Chapter Text
{Pleiades Watchtower, Taygeta Great Library}
――I love you.
――With a deep exhale, he pulled taut the bowstring of resolve deep within his heart.
???: [――――]
His exchange with those girls a moment prior, especially the consideration of Petra, caused an ache in his chest. Even Meili, with her insincere devilish attitude, and Flam, with her business-like demeanour, seemed to worry about him in their own ways, and so with Beatrice at the forefront, this was a line-up of superb young ladies.
???: [As expected of the Lolimancer, I guess. Though, it seems like a dishonour for both sides.]
Regardless of how it had been when he had first been bestowed that title, Petra and the others would not stay young forever. So long as he was accompanied by the eternally youthful Beatrice, however, the day would never come that the person in question would be stripped of that alias. Of course, it would be a different story if he ever parted ways with Beatrice, but――,
???: [If only he could do such a thing, eh?]
In all likelihood, it would have made this plan considerably easier to execute.
In fact, with the exception of Beatrice, he had never encountered a Great Spirit of the Yin Attribute that was amicable to humans. He considered that to also be part of her design, but he could not speak for certain on the intentions of the Witch’s links, separate from the Witch whom he had known.
At any rate, as a specialist of the Yin Attribute, and considering her origins, there was a fear that Beatrice would be able to decipher an essential factor to the plan. And so, the timing was critical.
Beatrice was soul-bound to the target through a Contract, so he would have no choice but to ensnare her in the forbidden art as well.
???: [――――]
As the sound of tension creaked, he could tell that the bowstring was being stretched tight.
Thus, he entered the Library of Taygeta, the vast floor packed full with bookshelves housing a tremendous quantity of books, a sight that would always overwhelm him no matter how many times he saw it―― and there did he witness.
???: [Murak.]
Receiving the full support of the Great Spirit, that man obtained the maximum effect of that brief incantation, and hopping on top of the tall bookshelf, he stealthily concealed a single volume.
???: [――――]
Even if he could tell it was a book from a distance, he could not discern just whose name was written upon its spine.
The Books of the Dead in that Library, aside from the titles, were all of the same appearance, with nary a distinction in their thickness. Upon consideration, it was a bit of a strange matter; there was no way that a child who succumbed to illness at the tender age of five, and someone who died peacefully at the age of one hundred after having lived a life full of ups and downs, would have books of the same thickness.
There was no doubt that this Library was a place that took advantage of Od Laguna’s properties, but it ought to have been the Witch who had made them manifest in the form of books.
In that case, why had the Witch gone out of her way to create a Library that was so difficult to comprehend?
???: [When you finally find that which you seek, you would not desire any excess noise, now would you?]
Vocalizing an utterance that the Witch herself seemed like she might have said, it sounded like it might have really been the right answer, filling him with unpleasant feelings.
To begin with, he wished to avoid recalling the Witch as much as he could. ――Ever since she died, he found himself recalling the Witch as if recoil from everything that occurred up to that point.
Witch: [――There is nobody who can defeat you, you whom I created.]
For a moment, he pondered. If this was a Library containing books that chronicled the lives of the deceased, then naturally, it stood to reason that the Witch’s book would also be somewhere around here.
Thus――,
???: [――Look at that, it is mine victory again.]
The voice to which he had plugged his ears, averted his eyes, and kept at a distance in rejection from his soul; the Book of the Dead of the voice’s owner, would also be located here.
???: […What do you mean it was your victory, Priscilla?]
In those unforgettable last moments, in those final minutes he had shared with her, she had worn that triumphant smile. The declaration of victory that had accompanied that smile, even now, he did not understand its meaning.
Even if he understood, it would not change a thing. After all, she was no longer among them. After one passed away, it would no longer be possible to exchange words or feelings with them.
But, even if it was purely a one-sided affair, this Great Library Pleiades made understanding possible.
???: […Am I an idiot? No, I’m definitely an idiot. Even though that sorta thing’s nothing more than a pretext.]
Everything was for the sake of the plan, a cover story to get that man and the others to console his heartbroken self, laying the groundwork for him to carry out what he had set out to do alongside the Witch, the plan he had once abandoned.
To think his heart would actually be swayed by that, it would be a tale far worse than going out for wool and coming home shorn.
Above all else――,
???: [Please, don’t save me.]
If he were to read her book, if he were to once again be scorched by the radiance of the sun he had failed to keep from setting, then just like the day he gave up on being a Following Star, he might waver once more.
The foolish star who did not deserve to be saved, would waver once more.
That was why――,
???: [――Your stars, were bad.]
Resigning himself to those words, he resumed his halted steps, and proceeded through the Library.
The singular book that had been stealthily hidden atop the bookshelf, although he had not seen the title of that book, he knew what name had been inscribed on its spine without even needing to see it.
If it was a Book of the Dead that man had hidden due to finding it inconvenient, there was only one title that it could have borne. ――And, finding one of those same books had been an essential puzzle piece for the enactment of this plan.
The two volumes he had wished to track down, those being the Books of the Dead belonging to himself, and to that man, had been found.
So, all that remained was the time for action――,
Man: [Good grief. It’s like I’m a mischievous kid who’s getting up to no good in the library…]
He slowly walked up behind the man who spoke these words as he scratched his head. The other party seemed unaware of his approach, and parting from the bookshelf where he had just hidden the book,
Man: [It’d be a problem if Ezzo-san, the very embodiment of a curious mind, were to find it… I mean, there’s also the possibility that a bunch of people come marching in here, so maybe I gotta dispose of them all? How many volumes in total would there――]
???: [――Dispose of what, bro?]
Man: [――Hk.]
As soon as he called out to the grumbling back, the other party’s shoulders jumped up in an exaggerated motion. Slowly, the man turned to face him, a faint stiffness strewn upon his countenance, making it obvious that he was feeling guilty about what he had done.
At the reaction of the other party, doing a clumsy job of hiding things, he deliberately made a grand motion of shrugging his shoulders,
???: [Oioi, you’re getting way too startled. I was just trying to make small talk.]
Man: […Yeah, sorry, sorry. Someone hearing you when you’re talking to yourself is actually pretty embarrassing, you know?]
???: [I get where you’re coming from with that, but I find it troubling that you’re making me out to be the bad guy ‘cause of that, yeah?]
Man: [The bad guy…]
Drawing back his chin as the other party inclined their head, he directed his attention to behind himself. Then, waddling over from that direction with lovely footsteps, approached Beatrice.
She wedged her small body in between him and the other party, and while puffing up her cheeks,
Beatrice: [Hey, you, don’t startle Subaru all of a sudden like that, in fact. Whenever Betty isn’t watching, Subaru has what’s known as a flea’s heart, I suppose.]
???: [A flea’s heart… really, bro does? I didn’t take him for that sorta guy, though.]
Man: [If that evaluation’s based on my boldness and audacity, I’ll gladly take it in stride, but what the hell did you see in me to make you think that way?]
???: [――Let’s see. Well, bro, I might actually know a lot more about you than you think, you know?]
Responding to the words of the man, who patted the head of Beatrice as she came to his defence, he took a moment to think before keeping it to a relatively harmless answer.
If he mentioned any further information than what he had brought up just now―― that was, the fact that he even knew about his inferiority complex and complicated crossroads with his parents before coming to this world, just what would he think?
Of course, he would never do anything so foolish. He had been urged by those impulsive feelings many times, but on those occasions, he would endure it by fiddling with the metal fixtures on his helmet.
A routine for when he went into deep thought, the metallic clank that warned him against forgetting about the plan.
Beatrice: [That is rather interesting, in fact. It is quite shameless to claim such knowledge about Subaru before Betty, I suppose. You are making light of the sweet relationship between Spirit and Contractor, in fact.]
???: [It’s precisely because it’s sweet. Good grief, sorry for getting in the way of your passionate honeymoon.]
As he clicked and clacked the joints of his helmet, Beatrice stood with her arms crossed, thoroughly offended. Shrugging his shoulders in an effort to not upset her, the other party awkwardly scratched his cheek,
Man: [Nah, don’t worry about it. Beako and I get all lovey-dovey whenever time allows it, and right now, well, see? We’ve gotta prioritize the Library, don’t we?]
