――The sound of something breaking continued to echo in my consciousness.

　Bones were being crushed, brain matter was being squashed, and my eyeballs were cracking, spilling out the fluid inside.

　It’s the skull that’s being shattered; the bones of my head. I can feel the valuable things crumbling away under the force of sharp fangs, turning into a mushy mess.

　Gray brain and brain matter suddenly spill out, mixing with some incomprehensible yellow bodily fluid that had pooled in the frontal lobe, as thin, net-like blood vessels burst and bright red blood flow out.

　All of it together transforms consciousness and memory into a meat-colored vomit.

　Pain, there is pain. There’s also tightness in my chest.

　It feels like my head is splitting apart—thinking this, my consciousness grimaced.

　It’s not merely splitting apart; everything valuable has already shattered. Besides, even the parts that feel pain are long crushed, so what am I saying now?

　The brain, which holds memories, has spilled out, the organs necessary for thinking have been crushed, and the parts necessary for sustaining life have been completely lost—do you know what happens when that occurs?

　When that happens, a human faces ‘Death.’

　Therefore, naturally, I too—

“—Rus. Balus. Pull yourself together.”

　My vague consciousness was forcefully grabbed by the neck and dragged into a bright place.

　The first thing I felt when I returned was the desperate voice of someone near my ear. The voice was accompanied not only by the tremor of sound but also by the sensation of a gentle slap on my cheek.

“Balus, if you don’t wake up soon, I’ll burn your eyelids off.”

“—!”

　Hearing such a terrifying statement upon waking, my consciousness rapidly surfaced.

　Following the voice, I emerged from the dark world, as if breaking through the water’s surface, escaping the suffocating environment. And before my eyelids could be burned off, I opened them to find—

“—Balus, you’ve woken up?”

“—”

　Right in front of me was Ram, narrowing her light pink eyes.

　Her breath was close enough that if I lifted my chin slightly, our lips would almost touch. Of course, it wasn’t because of some alluring circumstance. Ram was this close simply because the surroundings were so dark that we couldn’t see the details of each other’s faces otherwise.

　As I became aware of Ram in front of me, my perception gradually picked up the sensation beneath my backside. My body was rolling on fine granules of sand, and I, Subaru, was sprawled out in the sandy sea.

　As one breath escaped Subaru’s mouth, Ram stared deeply into his eyes, then slowly distanced herself while holding a lantern. The orange light sliced through the darkness, and Subaru realized he was still trapped in the sandy labyrinth—no, that he had ‘returned from death.’

“I, am…”

　Looking around in the darkness, Subaru took his time to remember what had happened.

　The shock of the moment of ‘death’ was always vivid, and the sensation that shook his memory showed no signs of becoming familiar. Engulfed in the earthquake of memories, he tasted the feeling of being tossed around to recall the certain ‘death,’ reaching back to those final moments with his fingertips.

“—”

　What surged back to mind with stunning intensity was Ram’s expression of hatred illuminated by the lantern.

　And then, the senseless fight born from their exchange of insults, leading to a senseless battle and its horrific end.

“Ugh…”

“Balus?”

　In front of the puzzled Ram, Subaru instinctively covered his mouth.

　It was not a scream remembering the fact that he had fought Ram just moments ago, but rather, the nausea from recalling the tragic end that had befallen her.

“Ugh, eewugh…”

　Subaru had already experienced his own ‘death’ enough times to count on both hands.

　And the experiences of losing his comrades like Emilia and Beatrice were nearly intertwined with his own ‘death’ in terms of emotional weight.

　However, for Subaru, ‘death’ was something he could never get accustomed to.

　This was the same for himself and equally so for someone else’s ‘death.’ He feared dying himself, and the mere thought of losing a comrade would tear at his heart.

　—Moreover, the horrific way Ram had died last time had been a shock he had never experienced before.

　Having her belly slashed open, her neck severed, and her whole body brutally scarred while being slaughtered—Subaru had witnessed it all.

　Each method of dying was filled with torment and grief, and it was far too distasteful for Subaru to compare them.

