Watching Arc 4 in The Theater of Despair

by Ostap Bender99

This fanfic is a prequel to the work "The Secret" by Continuer123. The cast is still trapped in an enchanted theater by the enigmatic "Warden". And now they are about to see the trials of Natsuki Subaru that took place in Sanctuary. P.S. - this work is a translation of the finished fanfic.

10. Episode 9

Had to rush a bit this one to make it in time. I hope there won't be to many /

Since today is a special one for me, I thought about sharing the joy a little.)br /

But don't expect every chapter to come out this fast.) The next one should be released in a week or so.

And traditional kudos to 'Cake' for providing the transcript of an episode.

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"Felt-sama? Are you awake?!" Reinhard asked, knocking on the princess's door.

"What do you want?" The girl's muffled and displeased voice came from behind the door.

"I just wanted to see you, to know how you feel. And to ask for your advice." He said the last part barely audibly.

After a few seconds of silence, the door opened. The knight went inside, closed the door behind him, and then looked at his lady. She stood in the center of the room with her arms crossed, her eyes red from crying, her hair ruined, and a displeased expression on her face.

"Well, do you see it now? Are you satisfied?" She asked in a tone that made it clear that she was not in a mood to have a conversation.

"My lady. If you're mad at me for something, then I'm sincerely…"

"Shut up…" She whispered angrily, her clenched fists were trampling, her bloodshot eyes were on the verge of tears.

"Sorry?" He did not understand the reason for her displeasure, but simply out of habit prepared to take on any criticism.

The sight of his confused face, that was ready to apologize at the first opportunity, was the last straw. Giving free rein to her emotions, Felt began to scream angrily:

"Shut up, I said! How much more will you say it?! All I hear from you is apologies! Enough! When will it finally dawn on you that words, especially as empty as endless apologies, can't fix anything?!"

Reinhard was completely lost. Of course, the princess often yelled at him. She had a very explosive temper. But never before, even at the very beginning of their relationship, had she sounded so… angry. And sad.

"If you want to fix something, it's too late now! You could have made everything right back then! On the first day! All you had to do was to grow a bit of spine and take the big bro with you! That's it! Nothing more was required of you! Then none of this would have happened! And now what?! Who would feel better if you apologized another thousand times?!"

The sword Saint couldn't find any words to say. All that was going through his head were various forms of apologies. After many years of his own father and grandfather calling him a monster, Reinhard was too accustomed to the fact that he could only apologize for his vile existence. Therefore, the cruel words from the princess seemed to him completely logical and well deserved. After all, he was nothing but an idle monster.

"You're right, Felt-sama… I really am nothing more than a mons…"

"Shut up…" Felt hissed again.

Lowering her head, she rushed at him at full speed. Having calculated her intentions from the very first second, Rein forced his reflexes not to react to the attack. A small fist slammed into his abs with all its insignificant might. The knight barely felt it. He stoically accepted the aggression from the princess. After all, he deserved it. But what he couldn't predict was her next steps. After standing with her fist outstretched for a couple of seconds, Felt continued her movement and wrapped her arms around the knight's torso, pressing her face against him.

He remained standing with a startled look, looking at the petite girl, that was hugging him tightly, as if her life depended on it. Soon, Felt's body began to shake with sobs.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry, Rein… I… didn't mean to. Didn't want to blame everything on you. You… you're not to blame… for what happened. I don't blame you… it's just…" She managed to say between sobs, not wanting to pull her face off her knight's uniform.

"I can still hear them, Rein! I can hear his screams! I hear them! Why, Rein?! My big bro didn't deserve this! Why do such horrors happens to him?!" The girl could only scream in despair.

Dumbfounded, Reinhard stood still, not stopping the princess from talking and crying. He rejected any thoughts about apologizing, realizing that they would only make things worse. Any desire to ask his lady for advice also evaporated. Seeing the one he had sworn to protect from all threats in such a broken state, he began to think that maybe breaking the oath given to his father was not such a bad option? Despite her keen instincts and sharp mind and obvious leader skills, she still was a little girl who was forced to witness a soul rending images. Maybe he could use his powers to save her from the painful memories, and then help Subaru in the same way?

'No! Don't make any hasty decisions! Back then, you also only wanted to help your father! You need to think about it thoroughly. You need to consult… but with whom?'

Only one candidate came to mind, besides his lady. But this option scared him even more than the prospect of Felt-sama calling him a monster. But he had to be strong, this question concerned both his mistress and his friend. For their sake, he will overcome fear. Even if he gets verbally abused and insulted as a result, it will still be an answer.

Having solved this question for himself, Reinhard returned to a more pressing issue at hand. To his lady, who was still sobbing, clutching to his uniform. Alas, his inability to communicate with girls outside small talk was playing against him again. Should he offer her a handkerchief? Or leave everything as it is and just let her cry her eyes out?

'What would Subaru do in my place?' The knight asked himself a question.

The answer came to mind almost immediately, but to follow it was to violate the knight's code of conduct in relation to the lady! How could he ever allow himself to…

'Be greedy!' He remembered his lady's orders. To be greedy, like Subaru, to achieve what he wanted. To break the rules, in order for the people he genuinely cared about to be happier. Like Subaru always did.

'That was my mistress's order, after all. And orders take precedence over rules'. Agreeing with his thoughts, Rein got down on one knee to be almost level with Felt and carefully hugged her back. Which surprised the girl a lot, forcing her to look him in his eyes.

"I didn't expect such courage from you."

"I decided to be more greedy. And now my greed demands that I hold you, Felt-sama. And I won't let go until the last tear comes out of you!" He said firmly.

The princess tried to smile, but tears prevented her. Burying her face in his shoulder this time, she snuggled up to him again.

"You're an idiot, Rein! A total idiot! But… you're learning. You have my praise."

For Reinhard, this simple compliment sounded more pleasant than all the pompous speeches in his honor that he had heard in recent years.

"Come in." The margrave's calm voice came from behind the door. Ram sighed slightly, mentally preparing for the upcoming conversation. It took her a couple of minutes to gather her strength and knock on the door. Opening the door, she hurriedly entered the room, not even closing it behind her.

"Thank you for allowing me this audience, Roswaal-sama." She bowed to him.

"And if I refused, would you give up on your intentions?" The magician twisted his face in an unsuccessful attempt of joking. The maid's piercing and stern gaze gave a clear answer to this rhetorical question. "I can guess what brought you here, Ram."

"If that is so, then Ram sincerely hopes that you will be honest and straight-forward with your answers, Roswaal-sama."

Despite the polite and respectful tone of the maid, both understood who was in charge in the room now and who was obliged to follow the will of the other. It had been a long time since Roswaal had seen the pink maid look at him with such a stern look.

"Surely you understand that even if I lie to you, the screen will still reveal the whole truth pretty soon."

"Ram is not talking about that. And you should understand that." She was not interested in whether the margrave was afraid that the truth would come out. It was crucial for her to know if her beloved was ready to be sincere with her. At least with her. That was essential for the oni right now.

Under her gaze, Roswaal allowed himself to lose his fake smile, and magically removed his makeup, showing Ram his real state of mind. His face was haggard, his eyes were dim, and his palms were tightly clasped together.

"Yes, Ram, I understand. Don't worry, I won't lie to you."

"Then answer me, Roswaal-sama… Did you know? Did you know that your spell would attract the Great Rabbit? The very spell this cursed book ordered to be cast! Did the book tell you what's going to happen after that?!" She made a lot of effort to keep her voice firm and calm, but failed, and her eyes were struggling to hold back tears.

Involuntarily, she remembered her friend's dying cries again. She had to clench her uniform's apron in her fists to keep them from shaking.

Looking at his faithful companion, Roswaal realized that the answer he was about to give would be decisive in how their relationship will develop further. To some extent, he wanted to lie and tell Ram what she was most afraid to hear. Thereby tearing himself away from her. To become the same target of her desire to avenge Subaru as he has already become for the rest of the cast. This way she won't be scrutinized when the viewings are over. On the other hand, they promised to be sincere with each other. And for the magician, this was not a promise he wanted to break. Moreover, the truth will still be shown anyway.

"The Gospel did not say anything about what would happen after the snowfall starts. Only that if it came to this, it means that Natsuki Subaru deviated from the appointed path and this version of the world is going to cease to exist. Nothing more."

The maid's face softened just a little. A heavy weight had been lifted from her soul. These words meant that now she will be able to justify, for herself at least, the need to stand between her master and any external threat.

"But even if you had known about the rabbit's arrival, you wouldn't have changed anything in your plans, am I right, I suppose." Suddenly, Beatrice's stern voice reached them.

Turning around, Ram saw the great spirit of knowledge standing in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. Her butterfly-shaped pupils stared at the ancient magician as if she was trying to burn a hole in him.

"Or will you say I'm wrong, I suppose? What would happen, if you knew what fate awaits all those trapped in the Sanctuary at the time? Would you give up on this idea?"

"You know the answer to that question perfectly well, Beatrice. After all that I have done to achieve my goal, nothing will force me to leave the path voluntarily." Roswaal calmly but firmly replied to her.

Whatever fate awaited him, hundreds of years ago he resigned himself to the inevitability of punishment for his sins. That's why he wasn't going to make excuses or 'wag his tail' in front of anyone. Especially in front of the only living soul who still remembered his best days.

"Then what was the point of asking that question, I suppose?! It doesn't matter if you realized it or not! It wouldn't make my contractor feel any better! Because of your machinations, he is now covered with scars on his soul and body alike for the rest of his life, in fact!"

"You are right, of course. My guilt towards Subaru-kun will probably never be made up for. But you should still consider that I didn't act like this in order to torment him. I told you before, I thought that Natsuki Subaru decides for himself when to use his ability. Even if I had known about the rabbits' appearance, I would've acted on the idea that he would start over as soon as he realized the danger this beast poses."

"Don't even think that it alleviates any of your guilt…

"Likewise, Beatrice." Roswaal said in a surprisingly cold tone.

These words made Betty freeze, and the angry words that were about to escape stuck in her throat. Having successfully silenced Beatrice, Roswaal turned his gaze back to the maid, who had been silently watching their conversation all this time.

"Ram, if you have no more questions for me, please leave us. This is going to be a very… personal conversation."

The girl was not thrilled that her master still had secrets that he was not ready to tell her. Seeing her confusion, the margrave ruefully added:

"Most likely, the reasons for my request will become clear to you soon. But, until then, let me keep our relationship the way it is now. Please. At least until the moment when the truth is revealed."

Surprised by the rare occasion when her master openly showed weakness and insecurity, Ram did not pry and decided to just trust him. She hoped he would understand her gesture correctly. She bowed down and then left the room, not forgetting to close the door behind her.

But as soon as she took a couple of steps down the corridor, a familiar hand fell on her shoulder. It was a rare case when Ram's insides turned cold. Turning around, she saw Rem looking at her with a look she had never directed at her older sister before: cold and focused.

"Sister, you and I need to talk. Very seriously. And, as you told to Roswaal-sama earlier, Rem sincerely hopes that you will be honest and straight-forward with your answers."

There were two people left in the margrave's room: and both were tormented by guilt before one black-haired young man.

"What did you mean by those words, I suppose?" Beatrice asked coldly.

"You wanted to look like you've come to accuse me again of what Subaru-kun went through because of my plans. But we both understand that this is just an excuse, not a reason. There is nothing I can tell you that you don't already know. In fact, I can tell that you want to tear yourself apart because of your own guilt before him. We are both guilty, but for completely different reasons. You didn't come here just to accuse me. You needed someone to tell you how you've failed him, didn't you?"

Seeing how Beatrice lowered her head guiltily, Roswaal continued:

"We were driven by different motives, but the result of both my actions and your inaction was the same: his death. We were both given a tome of wisdom that was supposed to lead us to the desired future. The only question is how we made use of the gift from the Teacher."

"How do you think I could use a Gospel that didn't write anything, in fact?! My mother just left me!"

"You created your troubles yourself, Beatrice. The tome of wisdom responds to the desires and aspirations of its owner. It doesn't determine your future. It only leads you to the future you want in the most efficient way. I received instructions because I had a burning desire to see my Teacher again in the world of the living. And you didn't strive for anything, didn't want to look for answers!"

Discarding all hints of sentimentality in his voice, Roswaal lashed out with words at the one whom he once sincerely considered a younger sister. Since he was the only one who was able to give her a lesson in reality right now, then he would fulfill this duty. And not only because he felt obligated to one sleeping knight. Roswaal himself wanted Beatrice to think a little about how she perceived the reality around her and grow up.

"You just existed and waited for everything to come to you. Kept thinking that you were abandoned just because you weren't given all the answers on a platter. Because of this, you didn't dare to help him when it was possible to save him. If you had followed your desires, listened to your own greed, everything would have been different. He would gladly accept your hand, come to the Sanctuary with you. Then the whole story would have gone a completely different way."

"If my mother cared about me, she would have told me to make my own choice, and not wait for the right person!" The girl tried to justify herself.

"And you, knowing that the Teacher likes to keep secrets, to force others to look for answers on their own, just took her words at face value? You, the daughter of Greed! You didn't even try to check the limitations of the pact or find any workarounds! Until Natsuki Subaru broke into the burning mansion and convinced you to give him a hand. You told me yourself a year ago: Subaru wasn't 'that person.' That's because he never existed. Anyone you choose would've become 'that person.' You chose Natsuki Subaru yourself and thus fulfilled the pact with your mother."

Beatrice was still silent, guiltily lowering her head and puffing out her cheeks like a child. Roswaal would have said that she looked absolutely adorable at the moment, if the atmosphere in the room hadn't been so heavy.

"All these years, it wasn't about the book, not about the Teacher, but about you. Anyone who had visited your library during these centuries could have been in Subaru's place. You could have appointed anyone as the library's successor. But you continued to blindly wait for your mother's instructions. You rejected everyone. Anyone was unworthy in your eyes. Except for him. But when he crossed the threshold of the mansion, you had already lost all hope. You were attracted to him, it's obvious to everyone now. You wanted him to be 'that person' with all your might."

After that, Roswaal sighed and decided to soften his tone slightly. After all, now he will touch on a much more sensitive and painful topic for the girl:

"But he also stirred your old fear, didn't he? The fear of losing someone you care about one more time. It wasn't because the Gospel was silent that you were afraid to get close to him, was it? It was because you couldn't let go of Ryuzu's fate."

The name of a dear friend made Beatrice shudder.

"I understand that what's happened to her hit you hard. She was your first friend, the one who opened up completely new perspectives of the world to you. You were separated too quickly. Soon after, the Teacher left the world. I admit, I also turned out to be a lousy big brother, who was obsessed with the idea of getting the woman he loved back, instead of being by your side and helping you through these losses. You and I share the sin of your sloth equally… Beatrice?"

Roswaal was silent for a few seconds, waiting for her to look up and look into his eyes:

"The Teacher had always, first and foremost, appreciated in others the desire to seek knowledge, curiosity, and the passion to gain new experience. Her witc'sh nature may not have given her the opportunity to become a decent mother, but she hardly set the goal to torment you until the end of time. Yes, of course, she would've accepted any outcome, including a regrettable one, as a suitable result of the experiment. The witch's nature of Greed would not allow otherwise.

And yet. I want to believe that she would have taken the decision you made in the end with more pleasure than any other. She wanted you to learn how to choose your own path. And thanks to Natsuki Subaru's tenacity, you have found the strength to make such a choice. And now you are his contracted spirit. So find the strength in yourself again to forgive yourself. Just like he forgave you."

