Subaru sat down cross-legged and let out a long, exhausted breath.
"I'm surprised you knew where to find me, though," he said.
Roswaal chuckled lightly. "Emilia drove it into me quite thoroughly back in the village."
Subaru blinked, confused.
Roswaal laced his fingers together and pushed them against his cheek with a dramatic tilt of his head—his expression almost changing into a different person.
"'Even if he's rash or reckless, he'll use magic if cornered… so don't lose sight of him from above,' she saaaaaaid," he mocked in a sing-song imitation of Emilia's voice.
"Roswaal!" Ram shouted, limping over while supporting her bloodied sister.
"I'm sorry for causing so much trouble," she said, bowing slightly while still holding Rem against her.
"Oh, not at all," Roswaal replied smoothly. "In fact, you both did fiiiiine work in my absence. I will most certainly show my gratitude for what you've done for me—you have my word." He smiled warmly at the sisters, though Subaru couldn't help but feel there was something… probing behind his gaze.
"Subaru," Roswaal continued, looking down.
Subaru could do nothing but stay pinned beneath Rem, who had suddenly collapsed on him—hugging him tightly, her face buried in his chest.
"R-Rem! That hurts! Stop—I'm kind of hurt all over again!" he groaned.
But Rem didn't let go.
Tears streamed down her face as she clung to him, sobbing softly.
"You're alive… you stayed alive, Subaru… Subaru… Subaru…" she repeated his name like a prayer, her voice trembling with relief and exhaustion.
Subaru, his eyes heavy, could only sigh. "This again…?"
His tired gaze rolled back, and darkness began to overtake his vision.
Roswaal looked over and pointed at the unconscious, bloodied boy lying nearby.
"Raaaaaam… is this a friend of yours? Or a villager?" he asked, raising a brow with curiosity.
Ram turned her head, following his finger. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw Toyota—his hair oily, his clothes torn to shreds, his body bloodied and motionless.
"It seems," Roswaal continued, "he used his Witch's Scent as bait… to lure the Ulgarm pack away from our dearest Subarrrrrrrru."
Ram was quiet for a long moment. Then, calmly, she replied, "I believe he is Barusu's friend. I would never converse with such a pitiful creature…"
But her voice, as she looked at him, held an edge of concern.
She remembered it clearly. While they were running, one of the mabeasts had lunged toward them. Toyota had her in his arms at the time. And at the very last moment, instead of letting her take the blow—he twisted his body, shielding her with his own.
"…Master Roswaal," she said after a pause, "as he is Barusu's friend… would he be allowed to recover in the mansion?"
Roswaal smiled.
"But of coooooourse. Only because our most reliable maid said so~."
***
Subaru's bleary eyes opened.
He was staring at the same ceiling, wearing the same robes, lying in the same bed as his restart point.
"…Did I die?" he muttered.
Had he failed again? Had he returned by death once more?
"Are you awake?"
Subaru slowly turned his head toward the source of the voice.
What he saw wasn't what he expected—a blue-haired maid sitting beside his bed, her hand tightly holding his.
"…Did I do this?" he asked, voice dry. "Like… grabbed you and never let go?"
He looked down at their intertwined hands, then up at Rem, giving a sheepish, embarrassed smile.
Rem averted her eyes, her expression turning soft and distant.
"No… um, it was me."
She looked down.
"You looked like you were in pain while you slept… so I…"
"You held my hand?"
"I didn't know what to do at times like that," she whispered. "So I did… what would've made me the happiest if I were in your place."
Subaru stared at her for a moment, then slowly sat up, offering her a small, grateful smile.
"Anyway, I'd like to hear the rest… I mean, I want to know how it ended. Were my curses removed?"
His voice suddenly dropped, quieter… shakier.
"…Did you at least find Toyota's body?"
Rem nodded slowly, eyes still focused on the floor.
"Yes. Roswaal took care of all the remaining mabeasts, so there's no chance any of the curses will activate again."
Subaru let out a short breath of relief—but Rem continued before he could speak.
"And as for Toyota… after you passed out, we found him. He was heavily injured and unconscious not far from you."
She looked up at him, her voice softening.
"Master Roswaal said he used the Witch's Scent on himself… to lure the remaining mabeasts away from you."
Subaru's throat tightened.
"…He's alive?"
Rem nodded again.
"And he still tried to save me… even after I left him behind…"
Subaru lowered his head, his thoughts churning. His feelings tangled with guilt, confusion, and something else he couldn't quite name.
