“Honestly, I was pretty anxious. But since it was Subaru’s request, I managed to hold it in.”

“Well, you’re the indestructible master after all. I wasn’t worried at all, really. Instead, I was more suspicious that the little guy would explode into pieces the moment I stood behind you.”

“Ah, um…”

As they exchanged those words while slowly climbing the spiral staircase, Meily’s pale cheeks flushed, and she stammered, struggling to find her words.

Glancing at Meily’s reaction, Subaru waved at the silhouette on the stairs.

“Thanks for covering for me. I’m relieved I managed to avoid falling down somehow.”

“…No matter how much you ordered me, I can’t say for certain if I would’ve forgiven you if you actually did fall. So I guess in that regard, you got lucky.”

“Hmph,” Beatrice made a noise as she held the hem of her dress, making her way up the stairs. Behind her was Shaula, with her arms crossed behind her head, and both were climbing back up to the fourth level from far down the spiral staircase.

“W-wait, w-wait… O, Onii-san? W-what’s the deal with those two…?”

Seeing Beatrice and Shaula, Meily turned back to Subaru, astonished.

Oh, you didn’t see this coming, huh? Subaru crossed his arms.

“Well, I don’t mean to say this, but the plan earlier was pretty risky… I’d like to think such a thing doesn’t happen often, but there was definitely a scenario where I could’ve been kicked off by you and just died, right? Luckily, this time, I managed to grab your arm coolly, so it worked out.”

“B-but, that lady was watching over us, right…?”

“Of course, I know that Emilia-chan looks cuter than she seems powerful, but still, you never know. If she accidentally tried to save me, there’s no telling if we’d both end up falling together, and that would be a nightmare.”

In fact, during the last loop, Subaru and Emilia had experienced a fall together from a great height. He had hugged her but couldn’t save her. That still painfully pierced his heart.

If he ever found himself in a similar situation again, he wanted to at least push Emilia to safety this time, but it’s hard to rely on his capacity for action under extreme conditions since that kind of data can’t be put together.

“Then, why didn’t you take steps to ensure such kinds of ‘what if’ wouldn’t happen? I thought with those two… Beatrice and Shaula watching down below, we’d be fine.”

Subaru understood well that Beatrice was a powerful magician and while he wasn’t entirely sure about Shaula, he knew for a fact she was stronger than she looked.

During the request for cooperation in this operation, he even made sure they could lift him just in case.

That said, he still harbored some resentment about being carried like a damsel in distress in front of Emilia and Beatrice.

“Could’ve been easier… There had to be a much simpler and smarter way to handle this, right?”

Meily muttered with her gaze downcast after hearing Subaru’s explanation. The humiliation from being seen in an embarrassing moment had faded, but now all that remained was an uncomfortable feeling.

Acknowledging her sentiment, Subaru scratched his cheek with a finger.

“Yeah, you’re right. I think there was probably a smarter and easier way. But…”

“You think? But…?”

“If it’s at my level of thinking, then easy and smart are two sides of the same coin; smart tends to become greedy. I didn’t want to compromise or be underhanded, you know?”

“——”

Upon hearing those words, Meily’s pupils narrowed, and she bit her lip just slightly.

Seeing that, Subaru smiled wryly and clenched his fists tightly.

He wanted to figure everything out.

He wished desperately to fix everything.

So he wanted to do everything he could to do so.

“That’s why I don’t hesitate to ask Emilia-chan or Beatrice and the others for help.”

“Well, that is true. I was surprised when you first brought this up to me, Subaru.”

Emilia said this while still holding Meily from behind. She rested her chin on Meily’s delicate shoulder and gazed up at Subaru.

“But right away, I could tell how incredibly serious you were. And then…”

“And then?”

“…I was really happy when you consulted me. You often wrap things up before I even notice they’re happening.”

With a smile brightening her gaze, Subaru found himself momentarily breathless looking into her purple-blue eyes.

Seeing Subaru’s cheeks stiffen, Emilia instead softened her cheeks and lips as she nodded.

“So I was glad you consulted me about what to do this time. Hehe, it’s kind of funny, isn’t it?”