Betty stood there for a while with a tear-stained face.

"Betty can't forgive herself anymore. She had forgiven herself too many times already. How many times could Subaru have escaped death if Betty had just stood up from her chair… But that last time… I watched it myself. I'm sure I knew that the killer would not spare him. But I still didn't do anything. I can't forgive myself for that. And even if I could, the others who are dear to his heart will not forgive me for this. Emilia and… and Rem. How much dirt has Betty poured on both of them for their mistakes? And she turned out to be the worst of all…"

"When you left your place, I didn't see any of them looking at you with disdain. Have you tried to at least apologize to them, since it's so important to you?"

"Betty doesn't deserve to be forgiven. Betty's Subaru will wake up, we will tell him about everything we saw, and he will remember all the failures of his Betty once again. All her mistakes and betrayals… After that, the only thing Betty will be able to do is to endlessly apologize to him. Dreaming that one day her contractor would relent and reach out to her again. And that's only because he has an impossibly big heart. That's all Betty can hope for now. His impossibly, stupidly kind heart." With these words, the crying girl turned around on the spot and slowly walked to the exit.

Left alone, Roswaal sighed heavily. He was afraid to think how many more horrors they would all see before the whole truth was revealed to them?

"I wonder if I'll even have the opportunity to apologize to you, Natsuki Subaru?" I know you'll never forgive me. You said it yourself. And I completely agree with you. But… I'd like to know if I will be able at least say to you that I'm sorry?

Silence was the answer to the ancient mage.

"Garf?! Garf! Please open the door, Garf!" Otto was banging on the door nonstop. Trying to attract the attention of a young man locked in his room.

There was no response. Only muffled sounds of something breaking.

"Garf! Open the door! Please! Don't make me break it down!" Otto tried to sound menacing. But was completely ignored again. Whatever Garfiel was doing in his room, it wasn't good and Otto had to stop it.

"Let Mimi try, mister." A familiar voice with an unusual intonation sounded from behind.

Turning around, the merchant saw a super-energetic cat girl who looked completely serious for the first time. No hooligan smile, no burning excitement in his eyes. Only cold determination.

Stepping aside, Otto decided to see what the young warrior could do. Despite her small age and height, she was an experienced warrior and magician. Although, magic was useless in this place, as they had seen many times before.

"Any idea how we can get inside?"

"Mimi had to open locked cabinets with sweets more than once! So I always have my tools with me!" Mimi replied confidently, taking out of her pocket a small pencil case containing the burglar's tools.

After taking an experienced look at the lock, she promptly got busy. A couple of minutes of concentrated efforts and a click was heard. However, the young man in the room did not react in any way to the obvious sign that they were going to enter his room without his permission. Although, the open lock did not allow the door to be opened just like that. Obviously, something heavy was propping it up from the inside. Even with joint efforts, they could not open it.

"I suppose you could use a helping hand." Frederica's voice came from behind.

"Frederica-san? What about Petra?" Otto asked anxiously.

He knew that Frederica would not leave her ward if she needed support. After what he saw, he was sure that Frederica would not take a step away from a little girl.

"Petra is much stronger than many people think. Although she tries to look stronger than she really is. But she assured me that she would be fine when we reached her room. I believe my student."

After explaining the situation with her student, Frederica went to the door and, alone, with little effort, forced the door open. This was followed by the crash of a bed falling to the floor, which was used as a barricade. Upon entering the room, the uninvited guests were horrified by what they saw. The room looked like there had been a massive brawl. The chairs were smashed, the closet was turned into broken boards, and only fragments remained of the mirror.

In the far part of the room, the culprit of the incident was sitting on the floor. Garfiel pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, sniffing softly. There were numerous traces of blood on his hands, but no visible wounds.

"Garf…" Frederica said faintly, covering her mouth in horror.

Otto decided to try to establish contact first.

"Garf. Listen, brother…

"Don't come closer…" The blond man cut him off in a hollow voice. "Do not approach … ya have no reason to deal with the monster…"

"Garf. We discussed this even before we saw anything. We knew that you would have a conflict with Natsuki-san. You guessed yourself that something bad was going to happen." Otto tried to reason with him, coming closer. Meanwhile, the young man began to speak, but he was choked with tears and guilt.

"I knew… I knew somethin's gonna hap'n. I've been preparin' m'self… but I… I…"

Unconsciously releasing his claws, Garfiel began to leave deep bleeding wounds on his shoulder. Frederica couldn't stand to watch this. She rushed to her brother and grabbed his hands, forcing him to stop. The young man's wounds healed in a matter of seconds, leaving only bloody streaks. Not even trying to hold back tears, she called out to him:

"Garf, come to your senses! This is not you! You didn't do those horrible things! You didn't kill Otto and the others! They're alive!

"WHA' DO YA KNOW?!" He shouted at his sister, jumping to his feet and pushing her away from him. A scared, angry boy was looking at them now.

"Wha' do ya know?! Ya weren't 'ere! I saw wha' I did! I saw my paw tear Otto in half! I saw the hatred in cap'n's eyes when he looked a'me! I heard Petra beggin' me not to harm the others! And I just kept tearin' them up like the wild animal tha' I am! Am no fuckin', the Shield of the Sanctuary! I'm a murderer! The same fiend as Elsa!

"What happened was a tragic combination of circumstances! You didn't do it intentionally! You weren't yourself back then! Furthermore, you were scared, confused and alone! It seemed to you that your loved ones were in danger! And when Ram decided to support the one you considered a cultist, you completely stopped understanding who was a friend and who was an enemy!" Raising his voice, Otto tried to reach the guy.

"Otto-san is right, Garf. If you want to blame someone for this tragedy, blame me!" Frederica joined him.

Right now, she considered the main task to shift her brother's attention away from self-flagellation, by any means. If she succeeded in it by forcing Garf to blame her for what happened, then this was quite an acceptable price.

"I wasn't there for you at the most important moments. You had no one to rely on, no one to ask for support. Especially since you knew what the cult did to the village of Rem and Ram. Your concerns were understandable then. We've all seen it. And Subaru-sama knows it too."

"Ya don't understand. It all happened cause of me. They… devoured 'em because of me! If I hadn't become an animal! If I hadn't lost control, 'tis wouldn't have happened! One blow and it would've been ova'. Then 'tis wouldn't have happened to him. But I failed. I failed both as a shield and even as a murderer…" Having finished the self-deprecating monologue, the blond man plopped down on his knees, covering his face with his hands. Only the sounds of sobbing remained in the room.

"In that case, why don't you blame me, Garf? After all, I was the one who pushed Natsuki-san out of the way of your strike. I am just as guilty of what happened. But, unlike you, I thought then that I was acting heroically! I was saving a friend! Can you imagine what it was like for me to see what it led to?!"

"Ya tried to save 'em, Otto. Ya did what ya could to help the cap'n. If it wasn't for my idiocy, ya wouldn't have to do it. It's all my fault."

Otto and Frederica stood in front of the crying young man, not knowing what to say to him. Frederica was ready to come over and hug her brother. But suddenly she was outpaced. Mimi hugged Garf from behind. She wrapped one small arm around his thick neck, and with the other began to gently pat his head.

"You're a good boy, Garf." Mimi said softly.

For a while, the young fighter just sobbed, not knowing what to say. And the girl continued to pat him in silence.

"Leave me alone, pipsqueak. Wha' are ya talkin' 'bout? Didn't ya see anythin'?" The blond man tried to push away from her, but Mimi stubbornly held on, not letting him get free.

"Mimi saw everything." The girl replied in an unusually sad voice.

"Then why are ya spoutin' 'tis nonsense?! Wha' kind'f a good boy?! I'm just a murderer!"

"You didn't kill anyone, all these people are alive. Your big brother is right in front of you right now." Mimi argued with him softly.

"I betrayed and failed the cap'n…"

"The mini-boss spoke only the coolest things about you." Mimi argued with him, not ceasing to comfort Garf. "He loves you very much. And others do too."

"I'm just a useless loser…"

"Than you need to get stronger, that's all. Mimi thinks that if something doesn't work out for you, then you should try again. And repeat until it works. Mimi became very strong that way."

Nothing changed for a couple of minutes. Mimi stroked the fighter's head, whispering simple words of encouragement to him. Otto and Frederica stared at them in silence, ready to intervene at any moment if the guy tried to force the annoying but gentle girl away off him.

Garfiel himself did not notice how, just listening to Mimi's relaxed pointless chatter, he stopped shedding tears. His arms dropped, his body relaxed. The expression on his face was still unhappy, but there was no self-loathing in his eyes anymore. Only fatigue and sadness. It was as if Mimi's stroking and her words had the same effect on him as Subaru's legendary head pats had on little girls. So they sat, almost without changing their position. The adults felt themselves unneeded here. Without a word, they quetlyleft the room, feeling that their brother was in good hands.

"You know, Otto-sama. Seeing how an unfamiliar girl can help my wayward brother better than I can, I can't help but feel useless. Apparently, I missed my chance to become a reliable older sister." Frederica remarked with a melancholic smile as she walked down the corridor next to the merchant.

"You're being too hard on yourself, Frederica-san. The fact that Garfiel prefers the embrace of a similar-aged girl rather than an older sister… I would say that this is a sign that he is growing up. And if things go the way I hope they will, then he will need the help of his older sister more than ever. Otherwise, he'll mess up with his slow-witted head and miss the chance to build his first real romance." Otto winked at her in a riotous manner, trying to cheer up the maid. And, to his delight, it worked.

"Perhaps you're right, Otto-sama. I like this way of thinking much more." Frederica agreed, giggling into her fist.

The door to Ram's room opened and the twin maids hurriedly entered. If someone who knew them for a long time, saw them now, they would be surprised at how unusual the girls looked. It was as if their characters had switched at that moment. Ram looked tense and uncertain. Features that were highly uncharacteristic of the pink maid. At the same time, Rem looked at her sister with a stern and demanding gaze, which, as all their friends would say, was simply impossible. And yet, that is how the things were now.

Rem had a lot of questions in her mind, but just five minutes ago, they were all directed only at her master. Now, by pure chance, she found out that her own sister was involved in this. Just as she was walking towards the Margrave's room, she noticed Beatrice standing at the open entrance to the room, as if she was waiting for something. So Rem decided to stand on the other side of the door, out of sight of the others, and listening.

The conversation that took place between her sister and their master stunned the young maid. Ram asked if Roswaal knew about the arrival of the rabbits. Whether the book reported this. What book? And the Margrave replied that the tome of wisdom had not informed him of this. So, Rem was right. The Margrave did know about Subaru's ability. And he used this knowledge for his own purposes.

And what's worse, judging by the question Ram asked Roswaal, she knew about this tome of wisdom all the way back in the Sanctuary. Which meant before Rem fell into a coma. But Ram never mentioned it to her own sister. Rem could understand and accept that her sister might have had her own personal secrets, even from her. But now this matter concerned Subaru and the nightmare they had just seen on the screen. And so the blue haired girl could not remain silent. She'll get answers. At any cost.

At the same time, all Ram could do was stall for time, trying to figure out how to tell her sister the truth, while minimizing the potential loses. This also applied to her relationship with her sister and her sister's relationship with their master. It was obvious that should she answer one question, three more will follow. And it will go on like that until Rem pulls out all the answers.

The only thing that calmed Ram a little, was the understanding that the magic window would show who was the owner of the second copy of the tome of wisdom in any case. If Barusu knew about it when he made a bet with Roswaal, then it will become known. So it was better to let her tell Rem everything in her own words.

"I'm waiting, sister. What is this tome of wisdom that Roswaal-sama owns? How could it inform him about the rabbit's appearance? Roswaal-sama knew about Subaru-kun's ability, didn't he? Is that why he left us before every attack? That's where his strange orders came from? At the time, I did not understand why Roswaal-sama, for no reason, ordered me not to stop Subaru-kun if he decided to run away to the castle on the day of the start of the elections.

Or why would he give me instructions that I must give Subaru-kun the right to negotiate with Crusch-sama, but not before he himself declares that he needs the help of her camp? I didn't ask any questions then. But now everything is falling into place. Roswaal-sama said it himself earlier on screen — he deliberately manipulated the events so that the glory would go to Emilia-sama and Subaru-kun. Because he knew what will happen. He knew that Subaru-kun returned by death. Am I right?

Ram wanted to answer, but hesitated. The moment she opens her mouth, her life will be divided into 'before' and 'after'. Usually, Ram was proud of her cold pragmatism and ability to stoically accept any challenges. But now she was afraid that the coming changes would be too hard even for her.

"Tell me! Am I right, Ram?!" Rem suddenly raised her voice.

Ram shuddered slightly at these words. She couldn't remember if Rem had ever addressed her by her first name. There was always a 'sister' or 'sissy' when Rem wanted to ask for something important. But never by name. And now it felt like a slap in the face. Ram never wanted to hear Rem call her like that again.

"You are partially right, Rem. For many years, Roswaal-sama owned a magic book that told the true future to its owner. Based on the predictions from it, Roswaal-sama made his plans."

"So it's true… he knew what Subaru-kun was going through! And he never helped him… He just kept scheming behind our backs…" The blue maid's face was distorted with anger, her fists clenched with anger.

It seemed like she could run out of the room at any moment and go punish the wicked clown. It was necessary to act quickly.

"Wait, Rem! You're wrong! Roswaal-sama did not know about the Return By Death! I can swear to that! I've already asked him before!"

"How could he not know about it if he deliberately set everything up like this…"

"Roswaal-sama only knew that Barusu could influence the course of events. He didn't know how this ability was activated! Therefore, he never once plotted to kill Barusu."

"So, instead, he planned to kill everyone except him?! Why would he do that?!"

"Obviously, Roswaal-sama believed that Barusu would activate his ability as soon as there was danger for him or for someone close to him. The book gave him instructions on how to act, and he followed them indiscriminately. These were not his decisions, Rem! It's that damned book!" Now it was Ram's turn to clench her fists in anger.

Was it not enough for her to suffer, seeing what this witch's gospel turned her beloved into? Now all her dreams, her master's dreams, her mistress's dreams will be ruined because of these damn viewings?!

"You said 'for years'. How long have you known about this, sister? Why didn't you tell me anything?"

"A long time ago. Ever since we finished our revenge against those four cultists. I was obligated to keep it a secret from you. This was part of the deal between me and Roswaal-sama."

"A book telling about the future… Tell me, sister, was our rescue that fiery night also not an coincidence? Was this also mentioned in the book?" An ominous glint appeared in Rem's eyes.

Ram understood that they had come to the most dangerous moment, but now she would not dare to lie to her sister.

" … Yes. Roswaal-sama knew that the cult will attack our village. The book ordered him to save you and me."

"And you knew about this… All these years?! And you kept silent! Didn't you and I swear to avenge our clan and punish all those responsible for this?!" Rem shouted in disbelief.

She couldn't believe that her older sister would just let go someone who bore responsibility for that happened that night.

"Roswaal-sama had nothing to do with the attack, Rem! He only knew that the attack would happen! And he had no obligations to save our village! He didn't have to save people he didn't know! If you want to blame someone, then blame chief Setanta, because it was his pride that left our village completely isolated and with no allies!

"And you just forgave him for that?!"

