After extensive searching, Capella's head was not found in Crush's mansion, so there was no actual reason to stay any longer. As a result, your group left the night of Pandora's rewriting of reality.

Omega, as promised, traveled with you since there was no need to hide anymore. Presently, Elsa and Meili are giving her looks since she sat next to you in the dragon carriage, but neither she nor you cared.

You, Omega, Garfiel, Elsa, and Meili were sitting close to each other while Subaru and Beatrice sat in the front. The carriage, not having suffered damage from the now nonexistent battle, made no groans as Patrasche pulled it onto the Liafus Highway, back towards Miload Manor.

Garfiel stretched out and bumped Omega's knee, which was located across from him.

"M'bad," the demi human grumbled.

Omega was about to answer when you saw a grin appear across her face. Apparently changing her answer, she replied, "Do not worry, for it is I who is rude. I never properly introduced myself, did I?"

Garfiel looked towards you with a confused expression. He then looked at Elsa, who ignored him, then Meili, who shrugged.

"Didn't'cha say yer' name w's Omega? Is ya memory 'kay? Or 're ya like a barpone on frilt?" Garfiel questioned.

Omega's grin grew wider before containing itself and disappearing. "Ah, did I already give my name? I do not consider that a proper introduction. For you see, my true name is Echidna."

As soon as those words left Omega's mouth, Beatrice screeched from the front. "Gwalamashrwat?!"

Simultaneously, Garfiel deadpanned. "But she done hit th' dirt a while 'go. An' you ain't lookin' like 'chidna. I bet ya ain't 'chidna. So how do ya know 'er an' why're ya lyin?"

Beatrice stuck her head into the passenger area and glared at Omega. "Why are you claiming to be Echidna, in fact. What do you want, I suppose."

Omega leaned back and relaxed in her seat as she began her explanation. "This reveal was most definitely premature, but I suddenly felt the need to reveal my true identity. You see, it is better to get it out of the way now rather than planning out an optimal situation in which I can confess the same thing."

Omega disengaged her illusion, and her Ryuzu clone form led to disbelief in Garfiel and Beatrice and gained the interest of Elsa and Meili, who have never heard of Echidna but have seen the clones.

"Wha..." Garfiel mumbled.

"Oh." Omega added. "Since a certain Knight is no longer present, I can also present another facet of proof. Please excuse me, for most of you will feel nauseous in a moment."

You looked at her with disbelief, but Echidna telepathically chimed, 'You did tell me to reduce my scheming, so this is the result. Now I am enjoying myself and the reactions of those who know less than I do.'

'But... did you have to do it out of nowhere? I mean, this is going to get really awkward now.'

'Perhaps, but I believe that it was effective as an event to associate surprise with my character. I like to believe that my confession just now was similar to the one in Attack on Titan.'

'Well, it was very unexpected. I'll give you that.'

And it was the unexpectedness that brought conflicted feelings to an unprepared Beatrice. Was this actually her Mother? Why did she look like Ryuzu? What was she doing here?

All of these questions swirled around Beatrice's mind and similar ones plagued Garfiel's mind.

The demi human had met Echidna through the Trials and learned about her from the different Ryuzu clones he lived with in the Sanctuary, so hearing somebody who looked just like the people who raised him claim that she was Echidna was confusing.

Omega took a breath and then closed her eyes in concentration. Before anybody could ask about what she was doing, Echidna's true form rose up from inside Omega.

It was translucent, but the waves of miasma that it emitted were dense - dense enough to make Garfiel gag and Elsa heave. Meili stood no chance, but the other occupants were fine as the little girl yelped in surprise.

In response, the Bowel Hunter grabbed one of her knives and prepared to eliminate this frightening threat.

Noticing this, Omega retracted her true form back into her body and braced herself, getting ready for what was probably about to happen.

Just as Omega predicted, Subaru stopped Patrasche, and inertia carried all of the other occupants forward, making the nauseous riders feel worse.

"Th' h'll was tha'?!" Garfiel chocked out, not appreciating his queasiness.

Omega sat comfortably in place, her expression not revealing the slightest bit of remorse. "You see, I revealed my true form. I am now undeniably Echidna, so I have proven my identity. Please do not blame me for your current condition, as I would not have had to resort to this if you had believed me at the beginning. You have nobody but yourself to blame-"

Subaru opened the back of the carriage and entered furiously. He gasped when he saw Omega without her illusion, and gasped even louder when he saw the vomit at Meili and Elsa's feet.

"What are you doing, Omega?! Didn't you make an oath not to hurt anybody?!" Subaru exclaimed, not knowing how to take in this situation.

Omega shook her head and crossed her legs as she replied, "That never happened. Of course, I will be happy to do so, but it might be helpful to understand the story before you judge the situation yourself."

Reluctantly, Subaru waited for Omega to elaborate.

The other passengers, excluding you and Beatrice, were slowly passing their nausea and found themselves able to get back up comfortably as Omega explained, "You see, I told them that I was Echidna and they did not believe me. As a result, I briefly revealed my true form. Like I have stated to you before, most people cannot stand before me and live due to my miasma, so these three unfortunate individuals suffered a slight inconvenience, which caused the yelp that summoned you."

Omega's monologue caused three separate reactions:

Subaru was shocked that Omega revealed her identity so soon.

Garfiel realized that Subaru had already met Echidna, and he wondered if you did too.

Beatrice snapped out of a trance-like state and began tearing up, since - somehow - Echidna was sitting down right in front of her.

As she absorbed her surrounds, Omega sighed. "Perhaps I have created a little more trouble than intended... This will indeed be a long ride."

Time Skip

Over the following hours, Omega had explained her contract with you similarly to how she did it with Beatrice in the different timeline, and you were assaulted with questions just as she was.

In the end, Beatrice was happy that Echidna was there even though it wasn't the same as her Mother, Garfiel accepted the truth, Elsa didn't seem bothered, and Meili couldn't help but feel afraid of this new companion.

Subaru had forced Omega to vow once more that she wouldn't harm any allies, and she complied, even though it didn't matter since her contract with you could void any other oath.

