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Volume 4, Chapter 56 [The Purpose of the Sanctuary]

The place where Lewes led him was the remote shed where she last invited him for tea.

[Lewes: Anywhere on the bed is fine. I’ll brew us something to drink]

[Subaru: I could brew it if you like? Ram’s trained me pretty well, I think]

[Lewes: While I’d love to see your expertise, it doesn’t look like you’re free at the moment]

Lewes smiled as she pointed out the girl who looked exactly like herself, still tugging on Subaru’s sleeve without any indication of letting go.

While she was probably Lewes’ clone, Subaru wasn’t entirely sure if he should keep calling her that,

[Subaru: Say, why’s Pico still not letting go?]

[Lewes: I don’t know where you got the name Pico from, but, things being as they are, I doubt there’s anything you can do so you should just accept it for now. That’s what happens when you touch things without thinking, you know]

[Subaru: Can’t really argue with that……]

It sounded like Lewes was saying this for his own good, but Subaru still felt a little upset to be blamed for groping things without thinking. Seeing Subaru pouting to indicate his displeasure, Lewes brewed up the tea and came back with the tray in hand.

[Lewes: Here, it’s hot, so let it cool before drinking]

[Subaru: I’m not a little kid anymore… I’m not gonna gulp it down and burn myself]

[Lewes: I have someone around me who never settles down and always has trouble with hot food, so the warning’s gotten to be a habit]

Since Garfiel was the first person Subaru would think of to have trouble with hot food, Lewes was probably talking about him.

Seeing how Garfiel could transform into a giant tiger, the can’t-settle-down and the cat-tongued descriptors were both a match, and having difficulty learning would be in line with Subaru’s preconceptions as well.

Just as Lewes said, the tea was scalding hot. Subaru brought the cup to his lips, took a sip over his parched tongue, and sighed. Come to think of it, this was the first drink he had since Returning by Death and waking up in the Tomb.

[Subaru: Ahh, tastes just like leaves]

[Lewes: Have I just been given an unflattering review, or am I overthinking it]

[Subaru: You’re overthinking it, overthinking it]

Drinking down the rest of the tea, Subaru placed the cup back on the tray with a click.

Lewes casually pulled up a chair beside the bed and sat down facing him.

[Subaru: So, now that we’re settled, let’s start going over the topics]

[Lewes: Hmm. And I have quite a few things I’d like to ask Su-bo as well]

Somewhat relieved by her straightforward reply, Subaru’s mind began to turn.

He had plenty of opportunities to speak with persons of interest like this before, but he still hadn’t gotten any closer to the truth. Part of it was due to intentional concealing of information, but there was another reason before that.

[Subaru: It’s because I haven’t asked the right questions]

The question that would link all the answers into a single thread still eluded him.

And so, all this time, Subaru had been missing the point without realizing it.

Even something as simple as asking what he needed to know from those who knew was out of his reach.

[Subaru: That building…… that facility back there. What exactly is it?]

[Lewes: Hmm…… so that’s the question you’re starting with?]

The first thing that popped into his mind was an inconsequential feint.

A question to gauge just how upfront Lewes intended to be.

Hearing this, Lewes traced her fingers over her chin in a shrewd, seasoned gesture quite ill-suited for her appearance,

[Lewes: If you ask me what that facility is, the answer is that, in a sense, it is the core of the Sanctuary. In other words, it is part of the reason why the Sanctuary exists]

[Subaru: The reason why the Sanctuary exists……!?]

[Lewes: In the first place, Su-bo… who do you think had a need to create the Sanctuary?]

[Subaru: That’d be Rosw……]

Blurting out an almost reflexive answer, Subaru instantly realized that couldn’t be right.

While Roswaal was the current owner and manager of the Sanctuary, the question of who created the Sanctuary was a different story.

[Subaru: The one who created this place…… was the Witch of Greed, Echidona, right?]

[Lewes: Correct. It was the Witch Echidona who created this place. The Witch created the Sanctuary because it was necessary to her. Ultimately, that’s all this place is]

[Subaru: That’s a bit extreme, and skimping way too much in between…… at least give me a few details]

[Lewes: As for its purpose, isn’t the success of her experiments right in front of your eyes?]

Seeing Lewes’ smile as she said this, for a moment, Subaru held his breath.

Lewes’ words were vague, but he understood their meaning.

What she was trying to say was,

[Subaru: The result of this place… was Lewes-san and this girl?]

[Lewes: You are a kind child, Su-bo. Or otherwise, a naive one. ――It’s fine to just say the experimental results]

Subaru hesitated to say this in front of the person herself.

If it was a matter of failing to read the air or simply being obtuse, it’d be a different story. But Subaru was keenly aware that this was not a time for jokes.

[Lewes: There is a girl inside the crystal who looks exactly like me, yes?]

