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.

14. Chapter 14: A World Without Envy

Chapter 14: A World Without Envy

"Subaru. Rem. Can I talk to you two for a second please?" Naoko came up to the two and asked as the one-hour intermission had begun once more.

Subaru, who was currently sandwiched between Emilia and Priscilla, among a few others, said, "Sure," as he made getting out of that sandwich seem like the hardest thing to do, which, given how much grunting he was doing just to pull himself out, must have been.

Rem got up from her seat as well, and they made their way into the hallway.

"What's this about, Mom?" Subaru wondered.

"I've been wanting to talk to you two ever since that episode where you joined that Cult." Naoko said, reminding Subaru and Rem of the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony.

"Please don't remind me of that jackass, Mom," Subaru asked.

"Subaru-kun! Don't insult yourself!" Rem scolded him.

"I already talked to the other girls, but since you were talking to your sister at the time, I didn't have the chance to get a read on you. So, I wanted to do it now when I had the chance."

Rem realized that she was going to be judged by her Hero's mother.

"Let's get the big one out of the way. Subaru, why did Rem kill you in your past loops?" Naoko wanted to give Rem a chance to explain herself.

"Uhh… I thought it was pretty obvious?" Subaru said. "I mean, I reeked of the Witch's Miasma, and I was acting pretty suspicious in that loop. I even waited outside of the mansion with a knife! I mean, sure, it was all circumstantial evidence, but it was pretty damning!"

"So, Rem, you can… sense this miasma?" Naoko asked.

"Yes, Natsuki-sama. Rem can detect the Witch Miasma coming off of Subaru. At some points, it would suddenly increase, which Rem now thinks was Subaru… coming back."

"Okay," the Natsuki matriarch said, thinking a bit. "Does this miasma… increase your aggression, or drive you insane to want to attack someone?"

"No, Natsuki-sama," Rem admitted. "It's just something that comes off of Witch Cultists."

"But, from what I heard, it can do that in large doses." Subaru pitched in. "Which, given what that evil Sage version of me did to that one regular version of me, we can pretty much confirm."

"That aside, other than his miasma and actions, you had no other reasons for trying to kill Subaru?" Naoko asked, trying to get to the bottom of the situation.

"I had one… stemmed from my personal hatred for Witch Cultists," Rem confessed.

Naoko raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"Rem and Ram belonged to the oni clan. In short, my sister and I are demons. Demons are normally born with two horns, but since we were twins, we each only had one horn. This was considered a crime of sorts, and we were supposed to be executed immediately."

Nothing could have prepared the mother of Subaru Natsuki for that fact. "They were going to kill you… right after you had been born…?"

"Yes, but my sister held great potential, and we were spared from death. Even at a young age, Ram was a prodigy when it came to magic, and I was struggling to merely cut a log right. Everyone assumed I had the same latent potential my sister did, and that was the only reason I was spared. Everyone in the village looked at Ram like a savior, and I wasn't even given a second glance. Even Mother and Father clearly favored Ram. The one time I thought they were worried about me, they said it was so my sister wouldn't have to worry."

Parental neglect and favoritism. That explains why she's so attached to Subaru, who won't hesitate to praise her... Naoko thought, allowing Rem to continue.

"Despite all the praise she received from the village, Ram never stopped caring about Rem. She always loved me, and didn't care what anyone else thought. I thought everything would be okay, that as long as I had Ram, I could make it… and then they came…"

Rem, who was on verge of tears, clench her fists at the memory.

"The Witch Cult. They attacked our village, and burnt it to the ground. Everyone else died, or possibly fled. It was just Rem and Ram left. I was about to be killed, and Ram saved me. Then, right when we were about to flee… a cultist came out of nowhere and cut Ram's horn off."

Neither Subaru nor Naoko spoke as the oni continued.

"The thing that made my sister special… and my weakness took it away from her –"

BONK!

"Ow! Subaru-kun!" Rem yelped, rubbing her head.

"Sorry, I had to do that. What you were saying was really dumb."

"Huh?!"

"Why the hell are you blaming yourself over Pandora's goons?! You were literally, what, a six-year-old kid?! No one was expecting you to defend yourself! That's literally what adults are for! And before you mention Ram, she just happened to be an extra-talented kid, that's it! There was no way she was gonna win against a whole bunch of grown-ass adults, no matter how powerful she was, or how much Stormtrooper aim they had!"

"Subaru-kun…"

"Rem, take it from someone who was told he had a bunch of talent when he was growing up: People looking up to someone with a bunch of power are stupid, especially when said powerful person is a kid! One, it makes the masses reliant on that one person, and two, it makes the subject of that praise feel pressure to live up to those standards! It's a two-way street, and one where both parties lose if they don't start being both proactive and honest with themselves!"

"Subaru-kun…" Rem always knew her hero had a way with words.

"Mom." Subaru gained his mother's attention. "I know how you might feel about Rem, but I can tell you right now that she will never try to harm me again. I already forgave her for what she did, and considering I was a miasma-reeking stranger in her home acting very suspicious, I say she had every right to be paranoid."

"... Subaru, you're one hundred percent sure about this?" Naoko wanted to make sure her son was sure.

"Mom, she gave her life to save mine." Naoko and Rem were surprised. "I was caught by the cult, and Rem fought her way through the cult to save me. Even when she was beaten and broken, she used the last of her strength to set me free. I trust Rem with my life."

Naoko closed her eyes, and smiled. "Good, that's what I wanted to hear."

"Eh?"

"Rem, I'll be willing to forgive you for your past actions. However, I want you to promise me that you'll continue to do everything in your power to protect Subaru, but please don't sacrifice yourself. We need Subaru using that ability as little as possible."

"Rem understands, Natsuki-sama!"

"Please, call me Naoko!"

Behind one of the corners of the hallway, a pink-haired maid felt a small smile grow on her face. The oni then turned and made her way back to the Theater.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Rem, would you mind heading back to the Theater, please? I need to talk to my mom about something."

"Of course, Subaru-kun." Rem then turned to the Natsuki matriarch and gave a smile that could warm the darkest of hearts. "Naoko-sama, Rem thanks you very much for your forgiveness with all my heart."

Naoko took a few seconds to process what she saw and heard. Damn, now I can't decide between her and Emilia.

"Of course, Rem." Rem then turned to make her way back to the Theater.

"So, what is it, Subaru?" Naoko asked her son.

"It's… umm… it's something Priscilla told me that I've been trying to think about…"

"What is it?"

"Well, when I mentioned my complicated love life with her, Emilia, Rem, and Satella, and maybe even Crusch, and she said… uh… that I could marry all of them…?"

Of all the things Naoko was expecting to hear, this was not one of them. But, she took it in stride. "Oh, my!" she smiled, clapping her hands. "So many grandbabies!"

Now I don't have to decide! Naoko thought to herself.

"Mom!" Subaru's face was getting redder by the second.

"Oh, but does that mean polygamy is okay in their world?"

"Yeah, she said it was quite common among the higher class, as long as all parties are in agreement. So, yeah, theoretically, I could get… a… you know…"

"An isekai harem?"

"Yeah. That."

"Well, I suggest you take the opportunity. You have all these girls who want you and are willing to marry you, and if they don't have a problem with it, then you should go for it!"

"Huh. You're really okay with this?"

"It's your life, live it however you see fit!"

Subaru softly smiled. "Thanks, Mom."

"Besides, if one of those girls you're marrying wins that election thing, then that technically makes you King. And I always wondered what it would be like to be royalty!"

Subaru's brain came to a full halt at that prospect.

---

"Reinhard."

The red-headed swordsman looked up to see his grandfather over him.

He had just finished talking to Felt-sama, telling her that even after everything that had happened in this Theater, and even after the realities they had seen, he would still be loyal to her. Afterwards, she left, feeling better, and leaving Reinhard with…

… a very sad-looking Wilhelm.

How odd.

"Yes, what is it you wish to speak of, Grandfather?"

Wilhelm readied himself for it. "I wanted… to… apologize."

"Oh. For what?"

A part of the Sword Demon shattered at hearing that. This poor boy, who both he and his father had beaten to the ground, couldn't comprehend that he deserved an apology for the obviously horrible treatment that he experienced, almost as if he thought he deserved it.

"For… for everything," the old man said. "I blamed you for the death of your grandmother, when we now both know it was that wretch, Pandora. I didn't intervene as Heinkel hurt you, and I was so obsessed with revenge that I wasn't your Grandfather, but merely a stranger to you."

"..."

"And for all of that… I apologize. Please, forgive me, my grandson!"

As Wilhelm got onto the floor and did a dogeza, Reinhard merely stared at him. The old man was unsure if the Sword Saint was debating whether to either accept or reject the apology.

Then, Reinhard said, "Okay…? So what?"

"So what?!" Wilhelm repeated. "Reinhard, I –"

"I know you apologized, I heard you," the redhead said. "However, the fact remains that Grandmother will never come back, and Father is still an awful human being, the Royal Family is gone, or the fact that the Council of Elders sees me as some sort of controllable puppet."

"I know. I can't change the past, no matter how much I wish I could."

"So, what will you do?"

Wilhelm looked at his grandson in confusion. "Huh?"

"What will you do, Grandfather? Felt still plans to win the Royal Selection, Subaru plans to destroy the Witch Cult and Pandora, and free Satella from her prison, and the rest of the Candidates also plan to support Subaru, as am I. So, I ask you again: What will you do?"

"I…" the Sword Demon thought of what he could do. All his life, all he knew was to kill. He was a soldier in the Demi-Human War, he fought against Stride Vollachia, and he spent nearly a decade hunting down the White Whale. Being a sword was all he knew how to do.

And with that, Wilhelm found his answer.

"I shall be Subaru-dono's blade," he answered. "I shall assist Crusch-sama in helping Subaru-dono. I shall help eliminate the Cult... and I shall be a better grandfather to you."

"Very well," Reinhard answered. "Do just that."

---

Otto Suwen was currently having the best day of his life.

Sure, it could have started out better. Finding out that your best friend has died multiple times and is basically the nemesis of the leader of the Witch Cult all because you and everyone else was forcefully dragged to a pocket dimension to watch a bunch of alternate timelines was probably one of the worst ways this could have happened, but that was all in the past.

Because right now, all of that had resulted in the most beautiful woman he ever knew confessing her love to him, and the two of them making out. Right now.

"Mmm… Otto…"

"Ahh… Frederica…"

To Otto, Frederica's kisses were the hottest thing he ever felt, they were warm, delectable, and how the two of them wrestled one another for dominance was the stuff dreams were made of. Better yet, the feeling of her heartbeat next to his was making me feel bliss.

And this was all just from kissing!

Could this day get any better?! he asked himself.

"Yo, Sis, Brotto, the next options showed up –"

Otto Suwen had regretted several decisions almost right away.

The first one being that he and Frederica ended up kissing in the middle of the infinite hallway. They figured that if they took it to one of the guest bedrooms, they would never get out. The second mistake Otto had made was never asking anyone to keep an eye out on Garfiel, as to make sure that he didn't come looking for them.

The third mistake was where his right hand currently was, which happened to be firmly grasping the left side of Frederica's bosom... Which she motioned him to do earlier on.

Unfortunately, Garfiel knew absolutely nothing about the context when he walked into the hallway looking for the two of them. Nothing about Frederica's confession, the new couple's recent activities, or how Frederica was the one who initiated said bosom-grabbing.

So, from Garfiel's perspective, he ended up walking in on his best friend tongue-wrestling his older sister, all while using one of his hands to cop a feel.

"..." Garfiel was trying to process what he was seeing.

"..." Otto's heart was frozen in fear of what his best friend would do.

"..." Frederica would have said something, but she was too in shock at the fact that her little brother caught her in an intimate moment.

Then, Garfiel spoke first.

"Brotto, ya got five seconds ta get off 'er an' explain yerself, before I kill ya."

"Wait Garfiel it's not what you think! Me and Frederica had mutual feelings and we let ourselves go in the heat of the moment and we didn't think anyone would coming looking for us, or we just didn't think that far ahead and –"

Neither Garfiel or Frederica spoke as Otto continued to ramble at high speeds. So, Garfiel turned to his sister, hoping for a better response.

"Sis, wha' th' fuc' iz goin' on?"

Frederica, still in shock, simply blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "Garf, I love Otto, he's going to be your brother-in-law, and the father of your nephews and nieces."

Garfield simply looked at them slack-jawed, and then turned around.

"Garf…?"

"Nope, nope, not dealin' wit' dis. Later!"

Otto and Frederica merely looked at each other, before quickly following behind Garfiel, and back to the Theater. Upon entering, they saw that everyone else was already there.

"Hey, you two!" Al called out to them. "Where ya been?"

In unison, both Frederica and Otto said, ""Shut up, Al.""

"Okay, wow. Rude."

"Well, Subaru, what do you think of these options?" Julius asked.

"Hmm…"

What if Pandora left everyone alone?

OR

What if Pandora and Subaru had a tea party?

"Well, I personally think they're both shit," Subaru said, "Although, the first one does sound nice, I don't think Pandora would ever do such a thing."

"I agree," Crusch said. "Pandora giving up, just… because?"

"Maybe this is a timeline where she was never born?" Julius suggested, "Perhaps her parents never met and gave birth to her."

