Emilia woke to a soft shake on her shoulder.
"Hey Emilia," Subaru's voice called out to her as she started to get her bearings.
"Oh, haa…" She yawned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, "Good morning, Subaru."
When he heard her words he checked the clock mounted on the wall of the room. "Well, good afternoon Emilia," Emilia looked at the same clock in disbelief.
"Oh, guess I overslept." She giggled.
"Don't worry about it, yesterday was pretty tiring for everyone involved." His face was brighter than normal as he spoke. He still wasn't smiling, but he didn't look empty like when she'd left him in the capital.
"Yeaaah," She stood up, "So what did you wake me up for?"
"We've been getting ready to leave, and didn't want to wake you. Now that we're almost ready I figured I should let you get fully awake and eat something." He explained.
"We're leaving so soon?" She had wanted to speak more with the people here.
"Yeah, sorry Emilia, but we can't keep Roswaal waiting." The brightness of his face shifted to distaste and anger as he said the name Roswaal. She took little notice of it.
He's right. I can't burden all the people here, and Roswaal has done so much for me and Puck, so I can't keep him waiting. Emilia reasoned to herself.
"Well, I need to go make sure Otto has the ground dragons ready, even if he can talk to animals Patrasche probably still won't be too fond of him." His eyes were filled with mirth.
"Well then, I'll go get something to eat, see you in a little bit Subaru." Emilia exited the room, to go get ready and find something to fill her groaning stomach.
As she closed the door to the room she saw Rem waiting for something outside. "Hey, Rem-san." Emilia smiled at the maid.
"Emilia-sama," Rem gave her a smile of her own. Something that seemed to melt away the maid-like formality she used when greeting her.
Emilia exchanged a few friendly words with the maid, and throughout the conversation, she noticed something that hadn't been there yesterday. A similar steel to the one that usually hid behind Subaru's eyes now danced behind Rem's own. It wasn't as strong or as unyielding, but there was a new strength there.
Eventually, Emilia bid the maid farewell, she couldn't be a burden and keep everyone else waiting for too long.
Ram watched Otto load supplies into the carriage. "Could you at least help, Ram-san?" He asked her while wiping sweat from his brow.
"What are you talking about, I am helping. I'm watchfully making sure everything goes smoothly. I thought a merchant would understand that. But I suppose I was wrong." She shook her head and crossed her arms. In reality, she was making sure she'd know if Otto tried to load anything suspicious.
So far she didn't see anything too out of the ordinary, although he had loaded some fire crystals and oil. Some of the same stuff he'd used against Ley, but she hadn't stepped in to stop him. For the most part, she trusted him, but she wanted to be sure he didn't have anything she didn't know about.
"That's-" Otto was cut off by Ram's glare. He shied away slightly. "Never mind, Ram-san."
"Hm. Looks like you realized the true usefulness of my role." She held back some of her insults. She didn't want to be too comfortable with Otto just yet. As he hadn't done all that much to prove his reliability in relation to the Emilia camp specifically.
For the next few minutes, she continued to overlook Otto's work. He didn't try to sneak in any communication or spying equipment, but she hadn't expected any. However eventually, she wasn't able to keep watch as a voice called out to her.
"Hey Ram, how's the work going?" Subaru waved to her, and let warmth flow into his normally neutral eyes.
Ram watched as Rem followed behind Subaru. The blue-haired girl's movements seemed to have lost most of their hesitancy.
"Hmph," She crossed her arms feigning taking offense at his words, "Of course it is going well, I haven't seen the merchant screw anything up too badly, although he is working incredibly slowly. So Rem can you help him out while I talk to Barusu about a few things." She requested of them.
"Of course, sister." Rem nodded and obeyed her. So she hasn't lost her inferiority complex, but something is definitely different.
Subaru took a place at her side and parted his lips to speak, "So, what is it you needed to talk about?"
"Three things. First Otto, can we trust him, and what would it take to get his loyalty if not?" She brought forward her first topic. Her voice was held low almost in a whisper, so only Subaru could hear her.
Subaru paused for a moment to think. "Buying Otto's loyalty. Huh… maybe if I'd never taken her hand I would have laughed at that."
Ram's eyes widened slightly at his words. "So then how would we get his loyalty, don't be close-lipped on this moron."
He didn't need to think about his answer. "If you're Otto's friend, then you can trust him."
Ram waited for a second to see if he was going to elaborate further. When he didn't she moved onto her second topic. "What happened to Rem? How did someone of your competency help her?" Gratitude rang out in her voice.
"It was nothing, all I did was use a method a friend once tried on me." Under his breath, he continued on. Ram was barely able to hear it with her oni senses.
"Maybe if I'd listened to you in that loop everything would have gone differently, but were you even right? Echidna was so sure you were wrong, and I'm not even really sure I could choose either side anymore." As he rambled his eyes looked on wistfully.
Ram switched on her Clairvoyance and saw he was entirely focused on Otto.
She gave him a confused look before deciding it was best not to delve into it. All she'd been able to discover of his past only made her more and more confused. She focused on Rem instead of him.
It didn't take her very long to notice the bruised skin covering Rem's cheeks. "Barusu. What was this method of yours?" Anger joined the gratitude in her voice.
"It felt like it was the right thing in the moment."
Ram was still angry about Subaru's methods, but her sister looked better than she had, so that anger melted away within a few seconds. "So you decided to force Rem to listen to reason?"
Subaru nodded in response to her question. Guilt shone through in his gesture.
"She looks so much better, thank you Barusu." Her true feelings slipped out for a second. She quickly covered it up with another question.
"And there is one last thing I wanted to talk about. Barusu, do you blame yourself for what happened to me?" She gestured to her still shaky legs.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I'll push you away for any desire to protect you." He clenched his fists, and showed off the resolve he'd gained while fighting Ley Batenkaitos.
A warm smile grew on Ram's face, but she still crossed her arms and tossed out her normal insults, "Ha. Like I would want your grubby hands pushing me anywhere. Although I would like to know if you're ill. This action seems incredibly un-Barusu in nature. It's too smart to be something that came from your skull. Although the first part is just stupid enough to be from you, so I don't think it's necessary to take any drastic action."
After a few seconds of not responding to her insult, Ram placed a hand on his arm, "Don't blame yourself for what happened to me. If you do then you're a complete idiot."
He looked over to her. Trust glowed within his eyes. "I'll try, thank you, Ram. Now I should probably help those two out." He went to go aid Rem and Otto.
Subaru stepped up to where Otto was busy struggling to get Patrasche hooked onto the carriage.
"Do you want some help?" He asked.
Otto turned and gave him an exasperated face, "Yeah a bit would be nice."
"I guess just because you can talk to animals doesn't mean they'll want to talk to you." He reached over and rubbed Patrasche's neck scales.
"Story of my life, Natsuki-san..." Otto looked down with his sad eyes.
"Don't just sit there sad Otto, c'mon I may be able to get Patrasche to not freak out but I have no idea how to hook her into a dragon carriage." Subaru beckoned Otto over to come help him.
Otto's sad expression faded in the wake of a chance to aid Subaru.
The two worked together to get Patrasche strapped in, the dragon was far more cooperative now that Subaru was here, so it didn't take Otto too long to get her hooked onto the carriage.
Once they were finished with that Subaru assisted Otto and Rem in loading the last of the supplies. A few minutes later Emilia and Crusch walked out of the mansion.
"Leaving so soon, Natsuki?" Crusch called out to him as she, and Emilia, moved over to where he was working.
He set the water he was carrying down into the back of the carriage.
"Yeah we have somewhere we need to be," An angry gleam entered his eyes. Crusch didn't grow offended by it. She'd been in enough political situations to know it wasn't directed at her.
"Ah, I see. Good luck then, Natsuki," The green-haired candidate turned to Emilia, "Let our competition be honorable from this point forward, Emilia." Crusch reached out her hand.
Emilia took it without hesitation, "Yeah let's work together, so if one of us takes the throne, Lugunica prospers." The two women nodded to each other, and cemented their alliance.
Otto smacked the reigns and spurred two ground dragons forward. The carriage started moving at a slow pace. Subaru, who was sitting next to him on the driver's bench, waved back at Crusch, Felix, Julius, and Ricardo.
The green-clad merchant gave his own small wave. "So what should I expect in the Sanctuary?" Otto asked Subaru, who always seemed to know what was to come.
"Hmm…" Subaru clasped his hands behind his head and relaxed, "I'd like to say nothing, but I know something bad will happen."
"What kind of bad?" A mix of fear and determination entered Otto's voice.
Subaru's serene face twisted in thought. "Not sure honestly." His voice eventually slipped out.
"Huh…" Otto's face grew confused. "You seemed so knowing before, and when you talked about the Sin Archbishop of Greed."
"Otto, we never ran into Regulus. I was wrong about that, and I was wrong about Gluttony." Subaru corrected him.
"Did you not expect to run into him?" Otto connected the dots in his own mind, "But if that was the case then why did you bring so many people."
"I knew I would need some of that strength for the White Whale, and then I needed enough power to beat who I thought I was going up against," Subaru explained.
"And who was that?"
"Petelguese Romanee-Conti. Sin Archbishop of Sloth." Subaru opened his eyes and thought upon the mad man. His eyes could almost be called wistful. "It would have been far easier to go up against him. And he was what all of my… intelligence, said I would go up against."
Otto thought on that for a second as he navigated the carriage through the streets of the capital. "I'm going to assume that's why you aren't sure about what we might face at Sanctuary."
Subaru nodded in response.
The two sat in silence for a few seconds. "So Natsuki-san, can I ask you something?"
