9-to-1: An Inconvenient Reset

by ferrerez66

Summary:

Subaru gets sent back to zero, the very start of his journey, but something is wrong.

Chapter 1: The Return of the Tumultuous First Day

Within the Pleiades Watchtower, Subaru Natsuki and his Great Spirit Companion Beatrice walked the Taygeta library, a strange library holding books that contained the entire lives of those that had died. Subaru had returned to the Watchtower for the purpose of helping his fellow otherworlder, a one armed man named Al of whom always had his face covered by a black helmet, find the book of his former liege, the late Priscilla Barielle. While looking for Priscilla’s book of the dead, Subaru noticed one of his books of the dead. Luckily, Beatrice couldn’t read Kanji, but Al could, and he didn’t want to risk Al reading it and finding out about Return by Death. Should he hide the book?

“You’ve been fidgeting for a while, in fact. Do you have to use the toilet, I suppose?”

“Err no, I just found an inconvenient book”

“Inconvenient? Is it Priscilla’s book, in fact?”

Subaru shook his head.

“No, but if someone reads this book, the Witch of Envy will reach out of her shrine again.”

That’s the excuse he made since he couldn’t reveal Return by Death.

“That’s completely outrageous, I suppose! Will you get sent back to the Empire, in fact?”

“That may end up coming true…”

“Murak”

Beatrice cast a spell to make Subaru lighter, so he jumped up and hid the book on top of a bookshelf. Knowing that as a librarian, Beatrice finds this act an affront unto God, Subaru knows he’ll have to put the book back before they leave. But still, Ezzo may end up finding and reading it. That couldn’t be allowed to happen.

“It’d be better to just dispose of it”

“Dispose of what, bro?” Startled by the voice behind him, Subaru let out a high pitched scream.

“Sorry bro, I wasn’t trying to scare you.”

 

Subaru had been so caught up in thinking about dealing with the book, he didn’t notice Al walking up behind him. He engaged in small talk with Al, they talked about the library, Priscilla’s book and even Subaru’s relationship with Beako. “You’ve got 3 days, so search your heart out.”

“3 days?”

“We’ve got a struct 3 day deadline, but I may reconsider if you beg me, but don’t get your hopes up”

“If we’re late, you’ll get scolded by Emilia, in fact.”

“Scolded by EMT!? That could be cute… but she’s cute regardless of expression.”

Subaru shrugged his shoulders and looked back to Al, who simply nodded his head.

“Ol Shamac.”

Subaru’s world cut to black.

____________________________________________________________________________

Subaru Natsuki blinked at the bright light that suddenly enveloped his vision, causing him to squint as he adjusted to the light.

“What?...”

He mumbled as he took in his surroundings. He was standing in front of a fountain while the sounds of commerce surrounded him. Humans and demi-humans walked by him like his sudden appearance was nothing out of the ordinary.

“What’s going on? This obviously isn’t fake and I’m definitely not dreaming, which means…”

Subaru’s eyes widened with a disturbed expression.

“I’VE BEEN TRANSPORTED BACK TO THE CAPITAL!?”

His outburst caused some passersby to look at him curiously.

“Wait, but that means… Beako! I have to find Emilia!”

Subaru began running, but came to a stop when he heard a strange crinkling sound.

“Hold on, that's…”

He looked down with horror and confusion as he realized he was carrying a plastic bag containing his starting gear, snacks..

“This is… no way… and I’m wearing my tracksuit…”

Subaru gulped as he processed the implications.

“Is this… the day I came to this world?”

 

Subaru walked down the busy street while considering the position he’s suddenly found himself in.

“It could be a coincidence, maybe being teleported included a gear change?”

He mused to himself in blatant denial of his situation. Admitting he lost all his relationships was a tough pill to swallow, so he didn’t want to admit it quite yet.

“I need more evidence. Might as well investigate”

And so Subaru anxiously walked down the street. Talking to Kadomon would be a sure fire way of determining if he was in the past or not, so he continued his stroll towards his favorite appa stand. If I really am in the past, I’ll have to start over. Nobody will remember me in this world. This must be how Julius felt. Maybe I could pretend my name was eaten, Puck knows about gluttony, so it could-... Subaru’s thoughts are interrupted by a loud cry, he whipped his head around and saw a child in the middle of the street with a dragon carriage barreling towards him.

 

 “Watch out!”

Without thinking twice, he grabbed the kid and pulled him out of the way with plenty of time to spare. The onlookers breathed a sigh of relief and even cheered for Subaru.

“Hey kid, are you alright?”

The kid was shaking and trying not to cry.

“Y-yes sir.”

“That’s a relief. Try not to play in the streets, okay?”

Subaru patted the kid on the head.

“Yes sir…”

Subaru’s mean eyes softened as he smiled at the kid. A woman, who appeared to be the child’s mother, ran up to the kid and checked on him before turning to Subaru.

“Thank you for saving my son.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

Feeling a bit embarrassed by the praise, he waved them goodbye and continued on his way. 

 

I remember that, it’s when I tried using magic. That confirms it, I really am back to the start. He grasped his chest with a pained expression on his face.

“Dammit… all of it’s gone.”

Memories flashed through his mind, memories of Emilia, Rem and Ram, Garfiel and Otto. But he also remembered how much he suffered. Elsa, Petelguese, the 10 second loop, the rabbits. Despair.

“I’ll have to suffer again…”

He wanted to stop. He couldn’t go through all that again. He wanted to just give up, but, “giving up doesn’t suit you.” Those words of encouragement, spoken by the woman who took the second place in his heart.

“Rem… That mean’s Rem’s name and memories are back.”

She may not remember him anymore, but her words were still enough to keep him going. He slapped both his cheeks.

“Alright! No giving up just yet! I’ll despair later. For now I have to keep Felt from stealing the insignia.”

And with that, he ran to Kadomon’s Appa stand.

 

It didn’t take long before he found himself in front of a wooden stall manned by the familiar appa vendor.

“Hey kid, you wanna buy an Appa?”

The green haired man running the stall held an appa out as an offer. 

“Oh, sorry, but I’m waiting for someone and I’m broke beyond repair.”

He could’ve sworn he saw the vein on Kadomon’s temple bulge.

“What? So you’re just loitering? Then get out of here! You’re blocking my customers!”

The merchant reached out to shove our young hero out of the way. I know Emilia will walk by here and get her insignia stolen by Felt. The problem is I don’t know how long it’ll take. I wasn’t here the first two times and I fainted the third time. I was even late on the final loop because I spent too long deliberating Return by Death. I’d say I have between 5 and 10 minutes. I need to stay here.

“C’mon. I’m really waiting on someone.”

“Do I look like I care, go wait somewhere else.”

Think Subaru, think. I got it!

“How about if I help you sell appa’s while I wait?”

“Huh, Why would I do that?”

“Please… It’s important.” Kadomon must’ve noticed how desperate Subaru looked, because he rubbed the back of his head and sighed. “Alright fine, I’ll let you help me out.”

“Thanks, you won’t regret this! Do you have a quill and some paper?”

“Yeah, why?” Kadomon narrowed his eyes.

“Just trust me.”

A few minutes later, Kadomon was writing a bunch of copies for a recipe Subaru had just given him. Stovetop cinnamon appa’s. A very basic desert that also serves as a pie filling. Subaru, meanwhile, was handing out the recipe copies to passersby while talking up how good it was. This, to Kadomon’s surprise, worked and appas were practically flying off the shelf. It didn’t take long for him to have to close up shop after running out of stock.

“Wow, thanks kid. I’ve never sold this many appas before… kinda hurts my pride though.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Emilia should be passing by any minute now.

“Oh yeah, and you can keep the recipe.”

He handed the vendor the remaining recipe sheets.

 

“Umm, excuse me.”

The sound of silver bells blessed Subaru’s ears, causing him to turn around and come face-to-face with the silver haired beauty of his dreams.

“I heard about some new appa recipe so I was hoping I could buy some.”

Subaru was caught off guard being approached by Emilia that he stared at her for a moment before clearing his throat. If he remembered correctly, Emilia didn’t have any money on her, it was likely being held by Ram.

 

Emilia forgot she was broke, that’s so cute! EMT! He managed to keep his thoughts private while maintaining an apologetic appearance.

“I’m sorry Miss, but Kadmon here is fresh out of appas.”

“Oh, I see…” 

“But the recipe is free, here, take it.”

With a smile, Subaru handed Emilia the recipe. As she took the paper, he noticed a familiar blond haired girl jump down from a nearby roof. There she is! Just as Felt sped by Emilia, Subaru managed to grab her wrist.

“Gotcha!”

“Hey, what’re you doing, let go!”

“Sorry, but I’ll let go once you return what you stole from this nice girl here.”

Subaru tightened his grip on her wrist with a serious expression on his face. Felt glared at Subaru and reached for her knife while Emilia checked her pockets. 

“My Insignia!” 

“I said to let go of me!”

Just as Felt pulled out her knife to slash at Subaru, something strange happened. Felt and Emilia both froze, their eyes widened in shock and the blood drained from their faces.

”Huh? What’s wrong?”

At the sound of Subaru’s voice, the two girls turned to face the raven haired boy with a look of dawning horror. Felt dropped both her knife and the insignia. “What the hell, kid?” Kadomon mumbled in a shaky voice. Something was terribly, terribly wrong.

 

To Be Continued

Chapter 2: A Very Original Premise

Summary:

This chapter does the most original thing in the history of Re:Zero fanfiction

It was just an ordinary day for the merchant known as Kadomon Risch. He woke up, ate breakfast with his darling wife and daughter, checked his stock of appa’s and opened his shop. As per usual, not many people outside of his regulars and old friends stopped by to buy anything on account of his scary appearance. Raksha, his beautiful wife, always denies that his appearance is the reason for this even though they always sell more merchandise when she’s the one running the stand. 

 

In an attempt to boost business, Kadomon has even begun smiling more often and trying to tone down his gruff exterior, even if he’s still short tempered, in the hopes of disarming those that may be intimidated by his appearance. They make enough to get by, but one bad sales month would be enough to do them and the last thing he wanted was to ask his in-laws, Carol and Grimm, for assistance.

 

Indeed, it was all just a normal day. An hour or so ago, Raksha had gone into town with Plum to do some shopping and, as per usual, he wasn’t making any sales while they were away. He heard the sound of someone muttering to themselves and looked up from his stand to see a strangely dressed youth with black hair and mean looking eyes eying the fruit. He looked like one of those eccentric nobles, maybe a foreigner? Kadomon put on his best customer service smile and offered an appa to the young man. 

 

“Hey kid, you wanna buy an appa?”

 

The raven haired youth waved his hand dismissively.

 

“Oh, sorry, but I’m waiting for someone and I’m broke beyond repair.”

 

This kid, he thinks he can just use my stall to loiter? I’ve got a business to run dammit!

 

“What? So you’re just loitering? Then get out of here! You’re blocking my customers!”

 

Kadmon tried shoving the strangely dressed kid away, but he was insistent about staying and he looked desperate for some reason. He even offered to help with the shop, so Kadomon relented upon receiving a recipe from the kid. The writing was amateurish, reminding him of how Plum would write, but the recipe itself seemed like a good idea. The recipe already exists of course, but this one was a bit more simple and was made using cheaper ingredients. The youth claimed it was his mom’s recipe.

 

And so Kadomon made copies for the recipe while the strange youth went about handing out the copies while pointing people the appa stall. The kid was a great salesman. That kid should become a merchant, he’d make a killing at it.  

 

“Hey kid, we’re fresh out of stock” 

 

Kadmon began to close up shop for the day. He’d never sold much before, and even though it was exciting being able to close early, it hurt his pride. I should at least pay him . Upon receiving the remaining copies of the recipe from Subaru, Kadomon began counting some coin to pay the kid with. 

 

“Umm, excuse me?” 

 

Is she a half-elf? Kadomon felt uneasy about having such a customer, but he chose to not say anything. Best not anger the demi-humans, that could be bad for business. He watched as Subaru talked with the half elf when he saw someone drop down from a nearby roof? It was felt, probably off to rob someone again. His eyebrow raised when Subaru grabbed her wrist. Huh, he managed to stop Felt. He’s going to get himself hurt.

 

Deciding to intervene before the raven haired youth got cut, Kadmon stepped out of his stall. However, the moment he stepped towards the group, his surroundings miraculously changed. Kadomon found himself sitting in a large room with rows of seats leading down to a large black… window?

 

“Hey princess, I think we somehow ended up in a movie theater… or maybe it’s more of an auditorium.”

 

He looked to the source of the noise to see a strange one armed man sitting next to none other than Priscilla Barielle. To her side was a pink haired child and Heinkel Astrea? What’s going on here? A Ruckus had begun to erupt throughout the auditorium. Many were trying to cast spells or break through the walls, but to no avail. Even the Sword Saint couldn’t do anything. Wait, why is he here?