"I always imagined she came from HFIL," Emilia said.

"HFIL?" Felt asked.

"'She's referring to Hell, but I refuse to allow Emilia-tan to swear," Subaru said. "So, I basically gave her the acronym, Home For Infinite Losers. It's an anime reference."

"Anime?"

"I'll explain that later."

"Huh, I always figured Pandora just crawled out of some mud-hole, or was the manifestation of all human hatred, evil, and suffering given physical form," Al gave his two cents.

"I would believe it," Emilia gave her thoughts.

"Maybe she's an orphan who thought everyone should suffer as much as her?" Petra suggested. "Like, maybe she wants everyone to feel as miserable as her?"

"Nah, that sounds more like Hector's origin story," Meili said.

"Regardless of her origin story," Crusch said. "I say we check out the conditions. Al?"

"Sure thing," the helmeted knight responded, grabbing the remote.

Conditions: ?

Conditions: ?

"Yo, Warden, what gives?!" Subaru called out to their host.

No response.

"Asshole…"

"Well, now what?" Ricardo asked no one.

Al huffed. "Well, both options sound equally stupid, so… coin flip?"

"We should do the one without Pandora." Emilia said, not wanting to lay eyes on the Witch again, unless that monster was permanently dead.

"I agree," Crusch said. "Subaru having a tea party with her is just asking for a bad time…"

"Heh-heh, Sans," Kenichi chuckled.

"Alright, everyone in agreement for the one without Pandora?" Anastasia asked.

It was a unanimous vote.

"I love democracy," the purple-haired merchant whispered. "Play it, tin-man!"

"Yeah, yeah, we don't need you pulling a Darth Sidious…" Al groaned, grabbing the remote.

Everyone immediately got to their seats. Otto and Frederica sat next to each other, with Petra and Meili on their laps, and Garfiel behind them. Kenichi and Naoko sat in the back, along with Roswaal and Ram. With the exception of Anastasia, her Camp sat next to Wilhelm and Felix, who were also right next to Reinhard and Felt. Beatrice sat on Subaru's lap…

…while Subaru himself was surrounded by Emilia, Rem, Crusch, Priscilla, and Anastasia.

"Lucky bastard," Garfiel grumbled.

"Alright," Subaru said, calming himself. "Let's do this."

What if Pandora left everyone alone?

Conditions: ?

Everyone unknowingly sat down for the last time, the lights dimmed, and they saw…

Deep within a forest, far from society, but not far enough to make getting supplies such as food and water difficult, there lies a single house. That house was home to a very interesting couple; A beautiful half-elf woman and a well known and highly regarded black-haired man.

Upon hearing that, everyone's ears perked up.

"Oh, so is this a story between Subaru-sama and Emilia-sama?" Frederica asked.

"Oh, how romantic!" Naoko cooed.

Meanwhile, several other women grumbled in disappointment.

The couple lived in the small house they had built with one another, purposefully in a secluded part of the forest so they could be alone. They spent their days together, without the interruptions from the outside world, and without the noise of the city, truly a perfect, albeit humble, home.

It most certainly was a home by all definitions, and not a house, the only place they had ever felt calm and at peace, aside from in the loving embrace of the other of course.

The man, a powerful and influential person, known around the country, and perhaps even the world, for his plethora of outstanding achievements, as well as his alleged immunity to mysterious powers of the Witches of Sin, never understood the difference between a house and a home, at least, not until he came to this world filled with many horrific sights.

Everyone looked towards said man.

"Okay, okay, I know it's me," Subaru said. "Sheesh."

"Considering our new knowledge of your opinion towards yourself, we're not taking any chances anymore," Crusch said, touching his hand. "You are an amazing person. Never forget that."

Subaru blushed, as she said, "Fair enough."

Those sights were worth it however, for had he not ended up in this world, he would never have met, and saved, the beautiful half-elf that lay peacefully in his arms, smiling contently with her eyes closed.

They would have lived in the Pleiades Watchtower, his most proud creation, but that was no home.

He could have bought the most impressive mansion in all of Lugnica, but it wouldn't have been a home.

He could have moved to one of the other countries and bought a mansion there, but those countries weren't a place he could ever have a home in.

He could have ruled one of those countries if he really wanted to, but once again that wouldn't be home.

So, he made a place that would be home, with his wife.

"Huh, I kinda forgot Natsuki-kun could be a King," Anastasia said.

Upon hearing reference of the Pleiades Watchtower, Subaru began to –

"HOLY SHIT!" Garfiel yelled, interrupting Subaru.

"What is it, Garf?" Subaru asked, a bit frustrated his train of thought was…

HOLY SHIT!

The duo of husband and wife currently lay in their bed, hugging comfortably as they did most nights, completely unashamed of their naked forms, and both smiling, happy to be together after the things they had gone through together.

Emilia's face became a shade of deep red.

Subaru's face was not much brighter.

"I can't see anything, it's all shadows…" Al complained.

Al then wished he kept his mouth shut, as he was on the receiving end at Subaru's death glare.

"I must say, I'm grateful for this censorship…" Otto said.

AAAAAHHHHH! I'M BASICALLY NAKED IN FRONT OF SO MANY PEOPLE! INCLUDING SUBARU! Emilia screamed in her head in embarrassment, with the only saving grace being the darkness preventing the Cast from seeing anything.

Their peace was short lived however, as an all too familiar noise tore away their blissful atmosphere.

A baby crying, their baby daughter: Adhara, not even a year old, but yet it felt like she had been with them from the moment they met.

Upon hearing that cry, everyone stopped making censorship jokes.

Subaru, like so many others, was silenced by the sheer shock he was experiencing.

I… I have a kid…?

In none of the universes they had seen, had Subaru ever had a child. In a relationship, sure. Maybe some form of Meili adoption? No doubt. Marriage? Once or twice. But a child of his own flesh and blood…

… that was a completely new experience for him.

The man, known as the Great Sage: Flugel, by the world, let out a slight groan at having the peace be broken by his daughter's cries, most likely spurred on by hunger or discomfort.

He stuffed his face into his wife's beautiful silver hair, her response was to snuggle further into his chest.

"Ignore her, my beloved. She will go back to sleep soon," her soft, bell-like voice spoke out, a perfect pitch to his ears that never failed to put a wide smile on his face.

"If she doesn't, I'll get up with you," he offered, his voice betraying him by letting his tiredness show.

Wait… "My Beloved"? The only one who calls me that is –

Subaru couldn't finish his thoughts as he was cut off again by...

"Barusu reproducing? I never thought I'd see the day," Ram commented on the fact Subaru had a child. A small part of her also was annoyed that he didn't pick Rem.

Dammit, Nee-sama! I was thinking… Wait, what was I thinking about again?

His wife backed away from his chest, taking his head out of her hair in the process, and gave him a stern look. Her beautiful amethyst eyes bore into him before softening slightly.

"You need sleep, my love," she reprimanded lightly as she lifted a hand to stroke his cheek, he subconsciously moved further into her touch with a smile, never taking his eyes from hers.

"You and Adhara are more important than sleep," he said, his voice fond, as he spoke the name of his daughter. He still remembered seeing her for the first time, he was sure he would never forget that moment.

"Subaru, your health is important," her voice held a certain sternness as she spoke a name that no passer-by would recognise, but it was a name that she adored, as she was the only one who could say it with such affection, and one of a very small number that knew of its existence and importance, indeed, the Great Sage Flugel did not exist, for his name wasn't ever Flugel, but rather Subaru Natsuki.

"The Great Sage, Flugel?" Julius repeated.

"I guess Subaru's past life was discovered?" Reinhard suggested.

"No, you morons!" Felt hissed. "It's about –"

"I take perfectly good care of myself." He countered, albeit unconvincingly, earning a small pout from his wife.

"I'd still like it if you didn't leave for days on end to do Sage work." She looked away, her face taking on a more serious look as she stared longingly at the ceiling.

Subaru, noticing his wife's discomfort, wrapped an arm around her tightly, protectively. She was unable to stay angry with him whenever he did that, and he was well aware of it.

"We've talked about this, Satella." He whispered gently, Adhara's cries continuing in the background.

Satella relaxedly moved further into his embrace as if on reflex, her eyes downcast.

"I wish it could just be us, without the Witches, and without you having to leave so often to save a village or attend some stupid meeting." Her voice held a frustration he had come to associate with this particular topic. He simply stroked her back lovingly as he let her release her emotions.

Everyone was silenced once again.

Subaru finally realized that he didn't marry Emilia in this timeline. He married Satella.

Yeah… That makes more sense. Subaru thought, considering Satella was already head over heels for him.

"""SATELLA?!""" various members of the Cast screamed in shock.

"Oh, thank the Od, that wasn't my naked body," Emilia whispered in relief, until she realized something else. Wait a minute! Satella had a child with MY knight!

"He did it," Ricardo whispered. "Tha' crazy Bro actually did it!"

Her voice had trailed off, as she had calmed to a point. She knew it wasn't his fault that he had to leave for important business, she just wished to be left alone with her husband.

"I'm working on that, Satella-tan." The honorific attached to her name brought her great comfort and joy, as it had for many years, as she slowed her breathing to a regular pace.

The two remained there, naked and cuddling one another, as Satella calmed down from her frustrated outburst.

Subaru cupped his wife's pale cheeks with both hands and looked her in the eye with a smile.

"You know I love you more than anything." He whispered, his voice drowning in love and adoration for the woman held between his palms, a woman he would move heaven and earth to see her happy, as he had done before.

"THAT HONORIFIC IS MINE!" Emilia yelled.

Did I give it to Satella first? Subaru thought.

Before she could respond however, her lips were sealed in a moment that never lost its importance no matter how many times they did it. He kissed her soft, and with a level of care she had become used to, and yet with a level of ferocity that she absolutely adored feeling in the heat of passion.

Her hands naturally made their way up his body and into his black hair, pushing him further into her as she pressed her naked form onto his.

Roswaal coughed into his hand, as he shifted his legs.

"I was not expecting a lesson on how humans and elves mated…" Beatrice mumbled.

Hearing what his Spirit said, Subaru was thrown into a coughing fit.

Subaru's hands remained glued to Satella's cheeks as he kissed her with a mixture of love and lust, urgent and yet wanting to savor the moment. Satella melted into the kiss, giving small moans into his mouth as he kissed her.

In a moment of assertiveness, she slowly pushed him into the bed and climbed on top of him, only ever leaving his mouth for air before quickly returning to his lips.

The kiss switched from Subaru's control to Satella's as she lay above him, allowing him free reign to explore her beautiful body.

He was well acquainted with her body, he had explored it many times, perhaps over a hundred times, and yet he still couldn't get past how stunning she was.

As she moved to further the heated moment, she saw an apologetic smile on her husband's face, worried she stopped all of her advances and gave him a questioning look.

He responded to her look with a small nod to their bedroom door, silently telling her that they needed to tend to their daughter before any sexual activities take place.

At this point, Subaru was already as red as a tomato.

And many of the women were not happy at all.

Her face dropped as she gave an annoyed huff, being a mother was so hard sometimes, but she wouldn't trade it for the world.

She stopped her advances as she lowered herself to rest her head on his chest, staring at the door with a lazy look while listening to her husband's decreasing heart rate.

"Are you sure we can't keep going?" She mumbled, already knowing the answer she would get, for she had relieved this situation many times.

"Duty calls." Subaru said simply, a small grin on his face, "We can continue later." He recommended with a wink, Satella pouted in response.

"Horny?" Priscilla asked.

"Horny," Crusch nodded.

"Definitely horny," Anastasia laughed.

"All in favor of Satella having her title changed from Witch of Envy to Witch of Lust?" Al jokingly suggested, getting some laughter from the audience.

"Carmilla's gonna have some issues with that…" Subaru groaned.

"But we have a meeting with the Witches." She said spitefully. Satella didn't get along with the Witches of Sin, not most of them at least, but her relationship with Echidna; the Witch of Greed was especially poor. The animosity between the two was largely a result of Echidna's seemingly baseless hatred of Subaru.

Satella was very protective of her husband, even if he was widely considered to be one of the strongest men in the world, she would not let him be insulted and treated poorly by anyone, especially the Witch of Greed.

Her overwhelming and egotistical personality was aggravating, and the way she treated Subaru, a man who had helped not only herself, but the Witch of Greed as well, was stepping over a line Satella had drawn long ago.

"Why would Echidna treat Subaru poorly?" Petra asked.

"Maybe she's jealous?" Al suggested, "I mean, we know she has a thing for Bro, and she might be pissed he shacked up with Satella."

She would not let anyone disrespect her husband, not because she was unaware of or didn't accept his faults, but because the disrespect is entirely undeserved.

Even with his faults, her husband was an incredible man who deserved the world, and she would not stand for the insults thrown at him unjustly.

She was a true believer of fair criticism, but it seemed that those around her, and especially around him, either adored him to a point of ignoring his faults, or hated him to a point of blowing them out of proportion, and that made her livid.

"Yeah, why can't we have a little bit of both?" Subaru asked no one.

"After the meeting we can do whatever you'd like, promise." His soothing voice snapped her back to reality, a reality she adored more than anything.

She gave a small smile to her naked husband, before giving him a shy look that she knew he loved.

