"Baru-tan, I don't know that we have much else to offer," Emilia told Subaru. "Elior Forest has many valuable pyroxene crystal deposits, but I doubt she'll ally with us just for a share of the mining rights."

Subaru and Emilia were stumped. Beatrice wouldn't allow the Forbidden Archive to be used as a bargaining tool, though she was willing to grant special permission to loan out a few volumes at a time. Roswaal had an enormous amount of wealth, but Subaru already knew that money alone wouldn't sway Crusch. They could offer their strength alongside shared mining rights, but they weren't entirely convinced that was enough either. Sure, they had some very powerful specialists, but they had no standing army to back them up.

'This is even greater of a challenge than I thought it would be," admitted Subaru. "We need to figure out some deep held goal of hers we could help her achieve, or else this is hopeless."

The boy looked down, unsatisfied. Emilia put her hand on his shoulder and reassured him, "We can still try, Baru-tan. We don't have a perfect argument, but she might be willing to make the alliance by splitting the mining rights and agreeing to add our strength to hers and vice versa because you're the one asking. You won't be asking for anything truly unreasonable, just to consider an alliance."

He sighed, but he looked back up at Emilia. "You're right, Emilia-tan," he said. "It's not a long shot, but it's not a guarantee either. Let's just talk to her and see if we can work out an agreement. If we need to offer more, we can offer the limited access to the Forbidden Archive that Beako is allowing us and agree to ask Roswaal for funding."

Beatrice quickly butted in, "I would prefer if my option were the last offer, I suppose. Roswaal has far more money than I do patience for people in my Archive, in fact."

The knight and half-elf simulatneously sighed, agreeing to her demand. However, when Subaru began to think again, he realized something important.

"Emilia-tan, Wilhelm must have joined Crusch's camp for a reason other than he felt like it." She looked at him with a puzzled expression, so he continued. "He lost his wife to the White Whale, so I wonder if she promised to fight the Whale in exchange for his support?"

Emilia's eyes went wide. "Th-The White Whale? That horrible monster that is known for ambushing hapless merchants on the highways, and thought to be created by The Witch? I—I guess I can see why she would agree, but how does that help us? We know practically nothing about it."

Beatrice explained in a matter-of-fact tone, "It doesn't matter that we know nothing about it, in fact. Betty thinks that the green-haired woman could be convinced with a promise to help her camp fight the Whale when it's been located, and we could help search for it, I suppose."

Subaru suddenly flashed a toothy grin and swooped Beatrice up in his arms as he praised her, "That's my Beako! You're such a smart girl, I'm so proud of you!"

Her cheeks turned red and she demanded, "Put me down this instant! You can praise me without recklessly picking me up, I suppose!"

Emilia giggled uncontrollably as she watched the scene unfold. She thought, He's so good with Beatrice, almost like a father to a daughter. That's one of those qualities that I—I really like about him.

Now that they had a plan, it was time to meet with Crusch and see if an alliance was feasible. They asked the maid attending to them if they could see her, and the maid said she would arrange a meeting right away. While they waited, Subaru had another topic of conversation.

"Hey Emilia-tan, we should invite everyone to travel with us over to Roswaal's mansion for a few days!"

Both Emilia and Beatrice looked surprised. He continued, "Roswaal did just say this would be a rare two week gap where they could come visit without imposing too much. Wouldn't it be kinda fun for all of us to travel out together?"

Beatrice flatly replied, "Betty does not mind if her contractor wishes to have others accompany us, as long as her contractor keeps giving her attention."

Emilia smiled and added, "I think that'd be nice, Baru-tan. I'd enjoy more people joining us for the ride!"

Their attending maid returned to inform them that Crusch was free until dinner, so the three made their way up to her office. Emilia found herself staring at the prominent lion theme throughout the halls; the lion represented bravery and courage, but it was also the symbol of the first King of Lugnica under the Dragon's Covenant. She remembered Crusch saying the Karsten family adopted the lion after the old Royal Family adopted the dragon as their symbol.

The trio arrived at Crusch's office, finding not only Crusch but also Wilhelm and Ferris. She greeted the trio, saying, "Welcome, I heard you wished to talk with me Lady Emilia?"

Emilia nodded. "Yes, I wish to propose an alliance between our camps."

Wilhelm and Ferris looked at each other, and back at Emilia. Crusch replied, "An alliance, huh? Certainly, it would seem beneficial for me to ally with a camp responsible for taking down an Archbishop of the Witch Cult. However, I'm curious what you have to offer besides that aforementioned prestige."

Here starts the negotiations, thought Subaru.

Emilia suggested, "Well, we can naturally offer the strength of our camp to assist you as needed, but I can also offer you a share of mining rights for pyroxene crystals in the Elior Forest. I have a map of the region, and I know the locations of many great deposits."

Crusch sat in thought for a moment. After the short pause, she said, "That's not a bad offer, but I would need more than that to form an alliance with you, I'm afraid."

Emilia lowered her head. "I thought you might say that. However, I do have more to offer. We are prepared to help you track down and defeat the White Whale, and share in the notoriety of bringing it down. Lord Roswaal would likely be willing to provide additional funding to make the battle successful, too."

