Miload Mansion Library, Midnight, Present Day
After hearing the cry for help echo down the empty halls, Emilia hurriedly left the Library. The mansion was eerily silent, making it easy to guess that the scream originated from Otto's room.
As she raced through the deserted corridors of Miload Mansion, a sense of dread filled Emilia's thoughts. Ever since the group's return from their expedition, it had been pure chaos, as Otto had remained unconscious without any apparent injuries. He wasn't attacked, nor had he eaten anything out of the ordinary; the entire situation was odd.
No one gave her any details, as though they were intentionally concealing the truth, much like they did with Subaru's whereabouts. However, this situation felt different from what they were used to. Even Roswaal couldn't tell what had been keeping Otto under. Both he and Beatrice exhausted their mana by casting recovery spells, only to witness their efforts go in vain.
It seemed like another case of sleeping beauty at first, but the difference was that everyone knew who Otto was. The memories they had together were intact. He would even toss and turn, wincing from the pain. None of it matched up with the almost doll-like symptoms Rem showed, where it was hard to tell if she was even breathing.
Emilia was completely drained after staying up the past few nights with no sleep. Finally reaching the door and taking a moment to catch her breath, she heard the voices of Garfiel and Ram talking to Otto. As she listened, it was hard to make anything out of the mumbled words through the thick wooden door.
She didn't have any personal issues with them, but their willingness to lie and keep Subaru's location a secret made it difficult for her to face them without feeling angry and upset. Part of her wanted to march on in there and give them a piece of her mind, but her body would not move.
Feeling defeated, she leaned against the wall and slid down to the ground. All she could do was listen to the muffled cries of Otto and let out a sigh of frustration while hugging her knees. Even when her friends needed her most, she couldn't swallow her own pride to help.
Suddenly, a muffled but teasing voice spoke up from Emilia's pocket. "It looks like you're not as brave as you thought, Emi. So much for not being a coward~"
Emilia pulled out a small mirror and reluctantly held it up to her face. As a glimmer appeared, a figure appeared in the reflection that was vastly different from her own appearance.
Despite the period of time Emilia had been frozen, the two girls could easily be mistaken for being the same age. However, upon closer inspection, the girl in the mirror had a noticeably different appearance. Unlike Emilia's snow-white complexion, the other girl had a slightly tanned skin tone and striking amber eyes. Her hair was shoulder-length brown, and she was much smaller in stature compared to Emilia.
" I am not a coward! I'm not afraid! It's just…" Emilia pouted.
The girl in the mirror seemed concerned. Emi, they're still your friends; even friends have their secrets."
Emilia was visibly upset by the comment. "This is Subaru we're talking about…"
"Emi…" The girl said with concern.
"I'll talk to you later."
Emilia took a deep breath, tucking the mirror away. The girl was right; at the end of the day, each and every one of them was still her friends, her family. They had to have had a good reason, a motive, for wanting to keep everything a secret. She only needed to ask for the truth to clear the air on why Roswaal purposely lied to her and why she couldn't know.
"As if it could be that easy…" she mumbled, punching the ground.
Emilia could feel her eyes becoming heavy as her head became harder to hold up by the second. The hours she spent in the library before started to catch up once she used up all of her remaining strength sprinting here. All the time and effort wasn't in vain, but there was so much more to be done that it almost felt like she'd only just begun her quest to find Subaru.
"I better head to bed…"
Emilia stood up, letting out a large yawn and stretching her arms out before dragging herself to her room. Sitting for hours at a time was definitely detrimental to her posture, as she felt her back crack in all the right places. Reaching for the door, she was hit with the familiar sensation of someone watching her.
Lately, whenever she was alone, she could feel someone glaring daggers at her back, but when she looked around, there was never anyone or anything. It was all chalked up to her inner turmoil and anxiety getting to her in more ways than one.
"That's still creepy…"
Throwing herself on the bed, she pulled out a small, tattered journal from under her pillow. Despite not understanding the language, given all the time she dedicated to deciphering it on her own, she was at least able to read the first few sentences.
"My Name is Natsuki Subaru."
"Mom, Dad I was sent to another …? but it isn't all bad."
"It's nothing like Jepon?"
Emilia let out a pained groan, tossing the book on her nightstand. It took her three whole days to decipher the text with what little knowledge she had, and the first sentence was barely legible. It was frustrating; she silently screamed and cursed Subaru out in her head. Out of everyone, he would be the one to give up on something halfway if it was for himself.
