The room was silent for a long moment. Its three occupants had just become the first people to ever bear witness to the true Natsuki Subaru, to the truth behind a madman they believed their savior, the helpless boy they believed their hero.

Reinhard closed his eyes once Subaru fell unconscious. His mind took a second to finalize his memorization of the scene.

And then, having such a clear picture of what had just transpired such that he could exactly reproduce it had he had the acting ability, he began his reflection and analysis, "Natsuki Subaru slew the Sin Archbishops of Sloth and Greed, he captured the Sin Archbishop of Wrath, he slew the White Whale and the Great Rabbit, he has so many accomplishments and great deeds to his name. And it was all for the purpose of supporting his lady, his love, Emilia-sama."

He frowned ever so slightly as his mind continued working through the information available to him, "Why? Why would this man, no, this boy turn himself into an unstoppable, lonely hero for just one person? No, not even just her. He transformed himself into a hero to save them all. But Why? Why would he risk becoming an inhuman monster just to help and save…"

Reinhard realized the ironic parallel, deepening his frown, "Why does Subaru want to be what I'm supposed to be? Why can't I suffer in his place? Why must he suffer so much and for so long just for people who will always hurt him?"

Reinhard thought back to all those he himself had 'saved'. He thought back to his Father, his Grandfather, Felt, and hundreds of others. He thought back to their looks of hatred and disappointment. And he thought back to Subaru receiving all those same looks, day in and day out.

"Only I should be the one to take on such a burden! Only I deserve to be used and abused in such a way!"

He clenched his fists, threatening to destroy his pristine white gloves, as he reached the climax of his thinking, "Why must such a good, kind, and talented man, who has worked so hard for the happiness of all, suffer for every day of his life?! Why must Natsuki Subaru live a life of hardships when he has done so much good and so little wrong?! And why did he hide it all from me... from us... for so long?!"

Filled with self-hatred, Reinhard had come to a conclusion, a resolution, "No more. I will accept no more of this. I am at fault for his pain and his loneliness. My inadequacy is the cause of his suffering. He only strives to be the hero because I have failed in my place as one."

He took a calming breath, relaxing his body slightly but not entirely as he resolved, "If I am ever to call myself his friend, if I am ever to be worthy of the only person who offered me true friendship, then I must help him. Even if he grows to hate me for it, despise me for it, I can no longer let him 'do all this alone'."

His eyes opened, full of fiery determination, as he declared to himself, "I promise you, Natsuki Subaru, I will definitely save you."


Beatrice was the first to break the silence since Reinhard was thinking furiously beside her and Emilia was sitting shell-shocked with a half-dead Subaru in her arms.

She initially shared that feeling of utter shock with the room's other two occupants. However, she had already seen a small fraction of Subaru's true self twice before on this very day. Seeing him in his full glory was still quite a surprising sight, but she was better prepared for it by meters than Reinhard and by kilometers than Emilia.

She sprinted up to her contractor as fast as her short child-like legs could take her, intense worry plain on her face, her smug facade all but abandoned. Practically leaping onto the bed by Subaru's side, Beatrice frantically began to force her mana into him, slowly healing his intense frostbite, internal bleeding, and whatever else was broken inside him.

"Betty can't believe you pulled such a stunt, I suppose. You have more broken bones and destroyed tissue than Betty can count, in fact," she quipped, only to be met by silence. The lack of response to her incredibly painful healing and verbal admonition just served to worry the spirit girl even more.

But when she sensed his heartbeat and breathing stabilize, she calmed a tad, stopping her healing for a moment to rest her mind and gate.

"At least you won't die now, I suppose. But Betty had better heal you quickly. If Betty waits too long, the damage may become permanent," she said, refocusing herself, this time with a much more calm demeanor. Her healing too had become methodical and precise as opposed to frantic and less-than-amazing. She refused to call the magic she had just used to save his life 'inadequate' or 'bad' even in her head. It saved his life, after all.

"Betty's Subaru had better praise her plenty for her hard work, in fact."

She smirked to herself, thinking, "Betty's Subaru is truly hopeless, I suppose. Even when you broke open that ice, you were never alone, in fact. Earlier today, you made the choice to never again be alone, I suppose."

Her smirk grew a tone sadder yet no less determined as she thought, "Betty's Subaru will never be alone again, in fact. Betty will see to it, I suppose. Betty has to…"


Emilia, out of three in the room, was having the hardest time digesting the preceding events. In the span of a few minutes, she had been on a rollercoaster of emotions that went as high as unparalleled joy to as low as suicidal despair. But now she just… didn't know how to feel.

