――In a world shrouded in black mist, Subaru’s consciousness was once again being summoned.

　An empty world, dominated only by the pitch-black “nothingness.”

　His consciousness floated in the void, and Subaru idly became aware of his own existence.

　No one was there. Nothing existed. Nothing happened.

　There was no beginning. There was no end. Only inertia existed in this world.

　Feeling as if he had been cast adrift in a night sea, Subaru surrendered to the vast sensation, sinking into the waves of inertia, abandoning thought entirely.

　Then, suddenly, a change occurred in that dark world.

　Before Subaru’s conscious eyes, someone stood.

　From what appeared to be the ground, a shadow extended vertically, shaping itself into a figure.

　He could not see the face. The figure was vague. However, it seemed to be a shadow of a woman.

　The shadow flickered and gently reached out its hand towards him.

　So close, he felt he could touch it by just extending his finger. Subaru, who had only been awareness up to that point, realized that he now had a finger to respond to that reaching finger.

　In a world that had been void of anything, where only consciousness floated, a physical body reflecting that consciousness emerged. Although it was only his right arm and a partially formed left hand.

　His consciousness hesitated, watching the finger reaching out before him.

　The finger approached with a tender gesture, as if to cherish him, and somehow filled him with an overwhelming urge to cry.

　It was a strange sentiment, as if he had been waiting for this moment his whole life.

　The shadow squirmed further, and instinctively, he tried to overlap his hand with it—then stopped. No, it was stopped.

　A white hand extending from behind embraced the hand Subaru had tried to extend.

　Soft, with a warmth that felt almost too much.

　He wanted to turn around and see the owner of that palm. However, unlike his arm, his vision did not obey his wishes, and he could not move to look.

　It was as if his movement had been forbidden, and gradually, the pressure of the touching palm increased, drawing Subaru’s consciousness backward.

　That meant parting with the shadow that had been in front of him.

　The outstretched finger pleaded, clung, moving in a troubled manner to entice Subaru.

　Contrary to his right hand that was held, he tried to reach out with his empty left hand to touch that finger, but it felt futile, as his left hand was only halfway formed, scraping through the darkness without reaching it.

　His heart trembled. He wanted to scream his passion. —But there was no mouth to voice it.

　The shadow grew distant, distant, vanishing away.

　It reached out its finger towards a tearful Subaru one last time and whispered,

『――I love you』

　The final words he couldn’t comprehend became vague, and then the world faded away.

※※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

　When Subaru awoke, the first thing that entered his sight was the familiar opulent ceiling.

　In a mansion where aristocratic tastes were abundantly on display, even the servants’ personal quarters bordered on overly decorated. When it came to the guest room meant for hosting visitors, it was only natural that it would be excessively ornate to demonstrate the authority of the mansion’s owner and other matters.

　Regardless of such facts, Subaru’s discomfort as a common citizen was evident.

　Using the shorter-than-average time it took him to fully awaken, Subaru idly contemplated those things.

　Just then,

“——So you’re awake?”

　After just five seconds of opening his eyes, a voice called to Subaru, who had completely regained consciousness.

　The voice came from right next to him, practically beside his bed. Subaru tilted his head on the unusually soft pillow and looked over.

“…Good morning, Rem.”

“Good…?” Subaru mumbled in confusion. “Is that how you greet someone from your hometown?”

“No, around here, it’s more like a dialect from a region. I only know ‘danke’ and a little bit else. I know ‘buono’ is different.”

　For a moment, Subaru felt anxious about whether there were differences in the languages due to country differences in this world. Currently, Subaru’s ability to communicate was not verified properly, so such things needed to be handled carefully.

Nevertheless,

“There’s nothing like having a maid right next to you as soon as you wake up. Classic boyhood dreams, right?”

“…Considering Rem’s recent blunder, this is more of a way to atone.”

“Ah, let’s not dwell on that if it’s going to bring down the mood. More importantly—”

　Rising up, Subaru shook his head and raised his right hand from under the covers. His hand was tightly intertwined with that of the blue-haired girl.

