--To Subaru, that was an angry voice that awakened a terrible sense of familiarity.
"The smell of a witch..."
This was the second time Subaru had been the target of hostility like this for that reason.
Garfiel senses something that Subaru himself cannot detect, and looks at Subaru with hatred, as if he were his sworn enemy.
Subaru already knew the sharpness of that gaze, the torrent of hostility.
The stench of a witch. The lingering scent of a sinner. Those possessed by a witch.
She had cursed Subaru with those words, and had even soured their relationship to the point of taking his life.
"What are you looking so dumbfounded about? Have you been hit so hard you can't even speak, huh?"
Astonished and shaken, Subaru's throat was blocked, Garfiel's tongue spurted out his unquenchable rage. He lowered his hands limply, but his guard was not down.
The way she kept a close eye on Subaru's every move had pushed into the distance any hope of a modest sense of closeness that must have existed between them.
"That witch smell is..."
"Huh?"
"So the foul stench coming from my body has been coming from after I left the tomb - after the Trial?"
"...That's right. Up until then it hadn't really bothered me, but the moment I got back it smelled really bad. I don't know what he did inside, but I'm not a big enough softy to trust a guy who makes me smell like that."
Receiving an affirmative nod in response to his question, Subaru let out a short sigh and closed his eyes.
The witch's stench - the fact that it had become thicker as it clung to Subaru was almost certainly right after he had finished "Return by Death."
It was a mystery he had suspected for a long time but had unconsciously avoided answering until now. Only now did Subaru finally acknowledge part of the answer.
--It was the Witch who was causing Natsuki Subaru to "Return by Death".
I don't know why. There's no connection. But there was a mysterious understanding and understanding.
It felt like I had been hesitating for a long time to solve a puzzle that only needed one piece to fit into place, and that I had finally found the answer that was so obvious.
"What kind of connection do you have with me?... Before coming to this world, I lived a life that had nothing to do with paranormal phenomena. Even since coming here, I've never come face to face with the witch everyone's talking about... In fact, I died once about six hours after being summoned."
The ability of "Return by Death" itself was given to Subaru when he was summoned to this world.
If the witches were involved in that, then the summoning itself must have something to do with them. Until now, she had never once sought a clear answer to that question, but--
"Finally, I can't look away anymore..."
"What are you muttering to yourself? If you have time to worry about things you don't understand, just go to the cathedral and get some sleep. Don't give me any trouble."
"...You're going to let me go? From your perspective, I'm just a suspicious guy who reeks of witches. The two of us alone in a deserted place in the middle of the night. It's the perfect situation for a rendezvous or ambush."
"Ha. I may be short-tempered, but that doesn't mean I'm so thoughtless... Right now, it would be easy for me to bite your neck off, but what would that do? If you, your half-demon companion, die, I can imagine that it would just cause even more trouble."
Subaru tilted his head, unable to read Garfiel's intentions. "But," he continued,
"I don't want you to get too close to the tomb and make the stench worse. Right now, only I, with my good nose, have noticed, but...it wouldn't be strange if the old hag and the others in this quagmire noticed at any time. Even the more troublesome ones."
"It's even more troublesome..."
"You probably have a hunch or two. That stench of yours hasn't even started yet. Those bastards will smell it and come near you."
Subaru gasps as Garfiel's words hit him with too many words.
Seeing Subaru's reaction, he snorted and made a gesture of his hand towards Subaru as if to swat away an insect,
"So, just get going. I won't do anything to you now. And from tomorrow onwards, if you behave well I won't bite you either. But, don't go near the tomb and rarely get involved with me or the old hag. I hope neither of us have any bad experiences."
"Non-interference, you say? So you're not going to do anything? That's pretty generous of you."
"'Stepping on Gringham's tail narrowly escaped death,' you say. Get lost before you change your mind. If I could do it too, I wouldn't want Ram to hate me."
Garfiel mentions the name of the girl he likes, and says he is prepared to make a choice after considering her. It is clear that the hostility emanating from him is barely contained by his incredible self-control.
Subaru still had room to make his own arguments and counterarguments, and continue the debate in any way he wanted, but
--It would be best to back off this time.
Having made that decision, he sighed, slumped his shoulders and took a step back.
Having declared that he had no intention of moving forward, Garfiel's posture visibly relaxed. Closing one eye, he took a long breath through his nose and sat down heavily on the path to the tomb, arms folded, looking up at Subaru,
"That's fine. Don't just do anything unnecessary. --I will spend this time here from today until the end of the Trial. Tomorrow, the day after, or the day after that, morning, noon, or night, I have no intention of letting you go any further. Remember that well."
"...At least take a bath so Ram doesn't dislike you."
"Before my stench becomes even worse than yours, do everything you can to help Lady Emilia pass the Trial. -- Now disappear."
Garfiel closed his eyes and seemed to be serious about going to sleep right then and there.
At first glance, it looks like they have a lot of gaps. If they retreat from here and make a large detour through the forest, it might be possible to reach the tomb, but
"Let's not do that."
Perhaps even that is part of the precautions.
Thus, while he could see him, Garfiel only tried to restrain Subaru with words, but if Subaru were to do anything that disregarded that consideration, Garfiel would show no mercy.
Subaru currently had no vision of how he could win against an opponent with the skill to throw Patrasche and his dragon carriage away, nor any way of escaping his animal-like sense of smell.
"I guess the price of skipping the tea ceremony has come back to haunt me now..."
I put my hand to my forehead and regretted my good fortune of having had the opportunity to speak to the witch. In truth, I didn't have any questions to ask her at the time, so I can't really blame her.
