Chapter Text
Subaru didn’t have time to comprehend what had happened.
His hand remained tightly locked around Beako’s as he struggled to make sense of what had just happened, fighting to steady his stomach while waves of dizziness threatened to overwhelm the headache and disorientation left by using Invisible Providence.
The last thing he remembered was a familiar shadow before darkness swallowed his vision, more than enough of a clue about what had occurred.
The world spun violently around him, his body betraying him as his knees buckled beneath the sudden wave of weakness.
A moment later, he felt the sharp rocks beneath him digging into his knees.
He groaned, lifting a hand to his head as he tried to quell the hellish pounding in his skull, pain that threatened to split it in two.
Every movement brought another wave of dizziness, while a voice called his name without pause, yet his disoriented mind couldn’t quite place where it was coming from.
His hand instinctively tightened around something warm, unconsciously, afraid to let go.
“...ru!”
The high-pitched voice cried out again and again, edged with panic, until Subaru scraped together the last of his self-control and forced his eyes open.
The sight that greeted him was no less disorienting; everything spun and warped, swimming in the air like a fever dream.
Yet through the haze, he noticed something even stranger: the world around him had been drained of all color, as if everything had been passed through a sepia filter, reduced to endless shades of brown.
Since when did I end up acting in a retro film?
He thought dryly, mustering enough strength to push himself upright and brush dust and gravel from his clothes as the distorted world finally began to settle.
His face froze in shock as he stared, utterly stupefied.
Before him stretched a scene that could only be described as an aged painting with a depiction of the industrial epoch.
Yet that was the least surprising, let alone the most troubling part of it.
It wasn’t merely the buildings or the people clothed in dull browns; the entire world seemed filtered through that color, his vision devoid of anything else.
Subaru glanced down at his own arms, washed in a yellowish brown like sun-bleached paper, and at his clothes, now a darker muddy shade, all blending into one monochrome palette.
He rubbed his eyes with his free hand, as if clearing sand or dirt might fix it, but when he looked again, nothing had changed.
“Subaru!” The voice snapped him from his trance, his contracted spirit calling out with raw concern etched across her face.
Shaking off the lingering haze, Subaru forced a quick smile, hoping to reassure her.
“Ah, what’s wrong, Beako? Getting all worried about your wonderful contractor?” he teased, reaching to tug one of her drills, then froze as he finally took a proper look at her.
Beatrice’s dress had turned a lifeless gray, its vivid pink completely gone.
The pink tips of her drills had faded too, leaving behind a sickly pale blonde, and her once-vibrant eyes were now drained of all light, mostly black, with only the faint white shape of butterfly-like irises hinting at what they used to be.
Despite his teasing, Beatrice didn’t respond with her usual tsundere attitude.
Instead, she watched him with visible worry, her eyes darting anxiously around their surroundings.
“Subaru… Betty inquires how are you?” she asked hesitantly.
Subaru bit his lip and took a closer look at himself.
It didn’t take a genius to realize they were no longer in the Pleiades Watchtower, or even in the world of Od Lagna at all.
If Earth hasn’t suddenly gone through a retro boom and developed the ability to shove people into old movies, then I highly doubt we’re still home,
He joked weakly to himself as his gaze swept their environment.
The buildings looked straight out of the 18th century, and the people dressed in formal, old-fashioned attire.
Even the poorest among them wore clothes Subaru could imagine putting on for a job interview.
Coupled with the strange lack of color, which no one else seemed to notice, Subaru could only assume he had been transported to yet another world.
This is bad. We need to get back immediately. Who knows what happened to Emilia-tan and, more importantly… Rem? She was right next to me. Did she get dragged here, too?
Panic surged through him, tightening his chest. One hand clamped desperately around his other arm as his thoughts spiraled, threatening to overwhelm him.
A small hand tightened around his own, stopping his nails from digging into his skin.
Subaru’s gaze shifted to Beatrice, her worried eyes pulling a deep breath from his lungs.
He should have thought of Beatrice first.
There was no way she wasn’t terrified right now. Forcing himself to appear composed, he turned to her with a reassuring smile.
“Beako, I’m fine. No reason to worry, see?” he said, flexing his arms and legs with an exaggerated, goofy grin.
But her expression remained hesitant.
“Where are we, I wonder?”
Subaru had no answer either, but he forced optimism into his voice.
“I have a few guesses, but how about we start by asking the people around here? I’m sure we’ll find something to point us back home.”
His voice carried a hollow certainty, and Beatrice saw right through it.
Even so, her doubt faded as she huffed indignantly, puffing out her cheeks.
“If Betty’s Subaru says so, then Betty has no reason to object… I suppose.”
She looked away, still pouting, and Subaru felt his heart melt from sheer cuteness overload.
He responded on instinct, scooping her into a tight hug and spinning her through the air.
Despite her best efforts to stay serious, she let out a tiny giggle as he set her back down on solid ground.
Subaru hummed in satisfaction, flashing a wider grin at his contracted spirit before taking her hand and replying.
“You see? Just give your contractor a few minutes, and we’ll figure something out in no time!”
Subaru exclaimed cheerfully, prompting an exasperated huff from Beatrice.
Nonetheless, the corners of her mouth remained slightly curled upward, clearly amused by his antics, even as she did her best to maintain a serious expression.
Though that was only so effective with her cheeks puffed out like that.
Subaru’s smile widened as he held Beako’s hand a little tighter, as if that alone could dispel the doubts gnawing at him.
Man… Subaru sighed inwardly, his shoulders sagging just a little.