“Did I do this? Like, not letting go… If so, that’s pretty embarrassing. Like a child who wouldn’t let go of their favorite towel.”

“No, um, that’s…”

　At Subaru’s inquiry, Rem fumbled with their joined hands, looking slightly bashful as she glanced downward.

“It was Rem who initiated this.”

“What’s up with that? Just so you know, I’m not the type to sweat less than a river? Especially around my hands and hips. If I end up with skin rashes in the summer, that’s pretty awful.”

“Subaru-kun…”

“Yeah?”

　Glancing at their hands, Rem hesitated in her speech. Subaru patiently waited for her answer without rushing.

After a few breaths, Rem looked up at Subaru.

“I thought you looked like you were suffering in your sleep, so… I held your hand.”

“So you held my hand?”

“Rem is inexperienced and lacking in talent with many shortcomings. So, I don’t really know what to do in these situations. Since I didn’t understand, I wanted to do what made me happiest when I was in trouble.”

　Her words came out haltingly, tangled with embarrassment.

Yet, as Rem cleared her feelings, Subaru gazed down at their joined hands and smiled softly.

He looked like a child who had been scared by a nightmare. It was only natural that this gentle gesture had been chosen for him.

　She must have had a moment in a tearful night when someone held her hand like this. The idea that she wanted to do that for Subaru made him feel warm and fuzzy.

“By the way, you’re being a bit too hard on yourself, Rem. That kind of self-criticism isn’t good at all. Getting caught in a negative spiral is easy but getting out is difficult.”

“Maybe so. In my case, I’ve already lost sight of the exit.”

A weak smile followed, which Subaru found mildly unpleasant.

　Subaru felt something boiling inside him, but he pressed on.

“…Anyway, I’d like to hear the aftermath of this mess.”

“Yes. Subaru-kun, how much do you remember?”

“Roswaal descended in a fiery rain while being incredibly hyper, and then I got knocked out by an excited Rem’s bear hug.”

“…Then it’s about what happened after that.”

Calmly, Rem recounted the series of events.

After Subaru lost consciousness, Roswaal conducted extermination of the Urgalm in the forest. Even unconsciously, due to the lingering scent of the witch, Subaru apparently functioned as live bait, eliminating choices for the beasts lurking in the woods.

The group that had been hiding in the darkness of the forest was scorched by flames, and the remnants scattered throughout the forest were also incinerated.

“Well then, concerning my curse…”

“Due to the death of the caster, there’s no concern for activation. The effects of the curse have already been confirmed to be null by Roswaal-sama, Beatrice-sama, and the Great Spirit.”

“Well, as long as that third opinion is solid, I guess I’m safe…”

Without any specific recollection of where the curse had been placed, Subaru rubbed his chest in relief.

At least, the timed bomb set directly on his body had been disarmed. It was suffocating even to remember how many times he had nearly died for that.

“The chaos in the village was directly settled by Roswaal-sama. The children are recovering well, and the village’s state has returned to normal.”

“Right, right. But those kids must have been super sad since their favorite Subaru came back in a bloody mess. I bet some of them cried, right? Aww, poor things.”

“—Yes, that’s right.”

As she spoke, Rem slowly pulled back the covers covering Subaru. He instinctively tried to curl up and protect himself, but that action was quickly thwarted.

The cause lay in Subaru’s clothes hidden beneath the covers. It was a sort of kimono he had worn when he was brought in during his injury on the first day at Roswaal’s Mansion. However, there was something abnormal about the lower garment of that outfit.

“Graffiti everywhere… Looks like a cast for a broken bone!”

“Thanks to Roswaal-sama’s hospitality, the children invited into the mansion left their messages.”

“For crying out loud, those little brats…”

Subaru suppressed the urge to click his tongue as he looked over the countless scribblings. They were upside down from Subaru’s perspective, and on top of that, with messy handwriting, it was extremely difficult to read.

