You opened your eyes, and held your stomach. The uneasiness that came from going from one world(?) to another was not something that could be brushed off.

You checked your surroundings, and confirmed that it hadn't been that long since you entered Echidna's Tea Party. There was a rock on the ground, and the shadow that had covered it when you sat down on the bench was still right on top of it, so Echidna was right. Time really does flow differently at her Tea Party.

Now, you thought about what was going to happen. The first order of business was to tell Subaru that you'd be leaving for the mansion. After that, you would leave, probably getting a ride to the barrier and then running/walking the rest of the way back. It would be a good workout, though it would probably take a long time.

To be honest, you haven't been following Julius' workout routine, so some extra exercise was needed to keep getting stronger.

With a sigh, you stood up. Subaru was probably talking to the villagers or talking to Emilia right now, so their residence would probably be the best place to check first.

"(Y/N)?"

You froze in place, and turned your head to the speaker.

It was Ram, and she looked troubled. "(Y/N), can I speak with you?"

You sat back down on the bench and nodded your head. Ram sat down next to you, her stern expression not giving her thoughts away.

"(Y/N), my... sister."

Your body stiffened even more, and tried to form words. "I-I'm sorry. I was with her when we were attacked, but I couldn't do anything to keep her safe. I'll take all the blame for what happened, so hate me if you want. You might not remember her, but you deserve the truth."

"If I remember correctly, I said something similar to you when we last talked to each other."

You smiled with remorse. You remembered those words clearly, and you were glad for them. They had given you the wake up call that you needed, and snapped you out of the delusion that you had created. 'Hate me if you will...' 'I just informed you of the truth.'

You heard Echidna start to say something, but you immediately silenced her. This discussion was not about to be interrupted with some witty remarks.

Ram continued when she saw you smile. "You have grown. Good job. It seems like there may be hope in you and Barusu."

You turned your head to her when she said this. It was unusual for Ram to act this sincere, but she's going through a lot right now. Even so, this change in attitude wasn't bad.

"With that said, I would like to ask you something."

This sentence caught your attention. Ram seemed more vulnerable when she said this, and it really threw you off.

"Of course, what do you need?" You replied. This seemed like it was going to be serious, and there was no reason to refuse to listen to Ram.

She looked at you, and her face softened, which made you even more curious as to what she was about to say. "Do not do what Roswaal-sama wants you to do. I want to help him, and the only way to do that is to stop everything from going his way. I love him, so please help me stop him from going down the path that is destroying him."

Ah, so that's what she wanted to say. It makes a lot more sense now.

You smiled. "Don't worry. I wasn't planning on it." You stood up, and began to walk away.

"Thank you," came Ram's voice from behind you.

Without looking back, you answered, "It's the least that I can do."

Time Skip

'Wow. You were so cool,' Echidna teased.

'Shut up! I didn't know what to do, so I just let my body move on its own, and it just turned out this way!'

'Even so, I must applaud you. You were able to speak calmly to an emotional female, not to mention that you used to hold feelings for her as well.'

'I really can't tell if you're messing with me, or if you're being honest.'

Echidna chuckled. 'Oh, I'm being honest.'

'Oh yeah, I wanted to ask you something. When I'm talking to someone, can you maybe not comment on everything unless it's important? I'm not used to speaking to someone telepathically, so it would help if you didn't do that until I get used to it.'

'Hmph. I suppose that I will comply. Make sure that you make it up to me, though. I get lonely when nobody will talk to me.' Echidna pouted.

'Don't worry. Things will surely be interesting, so you'll be fine.'

And just like you said, things were getting interesting.

As you rounded a corner, Garfiel plowed you to the side. "M' bad. M' amazin' self was 'n a rush, s' I didn't sense ya comin'."

You picked yourself up and brushed the dirt off of your new clothes. "Don't worry about it, Garfiel. It was my fault for not paying attention. Now, what are you in a rush for? Maybe I can help you somehow."

"Eh?" Garfiel scratched his golden hair. "Well, Emilia-sama's 'bout t' take th' Trial, so if ya want t' come, ya can."

You politely declined. "Actually, there's also something that I need to do, so I won't be watching her with everyone else. I've got to go back to the mansion because I don't have a good feeling about leaving Frederica and Petra there alone."

When you mentioned his sister, Garfiel stopped moving. "Eh? I don't care if ya go or not! Jus' know that I ain't really supposed t', but my amazin' self's letting ya go."

Before you could respond to him, Garfiel picked off where he stopped and ran off to where Echidna's tomb was, since that was the location of the Trial.

