Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu (LN) - Volume 22 - Chapter 1.5

5

“I never really know what Ram’s thinking, but she’s been more mysterious than usual lately.”

“Mm, I don’t think so. Despite how she seems, she’s surprisingly honest. I think it’s cute how she tries to hide that side of her.”

“You sound like an older sister… Though I guess you are technically older than me.”

“Right. I’m an older sister. Older than everyone here… Well, not everyone…”

“Hmph. Betty is the eldest here. That is a fact that can’t be changed by anyone. Feel free to idolize me.”

Emilia was disappointed she couldn’t claim to be the oldest on the team while Beatrice’s chest swelled with satisfaction, but Subaru honestly didn’t think either of them really exuded the older sister vibe. And exactly who was oldest in the party was a bit of a delicate topic.

“Hmm? What is it, Natsuki? Was there something you wanted to talk about?”

“Not particularly. Just thinking there were a lot of people who don’t really look their age in our group.”

“Oh really? People do tell me that I look a lot younger than I am. It’s a little hard to know if I should be happy about it, but I guess if people are going to underestimate me, I should let them.”

Anastasia flashed a smile that was half joking and half business, but it was unclear how she really felt.

It was true she had a sort of baby face, but that surface-level distinction was not really what Subaru meant. He had been referring to Foxidna, who was inhabiting Anastasia.

If her origin was the same as Beatrice, then she was definitely in the running for oldest being present. But it was a little too big of a secret to reveal in the spur of the moment.

“But there’s another favorite in this race.”

“Hey. What’s up, Master? Tired of the plant smell in the green room? I getcha. Can’t stand that place.”

“Whoa, you’re talking about the spirit that’s gone out of its way to look after Rem and Patlash. Watch your mouth or I’ll shove some grass up your nose.” Subaru put his finger on the tip of Shaula’s nose, pushing her away when she sidled up to him. “More importantly, tell me about this Great Pleiades Library.”

“Mm, right. You hardly explained anything before, but you can tell us more now, right?”

“Sure thing. If Master asks, I can’t say no.” Shaula nodded with a harebrained grin at Subaru and Emilia’s follow-up. Tapping the floor lightly with the toe of her boot, she continued. “Like I said before, this place’s true name is the Great Pleiades Library. The entrance is on the fifth floor, Celaeno, downstairs is the sixth floor, Asterope, and this is the fourth floor, Alcyone. Got it so far?”

“It’s weird for each floor to have its own name, but…yeah, I’m following for now.”

Subaru nodded and took in their surroundings with fresh eyes. At present, they were on the fourth floor—having gone up the spiral staircase one flight from the fifth floor, where the entrance was. And as the green room demonstrated, the tower’s interior changed a great deal starting at the fourth floor.

The most notable difference was that it had stopped being one giant space and was divided up into several separate rooms. The staircase from the fifth floor connected to the center of the fourth floor, and it would take a lot of time to cover the entire floor.

“The fourth floor, Alcyone, is sort of like my lair. It’s pretty messy and all, so it’s a bit embarrassing having people poking around.”

“ ”

“Master, your eyes. You’re seriously scarin’ me. Ah, that! I usually watch the desert from this floor. If anyone tries to get close to the tower, then pa-pa-pa, I shoot ’em all.”

“So that was you…”

He had already pretty much suspected as much, but this confirmed it. The white light from the tower that had killed Subaru twice and split up the team really had been Shaula.

“We had a fairly rough time because of that, you know. What was that all about?”

“Hell’s Snipe. Keeps anything and everything from reaching the tower.”

“…What did you say?”

“Hell’s Snipe.”

Hearing a phrase that sounded so out of place in this world, Subaru’s expression clouded over.

Well, I can understand why you’d go with that name, but what a choice.

“But phew, good thing it didn’t hit you. If the dimension gate hadn’t come undone, I would’ve just kept unloading on you.”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. That’s too many new terms, too fast! Dimension what now?”

“Dimension gate. A trick to keep stuff from reaching the tower.”

Based on context clues, Subaru realized that the dimension gate was what caused space to warp in the sandstorms. Their party had broken through in the end, but—

“Thanks to that, I knew it had to be you, Master. I guess all’s well that ends well. If I had actually hit, even Master would have gotten mad.”

“Ah, yeah, hard to say. It might not have ended with just getting mad.”

