A/N: Hey guys! I'm sorry for being gone for so long, but I'm on spring break now, so I've caught up on writing, so here is a 7k work chapter! I hope you enjoy!

3 months later

"(Y/N), you have to check this out!"

You looked up from the pineappa pizza that laid in front of you to see Subaru holding a newspaper.

About nine months ago, you and Subaru invented the printing press, and newspapers were one thing that came along with this invention. It took this world a little while to grow accustomed to them, but by now, there was already a delivery system in place to spread important news everywhere.

Swallowing the bite that was already in your mouth, you asked, "What's up?"

"Have your bagpipes become a phenomenon that is already despised by the people of this world?" Omega, who was the only other one at the table, sarcastically added. She was not a big fan of the instrument, and she called it 'noise that not even the tone-deaf Emilia could emulate.'

Subaru stopped for a moment as if he was unsure of how to relay the information. "You know what," he said with a suddenly grave tone, "just read this."

He handed you the newspaper and pointed at the headline. Omega looked over your shoulder and looked genuinely impressed as she read the words out loud.

"Last night, the Astrea territory was attacked by an unknown assailant. Fifty houses are reported to be destroyed, with over two hundred Lugnican citizens reported as dead or missing. According to an anonymous source in this territory, the Sword Saint engaged the perpetrator in combat after ten seconds of destruction, but the result of the battle is unknown.

It is difficult to believe that the Astrea territory was attacked, and even more shocking is the lack of identification of the person - or thing - behind this cruel slaughter. When approached about this situation, Heinkel van Astrea, the owner of the land, stated, "Don't ask me. My son's the one who did the fighting, all right?! If he and that girl of his messed up, don't come to me asking questions- Eh? This is going in the papers? I don't give a crap! In fact, put all of this in there!"

The Lugnica Times has been unable to contact Reinhard van Astrea about this matter, but it is reported that the Sword Saint addressed the surviving people of the land about the attack. According to sources, he apologized for not being more prompt, and when confronted about the identity of the attacker, he evaded the question and claimed that there would not be a repeat of this disastrous event, and that the Astrea territory would never see the aggressor again.

With this oddly cryptic answer not satisfying some, it has been speculated that perhaps the Blue Lightning of Vollachia was behind this attack, as the Sword Saint has narrowly defeated him before, and he could have possibly come back to extract revenge. Other theorists claim that the Witch Cult was behind this, and even more radical individuals claim that The Crusaders were behind this and staged an attack in order to gain sympathy and extract more funds from the public.

Whatever the true answer may be, the deaths and destruction is unforgivable, and may the Kingdom of Lugnica bring this person to justice."

As Omega finished reading the article out loud, there was a dead silence hanging in the room.

"Well," Omega noted without a hint of care, "it would have been a very good idea to implement 'Witch Cult' attacks of our own in order to spur funding. These radical theorists may be more intelligent than they are given credit for, as even I had not rationalized that idea."

"Don't you dare to even joke about that!" Subaru exclaimed with disappointment. "First off, nobody should joke about people dying, because death is nothing close to being funny! Second off, our ally is in huge trouble, and to make this even better, people are starting to come up with stupid theories that put us in a bad light! You know all too well that I like to make jokes, but this is just too far!"

You sat back into your seat as you set the newspaper down on the table. With your arms crossed, you suggested, "Well, first off, people are going to start rumors no matter what, so ignore them. We can just prove them wrong later, so that's nothing bad. Now, as for who did this, I have an idea."

Images flashed through your mind, and you clenched your jaw. "I've never met this Blue Lightning, but I have met a guy who can destroy fifty houses in ten seconds."

Realization slowly crept onto Subaru's face in the form of fear, and Omega couldn't decide whether she should grin or frown.

"This was the work of Regulus Corneas, the Sin Archbishop of Greed. And this means that even Reinhard couldn't beat him."

Time Skip

The entire Emilia camp was gathered in the meeting room, the same one that you and the others played D&D in. Well, you played it in Echidna's Castle of Dreams, but your bodies were in this room.

Emilia sat at the head of the table, with Roswaal facing her from the other end.

Subaru sat to her right, with Beatrice in his lap. Garfiel sat next to him, and with the demihuman came his sister, Frederica.

You sat opposite from Subaru, which was Emilia's left-hand side. Omega obviously sat next to you, and to her side was Elsa, and Meili next to Bowel Hunter.

Ram sat next to Roswaal, and Otto was seated between her and Meili.

Clind and Annerose (who was the head of the mansion) were absent, but that did not matter, because this meeting was for Emilia's political campaign and The Crusaders.

