After the girl who called herself Shaula finally became willing to talk properly, Subaru slowly began to understand his situation.
He was inside a tall tower.
Right now, he was on the fourth floor.
The tower was called the Pleiades Watchtower.
Of course, that name also had another meaning.
Pleiades.
A bright open star cluster located in the constellation Taurus.
Several of the bright stars that formed the cluster were part of the Pleiades, which was where the name came from.
That was right.
Before Natsuki Subaru had been summoned to another world, he had indeed been an extreme shut in.
But at the same time, he was also a veteran astronomy nerd.
His knowledge related to the night sky was actually quite deep.
“Combined with the name Alcyone… If I’m remembering right, that should be one of the stars of the Pleiades.”
Subaru held his chin with one hand as he thought.
“I see.
Shaula, who built this tower?”
Subaru felt something strange.
If this really was another world, then the starry sky should not be exactly the same as Earth’s, right?
And yet, no matter how he looked at it, this naming style was based on Earth’s constellations and stars.
“Ah, Master is asking strange questions again.
You even forgot that?
Sigh, I guess if you forgot adorable little Shaula, I really can’t expect you to remember anything else.”
Shaula sounded a little gloomy.
“Okay, okay, just tell me already.”
Subaru felt like he was starting to get used to talking with this strange, wild, naturally airheaded girl.
“You personally took part in building it, Master.
This place is your property!”
“Huh?!”
Of course, Subaru did not believe that he had built this tower.
But this unique naming style really did match him in a strange way.
Although it could also just be a coincidence.
“Anyway, this tower should have seven floors, right?
Their names are Maia, Electra, Taygeta, Alcyone, Celaeno, Asterope, and the smallest one, Merope.
Am I right?”
Subaru smoothly listed the names of the stars in the Pleiades.
Shaula froze completely.
Only after a while did she speak.
“And you still say you lost your memory!
You really are Master, aren’t you?!”
“So this really is common knowledge in another world…”
“However, Merope, which is floor zero, can’t be entered right now.
And you mustn’t go inside either”, Shaula suddenly said.
“You can’t enter it?
Do you need a telescope or something?”
On Earth, only six stars of the Pleiades could be seen with the naked eye.
One of the stars had grown harder and harder to observe over time, until it could no longer be seen without a telescope.
“What’s a telescope, Master?”
“Don’t worry about it…”
Subaru knew that explaining would probably take too much effort and have no real point.
He wanted to get out of bed and personally take a look around the tower.
“Hiss—!”
Pain shot through his body again.
The burning ache tortured him, and he decisively lay back down.
“Master, don’t move around.
Your wounds still haven’t closed yet.
If the lesser spirits find out, they’ll get angry and chase you back here!”
Shaula put her hands on her hips and spoke seriously.
She seemed to quite enjoy situations where she could lecture Subaru.
“Ah, right…”
What were lesser spirits?
Still, Natsuki Subaru could feel that his injuries really were healing faster while he lay here.
Inside this room, was there some invisible power accelerating his recovery?
It seemed he would have to rest here properly for a while.
“Right, Shaula.
How long was I unconscious?”
Subaru suddenly thought of that question and asked.
“Not long.
Only about five days or so~”
Shaula answered in a calm tone.
“Five days?!”
Natsuki Subaru was stunned.
That was already an incredibly long time.
He had not expected to be unconscious for that long in one go.
No, wait.
If that was the case, why did his stomach not feel starving or thirsty?
In five days, even if he had not starved to death, he should have died of thirst.
“Then how did I survive?
What about food?
Water?”
Subaru continued questioning her.
“Geez, Master, why do you keep asking questions like that?
If it’s water, there’s a waterfall behind the green room.
There’s plenty of water there.”
“Okay, fine.
What about food?
Don’t tell me this tower even has your own vegetable garden.”
Shaula giggled.
“Of course, it’s those mabeasts.
You just have to fill your belly with mabeast flesh and blood.”
“Uegh—!”
Subaru almost vomited on the spot.
His entire face turned terribly pale.
“Ah!
What’s wrong, Master?!
Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?!”
The moment he thought of that centaur like mabeast, Subaru remembered its disgusting appearance, its newborn baby like crying, and the teeth growing from the hole in its stomach.
Just thinking about it made him nauseous.
He had actually eaten something like that?
“No, wait.
Shaula, if I was unconscious, then obviously I couldn’t chew anything.
How did you feed me?”
Subaru snapped back to his senses and asked an even more important question.
“It was like this, Master.
Since you were unconscious, it really was hard to handle.
So I had no choice but to…”
Shaula became a little fidgety.
Her eyes unconsciously glanced downward, and her two fingers kept poking each other.
“Don’t tell me…”
Subaru already had an idea in his heart.
“That’s right.
I chewed it into minced meat first, then mixed it with water and fed it to you, Master!
Don’t worry, Master.
Shaula doesn’t mind that your mouth stinks!”
“Is that supposed to be the main point?!”
Subaru rolled his eyes.
In other words, his first kiss had been taken just like that by a girl whose origins were completely unclear.
Of course, Shaula was a very beautiful girl.
That much was true.
But after seeing the moment Shaula destroyed the centaur, it was very hard for Subaru to treat her like an ordinary girl.
“Mm, does Master have any other questions?
Shaula will answer them all!”
“All right… How do I get out?
How do I leave this place?”
My beautiful otherworld life is still waiting for me outside.
As long as I get out, I’m sure I can make a name for myself.
I really can’t stand staying inside this tower for even another second.
“…”
Shaula fell silent.
A trace of reluctance flashed through her eyes, but she still showed a lively smile.
“You just have to leave directly through the gate on the fifth floor.”
“It’s that simple?”
“It’s not that simple.
If Master just walks out normally… I’ll probably have to kill you directly.
So you can’t do that.”
“Huh?!”
The words “kill” were spoken very lightly, but to Natsuki Subaru, they were like a huge stone dropped into his heart.
He absolutely could not forget that this beautiful girl had killed that mabeast in an instant.
There was no way he could win against her.
“W-Why?
You said I’m your master, right?
If that’s the case, why would you kill me?”
“Because even if it’s Master, you still have to follow the tower’s rules.”
“The tower’s rules?”
“The first rule is that before completing the trials and reaching the first floor, all trial challengers are forbidden from leaving the tower.
If you break that rule, even if Shaula doesn’t want to, I’ll turn into a terrifying killing machine and deal with you, Master.
So you absolutely have to be careful.
I don’t want to kill Master!”
After hearing that, Subaru felt nothing but trouble.
Just what kind of nonsense was the builder of this tower thinking?
He had never intended to participate in any trial.
Could innocent people not get dragged into this?
My beautiful otherworld life is still waiting for me outside!
“In other words, I have to clear this tower before I can leave safely, right, Shaula?”
“That’s exactly right.
Master’s analysis ability is amazing.
Shaula loves it.
Hug—!”
“That’s enough already!
Stop touching an injured person!”