-Crusch's Mansion-
As all of the members of Crusch's army and Crusch herself had already been on the road to her mansion, Subaru and the others had no choice but to simply follow them.
Wilhelm boards a carriage with Subaru, Emilia, and Rem so he can guide them towards the mansion. He explains the reason they are going to the mansion is because there are more talented and capable healers there compared to the ones they brought out to the battlefield.
The whole ride there is filled with anxiousness and anxiety. While Subaru hasn't known Crusch for very long, their discussions regarding the White Whale and their battle with said beast together has allowed them to gain a mutual understanding and respect for one another. From all the candidates he has met, he feels that Crusch is the most respectable and reliable one of them all, aside from Emilia of course. Her agenda for becoming the ruler of Lugunica, which is to free the country from its dependence on the Divine Dragon, is also one he finds generally worthy of admiration, unlike most of the others.
During their time at her mansion, Rem interestingly took a great liking to Crusch. Finding her ideals and behavior quite admirable and valiant, she sees her in a very positive light. In fact, she views her so positively that she is the 3rd person she respects the most, with only Subaru and Ram beating her. Naturally, she is quite concerned about her health and whether she will survive.
Several hours pass by and they soon arrive at her mansion. They see a ton of carriages a little beyond the front gate and many soldiers are either passed out or are currently attending to other soldiers.
"What…what happened?!" Subaru gapes as he takes in the horrendous view. Carriages have broken down, supplies appear to be limited, and blood leaks from the many wounds the soldiers have taken.
"Wilhelm-sama! I'm so grateful to see you return safely." A soldier approaches them and greets them with a respectful bow. "I deeply apologize, but as you can see we cannot exactly attend to you at the moment."
"It is quite alright. I brought along a capable healer to assist in your efforts. Speaking of that, how is the recovery process coming along?"
The soldier shifts his feet nervously and doesn't respond.
"Please answer honestly, there is nothing to gain by hiding information from me."
"V-Very well." He straightens himself out and reports as calmly as he can, "About half of the soldiers have still not woken up yet, no matter how much we try to heal them. The other half are awake, but they claim to not remember anything about who we are or what occurred today. There are only a couple of soldiers who appear to remember everything. Also…I don't know why. But whenever I look at the soldiers who haven't woken up yet, I can't seem to remember who they are."
"Those poor soldiers…" Emilia mumbles sadly.
Subaru's eyes widen, Just like with Rem-tan and the White Whale! He shudders at remembering the moment Ram told him she didn't know who Rem was. But…the White Whale is dead! And most of the soldiers were fine when we left, so what gives?
"I see." Wilhelm closes his eyes and puts a finger to chin in thought. "Thank you for being honest. Were the soldiers who remembered everything able to see who attacked them?"
"They say it was two individuals. One tall, handsome looking man with hair as white as snow and a slender build. The other is a short, freaky looking creature with long brown hair, sharp teeth, and, according to the soldiers, always seems to have a shadow draping over it."
A feeling of uneasiness comes over Emilia's heart upon hearing the former description. She brings a hand to it. Weird…that description sounds really ordinary, but for some reason I get a small sense of dread when I hear it. I'm probably overthinking things.
"Hmm, those descriptions do not ring a bell. Where is Crusch-sama?" Wilhelm asks.
"I saw Felix-sama and a few soldiers take her into the mansion some time ago."
"Let's go then." Wilhelm leads the three into her mansion.
"Are you sure it's alright to barge into her mansion like this?" Subaru asks, feeling like he is trespassing despite the fact he's already been here before.
"When Crusch-sama is absent from the mansion, I or Ferris-san are usually in charge of the residence. As she is currently unable to tend to her duties, I have the right to allow guests to enter. Even if I didn't, I believe certain exceptions can be made in emergency situations like this."
They enter and quickly make their way through a few hallways.
-Waiting Room-
They soon enter a room that looks like a waiting room. "Subaru-dono, Emilia-sama, I apologize, but I think it'd be best if I only took Rem-san to see her for now. Can you both wait patiently here for our return?"
They nod, Emilia says, "I understand. It'd be a lot of people crowding around her if she wakes up. I wouldn't like all of the attention at once."
"I hope Rem-tan can heal her and help her wake up." Subaru says, feeling worried that she won't wake up at all like half of the soldiers. His eyes shine with hope though.