"Of course not! I have often dreamed of brutally killing him for this! I even made a pact with him. The condition was that he would belong to me and I would decide his fate in exchange for becoming a weapon of his will! But… over the years, I realized that… this might have been the best option for us.

Ram raised her hand, stopping her sister's anticipated indignation:

"Listen to me! I'm not saying I approve of what happened. But even if he had come to the aid of our village, what, you think, would have happened after that? Can you believe for a second that the village would agree to hand me and you over to him? Even for saving their lives? Have you forgotten who they thought I was? If the cult hadn't attacked, life would have gone on the same way it did. I would be still praised as the rebirth of the oni god. They would turn me into either a weapon of conquest or an idol to worship. No one would care what I want!

And what about you, Rem?! You would continue to be treated like trash and despised just for existing! And don't try to tell me that it would be fine with you! We both know that was not the case! If you had the opportunity to go back in time, like Barusu, and prevent what happened, would you agree to continue living as a village outcast? Don't you understand that sooner or later I would have broken down and run away from the village with you? Simply not to become the wife of some idiot who would've claimed to be the best warrior of the village?"

Rem didn't know what to say to that. Anger was replaced by confusion, ire by sadness and disappointment. She wanted to cry.

"Maybe it would have been better that way… if Rem had stayed in the village… then Subaru-kun wouldn't have to suffer and die because of me."

"And then who would have set his mind straight when he decided to give up and run away? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember a lot of hands ready to pick him up and support him at that moment! Who would help him in the battle with the White Whale, can you tell me?! Yes, Rem, you made mistakes. And I'm… I'm also to blame for what happened to Barusu. I have a long way to go to pay him back for his kindness. But in the end, because of the way things turned out, you were in the right place, being the right person to pull Barusu out of the pit of self-loathing. You've turned a useless boy into a hero! No one else! And thus you saved many lives."

Ram tried to speak firmly and confidently. It was extremely important to her that Rem believed in these words herself.

"Therefore, no matter how cruel it may sound, but the fall of our clan was necessary. And Roswaal-sama's actions were necessary for Barusu to save us all in the end. That's why I'm asking you… don't take out your anger on him. Trust me, he's made a lot more mistakes than you and I combined. And he is more to blame than anyone. But Barusu knows about it. And he decided not to take revenge on our master. That is why, I ask you the same thing."

There was silence in the room for about a minute. Rem digested everything her sister had told her. Ram waited anxiously for an answer. Her master may be safe here. But if, after the viewings, Rem wakes up in the mansion and decides to take revenge on her lord… Ram did not know how she could save one dear person without losing another. She was really scared.

"Fine." Rem finally said quietly, "Since my sister sees everything in this light. Since Rem's hero decided not to punish Roswaal, despite all his machinations, then I will not demand retribution."

After saying her answer, Rem turned to the door and quietly walked to the exit.

"Rem…" her sister called softly and uncertainly. "Would you like to… stay here… and sleep together with me, like we used to do, when it was hard for us? Because Ram is having a hard time right now."

"I'm sorry, sister. But Rem would like to be alone right now." The blue maid replied without turning her head, but Ram clearly heard tears in her voice.

When the girl closed the door behind her, Ram collapsed onto the bed. Alone in the room, she decided to release her emotions and began to cry quietly but inconsolably. Although she had managed to avoid the worst outcome, her heart told her that a real rift had appeared between her and her dearest sister for the first time in her life. And what's worse, Rem didn't even know yet who was responsible for Elsa's attack on the mansion.

'Subaru… where are you when you are needed the most? When are you going to wake up?! Rem is crying! Please… Rem needs you! I… I need you…'

"Beako. You're cute, as always, but you need to cry less, it spoils the pretty look of your face." The gray-haired elderly man, lying on the bed, said with difficulty. He didn't have much hair left, and his skin was all wrinkled. Even the once creepy look has disappeared over the years. It was replaced by the tired, hardly-seeing eyes of an old man.

But Beatrice didn't give a damn about any of this. For her, all this external details did not matter. After all, it was still her Subaru. Her contractor. Who had spent decades with her. And yet, that time felt just like a brief moment. A monstrously short moment for an immortal spirit.

"Don't go away, I suppose. D-don't leave Betty! You promised that our memories would last me for another four hundred years! There are still too few of them, in fact! Betty needs more! Please, Subaru!" The spirit girl cried, brokenly, holding his dry palm in her own. No matter how hard she tried, no matter what treatment and recovery techniques she used, her contractor's time was coming to an end anyway.

"What a greedy girl you are, Beako! You've already made this old wreck pant for over a hundred years! Heh… but everything ends sometime. Even the stars go out sooner or later. And considering what a bright life I've lived with you, I can only be glad that I'm fading out like a red dwarf and not exploding into a supernova. I'm afraid then I would have left a terrible mess, hehe… kha-kha!" The old man sarcastically declared, trying to laugh at his own joke, but a coughing fit prevented him.

"But Betty's going to be left all alone! Betty doesn't have anyone else! And she doesn't need anyone else but you!" The girl begged her contractor.

"Don't worry so much, Beako. We both knew this day would come. I'm sorry if I didn't live up to your expectations. What can I say … I've always been … bad at… fulfilling … promises…" He uttered the last words on his last breath, closing his eyes, and the life finally left his decrepit body.

Beatrice could only mourn the passing of her contractor and the lonely future that awaited her. The future in which there will be no more smiles, no more funny jokes from her contractor. No one will pick her up to spin around or pat her on the head. From now on, there will only be loneliness in Betty's life, which she will try to brighten up with the memories they created together. Who knows, maybe they will last for a couple of hundred years.

"And yet… there are still too few of them, in fact…"

Beatrice opened her eyes and looked around briefly. Yes, it was still her room in the Warden's theater. She did not take the medicine on the table. Since it was made in her contractor's world, it certainly wasn't designed for creatures, created from pure mana. And even if it was, Beatrice wouldn't deprive herself of dreams. Even if they were nightmares. After all, in her dreams she could talk to her contractor again.

But, ironically, the dream that had become a constant companion of her rest in this place now felt completely different. Previously, he was perceived it as a nightmare, after which she woke up and clung to her contractor with all her strength in order to make sure that he was still with her.

But now this dream seemed like a blessing to her. Because in it she was able to be with her Subaru until the end of his days. For many years she was inseparable from him. Could she dream of such a reality now? The scene where Elsa ripped open Subaru's stomach right in front of her eyes came back to mind. Her right hand unconsciously reached out to scratch her left, but Beatrice stopped herself in time. She had to wait for her contractor to wake up. And then she will begin her long journey towards forgiveness. It was the only future she could imagine as acceptable right now.

Getting out of bed, Beatrice, without even checking that everything was in order with her appearance, left the room and went to the main hall.

The audience was gradually filled with spectators. The warden did not deceive, and the proposed sedative allowed everyone who took it to forget themselves in a deep slumber without any difficulties or nightmares. Therefore, when they woke up, they felt much better. The memory of their friend's last death still sent chills down their backs, but now they felt mentally ready to continue watching.

When everyone was back in their seats, the screen came alive once again, showing that they would now see the ninth episode.

Echidna places her teacup down. "It's terrible."

From across her, Subaru looks confused at her words.

"And no, I'm not talking about your behavior. I'm simply overwhelmed with a sense of rage towards the one who put you through so much hardship."

"…Do you mean…?"

"Yes. The Witch of Envy."

'Said the Witch, responsible for half of all the horrors that Barusu's had to live through! You hypocritical bitch!' Ram could barely contain her anger, watching as Echidna manipulated the unsuspecting young man to gain his trust. After all, if it wasn't for her rotten book, Roswaal-sama wouldn't have set up all these intrigues.

"It's not that we doubted who was the guy's guardian-devil, but now another witch has confirmed our guess." Ricardo remarked.

At the name, Subaru grimaces as he clenches his hands tightly.

"He is so scared by her words." Said Emilia sadly.

"Of course he is scared. Even if he did not grow up on stories about what the Witch of Envy did to our world, but he had the dubious honor of personally experiencing her attention." Otto noted.

"And so imagine how he would treat you if he lived in our world for some time and only then met you, half-wit. After all, you would probably still have introduced yourself to him as a Witch at the first meeting." Priscilla sarcastically remarked, making the half-elf shiver with fear.

Indeed, she was very lucky to meet Subaru on the first day of his appearance in their world. When he was still reminiscing about the stereotypes of his past world. If he had had time to get used to the rules of their world by the moment of their first meeting, he probably would have hurried away from her as soon as possible. Just like she wanted at the time. Emilia felt an unpleasant pang in her heart at the thought that Subaru might dislike her only because he had picked up prejudices from people around him.

"I'm certain you're well aware. The power you possess is undeniably that of a Witch. You've known for some time."

Subaru looks down at the table.

"Thing is… I've had plenty of people telling me about a Witch. But I still have no idea why she's gotten so fixated on me."

"The most important question of our time!" Al reacted.

"Maybe she has some kind of fetish for humans from another world? And she grabs someone like Subaru or Al-san from time to time and drags them into our world? Perhaps it's a kind of entertainment for her?" Reinhard suggested.

"Who knows, maybe you're right, Rein." Felt nodded thoughtfully and turned to Priscilla. Or rather, her knight. "Hey, Al, did the Witch chase you like she did with big bro?"

"I don't have any taboos that squeeze my heart when I try to say something wrong." The one-armed warrior replied slightly evasively.

"Well, perhaps you've come across her in some other way. Maybe she really regularly kidnaps people from your world with her brother?"

"If it is so, I don't know about it. Pal is the first one from my home world that I've met since I was transferred. Well, if you think about the fact that this has become an entertainment for the Witch since she was sealed, then how does this explain Hoshin's entry into this world? After all, he had begun his adventures even before the Great Calamity." Al decided to remind him of this inconsistency.

He sincerely hoped that his last sentence would make the others think about it and get off his back. He would be in big trouble if the 'lie detectors' present in the room were to catch him trying to fabricate information.

"Do you think Subaru-kyun will find out the answer to it? Felix asked.

"To do this, we need not ask obvious questions, but to look patiently further." Julius figuratively asked everyone who wanted to continue the discussion to shut up.

"And why should you? No one is capable of knowing how her mind works. Though honestly, even if I could, I wouldn't want to."

'Lies! You're lying, Mother! Your greed will not allow you to give up knowledge, no matter how disgusting or insane it may be, in fact! You just don't want my contractor to bring this up because you know a lot more, but you don't want to tell him, do you?' Beatrice thought with unexpected anger.

She picks up her cup, ready to drink again. "Hey." Subaru suddenly says. Echidna, who had closed her eyes, opens them and looks at him curiously.

"Do you think there's a limit of how many times I can Return by Death?"

"Ah, yes. I suppose that is the obvious question to ask. I'll tell you in advance that I'm only speculating. But I would presume… there isn't."

Those sitting in the hall could not decide whether to rejoice at this news or be horrified. On one hand, they don't have to fear that one day Subaru would simply die in front of their eyes and this would become a reality that they would have to come to terms with. On the other hand, it meant that he would be a prisoner of the Witch of Envy, and he would be forced to live, even if his life turned into a living nightmare until Satella lost interest in him.

Subaru inhales deeply at those words.

"Vexing as it may be, the power that lets you Return by Death is the Witch's intense delusion. As long as that delusion persists, so does your power."

"Do you have any clue why she passed it onto me?"

"I would assume it's to keep you from dying. It forces you to redo your destiny, and doesn't let you make any mistakes."

"… In that case, something's wrong. Because I… I still couldn't get Rem back. If I'm stuck with that, then why is that irreversible…?"

"Because she was never taken into account as a part of your destiny."

Rem unconsciously flinched at the way the witch said that phrase. From her words, it turned out that she could just be removed from the world board and nothing would change for Subaru? Could he just continue his journey as if nothing had happened? The girl shuddered at such thoughts. She refused to admit it. Her hero remembered Rem even when the rest of the world, including her own sister, had forgotten. It meant something.

"…huh…?"

"The Witch of Envy… she hopes that you will never be trapped by the dead end that is true death. Anyone that is not you isn't a part of that plan. The decision to use the Witch's power to save someone else is yours and yours alone. You'll overcome destiny through countless challenges from this point on."

"Sounds logical. After all, Subaru-kyun was not in danger after the victory over Sloth."

"Apparently, as long as he is not in danger, the return point is regularly updated by default." Julius continued the thought.

"I would like to disagree here." Tivey put in his word. "During the second arc, mister was thrown back a few days, at the very beginning of his stay in the mansion. Although, to avoid the curse, it would be enough to return just a couple of hours before visiting the village. There is an inconsistency here.

"Maybe it's just so that Natsuki-kun has more time to prepare? If he encounters an obstacle, he is thrown off for several days. And after the victory, the point of return is updated to ensure that he does not have to go through it again." Anastasia said.

"So we can only hope that Subaru-dono, when faced with a new challenge, will always have enough time to warn the allies and work out a plan of action." Wilhelm summed up with some apprehension.

"However, if you manage to change your path at the expense of too many sacrifices…" the witch added in a hinting tone.

"… Then I won't have a chance to get back the ones who were sacrificed in the process…!" He finished her thought resignedly.

"I'm afraid that's just how it is."

" Oh, that's bad! She's literally brainwashing big bro to make a sacrificial pawn out of him! He's already ready to throw himself on the knife if one of his loved ones dies, and the witch only adds oil to the fire!" Felt said with fear and anger.

'That's what you're leading him to, isn't it, Teacher?' Roswaal mused gloomily. 'Is it even possible to find a better assistant when you want to go through the same situation in a variety of ways, right?'

"He probably already guessed it himself. Do you remember how he was in a hurry to end the loop in the mansion, when he realized how many he had lost?" The duchess reminded them.

"The witch is brainwashing him pretty effectively. At first, she assured the commoner that there was no need to worry about the number of attempts available to deal with the obstacles. And then she pointed out to him the line, before crossing, which the dog can die as many times as he pleases. As a result, we get a formula which he will act upon, repeating attempts over and over again until he achieves a favorable result."

Priscilla herself was disgusted by the picture she painted. But this was exactly what was happening. After the witch snatched him from the clutches of madness, she most likely will replace the blue-haired maid in his head as a pillar of support and source of strength. And she clearly plans to use it to her advantage. The only question left were her intentions. She's dead and trapped in her own dimension. Was she planning to possess him like Petelgeuse?

As Subaru took in that information, his memories surfaced up. And that shadow hand came for him, reaching to touch his heart.

"… Alright, fine! If that's how it's gonna be, then you're reserving that favor for me alone? I know what I have to do now! I'll use this Return by Death power you gave me… until there's nothing left to use! Yeah… that's it! I've made up my mind! I can betray expectations like a pro, there's nobody who does it better!"

As he says this, there is a bright, but also strained smile on his face.

"Well, it's begun. He finally came to this conclusion." Anastasia lowered her head sadly.

She wanted to cry from the way her dreams and desires to establish a close contact with this young man from another world literally crumbled to dust before her eyes.

If he really decided to turn his death into a tool, then they would not be able to communicate properly. Neither as business partners nor, especially, as allies or friends. With his ability, he will be able to twist the results of any negotiations, make any provocations, try any combination and eventually choose the most successful path. And no one can oppose him with anything. She won't even know that she's been having the same conversation with him for more than a dozen times. Meanwhile, he, like a master manipulator, will pull the strings, controlling every word that his peers will utter.

