Subaru Natsuki, who returned from the new Three Kingdoms

Subaru smiled slightly: "Don't worry, it's alright."

After pushing Capella's hand away, Subaru Natsuki opened Roswaal's Book of the Dead.

Although the Book of the Dead consists of words, reading it does not require the ability to understand words.

All it takes is for someone to focus their gaze on a piece of paper, and the soul imprint left by a person throughout their life will follow that gaze and fall into the eyes of another.

Countless memories flooded Subaru Natsuki's mind at the same moment.

That was a period of four hundred years.

From a boy who couldn't even handle his magic spells on his own, to a great magician who surpassed his teacher, the Witch of Greed.

Different faces of Roswaal, Roswaal of different ages, joys, anger and obsessions piled up from several souls, layer upon layer, poured into Natsuki Subaru's consciousness from the pages of the book.

Capela's expression changed the moment the book's pages were opened.

She instinctively moved closer to Subaru Natsuki, her red eyes fixed on his face, her fingers gripping his sleeve, ready to snatch the Book of the Dead at any moment.

"Subaru, if you sense anything's wrong, stop immediately, understand?"

Her voice was filled with barely concealed anxiety, as if she would immediately interrupt Subaru's reading if he showed any abnormality.

Clarissa had read the Book of the Dead and knew that it could pull one's soul into the lives of strangers. She stood nervously by his side, barely breathing, ready to catch the collapsing Natsuki Subaru at any moment.

But Natsuki Subaru's expression remained unchanged.

Calm, as calm as reading a wordless book.

At first, Subaru Natsuki was just turning the pages, but later he started using momentum to begin rapid quantum reading.

Only after closing the last page did he raise his hand and rub his temples.

"Subaru, how are you?" Capella asked anxiously.

"It's nothing," Natsuki Subaru said calmly.

Don't get me wrong, the headache he was rubbing his temples just now wasn't because he had a memory shock from some clown.

I just find the whole idea of ​​reading to be so cheesy.

"Dad, do you feel someone whispering in your ear right now?"

Clarissa cautiously cautioned, "Don't believe him. It's just memories from the book misleading you, not your own..."

Clarissa was interrupted by Subaru Natsuki halfway through her sentence: "I don't feel anything."

"?" Clarissa froze on the spot.

Her lips opened and closed repeatedly, as if she couldn't comprehend the situation at all.

After she finished reading the book of the dead, the memories of the deceased haunted her for two or three days before she could recover.

According to what Mom just said, this Roswaal is obviously much stronger, and Dad is actually alright.

"Dad...how did you do that?" Clarissa finally couldn't suppress her curiosity and asked.

Subaru Natsuki glanced at her.

"Why not just not think about it too much?"

Natsuki Subaru put the Book of the Dead back into the Orveil, speaking calmly as if he were talking about something perfectly ordinary.

"Haven't we heard enough whispers in our ears? A mere Roswaal? He's nothing but the quietest of them all."

Clarissa's lips moved, but she ultimately couldn't utter a word.

Natsuki Subaru continued:

"The key to reading is to only read the parts you want to read and skip the parts you don't want to read."

"It doesn't matter whether you're reading a novel or studying military strategy."

"All of Roswaal's memories have entered my mind!"

"But trying to understand someone just because you have something in your mind is the mindset of a weak person!"

"We only need to understand what we can currently use; we can save the rest for later. We'll study them when we need them."

Natsuki Subaru smiled simply.

He murmured to himself:

"People only need to know what they should know. Try not to think about unnecessary things when you're sober, because thinking too much will only give you a headache."

Through Subaru Natsuki's deep gaze, the image of Roswaal before his death flashed into his mind.

The temperature plummeted, and snow fell without warning. The chill penetrated the Sanctuary's barrier and landed on Roswaal, who was recovering from his injuries.

Before the great mage could even understand what was happening, his consciousness was swallowed up by the boundless whiteness.

Emilia doesn't exist in this memory, nor do enemies.

Because the content in the image was too little and useless, Natsuki Subaru went back and understood some more memories.

It turned out that Emilia and Roswaal had set off back to the border during the daytime of the day he left the capital for the Sage's Tower.

Upon arriving at the mansion, Roswaal immediately went to the Sanctuary to recuperate.

Emilia and Ram did not accompany them.

They stayed at the Roswaal mansion.

So, does that mean the only option now is to go to Roswaal's mansion to find out?

Subaru Natsuki composed himself, squatted down, and exposed his back to Capella, gesturing for her to come up.

Seeing that Subaru Natsuki showed no signs of being affected by Roswaal's memories, Capella finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Where do we go next?

After Capela took his place, Subaru looked up.

"To Roswaal's mansion!"

The closer one gets to the mansion, the more alarming the surrounding scenery becomes.

The snow fell from the sky, covering the roads, the trees, and those who couldn't escape in time.