At daybreak, you had arrived back at Miload Manor, where Clind had been waiting. Whether he saw the carriage from a freakishly long distance or just somehow knew when you would arrive, nobody knew, but he stood there regardless.

"Welcome back. Did you have a safe journey? Greeting." The butler bowed, but mid-bow, his form stiffened.

'(Y/N), there is a sixty-five percent chance that this butler has just seen through my illusion.'

Subaru answered Clind with a sigh, since he was exhausted after driving for several hours. "It was perfectly fine. Beako didn't act up, so we made it just fine!"

'Wait, seriously? Is Clind that good?'

"Subaru, you are infuriating, I suppose!" Beatrice reared her arm back to hit her contractor, but stopped because of a certain somebody.

'I believe so. However, I will continue to cast my illusion. I will have fun engaging in psychological warfare with this man and the clown, so I will consider this as a way to train myself with magic in order to restore my mana capacity.'

Clind straightened back up and didn't spare a glance at Omega, electing to ignore her in order to not seem suspicious or rude. "I see. There are several persons awaiting your arrival, so please proceed. I will attend to this carriage. Punctual."

The thought of Emilia immediately vanquished all drowsiness in Subaru as he enthusiastically strode into the mansion.

Beatrice briefly looked back at Omega before following her contractor, and Meili was close behind her.

Truth be told, Meili was apprehensive about Omega and didn't want to be close to her without a decent amount of company.

Elsa, being the sister-figure she was, followed Meili, which left you, Omega, and Garfiel.

Clind seemed to disappear into the dragon carriage, as if he had to inspect the inside closely without being viewed. Omega noted this but didn't see any issues with it. As of this moment, she had the upper hand in the mind games that would ensue, and almost nothing could tip the favors against her. This certainly couldn't.

Time Skip

When you found where Subaru went off to, you found the rest of your group (minus Meili and Elsa) plus Emilia, Frederica, Otto, Roswaal, and Annerose Miload. Ram was not present, and neither was the comatose Rem.

Emilia was giggling about something Subaru said, but she and the others who had stayed at the mansion quit what they were doing to look up at Omega, who they had never seen before.

The first to comment was Roswaal. "My my! Now whooooooo do we have here?"

Omega curtsied and introduced her alias. "My name is Omega, and I have decided to accompany (Y/N) and Subaru, as I had the privilege of joining The Crusaders recently."

Upon hearing this, Emilia made her way towards Omega and greeted her with an extended hand. "Thank you so much for helping (Y/N)-kun and Subaru-kun! They are super good people, and so is everyone else here. I hope that you will be really happy here!"

Omega expertly hid her repulsion and shook Emilia's hand with a smile. "Thank you so much! I feel very welcomed! You must be Emilia, correct?"

Emilia nodded her head and looked overjoyed by the fact that Omega seemed nice.

As Emilia walked back to Subaru, Otto approached Omega.

The merchant did the same as Emilia and went in for a handshake. As Omega took his hand, Otto said, "Hello, Omega-san. I am the Emilia Camp's Head of Internal Affairs-"

"Otto Suwen!" Omega exclaimed in mock surprise. "Out of all the people in this room, you are one of the ones I am most excited to meet!"

Otto paused and made noises of pure happiness. The fact that somebody was excited to meet him, especially in the face of all of the impressive characters in the room, made him the happiest he had been in months.

Similarly, Omega was getting more and more excited as she looked around the room.

'(Y/N), I believe that the next several months will encompass the most fun I have had in centuries. Manipulating people is too thrilling! Perhaps you are correct, and I need to live more in the moment rather than planning out my every move for the next few months or even years. Of course, I will not completely stop scheming, but reducing my plans has made life much more enjoyable. Thank you.'

'I don't know where that came from, but you're welcome. I like to think that I've learned a few things in my life, so I'm relieved that I could be useful in a way that I can't usually help.'

Time Skip

For the remainder of that day, most everyone who had come back from the trip elected to get some rest since the ride back to the mansion was not one that invited sleep.

However, Elsa chose to run around the forest and swing at trees. She didn't get to fight, so she took out her disappointment and brimming bloodlust out on nature, where she wouldn't get punished for 'accidentally' killing some people since there were no people nearby.

Aside from her, Beatrice couldn't sleep even if she wanted to. She had just learned that her Mother had partially found success in resurrecting herself. Omega was not the same as the Echidna that Betty knew, but somehow knowing that a part of Echidna was alive made her happy and reminded her too much of the past.

These complex emotions were displayed through Beatrice's facial expressions, and Subaru noticed that his contracted spirit seemed different when he finally woke up in the morning.

And that is why he woke you and Omega up, or so he says.

"What was that reaction for?!" Subaru complained. "I'm worried about Beako and it's already brunch time so you really shouldn't be sleeping any longer anyway! What happened to being a responsible person?!"

You shrugged. "In my defense, me and Omega binged all of the Fate series last night."

Omega nodded her head once, silently agreeing that binging anime all night made you really tired the next morning.

Subaru sweat dropped. "I-is that so... I don't know what you mean by the 'Fate series', but I guess that it's pretty long." He sighed and composed himself quickly. As if he was a different person, Subaru stood up tall and firmly said, "Omega, the fact that you told everyone about your identity so soon is messing with their heads. Like I already said, Beako isn't herself and I'm sure that the others are uneasy around you. Shouldn't you try to do something to make them feel more comfortable around you?"

Omega considered this for a moment. "What do you suggest? There are several ways to go about this."

"Hmm..." Subaru dropped his chin and brought a hand up to it. His thoughts came out in low murmurs, and when he was finished, his head slowly rose back up. "I guess we can play games. I can teach them Othello or something. If it ends well, everyone will be more used to you."

Omega smirked as an idea came to mind. "In that case, please summon anybody except for the clown and the butler who is willing to play a game with me."

"What are we going to play?" you asked out of curiosity.

Omega put a finger up to mouth and whispered, "Shh. I will announce my decision after we have collected the players."

Subaru narrowed his eyes at Omega but decided to listen to her. "Okay. Let's say that we'll start in... 30 minutes in the room we use for meetings."

Omega made a weak shooing motion with her hands, motioning for Subaru to leave. "That is fine with me. Now, gather the players."

