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Translated By
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- Ice (/u/Archbishop)
- Furuta (/u/GracedHarperd)
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Contributions By :
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- Nana
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Fan Art Source
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ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO TAPPEI NAGATSUKI, THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR OF RE:ZERO STARTING A LIFE IN A DIFFERENT WORLD FROM ZERO, THIS IS A TRANSLATION OF THE FREE JAPANESE WEB NOVEL INTO ENGLISH: JAPANESE WEB NOVEL SOURCE
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――Amid the dregs of murky darkness, there was consciousness.
It had been a long time since Natsuki Subaru visited this place.
Much like the several previous times, it was a dark world where there was no end to sky and earth, where only darkness resided. It felt like he had been forcibly summoned to this place just like what happened every time he Returned by Death.
If he were to think about it, this too, was a truly mysterious place.
At any rate, it was not like Subaru could pull out his memories of this place, and bring them to the outside. Despite it not being his first time visiting this place, he would forget entering it after leaving.
A transient feeling, just like as if he were a mere bubble floating by in a dream.
Within this pale darkness, in the narrow gaps of his faint recollections, the consciousness known as Natsuki Subaru on the outside floundered through the air, and slowly swam amidst the jet-black darkness.
With only his consciousness, he rose to the surface; of course, regarding his body, he had gotten used to the feeling of not having his limbs, his eyes, his ears, his mouth.
As well as that, there was the fact that he did not know what was top or bottom, left or right, and the anxiety towards not being able to see anything, including the depths below. All of that did not matter to his consciousness, which was dominated by just one thing.
There was an unbearable, unending passion at the core of his consciousness, or perhaps within the formation of his consciousness itself―― no, more so, it was dear love, adoration, deep unconditional love.
Whenever he came here, he could be with the source of this love.
His consciousness had learnt just this thing, and he was delighted that he could visit this place once again. Before he began to even relish that long-awaited encounter, the feeling that pounded in his rightfully nonexistent chest was one of such joy that he wished to open his rightfully nonexistent lips to sing.
However, the passion of his consciousness was――
???: [He seems to have arrived in high spirits.]
???: [It’s really nothing to joke about. Acting all smug due to just a bit of luck. Have some restraint, even shamelessness can go so far, how unbearable. Do take a long, objective look at yourself, and maybe then you’ll see just how far your impudence has gone.]
Suddenly, he heard them; he was disturbed by voices which, by all rights, he should not be able to hear.
Subaru: “――――”
His consciousness turned to look behind.
If neither face nor body existed in this directionless world, then what was the significance in the act of looking behind, was there any? It was not to find a meaning in this, rather it was an act for the sake of giving meaning to it.
To look behind oneself, a body was required. If he consciously thought so, and acted, then the jet-black darkness would have no choice but to give that to the nothingness that was Natsuki Subaru.
Thus, the consciousness which looked back became Natsuki Subaru, now bestowed with vision so he could look around his surroundings, and a body which he could turn back around with.
Yet, that alone was still insufficient, and his body was far off from being complete. This Subaru was an imperfect recreation, the real Natsuki Subaru could not be reproduced at all.
Would it be better if he had hands, or legs, or perhaps a nose and mouth?
――No, making and manifesting a human being out of nothing was not that easy.
Natsuki Subaru did not know nearly enough about Natsuki Subaru to recreate himself.
It was not easy for Natsuki Subaru to complete himself using only his own memories and knowledge.
Therefore, it was impossible currently to make Natsuki Subaru more than this.
However, in that lacking state, the incomplete Natsuki Subaru wasn’t even able to recognize this. And that was why the incomplete Natsuki Subaru who had only given his transient body some transient eyes, whilst existing in a state in which he could not even place a foot down onto the ground, spun around to look at his surroundings, and noticed something.
There was something other than the Consciousness of Natsuki Subaru coming to the fore within the depths of the darkness.
Mysterious Voice 1: [Disgusting and shameful, nothing more than the result of self-conceit! Yes, how very sinful, how dirty you are! Just so so so so worthy of disdain!]
Mysterious Voice 2: [Subpar, way off from a human, we could say we have the ultimate imperfection here, doesn’t it feel like that? What were they even thinking, that a guy like this would kick the satisfied me to the curb? Shouldn’t it have been obvious from the beginning if you had known your place? Who are you to stand in my way, a nuisance! A hindrance! Pretty much everything! So lacking! Not enough! Think logically like a human being, come on…! Even if you are a subhuman, akin to the likes of human cattle.]
His Consciousness rose to the fore in the darkness, where jeers rained down upon the very much imperfect Natsuki Subaru.
On one side was insanity, and on the other was annoyance, both respectively venting out their hatred towards Natsuki Subaru.
However, unfortunately for Natsuki Subaru, being a mere speck of consciousness, he could not comprehend that hatred.
The heart, the brain of this Natsuki Subaru were not prepared at all to comprehend it. If he were to try and gain an understanding of those words which the Consciousnesses uttered, then just like he materialized some flesh, and just like he had created a sense of sight, he had to bestow upon himself organs to allow him to understand them.
Subaru: “――――”
――But, somehow, those organs felt unnecessary.
At least, in order to grasp what those two Consciousnesses were saying, the meaning behind trying to produce such a thing was weak, and above all, he did not feel the urge to do so.
It was not easy to drag out the material from the immaterial. At the very least, if Natsuki Subaru’s consciousness did not truly wish for it, then he could neither create nor acquire it.
So as things were right now, he could not help but to postpone bringing forth a mind to understand them, as well as words to reply to the Consciousness of those two. No, actually, there was no ulterior motive behind it.
