Arc 6 – Chapter 50, “To You, The Absolutely Worthless Excuse”

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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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At the sound of her cold voice, Subaru literally felt his heart freeze.

Subaru: [――――]

Looking back at the front of the room, Ram stood still at the entrance, her light pink irises ablaze, quietly boring into Subaru.

Though Subaru had only came in contact with her a few times before, he had rarely ever seen her reveal such emotion on her face―― in that Ram, there was a fervor that easily betrayed that impression.

Subaru: [Nh, uh…]

Ram: [What are you getting so flustered for? Ram asked you a question. Answering is Barusu’s… No, answering is your duty[1].]

Subaru: [I-I am, just…]

Ram: [Just?]

Promptly, Subaru’s head began revolving as he attempted to explain himself.

He needed to move his tongue somehow, curse his sluggish mind for its initial response and meet this situation with a silver tongue.

However, in the first place, in addition to having been thrown into this unexpected turmoil, before this had occurred, Subaru had not―― he had yet to even process how Meili’s corpse had disappeared.

He had not even prepared the words to talk his way out of things, he was not even able to prepare to come to grips to what was happening right before his eyes.

All that Subaru was able to do, was to open and shut his mouth awkwardly as he tried his best to not to say anything improper.

Even though Subaru’s manner now supported his suspicious behavior louder than any words could.

Subaru: [――――]

Ram narrowed her eyes at Subaru’s silence. The coldness in her gaze, which he had already thought to be at the level of absolute zero, fell even further. It almost felt as if he had been assailed by a sharp, bone-chilling blizzard.

While desperately trying to keep his knees from trembling, Subaru slowly started to understand, too little too late.

――Had he been set up?

When Meili’s body had not been found, the meeting at the dinner table had been a bluff.

When they had reported that Meili’s body had not been discovered, Subaru had been relieved that he had escaped from a chance of being blamed.

Desperately searching in vain, they had not uncovered the not-so-well-hidden body of the little girl. His bad luck had prevailed even in these unnatural circumstances, Subaru had accepted the convenient truth, putting off any niggling doubts that had concerned him then.

And that had resulted in him being caught up in this uncouth act.

Hadn’t Subaru also repeatedly seen this in various TV shows?

In the final scene, the murderer who had so meticulously put together his perfect plan, would return to the crime scene and give himself away as the police and the detectives would be closely watching the crime scene. And because of that, they would give away that they had committed the crime by showing themselves as being the smoking gun. That kind of comedic-ish moment.

Somewhere in his mind, Subaru had thought that, were he in that position, he would never show such stupidity.

Any connoisseur of mysteries would take note of the sheer foolishness of the dumb criminal that would slip up at the very end.

He had acted completely the same way―― rather, he had been worse, for his shock of being caught up in this act had made him quite a miserable sight to behold.

Ram: [――Fake.]

Ram’s quiet mutter barrelled into him as he was stricken by his own defective actions.

With just that single word, Subaru’s brittle heart crumbled and sunk in his chest, as if he had been shell-shocked by a mortar attack. As soon as he had heard it, his face had turned as white as a sheet, his lips trembling. Ram let out a sigh.

Ram: [So, you have nothing to say to defend yourself. I guess that is proof that even you yourself, were aware of just how botched your acting is. You did not prepare well enough when disguising yourself as him. There are limits when it comes to not being diligent, don’t you agree?]

Without hiding the contempt in her voice, Ram began explaining why she had suspected Subaru.

Fakeness, poor acting, and showing insufficient understanding towards “Natsuki Subaru” had all been pointed out by her. Not only was Subaru lost for words, but his heart felt as if it was going to crack, and the flow of his blood ached with each heartbeat.

In fact, Subaru bit his lower lip, and blood started to stream out, accompanied by a sharp stinging pain.

A fake, fake, fake, fake, fake, fake, fake, fake, fake, fake, fake――

A poor imitation of “Natsuki Subaru”, a fake――

That thought settled into the pit of his stomach as if it were thick, black sludge.

A disgusting sludge covering him from head-to-toe; a weight that caused his knees to stop trembling. Instead, where the depths of his eyes had burned a blaze glowed, dancing atop the fuse of his dark emotions.