'How troublesome. I have no desire to communicate with that girl, but I will be forced to do so! When she fails my Trial, make sure to be prepared to appease my anger!'

'Okay then... Hopefully, by the time that Emilia is finished taking the Trial, I'll be back at the mansion, so we should be able to have some alone time.'

'And I almost forgot! As you must already know, your friend will also be attempting to pass the Trial. It is almost guaranteed that he will chase after the girl who he feels attracted toward for a reason that I cannot discern. Watching him will be entertaining, so my mood shouldn't be spoiled too much. Just to be fair, would you like for me to allow you to take part in a Trial? Is there anything in your past that you must face in order to live your life without regret?'

'My past... No. I don't want to take a Trial. Sure, I have regrets, but those won't stop me. I'm in a different world, and I don't want to go back to my old one. Life here is a lot harder, but at least I feel like I have an idea of what I want to do. I may not have been able to live my old life to the fullest, but I'll make it up by living here with nothing holding me back.'

Echidna sniffled, but it was probably fake. Probably. 'That was touching. As you seem to have accepted your current situation, I agree with your sentiment. There is no need for you to partake in a Trial, so I suppose that I will leave you with one piece of information before I have to attend to the pair who will be visiting my resting place soon. If you cannot secure transportation to the mansion, use Akra. You have heard of it before, and it is a very useful Yang spell. Imagine yourself being bathed in light, and feel the strength coursing through your body. When you have done this, chant its name, and you will have strength - and by extension, speed - that will allow you to arrive at your destination much quicker than if you had relied solely on your base strength.'

'Thank you, Echidna. I wouldn't have thought of that, so this really helps.'

'Of course. We are contracted, so it is my duty to assist you while you are sure to assist me, correct?'

'If this is about watching anime, we can do that tonight. Once I get settled in the mansion, I'll decide on which one to watch, and I can go to your Tea Party and watch it with you.'

You could imagine that Echidna was grinning right now. 'I look forward to that, (Y/N). Now, I do believe that you should pay attention to who is in front of you.'

You looked up, and it was none other than Otto who was standing in front of you. "Hey, Otto! Can I ask you for a favor?"

Otto sighed, and submissively replied. "Sure. What do you need?"

"Actually, I was wondering if you could give me a ride to the edge of the barrier, or maybe even to the mansion. I'm going back there to make sure that everybody back there is safe, and I even have Garfiel's permission to go there."

Otto shook his head slowly. "Sorry, but I don't think that I have permission to leave and I don't want to get beat up again, so I can't take you all the way to the mansion. But I can take you to the edge of the barrier."

You grinned, and patted Otto on the back. "Thanks! Let's leave right now. There's no time to waste!" You began to walk, but Otto coughed.

"(Y/N), do you even know where my dragon carriage is?"

You turned back around. "Good point. Take the lead, Otto. I'll be right behind you."

The merchant muttered something under his breath, but you didn't catch it.

Time Skip

Twenty minutes later, you had arrived at the edge of the barrier. "Thank you so much for this, Otto! You saved me a lot of trouble!"

Otto chuckled and scratched his hair. "N-no problem. As long as you're thankful, I-I guess that I have no issues doing this."

You jumped out of the carriage, and waved goodbye. "I'll see you again in a few days! Take care! And don't forget to give my message to Subaru!"

"Bye..." Otto muttered back.

Since the sun was beginning to set, you went ahead and started to run. You stretched inside the carriage, so all that was left was to wait for Otto to leave and then cast Akra.

Once the dragon carriage was out of sight, you slowed down and closed your eyes.

Imagine myself being bathed in light.

Imagine strength coursing into my body.

Imagine... and...

"Akra!"

You opened your eyes, and you closed them immediately. There was a golden light enveloping you, and it hurt your eyes that had been getting used to a darker setting.

Once you couldn't see the light through your eyelids, you opened them up and flexed your hands.

You didn't feel much stronger, but there was only one way to test it out. You crouched into a sprinting position, and took off as fast as you could.

A small crater formed where your feet had been, and you were propelled faster than what should have been possible.

At this speed, you were even faster than a dragon carriage. Maybe it would have been better if you would have just done this from the start.

'Actually, that would have been disadvantageous to you. Remember, you are currently casting a spell, and your mana supply will eventually run out. As you have only recently begun to practice magic, you will not be able to hold this spell for an extended amount of time. If my calculations are correct, then you will reach the mansion with very little mana to spare.'

You forgot that Echidna could hear your every thought, so you were slightly startled when she began to talk.

