Re: Avenger

by Just-Another-Marvel-DC-Geek

CONTINUATION IN CROSSOVER SECTION The arrival of a certain young hero shows the world of the Od Laguna just how small it truly is. Basically, Subaru is MCU Spidey and the Re:Zero cast meet Marvel Multiverse madness. Sounds fun, right? (First fic. Shamelessly posting in both regular and crossover sections for reach.)

10. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – The Price of Conflict

*CLACK*

"You are letting my footwork distract you! Stop overlooking the swings! You can't parry them all at the last second!"

"R-Right!"

Within the garden of the Karsten Mansion, an old butler and a black haired teenager were sparring. As morning turned to noon and lunchtime rapidly approached, the pair were getting ready to wrap up their training for the day. It had been a whole three days since the ceremony at the Royal Palace and Emilia and Roswaal had already retired back to the Mathers Domain.

*CLACK*

"…Alright. That'll be enough for today." Wilhelm withdrew his training blade after colliding with Subaru one last time.

"*Pant, pant* …Thanks Wilhelm." The boy withdrew his sword as well while wiping some sweat from his forehead. "I know I lost 13 to 7, but… I think I'm getting the hang of this, finally." He concluded with a grin.

"Hmm…" The butler pondered for some moments about the attitude of the young man. "You don't seem as upset as I figured you would be."

"Huh?"

"Your fight with Emilia-sama." Wilhelm continued. "The other day you discussed quite loudly, and judging from your cheek, it must have gotten rather heated for it to not have healed already."

"Oh…" Subaru rubbed his still red right cheek. "Well… Let's just say I expected it."

"How so?" Wilhelm frowned slightly. "I thought for sure you were loyal to her."

"It's not that I wanted to be disloyal or anything… But I guess I finally realized the difference between her and me."

"Difference?"

"Yeah." Subaru's face turned thoughtful. "When it comes to taking responsibility about things… It is one thing to act and another to just withstand. I don't really mind the insults, but I cannot follow someone that would let others walk over them. Though… I guess that is my fault. I suppose it's just because, before I came to this land, I was surrounded by leaders that always took charge of the situation. In that sense… I expected more from Emilia as a candidate…" He concluded with a melancholic tone.

"…I heard about what went on inside the palace." Wilhelm snapped Subaru out of his thoughts. "About your speech, your fight with Julius and the fact that you are from beyond the Waterfall…"

"So it's public knowledge now, huh…"

"Subaru-dono." The butler addressed the hero. "I am not aware of how… 'things' are handled on your world. But on ours, such actions would normally warrant the death penalty."

"Yeah, Julius said as much." Subaru chuckled.

"The sole reason a detachment hasn't come to arrest you is because my lady, alongside some of the other candidates, have directly intervened."

"Crusch and, surprisingly, both Anastasia and Priscilla…" Subaru stated.

"So you are aware. Good." The old man nodded. "It seems as though there are things each of them wish to discuss with you. Making you an asset to their camps now that Emilia-sama has broken ties with you is the most likely possibility. Despite your words at the castle, it seems they still hold you in a somewhat high regard."

"…You know? I'm surprised that you are not angry with me." Subaru turned to look at the butler. "I thought for sure you would get angry for a speech that basically berated your lady."

"Both Crusch-sama and I are patient people, Subaru-dono. Or at least we strive to be." Wilhelm answered. "Although I can't tell for certain, it would seem that Crusch-sama is interested in discussing her plan for governing with you, if only to see exactly how the two of you could agree or disagree. As for me… It is not my place or duty to judge you even if you were disrespectful to the ceremony and the council. I would not like for this budding friendship between you and I to be strained because of my opinions on the topic. I've already said venomous words in the past that I did not mean, entirely because of the heat of the moment…" The old man paused before he could finalize his thoughts. "On the topic of venomous words… I know what I just said about my opinion… but would you not reconsider making up with Emilia-sama?"

"…" Subaru gazed to the side with some shame, not looking towards Wilhelm. "Emilia and I… I know I also said things I didn't mean. I know how I just tried to irritate her because she deflected my questions… So, I wager she was right about me being petty after all. But there are things I did mean during our argument." He turned once more to the butler, with a resolute and confident expression. "If she can't realize that my criticism wasn't born from disdain… or that she is just being far too soft handed on her approach… then she and I have nothing to discuss."

"…I see."

"Moreover, with how Roswaal tried to just shrug off said discussion and attempt to renegotiate my return to the camp, I realize that he seems to be the one truly in charge of things in Emilia's side."

"The Margrave?" Wilhelm turned his head in confusion.

"Yeah." Subaru remembered some of the things Roswaal proposed before he left.

"Su~baru-kun! I understand that your discussion with Emilia-sama was important, but sure~ly you realize how it's exactly in these kind of situations that you should ma~ke up with her, right?" Although he still had some cheer about him, the lord's smile and makeup had clearly seen better days.

"Sorry Ros-chi, I meant what I said and did. If she doesn't want me in her camp, then the decision is entirely hers."

"But even so, she-!" The clown attempted to argue in a surprisingly desperate tone while uncharacteristically frowning.

"You might be the backer, but she is the one in charge." Subaru interrupted. "The decision is hers and hers alone, so I'd appreciate it if you could take it seriously."

As he reminisced on the clown's failed attempts to negotiate with him, he formulated a troubling thought. "It's one thing for what's basically a grunt like me to disobey their liege… It is another matter altogether for the backer of the actual candidate to do so. I don't want to rush to a conclusion… but it feels as though Roswaal was using Emilia, if he is capable of negotiating under her nose on her behalf right after an argument."

"…I'd appreciate it if you didn't assume so much about Lord Mathers." Wilhelm closed his eyes and commented.

"You respect him that much, huh?"

"Not exactly." He turned to Subaru once more and spoke in a nostalgic tone. "The Mathers I respected was his Grandmother. I just… feel like it would be a disservice to her legacy if I doubted her family, is all…"

"I see…" Subaru nodded and smiled. "Perhaps Roswaal was just trying to preserve the image of his family. Legacies sure are a pain, huh? Trying to live up to the expectations… I'm probably similar in that regard."

"Indeed, they are…" Wilhelm's eyes turned melancholic without the young man noticing, reminiscing on his wife... and the family he has failed. "Sometimes too heavy for one person to carry alone."

"Thanks Wilhelm." Subaru shook hands with the butler. "Hopefully we can talk some more about stuff in the future." The young man then began walking in the direction of the mansion instead of the entrance to the dining hall.

"Hmm?" Wilhelm raised an eyebrow at the boy's action. "Lunch is almost ready, are you going out perhaps?"

"Yeah… I feel like patrolling the city for a bit!"

"*Sigh* Do be careful about not infuriating anyone else, young man." The butler concluded while sighing with a tired smile at the vigilante. "It would trouble my lady were you to get into more problems."

"Will do!" Subaru answered back with a smile as he entered the mansion.

The Capital city of the Kingdom Lugunica was bustling with activity once more in the sunny afternoon. People congregated on the market, conducting business as usual. On one side, you could spot bantering and negotiating merchants troubling their intermediaries and salesmen as they bargained the prices of products. On another stall, you could see customers rapidly congregating to buy fresh meat, regardless of the price, much to the butcher's contentment. However, bustling activity also meant budding trouble. "Ack!" As a green clothed merchant with shoulder length grey hair and blue eyes was conducting a transaction, buying supplies for a long journey, he was suddenly pushed aside as a group of thieves took his coin purse and ran away. "Wha- HEY! HEY, WAIT UP! T-THIEVES!" The man pursued while leaving his carriage and possessions behind with the vendor he was just discussing with, but it was futile. The thieves simply kept pushing people and crates his way, impeding his run. "KNIGHTS! KNIGHTS!" The merchant called in desperation to no avail, everyone looking on in pity as he fell to his knees in sadness. "Someone…"

Just as the merchant sank on his despair, a shadow flew over him and everyone in the main street. "What?" one of the thieves muttered in confusion as the figure of a man dressed in a skintight black and orange suit suddenly swung from the buildings above them and landed in front of their escape route. "Who the fuck-?!" Before the thief at the front of the formation could complete his insult, a white string was shot at his eyes, blinding and confusing him, granting enough time for the vigilante to land a punch to his liver and completely immobilize him. "GACK!"

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" The other four thieves rushed at the man that attacked their companion with knives in hand for each of them. However, as they retaliated, the group quickly found out how ill prepared they were for a confrontation. Two of the men attempted to stab at the same time from the sides but, before their daggers could connect, Spider-Man grabbed a hold of their wrists and launched them into the air, much to their surprise. "Wha-AAAH!" "UAAAAH!" As they began to freefall, the arachnid shot webs at them, sticking their bodies to the wall of the alleyway they intended to escape into. "Wha-what is this?!" "L-let us go! Come on, man!"

As the bandits pleaded, trying to distract the man that had beaten them, the remaining two attempted to cast spells in hopes that they would kill the vigilante that dared to oppose them. "Goa!" "Fura!" The spells quickly approached, proving fatal if tanked head on. However, with a flick of his wrist, Spider-Man shot out a web of pure electricity and completely blocked the attacks. "What?!" One of the bandit mages yelled in confusion. As the thieves prepared to cast another spell, the arachnid shot webs at their torsos and pulled them towards him. "GH!" "HAH!" The thieves stood no chance as they rapidly collided with the arms of the man who performed a lariat on them, knocking them out cold. The witnessing crowd stood in silence for a brief moment before exploding into cheer at the spectacle before them.

"Woah!"

"Did you see that?!"

"Way to go!"

"About damn time someone caught 'em sorry lot!"

"Amazing!"

The hero then picked up the three knocked-unconscious thieves and stuck them together on the alleyway wall the other two knife wielders were gazing in from in astonishment. As he did so, a trio of knights finally showed up at the scene. "What is the meaning of this?!" One of them, who seemed unremarkable and slightly older than Subaru, questioned. "What have you done to these-?!"

"I did your job, thank you very much." Subaru answered with some sarcasm and an unnoticed grin inside his mask. "That web will dissolve in two hours… or at least close to evening. You can cut it up if you'd like as well, however."

"Wha-!" Before the knights could continue their interrogation, Spider-Man grabbed the coin purse one of the thieves was holding and shot a web at the roof of the buildings above, swinging back towards the owner of the stolen goods. "Hold it! Natsuki! Spider-Man!" One of the knights yelled in an attempt to gain the attention of the hero, to no avail. However, he did catch the attention of the people around them, who didn't waste any time in forming a crowd around the knights to ask with giddy faces and childish glee about the Avenger.

"So that was Spider-Man?!"

"Is it true that he beat a Royal Knight?!"

"I heard he fought an army of wolgarms!"

"He fought the Bowel Hunter too, right?!"

"Is he really from beyond the Great Waterfall?!"

"His name is Subaru Natsuki right?!"

"Is he a knight yet?!"

"TSK!" One of the knights expressed his discomfort while looking away from the crowd. "There is no way he could be knighted…" He whispered to no one as frustration was drawn on his and his comrades' faces.

On the other side of the grand crowd that formed after the confrontation, the green merchant stood still in astonishment about the fight. "G-good lord…" He forgot for a moment that HE was the one who was robbed moments prior. At least he did so until the hero of the occasion landed right in front of him. "EEP!" The nervous wreck yelped in surprise as though his voice was that of a little girl.

"I believe this is yours." Subaru lifted his mask and smirked as he gave back the coin purse to the merchant. "Don't go losing it again."

"AH!" The grey haired man exclaimed in relief while counting his money, realizing it was all there. "Thank goodness! I'm on my last legs right now! If I had lost this money I would be doomed!"

"You are not hurt are you?" Subaru questioned, inspecting the man.

"Huh?"

"They just pushed you? No wounds? No need for treatment?" He asked in a serious tone while looking at the merchant in the eye.

"N-No. Um… thank you for worrying, by the way…" The man nervously replied at the hero's worry.

"Good, then-"

"W-Wait!" Just as Subaru put on the mask again and got ready to leave, the merchant called out to him. "I'm indebted to you!"

"Don't worry, you owe me nothing." The Avenger nodded. "Just doing my part."

"W-well, at least let me thank you!" He reached a hand towards the young man. "My name is Otto Suwen! I'm a merchant!"

"…My name is Natsuki Subaru, an Avenger." Subaru shook hands with Otto, feeling a strange sense of relief. In truth, ever since he told Emilia who he was and didn't have to bother about keeping his identity hidden, he had been feeling as though a weight was lifted from his shoulders. "Nice to meet you Otto. Be seeing you around." He stopped shaking the merchant's hand and swung away.

