Everything within the white world vanished.
His frozen body melted, or perhaps it was smashed to pieces; either way, it was a certainty that he would not remain frozen for an eternity.
Leaving behind his body at that ending, he was now fine.
He clearly understood only one thing.
Repeating, repeating, each time he knew that only a cruel end awaited him, and each time he repeated it he only made the situation worse. And, finally, he had broken that which he wanted to protect most, it was because of that that he realized it.
――Natsuki Subaru had no hope in anyone, not even himself.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
He abruptly felt the sensation of his senses returning after death, and was reminded that no matter how many times he felt the sensation he would not be able to get used to it.
The coldness that had permeated throughout his body’s core and the white darkness that had surrounded him were gone.
Everything had vanished, and now he was abruptly surrounded by good weather. In the blink of an eye everything had returned to how it was before.
Additionally, the blood that had flowed from his tormented limbs and the pain that had overwhelmed his nerves had been forgotten and replaced with how he usually felt. The cold that had pierced his skin was gone, and instead sunlight and humidity that made him want to roll up his sleeves surrounded him.
???: “――――”
???: “――hm”
???: “――――ah”
The hustle and bustle of the crowd flew at him from his left and right, refusing to go easy on his newly revived sense of hearing.
While unable to discern anything from the noise, Subaru confirmed that his arms and legs moved. His arms that had been held down by two sheets of ice, his right foot that had had a needle inserted through it, and his left leg which had burst open after ice had been pile-drived into it, were all safe. He stepped on the firm ground, and he clenched his fist hard.
Everything was as it had been before. The control of his body that he had lost had returned, causing a sense of relief to flow through Subaru.
But more than anything else――
???: “Subaru-kun, you looked dazed. Did something happen?”
Tilting her head slightly to the side on the other side of the counter, his worries cleared as he saw the blue-haired girl.
Everything had been lost, he had been hit by a sense of hopelessness, he had felt dismay over his mistakes and despair over the loss he felt, and without a choice he had died in vain,
Subaru: “Rem.”
Rem: “Yes, it is Subaru’s Rem… is something the matter?”
He called out in a voice as weak as he felt, and upon hearing it, Rem slipped around the counter. She approached Subaru, who stood still, and extended her hand towards his face, before touching his cheek.
With an anxious frown, and sorrow floated up on Rem’s well-shaped face.
Rem: “I’m sorry, I did not notice. You’re worn out, aren’t you? I was so immersed in this job that I forgot about my job as a servant. Rem is not qualified to be a servant.”
Subaru: “Worn-out… ah, I guess… that’s right.”
He raised his hand and covered the hand Rem had placed on his cheek. Rem raised her eyebrows in surprise at the contact, and Subaru let the haggardness that he had been hiding cut through his face and voice.
Without trying to shift his attention from Rem, who looked like she wanted to say something, he confirmed her existence through his palm――as if clinging to that warmth, as if trying not to let any of it slip away from him.
Subaru: “I lost, I’m worn out… and I’m tired.”
And yet, the girl he had lost was right here.
Rem: “――Subaru-kun?”
――And, without letting go of what was in front of him, Subaru decided.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Quickly walking through the crowd, they went down a gentle slope.
Despite grimmacing at the clouds of dust the dragon carriages passing beside him made, Subaru kept his gaze straight. His gait showed no hesitation as he walked towards the place he had in mind.
Thinking back on it, in these repeating days, Subaru had done nothing but flounder about lost.
He doubted himself, he doubted how Emilia would react, he doubted his reason for living, he doubted whether it was even possible for him to seize his ideal future, he doubted that maelstrom of insanity, he doubted whether he was alive or dead, and if he thought about it further he would doubt why he had even wandered into this world.
However, Subaru had now accepted that which was going to happen, and so he moved forward with an unprecedentedly clear wish.
He had finally been able to understand it.
Looping, repeating these days, was not futile.
In the third world, Subaru had, both physically and mentally, experienced what it truly meant to be driven into a corner, and that experience had taught him something.
Subaru could do it.
Subaru had to do it.
Rem: “――-kun!”
His vision had been cleared of any doubt, and now he fixedly stared forward towards his goal, kicking his feet against the ground with firm steps.
His body felt light. The heavy weight on his heart had been released, and now Subaru had nothing to fear.
Rem: “Subaru-kun, please listen to me.”
