— The white world peeled away, and a colorful world beyond was being restructured.

　The immense and rugged brush of the overwhelming god painted colors onto the world.

　It felt as though I were trapped in a colorless space, witnessing the world being artistically colored from within; such a strange feeling.

　I’ve heard stories that god created the world in seven days, but witnessing this scene makes me think perhaps god didn’t spend seven days stacking blocks to form the world, but instead used a brush on a pristine canvas to depict it.

　— The cradle of Odo Laguna. Or rather, “Memory Corridor.”

　Natsuki Subaru’s existence was being peeled away from the so-called ultra-dimensional anomaly.

　Departing from this space, fragments of consciousness gradually connected, slowly but surely, the self that is me was being reshaped—

“—Subaru”

“Mn…”

Responding to the call, Subaru groaned and opened his eyelids, feeling the thirst in his throat.

In a haze, as I blinked a few times and focused my view on the world, I noticed I was resting my rear and back against a hard, cold surface. I seemed to be seated somewhere against what felt like a wall.

Immediately after, I also sensed the presence of something in front of me.

“—”

Peering into Subaru’s face was a girl with distinctive patterned eyes filled with worry—Beatrice, who suited a cute appearance with her flamboyant dress.

Feeling her deeply concerned gaze, Subaru realized he had returned from the “Memory Corridor” to this world, back into the observatory tower.

“—Ah”

“Is your consciousness okay? You should check if you haven’t accidentally dropped any memories. To start, do you remember Betty?”

With a light patter, Beatrice touched Subaru’s face and chest, trying to diagnose him.

It’s not something you can really tell by touch, but it’s a little embarrassing yet nice to be worried about. In this mood, Subaru let himself be handled and, while his cheeks were being pinched, he replied, “I’m fine, I’m fine.”

“Not a problem. You’re remembering it all. Your memories are intact, and I haven’t forgotten about you… Beatrice, I still remember you properly. Of course, everyone else too.”

“…Well, I’ll compliment you for calling Betty’s name first.”

As she pinched Subaru’s cheeks, Beatrice relaxed her eyelids in relief upon hearing her name. Her reaction caused Subaru to loosen his lips, and he absentmindedly patted Beatrice’s head.

Feeling Beatrice accept that with narrowed eyes, Subaru took a deep breath, confirming the existence of his memories.

Even though he asserted to Beatrice that he “remembers,” it was still difficult to gain that conviction.

The Archbishop of Sin known as Louis Arnebe, who encountered just before.

It was true that she was a monster who devoured an immense quantity of “memories” and “names,” but how that power of consuming memories would manifest remained unknown to Subaru.

Did he really have to literally bite into it? Would simply declaring “consume” suffice? Or were more complex procedures required? The more complex the restrictions and vows, the greater the powers acquired in this line of abilities. Something to be removed.

Anyhow, whether those conditions were fulfilled in the “Memory Corridor” was something Subaru couldn’t know. He had experienced physical contact, being bitten and licked on his arm. If those were conditions, then based on the atmosphere, it could very well have been successfully done.

Thus, even without any conscious symptoms, there was a significant possibility that his memories could end up in a moth-eaten state—

“—Probably fine. All the promises and loves are still in my heart.”

Thinking of Emilia makes his heart throb, and cherishing Beatrice makes him want to pat her. Wishing for the safety of his comrades wholeheartedly was proof that Subaru hadn’t lost himself at this moment.

If he could hold on to that, he could at least avoid past shame.

“—Natsuki-kun, you’ve returned?”

At that moment, a voice slipped into Subaru’s eardrums, checking if his hollowed memories remained intact.

Looking up, he saw Echidna approaching him with her light purple hair neatly brushed down. Only then did Subaru belatedly realize.

“…Where are Emilia-chan and the others?”

“Good, it seems you haven’t lost the ability to see around. Do you remember what you were about to do just before?”

Posing the question with some flair, Subaru met Echidna’s light ashen eyes and understood that the shadows of several comrades were missing behind her.

It wasn’t some cute story about hiding among the shelves in the library. With a sigh, he felt the closed, thick black cover on his lap.

Right now, the remaining members here were—

“Beatrice, Echidna, and Meily…?”

“Oh, my big bro just woke up, huh? You worried me a whole lot, you know? You really need to stop being such a sleepyhead.”

“Sleepyhead…”

With her hands on her hips and feigned indignation, Meily caused Subaru to hold his head.

He was doing his best to calm his mind and attempting to discern what was happening.

