--- Stopping by the town of "Milura," the nearest town to the Augria Sand Dunes, was Subaru's first visit in nearly three months.

Originally, he was supposed to stop by on his way back from the Pleiades Watchtower, but due to troubles at the tower, Subaru was flung all the way to Vollachia, throwing his itinerary out the window.
Therefore, this visit to the desolate lodging town was his second time in three months.

"... Welcome amidst the sandstorm,"

As Subaru and his companions ducked under the entrance of the establishment, they were greeted by the disgruntled-looking owner, who had been idly polishing a glass.
Recalling that he had been greeted the same way the last time, Subaru flapped his arms to shake off as much of the sand clinging to him as possible at the entrance. However, it was impossible to get rid of all of it, so he resigned himself to the owner's displeasure as a necessary expense and took a seat at the counter.

"Your order?"

"Cold milk."
"Warm milk, please."
"I'll have warm milk too."

When the owner received a series of milk orders at the tavern, Subaru could see his stern face scrunching up. Even so, without a single complaint or curse, the owner began heating the milk, showing that business is still business.

As the owner set to work, Subaru pulled off the cloth wrapped around his mouth with a "phew,"

"Even though we avoided 'sand time' because of what happened last time, there's still sand mixed in the wind. I underestimated it a little."

While grumbling, Subaru used his fingers to scrape the sand from his mouth. Beside him, a girl who had similarly lowered her sand protection cloth nodded, saying, "Yeah."

"Even though Subaru warned us beforehand, my hair is already completely filled with sand... I'll have to comb it out properly later. I'll do Beatrice's too."

"I've said this before, haven't I? Betty can take care of her own grooming just fine. Focus on yourself."

"Yeah, I know, but I just enjoy taking care of Beatrice's abundant hair."

"I get it, I get it. It's a bit of an adventure messing with Betty's hair."

When it comes to Beatrice's hair, Subaru has a lot to say about how he combs and ties it every morning to maintain those drill-shaped twin tails. Although, according to Beatrice's quick reset statement, no maintenance is actually needed, it's more about how it makes him feel.
In reality, Beatrice, whose hair is treated like an attraction, puffs her cheeks.

"Honestly, Betty's stylish hair and cute cheeks are not toys, you know."

"Well, we weren't talking about cheeks, but Beako's cheeks are also like mochi-mochi land."

"They feel really good to touch, don't they!"

With the arrival of an enthusiastic supporter, Subaru laughed heartily with a "Right!" and then swiftly lifted Beatrice, who was seated next to him, onto his lap.

Surprised, Beatrice stiffened and let out a "Mmpf," but it was too late.

Having failed to escape, Beatrice's cheeks were poked by different fingers from either side.

"Hey, stop that! We're in public! Show some restraint!"

"Oh, Beako has learned to be embarrassed in public? That's growth. You used to follow me to the bathroom with no shame at all."

"That was back when we first formed the contract! It was a year and a half ago!"

"Even then and now, the two of you haven't really changed in how close you are. But, I think I can understand why Beatrice-chan is so attached to Subaru right now."

Saying that, the girl sitting on the left gently rested her head on Subaru's shoulder. Startled by the light touch, Subaru looked at the girl, who shyly smiled back with an "Ehehe."

A girl who tries to act grown-up despite still being quite affectionate. Finding her rare attitude endearing, Subaru continued to love Beatrice's cheeks with one hand while trying to pat the girl's head with the other—

"Here's the milk. ...What is this scene?"

"Ah, it's here, it's here. Hey, Beako, back to your seat."

"Back to my seat? Subaru forcefully lifted me away, remember! I'm annoyed!"

With a steaming cup of milk in hand, the shopkeeper's exasperated look made Subaru smile wryly. He returned Beatrice to her seat, received the warm cup of milk, and—

As he handed out the last glass of cold milk that Subaru had ordered—

"Ah, I knew it. You’re the guy who went to the Sandy Sea with that pretty girl before, right?"

"Oh, you remember? Yes, that's me, the milkman from back then."

"... I heard. They say someone has reached the 'Sage' Tower. Soon, many people from the royal capital might head for that tower."

"――――"

"Did you make it?"

The shopkeeper's low voice had a faint mix of expectation and excitement. While sipping his milk, Subaru glanced at the shopkeeper's leg — the one that was a prosthetic. He remembered that the shopkeeper was probably one of those who had previously attempted to conquer the Sandy Sea.

Back then, the shopkeeper had given Subaru and his companions some heartfelt advice on their way to the tower. Smiling wryly at such a predecessor's question, Subaru raised his thumb.

