[ The two of them officially began their conversation.
From their talk, Subaru learned that the Sanctuary was a place created by Echidna and managed by Roswaal.
Rather than calling it the 'Sanctuary,' it was more appropriate to call it an 'experimental ground.'
And the Ryuzu clones were empty vessels without souls.
As for Echidna's purpose—
"Of course, it was to fill them with something," Bilma said.
She then went on to explain: "What she wanted to fill them with was personality, memories, knowledge… in other words, the soul. The Witch intended to fill Ryuzu Meyer's body with her own soul. In other words—"
"It is another form of immortality." ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Immortality!"
Everyone cried out in unison.
How many people had chased after this dream? How many powerful and wealthy individuals had pursued it, only to find it forever out of reach?
"But, looking at the results, she failed, didn't she?"
Yuriusu said.
"Still, the fact that it's theoretically possible, regardless of the outcome, is quite amazing,"
Anastasia remarked.
"The specific reason was that the vessel's capacity was insufficient. However, that was only the reason for the first failure. As for the second attempt, before it could officially begin, Teacher had already… Already been swallowed by the Witch of Envy,"
Roswaal explained.
"Using a one-gigabyte flash drive to force-install a terabyte of data—it probably means something like that, right?"
Al said.
—
[ "The vessel was prepared, and the next step was simply to place herself inside. Did this placement process succeed?"
"The plan failed, and the Witch must have been very frustrated… because she failed to inherit Echidna."
"Wh… Why? Did installing the personality… did the embedding fail?"
"It wasn't an absolute failure, but the Witch's goal could only be realized in an incomplete form. Everyone has a vessel suited to hold their own soul. The vessel of Ryuzu Meyer was not enough to hold the soul of the 'Witch of Greed.'" ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Not enough to hold it… Then what happened in the end? Did it explode?"
Emilia asked.
"It wasn't an explosion, but rather…"
Roswaal narrowed his eyes.
—
[ "The vessel chosen by the Witch, Ryuzu Meyer, could not meet the Witch's expectations. As a result, the desired effect was not achieved… and an extremely failed creation was born." Bilma looked weary and shrugged helplessly. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"An extremely failed… creation?"
Emilia was curious.
"Sphinx."
Roswaal spoke her name calmly, yet with an undercurrent of hatred.
"The Witch, Sphinx… so it was that fellow…"
Old Man Rom murmured.
"She is recorded in both the history books' 'Demi-Human War' and the Ballad of the Sword Devil. The only one referred to as a Witch despite not possessing a Witch Factor, nor being of the Great Sins: Sphinx,"
Yuriusu said.
—
[ "So the plan failed… But even so, the clones kept increasing after that, right?"
"Yes. The Witch then added this manufacturing process to the magic crystal within that facility. Once the magic crystal accumulated a certain amount of mana, a clone would be born. As a result, even after the Witch's death, the facility remained and continues to produce clones to this day."
"Um, what about that first failed clone? Even if she couldn't hold the entire soul, she must have inherited a part of the Witch's memories, right? No matter how incomplete, she must have been a little like the Witch?"
"That clone was a complete and utter sociopath. It is said that because she didn't fully inherit the power of the 'Witch of Greed,' she caused a massive uproar back then. In order to deal with her, the Roswaal of two generations ago had to expend a great deal of effort." ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"A massive uproar? It certainly was a massive uproar, an incredibly huge one,"
Old Man Rom said.
Wilhelm glanced sideways at Old Man Rom, as if silently saying,
"You're one to talk."
"And the described circumstances are indeed true. That fellow was indeed eliminated by me… by my grandmother,"
Roswaal said.
—
[ "I have to find a way to bring everyone back to the village safely…"
After that, Subaru asked more questions about the Apostles of Greed. Once all the necessary questions were answered, the two concluded their conversation.
Subaru walked alone through the village in the dead of night.
"Besides, if we stay here… it might just make them push themselves too hard again."
"Subaru? What are you doing here?"
"Whoa!"
Emilia's sudden appearance startled Subaru.
"…You're practically like a 'fairy,' Emilia-tan."
With several beams of moonlight draping over Emilia in her thin nightgown, Subaru's cheeks flushed, and he couldn't help but marvel. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Hey, hey, why are you calling people names?"
Puck said.
"It seems this word carries a positive connotation in Subaru's world,"
Yuriusu remarked.
"Honestly, calling someone a fairy of all things,"
Emilia pouted.
—
[ "Ah, this won't do. How can you speak ill of someone like that? I'll get angry too, you know."
"When I say 'fairy,' it's a compliment! Sigh… a love confession blocked by cultural differences…"
"Alright, alright, jokes aside… It's so late, what is Subaru doing out here?"
"That's my line. You too, Emilia-tan. I told you not to stay up late and to get some rest early, yet here you are running out so late."
"Well, actually, after we parted, I couldn't fall asleep… I wanted to feel the night breeze, so I came out for a walk. I wanted to calm my mind a bit."
"Are you really anxious about the 'Trials'?"
"No… Well, maybe I am; I can't even be sure myself. I think I wanted to figure out why I came out for a walk in the first place. Really, at a time like this…" Emilia stopped mid-sentence and let out a bitter smile.
Seeing this, Subaru offered a lonely smile of his own.
"In the end, no matter where I am, I'm just a pinch hitter, huh." ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"…It seems I said the wrong thing. I'm sorry, Subaru,"
Emilia said.
"The Emilia-sama in the projection probably wanted to say 'at a time like this, if only Puck were by my side.' Well, although there's nothing wrong with thinking that, it does make Natsuki-san look a bit hurt,"
Otto said.
"Ah, the green-hatted guy makes his appearance,"
Felt said, pointing at the screen.
—
[ "Natsuki-san, you're back?"
After exchanging farewells with Emilia, Subaru returned to the cathedral where they were resting. Otto, lying on his bedding, spoke to him.
"Oops, sorry, did I wake you… Guess not."
He saw Otto holding a glowing Lagmite stone, reading a book.
"You didn't come back for half the night, so I was worried. I was afraid you might have accidentally gotten lost in the forest and met with disaster."
"How could that be… You weren't waiting up for me all this time, were you?"
"Now that is truly impossible. I was doing the accounts for the merchants staying here. I didn't expect it to take so long. I was just about to sleep when you returned."
He really was waiting for me to come back, wasn't he?
How dishonest. ]
.....