I said that, sure, but where do we even start?
He thought wearily, trying to steer his mind away from the possibility that he might somehow be back on Earth.
As they walked along the road, Beatrice suddenly spoke up again, snapping Subaru out of his thoughts.
“Is this the place Betty’s Subaru was talking about? If so, then Betty’s contractor has greatly neglected his duty by failing to mention such glaring details as the complete lack of colors, I suppose.”
Subaru let out a small chuckle at her tantrum but hid it behind a cough before answering,
“No. Though there are some similarities, it looks more like a scene from an old-style movie.”
He shrugged, and Beatrice added matter-of-factly,
“Subaru means those moving pictures with performers, Betty recalls.”
He tapped a finger thoughtfully against his chin for a moment before replying casually,
“Pretty much, yeah, though more like the really old ones.”
Beatrice remained silent for a few beats, then asked a question that drew genuine, hearty laughter out of him.
“Does that mean Subaru’s world looked like this some time ago, Betty wonders?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Subaru burst into laughter, quickly wiping tears from the corners of his eyes.
He reached out to soothe his pouting partner, gently patting her on the head as they approached a nearby passerby.
“Ah, excuse me-” Subaru called out, still a few steps away, but the man they were approaching darted past them before either of them could say another word, hurrying on without so much as a glance in their direction.
Despite not appearing hurried, he quickly put distance between them, leaving the two of them staring after him in silence.
Subaru and a fuming Beatrice stood in place, stunned, as he vanished around the corner.
“Hmph! What does that man think he’s doing? Ignoring Betty and her contractor without even apologizing!” she huffed, stomping angrily and glaring after the man long gone, while Subaru could only offer an awkward smile.
“Well… maybe he was in a hurry. How about we ask someone else?” Subaru said awkwardly, trying to calm his simmering frustration.
He was seriously fast, he noted, shaking his head as he pushed aside the lingering thought.
Who knows, maybe he is power-walking in his free time?
Subaru let out a small chuckle and turned back to Beatrice, who was still puffed up in a pout, though no longer glaring after the passerby.
Now that they had at least somewhat adapted to their situation, Subaru was finally becoming self-aware of how the two of them must look.
Beatrice, he realized, could still pass as a young noble girl who’d slipped away from a formal ball, but Subaru stood out in stark contrast to everyone around them, sticking out like a sore thumb.
Nearly everyone they passed wore elaborate costumes that made his and Beatrice’s travel-worn, dust-covered clothing look like beggars’ rags, if not worse, especially compared to outfits that looked deliberately antique and stylized.
Looking more closely, he noticed something even stranger.
Despite the variety of people, most of them seemed to be speaking the same language, one that sounded suspiciously like Japanese with a strong British accent.
Is this some kind of isekai perk, automatically understanding languages? Subaru wondered, absently brushing his hair back.
Nonetheless, whether its written form truly was English, Subaru couldn’t tell.
Though I’d definitely appreciate not having to learn a whole new language from scratch again, he joked to himself.
The joke faded quickly as a deeper confusion settled in.
For now, it was far from their most pressing concern.
Subaru and Beatrice continued to walk down the streets, occasionally trying to approach passing strangers.
He was already mentally prepared to defend his reputation once more, whether against accusations of being a “lolimancer” or sharing Reinhard’s infamous title of child-kidnapper, but what greeted him was nothing of the sort.
Instead of dirty looks, sneers, or even the occasional sympathy, if they mistook him for a single father rather than a kidnapper, Subaru was met only with indifference.
It didn’t matter what he did or how friendly his smile was.
Every time someone noticed Subaru heading their way, man or woman, young or old, they immediately quickened their pace and slipped past him without so much as a glance.
He was rarely, if ever, met with rudeness or even suspicion, something that only confused him further.
What is wrong with everyone? Not even a single officer trying to detain me? Yeesh, not like I’m asking for it, Subaru grumbled silently.
Over the next hour, perhaps even two, judging by the clock tower, the most Subaru managed to get out of anyone was a few brief words.
“Hey, could you tell me where I am, or at least what city this is?”
“Bloody hell, did ya hit your head? What other cities would there be? Damn loony… and people say it’s hard to get into the Nest. Letting just anyone in these days.”
The man scoffed, offering no real answer before continuing on his way.
“ThePaceYouAreSpeakingAtIsTooSlow.ConversationWouldBeCounterproductive,AndAWasteOfMyTime.”
Subaru barely managed to process what the woman had said before she stormed off, nearly leaving him in the dust.
“How did she-?” Subaru trailed off with a sigh, a hint of frustration creeping in as he felt Beatrice’s patience wearing dangerously thin as well.
“Are you busy, perchance-?” Subaru began with a friendly smile as he approached another man nearby.
The man slowly turned his head, blinking for what felt like several long seconds before answering curtly, “Yes.”
Then he immediately turned away.
Puzzled by the abrupt reaction, Subaru didn’t press further and remained where he stood with Beatrice, in the middle of a slowly emptying street.
For a change, Subaru approached a man wearing a striking red tie, the first real splash of color he’d seen so far.
“Hey, man, where’d you get that?” Subaru asked casually.
The man offered a nervous smile, his hands clutching the tie tightly.
“O-oh, the colors were obtained legally, all through T-Corp, sir,” the man replied carefully, as if mistaking Subaru for some kind of thug.
Subaru didn’t try to stop him, turning away as he let out an exhausted sigh.
