The Sky Curtain
[After breakfast, the group headed for the Taygeta library. On the way, Emilia and Beatrice each held one of Subaru's hands and did not let go. Given his history of memory loss, this was an unavoidable precaution.
"Still, should I say that even sandwiched between a little girl and a beautiful girl holding my hands, the cold rain keeps falling on me today? When you get down to it, isn't it pretty lame that they're protecting me?"
"If Subaru weren't lame, he wouldn't be Subaru."
"What kind of assessment is that!?"
With that assessment delivered, the group took the grand staircase in the adjoining room upstairs. Once they arrived, Subaru could not help marveling at the sight before him.
"So this is Taygeta... Just like you said, it's nothing but books."
Bookshelves stretched as far as the eye could see, every one crammed with books. It was a veritable sea of information. Subaru had read plenty of books himself-light novels and manga-but had never been surrounded by so many. It might even rival the National Diet Library in his original world, but comparing the number of books was meaningless. After all, the two existed for different purposes.
"These are all Books of the Dead... If each one is someone's whole life, no wonder there are this many. The titles... Crap, I can't read them."
Glancing at the covers on the shelf beside him, Subaru realized he could not read this other world's writing. The scrawls on the covers were probably titles, but to Subaru, they looked no different from wriggling earthworms. Unfortunately, this other world apparently had no written-language translation feature.
"When I think about it, it's pretty incredible that I can talk and communicate with you and the others, Emilia-tan... Is that the mysterious power of otherworld summoning at work?"
"Mysterious pow-er?"
"Never mind, it's a word from my world. Say, Emilia-tan, could I read books before?"
Emilia, who had been imitating the unfamiliar word, knitted her delicate brows at Subaru's question.
"Well, you couldn't at first, but then you studied hard and learned to read. So, if you can't read the titles now..."
"That means all that studying went down the drain... So I really don't have any memories from after I was summoned."
"In other words, we've established that Barusu is useless baggage in this library."
"That conclusion really doesn't have any love in it..."
His shoulders slumped in dejection, only for Ram to answer with a cold snort. "Hmph!" Still, she was right. With the fruits of his diligent studies in this other world gone along with his memories, Subaru could not decipher these books at all.
"So my standing as a party member is already dead... Where's my book?"
"Don't say things like that, even as a joke... Still, it would be nice to have some clue to start with."
Subaru's declaration of social death earned him a poke in the forehead from Emilia's pale pink finger. Prompted to reflect by both her touch and her words, Subaru surveyed the unreadable titles.
"First, let's start with what we came here to find... Julius, you're against picking up a random Book of the Dead, right?"
"It isn't an experience I enjoyed enough to recommend. Also, I neglected to mention this earlier, but touching a book doesn't necessarily let you experience the deceased's memories. I suspect a Book of the Dead only functions if you knew the person."
"So it's limited to dead people you knew, too. In that case, I can't read a single one..."
Whether the books could determine the presence or absence of memories remained uncertain. At the very least, Subaru had already been struck from the list of challengers before the matter of literacy even came up. Besides, with such an enormous collection, even if he still had his memories, who knew how many books about people he knew he could find?
"There doesn't seem to be a search function, either. Do we just pile the books we take down on the floor?"
"Hard to say. In my estimation, treating books that way feels disrespectful to the library. Wouldn't that trigger the tower's penalties?"
"Penalties?"
"Oh, sorry. We haven't explained that yet."
The word in Echidna's remark puzzled Subaru, and Emilia raised her index finger to explain.
"There are several things you absolutely mustn't do in this tower. There are rules like not leaving the tower before the trials are over, and not acting disrespectfully in the library."
"I see. So piling books on the floor would count as disrespecting the library... By the way, what happens if you break a rule?"
"Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes! That's when it's my turn!"
Hearing Subaru's question, Shaula thrust her hand into the air. Swinging her ponytail, she smacked a fist into her palm in front of her ample chest.
"If anyone breaks the rules, I, the star guardian, will strike like lightning! I'll turn into a heartless killing machine and slaughter every challenger!"