　Yet, this was the first time he had seen someone’s head crushed, their insides chewed up, and destroyed in such a manner.

　He saw Ram’s beautifully crafted face mercilessly crushed by fangs.

　Moreover, it was a tragedy executed by none other than Patrasche, one of the most trusted beings in Subaru’s life.

“…Ugh, eew. Cough, cough.”

　Desperately trying to forget it only caused it to linger in his mind even more.

　The moment he attempted to erase the gruesome end of Ram, the pink hair and remnants of her head that had remained in the earth dragon’s maw vividly surfaced in Subaru’s memory.

　Ultimately unable to digest the rising nausea, Subaru heaved over the sand.

　Yet his throat and stomach had yet to recover from the shock of ‘returning from death,’ simply convulsing without obeying Subaru’s will.

“Cough, eugh…!”

“…I thought you’d woken up, only to do that? How pitiful.”

　With my hands on the ground, I desperately tried to expel my stomach’s contents, but nothing came out. It was shocking that my mouth was so dry that not even a drop of saliva could be produced.

　Ram’s expression as she looked at me with the lantern was invisible, but it was clear from her voice that she was exasperated with my desperate gasping.

　Naturally, that cold attitude recalled the events right before my ‘death.’

　The uncontrollable murderous intent that had erupted out of nowhere, the passion linked to that explosive anger—and the emotions that had driven me to insult Ram relentlessly stirred violently in my chest and became frightening.

　However,

“—Don’t bite.”

“—!”

　With a single remark, Ram sat down beside Subaru and lifted his chin.

　Kneeling, Subaru was taken aback at the suddenness of it, but Ram cared not for his reaction and forced his mouth open, maintaining a profoundly disinterested expression as her white finger shoved deep into his throat.

“…!? Ugh, eew!”

“I knew Balus was clumsy, but if it’s this much, you’re just like a baby.”

　Having my throat violated by someone else’s finger, Subaru’s esophagus was unceremoniously assaulted.

　Then, as if to give way to the surprise that had previously hindered his vomit, his stomach and throat joined forces to work desperately to expel gastric juice and saliva.

　With watery eyes, Subaru surrendered to the urge to vomit and released it onto the sand. Although it was just stomach fluid and water, it felt vastly better than before the vomit.

“Ugh, cough… Hah, phew… I’m sorry, I’m okay now.”

“Is that so? I’m glad to see you’re satisfied now.”

“You…”

　Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, Subaru said while Ram simply shrugged and responded in a babyish tone.

　Despite having some thoughts about her attitude, the truth was he had made a blunder at a baby-like level. There was no room for argument, and even now, Ram’s hand was gently stroking Subaru’s back.

　A complicated yet harsh form of kindness.

“Okay, enough with the hand. More importantly, where are we…?”

“You remember that the barrier broke and the sand sea split in front of us? After getting swallowed up along with the dragon cart, the result is this.”

　Ignoring Ram’s concern, Subaru explained while looking around. Listening to her response, he hesitated over whether to feel relief or anxiety about the continuation of the ‘return from death’ point.

　However, in any case, action must be taken swiftly.

　Following that judgment, just as he was about to continue speaking—

“After waking up underground, did you worry about Rem? About Emilia? About anyone you couldn’t find? Did you really worry?”

“—Ugh.”

　What resurfaced in his mind was the sharp blade of Ram’s words that had pierced his heart.

　The disharmony that led to the previous conclusion—the situation in which comrades had turned against each other was undeniably abnormal.

　It undoubtedly involved him, but he couldn’t believe the recollection was from a rational mindset. After all, the trigger had been abnormal; how foolish it was for something as trivial as a mood swing to escalate into a fight to the death.

“Balus?”

　Seeing Subaru struggle to express words, Ram tilted her head.

　The previous incident was disharmony provoked by abnormal circumstances. Naturally, there is no value in worrying about Ram’s words spoken in that kind of state. —But, claiming everything was a lie would be equally unnatural.