"W-wait, I-!" Otto tried to call out once more, but he realized it accomplished nothing with how far the man was now. "*Sigh* What a day… hopefully I can at least sell this oil without any more trouble showing up…" He sighed as he returned to his carriage.

"Okay Karen, anymore trouble popping up?" The young man asked as he landed on the guardrail of a balcony overlooking the market.

"Two blocks from here, to the right of the intersection. Another hit-and-run." The program informed while displaying an image onto the lenses of his suit.

"Busy day, eh?"

Subaru would then spend the early afternoon just like this, swinging over the masses, patrolling and intervening in case a crime was committed and catching the criminals in the stead of the knights. After an hour or so, he had already caught well over a two dozens of thieves in total, earning a myriad of cheers all around him as well as some glares from both the villains and the knights. His last catch ended up, to his surprise, landing him besides a familiar stall.

"Spider-Man!"

"Hmm?" Subaru turned his head to the child calling out to him in cheer… to see the green haired little girl he met two months ago. "Plum!"

"Up! Up!" The moppet rushed at Subaru, to what he responded by catching and lifting her in his arms, earning a hearty laugh from her.

"It's good to see you again, Subaru-san!" The mother of the child, who was carrying a crate of fruit, saluted the young man.

"Hey Raksha-san!" Subaru saluted while lifting his mask. "Been a while!"

"So… You've certainly been busy." Kadomon, the stall's owner commented with a smirk.

"Yeah, well…" Subaru put Plum down, making the girl pout. "I've just been letting out some steam, you know? Catching thieves and the like…"

"Heh~!" The man laughed. "You've done the job of a whole squad of knights today I hear! Catching more than twenty robbers in a day is no small feat!"

"Yeah… I guess not. Still, there sure is a lot of robberies around these parts!"

"With what you've done today there won't be that many in the future, hopefully!" The salesman's wife cheered.

"So… Are the rumors true?" Kadomon changed topics while picking up his daughter. "Are you really… you know…"

"From beyond the Waterfall? Yeah." The young man confidently admitted.

"Wow…" Raksha suspired in surprise.

"Figures!" Kadomon concluded with a smile. "Your apparatuses are all so astounding; the other world must be filled with metias!"

"Yeah, something like that!" Subaru chuckled.

"Hmm?" As the two men conversed, a loud crowd formed near them. "Ah, must be the news on the candidates…"

"Huh?" Subaru turned around to see what the merchant was looking at. The loud crowd was surrounding a poster with the drawn portrait of the five candidates: Priscilla, Crusch, Anastasia, Felt and Emilia.

"A Vollachian woman?!"

"So lady Karsten is going to govern us…?"

"It's a selection, moron!"

"Does it matter? That Kararagian merchant is probably going to buy all the votes that matter…"

"Hey, isn't that one the blonde kid that used to rob purses and fruit around these parts?!"

"You are right! It is her!"

"A slum dweller?!"

"A thief?!"

"Are we not going to address the most worrying one?!"

"Look!"

"A-A… A half-elf…?"

"Her description…"

"It matches the Witch!"

"Shh! Don't go around yelling it!"

"You don't know who could be hearing!"

"A half-devil…"

"Is the council serious?!"

"This has to be some bad joke!"

"These choices are awful…"

"…" Subaru stared at the poster and the crowd with a conflicted expression.

"Eesh… Sure must be tough for them. Emilia and Felt, I mean…" Kadomon rubbed the back of his head in worry. "Come to think of it, you serve Emilia, right? How come you are still here? Heard she was back in the Margrave's territory."

"…She and I… We had a falling out." Subaru admitted at Kadomon with a sad smile. "We are not in speaking terms."

"O-Oh…" Kadomon muttered in surprise, to which his wife smacked him over the back of the head. "YOWCH?! What the hell!"

"Be more sensitive! Look! He is all sad now!" Raksha pointed at the surprised Subaru.

"If anything, I'm relieved to see the two of you can still act normally even though you know two of the candidates…" Subaru smiled, trying to reassure the couple.

"Oh, well, we just figured it's the problem of the nobility and all, not ours really…" Kadomon responded.

"Well, with how some of the nobles refer to the commoners, it could become our problem as well…" Raksha admitted as her husband sighed in agreement. "*Sigh* Just what is the Kingdom coming to? I know the previous Royal Family did not do that great, but… If these are our options…"

Before Subaru or Kadomon could reassure Raksha, the crowd got even louder.

"How come they can't just make Spider-Man the ruler?"

"Huh?" Subaru and the family perked up at the question in confusion.

"The guy that beat up the Royal Knight?"

"Yeah! That guy!"

"But why? How would he be better than these women?"

"Did you not hear about his speech?"

"I heard he showed up the entirety of the nobility for their shortcomings!"

"He stood up to everyone! The council, the candidates… even a room full of knights and mages!"

"Serves them pricks right!"

"I heard he stared down their Captain, Marcos!"

"He comes from beyond the Waterfall, does he not?!"

"I heard he serves one of the candidates, though…"

"But I hear he cut ties with them!"

"He caught a whole buncha' thieves right now. I say he is already more responsible than the knights!"

"Yeah! I can back that!"

"If he rebelled against the nobility, I'd join in!"

"Don't yell it so loudly! What if a knight heard?!"

"But you agree with me, don't you?!"

"…Well, I do, but…"

"Yeah! Natsuki would make a good king! He isn't afraid of showing those upper chaste bastards up!"

"Yeah!"

"King Spider-Man!"

"Yeah!"

The group looked at the crowd in astonishment as they began theorizing about Subaru becoming ruler. "They seem awfully motivated, don't they…?" Raksha commented with a frown.

"Augh…" Subaru rubbed his temples in annoyance, as though a headache he was having. "This has to be a bad joke!"

"Well, you did stand against the nobility. I guess you reap what you sow!" Kadomon laughed, to which even his wife could not help but giggle.

"Oh, shut up!" Subaru complained with a chuckle as well.

"Subaru-kun…?" As the young man and the family laughed, a familiar voice called out to him.

"Rem?" Subaru turned around to see the blue maid of the Mathers household. "Wh-what are you doing here…?"

"O-Oh! I was just… there were no appas in the Karsten Mansion and I thought about… buying… some." The girl answered in a meek voice. She seemed visibly deflated in both tone and appearance.

"Oh… I see." The young man uttered in a low tone.

"Ummm…. Hey, you could…" As Kadomon attempted to defuse the situation, Subaru acknowledged his plea.

"R-Right!" Subaru grabbed his bag and approached Rem. "Hey, um… I'm gonna go change clothes in that alley over there… you can, just…"

"Um! Sure!" Rem perked up and responded immediately.

"Subaru?" Plum called out to him before the boy left.

"Hmm? What is it Plum?" Subaru kneeled to talk to the girl with a reassuring smile.

"Are you leaving?" She asked with a sad face.

"Yeah, I've got some things to talk about with Onee-san over here." Subaru noticed how deflated the girl looked and proceeded to grab something out of his bag. "Here!"

"Huh?" The girl noticed with glee how Subaru handed her plushy of Spider-Man. "Woah!"

"This way I'll always be with you! How about that?"

"Thank you!" The girl grinned with a toothy smile.

After Subaru got dressed and Rem bought the fruit, the pair walked for a bit in an awkward silence.

"…"

"…"

"…So…" Subaru commented. "You had lunch yet?"

"Huh?" Rem tilted her head.

"I-I asked if you had lunch already… I mean, we could… you know… grab something to eat together."

"Um, um!"

"I mean, only if you want-"

"I do!" Rem responded as she regained some glee.

The pair was now sitting over a balcony overlooking the market, glasses of water resting on the table.

"Rem?"

"Y-yes?" The girl answered before sipping on some water.

"Why are you… Why are you still here?" Subaru directly addressed the heart of the matter and asked.

"Huh?"

"I mean, why are you still in the Capital?" He continued. "I know we are staying in the same mansion, but we've barely interacted since… my argument with Emilia."

"Oh… that." Rem nodded. "Roswaal-sama told me to. As he returned to the mansion with Emilia-sama, he said he wanted me to stay behind and attempt to consolidate her allegiance with Crusch-sama."

"Allegiance with Crusch?" Subaru raised an eyebrow. "What's that all about?"

"W-well…" Rem wondered about whether she should keep talking camp matters with an outsider, but the moment she gazed back at a definitely interested Subaru, her heart took charge of the situation. "According to Roswaal-sama, he realized some things from your speech and he said that if Emilia-sama is to stand a chance then she should attempt to ally herself with another candidate!"

"…Yeah, EMILIA should…" Subaru frowned at the mention of Roswaal conducting another deal behind Emilia's back, solidifying his suspicion of the man. "If it was so important, why not tell Emilia herself? Why not do it himself? Why would he send his maid of all people to do that kind of job?"

"I-I do not know…" Rem gazed down in shame. "In truth, he just told me to hash out the details myself, but I don't know where to begin with…"

Subaru felt bad looking at Rem's troubled state. Roswaal had given her an unreasonable mission, to consolidate an alliance between government camps by herself. Tsk! That damn clown… he just looks worse by the second. He probably left Rem behind so that I would pity her and intervene in an attempt to bring me back into the camp… "Rem."

"Yes?" Subaru broke the maid out of her thoughtful state.

"When are you returning home?"

"Um, tomorrow night…"

"Then I'm coming with you."

"Huh?!" Rem got up in happiness. "Are you saying you are-?!"

"No, I'm not joining the camp again." He interrupted her celebration, even if he hated seeing her suddenly shift into a sad mood.

"Then… why?" Rem sat back down as she wondered.

"I have to retrieve my stuff… Plus, I have to discuss something with Roswaal. About his attitude." He answered with a serious expression.

"O-Oh…"

Subaru noticed her sad state and decided to cheer her up. "Hey, just because I'm not coming back to the camp it does not mean I won't be visiting Arlam. I still have to fulfill my promises to Petra and Meilli about coming back!" He stated with a reassuring smile. "That and I would like to see you and Beatrice again. Maybe Ram? But she would probably call me an insect and throw a boulder at me…"

"FuFu~, Nee-sama would do that…" Rem laughed a bit at Subaru's joke.

"Hey." He grabbed Rem's attention once more. "I have some… deals to take care tonight and tomorrow in the morning. But what say that, after that, we spend the entire day together. Just you and me. You up for it?" He proposed with a smile.

"Really?!" Rem got up to celebrate once more.

"Absolutely. It might be lonely that it's not Emilia, Puck, you and me anymore, but-"

"It's fine! Really!" The maid interrupted the boy's rambling. "If anything, it's better! Rem is happy regardless!"

"Ah… U-huh…"

"Madam, sir, your food." The waiter interrupted the two as he set their plates of pasta on the table.

"Thank you." Subaru responded as the waiter left. "Well… what are we waiting for? Let's dig in!"

"Yes!"

The two would then spend the rest of the afternoon and early evening together, returning to the Karsten estate as the sun lowered in the horizon. As the pair enjoyed themselves, however, within a mansion far away from the Capital, a girl colored in silver wondered.

"…"

"Lia…"

"…"

"Hey, Lia~"

"…"

"…Emilia, please. Talk to me…"

*CLACK*

"Puck." Emilia, who was sitting in front of her desk, set down her quill loudly, making an echo within the room. "Please stop distracting me." She stated without even looking at her spirit.

"Lia, you've been studying ever since we came back… You've barely eaten or talked to anyone these past few days." The cat winced and scowled at the memory of the fight he witnessed from Emilia's crystal. "Subaru isn't worth all this moping around and you know it."

"Don't talk about him like that…" Emilia muttered in a low tone.

"See? It's better if we just forget about him and-"

"Was I wrong?"

"Huh?" The half-elf's question surprised her father figure. However, what really left an impression on him was when she turned around… with a tear soaked expression on her face. "L-Lia?!"

"Puck, he was right, wasn't he…?"

"Because I'm not a 'yes' man, Emilia!"

"If your whole premise can be toppled off the moment you propose it, how do you expect anyone to back you?!"

"I'm still your friend. But I cannot mince my words…"

"You are still the girl that would introduce herself as 'Satella' just to scare off a stranger trying to help you!"

"I just went and slapped him… *sob* but he was trying to tell me what I lacked and what I did wrong right, RIGHT?!" Emilia asked in a messy tone.

"H-He wasn't right!" Puck objected. "It's his fault for saying all that stuff! You didn't do anything wrong!"