He had died twice already from being hit by it, so it was hard to say where exactly he should be on that scale. But Subaru found it strange that he didn’t feel any anger welling up despite standing face-to-face with the person who murdered him. It was sort of like a traffic accident where a third party was at fault. He also felt it was a bit pointless to blame Shaula for what had happened. Ultimately, he ended up somewhere between forgiveness and resignation.

“But wouldn’t he have died if that hit him? So it’s not really a question of getting angry or not.” Meili poked Shaula in the side as she said that.

Shaula simply burst into hearty laughter.

“Pwah-ha-ha-ha! What are you talkin’ about? Master wouldn’t die from something so minor. He’s a strange sort of guy who might not even be able to die.”

“But, you know, all those cute sandworms died…”

“Who cares about sandworms and bears. Master doesn’t die. That’s the important thing. If he died, then he wouldn’t be Master.”

With a hearty smile, Shaula glanced happily over at Subaru. It was an almost childlike innocence and unshakable trust. She had a much sturdier image of Flugel than Subaru had imagined.

If, for some reason, I do anything that betrays her expectations…

That thought sent a chill up Subaru’s spine.

“…If she finds out that you aren’t Flugel, there is no telling what will happen, I suppose.”

“Meaning it would be dangerous to correct her or clear up this misunderstanding…”

Guessing what Subaru was thinking, Beatrice whispered a gentle warning.

The only reason that Shaula was so friendly toward their party—or rather, toward Subaru—was simply because she had decided that Subaru was her master. It was a delicate situation.

“If she turns against us, we’ll have no choice but for Emilia, Julius, you, and Betty to handle her.”

In other words, Shaula was a bomb that could go off anytime for any reason. It was hard to deny that she was an incredibly dangerous person to deal with, but—

“With how openly she acts, it’s hard to hate her…”

So far, Subaru hadn’t been putting much thought into how he interacted with Shaula, but he didn’t hold anything against her. Even after factoring in the two sniping deaths he had experienced, she had saved his life underground. He didn’t think of her as an enemy. It would have been much easier if he was fighting Regulus or Petelgeuse.

“…Remembering those guys really soured my mood. I guess that’s to be expected, but still, it’s more of a familiar hatred.”

“—? What is it, Master?”

“Nothing.”

Thinking about the two loathsome creeps because of Beatrice’s warning, Subaru’s expression had grown severe. When Shaula took a close look at his face, he pushed her away from him.

“But just to be clear, the reason you snipe anyone who tries to reach the tower is because…”

“Because you told me to! Four hundred years spent watching the sands day in and day out. A heartrending tale in the telling and in the listening!”

“How sad…”

Emilia, with her deep reserves of empathy, teared up a bit at Shaula’s emotional answer.

Setting aside that beautiful moment of E M T, Shaula doesn’t seem to feel any remorse or have any doubts about that mission. She isn’t emotionless, though…

“She was just following orders… Feeling pity is as meaningless as asking a tool how it feels about the way it was used.”

“Yeah, right! I’m Master’s tool! That’s a good way to put it, kiddo!”

Shaula flashed a bright smile as if Beatrice’s unsympathetic judgment described it perfectly.

The way her mood and expressions changed so fluidly and her understanding of her place in life—it all pointed to Shaula having a dramatically different set of values. That was probably part of the reason why they kept talking past each other.

“Your view is kind of…wild…in a lot of ways. But we can save that for later. We’re getting way too far off track, so let’s circle back to the main point. You were explaining the tower. We know about floors six through four now, so what about the floors above them?”

“The third floor, Taygeta, is the examination hall. That’s where your right to access the archive is tested.”

“…The archive…”

Subaru clenched his fist.

If the name of the Great Pleiades Library was not a lie, then of course there would be a physical library filled with knowledge. The reason they had passed through the desert should have been waiting for them there.

“Interesting that you call it the examination hall. And the right to enter the archive is also curious phrasing…”

“At present, that is our greatest obstacle.”

As Subaru focused on that term, Julius shrugged. His tone was down, as if ashamed of himself, and he looked up at the ceiling.

The ceiling—or rather, the third floor—where the examination hall Taygeta awaited.

“Ah, I get it. While I was asleep, you all took on the challenge then? Any progress?”

“Sorry to disappoint, but nothing of the sort. With Ms. Shaula’s guidance, reaching the third floor itself was no trouble, but…”

“But?”

