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.

16. Episode 15

Another week, another chapter, eh?)
Wish I every good fic had a similar update period. I wouldn't need to even lift a finger then and simply enjoy the role of a grateful reader.))
Oh, well…a man can dream… a man can dream… (about the release of Prey 2)

Traditional thanks to 'Launciel' for beta reading and 'Cake' for providing transcript of the episode (yes, this time there was one).

Special thanks goes to 'BlackVeinyRooster' for giving me his own version of a translated chapter AND for adding his own additional reactions that turned some 'awful' parts of the original chapter into 'decent' ones. "Good job there, partner" (c)

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The episode starts with Otto and Garfiel engaged in conversation in the lab.

"Instead!?"

"Yes."

"Where's the old hag!?"

Otto's smile gets wider, "I couldn't foresee what would happen, so I had her go elsewhere."

Garfiel's voice drops lower, clenching his fist tightly. "And what the hell are ya doin' here?" His eyes narrow. "Ya wanna talks things out, but the one that ya wanna talk about ain't here!"

"That's true. So let's just say that I'm buying time so that a certain boy can talk with a certain girl for a while."

Finally, something in Garfiel snapped. "That so!?"

Garfiel sprang forward, closing the distance in an instant, and punched the merchant in the stomach, who fell to his knees, doubled over.

"Ya ain't got what it takes, small fry."

"I was in a lot of pain, by the way!" Otto grumbled, still somewhat resentful over how roughly he had been treated, given their disparity in strength.

"Why are ya complainin'?! Yer the one who screwed me ova afterward! So we're even, Brotto!" Garfiel scoffed, remembering how he fell for the ruse of his older friend and was played like a cat by a mouse, until he crushed all resistance with overwhelming power.

"Well, I'd say Garfiel held back quite a bit there. He suspected that these two may have been Witch cultists plotting against the Sanctuary. Knowing his strength, he could have punched a hole straight through Otto. Even so, he only just knocked the spirit out of him." Ricardo laughed approvingly.

"Garf is strong, but kind! He knows who to tear apart and who to pity!" Mimi echoed him with a proud look.

Her type was of the righteous sort of fighter, ready to tear into anyone, but only if they were bad guys. As it should be.

"Yeah, but my amazin' self was more worried 'bout the princess back den." Garfiel mentioned, surprising Emilia.

"For me? Why?"

"Well, I saw how hard the Trial was for ya the first time. My amazin' self could only imagine what horrors ya saw. So I figured cap'n was forcin' ya to take the Trial 'gainst yer will to remove the barrier for some nefarious purpose." Garfiel explained.

"Oh! That explains why you were so determined to block the entrance to the tomb then!" Emilia exclaimed with realization.

"Uh-huh. What my amazin' self didn't expect though is ya will side with the cap'n. I thought I'd be savin' the distressed princess from a miasma-smellin' villain. Yet tha' very same princess was ready to rip me 'part like an ulgarm to protect 'em! Ya can't believe in adventure books after that, can ya?" Garfiel laughed at his own comparison.

Turning around, Garfiel ran out of the ruined building. However, when sunlight bathed over him, he looked down and saw something was wrong. The stone was no longer around his neck.

"The stone—!"

"Nice moves, Otto. You provoked him nicely and made lose sight of your true intentions! Looks like you'd be a better thief than merchant! I can tell, I have a professional eye for such things!" Felt complimented the merchant in her own way.

"Hah! It is only natural for someone like you to take pride in such low-born activities! You can take the rat out of the slums, but not the slums out of the rat!" Priscilla commented haughtily.

"Why do your compliments only make me more offended?!" Otto shouted in desparation, looking at Felt with wounded pride. The young princess laughed at him after unsuccessfully lunging, due to Reinhard's intervention, at the fiery baroness.

"I'm beginning to understand why everyone in your camp likes to tease you so much. Your reactions are just priceless!" Felix joined her.

"That's right. Barusu and Otto are the two main clowns in our camp and are responsible for maintaining the relative dignity and self-esteem of everyone else. Thanks to the fact that they regularly demonstrate their insignificance, the rest of us can look forward to the future with confidence, realizing that their lives aren't so bad. Because one can always say: No matter how hard it is for me, at least I am not Barusu or Otto!" Ram declared, satisfied that even with such pathetic 'ingredients' as the aforementioned fools, she could make an inspiring speech.

But no sooner had Garfiel turned around that the ground beneath him collapsed, and he fell into a deep hole. "Damn… it…!"

"Is this what you're looking for?" Otto's voice came from above, holding the crystal. "A merchant always has to be one step ahead to ascertain his chances of success, and that's what I am."

"If only you knew when to buy and sell goods, you'd certainly be a good merchant!" Anastasia teased him jokingly, recalling the oil fiasco.

But she noted to herself that the merchant was actually quite the shrewd man, and his talents were very versatile. When her plans to acquire Subaru Natsuki would finally come to fruition, she wouldn't forget about Otto Suwen.

"Otto is a ve-e-ery capable boy in many areas. There's a reason he was appointed head of internal affairs!" Emilia said proudly, as if she had personally chosen the person and appointed him to the position.

"Really? I thought we just needed him for paperwork!" Ram imitated a surprised voice.

"What else is there to do if the margrave's personal maid is too lazy to keep track of the camp's affairs and so fond of throwing barbs at everyone to be allowed into any important negotiations?!" Otto rebuked, deciding to show a side of his personality that he usually saved for heavy debates. Or when it was necessary to beat some anguish out of Natsuki Subaru.

"Bastard…!"

Around him, gentle lights of blue awoke. A gentle screech, a song of bugs filled the pitfall and the ears of the two present. Bugs.

"I never had many human friends, but I made plenty of non-human friends instead."

From the bottom to the top, the bugs gently sang their strange song, surrounding Garfiel from all sides. Garfiel stumbles back, his head and eyes taking what he sees in shock.

"And now, the entire forest is against you. Please, enjoy a warm welcome from the zodda bugs first!"

Cheerfully, he swiped his hand to the side. Taking that as a sign, the zodda bugs began to fly and swarm Garfiel, a tornado of moving blue and a strange screech of a song. Garfiel raised his arms, covering his face as he swore. "Damn it… damn it…!"

"Bugs! Mimi hates bugs! She'd blow them all away with her wind!"

"Otto-san, you can be a very dangerous opponent, and your divine blessing gives you great opportunities!" Reinhard said with a note of admiration in his voice.

He himself was even a little envious of the young merchant, as he was not able to communicate with the fauna of their world. Surely communicating with animals would be easier for him than with many humans. The sword saint would have felt lonely far less often. At least until he met his mistress, that is.

"If you think this gift is all fun and joy, Sir Reinhard, I hasten to disappoint you. The first few years of my life were deprived of all communication with my family because of it. Additionally, using this skill requires quite a bit of mental and physical effort. It may also be somewhat morbid to bring up, but from what I understand, there are not many users of my divine protection. The vast majority of people who're blessed with this divine protection end up going mad and committing suicide, due to the non-stop barrage of noises which are nearly impossible to cancel." Otto decided to make it clear immediately that such a powerful gift had a considerable price.

At those words, many of the audience's eyes went wide, with Crusch's and Reinhard's silence confirming that he was telling the truth.

"S-suicide?!" Felix stammered. Given the healer's views on life, suicide was the greatest sin one could commit. He found it hard to believe that any ailment, a divine protection at that, could drive one towards it.

"That doesn't sound too divine, nor like a protection, if you ask me!" Felt grumbled. "Oi! Rein! Make sure you never receive that divine protection! Can't have you turning into an insane vegetable or worse!"

"Understood Felt-Sama." Reinhard obeyed, if a little disappointed by her order.

Seeing the impressed and respectful looks turn into horrified ones around him, Otto decided to alleviate the mode by allowing himself to brag a little. After all, when would he ever get such an opportunity again?

"But, in general, yes, it can be quite useful. When used correctly, I can gather all sorts of information about what's going on around me from any living creature within a large radius and with minimal time delay. I can also ask them to provide me with a certain amount of support, like you've just seen."

"Hot da-a-mn! You're like a walking spy service all rolled into one, boy! On the battlefield and during the preparation of operations, you would be extremely valuable!" Ricardo laughed with praise, understanding that some positive shift in mood was needed.

"I agree. A retainer who can gather information from all living things for miles around is an invaluable boon for any commander!" Crusch agreed.

Her militaristic mind had already mentally assigned duties for Subaru and for Otto in her camp, and the resulting combination looked extremely promising!

"Ya don't even know half of wha' our Brotto can do! The cap'n himself said that if Otto was an enemy, he would be more dangerous than any Archbishop of the Cult! So we are extremely lucky to have our Brotto on our side! The cap'n once jokingly said, dat the three of us could be a full-fledged mini-army. My amazin' self is the strike force! Cap'n is the field commander, and Brotto is the strategist!" Garfiel couldn't help but lather on praise in front of the other camps.

"I'm grateful for your high opinion of me, but the battlefield doesn't appeal to me at all! And I'd prefer the life of an honest merchant to that of a spy. Well, or an administrator, which I am now." the merchant said, embarrassed, not expecting such a barrage of compliments.

Once again, the four candidates for the royal throne thought that Emilia's camp actually had some very valuable people in it. Even if Natsuki Subaru wasn't included.

Considering that, after the viewing ended, Emilia's participation in the race was extremely unlikely, it was necessary to think in advance about how to convince and poach not only the sleeping young man, but also the others.

'When I was a young boy, the world was a hellish cradle.'

Images with the baby were replaced by pictures of bugs, birds, lizards, and earth dragons with each of them emitting sound waves.

"Wait a minute! What?! Why is it…why?" The merchant blushed rapidly, realizing what the others were about to see.

"Stop! Brotto! It's you! You, as a little brat! Are we goin' to be shown your childhood?" Garfiel said gloatingly, anticipating many hilarious and embarrassing scenes of his brother.

"Oh, Otto, you were so cute when you were a baby!" Emilia said charmingly, admiring her friend's baby face.

"Otto…little Otto… ah, I wanna take him home…" Frederica mumbled with a huge smile, barely containing her drool.

Literally frozen, she stared at the screen with the look of a cat watching a carefree mouse in front of her. Petra would have even been slightly frightened by this sight if she wasn't staring at the screen herself with a doting expression on her face.

