After the light had flashed, everyone had found themselves back inside the Sanctuary, in the real world. And from the looks of things, Subaru and the others couldn't take the trials anymore, which means they were successful in their endeavors to put a wrench in Roswaals schemes.
"Alright! Now that Subaru can't take the trials anymore, what should we do about Rozzy?" Ethox asked.
"Obviously, he'll still try to force Subaru to keep resetting… but he doesn't know yet that Subaru can't do the trials anymore. Even still, with the Tome of Wisdom, he'll still read our every move." Kanade said. "Plus even if Subaru told him, he'd try and talk him into speaking with Echidna."
"Right…we're…at a loss. It doesn't matter what we do. We're…screwed either way." Subaru said.
"Oh…you guys?" a voice asked as Otto was peering out while looking calm.
"Otto? What brings you here?" Legolia asked.
"Never mind that." Otto said calmly. "Subaru, are you all right?"
"Look, we really don't have the time for…" Subaru said.
"First, I want you to take a deep breath." Otto said.
Subaru went and did exactly that only to receive a slug to the face from Otto.
"That's enough. You guys…quit putting on the tough guy acts. The same with you, Subaru Natsuki!" Otto said.
"What the hell?" Subaru said going at Otto only to fall over.
"Looks like you finally lost your temper and your footing. Putting on an act with a girl you like is fine. But that's it. It's as far as you go. You know you can't reach, don't you?" Otto said.
"He's right… we're not getting anywhere doing everything by ourselves." Goblin Slayer said.
"Then why don't you ever ask help from someone?" Otto asked.
"We tried that but it didn't…" Ty said.
"But…you people…you didn't ask me!" Otto said.
"Whuh?" Maple asked.
"I've known you for a short while, but you've never asked me for any help." Otto said.
"Look, you wouldn't be able to comprehend all this stuff we're going through. Subaru's heads all in knots and…" Theo said.
"Then spit every last one of them out! Untangle them one by one and share them with me. Cause…that's what friends do!" Otto said.
"Heh…you probably won't believe us but…" Theo said as they all talked with Otto.
The next morning soon came as some of the group was watching outside as inside the house, Roswaal watched as Subaru and Kazuma broke down the door.
"Roswaal! We need to make a bet! One with both our dreams on the line as chips!" Subaru said.
"I must admit, I'm more than a bit surprised to see you. I didn't expect you to do so, at least in this life." Roswaal said.
"Well Subaru's not gonna waste any more of his infinite lives!" Kazuma said.
"Consider this wager to be our final showdown. I'll rescue the Sanctuary and the Mansion in this loop. No matter what it takes. I'll screw up every last one of your plans!" Subaru said.
"You want to start over now when you have me in check? In doing so, you'd leave behind your only power." Roswaal said.
"Being able to start over and saving them are entirely different things. You and I were both too arrogant. As far as I'm concerned, this power isn't all that useful." Subaru said.
"Very well, I'll bite. If you say this is the last time, what is it you want from me?" Roswaal asked.
"If we succeed, you'll ditch that book and go with Subaru. Emilia will become the new ruler and to make that happen, he needs you." Kazuma said.
"Ridiculous. What you both are suggesting here is completely warped. How could you ever forgive what I've…" Roswaal said.
"No way I could ever forgive you. But I'm going to have to learn to bury that in order to get what I want." Subaru said.
"How can such an idea be so convenient?" Roswaal asked.
"Come on. I love convenient ideas. Emilia will do her best and I'll be by her side. And you'll be part of her entourage. That will be mandatory of course." Subaru said.
"You really expect to fulfill your desire and say that my involvement is mandatory. You can see it, can you? The audacity that you can have it all. The sheer greed of that solution." Roswaal said.
Subaru was taken aback before smiling. "Your enemy has become the strongest card in play here. Still not enough?" he asked.
"No matter what you do, you cannot break through this. With Miss Emilia unable to stand, the barrier will remain. The Sanctuary will be covered in snow and the mansion will become a bloodbath." Roswaal said.
"Uh huh…that will make seeing you cry even better." Kazuma said.
"Hmm…you both make good points. And it does lay out some groundwork for the next me." Roswaal said.
"So take it you agree?" Subaru asked as Roswaal simply smiled. "I'll take that as a yes. Now we can get started."
"Oh…and you two…the snow and the attack will both begin in 3 days. Do try your hardest to fight and fail miserably." Roswaal said.
"Whatever." Subaru said. "Oh…and put your face on. I'm used to the clown makeup. As of now, we'll all just clowns dancing in the mercy of fate. I say we fight this out fair and square."
The two of them then left the house and rejoined the group.