“What awaited us there was an impenetrable mystery. To be honest, we’ve been unable to find so much as a clue these past two days.”

Is that just modesty? Well, Julius does hate it when people underrate themselves, and judging from everyone else’s faces, things are not looking good. Most likely, they didn’t manage to get anywhere.

“That said, there is no penalty for attempting the examination and failing. We have gone in and out several times already without any issue… It’s just that we’ve failed every time.”

“I see. So it’s a tough question then… Still, though, an examination, huh?”

“—? Do you have any thoughts?”

Julius raised an eyebrow as Subaru got hung up on something. But what was troubling him was not what Julius might have been hoping.

“No, it’s just that I have a bad experience running around in circles thanks to a different trial. The parallels here made me remember it.”

“I know the feeling. I had the same thought, too.”

Subaru and Emilia’s shared reaction was of course because of the trial they had undergone in a certain tomb in the Sanctuary. Setting obstacles in order to test challengers was the sort of system that nasty Witch would enjoy.

That naturally made Subaru a bit suspicious of Anastasia/Foxidna.

“What? What did I do?”

“…I was just surprised with how knowledgeable you seem that you couldn’t manage to solve it. ‘The accumulated four hundred years of knowledge passed down in Kararagi!’ or something like that.”

“Sorry, I’m not much for stuff beyond business. So if anything, we’re all countin’ on you, Natsuki.”

“Who, me?”

Easily dodging the suspicion he couldn’t detail in the open, Anastasia turned the focus back onto Subaru before nodding and glancing over at Shaula.

“Well, she’s awfully attached to you, so if you bring her along, maybe she’ll let a hint or two slip out, right?”

“Counting on someone else to save you? Is it really that difficult of a problem?”

“More like there are absolutely no clues. Rather than trying to explain, it would be easier if you just see it yourself.”

It was not a good sign that the exam question was so hard that everyone was already looking for a loophole rather than face it head-on.

“Okay, I got it. For now, let’s see what this exam is. If there’s no penalty for failing, then there’s no harm if things don’t work out.”

“Yes, that’s right. Like Lady Anastasia, I have high hopes for you.”

Saying that, Julius led the way as the party prepared to challenge the examination again. Having people pin their hopes on him made Subaru uneasy, but it was a problem that they had banged their heads against for two days without any progress. He had to at least try. But for now…

“Hey, Shaula, you got a moment?”

“—? Subaru?”

Beatrice had a dubious look on her face when Subaru called Shaula over on the way up to the third floor. They were at the back of the line and talking quietly enough that the others could not hear. Shaula was not on guard at all, her scorpiontail swinging as she smiled.

“What is it?”

“You’ll listen to what I tell you, right?”

“Anything too racy is no good, though.”

“Get your mind out of the gutter. You trying to kill the mood?”

“Isn’t that exactly what you’re doing?”

Shaula pouted as Subaru scratched his head, unable to settle into his own pace.

Almost everyone else tended to feel thrown off their rhythm when talking with Subaru, so he often used that to find openings for directing the conversation, but that plan wasn’t working so well with this woman.

“Well, then I’ll just get straight to the point. I have a request, Shaula.”

“Wh-what is it? You look so serious. By any chance, have you falle—?”

“Do not cause any harm to me or my comrades.”

“ ”

“Your master’s order was to attack anyone who approached this tower, right? Since we’re inside now, we should be beyond the bounds of that order. So there’s no need to attack anymore. Do not—I repeat, do not cause us any harm.”

Shaula’s eyes narrowed as Subaru reiterated his request.

Looking her in the eye from that close, he noticed something different about her pupils. She had beautiful green eyes with mysterious small red points of light in the middle.

It was a deep color that almost seemed to draw him in, and he started to forget to breathe—

“Mmm, okay. I’ve memorized that as a new order from Master.”

“…Is that really fine?”

“Fine or not’s got nothing to do with it. Master said it. Nonviolent disobedience.”

“You’re following the order, so it’s obedience, though, isn’t it?”

“My body may be at your service, but you can’t steal my heart!”

Shaula was still wearing a poised expression when Subaru flicked her in the forehead.

“Owww!” Shaula pulled back with teary eyes.

Subaru sighed. It was unclear how effective his request would be, but at least he had tried.

“All that’s left is to trust she’ll keep her word so long as I don’t betray her expectations.”