At this point, everybody present had heard about the story in the newspaper, because that was exactly why the rare meeting was called to order.

After waiting for everybody to settle in their chairs, Emilia stood up from her position at the head of the table and looked down the table to make sure that everyone was making eye contact. "We all know that a super bad thing happened, so we need to figure out how we will help Reinhard and Felt-san. Before I tell you what I think, does anybody want to give us their suggestion?"

Subaru raised his hand immediately. "It's obvious, isn't it? We need to go there and help! I know that we can't do anything about the damage, but we can at least help the people out over there! Most of us here are a part of The Crusaders, and one of our goals is to help people out after the Witch Cult attacks, so this is something that we need to do!"

Several heads nodded in agreement, but Roswaal shifted in his seat. "Are you suuuuure about this, Subaru-kun?"

"Eh?" Garfiel interjected. "Are ya tryin' ta say tha' th' Cap'n's wrong?"

The Margrave shrugged. "Ammmmmm I? All I wish to say is that helping the Felt camp in any way would do more harm than good. Is that not correct, Emiliaaaaa-sama?"

Emilia nodded her head without a trace of hesitance. "Yes, you're right, but I also agree with Subaru. Can we not send help, even though they might not want it? I think that helping people is more important than political games."

Seeing a chance to argue, Omega smirked and raised her hand. "Ah, but that is where your logic is flawed. For you see, what gives you the idea that our assistance is required? I am certain that the Sword Saint and the Astrea family have a great deal of resources, so what reason would they have to ask for aid?"

"Well," you said, "you're not wrong, but doesn't it just feel wrong to act like this has nothing to do with us? I know that he'll probably reject it, but can't we at least reach out to Reinhard? He's a member of The Crusaders, so I feel like we should at least check up on him and make sure that he doesn't actually need help, because there's a limit to how much a person, even one as cracked as him, can do."

Omega shook her head. "Not at all. I feel no obligation to perform such a courteous act at the potential expense of our resources."

"Ahem!"

The table became silent as Otto cleared his throat. Every head turned towards him, and the Head of Internal Affairs looked surprisingly irritated. "Do you even hear yourselves?! Just contact the Felt camp and offer to provide assistance! Ignoring all of the crazy theorists, the public will see this as an act of grace from The Crusaders, and this is nothing but good for our political purposes! We want to have an upper hand over the others, so there is no reason not to offer our help! Even if we are rejected, the fact that we were in a position to help that camp gives us an upper hand in Emilia-sama's political standing!"

Omega looked like she had a counter to this argument, but she remained silent.

'Well, silent to all but you, I suppose. If this stupid proposition results in the Sword Saint requesting resources such as food, building materials, or even temporary housing, we will be wholly unable to oblige, giving this camp a worse reputation. I am not suggesting that I particularly care about Emilia's candidacy, but if these buffoons truly cared, they would not send an offer of help. Perhaps they could express their condolences, but I do not approve of this.'

You shrugged as everybody around the table began muttering in approval of Otto's plan. 'You have a fair point, but I think that the pros outweigh the cons. And besides, just like you said, they probably don't need help anyway, so we might as well try.'

Omega sighed as Emilia announced, "Okay then, I'll write a letter and send it to the Astrea territory today! This meeting is over!"

"Wait!" you urgently exclaimed since you didn't expect Emilia to end this meeting so early. "There's still something that I want to talk about with all of you!"

"Okie dokie!" Emilia said with a smile. "The meeting is not over anymore, so (Y/N), go ahead!"

Subaru looked at you with curiosity as he sat Beatrice back in his lap, where she had been this entire time.

At the same time, Elsa, who hadn't spoken so far, licked her lips. "Hmmm? Do we get to fight somebody?"

You shook your head and explained, "Not this person, because I'm pretty sure that Regulus Corneas, the Sin Archbishop of Greed, did this."

"One of the two who attacked you and my sister," Ram noted with hostility.

"Yeah," you confirmed, "he attacked us, and after seeing him in person, I can definitely say that nobody here has a chance of beating him except for me, because of my resistance to Authorities."

"That is a very bold statement, in fact." From her position in Subaru's lap, Beatrice crossed her arms.

You shrugged your shoulders in response. "Call it what you will, but Regulus is seriously overpowered. From what I can tell, he has an ability that makes it so that attacks don't affect him. He can also use some sort of ability that hits you without you seeing it, and it's lethal to come in contact with."

From across the table, Otto raised his hand. "(Y/N), what are you suggesting with this information?"

"Well, I just wanted to bring up the possibility we might be on his hit list for some reason. Almost nobody stands a chance against him, so how can we defend ourselves from the Witch Cult?"