Inside the room, he couldn’t see Emilia, Ram, Julius, or Shaula.

Only the three aforementioned and Subaru remained; in other words, just four non-combatants. Merely being in such a situation was already weird enough, but what was weirder was—

“Wait, this isn’t just after I opened the book, right? How long was my consciousness gone?”

“—Around one hour, I suppose. The previous books took mere seconds, so I was worried sick if something happened to you.”

“One hour…”

Receiving Beatrice’s reply, Subaru recognized that the time he spent in the “Memory Corridor” didn’t mismatch exceedingly with the actual time.

It was all undeniably different from his preceding challenges against the “Book of the Dead.” That “Memory Corridor” surely existed somewhere, and the time spent there wasn’t an illusion.

He faced Louis, was tormented and licked by her, and attempted to strangle her while denying the “Natsuki Subaru” identity—and it was kindly rebuffed with stern words.

Realizing that the time spent wasn’t just a conveniently good dream was somewhat reassuring. However, the undeniable fact remained that finite time had been consumed.

“Where’s Emilia-chan and the others?”

“While you were literally lost in the book, various anomalies occurred on this side. The four absent from this space are currently scrambling to handle them.”

“Anomalies…?”

“Shaula was the first to notice the anomaly. That reflects her position as the guardian of this observatory.”

With a light tone, but an urgent tone creeping into Echidna’s voice, she replied to Subaru.

She gestured towards the door of the room, going toward the staircase leading down.

“Shaula mentioned something approaching from outside the tower. After that, she quickly dashed out to confirm the cause of the anomaly without giving anyone a chance to stop her…”

“That cool older brother of mine went chasing after her, you know! In the meantime, the silver-haired lady and the maid went to fetch the sleeping little sister!”

“So they all left this place. —Honestly, it’s a bit lonely, but it was the right choice. Especially in this situation when I don’t want to have missing family members.”

Having listened to Echidna and Meily’s reports, Subaru took a breath, untangling the chaotic situation.

He felt anxious about what Shaula noticed, but he was grateful for Julius and the actions of Emilia and Ram.

If the blue-haired girl, Rem, were to be secured, he could eliminate a source of anxiety.

—In light of the potential emergency coming up.

“—That reaction makes me think you know something, Natsuki-kun?”

“—”

Suddenly, Echidna raised an eyebrow at Subaru’s deep thought expression. For just a moment, Subaru faltered at her keen gaze, but quickly shook his head.

There was no need to obfuscate or embellish. He could speak sincerely and let his comrades wrack their brains together.

“I’ll get straight to the point about what happened. —The attempt to read Raid’s book and probe into his past was a failure. I couldn’t view the past at all, and it spiraled out of control.”

“Couldn’t view the past, you say? What in the world happened?”

“It was interrupted. —By the Archbishop of Sin, ‘Gluttony.’”

“—!”

After a brief pause, Subaru dropped that name with a sense of weighting.

Hearing that term escape from Subaru’s lips, Beatrice and the others widened their eyes in shock. While Subaru first heard the term from Louis, it surely wasn’t the case for them.

“It’s hard to believe, but you’re saying the Archbishop of Sin, ‘Gluttony,’ was inside the book… or can we actually say it was inside the book?”

Furrowing her brow thoughtfully, Echidna crossed her arms, her eyes flickering with doubt and deeper anxiety. It was clear that her concern was directed towards Subaru himself.

The source of that anxiety was more than clear in Subaru’s memory.

“As I mentioned to Beatrice earlier, my memories haven’t vanished… I believe. I haven’t forgotten the faces of my comrades, and my feelings for Patrasche are genuine.”

“I don’t get why a dragon’s name is cropping up here…”

Pouting her cheeks, Meily expressed her annoyance at Subaru’s phraseology.

Her frustration was valid. In fact, Subaru had a history of once losing his memories. The existence or lack of memories is a hazy topic, and anyone unaware of memory loss can’t prove anything.

—However, at this very moment, Subaru could definitively say he didn’t have that.

“I’m glad you’re worried, but I haven’t forgotten anything. I can vouch for it!”

“I have my doubts about what value that vouchment holds here… but if you are so confident, I presume there must be some basis for it?”

“—It’s because Rem rescued me when I was about to be ensnared by ‘Gluttony.’”

“—”

The power held by that name resonated only with Beatrice in this presence.

Thus, Beatrice, who hadn’t dropped her perplexed expression, was completely taken aback while Echidna and Meily’s confusion remained.