"So…did he…" Theo asked.
"Yeah. He agreed to the bet." Subaru said.
"Now all we have to do is figure out a way to save both the Sanctuary and the mansion both within 3 days tops." Ty said.
"I just have one question though… did Roswaal give his conditions for if he wins the bet?" Aqua asked.
"If we lose…we're going to follow his book's instructions to the letter." Kazuma said. "You all know what that means."
"Then maybe we should get started with the first part of our plan." Otto suggested.
"Right, we have to get Garfiel to come around." Ethox confirmed.
"Talking won't get through to that cat's head. So…we may have to resort to knocking the rebelliousness outta him." Naofumi said.
"Garfiel's a really dangerous Demihuman though. Hopefully we can take him on." Michiru said.
"We'll be able to handle him when it comes to that. But first…there's something else I have to do." Subaru said.
"Yeah. Emilia." Kazuma said. "This whole thing falls apart if Emilia can't pass the trials. So we gotta figure out why she can't get past trial number one."
"Well, it's all about facing the past, so…what do we know about her past?" Ultra asked.
"Nothing honestly." Theo said. "Though something must have happened to make her quiver like that."
"Maybe it's time we got to know Emilia better. After all, she's part of the guild too." Legolia said.
"Yeah, we should-" Ethox started.
"Actually, I don't think you guys can help me on this one." Subaru said. "I need you guys to help Otto keep Garfiel distracted while I talk to her."
"You sure you're up for it?" Ultra asked.
"I'm sure I'm ready to ask about what's troubling her." Subaru answered. "Maybe I'm scared about what I'll find, but…well, adventurers always have to take risks, right?" he grinned.
"Yeah…that's right." Theo said as Subaru went off.
"Okay…so how do we keep the feral punk busy?" Nemo asked.
"I think I have an idea." Otto spoke up. "Have I told you all about my Blessing of Soul Language?"
The next day, the village had organized a search party for Emilia, who had vanished from the Sanctuary the night before. Garfiel was currently running through the forest, clearly feeling uneasy.
"Somethin' about this doesn't feel right…" the Demihuman said to himself. "Where is that damn princess? And where'd the old hag get to?"
Garfiel reached an old building and entered a room that held a large crystal, with someone that looked like Ryuzu inside of it. "Old hag! You in here?" Garfiel called out.
"So they were clones all along." he heard a voice say as the Demihuman scanned the room, not seeing anyone. "Honestly, something always seemed just that little bit artificial about them."
"Who's there?! Show yourself!" Garfiel demanded as he looked around before feeling a hand on his shoulder as he turned around.
"I'm sorry to have to disappoint you…but a friend asked for our help." Otto said as he stood alongside a few members of the group, before he removed his hat. "I may only have a small role, but I've set out to play it."
"What's all this about?" Garfiel asked, looking angry.
"To be frank, we wanted Ryuzu to be present when we spoke. Having her unavailable was unplanned for." Tanya spoke, having been the first one to talk. "It seems Emilia really messed with our plans."
"So…since we don't have a host to speak with…how about you play host instead?" Ivy asked.
"What? Instead? Where's the old hag?" Garfiel asked.
"We had no idea how all this would end up, so she was sent somewhere else." Theo said.
"Then why are all of you still here?" Garfiel asked.
"We're just buying time so the dashing knight can talk with his maiden be." Emerald said.
"Wait, what? But Emilia was reported missing by the villagers!" Garfiel said.
"Yeah…no. They're at the graveyard even as we speak." Theo said.
"Oh yeah?" Garfiel said as he knocked Otto away. "You people…you don't got what it takes to take me on." he said as he headed out only to notice his stone was missing. "My stone!" he said before he went and fell into a pit trap.
"Gotcha!" Aqua called down.
"You really gotta improve your luck!" Kazuma said, holding Garfiel's stone. "You never know when you'll run into a thief!"
"You little bastard! When I get outta here, I'm gonna rip out your guts and make your girlfriend eat 'em!" Garfiel said.
"...Otto, unleash the bugs." Kazuma said in a serious tone.
"The what?" Garfiel said before he realized the pit he was in was full of insects.
"I don't really have a lot of human friends, but I've made many other kinds. The whole forest is against you now. So…enjoy this welcome from the Zada Bugs!" Otto said as the bugs swarmed over Garfiel.
"That ought to keep him busy for a bit." Kazuma said. "Think we've bought Subaru enough time?"
"I dunno. Hopefully." Theo said. "But just in case, what's say we put some distance between Beast Boy and us?"
"Good idea." Ethox said as the group ran off. "Can I just say, Otto? Your blessing is really cool!"
