"Vita, I suppose."

Subaru felt himself become substantially heavier to the point where walking was difficult.

"Murak, in fact."

All of the extra weight vanished, along with a sizable portion of his normal weight.

"Wow, I'm as light as a feather," Subaru thought, literally being as light as a feather at that moment.

"Why didn't you show me this stuff when you were explaining your powers, Beako?" he said, turning his head to his almost bored partner.

With a wave of her hand, the spell was undone and Subaru felt normal once again. As he readjusted to the sensation of standard gravity, Beatrice replied, crossing her arms, "You were too focused on that silly girl, I suppose."

She developed a smug look on her face, a mischievous gleam in her eyes, "And I did end up showing you both of these spells, in fact."

Subaru, initially confused by the statement, thought back for a moment, combing through his memories of the past day and a half.

"I contracted, talked to Emilia, took a nap, went to the dining room and-"

Subaru remembered the odd battle in the dining room, specifically its abrupt conclusion, a sour expression coming to him at the still rage-inducing experience.

A moment later, his frown shifted to a mad smile. He returned his attention to the still smug girl beside him, the mischief in his own eyes much more powerful than in hers, and said, "You know Beako, using magic on me like that without my consent is reeeally bad, even if it was for my benefit."

Beatrice's superior attitude crumbled to pieces at his admonishment; whatever smirk that had taken hold of her face was quickly replaced with a look of abject horror. She suppressed her urge to cry, the whiplash of the sudden change in mood making it especially difficult, as she stammered out, "B-but Betty was just-"

"Ah, ah, ah, Beako. You must now be given the proper punishment for doing a good yet bad deed," Subaru said, almost teasingly, cutting the spirit girl off and ceasing his walking, clearly underestimating the weight his words had just had on her.

Reflexively, Beatrice made an audible gulp, Subaru quickly approaching her, his hands raised and fingers extended.

"Tickle Torture!" he declared, pure elation in his tone, and pounced on the mentally unprepared little girl. This was an action to which Beatrice - who was unaware of Chris Hansen's existence - could only yelp in response.

For the following five or so minutes, the sounds of the dignified great spirit of the library's unrestrained laughter rang through the empty halls as she tried and failed to resist Subaru's expert tickle technique, "AHAHAHA- St- AHAHAHA Ple-AAHAHAHAH"

"Don't you underestimate me Beatrice! I am the best there is at what I do!" he said, thinking, "I even once managed to tickle a man to death. Sure, it took like over a dozen tries but I eventually got the skill downpat after that."

After some time, Subaru relented, leaving Beatrice a heaving and laughing mess on the floor, "Betty is huff huff still not sorry, I suppose."

He squatted by her side and placed a gentle hand on her head, saying, "You have nothing to be actually sorry for. I just wanted to tease you, Beako."

"Betty's Subaru huff huff is huff truly hopeless, in fact," she stated with a sliver of her usual confidence, laying her head back against the floor.

Smiling softly at the look of satisfaction on his contracted spirit's face, Subaru picked up the exhausted girl into a bridal carry and turned to continue down the hall. He was met by an individual he'd never seen before.

"Ah. Subaru-sama! I came to inspect what was making all that noise but it seems you have already taken care of it," the figure said, a tone of surprise and exasperation in her voice. Subaru assumed it was likely from the change in Beatrice's behavior but could not know for sure. The part of the hallway she stood in was dark and he could barely see the outline of the strange figure he now assumed was an unidentified maid, let alone their facial expression or body language.

"Umm, I can't see very well in this lighting and my ears are a little shot after all that. Would you mind identifying yourself? Sorry for the trouble," Subaru requested, putting on as much of a polite facade as he could manage.

The woman stepped closer and walked in front of one of the hallway's many windows, illuminating her with the gentle moonlight. She was a rather tall but otherwise unassuming woman with bright blonde hair, her bust fitting nicely in the maid's outfit she wore. Subaru's eyes slightly widened when he saw her incredibly sharp teeth, but he quickly returned to his previous neutral expression.

The woman - who Subaru's mind had immediately labeled the 'Yellow Maid' - took an apologetic bow, saying, "I am sorry to have surprised you, Subaru-sama. Hopefully you can tell who I am now considering the lighting."

"Still have no idea who she is," Subaru thought before quickly saying, "No problem, no problem…"

He trailed off, trying and failing to find some arbitrary topic to shift the conversation to. Fortunately for the tracksuit-clad man, the Yellow Maid seemed to have suddenly remembered something important, much to Subaru's relief.

"Subaru-sama, I've just remembered, I've been looking for you to ask whether you intend to continue visiting Meili-chan," she stated, the air of genteel formality about her serving to relax him.

"You've never not visited her with the exception of when you've been away so I wanted to know if there was a change I was not made aware of," she concluded, her tone neither too forceful nor too gentle. Compared to how Petra brought up the subject, the Yellow Maid seemed almost casual about the mansion's prisoner.

"What a polite, normal, and well-mannered maid," Subaru thought, frankly impressed by the skill she demonstrated in this singular interaction, "She seems to lack Ram's disrespect and Petra's ditzy nature. I wonder what her name is."

