Re: Tales from the Multiverse: Option One

by Ernalore

Subaru, along with his Camp, his rival Camps, his parents, and Meili, have all suddenly teleported into a theater, controlled by "the Warden". Said Warden has told them that they'd be watching alternate realities, and the Cast would be responsible for what they'd be watching. Seeing that their first option is Emilia arriving in Japan, Subaru makes sure that his secrets remain his.

10. Chapter 10: The Sun Princess

Chapter 10: The Sun Princess

Within their own room in the infinite hallway, Rem was currently sitting on a sofa, as Ram was lying on the bed. Neither of them spoke since the blue-haired maid dragged her older sister to the room per Subaru's request, but she felt ready enough to ask the big question.

"Nee-sama… why do you care about Roswaal-sama so much?"

Ram looked at her younger sister with confusion. "Didn't I already answer that question?"

"Well, I want something better than an "I don't know," sister," Rem said.

"Well, I can't give you anything more than that!" Ram said, exasperated. "What do you want me to say? That my memories have been damaged without you around? That all my love for you went to the only other person we had growing up because of some ragged goblin in the Witch Cult?! That my desire for revenge dissipated back at the Sanctuary?! That I know that underneath all of… that… there's a person capable of redemption and wanting salvation?!"

"..."

"Tell me, why did Barusu help him back up, even after Roswaal-sama tried to strangle him, even after calling him a monster, even when everyone else was against him, after all of that?"

"They need Roswaal-sama to fight against Pandora."

"No, that was his reason to justify helping Roswaal-sama to the other Camps. The reason is because he could relate to him. Barusu knows what it's like to have a desire so great, that you give up so many things to make it come true! The only difference is that where Barusu succeeded, Roswaal-sama failed. He saw a broken version of himself in Roswaal-sama."

Upon hearing that, Rem had a lot to think about. However, she had one more thing to say.

"You're wrong, Nee-sama." Ram was somewhat taken aback to hear that.

"The difference between Subaru-kun and Roswaal-sama isn't whether or not they achieved victory, it's what they're willing to sacrifice. From what I know, Roswaal-sama was willing to throw everything away, us included, in order to bring back the one he loves. Meanwhile, Subaru-kun will only sacrifice himself to make sure everyone, including the people who hurt him, makes it out alive and safe. Subaru-kun will never sacrifice the lives of those he cares for."

With that being said, Rem walked back to the Theater, leaving Ram to her thoughts.

---

"Is there a reason you called me here, Frederica-san?"

"Yes, Otto. Yes, there is."

Within yet another one of the many rooms of the infinite rooms within the hallway, the ashen-haired merchant was inside the one belonging to the blonde beast maid.

"Oh, I see – Wait, a minute, "Otto"? What happened to "Otto-sama"?" he asked.

"Well, I believe that adding that title in there would be a bit odd," Frederica said. "So I decided that the two of us should be seen as equals… given what I'm about to do right now."

"Wait, what are you going to – MMMPPH?!"

Before Otto could even react, the beast maid had grabbed him, pulled him closer to her, and gave him a kiss, in a similar manner to what Priscilla gave Subaru earlier in the day. The only difference was that it was longer. And steamier. And with more tongue.

Upon being let go, the first thing Otto did was gasp for air. The second thing he did was look at what he assumed was a lust-crazed Frederica and asked, "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"

"Sorry, sorry, it was just, seeing Priscilla-sama… I was inspired," Frederics said, calming herself. "Plus, I wanted to make sure you knew I wasn't interested in Subaru-sama."

"Inspired?" Otto deadpanned, before realizing something. "Wait a minute… you…"

"Yes," Frederica nodded.

"Me?" Otto pointed to himself.

"Yes."

"Oh…" Otto realized, as his blush was increasing. "Well, I'm flattered…"

Upon hearing that, Frederica smiled, and her ears perked up. Her triangular ears. Her furry triangular ears. Her furry, triangular ears that made Otto think of one thing.

Cats.

Before another rational thought could be said, the merchant pounced onto the maid, sending them both crashing onto the bed, where they continued to tongue-wrestle.

---

"Do you know why I've called the five of you here?" Naoko Natsuki sat on one of the chairs in the room.

Currently, Naoko was sitting before the five Royal Candidates. Despite holding a higher position than the housewife, they knew they were the ones being judged.

"Is it… because of Subaru?" Emilia gave a guess.

"Yes. You see, Subaru has never had a girlfriend before, and since I know the type of person my son is, I want to make sure that none of you will try to… abuse your positions on him."

This information surprised the Royal Candidates.

"Wait, that's what this is about?!" Felt almost screamed, "Look, I may like Big Bro, but I don't like him like that! He's like a big brother to me!"

"Regardless, I still want you to hear what I have to say, Felt." Naoko cleared her throat, and decided to get the most problematic person out of the way first.

"Priscilla, you went from despising my son to wanting him for yourself, would mind explaining that thought process." Naoko asked the Sun Princess.

"Hmph, in case you require a reminder, I have already stated why mine divine self is interested in him." Priscilla answered with a tone of obviousness.

"So, that's it? You want him for his position and accomplishments?" The mother of Subaru wanted confirmation.

"Well, that is certainly a major reason mineself wants him, but it's something else that eludes me, something mineself can't seem to put into words…" Priscilla answered, but was cut off by the housewife.

"I'm sorry, Priscilla, but after everything I've heard about you. How you mistreated my son when he was looking for help, how you threatened him before he told us about his curse, and how you act around him now and the advances you've been giving Subaru without his consent… Until I have assurance that you would treat him right, I cannot approve of a relationship between the two of you." Naoko gave her final word on the matter.

Priscilla was quite frustrated and huffed, but she wasn't about to argue with the mother of the man she was interested in. The other Candidates were quite impressed with how well the housewife silenced the strawberry blonde.

"Alright, Anastasia, correct?" Naoko received a nod from the merchant queen. "I've seen the way you've been eyeing Subaru for the past hour. So, what exactly are your intentions with my son?"

Anastasia had to think on it a minute before answering. "Well, I definitely want to hire him into my business. With his knowledge of your world, we could make so many new inventions and items that our world couldn't even conceive. Natsuki-san could make life better for everyone in our world. Besides, I won't lie that he is kinda cute."

The Merchant Queen thought she had made a suitable argument. Until…

"When you say, everyone in your world, do you truly mean that, or are you talking about yourself?" Anastasia flinched a bit, allowing Naoko to continue.

"If I recall correctly, Subaru said you had scammed him out of information when he was desperate for help. You lied to a desperate young man, my son, and left him for dead. So, forgive me if I don't sound convinced that you have Subaru's best intentions at heart."

"Well, believe me, Natsuki-san, I feel very bad about my past actions, I hope to make up for it as my apology to Natsuki-kun." Anastasia tried to appease the housewife, but to no avail.

"Actions speak louder than words. You may feel that way, but until you repay the debt you owe Subaru, I cannot approve of whatever you have planned for him," Naoko said, unimpressed. "Now, moving on to Problem Candidate Number Three."

"Huh? Me?" Crusch asked, as she felt her soul being analyzed.

"You also abandoned my little boy to face all of those monsters on his own. The only reason you're not lower on the list alongside Priscilla and Anastasia here is because you were the most dignified about it, and you actually helped my son, even if it cost you your memories. Plus, you were one of the few people who actually helped him during one of his downward spirals."

Crusch remembered that. She stayed close with Subaru when he had to witness his counterpart maim Rem, and he stayed with her during her failure of an expedition against the White Whale when Hector was involved. She smiled fondly at the memory, when –

"Ah, there it is."

"What?" she asked, wondering what Naoko was talking about.

"That smile you showed. It's a subtle one, one of reminiscing," she explained, leaving Crusch amazed at the perceptiveness and wisdom of the woman in front of her.

"You truly care about Subaru's wellbeing and mental health, and that is one the best qualities a partner can have. If you truly want to make it up to Subaru, then you'll have my support." Naoko finished what she wanted to say.

Priscilla and Anastasia were shocked at what they just witnessed. Despite Crusch having also turned Subaru down, she pretty much gained the housewife's approval.

"And finally, you… Emilia. The one who started it all."

Emilia looked down as she saw Naoko analyze her. She felt unworthy of Subaru. She had done so many things that resulted in his death, how could he possibly still love her?

"Honestly, you're hard to pin. It's clear that from your rough upbringing that you're basically the poster child for why Lugnica should focus on mental health. For the longest time, it seems that you took everything at face value, that the slightest lie was equal to the greatest betrayal, the simple lip service would translate to reality, and that your development was, frankly speaking, that of a child, if all the context I have seen is anything to go off of."

The half-elf felt her heart sink as Naoko listed off every single one of her flaws.

"However, Subaru has put in a lot of effort for you. He saw something in you that, for the longest time, no one else did. He stuck with you out of sheer love, because you saved him. Sure, for a long time he merely loved the idea of you, but eventually, he loved you for who you are, and for what you accomplished. The both of you fixed one another. And even here, you have stuck by him, even after seeing what he could have become, and even after seeing him with so many other people, and even learning of his apparent past life, and who he used to love."

Emilia, along with the others in the room, flinched a little at the mention of Subaru's previous love. Was she even worthy of his heart, or did it already belong to someone else?

"And so, for that reason… you don't have my approval… rather, you have my blessing."

What?

"To be honest, I feel like the final two are going to be you and that Rem girl. And even thought my baby boy told me to not hold anything against her, murder is still murder. I would have had her here to talk with us, but it seems that my son is still doing what he does best: Helping people. In this case, he's helping those two sisters fix their relationship."

Standing up, Naoko placed her hand on Emilia's shoulder.

"So, between us, I'm rooting for you, Emilia-tan," she smiled.

Emilia exited the room in a very happy mood.

---

Subaru was in a very stabby mood.

He had felt very similar moods before. A desire for evisceration. Incineration. Turning someone to dust. He never felt like stabbing someone to death, probably due to the fact that it would have been a slow and painful process to do that to someone.

So, he never had the desire to do so.

Until right now, that is.

During the hour-long break, Meili asked him if he remembered the episode where he and Elsa performed a rescue operation. He did, and he admitted that he saw Meili tense up every time the name "Capella" was mentioned. Well, now he knew why.

He wanted to stab the bitch. Sure, she probably wouldn't feel anything and just heal herself instantly, but he still wanted to stab her. And then set her on fire. With vinegar to spice all her open wounds. And then do some very not kid-friendly things to her smoldering corpse.

Sadly, they were currently stuck in the Theater, so he would have to hold off on his murder rampage. In the meantime, he promised Meili that the bitch would never lay another hand on her again, unless she wanted to lose said hand. And her other hand. And her legs. And head.

Alright, break's over. Everyone, come back.

One by one, everyone returned to their respective seats. Garfiel looked over to his sister and best friend, and asked, "Oi, sis, Brotto. You two good? Ya look… off."

"What? No! We're fine! We're perfectly fine!" Otto said, shaking his hands in a frantic way. "Nothing happened! Especially not the best time of my life!"

"Uh…"

"HEY WARDEN!" Otto yelled. "HOW ABOUT SOME NEW OPTIONS, HUH?!"

Before Garfiel could ask what sort of sugar-fueled candy Otto had from the snack bar to cause him to act so jittery, the screen presented everyone with their newest options.

What if Subaru Natsuki joined the Priscilla Camp?

OR

What if Subaru Natsuki ran away from everything?

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Priscilla cheered.

"No! No! No!" Subaru groaned.

"Wait, what does it mean by Subaru-sama running away from everything?" Petra asked.

"I have no idea," Al said. "Let's see what the conditions are."

Conditions: Occurs after the Land of the Wolves.

Conditions: Occurs after the Land of the Wolves.

"Well… that's some fucking bullshit."

"Couldn't agree more, Al," Ricardo sighed.

"Subaru, any thoughts?" Emilia asked.

"I have no idea."

"I do," Prisiclla spoke up. "Vollachia is nicknamed the "Land of the Wolves". So this Subaru has likely been there before. Which means… this will take place in the future."

Everyone thought over what Priscilla said. On the one hand, both of them show the future, but the inciting incidents would be different. Which would mean…

"Wait, wouldn't that mean Barusu would join your Camp in the future?" Ram asked.

"What? No way!" Garfiel couldn't believe it. "No way Cap'n would abandon us!"

"I believe that whenever it comes to Subaru, we should expect everything and anything," Julius said. "Including things that we would never believe could happen."

"Okay, but what would cause him to switch Camps?" Crusch asked.

"Well… why don't we find out?" the black-haired boy suggested.

Everyone looked at one another, uncertain. Eventually, their curiosity got the better of them, and they agreed to watch that episode. One by one, they all sat down, as Al readied what they would see. For the sake of Subaru's future… they would see this possibility through.