One could call it hostility, malice, malintent―― or perhaps an intent to kill.

Ram: [There is no way such unnatural behavior would go unnoticed, well, except for those that cannot spare the heed for it. That could be said of Julius, Anastasia-sama… well, Echidna.]

Subaru: […You’re sure letting it all out. Here I am, listening to you patiently without even saying a word.]

Ram: [――――]

Subaru: [A fake!? I think you’re crossing the line of false accusations here. Who the hell do you think you are!?]

Ram: [False accusations, huh?]

Subaru tried to voice his objections, painful as it was, in response to Ram’s unwithering sharp tongue.

Of course, the point she made had been completely correct. Even if he did not agree with having been sternly described by her as that “worthless excuse”, that unfillable void between Subaru and “Natsuki Subaru” existed.

However, she could not have noticed this. If she came to notice it, then it would become impossible for him to worm himself out of this situation.

He could not stop here, halfway through――

Subaru: [False accusations upon false accusations. My ears are deaf to them, y’know, I can’t hear any of ‘em.]

Shoulders shrugging and cheeks distorting into a scowl, Subaru spoke while glaring at Ram.

As if he were dramatizing truth and lies, which even he himself felt as to be so brazen, to be the truth of the world.

Subaru: [Anyways, what’s with going on about me having wanted to wander about in the middle of the night. I just wanted to stretch my legs and think a bit while there was no one around. That’s why I deliberately went somewhere where I wouldn’t be around your little sister’s… Rem’s sleeping, nor Patrasche’s presence…]

Ram: [――Did you really think that nobody had seen anything?]

Ram had quietly asked Subaru this as he was rapidly blurting out his excuses.

Her words were brief, but sharp, designed to puncture deep into his vitals.

Subaru: [――――]

Holding his breath at hearing her inquiry, Subaru racked his brain, trying to figure out what she had really meant with those words.

See, seen, not be seen, couldn’t have seen.

――Where did Ram get this word from, “see”. What does she mean by this?

Meili’s corpse? Or perhaps Meili, before she had become a corpse? Or had she seen him working on concealing Meili’s corpse? Or maybe――

Ram: [Nothing… even if it was your plan that nobody would see anything, the ground dragon was diligently watching your strange behavior. And because of that, Ram was also able to “watch you” in the same way.]

Putting a finger to her lips, right in front of him, Ram deliberately made a scene out of showing this particularly uncouth gesture towards Subaru.

Subaru: […What the hell are you saying!?]

Without understanding the meaning of the behavior behind her gesture, Subaru let out these words in bewilderment.

However, he did have quite a recent memory of this particular gesture. It was none other than the gesture Subaru had shown to Patrasche before leaving the Spirit room.

Right now, he could not for the life of him understand why it had cropped up again in this place with Ram right now――

Ram: [You need to study him more, you “worthless excuse”――]

The utter disappointment those two words carried, was what drove home that this was a final warning for Subaru.

Subaru: [――――]

Up until now, though extremely cold and unfeeling, Ram had kept her stance of wanting to talk, even if her intention of exchanging words with Subaru was disappearing by the second.

The instant Subaru had seen the look in her eyes, he realized that his excuses were meaningless.

Ram would turn a deaf ear to whatever excuses Subaru came up with.

Since it had come to this, Subaru had no other choice but to break through this situation using brute strength.

――In that moment, Subaru began considering how to kill Ram inside his head.

Subaru: [――――]

Think about how to kill her. There was no longer any point in feeling reluctant about it.

He had already killed one person. One or two, it made little difference. A while ago, “I” had a lot of experience in snatching away the lives of a great number of people.

From here on out, there would be no hindrance in the execution of his Book of the Dead Plan.

Meili: “――Buuut~, that onee-san… “

Countless choices within Subaru crumbled away noisily. On the verge of being left with only his dangerous thoughts, the shade of the little girl that had been keeping silent up until now chimed in.

Though invisible, the presence of the shade beside him was so strong he could practically feel her breathing. It hugged Subaru’s body from behind, softly whispering into his ear and tempting him.

And the contents of that sweet, sweet, saccharine temptation were――

Meili: “――Surely she’s in a poor condition, riiight~? Her center of gravity on the left side, its balance is poooor~.”