Aside from that last exchange and a few more brief conversations that gave him a lot of insight, nearly every conversation ended the moment he asked his first question, most didn’t even bother to listen.
He tried a few more people, but even those who paused for a moment quickly excused themselves and hurried away.
“Jeez, never thought I’d run into such a tough audience,” Subaru grumbled, still holding Beatrice’s arm as she glared around, looking just as annoyed, well, probably more than he was.
“The audacity to ignore Betty and her contractor! Have all humans here lost every shred of manners, I wonder!” she snapped.
Subaru could practically imagine her face turning crimson with anger, if he could even see colors at all.
Just what kind of dystopia is this? he thought with a shudder, remembering what he’d heard earlier.
To think they have to pay just to see colors… Man, this really sucks.
Their search continued for quite some time, right up until the evening began to creep in.
So far, all they had learned was that both of them had been transported to The City.
The only city in the world, apparently, no matter how ridiculous that sounds, Subaru thought with a flicker of annoyance.
Couldn’t they have just called it a country or something?
Among the less pleasant discoveries was the realization that this place seemed to be a distant, distorted version of Earth, one blended with futuristic technology, based on the fragments of information he’d gathered and what he had seen.
Who would’ve thought steampunk and bioengineering could exist in the same setting?
He mused, letting the absurdity distract him from heavier thoughts.
But a quiet, unwelcome part of him, buried deep in the forgotten corners of his mind, whispered a different possibility.
Maybe… maybe I actually returned home.
The idea filled him with dread, no matter how much he tried to rationalize it.
Nobody knows how much time passed on Earth while I was in Lugunica. What if there was some kind of time difference? A cataclysm? Something that forced humanity into one massive super-City? Anything could’ve happened, anything, and I don’t even know!
The panic rose so sharply he nearly yelped, his thoughts spinning out of control.
His grip on Beako’s arm tightened instinctively, seeking something, anything, solid.
Feeling the spike of distress from her contractor, she squeezed his arm back, firmer this time.
Subaru drew in a long, shaky breath. For a while, he had refused to even consider this possibility.
So, instead, he had forced himself to accept the safer explanation: that this was some sort of parallel universe.
A temporary comfort, just enough to let him believe that his parents were still safe.
Still alive.
As his mind finally cleared of unnecessary thoughts, the more pressing issues returned to the forefront.
They had neither money nor a timepiece, something he had come to realize was the primary form of payment in this part of the city.
At the very least, that was as much as he understood.
There was also the matter of the devices that could alter time frequencies, or whatever they were called, that made people move faster or slower.
Jeez, out of all possible districts, why did it have to be this one? I’m getting sick of seeing nothing but brown. Whoever designed this place must’ve been obsessed with retro aesthetics, and seriously overdid it.
Subaru lamented internally.
He had already explained the basics of their situation to Beatrice.
She already knew that Subaru came from a place called Japan, and aside from the architecture and a few bizarre differences, strange even to him, she had a decent grasp of what was happening.
At least as much as anyone could understand being transported to an entirely different, highly advanced world. For now, his priority was figuring out exactly how they were going to survive.
Their currency was useless here, and this City used a different one called Ahns, similar enough to yen and other paper money from Japan, though most people relied on sleek, futuristic cards instead.
As night fell and the streets were swallowed by darkness, Subaru and Beatrice searched for a place, any place, where they could sleep with at least a bit of comfort.
“Under the clause regarding the applicant’s age as a Fixer, I’m contractually obligated to decline your application. The fee paid in Ahns will not be refunded.”
The indifferent voice of the man dressed in white with black accents delivered the verdict without pause.
After offering a brief word of thanks, Subaru turned and headed outside, where Beako was waiting near the entrance.
Subaru did his best to bury his frustration, forcing the best smile he could manage as he straightened his back and ran a hand through his hair.
Seems like this won’t work either… he thought, a quiet heaviness settling in as his hope began to slip away.
No ID. No timepiece. Not a single record in the City database, and now even this.
The edges of Subaru’s smile twitched, a bitter aftertaste creeping in.
For the past several days, he and Beatrice had been forced to scavenge, scraping together food and whatever resources they could find, with no way to earn money through legal means.
Without a home or proper documents, they were no different from street rats or maybe worse to the certain degree.
No sane person would hire him, though that might have been different if they weren’t in the Nest.
Man… there are thousands of people struggling just to get inside, and I’m sitting here whining, he thought, cutting the spiral short. He steadied himself, forcing his thoughts in a more productive direction.
Becoming a Fixer could’ve solved many of those problems, but once again, Subaru had no way around the age restriction for applicants.
As he neared the exit, just as expected, he spotted Beatrice sitting in a chair.
“Heeey, Beako!” Subaru exclaimed, delighted to see her.
Beatrice jumped off the chair, pausing to glance at the pamphlet in her hands.
“Subaru-” she began, only for him to scoop her into his arms, lifting her into the air and spinning her around.
The display drew a few glances from the sparse visitors in the Hana Association building, but Subaru desperately needed it.
He held Beatrice close against his chest.
For a brief moment, his smile faltered before he forced it back into place as he looked at her.
Beatrice’s expression was a mix of annoyance and concern as she studied his face closely.
“Did Subaru fail this time, too, I wonder?” Beatrice asked.
Subaru inhaled sharply, holding his breath for a moment before exhaling shakily, his smile thinning with self-deprecation.
“Is it really that noticeable?”
Beatrice nodded in response, prompting Subaru to lean against the wall and set her down on the ground.