Not even waiting for somebody else to potentially answer, Roswaal took this opportunity to suggest something that he had been wanting to do for a while now. "What ifffff we moved into my main mansion? Preparations are donnnne now, so we could move there soon~"

Omega guffawed. "Nonsense! We are familiar with this land, and how will a larger structure increase our safety? No, we should remain here, where we can use our familiarity with the surrounding area to our advantage in a defensive battle, for the time being."

Garfiel seconded this idea. "Y'uh! I read'a book 'nce, an' it said th'a when ya know tha' bat'lefield better'n th' enemy, ya gotta better chance'a winnin'!"

"Indeed," Omega replied. "What I am implying here is that we need not a change in tactical position, but a change in the resources available to our disposal."

Subaru scratched his head, not entirely sure where Omega was trying to go with this. "So, what exactly are you trying to say here?"

"She says that we need more people, I suppose," came an answer from his lap. Beatrice looked at Omega, hoping that her interpretation wasn't wrong.

The Great Spirit was reassured with a nod from Omega, who proceeded to announce, "We must enlist the aid of somebody powerful enough to pose a threat to all Archbishops excluding Greed, whom (Y/N) will deal with when the time eventually comes. To save us all some time, I shall not deliver a lengthy monologue as to the qualifications of this person, and instead, I shall declare my suggestion-"

"Ooooh!" Elsa interrupted in excitement, "That is a wonderful choice!"

Every head turned toward her, and you heard Garfiel mumble, "Th' h'll is wrong w'th 'er?"

"What?" Elsa responded. "She is obviously going to choose a very powerful warrior, no? I am already trembling!"

Meili slapped Elsa in the arm, the child's cheeks puffed in anger. "You're being unnecessarily weird again! Stop it! I re~ally wanted to hear who it was!"

As the Bowel Hunter shrugged Meili's beration off, Omega slid her chair backwards, and stood up for dramatic effect. "Indeed! My top candidate for recruitment is a very powerful one, and to dispel some suspicions, they are not from foreign lands! No, I plan to gain the aid of none other than Shaula!"

"WHAT?!"

Chairs cluttered as they fell, and the table was slapped more than once out of shock.

"I was ready for almost any name to come out of your mouth," Otto said in between gasps and over similar comments, "but you suggest that we recruit the Sage!? I hate to say it, but that is impossible! I like to aim high, but even I know when to stop pursuing an unlikelihood, because no one has ever reached the Pleiades Watchtower where she lives, not even the Sword Saint!"

"Wait," Emilia called out above Otto and the chaos, "everyone, let's hush and listen to Omega's explanation!"

The room fell silent, and Omega grinned at you as she began to delve into how her plan would be executed. Sitting back down and adopting an unnaturally composed figure, she said, "Merchant boy, there are two things in your statement that I would like to comment on, and both of these things will reveal a great amount of information that most residents of this world are unaware of."

Time Skip

Mouths were agape, and Garfiel looked like he passed out from too much shock in such a short amount of time.

What Omega relayed was this:

1) She knew how to get to the Pleiades Watchtower, even though Reinhard had tried to reach it and failed even though it was within his sight.

2) Shaula the Sage wasn't actually the Sage - the true Sage was Flugel, whom the Flugel Tree was named after. Shaula was just his apprentice, but she was given credit for everything that he did.

As everybody except for you had to process this information, Ram sat back in her chair, not convinced at all that there was truth in these words. "How do you know these things?" the maid interrogated. "Do you not notice how odd it is that you claim to know these things that nobody else does?"

There was an uncomfortable silence around the table after Ram posed this question. After all, she and Frederica were the only ones who didn't know about Omega's true identity.

In addition, Roswaal wasn't aware that anybody beyond him and Clind knew of her identity, and everyone else who had played D & D in the Castle of Dreams didn't know that Roswaal knew.

The combination of these factors made a very fun game of watching everybody trying to find a way to tell Ram to 'just trust her.'

Nobody, not even Roswaal could immediately think of a logical loophole, so you prepared to make something up to make Ram magically become trusting of people.

Fortunately, Omega knew what you were about to try, so she spoke instead. "Nothing I will say can convince you that this is a truth, so consider this: why would I want us to seek Shaula out other than to help this camp annihilate any Sin Archbishop that dares attack us?"

Ram crossed her arms. "I do not know. Perhaps you will lead us to a trap or to a place of certain death."

Meili whimpered as 'death' slid off of Ram's tongue in a grave tone.

Noticing this, you asked, "Hey Meili, what's wrong?"