It was scary, it was a damn shame. And they couldn't even oppose him. For now, at least. Anastasia made a note to herself: as soon as they get out of the theater, by any means she must find those who can sense the miasma. It doesn't matter how much money it will cost. Without such insurance, she would not even dare to approach Natsuki Subaru or anyone from his camp.

"Unfortunately, everything has been leading to this point. His disregard for himself, coupled with the desire to save his loved ones, created an extremely dangerous combination. And the more he fails in his attempts to save everyone, the more he will become convinced that his life has no value beyond this ability." Bowing his head down, Julius lamented the unfair fate of the one he wanted to consider a true friend.

But it's been a year since the Sanctuary happened. Who knows what he might have turned into in that time. And how much time has actually passed for him?

"We will fix it… we will definitely fix it! We'll talk to Subaru. Apologize to him. We'll show him that we love him very much. And ask him to value himself more. Yes, that's what we'll do!" Emilia whispered fearfully, looking at the screen, trying to figure out how to convince Subaru to abandon his destructive tendencies. And then she came up with a new idea:

'And also, if we keep Subaru away from danger, then the very need to use his ability will disappear! That's the solution!'

"Well, you certainly bounce back with a surprising amount of ease."

Subaru shakes his head, the smile leaving his face. "It wasn't easy at all. Normally I would've tried to tape my broken heart together out of pure desperation. But this time around, I…"

He cut himself off, looking to the side. A grin came onto Echidna's face, her curiosity peaked. "Aren't you going to finish? You can speak freely." She leans forward. "Well~? Go on~!"

Subaru leans backwards. "Come on, you know damn well what I was gonna say!

"This scene is so similar to my behavior when Theresia tried to get compliments out of me that I want to blush with shame." Wilhelm could not help smiling, looking at the antics of the young man who reminded him so much of himself.

"Is there anyone in this world who can make a sword demon blush?" Crusch asked jokingly.

"There was. It was my wife. Even in the last years of her life, she was able to make me blush in a way that all the other beauties of the world won't be able." The old warrior admitted without a shadow of doubt.

"Anyway, getting your input has been really valuable, and it helped me make up my mind, too! So, thanks." He bows his head down. "I appreciate it."

"Just for that part? That was all you intend to thank me for? After sharing your deepest and darkest secrets with me?"

She leans back, placing a hand on her chest as she pretends to be bashful. She opens one eye again and again, trying to gauge his reaction. Echidna did get a reaction, in a form of Subaru blushing at her words.

"—gh! Ah, shut up! I think I've shown you enough gratitude, alright!? You should be trying to ask me questions like the last time I was here!"

"Truly, this creature is a witch. Even a deity like me can't figure out at what point she's playing a role and at when she's showing genuine emotions!"

"So it's possible that her whole behavior is nothing more than a mask?" Ricardo suggested.

"I don't think so. To lie convincingly, it is necessary to skillfully mix falsehood with the truth. And the witch, apparently, excels at this task. This dog is already flapping his ears and is ready to trust her in any situation. Perhaps that's what she's pushing him to do."

'Mrs. Bariel, as always, quickly guesses where the wind is blowing. Her ability to read people at such a young age can only be envied." Roswaal agreed sadly.

But, anyway, he could only enjoy the sight of his teacher playing with the young man and envy Subaru's luck. All that remained was to fulfill her dream and make sure that she can do the same in the world of the living.

Bowing down, Subaru begs. "I'll pay you whatever you want, because you're the only one I could depend on!"

"Note to self. Teach Natsuki-san to not use such expressions so carelessly during negotiations! With this approach, he would quickly find himself as a debt slave!" Otto was indignant at how Subaru calmly uttered such loud words.

"I would say that for Subaru, this style of communication is a symbol of trust. He relies so much on Echidna that he sees no danger in telling her something like that." Reinhard argued with her.

"So that's why Subaru-sama does everything not to ask for help from Ram?" Joked Frederica.

Ram only snorted contemptuously in response, not wanting anyone to understand that these words actually hurt the girl.

"Remember how carefully he communicated with Ryuzu in the last loop. Or with Lady Crusch, during the alliance negotiations. And how freely he talked to her after defeating the Whale." The sword saint continued, holding back a smile from the maid's comment.

"I must admit, you have the knack for seducing Witches. So, what would you like to ask me, then?"

"You tell me! It looks like he's already got the second one on board his ship!" Al stated half jokingly, half seriously. After receiving a number of displeased looks, he just shrugged his shoulders.

"What? Tell me I'm wrong. The first one does not let him die no matter what, the second glues his mind together, comforts him, gives advices. But these are, in case you forgot, witches of sin! You can hate them as much as you want, I won't argue with you. And it's likely that each of them has their own plans for pal. But there is no escaping the facts. From the very beginning, the pal was with you only because of the witches."

'And you can't even argue with that' many people had the same thought in their heads.

Rem unconsciously clenched her fists. She still hasn't calmed her hatred towards the Witch of Envy, and now another trained her eye on her beloved?!

'Get your hands off my Subaru-kun, you stinky crows!'

"There's still so much I don't know, but first and foremost would be… what happened earlier…"

The screen changed to memories of being eaten by small predators.

"When I died while being eaten… those rabbits could've fit in my hand."

Petra, who had not seen these moments initially, stammered in horror and squeezed her eyes shut. Frederica closed her eyes too late, berating herself for not having time to react, and the Warden for showing those creepy shots again.

Mimi and Tivey stared at these scenes in shock. They might have seen these images for the first time too, but Subaru's screams of agony were still fresh in their memories, and that was just about the picture they imagined in their heads.

"Ahh, you mean the Great Rabbit?"

"How is it called that?"

"In this case, it isn't called Great not because of it's size but in number. It's one of the three great mabeasts."

"Great mabeasts!?"

"There's the White Whale, the Black Serpent, and the Great Rabbit. They were created four hundred years ago by Daphne, the Witch of Gluttony. Her gruesome legacy that still wreaks havoc upon the world."

"Wait a minute! Daphne? Not Satella?!" Tivey asked in amazement and reached for his writing materials.

"We must bear in mind that until yesterday we did not even know the names of the other witches. Not to mention what they did while they were alive. It may as well be that our assumptions about the history of the age of witches deviate very much from reality." Julius replied gloomily, also grabbing a pen and preparing a sheet of paper.

As a lover of history, he considered it his duty to record every bit of knowledge that they would receive in this theater.

"So all the witches were somehow plotting against the world, creating monsters or causing disasters?" Rem declared contemptuously, clenching her fists.

"Your opinion of witches is too one-sided, Rem. They were no-o-ot creatures of pure evil who did nothing but defiled the lives of others. Echidna, for example, is the inventor of many metias that the world u-u-uses to this day. She also did a lot for the development of magic, and passed on a lot of knowledge to othe-e–ers! Roswaal reprimanded the maid, while protecting the image of his teacher.

"But can we even trust her words?" What if she was lying to him?" Felt suggested.

"It seems unlikely to me. All the other witches are already dead, and Echidna herself, apparently, does not like the Witch of Envy very much. If anything, she should be expected to ascribe extra sins to Satella, rather than the other way around." Reinhard said thoughtfully.

"You gotta be kidding me…! I've only recently managed to take down the White Whale…!"

"There's more to this unpleasant story. In terms of fighting strength, the White Whale is definitely stronger. However, the Great Rabbit is more difficult to eliminate. To its way of thinking, other living things only serve as food. Its single desire is to keep satisfied, until what's left behind is just a deserted field."

"If that's what happens, then…!"

Those piles of clothes left around, they didn't change out of them. They were devoured by the Great Rabbit, not even blood was left, as the mabeast had slurped it up hungrily. "What I saw…"

Subaru places a hand over his mouth, doing his best not to vomit.

"What a nightmare… it's nerve-wracking to even think about it. There were mostly defenseless residents there. With children…" Frederica shuddered at such thoughts.

"That horrific moment when you think that those who fell at the hands of Garfiel turned out to be lucky ones. At least their death was quick…" Ricardo added gloomily.

"The reason why the Great Rabbit is so resilient is its viability. A single one is capable of multiplying indefinitely."

"Indefinitely? What is it, an amoeba?"

"Who are amoebas?" Mimi asked, turning back to where Beatrice was sitting silently.

But the spirit girl did not react to the question. Previously, she would have been proud to show everyone her knowledge about the other world. Now it seemed blasphemous to her. Mimi could only put her ears down, sadly. Hoping to somehow cheer up his daughter, Ricardo turned to the second guest from another world.

"Al-san, do you know what kind of creatures these are?

"Who, amoebas? They are simple microorganisms that multiply by dividing into two parts, and each part is a full-fledged amoeba."

"So you want to say that the Great rabbit also… divided in half and one rabbit turned into two?" Emilia was genuinely surprised.

"Well, I don't remember the details of the process anymore, because I studied biology back in school. But, more or less, yes."

"This actually explains why, even after causing considerable damage to the pack, the Great Rabbit always reappeared in huge numbers in other places." Julius summed up gloomily, quickly writing down these details on paper. One could only be glad that all this knowledge would now only be useful for the historians, since the Great Rabbit was exterminated by the most outstanding knight of their era. Now, Julius had no doubt about it.

"To truly eradicate this creature, you would have to kill each one at the same time. That would be similar to trying to evaporate every raindrop that falls from the sky simultaneously."

"All we can do is run then! Hang on… that won't work 'cause the barrier is there… as long as it is, they can't leave… the Great Rabbit at the Sanctuary, the attack on the mansion, I have to break the barrier and free them before anything happens! Then, I'll gather everyone at the mansion to defeat Elsa and the mabeasts. So I have…"

Then he remembered the phrase Elsa had thrown at him at the end of the second attempt: 'Although, since you came back sooner than anyone expected, this didn't play out exactly how my directions specified.'

"…four days? Shit…"

"Good! Natsuki-san has started making his plan! Hopefully, it won't be long before the breakthrough loop!" Otto said hopefully.

Only the last piece of the puzzle was missing now — the moment when the margrave would reveal his true face to Subaru and show him the Gospel. Although, knowing the stubbornness of the young knight, even after that he could still try to deal with everything on his own for a long time before he reached the breaking point.

"The witch seems to be encouraging him to pass the Trials himself. But why would she do that? Reinhard recalled Echidna's words at the very end of the first Trial.

"For some reason, she disliked me from the very beginning." Emilia remembered with feelings of resentment.

"If she hates the Witch of Envy that much, then maybe that's why she held a grudge against you, Emilia-sama? Because you're a half-elf? Rem suggested.

"Most likely… Echidna clearly has some kind of complicated history with the Witch of Envy…

Then, he looks up at Echidna. The Witch has a hand on her chin, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Echidna."

"Ah?"

"Do you know if there's a way?"

"The risk is so substantial that I hesitate to suggest it. Though, what if I told you that I could grant you the opportunity to speak with Daphne, the Witch of Gluttony?"

"Huh? I thought you told me that all the other Witches were dead!"

"You do realize that you're talking to one right now, do you? In this Castle of Dreams, the souls of the dead Witches are housed in my body."

"Wait, so 'tis witch is not alone dere?!" Garfiel was amazed.

He had lived in the Sanctuary all his life, but he had never heard of anyone living in the tomb except the Witch of Greed.

"No, we definitely need to assemble an expedition to the Sanctuary and get in touch with Echidna! If the souls of other witches still reside there, then this is a treasure trove of forgotten knowledge!" Tivey said with excitement.

"I'm beginning to be inclined to agree with that." Reinhard said, trying to keep his face calm. He, too, was filled with a thirst for new knowledge.

"We can discuss this issue in the Pristella." Anastasia quietly rubbed her hands, feeling that this could be a very enticing deal.

"Are you saying you can call her out here?"

"I let her temporarily inhabit my presence. During that time, the two of us will quite literally trade places. But I must tell you, I don't recommend it. In the dimension we're in right now, there is no death. But if your mind sustains an injury, causing it to break, it will remain shattered even after you've been returned to your body."

"Do you mean that I would become some kind of invalid? That's a way bigger risk then what I would be taking on outside…"

"Do you decline, then?"

Subaru sighs. He had already made up his mind when he learned that the other Witches were here. "Well, she did create the Great Rabbit, so, if I want to know how to defeat it, she would be the best one to ask."

With an inhale, Subaru has a confident smile come across his face. "Alright, do it!"

"Subaru! Here you are getting into the fray again! Even Echidna dissuades you, and she's squirt the meanie!" The half-elf was indignant.

"Emilia-sama, you do realize that he's doing all this to save the others, right? Frederica tried to reason with her.

"Yes, I understand everything! But I'm still worried! How many more times will he turn himself into a decoy, a sacrificial pawn, for the sake of others! I want him to rely more on his friends and allies!"

"It will all happen later, Emilia-sama. I am completely on your side in this matter. But now we just need to wait for the right loop." Otto tried to reassure her. He couldn't wait for the screen to show the scenes he remembered.

"And who can he rely on right now, half-wit?! The only fighter there you can look at without tears is ready to tear his head off at the first opportunity! You will not be of any help, because you can't go beyond the barrier, and even then you can only cry on this dog's chest. The maids have already shown their uselessness. And the merchant is so unremarkable that I forget about his existence a minute after each of his squeaks!"

Garf, Emilia, Frederica and Ram could only clench their fists in helpless anger. After all, no matter how much poison there was in the words of the baroness, they could not refute them. And only Otto was smiling silently, relaxing in his chair.

'Keep thinking that way, Bariel-sama. You're making the same mistake as the margrave. You lose sight of someone you consider too insignificant in your grandiose plans. I'll be happy to laugh when it's my turn to act!' The merchant thought to himself, and seeing how the girls in the first row tensed up, he decided to calm them down:

"Let's make it clear right away. For the last year, Natsuki-san has not looked like a madman. Although he successfully hid his issues from us. So you don't have to worry that something irreparable is going to happen to him!" Otto decided to voice some soothing thoughts in advance to everyone present. After all, as practice has shown, if something bad can happen to Subaru, then it will definitely happen.

"How can we not worry, Otto-san? We are talking about Subaru-kun." Rem answered him, who was clearly thinking in a similar way.

"I'm not talking about taking everything in a relaxed way. Who knows, maybe Subaru will get new nightmares from this meeting. I'm just saying that the worst-case scenario described by Echidna is clearly not going to happen. That's it!"

"If you're sure about this, fine. But I just need to tell you one thing first: no matter what you do, never release Daphne's restraints."

"Her what?"

"Also, never touch her. If possible, avoid any eye contact."

"Great, if I follow all these rules of yours, she's gonna think I'm a total jerk!"

"Don't worry, Barusu, you always look like one. So you should just need to act natural." The pink maid gave free advice.

"Come on, cap'n. You can handle any witch." Garf muttered softly. He was also too ashamed to draw attention to himself by encouraging his sworn brother.

Echidna, though, smiles. "Very best of luck to you."

In a blinding, slightly greenish flash of light, Echidna disappears.

"Uwah! We meet at last!"

"…huh…?"

Instead of a girl in restraints that Subaru thought would come, it is instead a child in a white dress with blue linings. On her arms are blue bands, and light blue scrunchies on her wrists. She also had short, dark green hair that had a crown of different shades of blue flowers on her head. Her eyes are red, and she has rosy cheeks as she kicks her legs while holding the arms of the chair.

"Hang on, what do you mean by 'huh'? You should know that saying such a thing is very rude! Hmph!"