Pulling her arm, the downward slope ended and they reached the Main Street――they faced the road that was boasted as the largest in the Royal Capital. They cut through the crowd of swaying people, going against them as they advanced.
He remembered there being a road nearby, and so Subaru’s speed increased. He breathed impatiently, and then his gait changed when the light bouncing off his body stopped.
Having suddenly entered the shade, Subaru looked up to find the cause of it.
Directing his gaze upwards, his entire field of vision was covered by the wall that surrounded the Royal Capital, specifically, they were at the part of the wall that connected the inside and outside, the main gate――etched into the wall above it were letters he could not read. However, among the assortment of «Ha characters» and «Ro characters», he saw «The Royal Capital of Lugunica» written, which was something he had been taught how to write.
Basically, Subaru――no, the two figures had been going towards the Royal Capital’s main gate.
Rem: “――Subaru, kun!”
Stopping her feet, the person who had slowly stopped yelling aggressively shook Subaru’s hand off of her arm. Now that their connection to each other had been severed, Subaru had no choice but to stop walking.
Stopping in his tracks, Subaru turned his head and stared at Rem, who’s pupils shook with bewilderment.
Rem: “What’s going on? Did something happen? Please, talk to me…”
Grabbing her right arm with her left hand, she pleaded with him from the depths of her small body.
Hearing her words, Subaru agreed that her doubts made sense. From her perspective, the situation had abruptly become strange and Subaru had aggressively grabbed her and ran off. Furthermore, along the way he showed no signs of explaining anything, if anything, it would have made more sense if she had gotten angry earlier.
Subaru: “Ah, my bad, Rem. I just got a little impatient. I just kinda totally forgot. Sorry for not explaining it.”
Rem: “Geez, how troublesome. I want Subaru-kun to share his every thought with Rem, but you didn’t even share a single word… I didn’t really dislike you being so aggressive, though.”
Slapping both her cheeks with her hands, the slightly red-faced Rem let out a sigh of relief.
Hearing Subaru’s voice return to its usual calmness made it seem as if her fears about his strange behavior were nothing more than a baseless worry.
It seemed that even she could not understand his worries.
Immedietaly after using «Return by Death» there was a period of several seconds that must have seemed especially strange to outsiders wherein Subaru could not understand his bodily sensations.
In truth, while the period of time that Rem experienced was «Several Seconds», the period of time that Subaru experienced was «Several Days».
Furthermore, within those «Several Days» he had piled up three deaths that had formed his current self. Additionally, if he were to now calmly look back on everything, he would find that Subaru’s thoughts from that time were so gloomy that he would want to avert his gaze.
He had made a fool of himself at the Royal Selection, he had been half-killed by Julius at the training grounds, he had created a fatal gap between Emilia and him, and he had lost sight of why he had been left at the Royal Capital.
He had spent his time idly at Crusch’s mansion, wondering what he could do, feeling like he had to do something, and it was around the time that he had stopped searching for an answer that he found one.
With that, Subaru’s hesitation was literally blown away in the blink of an eye. From Rem’s perspective, it must have been the best possible outcome.
Subaru: “I’m sorry that I made you worry. Everything’s okay now. I’ve been beaten and humiliated, I’ve been shown what a disgraceful fool I am, and now I get it.”
Rem: “No. Whatever Subaru-kun is thinking will not bring Rem any worry… You finally understand, right?”
Looking into Subaru’s hesitation-less eyes, Rem responded in an energetic voice.
It had been a long time since they had talked like this, and Subaru could not conceal the small joy he felt from that.
So, answering the doubts Rem posed at the end of her sentence, Subaru nodded with a, “Well,”
Subaru: “All kinds of troubles keep leading me off course, and all kinds of troublesome people keep making me feel sorry for myself, and yet finally I’ve understood why I keep going in circles. No, I could see it from the start, but I guess I just had to be shown how to do it… I’ve always hated giving up.”
Rem: “I think that’s a wonderful part of Subaru-kun but…”
Subaru gave a bitter smile at Rem’s short vague response.
He turned to look up at the sky, and he let the height of it pour into his eyes. The fact that Subaru only ever looked down must have been terribly frustrating for the world.
But, he had decided to make these sorrowful times come to an end.
The answer had always been right before his eyes.
No matter what kind of thing he was facing, no matter how recklessly he was fighting, no matter what kind of foolish action he was running from, it always stayed right behind him without complaint.
