――Let’s search the library in “Taygeta” for a book by Reid.

　This was what Subaru wanted to propose as a necessary matter for conquering the upcoming second layer of the tower.

　The moment it was mentioned, the expressions of those seated began to turn puzzled.

“Books? …Are you serious?”

“Oh, Emilia-chan, that was a clever play on words! Pretty funny!”

“Geez, Subaru!”

Emilia raised an eyebrow at Subaru’s reaction, her adorable cheeks flushing red with anger. Feeling a rush of happiness from her cuteness, Subaru looked around at everyone and said, “Okay?”

“Searching for Reid’s book—this is the quickest way I think to conquer the second layer. Don’t you all think so?”

“I heard that just now, but why? I’m not against looking for a book. I just don’t understand why we’re looking for Reid’s book specifically. Also…”

“—Is there even a book by Reid Astraea in that library?”

As Subaru’s proposal was mentioned, Emilia tilted her head in confusion, prompting Julius to take over the latter half of her words. He then gazed upwards, gathering everyone’s attention with his long eyelashes framing bright eyes, as if peering into the second layer that lay beyond the ceiling.

“It’s hard to believe, but the historical figure, the great hero Reid Astraea, awaits our challenge under the name of ‘Trial’ in the second layer. There’s no doubt he existed four hundred years ago, and it is indeed the same individual, but… his death leaves me with questions now.”

“Seeing him alive like that, makes you think maybe he wasn’t really dead, huh? That’s not a theory I’ve considered much, but it’s not impossible…”

In reality, Subaru only held the recognition that he was a deceased person from hundreds of years ago based on what he heard from Emilia and the others. Meeting him without that background would make it very hard to believe Reid was truly dead. After all, he exudes too much life. A lively corpse indeed.

“Nevertheless, that line of thought is almost not worth considering. I can’t imagine anyone living for hundreds of years, usually you’d expect them to be dead by now. Right, Beatrice?”

“Betty has lived for four hundred years, you know.”

“I’ve lived around a hundred years, perhaps?”

“If I count from my birth year, I’d say it’s about four hundred years. Though I’ve only been awake for a short time.”

“Me too! Me too, Master! I’ve also been waiting for four hundred years here! It was so lonely! I demand four hundred years’ worth of hugs!”

“There are a lot of long-lived characters, huh!? Emilia-chan, too!?”

What was supposed to be an agreement turned into an unexpected rebuttal, leaving Subaru speechless. He never expected that half the members of their party would be long-lived characters. The average age of this party had just spiked dramatically.

Especially, Subaru couldn’t hide his shock at the ages of Emilia and Beatrice. However, he also found parts of it quite understandable.

“Ah, right. Emilia-chan is a half-elf… It makes sense she’s a breathtaking beauty. Half-elves are known for being stunning and long-lived, after all.”

“Umm, yeah. So… Subaru, aren’t you scared of half-elves even without memories?”

“Scared? Whether I’m scared or not, that cuteness is terrifying. Seriously, it’s a weapon. If I saw you in the morning when I’m groggy, my eyes would probably pop out. Even now, I can’t help but feel that way sometimes.”

“…You idiot.”

Emilia scolded Subaru, her cheeks lightly flushed, and he felt that the atmosphere had turned into something nice, reminding himself not to misunderstand in such a silly manner.

Emilia is very kind, so if he isn’t careful, he might start thinking she has feelings for him. My heart, don’t waver! No, it’s fine to get flustered.

“Haah… In that regard, you give me a comforting sense of home, Beatrice.”

“I can’t help but feel it’s a bit unsatisfactory… But well, since I’m being petted, I’ll let it slide.”

As her heart calmed while stroking Beatrice’s head, Subaru felt that Beatrice’s mood had also brightened, making it a win-win situation.

At that moment, Echidna raised her hand, interrupting the lighthearted banter.

“I understand Julius’ concern, but I genuinely want to support the idea that Reid is indeed a deceased person. That’s just my impression after having encountered him, you know?”

“What makes you say that?”

“First of all, like Natsuki said, I can’t imagine Reid Astraea being a long-lived species. He’s undoubtedly an exceptional person, but still, he’s human. Secondly, his personality.”

“Personality? That, super energetic vibe?”

“His energy leans more towards wild recklessness. I can’t imagine such a boisterous character just hiding away in a tower for four hundred years. The fact that he didn’t even interact with Shaula means he must have been cooped up in that one room in the second layer. It’s incredibly hard to believe. This might sound selfish, but I think he’d be out in three days.”