“Betty reckons Subaru’s been annoyingly clingy ever since he got that reply from the Association, in fact.”
Subaru stared at her for a moment before crying out, clutching his chest as if he’d been shot through the heart.
“Oh, Beako, how cruel you are!”
She rolled her eyes at his whining, but before long, a somber silence settled between them.
“So, what is Betty’s contractor planning to do now, Betty wonders?”
Subaru didn’t answer right away, trailing off as they slowly wandered away from the Fixer Association.
Eventually, he came to a stop.
If we can’t find work inside the Nest because of the regulations…
Subaru paused, an idea already taking shape.
Then why not head to the Backstreets?
Subaru knew it was insane, reckless, even by his standards.
As much as he despised sleeping on the streets, with the constant risk of being robbed, he had managed to survive those days without dying, even managing to save himself and Beako a few times by running from street thugs.
But from what he’d heard, the difference here was extreme, syndicates operated far more openly, and Sweepers roamed the streets at night.
It was a concept so terrifying that anyone would think twice about leaving the Nest for the Backstreets.
But it was precisely those looser regulations that gave Subaru a chance to find work.
In the Nest, even abandoned buildings were controlled or at least guarded, each serving some purpose.
There was no doubt Subaru would die more than once in the Backstreets, but at the very least, it would give him and Beako the means to begin searching for a way back.
At last, Subaru made his decision.
He spun around to face Beatrice in the middle of the street, raising a finger as realization struck.
“I’ve got it, we’re going to the Backstreets!”
At least, that was how Subaru had expected things to turn out.
As he tried to sneak through the area for the third loop, a brutal punch slammed into his gut, sending him flying deep into an empty alley.
The contents of his stomach spilled out, mixed with blood, as he struggled desperately to breathe.
Several ribs were undoubtedly broken, one or more likely piercing his lungs, as Subaru lay on the ground, gasping for air.
A woman adjusted the clock at her waist as she approached, her body encased in metal mechanisms resembling a steampunk exoskeleton, gears softly clicking with each step.
She unclenched her bloodied fist, shaking off the crimson droplets.
Subaru groaned, writhing on the ground as she closed in, raising a metal, or perhaps it was copper, boot above his head.
He stared at it absently, his consciousness already beginning to slip away.
The last words he heard before losing consciousness were delivered in the tone of a report.
“South border of the Nest, fourth clocktower sector. The target attempting to cross illegally has been neutralized. Entry from the Backstreets went unnoticed, but appears to be nothing more than a rat…”
Subaru’s eyes closed completely as he let himself drift into darkness.
At least… this time, Beako was safe…
Subaru had tried, he really had.
For at least five loops, he’d attempted to escape the Nest, which was ironic, considering problems usually worked the other way around for most.
Five loops, that was all it took before he finally gave up.
He had genuinely tried to explain that he simply wanted to leave the Nest, but every attempt had proven utterly useless.
Subaru was left with no way out of the situation.
No matter where he went or what he tried, there wasn’t a single path to escape their predicament.
Or maybe I simply don’t want to use it...
Subaru bit the inside of his cheek and sighed as he sat in the valley, Beako asleep on his lap.
He gently patted her head.
The two of them had settled into a routine, taking turns sleeping, at Subaru’s insistence, even though Beatrice didn’t truly need it.
Sometimes, just sometimes, he needed time alone to think and clear his mind.
The decision ahead of him was a rather heavy one, and he needed to find a way to tell his contracted spirit.
At least this way, I’m only dealing with criminals... no one else gets dragged into it, Subaru thought with a sigh, letting his head rest against the wall behind him as Beatrice stirred on his lap.
With clenched hands, she sluggishly rubbed her eyes before opening them, her discolored, butterfly-like irises settling on him. Then she stood up, brushing the dust from her dress.
“It seems Betty’s contractor is as stubborn as ever, I suppose,” Beatrice sighed, looking up at him.
Subaru responded with a quiet chuckle.
“Go easy on me, Beako, my brain’s working at a hundred percent trying to get us out of unemployment,” Subaru joked.
Beatrice settled back into his lap, her head tucked beneath his chin as she leaned against him.
“Betty already told Subaru that she doesn’t mind getting her hands dirty, nor Subaru doing the same, in fact.”
Subaru sighed, gently patting her head as he continued to stare at the discolored sky.
“I know, but I still don’t want anyone to suffer in the process. It’s not like we can’t hold out a little longer, especially now that I’ve got an idea.”
Subaru explained, his tone growing lighter toward the end.
He gently set Beatrice on her feet before brushing the dust from his clothes, doing his best to keep them as clean as possible under the circumstances.
Beatrice eyed him skeptically at first, but eventually huffed and turned away.
“Then Betty expects her contractor to get started already. Betty is tired of sleeping on the streets, in fact!”
Subaru listened as she spoke, his energy rising as he found himself caught up in her enthusiasm.
“That’s the spirit, Beako! Now we just need to meet a few people, and we’ll have everything sorted out in no time!”
Met once again with Beatrice’s entirely reasonable disbelief, Subaru only shook his head as they continued down the street.
If there was anything useful to come from those failed loops, it was that Subaru had managed to overhear a few things from the tax collectors who had hunted him down near the border of the Nest.
It was a strange name, but after learning more about their purpose, he couldn’t help but find the entire concept of their work revolting, if only because he knew firsthand how hard it was to survive here.
Though I’ve got plenty of experience with the opposite, Subaru lamented to himself with a wry note, heading straight toward a certain part of the Nest.