Mysterious Voice 1: [What insolence! What contempt! What disdain! Here I am, preaching with such diligence, and yet you don’t even bother to consider contemplating it. How very… how very, ahh, ahh, ahhh… ! Slothful. You are truly Slothful!]
Mysterious Voice 2: [How far will you go in making a fool out of others until you’re satisfied, damned human cattle…! Listen well, just who do you think I am? I’m the most satisfied man in the world, one who worries about nothing and only wishes to pursue his simple joys and live a fulfilling life, undisturbed and free of Greed, and yet you’d interfere with that? This is a violation of my rights. An act of wickedness. One such as you, who’d crush the dreams of others so easily, must be stopped…!]
Feeling that he was not making any progress, he turned his back to the Consciousnesses of the two.
It was convenient, having this body, to indicate that he possessed no intention of talking to them. He felt that their abusive words would still echo in the background, but he did not mind because, if he showed that he cared, it would be plain enough to them.
His sense of vision worked without even needing to turn back. Right now, what he would probably need was not Vision, but Eyeballs. Should the chance present itself, he would remember to make them.
However, right now, he had no time to deal with such trifling matters.
???: “――――”
Because, right in front of the consciousness of Natsuki Subaru, the shadow whom he aimed for was showing herself.
Shadow: “――――”
In the jet-black darkness, where nothing should have been visible, a silhouette clad in deeper black than the midst of the darkness he was in was far more vivid.
Sometimes, she would freeze Natsuki Subaru’s heart, those arms with such graceful fingers would dangle loosely. Though slender, those limbs possessed such tenderness, garbed in a dark dress. As usual, her features were unclear, as everything above her neck was covered by a thick mist. But, Natsuki Subaru understood deep within his soul that there was a someone there that inspired such deep emotions of love.
Her appearance was far clearer than in their previous encounter, and he was far closer to her, distance-wise.
In his previous encounter with her, only her arms and body could be seen, a silhouette, but now it was visible that she was wearing a dress, her bare feet peeking out from underneath the hem of her long dress. Nearly the entirety of her body was perfectly reproduced. The sole aspect that was invisible to Natsuki Subaru was her face, hidden by the blackness.
How irritating. But for now, that was okay.
Stronger than before, he felt her presence ever nearer. However, Natsuki Subaru, though clearer she may be, was not yet prepared to go out and meet her.
Right now, he should simply rejoice that he was so close to her. One day, he would definitely reach out and touch her fingers, embrace her slender waist, and exchange love with her.
Shadow: “――――I love you.”
Faced with this confession, Natsuki Subaru gave his newly manufactured chin a nod in response.
Through that mere action, the shadow’s delight could be felt; accompanying it, an apologetic feeling sprang up.
Next time, a Mouth and Tongue would be necessary so that he could express his words of love from there.
While feeling these profound emotions, Natsuki Subaru’s consciousness began to leave this shadow garden, and――
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Though Subaru knew he was good at getting up from sleep, on the flipside, he also knew that he found it hard to fall asleep.
For Subaru, waking up from sleep felt as if he were raising his face above the water’s surface. No matter who may be submerged underwater, if their face rose to the water’s surface, they would not forget how to breathe.
For Subaru, that breathing signified the rousing of his consciousness, it was fairly natural that he was able to breathe upon waking up.
Emilia: “You get up so well, I’m jealous. I… am reaaally bad at getting up.”
This had been Emilia’s comment from when they had this conversation before.
Incidentally, when it came to Emilia getting up, there was no exaggeration or humility in the words she spoke, it really was that bad. Emilia did have very low blood pressure, and so it took her about an hour to wake up and get herself out of bed.
Upon getting up from bed in the morning, in her drowsiness she would wait for her to get back to her senses, and only then finally get out of it, wash her face and fix her hair―― that was her style. And on the other hand, unlike Subaru, she slept as well as a child. A stark contrast.
Emilia: “When I was in the forest, and I only had Puck beside me, since Puck didn’t come out much at night… I could only do stuff like sleeping…”
This had been Emilia’s comment from when they had this conversation before.
And regarding the details of how Subaru had replied to this, those were not to be delved upon. But now that she had someone to keep her company late at night, she should forget about how the past was.
In any case, Subaru was honestly quite envious of how she fell asleep.
Upon lying in bed and closing his eyes in the middle of the night, Subaru wouldn’t stop thinking about all kinds of stuff no matters what he did. In particular, what he would think about included all the things he could have done differently, and all the regrets contained in him.
Whether it was about what happened on that one day, or, sometimes, what happened on days long before, regret would torment Subaru without any heed for either time nor means.
When grappling with stuff like that, he was unable to fall asleep at all. That was the source of his poor quality of sleep.
――So, even the events which had transpired beneath the sand sea became a newly planted seed of regret for Subaru. It was practically assured that those would become something that would greatly disturb Subaru’s sleeping quality from now on.
Subaru: […Where, am I?]
At the moment he woke up, Subaru understood that his waking had differed to the usual one from Return by Death.
First of all, there was light in the surroundings. Quite unlike the underground area beneath the sand sea in which he had awoken submerged by darkness, the fact that he was capable of gazing upon his surroundings served as evidence of things having changed. In addition to that, the chilliness had also faded, and his body was embraced by a feeling quite different to that of lying on top of the sand. The soft feeling against his back was perhaps that of a bed.
Below his head there was also something like a pillow there, in other words, Subaru was――
Subaru: [I’m sleeping in a bed…]
Confirming it through spoken words, resting on top of his body was a white cotton blanket.