"Can someone please explain to me why should we waste my precious time watching some plebeian's childhood! Are you going to keep me here until I become old, showing me the worthless lives of every street dog, Warden?!" The baroness shouted indignantly. Instead of showing the cunning plan of her future jester who defeated Lugunica's strongest mage, she would be forced to watch the childhood of some spineless peddler?! Preposterous!

"I-I totally agree with Barielle-sama! My life is of absolutely of no interest to anyone here! Let's just skip this part!" Otto supported her fervently, ignoring all her insults directed at him.

He could shrug them off easily, but the prospect of jokes and teasing from his friends if something embarrassing or personal was shown on the screen…he wasn't sure if his heart could take that.

"That's a very interesting thought, Lady Barielle! Perhaps I could honor your wish and show the childhood of someone more deserving? How about a certain Lady Benedict, for instance? " The Warden answered imperiously.

"You wouldn't dar-"

"Are you sure you want to finish this line, baroness? "

Priscilla hissed, clenching her fists, but was immediately interrupted. The Warden's voice interrupted her with a challenging, almost gloating tone, clearly provoking her.

"Tch…do what you want, but do not waste my time! It's the world's time, after all!" She leaned back in her chair with indignation.

"Who is this Benedict-san?" Anastasia could not restrain her curiosity.

"Even if it were a matter suitable for your miserable minds, she is one of whom I do not wish to remember or speak of!" Priscilla cut her off, making it clear that it was useless to pry any further.

"Hm… she is not lying." Crusch commented. Seeing that, expecting further development of topic is useless.

'No matter where I went, I heard endless voices, but had no idea what any of them were saying. At that age, I had no way to know this was the blessing I was born with, the Divine Blessing of Soul Language.'

He could barely understand the other boy running by him in the other hallway, being chased and shouting, "Wait up!"

"Otto, what are you doing?" a young woman with the same ashen hair asked the boy. "You're not going to play with them?"

"My parents tried their hardest to understand my abnormality, but anyone who doesn't have a divine protection can ever understand."

The screen displayed Otto's hometown, depicting his family's worry as the doctor examined the boy, unable to offer any help.

"Otto, were you deaf as a child? It must have been very hard for you! You couldn't even talk to your mother!" Emilia expressed sincere concern for her Minister of the Internal Affairs.

In her amethyst eyes, there was so much sincere empathy that it seemed she was about to get up, come to Otto, and hug him tightly. Then she would comfort him like a little child, stroking his back and whispering sweet, kind words in his ear. Rem looked at him with similar eyes. He even felt somewhat ashamed for Subaru, given the amount of warmth he received from his friend's favorite girls.

"I wasn't born deaf, Emilia-sama. It would be more accurate to say that the constant clamor around me prevented me from hearing and understanding those around me." Otto corrected her, suppressing his embarrassment by clenching his hand into a fist.

Now he understood how the demon twins felt when their childhood was on display.

One night, his brother Oslo had taken a quill and ink, and wrote something on the pad in front of him. Otto watched closely, and when Oslo was done, he offered the pen to Otto.

"Otto, try writing it."

'It was my brother, seven years older, who realized and taught that written words might bring about an understanding when spoken words couldn't.'

That morning, Otto presented the paper to his mother, who took it. Her eyes raked over the words, tearing up as she finally managed to understand her second born son. And his father read as well, holding his younger brother, Regin, and having the same reaction as her.

She collapsed onto her knees, bringing Otto in for a hug. He blinked at the action, a confused expression crossing his face. He did not understand how to react to this, to a hug while a parent was crying.

To know how, he looked up at his father. His father placed a hand on his face, covering his mouth as he sobbed. Then at Oslo, he was smiling gently with the same look on his face.

"Otto!" His mother's happy voice barely reached his ears. Otto, too, picked up on the joyful mood and cried.

"Thanks to your brother, you found a way to communicate with your mother? You're very fortunate with your family, Otto-san!" Emilia remarked sweetly.

Any scenes of happy families made her simultaneously sad and happy. She knew what it was like to lose a family like that, and dreamed of someday regaining those feelings of happiness and fulfillment. Suddenly, she recalled the misunderstanding she had with Subaru and their shared kiss where she believed that she was pregnant. 'That's right…. I thought Subaru and I would have had to raise a child together…. As a family….'. Emilia blushed at that thought, wondering how starting a family with Subaru would progress and what joy it might bring.

"He's pretty intelligent, I see. Figuring out a way for you to communicate with other people and teach writing to someone who can't hear anything. It takes a lot of hard work and patience." Anastasia said with respect in her voice.

"Obviously, Otto-sama shares his best traits with his older brother." Frederica said approvingly.

"Yes, my older brother is a wonderful and amazing man! Without him, I wouldn't be the man I am today." Otto replied proudly, happy that his older brother was getting the praise he deserved.

'That must have been the first time I cried that much, aside from when I was born. Then… when I was ten…'

A blindingly bright spirit flew past young Otto. Then he heard unusual voices. They were bugs.

"Big… light… went… that way…"

'Those meaningless voices started to transform into sounds with meaning.'

His older brother was reading when Otto told him.

"You can understand what the creatures say?"

Otto nods. "Yes!"

"What a fitting blessing for a beetle in human skin!" Priscilla smirked haughtily.

Since she was being forced into boredom watching this nonsense, she would squeeze the most fun out of it. And the subject of that ennui would be her main target. After the shows, she'd make him take responsibility by joining her camp. His first mission would be to bring the black-haired commoner to his new mistress.

Garfiel turned around to voice his thoughts of the red-haired, narcissistic girl, but he was stopped by Otto's hand. "Forget it, her words can't even scratch me." He reassured him, closing one eye.

He looked to the side at one of the many potted plants that they had, seeing two of the bugs conversing with each other.

"Rain… fall soon. Rain soon."

And Otto repeated, "They say that it's going to rain soon."

"—eh?"

And indeed, just a few seconds later, drops began to fall from the sky.

Quickly, he ushered his younger brother inside the hallway, tapping and brushing his shoulder to try to rid of some of the water droplets that had gotten on Otto's clothing.

"Otto, that's an amazing power. And because it's so amazing, you shouldn't talk to zodda bugs while people are around."

"…why not?"

"Divine Protections are granted by Od Laguna, by this world. Because of that, there will be people who will try to take advantage of it. You have to keep this power of yours hidden."

"Truly, this blessing has inexhaustible potential when it comes to intelligence and information gathering! Why did you become an oil merchant instead of an information broker?! You would easily become filthy rich and influential!" Anastasia could barely contain her greedy urges.

Ah, if only she had and was able to control such power! She would have a huge advantage in any negotiation, knowing the dark secrets and affairs of all her competitors! She'd make a fortune selling just information alone!

"Because my older brother suggested it to me, and he's the smartest person I know! What's more, it was the way of thinking you just described, Anastasia-sama, that led to the situation where I had to leave my family and hometown to save my life!"

"What are you talking about, Brotto?" Garfiel asked him.

To his great disappointment, so far he hadn't seen any great scenes that he could laugh heartily at. On the contrary, he felt genuinely sorry for his named brother.

"Just keep watching. Somehow, I'm sure you'll be shown everything soon. This screen clearly doesn't care about other people's personal lives." Otto said begrudgingly.

"Ha! Know our pain, Otto!" Ram added gloatingly, while Rem simply nodded, smiling at the merchant's antics. She couldn't wait to see him fooling together with her hero. Such scenes would be absolutely priceless.

The merchant-princess had no choice but to complain silently about the injustice of the world. Highly lucrative blessings were given to those who were able to control them, but did not even want to utilize their potential. And those who had the will to so this only received a defective gate, like Anastasia herself.

Petra, meanwhile, had to rub her eyes. When she looked away from the screen for a second and glanced in Anastasia's direction, Petra could have sworn she saw the fox scarf of the merchant-princess move on its own. It was as if it was rubbing against her cheek, trying to soothe and comfort the princess.

That same day, Otto had visited his ground dragon. "That's why I can't talk to you around other people, Fulfew."

"It is not worrying. I understand, Young Master."

Because Otto was fixated on his ground dragon, he couldn't see his younger brother, Regin, peeking through the cracks of the wooden gate, eyes wide in wonder.

It was because of that, when he went to town again, there were sneers and jeers.

"Liar! You're just a liar!"

"I'm not lying! My big brother Otto can talk to creatures!" Noticing Otto walking past, the boy immediately turned to him:

"Otto, you can do it, right?"

Otto pursed his lips tightly, remembering Oslo's words from the rainy day that he had told him about his Divine Blessing. And it was because of Regin's words that a crowd had developed around them, consisting of other kids.

All of them were staring at Otto. Staring, wanting to see if it was true. His little brother was going to cry if he didn't do something. Otto didn't want Regin to cry. So he raised his hands to the sky, and gave a screech. A screech of the zodda bugs.

His cry was heard, and a flurry of them flew up, their wings giving off their gentle song and cries.

"Oh, no! Zodda bugs!"

They swarmed the entire town, their gentle song sounding utterly repulsive to everyone else that couldn't hear them. A few of them landed on Otto, perfectly content with just laying there.

One of the kids sneered at him. "You zodda bug freak!"

The show was interrupted when the three youngest female viewers squealed in fright. This was understandable; even though they had been watching Subaru Natsuki's adventures for several days now, the novelty and incredible realism of what was being shown on the screen still hadn't worn off.

So when a cloud of bugs appeared on the screen, moving directly at the camera, the audience took it as if the insects were flying at them. And while the adults managed to keep their cool, except for instinctively preparing to fend off the swarms of annoying insects, the young girls reacted much more volatile.

"Do you need more proof that my brother is right, Anastasia-sama? I was only motivated by the desire to help my younger brother. If I overuse my gift, the consequences can be tragic! Thankfully, it was only a minor panic, but even that incident was remembered for years." Otto commented grimly on one of the shameful acts of his childhood.

"Don't blame yourself so much, Otto! You said it yourself it was all to help your little brother! Helping your family is the most important thing!" Garfiel stood firmly by his friend's side.

"So you can control any critter you want?" Ricardo asked the merchant.

"Saying I can 'control' them is incorrect. I can only ask them to lend me some help or check out something and tell me. I can't just order them around" Otto corrected him.

"Still, we can only be overjoyed that Otto is such a soft-hearted person! I dread to imagine what kind of shady deeds he could do if he was more ruthless. Any harmless bug can become a deadly weapon with a drop of poison added." Crusch added, somewhat worried about such possibilities.