It was quite far from the clocktower where he’d been summoned, near the border of another region of the district, where far fewer T-Corp employees were stationed.
Subaru immediately noticed the difference.
While it was still far from the horror stories of the Backstreets, it already didn’t look like a good place to live.
During the last loop, Subaru had accidentally helped a member of a local syndicate.
Because of that, he’d been lucky enough to receive a job offer.
Fortunately, it’s just a delivery, Subaru thought with a small nod of satisfaction, especially since he’d already refused their offer to join.
“Oi, lad, so ya came? Bloody hell, ya took so long I thought you wouldn’t show.”
The man, dressed in plain trousers and a simple shirt with rolled white sleeves, greeted him.
A small hat sat perched atop his head as he idly twirled his moustache.
“Yeah, sorry about that. I needed some time to think. Hope I’m not late,” Subaru replied, giving a casual wave.
The man’s slightly delayed reaction didn’t go unnoticed, yet another reminder of the kind of dystopian place he was stuck in.
“An’ who’s this little lass?” the man asked.
Beatrice glanced between him and Subaru, her face full of disappointment as she slowly shook her head.
Subaru immediately picked her up, holding her in his arms as if to present her to the man in all her glory.
“It’s Beako. I’ve taken it upon myself to look after her, but so far, it seems like I’m the one causing her the most trouble,” Subaru joked, as Beatrice added,
“Which is exactly why Subaru should listen to Betty more, I suppose.”
Subaru scratched the back of his neck as the man’s brows furrowed.
Nevertheless, he held out what appeared to be a simple parcel.
Subaru gave it a brief look before taking it carefully, making sure not to drop it.
“Nothing fragile, so don’t worry about droppin it, but don’t go soakin it or tearing it, unless ya want the recipient to do the same to ya, lad.”
Subaru shivered for a moment, but quickly flashed the man a wide, confident grin.
“No problem, I’ll have it delivered immediately.”
The man nodded in satisfaction before giving them the coordinates and dismissing Subaru.
As they left that part of the Nest, Betty spoke up.
“Let Betty help, I suppose.”
Subaru raised an eyebrow for a moment before relenting, as Beatrice began chanting a spell with what little mana she had left.
“Murak.”
As she finished the incantation, the parcel grew lighter and began to float after them.
It was a simple spell, so even with his small, dysfunctional gate, Subaru didn’t have to worry about wasting too much mana.
He nodded in gratitude and made his way toward the clocktower the man had mentioned.
Though primarily used to display the district’s central time, clocktowers also served a secondary purpose: indicating time adjusted to varying temporal frequencies.
In doing so, they marked different regions of the Nest based on how time flowed within the standard twenty-four central hours.
The place they were heading to was one of the poorer parts of the T-Corp Nest, where people with no more than eight hours to themselves each day were forced to work for scraps.
Perhaps he would’ve suffered the same fate if he’d been less fortunate, but for some reason, whether due to his missing timepiece or something else, the time he had in a day remained no different from central global time in T-Corp.
I doubt the corporation would allow something like that just because I don’t have a timepiece… so there has to be another reason, Subaru thought, suppressing a sigh.
Hopefully it doesn’t come back to bite me later, he muttered to himself as they walked through the streets of the Nest.
The occasional car passed by, with little to distinguish the road from the walking paths.
It was just another detail he noted, the vehicles here were few and far between.
As he passed another sluggish pedestrian, Subaru caught a glimpse of a tax collector in the distance.
Better hide, there’s no way I won’t be asked to show a timepiece in a place like this, not with my time frequency, Subaru thought.
He quickly slipped behind a corner, continuing through the more dimly lit alleys of the Nest.
The parcel floated behind him and Beatrice, close enough not to be lost, yet far enough to avoid damage if anything went wrong.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly as they neared their destination.
With no interruptions, they finally arrived.
It was one of the manufacturing facilities where the parcel was meant to be delivered.
The problem was that two T-Corp employees stood nearby, one speaking to another, someone Subaru recognized from earlier.
“Yes, a tax evader is reported to be in this region, according to the information provided.”
The man spoke before scanning the area, while Subaru and Beatrice pressed themselves against the corner of the building.
Subaru frowned and turned, only to find three men with pipes approaching him.
“So you’re the bloke who came onto our turf?” the closest man asked.
Subaru forced a friendly smile, attempting to de-escalate the situation.
“Yeah, I won’t be here long, just sent by Pete to deliver a package,” Subaru replied.
The man sneered, baring his teeth.
“Pete, you say? So that old wretch finally chose to start acting?”
The others tensed, gripping their makeshift weapons.
Looks like there’s no avoiding this, Subaru thought.
He sighed, taking Beatrice’s hand and giving it a small squeeze.
She seemed to understand, calmly adjusting the hem of her dress.
“Then I’ll be taking my leave, hopefully you’ll accept this as an apology,” Subaru said, grabbing a floating box.
“Beako, now!” he called, hurling the box toward them just as Beatrice chanted, “Murak!”
His body suddenly felt lighter, and he leapt into the air with Beatrice, landing atop a nearby building.
What he hadn’t expected, however, was for the box to rupture, smoke immediately spilling out as it hit the ground.
The commotion didn’t go unnoticed, the tax collectors quickly became aware of their presence.
Using the rooftops to his advantage, he did his best to escape, putting distance between himself and his pursuers.
He kept it up for a while, but every time it seemed like he’d shaken them, more tax collectors appeared.
It went on for what felt like half an hour before the mana in his gate began to run dry, and Subaru himself started to tire.