[Subaru: ……Yeah. Exactly identical. So Lewes-san, this girl and her… you guys are triplets, I guess?]

[Lewes: If you’re going to bunch every one of us who looks the same into one big family, calling us triplets would be falling a tad too short]

[Subaru: Just a tad?]

[Lewes: Just a tad]

Lewes’ “tad” might be referring to a missing digit here.

In fact, having seen more than twenty Lewes-clones at once, no one could blame him for thinking this.

Subaru sighed and shook off that thought.

So far, Lewes hadn’t been trying to dodge Subaru’s questions. Perhaps now was the time to stop feeling her out and dive in.

[Subaru: ――The girl in the crystal… what’s her relation to Lewes-san?]

He asked the question directly.

Lewes’ expression was calm. Brushing her fingers through her light-pink hair, she turned a meaningful gaze towards Subaru―― or rather, towards the silent girl at his side.

[Lewes: Not just me. This girl is in the same position as myself]

[Subaru: And the girl in the crystal?]

[Lewes: No, she is different. That girl inside the crystal… is the original]

Unable to instantly take in what he had just been told, Subaru furrowed his brows to show his non-understanding. Standing up from the bed, he chewed over the implications of her words,

[Subaru: The original, would mean that……]

[Lewes: Don’t be in such a hurry. Trawling through memories takes time for the elderly. So get comfortable, and be patient]

[Subaru: Don’t suddenly play the elderly card now. Just looking at this bland flavorless girl beside me I can tell that you’re just trying to add seasoning!]

[Lewes: Hrm, that’s an unfortunate misunderstanding. I consider all the things that make me what I am now, what you might call acquired individuality, to be quite important to me]

[Subaru: Acquired… individuality?]

Hearing something he could not let slide, Subaru repeated the words as a question. Lewes nodded, and with [That’s right], she continued,

[Lewes: Just as you imagined, I am the same as this girl, born as an empty vessel. And through the passing of years, that empty cask was filled to become what I am today]

[Subaru: Wait, waitwaitwait, the story’s moving way too fast. Born? Empty? What’s that supposed to mean? Maybe it’s supposed to be obvious, but what does this have to do with how the girl in the crystal is the original?]

[Lewes: The one inside the crystal is the original. The first Lewes Meyer. All the other Leweses, including myself, are Lewes Meyer’s replicas]

So casually, Lewes told him of her origins. Or actually, Subaru wasn’t even sure if he should continue calling her Lewes.

What Lewes said just now was what Subaru himself vaguely hypothesized upon seeing the Lewes-replicants. He had half-suspected it but could not be entirely convinced, partly because he hated the feeling of knowing that someone he knew was a clone.

If there must be a reason, it would have been Subaru’s own prejudice.

[Lewes: Now that you know I am a replica, does that affect how you see me?]

[Subaru: ……I don’t know. I want to say that it doesn’t. I want to, but……when you put me on the spot like this…]

――He couldn’t say for sure.

Strictly speaking, considering that this is a parallel world, he couldn’t exactly call the Leweses clones, and the way they were created was probably very different from what he imagined.

No doubt, they would have been born through magical rather than scientific means. Such a life shouldn’t be considered superior or inferior: that would have been the appropriate thing to say, but,

[Subaru: I’m not confident enough to say it with a straight face. So I can’t really say I’ll see you the same way]

[Lewes: I suppose I should revise what I said before. Su-bo is kind and naive…… and more than that, overly honest at heart]

Surely, those weren’t words she was happy to hear, but Lewes gave him a satisfied nod nonetheless. While sorting through the emotions in his mind, Subaru turned to the girl sitting beside him――the one he named Pico, who was in the same situation as Lewes.

――Silently holding onto Subaru’s sleeve, Pico was staring blankly across the room. Although her eyes should be seeing the same image as Subaru’s, they harbored nothing that could be considered emotions, and were more like glass beads reflecting the light around her.

Her expression hadn’t changed, and he hadn’t heard her make a single sound.

[Subaru: She’s completely empty inside, is that what you meant……?]

[Lewes: She was born not long ago, a replica who’s only just been given her role. She knows enough to recognize simple instructions, but otherwise, she is no different from a newborn. Although, seeing that she doesn’t cry or need to eat, she is quite a lot less trouble to take care of]

[Subaru: She doesn’t need to eat……?]

[Lewes: Replicating a body isn’t so simple a task. What do you imagine were the principles behind her and my creation?]

Being asked to guess, Subaru held back his urge to ask for an immediate answer.

A greedy child who only knows how to ask and receive was not what Lewes expected of him.

Under the stern pressure of her gaze, Subaru mobilized his mind to scrutinize over her words, and eventually came up with,

[Subaru: Is it… mana……?]