“Oh.”

Subaru let out a sound mixed with understanding and resignation at Echidna’s opinion. Emilia and the others exchanged glances, recalling Reid’s rambunctious demeanor, seemingly agreeing with Echidna’s assessment.

Seeing this, Echidna turned her sea-green gaze towards Julius.

“Well then, that’s the impression I’ve gotten, but do you agree with my assessment, Julius?”

“I have no choice but to agree. Many of the impressions of the real Reid Astraea suggest he’s not one to remain in one place very long. The reason he can’t do that must be tied to the tower’s ‘trial’ as well.”

“The tower and his existence are intertwined, huh.”

Listening to Echidna and Julius’s conversation, Subaru recalled the end of the last loop.

Inside the tower, which had descended into chaos, Reid had boldly claimed he could walk freely outside. He descended from the second layer to the fourth without hesitation, even tapping the back of Subaru’s head.

To Subaru, it didn’t seem he was bound by any form of captivity.

In fact, if not for that lingering heartstring, he probably would have bounded out of the tower energetically. —The reason he didn’t.

“—? What could this be? Is something wrong with me?”

“No…”

“Hmm. I believe my face has eyes, a nose, ears, and a mouth, but is there something wrong with it?”

“Ah, unlike Emilia-chan, it’s not cute enough, so you didn’t make the cut. Anyway…”

Realizing the discourse had strayed too far from the point, Subaru diverted his gaze from Julius.

Then, he returned the topic back to the initial discussion regarding “Reid’s book”.

“So anyway, now that we’ve collectively agreed on the idea that Reid is a lively corpse, let’s return to the topic of the ‘Memory Corridor’. It’s undeniably there, right?”

“That’s the recognition so far. When read, the memories of the deceased flow into the reader’s mind… so far, Balus and Julius have confirmed this. Unfortunately, it seems the memories have faded as well.”

“My bad, don’t hold it against me. —And that’s the focus of this conversation.”

Snapping his fingers, Subaru pointed towards Ram. Perhaps finding the gesture unpleasant, Ram twisted the pointed finger, causing Subaru to cry out in pain, “Oww!”

Amidst their antics, Beatrice exclaimed, “Ah!”

“I see, so that’s what it is!”

“Beatrice, did you understand what Subaru is trying to say?”

“I understood. I see, that’s it. —In other words, we’re going to use Reid’s ‘Book of the Dead’ as a guide to conquer Reid!”

“That’s right.”

As Subaru swung his twisted finger, he wore a mischievous grin while agreeing with Beatrice. After hearing that explanation, Emilia widened her indigo eyes and murmured, “Oh, I get it.”

—Using the ‘Book of the Dead’, a direct method to conquer the dead.

To put it simply, the ‘Book of the Dead’ is not only a record of a person’s life before death, but it also serves as a detailed guide on how that person met their demise.

And if you ask Subaru, a veteran player with four deaths under his belt—one can easily deduce their cause of death.

“So, if we read the ‘Book of the Dead’, we’ll learn about the cause of their death. That’s a splendid strategy. Perhaps the ‘Book of the Dead’ exists indirectly for this very purpose?”

“Well… that’s a blind spot. But thinking about it, it’s quite plausible. They’ve gone to the trouble of placing a deceased person as a test administrator. It wouldn’t be strange if that was the aim.”

“Yeah, but you don’t have to take it so literally…”

With wide eyes, Subaru couldn’t help but chuckle at Echidna’s unexpectedly enthusiastic response.

However, considering how rare such a condition is, discerning whether it’s a strategy or a workaround is a bit tricky.

“Nonetheless, this is one thing I can assert with certainty—if I had memory, I’d bet I would have tried to give this strategy a shot.”

“…That’s understandable. There’s no way Subaru wouldn’t try a trick like this.”

“Not the righteous path, but the underhanded one. That’s something Balus would do. Even Ram agrees.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Subaru excels at this kind of cheating.”

“Never hear that term nowadays…”

“—!”

The unwavering judgment regarding “Natsuki Subaru” made him scratch his cheek, and suddenly Emilia’s eyes sparkled. Subaru was taken aback by her reaction, but Emilia quickly pinched her own cheek and said,

“Ugh, no, no. The one who has it the hardest is Subaru. I need to keep it together…”

“Emilia-san, I understand your feelings, but your cheeks are turning red.”

Grabbing Emilia’s hand as she suddenly started to bully herself, Ram cautioned her about the action. For some time now, both Emilia and Beatrice’s sensitive responses hinted that remnants of “Natsuki Subaru” still lingered in them.

