The world was dark, blanketed in shadow beneath a cloudy blue sky: dawn. And upon arriving home, things were as bad as Subaru feared. What's worse, it was clearly in reaction to Felt's appearance more so than Subaru's disappearance—because only recently, it seemed, entire battalions of Knights filled either side of the front courtyard, cutting through the air in a flurry of slashes with flawless unity, even as the portcullis raised and lowered for the return of the king. Those to the right warmed up without acknowledging Subaru's direction, the left the same but with polearms, spears and halberds. Behind them, a group of spellswords poured over maps beside the wall, meditated while others broke their fast without a word. A few among the last group looked Subaru's way as he did theirs, but resumed their conversations or book readings after staring curiously at his appearance.

How far would Subaru's famously eccentric personality brush off suspicion? Clearly, his disappearance wasn't announced. His return should cause more of a ruckus, but it seemed in their eyes this was one of his aberrant returns, a continuation of yesterday's mysterious case.

Therefore, Emilia's feelings on Subaru's "plan" had been made abundantly clear—even more so that she trusted him until less than an hour ago. And knowing Felt, she did not mince words. Moreover, she was wont to shove them in your face whole, especially considering how… emotional she got at the former loot house.

If Subaru had stopped and thought a moment, like the Witches seemed to have, he could have seen this coming instead of believing in Felt. Wait, believing? Her reaction wasn't particularly surprising. Was it a matter of trust? Trusting her not to…

To… what, to not give a damn about me? Even though he'd anticipated her to care… that's it, Subaru realized, he was the fool here. Shame on him for trusting Felt to see his realistic and logical perspective, like she sometimes would. Rather, she chose to take matters into her own hands, like she… sometimes would also. Subaru was the fool, and yet, he had to tell himself to breathe and not be mad at Felt for whatever arguments awaited with the others.

Really, Felt's reaction was so obvious in hindsight: she wasn't just loyal to Subaru, he was someone important to her. Anything logical went out the window when dealing with the well-being of such a person.

And if it's so obvious, then what the hell is this mission you gave me, Witches?! Subaru wanted to punch himself in the face; he would for sure if no one was around. And someone was always around nowadays. Sekhmet! Did you want to make this as hard as possible?!

Blaming others again.

I can blame the Witches all I want, he thought, feeling the weight of notice as Subaru dismounted in the middle of the courtyard, but the dominos falling now were the ones I set up at the checkpoint. And not just after it. Those choices, the thoughtlessness he couldn't take back upon waking up—they were unforgivable. Oh, well. Subaru gathered his self-pity in a ball, crushing it. I have to do what I can to salvage this, he thought to the song of shifting coats, softly singing steel. And quiet, no grunts. Yeah, I have to do what I can to… I guess practice in case I need to, at the very least, reach where Echidna's hiding in the future. So, why wouldn't his chest unclench? Subaru was a king! The king! No sense feeling like an intruder in his own castle.

It simply made no sense.

So… why? As soon as Subaru's feet went squelch, three wide-eyed, human maids came rushing out the enormous front door with a couple servant boys. Subaru recognized them all, but couldn't put names to faces over the thought of what awaited him, suffocating. C'mon, why'm I—? Why have I been… so scared of the others? S'much as those damn monsters—? Subaru exhaled slowly as he heard something about His Grace's return, his bloody soles and clothes, his bruises; an order for the raptor to be put in a stable separate from Patrasche, and then word to be sent to the queen—"Wait." The maids froze in their fussing, the young lads turning from the fidgety red ground dragon they were leading by its stirrups (rope in the corner Subaru had found). "Ah, heh… Firstly, I'd like to thank you all for the warm welcome. Are you guys feeling okay?" he asked, hand on his hip. Ignoring the agony beneath his feet.