Muttering this, the basis of the great cat spirit’s existence flashed across his mind.

Puck’s spirit-body manifests by using mana as an intermediary. Reapplying that concept, it should be possible to materialize human bodies the same way as well.

Hearing Subaru’s guess, Lewes lifted her brows and gave a little clap.

[Lewes: Well done. I’m impressed that you reached that answer on your own. It doesn’t sound like anyone told you, either]

[Subaru: Well, you did kinda guide me towards it. And being around a spirit for so long helped as well. ……So, was I right?]

[Lewes: Almost correct. But manifesting bodies purely by using mana as an intermediary means consuming it rapidly. Instead, the Witch of Greed forced her way around this problem with a special algorithm]

[Subaru: Forced… algorithm?]

[Lewes: She developed an algorithm for an organ to create artificial “Od”, which, once it stores up a certain amount of mana, allows the body to materialize. And so, while the body is constructed from mana, the presence of Od allows for living beings indistinguishable from “Normal” organisms to be created]

Od――unlike the mana in the atmosphere, it inherently exists in living things.

Though Od serves the same functions as mana, it cannot be drawn from external sources, and a set lifetime amount is decided at birth. Using Od would be equivalent to shortening one’s own lifespan, and the result of its depletion is death.

It’s like using HP to cast magic when there isn’t enough MP―― except there would be no way to regenerate the HP.

[Subaru: You make it sound so simple…… but isn’t that incredible? Even if it’s artificial, being able to regenerate Od is basically like creating life]

[Lewes: Of course, it is a phenomenon only possible when very specific initial conditions are met. Regrettably, it’s not something I myself could comprehend. ――Except, the Witch has successfully created life, that much is certain]

[Subaru: Sounds completely ridiculous…… but that guy’s pretty amazing]

He could just imagine the white-haired Witch looking down at him with a smug smile on her face. But then, his thoughts immediately turned to,

[Subaru: Wait, but Daphne could also create Mabeasts. Unless creating life is just surprisingly easy for Witches? It’s not as rare as I thought]

He could almost hear the white-haired Witch hmphing [It’s not like I did it to get your approval or anything].

[Lewes: What’s that, you look like you’re thinking about something heartwarming]

[Subaru: It’s weird, but it feels like our exchanges have completely melted any sense of caution towards her. Anyway, I understand Lewes-san’s origins now. Echidona made replicas of a girl named Lewes Meyer back there, I get that too…]

Now that Subaru understood the principle behind the replicants and that Lewes herself had accepted that fact, the overarching question would be,

[Subaru: Next question is, why would Echidona do something like that?]

[Lewes: Hmm……]

[Subaru: Since I barely know anything about magic or algorithms, I can only guess how amazing Echidona’s achievements are from the surface. But even just looking at it, I can tell it’s pretty huge]

Lewes crossed her arms, listening, while Subaru inhaled a breath and continued,

[Subaru: So where did she get the motivation to do something that huge? What’s her motive? And why’s it necessary for Echidona to make replicas of Lewes Meyer?]

He still didn’t know what the girl named Lewes Meyer was to the Sanctuary.

In the present-day Sanctuary, the Lewes he was talking to served as a representative/Lewes look-alike. But what was the original Lewes Meyer’s role in the Sanctuary’s hierarchy?

Or, what if she was the actual impetus for the Sanctuary’s creation?

[Subaru: I just thought of something, that might be it]

[Lewes: Oh?]

[Subaru: This kind of story always sells. Maybe she did it in order to replace the original Lewes Meyer, who somehow met an untimely death]

Tropes like retrieving lost loved ones from death always show up in mangas and light novels. Creating clones of the deceased with identical DNA as a substitute is a pretty popular plot device, and most of the time, they’ll offer some reason like “Their bodies are the same but their souls are different” and end in failure.

[Subaru: Going by what you said, and looking at Pico, the experiments of the Sanctuary probably ended up with the same problem. You guys are made to look the same, but the personalities and quirks didn’t carry over, I’m guessing]

If she refused to give up and kept making more and more replicas anyway, that could perhaps be considered insanity. But to persist after more than twenty failures, still hoping that the original soul might be inhabiting the next one, that could only be called――

[Subaru: I don’t want to dismiss it as delusional, but……]

It’s hard to blame someone for wanting to bring a certain person back to life. At least, Subaru definitely couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Even now, Natsuki Subaru was working towards a future where everyone would be saved.

The methods and processes were different, but was that really so different from the Witch’s experiments?

As for what the Leweses born as a result of the experiments thought of this, that would be a question only they could ask themselves, and which no one else could answer.