"I would never do something so horrible! It would be a betrayal of everything my big brother taught me!" Otto reacted immediately and with genuine horror in his eyes. The last thing he wanted it to be considered as some potential master-assassin by the powerful people.

"No need to worry, Otto-san! I believe you. Everything we saw so far indicated that you are not that type of person."

'It was after that incident that I sealed my Divine Blessing and swore to never use it again.'

Otto had sat at a table after the incident, hands on his face while Oslo wrapped his arms around him, doing his best to physically comfort his younger brother.

'Then, when I was fifteen…'

It was snowing when it happened.

"—guh!"

He was thrown onto the snow, the jealous man snarling from above. He grabbed Otto roughly by the collar, bringing him upward. "You son of a bitch! I know you were with my girlfriend!"

"—w-wait a min—"

"—Shut the hell up, you zodda bug freak!"

Otto froze. "…zodda bug… freak…?"

"Wha' did ya say the name of yer hometown was?" Garfiel asked his friend in a serious tone.

"Picoutatte, why?" Otto didn't understand his intentions.

"My amazin' self sees the guy on the screen has a lot of excess teeth in 'es mouth. At least 20 extra teeth tha' need to be removed! He must be in real pain because of dem. We really should help 'em!" Garfiel growled.

"Are you serious, Garf? I've long since forgotten about it myself, and he probably doesn't even remember me! That was years ago."

"It's all right, Brotto. As they say, Zaboitzu gets his revenge when it's cold."

Otto wanted to cover his face with his hand out of embarrassment, but inwardly he could not stop rejoicing at the realization that his friend was willing to go to beat the faces of even nobles for his sake. It was a good feeling to have dependable friends.

Those simple words made him retract it. He unsealed his Divine Blessing of Soul Language, and talked to all of the animals around. Mimicking their sounds, their voices as he kept on asking around.

"I'm going to find out the truth!"

"The truth? What actually happened then?" Emilia asked.

"Well, since the screen is merciful at least in this part and did not review the entire context, I will not go into detail either. I will only say that this man accused me of something I did not do and insulted me to the very core. As a result of my youthful foolishness and desire for revenge, I crossed paths with a person from a very influential family in my town. I had to flee for my life to avoid becoming a victim of assassins." Otto summarized succinctly.

"You were living an adventurous life even before you met the mini-boss!" said Mimi.

"You could say that. Although back then, I dreamed of living a boring, measured life with my family."

"And now?" Rem asked, wanting to know more about how the people who had lived side by side with Subaru for the past year felt.

"And now, I wouldn't trade my current life even for my own shop!" Otto replied firmly, looking at the screen with a proud expression.

As much as Otto complained about being overworked and having to put up with the antics of Subaru, Emilia, Ram and Garfiel, he felt like he had finally found a new home. And he never wanted this to end.

"You really know how to find worthy friends, Subaru-kun." A satisfied Rem whispered in her hero's ear.

The street dog said he saw what Otto was looking for. He was then shown interacting with a couple of cats who informed him of something that seemed to infuriate him.

In the next shot, he was walking confidently toward a couple flirting mindlessly: it was the very same aristocrat and a young girl.

"I saw. I know the truth! You're the eighth guy she's been with!" He pointed accusingly at the girl.

"Eighth?! This girl really gets around!" Ricardo laughed, giving Tivey a friendly "pat" on the back, who nearly fell to the floor from the force. "Watch and wet your still-growing mustache, Tivey! Be careful with beautiful and noble ladies, or you'll run into a bimbo like her!"

"I have to hand it to her talent in personnel management skills! To have an affair with eight men and not get caught, you have to be a real artist!" Al supported, not denying himself a healthy laugh.

"What shamelessness! Doesn't she realize that in the future it may backfire, resulting in a huge blow to her and her whole family's honor?!" Crusch exclaimed, visibly blushing at the young noblewoman's frivolous lifestyle.

"And here I thought Barusu was a complete womanizer. However, in hindsight, I should have expected that. Even in the field of lustful debauchery, he is not able to achieve decent results! Ha!" Ram was firmly committed to following her personal rule №27: "No matter the topic or the situation, look for a way to tease Barusu."

"Eight…" At Ram's words, Emilia's imagination went into overdrive. While she could understand that Subaru loved both her and Rem, the idea of him pursuing multiple other hypothetical women did not sit right with her. She squirmed in her seat and squeezed his hand.

"You jerk!" She shouted. The aristocrat punched Otto in the face again. "Someone kill him!"

He was exiled from his hometown, but his father managed to get him under the mentorship of a friend, and on that day, Otto ran away on Fulfew, face contorted into a grimace and in fear of his future.

'I made an enemy of the daughter of the most powerful person in town, and they ran me out. After that, I unexpectedly found my independence as a merchant, and busted myself off working.'

"Although I can understand that you desperately wanted to bring this girl to justice and clear your name, but… did you really think that dragging out a noble lady's dirty laundry when she's around is a wise decision?" Anastasia asked the merchant.

"Well, I was only fifteen back then, and I was furious at them. So I wanted to get some revenge. Besides, it never occurred to me that she might actually hire an assassin to kill me!"

"What else can you expect from a spoiled aristocratic brat?! Almost all of them are like that! This is exactly the kind of thinking I'm going to burn out! To think that nobles can order someone's murder in broad daylight and face no consequences for it!" Felt declared resolutely.

He had slowly but surely found his footing as a traveling merchant. He traded at whatever village he came across, he slept on Fulfew during dark nights with only a campfire to keep him warm. But it was always worth it, seeing the currency pile up in his hands.

He travelled far and wide, merchandise and goods piling up in his cart. He rarely ever went bankrupt and rarely ever lost deals.

'I made up my mind that I'd run my own shop one day.'

"Not a bad goal, but isn't it kinda too small? Where is yer pride as a merchant and yer desire for more?" Anastasia couldn't help herself.

"Not everyone has boundless ambition, Anastasia-sama. Some are satisfied with little and are happy. Isn't being happy the very purpose of life?" Otto parried her words.

Anastasia snorted snidely, but did not argue. After all, Otto was right in his own way. They were all striving for their happiness. It was just that the level of their greed was different.

"Hm! At least someone here has the sense not to try to compete with gods!" Priscilla praised the merchant's rationality.

Little people should be satisfied with little. They should not be seen by the great ones or get in their way.

Piled up money, jars, and goods of merchandise— even if Otto couldn't see his family, he quite liked his life now. Even if sometimes, he had bad luck. Bad weather trying to spoil his fruits, bandits attacking him every now and then.

'You can do it, Otto!'

And yet, Otto came out on top.

'Go, go, Otto!'

He was driving his cart when it happened, a smile on his face— then Fulfew stopped, kicking up dust, dirt and rock, in front of a man with dark green hair, pale green skin, and a robe of dark purple.

"Well, well, well… where are you off to in such a… hurry… des?"

"Otto!" Frederica was worried.

"There's no need to worry! I remember this moment clearly. That's how I got captured by the Witch Cult, from where Ricardo-san later pulled me out!"

And Otto was surrounded by more of those wearing the same clothing as Petelgeuse.

He woke up to a dark ceiling of rock, bounded together by cloth and rope. Had his bad luck finally triumphed over his life?

He looked to the side, at the dark tunnel that forebode his death. Tied up, bounded, all Otto could do was accept his fate. Dreams of a shop, of happily selling goods and travelling around were now out of his grasp. Gritting his teeth, he closed his eyes, a tear coming out from the corner.

Until he heard a swish of a blade, and the constraints around him fell down.

"—ah!?"

"—heh! You're one lucky boy!"

"And the handsome hero appears," Ricardo boasted while Anastasia rolled eyes.

"Yes, our dad Ricardo always looks awesome!" Mimi happily stated.

Above him is a grinning wolfman, the blunt side of his sword on his shoulder. "You woulda been killed if I hadn't ya! Better be grateful to the boss kid."

"—B-Boss… kid?"

Ricardo, "Yeah, he's our boss! And he's the guy who saved your life."

Slowly, Otto got up. "I-I understand. T-Thank you very much! And… I should thank him, too…"

Seeing his eyes and the slight shake of his shoulders, Ricardo sighed and looked away. "If yer gonna cry, go hide first. No man should start sobbin' in front of anyone."

Ricardo reached into his back pocket and pulled out a white cloth, handing it to Otto. He turned around, walking into the tunnel that Otto thought would spell his doom mere moments ago.

"E-Eh? C-Cry…?"

Otto reached up to his face, fingers feeling the tears streaming down his face.

"A-Ah…Darn it… What is this? This... Th-This… I... I'm so glad I didn't die..."

"Ha! Sorry, buddy! You're out of luck. My attempt to protect your image as a man has gone to waste!" Ricardo laughed at the scene, slapping the unfortunate Tivey on the back with his paw. Well, well, he tried. It's not his fault.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of, Otto! Anyone in a similar situation would have cried too!" Emilia tried to cheer him up.

"Thank you for your kind words, princess!" At least someone in the room was on his side.

"There's no way Mimi would have cried! Mimi is strong!" A girl who was too energetic intruded into this beautiful scene.

"My amazin' self would have torn the ropes with my teeth in such a situation instead of shedding tears!" Garfiel could not miss the opportunity to throw a jab at his sworn brother.

"Betty would have held herself even in captivity with the dignity of a great spirit, in fact!" Beatrice raised her nose proudly to the ceiling. Emilia giggled as she thought that Beatrice looked exactly like a little girl trying unsuccessfully to be noble and proper.

"Ram would be a fool to expect anything but tears from useless Otto." Said the pink maid.

After all, she wasn't the one who'd started it, so she didn't have to hold back. Her sister, accepting the rules of the game, decided to participate as well:

"Rem would only cry if Subaru-kun saved her. And Rem's tears would be one of happiness!"

"I too, by the way, was crying from happiness! So why is everyone laughing at me?!" Otto cried out in despair, covering his face with his hands. He was only further rewarded with the laughter of the people around him. His pride seemed to almost evaporate at this point.

'I realized that every time I cry, it marked a rebirth in my life. My first cry as a baby after receiving life—'

Too focused on crying, he didn't notice Mimi and Tivey sneaking up behind him after finishing his cry fest, rope in their hands.

'—my second cry after learning of my family's love and realizing where my heart lay, and the third, when I had a brush with death, and gained an understanding of my purpose and reason for living.'

The frame changed, showing Otto as he ran through the forest.