"You mean it?" She asked playfully, pretending to be as shy as she was when they first met, he gave a cheeky smile and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"Of course, my beloved." Satisfied by his promise she got off of him, and slowly crawled out of the bed, before looking back at him, silently asking if he was coming or not.

Subaru soon followed and got out of the bed, still naked.

Dear Lord, thank you for this nighttime scene, where I can't see shit… Subaru thanked whatever higher power out there, because if he could see, he'd probably die of embarrassment.

"If you want to see more, all you have to do is ask." Subaru heard the sentence in his head, realizing where it came from.

Eh… maybe later… Subaru could almost hear the voice's disappointment.

Satella made no attempt to hide the fact that she was checking him out, as her eyes moved from his mean but caring eyes, all the way down to his toes, every inch of him was perfect to her.

She gave a flirtatious smirk and made her way to him, swaying her hips back and forth before stopping just before him.

"You're so hot." She whispered seductively. His face burned a bright red as he looked away with a grin, Satella poked at his chest, happy with his response she wrapped an arm around his neck "Carry me?" She asked, leaving little room for objection as she jumped up, ready to be caught by her beloved husband.

"That right there," Frederica whispered to Otto. "Relationship goals."

The ashen-haired merchant merely replied with a massive blush.

Subaru, having expected this to happen, caught her effortlessly, once again stealing a kiss as she blushed profusely at their position.

Tales from the Multiverse

Final Episode:

A World Without Envy

"Wait, that's it?" Meili asked.

"Yeah, where's the flashy intro?!" Mimi asked.

"The final episode?" Felix asked, reading the title card.

"I see, they're going out with quiet dignity," Wilhelm said.

Subaru made his way out of the room, with Satella firmly held in his arms, a position she loved to be in.

As the duo approached Adhara's room they heard her cries get quieter and quieter, evidently, she had heard them coming; Satella smiled brightly knowing that her daughter was so perceptive.

"Oh, I kinda forgot there was a crying child," Felt said.

"I guess we all just tuned it out," Priscilla replied.

Just outside of their daughter's room Subaru let Satella down, she gave him a bright smile that he returned "Thank you, my love." And with that the duo entered the room of the now quietly crying baby girl.

Satella skillfully made a very dim light, using Yin magic to create a crystal that reflected the moon's gentle light.

To impress her husband, she shined the light on herself for a mere second, she was happy to notice his sparkling eyes and open jaw.

Subaru could only stare in awe at his wife's visage, never had he thought he would meet a girl so beautiful, let alone marry her.

"And now ya have an entire buffet ta choose from," Anastasia teased.

Subaru would have been more embarrassed, but he was thinking about something.

Would… Satella be open to that…? I don't know. Like I said before, my love life is a mess.

The moonlight accentuated her every feature wonderfully, each curve being clear for Subaru to see, but what he loved most was how her eyes reflected the moonlight, her beautiful lavender eyes shining as a result of the beautiful light that illuminates her, reflecting the soft moonlight to make a scene that never failed to leave him breathless.

As she moved the light away from her and to their daughter, she smiled smugly to herself, clearly proud of the breathless state she had left Subaru in.

Normally Subaru would be angry to not see more of that absolutely perfect image, but something even more incredible was currently before him; the proof of the love he shared with the most incredible woman he would ever meet.

Subaru could only ask one question: How the hell in any universe did he manage to win over an angel like her?

He couldn't even imagine a more wonderful life partner, and he certainly couldn't imagine a better daughter.

There she lies, with a cheeky smile spread across her tear-stricken face, her amethyst eyes shining brilliantly under the moonlight, similarly to her mothers, although the shape of her eyes matched her fathers, her beautiful eye color gave them a loving look that both parents adored. Her adorable baby cheeks making her smiles seem even brighter than they were, and her long black hair that almost made it to her small shoulders, the same color as her fathers, but as beautiful as her mothers. Past her hair lies the proof of her race, her pointed ears showing her elven blood.

Subaru looked upon his daughter. She… she was beautiful. His own flesh and blood. She was right there, in front of him. He wanted so badly to hold her in his arms, to rock her to sleep, to do anything a father would do for his daughter.

"She's sooooo cute!" Emilia whispered under her breath. She couldn't even care that this was Satella's daughter, and not her's.

"Naoko, are you seeing this?" Kenichi asked his wife.

"Kenichi… our granddaughter… she's so precious…" Naoko cried tears of joy.

"Aww…" Al cooed, gaining the attention of Ricardo. "What?"

"I dunno, I figured ya'd say, "Kill it wit' fire," or somethin'," the demi-human answered.

"What, she's cute. I'm not made of stone," the helmeted knight answered.

Indeed, she was their daughter, it would be impossible to mistake her as anyone else but the child of the Great Sage and his wife.

Or as both mother and father greatly preferred; Adhara Natuski, daughter of Subaru Natsuki and his wife, Satella Natsuki.

"Adhara…" Emilia repeated the name, etching it to her memory.

"What does that name mean, Subaru-kun?" Rem asked.

"It's the name of a binary star system called Epsilon Canis Major," Subaru answered.

"Always wit' star-related names…" Garfiel chuckled.

"It's a beautiful name," Crusch smiled. "For a beautiful child."

The small child's arms reached up towards her mother, a wide smile still present as she tried to communicate her desire to be picked up and cuddled as best she can.

Satella was all too happy to pick her daughter up. Passing Subaru the Minya crystal for light, she slowly made her way to the cot and reached for her daughter, taking her in her slender arms and bringing her to her bare chest, the pillowy surface brining great joy to the infant as she nuzzled into her mothers ample bosom, making happy noises at the skin to skin contact.

Satella turned to look at her husband over her shoulders, his eyes were softer than they had ever been, even softer than they were when he confessed his love for her. Softer than when he looked at her in shock after their first kiss. Softer then when he gazed lovingly at her naked form for the first time. Softer than when he took her as his own. Softer than the look he had after their first time making love. Softer than when he proposed. And somehow softer than when he spoke those wonderful words on the day of their marriage.

She couldn't help but smile brightly seeing the look on his face.

Subaru loved her, he would always love her, and he would always think of her as the most beautiful and captivating woman in the world, but he could never even comprehend the scene before him. It would truly be an insult to call it perfect, as it was so much better than his perception of perfect.

His wife, the mother to his child, stood there, looking back at him with the loving smile of a housewife as she held his child in her arms, holding her close to her own naked body as the moon reflects from her wonderful eyes.

"This is just… too… sweet…" Petra couldn't control herself.

"I agree, I never thought I'd see Natsuki-san look so… happy," Otto said.

The people around the ashen-haired merchant momentarily remembered why Subaru never had such a smile, such a genuine smile, one that wasn't forced.

"From now on, we'll give him a reason to smile," Meili said, with resolve.

Everyone around the little girl nodded.

Just before Subaru could think nothing could be better than this, his daughter lifted her head from her mother's breasts and gave him a bright smile, her eyes reflecting the moonlight just as beautifully as her mothers. Her hand reached out to him and before he knew it his world was complete as she spoke the first real word of her entire life.

"Daaa." She cooed, and Subaru couldn't keep the look of shock off his face as he stared in complete disbelief over what he had heard, Satella too looked surprised before her eyes softened as she gave her daughter to her now crying husband.

The Subaru in the Theater, much like his counterpart, was also now crying.

These were not tears of sorrow, like he was so used to.

These were tears of joy.

Adhara gladly went to her father with a smile of joy as she cuddled into his more muscular chest, loving the feeling of safety it brought.

Satella smiled seeing the sight as Subaru gave her a tear-stricken smile, Subaru wrapped an arm around her and brought her into his side where she wrapped both her arms around her family. Subaru buried his face in her soft silver hair.

"I love you," he muttered gratefully to the love of his life, tightening his grip on her to truly get the message across.

Satella could only smile into his side, a smile that he no doubt felt, "And I love you back, my beloved," she said softly, and yet with all the conviction of her loud confession of love years ago, a confession that they would never forget.

Emilia and Rem wondered what their confession was like.

For Emilia, it was after Subaru had saved her once more, after the incident with the White Whale and Sloth. Meanwhile, Rem was the one who confessed her love to Subaru after he begged her to run away with him. Not the most ideal circumstances, to be honest.

Subaru himself wondered what he could have done to impress someone like Satella, to make her fall in love with him. Maybe it was a fancy dinner? Or something with fireworks?

Nah, she doesn't seem to be one who likes anything fancy…

It didn't take long for the quarter-elf to fall asleep in her father's arms, in fact it took longer for the lovers to realize she was asleep than it took her to actually fall asleep.

"She's so cute when she's asleep." Satella cooed as she looked over her daughter with a look of pure motherly love.

Subaru could only hum in agreement, his own eyelids feeling heavy as he looked down at his daughter with a small smile.

Satella placed a gentle hand on his arm and looked up at him worriedly, "Go back to bed, my love, I can handle her for now." Subaru could only nod as he handed his daughter to the half-elf, who took her with great care, as if she would break at the slightest touch.

He left the room with no doubt that she would take perfect care of their daughter.

Once Subaru made it into their bedroom, he instantly flopped lazily onto the bed. No matter how much he wished to wait for his wife's return to his embrace, he simply couldn't stay awake long enough.

Satella looked back at the door to her daughter's room with a fond smile before putting her daughter to bed.

She walked to the cot once more, savoring every step she took with her daughter.

Before she lowered the baby into her bed, she gently kissed her small forehead, turning to the door once again with a mischievous grin.

Returning her gaze to her sleeping daughter she whispered something, so softly that no one but her would hear.

"How about mummy and daddy get you some brothers and sisters soon?" She said with a wide grin and rosy cheeks as the memory of Subaru's earlier promise made its way into her mind again.

"Daaaamn," Felt smiled. That woman had priorities.

"Wait… would this girl be my niece or my sister?" Meili wondered.

She gently lowered her daughter back into bed and wished her a goodnight before returning to her own room, only to find a sleeping Subaru.

She gave a slight smile seeing her beloved sleeping so peacefully, positioned in the perfect position for her to snuggle with him.

And snuggle she did, as she crawled in beside him, covering herself with the blanket, taking a sneaky peek at his body under the covers, and then latching herself onto him in a tight embrace.

"I love you, Subaru, and I love our children, even the ones we are yet to have." She muttered just before she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

Subaru felt like he was about to have a heart attack.

Emilia was wondering whether or not she could kill the oh-so immortal Witch of Envy.

Actually, Subaru may be upset at that, she perished the thought. But I have to figure out a way to make it clear to her, and to all of them, that I'm the head wife!

A tight embrace, something both husband and wife greatly enjoyed, and something they experienced often. Their relationship was one of a kind, the type of relationship those around them would envy. Which was quite ironic given the husband's Authority.

Neither of them cared for the opinions of others when it came to their relationship. They were happy, and they weren't hurting anyone, so nobody has the right to say anything about it.

Subaru had often gotten angry, rightfully so, when random people had thrown verbal abuse at him and his wife. The abuse was done with no good reason, and had come as an insult to his wife, and nobody insulted his wife and got away with it.

They had been condemned for being a mixed-race couple. She had been abused and assaulted because she 'tainted the Great Sage with her half-elf blood.'

Upon hearing that, the mood in the Theater soured.

It appeared that even in a universe where the Great Calamity never happened, racism against demi-humans, and especially those of mixed blood was still a thing.

Subaru, in particular, looked ready to break something.

Subaru despised those who threw insults at his wife, especially for something as stupid as her race.

Subaru was also safe from the horrors Satella had experienced as his wife, for he was the Great Sage. He had saved millions of lives and killed countless threats, nobody could hate him knowing that.

Had Satella not held him back, he would have gladly hurt those who unrightfully spoke ill of his wife. In fact, without her intervention Subaru wouldn't be known as 'Flugel the Great Sage', but rather he would be known as 'Flugel, the Ruthless Sage'.

"Oh, shit, SHE was holdin' HIM back?!" Garfiel whispered in shock.

"It's no secret at this point that we shouldn't anger Bro," Tivey reminded him.

That title would indeed be justified. Insults to his wife were the one thing he would not tolerate, and he would gladly make that very, very clear.

"Yeah, the Warlock of Envy made that VERY clear," Priscilla said.

This must've been the kind of life he wanted… Subaru once again thought of his Warlock counterpart. It was a life he never had the chance to live with his Satella, and the wretched Witch of Vainglory took that from him.

Fortunately, his wife was a loving, forgiving, and kind person who could brush off insults thrown at her effortlessly. In fact, Satella was relatively a level-headed, if a bit ditsy person, who could move on from the verbal abuse thrown at her.

Satella simply didn't care for the opinions of those she didn't know, as long as Subaru loved her, she was happy.

But insults towards him were a different story entirely. One does not simply insult her husband and escape unscathed, as she would fly off the handle and harshly tell the offender off.

"No, wait, they're both badasses," Garfiel corrected himself.

"Given what they're both capable of, you're right," Tivey agreed.

All of this made the fact that they lived alone all the better. They were hidden from the cruel world and lived within their own bubble of happiness, and they couldn't be happier.

Satella, who had woken up some time ago after hearing her daughter's light whines that eventually faded, lay there, next to her husband, naked, and with a wide grin on her face.