"*Sob* If I didn't do anything wrong then why did we fight?!" She yelled in retort. "Subaru was right! You and Roswaal… you are just 'yes' men! Pulling me around without telling me what I lack! As if I was a doll!" The room had begun to freeze over as Emilia got up and pointed at the spirit in a fit of desperation.

"Emilia, you are wrong! I-!"

"Have you ever lied to me, Puck?" Emilia calmed down enough to ask once again.

"Wh-What?" The nervous wreck of a Spirit stuttered.

"Have you ever hidden something from me?" The half-elf sternly questioned while glaring through the reemerging tears.

"…" Puck was too dumbfounded to even formulate an answer to his daughter's rapidly changing moods and questions. "L-Lia, I… I would never-"

"…out." Before the cat could finish his defense, the girl understood the meaning behind his hesitation and interrupted.

"Huh?!"

"I said get out!"

Puck was astonished. Never had his contractor so vehemently rejected him. "L-Lia, please!"

"Get out Puck! I don't want to see you!" Emilia spat, looking away from the spirit.

"….I….I understand…" The cat paused for a few seconds. "I-If you need me, I'll be with Betty, alright?" He attempted a cheery tone to no avail and, with a heavy heart, Puck left the room.

"…" Emilia stood in silence as the room froze around her.

As the Great Spirit crossed the door, he was surprised by the visage of a pink haired maid waiting in stand-by outside the candidate's room. "…What do you want, maid?" He questioned with indifference.

"…Nothing, I just came to inform you that Roswaal-sama has already departed for Sanctuary."

"…I see." Puck then flew away without paying much attention to the girl.

"…" Ram stood there, still staring at the cold door to Emilia's chambers. "Tsk! Stupid Barusu… worrying everyone like this…" The maid muttered while scowling. Even Roswaal-sama looked troubled, you bastard…

It was night out now in the streets of the Capital. As most businesses closed shop, the taverns and theatres opened their functions, welcoming people with the offer of entertainment and alcohol. The lights mixed in the distance, creating a spectacle for those that lived above the masses. Within the Noble District, in the balcony of the Karsten Mansion, Crusch observed in contemplation with a glass of wine how the bustling night landscape developed.

"Did you call for me?" Subaru entered the balcony in the outfit he used for the Royal Selection, which he mended. His hair shined, having just recently come out from the bath, and he had unbuttoned the top buttons of the outfit, revealing his collarbone and some of his muscle. Crusch had invited him over for dinner, so he figured he should at least look presentable if not as well relaxed.

"Natsuki." An elegantly dressed Crusch, with an air of maturity about her, greeted him with a confident smile. "Quite rude of you to have me wait. Won't you share this view with me?"

"Casual outfit…? No, I don't think that's it." Subaru grinned and sat down.

"May I offer a glass of wine?"

"No, thank you." Subaru denied while taking a bottle of tea out of his jacket and pouring the contents on his glass. "I'm trying not to make a habit of drinking, actually."

"Well, I'm not planning on getting drunk, if that's what is bothering you." The Lady admitted.

"It's not as if you should drink however, you are a minor still." From Subaru's wrist, a mechanic voice interrupted.

"Well, when I'm 18-"

"When you are 21. I'm not letting such a glaring oversight happen again."

"Aw, come on! Are you my mom?!" The young man chuckled while complaining.

"A spirit?" Crusch mused.

"Not quite." Subaru lifted his right hand to Crusch. "Karen, say hello."

"Greetings. My name is Karen, the Spider-Man suit in-built Artificial Intelligence and Subaru's assistant."

"Greetings." Crusch saluted. "Artificial, huh? So I take it as another metia from your world?"

"To be precise, we don't call them 'metias' in my world." Subaru rubbed the back of his head. "We just call them technology in general."

"I see…" Crusch wondered while resting her head on her hand. "You must come from quite the interesting world then, to have such advanced artifacts."

"I wouldn't say it's THAT interesting… I mean, we don't have demi-humans or Divine Protections over there. So to me, YOU are the interesting ones." He commented while taking a sip of his bottle and locking eyes with the lady.

"Hmm… I can tell that you are partly lying in that statement…" Crusch stared sternly.

"…Well… My world is interesting, alright…" The boy admitted with a smug face, earning a nod of approval from the woman. "But I wasn't lying about my interest in your world."

"Yes, I can tell that… The demi-humans part has me curious, but the lack of Divine Protections sounds alarming. How do your powers work then?" The Duchess asked with a smirk of curiosity while swirling the glass of wine in her hand.

"Well, funny story actually. I was bitten by a spider that-"

"Crusch-sama?!" Felix asked in bafflement at the scene before him. Subaru and Crusch were dressed in elegant if not somewhat flirtatious outfits while enjoying drinks and dinner in the moon and city lights. "Wh-what is going on here?! Why are you dressed like that?!"

"Is there a problem in how I'm dressed?" Crusch wondered in confusion. "I always dress like this when dinning with you…"

"The problem is that he is a man?!" He is not Fourier-sama or me!

"You are a man as well!" Subaru complained in bafflement. "Why are you picking on me for?!"

"That's…" In truth, Felix wanted to make up with Subaru. The day of the duel, he had fought and beaten Julius and, because of this and his earlier speech, he lashed out at the young Avenger. He felt insulted that someone would criticize his liege, but if she herself did not admonish the guy, then he had no business doing it either. Therefore, he figured he should talk with him and make amends… at least he thought of doing that until he noticed how close his Lady was getting with him.

"Felix, while I appreciate your concern, there are things I wish to discuss with Subaru-dono, so… If you will." The Duchess directed her attendant to leave.

"…" Felix walked towards the exit before turning around and gazing at Subaru with disdain. "Crusch-sama, please don't forget. If he is willing to renounce to his own lady so easily, then he could do the same for our camp…" He concluded while leaving the balcony.

"…What did he mean by that?" Subaru narrowed his eyes at the door the cat had just exited from.

"…Subaru-dono." Crusch captured his attention once more. "I'll be blunt. Would you not consider joining my camp?"

"…I see. So that's what this is all about." The young man closed his eyes for a few seconds before answering. "Crusch-san. Are you aware of why I left the Emilia camp? Apart from the fact that she fired me, of course."

"You mean your discussion?"

"Indeed." He nodded.

"Hmm… As far as I'm aware, you admonished her lackadaisical attitude and unclear approach towards governing, right?"

"Yeah, basically."

"If you need an assurance of how I will govern first, then allow me to explain." The Lady paused for a moment and sipped on her beverage. "Are you aware of how this country was founded?"

"A contract between the first Lion King, Farsale, and the Divine Dragon, Volcanica, yes?"

"Yes." The woman nodded. "The contract stated that the Dragon would protect the Kingdom from the threats that would mean its destruction… yet, that very same dragon allowed the previous Royal Family to die out." She stated with a scowl. "Depending on an all-powerful creature that seems to decide things on a whim… How is that an acceptable form of government?"

"You wish to dispel the contract that represents the archaic ways of the kingdom?"

"Indeed."

"…I would agree, but… It seems as though the death of the Royal Family due to a pandemic is what affects you the most… I could tell from your expression."

"…Whether I have more intimate reasons should not be a bother to my overall goal."

"I'm sorry then." Subaru bowed his head in apology. "I overstepped."

"No need. It is fine to want assurance from a government figure, after all. It's what government figures SHOULD provide."

"But then again… how will you govern without the Dragon's influence?"

"I wish to stablish a kingdom that forgets such influence in favor of fostering what matters. Education, civilization, medicine, technologies." At this last word, she locked eyes with Subaru once again, intently staring. "I wish for a kingdom that develops the best of the best in every front. To show the world that we have no need of greatly powerful beings lording over us."

"….That sounds enticing." Subaru raised an eyebrow. "So… what's the catch? Surely you don't expect me to blindly believe in that after what I said in the castle."

"…While this society I propose would do away with the discrimination perpetuated against demi-humans… It would not be kind to the general populace as a whole."

"How so?"

"If I measure that a problem represents more risk than the reward it provides, then I would have no qualms in abandoning it altogether."

"…So if the development of the slums proved far too complicated…"

"…I would leave them to themselves, yes."

"…" Subaru stood still as he processed her words. "You are honest, I'll give you that."

"What would your answer be, then?"

"…Crusch-san." Subaru looked at her intently. The candidate couldn't discern well the intent of his stare, however, as it fluctuated from an accusatory glance to a gaze of pity. "You are aware that, in my world, I don't come from an economically fortunate situation, right?"

"Well… I just said that if it was too complicated or likely to fail, I would abandon them." The Duchess smiled while sipping on her wine some more. "If you WERE to join me and propose a feasible solution, then even developing the slums would not be an impossible task, right?"

"So you are willing to use the future of the slums and your trust on MY knowledge on both technology and such a life as bargaining chips in order to have me join?" The young man stated, seeking confirmation.

"Well… That's how much I appreciated your speech after all." She chuckled. "If a man from an unfortunate situation such as yourself was capable of standing up with pride in front of the entire nobility, then how could it be impossible for the entire outer district not to do the same by following your guidance?"

"…Were not for the fact that you have a concrete plan, even without me in the picture, I'd call you desperate." He chuckled as well. "You are aware that I still have interviews with two other candidates as well, right?"

"The other two that intervened to stop any legal procedure against you, yes. Anastasia and Priscilla." Crusch nodded while looking over the balcony once more. "I am not forcing you to give me an answer right away. You can think it over after reviewing your options."

"Thank you." Subaru bowed his head. "I'm aware it's selfish, but I'm still deciding on whether or not I should interfere with the selection still."

"Do consider that I'm a busy woman, however." The candidate advised while giving the young man a side-glance.

"You are talking about all the hustle and bustle of carriages and soldiers? There was also that Russell Fellow guy when Rem and I came back…"

"I cannot exactly divulge about it with people outside my camp…" She smirked while turning back at him and raising her glass.

"Touché…" Subaru smiled and raised his glass as well.

*CLINK*

The two toasted to the possibility of allying themselves with each other, spending the rest of the evening with Subaru recounting tales of his world to the interested noblewoman.

The next day, Subaru set out in the morning, right after dawn, to a summon by Priscilla Barielle. Her knight, Aldebaran, stood guard in front of the estate while waiting on his otherworldly brother. "Hey! Spider-Man!"

"Hey Al!" Subaru waved at the one armed man. "How's it been?"

"Well, my lady has been rather interested in my world as of late, so she's been beating me less than usual ever since you came around!" The man stated with cheer.

"Beatings…? I mean, good for you man!" A nervous Subaru looked at the man with pity.

"So, what's in the bag?"

"Huh?"

"Sorry pal, it's just… security, you know…"

"Yeah… I guess you are right," He opened the bag to reveal a bottle filled with a black liquid and some confectioned fruit slices, some papers with drawings and instructions and a pair of apparatuses resembling portable stoves. "The sweets are for your Lady. A peace offering!"

"Damn… you haven't wasted any time, huh?" Al checked out the devices before grabbing the bottle in astonishment. "H-Hold on… is this…?"

"Cola. For you." Subaru smiled. "I didn't really know if you'd like it, but I thought you could at least enjoy the nostalgia."

"I-I see…" The man pocketed the bottle. "*sob* Thank you…" He trembled for a bit and thanked Subaru in a somewhat cracking voice before guiding him inside. "Please… Come in."

"So… You said you knew about me?"

"Huh?" Al tilted his head.

"You know. You called me the Spider-Man from YouTube." Subaru prompted for an answer.

"Oh! That…" Aldebaran hesitated for a bit. "It's just… after 'The Snap', I pretty much lost everyone I cared for… and you weren't really heard from either... It must have affected you pretty badly, eh? It even made world governments shut down in masse to lose half the population!" Al rambled without noticing the nervous sweat from Subaru. "So I only ever saw old footage of your heroics on YouTube."

'The Snap'… Fitting they called it that. Subaru thought about the name given to the incident. "But wait, how come you talk about 'The Snap', but not what happened afterwards? The YouTube footage has been around since before that…"

"Oh, well…" Al paused for some seconds. "Truth is, a year after it happened, I popped up into this world."

"Wait, you just 'popped' into existence here? No portal or anything?"

"Nope. Beats me whatever brought my ass over."

"I see…" Subaru pondered the implication of disappearing before the Five-year gap. "So you don't know what happened with Thanos afterwards…"

"'Course I do!" Al said with a confident tone. "Thor chopped off his head, right? I mean, that was the official statement, anyways."

"What?" A now confused Subaru uttered.Then the Thanos that I fought… Ah! It has something to do with the time machine! That would explain 'two' Thanos! "Well, truth is… the Avengers managed to reverse 'The Snap' five years later."