What if Subaru Natsuki joined the Priscilla Camp?

Conditions: Occurs after the Land of the Wolves.

The episode begins… and people already have questions.

"What the…?"

"Is that –?!"

"Subaru!"

The opening scene of the episode appears to be Subaru, locked up in some dungeon, chained to the wall, and looking like all the life has been beaten out of him.

"He's been tortured," Julius realized.

"But by who?!" Anastasia demanded to know.

Everyone was out for blood, ready to destroy whoever did this to their friend.

"I don't want this… Please give me another chance… A chance to get a new life…" Subaru pleaded within himself, a cry to get away from this hellish loop.

It was no use, Subaru thought as he was about to go to his inevitable death and start this hellish loop once again.

With the Camps failing to obtain any information, the Camps reached a consensus to execute the Witch Cultist.

Upon hearing that, everyone stopped demanding for blood.

"Did… did we do this?" Crusch realized.

"No way!" Felt denied it.

"Now hold on a moment," Wilhelm said. "Remember the narration. It said something along the lines that Subaru-dono was a Witch Cultist."

"Yeah, maybe this version of me joined the Witch Cult before he met the Camps?" Subaru harbored a guess. No one liked it, but it was the most logical guess.

Three days after his last torture session, all three Camps got together at the Karsten Manor to finally get rid of the world another Witch Cultist.

The three days of reprieve gave Subaru the time to contemplate for his next move in his eventual next loop. The knight decided right then and there that he will not involve himself further with them anymore.

"Witch Cultist, it is time, I suppose," the little Great Spirit that he used to adore so much said.

"Is it really? Beatrice…"

"Yes, and do not address me so lightly, I suppose," Beatrice retorted at the casual response.

Subaru went silent at her response. After a few seconds of silence, Subaru stood up and followed Beatrice to the training grounds for his execution.

"This version of Subaru knows Beatrice?" Emilia said in confusion.

How did things get like this? Subaru couldn't help but wonder, I mean, even after everything we've seen here, even I don't think they would just decide to label me a cultist and decide to torture me.

Julius, Felix, Wilhelm, and even Garfiel were stationed at the center of the training grounds, ready to receive Subaru.

Subaru was back at a very familiar sight, the only deviation so far compared to the previous loops was Emilia's visit to him at the cellar, other than that, everything is going like the previous loops.

As they finally reached the training grounds, amidst the bushes, Subaru felt a familiar presence.

"What are they doing here?" Subaru thought as he never expected them to be at the Karsten Manor.

Although Subaru was surprised at the different cast present for his execution, he still followed his actions much like the previous loops.

Subaru let himself get tied up in his restraints. Subaru kneeled at the center of the training field with Felix behind him, readying himself to paralyze Subaru should he move out of line, Garfiel and Wilhelm on his left and right side respectively, looking out for unusual movements, and Julius at the front, readying his sword to decapitate Subaru.

The three warriors were sick to the stomach, seeing that they were about to execute their friend. What the fuck happened in this reality to make this a possibility?!

And worse of all, how many times did that version of Subaru have to go through this hell?

This never gets easier, Subaru thought as he resigned to his fate, but he had an inkling of hope where fate would finally give him a break from all the suffering.

"Do you have any last words? Witch Cultist" Julius said to the tied-up kneeling youth.

"I am not a Witch Cultist."

"Hmph, I see your will is still intact. Your grit and mental fortitude are quite admirable. If we weren't enemies maybe, we could've been friends," Julius said as he drew his sword out of its sheath.

"I thought you were my friends, actually."

Julius wouldn't admit this, but that last comment stung him.

As soon as Subaru said that a laugh could be heard from Garfiel, as he thought Subaru made an amusing joke. An amused smile came from Julius. A heated glare came from Felix. Lastly, focused stare from Wilhelm.

"Ahahahaha! Y'er really somethin', even after all the torture y'er went through."

"Maybe you would like me to make your execution slower and more painful, nyah."

"Well, I am sorry, but I am not your friend, Subaru."

"Yes, I know now," Subaru muttered as he lifted his face to face the sword of Julius.

"I am sorry, but I am not your friend, Subaru." Julius repeated the words his counterpart spoke in his head, and it felt like a shot to the heart. He… he wanted to be Subaru's friend, even after what happened at the Capital. But now… how could he ever be worthy to be the friend of the Great Sage?

"What th' fuck…?" Garfiel hissed after hearing what the fuck his counterpart just said.

Even Felix felt a bit distasteful of his counterpart.

Julius lifted his sword, pointing it to the skies.

Subaru never lost sight of the sword of Julius as it went down to slice his head off.

To Subaru's surprise, as the sword went down halfway, it was hit by a purple sword, disarming Julius.

Subaru saw the sword of Julius flying off Julius's hand as well as the purple sword sticking at the ground.

"Ah! Who was that!?" Julius said as he put up his guard.

"Who the heck intervened?!"

As soon as Julius said that, a woman came out of the bush.

The woman has cream blonde hair, and a dress that reveals her shoulder and legs. She went out of the bush and pointed with her remaining purple sword at the Knight of Knights.

"Let him go!" The young woman yelled, with a great intense glare to Julius.

"Medium! What are you doing here!?" Subaru yelled in confusion as he never encountered this situation before.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Meili yelled. "That's the girl from the intros!"

"You're right!" Petra gasped. "She's the blonde lady in the skimpy outfit!"

"Yeah, the one hanging around the blond guy!" Mimi added.

"So, we have a new player on the board," Roswaal smiled. "And her name is Medium."

"To rescue you! Of Course!"

"Rescue me!?"

"Holy shit, somebody actually cares about me?!" Subaru laughed out loud.

Reinhard decided to look at it logically. "Well, considering she knows you…"

"The real question is how she knows him, but we don't," Medium said.

"Why? We barely know each other… Remember…"

"In the short few moments we had back in the battle at Priestella, I knew right away that you were a kind person like my brother," Medium said as she recalled all of Subaru's exploits back at Priestella.

"You don't know that…"

"I do, without your help, many of us would have died. It's because of you that I can still see my brother alive and breathing… I can't let the man that saved us die in such a cruel fate."

Subaru's eyes shook as he heard Medium's words. Someone was willing to save him.

"I'm assuming the blond guy is her brother?" Kenichi said.

"Given how genetics work, and how close the two of them are in the intros, it would be a safe assumption," Naoko replied.

"Uh, Mom? Dad? Still not out of death's grasp."

"Right, right, sorry."

After everything he went through, Subaru thought that fate wouldn't be this kind to him. Even the person he wanted the most to save him was not there to reach for him and now all of a sudden, Medium came for his rescue, this is all too good to be true, Subaru thought.

"Hey, don't be surprised," Medium said as she took notice of Subaru's surprised expression.

"I just… never expected someone to save me."

"You have saved a lot of people, Subaru… I am one of them… Please… let us, the ones you saved, save you for once." Medium said as she placed her right hand onto her chest, voicing out her sincerity in wanting to save Subaru.

Hearing the words of Medium, Subaru felt hope return to him once again. The chance to start over and have another life.

Closing his eyes, a small tear escaped from him.

"She's right."

"Emilia-tan?"

"She's right, Subaru," the half-elf. "A part of me knows I've said this before, but I'm going to keep mailing it into your thick skull! You don't have to do everything on your own anymore! We know better, we can help you, so please… let us help you."

"I… okay, I'll let you."

"I am not the only one with that thought."

"Huh?" Subaru said as he opened his eyes and saw a gathering of soldiers behind Medium.

"What the hell's going on?!" Garfiel yelled as he saw a great number of soldiers going into the training ground.

"These look like Vollachian soldiers," Wilhelm stated.

"What are they doing here? Nyah!"

Upon seeing the Vollachian soldiers, everyone knew who came to the rescue.

"AVENGERS, ASSEMBLE!" Al yelled, causing everyone to glare at him for ruining the moment. "What? No one else understood that reference?"

The response he got was his princess kicking him in the head.

"I told you, I wasn't the only one that had this thought about you," Medium smiled.

Subaru was surprised at the number of soldiers entering the training grounds. Almost a hundred soldiers entered, most of them he recognized. Subaru heard the voice of the soldiers call out to him, greeting him and giving their sigh of relief that he was okay.

"Looks like we made it just in time."

"That's a new look for you, ahahahaha!"

"Thank goodness!"

"Nice to meet you again, Subaru-sama!"

"It's our turn to help you!"

Subaru looked around and felt great elation at the sight, he never thought that he would ever see. The countless hellish loops that he had suffered made it seem like that this moment was only just a dream.

Subaru felt his tears pour out of his face, not because of despair, but because of happiness.

"What could have resulted in this change?" Subaru asked himself.

"Onii-chan?" Meili asked.

"The narration stated that I've been in this hell loop for a countless amount of time, and no matter what I do, the end result is the same," Subaru explained. "So, I'm just wondering: What changed? What caused these soldiers to show up, when they never did before?"

"That is a good question…" Roswaal muttered to himself.

"Maybe Pandora decided to throw you a bone?" Al suggested.

Everyone stared at the helmeted knight, as he began to sweat.

"Well, uh, I mean, you said it yourself! You would end up repeating the same loop over and over again, trapping everyone, including Pandora, in it!" Al quickly explained himself. "So, she figured that to get out of the loop, she would have to save you, so… surprise soldiers!"

"But that would imply Pandora isn't affected by Return by Death," Subaru said. "Or, at the very least, she's aware that she's repeating the same few days over and over again."

"H-How did you guys know?" Subaru asked Medium as tears continued to pour down.

"Ever since you left, many of the people you rescued were trying to find you. With rumors running around at the Capital that you were imprisoned for being a Witch Cultist, we knew something bad must have happened. After long fruitless weeks, with our connections, we managed to get sufficient information to know about your execution."

"I praise your efforts, but Subaru Natsuki will still be executed," Julius said

"I don't think so," Medium retorted back.

"Why not, nyah?!"

"We can kill all of ye'r in no time!"

Subaru hearing the four men for his execution, he knew that they were outmatched in skill. Even though they were about a hundred, they were up against beings that were among the strongest of Lugunica.

"Medium, Stop! We can't face them, we will lose." Subaru said as he tried to plead to Medium to stop further bloodshed.

"I know that, Subaru."

"They wouldn't do this unless they had a plan…" Julius analyzed the scene.

"T-Then…"

"Did you think that "she" would ever let us move on our own?"

"She…?!" Subaru muttered, before opening his eyes wide at the realization.

"Uh-huh," Medium nodded as she replied to the surprised Subaru.

As soon as she said that, the soldiers started to give way and make a path to someone from behind.

One by one the soldiers moved aside, and little by little Subaru saw the silhouette of the person he least expected to help him in such a situation.

Subaru saw the Fiery Matriarch walk with authority making all the soldiers that she passed by straighten up their posture.

"Ohohohoho… You truly are special, indeed" Priscilla said with her fan covering her mouth, as she walked closer and closer to the man about to be executed.

"Enter, me," Priscilla smiled.

"Commas," Al sighed. "They save people's lives."

"W-What do you mean?" Subaru replied.

"What are you doing here?! Nyah!"

"Priscilla-sama, why are you here interfering with this execution?" Julius said as he retracted his sword back to its sheath.

"My divine self has deemed him to be worthy to work under me is all."

"Y'er think that reason alone will stop us from killing him!"

"Mongrels like you don't see the value of him, but I do."

Anastasia internally cringed as Priscilla mentioned Subaru's value, as she still remembered how Naoko basically said that until she stopped seeing everyone and everything in a monetary sense, she would have to keep her distance from Subaru.

"Don't worry, I have informed your masters of this intervention. They have agreed to my terms in trading him for our information on the whereabouts of the other Sin Archbishops, as well as a supposed "Witch" still wandering about. It also did help that should you have executed him; how will the people react when three camps convened to execute a hero of Priestella?" Priscilla said as she smirked at her last statement.

Felix balled his fist in anger as he heard the Matriarch's reasons.

"Felix, control yourself. It is for the better." Wilhelm said as he put his hand on the shoulder of Felix.

"B-But?!"

"We have to respect our lady's decision."

"Now, Bring him to me." Priscilla said as he pointed at Julius to bring Subaru to her.

"Tsk," Julius muttered as he went to Subaru and undid his restraints.

Something Prisclla said caught Subaru's attention. "She mentioned a Witch."

"That must mean that they know about Pandora," Reinhard guessed.

"My thoughts exactly, Rein."

Elsewhere in the Theater, Felix and Julius were glad that no harm came to their friend.

After getting his restraints removed, Subaru stood up and shook his hands, relieved from the tightness of the restraints.

Subaru slowly walked towards Priscilla and saw her face gazing at his form.

"Hmmm…so fate led me here huh?" Subaru thought. Subaru chuckled at the thought.

