"Besides eating, sleeping, and reading books for four hundred years, what other joys does your life have, I wonder?" Subaru teased.
Beatrice snapped the heavy book shut with a thump, nearly catching Subaru's fingers. "Betty's elegant lifestyle is beyond the comprehension of a short-lived species like you, in fact!" She lifted her chin, but since she was sitting on the tall stepladder, she was forced to look up at him, which completely undermined her imposing attitude.
"How could it have nothing to do with me?" Subaru leaned in, so close he could see the shadow cast by Beatrice's eyelashes. "I'm your family, you know," he said seriously. "And family is supposed to care about each other's quality of life."
"Who said that!" Beatrice was so angry that a few strands of her golden hair stood on end. "Betty's family... has only ever been my brother, in fact!" As she spoke, her voice suddenly trailed off. She hugged the book in her arms as if it were her last shield. The final few words almost vanished into the air, but Subaru still caught the faint, almost inaudible tremor in her voice.
That was just Beatrice's personality: cold and sharp-tongued, but kind-hearted underneath. Lonely from long-term isolation, she was not good at expressing her true feelings. Looking at the spirit before him, who was struggling so hard to maintain her pride, Subaru suddenly felt a pang in his heart. Four hundred years ago and now, Beatrice had always cherished her relationships, bringing salvation and happiness to those around her—to Ryuzu Meyer and Roswaal 400 years ago, and to Subaru and the others today—but she had never brought salvation or happiness to herself. After the separations of the past, she had sealed off her heart and stifled her own emotions.
Her stubbornness, her obsession with her contract, might seem incomprehensible to outsiders. Subaru's gaze swept over the table and chair in the center of the library. There were more comfortable places to sit, yet she stubbornly remained on that high stepladder. It hadn't changed since the first time they met. Just like how she stubbornly guarded that promise for someone who would never arrive...
Thinking of this, Natsuki Subaru suddenly squatted down, bringing himself to eye level with Beatrice. "Hey, Beako. Wouldn't it be nice to have one more family member to dote on you? I know I can only live for a few decades... but in these few decades, I can eat all the sweets with you, and show you the four seasons outside the Forbidden Library."
A strange light flickered in Beatrice's sapphire eyes. She turned her face away, but her voice was no longer so firm. "Stop trying to... measure Betty's noble existence as a spirit with your human standards!"
Subaru grinned mischievously and suddenly stood up. Before Beatrice could react, he had already slipped his hands under her arms—
"W-Wha—! What are you doing?!"
The world spun around her. Beatrice found herself lifted into the air. The feeling of weightlessness, something she hadn't experienced in four hundred years, made her instinctively grab onto Subaru's collar. The library's domed ceiling blurred into a golden halo in her vision as her dress and hair fluttered with the rotation.
"Put Betty down! You brute!"
Beatrice's small fists beat weakly against Subaru's shoulders. The dizziness made her resistance seem exceptionally feeble, her cheeks flushed with shame and anger. "Only brother is allowed to touch Betty..." she said, her voice carrying a trace of an unconscious pout. "If you don't put me down, Betty will really use yin magic to blast you out of here, in fact!"
"Whoa, so scary!" Subaru, far from stopping, deliberately spun even faster, a prankish smile on his face. "But Beako, are you sure you want to cast a spell in this position? What if you lose control of your mana and blow up the library?"
"You...!" Beatrice was at a loss for words, only able to glare angrily at him.
After a few more circles, Subaru finally slowed down and placed Beatrice back on the stepladder. He then casually ruffled her hair as if calming a flustered cat. "That's what family is," he said with a grin. "They're the ones who make you mad, and then suddenly pull you into a hug."
"Hmph... stop saying such presumptuous things." Beatrice lowered her head, her long bangs hiding her expression. Her voice grew softer, almost a whisper. "Spinning around... is so childish."
But the warmth from the fingers of this human who always angered her made her feel, for a fleeting moment, like she was back four hundred years ago. It was the warmth of the comb her mother, Echidna, used to brush her hair for the first time. The memories she had frozen under the name of eternity were now melting like spring snow, reawakening bit by bit with the sensation of her hair being gently stroked.
Seeing the faint blush on the tips of Beatrice's ears, Subaru couldn't help but smile to himself. He knew her too well. No matter how much she resisted on the surface, this tsundere spirit could never truly refuse anyone who sincerely asked for her help.
"It's getting late," Beatrice said, pointing to the door, her expression back to its usual blankness. "You should disappear now."
"Ehh~? It still seems early to me," Subaru said, feigning ignorance and pulling an old book from a shelf. "Let me stay a little longer. We can—"
"The mana has already accumulated," Beatrice said, narrowing her eyes as a purple magical glow flickered around her. "Right now, Betty only needs to lift a finger to send you flying into the courtyard pond."
"Alright, alright, I'm going, I'm going!" Subaru raised his hands in surrender, backing toward the door. Just before leaving, he stopped, turned, and gave her a wink. "Well then, see you tomorrow, Beako. I'll bring some super-sweet honey cake~"
"W-Who wants to eat that kind of thing!" Beatrice subconsciously raised her voice, but quickly caught herself. Realizing her loss of composure, she hurriedly turned away, her slender fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her stockings. In her forced, harsh tone, there was a waver that even she hadn't noticed.
