Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

23 people sat within a large theater, each attentively watching the screen, though there was one dunderhead who seemed to want to sleep through the show. These people, each from five different camps, had all been summoned here to see the life of this sleeping dunderhead, Natsuki Subaru.

It had been an emotional tale. They learned of their sins, the suffering they had put their friend through, and how this fool had forgiven them and overcome all the obstacles facing him time and time again. He had been killed time and time again, even by those now sitting in this theater. But he had persevered. He had won the trust of the mansion, crushed the White Whale and the Archbishop of Sloth, smashed a certain clown’s schemes, and finally earned his place as Emilia’s knight.

Now, the screen showed the knight and his mistress having an endearing dance through the ballroom. The atmosphere of the theater was jovial, as the fool was finally rewarded for all his achievements. Each and every member of this theater, even the more harsh ones, were truly happy for the fool. Happy he had finally been rewarded and became a knight, and happy the deaths were behind him.

Finally, the screen faded to black. 

[Screen title: Clumsy footsteps under the moon]

“Arc Four. Everlasting Contract…”

“End.”

The room remained in silence for a few moments. Finally, one of the members of the audience spoke up. 

“The end of the fourth arc… So… That’s it?! We’ve seen everything?! Sanctuary is finally over?!” Otto said this with a mixture of joy and relief. Finally, his friend was safe. Finally, his friend wouldn’t die from a certain clown’s schemes anymore.

“It’s finally over? I feel like we’ve been sitting here for months!” Al got up and groaned as he stretched.

“Hmph. I suppose that was quite an entertaining show.” Priscilla said this with a smirk. She had become quite enamored with this commoner during this viewing. She was glad he was finally recognizing more of his pride and becoming just a bit more respectable. And she was glad he was rewarded for his efforts.

“I suppose it would be quite entertaining having a fool to accompany my jester… Now I merely need to wait for the world to bring him to my side.” She was confident this would happen. After all, she now wanted the “self-proclaimed knight.” And the world always moved in her favor.

“Subaru…” Emilia continued to smile, her dance with Subaru replaying in her head. She would need to find an excuse to have another one in the future. Perhaps they could have a party after they return from Pristella…

“Go Cap’n!” Garfiel cheered on his captain. He was incredibly proud of him. He had overcome such difficult trials, yet he remained human and did his utmost to help the Emilia camp. He had even broken Garfiel out of his shell. Within his head, Garfiel swore to redouble his efforts to get even stronger. He’ll make sure Subaru never needs to die again!

“Betty’s Subaru really is incredible, in fact. You deserve lots of head pats, I suppose.” Betty whispered this softly as she stroked her contractor’s hair. He had gone through so much. Yet he continued to act cheerful and did his utmost to care for her and the rest of the camp. Within her mind she made the same pledge as Garfiel. She will make sure Subaru never needs to use that terrible power again.

“He really is a hero…” Rem said this with a smile on her face. She was truly happy for Subaru. He had overcome so much, while continuing to save so many people. He even forgave her despite how much she had hurt him. He truly was a hero, as well as the person she loved.

She also felt a slight tinge of envy as the scene of him and Emilia dancing played through her head. She truly was happy for him, but… she wanted to dance with him too. But now she was awake… so she smirked as she pledged to immediately temp him into a dance as soon as he returned from Pristella. She needed to close the lead Emilia must have gained during her year long nap!

This lighthearted atmosphere continued to spread through the theater. Each one of these people showed their respect in their own way.

Ram begrudgingly gave Barusu her respect. She had previously thought he was just a man with good timing. But he had proven he was much more than that. He had saved and forgiven her sister, and he had helped her accomplish her goal. Perhaps… she could approve of his and Rem’s relationship… urgh! Ram barley held back the rising bile in her throat.

Felt continued to admire her bro’s accomplishments. Within her head, she continued to plot how she would get Subaru, and the rest of the Emilia camp, into her’s so Reinhard could protect him… And also so she could hang with her bro as much as she wanted.

Crusch also gave her commendations to the hero. He was truly a respectable individual, and someone she was glad to be an ally of… She also may be planning to try drawing him into her camp. It seems this is a common plan.

Each of the knights, along with Wilhelm, showed their respect for Subaru. He had truly gone through so much. Yet he had overcome each trial and vanquished many great evils. They each held great admiration for their friend, and now comrade, Natsuki Subaru.

Even Roswaal gave Subaru his respect in his own evil clown way. He gave Subaru a nod and clapped for him. “Veeery impressive, Natsuki Subaruuuu!… I hope your trials in the future aren’t as harsh as mine was.”

Thus this jovial atmosphere continued to spread. But of course, someone needed to snap them out of it and bring them back to reality.

“So.. What’s next?” It was the fluffy merchant candidate who decided to ask this question. As the people in the room considered it, it promptly brought them back to reality. They were still trapped in this theater. And there was an entire year up until the present… how many times could he have died in that time?

“Did… did I fail you again?” It was Emilia that muttered that question. But that question was shared within the minds of each member of her camp. How many more times could he have died? Did they fail him?

“Hmph, what pathetic worries.” The Sun Princess said this with a harsh tone. Many members of the Emilia camp turned to glare at her, but before an argument could begin, a loud and clear voice rang through the theater. The Warden has returned.

Congratulations on finishing Arc 4. Now then, you were asking what comes next?

Each member of the theater listened as they waited for the Warden to continue. Would there be another arc? Had Subaru died again? Had they failed him again? Or perhaps they would finally be freed.

Firstly, I’ll give you all some good news. From the end of Arc 4 to the present, Subaru has not needed to use Return by Death once. He has been free from that hell.

This immediately caused a wave of cheers through the theater. Garfiel and Beatrice were cheering the loudest. They hadn’t failed him again! They had managed to protect Subaru! They were ecstatic. Of course, the other Emilia camp members also cheered with them, feeling a similar wave of joy and relief.

Subaru’s many friends also cheered in celebration of this. The only person who wasn’t cheering or showing some form of visible excitement was Priscilla. She simply gave a content hmph, as if this was entirely natural and to be expected.

Finally, Anastasia spoke up to the Warden. “So then what’s next? Can we finally leave this theater?”

“Ahh, that would be nice. I’ve been getting cramped up here.” Al spoke up, agreeing with the sentiment. It already felt like they had been here for days. He would be happy to be out.

You could leave… or you could do something else. I’m going to give you a choice.

“A choice?” Several voices of surprise rang out throughout the theater. It seems this was the first time their free will and self-determination has been somewhat respected here.

Yes, a choice. I’ll give you two options. First, you could simply leave the theater now. You will be transported back to where you were first taken from. No time will have passed. Subaru will also wake up.

This sent another wave of excitement through the room. They could finally leave! This option did seem to be quite appealing. And the Emilia camp seemed to be quite excited to finally get to talk to their Subaru again.

You seem to be quite excited. But don’t go choosing anything yet. You haven’t even seen the second option, which I believe is quite appealing. You can continue this viewing.

“Continue the viewing. So will we see the year where he doesn’t die?” Crusch asked for clarification. She didn’t really know how she felt about that. On one hand she would see more of Subaru, but on the other… wouldn’t that be invading his privacy even further?

“I think we have already shown enough of Natsuki-san’s journey. We shouldn’t infringe on him even further...” In his head, Otto was panicking. So many of their camp's secrets had already been shown. Now would even more be revealed?! At this point, the warden might as well just give all the other candidates their camp’s private documents! That might be less exposing!

Now, now, you haven’t even let me explain. If you choose to continue this viewing, I won’t be wasting your time showing you that year. I’ll be showing you something a bit more… exciting. A once in a lifetime opportunity that you won’t get again.

“Ohhh. Please do tell.” Anastasia always loved getting new information and seizing great deals. If this viewing would show her things she couldn’t learn anywhere else, well, what choice did her greedy self have but to accept?

This screen can’t only show things that have already happened to Subaru. It can show things that have happened to others. Side stories, if you will. But it can also go much further than that. It can show alternate timelines, other universes, or even… the future! Well, one in many possible futures.

This caught everyone’s interest. Alternate timelines? The future? Such things were quite enticing.

“What exactly will ya show us?” Anastasia had a wide grin on her face. It seems this was going to be a very good deal for her.

If you agree to continue the viewing, I will show you future arcs that have yet to occur. This will show you of future threats and let you prepare for them. You’ll also learn a ton of new information. You’ll even get a bit of information on the things that happened 400 years ago.

At this point, everyone seemed to be enticed by this offer. The future?! Secrets from 400 years ago?! Anastasia was practically drooling at the opportunity.

I’ll give you 5 minutes to decide. If you haven’t reached a descision by then, I’ll just need to choose for you.

With this, the Warden went silent. People immediately began to discuss the propositions.

“I’m a greedy gal. How could I possibly turn this offer down?” Anastasia was nearly shaking with excitement. She vented a bit of this energy by stroking her scarf. Just how much knowledge could she learn here? And how could she exploit it? There were so many possibilities.

Much of her camp felt similarly. Julius and Tivey were also particularly excited at the chance to learn more of what really happened 400 years ago. The self-proclaimed historians seemed quite eager. Mimi was already fantasizing about what would happen in the future. What exciting adventures would happen? Would she get with Garf? And Ricardo seemed to be ready to go along with the ride. The Anastasia Camp’s vote has been decided from the start.

“Ha, this show has been quite entertaining for mineself so far. I have no qualms in continuing it.” With this statement, Priscilla voiced her approval of continuing on. She wanted to see just how the commoner would act. What new entertainment would he bring her? Meanwhile, Al wanted to get out, but he could hardly voice his opinion against the Princess. So he simply nodded along. The Priscilla Camp has been decided.

“Haaa. I would like to get out of this cramped theater. But… I want to see more of how I can help bro. Plus seeing the future could be pretty neat.” After a bit of debate, Felt decided to vote for going along with the viewing. Reinhard nodded with her, already planning on unconditionally supporting whatever she chose. But he was also happy with this choice. He wanted to see just what his friend would continue to accomplish. Thus, the Felt Camp vote was decided.

The Crusch Camp mirrored the opinions of the other camps. They were eager to gain knowledge of the future they could use and they also wanted to learn more to support Subaru. Perhaps they would also learn more about Gluttony from the screen. Thus, the Crusch Camp also decided to support continuing the viewing.

The final camp to decide was the Emilia Camp. They were also the ones that debated the most.

“I realllly want Subaru to wake up already…” Emilia pouted. She wanted to hug him, and comfort him, and tell him about everything that happened. She wanted to hear the voice of her dunderhead, telling her nobody says that anymore. She wanted to laugh with him. She wanted to be with him. She wanted to finally sort out her feelings and give him an answer. But…

“We can use this to protect Subaru, I suppose.” Betty also missed Subaru. But she knew how useful it would be. They could know of and prevent future threats without Subaru needing to die for that knowledge. Not to mention the prospect of seeing the future was making a bit of her mother’s greed spring up within her.

“As much as I’m worried about more secrets spilling… This knowledge could be incredibly useful.” The ever-logical Otto spoke up. The merchant in him was also gushing over getting to see the future, though it was somewhat tempered by the fear of more secrets leaking. But… in the end, it would likely be more beneficial for them to continue the viewing than to give up on this opportunity and leave. This chance would only come once after all.

“I want to see the cap’n kick some more ass!”

“What a crude and brutish reasoning, as expected from Garf. But I do also agree that this would be more beneficial to us than leaving now.” Ram voiced her agreement, while also throwing in one of her trademark insults.

“I believe in my hero! Rem wants to see everything he will go through and overcome so I can better help him.” Rem spoke with determination. As much as she wished for her hero to wake up now, she knew how great a chance this was. With this, she will be able to better help him in their own future. She will use everything she sees to help her hero!

“I want to see the future! I want to see everything Subaru will accomplish!” Petra spoke with a bit of childlike wonder as she agreed with Rem, fantasizing about everything her crush would do and the concept of seeing the future.

“I thiiink we should continue the vieeewing. It will greeeeatly benefit us.” Roswaal was very excited at the prospect of seeing the future. Even if it wouldn’t quite replace his Gospel, it would be extremely useful having this knowledge to aid his plans. Perhaps the screen would even show him succeeding and reviving his teacher… It would also be quite good to delay leaving this theater for as long as possible. He will be dealing with a lot once they return to the mansion.

“I agree with everyone else. I do think this viewing will be more beneficial than leaving now. But if you would prefer to leave now Lady Emilia, I will support you.” Fredrica elegantly voiced her opinion, while giving her support for Emilia. 

Emilia bit her lip as she debated what to do. She reallly wanted to see Subaru already, but… waiting a while longer for him to wake up would be worth potentially saving him from several deaths, right? Finally, she gave her support.

“You’re all right. Let’s continue watching. We'll do our best to help Subaru.” The Emilia Camp gave cheers of agreement.

It seems you’ve all made your decision. I was hoping you’d continue this viewing. I’m glad you’ve met my expectations. Now then…

The viewers tensed as the screen flashed on once again. They were going to see the future… struggles and victories they could change… thus all eyes were glued to the screen as the viewing continued.

“Arc 5. Stars That Make History…”

“Begin.”

Chapter Text

Natsuki Subaru ran through his training ground, going up, down, and over numerous obstacles. Finally he unveiled his whip and precisely struck down the target at the end of the course, before collapsing onto the ground.

“Nailed it!” He shouted out cheerfully as he recovered on the ground. Meanwhile, a certain Yin Spirit stood over him, holding a towel.

“Subaru. You’ve done well, I suppose.”

“Aha, I know this!” Garfiel proudly announced. “This is the Cap’n’s secret obstacle course!”

“Oh? What is an ‘Obstackle’ course?” Anastasia questioned. Was this more otherworldly knowledge she could use? “Also, if it’s meant to be secret, should you really be shouting about it?”

“It’s like a training ground focused on agility, I suppose. Betty’s Subaru got Garfiel to help him build it. Though him and Garfiel are the only ones who call it ‘secret’.” Betty shook her head as she said this.

“Subaru has been training realllly hard this past year. He’s been running out there every day.” Emilia said this, praising her Subaru.

“He does seem a bit faster and more agile.” Crusch commented this as he ran through the course. “He certainly can’t be compared to a knight, but his improvement is commendable.” Crusch then gave him a respectable nod as he finished the course.