 

Kadomon looked around the auditorium and saw many familiar faces. The dutchess Crusch Kasrten was seated next to the infamous catboy healer and the Sword Demon. The half eld was seated next to the Margrave Roswaal Mathers and his maids. Some blonde kid and some nervous guy wearing green were near them as well. He could’ve sworn he saw the Emperor of Volacchia with his divine generals and the Shudrak. No seriously, what the hell is going on. Before he could deliberate any further, a loud voice began to echo throughout the room.

 

Greeeetiiiiingssss. My-MY- MY -my programming state-STATES that noooooOOOoow is time for the Theeee view ing.

The voice was feminine, and felt cold and artificial. It was as though it wasn’t speaking, but was rather piecing together individual sounds and attempting to form words out of them. It couldn’t do it very well as its tone would change with any given word or syllable.

 

Kadmon and most of the individuals within the auditorium stood up in protest and began shouting to any of the nearby objects the voice was coming out of. Kadmon even began shouting.

 

“Where the hell are we! Take me back to my wi-...” Kadmon was still speaking, and yet no sound was leaving his mouth. It was as though someone had turned off the voices of every person within the auditorium.

 

There THERE there will beeeeEEEEEee no spee-spee-speak ing DURing the viewing THE VIEWING the view iiiiiii nnnnnggg.

 

DurING the Viewing, you-YOU- you will be suuuussstaiiined. You w-w-w-w-w-will feel no hunger. No thirst. NO FATigue.

 

Kadmon was honestly creeped out by the voice, but he couldn’t speak out. Suddenly, he found himself back in his seat.

 

You will re MAIN seat ed DURing theeeeeeee viewing.

 

The viewing the viewing the viewing shall nnnnoooowww be-be-begin.

 

Unable to move. Unable to speak. Kadmon was forced to watch as the strange black window came to life.

 

A strange youth was reading standing in a strange looking building filled with what appeared to be shelves of snacks and food items. The youth was dressed in a strange outfit. His spikey black hair was slicked back and his mean looking eyes were focused on some kind of picture book.

“This is where they suck you in.”

 

Wait, that’s the kid who helped me sell appas earlier. Where the hell is he at? Kadomon didn’t know what to make of what he was seeing. Why was it focusing on the kid?

 

The raven haired youth put the book down and looked out a window, where he saw a couple walking by. He looked at them as though he were envious. 

 

The screen cuts to the youth buying some snacks and leaving the strange building. Outside the building was a strangely paved road and the night sky was lit up by strange lanterns. The buildings in the area were strange looking to those viewing and the text on the various signs wasn’t recognizable.

 

Seriously, where the hell is this? Kadmon watched on in confusion while the only person who could recognize the text, Anastasia Hoshin, watched with some interest.

 

As the youth walked across the street, the world around him began to distort.

“That's what i get for being holed up in my room, gaming all day”

He rubbed his eyes, assuming they were playing a trick on him. When he opened his eyes he was standing in broad daylight.

 

Wait what? What the hell was that? Kadomon was left confused by what he had just witnessed.

 

“HAVE I BEEN SUMMONED ACROSS THE UNIVERSE TO ANOTHER WORLD!?”

 

Another world? Kadmon could only snort at the idea of anyone coming from beyond the great waterfall. The audience, for the most part, had already dismissed this as a mere farce. It was too nonsensical and given that they were mysteriously transported here it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to assume the entity would be capable of making some kind of play just to mess with them.

 

Well, everyone except for Kadomon, Emilia and Felt. They had already seen and even interacted with the youth before being transported here. There had to be some kind of reason they were being shown this.

 

And thus, they watched on as the youth wandered the Capital until he came across Kadomon’s stall. Hold on, I remember this.

 

The raven haired youth tried to hand some of his homelands money to the vendor, only to be run off for being broke.

 

That’s not what happened. What the hell? Kadomon, Emilia and Felt all felt confusion at this, the latter two began to assume that maybe this took place on a different day since the raven haired youth was getting along with the merchant when they saw him.

 

The boy then proceeded to walk into a women's restroom, a demi human bar and even fell into a canal. While drying himself off, he started complaining about his situation until 3 thugs approached him in an attempt to mug him.

 

Said 3 thugs were surprised to see themselves on the screen. Felt then saw herself pass by, making her and Emilia put to rest the idea that this was on a separate day. But then why was he here and not stopping Felt from robbing Emilia?

The mean eyed youth began rambling about super powers and something called Eee-Ex-Pee before attacking the dwarf, followed by the large fellow. He was doing well until the skinny one pulled knives and he begged for forgiveness. The thugs then attacked the boy and were hitting him while he was down until he was rescued by a silver haired half elf, Emilia.

 

Emilia definitely knew this didn’t happen, so what’s going on?

 

Some time after saving the boy, he convinced her to let him help look for her insignia.

 

The 3 other royal candidates in the audience blinked in surprise and immediately decided the elf was incompetent.

 

After a few minutes, they helped a small girl find her mother.

 

That’s Plum… and Raksha. What kind of play are we even watching?

 

Some time later, the youth introduced himself. He did a strange pose with his finger pointing straight up.

“My name is Subaru Natsuki. Not only am I totally clueless, I’m also broke beyond repair!”

 

Only 3 people in attendance thought it was a cool pose.

 

“…My Name, is Satella”

“Satella? That’s a nice name?”

 

This is definitely fake, there’s no way this girl would ever be stupid enough to call herself that. That was the general sentiment across the auditorium.

 

When evening rolled around, Subaru walked into the loothouse where he saw the still bleeding corpse of an old giant. Subaru was then quickly cut down. Upon dying, he was suddenly standing in front of Kadomon once more.

 

If the audience could talk, the theatre would be filled with outrage for forcing them to watch such a farce. But they couldn’t speak, nor could they move. Roswaal, on the other hand, smiled mischievously. The key he had been waiting so long for was there. And he knew how the looping worked. He began plotting how to take advantage of this.

 

 Subaru ran back to the loothouse, where he would try to bargain for the insignia with a metia he owned, but was told to wait on felt. After felt, and later her client entered, he would start negotiations.

 

Several in the audience immediately recognized the client as the bowel hunter.

 

In the end, Subaru won the insignia, but upon revealing that he’d return the insignia, was attacked by the bowel hunter. After felt and Rom were dispatched, Subaru put on a pathetic fight and was swiftly disemboweled. After a slow and agonizing death, he was once more standing in front of Kadmon and swiftly fainted.

 

The audience thought that this play, or whatever it was, was rather macabre and in poor taste.

 

Subaru would die once more, stabbed in an alleyway shortly after calling Emilia “Satella”. Once he came to in front of Kadmon, he sat down nearby and determined his ability, dubbing it “Return by Death”. He called for help when he was mugged once more and was saved by none other than the Sword Saint, Reinhard van Astrea.

 

Subaru later managed to successfully save Emilia, Felt and Rom from the bowel hunter, albeit with the help of Reinhard, and asked Emilia for her name. Subaru was, of course, badly injured and when he awoke he was in a bed at someone’s residence.

 

Rem, Ram and Frederica immediately recognized the bedroom as part of the margrave’s manor. Emilia, Felt and Kadomon had now dismissed this entirely since none of Subaru’s actions in any of the loops matched what they saw. But they couldn’t shake the feeling that it was real.

 

The cast then watched Subaru harass a spirit and get a job at the mansion. After a week he died in his sleep. He then got cursed and murdered. Tortured and his throat slit. Committed suicide to save his torturer. Saved village children and his killer from Ulgarms. 

 

A month later (or maybe 3 months?) He met Wilhelm and Felix. He went to the Capital, met Julius, Priscilla and Aldebaron. He crashed the royal selection opening ceremony. Everyone found out Felt was a royal candidate. Subaru got beat up by Julius. Subaru saw Arlem village massacred and froze to death. Watched Rem get brutally murdered and froze to death. Encountered the white whale, accidentally killed emilia and froze to death. He tried to run away.

 

He gathered an army, subjugated the white whale, got possessed by sloth and was mercy killed by Julius and Felix. He killed Sloth. Rem got her name and memories eaten, so he killed himself. He went to the sanctuary, met Echidna, and took the first trial.

 

Felix felt angry seeing his lady and best friend reduced to an amnesiac like that and he felt increasingly sick the more he watched. The suicides have hit him the hardest.

 

He was gutted, gutted, eaten alive by the Great Rabbit and succumbed to his wounds after finding out the plot against him.

 

The visceral images disturbed many in the audience, Crusch especially since had once faced the mabeast herself. Petra felt faint watching, but she was unable to look away. The poor girl was becoming increasingly traumatized. The entire theater felt fear when The Witch of Envy swallowed the Sancutrary and genuine confusion when she appeared in the castle of dreams. She seemed fairly normal. She had a second personality? Her connection to this Subaru Natsuki made them all wary of him.

 

After freeing the sanctuary, they watched Subaru get knighted and a year went by without incident.

 

Beatrice had mixed feelings on the viewings, on one hand she didn’t care about some random mortal, but on the other she didn’t like being subjected to such violence. It made her feel happy to see herself freed from her contract with her mother.

 

The camps met up in Preistella where Subaru died 3 times. Wrath's authority, hanged, killed as a result of Reinhard killing wrath. Emilia was kidnapped and Subaru’s leg was injured. That same leg was later torn off by the archbishop of Lust before she poured her cursed blood onto the stump. The blood made his leg grow back.

 

Beatrice didn’t like seeing herself failing  someone that would be her contractor. The rest of the theatre didn’t know if this was true or not, but maybe this could be a clue to beating the witch cult?

 

Subaru took most of the cursed blood from the bedridden Crusch, transferring it to himself. It didn’t seem to have an adverse effect on him.

 

Crusch didn’t like seeing herself in such a weak state while Felix felt useless seeing this version of himself being unable to save yet another dear friend.

 

Subaru gave a speech to the citizens of Priestella before planning a counterattack towards the cult. Wilhelm would also tell Subaru that his wife had been turned into a corpse soldier.

 

Wilhelm’s eyes widened in surprise before narrowing in outrage at the idea that his wife would be used like this.

 

After taking out greed, it appeared that the rest of the cult had been driven out. Otto’s legs were injured, Ricardo lost his hand, Garfiel was bedridden and Julius had lost his name.

 

Otto and Ricardo winced after seeing their own injuries while Garfiel was proud that he seemed to have won whatever fight he was in. Julius was horrified to see that his name had been eaten

 

The Emilia and Anastasia camps went to the watchtower and managed to get inside. Shaula wasn’t the sage, but someone named Flugel? Subaru died many more times and lost his memories. Murder becomes a habit. The events of the watchtower end with Subaru, the now feral archbishop of gluttony and an unconscious Rem in a random field.

 

The events of the watchtower were disturbing to all, especially watching this otherwise kind man falling to imposter syndrome to the point of becoming a murderer. Thankfully one of the gluttonies was murdered and another was captured.

 

Rem woke up, but had no memories. She hated Subaru and tried to kill him. Louis was oddly attached to him. They’re in Volacchia.

 

Those in attendance, while still disturbed by what they were watching, had begun to view this viewing as nothing more than play because there’s no way this farce was real.

 

They all watched as Subaru died many more times. He took an entire city without violence just for a vain attempt to prove to Rem he was a hero. He was turned into a child and then the 10 second loop happened.

 

It was even more distasteful now that Subaru was a child. And watching a child be viciously murdered in such a grotesque manner repeatedly, without rest was just too cruel. It was truly horrifying to watch. Especially when after all of that, the witch destroyed Chaosflame.

 

Subaru woke up in Ginunhive and began to lose his memories, returning to his child self. He repeatedly died while being a gladiator until Todd came. Subaru couldn’t solve the problem so he called out to Satella and reset to when he first arrived. He then formed an army and took back the Capital city of Volacchia, and it was then that Sphinx appeared and began the great calamity.

 

The sheer number of deaths they were witnessing was nothing short of disgusting. Returning Subaru to his childlike mentality has had the consequence of not having any value for his life. He was actually abusing his disgusting authority and it made Felix sick.

 

Subaru dies countless times to stop Sphinx, but in the end she was defeated thanks to Priscilla sacrificing herself. Her body faded away as she praised Subaru Natsuki as a true knight and had seemingly figured out his authority.

 

Neither Priscilla nor Al liked seeing her die like that. Al knew without a doubt that the moment they were freed from this place that he’d kill Sphinx as soon as he could

As it went on, Subaru’s deaths had increased in not only number, but also veracity. This was a farce. It had to be a farce. They couldn’t accept that it was real. It had to be some kind of play. They did hear the helmeted guy call it a theatre, so that had to be it. Al knew better. Emilia, Felt and Kadomon knew Subaru really existed. The possibility that it was real horrified them.

 

Al nodded along and raised his hand. 

“Al Shamac.”

The screen went black.

 

The the the view ing iiiiiiiiis COMpleeeeeete.

 

Kadmon was once more beside his fruit stand. Was all of that… real? He felt his face pale and he began to shake with fear. Is this kid a monster? Even an archbishop thought he was crazy.

 

“Huh? What’s wrong?” The kid… Subaru… looked confused and worried. Kadmon noticed most of his concern was for the half-elf. The way he looked at her reminded him of how his father-in-law looks at his own wife. His instincts screamed at him that what they just witnessed was real.