Wilhelm's eyes went wide. Crusch questioned, "The White Whale? What makes you think that we want to hunt down a moving disaster like that aside from the notoriety?"

Emilia looked at Subaru, and he explained with a smile, "Well, I know you're a charismatic leader, Crusch, but I doubt Wilhelm would follow you simply because of your charisma. I think you promised him you would take it down in exchange for his support."

Ferris grinned mischievously, but said nothing. Crusch sighed and said, "Subaru, I always knew there was more to you than meets the eye. You're very sharp to figure that out from just knowing about his story. I admit, the beast has been incredibly difficult to track down, and we've barely made headway in finding out any pattern to its movements. We've found some evidence that it may appear in about two months near Priestella, but it is minimal and circumstantial."

Emilia took her chance to propose the alliance once more. "Crusch, would you join us in an alliance in exchange for being able to call on us, shared mining rights in the Elior Forest, and an absolute promise that we will put everything into helping you track and defeat the White Whale?"

Crusch smiled. "Well, I want to hear from the Margrave himself that he agrees to this. However, I tentatively agree to this alliance." She stood up and shook Emilia's hand, solidifying the alliance.

Yes! Subaru pumped his fist in the air while wearing a toothy grin. The alliance negotiations were successful, and now they had a very powerful faction they could call on for aid, though in return they could be called for aid as well. Regardless, the Emilia Camp was in a far better position with the alliance than without it.

He took his opportunity to pitch his next idea. "Hey Crusch, Roswaal mentioned before he left the event today that the next two weeks here will be a good time to receive visitors. Why don't you, Ferris, and Wilhelm ride out with us and stay a few nights? We can complete the alliance and then you three get to relax for a while before we start focusing on the White Whale. I was planning to invite Julius and Reinhard anyway, so this would be a great opportunity!

Ferris giggled and teased, "Nya, Syubaru, look at you planning syuch a getaway! It's like you were intending for it to work out this way!"

His face reddened as Crusch chuckled. She said, "We'd be delighted to accept your invitation, Subaru. A vacation would do us some good after the stresses of recent times."

Right as they settled that matter, a few servants entered to inform the group dinner would soon be served, and their guests had arrived. Crusch needed a few more minutes to find the documents she wanted to work on after dinner, so she excused everyone else for dinner. After a modest walk through the manor, the group minus Crusch met up with Julius, Reinhard, and Felt in the dining hall.

Subaru didn't waste any time with invitations. Julius said he could travel immediately with him, but Reinhard said he would have to confirm with the Royal Knight Commander first before he could travel. Felt wanted to travel as well, but Reinhard denied her because he wanted to personally guarantee her safety. They agreed that if he was granted permission, the two of them would travel out as soon as the day after tomorrow.

Crusch arrived soon after and took her seat at the head of the table. All eyes were on Subaru, anticipating the story of how he defeated Capella. Felt was the first to ask: "Big Bro, tell us about the fight with the Archbishop!"

Sheepishly, he said, "Well, it's a rather long story, and it actually starts with the fight at the loot house."

He took them through the events leading up to Capella's arrival at the mansion. Elsa was one obstacle planted by Capella, but she also had an assassin waiting in a nearby village to attack using mabeasts. After capturing that assassin, Capella showed up to get revenge on Subaru and company. Capella transformed into her draconic form mid battle, and was tied down by Beatrice's drain spell. They were surprised when Elsa joined the battle on their side, and Subaru decided to try formulating a new spell entirely.

"Wait, a new spell?!" Julius exclaimed. "You're telling me, in the middle of battle, you were inspired to come up with an entirely new Yin spell to deal with the threat? That's incredible!" The whole table, minus Emilia and Beatrice, looked like their jaws would fall off their faces.

Sheepish as ever, Subaru explained, "Beatrice told me it was possible, and after I got the inspiration, I made a new spell I call Rift. Using the spell, I separated Capella's consciousness from her body so Elsa could slice it open using her Yang-enchanted blade. With her heart cut up and incinerated, Capella was unable to regenerate and died."

He then sadly noted, "Unfortunately, the spell was too overwhelming for my former quasi spirits, and they destabilized. Beatrice used magic to ease their pain and return them to the Od Laguna. It was shortly after that when Beatrice and I formed a contract."

Reinhard was amazed. He explained, "Subaru, I've never heard of anyone in recent history who could invent a new spell on the fly. It usually takes years of study for the best mages and spiritualists to come up with new forms of magic. That act alone places you above the vast majority of magic users within the world!"

Ferris added, "Reinhard-kyun is right, Syubaru. You might be one of the best myagic users in the kingdom if that's true, nya~!"

Best in the kingdom? I seriously doubt that. Subaru knew the truth; if not for the vision in the Shadow Garden, he would never have thought of making up new magic spells. It was gratifying to be praised, but he really didn't feel like he deserved it. The Witch, true to her name, was the one with that level of command for magic after all.