The Mabeast User grasped the end of her shirt beneath the table, and she began nervously fiddling with it. "I-I've been to the Augria Sand Dunes once. You know, the desert where the Watchtower is? W-well... there are a lot of s-scary animal-chan's there and... and..."

At this point, the little girl began shaking from fear, and Elsa uncharacteristically hugged her.

Neither sister said anything, but this emotional display made the table grow in weariness.

"You know," Subaru broke the silence, "Meili's a really brave girl. I mean, she went through a lot of things before we picked her up, and if that desert shook her up that much..."

Beatrice said nothing but huffed in agreement. At the same time, Ram continued to look at Omega with a skeptical expression. "Perhaps traveling on your journey would kill more of us than it would save," the pink-haired maid noted cynically.

Omega waved the sentiment off without any regard. In response to Ram's persistent caution, she crossed her arms and confidently exclaimed, "I also have reason to believe that Volcanica, the Divine Dragon, may be currently resting there."

Another gasp escaped from the table, and this time, Ram turned to Roswaal instead of blasting Omega.

The clown's mouth was agape, and for a moment, he couldn't hide his trembling hands from anybody. "Is thaaaaaat so?" he asked gravely.

Omega nodded her head nonchalantly, and Ram's face slowly became as red as her hair - not out of embarrassment, but out of building rage. "Do not dare to spit any lies!" she spat vehemently. "If any of this is false, I will not hesitate to kill you!"

"Woah there," you intervened. "I don't really know what's going on, but that sounds a little extreme, right?"

To be honest, you knew that Roswaal's ultimate goal of truly resurrecting his teacher Echidna has to do with the Dragon because of what Echidna had told you before, and that would explain why Ram was so angry for him. If Volcanica was actually at the Pleiades Watchtower, then Roswaal's grand plan, whatever he was planning to do, was suddenly within plausible reach. If Omega was just toying with him, then Ram, who probably knew more about the plan that mere speculation could reach, would naturally rise to anger.

As you thought about this, Ram's self-control dissipated her visible anger. "I do not make empty threats," she replied calmly, which actually made the whole thing slightly more intimidating.

Building on the tense mood, Roswaal spoke in his serious voice again. "In that case, we will be going to the Pleiades Watchtower, trusting the information that we apparently have access to. Omega-san, how do you propose we travel there, if you know how to reach it?"

"It is quite elementary," Omega said condescendingly. "I will use advanced magic to teleport a select few of us there - as I cannot teleport us all - and then we will have to perform very specific actions in order to reach our destination. Trust me, the most difficult component of this journey will be gaining the aid we seek to acquire."

"Indeed," the clown noted. "I trust that you plan on my attendance?"

Omega nodded, but instead of naming everybody else she would suggest, she nudged you on the side.

'Huh? What do you want me to do?'

'(Y/N), I do not believe that a mission formed completely under my discretion will lead to satisfaction among the participants. Instead of naming the party that will embark, I would prefer that you lead a discussion in which the members are chosen with logical reasoning. Of course, I will dispense my wisdom as necessary, but the less I intervene here, the less I am targeted for any adverse results or harsh opinions.'

'Ah, you're setting me up as a scapegoat.'

'Perhaps.'

You sighed and then took a deep breath as you collected some thoughts before talking, not bothering to argue with your contracted partner. Turning to Emilia, you announced, "It's great and all that Roswaal is coming, but since Omega can only teleport a few of us, we need to decide who all is going and who's going to stay."

"Oh yeah..." the half-elf wondered out loud, "first off, we need to figure out who is super important and needs to go, and then who will stay here for sure."

Ram raised a hand immediately. "I will go, and I am bringing my sister. Even if what Omega says is true and the Sage is merely an apprentice, she may be able to help Rem."

The maid didn't mention the Divine Dragon, but she didn't have to. Bringing up Rem silenced any opposition, and nobody dared to bring up an argument against the angry Oni out of fear of her retaliation and the slim hope of Rem actually being woken up at the Pleiades Watchtower.

"So," Subaru asked next, "exactly how many people are we taking? I really want to go, but if we don't have enough spots, I might not contribute as much as others to the usefulness quota."

Omega, unlike others, didn't try to say anything to refute what Subaru just implied about himself. Instead, she looked at his statement objectively and commented, "Indeed. The most I can possibly teleport safely and accurately would be six us of, although an extra may accompany if their attendance is absolutely necessary. We currently have four of the six decided upon, so please continue carefully."

You could tell that most of the people around the table wanted to go on the journey to recruit Shaula, but nobody spoke up to volunteer themselves. Instead, the opposite happened.

Otto cleared his throat and declared, "I, for one, am staying here. I probably don't need to explain why, and I hate to say this, but out of everyone here, I think that Meili should also go."