Subaru sang "fuck-shit-fuck" inside as a redhead named Monica, more freckled and well-groomed than Petra was at her age, peeped in shock. "Y-Your Grace, pardon my forwardness but… are you? "

Without missing a beat, Subaru answered, "I mean, I'm hurt. But I'm alive, and home. I'm just hoping none of you were scared." Subaru omitted saying 'worried,' it felt arrogant to act presumptuous about another's feelings at this point.

"It's just," stammered Monica, deciding her words carefully, "Your Grace, we thought something had just happened to you, is all!" Ouch, the reality was as clear as it was painful now: despite vanishing in the manner that he had, Emilia's trust in his decisions held out until—"Then, all of a sudden, the castle woke up and everyone was in a—! Well…" It seemed Monica was about to say "panic," only…?

"A quiet panic," piped the eldest present, a young girl with round glasses and braids. "Very orderly, but you could feel it in the air, Your Grace—very few servants, the kitchens already bustling. And yet, everyone was silent…" Her expression twisted in pain. "I'm sure we all figured that something awful must've happened—t-to the royal family, if neither Queen Emilia, nor King Subaru, are addressing the staff personally. That's what I thought, and it was all but confirmed after seeing Her Highness's expression when we passed in the hall. Her greeting was really forced, although… um, she apologized immediately for it twice-over." The chatterbox blushed before throwing her upper body down, skirt pinched and lifted.

A lot. A lot to take in, and Mili… Subaru ached inside, bad. Awfully. He didn't dare imagine how horrified she must feel, if not betrayed. But would reason win out over emotions? Everything seemed to depend on Emilia, and whether Subaru could succeed in the task given to him.

And yet, it ached inside. Badly. Awfully. Familiar—his heart seized in a stranglehold. I always do this to you, Mili…

Holding back tears was easy—Subaru was composed, sane, totally together and composed. Composed as a king. Kings did not cry, despite what Emilia felt; selfish, undying kings had no excuse to make the same costly, fatal mistakes three years later and cry about it.

"My King? S-sorry, that was a lot, and it seems you weren't in the know—"

"It's fine, actually. You're right, though! This's a bit to take in!" At the very least, there was comfort in this reaction to Subaru's big, brilliant plan: "Y'know, I'll never get tired of seeing how much my people love me." And just like that, Glasses' name was remembered. "Speaking of which, thanks Pansy, for giving me the lowdown all short, sweet, and to the point. That's what I was looking to get, and you delivered just by being you." He gave a thumbs up, deepening the girl's humble redness.

"M-my name is Panecilla! Um, Y-Your Grace, my humble thanks, th-though…" Her voice was back to being a soft whisper like Rem's.

"Smooth, Pans," muttered one of the twin boys.

"Shushup!"

"Anyway, guys… as you can see, I'm more or less fine. But I'm also pooped, sore, one-armed and—if I'm being real with you—more than my own wife, right now—! …I'd like to see a- healer. Preferably Lady Beatrice, if you can find her."

"I vote Gloria!" the twins and Monica chimed, to Pansy's appallment.

"You're all horrendous. That's His Grace's Great Spirit—!"

"You don't know how she was this morning, sister."

"I don't mind, not at all!" curtsied Gloria, a munchkin with pink cheeks and little pigtails. "Where do you wanna meet her, King Subaru?"

"Let me think…" The first place to pop into Subaru mind was the Reading Room; the checkpoint. A place to pull off his own version of the Witches' plan, as much as it was a place to run from his mistakes. Yeah, brain, I know I wanna reset right now, but I can't cower after putting everybody through a lot of my nonsense this loop. And the last… and, really, the first one, too. All the inconsolable crying and moaning. Nothing for them to do but listen and feel guilty for—

"Y-Your Grace?"

"Is he with us or what?"