Cornered atop a building, he saw a figure emerge from the stairwell onto the roof.
It was a man in a classic suit and tall top hat, a cane resting in his hand.
Trapped with no escape, Subaru gritted his teeth, backing toward the edge of the roof before hurling a protesting Beatrice toward a neighboring building.
Before he could react, the cane struck the back of his head.
His vision went dark, and he collapsed, falling from the rooftop.
His mind faded into black at the sound of a sharp crack followed by a sickening, wet splat.
Days, weeks, almost an entire month had passed, and they hadn’t taken a single step toward their goal.
Ever since arriving in this place, Subaru had died more times than he ever had before.
If someone asked him to describe it, the first words that would come to mind would be purgatory, or perhaps even hell.
Both literal and bureaucratic, it was a place where morality was nothing more than a faint rumor.
And during those rare moments when someone claimed to be righteous, the “virtuous” fool usually died the next day, or it turned out to be nothing more than marketing to win public favor.
Selling colors, preaching morality for a clean media front… what kind of hellhole is this?
That question visited his mind countless times, more than he could ever begin to keep track of.
Their situation could only be described as scraping the bottom of the barrel.
They had no documents, no resources, and no way to become legal citizens of the T-Corp Nest.
They couldn’t leave for the Backstreets either; without identification, they would be detained, or worse, killed, every time they tried.
Neither his nor Beatrice’s birth records existed in any city database, making it completely impossible to obtain new documentation.
They couldn’t earn money because they lacked the paperwork, and they couldn’t even register a timepiece since they were incapable of paying anything at all.
Their only lifeline had been borderline-shady jobs that risked their lives, like delivering who-knows-what between syndicates.
If Subaru had a choice, he would have never taken on work like that, but no matter how hard he tried, there was no easy way out.
During this time, Subaru had earned the wrath of nearly every fixer office and most of the syndicates.
More than once, he caught himself wondering if it would’ve been easier to simply kill himself and restart the loop instead of fighting through to the end.
Yet every time he looked at Beatrice and tried even to entertain the thought, something twisted in his gut, and through clenched teeth, he forced himself onward.
He tried to find safer ways to earn Ahns, but even the lowest, most demeaning jobs were closed to him without the basic documents he lacked.
Cornered into working with criminal groups, Subaru chose the lesser evil, refusing to harm civilians or steal from anyone.
How different would I be from the syndicates if I resorted to theft, too? He wondered.
Taking someone’s timepiece alone could doom them to poverty, never mind the tax collectors who’d track me down.
Trapped in this position, Subaru began to learn how the underworld truly functioned.
Some groups only wanted a neutral third party to ensure the fairness of a deal.
Others, unluckily, the ones he encountered most needed a disposable pawn, someone to use and eliminate afterward.
More often than not, to his growing disappointment, it was the latter.
Those jobs usually ended with Subaru dying or barely managing to escape.
And lately, he’d begun to wonder whether dying might have been the better outcome.
No matter how much he complained, all of that was only the second-biggest problem Subaru faced.
As dangerous and irritating as the syndicates and fixer offices were, his greatest enemy so far had been taxes.
I suppose a certain merchant would relate to me all too well, he snorted, earning a strange look from Beatrice before returning to his thoughts.
The taxes, or, more accurately, his utter inability to pay them, had put Subaru in quite a predicament.
Not only was he treated like an illegal immigrant, but he was also branded a severe tax evader, hunted by every T-Corp employee in the district.
During those days, he’d already been pushed to his limits, and Subaru genuinely didn’t know what would happen first.
Would he finally give in and stop fighting to the end, choosing to let a loop end when the odds turned against him, or would he surrender to the City and join a syndicate in search of stability, becoming just another of its broken residents?
The day passed, and Subaru found himself in a situation whose end he couldn’t even begin to see.
He was trapped, not physically surrounded, but cornered all the same, with no visible solution except surrender.
This time, Return by Death wouldn’t save him, no matter how many times he tried to push forward.
“Is Betty’s contractor sure about what he’s about to do, Betty wonders,” his partner in misery asked again.
Subaru didn’t have a solid answer, part of him bitter over what he was about to do, part of him worried that, in his own narrow-mindedness, he might be missing something important.
Even so, he just nodded and gently patted Beatrice’s head.
“Eh, don’t worry so much, Beako. They’re odd, sure, but compared to the others, they aren’t that bad.”
Indeed, out of all the choices, they were the most bearable option.
Razvenchaty, an odd group who treated technology as something sacred, almost cult-like, were, at their core, simple folk.
Backed by someone higher up, they had enough resources to act boldly despite their small size, and they rarely involved themselves in crimes that harmed civilians.
If anything, their focus lay in “liberating” technology from improper use, preventing damage to its mechanisms, often by attacking factories.
Contradictory as they are, it’s not my place to judge those weirdos, he thought, hugging Beatrice a little tighter, though it definitely unnerves me how much they worship Beako. Calling her an “artificial intelligence really doesn’t sit right with me.
“Hm, if Betty’s Subaru says so, then Betty might allow those commoners to praise Betty a little more,” she answered smugly, doing her best to look as though she were enjoying the attention.
Subaru only sighed and patted her head before both of them were called by a voice.
“Mr. Natsuki, Madam Beatrice,” came the invitation, and they rose as a man in expensive clothing opened the door for them.
“It is truly a pleasure that you’ve chosen to grace us with your presence today. If I may assume, you’ve come to deliver your answer to my proposal.”