"A heartless killing machine... You?"
Even as a joke, it was far too unpleasant. Subaru shrugged and snorted. It was hard to imagine Shaula, whose boundless energy verged on noisy, becoming a heartless killing machine. For that matter, could those slender arms of hers really manage it?
"Is that another assumption I shouldn't put too much stock in when I'm in a fantasy world with magic? I don't know how the balance of power works here, after all..."
In any case, they needed to avoid breaking the rules, so the strategy of pulling random books and trying their luck had to be scrapped. Now Subaru truly had nothing to offer. And so, the group naturally reached a conclusion-
"Subaru, it would be a problem if something like yesterday happened again, so please stay put while we investigate."
"Urgh... Got it. It's frustrating not being able to do anything, but I'll trust you and wait quietly on the sidelines."
"You really will stay put? You won't wander off?"
"You worry too much! It'll be fine! I promised you, didn't I?"
"You really don't intend to behave..."
"What's that supposed to mean!?"
For some reason, Natsuki Subaru was completely untrusted when it came to waiting quietly. He looked around for help, but leaving Julius and Echidna aside, Beatrice and Ram had no intention of helping him and sided firmly with Emilia. Putting that aside, everyone began searching and investigating the Taygeta library. Subaru could only sit by the stairs with his knees hugged to his chest and wait for good news.
"I feel kind of guilty, like I called in sick on exam day..."
"I don't understand your comparison at all, but I don't think it fits."
Subaru spoke as he watched everyone diligently working with their backs to him. Meili, leaning against a nearby bookshelf, gave that reply. Looking up at her as she played with the ends of her braids, Subaru felt puzzled.
"Huh, why aren't you helping?"
"Oh. Because I'm not really one of your or the big sisters' companions."
"You're not one of our companions?"
"I told you, didn't I? I'm an assassin... Since I failed, maybe that makes me a former assassin. They only brought me to the tower to help in the first place, and the part they wanted my help with is already over."
"Sounds like you fulfilled your bail conditions?... Putting the past aside, recruiting an assassin as a companion for a grand adventure was a pretty risky decision."
"-It really was. I think it's strange."
Meili ended the conversation with a giggle behind her hand. Subaru shrugged in response, then looked in the opposite direction. There was Shaula, who, like Meili, showed no intention of helping Emilia and the others.
"I get Meili's situation, but what about you? Why are you slacking off?"
"Heh-heh-heh, because I can't read at all. So I'm no help whatsoever."
"What part of you is a Sage? Is there a translation bug just for that... Hey, wait!"
Having openly declared her uselessness without a hint of shame, Shaula leaned her whole body toward Subaru and tried to pull his arm against her breasts. The soft sensation heated Subaru's cheeks as he hurriedly shook her off.
"Aww, Master, you're so mean!"
"Th-that's not it. Cut it out. That's no way for a girl to behave... You should do that with a boy you like... No, even a boy you like would back off if you sprang that on him, so don't go doing that."
"Bzzt, bzzt. Going on about how a girl should behave again? You really haven't changed, Master."
Shaula pursed her lips in displeasure after he shook her hand off. But her words made Subaru draw in a small breath and lower his eyes. Then-
"...You think I haven't changed, too?"
Subaru asked Shaula, who had judged him unchanged. He had heard those words many times in the few hours since waking up. Every time someone told him he had not changed, it was both a salvation and a curse to Subaru.
It was almost like searching for differences between the Natsuki Subaru with memories and the one without.
"Hmm, I dunno."
But in response to Subaru's troubles, Shaula tilted her head and answered readily. The answer was not what Subaru had expected, and he could not help feeling deflated.
"You... No, am I the idiot for asking you?"
"Hmm, changed or not, Master's still Master, so what difference does it make? You do whatever makes you happy, Master, and I just have to follow."
"-Even if things turn out strange?"
"Oh, come on! Even if things get weird, I'll force them open. You've forgotten, Master, but that's the kind of relationship we have."
"--"
There was not the slightest hint of duplicity in those straightforward words. Hearing Shaula speak so sincerely left Subaru astonished.