"I-I'm good!" he yelped, to everybody's concern. "Sorry, just—! One other thing, I realized: it don't matter who, please, find someone who can get me skin on my feet. Tell Lady Beatrice, or any of the castle's appointed healers you can find—even the queen if no one else—tell whoever to meet me in…" The second place to come to mind arrived promptly: "Meet me in the… the holding cells." That made Pansy's eyes boggle, who happened to be the oldest and only one to do so. "The new ones, Gloria, not—"

"N-not the Mabeast Menagerie, we understand," Pansy said aloud. "Gloria, Lady Beatrice should cross your path if her connection to His Grace is what they say."

"Yep! Figured that!"

"Take care not to accompany her to the holding cells."

"I know!"

"That comes straight from Big Sis Frederica."

"Big Sis, I got it—!"

"Don't call me that in front of the king—!"

"Coughing noise, cough-cough," Subaru droned. The two went rigid while the other three snickered behind thin smiles.

"O-of course, Your Grace!" Gloria stammered, her cheeks pinkening further. She jogged stiffly for the double doors, twin curling pigtails flouncing cutely.

"She's a good kid," Subaru remarked fondly, more for Gloria's sake than anything else. He would feel bad, leaving her instead with awkward silence. He caught the two boys, gold-haired twins Galo and Cyrus, stealing peeks at Subaru's physical state. They were non judgemental until now, but Subaru eased their startled looks for having been caught with a smirk, shrugging. 'Shit happens,' Subaru conveyed, because it sure as hell happened to him.

"Well, that's enough standing around here. I gotta face the music."

And then Pansy was fighting between showing concern or apprehension. "Y-Your Grace? With all due respect, are you… well?" Subaru took a breath—"I-I mean nothing by it! Only health-wise, because, i-it's just, " Pansy stammered, only to exhale, "permission to speak freely, Your Grace?"

Subaru put his hands—hand—on his hip. "You don't gotta ask. I'm a king who values the feelings of his staff, remember?"

Pansy's eyes flickered to meet his, clearly mustering her courage. "Then, speaking from experience, I… I highly recommend you don't approach Queen Emilia's feelings so lackadaisically! Um, Y-Your Grace…"

Subaru frowned, letting that sink instead of reactively pondering 'Whadda ya mean?' "I was kinda hoping my composure would help soften the blow. Guess that was a bad choice?" Part of Subaru already knew that it was; the same part that was tired of this, of the awkwardness, and the pain of feeling a wall between his skin and Emilia's. And now his staff's. "Oh, who'm I kidding? 'Course it is."

"We're all in the dark, but Her Highness has been particularly…" Subaru braced himself for some variation of "crazy," only to exhale as he heard, "sharp, this morning. You'd think we were preparing for war, my king! Will you tell us what happened? Why is everyone moving around with this gloomy look on their faces?"

Secrets were hard to keep in this castle. Word got around fast.

Even so, it was foolish to think Pansy bore witness to whatever horror Daphne left behind in the holding cells. Which meant… Frederica must not have let anybody see it. Or, Emilia hadn't, rather. "The queen's decision is clear. Sorry, kids. You just gotta do the job Her Majesty's given you, and not cause either of us any trouble."

"Y-yes, Your Grace," sighed Panecella.

"Pansy, I really value your perspective. Thanks for giving it." Subaru nodded to her.

"N-no problem, Your Grace!"

"Would you guys mind taking that mount to the stables? I have to go and assess the damages."

"Wait until Queen Emilia hears the king returned," said Cyrus, "I bet she'll smile at us when we tell her, and thank us for doing a good job like she asked~"

Subaru considered stopping the knights, but decided against it, if not for the sake of time, than fighting what was sure to be a mere hurdle to the heart of the matter.

That being none other than the Queen of Lugnica's famously unbending conviction. Subaru braced himself as Pansy and Monica retrieved a troupe of devoted servants to carry their king inside, despite his halfhearted protests.

Subaru found Beatrice cross-armed before reaching the holding cells—or, more specifically, she found him, well ahead of Gloria judging by the sole child at the end of the crystal-lit corridor.