It was strange really, not knowing how to feel. For the past two years, she knew she had ought to feel some sort of guilt but masked it with a dependence on Subaru. Before then, it was masked by a dependence on Puck. But now, she had nothing to mask her feelings with. Now, she felt an odd tranquility from the tearing off of all the masks.

"What did you always used to call that thing… where everything's reeeally just awful but there's a single place where it's all happy…" she said, thinking out loud.

She softly held the unconscious, incredibly injured boy in her arms, ignoring the frantic healing Beatrice was doing beside them. In fact, Emilia ignored Beatrice and Reinhard's presence in their entirety. To her, there were only two people in the room at that moment.

"Hmmm… it was something about eyes… and blizzards? No, that's not right…"

She thought hard for a moment, trying to recall a faded memory of a long past date. Realising it, she raised her volume a tad and said, "Ah! 'The eye of the storm'. That's what you called it, Subaru."

She placed her hand on his head, still hugging his unconscious form, and gently played with his hair as she continued, "You called me your 'eye of the storm'. You called me the one place where you could go to feel safe when danger was everywhere."

She smiled softly, the first real, pure smile she's given since before Sanctuary, free from the negative emotions that had been bubbling just under the surface of her now discarded mask.

She spoke her honest thoughts to the sleeping boy, "I didn't believe you then, but I do now. I do now because…"

She blushed ever-so-slightly, to the point where she was unaware of the action, and said, "I feel that same way about you now. You're my 'eye of the storm', Subaru. I feel like I can think clearly so long as I'm around you. I hope…"

She held him tighter, careful not to hurt or wake him, relishing in the comfort of his presence as she confessed, "I hope that you still feel that same way. I hope we can 'hold hands in the raging river of madness' like you said."

She felt her heartbeat quicken and her face grow hot, only now noticing her blush, "I want to stand with you, Subaru. I want to fight for our future together, like you said. I-"

She whispered as quietly as she could into his ear, the strands of silver hair hiding her lips from onlookers serving as a curtain to hide her words from the outside world, "I want to be your Emilia-tan. Just like how you're my Subaru. I think I might…"

She stopped herself, thinking, "Is it too soon? Do I feel that way? I- I don't know how I should feel. I just know Subaru makes me reeeally warm and happy inside."

A genuine smile on her face and joy in her heart, Emilia spoke nothing but the truth, "Soon, my Subaru, soon. I promise I'll be your Emilia-tan soon."


The room was silent for a time. Reinhard had moved to stand by the bed, looking at Subaru with a powerful determination, Beatrice was slowly but surely healing his various wounds, unsure of how he even got most of the internal ones, and Emilia held him in her arms, a soft smile on her slightly reddened face.

They stayed there for a time. Each was in the company of Subaru in silence, but not with each other. Reinhard was alone with the friend he had just promised to save, Beatrice was alone with her foolish, careless contractor, and Emilia was alone with her Subaru. They all stayed in silence, waiting for him to awaken, waiting for their chance to speak with him.


Subaru slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he noted was that he did not have another cryptic dream that was starting to feel more and more like a trip to another dimension rather than an actual dream. This made him happy, as he was not at all in the mood to talk to Envy, Sloth, or Greed. He already had plenty of those vices in his own personality.

The second thing he noted was what he saw. He saw the back of his bed in front of him but also strands of short silver hair on the edge of his vision. As he was barely awake, he did not notice that it was Emilia's hair that he saw.

The third thing he noted was what he felt physically.

First, he felt like absolute shit. Everything hurt. Like, a lot. His whole body was sore and aching in a dull pain. He felt like it was the morning after doing an entire year's worth of exercise in a day.

Second, he felt really comfortable. His whole body was warm and he had two distinct sensations on either side of him. To his back, he felt like someone small was hugging him tightly. It was not an uncomfortable tightness but it did express the individual's worry. To his front, he felt a larger person hugging him. Not only were they taller but they also had an excellent figure. The person to his front's chest was pushing against his and it was his favorite sensation out of the ones he had noted thus far.

The fourth thing he noted was what he heard. There was his, along with the aforementioned two people hugging him's, breathing. But this was easily overshadowed by a soft humming melody that came from neither of them. It was one of the most pleasant things he had ever heard and wished it would never end.

Having noted all of these things, his first action would be to investigate further. He would start by turning his head, ever so slightly, to see what was in the direction of the humming.

Beautiful red hair, striking blue eyes, and a smile that could swoon a thousand hearts in an instant. Subaru had identified the source of the angelic humming that he loved so much.