Julius then said, "It's terrible what happened to your spirits, Subaru. I'm thankful that Beatrice-sama here could do such a nice thing for them. I'm curious, though, why did she then contract with you?"

Beatrice answered herself, "Isn't it obvious, I suppose? I was impressed with Subaru, in fact."

That wasn't the whole truth, but it was all she really needed to say to anyone who asked. No one needed to know about her criteria for choosing a contractor or how exactly it was that he impressed her. She was content to let them think his combat prowess was more than enough to impress her. It didn't matter how much it pained her to let them believe that, it was better than the full truth.

Subaru could feel a bit of discontent coming from Beatrice, but he wasn't going to bring it up in front of all these people. She was still a very secretive spirit, and it would be a while longer before she was willing to drop her guard even just for him. He thought to himself, I hope I can help you overcome whatever makes you unable to smile and enjoy yourself.

After an awkward pause, Julius smiled and replied, "Ah, but of course. I'm not sure why I thought there would be more to it than that."

Wilhelm added, "It seems that Sir Subaru here is slowly building his own little legend in our land, and all of us here get to bear witness to its humble beginnings."

Several at the table chuckled, but they agreed with him. Beatrice smugly said, "It only makes sense for my contractor to be legendary, in fact."

Emilia tugged on his sleeve and told him, "I know I can't wait to see what my legendary knight ends up doing!" She giggled as his face turned slightly red.

Dinner was soon served as those present continued to press him for more details. He made sure not to mention that they had released Meili from confinement, which Emilia and Beatrice also kept quiet about. As far as Subaru was concerned, it was like telling a room full of children stories about the ancient samurai and ninja from bygone eras.

Felt was totally focused on him, glowing like a child meeting their personal hero. Julius looked so proud that Subaru felt he might explode with joy, while Reinhard and Ferris stared on in awe. Only his own camp, Crusch, and Wilhelm managed to maintain neutral expressions through the entire event, though the latter two were still very absorbed by the story of his harrowing experience.

Emilia found herself lost in her thoughts as Subaru continued to entertain those around him. What did she ever do to deserve a friend, or rather, a partner like Subaru? Her whole life, as far as she can remember, had been nothing but misfortune and misery. She believed it was because she somehow deserved it for looking like the Witch.

Not only did she look like the Witch, but she has done nothing to really help anyone either. She was just a loner half-elf living in a frozen forest, and she did nothing except forage for crystals and frighten every living being in the forest. Then there was the matter of the frozen elves—was she responsible for freezing them? Puck claimed not to know, but was adamant that it couldn't have been her. Despite that, she still harbored the fear that she was responsible for their condition. If that was true, then she is a monster, and she deserves no kindness from Subaru or anyone else.

"Emilia, are you ok?" She was immediately brought back to awareness by Subaru.

"O-Oh, yeah, sorry Subaru!" she sheepishly responded. "I guess I was totally in a fog right then!"

Subaru quipped, "I've never even heard anyone say they were 'in a fog'!"

After a few chuckles at Emilia's expense, Crusch declared, "Friends, the night is upon us. Most of us are going on a journey tomorrow, so we should probably wrap up our dinner. Julius, Reinhard, and Lady Felt, thank you for joining us tonight."

Felt replied before Reinhard could, "Yeah! Thanks for inviting us! Don't worry, I'll be sure to demand that Reinhard gets some vacation time so we can come visit Big Bro as well!"

With that, the dinner party ended. Julius, Reinhard and Felt went back to their respective homes while Emilia, Subaru and Beatrice went up to Subaru's guest room to settle down. All three were worn out from the long day, but Emilia was definitely more exhausted than either of the other two. The relief she felt was tremendous, however. She spent months practicing for this day, even though it had all changed roughly a month before after they had defeated Capella. There were still two years remaining before the next event, and she had far more time to prepare.

As the half-elf sat aloof in her thoughts, Subaru and Beatrice were talking about their plans.

"Betty hopes her contractor understands that she will still be sitting next to him on the ride back," she said drily. "Your girlfriend and your brother can fight over who gets the other seat, but one of them will have to give up because Betty is guaranteed a seat by her contractor, in fact."

"Well, I'm not going to argue that point," he said. "All I want to know is how you went from completely indifferent toward me to clinging to me like saran wrap!"

"Betty has no idea what 'sir-ann wrap' is, but it's only natural for a spirit to enjoy a close bond with their contractor, I suppose. I didn't see you complaining about your quasi-spirits always floating around you, so why should it be any different for me?"

He was stumped. What she said was absolutely true—the quasi-spirits had never left his side for a minute if they could help it. Maybe he's thinking about this the wrong way; It's not that Beatrice is a clingy little girl—she's a spirit, and spirits want to always be around their contractors. Is it because she has the appearance of a human child that throws him off?

"It's definitely because Betty looks like a little girl, in fact. You were so used to spirits as small orbs of light that you can't reconcile Betty, who's shaped like a little girl, being a spirit and not a child, I suppose."

"When did you become a mind reader?" he whined.

"Betty isn't a mind reader," she said without skipping a beat. "Her contractor is just very easy to figure out, I suppose."