With a deep nod of agreement directed at Beatrice, Subaru laid out why he could confidently assert that even the smallest memories hadn’t been taken by Louis.

That girl who, at that moment, had encouraged Subaru, who seemed about to break mentally, to stand back up.

He believed her presence shielded him from giving ‘Gluttony’ any openings.

“Subaru, can I hear the details about what happened?”

Focusing on Subaru’s dark eyes, Beatrice demanded an explanation of the events. Only then did Subaru feel the faint vibration overlapping with her last words—the tower seemed to shudder.

Interestingly, while the shelves showed no signs of shaking, it was unmistakable that the entire structure trembled unnaturally. That was likely what had prompted Shaula to hurry up.

Thus, Beatrice blinked once before continuing.

“Make it as brief as possible, will you?”

※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

“—The moment I dove into the ‘Book of the Dead,’ instead of Raid’s past, I was taken to a place that was white and void of anything. There, a girl from ‘Gluttony’—calling herself Louis—was there. According to her, that place is called the cradle of Odo Laguna, or ‘Memory Corridor.’”

Inside the tower, while feeling a slight tremor akin to a distant rumble transmitting through his feet, Subaru began to explain what he had witnessed inside the ‘Book of the Dead.’

He detailed the girl he met in that white space and the fact that the place was referred to as the ‘Memory Corridor.’ The involvement of an omnipotent being known as Odo Laguna.

Those were a jumble of terms and phenomena that Subaru could hardly comprehend, yet they must hold value for those familiar with the common and unconventional realities of this world.

In fact, upon hearing his explanation, Beatrice murmured meaningfully, “Odo Laguna…”

“Louis mentioned something about a system to prevent the world from collapsing. Do you have any clues?”

“Beatrice probably doesn’t know many details about it. However, I do know that it’s considered the center of this world… the place where all mana returns.”

Shaking her head at his inquiry, Beatrice continued while fiddling with her soft curls, wrapping a finger through one of them.

“All mana returns to Odo Laguna, circulating there… In other words, it has deep connections to the death and rebirth of spirits. So, we can’t iterate that it’s completely unrelated to us.”

“However, we are special from the very start. Our existence hasn’t passed through Odo Laguna. In that sense, we might maintain a more objective point of view towards Odo Laguna than ordinary spirits.”

“Ordinary spirits? Ah, so that’s why the rumor about you guys living longer spans from that.”

Subaru understood as Echidna echoed Beatrice’s words.

While this conversation arose as a tangential point, it had indeed come to light that Beatrice and Echidna were beings who lived for centuries.

The reason for their longevity directly tied back to their origin as spirits.

“For me, I think Beatrice is cuter with more of a fairy vibe than a spirit.”

“…Didn’t you say that to me before, Subaru? You might not be too clever, but here, the term ‘fairy’ is not a compliment. So, well, whether I want to be happy with that or feel frustrated for being mocked is hard to settle.”

“Wu, is that true? I apologize for that.”

Without a doubt, I’ve heard that in fantasy’s birthplace overseas, beings resembling fairies tend to be seen as deceptive and harmful.

If that notion also holds true here, it’s no wonder that ‘fairy’ wouldn’t be taken as a compliment.

“My bad. To rephrase, I meant to say you’re so adorable that I could almost eat you up.”

“That’s odd! To say such a thing while equating the thought of eating with cuteness!”

“Oh? Is that so? I mean, don’t you sometimes feel like you want to toss cute things into your mouth?”

“Actually, with nasty animals, sometimes they mistakenly munch on their babies, leading to fatalities.”

Beatrice shuddered, frightened by Meily’s unnecessary commentary.

All in all, they had wafted even further from the main point again. Here, the important issue is—

“—The cradle of Odo Laguna and what kind of place ‘Memory Corridor’ is.”

“It’s a place to filter souls, or so it was titled?”

“A place to filter souls… purify, cleanse. When considering Odo Laguna’s role in the mana cycle, that isn’t just a laughable matter.”

Subaru concurred with Echidna’s view.

To him, who had actually seen that real space, it was hard to chuckle about.

All the souls of the deceased would reach the ‘Memory Corridor’ to circulate.

There, the souls could wash away the stains of memories and history ingrained over their long lives, becoming pristine beings to then acquire new lives.

“I find this explanation fairly convincing. The structure by which the souls of deceased humans are reused… the ‘memories’ washed away there eventually become the ‘Book of the Dead’ in this library.”