His feet pounding the hard floor, Subaru ran down the corridor with all his might. He could not claim to be as fast as the wind, but his body certainly reached the end faster than he had expected. He planted his hand against the wall, mustered his resolve, and pushed hard-
"-Hah!!"
He poured every ounce of strength into it, imagining energy shooting from his palm. A solid impact rebounded into his right hand, and Subaru exhaled deeply and nodded.
"Looks like there really is nothing..."
The wall before him had not changed in the slightest. Looking down at his numb hand, Subaru muttered to himself. He had tried several approaches, including sprinting down the corridor, jumping, and attacking the wall, but none gave him any sense of power beyond common sense.
If he had to name anything, his stamina was better than he had imagined. His hip joints were supple, too, and he felt more flexible. But that was all.
Like the scars on his body, it was proof of the year Subaru had lived through and no longer remembered.
A little strength gained through effort by an ordinary person who could not even live up to his parents' expectations.
He could feel no so-called divine blessing-no special power.
"I might as well try some transformation poses."
First Ultraman, then Kamen Rider, followed by Pretty Cure and Sailor Moon-he tried them all, but none produced results. When someone was summoned or reincarnated into another world, convention dictated that a god would grant them some special, rule-breaking ability. Unfortunately, Subaru apparently had none.
"If I said 'open status screen,' Emilia-tan would probably have no idea what I meant..."
Neither the status screens found in game worlds nor concepts such as levels seemed to exist here, and mentioning them would only confuse everyone. With no prospects on the physical side, his only hope was magic. But-
"As for magic, Subaru can never use it again."
"Never!? Why!? Did I use some forbidden spell!?"
"Even though I warned you not to use magic, you overused beginner magic and broke your Gate. Since then, you've been unable to use magic."
"I broke it using beginner magic!? That's so lame!"
His partner Beatrice had branded Subaru as someone who could never become a magic user in this lifetime. He had not traded his life for some grand spell; he had merely broken the source using beginner magic. Hearing that, he could not help getting angry at his pre-amnesia self.
With or without memories, Natsuki Subaru's life in another world had started at rock bottom.
"At least I had the good fortune to meet good people."
While consulting with his innate constitution, he became aware of the seed of unease occupying the depths of his heart. Though he put on a cheerful front around Emilia and the others, when he calmed down and surveyed his circumstances, the ground beneath his feet suddenly felt unsteady.
There could surely be no doubt anymore that he had lost his memories. There was too much credible evidence, and honestly, by now his desire to believe was stronger.
If he could not believe it, why was he still here? He wanted to stay here.
Right now, this was the only place he had. That was why he wanted power that could help.
"In the end, all I can do is cling to bonds I don't remember. I could cry."
Natsuki Subaru, forever receiving and consuming others' kindness, had not changed even in another world. The more he felt Emilia and the others' genuine concern, the more Subaru cursed his position of borrowing this identity.
"--"
Subaru was alone in the corridor. Everyone else was at their fourth-floor base, discussing matters in the dining room.
The subjects were Subaru's circumstances and their strategy for conquering the tower.
The focus was whether restoring Subaru's memories should take priority. Of course, Subaru himself ultimately wanted his memories back.
"Because my memory loss might be connected to the tower's trials."
The connection between the Books of the Dead and his memory loss remained unclear, but some abnormal occurrence in the tower had likely interfered with Subaru's memories.
And in that case, the likeliest suspects were the Books of the Dead and the aftermath of clearing the third floor-Subaru meant a backlash caused by solving the third floor's puzzle and clearing it.
"Traps that pick people off one by one are pretty common. Having one ridiculously strong character solo multiple puzzles wouldn't build excitement, so maybe this is a countermeasure...?"
Even as he said it, it sounded far too much like a manga, but those were the only ideas he could come up with, which embarrassed him. That was why he had slipped away from everyone to hope, alone like this, that some unknown power within him would awaken.
"The second-floor guardian, huh..."