"At least Medium and Flop are here… I still know little about Priscilla, even with the time I had with her back at Vollachia… I guess this is a chance to get to know her more."

"So, I was right," Priscilla murmured.

"What was that?" Subaru answered.

"The whole "Land of the Wolves" condition," the crimson-eyed monarch said. "It did indeed refer to Vollachia, meaning that you end up visiting it in the future."

"Hopefully, you will have others by your side, Subaru-kun," Rem smiled.

Oh, the irony.

"Thank you for your saving grace, Lady Priscilla," Subaru said as he got down on one knee in front of Priscilla.

Subaru knew that if he acted any other way, his decapitation would have been right then and there.

"I am glad that you know your rightful place." Priscilla said as she was pleased by the actions of Subaru.

Priscilla closed her fan and put her fan back in between her breasts.

"You have my praise for surviving the torture that you went through. I could see the reason why fate has brought you to me. A brilliant strategist and a man that can move the hearts of people, truly you can best serve your purpose under me."

Subaru looked up at Priscilla, as Priscilla looked unto him with expectancy.

"I… I will," Subaru said, accepting Priscilla's proposal.

Naoko simply stared at the version of Priscilla who was sharing a Theater with her.

The strawberry blonde, meanwhile, was somewhat cringing at her on-screen counterpart. Hearing the words she was saying being said back to her,

"Very good, I will leave you in charge with all the soldiers over there."

"W-What!?" Subaru shot up a shocked look at Priscilla.

"Don't be surprised, the members of my Camp seemed to be fond of you. I see you with great value with your tactical mind. Having entrusted this to you, you better not disappoint me."

"I-I won't," Subaru replied as he stood straight up.

"Good, now let us be off then," Priscilla said as she turned around and slowly walked out of the training grounds.

"Is that some kind of sink-or-swim method?" Kenichi asked.

"A what?" Otto asked.

"I have this one," Beatrice said. "It's a term from Subaru's world that refers to letting a person fail or succeed through their own effort alone. In this context, the Vollachian left Subaru to command her forces by himself, without any help, to give him a taste of true leadership."

Priscilla smiled at the explanation, but also felt a little bad about not being addressed by her name. Maybe it had something to do with how Subaru used it so casually?

Medium picked up her sword then approached the stiff Subaru.

"So, what are your orders? Boss?" Medium said as she brought her hand onto Subaru's shoulder.

Subaru was just slack jawed at what was happening right now.

After taking the situation in, he finally looked to the woman beside him then to the soldiers in front of them, ready to listen to his commands.

"Let us follow our Lady."

As soon as Subaru said his order, he walked alongside Medium, and followed his brand-new Mistress. The soldiers later marched as they followed their new leader.

"Wow, he accepted tha' quick," Ricardo deadpanned.

"Anyone would accept that after being tortured for so long!" Tivey argued.

"True, true."

As Subaru walked, he slowly came to terms that this was the best option for him. After his countless hellish loops, he wouldn't dream of facing that hellish torture again.

"Fate has given me this chance. I will not waste it." Subaru thought as he looked at the back of Priscilla.

Subaru held no resentment towards his friends and loved ones, just sadness and disappointment that they could not look past his Witch Cult connection, and just see him for what he really is.

"This is a new start," Subaru muttered.

"Hm? What did you say?" Medium asked.

"O-Oh Nothing, nothing."

"Hey, Medium, how is your brother?"

"Oh, Flop is doing well, he got fully healed. He is actually waiting for us at our carriage."

"Oh good, that's good."

"HIS NAME IS "FLOP"?! AHAHAHA!" Felt laughed her ass off.

"What?! Is his nickname "Flip-Flop"?!" Subaru questioned as he continued to laugh. After everything he's seen here, he needed that.

"Okay, it is kinda funny," Tivey admitted.

"We are in your care, Subaru" Medium said as she turned her head to face Subaru with a smile.

Subaru turned to face the smile of Medium.

"Thank you for trusting me. I promise to take care of all of you" Subaru said he gave soft smile back to Medium.

Everyone smiled as they saw Subaru break his hell loop and into a better future, until…

"The screen's acting up again," Meili groaned.

"Maybe it's yet another new introduction?" Crusch wondered.

"I believe so," Wilhelm said. "The pattern seems to be that after four episodes, the current "volume" ends, and a new one takes its place."

Opening Theme: Voracity

The screen begins to glitch, as it changes to Subaru, in his traveling clothes, crossing a desert. The screen glitches again, with words that can't be read, as it changes back to Subaru, who gets closer. This keeps on repeating, until…

Tales from the Multiverse

Volume III

The next scene opens with Minerva attacking, and it reading, "WRATH," followed by Typhon dancing around with the words "PRIDE." Then, Echidna and "GREED." Sekhmet with "SLOTH." Carmilla panicking while "LUST" appears, and then Daphne biting at the camera while the word "GLUTTONY" appears. And finally, Subaru, with madness all over his face, drags his finger over his throat, as he's bestowed with the title of "ENVY."

Everyone was surprised when they saw that Satella wasn't bestowed the title of Envy, but rather it was Subaru himself.

"Well, I guess there's my confirmation." Subaru said almost automatically.

"Confirmation for what?" Emilia asked her knight.

"Return by Death is the Authority of Envy, or maybe part of it since Satella still has the rest."

The next scene has the members of the Emilia Camp appearing out of thin air, one by one, and walking. First, Emilia, by herself. Followed by Rem, Beatrice and Ram. Then, Petra, Meili and Frederica, followed by Otto, Garfiel, and Roswaal in the next shot. They all encircle Subaru sitting on a throne, and pose as if it's a portrait.

In the next scene, Elsa, Zarestia, and Shion are all seen together, and laughing, but their eyes are cut off from the screen, and their smiles are sadistic. Then, an army of Witch Cultists appears in the next shot, as the camera pans up to reveal the Sin Archbishops.

"Who are those two ladies with Elsa?" Petra asked.

"If they're anything like Elsa, I would assume they're Barusu's coworkers from some twisted universe," Ram said. "Either that, or more of his potential lovers!"

Subaru would have defended himself, if he wasn't busy glaring daggers at Capella.

In the next scene, Reinhard, Julius, Felix and Al, all of them standing in a circle, their swords out, ready to defend themselves. Then, lowersing shot, as it shows Felt, Crusch, Anastasia and Priscilla. In the next shot, Vincent and his Divine Generals are marching, followed by a shot of Reid in the center, with Theresia and Wilhelm flanking him, and finally, a long reveal of the Divine Dragon himself.

The music goes quiet, as the scene opens up in a shadowy dimension, where a hooded Satella is watching Subaru from afar. She places her hand on the "screen" with Subaru, and then, slowly removes her veil, but never reveals her face. In an instant, the screen cuts to still shots of the White Whale, the Great Rabbit, the Black Serpent, and then a happy Shaula, who turns into the Crimson Scorpion and attacks the screen.

"Whoa!"

"I knew it!" Subaru yelled. "Shaula's a Mabeast!"

"Wait, how is that possible?!" Felt screamed in confusion.

"Well, that explains a lot about her personality." Al commented.

As the music picks up once more, the screen shows Fortuna, carrying a younger Emilia, along with a panicked Guese, both of them running for their lives, while being chased by Pandora and Regulus. The next shot is of Ryuzu, the original Roswaal, and Beatrice, all of them facing off against the Warlock of Melancholy in the Sanctuary.

The scene changes to show Stride Vollahcia next to a younger Grim and Carol Remedis, along with Julia, while the camera pans up to also show Vincent Vollahcia, Priscilla, Rem, Louis, Flop, Medium, and Subaru, all while Pandora is pulling the puppet strings.

Everyone glared upon seeing Pandora and Regulus. Meanwhile, Beatrice and Roswaal cringed at seeing their past sleeves facing off Hector, knowing fully-well the outcome of that battle.

"Well, we at least know that those two are Flop and Medium."

How is my brother connected to that monster? Priscilla wondered, seeing Pandora.

The next scene shows Rem and her weapon, with madness in her eyes, as her horn has been unleashed, while in the background, the shadow of the Oni God is seen. In the next shot, it shows Emilia, as her eyes also radiate madness, as shadow and the glowing eyes of the Beast of the End are behind her, unleashing an eternal winter upon the world.

And finally, the scene shows a close-up of Subaru, as he bites his own tongue. As the blood escapes his mouth, he laughs maniacally, as the camera pans out to show that behind him, the shadowy monster known as the Witch of Envy has appeared roaring, and ready to tear apart the silhouettes of the enemies in front of Subaru.

"Well, that's a bad sign," Subaru said, after seeing himself summon Envy.

"I also didn't like how you gestures to slicing your own throat earlier in the intro."

"Yeah, me neither," Subaru agreed with his mother. "It made it seem like I was making some kind of blood sacrifice to summon Envy."

The final shot shows each one of the six Witches of Sin in a black void, each one of them smiling, as the shot changes to Subaru and Pandora, alone in the desert, ready for their final battle. Then, the camera pans over the desert of corpses, and the opening ends.

Episode Nine:

The Sun Princess

"Well, that was fucking dark," Al said.

"It was by far the darkest opening so far," Reinhard nodded.

"It also showed us for the third time in a row that both Subaru and Pandora hate each other with a passion, and will seemingly do anything to get rid of the other," Crusch gulped.

As the Camps gathered to formulate a strategy in defeating the Witch Cult in Priestella, one voice stood out in the meeting, gathering all the eyes and attention in the meeting room. Subaru Natsuki, in his military garb, led the entire meeting leaving no stone unturned in the possible outcomes for the upcoming battle.

"I am impressed with your strategies and your knowledge about the Witch Cult. It really makes me wonder if you are really not one of them," the Duchess stated, questioning his credibility.

"Dang, Natsuki-san, you're looking spiffy!" Otto whistled.

"Really, Otto? I expected such talk from Emilia-tan, but from you?" Subaru chuckled.

"What? Iz Brotto no' allowed ta talk like th' princess, too?"

Medium by his side, got annoyed with the comment of the Duchess. Subaru, seeing this, placed his hand on her shoulder to calm her down and just shrug it off. Subaru knew this would happen, so he made sure that he advised his Camp members to not get affected so much by their remarks.

"Believe in what you want to believe, Crusch-sama. I believe that I am not part of the Witch Cult, if you are not satisfied with my answer then I can't help you any further."

Crusch narrowed her eyes to the man, seeing if she could get a reaction out of him like the last time they met. To her surprise, he didn't even flinch like last time, a man filled with madness, she just saw complete focus and not even a hint of emotion.

Satisfied, she closed her eyes and let Subaru continue his discussion.

The green-haired Candidate hated that her on-screen counterpart looked so callous towards Subaru, especially after she herself was given the Natsuki matriarch's blessing to court her son.

"So, it will be as follows, our Camp and Emilia-sama's Camp will fight Pandora, Crusch-sama and Anastasia-sama's Camps will fight Roy Alphard, and Felt-sama's Camp will battle Capella. Lastly, the soldier's positioning on the field will be followed on the layout I provided to each camp. Are there any objections to this plan?"

"Eh, knowing that she's there, I give that plan a fifty-fifty success rate," Subaru said.

"Really? Why?" Julius asked. He was honestly a little interested in seeing Subaru's strategic mind at work, and it would certainly be enlightening to see him tear down his own plan.

"Either it will work, or it won't. So, a fifty-fifty chance." Subaru said before continuing. "As a wise man once said "You make a plan, follow the plan, expect the plan to go south, throw away the plan". And before you ask, no, I am not the wise man who came up with that."

"I hate you."

"Yes," said the woman across the table, as she raised her hand.

Subaru, Priscilla, and Medium looked at the woman across the table.

With her voice like a silver bell, Subaru knew whose voice it was. The voice that gave him so much warmth in his early days in this new world, now bought him absolutely nothing.

"My camp would like to aid Felt's Camp instead."

Subaru just took a deep breath and took a glance at the two women beside him, one of which in particular let out an amused smile, before answering the silver-haired half-elf.

"Emilia-sama, with the trap that will be laid to capture Capella, we need less people in this battle to get her focus, trap her, and kill her. Having more people in this particular battle would endanger more lives. Pandora on the other hand, has more followers running rampant, and we need all the manpower we can get."

Emilia just simply shook her head.

Seeing this, Subaru looked onto Priscilla and Medium, who was just looking intently at the woman across the table.

"It would mean so much to us if you could lend us your strength, Emilia-sama," Subaru pleaded as he knew that they needed their camp to win this fight.

"I will not help your Camp, Priscilla. I am sorry" Emilia said as she looked at the Fiery Matriarch beside him.

The real Emilia turned to her knight, "Subaru I am so sorry –"

"It's fine, Emilia-tan, really. If I could have rejected Julius' help, I would have."

"Excuse me?" the purple-haired knight asked.