And then—

"Yeah, I went to the tower and met the 'Sage'. A pesky, overly familiar, cute 'Sage'. I've got some unfinished business, so I'm heading there for a second run."

That's how he answered.

△▼△▼△▼△

――The journey to the Augria Sand Dunes, in other words, a revisit to the Pleiades Watchtower.

It was a journey initiated by a request from Al, who had lost Priscilla Barielle, his dearly beloved master, within the Vollachia Empire.

Al's objective was to view the 'Book of the Dead' in the Pleiades Watchtower — to read Priscilla's book and understand her final thoughts.

Subaru couldn't refuse Al’s earnest entreaty.

"Priscilla would likely get seriously pissed if we did that."

When he closed his eyes, all that came to mind were Priscilla's arrogant and overbearing traits, but also her smiles.

He naturally pictured her angry and contemptuous gaze, understanding that such an action was against Priscilla's principles.
But he couldn't help thinking, what if the situation were reversed?

If Subaru didn't have 'Return by Death', or even if 'Return by Death' couldn't retrieve them, and he ended up in the same situation as Priscilla, losing someone precious to him.

In such a situation, would he not wish to know that special someone's final thoughts? ――In the face of that question, he thought that logical or idealistic arguments would be meaningless.

Of course, Subaru had no intention of reading Priscilla's "Book of the Dead." 

He had neither the qualification to do so, nor did he think he'd be able to withstand it if he read it. Therefore, he couldn't say definitively to Al that it existed. 

However, if anyone had the qualification to read it, it would be Abel, Yorna, or Al.
Hence—

"I want to respect Al's desire to read the 'Book of the Dead.' I will take him to the Pleiades Watchtower... This is what I can do for Al and Priscilla."

It was imaginable that Priscilla wouldn't want her own "Book of the Dead" to be read. 

But at the same time, if Priscilla were to know that her death had caused Al's heart to shatter and fall into such despair that he couldn't stand up again, and that reading her "Book of the Dead" could be a means to overcome it, she might not refuse to let him read it.

Having witnessed Priscilla's final moments and seen her vanish into the light of dawn, Subaru felt that this was the intention behind the interactions between Al and Priscilla.
That being said—

"Let me say this first, I'm not going with you. I want to let Rem, who has finally returned, rest. If you're going to work yourself to death, do it alone."

Regardless of what Ram said immediately upon hearing Subaru's opinion, naturally, there were many who opposed Subaru's decision to go with Al to the Pleiades Watchtower.

Among them, the strongest objections came from Otto and, surprisingly, Emilia.

"I agree with Ram's opinion. Not just considering Rem, but Natsuki-san must have been more than exhausted in the Empire. Your body stretched and shrank, and even if it hadn't, you must have been under great strain. Why not take it easy for a while?"

"Look, I completely understand Subaru's concern for Al. I also think I understand how hurt Al is... But, even though it's not the tower's fault, didn't it teleport Subaru all the way to Vollachia? If we send Subaru there again, couldn't he get teleported to Gusteko or somewhere else this time..."

Otto's opinion was realistic, and Emilia's opinion came from anxiety. Both were concerned about Subaru, and dismissing them did not feel good. Yet, the decisive fact that made Subaru determine to head towards the tower was the necessity of extending a hand to Al at this very moment. Frankly speaking, there was nothing Subaru could do other than bow his head and sincerely apologize—

"Garfiel, can I ask this of you?"

"Leave it to me, Otto bro. Just like you said, I won't take my eyes off the chief."

"Beatrice, hold Subaru's hand tightly. Absolutely don't let go."

"You don't need to tell me. Betty doesn't want to go through the same regret as when Subaru and the others were sent to the Empire."

While Subaru was deliberating on how to squeeze out words of persuasion, Otto and Emilia, who were supposed to stand in his way, had already delegated the matter to Garfiel and Beatrice. As Subaru turned his bewildered gaze towards them, they both shrugged their shoulders.

"Since hearing Al's story, I thought this might happen. ...But we need to go to the royal capital to report on what happened with Lady Priscilla, among other things. So—"

"We had talked about relying completely on Beatrice and Garfiel. Honestly, I really, really want to go together too, but..."

Balancing her position and feelings in her mind's scales, Emilia had decided to fulfill her role properly. As a royal selection candidate, she had intervened in the battle with the "Great Disaster" as per Abel's request and had to report the fact that Priscilla lost her life in that battle. This fact would likely shake the Kingdom of Lugunica to its core. The royal selection might also become greatly distorted due to missing one candidate. Nevertheless—

"What Subaru wants to do for Al is something only Subaru, who spoke with Priscilla last, can do. Please—take care of Al."