Subaru's eyes watched as they approached the gates of the capital. "Yeah go ahead." His voice was quiet as he spoke.
"Why is Ram-san so mean?"
In response to Otto's words, Subaru turned to him. A small hint of humor glimmered in his brown eyes. He placed his hand on the merchant's shoulder. "You might have to get used to that if you want to be friends with Ram."
The merchant's blue eyes filled with confusion. "So she's mean to people she likes?"
"Most of the time." Subaru's eyes seemed to grow a little saddened by his own words.
"Ram-san is… confusing." Otto struggled to find the right word for a second.
The sliding window behind them slammed open, and Ram's head suddenly poked through. "You two morons need to mind your own business."
"Ah!" Otto yelped in fear at the pink-haired oni's unexpected appearance. Instead of fear, Subaru's lips tilted up slightly, and a touch of warmth filled his eyes.
"Well, I suppose it could make some sense that you would want to talk about me. I am so far above you that it can only be expected. Although I am surprised you two moron's minds aren't melted by my very existence." Ram pushed her small arms through the equally small window.
The maid's arms were flat against the wall of the carriage, and her head was poking through. At Otto's slight smile of mirth Ram's face twisted in what he could now tell was mock anger.
Subaru watched with an interested expression. "That seems uncomfortable." Some concern entered his eyes along with his interest.
"Ha. This position is in no way uncomfortable, just because your large body is inferior-"
"I'm not even large or tall," Subaru interrupted her.
"In comparison to my, objectively superior body, you are certainly tall. Freakishly tall, gangly even. It's disgusting Barusu, you're too tall." Her voice rambled as she groped for words to make her insult sound real.
"Hey, I'm tall as well!" Otto shouted with sad eyes at her secondhand insult.
"Are you?" Ram responded to him, it seemed she hadn't intended for him to take offense. "I hadn't noticed, you're just a bit forgettable," Otto picked up on the joking tone in her voice and played up his pain.
Instead of responding, he looked down at the ground in mock melancholy.
"Now look what you've done," Subaru spoke in his own false outrage, "How are we going to get to the mansion now?" Otto noticed Subaru's eyes shoot wide when he mentioned their destination.
"Oh… uh… Ram?" Subaru's voice took on a more serious quiet tone.
"What is it, idiot Barusu?" She responded.
"Is Frederica going to be mad at us?" He said.
Ram tilted her head, confused at what he was referring to. Until she finally realized what he was talking about.
"She certainly won't be mad at me. That was entirely your fault, Barusu."
"What do you mean my fault?" Otto watched as Subaru raised his voice. He could tell it was mostly pretend outrage. "You were the one who decided it would be faster to crash through the window than to use the door."
"Yes. My superior mind realized that Ley was a threat who needed to be taken care of quickly." A smug smile stretched across her face. "You can thank and praise me now, Barusu. I'm sure even you can do that. It is one of the simplest actions, after all praising me comes naturally to everyone who has spoken to me."
Subaru crossed his arms in response. "I'm sure Frederica is going to be pissed at both of us, also yes, thank you for killing Ley. It would have taken a lot longer to find another method to do it." The man's hand unconsciously stretched out and patted Ram's head. Which elicited a blush and an attempt at a scowl from the girl.
Otto looked away from the situation and whispered in the ground dragon tongue. "Why do I always feel like a third wheel?"
"Well we're also here, so fifth wheel." Patrasche swiftly corrected him.
"Hey, you don't have to be mean to Otto-sama." Otto's own ground dragon, Furfroo, came to his defense, "Although you're probably right Patrasche-chan."
"Otto-sama? Really, you think I recognize him as my master, no I only recognize Subaru-sama as my master." Patrasche answered her voice smug as she called Subaru her master.
"Betrayed by my own ground dragon," Otto whispered in the language of bugs.
"HAHA! That's rough man." A Zodda bug buzzed next to his ear.
The world hates me! Otto stopped trying to appeal to the animals and focused on driving.
The group didn't arrive back at the mansion until the sun was in the process of setting. The sky was dyed orange by the sun's waning light as they approached the mansion.
Once Otto brought the carriage to a stop Subaru stepped off, he ignored the discomfort in his leg muscles, and moved to the back of the carriage so that he could help the others get out.
He caught a glimpse of Otto starting to unhook the ground dragons from the carriage.
Subaru arrived at the back and opened the doors.
"And we're here." He greeted Emilia, Rem, and Ram.
"Of course we know we're here, idiot Barusu." Ram shook her head and stepped out of the carriage. Even with her scowl, she accepted the hand that Subaru stretched out, and let him help her to the ground.
Ram's scowl deepened at the amused gleam in his eyes, "Don't think this means anything, disgusting Barusu."
"Mhm."
He turned away from her and helped Emilia and Rem get down. Then he looked at the front of the mansion, and found a tarp plastered over the window he and Ram had burst through.
"Oh Frederica is going to be mad." He remarked.
"What did you guys do?" Emilia looked at both of them with a look reminiscent of a disappointed mother.
"Yes, what immature thing did you force sister to help you with, Subaru-kun?" Rem added her own voice to the conversation.
"Hey I wasn't the one in control, I was just the one giving Ram the mana," He tried to defend himself.
Emilia and Rem crossed their arms as if they didn't believe him.
"Alright if you must know Ram was chasing down Ley, and she crashed through that window," He pointed to where the tarp was covering one of the front windows.
"Hm, well I suppose maybe it was both of you, in that case you should both be more careful. And it's well within Frederica's right to be mad at you." Emilia scolded.
Rem on the other hand had come to a different conclusion, "Now Emilia-sama it probably was a team effort, but sister must have had a good reason for doing it."
"Of course I did, thank you for recognizing my efforts, Rem. I couldn't let Ley escape, and going through the doors would have taken far too long." An accomplished and smug smile grew on Ram's face, and she closed her eyes to add to her smugness.
Subaru seeing an opportunity, positioned himself directly behind Ram, and placed his hand atop her head. "Yep, great job Ram." His lips tilted upward a tiny bit, as Ram's cheeks grew red.
"Yes, superb job sister."
"You did great, Ram-san." Ram's smile widened at all the praise being levied against her, and her blush continued to grow from Subaru's hand rubbing the top of her head.
Eventually, Otto joined the group. "Is Patrasche doing good?" Subaru asked the merchant.
"Yeah, she grumbled that you weren't there." Otto leaned in and dropped his voice to a whisper, "A word of advice Natsuki-san, she's a bit jealous of all the attention you give Ram-san."
"Well, I'll just have to rub her scales a bit more often I guess." He gestured for the others to follow behind him as he walked over to the mansion doors.
He wasn't actually dreading Frederica's scolding as much as he claimed. In reality, he was more worried about what Roswaal might have asked her to do. The clown's book had been off ever since he'd returned to zero.
Why is his book so off? A platinum-haired woman slapped into his mind, and Nan's words when they were fighting the White Whale returned to him.
"Pandora," The name slipped out from his lips.
"Hm? What did you say, Natsuki-san?" Otto's voice was thick with confusion, as were Rem and Ram's faces.
Subaru couldn't see it, but Emilia, who was walking a bit behind him, had a look of faint familiarity on her face, which soon fell to confusion as well.
"It's… nothing." Subaru dismissed their confusion. They don't need to worry about Pandora. I can handle it on my own, and keep them from suffering.
The group didn't question him further and only followed him to the door. When he arrived at the entrance to the mansion he held his hands out and grasped the door handles.
With a bit of effort, he flung them open to see two maids standing there waiting for him. The one to his right was tall, with blonde hair that tumbled past her shoulders. She possessed green eyes which glowed in the evening light, and her demi-human teeth shone in a bright smile.
On Subaru's left another maid stood. Her head was crowned with orange hair, and there was a red ribbon wrapped through it.
"Oh hey Petra." Subaru waved to her, then, placed his body behind her own, as if using her as a shield.
Petra looked back at him with a confused gaze, "Subaru?"
"Don't worry about it, I'm just taking a precaution." He said, with an expression of pretend fear.
Frederica's smile widened at his movement, "Subaru-sama, would you like to help me replace a window, it seems someone broke our last one." Her strict gaze quickly turned from him to Ram.
"And Ram, it is a maid's job to clean up the dead bodies they leave. Did you not learn anything from my teaching?"
"Dead body?" Emilia and Petra shouted out in confusion at the same time.
Subaru scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, "Oh yeah, we did kind of… leave Ley's body here."
Frederica's smile melted away to reveal the strict appearance below. "Yes, it was quite the shock to stumble upon."
"Alright we can help with that," Subaru agreed.
Ram's face twisted into a scowl at his words, "I did not agree to this, Barusu-" The pink-haired maid was interrupted by Emilia placing her arms on her shoulders.
"Ram-san, Frederica-san is correct, when you make a mess you need to help clean it up, and you too Subaru." She scolded them for their irresponsible behavior.
"Yes, Emilia-sama," Ram bowed her head to Emilia to fulfill her propriety as a maid, and then went off to go find Ley's body.
"So Petra, I see you're a maid now, how'd that happen?" Subaru attempted to steer the conversation away from the topic at hand.
"I needed an extra set of hands while you guys were gone, so I went into the village and she was quick to volunteer," Frederica explained, "You know what I also bought, a new window, now c'mon."
Subaru stopped his semi-joking attempts to get out of work, and followed her without any hesitation or reluctance.
By the time Subaru finished his work Rem, Ram, and Petra had joined in. Petra because there were no other chores to do in the mansion, and Rem for the same reason. Ram because it was relatively easy for her to bury Ley's body in the forest outside the mansion.