???: [Thank you for accommodating me on everything, yeah? No, seriously, no joke, lemme thank you again. Even if it’s just three days, it must have been troublesome to set aside this time for me. Beako-chan, I’m sorry for bringing bro along with me. Thanks for coming with us.]
Beatrice: [Betty and Subaru are one, so it is a matter of course that we are together, I suppose. ――Also, Betty is not so benevolent as to repeat the same warning many times, I suppose. Correct it by yourself, in fact.]
???: [Gotcha, gotcha. ――She’s very kind, your kid.]
Man: [Ngh, yeah.]
The man gave a wry smile, struggling to get his words out, and Beatrice gently clasped his hand.
For some reason, the conversation was not quite bouncing along. Though it brought him no joy, he and the other party had good, responsive chemistry, and the tempo of their back-and-forth ball game of a conversation ought to have flowed smoothly. For it to have become this stilted, was perhaps because he had thought something inconvenient had been spotted. ――Perhaps, it was because he had concealed a book different from the one he had expected.
For instance, could it have been one of the two volumes he had envisioned just earlier?
Man: [Al… um, how are you feeling?]
???: [――. What kind of question is that, it’s like you’re the parent of an adolescent who’s struggling to get a grasp on a sense of distance… As you can see, no results just yet. I thought that it might be possible in three days, but man, I’m really at a loss with this number of books. It’s really on the level of finding a single needle dropped in a desert, isn’t it?]
Man: [――Hk, but, don’t give up man. Let’s search properly! I’ll also do my best to help!]
???: [Oioi, bro?]
Just when he thought that, the other party suddenly adopted a proactive position, taking him aback.
Time and time again, the other party had vowed unwavering sincerity towards him, proclaiming that he would be of help. Neither did he think that was a lie, nor did he find that aggravating in itself. ――After all, he had no expectations.
That which he had hoped for the most, that which he had wished the man to do, he had not done.
That was why――,
???: [Knock it off with the sentiments that muddy up exactly which one of us had wanted to come here in the first place. It wouldn’t make any sense if I’m not getting as enthusiastic as you, bro.]
Man: [Then do it. Let’s do it, as if it were a matter of life and death. For three days, we’ll give it everything we’ve got. Then…]
A tremble ran through that voice. ――Not his own, he heard the voice of the other party trembling.
He had far too much empathy, or perhaps, a wave that already ought to have passed had come crashing back in, stirring those emotions anew. The feelings of regret and lamentation, were things that man felt far more than the ordinary person. He knew that well.
Between himself and this man, they were the only two people throughout the entire world to possess it: the curse of their Authorities.
Merely, there was the man who could use it to save those whom he loved, and then there was his own self, unable to do the same.
Thus, so long as the man’s love was allowed to persist, it would eventually be born. ――The being that would bring about the world’s end.
In order to prevent that, at the very least, he would need to fulfill the duty of the Following Star――,
Beatrice: [――Subaru.]
Holding hands with the man who had cast his head down, his voice trembling, Beatrice quietly called his name.
The emotions filling that call were tranquil, and contrary to her cute appearance, there was a mystical solemnity that seemed to prove that she, too, was a Great Spirit who had lived for quite a long time.
Man: [――――]
At the address of the Great Spirit, the person in question held his breath, giving no response.
Witnessing that reaction, he fiddled again with the fixtures on his helmet, and decided. ――After another comment or two, finishing the verbal rally, he would begin.
As the other party had stated, they would be searching the Library in this Tower for a period of three days. The more of that time limit he depleted, the more his head would start to wander elsewhere. Ergo, he would take action before that could happen.
Man: [――Three days, is that not good enough?]
The man’s words, spoken as if wringing them out, sounded a bit desperate; was that perhaps a reflection that he was also getting a bit nervous? ――It made him think for a bit.
If he did find the Book of the Dead across a three-day search, and could fully glean the emotions that woman who was no longer among them had left behind in her final moments, what might happen?
He could say it with certainty. ――It would not change a thing.
These wounds would never be healed, and this pain would never fade. To begin with, he desired no such thing.
And so, in response to the question the other party had hurled his way, despite knowing that it would be a complete divergence from what he had actually been asked, he deliberately answered with the following:
???: [――Your stars, were bad.]
Even for himself, it was unclear whether he viewed those stars through a positive or negative gaze.
Present in this place were two stars, the Pleiades and Aldebaran―― nay, Subaru and Rigel, and as they faced off, it was unclear who was being condemned as at fault, and who was being consoled as having done nothing wrong, even for himself.
Aldebaran: [――――]
He had gotten far too emotional. He had also done a poor job in keeping the conversational rally going this time.
If he kept going like that, he would quite likely get drawn in and find himself uttering something that could be perceived as suspicious. He had already decided. He would do it on the next one, he had decided.
The other party who had fallen silent, the man who had been named for the stars, and bestowed the names of the stars, after he finished his next remark, it would commence. ――Passing Mana through his Gate, formulating the technique, he opened up the entryway for the forbidden art.
Then――,
Subaru: [――Al…]
Then, his eyes met with Natsuki Subaru’s, a face on the verge of tears.
Subaru: [――Ol Shamak.]
An incantation, one not of his own. ――He understood.
Once again, in the battle he had needed to win no matter what, Aldebaran had been defeated.
???: [――Look at that, it is mine victory again.]
Alongside the triumphant smile of the lovely woman he could never get back, he heard her voice. ――The next instant, the world of Aldebaran cut to black.
???: [――Natsuki-dono, while it may not serve as any comfort, your fears were not misplaced. He had indeed been kneading Mana, formulating a technique. A single slip-up, and you most likely would have found yourselves in completely opposite positions. I fully support your judgement as having been the best course of action.]
Having stood witness over the entire affair, the words of the dwarf―― of Ezzo Cadner---- served as no consolation to Subaru’s heart whatsoever, just as he had said.
Was there really, really no other way to settle things without anyone getting hurt?
???: [Captain, my amazin’ self doesn’t really get it. ‘S just, ‘s just…! Even tho’ I don’t understand anythin’, my amazin’ self can just say this…! I’m so happy you’re safe, Captain!]
Just like Ezzo, tasked with monitoring the situation, the one who was like a younger brother to him expressed his feelings of frustration as he embraced Subaru’s shoulders with his burly arms and straightforward words.
And, he was not the only one nestling close to Subaru,
Beatrice: [Subaru, you made a decision, I suppose… Even though Betty could have taken it all on for you, you still got yourself hurt like a fool, in fact.]
Subaru: [Beatrice…]
Beatrice: [But, Betty and Subaru performed that forbidden art together, I suppose. Subaru prepared the technique, Betty formulated the spell, Subaru performed the incantation, and Betty passed the Mana through. Hence, Betty will take on half, in fact. It would be unfair for you to carry too much on your back, I suppose.]
Subaru: [――Hk.]
With his teeth clenched firmly, what Subaru tightly clutched in his right hand, so tight that his fingers did not seem like they would ever open up, was a black orb that his own inadequacy had left him with no choice but to enact.
――With no other means to stop him, it was the magic orb in which he had imprisoned Al.
Subaru: [――Sorry. There’s somewhere… I need to go.]
Deep within his chest, feeling a sensation as if all the organs in his body were trembling, Subaru got up from his knees, and slowly exited the Library of Taygeta.
Holding hands with Beatrice and accompanied by the worried Garfiel and Ezzo, Subaru reprimanded his legs that were on the verge of collapsing, proceeding down the corridor until he reached the room he had set out for.
Then――,
???: [O~h? Onii-san, what’s the ma~tter? How’s the search in the library~?]
Seeing Subaru as he appeared in the entrance, both Meili, resting on a barrel in a corner of the room, and the small crimson scorpion, seated on her hair, inclined their heads in unison.
The sight of her safe and sound, acting in her usual cheeky manner, was something that struck his heart, but more than that――,
???: [――Subaru, what’s the matter? Did you forget something?]
Hearing Meili’s voice, the girl who had been facing the other way turned to his direction. Using a cooking utensil with a magic stone to stir the pot, she blinked her round eyes as they reflected Subaru.