The feeling of a bed with a pillow was not a feeling he was not familiar with if he really thought about it. Rather, he was really familiar with it; he immediately realized that it was the bedding built into the dragon carriage.
Thus, he was inside the dragon carriage that they had used in their attempt to seize the Pleiades Watchtower.
Subaru: [What’s this doing here…!?]
Subaru sat himself up, understanding that he had been laid down within the dragon carriage that was supposed to have veered off course. In that moment, he noticed that someone was clutching his right hand.
Subaru turning to face his right hand side found a young lady―― kneeling on the floor right next to the bed, her body sprawled out across the bed, sleeping was a girl. It was the silver-haired Emilia who was clutching Subaru’s hand, with somewhat of a look of relief on her face.
Softly breathing, with warmth radiating from the palm of her hand. Subaru let out an exhausted, hoarse breath seeing that she was definitely here.
Subaru: [Ah, ahhhhh… Emilia, that’s you right? Safe and sound…]
Emilia’s form, nestled beside him, left Subaru puzzled, with it not having sunk in yet. Since his right hand was being held, he stretched out his left hand and placed it against her cheeks.
Her pale cheeks were hot, as if she was developing a fever, her skin absurdly soft and smooth. Just by touching them, it felt like love and affection were about to burst out of him, so he fondled them as much as he dared, just to make sure.
Subaru: [Ohhh, there’s no doubt, it’s Emilia… Cute, delicate, warm.]
???: [――You wouldn’t be happening to be doing something inappropriate, in fact. Emilia was terribly worried for you, I suppose. She hasn’t slept for two days, in fact.]
Subaru: [Huuuuuuh!?]
While stroking Emilia’s cheeks, having his fill of her soft breathing, Subaru reflexively flinched at the voice that had abruptly interrupted him. And in a panic he tried to turn his head around, finding that, by the door which connected the living space with the bed he was on, stood a little girl, leaning on it, with a look of disgust on her face.
Subaru: [Bea―]
Beatrice: [Shhhhh, I suppose. I dislike this unreasonable Subaru, in fact.]
Subaru: [――――]
Instinctively, he had almost raised his voice, delighted in seeing her again, but he was interrupted by Beatrice just before. Subaru placed his hand over his mouth near instantly, and quietly looked down below at the still-sleeping Emilia. Whilst letting him chew on his words, her stiff expression loosened, leading her to look somewhat happier.
Subaru: [That sure was a close one… Beako. Come over here. Let me hug you.]
Beatrice: [What a foolish thing to say… Well, it can’t be helped, I suppose.]
If he could not show his happiness at this reunion using words, then he had no choice but to show his happiness at this reunion using actions.
With Subaru beckoning her, Beatrice sighed and drew closer to him. The little girl was indifferently playing with her drill curls, and once she had come close to him, Subaru hugged her with his free left arm, firmly embracing her against his chest.
Subaru: [Thank goodness… Seriously, thank goodness. I was really really worried.]
Beatrice: […That’s Betty’s line, in fact. We couldn’t find Subaru or the sister’s older sister anywhere, and so Betty and the others were all frightened to the core, I suppose. We feared you weren’t alive, in fact.]
Subaru: [Is that so. Were you worried to death about me?]
Beatrice: [Not entirely like… that, I suppose. That’s, in fact, I was worried, I suppose. Really, really… really…]
While embracing Beatrice’s light body, the little girl cast her gaze down and her words faltered mid-sentence. He continued to stroke Beatrice’s hair who nuzzled her head against his chest just as they were, and cherished her reunion with him in silence for a moment.
And after a little bit of time, the silence was broken; Beatrice moved her face up away from Subaru’s chest, with a feeling of relief traced across her features and hopped off of the bed with a boing.
Beatrice: [Anyway, we’ve got to tell everyone aside the sleepyhead Emilia that you’ve woken up, in fact. We were all worried, thinking it was Subaru’s last, I suppose.]
Subaru: [Everyone… Oh yeah, is everyone safe? Even those who got separated from me, and those who were with me?]
Beatrice: [You can rest assured, in fact. Everyone is safe and sound, I suppose.]
Subaru: [I see… I seeee!]
Subaru’s unease faded as he heard Beatrice’s guarantee. He had heard that everyone was safe, her unexpected answer had set his heart at ease.
But, straight afterwards, Subaru jerked his head up, an unpleasant feeling of déjà vu resounding from that guarantee.
Subaru: [Wait, Beako. I’m sorry for how short-lived my happiness is. But, is everyone really all right?]
Beatrice: [Ngh, it’s upsetting being doubted by Subaru, in fact. There would be no sense in Betty deceiving Subaru like this, I suppose. I’m not joking, in fact.]
Subaru: [I get that you’re in a huff, but this isn’t the reason why I am doubting you. Even if you weren’t looking to deceive me, that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been fooled… Didn’t we just experience that rather painfully in Pristella?]
Beatrice: [――――]
Hearing this, Beatrice seemed to notice the source of Subaru’s concern.
After the end of the battle against the Witch Cult in Pristella, Subaru had received an identical report. He had been told that everyone was safe, in fact, that been a correct presumption to make, but――
Subaru: [Let’s confirm. There’s me, Emilia and Beatrice. In addition there’s Rem, Ram and Patrasche. Anastasia, Meili, Gian, and finally… Julius. This is everyone.]
Beatrice: [――――]
Subaru: [You’re saying that everyone… that everyone is here?]