Some people were still holding the door open, some were still holding their children, and some had their mouths open, their last scream frozen on their faces.

The entire land looked like it was covered with lifelike ice sculptures.

Clarissa's breathing became more and more rapid. She was a bit of a weirdo and not good at enduring the cold. Her steps became slower and slower in the snow, and her face turned deathly pale.

The snowstorm obscured the boundary between day and night.

It wasn't until the surrounding snowflakes started falling again that Natsuki Subaru realized that "Starry Night" had ended.

The sky had already brightened, but the thick clouds and flying snow made the sunlight appear as dim as dusk.

"Clarissa, you stay here and rest for now."

Subaru Natsuki looked at her, relieved that he and Capella were fortunate to possess dragon blood.

But Clarissa was clearly already unable to withstand the cold, and continuing to push her forward would only harm her.

"We'll explore the road ahead with Capela."

Clarissa tried to shake her head, but her frozen lips trembled so much that she couldn't squeeze out a complete sentence.

Subaru Natsuki subconsciously raised his hand, and a fireball shot out from his hand, setting the nearby stable on fire to warm Clarissa.

Subaru Natsuki looked at his palm.

Although he didn't try to understand Roswaal's memories, he still received some of Roswaal's instincts.

For example, Subaru Natsuki didn't even know the name of that fire magic, but he released it instinctively.

"Get some rest," Natsuki Subaru said forcefully, leading Clarissa to the fire.

Capela suddenly landed on the snow behind Subaru Natsuki.

She glanced in the direction of the mansion not far away, and for the first time, an indescribable wariness surfaced in her red eyes.

Natsuki Subaru found several quilts in a nearby house and wrapped Clarissa tightly in them.

This would prevent her from freezing due to a sudden stop in her movements.

"Thank you... Dad..."

Clarissa smiled, and while Subaru Natsuki was helping her wrap herself in the blanket, and while Capella wasn't paying attention, she suddenly leaned close to Subaru Natsuki's cheek and gently touched his lips to hers.

This feeling is really great...

With her dad tucking her in before bed, she could even take the opportunity to kiss him...

It's like the kind of father-daughter relationship described in storybooks.

"Get some rest. We'll be back in a bit."

Natsuki Subaru looked into Clarissa's pure eyes and smiled, assuming that Clarissa's stiff trembling just now was due to the cold and was not intentional.

"Mm." Clarissa nodded gently.

"Subaru, are you sure you want to keep going?" Capella glanced at Natsuki Subaru, his eyes filled with seriousness.

“Yes!” Subaru Natsuki nodded. “I need to know what’s going on.”

"Alright, just this once, okay? Afterwards, you have to let me have a good time all day!" Capella shouted at Subaru Natsuki.

"What?" The snow was too heavy just now, and Natsuki Subaru didn't hear what Capella said!

Capela didn't repeat herself, but the next second her body suddenly swelled up, her golden hair and human form were swallowed by surging flesh and blood, and her jet-black dragon wings pushed through the wind and snow, and a huge black dragon lay in front of Subaru Natsuki.

She turned her head to the side, and the voice came from the dragon's head.

"Come on up, just this once."

Subaru Natsuki's eyes lit up immediately.

I never expected happiness to come so suddenly!

Even the sadness brought by Emilia's death was somewhat lessened!

"If I could ride Capela for the rest of my life, I'd be willing to die for it!"

Subaru Natsuki leaped onto the dragon's back, hugged Capella's neck, and couldn't help but run his hands over the dark scales a few times.

So smooth~

A ticklish sensation reached Capela's mind, and his anthropomorphic dragon face flushed slightly...

"Does riding on me make you so happy?"

"Of course! This is the Dragon Rider that we've been longing for for so long!"

Natsuki Subaru looked up at the wind and snow, unable to suppress the smile on his face.

Capela snorted, and his dragon wings suddenly flapped.

Natsuki Subaru laughed loudly, braving the biting wind:

"A favorable wind blows, the wind follows the tiger, the clouds follow the dragon, the heroes of dragon and tiger soar proudly across the heavens!"

"Dragon, but..."

The wind and snow drowned out Subaru Natsuki's voice.

The black dragon broke through the wind and snow and flew towards Roswaal's mansion.

Before long, the outline of the mansion appeared from the white expanse of sky and earth.

Along with it appeared a colossal beast, its body resembling a small mountain, which stood silently atop the mansion.

He had his head down, seemingly looking at something.

After hearing the sound.

He suddenly raised his head, his eyes radiating a fierce red light, which fell directly on Subaru and Capella through the snow-covered sky.

"Is it Subaru?"

The melodious sound came from all directions.

The next moment, Capella's dragon body suddenly froze.

Frost spread rapidly along her wings and back, and the huge black dragon lost control, plummeting straight down from the sky.