11.1.7

"—To put it bluntly, I am not thrilled with this situation."

"That's the second time I've heard that today."

"I suppose it is. It's sarcasm after all—adorable sarcasm from dear Ram, who's at a loss from being thoroughly forgotten."

Ever since Subaru's reunion with Petra, Ram kept shooting off sarcastic remarks.

Moved by the mere sight of the girl being safe and sound, Subaru had unwittingly gotten quite emotional, but Ram's silent anger at having been ignored in the meantime ran deep. Subaru was on his knees as he apologized.

"I'm sure you already understand, but I was worried about her. I'm just relieved that she's all right."

"How indecent."

"You're way more indecent for saying that about a tiny girl like this!"

Subaru deflated as Ram folded her arms and snorted with a "Hah!" But as she watched the exchange between the pair, Petra gingerly walked closer to Ram.

The big ribbon on her head swayed. With a fair bit of tension on her face, she asked—

"Errr, you're Miss Ram, right? This is the first time we have properly spoken, so… I am Petra, new servant here at the Master's mansion. I am pleased to meet you."

"My, you aren't calling me Ramchi today?"

Raising an eyebrow, Ram teased the girl about the nickname that had spread among the children of the village some two months prior. Her reply brought a blush to Petra's face. "B-back then I…" she panicked in her embarrassment.

"I was still just a child. But please watch me. I will be different from now on."

"…Unlike Barusu, you are quite discerning. Very well, you pass."

"Hey, who do you think you are?"

"Incidentally, Barusu fails. As he is, I cannot allow him stay at the mansion."

"Then what was the point of me coming back?!"

Naturally, seeing Subaru and Ram mess with each other like they always did helped relieve the tension from Petra's face. Seeing this effect on her made Subaru think that Ram's way of being considerate was as hard to understand as ever.

He never raised it though because he soon focused on the mansion and changed the topic.

"Uhh, so Petra, has anything changed while I've been gone?"

"Mhmm, that's what I wanted to ask you. Why have only Subaru and Miss Ram come back? What about Lady Emilia and the noisy guy?"

"Emilia-tan is in the middle of an important job. Otto… What is Otto doing, anyway?"

"I do not know, nor am I interested in knowing."

Ram's dismissiveness aside, even Subaru wasn't aware what Otto was up to from day to day. Within the Sanctuary, he had been approaching people as a traveling merchant who'd simply accompanied the other evacuated villagers.

Other than that, there wasn't any particular job Otto had been entrusted with, but—

"I expect he can help ease Emilia-tan's heart for a short while, though I doubt that'll work for long."

"I suppose not. His face betrays a lack of endurance, so he'll likely break down in no time."

"It's not like I left him behind to be a punching bag, you know?!"

In the first place, Emilia wasn't the kind of person who could cheer up by directing her resentments at others. If things stayed reasonably simple, consoling her when she was crestfallen was a simple matter as well.

Subaru's and Ram's replies made Petra go "Hmmm," accepting them for the time being. Accordingly, questioning rights shifted back to Subaru, whereupon he repeated his earlier question.

"All right, rematch time. Has anything changed during the time you've been holding the fort? Especially with Frederica…"

"Miss Frederica? She's very gentle, and she's so thoughtful about teaching me things. Besides that, nothing's really happened…except maybe, once in a while, she looks outside with a worried look."

"Outside?"

"Sheesh!! She's worried about you and Lady Emilia! At least figure out that much."

Subaru deflated when he was scolded for being a blockhead.

What he gleaned from his current conversation with Petra was that she and Frederica got along curiously well, and Frederica had not engaged in any obviously suspicious behavior. Also, since he failed to properly appreciate the feelings of others, he was in danger of Petra hating him.

"If anything, it's that last bit that's the most serious problem… If I don't quietly patch things up, I'll be in a real bind."

"Setting Barusu's nonsense aside, Petra, where is Frederica right now?"

"Miss Frederica went into the forest to check on all the barriers. She said that until all the villagers are back, it's her job to make sure the barriers are properly woven. It should still be…a little while before she's back."

"I see. I wonder if that is for better or ill… Barusu, what will you do?"

Ram posed that question to Subaru, secure in the knowledge that Frederica was absent. Reading between the lines, Ram was posing a choice. Withdraw? Advance?

At the very least, if they evacuated Petra to Earlham Village at the current juncture, she wouldn't become involved even if Frederica did resort to drastic measures.

However—

"—I want to check on something else. Let's head to where Rem is."

"…Rem."

The circumstantial evidence seemed to point to Frederica harboring an intent to betray them, but it wouldn't be possible to discern her true intent until they exchanged words. Subaru held high hopes for that talk, and in turn, made a choice to take things in a favorable direction for Ram.

—On the way back, he'd told Ram about the existence of Rem as well as their relationship, as time permitted. He couldn't possibly speak about her as thoroughly as he would have liked. At the very least, he had managed to explain that they were sisters and what circumstances had caused her to forget the person who was her other half.

"_________"

She would reunite with the sister she had been forced to forget. Understandably, even Ram could not fully maintain her composure; her cheeks were stiff, and her pink eyes were filled with worry. Subaru peered at her from the side.

"…What?"