Beatrice: [Don’t worry, I suppose. That’s everyone, in fact. There’s no one that Betty has forgotten, and that Subaru only hasn’t, I suppose.]
Subaru: [I see… I see. Then I guess I can really be delighted by it…]
Having confirmed everything he needed to confirm, Subaru carefully thought whether there were any more pitfalls remaining. He determined that he hadn’t overlooked anything, and finally he found strength in the words which had said that everyone was safe.
Subaru: [Thank goodness. Oh, thank goodness…!]
Beatrice: [Good grief, you sure like to over-exaggerate, in fact. In the first place, when we found out that you, the most likely to attract danger, was okay, we guessed that everyone else was too, I suppose.]
Subaru: [Idiot, that’s not always true you know! Even if you know it so, anxiety is still anxiety, and worry is still worry. You were crying after finding out I was safe, no?]
Beatrice: [There wasn’t any crying or anything, in fact. Just because Betty was pressing her face against your chest, it doesn’t mean you should look at it like that, I suppose. You can’t prove it, in fact.]
With a “Hmph”, Beatrice puffed out her delicate chest in a display of fortitude, however her words seemed to be brimming with emotion to the contrary. On top of that, there were traces left on the bed that someone other than Subaru had slept there, at a space on the lower part of the bed with half its size―― Subaru pointed at it and said,
Subaru: [There’s evidence right here that someone crawled in next to me and fell asleep, but even with seeing this dead giveaway are you still going to say that you weren’t worried? “]
Beatrice: [That wasn’t Betty, I suppose! This is completely a false accusation[1], in fact. I have no idea what you’re talking about, I suppose.]
Subaru: [No one but you would act like this! Don’t feel embarrassed.]
Beatrice: [You’re wrong, in fact! Ahh, geez, Emilia will wake up, I suppose.]
Beatrice forced a change of subject as they exchanged such frivolous conversations in their usual manner While giving a wry smile at her flushed face, Subaru let out a long, truly long, deep sigh.
Everyone was safe, he was relieved for now to hear those words. When they were at the Sand Dunes, they had been pursued by a herd of Witchbeasts and been split apart, and then Subaru had repeatedly Returned by Death in the underground area of the sand sea. He had no clue how Emilia and the others were doing and what would have happened if he could not have undone it――
Subaru: […Now that you mention it, it’s like feeling suspicious about everything will only give you boogies, is that what it is?]
Beatrice: [――?]
Looking dumbfounded, Beatrice cocked her head at Subaru who had placed his left hand on his head. For Beatrice, the meaning of that behavior felt cryptic, but to Subaru there was a meaning to it. No, there was no meaning to this behavior itself, but it could be said that the subjectiveness of it all was an important factor.
Subaru: [Beako… You’re the same as always, Beako. Emilia as well is as cute as always.]
Beatrice: [What are you even saying, in fact…]
Although she fixed him with a deadpan gaze, Subaru felt no extraordinary sense of discomfort or irritation lacing her words. Toward the sleeping Emilia as well, he felt nothing but trusting love to the two of them.
There was nary a trace of the inexplicable hatred that had tormented Subaru underground left.
Subaru: [Guess I’m alright now, since I’m far away from the Miasma. Though it makes me sick to even leave such a strange thing, of unknown cause and treatment, as is…]
Beatrice: [Subaru, if you still aren’t feeling well or you feel anxious about your health, it would be better for you to lie down, I suppose. There’s no need for you to get up all in a hurry for now, in fact. In one way or another, just Betty and everyone else will manage to undertake the Examinations[2], I suppose.]
Subaru: […Wha?]
Placing her hand against his forehead, Beatrice had displayed her concern for Subaru, his eyes downcast. Amidst the concern in those words, was something that he had not heard before. Subaru interrupted her without thinking.
Subaru: [What did you just say now?]
Beatrice: [So you can rest, I suppose. It’s not like you’re taking the day off with no good reason, Betty won’t get mad at you for resting when you’re not feeling well, in fact.]
Subaru: [Though I remember saying such terrific stuff in this feverish talk, it wasn’t that part I was referring to, you know? After that… you said something about Examinations?]
Beatrice: [Ahhh, yeah, I did say that, I suppose.]
At having heard Subaru hounding her, Beatrice slipped out a “Whoops” in response.
It wasn’t like she had really wanted to hide it from Subaru, rather, it more so originated from her concern from worrying about wanting Subaru to rest for a bit.
However, Subaru was not much of an obedient person that hearing that would make him keep his peace of mind, and Beatrice knew that well enough.
Subaru: [Beako.]
Beatrice: [I know, in fact. I’ll give you a proper explanation, I suppose. Really, I thought that it’d be better to talk about it after you settled down… despite that, my mouth slipped, in fact.]
Subaru: [It’s one of your cute points that you can’t hide stuff like this―― In the first place, I’ve looked the other way on stuff that I ought to have asked you from the start.]
He flashed a faint bittersweet smile at Beatrice who had admitted defeat, though the smile quickly disappeared from his face. Subaru more or less lowered his voice and opened his mouth, and directed her some natural questions. That was――
Subaru: [Where are we? And don’t go butting in saying something silly like inside the dragon carriage.]
Beatrice: [Subaru, I think it’s no long stretch of the imagination for you too, I suppose.]
Beatrice gave a weary sigh, putting her arms together.
And so, with a click of her heels, the little girl looked up to the ceiling―― no, looking even beyond it.
Beatrice: [――Pleiades Watchtower.]