Honestly, he felt a bit guilty. He wanted to return “Natsuki Subaru” to Emilia and the others as soon as possible.

Regardless, it seemed quite likely, just as Emilia had guessed, that Subaru leading up to yesterday would arrive at the strategy using the ‘Book of the Dead’.

Then, hearing Subaru’s thoughts, Meily raised her hand to her mouth, saying, “Ah.”

“…Speaking of which, last night I saw big brother surrounded by many books in ‘Taygeta’. Was that what it was about?”

“Last night, Subaru was in ‘Taygeta’? Hmm…”

“By the way, did you see what books I was reading?”

“Umm… I couldn’t see that much. I’m sorry!”

Seated on Shaula’s lap and being petted, Meily cast her eyes down in disappointment. Waving his hand in reassurance, Subaru cautiously referenced the memories that weren’t his own and reached the same conclusion.

In Meily’s memories confirmed by the ‘Book of the Dead’, it showed Subaru had been surrounded by multiple books, but what happened next was virtually indistinguishable.

Consequently, the question felt futile, but he wasn’t too disheartened. Just the fact that he had been in the library “Taygeta” clearly indicated that some abnormality had occurred with “Natsuki Subaru”.

Right before he opened those books, or perhaps a little after—

“Or possibly, that act itself may relate to the memory loss?”

“Surrounded by many books… Could it be that reading too many ‘Books of the Dead’, exceeding my capacity, caused my memory storage to overflow?”

“I hope not, but I can’t completely rule it out. After all, memory loss!”

With chest puffed out and pointing at himself, Subaru was met with simultaneous sighs from Julius and Echidna.

He was quite used to shrugging off memory loss at this point, but he didn’t doubt that the cause of his fading memories lay in those books.

Thus, even if he found Reid’s ‘Book of the Dead’, he wanted to avoid letting others read it.

If someone had to read it, it should be Subaru—the one who had already lost memories and could afford to lose them again without as much impact. No, actually, even Subaru now had too many memories he couldn’t afford to lose.

“――――”

The events from the last loop and the promises made with Ram and to Meily weighed on his mind.

Who knew in just a few days of repeating four times, he’d already have so many things that he mustn’t forget.

Thus, memories are precious and hard to let go of. —One must not forget.

“Subaru?”

“Ah, ah—I’m fine, really. Uh, ahem!”

Emilia’s voice broke through his silence, and Subaru desperately tried to regain his composure.

He then cleared his throat and scanned everyone’s faces.

“So, I propose we head to ‘Taygeta’. Past heroes and legendary figures have their grand achievements passed down through the ages. Conversely, tales of failures and weaknesses remain as well, so let’s treat it as a famous tax and approach it honestly.”

“You sound so confident, as if you’ve been itching to say that.”

“Hey, I honestly didn’t expect there would come a chance to use this strategy in reality. If we know their true name, we can identify their cause of death and their treasures. This is modern knowledge cheat…!”

“True name?”

“What is a treasure…?”

At Subaru’s enthusiastic proclamation, both Emilia and Beatrice tilted their heads in confusion simultaneously.

They wouldn’t delve into that nonsense too deeply, but it was a given that Reid Astraea was a figure who had indeed made a name for himself in history.

“So, in other words, his downfall is a famous tax… That’s a pretty novel weakness, right?”

“—I understand Balus’ intentions. I accept that. It’s not like I’m completely without concerns.”

“There’s plenty of merit to try. Good grief. Think about how tough it’ll be to find a single desired volume among all those numerous books. Just the thought of it weighs me down.”

Ignoring Subaru’s lighthearted jab, Ram and Echidna got up. Following their lead, Emilia, Beatrice, Meily, and Shaula also stood up.

Alright, Subaru thumped his knees and got up, noticing Julius lagging behind.

“What’s wrong? Are you against this?”

“…No, it’s not like I have any other options. Including the fact that it was your proposal, I’ll acknowledge that it’s valid.”

“But do you have any thoughts on it?”

“—This is more of a personal issue. Please don’t mind me.”

Shaking his head slowly, Julius stood up smoothly.

It’s impossible not to mind when told not to, so Subaru felt a bit more concerned than he should have—but—

“Let’s put it on hold. —By the way, aside from the ‘Book of the Dead’, just how famous is Reid? He seems pretty crazy.”

“Well, it seems it must have been quite a memorable incident. Although there are fragmented memories, it appears they were retained. …Reid Astraea was known as one of the three great heroes who defeated a past ‘Witch’.”