31 Minutes Later

You walked into the meeting room with the remainder of a pizza (masterfully made by Frederica) in your mouth and Omega by your side.

Assembled at the bare table was Subaru, Beatrice, Elsa, Meili, Garfiel, Emilia, and Otto. Everybody in this room, except for Emilia and Otto, knew about Omega's true identity.

Subaru, who was seated at the head of the table, looked at Omega with apprehension. "Now that we're all here, what are we going to play?"

Omega took a seat at the opposite end of the table, and once you took your seat, there were only three spare seats.

Noticing that nobody undesirable was in attendance, Omega decided that she could answer the question. "We will be playing something that Subaru knows as Dice and Deception."

"YESSSSS!" Subaru jumped out of his seat and pumped his fists into the air. "I love that game!"

His reaction startled Emilia, and Beatrice was suffering from second-hand embarrassment.

Seeing that Subaru was the only person who knew what this game was, Otto raised his hand. "Excuse me, Omega-san, but can you please explain what this game is and how to play? I assume there are dice involved, but unless we can all share two of them, I do not believe that this game will be playable."

"Of course!" Omega replied confidently. "Dice and Deception is a role-playing game in which one plays the part of a character that they create, and dice are used to determine the effectiveness of one's actions." Glancing at you, she added, "This game is also known as Dungeons and Dragons."

Otto sighed while a smile was simultaneously beginning to form on your face. Dungeons and Dragons was a game that many people enjoyed, and people who haven't played it have often heard other people give nothing but praise to this tabletop RPG.

This smile stopped as Otto began talking again. "I understand the concept of the game now, but that still doesn't address the issue about dice."

Subaru suddenly looked heartbroken because Otto had a point. "There's usually seven or so different dice per person, and we only have two of the standard six-sided one!" Sulking, he announced, "I guess we can't play D&D. We don't have the dice, so I guess we can go with my idea and play Othello."

You looked at Omega with puzzlement, since dice weren't something that she would usually overlook. Perhaps she could make them or calculate the dice rolls for everyone.

Omega smirked, and you knew that the lack of dice were included in her calculations.

'(Y/N), there is an option that you haven't considered yet. Against my instincts, I will consult you about it.'

'What is it?'

'You can use the pendant to bring everybody into my Castle of Dreams, and I can materialize the dice there.'

'Are you crazy?! Why would you let everyone in there? Are you so set on playing this game that you want to let every secret out? I get that I said that telling the truth earlier would be better, but this might be going too far.'

'Are you certain? My main objective is not to play this game, but to verify the existence of the Authority of Lust within Subaru, and I can abide by your earlier point and expose the truth, with the bonus that these simpletons are already reeling from the shock of my identity. We can reveal the truth for a reduced price if we choose to do so now.'

'I can't believe that I didn't think of that! I totally forgot about that Authority, and you make a good point about them already being shocked about your true identity. At this point, only Otto has no idea about who you are. Emilia knows about you but doesn't know that you are Omega.'

'Tsk. I would rather not let her into my Castle of Dreams again, but I am willing to do so in order to fulfill my goals.'

'In that case, I guess that we can do it. I'll tell everyone to close their eyes and I'll touch them with the pendant one by one.'

'No. You must have all of them maintain contact with the pendant for the duration of the game in order for them to remain in my world. Have them gather in a circle and close their eyes if you do not wish for them to see the pendant.'

'I hope that they'll actually do it...'

You cleared your throat loudly. When that didn't divert attention from Subaru, you exclaimed, "Everyone! Listen up!"

The table went silent, so you continued. "I figured out a solution for the dice problem. First, we need to get in a circle."

"How's that gonna' help a' all?" Garfiel asked.

"Just trust me," you replied.

Garfiel shrugged and stood up so that he could start a circle next to you. Emilia and Otto followed him, and Subaru was slowly getting up with a confused expression.

However, Meili seemed reluctant to go near Omega, who still scared her. The only reason she was here in the first place was because Elsa was interested in getting to know more about Omega/Echidna.

Elsa was intrigued by the person who made her throw up by simply releasing her true form, but she knew that Meili was afraid of this monster of a person. Elsa knew this, but Meili was still going to have to face her fears.

"You can do it," whispered the Bowel Hunter. "I can smell your fear, so take one step at a time. The more steps you take, the less fear you'll have. After all, she is nothing compared to Mama."

Meili's eyes widened at the mention of Capella's title in the Assassin Organization. That woman was the scariest thing to ever exist, and the fear caused by that woman left a scar in Meili's mind.

When Omega, or anybody else, was compared to Mama, they didn't seem scary anymore. Meili relaxed and looked at Elsa with sparkling eyes. 'Thank you,' she mouthed.

Elsa grinned and walked forward towards the forming circle, which looked more like a deformed oval. For some reason, circles are always difficult to form.

Once Meili bravely entered the circle, you entered the second stage of your instructions. "Okay, so I know that this sounds weird, but close your eyes and put all of your hands together in the middle. Something's about to happen but it's best if you don't see it."

Subaru gasped. "(Y/N)! If you wanted to hold hands, then you could have just asked! Any of us probably would have said yes! You don't have to go this far to- OW! Beako, I was just kidding! I swear!"

Beatrice had kicked Subaru in the shin and everyone else was giving Subaru a weird look.

With her head cocked to the side, Emilia asked, "Subaru, are you saying that you are okay with (Y/N) holding my hand? Or was that part of the joke, because I know that you love-"

"Please! Stop it right there, Emilia-tan! My heart isn't ready for you to say those words out loud! And no! I would die of jealousy if you and (Y/N) were holding hands! I made a bad joke, okay? I'm sorry, everybody!" Subaru suddenly closed his eyes and held his arm out. "Okay, let's do what (Y/N) said! Let's not focus on me anymore!"

Emilia was the second one to close her eyes, followed by Garfiel, Beatrice, Meili, Otto, and then Elsa. Elsa was actually debating keeping her eyes open to see what would happen, but she chose to close them because the side of her that wanted to listen to you won the debate.

Once all eyes were closed, you took the pendant off of your neck and prepared to place it in the middle of all of the outstretched hands.

