The next day, all villagers knew the trial had three stages. Only the masked human, Eren Yeager, had passed the first stage. Emilia and Subaru had failed, as told by Emilia herself.
Hearing this, Lillian was slightly surprised. He had assumed Subaru would at least pass the first stage.
In theory, Subaru had experienced enough in this other world to reconcile with the past. Death is often the strongest catalyst for enlightenment—many people achieve clarity in the face of life and death. Survivors of disasters often undergo drastic changes in worldview.
Lillian wondered if his own involvement limited Subaru's deaths. Indeed, Lillian had shielded Subaru from several fatal encounters—Elsa, the White Whale, and the Archbishop of Sloth Petelgeuse.
Among these three, the Archbishop was critical. In the original story, Subaru was nearly driven insane by him. Lillian's interference prevented Subaru from ever encountering him. Relationships with Rem and Emilia, including breakups and reconciliations, had also been altered.
Perhaps due to these factors, Subaru's growth slowed, leaving him little more mature than when he first arrived. Failing the trial under such circumstances was reasonable.
It wasn't that Lillian didn't want him to mature; maturation required repeated deaths, which meant repeated resets. Lillian could not accept that cost, so he had erased these complications, allowing time to flow normally. Future growth would occur naturally—people cannot grow indefinitely immature.
At three or four a.m., before dawn, Lillian quietly left his room, disturbing no one, and began walking along the path he had come from.
No one questioned the trial; everyone knew it had three stages. Passing only the first stage wasn't cause for celebration. Those remaining behind were resigned, while visitors—several half-breeds—came to seek Lillian, hoping he would tackle the remaining two stages.
Lillian had planned to continue and agreed. But before the next stages, there was one more matter to attend to.
Walking steadily, he had just exited the village when Ram appeared, blocking his path. Lillian had long noticed her following him but had pretended otherwise.
"Where are you going?" Ram asked.
"Weren't you supposed to tackle the remaining two stages? Leaving now—is that giving up?"
"I have something to do," Lillian replied, looking at the calm-faced girl. "Do you care about this matter?"
"What do you mean?"
"The barrier. You're not a demi-human, right? Yet you seem eager to remove its restrictions."
"That's not my concern. Since Roswaal-sama wants it removed, I'll do everything I can to help him."
"I see."
Ram frowned slightly, still uneasy, looking at Lillian beneath the mask. "Have we really never met before?"
"Yes."
"I…"
"I have other matters. May I leave?"
Ram offered no reason to stop him and stepped aside. As Lillian passed, a gust of wind suddenly swept toward him.
Whoosh—!
The sudden wind was no natural phenomenon; Ram had deliberately sent it toward Lillian's mask. He did nothing, and it quietly dissipated as it neared him. One of Ram's eyes widened slightly.
"Is it proper for an woman to be so willful, hehe," Lillian smiled faintly at her. "Goodbye."
As Ram was about to speak, her gaze caught a small figure. Lillian noticed it too.
A little girl hid behind the grass. Upon being spotted, she ran immediately, yet Lillian recognized her appearance—eerily similar to Ryuzu, the village's authority figure who called herself "this old one." The difference was clothing and the absence of the staff taller than herself.
Lillian instantly dismissed the notion that they were the same person; their aura differed greatly. He glanced at Ram, whose expression remained normal, clearly aware from the start.
It seemed the Sanctuary hid many secrets.
Lillian didn't want to meddle in these matters and chose not to question further, simply leaving. Ram made no attempt to stop him, watching his back with a complex expression.
---
Silently, Lillian crossed the barrier and emerged outside.
As a pure human, he was not restricted by the barrier and could move freely. The reason he paused the trial was simple.
He and Beatrice had once made a promise: he could freely browse the Forbidden Library's books, and in return, he would eventually take her to meet her creator, her "mother" Echidna.
Previously, Lillian had been resentful toward Beatrice and even considered never visiting her again. But after encountering Echidna and learning of her ability to remotely manipulate the Gospel, he realized he might have misjudged Beatrice. It was likely Echidna who instructed her not to intervene at the time—possibly testing his "ability."
When Lillian first met Beatrice, he mentioned the existence of the "witch of greed" and claimed some "prophetic ability" himself. Echidna, learning this through the Gospel, must have been curious. Later, when Lillian was killed by the Archbishop of Greed, she let Beatrice stay passive.
Why? Lillian speculated that Echidna thought, "If you can predict the future, can you foresee your own death? And how would you avoid it?" Perhaps such reasoning led her to observe.
If Lillian died, it was of little consequence. If he could resurrect, then it would be interesting. Now that she knew the latter occurred, it validated his "prophecy," and she guided him to her tomb in the Sanctuary for the tea party.
Thus, Beatrice bore no real fault. Lillian no longer needed to resent her for not saving him—or Elsa. Saving was a favor; not saving was also acceptable.
Lillian's current purpose was to fulfill the promise: bring Beatrice to the Sanctuary to meet Echidna. There, Echidna would tell her that "that person" didn't exist, freeing her from waiting in the Forbidden Library indefinitely.
Whether Echidna had informed Beatrice that Lillian was still alive was irrelevant; he could prove it instantly himself.
With this in mind, Lillian crossed the monster-infested forest and the village to the foot of the mountain.
Frowning, he sensed with the enhanced mana perception—granted by acquiring the witch factor—that chaotic mana surged on the mountain.
"What's happening?"
Curious, Lillian ran toward the mountain. Emilia and the others were all in the Sanctuary; the mansion should be empty except for Beatrice. Why, then, such chaotic mana fluctuations?
Upon reaching the mountain, he saw from hundreds of meters away and was shocked. Over a hundred monsters roared in front of the mansion gates. Behind them stood coldly, the beast tamer Meili—whom he had only seen outside the royal city days ago.