'How can I get my mana to last longer? Is there a fast way to do it, or do I have to just keep on using it and slowly get it to hold more?'

'There is a faster way, but I do not recommend it. This method would require you to sacrifice some of your life energy, which is something that you should not be sacrificing.'

'Wait, what if I have endless life, and that's why I regenerate? Doesn't that mean that I can sacrifice my life energy since it won't do anything?'

'From what I have deduced, the source of your regeneration is not endless life. Of course, you wouldn't understand the true workings of it unless you knew about... her powers.'

'You mean Satella's power?'

'That is correct. I am confident that I have concluded how both your power and your friend's power works. Would you like to know?'

'Yeah. I've been wondering how it works since I got it.'

'Well then, I will explain how your power works, and I will also explain how 'Return by Death' works. Satella can control time to a certain extent. With this said, I believe that she rewinds your body back to a time in which it was not injured. Does this correspond with what you have experienced?'

You thought about it, and Echidna's reasoning sounded accurate. 'I think so. Now, would that mean that she sends Subaru back in time every time that he dies?'

'That is correc- Ah. It seems as if my visitors have arrived. I will notify you as soon as I am unoccupied.'

And just like that, she was gone.

You were left running at a superhuman speed on your own, even though nobody but you could have known that anybody had been with you to start.

Since Frederica had mentioned that the forest grew more dangerous as the night came, so you focused on your surroundings. If any mabeasts jumped out at you, they would serve to be a good test of your boosted strength.

Unfortunately (but not really), nothing attacked you, and you arrived at the mansion about half an hour after you began running.

Echidna was right, and you could feel exhaustion creeping up on you. Your body itself was fine, but your mana was running out.

Oh crap, how do I end the spell?!

Uh... what if I imagined myself ending it? I'm not sure, but let's try that.

You closed your eyes and imagined strength leaving your body. When you opened your eyes, you tried to jump up, but nothing special happened.

My idea worked! I entered big brain mode, and it worked!

As you were jumping in place, there was a screech that came from a distance. "Ahhhhhh! Intruder! Frederica-sama, help! They're jumping up and down like a crazy person!"

You could tell that this was Petra from her voice, so you decided not to go and run over to her yet, since she would panic. No matter what she says, she is still twelve, so she is still a child, not a mature adult.

You cupped your hands around your mouth, and shouted, "Petra! It's me, (Y/N)! I'm not an intruder!"

There was a momentary pause. "Ahhhh! I'm so sorry! I-it's dark out here, so I didn't see that it was you," Petra shouted back. Redirecting her words, she yelled, "Frederica-sama, never mind! It was only (Y/N)!"

A few minutes later, you were sitting in the main lobby, talking to the two maids.

"I'm sorry that I showed up so suddenly. I just had this bad feeling, so I came back as soon as I could," you explained.

Frederica looked puzzled at this. "If you do not mind me asking, how were you able to exit the Sanctuary? Garfiel, from what I have heard, is working to prevent anybody from leaving until the barrier is broken."

You shrugged your shoulders. "For some reason, he let me leave. I told him the same thing that I told you, and he told me that I could leave."

She processed this, and Frederica almost looked like she couldn't believe that her brother would do that.

On the other hand, Petra was still fidgeting. On the way to the lobby, she had profusely apologized for calling you out as an intruder.

Of course, it was easy to see why she jumped to that conclusion. You didn't come from the main road, but had come out of the part of the forest that was on the backside of the mansion. That, and like she mentioned, it was dark outside. You really couldn't blame her for what she did, but you would have forgiven Petra even if she did something even more stupid. She was too adorable to get angry at. But not in a weird way.

You gave her a look that said 'Don't worry about it', and she nodded her head.

Frederica stopped puzzling over her brother's actions, and resumed her maid duties. "Now, (L/N)-sama, would yo-"

You held a hand up. "Actually, you can call me (Y/N)."

Frederica smiled and nodded her head. "(Y/N), would you like anything to eat? I am sure that your journey has left you hungry and tired."

Right on cue, your stomach rumbled. "My body doesn't lie. Yeah, food sounds great."

As you were about to follow Frederica to the kitchen, you felt a tug at your waist.

You looked down, and saw Petra. "Um... is Subaru-sama safe?"

You crouched down so that you were at her eye level. Reassuringly, you replied, "Of course! And if something happens, he has a lot of amazing people with him, so everybody will be fine."

After hearing your words, Petra had a huge grin on her face.