… It's a child.

"Another loli! Does he collect them, or what?!" Ricardo laughed.

"Now I'm really wondering why he didn't pull her out of the tomb with him." Al joined in with a scurrilous comment.

"Well, obviously that's because she's dead." Tivey noted the obvious fact.

"I think it's high time for everyone to understand that if my big bro has got some idea into his head, then he will achieve the result!" Felt reminded him proudly.

'Like hell he will! The place of the mighty magical loli next to Betty's Subaru is already occupied!' Beatrice silently protested, deciding to take her mind off self-deprecation for a second.

No matter how great her guilt was, she will not give up on her contractor. She still had a lot of apologizing to him, and Betty won't let any loli stop her from doing this.

"Have you noticed that wherever Subaru goes, he meets at least one new loli there?" Felix remarked with a mischievous smile."

"In the capital, he ran into lady Felt. In the mansion, he met Beatrice-sama. In the village, Petra-chan set her eyes on him. Mimi accompanied him in the battle with the Whale and Sloth. And on the Sanctuary he met this girl and Ryuzu.

"But we were all heading to Pristella, where another famous loli lives!" Ricardo recalled with a laugh.

"We will try to keep Natsuki-san away from lady Liliana." Otto immediately understood who he was talking about.

"Trying to keep the Lolimanser from meeting the new loli? Poor naive fools…" The head of the mercenaries slowly shook his head cheerfully.

"So you're…. I-I mean, I take it that you're also a Witch, right?"

"Chidna already told you, didn't she? And you're…"

The Witch hums, a hand on her chin. Then, "Let's see here… Baru! Yes, that's it!"

"…Baru?"

"Ha! My version is still better!" Ram commented with a sense of superiority.

"But her version is nicer." Emilia argued. "He-he, Baru. Maybe I should start calling him that sometimes, too? And anyway, this girl doesn't look like a witch at all. She seems kind and innocent, and she gives everyone cute nicknames. What if she's someone's daughter?"

"Then most likely she's a witch's daughter." Otto did not share her enthusiasm.

"Subaru-kun is still in the witch's domain, which means that any wickedness can be expected from the rest of its inhabitants. Please don't be deceived by the cute image, Emilia-sama. The rabbit also looked cute and fluffy, until…" Rem decided to warn her mistress, but stopped herself as soon as she reached the comparative image.

The charmed expression immediately disappeared from the half-elf's face. She nodded grimly at her rival-friend, agreeing with these arguments. In their world, appearances could be deadly deceptive.

"Now, tell me something, are you bad, Baru? 'Cause I've been wondering about that this whole time!"

"Am I bad…?"

Just as Subaru was about to ask her what she meant, the Witch held out her hand towards him expectantly.

"Don't, Natsuki-san. I don't like her question…" Otto began to worry.

"I don't think Subaru-dono has much of a choice, but to play along with her." Wilhelm replied to him with restraint, trying not to show others how much he himself was worried.

"How can she determine if he's bad or good by holding his hand? Maybe she is a fortune-teller like one in Banan and want to examine his palm"? Mimi made a suggestion.

"Do you want me to hold your hand…?"

Just as he was about to, Subaru quickly retracts it. "H-Hang on, there's something I wanna ask y—"

The Witch grins at him. It was clear that she would answer Subaru's question unless he took her hand.

"Okay, okay, fine!"

Then, with his right hand, he holds hers.

"There is only one way to pay for sins, and that is their pain!" The girl muttered either a spell or a hex.

The sudden statement confused Subaru. He looks up at the Witch, and she is still holding his hand.

"Oooh! If you don't feel pain, then that means you must not be a bad guy! That's really great to know!"

Finally, Subaru registers what he is seeing. He's still sitting down on the chair, but his arm was in the Witch's hand. Then, looking at his right arm, he sees that it was gone, ripped out from its socket, with only the sleeve intact. Though there was no blood, she still ripped off his arm.

"Ah… AHHHHH!"

"Shit!" Al swore, instinctively clutching at his stump. This was something he didn't want to see.

Crusch also gasped slightly due to a bout of phantom pain. Felix made a move to help her, but she reassured him with a gesture that everything was fine.

"Here's a sweet, kind girl for you! She's just as vile of a witch, as the others!" Rem growled, glaring at the screen angrily.

"How many times have I told you, Barusu, not to play with unfamiliar lolis!" Ram showed her style of caring for the young man.

She agreed with Otto, that Subaru looked mostly fine during the last year, so she wasn't that scared for him now. If nothing else, he was Barusu. Which meant he'll get through it in one piece no matter what.

Emilia was too shocked by the abrupt change of atmosphere to comment on what was happening.

"Damn it, man! And it's useless for him to even run away from her!" Ricardo was afraid for the boy's fate.

"Be strong, Subaru-dono! You have definitely triumphed over this challenge! Be strong!" Wilhelm mentally reassured the young man, and, maybe, himself.

Getting up, Subaru screams in shock at the state of his arm. Stepping back, he grasps his right shoulder with his left hand. "Y-YOU TOOK MY ARM—!"

"But it doesn't hurt, right? If you make too much noise here, Chidna's gonna hate you for sure!"

"YOU'RE A PSYCHOPATH! GIVE IT BACK—-!"

"Sin is a dividing wedge that no one can escape!" She muttered.

As Subaru walks towards her, his leg suddenly shatters into bits. Like he was made out of glass, all parts of Subaru shattered as he fell down on the grass. But there was no blood, only the glass-like remnants of Subaru's body.

"Subaru!" Emilia, Rem, Crusch, Petra, and even Beatrice screamed in horror at the same time.

The knights froze in shock at this eerie picture. Many immediately remembered Echidna's warning — if you die in this reality and believe in your death, you will lose your mind.

'Otto correctly warned us that Subaru will overcome these horrors. But at this rate, I'm afraid that we'll be the ones to lose our minds. Even though we are just unwilling spectators in this creepy theater!' Reinhard mused gloomily.

"How much more?! Give the big bro a breather! How much longer will everyone torment him?!" Felt shouted angrily.

"He already knows about the attack on the mansion and about the invasion of the rabbit. We can hope that the breakthrough loop is close." Otto tried to add at least a little optimism to the atmosphere in the room, although he himself hardly believed it.

"You see yourself as a sinner even though you haven't done anything wrong? You've got such a good heart, Baru!"

"Hm! That little devil described how this dog perceives himself perfectly…" Priscilla muttered to herself.

What remained of the left side of Subaru's head could only stare at her in fear and shock.

"You poor thing~! Well, I guess that would be what I came out here for. And that would leave…"

Much like Echidna, the Witch disappears in a light of white and green before she disappeared in a spark of light. Then, a voice from the sky came through.

"First, to strike down all that defies reason in this world!"

"Oh! I remember that voice!" Emilia perked up.

"Another witch?" Anastasia asked cautiously.

"Yes, but this one didn't seem harmful or evil to me at the time. Quite the opposite! Maybe she can help Subaru too?" The half-elf replied, hopefully.

"A witch with a good nature? You also said the same thing about this little snake. Sorry If I seem to be rude, Emilia-sama, but I'm afraid your desire to see the positive sides in everyone often plays a cruel joke on you." Ram said coldly.

Subaru looks in fear at the voice that had broken through. She's loud and full of passion and fury.

"Second, who cares about committing every heinous evildoing!?"

"Third, whether you're ugly or beautiful—!" With these words, a buxom blonde with long hair, bright blue eyes, in a white raincoat and a revealing purple dress fell from the sky.

"—If you're here in this fleeting world, don't expect to make it back unscathed!"

A large cloud of dust follows, as well as bright pink shaped hearts. She's in a position where she's crouching on the ground, her fist supporting her as she had created a small crater around her.

"My fist will restore the world! My anger will cleanse the world!" She looks up, revealing blue eyes on the verge of crying. "My rage, the fury of my fists, shall be my answer!"

"What… the hell… is going on? Who are all these people?" Pressing his paw to his muzzle, Ricardo asked dumbfounded, restraining himself from switching to dirty swearing. "When did a guy's life turn from a kaleidoscope of horrors into a freaking circus?! What are we looking at now?!"

"Hey! Warden! Are you sure you haven't tempered with the tapes before the viewings?" Al declared to the ceiling.

"This is your world and your madness that is happening in it. Don't drag me into this madhouse. There is no benefit for me in adding false facts or unnecessary special effects." The Warden's irritated voice came.

"And what are special effects? Tivey was interested, but fell silent after getting hit on the head by his sister. Now was not time for his irrepressible curiosity.

She clenches her fists and gets up. Rapidly, she hits Subaru's shattered body with all she has, sparks of pink and white following. In a few seconds, Subaru finds himself standing up, his arm back, and his body fully restored. The Witches fist is squishing his cheek as another cloud of dust disperses, with a heart coming from his healed body.

"Amazing healing abilities!" Felix couldn't contain his admiration for such skills. He was rightfully considered the best healer in the kingdom, but he couldn't even come close to repeating something similar. On the other hand, it wasn't the real world. "I wonder if she could heal such terrible wounds so quickly in her lifetime? Or is this only possible in the reality created by the Witch of Greed?"

"I don't think you should admire her actions too much. If she were really a person who worked such miracles, her name would surely be preserved in history." Reinhard warned his friend.

"As the last episodes have shown, our history is full of white spots. Even if the name of the witch responsible for the appearance of the legendary mabeasts was not preserved in the archives, then it is scary to imagine how many more historical facts were lost. Or deliberately erased for unclear purposes after the Great Calamity." For Julius personally, this fact was even more infuriating than Natsuki Subaru if he could split into several full-fledged copies. And that said a lot.

"Why are you crying?" Asked dumbfounded Subaru.

"I'm not crying! I'm just angry!"

She steps away from Subaru, her fist towards the sky as if she was making a great speech. "That's right, I'm angry! It's Typhon's fault for hurting you like that! Stupid Typhon!"

She begins to stomp on the ground like a child throwing a tantrum. If it weren't for the fact that Subaru felt the ground underneath and around him vibrating intensely, he would've found it slightly funny.

"I hate this world for making her do that! I hate all of it!"

"Ok, I think I'm starting to guess why this lady could be dangerous. If she throws a tantrum over any little thing, and a simple stomp can cause an earthquake, then what did she cause when she was alive?!" Otto said sarcastically.

Beatrice was tempted to share her knowledge about witches, but guilt forced her to sit in silence.

Subaru only stares at her. "Uh… thanks for saving me… Um… and you are?"

She stops stomping on the ground and wipes her tears away, pointing at him. "I'm Minerva, the Witch of Wrath! But my name isn't important!"

"Well, I have no doubt that the lady has big problems with anger management. But her abilities raise big questions. One would imagine that the Authority of Wrath should be more… destructive? — Al expressed his opinion.

"You just said it!" He pointed out this contradiction, making the girl stop for a moment and think hard of her slip up.

"Listen up! If you've learned your lesson, don't do anything careless! Otherwise, I'll heal everyone!"

"Why did you make it sound like a threat?"

"A healer-witch with neither intelligence nor wits. Hey, half-wit, can it be that you are related by blood to her, by any chance?" The baroness did not deny herself the pleasure of verbally stabbing Emilia once again.

"The witches of sin died during the Great Calamity, and I was born a little over a century ago. It would not hurt you to improve your knowledge of the history of the world, Priscilla-sama." Unexpectedly for everyone, Emilia turned the baroness's blow against herself. Which was met by those present with enthusiasm.

"That's a good answer, Emilia-sama. I see you're growing up!" The duchess approved of her.

"Ha! The proud bitch was slapped in the face with her own words! Keep it up, big sis!" Pleased with her friend's answer, Felt gave her the thumbs up.

Priscilla's face twisted in anger. Some half-devil dared to laugh at her?! If they hadn't been in this damned theater, she would have immediately taken her head off the impudent woman's shoulders! But no matter. The world will turn around one way or another, as she pleases. So, since Priscilla cannot punish the half-devil on her own, the world will do it for her.

Much like Echidna and Typhon before her, Minerva disappears into particles of green and white. Subaru only watches.

"What's going on here? Typhon? Minerva? This isn't what me and Echidna agreed—"

"Be wary of your desires, Subaru-kun. They can come true." Roswaal muttered in a surprisingly serious voice.

He was not familiar with the witch of Gluttony, but if the teacher gave strict instructions on how to behave with her, it meant that this witch was a serious threat.

"This is the fourth witch he's encountered in one way or another. That was a witch of Wrath now. That girl, judging by her behavior, does not look like Lust or Sloth. So, I would guess it was the witch of Pride. So, there are only witches of sloth, lust and gluttony left. I wonder if he's going to see the rest of them now, too?" Tivey gave out the result of his thoughts.

"It seems to be true. As always, you can rely on Tivey for a quick analysis of what is happening!" Ricardo proudly patted the top of the young man's head, while the latter proudly puffed out his chest.

The light blinds him, and Subaru curls up, blocking it out by closing his eyes. When it retreats, he opens them and finds another cloud of dust, and a coffin-like thing of black and purple the cause.

"Oh, come on…"

"A sarcophagus on legs… what a promising start!" Al sarcastically declared, no longer expecting anything good or at least adequate from the pal's idea.

"And what about this witch? Did she die again after death, since she's in a coffin?" Mimi tilted her head uncomprehendingly.

"It looks more like a restraint, to be honest." Tivey commented tensely.

The coffin opens up, revealing another kid that is restrained by several means: cuffs that look like the coffin that go up to the elbow, several chains, and even her outfit binds her legs together. She wears all white apart from the black, has grey hair tied up, and a double blindfold that goes crisscross across her eyes.

"Daphne has arrived. What would you like to ask of Daphne… Subarun~?"

She says that with a bit of drool escaping her mouth. Subaru only stares at her, not knowing what to say or to think at the moment.

"And this is the Witch of Gluttony? Honestly, I was expecting someone more… well-fed, maybe?" Ricardo said thoughtfully.

"If you remember the Archbishop of Gluttony, that bastard was very skinny too. Perhaps, because of their authority, the food doesn't satiate them since they both are so thin?" Ram suggested.

"I would make a joke about another loli that a pal found for himself if I didn't expect some nasty shit from her at any moment." Al remarked without a trace of humor.

"I don't like her at all. She just feels… wrong." Petra said fearfully, clinging closer to Frederica.

Having been in close contact with the Meili over the past year, she had become quite proficient at recognizing the degree of danger posed by those who looked like a little girl. And now her guts told her to stay as far away from this Daphne as possible.

"I'm here because Chida-Chida told me to come, but I don't want to be awake any longer than I have to be, so please don't drag this out with a dull conversation. … Oh… this might be toxic to me…"

The coffin with legs backs away so quickly that Subaru is sure that he didn't see its legs move.

"W-What the heck?"

The coffin begins to move erratically alongside Daphne's words. "My mouth is watering! You give off a scent that I really, really love…"

As quick as the coffin retreated, it came back. The coffin and Daphne lean forward, forcing Subaru to back away from it.

"It makes me want to eat you!"

"I don't even know which of the possible interpretations causes me greater disgust. That she said it with sexual overtones or gastronomic ones?" Felix grumbled, not even trying to hide the contempt in his voice. This witch was even more disgusting to him than Typhon.

"Why am I not surprised that another witch finds the miasma of Envy so attractive. Like is drawn to like." Rem commented with an equally contemptuous tone.

