Chapter 56.2
Being asked to guess, Subaru held back his urge to ask for an immediate answer .
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 .