"Back during our confrontation with Sloth, the only reason we were able to take him down was because I formed a temporary contract with your Spirit. If not for that, he just would have possessed me again. I didn't like the fact that I had to work with you, but I had no choice."

"Subaru, there's still a problem with that," Crusch said. "While you did swallow your pride when it came to Julius, these counterparts of ours refuse to work with you simply due to your alleged connections to the Witch Cult. This could actually be detrimental to us."

"Eh, then he'll just try to convince everyone to work together in the next loop," Subaru calmly said. "I'm guessing it beats being tortured and then executed over and over again."

Many people in the Theater hated that Subaru might have been right on that part.

"No need to apologize, you half-devil."

"What did yer say?!" The blond beast man said as he flared out his anger.

"I said half-devil, didn't you hear?" Priscilla said, raising her head and glare at him, as she raised her fan to her mouth.

"Garf, stand down!" Ram said as she pulled on Garfiel to take his seat.

"Yes, put him on a leash, it suits him."

"There is no need for apologies. I already knew that my Camp would fight the Witch on our own," Priscilla stated, shocking the other Camps.

"Then, why the plan?" the purple merchant inquired.

Priscilla closed her fan and put it in between her breasts.

"It is to entertain this fool, who thought that we could get some assistance from the likes of them," Priscilla said as she looked at Subaru then to the Emilia Camp.

"I feel like there's a TV trope that mimics this to a tee."

"Details?" Roswaal was curious about this "TV" thing since the first episode.

"Probably something like, "Jerkass has a point," where said jerkass is right, but is still universally hated. In this case, the jerkass is Priscilla, since she managed to piss everyone off in a single scene, but she was right about no one wanting to help me."

"Now, do you see? They are hopeless people."

"It was worth a shot," Subaru said.

"Now, I expect you to make up for this later for wasting my time in this farce."

"I'm sorry Priscilla-sama," Subaru said as Medium, beside him, was shaking her head.

Much to the dismay of Subaru, he revised his plans to suit the preferences of the Camps. With all the strategies discussed and finally planned, the meeting was finally adjourned.

"So, Pris gave me the greenlight for this?"

"Seems so," Otto said. "She seemed convinced no one would work with you."

"Probably because, as awful as she is, she was right," Felt hissed.

She really hated this reality.

"This is going to be a tough battle," Subaru thought as they really needed the manpower to beat the Witch without any serious casualties.

"Subaru, stop wasting your time thinking about the upcoming battle. My Victory is inevitable" Priscilla said with confidence as she saw Subaru pondering.

"Of course, Priscilla-sama," Subaru responded, as he smiled at her for always knowing what he was thinking.

As they stood up however, it was clear that there was a clear disdain towards their Camp as they kept on hearing the whispers and idle chatter of the other Camps.

Walking away towards the door, they heard nothing but their expectations of failure. Although one Camp in particular was just silently observing Priscilla's camp slowly leave the room.

"Rein, I think we should help them…"

With one statement, the three other Camps stopped their chatter and looked at the golden-haired girl.

"Ohh, so that's how it feels like to be on the receiving end of that," Felt realized.

"What do you mean, Felt-sama?" the Sword Saint asked.

"Remember when everyone was giving Bro questionable looks about helping Satella?"

"Ah."

"Yeah."

"Felt-sama, it is up to you, but you do know what the other camps have to say about that man. The other Camps even held him in contempt for being part of the Witch Cult."

"I don't think he is… Did your Divine Protection sense him that he was lying?"

"No."

"Then why are we still having this discussion?!"

"Julius, Felix, and Crusch-sama interrogated the man… The cursed dragon blood that Crusch-sama had, was absorbed by his touch and he never felt the sting of the curse afterwards like Crusch-sama did. Looking at his hands right now, it seemed like the dark marks of the cursed dragon blood disappeared."

"What are you saying?"

"The compatibility of the cursed dragon blood and the pungent smell of the Witch looming around him stated by Beatrice-sama and Rem-san, there is almost no doubt that this man is a Witch Cultist."

Rem's awake? Subaru realized what Reinhard's sentence implied. But how? I still haven't figured out how to wake Rem up before we showed up in this Theater! The only thing I could think of was killing –! Gluttony…

With that one passing thought, it all made sense…

Gluttony ate my name.

Subaru didn't know if Reinhard heard him, but he decided to keep this information to himself for the time being, until the right moment came to reveal it.

"What do you think? Is he a Witch Cultist?"

"I… honestly don't know," Reinhard said as he knew there was something more about this man.

"Ugh! You are really useless sometimes, even with all those Divine Protections."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Felt-sama."

"I am also sorry, Felt –"

"No, no, no!" the blonde shushed her knight. "We don't let Bro blame himself for his counterpart's crimes, we're not letting you go blaming yourself for your counterpart's mistake!"

"But, he's far more similar to me than Subaru is to his –"

"Felt-sama is right."

Reinahrd looked towards the old man. "Grandfather?"

"Felt-sama is right," Wilehelm said again. "Do not blame yourself for things that are out of your control, whether they were from now, or many years in the past."

Coward, the Sword Demon reprimanded himself. What can't you just apologize to him?!

"I… yes, grandfather," Reinhard nodded.

Felt pondered and struggled on what to do. As she fell deeper into thought, only one simple question popped into her mind.

"Aha! Of course, I was just asking the completely wrong questions."

The three Camps looked at her, curious at what the golden-haired girl thought of.

"Reinhard… Do you think he is a good person?" Felt asked.

"Wait a minute…" Subaru wondered. "CAN a Witch Cultist be a good person?"

"A few hours ago, I would have said that you were crazy, nyah," Felix said. "But after seeing that the Witches are kinda decent, I'll go with a "maybe," but only once Pandora is overthrown."

One simple question was all it was. After hearing so much from the other Camps about affiliations and history, it just complicated her thinking. When all that really mattered was what kind of person he is right now.

"…" Reinhard pondered, as he remembered the times that he saw him.

All Reinhard could do was smile at the question of his mistress as he never realized that how simple of a question was all that it took to convince him of what Subaru Natsuki is.

"Yes, I believe he is a good person." Reinhardt said as he remembered all the time, he saw Subaru helping countless people.

"Good, that is all I needed to hear."

"Wait, that's it?!" Meili shouted, disbelieving.

"What is it, Meili-chan?" Frederica asked.

"That one small change in a question is what changes her mind?!"

"Well, someone has never heard of the butterfly effect," Subaru chuckled.

"What's that?" Petra asked, as Meili also eyed him curiously.

"The butterfly effect is when a small change can have large impacts in the future, in fact," Beatrice answered. "The name was derived from the idea that a small flutter from the wings of a butterfly could result in a tornado a few weeks down the line."

"Rem understands the theory," Rem hummed. "Basically, because Felt-sama changed the question, that resulted in her changing her mind, and down the line…"

"... it could potentially result in her helping us, and saving the day," Subaru finished.

As the three Camps heard this, the majority of the members of the Camps retorted in outrage.

"Felt, you can't be serious?!"

"Reinhard, this man is a Witch Cultist, nyah!"

"Are yer crazy?!"

"This will not do!"

While some of the few members pondered about Felt's question. Did it really matter if he was a Witch Cultist?

"I mean, it doesn't matter that I'm a half-elf?" Emilia said.

"Or that I came from the Slums!" Felt added.

"Or that I'm a time-traveling immortal who has seen all of your deaths over and over again, including my own, with powers and allies that would make most people go insane," Subaru said.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"The point being that our actions define us, not our backgrounds."

As soon as Felt stood up and ran to catch up to Priscilla's camp, Reinhard followed suit.

The other Camp members, seeing this, followed to stop this madness.

As Priscilla's Camp were ready to depart to execute their preparations, Subaru saw Felt running towards him.

"Looks like I made it just in time."

"Felt-sama. What are you doing here?

"Hey, we can help… if you want?" Felt stated.

Subaru widened his eyes at what he just heard.

"What…? What did you say?" Subaru answered back in disbelief.

"I said we can help! Are you deaf?!"

Subaru looked at the two women beside him in bewilderment.

"Wow," Anastasia deadpanned. "Is it really tha' hard fer ya ta believe others wanna help?"

Naoko simply glared at the purple-haired merchant, which promptly shut her up.

"You guys do have to remember that up to the Vollchian point, this guy's life was the same as mine," Subaru said. "He's been depressed for most his life, was disillusioned with the world, beaten up, killed by a lot of friends, left to die, manipulated, made fun of –"

"Okay, okay, we get it!" Mimi yelled. "Stop with the depressing already!"

"W-Why?"

"You need some manpower right? In beating that Witch?"

"Y-Yes… but Felt-sama… you do know what kind of person I am right?" Subaru stated as he knew that Felt heard all what they had to say about him being a Witch Cultist.

"Yes… You are a good person," Felt plainly said.

A simple statement was all it was. And yet it moved his heart and tears started to build up in his eyes.

That was all he ever wanted to hear from the people that forgot him. To not see anything but the person he is right now.

As most people felt bad for Subaru, the more perceptive members of the Cast caught the narration. "Forgot" was the word used. Not "never met" or "didn't know". What did that mean?

"Yes… He is a good person," Medium said as she looked at the shell-shocked man.

"Ah…" Subaru muttered as tears started to flow down his cheeks.

"Subaru… Are you okay?" Medium asked as she saw his tears started to flow down.

Priscilla on the other hand just smiled at what she saw.

"It seems like I should give you some praise, gutter rat. It seems like you were the only one that was able to look past his connections, and properly judged him like I did."

"You know if you weren't such a bitch, I would have appreciated your praise."

"Yer words are venom, bu' yer smiles are wholesome," Ricardo chuckled.

He was merely met with the glare of two different red-eyed blondes.

Medium consoled Subaru and tried to get his composure back while Priscilla and Felt had a little banter.

As soon as Reinhardt arrived, he saw Felt arguing with Priscilla while Subaru on the other hand was smiling as he looked onto Felt.

"Felt-sama, what course of action will we take?"

"Ugh! You little bitch, I'll get back to you later," Felt said as she then looked towards Subaru for an answer.

"If that is supposed to become an inside joke between us, I don't want it," Priscilla said.

"Wow, we actually agree on something," Felt deadpanned. "It's the literal end of the world."

"Well, do you want our help or not!?"

"Thank you so much Felt-sama for the gesture, but you and Reinhard are the key to defeating Capella in this battle, if the Emilia Camp were to battle them alone, they would surely fail," Subaru said, clarifying the situation.

Subaru bought out the points on why they were assigned to that role in the first place. The longer it went, the more Felt agreed with him.

"Hmmm, I see…" Felt muttered, a bit disheartened that she couldn't help.

"Take a couple of my men… if it could help even just a little, that is enough for me."

"Okay, pause here, I think I gotta review this strategy a little bit," Subaru announced.

"It's done," Al said. "The floor is yours, Bro."

"Thanks. Okay, so, the Sin Archbishop of Lust is apparently a shape-shifter that is capable of healing herself and trying anyone she touches into whatever her sick imagination desires. That means there's a pretty good chance that Reinhard is either one of the few people capable of withstanding her, thanks to his multiple Divine Protections, or one of the few people capable of killing her, since his sword would be able to kill her from a long range."

"Barusu, how the hell do you know…" Ram trailed off as she remembered who she was talking to. "Nevermind."

"Okay, wha' about th' second half?" Anastasia asked.

"Pris, you claim that you have some sort of incredible luck?" the Japanese teenager asked.

"That is correct," she said, smugly. "No matter what happens, I always win."

"Then my best guess is that I'll be using you as a way to make sure Pandora doesn't do any of her reality-warping bullshit. We know that sufficient firepower can scare her away, like say, the Authorities of Greed and Envy, and we know she's not omniscient, since we've seen her get surprised. So, my current theory is that the plan this Subaru has is that he'll use you to kill Pandora, and he'll reset whenever she wins, allowing him to give you the right instructions on what to do against Pandora, without her ever knowing."

"A risky strategy," Wilhelm admitted. "But it's the best one we currently have."

"Let's see if it plays out how you predicted," Julius said, sitting back down.

Subaru went silent for a while as he heard this girl truly wanting to help him. As he saw this, it made him think.

"Sigh, If only you two were there… then probably…" Subaru muttered as he thought what could have happened if they were there in his imprisonment, would it have been any different.

As he dwelled in his thoughts, his eyes wandered to the two women beside him.

"No," Subaru muttered as he knew he wouldn't even dare to change that moment and lose the two women that meant so much in his life.

"Hey, Pris, quick question," Subaru called out to the Vollachian Matriarch.

"Hmm… yes, Subaru?"

"You think Flop and Medium are Vollachians?"

"Without a doubt," Priscilla said. "Aside from the fact that they seem to be loyal to me, along with the several Vollachian soldiers that saved you, their clothes happen to be Vollachian."

