Archbishop Of Pride In Teyvat

by DarkenedStar77

Satisfied at the end of the events of FIRE, Prideif Subaru finds himself in Teyvat rather than dying permanently. Maybe he can find a way to find fulfillment on this Earth or to return. And maybe... there is a very small chance... he can figure out how to kill Reinhard... I don't think so. (There may be errors in spelling rules and grammar. There will definitely be...)

3. Ch1 Part1:Preparations And First Month

Of course, comments first. There are a lot of comments so this will take a long time. Since I can already reply to comments on AO3. I'll prioritize comments here on . I'll probably respond faster if you comment there. AO3 was actually much more useful.

DuckPresidento: Finally a good fanfic on Genshin Impact, not just a bunch of vulgarity with harem and hackwork, and an interesting protagonist, I'm only on chapter 6 of the original web novel and I'm wondering if there will be spoilers? Looking forward to the sequel and good luck on the exam.

A: First of all, thank you for your comment and support. There can and will be spoilers. But I hope there won't be too many spoilers. I will try to avoid spoilers as much as possible. After all, this is not envybaru. Pridebaru. but of course I will use the lore information revealed in arc7-8. such as what we learned about the life cycles of dragons. so I'll use what we've learned about a character's powers or pre-canon events. But I hope I won't go into too much detail about the events.

pokemonrot377: Sorry dude he did not destroy the Capital alone ram helped him with ger wind magic and roswaal burned the rest of the country.

A: Thanks for the warning and comment. But while doing research, I couldn't find anything to prove what you said. On the contrary, Tappei confirms that it was that nameless spirit that burned the capital. and Ram, with lifeless eyes, helped Roswaal burn the rest of the country. not the capital.

Tappei: The arson of Regulus mansion, as well as the great fire that burnt the capital are all her great achievement, showing her growth. Since Subaru has achieved his goal, and it seemed that Subaru absolved his contract with her upon the great fire of the capital, there is high chance of her being slayed by Reinhard protecting Subaru.

Also Tappei: Although Roswaal was sacrificed for Subaru's scheme in the end, due to the fact that Subaru himself is not enough to set the all country ablaze, Roswaal won't die until he got his job done. Alas, Ram, now with lifeless eyes, obeyed his orders.

Jhunal: To be fair I personally think one of his most troublesome opponents would be Dottore. Bro is basically the Echidna of Teyvat, with the "body changing" ability of Petelgeuse, and let's not forget that he is on the level of an Archon. So maybe, big maybe, big copium, but I kind of hope to two of them to either help each other out for their own gains or face off at some point.

A: Thanks for the comment. I also definitely believe Dottore will make for an interesting interaction. We may encounter a dottore clone before the Sumeru story, especially since he has many clones. I actually thought about including Subaru in the manga story. But then I realized that it would make more sense for Subaru to choose to travel to Sumeru, the nation of knowledge. Collaboration is also a possibility, after all. Especially the cloning technology in Dottore will have interesting consequences for Subaru. The Echidna had similar technology, but I still assume Subaru didn't know enough about it to copy the technology. I can imagine what a power-hungry Subaru would do with a cloning machine. a hint. Check out Roswaal's backstory.

OriChar: so this is gonna be a bit of a spoiler if you didn't do a certain Mondstadt bard's story quest, and also a few other stuff, like sumaru and mona's teacher, so be warned.

I wonder how Venti and Subaru will interact, because Subaru has a high spirit affinity and Venti is a wind spirit. However, Venti is also an archon and Subaru is pridebaru, and as well as subaru would hide it, its venti so would be 50/50

theres also how rbd would affect members of he hexenzirkel circle and irminsul, because i dont see it affecting them or their memories being erased after the loop, at least the traveller won't be affected because they naturally exist outside of the worlds rules anyways, but is Subaru just an outlander like Aloy since hes from another world, or is he a descender like the traveller

this is probably very scuffed cause fanfic is being a pain to use rn

A: Thanks for the comment. The answer to this will be long. Firstly. For Venti, spirit aptitude will definitely have an impact. This will of course affect his relationship with her positively. Because Subaru's spirit aptitude is higher than anyone else in Re:zero. and Spirits always love Subaru. They can even get a little weird around him. However, spirit aptitude not only makes spirits love you and feel close to you. It allows you to connect with spirits more easily. It also affects the rate at which Spirits evolve when you are nearby or linked to them. And for some reason, Spirit's spells are generally directed to people with high spirit predisposition. I don't know how to explain this. basically Beatrice says this in one of arc2's side stories. Since Subaru's spirit aptitude is very high, her magic is directed towards him. and that's why she can't use the doorway spell to get away from him or keep him away. Of course, the fact that Beatrice's element is yin has an effect here. Also, according to the King's Game side story, there is a strong connection between Subaru and Beatrice beyond the emotional meaning. maybe Echidna designed it for Subaru. Of course, we don't and never will talk about King's game, even though it's a story that proves that Subaru can pull a hyper-manipulative emotional speech out of his ass for even the most ridiculous things when necessary.