"Now that's just mean!" he exclaimed.

After pouting at Beatrice's smug smile, he noticed that Emilia was totally disengaged from the conversation. Normally she would have giggled or commented on his and Beatrice's witty banter, but she just sat silently looking at nothing in particular.

"Emilia-tan? Are you ok?" Once more he brought her back to reality. She shook her head lightly before turning to face him again.

"Sorry, Baru-tan. I'm just really tired, and I have a lot on my mind," she softly replied as she rubbed her eyes. "Maybe I should go to sleep a little early since the day was so exhausting."

"I get it," he replied. "Go ahead and get some sleep, Emilia-tan. We don't want you to be exhausted and sleepy during the ride back to Roswaal's manor."

She then excused herself back to her room for the night, leaving just the blonde spirit and her contractor. Despite how tired they were, neither were ready to go to sleep yet. As the two sat in silence, Beatrice felt that it was time to broach a topic that had been bothering her.

"Subaru, I mentioned earlier that I wanted to talk about your nightmares, I suppose. The things I hear you say can be very...concerning, I suppose."

He felt sweat form on the back of his neck, and he nervously turned to face her. "Oh, um, w-what do you mean by that? I didn't know I was speaking out loud while I was asleep."

"You spoke of...death, I suppose. It was as if you were experiencing being killed violently." She gazed intensely at Subaru. "Yet, you are alive and well, in fact. Does my contractor just have an overactive imagination, or is there something you need to talk to someone about, I suppose?"

Subaru responded shakily, "Would you believe me if I actually said it was just 'overactive imagination'?"

She sighed. "I can sense you're not being truthful, I suppose. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, I suppose. That said, I hope you'll reconsider. I don't want my contractor to be burdened by his own thoughts if I can help at all."

He knew that she meant well. Sadly, the problem wasn't that he didn't want to talk about Return by Death and its profound impact on his psyche. It seemed that The Witch refuses to let him talk about it with anyone. She claims to love him, but she won't even let him get the pain off his chest. If only she would let him open up, even a little—

"Subaru, does it have something to do with The Witch?"

He spun right around, looking wide eyed. "B-Beako! What makes you think that?"

She calmly explained, "Back in the Forbidden Archive, I asked you why you lied about having that Divine Protection. You began to explain, but then you were flooded with The Witch's scent, and you began bleeding, I suppose. Are you having bad dreams because of your connection?"

Can I get away with just saying, 'Yeah, sorta'?

After scrunching up his eyebrows and considering it, Subaru decided to take the risk.

"Well, the bad dreams aren't directly caused by the connection, no. It's more like, um, a side effect?"

So far so good. How much deeper will I be allowed to go?

"What do you mean by a 'side effect', I suppose?"

"It's—it's hard to explain without being penalized."

I guess she'll let me mention the penalty if it's been observed before.

Beatrice sunk into her seat. "That doesn't give me a lot to work with, I suppose. But you're being truthful, so I have no choice other than to accept what you're saying, I suppose."

Before Subaru could start responding, she quickly demanded, "Put on your nightclothes. It's time to go to sleep."

He sighed, but agreed to do as she asked. After changing in the small restroom, he got into bed. However, he then felt someone else get into the bed with him.

"Wait, Beako, what are you doing?" He stammered. "You have a bed, too, why aren't you using that?"

"Isn't it obvious, I suppose? I can easily drain your mana, and then I can just stay here ready to help you calm down if you start having nightmares again. Besides, there's nothing wrong with a spirit and her contractor sleeping in the same bed. You're just uneasy because of my appearance again, I suppose."

Subaru half-heartedly chuckled. "Y-Yeah, I guess so. Don't tell me this is going to be a regular thing?"

"Of course it will, I suppose." Not a hint of sarcasm could be found in her voice. "If you're concerned about being able to sleep beside someone else, then you'll just need to get a larger bed, I suppose. It's time to sleep, just stay still so I can drain your mana."

He didn't even have time to react before she drained him. Just like that, he was fast asleep. Beatrice rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling.

She thought to herself, My contractor is truly an enigma, I suppose. He must be the only person in the world to have a magical connection to The Witch without being either a cultist or simply evil.

There were no indicators that Subaru was evil or even a member of The Witch Cult. He was far too simple minded to maintain a façade of this kind for over two years, and she would have noticed miasma corruption while draining his mana all those times. Feeling satisfied with what information she could reasonably gather, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift off to sleep.

Amid a field lit only by the moon and stars, a woman lied in silence, staring into the sky. As she observed, the stars rapidly began to shift positions. It was a feverish dance of the heavens above, and their shapes were a message to the woman. The forms were senseless, yet they were ominous in a way. She went to look at the moon, and found herself looking directly into a reflection of her own amber eyes, sending a jolt of panic through her entire body.

The woman shot up in bed, breathing heavily. It was just a dream, she thought with a sigh of relief.

I'm still myself. I'm not stuck in a field, watching the stars fly in a terrifying pattern.