Listening to Subaru bring his speculations to a close, Lewes exhaled a sigh,

[Lewes: Your head turns quicker than I thought, Su-bo]

[Subaru: With everything that’s been thrown at me, it’s actually way too slow. Hate to say it, but still]

Subaru clicked his tongue at his overly slow deductive skills and ruefully gritted his teeth.

Seeing Subaru this way, Lewes slowly shook her head. But it wasn’t a gesture meant to console him. Instead, a subtle smile emerged on her lips, hosting a tinge of melancholy,

[Lewes: Except, you are overthinking it. It wouldn’t be exaggerating to call that a fantasy]

[Subaru: Fantasy…… I didn’t know I was that far off……]

[Lewes: A fantasy indeed. This is what you thought, isn’t it―― “No matter how arduous the effort, she must be brought back to life. That’s how precious and important Lewes Meyer was to the Witch of Greed.” Am I wrong?]

[Subaru: …………]

Lewes tilted her head as she asked this, and hearing her strike the crux of the matter, Subaru fell silent.

In fact, that was exactly what Subaru imagined. Developing a brand new algorithm, going through all this strenuous effort just to extend one person’s existence―― naturally, that person must be someone especially important to the Witch.

But Lewes refuted this conclusion with a smile. A pained, and hollow smile.

[Lewes: Lewes Meyer was just a village girl. She wasn’t anyone particularly close to the Witch of Greed. And naturally, they had no blood or matrimonial ties. To the Witch, Lewes Meyer was just a stranger, with barely a word exchanged between them]

[Subaru: How is that…… no, hold on]

Listening to Lewes say this as if she had seen it herself, Subaru suddenly held up his palm to stop her. He pressed his other hand against his forehead, and,

[Subaru: But isn’t this strange? You said just now…that you’re the same as Pico, born with nothing inside. Then how did you know that about the Lewes Meyer inside the crystal? It doesn’t make sense]

[Lewes: That would be the result of another experiment conducted in this Sanctuary]

Gently receiving Subaru’s rebuttal, Lewes placed a hand to her chest.

If what she said was true, then there would be no heartbeat pulsing against her hand. But then, where did the warmth when he touched her come from? ――While Subaru’s mind wondered, Lewes closed her eyes,

[Lewes: Lewes Meyer was not close to the Witch. But she sacrificed herself for the experiment. The Witch took Lewes Meyer’s body and sealed it eternally inside the crystal. From there, she designed an algorithm, which, once it has accrued a certain amount of mana, would generate a replica of Lewes Meyer through artificial Od, and it remains so to this day]

[Subaru: ……but why]

[Lewes: Lewes Meyer’s replicants, aside from a minimal understanding of language and common concepts, are in a state no different from newborns. Yet that in itself is strange. If they are the same as newborns, then they should be crying, ignorant, and pure. But where did they acquire the level of knowledge to follow basic instructions?]

[Subaru: Unless…… no way]

Thinking of the worst of possibilities, Subaru lost his words.

Seeing Subaru’s expression, Lewes figured that he must have got it, and nodded,

[Lewes: The Witch had formulated a way to pick and choose knowledge to confer upon the replicas. But she chose to give them only the minimal, and let them be born empty of all else]

[Subaru: You mean, having them born without knowing anything is just the way she intended? But, why would…]

What’s the point of a ritual that only produces dolls that follow orders? Of course, such a thing isn’t inconceivable. But that would be far too uncharacteristic of the Witch of Greed he knew.

Would the white-haired girl really go through so much trouble just to create moving bodies akin to her own arms and legs?

[Subaru: Not sure if she could do this, but, wouldn’t catching some humans and brainwashing them be cleaner and faster? Instead, she went with this. There must be some other reason]

To create empty, new existence from nothing――

[Subaru: ――a]

For an instant, a thought flashed across his mind.

Deciding that it was far too preposterous, Subaru shook his head to forget it. But once the thought was born, it clung to him and would not let go.

If that really was the case,

{I wouldn’t want you to despise me}

That would explain why she wanted to hide her true intentions from him.

And why the Lewes in front of his eyes was allowed to inherit a small portion of Lewes Meyer’s memories.

[Subaru: If she could pick and choose knowledge to give them, why would she choose to create empty replicas]

[Lewes: …………]

[Subaru: Create empty vessels, and then what? Same as why anyone places empty vessels on a table…]

[Lewes: …………]

[Subaru: ――It’s to fill them with something, isn’t it]

The reason she prepared these empty vessels was so she could fill them with knowledge and memories.

Keeping the one inside the crystal as the immutable original. By spawning a limitless number of replicas, capable of storing an infinite volume of knowledge――

[Subaru: If she could burn her own memories and knowledge into the Lewes Meyers’ bodies, over and over. If she could do that, then it’d be like…]

[Lewes: ――Immortality, in a sense]

――And that was the truth of the experiments of the Sanctuary.

-=Chapter 56 End=-