Subaru: [――Ah.]
Laying his eyes upon that girl, Subaru’s body and soul reflexively tensed up.
After seeming a bit puzzled for a moment, she immediately stretched out her folded legs and asked “Subaru?”. Then, facing Subaru directly as he walked forward with unsteady, tottering steps,
Girl: [Beatrice-chan, did something happen? For some reason, Subaru is…]
Beatrice: [Something did happen, I suppose. But, Betty shall not say what, in fact… Merely, it seems like he had an overwhelming urge to see Petra right now, I suppose.]
Girl: [Me?]
Confused, the girl―― Petra, wore a look of surprise at Beatrice’s answer. Seeing those abundant changes in facial expression up close, the tension in Subaru’s cheeks slowly dissipated.
As Meili sighed a meaningful “Hm~mm?” behind him, Subaru gazed at Petra head-on, and after a moment of hesitation,
Subaru: [Petra, this is gonna sound strange, but… can I hug you?]
Petra: [――. Well, you can hug me without even needing to ask. Ah, actually, you shouldn’t do that. Just thinking about it makes my heart pound and seem like it’s going to bur―― st .]
As Petra smiled mischievously, before she could finish giving her gentle reply, Subaru reached his arms out and pulled her body close, embracing her within his chest.
Petra: [Um, uhh…]
At the sudden embrace, Petra could not hide her confusion. For a girl who, before he had even realized, was rapidly gaining nerves of steel, becoming better and better at not being shaken by anything, this was a clear discomposure to the point of being unusual.
But, there was not a single person here who would make fun of that fact.
After all――,
Petra: [Hey, Subaru, are you okay?]
A hand reached out from within his chest, softly caressing Subaru’s cheek.
At the question of the girl right before his eyes, so close that they could feel each other’s breath, a distance where even the beating of their hearts collided, Subaru swallowed his breath and forced a smile.
Subaru: [Of course――]
I’m okay. After all, he had to have been. After all, Petra was here, doing so well like this.
And it was not just Petra. Beatrice, Garfiel, Meili, Ezzo, and Flam; they were all unharmed. Everyone in the Tower, everyone who did not come to the Tower; they were all safe.
Everything bad that had transpired, all of it had been made to have never happened.
Of course, it was not as though he knew everything that had occurred, and he also knew that not all of it had been bad.
There had been confrontation and reconciliation, there had been betrayal and fellowship, there had been curses and vows, there had been hatred and love―― there had been Aldebaran and Natsuki Subaru.
Subaru: [――Maybe, I’m not okay.]
While embracing Petra, he caught a glimpse of the magic orb still clenched in his hand, spilling that murmur.
Then, the feeble sound that had escaped his lips as a murmur did not end as merely a stilted voice. Little by little, his feelings morphed into tears, flowing out from the corners of his eyes.
Subaru: [――No.]
By puffing out his chest and declaring that he was okay, he had wished to repay Petra and the others, who had deemed it acceptable to force Subaru’s Return by Death, undoing many irreversible things in exchange for a world left behind.
He could not bring himself to do it. In sorrow and lament, with his own pathetic inadequacy, he could not puff out his chest.
Subaru: [I’m not, okay… hk.]
To Petra, who had offered up so much as compensation; to Rem, who ought to have regained everything; to Emilia, who never gave up on trying to converse with Al up to the bitter end; to Beatrice, who had deciphered the mechanisms of the forbidden art while sealed together with him, giving Subaru a trump card when he Returned by Death; to all the people who had participated in that battle, both those who Subaru knew and those who he did not; to absolutely everyone.
And finally, to Al, whom he had failed to get the chance to properly talk to――,
Subaru: [I’m sor――]
Petra: [――Subaru!!]
Suddenly, a sharp, loud voice cut off the apology he had been on the cusp of vocalising.
It was the voice of Petra, looking up at Subaru from within his chest after having held her tongue. When he noticed that her round eyes were flickering with a storm of emotion, tears began to stream down Subaru’s face, and as she caressed it with her hands,
Petra: [You finally said it. You finally said that you aren’t okay.]
Subaru: [――Ah.]
Petra: [There’s no need to be so afraid. You don’t have to carry everything on your own. Right, Beatrice-chan?]
Beatrice: […A matter of course, in fact. Betty is Subaru’s partner, I suppose.]
Encouraged by Petra, Beatrice tightly hugged Subaru’s body. As Subaru was bewildered by the warmth of the two girls, Petra continued to smile,
Petra: [Meili-chan.]
Meili: [Ehh? I’d rather no~t. Petra-chan and Beatrice-chan should be enough…]
Petra: [Meili-chan.]
Meili: […Fi~ne.]
Hopping down from the barrel, Meili walked up next to Subaru with a sulky face while emitting an air of half-heartedness, lightly tugging on the hem of his clothes. As if in place of its master, the small crimson scorpion leapt off of her hair and onto Subaru’s shoulder, nestling its body close to his cheek.
Petra: [Garf-san.]
Garfiel: [Yeah! Captain!]
Subaru: [Gwohh!?]
A huge amount of force crashed into his back as if it had been waiting, causing him to reflexively raise a cry of pain. Desperately holding his ground to avoid tipping over and crushing Petra, he endured it. He had endured it, but――,
Petra: [Ezzo-san, Flam-chan, will you join us as well?]
Ezzo: [I am an outsider, so I shall refrain. Still, I stand by Natsuki-dono.]
Flam: [I only just arrived here, and have yet to fully process the situation, but… understood.]
The presence that only arrived later, without hesitation, nestled close near his right hip.
Now, in every direction, he was being completely embraced without any escape―― swarmed by such warmth, Subaru unwittingly exhaled a “Hah”.
Subaru: [What’s up with this?]
From an outside perspective―― in reality, Ezzo was looking on as a bystander, so from his perspective, just how foolish must Subaru and the others have looked in their current state?
With everyone all clumped together like this, it must have looked stupid.
Petra: [It’s fine. After all, the one who told me that I’m an idiot was none other than Subaru.]
Subaru: [Did I really say such a thing?]
Petra: [You did.]
Subaru: […Among all the people I know, there’s probably not a single person smarter than you, Petra.]
He truly believed that. Surely, that was the case. And so, it was obvious to her, clever as she was. Amazing. This was what it truly meant to be wise. There was a big difference from someone like Abel, who was just a clever idiot.
Subaru: [I’ve decided.]
His face was still covered in tears, he was still stuck in place being embraced by everyone’s kindness from all directions, and he had just admitted that he was not okay in the slightest, but he had made up his mind.
Subaru: [Al, it seems like you hated me so much that you could never forgive me, but…]
He did not know the true reason behind that. Only, he would not let things end without finding out.
So much had been on the verge of ending, but thanks to the determination of many people, unwilling to allow that ending, it had been averted; hence, although he was not okay whatsoever, Natsuki Subaru had decided.
That was――,
Subaru: [――I, no matter what, will definitely save you too. / Ore ga, kanarazu omae o, sukutte miseru.]
Even if he had committed abhorrent deeds that would have made him the enemy of the world, everything, both the good and the bad, had been made to have never happened by means of Return by Death; thus, that was Natsuki Subaru’s vow.
And, hearing that vow of Natsuki Subaru’s, Petra Leyte gave a satisfied nod,
Petra: [That’s my Subaru.]
――Indeed, the girl, who had not become the Witch of Melancholy, smiled.
But yet, something occurred in the flow of time that graces this world of Od Laguna; it was as if everything quickly slowed down to a full stop---nay, saying that would be a bit of a disservice to how suddenly everything stopped progressing.
It transpired so rapidly that even Subaru himself--who has experience in bearing witness to time being brought to a standstill, where only his mind could comprehend when not even his body would obey his commands, numerous times whenever he played around with the taboo of Return By Death before the Witch herself comes to squeeze his heart for the transgression—almost missed the fact that time itself stopped were it not for the fact that the group hug he got boxed in suddenly did not feel warm anymore.