-Crusch's Bedroom-
Climbing some stairs and traveling through one more hallway, Wilhelm leads Rem down it to the end, where a single large wooden door stands in their way. On the other side, intense crying can be heard.
"This is Crusch-sama's private bedroom. She doesn't usually let anyone except for me and Ferris-san enter, however I believe she'd make an exception for you since you're going to heal her."
He opens the door and leads her in. She instantly notes how large the room is, finding it to be a similar size to Roswaal's bedroom. A little further in is a king-sized bed layered with hunter green bedding and white pillows. Sitting on top of it all is Crusch herself. Felix sits in a wooden chair right beside her and has his head buried in the sheets. He clutches one of her hands with his own, holding on for dear life.
"Ferris-san, I brought Rem-san to help heal her. How is she looking?"
He barely manages to lift his head to look at them. His face looks terrible. Streams of tears currently run down his eyes. The skin surrounding his eyes are quite red and irritated due to them being constantly wiped, and he looks exhausted.
"It's…it's no use. She's not waking up!" His voice is hoarse. "Nothing works! I've tried everything! I have no mana left to use! I'm supposed to be this kingdom's most powerful healer and yet…yet…" He clenches a fist tightly and bangs it against the nightstand next to him, "I can't even heal one person! My master no less!"
"The healers outside are struggling as well. Only half the soldiers have woken up." Rem states as she approaches them. She grabs a wooden chair from a corner of the room and places it on the opposite side of the bed from Felix.
"Good luck Rem-san." Wilhelm gives his best regards as he closes the door to give them some space.
"Who cares?! Crusch-sama is the only person who needs to be awake right now!" Felix shouts at Rem.
"Calm down. Let me take a look at her."
"Calm down?!" He shouts again, accusingly this time. "How can I calm down in a situation like this? If Subaru-kyun was in this bed rather than her, I'm certain you'd be the one freaking out right now!"
"I…" She can't deny it, she no doubt would be really scared and feeling very helpless just like him if Subaru was in Crusch's position. "I apologize for my heartless comment. Please forgive me."
Finally calming down slightly, he says in a softer yet still demanding sort of tone, "If you have mana to spare, please help her."
"That is what I intend to do. I care about her a lot." Looking over her, Rem can tell she is breathing normally and is likely in a deep sleep. There are no wounds to speak of on her body, but she presumes Felix already healed those long ago. Putting her palms over her chest, she begins the healing process to hopefully wake her up. Figuring Felix has already put in most of the work towards reviving her, Rem hopes that she only needs to make the final push.
Twenty Minutes Later
"She's up…she's getting up!" Felix's lifeless gaze suddenly becomes animated with excitement as he sees what is going on right in front of him.
"Good, it worked." Rem leans back in her chair and breathes a sigh of relief, her sky-blue hair shifting back and forth slightly as she does so. She has worked almost nonstop applying healing magic to her. She did take a few breaks, as releasing mana like that constantly can really sap a person's energy. If she didn't take that several hour long break from using mana on the way to the mansion, there would be no way she'd have enough for this operation.
Fluttering her eyes slowly, Crusch initially observes the ceiling before easing herself up, still in a daze.
Felix, not really reading the mood, embraces her with as much force as he can muster, crying tears of joy "Crusch-sama! Crusch-sama! You're back! I thought I'd lost you forever!"
"Wait Felix-san!" Rem cautions, "She just woke up, give her a little space."
"Nyeh!" He sticks his tongue out at her.
"What's…what's going on?" Crusch's voice is faint and garbled. "My…my head hurts. My chest too…"
"Oh! Oopsies." Felix releases himself and sits back down in his chair. "Sorry about that nya! I'm so relieved to see you're well! You were unconscious for several hours."
"I was?"
They both nod in unity. "Yep! Everyone has been really worried about you, so let's go relieve their fears!"
"Um…sure. But first, can I ask something?" Her voice becomes crisper with every passing second.
"Of course nya!"
Looking at Felix with a confused look, she asks a question neither of them expected or wanted to hear.
…
…
"Who are you?"
-Waiting Room-
"So yeah! That Archbishop was chasing us like a freaking madman and nearly killed us, but Rem-tan and I finished him off by distracting him with his gospel! I wrote 'THE END' in it and that completely threw him for a loop! His unseen hand and then his entire body was crushed by our carriage. After that, we met up with you and the others."