"I wasn't actually asked to buy time this way, but it's all to help my friend!"

"You really are a wonderful friend, Otto-san. I'm happy to have had you by my hero's side while I was useless." Rem said with inexpressible tenderness in her voice, bowing to the merchant. He quickly turned as red as a tomato.

'Now I understand how you were able to hold such an important place in his heart, Rem-san.' He thought, but decided not to say it out loud.

For some reason, his merchant's instincts told him that praising other women smiles might turn against him in the future. Frederica, sensing his anxiety, narrowed her eyes at Otto suspiciously. But he quickly got his bearings:

"However, you are wrong to think you are useless. We all saw that even when you weren't around, you were like a lifeboat for Natsuki-san."

Emilia, who was sitting next to her, slightly puffed up her cheeks in resentment. But she couldn't argue with that. Especially considering that she herself had only caused her knight unnecessary difficulties at that moment.

Behind Otto, Garfiel's furious roar echoed and shook the trees of the forest. His smiling face turned grim and focused, narrowing his blue eyes as a bird flew down towards him.

"—coming, coming! Bad one is coming!"

"I know that!"

Zodda bugs flew beside, then in front of Otto. "Right behind you, already here!"

"I said I know that! I planned for it! It's all part of the calculations!"

"You poor thing, you're going to die!"

"Could you please stop being so pessimistic?!"

"Even the animals and invests are laughing at this commoner; he is literally created by the world to amuse other its inhabitants!" Priscilla remarked with a laugh.

This peddler was amusing and was highly esteemed in comparison to other commoners. This seemed to affirm her thoughts that he could have a place in her camp. The baroness decided that the pairing of her future jester and the merchant would make a great comedic duo that would brighten her evenings.

"Actually, they were genuinely worried about me!" Otto tried to defend himself against her ridicule.

Suddenly, a sharp pain attacked Otto's mind. It spread throughout his head, to his body, before fully concentrating on the front of his face. Blood spilled forth from his nose, an indication that he had used his Divine Blessing too much.

He immediately skidded to a stop, holding his head. "—a-ah… gh…gnh…agh…! Is this what happens when I keep using it…?"

Lifting his arm, Otto wiped away the blood that had run down his face, leaning against a tree as he caught his breath. "My Divine Blessing is such a hassle…! I wonder if Natsuki-san… is… is getting his chance to talk with Emilia-sama…"

"Y-yes…we did. Talk! That's right, just talk! Subaru and I had a very frank talk with each other, that's all!" Blushing desperately, Emilia blurted out, naively confident that this would dispel any suspicions about what had happened in the crypt, unaware that she had just dug her own metaphorical grave.

If she looked around, she would have seen a number of extremely suspicious looks directed at her person. Especially from the girls.

"Emilia-sama... what exactly were you and Sir Natsuki doing there?" The duchess asked sternly and surprised, seeing the wind of untruth raging around the half-elf.

"You two weren't…no, there was no way! You are too innocent for such a thing! So maybe Sir Nats..." Crusch shook her head sharply.

"No! I don't know what you are referring to, but whatever it is, he's not like that! He wouldn't do anything… improper! Especially since Roswaal's plot hasn't been fully broken yet!" Emilia sputtered.

"Oh my, have they broken the invisible boundaries between Lady and Knight?! I warned you that Subaru-kyun is a wolf in sheep's clothing for a reason, nya!" Felix couldn't miss this opportunity to tease the black-haired young man.

"I blame it on Barusu! Emilia-sama is too inexperienced and pure to initiate any…unnecessarily close physical contact on her own. Even if she wanted to." Ram crossed her arms across her chest.

She knew better than most that there was absolutely nothing to worry about. No matter how many times she called Barusu a pervert, a lustful beast, a harassing monster and approximately sixty-three other variations of such insult, she knew, in fact, that he would never let himself go too far. She wasn't even afraid of the fact that he spent a lot of time alone with her sleeping sister.

Felt grinned at the embarrassed half-elf.

"It looks like my big bro has got bigger balls than I gave him credit for!"

"Felt-sama… language…." Reinhard sighed.

"Ah, shut it, Rein. Can't l be happy that big bro and big sis are getting along?!" Felt snapped back.

"To potentially behave with such impropriety around Emilia-sama, Subaru…. Even for your standards… this is concerning, especially given that you are now a knight." Julius mused only half-amused.

He truly would have to put in considerable work into reforming the man he wanted to call a friend into a proper knight. It was one thing to declare tour love for the woman you love! Still, even rumors alone about such improper relations between the royal candidate and her personal knight would be detrimental to the reputation of Emilia-sama!

"Ah, a knight and his mistress, all alone in the gloomy corridors of ancient ruins, clinging to each other for support and closeness! It's so mesmerizing." Frederica dreamed in a half-whisper, giving free rein to her imagination, which was greatly influenced by romantic literature.

But the older maid had to interrupt her reverie and looked down in embarrassment when she noticed the hurt expression on Petra's face, who looked at her mentor as if she was a traitor.

Memories flooded in Otto's mind. When Subaru cried after realizing how much Patrasche cared about him, cared about him enough to barge into the Witch's Tomb and get wounds. When Otto had found Subaru in the middle of the forest, frantically repeating those words, 'What should I do!?', then his reaction to Otto's words.

His own life. Otto smirks.

He dug his feet into the ground and began to rush forward, Garfiel following closely behind. "Found ya!"

The demi-human lept upwards, landing in front of the merchant a few feet away. In response, Otto dug into one of his pouches and took out a firestone, throwing it at Garfiel. Garfiel jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the explosion that followed as the fire stone detonated.

Retreating a few steps, Garfiel covered his face, mouth and eyes with one of his arms, dust and debris following the explosion and temporarily blocking his vision.

When the obstruction cleared, Otto was further away from him then before. Gritting his teeth, Garfiel broke into a sprint. "Damn you!"

Despite his situation and knowing full well he won't be able to win, Otto laughs. "I was given a very exciting role to play for once! As if I'd let you catch me that easily!"

When more were thrown at him, Garfiel began to hit them away with his feet and his hands, causing them to detonate to where the demi-human had knocked them away to. Seeing this, Otto skidded to a stop behind a tree, closing his eyes as a cloud of dirt and dust came his way.

"Excellent reaction and reflexes." Wilhelm praised the young fighter.

The old man was genuinely pleased that such a promising young man had chosen not just anyone, but Subaru-dono as his role model. With such potential and with such a leader, Garfiel would make a fine warrior who would save many lives.

"Your movements lack any formal technique, but I understand that you don't adhere to any school of close-range combat, relying more so on your instincts." Julius thought aloud as he watched Garfiel on the screen with interest.

It would take a lot of work, improving his manners and speech, the knight thought to himself, but in terms of fighting ability, and most importantly moral values, Garfiel was an excellent candidate for knighthood! The kingdom needed more people like him!

"Exactly! My amazin' self is always willing to learn new ways of fighting, but will never limit myself to one style. My instincts guide me in battle!" Garfiel proudly declared, pleased to be praised by real knights and hardened veterans.

"Garf is tough! Look how he scattered the crystals! Hyah! Hyah! Bang!" Mimi shouted in delight as she jumped to her feet and started jumping around, waving her arms and legs, trying to replicate the fighter's movements on the screen.

"Mimi, calm down, you're holding up the viewing with your outbursts." Tivey tried to get her sister to sit back down.

Coughing because of the actions of the firestones, Garfiel stomped his foot, causing a small tremble in the dirt. A low growl coming from him as he wiped off the blood on his cheek, Otto pursed his lips tightly and smiled nervously.

"Come on, give me a break…"

He reached into his pouch again, causing Garfiel to leap towards him. "I don't think so!"
Raising his arm, Garfiel's fist connected with Otto's cheek. The merchant was sent flying across the ground, taking a small roll as he did so.

"I'm not lettin' ya pull any of yer shit again!

Despite this, Otto does his best to keep confident. "I… I wouldn't… be so sure…"

Hearing this, Garfiel began to walk towards Otto, fists clenched tightly.

"This… this isn't over ye—!" Just as he was about to raise his hand, Garfiel stomped on it.

"It's good to see that even in this state, Garfiel-san is being extremely careful not to grievously injure his opponent." Wilhelm commented.

"That's right. We've already seen that he can topple a tree with a single blow. What he could do to Otto or Subaru if he really wanted to maim or kill them, I'd rather not imagine." Ricardo agreed with the old warrior.

Garfiel, however, thinking back to the loop where he eviscerated Otto, merely narrowed his eyes with a tinge of guilt as Otto glanced sympathetically at him. They both knew very well that they did not have to imagine what Garfiel was capable of.

"I told ya, I ain't lettin' ya pull any shit!"

He stomped on it again, making Otto let out another cry of pain.

"Frankly, ya surprised me. I seriously thought ya never woulda had it in ya. You'll have to forgive my amazin' self fer doin; somethin' so shitty to another man."

Taking his foot off of Otto's hand, Garfiel knelt down and grabbed Otto by the collar of his cape. Despite the pain, Otto opened one of his eyes and smiles at Garfiel. "I think I've done all that I could."

"Tch! Give me the stone back right now! Enough already, damn it!

Otto shuffled for a moment, then he brought his hand up to reveal the blue stone. Garfiel relaxed somewhat, seeing it. "Aright. When ya wake up, this'll all be—"

"—let's just say my personal battle ends here."

Garfiel froze. From above came Ram, her wand held tightly in her hand.

"Ram!"

"El Fula!"

The wind magic was sent down to Garfiel, who dug his foot into the ground and brought up a wall of dirt to protect himself. "—cocky bitch!"

"That Garf and his foul language!" Frederica fumed at her brother's love of profanities.

"Oh! Now this looks like it's going to be a really interesting fight!" Al noted, enjoying the duel between two experienced magic users from a safe place.

He had lived in this foreign world for so many years, but magical fights still fascinated him. Especially when he could simply watch them without having to intervene in the duel and become the target of fireballs or air blades. Once again, his missing left arm reminded him of just how brutal such duels could be.

"My sister has never lost to Garf-kun in a duel!" Rem couldn't resist praising her sister.

"Garfiel's strength is growing very fast, I must say. Even during the last quiet year, he has become much stronger than he was in the Sanctuary. So your memories of his combat capabilities are clearly outdated, Rem-san." Otto replied, feeling obligated to support his sworn brother.

