Since last night, the clock in the hallway had been ticking steadily. Deep in the night. Natsuki Subaru descended the stone steps leading to the basement of Roswaal's mansion, one step at a time. Her left arm, wrapped in bandages, cradled against her right side. The petrification had crept up to her elbow. There was no sensation. But the weight was unmistakably real. The door to the seal chamber opened slowly. The stone tablet—Velta Secra's monument—pulsed with an irregular red-black glow. Day seven. The time limit. Those words spun endlessly through Subaru's mind. Emilias was already there. Standing before the tablet, cradling the petrified fingers of her left hand with her right, she looked at Subaru with that same gentle expression she'd worn for seven days in her silver-haired, beautiful form. "[gentle]……You came" "[serious]Yeah, I came" Then footsteps echoed from the hallway. A sound like someone dragging their right foot slightly. Leon. The moment she reached the seal chamber's entrance—— Thud. Leon's right foot caught on the threshold and she stumbled badly. "[cold]……No problem" She steadied herself, crossing her arms. Her face was completely red. Her petrified right foot still seemed numb; she rotated her ankle in circles. "[sarcastic]First time I've ever heard someone say 'no problem' after tripping at the entrance" "[angry]I didn't trip. I stumbled" Emilias winced sharply, trying to protect her petrified left hand. A face fighting through pain. "[surprised]Ah……ow" "[serious]That's why you both should've said something before coming" Subaru leaned her shoulder against the wall and sighed in exasperation. But she felt like laughing. These were the people making an entrance like this on the seventh night. Bianca came in last. The 42-year-old mage with white hair tied back tilted her head slightly to avoid touching her right ear, moving quietly before the tablet. Her golden eyes fixed on the stone. "[cold]We have no time. Begin" The four of them formed a semicircle before the tablet. No one spoke. The seal chamber was always 13 degrees. Stone walls. The red-black light of the tablet wavered. The fragment of the tablet Bianca held was nearly losing its glow. One second. Two seconds. Ten seconds. Silence filled the room. ——Subaru stepped forward with trembling legs. She moved one step in front of the tablet, extending her petrified left arm toward everyone. Gray outlines were visible above the bandages. She took a deep breath. "[crying]……I love you all so much" Her voice came out. Clearer than she expected. "Emilias. For seven days, even in that silver-haired, beautiful form, your gentle way of speaking never changed once. Every time I panicked in this incomprehensible situation, you came to my side. Over and over again" The fragment in Bianca's hand glowed faintly white. "Leon. You're clumsy, somehow always off the mark, and I really thought it was stupid how you tried to carry everything alone. But——the way you protected me kept supporting me all along. Every time you punched the wall, I knew it had to hurt" Leon kept her arms crossed, her gaze falling to the floor. "Bianca. Without you, we would've all panicked and ended on the first day. You stayed calm, calculated everything, and pulled us all forward. You always looked like you hated being called 'teacher,' but you answered anyway" "[cold]……How many times did I tell you not to call me that" She said it quietly. But she didn't deny it. Subaru's voice truly wavered for the first time. "……I was always dying alone" The seal chamber fell silent. "Return by death——I don't know if you even understand what that means. Every time I die, time rewinds. It starts again. I try again. And I could never tell anyone. I thought they'd hate me if I did. I thought they'd see me as a monster" The fragment glowed white. Stronger than before. "But——the truth is. The truth is I always wanted to tell someone. I wanted to believe I wasn't alone. I'm weak. I can't do anything by myself. But——I want to be with all of you. That's my real honest feeling" The moment she finished those last words, the color of her petrified left arm faded slightly. The gray receded, and her skin tone began to return. Subaru covered her face with her right hand. She hadn't meant to cry. But her eyes burned. Then. Emilias stepped forward, pressing her petrified left hand to her chest. "[sad]……I'll tell the truth too" Her voice trembled. But she continued. "As a royal selection candidate, I always thought I had to seem composed. I thought if I said I was scared, I'd disappoint everyone. But——the truth is I was scared. I was always terrified of carrying it alone" She brushed back her silver hair with her right hand. That familiar gesture made something warm bloom in Subaru's chest. "For seven days. Every time you smiled, Subaru, I found strength to move forward. Every time you got angry, I could be serious too. I——I've always liked you" Her voice cracked. But she said it all. The fragment shone brighter, and the petrification began to recede from Emilias's left hand. The gray slowly faded away. Something in Subaru's chest jumped. (Wait. Just now——this feeling——) Before she could even cry out internally, Leon looked up at the ceiling. A deep breath. Once. Twice. "[serious]……I'm clumsy. All I can do is protect. I only realized today that was self-centered" Her arms stayed crossed, but her voice was low and serious. "[angry]Subaru. Let me stay by your side. A world without you——I don't need it" She said it like a shout. Silence. Leon seemed to realize what she'd just said, and her face turned red in real time. "[cold]……Forget what I just said" "[laughing]Impossible! Everyone heard it! The fragment's glowing like crazy!!" The fragment was shining white. Definitely. Emilias and Leon noticed each other at the same time. They both recognized what the other had confessed——and simultaneously looked away. An awkward