 

“What the hell, kid.” Those were the first words Kadomon had spoken for the first time in what had to have been several days, but not a single moment had passed since he was transported to that god awful theater.

____________________________________________________________________________

Roswaal was in his office, having just been transported back from that blessed theater. 

“Weeeeel, that was quite interesting~.”

Roswaal knew who the key was. His interests, his weaknesses. Sure, the screen showed his betrayals and planning, but it was clear that nobody trusted what was shown. He could tell they thought it was some sort of farce. It gave him plausible deniability. He just had to place his cards right.

 

“All I have to do is make sure I don't lose this time.”

 

Triumphant. That’s how he felt. He’d been shown the future. Shown how he’d been bested. He wouldn’t make that mistake. He felt a burning on his chest. 

 

The feelings of triumph and excitement quickly faded as he took his shirt off and looked at his reflection. There it was, glowing, a constant reminder of a contract. One that would be valid across time. 

 

The smirk faded from Roswaal’s face. He hadn’t felt like this in 400 years, not since his battle against the Warlock of Melancholy. Roswaal realized what was happening. Subaru Natsuki reset. He reset back to the beginning. They had all watched not the future, but events that had already occurred to someone of whom time meant nothing. Roswaal had already lost. Subaru Natsuki had won from the very beginning.

To be Continued.

Chapter 3: The Third Chapter

Summary:

After the viewing.

Emilia didn’t understand what was happening or even why. One moment she had been asking the strange looking guy with pretty eyes about an appa recipe, the next she was watching some kind of realistic play about him getting brutally murdered. Repeatedly. It was quite macabre. And now all the sudden, she was back in the Capital, as though not a single moment had passed.

 

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

 

Once she heard his voice, her face went pale. Was it real? She didn’t know the answer to that, but she had still seen this boy getting killed repeatedly because of her. Because he… loved her? At least that was the reason given in the viewing. But now, she hadn’t even saved him yet. Or at least she didn't think she had. Had he already looped? If so, how many times?

 

“ Hey Lia, I know you’re in shock due to the viewing, but you should pick up your insignia before Felt steals it again.”

 

“Oh, right. I’m such a dunderhead.” 

 

Hearing her father’s voice snapped her out of her funk and she bent down to pick up her insignia.

 

“Dunderhead? Who even says that in this day and age?”

 

Upon hearing that, Emilia stiffened. He said it. The thing he always said in the viewings, he really said it. She noticed the way he was looking at her. It was so warm. Just like in the viewings. Could he really be…

 

“Uhh… c-could you let go of me?”

 

Felt still looked like she’d seen a ghost and hadn’t been able to collect herself yet.

 

“Oh right, sorry Felt.” 

 

Felt’s eyes widened a bit. He knew her name. Shit. He’s already looped. That fucking viewing was real after all. Subaru complied and let go of Felt’s wrist, which she began to massage.

 

“Hey uhh, I’ve gotta go and get my daughter. See ya later.”

 

Kadomon, obviously still frazzled, decided the best course of action would be to get his daughter, both because she’s definitely lost right now and because it’d give him time to clear his head.

 

“So uhh, E-, I mean you. You should be more wary of pickpockets.”

“Sure. I’ll be reeealy careful in the future.”

 

Emilia began to blush a bit. He loves her right? Even though she’s a half-elf? 

 

“ Lia, I think you should trust this Subaru guy..”

 

At least if Lia gets hurt, I’ll know who to kill. It’d be easier to have him nearby.  

 

“Hey, thanks for helping my daughter out!”

 

Puck appears out from behind Emilia’s hair.

 

“No problem, I guess.”

 

He seems both happy to see me and fairly angry. He’s definitely the one we watched. Puck floated over to Subaru and shook his hand with both paws.

 

“I’m Puck, nice to meet you.”

 

“I’m Subaru Natsuki. And you are?”

 

Subaru looked at Emilia expectantly.

 

“I’m Emilia… Just Emilia. No family name.”

 

“Emilia huh? That’s a nice name.”

 

Subaru thought he was being slick, complimenting her name like that, but all that did was remind Emilia of when she called herself Satella in the viewings. Subaru looked back over to Felt.

 

“I kinda expected you to run off by now.”

 

Felt flinched. She didn’t want to head back to the loothouse. The bowel hunter will be there. 

 

“W-well… you know how it is.”

 

It didn’t take a genius to know that Felt looked scared. She was avoiding eye contact and shaking. She’d witnessed that gut loving bitch bisecting her in the viewing and it definitely struck a nerve.

 

“Ah, Miss Emilia. It’s good to see you today.”

 

All 3 turned to the source of the new voice to find none other than Reinhard van Astrea smiling at them.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

Reinhard van Astrea had been having a good day. He had taken the day off, or rather he was forced to take the day off, and was going for a stroll to kill time. He definitely wasn’t patrolling, not on his day off. Suddenly he was in an auditorium surrounded by a ton of different people. He tried to break out, but to no avail. He then found himself forced to sit down and was unable to talk. A viewing, as that voice called it, is what they were forced to watch. Subaru Natsuki was the boy they were watching. Every death. Every brutality. He was made to watch all of it. It was quite horrifying, and yet the boy had persisted. He had even been Reinhard’s friend. 

 

Subaru Natsuki was a monster. That’s the only way he was still sane after that. Reinhard too, was a monster and maybe that’s why they were friends in the viewing. Once the viewings came to a close, Reinhard found himself standing where he was before being teleported to the auditorium and made his way to the appa stand owned by Grimm and Carol’s son-in-law. After having greeted Emilia, he turned to face Subaru.

 

“Good afternoon, I am Reinhard van Astrea. Are you a friend of Miss Emilia?”

 

“Uhh, you could say that. My name’s Subaru Natsuki. Oh yeah, that reminds me… I heard rumors that the Bowel Hunter has been wandering the slums.”

 

Subaru had been so excited that he stopped the theft that it had slipped his mind that Elsa Greinhart was still on the loose.

 

“Do you have the divine protection of telepathy?”

 

Reinhard pauses for a moment.

 

“I do now. Why do you ask?”

 

“ I saw the insignia glowing in Felt’s hand, I’m pretty sure she’s the final royal candidate.”

 

Subaru used his thoughts to communicate this so that Felt wouldn’t overhear. He knew Felt was against being a candidate at first, so he couldn’t have her running off quite yet. Reinhard glanced over at Felt. He, of course, was already aware of her candidacy thanks to the viewing.

 

“In any case, I must be off to apprehend the Bowel Hunter. Lady Felt, could you wait for me here?”

 

“Yeah, sure. Whatever.”

 

Felt murmured in a disinterested tone.

 

“Then I must be off.”

 

With that, Reinhard jumped high in the air towards the slums, leaving Subaru and Emilia alone with Felt.

 

“So…” Subaru cleared his throat.

 

“I just saved you from getting your thing stolen from a thief, right?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“So I think I deserve some kind of reward, right?”

 

Emilia knew Subaru wouldn't ask for anything inappropriate.

 

“As long as it’s in my power to do so.”

 

Subaru nodded his head.

 

“Okay, that's good. I’m currently homeless, so I was hoping I could stay at your place.”

 

Emilia frowned somewhat. She wasn’t opposed to bringing Subaru back with her, but she didn’t want him getting hurt. But still, she does owe him for keeping her insignia from getting stolen.

 

“Alright, I’ll have to speak with my sponsor, but I’m sure he’ll allow it.”

 

Subaru nodded his head.

 

“Hell Yeah!”

 

Subaru cheered before calming himself back down.

 

“Now all he have to do is wait for Reinhard to get ba-”

 

Subaru’s words are cut off by an explosion coming from the slums. Followed by another explosion. And then yet another explosion.

 

“What the hell?”

 

After a brief moment, Reinhard landed in front of Subaru.

 

“The Bowel Hunter has been slain.”

 

“That was quick!”

 

He stared at the redheaded knight in disbelief.

 

“She can regenerate, are you sure she’s dead?”

 

“I’m sure of it. Miss Felt, if you could please come with me.”

 

Reinhard reached out to the thief, who ignored his hand and walked beside him.

 

“Fine. Not like I have much of a choice.”

 

With a huff, Felt began walking down the street with the Sword Saint, leaving just Subaru, Emilia and Puck. The former was busy petting the latter while the half-elf stood there awkwardly when she remembered something.

 

“I’m such a dunderhead. Ram’s probably looking for me right now!”

 

“Who says dunderhead in this day and age?”

 

“Stop joking around. Ram gets reeeealy mean when she’s upset.”

 

Subaru couldn’t help but chuckle at the girl’s distress at the idea of being scolded. Honestly, she looked cute regardless of her expression. EMT to the max.

 

“Well, she should probably go meet up with this Ram person”

 

With that, they began heading towards where the pink haired maid was likely waiting for them. Only problem was, this was Emilia’s first time in the Capital and she kept getting lost, at least that’s why Subaru assumed they were getting nowhere fast. In reality, the half-elf’s mind was in turmoil. She couldn’t concentrate on navigation.

 

The way he was acting. The way he looked at her. This had to be the Subaru they watched on screen right? The one who loves her? The one who accepts her being a silver haired half elf? The one who keeps getting hurt. The one connected to the very being whose existence has made her life hell? Emilia knew not what she should do. Puck seems to want this boy around, and she trusted her father, but she doesn’t want him getting hurt for her sake. 

 

Why was she acting like this? An outside observer would say that she had an obvious crush, but Emilia has only 7 years worth of memories and the majority of those 7 years were spent isolated in a forest with only her father for companionship. Her only real interactions were with nearby villagers who didn’t even want her there. He was her friend on the screen. The first friend she ever made. She didn’t want to lose this chance of having a connection. Besides, even if she tried to distance herself, he’d do whatever he could to close the distance, just like a fairytale prince. It was these alien adolescent thoughts that distracted the princess and caused her to make frequent wrong turns into random alleyways.

 

Subaru could’ve gotten them back on track, but he was trying to spend as much quality time with EMT as possible before he had to start dealing with Ram’s insults. He could’ve sworn he saw Ton, Chin and Kan ducking out of sight and running away from him. It was definitely strange. Why had all this gone so well? Reinhard had trusted him almost too easily. Why did everyone’s demeanor change out of the blue like that? And why is Emilia suddenly acting like a middle schooler? He shoved these thoughts into the back of his mind and instead focused on spending time with the woman of whom he loved.

 

 But all good things must come to an end, because after around an hour of exploring, the dignified voice of a sharp tongued Oni graced his ears.

 

“Lady Emilia, are you alri-”

 

The pink haired maid approached and faltered once her eyes fell upon our time travelling hero. It was a moment of realization. Of shock and horror. It was but a momentary lapse, as she quickly composed herself once more.

 

“I see, you seem to have found a bum during your outing. I’ll take it, you plan to take this man with us?”

 

“Ram!”

 

Emilia was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts by the maid's voice.

 

“Y-yes. You see, this boy helped me out a-and I have to pay him back.”

 

Ram simply sighed. Of course she’d bring this troublesome dog home. Images of his suffering and the demise of her own sister flashed through her mind. If this idiot really wanted to face all of that like a masochist, then she had no reason to deny him.

 

“Fine, he can come with us. But he better not lay his grubby fingers on my dear sister.”

 

“I’d never dream of it!”

 

Subaru snapped at the oni before giving her a thumbs up.

 

“The name’s Subaru Natsuki!”

 

“Barusu.”

 

Subaru could only sigh at his old nickname returning within seconds of meeting his greatest tormentor.

 

“I guess some things never change…”

 

He mumbled his words under his breath, but the maid heard them very well. The meaning was not lost on her, yet she chose not to speak on it. She needed to deliberate with her Master before she said anything.

 

“Follow Ram, and try not to get your filth on the carriage.”

 

Ram turned on her heel and began leading the group to the dragon drawn carriage she had in wait.

 

“Oh come on, I’m not that dirty!”

 

Subaru exclaimed in faux outrage as they went down the street. Soon they would be back at the mansion and Subaru will finally see Rem again. His Rem. He just hoped she wouldn't try to kill him this time.

____________________________________________________________________________

On the easternmost part of the map is the Augura Sand Dunes, a vast desert holding the mysterious Pleiades Watchtower, the tower where the sage that imprisoned the witch of Envy 400 years ago is said to be. Below the tower is the shrine that houses the Witch, the miasma coming off her is so strong, so intense, that the surrounding desert is littered with mabeasts that are drawn to it. Within the tower is the green room, a room containing some kind of spirit that heals all that enter. 

 

Louis Arneb was a miserable existence, for she had no physical body. Her soul merely existed in a non corporeal form within Od Laguna’s Hall of Memories, the passageway souls of the dead would pass through before being recycled. Her only connection to the outside world was her two brothers Lye and Roy. She could possess them if she needed to, but for the most part she subsisted off the names and memories of individuals that were happy and satisfied. Happy. That was the one thing she truly wished for, to be happy.