"Did Garf-kun really defeat my sister?" Rem was surprised. However, if Garfiel was able to finish off the Bowel Hunter right afterward, then he had clearly become much stronger since their last encounter.

"That's right. Even though I had worked out a plan along with Ram-san to neutralize Garfiel, we still lost in the end. For example, I didn't scatter the fire crystals to harm him. I knew it was foolish to hope for that. Instead, they were laced with an odorous powder that should have rendered Garfiel's senses dulled."

"An' it did work! My amazin' self didn't realize Ram was comin' at me from behind, by the way. It was only den she was 'bout to attack my guts alerted me to the danger!" Garfiel elaborated.

"If Ram-san's endurance had not been so limited, who knows how it would have turned out!" Otto mused about the possibilities.

"'Tis would've ended the same! I'd have beaten you both up just like tha' anyway!" The young blonde stuck out his chest haughtily.

They could make up all the excuses and "what-if's" they wanted, but it wouldn't change the story. He had left the battlefield on his own two feet, while Ram and Otto were left lying unconscious, albeit alive, in the dirt. Only the captain was able to overpower him in a one-on-one fight! Well, not exactly, Patrasche showed up towards the end, but that was a foul-play, ambush attack!

"If nee-sama's stamina wasn't limited, she would've defeated the Bowel Hunter back in the second loop and saved Subaru-kun a lot of suffering!" Rem said, once again experiencing a bout of guilt for her sister's condition.

"Stop it with your self-blaming, Rem! Even if I did defeat Elsa, she would have most likely killed me from behind when we turned our back to her corpse, and even if we won despite that, the Sanctuary would still be attacked by the Great rabbit!" Ram decided to stop her sister's guilt-trip with some harsh truth.

When the dust cleared, Ram landed in front of Otto. "Not that I didn't know it, but you're so pathetic, I couldn't watch."

"Isn't that a little harsh toward someone who just gave all he had fighting?"

Ram scoffs, getting up and turning towards Garfiel. "All you had? In this state of yours?"

"I've never seen a maid as well-described as the polar-opposite of something!"

"Ram is heartless!" Garfiel said with a laugh.

"Ram-san is merciless!" Otto joined her. "I almost died of overexertion in there, and that's all I deserve for my efforts?!"

"Ram-chi is a bully!" Mimi added cheerfully.

"Ram is... unnecessarily strict!" Emilia gave her authoritative opinion, putting her finger to her lips thoughtfully.

"Nee-sama is strict, but she never expects more from others than what she thinks they are capable of!" Rem tried to defend her sister's position.

Garfiel interrupted the conversation. "Hey, Ram, doesn't joinin' their side mean yer against what that bastard Roswaal wants!?"

Hearing that, Ram takes a battle stance. "Ram would give her very soul to fulfill her master's fondest desire. But… in Ram's own way."

She sighed heavily, turning her gaze toward Otto leaning against a tree as he stood.

"So weak in the knees. Do you intend to make a woman fight by her lonesome?"

"Y-you're a slave-driver! Terrifying! … Is this person's younger sister, the sleeping girl, truly so kind? I am tempted to think Natsuki-san has lied to me…"

"Such a noisy complainer."

Rem couldn't help but blush furiously at Otto's statement. Looks like her hero already told him about how he perceives the blue maid. These thoughts made the girl's heart skip a bit.

"Ana-sama, I must officially apologize for every time I called you a slave-driver! Cause compared to this maid, you are the softest employer one could even dream of!" Ricardo bowed pretentiously to his lady, barely restraining his laughter.

"You know, you might be right! Perhaps I should hire her to boost productivity!" Anastasia immediately understood his joke and decided to play along.

"Please, Anastasia-sama! Anything but that! I'll be good, I swear!" Ricardo and the twins feigned horror on their faces and burst into laughter.

All the while Ram was simply sitting with her hands crossed and her cheeks red, and no, foolish quips from the mercenary didn't bother her! Not in the slightest! It was the fact her master was also snickering in his fist that got her embarrassed.

Garfiel snarled. "Cut the shit! What do ya think is happenin' while ya keep my amazin' self here!? Ya really think he's worth trustin' that much?!"

Otto gets up, going towards his hat which had been knocked off by Garfiel's powerful blow against his face, "Is Natsuki-san worth it? Well, if we're talking about whether he's worth anything, I suppose he's not."

Despite his words, there is no harshness. Instead, there is fondness laced in the tone of the merchant as he brushed off the dirt from his hat. "But, I look forward to seeing what flowers bloom from him, so I'll keep on pruning and brushing off those bugs from him…"

He placed his hat on his head. "I suppose that's the mood I'm in now."

"I feel sick when I think how conceited I was back then. I thought I was being a savvy investor, committing to a risky, but extremely promising asset that had yet to reach its potential... but now, after hearing this, I feel like a short-sighted fool..." Otto lamented jokingly.

"Don't feel so bad, Brotto! Yer and Ram's words then made my amazin' self think tha' there was more hidden in the cap' dan meets the eye." Garf put a supportive hand on his friend's shoulder. "In the end, it helped finally convince me to trust 'em, just as ya did! So don't blame yerself for tha'! If it wasn't for ya, I wouldn't have joined yer side, which was the right thing to do anyway!"

"Yeah. Thanks, brother."

"Hmph. Frankly, Ram has no idea what gives you such high hopes for Barusu. Barusu is weak, useless, and so incompetent that he can't even make tea right."

"That's going a bit too far... though, on second thought, perhaps not." Otto started to refute before acquiescing.

"You know nothing , Otto Suwen..." The merchant replied sternly to himself, closing his eyes with the palm of his hand.

"Nee-sama, I hope you at least changed your mind about Subaru-kun after seeing all of this! Even you have to admit what an amazing person he is in many ways!" Rem asked with hope in her voice.

Her sister should have realized by now how important her hero was in their lives. How many times he had saved them from horrible deaths, how much he had endured for them. How much joy he brought them.

"I have never seen anything that would make me retract the words I said then. Barusu is physically weaker than even Otto and always has to rely on the strength of others. He has no talents that make him stand out from the rest. Even serving tea, for him, has been an impossible task." Ram said, crossing her arms stubbornly, not wanting to show the guilt she felt.

"I have a feeling it would be easier to get a Sin Archbishop to turn to the side of good than get this maid to give a sincere compliment to Bro." Al said with a sigh, resting his hand on his chin.

What was wrong with that girl? Why, even after everything she'd seen, was it easier for her to incur the wrath of the whole room than to just say a few compliments about his brother?

"Maybe she's afraid that if she sincerely showed some admiration for the boss guy at least once, the dam would burst, and she would fall in love with him even stronger than her sister?" Ricardo implied with a predatory smile.

"That suggestion at least makes some sense, if only to explain her demonic stubbornness." Al nodded semi-seriously.

"—However!" Ram said with a raised tone to drown out the nonsense coming from two adult brutes. Judging by her tone, it wasn't easy for her to say the following words:

"Ram has to admit that her next words about Barusu were completely unfair. He might be an incredible weakling when it comes to brawl, but… in terms of fighting spirit and perseverance, he is probably second to none in our world…"

"Hmpf! Maybe not even you are completely hopeless, girl. Sooner or later, even the most stubborn people will understand the greatness of Betty's contractor!" Beatrice said proudly, trying to settle herself at the feet of the sleeper, as if on a throne. She knew that her partner was great even before these shows started.

"However… when it is do or die… Barusu has bizarrely good timing. A man that only has good timing. That is what Barusu is. If Barusu believes he sees an opportunity and acts on it, then that is the only path to victory, and that is the path we must follow if we must win."

"Yes, Ram-san, you did the right thing in refuting your own words. Even if your assessment of Subaru was logical at the time, we realize now that it could not have been further from the truth." Julius commented.

If Ram hadn't admitted her mistake earlier, the finest knight would have had no choice but to force her to do so himself. He wouldn't allow anyone to diminish everything his friend had been through to mere luck.

Several people silently agreed with him. Some had previously thought that Subaru was just an incredibly lucky young man with remarkable intuition, while others had assumed that he possessed some sort of gift for predicting the future. In a sense, they weren't completely wrong.

"And here it is. We finally see Ram's true feelings. The confident, prideful oni maid showed her true feelings towards Sir Subaru. She has complete faith and trust in him. Well, not like I can blame you for it." Crusch said with a confident smile, looking at the pink maid who demonstratively turned away and made sure her hair covered her face as much as possible.

Otto walks beside her, a fond and teasing smile on his face. "I guess when it's said and done, you trust Natsuki-san too, Ram-san."

"You mean 'Ram-sama'."

"That's such an amazingly harsh way to hide your shyness!"

"Enough…!" Growling lowly, Garfiel discarded his jacket, his eyes glowed a faint red as well as his entire body. With a roar, he bowed his head back and began to transform.

Ram narrowed her eyes. "Stay back."

She began to walk forward. Seeing this, Otto held his hand out towards her. "Ram-san!"

Ram walked towards him confidently. Leisurely, even. Just as he was about to swipe at her, Ram jumped upwards, flipping her body and delivering a powerful kick and punch to the side of his face.

"Have you ever once beaten Ram in a punch-out, I wonder?" He swiped at her again, but Ram dodged and jumped up, appearing at his side. Before he could do anything, Ram delivered several powerful punches, left and right each time. Quick and swift, Garfiel was unable to do anything to counter her.

"No…way…!" Otto commented.

With one last blow, Garfiel fell backwards and Ram landed on the ground once more. She turned around, looking at Otto for a moment. Then, a powerful pain spreads throughout her body. From where her horn used to be, blood shot out from. Ram dropped down on one knee. Despite the pain she felt, she couldn't help but smile.

"Garf… you've really gotten stronger…"

"Ya could have told me tha' to my face…" Garfiel grumbled resentfully, throwing a hurt look at his first love.

"Your ego is already bigger than you are. If I praised you openly, you'd burst from smugness!"

"Ram is right, Garfiel Tinzel. Modesty is one of knight's virtues! You should remember that." Julius concurred with Ram's words, deciding to give his hopefully future colleague valuable advice.

Garfiel wanted to snarl at first, but remembered that Julius, despite everything, was a knight of Lugunica, so perhaps it was a genuine help, rather than an attempt to humiliate him. So in the end he simply nodded to the knight and turned back to the screen.

The object of her praise, however, did not hear this and rushed at full speed at the weakened maid. Realizing that Ram would not be able to dodge, Otto decided.