　While the intensity had been unusually amplified, the dissatisfaction and anger Subaru felt towards Ram were not fake. Not everything was a lie.

　If that’s the case, it was a fact that Ram felt a sense of distress regarding Subaru’s attitude toward Emilia and the others.

　Considering that emotion, Subaru realized he should at least feign concern for Emilia and the others here.

　In reality, he truly worried about them, so it wouldn’t be a lie to act so.

　It was just that he also understood that expressing worry would yield no real gain.

“—”

　Now, and especially now, Subaru found himself at a loss for words, realizing the hypocrisy.

　He understood it was needed to avoid discord, yet still hesitated to utter the falsehoods to deceive Ram. Feeling concern for companions while deceiving them—how disgusting.

　Naturally, it was a hesitation that had to be swallowed. To incur discontent over something like that was utterly meaningless.

“Um… how’s everyone…?”

“—It’s pointless to blame yourself so much. There’s no value in pursuing whose responsibility it is. There should be more important things to prioritize than wasting time on that.”

　However, before Subaru could voice his concerns, Ram made her own conclusions about Subaru’s feelings. Or rather, one could say she misinterpreted the serious expression on Subaru’s face.

　Given Ram’s insight, it was a rare occurrence. It was evident that her occasionally piercing remarks were mistaken, showing that she was clearly more anxious than usual.

“Considering how long Balus was throwing up, time wasted isn’t something to take lightly.”

　Of course, Ram would never show such turmoil in her heart.

　Faced with her unwavering demeanor, Subaru was uncertain about what to say. Ultimately, he couldn’t come up with words while Ram moved first.

　She wiped the finger she had thrust into Subaru’s mouth and turned the lantern towards the depths of the labyrinth.

“We can’t dawdle. We have to reunite with Rem and… as well as Lady Emilia.”

“I, I understand… so who’s here?”

“Excluding Ram and Balus… it seems we’ve just returned from somewhere.”

　Confirming around Ram’s back, Subaru followed her words and gaze into the depths.

　Coming from the labyrinth were Anastasia and Patrasche, their lights wavering. Upon catching a distant glimpse of the pitch-black earth dragon, Subaru’s eyes trembled slightly.

　Illuminated by the flickering orange glow was a face both noble and ferocious, beautiful yet terrifying.

　The rows of fangs lining its closed mouth could shred apart a girl’s head, and in quick succession, Subaru himself—

　Things like that shouldn’t happen under normal circumstances.

“Am I stupid? No, I’m stupid.”

　Tightening his jaw, Subaru crushed his quaking molars, attempting to suppress his own weakness.

　The murderous intent directed at him in that disturbing disharmony had certainly been real. Being killed by Patrasche had been etched into Subaru’s heart as an unhealable scar.

　Even so, he had faced the being that had killed him repeatedly.

“Right. Rem and Ram, they both—well…”

　Just now, the Ram, who had shown warmth.

　And Rem, who had devotedly supported him and forgiven him.

　Their initial relationship had been horrible, where he had faced threats to his life and had things taken from him.

　In comparison, those prior incidents where he had acted not entirely with intent were now trivial.

“Right. That’s how it is… it must be.”

　Hugging his shoulders, Subaru rubbed his skin as if shivering against the cold.

　Underground in this sandy sea, a place ruled by sand and darkness was indeed cold. Yet the reason for the chill was nothing like that of the external atmosphere.

“—Natsuki-kun, it seems you’ve awakened.”

“—Thanks to you. So, how did the inspection go?”

　In front of him, Ram and Anastasia exchanged words.

　They must have been discussing the strategy for navigating the sandy labyrinth and reconciling the information just obtained. Normally, Subaru should join that conversation and mention many things that needed to be conveyed.

　Yet at present, he had to prioritize calming his heart, or he could not move his knees.

　Having “returned from death,” he should have left behind the events just prior to the ‘death’ and their consequences.

　But even so, as he tried to erase them, fears surfaced, and the passion from that moment returned.

　Subaru continued to fight against those emotions endlessly.