“In that case, there’s no need to worry. You betray estimations, but you don’t betray expectations.”

“I appreciate that high rating, but I don’t really know what I should work on in this sort of situation…”

Subaru had to live up to the Flugel in Shaula’s mind, but there was no clue how he should behave to pass as someone he knew nothing about.

As of that moment, he couldn’t think of anything other than to perfectly perform his usual role as Subaru Natsuki.

“Oh yeah, Shaula, I have one last question.”

“What’s up?”

She answered with an untroubled, casual response, and Subaru brushed it off as he raised both his hands and then held up six fingers.

“Maia, Electra, Taygeta, Alcyone, Celaeno, Asterope.”

Not understanding what he was saying, Beatrice’s cute face looked troubled. Smiling at her, Subaru showed the fingers to Shaula.

“From top to bottom, those are the names of the floors of the Pleiades Watchtower—or rather, the Great Pleiades Library…right?”

“Correctamundo. The first floor is Maia, and the second floor is Electra.”

“Thought so. In which case…”

Looking at Shaula, who was nodding, Subaru added a seventh finger. After drawing Beatrice and Shaula’s attention to it, he asked his true question.

“Where is Merope?”

“ ”

Shaula fell silent again. But this silence was different from when she was thinking. It was a sign she had been caught off guard. Her breath caught faintly, and Subaru judged he had touched on something important.

“Betty doesn’t understand. What is Merope, Subaru?”

“The last member of a certain group of seven names. It’s weird not to have all seven if we’re talking about the Pleiades.”

The first through sixth floors had been given names. But those names came from a group of seven—the seven Pleiades sisters who appeared in a story about the stars that Subaru knew well.

In which case, there should be another floor named after the seventh sister hidden somewhere, too.

“A seventh floor, or else a zeroth floor? One or the other should exist.”

“Zeroth. It makes sense, since you named them… But it was a place made after you disappeared, so you shouldn’t know where it is.”

Beatrice was shocked when Shaula confirmed Subaru’s supposition. However, Subaru did not feel any sense of accomplishment at uncovering a hidden secret. It was outweighed by acceptance.

“A zeroth floor, meaning it should be above the first… Or no, since you didn’t call the sixth floor the lowest. In which case, it isn’t up, it’s underground—”

“—No good.”

When Subaru tried to confirm its existence, Shaula immediately interrupted him. Subaru caught his breath at the intensity of her tone, but there was no change in Shaula’s face. She was still smiling, and her eyes were filled with trust. But there was a trace of loneliness, too.

“The requirements haven’t been fulfilled yet. You came back to meet me in the middle of your journey, and that’s enough. So the zeroth floor is no good.”

Her tone was not particularly different, but there was something strange about her voice. It almost felt like a wall was going up.

To Subaru’s ears, a trace of danger had seeped in, as if the promise she had just made was being threatened.

“…Got it. I won’t ask anymore. Just keep the promise you made.”

“Roger. I will. You can count on me.”

Shaula broke into a smile, getting excited as if she had already forgotten the floor conversation.

Subaru heaved a sigh of relief when he heard her cheery response coming from behind him.

“Subaru, if it ever becomes too much to bear, you can always talk to Betty.”

“Mm, I’m all right. Just a lot to think about is all.”

Smiling weakly, he patted her head gently. Beatrice didn’t say anything else, but this little ritual of theirs helped Subaru calm down.

The conversation with Shaula and the oddity of the image of Flugel had started to come to light.

It was nothing too unexpected. But he was like Subaru, too.

Subaru, Al, Hoshin, and now Flugel. A being who brought knowledge with him that did not exist in this world, leaving it to later generations. There was, without a doubt, only one explanation.

Flugel was also a stranger in a foreign land, hailing from the same place as Subaru.

“A few hundred years ago, huh?”

Mulling over that long, long span of time, Subaru wildly scratched his head.

What had Flugel thought of this world? What had he hoped, had he sought, had he wanted to gain?

After abandoning the title of Sage, how had he lived in this world?

And while those thoughts filled Subaru’s mind…

“Master.”

“Huh?”

Shaula breezily called out to him. She stopped walking, and a half step later, Subaru stopped as well. Looking back, he was met head-on by Shaula’s smile.

It was a sincerely happy, loving expression.

“Welcome back, Master. From the bottom of my heart, I, Shaula, have always longed for the Sage Flugel’s return.”