However, since they were all easy characters to understand, Subaru was able to decipher them all with some time.

“Ugh, those kids…”

He repeated himself, but the emotions behind it were subtly different now.

Leaning against the pillow, Subaru turned his gaze towards the window, wishing that there’d be a time when he could head to the village soon.

“Thank you for bringing Rem back,” “Thank you very much,” “It looks uncool, but it’s cool,” “Let’s do that promise concert,” “I love you.”

“Ha, you fools. It’s obvious that I care about you all more.”

Subaru thought about how casually they’d tossed around the word “love,” treating it like it was nothing.

Unbeknownst to him, that content would boomerang right back to him.

　Having vented this mild bitterness, he caught a glimpse of Rem’s countenance—taking on a serious expression, she shook a bit and quivered her lips.

“There’s also something I need to discuss about Subaru-kun’s body.”

“Ah, right. Setting aside the curse, my body has been in quite an emergency condition, too.”

　Only now did Subaru notice the shoulder of his arm that Rem was holding.

As he slightly applied pressure, there was no discomfort to be felt, nor was there any pain. It seemed that treatment had been administered. Truly, the healing magic in this world was extraordinary.

　However, as Subaru was thinking this,

“I’m sorry, Subaru-kun.”

Rem bent at the waist and lowered her head, apologizing before Subaru’s optimistic judgment had time to take hold.

Uncertain why she was apologizing, Subaru waved his hand and said,

“Hey, raise your head, Rem. My body feels fine. My dislocated shoulder has been set, and I don’t feel any pain anywhere else. I’m back to normal, back to normal.”

“That’s not true. True, the noticeable wounds have healed, and luckily, there’s no worry about residual effects that could interfere with daily life. However—”

　Cutting off her words, despair darkened Rem’s face.

“The scars will remain. Physically, of course, but also in the mind. Additionally, due to the multiple treatments, Subaru-kun’s mana within is close to running dry.”

“Oh, that makes sense. I thought I felt just a little sluggish—but still, it’s not like that’s a huge issue. A man’s wounds other than the back are medals, after all, and as for emotional scars, I call myself quite the tough guy, you know?”

While indicating himself with his thumb, Subaru tried to smile away Rem’s guilt.

It wasn’t a flat-out lie. If Subaru’s heart were a fragile, naive one, he wouldn’t have been able to wake up in the morning while holding her hand like this.

When it came to talking about emotional scars, he had experienced enough to keep himself from looking directly in Rem’s eyes.

After thinking this far, Subaru stared at Rem.

With her short blue hair and well-formed features, she was cute rather than beautiful. The expressions he once thought were emotionless now changed like a kaleidoscope. Not scary. Not scary at all. The same girl who had put him through countless loops now genuinely rejoiced at his survival. He felt that everything depended on fate.

Just as there could be a Rem who rampaged thinking about Roswaal, there was also a Rem who rushed to conclusions thinking about Subaru, and if he accepted that there was no fear of her misfiring on allies, it was also true that there were cases where she would leap into a berserker mode.

“Looks like you’re calm, but Rem, you’re not at all composed are you?”

When comparing her usual demeanor in the mansion and her role as a senior maid guiding Subaru, she appeared to be an outstanding individual with calm judgment.

However, once matters crossed that realm, it felt like she began running in a completely ridiculous direction.

Subaru couldn’t speak ill of her tendency to jump to conclusions; however, unlike him, her actions had substantial capabilities, which made this troublesome.

At Subaru’s remark, Rem momentarily stopped her movements before lowering her gaze dejectedly.

With her head hung low, she murmured,

“I do understand.”

Continuing as if spilling her feelings, she spoke little by little.

“Rem is weak, lacking in talent, and a castaway of the Demon Tribe. Therefore, it’s often difficult for me to reach what I want, even if I run. To catch up with my sister, I feel like I have to start running as fast as I can.”

Covering her face with her hands, Rem squeezed out her confession.