“The ‘Sage’ Shaula, the ‘Divine Dragon’ Volcanica, and then the ‘Sword Saint’ Reid…”

“Not me, the ‘Sage’ is referring to Master.”

“By your logic, doesn’t that make me several hundred years old? I’d have lived a life of action from the moment I stepped out from the convenience store to waking up this morning…”

Subaru took Shaula’s words with a grain of salt and proceeded to dig deeper into the legend surrounding Reid as one of those three heroes.

Regarding this topic, the gazes of Emilia and the others were directed at Julius.

Upon receiving those gazes, Julius touched his bangs with his fingers and continued.

“Indeed, the legends Reid Astraea left behind are too numerous to count. Among the notable ones include tales of him slaying a hundred dragons, or his undefeated record of six thousand battles documented in the arena on Gladiator Island. There are even odd tales that he once bested a being called the ‘Demon God’ in a drinking contest.”

“Those all sound ridiculous, but after seeing him in person…”

“There’s no exaggeration, I feel. When you understand his strength, he’s undoubtedly… no.”

“—?”

“As far as I know, many of the tales about him narrate his incredible achievements. Tales of his personality or human-like failures or defeats, those kinds of stories seem to be lost to time.”

Sweeping his bangs to the side with his fingers, Julius concluded that part of his knowledge.

Having heard all of that, Subaru faltered slightly at the fact that no records of his defeats remained. If it’s just a matter of them not being documented, it would be fine, but what if he had truly never lost?

A life of undefeatedness—it’s a story that could very well exist, and Subaru shivered at the thought.

“Well, we’ve arrived.”

With that, having reached a point where a stairway leads to ‘Taygeta’, their conversation wound down.

Going up leads to shelves overflowing with the ‘Book of the Dead’, where the third layer of “Taygeta” would welcome Subaru and others.

“—Ram, can you lead everyone for a bit? I have something I’d like to discuss with Julius.”

“With Julius?”

Subaru’s offer made Ram raise an eyebrow in surprise, while Julius shared a similar look of astonishment. For now, however, he remained silent, leaving Ram to narrow her pink eyes and peer into Subaru’s dark ones before sighing.

Letting out a breath that seemed to reveal either a sigh or resignation, she said,

“Try not to take too long. If, when you come back up, Ram and the others forget just like Balus did, it will be impossible to sort out.”

“Don’t say scary stuff like that. If a memory-lost Ram becomes shy and docile, that would be something to behold…”

“Ram is done forgetting anything further than this.”

“…Right. Please, just don’t go near any weird books if you happen to find them.”

So saying, Subaru shrugged as Ram led the way up the stairs.

For the moment, trusting her meant there would likely be no misjudgments. In that regard, he holds her in higher esteem than anyone else in his current group.

From that perspective—

“Meily, try to act like a lady. Hold Emilia-chan’s hand or something.”

“That’s incredibly offensive. I don’t need to be handled like a troublesome child. Besides, I feel captured even though I’m not, considering I’ve got a bare sister holding my hand…”

With her cheeks puffed out, Meily, held by Shaula with her right hand and Emilia with her left, was led into ‘Taygeta’. Following closely was Beatrice, and last in line, Echidna gently placed her foot on the stairs and looked back.

“Natsuki-kun.”

“Yeah?”

“Please be gentle with him.”

After saying that, Echidna quickly ascended to the upper level.

Watching her retreating back, Subaru scratched his head. He had a feeling that Echidna might have grasped the reason why he left Julius behind in this spot.

Thus, with all the women having departed, only Subaru and Julius remained in front of the staircase.

“So, what did you want to discuss? Given that you went through the trouble of sending Emilia and the others away, it must be something significant?”

“Something significant… well, sort of, I suppose.”

“That’s a pretty vague answer.”

“It’s tricky to clarify what’s on my mind.”

Facing Julius against the backdrop of the staircase, Subaru raked his fingers through his dark hair.

He had brought Julius to a halt for several confirmations that needed to be made. These were to verify something that had snagged on his thoughts from the earlier conversation—but—

“――――”

“Subaru?”

“Hold on. I’m just trying to organize my thoughts.”

He worked to untangle the complex threads of issues whirling about in his head. He had entrusted the search for the books to Emilia and the others yet called Julius to stop him. The primary focus, of course, centered around Reid Astraea.

Simultaneously, memories of the previous loop and that chaotic encounter drifted back to Subaru’s mind.

