Chapter 33: I Absolutely Must Kill You, and I Absolutely Must Save You
[[ The screen went dark, indicating that Subaru had fallen asleep.
However, what puzzled everyone was that usually, when Subaru slept, the scene would skip. This time, it didn't.
Simultaneously, the screen was filled with screams, the clanking of chains, and the sound of gushing blood. ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"Natsuki is having a nightmare?"
Anastasia guessed.
"The dream is filled with the little guy's tragic experiences, so it seems like he's having a nightmare."
Felt agreed.
"Subaru..."
If Betty were there, she could try to comfort Subaru, but I'm not present.
"Repeatedly cutting ties, being killed by those he trusted... these have really caused Subaru significant psychological trauma."
Julius said softly.
"Ah, no. The nightmare seems to be subsiding!"
Otto reminded everyone.
[[ In the scene, hands faintly appeared, but they were too blurry to distinguish whose they were.
..... .....
"...How long are you going to keep sleeping soundly? It's the agreed time, so Betty had to come over even if she was unwilling. You're really quite leisurely, aren't you?"
The screen lit up, and Beatrice woke Subaru up in the Forbidden Library.
"Huh? I actually slept through the crucial fourth day, I'm truly a fool who doesn't know what's good for him... Uh, Beatrice, although I think it's impossible, I'll ask anyway, did you hold my hand while I was sleeping?"
"That's really impossible, I suppose. Even if it were Brother's request, Betty would refuse." ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"Lies, I suppose! Though you may be another me, Betty won't be deceived, in fact!"
Beatrice retorted inwardly.
"Has that day arrived? I have to say, While Subaru's strategy granted him survival… the core crisis remains unresolved..."
"Ain't that the truth, bought time ain't the same as bought solutions."
Julius and Anastasia said.
"Then, according to what the boss said, when th'boss had that nightmare, someone grabbed his hand, yeah? Gotta be Emilia-sama, right?"
Garfiel scratched his head, grinning.
"That's indeed very possible, Frankly, I'd wager she's the only one who could've reached him in that state."
Otto agreed with Garfiel.
[[ Subaru stayed in Beatrice's Forbidden Library. Since Subaru had only learned the "I-characters" of this world's script, Beatrice even gave him a book of I-characters.
..... .....
After an unknown amount of time, Beatrice sensed something and spoke to herself:
"...They're calling. They're calling Betty. Hmm? Oh, right, you're here. I forgot, I suppose."
"You can forget someone even when they're right in front of you, that's a terrible joke, even if it's a joke."
"There's a more urgent matter to attend to—Brother is calling Betty."
Beatrice finished speaking and intended to go outside.
Subaru quickly tried to stop her:
"Hey, hey, wait! If you go out now..."
"You can stay here. As long as you stay here, you'll be safe, I suppose."
Beatrice left.
Subaru walked to the large door and also wanted to open it. He hesitated.
"Ah, damn it, what's the big deal about something this small!"
Subaru encouraged himself, opened the large door, and then the dazzling sunlight poured into the room. ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"Hoh? So he actually made it through?"
Anastasia said.
"The little guy finally broke the curse of not surviving this day."
Felt said.
"No... While that may be true, Ram feels something is amiss..."
The pink-haired maid's brow furrowed as she stared intently at the screen with some unease—
[[ "Ha, haha..." Subaru in the scene couldn't help but laugh.
"Haha, what is this, something like this... So easy, haha..."
Then, Emilia's appearance interrupted Subaru's solitary joy.
"Emilia?"
"Subaru, where did you go?"
"No, I..."
"Because... No, let's not talk about that first. Anyway... just come with me."
"Where are we going... Hey, listen to me, Emilia-tan. The results I've achieved now, I worked very hard to..."
"Ahhh!!"
A scream echoed through the mansion.
Ram's scream.
Following Emilia, Subaru saw the dead Rem. ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"Huh... strangely satisfying."
Al muttered under his breath, barely audible.