Al stopped on his tracks, just before the entrance to the building. "…What?"

"It's true!" Subaru informed in a cheerful tone. "We fought a… 'time travelling' Thanos and managed to undo 'The Snap'!"

"Y-Y-You really did?!" A surprised Aldebaran exclaimed, especially intrigued by the 'time travelling' part. "Th-Then everyone back home…"

"They are back." The younger man completed the one-armed knight's sentence. "Although… The result of that battle ended up launching me into this world by pure luck…" He chuckled this last bit.

"I-I see…" Aldebaran, looking to compose himself, distracted his thoughts away with his duty. "U-Umm… The entrance door, right this way…"

"Oh, yeah!" Subaru followed the man. After entering the mansion, the pair walked a bit and then crossed a threshold before entering a great hall decorated in red, black and gold. "Huh…" Subaru uttered while noticing the colors and the sole throne standing in the middle of the room. "Someone sure is confident…"

"So you are here." Priscilla, who was sitting on the throne, greeted him. "Ready to join my camp, hmm~?" She fanned herself with a smirk.

"Before we discuss, first." Subaru gave the confectioned fruit to Al. "A present. So that you won't execute me at the drop of a hat." He joked.

"*Sigh* You assume me too much of a savage." Priscilla responded to the joke with a glint of disappointment. "Not a good first impression to crack a jest as though a buffoon you were."

"Hehe, sorry, sorry…" Subaru rubbed the back of his head. He was dressed in his usual casual clothes, a short-sleeved white t-shirt with unbuttoned top buttons. His pants, however, had a streak of orange on the side to contrast their black color now. "I made some candy I thought you might like. They are based on fruit, so the flavor is bound to be there!"

"Hmm..." Barielle gazed at the candy Al was presenting her in wonder before ordering her knight. "Al, have you tasted them first?"

"Yes, I did. A pair in fact. And I chose them at random, so no funny business."

"Your doubt wounds me…" Subaru joked with sarcasm.

"Then… feed me the appa shaped ones!" Priscilla then ordered with a smile.

"On it." Al obeyed and proceeded to insert the candy in her mouth.

"Hmm~." The matriarch's face sparked with joy for a brief moment before assuming her assured and confident disposition once more. "Indeed a tasty treat… You have earned my attention clown. Speak."

"I'll get straight to the point, then…" Subaru thought for a moment. "I hear you wish for a meritocracy. I want to know the details."

"You have the gall to ask ME for details?" The matriarch scowled and narrowed her eyes. "Why should I degrade myself into teaching a monkey about the inner workings of mine judgement?"

"Because… this monkey possesses knowledge beyond the years of your civilization?" He confidently stated.

"So does Al. You are not special." She reasoned with a bored expression.

"Yes, but, and not to insult you Al…"

"Don't worry bro, no insult taken. I know I'm no Brainiac, unlike you." Aldebaran joked.

"…As I was saying, I have experience on construction of what your people call 'metias' as well as the knowledge to prepare your world in case of an event of apocalyptic proportions."

"Like the invasions of YOUR world? Hah!" The matriarch laughed. "Quite bold of you to assume we are not prepared to fend off an invader…"

"So Al did tell you…" Subaru grinned. "However, I think there is a fundamental misunderstanding about how these invasions work."

"How so?"

"To begin with, they are not like detachments or squadrons or troops positioning themselves at the border of a country… they are FAR more chaotic, and perhaps more destructive…"

*CLACK*

"Proof." Priscilla stated in a serious tone. "Grant me proof and I will explain myself."

"…At your behest." Subaru then approached her and Al and lifted his left wrist. "Karen?"

"Gladly." The bracelet projected an holographic screen in front of the group.

"Man… I missed stuff like this!" Aldebaran exclaimed in giddy excitement. However, just as he yelled, he received a punch to the arm. "BUGH!"

"Control yourself moron." Priscilla ordered. "What exactly are you trying to achieve here, Natsuki…?"

Subaru wondered in surprise how it was the first time Priscilla addressed him by name. Must have surprised her… good. "Priscilla-sama… this is an otherworldly invasion…"

The screen went on to display the same clip of the Battle of New York that Subaru had displayed back at the Roswaal mansion months prior to Priscilla and Al, showing off the scale of the monsters invading as well as the astounding spectacle of alien weaponry.

"Holy shit… so this is how they did it? I only saw the blurry recordings from TV back home…" An impressed Al commented.

"…" Priscilla processed the sight for a moment with a contemplative face before addressing the young man once again. "Natsuki… I will now explain to you how this camp works." She called out with a serious expression.

"Please, go on." Subaru indicated.

"As you know… I strive to institute a meritocracy in this country. Regardless of whether they are noble or commoner, it does not matter. They perform their job and they do it correctly? They shall be rewarded. However, as the goddess I am, I will always stand at the top of it all. Every decision goes through me. Every action HAS to be for my sake. If you were to humiliate yourself and claim it for my sake, nevertheless, I would have you executed on the spot."

"I see… But won't that self-centeredness hurt in the long run?"

"How so?" Priscilla wondered at the question.

"So you don't get mad at being referred as self-centered…" Subaru sweated in surprise. "Anyways, what I mean to say is… won't that leave behind those who cannot perform to your expectations and generate resentment against you?"

"Naturally." The Lady smirked. "If I have expectations for you, you must simply live up to them. If you do not… Then I've no need of you." Priscilla stated while glaring at Subaru. "If you fail to live up to my expectations and then have the audacity to hate me, then I'll kill you myself and make of your corpse an example."

"…I see." The Avenger nodded. "In that case, I would have to give my absolute best at every turn!"

"So you are agreeing to become my serf?" The matriarch smirked in amusement.

"Not quite." Subaru interrupted.

"Ah… Your other proposals…" The fiery woman reasoned with an annoyed face. "You should know better already… I provide the best outcome for your talents. You exist in the privileged position of ME actively seeking you out."

"I'd like to consider my offers beforehand…" Subaru rubbed the back of his head.

"…Fine. I'll grant you that much mercy." The Vollachian woman rested her head on her throne once more while sighing. "I won't tolerate you waiting forever… but you have my approval for your request in 'time'. You have a week." She stated while fanning herself. "I insist on it being useless, however… after all, you'll end up at my feet regardless!" She laughed loudly.

"Yeah, yeah…" Subaru dismissed her self-assured delusions.

"Let's go pal. I'll escort you to the exit."

The pair exited the estate while discussing menial stuff from their shared home world, bantering about the flavors of candy, musical taste and the like.

"…I'm telling you man. Marvin Gaye. Cream of the crop." Al commented.

"I mean, yeah, but…"

"Oh, come on! You know I'm right!"

"It's been a while since the last time you heard it, right?"

"Almost two decades now… But I'd never forget… Ain't no mountain high enough!"

"Ain't no valley low enough!" Subaru continued.

"Ain't no river wide enough, baby~…"

"Ah, here's where I leave." Subaru chuckled while standing in front of the gates.

"Seems like this is goodbye then…" Al deflated a bit. "It was good to talk random bosh from back home while it lasted…"

"Aw, don't get so upset, man!" The younger one reassured. "Listen, if you ever need something nostalgic, like a refill for that bottle of coke? Come to me. I'll do it cost free just for you." He concluded with a grin.

"Really man? Gee… I'm getting kind of pampered here!" Aldebaran chuckled. "I know you can't see it, but I promise you I'm blushing!"

"Pfft… Anyways… be seeing you, Al!" Subaru waved a hand at the man with a smile while walking away from the precinct.

"Yeah! See ya later!" A happy Al waved back.

Subaru was now walking around the city whilst looking for the restaurant arranged for his meeting with Anastasia. Priscilla was rather self-absorbed… but I hear she manages her territories fantastically. They were impoverished before she came around! I suppose she just has a natural gift for leading… He thought to himself as he walked. Although he was out of costume, some people recognized him and thanked him for his help this past week.

"Hey, Spider-Man!"

"Good Job the other day!"

"Thank goodness someone is showing those nobles what's what!"

"Uh… Yeah! Thanks for the support, people!" Subaru waved at them in acknowledgement.

"You sure are popular. And more charismatic than before…" Karen chimed in.

"Well… I suppose not having to hide who I am anymore helps self-confidence!"

"Especially so with the candidates and Rem…"

"Oh, ha-ha, very funny." Subaru said sarcastically. "I know what you are implying, so drop it."

"Why should I if it's the truth?" The A.I. retorted. "You had dinner while flirting with the Karsten girl last night and you managed to reign in Barielle's animosity rather successfully. Now you are about to rendezvous with the Hoshin candidate and undoubtedly attempt to seduce her as well, right? Not to mention how you will spend the rest of the day and the night in a carriage alone with the vulnerable maid…"

"Ugh, Karen, I'm not trying to seduce anyone! I'm just…"

"Trying to secure a way back home whilst making sure to develop this world, yes."

"If you understand then why avoid saying it and instead joke around it?"

"…Because you are a healthy young man in the zenith of your youth, Subaru."

"Huh?" The hero muttered in confusion.

"The raging hormones within your body call for procreation, so you instinctively seek out romantic partners that satisfy your sexual desi-"

"AUGH, CUT IT OUT!" An embarrassed Subaru interrupted the joking program. "BAD A.I.!"

"I'm joking, of course."

"*Sigh* Seriously…" The Avenger shook his head in disbelief. "Still… Why did you mention Rem? I thought you didn't like her?"

"Not at all… In fact, I have managed to warm up, in a cosmic sort of way, to her loyalty and attachment to you. She has really grown past her more violent self."

"…Loyalty and attachment, huh?" Does Rem think of me like that? How I think she does? "But wait… How come you mentioned Rem and not Emilia?"

"Why should I?" Karen quickly responded.

"Wha-"

"Emilia lied. And she will most likely keep lying while trying to maintain her act of innocence and she will keep deflecting the critics towards herself while ignoring any advice. It's cruel… But any parent figure she possessed most likely failed to instill some semblance of independence or confidence in her. As such, she is only a child that remains blissfully unaware of the difficulty ahead while maintaining a happy façade all throughout the journey. She's doomed to fail if she can't be proactive in her approach like the other candidates."

"Karen…" Subaru muttered in impression at the assessment made by the computer.

"Plus… She slapped you and had the audacity to call YOU of all people insensitive. Even after you cried your heart out on her lap. Would someone insensitive throw away his life to save the universe?"

"…No, I guess not…" Subaru attempted to reassure himself with Karen's words. "Still… I just hope she can learn to do things on her own now… I know it's hypocritical, taking into account where I began, but she has to take matters into her own hands now."

"Don't be worried about it, Subaru. You should be proud of yourself for not holding back just because she was a friend. ESPECIALLY because you considered her a friend."

"…Thanks Karen. I appreciate it. If you feel like kicking me down a notch or two when I get arrogant though… please do so."

"Of course. Always."

"Hey! Hey!" The voice of a little girl captured Subaru's attention, snapping him away from his conversation with Karen. "You are the guy that beat Julius, right?!" A little demi-human catgirl yelled with an unfitting cheer for such a statement.

"…And I take it you work for Anastasia, right?" Subaru reasoned. "Would explain why you were looking for me while yelling about me beating Julius specifically."

"Yep, yep!" The little orange cat nodded. "The name's Mimi! Follow me!"

The pair walked for a bit until reaching a restaurant. As he entered, he noticed the Mauve-haired candidate sitting on the table at the center of the dinner.

"Heya! We're back!" Mimi screamed the moment the two entered the local.

"Natsuki-kun, glad to finally meet ya' properly." The Lady acknowledged his presence. "Mimi, I hope you didn't cause too much trouble for our guest." She joked to her subordinate.

"No worries! I just recounted all of Julius' bruises so he'd feel guilty, is all!" The little savage spoke still with a smile on her face, not noticing the young man's nervousness.

"Anastasia-san… or 'sama'?" Subaru asked from the entrance.

"'Ana' is fine, Natsuki-kun… Now, let's talk business, shall we?" The merchant indicated the pair to sit down with her with a contemplative gaze on her eyes. As Subaru and Mimi sat down, the candidate continued. "So, Natsuki-kun… anythin' you wish to tell me?"

"…I'm sorry for beating your knight?" Subaru made a worried expression. "Look, I'm grateful that you didn't send a squadron after my ass, but-"

"I'm just teasin' you, is all!" The merchant interrupted his rambling. "The duel was Julius and his fellow knight's idea. As such, any ramifications are his responsibility."

"O-Oh… I see."

