Note: Not a very long chapter but the usual standard length (2k+ words). I would like to upload faster but I prefer not to rush. This arc is personally the best one and I want it to be perfect.
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A few minutes had passed since they had entered the Forbidden Library, yet neither of them had said much. Tanaka sat on one side while Beatrice sat opposite him with her arms folded tightly across her chest. The silence between them had continued for so long.
Beatrice kept fidgeting in her seat, which was unusual for her. She had spent centuries waiting for this moment, imagining what she would say and wondering what kind of person would eventually walk through that door. Now that he was finally sitting in front of her, however, she had absolutely no idea how to begin the conversation.
Tanaka seemed to be struggling with the same problem. He glanced around the library, looked at Beatrice, and then turned his attention back to the shelves surrounding them. Finally, unable to endure the silence any longer, he cleared his throat.
"Hi. I'm Tanaka."
Beatrice's eyes widened slightly at the sudden introduction.
"...I'm Beatrice."
"Beatrice..." Tanaka repeated, a small smile appearing on his face. "Nice to meet you, Beatrice."
"Nice to meet you... Wait! What are we doing?! This isn't supposed to be some sort of introduction exchange, I suppose!"
Tanaka blinked at her.
Beatrice's eyebrow twitched. This was not how she had imagined their first meeting. Not even remotely.
She stood from her chair and walked around the table until she was standing a few steps away from him. Her expression gradually became more serious as she focused her attention on the matter that had brought them there.
"What you said earlier..."
Tanaka looked up at her.
"That you're that person."
The smile disappeared from Tanaka's face.
"I don't know. I can't remember anything besides my name. I don't know who I was, where I came from, or why I was following those spirits."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"When I arrived at the mansion, they told me to come here. Then they told me to say, 'I'm that person.'"
Tanaka looked back at Beatrice with an apologetic expression.
"I thought maybe someone was expecting me, or perhaps whoever sent them knew me. But I don't even know what 'that person' is supposed to mean."
Beatrice remained silent. She had expected answers, but instead, she had received another mystery. Even so, there was something strangely convincing about his explanation. He wasn't lying. He genuinely didn't know.
"Those lesser spirits..." Beatrice narrowed her eyes. "Who ordered them to follow you, I suppose?"
"I asked them, but they said they couldn't tell me. They were bound by a contract. Apparently, they're not allowed to reveal who gave them their orders."
Beatrice's expression darkened slightly. Someone had deliberately arranged for him to come there, but she still didn't know who had done it or why his memories had been taken from him.
Her thoughts turned toward the explanation that seemed most obvious.
"Regarding your memories..." She studied him carefully. "Betty thinks she understands what happened."
Tanaka tilted his head.
"Really?"
"It's probably because you lost your Od, I suppose."
Tanaka stared at her, but then he noticed that her expression had changed. The confident irritation she had shown earlier was gone, replaced by clear concern.
"...What's wrong?"
"Earlier..." Beatrice hesitated before continuing. "You coughed up a lot of blood."
Tanaka looked down at himself.
"Oh."
He waved dismissively.
"I'm fine."
"You're obviously not fine!"
"No really, I'm fine. That was because I exposed my gate and that was to show you that I didn't have any evil intentions."
Despite Beatrice's irritation, Tanaka could tell that she was genuinely worried about him. He sighed and placed a hand against his chest.
"You don't have to worry about me. It's true that I can't draw mana from the atmosphere, but I can absorb it from spirits and mana crystals. If I touch another person, I can draw mana from them as well."
His expression became uncomfortable.
"I try not to do that, though."
Beatrice frowned.
"And you don't know why you can do this?"
"No." Tanaka shook his head. "I don't know why I'm like this." He stared at his own hand with a troubled expression. "It's almost as if my body remembers things that I don't."
"I see..."
She tapped one finger against the table.
"You shouldn't even be capable of functioning like this. An Od isn't simply a reservoir of mana. It is part of what allows a person to properly exist."
Tanaka listened quietly as she continued.
"When someone repeatedly overuses magic, they can eventually begin consuming their own Od. If they exhaust it completely, they lose themselves. Their memories, personality, and even the fundamental qualities that make them who they are can deteriorate."
She looked directly at him.
"You're different. You've lost your Od, yet you're still standing here. You're still thinking, speaking, and moving. Somehow, the only obvious thing you've lost is your memory."