“—”

　Watching Subaru, the pitch-black earth dragon merely gazed at him with a lonely air.

※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

　—The heart of Subaru, which should have ‘returned from death,’ has not completely reverted.

　Aside from some parts of the situation, the contents of the underground labyrinth exploration had hardly changed.

　In search of the figures of their companions, the group led by Subaru advanced slowly through the frigid darkness. Illuminating the passage with the lantern, they squinted for any shadows lying collapsed along the path, but their progress was maddeningly slow, making time feel wasted.

“—”

　To speak the truth, Subaru wanted to skip this inspection process along the way.

　This area was already a road he had traversed twice. There should be no sight of Emilia and the others within the visible range. However, conveying that to the other two held no real merit, and should someone say he overlooked something, it would be impossible to refute.

　As a result, while being unable to find calm, the exasperating march continued slowly, with time passing only to increase Subaru’s anxiety.

“I hope everyone else is okay… but in our case, with Patrasche-chan around, we might be a bit lucky.”

“—”

“Considering what would happen if we didn’t have legs, being in this sandy sea would be hell. The real insecurity is the usual deficiency in strength I think…”

“—”

“Worst case, I won’t hesitate to bring out my trump card, but I’ve got to be careful since I won’t get another chance. So, I need to rely on you two?”

“—”

“…Hey, Natsuki-kun and Ram-san, are you even listening? I’ve been talking non-stop for while now!”

　As they explored, Anastasia’s presence seemed to swell with indignation. Complaining about the lack of responses from the others, Subaru stopped and turned around.

　He then shone the lantern at Anastasia, releasing a sigh through his nose.

“How on Earth can you keep rambling without running out of things to say? …We should be focused on finding the others right now. There’s no time for useless chatter!”

“It’s not useless chatter at all! I’m talking about matters that are important for our future strategy. Besides, it’s usually you, Natsuki-kun, who’ll fill the gaps with chatter. If you’re this quiet now, it’ll only make the two girls… no, no, four of us anxious.”

“Four, huh.”

　Subaru pursed his lips as Anastasia countered him stubbornly.

　If there were two of them, that would be Ram and Anastasia, but if she clarified four, it would mean adding Echidna and Patrasche to the mix. Strictly speaking, in terms of who was operating, it would be an Anastasia = Echidna scenario, so this should really have been described as three, but—

　That wasn’t even something to correct.

“—”

　Glancing over, even Patrasche appeared to look at Subaru quizzically.

　For the wise one, who understood the principles of things, Subaru’s current helplessness surely was unbearable. It would be far better for her to give up on Subaru and switch to a more suitable master.

　In reality, it felt as though Ram and Anastasia handled Patrasche much better. If they thought Subaru was a hindrance, it would make sense for them to turn to him with fangs exposed—

“Stop, stop…”

“Comparing the stupidity of how it sounds to how serious it is, I understand your point.”

　Staring at Patrasche, who was gradually growing tense, Anastasia made such an assessment. Recognizing it was objectively absurd allowed relief and anxiety to arise in equal measure.

　In other words, among their choices emerged the option to eliminate Subaru. Before that could happen, maybe he should—

“I’m seriously super annoying.”

“Should we really tie you up and carry you? That might be easier.”

　As his face flushed red or turned blue, Subaru was making all sorts of expressions alone, and Anastasia threw her hands up in frustration. Ram was looking at Anastasia with a furrowed brow, as if contemplating, “But…”

“Even if we tear off Balus’s limbs, it doesn’t solve the fundamental issue.”

“Don’t use such strong words. I’m making an enemy out of you.”

“Not much of a threat, but I’d prefer not to have Lam and Lady Emilia as enemies either. …I wouldn’t be able to face Rem either.”

　As Ram pondered, Subaru tried diligently not to harbor any enmity.

　While struggling against his emotions like this, he bizarrely found himself pondering something.

　This was not something to be considered at this point.

　However, after embarking on this expedition to conquer the Pleiades Watchtower and having now gone through two ‘returns from death’ in the sandy labyrinth, the question naturally arose.