After clearing the third floor, the group had immediately faced the vicious guardian waiting on the second. Though it was simply a contest of combat strength, their opponent was apparently an absurdly powerful foe.
Subaru had practiced kendo in middle school, so he was not a complete novice in martial arts.
But martial arts and combat were distinctly different. Subaru had that much common sense.
"Tch! In that case..."
The corners of his mouth turned down, Subaru drew the whip equipped behind his waist and quickly lashed it at the wall.
The whip bounced back and struck Subaru hard in the leg.
"Gwooh...! Isn't my body supposed to remember how to use it...!? Or was I just carrying it for show and never knew how in the first place...?"
Rubbing his aching leg, Subaru glared at the whip through tear-filled eyes. For that matter, who used a whip as their main weapon?
Had he equipped a whip instead of a sword or spear just to stand out and look cool?
"But if I could use it freely... Did I lose not just my memories, but my experience, too?"
He had heard that even people with amnesia did not forget how to ride a bicycle.
If so, why did his body not remember how to use a whip?
He had lost his memories, made the people with him worry, and seen everything he had built up reduced to nothing. He was useless, left only with a history of scars carved into his body, with nothing presentable but the surface.
That made him nothing but a paper tiger.
"Phew."
After a short breath, Subaru stood up. The words "paper tiger" that had surfaced in his mind were so ridiculous he wanted to laugh. Only now had he realized it.
-When had Natsuki Subaru ever not been a paper tiger?
"Ahh, I hate this, I hate this! This is so stupid. What's the point of killing my own motivation...?"
After lightly tapping his cheeks with his fists, Subaru sighed and put away the whip.
Since he did not know how to stow it, it took considerable effort to get the untidily gathered whip back behind his waist.
The calluses on his palms were probably proof of the painstaking effort he had put into wielding it skillfully.
"For times like this, you should've kept a diary of everything you went through. Useless."
Cursing his pre-amnesia self, Subaru started walking. He had confirmed that he had no cheat abilities, but in a sense, confirming their absence was a gain.
Now he would not rely on something that did not exist. He could not tell whether that made him too optimistic or too pessimistic.
"Oops, not this way."
Thinking the meeting should be ending soon, Subaru had intended to return to their base but had taken a wrong turn. Ahead lay the spiral staircase to the next floor.
The tower's stairs began on the sixth floor, and the fifth floor's spiral staircase was dozens of meters high.
In fact, the spiral staircase before him was about that tall.
"When you think of spiral stairs, you picture going round and round as you climb, but actually climbing them leaves you even more breathless than normal stairs. Still, it's a strange design... Well, maybe not. This is another world, after all."
The green room, for instance, was a mysterious room that healed people simply for staying inside. In a world with such fantastical phenomena, finding fault with architectural styles was missing the point entirely.
Besides, even the pyramids in his original world were baffling in terms of their shape and the thinking behind their design.
"Did the old me look for things this world had in common with my original one, too?"
Even he found the phrase "the old me" laughable. It felt as if something had gone out of control between before and after his memory loss.
There was no earlier or future self to begin with. Past or present, he had always continued to exist.
So, even here, Natsuki Subaru was-
"-Oh?"
Shaking his head to dismiss those sentiments, Subaru suddenly let out a deflated sound.
It really was only an unthinking breath. That sort of thing slipped out when something unexpected happened.
There was no meaning beyond that.
"--"
And just after he breathed out that breath with no meaning beyond it-the world suddenly flipped upside down.
"Huh?"
His feet left the ground.
-No, it was not just his feet. It was his entire body.
His whole body left the ground and was hurled into the air. He lost all sense of direction and balance, swallowed by a floating sensation.
"Wait... huh?"
A sound like a fierce wind pierced his eardrums. He did not understand. He understood nothing. Right now, Natsuki Subaru was falling. Plummeting. He spun through the air headfirst, falling straight down.
"Wait, hold on, wait, wait, wait-"
His vision spun, his limbs flailed in midair, and even his sense of time grew hazy after being thrown out. Subaru finally understood what had happened to him.
He had fallen. Fallen from a height.