Subaru: [――――]
Beatrice: [The Watchtower at the end of those Sand Dunes, Betty and everyone are in it, I suppose.]
And that was what she said.
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――He carefully let go of Emilia’s hand; she was lying down on the bed, fast asleep since she had stayed up for two days. Subaru slipped out of the dragon carriage after giving her forehead a quick stroke.
Within the dragon carriage which they had spent over a month in, it seemed like there were no changes to it compared to before it had veered off course.
Without so much of a scratch on its body, it looked just as if it were brand new.
Beatrice: [Unlike those who were with Subaru, the ones who were with Betty, swallowed up by the cracks in the Sand Wind, were safe, I suppose. We were hurled away to a different place from that flower field… Everyone with us turned pale when we realized that Subaru and some of the other had been separated from us, in fact.]
Subaru: [You as well?]
Beatrice: [Emilia and Julius too, I suppose. Betty wasn’t the only one, in fact.]
With a “Hmph”, Beatrice pouted and averted her eyes from him, opening the door that led to the outside of the dragon carriage. With a squeak of the door, he was greeted by a space of darkness and a dry breeze.
The sensation of the wind outside felt rather like the one present in the Sand Dunes, the darkness outside was close to that of the one in the underground area of the sand sea. However, unlike the Sand Dunes, there was no sand mixed in with the wind, and unlike the underground area, the darkness was less profound.
The cause of this were some magical lamps which had been installed all the way around the area, as well as some densely packed luminous moss which lined the walls around them. The moss near him certainly reminded him of the kind he had seen inside in the Tomb found in Sanctuary. It was certainly quite a handy piece of vegetation to have around, given it grew quite superfluously wherever.
Subaru: [This place is…]
Beatrice: [The Sixth Floor of the Pleiades Watchtower… well, the lowermost floor, I suppose. From looking at the tower from the sand sea, it looks like the Sixth Floor is partially buried beneath the tower, in fact. The Fifth Floor is above the sand… although you might say it’s hard to tell, I suppose.]
Looking over the circular area, Subaru widened his eyes at hearing Beatrice’s explanation. The reason why he couldn’t really get the gist of her explanation was probably because Subaru was completely unfamiliar with the interior and the structure of the Pleiades Watchtower.
As far as he could see, the inside of the Pleiades Watchtower was fairly vast and spacious.
In the place Beatrice had mentioned as being called the Sixth Floor, the floor was on one side made of stone, and right in the middle of it rested the dragon carriage. The circular area that spread itself around from where the dragon carriage stood was probably about two-hundred or three-hundred meters in radius.
If the tower was built exactly in the shape of a circle, rather than something more crude like an ellipsis, his mouth would be agape in disbelief at the enormity of the effort it would have taken to construct it.
Subaru: […Thinking about the pointless work done back in the olden days, doesn’t this remind you of stuff like the pyramids? Those are such a massive waste for just one person’s tomb. Hmm, wait, no, I’ve heard some stuff about how they were kinda used as public enterprise, and the unemployed being super grateful for them…]
Beatrice: [I really don’t get what you’re muttering about again, in fact.]
Subaru: [I’m talking about tombstones. Even performing funerals before death were once popular, thinking they were taking preventative measures about what would happen to them after death, that’s an idea that hasn’t changed since ancient times.]
Beatrice: […Stories about what happens after death aren’t good omens, I suppose. Preposterous, in fact.]
Hearing Subaru’s thoughtless remarks, Beatrice turned her eyes away from Subaru, as if in a sulk. Scratching his cheek, Subaru realized that he had said something he should not have, and so he began petting Beatrice’s hair.
Suddenly, he wrapped back around to the front of the dragon carriage, as if having remembered something.
Subaru: [Ohh, Gian! You’re also safe and sound! Gian, you aren’t dead[3]!]
Beatrice: [Why are you saying such inane things all of a sudden, I suppose!?]
Subaru: [Huh, no, I just felt like I needed to do it. But, I am really glad that he’s safe, hehe.]
At the front of the dragon carriage, reined to the carriage itself, was the reliable ground dragon, Gian. Belonging to the Gyras species which had adapted to the desert, resilience was their strong suit. Gian had splendidly managed to survive the difficult circumstances, showing a particularly shameless obstinance to those words.
Subaru: [That said, disregarding the others, you’re the first one confirmed alive!]
Gian: [――――]
Subaru: [Oyoy, don’t make such a long face. I said I’m glad. Hey, I will give you a larger share of food later, so cut me some slack.]
Gian: [――――]
Subaru: [What is it? Look, I’m a money-on-hand kind of guy.]
Beatrice: [It’s be high time for you to calm your little act down any time now, in fact. He’s tired, so we’re heading off, I suppose.]
The look on Beatrice’s face was one indicating she didn’t want to have anything to do with this, as Subaru had his little joke alongside Gian. In response to Beatrice’s reaction, Subaru with a twist of his neck prefaced with, “My bad, my bad”,
Subaru: [Come now, I didn’t mean to embarrass you, but there’s something I wanted to check.]
Beatrice: [What is it, in fact?]
Subaru: [Well… even though Gian’s here, Patrasche is still nowhere to be seen.]
His fellow ground dragon, Patrasche, it would be normal for her to be reined here to the carriage if she was indeed safe.
However, even after he checked the other side of the dragon carriage, her jet-black beautiful figure could not be seen anywhere. Subaru was uneasy at the fact that her figure, which should be there, was not present, but,
Beatrice: [Don’t jump quickly to conclusions, I suppose. That ground dragon… Patrasche, as we couldn’t keep her on the Sixth Floor, she’s on the Fourth Floor, in fact.]