A loud, piercing cry came from his mouth. At the sound, Garfiel turned his focus towards the merchant, one of his feet landing near Ram as she took the chance to leap away.

The sight of the large, stomping tiger justifiably made Otto scared. The merchant turned around, frantically running away from the transformed Garfiel until one move made dust appear, sending Otto flying into the bushes. Garfiel towered over Otto—

"Al Fula!" With a swing of her wand, Ram sent another attack at Garfiel, who turned around and roared, loud enough for it to be heard across the Sanctuary.

Hearing that, Subaru turned around.

"I'm counting on you, Otto… please, don't do anything crazy…"

"You're the last person I'm willing to listen to such a thing from, Natsuki-san!" The merchant was furious at those words.

"He's genuinely worried about you, Otto-san. Shouldn't you be thanking him?" Emilia reprimanded him.

"I'd thank him if he could express that concern to my face for at least once! And without accompanying it with a derogatory joke!" Otto blushed indignantly.

"But yer'e too funny not to be made fun of, Brotto! 'Tis yer best trait!" Garfiel prodded with a laugh.

"I actually think my best traits are my intelligence, resourcefulness, and hard work!" The gray-haired man turned to his young friend, arms at his sides.

"Mmmm...nah. Yer'e just funny!" Rubbing his chin in demonstrative thoughtfulness, Garfiel gave his most satisfied smile.

"And you're a blockhead!" Otto retorted with despair and tears in his voice.

He turned towards the entrance of the tomb, eyes narrowing. "Now… I'm going to do my part."

The scene returns to the end of the previous episode, when Subaru sat down next to Emilia.

[Screen title: Otto Suwen]

"You really thought this through, didn't you, Emilia-tan? You knew that no one would find you if you holed up in here."

Emilia did not agree or disagree with his words, her voice small, her voice quiet as she replied. "Why… why are you here, Subaru? You… you don't…"

"—get forced back as hard as Roswaal? I mean, I'm here, but I'm fighting pretty hard to endure."

Hearing that, Emilia looked up at him. Her eyes were filled with gloom, uncertainty and resignation. "I… see…"

"Y'know, half of me believed you'd be here, and half of me just wished for it."

She looked down. "Half… and half…"

"Not that I expected anything else, but the half-devil truly makes for a pathetic sight after shirking her responsibilities! To think that instead of the master retrieving her dog, it is the other way around!" Priscilla sneered, fanning herself.

"...Hk…. I admit. It was a shameful display, but rest assured, you'll see me fulfill my duties splendidly with Subaru's help…. " Emilia blushed at those last words, once again reminded of what was soon to come.

"I ran around, wondering where you were. But then I stopped thinking about 'where' but 'why' were you gone? Then, I thought about it and found you. I'm so relieved that I found you, really."

"J-Just… relieved? You're… not angry?"

"What's this about, Emilia-tan? Were you actually worried that I'd be mad at you. Though I did panic, and frankly, I wasn't even sure I was alive. But don't worry, I'm just really glad."

He chose his words carefully, wanting to carefully loosen and hear what Emilia had been bottling up.

"…really?" She brings her knees closer to herself. "…y-you're… not angry at me, Subaru. You won't even get angry…!"

"Does she want to get scolded? Mimi can do it! Mimi's always scolding her useless little brothers!" Mimi offered.

"And you, Mimi, don't get scolded enough!" Tivey retorted. "You don't get scolded much because you're too cute for our lady, our boss is a jerk, and you hit me and Hetaro with a stick as soon as we start to criticize you!"

"That's what I'm saying! Mimi doesn't get scolded! So Mimi's good!"

"It's not a matter of wanting to be scolded. It's just that when you get scolded, it means you haven't lived up to someone's expectations. It means they had expectations of you in the first place!" Emilia replied sadly, looking at the screen.

"And when, even if you did everything wrong, you are only looked at condescendingly without anyone reprimanding you for failure, it means that no one had any trust in you in the first place."

"Pardon the words of an old man, but it appears Emilia-sama and Subaru-dono have much in common." Wilhelm commented.

"Oh?" Crusch raised an eye.

"Recall during Subaru-dono's first trial and his heartfelt discussion with his father. Crushed by his father's achievements and perceived expectations, he retreated into his shell. Yet, his parents did not rebuke him, only continuing to show him consideration and unconditional love. However, this only served to worsen Subaru-dono's mentality, as he felt that he deserved their scorn and ridicule instead. This only fueled his lack of self-confidence and perceived self-worth as he concluded it must have been because nothing was expected of him to begin with. Luckily, the first trial demonstrated to him that this was false. It would seem that Emilia-sama is undergoing similar feelings, and, just as his father helped him stand once more, it is now Subaru-dono's turn to do the same for Emilia-sama". Wilhelm explained.

"That's correct…. I owe my subsequent success to Subaru and his faith in me." Emilia nodded, smiling.

"Jeez. You and big bro really are two idiots made for each other!" Felt chuckled at the half-elf.

"Felt!" Emilia pouted, though not at all displeased at those words. Nearby, Rem also pouted, though more so for the latter half of Felt's words.

"Why… Why won't you get angry? What I did was selfish, wasn't it? It caused trouble for you, didn't it? I worried you by leaving without saying anything! Are… are you not angry because you d-didn't expect anything in the first place? You're so kind to me, even when I mess up because you're not even disappointed in me, right…? B-Because you know it's never going to go right?"

Emilia buried her face between her knees again, her thoughts utterly haywire.

And Subaru leans forward, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder. "No, Emilia! That's not what I think!"

"T-then why!? W-why… why didn't you keep your promise?! Y-You and Puck both broke your word and went away! You went away and left me behind! Subaru… Subaru, you're a liar…! Puck is a liar…!"

She leaned to her left, her head bumping into Subaru's shoulder, her hand powerlessly hitting his chest. "Liar…! You liar…!"

"Emilia…"

"Y-You shouldn't… break a promise…! Y-You couldn't lie! It's wrong! I-If only… I kept mine then Mother and…!"

"This is very interesting. This scene reminds me a lot of your quarrel in the Capital. Although the cause was again Sir Natsuki's actions in not keeping his promise, the roles are reversed this time. Now Emilia-sama is the one that is overwhelmed and spilling her accumulated frustrations, and he has to listen to it and decide how to act." Crusch noted the parallels.

"I have a feeling that the dog will show himself much better than his mistress in the Capital this time. He has shown commendable growth for a commoner while the half-devil has yet to take even the first step!"

"And I will! Make yourself comfortable, baroness. Because very soon you'll have to see for yourself that thanks to my knight, I was able to overcome my inner discordancy and emerge victorious from this situation!" It was probably the first time Emilia looked at the Priscilla with a look of superiority. Her voice was firm and confident.

"Does anyone even say 'discordancy' these days?" Felt asked her knight quietly. Reinhard only smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

Priscilla felt somewhat angry that some upstart dared to address her so cavalierly Yet at the same time she couldn't help but note the boldness with which Emilia had confronted the goddess. So she decided to allow such daring moves for now. Whether to reward or punish the half-elf for them, she would decide after the fact.

"Then, amuse me, half-wit! Let's see if your words here match your actions on the screen!"

For a few moments, Subaru didn't say anything. Merely, he let Emilia cry her heart out as he thought about what to do.

'Console her, earnestly? Apologize, sincerely? Understand her, with empathy? Was it even in my right to do so?'

"Emilia… I love you."

"Huh…?" She looked up at him, wondering if she had misheard him.

"Night after night, you'd go rushing into the same damn Trial over and over. The hell is that Trial, anyway? It's just the past! Don't just keep moping over stuff that's over and done with!"

"U-uh… what..?"

"When I tried to do it for you, you insisted that only

you could do it. But the fact that you continue to blow it means that you're just all talk!"

"S-Subaru—"

"That's something half-wit definitely didn't expect! The obedient dog has suddenly bared its fangs and barked at its mistress!" Priscilla declared with satisfaction.

It was to her liking. This was the kind of character Priscilla wished to see in this otherworldly commoner: roughness, resolve, straightforwardness, and the desire to reap his reward from the one who owed him everything! The goddess was pleased.

Felix could not help himself and jumped up from his seat. Such behavior went against everything the best healer believed in.

"H-how come he has the audacity to say such a thing to his lady, nya! If you truly love your lady! If you made a choice to devote yourself to her! How can you even imagine saying such things to her?!"

Even if she was wrong, there was no way a knight would do such a thing. To him, the very thought of telling Crusch that she was wrong or that she thought too much of herself with such cruel words was unthinkable.

Reinhard and Julius internally agreed with him. They themselves were thinking along similar lines, though not as unwaveringly as Felix did regarding the duchess. Both knights understood that their duty to their lady was not only to be a protector and helper, but also a counselor to stop her from making mistakes. That meant a willingness to disagree and even argue with her, though, definitely, not in the same way as Subaru!

"And when Puck —

your Guardian — takes off, you decide to abandon your duties and cry your eyes out? I'm not going to coddle you, I can't put up with it any longer!"

At Subaru's harsh words, Emilia trembled. It was all true.

"…y-you're… right… it only makes sense that Subaru would think of me that way… t-that's why… you and Puck…" ' Abandoned me ' went unsaid.

"That's right. Even after all your words, I still don't see any signs of improvement."

Emilia flinched.

"—but, I love you, Emilia."

She looked up, and saw her reflection in Subaru's eyes.

"I love you. I love you so damn much — too damn much — that I don't know what to do with myself."

"W-Where did all this come from?"

"—that beautiful silver hair of yours, I love it. Those eyes of yours that look like gemstones, I could get lost in them. Your voice could put me in a trance if I heard it long enough. I love everything about you, from your hair to your arms. Just being with you makes my heart race out of control! Kind of scary, honestly!"

' If even you think that the intensity of your love is kinda scary, then imagine what others may think, Bro! Right now, only the expression discerns you from Petelgeuse and his screams about love! ' Al thought somewhat gloomily, remembering how his Bro felt the same intense feeling the moment he faced Satella it the Dream Castle. The one-armed warrior still pondered which one of the two silver-haired half-elves were the source of these feelings and which one only reflected them. Or were they both objects of his desires?

He placed a hand on his chest, where his heart is. The very same heart that he stabbed out, the same heart that he gave to everyone.

"Even if it gets annoying sometimes, I love how you're a bit absent-minded. The way that you give it your all is adorable, too! I respect the way that you do your best to help others, y'know? It's hard to leave you alone while you're putting everyone before yourself. All your emotions, your expressions, I don't want you to bury them at all! I want you to keep on feeling and making them, right here beside you!"