Meanwhile, Wilhelm picked up on one specific detail. “He has been training with a whip?”

“He has.” Frederica was the one that confirmed this, having watched him train several times. “He asked Clind to train him. I suppose he has learned the basics with this year of practice.”

“Hmmm…” Wilhelm thought this over for a bit. On one hand, he was a bit disappointed. He was hoping he’d get another chance to train Subaru, but if he is focusing on the whip rather than the sword, he sadly wouldn’t get the opportunity. But on the other hand…

“Bro’s choice makes sense. Otherworlders like us aren’t ever gonna be as strong as you people. Bro would’ve made slow progress with the sword, and never could defeat a strong enemy in a fair fight regardless of what he uses. But with a whip, he can use it to increase his mobility and trick his opponents, which will generally be more useful to him.” Al explained Subaru’s choice using his perspective as another otherworlder, seeing the logic and personally agreeing with the choice.

Most of the theater nodded at this explanation. After all, the weapon did make sense for Subaru. Wilhelm sighed as he decided to accept Subaru’s choice, despite still regretting not getting the chance to train him more.

“I have another question.” Anastasia addressed Beatrice. “Do you remember this, or are we already at some point in the future where this hasn’t happened?”

Beatrice thought for a few moments. Then, suddenly her face lit up. “I remember this, in fact! This was the day your messengers arrived to invite us to Pristella.”

“Eh?”

A haughty laugh could be heard from the other side of the theater. “How interesting! It seems the commoner shall be encountering trouble as soon as we arrive to Pristella.” Priscilla said this with a smirk. It seemed this arc would be entertaining after all.

“Now, now, we don’t know that. Perhaps… it’s just showing us Pristella to help us anchor ourselves, rather than because anything bad happens.” As Anastasia proposed this, she was internally panicking. She really didn’t want Subaru to die in a place she invited him too.

“Anastasia-sama is right. Just because the screen shows it doesn’t mean something will go terribly wrong. I mean, it showed us Puck’s mana release, and nothing terrible happened there.” Otto reasoned. In truth, he was just grasping at straws because he didn’t want to believe Subaru would immediately die in Pristella. But most of the theater was happy to accept this explanation.

“Otto-bro’s right! After all, me and Beatrice are here to protect Cap’n! We won’t let him die!” As he said this, Garfiel slammed his fist into his palm, showing his eagerness to defend Subaru.

“Garfiel is right, I suppose. Betty won’t let her Subaru die!”

With these proclamations, most of the theater decided to accept them and put it at the back of their minds. After all, they didn’t want to face the reality of Subaru dying again, of them failing him again. But of course, this slight doubt would linger in the back of their minds the rest of the viewing.

“Hmph, what a bunch of fools.” Priscilla muttered this to herself. But she didn’t bother to defend her prediction against these commoners that didn’t want to face the harsh reality. After all, the world moved in her favor. She already knew the screen would prove her right.

“Yeah. Oh, and thanks.” Subaru sat up and gratefully took the towel from Betty, using it to wipe off his face. “Aaaha! It’s nice and cool. I feel alive again!”

“You should thank Petra directly. The girl would leap for joy, I suppose.”

Petra pouted a bit as she heard this. Subaru didn’t ever thank her for that, as they were too busy dealing with the guests. And now he was away in Pristella with Emilia, and she would also need to compete with Rem once he got back. She needed to step up her game!

“To think it’s been a year since our pact, Beako. Time flies by so fast, but you’re still as cute as ever. I’m really touched.”

“He-he! Betty’s cuteness is only a given!”

“I’ve also bulked up a lot this past year!” Subaru said this with a confident expression, flexing his biceps, only to have his pride crushed by his spirit.

“Pffft! I suppose. That was a good joke! Yes, perhaps a bit too funny, I wonder.”

A tide of laughter immediately swept through the room at Subaru’s expense.

“Ya can always count on Beatrice to be brutally honest.” Garfiel, like a true bro, laughed at his friend’s expense. Otto, of course, quickly joined in.

“Hmph, Barusu’s feeble muscles couldn’t even impress a child.” Ram said dismissively.

“Rem thinks Subaru-kun’s muscles look good.” Rem decided to speak up in defense of Subaru, as a few of the other women in the room, namely Emilia, Crusch, and Petra nodded in agreement.

“Subaru’s been working reallllly hard to get stronger Beako-chan. You should be nicer on him.”

“Hmph! Betty just says it how it is, in fact!”

“Hey, I was being serious!” He stood up and waved his arms, gesturing out to the obstacle course around them. “Take a good look at my secret training grounds! I can even perfectly clear all those brutal attractions that’d make any grown-up cry now!”

“Are you exaggerating, I wonder?” Betty once again rejected her contractor’s pride. She then continues with a shrug. “I suppose you are, as you and Garfiel are the only ones who call it ‘secret’.”

As she says this, Subaru creeped up behind her, before launching a surprise attack! He grabs and spins her in the air before launching a vicious assault of pats that would make a Mabeast cry directly at her forehead.

“Now you’ve said it!”

“Kyaaa! I suppose! Is this spirit abuse I wonder?! What a heinous contractor!” Despite the verbal teasing, both of them had a cheerful expression on their faces.

“Awww, Beako’s so cute!” Emilia couldn’t control herself, and began to mimic Subaru on screen, giving Beatrice a barrage of headpats.

“H-hey! Stop that, I suppose. Only Betty’s Subaru can do that! Kyaaaa!”

The rest of the room smiled at the adorable display.

“To treat a spirit so roughly, how cruel…” Julius muttered insincerely. In truth, he was enjoying the bond between spirit and contractor shown on screen. He really did miss his little buds.

“Subaru-sama! Beatrice! We have guests at the mansion!” Petra came running up, addressing Subaru and the Loli in his lap. “Lady Emilia wants you to come with her!”

“Unexpected visitors… And the cutie Emilia-tan who’s calling for me.” Subaru pondered just what this could mean. “I smell a case brewing!”

“Something troublesome is coming our way, I suppose.” Beatrice agreed with her contractor. Such circumstances always cause trouble... But it seems they can’t put it off.

“So it really is Pristella…”

“Why would you talk about it like that, Natsuki-san? You’re jinxing yourself!” Otto said with a slight bit of frustration. The entire theater was still anxious about what would happen there.

“Don’t worry, bro will be fine. He has the tiger and the great spirit protecting him, right? Plus my useless knight is also headed there. They should be able to deal with any attack. Bro will be fine.” Felt reiterated, partially to reassure herself. But, she also was confident. Surely with everyone there, they would be able to handle any crisis without Subaru dying, right? Right…?

Thus, the denial and hope continued to spread through the theater.

***

The scene changed. Petra has brought Subaru and Betty back to the mansion. A certain small demihuman immediately ran out to greet them.

“Woah, it’s Mister! How’ve ya been?” Mimi cheerfully ran up to Subaru and jumped up onto him.

“Gh! Mimi!” Subaru pulled her up off him. “It’s been a while! Doing great out there?”

“Yeah! Mimi’s doing super great! Also got taller! Pretty much a grown woman now!” She said this with a smug expression, clearly confident in her growth.

“What kind of grown woman jumps on someone the moment they meet?!” Subaru said this with a bit of shock, questioning just how much she has really grown. He then smiled and put her down.

Most of the room continued to giggle at this, enjoying the levity.

“Yep, ya sure have. Yer gotten big and strong.” Ricardo spoiled his Mimi, patting her head as he said this.

Meanwhile, one of the other short people in the room spoke up. “Hey, she’s still the same size as before!” Felt tried to share the objective truth. “Actually, you all look the same! I’m the only one here who’s gotten taller!” Mimi then stuck her tongue out at Felt, making her pout. “Grrrr…”

“Don’t worry, Felt-sama, you’ve also grown quite a bit.” Reinhard immediately tried to please his lady.

“I don’t want that from you!”

“Anyway, you sure came a long way.” He suddenly had a realization. “Wait, if you’re here, then…”

“Don’tcha worry, Mister! Julius isn’t here with us today!” Mimi cheerfully dispelled his worst fears.

“Hmph, and he says Betty is a tsundere, in fact!” Betty shook her head at her sleeping contractor.

After this, they entered the mansion. Petra was now leading the three of them back towards the meeting. As they walked up, they saw Ram waiting outside the door.

“You’re finally here, Barusu. You’re late.” Ram turned to Subaru as she admonished him, before seeing him holding hands with Beatrice and Mimi. “Indecent.”

“Ha, ya can’t blame bro. The lolimancer has got to hold the hands of his lolis!” Al remarked with a laugh.

“Hey, Mimi’s mine!” Anastasia said defensively, clutching her Mimi closer.

“No, you’re indecent! How can you see this as anything but wholesome?!” Subaru immediately rejected the remark, only to have his rejection also be rejected.

“Ha!” Ram shook her shoulders. “Please stop basing everything on your perspective. You’d best remember this, Barusu: In Ram’s world, only Ram’s perspective matters.”

Ram simply nodded along to the version of her on the screen. After all, she was only speaking facts.

“Hey, isn’t that a contradiction?!” Al was the only one in the room who was both brave enough and cared enough to stand up against Ram.

“Hmph, Ram is merely speaking the truth.” Ram said this with a dismissive turn of her head.

Al considered this for a moment, before his face lit up. “Ahh, I get it.”

“What could you possibly understand?”

“You’re jealous. You want him to hold your hand instead, but you’re too much of a tsundere instead, so you can only call him indecent.”

“Ah, I see. That does make sense.” Ricardo chimed in, nodding in agreement with the assessment.

The rest of the room nodded, muttering things like “I see” or “Makes sense”, taking the chance to tease Ram. Meanwhile, Ram was fuming in her seat at the untrue assessment. Sadly, denying it further would only give them more ammunition, as had already happened numerous times in this theater.

“Tch.”

“I swear you were contradicting yourself just now!” Subaru futilely continued to resist. Unfortunately for him, in Ram’s world, Ram is always right.

Luckily, someone bailed him out. Mimi’s ears twitched as the door opened and she immediately noticed her new favorite person.

“Yo! Ya sure took your time, Cap’n. Come on in. Watchin’ my bro Otto and Emilia-sama welcome our visitor ain’t nothing short of comedy!” Garfiel spoke up, inviting Subaru into the room.

“H-hey! We were doing fine!” Otto spoke up defensively against Garfiel, only for him to shrug his shoulders in response.

“Sorry Otto-bro, I was only speaking the truth.”

“Ha, the fool and the half-wit can’t even greet a guest properly. How pathetic.” Priscilla said this with a dismissive shake of her head.

“I don’t think we did that bad…” Emilia said this with a pout.

“Don't worry, Emilia-sama. Garfiel was exaggerating… It was fine as a greeting… just entertaining for other reasons.”

“I can’t even tell if you’re defending us or not!” Otto shouted at Ram with a sigh, before finally accepting defeat.

“Now that’s a performance I want to see!” Subaru stood in front of the door and looked into the room. Unfortunately for him, he took a bit too long for the pink demon standing behind him.

“Stop blabbering and get in.” Ram ruthlessly kicked him into the room. Subaru stumbled, but just managed to catch himself before he fell flat onto the floor.

The room looked at Subaru. The guest turned to look at him questioningly, as Emilia confidently stared ahead, and Otto pinched his nose, seemingly frustrated by Subaru’s clumsy entrance.

“We really do need to train him in better knightly etiquette.” Ferris remarked with a sigh, as Julius nodded in response.

“Indeed. This type of showcase before a guest is unacceptable.”

“To be fair, it was partially Ram-san’s fault for kicking him in.” Reinhard came to the defense of his friend, still having some hope for him. “Perhaps if he had gotten to enter on his own, he would have made a better entrance.”

“I doubt it…” Ferris said with a sigh, having already lost faith in Subaru’s potential for knightly etiquette.

“So this is…?” The guest, Joshua, questioned Subaru’s identity, already having an inkling.

“Yes, that’s correct. I’m sorry for the wait. This is my knight, Natsuki Subaru.” Emilia confirmed his identity, as the way she said it makes Subaru ecstatic.

“My knight…!” Subaru was elated to hear Emilia referring to him like this so naturally, it clearly being a great source of pride for him. He blushed with a wobbly smile, as the air around him practically sparkled. Meanwhile, their guest was a bit psyched out by this.

“He went through so much for it… I’m glad he can enjoy it.” Crusch remarked this with a smile, glad to see Subaru happy for having achieved his goal. Several of the other women around the room also nodded in agreement.

“Rem’s hero has finally been recognized.” Rem remarked with a smile. But of course, some other people had their own opinions.

“I am also happy for Subaru, but he is currently before a guest. As a knight, he needs to show more etiquette than this.” Julius said this with a disapproving shake of his head. Ferris and Reinhard nodded in agreement. They really did need to train better etiquette into him, for everyone’s sake. If he acted like this before Commander Marco…

“Is something the matter?” Joshua asked this with genuine concern, which immediately snapped Subaru back to reality.

“Whoops, zoned out there.” He laughed and walked back around to face Joshua. He put on a knightly act, giving a formal introduction.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Emilia-sama’s knight, Natsuki Subaru.” Subaru said with perfect formal mannerisms, which immediately caused Joshua to try to match. He stood up as he introduced himself to Subaru.

Most of the knight’s mouths dropped, shocked at the display.

“Eh? Subaru-kyun can actually act formally?!”

“So it seems. Perhaps he has improved over the past year…” Julius said this with careful consideration. Perhaps they could reconsider their plans to drag him off and give him several hours of etiquette training at the first opportunity.

Meanwhile, Reinhard nodded in agreement, glad his hopes had been proven right. He was correct to have faith in his friend.

“Thank you for your courtesy. I’m… I have come at the behest of Anastasia Hoshin. My name is Joshua Juukulius.”

“Juukulius?”

“Ah, it seems you’re surprised too, Subaru.” Emilia clapped her hands as she smiled at him. “That’s right! Apparently, Joshua is Julius’ younger brother!” Subaru immediately stepped back in shock at this.

“Such a strong reaction…” Julius murmured with a smile.

“He really is a tsundere, in fact!”

“Sir Natsuki, was it? I have heard about you from my brother… as well as from other various rumors.”

“Oh. Julius’ younger brother, huh…?” Subaru pinched his nose as he considered this. “Now that you mention it, that nasty… I mean, keen gaze, and that sarcas… I mean, refined manner of speech, and that terribly… lovely hair color and face are the same as his.”