Yes,
Subaru: “I’ve decided, Rem.”
Extending his arm straight forwards, he stared at the girl standing before him.
With her blue hair gently swaying in the wind, Subaru saw himself reflected in her transparent blue eyes.
Her small body was covered by a primarily black maid dress that was not covered in unnecessary decorations and her personality could be said to be the embodiment of nobility. A white prim adorned the top of her blue hair, and her well made facial features made it seem as if she had been delicately sculpted to be a charming girl.
Rem: “What is it, Subaru-kun?”
Drawing her pink lips into a smile, she gently pulled her eyes into narrow arcs.
Her resounding sweet voice was so full of love that it made his brain feel like it was going to melt. Subaru was willing to go anywhere on the planet if it meant he could try to sink into that alluring voice.
Subaru: “First, we should rent a dragon carriage. We’ll probably have a little trouble getting one with the crowds from the Royal Selection, but there should be a little more space tomorrow afternoon.”
A dragon could move his legs fast and his body had lots of stamina.
He could run and run if it was necessary. Day and night, nimbly and lightly, without taking an unnecessary day off he could run.
Rem: “A dragon carriage…?”
Tilting her head slightly, Rem repeated a word Subaru said.
With doubt floating in her eyes, Rem urged Subaru to reach his conclusion as he spoke slightly too fast.
However, Subaru seemed to not notice her confusion and continued excitedly talking,
Subaru: “We should probably get the dragon carriage around the time we eat, and now that I think of it we should probably stock up on provisions at the same time, too. Ah, but I’m not very good with dry and tasteless food. Well, if we get food then all we need is water.”
Coming from the period where compulsory education was very hands-on, he had actually tried both preserved food and simple travel rations before, and associated with that experience was a disgusting memory of the food being «Unacceptable».
That experience had come from his original world where seasoning was common, so preserved foods in this world must taste even worse.
Subaru: “Oh! But there might actually be some kind of magic that makes preserved foods taste good…!? And if we make some mayonnaise too… surprisingly enough, I might actually be looking forward to this…”
Rem: “Um, Subaru-kun?”
Subaru: “Huh, oh, sorry, my thoughts ended up going in a bit of a weird direction. What is it?”
Having gotten the conversation back on track, Rem saw Subaru pull his lips into a gentle smile. Bending forward slightly, he lowered himself to match the height of her gaze.
That energetic behavior of Subaru made Rem want to keep silent, but, with trembling lips, she shook off her hesitation,
Rem: “Um, I’m sorry. I’m sure it’s a result of Rem’s lack of attentiveness, but what is it that Subaru-kun wants to do? Um, I’m not sure…”
Subaru: “Aah! So that’s it, my bad! I’m sorry, I totally didn’t notice! I just started talking about my plans without explaining anything first, how embarrassing!”
Slapping his knee, Subaru forced himself to laugh nonchalantly at his mistake.
And so, after laughing at his mistake for a while,
Subaru: “Now that I think about it, there are a number of details I haven't ironed out yet, but I suppose I have to give you an answer before we leave, huh?”
A bitter smile, it was definitely a bitter smile.
It was bitter. He had reflected on his regrets. It had caused him to shed unreasonable and uncertain tears, he had been cruelly toyed with by fate, and both him and the ground had been covered in blood.
The answer to everything, was something he now clearly saw.
Subaru: “Rem.”
Calling out her name, Subaru slowly extended his arm towards her.
Looking at his presented hand, Rem awaited Subaru’s next words. Subaru slowly thought over what words to place on his tongue in order to satisfy her――,
Subaru: “Run away with me. To the ends of the Earth.”
He plainly admitted that he had been defeated by fate.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Rem: “...Huh?”
Not being able to understand the meaning of his words, the only thing that Rem could reply with was a hoarse sigh that leaked from her throat.
While figuring that her reaction was only natural, Subaru shook his head,
Subaru: “From here on out I’m going to leave the Royal Capital and head West… or maybe North. I’ve heard talk that the Southern empire isn’t letting people in, so it isn’t a candidate. And I’m not very good with the cold, so personally I recommend going to the West.”
Rem: “Huh, no, um…”
Subaru: “I’m not sure how far away it is, and making a snap decision to leave for a journey isn’t the best way to ensure a safe journey, I guess. Oh, and we’d have to return the dragon carriage right? So maybe rather than renting a dragon carriage we should buy one?”