—The free Reid, choosing to have a one-on-one duel with Julius as his last lingering concern.

Despite the obstacles that had interrupted, that moment truly deserved to be called a duel. However, the disparity in skill level was undoubtedly definitive, likely compounded by mental factors.

Moreover, Subaru heard that Julius had faced Reid once before only to suffer a defeat. Yet even under such circumstances, Reid seemed to hold some kind of obsession towards Julius.

What it was that drew Reid to him felt crucial in understanding Reid himself. —But how to convey that.

“Ah, what do you think about Reid? Do you… actually like him?”

“—What does that question even mean?”

“No, I just wanted to lighten the mood. The real question is: do you intend to defeat Reid?”

“—!”

At Subaru’s words, Julius narrowed one eye, his yellow irises widening. Observing the intense turmoil that tugged at his pupils, Subaru exhaled a short breath.

This feeling he had was confirmed. But at the same time, he felt a plea to wait.

“Whether you’re aware or not… it’s understandable to feel scared under these circumstances. They say a habit of losing is hard to shake off.”

“Subaru, you are…”

“Sorry about that. I’d love to take my time to help you recover from this sulking heart, but the truth is, we don’t have that luxury of time. You understand, right?”

“――――”

As Subaru’s inquiry reached him, Julius tensed his cheeks and inhaled deeply.

Subaru and Julius had different perspectives regarding the meaning of “not having time”, yet he too bore a similar sense of urgency.

And surely, this was something Subaru wouldn’t have been able to do until yesterday. Concern over the heartache of this injured man, without noticing his own feelings of restlessness.

Perhaps it was time for “Natsuki Subaru” to do what he could not.

Believing that it would become a decisive blow to break this stagnated situation—

“I’ll say it outright, Julius. The reason being, right now, I’m invincible.”

“Invincible, you say… that’s quite a bold claim.”

“I’m able to step forward because there’s no ties holding me back. I can’t watch you, seeing me or Echidna, or listening to the tales of Reid and shriveling up like that. I’m just as prone to being dragged down by others too, so it’s not like I can speak truthfully about it, but ignoring those feelings, I’ll plainly state it.”

“—I’m listening.”

Breath held, Julius straightened up and focused his gaze on Subaru.

Receiving that sincere gaze, Subaru pressed on.

“That’s that, and this is this.”

“—What?”

Boldly declaring that, Subaru bewildered Julius, who was momentarily taken aback.

With Julius right in front of him, Subaru spread his hands wide.

“I get it; you look at me and start acting all awkward. The me from yesterday likely caused something to happen to you. Whatever I did then doesn’t vanish from this world, but it has faded from my mind.”

“That’s true. You’re absolutely right. But still, I…”

“Let me finish. Given the current state of things, we need to rebuild the relationship between you and me from scratch. At least, with the current version of me, that’s how it is. Let’s set aside the last versions of me for now.”

“――――”

Julius, with a rather abrupt tone, seemed paled by Subaru’s words, caught in an emotional wave that had him adrift.

This was a painfully forceful logic. It was an impression that Subaru surely couldn’t communicate one-hundred percent of what he wanted to say.

In truth, Subaru was relying on everything his predecessor, “Natsuki Subaru,” had accomplished—his influence on Emilia, Beatrice, and Julius. All of that was real.

But for now, he would only borrow the good parts and push away the bad bits.

Why?

“Because you’re the strongest among us in this party. Therefore, when it comes to confronting Reid, it’s you who will face him. Even if we manage to find the strategy book, when it comes to the fights, it will fall on you.”

Of course, there was Reid’s fixation and the enemy’s desire for a one-on-one duel with Julius.

However, Subaru had no intention of yielding this point. Even disregarding Emilia’s prior victory, he wouldn’t allow Ram, Shaula, Echidna, Meily, Beatrice, or Subaru himself to take that moment away from Julius.

“I understand that you’re scared. I get that you’re hesitant. I apologize for the actions of my self from yesterday—this is all part of the package. Just switch gears and fight for us.”

“I’ve already lost to him twice.”

“I know. But next time, I want you to win.”

“――――”

He knew that Julius had lost one more time than he had previously been aware of.

Yet, at this moment, that was simply an excess detail, contextless to the current exchange.

“If you don’t win, everything falls apart. I’m considering various matchups in my head, but before the girls can do their best, we, as men, must pull our weight. It’d be disgraceful for knights.”

“—Disgraceful. A knight’s disgrace to me in this state?”

Subaru thrust out clenched fists towards Julius, who lowered his gaze.