Ram's fingers dug into her sleeves as realization struck.
"Rem... Rem! Could it be... In the first few loops yesterday, Barusu and Rem went to Arlam Village to purchase supplies, and Barusu was bitten by a magic beast, leading to his death. Now, without Barusu accompanying her, the magic beast's target has become..."
Her voice threatened to crack, but she forcibly steadied it.
Although she felt grief emotionally, she knew rationally that this was not a tragedy that had happened in her world. She used reason to restrain her emotional grief and spoke as normally as possible.
"I agree with Ram-sama's judgment..."
Julius responded in a low voice.
"Uh..."
The two Rems saw their first death on screen and didn't react as strongly, instead being stunned for a moment.
The thought "Good riddance" flashed through their minds.
Perhaps thinking this way could alleviate some of the guilt...
No, how could Rem think that?
Rem had already seen how sad her Sister-sama was after she died, how could she think that? She couldn't make the same mistake again.
[[ "Don't touch her! Don't touch... Don't touch Ram's sister."
Ram in the scene roared at Subaru, who wanted to approach.
"Although asking this might not be appropriate... but, guest, could it be that you~ know something~?"
"Wh-why are you asking me... this?"
Roswaal questioned Subaru.
"...Subaru."
Emilia looked at Subaru, seemingly pleading for him to say something.
"...If you know anything, tell us."
Subaru seemed to want to run away, and Ram used a wind blade to scratch Subaru's face. ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"Subaru-kun... Sister-sama..."
Rem bit her lip, wanting to speak but unable to.
Rem... Rem is useless, she hurt Subaru-kun again, and made Sister-sama sad...
"Mr. Natsuki must want to reveal everything now. But he can't say it."
Otto sighed.
"It's really too frustrating."
Al said softly.
"Please don't look at Subaru with that kind of gaze anymore... He can't give any answers..."
Emilia sadly looked at herself on the screen, who was giving Subaru a pleading look.
"Ram-sama is using a wind blade to pressure Mr. Natsuki... Ah, it's Beatrice-sama!"
[[ "...It's Betty's principle, a promise must be kept, I suppose."
Beatrice appeared and used her hand to block the wind blade Ram had sent out, protecting Subaru.
"Beatrice-sama"
"Subaru, please. If you can save Ram, if you can save Rem... Please."
Emilia expressed her trust in Subaru and pleaded for him to say something.
"I'm sorry..."
Subaru turned and ran outside.
"Subaru!!"
"...I'm going to kill you!" ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"Subaru... ran away..."
Julius stated the fact with a heavy heart.
"Boss is headin' straight for the goddamn cliff edge!"
Garfiel's shout cracked mid-sentence.
"Cliff..."
Cliff? Ah, yes, that's right, jump down, end this terrible world, it's for your own good, Barusu.
Ram knew that she shouldn't think this way inwardly, but... hurry up and jump down, end this world that is bad for everyone.
[[ "Cliff..." Subaru looked at the cliff and muttered, his knees trembling.
"Just, just one step... I can't even do something this simple..."
The screen turned dark again. ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"Did Mr. Natsuki jump?"
Otto asked.
"No."
Wilhelm looked directly at the screen—
[[ "...You've finally woken up, I suppose." The screen lit up again, it was already dusk. Beatrice had woken up Subaru.
"Why..."
"What are you saying, I suppose?"
"Why did you come here? I..."
"Betty has a contract with you, it's to protect your life, I suppose. If the contract partner shows such an ugly appearance and jumps off a cliff to commit suicide, it would affect Betty's reputation, I suppose."
"Bodyguard... We should have agreed that it would only be until this morning."
"...Betty doesn't remember discussing a deadline, you misunderstood, I suppose. And, if you were to die where Betty could see you, Betty wouldn't be able to sleep well, I suppose. So if you want to escape, then Betty will help you escape outside the territory. Alright, staying like this has no meaning, I suppose. Get up quickly before you're discovered." ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"Whoa! Never figured Beako'd turn out ta be such a good child! Makes a guy all misty-eyed, ya know?"