Subaru and Emilia have their first moment alone together in quite a while. While they wait for the results of Crusch's treatment, Emilia asks Subaru to recount all of his adventures since she returned to the mansion. He obliges. While his recounts are generally faithful to what actually happened, he did decide to leave some details out. For example, everything that happened in his failed loops. Additionally, he did not mention Petelguese taking over his body and meeting Satella as he feels she would not handle that information well.
"Wow! Rem wasn't kidding when she said you were an amazing negotiator, planner, and supporter. You did so many dangerous things just to keep everyone safe. While I'm still pretty hesitant on letting you do such dangerous stunts like that, I do realize that many people would've died if you didn't do what you did. So Subaru, I'm proud of you, you did good." She gives an earnest smile.
Subaru rubs the back of his head and gives a slightly embarrassed smile, "It's embarrassing hearing you praise me so much, but thanks!
At this moment, the door to the waiting room opens. Rem, Crusch, Felix, and Wilhelm all enter. Rem, Felix, and Wilhelm all have sullen looks on their faces, with Felix's being the most intense and Wilhelm's being just barely noticeable. Crusch meanwhile has a neutral look, but appears to just be slightly apprehensive of everyone.
"Crusch-san! You're awake! That means the treatment went over well!" Subaru says excitedly. He and Emilia immediately get up to greet them.
"Yes, much to our relief, Crusch-sama has awoken. However, I wouldn't say she has fully recovered." Wilhelm says with dignity, both Subaru and Emilia can tell he is disturbed by the look in his eyes.
"Hm? Why is that? She looks great to me." Emilia asks.
"Um…" Crusch pauses for a few moments as she looks back at the three behind her. They give her reassuring nods. Returning to her initial position, she reveals the news:
"I have lost my memories."
"Huh?!" The two gasp.
"Let's take a seat everyone, I'll explain the situation." Rem says.
As there is a large table within the room that has six green comfy chairs surrounding it, they all take a seat in one of them. Felix makes sure he sits next to Crusch. Rem does the same with Subaru. Wilhelm and Emilia sit at the ends of the table, with Emilia noticeably taking the seat closest to Subaru.
Rem explains how Crusch was unable to recognize either of them upon waking up. They quickly realized she has memory loss as she was unable to recall any of her memories from earlier that day, or anytime before then either. Not even her childhood memories were safe from being lost. All she could really remember is her name and essential things, like language or knowing how to eat.
Before they entered the waiting room, some basic things about her current life had been explained to her already by Felix and Wilhelm. Primarily the fact that she is a royal candidate and the duties that come with that position. Their actions from earlier that day were explained in detail as well.
"I see. I'm really sorry to hear this. Even if I didn't really know you, I'm sure you were a kind person Crusch-san." Emilia gives her condolences.
"Crusch-sama, I apologize for making you deliver the message to everyone outside saying you're amnesiac." Felix says apologetically. He finally doesn't have a sullen look on his face anymore.
"No, it's quite alright Ferris-san. They needed to know about my condition from the person in question. I still don't fully understand my status as a royal candidate but I do understand that a lot of people are relying on me to lead them."
"It's just Ferris." He clarifies with a frown, "We've known each other for a very long time. We're like family! It makes me sad when you talk to me as if we don't know one another."
"I'm sorry." Crusch gives a small bow to him. "I can't help it as I don't remember you. But, I'll make an effort to be less formal to you from now on Ferris.
"There's no need to rush. I'll always be on your side! Even if you don't remember me!" He gives a reassuring smile, trying to appear as friendly as possible.
Wiggling his cat tail in happiness at the realization of something, he says with a sort of dreamy tone, "Though I must admit, it's really interesting seeing you like this. It's like I'm seeing a whole new side to you now!"
"Now that everyone is here, let us discuss how Crusch-sama's, as well as the soldiers' memories were lost." Wilhelm begins the main discussion.
Subaru throws out a theory, "Everyone was fine before the attack, right? That means the two individuals we heard about from that soldier are most likely the culprits of this."
"Who are these individuals?" Crusch asks.
He explains the descriptions they were given by the soldier.
"That really doesn't explain much." Felix states with disappointment.