　—Why was Ram so sensitive regarding Rem?

“—”

　Of course, for Subaru, Ram caring about Rem was a positive sign.

　For Rem, whose memory lingered in no one else’s mind, the only one capable of forming a reciprocal bond with her was Subaru. This bestowed a certain sense of uniqueness upon Subaru, although it held no physical significance.

　In regard to Rem’s isolated circumstance, Ram was drawing increasingly close to her.

　Naturally, it had become an undeniable fact that Rem’s memory hadn’t remained within her over the past year. However, it was equally true that Ram took the existence of the girl, Rem, who bore such a striking resemblance to her, more seriously than the “truth revealed by Subaru.”

　And it seemed that feeling brought forth an overwhelming sense of reality for Ram beyond what Subaru had imagined.

　This was evident from the explosive reaction to Subaru’s neglectful remarks that triggered the previous conflict in the labyrinth.

　She hadn’t recalled Rem. Yet, this was comparable in terms of the emotions that Ram felt.

　Her affection likely ran deeper than Subaru reckoned.

　—But, could it truly be just that?

“…How indecent.”

“No, it’s not indecent. It’s not that look at all! That’s sheer victim complex!”

“Putting yourself on a pedestal like that? This is entirely unacceptable.”

“If I’m on a pedestal, you’re placing yourself atop a god’s pedestal, looking down!”

　Thus, it was during their usual banter that Subaru felt secure, avoiding any malignant shadows for that time.

　Even if the moment could turn and warm feelings turn into cold malice.

　For that brief period, he could refrain from hating someone.

“Natsuki-kun’s behavior is something to watch. About the cause, is that it?”

“Lady Anastasia has picked up on it too, huh.”

“Of course, it makes sense to think that when Natsuki-kun is so obviously influenced.”

　Ram and Anastasia shared looks, seemingly aware of the circumstances surrounding Subaru’s paranoia and victim complex. Indeed, Subaru knew the cause now as well.

　With their insight and vigilance, it was all the more evident. Even while engaged in conversation, it was painfully clear that Ram and Anastasia were observing Subaru’s every move intricately.

“How annoying…”

“What did you say?”

“My own stupidity, that’s what. So what’s your insight?”

　As Subaru pondered his feelings, Ram and Anastasia exchanged glances, then pointed ahead in unison.

　Following their gestures, he found the fork in the road emerging before him.

“Since earlier, I’ve felt an unpleasant breeze flowing… now I know why.”

“This bad wind brings discord. According to Meily, Balus’s body odor allegedly attracts beasts, so originally, we must have a bad… no, a good compatibility with them.”

“So you mean, what is this unpleasant feeling?”

“Combining Balus’s current status with his body odor leads to just one conclusion.”

“Stop repeating body odor!”

　The last two times had simply been a matter of “that feeling” which everyone unanimously agreed upon. As Subaru’s physique and current situation intertwined, a new perspective emerged.

　Ram and Anastasia exchanged glances, then nodded as they said simultaneously,

“Poisonous air.”

“From the witch, huh. If that’s the case, then what’s ahead is…”

“I can’t be sure, but it’s a well-known fact that there’s a ‘Witch’s Shrine’ deep within the sand dunes. Now that the sandy sea has melted, it’s possible that it might connect mistakenly…”

“That it became a rather convenient shortcut, I’d say. So then, listen.”

　Defining the cause of the discord that had disturbed their inner peace and led to conflict as poisonous air, Anastasia articulated the potential presence of a horrific existence as she pointed the way while chuckling.

　A diverging path branched off two ways: the right was wafting with poisonous air, while the left was the nest of Centaurs.

　Of course, regarding the threats lurking on the left path, he intended to articulate that deftly afterwards—but what mattered now was which way to proceed.

“So, which way do you think we should go?”

　At Anastasia’s question, Subaru and Ram exchanged glances.

　Then, without a moment’s hesitation, they spoke in unison.

“—Left.”

　And that’s how it was decided.