“It’s not like they simply disappear into nothing; it’s a fact that the world retains the memories of the deceased. It’s poetic—it makes it hard to speak lightly about this library.”

The shelves record everything born into this world, everything that reaches the “Memory Corridor.”

In other words, the “Memory Corridor” serves as an editing room for the ‘Book of the Dead.’ Memories reshaped into a book form then become cataloged here.

And what ‘Gluttony’ does is disrupt that natural order of personal memories and history, wreaking havoc.

—That’s the very essence of ‘Gluttony’s’ power.

“In reality, it’s running the filtering process of souls that Odo Laguna was meant to handle, self-servingly doing so. With the ‘memories’ sliced away, they’ve been feasted upon, literally consuming the ‘lives’ of others.”

Seeing it articulated clearly revealed how nefarious that act truly is.

Moreover, Louis asserted that it was “trial and error for happiness.” It involved sampling every possible life to find the one suitable for her own happiness.

That’s akin to drawing lots until you hit the jackpot.

Having gained the right to draw an infinite number of lots, Louis and her siblings chose to consume others to snatch happiness for themselves—this notion was terrifying to Subaru.

Not the judgment of Louis and her siblings, but that it didn’t feel like an extremely warped idea.

If given the right to draw lots indefinitely, anyone would likely opt to keep drawing until they struck lucky.

Thus, Louis Arnebe’s actions represent the incredibly straightforward desires of a human—

“Even so, typically, one wouldn’t continue drawing lots knowing that others would become sacrifices.”

“Beatrice…”

“Continuing to draw lots while knowing sacrifices would occur isn’t sane. Therefore, there’s no chance of sympathy for the Archbishop of Sin.”

Understanding Subaru’s thoughts, Beatrice bluntly stated.

To perceive that as a cold conclusion would exhibit a lack of empathy. Beatrice merely echoed Subaru’s sentiments and articulated the words he couldn’t express himself.

Yes, there’s no room for sympathy.

The circumstances in which one finds themselves and their displacement might not fall on them; still, having taken the first misstep and continuing astray thereafter was the individual’s choice.

Everyone must face their recompense.

“But it’s strange, isn’t it? How did a record of a person who lived end up connected to such an ungraspable place?”

“Well, since the souls of dead humans are recycled in the ‘Memory Corridor’, could it be that the books extracted from there are linked back to their former selves? …No, that doesn’t make sense.”

Meily’s question left Subaru without a clear answer.

Why did Raid’s ‘Book of the Dead’ become tied to the ‘Memory Corridor’?

At the very least, the Subaru who lost his memory must have read the ‘Book of the Dead’ once. He had also heard that Julius read it at the same time, and he had experienced reading Meily’s book during the loop they had long passed.

However, within those experiences, there had been no evidence that his consciousness had been projected into that space.

Then, what if we consider Louis’s intervention?

“But it seemed like ‘Gluttony’ had no intention of summoning me. To that creature, my arrival appeared to be unexpected… or rather, there shouldn’t have been any alterations made to Raid’s ‘Book of the Dead’.”

“—I have one hypothesis.”

Before the pondering Subaru could continue, Beatrice raised a single finger.

Fixing his gaze on her fingertip, Subaru prompted, “Hypothesis?”

“Do tell me. What kind of possibility could you think of?”

“What if the ‘Book of the Dead’ within the library is a record of what was stripped away from the souls in the ‘Memory Corridor’? Typically, the function of this library is to read that as a book form… but what if that record was being utilized elsewhere instead?”

“Using the memories of the dead for something else? But what could it possibly be, aside from the ‘Book of the Dead’?”

“Oh, I get it now. That’s some clever thinking, Beatrice.”

Hearing Beatrice’s words, Subaru furrowed his brows in skepticism. However, rather than him, it was Echidna who clapped in realization. Following suit, Meily put her hand to her mouth in surprise, saying,

“Could it be that kind of thing?”

“Hold on, hold on! Don’t act like you figured it all out. You’re so competitive. It’s good to discover new traits about yourself, but it’s perfectly okay to say you don’t know when something’s unclear.”

“Isn’t it you who’s competitive, older brother? I can acknowledge when I clearly understand something, too… That is, it’s about that red-haired older brother up there.”

Pushing Subaru away with her hand, Meily confirmed it with Beatrice. Then, Beatrice sighed.

“Meily’s conclusion seems correct… That’s what Raid is.”

“Um, so…?”