"Your instincts don't let you down, girl. You should keep listening to them." Priscilla recalled Petra's last sentence.

This surprised the young maid a lot. Who would have thought that a candidate for the throne would remember her phrase, and even give advice for the future. But in order to keep up appearances, she bowed politely to the baroness.

With that, she licks her lips, and Subaru is reminded of Elsa. Subaru really, really didn't want to be eaten right now. He had already experienced that under the Great Rabbit, thank you very much.

"T-Then, let's make this quick. I want to talk about the Three Great Mabeasts that you made."

Daphne leans forward. "The Three Great Mabeasts?"

"The White Whale, the Great Rabbit, and the Black Serpent, or whatever! You made them, didn't you?"

The coffin straightens up.

"Oh, you mean the fishy, the bunny, and the snaky?"

"The bunny?! The fishy?! 'Tis witch is fuckin' insane if she calls such monsters with such sweet words!" Garf couldn't stand it and inserted his comment.

"Maybe when she first created them, they were very small?" Emilia continued to look for the bright side in everyone she met.

"More like she's just crazy, like the other witches! She probably thinks that the deadlier the monster, the cuter it looks!" Ram challenged her mistress's words.

"Why in the world did you make those things?"

"Huh? What was that?"

"Why did you set those things loose on the world!?"

He remembers the White Whale, how it erased thousands from existence, including Rem, how the Great Rabbit devoured him and the villagers in the Sanctuary.

"Don't you realize what they've…! Why did you do it!? Why did you make monsters like those!?"

"The White Whale is very big, isn't it? It would sate so many appetites if people ate it, don't you think?"

"…huh?"

"And the Great Rabbit can multiply itself indefinitely. With them around, no one would have to go hungry."

"Stop! Stop! So the crazy loli witch created those bloodthirsty monsters so that people in the world wouldn't starve?! Is she really that crazy?!" Felix was outraged by such perverse logic.

Wanting to eliminate hunger was an understandable, even a noble goal. But then why create carnivorous predators for this?

"Sounds like a typical witch to me. She claims that she wanted to help everyone, but in fact she just created living calamities!" Rem declared angrily.

"Each of the witches was the owner of a witch factor that corresponds to one of the deadly sins. The witch factor reacted to the strongest aspirations and desires of each witch, giving them the immense powers, but at the same time generating an irresistible mania to fulfill their sins." Roswaal decided to make an explanation.

He wanted to use this situation to make others to begin perceiving witches differently from the way it was customary in society. To convince them that witches themselves, although dangerous and extremely powerful creatures, were not pure and unscrupulous evil, as most of them perceived because of the Satella. If his plan succeeds, then perhaps the attitude of others towards his Teacher will cease to be openly biased.

"So the witch factor itself chose a carrier who has desires suitable for his sin?" Wilhelm asked with curiosity.

"If there is such a possibility. A witch factor can also be placed in a body that is incompatible with it. In such cases, there is a conflict within the soul. The wearer goes crazy and experiences terrible torment because of this. Most often, the carrier dies soon after."

"Going crazy… Like Geuse did?" The half-elf guessed.

"That's right, Emilia-sama. Geuse was the epitome of diligence. No wonder that, having received the Sloth witch factor, he lost his mind and became… what he became."

"So this… Daphne, before becoming a Witch of Gluttony, starved a lot and therefore her strongest desire was to satisfy her hunger?" Julius mused aloud. "If we follow this logic, then each witch received the sin that most corresponded to their biggest desires. The Witch of Wrath apparently hated violence or suffering and dreamed of healing everyone."

"I can't even imagine what, if that's the case, should have happened to the Witch of Pride! Why would a little girl feel like she has the right to judge people around her and defines them as sinners or not. What could have given rise to such a desire in her? Although yes, if so, then she has a lot of pride." Wilhelm shared his opinion.

"I'm saying that your Great Rabbit is the one eating everyone! The mabeasts are taking away more people than what they can fe—"

"Don't you think it's a bit selfish—"

The legs of her coffin began to furiously stomp on the ground, much like what Minerva had just done a few minutes ago.

"—to try and eat another without considering the possibility of being eaten yourself?"

"Hmm, so she's a supporter of radical Darwinism? Well, that explains a lot." Al commented calmly.

"What's a Darwinism?" Ricardo was interested.

"It's an ideology where you live by the principle of 'eat or be eaten'. And the strongest will survive and dominate. The entire Vollachian Empire is built on such principle. This witch preaches something very similar.

"Only with an emphasis on the literal perception of the word 'eat'." Ricardo nodded in agreement.

"How ironic. But this witch is not without a sense of justice. Even if it's a twisted one. She believes that everyone should have the right to eat the other if they wish. But at the same time, she does not deny that a potential victim should have the right to eat a predator." Priscilla thoughtfully drew conclusions when a funny thought occurred to her, and she pointed her fan in the direction of Felt.

"Hey, sewer rat! Isn't this the perfect world that you dream of building? Where there will be no masters or servants and anyone, if they want, can 'devour' anyone around?"

"My vision of the world is based on the fact that everyone can succeed without having to be born with a silver spoon in their mouth, and that the nobility of the family does not play any role! But in your case, I will be happy to find a large crowd of people who want to get even with the rotten aristocrats!" The young princess snapped.

Once again, she gets closer to him. She's annoyed now, frowning at him.

"The same goes for you, Subarun. Don't you think everyone takes gluttony a bit too lightly? The appetite is the most important of the desires that keeps people alive! Even if the heart is sated, people die if they don't eat."

"She is so creepy! And here I thought Meili sometimes scares me with her scary views on life!" Petra shuddered, snuggling closer to Frederica.

Subaru grimaces, looking away from their false staring contest. "What you're saying is partly right, but—"

"You'll understand, too, if you're starved to your limit. Then you'll see what kind of world me and my bunny live in."

Subaru shivers, staring at her once again. "If I told you that I wanted to get rid of your Great Rabbit, would you give me any tips?"

"The Great Rabbit relies on mana to find its prey."

Subaru blinks as she leans away from him. She just answered his question. It confused him. Then again, he did help kill the White Whale, and as she said, she created it for eating purposes. "You really don't mind?"

"If we must eat to stay alive, it wouldn't make sense to deny that we must kill to survive. The rabbit is naturally drawn to places that have lots of mana, so you could use a powerful magic user as a lure, then wipe them out all at once when they gather there."

"She is cruel, but at least not a hypocrite. I can give this loli a couple of points for being principled." Ricardo said gloomily.

"The snowfall spell! So that's why the rabbit showed up at the Sanctuary!" Reinhard guessed, turning to Roswaal. And not only him. Many angry glances stared at the Margrave.

"Do you even realize what your actions cost Subaru?!" Crusch asked angrily, clenching her fists.

"I did not know that my spell would have such consequences." Roswaal replied in a flat voice, knowing that he would not be caught lying now.

"Do you think this answer justifies you in any way? Even indirectly, you are responsible for a lot of what Subaru has been through!" Julius said, barely hiding his hatred.

"I'm not making excuses to anyone. I just answered the question you asked me."

"I heard that it can multiply indefinitely, won't there be some that separate from the group?"

"There are many of them, but they all share one consciousness. They don't have the wisdom to avoid being killed or anything."

"He's lucky that this witch doesn't worry about her creatures and decided to give Subaru hints how to deal with them. I'm sure it will help him in the end." Crusch expressed confidence in the success of the young man.

"Yes, it will help. Subaru, when he returned to the Sanctuary with Beatrice, drove all the rabbits into a trap, and we locked them there while Beatrice was preparing her spell." Emilia recalled that wonderful moment.

She yawns loudly. "Are you finished with me now?"

"At least Subaru-kun got valuable information about how the Great Rabbit acts. The black sheep has a piece of wool, I guess." Rem noted, wishing that the conversations with the witches were over as soon as possible.

"Yeah. I still don't get why you created them, but I've learned a lot. Thanks. Also… I will destroy the Great Rabbit. I already killed the White Whale, after all. So don't you dare come crying to me when your kid is gone, 'Mother'. Those things have been running rampant for four hundred years. That's long enough. I'm gonna wipe them out without a trace."

The coffin began to rumble and shake.

"If you think a mere human…is capable of that, then go ahead and try it." She's said while grinning.

Much like the other three before her, Daphne, the Witch of Gluttony, disappears within green and white. When Subaru opens his eyes again, he is sitting down on the chair, looking at Echidna, who is drinking her tea.

"And why take such a reckless risk?! What would you do if she got mad at your statement, Natsuki-san?" Otto said irritably, who did not approve of his friend's habit of provoking the powerful and mighty.

"I can't get more grateful for the fact that negotiations in Vollachia took place before Subaru-kyun came to our wyorld!" Felix put his hand to his face and commented.

"I agree. We would all have been sentenced to death after Natsuki's first sentence." Julius replied in the same skeptical tone.

"Seeing your face is such a relief. It's like being back home with my family."

"That's a somewhat confusing way to describe it. I was a bit disconcerted, too, when Typhon jumped at the moment when I tried to give my body to Daphne."

"Oh, her?"

"Mhm. Yes, the Witch of Pride. She's very much a child, as you saw. She was so eager to meet you that she jumped right out. And the one that healed you was the Witch of Wrath, Minerva. So? Did Daphne give you any useful information?"

"Yeah. First of all, I learned that you're the most normal of all the Witches."

"Ah… Oh, please, just stop already."

More tea is poured into the pot, and cookies are placed down, and finally, Echidna fills up his cup with steaming hot body fluid tea.

"You're just trying to butter me up with pleasing words. Don't underestimate me like that."

"Subaru, stop flirting with Echidna! She's mean and called me names!" Emilia pouted.

"What, are you afraid for your position, half-wit? You have quite a lot in common with her. Origin, hair color and position in the world. Only she has brains, unlike you. Which makes her look like a much better option." Priscilla decided to strike again and take revenge on Emilia for her past insolence.

"I'm not afraid of anything! I am confident in my position! It's just that Echidna is not the kind of girl I want Subaru to have any contact with!" Emilia protested, trying not to blush from embarrassment.

"You're an open book, you know that? But I'll pass on your body fluids and cookies."

"I didn't put a hair in it…"

"I can't really trust anything you say anymore."

However, the atmosphere is broken up by a screech. Subaru jerks forward with an 'Ah!' placing his elbows on the table and knocking off the tea, making it spill. Echidna had not even moved.

"What was…"

"Looks like it's almost time for you to wake up. Perhaps something outside happened to speed up your awakening?"

"That must be Emilia-sama! She woke up from her Trial and saw Subaru laying on the floor beside her!" Petra made a guess.

"You mean… Emilia? No, wait, aren't you passing yourself as the examiner for the trial? So why are you here? Emilia should be taking the trial right now!"

Echidna only drinks her tea. "Because the result is already in sight."

"The result is already in sight?"

"I'm saying I have no interest in the result of her challenge. Even in three days of trial and error, I can't hold out any hope that she'll break out of her shell. Or perhaps… you could do it? Since you've made up your mind to keep repeating everything, could you give wings to the cowardly princess?"

"Don't ya dare callin' our princess cowardly, ya damn bitch!" Garfiel declared angrily.

Echidna's words were ha-a-a-rsh, but they had a considerable amount of truth. The Emilia-sama we have seen so far, is clearly not ready to overcome the challenges on her o-o-own." Roswaal could not help but come to the defense of his teacher.

"Thank you for your trust, Garfiel. But, alas, at that moment Echidna was right about me. I was weak and cowardly, hiding from problems and always waiting for a Puck or Subaru to solve them. But later we will see how my knight will give me the strength to pass the Trial, you'll see! We just have to wait."

Meanwhile, she continues to convince him to take the Trials on his own. But why? Maybe the one who passes all the Trials, will fulfill a certain condition? And the witch needs Subaru to do it?" Julius mused aloud.

"I hate how it feels like I'm letting you provoke me, but I won't let you make Emilia cry anymore."

"Oh, no. I'm not the one making her cry."

"I'll go through your sadistic trial. That was my plan to begin with."

"I think it's hardly necessary to call it sadistic."

"So, now he's determined to take the Trial himself." Anastasia summed up.

"He doesn't have a plan on how to help Emilia-sama deal with her nightmares. And it is necessary to look for a way out of the situation as soon as possible." Julius reminded her.

She closes her eyes and looks away from him.

"Echidna, how can I come here again?"

"Oh?"

"I know I'm being selfish, but I want to be able to see your wisdom again. You know a lot, and…"

"And I know about your Return by Death power."

"Yeah, exactly."

"It does feel nice to be depended on, but I think that would be rather difficult. The conditions to attend the Witch's Tea Party get stricter each time, and you have already been invited twice. If you cry out 'I want to know!' from the bottom of your heart, your voice will reach me. Although, the third time must be louder than the second time. Think you can do that?"

"You've got to be kidding me! To get to the tea party for the second time, he had to literally go crazy! What must happen to him to see this witch again?!" Otto was horrified.

'That's a lie, isn't it, mother? You're lying to my contractor, making him afraid that every meeting with you might be his last, so that he won't think about what you're saying. And when he'll get desperate from the traps set by the Roswaal, you will come to him with an offer of a life-saving contract. Is that your plan?' Beatrice thought angrily.

This sounded quite like something her Mother would do, when she aimed at achieving a result in another experiment. When she was pursuing knowledge, nothing mattered to her except the result. Any result. And at any cost. Such was her sin of Greed

"Of course, if you do undergo the Trial, as you hope to, that won't be the only way."

"And again, she brings everything back to passing the Trial." Tivey noted.

"That's right! I can see you within the Trial, too! I doubt it'll be over tea, though."

"Well, if you really insist…"

"No, it's okay…" Then, the world became more distorted around Subaru.

"Oh, crap… I'm really starting to feel faint. Echidna, one more thing before I have to go…"

Echidna leans forward.

"The payment to make sure that I don't forget what happened here! You need that, right?"

"Oh… oh, the payment! Of course, I wouldn't want you to forget this. In that case… I'll take this."Echidna points her finger at Subaru's wrist. Subaru pulls down his sleeve, revealing Petra's handkerchief tied around his wrist.

"Ah, this? But it's just a handkerchief. Besides, it's…"

"Don't you dare take this handkerchief away from Subaru-sama, witch! This is my good luck charm for him!" The younger maid said resentfully.

She was outraged by the thought that the gift she had made for her hero would end up in the hands of a creepy witch.

"Apparently, witches just love to take away things from people that are dear to them!" Felix said contemptuously.

"Petra, think about it from the other side. If he loses only the handkerchief as payment to the witch, then it turns out that you saved him with your gift from another, perhaps more terrible payment!" Frederica tried to cheer up her ward.

"You're right, Frederica nee-sama! If my handkerchief helps Subaru-sama in any way, then I didn't try for nothing!" After thinking for a second, Petra nodded contentedly, agreeing with her mentor's logic.

"No need to worry. This world exists within the mind. It won't be gone once you're back outside."

"Haaah… how does it work as payment, then?"

"The one who gave you this handkerchief did it out of heartfelt concern for you. It wouldn't do to ridicule that sentiment. This payment is recognition of that person's existence, and perhaps a bit of meddling as well."

"Hmpf! Even the witches have to reckon with my feelings for Subaru-sama!" Petra repeated after her, proudly puffing out her chest.

"You are a worthy rival, Petra-sama. Your feelings are as strong, as they are sincere!" Crusch jokingly bowed to the girl, who immediately became embarrassed and began to apologize profusely to the Duchess for her behavior.