They were still quite young people, but they were well accomplished for those young lives. They were married, had a child, and a stable income, as well as a sure future. A future that held more children was all that she could wish for.

She never thought heavily about how many children she wanted, it never seemed important to her really. She just wished to live peacefully with her husband and let whatever happens, happen.

She wouldn't lie and say that pregnancy was easy, but she definitely enjoyed it.

Subaru had been extra affectionate and caring. He was home more often, constantly checking on her, giving her a massage and tending to her every need. He would cook her dinner, as well as breakfast in bed. He would rub her stomach with such affection that she swore she had fallen in love with him over four hundred times. He would dote on the unborn child relentlessly, talking about the things he could do with them if they were a boy or girl, neither fussed him.

"Huh, that sounds like the complete opposite of what I did," Kenichi mused.

"Wait, what did you do before Subaru-kun was born?" Rem asked.

"I couldn't sleep at night," Kenichi admitted. "It was only through a lot of coffee that I was able to function during the day, I had a lot of doubts, I was a mess!"

"If you were able to function for days at a time without rest, then I believe I'm starting to see where Subaru's stamina comes from." Reinhard said, unintentionally making an innuendo.

"REIN!" Felt gasped, then started laughing uncontrollably.

"Wait, I don't think he meant it like that!" Otto tried to defend the Sword Saint.

"Meant it like what?" Reinhard genuinely did not know what his lady and the merchant were talking about. Eventually, Felix whispered something into his ear.

"Oh! My apologies, Subaru! I didn't mean to…" Reinhard stopped talking as he realized Subaru had his hands over his face in embarrassment, and the Sword Saint swore he saw steam coming out from underneath Subaru's hands. A quick check with his Divine Protection of Telepathy told him that Subaru's mind has practically shut down.

It was times like that that came very often, that she knew that she had made the right choice, that she had married the right man.

She gazed down at his body. His body was impressive for anyone, and held strength unbefitting of a human, as well as magical abilities that were almost unheard of. He made people who were deemed as pseudo-gods by the public look like mere children with his ability. But that was not to say he was without injury, he was still mostly human after all, just a magically enhanced one. She traced a deft finger across his fit body, loving every muscle, scar, and curve of his smooth skin, all the while she smiled absentmindedly as she recalled happy memories.

Subaru, after recovering from his embarrassment, he saw the physique of his on-screen counterpart, and let out a small whistle. "Dang, that version of me is cut."

"And you aren't?" Crusch asked skeptically.

"I have more of a swimmer's form than that of a bodybuilder," he explained. "One of them is big and flashy, while mine has lean muscles. So, different body types."

"Do you think you could end up like that?" Crusch pointed to the screen.

"Yeah, it's manageable," Subaru answered honestly.

Score! The green-haired woman smiled at that.

She still remembers the night they believe got her pregnant, after all, who could forget such an anniversary?

She snickered at the thought. What an interesting tradition they may have created, conceiving a child on their every wedding anniversary. She wouldn't mind of course, even if they didn't end up having created a child every time, she still greatly enjoyed herself at night.

Their sexual activities brought her unparalleled pleasure, both mental and physical. There was something magical about giving her all to him, and him giving her his all in return.

"LALALALALA! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Subaru yelled, as he used his hands to cover his ears.

Everyone else was either red from embarrassment, or were laughing at Subaru's expense.

She didn't really mind how it happened. they had been married for two years as of today and she couldn't be happier with how things had turned out. Sure, Subaru was a little reluctant to try new things, but all she had to do was take the lead and he would be fine after that.

She didn't care really, no matter how they did it, it always brought her pleasure, and she could tell that it brought him the same pleasure. Even when they were rougher, it was always magical and contained all the love they shared.

Subaru was so careful with her, treating her like a glass that would break at the slightest touch, but as the nights went on, she could always get him to release that fear, and that was when she was happiest that they lived so far from society.

Her cheeks were now a deep shade of red as she continued to run gentle fingers across his toned chest. She bit the inside of her cheek and made sure not to turn her gaze downwards, lest she let her lust get the better of her. She wasn't sure when it had happened, but the blanket had somehow come off their naked forms during the night.

If she was honest, she wasn't all too surprised, it was a hot night after all. Come to think of it, that was probably the cause of Adhara's outburst so late at night.

"Oh my god, I'm gonna die…" Subaru whispered.

"I have to admit, Satella's monologue was quite… vivid," Wilhelm coughed.

"Jesus, that reads like something out of Fifty Shades of Gray…" Al said.

"Please don't compare my son's love life to that BDSM…" Naoko said.

She didn't even bother to think that her tight embrace would have made the night even hotter.

"Jesus, is anyone in the multiverse even more high on love than these two?" Kenichi asked.

"Probably not! Evil Big Sis is super freaky!" Felt said, laughing.

Emilia simply groaned at the idea of "Evil Big Sis."

She released a lovesick sigh with her smile never once fading. Tonight, would be a good night, and she couldn't wait. Unfortunately for her though she had other responsibilities to attend to.

She wasn't what she would consider excited for today.

After their marriage Satella and Subaru had agreed to visit the other Witches of Sin on their anniversary, this alone wasn't a problem. What was a problem was the fact that, the night they conceived their lovely daughter, was that night.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Ram asked.

"I'm honestly not too sure…" Tivey said.

She wasn't prepared for the inevitable teasing from Minerva, or the look of distaste on Echidna's face.

But a promise was a promise. This was the trade-off for him saving her that day after all.

There was just one thing she really didn't want to hear today, and that was Echidna's 'greeting' where she will insult her entire family for nothing.

She could take the insult; she would be angered that Subaru was insulted yes but she had the self-control to look past that. Subaru on the other hand, would explode at the mention of his daughter.

She just hoped Echidna wasn't so evil as to insult a baby.

"She would never," Roswaal defended his teacher. "Would she?"

"She most certainly would," Emilia said, her tone cold as ice.

Slowly but surely Subaru stirred awake. His head tilted to take a dreary eyed look at his wife's face, she was smiling a smile he loved more than the world itself, and he couldn't be happier to wake up to it.

Nothing could compare to waking up to seeing her, naked or not, she was beautiful either way. Her smile lit up even the darkest of rooms. Her laugh put joy into him even at his lowest. Her loving embrace had brought him back from despair time and time again. Her kisses, oh God don't even get him started on her kisses, the only thing better than a kiss was sex.

The thought made all the blood in his body rush to two places.

"NOOO!" Subaru begged.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we won't actually SEE anything," Meili said.

Subaru felt his cheeks turn a deep, blood red as he stared at his wife, who had a smug grin on her face.

"Good morning." He said awkwardly, his voice a few pitches higher than normal despite having just woken up.

Satella's grin turns from smug to sultry at record speeds as she leans her head on his chest with a faint blush spread across her normally pale cheeks.

Her head angled downwards, she spots his 'problem' and smirks playfully. She skilfully wipes the smirk off her face, in its place is an innocent look with slight excitement hidden in her eyes.

Why! Is! It! So! Hard! To! Resist! Subaru's thoughts were a complete mess.

Wait… how big is Subaru's…? Priscilla's thoughts naturally ended up going there, but if even Satella herself loved it, then… it had to be something monumental, right?

RIGHT?!

With this innocent look she cocks her head upwards to see her husband's embarrassed face. She had to fight the strong urge to smirk fully as she gave him a comforting smile.

"Good morning." She says as her hand continues to play with his chest. Moving down at a tantalizingly slow pace she blinks once, making a show of the action as if to seem innocent.

Subaru gulps and silently prays to whatever God exists in this word that all goes well in the next few minutes.

"H-How did you sleep?" He asks nervously, blush only getting more prominent as Satella's dainty fingers makes its way down his abdomen.

She looks to the ceiling with a hum, pretending to put serious thought into the question. With a bright look and an excited 'ah hum' she leans closely to his face with a wide smile.

"Every night I spend with you is a night I consider to be perfect, my beloved." She said excitedly, exaggerating her emotions as her hand continued to tease him, moving slower and slower the closer she got to his forbidden area.

He clears his throat with a weak smile, "What are you doing?" He squeaks out, blush spreading to his ears.

Satella could only pout playfully, pretending to be disappointed in her husband, something that would never really happen of course.

"We've done this how many times now? And you're still embarrassed." Her hand left his body, leaving him with a sense of longing he was familiar with by this point.

"U-um, could you, maybe…" his voice trailed off into a faint whisper before he gave up on the sentence all together and looked away in shame.

"What was that dear?" The half-elf asked sweetly. A smile too good to be real was still spread across her face as she used the hand that had denied him a pleasure that couldn't be matched to prop her head up, making a show of how far that hand was from where he wished it was.

"Could you, maybe, help me?" He asked, eyes closed bashfully as his hands balled into fists.

"Okay, this is getting uncomfortable," Ram cringed.

"I did not sign up for this…" Julius groaned.

He heard, and felt, his wife moving on the bed and restrained a grin from spreading across his face at the idea of what she was doing.

His mind ran wild, thinking of fantasy after fantasy.

Those fantasies however never came to be. He remained still, waiting obediently, only to be met by more noise as his wife moved around the bedroom.

Biting the embarrassing bullet, the man opens his eyes, only to see a fully dressed half-elf at the bedroom door, smile still spread across her face. He stared dumbfounded, not only by the sheer cheek of what she had done, but also by the beauty she possessed.

She wore a simple but modest sleeveless black dress that went just below her knees, with a black jumper with orange outlines covering her arms in case it got cold.

The outfit was simple, but she looked amazing.

"OH, THANK EACH AND EVERY GOD OUT THERE!" Subaru exclaimed in relief.

"But since she's your wife, don't you have the right to look at her regardless?" Otto teased Subaru a bit.

"Technically, she's HIS wife, not mine. My Satella is still locked up."

"Well, I'm sure your Satella won't mind – MMPH?!"

As Frederica shut Otto up with her mouth, Subaru was still freaking out.

"Won't mind"?! She'd be demanding to show me!

"You're damn straight."

LANGUAGE!

Subaru was convinced she would look good in anything, but what stood before him was something that he couldn't even believe.

Satella lost her air of confidence as her husband ate up the sight of her shamelessly. With red cheeks she looked away and played with her hair.

"Sorry, but I was, um," she began, fumbling over her words and with her voice being just as soft as it was when she spoke to Adhara the night before, "I was hoping we could, maybe, try and do what we did last year, this year?" She requested sheepishly, eyes downcast and hands held just in front of her, making her modest look show even more. Subaru could only continue to stare at her in awe.

The fact that this woman was bashfully asking him that as she stood so beautifully was insane.

He almost choked on his breath as he looked at her bashful stance.

"I- Yeah sure. I'd like that too, actually." He fumbled countless times as he too looked away from her.

"Jesus, it's like you two are still virgins, or something," Al sighed.

They were a happily married couple of two years with a child, and yet they were as bashful as inexperienced teenagers.

"You should get ready too." Satella murmured. Subaru could only manage a weak nod as he moved to get out of bed, "When you're done, could you brush my hair, please?" She asked with a sheepish glint in her eye. Subaru gave her a small smile and a firm nod.

"Of course." Satella nodded and went to get her daughter ready for the day.

Satella made her way around the small wooden house slowly, soaking in everything.

Two years, she married him two years ago. This house was even younger, and yet she felt like she had lived here her entire life. Being his wife was both a new sensation, and something that she felt had happened years ago, as if they were supposed to be together.

They were quite literally born for each other as far as she was concerned.

"Oh, they did an Up," Naoko said.

"A what?" Anastasia asked.

"There was a movie back home, where the young couple ended up fixing up a house in their wedding attire," she explained. "It had a lot of memories for them."

Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry, Al repeated in his head.

She ran her hand along some of the furniture. Along a desk. The kitchen bench. A bookshelf filled with books she was sure they had both read at least a hundred times. All the while her hand collected no dust.

They had made sure to take special care of their home. This was a place to be cherished, and so they would treat it as such.

They cleaned regularly, having fun humming songs Subaru had told Satella about from his homeland. Cleaning was never a chore to them, nothing was, as they did everything together and enjoyed it all.

There wasn't a breath she took that she didn't enjoy while she was with him, and he was the same.

She looked at the door to her daughter's bedroom. That thought was still fresh to her. They had a daughter; she had a daughter.

She had lived her life so sure that she would never have kids, and yet here she was, right in front of her adorable quarter-elf daughter's room.

Emilia looked towards Subaru, thinking of what a child of their own would look like: Would they look like Adhara, or would they have silver hair while having brown eyes instead?

Rem, meanwhile, wanted as many kids as possible, in order to have as many possibilities as she could. A boy with her hair color and Subaru's eyes, and a girl with Rem's eye color and her hero's hair color were the most prominent ones. She simply huddled closer to Subaru.

Crusch looked over to Subaru. She never really thought of having kids, but she guessed that it would have happened eventually if she ever planned to become the ruler of an entire nation. She could imagine her child now: A strong son with her hair, and his father's eyes.

Priscilla was also of the same wavelength, as she imagined a daughter with Subaru's hair color, while having crimson eyes and a fiery attitude, much like herself.

Subaru, once again, felt like several pairs of eyes were staring at him.

She heaved a sigh as she felt tears build in her eyes; she loved her family so much.

But she mustn't waste time, she still had to feed Adhara while Subaru prepared himself.