It did not feel cold either. There was just a lack of feeling of one, neither toward any side of the temperature spectrum. It reminded him of back in Priestella when he asked Emilia and Reinhard to give him any descriptions of Regulus while fighting him, and they both informed him that they felt nothing while in contact with him. Perhaps Subaru was still out of his mind, or perhaps he subconsciously did not want to make the connection between these two events, he asked.
Subaru: […?]
Subaru: […What is going on...?]
He turned his neck around and bore witness to Garfiel; there was still a wide, happy grin plastered upon his face, but he was, however, feeling weightless, the perception of weight gone. The same went for everybody else, Beatrice’s hug around his waist, Petra’s happy, illuminated smile while she cupped his face with her hands, Meili’s sulky face while emitting an air of half-heartedness while she was tugging at the hem of his green jacket, the crimson scorpion---- Shaula, who was hugging his neck with her entire body, and Flam, whose face was riddled with concern for him while grabbing his clothes, all frozen in time.
Subaru: [What the fuck…? Why has time come to a halt, and why is it that I can still move, unlike before?]
Then he felt it, that intense fear, revulsion, and a sense of being completely overwhelmed and enslaved by an obsessive force, not affection. That same feeling whenever Envy came out to punish him for breaking the taboo.
He quickly left the room to check that repulsive feeling he got, walking through the hallway towards the library. Then he saw her, coming from far within the Taygeta Great Library.
Envy: [I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you]
Subaru: [W--hy a—re you here, Envy…?! I did not even break the taboo this time!]
Envy: [I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you]
Subaru: [Shit! I need to get away from them, or else she will swallow everybody else here in her way to get to me!]
Subaru ran away from Beatrice, away from Petra, away from Meili, away from Shaula, away from Garfiel, away from Ezzo and Flam. He ran past the library but also away from the hallway and the guest rooms to take her away from them. He needed to run! Or else he might need to kill himself----no, he did not break the taboo, so there is no reason for doing it, he went back in time, all the way back to the library, before Al sealed him, before Petra read his Book of the Dead. Nobody except him, Satella and the Witch of Envy knows about his Authority, yet Envy is still after him. This is not a situation he can get out of with just his death, as he did before!
Unbeknownst to him, in the previous round, because Petra was mentally discombobulated from reading his Book of the Dead in which he confessed to Echidna while crying and breaking down about his authority like a baby after getting eaten alive by the GREAT RABBIT, and Echidna comforted him, after which she said that someone was spying on their conversation while looking straight at her---- a diversion in the timeline occurred later on when she took the Witch Factor of Tristitia from Clind, where she accidently babbled about Subaru’s Authority to Od Laguna while making a deal with it involving their possible future together as couples when both of them were older.
You see, one particularly overpowered thing to note about Return by Death which relates to this moment is the fact is that it reverses everything that transpired in the world of Od Laguna, and since Od Laguna is the will of the world itself, this Authority existed outside the jurisdiction of this world itself, which means that from this world’s point of view, Natsuki Subaru would seem to be an extraordinary individual who somehow made the events happen in this world in his favour. However, since Petra accidentally leaked the information to Od Laguna, the world became aware of the events that occurred in the time that was lost thousands of times.
Now Return by Death’s existence became highlighted within its jurisdiction, not to say Od Laguna would either force Natsuki Subaru to stop dying or anything, nor would it try to bring back the original events, but now it will also bear witness to Subaru’s struggles, his conquests over his struggles against monsters more powerful than him who roam this world, and his improvements.
The Witch of Envy, though, who handles the taboo for Return by Death, and who obsesses over the noir-coloured, slicked-back hair with scary eyes, did NOT love the idea of it.
He made it out of the Taygeta Great Library and ran towards the stairs to go to the upper floors. He had to go above Electra, to reach Maia.
Subaru: [Just a bit more steps! Shit! --] whoom whoosh huuuah [She almost got me there with her hands!]
Last time Envy made her presence known when Louis got to know about Return by Death to engulf him, even when Louis was dealt with, Volcanica was the one who repelled her under the authority of Emilia, who cleared all three trials of the watchtower, and sure enough-
Divine Dragon Volcanica: [----I, am Volcanica. In acordaunce with the auncient covenant, the wille of thee that hath reached the top shal be questioned.]
In the next instant, a pale blue light poured down from above, striking the darkness that had engulfed the floor and the steps behind him. That fierce light then swallowed up the darkness, and the colour of the world changed with thunder blue overwhelming the colours of reality— but this time, the shadowy hands were a bit faster, faster than the last time the tug of war had happened.
This time, the battle waged between the blue thunder and the countless shadowy hands, who started the battle with an advantage.
Subaru: [This is bad! If she wins this tug of war, there is no telling what she might do to me! Think, think, think, Natsuki Subaru! If I gave up like this, then I would have either run away from it all or been stuck in some death loop up until now!]
Reminded of what happened to him and Spica in Chaosflame at the hands of that Old Man Olbart while fighting Yorna, where he decided to involve them as collateral damage uncountable times till he lost count and only thought about getting out, that disgustingly unfair battle for the unknown eleventh second that was fought that nobody but he alone would be aware of and have memories, or nightmares to be more exact, he shuddered.
And then-------------the world itself also decided to intervene in what it saw as an unjust act towards the scary-eyed man stuck in the midst of it all.
--
--
--
----I love you.
{East of Prosperity Village, a prairie field}
???: [Mmm…]
Somewhere else, a sound of groan came as the person who made it slowly opened their eyes as they felt the gentle sensation of what felt like grass against their face and opened their eyes.
His consciousness slowly returned. And at the same time, on the other side of his open eyelids, his blurry vision gradually returned to normality, revealing an outline, and then a lush, green field.
He sat up, turned his head around and saw that he was right in the middle of nowhere, except there was a narrow mud path that seemed to go through it in two different directions.
Subaru: [Well, this is great, absolutely fucking great! Why the hell did this have to happen to me, again!]
He now seriously wondered if visiting Pleiades Watchtower was some bad omen for him, after all, Satella is sealed somewhere right in the basement level of the tower.
He looked up at the Sun and saw that it was around noon. He had thought about using the position of the Sun to figure out which direction to go, but then remembered that the world is flat, something Reinhard had confirmed for him when he had witnessed it from the moon, when he was kicked there coincidentally by Regulus.
{Though there was something else he saw there about the truth of the world, which he did not divulge to Subaru at the time. Subaru would not know about the fact that Reinhard is hiding something since they were busy in those 2 months, which involved the rebuilding of Priestella while also trying to find a cure for the people whose bodies had been transmuted by Capella Emerada Lugunica, the Sin Archbishop of Lust.}
Subaru: [I digress, though, since the world is flat, the position of the Sun would not matter. It was the same thing back after we dealt with the Wolgarms, when I was telling Beako about the origin of my name from Pleiades in the sky and pointed in the west, and she told me that it was east.]
[I had misdirected her with the excuse that I was drunk at the time, since we had just raided Roswaal’s grandma’s secret wine stash and were having a wine party. Then there is the fact that both Sphinx back in Vollachia and Aldebaran back in Agaria Sand Dunes used Al Shario to make stars fall out of the sky, since the stars are actually only ultra-wide balls of perpetually generating pure concentrated mana hundreds of kilometres wide, high up in the sky.]
[Sky? Who knows, maybe just like the stars, even the sky is fake too or something like that……. Ok, I am actually nervous about where I am since I am getting distracted again from my primary objective.]
Subaru viewed his surroundings once more to figure out something, and to his left, he saw there were some mountains with one particularly tall mountain on the horizon; snow was present, so the mountains should be tall, but it must not be far on the horizon.
Subaru: [Though there is a mountain range to the left of my direction, so it makes sense for me to go there since there are high chances of civilisation being present as compared to the middle of nowhere, because flora and fauna would be more diverse in diversified terrain, since snow would melt to create lakes or small streams. Well, even if there is nothing there, I would still be capable of hunting and scavenging for water there as compared to here in the middle of nowhere. I should not worry since this mud path is diverging with one path indeed going in the direction of the mountains, so it increases my chances.]
Subaru: [Ok, but first, let’s make a check of everything I have on me, otherwise it would be pretty embarrassing for me to leave behind something valuable!]
- His orange scarf- No signs of tears! Check!
