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’s doesn’t sound like anyone told you, either]
[Subaru: Well, you did kinda guided 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 round 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 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.
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’s doesn’t sound like anyone told you, either]
[Subaru: Well, you did kinda guided 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 round 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 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.