As soon as she heard this, the Mabeast User tensed up. She began to shake, and after gulping, Meili looked up to lock eyes with you. You nodded your head, giving her the confidence to say, "I know that all of you are strong, so I'll go. Y-you all need me anyway, because there are a bunch of animal-chans over there."

Elsa smiled sadistically as Meili announced her participation. "My, my~ I suppose I should go too, because if there are sooo~ many monsters..." she licked her lips, and there were already shaking heads.

"Nooooow," Roswaal said with his normal voice back, "may I remind you that five of our spots are taken? Would yoooouuu truly be the best number six?"

The Bowel Hunter nodded her head without thought, and Garfiel made a 'tsk' from his side of the table. "There's still' quite a'few of us, ya know!" With his fingers raised, Garfiel counted, "There's Cap'n an' Beatrice, (Y/N), big sis, Emilia, you, an' me. Any o' y'all wanna go? I wanna, but if I can't go wit' Cap'n, I ain't gonna complain 'bout stayin'."

Emilia was the first to answer. "I have a bunch of stuff to do over here, and I don't want Otto to be buried under all the paperwork, so I'll stay and help him!"

"As expected of Emilia-tan," Subaru remarked. "You're too good for us!"

Looking at Beatrice and then back at Emilia, Subaru announced, "I'll stay here with Emilia, because after all, I'm her knight! If something bad happens here, I'll protect her!"

"And you can't go without Betty, I suppose," came a comment from his lap.

Subaru smiled and patted Beatrice on the head. "Yup! I can't stand to be separated from my dear Beako for too long, and even though she won't admit it, she feels the same way, so there's even more reason to stay!"

As Beatrice growled in retaliation, Frederica, who had been silent for the most part, raised her hand gracefully. "As a maid, I will not depart from this mansion, and I am sure that others' abilities are much more useful than my own."

"So that leaves me or Elsa..." you concluded. "To be honest, I really want to go, so how set on going are you, Elsa?"

Elsa's face darkened in anticipation, her murder senses awakening. "Do you want to fight for the spot? I'm more than willing to~"

After a second of thought, you replied, "Sure, but let's do rock, paper, scissors. It's faster that way."

"Eh?"

Subaru pumped one of his fists, dispelling the remainder of Elsa's murderous intent. "Heck yeah! I've taught them how to play, and it's about time they realized how wonderful this game is! (Y/N), should you do it out of three, or go all or nothing and go out of one?"

Instead of you, it was Elsa who decided. "I shall deal a single, decisive strike!"

You shrugged. "Well, if that's the way you want it..." All of a sudden, you had an idea, and both you and Omega deviously smiled as the idea developed. "I'll play scissors, so you can strike me down with a rock."

Whispers went around the table as everybody discussed whether this strategy was a part of the rules that Subaru explained.

"Um..." Emilia looked at you with a worried expression. "Are you sure you want to tell her your move? Isn't that unfair to you?"

"Oh, shoot!" you exclaimed with feigned ignorance. "You're right! I'll play paper instead."

Emilia was speechless, and you could hear the radio static in Elsa's head as she tried to figure out what to do with her move.

The more intelligent characters looked on with amusement as the more challenged characters were as confused as Elsa.

Subaru, who was living a rock, paper, scissors dream, clapped his hands together. "After watching MacPsycho 1000, I've really been into these tricks!"

"I'm not even going to ask-"

"Great! Now, Elsa, are you ready to challenge (Y/N) to one round of rock, paper, scissors to see who gets to go to the PLEIADES WATCHTOWER and meet the SAGE, SHALUA?" Subaru announced this as if it were a wrestling match, and it was already making Emilia giggle.

Elsa, who was more confused than malicious now, nodded her head.

Not giving Subaru a chance to talk more, you said, "I'm ready too!"

"GREAAAAAAAT!" Subaru commentated. "Now, the two of you, prepare your fists!" The two of you put your hands in position to play. "Now, together! Rock! Paper! Scissors! SHOOOOOT!"

Elsa violently threw rock over the laps of Meili and Omega, but by the time her hand solidified her choice, it was too late.

You played paper, and in doing so, you played Elsa.

"It is settled then," Omega exclaimed in an amused fashion. "The party of six shall be Roswaal, the maid sisters, Meili, (Y/N), and myself. Are there any final objections to this decision?"

A few heads turned to the Bowel Hunter, but she accepted her resignation with whatever dignity she had.

The only person who had something to say was Garfiel. "I'm fine wit' not goin', but why can't we all go in'a dragon carriage or some'tin? It'd take as long's one of a Dunga's shits ta get there, but there'd be more've us, ya know?"

