journeys far away
Returning from death again and again, he strives to summon dawn
A promise spanning four hundred years blooms softly in his palm"
Lost in her imaginings, Liliana did not manage to finish her song. The memories within the Sky Curtain kept unfolding, and the story had yet to reach its turning point or climax.
["But our food supplies are a problem..."
Subaru murmured to himself, filled with worry.
Shaula gulped down her food, her eyes reddening with excitement. Her crude eating stirred Emilia's pity, and she planned to give her a few more portions later. Watching the two of them, Subaru sank into thought.
Judging by all their remaining provisions, they could last a month at most.
"At this rate, we'll run out of food in less than a month..."
After witnessing Shaula's astonishing appetite firsthand, Subaru could not help muttering to himself.
"Could she be a spy the Sage deliberately planted to stop us from conquering the tower?"
After everyone finished eating and washed themselves with spring water, they dispersed. Bedtime had arrived.
"Excuse me."
Suppressing his concern for Julius, Subaru pushed open the door to the "green room." The dim interior was suffused with blue-green hues, and two girls lay on woven grass beds.
Anastasia's bed was directly before him, while Rem slept on the bed farther inside.
"The bed inside is reserved for you."
Patrasche raised her head toward the visiting Subaru, looking perfectly natural, as though this were only right. The earth dragon moved aside of her own accord, freeing up half the grass bed and signaling for Subaru to sit beside Rem.
"An earth dragon like you is really wasted on me."
Subaru scratched his cheek with a wry smile, accepted Patrasche's kindness, and sat by the bed. Then he gazed gently at the sleeping Rem.
Someone gently shook his shoulder, and Subaru abruptly woke.
"Hm?"
Subaru slowly raised his head and propped himself up, his hazy consciousness gradually clearing.
"I actually fell asleep?"
He had been sitting beside the bed, speaking softly to the sleeping Rem, and had drifted off without realizing it. Raising a hand to his cheek, he felt the grass mat's pattern imprinted on his skin.
"I must've been completely exhausted... Patrasche?"
Subaru turned toward the earth dragon who had woken him by tapping his shoulder with her tail. As he wondered why Patrasche had woken him, he glanced around, and his expression instantly tightened.
Of the two beds, Anastasia's was empty, and a chill instantly crept into his heart.
Anastasia-or, more precisely, Echidna, who occupied her body-had left the green room alone, disregarding everyone sleeping there. This was certainly not a good sign.
Subaru did not know why she had gone out without telling anyone, but it was surely entirely different from Julius's earlier insistence on acting alone.
"The bed's still warm... I have to find her right away!"
The warmth lingering in the grass mat, combined with Patrasche waking him promptly, meant she had not been gone long.
"Patrasche! Look after Rem! Thanks for waking me!"
Patrasche answered with a short whinny. Subaru waved goodbye and hurried out of the green room.
Subaru was about to head downstairs to gather his companions and search for Anastasia when he stopped abruptly.
The sight before him left him dumbfounded, and he instinctively cried out. Only encountering something impossible could make someone lose their composure like that.
Subaru's eyes widened as a white-winged figure leisurely passed along the corridor, flying slowly through the narrow passage.
"What's a bird doing inside the tower?"
The Watchtower's walls were sealed, without any windows connecting to the outside. The entire tower was isolated from the world, with only the fifth-floor doors leading to the desert outside.
"Wait, don't go!"
An intense sense of wrongness drove Subaru to hurry after the bird.
He hesitated briefly, torn between continuing to follow the bird and immediately gathering everyone to tell them that Anastasia was missing and a bird had inexplicably appeared inside the tower.
In the end, an indescribable intuition made him choose to chase after it.
Naturally, the bird did not stop to wait. It continued flying deeper into the tower, deliberately keeping its distance.
Subaru chased with all his strength, running the whole way, until finally-
He reached forward, his fingertips brushing a falling feather. He expected to hit a wall, but his hand passed straight through.
A space resembling a tower terrace appeared before him. Anastasia's purple hair fluttered in the breeze, countless birds surrounding her.
"Sneaking out of the bedroom late at night, taking a secret passage no one knows about to get here, and playing with birds in the night breeze... That looks suspicious no matter how you slice it."
"Are these the birds we encountered while crossing 'Sand Time'?"
"Ram borrowed their strength when she used 'Clairvoyance.' Afterward, they flew into that sea of demon beast flowers, and we never knew where they went... It looks like they all made it here safely."
Anastasia gave a faint, wry smile and reached out to stroke a bird's neck, but it showed no response. Seeming to find playing with the birds uninteresting, she sighed softly.
"These birds are always this lifeless. It's quite troubling for me too."
"Given my experiences, I really can't trust you that easily."
"Your experiences?"
