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――Immortality.

The stuff of fables throughout all of time, and an ideal which any living being would have at some point considered.

Never aging, never crumbling, outside the reach of reincarnation, a "Self" which persists in perpetuity. Despite violating the very principles of life, how many have been enraptured by that pinnacle of existence.

[Subaru: Immortality...huh]

Repeating the word under his breath, Subaru almost broke out laughing at such unrealistic ambition. But instead, his cheeks stiffened, and couldn't even manage a proper smile.

While half of him wanted to laugh it off as something ludicrous, the other half shuddered at the knowledge that the Witch's experiments were far from fiction.

[Subaru: That's quite a common aspiration for the likes of a Witch. Immortality or whatever... that just gives off the impression of a puny little person who's scared of dying, you know]

[Lewes: Whether being afraid of death makes a person puny would depend on who you ask. At least, the Witch of Greed isn't so resigned towards the idea. It is natural to fear death, and to seek ways to overcome it... though most of the time, they fail due to a lack of ability, and end as no more than fantasies]

[Subaru: Except, Echidona does have the ability. She might've even thought of all sorts of ways to do it. I wouldn't put it past that clever brain of hers]

Looking at Pico, sitting beside him, Subaru bit down on his lips feeling an emotion he couldn't put into words.

Pico didn't react to his gaze, but simply continued to sit there silently as if in some sort of idle-mode.

Seeing this, [haa…], Subaru sighed,

[Subaru: Right. It's like there's nothing inside... no personality or anything]

[Lewes: Her state is like that of a marionette. The epitome of a perfectly-prepared vessel. All that's left is to fill her with whatever the Witch desires]

[Subaru: But how's all this coming along? Not saying I know the theory behind it, but I think I have a rough idea of what she's trying to do]

That is, to download her own knowledge and memories into the empty vessel.

If it was only a matter of data, Subaru wouldn't have felt so repulsed.

But the subject in question was a person's identity. More than that, it was a person whom Subaru knew, on the inside and out.

[Subaru: Taking her own memories and injecting them into an empty body. Assuming it succeeds, she could just repeat the process when one dies. It really would be like a kind of immortality. But...]

Passing on one's personalities and memories would certainly be akin to overcoming "Death".

After all, as long as the data that comprises the person is kept safe, even if the container is destroyed, it could be revived in another vessel.

By making copies of herself and copies of empty bodies―― Echidona would indeed be immortal, at least in theory.

――But then,

[Subaru: People usually panic when they meet parallel-world versions of themselves and get stuck with a sense of obligation that they absolutely have to eliminate the other]

[Lewes: ...]

[Subaru: Guess it's because they can't stand the feeling of seeing themselves outside of themselves. Just thinking about it, I can already see the icky situation awaiting her in the future… Hey, Lewes-san]

[Lewes: What]

[Subaru: By making so many Lewes Meyer bodies... and then filling them with her personalities, she's not only perpetuating herself, but also making multiple copies of herself, right?]

Theoretically, that should also be possible.

From a purely theoretical standpoint, when the goal is to perpetuate oneself indefinitely, the more backups there are, the better.

If even Subaru thought of that, there was no way the Witch hadn't thought of it too.

[Subaru: Wonder what it feels like, to have other back-ups prepared. Even if you fail, there's a sort of "Insurance" ready and waiting. What do you make of that, Lewes-san?]

[Lewes: ...I doubt I'll ever understand it. I am not too knowledgeable on the techniques of extracting personalities, but, just speaking for myself, losing my only body would mean the end of what I am. In that sense, I am no different from Su-bo in that I'd have no recourse from the loss of my body]

[Subaru: Is that right. Yeah... yeah, of course]

Subaru couldn't help but let out a dry smile at Lewes' statement. Lewes furrowed her brows at Subaru's reaction, but there was no way she could possibly know what his reaction actually meant.

[Subaru: Right, that explains it. Yeah… now I kinda understand why it feels like there's no space between us…]

Subaru spilled a sigh as the white-haired Witch surfaced in his mind.

Preparing copies of herself, transferring her personality to achieve near-immortality. By doing so, her life was virtually "assured".

[Subaru: In that case, how is that any different from me?]

He couldn't bring himself to despise her for it.