Subaru felt a dryness in his mouth as he gazed into Emilia's sincere purple eyes.   

For the sake of pushing through his own ideas, he felt guilty about causing the kind Emilia and Otto to bear burdens. In reality, as Emilia's knight and more importantly as someone directly involved in the events of the Vollachia Empire, Subaru should be heading to the capital with them.   

Yet, he found himself relying on their compassion and leniency.

"—Yes! This time, I will go with you," declared Petra with a sharp salute, as Subaru, touched by the warmth, became teary-eyed by her side.   

As expected, it would again be a fairly long journey to the Pleiades Watchtower. Someone was needed to take care of everyone during the trip and at the tower.   

Petra, volunteering for that role with flushed cheeks and determined spirit, said,

"This time, I'll be of use! Frederica and Ram, please take care of the mansion and Emilia while we're away!"

"Y-Yes... Such determination," responded Frederica, taken aback but accepting it.   

"Yes! Since I am usually left behind, this time I decided not to hold back!" replied Petra, showing her brave spontaneity.   

Frederica was surprised but agreed, accepting Petra's resolve.   

Subaru also had no concerns, knowing Petra would accompany them. Thus, with the team for the journey to the tower settled, Subaru finally turned to Rem.   

Having just returned to Lugunica from Vollachia, he wanted to slowly begin the trial and error process of regaining her memories at the Roswaal Mansion—though different from the previous mansion filled with Rem's memories.

"But it really sucks that things keep progressing without me..." Subaru muttered.

"Like when you reunited with Nee-sama.”

“Please don't be upset over such things... Are you really going?" Rem inquired.

"Yes, I'm going. I can't just leave Al behind. You understand, right?" Subaru responded.

"I do. —That's why, you're unfair," said Rem, causing Subaru to widen his eyes in surprise.   

Seeing his reaction, Rem lowered her head, feeling she had spoken out too harshly, and said,

"Make sure you come back. Until then, I'll try to remember as little as possible so you won't be disappointed."

"No, that's... I don't want to interfere with what you want to do," Subaru replied.

"Then, that's impossible.――Because surely, nothing you do can ever have no impact on me."

Saying that and pushing against his chest, Subaru found himself at a loss for words.

Seeing Subaru fall silent like that, Rem stuck out her tongue slightly, a mischievous look on her face as though she was saying 'got you', and Subaru found himself even more unable to respond.

――Even someone like Subaru, who could never seem to grow up, understood that this was Rem's—no, everyone's—cheer to spur him on.

△▼△▼△▼△

――And then, today they finally arrived again at the nearest town to the Augria Sand Dunes.

Thinking about everyone who had seen him off, and the tower's guardian he had been separated from during the first attack, Subaru felt a sharp pain deep in his chest.
Standing before Subaru, the shopkeeper lowered his head upon hearing the news of his arrival at the tower.

"Oji-san?"

"――――"

Suspicious of that reaction, Subaru called out to the shopkeeper, but received no answer. Worried, Subaru glanced at Beatrice to see if he had said something wrong.
However, Beatrice shook her head in response to Subaru's glance.

"There's nothing strange, I suppose. You just have a milk mustache under your nose."

"Oh! Why didn't you tell me sooner? I was trying to look all cool!"

"You looked cool, I think? Actually, I thought it was kind of cute."

"That kind of comment only ever comes from Emilia-tan with me..."

Cute and cool are expressions that suit the dashing Emilia very well. Most people can only be either cute or cool, so being called both makes her a miraculous beauty.
Anyway――,

“I see. I see...”

Leaving Subaru, who was hurriedly wiping under his nose, the shopkeeper's deep emotional murmur reached his ears. The shopkeeper then wiped his eyes with his fingers, and with great enthusiasm slammed his palm on the counter,

“Well done, good job. Today, it’s on the house!”

“Seriously?! Then, since we’ll be crossing the sand sea again, I want to stock up on food. Give me all the food you have in the shop!”

“Don’t push your luck!”

“Yeah, I figured!”

The shopkeeper, now in a cheerful mood, laughed with Subaru as he spoke. However, the shopkeeper, who had been smiling broadly, glanced at the girls accompanying Subaru and then tilted his head in puzzlement.

The shopkeeper likely wondered why Emilia, who should have left a stronger impression than Subaru last time, was not beside him. While those feelings were understandable—

“Unfortunately, she’s not with us today. But she’s safely back home.”

“I see. As long as she’s safe... But, this group looks less reassuring than the last time.”