"And risk getting attacked in the carriage?" Omega countered. "Remember, Regulus Corneas is on the move."

You winced at this one, but then Ram, of all people, brought up a good point. "What if Emilia-sama and the remainders are attacked by Greed while you take us away? According to your own testimony, will they not be defeated? Is (Y/N) not the only hope of defeating him?"

Omega shrugged. "As long as Subaru is here, I do not fear for them. In addition, (Y/N) is the most prominent threat against an Archbishop, so on the odd chance that we encounter one, having him on our journey would benefit us greatly."

Ram reluctantly stopped her dissent when Roswaal put a hand on her shoulder. "I approve of this arrangement," he stated.

In the next few minutes, the rest of the details were settled, and it was final: Omega, Roswaal, Ram, a comatose Rem, Meili, and you would go to the Augria Sand Dunes, go through the desert, follow Omega to the Watchtower, convince Shaula to join your group, and then meet Volcanica if he was actually there.

The group who stayed was going to send a letter to Reinhard and ask if he needed any assistance, and they were going to continue Emilia's campaign projects while Subaru managed The Crusaders.

Time Skip

After everybody had dispersed from the meeting, Omega telepathically told you that Ram would quite possibly try to talk to you, so your contracted partner disappeared into the mansion, probably into the vicinity of the library.

Now, you slowly walked toward your room, waiting for the maid to catch you before you reached your destination.

The problem this time was not you actually making it to your room, but the fact that Ram didn't approach you in the several minutes it took for you to reach it.

'Hey Echidna, are you sure that she wanted to talk to me?'

'Please note that I used the word "possibly" when describing the likelihood of the elder Oni sister approaching you. Perhaps her pride was too great for her to communicate whatever she wished to convey, or even less likely, she could not locate you.'

You sighed while hearing this explanation in your head, and as you opened the door to your room, a voice from behind asserted, "(Y/N), I will enter the room with you."

'See? My deduction was correct, for Ram contacted you. To doubt me is to doubt logic and reasoning.'

Ignoring Echidna's boasting, you turned around and held the door open for Ram, who bore a neutral expression as she walked into your room.

Looking around, the maid impartially noted, "I see that you have kept this room clean as always, unlike Barusu. Congratulations, (Y/N). You have managed to surpass the expectations that I was not aware I possessed."

Echidna scoffed in your mind. 'Personally, I would not take that disrespect. However, you may proceed however you would like.'

'Eh, that's just how she is.'

You didn't react to Ram's insult. Instead, you closed the door and looked her in the eye as she sat on top of your bed. "So, what's up?"

"Something about Omega is untrustworthy," she claimed with seething skepticism toward your partner, "and I have noticed that you and her act very familiar with each other. Heed my warning: do not allow a woman to deceive you through her charms. I have not forgotten your pathetic confession to me all those months ago, and as a friend, I advise you to be more cautious around Omega. She is not what she seems."

This warning from Ram - including the fact that she actually considers you to be a friend - seemed to come from sincere concern for you, and it made you feel glad for it, despite the stoic expression that hid her true thoughts. In addition, Ram's hunch was spot-on, since Omega was just the Sanctuary Echidna in disguise. If you were unaware of that fact, as you were in Ram's perception, this would have been very good advice, but since there were several factors in play that Ram didn't know about, this advice would all go to waste.

But hey, at least the sentiment was there.

"You know, that means a lot to me, Ram. You even called me a friend!-"

"If that is all you will take from this, I am leaving." Ram sat up from the bed and walked toward you, challenging you to move away so she could leave.

You stood your ground. "And as I was about to say, the fact that you decided to give me this warning won't go to waste. I don't want another situation where I'm being used by somebody, so I promise that I'll be extra careful."

The tiniest hint of a smile was allowed to show itself on the maid's face. "Very well then," she said, "I will make sure that you are not duped by that woman, and in turn, you will do everything in your power to help me fix Rem."

"Absolutely," you replied with resolve. "I know everyone says it's not my fault, but I wasn't able to protect Rem when it counted, so when we get to the Pleiades Watchtower, I'll do everything I can to find a way to make Rem up and make everybody remember her."

Ram dropped her head toward the ground and in an almost inaudible voice, she whispered, "Thank you."

You nodded your head and moved out of the way so that Ram could exit the room.

She did so in silence, and you couldn't help but think of Rem after you made your promise to help her.

'Hey Echidna, is there actually a way that we can help Rem?'