Once they were finished Subaru headed back to his bedroom. Ram followed behind him while Rem returned to her own room, and Frederica showed Petra where she would be staying.
Subaru didn't protest against Ram coming to his room, he knew what her intentions were, and he was thankful. However, that didn't mean he wasn't worried about her.
As he closed the door to his room he voiced his worries, "Y'know, you don't need to sleep in a chair just so I don't have nightmares." He shed his suit jacket and laid down on his bed.
Ram's face twisted into a scowl as he pulled the covers over his body. Then her face lightened, and a smug smile spread across her lips.
Huh, that's an interesting look… what does she-
His thoughts were interrupted as she ripped away the blankets covering him, and climbed into the bed right next to him. "If you insist on me not sleeping in a chair, idiot Barusu, then I guess I just have to sleep here."
She was on her side next to Subaru who was on his back. Her smile widened as she pulled one of his arms around her shoulder. "Uhm…" He was too shocked to say anything else.
Subaru wasn't given any time to think as Ram pulled his chest into her back. "Now you get what you want, pervert Barusu."
"This isn't exactly what I had in mind," He tried to defend himself.
"Shh, I'm trying to sleep, naturally I am tired after all the work I had to do today, and I still need my rest from those injuries, so I can't be sleeping in a chair. Now shut up and stop being obnoxious, Barusu." Ram chewed him out as she closed her eyes.
This is… not what I expected. Subaru's lips tilted upward a bit more than they had in a long time. A smile would be a vast overstatement, but less vast than it ever had been before.
"Good night, Ram," He whispered as he let his own mind fall into sleep.
Rem woke on the next day with a smile, she could sense the dream her sister was having. She didn't dwell on it however, she needed to live for herself now, Subaru had shown that to her. Rem needed to live for herself so that she could stand side by side with her sister.
I may not deserve to stand side by side with sister, but Subaru and sister want me to stand with them. "I can't let them down," She whispered aloud and got ready for the day.
Today was the day that they were going to set off for Sanctuary. Rem went through her morning routine, but today instead of checking on her sister's room she checked on Petra's. From what she'd seen the new maid was a hard worker, so she would be able to get used to waking up early.
Rem opened the maid's door, making sure not to let the hinges creak as she did so, and peered into where Petra was supposed to be asleep. However, the blue-haired maid couldn't find Petra anywhere, although she was able to hear the sound of rushing water in the room's adjoining bathroom.
Already awake, she is a hard worker. Rem assessed the maid. And sister seemed to like her, so maybe when we get back from Sanctuary I can get to know her a little better.
Rem smiled and set off for the kitchen to help Subaru prepare today's meal.
Subaru woke up to a pins and needles feeling in his arm. Ram had pulled even further on his arm in the middle of the night and now its circulation was being cut off and returned again and again, perpetuating the sensation.
When he fully opened his eyes he sat up on the bed, which couldn't quite be called his bed right now, and gave a light shake to Ram's shoulder with his free hand.
"Mmh, what do you want, Barusu?" Her voice held a grumpy tone, as she responded to him.
"You need to wake up, Ram." Subaru said with a refreshed countenance, "It's morning."
Ram practically wrapped her body around Subaru's arm, "Give me five minutes." She pushed out in a voice full of sleep.
"Alright, Ram." He was easily able to brush past the slight pain her position brought to his shoulder.
The pink-haired maid knew he would feel a bit of pain, but being as she'd watched him break almost every bone in his body, during the fight with the white whale, and then shake off the injury like it was nothing, she knew he would be alright.
Although there was a twisting of concern in her heart at what he'd gone through to gain that tolerance.
Once five minutes had passed Subaru looked down at Ram and shook her shoulder again. "Really Barusu? Is your sense of time that bad it's only been like," Subaru, whose body was lifted off the bed a little bit saw her eyes flick to the clock, "Four minutes." She lied to get out of waking up.
"Well, then I guess I just have to wait one more," Subaru whispered smugly. He was nothing if not patient. Six hundred-thousand years made up his memories, so a single minute was nothing.
"Mmh, you really are just the worst," Ram shook her head, "Though there is one way you could get me up faster."
"Eh, one minute isn't all that long, Ram. Really not long at all for me." Subaru looked at the clock and watched the seconds shift by. He zoned out into a state where he could let the time fly by more quickly. However, this had the effect of him not noticing Ram turn her body around so that she was facing him.
He was entirely oblivious as she reached her head forward and placed her lips on his own. Subaru's eyes, which had been focused on the clock's second hand reaching the thirty-second mark, widened at Ram's actions, and quickly refocused on her.
His body pressed against hers as Ram wrapped her arms around his back and pulled him close.
Her lips seemed to melt against his own as their kiss stretched out. Subaru's sense of time slowed as his lips fell open and Ram slid her tongue into his mouth.
He was slow to levy his own tongue against hers, so by the time their tongues met Ram was already far ahead in their battle.
The two remained with their lips locked until Ram had to pull back to take a breath. Subaru gasped, his lungs had also been starting to ache. He'd have ignored it however, almost as if Ram's lips were Carmilla's Authority itself.
Subaru lifted his eyelids and glanced at the clock.
"There is the way you could get me out of bed much faster," Ram's cheeks burned red and a soft smile had chiseled away her tired expression.
When Subaru heard those words he tilted his head and opened his lips to correct her, "Hm. I wouldn't call that faster. It's been another minute and you aren't even out of bed yet."
"Well I was showing you for next time, I swear Barusu," She shook her head in an exaggerated manner, "You really are so much more of an idiot than I ever thought possible."
Subaru ignored her insults and wrapped his arms around Ram's stomach.
"Ah!" She yelped as he slung her over his shoulder and got both of them out of bed. "Barusu what the hell?"
Subaru waited until he had stood up, and then set her down on her feet before responding, "It's been six minutes, so it's time to start the day."
Ram shook her head and forced a scowl onto her face, "I'm going to get you for this, Barusu."
She would never admit that she'd liked it when he picked her up, so to avoid that confession slipping out of her mouth she decided getting ready for the day wasn't such a bad plan.
Subaru watched her storm off with a tilted head and lips which were slightly lifted. For a few moments he remained like that, before eventually moving over to his closet to figure out what he was going to wear.
After a few minutes of searching through his wardrobe, which was full of noble suits and butler's uniforms, he settled on a white button-down shirt and dark vest. It was an almost exact replica of the clothes he'd worn on the day Echidna shattered her contract with him.
Nostalgia burned in his chest as he stepped into the bathroom to get dressed. Seems poetic, I'll confront my mistakes in the clothes that they led to.
With that feeling in his mind, he set off for the kitchen to cook breakfast before they headed off to Sanctuary.
Subaru stepped back from the pot with his usual motion. "And it's done," Saying those words were also part of the long habit he'd built up over his thousands of loops spent practicing.
Most of the reasons for him learning to cook had faded from his mind, but he still remembered the main reason. He'd wanted to be able to taste food once more, so he and Echidna had decided to make the best food possible.
And it had worked. He'd been able to re-experience the taste of food. Tears had come to his eyes on that day when he'd finally managed to make something he could taste.
After that, they'd spent another few thousand loops perfecting his craft. It had been amazing, until eventually even his own food had become tasteless.
His own food became so bland, blending with every sensation until it became similar to breathing. The only satisfaction he'd still been able to gain from it was the wondrous looks on the faces of the Emilia camp each time they'd eaten it.
However, there was one person he'd never seen eat his cooking before he'd reset. Now that he could still talk to her, and bring her out in the open to enjoy his cooking he took every opportunity given to him. And today was no exception.
"Hey Petra, can you come with me?" He called down to the young maid who'd been helping him with ingredients.
"What do you need, Subaru…-sama?" Her maidly etiquette was still a bit lacking, but Subaru didn't mind at all. In fact, the only person who truly did was Frederica, who had been helping Rem clean up.
"Petra-chan," She started with a stern tone, "You need to unhesitatingly refer to people of higher status with the proper honorific."
"Yes, Frederica-sama," Petra said.
Subaru waited to see if Frederica was going to do any more correction on Petra's etiquette. When a moment passed and nothing happened he tapped the orange-haired girl on the shoulder and beckoned for her to follow him.
They started walking through the hallway in a seemingly aimless manner, though in reality, Subaru was searching for the door leading to Beatrice's library.
"So where are we going, Subaru-sama?" Subaru gave her a thoughtful look at her usage of the honorific.
She shouldn't have to call me that when Frederica isn't around, but she might slip up more often if that happened. Which would cause her to suffer… He didn't speak up about Petra's words, and instead answered her question.
"We're going to find Beatrice."
"Huh," She let out an involuntary noise, "Whose, Beatrice."
"Hm," He'd expected Frederica to have at least mentioned the spirit, "She's just someone who hides out in doors like-" He suddenly jumped to the side and grabbed onto one of the doors. With a quick motion, he pushed open the door to reveal a massive library. "This one."
"But wasn't that a bathroom?" She called upon her minuscule knowledge of the mansion.
Subaru nodded at her question. "Yep, she can change which door leads to her library, can't you, Beako?"
"Hmph, barging into Betty's library like that is supremely annoying, in fact." The spirit of the library proclaimed with a bored expression.
"C'mon Petra, I'm sure you're going to stumble on Beako's door sometimes, so you should at least meet her so she doesn't get all defensive," Subaru grabbed Petra's hand and led her further into the library.