"You will put the king down this instance, I suppose! By order of the queen!"

That's when Subaru lurched to a stop in the servants arms before jerking right, entering the next, warmly-lit room of three holding cells and—and they hesitated, as if realizing they were about to throw their king in jail. "Any of them is fine," Subaru ordered in his strongest possible voice, hearing little feet march in their wake. A steel door, its bars shiny with newness, swung open soundlessly, and Subaru was lowered on the goosefeather bed inside. With a deep bow and some words, each butler and maid made their departure, every one of them owing the same to a short blonde who glared throughout them all, straight towards her contractor.

The ceiling was an easier sight to bear until it was just her and Subaru. And beyond that, following an iron boom as the final servant shut the entrance behind them. I've been thinking since Felt ditched me, and I still don't know what to say to make this alright—

"You have some nerve, being silent, I suppose."

"You didn't even give me a chance before jumping down my throat."

"Oh? You would've said something of value?"

Subaru winced, unable to argue against that—as much as he wanted to. "I dunno what to say."

"Seems not, seeing as how spectacularly you failed to convince the Felt-girl." Beatrice's firm expression twisted, her crossed arms tightening. "So, she wasn't exaggerating, I suppose."

Subaru shook his head, agreeing; there wasn't much Felt could blow out of proportion on this one. It was as bad and messed-up as it sounded.

"Then why did you come back, Subaru?"

That was easy, even if addressing his friends wasn't part of the plan. "Because I couldn't live with myself if I just up and left you all without even trying to get you to understand."

Beatrice's lips parted a moment. "You should understand our people enough to know their feelings on the matter. Well in advance."

"Well, I figured, since they never knew about Return by Death—"

"And to know that they are set," Beatrice snapped softly, ignoring him, "regardless of whatever cushions you place before the blow, I suppose."

Subaru pointed. "I caught that lack of certainty."

"Human emotions are fickle. Of course there's a chance you could pull a convincing and moving speech out of your hat, however slim."

"It's the slim chance that makes coming back worth it, though! Always!"

Beatrice inhaled, unable to take her eyes off Subaru's conviction. "Oh, Subaru…" Her voice shook.

"Beako?"

"Subaru, if your curse is the only consolation you have to give… you cannot genuinely think that's something many of us can take comfort in, I suppose. No?"

He blanched, speechless, then unable to look in her direction. "Beako, this's gonna sound really messed up, but… I have. Taken comfort, in... death... not being an end. To stand, is all! N-not-not-not in a way to justify doing manipulative things—!"

"Like right now, in fact?"

Subaru let his jaw fall, shaken to his core. Beatrice was unflinching. "I'm not… tryna manipulate—"

"Using your curse as a means to make us go agree with your asinine plan—what is that other than manipulation, Subaru!? What other sins have you committed to arrange your little life just the way you wanted?!" And then Beatrice gasped.

So did Subaru, though without meaning too—and then his throat closed, and he choked once more. "You don't mean that—"

"I don't know what you mean anymore, Subaru." Face downcast, Beatrice approached the end of his bed, feet concealing her expression. "Betty thought she had your trust, at the very least, but…"

Subaru hissed, his feet burning with a second of pain as his spirit's little hands glowed blue around them. "Convince me, then." Subaru swallowed, only for the gentleness around his feet to pinch: "Don't think a few tears earns Subaru a ticket out of the proverbial woods, I suppose! I ordered you to convince Betty!"

He reached, unable to sit up. "Agh! Beatrice—!"

She clenched her fingers again. "You convinced Betty to trust Subaru at your starting point! And then you went and lost your arm! You entrusted her to Emilia, and instead of thanks, you fly off into the night! With Mother's cronies, and no word to any of us—!"

"Of course not! I wasn't gonna let them hurt you—!" "

"Stop lying to us, Subaru! Stop lying to BETTY! If you really, truly felt this way, you wouldn't have done the things that you have and hurt us! You wouldn't have thought for a second that anything you did was fine in your Beako's eyes!"

