〜Inside, the Theater〜
"It's time to ask some other questions. Compared to this, there are many more realistic problems, right? Like the heavy snow, the Great Rabbit, and so on."
Ram said.
In this Witch's Tea Party, Subaru hadn't asked any practical questions. If it ended just like this, it would be too much of a waste. So, what was the question Subaru wanted to ask?
—
[ Subaru paused for a moment, then asked his question: "Echidna, do you think there is a limit to the number of times I can 'Return by Death'?"
"I see that is a natural doubt to have." ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Right."
Otto said, as if suddenly realizing.
"I see."
Anastasia nodded.
After all, this was the most fundamental and important question.
If he had to rely on Return by Death to break through the situation, he at least needed to confirm its limit.
The reason everyone hadn't thought of this question was probably that they had seen Subaru die so many times in other world lines that they had already assumed the number of times was infinite.
But in the eyes of this Subaru himself, the number of deaths was unknown.
What if one of those times was the last…
—
[ "Let me say this first, this is merely my conjecture at best," Echidna said.
"Yeah, let's hear it."
"Regarding your 'Return by Death', I believe it is a power that can only function under specific conditions. As for the limit on the number of times—"
Subaru grew tense, holding his breath, waiting for the answer.
"I'm afraid… There is none."
Then, she went a step further: "There is no end to your 'death'. No matter how many times you 'die', no matter how many times you 'lose your life', your soul will return to the past each time. Until you break through the fate that commands 'death', you must keep starting over. No matter how many times you are brutally murdered, even if both your mind and body are shattered, it remains the same." ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Specific conditions… the specific condition is death, right?"
Otto said.
"But—there is an exception, isn't there?"
Roswaal said.
"An exception?"
Emilia asked.
"In that world, in the world where Subaru called himself the 'Archbishop of Pride', at the very end, Subaru might not have Returned by Death, but died permanently."
Roswaal answered.
And at that time, Subaru died satisfied, without any regrets.
This indicated that death might only be one of the specific conditions.
Another specific condition was that Subaru had to die with regrets in his heart.
Specifically, he had to die with lingering regrets to trigger Return by Death.
—
[ "Is that… so." Upon learning that there was no limit to the number of times he could Return by Death, Subaru let out a trembling sigh of relief.
"I didn't expect you to accept it so readily."
"Did my reaction disappoint you because it was too small? I'm really sorry about that. But strictly speaking, there shouldn't be any limits. What do you mean by specific conditions?"
"The Authority that allows you to 'Return by Death' is the persistence of the Witch. Once that Witch's persistence disappears, you will no longer be able to refuse 'death'. However, whether such an opportunity will ever come is unknown." ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Persistence disappears… But in that world, the persistence indeed disappeared. Why was that?"
Otto was puzzled.
Rather, everyone was puzzled.
Why did the Witch of Envy's persistence disappear in the world of the Archbishop of Pride, of all places?
"Since this question has been asked, there is another very important question next."
Beatrice said.
"It's about the mechanism of the save points. When a new save point appears, and when it overwrites the original save point. Is that it, Lady Beatrice?"
Ram looked at Beatrice, and Beatrice nodded, then said:
"There are other questions, too. Like, why can the Return by Death ability not be spoken of?"
—
[ "What kind of power do you think this is meant to be? What is your take on it?" Subaru asked.
"A power that exists to keep you from dying. A power that does not allow you to fail."
"Does not allow failure? But I couldn't bring Rem back. If it doesn't allow failure, then why…"
"I am about to tell you something very cruel. That person did not include the girl you regret failing to save in your destiny."
"Huh?"
"That person's wish is for you not to be trapped in a dead end of fate. The Authority is the means to realize this wish. Other than you, no matter who gets hurt, that person does not care. The one who uses this power and runs around to save someone is, in the end, yourself. That is your wish, and has nothing to do with that person… with the 'Witch of Envy'." ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Return by Death is indeed an Authority bestowed by that woman, but this Authority is only for Natsuki-kun's sake. As for how to use it, that is Natsuki-kun's own business. Is that the right way to understand it?"
Anastasia said.
"Then what is this about not allowing failure? The definition of this failure…"
As long as Subaru lived his own life well, wasn't it a failure?
Emilia tried to understand.
—
[ "…Fine. Since you only favor me, I've made up my mind too. This blessing of 'Return by Death' you gave me… I will definitely make full use of it." Subaru's fighting spirit was ignited.
…
After asking a few more questions, Subaru finally began to ask about practical matters.
"This time, there are too many things I don't understand. Among them, the most baffling is at the very end… the thing that… gn-gnawed me to death. Ah, how embarrassing, I was killed by rabbits the size of a palm. They seemed to be omnivorous. I don't know if it's the owner's fault, but they seemed to be starving to death."
"Because their owner is a real handful. In fact, Daphne has never disciplined the 'Ousagi(多兎)' at all."
"Great Rabbit(Ousagi(大兎))?"
"The correct pronunciation isn't 'Ou(大)' (Great), it's 'Ou(多)' (Many). The Many Rabbit(多兎) got passed down and became the Great Rabbit(大兎). The mabeast, the Great Rabbit, is a negative legacy left behind by the 'Witch of Gluttony' Daphne, one of the Three Great Mabeasts." ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Eh? It's not 'Great', but 'Many'? It was originally called the 'Many Rabbit'?"
Anastasia showed a look of surprise.
"That's right, 'Great Rabbit' is a misnomer. Correctly speaking, it is the 'Many Rabbit'. And looking at their vast numbers and tiny size, it naturally fits 'Many Rabbit', doesn't it?"
Puck said.
"So it was a misnomer… I have learned something new."
Yuriusu said.
—
[ Next, Echidna introduced the Many Rabbit to Subaru—a mabeast that was weak individually, but could multiply infinitely and possessed an endless appetite.
"Even if you want to eliminate them, you can only kill all the Many Rabbits at once. But in my opinion, that is no different from making every single drop of rain falling from the sky evaporate without leaving a trace."
Echidna said at the end of her introduction of the Many Rabbit.
"Echidna? Did you think of something?"
Subaru noticed her hesitant expression.
"To be honest, I don't really recommend you do this. Because it really is too dangerous."
"What do you mean?"
"What if I told you that I can allow you to speak with the 'Witch of Gluttony', Daphne?" ]
.....
( Translator-kun: I included both Kanji and Romaji to make it easier to follow. Hope it helps.)