[ "Apologies for the late greeting, Emilia-Sama. I am Ryuzu Bilma. I suppose you could call me the representative of this settlement. As you can see, I am but an old woman." Ryuzu Bilma said as much. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Ryuzu…?"
"…Bilma?"
Old Man Rom and Wilhelm repeated her name.
"As you can se~e. She is no Sph~inx; she is Ryu~zu Bil~ma."
Roswaal said.
"But, that just now… Ryuzu? What did little Ryuzu mean when she said becoming a soulless husk? And besides, Subaru, haven't you thought about it? If such a method were truly viable, they would have tried it and left long ago. Why suffer being trapped for so long?"
Ferris said.
"Simply put, it's… Ah, Ryuzu… Bilma is going to explain it now, I suppose."
Beatrice had just been about to call her Ryuzu, but changed it to Bilma, sounding slightly lonely.
—
[ "You said Barusu… that's Subaru-kun. Hmm, what a dense Garf. The elderly have arrived, and you still won't obediently give up your seat?"
"Because you usually get mad when people treat you like an old hag, and only act like an elderly person when it's convenient for you…" Garfiel clicked his tongue, moved away from the chair, and patted off the dust.
Then Bilma sat in the chair.
"Just now, Miss Ryuzu seemed to say something very terrifying…" Emilia said.
"She said 'soul-less husk,' didn't she? What does that mean?" Subaru asked.
"It means exactly what it sounds like, in fact. As long as a 'half-blood' touches the barrier, their consciousness is stripped away. But that understanding isn't quite accurate. To be precise, the 'half-blood's' soul is repelled by the barrier."
"In other words, if a half-blood forces their way through the barrier, their body and soul are separated. And so, the result is that the soul is left behind in the barrier… meaning the body becomes a husk, is that how I should understand it?"
"Heh, you catch on quick, kid. Simply put, that's exactly it." Bilma nodded, agreeing with Subaru's explanation. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"That is why Betty said Frederica's explanation was relatively simple earlier, in fact. Rather than unconsciousness, it is more that the soul is repelled. The principle behind Subaru coming to Mother's mental 'castle' is the same, in fact."
Beatrice said from outside the screen.
—
[ Following that, in the conversation, several people learned that Roswaal was injured because he forced the "Trial," and after gathering necessary information, such as the "Trial" being the condition to liberate the Sanctuary, Emilia and Subaru went to the Great Tomb to comfort the residents of Arlam Village.
Then, Emilia prepared to go challenge the Trial.
....
"Have you been encouraged enough by the minor spirits?"
By nightfall, the Trial belonging to Emilia was about to begin.
Subaru asked Emilia.
"Yes, that's enough. But I think I might want someone to give me one final push."
"Can you let me do it?"
"I was hoping for you, Subaru. Please."
"Good luck, don't lose. EMT(Emilia-tan Maji Tenshi)!"
"Pfft. Thank you."
"Oh, Garfiel, and Miss Ryuzu." Subaru looked back to see Garfiel, Bilma, Ram, and Otto coming to see them off.
"The graveyard… is glowing." Otto walked over, looking surprised at the green phosphorescence of the graveyard.
"This signifies that Emilia-Sama is qualified to challenge the 'Trial'; the graveyard has acknowledged Emilia-Sama," Bilma replied.
"I'm off," Emilia said, walking toward the entrance of the graveyard. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"So the Trial begins…"
Emilia said in a low voice.
She remembered that her previous attempts at the Trial were all massive failures; she was going to lose her composure in a moment.
"The Trial… huh? Hey, big sister, what do they test in this Trial?"
On the other side, Felt asked curiously.
"There are three trials. One of the past, one of the present, and one of the future."
Emilia replied.
"By the way, what does that EM-something mean? Subaru is always saying stuff like that."
"Sorry, Subaru is always saying strange things, and I don't understand what they mean either."
Emilia replied to Ferris with a bitter smile. Then Emilia added:
"Back then, when the Trial ended, Subaru was by my side. I'm really curious why Subaru was able to enter."
—
[ Emilia walked into the graveyard, and then—
"Huh?"
The green phosphorescence vanished.
The graveyard returned to its original, gloomy state.
"The light is gone! Hey, is this okay?" Subaru asked, worried.
"Normally, the graveyard's light shouldn't be interrupted during the 'Trial'…" Bilma replied.
"Then that means something abnormal happened! Emilia!" Hearing this, Subaru ran toward the graveyard without hesitation. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"So he was just worried about me. Subaru is such a fool."
Emilia felt a warmth in her heart and smiled.
"But that was still too reckless."
Then, Emilia pouted.
At that time, because of the memory seal, Subaru shouldn't have known he could enter the graveyard.
It was truly too risky.
—
[ "W-wait, Subaru-kun! To enter the graveyard, you must have the qualifications…"
"Huh? What's going on?"
Bilma and Garfiel were stunned.
Because the graveyard had lit up with green phosphorescence once again.
"Just like Emilia-Sama… Hey, Natsuki-san!"
"Barusu!"
"If I can go in, then that's exactly what I wanted! Everyone, wait outside! If something happens, I'll yell!" Ignoring the voices trying to stop him, Subaru charged straight in.
Once inside, Subaru kept moving forward.
"Is this a room?"
Entering the room in front of him, Emilia was lying on the ground.
"Emilia!" Subaru rushed over, seemingly wanting to check her condition.
But the next moment…
"First, face your own past." A voice came.
It was Subaru's voice, but devoid of emotion.
Following that, the screen went dark, and the sound of something hitting the ground echoed. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Natsuki fell?"
Anastasia's eyes widened.
"Subaru-kun!"
Rem worried.
"This must be Subaru undergoing the Trial."
Emilia said.
First, face your own past. This phrase sounded very familiar; before the Trial, she didn't know where it came from, but she heard that phrase in her own voice.
"So the Trial Subaru is facing is… the past, right?"
Yuriusu said.
"The little brother's past? What could that be? The loops he experienced before?"
Felt guessed.
"…Neither of those, I suppose."
Beatrice said, looking at the screen before her.
"C-could it be?!"
Al looked somewhat shocked.
—
[ When the screen lit up again, an unfamiliar male voice rang out—
"Good—Morning, Son!"
"Code of Hammurabi?"
Displayed on the screen was a half-naked man.
"Hey, hey, hey, what's wrong, what's wrong, what's wrong? A flying body pressed full of love the moment I wake up in the morning! Why don't you ever learn? This is what we call 'Beware of carelessness, watch out for fire'!" ]
.....