At this point, most of the theater broke out in laughter.

“He wears his feelin’s on his sleeve, doesn’t he? Ricardo yelped with a laugh.

“Could you stop saying unnecessary things? You’re clearly struggling.” Otto commented with a sigh, finally cutting Subaru off.

Everybody then got seated again, with Subaru and Emilia sitting together, while Betty sat on Subaru’s lap. Meanwhile, Garfiel and Otto stood behind them.

“Okay, sorry to make you wait. Could we continue the conversation?” Subaru asked, wanting to get the atmosphere back to normal.

“Please wait a moment! Who is this girl?!” Joshua asked this with a confused and slightly concerned tone.

“Is something the matter with Betty, I wonder?”

“This is Beako! It’s Miss and Mister’s kid!” Mimi cheerfully ‘clarified’ the situation, causing Joshua to immediately gasp in shock. Meanwhile, Subaru and Betty decided to go along with it.

“That’s right. This is my and Emilia-tan’s adorable baby, Beatrice!”

“Subaruuuu, you dunderhead!” Emilia blushed as she covered her face with her hands in embarrassment. The humiliation of her ‘kisses make babies’ moment was still just shown in the theater, and her realizing her feelings only made this moment even more embarrassing.

The rest of the theater ended up laughing at her.

“Sis and Bro’s kid is pretty cute.” Felt said with a teasing tone.

“Hmph. Such a thing is only natural, I suppose.” Betty then turned to Emilia, who was getting even more embarrassed. “What’s wrong, mother?”

At this point Emilia’s entire face turned red from all the teasing. Luckily, someone unexpected was there to defend Emilia.

“Enough of this frivolous teasing. We all know the half-wit would never be bold enough to do such a thing.” Priscilla said this dismissively, but this did get most of the teasing to die down for now.

“Good job, Mimi.” Anastasia patted her head.

“Goodness, no.” She pinched Subaru’s ear. “Look at how you’ve startled Joshua! We may have smooched, but babies don’t come from smooches! I know because I studied!” Thus, Emilia quickly made the situation even more confusing for poor Joshua.

“Emilia-sama, you’re making it worse.”

Emilia let out a squeak as she covered her face with her hands again, it having turned even more red. Thus, the others took this as a green light to continue teasing her.

Meanwhile, Rem actually felt a bit jealous. Even if they were joking about it… she also wanted to have kids with Subaru! She smiled slightly as she imagined how they’d look. Perhaps they’d want to have blue hair and his eyes, or maybe they’d have dark hair and her eyes. Perhaps they’d fully resemble him for her. She continued to fantasize about her future with them.

Ram shivered as she felt uncouth thoughts coming from her sister… This must be Barusu’s fault! She will need to punish him for it later.

“Sorry, Emilia-tan. It’s, uh, really embarrassing when you give away details like that so bluntly. Please stop. It’s all my fault, okay?”

“Um, might I inquire about her actual position, then?”

“Great Spirit Beatrice, the cutie I’ve formed a pact with.” Subaru answered with a smile, as Joshua adjusted his monocle while examining Beatrice.

“A Great Spirit…”

“Hmph, stand in awe of Betty’s greatness, in fact!”

“So, esteemed guest, ya got a problem with the cap’n bringin’ his spirit with him?” Garfiel questioned Joshua, showing a bit of intimidation as she slammed his fists together.

“No, I’ve heard the rumors, but you really are a spirit knight, Sir Natsuki. I am sure you’re already aware, but my brother is also a spirit knight, previously the only one in the kingdom!” Joshua said this enthusiastically, clearly enjoying getting to praise his brother.

“Yeah, of course I know that. He was a big pai… big help, after all.”

The room continued to snicker at their dynamic.

“Tsundere.” At least three people said this at once.

“Do you really hate admitting he helped you that much?” Otto said with exasperation.

“Betty is aware that there is another spirit knight aside from Subaru. He must be a rather remarkable individual, I suppose.”

Joshua immediately leapt on the opportunity to praise his brother, becoming more and more eager as his rant continued. “Of course! Brother-sama is an amazing person! At the young age of 22, he is already the ace and essentially the second-in-command of the Royal Guard! Though he is away from his duties, he’s certain to become Captain once Anastasia-sama ascends to the throne. Not even Sir Reinhard, the current Sword Saint, can match my brother in terms of knightly virtues. Brother-sama is truly the epitome of knighthood!”

Julius’s face turned beet red as his brother continuously praised him, getting more red the longer the rant went on.

“Wow, I sure have a great knight, don’t I?” Anastasia chuckled as she said this teasingly, leaping on the opportunity to play with her knight.

“I-…”

“Ah, I’m just playing with ya. Don’t worry about it. Though, ya know, even if he slightly exaggerated it, nothing he said was untrue. You should have a bit more confidence.”

“I-… Thank you, Anastasia-sama.”

“Wow, your brother really loves you Julius.” Emilia said with a chuckle.

This made Julius smile a bit, though he was still slightly embarrassed. “Yes, he does. We’ve taken care of each other ever since I was taken in by the Juukulius family.” He then thought for a bit, before his smile turned more sly. “Perhaps I should return the favor for this by saying everything great about him.”

“Please dyon’t. If it goes on half as long as your rants about etiquette and manners, we will be here for hours.”

“Sure…”

“I am speechless.”

“You really love your brother, don’t you, Joshua?” Emilia said with a chuckle.

“M-My apologies! I lose control when it comes to family…” Joshua said with a tinge of embarrassment.

“Who cares? Get to the point. Even if the bambeem gets better over time, there’s gotta be a limit, ya know.” Garfiel said this with a sigh, wanting to get on with it already.

“Bambeem? Mimi loves those! They’re yummy!” Mimi leapt over from her side of the table and jumped on Garf. “Wanna eat some together?”

“Um… sure.” Garf looked off to the side slightly nervously, as Mimi smiled up at him.

“It’s a promise, ‘Kay?”

Anastasia, Ricardo, and Tivey looked over toward Garfiel, protective over their Mimi. Even if he had proven himself somewhat worthy… they needed to be sure that he would be good to her.

Meanwhile, Mimi slipped away from them and ran over to Garfiel. “Hey, Garf! Want to have some Bambeem with Mimi once you get over to Pristella?”

“Eh?” He considered this for a few moments before shrugging. “Sure, why not.”

“Yayyy!” Mimi happily jumped in place until Ricardo came back over and grabbed her by the collar, dragging her back.

“Ahem! Apologies for the diversion.” Joshua finally decided to get this meeting back on track. “Now, representing Lady Anastasia Hoshin, I shall now relay my master’s words to you, Lady Emilia.” He took out a letter and placed it onto the table.

“Lady Anastasia wishes to invite Lady Emilia to the Watergate City of Pristella.”

“The Watergate City of Pristella?” Emilia questioned, wondering why Anastasia invited her there.

“What could she want by inviting us here?” Otto was already cautious of Anastasia’s objective, thinking of what her motive could be.

“She invites you to a party out of good will, as well as to inform you that she has found what you are looking for.”

“What I was looking for?”

“Yes, a mana crystal of the type you desired. Apparently, it is in the hands of a Pristellan Merchant.” Otto gasped, immediately picking up on what their angle was, while also wondering just how they had found that out. Meanwhile, Subaru was still confused.

“A mana crystal?”

“Yes. You are looking for a catalyst to call back a Great Spirit, correct?” Emilia gasped as she looked down at the crystal she was wearing around her neck. This could be an opportunity to bring back Puck…

“Emilia-san…”

“What is it, Anastasia?”

“Do ya really still want to bring back the Great Spirit?”

“...” Emilia considered this for a few seconds. On one hand, he had hurt Subaru, he had lied and hid things from her, and he really didn’t care about anybody but her. It hurt, knowing how little she really knew about him. But…

“Yes, I do. There still is so much I don’t know. Why he hurt Subaru, why he would destroy the world, what his contract with Echidna was, and everything else he was hiding from me. Plus… He is still my Father. I… I can’t just leave him forever without even trying to talk to him.”

Anastasia considered this for a few moments, before letting out a long sigh. She somewhat understood how she felt, considering her bond with her own spirit. “Fine. I’ll still help you get the crystal.”

“Are you sure?” Crusch cautiously spoke up. “If he was brought back… He could be a threat to the world. We already saw what he did when Emilia died. What would he do if Emilia didn’t like his answers and refused to make another contract with him? Or if she gets hurt in the future?”

“That is a real risk. So… Emilia-san, I have a condition.”

“What is it?”

“If you remake a contract, you need to be the one that decides the terms, not him. And in these terms, you need to make sure he won’t pose a threat to the world.”

Emilia nodded in agreement. “Yes, I’ll do that. Thank you, Anastasia.”

“Sis, if you’re going to summon him back, you should also have my trash knight there with you. If the cat turns hostile, then as we saw during Bro’s trial, he’ll be able to stop him.” Reinhard nodded as his lady said this.

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone.” Reinhard said with determination.

“Of course! I’m realllly grateful for the help.”

“Don’t sweat it, Sis.”

With this matter settled, everyone turned back to the screen.

***

The screen moved forward a few hours. It is now sunset, and Joshua and Mimi have entered their carriage, preparing to return back to Pristella. The Emilia camp is waiting at the gate to see them off.

“See ya, Garf! Gonna be waiting in PriPri! Don’t take too long, ‘Kay?” Mimi waved to Garf as the carriage left, and Garf nervously waved back.

“She’s taking quite a liking to you, Garfiel.” Otto immediately jumped on the opportunity to tease his bro.

“That doesn’t make me happy at all!”

“Oh? Your face says otherwise, surprisingly.”

“Quit making stuff up!

“You’re not so honest, are you?”

“I’m being honest-to-boot, damn it!”

“Well, how do you feel now, Garfiel? Are you still unhappy?” Otto grinned as he immediately leapt on the opportunity to tease Garfiel, expecting more denial. But to his surprise, he got a more positive affirmation.

“Er…” Garfiel thought for a few moments, looking over at Mimi sitting across the room. He had gotten closer to her in this theater. “I guess… I don’t mind.” He shrugged. “We can be… friends… yea, friends.” But, both Otto and Frederica noticed a slight flush on his face.

Meanwhile, Emilia shifted her hand over the crystal on her neck, clearly contemplating getting Puck back.

Emilia made the same motion she was doing on screen, looking down at the crystal. The conversation they were going to have would be long and hard… but hopefully they could make up. And then… She’ll make him apologize to everyone! Especially Subaru!

After the carriage left, Subaru and Emilia went back inside. They sat around a table, discussing whether they should really go to Pristella.

“To be honest, I’m a bit scared at the idea of owing Anastasia a debt. Still, what kind of place is Pristella? Is it famous?” Subaru asked Emilia, wanting to know more of what this would entail before they made any decisions.

“Ah, you don’t need to be scared, Natsuki-kun. I won’t try to exploit a debt like that.” Anastasia said this with a smile. Otto and a few other people gave her a look.

“... I won’t exploit it too much.”

“Pristella is one of the five major cities of Lugunica, located near the border with the Kararagi City States. They say it’s a really beautiful city with waterways running through it.”

“A city on water, huh? Based on what I know, it sounds like Venice or something.”

“Oh, what’s Venice? Is it a city from Natsuki-kun’s world?” As she said this, Anastasia and most of the room immediately turned towards Beatrice.

“Betty’s Subaru did tell her about this ‘Venice’.”

“Could you please tell us, Beako?”

“Hmph. Why should I tell you about everything, in fact?” Beatrice stubbornly tossed her head, wanting them to beg for it a bit. Unfortunately for her…

“I know it.” Al raised his one hand as he said this. Everyone immediately turned towards him.

“Do tell, Al.”

“No, wait!”

“Venice was a famous city in another country called Italy. I don’t know much about it, but I remember it was really famous for being, like bro said, a city on water. It was built on just a series of tiny islands. It didn’t have any roads, with bridges and canals being what connected it and let people get around the city. I can’t really tell you much more though, considering I never went there.”

“I see…” Anastasia considered this for a few moments. “I suppose it does seem slightly similar to Pristella, being connected with a bunch of canals, but it likely had a different layout and purpose than Pristella.”

“Yeah. For example, it was built on the ocean, rather than a lake. I also don’t think it had any massive walls like Pristella.”

“Interesting…” Priscilla murmured to herself. A city built on a great ocean did sound entertaining. The ocean itself sounded somewhat interesting. What a shame she would never get to see it.

Meanwhile, Betty pouted at getting the spotlight stolen from her. She’ll need to be a bit more eager with her answers in the future.

“I’ve never heard of this ‘Venice,’ but Pristella is a watergate city, not a city on water.”

“Meaning?”

“The city sits in the middle of a lake, and when it rains, the whole place gets flooded, so they built high walls around it, along with several floodgates to control the water levels.”

“It kinda sounds more like a water prison now. What could she be after, calling us to a place like that?”

“Is it so wrong to believe she’s just reaching out to us out of goodwill?”

“Sadly, all the Royal Candidates have their own quirks.” Subaru said this with a shrug.

Julius loyally tried to leap to the defense of his Lady, lecturing the Subaru on screen. “My La-”

“It’s okay Julius. I can’t really deny it.” She chuckled to herself. “If anything, Subaru is right here. Emilia-san, you should be a bit more careful. I’m not planning to exploit you, but some other people might want to. A bit of trust is good, but if you’re too trusting, you’d easily get tricked and exploited as queen.”

Emilia nodded in response. “I know I definitely have a way to go there. I’ll be a bit more careful.”

“Emilia-sama, please don’t admit your weaknesses to othe- ah, you know what, whatever.” Otto finally just sighed in defeat.

“Still, I have so many things I have to talk to Puck about, so many questions…” As she said this, Emilia once again gripped the crystal around her neck. “So…”

As she said this, Subaru got up and leaned over the table, talking directly to the crystal. “You better get back to us soon, kitty spirit! I’ve got a mountain of complaints to dump on you!” As he said this, Emilia smiled.

Many of the people in the room frowned as he said this, their minds involuntarily digging up the image of Subaru’s frozen body breaking apart.

“Emilia-san… I have a question.”

“What is it, Crusch?”