“If it were my sister, she would have done it better. She wouldn’t stumble like this. She wouldn’t hesitate. She would surely handle it easily. She wouldn’t make any mistakes for sure. If it were my sister—if it were my sister—if it were my sister—”

Cutting off her words, Rem looked at Subaru with weak light in her eyes.

The reflection in her eyes was not tears; rather, it was simply hollow, filled with resignation and despair.

“Rem is a substitute for her sister. And an inferior one at that, never able to catch up to my real sister.”

—Suddenly, droplets began to form in her eyes.

“Why is it that Rem’s horns were left intact? Why is it that my sister’s horns weren’t? Why is it that my sister was born with only one horn? Why is it—why are my sister and Rem twins?”

Trembling her lips, Rem whispered as if seeking her own purpose in existence.

The droplets in her eyes trickled down her cheeks, leaving a painful sparkle on her fair skin.

Subaru fell silent. Unable to bear the weight of the silence, Rem hastily wiped away her tears, her expression breaking into a clumsy smile.

“I-I’m sorry. I said something strange. Just forget it. It’s the first time I’ve shared something like this with someone, and it’s kind of weird—”

“Hey, Rem.”

As Rem hurriedly attempted to nullify her earlier statement,

Subaru cut in, calling her name. Breaking the silence, the anticipation of what words Subaru would weave into existence made Rem look up, fearing the answer.

Then, he said,

“What’s the punchline?”

“—Huh?”

“I said, what’s the punchline? That key point that’ll sweep the audience up in laughter. There has to be something, after all the talking you’ve done.”

Rem looked lost, struggling to understand what Subaru was getting at.

“What do you mean by…”

“I’m saying this was such a serious story that it had no laughs in it. —Rem, let’s continue the interrupted story. Remember?”

At the question, Rem clouded her eyes. Seeing her reaction, Subaru chuckled as he raised his left hand, pointing a finger at her.

“Okay, let’s have a recap. First off, you’re a real idiot for saying you couldn’t save me and all. Can you see me standing right in front of you, perfectly fine? My feet are on the ground, too.”

He swayed his legs in a showy manner. Realizing the point he was making, Rem still shook her head weakly.

“That’s just hindsight…”

“They say a good ending makes everything okay. If we were grading the journey, it’d honestly be worse than me in your case. And secondly, you’re an idiot for taking it all on yourself and trying to bear it alone.”

With a wink, Subaru raised a second finger.

“Well, I’m glad you ran wild for my sake, but that should come with a time and place. More than anything, don’t you think if you’d talked with me, we could’ve found a better solution?”

Regarding beast hunting, Subaru’s point was quite reasonable. Rem trembled as if ashamed of her shortsightedness, her lips quivering, suppressing words of rebuttal.

However, in hindsight, that reasoning was easy to say now with the outcome in mind—caught up in the difficulty of her situation, Rem did not realize it, while secretly, Subaru stuck out his tongue apologetically.

Then, he placed his face directly in front of her downcast face.

Surprised, she gaped at him, and Subaru raised his third finger.

“And then there’s the third idiot I could’ve said but didn’t. I have to correct myself; it’s actually the fourth idiot. It’s full of idiots, huh.”

“You’re right to say I deserve that.”

“Yep, that’s the fourth idiot I was talking about.”

Subaru pointed at her, emphasizing her self-depreciation. Waving the four fingers he held up, he said,

“Worrying about the past forever and only looking backward! That’s the real problem!”

“—”

“Rem, you’re always saying if it were your sister, if it were your sister, lifting her up while putting yourself down… but don’t you think if Ram were in your position, she’d want to help you, too? She’s lackluster in stamina, can’t cook, slacks off, has a nasty mouth… and maybe only a touch more thoughtful?”

Recalling Ram’s specifications, Subaru thought about the disconnect between her problematic ideal and herself. In every attribute, the older sister was inferior to the younger sister. As Rem herself said, there was no need for Rem to put herself down like that.

However, regarding Subaru’s remark, Rem shook her head in rejection.