"This attack seemed to be at an awfully convenient time. Since it was not long after we fought the whale, the soldiers were likely not in the best condition to fight." Rem says. "My theory is that the Witch's Cult is behind this. Again…" She grits her teeth, having to mention them again.
"I can shed some light as to who ate your memories." A mysterious voice rings throughout the room. They trace the source of the sound to Emilia. Slowly, a small gray cat appears from behind her hair.
"Oh, Puck! You know something about who attacked Crush-san and her army?" Emilia asks optimistically.
"Of course I do! I'm not a great spirit for nothing." He smirks and crosses his paws across his chest proudly. "Anyway, the one responsible for your current state is Gluttony."
"Gluttony? That sounds like a name an Archbishop would use, like Sloth." Rem grumbles.
Puck explains, "Put simply, the Authority of Gluttony is a power for eating. He can eat either a person's name or their memories, or both. If he eats someone's name, then everyone forgets about that person. If he eats their memories, then that person will end up in a state that girl is currently in." He points to Crusch. "If they're unfortunate enough in that he eats both their name and memories, then they'll simply be an empty shell, nothing more. They won't wake up. All bodily functions will cease, including eating, drinking, and aging. They'll only be alive in the sense that their soul hasn't left their body."
"That's terrifying!" Felix exclaims. "Thank goodness Crusch-sama's name wasn't eaten! I couldn't ever stand forgetting her! Is there any way to restore her memories?"
"Sorry, but there's no power that I know, including my own, that can undo what Gluttony has done."
Suddenly, a deep shiver runs down Rem's spine.
"What's wrong Rem-tan?" Subaru quickly asks, worried.
"I…I was originally supposed to travel with Crusch-sama and her soldiers, right? To recover from the battle."
"Yes, that's what I suggested you do then. Why are you bringing it up?" Felix asks.
"T-That means…" She shakily tries to catch her breath, "I-If I didn't go with Subaru-kun, I…I would've been one of the victims of that attack."
A ring of gasps echoes across the room.
"That means I…" Subaru starts.
"Yes." A tear streams down her covered eye. "You saved me yet again Subaru-kun."
"Rem-tan…" If I didn't take her, her memories would've been erased?! He shivers at the thought, If that happened, or worse yet, her memories AND name were eaten she…would've become like those soldiers out there? Unable to wake up at all. An empty shell. I can't…I can't imagine a world without her. If that occurred, I would kill myself to make sure it would be undone. I know for a fact I would do that, because I love her.
"Thank you Subaru-kun. If I forgot about you and everyone else, I don't know what I'd do." Extremely glad that she went with him, she wonders about what would've happened if she lost her memories. Would I revert to how I was before I met Subaru-kun? Would I be cautious of him because of the witch's scent on him? I wouldn't hurt him, right? I didn't when I first met him. I probably wouldn't.
"Why?! Why does this maid get to retain her memories while Crusch-sama does not?! Subaru-kyun, why didn't you take her with you to the village?"
"Ferris, I had no idea that Gluttony was going to attack Crusch-san or her soldiers! I took Rem-tan becau-"
"What complete and utter crap!" He bangs a fist on the table and points an accusing finger at him, "You knew exactly when and where the White Whale was going to show up thanks to that metia of yours. You also knew of when, where, and how the Witch's Cult was going to attack the village. If you knew that much, then how would you not know about the plan to attack Crusch-sama's army!? Answer me!"
Wilhelm says, "Ferris-san, I suggest you take a deep breath and think rationally about this. Subaru-dono couldn't have possibly known every little move the Witch's Cult has made."
"No!" He retorts furiously, "He should've known! He should've known that as soon as Emilia-sama entered the royal selection, the Witch's Cult would've began to move to try to capture her! Even I knew this!"
Emilia looks down in shame, "Maybe it really was my fault after all."
"Well, that's true!" This causes Subaru to give an angry glare at Felix, but he continues, "They're fixated on getting rid of Emilia-sama, the half-elf! What's going on now is just a tiny part of-"
Now it's Subaru's turn to get pissed off, as he cuts him off "Cut it out! That's ridiculous! The only ones at fault are those scumbags! Don't put the blame on the wrong person, because Emilia-tan has done nothing wrong!"
Felix, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair, says with a mocking tone "Hmm? Coming from you Subaru-kyun, that sounds soooo convincing. We all know just how obsessed you are with her."