Those sweet whispers had brought him the weaknesses of that awe-inspiring, yet terrifying girl―― putting things short, she had given him instructions on how to kill her.

She was smaller than him, she was weaker than him, she had less experience when it came to killing.

With the knowledge “I” had accumulated by spending so much time with the assassin in black, it should be easy to kill this woman.

Meili: “Knock her over towards her left-hand side, and bash her head against the wall. That’ll do the triiick~.”

As he was taking into account the difference in strength between himself and Ram, relevant advice came from “myself”.

By just following that, the girl’s skull would crack, and flowers of deep crimson would bloom upon the wall.

Crimson flowers that would marvelously complement this lovely young girl’s pink hair――

Subaru: [――Hk!]

Without any cues, and without any obvious openings, Subaru faced his opponent in the blink of an eye, and stepped forward.

Receiving a round of cheers from the shade, Subaru stepped forwards, devoid of hesitation, towards Ram’s body which was slightly tensed. Towards her right-hand side.

He would throw her body against the wall, and then――

Ram: [Since you are lost for words, you are now resorting to violence. What a barbaric, tedious conclusion.]

In that moment of offense and defense, before Subaru’s arm could reach her, Ram had opened her lips and weaved these words.

Meeting each other’s gazes, Subaru’s breath was knocked out of him upon seeing Ram’s cold eyes.

Ram: [――Did you really think that the oh-so-frail and feeble Ram would challenge such a barbaric man alone?]

Rather than mocking him, Ram’s words felt similar to pity. As she spoke, Subaru heard a crackling sound in the air mingling in with her voice.

In fact, he was not hearing things. The moisture in the atmosphere was frozen in a flash, the air around him was being forcibly changed from gas to solid.

Subaru: [Wh… Hk.]

That crackling sound he had perceived, had been caused from Subaru’s own foot stepping against the pile of ice rising at his feet; it had stopped him in his tracks, causing him pain.

Subaru: [I-ice…!?]

Ricocheting from the hard, cold impact, Subaru could hardly believe his eyes.

But, the transformation did not just stop here. Bars of ice were not just materializing where his foot had been, rather, they rose from all around him―― enclosing him, materializing into an ice cage.

Subaru: [You’re kidding me… Hk. What the, magic…!?]

In the blink of an eye, the ice cage finished appearing in reality, within it, was Subaru completely trapped.

Seizing the bars of frost with his hands, Subaru attempted to violently shake them in an attempt to break that prison; however, his efforts only resulted in him being astounded at the strength of the ice. The bars did not yield even an inch. Even if he kicked and punched with all his strength, he did not at all believe it possible for him to be able to break through.

And thus, Subaru had been imprisoned within that ice cage――

???: [――Everything would have been so much better if Ram had been wrong about this…]

Looking at him with sad amethyst eyes, Emilia came into view from behind Ram.

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What had happened was hardly surprising; Subaru found himself dumbstruck like a monkey inside a cage.

Subaru: [――――]

Ram and Emilia had banded together to restrain him, that much was obvious.

Unlike Subaru, however, they had the option of cooperating with each other. The conditions for them were different than his, being forced to fight on his lonesome.

From the very beginning, the choice of trying to go against a dangerous person alone would not have cropped up for them.

Ultimately, Subaru had definitely been dancing in the palm of their hands at every step of the way.

Ram: [In this scene, you won’t be able to aggrandize yourself with frivolousness, never mind chattering away with your unproven twaddle. I can barely say that you are below third-rate as an actor, let alone second-rate.]

Ram spat this out, crossing her arms and looking at Subaru sitting in the cage.

Looking at her, he noticed that she had not even moved a single step away from the place where she had first made her entry. Even worse, she had not even changed her posture.

Between her and Subaru, that was what differed between the two actors, it was.

Ram: [With such acting, only a seriously oblivious person could be fooled. Then, who the most mentally tough person was amongst everyone, you needn’t even consider there.]

Emilia: [From the way you’re speaking… aren’t you praising me? Thanks.]

Ram: […You are welcome.]

Next to Ram who had reacted with a faint air of bitterness, silver hair flew up as Emilia stepped forward.