“Has… Has Subaru ever shown any real resentment towards Puck, or any sort of hostility that you couldn’t explain at the time?”

Emilia thought for a few moments. But she didn’t remember anything. “He… He didn’t. I can’t remember anything of the sort, and he was still eager to get Puck back for me...”

“That’s hardly a shock.” Priscilla chimed into the conversation. “The commoner has an exceptionally low self-worth, even now. Due to this, he is terrible at holding onto resentment for things done to him. At most, he may hate the disgusting Witch Cult, but that would be due to what they did to you fools around him, rather than himself.”

The entire room considered this for a moment. While it was him being so forgiving that had led him to help and forgive several people in this room, it could also be dangerous, especially if his low self-worth was the cause. It was to the point where he didn’t even harbor hatred for being murdered. That was concerning. They needed to help him, however they could.

Thus, they decided to go to Pristella to get the crystal. Now, they just needed to settle the smaller details. So, they went over to Roswaal’s office. The clown was sitting at his desk, as Ram and Frederica stood beside him.

“I’m sorry I’ll be away at such a crucial time.”

“Oh, don’t fret. I will respeeect your wishes, even if it is a buuusy period, with all the meetings with the western nobles.” Roswaal spoke in his typical clownish voice. His emphasis of it being a busy period made Emilia feel a bit guilty.

“Ugh, get th’ clown off screen!”

“Boo!”

“Boo!”

Garf, Mimi, and Petra all immediately started booing the clown as soon as he got on screen. Most people in the room agreed with the sentiment.

“Ugh, and he’s still trying to subtly manipulate Sis.”

“Now, now, I’m juuuust expressing my honest fruuuustrstion at needing to deal with the nobles by myself. I know-”

“Shut up, clown!!” Said half the room at once.

“Ahhh. My, my. You truly haven’t learned your lesson, have you, Master?” Fredrica took it upon herself to chastise Roswaal for his attitude.

“Oh, you’re quite harsh, Frederica.”

“But of course.” With this, Roswaal backed off from the guilt tripping.

“Truth be told, it would be concerning to send Lady Emilia and Subaru alooone, but it should be fine if Garfiel and Otto are with you. There’s no need to worry about botching the negotiations with Otto around, and worst case, Garfiel can just smash everything and make a run for it.” Roswaal continued, giving his approval for the trip.

“This gives me mixed feelings. On one hand, it’s nice being praised…” Otto started, and Garfiel continued from him.

“But on th’ other, I’d rather get scolded by someone else than get praised by this fuckin’ clown.”

And once again, half the room nodded in agreement, and the other half were nodding in their heads. The only one in disagreement was Ram, who would love getting praised by Roswaal. But she couldn’t argue against the entire theater.

Roswaal himself just let out a long sigh. He couldn’t really defend himself, considering he had earned this treatment.

“I feel like that’ll be really problematic, so I’ll do my best to make sure it doesn’t come to that!” Emilia said with a determined voice.

“No need to worry, Emilia-tan. Whether it’s Anastasia or Julius, I’m a genius at pulling wool over people’s eyes.”

“Hmmm, is that a challenge, Natsuki-kun?” Anastasia’s eyes narrowed as she said this. She might not have a Divine Protection of Wind Reading, but she was confident in her wits and her ability to read people. Then again, Subaru was also good at tricking and deceiving people when he needed to. This could be an interesting competition… But perhaps it would be better if they didn’t need to deceive each other at all.

“Geez, that’s not something to be proud about!”

“That means you’ll have to stay behind and watch the mansion alooone, Ram.” Roswaal warned Ram, perhaps feeling a bit of concern for her.

“Yes, if that is your wish, Lord Roswaal.” Ram didn’t show any issues with it. With that, the last concern has been dealt with.

“The discussion is settled then. Beatrice, look after the four of them, would you?”

“You don’t have to tell Betty that, I suppose!”

“Hmph, Betty will protect her Subaru no matter what! I don’t need encouragement from you, I suppose.”

“I’m sure you will, Beatrice.” Roswaal said this without his clownish accent, wearing a slight smile on his face.

***

The scene once again moved forward to later in the night. At this point the sun has fallen, and Otto is enjoying a drink with his bros.

“I’ll have you know I’m always thinking of what’s best for everyone! Hic!” Otto shouted this out, already suffering from drunken hiccups.

“Looks like you’re completely our domestic adviser now.” Subaru said this with a slight pitying look.

“What’s that pitying look for?”

“Calm down, Bro. And Cap’n, try not to mess with him too much, would ya?” Garfiel spoke up in a rare defense of Otto. What a loyal and protective friend. “We already decided to leave it at ten Otto’s a day.” Nevermind.

“What the heck is ‘ten Otto’s a day’ anyway?!” Otto shouted out as he stood up from his desk. Everyone laughed at him.

The entire theater laughed at the scene, all enjoying the misfortune of Otto.

“Truly an entertaining bunch of commoners. Al, I think I will be adding all three into my camp.”

“I’ll look forward to it, Princess.”

After a while, Subaru finally finished talking with his bros, and everyone else went to bed. Meanwhile, Subaru walked back down the hall, before finally stopping in front of a wooden door. Subaru hesitated slightly, before giving a few solid knocks on a door. But there was no response.

“Oh, what is Subaru-kun doing now?” Rem questioned, as she had expected the scene to end there. Yet, it felt oddly… familiar.

“I’m coming in.” Subaru opened the door and stepped inside. The camera panned to reveal Rem’s comatose figure. He stepped over to stand beside her bed, smiling down at her.

“Rem. Looks like we won’t be seeing each other for a while. I’ve got tons to talk about today. An uninvited guest dropped one heck of a problem on us…”

Subaru continued to talk to her for some time, as the camera showed the scene through the window. After a few moments, the screen faded to black.

“Subaru-kun… did… did you… do this every night… for me?”

“Sister… Baru-Subaru… did his best to take care of you while you were asleep. He always would make sure your body was safe and comfortable, and every night he’d go and tell you what happened that day.

As Ram confirmed this, Rem felt a mix of emotions. She felt guilty. She had made him worry, and caused him so much grief after she got eaten by Gluttony. She felt guilty that she was a burden to Subaru. But…

She also felt incredibly happy. To know her hero cared for her that much… That he checked on her and told her stories every night… It made her feel ecstatic. It even made her wish she could remember what happened while she was asleep, solely so she could hear everything he told her.

“Subaru… Thank you.” As Rem muttered this, she felt a few salty tears drip down her face. Not from sadness, but from happiness.

As Ram felt her sister's emotions through her synesthesia, she couldn’t help but smile too. “I’ll need to thank you when you wake up, Barusu.” She then pulled out a handkerchief as she leaned over towards her sister. “Sister, let me wipe your face.”

As this happened, everyone else in the theater gave the sisters some space, as they discussed what would happen next.

“It looks like it’s time for the journey to Pristella. You departed the next day, right Emilia-san?” Crusch asked.

“Yes, that’s right. We were realllly eager to get going. Though it took us 12 days to get there.” (I’m assuming the theater abduct-I mean gracefully invited them just a few hours before they reached Pristella.)

“So it will probably show us the trip to Pristella next.” Otto surmised.

“If this theater shows mineself 12 days of these commoners on the road, I will burn it down myself.” Priscilla said with a decisive tone.

“Now, now, Princess, let’s not get hasty. The theater probably won’t show us that much anyways. It’s done timeskips to avoid lengthy boring segments like travel so far, so it probably won’t show us those entire 12 days. Perhaps just a brief conversation or a montage. Or maybe even a quick timelapse.

“Hmmm, I suppose that is acceptable.”

“What’s a timelapse?” Anastasia questioned, unfamiliar with the term, and always eager to get new otherworldly knowledge.

“Ah, how do I explain this… It’s a segment that heavily speeds up the footage, overviewing what happened really quickly. It’s basically used to show long periods of time in a short period.”

“I see…”

“Well, we won’t know until we watch it. Let’s just let the screen keep playing already.” Felt remarked with a shrug.

***

The Emilia Camp’s dragon carriage raced down a road towards Pristella, helmed by Subaru. Garfiel ran alongside the carriage, keeping pace with it and guarding it from any potential threats.

“Ah, it seems like we’re starting out on the road already.”

“Hmmm… If we’re already on the road, then the warden is probably going for the one conversation route, where they skip most of the trip.” Priscilla nodded in response, finding that approach more acceptable than wasting hours or days of her time.

“In that case, we will be in Pristella soon, right Al?” Anastasia questioned.

“Based on the format of this viewing, there will be another cut soon, and then we will finally arrive to Pristella. So we'll most likely get there in a few minutes.”

This statement caused a small amount of dread to form in the back of their minds. They had tried to put it out of their minds, but the question of why they were specifically watching Pristella still remained. Would Subaru die again? Would it be their fault or their failings that cause it? But the only way to find out was to keep watching, with the hope that such things wouldn’t occur, and Subaru would live without his cursed power.

“Before we see Lady Anastasia, we should review the current state of the Royal Selection.” Otto spoke to Emilia within the carriage, being sure to give her a review so she would be ready for Pristella.

“Go ahead.” Emilia gave him a nod, which Otto returned.

Otto visibly gulped. He quite clearly remembered this conversation, as it had happened just an hour before they had entered the theater. And while what he said about the candidates was as objective as possible, it might still ruffle a few feathers. He quickly began to brace himself for the scorn of the other camps.

“At first, many saw it as a contest between Duchess Crusch Karsten, the front runner, and Anastasia Hoshin, the primary challenger. Lady Emilia and the other two candidates were viewed as, frankly speaking, fillers.”

“Yes, I don’t think I can deny that.” Emilia admitted.

“Tch.” Felt just clicked her tongue, as she couldn’t really deny it. But unfortunately for Otto, another candidate had a much louder opinion.

“You believe mine divine self is mere filler for those other two commoners?!” Priscilla glared down at Otto with the fury of a thousand suns, almost ready to draw her Yang Sword and cut the peddler down for the disrespect.

“Now, now, Princess. Let’s not be too harsh. He was just saying his past opinions, and he hasn’t even finished ye-” Al was cut off as Priscilla’s fan slammed hard into his helmet, knocking him out of his chair onto the ground.

“Quiet, Aldebaran. Now then, peddler, what do you have to say for yourself?”

Otto gulped as he worked up some confidence. “I was merely speaking of the general views of the public, and not even of your current status.” He sighed as he built up as much confidence as he could. This could be a big mistake… “Are you really so fragile that you can’t take any disparaging opinions? That makes your ego seem pretty fragile for someone that claims to be the ‘Sun Princess.’”

The entire room froze at this as they waited for Priscilla’s reaction. Several people braced themselves to defend Otto from a murderous Priscilla, including the Warden. But then, Priscilla did something unexpected.

“Hahahahahaha!! What confidence!” Priscilla laughed loudly, seemingly entertained by Otto’s answer. “Very well, I’ll spare you for now, commoner.”

The entire room let out a sigh of relief, as Al slowly pulled himself back up into his seat. Otto himself was just relieved his gamble had paid off.

“Let’s not be too harsh on Otto here. He’s just telling me about how people view us. These aren’t even his personal opinions and preferences. We shouldn’t get angry at him for that.” Most of the other canidates nodded in agreement as she said this, while Priscilla just gave a dismissive hmph. But, it seems she was still entertained enough to not get angry at Emilia or Otto.

“Thank you, Emilia-sama.”

“However, at the very least, public opinion has gradually changed over the past year. Our victory over the White Whale and the Archbishop of Sloth alongside two other major factions played a big role in this. Aside from Lady Emilia, other factions have also made remarkable progress, particularly Priscilla’s faction.”

“After inheriting her late husband’s domain, she quickly allied with influential figures who were shaken by the unstable political climate. With her peerless beauty and charisma, she’s now revered as the ‘Sun Princess,’ gaining momentum with each day.” As this is said, several static images are shown of Priscilla winning the support of nobles, who bow before her, and some of the people in her domains, who cheer for her.

With this update, Priscilla gave a satisfied nod. “It seems you commoners have started to recognize my status. You’re still ignorant of the true reality of this Selection, but I’ll forgive that for now.”

“And what would the ‘true reality’ of this Royal Selection be?” Crusch questioned, as the other candidates listened intently, though they already knew what the answer would be.

“Ha, it’s quite simple! I am the only true candidate for the throne, and you others are mere bumps meant to color my path with conflict for my amusement! Mere filler to make the story more interesting!”

Most of the other candidates just sighed at this, not expecting much more from Priscilla. If anything, most of them would have been concerned if she had given a more reasonable answer. But, one of the candidates wouldn’t just take this lying down.

“I’m not just a ‘bump’, ya bitch!”

“A street rat dares to challenge me? Ha! Compared to the rest, you aren’t even worthy of being called a bump! You should best just bow out now with tears in your eyes!”

This made Felt grit her teeth and take a deep breath, before taking on a slight smirk. “If I’m just a bump, then I’ll trip you and send you spiraling from your high horse down to the ground!”

“What a bold declaration from a street rat! Very well, continue to color my path with amusement, up until the point you’re crushed under my heel!” Priscilla said this with confidence. She and Felt continued to glare at each other for a few moments, until both of them finally turned back to the screen.

“As for Felt’s faction, their only advantage was the Sword Saint Reinhard van Astrea at first. However, Lady Felt set her sights on skilled individuals who were held back by difficult pasts or personalities, actively incorporating them to start major reforms in her territory using her flexible thinking and perspective.” As this is said, several static images of Felt interacting with and recruiting some of these people are shown.

Felt gained a wide smile as Otto said this. “Yeah, that’s right! I might not have started off the strongest, but I’ve grown a lot!” She then gave a competitive glare to the other candidates, particularly Priscilla. “And I’ll keep growing until I overtake all of you!”

Reinhard nodded in agreement with his lady. “I’m sure you will, Felt-sama. And I’ll do my utmost to support you.”

“Ugh, I don’t need that from you.” Felt said this in a dismissive voice, waving him away. “But thanks, I guess…” Felt muttered this under her breath, but with his absurd hearing, Reinhard easily heard it. He nearly broke out into a large smile, but suppressed it to maintain his lady’s dignity.

“And that’s how things are. No candidates have fallen off the board this year. It’s just that… Things aren’t looking good for Dutchess Crusch Karsten, as she lost her memories after her fight against the Witch Cult.”