"Enough! Stop insulting Subaru-kun, Felix-san. Especially when you know he's right." Rem sternly addresses him with a glare.
"Ferris" Crusch addresses him, causing everyone to look her way.
"I cannot ignore the comment you just made. Apologize."
He doesn't say anything, but his cat ears and tail droop.
"Natsuki Subaru-sama is right. We know exactly where the blame should fall, and it is not Emilia-sama. Plus, you have no right to ridicule someone who has made a correct statement."
In a defeated tone, he bows and apologizes. "Yes Crusch-sama. Emilia-sama, I'm sorry. You too Subaru-kyun."
"It's fine. Forget about it. Let's get back on topic." Subaru says.
"Let me say this though. About that alliance we spoke about…let's just forget about it."
"What…?" No one in the Emilia camp can believe what Felix is suggesting. "Why did it lead to this? Subaru begs to know.
"An alliance is formed when both parties have something equal to gain from it. Why would we ally with the target of the Witch's Cult? You've seen what happened to Crusch-sama and the soldiers. If we never allied, they would've never came after us!"
"Ferris-san, did you already forget that Subaru-dono and Rem-san greatly assisted in the subjugation of the White Whale?" Wilhelm reminds him, "It was only fair we helped them in return. I believe each party benefited greatly from this alliance."
"I know Old Man Will, but…"
"And now, with the current status of Crusch-sama and the soldiers, an alliance with the Emilia camp is more important now than ever. This is also an opportunity to enact revenge."
"Are you saying revenge is more important than Crusch-sama's life?!" Felix shouts angrily again. "She's already suffered so much! She has no idea of what's going on. Putting her in more danger would only make things worse."
"Ferris…" Crusch is about to put a hand out to him, but retracts it.
"How can she be expected to fight! Right? Right?! I'm sure we can do something about your memories without Emilia-sama's help. I'll find some way to use my magic to heal you! Or maybe an antidote. Something! So please Crusch-sama, don't put yourself in any more danger…" Felix begins to cry again, overwhelmed with the thought of Crusch's condition getting worse than it already is.
"Ferris." Crusch bravely grabs a hold of his hands with her own, giving a warm smile. "I can see that you truly care about me. Thank you, it means a lot. There's a lot I do not understand right now. And I'm sure everyone is confused on how to interact with me from now on. Still, for everyone that resumes to have respect for me despite my current state, I thank you from the bottom of my heart." She bows to everyone.
She looks at Felix with a resolute expression, "Ferris, I don't want to make light of your feelings. I could do as you say and take it the easy way. However, even if I don't remember anything, I loathe the thought of just sitting around and doing nothing. My friends doing all the gruesome, dirty work while I sit here in comfort does not sit well with my soul. If I'm allowed to choose, I'd like to continue supporting Emilia-sama and her camp, and they can help us in return."
"Crusch-sama!" Deeply touched by her words of wisdom, Felix can't help but bawl into her shoulders.
"It appears that Crusch-sama is in favor of the alliance. And I must say I agree with her decision. Subaru-dono, Emilia-sama, Rem-san, what do you say about continuing the alliance?"
"Of course I'm cool with it!" Subaru flashes a grin.
"I think it would be beneficial to us. Crusch-sama and her camp have assisted us so much over the past couple of days. I'm very thankful for that and I would like to continue assisting her from time to time." Rem answers.
"Yes, you all helped Subaru and Rem protect Arlam village from the Witch's Cult. I'll always be grateful to everybody for that. I see no reason to dissolve the alliance. However, we must return to the village to rejoin Ram and the others who are at the sanctuary currently. After we do that, we can attempt to look further into Gluttony and see how to undo his power." Emilia replies.
With the decision to remain in an alliance final and an idea of what to do in the future being planned, the meeting concludes shortly after. Initially Subaru and the others were going to return to Arlam village during the night, but Crusch convinced them to stay the night.
-Subaru's Temporary Room-
"All finished nya. Your gate will heal more with time. I wouldn't use it for the next few months if possible. You've really worked it overtime when fighting Sloth." Felix says to Subaru as he wraps up working on his gate. Emilia was the one who suggested for Felix to check on his gate since he's worked a lot and she's aware of just how fragile his gate is.