Judging by what Ram had stated, this ice cage had been fashioned by Emilia―― in other words, it could be concluded that this was a kind of magic she was able to use.

Had he not been stuck in this situation, Subaru would have definitely been impressed by her enchanting ice magic which suited its owner’s beautiful, mystical face quite well.

But, seeing that he was practically a captive in the ice cage, and witnessing just how strong it was, at a glance he could understand the difference in strength between him and her, and just how inferior he was.

The difficulty level of executing his Book of the Dead Plan, that ranking had now greatly changed. But, before that――

Emilia: [――Subaru, what were you trying to do at this time? Weren’t you supposed to be resting in the room?]

Subaru: [That’s…]

Looking worried, Emilia asked Subaru what he had been doing here at this time.

A serious look of anxiety dwelled in her eyes, but, when it came to this situation, the only possible conclusion for what he could think of it was that it was simple honesty that practically almost classified as stupidity. She was mistaken, thinking that there was a logical reason behind everything.

Even Subaru had his own say about this.

A reason as to how he had ended up like this certainly existed. However, telling them would be like grasping at thin air; who on earth would believe Subaru’s words?

Ram: [Emilia-sama, it is pointless to ask him that. I doubt he will answer your question honestly. I am doubtful in handling it as if it were Barusu.]

Emilia: [But, Subaru is Subaru! Ram, you must understand that, right?]

Ram: [Just a counterfeit with merely a similar appearance… that is how Ram judges it.]

If anything, it resembled something closer to one of Subaru’s own thoughts about himself; Ram rebuked Emilia’s notion.

Most likely, it had been Ram who had suspected Subaru and had also proposed to keep an eye on what he would get up to at night. For sure, Emilia must have been standing by as the rear-guard, brought along in the case of an emergency.

In other words, the answer to dealing with the “Natsuki Subaru” who was not Subaru had already been noticed by Ram a while ago.

And afterward, everything left was to take the steps to confirm both the fact and the accompanying grievances.

Ram: [Thanks to Emilia-sama, you were captured without any harm done. I wonder if a bit of pain will make you willing to tell Ram and everyone what we want to hear?]

Subaru: [Pain… like torture me? Isn’t it a well-known thing that that’s not only extremely sadistic, but needs sophisticated knowledge!!]

Ram: [I will do what is necessary. Besides, I do not really like inflicting pain on others―― but, it is a specialty of mine.]

Keeping him in a cage with a space of not even two meters square, Ram was not going easy on Subaru.

Pale and slender though her fingers may be, her humble claim of “inflicting pain is my specialty” felt frightfully convincing to Subaru.

If he kept going like this, without doing anything, if the opportunity to launch a counterattack did not present itself, it would end up becoming a case where no matter how hard she searched for his secrets,he would just be meaninglessly confessing his miserable behavior.

Emilia: [――Wait. You can’t hurt him. I won’t let you do that.]

However, Emilia, who herself had imprisoned Subaru in the ice cage, was the one to stop Ram before she could resort to extreme measures.

She turned her back on the cage Subaru was in and faced Ram directly.

Ram: […Emilia-sama, weren’t you supporting Ram?]

Emilia: [I endorsed your opinion of questioning him because I also felt that Subaru was acting strange. But it’s because I thought this might happen… that I decided to stay here.]

Ram: [It’s because I did not want something like this to happen that I asked Beatrice to keep Julius and the rest company. And yet, I did not think Emilia-sama would be so, disobedient… Too naive.]

Without hiding her irritation at the difference in their opinions, Ram pointed at Subaru, who was hiding behind Emilia’s back. Regarding them, she uttered the biting words “Is this okay?”.

Ram: [He is too lacking in the points that the original Barusu should obviously be in possession of. I heard you talk about the Watergate City… Pristella. It seemed like there you had met a shape-shifting Sin Archbishop.]

Emilia “…Yes. A reason for us coming here was to restore the people who that Sin Archbishop changed into a different form.”

Ram: [Then what are the chances that Sin Archbishop could have become any of us?]

Emilia: [――――]

Ram: [Even if they are not that specific Sin Archbishop, if they are able to freely change their shape then we cannot go by outward appearances. Their normal conduct, the feeling when they try to talk, if all of those things are different…]

Ram responded with logic while holding back her anger towards Emilia’s emotion-driven opposition.