Just as you prepared to place the pendant, Omega did the unexpected: she held onto that hand.

'Before you ask, I am doing this in order to make it seem like I am entirely responsible for what is about to happen. The existence of your pendant will be covered up.'

'Seems legit.'

Omega sighed. "Prepare yourselves," she said right before she forced your hand to go down, a pulsing feeling enveloping the room before a sudden flash of light found them somewhere else.

You were the only one not dizzy from the conversion of realities since the hundreds of times you had done it before made you numb to the effects of the jump.

There were confused gaps, but Emilia's voice cut through all of the others when she realized where she was. "Echidna! I don't know what's going on, but you finally let me meet you here! Did Minerva keep her promise?"

"(Y/N)!" Subaru shouted. "Or Echidna! I don't know which of you did this, but how are we here?!"

"Where is this?"

"Who is Echidna? Natsuki-san, what is happening?!"

"Echidna? Isn't that Omega's real identity? Is this how she really looks?"

"Why does Emilia know about Echidna already?"

"̶W̶h̶o̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶R̶e̶m̶?̶"̶

"What is happening?!"

Echidna stood from her tea table and waltzed over to where you spawned. As she came closer, silence overtook the confused people. "To answer your questions, I am Echidna, the Witch of Greed, and the one you know as Omega. I have invited all of you into my Castle of Dreams today in order to play D&D, as I can materialize dice in this space."

As he heard this, Otto's jaw dropped. "T-the Witch of Greed? The one that Roswaal mentioned in the Sanctuary?"

Garfiel nodded his head. "Yup. She tol' us on th' way back fr'm the Dutchess's place, so I supp'se th' only ones not knowin' her identity 's you 'an Emilia-sama."

"Eh?" Emilia exclaimed. "All of you already knew about this? I'm so happy that you shared that secret with me too, Echidna!"

One of Echidna's eyes twitched, but she didn't lose her composure. After all, she needed to make a good impression so that these people would trust her. "Indeed..." she muttered. "And before you or the merchant asks, (Y/N) and I are contracted. We did so while we were still at the Sanctuary, and I took one of the clones' bodies as a host for a piece of my soul. It is also important to note that I am not the same Echidna that created the Sanctuary, but that is a story for another time."

"Oh. I noticed that when I broke that spell over her tomb," Emilia noted. "The body inside looked nothing like you!"

"Thank you for that commentary, Emilia. Now, any other questions?"

Otto nodded toward your direction. "Actually-"

"Great!" Echidna clasped her hands together. "We can begin playing now! Please, have a seat."

A table suddenly materialized, which made Meili jump, despite her taking this situation quite well.

You noticed that there were papers in front of each seat, so you decided to sit down immediately and see what Echidna had prepared.

Echidna always used a comfortably styled chair, and this was very appreciated. What you didn't appreciate was the fact that the paper in front of you was a character sheet that had [insert here] for every description. Not only did it appear as if you had to roleplay as yourself, but all the space was taken up by the [insert here] text.

"Really?" you deadpanned. "Did you just make some character sheets based on us and put [insert here] on everything else so you could save time? I would rather us do no work or all the work."

"What are you talking about?" Subaru asked. "Mine is completely filled out. Even my backstory, which would be freaky if I didn't already know Echidna. Speaking of this, why do we have character sheets of ourselves? That defeats the purpose of the game, doesn't it?"

Echidna shook her head. "While this game is meant to be fun, I would also like to use it as a training exercise for unexpected situations. For example, if two powerful fighters and an Archbishop attacks us one day, I would like for our group to be prepared to react quickly and effectively and not die."

"That is fair." Subaru backed off and slumped into the back of his chair.

"Now, I will summarize the mechanics of this game. I will answer other questions during gameplay." Echidna waved his hand, and dice appeared in front of each seat. "There are seven dice: a four-sided one, a six-sided one, an eight-sided one, two ten-sided ones, a twelve-sided one, and a twenty-sided one. The twenty-sided die will be used the most frequently, and I will articulate which die to use in each instance. Furthermore, just as I suggested, I will not be playing. Instead, I will act as the Dungeon Master, which is akin to a narrator. As I narrate, please participate in the story I present as yourself. Please react to things as you normally would. Now, please save questions until they must be answered. All of you are bright, so you should be able to figure things out while you play. Understood?"

Character pages were flipping and dice were being examined, but the table collectively nodded their heads.

Echidna faked a wide smile. "Great! Now we can begin!"

The Session Begins Here

"We begin with the cries of mabeasts filling the air. The eight of you are traveling by foot on a narrow path through a dense forest, and a low mist obscures your vision. However, there seems to be several structures in the distance. You have been traveling for one night and half of this day, and this is the very first sign of civilized life. As you walk closer and closer to the moderately tall structures, the sound of mabeasts diminishes and the forest opens up. When your group finally exits the narrow path of the grand forest, you see a small town, and the fog is not noticeable here."

"I want to go back in the forest!" Meili cried out. "I want to be with the animal-chans!"

"Are you sure?" Echidna asked, not acting annoyed even though she was interrupted, "Because your group was traveling to investigate an anonymous tip that claimed that there was suspicious activity happening in this area. Do you want to ignore this town and look for another potential source of suspicion?"

"Umm..." Meili pondered this question, so Subaru answered for her.

"No!" he exclaimed. "I know a plot hook when I see one, so we are going into the town! Is everyone okay with that?"

"If Subaru thinks that it's a good idea, I'll go," said Emilia.

Garfiel shrugged his shoulders. "I ain't gettin' this bu' I'll go. Maybe there's fightin' in th' game."

At the mention of fighting, Elsa's figure perked up. "Sorry, Meili, but I cannot resist a good fight! I've been longing to kill somebody for sooo long!"

"Then it is settled," Echidna concluded. "Meili, your group will be going into this town. Will you follow or go into the forest on your own?"

Reluctantly, Meili answered, "I'll go into the town."

As Meili answered, Echidna materialized a map in the middle of the table. Everybody leaned forward to examine it, and you were impressed with the detail that it contained.

It displayed four roads that intersected in the middle of the town, with houses bordering every inch of those roads. One street led to what looked like a tavern, another led to a large, unidentified, building, and the two other roads led outside of town with no set destination, one of which you came from.