Subaru stared at the ceiling of his home. A home he had built with the help of his wife.

Much like Satella, that thought was alien to him. He looked at his ring finger, as if checking reality. It was still there of course, a simple, albeit beautiful silver ring with an amethyst star in the center.

"That looks beautiful," Felix said.

"I wonder if it has any magic power within it…?" Roswaal wondered.

"I wouldn't put it past Subaru to put in some countermeasures," Julius said.

Wilhelm tried his best not to remember the magical rings Stride had.

He loved this ring, and his wife adored her matching one. It was their most cherished possession after all.

He looked around his bedroom. It wasn't small by any means, but one would assume the great sage would have a larger bed. More clothes. More jewelry. More space.

"Eh, I guess I don't need much," Subaru said.

"You are quite humble," Reinhard said.

"No, I mean, when I first rescued Emilia from Elsa, all I asked in return was her name. When I was asked by Roswaal what I wanted, it was to be hired at the manor. And everything else I'ver ever done was to help others. I never wanted status, power, or material things just because."

"Really, Natsuki-kun? Jus' 'er name? Talk about unequal compensation…" Anastasia muttered.

But as he looked around the room, he couldn't possibly imagine a better place to go to sleep and wake up in, especially not when Satella was here too.

He grinned with both eyes closed before letting a breath out through his nose.

"Such a tease," he said with a chuckle, a certain fondness in his voice.

He got off the bed in no rush at all and got the clothes he would wear for the day.

It was just a tea party, so he didn't need to go over the top. He grabbed a simple outfit, black pants with orange stripes on the side. Plain black boots that went just above his ankles. A plain black undershirt, and his most prized possession besides his wedding ring, a jumper, more specifically a jumper Satella had made him after he taught her how to make clothes. The jumper was worn out, with tears that were hastily patched together with colors that didn't match, an orange N skilfully placed on the left breast of the jumper. Over the outfit he wore a pitch-black hooded cloak, keeping the hood off as it was unnecessary.

"Huh… that feels oddly… nostalgic," Subaru said, as he saw the outfit.

"It probably has to do with the fact that it looks so familiar to your normal outfit," Ram said.

"Yeah, you're right, it does seem kinda modified for this world."

He still wasn't used to this fantasy style, it felt wrong, as if he wasn't supposed to look like this. No matter how many times Satella gushed over how good he looked he could never believe it.

"Is that why you always wear that tracksuit?" Julius asked.

"Hey, come on now, it's my brand," Subaru defended himself. "Kinda like all I've ever seen you in is your knight uniform, or how everyone has that ONE outfit they always wear."

"He does have a point, Juliyus-kyun," Felix teased the purple-haired knight.

"I have more than one outfit," Priscilla said. "I just save them for special occasions."

He followed his wife's earlier footsteps, feeling stupid as he made his way through the home with such an over-the-top outfit.

He too found himself overwhelmed by emotion as he stood before his daughter's room. A smile found its way on his face as he took a peek inside, the scene that greeted him made that smile grow tenfold.

"How's it going?" he asked, voice soft and containing a fatherly hint that Satella adored.

"She's been really good this morning," she murmured fondly, a content smile on her face as she watched her child.

Subaru, not wanting to disrupt anything, left the room to make himself and his wife a simple breakfast.

It didn't take much longer for the duo to be calmly eating their food as they took turns playing with the baby, pulling faces and making noises to keep her entertained.

The morning was peaceful and like every other morning they shared, but that was fine, they were perfectly fine with that.

Subaru had put Adhara in a highchair, the baby was surprisingly content with being in the chair as she watched her father brush her mother's hair with the interest of a child new to the world.

"Look at her. She's just beautiful," Naoko cooed once more.

"Yeah, I got it the first eighty times you said it," Kenichi joked.

"But she's just so precious! My own granddaughter!" Naoko squealed in joy.

"I love it when you brush my hair," Satella said sweetly, drowning in the feeling of joy the simple action brought her, Subaru hummed as he made skilled brushes through her long locks.

"I can tell," he mutters, a fond undertone in his voice as the tranquil scene continued.

This was how all days should be spent, in the peace of their own home with the loving company that one could only find in family.

Subaru spent an unknown amount of time calmly stroking the brush through her hair, taking pleasure in doing some unnecessary strokes to keep his wife happy.

Suddenly, Subaru felt five pairs of eyes looking towards him.

Sure enough, Emilia, Rem, Crusch, Priscilla and Anastasia were staring at him.

He relented, "Fine, fine! I'll brush each and everyone one of your hairs!"

That seemed to put a smile on all their faces, as they turned back to the screen.

But unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Subaru puts the brush on the table, stands from his chair and walks around to see his wife with a wide smile and closed eyes.

"Stunning as ever, Tella-tan," he says, almost breathlessly due to her beauty. She nods in satisfaction and slowly opens her eyes, revealing her beautiful lavender eyes to the man of her dreams once again.

He offers her his hand, which she takes gladly, pretending to fall forward to plant a swift kiss on his lips.

"Daaaaang, that girl 's smooth," Ricardo chuckled.

"I'll get Adhara, wait outside for us." Subaru nodded and left.

Satella gave her daughter a cheeky wink and a smug grin.

"Everything's going to plan, come next year and you'll have a little brother or sister." To Satella's surprise the child laughed at the comment and reached up for her.

"Aww, tha' kid don't know any better," Ricardo cooed.

"She really wants more kids." Tivey said.

Satella picked her child out of the chair and pressed her to her chest before leaving to meet her husband outside.

"Is there any chance we could just say that Adhara is sick so we can't come?" Satella asks, half-jokingly, although Subaru seemed to seriously think about it.

"If you don't want to go, you don't have to." He said genuinely. Satella gave a warm smile that shone brighter than any star Subaru knew of.

"I'm kidding around, as much as I… don't get along with Echidna, it'll be good to see the others." Subaru could only nod as the small family made their way out of the house.

"Are you sure Adhara will be fine with such intense magic?" Subaru asked worriedly, his voice showing true fatherly concern for his daughter.

Subaru looked over to the resident magic expert.

"She'll be fine," Roswaal said. "Teleportation magic doesn't have any negative effects. The only type of magic that would be harmful towards a child would be offensive-type, which, may I remind you, is harmful to everyone who doesn't have a proper defense."

Subaru smiled at the fact his investment in Roswaal was already beginning to pay off.

Satella nodded and held the baby closer to her chest, enjoying the soft noises she made.

Within the blink of an eye the family went from a secluded and beautiful forest to full hill, springing with life as flowers were free to grow into the beautiful things they could be.

Perhaps the biggest difference was the six Witches sat around a relatively small table. It didn't go unnoticed that there was only room for one extra person.

Echidna was unfortunately the first to realize their arrival. Immediately scoffing at the sight of Satella and her child, she raised her nose and looked down, both figuratively and literally at Subaru.

"Well, if it isn't the Warlock of Envy and his half-elf whore of a wife." She spat bitterly, earning the angered glare of Subaru as he protectively stood in front of his wife and child.

Everyone was stunned for a second, before they gathered their bearings.

"Wow, what a bitch," Felt hissed.

"Yeah, Echidna wasn't nice at all when I met her." Emilia stated.

"Do remember, this is the same woman who killed her own parents," Reinhard added.

"Wow Dona, for the Witch of Greed you don't seem to know what a whore is do you?" Subaru tried, and failed, to make his insult sound playful. Many of the Witches sighed and tried to stop the incoming fight.

"OOOOHH!"

"SHE GOT ROASTED!"

Roswaal was tempted to try and jump into the screen and snap the other Subaru's neck, but he knew he wouldn't stand a chance if this Subaru was as strong as his other Warlock counterpart.

Plus, even he knew what Echidna said was pretty uncool.

Somehow, amongst this group of adults, the one to stop an argument from ensuing immediately, was one of the youngest among them.

"I finally get to meet her!" Typhon yells excitedly as she runs up to the family, Subaru making sure to protect them in case of an argument.

The girl's approach was halted by an invisible force, earning a relieved sigh from Subaru.

"Be… huh… careful with… huh... your Authority… huh…" spoke the voice of the Witch of Sloth, the slow pacing grating on some of the people present.

"You know, I just realized that outside of the intros, we haven't really seen the Witches."

"You're right, Meili-chan!" Petra said. "The one time they reality did make an appearance was during the whole Warlock of Melancholy thing, and even then, most of them didn't talk!"

"Subaru, you've met the Witches of Sin before. What were they like?" Julius asked.

"They were… an interesting group to say the least."

"That answer is both vague and unconvincing," the purple-haired knight said.

Minerva, the Witch of Wrath, gets up from her seat and calmly approaches the only family with a smile.

"I'm so glad you made it!" She said excitedly as she gave Subaru a friendly hug before turning to his wife and child.

"Ah, Minerva, Satella's best friend," Subaru softly smiled. "Never change."

"So, she would kinda be your sister-in-law?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"I don't really think I could have not come." He admits, earning a soft giggle from his wife, and a nod from the Witch of Wrath as she bent down to see the baby held protectively in the hands of her friend.

"She doesn't really have much experience with people, so please be careful." Satella's voice was soft, low even, as she hoped only for a few people to hear.

She ignored the Warlock of Envy comment from Echidna.

The name opened wounds neither Subaru nor Satella wished to have opened. It was an insult that truly deserved punishment, but that punishment would not be given.

"Not surprisingly given she's the slut spawn of a Warlock and a whore." Echidna scoffed, smirking slightly seeing Subaru's harsh glare.

Upon hearing that, everyone was dead silent.

She really did it.

Echidna insulted a baby.

"THAT BITCH!" Subaru shouted, not tolerating any disrespect to his baby.

"And yet, she's somehow less worse than Capella," Petra deadpanned.

He evidently wouldn't tolerate words like that being spoken about his daughter. "Interesting," the Witch muttered. Interesting, but not unexpected.

Subaru would have defended his family, but a small hand and noise stopped him, as well as everyone else present.

"Daa." The mumble came from none other than Adhara herself, as she clung to her father's sleeve.

"Awww…" Subaru cooed, completely forgetting what happened earlier.

"Well, that was a complete one-eighty," Kenichi said.

"She won't get away with insulting my granddaughter!" Naoko hissed.

Echidna's eyes widened hearing the child speak, finding the situation rather interesting.

Satella could only smile warmly at her daughter.

Minerva smiled widely as her eyes shot between each member of the family.

Typhon squeaked in excitement at hearing something so cute.

Sekhmet had long since lost interest.

Carmilla had the widest smile any of the Witches had seen on her face seeing it.

Daphne merely stole one of the many biscuits from the table and ate it with a smile, thankful for the distraction.

Subaru himself smiled, knowing last night wasn't a fluke made his heart warm in delight. He turned away from the other Witches and picked his daughter out of his wife's arms, giving her a warm smile filled with love.

"They seem to be quite close to one another," Wilhelm smiled.

"Hey, us monsters gotta stick together," Subaru joked. "But seriously, it makes sense. Back at the Sanctuary, they were only wary of Satella because of the Envy personality, and even then, Echidna held some animosity towards her, but kept it professional."

"They're basically a found family," Felt said. Just like me and Old Man Rom.

"I guess you could say that," the Japanese teenager said.

With Adhara moved from her arms, Minerva was free to give her friend a hug.

"It's nice to see you again," the Witch said, truly happy to see the half-elf, who smiled with excitement.

Satella wouldn't say she had a good relationship with many people, but Minerva was arguably her closest friend, as well as the only one of the Witches to have seen Adhara before this day.

Satella's relationship with the other Witches wasn't what she would call good, but only Echidna was hostile, and her relationship with Carmilla was greatly improving. The lustful Witch adored Satella's tales of love with her husband, and Satella was more than happy to give her stories.

"I don't know if that's supposed to be freaky or not," Al said.

"Typhon." Subaru called out to the prideful girl, she perked up immediately hearing her name and slowly made her way toward him, "You can keep coming, I'll keep her safe," he reassured. Hearing this, Typhon glanced back at Sekhmet who didn't respond. With a wide grin she ran full speed towards the small gathering at the midway point of the hill.

As she looked at the baby, she couldn't help but point out every feature. The scary eyes that she found funny, that had the same eye color as Tella. The pointed ears, proof of her race. Her black hair that was so long for a child her age. The full cheeks. Everything.

Minerva watched on in a mixture of worry and happiness as Typhon poked the full cheek inwards, surprised to receive giggles as a reply.

"I guess the shape of my eyes is a dominant feature," Naoko chuckled.

"Perhaps," Kenichi said. "Who knows? Maybe the next grandkid will have silver hair and brown eyes that don't look super scary! Uh, not that your eyes are, Naoko…"

"Hm," she smiled at her husband. "Good save."

"She's so cute!" the prideful Witch claimed, happy knowing the baby enjoyed the playful acts, "Such a good person," she mumbled. Adhara was truly pure hearted, and it showed.

"Hey, Natuski-san, what does she mean by that?" Otto asked.

Subaru's eyes nearly popped out of his skull when he heard Typhon say that. He distinctly remembered the last time he heard her say those words, when he was broken into a million pieces by the girl's Authority of Pride.

He obviously didn't want his parents to freak out, or have everyone suffer at the mental imagine of a baby shattering to a million pieces, so he decided to go with a half-truth instead.

