Natsuki Subaru is chasing his back

Chapter 45: No Talent

After going through a conversation that wasn't much different from the last time, night had quietly fallen.

Natsuki Subaru did not leave his room today; instead, he obediently sat at his desk, studying the written characters.

Although it looked like he was studying, Subaru wasn't fully focused.

His mind was occupied with figuring out how to solve the problems he had encountered this time, as well as planning the next steps after solving this one.

The most important point was to find the real culprit—the one who killed Rem and all the villagers had to be caught.

After that, he needed to find a way to get Beatrice out of the library.

Even if she didn't leave with him, at least he could stop Beatrice from waiting alone in sadness and loneliness in the library because of that unknown contract.

What he currently knew was that the culprit who killed Rem and the others used a curse, and that curse required face-to-face contact to be cast.

The common point between him and Rem was that they both had been to the village the afternoon before the incident happened.

Considering the incident in the village, the murderer must be hiding among the villagers.

Also, before dying, there were some carcasses of dog-like beasts in the village.

So he needed to find out what those creatures were.

"Sure enough, I'll have to go to the village again tomorrow afternoon, then remember who touched me, and after returning, ask Beatrice or Puck to find out where the curse originated."

Thinking this, Subaru put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, and murmured while staring at the ceiling:

"Another adventure..."

"What adventure?"

The voice behind startled Subaru.

He quickly turned around to see Ram standing quietly behind him, apparently having appeared without him noticing.

"Senpai, when did you get here?"

"Just now. So, Barusu, what kind of adventure are you going on?"

Looking at Ram's curious eyes, Subaru spread his hands and said:

"It's because I still can't learn the characters well, so I was thinking about whether to ask Beatrice for lessons. Although knowing Beatrice's personality, she'd probably just throw me out."

Ram looked at Subaru's sincere expression and said:

"Barusu, you really are a flirt, huh? Even with a cute senior like me to teach you, you're thinking about other women."

"Senpai, can you not say things like that as if I'm some kind of womanizer? I've never even been in a relationship!"

Subaru sighed, a bit bothered, then straightened up and said:

"Alright, enough teasing. I've encountered some characters I don't understand."

Ram came to Subaru's side and began teaching him the characters.

However, as she taught, she noticed something strange.

According to her memory, she only began teaching Subaru yesterday, but tonight Subaru's learning progress far exceeded what she had taught.

After thinking, Ram guessed that Subaru must have received some teaching from Beatrice today.

But there was another problem: during the time Ram personally taught Subaru, she found that although Subaru studied seriously, he did not have very good talent.

Even with Beatrice's teaching, he shouldn't have learned this fast.

Moreover, compared to yesterday, some of the characters Subaru wrote were even better—like he had been practicing for a long time.

"Barusu, you learn fast. Maybe you have some talent."

Upon hearing this, Subaru stopped writing and said in a somewhat low tone:

"I have no talent."

Subaru didn't turn to look at Ram's expression but remained silent, lost in his memories as he slowly continued:

"I know very well that I'm not the talented type. Back then, I wanted to be number one, to be worthy of being called 'that person's child.' But instead, I was constantly surpassed from behind. It's funny—I never thought about working harder to surpass them. I went down a wrong path instead."

"..."

Ram was speechless.

Although she didn't know much about Subaru's past, she could hear the sadness and disappointment in his tone.

Before she could try to comfort him in her own special way, Subaru's face suddenly showed a smile.

"The past me, influenced by that person, chased him in the wrong way.

But now it's different. I will become a child he can be proud of.

If I don't have talent, then I have to work even harder to become the child they are proud of. And now, I'm chasing the shadow of another person.

I want to stand by his side, so I must work even harder."

After saying that, Subaru lowered his head and focused seriously on studying.

He painstakingly learned each character, committing them to memory.

Now that he knew where he went wrong and where to put his effort, he would work hard.

Ram seemed to understand Subaru's thoughts.

Unlike usual, she didn't tease him while teaching, but devoted herself wholeheartedly to teaching him.

At least for Ram, a serious and hardworking person was easier to like.

Time passed slowly.

When Subaru stretched and looked at the characters he had written on the desk, he felt genuinely happy.

Turning around, he found Ram had already fallen asleep on his bed without him noticing.

Sleeping Ram looked very cute, even somewhat temptingly innocent.

Subaru stood and quietly walked to the bed, gently covering Ram with a blanket.

His eyes complexly gazed at Ram. She had killed him—even though he had deliberately sought death to make it easier for her to kill him and feel better.

Although it was futile, he took every life seriously.

Subaru turned and picked up a book, preparing to go to the library to find Beatrice.

She was probably asleep now.

He needed to take that restless girl to bed, then continue studying through the night. Tomorrow afternoon, he would be ready to go to the village and search for the true culprit.

With this thought, Subaru quietly left the room, unaware that after he left, someone stepped out from the shadows in the hallway.

Rem looked at Subaru's departing figure with disdain and wanted to follow, but first, she needed to confirm her sister's safety.

When she opened the door and saw Ram sleeping on the bed, she sighed in relief, gently closed the door, and hurried after Subaru.

Meanwhile, Ram lying on the bed looked somewhat pained, as if she had just had an unpleasant dream.