At the back of the journal, there was a half-written cipher attempting to cover the more basic side of whatever language Subaru was familiar with and the universal language of Lugnica. About halfway through the cipher, the unique characters began to resemble scribbles before flat-out turning into drawings one would make when bored out of their mind.
Despite making some progress, the cipher in the journal only contained the more basic "characters" of the language Subaru was writing in. As Emilia delved deeper into the journal, she realized that the strokes of the characters became more complex, and one slightly different stroke could change the entire meaning of the word. It was a daunting task, and Emilia knew that she couldn't do it alone.
Thankfully, her new friend was pretty competent and quick on the uptake. Together, they worked tirelessly to create a proper cipher, but it still took a day or two to complete. Even with the cipher, it was going to take them a few sleepless nights to piece the entire journal together. Emilia knew that she had made mistakes in her translations, but her friend was confident that they could get it right.
Emilia was in charge of the pages with more basic characters, while her friend was in charge of the much more complicated ones. There was that annoying feeling that the truth was just out of reach for her.
She began to reminisce about what exactly led to her meeting the girl in the mirror. The girl in the mirror, otherwise known as r̶̞͎̣̥͕̦̥̜̞̱̥͚̅̌̄͌̀̾̽̋̐̈́͘͠ẹ̶̡̢̨͍̦̼̬̫̟̙͍̞̩̏ḑ̵̨͇̩̟̣̠͎̼̥̞̻̖͛̋̀̌͛̇͊̍͋̉̀͘͜͠ą̸̧̧̡̢͇̬̭̠̥̪̝̞͚̒͋͂̾͛̄̇̈́͌̍̊́͗͋ĉ̷̢͍̼͖̬̝̫̟͕̇̑͑͗̚ţ̷̡̩͕͕̼͙̰͖͚͆̐̽̈́̇̿́̄͒̆̽͘͜͝e̵̛̪̲̯̘̓̃́̾̃͆̉̿̚͘͝ḋ̴̛͉͛ had been the only real shoulder Emilia could lean on after her trust in the group had dwindled. Her eyes became too heavy to keep open as she drifted off to sleep.
Miload Mansion, Week Prior
Emilia tried to decipher the information on her own, realizing that it was an impossible task with the limited information at her disposal. She had no real experience in that kind of job, and it was clear that she needed help. Swallowing her pride, Emilia knew that she had to seek out someone who could assist her.
Normally, she would have turned to Beatrice for guidance, but that was no longer an option. Emilia knew that she had to look elsewhere for help. She needed someone who could focus solely on this task with her.
With a deep breath, Emilia made her decision. She would seek out the help of someone she had never met before, someone who was known for their expertise in this field. It was a risky move, but she knew that it was her only option if she wanted to uncover the truth and save Subaru.
The initial grief of being lied to didn't exactly go away or die down; it took a back seat to more important things at hand. There was now a rift in the trust she had placed in those around her, with the exception of Subaru. After the departure of the group on their "secret" expedition, Emilia would find herself simply standing around in Rem's room.
Standing there in absolute silence, Emilia found herself lost in her own thoughts, mindlessly drifting off. However, the realization that this room would be the first place he would check upon his return sent a shiver down her spine, a feeling she couldn't quite place.
It was a feeling she had experienced before, the same one that had consumed her when she found herself wishing for Rem's downfall. Emilia had never paid much attention to Rem before, but she knew how much she meant to Subaru and the rest of the group. She knew that Subaru would do anything to protect them all, but the way he looked at Rem with such love and care was something that Emilia couldn't ignore.
It was the same look he gave her, and it made her heart ache. She couldn't help but wonder if she was just another member of the group to him, or if he truly cared for her as deeply as he did for Rem. As she sat there, lost in her thoughts, Emilia couldn't help but hope that Subaru would walk through that door and give her the reassurance she so desperately needed.
The thought began to sink in, making her heart pound and her breathing shallow. She feels like she couldn't catch her breath, and her chest tightend. Emilia tried to calm herself down by taking deep breaths, but it only seemed to make things worse.
She starts to feel dizzy and lightheaded, and her hands begin to shake uncontrollably. Emilia quickly began to feel overwhelmed by the anxiety, which quickly turned to frustration from the overstimulation.
In a fit of blind rage, Emilia lashed out and struck the head of the bed with a massive ice spike, right where Rem's head would have been had she still been sleeping. The force behind the spell was enough to shake the entire room and shatter the bed into two pieces.