Instead, it was a sense of closeness that surged up inside. Although calling it "closeness" might give rise to some questionable emotions, there was also the dark sense of elation to have found someone who shared his situation.

Echidona, who used her own methods to achieve a piece of immortality.

And Subaru, played on the palms of the Witch's hands, returning from death, striving for the destined future.

Both rebelling against the law which stated that there can only be one "Life".

In that sense, Subaru thought,

――Isn't Echidona the only person who could possibly understand me?

Or, at the very least, understand his mentality.

[Lewes: Su-bo?]

[Subaru: ...I think I understand Lewes-san's position now. And what Echidona was aiming for. So other than that, there's something else I wanted to ask... Were Echidona's plans successful?]

[Lewes: Her plans...]

[Subaru: Even I can see that she's readied the empty vessels. All that's left is to write herself into them. So, was she successful in copying herself? I mean...]

――Is Echidona currently alive somewhere in this world?

Subaru didn't say the question out loud.

But, understanding what he was trying to ask, Lewes closed her eyes and shook her head to Subaru's hopeful gaze.

Slowly, she shook her head.

[Lewes: No, regrettably not... the Witch's plans were not successful. There is no body of Lewes Meyer in existence which carries the Witch's personalities, tying her to the world of the living]

[Subaru: …why's that? She couldn't suck the memories out of her head and download it into the body?]

[Lewes: I don't know what "down-load" is, but the actual technique for extracting her personality was complete. As for why it failed, there is another reason]

[Subaru: Another reason...?]

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[Lewes: It's quite simple. There is a limit to how much content a vessel can hold before they begin to overflow. If just one part flows over, the rest could no longer be considered the original existence]

Hearing the word "vessel", Subaru looked at Lewes, and then at Pico.

Gazing at their tiny bodies,

[Subaru: Vessel... it's probably not a problem with the body size, right?]

[Lewes: It is the size of the soul, you could say. People have souls of sizes that befit their existence. The vessel of the girl Lewes Meyer isn't large enough to contain the soul of the Witch Echidona]

[Subaru: But...how could you be sure?]

[Lewes: When she failed to inject her knowledge into the first of the replicants, the problem with the size of the vessel was already self-evident. But, by that time, Lewes Meyer's body was already sealed within the crystal, and the mechanism to replicate her body was already in motion... and so, though unable to fulfill their original purpose, the vessels continued to be born, one after another]

Subaru couldn't help but be surprised by the lack of foresight.

It was certainly uncharacteristic of Echidona to make this kind of a mistake. And failing to do anything about the ever-increasing number of Lewes afterwards just didn't sound like her at all.

[Subaru: So then, what happened to the first replicant? She couldn't hold everything, but she still inherited a part of the Witch's memories, right? It may be partial, but she's still more or less a copy of the Witch]

[Lewes: When you continue pouring liquid into an already full vessel, who is to say which parts are kept and which parts are left out? As long as it doesn't affect daily life, the loss of specific, trivial memories could still be salvageable, but what if more crucial portions are lost? The person would no longer be the same]

Listening to her roundabout explanation, Subaru imagined what the first Lewes=Echidona must have been like. Whatever she was, she must have strayed far from the Witch's expectations,

[Lewes: The story goes that the first of the replicants was completely broken mentally, and since she inherited a part of the Witch's power, she was also quite dangerous and troublesome to deal with. It took a great amount of effort to dispose of her, I hear]

[Subaru: Disposed of...huh]

[Lewes: Of course, the Witch wasn't so irresponsible as to abandon everything after a single failure. After disposing of the first replicant, I hear that she went to great pains to think of a way to alter the volume of a soul so she could transfer herself into the next one]

[Subaru: Sounds like she was really putting her heart and soul into it…]

What Echidona must have considered was to convert the data into a different medium to compress its volume, and perhaps enlarging the storage space on the receiving end by eliminating any unnecessary content.

The fact that Subaru could see this was thanks to his familiarity with computers and the concept of data, but with no such foundations beforehand, not to mention that she was dealing with "Souls", it must be beyond incredible for Echidona to have thought of this.

Hearing about the loss of the first replicant, Subaru was honestly quite disappointed. But the fact that Echidona immediately moved onto another approach lifted his hopes once again.