“…There’s no point in saying this, but I seriously find the version of myself before yesterday irritating. Well, but honestly, it’s my privilege to see this face and hear this voice, so I guess it’d be more fitting to say ‘screw you’ to the version of myself till yesterday…? Emilia-chan, what do you think?”

“Sorry, I don’t really understand what you’re saying.”

Subaru sank his shoulders as Emilia casually brushed off his gibberish while still smiling.

Just then, the two who had finally climbed up the stairs joined them.

“Just to say it again, I’m so relieved everything went well.”

“Let’s be honest, ‘everything went well’ does carry a bit of a misrepresentation, doesn’t it? If we’re counting all the consciousness shifts in Meily, you could say there were multiple transformative experiences… that nothing is indeed something.”

“Oh, you really are something, Master! I have no clue what you’re on about, but if it’s about sounding cool, there isn’t a rival to you!”

“Do you really have any respect for me?”

Though Shaula seemed overly impressed regardless of what anyone said, she was also the first to agree when Subaru expressed his intentions to help Meily.

Of course, it was probably just because she didn’t think things through and was pushing for what Subaru wanted. Still, her presence was certainly a relief.

“Um, Beatrice… are you not mad at me?”

“Of course I’m mad. But you managed to hold your ground before Betty exploded, didn’t you? Given what happened in the sand dunes, I’ll let this matter slide for now.”

“——”

“However! This time, at least, I’m clearing this up just for the events during this journey. You still have the previous incident where you burned Betty’s library down to atone for. As long as that’s on your conscience, I won’t be forgiving for quite a while, you know?”

Beatrice crossed her short arms and replied sternly to Meily’s inquiry. Meily held her breath at those words, but soon Emilia laughed softly.

“It’s a bit hard to understand, but since Beatrice just said ‘for a while’, it means she’ll forgive you if you behave, Meily. That’s actually pretty kind of her, don’t you think?”

“Emilia! Stop saying unnecessary things!”

“…I’ll try my best to be careful.”

Emilia smiled at Beatrice, who turned red from having her stricter undertones revealed. Watching them made Subaru nod in satisfaction several times.

Finally, it could be said there was visible progress.

At the very least, they managed to prevent a girl from becoming so consumed with the idea of killing Subaru, although it was only a single tragedy in this tower.

“And so, Master, are you really okay with this?”

“Hm?”

While Subaru pondered, Shaula unconcernedly chimed in from right next to him. She was observing Beatrice and Meily, who were chatting in the middle, a look of curiosity on her face.

Then, furrowing his brow, Subaru asked her curiously.

“She’s the one who tried to kill you, you know? Are you really going to let that slide?”

“I can’t believe you’d ask me that… It’s fine. The punishment was already taken by Meily earlier. But the reason why she’d even face consequences wasn’t something anyone explained to her, which is why she’s acting like this now. From now on, I’ll clarify that.”

“Master once said that. But what if she tries to kill you again after explaining?”

“Then I guess I’m a rather poor teacher. But I’m not doing this by myself.”

In response to Shaula’s inquiry, Subaru answered in that way.

Just telling him to change the ethical views of a trained assassin from childhood wasn’t easy, nor was it a weight he could shoulder alone.

However, Subaru wasn’t planning to do everything on his own.

He had relied on Emilia and the others to stop Meily’s violent act. He would also ask Emilia and Beatrice to accompany him with what comes next.

“Naturally, you’ll help too, Shaula. Changing a person’s values takes time, and having assistance is crucial.”

“…You want me to help, huh?”

“Of course. Though in your case, I feel like you’d be acting like a bad example, but I won’t exclude you from this. Plus, your maternal vibe sounds like it could break through Meily’s stubborn heart.”

Shaula, surprised and pointing at herself, received Subaru’s casual reassurances while shrugging.

It was a mystery as to why she looked so surprised, but considering her tendency to exaggerate her reactions, Subaru chose not to dig any deeper.

In response to Subaru’s understanding, Shaula cupped her face with her hands.