“No, that’s not it. The real sister is much different. If she had had her horns, if she had her horns…”

“But Ram doesn’t have ‘those’ horns. So all I can say is I don’t know that high-spec Ram you’re talking about.”

Interrupting Rem, who was trying to deny herself with a predetermined answer, Subaru touched his chin and said,

“The Ram I know is, as I said, worse in cooking, sewing, cleaning, manners, and speech than you are. —Though I think that’s one of her good traits.”

Becoming overly grand with his words, Subaru thought that bumping heads occasionally was not so bad in their relationship.

If he brought the issue back to the matter of the horns,

“Probably, you’re the only one worried about that, Rem?”

Recalling the brief conversation he had with Ram in the forest, he thought that Ram did not hold onto her demon clan heritage as tightly anymore. In fact, it seemed like she was eager to do something about Rem’s fixation on it.

He never thought of taking it upon himself to help with that.

After all, he was just a young man with too little life experience and even less interaction compared to his peers.

How could the empty preachings of such a person strike a chord in anyone’s heart?

He did not strive to resist, nor did he harbor any thoughts of making it resonate.

In the end, what he had to come to terms with would not be achieved by clinging to anyone but himself.

So what Subaru shared with Rem was merely a simple assertion of his feelings.

“If you weren’t here, I would have probably been bitten by a dog and gone to my demise. Thanks to you being around, I survived. And now, I’m here alive. Not just thanks to your sister, but because of you.”

“If it had been the real sister, she would have done it better…”

“Maybe so… But it was you who was here.”

Subaru laid his left hand on top of the right hand still held tightly together.

Rem looked up in surprise, and Subaru smiled softly.

“I’m glad you’re here, Rem. Thank you.”

“—Ugh!”

At the words coming out of Subaru’s mouth, Rem let out a strangled sound.

Then she turned her face away, not allowing Subaru to see her expression.

“Rem is… Rem has always been a substitute for my sister, just…”

“Stop with that lonely self-definition. After all, it’s completely different from the very beginning; you and Ram are two different genres. One is sister attributes, and the other is sister attributes—one could start a war over that.”

The difference in taste was irreconcilable. While Subaru felt that both could have their merits, Rem tightly shut her eyes.

“Well, let’s put this straight. Starting now, utilize the benefits of being twins a bit more. If Ram’s brilliant head isn’t catching up, then whoever’s left to pick up that slack should be you! With lovely sisterly love, you can complement each other’s flaws and thereby become the strongest.”

“That short-sightedness of Rem’s is still a flaw, isn’t it?”

“Let’s not pick at that while we’re having such a nice dialogue. Oh, right! I just thought of something!”

Clapping his hands, Subaru’s face glowed with the light of a brilliant idea.

He leaned toward Rem, who was still turning her face away.

“Just now, you spoke about why your sister didn’t have her horns, and you were left with yours.”

“…Yes.”

“I never really asked or got into the details on why you were left without your horns, nor will I inquire about it now. But here’s my take on it.”

Subaru tapped the spot on his forehead where Rem’s horn would have been with his left hand.

“Since Ram doesn’t have horns, you should take the place of her horns. You two should cheerfully do ‘Demon’ together. It sounds heartwarming.”

“—Aww.”

“Plus, though you keep saying you’re a substitute, there’s no one that can replace Ram. If you disappeared, do you think Ram would be okay? Can you even imagine what she’d be like?”

Subaru, who knew how that future would turn out, was left to his own thoughts about the matter while Rem had fallen silent.

The shriek of Ram mourning followed by the lament of loss that could make the world seem like it was ending, and then her appearance driven into madness as she sought vengeance with all her strength.

“…But…”

Nevertheless, Rem wouldn’t easily nod along with Subaru’s words.

Persuasiveness was difficult. In her case, she had likely wrestled with those feelings for many years, and the hardness of her heart bore testament to that.

With this stubbornness in mind, Subaru sighed, scratching his head.