"Wh-what the hell do you think I've been doing?! Everything I've done was to save you guys! These aren't just 'Mother's Cronies,' these are monsters who are guaranteed to slaughter us again and again unless I find a way to stop them from attacking! And right now, the best way to go about doing that is to—!"

"Yes, yes, Betty knows! You're going to sacrifice yourself like a pig to slaughter, just to discover that which you already know, in fact!"

Subaru exhaled shakily. "Wh-wh-what do you mean? N-no I don't, I dunno shit—! "

"Think, for once, you big-hearted buffoon!" Beatrice cried. "If Subaru goes to Mother, his only gain would be another helping of painful memories to keep to himself! Don't lie, Subaru!" He was too shocked to physically react. "Betty knows how your mind works! Even if you think she's an idiot…"

"I don't… think you're an—"

"No, I suppose you don't. Compared to Subaru, Betty must seem a real genius." She sniffled, glaring hollowly above his head. "But I know this much: there is nothing to be gained from having an audience with the Witch of Greed. She will only offer the contract Subaru already knows she wants, I suppose."

She said that, but… "Beatrice, you just admitted that there's a chance I could gain something from seeing her. And if there's anything I can learn that will help us, and keep us from dying, then, better than anyone in our group, you should know that that's worth the risk!" And if he couldn't convince Beatrice, what hope did Subaru have convincing the others?

"The risk being… what? Torturing yourself and us, pointlessly and tragically if you're wrong? All for the slight chance that there's something to be gained from all that pain?"

"You say that like it's an illogical course of action, when in my eyes, we oughta take any hope we have of escaping death. From my perspective, all of you are the ones who're..." And Beatrice winced, as if she was responsible for how Subaru had always operated. "I can't let my fear of pain stop me, Beako. That's all."

"But it's your fear of pain that makes us—!" Beatrice shook, laughing scornfully. "If you'd shown us half as much courage as you do death itself, there's a chance we would have already overcome the enemy, I suppose!"

Subaru was about to snap that dying was easier than hurting Emilia. "You're a little old to be believing in the magic of friendship, Beako."

For whatever reason, in this context, his jab made the spirit blush angrily. "You know I'm right, thus the retreat into your painful comic relief, I suppose." Subaru had the shame to blush back. "Well, there's some comfort to be taken in seeing you try and clean this mess, rather than run away to the next cycle."

"Even if it'll end up being pointless, all this nonsense I put you guys through has gotta be worthwhile. So long as there's that chance, there's no way I'm givin' up until I know for sure."

"Chances, chances! Is this how you've abused your curse, Subaru!? On the slimmest chances, the most ridiculous of hunches—?!"

"You bet your ass I have!" Subaru shot upright, making Beatrice wince but hold firm to his healing legs. "And I know what you're about to say, and I'm sorry, B, but we-are-not-e-nough! Ever! Yes, we're strong, and yes, we believe in each other—but every one of us is as useless as I am whenever all hell breaks loose, and we don't know what the hell is going on! So, whenever death is comin' from every which way, and we're all getting slaughtered again n' again, there's nothing anybody can do except to rely on ME to learn and to plan and to navigate the fucked up maze of our collective brains, 'til we're all outta the woods in one piece! That's what I've done with my curse, Beako! THAT'S what makes me cry in my nightmares every damn night, an' that's why I can't tell you guys fuckin' SHIT!"

"And that's why you can't trust us, I suppose?!" Beatrice wrenched away, as though this was excusable, and she was the one being emotional. "Are we truly that helpless, Subaru?! That we're more of a hindrance than an asset?!"

"Wh-what?! No—!"