"Countless past lessons have taught me that stumbling into a secret scene like this usually gets me killed."
Having experienced death countless times, Subaru knew this deeply.
It had first begun at Roswaal's mansion, where Rem attacked and killed him after he went out late at night. Leaving his subsequent dangers aside, his long history of experiences had led him to a conclusion: carelessly intruding upon unknown secrets could easily lead to death. Based on the past, his present situation was fraught with danger.
"To be honest, I was just about to ask you the same question."
"The same question as me?"
"I've been playing Anna for a long time. This may sound like an excuse, but I was guided to this tower, which is why I can speak with you here now... speak with you as you stand before the tower's door. You know Shaula, the tower's guardian, and Shaula even considers you a friend. Taking everything together, for you to question me like this when we meet here alone seems a little uncharitable..."
Echidna spoke at length, leaving Subaru momentarily speechless. After a brief pause, she looked at Subaru with Anastasia's expression and posed the crucial question.
"Natsuki Subaru, just who are you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Let's talk about before you went to Pristella. A year ago, after you successfully defeated the White Whale and 'Sloth' and the award ceremony ended, Anna sent people to investigate you."
Echidna brought up the Anastasia camp's plans for the royal selection.
Investigating their rival Emilia and Subaru, the newly appointed knight under her command, was a routine part of campaigning.
But even Anastasia Hoshin, who controlled the Hoshin Company and had extensive sources of information-
"We couldn't find out where you came from. Anna often complained about how pitifully little information we could gather. At first, I thought the problem lay with the people around you, that someone had deliberately concealed your past."
Roswaal had been the first suspect, followed by Otto and Clind.
"In short, we could trace your history back no further than shortly after the royal selection began. Someone saw you in the royal capital on the day Reinhard found the candidate Felt. Beyond that, we couldn't find a single lead."
There was simply no way to find any earlier records.
In other words, that was as far as either Echidna or Anastasia could investigate, and the results were baffling.
Echidna narrowed her eyes slightly. Subaru remained silent, unsure how to respond.
For so long, he had been unable to reveal the secret of Return by Death or share the information he obtained through his ability. But tonight, for the first time, someone directly questioned his origins.
Natsuki Subaru, a man of unknown origins, had become an unsolvable mystery.
"I..."
"I decided I might as well lay out all my doubts."
"Huh?"
Subaru's expression was grave, and he was just trying to put together a response when Echidna suddenly spread her arms toward him. Her lighthearted tone left him at a loss.
Seeing his flustered reaction, Echidna nodded in satisfaction.
"Anna and I always thought of you as a new knight of unknown origins who kept accomplishing great deeds... until the fighting in Pristella. You fought fierce battles against the Witch Cult in Pristella, then came all the way to the Watchtower. Those experiences changed everything. It's late at night, and only the two of us are here. I understand that you're wary and uneasy, so please don't take offense."
Echidna lowered her arms and tilted her head slightly with a faint smile.
Subaru's mind was still in turmoil. His dry lips parted slightly, and he struggled to sort out his thoughts.
As he pondered, he keenly noticed something-
Echidna's hands were clenched tightly on her knees, her fingertips white.
"Don't tell me you're actually terrified?"
"That's rather hurtful. What exactly is your connection to Shaula?"
Rather than answering Subaru's question, Echidna posed another.
"I'd never met Shaula before. I didn't know anything about her."
"Was it merely a coincidence that you solved the third-floor trial so easily?"
"It was a coincidence."
"In that case, you discovered a hidden passage, happened to find me coming out onto the terrace alone, and followed my trail here-all of that was coincidence?"
Echidna kept pressing him, trying to convey one point-
"Try putting yourself in my position..."
"Even so, taking all the clues together, I still believe you won't become our enemy. I'm telling you what I think only to show my sincerity."
Even knowing the witch's reputation, Subaru still dared not lower his guard before the Echidna in front of him. So he sidestepped the subject and asked about Anastasia's condition.
"I haven't had a chance to ask lately. How is Miss Anastasia doing now?"
"The same as ever. Anna is still asleep deep within her body. This is the first time I've occupied this body for so long. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't anxious at all."
"Are you really worried?"
"I mentioned it to you before."
Echidna lightly stroked her body and closed her eyes, indicating that Anastasia remained deep in slumber.
"It's been over a month since I took control of Anna's body. I realized things were bad back then... Knowing that I'm continually consuming her life force weighs heavily on me. I have to return her body to her as soon as possible."
Just then, another bird flew in from behind Subaru.
Subaru had his back to the terrace railing. Since the bird had come from behind him, it could only have originated inside the Watchtower.
The previous bird had also followed a guide, bringing Echidna here.
Now the third bird had done the same.