From where? From somewhere very high to somewhere very low. He had missed his footing on the spiral staircase and been swallowed by the gaping maw of an enormous darkness.
Desperately looking all around him, he saw the tower's lifeless walls sliding upward at tremendous speed.
No. The scenery was not rushing past.
Subaru was falling.
Because he was plummeting headfirst, his field of vision seemed to rush upward, bringing a wave of nausea with it.
Stomach acid scattered through the air.
"-Urgh."
His breathing fell out of rhythm, and gastric fluid clogged his throat.
A stinging pain deep inside his nose, the feeling that all his internal organs had shifted out of place-these sensations made Subaru lose himself.
First his memories, then himself. How hilarious.
"Heh."
As a smile tinged with acid appeared, Natsuki Subaru passed out.
He passed out, his consciousness cut off, and then-
A violent impact-]
The worst had happened after all.
"The Witchbeast User, Meili... so she went after Subaru after all?"
Otto held his forehead in anguish. Naturally, he already knew what Lady Emilia had experienced in the Sage's Tower. That included Subaru knowing precisely that Meili intended to harm him, then putting himself in the line of fire and talking his way out of that peril, with Meili ultimately joining Lady Emilia's camp for good.
But those were, in the end, only memories of clearing everything in a single life under Subaru's leadership.
"Subaru has lost all his memories... he has no idea what dangers lie ahead. He doesn't even know about his Return by Death ability. Just how many deaths will he have to go through to reach that outcome?"
"How many more times must Mr. Subaru endure that pain alone before he can reach that original future?"
That question pierced everyone's hearts like a dense cluster of needles.
Ram's crimson eyes were as dark as an icy pool, and her usually mocking, languid face had turned utterly cold. She had always been sharp-tongued and critical, fond of mocking Subaru's clumsiness and recklessness, but as she watched the boy suddenly fall to his death, she could no longer utter a single teasing word.
Emilia was the first to break down.
The gentle smile that had lingered in her eyes shattered completely, and the easy delight she had felt when Subaru teased her vanished without a trace. The sight of Subaru on the Sky Curtain, dejected and alone, mocking himself as a paper tiger and secretly putting on a brave front as he tried to awaken his Power, was still vivid in her mind. In the blink of an eye, all that remained was an abrupt fall to his death.
Warm tears fell without warning, rolling endlessly down her fair cheeks. The warmth of a reunion spent laughing and crying had never arrived. Now there was only the bone-piercing agony of watching the one she loved fall to his death.
"No, no, Subaru... no, Meili!"
Emilia curled her slightly trembling fingertips, her once-clear violet eyes now veiled in mist.
The next to break down was Beatrice, who had always stayed by Subaru's side.
Her tiny body abruptly went rigid, and a thick shadow instantly clouded her butterfly-patterned eyes. Her usual prickliness and liveliness faded away, leaving only overwhelming self-blame and suffocating remorse.
"Why?! Why wasn't Betty beside Subaru?! It's fake, all of it! Betty would always stay beside Subaru! Subaru had only just lost his memories, so why did he have to suffer like this?!"
As Subaru's contracted great spirit, from the moment they entered Taygeta, she and Emilia had held Subaru's hands on either side, never leaving him for a moment. She had sworn that Subaru, with his memories gone, must be vulnerable and helpless, and that she would never leave his side and would protect him steadfastly.
Yet at the very moment when he felt most inferior, most lost, and most in need of company, she had turned away to join the investigation, leaving him all alone in a corner of the stairway.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry. It's all Betty's fault for not staying beside Subaru."
"Betty wasn't with Subaru... even though I knew he was most afraid of holding everyone back, even though I knew he would secretly put on a brave front, I still left him alone..."
The girl tightly clenched her skirt, her self-blame and sorrow mirroring Emilia's. The only difference was that no streaming tears marked her delicate little face-the faint Mana flowing around her fell into violent disarray, nearly dispersing. Utter emotional exhaustion left her unable to cry, yet it was more heartbreaking than outright sobbing.
"Lady Emilia! Lady Beatrice!"