- His black shirt- No signs of tears! Check!
- His light brown buttoned blazer that he wears over his shirt- A bit dishevelled and unbuttoned, just dust off the dirt and now button it up. Check!
- His green jacket- Perfectly okay! Check!
- His black trousers- Dust off the grass and dirt! Check!
- His brown boots and belt- Check!
- His trusted Guiltywhip- Check!
- His Ol Shamak seal marble in which Aldebaran is sealed inside his jacket’s pocket- Check!
Subaru: [I have everything on me, just not the holy coins since I trusted my cute little Beako with those, but hey! If a village is there, I can just take up a temporary job to earn! Natsuki Subaru will go back to his home as soon as possible, no matter what happens, at all costs! Victory!]
And with that, Subaru made his way to the mountains.
He decided to jog there, you know, it is not bad to get exercise in the middle of a task if you can fit it after all! He paced towards the point where the ground ascends into the mountains. On the way, he saw that the Sun was moving, and he assumed by roughly keeping count that now, at this point, it was two or two and a half hours past noon.
{Mountain base of the mountain range surrounding Prosperity Village}
He now reached the point where the ground ascended to rise towards the mountains. There was a signboard with arrows on it. He went to read it, but saw that the script it was written in was undecipherable to him.
Maybe he did not want to address the feeling of being doused with cold water that came over his body, since he did not want to come to terms with what was being implied over here, he started muttering to make sense of it all.
Subaru: [What…? Are the glyphs different…? This does not look like the I-glyph that I am most familiar with, since it resembles Kanji, nor does it look like the Ro-glyph nor the Ha-glyph. Yeah! Maybe this is just some glyph that is isolated from the world! Y—eah! This—this has to be it! Absolutely!]
However, if the truth of the world could be ignored that easily, then it might be easier for utopia to be created on Earth or anywhere else, like in Lugunica, where Demihumans are treated as second-class citizens, with a majority of them living in villages and slums, or in Vollachia, especially with their “might makes right” or whatever that bullshit is or Gusteko or Kararagi, where slave owners exist.
Subaru: [I am wasting time here at the signboard, I have to start walking along this mountain right now.]
Trekking along the path that goes up the mountains, he begins studying the details of the surrounding flora for some extra help.
The sun was approaching the horizon as it set, and he was feeling hungry, so he decided to eat some fruit from the trees. Thankfully, the summer season was ongoing, so there were wild fruits and cherries on the trees and shrubs he encountered on the way.
He decided to thank his fate for once, as there were some wild apples, plums, cherries and nectarines he could eat until he felt full.
He decided to look back to see how far along the way he had come, and when he looked back, he saw something that could not be mistaken, even if he was as drunk as Reinhard’s old man right now. The ground had a curvature as it went off into the horizon.
Maybe it was the fact that it had been one and a half years since he had been transmigrated from Japan to Lugunica, but after so much time, he had not anticipated seeing the world having a curvature so out rightly.
That is when the cascade of all the emotions started appearing.
He was ready to deny even more; he was prepared to show anger, or even adopt a bargaining stance, to the fact that had been thrown in his face quite some hours ago, but what he had not expected was how mentally and physically tired he was----with Priscilla’s death, with the fact that he could have done more against Sphinx when she kidnapped her back in siege of Lupugana, with the betrayal that Aldebaran showed as Subaru was not there for him to help him in his trying time and him becoming the enemy of humanity and, by extension, humanity, with Heinkel also going along, because now the only hope of his wife, Louanna, waking up was in the blood flowing through the dragonhusk’s active heart, which slept atop the Watchtower.
Having to force Petra and Rem, oh Rem! For Petra and Rem, of all people, to create a plan against their own wishes to kill him, becoming the reason why Heinkel backstabbed his own father, being the reason for Rem killing him while crying with a broken smile upon her face. He was the reason that Heinkel had to dirty his hands; he did not even blame Reinhard for accidentally putting his mother in a coma when he was just a toddler, and took it upon himself and did not blame Reinhard even when he ran his mouth while being dead drunk. If he had saved Priscilla on time, Schult would not have been the one making a brave face, assuring him that everything was alright, as he would take up the mantel in her place to manage her Barielle Domain at the tender age of twelve!
Even when she was the one who was hurt, she was the one smiling to reassure his doubts when it should have been him, as she was there for him back in the capital, when she gave him a reason and the determination to fight back against the cult and not give up and reassure him that he truly loved Emilia. He was her hero, and yet he could not be there to comfort her, to tell her with all his heart that it would be alright, and she had murdered him again in cold blood as he stared down Aldebaran while he hugged the gravely injured Yae with his lone right arm----he was so exhausted that his legs failed him, and he fell on the grass below his feet!
He failed Priscilla, he failed Aldebaran, he failed to stop Petra from hurting herself as she sacrificed down aspects of her humanity to become a witch one at a time, now he could not even stop himself from getting separated from his family and friends for the second time! He failed, he failed, he failedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailed failedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailed all because he was so slothful.
He broke down, he cried as tears did not look like they were going to stop flying anytime soon----
Subaru: [----Hk!]
He cried about everything, about leaving Emilia behind, leaving Beako, Ram nee-sama, Rem, Otto, Garfiel, Petra, Frederica, Meili, Shaula, Spica, Annerose, Clind, Patrasche, and even Roswaal behind in that world as he moved ahead.
He even felt disgusted and hypocritical about crying in the first place when others had a more valid reason for expressing their sadness and loss than a slothful person like him.
He feared leaving them behind to mourn him; he feared being left alone all over again, having to fight to see the other day all over again.
Subaru: [Huuuun!]
He cried so much he could barely think about how he must be looking from others’ perspective.
Subaru: [I am sorry! I am sorry! I am sorry! I am sorry! I am sorry! I am sorry! I am sorry!]
If it was anybody here from his camp, they would have surely interrupted him from going down this depressive, idiotic, repetitive tangent in their own quirky ways that it further set the reality in him that he is all alone in this world and that there is no one there for him to rely on, to cry on, to laugh with, to share food with, to make puns with, to taunt with, to engage in teasing with, to give nicknames to, to argue with, to fight with, to bully, to get bullied by. With that, he realised that he was truly all alone in this world. Slowly, from exhaustion from crying so much, he went to sleep right there.
{Mountain path to Prosperity Village}
It was way too late in the night now, and his eyes opened as he took in his surroundings to see where he was.
He had wanted the past few hours to be just a nightmare, and that he would wake up back in the mansion with Beako right next to him, holding his hands, while in her own dreams, yet here he was, in the mountains, alone, due to his objective of finding a sign of civilisation.
He got out of his sleeping posture to sit on his butt as he started comprehending more details about his whereabouts and what time it was.
He looked at the moon, which had been rising for a while above the horizon, and it was a waning gibbous, so he mused that it must be like an hour past midnight right now if his knowledge of moon phases with their rise and set was correct.
What to do now? He did know that he wanted to go back home. But how? He is weak! He is stupid! He has not even mastered Yin magic apart from Shamak, Vita and Murak, and these spells don't perform spatial manipulation to teleport back to the tower.
He is all alone with no money to even hire a mercenary. He would have to take up a job and earn people’s trust, just like how he did back in his first week as a butler for Roswaal and Emilia-tan, before he would have to bring up the matter of finding a way back. He would need to do it fast.
This is a plan! Right? As long as there is even a semblance of a plan, there is no excuse to not lose a single amount of hope, right? After all, if he lost hope, he would have run away a long time ago; that is how he lived his entire life, after all, he had to be useful somewhere! He had to be the most useful that Natsuki Subaru is capable of, with all the expectations on him!
Yes, he has not lost hope!
He had not lost hope! Yes, he is alone, yes, he has no allies, and yes, he is weak, which surely would not put him in anybody’s good graces, especially since he also has an unintentional penchant for making unimpressive first impressions, to say the least.
But, he will try, after all, he failed in everything like a disgusting failure the past few weeks, yet Priscilla, that prideful woman whose pride had meaningful weight behind it, happily put all her hopes upon him with a thankful smile towards him and Aldebaran for saving Vollachia and called him a true knight even in her last moments and told him to stay true to himself even as reality becomes hard to deal with in those trying times because he was praised by Priscilla Barielle herself, the perfect woman!