However, seeing Subaru's reaction, Lewes continued, [But],

[Lewes: While she did find a new method, the Witch was never able to test it]

[Subaru: W-why not? Might be weird for me to say this, but aren't the grounds for the experiment all ready to go? Even now, we still got a bunch of Lewes Meyer copies...]

[Lewes: Before the experiment could continue, the Witch of Envy had begun making her move]

[Subaru: ――――]

[Lewes: The Witch of Envy devoured half the world, and consumed all the other six Witches in the process. The Witch of Greed was no exception. And so, a Witch's plan to attain immortality was cut short by the hands of another Witch]

Subaru had an inkling about the fates of the other six Witches.

Echidona had told him in her Citadel of dreams, as well as let him personally meet them―― though they were only lingering, ephemeral fragments of what the Witch of Envy had erased from the world.

Having failed to attain immortality, continuing to preserve their fragments in this world was perhaps Echidona's final act of rebellion.

[Subaru: ...so what happened to the Sanctuary after the Witch was gone?]

[Lewes: In the first place, this land was under the management of Ros-bo's family, the House of Mathers. I don't know what kind of contract was sealed between the Witch and the House of Mathers, but it has continued to this day, and the Sanctuary is currently under Ros-bo's care and management. That said, all Ros-bo's really doing is ensuring a flow of supplies enough to ward off ruin, and occasionally bringing in some children who meet the Sanctuary's criteria]

[Subaru: And everything else is left in the care of Lewes-san… you said earlier that your individual personality was acquired little by little...]

[Lewes: Though I am one of the replicants, I was the third to be born. In order to fulfill the task of managing the Sanctuary and the ever-increasing number of Lewes Meyers, I was implanted with a certain degree of personality at birth. And even now, I am carrying out that duty]

[Subaru: Implanting personalities... is that really possible?]

Implanting an empty vessel with simulated personality so that it could fulfill a role.

Not unlike giving a computer artificial intelligence so that it behaves like a human―― which was still no more than a figment of the imagination in Subaru's world.

To this, Lewes nodded.

[Lewes: No doubt, it was not an easy task. It was only possible because I was a soulless and empty vessel. And even then, I could only perform some rudimentary tasks during the experimental stage]

"I sure got off to a rough start", her smile seemed to be saying.

[Lewes: Being given a role when you have no memories is certainly a strange feeling. The days would pass slowly, and yet things moved with incredible momentum. In time, even I grew to be perplexed by its mysteries]

[Subaru: ...So what happened to the rest of the replicants? I haven't seen any in the Sanctuary other than Pico and Lewes-san]

[Lewes: Other than the four of us fulfilling the role of Lewes, the others are scattered in various locations throughout the Sanctuary. They act like eyes watching for intruders, and serve as relays. Interestingly, we replicants can relay our thoughts with one another]

Garfiel had once mentioned the "Eyes" of the Sanctuary. If he was referring to the Lewes-replicants keeping watch around the Sanctuary, then that would explain how he managed to see through the villagers' evacuation so quickly. And, arriving on that thought,

[Subaru: W-wait hold on, you just said something I can't let slide… What do you mean the four of us filling the role of Lewes?]

[Lewes: Hmm, that. It's simple. Continually manifesting an entire body can be a tremendous burden on a replicant. This body will fade if my mana runs out. And, unlike spirits, I doubt I can re-materialize if I disappear completely. There may be a way to do it, but I don't know of it]

Disappearing and reforming with memories intact, Subaru remembered the spirit whom he had seen do this many times before. Although, since Puck had somewhere to "go home to" every time he disappeared, strictly speaking, he wasn't really disappearing. But since this wasn't the case with the Leweses, disappearing from the depletion of mana would mean death for that individual.

[Lewes: Each one of us cannot stay active for very long. Once our bodies reach their limits and could no longer move, it would take about three days to replenish the lost mana. In the meantime, we need to make sure nothing inconvenient happens due to the absence of Lewes Meyer]

[Subaru: So, there are four Lewes-sans…]

[Lewes: We take turns being Lewes Meyer for one day, every four days. Outside of that, I'd be the same as the other vessels. ...An empty cask wearing the facade of Lewes Meyer. That might be a way to describe it]

Listening to Lewes' somewhat cynical remarks, for a moment, Subaru didn't know what to say.