“Alright, let’s do it this way instead. Instead of comparing yourself to the ideal version of Ram in your head, just throw out that model of an idealized Ram you have.”

“That’s easier said than done. Rem has been dwelling on her sister…”

“Then you should come to me for judgment. I’ll give you evaluations based on reality that are way more valid than your version of Ram. Just to be clear, I have no social sense, and I’ll be brutally honest. Just deal with it.”

With a grin, Subaru affectionately ruffled Rem’s blue hair with his left hand.

She squinted from the tickle, and Subaru let out a small sigh.

“In my hometown, we say, ‘Talking about next year makes the demons laugh.’ So…”

His gaze shifted to her, still allowing this joke to fly as Rem stared blankly.

“Laugh, Rem. Don’t sit there with a straight face. Let’s laugh while we talk about the future. Let’s move past all that wasted time looking backward, talking towards the front from now on. For starters, let’s talk about tomorrow.”

“…Tomorrow’s what?”

“Yep, tomorrow! Anything’s fine? For example, should we have Japanese or Western food for breakfast, or should I put on the right sock first or the left? Silly little things are easy to chat about, and they’re only possible because tomorrow is coming. Let’s set our sights on tomorrow, no matter how frivolous.”

Spreading his arms, Subaru wrapped it all up there, shrugging his shoulders to seek Rem’s response.

　She hesitated for a moment before finally frowning.

“Rem is very weak, so I will probably depend on you.”

“That’s perfectly fine! I’m also weak, dimwitted, mean-looking, and awful at reading the air, which makes me feel down too, but I live hoping others give me a hand in supporting me! Let’s lean on each other and move forward together!”

Having to bear everything himself led to him only focusing on the hefty load on his back, making it hard for him to see what lay ahead.

If Subaru could at least manage to walk with both hands empty, he might find it lighter. But inevitably, those loads would pile up on their own—if he couldn’t see ahead by holding onto them alone, then he could surely go ahead and progress together.

“Let’s laugh together, elbow bumping while talking about tomorrow, and you see, I’ve always dreamed of chatting with a demon while laughing about next year!”

“That sounds quite demonic.”

“Right?”

He winked with one eye and twisted his mouth into a smirk, which made Rem laugh faintly as well.

Suddenly, tears started to spill from the corners of her eyes as the laughter broke free. The tears flowed down like a waterfall, knowing no end, yet she kept laughing.

Crying and laughing all at once, Rem pressed her face against the blanket to stifle her sobs, but even so, her sounds gently surrounded the room.

Subaru continued to tenderly stroke her hair the whole time.

He held tightly onto her hand until the very end.

Continuing warmly, lovingly, to run his fingers through her hair.

※※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

Reflecting back on the days at Roswaal’s Mansion.

　The first loop began, and on the night of the fourth day, he died—cause of death: death by weakness.

Entering the second loop, he died on the fourth night—cause of death: killed by Rem.

In the third loop, despair overwhelmed him, dying on the evening of the third day—cause of death: brutally slain by Ram.

In the fourth loop, he rallied himself, dying on the evening of the fifth day—cause of death: death by falling due to suicide.

And here came the fifth loop. Bitten by dogs everywhere, scratched here and there, losing both blood and mental strength, leaving behind unsightly scars all over his body—yet, in the end, he picked up all those pieces.

The relationship with Rem and Ram, his position in the mansion. He had saved the children of the village, exterminated the beasts in the forest, and removed the dangers. The adventure lasting over twenty days could only be termed a great success.

Indeed, it should have been a huge success.

“—I’m not angry or anything, okay? No, not angry at all. It’s just that, after all the effort I put into caring for you, and then you’re not there when I wake up, it’d be just unthinkable if I thought about leaving to find you only to discover I was tied up to that chair for my troubles. There’s no way someone like me could let it slide.”

If not for the presence of the girl who was fuming while fingering her silver hair, Subaru would have surely been sweating profusely, ever silently listening to her complaints.