"Well, babies are all cute and innocent, right?"

"Yeah…?" the ashen-haired merchant respond.

"Well, there you go, there's your answer."

"How have things been going with a baby?" Minerva questioned her half-elf friend with a wink and a nudge, Satella understood the undertone of the question and instantly turned beet red and sputtered out some nonsense.

"What? It's been perfectly fine! Adhara has been really good, and Subaru is such a good father it's amazing!" Subaru's soft smile turned to an elated grin as he continued to watch over the Witch of Pride and the baby in his arms.

Minerva smirked and gave a satisfied nod.

"I take it that excellent parenting is a Natsuki family tradition?" Julius asked.

Both Natuski men let out the same, ""Uhhh…"" sound.

"What?"

"I mean… it's probably better than the Astreas…?" Subaru kinda answered.

"Subaru, even I know that's an incredibly low bar," Reinhard said.

"Okay, so maybe I wasn't the best parent!" Kenichi said. "I mean, I certainly tried to, but I clearly failed after not addressing my son's self-esteem issues until after he disappeared –"

"Dad, you're putting too much blame on yourself –"

"No, Subaru, seriously. I know I gave you space to try and work things out yourself, but I should have seen that it backfired. I should have confronted you about it right away," the older Natsuki said. "But hey… at least you'll be able to learn from my mistakes."

"I… I guess you're right about that part. Small mercies, huh?"

Naoko merely smiled at her husband and son's interaction.

The other Witches gathered around the table were conversing lightly too, but Carmilla didn't find it as interesting as what she saw as true love blooming in front of her very eyes. The Witch of Lust politely excused herself from the group of Witches, leaving Echidna, Daphne, and Sekhmet to their own group.

She was sure Echidna wanted nothing to do with the happy family. Sekhmet was too lazy to move from her seat. Daphne wouldn't leave where the food was, so they could all wait up there for the rest of them.

The soft-spoken woman slowly made her way down the hill to meet her friends. Smiling subconsciously seeing how happily Typhon was 'playing' with Adhara.

She genuinely believed she had watched true love blossom right in front of her very eyes, and she would forever be thankful for being able to witness it.

"But surely it's been a pain trying to stay quiet at night?" Minerva continued to tease the poor half-elf. Satella could only uncomfortably play with the wedding ring on her finger, looking for an excuse to not answer the questions.

"Dang, she's relentless!" Al laughed.

Garfiel suddenly had a devious smile. "I wonder if I should tease ya like dat, Brotto…"

"You wouldn't dare," Frederica hissed.

"My amazin' self wouldn't dare!" the blond demi-human immediately changed his tune.

"Good."

The half-elf's lavender eyes landed on the Witch of Lust. Carmilla had chosen to talk to Satella and Minerva and not Subaru and Typhon, choosing to let the girl enjoy her time playing with the baby.

"H-hello, Satella," she greeted nervously, smiling back at the half-elf's small grin-like smile.

"How have you been?" She asked the Witch, glad to see her smiling for once.

"I've been good." She mumbled, her voice barely audible, "How has marriage been?" The glint in the woman's eyes at the word marriage was not lost on the half-elf. Satella smiled happily, overjoyed at being able to tell tales about how wonderful the past years of her life had been.

"Huh, for the Witch of Lust, she's quite… modest…?" Reinhard said, slightly confused.

"Well, Witch Factors are a bit tricky," Subaru said. "But I think for Carmilla, she wanted something like what Satella and I have on the screen, and her Authority shaped into that. That would explain why she has the ability to appear as your greatest desire."

"And who was it for you?" Emilia asked, skeptically.

"Uhh…" Subaru began to sweat a little at that question.

"Well, as much as mineself hates to admit it, I doubt it was me or the dutchess, or even the merchant, so it was either Emilia or Rem," Priscilla pointed out.

"Well, I… uh…" Subaru couldn't form a response.

"You know we won't leave you alone until we get an answer," Crusch said.

"Okay, okay, fine!" Subaru threw his hands into the air. "It was Rem. She appeared as Rem."

Other than Rem, the girls were a bit upset, but it was understandable why Subaru saw Rem instead of them. Priscilla, Crusch, and Anastasia weren't that close to him at the time, and while Emilia could have been who he saw, he had recently lost Rem to Gluttony, so it mostly impacted who he saw.

Echidna watched on from her perch on top of the hill with vague interest.

"If you want to go down there you should, Dna-Dna. I'm more than happy to protect the biscuits." Daphne commented offhandedly.

Echidna groaned at the idea. If she could help it, she would never see the half-elf whore again. Don't even get her started on the slut spawn they call Adhara. They were lucky Subaru was so interesting.

"Sheesh, and here I thought the Envy personality was jealous," Subaru said to himself.

"Ooh, snap!"

"It was worth a try." The Witch of Gluttony murmured in disappointment at seeing no movement from the greedy woman.

Subaru sighed blissfully, if there was one thing this place was good for it was the view of his wife surrounded by flowers.

"Baru, you have that look in your eye again." The prideful Witch said naturally, as if what she had said didn't raise some concerns.

"Huh? What look? Most people only mention my nasty eyes once…" He trailed off paying little attention to Typhon who smiled.

"It's the look you get when you look at Tella. I don't know how to describe it but it's only with her." Subaru's lips parted, in search of what to say, but his mouth felt dry. The Witch of Pride had hit the nail on the head without even trying.

His eyes took on a faraway look as he looked down at his daughter. He couldn't help but let a small smile grace his lips as he saw her eyes.

"I think I know what you're talking about." He says after some time, not taking his eyes off his beloved little girl.

"Storge," the black-haired boy said.

"What was that?" Beatrice asked.

"Back home, life was broken down into different types. Eros, agape, philia, pragma, philautia ludus, mania… Storge was the unconditional love and forgiveness you have for your family."

"Hmm… looking at it, it does make sense, I suppose," the Great Spirit said.

Typhon gave a satisfied hum as her only reply.

Subaru turned to look at the Witch, only to realize she was going back to the top of the hill, likely wanting to get some snacks before Daphne took them all, he laughed at the thought.

He soon joined his wife and the two Witches with a smile.

"It's been great," he hears his wife say. He knew Carmilla would turn their relationship into the main focus of conversation and so let her be.

Minerva gave Subaru and Adhara a sideways glance with a sad smile. Subaru didn't know the reason for the smile, but he returned it as best he could.

It took some time, and a lot of thought, but eventually Minerva got the confidence to ask a question she had wanted to ask since Adhara arrived into this world.

"Hm, what does she want to do?" Priscilla wondered.

Naoko's eyes perked up, as her maternal instincts kicked in.

"Can I…. hold her?" She asked carefully. Subaru looked at the quarter-elf held in his arms and gave the Witch of Wrath a contemplative look. He turned to his wife only to see her talking happily to Carmilla with a faint redness in her cheeks.

"…Sure." He sounded unsure, which was natural, he wasn't exactly comfortable letting people who weren't him or Satella touch Adhara, let alone hold her.

But he relented, and let the Witch hold the baby. He handed her over slowly and with all the care in the world, Minerva was sure to take her with the same care he let go of her with, something he was grateful for.

Minerva looked at the baby, she didn't look happy, but she also didn't seem entirely unhappy.

She moved the baby into her chest. Adhara enjoyed the pillowy sensation she was put against.

"That is one lucky baby," Al muttered under his breath.

Everyone ignored the helmeted knight, as they witnessed the moment.

Subaru looked at the scene with a soft smile. Despite her loudness and abrasiveness, Minerva was indeed a good person. He could certainly see why she was Satella's best friend.

Minerva looked down at the baby in her arms, an oddly melancholy look in her eyes. Her gaze shifted to Subaru for a moment, a hint of intrigue in her gaze. The man in question was switching between his wife and child, seemingly unsure of what to do without them.

A sudden thought struck Minerva.

"Your Authority protects her, doesn't it?" she thought aloud. Subaru's eyes widened and he turned to her.

It was no secret he took the Authority of Envy in place of Satella, but no one knew what the Authority did.

"Uh, I'm pretty sure we all know what it does," Felix said.

"Yeah, makes Cap'n a badass!" Garfiel barked out a laugh.

Felt wanted to refute that, but couldn't. "Eh, I guess in a way, that's accurate."

He let the question sink in for a few moments but still remained answerless.

"You seem so lost without being with them, even if you aren't far apart," she said as she played with Adhara's hands, earning a smile from the child.

Subaru now wondered how he could live without them.

He had neither of them.

But he did have Emilia. And Rem. And Beatrice. And all the members of the Emilia Camp, and everyone else from all of the other Camps. He may not have Satella and Adhara…

… but he knew for a fact that he wouldn't be alone again.

"I – I guess you're right," he muttered, a spiteful tone in his voice. That spite was not aimed at anyone present, and Minerva understood that.

"I like it though, an Authority that protects something so precious." Subaru nodded along, watching as his wife covered her mouth with a hand as she giggled with rosy cheeks.

"They're everything to me," he said softly, warmth evident in not only his voice, but his general demeanor too.

"I'd be concerned if people couldn't see that," the Witch quipped with a slight giggle "I won't pester you about it. Just keep them safe." With that she turned to him for the first time that conversation, a smile on her face. She trusted him to look after his family above all else.

"Ah, yes, your emotional-support Minerva," Otto joked.

"Hey, that's what friends are for, aren't they?" Subaru asked.

"Maybe th' girly ones, bu' not us Bros!" Garfiel laughed.

"You are all testosterone-filled idiots…" Ram grumbled under her breath.

Though, she had to admit, it was nice to see a version of Barusu completely happy.

"I will, you can bet anything on it," he said with conviction befitting of the Great Sage.

At that time Adhara burst into tears. Minerva, who was unsure of what to do, panicked and looked to Subaru for help. The man took his child into his arms and tried to gently soothe her, to no avail.

"It seems like you're hungry," he said, talking to the small quarter-elf.

He looked up and gave Satella a look she recognised. She apologized to Carmilla for having to cut the conversation short and then they made their way to the others so Satella could sit in a chair while feeding her child.

As they got to the top of the hill, they were met by a bored Echidna who raised a brow.

Subaru gave Satella the chair that was likely meant for him, handed her Adhara, and then covered the two with his black cloak.

"Why protect the modesty of a whore, I wonder?" Satella ignored the comment from the Witch of Greed, but she could feel Subaru's grip on her shoulder tighten slightly.

"My, my, Echidna," Naoko cooed. "Aren't you a bitch?"

Satella looked upwards towards her husband and mouthed an "it's okay." He nodded and kissed her cheek.

All seats were now occupied leaving Subaru to be the only one standing, which was fine, he would gladly stand to give his wife a place to sit, especially with Adhara.

Echidna looked at the half-elf mother and gave a disappointed sigh. Subaru gave a satisfied grin seeing the Witch's displeasure, his hand remained on his wife's shoulder, unwilling to let go for any reason.

"Nice to see you, Daphne." He chirps playfully. The Witch of Gluttony's smile faltered in shame, she quickly clears her throat and retracts her hand from the plate of goods on the table and smiles back at him.

"Sorry, Subarun." She says, not hiding her shamelessness whatsoever as she once again reaches for the delicious snacks before her.

Subaru deadpans before letting a small chuckle escape him, "Never change, Daph." The glutton gave a cheeky grin and nod in response as she shoved a cookie into her mouth.

"Don't worry Subarun, I don't plan on it!" She cheered; mouth still full. Against all odds not even a single crumb escaped her mouth as she yelled happily.

"Garf, please never emulate her table manners," Ram said.

"Ehh?! Why is my amazin' self th' only one called out?! Wha' about Cap'n?!"

"Subaru-sama knows how to use his utensils," Frederica deadpanned to her little brother. "He also knows how to chew, and not shove the entire meal into his mouth. Plus, he –"

"Alright, alright, I get it!"

"I'm not sure if I should be impressed, disgusted, or just think nothing of that," Subaru muttered, shaking his head with a faint look of disgust in his scary eyes. Despite that he smiled fondly.

Echidna could only sigh at the disgusting behavior of her fellow Witch, idly noting the reaction Subaru gave before once again glaring at his wife.

Contrary to Satella's belief, she didn't hate Subaru, quite the opposite, but rather she hated Satella. Unfortunately for all involved the only way to truly get under the half-elf's skin was to insult her beloved.

The reason for everything was quite simply really. Satella had stolen what Echidna perceived as the perfect tool to achieve her goals. Believe it or not, Echidna felt a sick sense of love for the Great Sage; he was perhaps the single most important person in her plans after all. But Satella stole that from her, removing all hope of what she desired happening.

The Cast took that new information… well, not great.

"I never really stood a chance…" Roswaal muttered under his breath.

Subaru groaned. "Jesus Christ, that's some yandere level shit right there…"

"Wait, is that seriously why she kept insulting me in the Sanctuary?! Just because you chose me over her?!" Emilia asked seriously. She assumed it was because of her appearance, or her lineage, or her behavior, not… because Echidna was acting like a jealous schoolgirl.

Meanwhile, Beatrice tried not to imagine Subaru with Echidna. Ew. Just ew.

"Well, Echidna did say there were 3 people she despised. One being you, Emilia-tan, and the other being Satella. Now, if the third person was Rem…" Subaru gave his speculation.