With a soft click, the heavy library door closed, and the room returned to silence. Beatrice remained motionless, her golden hair glowing softly in the light of the magic lamps. She stared at the closed door, the surging mana around her gradually subsiding like a receding tide.
"What an... annoying human," she whispered, her fingertips unconsciously brushing the hair he had ruffled. It seemed to still hold a comfortable, reassuring warmth.
—Memory Fragment—
During the days when the others were in the capital, she and Ram were the only ones left in the vast mansion. Then one day, Roswaal, always in his exaggerated clown makeup, suddenly appeared at the library door.
"The time to fulfill the wish has arrived, you know~" Roswaal leaned against the doorframe, his mismatched eyes glinting strangely in the dim light.
Beatrice continued to read, but her fingers paused imperceptibly. "Hope and expectation have long since turned to dust. They are things of the past," she said, forcing her voice to be as calm as possible, as if stating a fact that had nothing to do with her.
"This is the wish of the Mathers clan~" Roswaal said, spreading his arms and drawing out his words. "Betty, just how much longer will you wait...?"
He seemed to see through her thoughts, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. "'That person'—for you, the guardian and librarian, you must understand what I mean~"
At the mention of "that person," Beatrice felt her heart skip a beat. She quickly lowered her eyes, her long lashes hiding the emotion within. "Betty will continue to wait here, without any unnecessary expectations." The words were for Roswaal, but also for herself.
"This side of things at the mansion—I'll leave it to you, you see~ Once Subaru returns from the capital, the plan can be put into motion."
—End of Memory Fragment—
Beatrice slowly opened her eyes, her fingertips gently caressing the Gospel in her lap. For four hundred years, this book was her only comfort, and also the shackles that bound her. The 400 years of solitude had worn away all her anticipation, leaving only mechanical waiting. But that black-haired boy who always barged in with a grin had made that wait feel different.
"Mother... Mother... Mother..." she whispered, each call filled with long-suppressed longing and confusion. Tears welled in her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall.
Clutching the book to her chest, for the first time, Beatrice allowed herself to be vulnerable.
"Will you... be the one Betty is waiting for?"
In his room, Natsuki Subaru leaned against the window, the moonlight stretching his shadow long across the floor.
"This recent string of events has been pretty exhausting." He thought back on everything that had happened. Subjugating the White Whale, repelling the Sin Archbishop of Greed—these were originally accomplishments of the three royal selection camps working together. But now, with him, Wilhelm, and the others joining forces to annihilate the Sin Archbishop of Sloth, the Emilia and Crusch camps had once again become the biggest winners in the royal selection.
Before I knew it, my reputation has probably surpassed that of the Sword Saint, Reinhard, Subaru thought. It wasn't an exaggeration. Any one of these three achievements—subjugating the White Whale, defeating the Archbishop of Greed, and slaying the Archbishop of Sloth—was enough to be remembered for generations by the people of Lugunica. And in time, these deeds would surely spread throughout the world.
"But, just after dealing with that madman Petelgeuse, now I have to immediately deal with that old schemer Roswaal. I can't catch a break." Subaru rubbed his temples, the image of the clown-faced man appearing in his mind. The conspiracies of the Sanctuary Arc from the original story began to take shape in his head.
Roswaal's ultimate goal was to resurrect his teacher, the Witch of Greed, Echidna. To do this, he had meticulously planned the Sanctuary crisis and the attack on the mansion, intending to exploit Subaru's Return by Death ability. Roswaal wants to force me to make a choice. He knew Roswaal's plan perfectly. It was a moral execution ground, a trolley problem designed to crush Subaru's naive idealism. Roswaal wanted to forge a ruthless pragmatist like himself, a monster who would sacrifice anything for the "correct" outcome. To that end, he was willing to sacrifice even his most loyal servant, Ram, and let the entire mansion be bathed in blood.
That bastard knows I can loop, but he doesn't know the trigger, so he's just following the Gospel's prophecies to the letter.
"As expected of the Witch of Greed's apprentice," Subaru muttered. "This old fox is a real pain to deal with." The upcoming trip to the Sanctuary would likely be even more perilous than in the original story, because he was facing a Roswaal who also knew the script.
Subaru's gaze shifted to the system interface floating before him.
[SYSTEM NOTICE: Level has reached 40. Accept Job Change Quest? [Yes/No]]
The translucent blue panel had been hovering in his vision for some time. A Job Change Quest that only unlocks at level 40... Subaru stared at the panel, deep in thought. The enemies ahead—Roswaal, the Great Rabbit, Elsa, the mysterious Witches—every one was a threat. And he had to protect Emilia, Rem, and the others, and unravel Beatrice's emotional knots.
"Against these enemies, every bit of strength is another chance at victory," Subaru said, his eyes hardening with resolve. "I need to get stronger."
Thinking of this, he made his decision.
"I accept the Job Change Quest."
[CONFIRM: Accept Job Change Quest? [Yes/No]]
"Yes."
With his confirmation, a profound blue light flashed, filling the room.
_____
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