[ "What's wrong? Why am I shaking… what is this… Did I, to Emilia… fall for that kind of foolish trick? I should have known, I should have known better…" Subaru reached out and touched Emilia's cheek, waking her up.
"Subaru?" Emilia blinked a few times, confirming her surroundings.
"I was… just here…" Then, Emilia looked at Subaru, a look of confusion crossing her face—
"Subaru, why do you have such a painful expression on your face?"
"Ah, ugh, ah?" Subaru checked himself… and realized he was crying, tears streaming down his face.
"Ugh… ah…" Subaru crouched on the ground, trembling.
"I'm sorry for making you worry. It's okay, it's okay…" Emilia comforted Subaru. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Ah… a total reversal."
Otto said.
"Is this conquering pain with pain? As long as the boss acts like he's in more pain, Emilia-sama will focus all her attention on him."
Garfiel said.
"It must be relief. Crying out of relief."
Yuriusu said.
Seeing that she was his beloved Emilia rather than the Witch of Envy who forced her love upon him, Subaru felt a profound sense of relief from the bottom of his heart.
"By the way, Emilia-sama."
Yuriusu looked toward Emilia.
Emilia understood his look and shook her head, saying:
"It's different from my memory…"
This meant that the hell was not over yet.
—
[ "And so, Emilia-sama brought back the crybaby Barusu. He talked big and rushed in, only to faint again, just as he had during the day, even causing trouble for Emilia-sama, whom Barusu was supposed to help… What does Barusu even live for?" They had returned outside the tomb, and Ram couldn't help but mock him.
"Subaru was worried about me. It's the thought that counts." Emilia said.
Then, she furrowed her brow and continued: "Subaru had good intentions when he ran in to save me, but unfortunately, he accidentally collapsed inside, and afterward, he even started crying out of anxiety…"
"Emilia-tan? Emilia-tan? I'm going to cry again."
"But! Subaru has always been the one helping me lately… so seeing Subaru show weakness like this actually made me feel a bit relieved." Emilia pressed a hand to her chest.
"Hearing Emilia-tan say that makes me not know whether to be happy or embarrassed. Still, I don't really want Emilia-tan to see this side of me. After all, I always want Emilia-tan to see me looking cool. I wish you could forget that I'm actually weak, pathetic, and utterly hopeless."
Hearing this, Emilia put her hands on her hips and puffed out her cheeks, saying: "Honestly. It's just showing a little weakness, isn't it? I won't hate Subaru for that." ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Subaru-kun is not weak, pathetic, or hopeless at all, and…"
And, having Subaru-kun show his weakness to me is Rem's privilege.
Rem thought to herself.
"Though from Emilia's perspective, it indeed seems like Natsuki has always been the one helping her."
Anastasia said.
She had no memory of the actual first meeting where he saved her—and of course, she couldn't have it, as that happened in a discarded world.
Following that, finding the insignia, the curse at the mansion, the Archbishop of Sloth—it was always Subaru helping Emilia.
—
[ "When you rushed in, this great self was panicking, but I'm glad you came back safe. You can't underestimate 'the wind-blown fruit of the Gafga tree falling on its own'! Ow! Hey, wait, that hurts! I said that hurts!"
Garfiel slapped Subaru's shoulder hard, laughing boisterously.
Seeing that Garfiel made no further moves, Subaru asked: "Is that… it?"
"Ah? What else? Don't tell me you want this great self to pat your head and comfort you, you crybaby?"
"Who would benefit from your comfort? Actually, no… never mind." Subaru was slightly surprised. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"…There is no obvious hostility in his eyes."
Wilhelm said.
"Is Tinsel's attitude neutral again this time?"
Anastasia said.
"Oh? If that's the case, then this seems like the best start we've had so far."
Felt said.
Emilia was not completely broken by the trial, at least not on the surface.
Garfiel's attitude was also relatively neutral.
Although this seemed like a good opportunity to break the loop, unfortunately…
It was different from Emilia's memory, which meant this was not the loop that would break the deadlock.
—
[ "I'm really sorry about today, making everyone worry and causing so much trouble for Subaru… But, I think I've finally seen clearly what I need to do from the front." Emilia began her concluding remarks.
According to the usual sequence of events, they went to the living room to talk. Now that the conversation was over, Emilia returned to her bedroom.
Meanwhile, Ram was tidying up the living room.
"Ram, I want to talk to you for a bit. Do you have a moment?"
"How vulgar."
"That's a nasty conclusion, and you jumped to it way too fast." Subaru found Ram and started a conversation.
"Next, I still have an appointment to keep—talking to Roswaal. You remember, right?"
"Of course. Though I am surprised Barusu actually remembered. You were so busy in the tomb, yet you didn't forget this."
"Due to some personal reasons, I want to put that appointment on hold for now. Instead, I want to ask Ram for a favor."
"How vulgar."
"Don't just play the fool at every turn! And though it might sound bad to say, I don't look at you with vulgar eyes that often, do I?"
"True. After all, when Barusu looks at Ram, it is not with the eyes of a beast, but with eyes that are much more ambiguous."
"Uh…" Subaru was left speechless. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"…He was looking at Rem."
Ram finished and fell silent.
Because he was longing for Rem, when looking at her twin sister Ram, Barusu was searching for Rem's shadow.
The Ram of that time didn't know what was going on, and didn't even know of Rem's existence.
"Looking at it this way, it's quite sorrowful."
Otto said.
"Sigh, in any case, once this is over, we must take the sister-in-law to see the boss right away."
"Yes."
Rem responded to Garfiel.
Once this was over, the first person Rem wanted to see was naturally Subaru-kun, and then… she wanted to apologize for her past actions, or rather, apologize on behalf of the self from that world.
"Oh? Rem responded to Tinsel. Doesn't that mean Rem has accepted the title of 'sister-in-law'?"
Anastasia teased.
"Ah, uh…"
Rem realized her slip of the tongue. Her face flushed red as she looked at Emilia, turning completely incoherent.
—
[ "What favor do you want to ask of Ram?" Ram asked.
"That would be a huge help… Well, actually, the favor I want to ask of you has to do with Garfiel."
"Has something happened between Barusu and Garfy?"
"Something might happen from now on. Next, I need to act in secret, and he is very likely to come and get in my way when the time comes. So I was thinking, if I could trouble you to hold that guy back…"
"And then Barusu will take the opportunity to kick Garfy from behind, right?"
"Even if I did that, I'd only end up being sent flying with a single kick in the end…"
Ultimately, Ram agreed to Subaru's request, whistling to call Garfiel over in order to hold him back.
Holding Garfiel back? Was Subaru taking this opportunity to look for some clues?
…
"Found it." Deep in the forest, Subaru arrived in front of an ancient-looking white house.
Isn't this… ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Isn't this the place where Natsuki-san was imprisoned?"
Otto said.