"This is the city of Kleinstadt," Echidna narrated. "You have entered this town from the path on the bottom left side of this map. What would you like to do first?"

"Can you tell us what this town has?" You asked. "Because it's hard to tell just by looking at these buildings."

Echidna grinned. "I am sorry, but I will not inform you of the identity of these buildings. You must discover that for yourselves."

Taking charge, Otto pointed at the map. "In that case, we can go here, at the top right at the end of this street. This appears to be a tavern or gathering place of some sort, so we can ask for information about the town and about our objective there."

"Great idea!" Subaru commented. "Taverns are always the best places to start! Let's go!"

"Wait!" Emilia yelped in a panic, her arms flailing out to prevent the group from moving from their imaginary place in the town.

Subaru turned towards her. "What is it, Emilia-tan?"

"Well... what if the suspicious people are in there? Isn't it bad if we made it obvious that we were after them?"

"Hmm?" Garfiel answered. "If there 'n there, th'n we can beat 'um up! Simple a' that!"

Elsa hummed in agreement. "We can finish them off quite quickly, so let's be off!"

"Wait, let's think about it," you asserted. "Emilia might be right. We have no idea what this 'suspicious' thing is, so we have to be careful. Should we lie about our identities so that we can cover up what we're doing here?"

Subaru leaned back, his eyes closed with thought. "Well, I suppose that we can lie. Echidna, when and where does this take place? If this takes place in this world in this period of time, they might know us from reputation."

Echidna looked amused. "This does take place in this world and in this time period, but this location is in an isolated region of Lugnica. Any potential information about this group will have come from rumors from passing travelers. These travelers are rare, and even if they had any credible information, it is likely to be distorted. Therefore, the only person here who is in real danger of being identified is Emilia, for obvious reasons."

When you first came to this world, Emilia would have been downcast after hearing that analysis, but her current self was much stronger. She kept her head held high and asked, "Do we have a cloak that I can use to cover my head with? I would rather not have to use one, but I do not want to cause trouble for us."

In a hushed voice, Subaru pointed at Emilia's character sheet. "Look at your inventory," he whispered. "You might have one in there."

Emilia blushed and quietly studied her character sheet while everyone began looking through their own inventory.

You saw that you had three shortswords, which is accurate to what you had in real life. Other than that, you had common clothes and 50 gold coins.

That wasn't much in terms of equipment, but it reflected what you usually carried, so it made sense.

At the same time, every other player also discovered that their character sheet described their typical load.

"How th' f'ck did ya' do tha'?!" Garfiel shouted. "You're a stalk'r, ya know?"

Echidna shrugged. "Perhaps I know because I have accompanied most of you on a trip. Perhaps I have been 'stalking' you. Perhaps I have other sources. Who knows?"

Garfiel turned his gaze toward you, and you shook your head. You didn't want people to know that Echidna could see everything that you saw, so you played it off as if you had no part of this.

"Yay!" Emilia cheered, which broke the uncomfortable conversation. "I have the cloak that makes it so that no one recognizes me! I can wear this, and no one will know that I'm Emilia!"

"Great!" Subaru exclaimed. "We can go to the tavern now! Even if our suspects are in there, we can probably get away with asking questions!"

"Subaru, this might be rash, I suppose," Beatrice noted. So far, she had been too surprised by the fact that she had been taken into this space to be focused on the game, but she had finally regained her composure.

Otto disagreed. "On the contrary, I think that this is a great idea. Of course, I'm a little biased since I came up with the idea, but hear me out. There is a low chance of our target being in there, and even if they, or any informants, are in there, we can play this off as a group of lost individuals. We can lie about our identities and claim that we are a group of performers and their bodyguards who abandoned their dragon carriage after it was attacked by mabeasts. As long as we don't slip up, we can deceive the townspeople."

"See, Beako!" Subaru said. "We're totally fine! Now, we just need some fake names for the more popular people here. Let me see... Emilia-tan, Elsa, (Y/N), and I will have to change our names. I'm pretty sure that the rest of you aren't national figures yet." Subaru stressed the "yet" as to not offend anybody, specifically Garfiel.

"Ooh! I'll be Emily! Annerose calls me that all the time, so I'm used to it!" Emilia claimed.

Without hesitation, Elsa added, "I will be the Gut Displacer!"

Echidna rested her chin on her arm. "I do not believe that 'Gut Displacer' is an inconspicuous name. Please, try again."

Disappointed, Elsa thought of a new name. "I will be..." Suddenly, her face brightened up. "I will be Garah Thornwood! That woman had very nice bowels, so I remember her name well~!"

There was a moment of silence before you announced, "My name will be In. Just Ih."

"Eh?" Subaru looked at you like you were dumb.

"Well," you explained, "everything on my character sheet says [insert here], so I just made my name out of the initials of that. Ih. And it's really easy to say, so it's hard to get wrong."

Subaru facepalmed, but Otto had no problem with that name. "If there is no other business, I suggest we move to the tavern."

You nodded your head. "Yeah, let's go. We've been getting details sorted out for a long enough time now."

Echidna proceeded to narrate once more. "Your group now walks toward what you believe to be the tavern. Now, everybody roll for perception."

"Perception?" Elsa asked. "Why do I have to roll a dice for a silly thing like that?"

"You see," Echidna began, "in this game, dice determine many things, and perception is one of those things. Refer to your character sheet, and you will see that perception is listed under skills. Now, there is a number next to perception, which is your skill modifier. Roll the twenty-sided die one time and add your modifier to that number. The effectiveness of your perception will determine what I will reveal."

A chorus of "ohhh's" and "ahhh's" filled the table, and the sound of dice rolling soon followed.

"I gotta' seven!" Garfiel announced. "Is tha' good?"

Echidna shook her head slowly. "You do not notice anything out of the ordinary."

"Dam' it!" Garfiel cursed.

"I have a seventeen," Otto said next.

"So do I!" Emilia exclaimed.

"Now, that is a better number," Echidna noted. "The two of you notice that there are people peeking through their windows as you pass their houses. They appear to be fearful."