"Plus, there is not much tarnishing to my name after all… Your speech, combined with the fact that you left the Emilia camp, made you out to be an unlikable figure to most of high society." The girl admitted. "Nevertheless, there is some agreement to what you said amongst the general populace… You've noticed, haven't you?"

"…I did observe some agreement, yes…"

"Good! Then… I wager that ya need me to explain my campaign, is that it?"

"That would help clarify your stance."

"Before that though… the negotiations we agreed to?" Anastasia commented while sipping on a cup of tea.

"Right!" Subaru took out the stoves from his bag alongside the plans on how to construct them. "As promised, the portable stoves."

"Ufufufu… I hear you developed these with the financing of the Margrave?" The merchant examined the machines with a glint of gold in her eyes. "How shrewd of you… To come to me of all people to sell them."

"Well… It is true that Emilia's backer financed them… And she did tell me to discuss the backing of my projects with Roswaal… But at the end of the day, it would be meaningless to talk business with the Margrave, being that I'm not part of his camp anymore." Subaru drank from a glass of water lying on the table before continuing. "Hah… Emilia has to understand the ramifications of the decision of kicking me out, whether or not she'll like them is another thing altogether."

"You are being quite cruel with the gal, aren't you?" Anastasia teased while giving a smug smirk to Subaru.

"Well… I've messed up in the past as well… enough for my own mentor to abandon me." He explained while smiling at what was once a bitter memory of him and Tony arguing over the suit. "Sometimes you have to realize how you messed up before being able to move forward."

"Still… why me, Natsuki-kun?" The Lady asked once again. "I am a successful merchant, but in the off-chance that I was irritable enough because of what happened with Julius, I could have rejected you, ya' know?"

"Well… As you said, most high society doesn't think highly of me…" Subaru rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Truth is… that goes for most merchants as well! They wouldn't want me scaring off potential clients…"

"…I see. So you were desperate for financing?" The girl rubbed her scarf in contemplation while smirking. "I must say, revealing your whole card is quite disadvantageous in front of a merchant, Natsuki-kun."

"Huh?" Subaru's thoughts paused for a second before understanding Anastasia's words.

"You are presentin' me an invention that could revolutionize calefaction and cooking alike, not to mention the method on how to handle fire pyroxenes as a whole, but you didn't realize I could use the beating of my knight to extort you out of them without giving you a penny…" She sipped on her tea before smiling again and proceeding with her explanation. "Even worse, you openly admitted to your desperation for a backer… You might be smart, but you are still naïve Natsuki-kun…" The Lady winked playfully at the boy after describing his situation.

"…" Subaru sat in silence before answering with some frustration. "Damn… I guess things really aren't that easy regardless of the world, huh?" He sighed and smiled timidly at the merchant once again.

"Now, now. I'm not so merciless as to not wish to pay you a proper price for these metias… But in the future, you should keep your ace under your sleeve before gettin' excited and revealin' it. It makes the other party that much more enticed and desperate." Anastasia counseled Subaru on his shortcomings.

"Well… apart from the financing, is this enough to get you to talk about the system of government you propose?"

"Always to the heart of the matter, huh?" The Lady nodded. "Very well. As you know, I'm a greedy gal. Money rules everything. Enough money could even buy the loyalty of a man like you…"

"…Please, don't make this more about me."

"Hehe, sorry, I want you in my camp but I also find it entertaining to tease you…" The girl chuckled before explaining once again. "Back to topic, I find it difficult to trust most people, especially the idealistic ones like you, but if I could place people I can control into the positions of power, I could essentially own everything."

"And how do I fit in that equation?"

"Natsuki-kun… You really care about the slums, don't ya?"

"…"

"Is it because your situation back home resembled theirs, if only slightly?" Anastasia noticed with a smile how Subaru flinched, revealing to her the answer she was looking for. "You care too much… But that works for me. If you are looking for a way back home, you are probably doing so through technology. I could back your every project to develop the slums as well as returning to your home world… in exchange, all of your recreations and inventions go to my name and the prestige of my camp."

"…*Sigh* You are not the first one to use the slums as a bargain chip." Subaru tiredly sighed at the implications of the girl.

"Let me guess… Karsten?"

"Still, although enticing, your attitude leaves a wide door open for corruption. That's a scary thought. You should consider the fact that I'd probably be the first guy standing up to that…"

"Yes, yes… You've made your stance on righteousness clear…" Anastasia hummed without a care in the world. "But having you by my side could help solve such issues, don't ya think?"

"I'll have to consider my options… But I'll give you an answer once I come back."

"Come back? Are you going somewhere?" The girl tilted her head in wonder.

"I have to retrieve my stuff from Roswaal's mansion…" Subaru trailed off. "I'm planning on settling down here in the Capital. Maybe rent a studio or something…"

"I see… well, in that case, I shall wait here in this very restaurant in three days' time so we can discuss the express remuneration for these metias. I'll expect an answer on whether you'll join my camp as well by then!" The merchant merrily said.

"Yeah, yeah…" Subaru got up and picked up his bag.

"On the topic of metias, about these inventions of yours…" Anastasia picked up the prototypes and plans on the table once again. "I'll make sure the credit goes to both you and me once they sell… However, if you plan to sell me any more creations without joinin' my camp… I'll take the credit for those in the future for myself."

"Got it." Subaru nodded. "Been a fruitful morning, see ya around!"

"Bye-bye!" Mimi, who stood in silence during the talk while munching on a sandwich, waved at the boy with a mouthful of bread.

"Now, now Mimi, you are looking disheveled." Anastasia smiled and wiped the girl's mouth with a handkerchief. "See you around, Natsuki-kun. I expect a positive answer in the near future…"

As the young man exited the restaurant, he noticed a blue haired demon in a casual outfit waiting for him outside.

"S-Subaru-kun…" The oni with reddened cheeks meekly called out. In truth, this was the first time in a long while wearing something other than a maid's apparel. She was dressed in a one-piece bluish-white dress that reached her knees, with a frill at the end. The dress was quite tight, sticking to her figure, and it possessed no sleeves, revealing her slender arms. The girl was carrying a basket full of treats she and Subaru prepared beforehand for their afternoon and evening together. Her overall appearance attracted the glances of all the men around her, as though hypnotizing them she was, which only made her more self-conscious of the surroundings.

"Sorry, kept you waiting?" Subaru apologized while smiling at the girl. "Let's go, I know a spot with a good view."

"Hm!" Rem nodded happily while blushing and locked arms with Subaru, walking beside him towards a plaza with an overview of the Capital. The two then spent the entire day with Subaru rambling and Rem nodding and laughing along with glee. The pair looked less like friends and more like a young couple of lovebirds to the eyes of the jealous men around them.

As the sun settled, the two had to take a leave back to the mansion to retrieve the maid's belongings and board the carriage that would be waiting for them there. "Well, it was fun while it lasted." Subaru commented on the road back to the Karsten estate.

"Yes…" Rem, who was still blushing while resting her arm and head on Subaru's arm, responded. "It was wonderful."

"I'm glad you liked it." Subaru grinned. "I'm sorry your negotiations with Crush didn't pan out… But I promise I'll drop by Arlam often, so don't get too depressed again, ok?"

"Hmm! Rem promises." The maid nodded with a dashing smile.

"AH!" The moment the couple entered the estate, a sudden yell of realization reached the ears of the young man. "It's you!"

"…Um, who are you again?" Subaru asked at the green merchant pointing at him.

"It's Otto! Otto Suwen!" The merchant deflated as the hero failed to recognize him. "The man you saved yesterday?!"

"Oh! The one that yelped like a little girl?" Rem giggled at Subaru's joke, much to the despair of the merchant witnessing a cute girl laugh at his misfortune.

"Please don't mention that!"

"Wait… but you are a merchant; I thought we'd ride with a private chauffeur or somethin'. How come we are riding back with you?"

"Actually, I arranged the carriages." An authoritative voice called out to the trio.

"Crusch-san? Wilhelm?" Subaru asked in confusion at the smiling candidate and butler.

"Subaru-dono… I've come to wish you safe travels." The butler saluted with a smile.

"Oh, thanks man! I'll be back in the Capital shortly anyways… but I-"

"Subaru-kun." Rem interrupted, taking the attention of the man once more. "I attempted to arrange for a carriage, but it seems most carriages exiting the city had already been rented or bought off…" The girl cleared out the young man's question before he could even ask.

"Rem-dono here asked me if I could arrange a carriage for the two of you to return to the Mathers Domain and I agreed to let you board with a caravan of merchants scheduled for tonight." The Karsten Duchess stated.

"And I suppose I still can't ask why you are arranging so many carriages?"

"You presume right." The woman nodded. "Unless, of course, you were to join my camp now…"

"I promise an answer once I return and have mulled over my options."

"Yes, yes, you've said that already." Crusch chuckled. "Still, it was worth a try."

"You know? I took you for the uptight type, but you are actually a rather uplifted person, Crusch-san." Subaru then realized the rudeness of what he said and attempted to backtrack. "No offense, of course!"

"Hmph, no offense taken Subaru-dono." Crusch smiled again.

"Subaru-kun." Rem called out to the man. "Rem is going to change clothes and retrieve her case from the mansion now."

"Allow me to help you with the cases, Rem-dono." Wilhelm said while walking back into the mansion.

"Oh, right! I should go get my stuff as well."

"Then don't let me stop you." Crusch said while stepping back into the mansion with her butler. "Do be careful on the way out of the Capital. They say mabeasts roam the highway at night. And you cannot rule out bandits as well…"

"Ah, no need to worry! Rem and I together? No way we are losing to some stray mabeasts or bandits!"

"Good, with that said… Farewell, Natsuki Subaru." The noblewoman nodded while saluting the young man one last time.

"So… Ottotto Swan, was it?" Subaru turned back at the merchant with a smile.

"It's Otto Suwen!" The merchant cried out in despair.

The night sky and the moonlight were now veiling over a caravan of merchant carriages in the Lifaus Highway. As Subaru and Rem rested in the back of the carriage, Otto and Frufroo, his ground dragon, bickered. "GUAH." The reptile groaned.

"GUAKGHA." The merchant answered.

"GUAHKGAH."

"GUAHGHGAK."

"GUAAAHK."

"GAAHGHAUA."

"Hey, Otto?" Subaru perked up at the conversation and called out to the merchant in worry. "I-Is everything ok, man? Do you need to lie down or something?"

"'Ok'? Huh?" The merchant turned around to look at the young man.

"It's just…. Your groans have Rem and I freaked out." He pointed to the maid that was making a nervous expression.

"Oh! It's just… I'm just talking with a friend here! Frufroo!" Otto answered as if it was natural to groan like a pterodactyl.

"Your… friend?" Subaru looked to the front of the carriage to see… the ground dragon looking directly at him.

"GUAHGH."

"Pfft!" Otto laughed.

"Huh?" The young man looked at the merchant. "Why are you laughing? Did I do something?"

"I-It's just…" Otto wiped a tear before composing himself. "She just called you 'Ugly Eyes'."

"Ugly Eyes?! Them' fighting words!" Subaru complained at the dragon. "I'll have you know that these eyes of mine belonged to my gorgeous mother!"

"Otto-san?" Rem called out to the merchant. "Could it be… that you possess a Divine Protection of some sort?"

"I-I actually do, Rem-san!" Otto answered the maid.

"A Divine Protection?" Subaru turned to the green man once again. "What does it do?"

"I can't exactly go around revealing a merchant's secret, Natsuki-san…" The green man answered while rubbing the back of his head.

"It allows you to communicate with animals and lesser spirits, right?" Rem chimed in.

"Huh?!" Otto exclaimed in surprise. "How did you know?!"

"I read about it in Roswaal-sama's archive on magic and divine protections."

"Roswaal… are you two familiar in some way with the Margrave?"

"I thought you'd know from the rumors in the Capital, Otto." Subaru questioned the merchant.

"Huh? Oh! That's right! You serve the Emilia camp!"

"Served, actually." The Avenger corrected the merchant. "I'm no longer employed by her."

"O-Oh… then, why would you-?"

"Look man, I'm just going over there to retrieve my stuff. Should be back to the Capital tomorrow with you." Subaru sounded slightly irritated about having to talk about the topic at every turn.

"U-understood!" The merchant nodded nervously.

"…Why would you want to know about our connection with the Margrave anyways?" Subaru continued with curiosity.

"Ah, well…" Otto weighed his words for some moments. "Regretfully, I messed up in reading the market tendencies and ended up buying out of season oil… I want to talk with the Margrave to see if he could make an exception about opening the northern border and allow me to sell my surplus in Gusteko."