“Me too? Me too, I want to be with you, Master… ehe, ehe he. Eheh…”

“Uh… what’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing! I’ve made up my mind! Following Master’s orders, I’ll make sure to raise that little brat to be an honest human!”

With a brightened expression, Shaula darted toward Emilia and the others. She lifted Meily’s tiny frame effortlessly and hugged her to her ample chest.

“Yikes!? W-what’s this, naked lady? This is a real shocker!”

“I’m telling you it’s fine, you can totally lean on me, little brat. My chest belongs to the master, but just for now, I’m sharing with you. Like giving to the rich and poor—something like that!”

“Hey, wait!? Did that weird old man plant more nonsense in your head again!?”

As Meily was pampered by Shaula, she threw the blame onto Subaru.

“Well, consider it payment for worrying everyone. It’s okay, she doesn’t seem ill-intentioned.”

“…Honestly. You lot are a handful. Fine, I’ll forgive you. But what happened here is a secret from everyone else!”

As she puffed up her cheeks, Meily found herself squeezed in Shaula’s embrace. Hearing her words, Subaru thought “Ah” and scratched his head.

When Meily squinted at that reaction, Emilia answered on behalf of Subaru.

“Well, you see, Meily, it’s really hard to say but…”

“…I have a bad feeling about this.”

Whether Meily’s dread was justified or not became clear immediately in response to Emilia’s following words.

It was—

“—Oh, by the way, Rem and the others who aren’t here were also listening to Subaru’s consultation.”

Meily made a grand grimace.

※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

When Subaru and the others returned to the room called the ‘Great Hall’, the first one to greet them, standing with her hands on her hips, was Ram.

“So. Everything turned out fine then. I won’t say it’s bad work; you’ve earned some praise.”

Greeted by the five who had safely returned, Ram said with quiet eyes.

Subaru took that as her way of throwing some serious praise, and he felt optimistic about it. After all, he had bragged about Meily, and now he was relieved that it didn’t come back to bite him.

“I might not need to say this, but she’s been waiting for you all to come back standing like that all this time.”

“…There really was no need to say that, was there? Cool it, Echidna.”

“The moment I realized I was the one controlling this body, this is the attitude I get. Quite pleasant.”

With that, Echoed Ram all ruefully and scrutinized Echidna, who had settled on the floor of the Great Hall. She met Ram’s harsh tone with a smile and then turned her gaze back toward Subaru and the others.

“Muh…”

“So, what’s made her pouty, I wonder?”

Echidna pointed out the sulking Meily who was being carried on Shaula’s back.

Meily didn’t respond, still sulking, as she turned her face away. She was completely sulking.

“Don’t tell me she’s angry about not being able to carry out her murder plan? In that case, I feel a bit uneasy about leaving her unrestrained…”

“Ah, no, no, that’s not it!”

Echidna’s somewhat alarming assumption was probably a reflection of her vigilance—her desire to protect the owner of this body, Anastasia.

Subaru was determined to correct any strange misconceptions and vigorously denied it.

“I’m just feeling embarrassed because everyone saw through my thoughts and now knows them. Doesn’t that sound childish and cute?”

“Considering what you were planning, it’s strange to call it childish… Hmm. Even if your memories were lost, it seems your essence doesn’t change that easily. You never cease to amaze me, Natsuki-kun.”

“If that amuses you, then it’s an honor.”

As he winked back at Echidna, Ram let out a laugh, “Hah,” with a snicker. Then, Subaru looked around the room and noticed,

“Hey, where’s Julius? Where did he go? To the restroom or something…?”

“—To think you’d think he could ease himself at a crucial moment for you.”

“…I didn’t specifically say ‘the restroom’, did I? Could be something more pressing, you know.”

A voice had called from behind him, and Subaru turned to see Julius messing with his own bangs, grinning wickedly.

Returning from outside the Great Hall, Emilia tilted her head.

“Julius, did you have a stomachache?”

“Lady Emilia, please don’t take his words too seriously. He is indeed your knight and someone who should be trusted above all, but at times, he can be remarkably thoughtless in his behavior…”

“Hey, hey, don’t spill extra things to Emilia-chan. The one who had gone missing here is you. You know, just by saying you needed to use the toilet.”