Those were nothing but deductions and baseless accusations towards Subaru, but there was no basis to deny them.

And no less important than that, Subaru―― no, “I” felt revulsed by the topic at hand.

Subaru: [――Hk.]

A flashback, white memories.

They came not from Natsuki Subaru, but from a small fragment of the memories seen in the Book of the Dead. The memories from when “I” was “me”.

――Training, that was what they called their actions towards “me”.

Even though dread had been carved into me many times, the most terrifying thing to happen to me, was when my body was made to change into countless innumerable “frogs”.

Even though my consciousness existed only in one body, my infinitely fragmented consciousness did as it liked, leaping whenever it wanted, running wherever it wanted.

Dreading the thought of not being able to go back to my original self, brought the realization that I had forgotten what my “original self” was in the first place. Having my reason for existence as a living being crash like that, I was thankful from the bottom of my heart to Mother the moment I was returned to normal.

And at the same time, the notion that I should never, under any circumstances, go against her orders was etched into my soul.

Subaru: [――Uh.]

Recalling that dread directly, almost as if he had personally lived it, Subaru’s field of vision blurred.

One’s own appearance was something that was directly linked to one’s identity and sense of self. Tampering and changing that as one liked on a whim, that could only be called blasphemy to one’s existence.

The most detestable deed of all――

Emilia: [That’s too extreme, this is quite unlike you Ram! You sound like you’re forcing me to contain him!]

Ram: [Can you even say nothing’s up? Before that man behind us…]

Emilia and Ram continued their arguing while Subaru alone drowned in anguish, feeling like his stomach was churning.

However, Ram’s claim was like probatio diabolica[2]. You could prove that something was something, but no one could prove that it was not.

This Natsuki Subaru was not the “Natsuki Subaru” they wanted.

To explain that theory, some kind of shape-shifting power was helpful. It made it simple―― and at the same time, it was unbearable for the current Subaru, from the bottom of his heart.

Overwhelmed by the hostile emotions inside him, Subaru wheezed in pain.

Ram: [I need to make him spit it out, right now! So I can know where Meili and the real Barusu are.]

Subaru: [――Ah?]

That complaint from Ram, like a surprise attack, overloaded Subaru’s consciousness.

It was a bolt out of the blue, a truly unexpected comment.

Subaru: [――――]

Raising his face, Subaru looked at Emilia and Ram, at their continuing quarrel. Gazing at her back, he was unable to see Emilia’s emotions; however, Ram’s face was clearly visible to him.

Her eyes, burning with rage, contained no schemes that would snare Subaru into lies right here. At least, what she had just stated was what she had really meant.

In other words, this meant that Ram and the others had not uncovered Meili’s remains.

The only thing that was lying in wait, in trying to denounce Subaru right here, was his suspicious behavior, since he could not, at all, try as he might, play the part of “Natsuki Subaru”.

He understood where the confused Ram’s questioning was coming from. But at the same time, he did not understand.

Had it not been Ram or Emilia, who had been the one to move Meili’s remains?

If it had been neither Ram, nor the others, nor Subaru, then there was another agenda at work――

Emilia: [Real or fake, you can’t just decide like that! I mean, the Subaru that is here right now is…]

Subaru: [――I have, amnesia!!]

Ram: [Huh…?]

Holding onto the bars of the ice cage, Subaru’s scream cut into the duo’s quarrel.

Hearing that screaming voice, Ram appeared taken aback and confused. That one unexpected angle of attack left Ram’s mind blank.

Had it been a trick, employed to poke gaps between her logic and disturb her thoughts, then it had been a success. But there had been no such intent, this had been Subaru’s scream of truth.

Ram: [――Tch.]

As for why he had cried this out right at this moment, even Subaru himself had no clue.

In this loop, Subaru had hidden the fact that he had lost his memories, and had tried to imitate how the old “Natsuki Subaru” had seemed. Thanks to that, his life had not been snatched away this loop.

And though that had not come to pass, hadn’t there been some other alarming situations that perhaps even rivalled that, which had toyed with Natsuki Subaru and chased him about, one after the other?