"Out of season oil?" Subaru perked up at the implication and thought about the stoves he made. "…Hmm… Why don't you hold onto it a bit longer?" He smiled while saying this.

"Huh?" A confused Otto uttered.

"I mean, I can't be too specific, but said oil could become rather valuable in the coming months…" The young man suggested.

"As if! I'm on my last straws here! If I don't sell these within the month I'll become a debt slave!" The merchant cried.

"Pfft!" Rem and Subaru giggled at the man's plea.

"Don't laugh!" Otto complained again.

"Subaru." As the group bantered, Karen suddenly called out to the young hero.

"What is it Karen?" Subaru asked as the bracelet projected a screen with a live feed of the highway and their carriage, the clock in the upper corner indicating that it was close to 9 PM.

"What is that?!" Otto exclaimed in surprise at the lightshow and disembodied voice in front of him.

"Oh, it's just Subaru-kun's metia." Rem reassured the merchant only to earn an even bigger reaction.

"An otherworldly metia?! That would be so profitable!" The man gazed at Subaru with a golden glint in his blue eyes.

"A'ight, A'ight, enough chit chat." Subaru shushed the merchant and turned to his bracelet once more. "What do you have Karen? Some Bandits?"

"I've detected some unusual movement up ahead." The program indicated.

"Ahead?" Subaru and the group stared at the projection to see… a huge, white blob floating around the Flugel Tree. "The hell?" Subaru's expression turned serious.

"!" Rem realized immediately what she was looking at. "Subaru-kun!"

"Hey, what am I looking at?" Otto asked in confusion, not knowing what was going on.

"It's the White Whale!" Rem exclaimed, gaining the attention of the other two.

"WHAT?!" Otto yelled in a frantic panic.

"The White Whale?" Subaru asked in confusion.

"It's one of the Three Great Mabeasts, Subaru-kun…" Rem answered in a nervous tone. "Alongside the Black Serpent and the Great Rabbit… They are great calamities created by the Witch herself."

"L-Look!" Otto pointed ahead, towards the huge tree in the distance. A thick fog was forming around the top of the tree and directing itself towards them.

"I-It's the fog! It's coming this way!"

"Good lord!"

"Everyone! Disperse!"

"Run away, run away!"

The many merchants in the caravan yelled in fear as they dispersed away from the highway… But their attempts were fruitless as the fog suddenly surrounded the sides and back of the formation.

"Shit!"

"Oh god, oh god!"

"Nononononono!"

"AH!"

In panic, they realized they were surrounded, the only way out of the mist was forward… towards where the whale was flying.

"Th-This is the end…" Otto said in despair as he stopped the carriage alongside the other desperate, sobbing merchants.

"Subaru-kun!" Rem called out while drawing her morning star. "We have to fight it off somehow!"

"…Yeah, you are right." In the meantime that the caravan had panicked, Subaru had suited up into his Spider-Man outfit. "Rem?"

"Huh?"

"Come here for a second." Subaru called the maid over, prompting her to approach him in curiosity.

"Do you have a plan?" The maid asked with a relieved smile.

"…Yeah, something like that." As he said this, Subaru suddenly hugged the maid tightly.

"S-Subaru-kun?!" The reddened servant asked in delight and panic. "I-I'm really glad you are being more forceful! But! We have to-!" Before the maid could finish her sentence, a blue bolt of electricity coursed through her body. "!"

"I'm sorry, Rem…" Subaru laid the blue oni down onto the floor of the unmoving carriage.

"S-Subaru…kun…" Rem muttered before fully passing out.

"Wh-What did you-" Before Otto could finish his question, Subaru interrupted.

"Otto, the whale is a mabeast, right?"

"Y-Yes! But what-?"

"I have the ability of luring mabeasts."

"HUH?!"

"Here's the plan. We have a couple minutes at most before it descends on us, so listen well." Subaru stated while putting on the mask. "I'm gonna run ahead and lure it away. In the meantime, I want you to take Rem and the other merchants into the Margrave's territory and inform him of the situation. If you need an incentive, you can keep all the money in my bag."

"Forget the money! Th-That's suicide!" Otto yelled in worry. "We can't just leave you here!"

"Don't worry, I won't die." Subaru smiled, even if Otto couldn't see him doing so. "Whether or not I'm unscathed… well, that's why I want you to inform the Margrave."

"GUOOOOOOOOOOOH!" The whale's growl resounded, making the earth tremble and the group panic even further.

"We don't have time! Get ready!"

"…" Otto frowned in frustration. "Please don't die, Natsuki-san…"

"I promise… I won't." Subaru said before turning towards the opening in the fog and running full speed towards the giant tree. "HEY! BIG GUY! I'M GONNA MAKE SASHIMI OUT OF YOU!" He taunted the descending monster. "DID YOU KNOW? I'VE DIED ONCE BEFO-" Before Subaru could finish his words, the world around him stopped, a black fog covering everything around him before consuming him as well. In this shadowland, the merciless hands aiming for his heart approached once again, caressing it for an instant before attempting to crush it. And as all the times prior, the world suddenly resumed once again as Subaru grunted in pain. "GAhkh!"

"Subaru!" Karen yelled in alarm. "Your heart rate!"

"I-It's fine!" He kept running. "Just gotta check if it worked now!"

"GUOHHHHH!" The whale smelled the scent of the Witch and nosedived in the direction of Subaru.

"GO NOW! OTTO!" Subaru yelled one last time before being surrounded by the mist.

"…KUH!" Otto looked away as he boarded his carriage and led the formation of the caravan once again. "E-Everyone! Follow me!" The merchant screamed while handling the reins of his earth dragon, his movement prompting the others to follow suit.

"We are saved…"

"Thank goodness…"

"I won't forget you! Spider-Man!"

"Please don't die…" Otto pleaded to the night sky once more.

As the merchants and Rem made their escape, the leviathan and the hero fought one another. "GUOOOOOHHH!" The whale expelled a barrage of fog from the pores of its skin, aiming at the young man running right before it.

"Woah!" Subaru barely managed to dodge the mist. "I don't know what that does, but I'm not falling for it!" Subaru then aimed at the eyes of the monster with his right hand and activated his Yin spell. "SHAMAK!" A black web shot out of his wrist, sticking itself directly on the monster's left eye.

"GUOOOOHHHH!" The whale complained for a second before attempting another accurate attack at Subaru.

"!" The young man dodged once again the assault of the beast and pondered on the ineffectiveness of his attack. "Shamak didn't work…?" Shamak is a basic spell, so I suppose it wouldn't be able to turn the senses of such a behemoth off…

"Subaru." Karen perked up. "It would seem that, the moment the spell landed on the monster, the force was dissipated away, and with it, the spell was deactivated."

"You can tell?"

"The energy frequency generated by the mana dispelled into the atmosphere the moment the tendrils on the whale's skin began vibrating."

"Tendrils, huh…" Subaru looked back up at the whale.

"GUOOOHHHH!" The monster yelled once more before emitting a loud frequency that shattered the ground bellow Subaru.

"TSK!" Subaru complained while shooting a string at the beast's side. "Looks like we'll have to ride it now!" The moment the string stuck itself onto the whale's skin; he swung onto the back of the monster.

"GUOOOOHHH!" The whale complained the moment Subaru jumped on top of it.

"Sorry, but you asked for it!" Subaru mocked while bracing himself to attack. "HAVE A TASTE OF THIS!" He stuck many webs onto the whale to secure himself and then began shooting lightning webs from his wrists as he ran from the tail towards the head of the behemoth.

"GUOOOOOOHHHH!" The whale complained in pain as the lightning burned and fried the tendrils of its skin.

"Yeah!" As the bio-electricity was not a product of magic, Subaru figured the whale wouldn't be able to disperse the mana away and decided it the best course to harm the monster. "Unlimited Power~!" He yelled like a kid while jumping around, frying more skin.

"GUOOOOHHHHH!" The whale then decided to open its pores all at once, shooting barrages of mist all around it.

"WOAH!" Subaru was now barely managing to dodge the assault, his offense limited by the whale's efforts. "Is that how you wanna play?!"

"Subaru!" Karen called out again.

"What is it?!" Subaru asked while dodging another barrage of fog.

"The whale is elevating itself!"

"What?!" In a panic, Subaru noticed how the ground began to look more and more distant by the second. "Shit!" This thing is smart! It is trying to reach an altitude without oxygen! I need to do something! Subaru then proceeded to climb onto the monster's horn and shoot a barrage of webs at the monster's right flipper and, using all of his strength, pulled the strings and the fin towards himself. "HNNGH!"

"!" The whale noticed with panic how it suddenly began changing directions. "GUOOOOOHHH!" It attempted to lean it's weight towards the right side of its body in an attempt to free itself from the binding force changing its course.

"NOT… A CHANCE!" Subaru grunted before shooting another wave of electricity into the whale's muscles through the web, paralyzing the flipper into the set position he was pulling.

"GUOOOOHHH!" The whale growled in panic at the action, as the course the hero and the monster were taking… would plunge them directly against the Flugel Tree.

"READY… FOR… IMPACT!"

"GUOOOOOHHH!"

In what seemed like a daze, the two collided with the tree with enough force destroy the trunk and make it break down the middle, the upper part and the canopy falling onto the highway. Alongside this descending trunk, however, was the falling body of the monster as well.

*BLAM*

With a resounding crash, the beast plummeted. "GUUUOOOOooo…" The whale complained in pain within the crater it created the moment it touched the ground. A humongous dust cloud was generated from the impact, causing the clear picture difficult to perceive. As the dust settled, the whale's body was revealed… to be completely broken from the gigantic branches stabbed onto it. The blood of the beast was quickly surrounding its body, creating a pool of viscous, odorous crimson liquid. What was even worse for the mabeast was the state of its horn… the horn had broken off the moment it collided head first with the trunk and it bounced back onto the monster, stabbing its left eye. "GUOOOooo…" Without its horn to properly siphon mana from the surroundings, it could not heal itself, as it would do normally. The whale realized then… that it was not likely to survive from all the wounds it accrued in battle. Before it could keep thrashing pathetically on the ground, it resolved itself into flying once more to flee the scene, its survival instinct finally yelling at it to run away from the man that had nearly killed it. "GUOOOOooo…" With a last and pitiful whimper, the monster flew away into the horizon, leaving a disgusting trail of mabeast blood and entrails behind it.

"GHK! *cough, cough*" As the monster shrunk into the distance, Subaru coughed up blood and grunted in pain. Although he had managed to jump away on the last second, he had accumulated a lot of damage from crashing and rolling onto the ground at high speeds. The thick grass barely saved him from a broken neck, but his arms and legs presented multiple contusions and small fractures.

"Subaru!" Karen yelled in a panic, trying to keep him awake. "Subaru, answer me!"

"KUH! K-Karen…" Subaru grunted once more.

"Subaru, you've suffered multiple-!"

"Yeah, I can tell what's-HGHK! …Broken and what's not…" The moron deflected, trying to make the program not worry.

"You have to stay still! Your wounds are far too many for you to advance!"

"L-Look, just… just give me a moment and I'll be fine…" With these words, the Avenger proceeded to pass out from the pain in the grass.

"Subaru!" Karen yelled to no avail once more.

The night passed as Subaru slept, quickly turning into dawn and eventually progressing into the late morning. The young hero woke up to a killing headache and an astounding pain on each of his limbs. "Augh…. This sucks…"

"Subaru, are you alright?" Karen chimed in the moment he woke up.

Although his wounds had not completely healed, the healing factor had been enough for him to at least be capable of limping. "Yeah, I'm just… I feel like shit, but I'll be okay…"

"…What you did was utterly reckless, you fool."

"…Yeah, I know." Subaru sat up from the place where he was lying in. "But… If Rem and the rest are alright… then it was worth it."

"Even if they are safe, do you think the maid would forgive you for… !" Before the A.I. could finish her statement, it paused in a panic while presenting a satellite image of Arlam. "Subaru! Look!"

"Wh-What is it…?" The young man asked with dread as the program talked with panic. "!"

Within the image of the display, black smudges resembling people were slaughtering the smudges representing the Arlam villagers. Flashes of fire spells could be seen as they impacted directly with the residents of the small community as well as the glint of daggers and swords in the morning light.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" Subaru got up in a panic.

"Subaru! You are in no state to-"

"Karen! We are going! Deploy the Iron Spider limbs in the shed and protect the children!"

"Understood!" The A.I. responded to the command.