Anything he could possibly say would come across as empty and frivolous here. Even knowing that silence would mean affirming Lewes' cynicism, no words came to his lips.

[Lewes: Don't feel bad, Su-bo. Me and the other replicants have each accepted our purpose. Same as the first Lewes Meyer]

[Subaru: The first... That's right, I wanted to ask about that too]

[Lewes: Mn?]

[Subaru: I can see why Lewes-san and the other Lewes replicants would obey the Witch and protect the Sanctuary. But why did the girl Lewes Meyer help the Witch?]

A girl encased in a crystal, having all of eternity stolen from her.

Judging by the conversation so far, there didn't seem to have been any attempts to fill the empty vessels with Lewes Meyer herself. So Lewes Meyer had sacrificed herself for the experiment, choosing for the residence of her soul to be forever sealed within a crystal.

In exchange, her body would continuously be reborn outside. Though, for her soul, her decision was akin to suicide.

Why would a little girl make such a decision?

Or perhaps the Witch haphazardly threw her on the experiment table without her consent?

While Subaru wished that it wasn't the latter, he still asked this question,

[Subaru: What was Lewes Meyer thinking when she chose to participate in the experiment?]

[Lewes: ...Lewes Meyer offered the Witch a condition, and the Witch accepted, so she participated in the experiment. That's what I heard. There's no need to worry, she wasn't forced]

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[Subaru: A condition... can you tell me what it was?]

[Lewes: Even if you hear it, I doubt you would understand it]

Hearing this, Subaru just wordlessly stared back at her. Seeing eyes like those of a stubborn child, Lewes frowned and exhaled a deep sigh.

[Lewes: Lewes Meyer's condition to the Witch was the Sanctuary's continued existence]

[Subaru: The Sanctuary's... continued existence?]

[Lewes: Lewes Meyer wished for the state of the Sanctuary, which the Witch created as her experimental grounds, to continue to be preserved. Of course, since the Witch needed the Sanctuary to continue her experiments, she gladly accepted. Even now, after the Witch's death, her promise to Lewes Meyer is kept. With our own hands, we see to it that the contract is fulfilled]

[Subaru: No, but that's... the order's all backwards]

Echidona was the one who needed the Sanctuary for her experiments, and Lewes Meyer was the one gathered in the Sanctuary for those experiments. Why would a little girl placed on an experiment table ask the Witch for the Sanctuary's continued existence? The arrangement made no sense at all.

[Lewes: Even if it meant being used for experiments... it is still much cosier than a land in which they are persecuted. Don't you think so?]

[Subaru: ...That just sounds a bit too far beyond saving]

[Lewes: And yet, she found salvation here. So Lewes Meyer offered herself for the experiment. Whether or not it achieved anything in the end, you can be the judge of that after seeing this girl and myself]

Lewes took a sip of her thoroughly cold tea. Subaru didn't say a word in reply.

Even as the topic of her circumstances came to an end, Pico showed no reaction at his side. Only, she was still silently holding onto his sleeve.

[Subaru: Why's she so attached to me? I thought there's nothing inside, and at first she was treating me like I don't even exist]

[Lewes: It's because Su-bo touched Lewes Meyer's crystal. The command authority has been written to you]

[Subaru: Command authority...?]

Subaru furrowed his brows at the appearance of the new term.

And seeing this, Lewes nodded and held up a single finger with [Right],

[Lewes: Go ahead, try giving her an order. Oh, but nothing indecent now. She looks exactly like me, after all]

[Subaru: Even if you don't say that, I'm not interested in Loli body-types okay!? I only have a healthy attraction to girls my age! ...Pico, rub my shoulders a little]

Giving Lewes a pout, Subaru turned to Pico beside him. At the sound of his voice, the little girl looked up and affirmed his command with a nod. She climbed onto the bed, circled behind his back, and,

[Subaru: Ooh, oohoooh, feels nice feels nice...auh? Wai-wait, Pico-san? That's a bit too forceful? Scale it back scale it back ... Aoww, no no, Pico-san, scale it baaaaaack!!]