Subaru: [Fourth Floor? Is that above? Why?]
Beatrice: [She’s getting treatment for her wounds, I suppose. The younger of those sisters… Rem’s figure shouldn’t be there in the dragon carriage either, in fact. Everyone in a poor state was brought up to the Fourth Floor, I suppose.]
Subaru: [Getting treatment… Rem, will she Rem be cured!?]
Subaru jumped at Beatrice’s unexpected words.
A faint look of surprise flitted across Beatrice’s face as she witnessed the strength of Subaru’s reaction, but she kept him at bay by pinching his nose as he drew near to her.
Beatrice: [C-calm down, in fact…! Don’t be so impatient, I suppose…!]
Subaru: [As if this is the time to be calm! Will… Rem be cured? Also, you said Patrasche’s getting treatment as well, what sort of state is she in?]
Beatrice: [Let me start from the beginning! I can’t just say everything all at once, in fact! Just, we put her in a place that is better for her than just lying down, I suppose! The ground dragon is the same too, in fact!]
Subaru: […Ohh, is that so.]
Subaru, having tried to press for answers, hung his head down despondently. Seeing the energy sap out of him, even Beatrice gave him a sad look. But, the little girl clenched her small fist, and,
Beatrice: [Look, this isn’t a situation where you should feel down, I suppose. Surely, there has to be a way to manage that, in fact. In order to check that, everyone will challenge the Examinations of the Watchtower now, I suppose.]
Subaru: [――――]
In order to cheer up the downcast Subaru, Beatrice clumsily attempted to urge him into rousing his spirit. Seeing her attempt, Subaru was taken aback, and he jerked his chin up with a “That’s right”,
Subaru: [My bad, I’m really sorry in retrospect. I’m sorry about worrying you.]
Beatrice: [It’s acceptable to be worried about Subaru, in fact. But at least let Betty worry in a place where she can keep an eye on you, that’d be of great help, I suppose.]
Subaru: [I’ll consider it.]
Subaru ruffled Beatrice’s hair and expressed his gratitude at hearing her sympathetic words.
Beatrice’s hairdo was completely unyielding, and even his attempts at ruffling and disturbing it in this manner were in vain, such was its strength. In any case, under the encouragement of Beatrice, Subaru turned his eyes towards the top of the tower.
Subaru: [This is the Sixth Floor… At any rate, we can just go up, right?]
Beatrice: [Perhaps, Julius and the others are in the middle of an Examination right now, so it might be best to meet with the Sage face-to-face and ask them for some more details beforehand, I suppose.]
Subaru: [Sage…? Huh, now that you mention it…]
In the middle of Beatrice’s words, Subaru caught hold onto the word, Sage. In spite that in the first place they had come to the Watchtower to meet with the Sage, Beatrice had not mentioned anything to do with the Sage up until now.
Subaru: [Beako, I guess you already met the Sage? What sorta bastard were they? Did you talk to them and complain about the white light beams which zinged towards us?]
Beatrice: […I don’t really want to talk about the Sage too much, in fact. Well, no, I suppose. Perhaps, when it comes to the Sage, it’ll be simpler if you met them in person, I suppose.]
Subaru: [You know… I don’t remember ever having met any normal guy face-to-face, with the way you’re speaking about them. If I recall, I feel like I was told something similar by Emilia-tan when I first met with Roswaal.]
It had already been more than a year ago, but he remembered the conversation from back then vividly. He remembered that she had explained it like this, “I think meeting and talking to him will be easier to understand him than talking to each other about him”, in relation to Roswaal.
In reality, she thought that he would not have received the impact unless he met with him in person, and that he would not be on the same wavelength in conversation, but, well, now it was far too late for what happened back then.
Beatrice: [If you meet them, you’ll understand, in fact.]
Subaru: […Understood. In any case, we should go and try and meet them. How do we get above?]
Beatrice: [Stairs, I suppose. If you look closely, there are stairs by the wall, in fact.]
If he squinted his eyes to where Beatrice’s words had pointed him to, he can just about make out that there’s something like steps―― a staircase, on the outer edge of the circular room indeed. However, a huge number of steps formed the spiral staircase that wound its way around the big, circular tower.
Subaru: [Eh…? Does this lead up?]
Beatrice: [Climb them, I suppose. If you do your best, it won’t take too long, in fact.]
Subaru: [With you telling me to do my best… How many steps are there until the top!?]
Subaru shrieked this out, as it looked likely that he would be made to get some heavy exercise, being made to go up and down all over again. His voice echoed around the tower in vain, most likely it echoed all the way up until to the top before sorrowfully fading away.
Beatrice shrugged her shoulders uttering “Good grief” at Subaru’s lament.
Beatrice: [It can’t be helped, I suppose. If we could use something like a bit of magic for this, it may be possible to fly upstairs in some shape or form, but… Well, Subaru, you have no other choice, in fact.]
Subaru: [No, look, we can, like, use Murak here. How about we use something like that to climb all the way up to the very top without stopping with ease?]
Beatrice: [It’s not like we can’t, but there is the feeling we’d be in danger when push comes to shove… such of running out of Mana, in fact.]
Subaru: [Even if we go up the stairs normally, won’t we be running out of steam physically for when push comes to shove!?]
Even though Subaru’s physical strength compared to back when he had been a hikikomori[4] was stronger, he was still a feeble boy with quite the ways to go before reaching the standards of strength of this other world, and thus, he could not avoid it.
