Chapter 129: You can call me... Flugel

Looking at Elsa across from him, so obviously in a strange state, Natsuki Subaru now had a bit of a headache.

He too badly wanted to know why things had spiraled into their current shape.

The film-viewing had been going along just fine, and then all at once a conflict broke out — and Ram and Elsa out there were on the verge of dying.

All of this had to be traced back to the end of the previous instance, when he'd been dragged, for no reason he could fathom, into this pure-white mysterious space...

At first, after a brief moment of shock, he'd realized he was stark naked, not a stitch on him.

As a civilized modern person, he certainly wasn't in the habit of streaking around, but clearly this space was very wrong, and even less like a place where clothing existed.

And yet, a strange thing happened.

The instant the thought of wanting clothes surfaced in his mind, a gorgeous white robe simply appeared out of thin air before him.

In all honesty, if he were to appraise this robe, he'd call it both heavy and elaborate, like the ritual vestments an ancient priest might wear.

No matter how he put it on, something about it just felt a little off.

But this pure-white space seemed almost to have a mind of its own.

Sensing his dissatisfaction, it immediately grew an enormous standing mirror up out of the floor, letting him observe his current appearance.

A silver-white ceremonial robe, with a broad, flowing hem that draped all the way down to cover his feet.

Down the center of the robe, two vertical dark-brown sashes fell from the collar, while the neckline was fitted with an orange scarf-like standing collar to protect the throat.

On the whole, the entire robe balanced a scholar's elegance with a sage's solemn gravity — which actually suited Natsuki Subaru's tastes well enough.

The only slight pity was that this outfit really didn't match his own vibe at all — not one bit.

All right, the leisurely wardrobe-changing session ends here.

Next, Natsuki Subaru was going to start exploring this space.

But this time too, the very moment the thought occurred to him, this pure-white space shifted accordingly.

The enormous standing mirror that had just been helping him tidy up his dashing look rippled like water, its surface suddenly transforming into scene after scene of moving images.

If he had to describe it, the feeling it gave Natsuki Subaru was as if he were watching a movie.

No — perhaps calling it a live broadcast would be more fitting.

Because through this mirror he saw a cinema, and by coincidence, every single person seated inside was someone he knew.

Emilia, Betty, Rem, Ram, Reinhard, Crusch, and Felt and the others...

And before he could even be surprised by this, he discovered that this crowd of acquaintances was, at this very moment...

watching his story?

On the screen inside that cinema, the story of the Wrath-if line was playing.

After silently watching for a while, Natsuki Subaru quickly came to understand that this was the story of another possible world.

And the fundamental cause that determined the birth of these possible worlds seemed to be... branching points?

Naturally, a flash of insight like this surfaced in Natsuki Subaru's mind.

He didn't know why, but ever since coming to this space his head had suddenly become crystal clear, as if his brain, that processor, had abruptly been upgraded.

But this wasn't entirely without warning.

Natsuki Subaru was actually quite familiar with this sensation.

After that inexplicable conflict with Reinhard in the slums (cortiços) had ended, on his very first day arriving at the manor he'd had this same feeling of mental clarity.

Only, thinking back on it now... what came along with it was also that arrogant state of mind.

Was this the price he, Natsuki Subaru, had to pay to grow stronger?

But it didn't matter — let the storm rage all the fiercer. He believed he could endure it; he was still nowhere near his limit!

Anyway, back to the matter at hand.

After that came the part where he saw Ram, Emilia, and Elsa suddenly break into conflict, which then exploded all at once...

That Elsa's consciousness had now come to this space was likewise by his own instruction.

Because she'd taken a wind blade from Ram head-on, Elsa was currently a little dazed.

So he'd hurriedly moved to shelter her consciousness.

This was actually rather strange, since by his current memories and feelings, he held no particular fondness for Elsa.

It was just that, somehow, a voice in the depths of his being seemed to be telling him that if he simply left things be, he might come to regret it.

Then so be it — do it and be done.

After all, he'd always been a willful idiot who did whatever came to mind.

So now, this farce ought to end.