"Good to know, good to know."

"Are you planning on expanding your friend list, Subaru-kun?" Roswaal asked.

"Yep," the black-haired boy said. "And you're gonna help me find them, Ros-chi."

"Glaaaaadly."

"I came a long way… and I love Priscilla now… thinking about such things is just ridiculous… although… I'm glad these two never changed… Reinhard and Felt…"

"I wonder if you will be disappointed in what I have become?" Subaru said to Reinhard and Felt.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, Sir Subaru, what you've become?"

"Nah, it doesn't matter… it's because I'm happy now." Subaru said as he gently grabbed a hold of Priscilla's hand.

"Subaru, let go of my hand!" The Fiery Matriarch screamed as she was caught off guard by Subaru's action. She blushed, but didn't show.

"Oh! Ahahahaha, I'm sorry Priscilla-sama."

Ohhoho, what's this? Al realized. Princess can get flustered!

SMACK!

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"You were thinking of something stupid, Aldebaran."

I'm starting to think Princess is psychic.

"We'll take you on that offer Felt-sama," Subaru said as he reached out for Felt's hand for a shake.

Felt and Reinhard nodded at the gesture. Subaru and Felt finally shook hands, sealing their agreement.

As they finished shaking their hands, the other Camps were not happy one bit.

"Y'er gotta be kidding me!?"

"Felt-sama, you lost all of our respect for helping this sorry excuse for a human," Ram said as she saw their agreement.

"Felt-chan…" Emilia simply shook her head in disapproval.

Various members of the Cast lowered their heads in shame as they berated the one person who actually helped Subaru outside of Priscilla. What was wrong with them –?

"Okay, because I hate seeing you guys sad, I'm just gonna come out and say it."

"Huh?"

"Gluttony ate my name."

"..."

"..."

"... WHAAAAAT?!" Almost everyone shouted at Subaru in shock.

"How did you know?!" Felix asked in disbelief.

"When Reinhard mentioned Rem, it implied that she was awake, and I wondered how that was possible. The only possibility that crossed my mind was killing Gluttony, and that's when the idea of Gluttony eating my name crossed my mind."

"That… explains entirely too much." Julius was still not over his shock of the possibility.

As everyone contemplated the idea of Subaru getting his name eaten by Gluttony, their thoughts were cut off.

"Wait!" Everyone turned their attention to the mother of Subaru Natsuki. "What does that mean?! How can you eat someone's name, and how did that make everyone turn on my son?!"

Everyone could feel the desperation Naoko was voicing, and luckily for them, Reinhard delivered an answer.

"From what we have been able to gather, the Sin Archbishops of Gluttony have the ability to devour a person's name and/or memories. If a person's memories are devoured, they cannot remember anything at all before Gluttony ate said memories, making them almost entirely different people. This unfortunately happened to Crusch-sama and, to an arguably worse extent, Rem after the White Whale was killed," Reinhard gave an explanation, causing Crusch and Rem to remember their awful encounter with Greed and Gluttony.

"Likewise, if a person's name is devoured, that person is effectively erased from the memory of the world, making it so no one can remember that person or what they've done for the people they've impacted. As such, accomplishments could be shifted to others depending on how events played out regarding the person whose name was eaten."

Naoko and Kenichi took everything in as they realized what exactly happened to this version of their son. "Quick question, what if someone got their name and memories eaten?" Kenichi couldn't help but wonder, even knowing how sickening the concept was.

"If someone were to have their name and memories eaten, then they would, for some unknown reason, fall into a comatose state. Fortunately, while in this state, the affected individual would not need to eat or drink anything to survive. Unfortunately, we do not know much about how this phenomenon works or how to reverse it. It's what happened to Rem-san."

"Wait a minute…" Subaru gained the attention of the others as he was thinking of something.

"What is it, Subaru-kun?" Rem asked what her love was thinking.

"Reinhard, you said that when one of the Gluttonies eat someone's name, they're erased from the memory of the world, right?" Subaru asked for clarification.

"That is what we know so far, yes," Reinhard answered.

"Then that may explain why my memories of Rem remained intact." Subaru came to a conclusion, confusing many of the others.

"I'm afraid I don't follow," Julius said, causing Subaru to explain.

"I'm not from this world, I was born on Earth, and I only arrived in this world a few months ago. So, people like me and Al aren't technically supposed to be here. So, I'm technically not part of this world. So following that logic…"

"Your memories of others can't be stolen by Gluttony." Julius saw where Subaru was going with this. "Al-san, did you lose your recollection of Rem as well?"

"To be honest, I never thought about her after I met her with Bro, so I'm not sure whether or not I forgot about her." Al gave an honest answer.

"But still, even if Subaru can remember others after their name was eaten, this reality shows us that we can… still forget him…" Emilia spoke with a twinge of self-hatred at the thought of turning against Subaru.

The idea that if Gluttony ate Subaru's name… and they turned against him because they wouldn't remember him…

"REIN!" Felt screamed in a rare, righteous fury.

"Yes, Felt-sama?" Reinhard was a little startled by his liege's higher than usual aggression.

"I want you to make Gluttony your highest priority! Greed, Lust, Wrath, Hector, even that bitch, Pandora, can wait! I want all of their decapitated heads on my wall ASAP! AND DON'T LET EITHER OF THEM ANYWHERE NEAR BIG BRO!"

"Understood, Felt-sama. I will do whatever I can to ensure the Gluttony siblings' demise." Reinhard fully agreed with his liege. He will not allow this possibility to come to reality.

"Maybe we could keep Subaru-kun in a secure location until this Gluttony problem is dealt with?" Rem suggested an idea to keep Subaru out of the Sin Archbishop's reach.

"What? Are you guys gonna throw me in a dungeon with a bunch of pillows and blankets and have me wait out every version of Gluttony there is?" Subaru jokingly suggested.

No one responded as they almost looked like they were actually contemplating the idea.

"Guys, I was kidding."

"..."

"GUYS!"

One by one the members opposed to helping Priscilla's Camp berated the "reason" for their opposition.

Subaru frowned as he continued to hear their words tinged with venom. As they continued to spat at Subaru word after word, the two women beside him were starting to reach their boiling point.

"He is worthless!"

Hearing those words, Medium shouted back "He is not worthless!"

Subaru gently placed his hand on Medium's shoulder and shook his head to stop her.

"Subaru! You can't just let these people trample on you!"

"It's all right, Medium –"

"No! Subaru! No! It's not all right! How could you let these people continue to beat you down?! You are worth more than these disgusting pieces of filth!" Medium screamed as she pulled out one of her swords and pointed it to the filth that was in front of her.

The majority of the Cast winced in shame. They had done this. They had beaten Subaru's self-esteem so badly that he wasn't even fazed anymore when they treated him like shit.

I won't let it happen. I refuse to let this happen. Emilia thought to herself. Even if it means killing every one of Pandora's pawns, I won't let any of them hurt my Subaru.

I refuse to let him become another me, Reinhard promised himself.

"Very passionate, are we? It seems like you have been caught under that man's spell," the purple-haired merchant said as she touched her chin.

"What!?"

"Let me guess, he told you that he loves you, nyah."

"That disgusting man told us this time and time again in his imprisonment like a true madman," the pink-haired oni added.

"I guess it was only a matter of time that he finally found someone that will love him," Anastasia said as she looked at the angry Medium.

"Okay, wow. There is a lot to unpack here."

"Subaru?" Emilia asked, slightly concerned.

"First off, not all validation for me has to be in the form of love. Second of all, not all forms of love for me have to be of a sexual nature," the black-haired knight began to rant. "And third, and most importantly of all, while I do understand that not remembering me is the explanation, that is still NO EXCUSE for these fucks to be acting like such major dicks. I mean, come on!"

Huh, I guess the one sure-fire way to piss off Bro is to insult his friends, Al thought.

Priscilla flinched at their replies and fell into a deep thought.

"What do I really feel for this man?" This was the question of Priscilla Barielle ever since she became fonder of Subaru Natsuki.

After venturing together to many countries with him in the past year, she may as well have grown an infatuation with the young man.

The Priscilla in the Theater shared the exact same sentiment as the one on-screen.

Before coming to the Theater, Priscilla Barielle thought her life was perfect. She had money, she had power, she had subjects who feared her. She was basically her brother Vincent, without the hassles of having to deal with an entire nation of usurpers. Not only that, but she could even become Vincent's equal by simply winning a simple election!

And then, she gets transported to this Theater.

Her entire worldview gets changed by the existence of one boy. A boy who she merely remembered as the idiot who got beaten up by Julius, and nothing more. Sure, his origins were fascinating, but they were the same as Al's, so nothing special. And sure, he may have slayed the White Whale and Sloth, but he had help doing that.

But seeing this boy and what he COULD be, changed everything. He was a person who could laugh at death's face, someone who could alter destiny. Then, she saw that he was the Great Sage, with powers unimaginable at his beck and call. He could be anyone, a hero, a villain, anyone! He could do anything, he could save or condemn the entire world!

She WANTED him.

But… then she remembered what his mother told her.

"Until I have assurance that you would treat him right, I cannot approve of a relationship between the two of you."

She only saw him for what he could do, not for the person he was. Sure, he could be ruthless when he wanted to, and he could even put on a brave face. But deep down, he was a scared boy, afraid of his own power, who merely wished to be accepted by others.

The Priscilla on the screen accepted him for who he was.

She wanted to be like the Priscilla on the screen.

With each passing day, she would always seek out his company, she did not know why. She was changing and she knew it was because of him.

Her heart would start to throb whenever he courts her and whenever he was very close to her. The feeling was so foreign to her, she never felt like that to anyone before in her entire life.

Remembering his confession to her, she did not know if it was actually love that she is actually feeling for him. With Subaru's patience, however, her feelings for him are starting to get clearer for her.

Maybe I do love him, Priscilla thought, as she felt her heart warm up.

Several of the women in the Theater glared at Priscilla.

"Yes, I know, I know," the strawberry blonde said. "I treated him badly, and not even his mother approves of me. At this point even Medium has a better shot at him that I do."

That doesn't mean I won't try.

As Priscilla was slowly coming out of her thoughts, she slowly came back to the situation at hand where Medium was defending Subaru's person from the other Camps.

"He is strong! He is not pathetic!" Medium screamed as the other Camps continued to berate Subaru.

"Is that true? A man that begs and cries is strong? How about I tell you what we saw during his time with us," Ram retorted.

As soon as she uttered those words, what came next was a barrage of disturbing facts that they have done to the man in front of them. The members of the Priscilla Camp balled their fists in anger for what they have done to this kind man.

Medium was starting to tear up, hearing everything they had done to him in his imprisonment. Medium finally understood why Subaru did not want to go into detail about his imprisonment. The Priscilla Camp members were getting angrier and more disgusted as they heard more of what they had done.

Priscilla heard in every excruciating detail about how the other Camps tortured her Subaru Natsuki.

No one in the Cast could keep a straight face. They heard everything. Everything done to Subaru during his incarceration. Naoko and Kenichi stared at the screen in silent horror. Petra and Meili cried into Frederica's dress. Beatrice had to make sure that her contractor was still next to her. No one needed any visuals; their imagination was enough.

Julius felt like the biggest piece of shit ever. He heard how he often used his sword to slice or stab Subaru in various places, or maybe use his fists if he was "generous". He was a knight. He was supposed to be a symbol of valor, but time and time again, he was shown to be a brute.

Felix felt like he was about to throw up, hearing that he had boiled Subaru's blood. That he tortured Subaru to get answers to Crusch's condition when it was clear he didn't have the answer. A small part of him wondered if he was truly sadistic on the inside.

Garfiel felt like crawling into a hole and dying. He was supposed to be a shield. A person who used their hands defended the weak. How the fuck was he supposed to do that, WHEN HE WAS USING THOSE HANDS TO TORTURE THE WEAK?!

"Ye'r gonna cry again?"

"Maybe you want a slow fry once again, nyah."

One by one the other Camps recounted their tortures, making a point that their supposed leader is weak and pathetic.

After one torture recount to another, Priscilla felt her rage building up really quickly. A newfound closeness to the raven black-haired man, she became more and more irritated and angry than she was a while ago.

With one last line from the pink-haired oni, "If you don't die in this battle, I will kill you for sure."

Priscilla finally snapped which surprised Subaru as he never saw her with this kind of anger before.

"You will do no such thing!" Priscilla screamed as she pointed and materialized her Yang Sword.

With burning fury, the Yang Sword shined, ready to incinerate the wielder's foes.

Ram nodded her head, realizing that what her counterpart said crossed several lines.

Rem couldn't help but glare at Ram on the screen in a silent rage.

"Touch him! And I will make sure that I will make the pain he suffered fall unto you a hundredfold! Once I am done, I will make sure that nothing, but your ashes will remain under my feet!"