He didn’t know how high above the Fifth Floor was from the lowermost floor, or rather, the Sixth Floor, but at the very least, he couldn’t even gaze at the ceiling when looking upwards. With how high he thought it was due to that, climbing up would be a deed on the level of mountain climbing.
Subaru: [Damnit! Even so, I have to go up and make sure that the likes of Rem and Patrasche are safe. I have to. Ah, goddamnit.]
Beatrice: [That’s the spirit, I suppose. Good luck, in fact. Betty will cheer you on, I suppose―― it’d be really helpful if you call out to me when you reach the top, in fact.]
Subaru: [A shortcut!? I’m not gonna let you! You come along too with me. Walk! Break into a sweat!]
Beatrice: [Sorry, but Betty is a cute Spirit and sweating would be――]
Subaru steeled his resolve to tackle the stairs, left with no choice, as Beatrice almost dampened his enthusiasm. But, in the middle of their argument, Beatrice suddenly broke off mid-sentence, and looked up overhead.
Subaru: [Beako?]
Beatrice: [This is bad, I suppose. Subaru, get down, in fact――!]
With her sudden change in attitude, Subaru’s voice trailed off, as both Beatrice’s expression changed as she leapt, reaching for him. Catching Beatrice by his chest, he lifted her up into his arms.
And, open-mouthed, Beatrice beat at Subaru’s torso.
Beatrice: [Idiot! That doesn’t mean you can pick me up like a baby, I suppose! Get down, in fact!]
Subaru: [It was just on the spur of the moment…]
As he held Beatrice within his arms, Subaru gently leaned his body back. He doesn’t know what’s happening, Beatrice’s alertness was the only thing he had to work from. In preparation for that, he tried to think, but it was too late.
――Immediately afterwards, a terrible sense of pressure emanated from above them, and Subaru held his breath.
The source of that pressure came ever closer with ferocity, and in the next moment something blasted towards Subaru, right in front of his eyes―― a violent quake shook the enormous tower, Subaru was nearly blown away by the shockwave which raised sand and dust up.
He would have probably been thrown about over and over if not for Gian’s enormous frame just behind them. Protected by the weight of the ground dragon and the dragon carriage, Subaru desperately pushed his eyes open in the midst of the sandstorm that was blowing against him.
And then, on the other side of the smoke plume, from the epicenter of the impact the cloud of sand and dust that had risen up abruptly cleared.
Something like a gust of wind tore through the smoke, and soon after, from the other side, the majestic figure of a person could be seen. Tearing through the dense sandy haze which had enveloped them, the person’s figure was turning visible. Subaru’s cheeks stiffened, he was frozen in place.
That figure, their appearance, he recognized it.
Subaru: [You are…?]
A tall woman was walking briskly across the hard floor, stepping ever closer to him.
Her brown, closer to black, hair was tied up into a ponytail; she was marching forward boldly, her limbs, belly and back were exposed by her clothing; it was safe to say that she was half-naked. Her chest and crotch area were just barely covered up, and she donned a black mantle over her outfit. She was a person who wore rather odd clothing.
In Subaru-speak, she looked like a nympho who was donning her mantle over a black bikini top and hot pants.
Long, slender, white arms and legs, along with a bountiful chest that swung about liberally. She was around the same height as Subaru, maybe a little taller. The size of her hips however, could not be compared.
With a handsome face sat on top of her white shoulders, she was quite the looker, with eyes that albeit languid, were rather striking.
――That was definitely the last thing he had laid his eyes upon before losing consciousness.
She was the one who had attacked and slaughtered the Centaur without mercy. And those countless flashes of light that she had launched towards the Centaur were something Subaru knew only too well.
Subaru: […Are you the Sage?]
???: [――――]
Feeling how parched his throat was, Subaru hoarsely raised this question to the woman who was approaching him in silence.
However, the woman did not deign to answer Subaru until she came right up to where he was stood, and stopped herself in her tracks at a spot where if Subaru were to stretch out his arm, he would be able to touch her. She was just looking at him intently.
Her gaze felt as if she were scrutinizing his entire body, and in honesty, it made Subaru feel quite uneasy.
He had not even heard the voice of this person, but her strength was such that she had made short work in burying the Centaur that had attacked him, putting it at an inhumane level.
One bad move would mean this peculiar person could instantly turn him into nothing more than charcoal. He could not really figure out what her attitude was showing, all he knew was that the only emotion he could feel about her right this instant, was fear.
???: [――――]
In Subaru’s arms, Beatrice’s body remained unchanging, as she clung onto him tightly. Even in her, anxiety begun seeping throughout her small body.
At least, he was lucky enough for the circumstances to have allowed him to come across Beatrice. In the worst case, it wouldn’t be impossible that they would need to get into another fight. Of course, there was no need to come to the point of initiating a fight for the sake of it. He should not be all willy-nilly about such an exertion.
Subaru: [A-Are you… listening? Hey, um, I heard my friends are being looked after, you don’t intend to become hostile or stuff to us… right?]
???: [――――]
Subaru: [Um, your silence is making me anxious, if you could say something… Or perhaps, do you communicate with something like telepathy, rather than words? If it’s that, that’s gonna be a bother! Hahaha.]
???: [――――]
Staring at him, the presumed Sage did not reply to Subaru’s words, she just continued to stare.
He felt extremely uneasy. The extent to Subaru’s bewilderment and confusion could be seen from the confusion in his way of speaking. If things continued in this fashion, they would end up being killed by the uneasiness itself.
――Suddenly though, Subaru’s anxiety was torn away.
???: […Three.]