"We can ask about that at the tavern," Otto speculated. "Something must be happening to frighten these people so much, so we can bring that up."

While Otto was talking, Subaru thought of something. "Wait, who here has the highest Charisma stat? It's going to be the number under the CHA bubble on the first sheet. I have a fourteen."

"About that," Otto replied, "I have a seventeen. Does anybody else have a higher number?"

You shook your head; you only had a thirteen. Apparently, Otto had the highest charisma out of everybody in this group. This was probably because he was a merchant, and most of the group was... special, in their own ways.

Subaru sighed in defeat. "Well then, I guess Otto gets to do the questioning. The rest of us can still do it, but he's just better at it."

Garfiel crossed his arms. "I ain't likin' this game," he grumbled.

"Be patient," Echidna advised. "I guarantee that there will be combat."

Garfiel revealed a toothy grin, his enthusiasm back to a high level. "Now, that's what I'm talkin' 'bout! Let's hurry so we c'n fight!"

Elsa nodded her head ferociously, so Echidna continued.

"As you approach the door to what is definitely the tavern, you could not hear any voices coming from inside. When you finally arrive, the door opens and reveals a large man standing in the doorway."

With a tone, Echidna voiced, "What're you folks doing here? Strangers are very rare here."

Otto spoke up. "You see, we are a traveling group of entertainers, and the lady with the black hair and the demi human are our bodyguards. A group of mabeasts attacked us during our journey, but thanks to the bodyguards, we weren't harmed. We've been walking since yesterday, so we came here once we saw that there was a town."

"Otto, can you please roll your twenty-sided die and add your deception modifier to that number?" Echidna asked.

Otto rolled his die and looked up once he saw his number. "I rolled a twenty, so I have a twenty-three as a total."

Echidna clapped her hands. "That is wonderful! A natural twenty is the best roll that one can make in this game! Obviously, the man believes your lie and softens his expression."

In her lower voice, Echidna continued. "Ah, I see. Sorry to hear that. My name is Thrall. Why don't you all come on in? There's plenty of space in here."

Time Skip (Because Garfiel and Elsa really want to get to the combat)

What you learned from Thrall was astounding.

Apparently, men have been going missing, so that is why the tavern was so empty. When search parties have gone searching for these lost men, they only found bloodied craters in the ground.

Surprisingly, these disappearances happened during both day and night, but it couldn't be mabeasts. There was a barrier around this town, similar to the one around Arlam village.

Once the group learned all of this from Thrall, you promised him that you would investigate.

It didn't help that most of the shops were closed due to a shortage of men, and the women and children were boarded up in their houses, but there was one sure way to find out what was happening.

"We're going into the forest!" Meili exclaimed with happiness.

Subaru nodded his head. "Obviously, there is someone - or something - out there, so we need to find the source of it all. Mabeasts won't be a problem with Meili around, so we can investigate freely."

"Let's go now!" Elsa asserted. "I want to kill something!"

"Sounds fair," you said. "A lot of things can cause craters, but I would bet that we're up against magic users or really strong physical fighters."

"That is obvious, in fact," Beatrice commented. "With that vague of a description, most powerful enemies will fit your criteria, I suppose."

"Don't be mean to (Y/N), Beako!" Subaru chastised his spirit. "Now, let's get going!"

Echidna nodded. "Where would you like to enter the forest from?"

Everybody leaned closer to the map so that they could get a better view.

"What if we went out at the top middle?" Emilia suggested.

"I don't see why not," Otto replied.

Subaru nodded his head, and so did Garfiel, which prompted Elsa to follow.

"It is settled," Echidna announced. "All of you walk into the forest to the north, and as you walk farther into the dense brush, you notice that something is different here than what you had experienced on the walking trail: everything is unusually silent. There would typically be mabeasts swarming your location, but there was no sign of such life. Something is wrong."

"Can I roll perception again?" Subaru asked. "I have a modifier of six so I feel good about my chances."

Echidna shrugged. "If you feel compelled to roll, then I see no reason not to."

Subaru grinned and rolled his twenty-sided die. "Heck yeah!" Subaru pumped his arms when he saw his roll. "I rolled an eighteen, so that's a total of twenty-four!"

Echidna thought about the result for a moment before she revealed the situation. "Somehow, you notice that there seems to be an extreme pressure coming from deeper within the forest. Something sinister must be down there."

"This is getting good!" Subaru giggled. "Everyone! We need to go deeper into the forest, because there seems to be a really strong presence down there!"

Elsa licked her lips at the word 'strong'. "How many times must we say this?" she questioned. "Let's go!"

At this point, Echidna brought a hand up to her mouth to hide the expression on her face. "You walk farther into the forest, and at this point, you notice the craters that Thrall had mentioned. Splatters of blood coat the bottom of these craters, but there isn't a trace of blood anywhere else. It almost seemed like something was crushed here, and any remains seem to have vanished. Whatever you are walking toward has definitely killed many people."

"Can I shout?" Elsa asked impatiently. "Can I shout and get its attention?"

"Heh! I'll shout with'ya!" Garfiel exclaimed.

"Go ahead," Echidna said.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are~ I've got a little something for you~!"

"Get ya'ass out here! Are ya scared?! I ain't!"

Emilia gave both of them a disappointed look, but Echidna did the opposite. With an excited look, she narrated, "As you scream into the woods, you can feel the pressure increase. Suddenly, a monotonic voice carried itself through the dead air."

"You're being too loud. Shut up," it says. "Leave me alone. This is really sad, you know. I have to do something with this sadness, so let me do my thing. Go away."

As she acted out this new character, its picture appeared on the table.

"A shadowy figure creeps into your field of vision. It lacks a proper form, but you can tell that this would be a tall, skinny person if it were properly shaped. As it comes closer, you hear more complaints."

"This is a waste of my time. Why are there children here? This is depressing."

"Now, the figure has come into full view. This is what remains of what was once a powerful entity. Now, roll initiative."

A map of the area appeared, but there were confused expressions as to what initiative was.

Subaru picked up his twenty-sided die and explained, "You roll this and add the initiative modifier that's in a box by itself."