She ran her fingers through her long green hair, and looked around the room. This was still her bedroom in the manor she inherited from her father.

I must be anxious, after the Selection event and hosting my friends.

The young noble layed back down in her bed, and closed her eyes. Before going back to sleep, she thought, I hope nothing bad happens during tomorrow's journey.

Beatrice never had trouble waking up, which she always found remarkable. After all, she did not require sleep; she spent over 400 years awake guarding the Forbidden Archive. Regardless of her ability to wake up reliably, she found herself unable to actually get out of bed. Her contractor had rolled over in his sleep, and had accidentally trapped her under his arm.

"I'll have to wake him up now, I suppose." She used her arts to lighten Subaru, before pushing him just hard enough to send him rolling right off the bed and onto the floor.

"Ah! Beako, what was that for?" Subaru whined as he flailed around on the floor.

"You were preventing me from getting up, I suppose. Be grateful all I did was motivate you to wake up as well, in fact." Despite her harsh, sarcastic tone, it was clear that she enjoyed her prank quite a bit.

"No fair," he grumbled. "You could've at least tried to be gentle!"

"You didn't have any nightmares this night, I suppose," she said as she ignored his complaints.

He stopped his mini-tantrum. "Really? I guess having you there beside me really did help. Thanks, Beako."

"You're welcome, I suppose," she said with a smug smile. "Before you get all sappy, we have a long day today, I suppose. You should get ready. Bubby and his contractor will wake up before much longer, and then it will be time to go back to Roswaal's mansion, in fact."

He rubbed the back of his head as he reluctantly got off the ground. "Yeah, you're right, I suppose."

She turned and looked at him with sharp eyes. "I suppose my contractor would prefer to stay on the floor then?"

He felt a ton of pressure on his back, trying to get him to collapse on the floor again. "Ack! I'm sorry Beako, I'll stop making fun of your tic!"

The pressure was released, and he sighed with relief. She huffed and replied, "At least my contractor knows when he is outmatched." With that, the two got ready for the day.

Subaru didn't encounter Wilhelm in the bath this morning. With no one else to talk to, he only took a few minutes to relax before ensuring his cleanliness and heading back to the room to put his uniform on. Emilia woke up soon afterward and walked into his room to say hi before getting ready herself. The three agreed to meet in the main hall after she was finished, where Crusch's group would be waiting with some food for the road.

Once Puck had finished braiding her hair, Emilia moved to rejoin Subaru and Beatrice. Somehow, she couldn't stop marvelling at the differences between Crusch's manor and Roswaal's. His manor was more than accommodating enough, but the design was remarkably simple. The interiors of the Karsten manor, however, were very intricate. The halls seemed to tell a story as you walked through them, with meticulously placed artwork adorning finely-carved wooden frames built into the walls. Everything down to the tiniest bit of decor was part of the story, and even the lamps seemed to be involved somehow. She simply couldn't imagine living somewhere like this and not be distracted by just moving around the manor throughout the day.

After her trip through storybook halls, Emilia arrived to find everyone waiting for her. She blushed slightly, feeling embarrassed at having slowed everyone else down.

"I-I'm sorry, everyone!" She sputtered out. "I'm all ready to go now, I didn't realize I was so behind."

Crusch consoled her, "Don't worry, Lady Emilia. We're still a little ahead of schedule, so you weren't keeping us waiting. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting Julius to be here and ready quite so soon either."

The aforementioned purple-haired knight bowed. "I have a propensity for showing up early, it would seem. However, it makes sense for today; after all, I don't want to risk not getting to talk to Subaru during a leisurely ride out into the countryside." He smiled sincerely, making Subaru off to the side blush.

"Geez, Julius, I know we're brothers and all, but that line seemed a bit excessive!" He cartoonishly shook his arms, eliciting a chuckle from all his gathered friends.

Crusch took the opportunity to interrupt, "Well, friends, we should be on our way. We've got a long journey ahead of us."

Wilhelm volunteered to drive the carriage, leaving a little extra space on the inside. Emilia and Beatrice sat on either side of Subaru, while Ferris sat between Crusch and Julius opposite him.

The group finally set out, and the first topic of conversation was where they planned to stop for lunch.

"The obvyious choice here are the fields besyide Flugel's Tree, nya~!" Ferris took no time to point out the obvious. They had a full picnic ensemble awaiting them, specially catered by Crusch's talented chefs. Most travellers on the Lifaus Highway liked to stop by the tree if they needed a break, or they simply wanted to admire the endless plains broken by the single, massive tree.

Everyone else smiled at Ferris' suggestion. Even Julius said, "I wouldn't mind a nice picnic on those fields," which earned him a light jab in the ribs from the catboy.

As they chuckled, the carriage finally went through the capital's outer wall, and they were officially underway to the Mathers domain. Subaru could feel a slight tingle of excitement, and he was looking forward to showing his friends where he was, not to mention how much he was looking forward to spending some time with Emilia before she had to go around and seek the support of the nobles of the Mathers domain.