Ram, Garfiel, and Otto cried out at once, nearly rushing forward to check on them. Ram had already raised her hand to steady Emilia, but her movement stopped in midair.
-Because something none of them had expected happened.
"Who was it?! Who made my daughter and little sister cry?! Are they asking for a War Stomp?!"
As a faint yet unmistakably clear voice rang out in the air, a fluffy gray-and-white creature carrying a purple bag appeared out of nowhere-though not quite out of nowhere. He seemed to have taken shape and hopped out of the magic crystal at Emilia's chest.
The magic crystal, which had been replaced in the Water Gate City, had always looked dim and short of magical power, yet now it radiated a dazzling array of colors. It was simply unbelievable.
"Hehe, didn't expect that, did you? Puck is here!"
The moment the little fellow appeared, his round feline eyes swept over everyone, immediately fixing on the tearful Emilia and the emotionally shattered Beatrice. Tenderness and fury intertwined in his heart.
"Lia, Betty, are you all right?! Tell me, did someone bully you?!"
Alongside his concerned words, Puck gently waved a tiny furry paw, and clear, soothing, pure-white magical power slowly enveloped Emilia and Betty.
In an instant, the suffocation, remorse, heartache, and bitterness lingering in their hearts all dissipated, and the knot blocking their chests quietly loosened.
The sorrowful tears that had been surging forth abruptly stopped, leaving only bewilderment, shock, and the sudden, overwhelming joy of reunion.
That joy gave rise to fresh tears, hot and light, filled with the fluttering feeling of recovering what had been lost, utterly different from their tears of grief just moments before.
"Puck!"
"Brother!"
The two lovely, delicate girls widened their captivating eyes and asked in unison:
"Why are you here?!"
"Umm! Seriously~? I finally get to see my daughter and little sister again, and that's the first thing you say to me?! As your old father and big brother, I'm so hurt~"
The adorable furry creature pulled down his little face with his paws, looking somewhat exaggeratedly sad.
"All right, Brother, now isn't the time for that. First, take a look at where Betty and Emilia are!"
Their reunion was an unexpected stroke of luck, but faced with the greatest surprise of all, the Sky Curtain, Beatrice, though overjoyed by Puck's appearance, still needed her brother to pay attention to the circumstances for her contractor's sake.
"Where? With my current strength, I don't really see the need. After all, no matter what far-flung corner of the world we're in, Betty will always be my cutest little sister, and Lia will always be my most beloved daughter!"
As the mouse-gray cat spoke, he even performed a cheerful feline dance in midair. When he finished and turned to look, however, the smile on his face instantly froze, and a solemn expression quietly settled over that furry face.
"Oh my, there are so many people here~"
"Puck, I'm really so happy to see you again!"
Emilia excitedly reached out with her fair fingers, gently enclosing the adorable, doll-like creature in her warm hands and softly stroking his smooth fur.
Her beaming expression drove away the tears remaining in her eyes, replacing them with hot tears wrapped in joy, celebrating and rejoicing in their reunion.
"I'm very, very happy too. We finally meet again, Emilia~"
"Although I'd love to keep catching up with my daughter, our first priority should be dealing with the other matter-I imagine everyone has plenty of questions."
As he spoke, the tiny furry creature poked his head out of her hands and swept his gaze over the others present.
"So your appearance, Brother..."
"Of course it's because I couldn't bear to be apart from my adorable little sister and daughter! So I forced my way past my body's magical limits just to see you. Well? Aren't you moved?!"
"Be serious, Brother. What exactly is going on?"
Betty looked a little impatient. Hands on her hips, she shook her head helplessly and raised her voice a little.
"All right, all right. How should I put it? It's actually because of that thing in the sky. It was strange, really. While I was asleep, I suddenly felt an unusual fluctuation of Mana around me. Then a huge wave of Mana poured straight into the magic crystal at Emilia's chest. It actually repaired my core outright and forcibly dragged me out of my slumber!"
The furry creature waved his tiny hands, a hint of surprise in even his own words.