“Crusch-sama…” Ferris muttered. He wanted to fervently deny it, but he really couldn’t. Their camp really had fallen behind because of Gluttony. Several nobles had even begun to doubt his lady’s capabilities and their support for her.

“It’s ok, Ferris.” Crusch let out a deep sigh, considering what to do. “We may have fallen behind, and practically lost a year, but this theater has given my memories back. Now, we just need to make up for the lost time. We still have a chance.” Crusch said this with determination. She would restore her place and win the throne.

“I will do my utmost to aid you, Crusch-sama.”

“Agreed! I’ll make sure Crusch-sama becomes Queen!”

“Wilhelm, Ferris… Thank you. I won’t let your loyalty go to waste.”

“Meanwhile, Anastasia’s faction has maintained its position without decline from start to finish.”

“The boss lady is the best!” Mimi cheerfully shouted as her brother, Ricardo, and Julius nodded in agreement.

“Geez, y’all are flatterin’ me.” Anastasia said this with a cheerful smile.

“Anastasia’s being backed by the massive Hoshin Company, right?” Emilia asked.

“Yes. Their assets are their primary weapon. In other words, they simply crush their opponents with sheer financial force. That invitation from Anastasia’s camp puts us in a situation where we might end up owing her! Do you understand how much pain you’re giving my stomach??” Otto finally finished his enthusiastic rant, still nervous about the situation.

“Hey, I don’t just use financial force to crush my opponents. I have other methods too!” Anastasia said this with a slight pout.

“Sure, that's true. For example, your information network is also clearly quite dangerous. But, you can’t deny that your vast assets and resources are your most dangerous weapon, that also fuels everything else, right?”

“I suppose that's true.” Anastasia relented with a shrug. “But if you focus too much on my resources, you’ll get subverted by other methods, Otto-kun.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not the type that’ll overfocus on one card. I’ll be sure to watch your entire hand.”

“It’s really sunk in now. I’m sorry for deciding things on my own.” Emilia at least had the grace to show a bit of remorse. Thus, Otto decided to let it go.

“As long as you get it, that’s fine for now. You don’t need to bear everything on your own. This dragon carriage is the same.”

“This dragon carriage?”

“Natsuki-san is holding its reins right now. And Beatrice-chan is watching over him so he doesn’t slack off. Meanwhile, Garfiel is on guard duty, and I’m planning our itinerary. Then there’s you thanking everyone, motivating us to do our very best and head for Pristella.”

“You just sounded really like Subaru just now.” Emilia said this with a smile, immediately panicking Otto.

“Wait, really?! That’s not very nice to hear…” Him and Emilia then ended up chucking together, catching Subaru’s attention.

“Hey Otto! No fair! How come you’re the only one who gets to have fun with Emilia-tan!? Beako, take over for a bit.” He handed Betty the reins and started to climb in through the window, while Betty panicked, and Garfiel noticed the commotion on the outside.

“What?! Betty can’t handle this alone! Stop this at once, Subaru!”

“Hey, Cap’n! What’re ya doin’? Is everythin’ alright?!”

“Wait, ack! Aaagh! Subaruuuu!” Betty yelled out as the carriage began to swing on the road.

“Dunderhead.”

“Ahaha, mineself is shocked you commoners made it this far without running off the road. That seems like it would be the natural outcome.” Priscilla remarked with a laugh.

“Luckily, Garfiel was there to save the carriage, I suppose. If it weren’t for that, Betty’s contractor may have made us crash.”

“Foolish Barusu.”

The entire theater sighed at Subaru’s antics.

I have an announcement.

The entire theater froze as the warden spoke up. An announcement? What would it be this time?

“What is it?”

This is the end of the footage from the past. At the start of the next scene, you will arrive at Pristella. From this point onwards, everything shown is a possible future that would have occurred if I hadn’t summoned you.

Everyone nodded in response.

“So at this point, we’ll be viewing the future?!” Anastasia said this with anticipation. How much new information could she gain?

“Finally, some more excitement for mineself. I was starting to get bored of these commoners traveling. This shall be more suitable entertainment.”

“I hope everything goes well for Subaru-kun…” Rem muttered this somewhat nervously. From this point onwards, there was no assurance of Subaru’s safety, or a final loop. For all they knew, he could completely avoid death, or die 500 times in a row. They could only hope for the former.

Now then, are you all ready to begin?

Several nods and yells of affirmation rocked through the theater.

“Just start it already! I want to see the cap’n kick ass already!”

Very well. Let the viewing continue.

Thus, the screen continued to play.

***

The Emilia Camp has already arrived at the gateway to Pristella, where strict entry and exit checks were taking place.

“So, it looks like y’all made it safely to Pristella.” As she said this, Anastasia sighed with a slight bit of relief.

“Of course we did! After all, they had me guarding them.” Garfiel said this with a proud grin.

“Of course, I know that, but considering Subaru’s luck that we’ve seen so far, I was honestly half-expecting the carriage to just spontaneously explode.”

“Hmph, you needn’t worry about that, commoner. Even with the fool’s misfortune, everything that happens to him still has a cause or reason for its occurrence.” As Priscilla said this, everyone looked over towards the cause that was sitting in the corner of the room.

“What? Why are you alllllll looking at me?” The clown innocently questioned.

“Anyways, he won’t just explode for no reason.”

“Well, since nobody is targeting him, and he has the camp protecting him, Subaru should be fine, right?” Petra questioned. She really didn’t want to see him die again.

“Let’s hope so, Petra-san.” Otto said this with a sigh.

“They’re pretty strict for entry and exit. It’s feeling more and more like a water prison now.” Subaru said this with a sigh, as he looked over all the checks to get inside the city. As he said this, a bell began to ring, and the gates to the city opened. Everyone got a clear view of the entire city.

“Wow…” This was said by Subaru and Emilia at the same time, as they looked through the sprawling watergate city. There were boats moving up and down the massive water channel in the center through the city. It did indeed form a massive bowel, just as previously described.

“What a view!” It was Subaru that exclaimed this, though the rest of the camp shared the same sentiment.

“Wow…”

Pretty…”

Everyone looked down onto the city, each taking it in. Even the Anastasia camp, who were already there, were somewhat impressed by the view.

“Wow, this city is realllly pretty.” Emilia exclaimed.

“Ha, I suppose this city is pleasing on the eye. Al, I’ll expect you to get us there as soon as we leave this theater, so mineself can enjoy the city right away.”

“Please be reasonable, Princess… I can’t make the ground dragons run faster.” In response, Priscilla gave him a light hit on his helmet using her fan.

“Hmph, it is not your job to complain. It is only your job to follow my orders.”

“Yes, Princess…”

The camp managed to get through the entry checks without problems, now rolling down the street in their carriage as they continued to admire the watergate city. Beatrice was explaining the layout. “Pristella was originally built on top of this lake using technology from four hundred years ago. It’s a bizarre way to build a city, but if you think of it as one giant trap, designing it to collect water in the center is only natural, I suppose.”

“Calling it as one giant trap feels really convincing.” Emilia said as she considered the layout of the city.

“Is it a trap for some witchbeast? Subaru wondered just what this entire city was made to trap. Perhaps a witchbeast, or an actual witch?

“No one knows. I suppose there aren’t any records left for us to tell.”

“So even a Great Spirit doesn’t know why it was built like this…” Anastasia considered this, feeling her curiosity bubble up inside her. “I wonder if this screen will show us.”

“Hmph, if Betty doesn’t know it, then the knowledge doesn’t exist, I suppose!” She then thought for a moment. “Then again… This theater doesn’t seem to have limits in what it can show. So perhaps it could enlighten us. But, that would be up to the whims of our Warden, I suppose.”

The self-proclaimed historians, Julius and Tivey, were immediately excited by this idea.

“Will you show us that, Warden?” Julius asked out into the theater, not seriously expecting a response from their enigmatic captor. But, to his surprise…

Hmmm… I suppose I might show you after this arc, if you all behave and don’t cause trouble.

This immediately caused a wave of excitement to pass through the room.

“I suppose that could entertain mineself.”

“That sounds interesting. I wonder what monster could make people build an entire city to trap it...” Emilia wondered, imagining some sort of massive Witchbeast.

“Seems excitin’.” Garfiel smirked as he said this, wondering if he could beat it. He was imagining something like a dragon.

That’s enough discussion about something I may or may not show you. Get back to the viewing.

“Still, this place really feels like a maze.” Subaru wondered just how he would find his way around.

“The city’s layout is built around the waterways, so the land routes are all really tangled and complex.” Emilia expanded on this, recalling what she had learned in her studies.

“Dragon boats are also more common than dragon carriages here.” Otto explained with the knowledge he had learned as a merchant. Meanwhile, Patrasche and a water dragon roared at each other. Patrasche scared the water dragon off, and Subaru congratulated her with a whistle.

“Patrasche is still showin’ why she’s the best girl! She’s scarin’ off other dragons with just a roar.” Ricardo said this with a hearty laugh. Several other people in the theater laughed or nodded in agreement, while one oni pouted.

‘I could scare off a dragon for Subaru too!’ Rem pouted, feeling competitive with the ground dragon. She was just as good for Subaru as Patrasche, right?!

***

The Emilia Camp has finally arrived at the inn Anastasia invited them to. They stand outside it, as Subaru looks up at the sign.

“The Water Raiment?”

This building looks really strange, somehow.” Emilia commented this, unfamiliar with Jap-Kararagi style architecture.

“This isn’t an ordinary inn. It’s a literal ryokan.” Subaru recognized the style from back home.

“Heh, I’m glad I chose it. Seeing something familiar like this must be nice for Subaru.” Anastasia said this with a slight smile.

“Is it a nice inn, Anastasia?” Emilia questioned.

“Oh yeah, it’s great! It’s based on a Kararagi style, which I suppose we now know is based on Subaru’s homeland. I’ve really enjoyed stayin’ there so far… I could describe some of its great features, but I suppose the screen will show them.”

“That sounds great.” Emilia said this with a bit of excitement. She wanted to learn more about Subaru’s home, so this could be seen as a bit of a sneak peek.

“Surprised, I take it?” A certain fluffy merchant said this as she opened the door from inside the inn. Anastasia has made her entrance. “I reckon I picked the right place, then.”

“Anastasia-san.”

“Yep. Welcome to Pristella. Thanks for coming.” As she said this, Julius stepped out behind her, immediately causing Subaru to make a face.

“Long time no see, Julius.” Emilia cheerfully greeted Julius, causing Julius to return with a formal greeting.

“Yes, it has been too long, Lady Emilia. And you as well. How have you been faring, Sir Subaru?”

“Sir Subaru my ass! You’re being gross!”

“Even so, you are a person of status now. I’m merely giving you the respect you deserve.” Julius said this with a shrug.

“‘The respect I deserve?’ Stop it! You’re sending me chills down my spine!” Subaru crossed his arms and visibly shivered.

Some of the theater began to snicker at this, always enjoying their dynamic.

“And Subaru has the nerve to call Betty a tsundere, even when he acts like this.” Betty shook her head in mock disappointment.

“Wow, you two are realllly good friends, Julius.” Emilia remarked with a smile.

“Please don’t say that, Emilia-sama. You’ll make Subaru make a face, even while he’s sleeping.” Julius said this with a chuckle.

“I see your status has had little impact on your demeanor.”

“I understand you’re having fun catching up, but…” Otto interjected into their conversation.

“Ah! You are…!”

“Oh? I am-” Otto took off his hat to introduce himself… as Julius kneeled down to Beatrice.

“Hahahahahaha!”

“Ahahahahahaha!”

“Hehehehehehehe!”

Zehahahahahaha!

The entire theater, and even the warden, all began to laugh uncontrollably at Otto’s misfortune. Otto covered his face with his hat, trying to hide from the laughter.

“Hahahaha. N-no, this laughter is undignified.” Julius was the first one to finally suppress his laughter. “I-I’m sorry, Otto-(I don’t know which honorific he uses on Otto. Probably san). I-I was just trying to honor the Great Spirit, but I realize that must have appeared quite disrespectful to you.

“Hmph, you don’t need to apologize to him. It is his fault for thinking he deserved any respect.” Ram said this dismissively, continuing to sadistically mock Otto. Otto retreated further into his hat.

“Ha, Otto-bro really can’t catch a break, can he?” Garfiel said this with a snicker. Of course, just because Garfiel felt a bit bad for him did not mean he was planning on giving him a break. So, like a true friend, he continued to laugh at his friend’s misfortune.

Otto continued to retreat further into his hat, with his face getting redder the longer the laughter in the theater went on. Finally, it started to die down a bit.

“I’m sorry, Otto-kun.” Frederica placed a hand on Otto’s shoulder, trying to comfort him. “I think you deserve some respect. You’re a critical piece in our camp, and we couldn’t effectively function without you.”

“… Thanks, Frederica-san.” Otto finally emerged from his hat, sighing and placing it back onto his head. At this point, the laughter around the theater finally died down enough for the viewing to continue.

“My sincerest apologies! I never expected such an esteemed spirit like you to grace our presence.” Julius gave his respects to the Great Spirit of Yin, receiving a hmph in response.

“Fine, I’ll introduce you. This is Beatrice, the Loli- I mean the spirit I’ve made a pact with.”

“As Subaru’s partner, it is only natural for Betty to be here, I suppose. Do not assume Betty is the same as those nameless lesser spirits of yours, be it in power or in cuteness. Now that you understand, you will now offer delicious tea and sweets, I suppose.”

Ah, that reminds me. I’m a nice warden, so I’m going to give you snacks.

As the warden said this, numerous snacks appeared around the theater. There was, of course, plenty of popcorn, as is required in a proper movie theater. But, there were also plenty of sweets.

“Ah, I haven’t had chocolate in forever!” Al said this with a bit of glee as he looked through the snacks, immediately grabbing a few from the pile that appeared where they were sitting.

“Al, what is this ‘chocolate’ that you speak of?”

“Ah, that’s right, you haven’t had some, Princess.” He immediately picked out a few different chocolate candies for her to try, including a few candy bars, m&ms, and milk duds.

“Mmmmm…” Priscilla cautiously took a bite of a candy bar. As she did this, her face lit up. “This chocolate is delectable! It is just perfectly sweet! I must have more immediately!” Thus Al handed her more, and she continued to gleefully eat them. There were similar reactions across the theater.