The other Camps that insulted her Subaru took a step back after they felt her aura and the intense bloodlust emanating from her.

"Priscilla…" Subaru muttered, as he saw her stand in front of him.

"To think that you would go so far in defending this Witch Cultist. Has he rubbed off on you?" Crusch remarked as she never saw the arrogant Matriarch react this way with so much anger.

"Don't get it mixed up Karsten, He is not a Witch Cultist."

"Then, what is he?! Nyah!"

As Priscilla heard this inquiry, she took a glance at the man behind him, and she was sure that she knew his place.

"He is the knight of House Barielle! He is Subaru Natsuki! The one and only knight WORTHY to serve the future Queen of Lugunica, Priscilla Barielle!"

"With your consent, of course."

"Huh?" Subaru asked, looking dumbfounded.

"I'm not going to force you to become my knight, like mineself tried to do with our little wager. My divine self also realizes that perhaps kissing you without your permission was a bit… wrong. Do not misunderstand me! I still want you… but I'm going to go about it the right way."

"Uhh… thanks, Pris?"

A small smile crept up on the Vollachian Matriarch.

Amidst the Water Gate City of Priestella, chaos ensued. In the middle of the city were dilapidated buildings, burning rubble, and corpses. The scent of burned bodies spread out through the air, enveloping the city. The sun peaking brightly produced an orange hue covering the entire city, making the city truly look like a hellish scene. The screams and cries of innocent people can be heard as many were trapped in this unwanted chaos.

The Witch Cult's final confrontation finally happened on where they made their first attack. The Witch Cult once again faced the strength of the five Camps. Pandora, Roy Alphard, and Capella were the only remaining head figures left in the Witch Cult. Each Camp gave their own assistance to the citizens of Priestella amidst the chaos, guiding its citizens to proper evacuation sites as well as rescuing its citizens from the ensuing rampage of the Witch Cultists.

Everyone felt slightly sick at seeing the burned bodies and the destruction of Priestella, but that ended quickly when they saw their respective Camps fighting the Witch Cult.

With all the Camps united to finally eliminate the Witch Cult, they were able to execute their plan in separating the remaining head figures and take them on individually with their respective Camps. The Camps of Felt and Emilia took on the Sin Archbishop of Lust, Capella, in the city park. The Camps of Anastasia and Crusch took on the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, Roy Alphard, in the Muse Company building. Lastly, the Camp of Priscilla took on the Witch of Vainglory, Pandora, in the city hall.

Several members of Emilia and Felt's Camp looked in amazement as they took on the shapeshifting woman. Reinhard was slightly disappointed that he wasn't using his sword to take down his opponent, but given that everyone else was in the range, it was for the best.

"Look out, Garf!" Petra yelled at the screen. "She just grew a giant claw!"

"Fuck th' claw, she jus' turned into a big-ass dragon!" the blond demi-human yelped.

Yeesh, I'm glad Meili told me ahead of time what sort of monster we were dealing with, otherwise I might have gotten a small panic attack… Subaru cringed. If only I could get her power, I'd be able to do so much more…

Heading to the center of Priestella, the city hall was reduced to rubble as a result of the fierce battle that transpired. The bodies of soldiers and Witch Cultists alike were strewn all over the place, of which some were still alive but barely. Their bodies stained the floors of Priestella, covering everything in a deep shade of red. The place was surrounded by flames that continue to burn everything that it touches. At the center of it all, the female Matriarch stood on top of the burnt corpse of her enemy. What was supposed to be a nigh omnipotent being, was left nothing but ashes beneath the Matriarch's feet. The Matriarch stood with her red-blonde hair shining brilliantly beneath the orange sun. The Matriarch's legs shook as she was losing her strength to stand, due to her overexertion in her battle with the Witch. Her body was stained with her blood as well as the blood of her enemies. The dress she wore were filled with holes, and the hem of her dress was all torn up, exposing a good portion of her legs. The jewels on the necklace of the Matriarch were all cracked, having finally served their purpose in absorbing three fatal blows for the Matriarch. Her form was the most vulnerable it has ever been, yet still she stands confident that she will never go down.

"She did it."

That was all that came out of Tivey's mouth.

No one else could formulate a sentence at the moment. They were too amazed. The omnipotent being, that not even a Warlock could kill, was dealt with by Priscilla.

They did it. In that reality, they won.

Which meant that everyone in this reality had a slim chance of hope.

Subaru's eyes widened in joy at the implications. "We did it…"

"We did it!" Al cheered, as he rubbed it into the dead Pandora. "FUCK! YOU! AHAHAHA!"

Everyone was now smiling. They had a chance. They had hope. They could take down this insurmountable force, and come out on top victorious. They could do it.

For once, the future truly looked bright.

Her unyielding confidence and determination that made her stand came from the trust she had formed with her knight. The knight that she first took initially on a whim, solely for entertainment, but now became an irreplaceable cornerstone to what she is right now. With her knight, she was able to reach heights that were deemed to be impossible. Her knight that gave her strength throughout all her endeavors. Her knight that believed in her vision and herself. Her knight that told her that he loves her. And her knight that will protect her until the very end.

It surely has been quite a journey for both. The Matriarch that was arrogant and brash, was still quite the same but somehow mellowed down with the influence of her knight. The love that her knight has shown time and time again, finally made her actual feelings for him become clearer. A feeling that she was unsure of for a very long time, but now she was sure on what that feeling is. The Matriarch was indeed in love with her knight.

At her triumph, she was finally ready to reveal her feelings to her knight. The feelings that she was unsure of were finally clear and she wanted to reciprocate her knight's love for her. The Matriarch slowly looked onto her side, to the reason for her unyielding confidence and determination. The black-haired youth, covered with cuts and bruises, sat amongst the rubble a few meters away from the Matriarch. Seeing the Matriarch looked at his way, he gave the Matriarch a gentle smile and thumbs up.

Priscilla smiled at this. Sure, it might not be her, but she could imagine it!

"Imagine if she did that, and he responded with, I love Medium," Al whispered to Ricardo.

"No! Do not ruin this for me!" she hissed, choking the life out of Al.

Elsewhere, Rem wondered if she should talk about her failed confession.

"Priscilla…" The black-haired youth said with gladness that she was all right.

The Matriarch blushed at her knight's response as she felt the genuine care in his voice.

"S-Subaru…" The Matriarch replied as she returned a smile to the youth.

Subaru was surprised at the smile of Priscilla. Subaru thought that it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen for a very long time, making his heart skip a beat. Right then and there, Subaru at this point was sure that he made the right choice.

"Agh!" Priscilla grunted as her legs finally lost their strength and fell onto her knees.

"Priscilla!" Subaru yelled out of concern as he saw her drop down to her knees.

Subaru tried to pick himself up to go to Priscilla.

"Don't worry thyself, Fool… I am completely fine…. I am just tired is all…"

"Tired?!" Otto repeated. "Lady, you two look like you just survived a bombing! You need to get to a healer, right away! I don't think Natsuki-san would want to fight Pandora again!"

"Yeah, you don't want the bad ending!" Kenichi joked, half-worried.

"The bad ending?" Ram asked.

"In video games, sometimes the story will give you multiple options to do something. Certain things will let you achieve the good ending, others get you the bad ending," Subaru explained.

"How do you know which is which?"

"Ah, you don't! That's half the fun of playing a story-based video game! Like the ones Telltale makes."

Subaru failed to pick himself up due to his pain and fatigue.

"Ahahaha… Seems I cannot move as well…"

"Sometimes, thyself is very useless!" Priscilla retorted as she saw how pathetic Subaru tried to pick himself up.

"Hey look who's talking!" Subaru replied as he chuckled at the end.

"Hmph! I am not in any way useless, have you forgotten how I have slain that accursed Witch," Priscilla replied with a smug grin on her face.

"Maybe you have forgotten who gave you that opening so you can strike down that accursed Witch in the first place!"

"We did it," Subaru smiled. "We actually did it."

"You're still amazed by that, huh?" Felt smiled. "Yeah, it does feel pretty good."

"Felt, Pandora's basically my archenemy, the two of us are basically destined to keep fighting each other until one of us dies! Of course it would feel good to be finally rid of her!"

"Imagine when it actually happens…" Julius dreamed. "It will feel so much better!"

Wilhelm wondered if he should tell them that revenge wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

And so, it went on with their usual banter, neither of the parties backing down. In some ways, this interaction has been the norm for the two. Priscilla was at first appalled by the sheer audacity of Subaru's answers but eventually these little arguments brought her enjoyment in some ways throughout their journey together. She never would have thought that anyone would equal her in any way, much less stand beside her. It was not until the man named Subaru Natsuki came to her life, made her think that it was possible after all.

Priscilla looked at Subaru's response. Priscilla smiled and let out a chuckle at the sheer amusement she felt playing with her knight.

Subaru looked stricken in awe at the reaction of Priscilla.

"You truly look lovely when you smile," Subaru said as he watched Priscilla chuckle.

Priscilla blushed at Subaru's comment.

Seeing Priscilla capture his heart once more made Subaru realize that she really was the one that made his life have meaning once again.

Subaru went through so much. He thought that he would never love again after Emilia's Camp abandoned him after the escape of Gluttony at Priestella. Having to be forgotten and tortured by your loved ones, truly made his stay in this world a living hell. The only saving grace that saved him from his hellish eternal loop was the Matriarch of all people. A decision that was at a whim, turned out to be the door that made them understand each other more. Although at times they clash, Subaru understood beneath her very tough and rough exterior, she just does want things better for the people. It showed through her actions at their domain, a land once filled with poverty was now a thriving land.

All the playful banter from the two of them was quickly forgotten by that.

The reminder that in this reality, nearly everyone failed Subaru.

Even if they managed to kill every single Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, the damage would be done. Some didn't even expect to be given Subaru's forgiveness. They didn't deserve it.

Their relationships in that universe were destroyed, never to be repaired.

But here… it wasn't too late.

Sure, several of them had hurt him, and he would have scars of that forever, but they didn't break Subaru beyond repair. They still had a chance to save him, like he did them.

And this time, they would be sure to get it right.

Throughout their journey, Subaru learned more about the mystery that is Priscilla Barielle. As Subaru delved deeper in learning about her, their relationship deepened to the point that Priscilla tried to learn more about him. Learning to depend on each other for support made their team an unstoppable force. It was through their experiences and growth did Subaru realize Priscilla's place in his heart. A place he long held for the half-elf was now for the Fiery Matriarch.

It pained Emilia's heart to hear that last part of narration, but she knew that this version of her had it coming. She wouldn't whine like a child who didn't get her way.

Subaru was a person, and he was entitled to his own wants.

Especially after everything he went through.

Subaru never failed to mention this to Priscilla ever since his heart was now set out on her. He continued to court this beauty that seemed to be out of reach. Until today that is, as Subaru felt it after their victory that he finally has a hold of Priscilla's heart.

Subaru took a deep breath, and slowly he gave a loving gaze towards Priscilla.

"I love you, Priscilla Barielle," Subaru stated as soon as Priscilla finished with her chuckle. Subaru said these words with sincerity that it reached Priscilla's heart.

"Huh, I never thought I'd say those words."

"First time for everything, son," Kenichi smiled at his boy.

Priscilla went wide eyed for a moment and felt her entire body heat up at Subaru's words. Priscilla's heart wanted to jump out of her chest at that moment.

"S-Subaru I…"

Priscilla knew what her answer was but stutters to get it all out.

As Subaru waited for Priscilla's answer, he noticed some movement among the rubble.

Subaru's eyes widened and a great sense of worry overcame him.

"Priscilla!" Subaru yelled in a panic.

Subaru tried to pick himself up once more, gritting his teeth.

"W-What?" Priscilla, confused, slowly turned her head to the direction where Subaru's line of sight was at.

"N-No…" Priscilla muttered on what she just saw.

A man with a hood covering his face was running towards the defenseless Royal Candidate. On the hand of the hooded man was a Fire stone glowing brighter and brighter.

"SON OF A BITCH!"

"GODDAMMIT!"

"OH, COME ON!"

Having no more strength in her legs, she was a sitting duck.

"I will not be killed by an insect!" Priscilla said as she raised her right hand in the air.

Mustering her strength as she tried to materialize her Yang word once again.

"Tch!" Priscilla groaned as she failed to materialize her sword.

With a manic smile, the Witch Cultist came closer and closer to Priscilla.

Realizing that her end was near, she slowly looked unto Subaru, who to her surprise was standing up and limping towards her.

"S-Subaru!" Priscilla screamed as a tear escaped from her eyes.

Subaru hurried himself and made it to Priscilla's side.

With the Witch Cultist only a few meters away from them, Subaru knew what he must do.

"Subaru" Priscilla said, with tears in her eyes as she put her hand onto her knight's shoulder.