Letting Beatrice take the lead, Subaru took a seat, and she immediately hopped onto his lap, wearing a grave expression as she declared:
“Betty and her contractor, after a thorough discussion, have decided to join your silly group, so you should be more grateful, in fact.”
In her usual haughty manner, Beatrice gave her reply.
The man’s eyes glittered with unnerving delight, as though he were witnessing a miracle.
“Oh, how wonderful!” he exclaimed, clasping his hands together before continuing.
“I’ll bring the documents immediately. I’m certain the esteemed Mr. and Miss have already grown tired of the unfair treatment from the Nest.”
As if he had already anticipated their acceptance, he retrieved from beneath the table a regal-looking timepiece, something like a vintage pocket clock on a chain, and a pair of papers.
Subaru glanced over them and noticed information about himself, some of it clearly fabricated.
He frowned slightly before addressing the man.
“Forgive me, sir, but I don’t see any legal documents pertaining to Beatrice.”
The man’s expression remained unreadable as he answered smoothly.
“Mr. Natsuki, I’m sure you understand that the City does not treat artificial intelligences kindly. We cannot, under any circumstances, prepare documents for her. And to reduce such a noble entity to something as filthy as a mere human would be utterly outrageous.”
Subaru gritted his teeth, half convinced the man was using this as leverage to keep them from slipping away.
Still, he forced a strained smile and offered his thanks.
Now that the timepiece was at his disposal, Subaru could both pay in hours and adjust to the different time frequencies people lived on.
Over time, he and Beatrice were horrified to learn that, beyond serving as currency, a person’s wealth dictated the very longevity of a person’s day.
While some could cram forty-eight hours into a single day, others were forced to live with only eight or even fewer.
It was inhuman and despicable, but if Subaru had learned anything during his stay in this place, it was that nothing here could surprise him anymore.
The fact that he was permitted a full twenty-four hours a day was already a luxury most people couldn’t afford.
At last, Subaru gathered the documents and the timepiece and, with a respectful bow, left the room with a bitter taste in his mouth.
They were given a few days to finalize the remaining paperwork and for Subaru to purchase proper clothing.
He now wore the standard brown suit, plain enough to let him pass as an ordinary factory worker, and a small, simple fedora resting neatly on his head, completing the appearance of a thoroughly average city dweller.
Over time, his smile gradually vanished, surfacing only on rare occasions when he was alone with Beatrice.
The rest of the time, it faded into the dull palette of the city, blending him into the grey mass of its inhabitants.
He finally understood why the other citizens had avoided him so much.
It wasn’t his out-of-place clothing, nor the strange little girl always walking beside him, nor even his intense eyes.
What he had needed to lose all along was the grin constantly plastered across his face.
Still, despite everything, Subaru held onto a small hope that things would eventually improve.
Subaru lowered the brim of his hat, trying to hide his face as he stepped out of the warehouse.
His hand tightened around the weapon, something like a pipe covered in gears, its purpose still a mystery to him.
This was his first mission as a junior member of Razvenchaty.
He walked alongside two other members and Beatrice, dressed unusually simply in a brown dress and a small, charming top hat, as they moved through the late-night streets toward the factory owned by a moderately wealthy man.
The man was infamous for abusing his workers and treating them in ways bordering on inhuman, but none of that concerned the syndicate.
Their goal was to “liberate” the neglected machinery and put a few pieces out of their misery.
Subaru tried to convince himself that their mission had some noble purpose, that he wasn’t simply a criminal who had joined a syndicate because he could no longer stand living as a rat, but the thought rang hollow.
Even if they punished the factory owner, nothing would truly change.
It wouldn’t improve the workers’ lives, nor would it alter the system itself; if anything, the employees would be the ones punished for a crime they never committed.
Accustomed as they were to a thirty-hour-per-day frequency, courtesy of the generous hours supplied by their backer, the entire group moved at a pace impossible for most within the T-Corp nest.
The only condition was that they had to finish everything within what amounted to a single hour on the global time frequency.
Once their borrowed hours ran out, they would all revert to their natural rhythms: twenty-four for Subaru, and a mere twelve for the men accompanying him.
Subaru sighed, though not allowing himself the luxury of fully relaxing, his fingers tightening around the regal timepiece pinned to his chest.
“Bloody hell, mate, ya sure ya ’ad the balls to make an AI like this inside the city?” one of the men said, striking up conversation again as they rounded another corner.
Subaru clenched his teeth, maintaining a professional composure while holding Beatrice a little closer.
“What’s she feeding on anyway? Ain’t seen any of ya using batteries or cables. It doesn’t look like she drinks enkephalin either. Or is she one of those freaky types who recycle organic matter and dead bodies?”
Subaru tightened his grip on the pipe in his other hand, ready to snap back and tell the man to mind his business, but sensing his irritation, Beatrice spoke first.
Her tone brimmed with offended pride as she nearly snapped:
“Betty has no need for anything so insightfully disgusting, in fact! Those of Betty’s kind draw everything they require directly from the atmosphere!”
It was a half-truth, one that conveniently ignored the fact that Beatrice herself couldn’t absorb mana that way, and that this place, for reasons unknown, lacked it entirely, like a lake drained to bare stone.
“Oy, ya mean you’re feeding ’er with some kind of Singularity?” the man shot back, eyes widening.
“Bloody hell, you’re even more batshit crazy than I thought, lad! How’d ya avoid attractin’ those clawed bastards from the Head? Yer practically collectin’ broken taboos one by one!”