[Lewes: She may know the concept of shoulder rubs, but the strength to put into it is still an unknown. This kind of thing can happen if we don't take care to teach her properly]

[Subaru: W-why'd you tell me to try then!?]

Squirming himself free of Pico's shoulder-rub, Subaru ordered her back to her original position before giving his creaking shoulders a few turns. With the horror of Pico's bone-crushing grip still fresh in his mind, Subaru tilted his head with [But, I mean],

[Subaru: If just touching it transfers the command authority to me, isn't the security a bit too lax? What if it'd been some malicious Loli-con?]

[Lewes: It's nearly impossible to stumble into that place by accident, and the command authority doesn't transfer so easily. At the very least, you would have to be accepted as an apostle of Greed]

[Subaru: ...Hnn?]

Listening to Lewes say this followed by a sip of tea, Subaru already couldn't count how many times he had been stumped in this conversation. Crossing his arms, he timidly let out an [Uhh…],

[Subaru: Excuse me. I don't remember becoming an apostle of Greed or anything]

[Lewes: Someone who has gained Echidona's approval is qualified to be an apostle. Did you receive anything while inside the Tomb? Given something, a gift, or took anything into your body?]

[Subaru: In the Tomb...]

Recalling his meeting with Echidona in her Citadel of dreams, Subaru tried to remember if there was some kind of solemn bestowment like what Lewes was talking about. But his search came up empty.

If Echidona had granted him anything, it would've been some knowledge, some relief, and some terrifying experiences. And also,

[Subaru: ...It couldn't have been the Dona-tea, right?]

[Lewes: Hmm, Dona-tea?]

[Subaru: Echidona said it's her body fluids which she cleverly dressed up as tea and gave to me, I wound up drinking it twice...]

[Lewes: No kidding, that's definitely it]

[Subaru: What did that bastard make me drink!!??]

Seeing Subaru suddenly jump up in anger, Lewes chided him with [Now, now]. But, seeing that Subaru had no intention of cooling down,

[Lewes: Be that as it may, it is the reason we got to where we are. So it's not all bad, is it?]

[Subaru: It just pisses me off to have something put into me without me knowing! What the hell did she do to me? Apostle of Greed or whatever, I've already got my plates full with Witches as it is, don't go shoveling more on. Those damn Witches are all the same...]

Whether it was unknowingly sealing a Return by Death contract with the Witch of Envy, or being one-sidedly declared an apostle of Greed, it's like the Witches just don't give a damn about other people.

[Lewes: Anyways, thanks to that, Su-bo has been given the command authority over the Lewes replicants in the Sanctuary. You can even order me to obey you]

[Subaru: It even works on you, Lewes-san?]

[Lewes: While my willpower is stronger than the girl with no will of her own, ultimately, I cannot defy it. So, that must make a young boy like you very happy, no?]

[Subaru: I already said I'm not a Loli-con...]

Even if she throws him a seductive gaze, he won't react or anything.

Peeking at Lewes' delightful smile through the corners of his eyes, Subaru could feel the Sanctuary's mysteries beginning to clear.

A hidden facility deep within the forest. Lewes Meyer sealed inside, and a system which replicates her body. The destruction that would take place six days from now, along with the problems that comes with it.

And then, there was something that could not be left out now that they were on the topic of the facility's existence――

[Subaru: Lewes-san, sorry it's so sudden, but... there's something I need your help with]

[Lewes: What. If it's something dirty then you can go ask those pure 'n innocent ones instead of me]

[Subaru: Can you stop with that already!]

Shoving aside Lewes' jabs at the fact that he was going through puberty, Subaru stood up, stretched out his spine, and tilted back his head towards the ceiling.

[Subaru: This command authority… there's at least one other guy who's got it, right?]

[Lewes: ――――]

[Subaru: There're quite a few things I want to ask him, but there's just something else that's been bothering me]

Two people surfaced in his mind.

One, whom he had seen issuing orders to the twenty-odd Lewes replicants―― the great tiger-guardian of the Sanctuary, Garfiel.

And the other, was,

[Subaru: Why did her Door Crossing send me into the facility… It might be time to get the answer to that...]

It was about time he properly questioned that girl with cream-colored curls, Subaru decided.

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