Chapter 75 75: A Scene That Does Not Exist in Memory

After delivering a string of remarks that had done nothing but irritate Betty, Natsuki Subaru finally remembered why he had come.

"So — where exactly is this place?"

"Hmph～ It is Betty's bedroom-cum-library-cum-private sanctuary, I suppose."

Betty introduced her little corner of the world to Natsuki Subaru with the proud, slightly pouty air of someone who expected to be impressed.

Natsuki Subaru, however, looked thoroughly underwhelmed.

"What a textbook answer. Can't these game tutorials come up with something a little more original?"

Saying this, Natsuki Subaru spread his hands in weary resignation.

"Or is this just the sort of setup that's fashionable among lolicons these days? Dreadful taste, honestly."

At that, Betty's brow knitted sharply.

She couldn't quite follow what this man was going on about — but that last bit about dreadful taste came through perfectly clearly.

"Betty's patience has very nearly reached its limit. I think it's time to give you a little education, I suppose."

Betty let out a sigh, and the hard furrow in her brow slowly smoothed away. She closed the book in her hands and began to walk, unhurried, toward Natsuki Subaru.

"Don't move. And — is there anything else you'd like to say?"

Natsuki Subaru sensed that something was very wrong. He tried to run — but Betty pinned him to the spot with a single cold, withering look.

"Just... don't make it hurt."

That was all Natsuki Subaru could manage, with a thin, awkward laugh.

And then——

"Uwah! Aaaah!"

The moment Betty laid her hand against Natsuki Subaru's chest, he crumpled to the ground.

"What did you just do to me, drill-loli..."

"I merely absorbed a small amount of mana from your body. Though I did at least confirm you harbour no hostile intent."

Natsuki Subaru's mouth twitched.

"You're really... something else, you know that..."

And before the words had even fully left his lips, Natsuki Subaru sank into unconsciousness.]

"Aaah, what was I doing back then! How could I treat Subaru like that!"

Betty pressed her hands over her face, burning with embarrassment — half remorse, half indignation at her past self.

Subaru wasn't being rude at all! He was lively — spirited — full of a certain manly energy.

And besides, he was also very… very…

Betty faltered, unable to find the right words to use against herself.

But still — whatever the reason — making Subaru suffer like that was simply too much.

If she and Subaru were ever playing together and this moment came back to her, the guilt alone would be the death of her!

This wouldn't do… She had to find some way to make it up to him properly.

"Ahaha, please don't let it trouble you, Lady Betty — you and Subaru do have a contract between you, after all, so a little rough-and-tumble between the two of you is really no different from family squabbling."

Seeing the situation, Otto stepped in with characteristic tact, rubbing the back of his head and producing that signature smile of his — awkward, yet perfectly polite.

Rem and Ram said nothing — but beneath the surface, a quiet swell of dissatisfaction stirred in both sisters.

Really, Lady Betty… Looking at what was unfolding on the screen, their man had clearly not come out of that without suffering.

Reinhard had not said a word from start to finish. He simply stared at the screen with absolute concentration, unwilling to miss a single detail.

Garfiel noticed this, and — as though taking it as a challenge — fixed his own gaze just as fiercely on the screen, shutting out whatever anyone around him might be saying.

Frederica saw this and could only shake her head in quiet resignation.

[Natsuki Subaru slowly opened his eyes once more upon the same luxurious bed, greeted by the now-familiar sight of the ceiling above him.

"He's awake, Sister."

"Yes, he's awake, Rem."

"To think that I, a child of the night, should wake in the middle of the day — how deeply moving."

Natsuki Subaru declared this with a self-satisfied smile.

"Sleeping in — or rather, technically waking up once before — so this must be my second round of sleeping in."

"What a useless thing to say. Did you hear that, Sister?"

"Yes, what a useless thing to say. I heard it, Rem."

"So — who exactly is this duo that's been insulting me in stereo from the moment I woke up?!"]

Frederica sighed at the scene and turned to address Ram and Rem with a mildly exasperated air.

"Now, you two — treating a guest with so little courtesy reflects poorly on the maids of Roswaal Manor, you know."

"No, Frederica-senpai — but..."

Rem's expression was serious, her gaze fixed on the screen carrying a faint, puzzled edge.

"But?"

Frederica repeated the word with a curious tilt of her head, wondering if she had perhaps misread the situation entirely.

"What Rem means is — this scene doesn't exist anywhere in our memories. Do you understand what we're saying?"

Ram's face was perfectly composed, her tone the same as if she were remarking on something utterly inconsequential.

And yet her words sent a wave crashing through the group — a wave far too large to be ignored.

"Are you saying, Miss Ram, that everything being shown to us on that screen is fabricated?"

Otto asked the question with a puzzled frown.

"No… that isn't quite it either."

At that, Ram rested a hand against her chin and swept her gaze around the assembled faces as she thought it through.

What she had said — that she had no memory of this scene — carried two distinct layers of meaning.

From the moment she had been reborn into this point in time, she naturally had no memory of the experiences being shown on the screen between herself and Barusu.

But she'd had no memory of it before her rebirth, either — and that was what made it strange.

Though when it came down to it, no one outside the manor could possibly know the half of it.

Strictly speaking, only she and Rem were in a position to feel the full weight of what this meant.

Rem… had been moving rather fast in her relationship with Barus since the rebirth, it was true.

But for the moment, what she had just said contained no obvious flaw.

And from Lady Betty's reaction a moment ago, it had already been confirmed that the story unfolding on the screen was not a fabrication.

After all, Lady Betty's response was proof enough that she genuinely held those memories.

"It is perfectly natural that what is shown on the screen does not match your memories, everyone."

Seeing the bewilderment spreading through the group, Emilia stepped forward and offered an explanation.

"Keep watching and you should understand before long — I won't spoil it ahead of time."

Emilia of course knew perfectly well what the reason was — because the images on the screen didn't align with her own memories either.

And that could only mean one thing… Subaru had died inside the manor, and triggered Return by Death.

The thought drew a quiet sigh from Emilia.

"Trust me, everyone — the truth is far more painful than any of you are imagining.

"Please — steel yourselves before it arrives..."

[Natsuki Subaru flung back the covers and sat bolt upright in the luxurious bed.

He turned his head toward the side of the bed with an irritable look — but the moment he saw the source of the sound, he froze completely.

Bathed in a rose-pink haze of impossible beauty, a pair of twin sisters — one blue-haired, one pink — stood in their maid uniforms, side by side, hand in hand, and turned their gazes toward Natsuki Subaru.

"Thump, thump…"

Looking at that sight, Natsuki Subaru freely admitted that his heart had given a very hard lurch.

"Impossible — maid uniforms exist in this world too?"

He said it with barely-contained excitement, the words tumbling out fast and breathless.

"My impression of maids has always been one of supreme elegance — but this is something else entirely!"]

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