"And now, he sprinkles compliments over his frustrations with her!" Anastasia said with a laugh.

Wilhelm leaned back and smiled wistfully. The spectacle of the young couple had him recalling all the times he had argued with his wife, Theresia, over matters ranging from mundane to serious. After each argument, however, they always made up, reaffirming their love for each other and promising to overcome whatever challenge/obstacle they were facing at the moment together.

"—t-this… this is no time for…!

Stop playing around! Why are you suddenly saying all of this?! That's not what we were talking about!"

Confusion reaching its breaking point, Emilia finally yelled.

"Subaru was saying that I'm utterly useless! That you couldn't put up with me!"

"—yeah, that's right."

"—so, why would you forgive me for being so useless?!"

"Emilia-sama's reaction is far from what I expected. It seems like they both have a lot of pent-up emotions, and they finally got to vent them out." Frederica commented with a smile on her face, squirming impatiently in her chair.

It was inappropriate for her status as the head maid to wait so brazenly for events to unfold, but the romantic's heart could not rest and yearned for more.

"I have read about scenes like this many times. Usually, when both lovers have properly laid their feelings to bare, the most interesting part begins."

"And what happens after they've said what's on their minds?" Petra was interested, though her awakening feminine instincts were already beginning to give off alarm signals.

The mentor blushed slightly and whispered the answer in her young protégée's ear. This made Petra blush profusely, and it was impossible to tell which part was from embarrassment and which from indignation.

"—I already said why, over and over again! And I'll say it again right now if I have to! It's because I. Love. You! Damn it all, I'm head over heels for you! Everything about you shines in my eyes! Yeah, of course, you aren't perfect, but no one is! An angel, a goddess? You're none of those. You're just an ordinary girl! Sure, you'll feel so bad because you want to cry sometimes, and you want to run away from things that'll hurt you, and I understand that! But even including your weaknesses and the parts you might call ugly… I love every part of you, Emilia."

"T-That's just… too selfish! You said all the things that make me useless, and yet you still say that you love me!? How can you expect me to believe you?!"

"Damn it, you're wrong! You've got this all wrong! It's not because I believe in you that I love you, I believe in you because I love you!"

"Just loving someone isn't a reason to believe in them!"

"You didn't know anything about love back then, Emilia-sama. I sincerely hope you're wiser now." Rem said in an unusually stern voice that sounded a lot like her sister's, without taking her eyes off the screen.

The maid could shrug off a lot of things, but the fact that Emilia doubted the sincerity of her hero's feelings, after all he'd done for her? After all the tender words he'd said to her...that was something she couldn't just let slide! Princess or not, Rem would make sure that Emilia would properly reciprocate her hero's feelings since Emilia confessed to have them. Because it was Rem's duty to make him happy.

"Yes, Rem. I've realized a lot of things now. And I have oh-so-much work to do for myself and for him." The half-elf girl replied in an equally serious tone, also without looking at Rem. There was no need for eye contact. Both knew exactly what each wanted to say and hear.

Subaru clenched his fist tightly. "If just loving you isn't a reason to believe in you… then who the hell would willingly go through all of this suffering to come and help a damn pain in the ass like you?!"

Getting up, he slammed his palm onto the stone wall of the tomb. "I love you so much it makes me crazy! I love you so much that I could die! That's why I put up with all this pain and suffering! Even now, I feel like I'm gonna puke, but here I am, standing right in front of you!"

"I can certainly understand Subaru's sentiments and his desire to get his message across to Emilia-sama. However, I can't help but disapprove of his word-choice. To call your lady a "pain-in-the-ass" is utterly unbecoming of a knight, even taking into account Subaru's lack of formal etiquette training." Julius shook his head in disappointment, only further strengthening his resolve to fix Subaru into shape.

"Ah, I'll admit those words shocked me when I first heard them…. However, those were the words I needed to hear the most at the time, and besides, I look at them now as a kind of words of endearment." Emilia giggled before her expression saddened slightly. "Though, now that I understand the context of his words, "I love you so much I could die!", …" Emilia looked up resolutely. Just as how he had always done his best to save her, she would do the same for him.

"Of course, the half-devil would have the sensibilities akin to a witch to regard such terms positively! Had Aldebaran even so much as uttered the beginning of such words to me, I would have lopped off his head twenty times over" Priscilla scoffed.

"Princess… you know I hate being called by that name…." Al rubbed the back of his helmet while complaining like a whipped dog.

Hearing that, Emilia got up as well. "I never asked you to do that! You're just being selfish! You're not thinking about my feelings at all, Subaru! You have no idea what I feel every time I see you getting hurt because of me, Subaru!"

"How could I know ?! I don't even think about it! All I think about is how to look good in front of you! I'm suffering for you here! At least try to look as cute as I hoped you would!"

"Typical Barusu! An insensitive, vain, and weak man, motivated only by his lust without any regard for his mistresses feelings!" Ram huffed at those words.

"Don't treat me like some kind of doll! Why did you break your promise?! If you'd just done what I asked you to, that would've been enough! Why wouldn't you even do that?! You actually hate me, don't you!?"

"Dammit, I said I love you!"

"LIAR!"

"I'm not lying! I love you!"

"Then why?!"

She stopped for a moment, closing her eyes as she bowed her head down. "…why… why did you break your promise…?"

"… I can't tell you."

"Why is he so afraid to explain himself to her?" Tivey said, confused. "It wasn't about his Return by Death ability, so why was he so stubbornly silent? Why didn't he just tell the truth and justify himself in Lady Emilia's eyes?"

"Heh-heh-heh! This time, it's not about the cap'n's awful ability! He's just too ashamed to admit what he did last night." Garf snickered.

"Admit what? You saw what he was doing, I suppose?" Beatrice looked at him curiously. "Confess, boy. What did Betty's contractor do in her mother's tomb that he hesitates to tell even in this situation?"

"Well, I didn't see the process itself... But I witnessed the results with my own eyes!" Garf laughed.

"Don't tell me that with everything at stake, Barusu decided to indulge in his animalistic urges?!" Ram said with a look of genuine contempt.

Did the sight of the sleeping princess excite the lustful young man so much that he ran to a secluded place to...ugh! Did she make a terrible mistake when she let him be alone with a sleeping Rem?!

"What the heart thinks, the tongue speaks in your case!" Al stated wryly, not missing an opportunity to make a jab at the pink-haired maid.

"Ugh, Ram! Get yer head out of the gutter! He didn't do anythin' nasty! It's the opposite! And as for the details, if there's one thin' I understand about dese viewings, it's tha' we're probably gonna see for ourselves. And if so, my amazin' self, as his loyal friend, will make fun of him again! If not, then, as an equally loyal friend, my amazin' self will take my cap'n's shameful secret to my grave!"

"That's right, I suppose! Maid, watch your accusations! Betty's contractor wouldn't do something so uncouth as defile Mother's tomb, in fact!" Beatrice huffed, crossing her arms and sticking out her chest.

"...Uh…" Garfiel quickly looked away.

"Wait… I already know Subaru did, but what are you all talking about? Ram what did you think he did?" Emilia tilted her head, asking innocently. However, she was ignored with an awkward silence as they all turned away from her.

"I-If… if you'd just stayed with me until morning like you promised, I think I could have believed you, Subaru… I could have believed you and entrusted you with everything… But you…"

She dropped to her knees, tears falling from her eyes. A few quiet, yet wretched sobs tore themselves from her throat as her tears landed on the ground, hugging herself in an attempt to ground herself.

"S-Since Puck left, my memories have been slowly coming back… places in my mind that I don't even recognize… conversations I don't remember… more and more of them are coming back… I-I thought I remembered everything all this time, but I went and forgot them, like they never existed in the first place! When… when all the memories come back, what's going to happen to me ?"

She placed her fingers on the broken crystal, harshly, scared that it would leave her. "Is this me… really me…? I forgot so many important things… I even forgot about Mother… and yet, I'm not wrong…?"

"I understand your fears, Emilia-sama." Duchess Crusch said sympathetically. "I have been feeling something similar for the past year, though my exact circumstances are just the opposite. Every thought that comes to mind, every decision you want to make. Each time you wonder if this is what you would have done before you lost your memory, if you are living up to the expectations placed on you by loved ones and allies. Day, after day, after day."

"What are you talking about, Crusch-sama?! Even without your memories, you haven't lost any dignity or nobility at all! Moreover, since you've become less hardened, you've only unlocked new potential in yourself!" Felix began to calm her down as best he could. No matter what happened, his mistress had to be sure that Ferris would support her in any situation."

"Thank you for your kind words, Ferris. But, alas, many of our partners don't feel as you do. Now that my memory has returned to me, I realize it very clearly." Crusch smiled trustingly at her knight, trying not to show the sadness in her gaze.

She decided that her knight had suffered enough in the last few days to mention how she had noticed his concerned looks on her more than once. After all, no matter how much he tried to hide his thoughts, the duchess realized that she was quite unlike the Crusch that Felix had spent years together with.

Subaru looked down at her, wondering what to say. Then, he remembered something. Or rather, he remembered someone .

"What matters isn't how you start or what happens in the middle. It's how it ends."

Subaru smiled. 'Yeah… yeah, you're right, Mom.'

"No matter what memories you get back, it's not gonna change anything. I love you, Emilia. I'm always going to love you."

"I-I can't believe that…if the me that you say you l-love… g-goes away, could you still…?"

And she once again saw her reflection in his eyes.

"—I could. No matter what happens, you're not going to go away. I love you."

"But, you're a liar! You wouldn't make me believe you!"

"Then I'll make you believe me now." He knelt down, placing a hand on her shoulder and gently brushing away some of her hair.

"Suba…?"

"If you don't want this, then dodge."

"No! Don't look!" With ears and cheeks redder than a tomato, the princess wailed, tucking her knees under her chin and covering her face with her hands. She had been brave earlier and had even challenged the Baroness, but now that it was obvious what was about to happen on the screen, all her bravado evaporated like a piece of ice falling into a volcano. Her first and only kiss! The most intimate moment of her life until now would be publicized. If she hadn't specialized in fire magic, she would have burned to death in her chair.

"It's coming!" Frederica whispered quietly, but with a face full of anticipation.

Petra puffed up her cheeks resentfully and turned away from the screen. It was nothing. Her time would come too. She wouldn't give up just because of a kiss!