'As far as I am aware, the only way to reverse a condition caused by an Authority would be to possess a counter to the Authority such as the one you naturally possess or to erase that Authority completely. However, in the case of the Archbishop of Lust before Pandora reshaped reality, the humans whom she transfigured did not revert to their original forms after she died. This suggests that either Authorities cannot be undone without the consent of the Sin Archbishop, without the completion of certain terms, or cannot be undone at all. In the case of Gluttony, based on Daphne's Authority of Gluttony, I believe that the memories and names of individuals have a certain "digesting" time. If we kill Lye Batenkaitos or force him to reverse his Authority before he completely digests Rem's name and memories, then she will most likely revert to the state of existence that she possessed before the attack on the dragon carriages.'

'I know that this won't ever work, but imagine if this was like a case of Sleeping Beauty? You know, the comatose state that Rem and some other people are in is actually called Sleeping Beauty, so wouldn't it be weird if I kissed Rem and she returned to normal? Like, I have an immunity to Authorities, so what if it canceled out her coma? I won't kiss her just to find out, but you know...'

'(Y/N), that is the most outlandish suggestion that you have proposed recently, and it must be coming from your hormones.'

'I know it's stupid, but I just wanted to say it because it felt pretty interesting.'

'Heh. You consider that idea to be worthy of interest?'

'I mean... yeah. Can you one-up that off the top of your head?'

You regretted challenging Echidna as soon as the thought conveyed itself to her.

'I am so glad that you asked, (Y/N). When you cut onions, you cry, no? This is caused by the fact that onions are particularly adept at absorbing sulfur, and when you cut one open, their cells are broken, releasing their contents. The previously separated enzymes meet the sulfur-rich amino acids and form unstable sulfenic acids, which undergo a chemical reaction and form syn-Propanethial S-oxide, which is a compound that easily evaporates. This causes an inevitable burning sensation when it comes in contact with one's eyeballs. In a futile attempt to keep the eyes from being damaged, one's brain quickly triggers a tear response to rinse the offending irritant away, causing the shedding of tears that simulates the sensation of crying. What makes this especially interesting is the fact that this is the onion's natural defense mechanism, as it is deterring predators from eating the source of their pained eyes. In summation, the onion is defending itself while making its consumer feel pain. This can be related to Shrek, in which Ogres are compared to onions. In fact, it can be compared to most organic life in the way that, even though you may not observe a remarkable will to live, when living things are faced with death, you will suddenly be met with substantial resistance. In this way, onions are personified not only in writing, but in reality! They are not sentient, but they still beg for their lives! How amusing!'

'That's enough sugar for you today, Echidna. It's going to take me at least two days to eat an onion without thinking about this now. But nice reference.'

'Thank you. Now, I will arrive at our room shortly, as I have been walking toward it throughout the duration of this conversation. The maid is no longer there, so I would prefer that the two of us were about to spend the rest of the day together to carefully plan for our expedition tomorrow.'

'Together, eh?'

That was something that neither of you minded.

Time Skip

Well, the fact that there were four people in your room didn't mean that you and Echidna weren't together. It just meant that you had company that you weren't getting rid of until the next day.

"Thanks for letting me and Beako stay over here for the night!" Subaru cheerily thanked you, with Beatrice acting impartial, although both you and Omega could see the excitement in her mannerisms. Continuing, the teen remarked, "You know, we just haven't had a normal talk in so long, so I thought having a sleepover would be great to have before you leave!"

"Indeed," Omega flatly replied. "And what is there to talk about?"

Subaru plopped down on the bed roll that he brought, already having a topic in mind. "(Y/N), I know that you and I have a... slightly different version of things we remember, but let's talk about some anime! I haven't watched anything in forever, and although I have never admitted it, I was definitely an otaku, and it's been lonely not being able to watch anything or talk to anybody about these things!"

As soon as she heard this from Subaru, Omega tensed up.

Subaru didn't notice this, but you did, and you knew what it meant: Echidna was really into anime and she loved talking, so her greed in wanting to dominate this discussion with information that she wished to convey was battling her pride that wanted her to act with a attitude that placed Subaru's desire to talk about anime beneath her.

Of course, as Echidna was the Witch of Greed, she could not restrain herself from geeking out as soon as Subaru introduced the topic.

"Of the titles Code Geass, Death Note, Classroom of the Elite, Violet Evergarden, Dr. Stone, No Game No Life, Steins;Gate, Monster, Parasyte, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Attack on Titan, Love is War, and Fate, which do you recognize?"