"'A maze to be navigated?' That's what we are to you, I suppose?" A hollow laugh. "Silence. You don't have to soften that blow, Betty was already suspicious of your true feelings after the way you fled from us yesterday morning. Or, rather, from your 'checkpoint…' Yes, now that I think about it, Subaru must have had a rough go of it when he first got here, dealing with all of us, I suppose." Her voice was stiff and wafer-brittle.

"Beako—"

"Stop." Her eyes, squeezed shut, opened tiredly on Subaru with a smile to match. "It's okay. You've convinced your Betty."

"H-huh?" Subaru was ready for more arguing, more fighting. "What? This isn't you. Beako! Aren'tcha gonna scream and cry until I cave?"

Beatrice tilted her head, frowning. "Is that truly your impression of me? Well, all the more reason to break the cycle." Her words trembled, however strong and flat she made her voice. "Regardless! …Regardless of whatever Betty says and does, to manipulate, and to abuse Subaru…" His lack of response—the lack of denial—made her gasp sadly. "Well, what's the use in even finishing my sentence? Subaru will do as he always has, for better and for worse."

"Beako—"

"If it's to save us…"

"This isn't how I wanted it to go!" tore out of Subaru.

"Then what in the world did you want, Subaru!? What more did you want out of this than to hurt us and make us feel your pain?!" Beatrice sobbed, clutching her shawl's strings. "That's why this all started, right? Yesterday, when you first said you could Return by Death? Subaru wanted us to understand, right? He wanted us to know the pain we caused him so that he could heal, right? Right?"

She had too big of an opinion of Subaru. "I wasn't thinking any of that at the time, Beako. All I felt was… relief… that I didn't have to keep it in anymore. Which in that case, yeah—I did what I wanted, as I always have. For the worse in this case."

"And that's okay." She sniffled. "Because Betty shall do the same: what she wants, what she believes is best, regardless of how Subaru feels."

A twisted, desperate part of him was relieved to know she hadn't given up on him. "So you're gonna convince Emilia to stop me, I take?"

"Some forewarning would do you good: Emily actively went in the other direction after the little maid found us. She's avoiding you." And with that, Beatrice stepped away from the bed. "I'll leave your bruises from the waist up to heal naturally—if you live long enough for that to matter. Consider this a prick in the arse from little Beako, who is most displeased by her contractor's course of action. Though you're masochistic enough to view this as some kind of just desserts, I suppose."

She sounded so tired now. "Beatrice?" So dead inside as she turned in place robotically. "Wait!" But she did not. She didn't look back; Subaru was prepared for this, he saw it coming, but even so—"Beako, w-wait a sec!"—he didn't want this to be the end. "Do you hate me now?!"

She froze, butterfly-laden eyes wide as they turned fully on him. Subaru couldn't help but cringe as he was scrutinized, unanswered.

A ridiculous, needless question. Beatrice's face screamed, 'Why would you ask that?'

She gave a sad smirk, a briefly-lived one. "Even though you navigated Betty's maze in order to make her choose you, Betty loves Subaru forever. She's twisted enough to love this side of you, even as it makes my heart ache with equal parts... hm, something akin to 'betrayal,' but not quite, I suppose."

"Beatrice—" But nothing Subaru could say would earn back the trust he'd broken.

"The others are not going to be so easy to placate, I suppose." This was Beatrice placated? "But I suggest you approach Rem-rin before anybody else."

"Rem?" And then a feeling sunk deep in Subaru's guts—he promised a conversation last night that he was too drunk and miserable to commit to memory. "I'm almost too scared to ask, but how's she holding up?"

"Ah, a break in character," Beatrice noted drolly. "Her sister has managed to protect her heart for this long, in fact. As such, Rem-rin is the only one in our group who doesn't even know about your curse. Though, like all of us, she suspects something is amiss with Subaru, I suppose."

He had no idea. And Beatrice wouldn't have told him this if he hadn't, once again, questioned her loyalty. She doesn't hate me. She never will. No matter how much I hurt her.

Subaru couldn't decide whether to take comfort or concern in that—and that should not have been too hard a choice.