 

When she found herself no longer within the hall of memories, but rather in a strange auditorium filled with people, she immediately noticed it. She had a body! She couldn;t move or speak, but she finally had a body. She’d do anything to keep it. And so she began watching the journey of what had to be the most miserable person in existence. Louis thought his name and memories would be most unsatisfying to eat, but that power. The power to reset. He could be happy, have anything he wanted, if he would just use it to its full capacity!

 

These thoughts would be abandoned when the story reached the watchtower. Louis watched the version of herself on screen lose her mind, begging to not be killed. Return by Death had broken her. She had called Subaru a monster. Maybe she shouldn’t try to steal his authority but then she watched the adventure in Volacchia. She looked… happy. Like she had a loving family. Maybe she could have that too.

 

Louise found herself within the green room. She still had a physical body. She had a chance.

 

“Isn’t this interesting tsu~.”

 

She stood up on her new legs and stretched. How wonderful it was to have a body.

 

“We should leave before the scorpion notices us tsu~”

 

Louise activated leaper and jumped out a nearby window at the tower. Using leaper, she made her way through the desert. Louise Arneb, no, Spica the Star Eater was going to find happiness.

Chapter 4: 3+1

Summary:

Subaru and the gang make their way back to Arlem Village.

Within the heart of the world was a swirling mass of mana. This swirling mass believed the origin of all the mana within the world and where all mana returned to. It was known as Od Lagna and anyone that had seen it would eventually lose their minds. It was simply the mechanism that kept the world together and bestowed divine protections as a way to combat the authorities that would threaten the world.

 

According to popular belief, it had no will of its own. Even it didn’t know if it had its own will. It simply was. Even with no will, no personality and no morality, it felt the drive to keep the world functioning, as though it were programmed to do so. Maybe that’s what it was. A program. It knew not if this were the case. How would it know? It didn’t even know what lay beyond the Great Cascade that surrounded the world it was the heart of.

 

All was functioning normally until an otherworlder suddenly appeared within the Capital city of one of its world's four countries. How did he get here? He didn’t belong. He had an authority. The world felt an instinctual hatred for him. What’s more, is that his arrival coincided with something strange, something unforgivable. Within the Library of Taygeta, a multitude of books appeared. New memories that the world suddenly had. This accursed boy had the authority to reverse the world at his leisure and what's more is that almost two years had passed in the memories left within the library.

 

This was an affront unto the order of the world. Od Lagna would be able to forgive a few days, as the boy would use his authority to correct wrongs within the world. But resetting the world to this extent was unforgivable! Something needed to be done. But how would Od Lagna do this? 

 

It would create an avatar with which to communicate. To attempt to minimize the use of this authority. The boy is a threat, and should he lose his way, the world would be threatened. And thus Od Lagna created its avatar. It acted only on what it was ordered to do. It would communicate the will of the world. It had only a voice. Od Lagna didn’t know how to speak, and so the avatar would form words from syllables and sounds. It wasn’t perfect, but it functioned. It sent its voice beneath the Sage’s watchtower to the shrine that held the Witch of Envy. Inside was dark. The corrupted mana known as Miasma was powerful and the shadows of the witch covered every inch within the shrine. Indeed, it was a garden of shadows.

 

I I I am theeeee avAtaaRRRR of Od Od Od lagNA.

Your A-A- a- A uthorrrrrRRRRity you g-Gifted to the accursed  accursED ACCURSed BooooooOOOOy has HAS diiisRUPTed the WoooOOOOrrrld. This canNOT be ALLoooooowed.

There was silence in response. Od Lagna could do nothing to the boy it hated. The boy was necessary. Its beloved liked the boy. It would need to help the boy. Failsafe. Keep the boy in check.

 

“I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him.”

 

Prop O SI tion

 

The witch ceased her rambling. It seemed she was waiting to hear what it had to say.

 

Allies of the one THE ONE the ooooone known AAAAAAS Subaru Natsuki will WATCH his JOURneeeeey.

“No! Love Him! Protect Him. Love Him. Protect Him!”

 

Update update TAAAA booo. Those who WIIIIITneeeees the journey shall gain taaaBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooo. 

 

They THEY they MAY sp eEak OF Loops. No MENTion of OF Death shall b-b-b-beeeeee peeeerMITTeeeed.

 

FORCING FORC ing Loooops shall be forBIDDen.

 

Failsafe.

 

My my MY beeeeeeLOVed shall reCIEVE the THE D-d-divine Protection of Reading READING reading Steiner.

 

HeeeeeeEEEeee will LoooOOOoop wiiiith the aCCCursED booooooy. KeeeEEEEp the BOY froooom becoming BECOMING becoming a threat.

 

Do you agree to the terms and conditions?

 

There was silence. Only silence. The witch of Envy and Satella. Both personalities were arguing. Shrine was unstable. Eventually, they reached a verdict.

 

“I Accept. But I control the taboo. Any who tries to kill my love will die. It’s up to him whether or not he uses this ability, even though I wish he wouldn’t”

 

VERyyyy WeeeEEEllll. 

 

With that, the avatar of Od Laguna left The Witch’s shrine. It had a job to do. It must collect the allies of Natsuki Subaru. Those who would assist him. But first, it would need a method of showing the journey. Books of the dead? No, too traumatizing. Visions? Too confusing. It searched the memories. A Movie Theatre? Functional, but too small. An Auditorium with a movie screen. It would work.

 

It began collecting candidates with which to attend the viewing. It started with the very camp the boy was a member of. Emilia, Garfiel, Rem, Ram, Roswaal Mathers, Petra, Frederica, Otto, Patrasche. Maybe the archbishop later known as Spica? Yes. Showing her the viewing will convince her to aid the boy. Remove Satiation Gluttony threat early. Shaula? Too unpredictable. Too adherent to programming. She will not be in the viewing.

 

Other Allies. Kadomon, Crusch, Wilhelm, Felix. The blue hates death. Good choice. Anastasia, Mimi, Hetaro, Tivey, Ricardo, Julius. Priscilla, Aldebaron, Felt, Its Beloved Reinhard, Ezzo. The Shudrak liked the boy. Vincent, Medium, Flop, The divine generals, the Pleiades Battalion, Halibel. Todd was a threat. If he knew about the boy, he would stay away. Todd was chosen. Od Lagna gathered the chosen individuals into the auditorium. It was time. 

 

Greeeetiiiiingssss. My-MY- MY -my programming state-STATES that noooooOOOoow is time for the Theeee view ing.

____________________________________________________________________________

The ride back to Roswaal’s mansion near Arlem Village was fairly uneventful.Subaru, who was positively exhausted after having not had a break in months, promptly fell asleep shortly after their journey had begun. Emilia, the kind soul that she was, took it upon herself to rest the raven haired knight's head onto her lap, just like she’s seen in the viewings. He looks so peaceful right now. He must be so tired he can’t even have any nightmares. Emilia grimaced as she thought of his countless deaths she had witnessed. The rabbit, the 10 second loop… Puck.

 

“ Puck, we need to talk.”  

 

Emilia spoke telepathically to her father.

 

“I knew this was coming. You wanted to talk about the contract right? Me destroying the world?”

 

“Yes, that. But also my memories. Why would you add those into our contract?”

 

“Sorry Lia, I don’t remember. Contracting with you affects my memories too. I think it’s because of the contract I held previously. Probably with my mother.”

 

“Echidna?”

 

“I think so? I can’t be too sure.”

 

Emilia had a thoughtful look for a moment while she considered this information.

 

“Alright, I trust you. But we reeeealy need to amend our contract when we get back. I don’t like that I can’t remember my past and I don’t want Subaru getting hurt anymore for my sake.”

 

“If that’s all, it’s time for me to sleep for the day. Call out to me if anything happens.”

 

With that, the cat spirit went silent. Emilia would spend the rest of the trip running her fingers through Subaru’s hair to comfort him while he slept. It was the least she could do. She thought she’d be angry at her father for what he did during the viewings, for what was in their contract. Maybe it’s because she’s naive, or maybe she’s just a blockhead, but she didn’t want to lose her father. He’s the only one that’s been there for her this whole time, and she wouldn’t push him away.

 

Ram merely drove the dragon drawn carriage quietly and dutifully while she contemplated everything they had seen. They’re taking Barusu back to the mansion. The mansion where he’d die several times. The curse, Rem, herself and even a suicide. Was this really a good idea, definitely not, but it’s what that moron wanted. If he wanted to suffer so bad, Ram wouldn’t stop him. It’s not like she cared that he’d help to free Roswaal from the iron grip of that accursed book or anything. She was just a maid doing as she had been told. She didn’t feel retroactive guilt for things she hadn’t ever done, definitely not.

____________________________________________________________________________

Rem was feeling lonely. Ram had joined Miss Emilia, the half elf that looked like the witch that those damned cultists worshiped, on a trip to the Capital. Rem didn’t hold this against her or anything like that, her appearance wasn’t her fault, so Rem felt indifferent. All that mattered was her sissy. Her Ram. Her reason for living. She had to make up for her incompetence causing her sister to lose her horn, and to repent for feeling happy about it for even a fleeting moment. How she wished her dearest sister would return home.

 

At least, that’s how she was feeling until she found herself sitting next to her twin in a strange auditorium. The experience was strange. Frightening. Hopeful. She watched a fool die for others. He held no love for himself and foolishly thought he had to be useful to be loved. Rem was partially at fault. She saw the way she would treat the boy. Accuse him, torture him, kill him. And yet he forgave her. Why would he do that? Why would he make her feel like a person? She felt her heart begin to melt. Could someone like him really exist? No. It was a lie. A lie to give Rem false hope. She couldn’t accept it.

 

She watched as she died to protect him. How it hurt him. How he died more than once to save her. She could never be this important to anyone, so why was she being shown this? It didn’t make sense. He remembered her when she was forgotten. It was nonsensical. He treated her well when she hated him. Why? Why? Why? She’s just her sister’s replacement, is this a punishment? Nobody like him could exist. Make it stop. Stop making Rem watch this!

 

Eventually, the blue haired Oni found herself back within the halls of the manor. Was it all just a dream. Yes, a dream. It had to be a dream. Rem needed to distract herself from what she saw, lest her heart break further. She couldn’t allow herself to focus on the false hope shown to her in the viewing, and so she worked harder. Worked faster. She trimmed the bushes, mopped the floors, washed the windows, scrubbed the bathtubs, made the beds, did the laundry. Roswaal didn’t wish to be bothered, no problem. 

 

Rem was busy preparing dinner, why was she making an extra serving of stew? The boy didn’t exist, and yet she made him a serving. Maybe she truly believed he would appear. But if he did appear, he would be hurt, so why? It was then she smelled something. It was familiar. It was repugnant. The witch’s scent. It was outside. Was it a witch cultist!? 

 

She made her way to the entrance of the manor. Maybe it wasn’t a cultist. Could it be the boy she saw in the viewing? No. Don’t get your hopes up. When she opened the doors to the manor, she saw a dragon drawn carriage outside. 

 

“Sissy, did you have a good da-...”

 

Rem was cut off when she saw Miss Emilia step out of the carriage, followed by none other than the boy from the viewing. He rubbed his eyes and stretched as though he had just woken up from a nap. He was really here. But why isn’t he injured? Rem was at a loss for words. She needed to compose herself. Quickly.

 

“G-greetings Miss Emilia.”

 

Rem steeled her emotions and bowed politely. Was it all real? Please be real. Rem didn’t like how the royal candidate was looking at her with suspicion and mistrust, and a hint of something else. Jealousy?

 

“I see you brought a guest.”

 

“Yes, his name is Subaru. He’s reeeealy important to me, so I don’t want anything bad happening to him.”

 

“Understood.”

 

Rem bowed once more. Emilia’s voice was stern. She’s never heard the half-elf speak like this before. When she lifted her head up, she turned to face their new guest.

 

“Honored guest, if you could follow Rem to the dining hall, we will be eating dinner.”

 

He was looking at Rem. He looked at her with warmth she’d never once experienced before. Why was he looking at her like that? It’s just like in the viewings. Is he the same as the one she watched? Could it really be true? Please let it be. The ice around Rem’s heart began to thaw.

____________________________________________________________________________

Within the Barielle Domain of the Dragon Friend Kingdom of Lagunica, a one armed man that had long since been demoted to a following star rushed through the woods. His clothing was strange and ragtag and to cover his face we bore a black helmet. Aldebaron was looking for something. A Cabin. A cabin holding a witch.  When he found it he broke through the floor. Inside was Sphinx. A clone of Ryuxu Myer holding an incomplete copy of the soul of the former Witch of Greed. She had no arms and no legs and was tied in place.

 

“So this is where the crazy old dude kept you hidden.”

 

“Greetings Required: Hello, and who might you-...”

 

Sphinx was immediately cut off by a sword swinging down onto her with enough force she was immediately bisected. The witch that was a major threat during the demi-human war all those years ago had been unceremoniously slain.

 

“Sorry lady, but you’re a threat to the princess. You can’t be allowed to live.”

 

Aldebaron, the one named for the star that follows the Pleiades,  had prevented the great disaster from destroying Volacchia.

To Be Continued

Chapter 5: Dinner with Ros-chi

Summary:

Dinnertime with the happy Roswaal family.

