Farewell, Echidna
After leaving his home, Subaru slowly walked along the familiar streets.
After a brief moment of hesitation, he slipped into the school he had attended and finally stopped in front of his classroom door.
Staring at the sign that read "Class 3-6," he took a deep breath and opened the door in front of him.
The dazzling light caused Subaru to instinctively close his eyes.
"Eh?"
When he opened his eyes again, Subaru let out a surprised voice.
He found himself back in the dimly lit tomb. Before he could even react, Echidna's voice echoed again.
"First, confront your past!"
After the familiar wave of dizziness,
Subaru opened his eyes to find himself in a place resembling a movie theater.
The white-haired witch was sitting in the center, waving at him.
"There's so much I want to complain about and ask," Subaru said as he walked up to Echidna, who was now wearing his school's uniform.
"Mm-hmm, let me hear it. What are you thinking, what are you considering, and what are you going to ask me? I'm very interested!"
"That world just now… was it created using my memories? And what's my current situation? Did I restart because I failed the trial, or did the second trial just randomly begin?"
"Ah, yes. The trial uses your memories to recreate a fictional world as accurately as possible. Since it's your own memories being used, naturally you experience everything as if it were real.
Of course, your real parents still don't know where you are or what you're doing — they're surely still worried about their missing son."
"And didn't you hear the prompt? 'First, confront your past.' Everyone has regrets about their past.
Naturally, only regrets strong enough to make someone instinctively avoid them appear in the trial.
Depending on the person, it may not just be one scene.
There are many formats for the trials. This time, I will accompany you as an observer to witness your past. And then, please provide your own answer."
"By the way," she added, "this movie theater and school uniform are thoughtful touches from me as a witch!
It's totally not because I've grown curious about the girls living in your world and want to experience their culture and entertainment! Also, this goes beyond your world's latest 4D viewing technology — be grateful!"
"…Are you one of those so-called 'smart idiots'?" Subaru asked, sighing at Echidna's overly talkative behavior, then sat down.
"How mean! As for how to pass the trial, of course the examiner can't give the candidate the answers! But since you already passed one trial scene, shall we start the next one?" Echidna asked, pointing excitedly at her own cheek.
Subaru hesitated.
His original goal was simply to meet Echidna and express his thanks.
Maybe he was even considering forming a contract with her.
That is to say, now that he had met her, he had completed his original goal.
Ending the trial here would probably be the right decision, but—
"I didn't expect to have a past so filled with avoidance, like what happened in Japan…"
His curiosity was undeniably piqued.
Moreover, saying goodbye to past regrets just now had truly given him a sense of emotional salvation.
"That's right. By the way! Now that the trial has begun, you can't stop partway through. You either complete the trial or fail it. There's no such thing as quitting halfway."
The witch, noticing Subaru's hesitation, decisively blocked his escape route.
"Then why even ask me?"
"Because watching your internal conflict is also quite interesting. Besides, I can let you rest in this theater until someone interrupts the trial. Oh, want some?"
With a snap of her fingers, Echidna conjured a tub of popcorn and a soda. Maybe because Subaru's stare was too intense, she offered them to him.
"Whoa whoa, this is a tragic past I instinctively wanted to avoid, right? Are you sure this is okay?"
After his sarcastic comment, Subaru looked at the fragrant food offered to him and suddenly recalled a joke about chocolate from his past life that used to trend online — back then, he had thought something like that would never happen.
"…This stuff isn't made from your bodily fluids, right?"
"Nope. Just like the food you ate at home earlier, this is simulated by the Sanctuary system from your memories.
There are no witch factors in it.
This isn't essential information for the trial; I just recreated it based on your memory — you could say it's from my imagination. Or… do you want bodily fluid-flavored popcorn?"
"Regardless of the flavor, I'm not interested. Let's just get on with the trial already."
"Mmm, it's tastier than I imagined! Okay, let's begin!"
The witch chewed her popcorn and snapped her fingers again. Instantly, the surrounding environment began to change rapidly. Subaru noticed his body pass through a familiar desk, and in front of him, a familiar boy was being teased by the cat-girl.
Seeing himself awkwardly handling Ferris, Subaru immediately recognized the timeframe.
"No way, it's this period?!"
"Correct. This is you after the Royal Capital incident — the you who was about to begin the Astrea War."
Echidna's voice came from the bookshelf beside him.
Subaru turned to see the shelf become transparent, revealing Echidna still eating popcorn.
"Amazing tech," he muttered. He subconsciously reached for the pen on his desk. His hand passed through it. Nodding to himself, he said:
"Looks like I can't interfere with the trial world in this mode.
But do I really have regrets about that war strong enough to match my Japanese black history?
I mean, sure, there were some things I regret, but it lasted over a month from my perspective. Can your thought-acceleration system handle that?"
"Don't worry. In your terms, it'll only play the 'highlight reel.' As for regret... Don't you feel any? Are you sure you don't? Watch from the perspective of an outsider. Then give me your answer."
Subaru hesitated, then turned his attention to the Natsuki Subaru in front of him.
With the perspective of a god, he reexamined his past self's experiences.
He saw Winston, who taught him letters... the kind merchant who helped him buy a gift for Otto... the beast tamer who played with him... and amusing moments at the mercenary guild... then finally, inexplicable deaths.
"It's like watching an anime episode. But... I didn't really see anything that made me feel regret."
"Is that so? Well then—let's move on to the next loop."
With a snap of her fingers, Echidna made time resume once again.