Of all things, he remembered Felt in that moment, saying literally anybody would do better with his power. Satella had to choose the weakest, most limp-wristed bastard in the kingdom to have her Authority.

Considering all that was in Subaru's life, this facet of his circumstances had to be the most tragic.

Though Emilia had turned the underground dungeons into something of a zoo for Meili's pets, the cornerstone of the kingdom still needed a place to hold criminals at a moment's notice. Being Emilia, however, she couldn't stand for less than humane living conditions, even for lawbreakers. Thus, every cell block had a barred window to the outside, brightly painted walls, and soft, clean beds.

None but the leftmost cell of the furthest block had seen any action, which it got plenty of last night: now it was smeared pink, the stone floor covered in blood-red sawdust. A hole in the brick and mortar wall shuddering with a tarp, the morning breeze warm chilling the scene with a draft. Considering Daphne's once-shackled limbs had freed her, the cause of her absurd jailbreak was abundantly clear: Minerva must have been right there when she healed Daphne's limbs, torn to pieces from the restraints. The Knights, even being well-trained as they are, must have been thrown off by the sudden chaos, the smallness of their opponents.

It made for a comical mental image, one that couldn't be real: two pairs of limbs slaughtering three Knights of Lugnica, while the whole Witch of Gluttony fell in seconds to Frederica and Ram last loop. Absurd. Ridiculous. Almost too funny to picture if this reality hadn't had hours to settle.

Settled like the air here had settled, stiff and stuffy… and rotten, deteriorating by the second the longer Subaru stood among an ever-dwindling hint of lavender. This was a clean job left to three maids. Maybe four if they conscripted Petra, or perhaps this was Frederica's handiwork; whoever, their very best failed to eliminate the smell of gore and death that lingered here.

People had died here.

Good men died tragically, because Emilia dared to prioritize her husband's mental health over her duties as a queen.

No.

Because Subaru did as Subaru does, and did something thoughtless without consideration for the bigger picture. He merely did as he always had. And because of that, Subaru covered his mouth, hunched over—keeping it in, 'cause of that, we're locked into a status quo with increasingly impatient Witches. Blaming, blaming, the Blame Game—it had to have been Subaru's favorite pastime, if he was always retreating into it.

"You don't have to torture yourself, y'know." A soft voice cooed. Subaru turned, hearing, "You must already know what happened, so, no sense wasting time getting penitent."

Otto Suwen gripped the bars beside the open cell door, his face pressed between them. Smiling about something, albeit haplessly. "You still got work to do, Mister Natsuki."

"Otto, I…"

"Don't know what to say?"

"Took the words outta my mouth, man." Subaru turned his face away, showing his cheek in preparation. "Hit me already if you wanna."

Otto rose a brow. "Why are you acting like I'll hit you over anything and everything?" He scratched the back of his head. "Granted, with how you, err, 'Return by Death,' I can't imagine the things you've seen me do over the years. Maybe that fear is a little warranted! I do have a tendency to get a little heated in life or death scenarios."

Subaru straightened as that all sunk in. "Wait, you know, too?! You were on the crapper when I woke up!"

"O- obviously Queen Emilia told me after you went flying out the window in the Witch of Gluttony's teeth! "

"Uh, oh, r-right. That makes sense."

Otto smiled, holding in a hapless laugh.

"What's so funny?" asked Subaru, daring one himself.

"Frankly, I'm not sure. The kingdom is about to fall and at least one of my friends is destined to die horribly, and there's nothing I can do to change any of it. I'd no idea what I was gonna feel, talking to you like this again, Mister Natsuki. But now that we are... I don't know! Something about your unchanging buffoonery is a comfort among all this madness." Otto turned, laying his back against the bars before looking over his shoulder, smirking. "Wanna go somewhere?"

"For what?"

"It's of course to talk, you idiot!"

Otto's Take