"Is he awake now?" he asked, hesitantly.
Rem shook her head. "No. Beatrice healed his wounds, but… he hasn't woken up."
Subaru fell silent.
His thoughts drifted—spinning, overlapping—trying to piece together something that didn't quite fit.
He hadn't seen Toyota in any of the previous loops. Not once.
And yet… Toyota knew him. Knew about him. Knew events that even Return by Death hadn't revealed yet.
Could his goal have been to save only me…?
He remembered Rem's words, back during the chaos—"He said he'd meet me in the forest after I found out."
How did he know what she would say? What she would feel?
What else had he seen?
How many times… had Toyota looped?
"I'm sorry, Subaru."
"Hey, come on. Lift your head, Rem. There's nothing wrong with me."
Rem didn't raise her head, letting Subaru just stare at her with a soft smile.
"You always look calm," he said, chuckling, "but you're not calm or collected at all, are you?"
"I do realize that I'm a powerless and incompetent demon," Rem replied quietly. "So no matter what I do, I can never match up to what my sister was. I'm only her replacement—and a far inferior one at that. A good-for-nothing."
She began to tear up as she stared at the floor.
"Why was I the one to keep my horn...? Why couldn't Sister be the one to keep hers? Why was she born with only one horn...? Why did we have to be twins...?"
Her voice trembled. She sniffled and gasped between sobs, unable to stop herself. Subaru, still seated, looked at her with a mix of pity and something softer in his sharp, dark eyes.
"I'm sorry... That was a strange thing for me to say. Please forget it," Rem whispered, trying to wipe her eyes and look away.
"You know, Rem… you keep putting Ram on a pedestal and undermining yourself," Subaru said gently. "But I don't think her situation would be any better if she was in your place. Honestly… Ram is weaker than you."
Rem's eyes widened slightly, but Subaru kept going.
"She can't cook. She slacks off on the job. And she says some really mean things."
"Y-You're wrong!" Rem protested, eyes glistening. "Sister's true self is more… if she had her horn, you wouldn't say—"
"But Ram doesn't have her horn. So I don't know that Ram. I only know the one I see every day," Subaru interrupted. "And I'm pretty sure you're the only one who cares whether she has a horn or not."
He leaned closer.
"What Ram doesn't have—you do. So just accept that."
He gave a small, sly grin.
"You're kind. You're hardworking. You do your best... and your chest is bigger than hers."
Rem's pout formed instantly as her face flushed. "That's not—!"
"If you and Toyota hadn't been there, those dogs would've chewed me to death," Subaru said, voice softening again. "I was saved because you were there. And as long as I can see, I'm alive—not because of your sister, but because of you."
Subaru stood up and reached for Rem's hands, taking them into his own.
Rem looked away, her voice faint. "My true sister could have done much more..."
"Maybe so," Subaru nodded. "But the one who was there for me—was you."
Rem's eyes widened, trembling.
Subaru smiled, sincere and steady.
"I'm glad you were here."
He gently squeezed her hands.
"Thank you."
"I told you… that I'm my sister's replacement."
"Don't define yourself that way. It's too sad."
Subaru's voice was gentle but firm.
"Of course, I haven't heard the details of how she lost her horn—and I won't ask—so I'll never know. And since I don't know…" Subaru tapped his forehead with his finger and smiled at the standing maid. "I get to talk like I do know all about it."
Rem blinked, confused.
"All you have to do is be the horn Ram doesn't have. You two can be a demon together."
Rem looked down in sadness, her mouth slightly parted.
"You call yourself a replacement," Subaru continued, "but no one can replace you."
"But…" her voice came out weak, trembling.
"Where I come from, there's a saying: demons laugh when you talk about next year. So laugh, Rem. Wipe off that sad face and laugh while we talk about the future."
He reached toward her lightly.
"Let's talk while looking forward to making up for all the time you've wasted looking back. We can start by talking about tomorrow."
"…Tomorrow?"
"Yep. Tomorrow, you can do or say anything you want. Whether you'll make Japanese or Western-style breakfast… whether you put on your left shoe first or your right. No matter how silly it is—you can do it. Because you have a tomorrow."
Subaru chuckled softly.
"And I'm very weak, so I'll end up leaning on you."
Rem's eyes filled with guilt. "That's not fair…"
"What's so wrong with that?" Subaru asked, surprising the maid. "I'm weak, stupid, scary-looking, and dense… but I still live my life expecting others to take care of things for me."
He rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile.
"It's always been my dream… to talk about next year with a demon while we both laugh."
Subaru smiled brightly, eyes warm.
Rem's lips trembled… and her smile widened as tears spilled from her eyes.
"You really are demonically inspired," Rem chuckled through her happy tears.
"Right?" Subaru winked.
He reached out and gently patted her head as she cried and giggled at the same time.
At first, he didn't know how to feel about this girl—the same one who once killed and tortured him. He thought he'd never be able to forgive her. But as he spent more time with her… as he learned how broken she truly was… he realized something:
She wasn't the same person anymore.
And maybe, just maybe—
She never really had a choice to begin with.
***
Maylee's POV
She thought back to the green-eyed teen in strange clothes. Originally, she'd planned to kill him. But when she saw him fall from a distance—with a normal beast approaching to end her own personal feud—she felt frustration.
There was no point in getting revenge on someone who couldn't even realize it was revenge.
She decided she'd try again later and ordered the nearby dogs not to touch him. But surprisingly, one of them broke her command. She had underestimated its instincts—its stubborn will.
When it took a bite out of him, she felt something strange. A burning rage—one she'd never felt before.
How dare this mere beast disobey its queen.
He's my prey. Not yours.
She couldn't let him die from a curse before she got her revenge. That would be far too unsatisfying. She gave the command, and the King—Ulurgarem—used its earth magic to kill the disobedient dog. As she watched its head fly off, an inexplicable satisfaction bloomed inside her.
Scaling down the cliff was easy with help from her servants. When she reached the bottom , she found him. His wrist was bent at an unnatural angle—it made her feel sick just looking at it. For a moment, she hesitated.
Should I heal him?
No. That would be irrational.
He deserved to feel pain.
But… how would he know she had been there?
She needed something. A message. A declaration of war.
Looking around, she found an abnormally large leaf and a thin stick. What should I write? She thought about it, then remembered his parting words to her. Wouldn't it be fair to send them back?
Using the blood of the fallen beast, she scrawled a message across the leaf. It took a few tries—she'd killed, yes, but she was still a child. Writing with blood wasn't something she was good at.
After many failed attempts, she chose the best-looking one and stuck it to his forehead.
After leaving Elinor Forest, she found Elsa already waiting at their meeting place—on the outskirts of the road leading to the capital.
Maylee had spent a whole extra day on the failed mission. Her mother wouldn't be happy. Any mission failure was to be reported immediately and abandoned.
She'd wanted to take back the King, Ulgarm—but it seemed too attached to the forest. Forcing it to return would burn through her divine protection and put too much mental strain on her.
But if I need it again, I can find it.
"Well, sister," Elsa said with a grin, "how'd it go?"
Maylee pouted. "I did amazing. It was a noisy butler's fault."
Elsa's smirk deepened. "Oh? And why'd you stay so long after failing?"
"Because…" Maylee murmured, "I found someone interesting."
Elsa's grin twisted into something more insane. Possessive.
"Do you need help, my adorable little sister? We can look at the color of their guts together~."
Maylee only rolled her eyes. "Let's get going already."
She didn't share Elsa's fascination with entrails. She didn't find it gross—but she didn't find it beautiful either. It was just… anatomy.
"If you don't want to talk about it, just say so." Elsa shrugged. Then her grin dropped, replaced with something colder.
"We've got a new mission from Mother," she said. "Highest possible danger level. Strict time limit."
"Already? I just finished this one…"
"Don't worry. You'll have me," Elsa said with a wink. "But Mother's furious you didn't report back. She says this is your punishment for failing protocol."
Maylee could only harumph, folding her arms. "What does Mother want me to do?"
"She wants you to use one of your snakes to sneak into the Sword Saint's mansion and assassinate the potential royal candidate she's guarding. Before the Royal Selection begins."
Maylee blinked. "What? But I've heard that woman has so many divine protections, even breathing near her will set off alarms. We can't sneak past her."
"That's what I'm for, dear sister." Elsa grinned, eyes gleaming. "I'm the distraction."
(AN: I have senior skip day this week for my high school, so for a limited time, I will make longer and more chapters. As soon as we finish arc 2, Toyota is going to make large changes to the plot and not just follow the original storyline.
I've also set an official release schedule: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Bonus chapters will drop on Saturdays if my demands are met. 🔫
Trade deal:
You give me 50 power stones, and I give you a bonus chapter.
Sounds fair, right?)