"Odd, you say you're going to come back smiling, and that you'll have Betty's answer, but I don't see either, I suppose," The spirit's hopeful expression had dampened slightly in the time he'd been gone, but Subaru could still see it clear as day in her butterfly-shaped eyes.
"Well I can't just put on a genuine smile on command, and," Subaru's breath caught for a moment, "Someone once told me that everyone could tell when my smile is fake."
"Hmph, even so, that doesn't explain why you're here I suppose." Beatrice crossed her arms.
"Well I wanted to eat with you one last time before I go to Sanctuary." Subaru offered his hand to the librarian, "So how about it? One last meal before I go."
"Fine, I suppose," She took his hand and readied herself to follow him.
"Oh, and before we go, when Frederica gives me the pyroxene crystal, can you not teleport me around?"
"Hmph, fine then, Betty won't help you," She agreed to his request.
"Uhm, what was that about Subaru-sama?" Petra's head was tilted in confusion.
"Oh it's nothing, don't worry about it, Petra."
"Alright," The young girl held back more of her words due to the slight awkwardness of meeting Beatrice.
"Let's get moving, Betty doesn't like to have her time wasted this much, I suppose." Subaru shook his head at the girl's impatience but he obeyed her word and grabbed Petra by the shoulder. He redirected her course so that she was in between him and Beatrice. He ignored her surprised eyes and blushing cheeks, after all, he wasn't going to admit the ulterior motive he had in bringing Beatrice to breakfast, and in bringing Petra along with him to collect the spirit.
His lips tilted upward a tiny bit as the two girls began to talk and the orange-haired maid started getting over the distance between her and Beatrice.
It would be nice if you have someone to keep you company while I'm gone.
Once everyone had finished eating breakfast they went out to get the carriage ready to leave, aside from Beatrice who had decided to stay inside.
Preparing the carriage didn't take as long as it had yesterday, as they had more people to help out and they hadn't really unloaded anything from yesterday.
The thing that took the longest was getting Patrasche strapped into her harness, and the carriage itself. They had to wait for Subaru and Otto to ease her into it.
"No offense, Natsuki-san, but Patrasche isn't the nicest," Otto whispered to him. All he succeeded in earning with his words was a glare from the black ground dragon and, strangely enough, Ram.
"Ha," Ram parted her lips to speak on Otto's opinion, "Leave it to someone as worthless as you to criticize your betters."
"Alright Patrasche is a very strong ground dragon, and she's reliable," Otto desperately tried to backpedal out of the situation he'd steered himself into.
Subaru shook his head at Otto and Ram. "You guys are odd, also be nicer to Patrasche." The black-haired boy lightly banged his fist on the top of Otto's head.
"Ah, Natsuki-san,"
"Maybe if you apologize then you can be friends with her," A slight tone of anger had entered his voice at the man's condemnation of his trusted ground dragon.
"You're probably right, Natsuki-san," Otto turned to the ground dragon and began to make odd sounds. To Rem, he sounded vaguely like a ground dragon.
The blue-haired maid looked around at the other members of the camp. Petra was standing a little bit apart and was looking at Subaru. A hint of shyness glistened in her eyes.
Frederica was standing above the girl, as if encouraging her. The tall maid's sharp smile was showing as she held her hand on Petra's shoulder.
Rem turned her eyes to the last member of the Emilia camp, Emilia herself. The silver-haired girl was standing a few meters away from everyone else. Her purple eyes were glued to the green crystal at her neck. It shined in the late morning light, but strangely to Rem, it seemed, empty.
She couldn't quite place why it felt like that, but that was the only way she could think of to describe it.
Seeing the candidate's plight Rem stepped over to Emilia and asked her a question. "Emilia-sama what's wrong?" The maid's words were determined.
Subaru and sister both care about me, so maybe it's alright if I care about, and want to help, people too.
"Oh…" Emilia's voice was hesitant as she groped for the right words. "It's just that Puck hasn't come out in a while. He didn't come out all of yesterday, and today as well I haven't heard anything from him."
Rem brought her hand to her chin. She knew very well Puck had a schedule of nine to five, and she knew what his mana release period looked, and felt like. This was something different to Rem, and of course to Emilia as well.
"Hm, maybe he's just resting a bit after you guys put out the forest fire," Rem offered whatever explanation she could come up with.
Emilia tilted her head and thought upon Rem's words for a moment. "Yeah… that seems like it could be the case." The silver-haired girl tried to take the maid's words to heart and let her worries fall by the wayside. She was mostly successful, but a sneaking feeling that something had happened to Puck was still hiding in the back of her mind.
"Alright Natsuki-san, everything's done," Otto called out to the boy.
Subaru heard the merchant's words and spaced out. His breathing slowed as it seemed innumerable things flashed through his mind. "Subaru-kun?" Rem walked over and used her voice to shake him from his mind.
"Hm?" He looked around at reality, while a look of what seemed to be regret was painted across his face, "Yeah let's get going."
"Wait, Subaru-sama!" Petra yelled out to him and rushed over to him.
"Petra-" His voice quickly froze when he looked down at Petra's hands. Rem noticed that the girl was tying a white handkerchief around his wrist.
The girl tied it efficiently, showing that she'd likely practiced. Rem smiled at the sweetness of the girl's gesture, until she noticed the blush on Petra's cheeks.
She better not try anything.
"That's quite the good luck chaaarm, thanks for that Petra-chan," Emilia entered into the conversation to try and distract herself from Puck's disappearance.
Subaru didn't respond to her, instead, he raised his wrist up so it was a few centimeters closer to his face. Then, his wrist started to shake and Petra's eyes filled with concern.
"Subaru…?" The young girl's voice slipped out. She immediately noticed the wet spots covering the handkerchief she'd tied around his wrist, and the odd mix of anguish, remorse, and self-loathing in his expression.
"Barusu?"
"Natsuki-san?"
"Subaaaru?"
"Subaru-kun?" The four voices were all thick with worry.
He let his tears stream down his face for a minute before he acknowledged their voices. To start, he wiped away his tears with the back of his wrist handkerchief. When his face was clean he spoke to them.
"Sorry, just… remembering a few things." He started walking to the back of the carriage to get in, but before he could Emilia interrupted him.
"What memories, Subaaaru?" The silver-haired girl was desperate for something to talk about ever since Puck disappeared, so she didn't fully take into account the nature of her question.
"Less than fun ones." His voice was empty as he stepped into the carriage.
Emilia stared down at the floor in guilt at the tone in Subaru's voice. Rem wanted to speak with her, but she had no idea what to say. Rem didn't notice it, but Ram seemed to be taken by the same hesitation.
"I messed up didn't I?" The silver-haired girl whispered to herself and rubbed the crystal on her neck longingly.
Rem and Ram walked into the carriage reluctantly, but neither of them truly knew Emilia, so they had no idea what to do, and would likely only make things worse.
"Emilia-sama, Roswaal-sama requested that I give this to you." Rem caught a glimpse of Frederica giving Emilia a necklace with a blue crystal on the end.
"Thank you, Frederica-san," Emilia tried to push a smile onto her face, and attempted to bring determination to her eyes, but anyone who saw it would be able to tell how hollow it was.
The silver-haired girl stepped into the carriage with her head hung low.
"I'm sorry, Subaru." Emilia sat down next to him and apologized, which earned a guilty expression from the boy.
"Don't worry about it, Emilia, you didn't do anything wrong," His eyes glowed with a determination of his own. In its presence, the half-elf's lonely heart was soothed for now.
After a few moments of the carriage remaining still, Subaru reached over to the sliding window cover and pulled it open.
"What's going on Otto?" He poked his head through the window as Ram had done yesterday, however in her place Subaru could barely fit his head through.
"Idiot Barusu, he could just talk through the window," She shook her head in mock disgust for his behavior.
Subaru ignored her eternal false criticisms and waited for Otto to answer him. "Frederica's giving me the directions, we'll get going in a second, Natsuki-san." Once he was done listening to the merchant's words he pulled his head back through the narrow window.
"That was stupid, Subaru-kun, why'd you do that?" Rem asked him in, and in response, he shrugged.
"Barusu really is just an idiot," Ram commented as Otto whipped the reins outside and the group set off.
He didn't respond to either of the sisters, instead, he let out a whisper full of nostalgia and regret "Time to go to Sanctuary."
As Rem gazed upon the mansion getting further and further away, she couldn't help but feel anxiety at the prospect of facing Garfiel. And she couldn't shake the sinking feeling that the golden tiger wouldn't be the worst of their problems.
Trees rolled steadily past Subaru's brown eyes. They'd entered the Sanctuary at Kremaldy now it was just a matter of time before he had to confront his mistakes once more. And after what had happened with Ley, he had no idea what he was getting into.
How do I take on everyone's suffering, and liberate the Sanctuary in a way they can still smile? He ran through everything in his own mind, but he still couldn't tell what he'd done wrong. The most he knew was that Emilia had to pass the trials herself.
A flash of short silver hair blossomed in his mind.
"What should I do today, Subaru?" He forced himself to focus on Emilia who was sitting next to him.
She's still Emilia, and that future isn't set in stone. He couldn't handle the hollow sound of his own thoughts.
Instead, he focused on his reason for fixing his mistakes. His eyes shifted to the right and affixed themselves to Ram, who was relaxing with her head on his shoulder.
I have to move forward. To find the real perfect outcome.
He wrapped his arm around Ram's shoulders and rested his head on her own.
For the next few minutes, they were able to relax in relative peace before Rem's voice interrupted the silence.
"We should be alert now, we're growing close to the barrier," Her eyes held a twinge of guilt at messing with Subaru and Ram, but she couldn't stand by and let guilt paralyze her anymore.