Subaru's mouth dropped as Omega quickly listed her favorite anime series, which was something he didn't expect to hear from her. "I guess (Y/N) did tell me that you two were going to watch anime," he mumbled. Carefully thinking back to the block of text that Omega just fumbled out of her mouth, Subaru responded, "I've obviously heard of Code Geass - All Hail Lelouch! - but the rest are kind of weird. There's obviously Franks;Door like I've said before, and I've seen The Unaliving Notebook, Classroom of the Smarties, Dr. Rock, Chess Gamers, Attack on Big(Wo)Men, Love is a Battlefield, and I don't dare watch the Fate series since it's been going on for at least 1,000 episodes that have arcs that randomly change everything from the characters to the setting."

You couldn't help but let out a healthy laugh as Subaru went off again with his world's version of anime from your world. Of course, a few things remained the same, but most of them were just different enough to be oddly funny.

Omega's lips twitched as if she wanted to laugh with you, but she did not yield. Instead, she asked Subaru, "As those are my favorite series at the moment, what are you partial to?"

Beatrice sighed as Subaru began reciting his list of favorite anime's. "Of the ones you like, I'd have to say the top ones are Love is a Battlefield and Code Geass. Apart from those, there's MacPsycho 1000, The Caped Baldy, Dad x Gon, and I loved the manga of Chainsaw Individual. And I mean, there's a few more I could add, but it would be better if I didn't. What about you, (Y/N)?"

You listed your favorite anime's, and Subaru grinned through the slight confusion that accompanied the unfamiliar names.

An hour of talking about anime ensued, and it was actually your yawn that ended the long conversation.

"I reckon it's pretty late now," Subaru commented. "I guess time flies when you're having fun."

"That would explain why this hour has lasted for far too long, I suppose," Beatrice interjected, trying to keep up her usual moody attitude. In all honesty, she only knew about the anime's that Subaru had mentioned to her before without full context of what they were, so she didn't understand much of what was being discussed, but being able to see everybody have fun like this, especially with Omega/Echidna, made her happy on the inside.

You saw straight through this and commented, "But that's good when you're trying to treasure your time with people, right?"

The stubborn Great Spirit couldn't help but slightly smile affectionately at this thought. Looking back to her past, Subaru had told her that he would make his relatively short time with her filled with memories that would stick with her forever, and this was indeed one of those moments.

"Ara," Omega remarked, "you are finally allowing your expression to honestly reflect your thoughts."

Beatrice made grumbling noises as she struggled against herself to choose a response, and Subaru gently patted her on the head as she did so.

"It's okay, Beako, we all know how you feel, so you don't have to hide it."

"Y-you're an idiot, in fact!"

Subaru shrugged the insult off with a grin. "People have called me more." Turning to you and Omega, he suddenly looked distressed. "Did you know that people are calling me the Lolimancer now?!"

You burst out laughing at Subaru's outrageous nickname. "How in the world do they even know what a loli is?" you asked in-between laughs.

Subaru curled up in the fetal position, already feeling the shame. "I maaaaay have called Beako a loli quite a lot, and every time somebody asked what it meant, I told them... If only I knew that they would use my own words against me, I wouldn't have ever explained it!"

"What other result could you expect from publicly allowing a female whom you have defined as a 'loli' to sit in your lap? Do you expect nobody to comment on this behavior?"

The Lolimancer looked at Omega with despair. "I-It's not weird or anything! This is just like letting kids go on Santa Claw's lap! That's considered fine, so why isn't it fine when I do it?"

"Well," you retorted, "you're not Santa, just like you're not Batman."

"You mean the Manbat?"

You and Omega silently judged Subaru, and in an attempt to change the atmosphere, he began a slightly better version of this topic. "On the good side, the people of Arlam village started to call us the Protectors of Arlam, and it's started to pick up around Lugnica. And have you heard your other nickname, (Y/N)?"

"Wait, I have a nickname?" This had you very intrigued, and you hoped that it wasn't going to be something like Subaru's.

There was a pause to increase anticipation, and after waiting for a sufficient time, Subaru took a deep, dramatic breath and revealed, "... Yeah, I've got nothing. I have no idea what people are calling you."

If it wasn't for Omega reaching out and laying a hand on your shoulder, Subaru would've had a pillow hit him into tomorrow.

Instead, you backed off and threw it normally. A pillow fight ensued, and more laughs were heard that night than you would get to hear for a long time.

Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Holy crap! I've been gone for four months, when my original goal was to have this thing published in January. I promise that I'm writing as often as possible, but these past few months have been nothing but working on other things until 1 or 2 in the morning. But hey, I'm on spring break now, so I was able to catch up on writing!

Obviously, we're about to go to the Pleiades Watchtower, and I can't wait to write this upcoming arc! I've been looking forward to this for a while now, and I personally think that this arc will be my favorite part of the book.

Well, with that said, I'll see you next time!