Shocked, bewildered, and hurt, wracked with uncertainties, Julius found himself titillated by Subaru’s words.

It shattered the image he had of himself, leaving his once elegant expression radically transformed—

“Honestly, I’m beginning to doubt whether you genuinely have lost your memories. Perhaps you’re putting on this act of memory loss to prevent me from running away in fear of dropping my sword?”

“Would I taint Emilia-chan’s smile for that? Please, I’m not that crafty! Besides, even without such a scheme, you won’t ever part with your sword, nor could you turn your back against the fight for everyone else!”

“That’s… contradictory. Right now, you are precisely trying to bolster my faltering spirit.”

“No, that’s not it. What you’re lacking is not courage. Your courage is solidly intact. —What’s lacking is your fighting spirit. It’s your fiery resolve!”

Stepping closer, Subaru jabbed his fist into Julius’s chest.

At that moment, Julius gasped.

“――――”

There was no falsehood in Subaru’s current words.

In the previous loop, even in the face of the dire situation against the beast and Reid, Julius had not relinquished his sword or turned from despair, telling Subaru, “I’ll leave it to you.”

Inverting that meant, “I’ll take care of this!”

He had indeed said that during such alarming times.

—Reid Astraea, leave it to me.

And so, that was the last sight Subaru ever saw of him.

Therefore—

“I haven’t witnessed the conclusion of the fight. I also lack memories of yesterday. Thus, I have never seen you lose to Reid even once.”

Julius, Julius Euclius, has never lost in front of Natsuki Subaru.

Thus, Natsuki Subaru would never allow anyone to take that conclusion away from him.

He expects that Julius Euclius will defeat Reid Astraea.

“I’m entrusting Reid Astraea to you. You take down that troublesome enemy. In exchange, I will… reach for everything else in my own way.”

“――――”

“Did you hear me, Julius? Answer your friend’s expectations.”

Earlier, he had entrusted them with expectations; now, he struck a solid hope against him.

Subaru’s fist struck Julius’s chest again.

Feeling the impact, Julius touched his chest.

Then, still holding his hand to his heart, he stepped back and exhaled deeply.

Long, long, deep, deep breaths, as he said,

“…How can you hold such expectations in me, a version of you without yesterday’s memories?”

“Well… that’s the image. The impression. The sight, the demeanor. Everything from your look, speech, behavior, belongings and attire, to the ways you eat and walk—all those combined elements create a total art piece.”

Subaru found himself struggling to give a heavy reply, unable to touch on past occurrences in the loop.

Unexpectedly, both Subaru and Julius ended up placing their hands on their chests, facing each other. With his hand still pressed against his chest, Julius straightened his back, gracefully bowing in a manner reminiscent of a storybook knight.

“An impression, is it?”

“Y-yeah. It’s how I see you. Everything about you gives me that kind of expectation.”

“I see… My pride led you to think so.”

With his head bowed, Julius’ tone shifted slightly.

The voice that had previously evoked a sense of elusive distance now carried a trace more vigor, softness, and warmth.

That feeling was relayed to Subaru, and as Julius raised his head to look forward—

“In a world forgotten to me, even being forgotten by you, with my master’s existence unable to be confirmed, I had become ambiguous about my own existence. However, even in such a state—everything I have cultivated until now has not been lost. That is what I want to convey.”

“Well, I didn’t manage to put it that nicely but, that’s the gist of it.”

Julius took Subaru’s clumsily expressed thoughts and shaped them into something wise and refined.

Though Subaru had only recently reflected he wasn’t even close to conveying a hundred percent of what he wanted to say, it felt like they had covered a near-totality.

“What a philosophical or abstract discussion this has become. It felt overwhelmingly focused on mental issues, but that might have been the right call?”

“Why bring yourself down at a moment like this? You ought to be invincible, correct?”

“Well, even a Mario that has collected a star can fall into a pit and die…”

Julius frowned at the nonsensical analogy, though he didn’t press further into it.

In that regard, it seemed he had learned to disregard Subaru’s meaningless banter thanks to dealing with “Natsuki Subaru” up until yesterday—a pretty strange feeling indeed.

Regardless—

“Have you become a bit more positive?”

“Now, that is a question. Ultimately, your words are often lacking in specificity and tend to lean toward the abstract. Moreover, the numerous experiences I had are not dramatically altered.”

“You…”

“However…”

Cutting off that explanation, Julius narrowed his eyes as he stared at Subaru.

Then, with a brief softening of his lips, he said,

“—That is that, and this is this.”