For a moment, Emilia felt a surreal sense of satisfaction wash over her. Her eyes glimmered with a purple hue, and her expression was one of intimacy that could rival even Elsa Granhiert's. It was a feeling she had never experienced before, and it both frightened and exhilarated her.
As she heard one of the many paintings she had knocked out of balance crash to the ground, Emilia was snapped out of her daze. The realization of what she had just done hit her like a ton of bricks, and she felt a wave of guilt wash over her. It was a nasty feeling, one that Emilia didn't know she was capable of feeling.
Looking around, the result of her little moment began to sink in. Everything that had been on the dresser was now on the floor; the paintings were crooked and some were on the ground, and most of the furniture was jolted out of place.
She collapsed onto her knees, laughing to herself almost hysterically. Finally, she felt like she could stand on her own two feet. She didn't need to rely on anyone anymore; they could rely on her. But as she looked around at the result of her temper tantrum and all she had accomplished in Sanctuary, it suddenly felt meaningless.
She was just a damsel in distress, waiting for her knight in shining armor to come and save her. It was frustrating, and she couldn't help but throw herself to the ground in defeat.
"What am I even doing?" she muttered to herself.
As she lay there, wallowing in self-pity, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. It was a tattered old book, lying next to the nightstand. She crawled over to it, her fingers reaching out to grasp it. It looked more like a journal than anything else.
Finally getting her grip on it, she pulled it towards herself, holding it up in the air to inspect it. As far as she was aware, the room wasn't being used prior to the Roswaal group moving in and was really only used to hold Rem after they settled. To find a diary of sorts, it had to have been placed there fairly recently.
Opening it revealed "Natsuki Subaru" crudely written in Lugnicas language. The date seems to indicate that he began to write in it shortly after becoming one of the staff at the Matthers mansion, but flipping through the other pages gave her a sense of whiplash. It was all gibberish, or rather, a language she couldn't understand.
It was an unexplainable sensation, but her mind and gut were telling her that if she really wanted to do something for Subaru, this was the key.
Miload Mansion, Midnight, Present Day
Otto's eyes fluttered open, and his body felt heavy and disoriented. Every inch of him ached, and his head pounded with pain. As he stretched, his joints creaked and groaned, sending waves of discomfort through his body. When he rubbed his eyes, he was alarmed to find a thick layer of crusty gunk, leaving him to wonder how long he had been asleep. It was hard to believe he had gotten any real rest, given how terrible he felt.
He tried to sit up, but his muscles protested, and he fell back onto the bed with a groan. Otto couldn't remember how he had ended up in this state. The last thing he remembered was being shown some rather unsavory visions. Had he been drugged? He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. What he saw couldn't have been possible; it would mean that he was never really Subaru's friend but just another murderer.
As he laid there, trying to piece together what had happened, he noticed that the room was unfamiliar. The walls were similar to the room he had been given by Roswaal in the Miload mansion, but it was all just slightly off. The furniture was old and worn, with melted candles all across the room. Panic set in as he realized there was a dark figure staring at him in the corner.
It was humanoid in shape but had no real notable features, the only thing he could make out were its large, bottomless white eyes.
Otto's heart raced as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. Was this some kind of nightmare? He tried to speak, but his voice caught in his throat. The figure didn't move, but its presence was suffocating.
Suddenly, the figure spoke in a voice that sounded like it was coming from all around him. "Otto Suwen. Do you remember?"
Otto's mind raced as he tried to figure out how this figure knew his name. "Who are you!? What do you want from me!?" he managed to stammer out.
The figure didn't answer right away, but instead, it began to move towards him. Otto tried to back away, but his body was still too weak. The figure stopped in front of him, and Otto could feel its cold breath on his face.
" Otto Suwen. Do you remember?"
Otto tried to call out for help, but his voice was weak and scratchy. He struggled to sit up again, determined to get away and find out what was going on. As he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, the figure stepped back, but he noticed the ground had disappeared; it was all an empty black void.
With trembling hands, he mustered up what little courage he had left and faced the entity. "What the hell are you talking about!? I don't even know what's going on!"
As he sat there, feeling more confused and scared than ever, he heard footsteps approaching. The door creaked open, and a figure stepped into the room. Otto's eyes widened in shock as he recognized the person standing before him.
"Rem!?"
It was unmistakably Rem, but something was amiss. Her face was devoid of any emotion, and her eyes were clouded. Could it be the lingering effects of the sleeping beauty curse? It was difficult to make any guesses with the adrenaline running high. She was draped in a bulky, ragged cloak that seemed to be smeared with dried blood. The sight was eerie, as if she were a mere puppet being manipulated by an unseen force.
