Entering the now familiar dining room, Subaru gave a wide surveying look to what was before him.

"Clown at the head of the table, pink maid by his side. One wrong step and he'll see through me. Orange maid likely in the kitchen, getting the meal ready. Tiger boy and Reinhard still not here. Emilia hasn't noticed my entrance yet."

Subaru closed his eyes for a moment to regain his sad, human smile before making his presence known. He couldn't risk the clown seeing through him.

"Thief-san! B-but my home is with you now! And Todd-san!"

He walked forward into the room and all eyes shifted to him.


Roswaal was having a surprisingly awful day. It was going fairly well at first but, right before he entered this dining room, something entirely unexpected happened.

Now, for a man with a book that tells the future, there's very little that can surprise Roswaal's four hundred year old soul. In fact, only two things could possibly do that.

First, reality could have deviated from the gospel's text. This almost never happened but it was usually of little consequence. The last time he can remember it happening was back when his J body died a little too early.

Second, the gospel's text itself could change. This has never once occurred since he received said gift from his beloved teacher and, dragon willing, he hoped it never would. Yet, today it had.

For the first time in a very long time, his beloved teacher's gospel had updated and he has never once been more on edge. Perhaps only the fight with that man centuries ago could compare.

Pages of text were wiped clean and his gospel, his guiding light, his one source of hope and happiness, had vanished.

So, sitting at the head of the dining room table, Roswaal was trying his absolute hardest to stay calm, appear normal, and silently pray that the one person who could fix this mess was not the one who caused it.

"I leave it to you, Natsuki Subaru."


Emilia's face lit up like a Christmas tree when she saw Subaru enter the room. She beamed at him and gave him an enthusiastic, "Good Afternoon, Subaru!"

He put into practice all the mental fortitude that he had built since he came to this world, thinking "I've lived through the shattering of my consciousness and braved the most gruesome of deaths. I can keep this damn smile on my face."

Subaru, with the same genuine, tired smile said back, "Good Afternoon, Emilia."

Her smile visibly faltered. "Just Emilia…?" she thought.

Noticing her reaction, Subaru silently deliberated, "Okay, clearly I'm closer with her than expected. My formal tone has somewhat upset her. Noted."

Trying his best to ignore the visibly displeased Emilia for a moment, Subaru took the seat beside her and glanced up at Roswaal. It seemed clear as day to Subaru that the clown's gaze was boring a hole through him, searching for something out of place. Subaru turned his sights forward and closed his eyes for a moment.

In his usual jovial tone, complete with a sizable helping of underlying intensity, Roswaal spoke aloud, "What eeeeever is the maaaatter, Subaru-sama? Something on your miiiiind?"

Subaru tensed up at the mage's words and thought to himself, "Well that's a fucking trap if I've ever seen one. There's really no good answer to that. I guess the one thing that'll never fail is the truth."

"A regret, a mistake, and a smile I'll never see again," replied Subaru, a hint of genuine remorse in his tone.

Subaru relaxed his body at the conclusion of his words, somewhat proud of his cryptic answer, "Wow. Poetic? Check. Open to interpretation? Check. Probably True? Check. Good work truth."

The clown's eyes narrowed at the black-haired boy as he responded, the smile fading from his face, "Hmmmm. Intereeeesting. Coooould it be thaaaat… you are not truly Natsuki Subaru?"

The madman immediately went back on edge and a mild panic filled him as he thought, "FUCK. Todd's more trustworthy than the truth at this point. Lies all the way next time."

Subaru tried his hardest to look confused but ended up looking even more guilty. He had lost his tired smile and his tone hardened as he shot back, "Whatever could you mean, Roswaal?"

A smug, satisfied smirk came to the margrave's face as he replied without missing a beat, "It's just thaaaat you're acting awwwwfully different today."

Emilia shifted her gaze between the two men as the back and forth went on, getting more confused by the minute. "Subaru does look a little funny but he's still Subaru! Right?"

Maintaining his cool, calm facade, he asked, "How so?"

"My amazin' self thinks he's actin' as suspicious as usual today," interjected a scowling Garfiel, entering the room at the Sword Saint's side.

"Now shut yer trap. You'll ruin my meal." he declared, visibly disgusted with both Roswaal and Subaru.

The pink maid shook off her surprise at the earlier conversation and moved immediately to her master's defense, saying, "Garf, that's no way to speak to Roswaal-sama and Subaru-sama."

Garfiel turned his head to Ram and tilted it slightly, "Eh? I give respect where 's due. After all, 'Thomas 'nd Hoshin never got along'". With that, he sat at the table and ignored everyone as he waited for his meal.