Echidna scowled at herself. She was the Witch of Greed, not Envy. She looked longingly at the Warlock of that very sin, her greed would never be truly satisfied without him.

Satella wasn't blind to the greedy Witch's envy, far from it actually, and that was why she hated her so much.

"Well, she's definitely never getting my blessing," Naoko grumbled.

Priscilla and Anastasia silently felt some sweat drop from their brows, due the fact that they were no longer at the bottom of Naoko Natuski's list.

"What an awful person," Julius scowled.

"Well, Subaru-dono did say that she had a harder time feeling positive emotions," Wilhelm reminded him. "Not only that, but her own upbringing may have caused some issues."

"Regardless, it still doesn't excuse her actions," Reinhard said.

She looked down at her daughter for comfort while paying special attention to the feeling of her lover's firm grip on her shoulder.

She reminded herself of his love for her, something that he would remind her of daily, and something he would make sure she couldn't forget at night, especially tonight.

She couldn't help but get giddy in anticipation. Just the thought of his promise excited her in ways that she couldn't hope to comprehend fully.

She bit her lip nervously as she shifted in her seat. Subaru, noticing his wife's seeming discomfort, bent down to her eye level, his face next to hers as she looked away with red cheeks.

"Everything alright?" he questioned, worry coating his words in a way that made her heart race.

"Y-Yeah! Everything's perfect!" Which wasn't a lie. To her, everything was perfect, she had the life she couldn't even have hoped to wish for not even ten years ago.

"Aww, tha's cute," Anastasia cooed.

"And it kinda redacts from the horny, so that's a nice bonus, too," Al said.

Subaru looked at his daughter again and smiled fondly. Placing his hand on her head and playfully giving her scalp in a relaxing motion that he knew she loved.

"How cute," Carmilla murmured, not intending for anyone to hear her out loud thinking. For better, or worse, Minerva overheard and nodded in agreement.

"They can't fully enjoy themselves with a baby," she said evilly "And I'm more than happy to spend more time with such a cute kid." The Witch of Wrath gave a mischievous smirk as she approached the duo.

"Huh, who would have known the Witch of Wrath would be a shipper," Al said.

"Kinda weird, considering when we actually met, she didn't like me. Or was I misreading her? It was kinda hard to tell when she's constantly angry and on the verge of crying," Subaru said.

"Maybe her actions spoke louder than her words?" Meili suggested.

"Well, she healed me on several occasions, stopped me from forming a contract with Echidna, and was the only one who prevented me from shattering my mind within the Castle of Dreams."

"Then, yeah, she cares about you, or at the very least, she cares enough about Satella that she would go that far to save your hide, she just can't properly express it."

"Oh yeah, speaking of Minerva, her voice sounds… oddly familiar," Emilia said.

"She was probably the Witch you mentioned back in your Trials," Ram said.

"Oh yeah! That must be it!"

Timing was on the woman's side fortunately. As she approached them, Satella had finished feeding her daughter.

Handing their daughter to her husband she used the cloak covering her body to ensure she was decent. Having made sure she looked fine, the half-elf wrapped herself in the cloak with a loving smile.

She loved wearing his clothing, it always gave her a sense of security and safety. She loved his scent on his clothing, it made her feel warmer.

"Huh, that would be an interesting sight to see," Felt said.

"What would, Felt-sama?" Reinhard asked.

"Satella wearing Big Bro's tracksuit," the crimson-eyed blond snickered as she turned to look at Subaru, "Hey, Big Bro, has Big Sis tried that yet?"

"No, but Rem has." Subaru said, causing the oni to blush in embarrassment.

"Subaru-kun!"

"I know for a FACT that you've smelled my laundry!"

Subaru almost snickered at Rem's deep red face.

"SUBARU-KUN! NOOOOOO!"

With a silly smile spread across her beautiful features she swayed side to side at the thought of a special tune she remembered being taught by her husband.

Since coming into her life, he had taught her many things from his homeland, and those things all held a very special place within her heart, as they were special things between each other.

She gave her husband a smile before looking at the content face of the baby in his arms, she looked tired.

"Say… do you guys want me to take her for the night?" Minerva's voice cut the silence the family had between them with a cheeky statement.

"What's that supposed to mean?" The half-elf woman squeaked out, embarrassed at the teasing nature of her comments.

"Well, usually when a man and a woman love each other very much –" Her mouth was suddenly closed by an invisible force. Everyone present turned to the only likely person responsible: Sekhmet.

Subaru was once again a steaming mess, and was silently thanking Sekhmet for shutting Minerva up.

"Remember that… huh… there are… huh… children present." The slothful Witch reminded her, her tone aggressive as she cast an uncharacteristically quick glance to the Witch of Pride and Adhara.

"Thank you," Frederica thanked the Witch of Sloth.

"I agree," Otto said, as he looked at Petra and Meili. "You two don't need to know about such things. The act itself is not something that should be occupying your minds."

Meanwhile, Garfiel asked, "Oh, an' it should occupy yours?"

Both Otto and Frederica looked at Garfiel like they were caught committing a murder.

Minerva nodded at the stronger Witch's reminder. Feeling the force around her mouth loosen she turned to the couple before her, only to see Subaru smirking at her.

"Just because you can see them…" She muttered bitterly, earning a giggle from Subaru. Adorably, his daughter noticed his giggles and gave her own small giggles as a response.

"STOP! BEING! SO! CUUUUUTE!" Anastasia yelled.

"I must admit, that quarter-elf child is quite… adorable," Priscilla said.

"Subaru, you could always see the Unseen Hands, right?" Julius asked.

"With the exception of my first encounter with them, then yeah," Subaru said.

"You're so cute." Satella said cheerfully, hovering just above her daughter's face.

"Anyway. My offer still stands." Subaru and Satella both blushed a deep crimson and looked at each other.

A whirlpool of emotions swam in the eyes of each parent. A sense of worry and excitement flickering within them.

"B-But h-how would Adhara eat?" Subaru asked through stutters, clearly embarrassed.

"I could buy some baby food." Minerva responded, her smirk slowly returning to her face.

"W-We could never ask something so troubling of a dear friend." Satella blurted out, equally embarrassed. The closed distance between husband and wife becoming increasingly noticeable.

"Oh please, I insist." The parents of said child gulped and looked at each other. Satella bashfully looked to the side with rosy cheeks and gave a hesitant nod. Subaru released a sigh and handed his daughter over to a very happy looking Minerva. "I'm going to spoil you rotten!" she cooed, holding Adhara close. To the Witch's surprise the child smiled at her, melting her heart by doing so.

"I want that," Beatrice said, pointing at the on-screen infant.

"The baby?" Rem asked.

"Yes, Betty wants something to spoil rotten, too, I suppose."

"Great Spirit, it's a child, not a pet," Crusch said.

"I know. I shall be the best aunt that child would ever know, in fact!"

"Interesting." Echidna muttered scornfully, wishing to break the teacup in her hand, instead she takes an elegant sip before placing it back on the table. "Truly letting the slutty side show, aren't you?" She insults, harsh glare aimed at Satella.

Satella could only smile warmly at the white-haired woman.

"Mother is jealous," Beatrice simply stated.

"That woman's like a desert," Kenichi hissed.

"How so?" Naoko asked.

"She's barren."

"Ooh, snap!" Ricardo hollered.

"Since you only see the world in black and white you must not truly understand love." She retorted, her voice being chirpy instead of scathing, only making the insult funnier to her husband, who had covered his mouth in a desperate attempt to hide his giggles. Echidna scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Such a repulsive and stupid bitch. Insulting the Witch of Greed, who gave you such authority?" her voice cracked as she tried to remain composed.

Satella's sickly sweet smile only widened.

"One could say I have a wider horizon when it comes to knowledge, I know all three forms of Japanese kanji and can read them fluently!" the half-elf proudly declared, puffing her chest out as she stood in front of her husband, casting a slightly embarrassed look his way.

"You call those chicken scratches a language?" the greedy woman laughed, "I'd hardly say knowing and understanding something you and the Warlock of Envy made up is an accomplishment."

"It's so cute seeing you jealous, Echidna-chaaaaaan…" Satella grinned as she approached her. Once she made it to her destination, just in front of the Witch, she couldn't help herself and poked her cheek. "I think I found your kryptonite. Wait, you don't know what that is, do yooooou…?" she said playfully, an unmissable bite to her words.

"Wha's kryptonite?" Ricardo asked.

"It's a fictional green, crystal-like element from the Superman comics," Kenichi explained. "Basically, it was the one weakness of the hero, as it drains his powers. But in slang, it's used as an expression to show that someone has a weakness to something."

"I see…" Julius said.

"Hey! Nyow we know something the Witch of Greed doesn't!" Felix said.

"You're right!" Felt said, "Oh, that must piss her off!"

Elsewhere, Roswaal vowed to explain kryptonite to Echidna once she was revived.

Everyone watching on gave amused responses, even Sekhmet couldn't help but smile slightly, only helped by Typhon asking what kryptonite was.

Echidna scowled and quickly moved her head away from the half-elf's finger.

"Keep that repulsive thing away from me," she demanded, shoving the half-elf slightly.

Subaru quickly moved forward to catch her, an act that despite being pointless, almost made Satella fall anyway from the sheer love she felt in that moment.

Feeling like she was on top of the world, Satella stood tall and smiled brightly at Echidna.

"The smile of a slut matters not if it's been seen through," Echidna spat. Satella shook her head, her beautiful silver hair flowing from side to side.

"For such a smart person you misuse that word a lot," Subaru commented offhandedly, hiding his hatred expertly.

"Come on, lady, give up already!" Garfiel yelled.

"Subaru's not yours, get over it!" Emilia yelled.

"Yeah!" Subaru agreed, before asking, "Wait, who's am I?"

No one answered his question.

"Her half-elf charms could only swoon the heart of a foolish man such as yourself." Satella too had to hide her anger as the black and white woman insulted her husband.

"Alright I think that's enough," Minerva's voice boomed out, not so loud as to be scary or surprising, but stern enough to get the intended effect, "You two don't have to worry about little Adhara here, I'll protect her with my life," she reassured as she turned to the parents of said child "Wanna say goodbye to mummy and daddy?" she asked the quarter-elf, receiving nothing but a soft giggle in response. Taking the baby to her parents she presented her to them, Satella took the little girl with a smile.

"Every time that child laughs, my heart melts even further," Reinhard smiled.

"She's so sweet my teeth are rotting!" Felt smiled.

"Goodbye sweetie, we'll see you tomorrow. Mummy and daddy love you," she whispered breathlessly, the idea of this being her child, a child she shared with the man she loved most, still not completely being understood by her.

The father nodded and kissed his wife on the cheek before leaning down to kiss his daughter's forehead.

"Be good for Aunty Minerva," he reminded the baby, a soft, fatherly smile gracing his lips.

"It's a baby," Al deadpanned. "They're forces of nature."

"Come on, look at it! It's cute!" Mimi said. "How can she be so bad?!"

"Okay, let me rephrase," the helmeted knight said. "To the parents, their baby is a miracle and a joy, but to everyone else, it's gonna be a charmless snot monster that should be avoided."

"Ohh…"

To his shock, his daughter imitated his actions and pressed her lips to his nose, in a sloppy but meaningful kiss. Subaru smiled and rubbed his nose on his child's nose with a look of pure joy.

As everyone else cooed and awed at the scene, Subaru suddenly felt something.

It was… emptiness.

But why? He should be feeling joy at the sight of his child. Why was he –

Because that's not your child, a part of his mind reminded him.

Oh, right, he reminded himself, in a melancholic tone.

Adhara's giggles rang around the table like a set of gorgeous silver bells, Subaru loved the similarity to the mother.

They gave the baby back to the Witch of Wrath with an in sync "We love you." Minerva nodded in approval.

The husband and wife turned to the Witches with their hands intertwined. They bowed their heads low, and with a slight glance at each other said: "Thank you for coming."

Echidna looked away in displeasure.

Typhon and Daphne waved goodbye happily.

Sekhmet opened her eye in response, they both knew this was a goodbye in her own unique way.

Carmilla blushed seeing such a display of love unfold in front of her very eyes and nodded her head to them.

They once again turned to Minerva, matching grateful smiles on their faces, they brought her, and by extension Adhara, into a warm hug.

As the Cast watched the Witches say their good-byes, they had realized that Subaru was right about them: They weren't incomprehensible monsters, they were people.

They just happened to be people with the unfortunate luck of having great and terrible power.

The stories they had heard about such things like the Witches and Satella were misleading at best, and downright inaccurate at worst, playing to people's fears rather than recording history.

So, they decided to honor the memories of Subaru's oldest friends.

Meanwhile, Subaru was looking at the image of Minerva with his child. He wanted that. He wanted a daughter of his own, one to hold, to cherish. He knew it would be hard work, but with Satella, the two of them could achieve it. The only problem was…

… Satella was sealed away under the Pleiades Watchtower for the last four hundred years.

"Thank you for taking Adhara," Satella said gratefully, her husband only blushed and looked away.

Minerva shifted her gaze between both of them with a satisfied smile.

"Anytime," she reminded. She smirked once again and leaned in to whisper something in Satella's ear.