"I see. Well, nothing too crazy should happen, hopefully. Thanks Ferris."
"Yeah, no problem. Well, good nyight." He exits the room.
Subaru sighs and mumbles to himself, "It feels like he's become a bit more distant since figuring out Crusch-san has amnesia. Makes sense, he is really close to her. I feel bad for him." He puts his hands behind his head and lays back on his bed. "I can't believe there are more of those cult members out there. And from the sound of it, Gluttony might be an Archbishop, like Petelguese."
Suddenly, there is a knock on the door.
"Who is it?"
"It's Rem, may I come in?"
"Of course!" He promptly sits up to greet her properly.
She opens the door and to Subaru's surprise, is no longer dressed in her maid outfit. Instead, she wears a simple blue nightgown. Her ribbon is off as well, though her hair clippings remain.
"Hey Rem-tan, what's up?"
Turning her head away awkwardly for a moment as she's not used to her new nickname yet, she comes up and sits beside Subaru on the bed.
"I heard Felix-san was working on your mana gate for a little while and I just saw him leave your room on my way down here. How're you feeling?" She asks.
"Pretty good right now! My body feels refreshed now that he's worked on the gate." He swings an arm around to prove how great he feels. "He told me to not use my gate for a few months."
"That's a good call, you've been working very hard for the past few days that you deserve a vacation."
"Oh, that's likely not gonna happen. What with needing to bring the villagers back. Then we'll be needing to work in the mansion as usual. And with knowing how Ram is, we'll probably be working a lot harder than usual. Boy I can't wait…"
"Ah, right…" Her expression sours at this realization. However, her cheerful self returns momentarily with a clap, "But don't worry! I'll be there to help you. I already do about 80% of the work anyway, so doing your duties would be nothing."
He eagerly shakes his head, "Doing 80% is already too much! It should be more like 50/50 split between you two. Ram really needs to pitch in more."
"It's not Nee-sama's fault that she's clumsy at times. I put in a lot of effort to try to match her skills."
"I just think her work ethic is much lower compared to you. Though I'll admit she's better than me at mostly everything in regards to cleaning and maintenance."
"You'll get there someday Subaru-kun. I know you will." She gives her usual sweet smile.
The two sit in silence for a little while before Rem gains a serious expression. "Subaru-kun. I know I said this back during the meeting, but I feel I must repeat it again. Thank you so much for saving me by letting me go with you. If I had lost my memories of you, I don't know what I would do. What would I become? I'm…I'm scared just thinking about it."
"I really didn't do much, but I'm so, so glad your memories are intact. I was originally going to let you travel with Crusch-san to rest. I had no idea Gluttony and that other guy would attack her and her soldiers. It's terrible. If only…if only I could've been there. Maybe I could've done something about it."
"No Subaru-kun, I think what you did today was the best course of action you could've taken. If the Witch's Cult was left alone, then the village would've been attacked and everyone there would've likely died. Forgive me if this sounds rude, but you can't take on the burdens of everyone. You're only one person. You can only do so much."
"But…but still! I got them involved in all of this. Every last one of them. All the burden lies on me." He wipes a few tears forming on his face. "I'm the one who organized everyone to fight the White Whale and the Witch's Cult. All the responsibility lies on me! And no one can say differently."
Rem gets up on the bed and behind Subaru. "Rem-tan? What are you…oooh!" Laying her hands on top of Subaru's shoulders, she begins to squeeze and rub them, causing him to moan in pleasure.
"Subaru-kun, that is a lie. You did organize everything and you did a wonderful job at that. However, just because you arranged everything does not mean you are solely responsible for everything and everyone. Every person is responsible for themselves. Crusch-sama, Wilhelm-san, Julius-san, Ricardo-san, Felix-san, and everybody else decided to fight alongside you. They could've refused you, but they didn't."
"Oh, they most definitely did, at first anyway." He mumbles.
"Huh? I don't remember that."
"Forget I said anything. Sorry."
Her eyebrows furrow slightly in confusion. Hmmm…it probably means nothing. But I should note it, just in case.
"Anyway." His muscles relax from both her massage and after hearing her kind words. A relieving feeling comes over his heart. "I see what you mean. I don't think I had enough manpower to deal with both threats at once. And we really are quite fortunate that no one died in that whole attack, though numerous people are now in a completely immobile state."