"What exactly did you two mean by what you just said?"
An astonished voice echoed across the terrace. The newcomer sounded flustered, as though his inner convictions had suffered a tremendous blow.
The man stood frozen in place. The instant his words ended, all the birds beat their wings at once. The thunderous sound was like a downpour as flocks scattered into the night sky and the depths of the desert.
The birds vanished into the night, as though abandoning Subaru and Echidna on an isolated island.
Julius Juukulius remained with them.
"Oh dear, Natsuki, your face gives everything away. It's far too obvious."
"Huh?"
Subaru stiffened all over. Echidna reached out and lightly tapped his chest with a finger, giving him a serene smile.
Her expression, tone, and mannerisms were indistinguishable from Anastasia's, leaving Subaru momentarily bewildered.
Leaving Subaru aside for the moment, Echidna turned lightly on the spot.
"Sorry, Julius. We weren't deliberately hiding anything. I was merely discussing some matters with Natsuki concerning what happens after our journey ends. Miss Rem and the ground dragon are in the green room, so we couldn't speak freely there. Not that we were worried they would reveal anything, but discussing private matters with others present feels awkward, so we came here. That's all."
Echidna folded her hands over her chest and tilted her head slightly. "Can you forgive us?"
Her frail, pitiful appearance perfectly reproduced Anastasia's style. But the real Anna would never have covered up a slip so clumsily.
Echidna's explanation sounded more like an excuse hastily concocted after a secret was exposed-or perhaps it did not merely "sound like" one.
Like Subaru, she had never expected anyone to discover them. She had simply reacted a step faster than he had.
And her actions-
"You are not Lady Anastasia. I ask that you explain everything truthfully. There is no point in continuing to conceal it-I cannot turn a blind eye to this."
After a brief hesitation, Julius confronted Echidna with his accusation.
"No, that's..." Even faced with his accusation, Echidna still tried to protest.
"I said I would not ignore this."
As he spoke, Julius drew his replacement knight's sword, pointing its tip straight at Echidna's slender neck.
"Julius, wait! What actually happened was..."
"Subaru, I would like to hear your explanation as well-all I ask is to know the truth."
Julius's expression was calm, his sole concern uncovering the facts.
With the blade pointed at her, Echidna held her breath. Her pale blue eyes turned to Subaru in a silent plea for help, but he was momentarily helpless too.
"Julius, how much did you hear?"
"From the part where you discussed Lady Anastasia's background."
Julius answered in a low voice.
Merely hearing that much had been enough to shake him. Even though he could maintain his outward composure, his inner turmoil was apparent.
"I am an artificial spirit named Echidna, and I have been with Anna for a long time. After the battle against the Witch Cult in Pristella ended, Anna's mind fell asleep. The one controlling this body now is not Anna. All this time, I have been acting in her place."
At this point, further concealment was futile.
Without any more preamble, Echidna calmly and plainly revealed the truth.
During the battle to repel the Witch Cult in Pristella, Echidna had fought the enemy in Anastasia's place. Ever since then, Anastasia had been unable to wake.
"Why did you tell only Subaru about this?"
"He wasn't affected by the Archbishop of Sin's Authority and was the least affected by the chaos. Besides, he is a spirit arts user, and his contracted spirit, Beatrice, is an artificial spirit like me. Initially, I intended to keep it secret forever, but..."
"But what?"
"He saw through my impersonation of Anna, so I had no choice but to tell him."
Hearing that only Subaru had seen through the disguise, Julius's eyes filled with bewilderment.
Echidna knew that this truth would deal Julius a heavy blow, which was why she had struggled so long to say it.
That was only natural. If Subaru had seen through her disguise, it meant-
"Even an outsider could notice something was wrong, yet I, her foremost knight, noticed nothing..."
"Don't put yourself down like that! Those are two different things! The situation was complicated enough already, and you had your hands full. Ricardo, Mimi, and the others didn't notice either! I only found out by chance!"
Subaru hurriedly objected, unwilling to watch Julius keep tearing himself down. But he could not immediately find the right words to comfort him.
Thinking it over, what could Julius have done? Did he really deserve to blame himself?
He had sworn loyalty to his liege, followed Anna alongside his companions, and held himself to the knightly code for years. When the convictions he had upheld for so long collapsed like a sand dune, how could anyone demand that he remain as graceful and composed as ever?
"You are free to decide that I'm an evil spirit with ulterior motives who has seized Anna's body. I have no evidence to refute that suspicion. If you decide that everything I've said is a lie and intend to eliminate me, I cannot resist. But you must understand..."
Echidna paused briefly, then continued.
"If I perish, the worst outcome is that Anna's bodily functions will be damaged and she will die. At best, she will remain an unconscious shell forever."