"At least tonight there's nothing we can do. We have to do something..."
They can't reach the Tomb unless they beat Garfiel. And if Subaru can't reach the Tomb, Emilia has no choice but to take the Trial.
And from Subaru's experience, it was impossible for her to overcome the Trial in the next three days. If she couldn't take some kind of action within those three days,
"The mansion is under attack by Elsa. We'll miss the chance to repel her."
Even if it was a matter of relying on others, he wanted to have a conversation with Echidna, looking for a way out somehow, but Garfiel got in the way.
If Subaru were to try to break through the Trials without Echidna's input, Garfiel would likely interfere.
Thinking that far, Subaru realised that, quite simply, his current situation was a dead end.
「Hey, hey, hey… isn't this a pretty dangerous situation?」
Since he cannot beat Garfiel through skill, Subaru's only chance of taking on the Trial is to use his smooth talk or some other means to get him out of the situation. However, Subaru cannot do this alone,
Subaru: "Even if I wanted to recruit collaborators… neither Ram nor Otto are on my side, given the circumstances."
Those two, having considered the relationship between the Trials and the Royal Selection, have decided that it would be best for Emilia to get through this situation. Of course, they may change their minds once they see how worn out Emilia becomes over the next two days, but
"That won't be enough time for the attack. Can we... somehow?"
There is a time lag between when those around her start to realize that Emilia is having difficulty passing the Trials and when Subaru begins to feel a sense of crisis. If Subaru is too adamant about calling for his own participation in the Trials, it may lead to suspicions of a lack of trust in Emilia.
Just thinking about how Emilia would feel about this makes his heart ache. It's not that he doesn't trust her. Rather, he is convinced that if he takes the time, she will definitely be able to fulfill the role that has been given to her.
--Do you really think that way even after hearing about the extremely heavy burden she is carrying?
"――――"
Subaru stopped in his tracks, hearing his own dark and low whispers in his mind.
Sometimes I hear those whispers, those darker parts of me that sneeringly tell me off at the folly of reaching for an ideal.
"The 'Trials' continue to eat away at that child. But even so, for the sake of the expectations of those around her and her own wishes, she tries to move forward even if it hurts. Right?"
--Do you really think that if you just keep going without looking back at your pain, you'll be able to overcome it?
Do you think that if you endure the pain, the tears, the whining, and keep walking, one day the path will open up and your wishes will come true?
--There are wounds that don't need to be carried, pasts that don't need to be faced, and pasts that don't need to be atoned for.
"Because she feels guilty, she thinks she has to do something about it, so isn't that why she's looking back on the past and feeling tormented by it?"
--But is now really the right time? Is it just the wrong time?
Is the past something we should face? Is that really the case?
Must one atone for the sins he has committed, and should atonement be forced upon him?
A past that both she and Emilia refused to let known, a past that Subaru surely would never have tried to forcefully expose if there hadn't been such a "trial" as this.
Eventually, there may have been an opportunity to accept it and overcome it over time.
But is now really the right time?
If you are driven by an obsession that you have to do something, can you really find meaning in being proud of the answer you come up with in that situation?
"At the very least, I think it's good that I was able to face my past. Even if I know it's just self-satisfaction, the fact that I've somehow managed to overcome it and am now standing here is the answer."
--But that's because I was ready to face my past, right?
There was a child who affirmed that he still loved me, even though I hated myself.
Because of that child, thanks to that child, Subaru was able to expose his shameful side to his parents, to reveal his ugly inner self, and yet still hold his head up and say goodbye.
--Is Emilia ready for that right now?
Having touched upon the weight of the past she carries, how much strength could Subaru's words and actions have given her up until now?
How much could he have supported her with just his superficial outlook on life, a little effort, and words of love without any proof?
"What should I do for you?"
I love Emilia. I love her. I want to continue loving her.
I want her to like me. I want her to love me. I want her to keep loving me.
So I want to do things that will make her happy. I want to help her. If she's feeling pain, suffering, or sad, I want to feel that for her.
Even if I can't do that, even if I'm not allowed to, I want to at least be her support.
--The girl who helped Subaru stand wanted to do for him what Rem had done for him.
Just like Rem, who loved her with all her heart and soul, Subaru wants to support Emilia.
Only when he can do that will Subaru be qualified to truly fulfill his promise to Rem. So, what Subaru needs to do now is,
"The time for you to stand up, the resolve to accomplish something, everything you need to be able to do that...somehow, I need to create that for you."
Clenching his fist with this in mind, Subaru looked back at what he had to do, and suddenly a sigh containing a smile escaped his mouth.
Well, what we do hasn't changed at all.
"I'll do my best for that child -- if you put it into words, it's just a long-winded agonizing effort. Well, it's important to be aware of what you have to do, though."
Let's start by coming up with the problems that need to be solved, the obstacles that come with them, and surprising and innovative solutions to overcome them.
Time is not waiting for us. It is limited. And we cannot afford to jump to the wrong conclusions in haste. Too many things have been overlooked in the past.
"Even if you get depressed because of the bad situation, things won't get better. The more time passes, the worse the situation will get, and it's a shame that's something I can really feel."
The one thing that is absolutely out of the question is to let time pass and resolve the issue in a half-hearted manner.
This was the extremely harsh stance of the world for Subaru, but it was also what made it worth struggling and agonizing, worth standing up to.
"The situation is terrible. Time is running out. There are still many things we don't know, though."
That's a normal thing, that's something everyone takes for granted, but you've just been given a chance to start over, and you're much, much better.
"I believe that Natsuki Subaru's courage will save Emilia--!"
Let's try our best to get through this somehow.