14: Endless Loop (Part 3)
Failure, revival, failure, revival...
How many loops had it been now?
Subaru himself didn't know anymore.
After the seventh loop, he stopped counting.
The familiar ceiling appeared in his vision again, the familiar scent of old books filled his nose. Subaru looked at Beatrice, who once again stood before him just as always—unchanged.
But he himself… no longer had the same confidence as before.
—No, it's not that nothing has changed.
Maybe it was the accumulated deaths that made the scent of the Witch's miasma around him too thick.
Or maybe it was because every time he restarted, he would see her face, leaving a deep impression without realizing it.
In any case, Subaru noticed her slightly furrowed brow. He noticed the wariness in her eyes.
—That coward is actually wary of me!
"Who are you calling a coward!? Betty is not afraid of anything!
And with that thick miasma of the Witch around you, I wouldn't even be surprised if you were possessed by the Witch herself! Betty is the guardian of the Forbidden Library—shouldn't I be cautious?!"
Beatrice snapped the book shut and spoke coldly.
From her subtle gestures, Subaru could tell—she was angry.
Normally, in this situation, Subaru would've backed down from this powerful little girl.
In fact, if he could calm down, he would've played it off with a laugh and let the whole matter pass.
But now... Subaru could no longer suppress the fire in his heart.
—Since he had accidentally blurted out what he truly felt, he might as well lay it all out.
Having made up his mind, Subaru didn't hesitate any longer.
"You must've noticed what's happening outside, right?"
"The Witch Cultists? Betty simply can't be bothered with them. If they're really targeting this place, Betty will deal with them."
"Even if they attack for real, you won't act."
Subaru stared at Beatrice with furious eyes.
"You're just a coward, clinging to life. Afraid of the Archbishops' power. You refuse to act just to save your own skin."
"Don't get so full of yourself, human!!"
Invisible magic slammed Subaru into the wall.
The impact was so strong it felt like all the bones in his body had been crushed.
But even so, he didn't look away.
He met Beatrice's gaze with the same fury.
His originally sharp eyes, now layered with the resentment from countless deaths, made Beatrice take a step back for the first time.
"Betty is not afraid of death at all."
Subaru fell silent.
Because he had crossed countless deaths, and witnessed even more, he could tell—the blonde-haired girl before him was telling the truth.
"...You've calmed down, haven't you?"
Subaru stared at her, thinking rapidly.
She wasn't afraid of death.
She had the intent to fight.
She had the power to fight.
—Then why hadn't she joined the battle? Why was she avoiding him?
He kept thinking. He retraced the fragments from his many loops.
When had she started avoiding him?
—That last time.
In each loop, their first conversation.
What had he said that made Beatrice choose not to fight?
He pondered for a long time.
Then, suddenly, he remembered the times when Emilia had gone berserk.
"...The so-called 'fingers' are people who resonate with Petelgeuse, right?
...Is it because Petelgeuse is still alive? The secret between those two...
...You don't know either, do you? About Emilia's connection with Geuse..."
—
Subaru suddenly realized.
Because the Beatrice before him was a nearly all-knowing great spirit.
Because she was one of the people in Emilia's camp who was closest to him.
Because every loop began with her.
Each time, in order to gain clues or insight, Subaru would inevitably question her.
—He had directly asked.
Subaru glanced at her.
This Beatrice was likely near her limit.
If he asked her outright again, he'd probably get thrown out without hesitation.
"Calm down... aah, my whole body hurts... it feels like my bones are broken... or maybe they actually are."
"How can this be? I clearly..."
"The human body is really fragile."
Subaru bit down hard on his tongue.
Blood welled from the corner of his mouth—finally causing Beatrice to show the slightest flicker of concern.
"Ugh... mayonnaise... I worked so hard to make it..."
"What the hell do you want!?"
Subaru forced out a shameless wail of agony, and finally—Beatrice's conscience was shaken.
"You feel a bit guilty toward me, don't you?"
"Hmph. I don't feel that way. You're the one who started this whole mess."
"...M-maybe I feel... a tiny bit sorry."
Beatrice looked at Subaru, who was coughing up blood, and couldn't help raising her right hand to make a tiny "just a little" gesture.
"Then can you tell me something?"
"Your wording is very vague."
"It's nothing lewd, and it doesn't touch on secrets or privacy."
Time passed.
Eventually, Beatrice sighed, walked up to Subaru, and grabbed his hand.
"Your wish has been conveyed. I, Beatrice, hereby form a contract with you in my name."
Her solemn declaration brought Subaru's nervous fidgeting to a halt.
Suddenly, he realized—there was something different about the girl standing before him.
The warmth from her fingers filled him with a mysterious sense.
In his heart, Subaru knew: the contract between them had been formed.
"Even if it's temporary, a contract is a contract—your ridiculous wish, I accept it."
Beatrice let go of his hand and folded her arms again.
Subaru lowered his head to suppress the torrent of emotions surging inside.
—The Witch's scent affected Beatrice's behavior.
This tightrope tactic might not work next time. This was the one and only chance.
Subaru quickly organized his words.
"If Geuse attacks the Forbidden Library, will you fight back?"
A short silence.
The cold mask that Beatrice had been wearing cracked—and beneath it was a gentle, peaceful smile.
Her eyes shimmered like something out of a dream.
But then, as if realizing something, the smile vanished.
Replaced by a cold, bone-chilling stare.
"I see. So the Witch Cult outside is being led by Geuse? He was my teacher... but a contract is a contract. If he wishes to destroy the Forbidden Library—he'll have to step over my corpse to do it."
Her eyes, filled with deep sorrow, kept Subaru frozen in place.
And then... he realized something was wrong.
That wasn't the look of someone ready to kill.
It was the look of someone ready to die.
"Beatrice… don't tell me…"
"An endless, distant, eternal contract... is about to end. —Please, bring it to a close. Let Betty be freed from this stagnation, this time..."
Those were the last words Subaru heard from Beatrice, spoken in a lonely tone—
—as he was thrown out of the room.