"I think that Sky Curtain used some special medium... emotions, perhaps? Because when Emilia and Betty were about to cry, I was so anxious I wanted to jump straight out-and then another surge of powerful Mana helped me break through the bottleneck."
"In short, like a part separated from Od Laguna, that Sky Curtain keeps cycling and recycling Mana. The difference is that it seems to be sending the Mana it collects-in particular directions. Even I'm one of its recipients."
Hearing the little furry fellow's explanation, everyone unconsciously looked up at the sky again. Unfortunately, the image on the Sky Curtain was merely paused on Natsuki Subaru's agonized figure as he fell.
"Huh-"
"Whoa-! Isn't that Natsuki Subaru?! How did he end up like that?!"
Puck was clearly startled by the scene too, his newly awakened body experiencing its first bout of bristling fur.
"No wonder my daughter was so upset... how did Natsuki Subaru get put through something this awful?"
Making my most precious daughter and my beloved little sister heartbroken over him at the same time... Natsuki Subaru, you've got some nerve!
The tiny creature kept grumbling inwardly. Naturally, he had questions of his own.
But why does even Betty care so much about him... wait, that black-haired man over there with hair like Natsuki Subaru's, the clothes he's wearing-are Emilia and Betty in the Vollachian Empire?!
Still, my little sister has finally left the Forbidden Library. As her big brother, I'm truly happy-but, Natsuki Subaru, I already entrusted my daughter to you, and now you wouldn't even leave my little sister alone, you damned beast! Is this fellow really that charming?
Little Puck felt deeply conflicted. Although he already knew Natsuki Subaru's character and knew he was a man they could entrust themselves to, the thought that his relationships with Puck's daughter and sister would far surpass his own in closeness left him, as their old father and big brother, thoroughly frustrated and displeased.
His tiny heart had suffered a tremendous shock. Before the furry creature could fully express his surprise or sort out his thoughts, another respectful, refined voice reached him.
"You must be Lord Puck, the great spirit who has always accompanied Lady Emilia. A pleasure to meet you. I am Otto Suwen, the domestic affairs officer of Lady Emilia's camp."
"Oh, oh! Yes! Well met, little Ultraman!" Puck nodded repeatedly.
"No, it's Otto..."
Having removed his hat and bowed respectfully, Otto felt like crying but had no tears.
"Sorry, sorry, little Oddball."
...Am I really just an extra? Otto was momentarily speechless and sighed inwardly.
"Don't be like that, Puck. Remember people's names properly. That's the first step in respecting others. It's Otto~ Otto~"
"Lady Emilia is an absolute angel!"
Hearing Emilia's gentle words and his clearly spoken name, Otto felt his heart practically melt.
"I'm very sorry, Emilia and Otto. Perhaps I still haven't stored enough Mana in my body. My bodily functions really have declined... I'm truly happy to see you again, but I should rest a little first. Bye-bye."
Having finally gotten the name right and earnestly apologized to his daughter and their domestic affairs officer, the little creature looked particularly tired.
"Honestly, Puck, make sure you've rested properly before coming out again. Don't push yourself."
"Have a good sleep, Brother. Betty has lots to tell you too."
"Yes, I look forward to our next meeting..."
He gave a tiny yawn, and his figure grew a little fainter. He turned around, and before sinking back into the magic crystal, he tilted his head to glance at Subaru on the Sky Curtain, then murmured:
"That fellow has been through quite a lot. Still, as your father-in-law, I look forward to seeing you again too."
Then he became a warm ray of light and disappeared into the magic crystal in Emilia's palm.
The magic crystal flashed a few times, brighter than usual, then grew quiet again, as though nothing had happened. But one thing was certain: the gem had quietly undergone a transformation.
Emilia clasped the priceless treasure in her hand, her face full of smiles.
The Sky Curtain remained frozen on the scene of the boy's fall, and the grief had yet to dissipate entirely.
Even though the road ahead was still fraught with danger, even though the amnesiac Subaru still had countless ordeals to endure.
At this moment, however, they had finally welcomed a hard-won glimmer of salvation and hope.