"If what Emilia-sama's spirit said is true, then we should be able to take as much time as we need to deal with that issue. For now, our goal should be to have everyone return to the village."
He nods, "I agree. Thank you Rem-tan. Your motivational talks always bring me up out of my slumps."
"Everyone needs an emotional supporter to get through the easy and the hard times. You're my emotional supporter, Subaru-kun, so I wish to return the favor and be yours as well."
He turns around, forcing her to stop the massaging. Putting a hand on her head, he begins to rub it affectionately. "Yes, you're Subaru-kun's cute oni maid supporter."
"C-Cute?" Surprised, her mouth forms into a small little O. Subaru stops petting her head and instead squeezes and pinches her cheeks lightly.
"Uwm…Subawu-kwun? What awe you dowing?" She asks in one of the most adorable voices Subaru has ever heard.
He lets her go, but he giggles like a little schoolgirl, "You're so freaking adorable I couldn't help it! Rem-tan, your cute and loveable face is going to cause me trouble someday. Probably with Ram."
She initially doesn't respond, which worries him, wondering if he said something offensive. Eventually, she asks, "Am I really that cute? What about Nee-sama? She basically has the same face as me."
He has another fit of laughter, which causes Rem to become embarrassed.
As soon as he calms down, he replies, "Are you seriously asking me to compare you to Ram? Sure, I'll admit that Ram is cute in a lot of ways. But the stern and cold look she wears a lot of the time drastically reduces the amount of cuteness points she gets. You, on the other hand, smile some of the sweetest smiles I've ever seen. Some of your other expressions, like your surprised one just now, are really adorable in their own ways. So, while Ram may have a very similar face to you, I don't believe she holds a candle to your charm Rem-tan."
"S-Subaru-kun…" She turns her head away as her face blushes a little with all the kind things he just said. He really thinks I'm cute! I'm so happy! "T-Thank you. You're pretty handsome yourself, just so you know."
"Heh, thanks for that."
Looking at a clock on a nearby wall, Rem realizes just how late it has gotten. "I should go back now. We'll need a good night's sleep to have enough energy to welcome everyone back to the village tomorrow."
Subaru told all of the villagers to return the next morning, as he figured he'd have the Witch's Cult exterminated by then. Thankfully, they managed to do that, except for those two mysterious individuals.
Hopefully they don't target the village next. Subaru hopes deep down in his heart.
"Yeah, sounds like a plan. Goodnight Rem-tan!"
Getting up and heading for the door, she walks out and begins to close the door. Right before she does, she gives her hero one last cheerful smile, "Goodnight Subaru-kun, have sweet dreams tonight."
"I'll try." I've been having nothing but nightmares lately…
Thirty Minutes Later
Unbeknownst to Subaru, not long after he passed out, a door opens to his room and a figure walks in. Sitting beside his bed, the individual grabs his right arm and brings it to themself. Interlocking fingers, the person uses their other hand to rub his hand gently and affectionately.
Seeing his facial features relax from being tense moments ago and a small tiny smile forming on his face causes the figure to break out into a big smile of their own.
Staying for about ten minutes, the person never lets go of this position and contently watches his face. When the time comes for the person to leave, they whisper:
"Keep having wonderful dreams Subaru-kun."
-Author's Corner-
A/N: Currently in the interlude between acts 3 and 4 now. With Crusch taken care of for now, it's time for Subaru, Emilia, and Rem to return to Arlam village and Roswaal's mansion.
Danbooru god: Haha yes he does. I decided to address your questions in an updated author's note for the last chapter, but I'll repeat them here. I don't believe anything would've really changed with the result to Crusch and her army if Rem wasn't there. The reason being she wasn't able to really do anything to Gluttony and the first place and got soundly beaten. As for Rem-rin, I did consider using it as I am aware that Subaru calls her that sometimes. However, I believe he doesn't call her that all the time and also he isn't the only one to use the Rem-rin nickname. The village kids also call her Rem-rin (maybe Rem-rin-rin, but either way it's pretty similar). This made the nickname feel less special in my opinion.
Grifith Moses: Yep! We saved a death here as Subaru didn't kill himself trying to save Rem.
Maximum Rhapsody: Interesting theory there. As for Crusch. They do plan to see her again after they deal with returning the villagers to their village (and we all know how that goes).