Even if not for his disgusting self’s sake, at least he would do it for hers. After all, he vowed to save Aldebaran at all costs, even at the cost of Return by Death, too! No matter the cost!
If he cannot do anything in this world, how can he save Aldebaran? How can he show him that life is not colourless and it is indeed worth living in? How can he save Satella from her loneliness like he promised to?!
So, as it’s nature, even if reality and even that mirror held up to his slothful and greedy self becomes difficult to face, even if he breaks down, he will do it, for those he failed countless times. That is his promise as Natsuki Subaru, son of Natsuki Naoko and Natsuki Kenichi, who he left behind back on Earth.
Keeping that in mind, he decided to move on.
One step at a time. He will not fail again. And so, he moved on, one step at a time.
This time, no ally and no friends and no family under his watch will die.
He will win, and he will conquer all his trials, one step at a time, whether it be metaphorically, literally, figuratively, or ideologically. He will do it!
But for now? He has to move. After all, since this is another world, if magic does exist here, he will take advantage of his reformed mana gate to perfect it, even if he has to vomit blood and burn his veins and arteries to do it. He has his friends and family to go back to, so naturally, it is only right if he does not stop. He will create new “ride or die” allies in this world and go back. He will become to best version of himself he has to! He never made it along perfectly with Abel since he was called an “idealist” and Abel a “pragmatic” individual, and he does not regret it!
He will go back!
Back to Od Laguna! Back to Lugunica! Back to the warm, large and comfy hearth where he has his three arts and craft projects waiting for him!
Answers will keep changing, he will even keep thinking, to find a way where he can stay right!
Along the way, he heard an extremely low noise, a high-pitched, unintelligible “keheheh” within the woods in the mountain to his right.
Subaru: [No way….]
He almost thought he was going mad. There was no way, right? Maybe he is even going mad. Yes, that could be it. Like, he cried, and then he went on a motivational high just a few hours ago, maybe his brain is fried since his sleep schedule got mixed up due to sleeping in the evening, and he is now imagining that sound since this is his time for sleeping right now, but that sound is not what he thinks it is, right?
Subaru: [Was that a...goblin sound?]
His days of being a NEET made him hear those noises as his second nature when he used to gobble down trash light novels and animes full of harem, fantasy and self-inserting main characters while discussing and arguing about the fantasy with strangers online on online forums. What?! It sounds pathetic?! Give him a break, damn it! It was 2012 after all, before he got transmigrated after all, and he was only 17!
But I digress, the point is, it was unmistakable to him that he heard a goblin sound now that he ran his mind fast.
He thought about what to do: should he go ahead along the path that has almost disappeared to reach the civilisation, or should he go towards the noise and investigate it to confirm his doubts?
He thought about it long and hard, for minutes and minutes, weighing the pros and cons against each other.
He decided to run in the direction of the sound deep within the woods. As he ran towards it, the sounds became louder, cackles, groans, roars, screeches, all of them high-pitched.
As the sounds got closer, Subaru slowed down his pace till he was basically tiptoeing towards the sound that was by this point only a few trees away from him.
As he came to a halt, he hid behind a tree and peeked out from behind the tree while steadily moving his hands towards his trusted Gulitywhip. He saw them. He saw the unmistakable, incontestable goblins! Due to it being nighttime, he only saw their black, tiny silhouette could be seen, but even if only their silhouette could be seen, their noises and their shape clearly pointed to that of a typical fantasy goblin.
They were three in number, communicating with each other…that is, in the most sentient way that Goblins were capable of with their puny, almost bowling ball-like smooth brains. They were extremely small in size; they were so small that Subaru thought that they were babies that were left alone before he realised that it would not be possible at all in the first place, which made him think that this might be a hormonal change in their bodies, causing them to dwarf so much in height.
Subaru wondered if he could easily defeat them or not, since they are small, considering they still have stone knives in their hands. Like, he walked into Rachin’s knife back during his first day in Lugunica when he died for the third time while knowing his knife was out.
Should he even kill them in the first place? What if they were sapient or at least sentient? Wouldn’t that make him a psychopathic murderer just like the ones he fought against for the past many months with his life on the line?
Quickly, he shut that thought down, and, chastised himself for harbouring such a stupid thought, reminded of the Wolgarms, White Whale, Great Rabbit, Wagpigs, Sturdy Apes, the Hungry Horse King (who he dubbed as a Centaur) and the Elgina he faced alongside with Abel in the Buddheim Jungle, as part of the Lifeblood Ritual of the Amazonian Shudrak Tribe to be considered as warriors by them before they could ally with them as part of their deal.
He realised that he had no problems fighting those Witchbeasts with the intent to kill, when they showed a higher degree of sentiency compared to what these goblins are currently showing. So there should be no problem in killing them. Besides, there seems to be a civilisation nearby, considering that the mountain path was still there when he diverged from it to come here, so these goblins would then not be a problem in the future for that place.
A pest extermination service!
Now, he had to decide upon the strategy to take them down, should he ambush them from behind and kill one or two in in surprise attack before the remaining become aware of my presence. Sounds smart.
Or, he could face them head-on and overwhelm them with his brute strength and kill them and also use his Yin Affinity, since being in this other magical world most likely has healed his broken mana gate.
Options, options.
Subaru: [You know what? I have decided to just YOLO it! Ironic considering my authority!]
He then quickly snapped his Guiltywhip at the leg of one of the goblins and pulled him towards himself with all his strength.
The said goblin was extremely light due to his small stature and was flown towards a tree. There was a loud cracking noise, likely the sound of either the skull cracking, causing brain matter to stick on the tree it crashed into or the neck cracking.
Though after the cracking sound came, surprisingly, the goblin’s body disappeared in a poof, which made Subaru turn around to witness properly as the body left behind…a gem? Did he just see that correctly?
Subaru: [Huuuuuuh?! Why would it do that?! That is exactly some video game type bullshit happening! Am I in that type of world which I originally wanted to be sent to back when I was a stupid, idiotic and immature kid?! This has to be some kind of blessing for me! Or maaaybe! It could be a curse, too! I mean, if this is that type of world like the RPGs I played, then this could strictly follow a level-based system… Okay, I am making too many assumptions over here when I have not even met a person— woosh-- thud— whoa!]
Subaru had gotten distracted by seeing the goblin disappear, making it such that the other two goblins who just saw their fellow mate get murdered had enough time to get over their surprise, making him lose his battle advantage over the goblins.
The only reason he could still dodge them easily was that they had extremely low mobility; otherwise, he would have gotten nicked by them since he got distracted.
Subaru: [Huh, they jump slow. Returning to Lugunica will be easy if all the monsters are this weak—No, no, no! That sort of overconfidence is what gets people killed with their stomach cut and their guts spilling out of their body in a cold alleyway or a house! Stay vigilant, Subaru!]
He quickly ran up to the goblin after dodging a strike from the other goblin and quickly kneed the said goblin in the face, and quickly delivered a kick to the skull, which was relatively easy due to the small stature. There was another crack before that goblin also disappeared with a poof, leaving behind that same dull coloured gem.
After that, he quickly turned to look at the third and the last goblin, right in his eyes, making it hesitate for a moment.
That moment is all Subaru needed to quickly sprint towards it, jump in the air to deliver an axe heel kick right at its skull, causing its skull to crack and for blood and brain matter to splatter around before quickly disappearing, this one also leaving behind a dull coloured gem.
He then waited for more goblins to come out from the dark, considering he was being extremely loud while fighting. However, whether the other goblins were simply too far to listen, or there were no more goblins, either way, no more were coming, so he then yelled out joyfully at his first victory in this world.
Subaru: [VICTORY! EVIL WILL ALL BE VANQUISHED FROM THIS WORLD!]
He felt like he was on top of the world right now. Whether it was for winning without any injuries, which was rare for him, or because he was climbing a mountain right now, he had no idea. Maybe it was both, literally and figuratively.
But for now, it was time to head out to the civilisation which would come, sooner or later, on his path. He went to pick the dull coloured gems dropped by the goblins and decided to inspect them one by one.