"Actually, I was just on my way to go see her tonight. Yesterday was slightly hectic for me so it slipped my mind," he replied after a moment of thinking, hoping his answer would be one Natsuki Subaru would give.

Despite his best efforts, the Yellow Maid seemed ever so slightly shocked by that last sentence to the point where her mouth gaped slightly and she instinctively covered it with her hand. However, her composure promptly returned as she responded, "Of course, Subaru-sama. Right this way."


The pair, or trio if you count Beatrice's unmoving form in Subaru's arms, made their way through the halls largely in silence. Eventually, they arrived at a peculiar hallway that seemed to be the entrance to a spiral staircase downwards.

"I don't know why, but that place is giving me the worst fucking vibes. But it's weirdly familiar… Is this an effect of Meili's presence?"

As they walked down the cold stone stairs, the silence was broken with a question from the maid who turned her head to face Subaru. Before she spoke, Subaru thought, getting a good look at her face, "Her green eyes are surprisingly quite pretty even if her teeth are slightly terrifying."

"I don't mean to pry, Subaru-sama, and forgive me if I am asking too much of you, but may I ask why you're holding a sleeping Beatrice-sama in your arms?" she asked, as polite in her tone and phrasing as ever.

Beatrice was, in fact, silent and content to rest in Subaru's arms. She was not, however, asleep. She just did not want to have to talk to the stranger, leaving her contractor to come up with some sort of explanation.

"Ah... Well, you see…"

"I don't really see a reason to lie to her to be honest."

"We've made up recently... and she's my contracted spirit," he said after some quick thinking. To this, the maid's eyes widened but, as usual, her composure quickly returned to her.

"It's a long story…" he elaborated, smiling somewhat sheepishly at the obviously shocked maid.

"I… see. Thank you for indulging me, Subaru-sama."

The rest of their journey was silent. They walked down the stairs for quite some time before entering an underground passageway made of stone. There was an iron door with several locks obstructing their way.

Wordlessly, the maid unlocked and opened the door with a trained speed and precision. She stepped aside and held it open for him.

"Seems I rarely take her along, then. A pity."

Subaru nodded at her and walked deeper into the cold stone hall. He heard the iron door behind him shut but paid it no mind.

"Worst comes to worst, Beako can probably break the thing open."

With the door closed, Beatrice opened her eyes and gave Subaru a little tug. He took the hint and put her down on the floor. They held hands as they continued.

"The vibe in this place is exactly right for my ideal dungeon but there's just not enough space here. We really need to install a few torture chambers. I've got some great ideas for when we finally capture Capella."

His manic smile returned as he fantasized about his very brutal and very graphic revenge plan. Beatrice, on the other hand, was staring at her contractor - who seemed to be on the verge of an evil laugh - with trepidation.

"Betty does not hate that face on Subaru, I suppose. Betty simply finds it concerning. If Betty's Subaru will walk through hell, Betty will follow him, I suppose. Of course, Betty will try her hardest to avoid such a thing. But Betty will not abandon her contractor even if he becomes a true madman, I suppose."

All doubts and fears left her mind and her anxious look shifted to one of determination.

"Betty could never do such a thing, in fact. Not after you gave Betty's life purpose once more."


Subaru and Beatrice stood before another door, this time not nearly as sturdy nor having any locks. They turned their gazes towards each other, nodded, and Subaru opened it up.

"Rawwwrrr, I will kill you!" a childish voice declared, clearly lowered down an uneven octave.

"Ah, no, please spare me!" the same voice replied, raised up just as much as it was lowered previously

"No way, you're my food now!" the voice yet again declared, returning to its original lower pitch.

Subaru, beyond the open door, saw something unexpected on several levels.

First, the cold, dark, damp, stone torture room he was prepared for was, in fact, more reminiscent of a children's play area than anything else. There were bright, vibrant colors ranging from pastel pinks to sky blues adorning the walls as well as dozens of handmade yet seemingly expertly crafted dolls littering the floor.

"Did you make those, other me? How the fuck did you get the stitching so damn accurate? What kind of magical sewing powers did you have?"

Second, the prisoner held in this joke of a torture room was, as expected, a familiar little girl with braided violet hair. But, unexpectedly, she had a bright smile on her face and was playing with a variety of dolls from stuffed animals to comically proportioned humans.

"She looks so… happy. And not that twisted happiness I always saw in her. It's almost… pure, in a way, even if she's playing a make believe game about death and torture."

As his mind took a moment to process the situation he had now found himself in, the young girl looked up at him.

"O-onii-san?! You really need to learn to knock!" she stammered out, a blush coming to her face as she hid her toys behind her, her voice being its normal pitch again.

At the bizarre sight, Subaru couldn't help but laugh. It was not his mad laugh at Reinhard loops ago, nor his cathartic laughter with Beatrice yesterday. He laughed a genuinely happy laugh, placing a hand on his face. It was only slightly more than a chuckle, but it made all the difference to him.

"Onii-san?" she muttered, her blush vanishing as shock filled her expression.