But in truth, concealing his amnesia had complicated everything else in this loop.

So, what would happen now, after his grand reveal?

Ram: [After all this time, you are still playing around like that…!?]

In reality, the moment her stagnating thoughts had resumed their activities, Ram’s expression became dyed in anger.

The girl probably thought that Subaru’s desperate cry now was a desperate lie―― that it was nothing more than sheer nonsense. But even if that was how it was for Ram――

Emilia: [Ram! Listen to what Subaru is saying! There was a reason after all!]

Ram: [Are you serious, Emilia-sama!? That was completely unbelievable…!]

With arms stretched, Emilia stood in front of Ram, rallying with Subaru’s words. Had she believed he had only jumped up to take advantage using this absurd excuse, Subaru may as well give up on continuing to speak.

However, standing in opposition to Ram, who wished to reject it completely, Emilia still faced her with resolve,

Emilia: [It’s worth believing him! Didn’t we all up until now!?]

Ram: [――Tsk.]

Ram’s cheek slightly stiffened at Emilia’s appeal.

For a second, a trace of doubt flitted through Ram’s light-pink irises, various thoughts seeming to spin through Ram’s intelligent head. She started to open her stiffly closed lips, and,

Emilia: [Ram, let’s listen to Subaru and…]

Ram: [――What about Rem?]

Emilia: [――Ah.]

In an instant, the petite form of Ram, her eyes closed and moist, spun around and leapt at Emilia.

Deciding in that moment to fall back, Emilia had prepared herself to hold down Ram. But, the approaching Ram’s movements proved to be faster, and Emilia’s left hand was caught by Ram’s right.

Ram: [Don’t get in my way now!]

Emilia: [Kyaa!]

As she spoke, demonstrating her excellent footwork and defensive movements, and minimally moving her wrist and shoulder, Ram flung Emilia’s body aside, in a manner that had demonstrated maximum effectiveness.

As Emilia was launched away, her figure slowly somersaulted to the side. Through her surprise at her world’s sudden revolutions, she quickly grasped her situation and attempted to swing her long legs onto the floor below.

Emilia: [――Hk.]

In the spot where Emilia landed, lay one of Ram’s shoes, having been taken off. Tripping over it, Emilia lost her balance and landed on all fours.

In that melee, Emilia had been overwhelmed by Ram’s technique, and Ram slipped into the gap created. Thrusting her wand between the bars of the ice cage, towards the tip of the frightened Subaru’s nose,

Ram: [I dare you to say that again.]

Subaru: [It’s, not like that…]

Ram: [With that face. And that voice. Say that you forgot Rem. One more time…]

Gritting her teeth, Ram was collecting something on the tip of her trembling wand, and he knew what it was.

It was invisible to the eye, a power which would probably be called Mana was accumulating in front of his eyes, but even then, Subaru could not follow with any words.

He could not think of words to present Ram with, to that girl in front of him hanging on the verge of tears.

It was not with Natsuki Subaru, but would it have been possible for “Natsuki Subaru” to do it?

Emilia: [You can’t, Ram! Stop!!]

Emilia, having just clambered back to her feet, screamed in an attempt to stop Ram.

However, she did not make it in time.

Emilia: [――――]

A white light blinked through the ice cage’s bars, and the shock engulfed Subaru.

That shock flung his body all the way onto the ice bars behind him, and the back of his head banged against them.

Subaru: [――Uh.]

His head shook violently, and his consciousness became hazy.

Without even having time to explain himself, Natsuki Subaru’s consciousness slipped away.

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Subaru: [――Uh?]

Letting out a faint, weak groan, his consciousness began to resurface.

Gradually, gradually, his consciousness rose to the surface from the sludge of darkness. Feeling as if he were somewhere vast, steady, steadily accelerating, stretching into reality, and finally――

Subaru: [―Guaaaaaah!? Owww!?]

The instant in which he had been about to flit into consciousness, he was yanked up by a force that felt like it had seized him by the scruff of his neck. Sharp, hot pain burned within Subaru’s mind.

Groaning and writhing in pain, Subaru woke up on the cold, hard floor.

Subaru: [Ow, ow, owwww, what, what’s this…?]