After explaining the possible consequences of killing her, Echidna gently raised both hands.
"Of course, that could also be a lie I invented to save myself. I can't be certain whether my death would save Anna. If sacrificing myself would let Anna live a long life, I would willingly die. It's just that I instinctively want to live."
"Why are you willing to go so far for Lady Anastasia?"
"My contract with Anna is incomplete. You cannot judge us by the usual relationship between a spirit and a spirit arts user."
At that, Echidna looked at the two of them.
Subaru and Julius had both formed complete contracts with their spirits, and she envied them for it.
"I genuinely love Anna. I've been at her side since she was very young. I don't want to abandon her, and I hope she can find happiness-that is my reason."
"Julius, I only concealed it before because I didn't want to cause unnecessary turmoil. If possible, I would prefer that Anna never learn of my existence. In fact, before the upheaval in Pristella, I had kept myself perfectly hidden, thanks to Anna being strong enough."
"I broadly understand the situation you and Lady Anastasia are in."
Julius slowly lowered his sword point. With a clear ring, the knight's sword returned to its sheath. His long eyelashes lowered.
"It is not easy for me to believe everything, but for now, I can only choose to trust you. At the very least, I cannot rashly attack you at this moment."
"That's a relief. I'm glad you can think rationally. I'm sure Anna would be pleased to see you make that decision."
Julius tightened his grip on the hilt and remained silent, offering no response.
"I have no intention of arguing with you. What matters most now is finding a solution, for Lady Anastasia's sake as well. Echidna, I hope you will cooperate with us fully."
"Now that the secret is out, there's no need for me to keep pretending. Of course, please allow me to continue speaking in Anna's form."
"That is fine. Seeing that appearance will serve as a constant reminder that I must awaken Lady Anastasia."
"We shouldn't remain here any longer. Let's return inside the tower. The dangers to Anna's body, and the matter of Echidna... tomorrow, we'll need to explain everything properly to Lady Emilia and the others."
"Yes, I'll prepare myself."
Echidna stepped forward, and Julius gently took her hand, moving exactly as he always had when attending Anastasia.
Regardless of who occupied her body, Julius's loyalty to Anastasia had never wavered-even if Anna, asleep within, might already have forgotten him.
"Julius!"
Watching his retreating back, Subaru felt heartache well up inside him and could not help calling out.
Subaru understood that feeling deeply: struggling on through sheer determination, even after the world had forgotten him.
Julius stopped, still holding Echidna's hand, but did not turn around. His back remained straight. No matter how despairing he felt inside, he maintained his upright bearing.
At the sight, a stifling feeling rose in Subaru's chest, and he asked:
"Isn't there anything you want to say to me?"
Julius would not scream to vent his feelings or allow his anger to erupt unchecked-
"Of course there is. I understand why you concealed the truth. You meant no harm and acted only out of concern. If our positions were reversed, I would most likely have chosen to keep it secret too."
"But even so..."
Julius looked up at the night sky and forced the words out.
"Whether it is Lady Anastasia or you, I do not want either of you to see me as an inadequate knight."
Subaru had thought being berated would have made it easier to find relief. But now his chest felt as though thorns had pierced it, sending cold stabs of pain through him.
"Barusu?"
"Big Sis?"
A familiar call reached Subaru, bringing him back to his senses. Ram appeared ahead in the passage, out for a late-night stroll, her pale red eyes quietly studying him.
"Why the long face? It's quite an ugly sight."
"You're that harsh the moment we meet? Anyway, what are you doing here so late?"
"I could ask Barusu the exact same question... Though I can more or less guess why Barusu is wandering alone late at night."
Subaru's face stiffened, and Ram shrugged.
"You probably went to pour your heart out to Rem again. However kind and accepting Rem may be, you can't keep dumping your troubles on her."
"Oh, that's what you mean. You're right about that."
Ram had made her guess based on Subaru's usual habits; she had not seen through what had just happened on the terrace. Ordinarily, Subaru did often spend the night at Rem's side, so Ram naturally assumed he had already returned to the green room.
But tonight was entirely different.
"Stop looking so miserable."
"Ow."
"Moping around all day will only make an already unremarkable man worse. Lady Emilia chose you as her knight, so others will question her judgment as well. Pull yourself together soon."
"If you don't rest, you won't last tomorrow. Ram is going back to the dragon carriage."
"Ah, right. I..."
Subaru struggled to explain why he did not want to return. Ram tilted her head and sighed softly at his evasiveness.
"Suit yourself. If you hold everyone back through lack of sleep, or go out alone and get into danger, Barusu had better be ready to be torn to pieces."
"Wait, what do you mean, torn to pieces?"
"Take your time imagining it."