But there is another situation in this regard. What about the Adeptus? Here's what we know about spirits. Spirits are pure magical beings composed of pure elemental Mana born from Odlaguna on the spiritual plane. Now let's look at the Adeptus. Xianyun's vision story: "The adepti of Liyue were born among the elemental energy that courses between heaven and earth. As pure elemental beings, they are closer to the origin of ultimate truth than ordinary mortals." I think they look very similar to each other. In this case, can we assume that the same rules apply to Adaptis? Let's assume yes. So what will happen to Yanfei and Ganyu? half-adepti. They will personally feel emotionally close to Subaru, and perhaps feel other effects of the spirit aptitude to some extent. But I will assume that the human aspects outweigh a bit. There is also the problem of miasma. Probably Venti and all adeptus can smell this scent. (Yanfei and Ganyu probably can't smell this. After all, there are even oni and spirits who can't.) Is this such a big deal, though? This smell is basically just disgusting according to Rem. Since there are no witch factors in Teyvat, they cannot know the meaning of this smell. Of course, miasma has some special properties and too much of it will harm people. In fact, I think it can be seen as a curse similar to karma for someone who doesn't know anything about it. This could make the relationship with Xiao interesting.

hexenzirkel circle. that's interesting. First, let's talk about irminsul. Irminsul is basically a data bank. It keeps information and records of every asset. Of course, if they are from Tevyat. A weaker version of Odlaguna's corridor of memories. The corridor of memories is not on the material plane and keeps records of those who come from other worlds. likewise deleting one from irminsul is impressive for Teyvat standards. but Rezero is a universe of inconsistencies and Haxs. Consider Rukkhadevata. How hard did she try to erase herself? Deleting someone from Irminsul is a difficult task. Now consider the authority of gluttony. He can erase any being with a touch, as long as he knows its name. Even those from another planet cannot remember the deleted person. Subaru was the ultimate exception. Aldebaran didn't remember. Beyond memory manipulation. Anything written by that person will be deleted. Like Rem's letter. Just like the items in Rem's room, that person's belongings either change hands or disappear. You can't avoid this by using a children's story like Nahida did. Gluttony doesn't even leave a gap. It can also copy the memories, experiences and powers of deleted people. The authorities are a very different level. Also, we don't know exactly how hexenzirkel members remember what was deleted from irminsul, right? Maybe they were descendants of Traveler. Maybe they did it like Nahida. They hid data in children's stories. This explains why there is a children's story writer in the hexenzirkel circle. You can't counter RBD with such a method. (I also flipped a coin to decide who Traveler would be. Aether came across. For your information.)

Also, I don't think Traveler can resist RBD either. This is an absolute reset. It is not enough to exist outside the rules of this world. (Aldebaran). It's not enough to lock yourself in a pocket dimension. (Beatrice). It is not enough to isolate yourself from existence and reality. (Regulus). It is not enough to be a being without a physical body stuck in the corridor of Memories on the spiritual plane. (Louis). Even a book that is a more powerful source of knowledge than Odlaguna's corridor of memories and has all the knowledge of the Past is not enough to preserve memories. (Echidona's authority.) Everything is reset. Even interventions made to the soul are reset. (arc2 and arc3). RBD is on a very different level. I also reject the theory that RBD is a force that allows travel to other timelines. This is not completely impossible, but completely absurd and ridiculous. If anyone asks why, I will explain it in detail on AO3. Seriously, people don't think about the side effects of this theory. This theory increases Odlaguna and Reinhard's power level to the multiverse level due to arc6. and this theory means that Subaru created thousands of universes, Satella and Reinhard. It's ridiculous. Really.

I also know very little about Aloy. It would actually be great if someone could give some information on this subject. Subaru will be an anomaly, just like Rezero.

UgoWriting: Holy crap 2 chapters and im hooked harder than a drug addict. Love the story, good luck with exams, suggestions? Make it so Subaru either recruits Mona and has her keep everything about him under wraps or straight up kills her since she threatens his "story" (please dont kill bubble butt).