He figured it probably followed something like the rental car system back in his old world, but despite being old enough to get his license Subaru knew very little about the subtleties of how everything worked. Last time, he had not accompanied Rem when she had rented the dragon carriage, so he did not know if she had presented some kind of document there.
Alternatively, it didn’t seem likely that they could steal a dragon carriage, so maybe he would have to cleverly make false documents――,
Rem: “P, please wait!”
And so, Rem put a stop to Subaru’s brooding.
She held her palm out towards him and a strange impatient expression floated up onto her face.
Rem: “When you said ‘run away’... what did you mean by that? And just now it sounded like Subaru-kun was talking about leaving Lugunica and going to another country…”
She was unable to hide the doubt in her words as she spoke, and then she let an “Ah,” leak as her facial expression brightened,
Rem: “Could it be that you thought of something amazing again? In order to help Emilia-sama and Roswaal-sama you…”
Subaru: “That’s wrong, Rem.”
Rem: “Wha――”
She was doing it in order to cling to it. She was hoping that Subaru’s words had some kind of true meaning hidden behind them in order to keep believing in her image of the future.
However, Subaru calmly shook his head at her words, and he clearly denied them,
Subaru: “You heard what I said: I’m running away. I can’t do anything by staying here in the Royal Capital. That said, I would also be powerless if I returned to the mansion. ――I’ve come to understand that.”
His powerlessness, the meaninglessness of it, the world’s unreasonableness, all these things weighed heavily on Subaru’s body.
However, if he were to try and deny it, it would only twist around him further, yet if he recognized the unshakable truth, he didn’t know what would happen to himself.
Subaru: “So, run away with me, Rem. We can’t stay here. Everyone, each and every one of them just keeps talking about me. When I noticed it, I frantically tried to deny it, but… Oh, so that’s it. I’m, weak. Everyone’s saying those things about me, but I can’t do anything about it.”
He was conceited.
He had been misunderstanding it. And in his misunderstanding, he had gotten carried away.
When he had fallen into this world, even if it was just a little bit, he had felt like he had been given the power to start his fate over again. And then he had gotten lucky twice, but looking back on it, he realized that the actions he thought were saving people were actually just mistakes.
He thought he had the power to save people, but he now knew that he did not even have the qualifications to do so.
Rem: “That’s…”
Subaru: “I don’t have what it takes. There, I said it plainly. And I’ll keep saying it.”
Someone like you, can’t understand it.
In the first world, Subaru ignored Emilia’s wishes and rushed out of Crusch’s mansion. He ignored Rem’s words after she left and thus brought about a catastrophe.
In the second world, Subaru paid the price for creating such a spectacle, but he was brought back from his escapism after Rem bravely threw away her life, and yet still he failed to save anyone.
In the third world, Subaru brought about an even more abhorrent result. The travelling merchants were all lost in an accident while on the road, Rem was swallowed up by the White Whale, and Emilia was killed by his own doing. Because of that, Puck slaughtered the Witch Cult, and after Subaru’s death, if he truly did turn that fury towards the rest of the country, the damage must have been unlike anything thus far.
If we go further back, to a time before the place Subaru was restarting from, to the King’s Selection in the Royal Castle――at that place he wasn’t even able to be someone who could stand by Emilia’s side and be helpful to her.
Rather than standing by her side, he had only cut into her conversation, and then, while he was supposed to be recovering, he had been completely beaten down by the other candidate’s knights. Afterwards, his relationship with Emilia had fallen apart, and he understood that he had severely hurt her with his words.
Subaru: “...Heh.”
A laugh burst out of his throat.
Now that he was thinking back on it, it was kind of hilarious. His actions, his thoughts, calmly looking back on them now, it all seemed like the god of evil had orchestrated it all.
――He did it for her sake? He did it to save them? Everyone else was useless?
What lies. What misunderstandings. Oh, what arrogance it was.
From Emilia’s point of view, Subaru’s current actions were bad, and thinking about it, if he continued trying he would only betray her heart and wound her. Dragging Rem around and causing her to die everytime was nothing but foolishness.
Everyone else assuredly understood this.
But everyone must have seen Subaru’s actions as insignificant. As nothing. “Your power is insignificant,”; “Stay out of it,”; “Get lost,” were all things they had said.
But Subaru knew more than anyone else what the future held. The fact that they lived without being able to know, without understanding it, and without comprehending it was the great difference between Subaru and them.