Beatrice was a lonely spirit, having spent 400 years alone in the forbidden library for “That Person” to appear and save her from her lonely existence. But “That Person” never came. Over time, the great spirit slowly lost hope. She’d be alone forever. She just knew it. Some had tried to “rescue” her from her library, but she refused them for they were not “That Person”.

It wasn’t until the viewing that she had her entire world shattered. “That Person” didn’t exist and she had wasted 400 years on a false hope. This completely destroyed the spirit and demolished the view she had of her mother. What’s worse is that Natsuki Subaru, the man who would become her contractor, had suffered immensely. So much of her suffering was because of her own indifference, and later, her negligence. She was a poor excuse for a spirit. An incompetent child that didn’t deserve such a wonderful contractor. If she could end her own life she would.

So there she was, the viewing was over and she was left alone within the forbidden library. There was nothing she could do but hold her Tome of Wisdom, the last remnant of her mother, close to her chest and cry her little heart out. She knew not how long she wept, but she was snapped out of her distress by someone entering the mansion. An unfamiliar presence. It couldn’t be, could it?

Before the spirit could gather herself and see who was intruding upon the manor, the door to her library burst open. Her tear filled eyes gaped at the young man before her. His mean eyes bore into hers with familiarity and warmth.

“Ha! Found you on the first try!”

The young man walked towards the girl

“What? I don’t understand, in fact!”

“What can I say, I guess I’m just built different.”

The raven haired youth took notice of her puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks. His smirk faded and was replaced with a look of concern as he kneeled down in front of her.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

He reached out to wipe away her tears, but she recoiled, knocking down her stool as he stood up in a hurry.

“YOU SHOULDN’T EXIST, I SUPPOSE!”

Tears began flowing down her cheeks once more. Her voice was a reflection of unadulterated anguish as she denied the man in front of her.

“BETTY DOESN’T DESERVE A CONTRACTOR LIKE YOU, I SUPPOSE!”

Her breathing was becoming more and more shallow and she began sniffling. Her lower lip was quivering. Her knuckles turned white from gripping the hem of her dress.

“Beako… I…”

That nickname. The nickname he gave her in the viewings. Why?

“Why?”

Beatrice’s voice was small and quivering.

“Why do you want this useless spirit, in fact? Betty will just fail you, I suppose. Even Betty’s own mother didn’t wa-”

Before she knew it, the young man’s arms were wrapped around her and held her close.

“Why?”

She didn’t understand. She didn’t deserve this.

“Because I love you, Beako. I couldn’t ask for a better spirit.”

“But Betty’s a failure of a spirit.”

“You’re not a failure to me.”

“Betty is incompetent. You’ll just get hurt again and again.”

“You’re the most competent spirit I know. I’m sure you’ll save me more times than I can count.”

She didn’t know how to react. What should she do? She didn’t deserve him as a contractor.

“I don’t deserve you, I suppose.”

“Funny, I could say the same about you.”

The young man lovingly stroked her hair. He didn’t understand why his future contracted spirit was so upset, but he needed to comfort her. He couldn’t just leave her looking so sad. So Alone.

“WAAAAAAA!”

The floodgates burst open once more and the great spirit cried yet again. 400 years of anguish poured out into the raven haired boy’s shirt. She didn’t know what the wonderful young man saw in a pathetic waste of space such as herself. He wasn’t “That Person”. “That Person” didn’t exist. She had to choose who would be “That Person” for herself. But did she really deserve to? Did she deserve to be so happy? She didn’t know, so she did the only thing she could do, and that was to cry and wail like the child she was.

____________________________________________________________________________

 

Emilia was hoping she could talk with Subaru some more. She wanted to discuss the viewings if at all possible, but while they were on their way to the dining hall, a random door caught his attention and he entered without saying a word.

“Dunderhead. Hmph”

It wasn’t like her to pout like that, but she genuinely wanted to spend time with him. She couldn’t fix her contract with Puck until the next day, and that would likely involve breaking the contract like in the viewings, and she’d need a new proxine crystal to make a new contract. And so she simply followed Rem. She didn’t like Rem very much. She’d killed and tortured Subaru, and when she lost her memories, she treated him very poorly and got him killed several times. Rem was the reason Subaru tried to use his own life like a commodity, like he was a tool, all because she got eaten. It was ALL HER FAULT.

At least that’s what Emilia told herself. She didn’t feel right holding the maid accountable for actions she never took. No, it was a different anger. One the half-elf couldn’t place. It was an alien feeling. And this strange dislike of Rem takes root any time she thinks about her and Subaru being alone together. When she called him her hero. When he asked to run away with her. Whenever Subaru would talk to her after she was eaten. How hard Subaru worked to protect Rem. She felt envious. She didn’t understand these feelings. She would ask Puck about these feelings later.

Upon entering the dining hall, she saw him. The man who orchestrated so much of Subaru’s suffering. Roswaal L Mathers. The clown. He’s lucky Subaru chose not to get rid of him during the viewings. She glared daggers at the man. If looks could kill, he would be dead many times over. Emilia didn’t notice it, but the temperature in the dining hall had dropped by several degrees.

Emilia wasn’t the only one openly antagonistic towards the Margrave. It took every bit of willpower for Rem to keep her horn from sprouting and smashing the clown into a fine paste. Her sister and Subaru wouldn’t want him dead, so she took a deep breath and managed to compose herself.

“Rem will fetch dinner.”

With a bow, Rem left to the kitchen while Emilia sat down at the table. At the far end. Far from Roswaal. She couldn’t stand to be within that man’s vicinity, but Subaru was right, they needed him. And so she put up with it.

“Nooooow~ Where is our guest?”

Roswaal appeared unbothered by the open hatred towards him.

“We caa~aan’t have our much needed discussion without him present.”

Emilia sighed, not even bothering to hide her agitation with the clown.

“He’s visiting Beatrice. I’m sure he’ll be here soon.”

“I see~ee. Then we’ll just have to wait.”

As he said that, Rem entered the dining hall while pushing a dinner cart. She first stopped by Emilia’s seat and served her a bowl of stew first.

“I’ll take it Miss Beatrice will be joining us tonight?”

“Most likely. I’m reeealy sure Subaru will bring her here.”

“Of course. I’ll be sure to give her a serving.”

Rem served two more bowls of soup in the two seats to Emia’s left. Subaru will want to sit next to the silver haired candidate, and Beatrice would want to sit next to her contractor. After serving for the two absent guests, Rem went to the head of the table and sloppily served Roswaal his serving of stew.

“Apologies Master Roswaal, Rem’s hand slipped.”

Ram wanted to admonish her sister, but she understood why Rem was so angry. She’d talk about it later once she’s calmed down.

“No woo~orries my dear Rem. I’ll refrain from eating until Subaru-kun arrives.”

The use of that nickname earned him a glare from both Rem and Emilia. Luckily, before either of them lost their tempers, the dining hall doors opened to the forbidden library. Out of it stepped Subaru Natsuki holding the hand of a certain Great Spirit.

“Yoo! Sorry for the hold up! I got distracted by Beako!”

Subaru, naturally, sat down next to Emilia while Beatrice sat next to him. Beatrice’s eyes were still red and puffy from crying,

“I’m not sure why, but she was pretty upset when I saw her.”

That was a lie. He had a very good idea of what was wrong with everyone he’d talked to today, he just didn’t want to say it out loud. Too risky.

“Nice of you tooo~oo join us, Subaru-kun.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

The raven haired young man gave Roswaal the side eye. Of course he was already using that nickname.

“I might as well cut to the chase.”

Roswaal abandoned his accent and took on a more serious tone as he stood up and unbuttoned his shirt.

“Wait a minute! Thats…”

On Roswaal’s chest was a contract, an oath, one that would cross time and space. It was direct evidence of what everyone in the room suspected.

“It would appear that the viewings were true. Not only that, but you’ve reset back to your first day in this world.”

Emilia, Rem, Ram and Beatrice all froze in fear of retribution from the witch as Roswaal casually mentioned resetting. Subaru began to panic. What the hell is Ros playing at?

“Roswall! What the hell are you doing!?”

This wasn’t enough to trigger the taboo, Subaru knew that very well, but to mention his ability so casually in front of everyone, had he gone mad!? He looked around at the others. They weren’t confused or shocked. No, they didn’t even look scared anymore, as though the momentary fear had passed. Did they know already? He’d begun to suspect it, but he hoped it was his imagination. He took a deep breath.

“Hold on, What do you mean, “viewing”?”

Roswaal’s lips stretched into his trademark smirk.

“It’s quite simple Subaru-kun, earlier today, I’m assuming around the time you reset, we were all transported to a strange auditorium where we watched your journey.”

“My… Journey?”

He didn’t like where this was going.

“Yes, from the moments before you arrived in this world until Aldebaron cast the spell “Ol Shamac” on you in the watchtower.”

Subaru had gone pale and was beginning to sweat bullets. Roswaal didn’t see the loops did he? He stood up in haste.

“How much did you see!?”

“Every loop. From beginning to every miserable end.”

Subaru froze. His hand reached his chest instinctually. Please no. no no no no nonononono. The witch was going to come. He knew she was. Even Emilia, Rem, Ram and Beatrice were expecting it. But nothing happened.

“Huh? I don’t understand.”

Confusion. That was the primary emotion filling the dining hall at that moment. Roswaal was reveling in how he controlled the situation. It was fun. It was especially fun to see Subaru in such a state of panic. He was grabbing his chest like he was expecting the witch to crush his heart. His face was pale as a ghost and Roswaal was pretty sure Subaru had forgotten to breathe.

“It’s quite simple my dear Subaru-kun, I haven’t broken the taboo”

“What?”

At the boy’s meek response, Roswaal procured a familiar black book, The Tome of Wisdom.

“After the viewing, my tome of wisdom had become blank, save for some interesting rules presented to me.”

“Rules? What do you mean?”

His voice, his whole mannerism had become shaken. He was nervous, clearly so.

“It’s simple. Only those who attended the viewing and Subaru may speak of past loops. It is forbidden to reveal this information to outsiders. References to the trigger are strictly forbidden. Any attempts to force a loop or to manipulate Subaru into looping will be punishable by death.”

Subaru’s eyes widen as Roswaal reads the rules of the new taboo. He felt like he was going to be sick.

“So.. all of you saw?”

Emilia, looking guilty, nodded her head.

“Yes. I’m reeealy sorry you got hurt because of me.”

Subaru shook his head, although it was more so to calm himself down.

“You have nothing to apologize for Emilia-tan, it was all my choice.”

He remembered something. His first week at the mansion. Rem had… she saw. She saw what she did to him. He slowly turned his head to face her. This was his fault. If he wasn’t a useless worthless piece of trash unworthy of being her hero, he wouldn’t have been sent back here. Rem wouldn’t have had to see it.

“Rem… I never wanted you to see any of that…”

“Please, don’t forgive Rem, I don’t deserve it.”

“Rem, don’t blame yourself.”

“But I ki-”

Rem suddenly clutched her chest in pain.

“I hurt you Subaru. You were nothing but kind to me. And yet I hurt you so many times.”

“Rem. Don’t beat yourself up over it okay? You haven’t actually done anything to me.”

No. Rem couldn’t accept this. He was being too kind to her.

“I saw it! I saw everything I did! I’m nothing but a useless Oni village reject.”

Subaru reached out and gave the broken girl a head pat.

“Listen, Rem. I didn’t forgive you. And that’s because there’s nothing to forgive. My power, it gives me a unique perspective on this kind of thing. I’ve seen you at your worst, your most lost and angry. But I’ve also seen you at your best, trying so hard to protect those you care about. To me, you’re just Rem. Remember in that viewing, what I said to you after the Ulgram invasion?”

Rem looked at her hero with tears in her eyes.

“That we should laugh about the future together like a real demon?”

“That’s right Rem. And if you really do feel bad about what you saw, then you should focus not on the bad, but instead on the good you can tomorrow. Okay?”

“Oh kay. Thank you, Subaru.”

Rem quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and composed herself once more.

“You should eat before your dinner gets cold.”

“Alright, alright. Will do, Rem.”

He ruffled her hair before sitting back down at his seat. Once he sat back down, both Emilia and Beatrice scooted closer to him. Not wanting to cause a scene, Subaru tried to ignore them and eat his dinner.

“Oh man, I missed Rem’s home cooking! Youch!”

Emilia pinched his thigh. She definitely wasn’t jealous. Not one bit.

“Oh, by the waa~ay. Emilia-sama, should we make Subaru-kun you’re knii~ght?”

Roswaal had gone back to using that creepy accent of his. It made Subaru shudder a bit.

“Yes! Of Course! I’d reeealy like that!”

“Emilia-tan… are you serious?”

“Yes, of course I am. Why wouldn’t I want you as my knight?”

“No reason, it’s just a bit soon is all.”

Emilia wasn’t thinking this through. She wasn’t thinking about how much danger he would be in. She wasn’t thinking about his deaths. The only thing on her mind was that he said he loved her. It made her blush. She wanted to be near him, and what better way than to have him as her knight.