Time Skip

Frederica made you a delicious stew, and it didn't even take that long to make. As you quickly sipped the broth from the bottom of your bowl, the maid said, "I am glad that you enjoy this food. Of course, since you are still employed as a butler, I will have to teach you my recipe soon so that you can assist me in the kitchen if I ever need your help."

You stopped sipping the soup, and slowly put the bowl down.

Oh shoot. I totally forgot that I'm still a butler! Do they expect me to help around while I'm here? They better not! I have things to do, so I'm going to have to skip out on the chores. You know what? I'm going to quit. Maybe not now, but I will definitely quit in the next few days. If I'm going to make a Witch Cult killing organization, then I can't be working as a butler at the same time.

But of course, you didn't tell Frederica this. People tend to hold negative feelings towards coworkers who quit when they don't want to do any work.

So, you just chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah... one day..." Eyeing your almost-empty bowl, you finished your soup. "That was really good. Thank you, Frederica! This was something that I didn't know that I needed."

Frederica smiled, showing her teeth this time. "Thank you for the compliment. Now, the baths are prepared, so you can bathe if you so wish."

Another Time Skip

Before getting undressed, you took Echidna's black pendant off. Even if she could see your memories, you still weren't entirely comfortable with seeing you naked.

Once you took the pendant off, you took your clothes off and set everything at an arm's reach away from the large bath.

You let your body sink into the hot water, and exhaled in comfort. Hot baths were the best.

After a solid twenty minutes of pure bliss, you climbed out of the bath and dried yourself off, then changed into the sleepwear that you had been given when you first arrived here, which seemed to be a very long time ago.

You put the pendant back under your shirt, and picked up your dirty clothes and towel. Frederica offered to clean them instead of making you do it, so that was a win.

You left your laundry right outside of the door, and proceeded to walk to your room.

Your room...

I think that I got lost again.

'So, what did I miss? As soon as Subaru left, I found you thinking that you are lost. How disappointing,' Echidna teased.

'Hey! In my defense, this mansion is confusing, and it's been a while since I've last been in it."

'Walk to the third door in front of you on the left side, and open it.'

Since you didn't know where you were, you followed Echidna's instructions. If that was your room, some... changes were going to be needed.

You opened the door, and it wasn't your room that greeted you. Instead it was a little drill loli who was reading a book.

"What are you doing here, I suppose." Beatrice looked down from her book and addressed you.

'Amusing. She's still waiting for 'that person'.'

You immediately understood why Echidna told you to come into that room. She wanted to personally check on Beatrice, and see if she had broken their contract or if she would still be in the library after 400 years, waiting for someone who doesn't exist.

Echidna got her answer, but there was something else that you needed from Beatrice.

'No. Do not tell her about the attack. I would like for Subaru to convince her to break the contract between her and myself. If she is fighting alongside you, this is not likely to happen.'

"Hmph. So you are ignoring Betty. Answer me or leave, I suppose." Beatrice didn't know about the conversation going on inside your head, so she just thought that you weren't responding to her.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to check up on you. It's been a while since we've last seen each other, so I just wanted to say hi."

Beatrice rolled her eyes. "Is that all, I suppose."

You tried to think about anything else that was safe to talk to her about, but you drew a blank. "Yeah, I guess."

'I recommend that you begin running back into the hallway.'

Beatrice started to raise her hand, so you followed Echidna's advice. She was about to hit you with a spell. This was not a good time for that, so you hauled yourself into the hallway, out of the reach of Beatrice's spell.

'That was interesting. Now, where is my room?'

Echidna didn't respond, but somebody else spoke.

From the other end of the hallway, Frederica witnessed you frantically escaping the Forbidden Library, which was Beatrice's residence.

"(Y/N), are you unharmed?" Frederica made her way over to you but you shook your hands.

"I'm fine, but I actually have a different problem." You laughed nervously. "I can't find my room."

Frederica actually laughed at that. "Okay, directionally-challenged butler. I will help you locate your room."

And she did. Frederica was able to lead you to your room in only two minutes, but just for the record, she had been working here longer.

"Good night, (Y/N)," Frederica called as she closed the door once you got in your room.

"Good night," you called back. You didn't know if she heard you, but you didn't care. You plopped onto your comfortable bed, and began to think about something much more serious.

Which anime were you going to watch with Echidna?

She wanted to know about love, so you should probably choose a romance anime, or one that has a good example of love in it...

One anime came to mind immediately, and it was going to be perfect.

You grasped the pendant, and closed your eyes. It began to pulse. It matched your heart beat. The pulse became everything, and then you felt your whole body feel uncomfortable.

You opened your eyes, and saw Echidna moving your chair next to her.