Subaru was unsure of what was said, but the rosy cheeks of his adorable half-elf wife conveyed the message.

"Dang, she really wants nephews and nieces," Roswaal said.

"Indeed," Wilhelm agreed.

Meanwhile, a certain blond-haired demi-human was trying NOT to remember what his older sister said back when he found her with his best friend, right before this viewing started.

Garfiel was failing miserably.

Minerva turned to Subaru "She's special, so treat her as such." She warned him with a look that showed that she trusted him to fulfill her request.

"Don't worry, I will," he promised with a cheeky grin, tightening his grip on his wife's shoulder.

Satella looked at her husband's face from the side. The beautiful sunset was just behind him, illuminating him perfectly, and she felt the world around them crumble. Her heart sped up, her eyes widened, and her breathing stopped as she looked at his visage.

The blood in her body rushed to her cheeks as she felt a familiar sense of excitement. From the bottom of her heart, she thought: I love you so much, Subaru Natsuki, thank you for choosing me to be your wife. Thank you for giving me a family.

While everyone else "awed" at the scene, Subaru has realized something.

He could have had this.

He could have had what this version of Subaru had. Friends in the form of the Witches of Sin, a respectable job in the form of the Great Sage, a peaceful world to call home, along with the most loving wife in the form of Satella. He even had a daughter in the form of Adhara.

He could have had all that.

But Pandora took that all away from him.

All six of the Witches were dead. The closest thing to a Great Sage this world had was in the form of Shaula, who was rotting all alone in that damned Watchtower, and it was likely Volcanica wasn't doing much better. He was summoned to a broken world that lived in fear of the Witch Cult and with a hatred of demi-humans. Satella was sealed away, suffering from a broken mind and an evil personality that haunted her, while the entire world hated her for existing.

And Adhara didn't exist… and might possibly never will.

All because of Pandora.

The next thing Subaru knew, a tear had escaped his eye.

Subaru felt his wife's tightening grip on him but paid it little attention as he concentrated on the spell to take them home.

Satella struggled to keep her tears in as she continued to look at him.

Carmilla watched on, knowing exactly what the half-elf was thinking.

"True love, truly, is the most beautiful, precious thing in the world," she said loudly, earning the attention of the other Witches.

While everyone else was still enamored at the screen, Subaru silently wept.

"Repulsive," Echidna commented as she laid her head in her arms on the table.

Minerva smirked and looked down at the child in her arms.

"Aunty Minerva huh?" she said fondly "Something tells me I won't be an aunty of one for very long." Although unintentional, Adhara's nod made Minerva snicker.

"I wonder if Bro would be crazy enough ta add 'er to his harem," Ricardo wondered.

"Who, Echidna?" Al asked. "Not while Satella is there."

"Well, what about everyone else?" the demi-human asked, gesturing down to where the Japanese teenager was sitting, surrounded by five beautiful women.

"Eh, I give it a fifty-fifty, between Satella either clobbering all five of them and keeping Bro for himself, or her simply declaring herself the head wife," the helmeted knight said.

It was one of those moments where Reinhard wished he didn't have superhuman hearing.

Subaru and Satella had successfully made it back to their home, not a house, but a home.

They looked at the humble log cabin with warmth. Satella smiled looking at it before turning her head to her life partner, smile remaining although with a look of mischief.

"I'm so happy we live so far away from others, my beloved." She said suggestively.

"Care to elaborate?" he responded, struggling to hide his excitement as she grabbed both of his hands and walked backward to the front door.

"I'd be more than happy to." The tears reappeared as she sighed.

Subaru noticed the tears and gave her a gentle, loving kiss under the sunset of their home.

"I love you, Satella," he whispered in her ear breathlessly, as if those were words only intended for her to here.

Satella groaned slightly "I'll reiterate what I said this morning: You're so hot," she said in a sultry voice, leaning her weight against the front door, Subaru snickered.

"These two certainly have their priorities in order…" Meili chuckled.

"What does that mean?" Petra innocently asked.

"Absolutely nothing," Frederica said, putting an end to the shenanigans.

"I'm all for doing new things, but I'm sure it'd be much more comfortable on a bed."

"Get a room, you two!" Anastasia yelled.

"They're already getting a room!" Mimi played along to the joke.

While everyone else either laughed or cringed at the interactions between the on-screen Satella and Subaru, there was one person in the Theater that was not doing either one of those.

Still, no one had noticed that Subaru was weeping.

Satella nodded bashfully and shifted her weight onto him. Her head was pressed against his chest as she looked up, all attempts to be sexy gone as she let her true self show. Her desperation, love, need, and lust, all on show for her husband to see.

"Then show me, again, and again, and again, until death do us apart, and then we shall walk the path of death together, as we did the path of life, my one and only." Subaru nodded along. Those words would forever being ingrained into their souls, the promise they had made exactly two years ago.

And with that, the final episode had ended, and the lights went up.

"That… was beautiful," Naoko said, as her husband agreed. What they had seen was pure, unadulterated love. They were so happy that happiness was possible for their son.

"Indeed," Wilhelm said. This episode had reminded him of his time with his wife, and their time when their son was an infant. Back when the world seemed to make much more sense.

The various potential lovers of Subaru were staring at the screen with a mix of jealousy and joy. Sure, it wasn't them, but then again, they still had a shot with THEIR Subaru.

Frederica and Otto were smiling, imagining their lives could be something like that.

The rest of the Emilia Camp, the knights, mercenaries, and the sole Candidate and butler of the fellow Camps, smiled at the fact that such goodness and happiness was possible.

Everyone else had nothing more to say outside of positive reactions, from how lovely the young couple on the screen was, to how cute the baby was, to how nice most of the Witches were.

Well, almost everyone.

Hearing a small sniffling next to her, Emilia turned around. "Subaru?"

She, along with everyone else, saw that Subaru was now crying.

But these weren't tears of joy.

These were tears of sorrow.

Of grief.

Of despair.

Despite the grief only fueling his already immense hatred for Pandora, all he could feel in that moment was sorrow. But not for himself. He grieved for all those he had left behind.

The Great Sage grieved for his friends who died long ago.

He grieved for the ones trapped in that damned Watchtower, a monument to his failures.

He grieved for the world he loved had fallen to such ruin.

He grieved for his beautiful wife, who was now seen as a monster by the world.

But most importantly of all…

He grieved for his child, who never even existed in the first place.

---

Author's Notes: THOSE INVISIBLE NINJAS ARE CUTTING ONIONS AGAIN!

The original story is "A World Without Envy," and it was written by Jajablinks. There are two versions of the story available, with the link being s/13856516/1/A-World-Without-Envy, along with the ArchiveofOurOwn's /works/36405778/chapters/90770317. And now, let's move on to the mostly-cheerful comments. For now…

Cabrell: Oh, for the eight chapter? Yeah, it was pretty good, wasn't it?

Geamsean: I already wrote two reactions based on Re: Forgotten.

Guest #1: I didn't think of using "You Deserve Better" and "Capella Emerada Lugnica Must Die" was immediately off the table. Sorry, but it is what it is. But aside from that, thanks for the praise. Not many people know how long these things take.

Bahamut13: I love it when people binge on my stories because it means that they are invested in reading them. Glad you loved it, and hope you love the finales!

thanosinfinity29: Of course the previous story was based on the PLF! But I have to admit, the whole "Demon King" thing was just because I wanted the next person to get summoned to Lugnica to know exactly who the bad guy was, no All For One needed!

Scattershot98: Yeah, Priscilla's regret was mostly played for laughs by me, but I'm glad you saw it as actual character development. If you want to know what actually happened to Reinhard, I would suggest reading the second chapter of the Demi-Human Liberation Front. I hope this Pandora-less chapter was with the wait!

Dodanim1: Those implications were not my intention, trust me.

Radiant: I'm pretty sure I wasn't the one to come up with that theory, but Infinite. And while it is true I might not have done some stories complete justice, I couldn't just have the Cast react to all of it, because that would take too long. Sorry.

Chuck B. Winanaki: According to the Villains Wiki, pure evil villains, or as you call them, "true monsters," are "- completely beyond redemption and absolutely nothing justifies their actions." So, the answer to your question is a resounding no. And yeah, the Alpha Subaru is about as kooky as Re-Destro, due to a combination of trauma, death, and self-hatred. Speaking of self-hatred, this is Subaru we're talking about, of course he would feel bad about manipulating others. And you're right on-point when it comes to Felt's character in the story. Arakiya is someone I think absolutely no one in the Cast would want to be near, with the exception of Priscilla. I'm pretty sure Shion is the final boss of one of the several video games made about the series, so her phantom power is actually pretty dangerous when paired against Subaru. I'm not actually sure how much of a Reinhard punch Emilia would be able to block, and I don't think Subaru would want to test that. Wilhelm has finally apologized! Yay! Hope you enjoy the future!

Guest #2: Which Subaru are you referring to, exactly?

Deathenglegamers1144: Capitalism for the win! While everything may have a price to it, I don't think Fourier's survival qualified as that, or if it qualified as a byproduct of Subaru killing Capella way earlier. And I would say that this is more like the French Revolution, since they were the actual good guys in that scenario. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

christianvirtuda: I don't do requests. But while I may have considered "Re: Tortured," "Rampage of the Forgotten" was immediately out for being a crossover. And "Forced to Leave" basically gave all the answers the series was gonna slowly reveal, so no.

Exiled Soul Nomad: I kinda imposed a policy of less than thirty pages per fic, so I would actually be able to write my reactions on time, and my story was no exception. Luckily, the original story was meant to be a one-shot, so that was a good stopping point.

Commissar Gaunt: Would Reinhard qualify as a deadly weapon? Aside from that, I see someone is in the spirit for liberating the marginalized! Good for you!

5queso: Are you referring to the reaction series or the DHLF when you're talking about unpredictability? It's probably the second option, given how wacky it is. I'm glad to see it was such a memorable ending, and I hope that these future chapters are just as good!

SubaruGigaChad: Nice comment. But as for your suggestion, I'm not going to explicitly state it, because I'm gonna make the Cast come up to that conclusion on their own.

R-king 93: Awesome comment.

claderoneric: How about no?

LouisCy: Well, whatever's going on between Subaru and Pandora is technically not a relationship, but that idea will be crossing their minds.

LicenciadoGonzalez: Yeah, as a government, the Kingdom of Lugnica failed. But for those in the Theater, especially those in power, they simply weren't observant. And while they can understand the frustration, they just believe that the DHLF took it too far. Also, I am not doing any reactions to any crack fics, especially considering this chapter and the sister one are the last reaction chapters I'm doing.

Phoenix_Rayz: I'm half tempted to make Reinhard x Felt a ship here.

Shador: Well, at the time of writing it, I didn't fully understand the relationship between Priscilla and Yorna, plus all the fanart I saw of the two of them together didn't help, either. We'll just add it to the pile of plotholes and canon inconsistencies I've already written, like how I made Petra like mayonnaise, or the one true pairing that is Otto and Frederica.

Spideysuperb: Please send comments like these to the sister chapter, thank you.

hlglh: I wonder if you'll be giving out hearts after this chapter…

Wolfx88: Don't worry, Reinhard gets a hug. And more…

Sir_Aldren: That was actually foreshadowing to the last chapter, believe it or not.

FLET's Fan: I'm a wizard, and Infinite is a celestial.

Neroai: Yeah, we're not doing "Sealed."

Sunnykishou: Probably yes.

Imperius: Well, keep in mind that Fourier was probably sick up until like a year before the story began, making him unable to prevent a bunch of social issues until he was finally healthy enough to take the throne. And once he did take it, he only had it for less than a year before Subaru came a knockin'. So, really, Fourier was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. And yes, both the stories will end at chapter fifteen. I wanted this to be like a typical season of anime, with thirteen episodes, plus the prologue and epilogue.

Ella and Emma: Take that question to the sister chapter, please.

Uh…: The United Nations abolished slavery in 1948, with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. While, yes, modern-day slavery still exists, keep in mind that Subaru was a shut-in seventeen-year-old, who most likely did not do any political activism before getting summoned. Any complaints you have with the Warlock can be taken up with Infinite. Glad to see that your mentality is that of Al's. Well, Roswaal's freakout was based on the fact that he didn't know at the time Shaula was the one responsible for Hell's Snipe. The Warden is pretty much a staple in these fics, you can't get rid of them. The "Omae" thing came from the original story. And as for Reinhard not knowing about Reid's awful personality, you can just add that plot hole in the pile. I'm just not gonna bother with the rest…

Ernalore's Big Brother: For anyone who wants to retaliate about the whole "Fortuna is Sirius" theory, please just refer to this comment from now on. Moving on…

Phoenix_Rayz: Huh. Even more people are backing up the theory.

PulszerNTG: I've never seen a commenter be this mad before. Wow.

Infinite the Celestian(Legit One. Certainlya Not Fake :)?): Definitely.

What: Of course I'll continue!

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 /P8X5yQuY. 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! And for the love of God, PLEASE FOLLOW THE RULES! If you can't, then don't join, seriously. If you want to add me as a friend, my username is Ernalore#8663! I also have an Instagram where I post my art, called "eranlore_aka_the_writer," so if you wanna check it out, please do!

Thanks for reading, see you next time!

- Ernalore