At her words, Subaru switched his focus from Ram to Emilia, and more specifically the pyroxene crystal around her neck.
I need you to hold up on your end Beako.
Everyone could feel the air of focus Subaru was giving off, and they all breathed in short gasps.
An upwelling of blue light destroyed Subaru's calm focus. He jumped up from his seat and pounced on Emilia, and without hesitation lifted the crystal from her neck.
Once he had the necklace firmly in his own hands its light faded, along with Emilia's consciousness.
"Subaru…?" Her voice seeped out as she fell to the floor. She tried to lift herself up, but she couldn't fight against the barrier's effects.
Her eyes drifted closed, and a final whisper escaped her throat, "Puck?"
Puck, another mistake I'm going to rectify. However, he couldn't expend too much thought upon the feline spirit at the moment. There was another spirit who needed his mind for the moment.
Was Beako threatening to teleport Emilia? He ignored the confused looks from the two maids who were checking on Emilia's condition.
It wasn't long before he discovered something he believed could be Beatrice's reason.
"Oh…" She was blackmailing me, so that I would have to take the crystal. Damn, I asked her not to teleport me and she pulled this.
"That's pretty damn clever, Beako," He commented as he put the crystal in his pocket and checked on Emilia's condition as well, "How is she?"
He directed the question at Rem, who had been trained in general medicine as soon as Roswaal had noticed her talent for healing magic.
"As far as Rem can tell nothing wrong, although that's my judgment so-" Rem was interrupted by Subaru's eyes, which were filled with slight anger.
He placed his hand on Rem's shoulder, and gave her a gaze saying to restate her answer.
"Nothing is wrong with her other than she's in a slight coma-like state, but from what I can tell it will fade soon," She held herself from saying anything self-deprecating.
Subaru gave her a warm gaze and a tilt of his lips. He didn't notice the even warmer smile on Ram's face.
You found a way to help sister, Her smile remained even as a scream came from the driver of their carriage.
"I'm not an invader, what are you talking about?" Otto yelped out in pain the sound of a fist slamming into him entered their ears.
"Well 'f my amazin' self roughs ya up a little, and ya don't have any secrets t'hide than I'll stop." Subaru easily determined that fierce voice belonged to Garfiel.
Ram stood up from Emilia's side with an exasperated look on her face, although her warm smile remained, granted it had dampened slightly.
"Watch over her," Subaru requested from the blue-haired girl as he followed Ram outside. He was able to catch Rem's nod in his periphery before he went.
Ram was shaking her head as she stepped out and into the clearing they'd been stopped in. Subaru didn't focus on Garfiel and Otto at first, instead, his eyes were locked on the stone structure at the clearing's edge.
"Discuss." A word from his dreams called out to him. He himself didn't even know where it was from, or who had spoken the word. Although his legs did start instinctually carrying him toward the castle.
"Garf," It took Ram's stern voice to shake him from his odd stupor. He flicked his eyes to the maid, demi-human, and merchant.
"Ram?" Garfiel's eyes jumped between her and Otto, whose shirt collar was in the blonde boy's hand. He thought about where the maid had come from, before dropping Otto and dusting himself off.
"Hey, Ram," Garfiel's face blushed as he walked up to the girl.
Ram crossed her arms and glared at him, "Really Garf, honestly, you need to stop causing trouble everywhere you go."
Garfiel smiled at her words, finding whatever hidden praise he could, "That just means my amazin' self can cause enough trouble to protect the Sanctuary, but seeing as yer here I'll help this merchant dude find a way to where Roswaal is living." He figured out pretty easily that they were trying to get to Roswaal after all he'd been expecting them, but when he saw only Otto he couldn't take any chances that they were Witch Cultists.
Subaru observed Garfiel with a hesitant expression. What happened with Garfiel was another one of my mistakes, but how do I fix it this time?
He ran through the faded memories of his days in the Sanctuary, they were held in place by the remnants of his contract with Echidna, but it seemed like even that couldn't keep them in perfect condition for hundreds of thousands of years. In any case, he did his best to recall whatever pieces of his memory he could, which included his extensive trial and error within Sanctuary itself.
This is going to be annoying. He tried sorting through almost all of his memories of the Sanctuary looking for any loops where Garfiel had liked him, but after the first one, he couldn't find much of anything other than the occasional politeness directly after starting each loop.
His eyes analyzed the demi-human until Garfiel noticed his gaze. "Hey what're you lookin' at?"
"Nothing, just thinking," Subaru answered his question before walking over to Otto. "Do you need some help getting up?" He questioned the man who was still on the ground.
"Uh, sure Natsuki-san," Otto and Subaru both ignored the suspicious look Garfiel was giving the black-haired boy.
Garfiel scanned Subaru and Otto with his green eyes. He cataloged their movements and the short conversation that passed between them.
Friends probably. He watched as Otto got back onto the bench and waited for him. Subaru walked over to where Ram was standing and waited with her.
Otto doesn't seem too bad, but that Natsuki guy. He's… Suspicion rose in Garfiel's mind. The demi-human couldn't quite shake the impression Subaru's gaze had given him. It felt like Subaru was probing him, more a problem in need of solving than a person.
He's manipulative. I need to watch that. It was his job to protect the Sanctuary, and he needed to be vigilant.
But he couldn't spend too long thinking about it right now, so he touched the scar on his forehead as he began analyzing Ram and Subaru's interaction. Not because he expected anything that would be frustrating to him, only because he normally became flustered when studying Ram.
And with these three new people he had never met, he had guessed that Emilia was in the carriage as well, Garfiel wanted to be as careful as he could, and take in every detail.
He didn't expect to find anything new with Rem and Ram; however, as he was watching Subaru and Ram's nonverbal interactions he noticed that they looked at each other far more fondly than most people would. Emotions flared in Garfiel's chest. He focused on rubbing the scar tissue on his forehead.
Relax, could be nothing… He held back any judgments or emotions that would come from what he'd seen until he could gather more information.
"So Otto, I can tell you how to get to Roswaal's place if you want." Garfiel, upon realizing there was nothing else he had to investigate, called out to the man.
"Uhm," There was a hint of fear in Otto's eyes as he looked at the guy who'd been in the process of beating him up. "Alright."
"Well then let's get going," The blonde-haired boy hopped up onto the driver's bench next to Otto.
Garfiel didn't want to stay near Subaru, at least for the moment, so he let him and Ram return to the carriage without a fuss.
It didn't take long for them to reach the shack in which Roswaal had taken up residence.
"Can you guys all stay out here, for a second? I have some things I'd like to speak with Roswaal about." Subaru requested of the group.
"Of course," Emilia, Otto, and Rem all agreed, however, Ram shook her head.
"No, I'm coming with you Barusu." Subaru could tell she was serious, as she didn't even insult him.
"Hm, I can't stop you," He reassessed the conversation he had been planning on having with the clown.
However he didn't know what he should change, he hadn't thought of mentioning Return by Death, or his ability to reset itself, although he had wanted to use some of his knowledge from last time around. The only thing he would have to do now was ignore that and talk about Roswaal's gospel instead.
His gospel is off, it's almost certainly Pandora, that's what Nan thought, and it's the only thing that makes sense. He whispered in his mind while he and Ram walked into the house, and headed toward the room where Roswaal was staying.
"Spirits, stay outside of the room, but be ready," He needed to plan for every eventuality, even though he knew the Margrave could kill him with only two words, it was just better to be prepared.
A few spirits manifested around the ceiling of the cabin, he ordered them to stay out of Ram's vision. He didn't want to worry her with the prospect of this conversation escalating.
When he got to the door he felt Ram grab onto his wrist to hold him back from opening the door, "What is it, Ram?" He asked her.
"Barusu, I should warn you that I will be unable to support you fully in the coming conversation, although I will be unable to support Roswaal either." Ram knew her heart would paralyze her when it came to choosing between the two men. Although recent events had made the choice slightly less difficult for her, it was still petrifying nonetheless.
"Don't worry about it, Ram. I'd planned on doing this myself anyway." Subaru took a deep breath and then pushed open the door. She had no idea what he was planning, but she had some inkling into what Roswaal wanted.
I should have warned Barusu about the gospel, then they'd at least be on an even playing field. Her heart twisted as she stepped into the room after them.
"If it isn't Subaru-kuuuuuun," Roswaal greeted him and let a wide smile split his face, "Raaaaam," He offered her a nod.
"Roswaal-sama?" Concerned words slipped from her throat, as she gazed upon his tattered appearance. He was covered head to toe in bandages, and his body was slumped on the bed.
"Ooooh it's nothing, Ram, juuust an incident in the tooomb," He dismissed her worries before returning his focus to Subaru, who was now standing over his bed with glimmers of resolve and anger in his eyes.
"Sooo what happened to you in my leaaaave of absence?" His speech pattern grew thick, as did her concern at his injuries.
Subaru's fists clenched, Ram didn't know whether to comfort Roswaal in his injuries or comfort Subaru in his anger.
However her choice was pushed to the back of her mind when the black-haired boy parted his lips to speak, "Don't try and pretend you don't know, but that doesn't really matter. I know what your book is telling you to do with the mansion."
Ram's eyes snapped open. Barusu? How do you know about his gospel? She didn't notice it, but Roswaal's face was unchanged, he had expected something like this.
"Before we continue that liiiine of questioning let me thaaaank you for something." Roswaal's smile changed.
"Go ahead," Subaru held his voice still, his anger had either receded or he'd pushed it back.