"Thanks. Glad to put it to use to help." Otto thanked the Nobody as a bird flew down, calling. "What, already? Well, good thing we planned for that."
"Don't tell me, he's already out?" Kazuma asked.
"And it sounds like he's coming right after us." Cobalt said, hearing commotion behind them.
"What do we do?! He'll catch up and make me eat Kazuma's guts!" Aqua said.
"...Wait, what?! He thinks you're my…?!" Kazuma said. "Otto, tell me this plan can avoid my guts being served on a platter and get him to realize Aqua's not girlfriend material?!"
"What? How dare you! I'm so girlfriend material! I'm a goddess. I'm everyone's perfect match!" Aqua said.
"Is now really the time to argue about this…?" Michiru asked, exasperated.
"Don't worry, Mr. Sato." Otto said, pulling out some red crystals. "I've been given an exciting role for once, so I'm not going to be caught that easily!" he said, throwing the crystals in Garfiel's direction, where they blew up after a few seconds.
"Explosive crystals? Otto, you think of everything!" Kazuma said.
"Why didn't we ask him for help sooner?!" Aqua asked in amazement and disapproval.
"Hey, as long as he keeps helping us out like this, I don't care if we ignored him all those loops before!" Kazuma replied. "Seriously man, thanks a lot!"
"No, I should be thanking all of you for giving me this chance." Otto said. "My blessing was seen more as a curse by others, so I was always an outcast through the years. I thought I would have to keep running forever, but then Mr. Natsuki and Mythos Hearts rescued me from the Witches' Cult. Since he's my friend, I'm happy to help him. And considering you're his friend too, Mr. Sato, I'll do the same for you."
"...Dammit, I really shouldn't cry right now, it'll slow me down." Kazuma said, choking up a bit as he wiped his eyes.
Despite all of Otto's tricks and traps, it wasn't long however before Garfiel caught up to them.
"Well…you all really surprised me. Didn't think the weaklings had it in them. Now…my stone." Garfiel said.
"Not on our lives! I don't know why you're so against us because Emilia's trying to take these trials, but she has to take them! It's the only way we're gonna save the Sanctuary!" Aqua said.
"Save it? It's better if the barrier stays up!" Garfiel countered. "The villagers are safe here! We don't need outsiders to come and save us! We're fine without you!"
"So you're just gonna let all the mixed blood people in here not know what freedom is really like? You're basically saying you wanna keep 'em trapped in here forever!" Kazuma said.
"Shut up!" Garfiel yelled, punching Kazuma in the gut, knocking the wind out of the otaku. "Gimme my stone before I really get mad!"
"This is bad guys… we can't fight him with or without his stone, what're we supposed to do?" Michiru asked.
"...It seems our part is over." Otto said.
"Huh?" Garfiel said before being kicked across the face. The kicker having been Ram.
"Ram?!" Kazuma, Aqua and Michiru exclaimed, shocked by the maid's involvement.
"I had a feeling you'd get yourselves in trouble again. More specifically you two in particular, Barusu 2 and the delusional idiot." Ram said.
"At least think of something more original than that!" Kazuma complained.
"What would you prefer? Kazuscum? Pervy Sato? Maybe even Trashzuma." Ram said.
"...Thanks for the help, Ram." Kazuma deadpanned, deciding to take the L for now.
"You really saved us. I'm glad youre in the same guild as us." Michiru said.
"What are you doing Ram? You going against that bastard Roswaal?" Garfiel asked.
"No. I am always loyal to the master, that is why I am doing this." Ram said.
"Huh? But Roswaal, I mean… he's the one we're…" Aqua tried to say.
"I know what you're doing, you idiot. I would give my very soul to my master…but I'll do it in my own way." Ram said. "Quite frankly, I don't know why you all have such high hopes for Barusu. He's weak, useless, incompetent, and he can't make a decent cup of tea. But…he does have very good timing when things are dire. Despite the situation, if he sees an opportunity and acts on it, above all else, that is the only path to victory. He is only reliable then."
"...Yep. Ram's definitely a platonic tsundere." Kazuma chuckled.
"Miss Ram." the maid glared at him.
"You're proving me right!" Kazuma said.
"Guys! Let's save the argument until after we've managed to keep Garfiel busy for a while, okay?" Michiru cut in.
"My apologies. Cadzuma was the one who started it." Ram said.
"You really do say what's on your mind without a filter, huh…?" Michiru said. "But, nevermind. We'll make sure to buy Subaru all the time he needs."
"All right…you all have seriously pissed me off." Garfiel said as he started to assume his beastman form. "I'm gonna…kill you all!"