Subaru: [Looking at them up close, these mana gems or mana stones or whatever they would be called in this world don’t look that impressive. It could also be my rash conclusion to think of them like that, just because they are dull in colour. However, if my knowledge could be correctly applied to this world, then maybe these stones give something like a life force to these goblins. Or is it that the goblins are monsters that are giving power to these stones? If it is the former, could it be that mana could be corrupted in this world too, like the miasma which radiates from Witch Factors and Authorities or by the Witch Cultists? Could there be some sort of evil faction in this world that deals in experimentation upon these monsters to cause chaos, taking advantage of this knowledge? There are so many questions I want answered! AGH!]
He had started muttering by now and delved into a mutter storm. He was getting fired up because even if he wanted to take this world seriously, the concept of being thrown into a world which functioned like the RPGs he played while being chronically online started to cater to his NEET dreams that were killed long ago, back when he encountered Betelgeuse and saw with his very own eyes how the Witch Cult truly functioned like, a horrendous, but very much needed wake-up call with the mirror put up that showed his most dirty, disgusting desires of being a hero who everybody fawned over and how much of a slippery slope they were otherwise he would have continued to idolise Emilia while ignoring that she is also just a person with her own faults and shortcomings and put expectations on her that would continue to hurt her and it would have also made him fall victim to Roswaal’s plan, and proving him correct that people would never grow and only way for them to advance would be to sacrifice everything and everyone for the sake of one person.
{He does not know, but in the future, there will be some ghosts who will exhibit mixed emotions of amusement, gratitude and despair simultaneously since the broccoli-haired heroic child whose mind and soul they are inside right now will have a partner to mutter together with.}
He realised by now he had to move on, or else he would be here for a long time and chastised himself to keep his fantasies in line, or else he would be repeating his failures all over again.
He had reached the pass at halfway height between the mountains. By now, the sun had started to rise from the horizon over in the East.
The sun had barely risen just halfway over the horizon yet, due to refraction, the light coming from it spread out in a deep crimson-orange hue just over the horizon, while the hue blended with the combination of the midnight blue and black hue spread over the sky towards the horizon on the side of the mountains, yet due to height of the mountains, the first golden and pink light started illuminating the pristine white peaks against the vibrant sunrise sky, with dramatic sunbeams, that were starting to increase in luminosity with each passing moment with clear air at such high altitudes enhancing the colours, along with a serene natural spectacle of light and shadow created due to the height on other smaller mountains.
Subaru: [Wow…! Looking at this entire spectacle, even Bob Ross would surely cry! Ugh! I wish Emilia-Tan and Rem-rin were here, this sight would have made for a good sightseeing on our date! Even Beako should have been here, right now, within my arms and on my lap! After all, I had promised her that I would show her the entire world and make so many memories with her that she would spend all eternity reminiscing about them as they fade into sepia. Although I made so many promises, I also have to step up to ensure that I fulfil them; it is only natural, after all… It is so nice, though, that there are so many things in this world that let me be continuously reminded of my main objective even though I am in a very foreign environment.]
Then, after moving his gaze downwards, he saw it. A tiny settlement, mostly looking like a hamlet, hidden in the shadow of the mountains down at the basin.
He started moving ahead, out from the woods to reach the settlement that looked to be at maximum less than two or three kilometres away at this point.
{Prosperity village}
The gentle decline in altitude of the path from the pass to the village felt extremely calm as the rocky, dusty surroundings were slowly blending into grassy patches, and the farmlands of the hamlet were slowly approaching.
He suddenly heard the loud noise of the roaring wind that erupted out of nowhere, while there was a bubble of blinding white light around him, swaying him off his feet as he struggled to keep his balance.
Subaru: [What the hell is happening all of a sudden! Wasn’t it all dandy until now?! Is the world personally out to get me at this point?!]
He suddenly heard a loud thud just behind him and turned around to see what it was—
Subaru: [ WHAT THE FUCK?!]
There was the gravely injured, bloodied mess of a person, who, upon closer look, seemed to be a boy who looked younger than him, with that baby face of his. He had green hair that seemed to be heavily stained with blood---- forget that! He was bloodied all over his body! All the lacerations, abrasions, and what seemed to be broken bones, if those scary angles at which the legs and arms are bent are to be trusted! The skin looks to be heavily scarred all over the body, with it looking dark purple in places where the bones seem to be broken. He quickly bent down to ask the boy what happened to him, but the words failed to come out properly.
Subaru: [Dude! What the hell just… what?!]
He was so bewildered by the current situation that he became speechless, yet he knew that he could not waste time, as the situation at hand looked so grave that it felt as if the boy could die at any moment. He quickly picked the boy up in a princess carry to take him towards the hamlet, hoping to get medical help there.
The boy was heavier than when he did it with Rem, and he seemed to be taller than her, but since he was only a few inches taller and still being on the smaller side, he could balance his weight properly, and he had also gotten strict training from Garf and Clind-san for an entire year and his experiences in Vollachia made it that holding the boy was easier now.
He was now running while still balancing the boy with the best of his capabilities towards the hamlet. He hoped with all his heart that he did not fail this boy, whose life seemed to be highlining on the border of death just on top of the Sanzu-no-Kawa, given how serious his injuries were! He made a promise to himself just a few hours ago! And he will not fail anybody anymore from now on! He will save everybody and give them a happy ending, even if it costs him his life; he will do it! Starting now! Right here! Right now!
Subaru: [I, no matter what, will definitely help you!]
He quickly reached the entrance to the hamlet and saw an old-looking, yet tall, muscular man coming towards the entrance point of the hamlet, likely to proceed with his daily chore of farming early in the morning. He decided to run towards him to ask for help.
Subaru: [Please! Help me! He is gravely injured and on the verge of death! I found him on the way to this village! Please!]
The old man seemed to be getting the surprise of his life.
Old Man: [Wha—what?! Waiwaiwaiwaiwaiwaiwait what?! Uuuh-uuh! Yes! Quickly bring him! To my cottage! It is on top of that small rise of ground! Quick, follow me!]
Subaru: [Yes!]
They quickly ran to the old man’s house, and the man opened the door to his house, advising him to lie him down on the bed. He quickly did as instructed by him.
Old man: [Quick, help me take off his strange clothes so I can treat him!]
Subaru: [Yes, leave it up to me!]
At that moment, a voice spoke from behind.
???: [Gramps? Why is it so loud so early in the morning?]
That voice must have looked at what was currently happening, as they could not contain their horrified bewilderment at the sight.
???: [Gramps?! Who is this?! And how is he so bloodied?! How could this happen?!]
Gramps: [Bell, my boy! Quickly help this young man take off the clothes!]
Bell: [Ye-yes! Gramps!]
The boy quickly ran to come beside him to aid him in taking off the green-haired boy’s clothes and gear that he was wearing. The boy, named Bell, in question, was a white-haired boy with red eyes who looked to be just a bit older than Schult, around Petra’s age. Looking at him kinda reminded Subaru of the Ousagi. Looking at him made his body unconsciously shiver without intending to, reminded of the time they performed that huge transgression on his body while he was alive. But, this was not the time for that! The time right now was to save the boy in front of them!
He then took off all his clothes that were torn. He first took off his white gloves with blue stripes that were surprisingly heavy for their size, then he took off his white gloves with metal holes on top of the fingers that looked from some sci-fi story. He would think about them and the implications they gave later on.
While he did that, Bell took off his blue coloured metal kneecaps and then his red shoes, stained with grime and blood, that were protruding out from the sides of the pinkie toes. The red shoes had iron soles with joints in between, which kinda looked badass--- focus! Bell then took off his mustard yellow cape, which was torn at the ends and dirtied with blood and mud and ash. Then, both he and Bell together took off his phthalocyanine green suit to give the old man access to the boy’s skin, who was being treated.
Bell quickly ran off to get clean water to wash his injuries so they wouldn’t get infected. Subaru went along with him to speed up the process. They also picked up some clean rags so that injuries could be cleaned. Then Subaru and Bell alternatively took turns to clean his injuries with wet rags.
In the meantime, the old man had called for some men from the village with what seemed to be some concoctions in their hands in glass bottles.