“Just so you know, Beatrice was part of the previous group too. She just didn’t show up because she was taking care of an injured companion.”

“This is my first time, but I won’t fall behind Emilia.”

“Wow, that’s impressive confidence. Very reassuring, very reassuring.”

Seeing the girl puff her chest out, Subaru, who hadn’t been able to pat her head earlier, finally reached out to do so—but his outstretched hand was caught by the girl’s quick movement from below.

Petra looked up at the surprised Subaru with a slightly scolding gaze.

“Subaru, you tried to pat my head just now, didn’t you?”

“Huh? Yeah, I did... Did you not like it?”

“...I don’t hate it, but can I ask something? Do you pat Emilia or Rem’s heads?”

Asked in such a serious tone, Subaru blinked and pondered. When he thought about whether he patted Emilia or Rem’s heads, he recalled patting Rem’s head in the past, but if he tried to do it now, he’d probably get his arm twisted. Moreover, just imagining patting Emilia’s head seemed incredibly difficult.

“No, for various reasons, I don’t pat their heads. I don’t.”

“Then you can’t pat mine either.”

“Really!?”

“Really.”

Petra turned her face away and flung away the hand she had grabbed, leaving Subaru shocked. To Subaru, it was a bolt from the blue that Petra would enter such a rebellious phase. Seeing Subaru in such a downcast state, Beatrice shrugged her shoulders and said, “Good grief.”

“Well then, instead, you can pat Betty’s head. Right now, it’s pat-all-you-want.”

“Uhh, please, Beako, always keep the pat-all-you-want service going forever.”

"Hehe, that depends on Subaru's attitude from now on. If you continue to pat Betty's head gently enough for her to think it's not so bad, maybe she'll allow it."

"The bar you're setting is really high! But I'll exceed it...!"

Subaru extended his hand, fully focused through his fingertips, toward Beatrice, who maintained her haughty demeanor. At Subaru's gentle touch, Beatrice let out a soft breath, "Hwaa..."

"T-this is, quite... not bad at all... or rather, good? Really good? I never knew you had such potential hidden away..."

"You're too naive, Bea-ko. The time we spent apart only strengthened our bond."

"I do feel that way. Time apart does matter."

"Petra-san? There's a certain intensity in your gaze...?"

Petra edged her chair half a step closer, her sharp eyes fixed on Subaru who was patting Beatrice's head with his 'God Hand'. However, Petra pretended to be unaware, responding to Subaru's words with a nonchalant, "Is that so?"

Subaru was left flustered by Petra's attitude when,

"Well, I understand that this is an amusing set-up. But are you sure about this? Just because it went well once doesn’t mean you can underestimate it."

"Yes, I understand. Although the most dangerous sniper with the largest skin exposure is gone, the sandstorms and the beasts are still an issue. Speaking of which, that advice you gave about the bird flying towards the tower really helped."

"Glad to hear that, but... do you understand the problem points? What are you going to do?"

"We're planning to deal with that specifically."

In the conquest of the Augria Sand Dunes, the challengers faced three major hurdles—one was the 'Sand Time' when the sandstorms became extremely severe, another was the ferocious beasts inhabiting the sand seas, and the last was Shaula, though now that worry, as lonesome as it was, was no more. And as for the beasts, which could be the biggest obstacle during 'Sand Time'—

"—My goodness, this place is always so sandy!"

A dissatisfied voice and the sound of dust being brushed off a body could be heard from the entrance. Subaru and the others turned around in anticipation and took in the sight of the person who stood there.

Standing there was a girl with blue braids, dressed in black.

Noticing Subaru and the others' gaze as they sat lined up at the counter, she briefly widened her eyes in surprise before giving a mischievous smile.

"Hey there, big bro! I'm glad you made it back safely. And Petra and Beatrice, it's good to see you both looking so well."

Saying this, the girl—Meili Portroute—waved her hand, and a small scorpion popped out from her hair, waving its tail in sync with her hand.

With this demeanor, Meili and the small scorpion were both welcoming Subaru and the others back to the Kingdom of Lugunica and celebrating the long-awaited reunion.

At Meili's appearance, Subaru smiled at the shopkeeper behind the counter,

"She's the biggest ally we had in conquering the Augria Sand Dunes."

"A grinning young man with three girls… Could it be that the 'Sage's' tower isn't as far as I thought it would be?"

Hearing the shopkeeper's dumbfounded words, Subaru thought to himself that it wasn't unreasonable for him to say that, considering their group. While scratching his cheek with one hand, he continued to pat Beatrice's head with the other.