"Priscilla… I'm going to take the brunt of the explosion…"

As the Witch Cultist came closer, and closer, the hearts of the Cast raced. It was like they were watching a horror movie: Sure, the threat was moving slowly, but the victims were powerless to do anything about it, and at that point, a quick death would have been preferable.

It also didn't help that Subaru decided to take the brunt of the explosion.

You idiot, Priscilla scolded him. You brave idiot.

"W-What!?" Priscilla replied, grabbing a hold of her knight's shoulder tighter.

"Don't worry, I will never leave you… because I love you so much." Subaru said as he tried to reassure Priscilla of his decision.

As the Witch Cultist jumped in the air towards the couple, Subaru hugged Priscilla's entire body.

Pressing Priscilla's head onto his chest, Subaru smiled at the warmth of Priscilla's body.

"You'll be safe here in my arms"

"Subaru I –"

Priscilla's words never reached Subaru as a loud explosion came and tossed their bodies a few feet in the air before rolling on the cold bloody hard ground.

For those with enhanced hearing, the explosion hurt them a bit, but it was over quickly. Unfortunately, there was also a bright light from the camera shot, so both them and those with normal-hearing had to everything white-out for a few seconds.

Temporary blindness was not an enjoyable thing.

Disoriented from the explosion, Priscilla noticed her knight's grip on her body loosening. Priscilla, released from the arms of Subaru, rolled over to his side.

Breathing heavily and disoriented, looked onto her left side and saw soldiers running to their aid. She then tried to tum her head towards her knight but was unable to do so as she finally lost her consciousness.

Darkness was what she saw, before echoes of Subaru's voice rang inside Priscilla's head. Every precious moment they had played in her head giving vibrant colors in her world as every moment spent with him was a moment to remember.

"I do, Subaru Natsuki, I love you," Priscilla said to herself as she held both her hands onto her chest. Priscilla wanted nothing more in the world than this man that meant so much in her life.

The entire Theater was quiet at that.

Until Subaru spoke up.

"Well… that had to have been the slowest, yet most intense moment of that episode."

Everyone looked at him, wondering what the hell he was saying.

"I mean, everyone was limping! The Cultist was limping, Pris was limping, hell, they managed to have full conversations before the explosion even went off! How long was that, anyway?!"

"Subaru, you should have more respect for your counterpart's sacrifice!" Emilia scolded him.

"I seriously doubt he's dead. It'll take a lot more than that to kill me, I should know."

Ignoring the tasteless joke, Emilia asked, "How do you even know that?"

"Because there's a scene change happening right now."

Turning around, Emilia saw her knight was right, as she kept watching the screen.

Priscilla opened her eyes, slightly in a daze, raised her right arm and rubbed it across her eyes. Stretching her arm, she tried to get her bearings. She felt the softness of the bed and pillow where she rested, it was not as luxurious as the ones she had at home, but it would do, she thought. She turned her head from side to side, to know where she was.

To her luck, she saw a young man in a medical attire.

"Hey, you!"

Grabbing the attention of the doctor, the doctor immediately went to the Royal Candidate.

"Y-Yes!" The doctor replied as he knew who he was up against.

"Where is this place?"

"Y-You are in the Northern District Hospital of Priestella, ma'am."

"Hmmm… I see, how long has my divine self been here?"

"You came here about five hours ago. You were sent here by the medical unit assigned to the center of Priestella."

"She was out fer five hours?" Anastsia asked.

"I don't see anyone of her affiliation there," Julius said.

"They probably visited while she was unconscious, nyah," Felix suggested.

Priscilla then remembered the soldiers that came running to their aid.

"So those were the medical units," Priscilla thought.

"I see… It seems that your medical team has done a remarkable job in healing my body"

"T-Thank you for your praise"

Priscilla getting the information she wanted, remembered the most important person in her life was missing.

"W-Where is Subaru?!" Priscilla yelled as she held her blanket tightly.

"S-Subaru? You mean the young man that accompanied you?"

"Of course, who else would it be?!"

The doctor, getting flustered over Priscilla's remarks, took a deep breath before explaining the situation of Subaru.

"The young man that accompanied you insisted on healing you first before getting himself treated, even though he was in a more dire situation."

SLAP!

"Ow, Mom!"

"No, you don't get to play that card with me!" Naoko yelled at her son. "Idiot boy! You can't keep sacrificing yourself for the sake of others! That curse of yours isn't a cure-all!"

"Dad! Help me –"

"No, you're on your own for this one, son."

"Emilia-tan?! Rem?! Somebody?! Anybody?!"

"What did you do!? Why didn't you heal him first?!" Priscilla was getting more heated and the doctor growing more scared as he saw her face getting more unpleasant with each response.

"W-We had a limited number of healers at the t-time, ma'am. The young man introduced you as a Royal Candidate, hence we took swift action to heal you first as per his request."

"That fool!" Priscilla grits her teeth to the foolishness of her knight, with a face of worry spreading across her face.

"U-uh, ummm…" The doctor uttered, not knowing how to respond to Priscilla's anger.

"Where is he?!"

"Um w-well, he might be finished with his healing in the sixth room of the ninth floor."

After hearing this, Priscilla stood up, still with her torn up attire.

"Lead me there at once!"

"U-uh, Sure!"

"Subaru," Naoko said, her voice ice cold.

"Y-yes?"

"Repeat after me: "I am not expendable." Say it."

"I… am… ugh… not expendable."

"Good."

The doctor could no longer handle the intensity that Priscilla was showing. Seeing his assistant within sight, he immediately proceeded to pull his assistant by the collar.

"Priscilla-san, my assistant right here was the one handling your companion's healing."

"Is that so?"

"Uh, umm…" The assistant muttered as he had no clue on what was going on.

"Floor nine, room six," the doctor whispered to his assistant, in which the assistant simply nodded in response.

"R-Right this way Priscilla-san," The assistant nervously said towards the impatient Royal Candidate.

"Nice goin', pawn 'er off ta some otha' sucka," Ricardo smirked.

"I'm still thinking about how Bro cringed at the idea that he was not expendable," Mimi said.

"Yeah, that's a very bad sign," Felix agreed.

I swear Subaru, I will do what I can to fix your broken mentality! Crusch vowed.

Priscilla walked behind the assistant, leading her to the ninth floor. Along the way, the assistant could not help himself but feel intimidated by her aura. Although her aura was intimidating, the assistant could not help himself but to peek at her form, Priscilla's form was very seductive indeed, with the explosion tearing most of her dress off. The dress had just enough cloth to cover her assets, but a little more, it would already show her undergarments.

Priscilla, in a hurry, was not aware of what she looked like at that moment. All she cared about was the well-being of her Subaru Natsuki.

Priscilla glared at every single man in the audience.

The majority of them wisely covered their eyes.

"Garf," Frederica growled at her little brother.

"Wha? Iz no' like I'll ever wanna tap that!" He defended himself.

"Al," Priscilla hissed at her area of the Theater.

"I'm closing my eyes!" Al said.

"You're lying," Crusch said.

"Dammit."

"W-We're here!"

Approaching the door of the room, Priscilla readied herself to see her knight. As soon as the assistant pointed her to the door, the assistant immediately took off while getting a quick peek at Priscilla from behind.

Damn! She is so hot! What I would give to get a woman like that! the assistant thought when he saw Priscilla's form.

"I doubt any man will get that woman though, with her attitude…" The assistant muttered as he looked away and ran as fast as he could.

Priscilla quietly glared at the screen.

She always had to deal with lecherous beings like him.

Now that she thought of it, did Subaru ever have such thoughts about her? Probably not, given that he was mostly enamored with the half-elf and the oni maid. Now that she thought about it, she now had a sure-fire way to get him to think of her!

"Subaru," she called out to the boy covering his eyes. "You have permission to look."

"Nah, I'm good," he said, still covering his eyes.

Dang.

Priscilla slowly placed her hand to the doorknob. Priscilla took a deep breath before finally opening the door.

As Priscilla opened the door, she saw a white curtain beside the bed, where a body lies, burnt beyond recognition. A medical unit officer was sitting on a chair beside the said bed. The medical officer stood up and greeted Priscilla.

"I am sorry Miss, but we tried everything we can, but we could not save his life."

As the serious tone set in, everyone stopped covering their eyes. They were far too focused on the brunt corpse to even try to look at the half-naked Priscilla right now.

"No…" Petra whispered under her breath.

Everyone else was stricken by what they heard, until…

"I call bullshit."

Everyone looked towards Subaru, who seemed unimpressed with what he was seeing.

"If I really died, the loop would have reset," he said.

As Priscilla heard this, her heart sank. The ruby eyes of Priscilla dilated at the sight, not comprehending the sight before her.

"No! No! No! This is not true!" Priscilla yelled as she denied this reality.

"I'm sorry, miss" The medical officer looked down.

Priscilla slowly walked towards the corpse that was laying on the bed. Tears started building up in her eyes. Priscilla kept on shaking her head, denying everything.

"He's not dead," Subaru reassured the Cast.

Though a part of him was also trying to reassure himself.

"Behold an unthinkable present."

"No…" Priscilla looked unto the corpse, burnt beyond recognition.

"You fool, why, why does this have to happen?" Priscilla said with her voice breaking.

Priscilla closed her eyes, letting the tears that built up in her eyes fall. Priscilla sobbed and moaned, falling onto her knees as she embraced the blanket that contained her loved one.

"Subaru! Subaru! Why?! Why?!" Priscilla desperately clung onto the blanket, acknowledging what she just lost.

Priscilla's mind was a mess. The memories of Subaru came crashing to her mind, intensifying her feelings of loss. A loss that shook her entire being down to her very core.

"I love you Priscilla Barielle," in Priscilla's mind echoed, regretting the moment she was not able to tell him that she felt the same way.

Echidna's Trial was bullshit, Echidna's Trial was bullshit, Echidna's Trial was bullshit, Echidna's Trial was bullshit, Subaru repeated the thought to himself like a mantra.

But every now and then, a small memory betrayed him.

"Behold an unthinkable present."

SHUT UP!

"Behold an unthinkable present."

Seeing Priscilla broke down into tears, the medical officer quietly left the room, knowing that she needed time for herself.

Priscilla's moans and sobs surrounded the room. She let all the emotions of her heart flow right out of her, showing how much Subaru meant to her.

Having reached the state of acceptance. Priscilla slowly let go of her embrace. Still kneeling, she looked unto the corpse on the bed.

"I love you, Subaru Natsuki." Priscilla said with every ounce of her heart put onto those words.

"I have hoped to see you by my side every passing day, and perhaps have a family with you but I guess that would remain to be a dream" Priscilla said as she closed her eyes lost in regret and sadness.

"Hey, I could still do that you know," A young man said as he touched the shoulder of the Royal Candidate.

Upon hearing that voice, Subaru breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Everything was fine. He was still alive.

"W-What?" Priscilla replied as she opened her eyes, hearing a very familiar voice.

Priscilla proceeded to look over her shoulder.

To her surprise and joy, she saw Subaru's form right in front of her.

"Subaru!" Priscilla yelled as she stood up and embraced Subaru.

"Ah… Priscilla…" Subaru groaned as he felt Priscilla's tight embrace, before saying her name gently as he returned his love's embrace.

"Subaru, Subaru!" Priscilla continued to mutter his name in between her sobs as she rubbed her face on his chest and hug her love tightly as if he was going to leave her again.

As everyone celebrated, Subaru merely played it calm.

"Called it," Subaru said, acting like he knew the whole time.

In all honesty, he was glad that he wouldn't have to explain to everyone… that.

Feeling her embrace, Subaru knew how worried Priscilla must have felt right at that moment.

"Hey, like I told you before right, I won't ever leave you… because I love you so much," Subaru whispered into her ear.

Hearing the words of Subaru, it managed to slowly calm the anxious Priscilla. Subaru let Priscilla take her time on his chest, knowing that she needed this time to calm herself down. Little by little, Subaru heard the little sobs here and there of Priscilla. Slowly but surely her haggard breathing started to stabilize. Sensing this, Subaru rubbed her back gently, calming Priscilla even more.

Having calmed herself down, she finally let go of her embrace.

Stepping back, she used her right hand to clean her eyes after bawling her eyes out on Subaru's chest.

"I-I thought I lost you" she said as she looked towards Subaru.

"You know that I have my very reason to live right here, and I don't ever want to leave her behind," Subaru said as he put his hands on Priscilla's shoulders.

Even if it was Prsiclla, everyone had to agree, it was a touching moment. After all of the suffering that this Subaru went through, he finally got his happy ending.

Near the back of the room, Priscilla felt a tear escape her eye.

Weeks ago, she would have considered such a thing a weakness, but now?

Now, she was happy.

"S-Subaru…" Priscilla muttered as her face was a deep shade of red.