The Avenger hurriedly walked back onto the highway, limping for what was likely a few hours while mulling over his thoughts. "…"

"…I want you to take Rem and the other merchants into the Margrave's territory…"

"…"

"We can't just leave you here!"

"…"

"We are saved…"

"…"

"Make sure you come back safely! We'll have fully stamped cards by the end of the week!"

"…"

"Have you no shame? Interrupting the sacred privacy of my sister and I, you lecherous pig."

"Stop yelling! I sensed you coming, in fact!"

"Ram, Beatrice…" The boy muttered.

"It's fine! Really!"

"If anything, it's better! Rem is happy regardless!"

"It was wonderful."

"Rem…" Subaru whispered in panic.

"You idiot… That's not how you should be feeling!"

"It's been rough, hasn't it?"

"I hope you can find a way back home…"

"Emilia!" He then yelled as the memories kept flooding back into his mind. As the forest road leading to the Mathers Domain drew close, Karen observed in the distance a familiar figure approaching.

"Subaru! Look! Ahead of you!" The program captured the attention of its user, indicating him to gaze forward.

"What?"

"GUAAAGHK!" Running towards him and Karen was… Otto's rude earth dragon, Frufroo.

"Frufroo!" As the dragon finally approached, Subaru could quickly detect the state of the poor beast, worrying him sick. "Jesus… You are covered in wounds…" This kind of wounds could only be withstood by an earth dragon… if everyone in the village is like this…

"GUHAAK!" The dragon crouched slightly while staring at Subaru with desperate eyes.

"…You want me to ride you, is that it?" He reasoned.

"GUAK!" The dragon responded in kind.

"Fine." The young man climbed onto the back of the reptile, noticing for a brief second how it trembled due to the gashes around it. "…I'm sorry about this. I'll buy you all the jerky you could wish for later, but for now… GO!" He grabbed the dragon's reins and whipped, indicating it to run into the woods it had come from once more.

"GUAAAHK!" Frufroo growled in approval while trotting full speed ahead.

Everyone… don't die!

After some more hours of riding, Subaru had finally arrived at the village come sundown. "I'm back!" Seeing a trail of smoke coming from it, however, sent onto his mind the darkest possible thoughts. "Shit!"

The young man finally entered the village, witnessing as he crossed the entrance… a congregation of the residents' beheaded and charred corpses, piled in a mountain as their entrails dangled off from their cut open bellies.

"…" As Frufroo slowed down, Subaru could not process the sight before him. "…Wha…" He descended the reptile and slowly began to approach the mount. "Th-This is…" His hands trembled as he reached for the corpses, his mind not understanding how they could be dead. "H-Hey…" He shook the headless body of an old man. "Mu-Muraosa-"

"Good luck on your job! Subaru-sama!"

"Thank you so much!"

"Subaru-sama!"

"GUAAAAAAAAHK!"

"Huh?" Subaru turned in confusion to the pained scream of the ground dragon behind him. Frufroo was now laying in anguish besides the well at the center of the village. "Wh-What is it…" The young man approached the well and peeked into it, expecting to see a water-filled bottom. The sight, however… was Otto's disembodied head, empty and darkened eye-sockets staring directly into him in an eternal expression of pain and despair.

"aaaAAAH!" Subaru dropped onto his back in fear at the sight, crawling away from the sight. The man he had talked with just last night was a corpse now.

"An otherworldly metia?! That would be so profitable!"

"She just called you 'Ugly Eyes'."

"Please don't die, Natsuki-san…"

"…" Subaru peeked into the well once more, and with dread, he stared into the accusatory crevices in Otto's head and beyond. Behind the green merchant's mutilated remains… lied the missing heads of the other adult villagers and merchants. "A-Ah…" Subaru suspired in despair at the sight, leaking out a few tears. "I-I…"

"Subaru." Karen interrupted the young man's cries. "We have to go to the mansion."

"*sob*…Karen?"

"Rem and the others…"

"…" Subaru did not even bother listening to what the A.I. had to say. Failing to notice the corpses of the maids or the children, a desperate plea formed within his heart

"Guahk…" Leaving behind the mourning Frufroo, Subaru ran at full speed in the direction of the estate, holding onto the slight hope that the children and the residents of the mansion would be alright.

"Rem… Rem!" The young man ran and ran and, within the span of minutes, he had reached the entrance to the manor. "Rem!" Opening the gates, the first gruesome sight before him completely broke any hope within his heart. "Rem…"

Blood.

Absolute carnage.

Savagery uncontrolled.

Before Subaru… was the corpse of Rem. A sword stabbed in the back of her head. Around her, completely demolished by the spiked ball of her morning star, were the mutilated remains of the hooded figures. All armed with similar blades as the ones stabbed on her head. "REM!" Subaru rushed at her body and kneeled in desperation, holding her in his arms. She stared into nothing as her glazed-over eyes displayed the soulless void she had become, breaking the boy even further. "REMREMREMREMREMRE-!"

"Subaru!" Karen yelled, trying to snap him out of his manic state. "Please! Calm down!"

"Rem…" Subaru cried once more before laying her corpse down. He then noticed how she was still staring at him and, in a show of mourning; he proceeded to close her eyes and let her rest for all eternity. "I…" As he let the tears fall, he managed to notice the trail of blood entering the mansion. "…"

He slowly walked into the building, dreading the next horrific sight he was sure his mind could not endure. The door to the mansion was wide open, the trail climbing up into the second floor. "Karen…" He muttered. "Footage."

"…" The A.I. did not respond.

"Yo-You deployed the Iron Spider, right?" He asked with fear. "Surely… you know what has transpired… right?!"

"…The Iron Spider was broken during the altercation."

"BUT YOU HAVE THE FOOTAGE, RIGHT?!"

"…"

"…Please…" He begged as the tears reemerged.

"…Look." Karen displayed a hologram reluctantly.

"AH!"

"ITHURTSITHURTSIT…"

"GUAAHGK!"

"MOOOOM-!"

"SUBAR-!"

"Ah…" Subaru's heart broke when he witnessed the footage. As he walked the hallways of the manor aimlessly, the series of images displayed the brutal dismembering of the children by an unseen force. "AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH…" He frantically muttered. The video was too much for his mind. As Karen deactivated the display, Subaru was finally able to process his blood-soaked surroundings. Around him, sticking to the ceiling, sprayed on the walls, dispersed on the floor. The sweet and iron-like odors were the nail in the coffin of truth. Subaru was standing… on the remains of the village children. "BRUGH-!" He leaned on a wall desperately as he puked all of his insides onto the floor, mixing with the dispersed blood and viscera.

As he looked down, he noticed the remains of the crushed Iron Spider besides a familiar red ribbon. "P-Petra…" He looked to the door besides the wall he was leaning on. The pommel had traces of bloodied fingerprints on it. "…" Deciding against his better judgement, Subaru opened the door to reveal… Ram's corpse, with multiple stabbings on her back. "RAM!" Subaru yelled in desperation once again. He crouched to hold her as he did her sister, but as he did so, he realized she was still holding onto something… or rather, a pair of two little girls. "Ah…"

Meili and Petra. Ram closely held their bloodied and battered corpses, eyes gouged-out, as though their mother she was. "M-Meili… Petra…" Subaru cried once more. He spent the next minutes in mourning, tears mixing with the blood on the floor, as he held the girls' corpses close to him.

"…ault." He muttered unintelligibly.

"Subaru…" Karen interrupted.

"I-It's my fault…" He spat clearly while trembling. "All of this… It's my fault!"

"…"

"If-If-*whimper*"

"Subaru."

"If I hadn't fought with Emilia…"

"Subaru."

"If I hadn't told the merchants to come here…"

"Subaru."

"If I hadn't abandoned them…"

"SUBARU!" Karen yelled.

"WHAT?!" Subaru asked with rage. "WHAT IS IT?! ANOTHER CORPSE?! EMILIA'S?! SOMEONE ELSE'S?! WHAT?!"

"It's not your fault!" Karen stopped his rambling.

"…What?" An indignant Subaru questioned. "What do you mean it's not?! How is this not my fault?!"

"You couldn't have known this would happen!"

"Of fucking course I could have!"

"How?!"

"I had a satellite, god dammit!" He punched the floor without holding back, breaking a hole straight into the floor below. "If I had checked I could ha-!"

"You promised not to meddle into Emilia's privacy!" Karen defended.

"But even so-!"

"It's not your fault…" The program reassured to her despairing user. "These circumstances… you cannot gaze into the future! You couldn't have known!"

"…" Subaru lowered his head, lamenting his powerlessness with a sad frown. "But even so… I…"

"…If you need blame anyone, blame Roswaal…" Karen suggested.

"…Roswaal?" The boy asked with a confused, teary expression. "Wh-Why him…?"

"…His body is the only one I've not registered. Neither in the village, nor in the estate." The program spat with venom in her words. "The bastard either organized the massacre or knew about it from beforehand and ran away…"

"What?" Subaru trembled. He felt… something surging inside of him. "What did you say?" He let go of the corpses of the children and clenched his fists.

"It's illogical." Karen continued. "He is the greatest court mage within the Kingdom. He has no reason to leave in the middle of an attack, SPECIALLY SO when his estate lacked a guard after Emilia fired you. In addition, the possibility of taking a leave for a political allegiance or any other business falls short because he had already tasked Rem with such an objective. He IS the most likely culprit. Or at least an accomplice."

"How can you…" Subaru paused for a second. "How can you theorize in the middle of such a situation…? I-I can barely stand as it is…" He whimpered with another sob.

"It is my duty to remain logical, even when you cannot be. I must assist you, no matter what." The program said while attempting to keep her user from breaking apart from the despair. "That's why… I can come to the logical conclusion that it's not your fault."

"But why…"

"Because I won't lie to you." Karen continued to reassure as Subaru closed the open eyes of Ram with sorrow and tears. "I might omit that which I consider irrelevant… But I won't mince my words or lie to you. I promise that."

"…" Subaru slowly attempted to reign in his trembling while getting up. Once he managed to lift himself off from the floor, he dried his tears and snot, making a pained yet resolute face while glaring at the corpses. "I-I see… Thank you, Karen."

"You're welcome." The program responded with a solemn tone.

"…" The young man then looked at Ram's corpse with sadness once again before making a vow. "I'm sorry I wasn't here… But I promise. I WILL avenge you…"

"Subaru." Karen called out. "Ahead of you."

Subaru peeked into the room Ram and the girls were in. He noticed that the window was broken, as if someone had jumped from it. But what really captured his attention… was there, on the wall, besides a bookshelf. A passage covered in luminous blue stones. "Huh?" Before the passage, however, was a silver, bloodied flower ornament. One Subaru could not mistake for anyone else's… "E-Emilia…"

"Subaru, be strong." Karen warned. "You have to be if you want to do this right. If you want to bring justice to them."

"…" Subaru swallowed his fear and pain and proceeded forward with his still trembling body and legs. "Y-You are right."

The boy walked into the passage, noticing the closed door at the end of the tunnel. There was some blood pooling underneath it, and the corridor felt absurdly cold, even colder than the time Puck had frozen the estate over. "Emilia…" He whispered once more while reaching for the doorknob. But, just as he was about to touch it, his senses flared up in alarm. "!"

He jumped away, outside of the tunnel; back into the office Ram and the kids' corpses were lying on. "What?!" Subaru yelled in confusion as the blood under the corridor's door froze. Suddenly, from the hidden hallway, black figures emerged. The exact same hooded figures he had seen in the entrance to the estate, surrounding Rem's corpse. "You are-?!" However, as these figures suddenly rose up from the shadows and rushed towards him, they froze over as well, just as the blood in the corridor did.

"Subaru!" Karen yelled in alarm while warming up the suit. "The temperature is rapidly dropping!"

"What?!" Subaru asked, perplexed by the whole situation.

"The epicenter is the hallway! It is dropping around it! Look!" The boy turned to gaze at the door, noticing the cold gale emanating from it.

"Th-This is…!"

"Run away!"

Taking Karen's advice, Subaru gave one last glance at Ram and the girls' corpses in mourning before jumping out of the window. "Hghk!" He landed on the yard, the wounds of his fight with the whale finally taking a toll on him. As he rolled in the grass, he looked towards the mansion once more… to see a completely white-blanketed building. "What the hell?!"

"It wasn't like this before!" Karen warned. "It's as though Puck's Hatsumaki had activated once again!"