His body roused by throbbing pain, Subaru reached out his hand to his left shoulder. The moment he touched it, scorching pain once again seared his mind. He could not move his left arm at all.

Subaru: [Did it get yanked out of my socket…? Is it dislocated? Ugh, never felt this one before…]

Dangling about, his arm down from his shoulder was unable to move as per his will. However, when he had tried to move and touch it, he had felt a sharp pain. Thus, Subaru stood up with great care.

He looked around at his surroundings. He saw that there was nobody around. And this room was――

Subaru “The room where I hid Meili…”

In other words, he was in the same room where he had been conscious up until just before.

As evidence for that, behind Subaru, the ice cage Emilia had magically crafted was still there. It was strange that Subaru had been lying down outside the cage. Looking at the cage, it did not appear to have been opened, and it did not seem like he should have been able to get out by any normal means――

Subaru: [――So does that mean my shoulder was…?]

Thinking to that degree, Subaru noticed the relationship between his dislocated shoulder and his escape from the ice cage.

The gaps between the bars of the ice cage were so small that it would be impossible to get through them unless he was the size of a child. By force, it should be possible to get through with his shoulder dislocated.

Question was, how had Natsuki Subaru managed that while unconscious? Also――

Subaru: [――Where have Emilia, and Ram gone?]

Within the room, the figures of the girls who had been arguing with each other not long ago, or even about to kill each other, were nowhere to be seen.

This situation was far too unnatural.

――No, it was more like a terrible situation than an unnatural one.

Subaru had been knocked out of consciousness, and thus knew nothing about his shoulder getting dislodged, nor of Emilia and Ram whereabouts, nor of anyone else who should have been here.

Looking around the room, Subaru wondered what had happened during his blackout, looking to see whether anything strange had occurred―― and there, he saw it.

“Natsuki Subaru was here”.

Subaru: [――――]

On the walls, everywhere he could see, those words were engraved.

Cut into the stone wall, crudely shaped words were carved as if scribbled into a notepad.

Had it been the fragment of stone near the wall that had done that? It appeared to have been part of the stone in the back of the room, which had been originally used to hide Meili’s dead body.

Using that stone fragment, the phrase “Natsuki Subaru was here” had been engraved onto the wall―― Had it been just that, then the impact would not have been as great as when the same words had been carved into his arm.

Under the influence of the surprise and astonishment that the redux had brought along, he should have laughed it off as no big deal.

But, however――

“Natsuki Subaru was here”

“Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here”

“Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here”

“Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here” “Natsuki Subaru was here”――

Subaru: [――Uh, ah.]

Tightly packed together, abnormally so, the words had been carved so that they completely covered the walls inside the room.

They had looked so natural that Subaru had not truly noticed the uncomfortable feeling he’d possessed from the start. The words had been so abnormally and stubbornly engraved to the extent they looked somewhat like an optical illusion, due to the excess of that pattern on the walls.

Inside this room, for what purpose, these characters had been engraved――

???: [―Hmm? Oy, the fuck’s up with this creepy ass room? The fuck’s this crap decoratin’ the walls, ya prick?]

Subaru: [――――]

Shuddering, standing stock still, the voice coming from behind Subaru inspired fear.

It was not down to the fact that he had not detected its presence. After all, Subaru’s attention right now had been firmly fixed at the writing on the walls. He would not have noticed anyone approaching.

Thus, he was not surprised because of that.

Subaru’s surprise had come from how familiar that crude voice sounded. Its terrible memories that he wanted to forget――

???: [Small fry, the hell ya doing lookin’ so blank, ya prick. What’s a small fry doin’ so far away from his flock? Aren’t’cha just askin’ to be a bigger fish’s prey?]

As he spoke from behind Subaru, who dared not to look back, the red-haired man’s laugh rang out like a shark’s.

Oh how he laughed indeed, that man who should, by all means, not be present.

Translation notes:

[1] Ram switches from calling him Barusu to using “anata” (あなた) instead.

[2] “Probatio diabolica”, or “devil’s proof”, is a logical dilemma that states that while evidence may prove the existence of something, the lack of evidence does not disprove said existence. In other words, lack of proof to something not existing means a statement is true in a way. For more information, see here.