Already ten minutes had passed since she entered the room, but most of that time had been filled with her lectures disguised as grumblings.

Regardless of that, when she first came in, she had indulged in checking Subaru’s condition, relieved to see that nothing was wrong. Then she switched gears and sat in the chair to recompose herself, revealing her seriousness.

“Anyway, I’m not angry.”

“Yes, Emilia-tan, your anger is certainly justified. Yes, I’m sorry.”

“See? I’m not angry at all. But if you think you’ve done wrong, then that can’t be helped. I shall accept your apology—please don’t scare me like that again.”

Subaru, overwhelmed by Emilia’s energy, could only apologize. A smile of satisfaction flitted across Emilia’s face at Subaru’s words, a final touch of loving warmth added to her smile.

It was utterly underhanded. Being told that with such a face, how could he simply brush it aside?

After shedding all her tears, Rem had left the room (she strongly insisted it must be kept secret that she had been crying, while Subaru pondered how to phrase it without Emilia catching on). It was Emilia who arrived while he dozed off.

　Her actions upon arrival were as previously mentioned. However, after all that had passed, the light in her eyes was continuously filled with concern for Subaru, making him feel completely at ease.

“I can’t believe how often you get hurt, Subaru. The reason you came to this mansion was that you were injured, and now it’s only been four days since then.”

“I’m not doing this on purpose, you know? It’s simply because the world seems a bit harsh on me… So, at the very least, Emilia-tan could indulge me just a little to find a balance!”

“You tried to run away when I offered to pamper you, you know? Now you’re out of luck.”

“Ugh! I completely missed out on the chance! Come on, Beatrice, can’t you be a little more competent? Who ties someone up to a chair?”

Shouting the name of the curly-haired girl he hadn’t seen since awakening, Subaru vented his frustrations regarding this perceived injustice.

With a distant stare, Emilia recalled his earlier mention of being ‘tied up.’

“I fell asleep while still sitting. When I woke up, I was fixed to the backrest. It was utterly shocking.”

“Shocking” was a word not often employed these days.

“Don’t joke around. …Pack, too, was trying to make sure I wouldn’t chase after you guys, and who knows what would have happened if Roswaal hadn’t returned. Do you understand?”

Emilia puffed her cheeks slightly, looking a bit angered.

To her complaints, Subaru could only respond with deep apologies.

It seemed that Pack had maneuvered to keep Emilia safe while Beatrice had given up on convincing Subaru, pivoting instead to physically incapacitating him.

With both of them working against her, it must have been devastating for her to feel trapped without options.

Subaru couldn’t help but feel sorry for her, thinking of what he would have felt like in her place.

Yet, even if it were to happen again, he was convinced he wouldn’t take her along.

“However, I ended up getting saved once again.”

“Huh?”

“I said that I was saved once again. You called me to the mansion to thank me for saving your life, and here we are, right? Thank you very much!”

Emilia clasped her hands together, smiling with a look that suggested it was just a matter of course.

Finally, having realized that she was saying this from her heart, Subaru scratched the back of his head.

“Right, that’s fine. I acted because I chose to, after all. It’s not like this has nothing to do with me. Why, I did it!”

As he said that, he finally felt a sense of realization taking root.

It felt as if something heavy within him had finally dropped.

Looking back on the series of twenty days of repeats—he finally saw the endpoint.

After having his heart worn down, broken, and crushed, what he still pursued had finally come to rest within reach.

He felt he had accomplished it, and for the first time, he truly felt that way within himself.

“I knew you would say that, but it doesn’t satisfy me at all. Roswaal, Ram, and Rem would definitely want to thank Subaru as well.”

“Is that so…? Well, I guess I’ll take you up on that. I’ll have Roswaal revise my employment conditions to be even better, and Ram and Rem will be my personal maids for a while, hohoho. And then!”

Raising his hands to his mouth like a lustful man, Subaru began to sway back and forth toward Emilia as she slightly recoiled from him, pointing a finger at her.