Subaru: [Eh?]
???: [――――]
While staring at Subaru, the woman suddenly muttered something as such.
Her voice was a little husky, but if he could continue to listen to it, he could probably say that the huskiness in her voice was quite beautiful. However, it was relatively mysterious, with unreadable emotions coming from the voice of the woman who stood in front of his eyes; he thought there was a faint charm to it.
In front of Subaru, the woman sighed quietly,
???: [Well, that’s no problem. More importantly, I found you.]
Subaru: [Uhh… Eh?]
Swiftly, the woman’s expression changed, and she blurted out something.
Her serious attitude had looked, until then, as if she were trying to peer inside of Subaru, but slowly, and steadily, time passed, as if it something frozen was melting away.
The woman’s lips then spread to the sides, forming a shape which could be called a smile. The woman stared at Subaru and voiced.
???: [――Master.]
Subaru: […What?]
She uttered a word which he had never heard being said to him before, and emotions which seemed to come out of absolutely nowhere.
Subaru turned to look behind him, in mute astonishment at her unexpected outburst. As expected, there was only Gian’s figure there. Then… was Gian the aforementioned Master?
Subaru: [Did you come here to suddenly setup important character flags!?]
Beatrice: [I don’t think it’s that, I suppose! Look at the facts, in fact!]
Subaru drew nearer to Gian as Beatrice grew angrier, still in his arms.
Even though her words were reasonable, Subaru could not wrap his head around it. Instead, he turned around to face the woman, still standing there as if nothing had happened, without having a clue what had been said,
Subaru: [Wait, no, my bad, but perhaps you’re mistaking me for someone else or something like that… Mmmmph!?]
???: [Master! Jeeeeeeeez! I have beeeen waiting~!]
In the middle of his words, the woman jumped emotionally and embraced him with her arms. Rather than receiving her tackle in full as she came barging in, he was pushed down.
He fell with his back onto the floor, with Beatrice, trapped in between, letting out a shriek sounding like “Mm, kyaaaa”. The woman, bouncing in joy, would not detach herself from Subaru, who was darting his eyes back and forth in confusion.
The woman swished her long ponytail about, and while hugging Subaru with unnatural strength, repeating over and over with delight in her voice,
???: [Master! Master! It’s been so long! I missed you so much! I thought that my life was gonna be just meee shooting those approaching here!]
Subaru: [W-wait! Wait wait! What!? What are you talking about!?]
Shaula: [How crueeel! Master ordered me, no? You told me to stop anyone from getting near to the Shrine… Well, as for the means, well, that’s a different matter, but.]
Subaru: [Not that… I’m your Master…? What are you insinuating!?]
Even though he was in direct contact with a woman’s soft skin, he had no time to enjoy that lucky lewd encounter. Subaru desperately tried to escape from her clutches.
However, there was a saying that said that women would always be women after all, and she did not let go of Subaru. As a result, Beatrice ended up being sandwiched between Subaru and the woman on the floor.
Subaru: [Anyways, let go of me, you… This is ridiculous…!]
???: [No way! There’s absolutely no waaay! As soon as you say that, you’ll disappear as soon as I lose sight of you again! Master hasn’t chaaanged at all!]
Subaru: [I don’t know what you’re on about――!!]
The stubborn woman clung to Subaru as if she had gone through some sort of trauma. Whilst he roughly pushed her face away, trying to keep her away, Subaru snapped back at her.
Subaru: [In the first place, who are you?! What’s with all this!]
???: [What are you even saying?! I’m Shaulaaa! The Star-Keeper of the Pleiades Watchtower! I am Master’s cute apprentice, Shaulaaa!]
Subaru: [I don’t remember you what so ever――!]
A woman―― who called herself Shaula, whose name was supposed to be that of the Sage of the tower.
The great so-called Sage of the Pleiades Watchtower could not be such a strange woman who did not know such a thing.
Subaru firmly objected to this idea. However, in this place where there was no such thing as progress, a sudden interruption came about. That was――
???: [――Oh no! Oh no! When I woke up Subaru wasn’t there! I need to hurry and tell everyone, we have to go look for him…]
Subaru: [Ah.]
Having said that, a sleepy-looking Emilia jumped out of the dragon carriage’s door. Exiting the carriage, she found Subaru and Shaula entwined with each other. Of course, Beatrice was there too, her eyes widened as she saw the two.
Subaru: [Emilia… tan! Thank goodness you woke up! This is actually…]
Emilia: [Hiya!]
Subaru: [That hurts!? Emilia-tan, what was that kick for!?]
Emilia: [I really am not sure, but I was reaaally upset there!]
With Emilia awake, the shouting and yelling continued for a while――
The hard struggle against the (assumed) Sage of the Pleiades Watchtower continued, until eventually Julius noticed the noise and joined up with them.
Translation notes:
[1] Punny. The expression “濡れ衣” means “false accusations” as per translation, but it is composed of the character for “wet/damp” (濡) and “clothes/dressing” (衣), much like what would happen if there were traces of someone crying on the bed next to Subaru…
[2] The term used for the Tower’s Trials, “試験”, is slightly different from that of the Arc 4 Trials or of Petelgeuse’s Ordeals, which is “試練”. Quite a few passages will read oddly because of this, but this is ancient translation convention that cannot be changed without raising hell.
[3]Subaru makes a lame pun in the way he tells Gian he isn’t dead, by using his name, which sounds like the negative in Japanese, and it’s impossible to translate into English well. So it was skipped over.
[4] Meaning NEET, aka shut-ins that never leave their room.
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