Tanaka didn't answer. His gaze lowered, and for the first time since entering the library, his expression became genuinely dejected.
"I'm sorry."
Beatrice's eyes widened.
"Sorry?"
"My answers weren't what you hoped for, isn't that right?"
Beatrice stared at him while his shoulders began to shake. She couldn't let him continue blaming himself, not after waiting all this time for him to arrive.
She stepped forward and tried to sound stern.
"You better get rid of that gloomy face, or even Betty will get mad, in fact."
Tanaka looked up at her.
"But..."
"Memories or not..." Beatrice's voice softened. "...you came."
Tanaka froze.
"You are the person my mother told Betty to wait for. She said that you were someone worthy of inheriting her knowledge."
Beatrice tightened her small hands at her sides.
"She never said that you had to remember everything. She only told Betty to wait, and you came. That alone is enough."
Tanaka stared at her as his eyes began to glisten.
"Can I hug you?"
Beatrice's face immediately turned red.
"What?!"
She took a step backward.
"What's with you all of a sudden?! No one accepts such an abrupt proposal, I suppose!"
Tanaka's expression immediately fell.
"W-Wait! Why are you getting all dejected?!"
His shoulders drooped, and Beatrice watched helplessly as his eyes began to water.
"That's... Because you hate me..."
"Betty never said that!"
Tanaka wiped his eyes.
"I'm sorry..."
"No, no, no! Stop crying!"
Beatrice's face became completely flustered as she looked at him, then at the floor, and finally back at him. Her hands trembled slightly while she struggled to decide what to do.
"...Honestly."
She took a deep breath.
After hesitating for a moment, Beatrice stepped forward and wrapped her small arms around him.
Tanaka froze, his eyes widening in surprise. For several seconds, neither of them moved. Then Tanaka slowly raised his arms and hugged her back. Beatrice could feel his body trembling against her.
"I'm sorry," he murmured against her shoulder. "I'm sorry for being useless."
"I feel like I know you..." His voice cracked. "I'm supposed to know you."
"Enough." Her voice was gentle as she held him more tightly. "You don't have to remember right now. Betty isn't angry with you, and it isn't your fault that you don't remember."
For the first time since he had awakened in that strange world, Tanaka felt something that resembled familiarity. He didn't know why or where it came from, but holding Beatrice felt right, as though some part of him remembered what his mind could not.
After a while, Beatrice slowly pulled away and wiped the remaining tears from his face with her sleeve.
"Stay here for a moment."
"Where are you going?"
"Betty is going to speak with Roswaal."
Tanaka immediately stood.
"I'll come with you."
"No." Beatrice pushed him gently back into his chair. "Stay here obediently, I suppose."
"But—"
"Betty doesn't want you getting involved with him. I'll be back quickly, in fact."
Tanaka hesitated. He clearly didn't like the idea of staying behind, but eventually, he nodded.
"...Okay."
"Good."
Beatrice turned toward the door and rested her hand on the handle. Before leaving, she glanced back at him. Tanaka was sitting quietly at the table, watching her.
With a final look, Beatrice stepped out of the Forbidden Library and closed the door behind her.
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Beatrice entered Roswaal's office. She found Puck already there, floating several inches above Roswaal's desk while the mage sat behind it. The great spirit turned toward her and offered a small smile.
"Hey, Betty. Did you get a chance to talk with Tanaka?"
Beatrice nodded as she walked farther into the room. "Yes. I understand the situation, more or less, I suppose." Her expression grew more serious as she looked toward Roswaal. "From now on, Tanaka is going to stay in this mansion."
Roswaal's smile remained, though his eyes narrowed slightly. "Oh? Would you care to enlighten meeeee? The great spirit refused to tell me anything, he simply said that I should wait for you Beatrice. This is a matter that involves Echidna-Sama and the wish of my ancestor."
Beatrice frowned. "I still don't think this concerns you whatsoever, but fine. Tanaka is most likely that person, I suppose."
Roswaal's smile faded. "Most likely?"
"There's no doubt about it."
"What makes you so certain?" His voice remained calm, but his eyes sharpened. "Regarding the information surrounding 'that person,' it would not be impossible for someone to have learned about it beforehand. Perhaps he discovered the information somehow and is pretending to have lost his memories to conceal the gaps in his story."