Otto didn't know what to make of any of this. What was the figure, and why were they with Rem? He tried to ask more questions, but as quickly as the two appeared, they simply strolled out the door, leaving him to his own devices. The void from the ground slowly crawled up the walls as the entire room began to collapse. Quickly after their departure, his ears were overwhelmed with the screams of what sounded like hundreds of people all saying the same phrase.
"Remember! Remember!"
All Otto could do was scream as loud as his lungs would allow him as he found himself waking up in his room. He was drenched in sweat, and his heart was pounding in his chest. The ringing in his ears was just as bad as the time he overused his blessing and ruptured his eardrums. It had all been a nightmare, but it had felt so real. Otto took a few deep breaths to calm himself down and tried to shake off the feeling of dread that still lingered.
Summoning every ounce of his willpower, he dragged himself out of bed. His throat was parched, as if he hadn't had a sip of water in days. His stomach growled, as if he had been starving for weeks. How long had he been asleep? The thoughts raced through his mind so quickly that he couldn't process them all.
What was that dark figure he had seen? And why was Rem, of all people, standing beside it? Was it just a figment of his stressed-out imagination? Nothing made sense. What was it that Otto had to remember? Was there something important that he was supposed to know about… Subaru?
The visions he had seen before passing out flashed through his mind. The ones of his own death at the hands of Garfiel, and the memories of him taking Subaru's life as well. But those had to be hallucinations, right? They couldn't be real, not when they were all like family now. That kind of bond didn't come from a willingness to kill one another.
Subaru had become Otto's closest friend, if not his best friend; the very same could be said for Garfiel. From the very beginning, Subaru had always trusted Otto's judgment and given him the benefit of the doubt. For someone who had never quite caught a break, it was a rare and precious thing. But now, faced with the possibility of outright murder, Otto didn't know how to approach the situation. Turning his back on Subaru seemed like a foreign concept, but he couldn't ignore the doubts that were creeping into his mind.
Even before Subaru disappeared, everyone had been getting along so well. It was as if none of the horrors they had committed had ever happened or could ever happen. With such a tightly knit group, how could they ever even consider hurting one another? The thought was almost too much to bear.
The expression in Subaru's eyes, that of a man who had stared death in the face countless times, finally made sense. If there was even a remote possibility that Subaru had discovered a way to "reset" or "retry" repeatedly, then his uncanny ability to handle any situation would be so easily explained. Anyone would be able to figure out what to do if they had the chance to go back until they got what they wanted.
It raised questions about who had been an adversary before becoming an ally. How did Subaru find it in his heart to forgive those who had wronged him and welcome them with open arms? Otto knew that if someone had wronged him in a similar way, it would take a lot for him to let it go.
Subaru was never one to abandon anyone, not even the despicable Roswaal. The situation could have been utterly hopeless, but he always managed to save the day. Rem must have been the one person he couldn't save with his "retries." Seeing how he constantly blames himself for her condition, the guilt must have been eating away at him since his battle with Sloth.
Would he have been able to do the same? To not let the past haunt him? What kind of guilt would he carry?
Suddenly, two figures burst through the door, causing Otto to jump out of bed and fall to the ground in a frenzy. "Oi, Otto! Are you okay?" one of them asked.
Otto quickly got up, whimpering in a feminine voice, "I'm fine, I'm fine. Please, I don't remember!"
"Remember what? What the hell are you talking about? Don't tell me you lost your memories or something!" the other figure asked, sounding overly aggressive.
Otto opened his eyes, feeling relieved to see two familiar faces instead of the doll-like Rem and the eldritch horror of the black figure. "Oh, thank God, it was just a nightmare!"
Before Ram or Garfiel could protest, Otto threw himself at them with the last of his strength, hugging them tightly. Tears streamed down his cheeks as his adrenaline finally began to wear off. He was home, he was safe, and most importantly, he wasn't a prisoner in an alternate dimension.
The pair didn't say anything, simply hugging the poor boy as tightly as they could until he got all of the tears out of his system.
After a few minutes of silence, Garfiel spoke up. "Hey, not to ruin the moment, but are you really okay? That was a pretty nasty scream earlier. What the hell happened?"
Otto let go of the pair and attempted to stand up, only to find that he had lost all strength in his legs, causing him to fall. Fortunately, the two caught him before he hit the ground.