He blinked. Once, twice, three times. And then his brain started working again.


Reinhard was looking gently upon the scene before him. It had been well over an hour and was getting quite late but he didn't mind. The determination in his eyes may have been slightly obscured by the sweet scene before him, but it did not fade at all. In fact, it had only strengthened.

On the bed he was standing beside, sat Emilia, Subaru, and Beatrice. Emilia was sitting with her back against the wall, Subaru in her lap. Their arms were wrapped around each other.

Having completed her healing some time ago, Beatrice clung to Subaru's back. She seemed to both be calmed and worried simultaneously. Reinhard assumed this was because she was getting incredibly sleepy.

For the past five or so minutes, he had been humming an old lullaby he wasn't sure of the origins of. Reinhard found it adorable that a great spirit can be put to sleep by the humming of a lullaby.

And then he saw it. Subaru had opened his eyes. It was so slow and gentle that only Reinhard had noticed it. And he did not have the heart to bother him in such a moment.

Reinhard could almost see Subaru's mind analyzing his situation. The emotions he felt were plain on his face and Reinhard felt happy that the first thing his friend would feel upon waking would be comfort and joy.

But then he had turned to Reinhard. Reflexively, the knight smiled at his friend, happy that he was the first person Subaru had sought out. He wondered if it was the song he was humming.

Next, he was even happier to see that, in his most vulnerable and simple state, Subaru still looked at him with nothing but kindness. Reinhard committed the face he saw on his friend to memory. It would be the one he'd strive to place on him in daily life.

But then, Subaru's gentle happiness shifted to a neutral look, as if he was only waking up just then. Reinhard was a little hurt to see a scowl develop on his friend's face, but the look he had just memorized would keep him strong through any malicious words or actions Subaru had in store for him.

"Why the fuck… does the first thing I have to see in the morning… have to be your fucking face?" Subaru croaked out, his voice hoarse.

Smiling even more enthusiastically, Reinhard said, "Because it isn't morning, Subaru. It is, in actuality, late at night."

Subaru shot back with a deeper frown, disgusted, "Ugh… and your voice is the first thing I have to hear too? Hopefully all my other sense's firsts will be taken by someone more worthy."

"Betty has touch covered, I suppose."

"I guess I'm the first Subaru smells, then."

Subaru took a second to process the words spoken to him, the scowl leaving his face as his attention drifted from Reinhard. He shifted his head back and saw Emilia's face incredibly close to his own.

Her amethyst eyes seemed slightly puffy from tears but were as beautiful as ever. Her gorgeous silver hair was stunning, even when so short. Her every facial feature especially stood out to him in this moment as they were all so close. His eyes drifted to her lips and he felt himself blush.

"E-Emilia-tan, y-you're awfully close to me," he said, Emilia's form too alluring to him to blantanty reject the presence of.

She tilted her head slightly in confusion, saying, "Don't you like to be so close?"

She pulled him back into the hug he had left moments ago. She whispered into his ear, the heat of her breath against it sending a chill down his spine, "I, for one, know that I like to keep my Subaru nice and close."

She brought his body even closer to her's. He could feel her every feature press against him. He was in such a state of bliss that he was unable to form coherent thoughts. Her mouth was right against his ear as she continued, "As~ Close~ As~ Possible~"

His face was redder than it had ever been before. It was the reddest thing out of really any person, object, or phenomenon that he had ever interacted with. It was so red that, without even seeing his face, he knew exactly how red it was. He literally could not form words.

"You'll cause Betty's Subaru to faint at this rate, I suppose. Give him here, in fact."

He felt himself pulled off of the half-elf of his dreams and onto his back. Beatrice had detached herself from him and, noticing his predicament, did her best to help her contractor.

"Fine~" Emilia said, pouting at Beatrice, her face slightly red but nowhere near as much as Subaru.

He crawled away slightly, sat up straight, and attempted to hide that which had grown, much like the Grinch's heart, three sizes that day.

"Emilia-sama, if I may. I do believe it would be best for us to leave Subaru alone in his room for the night. It is rather late after all," Reinhard interjected, already doing his best to fulfill his promise to his friend.

Subaru's gaze shifted to the knight. Reinhard winked at him. Subaru suppressed the urge to vomit. On the bright side, his boner was instantly dead.