"Come on! We may have nearly unlimited time, but my curiosity is overwhelming! You cannot simply claim that I can discover something that I have been searching for by using your memories, and then wait for an unbelievably stretched amount of time before directing me to it!" Echidna was excited, and she looked cute when she was flailing her arm around with a distressed look on her face.

She might be doing that just to make you feel closer to her and to seem more attractive, but that didn't make it any less cute.

"There's not much I could have done about that, but I'm sorry... I guess." You jogged to Echidna's side, and took your seat next to her. You drank her tea, then told her, "Now, we're going to watch Code Geass. It may not be about romance, but the protagonist's love for his sister is something that I want you to watch."

(A/N: If you haven't seen Code Geass, I highly recommend it!)

Echidna smiled, and then the whole landscape changed. You gasped when you saw what Echidna did. She changed the place to look like your room, and the two of you had a first person view of what you had seen.

Your room wasn't clean, but it wasn't that dirty either. It was an in-between, and seeing it made you feel nostalgic.

And that nostalgia became even stronger when you saw yourself go to KissAnime. May it be forever remembered.

About 20 Hours Later

You and Echidna finally finished Code Geass, and the ending was enough to even stun the Witch of Greed.

"Wow. I did not expect Lelouch to do that. All of that for his sister... He truly loved her." Echidna went deep into thought, trying to understand Lelouch's love for Nunnally.

You, on the other hand, just smiled. Code Geass was an amazing anime, and re-watching it was something that you always intended to do.

Echidna transformed the landscape back to how it looked before, and she looked into your eyes. "How can somebody love another that much? Humans are selfish. How can they prioritize somebody else above themselves? Perhaps this form of love only exists in fiction."

"But this world is technically fiction too, so you never know. And I may not be a love expert, but I will tell you this: when you love somebody, that's what you do. You value them over yourself, and you want them to be happy." To be honest, this was beginning to sound like something that you would say to a friend who needed some advice or someone who needed to be comforted. She may be centuries old, but Echidna really can't understand love.

"I see... Love is not just sexual. It can solely be caring about another being." Echidna stopped, and pouted. "But I still can't understand how one can feel that way about others."

You patted her on the shoulder. "And that's what I'm here for. We can watch another anime some other night, but I'm going to go back now."

You reached for your pendant, but Echidna grabbed your arm. "Even though time flows differently here, you have still stayed here for a long amount of time. You should sleep here, as you would not have sufficient sleep if you went back to the physical world. Your body would be rested, but your mind would be fatigued, and that is something that needs to be prevented, considering the events that will transpire soon."

She let go of your hand, and you looked around nervously. "Okay, but where will I sleep?"

Echidna got out of her chair, and sat on her legs. "Why, on my lap, of course."

Your eyes widened, and you started to shake your head. "I'm not Subaru! Sure, I might want a lap pillow, but what have I done to deserve one from you?! I'm not ready for this!"

Echidna shook her head. "That is where you are mistaken. You have faced your fair share of pain and growth in this world as well. Your innards have been sliced open. You were eaten alive by mabeasts. You were brutally rejected by a maid who you foolishly fell for. You suffered from making a deal with a clown. You were attacked by the Archbishops of Greed and Gluttony. You faced grueling guilt and faced the ones who were affected, directly and indirectly but that attack. You have suffered through many hardships in this world, yet you have still to find somebody who comforted you as Subaru has been comforted. So come, lay your head on my lap. You have worked hard, so rest easy."

When Echidna listed everything that you had gone through, it made you tear up. You had gone through so much pain, and right when you thought you had gotten over it, you were reminded that you still haven't found what you were looking for.

You wanted somebody that would comfort you on a deeper level than those who only offered words. You wanted somebody who you could love, and be loved back. Echidna was willing to do that first thing, and it was almost impossible to say no to her now.

So you walked slowly over to her, and then laid down on the ground, with your head resting in her lap.

Echidna stroked your hair, and whispered, "I am here for you. Sleep well."

She said that she didn't understand love, but Echidna sure did know what to say. And as she stroked your hair, your eyes became droopy, and you drifted off to sleep.

Hey guys! I hope that you liked this chapter.

So, just letting you know, I am about to get a lot more busy, so I may not be able to post weekly. With that said, I will do my best to get it out in a week, but if I can't, I will definitely post the next chapter the following week.

And about my note in the previous chapter... Whoops. I had originally planned for this chapter to contain the preparation for the fight with Elsa and Meili, but I changed my mind while writing it. That will be in the next chapter, so I'll see you there!