Chapter 55: I Will Keep the Promise With You
Natsuki Subaru quietly closed the door as he left the room.
Standing at the doorway, he looked at the slowly rising sun and smiled.
After everything that had happened, he finally welcomed a beautiful day.
Everyone in the village was there.
Since he appeared in the village, it meant Rem was safe.
This was exactly the scene he wanted to see. He had no desire to witness a tragic tomorrow.
"The morning air feels so good. I probably don't have to work today. I wonder when I can return to the mansion. I still need to thank Beatrice."
"Ah! It's Subaru-sama!"
Hearing that title, Subaru turned his head toward the man running toward him.
Seeing the man's joyful face, Subaru thought carefully and recalled that he had seen this person last night too.
But last night, he was too busy to care about the title.
Now hearing "Subaru-sama," it felt strangely embarrassing, like some sort of shameless roleplay!
"We were all really worried about you, Subaru-sama. Seeing you safe is such a relief."
"Wait a minute, let's not talk about that for now. What's with calling me 'Subaru-sama'? I'm just a servant at Roswaal Mansion," Subaru said quickly, waving his hand to show his discomfort and resistance to the title.
But the villagers, serious-faced, replied:
"Subaru-sama, calling you that has nothing to do with your status. Everyone here knows what you have done for us. You returned to the village carrying injured children.
We're very grateful to you. You are a hero of the village. Thank you again for everything you've done."
Subaru looked at the serious villagers and wanted to say something but ended up sighing helplessly, accepting the title given to him.
"You can call me whatever you want, just don't be too formal — I'd find that uncomfortable. By the way, can you show me where everyone else is? And the kids?"
"Of course, Subaru-sama. Please follow me."
Time passed quickly during Subaru's inspection of the village. He could feel the villagers' respect for him. Injured villagers stood up to thank him whenever they saw him.
When visiting the children, their parents' attitudes made Subaru a bit uneasy.
When he declined their thanks as he left, he felt flustered.
By the time he finished inspecting the village, the sun had fully risen.
The villagers who showed him around had already left, as they had many things to do.
Walking, Subaru found it strange that he hadn't seen Rem or Ram anywhere in the village. Wondering about this, he wanted to check if Emilia had woken up.
Then he heard Ram's voice behind him.
"Barusu, why are you here?"
Turning around, he saw Ram approaching, carrying a basket of roasted sweet potatoes.
"Senpai, so you're here."
"You look fine now, no injuries. Come help me deliver these sweet potatoes to the villagers."
"I can do that." Subaru reached out and took the basket.
Looking at the sweet potatoes, he asked curiously, "Do we just eat this for breakfast?"
"Hmph, of course, because Ram can only make this."
Seeing Ram's proud expression, Subaru gave up on teasing her and took one sweet potato from the basket.
"I was just getting a bit hungry."
He bit into it.
Though it was a little hot, Subaru had to admit this was the most delicious roasted sweet potato he had ever eaten.
"Not bad, Senpai. I thought you couldn't cook at all... though I guess this doesn't really count as cooking."
"Barusu..."
"What?"
"Is it good?"
"Yeah, it's good." Subaru hadn't even realized why Ram asked that until she suddenly stuffed another sweet potato into his mouth.
"It's hot, hot! What are you doing, Senpai?"
"If it's good, eat more."
"Ah, thanks..."
Subaru watched Ram take back the basket and start walking away.
They had agreed to deliver the sweet potatoes together, so why did Ram leave on her own?
"Barusu, you did really well this time."
Hearing that, Subaru looked at Ram's retreating figure in disbelief.
This seemed to be the first time Ram had praised him.
Taking another bite of sweet potato, Subaru smiled and started walking back to his room.
But then, someone who shouldn't be there appeared in his line of sight.
"Beatrice? Why are you here?"
Beatrice looked at Subaru eating the sweet potato and walking towards her. When he reached her, he crouched down and put the half-eaten sweet potato in front of her.
"Here, have a bite. It's really delicious~~"
Hearing Subaru's coaxing like talking to a child, Beatrice didn't resist as usual.
Instead, she took the sweet potato and nibbled on it.
Indeed, it tasted as good as Subaru said.
But looking at the smile on his face, Beatrice found herself unable to speak what she wanted to say.
"It's delicious, isn't it? By the way, this isn't my thank-you gift to you. My real gift will take some more time to prepare."
"..."
Seeing Beatrice's expression, Subaru sighed and reached out to gently ruffle her hair.
"What's wrong? Is something bothering you? You look off today, Beatrice."
Beatrice brushed his hand away and, after opening her mouth, said the words she had been holding back.
"You're going to die."
"..."
"Although your wounds have healed, the curses inside your body remain.
You have too many curses.
Even simple curses become extremely complex when stacked together... You probably won't survive tonight."
"Ah... so it's really not that simple." Subaru reached out, took the sweet potato from her hand, peeled off the skin, and handed it to Beatrice.
"Don't be so gloomy. Eat up, it won't taste good once it's cold."
Beatrice clenched her fists, looking at Subaru who, despite hearing about his death sentence, still smiled as if nothing had happened.
After returning last night, she hadn't slept at all.
At sunrise, she spent a long time agonizing in the library before deciding to come over here. She told him the truth, so why could he still smile? Why could he still treat her like this?
Shouldn't he want her to help him?!
"The curses on you, Betty can't undo them! Do you think that because I'm here, you won't die? It was like that last night, and it's like that now! Show some fear for once!"
Hearing Beatrice's words, Subaru's smile faded. Looking into her eyes, he spoke slowly.
"I'm very aware that I'm going to die. I'm thankful that you told me, Beatrice. That way, I can spend the last bit of time doing what I want."
"..."
"I know, I know you have a way to fix this. I know you want to help me. I don't know why you have that expression, but Beatrice, that's not the face for you. Smile."
"..."
"Ah, there's no helping it. Then let's make a promise."
"A promise?"
"Yes, let's promise that I will absolutely not die. After all, I haven't had enough of your cute expressions yet."
Beatrice looked at Subaru's smiling face again.
She wanted to ask if he was the one she had been waiting for, wanted him to be her master. But why was there still nothing in that book?
Four hundred years of loneliness and solitude had eaten away at her spirit.
The person who never came, when she was alone, she would always look toward that door, hoping it would open and someone would free her from the library.
But for 400 years, every person who opened the door never looked at her.
The book's content never changed.
Only the person in front of her looked at her.
Every time he opened the door, he did so with a smile.
The warmth he brought was the thing she wanted most in 400 years.
Taking a gentle bite of the sweet potato, Subaru looked at Beatrice and quietly said:
"There is a way to lift the curse... kill all the magical beasts that cast the curse on you, then the curse won't activate, and you'll survive... Aside from that, there's another way to prolong your life... When the curses activate, if someone feeds you mana, it will satisfy those beasts, and the curse will stop..."
Subaru saw Beatrice raise her head and open her mouth to say something, but he spoke first:
"Beatrice."
Beatrice froze, unable to say what she wanted.
"Teach me to write again tomorrow."
Beatrice nodded softly.
She saw Subaru hand her the sweet potato, then stand and smile.
"Then wait for me to come back."
"Don't break your promise..."
"Ah, I definitely won't break it. I will keep the promise with you."
Beatrice watched Subaru turn and prepare to leave.
She took a deep breath and said:
"That blue-haired maid girl is probably somewhere in the forest."