Many smiled at the touching nature of the first childhood crush. And Rem and Emilia exchanged glances.

"She's just a little girl." Rem said softly, trying to ease the tension.

"That's right! Just a girl. Subaru loves Petra, just like he likes other kids! But not like us, for sure!" Emilia hastened to pick up on this thought.

"Are you talking about Lolimancer now, by any chance?" Anastasia couldn't resist a barb. The sight of Rem and Emilia's confused and scared faces was more than worth it.

Echidna then walks forward to the handkerchief, places her hands on it, and closes her eyes. After a few seconds, she backs away.

"Payment received."

Subaru places a hand on his forehead. Everything was getting more blurry and distorted by the second.

"Okay, thanks… see you in the Trial… I guess…"

"Natsuki Subaru… if you do attend the Witches Tea Party the third time… this time, there is something that I would like to tell you."

"These words scare me. The witch is clearly up to something!" Rem said excitedly. 'Oh, if only Beatrice herself were here now and could tell us what her creator was up to!'

But alas, the girl was sitting silently in the back row.

By the second, the Castle of Dreams ceases to exist, becoming nothing more than light blue squares radiating white light.

Subaru wakes up with a cough. Leaning forward, on his hands and knees, Subaru coughs the life out of him.

"Do I have to go through this every time?"

Wiping off the saliva from his mouth, Subaru pulls back his sleeve. As Echidna had said, Petra's handkerchief is still there.

"I remember… guess Echidna did keep her promise then. Heh, I swear that so-called 'Witch' is just a big fraud. I'm going to be counting on you for now."

"You'll soon see for yourself how wrong that idea is, Subaru. If only I had been there for you then, I would have helped you, warned you…" Beatrice whispered sympathetically, wishing inwardly that her mother was more like who she pretended to be in front of her contractor. If that was the case, she wouldn't have to waste four hundred years.

Looking to the side, Subaru notices that Emilia is not there. Had she run out? But why didn't she wake him up?

"Emilia wasn't the one waking me up? Wait, she didn't run outside in a panic, did she!?"

"But if I didn't wake him up, then where am I? I wouldn't just leave the Subaru lying on the floor!" Emilia said excitedly and immediately beamed. "Oh, I know! Probably, after I couldn't wake Subaru up, I ran outside to get help!"

"And you walked away, leaving Barusu laying there? I doubt you could do that, Emilia-sama. Even with Barusu." Ram shook her head skeptically.

"Normally, Emilia-sama would never have left Natsuki-san there. But upon awakening from the Ordeal, Emilia-sama was not in her right mind. Previously, Natsuki-san was with her every time, calming her down and helping her recover. It is possible that without his intervention, she could have panicked and run away for help. Completely absorbed by the visions that the witch sent her way." Otto guessed.

Running out of the tomb, Subaru stared ahead in surprise.

"Wha?"

There was not a soul in front of the tomb. And the whole land ahead was hidden by a layer of unnatural, creeping darkness. Which rose like the water level during a flood

"A shadow?"

"Wh-what's going on?" What kind of shadow is this?! And where is everyone?!" Emilia asked fearfully.

"Garfiel-san, have you ever had such phenomena in your Sanctuary?!" Crusch asked with rising worry.

That didn't look like a natural occurrence at all. Also, this shadow was eerily similar to the hands that grabbed Natsuki's heart. But… no, it can't be.

"Nah! Neva seen anythin' like it! And the old hag didn't talk 'bout shit like tha'!" The blond man answered no less fearfully.

"Maybe everyone ran away because of the appearance of this stuff?" Mimi said.

"And Emilia-sama heard the commotion outside and ran out of the Tomb to fond out what's happening." Petra suggested.

"This… is the miasma of the Witch of Envy…" Roswaal said, hiding the fear in his voice.

Of all those present, only he and Beatrice remembered what happened to the world during the Great Calamity.

"Wh-what do you mean, Witch of Envy?! How could SHE get there?!" Felix was horrified. If Satella broke out, it meant the beginning of another world ending catastrophe.

"Maybe this is another attack of the Witch Cult? Some power of another Archbishop or one of their vile spells?!" Ricardo mused, hopefully.

Any option that gave a logical explanation for what was happening was much more desirable than what the creepy clown had implied.

"Cultists can't get through the barrier just like tha'! And even if t'was dem, why didn't the cap'n tell anythin' about dem?! Why didn't we clashed with the Cult in our time?!" Garfiel refuted his words, while being on a verge of panic because of the frightening situation.

"Let's continue watching, and we'll find out everything!" Reinhard interrupted the discussion, holding his lady tightly, who clung to him in fear.

"Emilia! Emilia, where are you? Please, answer me! Ram! Ryuzu-san! Even you, Otto! You're there, right? Get out here!"

There's no reply. The only thing Subaru sees are things being consumed by the large shadow.

As Subaru turns to his side and walks in an attempt to find anyone else, a figure rises from the shadows. He turns to see her, and her body is swathed in dark purple and black. A veil covers her head and the back of her body, but leaves an open front. Subaru could not see her full face, but he knew who this was.

Subaru stared at her, trembling with fear. Images of a Terrible Witch from a children's book surfaced in his memory, a dark hand clutching his heart, a shadow, appearing when he violated a taboo.

"Impossible… not her…" Ram muttered, not noticing how a tremor struck her.

"This is… how can this be?" Emilia couldn't believe her eyes.

"How is she here? How is this possible? Roswaal asked, dumbfounded.

There was never a hint of Satella's possible appearance in the Gospel. If this happens, if she gets a hold of Subaru, it will be the end!

"This must be some kind of mistake! An illusion! This can't be happening!" Anastasia shook her head, refusing to believe.

"You're…"

In front of him was the one who brought him into this world. She, who gave him a Return by Death, and punished him for every attempt to talk about his ability.

Almost everyone in the hall were literally frozen in terror. Only Emilia, Al and Reinhard were afraid at that moment not for themselves, but for Subaru.

Al hadn't grown up in a world where the main fear of any sentient creature was the silver-haired half-elf who was now approaching the young man on the screen. Emilia only found out about the Witch's existence after waking up from the ice confinement, and was mostly angered, rather than scared. And the Sword Saint was protected by a divine protection that did not allow panic to suppress the self-control.

As for everyone else, all of them: from Petra to Wilhelm, from Felt to Priscilla, were paralyzed by primordial fear. Fear that has been nurtured for centuries in all corners of the world. Which was absorbed by everyone with their mother's milk. A fear that was familiar to kings and slaves, rich and poor, humans and other races. Fear of the one who bore different names: The Jealous One, Satella, the Witch of Envy.

"Subaru-kun… Subaru-kun." Rem muttered, shaking with fear, pressing the young man's hand to her chest, as if it could protect her from the diabolical entity on the screen.

"Fuck, pal… Just why this shit keeps happening to you?" Al hissed, worried about his friend.

"But it just can't be! She's sealed! If she had escaped, the world would have been plunged into darkness again a year ago!" Reinhard spoke worriedly, frantically trying to understand the reasons for the picture he was seeing.

Felt couldn't answer him. She only had enough will to cling to her knight with all her might and stare at the screen.

The younger ones in the room did not scream in horror, they were afraid to make even a sound. They just huddled into lumps, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. The numb adults did not try to hold them to themselves, as all their attention was focused on the screen.

Starting to approach him, the shadow spoke in an otherworldly voice:

"I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you."

She said those words with overflowing, almost melting passion and affection in her voice. A breath like a sigh, and soft and gentle. She sounded just like Emilia.

If the audience could have opened their eyes more in surprise at this moment, they would have fallen out of their sockets. Ever since the fourth arc began, they had been preparing themselves for the fact that their friend would die over and over again. Just a few hours ago, their psyche was dealt a serious blow due to the scene of his encounter with the Great Rabbit. After that, they were sure that nothing could surprise or scare them even more. But what they were seeing on the screen now made any preparations useless.

The Great rabbit was a terrifying scene, but one that they could at least imagine, comprehend, analyze. What was happening now was beyond what they could fathom.

The Witch of Envy herself came from the desert of Auguria to the Sanctuary. She broke all the seals that held her back, ignored the sage Shaula, who had been guarding her prison for hundreds of years. And she appeared right in front of Subaru. And she did all that to start constantly confessing her love to him. This was… wrong, irrational, unnatural! Why love? What did she really wanted from their friend?

The Witch closed in on him, brushing a hand against his cheek. "I love you." She leaned forward, smiling as her lips were against Subaru's ear.

Her hands reach out and embrace him, running all over his back as she fervently repeats those words. And the shadows that she used to engulf half of the world come up, intending to consume him as well. Subaru didn't feel anything at all, and he stood frozen in her embrace. She hugs him tighter, and Subaru can feel a pleased smile adorning her face. Images of sleeping Rem and Petra forcibly began to appear in his mind, as if someone was pulling them out of his memory.

And all he could think about was the words 'I love you' that filled his whole being. The frame on the screen was replaced by a black background that was filled with the words 'I love you.'

"She speaks… with my voice." Emilia whispered in horror.

She felt incredibly disgusted by how similar their voices sounded. And also from the fact that with this voice she spoke the words that Emilia dreamed of saying to her knight herself. And that witch was just tainting them. Fear for Subaru was replaced by fury at the witch.

"Don't you dare… don't you dare confess to him, you scum! Don't you dare say those words to my Subaru! You have no right to say it!" Clenching her fists, she screamed at the screen.

Her outburst of rage was so strong that it partially brought others out of their state of stupor, allowing them to start comprehending the situation on screen again.

It was as if she was in her own fantasy as she continued her chant.

"I love you. I love you. I love you… I love you… I love you…" Those words overlapped, and Subaru could barely think anymore.

"To be consumed by the Witch of Envy herself. And right after the death from the teeth of the Great Rabbit… Is there any nightmare in our world that Natsuki won't have to face?! Julius asked, unable to stop trembling.

The knight's mindset called him to stand proudly in front of any enemy. To draw his sword and fight the Witch until his last breath. But his instincts held him down, almost whispering to his mind: ' .Move! Don't attract HER attention.'

"Did you survive even a confrontation with HER? Just how did you find a way out of this, Sir Natsuki?" Crusch whispered in amazement, not even trying to imagine what this meeting had cost him.

"Don't let her take you away, Subaru-kyun… do it! Kill yourself! Anything, just don't let her take you away!" Felix whispered quietly.

The healer sat quietly, pressing his ears to his head and curling up into a ball. Now he was ready to approve any decision of the knight, as long as it would save Subaru from a cursed fate.

'How?! How did you even get through that?! What did you do to save yourself?! Show me!' Priscilla thought, having dealt with the initial shock.

Now she was sitting, separating herself from the screen with an open fan, trying to guess what a commoner could do in such a situation. Only a few times in her life had she felt such burning interest.

"Don't touch him… don't touch my cap'n!" Garfiel found the strength to scream in anger.

More than anything, he wanted to be there right now. At least this time. For once, to do something for the man who was his hero.

"Someone, save Subaru! Please, someone!" Petra could only whisper through her tears.

Frederica, not daring to take her eyes off the screen, found enough courage in her to reach out to her and hold her close.

"Quit screwin' around!"

With a roar, Garfiel swiped down and hit the ground with all his might, throwing both Subaru and the Witch aside. The young man flew into a column nearby and fell to the floor.

"YES!" Everyone, without exception, exploded with a shout of approval.

The appearance of the blond man on the screen was very unexpected for them, but the sight of the Witch being thrown aside filled them with sincere joy. Which they wanted to express, regardless of any rules of etiquette.

"Go-go, Garf!" Petra and Mimi and Felt exclaimed.

Garfiel couldn't help but break into a huge smile.

"We're gonna jump!"

Subaru then found himself being carried by the back of his tracksuit, with Garfiel jumping up, to the trees, and to any other platforms he can find. From behind, the tendrils of darkness rose and chased after the two. Garfiel carried Subaru by the waist as he jumped and dodged the projectiles as best as he could. Then, he landed on a house, stopping there and dropping Subaru.

The unexpected rescue of the on-screen Subaru literally dispelled the veil of fear that permeated in the room. Satella suddenly stopped seeming like an irresistible, inescapable and terrifying death sentence. A foe that could not be countered. Now it became apparent, if one confronted her, something could be done.

Looks like It was possible, if not to defeat her, but at least to push her back, to run away from her. This understanding alone moved her from the category of 'inevitable death' to the 'most dangerous enemy.' Clinging to this thought, they were happy to switch to something more pleasant, such as giving praise to a young rascal in the front row.

"Thank you, Garf-kun! Thank you!" Rem was unable to hold her emotions, so she rushed to the blond and hugged him tightly, without even trying to wipe away her tears.

"Yeah… 'tis fine, Rem! My amazin' self is the best Sanctuary's shield for a reason! 'Tis my job!" The blond man, flushed with embarrassment, tried to calm the happy maid.

"She's right, Garfiel. You did a ve-e-ery brave thing, there!" Emilia told him gratefully.

"Well one! I shouldn't have expected anything less from you! Who else has the right mix of guts and idiocy to slap the Witch of Envy herself!" Otto squeezed his brother's shoulder.

"Garf! That was so cool! You were all like 'Quit screwin' around!' and BAM!" Mimi was delighted.

Overflowing with joy, she jumped over the row, landed right on the blond man's back and hugged him tightly around the neck. It seemed that one could see stars in the cat-girl eyes.

"Oi! Why did ya pounce on me?!" Garfiel was annoyed, but everyone noticed that there was much more embarrassment on his face than frustration.

Ricardo looked at the kid with a hint of paternal pride. If for the sake of his own, he was ready to throw a punch even at the Witch herself, then the exam for bravery and loyalty could be considered as accomplished by default. Perhaps he almost deserves a chance to court his Mimi. Almost. With these thoughts, he went to the front row and took Mimi off the hero of the moment, lifting her by the collar.

"You have the potential of a real hero, Garfiel-san!" Reinhard bowed to him.

"I'm starting to see why Sir Natsuki made you his friend and ally despite the past tragedy. To confront the Witch of Envy herself…very few people have the courage to do such a thing." Crusch approved of the young warrior.

"I have to admit, I was amused with what this half-naked fool did." Even Priscilla went so far as to compliment him. In her own unique way.

Garf was truly inspired by the cool act of the previous version of himself and the gratitude of people around him. But the last thing he expected to happen was thin girly arms that hugged him from behind. And the quiet voice of a girl whose affection he had been trying to gain for years whispering in his ear:

"You did great, Garf. That was a great move. Thank you, for coming to Barusu's rescue."

After that, the blond completely lost the ability to say a single word and just sat there, looking baffled, but joyous. He was so damn happy to hear the praise from all sides. From such influential and powerful people. Even Ram decided to get up from her seat, go up to him and show him warmth and tenderness, which he had previously seen only in relation to her sister! Why, Reinhard himself recognized the potential in him!

But most importantly, he finally stood up for his captain! He came to his rescue! And for the sake of this, he blew away not just anyone: the Witch of Envy! Maybe, that's why Subaru believed in him?

"You!" Subaru couldn't believe his eyes.

"Wha? Ya got a problem?" The blond man asked him sternly.

"… No, I don't have a problem. I just wasn't expecting you to save me."

"Can't ya see wha's going on? Wha's important right now is findin' a way to bite off that thing's head! Nothin' else!"