Meili was incredibly confused about this development as she had never seen Subaru laugh genuinely before in her entire time confined here. In fact, she had never seen him show a single true emotion for the past two years, not since her short time staying at Arlam Village. Meili appreciated his attempts at friendliness, but she knew a mask when she saw one and never really warmed up to Subaru. But now…

"Did you finally lose it, Onii-san?" she asked, genuinely curious.

His laughter died down and he genuinely beamed at her, saying, "Meili, I lost it many years ago... but I think that this place is giving it back to me, one piece at a time."

She tilted her head at his rather cryptic answer and placed a finger on her chin. She thought for a moment before replying, "Are you really Onii-san? You look too alive to be him."

Leaving the ignored Beatrice behind, he walked up to Meili and placed a hand on her head. She flinched at the action but did not resist.

"Yes and no, Meili. Maybe someday I'll tell you the full story, but for now…"

He lowered himself to her level and met her gaze, saying, "I want to see if you're interested in taking jobs again."

She regarded him skeptically, not believing him for a second.

"That won't work again, Onii-san," she said, averting her gaze, crossing her arms, and pouting.

"I still haven't forgotten when you said that before and then gave me fake jobs," she continued, her voice close to being the spiteful muttering Subaru was used to from her.

"Natsuki Subaru, you're amazing at sewing but shit at child care. Just like Todd. Well, Todd would also likely be god awful at sewing. Fucking Todd," he thought before shaking off the intrusive thoughts of his long-lost knife.

Subaru sighed at her, adding a trill to his voice as he motioned to get up and leave, "I was serious, Meili, but I guess you can just stay down here if you really want…"

She eyed him cautiously, still pouting.

"What's the job?" she asked after a moment, her voice quiet and cautious.

"I don't have a specific one at the moment. I just wanted to see if you were interested," Subaru answered, earning an even deeper pout from Meili.

"And, frankly, I just wanted to see you again. I missed you, Meili," he said, quickly pulling her into a hug.

His mind flashed back to a burning capital, to the dead littering the streets, to the lifeless Meili in his arms.

"She's alive. I can feel her warmth. I didn't sacrifice her here. I didn't wrong her here."

She put up resistance to his hug but Subaru would not budge. Still struggling, she thought, "Jeez, Onii-san… what is with you? Yesterday, you don't show up and today you're a totally different person."

The forgotten spirit girl made her presence known and spoke up, interrupting the pair, "Are you quite done, I suppose?"

Subaru released her and turned to his partner, still smiling, "What's up Beako? Don't tell me you're jealous. Don't worry, my darling Beako is still my number one lol-"

He had been inching towards her, his arms wide for a hug, but stopped when he saw the serious look on her face. He immediately shifted his to match, saying, "Beako? What's wrong?"

"I can sense Bubby's presence now, in fact. We should hurry if you want to see that silly girl before she cries herself to sleep, I suppose. Or worse, in fact," Beatrice said, her tone even more grim with her final words.

With intensity and determination in his eyes, Subaru immediately hoisted Beatrice up by the waist with one arm and grabbed the still open door's handle with his other. Without pause, he turned towards the surprised and embarrassed Meili, a haphazard smile thrown on his face, saying, "Sorry about this, Meili. We'll discuss killing Capella next time!"

Meili's eyes widened at the mention of Mama's true name, but she didn't have a chance to respond as Subaru slammed the door shut and sprinted down the hall.

Making it to the closed iron door, he knocked on it with a slightly panicked cadence. It opened promptly and the still waiting maid looked at him with confusion that then shifted to shock.

"Sorry about this, but I just remembered something really important! I'll see you later!" he said with haste, bolting past her and running up the stairs.

"Murak, I suppose."

He felt himself become nearly weightless, making his frantic running far easier on his body.

"Thanks, Beako! You're the best!"


Sprinting through the halls at top speed, Subaru had yet to encounter anyone else on his way to Emilia. Even without interruption, it still took him several minutes to navigate his way back to his room. Turning a corner, he stood only twenty or so meters away from his destination. He scowled when he saw that Reinhard stood between him and his goal.

Reinhard, hearing Subaru's heavy breathing, turned around to see his comrade and said, "Ah, Subaru. I've been looking all over for you. I was about to check your ro-"

"As much as I'd love to sit and chat, I've got bigger fish to fry Sword Saint," Subaru shot back, cutting the knight off and dismissing him out of hand.

Reinhard, frankly, was stunned by Subaru's response. Such a frantic, emotional reply was the last thing he expected from his… comrade. Even when they faced the archbishops of the Witch Cult, Subaru had never seemed so… panicked.

Subaru ran past him and towards the door after his biting reply. In response, foregoing his usual self-deprecating thoughts, Reinhard placed a hand on his spare sword and shot his comrade a serious question, "Do you require any assistance?"

Subaru turned to Reinhard as he reached for the door handle, a smile haphazardly forced on his face yet again, "Just keep your pretty self right there and I'll be back in a bit!"

Not waiting for the Sword Saint to respond, Subaru flung the door open and dashed right in, only to be met by freezing cold. Beatrice still in his grasp, Subaru pushed forward, raising his sights to see Emilia sitting alone on the bed, slowly encasing herself in a cocoon of ice.