Over the course of the few hours to Flugel's Tree, Emilia took some time to get to know her new ally, Crusch, better. Subaru, meanwhile, was doing his best to not only entertain his needy spirit but also hold a conversation with Ferris and Julius simultaneously.

He thought, This must be what it's like to have a child! At least I know I'll be ready when Emilia wants to have a family...right?

"Everyone, it seems we're getting some clouds as we approach Flugel's Tree," came Wilhelm's voice from outside.

Subaru groaned slightly, but Emilia pointed her finger at him and lectured, "Subaru, just because it's cloudy doesn't mean you should be upset. It's just clouds!"

Subaru sighed and explained, "Emilia-tan, it's not the clouds I'm worried about, I'm worried that the picnic will be ruined if it rains!"

The carriage was quiet for a moment. Beatrice facepalmed, while the other three held blank faces. Emilia sputtered, "I-I know! I was just, um—never mind." She sat back down and faced away from Subaru, much to his exasperation.

Julius chided with a smirk, "That's no way to treat your lady, Subaru."

Crusch added with a slight smile, "Yes, even if you think you're right, it's still best to not try and preemptively correct someone of a higher station than you, even if you're friends."

Beatrice dryly commented, "My contractor has a ways to go in the social skills department, I suppose."

Subaru exclaimed, "Wait, when did this become 'gang up on me' time?" With a defeated expression, he laid back against the carriage bench, head facing the ceiling. He then felt a tap on his shoulder, and looked over to see Emilia looking back at him.

"I'll forgive you this time, Subaru, if you promise to take Julius and Crusch's advice," Emilia softly said. She playfully smiled, knowing she had the upper hand again.

He sighed and agreed, "Alright, Emilia-tan, I promise!"

She clasped her hands together and smiled wide. As Subaru prepared to speak again, they were interrupted by Wilhelm calling into the cabin.

"Pardon my intrusion, everyone, but we have arrived at Flugel's Tree. One moment while I park the carriage."

After coming to a stop, the friends exited the carriage to the awe-inspiring sight of the fields broken only by Flugel's Tree. The clouds covering the sky were mildly disappointing, but they did make the surprisingly hot day easier to tolerate. Subaru, Julius, and Wilhelm set out a large picnic cloth and began to secure it to the ground while Crusch, Emilia and Ferris unloaded the food and drinks. Beatrice joined Subaru after the picnic was all set out, and so the group sat back and enjoyed the mild breeze as they ate.

Julius found himself staring off into the distance just past the tree, lost in the beauty of the landscape. After staring at nothing in particular for a while, he noticed a small creature approaching slowly. From a distance, it looked like a medium-sized hare with albinism. He couldn't help but to stare at the harmless-looking rabbit as it slowly hopped in the general direction of the picnic.

"Julius?" Subaru called out to him, breaking his strange hyperfixation.

"Sorry, Subaru, I found myself watching a white rabbit hopping around over there." He rubbed his temples as he took a deep breath.

Crusch raised an eyebrow. "A white rabbit, you say?"

Julius nodded. "Yes, it's just over there." He turned to the side, and was stunned to see the rabbit had gotten much closer while he wasn't watching.

"It seems like it's intending to disrupt us, I'll chase it off really quick." He got up and began walking toward the rabbit, as Crusch watched.

She narrowed her eyes as she examined the rabbit. Suddenly, her eyes went wide as she recognized the particular rabbit approaching them, and she jumped up.

She shouted, "Julius, wait, get away from that thing—!"

The startled picnic-goers all looked up in confusion, only to be greeted by the sight of Julius' freshly severed arm flying toward them.

"Julius! No!" Subaru panicked and jumped onto his feet along with everyone else, but it was too late. The Greatest Knight didn't even have a chance to react before the rabbit had torn his head clean off his shoulders. Not only that, but the one rabbit had suddenly become fifty, and were surrounding the group.

Crusch shouted, "Everyone! We're under attack by the Great Rabbit!"

The rabbits wasted no time beginning their attack. Crusch had already blasted away one entire side's worth of rabbits with her hundred-man strike, but the other side quickly found themselves dangerously close to being overrun by the other rabbits.

"El Minya!"

"Ul Huma!"

Emilia and Subaru called upon as many crystals as they could, with Emilia trying to eliminate larger groups and Subaru aiming for individuals. It made little difference, however, as the Great Rabbit was multiplying much faster than the two's magic could possibly keep up with. Crusch rushed over and cleared space with another hundred-man strike, and they all quickly ran back through the opening to regroup on higher ground.

Subaru was in bad shape. While the rabbits hadn't landed a strike on him, the sight of Julius slaughtered right in front of him was less than helpful for his already-fragile psyche. Emilia was shaken to her core, and Beatrice was having trouble dealing with the overwhelming flood of fear coming from her connection to Subaru.

The rabbits kept up their attacks, as Crusch continued to try and push them back using her signature attack. Wilhelm attempted to keep them from flanking the group, but struggled with the sheer number of rabbits advancing. Subaru snapped out of his moment of mourning and began firing more Minya spells, which also got Emilia to refocus on fighting the rabbits back.