Echidna observed the table and when she saw the dice, she announced the order of attack. "First, (Y/N) will go since he has the highest number at eighteen. Following him will be Garfiel, then Meili, then the figure, then Beatrice, then Emilia, then Subaru, then Elsa, and then Otto. As we go into combat, it is important to note that your Armor Class dictates whether attacks will hit or miss you, and in order to attack, you must roll your twenty-sided die and add any modifier specified by your attacks. Once you have done so, roll the die or dice that your chosen attack uses for damage and add any modifiers that apply."

Garfiel looked at his armor class and bellowed. "Ha! Wit' my sheilds, m' armor class is twenty-on'! That's good, init' it?"

Echidna nodded her head. "That is very good. However, I will warn you that this enemy is powerful. Anyway, (Y/N), please proceed with your turn. What will you do?"

Unfortunately, this version of you hasn't seen all of Re:Zero season 2, so you have no idea who this shadowy figure is, and Echidna wasn't going to give any hints.

With this considered, you decided to attack.

"I'm going to hit him with a double Crescent Moon!"

"Roll to hit," Echidna instructed.

You rolled the twenty-sided die, and a nine was the result. That, with your spell attack bonus of five, was fourteen.

"I got fourteen. Does that hit it?"

Echidna shook her head. "Unfortunately, as you prepared to cast your spell, you failed to account for the flora around you, and your swords were caught in a stubborn bush. Next is Garfiel's turn."

"I'm gonna hit 'im!" Garfiel shouted without hesitation. He rolled his die, and his face showed that his total number was satisfying. "I gotta nineteen! I done hit 'im, right? Ain't no way th's misses!"

Echidna shook her head. "Unfortunately, as your fist closed in to hit the target, you felt something, almost like a barrier, push you backwards. Your hit did not land."

"That's bullsh't! How strong 's this guy?!"

Echidna smirked. "Trust me, he is very powerful."

Garfiel slumped into his seat, waiting for his turn to come back around.

Meili grabbed her die hesitantly, as it was her turn. "Umm... are there any animal-chans nearby? I can't fight."

Echidna gave a sympathetic, "No, there are no mabeasts in this vicinity. They are all afraid of this thing, so they have run away."

"Well then, can I run away too?" Meili asked. "Like, to the other end of this map so that I can't get hurt?"

"The problem with that," Echidna explained, "is that the opponent would be given something called an attack of opportunity, and you would likely be hit by it."

Meili looked hopeless. "T-then, what do I do? Can I just call it names?"

Echidna shrugged. "If you wish to do so, then yes, you can."

Meili nodded her head. "Hey, stop killing people! I know that you're sad, but don't make that the reason to be mean! Right now, you're acting more like a baby than me, and I'm not even an adult!"

"The figure looked at Meili, and then it looked back at Garfiel, who had almost hit it."

"You know, I told you to go away," Echidna voiced the figure and then rolled her die to see if an attack would hit.

As she calculated the result, Echidna narrated, "As the figure attempted to attack Garfiel, Meili's words actually stuck with him, which caused one point of psychological damage, preventing the attack. Now, it is Beatrice's turn."

"I cast Minya, I suppose," Beatrice said as she rolled her die.

Her eyes lit up when she rolled a seventeen, which meant her attack was a twenty-one to hit.

"As the figure was distracted by Meili's very effective insult, your spell hit. Roll for damage."

Beatrice rolled three six-sided dice, and her total damage was sixteen, a very impressive roll considering that eighteen was the maximum damage for that spell.

Echidna didn't let any sign of the enemy's remaining health show in her face as she continued her role. "As you yelled 'Minya!,' the figure was not able to defend in time to deflect the shards of yin magic that shot at it. In fact, it was so unprepared that its body was violently pushed backwards into a tree. Now, it is Emilia's turn."

"Hmmm..." Emilia mumbled. "I think I will use Ice Brand Arts!"

Echidna had no choice but to be impressed with this spell, which Emilia could actually use. It allowed Emilia to instantly conjure ice weapons that she could manipulate in combat. These weapons were sturdy and didn't melt, even against heat attacks. However, there had to be a limit as to how many weapons Emilia could make.

"I cannot allow you to make an infinite number of weapons, so roll a ten-sided die. That will determine the amount of weapons that you will conjure, and then you will have to roll separately for each weapon," Echidna told Emilia.

Emilia nodded her head. "Okie dokie!"

Emilia reached for her ten-sided die and rolled a five, which meant that she would create five weapons.

"Now," Echidna asked, "what weapons will you conjure?"

Without having to think, Emilia answered, "I will make a mace, a greatsword, a halberd, a battleaxe, and a warhammer."

Otto was stunned by the sudden naming of destructive weapons by Emilia. "H-how were you so ready to use those?"

Emilia smiled. "Subaru told me to make these when we worked on my spells, so I always start with these! It's also super useful that the damage for these is on my paper! Now, I'm going to attack!"

At that moment, both Garfiel and Elsa found a new respect for Emilia.

Unfortunately, Emilia only landed two attacks, so she did a total of twelve damage.

"As you encircled the figure with your five weapons, the mace hits the tree, the greatsword gazes the target, the halberd nearly misses Elsa and impales the ground, the battle axe clips the figure's abdomen, and the warhammer misses and flies into the ground beyond the tree.

Despite the low ratio of hit to miss, Emilia was happy. "I'm so glad that I hit it and didn't hit any of us!"

Echidna hid a frown and proceeded to face Subaru. "It is now your turn, Subaru. What will you do?"

Subaru smirked. "Isn't it obvious? I'm going to use my whip!" He threw his die out and died inside when he rolled a ten.

Not even bothering to add a modifier, Subaru soullessly gestured toward Elsa.

Elsa was ready for her turn. So much so that she rolled her die before Echidna could narrate. She rolled a very nice sixteen, which turned into a twenty-four once her attack modifier was added.

"I suppose that I hit it, didn't I~" Elsa asserted, her bloodlust leaking out as if she was actually fighting.

Echidna nodded her head. "You can attack with two weapons this turn. Please roll for damage."

Elsa gave a very enthusiastic grin and nearly threw her dice due to her excitement.

Seventeen. This was the total damage done by two attacks from Elsa.