Ram waved and headed toward the stairs leading down. She did not pry, choosing to let Subaru adjust his own state of mind. That was probably her unique way of showing concern.
Watching her slender figure grow more distant, Subaru raised a hand in farewell even though he knew she could not see it.
"Good night, Big Sis. See you tomorrow."
"Ram isn't your big sister. Don't call me that. Go back and rest soon."
Ram did not reject it entirely; she was simply rather unwilling to accept that form of address.
With those words, she disappeared completely around the end of the passage. Subaru rolled his neck and muttered, "What should I do now?"
Going straight back to the dragon carriage would be somewhat awkward, and returning to the green room would be uncomfortable too. Rather than do either, he could wait until dawn or find somewhere to think through his options.
"If I'm just going to sleep, any empty room would do..."
"Settle down and work out a strategy for the second floor. Think about how to deal with Reid."
Honestly, that was the most urgent matter at hand.
As long as they cleared the Watchtower, there was hope of a breakthrough in most of their current difficulties. Success was not guaranteed, but clearing the tower would certainly change their situation.
Over dinner, everyone had already discussed how to deal with Reid: avoid angering him and find conditions that would satisfy him. The plan was still far too vague, however.
They needed to come up with something more concrete.
At that thought, Subaru abruptly snapped his fingers.
An idea flashed through his mind like lightning, and he instantly decided on his destination.
-Go to the library and read Reid's Book of the Dead.
"If this works..."
Subaru was not entirely confident, but this lead could very well move things forward.
Seized by this sudden idea, Subaru hurried impatiently toward his destination.
"Even though Emilia-tan and Big Sis both told me not to wander around..."
"When you read a Book of the Dead, you experience its memories and experiences firsthand, but Reid looks so badass that he'd just slash through whatever monsters or Witch Cult members he ran into. Looking at it that way, his book should be nothing but power-fantasy stuff... There shouldn't be any danger-wait, wasn't I looking for weaknesses?... Hopefully, I can find some other flaws of his in the book."
Only Subaru and Julius had personally experienced the power of the Books of the Dead in the library.
Julius had been seriously injured after acting rashly earlier and was recovering. It seemed this burden could only fall on Subaru's own shoulders.
With the thought of shouldering that responsibility alone, Natsuki Subaru temporarily put their earlier agreement out of his mind.
Duty, responsibility, promises-he should have upheld all three, yet scatterbrained as he was, he was always forced to choose.
Eager to become a hero, Natsuki Subaru broke their promise in his haste.
"Guess I'll have to make a decision that goes against my ancestors..."
Only Subaru's hurried footsteps echoed, solitary and unceasing, through the Watchtower's silent corridor.
Waking felt like lifting his head above water.
He shook off the heavy drowsiness, regained control of his body, breathed slowly, and returned to reality. To put it more poetically, sleep resembled death, and waking was like being born anew.
Subaru brushed those thoughts aside, and his consciousness fully cleared-
"Subaru! Hey, Subaru, are you all right?"
"Wah!"
He opened his eyes to find a beautiful face right in front of him. Startled, Subaru rolled sideways, fell off the grass bed, and slammed his shoulder against the floor.
"Ow!"
"Ah! Subaru, are you okay? Why did you suddenly roll over?"
"No... I didn't mean to..."
Rubbing his aching shoulder, Subaru slowly sat up and looked around in utter confusion.
He was in a green room, with intertwining vines covering every wall. The entire room seemed to have been constructed from greenery.
He had been lying on the grass bed in the center and had accidentally rolled off. Forcing himself to remain calm, Subaru sorted through his situation.
"It's a relief you didn't hurt your shoulder. Don't frighten us like that again."
"Emilia, Subaru won't reflect on his actions if you talk to him like that. You need to be stricter, or he'll never understand how worried we were."
"You're right. Beatrice panicked when she realized Subaru was gone. When we found you collapsed, she nearly cried..."
"You didn't need to tell him that!"
The two in front of him exchanged remarks.
Watching this familiar scene, Subaru turned to look behind him. A massive presence rested quietly a short distance away.
A giant black-scaled lizard, nearly the size of a horse, slowly approached Subaru and affectionately rubbed its snout against his neck.
Subaru raised his hand and gently stroked the lizard's head, marveling at how clingy it was. Then he sighed softly.
"So, in other words, this is..."
Subaru slowly exhaled and spoke calmly.
The two girls simultaneously tilted their heads, looking at him in confusion.
"Subaru?"
They called out in perfect unison.
The silver-haired girl was dazzling, while the girl in a dress was as exquisite as a spirit.
A silver-haired beauty, a curly-haired little girl, a giant lizard, a room surrounded by vines-
Subaru opened his mouth wide and exclaimed:
"Is this the legendary summoning to another world?!"]