"Hey, don't push it! It's been almost a week since you passed out," Ram scolded, slapping Otto on the back of the head.
The fatigue was starting to set in, and Otto could barely keep his eyes open. It was as if all his strength had been drained out of him. "Sorry, I really don't feel so good..."
Garfiel and Ram carefully helped Otto back onto his bed, letting him rest for a moment before questioning him again.
Ram looked over at Garfiel, who signaled that he didn't want to ask anything. "Well, since Garf here doesn't have the guts to ask, I most certainly will. What happened? We need to know."
Otto cleared his throat but was a bit shaky thinking about it. "I just had a nightmare, it was fucking terrifying. I thought for a moment I had seen Rem, but nothing like the Rem we know."
Garfiel suddenly lunged forward and took hold of Otto's shoulders. "You saw Rem? What did she look like?!"
He was a bit taken aback but nodded in agreement. "She was like a doll, no emotions, no color in her eyes, pale as the moon. Something about her made my stomach curl…"
Garfield let go, looking shaken, as he began to pace around like he had been given bad news.
Otto was confused. Was something bothering Garfiel?
Seeing the look of confusion on Otto's face and Garfiel being shaken up forced Ram to be the one to deliver the news. "You aren't the only one who saw Rem. For some odd reason, you and Garf have seen her in a dream."
Garfiel punched a hole in the nearby wall. "I wouldn't give a damn if she just looked creepy or something, but… the blood on her clothes… it reeked of Subaru."
Ram stood up, punching Garfiel in the back of the head. "I know you're freaked out, but don't go around messing up a Mansion that isn't even ours. You're going to fix that tomorrow."
Garfiel scoffed before speaking. "We know Subaru isn't dead since the contract he made with Beatrice is still in effect…. But."
Otto finished the sentence for him. "That doesn't mean he's unscathed…"
The three of them stood there in silence, the weight of reality settling in. They had no idea where Subaru was, assuming he was in another world, and now they had no idea if he was even going to make it out alive. It was times like this that they all thought the same thing:
"If only Subaru was here."
The thought echoed through their minds, a constant reminder of how much they relied on him. Subaru had always been the one to bring them together, to keep them safe, and to give them hope. Without him, they felt lost and alone, unsure of what to do next.
With a heavy heart, they vowed to do everything in their power to find him and bring him back home, where he belonged.
There was much more to discuss, but now was not the time, nor would it have been appropriate to bombard Otto with new information. It would have to wait for the morning, when hopefully everyone was feeling a bit better.
Garfiel and Ram dismissed themselves, making sure to leave Otto with food and water in case he grew hungry. From the look in his eyes, whatever he had seen must have really gotten to him psychologically. So much so that he had gotten tense once they entered the room.
Getting down the hall a bit, Ram spoke up. "I don't mean to be negative, but I believe it's worth pointing out."
Garfiel smacked his lips. "What part are you talking about? The one where we both saw Rem or…"
Ram pinched Garfiel's arm. "The part where he looked terrified of you, that definitely didn't have anything to do with seeing Rem."
"OW! What do you want me to say? I didn't do anything to him. How could I? He's been out since we got back." Garfiel whined.
Ram stopped in her tracks. "I have a really bad feeling about all this. Not just about Subaru but about everything. The weapon, Roswaal, and now you guys are seeing Rem."
Garfiel put his hand on his hip. "Tell me about it; this is all too convenient to be a coincidence. No matter what way you look at it, there has to be a reason why only me and Otto have seen Rem."
Ram continued walking with a concerned expression.
"You'd be right to find it suspicious, I suppose."
The duo looked back to see better, with a gloomy look on her face.
Ram crossed her arms, letting her head hang. "Judging by the looks of it, bad news again, huh?"
Beatrice kicked the ground. "Every possible lead that might have been left leads to nothing but more questions; this was too planned out. Someone put some real thought into this."
Garfiel and Ram looked at one another; options were running out and no progress had really been made. For the past week, Beatrice was the only one who Roswaal didn't really care enough to keep an eye on. Still being limited to staying at the mansion she had been keeping an eye on Roswaal as well as other members of the Miload Mansion.
There was nothing suspicious or even remotely related to Subaru. They were really hoping to catch Roswaal making contact with whoever cast the spell. He was too quick to play his hand, the way he spoke about the situation made it obvious he was aware of what exactly was happening.
The rest was a matter of digging around Subaru's room and trying to see if anything could give them a clue. Nothing they tried ever came up with any kind of results which made them suspicious of Roswaal even more. Whoever set the entire thing into motion knew how to cover their tracks.
