4
“Honestly, that was very scary. But you asked, so Betty held it in.”
“Master’s a man who can’t die. I wasn’t worried at all. If anything, I thought kiddo number two would explode into a million pieces the moment she stood behind him.”
“Aghhh…”
Seeing them slowly walk up the stairs, Meili flushed red in the face, and she flapped her mouth a couple times as she struggled to find the words.
Subaru waved at the two joining them.
“Hey, thanks for the support. It was a relief not having to worry about anything falling through the cracks.”
“Even if it was you asking, Betty isn’t sure if she would forgive you if you really did fall. So consider yourself lucky.”
Beatrice was hiking her dress up as she climbed the stairs. Behind her was Shaula, with her hands clasped behind her head. Subaru had asked them to stand by on the bottom floor.
“Wh-wh-wh…m-mister? What are they…?”
Meili spun toward Subaru. She looked stunned and possibly like she wanted to complain about him not mentioning them before.
“I mean…” Subaru crossed his arms. “Planning to jump after you was a cool plan and all, but even a small mistake would mean we’d both die, right? That’s a little too dangerous.”
“B-but that’s why you had her watching out for me, right…?”
“I know Emilia-chan is way more powerful than she looks, with her crazy cuteness and everything, but there’s always a chance things could go sideways. It wouldn’t be funny if she ended up getting dragged down with us, too.”
In fact, at the end of the last loop, the two of them had fallen to their deaths together. He had held on to her, but he couldn’t save her. And that memory was like a splinter that jabbed deep into his heart.
“To make sure that worst case didn’t happen, I made some extra arrangements. With Beatrice and Shaula watching from below, I thought that would be enough to be absolutely sure.”
“You went that far? …There must have been an easier, smarter way.”
Meili averted her eyes. Her shame at having some of her secret revealed was fading, but in its place was an overwhelming sense of embarrassment.
“Yeah, true.” Subaru scratched his cheek. “I’m sure there was an easier, smarter way to do this. But…”
“But?”
“In my mind, doing things the easy way usually means there’s a compromise involved, and doing things smarter makes it sound like something a scheming neighbor might do. I… Well, I just didn’t want to compromise or resort to tricks.”
Meili almost closed her eyes, and she bit her lip ever so slightly.
Watching her with an awkward smile, Subaru clenched his fists. He wanted to fix everything. Wished he could fix everything.
Subaru wanted to do everything he could.
“And that’s why I asked Emilia-chan, and why I didn’t hesitate to ask the others for help, either.”
“Mm-hmm. That’s right. I was surprised when Subaru brought this up,” Emilia said. She peered at Subaru while still resting her chin on Meili’s shoulder and hugging her from behind.
“But I could tell immediately he was really serious. Plus…”
“What?”
“I was glad that you came to me for help. You always plan to settle everything by the time I realize what’s going on.” When she smiled at him, her purple eyes took Subaru’s breath away. His cheeks tensed while Emilia’s expression softened as she nodded. “So, I was happy that you came to me from the start this time and we had a chance to think it over together. Hee-hee. It’s a little strange.”
“…Not much point in saying it now, but I’m pretty pissed at the old me. But getting to see your face and hear your voice right now is something only I get to do, so I guess I got the better end of the deal…? What do you think, Emilia-chan?”
“Sorry, I don’t really know what you’re talking about.”
Subaru’s shoulders slumped as she ignored his rambling with a smile. The two climbing the stairs finally joined the three at the top.
“It’s a relief that nothing happened.”
“That’s a misleading way of putting it. Considering all the changes in Meili’s mindset…is that really nothing?”
“Oooh, that’s Master for ya! No clue what the heck you’re saying, but when it comes to things that feel meaningful, you’re the best!”
“Do you actually respect me?”
One explanation was that Shaula was reflexively impressed by anything he said, but when he mentioned wanting to help Meili, she had been the first to agree. There was a part of him that felt like she would support just about anything he proposed, but it was also true that just having her be there was a huge help.