Natsuki Subaru cast his gaze toward the enormous mirror, then, following that guidance from the depths of his being, slowly opened his mouth.

"I say, there shall be no strife in this place."

The instant his words fell, the frenzied Meili and Ram were instantly pulled apart.

At the same time, everyone else present was forced back down into their own seats by some coercive power, rendered unable to move.

It was as if this came from the very core authority of this space, and the one holding the greatest access to that authority was precisely Natsuki Subaru, standing within the pure-white space.

Of course, merely stopping the fight wasn't enough.

Natsuki Subaru's gaze sharpened, and he spoke again.

"I say, no one shall be harmed in this place."

"I say, let everyone regain their calm and focus on the viewing."

The moment these words came out, the body of Elsa, still within the space, began to radiate a soft white light, dissolving little by little.

Or rather, she was returning to her own body.

"So it wasn't a dream after all? Heh heh, whether before or now, darling is always such a mysterious man."

Elsa curled her perfectly shaped red lips into a smile brimming with seduction.

"Ahem, ahem — perhaps you've mistaken me for someone else. I am the builder of this space. You may call me... hmm, that's right, just call me Flugel."

Natsuki Subaru coughed violently twice, then, as if nothing had happened, clasped his hands behind his back and spoke in an inscrutable tone, putting on the air of someone with a very grand, very ancient background.

"Hmph~ None of that concerns me. All I care about is my little man's answer. The next time we meet, remember to tell me with your own lips~"

Hearing this, Natsuki Subaru shook his head helplessly. There was really no reasoning with her.

This woman Elsa was as much a lunatic as ever, making it impossible to understand what she was actually thinking.

After all, the two of them might not share the same experiences or understanding — they might not even be people from the same world!

Natsuki Subaru shook his head and stopped dwelling on it.

Since he now already knew of this space's existence, and for some reason had gained such high authority over it — as if this space had belonged to him all along —

no matter what, he would have plenty of chances later to uncover just what had happened along those other world-lines, and why Elsa harbored such deep affection for him.

Though he had a feeling none of it would turn out to be pleasant experiences...

On the other side, Ram and Elsa — their injuries healed by that mysterious power — did not break into conflict again.

Instead, both of them sat blankly in their own seats, no telling what they were thinking.

As for the others who hadn't been drawn into this fight, they too were still shaken as they mulled over the perilous scene from moments ago.

Suddenly — no telling who noticed first — someone realized the screen's previously frozen images had begun to flow once more, and let out a shout that drew everyone else's attention.

In any case, the film-viewing thus continued amid a strange atmosphere that hung over the whole crowd.

[And so, after two years had passed, the decaying Roswaal Manor collapsed without a sound.

With the sister maids who kept the manor running now gone, Frederica, who had been away on leave, was the first to rush back.

But what she found was Roswaal, grown utterly listless from having lost his purpose.

The once eerie and grotesque magic-user now walked toward his own path of ruin like a walking corpse.

Even so, to repay the clown's kindness, Frederica resolved to rebuild the manor from scratch.

That was what she said.

But apart from raising new maid girls and tending to the daily needs of the master whose heart had turned to ash, there was nothing else she could do.

And so, no telling how much time had passed, she lived through a long stretch of it that felt like a lifetime apart from the world.

It wasn't until the manor faced crisis once more that Frederica seemed to wake, as if from a distant dream.

But by then, everything about the manor was long past saving.

The corridors she'd swept diligently day after day, the kitchen where meals were prepared, and all those everyday hours of ceaseless effort to rebuild the manor —

in the blink of an eye, all of it turned into a pure, dazzling white world made of snow.

And the being who had brought all of this about was none other than one she knew all too well, once a member of this very manor — Puck!

Amid a raging blizzard, the shadow of the white beast loomed over the manor, its terrifying pressure blotting out the sky and covering the earth.

『My apologies, Frederica. I don't believe you're in the wrong, but I too only wish to protect what I treasure most.』

The great beast suddenly spoke, but its tone was ice-cold — its lips saying apologies while carrying not the slightest trace of remorse.

After all, he was merely an... old father, one who, for the sake of his daughter, could cast away everything else.]

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