"Thank you for helping avenge Theresia's death." The man's speech pattern disappeared, and his smile truly became that of a man offering genuine thanks.
Subaru's eyebrows raised at Roswaal's words, and surprise rose in his chest. Though it didn't last long before he pushed it to the side and let emotionlessness reign on his face.
The clown did the same and returned to his own neutral smile.
Are they trying to manipulate each other? A few months ago Ram would have thought outwitting Roswaal incredibly difficult if not outright impossible. She still planned to burn his gospel, but she knew how dangerous and downright stupid it was.
Although her opinion on the impossibility to manipulate him had changed after what she'd seen Subaru do with the White Whale and Gluttony subjugations.
"Again, let's get to the point, I know what you plan to do here, and I know how to stop it," Subaru said in an attempt to get the conversation back on topic.
"You think I have something plaaaned?" Roswaal's eyes seemed to fall, "How unfortunate, Subaru-kuuun."
"What do you mean?" Subaru responded quickly.
"Well my gospel says nothing abouuuut needing to keep information froooom you," Subaru's eyes filled with confusion at his words, and Ram's did the same due to Roswaal's free mention of the gospel, "So I shaaaall tell you that I have nothing planned for the Sanctuary."
Subaru paused to think for a moment. "Bullshit," He shoved anger into his voice, Ram felt it was somewhat fake, but she brushed it off for right now and focused on the content of his words.
"That isn't at all what your gospel should say. If you actually think it says that you're either lying to me, or someone is manipulating you."
"Maaanipulating me?" Roswaal's mana began to shake the room, "I see whaaaat you're trying to do, Subaru-kun," Ram didn't doubt Roswaal's words, as she could tell he was being far more honest than he normally was.
"Yes you're being manipulated by, P- someone, and I know from lassst-'' His voice cut off and he turned to Ram.
"Leave. Ros and I need to talk about a few things." Subaru's command shocked her; she hadn't expected him to be that forceful. She would have stayed anyway, but she could tell Roswaal shared in his opinion.
"Yeees, it's best for youuu to go now, Ram."
She looked at them for a moment studying their appearances, both men seemed heated already, and the conversation hadn't even lasted very long. Although upon closer inspection Subaru's expression was closer to melancholy, and Roswaal's was closer to guilt.
"Well then I will take my leave, Roswaal-sama, and fine if you say it too I suppose I shall go, idiot Barusu." Ram wasn't mad at him in the slightest, she could from the word last that it had something to do with his past. And as much as she would have liked to learn about it, the information seemed exceedingly painful for Subaru.
With steps full of understanding and sympathy for the two men Ram stepped out into the hallway.
"Ros," Once the door shut Subaru started the conversation anew, "Are you really telling the truth? You didn't hire Elsa to attack the mansion like you did in the capital?"
"Noooo the gospel never ordered me to do that, and I haaave no memory of it ever happening." Roswaal was interested in his new line of questions, but Subaru could also see guilt hiding at the back of the man's eyes.
If Crusch was here this would be much easier, but I that letter he sent. It was written in his handwriting, and it possessed information that he says he doesn't have. Subaru pulled out a chair and sat down, the situation had changed so much from what he'd been expecting that he decided against implementing his earlier plan. Which he realized now was incredibly half-baked, so he tossed it out and decided he needed a new one.
"Considering last time I went through this, what you're saying is incredibly hard to believe." Roswaal's gaze was filled with suspicion. Hm, he doesn't believe me. I could play the Pandora card, but that would likely do even less to support my case.
I should switch tactics.
Roswaal tried to unclench his hands, which had balled into fists around the cloth of his blankets. He tried to ignore the content of Subaru's words, but it seeped into his mind anyway.
"Let's say I believe you, Ros, that's just good for me." He looked up at Subaru when he heard those words.
"Hm. Aaaand how do you come to that conclusion?" The clown questioned.
"It's pretty simple when you think about it," Roswaal felt suspicion in his chest. This is highly dangerous. I should use outright force, but my gospel warned against that. He didn't have any more time to think as Subaru continued.
"If your gospel told you something different from last time then it's being manipulated."
Roswaal's mana started to shake the room. Subaru paid it no mind and continued on, "I know you'll deny it with every fiber of your being," An imperious tone entered his voice, "It is a natural folly of someone as young as yourself."
"I doooo not think this is wiiiise," Roswaal's eyes filled with anger. Trying to talk down to me, what are you playing at, Natsuki Subaru?
"Roswaal L. Mathers," Subaru's voice was laced with so much age that even Roswaal shied away from it. The look in the boy-no that's wrong-elder's eyes was filled with sheer age. As if he'd glimpsed the daunting truth of time and conquered it.
The elder spoke down to him, as if correcting a child, "I know everything about you, I know you are little older than four hundred, yet you claim to be able to lecture me on wisdom." Subaru's entire bearing had shifted. So you really are as old as you claimed. Fear grew in his chest. Do you just pretend to be young, or is this age the persona?
"Let's move on to more important topics, although we can remain on this one, if you would like to think of ways to lecture me, and attempt to appear older than you are, then I can wait." Roswaal heard the truth in his words.
"I beeelive you are correct. We should mooove on." Roswaal knew when he was defeated, so he cut his losses.
"Noooow the only persooooon who could change my gospel is teacher, so if it is, hypothetically, diiiiiferent, than I am only serviiiing her." He moved on to playing into Subaru's lie to see if he might slip up and tell Roswaal more of what he knew.
"A dead woman cannot manipulate your gospel, and please do away with the pointless words that you use to defend your fragile mental state, Roswaal. I've had billions of conversations with you." Subaru spoke down to him. He was still sitting next to Roswaal in his chair, but even with their eyes on an even level, so many years separated them.
"Ah, buuuuut teacher is noooot dead." Roswaal responded.
"Stop attempting to bluff me Roswaal. We both know the Echidna in that dream is not the same one you lust after." Subaru's eyes pierced into his soul.
Roswaal struggled to hold his smile. This is bad. Almost all of my advantages are gone. He knows everything. Only one truth was able to keep his smile on his face. He still thinks I'm lying. According to the man's own memory he had never hired Elsa to attack the mansion.
"Weeeeeell I still do not believe youuu, so this conversation is pointless." Roswaal tried to get him out of the room without resorting to force, which would have gone against the writ of his gospel.
"Another folly of youth, to believe anything is pointless is just another mistake Roswaal." His elder pointed out. "But I will agree, further conversation in this vein is pointless, and I can see you want me to leave, so I will ask one more question of you."
"Go aheaaaad." He tried to keep his calm in the face of Subaru's eldritch mind.
"What did you bring me here for?"
Does he not know, or is he lying. Frustration poured alongside the other emotions roiling within his heart.
"I waaanted to speak with you, aaaand have Emilia-samaaa liberate the Sanctuary. Althouuuugh from a few things I've heard, I regretfully believe youuuu may have to do it in her plaaace." He answered quicker than he should have, showing his desperation. Though it made little difference, Subaru had already noticed it from the moment he'd agreed Ram should leave the room.
Resolve forged through hundreds of thousands of years of life gleamed within Subaru's eyes. "We'll see about that Roswaal, it is unwise to dismiss anyone so easily." The elder stood up calmly and exited the room without even a backward glance at Roswaal.
"Oh before youuuuu go." Subaru looked back at him. "The villagers are not freeeeee to leave until someone liberaaates the Sanctuary." His mana shook the room once more. "I neeeed some reason for you to staaaay and consider my words." Roswaal decided it would be best to be forthcoming about this. And he was correct, Subaru was not surprised in the least about this new development.
"Thank you for the information, Roswaal." Subaru bowed his head, as a kind old man might. He pulled open the door, and Roswaal caught a glance from Ram's red eyes, and in it she saw how Ram viewed him. The gospel was right then.
Guilt shoved its way into the clown's heart at her gaze. His eyes dropped to his hands, which had tightened their grip even further.
His words to Subaru about not posing any threat to him in the Sanctuary weren't exactly true.
No matter how much he wished them to be. I've come too far, this won't stop me. He shoved away that guilt as the door closed and Ram's eyes disappeared.
"That waaaas…" He didn't finish speaking. He couldn't find the right word, nor could he even think clearly. Only one thought was able to shoot through his mind.
He was lying about the gospel being different. He had to be…
Subaru let out a sigh and let the persona he had adopted fall by the wayside. "What happened Barusu?"
"I got some very good information, and laid down a few seeds for a further conversation," He spoke of it matter-of-factly. Ram looked up at him with confused eyes. "C'mon we have to go make sure the villagers are alright and know what's going on."
"Well what is going on, you're an idiot and have neglected to inform me." She questioned him, with a confused expression. Not at the villagers but at the quandary filling her heart.
Subaru gazed into her eyes for a second before answering, "Ros is keeping them here until Emilia liberates the Sanctuary by completing Echidna's trials."
"And do you have a plan for that? I doubt she has the resolve to complete them." Ram asked him, her voice drained of its insults.
Subaru nodded, "Emilia can and will complete them, but you're right I doubt she has the strength at the moment."
"Yes, Emilia-sama was raised in a very poor environment." Ram tried to hold back her mix of disdain and pity.
"Although I'm aware that isn't my main problem," He flicked his eyes to the door behind them, he pulled Ram along with him into the main room. Once there he elaborated.
"First off the issue is I can't trust Ros, so I'll need to head back to the mansion in about four days. Then secondly Garfiel won't be happy about me or Emilia liberating the Sanctuary," Ram stifled a gasp at his lightning-fast assessment of the situation in the Sanctuary, "Which I want to ask for your help with."