“If all are in agree~ment, then I’ll begin making the arrangements tomoo~row.”

With the conversation over, Roswaal was no longer an active threat. Emilia would have to mention the taboo rules to Puck tomorrow. Roswaal was about to begin preparations for a knighting ceremony and things had gotten so busy Subaru had forgotten to tell Emilia he had made a contract with Beako. Ram needed to have a much needed talk with her sister, but that had to wait under later.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

Petra was oddly mature for her age. At the ripe old age of twelve, she had already shown wisdom far beyond her years. This made her feel out of place with the other village children. But she didn’t mind it. One day she planned on being a seamstress at the Capital, but for now she was just a kid.

At least that’s what she had thought until she was brought to the auditorium. She witnessed the most horrible visions she had ever seen in her short life. It terrified her, shook her to her core. She felt bad for Subaru Natsuki. She also felt angry at how he’d been treated. She had no doubt in her mind that what she had seen was real. Why else would she and so many others be dragged there to watch it. It wouldn’t be for some joke. It wouldn’t make sense if it was merely visions of the future, because why bother showing the bad endings otherwise. And if it really were the future, why did it end when Subaru was sealed, it would make more sense to show them how to free them.

No, Petra knew what that was. Subaru had reset back to the beginning and they were being shown what he had already gone through. But what was Petra to do, she was just a child. It was simple, she couldn’t act without proof, so she’d wait for him to make himself known and then she would apply for a job as a maid working for the despicable clown. So for now, Petra bided her time.

After dinner that evening, Petra wandered outside before bedtime. She wanted to go for a walk to clear her head so she could get some sleep. She was probably going to have nightmares. While going for a stroll, she saw a familiar looking girl, Meili. She was holding the puppy. Petra started shaking. She was scared. She knew what Meili would do. But still, Meili wouldn’t act for a few days. So Petra approached.

“Umm, hello there?”

Petra gave Meili a smile. Something was… off. The mabeast tamer looked upset. Angry, sad, melancholic. Had something happened?

“Is something the matter?”

“It’s nooothing.”

Meili sighed. She didn’t care anymore. Not about her job. Her sister was murdered right in front of her.

“You can kill her now.”

The puppy jumped from Meili’s arms and quickly transformed into a fully grown Boss Ulgarm. Petra couldn’t speak. She took a step back and tripped. She was going to die. She was going to die!

“Papa won’t be happy if you hurt her, tsu~”

The Boss Ulgarm, in the blink of an eye, was cut to ribbons. Blood and viscera splattered all over the ground and onto Petra’s face and clothes. Standing in the middle of the carnage was a young blond girl with sharp teeth and long blond hair donning only a white dress.

“You’re… You’re…”

Petra gulped with fear. The Archbishop of Satiation Gluttony. What was she doing here?

“Louise Arne-”

“Spica. Our name is Spica the Star Eater, tsu~”

Spica turned to Meili, who promptly turned to run away, but the blonde girl seemingly teleported behind her.

“Papa would feel bad if you died tsu~. So we’ll just have to knock you out tsu~”

Spica chopped Meili’s neck, knocking her unconscious. Holding Meili’s limp form over her shoulder, she looked back to Petra.

“I guess you saw the viewing too tsu~. We’ll be seeing you soon.”

The former archbishop began walking to the Mathers estate with the unconscious assassin slung over her shoulder like a sack of produce, leaving the remaining young girl in shock. She was definitely going to have nightmares.

 

To Be Continued.

Chapter 6: Welcome to the Family

Summary:

It's the next day.

Otto Suwen wasn’t sure what to think. One moment, he was being talked into buying large quantities of oil and the next, the next he was sitting in a strange auditorium surrounded by important looking people. Otto was seated at the end of a row of seats. Next to him a black Diana Ground Dragon lay on the floor as they were forced to watch some random teenager be granted a power that was ironically as cruel as it was unstoppable. During the viewings he learned all sorts of things. The ground dragon he was sitting next to would apparently become this young boy's loyal steed and she seemed excited at the prospect.

 

Otto truly felt bad for the young man, but he didn’t know what he had to do with any of it, at least not until they met on the screen. Apparently buying the oil was a bad idea. Noted. But then the whale appeared. It drove the version of him on the screen crazy, but not just that, Otto could hear the whale, understand the creature he was watching. The only reason he didn’t lash out was his inability to move or speak as well as the voice hosting the viewings promoting mental stability. He hoped to never encounter the Great Mabeast in real life.

 

Even though he pushed the young man and left him for dead, the raven haired youth still chose to save the merchant in a future loop. They even seemed to become friends, which only became evident as the viewing went further into the future. Otto would become a key figure in overcoming the Tome of wisdom and he would become best friends with an aggressive young demi human and the raven haired soon-to-be knight.

 

As the viewings went on, the world only became more cruel and unforgiving for the young knight, especially his journey through the infamous Land of Wolves. Otto was also surprised by his willingness to play the villain and the increasing ease he seemed to have with playing dirty to help his friends. Could he really care about these people to that extent? It was a possibility that he refused to dismiss. They weren’t being shown this for no reason and the Merchant refused to deny the possibility that this was all real.

 

Once the phrase “Ol Shamac” was spoken and the screen went black, Otto found himself standing back in front of the oil salesmen. Needless to say he chose not to purchase the oil and instead moved to swordsmith to load up on weapons since he knows these will be in high demand very soon.

 

“I need a drink.”

 

Otto sighed with his usual misery. Now that he was financially secure, it was time to drown his sorrows once more.

____________________________________________________________________________

The sun had begun rising over the village of Arlem, bathing the area in a warm orange hue. The villagers were doing their morning chores while the children played outside before breakfast, the exception being a lone girl with short orange hair. Still shaken up from the previous evening, Petra insisted she was fine and volunteered to alert their Lord, Roswaal Mathers, of the broken barrier crystal surrounding the village. 

 

She hadn’t slept a wink the previous night. She couldn’t get the images out of her head. Seeing such a kind person be treated so poorly shook the poor girl to her core. The Margrave orchestrated so much of the poor hero’s suffering. It was he who took advantage of the hero and twisted his kindness into a form of martyrdom. She hated Roswaal. She’d never met the man, but she hated him. She’d never forgive him for it. But more than that, she hated anyone who had taken advantage of the would-be knight’s kindness.

 

She was one of them.

 

But she’d make up for it. Petra had to do whatever she could to make Subaru’s journey at least a little easier. That’s why she volunteered to deliver the news of the barrier crystal. The residents of the mansion likely already know of this issue, there was no reason that they wouldn’t. She was sure they were at the auditorium as well. She hadn’t seen them specifically, but she recognized others that would become allies of Subaru Natsuki. 

 

No, her reason for going wasn’t to warn Lady Emilia of a problem she was undoubtedly aware of, Petra wanted to become a maid, just as she had done in the viewing. She would become a maid and serve under Subaru. Not the manipulative clown nor the incompetent royal candidate. Both were responsible for Subaru’s suffering. She would never forgive them for that.

 

Her legs were shaking as though they were made of that jelly treat the nobles liked to partake in, but she persisted. The young girl needed to go to the mansion, to meet the enigmatic man of whom’s journey she had witnessed. Rem would be there. The Oni that had not only killed and tortured Subaru, Petra couldn’t forgive that, but she had made up for it by dying to protect him, but the blue haired dolt convinced him to be a hero. Gave him a complex that made him willing to suffer for others.

 

And that’s not all. She hated how the pathetic excuse for a maid dragged the hero into a situation where he was forced to partake in a war. Petra blamed all of Subaru’s suffering in The Land of Wolves on the demon. And why wouldn’t she? If Rem had been more reasonable, if she hadn’t made things difficult, Subaru could’ve left that hellhole before being turned into a war asset. The 10 second loop would not have happened and Subaru would not have died countless times to save everyone from the great disaster.

 

These thoughts, these feelings of hatred and morose plagued the young girl. Yet she pressed on down the dirt road leading to the mansion. It would do her no good to be blatantly hostile towards those she needed to meet, so took a deep breath and attempted to calm her tormented heart, or at least what was left of it.

____________________________________________________________________________

The morning rays shone through the window, bathing the face of the sleeping Subaru Natsuki in sunlight. He grimaced and groaned as he tried to ignore the light bleeding through his eyelids, but to no avail. His eyes fluttered open, fatigue making his already mean eyes look scarier than usual. Yesterday had been rather stressful. He had been thrown more than a year and a half into the past, to the very day he was first summoned to this world. Not only that, but all of those he would consider to be his dear friends and comrades had apparently been forced to watch his journey. It was horrifying. Even though they didn’t know him, they knew his every secret. Every trauma, every embarrassing blunder, every failure. 

 

Even though he rationally understood the witch wouldn’t retaliate, the fear was still there, he just simply buried it like he did the rest of his fears and insecurities. He had to. He needed to. He couldn’t afford to let himself be overcome by fear. People were relying on him. People he trusted. People he loved. He couldn’t let them see his terror or they would know he was weak. Under no circumstances would Subaru let them know he was nothing more than a scared child putting on a brave face. They’d already seen this side of him during the sanctuary, but he’s grown. They saw he had grown. What if they realized he was still the weak pathetic worthless useless idiot he always was?

 

They’d throw him away. They would abandon him. Toss him aside the trash he was. He knew this was irrational, but his fear still remained. 

 

Subaru’s fingernails pressed into his wrist.

 

 His precious Beako was sleeping next to him while grasping his shirt like she was trying to anchor herself. He couldn’t get the sight out of his head. The grief, the way she cried. It was all because of him. Because he was weak. If he were stronger, Beako wouldn’t suffer.

 

His fingers dragged across his flesh, raking skin under his nails.

 

Subaru needed to do more. He needed to try harder. He needed to train. Become stronger. Become someone reliable. Someone worthy of the love he had been shown.

 

His fingertips felt wet. His nails continued to dig in.

 

He had to face those terrors again. The whale. The Cult. Sphinx. The rabbits. The rabbits, The rabbits. The rabbits. The rabbits the rabbits therabbits therabbits therabbitstherabbitstherabbitstherabbtistherabbitsthe-

 

“Subaru-kun?”

 

The familiar voice snapped him out of his trance and he quickly hid his bloodied arm under the blanket.

 

“Oh uhh Rem. Come in!”

 

The door slowly creaked open and in stepped the woman who had stolen the second place in the young knight’s heart. She looked cute as ever in her maid outfit, but something was wrong. Her eyes were red and puffy. She’d been crying. It was all Subaru’s fault.

 

“Good morning Rem, is everything okay?”

 

The Oni smiled softly and wiped some leftover tears from her eyes. She didn’t have any right to burden him with her tears. Rem could make out a metallic scent in the air. Subaru had been harming himself again. Was it because of her? She was probably the reason for it.

 

“Y-yes Subaru-kun. Rem I Alright. Ah, I mean erm…”

 

She bit her lip. There was a problem, but she was too focused on making sure he wouldn’t worry about her. Stupid stupid Rem. Poor excuse for an Oni. She’s not worth even being her wonderful sister’s replacement. She cleared her throat, but couldn’t hide how she was shaking..

 

“Sorry Subaru-kun, I hate to bother you with this, but I believe there may be a cultist in the mansion.”

 

Subaru shot up out of bed.

 

“A Cultist!? Are you sure?

 

“Yes. Rem can recognize the smell anywhere. I would’ve taken care of it myself, but…”

 

What if they weren’t a cultist? What if they were innocent? Rem couldn’t get rid of the images of her strangling and torturing Subaru. His blood. His anguished cries. He was innocent, and yet she… She… She didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t bear to make that kind of mistake once more. That’s why she went to Subaru.

 

“I understand.”

 

He put on his tracksuit jacket to cover his wound.

 

“Thanks for letting me know, Rem-rin. Could you show me where this cultist is?”

 

Subaru gave the maid a head pat. It always cheered her up when he did that, and the small blush on her cheeks confirmed that it was still effective. She even stopped trembling.

 

“Yes, follow Rem.”

 

Having regained her composure, Rem gave Subaru a small bow.

 

“But you should probably take Lady Beatrice with you, just in case.”

 

“Good thinking Rem-rin!”

 

He went back to the bed and shook the spirit awake.

 

“Hey Beako, we’ve got something important to do.”

 

The small girl groaned and sat up.

 

“What is it, I suppo-”

 

Her eyes widened.

 

“That smell, there’s a cultist here, in fact.”

 

Subaru picked up his contracted spirit.

 

“Yup, and we’re gonna check it out!.”

 

Beatrice simply sighed. She didn’t want him in danger, but she also knew she couldn’t stop him. So she steeled herself to deal with the problem. She would kill whoever poses a threat to her contractor. Her determination was reflected even in her contract. In the viewings, she made the selfish decision to only take mana from Subaru, this left her weak and unable to protect him. Now, however, she can take mana from anyone that is deemed to be an ally, so she will always have a mana supply if she needs it.

 

“Alright, I suppose. But I won’t let you get hurt, in fact.”

 

Once Betty was on the ground, she held her contractor's hand as the maid, who had regained her usual elegance, led them down the halls.