Of course, Subaru had an answer for this…
because he absolutely didn’t escape any of them.
The next moment, the head of the man beside him vanished in a single flash, a gust of wind whipping past as a blurred figure rushed by.
A sickening rip of torn flesh and crunching bone followed, ending in a heavy thud as a fountain of blood and viscera burst from the dead man’s neck.
Dark crimson blood filtered through the sepia world around him, staining everything into a duller, muddied shade of brown.
Some of it splattered across Subaru’s face and soaked into his clothes, dotting them with countless stains he’d long since grown familiar with.
As he watched the body collapse, he felt nothing.
The absurdity of it all, paired with the drained colors of his vision, made him feel like a detached spectator watching a film, a film he had rewatched more than five times, each viewing making it feel more distant, more irrelevant.
He couldn’t bring himself to care about the death of his supposed companion, instead watching the other man freeze in place, terror etched onto his face.
“Subaru Natsuki, an unregistered denizen of The T-Corp, who entered the Nest approximately sixteen (16) days and four (4) hours ago according to the global time, is hereby officially designated as guilty for the following violations: breaking the commandments of artificial-intelligence building; unauthorized fabrication of puncts bearing resemblance to human appearance and sentience; unregistered ownership and handling of a T-Corp Singularity; endargement and interference with T-Corp patent materials; unpermitted usage of Singularity; confirmed tax evasion; and accumulated total debt contrary to T-Corp time-tax policy on the sum of Nine hundred eighty-seven decillion, four hundred forty-two nonillion (987,442,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) Ahns, hereby declared guilty and ordered to receive punishment as execution and further extraction of Singularity and AI specimen.”
Subaru sighed, almost mourning his own past ignorance as memories of his first encounter with the Claw resurfaced, now warped by bitter nostalgia.
“Let me meet with the Head,” he had said back then.
“You came at the perfect time; I was looking for a way to contact the Head.”
That hopeful confidence, once so vivid, had soured completely.
Now he looked at the Claw almost as if he were an old acquaintance he had grown tired of.
“One more loop, one more death… because there’s certainly no way to solve this,” Subaru muttered under his breath as the Claw stood waiting.
The prosthetic, or whatever augmentation counted as a prosthetic in this world, shaped into a great metal claw, remained perfectly still as Subaru tried to compose himself.
Strange… every other time he just tore my head off, Subaru mused, puzzled, just as he heard Beatrice sneer beside him, glaring daggers at the man.
He managed to clamp a hand over her mouth just in time.
“Listen, man,” Subaru began, tone strained, “I don’t know the full situation here, but if I'm right, the Singularity I have is different from whatever belongs to T-Corp. And Beako isn't an AI, she’s also something created from a Singularity.”
He had long since given up on trying to truly understand what Singularities were, other than 'technologies that felt like magic.’
After collecting scraps of information across countless loops, he had simply shoved every magical or reality-breaking phenomenon into that category, hoping it would make him sound less like a liability to the executioner in front of him.
The Claw remained silent for a moment, clearly listening to someone through his internal line before speaking again in a clipped, mechanical tone:
“Prior charges regarding endargement of T-Corp patent materials and unauthorized T-Corp possession are formally lifted; new charges include possession of an unregistered Singularity and refusal to register said Singularity under mandatory protocol of The Head; confirmed tax evasion remains; and accumulated total debt contrary to T-Corp time-tax policy is retained in full. Penalties and liabilities remain active and enforceable.”
He wasn’t sure what had just happened.
Did he win?
No, not exactly.
Some charges had been dismissed, but the rest still remained, and he certainly didn’t have enough money to cover the debts that were left.
Not that he believed they would simply let him pay after everything that had unfolded.
He let out a deep sigh, mind scrambling for what to say next. But before the words could form, his vision blurred, an odd emptiness rushed through him, and a chilling cold bloomed in his chest.
A heartbeat later, he was staring at his own body from the side, his head severed and tumbling toward the floor.
He didn’t even have time to understand the pain.
Subaru coughed violently as he clutched his throat, jolting upright from the bed while fighting the urge to vomit.
“Subaru!?”
His morning panic had clearly woken Beatrice as well.
“I’m fine, Beako, just a nightmare,” he answered quickly, his eyes darting around the room. In the previous loop, he’d somehow managed to make progress.
All he needed now was to pinpoint exactly what had made that loop different.
Drawing a steadying breath, Subaru stiffened when a knock sounded at the door.
Suspicious but cautious, he moved to open it, already expecting to see the landlord.
Instead, he was greeted by a familiar clawed friend and the cold glow of a holographic monolyte hovering beside him.
“Subaru Natsuki is hereby ordered to be immediately detained and transferred to The Head for processing, pending enforcement of all active penalties and liabilities.”
The Head is absolutely aware of Subaru's ability to return from death.
All authorities from Re: Zero were categorized as unpurified singularities of various values.
The City does not have any mana; most of it was drained by one of the older Singularities that already vanished from the history of the city, thinking that mana was an infinite resource.
Head tried various methods to deal with Subaru's loops until they pointed out his precise location thanks to Beholders.
Subaru went through 8 loops of meeting the Claw; the first 4 times it acted the same, further ones, the time of Subaru's loops decreased.
Usage of RBD is detected by T-Corp, hence why Subaru collected the biggest debt in the history of the city, which crashed T-Corp databases.
In the future, Subaru is absolutely forbidden from any interactions with T-Corp.
Head suspected Subaru of somehow stealing T-Corp Singularity.