“Wow, these are delicious! Are they from Subaru’s world?” Anastasia asked towards the theater.

Yes, that is correct.

Anastasia nodded as the warden confirmed it. Perhaps she could reproduce these with Subaru’s help. She continued to make plans on potentially producing these, and how she could turn a profit from it, all while continuing to enjoy these sweets.

“Mimi loves these! Give Mimi more!” Mimi, as a child with a sweet tooth, seemed to be one of the most avid enjoyers of the sweets in the room, grabbing as many as she could.

“Mmmm, these are reallly good.” Emilia said this with a smile, wishing Subaru was also here to eat them. Next to her, Beatrice was gracefully devouring the sweets.

“These are quite good, I suppose.” Beatrice said this with a smile, as she continued to satisfy her sweet tooth. She then began to eat some of her bag of popcorn that had appeared next to her. “This is rather salty and buttery, but Betty likes the flavor.”

People all around the room continued to enjoy the snack time the warden had so graciously provided. But, they did eventually eat up all the sweets, as the Warden refilled their popcorn.

That is enough. You have already finished most of your snacks, though I’ll keep refilling your popcorn. It is now time to continue the viewing.

“At least try to stay dignified until the end!” Subaru rebuked his loli- I mean his spirit, making Emilia giggle. Meanwhile, another person came running out of the inn.

“Garf’s here! Why didn’t anyone say so? Let’s explore the inn together!” Mimi immediately came out and jumped onto Garf, taking him by surprise. “Mimi’s gonna show you the way!”

“Oi, wait up! I ain’t agreed to anythin’ yet!” Garfiel gave some futile resistance as he was dragged inside by Mimi. “She’s strong!”

“C’mon, Let’s go!”

Anastasia and Ricardo gave another suspicious look towards Garfiel. He did seem to be a strong and honest kid, but could he really be trusted with their Mimi? Doubtful. He would need to prove himself a bit more.

Meanwhile, Mimi smiled over at Garfiel, already planning on doing the same thing once they reached Pristella.

“…We should go inside too. Hm?” Subaru noticed Otto’s sorry state. “What happened to you?”

“I’m fine… completely fine…” Otto said with despair.

The theater let out another laugh at Otto’s despair. Luckily, this died down much faster than the last round.

“Are you all done?”

“We will never be finished mocking you, Otto (how does Ram refer to Otto?).” Ram said dismissively, fully expecting the screen to provide more and more opportunities to mock Otto as the viewing continued.

***

The Emilia camp has entered the inn, now sitting across from the Anastasia camp. They are sitting on their knees around a table. It is indeed a ryokan-style inn.

“Everything here feels really mysterious, somehow. We’re sitting on the floor, and we're not wearing shoes.” Emilia expressed her confusion, unfamiliar with this type of culture.

“The bedrooms here probably have futons on the floor instead of beds. Are we going to wear yukatas as loungewear?” Subaru questioned, already familiar with the style.

“Wow, you really know a lot about this, Subaru.”

“Yup, you’re right. Just where’d you pick up all that Kararagi knowledge from.” Anastasia questioned him, still quite curious just where he came from.

“I suppose in hindsight, the real question is how we picked up all this Japanese knowledge.” Anastasia considered this for a moment. They had already deduced that Hoshin must have been in the same situation as Subaru. But just what had he gone through in order to survive and bring his knowledge to this world? Could he have had a similar ability to Subaru? And just what is bringing all these people here, each at different times?

“You mean this inn is ‘Kararagi’ style?”

“Yep, Japaneez-style architecture is a Kararagi tradition.”

“Japaneez-style… There’s no way that’s a coincidence.”

“In the first place, it was Hoshin, the hero of Kararagi, who built Pristella.” Otto explained.

“Hoshin…?”

“Hoshin of the Wastes. He’s a revolutionary from 400 years ago known for his innovative thinking and progressive ideals.”

“Hoshin of the Wastes, huh? He’s probably the same as me, a Japanese person transported to this world.” Subaru muttered this to himself.

“So, Natsuki-kun got the same conclusion as us… But why do they keep getting summoned here?” Anastasia muttered this to herself. She was only getting more curious about why each of these people were getting summoned here.

“Perhaps they could have all been summoned here by the witch?” Tivey guessed, also wanting to find the truth behind all of this.

“But Hoshin was here years before the calamity. He couldn’t have been summoned by Satella.” Anastasia was the one that rejected this theory. The timeframes just didn’t match, not to mention she didn’t want to believe her idol also had some mysterious connection to the Witch.

“But Satella existed before she became the witch and started the calamity. She could have summoned him earlier.” Crusch pointed out.

“But why would she do that in the first place, when she doesn’t know him… Why did she summon Subaru in the first place? And why did she already know him?” Anastasia began to scratch her scarf as she said this, venting out a bit of her confusion. It only seemed to get more confusing the more they thought about it.

“Do you know anything, Al?” Emilia turned and asked the one person in the room that might be aware of something they weren’t. Everyone else followed her gaze, focusing on the one-armed man.

“Hmmm…” Al just shrugged his shoulders as he considered what to say. He needed to choose his words carefully. “I don’t know exactly why people keep getting summoned to this world. I don’t think it was the Witch that summoned Hoshin though.”

“Hmph, we won’t get any answers if we just continue to pointlessly contemplate this. Let us just continue watching the screen. That has a higher chance of giving us answers than any of this pointless theorizing does.” Priscilla said this with a wave of her fan, getting bored of this discussion. Everyone else agreed, turning back to the screen.

As Subaru muttered this, Joshua slid open the door to the room, before respectfully bowing to Anastasia. “Lady Anastasia, the preparations are complete.”

“Thank you, Joshua. Well then, shall we get to the main topic?” She turned back to the Emilia Camp, leaning forward and putting her chin on her hands as she got into business mode.

“The mana crystal you seek is in the hands of the heir to a major trading company in this city. Joshua has already arranged a dragon boat bound for Muse Trading Company.”

“Really, thank you for the help, Anastasia.” Emilia said this with a smile. She had helped her find the crystal, and even provided a boat to make the trip easier. Emilia was truly grateful for all the help.

“Eh? It’s fine, you don’t really need to worry about it. I was still doing it for my own gain, after all.”

“Hmmm…” Crusch thought for a moment. “We were all headed towards Pristella, right?” As she said this, the other camp leaders, minus Anastasia, nodded in response. “You’ve invited us all to Pristella using different baits. What is your gameplan here, Anastasia-san?”

“It’s nothin’ too nefarious. I simply wanted to arrange a meetin’ between all of us, so we could get to know each other a bit better. Though I didn’t invite you.” Anastasia gave a slight frown towards Priscilla, which made her laugh.

“Hahaha, if you think you could stop mineself from going where I please, you’re a greater fool than I thought.”

“Yeah, I really should have expected this…” Anastasia let out a long sigh. “It’s fine though. This just means we can have a more complete meeting. Let’s all get along once we get there, ok?”

The other candidates ended up nodding in response, aside from Priscilla, who just gave a hmph.

“Can you tell this more about this person?” Otto inquired, being the person responsible for handling the business negotiations on this trip.

“He’s quite talented, but in this city, he’s more known by another name.”

“And that is…?” Emilia asked.

“The man whose heart was stolen by the Songstress. In short, the Songstress Fanatic.”

“That title makes him sound almost as perverted as Barusu.” Ram commented, wondering just the type of person Emilia would need to deal with.

“Yeah, he’s kinda weird.” Ricardo confirmed with a laugh. “He’s gifted, but he’s completely obsessed with the Songstress. Almost to a concernin’ degree.”

“I’m sure he can’t be that bad.” Emilia said, being the type to generally assume the best in people.

***

The Emilia Camp has gotten on a boat to go and meet with the owner of the crystal. They are currently floating down one of the city’s channels, enjoying the view.

“I’ve never ridden a boat on water before! I feel my heart racing, somehow.” Emilia seemed to enjoy the new experience.

“Songstress Fanatic, huh? He’s gotta be a weirdo.” Subaru reflected on the person they were going to meet.

“Ha, look Ram, it looks like you and bro immediately came to the same conclusion.” Al commented, seeing an opportunity.

“Why, of course, that’s only natural. A pervert will know a pervert, so of course Barusu would immediately identify the nature of this ‘Songstress Fanatic’.” As she said this, Al gained a wide grin underneath his mask.

“So you’re admitting you’re a pervert.”

“E-eh? That isn’t what I-” Ram paused as she realized what she said could imply that.

“You said a pervert would know a pervert. And you immediately identified Subaru and the Songstress Fanatic as perverts. So wouldn’t that mean…?”

Ram was silent for a few moments, trying to formulate a way to defend herself without resorting to slamming the one-armed man against a wall.

“H-hey, Nee-san isn’t a pervert!” Rem came to the defense of her sister, glaring over at Al.

“Indeed, my dear sister is correct. To apply such logic to Ram is the height of foolishness. I can merely identify their true nature due to my good observation and need to protect my sister from them, not due to being a perverted individual myself.”

“Hmmm… sounds like a whole lot o’ denial to me.”

Subaru then noticed something strange about the channel. “Hm? The water’s flowing in a different direction over there.”

“Surprised? Actually, I know how this works! Look!” Emilia pointed over at a tall tower in the distance. “Those control towers regulate the flow of water inside the city. I hear they’re actually a complex metia that use water mana crystals to manipulate the currents.”

“By the way, sullying the water here is a major offense, so please be careful.” Otto warned the camp, not wanting him to cause trouble. “Especially you, Garfiel. You’ve been staring at the water like you’re scared.” Otto then immediately relished in the chance to tease his friend.

“I ain’t scared of water! I just don’t wanna end up like some cat who fell down the drain!”

“Then can you stop gripping my cloak? I think it’s about to tear off.”

“Hmph, Garfiel can confidently face the Bowel Hunter, yet is scared of a bit of water. What foolishness.” Ram said this harshly, shaking her head dismissively.

“Well, he is a cat, so I guess it’s only natural.” Otto shook his head with a smirk, enjoying the rare chance to take the initiative on the teasing.

“H-hey, I’m not scared of a bit o’ water!”

“Careful Garfiel. I have a jar of water in my bag. If you keep yelling, I might accidentally spill it.” Otto said this with a teasing tone.

“H-hey! That doesn’t matter! I’m not scared bout’ a jar of water!”

“To think ouuuur shield can be defeated by juuust a glass of wateeer. What a miscalculation.”

“I don’t want to hear that from you, ya fuckin’ clown!”

“Mimi thinks it's normal! Mimi is scared of water too!” Mimi came to the defense of Garf, sharing the same fear as a fellow cat.

“Y’ see, ‘s normal! There’s nothing wrong with bein’ afraid of water! And I’ll still never let it get in my way! Shit, I just admitted to it…”

Everyone in the theater got a good laugh at Garfiel, as he started to just pout and shrink into his seat. So this is how Otto feels…

“Goodness. Everyone is so worked up. I suppose you could learn a thing or two from Betty-” Up to this point, Betty was calmly enjoying the boat ride without making a fuss. But as she chastised the others, she noticed Subaru acting strange. “Subaru?”

“… crap.” Subaru looked sick, like he was about to hurl.

“Did you just say something, I wonder?”

“Crap… I’m about to puke.” Subaru’s face seemed to turn purple, as the other camp members gasped.

“Ahhh, looks like bro gets seasick.” Al commented this with a sigh, feeling a bit bad for his bro.

“Seasick?”

“Ah, I guess you guys don’t have the sea, so you must call it something else. Maybe lakesick, or perhaps watersick…” In the end, he just shrugged. “Anyways, it just means he gets sick on moving water.”

“Hmmm…” Anastasia considered this for a moment. “Well, considering you have Natsuki-kun and Garfiel-kun… Would you like me to get you a dragon carriage instead of a dragon boat once we get to Pristella, Emilia-san?”

“Yes, I think that would be for the best. Thank you, Anastasia.”

***

Subaru was kicked off the boat, with Betty following him. They are currently sitting on some stairs next to the channel.

“It’s back… that nightmare ferry ride on that school trip back in grade school… Crap, the world’s shaking.” Subaru continued to feel sick, holding his hand over his mouth as he reflected on his previous encounters with seasickness.

“You should behave and get some more fresh air then, I suppose. Leave the Songstress Fanatic to them.”

“Don’t tell me they knew about my seasickness and used it to separate me from Emilia-tan?!”

Up until this point, the entire room was either giggling or feeling pity for Subaru. But as he said this, the entire room froze as they realized a simple fact; Subaru was separated from the others. Things never went well when Subaru was separated.

“Crap…”

“Damn, I’m not there t’ protect Cap’n.”

“You don’t need to worry, in fact! Betty is still with Subaru. Betty won’t let her contractor get hurt, I suppose!” Beatrice crossed her arms as she said this confidently, calming most of the room.

“Emilia can handle things just fine, even if she is missing one bumbling Subaru, I suppose.”

“Ngh, damn it.” He pushed himself up to his feet. “I’m still a bit dizzy, but I can manage.” He then grasped his loli’s hands. “I’ll just hold your hand and power myself up with heartwarming energy.”

“You seem to be in high spirits. Well, if anything ever happens, I suppose Betty will do something about it.”

“Right, I’m counting on you. Okay, let’s meet up with Emilia-tan before she gets sad and lonely!”

“Subaruuuu, you dunderhead! I can be without you for five minutes!” Emilia pouted as she said this.

“Who wants to bet Natsuki-san will somehow mess up the negotiations for the crystal, despite not even being there.” Otto proposed this bet, trying to distract himself and everyone else from the possibility of Subaru dying. He got good results, with all but one raising their hands in agreement. The only one going against the bet was Anastasia.

“Natsuki-kun was already decent at negotiations.” As she said this, Anastasia and Crusch thought back to their negotiation that arranged the Hunt for the White Whale. “And he’s had an entire year to grow since then. I’m sure he won’t mess up the meeting. If anything, he’ll help bring the negotiations in their favor! I’ll put money on it!”

The rest of the room showed a bit of doubt in her faith in Subaru, including even her knight, who did his best to hide it. But, the only way they could see the result was by continuing to watch.

***

Subaru and Betty walked down the winding streets of Pristella, searching for their destination.

“Hmm, Muste Trading Company… This is the land route, right?” Subaru inquired to Betty, who was guiding him.