"Mmh, alright, though I doubt he will try and stop you, at least until you clear one of the trials." She agreed easily before crossing her arms and shaking her head, "Although I can say you really are hopeless Barusu, having to ask me to do all your work for you. Of course you're coming to the right place, however, it's still pathetic behavior." Ram had entirely given up on trying to make her insults sound like actual insults, so now they sounded more like a formality than anything else.
"So do you have a plan for getting Emilia-sama in a state where she can challenge the trial?" Ram asked.
"Even if I don't I can't just give up here," Determination burned in his eyes, but Ram could see fear hiding beneath it. It was hiding deep, but it was there. "I do have some faint idea, but hey, I had less going up against Ley."
"That truly was a half-baked, in fact, that may be overselling it, plan." Ram insulted his planning skills with a smile.
Subaru's eyes seemed to lighten at her smile, before he turned away from her and toward the window, where the sun was approaching the horizon outside. "Not long before night time, now I just have to speak to Emilia."
"I'll handle Garf," Ram asserted with determination. Subaru gave her a warm look and exited the room.
The pink-haired maid smiled, and was able to ignore the lingering pain of her injuries. I may not be able to help as I did with Gluttony. But that doesn't mean I can't support Barusu.
Emilia waited patiently outside with Garfiel, Otto, and Rem. The only thing aside from the sound of the forest was the blue-haired maid and blonde-haired boy having a cold conversation.
"Hm, you just want to take sister, but you have no chance against me, Garf. You should stop trying. Sister loves me, not you." Rem lectured him with a smirk. Emilia had been paying little attention to the conversation prior to this so she had no idea how they'd gotten to this point.
"Hmph," He grumbled, "I'm not gonna be discouraged that easy, y'know what they say, Marcos Gildark never gives up on his duty."
"Your duty? Well, whoever gave you that duty just hates you." Rem insulted him, however, the look on her face confused Emilia. Rem looked relaxed. She tilted her head in confusion.
"Hey! I don't hate my amazin' self." Garfiel's face grew angry at her remark, but there was that same air of comfortability that surrounded Rem.
Rem opened her mouth to speak again, but was interrupted by Subaru and Ram stepping out of the cabin.
"What happened, Subaru?" Emilia asked as he stepped up to her.
"Not much, I just need to talk to you about the villagers." He gestured for her to follow him. Emilia noticed the suspicious look Garfiel cast his way.
"Do you need me to come with, Natsuki-san?" Otto questioned.
"Not right now, this is something I need to talk to Emilia about," Subaru responded quickly.
Hm? Why does he only want to talk to me about the villagers? Everyone else here would be better at helping. Her purple eyes fell to the ground as she followed Subaru through the forest.
She didn't notice when Subaru stopped walking and turned back to her. "You should look up at the trees, Emilia."
"Huh?" She came to a stop and looked up at him. The shade covering his face couldn't hide the warmth in his eyes.
He grabbed her hand, and pointed it at things. "Look at the way the sap is coming down that tree, and the way those vines hang down. There are so many interesting things to look at, so look at the trees, and not the dirt beneath your feet. That's a bit boring don't you think?"
Emilia's head fell to the side in confusion, "You're weird Subaru," A smile slipped onto her face.
"Oh and stop walking behind me," He grabbed onto her wrist and yanked her up next to him.
"Subaaaru?" The words fell from her lips as she prevented herself from falling.
"Ya know, Emilia-chan, when you walk behind your friends it gives them an odd idea." Her eyes snapped open at his words. She couldn't think of any words to say. Friend, but… he shouldn't be friends with me.
"Being my friend would cause you a lot of trouble, Subaaaru." Panic filled her heart. He needs to be smart about this, and not-
"Of course it will," Subaru paused a second before continuing. Emilia was too shocked by his words to stop him, "That's why I'm going to expect a few things from you."
"Subaru you shouldn't. I can't-" She was going to continue, but Subaru interrupted her before she could.
"I believe in you, Emilia-chan." He reached over and wrapped her into a hug.
"Wait, you should think about this," She tried to stop him, but found her arms didn't want to listen to her.
"I have thought about it, and I've realized something, as long as someone has a reason to move forward then they can, no matter the circumstance," He held her, his hands filled with warmth against her back, "So let's be friends Emilia-chan."
Emilia wanted to resist his words, so desperately , but her strength was drained. And Subaru really sounded like he wanted to be her friend. Maybe for now she could make herself believe that.
I really am pathetic, and selfish, but I can't let him down.
Tears leaked down from her eyes, and she returned Subaru's hug.
Once the two pulled away from each other Emilia parted her lips to ask him something, "So what do you expect of me, Subaru?"
"C'mon let's keep walking while I explain it," She walked beside him as they continued through the forest, "So the villagers are trapped here, at least until Sanctuary is liberated, and to liberate Sanctuary someone has to pass its trials."
"Trials?" The questioning word slipped from her lips.
"Yes, the first involves facing your past, and I need you to clear it." He explained his expectation to her.
"I can do that," Emilia asserted. Her voice strong. My past is just me and Puck, ooh maybe I can talk to him. Her naivete shone through in her thoughts.
"Emilia-chan, this is going to be difficult, but I trust you," Subaru warned.
"I understand," Her eyes looked to the ground for a second.
"WITCH!" Old memories screamed out in her mind. Even against that voice, she forced her head up, and her eyes focused on the path in front of her, not at her feet.
"Also where are we going Subaru?" She had been wondering this whole time, but had held herself from asking.
"We're going to meet the villagers," He responded as they came out of the forest and to a large church.
"Alright, Subaaaaru." Her voice held a touch of anxiety, she wasn't naive enough to think they would just ignore her features.
However to her surprise, she was wrong. When she and Subaru stepped into the church the people greeted them with open arms and wide smiles. She had expected Subaru to get this treatment, but not for her to get it as well.
For about an hour she spoke with some of the people from the village, and heard their thanks for her efforts to heal the village kids when they were bitten by the mabeasts.
In general, they treated her with a kindness she had almost never experienced from anyone other than Puck and Subaru.
Once they were done conversing with the villagers Subaru spoke to her once more, "You see, they trust you, and they're right for doing so."
Emilia couldn't deny what she'd seen. They trust me, and I can't let them down. She tried to ignore the nagging voice at the back of her head that said she would let them down anyway.
After a few moments, Subaru gazed up at the sky and spoke again, "It's almost night, time for you to clear this trial," He tilted his lips up in hope. Emilia couldn't help but feel her own sense of optimism.
"Well then, let's get going Subaru."
It only took them a little over fifteen minutes to make it back to Roswaal's cabin. From there Garfiel led everyone out to the castle of dreams for Emilia's attempt at clearing the trial.
However, once they reached the tomb another person was waiting for them.
It was a young-looking girl, with flowing pink hair, and a black robe a little too big for her.
"I see you've brought them young Gar," Her soft voice permeated from the top of the steps. "Which of you is challenging the trial?"
"I am," Emilia stepped forward.
"Then I wish you well in your attempt." The short woman said.
"You've got this, Emilia-chan." Subaru spurred her forward with his words.
Emilia chose to trust him and walked into the stone mausoleum.
When she stepped inside the stones started to let off a soft glow. With each step the luminescence grew and grew, until she opened the door into the main room. Blue and green light filled her eyes, and she had to squint.
A presence woke in the back of her mind as she stepped toward the center of the room.
"Everyone is counting on me, I can't disappoint them here." She confirmed her resolve and stood tall in the center of the trial room.
"First you must face your past." Her own voice shoved its way into her mind, while her legs went limp beneath her. She didn't have the time to make a sound. All she could do was watch as the world around her faded and she was thrown into her past.
Voices blared past her as her eyes adjusted to the bright light, and her nose got used to the forest smell.
Emilia searched around the landscape, behind her stood a woman clad in a black dress. White hair flowed down her shoulders. "You." Her voice pierced Emilia's chest.
The silver-haired half-elf gave the woman a confused look. "Stop staring at me and get back to your poor excuse for an attempt at my trials." Hate bored from the woman's dark brown eyes, all the while a beautiful green butterfly shimmered in her hair.
"What's your name miss?" It was her first instinct to be nice to this woman, even with the words she'd thrown at her.
"Echidna, the Witch of Greed, now get out of my sight and go fail your trial." Echidna waved her hand and shoved her into a realm full of voices.
"Regulus Corneas! For what reason are you here! We had an immutable promise that I would be the only one involved in this affair!" A man Emilia didn't recognize screamed out.
"Call it an immutable promise or call it whatever you want, it's all just you going off saying things yourself and presuming things yourself in what is actually just a normal agreement. Look at you trying to push people into submission with that domineering phrasing of yours, what great and pompous drivel you've started spewing from your spirit mouth. Trying to restrict my daily actions, even though I'm not permitted any kind of perfidious behavior anyway... so that's what a spirit is? Have you ever considered putting a stop on the infringements you're making to my mind and person?" Another man, this one extremely ordinary, aside from his words and attitude, responded.
"Echidna?" Emilia turned to the woman who was waiting impatiently with her arms crossed.
"Hm?" Echidna wanted to avoid the girl's question, but she knew that she had to be fair with the trial.
"Who are they?" Emilia didn't recognize a single one of all the people in that clearing. Not the man with green hair, not the woman with short silver hair, not the little girl with her, not the ordinary man, and not the pale woman standing behind the ordinary one.
"Coward, pretending you don't know so you can run away." Disdain radiated from Echidna's body. "Anyway if you want to pretend so much then this part will have little benefit to you, we should move on."