“……Fuh.”

Glaring at Subaru, Julius took a pause and then grinned, almost charmingly.

That laugh fit him well with his exterior, but Subaru didn’t quite think it matched how he laughed.

“Emilia, and Natsuki-kun, no need to worry. After our earlier talk, Julius was keeping an eye outside. Since Meily has the ability to control beasts, the most dangerous thing should be the monsters outside the tower if she ever tried something.”

“He was observing the outside from the balcony we found last night, after all. Thankfully, there was no unusual activity outside the tower, so I presumed everything was safe inside as well…”

With those words, Julius turned his gaze towards Meily. Noticing his attention, Meily pouted even more, sulking on Shaula’s back.

However, seeing Meily like this, Julius relaxed his cheeks and said,

“Good to see it seems nothing went wrong. When you said you lost your memory, it felt like the world was turned upside down slightly…”

“That’s a bit of an overstatement. Wait, I’m not really in a position to say that, am I?”

“True enough. ‘Upside down’ might be a bit excessive, maybe. Just a bit… well, anyway, I’m glad you’re okay. Seeking the cooperation of Lady Emilia and ending up in a failure would not have yielded a means to counter it.”

“Yeah, I’m relieved too… This vibe of banter between us two fits perfectly, don’t you think?”

“—Fuh.”

When Subaru pointed it out, Julius smirked again in a way that suggested he was a bit more relaxed now than before.

He appeared to be quite at ease this time, and Subaru felt satisfied.

“——”

So far, this was their fifth meeting since Subaru began to lose his memory.

In that time, there hadn’t been too many calm moments shared, but more time spent should generally have been more peaceful with Emilia and the others. During that time, one could expect that for whoever ‘Natsuki Subaru’ was, there would have been openings to connect with them.

He intended to pursue that closely while being sure not to show that subtly he had changed too much; he didn’t want to sadden Emilia and the others.

He didn’t want them to face the real feeling that they were losing ‘Natsuki Subaru’… For that reason, he believed this truth would not come to be faced.

When ‘Natsuki Subaru’ was gone and ‘Natsuki Subaru’ returned, surely…

“And so, let’s work through this tower as the newly reformed best team. Any objections?”

“None here. Let’s do our best!”

“Though, I do have some resistance to the name of ‘Best Team’.”

Regardless, Subaru’s raised fist suggested he wanted to carry on, supported by both Emilia and Beatrice, who had totally opposite reactions. The others seemed to have no disagreement either, so he felt a wave of relief.

“So, it’s acceptable to assume that everything’s good with her?”

“Yeah, for now. I doubt she’ll go sneaking around to have me killed anytime soon. As long as Meily raised with a concept of ‘this isn’t a reasonable response’, what lies ahead depends on the example we set, so… let’s avoid showing off our weaknesses.”

“I see. It does come down to appearances, huh? If that’s the case, leave it to me.”

When he looked toward Meily, Julius nodded in agreement with Subaru’s words.

When it came to appearances, while it might sound a bit negative, presenting oneself as a good example for others—in essence, meaning to model a certain behavior—Julius undoubtedly suited that role.

Subaru couldn’t claim he had spent much time with him, but he could see that Julius had a great deal of self-control and excelled in everything he did.

He’d gained that through hard work, and it certainly reflected a prestigious upbringing and also proved that he’d made efforts to acquire such traits.

Correctly working hard to acquire such qualities was a noble pursuit.

“—Subaru, are you alright? Do you think we can talk it out?”

“Whoa!?”

Suddenly, Emilia touched Subaru’s arm, peering into his face with concern. Coming back to his senses, Subaru panicked and jumped back.

Seeing Subaru’s overreaction, Emilia murmured an “Ah…”

“You know, ever since I woke up… I mean, ever since I lost my memory, has Subaru been surprised at me all the time? Do I look that strange? Is something sticking to me?”

“Uh, not at all. You just have cute eyes, a cute nose, cute lips, and cute ears.”