“Emilia-tan, are you going to treat me to gifts, too?”

“…Only cash. Just to be clear, it’ll only be what I can do. …I recall you asked my name last time we spoke.”

“Fufufu, never underestimate my greedy self. This time, I’m entirely free from that sweetness. My insatiable appetite, great greed, and swirling libido propel me forward!”

Although Subaru couldn’t yet stand, he struck a dramatic pose with both hands raised.

Perhaps seeing Subaru so spirited, Emilia straightened her posture and turned to face him.

Her demeanor suggested she was willing to listen to his requests, and Subaru nodded vigorously before rummaging through his mind for the “Emilia Rewards List.”

With an array of options stemming from trivial adventures or even lively impromptu stair-leaping choices, Subaru pondered deeply before selecting one.

“So then, let’s go on a date, Emilia-tan.”

Almost repeating the promise made twenty days ago, he made it once more with her.

“A date?”

“We’ll go out together as a duo, seeing the same sights, eating the same treats, doing the same things, sharing the same memories together.”

“…Is that really alright?”

“That’s exactly what I want!”

The first step had to start there.

Subaru, who had endured countless hardships to finally earn an earnest date with her.

Countless emotions intertwined along the way, raising the bar higher and higher with each loop, yet the final hurdle he wished to leap over always rested right there.

That was why the promise was an appropriate way to seal off this repeating journey.

“I want to boast about Emilia-tan to the kids in the village, too! There’s a fantastic flower field nearby! Just wandering through it is special to me.”

“Just a warning; my meaning of greed may differ from the usual understanding.”

“Say what you want. Soon, my audacity will freeze your smile. Yes!”

Posing with a mysterious flair, his emotional swell was impossible to hide, triggering a soft smile from Emilia.

“Okay, understood. I’ll go on a date with Subaru.”

“Yes! Now that’s the spirit! E-M-B! (Emilia-Tan, for real!)”

As the promise was made, Subaru boldly declared with a triumphant fist pump.

While Emilia’s light breath drifted into his ears, Subaru gazed out the window with a buoyant heart, waiting for his body to heal.

Thinking about the village’s direction, the promised destination of their date, his thoughts suddenly wandered back to the Forest of Magical Beasts.

The curse that harbored itself within Subaru had lost its effectiveness altogether.

This meant that the cleanup of the Urgalm in that forest had taken place. What began as one beast slipping through the rift of a torn barrier led to everything coming to fruition.

In the end, it had all been wrapped up in the form of extermination on one side.

Yet, there lingered a strange aftertaste.

It wasn’t a feeling that allowed him to be wholly excited about the removal of a harmful beast.

For a moment, he recalled.

The sensation of thrusting his sword into that magical beast with wild abandon in the depths of the woods.

The feeling of steel biting into flesh was unique, and the remnants of it still remained fresh in his palm.

The sensation of taking a life.

While he thought that sooner or later, he’d forget that feeling,

He imagined that time would indeed wash away these burdensome emotions flooding his chest.

A feeling he had never known until coming into this other world.

What could be done until the day he forgot that?

“Subaru.”

“Yeah?”

Caught off guard by the voice, he turned around.

What did Emilia see as she approached her distant, blurry vision?

She’d brushed back her silver hair and walked towards the window to pull open the curtains.

The sunlight that had been obscured rushed into the room, catching her silver hair in a swirl of light, gently drawing Subaru’s attention to that scene.

Then, as Subaru fell silent, Emilia smiled softly and said,

“On our date day, let’s bring along a bouquet.”

“—Okay.”

Receiving that smile, Subaru felt that he was left awestruck as he covered his face with his hands.

Until the day he forgets, he thought he’d engrave that moment firmly in his heart.

It felt hypocritical, teetering over sentimental feelings, yet he believed it wasn’t wrong.

Emilia’s smile felt like it affirmed that certainty.

As the hours ticked by, the two of them shared laughter together.

　At long last, the fifth morning sun rose, softly illuminating the two of them.