"Puck?!" The frantic Avenger wondered in a panic. "Tsk! Wha- !" Subaru's thoughts paused as he gazed beside him on the grass. There were some bodies belonging to more of the hooded figures, including one that was unhooded, with green hair and a maniacal smile drawn on his semblance. The figures were all frozen, however, as though icicles they were. They had congregated in a circle, freezing in time as they performed some sort of twisted ceremony. As he was contemplating, he noticed a final corpse in the center of their frozen congregation… Emilia's limp body was lying in the ground. Her eyes were closed, but her expression was a painful one. She had a single stab wound adorning her torso, right around the area of her heart. "E-Emilia…" Subaru slowly walked and reached for her while letting the pain of loss drown him for another moment, tears rolling down immediately from his eyes.

"Subaru! The gale is following you!" Karen noted as her heat sensors detected a completely frozen void homing-in on Subaru.

"…!" Subaru grabbed the girl's body and yelled while dodging said gale. The ensuing tempest completely shattered the frozen figures, turning them into dust in the wind. "Puck?! If that is you, then show yourself!"

Just as Subaru yelled these words, a gigantic tiger-like titan broke through the ceiling of the mansion, blanketing everything around it in a thick layer of snow. "…" The figure's obscured face glared down at Subaru with menacing yellow shines.

"The hell…" Subaru whispered in surprise. "Puck! That IS you, right?!"

"…YOU DARE COME BACK?" The imposing feline asked. "THIS IS YOUR ENTIRE FAULT. ALL OF IT."

"Mine?!" Subaru asked in exasperation while hugging Emilia, proceeding to point at the feline with disgust. "Look at you, you piece of shit! You sat on all that power… You froze those bastards immediately! Why couldn't YOU have done something if you were here?!"

"YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN HERE! YOU SHOULD HAVE STOPPED THIS!"

"Stop deflecting you motherfucker!" The wrathful Avenger yelled once again. "Look around you! The village… The mansion! Emilia herself!"

"…"

"You and Roswaal… WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" He laid Emilia's body on the ground while getting up. "You are this strong… yet you let all of these tragedies happen! What the hell were you doing?! Who were these people?!"

"…" The cat remained silent.

"ANSWER ME!" Subaru yelled in anguish.

"…THE WITCH CULT." Puck answered in a mournful tone. At least as mournful as he could muster in such a gigantic form.

"The cult?!"

"AS ROSWAAL HAD DEPARTED FOR SANCTUARY… JUST AS THE MAID AND THE MERCHANTS ARRIVED… THE CULT RAIDED THE VILLAGE FROM THE FOREST. THE MERCHANTS AND ADULTS HELD THEM BACK AS THE CHILDREN RAN INTO THE MANSION, BUT… THE SIN ARCBISHOP OF SLOTH, PETELGEUSE, TOOK TO PERSONALLY ATTACK THESE GROUNDS HIMSELF."

"What…?" Sanctuary? Subaru wondered what the cat was spouting. "But why didn't YOU chase them off?!"

"…YOU ESTRANGED MY RELATIONSHIP WITH LIA." Puck glared down once again. "IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT SHE WOULDN'T USE MY POWERS!"

"You are her father-figure, for fuck's sake!" Subaru refuted indignantly as the surroundings turned colder and whiter because of the tiger's blizzard. "You are supposed to protect her regardless of whether you fought or not, you lazy fuck!"

"ENOUGH!" Puck screamed while sending another devastating gust against the hero.

"Gakh!" Subaru managed to barely dodge the gale… but his left arm froze immediately after the barrage. "Tsk!"

"Subaru, I detect multiple-!"

"Karen!" Subaru yelled while glaring heatedly upwards, silencing the computer. "Just focus on heating it up… There's no running away from this bastard."

"…Of course." Karen agreed with the young man while setting the heating function of the suit to maximum potency. If Puck could freeze the surroundings with a thought… Then there was nothing Subaru could do to safely run away. The only option was, most likely, to fight and create an opening.

"YOU THINK YOU HAVE A CHANCE AGAINST ME? THE ONLY REASON YOU STILL STAND IS BECAUSE I'VE BEEN MERCIFUL ENOUGH TO NOT FREEZE YOU INSTANTLY." Puck's glare intensified. "YOU WERE IN HER LAST THOUGHTS… YOURS WAS THE NAME SHE LAST WHISPERED. I WAS MERELY HONORING THAT MEMORY."

"…" Subaru pondered on his words briefly before looking at Emilia's body with sadness. "Is that so… Then, I'll make sure to put in the effort to deserve those thoughts…" The Avenger's body had begun to heat up as electricity danced around him.

"…I SEE. SO YOU ARE SERIOUS, YOU FOOL." Puck prepared himself, accumulating cold air and gigantic icicles around himself. "DIE." The gales and projectiles launched without warning.

"URYAAH!" Subaru yelled as he shot the greatest lightning bolt that he had ever conjured against the spirit's assault. The heat produced from such a clash was enough too shortly thaw the surroundings before Puck's magic froze them once again. Taking advantage of the mist produced by the explosion, Subaru cloaked himself with his light-blocking field, hiding from the spirit's view.

"I MIGHT NOT SEE YOU BUT I KNOW YOU ARE HERE!" Puck claimed. "I CAN SENSE YOU… YOU WON'T LAST LONG BEFORE YOU FREEZE AS WELL!" The feral Great Spirit shot out gales and icicles in all directions, hoping that at least one would clash against the young man.

"…" Subaru was climbing over the cracking walls of the mansion, dodging gust after gust within the blizzard, as he reached for a high enough point to jump on top of Puck.

"I'VE FOUND YOU!" Puck yelled the moment he managed to pinpoint Subaru's location. He pointed his brilliant yellow eyes in the direction of the broken walls and concentrated his assault there.

"TSK!" Subaru turned visible while surrounding himself in electricity once more to fight off the rising cold. As Puck's barrage intensified, Subaru began shooting bolt after bolt to hold it at bay. As he did so, he managed to find a pattern in the tiger's seemingly infinite attack. Although he could maintain the sword-like gales constantly, he had to actually pause in order to cast the icicles. Within this instant, he had to stop casting all other spells before continuing with the assault. Exploiting this, he electrified his webbing to heat it up and shot it directly against the cat's forehead the second in-between the casting of the icicles. Puck was unable to react the moment Subaru suddenly noticed the flaw in his spellcasting and pounced directly on him from the tension of the string. "DAAAGH!" Subaru yelled as he conjured another heavy lightning bolt while punching the Spirit's head.

"KUH!" The momentum, force and electrical discharge from the punch was enough to drive the feline back slightly. His head was completely turned as he had to regain his balance. However, even if Subaru's fist was strong… Puck was still a powerful spirit with centuries' worth of experience under his belt. Which is why he knew… to make his own physical body frozen as well, in case someone was capable of actually fending him off physically.

"…Tsk!" Subaru grunted as his right fist completely froze over beyond recovery. Now both arms were frozen-useless.

"Subaru!" Karen yelled in alarm.

"I know, I know!" A tired Spider-Man screamed. The multiple discharges of lightning strong enough to fight against the Great Spirit's assault had taken a toll on him. He was not Thor, he couldn't withstand the continuous strain within his body. To top it off, he was still reeling over the fight against the whale and, as such, the pain had become enough for him to stumble over his own weight. "Shit… I'm at my limit…" He whispered as he was about to pass out.

"DIE!" Puck noticed his tired form and yelled as he launched another barrage against him, Subaru being unable to dodge in time.

"GACK!" Subaru grunted in pain as Puck's gales cut off his frozen left arm and flung him back against the ground.

"SU-YO-RM-UN-AY!" Karen attempted to warn the boy to leave everything and attempt to run away desperately, but the cold had finally taken a toll on her as well. "COM-TTI-OWN…" The circuitry couldn't keep running electricity, having been cut off roughly with the arm, along with the continuous blizzard freezing the cabling shut.

"K-Karen…" Subaru grunted as he attempted to get up once more, the pain shutting down with the cold.

"YOU'VE PROVEN ANNOYING… JUST LIE DOWN AND REST WITH ALL THE OTHERS." Puck warned while preparing another assault. However, just as he was about to launch it, Subaru fell on the snow covered ground besides Emilia's corpse. His foot… had frozen over and broken off from his body. "…SO THAT'S IT, HUH…"

"…" Subaru could do nothing as Puck glared at him menacingly. His webs had frozen over, and so did his limbs. Soon enough, his eyes would as well and he'd be unable to even see the titan killing him. Before all of his senses were decimated, he resolved to at least question the feline's actions of freezing the domain and fighting him. "…Why…" He whispered with a disturbed glare focused on the beast.

"…" Puck stood in silence, staring.

"…Why… are you doing this…?" Subaru managed to complete his question.

"…BECAUSE… WITHOUT LIA… WITHOUT EMILIA… THIS WORLD HOLDS NO MEANING FOR ME." Puck answered. "ACCORDING TO MY CONTRACT… I SHALL NOW MOVE ON TO END IT."

"…Pfft." Subaru chuckled at the twisted bastard. "You… fuckin' maniac…" He shut his eyes to await for his demise.

"JUST LIE THERE AND REST NOW… EVEN IF I HATE YOU… YOU SHOULD AT LEAST ENJOY THE PRIVILEGE OF ENDING YOUR MISERABLE LIFE BESIDES HER FOR NOW…" Puck contemplated while walking, shaking the earth beneath him. "I HAVE TO DO THIS… FOR HER SAKE." The beast drew distance as he walked away, uncaring for everything it destroyed around itself.

"…" These last words went unnoticed by Subaru as he lied on the ground besides the half-elf. He was too distracted with his thoughts flooding onto his mind. Memories of days now unreachable.

Mom.

Dad.

Uncle Ben.

Aunt May.

Happy.

MJ.

Liz.

Ned.

Tony.

Beatrice.

Meili.

Petra.

Ram.

Rem.

Emilia.

"…Emilia…" In the delirium of his last moments, as Subaru's consciousness faded with the winds, he mustered all the strength he had to stare at the girl and reach for her snow-covered hand with his cracked right arm. With each movement, the limb would crack and a piece of it would fall over. The pain, however, was not there. Subaru just didn't care anymore. He reached… and he reached… and he reached… until his hand finally connected with her, his arm looking as slim as a stick by the end of the ordeal. He could not move his fingers, but he could still rest his palm on top of hers. "…" Perhaps it was the cold as it finally reached his brain. Perhaps it was the dementia induced from the pain. Perhaps it was the guilt, finally controlling him now that Karen wasn't around to reign it in. Either way, Subaru made a completely illogical statement given his current situation. One that was impossible for him now… but that he meant with his heart and soul at that very moment. "I… swear…"

The image of Emilia in the alleyway they first met popped into his mind.

"I… will…"

The image of the two of them holding hands whilst surrounded by flowers and listening to music during their first date flooded his heart.

"Save… you…"

The image of the fake smile she gave him while crying as they parted ways in the Capital broke his soul.

"Emilia…" As he whispered the last word, his face and head finally froze, cracking from the wind's gales and ending his suffering. Natsuki Subaru… Avenger… Hero of the Universe… Has died.

Within the Realm of Death, a Black Hand, covered in perturbing shadows, reaches towards the formless mass that once was Natsuki Subaru. The mass that will once again become Natsuki Subaru. That mass that will reform Natsuki Subaru.

"…" An entity without a clear form took shape while gazing at this action from afar. An entity apart from the Black Hand or the mass of Natsuki Subaru.

"…" The Black Hand… The Witch's hand… manifested the form of the Witch of Envy. The Witch then stood in silence while staring at the third party that was gazing at her and her beloved in her arms.

"…Witch." The entity spoke with an indifferent yet imposing tone.

"…" The Witch ignored the entity.

"Be sure that it will protect him across the multiverse… but it won't withstand the might of the cosmic powers…" The entity warned, finally taking form.

"…I love him." The Witch stated in a concluding tone.

"Death cares not for love…" The entity finally took form in the shape of a skeleton covered by a hood of shadows, a figure underneath too feminine for what was essentially a walking corpse, defying all common sense. "Only the balance HIS actions might reconstitute."

"…I love him." The shadow-clad half-elf repeated.

"This contract… This exception… exists for the sole purpose of maintaining the Web of Life and Destiny… Thus has spoken… Death."

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Phew! 18K! That's twice as long as I'd normally make a chapter!

Sorry I've been kind of absent lately, college came down HARD on me. I have some plans for 'Spider-verse' and the like, and I can't wait for 'No Way Home'!

Anyways, how would you like it if I spiced Arc 4 up with some, say… INFINITY ULTRON?

Would it feel forced to include Subaru in the Watcher's line-up? As always, comment down below, and see you on the next chapter!