"I thought you looked tense."

"I am not tense at…"

"Nah, you're definitely tense. I figured you would be, and I'd rather you be."

This wasn't anything like an emotional reunion between sisters who had been living far apart.

Rem would not awaken from her sleep, and to Ram, the reunion was one that genuinely didn't bring back any memories. Even so, Subaru, as the one person left who knew them both, had a single wish.

If nothing else, when they reunited, he wanted Ram to feel a pang in her heart, however tiny it might be.

"Petra."

"Yeah…whoops, I mean, yes. Rem is…in the same room as before."

When Subaru called out to her, the quick-witted Petra said, "This way," and began guiding them. Following her petite back, Subaru and Ram both stepped into Roswaal Manor for the first time in several days.

Their destination was the bedroom devoted to Rem on the second floor of the eastern wing. They proceeded through the mansion interior, meticulously maintained by Frederica and Petra's work; after a short while, the three arrived at their destination.

"I'll…go back to cleaning the west wing some more. Please call me if anything comes up."

Not wanting to be insensitive in any way, Petra courteously bowed and excused herself. Subaru watched the newly minted maid depart, shrugging his shoulders at Ram, who was staring at the door.

"—A very well-mannered child. She is a suitable candidate for serving Master Roswaal."

"I agree that she's no mere village girl… So you're mentally prepared?"

"I am, always. Unlike you, Barusu."

When Ram replied with a demure look, Subaru forced himself to smile as he slowly put his hand on the doorknob. He hesitated only for a single moment. The door creaked slightly as it opened up.

And inside the room—

"__________"

There was a blue-haired girl, quietly sleeping atop a well-kept bed.

She looked just like he last remembered her. It was as if the room had been frozen in time. The slight rise and fall of her chest and her faint breathing were the only outward signs that she remained alive, meager proof that they were.

"_________Rem."

Subaru said her name. Anyone could tell there was a great deal infused within that single, brief murmur. It held an unceasing torrent of emotion, one that was directed toward only a single person in the entire world.

He had steeled his heart, determined never to waver, no matter what struggles he might have to face.

—But her sleeping face easily shattered that resolve and determination.

"…So you were…safe and sound."

He hesitated to say "safe and sound," given her condition as a helpless sleeping beauty.

Even so, Subaru's heart did find some measure of peace from seeing with his own eyes that she was the same as how he left her when he had departed. He felt like someone had told him, There's no such thing as something that you can never make right.

—He also felt like someone had told him, Don't give up on making this right.

"__________"

His emotions were too intense for true relief, but they also weren't enough for him to come to a final resolution. Completely unrelated to what was rumbling in Subaru's chest, Ram was completely at a loss for words as she stared at Rem, asleep in bed.

She unconsciously took half a step forward. Subaru couldn't see her face, but—

"______Barusu."

"...What is it?"

"Could you…leave us alone for a little while?"

"—Sure."

It was neither an order nor a demand from Ram. It was a simple request.

With no reason to go against it, her request made Subaru draw in his chin. After brushing the hair out of Rem's sleeping face a tiny bit, he quietly left the room, leaving the sisters by themselves.

He proceeded to look back, leaning against the door as he sighed deeply.

He'd confirmed that Rem and Petra were safe.

"Only for the moment… For the moment."

In the worst case, he would find himself in checkmate, unable to arrive in time to make everything right no matter how quickly he left the Sanctuary. He still had to find out what cards his opponent was bringing to the table, and which hand she would play.

To discover that, he had to—

"—Master Subaru, what a surprise. I did not expect you to return so soon."

"…I don't see much surprise on your face, though."

"Please do not speak about my face. I am quite self-conscious about it."

The jesting tone Subaru heard made the corners of his lips twist as he tried to smile. Though his expression couldn't be considered friendly by any means, the only other person present decided to interpret it that way as she glanced at the door behind Subaru.

"You paid Rem a visit?"

"Yeah. It's only been two days, but each one felt like ten lifetimes… Right now, the sisters are meeting."

"—Sisters…I see. That girl's existence is…very complicated for Ram, isn't it?"

The woman's eyes looked quite concerned for the girl past the door. Her seemingly genuine distress made Subaru feel uneasy at the increasing discrepancy with the conclusion he had drawn from circumstantial evidence.

The fact that she hadn't instantly launched an attack, let alone taken Rem and Petra hostage, and was even freely engaging in a friendly chat, was wholly inconsistent with Subaru's assumptions.

"It is best to leave them by themselves for a while longer. Let me pour tea for you in the reception room, Master Subaru. We can speak at greater length there."

"I guess that's fine. Going ahead without Ram isn't the wisest thing I've ever done, but…"

He'd brought Ram along in case of emergency, yet he was about to go alone to a place where such an emergency might very well arise. It seemed suicidal, but Subaru dismissed that for two reasons:

There probably wouldn't be an emergency, and he didn't want to be the idiot who intruded on someone's special moment.

"Don't betray my expectations, okay? I'm trusting you, Frederica."

"Then I shall strive to do my very best to live up to them—I have taken to heart that this is a maid's duty."

With that reply, the woman—Frederica—hid her sharp fangs behind her hand as she smiled softly toward Subaru.