Backstage
Rem
"At the most basic level, I do not see a reason to be worried," Hieda-no-Are says after his strange hand creature finishes circling my body. "An incorrect body would be a danger to a disembodied soul - but that is not what has taken place here. Put simply, 'Rem', you are not such an existence to begin with. Rather, you are a disembodied [Record]; similar to Servants and Figments, even if your core is closer to the quality of the latter." He gives a small huff. "The upshot of this is, outside of the application of Wallachia's rumors which I have just now dispelled, there will be no danger of your original existence corroding; the threat is simply that you will lose some of your memories since your awakening in Okeanos."
…Even if it's delivered poorly, it's good news, so I'm happy to receive it.
"...And what about returning her to her original body?" Dr. Romani asks.
"Original? Romani Archman, this is the original body of the existence called 'Rem', unless you count that puppet from before," The Caster replies, heedless of the way his words stab deep into my heart. "She is not even the original record, but a copy of it, given some degree of life by Hercules. If you want her to gain some semblance of the authentic Rem's form, my abilities are useless; Da Vinci will be required. I will be able to assist somewhat, but-" His voice pauses. "-Now, of all times…!?" Another huff of irritation passes through his mask. "I suppose there's no other work for me here. I'm leaving the rest to you, Romani Archman." Then, with uncharacteristic swiftness, he rushes out of the room.
"Hey-! Aaand, he's gone…" Dr. Romani says. "-Well! If his analysis is accurate, we don't have to worry about Rem-chan. I think next will be a check-up for Miyako-chan, and I'll save Goghie for last, since she's going to take the longest. Rem-chan, you can stay if you want, but I don't really need you here anymore."
The intense gaze of Arima Miyako turns upon me, her eyes sparking with something I don't quite understand. But, with her not saying a word, Goghie speaks up instead.
"U-um, Rem-chan should probably go after Subaru-sama, right…?"
She's right. Even though I still don't want him to see me like this. I don't want to see that passion in his eyes, every time he looks at me, nor its quick withdrawal into pain as he reminds himself that I'm not the one he wants to see. But I can't leave him with… Shaula-sama? Should I call her that, even though it's quickly become apparent that the sage of Lugunica's history was someone else entirely?
Someone just like Subaru-kun, apparently.
"Rem… will go," I say after a moment's thought. Goghie gives a small nod, and Miyako-chan's intense gaze burns into me as I leave the room.
"Good luck, Rem-chan. I'm rooting for you," Dr. Romani's words cause a small smile to flit across my face - and then it's gone as the door closes behind me.
***
I meant to go find Subaru-kun, but in the end my feet take me somewhere else - winding down through the recreational wing until I find myself at a familiar door.
I'm not sure why I came here. Goghie was back there, and the other two members would have both been pulled into the TATARI. But, regardless of my reasons, I enter the clubroom of Chaldea's "Spurned Women Support Group".
The room is empty, and the tea has long gone cold. The "teevee" is on, the game console connected still running - one of Manaka-san's "Ohtomay Games" from the look of it. Mechanically, without thinking much about it, I walk over and turn the console off, the smiling face of some sparkling fictional prince winking out of sight, leaving only the face of the Witch of Envy reflected in the black mirror in front of me.
…
"...Why?" I finally ask as something warm runs down my cheek. A moment later, a dam breaks and I scream. "WHY!?"
My mana runs wild, and a small burst of force from my body causes the "teevee" to rock in place. My horn should have emerged, if this body possessed one - but it doesn't, and my soul is left on the edge, bracing for a release of mad fury that cannot truly come. And so, my emotions boil at their limit. "Why!? Why is it like this? Why won't you just leave Rem alone, Witch!? Everything… you take absolutely everything, and you're still not satisfied!"
The wicked recollection won't leave. 'Subaru-kun belongs to Satella'. Why? For how long? For what purpose? "Leave him alone! Why won't you leave Subaru-kun alone!?"
I clutch the "teevee", screaming at my own reflection as if it were the witch herself. "Give Nee-san her horn back! Give me back my face! Keep your filthy hands off of my reason to die-!"
And then, the reflection vanishes. The screen ceases to reflect anything at all.
"...If you're making so many requests, maybe you might think about what you can give in return."
The voice echoes from behind me, and yet I'm completely certain it comes from the black screen. The confident, almost snide voice of a grown man - or is it the voice of a young girl? Somehow, I can't tell which it is. And yet, somehow the realization of its danger is unmistakable.
The lights in the room switch off, the only light now from the door behind me. In front of me, shadows play on the walls. A spider. A man with a hunched back. A large cat demi-human.
"You…" I mumble.
"I'm the [Black Smoke Mirror], after all," The gleaming surface says. "If you keep screaming at me long enough, I'm going to hear."
"Then… is Rem correct, that you're Black Tezcatlipoca?" I ask.
"That's me. I don't have that much time since I've got a bit of a VIP on the other line, but hopefully Peperoncino can keep him busy for a bit," the thing in the shadows says. "But my point is, if you want those things that badly… well, I can't do anything for your sister's horn since she's not here. But as for your body, making you a new one is within my abilities. It's just, you're gonna have to pay up."
"...The witch." Naturally I catch the omission. "Why didn't you say anything about the Witch of Envy?"
No answer comes. Black Tezcatlipoca continues to dodge the question. "The price I'm asking is pretty simple. You just need to give up the old one - [Gran Cavallo], Leonardo da Vinci's backup body. You won't be using it anyway, right?"
"...You won't trick Rem with such lazy deflections! What's your aim with the Witch of Envy!?"
"You're a careful one, huh?" The thing in the shadows asks. "It's not related to you. You don't need to pay me, regarding her. Once Satella has become 'me', she won't be a problem for you anymore. I'm not particularly obsessed with Natsuki Subaru."
"...Still, the answer is no," I finally answer. "This body isn't Rem's to sell in the first place."
The dark room is silent for a moment, and I tense, almost certain that Tezcatlipoca is going to attack.
"That's fine. I'll figure out some other way to get that face - see you later," His voice echoes - and then the lights flick back on, and I'm left staring at the face of the Witch, reflected in a teevee screen.