Ram was about to pursue the point further but, with her master raising his left hand, she let it be for now.

Similarly, confident that pushing Subaru further would help no one, Roswaal also remained silent, thinking, "I wonder. Does this man have Natsuki Subaru's power as well?"


Now that everyone was seated and Petra had served all the bowls of soup, the dinner finally commenced. After tasting just a single spoonful, Reinhard turned to the amber-haired maid and said, "Petra-san, this soup is wonderful. Thank you for this meal."

Petra bowed and thanked the red haired man for the compliment as Subaru resisted his impulse to spout insane nonsense.

"Saying '6/10, not enough Witch Piss' is probably not something this Natsuki Subaru would say. Fucking loser."

In the middle of his meal and thought process, he felt a small poke at his side. He turned to see Emilia looking at him with concerned eyes.

"Wow. Up close that silver hair is truly magical. And those amethyst jewels she calls eyes are just something else. I don't think I've ever really been this close to her."

"Subaru? Roswaal's right, you're acting a little strange," she said, clearly feeling discomfort at her Subaru's erratic behavior.

If Subaru were in his right mind, he'd take great issue with her concern. But, at the moment, he was too entranced by her visage to be concerned with his usual mad ramblings. At the sound of the silver bells that were her voice, he could only utter a single thing.

"Emilia. You really are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

At the sincere compliment lined with no humor nor teasing, Emilia was shocked for a moment before blushing a little. She looked away as those words echoed through her mind and she blushed some more. Then, looking back up to see Subaru was still staring at her with the softest eyes she'd seen on him in months, she blushed even harder, stammering out, "S-subaru. Y-you dunderhead. You shouldn't tease me like that!"

Without hesitation nor pause, Subaru immediately replied, "I'm only saying what I believe. You really are the prettiest person I've ever laid eyes upon."

He smiled. Not the tired smile from a fading memory nor the mad smile he usually wore. He had a soft, gentle smile. One he hadn't had in many, many years.

A voice from a confused, distorted recollection of the past rang through his infatuated mind, "Want more than to fulfill your one goal."

"What more could I want? What else is there to have but her?"

His eyes widened, "Have...her?"

Subaru snapped out of his trance and shook his head, turning away from Emilia. Unbeknownst to him, he had developed a slight blush, the only blush he'd had since he first saw her all those years ago.

"The fuck am I thinking?! I can't have her! She needs to be King and Reinhard must fall! The only way to do that is through my death!"

He whispered under his breath, "I have to be the villain. Have to."

The madness and hatred this world had instilled in him began to fill his eyes. He was determined to fulfill his goal. To be Satisfied once more. "I'll take this loop as far as I can go, gather information, develop a plan of attack, and-"

He felt a warmth grab hold of the side of his body and silver bells chimed, "It's okay Subaru. You're my Subaru. You shouldn't cry."

"Cry? I haven't cried in-"

He felt the heat of tears on his face as he processed what was going on.

His voice shaking, he stuttered out, "Y-you're hugging me. And I-I'm crying?"

Her tone gentle, she continued, "I like to see this part of you sometimes, Subaru. I don't like it when you hide things. I'm reeeealy happy right now!"

A warmth in his chest. A warmth in his eyes. A warmth at his side. "What is this?"

"Natsuki Subaru… Be Greedy."

Of no conscious will of his own, he wrapped his arms back around Emilia. He didn't understand why he did it. He just understood it was the right thing to do.

"The right thing to do? But I'm the villain aren't I? I do the evil acts she never could so that she can be the hero! Then…"

The tears began to flow faster.

"Why? Why does this feel so warm? So happy? Why does this make me feel… Satisfied?"

His eyes widened and a pure smile grew on his face.

"Is this what you meant? To want this? To be Greedy and have her? Am I allowed such Satisfaction? Is the villain allowed a Happy Ending?"

"Emilia?"

"Yes, Subaru?"

"Can I be happy?"

"Of course."

"Can I be Satisfied?"

"I'll make sure you are, just like how you always keep me safe."

"Can I… Can I have you?"

She brought him even closer into their embrace and spoke directly into his ear, "You already have me, my Subaru."

The dining room was quiet with the exception of Subaru's sobs. Silently, as to not disturb them, the rest of the occupants finished their meals and left the room. Even Garfiel restrained his urge to ruin their moment.

They stayed there for quite some time. Subaru cried for quite some time. He had been so alone for quite some time. And, for that long moment, he felt Satisfied with her by his side.