silence hung between them. "[sarcastic]……You two get along so well" She said it in an emotionless voice. But the tablet fragment still wasn't completely white. The red was fading, but it remained. Tension returned to the seal chamber. Bianca stared at the fragment. A long silence. Then——without looking up, she opened her mouth in a small voice. "[whispers]……When I accidentally touched the tablet" Everyone froze. "It wasn't an accident" Silence. "You all kept not saying what you really felt, always being considerate of each other……and it irritated me. I just wanted to give you all a little push. I'm sorry……" The moment those last words were wrung out—— BOOM!!! The tablet released a blinding white light. The seal chamber walls shook. The fragment blazed in her hand, and Bianca gripped it reflexively. The light spilled from the seal chamber, spreading through the hallway, down the stairs, engulfing the entire mansion. "[crying]Bianca, that's the most embarrassing honest feeling of all!!" "[cold]I told you not to call me——" She was cut off as the fragment shone even brighter. Bianca went rigid. "[surprised]……You found out I thought of you as my apprentice……" She closed her mouth. Her face was red. The 42-year-old mage was clearly, unmistakably blushing. The light exploded. White. Everything white. A wave of blinding light spread from the seal chamber, enveloping the entire mansion—— --- When the light faded, the first thing Subaru noticed was her hand. She looked at her left hand. Unwrapping the bandages, what lay beneath was——a hand with sensation. Fingers that moved properly. Proper skin tone. A man's hand. "……Ah" In the small mirror hanging on the seal chamber wall, her face was reflected. Black short hair, deep brown eyes. A small scar at her left temple. The face she'd almost forgotten over seven days. She looked to the side. Long silver hair. Pale purple and silver heterochromatic eyes. The person who'd been a "beautiful young man" for seven days——had returned to her original form, her face bright red as she looked at Subaru. Emilias. The girl-form Emilias was standing there, both hands pressed to her cheeks. "[surprised]……Huh" "[surprised]What do you mean 'huh'" "What I said just now……can we pretend it didn't——" "[serious]We can't pretend any of it away, it was all honest!!" Looking to the other side, Leon had returned to her original form——a dignified female knight's body, facing the wall with her face hidden. Crimson short hair with black streaks. The small horns on her forehead didn't twitch at all. Even her ears were red. "[cold]……Me too, forget it" "[angry]I said you can't forget! All of it was honest, right!?" Subaru looked back and forth between Emilias and Leon in their original forms. After seven days of talking to them in male forms——why did their original forms feel so fresh? Why did her heart race more like this? "Why am I still flustered even after changing back!!" "[laughing]……I'm the same way" Emilias laughed with tears in her eyes. "[cold]Me too" She said it quietly, still facing the wall. Subaru gently took Emilias's hand. The hand that had been petrified was now warm. Properly warm. Emilias froze. Her cheeks turned even redder. "[surprised]Eh——" "[gentle]It was all real. For me and for Emilias" Leon turned around then. She stepped away from the wall and looked at Subaru and Emilias——at their joined hands——and her thick eyebrows twitched. "[cold]……Next is my turn" Her face was completely red, but her eyes were serious. Subaru instinctively grabbed her head. "Why is it like this even after changing back! This is a bloodbath!!" "[sarcastic]Stop wallowing in sentiment" Bianca's voice cut through. The three of them turned to see Bianca, returned to her small white-haired form, picking up one of the scattered stone tablet fragments from the floor. The massive tablet had been completely obliterated. Fragments lay scattered across the seal chamber's stone floor, glowing faintly as they cooled. Bianca's golden eyes narrowed. "[serious]……There are still letters remaining on this fragment. A name I don't recognize. And——what looks like a letter to Roswaal" Bianca murmured, and at that moment, a presence appeared at the seal chamber entrance. It was Roswaal. He must have come down from his study. Standing at the seal chamber entrance, noticing the fragment's light, he approached. He sensed that everyone had been engulfed in white light, and for just an instant——his usual carefree expression froze. Roswaal took the fragment from Bianca's hand and read the letters. He said nothing. He simply placed the fragment in his own pocket. "[surprised]Roswaal, what was written on that" "[cold]I'll tell you eventually" He just smiled. He wouldn't answer. That expression was slightly different from usual——probably only Subaru noticed. Bianca quietly kept her gaze on Roswaal's pocket, thinking something through. --- When they left the seal chamber and entered the hallway, light was streaming through the eastern window. It was dawn. Roswaal's mansion garden was dyed in the orange of early morning. Light bounced off the artificial pond's surface, and the shadows of the gazebo's trees stretched long. The first proper morning view in seven days. Subaru, Emilias, and Leon stood side by side, looking out the window. "[gentle]Seven days……when it's over, it was all fun" Emilias said it, watching the dawn. "[cold]I wouldn't call it fun" Leon said. But her mouth was slightly softer. "[gentle]Yeah, it was fun" Subaru laughed. The three of them stood together, watching the dawn. Behind them, Bianca leaned against the hallway wall, her gaze fixed on the direction Roswaal had gone. Her golden eyes narrowed quietly. The name carved on the fragment. The letter's contents. The reason for Roswaal's expression. This wasn't the end——Bianca was certain of that. In the morning light, the three of them laughed, their voices echoing through t