Old Man: [Men, now help me with this medicine to apply to him! And you, boy! Come open these bandages so we can wrap them around him to also stop the bleeding! These medicines have healing properties, and the bandages would help these medicines stay in place! Also, help these men in raising the boy’s neck so they can make him drink these potions!]
After all of that, they stabilised his condition before double-checking if they were in the safe zone.
After confirming that the boy would not cross the Sanzu River, Subaru heaved out a huge, deep breath that he did not know he was holding. His legs and knees collapsed from underneath him, and he fell on his butt, greatly relieved that he did not fail him. Bell and the old man were also behind, smiling a little too themselves while keeping both the boys in between their gazes. The village men, who were called, had congratulated each other on the job well done, with some of them excited, since they could use this as an excuse to all get dead drunk together later in the day without their wives getting angry at them for their recklessness. They then said their departures to the old man and Bell.
Then the old man called out to him and a calm, gentle, yet firm and clear voice.
Old Man: [Boy, let us talk outside, after all, there are some questions I need to ask. Bell, make sure to cater to the sleeping boy’s needs.]
Bell: [Yes, Gramps! Leave it all to me!]
Subaru: […Yes]
Subaru then used his hands to stand upright, and with an “aah” sound coming from his mouth, while Bell adorably followed what his grandfather said. Subaru then turned around and called out to Bell.
Subaru: [Bell-kun, take it easy, you also just woke up. I cannot afford to trouble you guys that much. Okay?]
Bell: [“O-keh?” Well, no worries! This stuff is not that hard to do!]
Bell declared with his entire chest, he looked like some white rabbit jumping and standing on its hind legs to show that it was strong.
Subaru: […Yes]
Subaru then walked out to talk to the old man. It was already morning now. He then saw him outside his house, standing on the grass, looking at him, with a relaxed posture that displayed casualness, yet his eyes showed that he was carefully studying Subaru for any opening in his behaviour. Subaru, upon looking at him, got reminded of the looks he used to receive in Vollachia, especially from Abel during the early days, which made him think that he must also have been just like Wilhelm-san in his younger days, a warrior or a soldier, or maybe even a knight. Whatever he must have been, he certainly must be no stranger to violence, bloodshed and the days of war.
Subaru: [You had some questions for me, right?]
Old Man: [Yes, first of all: Who are you and where do you come from, and who is that boy you brought in bloodied?
Subaru: [Straight to it, huh? Well, the name is Subaru, Natsuki Subaru. I come from a land far beyond this land in the East, even beyond the Great Wate---- wait, something like that does not exist here. Or does it? Welp, that’s for later. The boy, though, I do not know his name. I was coming down from the mountain pass towards this village to get some information and then, whoosh! There was roaring of winds around me, while there was a bubble of blinding, white light around me, then it all disappeared, then lo and behold! I found him like that! Maybe some teleportation power was involved for that boy. But his gear and clothes looked surprisingly modern, with some looking outright futuristic, and those shoes looked branded like so maybe…I am not the only one stuck in this particular situation.]
Subaru said that, then went silent, working out the implications while the old man in front of him continued staring at him.
Old Man: [Subaru, huh? So that is how it is, huh?]
The old man’s eyes were coloured with confusion, then a puzzled look, after which they relaxed with slight betrayal of giddiness as if concluded.
Subaru: [First name basis, huh? Well, I don’t mind it at all, but I must ask, what is this village and who are you?]
Old Man: [Oh, this is just some unnamed village, where there are old folks like us with some daring youngsters, all looking to have some honest name to their daily work. And me? Well, you can just call me Gramps, just like my cute little Bell calls me.]
With the mention of the village folk and Bell in particular, Gramps' eyes lit up as if the weekend had come early and he could drink to his heart’s content.
Gramps: [You must be tired right now, right? I mean, after such a long, tedious journey, anyone would be. I mean, look at your eyes, they look weird, and there are such heavy eye bags beneath them!]
Subaru: [My eyes are perfectly normal, which I received from my mother, thank you very much! Eye bags? Well, they have been there for quite some months. I mean, I had a very good night’s sleep among the trees in the mountains, so I am not tired right now! Look at me flaunting my arms and legs around! My vitality is bursting through the roof!]
Subaru felt it, though, even if Gramps said some scandalous things about his eyes and there had been a serious situation just a while ago, the mood between them had already lightened up, and even Subaru was self-aware that while he made bad first impressions, he had good luck with the elderly and the brats.
Gramps: [Hahaha, look at you! The youth certainly need to be active, for this is their age! Now, let's talk about what happened just now.]
Subaru tensed up listening to him, thinking about the payment, which was valid, since they had to use their potions, which they kept for emergencies.
Subaru: [Uh, sorry for using your emergency potions! I do not have any money on me as of now, but I have these three dull gems that I got from three goblins up in the mountains. If I can pay you all back with some labour in return, then I am all for it! It is just that----]
Gramps: [Subaru! It’s fine! Those potions were for emergencies, and this was one, so calm down, boy! Well, you can give those stones in return so that the blacksmiths of the village can use them for signals, or for lamps, or whatever they find fit.]
Subaru: [So that is what those stones are for? Kinda underwhelming compared to the mana stones back home, like Evil Sealing Stones or Fire stones. Compared to them, these feel less versatile. Okay, phew]
Gramps: [Well, since it is morning, I must go to the woods to do my work on time.]
Subaru: [Yes Gramps. Well, I must not trouble you any longer. Let me take care of the boy so that Bell can also be free to do his chores.]
Gramps: [Subaru, I told you not----]
Subaru: [----Yes, I know! But I have to! Let me ease up your shoulders a bit!
Gramps: [sighs …Fine, go inside and tell Bell that]
With an exasperated look on his face, he turned around, but Subaru was not aware of the face that the old man made while facing away, a look of genuine smile upon witnessing a boy----who despite looking like he endured all the hell the world has to offer, if his tired eyes and the eye bags—which looked like they bore the weight of the entire world for far too long-- beneath are any indication---- remained extremely kind and caring.
With that, the hopes and dreams about the heroes and other legends that the old man, nay, Zeus had about the future grew greatly; however, Subaru, Bell, and, if possible, the green-haired boy too, that is, if he showed some promising signs too, did not need to know about it.
Subaru watched the old man walk away and turned back to walk toward the cottage’s stairs. He then entered the cottage to talk to Bell. Upon lifting his gaze, he saw Bell diligently taking care of the green-haired boy and could not help but smile, but decided to prank him and crept up behind him and then barked loudly.
Subaru: [Bell-kun! It is time for a shift change, with approval for it from dear Gramps! You're free now!]
Bell: [UHBWUH! What?! Uh, Gramps said that?]
Subaru: [I asked him and he said yes, so yes.]
Bell: [Taking care of him is no problem, though! It is not like I am a stranger----]
Subaru: [----I insisted, and he agreed, so you can get up. Don’t worry, I was watching you, so now I know where everything is. It is all right, it was our deal, so let me make your shoulders light. Besides, he will be out till the next day, and as they said, injuries won’t be gone till next week, so your time will be eaten! That should absolutely not happen!]
Bell looked ready to argue, and this conversation would have easily become a game of catch were it not for Bell realising that Subaru looked a bit serious, and with those vicious, scary eyes of his, he looked a bit intimidating too. In the end, Bell gave up and stood up.
Bell: [haaaah!], he sighed as he stood up.
Bell: [I will be going outside to do my chores. If anything arises, don’t hesitate to call!]
Subaru: [Ok~~ay!]
With that, Bell left the cottage, most likely to his Gramps, to get more details along the way.
Subaru, watching him leave, took a sigh of relaxation before smiling since teasing Bell like this reminded him of when everybody used to gang up on Otto-san to bully him, even Petra with her “Ottotototo-saaan!” and Emilia-tan too, albeit unintentionally, with her kindness, which would be the final punch for him. It never got old. Smiling mirthily with a bit of forlornness at the memories, he reminded himself yet again that he would go back home, back to everybody.
With that, he sat down on the chair to deal with this, and at first, he went towards the clothes that were discarded to get some clues about the boy’s true origin and his past.