“Cute… Hehe, thank you! But why then?”

“Your cuteness has this multiplying factor where each part adds to more than the sum of its pieces. Your voice is cute too. Your hair is cute too. Ugh, this is just too much, you’re an angel!”

Subaru covered his face, filled with warmth, peeking through gaps in his fingers. Hearing such a comment from him made Beatrice abruptly react.

“—What would it sound like if you phrased that in a more Subaru-like way!?”

“Huh!? Like, what’s that supposed to mean!?”

“Simply put, how would you express that Emilia looks like an angel, but in the way only Subaru could?”

“What sort of humiliation is that!? No way! It’s embarrassing! Beatrice, you’re just as cute as an angel too! Don’t be all moody about it!”

“While it’s true that Betty is cute like an angel, that’s not really what I meant…”

Beatrice drooped her shoulders in disappointment. As he felt guilty observing that, Subaru patted Beatrice’s head and gathered everyone around in the Great Hall.

It was quite customary for them to hold discussions like this. However, the troubling aspect was that it typically resulted in not much noticeable progress, so he really wanted to push forward boldly.

“So anyway, let’s welcome Meily into our team once more. I want to get out of this sand-covered tower quickly for Meily’s sake. Any opinions?”

“It raises suspicions about whether you genuinely don’t have any memories left, huh… But yes, while Balus’s missing memories are among the less serious issues at hand, it’s still a problem.”

“Right, there’s no way one can lose memories just like that. We need to do everything we can to help Subaru regain his…”

“Ah! About that, can we put it on hold for now?”

Subaru raised his hand, interrupting Ram and Emilia’s conversation. Surprised, not just those two but everyone else present exclaimed, “Huh?”

The one who seemed least stunned was probably Shaula, though she was preoccupied with taking care of Meily as she took Subaru’s words at face value.

“Subaru… I really don’t want to keep worrying Beatrice and the others like this. They’re already shocked enough that you lost your memory, and it’s pretty reckless to say it’d be okay if you didn’t get it back.”

“Yeah, that’s right, Subaru. Could you be thinking this is about not wanting to trouble us? But you consulted us about Meily, didn’t you? Just like that, we’re all together in considering your memory too. So please, just know that.”

“The persuasion stings with a pang! But could you listen for a second!? I’m not saying this out of despair! I have a proper reason!”

Pushed by the concerns of Emilia and Beatrice, Subaru struggled to find a valid excuse. Then he raised his finger, making sure everyone could see it, and said,

“I genuinely feel sorry that my memories slipped away so suddenly in this situation, and I’m thrilled that everyone wants to help me regain them. But the thing is, is anyone under the impression that the loss of my memory and this tower aren’t connected?”

“Master, you once hit your head on the toilet and lost your memory, didn’t you? That logic can’t be trusted.”

“Shut up over there! I know it shouldn’t be overlooked, but drop it for now!”

Fuming at the side commentary, Subaru insisted, “Anyway!”

“What I’m trying to say is that there’s correlation between the tower and my lost memories. In other words…”

“—In other words, if you fulfill the conditions to clear the tower, you’ll naturally obtain the cause of Natsuki-kun’s lost memories, or at least the key to them. Is that what you’re implying?”

“Ah, yeah, that’s right! That’s what I mean!”

Subaru nodded vigorously, thankful for Echidna’s verbalization of his thoughts. Receiving that input, Julius rested his chin on his hand.

“So if the structure of the tower caused you to lose your memories, then by overcoming external challenges, you’ll get closer to that answer. Alternatively, it could also be possible that the catalyst for losing your memories came about because you drew too near to uncovering the truth.”

“That’s absolutely plausible. The insights Natsuki came up with on the way to conquering ‘Taygeta’ utilized an exhaustive plane of knowledge we could never keep up with. It’s entirely possible the knowledge that only Natsuki-kun holds ended up proceeding beyond what we could grasp, resulting in your memory loss.”

“Whoa, wait, wait, hold up— that’s stretching it too far! I’m just a recluse, okay? My specialties are neatly making my bed and maybe some sewing, you know?”