Emilia, understanding what was going to happen, didn't turn away. On the contrary, she closed her eyes in anticipation. Subaru didn't wait long. The pair joined together in their first, inexperienced kiss.

"Go get her, Bro! Squeeze her tight!" Al voiced his support. At last, his brother would taste the fruits of his labour.

"Damn pervert! Taking advantage of Emilia-sama's desperation to satisfy his lustful desires! Filthy animal!" Ram grumbled, crossing her arms.

"Jealous?" Al answered her snidely.

For which he was promptly hit on the head with an empty juice box by the pink maid. She was now experiencing a storm of conflicting feelings. How dare this scum from another world kiss some other girl when her beautiful sister had already confessed her love to him?! Not that he had any right to even dream of touching the lips of her lovely Rem!

' He should spend his miserable life as a despicable virgin whose only lover is his right hand! Furthermore, that hand should be lopped off too, or he might risk overindulging in his lustful fantasies! ' Ram furiously thought.

"Hooray! They finally did it! Big Bro finally kissed her!" Felt jumped up triumphantly from her chair. "After all he'd been through and done, Big Bro deserves all the kisses from all the women he could get his hands on!" Felt laughed.

"N-No! Absolutely not!" Emilia burst out alarmingly. "Subaru is mine! I won't tolerate any more women!" The audience simply laughed knowing that the half-elf had her work cut out for her, particularly in the form of a blue-haired maid.

"Normally, I would rather Subaru go through the formal process of courtship, but I suppose circumstances warranted this deviation from knightly protocol. Furthermore... This time, Subaru was lucky that there wasn't a troublesome healer knight around." Julius commented sternly, turning his face toward Duchess Karsten's knight. "Who loves to ruin beautiful romantic moments!"

Felix, feeling the burning gaze of not only Julius but also Rem, shamefully lowered his ears.

' As if I knew how important that kiss could be… or maybe I'm actually rooting for Emilia-sama in this matter… still, I'll have to think about it and find a way to compensate Rem for that transgression. After all, I owe her for saving Crusch-sama .' Healer attempted to half-heartedly defend himself.

"Betty doesn't like that her contractor is showing so much affection for anyone but Betty. But she is willing to forgive him because the situation demanded it, not that Betty wants to be in Emilia's shoes, in fact!" Beatrice rolled her eyes.

As a Great Spirit, she was indifferent to such extensive physical contact. But even from the screen she could see the strong positive emotions her contractor was conveying to the half elf. She wanted him to radiate even more positivity and joy around her. It was her duty as his contracted spirit!

"You are quite right, Beatrice-sama. The situation demanded it." Rem agreed readily, remembering her conversation with the princess.

' So that's what Emilia-sama was talking about. If only I had the courage to take another step forward on the hill... But this kiss is still not the kind of kiss that Subaru-kun and I could have had! After defeating the Whale, we experienced an extraordinary romantic moment! However, this kiss is out of need, not wish! Truly! Subaru-kun was merely attempting to comfort Emilia-sama! ' Rem came to the firm conclusion that her rival was by no means ahead in their race.

Still, this scene meant two things for the blue-haired maid: first, she had no time to waste and would need to start taking action as soon as the viewings were over and. Second, this scene indicated to Rem that hunting for a kiss from Subaru was a fair game. Emilia already got her kiss first, so there can't be any complaints.

Also, if she presents her intentions to him as training sessions to become a better kisser for Emilia-sama… She didn't have any experience either, but she read more than enough romantic novels to have some ideas about how one can kiss. Her cheeks started reddening as her imagination was staring to run wild.

"I love you. No matter how many hopeless, helpless sides of you I see, and even if we argue like before… I'm never going to stop loving you. That's not gonna change, no matter what happens. I'll just love you even more than before. That's why I'll always believe in you. And if you want to know why…"

"And now we know that the dog has seen a multiple lifetimes worth of the half-wit's hopeless sides!" Priscilla felt the need to interject.

Emilia finished for him. "—because… you love me?"

"With all those unfamiliar memories flooding you, it's only natural that you'd be anxious and scared. But the path you've walked until now… it's not gonna go away. It won't go away. You're going to be fine, Emilia."

"Curious. Now this moment is starting to remind me of the scene when Natsuki-kun was in despair, and Rem confessed her love to him and helped him regain his faith in himself." Anastasia pointed out.

"Subaru-dono and Emilia-sama both suffered from similar problems, though their sources were different." William took the floor, once again iterating his previous observations.

"Emilia-sama suffered because of prejudice and the outside world's hatred of half-elves while Subaru-dono hated himself because of his own inflated expectations. But the bottom line in both cases is the same: they didn't believe in their own strength. They believed that no one around them believed in them."

"And that's why they needed to know that there was someone they cared about who believed in them even despite their weaknesses." Crusch picked up on the butler's thoughts. "Rem had helped Subaru by saying that she believed in him and loved him no matter what. And now he himself has decided to do the same to help Lady Emilia in the same situation."

"Seems like they've organized a relay race to transfer love from one to the other. Just make sure it stops with the princess. Otherwise, the boy won't be able to take it if Emilia-sama gives the same inspirational speech to someone else. With a kiss on top!" Ricardo added sarcastically.

He was glad to see how much Subaru had grown in such a short period. From an insecure boy, he had become a real fighter, ready to take on any obstacle while drawing and leading allies. Earlier, it had been necessary to persuade him not to give up, and now he himself helped his beloved to believe in herself.

"I will never do that to my knight! I have already decided that he will be the only man in my life!" the half-elf woman contradicted him in a confident voice.

"Well, let the boy thank the spirits!" Satisfied with the answer, the mercenary commander nodded, but thought to himself with a smirk: ' Though I wouldn't count on you being the only woman in his life, lady. '

"How… how can you say that for sure?"

"What matters isn't how you start. It's how it ends. The woman I respect the most in the whole world said so! You'll be fine, Emilia. I'm on your side. It's okay if you remember everything. And if you're still scared, we'll find it."

"Find… what?"

His hands left her shoulders. "Just like my feelings for you make me able to keep running forward, you'll find your most precious feeling, the one that makes you able to blow away all those fears, those anxieties and move forward! Of course, I'd like to hope that those precious feelings will be for me."

"—My most… precious feeling…"

'Oh…. you dunderhead…. I wish I could tell you it finally is. ' Emilia thought.

Her hand once again goes to her crystal, but runs her fingers over it instead. "I wonder… if it's among all these memories I've been getting back… My most precious feeling…"

And encouragingly, Subaru nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure it is. Your reason to keep walking is there."

She looked up at him tearfully, silent. Then a smile adorned her face as she nodded.

"Yes…"

[Screen title: Reason to believe]

It was close to evening outside when Emilia and Subaru came out of the Tomb, Emilia holding onto Subaru's sleeve tightly. Standing right in front of them is Garfiel, his jacket discarded, and covered in blood. Otto and Ram really did a number on him, trying to keep him away.

Subaru put on a brave front, raising a hand and closing one of his eyes. "Hey. Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Ain't like I was waitin' fer ya."

"Oh! It's time for my amazin' self and the cap'n to have a man on man fight!" Garfiel said excitedly as the screen faded, signalling the end of the episode. "We had a hell of a brawl, and at the end, the cap'n used some kind of secret move on me! I hope now I'll be able to see wha' he hit me with."

"A secret move? When did he learn it? And why didn't he use it before?" Reinhardt wondered aloud.

"I only remember that Subaru and Garfiel talked a lot at first. Then Garfiel decided to turn into a tiger, but changed his mind. Or maybe Subaru interrupted him somehow? And then they just stood there yelling at each other and throwing punches. I don't know, maybe that's how they were testing each other's strength?" Emilia struggled to explain.

Garfiel didn't say anything. Partially because he was ashamed of the way everyone will see him acting soon. Partially because he didn't know how to explain the naive and kind girl the meaning of guys' way of "duking it out".

"I wonder why they even went out of the tomb? Couldn't Emilia-sama start the Trial right there and then?" Tivey pointed out.

"Um…as far as I know all Trial are taken after the sunset. I can't say for sure if it's a rule or just tradition, though." The half-elf answered.

"Well, to be fair, it's true that all Trials that we saw before were taken during the night." Otto reminded them, shrugging his shoulders. Not like it was something important anyway.

"At least we don't have to worry about the outcome of the upcoming fight. Subaru-sama will defeat my useless brother and convince him to stand under Emilia-sama's banner." Frederica said in a confident voice.

This was the kind of thing she liked, knowing in advance that everything would be fine and none of her loved ones would have to face death.

"Just bestin' my amazin' self in one fight won't be enough to get me to concede! T'was cap'n tenacity and the way everyone believed in him tha' made me wonder! Also when I took the Trial again I got some answers regarding my amazin' self…l"

"Garfiel didn't tell us what he saw during his Trial but, disregarding that, the rest was exactly how Frederica-san pointed out. After that, Emilia-sama will undergo the Trial, and Natsuki-san, I, and Garf will try to convince the margrave to abandon his plans, though that was unsuccessful." Otto summarized.

"Did you really expect him to give up so easily?" Anastasia asked him in surprise.

"Well, we had successfully fulfilled one out of the two conditions of the bet, and Emilia-sama was determined to overcome the Trial. We hoped that this would be enough to make the margrave realize the precariousness of his position and back down."

"Which, of course, did not happen." Ricardo guessed.

"Frankly speaking, I think we made it even worse by fuelling his anxiety, leading him to accelerate the fulfillment of his plan." Otto scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"You mean the usual blunder Barusu and his minions make every time the second someone competent turn their eyes away?"

"And where were you that moment, nee-sama?"

"Ram was waiting at the Tomb for Emilia-sama to finish their Trial and assess her success. Since she triumphed, and proved that Barusu's estimations were on point, I made a dissection to offer my services to Emilia-sama."

"Hoo…decided to jump the sinking boat the moment it became evident that the clown's plan is doomed?"

"Can't say anything about you, Anastasia-sama, but Ram knows the meaning of loyalty. Every step she made was to save her master!" Ram answered irritated.

Julius frowned and was ready to refute the barely hidden jab at his lady, when he got distracted.

"Well then, let us not waste any time and keep watching! I want to see the end of the gut-loving bitch as soon as possible!" Felt announced, who was eager to see what would happen next.

The others did not argue and remained silent, waiting for the next viewing to begin.