"No, no, no. Ram is undoubtedly angry. Ram had only just warned Barusu that a demon would possess him if he wandered around, and Lady Emilia told him too... Yet he still let it all go in one ear and out the other. He really never lets us stop worrying."
Ram pressed a hand to her forehead somewhat helplessly, a complicated tangle of emotions stirring within her. Watching Subaru's willful retreating figure on the Sky Curtain, something she would never voice surged in her pale red eyes. After flicking his forehead in the fourth-floor passage, she had clearly watched him nod in agreement-only for him to turn around and walk into the library the next moment.
"So this was the original timeline? Ram knew Barusu couldn't possibly be so calm and rational after suddenly losing his memories. Just how many times... did Barusu use Return by Death before reaching that point?"
Her voice carried a desperately restrained tremor, as though she were reassessing something she had always believed she understood. Return by Death-she had already learned its name through the Sky Curtain and glimpsed the outline of its weight, but she did not know how many different deaths lay buried in that tower.
What she least wanted to face was the question itself: had she died in those reset timelines too? And had Subaru-watched it all happen over and over again?
Otto was equally exasperated by Subaru's decision to act alone. But he also understood clearly that Subaru had always offered up his own life without reservation. How many of the companions gathered around him had never relied on his light?
Precisely because everyone had grown accustomed to relying on Subaru's excessive kindness, Subaru always had to shoulder everything himself. Otto knew that warmth belonged to everyone Subaru had ever saved, and he himself was one of them.
Then came his own reflection. "If only I'd gone along with everyone to the Sage's Tower back then."
"Failing to anticipate this situation was also a dereliction of my duties as internal affairs officer... Perhaps even the heavens would blame me for not going with them."
"To think Natsuki Subaru was the only one who knew that fox's identity in the end. How laughable."
Priscilla's reclining posture had not changed, but her folding fan moved a little more slowly than before.
"The so-called 'Finest Knight' could not even keep watch over his own master. A chief knight who cannot even recognize changes in the person he serves-I hardly know how to describe such stupidity and ignorance."
"And every one of you insists on acting alone. Either you get beaten to a pulp, expose your identity, or finally lose your memories. Are you all trying to make me laugh myself to death?"
After witnessing so many unexpected developments, even Priscilla's delicate, rosy lips could not help curling upward in laughter as she bestowed her mockery and contempt upon this fragmented team without a shred of cohesion. Her smile was not kind, but neither was it purely malicious-it was more like the disappointed yet amused laugh of someone watching a wonderful play when an actor suddenly forgot their lines.
She watched Subaru having his ear pulled by Emilia on the Sky Curtain, Subaru confronting Ram in the corridor, Subaru preparing to go to the library and read a Book of the Dead alone, then gently shook her head.
"I truly wonder how that half-demon's lot ever made it out. Without Natsuki Subaru, those two so-called royal candidates would have been gone long ago-utterly uncompetitive opponents. And they still think they can compare themselves to me? They should know their place and get lost already."
Hearing Priscilla's ridicule and barbs naturally angered Garfiel. His hands unconsciously clenched into fists, and he wanted to speak up in defense of his camp.
But he forced himself to calm down. As the Gorgeous Tiger, he could no longer act with courage alone and no thought. Besides, what the Sky Curtain showed truly was a reality that had already happened. The facts were right there, inescapable.
In the end, he could only remain silent, though Garfiel's tightly furrowed brow revealed how unsettled he was inside.
"How much more of this does the boss have to go through?! He's trying so hard-why'd he lose his memories after reading that red-haired bastard's book?! Did that asshole Reid put poison in it or something?!"
"I'm so jealous of Patrasche! Getting to stay by the boss's side all the time. Those two really seem close..."
Anger and worry battered his heart, making the blood throughout his body boil. The tiger's face flushed bright red, like a volcano ready to erupt at any moment.
"Garfiel, if you're going to shout, go somewhere far away and do it. Stop being a ticking time bomb here! Your face is so red, and you're breathing so heavily that anyone who didn't know better would think a demon had possessed you too. If you need to vent, hurry up and go outside. Stop making Ram sick!"
Ram pointed toward the distant edge of the city wall, or perhaps the distant hillside; it hardly mattered. In any case, she had to make him calm down first.
At her words, Garfiel shot off like an arrow, charging straight uphill like a fierce tiger. A few breaths later, the others heard only faint roars in the distance-the sound of a beast truly driven to the brink, roaring out everything in its chest that words could not express in its own way.
Looking with concern toward the distant roaring, Emilia turned her gaze back to the Sky Curtain, her worries deepening.
Because this also proved that Subaru would have died at least once after Meili pushed him down the stairs. Otherwise, how could he have been so certain and composed after losing his memories?