“I suppose.”

“Um, did we pass by it earlier? Don’t tell me… you’re lost?”

“That is not the case, I suppose! But if you’re feeling anxious, it wouldn’t hurt to ask someone for directions just to be sure.”

“Awww, Beako is so cuuute.” Emilia smiled and started to squeeze and play around with her cheeks.

“S-stop that! This is improper treatment of a great spirit, in fact!”

“Right, right. You’re such a cutie. But there’s no one around.”

As they stepped out of an alley, they suddenly heard beautiful, almost mesmerizing music playing in the distance. They approached closer, and found a young-looking girl playing a lyulyre. They have found the Songstress, and are initially mesmerized by her song.

“Wow”

Priscilla closed her eyes and listened to the music, quite enjoying the tune. “Al, this music is quite enjoyable. I have found another person to add to my camp.”

“Our camp’s getting pretty big at this point…” Al muttered. First, she wanted Subaru. Then she also wanted Otto and maybe Garfiel. And now she wants this bard?! At this point, their core members are going to rapidly go from one of the smallest to the largest of the camps! Then again, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to have other people to help him keep her occupied.

♪ I wander around aimlessly ♪

♪ No money, no future, no dream, only vanity remains ♪

♪ Pathetic, no one’s… ♪

The rest of the theater also had their eyes closed, enjoying the music, despite the strange and sad lyrics.

“No, wait…” Now that Subaru has gotten closer, he is less focused on the voice, and more focused on the lyrics. “What the heck is this?…”

“Now that I’ve heard the lyrics, this song’s horrible!” As he shouts this, Liliana froze in shock. Everyone around him, including Betty, glared at him.

“Foolish Commoner.”

“Stupid Barusu.”

“Dunderhead.”

“Fool.”

“Idiot.”

The entire room let out a collective sigh of disappointment towards Subaru.

“Eh…? Crap, forgot to read the mood!” Subaru quickly realized his mistake, but it was too late.

“Subaru, you idiot! How can you be so rude?! Everything is ruined!” Betty chastised him, while people from the crowd started to yell at him.

“Nobody asked you, jackass!”

“Who the hell are you?”

“Stop bothering us!”

“Dumbass!”

They began to throw things at him, and Subaru was sent flying. The screen cuts to about a minute later. Subaru is sprawled out on the ground. “Ugggghhhh.”

“Deserved.” Ram nodded her head, satisfied with his punishment.

“Hmph, if mineself was there, I would have done more than that to the fool. Those injuries are only superficial. He needs to be taught a more complete lesson.”

“C’mon Princess. Even if he did screw up the mood, he already got beaten for it. I don’t think he deserves any more than that.”

“Hmph. Would you like to take his punishment instead?”

“N-no thanks, Princess.”

“That’s a bit mean…” Emilia spoke up to disagree with his punishment. “Even if he did ruin the song, he shouldn’t get hurt for it.” Emilia frowned towards the crowd that was dispersing on the screen, while she gently stroked the hair of the unconscious Subaru next to her.

Meanwhile, Rem was sitting on the other side of Subaru, stroking his hand. She was in agreement with Emilia that his punishment was too harsh. She wished she was there, so she could comfort and heal him.

“That was a disaster… Honestly, that was the first time in a year I braced myself for death.” Subaru groaned out.

“That’s your problem! You’ll receive no healing from Betty, I suppose! Go ask Emilia or something.” Betty said this stubbornly, still annoyed with Subaru for interrupting the song.

The comment from Subaru about bracing himself for death instantly transformed all the disappointment they had into concern and worry. Several people looked towards Beatrice.

“Hmph, Betty only let this happen because he deserved it. If he was actually in any serious danger, she would have saved him instantly. But…” She sat in silence for a few moments, contemplating. “When we get back, Betty won’t let this happen. Betty’s Subaru doesn’t deserve to be reminded of… those loops… in any way.”

“But you get upset every time I rely on Emilia for healing.” Subaru futilely protested. He then noticed Liliana still standing in the background.

“Oh, and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin-”

“Eureka!”

“Eh?”

“Eh?”

“She’s not even bothered he interrupted her song?” Emilia questioned, confused by her behavior. Several others were also equally confused.

“Listen to this! Doowawa! The Difference in Years of Love!” The Songstress began to strum her lyulyre again as she began another song that certainly sounded great.

♪ Hey, do you see it? Do you feel it? ♪

♪ The difference in the years of love between you and me! ♪

♪ People call it weird, but who cares? ♪

♪ Please wait a little longer, just a little longer ♪

♪ Until I grow taller and reach you ♪

♪ The distance of love between you and me ♪

♪ A distance of love so sweet and soft- ♪

Most of the theater was still confused why she wasn’t mad, and just started singing instead. But, as the song played, they were sucked into the melody, and let those worries fade away.

As she sang, Subaru slowly got up from the ground. He waited a bit, before he joined in on the song. As it turns out, he also had a great singing voice. The two eventually ended up syncing up into a harmony.

♪ (Subaru) The gap between lovers fades from sight ♪

♪ (Subaru) and softly ignites into love burning bright! ♪

♪ (Both) Soon the stork will pay a call ♪

♪ (Both) and bless the two with a child after all! ♪

♪ (Both) It's a tale of love and bright futures! ♪

Clap!

“Eh, wait, why are they singing together?” Finally, Tivey questioned what the hell was going on.

“I guess they just got in the zone!” Ricardo remarked with a laugh.

“Ahahaha! The fool has a good singing voice. Merely another reason to add him to my camp.” Priscilla remarked this with a smirk, imagining Subaru and the bard performing duets for her every morning.

“What?!” Beatrice very quickly expressed her confusion on what just happened. “You must hold on a moment, I suppose! Why is Subaru suddenly joining in the singing, I wonder?! And why are you letting him join in like it’s only natural, I wonder?!”

“Hey, now. What are you saying, Beako? Music transcends borders, y’know?”

“Well said! I, Liliana, am so moved that my chest trembles in awe! Not that I have much of a chest to tremble.” As she said this, Subaru nodded in agreement.

“It is unacceptable how you two are making Betty the one who read the mood wrong!”

“H-hey, stop that!” Beako cried as Emilia smiled and resumed her endless cuddling of Beatrice.

“Aww, I can’t help it, you're just so cute, even when you’re pouty.”

“Mmmmmmmmgh!” Beatrice cutely flailed in Emilia’s grip.

“Whoops! I forgot to introduce myself! I’m a bard who makes a living with nothing but my lyulyre and my voice! I’m Liliana! It’s a pleasu-” She suddenly stopped with a grunt.

“She bit her tongue, I suppose.”

“Shorryh… I bit it mahgnificentlhth…” As she said this, she smiled, and a bit of blood dripped from her mouth.

“Could she be…?” Betty wondered on this girl’s true identity. Could this eccentric girl be the Songstress?

“Hey, are you the Songstress who’s all the buzz around here?” Subaru made the same connection and directly asked her.

“So, so… it’s a pretty embarrassing nickname, but yeah…”

“Then you know the Songstress Fanatic of Muse Trading Company, right?”

“See, look! Natsuki-kun is doing fairly well so far. He already found a guide, and now he’ll be able to make his way over to the right place. I’m sure Natsuki-kun will do fine at the negotiations for the crystal.” Anastasia said this confidently, trying to defend her bet on Subaru. Unfortunately, most in the room weren’t yet convinced.

***

The screen once again flashes forward slightly. Liliana is now guiding them through the streets of Pristella, towards the Muse Trading Company’s HQ.

“I don’t mind showing you guys the way, but since you’ve heard the Songstress’ song, you better pay up!”

“Didn’t you say you were embarrassed of that nickname just now?”

“This is this, and that is that. Hey now, you’re not planning on listening for free, are you?”

“Fine, fine! How much do you want?”

“Just follow your heart, dear listener! Give as much as you want!” As she says this, Liliana smirked and made a coin symbol.

“Ugh…” Al let out a sigh. “There’s no winning that one bro.”

Some of the merchants in the room also let out a sigh. ‘Pay as much as you want’, is always a recipe for disaster, especially if you want to maintain good relations. Either you don’t pay enough to satisfy them, or you overpay, with no middle ground.

“Don’t go forcing my heart to do stuff for you!” Subaru shouted with outrage.

“How could you say something like that?… Eureka!”

“Listen closely! Rough Waves, High Tides, Society’s Storms!” Liliana began to pull out her guitar, but Subaru stopped her.

“You can stop now!”

Some people in the room began to laugh at their antics.

“Wow, she really is… eccentric.” Felt commented, slightly unnerved by her antics. “It’s like… she just can’t stop. There is no filter.”

“Hmph, I find her behavior entertaining.” Priscilla commented with a smirk, while covering her face with her fan.

“Nobody asked what you think!” Felt shouted at Priscilla.

“Quiet, street rat.”

“Why you-”

***

The screen jumped forward once again. They have finally reached the Muse Trading Company’s HQ. Liliana gave a confident smirk as she waved at the building.

“And just like that, we arrived before we knew it!”

“So this is the place.”

Many people in the theater let out a subtle sigh of relief, releasing tension they didn’t know they were holding in. They were still nervous about Subaru dying again, and things seemed to never go well when he was separated. Luckily, he seems to have made it back safely.

“Yes! Now please listen closely to today’s last song: Life is Full of Ups and Downs!” She once again pulled out her lyulyre. This has clearly happened several more times between the cut, as shown by Subaru’s exasperation.

“That aside, you sure are something. I’ve never been this weirded out by someone’s behavior since Petelgeuse.”

Ricardo let out a loud laugh. “Bro, ain’t that a bit harsh? She might be a bit strange, but an Archbishop?!”

“Geuse…” Emilia muttered this with a bit of grief. Betty sighed, before grabbing and squeezing her hand.

“It’s ok.”

“Hoho, I don’t know who that is, but this Petelgeuse seems to be quite the remarkable individual! If we ever have the chance to meet, he might even become my lifelong rival!”

“She doesn’t even know…” Anastasia shook her head with a sigh. Weren’t bards supposed to be the people with some of the most information?

Several people in the room began to imagine Petelgeuse in a singing contest with Liliana. They quickly started to shiver in horror.

“He’s an Archbishop of Sin.”

“Eh?!” Subaru and Betty began to walk past her, while Liliana showed her shock. “Wait, hold up a moment! Don’t tell me you’re… the Lolimancer Natsuki Subaru?!” It seems she is much more focused on who Subaru is than the fact he just compared her to an Archbishop.

“She’s not even insulted that Subaru compared her to an Archbishop?” Ricardo muttered this with astonishment. Several other people were also equally shocked.

“Just how airheaded is she?” Felt questioned, also having a hint of astonishment in her voice.

“I’d like to have a word or two about that tile just now…” Subaru said this with a tinge of annoyance and embarrassment.

“The legendary wingman who guided Dutchess Crusch Karsten’s expedition against one of the Three Great Witchbeasts, the White Whale, and placed the Sword Demon Wilhelm is his debt! You liberated this world from the terror of the Archbishop of Sloth with the combined forces of Dutchess Karsten and Anastasia from the Hoshin Company! And if that weren’t enough, you’re the hero who defeated another Great Witchbeast, the Great Rabbit!” Liliana ran over each of Subaru’s accomplishments, beginning to fangirl more and more.

“Oh dear! Oh dear! A living legend, right before my eyes! Ahhhh!” As Liliana continued to fangirl, she ended up prostrating herself on the ground before Subaru, as he looked on with some surprise. (Relatable)

As she went on, several people in the room nodded in respect. Subaru’s accomplishments were truly awe inspiring, even more so now that they knew everything he went through.

“You helped avenge my wife.” Wilhelm said this with respect as he nodded towards the sleeping boy in the room.

“You saved my village.” Petra remarked with stars in her eyes, as she remembered how he had heroically defeated the Mabeasts and the Archbishop.

“You saved my life and helped me overcome my insecurities.” Rem remarked with a smile, reminiscing on that day in the forest.

“I suppose I need to admit you did help me achieve my goal, Barusu. And you remembered my sister...” On the outside, it seems Ram said this reluctantly, but on the inside, she was truly grateful.

“You finally dragged Betty out of her library, after 400 years.” Beatrice affectionately cuddled up next to her contractor and began to stroke his hair.

“You saved me and helped me grow.” Emilia remarked, remembering how he had saved her time and time again, how he had pushed her forward, and he had helped her grow and overcome her trials after everything.

“You really are a hero.”

As Illiana admired Subaru, an agent from the Muse Company stepped outside. “Miss Liliana? Is something the matter? Who are these two?”

“Ah, we’re currently here as Emilia’s attendants. She should be inside already.” As he said this, Liliana suddenly had a realization, lifting her head up from the ground.

“Eh! So that means… If I facilitate this business discussion, would the Lolimancer Natsuki Subaru be kind enough to tell me some things?”

At this point, Anastasia had a wide smirk, getting more and more confident in her bet. “Look, now he’s even recruited aid that will help this transaction go through!” Anastasia felt confident, like she was right to bet on Subaru. He was about to prove everyone else in the theater wrong!

“Hmmm…” Otto considered this for a bit. Things seemed to be going well, but he still had plenty of time to mess it up. “We will see.”

“Seriously, stop calling me that. And what do you mean by ‘some things’?”

“Well, there’s a lot, a whole lot!” Liliana jumped up from the ground and began to enthusiastically talk. “How much of the stories are true? I want to know it, hear it, sing it! I might even be able to sing an epic that’ll go down in history! Now let’s go! Smashing the scales with obligation and sentiment! Is Liliana Masquerade’s specialty!”

“Just what do you mean by that, I wonder?” Beatrice questioned the praise, which seemed to be even more nonsensical than one of Garf’s sayings.

“Mr. Kiritaka is head over heels for me! So if he hears from me, everything’s going to be sailing the rough seas!”

“Hmmm… Anastasia-san, that doesn’t sound very promising.” Otto remarked, still thinking he was right that Subaru will screw everything up.

“Well, that sounds bad, but… that’s just because Liliana is Liliana. I still think Natsuki-kun will succeed. I mean, he has everything on his side!”

“Sure…”

“That doesn’t sound very smooth though!”

“No, don’t worry about it. Leave everything to me!” Liliana then went running off into the building, with Subaru chasing after her.