Garfiel scratched his head before nodding vigorously.
"Who are you calling a child, I suppose."
"Betty..."
Emilia looked at Beatrice.
Whether it was me, or Rem, or others, we all did things that made Subaru sad, but only Beatrice...
"Beatrice-sama..."
Compared to Rem, Beatrice-sama is indeed more suitable...
"Next, Subaru will either escape from here, or..."
Julius looked at the cliff in the scene—
[[ In the scene, Beatrice reached out her hand to Subaru.
Subaru held her hand, stood up, and confirmed the sensation...
"Hey, hey. You, what are you suddenly doing... Why are you rubbing Betty's palm, I suppose?"
"Hand, when it's held, feels like this... You, did you hold my hand just now?"
"...It's truly a lifelong regret, I suppose. Because you looked so miserable and pathetic when you were sleeping, I suppose."
It seemed that Subaru had fallen asleep after just arriving at the cliff, and Beatrice had noticed the uneasy Subaru and held his hand.
"Someone... held both my hands... Ram, Rem." ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"Whoa! This mighty warrior totally thought it'd be Emilia-sama! Didn't see the twin maids comin'!"
Garfiel was slightly surprised, but thinking about it, it made sense.
"So in that nightmare... it wasn't a single hand he felt, but two. That changes things."
Otto said.
"Wow, boss seems to have made some kind of decision!? Wait, Ram is here!"
[[ "I finally found you—I absolutely won't let you escape again."
Ram arrived.
Beatrice and Ram faced off, one determined to kill Subaru, the other determined to protect him.
In this tense situation—
"Pull."
Subaru grabbed Beatrice's curly hair, pulled, and then let go.
"Hmm, feels good."
"You, you, you, you... What are you doing?! In this situation, you, do you want to die, I suppose!?"
"Don't be silly, I don't want to die at all. Death, really, is something you only need to experience once at the very end of your life. I truly believe that."
Subaru said as he walked in front of Ram.
"...How audacious. Have you finally come to seek death? Barusu." ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"Hell yeah! The boss finally cracked the code! Now what's gonna—"
"Subaru has made up his mind."
Julius bowed to his friend in his heart, showing his respect.
"His aura is different... Rem's hero has truly stood up!"
[[ "I'm sorry, I was too useless and made you so sad." Subaru said to Ram.
"You really do know something about Rem..."
"No, I'm sorry, I really don't know about that. To be honest, there are too many things I don't know. But... now I want to know these things I don't know."
"—What are you saying now? Rem is already dead! The situation cannot be reversed! Even if you investigate something now, what good would it do?"
Ram didn't seem to take Subaru's words seriously, but of course, she had no idea what Subaru was truly expressing.
"I won't pretend to be cool and say I can do something. Because I truly didn't do anything, which led to this tragic situation. My words lack conviction, I know that best myself."
"What do you know about Ram and Rem?!" ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"What do you know about Subaru!?"
Beatrice roared with the same anger as Ram in the scene.
"Uh... I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself, I suppose."
Beatrice looked at the people who were looking at her and closed her mouth.
[[ "Yes, you're right, I'm completely ignorant of the crucial issues. But... you don't know either, do you?"
"Know what?"
Subaru and Ram spoke back and forth.
"I! Love you guys the most—!"
Subaru shouted as he turned and ran towards the cliff—
"...This is something only I can do!"
"I absolutely must kill you!!"
Ram roared.
"I absolutely must save you!!"
Subaru shouted.
Finally, Natsuki Subaru breathed his last.
The screen went dark. ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"Hmm..."
The knights stood up in unison and performed a knight's bow.
"Subaru-kun, he definitely can..."
Rem was moved by the previous scene.
Everyone began to look forward to how Subaru would defy fate, and then—
"Look closely at the possibilities of other worlds/—"