It was quickly becoming clear that the group, caught by surprise, was not going to come out on top. Crusch yelled over to Subaru, "We are not very far from the nearest village. You should take Emilia and Beatrice and warn them so they can evacuate before the Great Rabbit shows up! We'll hold them off for as long as we can before we run back to join you. If they have any guards, we should be able to make a more successful stand against them with buildings breaking up the rabbits! If not, we retreat toward the capital!"

Subaru began to protest when Ferris cut him off. "Subaru, there's a time to question your friends' decisions, but now isn't one of them! Hurry up so Crusch's big risk and Julius's death isn't in vain! I promise as long as I draw breath my lady will live!"

Subaru looked despairingly at the two, one of whom was the second friend he ever made. With a heavy heart, he nodded his head, took Beatrice and Emilia's hands and began to run with them toward the nearest village to the north.

Beatrice chanted, " El Murak!" and she floated off the ground, allowing Subaru to simply hold on and run as she floated weightlessly behind him. Emilia had wanted to question Crusch, but she felt it was best to listen to the more accomplished leader and ran alongside without complaint. Puck, strangely, was still inside the crystal around her neck, seemingly unaware of the chaos she was surrounded by.

As they ran, Emilia suddenly tripped, and Subaru had to stop himself from falling over at the same time. He motioned to turn around and pick her up off the ground, but was greeted by an eardrum-damaging shriek.

The color drained entirely from his face as he saw the cause of her fall—a rabbit had snuck up and taken one of her legs off below the knee. She screamed in pain, but Subaru was able to pick her up before the single rabbit, distracted eating the severed leg, could attack again.

She continued wailing in Subaru's arms as Beatrice now rested on top of her, casting her healing magic on what remained of her leg. Beatrice had subtly cast another Murak on her, so Subaru was able to continue running full speed as both of them now weighed next to nothing. He focused entirely on running, even with Beatrice using his mana to try and save Emilia.

He could finally spot the village on the horizon, so he tried to run even faster. Suddenly, he felt something sharp in the back of his leg, and howled in pain as he fell over, letting go of Emilia and Beatrice. He looked up to see that Beatrice had tightly clung onto him, but Emilia wasn't so lucky. She had rolled considerably away, and was being assaulted by the rabbits that had caught up without them noticing.

"Puck! It-It hurts so much! Puck, Puck, where are you?! Why aren't you saving us? Why aren't you saving me?" Her voice was filled with pain and anguish, and she had been reduced to screaming helplessly without the spirit she depended on. Subaru had to close his eyes as he couldn't bear to watch any longer, and soon Emilia's cries of terror came to an end.

"El Minya!" Beatrice shot off another spell, surrounding the two of them with large shadow crystals. It kept the rabbits from attacking them immediately, but she knew it couldn't last forever. It was nothing more than a measure to buy time while she tried to figure a way out. She also knew Subaru was quickly running out of mana between due to how much healing magic she had used.

She decided that she would have to use a teleport spell, but there was one problem. Subaru, and consequently she, only had enough mana to teleport one individual. She had run out of reserve mana using the El Minya spell to cut off the rabbit's attacks. Thus, she made the hardest decision.

"Subaru, I can teleport you to that town." She spoke without a hint of fear in her voice.

Subaru's eyes widened. "But, Beako, what about you? You're coming too, right?"

She closed her eyes. "You don't have enough mana for me to teleport myself. I'm all out of reserve mana, too, I suppose."

He tried to speak again, but she put her finger on his lips. "It's ok, Subaru. I'll get you closer to the village, and the Great Rabbit will be distracted by me so you can warn them and get treatment, I suppose. For the first time in nearly four hundred years, I got to see the outside world again, and I got to enjoy the company of someone who was willing to put up with my selfishness, and tried to make me happy, even though I don't really deserve it. I was considering finding a way to end my life before you came along, so really I was living on borrowed time anyway, I suppose. In the name of my mother, Echidna, the Forbidden Archive and all of its contents are now yours. It will automatically be linked to a particular door in Roswaal's cellar upon my death, just ask him and he'll show you."

The tears finally started streaming out of his eyes, seeing her prepared for the ultimate sacrifice. She even started tearing up herself as she looked back at him and placed her hand on his head. "Thank you, Subaru. You are the first person I have considered a friend in four hundred years. I—I hope you'll miss me as much as I'll miss you, I suppose."

Mana swirled around him, and he was teleported away. Beatrice watched as the rabbits started cracking through the crystals, aiming for her artificial body. She said to herself, "Mother, I did it, I suppose. I found someone worthy to take the Archive, at long last. I hope you would've agreed with me." She did not scream or cry when the rabbits finally broke through and got to her.

A large burst of light alerted the guards of the village, where they found a young man in a Royal Knight's uniform but missing a leg.

"Young man! What happened? We'll get you treatment as soon as we can!" An aged guard was hovering over him as a young woman wearing white robes approached and began casting very low-level healing magic on his leg.