“Umm, Beatrice…are you not…mad at me?”
“Of course Betty is mad. But your plot was stopped before Betty snapped and had to step in. And there’s also the incident in the desert to consider, so let’s say you’ve broken even.”
“………”
“However! That only covers what has happened on this trip. There is still your crime of burning down Betty’s archive in the old mansion. So long as that remains, Betty will not forgive you for now.”
Crossing her short arms, Beatrice answered Meili with a stern look. Meili caught her breath, but Emilia started giggling.
“It might’ve been hard to make out, but Beatrice just said, ‘for now.’ If you’re a good girl, she’ll forgive you. She’s really nice.”
“Emilia! Don’t say things like that!”
Emilia simply laughed while Beatrice went red when her stern demeanor’s soft underbelly was revealed.
“…I’ll be as careful as I can be…,” Meili answered quietly.
Subaru nodded, pleased with how things were turning out.
This is enough to say I’ve finally made some real progress, right?
At the very least, he had managed to stop the girl who felt compelled to kill him. But progress alone wasn’t enough. There was more than one tragedy lurking in wait in this tower…
“—Is this really okay, Master?”
“Huh?”
While he was thinking, Shaula casually chimed in.
Her eyes narrowed as she stood next to him, watching Emilia, Beatrice, and Meili’s exchange.
“She tried to kill you. Are you really going to let her off scot-free?”
That’s a heavy question… But yeah, I’m fine with it. If you’re talking punishment, Meili already had one. But why should she have to be punished? No one ever taught her any better. That’s what I’m going to teach her now.”
“You said it already, but what if she tries to kill you again?”
“That would mean I’m a pretty awful teacher. But I’m not going to be doing it alone, either.”
That was his answer.
Even in ideal circumstances, it would be hard for him to instill a new set of values in a girl who’d been raised to be an assassin from a young age, especially all by himself. If he was being honest, Subaru doubted he could carry such a heavy burden.
But he wasn’t alone. He had relied on the others to stop Meili’s assault. And he would have Emilia and Beatrice with him in the future, too.
“Of course, I’m going to count on your help, too, Shaula. When it comes to changing hearts and minds, that’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
“…Me too?” Shaula pointed at herself in surprise.
“Yeah, obviously. You…well, with you, you’re probably more of an example of what not to do, but I’m not gonna leave you out of the group. You’ve got a motherly figure, so it’d be good if you could work on getting through to Meili’s stubborn heart,” Subaru said with a casual shrug.
He was left wondering what was so surprising about that, but since Shaula overreacted all the time, he just wrote it off as another one of her episodes and didn’t think too hard about it.
Shaula squeezed her face in her hands.
“Me too? Me…and Master… Eh-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee…”
“Uh…what’s up with you…?”
“Nothing! I decided! I’m gonna raise kiddo number two into a proper person, just like you told me to, Master!”
Her face suddenly brightened, and Shaula rushed over to the three of them. Lifting Meili’s little body up, she hugged the girl tightly to her voluptuous bosom.
“Gahhh?! Wh-what is it? Don’t surprise me like that!”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Just rely on me all you want, kiddo number two. My chest belongs to Master, but for now, I’ll share it with you, too!”
“Umm, mister?! You said something weird to her again, didn’t you!” Meili raised her voice accusatorily as Shaula did whatever she pleased.
“Just think of it as the punishment for making everyone worry and indulge her.”
“…Sheesh, you’re all so hopeless. Fine, I’ll allow it. But don’t tell anyone else about what happened here.”
Meili’s cheeks puffed out as she was enveloped by Shaula’s breasts.
However, Subaru scratched his head awkwardly at her answer. Her brow furrowed at that, and Emilia spoke up for him.
“Umm, Meili…it’s really hard to say this, but…”
“…I have a bad feeling about this.”
Whether her premonition was on the mark was easy to tell from her reaction to what Emilia was about to say…
“Subaru also asked Ram and the others who aren’t here to help you.”
The way Meili’s face puckered up was almost impressive.
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