Beatrice was painfully aware that all of their efforts could lead to harming Subaru. If he truly wanted to be home it was not their right to bring him back, but she wanted to believe she knew him better than that. He hardly spoke his mind, and never liked to burden others but she knew that he treasured her.
If he truly wanted to just go home, she just needed to hear him say it.
"There's no point in worrying about it right now, I guess; tomorrow is going to be eventful."
"Tomorrow, we really start making moves."
Miload Mansion, Morning
The next morning was certainly eventful, as Otto had finally gotten some real rest and stepped out into the halls of the Mansion only to find the same doll-like Rem staring him in the face when opening the door.
His mind didn't even get a chance to process what he was seeing, choosing to slam the door before Rem could try anything. Retreating all the way to his bed, ducking behind it, hoping it was another bad dream.
Knocking could be heard on the door before the sound of it opening nearly brought Otto to tears.
"Otto, I don't even know if I should take it as an offense or not." Ram spoke out.
Otto peered over the bed to see that it was just Ram holding a breakfast tray for him. With Garfiel and Beatrce standing closely behind her. The three welcomed themselves by setting up a table and chairs.
Quickly, he stood up and ran over to her to help unload it onto the nightstand. "Sorry I guess I'm still a bit jittery from last night."
Ram didn't really comment on it, or rather, she seemed to have a lot more on her mind.
"Yo Otto, before you get too comfortable, we've got to talk" Garfiel said.
Beatrice happily sat down. "There is much to discuss, I suppose."
At first glance, it seemed like they were about to drop a major bomb on him. It felt like it was going to be some kind of intervention, but oddly enough, they seemed excited.
Letting Otto get some food in his system while they made idle banter put him at ease. He could almost forget about the crazy situation they were in.
"I know you guys want to discuss things, but shouldn't we include Frederica and Petra? They should be a part of this too." Otto asked.
Garfiel gave him a smug smile."Well, we've already caught them up to speed on our next plan of action; we kind of just needed you to get settled first."
Otto got a few goosebumps. "Not that I'm against helping, but… I just woke up. Should I really be in charge of anything right now?"
Beatrice rubbed her eyes. "We're out of options, and we're running out of time. Right now, Roswaal probably suspects we're just using the hunt for Rem as an excuse to find Subaru as well, I suppose."
Ram chimed in. "It's only a matter of time before we really lose the window of freedom."
Otto stared blankly at them. "So what exactly do you guys have in mind? I mean, Roswaal is going to be watching us, right? I think he'll be able to tell if we try anything funny."
Garfiel continued to have a smug look on his face. "You know, you made a good point; you just woke up and all. It wouldn't be right to send you on any errands. You need your rest… but let's say your sister came by to help out a bit, then the problems are solved, right?"
Otto looked at the three of them in confusion. "Sister, I don't have a sister. I don't even talk with my family really, so what are you getting at?"
Ram reached out and grabbed Otto's hand. "No no, you're mistaken; you do have a sister."
Otto just looked down at her hand, more confused than anything. Did he have a sister or something? He didn't remember a secret like that.
"Sorry, and what is my supposed sister's name?"
"Octavia Suwen, you could say she's the spitting image of you!"
At that moment, Otto's skin began to crawl. His stomach dropped, and he felt like he was going to throw up everything he just ate.
Naturally, he did not have a sister, but that didn't mean he couldn't pretend to be one.
"You guys better have one hell of an excuse before I put on a wig."
Hello everyone, yes I am aware that I took my sweet time getting this out but to be honest I had a lot of fun with this chapter. There was a lot of ideas I wanted to squeeze in and I really felt like I accomplished what I wanted to set up. I know the time jump might be a bit much but I figured the day to day wouldn't really work well since trying to find something for the group to do everyday would probably get boring to read at one point.
Next chapter is still gonna be about Lugnica, since I really wanted to play around with the Otto crossdressing idea that I really only got because we see Subaru cross-dress in the series for a while.
Emilia was hard to handle since I wanted to stay true to her character but start shifting her over into the character I imagined she would grow into in this story. I don't have a lot of experience writing complex stuff like that so I hope it felt natural and not too jarring.
Anyways thanks for reading and as always I'm open to any and all critisms! It's my first fic and I read all the feedback I get! I am having a buddy proof read so there might be grammar errors still! There will be feelgood chapters I promise! Afterall this is a Rem x Subaru fic.