Beatrice's expression darkened. "It infuriates Betty that you would even suggest such a thing. Do you honestly think Betty would accept just anyone as that person simply because they walked into the mansion and said the right words?"
"Yes, Betty has waited for more than four hundred years, but that isn't why Betty believes him."
She exchanged a glance with Puck. The great spirit sighed, and the playful expression he usually wore disappeared.
"Earlier, when Tanaka released his mana, Betty and I both sensed something," Puck said. "The mana he released was the same as ours."
Roswaal slowly turned toward him. "...What?"
"Tanaka, like Betty and Bubby, is one of mother's creations."
For the first time since Beatrice had entered the room, Roswaal's composure visibly cracked. His eyes widened as he looked from Puck to Beatrice and then back again.
"You're certain?"
Puck gave a quiet nod.
"But he's human," Roswaal said, his brow furrowing. "We saw him bleed."
"Half-human and half-spirit," Beatrice replied, though her expression became complicated. "Although even that isn't entirely accurate."
Roswaal stared at her. "Explain."
"When Betty sensed him directly, she could tell what remained of him. There was a human component, but it wasn't even half." Her fingers tightened around her dress. "So much of him is missing that calling him half-human would be too generous."
Roswaal's eyes widened. "What did you say?"
"Logically, it shouldn't be possible," Puck said quietly. "But if we're talking about Echidna, then perhaps 'impossible' isn't enough of an argument."
Roswaal fell silent. The implications were enormous. Echidna, the Witch of Greed, possessed knowledge far beyond the understanding of ordinary people. If she had created something like Tanaka, then perhaps what seemed impossible was merely something they had yet to understand.
As Beatrice considered the matter, another realization slowly began to take shape. For four hundred years, she had remained in that mansion, absorbing mana from people and anything else capable of providing it. The amount she had accumulated over such an absurd span of time was enormous.
Why had she been created with such a requirement? Why had her mother ordered her to wait? Why had she been told that someone would eventually come? Why had that person needed to be someone worthy of inheriting Echidna's knowledge?
Then there was Tanaka, a being who could not properly survive without an external source of mana and whose existence appeared to require the assistance of another spirit. The pieces began to fit together.
Beatrice's eyes widened. "...Mother thought of everything."
A small smile appeared on her face as the realization settled in. "Betty was never meant to simply wait. Betty was supposed to help him."
She looked toward the door. "Tanaka is that person. There's no doubt about it, I suppose."
Puck watched her quietly. "His memories were most likely lost because he no longer has an Od."
Beatrice nodded. "But despite that, he's connected to Mother."
Roswaal remained silent for several seconds before finally speaking. "So... are you satisfied, Beatrice-sama?"
Beatrice's expression immediately became stern again. "Hmph. It's not a matter of personal feelings. Betty is simply following Mother's orders, I suppose."
Roswaal chuckled. "Of course."
After a brief pause, Beatrice's expression softened. She glanced toward the door and allowed herself a faint smile. "But as for Betty's expectations... yes. Betty is satisfied."
Roswaal smiled warmly. "I'm happy for you." He rested his chin against one hand. "Though I admit, I'm a little envious. You finally fulfilled your purpose before I did."
Puck floated closer to Beatrice and grinned. "I'm happy for you too, Betty. And Tanaka seems like a decent fella."
Puck then glanced toward Roswaal. "In that case, Betty, I should probably go see Lia. I'm sorry. I know I promised that we'd spend today together, but it looks like you're going to be busy."
"It's alright, Bubby," Beatrice replied. "It can't be helped. We can spend time together another day, I suppose."
"Well..." Roswaal suddenly interrupted.
Both Beatrice and Puck turned toward him.
"That might not be necessary."
"...What?"
Roswaal simply pointed toward the window. "Take a look."
Beatrice narrowed her eyes suspiciously before walking toward the window. Puck followed her, and the moment they looked outside, both of them froze.
Down below, in the mansion's garden, Tanaka was sitting on the grass beside Emilia. The silver-haired half-elf was laughing, and Tanaka was laughing with her. Dozens of tiny spirits surrounded them, their blue lights drifting lazily through the air like fireflies.
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Extra note: I know it's a lot of mind f*ck but I won't be answering some questions since I know I'm a blabber mouth and I'm afraid I might end up spoiling it.
You might not understand what exactly is going on but I promise that it will all make sense eventually. For now just enjoy the lore bombs.