The conversation between the odd people had not stopped while they'd been having their own, so just before Emilia and Echidna vanished the half-elf caught a final sentence.
"Is there something wrong? Bishop Petelguese Romanee-Conti?" A brief moment of recognition flashed at her mind at the man's name.
"Juice…?" A soft whisper escaped her mouth, then Echidna moved them in the trial, and the string of memories disappeared from her mind.
Was this really the right choice? Subaru asked himself as he stared at the glowing castle. Fear nagged at his convictions.
It had to be. He watched the castle, and for a moment the entire landscape was covered in purple glass. Rabbits chittered in his ears, and words burned in his mind.
"I have a piece of advice for you if you make it out of this alive. Everyone can tell your smile is fake. Don't force yourself to smile, Barusu."
It had to be the right choice. He confirmed his decision. Emilia has to clear the trials, so she doesn't become like she did last time. Maybe once he might have bought that lie.
"No! Mother, no! Please don't leave me!" The shrill voice of a child called out in terror and dependence.
"Who is that girl?" Emilia searched the girl's features, they seemed similar to her own, but she was sure that was a coincidence. However, she also had to focus on the woman hugging her.
"Please listen to me, Emilia. Everything's okay. I'll come... yes, I'll deal with this quickly and come right back. So please stay hidden here while I'm doing that. Please." The current Emilia's eyes shot wide at the woman using her name.
"No, what is she talking about? I don't remember this, this isn't my past. Echidna do you know what's happening?" She begged for the woman who called herself a Witch to answer her questions.
"So you're rejecting the past, really?"
"Emilia-chan, this is going to be difficult, but I trust you," Subaru's words held strong in her mind.
"No, I'll keep watching, even if the past you're showing me is wrong. I mean I don't blame you, she has the same name so it's probably an easy mistake to make." Desperation shone on her face as she tried to dismiss it all as a mistake. But she couldn't ignore the part of her mind that had immediately accepted this as her past as soon as she'd heard the woman mention Emilia's name.
"No! I don't wanna! Mother Fortuna, you're making a face like Juice did! Like Juice did, what're you gonna do! L-leaving me, what're you... going to..." The Emilia taking the trial shied away from those two names. Her brain couldn't reject them, so she had to use her body to do it instead. She covered her ears with her hands.
"I've never met them, who are they? Never met them," She shook her head in a mix of confusion and acceptance. Parts of her brain wanted to accept this as the past but the other part desperately wanted to reject it.
Echidna looked down at her with a smile.
Emilia's confusion only grew and grew as the images passed her by. The little girl who shared her name running away with a blonde-haired man.
The blonde-haired man fell because the girl couldn't do anything. Emilia found herself shedding a tear at the man's death. She wanted to know his name, so she could pay respect to him. Her mind obliged for a little while.
"Arch…" The name slipped from her mouth, and then Echidna pushed them onto the next memory. His name disappeared from her mind a moment later.
The young girl with Emilia's name was greeted by a woman of platinum.
"I'll open it! I will open it!" The girl screamed out after the woman spoke with her.
I always break promises, don't I?
"No it's not me," She rejected her thoughts, "It isn't me."
Emilia tried to block out as much of the information assaulting her senses as possible, but a few sounds still slipped through.
"The promise... because, I promised. I don't have anything to do with the siel. I'm not allowed to open it." A new conviction from the girl with her name stunned Emilia.
"I see. Promises are truly important things. I think it is very splendid and great that you would like to keep your promise. However... they are also things which are dependent upon timing. I suspect that this promise is one between yourself and your Mother. Your Mother is a very wonderful person. She has taught you something venerable and correct. Your will is precious and deserves to be upheld."
"Mother Fortuna taught me to always keep my promises." The present Emilia whispered. She tried, oh how she tried to hold on to Fortuna's name. But like the others, it slipped through her fingers, another grain of sand on the wind.
A sense of failure filled Emilia.
"I... promised, my... mother, I'd keep... my, promises, so... mother..." The young girl asserted even through her desperate voice.
She's me, her choice is wrong. Every choice she makes will just make it all worse. Emilia fell to the ground. Subaru and the villagers' expectations of her were gone, forgotten like so many other things.
"But it isn't me, it's not. That girl can make the right choice. She wouldn't cause problems for her mother." She pulled her knees into her chest and watched a silver-haired woman challenge Pandora.
The taller Emilia continued to reject everything she saw and didn't let herself observe it.
However, it wasn't long before something pierced her mind. It was the sound of a woman's chest being punched open and blood splattering on the ground.
Both girls named Emilia watched helplessly as Petelguese Romanee-Conti was born, and Fortuna breathed her final breaths.
"Lia," As much as the present Emilia wished to, she couldn't hide from Fortuna's words, "You big crybaby. I love you, sooo much…"
The Witch of Vainglory stepped up to the young girl. She whispered insane logic down to the young silver-haired half-elf.
Then she finished off with a command. "You do have the key. Then, you know what to do."
The young girl responded with a command of her own. "Just die." Ice cut the woman to pieces.
"Just die."
"Just die."
"Just die."
"Just die."
"Just die."
"Just die." Snow started to rage down from the sky. The older Emilia's breath caught at the weather. She was experienced enough to know what it meant.
"No. It wasn't me."
"Just die."
"She sounds like me."
"Just die." Ice started to seal the girl's feet.
"She has my hair." The older girl ripped out strands of her luscious silver hair.
"JUST DIE!" The younger Emilia screams over the platinum-haired woman's voice.
"Just die."
"She has my eyes." Emilia shut her pale eyelids.
"Just die." Up to her shoulders, Emilia was buried in ice.
"But she isn't me!"
"All of your memories leading to this day are consummated without my presence in them."
The younger Emilia trapped in ice turned into a drooling mess as her memories of the woman were ripped away and filled in with inconsistencies. The platinum-haired woman and green-haired man fled the scene soon after that.
"Not me, not me, not me, not me, not me, not me, not me, not me, not me, not me, not me, not me." While the older Emilia screamed out denying the past presented to her fervently the younger Emilia was fully encased in ice. A forest of glaciation was all that was left in the other Emilia's wake.
"How truly pathetic, even I expected better from you." Echidna, who'd been watching silently the entire time shook her head. Hatred and disgust permeated every facet of her bearing.
"It wasn't me. It wasn't me it wasn't me it wasn't me it wasn't me it wasn't me." Emilia ignored Echidna's words. Not a single thing remained in her mind, other than a desire to reject everything she'd seen.
"I declare the result of this trial a failure. On every account," Echidna didn't know whether to gag or smile. Maybe both. "Now, get out of my sight."
Emilia continued to rock back and forth, holding her knees to her chest, as the trial turned to static, which then melted away to reveal dull stone.
As soon as Subaru saw the light of the castle dim he rushed forward to congratulate or comfort Emilia.
Congratulate. She had to have cleared it. He reached the entrance to the castle, and grinded to a halt.
Rabbits chirped in expectation in his mind. Ram's screams rang out within his ears. And he grabbed onto the door-like entrance of the hallway.
"I have faith in Emilia. She doesn't need me to come in and help. She's passed the trial." Tears glimmered in Subaru's eyes, and images rushed through his mind.
"First you must face your past." A courtyard replaced Echidna's tomb.
"Subaru-sama?" Ram's cold voice took a spot alongside her screams.
"Natsuki-san, this is farewell."
So many other voices joined in. Every single one broken.
"WHY?" Their brokenness was put on full display as they screamed at him.
"IT WAS NECESSARY!" His own voice had screamed back.
"I believe in Emilia. I believe in her." Subaru whispered as tears dripped onto the ground.
"She can complete the trials, I believe in her, and I'm her friend, that gives her a reason to move forward. And she'll beat the trials. She's already beaten one. She has to have." He wished he could believe any of the words that had come from his mouth.
Subaru reached his hand toward the hallway, and tried to force his body forward.
"WHY?" Their voices clamored out again. He endeavored to push his friends into his mind, but all he could think of was how broken they'd become because of him.
He attempted to step forward again, but was stopped by his own voice.
"First you must face your past." So many people all broken by his actions filled his mind.
"Behold the unthinkable present." Images he couldn't understand replaced his vision of grey stone.
"Face the disaster yet to come." Whispers of a future he couldn't stop forced themselves upon him.
Once long ago he had subjugated each trial.
Now… Natsuki Subaru was afraid of them, and he'd thrown Emilia into them out of that fear.
Emilia opened her eyes to the cold stone floor. The room was dark, and no one reached out to help her stand.
Rem was nowhere in sight.
Puck didn't appear.
Subaru was gone as well.
"Friends walk beside each other. Isn't that what you said? Isn't that what you promised by saying you were my friend?" Tears poured down from her eyes, and she touched her forehead to the ground, and let the cold soothe her. It didn't do a thing.
"Subaru…"
Images of the trial slammed into her mind. "Wasn't me. It's not me. Not me. Not me." While she muttered to an empty room she forced herself to her feet.
Emilia grabbed the crystal on her neck. "Puck, please. Puck I need you. Puck where are you?"
With a struggle, she forced herself from the trial room and into the long hallway. She ran her left hand along the wall to stay standing. All she wanted to do was sit down. All she wanted to do was give up, but people were expecting things from her.
"That's wrong no one expects anything from me. I was just selfishly saying they were." Her purple eyes glimpsed Subaru waiting for her outside of the trial room.
He didn't rush to her side. He remained frozen outside the trial room.
"Subaru you said friends were supposed to stand next to each other. Liar." Even as she condemned him, no blame rose in her heart for the man who'd broken his promise.