Subaru took a deep breath and calmed himself, the redness of his face lowering to match Emilia's, and said, "As much as I absolutely adore having my Emilia-tan in my room late at night…"

Her face blushed much harder at the use of the phrase 'my Emilia-tan'. Subaru noted this and continued, "And as much as I hate to agree with the Sword Saint on even the smallest of matters…"

Reinhard's smile did not falter. He had spent the past hour or so mentally preparing for the worst. This low level of hostility was, relative to the expected utter hatred, basically great kindness to Reinhard.

Ignoring the oddly amicable Sword Saint, Subaru finished his thought, "I do think it's best if we all rested for the night. We've all had a long day and we'll have plenty of time to discuss in the morning."

Emilia pouted at this but smugly smiled a second later. She declared with confidence, "If that's the case, why don't I just sleep with Subaru?"

Subaru's redness returned with a vengeance, Beatrice face-palmed, and even Reinhard was caught off guard by the remark.

"E-Emilia-sama, that would hardly be proper for an unmarried couple such as yourselves," Reinhard started, unsure how to properly address his new Lady's proposal.

"Y-yeah, Emilia-tan. Please trust me when I say we're not ready for that yet. Not by a longshot," Subaru said, so embarrassed that he didn't notice his agreement with his nemesis.

She looked quite confused but turned her attention to Beatrice, who had cleared her throat, "In the morning, Betty will explain to you in detail why it would be improper, I suppose. If you remain such a silly girl, Betty's Subaru's heart will not be able to take it, in fact."

Emilia seemed placated by this and reluctantly got up and off the bed. She hopped and skipped her way to the still open door, gripping the frame hard enough to leave an imprint of her hand.

"Good night, my Subaru~" she said, giving him a small, intense smile that he was simply not ready to process before turning and leaving the room.

Subaru let out a large sigh, "If she keeps that up, I think I'll die of heart failure by the end of the week."

"I'm sure Beatrice-sama will do her utmost to keep you healthy in these trying times," Reinhard helpfully added, still standing beside the bed.

"Why are you even still here?!"

Reinhard kept smiling as he walked to leave the room. He turned to speak before exiting, "We have much to discuss come the morning, Subaru. Will yo-"

"Get out already!"

Reinhard feigned hurt but kept his smile anyways, "Yes, yes. I'll be heading out now. Good night, Subaru."

He moved to close the door behind him when Subaru shouted, "Let the door hit you on the way out!"

Through the now closed door, Reinhard's voice rang out, "I believe it is physically incapable of doing so."

And with that, Subaru and his spirit were the last in the room.

He finally relaxed and fell backwards onto the bed, exhausted. He was surprised to see Beatrice do the same.

"Beako… you are aware this is my room, right?"

She gave him a smug look and gave her best Subaru impression, mock crying included, "I thought that you 'don't want to do it all alone anymore', in fact."

He blushed to about fifty percent of his maximum as he gave his knee-jerk reaction, "Wait, you saw all that?!"

She merely maintained her smug look as his blushed intensified and he gave his more thought-out reaction, "WAIT, REINHARD SAW ALL THAT?!"

He shot back up out of bed and said, a great sense of dread and embarrassment filling him, "Is- Is that why he's all smiles now?"

"That could be one reason, I suppose," Beatrice mused, reflecting on her short interaction with the knight.

After another moment of embarrassed thinking, an evil look grew on Subaru's face. He held his hands in a familiar pose and asked Beatrice a simple question, "And whose job was it to keep him out, I wonder?"

Her smugness faded and fear crossed her face. She realized all too late what he was about to do.

"Please, anything but that, in fact," she begged, trying to crawl away.

Unfortunately for Beatrice, she was caught in his grasp as he started, "Tickle Torture! Level Two!"

For the second time in quite a few years, her laughter rang out from the room and into the halls, filling the mansion with the echoes of happiness despite the tension in the air.

All in all, it was a fairly good day for Natsuki Subaru, the Sin Archbishop of Pride.


In another part of the mansion, under the silent moonlight, sat a lone man with a book in his hands.

"Teacher, please. Teacher, please instruct me once more," he begged, frantically scanning page after page, searching for even the smallest sign of change.

After what felt like hours, he gave up once again. It was his second night spent like this. His second night full of uncertainty. His second night without his guiding light.

"Teacher, please. I need you…"

Suddenly, he felt something about the book change. He opened it back up with a renewed vigor. The pages were filled with text once more.

"Teacher… thank you. Thank you so much, teacher."

He cried as his guiding light was returned. He cried as he was given instructions once more. He cried as he was given the means by which to manipulate Natsuki Subaru yet again.

All in all, it was a fairly good day for Roswaal L. Mathers.