Hell, why don’t they all try living through a loop first?
Subaru: “Yeah, that’s it, then they all would understand my despair… They all would be shown it.”
How wretched it was. How he couldn’t take anymore of it, and the hopeless misery he felt.
The person who called him a clown and laughed at his resolution, being able to see her behave herself like that would make it worth it. If that happened, Subaru would sit on the sidelines and point and laugh at her antics. ――Of course, he would call her a hopeless fool too.
Subaru: “So, I’ve decided to disappear. It’ll be okay then, it’ll be okay. No matter what I do, the dead bodies… they just keep piling up.”
Corpse, corpse, corpse, corpse, corpse.
The corpse of someone he doesn’t know. The corpse of someone he knows. The corpse of someone important to him. The corpse of someone dearly precious to him. The corpse of someone he believes in. The corpse of someone he thinks he believes in. The corpse of someone he lov――
He was sick of it.
Why did he have to go through this? Why had he not been rewarded already for suffering this much? That he would be rewarded for it, that if he had a goal to accomplish he could do anything, Subaru now realized that those things had been nothing more than pipe dreams.
And yet, even so, he had made a mistake by letting himself hope to change even a mere crumb of that horror.
Subaru: “Let’s run away, Rem. You, me, this place… this country, let’s leave it behind.”
Throwing away everything, ignoring it all, Subaru had decided to go with the option of running.
And so, in this escape, having decided to leave everything behind, he wanted to take the girl before his eyes――Rem――alone with him.
While trying to abandon everything forever, he did not want to let go of just this one thing.
Solitude was scary. Solitude was terrifying. In this wide world, in this world where he did not know anything, where he did not know what answer was the right one, throwing away his protection and running away by himself would mean that he would not be allowed to feel fear.
So, this girl, Rem, was the sole person he hoped would come along with him.
So far throughout these repeating days, this girl alone had remained together with Subaru. His exposed disgraceful behavior, his shameful words and actions, his misdirected way of living, through all these things she was there with him.
Being with that girl was exactly why Subaru was willing to risk everything.
He had repeated these days thrice, and in every world he had let Rem die.
It was for the sake of not letting her die that he could not return to the mansion. Whether she had reached the mansion or was on the way to it, her vibrant life had been scattered as it reached its end.
If he kept her from leaving the Royal Capital would she be okay? No, she wouldn’t be. Even if she was passing time in the Royal Capital, the news of the strange event happening at the Roswaal Mansion would be transmitted to Crusch’s estate, and she would fly out of the Royal Capital to help them.
If something like that happened, there was no way that Subaru would be able to stop her. Subaru alone would be left at Crusch’s mansion and he would only be told of the details after it had all finished.
And then he would have lost everything, the vision of himself as an empty husk was clear in Subaru’s mind.
For the sake of keeping Rem from dying, she had to be kept from learning anything.
If he truly wanted to save Rem, they could not stay here.
Rem: “Doing something like that at such short notice is…”
Despite Subaru’s pleas, Rem slightly shook her head.
Rem’s bewilderment was clear to see within that gesture of denial.
To her, Subaru’s grievances were far too abrupt for her to be able to digest. Above all else, the information Subaru had shared for her to make her decision from was too little.
To abruptly cast everything to the side and run away, was not something she could accept.
But, while understanding how illogical it had to seem, Subaru could not help but want her to agree.
The limit of what he could tell her, was not something that he knew.
He had a feeling that if he told her any more he would infringe upon the Witch’s Curse and regret it.
If something like that happened, he had a feeling that they would fall victim to an irrational fate.
It was a stalemate. He was at a complete loss about what to do. It felt as if his fate had been completely locked into a dead end.
So, Subaru felt as if all he could do was plead with her. All he could do was earnestly plead to her conscience. He knew that it was in bad faith, but he was going to use his knowledge of how much her mind depended on him.
Subaru: “We’re running out of time. I know it’s really hard because it’s so abrupt. I really, really do. From the bottom of my heart, I don’t want to do this to you… But, please, choose me.”
Rem: “Choose…”
Subaru: “Me, or them… you have to choose.”
That the choice was drawing near despite how little information he had given her and how abruptly he had begun talking made him hate both his cowardice and the imminent situation.
However, that Rem was slowly spending time thinking it over was unfavorable to Subaru. Subaru could not say whether he had properly used the current situation to his advantage.