"As you pierced the shadowy figure twice, you could see its outline falter, as if it were about to disappear."

"This is stupid. Why am I here? You all did good. Go away before you get hurt," Echidna voiced for the enemy.

To Otto, she asked, "What will you do? It is now your turn."

Otto skimmed through his inventory and noticed that a certain something was in there. "As much as I would like to ask questions, we need to defeat this thing before we suffer casualties. I will throw a fire crystal at it."

"I believe that this will be an athletics check," Echidna speculated.

Otto nodded, and he sighed when he saw the number atop his die.

He rolled a seven, which turned into an eight when his modifier was added.

Otto hung his head low as Echidna painted the scene for him. "You rear your arm back to throw the fire crystal, but as soon as you throw it, you can tell that your aim is not as good as you hoped it would be, which is normal. Fortunately, it detonates away from any party members. If you would have rolled lower, perhaps it would have affected several people. Now, we go back to (Y/N). What will you do this turn? The enemy has suffered an impressive amount of damage so far, but Elsa and Garfiel are near it, so be cautious of spellcasting."

After thinking for a moment, you answered, "I'll use Akra, which is listed as an action surge, to get two actions this turn, and I'll attack it twice with my two swords."

"Very well," Echidna replied. "However, you will need separate rolls to hit for those two attacks."

"Okay," you noted as you rolled for your first attack.

The die showed a thirteen, which totaled to eighteen. "An eighteen misses, doesn't it?" You asked.

Echidna nodded, so you rolled again in hopes that you made a hit.

This time, you rolled a seventeen, which turned into a twenty-two. This was going to hit.

Echidna saw what you rolled, and she gestured for you to roll for damage.

The total damage was twelve.

Echidna smiled since you were finally able to deal some damage. "As you rushed toward the figure, you weren't able to hit the first time because of space constraints, but with adjustments, you connected your attack the second time. Now, it is Garfiel's turn."

"This bet'r hit!" Garfiel screamed.

He shook the die well, and when he examined it after he let go, he jumped out of his chair in celebration. "Tha's a twenty-on'! I hit 'em! I did it! I'ma hit 'em with my two shields now!"

Garfiel rolled for damage, which came out to be a total of nine.

"You quickly jumped up from the ground," Echidna narrated, "and struck the enemy twice, right in the chest. It seems to be in pain, but still shows no sign of going down. Meili, what will you do?"

Meili smiled at Echidna and replied, "I'm going to insult it again! Last time, I did damage to it just by saying stuff, so I'm going to try it again!"

Meili cleared her throat and said, "You're telling us to go, but you're being beat up! I get why you're so sad now! You're all talk, so you're always disappointed!"

Echidna's eyes widened as Meili taunted her opponent. In context, this was the wrong thing to say to this person.

Echidna rolled a die and grinned wider than she had grinned all night. "As Meili taunted the figure, it became very angry. (Y/N), Elsa, and Garfiel are hit by an attack. Each one of you takes..."

Echidna rolled a different die before continuing. "Each of you takes twenty-six damage as you are blown backward."

This was not good. You had a total of forty-one hit points, so this single attack brought you down more than halfway to fifteen hit points.

Garfiel was not as caring about his hit points, and Elsa didn't care at all.

Next up was Beatrice, and she was able to choose her spell more freely since there were no longer people directly next to her target. "I will cast El Minya, in fact. This appears to be my last spell for this day, so I hope it hits, I suppose."

Beatrice rolled a die and hid her excitement as she rolled an eighteen for a total of twenty-two.

The thing about El Minya is that it creates forty crystals, and this attack just hit.

Echidna held her hand out to stop Beatrice from rolling her damage die forty times. "I will save you time and calculate one scenario in which you roll that many die."

Not even a split second later, she concluded, "This attack did ninety-two damage. This doesn't seem very fair, but I will allow it. As you cast your spell, the target was pulverized, and when the final crystal hit, there was nothing left of the shadowy figure. The only evidence of its existence was the craters it left and a lingering, 'This is depressing,' that didn't leave the air. Congratulations! You have defeated the enemy!"

Time Skip

The group role played going back to the town and relaying the news of victory to the townsfolk, and after a couple hours of playing, the game was suddenly over.

Subaru sat back in his chair. "Ahhh. That was really fun!"

Many nodding heads agreed.

"Now," Echidna said loudly, "I hope that we have become closer as individuals and can find it easier to trust in me. I understand that I am a very mysterious person who suddenly appeared in your lives, but I hope that we can work together in the future."

"Of course!" Emilia cheered. "You are sooo nice now, and even if this is an act, I don't care. You let us have so much fun, so thank you!"

"I think that too!" Meili added. "I'm sorry for being afraid of you earlier. Now, I like you! Thank you for letting us play this game here!"

"Wherever 'here' is," Otto mumbled.

Once those remarks were over with, conversation flooded the table about the game and everybody's favorite moments.

'Well, I believe that this was a productive day, (Y/N). I actually had fun, despite our company. I had to act friendly, but this game is actually enjoyable. Perhaps we should play it again later.'

'Yeah, this was a lot of fun, and looking back, I suppose that we just finished a mini arc since we got you introduced and integrated into our group. Even though we had that issue about trust and then those two girls, we're finally physically together.'

As you said that, a thought occurred. 'Hey, Echidna, speaking of them, where are Colette and Palmyra? Did you leave them alone again, since you surely didn't bring them here.'

'Oh. Those girls? I checked on them via teleportation before we left the Karsten mansion. They are not with me because when I found them, they were dead.'

Hey guys! Sorry about posting behind schedule, but I hope you enjoyed this ridiculously long chapter!

To be honest, I had no idea that writing a short one-shot for D&D would take so long, but it makes sense. I made all of the character sheets and then I rolled for all of the actions so this wasn't a rigged encounter.

Oh yeah. Sorry about that cliffhanger. I suddenly had that idea about a week ago, and so I changed some of my plans to accommodate that.

And speaking of future chapters, I don't plan on publishing another one for another month. Exams are coming up, so school will take up most of my time until the second half of May, so I probably won't be able to write much, if at all, during that time.

Thank you for your support, and I'll see you next time!