“Ah, look at this, Subaru. This beautiful embroidery on my garment was done by you. Can’t that remind you of something? Isn’t it cute? That’s Puck, by the way.”

“Uh, yeah, that’s some cute embroidery of a cat. No, I don’t think I have any recollection come up.”

As their conversation took on a side of my highly varying levels of thinking, Subaru unable to backtrack yet again saw Emilia brush her fingers across the embroidered cat that had clearly been named so.

It appeared she had some pet cat back home. Since she hadn’t brought it to the tower, it would be nice to return safely and reunite them.

Anyway—

“Balus stumbled into unnecessary discoveries, ultimately rushing to the conclusion he lost his memories… It’s a plausible story.”

“Ram’s words are sharp, but for the most part, Beatrice agrees. Moreover, I have to accept that prioritizing clearing this tower, as Subaru said… though distasteful, it makes sense.”

“Beatrice…”

Beatrice’s discontent seemed rooted in the fact that they couldn’t prioritize Subaru’s memories. While it genuinely felt nice to have that understanding, Subaru also had his reasons for why he couldn’t prioritize his recovery. If he took his time searching for his memories leisurely, he wouldn’t be able to prevent the destruction unfolding in the tower.

What had occurred? What would happen? Subaru—no, they all had to work as one so they could each fortify their stance against calamity.

“So that’s why I want to prioritize clearing the tower. I want everyone to agree on that for now.”

“——”

“I don’t feel fine just settling for things as they are. I’m not saying I’m okay with the unexpected complications but… by putting off initial issues like this, we’d never get closer to our goals. I want to do what we need to do.”

With那言葉, Subaru earnestly urged everyone.

He put in effort not to show the disadvantages of being ‘Natsuki Subaru’ being absent. Instead, he implored everyone for their strength.

Initially, everyone seemed speechless for a moment, then—

“—You’re really such a fool.”

Ram exhaled, shaking her head and looking at everyone with those rosy eyes.

“It looks like even if you lose your memories, your unfortunate reasoning remains unchanged. Which means, even if your memory comes back, with the effort you’ve given up thus far, you wouldn’t have changed much… Then, even if we prioritize Natsuki’s memories, it’ll only end in loss. So let’s focus on clearing the tower and hope that comes along for the ride.”

“You can phrase it some nicer way than that.”

“I can’t. You lost your memory while focusing on clearing the tower, right? In that case, regain it just like that, on the way. Don’t inconvenience Ram.”

—He made a promise that he would recover his memories.

So when Subaru announced this intention, he understood how deeply impacted Ram must have been. But because that promise existed, Ram began with this statement.

Just like a perpetual offender of betrayals, Subaru made this promise to her, and yet she still engaged in an agreement with him.

“A primary means to recover one’s memory doesn’t exist. I will support Natsuki-kun, and I agree with Ram’s stance. To sound optimistic, time could bring back those lost memories too.”

“I’ll take a less enthusiastic stance on that. We won’t place this as our top priority. We prioritize clearing the tower. However, if we have any means of restoring your memories in sight, we will prioritize that. – They shouldn’t have to wear any more sorrowful expressions than they currently do, not Emilia or Beatrice. ”

Subaru deeply nodded to the words of Echidna and Julius.

Then he turned his attention to the two girls, Emilia and Beatrice. They both received Subaru’s gaze but hesitated slightly before—

“—This time, I will bear even if it’s hard. But…”

“But…?”

“When I worry about Subaru, can I be permitted to be the first to do so?”

“Ugh… I’m sorry.”

As Subaru came to realize that saying he wanted to prioritize her concerns meant put off his own, he bowed his head in response to Emilia’s suggestion.

Seeing those two, Beatrice sighed and stated,

“Betty was trying to convey what Emilia said. That had to hit home, so please reflect on that.”

“—Yeah, I understood.”

With that, everyone came to an agreement, solidifying the decision to prioritize clearing the tower.

Now, with that confirmed, Subaru had something he wanted to propose first.

That was—

“—Shall we all look for Raid’s book inside the library of ‘Taygeta’?”