In this situation where time to think was limited, pleading to the one before his eyes whom he depended upon, he wondered what kind of decision Rem would make――there, he stumbled upon a glimmer of success.
A glimmer of success, meaning his dearest wish was perhaps close.
That Rem, that she alone, would not be allowed to escape from Subaru’s depravity was his self-centered wish.
Subaru: “Let’s get a dragon carriage and head towards the west. We’ll leave Lugunica and keep going West… to Kararagi, right? Then, we’ll buy a little house for the two of us to live in.”
Talking fast, Subaru began painting a picture of the future.
A future that was ordinary, gentle, where concepts such as absurdity and cruelty did not exist.
Subaru: “Using the money we got from Roswaal as travelling expenses is kinda bad, but if you’d like we could just say that we’re borrowing it and will return it later. Firstly, after we get settled in, I’ll start working hard… I’ve never really worked before, but it’ll definitely be fine.”
He hadn’t even graduated from high school and had instead become a hikikomori.
He was the kind of person who preferred to stay indoors all day, so he was totally inexperienced when it came to even working a part time job. Since he had come to this world he had worked, but his work in the mansion as an apprentice servant was pretty much just studying with the children.
It was probably going to be nigh impossible to find a job, but even so he was determined to sink his fangs into a job. It would be painful, it would be bitter, but compared to dying it was nothing at all.
The more he thought about it, the more his future seemed to be opening up.
Aiming for a single future, struggling and writhing every day against a horrible disaster, if he turned his back to that, how much happiness there was!
Subaru: “Even if we have to live frugally, if it’s for you I can keep going. If someone is waiting for me at home with a smile, if Rem is waiting for me then no matter how tired I am I can definitely…!”
Running away, leaving everything and everyone behind, if Rem is next to him, then surely he can bear it.
So please, I beg you, there’s nothing I want more――,
Subaru: “Please, choose me… hk!”
As if he was wringing it out, with his hand still held out towards her, he pleaded.
Subaru: “If you choose me, I’ll devote my everything to you. I’ll live my entire life for you. I’ll entirely, I’ll live entirely for your sake… so…”
He couldn’t see Rem’s face.
He did not have the courage to look at her face. Just now, he had used up every bit of courage he had. So surely, absolutely, he was going to be met by a different ending.
Within his timid, cowardly, miserable self, nothing remained.
Subaru: “Let’s run away… please, live together with me… hk!”
You alone must not die, from the bottom of my heart I plead to you.
His craving voice had stopped venting all of his feelings, and now Subaru’s heart was beating quickly and his breathing was rough.
He was so tired it felt like he had just run a marathon, and Subaru was hit with a wave of mental exhaustion hard enough to nearly knock him down. And yet, despite those feelings weighing on Subaru, he was met with silence.
Rem had not answered.
The sounds of the crowd were far away, and he wondered what the people passing by thought of their conversation――trivial things like that did not enter his consciousness.
Unable to bear it any longer, Subaru opened his tightly closed eyelids, and he laid eyes upon Rem’s facial expression.
While bearing the dread that her expression might contain her answer,
Rem: “――――”
In the silence, what Subaru had not seen was that Rem’s lips were tightly closed.
She was trying to keep her expression as blank as possible, and other than her slightly trembling eye brows, she was succeeding.
He understood that doubt, confusion, and hesitation were whirling around within her.
Now, Subaru understood that his words had strongly shook Rem’s mind.
The silence continued for a long time.
Or perhaps it only felt like an eternity. Either way, Subaru’s back felt like it was slowly igniting as impatience built up within him.
However, before long, he was met by the end of that moment.
Rem: “――Subaru-kun.”
Tenderly, Subaru’s name was called in a voice full of love.
That voice, in the moment he heard how it was trembling, Subaru believed that his pleading had reached her.
She had accepted Subaru. She had forgiven his weakness and had accepted everything that held Natsuki Subaru back as a person.
A flood of emotions filled his thoughts. For the first time, he was going to be rewarded.
So, Subaru raised his head,
Rem: “Rem, cannot run away with Subaru-kun.”
With a terribly sad face, Rem rejected his wish.
Rem: “Because,”
Subaru: “――――”
Rem: “When talking about the future, shouldn’t you laugh?”
――With an expression as if she was laughing and crying, Rem spoke the words that Subaru had once spoken.