Pain welled up in Emilia's heart. She had been the witness to Subaru and Meili's promise, and Subaru had saved Meili, yet the thought that Meili would genuinely cause Subaru's death was completely impossible for her to accept.
But how could Subaru be so excessively kind? He could even forgive death...
"Subaru, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I said myself that you were my knight, that you were one of my people, but I still failed to watch over you... I couldn't even look after my own knight. I'm so clumsy..."
As the self-reproach in her heart grew heavier, glistening tears seemed about to spill from her beautiful eyes.
"Emilia, you don't need to be so sad or blame yourself so much. You know what sort of person Subaru is. If he knew you were crying over this, he'd definitely feel even worse. So please be strong. After all, these things are already over. With Subaru's help, Betty and everyone worked together to get through those difficulties."
"Thank you, Betty... I'll have to make it up to Subaru twice as much from now on..."
Emilia patted her cheeks, then steeled her resolve. She had to become stronger to follow in her knight's footsteps.
"Lord Subaru really is a naughty boy, not keeping his promises... But please, Lord Subaru, you absolutely, absolutely have to recover soon... Everyone's waiting for you."
Dressed not in a maid uniform but in a somewhat elaborate outfit, Petra pleaded and prayed.
Vincent had been watching the Sky Curtain in silence. What he saw was not a chaotic scene of everyone fighting alone, but a chessboard more complicated than he had anticipated. Natsuki Subaru's amnesia, Echidna's disguise, the cracks in Julius's trust-these seemingly uncontrollable fluctuations all ultimately converged in the same direction: the tower was revealing its secrets little by little, like a clock being stripped of its casing, its hidden internal gears appearing one after another.
"However, even I cannot predict what will happen next-Natsuki Subaru, just how many untold stories do you still conceal?"
-Meanwhile, in the imperial capital-
In a manor in the imperial capital, the flying-dragon girl Madelyn stood in the center of the courtyard, looking up at the screen of light stretching across the sky, against which she could do nothing.
Several quietly resting flying dragons surrounded her. Those normally unruly giant beasts had all raised their necks, their gazes likewise following the light and shadows on the Sky Curtain.
Madelyn rested her hand lightly on the wing blade at her waist, her golden eyes like two pieces of burning amber in the night.
When she saw the black-haired young man on the Sky Curtain mention a "decision that goes against my ancestors," she let out a very quiet snort, as though squeezing it through her nose.
"Going against his ancestors? Those humans always like dressing up their disobedience with words like that."
"The one with that purple-haired knight called Julius-what was his name? Natsuki Subaru?"
"I feel like I've heard it somewhere..."
The flying dragon behind her gave a low rumble, as though responding to her words. Without turning around, Madelyn merely reached out and gently scratched its neck.
"You think he's interesting too?"
She asked, then tilted her head slightly.
"He threw himself into an abyss of memories to find a dead man's book. That sort of behavior-in the Empire, he'd be nothing but a fool digging up the past because he doesn't even know how to live his own life."
"But that name, 'Reid Astrea'... In the Empire's records, that surname represents the 'Sword Saint'-the same surname as Reinhard van Astrea."
"The ancestor of Lugunica's damned Sword Saint?"
She withdrew her fingers, her gaze lingering for a long time on Subaru turning the pages on the Sky Curtain.
"If that human called Natsuki Subaru is in the Empire, perhaps that fellow called Julius is too. I'd love to capture him and question him thoroughly about the truth behind the death of the dragon's companion!"
Meanwhile, behind a second-floor window of the manor, Flop leaned against the windowsill. His injuries had not fully healed, but the dragon-tooth pendant hanging against his chest swayed gently with his movements.
"The master shouldn't be so reckless... He was so resourceful when he opened the city without bloodshed. Still, throwing himself into danger for his companions certainly is something the master would do. It's quite admirable-but amnesia really is a difficult problem. I hope the master makes it through smoothly."
"With the master's intelligence, I wonder whether gathering troops and fighting his way to the imperial capital would count as difficult... Still, I should rest easy. After all, the mistress must still be waiting to reunite with you~"
Deeper within the manor, in a heavily guarded room, Rem sat leaning beside the window.
Her gaze rested on the Sky Curtain, her pale blue eyes reflecting Subaru as he kept running for his companions.
She still did not remember that person's appearance, nor the names and faces that had once been intertwined with her life.
Yet when she saw Subaru sitting beside her sleeping self's bed, continually sharing his innermost feelings and grumbling about his worries, every gentle word felt like something inexplicable rising from somewhere very, very deep, making her fingers unconsciously tighten around the hem of her clothes.
It was an emotion without any basis, without corresponding memories or any clues to follow. Like someone standing in an unfamiliar land who suddenly caught the scent of their homeland's wind.