 

“That silly girl should be breaking her contract with Bubby when she wakes up, in fact. Betty has a suitable replacement crystal in the forbidden Library. Are you okay with keeping Bubby around,I suppose?”

 

“I have a thing or two to say to that cat, but he’s you and Emilia’s family. Besides, I’m pretty sure EMT will get rid of certain aspects of the contract. Like the whole destroying the world thing.”

 

The mention of The Beast of the End sent chills down the spine of the Oni and the spirit. Seeing the raven haired boy getting frozen 3 times left quite the impression, but they had to respect Subaru’s decision.

 

“If you say so. Just make sure you don’t get hurt, I suppose.”

 

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the entrance of the mansion’s dungeon.

 

“The Dungeon? Did you or Nii-sama apprehend them already, Rem-rim?”

 

Rem shook her head.

 

“No, when Rem woke up, the smell was already down here. I think whoever it is came down here on purpose.”

 

“Huh… That’s strange. Still, we should proceed with caution.”

 

“Understood.”

 

The sound of rattling chains reached Subaru’s ears. Rem was already wielding her Morning Star and dark purple minya crystals appeared around Beatrice.

 

“OKAY! Into the fray we go!”

 

Subaru opened the door and the trio made there way down into the dungeon.

 

“The cultist is definitely down here, Subaru-kun.”

 

“Got it, stay on guard.”

 

Once subaru made it down the final step, he saw something he wasn’t expecting. In one of the cell’s was a little girl with dark blue hair. And she was sleeping.

 

“Wait, is that Meili? What’s she doing here?”

 

Subaru scratched the back of his head in confusion before noticing another young girl sleeping in another cell. She wore a white dress and her blonde hair was longer than she was tall.”

 

“Is that? No way.”

 

Subaru gulped and took a nervous step forward.

 

“Subaru-kun, that’s an archbishop is it not? Louis Arneb?”

 

“Yes, in fact. That’s one of the gluttonies. Should Betty finish her off right now, in fact?”

 

Subaru put his hand out in front of Beatrice.

 

“Not yet… This is weird. She shouldn’t have a body. And why is she here?”

 

“UUwaaah!”

 

The young archbishop let out a yawn, putting the three even further on edge. Beatrice and Rem tensed up, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. Louis Arneb turned to look at Subaru with a tired look. Once she made eye contact, she began to smile with a toothy grin.

 

“Oh, if it isn’t papa, tsu~”

 

She stood up and stretched her arms over her head.

 

“Don't move, I suppose!”

 

“Stay still, Cultist!”

 

Rem and Beatrice both glared at the archbishop while stepping in front of Subaru.

 

“Relax, we came here to see our papa, tsu~ If we wanted to cause harm, everyone in this mansion would be dead, tsu~”.

 

Louis had a smug toothy grin on her face, but she didn’t move.

 

“Okay then, but why come to the dungeon? And why is Meili here?”

 

Subaru gestured towards the sleeping Meili with his thumb.

 

“We saw her trying to kill that Petra girl, tsu~. So we knocked her out and brought her here and we thought waiting in the dungeon would be the safest option. Call it a gesture of good faith, tsu~.”

 

The girls didn’t lower their guard, even if Subaru did relax a little.

 

“But why are you here Loui-”

 

“Spica. Our name is Spica.”

 

The archbishop cut Subaru off to correct the young man with a frown on her face.

 

“Don’t call us Louis.”

 

“Spica? Wait. Did you watch the viewings?”

 

The trio’s eyes widened in shock.

 

“Yes we did, tsu~. That’s why we’re here, because we know we’ll finally be happy if we’re with you, tsu~.”

 

Rem and Beatrice finally relaxed a little. There wasn’t much they could do if she had seen the viewings. She couldn’t bring harm to Subaru, the witch would kill her if she tried. But still, they couldn’t relax completely. She was still an archbishop.

 

“You know, it hurts when you look at us like that mama, tsu~”

 

CRASH!

 

Rem dropped her morning star. Louis, no, Spica just called her Mama after calling Subaru Papa! Rem blushed a little bit. She was completely disarmed by this. She brought her hands to her cheeks. Her having a kid with Subaru-kun? The idea made her forget about her grief. 

 

“Oh my, this is unexpected. Rem and Subaru-kun have a daughter.”

 

An annoyed sigh escaped the lips of a certain great spirit while the minya crystals dissipated into nothing.

 

“How troublesome, I suppose. Don’t think I trust you, in fact!”

 

“Of course not, tsu~”

 

Spica stepped out of her cell with cautious steps. Once she was sure she wouldn’t be attacked, she jumped into her papa’s arms.

 

“You won’t regret this Papa, we’ll be the best daughter ever, tsu~!”

 

“Yeah, I’m sure you will.”

 

He ruffled the young girl's hair affectionately. He wasn’t sure if this was a good idea, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t miss Spica. They had been through so much together, at least in his memories. But she’d seen his journey. He knew her motivations, so he had no reason to distrust her words. He looked up and saw his adorable Beako puffing her cheeks.

 

“Beako looks so cute when she’s pouting!”

 

“Betty’s not pouting, in fact!”

 

Beatrice stomped her foot in an adorable fashion.

 

“Okay okay, we should probably go upstairs for breakfast. We’ll have to explain this to everyone.”

 

He glanced over at the locked cell containing the mabeast taming assassin, who is still sleeping peacefully.

 

“I’ll have to make her some dolls later.”

 

He sighed.

 

“I have to start over her rehab from scratch. Yare Yare Daze.”

 

Subaru took Beatrice’s hand while Rem took Spica’s.

 

“Come, I’ll wake up sissy and get breakfast prepared. Later today, I’ll get Spica some new clothes.”

 

The group walked up stairs to leave the dungeon with the newest member to the Emilia camp in tow. They’ll have to hide that Spica is a former archbishop. The scandal would be too much if word got out. All Subaru could do was hope not too many people saw the viewings.

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A nearby forest was in a state of disrepair, to put it mildly. Multiple tree’s had been felled. It looked as though a war had been fought in the forest. Some tree’s had been uprooted completely, others had been snapped at their base or even torn apart. Deep claw marks were gouged all over. This medley of destruction had destroyed roughly a third of the forest surrounding the small village containing the tomb of the former witch of Greed.

 

The cause of this wanton destruction? A lone boy 14 years of age. He lay in the wooden carnage he had wrought completely exhausted. After being forced into the auditorium, he watched the coolest person he had ever seen in his life do the most badass things he had ever seen! But unfortunately, the awesome guy suffered. He died. Over and over again. In the viewings, he had met this man. He tried to kill the hero. He was guilty as everyone else, more guilty actually. It was because he’s weak. Not just physically, but mentally. He’s not a shield, he couldn’t even protect that cute cat girl that liked him, let alone his capt’n. 

 

He knew he was weak because once he got back from the viewing, he lost control and went on a rampage. He entered his beast form and took out his anger and frustrations on the forest. There was no reason for it, it was just a sign of his weakness. So now he just lay there. He used up all his energy fighting trees.

 

“AAAAAAGGGGHHHH! DAMN IIIIIIT!”

 

Garfiel Tinzel, the Eunuch of the Sanctuary,  could do nothing but scream out his frustrations. 

 

To Be Continued.

Chapter 7: V I I

Summary:

Best Girl is in this one

Within the stables of the Karsten Mansion lay a very proud creature. She was a Ground Dragon of the Diana species adorned with black scales and a feisty attitude. She wasn’t particularly fond of most of those humans that wished to control, so the only one capable of taming her was that scarily strong old man working for the duchess. She had just been put away in her stable after spending the day pulling a carriage when she suddenly found herself on a cold hard floor within a large peculiar room. Next to her was some pathetic looking green man. Was he the one who brought her here? She tried to go on the offensive but found herself unable to move. That’s when the strange voice began to speak.

 

It was a strange voice. An unnatural voice. It sent shivers down the spine of the ground dragon. After the voice was done speaking, images began to appear on the large window. The moving images showed the proud Diana, a young black haired human boy and she felt an attachment to him almost immediately. Was this why she was brought here? It didn't make sense. She saw him get hurt and die.  The more she watched the angrier she got. How dare these people hurt this human!

 

What she saw was a kind and loyal young man, one who would do anything to save those he cared about. And yet she once saw herself bite his head off while under the influence of the Witch's miasma.

 

Patrasche, that was the name bestowed upon her by her soon-to-human. Just as quickly as she appeared within that strange room, did she find herself back in her stables. It took a moment for her to catch her bearings and realize where she was. Confusion led to panic. The boy. She must find him quickly. Before something, anything were to happen to him. The old Butler seemed to be in shock, so she backed up and barreled into the stable gate, crashing through it. She knew not if the butler had regained himself or not, but it didn't matter. She ran full speed into the market district in search of the scary eyed human boy.

 

She searched and searched the market district only to find nothing. She didn’t know her way around the city, so the dragon worriedly searched every street and alleyway with no direction. By the time she reached the slums, the sun was setting and Patrasche could find only the remnants of a… battle? No, more like an annihilation. Was the boy killed? The Diana Ground Dragon carefully looked through the craters looking for any sign of who the victim could have been until she saw a single peculiar looking blade on the ground belonging to the vile woman who gutted her rider. This would mean the raven haired boy must be en route to that rotten clown.

 

Without a moment to lose, Patrasche ran full speed towards the city gate, ignoring the guards and sprinting down the road. She’d never been to the Mather’s domain before, but Patrasche knew it was near that impossibly large tree. All she had to do was find it and Natsukiu Subaru would be much closer to her.

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In the Forbidden Library of the Roswaal Mansion were 3 individuals. A silver haired beauty resembling the eldritch abomination responsible for almost destroying the world, a scary eyed young man with black hair and a tracksuit and a young girl dressed in a regal outfit and her hair adorned in twintails in the shape of drills. Natsuki Subaru was organizing the books and dusting the shelves while his contracted spirit, Beatrice, was rummaging through a chest full of ancient artifacts with Emilia sitting on a nearby stool.

 

“There it is, I suppose.” The youthful great spirit pulled out a Tanzanite colored crystal in the shape of a butterfly. 

 

“The pyroxene crystal was a gift from Betty’s mother, in fact, so treat it with care, I suppose.” 

 

Emilia  carefully took the crystal into her hands with a warm smile on her face. 

 

“Thank you, Beatrice. I would’ve been in a real pickle if it wasn’t for you.”

 

Beatrice began to blush and looked away with a pout.

 

“J-just make sure Bubby won’t do anything to Betty’s contractor, I suppose.”

 

The half-elf’s smile faltered, but only for a brief moment before composing herself and smiling once more, although the smile lacked the previous warmth.

 

“Of course, I’ll reeealy make it clear in our new contract.” 

 

“Oh, is that the pyroxene crystal, it’s really pretty.” 

 

Subaru beamed as he approached the elf and spirit with a grin on his dust covered face. His sharp eyes softened as he got a closer look at the crystal.

 

“Mili would look even more beautiful than usual while wearing this!”

 

Emilia’s ears turned red upon hearing the compliment.

 

“Thank you, Subaru.”

 

Her voice was soft and barely above a whisper.

 

“Well, I must be going. I reeealy want to reestablish my contract with Puck. I’ll be in my bedchambers.”

 

Noticing the bashful reaction from his liege, Subaru couldn’t help but blush a little himself.

 

“Yeah uhh, I’ll see you in a little bit Mili. And who even says bedchambers anymore?”

‘

With a slight bow, Emilia turned to leave the library.

 

“Hey Beako, let’s go outside and do some radio calisthenics.”

 

“Alright, I suppose.”

 

Once Emilia closed the door to the forbidden library, she found she was in the hallway right outside her room. The smile on her face was gone, replaced by an anguished frown she could never show to her knight lest he worry about a half-demon like her.

 

“What should I do, Puck?”

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“Raise your arms up… VICTORY!”

 

“Uhh, V-victory, I suppose!” 

 

A raven haired boy and a young girl, contractor and spirit, Subaru and Beatrice, stood on the well manicured lawn of the Roswaal mansion while the sun lazily rose in the sky behind them. The ever spry former shut-in teenager appeared energized by the exercise while the former-shut in great spirit appeared to be out of breath. 

 

“Great job on your first time Beako!”

 

“It was nothing, Betty had fun, in fact.” 

 

“That’s the spirit, before long I’ll turn you into a master of radio calisthenics!”

 

The young man reached down to ruffle his spirit’s hair, of whom leaned into his touch.

 

“Don’t push it, I suppose!”

 

Of course, the smile on her face betrayed her true feelings even though she was trying to sound stern and uninterested.

 

Soft footsteps crunching on the grass grew closer to the duo as the azure maid, Rem, approached.

 

“Subaru-kun, Miss Beatrice, Rem is here to inform you that breakfast is ready.”

 

The raven haired youth turned to look at the maid and walked over to her while she gave a slight bow.

 

“I’m surprised Ram isn’t with you.”

 

“Sissy is training our two newest maids at the moment.”

 

A look of surprise painted itself on Subaru’s features. Two maids? Spica must’ve joined, but who’s the second?