Priscilla, although blushing hard, finally got her wits about.

"U-um, S-Subaru," Priscilla muttered as she looked onto Subaru's eyes

"Yes?"

"Where the hell have you been?!" Priscilla yelled at Subaru.

All the romance that was in the air went right out the window, Subaru thought.

"Is that seriously what you were thinking now?" Ram asked, in a deadpanned tone.

"If this is love, I think I might be better off without it," Roswaal joked.

"Who the hell's corpse did I just touch?!"

Subaru chuckled at Priscilla's remarks.

"I am being serious here! Why the hell did that medical officer say all those things to me?!"

"Okay, okay, relax, Priscilla, relax," Subaru pleaded as he put his hands on the shoulders of Priscilla again.

"Don't tell me to relax, fool! This is your fault in the first place!"

"Okay, okay, sheesh."

Subaru, surrendering to his Priscilla's demands, explained himself.

"First of all, I was behind that curtain. I was on another bed."

"W-What?"

"Yes," Subaru replied as he nodded and guided Priscilla behind the white curtains, to see another white bed.

"OOF," Al let out an all-familiar sound.

"I… really don't know what to say to that," Reinhard said, dumbfounded.

Priscilla was slack jawed upon realizing this fact.

"Also, the corpse you just embraced was a soldier that fought the Witch Cult. He did not make it, sadly, the medical team had to contact his superiors and loved ones to inform them of his death. The medical officer was just waiting for someone that will visit him, which in this case, was you."

"Oh," Priscilla realized. "Oops."

"Never thought I'd hear you say that word," Al chuckled.

SMACK!

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"That was for the peeping."

Priscilla remained silent after Subaru's revelation, but Priscilla made one crucial conclusion.

"S-Subaru, so you were here all this time?"

"Yes."

"Even the part when I –"

Subaru knew where this was going.

"Y-Yes."

Priscilla blushed furiously and her expression of anger can be seen all over her face.

"W-Why you, insensitive asshole!" Priscilla yelled as she lifted her right arm.

Conjuring her strength, she was able to materialize her Yang Sword.

Two steps forward, one step back, Prisiclla thought to herself.

"I may not have had the best family life," Reinhard said. "But even I know for a fact that this is not what a healthy couple is supposed to do."

Wilhelm once more gripped his hands in silent shame.

"P-P-Priscilla! Calm down!" Subaru panicked as he was waving his arms towards Priscilla.

"Is this love!? You let the person you love cry and feel utter despair! Is that love?!"

Subaru was silent at Priscilla's words. Subaru knew what he did was wrong. Subaru knew Priscilla was in the room as soon as he heard her voice. Guided by his insecurities about her feelings for him, Subaru wanted to know if Priscilla really did love him.

After her display on his supposed deathbed, he felt like a complete scum, to put someone, especially her into such a state. Subaru knew at this moment that he must make things right.

Yeah, you gotta fix this, Subaru thought to his counterpart.

Meanwhile, Beatrice was wondering if her contractor had children with that woman, would they be as aggressive as her. Since she was now an actual participant in this race, Betty had to make sure that she could actually tolerate the future of her contractor's line!

"To see me so crushed, in such a disgraceful form!"

"No," Subaru said, as he remembered her form that was at a loss.

"What do you mean, "no"?!"

"You were not disgraceful in any way," Subaru said as he knew that her actions showed how much he meant to her.

"How am I not disgraceful!?" Priscilla yelled, gripping her Yang Sword tighter.

"Because you showed me how much you love me," Subaru replied as he grabbed hold of her left hand with his right hand.

Priscilla hearing what he just said made her blush from embarrassment, although admittedly she felt slightly happy that he acknowledged how much he meant to her.

"S-Still you made me!" Priscilla stuttered as her anger started to boil down, loosening her grip on her Yang sword.

"I know, it was my fault, I should have never let the person I love cry," Subaru replied as he pulled Priscilla towards him.

Showing emotions are not weak, Priscilla reminded herself. After entering the Theater what seemed like months ago, she still has to remind herself that this was not Vollachia, that she didn't have to put up a strong front.

Sure, she only realized it a few episodes ago, but she wanted to stick to it.

For Subaru.

"Will you give me another chance, Priscilla? This time I promise to never make you cry but instead love you and make you happy as long as we live," Subaru told her from the bottom of his heart, as he slowly put his left arm around her waist, pulling her even closer to his body.

Feeling the sincerity of his words, Priscilla was left speechless for a moment, and felt her heart race through his words.

"Hmph! You better make up for this" Priscilla replied as she pouted. Priscilla enjoyed her knight's forcefulness, she never thought that she would enjoy it to be at the receiving end.

"Of course, my love" Subaru leaned in closer to her face as he maintained his loving gaze towards her ruby eyes.

Caught in a trance with her beloved's eyes, she leaned closer to his face as well.

"I love you Subaru Natsuki."

"I love you Priscilla Barielle."

And with that, the lights came back on, and the episode ended.

The Cast had different reactions to what they saw. Some felt guilt for abandoning Subaru, while others planned to make sure such a thing never happened. But one thing that everyone could agree on was that they learned something, though what it was varied from person to person.

Everyone now had a change of perspective. They now knew how much damage Gluttony could cause, and that even Subaru of all people had a breaking point.

But most of all…

They learned that even someone like Priscilla was capable of kindness.

---

Author's Note: So, I totally forgot that November 1st was my one-year anniversary, so I'm just saying it now! Yay for me! I'll make sure to properly celebrate it next time! Also, I know that I said I'd be back on January 3rd, but that was a mistake on my part, as I miscalculated when the first Thursday would be. Sorry for that!

The original story is "The Sun Princess" by Stingrasher. The links to this story are s/13965319/1/The-Sun-Princess on , and /works/34007380/chapters/84582862 on ArhciveofOurOwn. Now, let's see what comments have been built up over the last two months!

Natsumi Midoriya: Glad you liked this chapter! Also, nice name.

713705: While, yes, one of the final chapters will be Re: Start, the themes will be closer to Flugel's guilt, and how Subaru is kinda responsible for the destruction of the world. Also, your name is the French word for "sun" when you type it into a calculator and flip it upside-down. I will be expecting my cookie from you soon.

DashingSlayer101: Well, Ram and Rem technically didn't reconcile, so wish granted. We also do tap into Ram's psyche, but since I'm not that avid of a fan, it might not be all that accurate. And trust me, the insults coming from Ram will be less and less from now on.

Goldchris1111: Ding, ding, ding! Right on the money!

FoxRiver3: Glad you addressed that! In fact, in this episode, Naoko actively addressed the issue that all of these girls are crowding over Subaru for the wrong reasons! Though, for most of the complaints you have on the second paragraph, those specific scenes were written for the pure intent of being pure comedy, since this version of the story is supposed to be more "cheerful." But thanks for taking the time to write all of that.

Giloukrai: I really don't know how to respond to any of that…

Fana4tiik: Great comment!

Leopaldon: I didn't know people still thought I created these alternate universes! Well, I mean, I did make one of them, but that one is still a few weeks away.

Wally991: While, yes, it's true that I may or may not have used the Reactoinist's template when it came to Ram, I also used some input from the comments. Not only that, but I personally believe that Ram would have both her old and new memories fighting over which ones are dominant, essentially making her into a mess of hidden emotions.

NightSoro: Correct you are about all that! Priscilla is still technically horrible, and Naoko goes ahead and hammers all of that into her thick skull during this chapter! And as for Echidna, the original author of that specific fic made her capable of love, while I tried to find a middle ground of "honorable hatred," the sort of thing you have for your personal arch-enemy. And while it is true that Roswaal did a bunch of bad things, Subaru is naturally the type that forgives easily. So, while his ending may not be as painful as many people want, it still won't be the clown's "golden ending" of getting Echidna back.

Dylanq21: Here's the funny thing about that… I've never actually read them.

SeaJust: Those are some very strong… opinions.

Whoovien57: Glad you found my take on your story lovely and super entertaining! Thanks again for giving me permission to edit it and use it for all this!

Wicked.A: Thanks for the wicked compliment! But yeah, Subaru might have gained a tad bit of confidence after learning who he was in his previous life…

Dhestrya: Yes, very nice, indeed.

Deathenglegamers1144: So I guess it's true, then. Having two Subarus fighting one another is long and complicated… kinda like "Inception." I'm not gonna be adding "Satella's Second Coming," mostly due to the fact that I want to end this series already.

Chuck B. Winanaki: See? Someone gets it! Subaru is way too nice for his own good! Also, I never really thought about the contracted duo's immortality, but yeah, it's an interesting parallel. Though, I am more interested in the whole Subaru vs Subaru angle. I mean, they both have their assets and weaknesses. Also, I'm glad you noticed the interaction with Rem and the fact that Authorities have weaknesses. Those are gonna be surprise tools that are gonna help the characters later!

cheemz: Yeah, even Subaru in this chapter wants to murder Capella.

5queso: I have actually never played this "Ghost Mode" on Mario Kart, but if it's anything like the previous chapter, then I can understand the concept. See you next time!

NovaSundaPutra: It's January! Guess who's back again?!

palik: I have actually never read "A Little Too Late" so I have no idea what exactly happened in that story. I hope this chapter was a good enough substitute!

Soul Dust13: The whole scar thing was actually Infinite's idea, if I recall correctly. But I'll make sure to keep pumping out chapters of the same quality on a regular basis!

Pryd: Meili has indeed confessed about her horrible caretaker! And, to be honest, I feel your pain whenever I check and I see no one I read has updated yet.

R-king 93: Thank you for the birthday wishes and excellent comments.

BigSmokeYeet: Glad to see that I finally earned your favor.

Jpx0999: Oh, do you, now? Well, then you'll know how heavily censored this will be!

LouisCy: Eh, this actually caused more angst than wars.

The Knightrider: Done and done!

Claudespeed123:

hlglh: Happy New Year's, heart boy!

King_maximilian_412: Ph, these fics will keep living on for two more months, at least!

IsseixAtalanta77: That one's actually next week's program. And the story idea you came up with in my comments section sounds like something you should write!

tella83220: Actually, I'm back on January 3rd, but yes, hope to see you again. There will be tons of Priscilla, gags, and all of that good stuff, so see you whenever!

ArcRayREI: Yeah, the whole Return by Death shenanigans does get complicated, and the idea that you can die of old age over and over again is something to be worried about.

Imperius: Oh, you have no idea how much the Option Two Subaru will suffer! Hahahaha!

Bob2: Actually, that one is gonna be an Option One fic.

beaamber: We already did a Sloth-based fic. Also, I'm pretty sure that you'll get something Geuse-related pretty soon, though I might have to double-check.

TSF: Of course it was the "Sun Princess" story! The idea of Re: Forgotten has been planted into the Cast, and all of the steamy scenes have been tastefully edited out! And of course everyone is gonna question everyone else's sanity, but they'll just blame it all on Gluttony! It's a Pris-based fic, and everyone wins!

StormNeko: I never heard of that fic before. I'll be sure to check it out!

(Hey guys, it's Infinite. I just want to say something that I hope Erna doesn't mind. I'm sorry I haven't gotten Warlock's Punishment's next chapter out yet, and I don't want to post an A/N Chapter to give you all false hope. The reason I haven't updated in a while is because I'm simply… well, burnt out. I'm not as interested in Re:Zero at the moment, and I want to move onto other stuff. After I help Erna with this story, I'm gonna take a break from Re:Zero. Don't worry, I won't be gone forever. I definitely intend to finish up both Re:Starting Life and Warlock's Punishment one day, but that unfortunately is not today. When my passion for Re:Zero is reignited. Ya'll can bet I'll finish where I started. Thank you all so very much for your patience, and I hope to reward you one day. Until then, cya. - Infinite)

Now that that's out of the way, a special thanks to Infinite the Celestain for helping me in making this story, and for being an all-around great guy! If you want to join my Discord server, the link is /Gq3Z3kBu. You can chat with others, post memes and fanfic recommendations and prompts, role play, and fan art, and I'll drop by with announcements and chat with you all every now and then! If you want to add me as a friend, my username is Ernalore#8663! I also post art of my own, and you can find me at my Instagram account of ernalore_aka_the_writer, so check that out as well!

Oh, I also collaborated with my friend VinHD15 over the holidays to make two My Hero Academia Christmas stories. The links to my story are s/14176531/1/The-First-Years-Christmas on , and /works/43811403 on ArchiveofOurOwn. For VinHD15's, his links are s/14176529/1/Christmas-with-the-First-Years on and /works/43773582 on ArhciveofOurOwn! If you want to read more, check out my other stories!

Thanks for reading, see you next time!

- Ernalore

---

Next time:

What if Subaru was summoned over fifty years ago?

OR

What if Subaru was summoned during the Demi-Human War?