She did not know his name, did not know his story, did not know why he always had to save others in such an almost self-destructive way.
The person on the Sky Curtain was making that warmth resurface in her heart in his own way. She did not know why her heart ached for him, but she truly felt as though something were pressing against her chest, making it tight.
"He really is an incredible person."
Her voice was very quiet, so quiet that even she felt as though she were talking to herself.
"He looks so clumsy, yet he always does things he can't even get through unscathed himself."
Footsteps sounded outside as the guards changed shifts, but Rem did not turn. Her gaze remained on the Sky Curtain, on the black-haired young man preparing to read a Book of the Dead.
She did not know that person's name-but perhaps that very lack of knowledge was the answer she was approaching. Outside the window, the Sky Curtain's light slowly changed, as though a stretch of memory were gradually unfolding in full.
And Rem-Rem, who had lost all her memories yet was still drawn by something she could not explain-sat there quietly, waiting for that light to tell her more.
-Far away, in Lugunica's royal capital-
High in a tower of the royal castle, Felt sat on a windowsill, swinging her legs.
Having finished escorting the Sin Archbishop of Wrath, she had just escaped a lengthy council meeting with Reinhard. Now she wore an exquisite formal dress that made her uncomfortable all over, its skirt adorned with lace trim she found bothersome.
"I really want to kill all those damned officials and nobles! All this bullshit just to decide on a custody procedure!"
She had only intended to get some air, but when she looked up, she saw the enormous screen of light spanning the sky. Then a face appeared in her view, one she had seen many times in the slums' alleys, on the royal capital's streets, and in places she had never imagined could have anything to do with "saving the world."
She froze for a moment, then blinked hard.
"...That idiot."
Her voice carried a complicated emotion that even she could not identify as surprise or exasperation.
"Isn't that Emilia's knight? What's he doing in a place like that?"
"They really made it somewhere even Reinhard couldn't reach?"
She leaned her head back slightly, as though trying to confirm from farther away whether she was seeing things.
"That sand, that tower-don't tell me he really went running around saving the world!"
"Why am I the only one stuck here in meetings with those bullshit nobles?!"
She gave a little snort, but the corners of her mouth unconsciously curved upward.
"Tch. If I'd known the guy would do something this big, I should've charged him a few more copper coins before letting him go."
"..."
"Boring. This is so boring! Reinhard!"
"I'm here, Lady Felt."
At some point, Reinhard had appeared soundlessly on the steps a short distance behind her, where he stood quietly.
His flame-red hair stirred in the night breeze, his sharp blue eyes fixed unblinkingly on the images on the Sky Curtain. His gaze was deeper and quieter than usual, carrying a complex, scrutinizing focus.
When he saw that red-haired figure on the Sky Curtain-the man wielding chopsticks as a sword-his fingertips moved slightly. His gaze lingered for a long time on the figure of the first Sword Saint, Reid Astrea.
His blue eyes held the calm attention of someone confirming certain ancient connections.
"Do you know that red-haired pervert on the Sky Curtain? That's what your Sword Saint ancestor was like?"
"...That is the 'Stick Swinger.' My ancestor from four hundred years ago."
He finally spoke, his voice without any unnecessary fluctuation.
"However, in every record I've read, he was a legend. I truly never expected him to exist in that tower in such a form..."
"Your whole Sword Saint family is seriously outrageous... Whatever, forget that. Reinhard, tell me, where are Emilia and that guy now?"
"Understood, Lady Felt."
Reinhard gently closed his eyes. Three breaths later, he opened them again.
"I have acquired the Divine Protection of Precise Location."
"Hurry up and locate them!"
"Locating them... But Lady Felt, Subaru and Lady Emilia are not in the same location..."
"Not the same? Then tell me where they are already! You red baby dragon, you bargain-bin bot!"
Felt stamped her feet in anger, unleashing the novel terms she had learned from Subaru on this strongest Sword Saint.
"Yes, my sincerest apologies, Lady Felt. Next, I will tell you in the most straightforward, least roundabout, most hardcore, most decisive, most to-the-point way: Natsuki Subaru and Lady Emilia are both currently in the Vollachian Empire, but Natsuki Subaru is at the empire's westernmost edge-Sword Slave Island-while Lady Emilia is in the City of Guaral."
"The Vollachian Empire? I remember you can't go there, damn it!"
"But... the guy on the Sky Curtain lost his memories, and the whole bunch went running from the Sage's Tower to the empire again. They've really been through a lot!"
Outside the window, the light of the Sky Curtain continued to swirl. Those gazes scattered across the continent-whether unfamiliar or familiar-were all watching the same story.
Then they all had a new question-
How would the story after his memory loss be different?