 

“Really? Who are the newbies? Is Spica one of them?”

 

Rem gave her hero a soft smile.

 

“Yes, Spica has been employed as a maid here. Petra also arrived and asked to be hired while you and Miss Beatrice were in the Forbidden Library.”

 

Subaru’s eyes widened in shock and his mouth became agape. Petra’s here? This early? She must’ve been at the viewing. That poor girl shouldn’t have had to watch that.

 

“Did she, Petra I mean, Did she watch it?”

 

He could feel his heart beating a mile a minute and grabbed his chest instinctually. A child shouldn’t be exposed to those kinds of horrors.

 

“Yes, even though I haven’t confirmed it, it would appear that Petra was likely present at the viewing.”

 

Subaru could only grimace. None of these people he cared for should’ve ever seen hell like that. Only he was supposed to see hell. It’s the kind of hell only reserved for failures such as him eho was too weak to do anything. So why had all these people seen his hell? Had the universe decided that he was too weak, too pathetic to do anything? That’s what it was. All his friends, those he cared so much about he’d die a hundred, no, a thousand times for them, had been dragged into this because he was too much of a loser to anything by himself. Why? Why do they care about him? He didn’t understand. He didn’t under-

 

“!!!”

 

A distant girlish scream snapped Subaru out of his spirally negative thoughts. 

 

“Huh? What the hell was that?”

 

The 3 turned towards the source of the sound and saw a figure in the distance rapidly approaching.

 

“Wait, is that?”

 

100 yards in the distance, a black Diana Ground Dragon was running at full speed towards the mansion while a green clad merchant held on for dear life. The ground dragon cared not for the unfortunate soul desperately holding on to her saddle, nor did she pay any mind to merchant’s own Ground Dragon, Froo Froo, trailing behind.

 

“Patrasche! Please slow down! I’m going to die!”

 

Otto Suwen screamed out in terror as they approached the mansion. He didn’t know what scared him more; Patrasche dragging him through the woods like a rag doll or the fact that he’s about to subject himself to endless ridicule from the Emilia camp.

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A young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes was at her mansion attending to her husband. She wore a neutral expression and a simple white dress. Here name was 184 and she served as one of the unwilling wives to her husband, The Sin Archbishop of Greed, Regulus Corneas. She had long since resigned herself to her fate of serving the bastard man child until he eventually killed her for some minor slip up.

 

So imagine her surprise when she found herself in some large auditorium away from her husband. She didn’t get a chance to enjoy this newfound freedom before she was forced to watch some young man suffer a fate far more cruel than her own. 184 didn’t understand why she was being made to watch this. She felt for the boy, but he had nothing to do with her. At least that’s what 184 thought until the events of Priestella was shown on screen. It showed her and other wives being freed and her captor being slain. What kind of a delusion was this?

 

The rest of the viewing was but a blur for 184 was nothing more than a blur as she focused on the delightful image of her husband dying such a pathetic death. Even if it were fake. It filled her with a sense of joy to see it happen. 184 felt a tinge of disappointment upon finding herself back at the mansion, but she quickly steeled herself before Regulus noticed.

 

Why had she been shown that? Was it a punishment of some kind to give her false hope? 184 did not know, nor did she care. The spark of hope had been lit inside her. All she needed to do was survive another year and she’d be saved. A small, hopeful smile graced the lips of Sylphy Elmart for the first time in a long, long time.

To Be Continued.

Chapter 8: Give Me Sanctuary!

Summary:

Subaru goes to the sanctuary.

The sun was sitting high in the sky over the Mather’s domain while a dragon drawn carriage moved through the woods being pulled by two dragons. Sitting in the driver’s seat were 2 individuals; A young gray haired merchant in a green tunic and a scary-eyed youth with black hair.

 

“Natsuki-san, are you sure this is a good idea? Shouldn’t we bring more people with us?”

 

Otto, the ever cautious merchant he was, was concerned about the lack of reinforcements being brought with them. After all, It took the combined efforts of himself, Ram and Subaru to beat Garfiel during the viewings and this time, his mental stability was almost guaranteed to be much lower.

 

“Yeah, I’m sure of it. If we’re right and Garf did see the viewings, then we should just be able to talk to him. Although, I am worried. He’s probably scared after what he would’ve seen himself do.”

 

Subaru sat in silence for a moment before looking up at Otto with a small smile.

 

“In any case, I’m glad you’re here, Otto.”

 

The merchant stared slack jawed at Subaru for a moment before his face began turning red.

 

“Jeez Natsuki-san, don’t say stuff like that out of nowhere!”

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“Wait, is that?”

 

Subaru could only stare in shock and awe as his beloved ground dragon sprinted towards him while the world’s unluckiest merchant was hanging on for dear life.

 

“Patrasche, I’m serious! I’m going to fall!”

 

The raven haired knight took an anxious step back.

 

“Hold on, isn’t she getting a little close?  Shouldn’t she slow down?”

 

The ground dragon known as Patrasche was getting closer and closer to her target. She’d finally found him and she wasn’t going to stop now.

 

“KAAAAAA”

 

Before he had a chance to move out of the way, our hero was tackled to the ground by Patrsache, of whom had begun to purr and nuzzle him

 

“Subaru!”

 

“Subaru-kun!”

 

The blue haired maid and the great spirit grabbed the rogue ground dragon and tried to pull her away from Subaru while Otto had since fallen onto the ground in a daze.

 

“I thought I was going to die…”

 

He stood up on shaky legs and looked over at the spikey haired young man who was now standing up and petting Patrasche. Subaru Natsuki. Of course the viewing was real. Why wouldn’t it have been real. Not that he really doubted it, but the confirmation still left him feeling rather disturbed. The gears were now turning in his head. He didn’t have all the information. How many people were present? If he was there, then surely the rest of the Emlia camp was as well. 

 

But most importantly, what of Roswaal? That man is dangerous. Should he try to broach the subject or will he trigger a taboo? He really didn’t want to find out.

 

“Oh, Otto! When did you get here?”

 

“I’ve been here the whole time! Didn’t you hear me screaming!?”

 

Even though he sounded indignant, he was still processing the information. Subaru knew him already, so this was either the Natsuki from the viewings or he’d died already and therefore met the merchant in a now defunct timeline. Judging by his familiarity with Patrasche, he’d have to lean towards the former. Not only that, but the blue haired maid and the spirit seemed awfully close to the boy. But this would only be his second day since arriving here, so he wouldn’t have had the chance to deal with the mabeasts yet. Rem and Beatrice had definitely seen the viewing, so what about Subaru, was he aware?

 

“Ah, I mean Natsuki-san. It’s good to finally meet you.”

 

Otto said with a slight bow as he glanced up to read Natsuki’s expression. It seemed to be that of resignation, or at the very least he looked as though he expected it. This was definitely the Natsuki-san he watched in the viewings. Was he able to bring it up, or…?

 

“So then Otto, I’ll take it that you were at the viewing?”

 

Otto’s eyes widened in mild surprise. For Natsuki to mention it so casually means that there’s no taboo on it. There had to be rules attached. A new taboo of sorts?

 

“Excuse me, Natsuki-san, but would you mind filling me in?”

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The carriage passed by a few felled trees as it went through the sanctuary. Otto now sat alone in the driver's seat while Subaru was inside the carriage with his spirit and his liege, the latter of which had passed out upon entering the sanctuary and was currently using his lap as a pillow.

 

“Looks like there must’ve been a storm recently.”

 

Otto shook his head as he looked ahead, his hands shaking as they held the reigns.

 

“No, The girls here seem to think it was something else. They’re nervous about something.”

 

More destroyed trees and wanton destruction came into view the further in they went. It looked like something had torn a section of the forest apart.

 

“Do you think it was Garfiel?”

 

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure it was. He was probably freaked out by the viewings. We should hurry up and find him.”

 

Within a few minutes, they had reached the sanctuary village, which showed no signs of devastation.

 

“Looks like he must’ve limited his rampage to the forest.”

 

Otto said as he stepped off the carriage. Subaru climbed out and looked at his surroundings.

 

“If he’s not here, he must be hiding. I’ll go look for him. Otto, Beatrice, you stay here until Emilia-tan wakes up.”

 

“No! I’m coming with you, I suppose!”

 

Beatrice grabbed her contractor's hand with a determined look in her eyes. She couldn’t let her contractor go off on his own. She couldn’t let herself be a failure of a great spirit. Subaru kneeled down and rubbed the top of her head.

 

“Beako, please. I need you to stay here and protect Emilia. You’re the only one here strong enough to do that.”

 

Tears began to well up in the great spirit’s eyes.

 

“Betty doesn’t want you to get hurt.”

 

“It’s okay Beako, if it gets too hairy, I’ll retreat and come get you. I promise.”

 

“You better, in fact. Betty won’t forgive herself if you got hurt, I suppose.”

 

Subaru wrapped his arms around his beloved spirit to calm down her distressed heart.

 

“Stay safe, Subaru.”

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“I see, so that’s how it is. The taboo isn’t as restricting as I thought it would be.”

 

Otto sat across from Subaru at the breakfast table, of whom had Beatrice on his lap and was seated next to Emilia. He was flanked by the new hires, Spica Natsuki and Petra Leyte. To Otto’s right at the head of the table was Roswaal L Mathers, who was flanked by the twin maids Rem and Ram. The atmosphere, as expected, was uneasy. Neither of the twin maids seemed all too keen on standing beside their master, but it was their duty and so they persisted.

 

The merchant glanced at the half-elf. She was wearing a different pyroxene crystal than the one seen in the viewing. This one was purple and in the shape of a butterfly as opposed to the basic green crystal he had grown accustomed to.

 

“Miss Emilia, did you by chance end your contract with the Great Spirit of Fire?”

 

Emilia smiled and placed her hand on the crystal adorning her chest.

 

“Yes, I did. But I reformed it this morning. Breaking the contract like that took a toll on puck, so he’s resting to conserve his mana. He’ll be back to normal in a few days.”

 

“Good, Betty needs to have a word or two with Bubby when he comes back, I suppose.”

 

“Aaaa~anywho! I believe we have another important matter to discuu~uss.”

 

The clown at the head of the table spoke up in his grating accent, making everyone in the room sans the twin maids, glare at him hatefully.

 

“Yeah? What is it, Ros-chii?”

 

“I believe we should check up on our miii~ising shield. Garfiel Tinzel no doubt saw the viewings as well and is likely traumatized by it.”

 

Roswaal bore no smile on his face. The Emilia camp needed its shield, their most capable combatant. Without Garfiel Tinzel, Subaru will have a great deal of trouble with the events that have yet to come. Now that Roswaal knows the secret of the Key's ability to reset, he needed to make sure to prioritize the young knight’s mental stability, lest he turned on the court mage

 

.”I want to go too.”

 

Emilia spoke up looking determined.

 

“But Miss Emilia, if you go you won’t be able to leave until the trials have been solved.”

 

Otto had no choice but to voice his concerns. Sending the royal candidate there would be a terrible idea.

 

“I know, but I can’t leave the inhabitants of the Sanctuary trapped there. Besides, I want to face the trials… for myself.”

 

Emilia knew it was selfish, but she needed to face her past in order to grow into a leader that can keep her knight safe. She didn’t know what the trials would be, but she had a suspicion that she would have to face the guilt and fear she’s been feeling since the viewing. Feelings she’s been doing her best to hide so that Subaru wouldn’t worry. She wanted him to be safe, to not get hurt, but she knew that pushing him away would only make things worse, and so she decided that she would do her utmost to stop being the easily manipulated, naive girl from the viewings in order to protect her Subaru.

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Garfiel Tinzel the useless. Garfiel Tinzel the coward. The so-called Shield of the Sanctuary was hiding away like a scared child. He knew this place from the viewings. It’s where he’d tied up the biggest badass he’d ever seen. He couldn’t get the images out of his mind. Typing up the young knight. The way he slaughtered innocent villagers. The blood. Their blood. Their guts. Their screams. He couldn’t get rid of it.

 

“Stop it! Please just stop it!”

 

He laid in fetal position on the cold hard floor while he clamped his ears shut with his hands. His eyes remained firmly shut. He wanted nothing more than to drown it all out. He was no shield. A shield was supposed to protect. He was nothing more than an animal. He slaughtered those people like a coward. All because he was too scared of the world. He was gutless. He didn’t have the balls to be a shield. The Eunuch of the Sanctuary. That’s all he deserved to be called. A cowardly child who didn’t have the balls to protect anyone.

 

“Just make it stop.”

 

Tears rolled down his cheeks. The screams wouldn’t stop. He could still hear them clear as day. He was so focused on trying to get rid of the screaming that he didn’t notice the footsteps approaching.

 

“I figured you’d be hiding here, Garf.”

 

The blonde boy’s eyes snapped open in fear. He’s here. Why? Why? Why? Images of a young man being gutted and frozen and tortured and cursed and eaten alive ran through his mind as he looked up at the coolest man he’d ever seen, Subaru Natsuki.

To Be Continued.

Notes:

I'll add more tags and characters when they appear.