“Hey, wait up!”

***

The scene changed to inside the building, where Emilia and Otto were currently negotiating with Kiritaka, while Garfiel guarded them. There were several mana crystals between them.

“Please, we would like you to hand over that mana crystal to us.” Emilia spoke to Kiritaka, leading the negotiations. He had a contemplative expression on his face, which turned so surprise as he heard shouting down the hall.

“I said wait! Come back here!” Natsuki shouted after Liliana, who was running ahead of him. His muffled shouts could be heard through the wall.

“Please leave everything to me!” Kiritaka had a growing expression of confusion and slight horror on his face. He stood up from his desk and went around to see what was going on.

“Liliana? What’s happening?” Before he could reach the door to check what was happening, it burst open. Subaru was trying to hold Liliana back, but the way he was doing it looked slightly… suspicious.

“Please make me, Liliana, a woman!”

Otto looked over towards Anastasia with the smuggest smirk imaginable. “Well?”

“I-I… It’s not over yet. There’s still hope. Even if he made a bad entrance, he can still recover from it. I mean, look at his introduction to Joshua earlier. He made a clumsy entrance, yet turned it around with a formal introduction. I’m sure… I-” Anastasia said this with desperation.

The room was still for a few moments, as Kiritaka stared slack-jawed through the door.

“Subaru?” Emilia looked at Subaru with a bit of surprise, not expecting him to suddenly burst in.

“Hey, Emilia-tan! Fancy meeting you here!”

“Fancy…? What are you doing here? Huh? Mr. Kiritaka?”

Kiritaka still was stunned as he looked through the door, with growing horror appearing on his face. Finally, he snapped out of his stupor.

“No…” He ran over to his desk and grabbed one of the mana crystals from his desk. “Stop touching my Liliana!” He threw it towards Subaru as it glowed with energy. It exploded, blowing out a few windows.

“Oh!” Everyone in the theater shouted in surprise as Kiritaka launched the mana crystal at Subaru, not expecting such an extreme reaction from the man.

A few members of the theater even began to worry Subaru might have even been killed by that explosion. It wasn’t particularly strong to them, but Subaru also wasn’t the most durable. If he had been killed by this of all things…

***

Subaru was storming down the street, his face and clothes covered in light scorch marks.

The theater let out a long sigh of relief, as they saw Subaru didn’t seem to be particularly hurt by the attack. Merely some minor burns that could quickly be fixed by healing magic.

“I’m glad Subaru is alright…” As Emilia muttered this, several members of the theater nodded in agreement. Rem and Beatrice were particularly concerned for him, though this was shared among most of the theater.

“Hmph, that is what Barusu gets for his lecherous behavior…” Ram said this with a dismissive shake of her head, trying to conceal her true worry for Subaru, both from herself and everyone around her.

“Nee-sama…” Rem sighed as she felt her sister’s hidden emotions trickle through their synesthesia. “You should be more honest with yourself…”

Ram felt a bit of surprise as her sister lightly chastised her. She didn’t have a proper response, so she just turned away, looking towards the wall. Unfortunately for her, she was in for a two sided assault.

“She’s right.” Roswaal put his hand on her shoulder, closing his yellow eye while using his natural voice. “You don’t have to keep all your feelings hidden. You can show a bit of your concern for him every once in a while.”

“Tsk.” Faced with both her sister and Roswaal, Ram could only bite her lip. Finally, she whispered under her breath. “…You better not die, Subaru.”

As this conversation was happening, there was also a bit of commotion on the other side of the theater.

“Well…” Otto relaxed a bit as he saw that his friend looked fine. He then turned towards Anastasia with a smirk. “It was a bit more intense than I expected, but…”

“I’m never betting on ya again, Natsuki-kun.” Anastasia sighed as she got up and handed a bag of coins over to Otto.

Otto further smiled as he looked over his winnings. He then turned over towards Emilia as he took on a more serious face. “Emilia-sama, I think we should leave Natsuki-san behind at the inn, both so he doesn’t mess up the negotiations, and for his own safety.”

Emilia thought for a moment, before shaking her head. “I don’t want to leave Subaru behind again.” As she said this, she thought back to arc 3. Even if the circumstances were different… “I don’t want him to be left out. Plus, this wasn’t even really Subaru’s fault.”

Otto considered this, before ultimately relenting with a sign. “I suppose you’re right. We’ll just need to make sure he doesn’t get separated from us… It looks like we’ll need to take a dragon carriage after all.” Otto was a bit mournful they wouldn’t get to use a boat in the watergate city. But, Subaru and Garfiel came first.

“Are we really ignorin’ that he just threw a bomb in Cap’n’s face?!” Garfiel questioned, still outraged at Kiritaka.

“He also endangered a Royal Candidate. Emilia-sama could have also gotten caught in that blast. That would normally be a criminal offense of the highest degree. Such reckless behavior is unacceptable.” Julius pointed this out with a frown.

“We still need to remember what we are viewing.” Anastasia reluctantly came to the defense of Kiritaka. “Not only are we viewing something that hasn’t occurred in our timeline, but it is also something that hasn’t even happened yet. We can’t really punish him for that.”

“So we're just gonna let him off for throwing a bomb at bro!” Felt was also still angry at Kiritaka. But…

“There really isn’t much we can do. If we start holding grudges for things that happen in the future, and especially if we try to punish them when we get back, that’ll just open up a very nasty can of worms.” Anastasia shrugged her shoulders as she said this. Felt relented as she let out a long sigh.

“Garfiel.” Otto called out to Garf, being able to tell he was still angry. “We still need to negotiate with him if we want the mana crystal. Not to mention, considering his good reputation in the city, it would cause us several issues if you attack him. Please control yourself once we get back.”

“Tch.” Garfiel crossed his arms as he reluctantly listened to his bro.

As Subaru glowered, Otto began to chastise him. “Why in the world were you getting touchy-feely with the Songstress in front of someone called the Songstress Fanatic?”

“I wasn’t getting touchy-feely with her!”

“Looked like you two were messin’ around, through.” Garfiel jumped into the conversation with his own comment, which Subaru quickly denied.

“We weren’t messing around!”

“It looked like ya were having some fun though.” Ricardo chuckled, as he tried to get everyone to move on from the last scene. “And what she said certainly didn’t help.”

“C’mon, you can’t blame bro. I mean, he’s the lolimancer, and she’s a loli. It’s only natural.” Al said this with a shrug of his arm. This joke got a few chuckles, making Al feel satisfied with himself. But, this satisfaction quickly disappeared as he felt a few envious gazes on him. It seemed several women in the room weren’t major fans of his joke. Luckily for him, the theater quickly moved on.

“We were so close to sealing the deal, and you just smashed it to pieces.” Otto further chastised Subaru, who was starting to calm down a bit.

“Now now, Subaru didn’t mean any harm.” Finally, Emilia-tan came to Subaru’s defense.

“Emilia-tan! Go tell him more!”

“Reflect on your actions, Subaru.” Being chastised by Emilia, Subaru immediately relented.

“Right, I’m sorry…”

“Okay, let's leave it at that!”

As they continued to walk, an extraordinarily “plain” man with white hair and clothes passed by them. Emilia accidentally ended up bumping into him.

A more lighthearted atmosphere began to reappear within the theater, as everyone calmed down from the attack and started to enjoy the bickering of the Emilia camp. But, as Emilia bumped into this man, the entire theater instantly froze in place.

“That’s…” Crusch and Emilia’s eyes widened as they immediately recognized the man, who’s crimes had been repeatedly shown on the screen.

This was the man who had attacked Crusch’s forces as they returned to the Capital. The man who had taken her arm, and wiped out a sizable number of their forces. The man who had taken Crusch’s ‘One Blow, Hundred Felled’ strike, completely unscathed.

This was the man who had appeared in Elinor forest, forced Geuse to take in the Authority of Sloth, and had remained utterly unharmed even after Geuse’s furious assault. The man that seemed completely invincible. The man that could destroy a carriage or take a limb with a swipe of his hand. The man who claimed to value rights and be a pacifist, yet would maim and kill when faced with the slightest inconvenience. The man who could rant forever.

The Archbishop of Greed, Regulus Corneas.

“Oh, I’m sorry!”

“Shit!” Garfiel was the one that spoke first. “Ya need t’ get away from him! He’s crazy!”

Most of the people in the room immediately felt total dread. Was this why this arc was being shown? Is this the first death Subaru will encounter in the future? Can they do anything to stop him?

“You need not be concerned. I was careless, too. After all, you had me captivated for a moment.”

“Huh? Er…”

“Your beautiful silver hair, yes.” The man held out a hand to examine Emilia’s hair. But then, Subaru came up to interrupt them.

“H-he hasn’t attacked yet?” Crusch was the one that muttered this, though everyone else was equally surprised. Based on his past behavior, they expected him to immediately go into a massive rant, before attacking and possibly killing everyone in the area. Instead… It seems he was taking special interest in Emilia.

“Sis… You haven’t recognized him?” It was Felt that questioned this. After everything they’d seen, Emilia should have recognized him instantly.

“I-I don’t know? I-I guess it was because of how plain his appearance is. I mostly forgot it during the year after the trials… And I suppose I wouldn’t immediately think of him after bumping into a random person.”

“… Y-you forgot?”

“To be fair, the perspective of Emilia-san in the screen is very different from us who just saw him a few hours ago.” Anastasia came to the defense of Emilia. “It is kind of bad though…”

“The half-wit can’t even recognize the man who was instrumental in the death of her family, yet she is running to be queen of a nation. With that sort of memory, she will forget how to run it in the first week.” Priscilla said this with a disappointed shake of her head.

“I’m more concerned why he has taken such an interest in Emilia-sama. Could it be due to her being a half-elf? Some Witch Cult schemes?” Otto guessed this, wanting to understand why he hadn’t started ranting yet, and avoid threats once they get back.

“Maybe he’s just attracted to her?” Al guessed. “I mean, he took note of her hair rather than her ears. Wait…”

“The Witch also had silver hair!” Tivey was the one who pointed this out. “Perhaps he has taken special interest in her due to her resemblance to the Witch. I mean, all those cultists must have some sort of attraction towards her to be in her twisted cult, right?”

“I’m scared for th’ Cap’n. Right now, Emilia-sama has his attention. But…”

“Natsuki-san is about to interrupt him. And from what we know, Regulus hates being interrupted…” As Otto said this, everyone in the room began to brace themselves to view another death. After what they had seen on screen, Garfiel and Betty couldn’t even confidently proclaim they would be able to protect him from Regulus. They could only hope.

“Okay, hold up! That’s as fair as you go! You’re right. Both sides were careless. Let’s leave it at that and split, alright?”

“Subaru, that’s no way to speak to someone-”

“Don’t worry about it.” Subaru winked at Emilia. “Water under the bridge. A happy coincidence fit for a water city, yeah?”

“He’s not going to take that, right?” Crusch said this nervously, remembering just how easily aggravated he had been each time he appeared.

Everyone in the room gulped, bracing themselves for carnage. Frederica moved to cover Petra’s eyes, while Anastasia and Ricardo covered Mimi’s and Tivey’s.

“Thank you for your politeness. Yes, I’ve little reason to fixate myself on your group for the moment. Should we ever meet again, it will simply be the whims of fate reuniting us.”

“Eh?”

“He… he’s accepting that… and leaving?” Everyone in the theater was in shock at his behavior. They really thought Subaru was about to die. But, as he didn’t, they could only feel a mix of shock and relief.

“Right. Here’s hoping fate makes us cross paths again, then.” After jinxing himself, Subaru grabbed Emilia’s hand and began to walk away from this exceptionally plain man who abhors violences and yet always ensures the natural rights of human beings are followed.

“Damn it, Natsuki-san! You just jinxed yourself!” Otto shouted this out in frustration, not wanting Subaru to encounter the man again anytime soon.

As they walked away, Emilia glanced back at him for just a moment.

“Something the matter, Emilia-tan?”

“Nothing big, it’s just that I feel like I’ve met him before…” She then turned and continued walking away with Subaru. The screen showed one last shot of the man smirking, before cutting away.

As the camera cut away, a massive sigh of relief was collectively released around the theater. Subaru… hadn’t died. He was still alive. What a miracle.

“So… you really didn’t recognize him, Sis.”

“I-” Emilia really didn’t have a proper answer to justify how she failed to recognize him. She could only look down in shame.

“So… an Archbishop is here in Pristella.” Anastasia let out a long sign as she said this. “That man is extremely dangerous. We need to capture him before he can cause any serious damage.”

“I will be happy to lend my sword to capture him.” Reinhard said this with determination.

“Yeah, show him everything you’ve got!” Felt immediately gave her approval to this operation.

“My camp will also be happy to assist. We have a bone to pick with this Archbishop.” Crusch said this with determination, as Wilhelm and Ferris both nodded in agreement.

“Hmph, I suppose hunting down an Archbishop could be entertaining for mineself. Very well, I will also lend you my assistance.” Thus, Priscilla also gave her support towards this hunt.

“I want to make him pay for what he did to Geuse.” Emilia said this with a hint of anger in her eyes, as Beatrice nodded in agreement.

“Furthermore, Betty must remove any threat to her contractor. Betty will banish this scum from the face of the earth.”

“I’ll crush any threat to the Cap’n!” Garfiel slammed his fists together as he said this.

Thus, an inter-camp alliance dedicated to defeating this Archbishop was formed in less than a minute. They will make this Archbishop pay for everything he did… Now they just needed to figure out how.

“Well, if we are going after him… are we really sure we can defeat him?” It was Otto that questioned this. “So far, he has seemed completely invincible.”

“Well, yeah, we have my trash knight.” Felt gestured to Reinhard.

“I know that, but so far he has been unaffected by everything. I’m not sure more raw power will be enough. I think it’s more likely that his ability has some kind of trick to it.”

“A trick…” Anastasia muttered. “Otto-kun is right. The question is what principle makes him invincible, and also gives him that much power. Once we understand that, we can find a weakness and take him down. But without that… even Reinhard might not be enough.”

Everyone in the room considered this for a moment. They all tried to come up with ideas on what it could be, but they simply did not have enough information.

“Let’s just keep watching.” It was Al who suggested this. “We don’t have enough information. But, there’s a good chance the screen will show us more about him. It’s a better shot than us just continuing to theorize.”