"Despite the fact that we know that this is another unsuccessful loop, I cannot help but be glad that Garfiel-san showed Subaru-dono that he is not an enemy! Knowing this, he will now come up with a plan to win the young man over to his side." Wilhelm said with relief.

"He'll come up with somethin'. The cap'n calculated everythin' so well that even my amazin' self was forced to recognize 'em!" Garf said with pride in his voice.

"Hey! By the way, it was I who planned and executed the chase and fight with you!" Otto said resentfully.

"Of course, Brotto, of course. Yer're the head and all that, but it's still not good to take credit for the cap'n's achievements." The blond man sarcastically remarked, pleased with how his friend's face reddened with annoyance.

From the distance, the Witch of Envy is rising, facing away from their direction.

"What the hell… why now, of all times? Why are you here, Witch of Envy!? Think… think, think, think, think! I have to beat her somehow…!"

As he closes his eyes as tries to think, the Witch of Envy turns right and starts making her way out.

"The hell? The bitch isn't tryin' to follow us? Wha? She's gonna leave the barrier?"

Subaru, who was watching her movements, remembered what memories Satella had extracted from him. Images of Rem and Petra surfaced in his mind.

"The mansion… the mansion! The Witch is heading to Roswaal's mansion!"

"The hell'd you say!?"

"I'm not letting you get away with anything else!" Subaru angrily declared towards the witch.

"But why would she want to go to the mansion if she showed up to take way Subaru-sama?" Frederica asked, startled.

"It seems that she is called a jealous witch for a reason. She has some kind of sick crush on Natsuki-kun. And apparently, she will not tolerate any competition. Seeing the girls dear to him in his memory, she went to the mansion to deal with them." Anastasia reasoned.

"Kill everyone your beloved cares about in the delirious hope that he will come to love you when you are the only one left. Disgusting! Truly a witch!" Crusch commented with disdain.

Petra Emilia and Rem, hearing this, shuddered with fear. Because of their feelings for Subaru, they became personal targets of the Witch of Envy?

"Come to think of it, wasn't it at the Witch's command that Crusch-sama and I were attacked by the Archbishops? They act according to the instructions of their gospels, we know that. Which means the Bowel Hunter could have been hired by a Cult to kill everyone who is dear to Subaru-kun." Rem mused aloud, building a picture of what was happening in her head. "But if so, why wasn't I killed?"

"The archbishops probably thought that eating your name and memory would be enough. Maybe the Witch didn't know that Subaru-kyun has some kind of… immunity to the powers of Authorities and will still remember you?" Felix suggested.

"Ha! Then your plan has failed, you crow! Subaru-kun won't lose to the likes of you!" said Rem, pleased with this assumption.

The rest of her camp grimaced at the thought that they would have to reveal to Rem a much more unpleasant truth about Elsa's client. But not now.

The scene changed to the house where Roswaal lived.

"Goodness, what terrible luck. And without even knowing the outcome of the Trial…" Roswaal talked to himself in a calm and emotionless voice, taking something out from under the pillows. This subject turned out to be a book, looking absolutely similar to the Gospel.

Roswaal's face shifted slightly from this scene. He did not expect that his possession of the tome would be revealed in this way. After all, at this point, even Natsuki didn't know about it.

"The Gospel of the Witch Cult?! That's it, you're definitely screwed now, you painted snake!" Felt gloated, flexing her fists. Now that bastard won't get away with it!

"Do you have anything to say for yourself, margrave? Or maybe your title sounds closer to the Archbishop?" Anastasia said venomously.

The knights present in the theater were thinking about how best to organize the capture and neutralization of the most powerful magician of the kingdom. If after the viewings they return to where they were taken from, then Reinhard will be the only one who can quickly get to Roswaal. Wasting time gathering a squad of knights under the command of Captain Marcus means risking the possibility that a dangerous cultist will be able to escape.

'Why did Emilia and her camp react so calmly to this revelation? Did they know about it and still concealed it from the others? No… it can't be. Subaru would never tolerate a cultist in their ranks!' Crusch noticed the angry but unsurprised looks from the members of the half-elf camp. That gave her an idea.

"Margrave Mathers, are you a member of the Witch Cult? I strongly encourage you to answer without any prevarication!" The duchess asked bluntly.

"I wasn't, I'm not, and I don't plan to." The clown replied calmly, looking Crash straight in the eyes. He demonstrated the degree of seriousness by not using his annoying accent.

"Do you cooperate with the Witch Cult in any way?" She continued.

"The cultists are my enemies, to whom I wish death at every opportunity." She received an equally calm response.

"He is… telling the truth." Reinhard said in surprise, which attracted many equally surprised looks.

"But we clearly see the Gospel on the screen! How can he have it and not be a cultist?!" Felix asked with disbelief.

"Tomes of wisdom, created by Echidna. Roswaal-sama previously said that two of them were created. One belonged to Beatrice-sama. Given the connections of the Mather's family and Echidna, it is logical to assume that the head of the family owns the second one." Otto unexpectedly came to the rescue of the margrave.

No matter how much he wanted to strangle the clown on his own for everything his brother had been through, he couldn't let Emilia's hopes for the throne be destroyed for personal revenge. And the hopes of those who counted on her.

"Is that so?" Reinhard turned to Roswaal.

"I was indeed the owner of the second copy." The magician replied in the same tone.

"Was? Past tense?" The Sword Saint pressed on.

"That's right. As a result of the events that took place in the Sanctuary I lost this instrument. And if you show some patience, I'm sure you'll witness for yourself how it happened."

He held a book in front him, as the shadows cover his bed, and soon begin to envelope him as well.

"If you wish to walk through Hell, I will gladly accompany you. If you wish to live in Hell, then Hell is what I will strive for." Calmly, as if he said a prayer, clutching the book to his chest, while the tide of darkness filled everything around.

"Are you sure you're not a cultist? You sound just like a religious fanatic from Gusteko!" Anastasia literally shuddered at what the screen was transmitting. The Margrave ignored this slander.

"Try not to make the same mistakes next time… Natsuki Subaru…"

And with that, the current Roswaal L Mathers was consumed by the Witch of Envy.

Similarly, a deathly silence consumed the room, while everyone digested this unexpected revelation.

Roswaal remained unperturbed. He had long accepted the fact that his crimes against Subaru would be revealed, as well as his knowledge of the young man's ability to change the course of events. That it happened in a slightly different way than he had anticipated was a trivial detail.

Otto could only clench his teeth to keep from screaming in anger and despair. He hoped that at least this fact would not become known to other camps. He was so stupid to hope for it. The merchant could not let go of the idea that the Warden, despite the statements about his neutrality, was aimed at depriving Emilia's camp of any chance of to remain as participants of the elections. Maybe it was their karmic punishment for all the mistakes and betrayals they had committed against their friend?

"You knew…" Emilia said softly, but there was enough ice in her tone to freeze an entire lake.

"You knew what was happening to Subaru. You knew that he was dying and returning after death! How long have you known about this, Roswaal?! From the very beginning?!"

Roswaal was in no hurry to answer. The princess's body language clearly said that there was no point in trying to say anything right now. She just wanted him to try to interrupt her speech, to start making excuses. Only so that she could shut him up and continue to pour accusations from an even more advantageous position. He wasn't going to give her that much pleasure.

"Did you arrange all this?! Was everything that happened to Subaru, from the very first day, part of your plan?! Did you know everything that was going to happen in advance?! The Cult's attack on the mansion! Meili's attack on the village! You knew all this, didn't you?" Emilia pointed at him angrily.

Roswaal remained silent, waiting for the right moment.

"Ram!" Emilia said harshly, suddenly shifting her gaze to the pink maid, who had been sitting in silence all this time, not knowing how to react to the unfolding situation.

Flinching slightly at the disapproving tone, Ram looked into her mistress' eyes.

"Did you know about this too?! Did you know what Subaru went through because of Roswaal's machinations?! He trusts you more than anyone! You are privy to his most important secrets!"

Ram did not immediately find what to say. Instinctively glancing in her sister's direction, she noticed with sadness that Rem was also looking at her with suspicion. Apparently, their conversation earlier did not completely convince Rem.

"Don't get Ram involv…" Roswaal wanted to butt in, but he was abruptly interrupted.

"I asked Ram!" Emilia immediately silenced her sponsor with an icy tone.

Roswaal decided not to add oil to the fire and shut up. And Ram shuddered with fear, like a naughty schoolgirl who was afraid of punishment from the director.

"N-no, Emilia-sama. It's true that Ram knew for a long time that Roswaal-sama owned a book showing him the future. But Ram did not know about its contents. Ram had no idea what Barusu had been through since he came to our world." She replied, gathering her courage and looking Emilia straight in the eyes.

"Ram is telling the truth." Crusch confirmed with a smile.

She was pleased to see that Rem's sister would not have to share the burden of the clown's sins.

And Ram was pleased to notice that Rem breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm happy to hear that, Ram, and I apologize for suspecting you of scheming against Subaru." Emilia bowed to her friend, then turned her stern gaze back to the margrave.

"So, Roswaal? Don't you have anything to say for yourself?!" The half-elf demanded an answer. Now was a good opportunity for him to talk.

"I don't understand one thing. We have already asked the clown if he knew about Subaru-kyun's ability. And Crusch-sama, along with Reinhard, confirmed that he was telling the truth!" Felix declared in surprise, without ceasing to look closely at the margrave.

"Obviously, he arranged his answer in such a way, as to hide his real knowledge without lying." Wilhelm guessed, remembering exactly how that answer sounded.

"The margrave said he didn't know Subaru was returning by death." Reinhard reminded everyone.

"So… you knew he was traveling through time, but you didn't know how?" Emilia asked him.

"E-e-everything is exactly as you said, Emilia-sama. I didn't know that Subaru needed to di-i-i-e in order to use its ability. I have always believed that he had total control in deciding when and to what point in time to retu-u-urn. And I built all my plans on the basis of this concept." The margrave replied calmly and with the usual fake smile.

"So it's true! My mistress has lost her memory because of you!" Felix was furious.

Wilhelm clenched his fists to keep his anger from escaping. Right now, it would be a waste of good rage. He would wait until they returned to their home world. And then the moment will come to draw the sword.

"By no me-e-eans. I have nothing to do with what happened to your lady, Sir knight. I just said, that I'm not affiliated with the Witch Cult. Moreover, at the time of the battle with the White whale, I was already in the Sa-a-anctuary. In I saw it at the time, everything that happened with Crusch-sama was an outstanding move on the part of Natsuki Subaru. To take one of the key opponents out of the game and at the same time strengthen the positions of Emilia-sama-a-a.

"You scum!" The healer could not stand it and rushed into battle, but William's hand held him back. "You've left my lady with no memory!"

"You seem to be very angry at me, oh, esteemed knights and candidates. Apparently you all have already forgotten that not so long ago, you all looked at Natsuki Subaru as a potential schemer and a liar, who controlled events for his own benefit. And you were the vanguard of this theory, Sir Argy-y-yle." The magician declared, looking at Felix with a venomous smile. Which made the demi-human immediately lose his fighting spirit and guiltily look away.

"And I've always thought the same way. Knowing o-o-only that Natsuki Subaru is able to change the course of events at his discretion, all this time I thought that Subaru-kun was independently choosing the fu-u-uture for all of us. Which events would remain reality, and which ones would be tossed into oblivion. Who gets to live and who di-i-ies. All my actions and words in relation to him were dictated by this very confidence. Until I got into this Theater with the othe-e-ers.

"You seem to be telling the truth, margrave. But this does not negate your admission that you manipulated events for your own purposes." Reinhard told him.

"This is true-e-e. Almost all the events that we have seen so far have been carefully orchestrated by me to achieve my dream. You are all so full of righteous anger right now. But how conveniently you omit the fa-a-acts, that it was thanks to my plans Natsuki Subaru achieved his victories.

"Don't you have even a shred of pride, margrave?!" Julius was so angry that an expression of pure disdain showed through the mask of elegance on his face. "Now you're trying to take his credit for yourself?! Do you think anyone will believe you and lighten their charges against you?!

"Not at all, Sir kni-i-ight. Our Subaru-kun achieved all his successes with his own efforts, sweat, and blood. You all have witnessed this. What the screen di-i-idn't show you was how I moved the pieces on the board so that everything was in the right place at the right time."

Seeing the profound skepticism in the eyes of the others, Roswaal's smug smile became even bigger as started his speech:

"If it weren't for my deceptions, the alliance of the three camps for the sake of hunting a White Whale would not have taken place. After all, it was I, who made sure that Subaru-kun stayed in the Karsten family mansion after the start of the royal elections.

It was I who set the stage for negotiations, by ordering Rem to have conversations with Crusch-sama a-a-about the possibility of an alliance. I ordered her to give Natsuki Subaru the right to speak on my behalf when he would realize the need for an alliance. To save Emilia-sama fro-o-om the Petelgeuse's attack, of which I knew, it was enough for me to keep my entire camp in the mansion. But in order for o-o-our hero to set himself the goal of destroying the great mabeast I made sure that the White whale will turn into an obstacle to his attempts to save Emilia-sama from Cu-u-ult."

Roswaal clearly enjoyed watching the faces of the candidates and members of their camps. After all, they had nothing to counter the clown's words with. He will calmly accept any insults and accusations against himself. But they couldn't tell him that everything would have been better, or at least not worse, without his intervention. And Roswaal liked to see others realizing their own weakness.

"If it weren't for my intrigues, the-e-en it would be very unlikely, that you, Sword Saint, would have ever met your lady. Since you don't often enter the Slums. You, like the rest of the knights, are to-o-o busy patrolling the more… well-endowed areas of the Capital. Or busy with missions from the Council. My plans included the e-e-earliest start of the royal elections, and the book told me what actions needed to be taken to ensure that the final candidate was identifie-e-ed."

Even if his position was doomed to fail, Roswaal was determined to get the most out of watching those, who dream of tearing him to shreds, having to admit that they owe him for his actions.

"You look like you want to rip my head off, Rem, but you should remember that without my tricks, Natsuki Subaru would not have appeared in our mansion. And yes, all his deaths in the mansion had nothing to do with me. So, tell me, would you like a future for yourself where no one would start your time again?"

The maid in question could only clench her fists and teeth in impotent anger. No matter how much she hated everything her beloved had gone through, she couldn't help but admit that her master was right.

"If it weren't for my machinations, Emilia-sama, you would never have met Natsuki Subaru. Your whole trip to the capital that day had one goal — for you to meet him and bring him to me. And as a nice bonus, the discovery of the fifth candidate, which allowed to start the elections. If it wasn't for this book, if it wasn't for my dream, you would still be living alone in the Elior forest. Eating nuts and dreaming of meeting at least one living soul with whom you could exchange a few words.

Even if he will be executed without any trial right in the Miload mansion a couple of days after returning to their world, he will make his haters remember that they owed him. It will be his way to poison the triumph of his opponents should they decide to deprive him of his desired ending.

The situation has reached an impasse. No one knew what to do next, given the impossibility of punishing the scheming clown here and now. Until the Warden intervened.

"Please postpone the discussion of these 'obviously' important revelations until the next break. Now it is more necessary to return to the views."

Some would like to argue with this statement and continue questioning Roswaal, but they understood that it was not a suggestion, but an order. Thinking about what each of them would do with the decorated magician when they finally got the opportunity, the audience returned to their seats.

The screen turned back on to start the next episode.