“I couldn’t reference Raid’s past from the ‘Book of the Dead.’ It’s because, right now, there is no record of Raid Astraea in that book. His record is currently being utilized in another form—recreating Raid Astraea as an examiner in this tower.”

“Ah!”

Listening to Echidna’s clarified explanation, Subaru finally comprehended.

If that’s the case, then it indeed makes sense. It aligned without contradicting the events that transpired after he read the ‘Book of the Dead.’

“It seems Raid’s memory isn’t meant for viewing but for reenactment. Therefore, it’s reasonable to presume that was why it couldn’t be read earlier by Subaru.”

“And it also explains how I lost my memory to Louis in the ‘Memory Corridor’ yesterday.”

Without a doubt, the Subaru of yesterday must have realized the same strategy for Raid that the current Subaru had discovered. The outcome led him to read Raid’s book in the library and transport him to that white world.

In fact, Louis had said that her second encounter with Subaru had followed the first one last night. During that first contact, she devoured Subaru’s memory, and in this second rendezvous, she had even aimed to finish off what she missed.

“However, if you consider that, this book cannot possibly serve as a guide to Raid. …Moreover, it even poses the danger of forcing a one-on-one with ‘Gluttony’ inadvertently.”

“It seems so. Yet, you could say it’s a stroke of luck that we managed to grasp the cause behind Natsuki-kun’s memory loss—memory loss was not part of the tower functionality… For now, the trap to make contact with ‘Gluttony’ doesn’t seem like the tower’s objective.”

“Well, yeah, I guess so.”

It’s uncertain whether the creator of the tower had anticipated that he would be transported just before a deadly trap. For now, he’d prefer to consider that it was an unintentional occurrence.

Unless otherwise stated, the individual who designed this tower must be a person with catastrophic thought processes or distinctly malevolent traits.

Subaru had no recollections of being like that, but Shaula described him to be a master, linking him to Subaru’s own essence, contributing to a certain fear of reputational damage.

“Raid was recreated, and that just led to this ‘blank’ book. So, that ‘Book of the Dead’ connects directly to Odo Laguna… is that right?”

“For the time being, I can’t come up with anything beyond that hypothesis. The reason one of ‘Gluttony’s’ lacked presence is still a mystery… However, one thing is certain…”

A chain of enigmatic occurrences surrounding the ‘Book of the Dead’ related to Raid had just established a coherent theory. Naturally, unanswered questions lingered. Unfortunately, Subaru and the others had no time to explore each and every one.

The proof was—

“—Echidna! Is everyone safe!?”

Bounding up the stairs, a knight appeared in the ‘Taygeta’ library. Upon seeing him, Echidna turned and widened her eyes in surprise.

“Julius, you seem awfully flustered?”

“Unexpected events are unfolding. I want to hear everyone’s thoughts as soon as possible—um.”

Responding to Echidna while approaching them was the handsome Julius.

While his expression firmed with slight tension and vigilance, he caught sight of Subaru, seated cross-legged on the floor, and his yellow eyes slightly widened.

“Have you woken, Subaru? What a stroke of luck. Do you remember who I am?”

“Right, that’s the first concern, right? Um, you are…?”

“—As I thought.”

“That’s nonsense! You’re joking! You’re Julius Euclius! What do you mean by ‘as I thought’ with such a serious face? I’m definitely back!”

“Ha. I, too, was making a joke. Consider it a payback for your unchanging immaturity. —Now, I’m afraid I must share an unfunny report.”

Subaru deflated, conflicted between annoyance and seriousness. However, Julius immediately tightened his expression.

As was evident from his words, there was indeed a grim report to convey.

“I would like to hear Subaru’s report from after returning from the ‘Book of the Dead,’ but there is an urgent matter at hand… —I went to check what anomaly Lady Shaula had sensed outside the tower.”

“Yet, I don’t see Shaula here…”

“She’s currently responding to a threat outside the tower walls. However, it seems she’s severely undermanned.”

With those convoluted sentences, Subaru glared fiercely at Julius. Receiving that sharp glare, Julius sighed lightly and prefaced what he was about to say with an apology.

“You might have felt a minor rumble; that was likely apparent to you all. This is the sound of footsteps.”

“Footsteps?”

“Indeed.”

Julius’s unexpected words caused Subaru and the others to tilt their heads in confusion. After a brief pause, Julius announced,

“—The magical beasts that were present in the Augria Sand Dunes are currently rushing into this tower. Lady Shaula is fighting them off, but it’s only a matter of time before they push inside.”