Subaru could barely look the man in his eyes. His brother, his spirit, Crusch, Ferris, Wilhelm, and especially the girl he was falling in love with, that he swore to protect with his life, were all gone. He may not have seen Crusch and her knights get killed, but he knew there was no way the three of them alone could have taken on the Great Rabbit and possibly survived. They sacrificed themselves so he could warn this village of the incoming existential threat.

"G-Great Rabbit...is coming." He could barely talk with the weight of his failures upon his chest.

The guard's eyes went wide. "You mean, the Great Rabbit? That's how you lost your leg?!" Some nearby villagers shrieked upon the guard's exclamation.

Subaru painfully nodded. "You don't have...more than thirty minutes until it arrives. Alert the whole village, and evacuate. That's why I'm here, to warn all of you."

The guard shouted out to two other guards, "You heard him! The Great Rabbit is coming, evacuate the village!"

The three guards, evidently the only ones in this village, ran off and enlisted the nearby villagers to get everyone evacuated. The woman healing Subaru looked at him with a smile and said, "Thank you, sir knight. However you managed to get here, you have saved a great many people from the horror of the Great Rabbit. We will forever be in your debt."

He couldn't bear to look into her eyes. After all, his friends were now all dead, and he felt like he had nothing left to live for. He saved the village, but at what cost? Really, Beatrice had saved the village by teleporting him there.

After his pause to self-reflect, he finally said to her, "You should go, too. Don't worry about me, you need to save yourself."

She raised an eyebrow. "Sir knight? I am a healer, it is my duty to attend to the wounded. I can't just leave you here."

He shook his head. "You don't understand. The Great Rabbit won't wait for you to finish healing me. I also don't want anyone burdened trying to lift me to safety."

She was shaken by his attitude. "That would be incredibly ungrateful of us to leave you here after what you've done!"

He coldly refuted her, saying, "No. I've allowed two Royal Candidates to die today. Please, go join the others. If I'm here, my body will distract the Great Rabbit a while longer, and give you an extra minute or two to run. Don't let the candidate's sacrifices be in vain—leave me here, and go evacuate with the others."

She was so shocked by his story, she stopped healing. She saw the pleading look on his face, and heard the guilt and shame in his voice. After a few seconds of being stunned, she finally got back up. She bowed her head to Subaru and quietly said, "May your soul find rest in the Od." She turned and ran back to the rest of the villagers that were desperately getting the children and elderly into the few carts and carriages they had.

Finally alone, Subaru could feel the tears flow down the sides of his face again. How could he have known the Great Rabbit was going to attack out of the blue like this? Almost everyone he cared about was now dead, and if he were to miraculously survive, he'd be shunned for living while two candidates had died. At this point, he only had one option, and he knew exactly what it was.

Return by Death.

Before, he would simply die due to the circumstances around him, and then restart to a point where he could solve the problem and avoid death. Now, however, the only way to do that would be to wait for the Great Rabbit to show up and eat him alive, and he feared if he waited for that, it would break his mind so horribly he wouldn't be able to warn his friends of the danger lurking ahead.

So, that left another possibility. He could try to get someone else to kill him, which wasn't going to happen since he couldn't explain his reasoning. That left the possibility of killing himself to avoid the Great Rabbit.

Committing suicide to trigger Return by Death, though? Is that actually possible, or will I die for good since it was by my own hand? He was incredibly conflicted.

He decided to try and ask the one responsible, if she could even hear his thoughts. Will I be gone for good if I commit suicide? Please, tell me at least I can do this to try and save them?

There was no reply. All that remained was his decision. He could die to his own sword, and risk not going back, or get eaten alive and sent back completely insane and be unable to save them.

With a shaking hand, he grabbed onto his sword, somehow still at his side. He pointed its long blade into his neck, and took a deep breath. Despite every survival instinct inside him demanding he put the sword down, he plunged the blade into his throat.

Sadly, he missed the most vital parts, and no longer had the energy to end it immediately. So, he had a moment before the severed blood vessels bled out. He thought about everyone who was happily eating lunch merely an hour ago.

Wilhelm, the ardent and strong old warrior, admiring the timeless beauty of the fields.

Crusch, the Valkyrie, smiling as her green hair swayed in the wind.

Ferris, the overly-cute catboy, gazing lovingly upon his lady, looking forward to seeing her finally take a break after working so much.

Julius, his first and greatest friend, laughing as he reminisced with Subaru about times past.

Beatrice, a spirit he'd known for only a short while, yet now was his single closest true companion, who was happy to have a place among others again, enjoying her light banter with Subaru.

Emilia, who he met that fateful day in the streets of the capital city. Her silver hair shined despite the clouds, and her eyes sparkled like the purest amethyst gems.

His sight faded and hearing dimmed, and he was left with his final breath. With it, he quietly said to himself,

"I'll save them, no matter how many times it takes."

His last breath was carried away on the wind, and his consciousness melted into nothingness.

Hello everyone! Sorry for taking so long to post this. I haven't given up on this or the side story yet, don't worry. I will continue posting new chapters when I can, but things have gotten busy now that I have two jobs and I'm in the process of moving out of and into apartments right now. Thank you all for your patience, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Things are only going to get darker from here, after all.