A: Thanks for your kind comment and opinion. I planned something similar for Mona. But we have a LONG way to go there. Also, Subaru wouldn't recklessly kill the apprentice of an important master. Will find a less hassle way.

Ferrum Sanguis Pulvis Ignis: I want to now if he will use any other authority like envybaru since he killed all archbishops and his body is able to have them and if he has them make it so he uses them in a last ditch effort because they can kill him if he uses them like if he uses the authority of sloth ,his guts or bones rupture or if he uses his version gluttony he becomes that person he has eaten and he has no control over his body for weeks on end or something of the sort because even the authority of envy makes the user feel as if their soul and body is being torn apart after death and then theyare being transported in the garden of shadows where they lose all their senses,so this subaru must be very powerful in terms of willpoer

Jay Shawn Green: I'm very impressed in how you seem to capture Pridebaru ramblings in a very in-character fashion. The small mentions of the other Archbishops are appreciated too, would Petelguese-san be proud of this one Diligence, I wonder?
Btw, what are your thoughts in the Authority of Sin of the others? Will you make Subaru be able to get them per region he visits? Or because he didn't drink Echidna's Tea he can't absorb them? (I believe Tappei mentioned this on one of his QnA)
Anyway, I'm very interested on this story! Pridebaru is just a can of worms that Teyvat is not prepared to deal with even with so many types of divinity you can find there.
Just a small criticism, but some names are not correctly used. Like Od Laguna. There are some issues with pronouns, too. Sometimes you use "She" for Subaru.

A: Thank you both. I will respond to these two comments together because they are similar. This comment section is getting longer. First off, yes, authorities will show up in this fanfic. Tappei really said what you said about tea. But I only take information from Q&As seriously when it doesn't conflict with the main story. That's what Tappei said we should do anyway. It's already stated in canon that Subaru is compatible with all sins. Echidna's tea probably makes it easier to control authority. but it is not mandatory. Still, it's a LONG time before the authorities come along, and I'm not going to make sure they get one per nation. Even before canon, Subaru will visit at least one new nation anyway. and of course, I'm not sure what authorities to give. These powers vary depending on the character. Also, I don't want to make Subaru OP. That's why it's a logical idea to give the authorities serious side effects. This is actually funny. I always criticize Tappei about this. But Subaru has such a strange ability to adapt that even if we give it a tiny advantage, it will abuse that advantage or power to the fullest. Unless it's blocked by the plot of course. Can someone explain to me why arc7 doesn't use the Anti-Mana spell? Meanwhile, the work of the Melancholy and Vainglory authorities is a bit strange. There are only 7 sin factors. Either these are fake or artificial factors. Or when you lose the witch factor, you keep your authority within yourself.

Also, thanks for pointing out the typos. I used translation in places where my English was not sufficient. For some reason, the Translation accepts the name Subaru as a girl. Odlaguna's spelling mistake is entirely my fault. I was wrong. I am sorry. I guess I should fix these sometime.

ExoticIdiot: Lowkey, I feel like he should run into Ganyu at some point, they'd pair nicely. I feel like it'd be a similar dynamic to Rem and Subaru, at least without the whole initial killing the other person thing.

A: Thanks for the comment. It's quite interesting that you think that way. If it was Envybaru, I'd probably agree with you. but this is Pridebaru. If we are realistic, their relationship goes well at first. Of course, Subaru would approach her cautiously. But since Ganyu has an important role in the Liyue government, it would be in Subaru's interest to establish good relations with her. In addition, due to the spirit predisposition thing I mentioned above, Ganyu will feel Subaru closer to herself than other normal people. The situation becomes strange if we factor in Ganyu's partial social isolation. Frankly, I don't even know how to write this. But there is also the other side of things. Ganyu is a 3000 year old woman. She is approximately six times older than Pridebaru. How do you think Pridebaru will react to this? 'How much power, intelligence and experience does such an old being have? she might cause me trouble. I should get her out of the way while I have the chance. But there are many powerful beings she is connected to. I have to plan this.' Even if it confirms that Ganyu is normal despite her age and not an overly powerful mastermind, it doesn't make the job any better. Subaru is disgusted by death and the concept of wasting life. and here we are talking about the crueler Pridebaru. He may be disdainful that Ganyu hasn't done much of note in 3000 years. Ganyu's use of this time to help the Liyue government does not change the situation. Because Subaru tends to be politically radical. He completely disrespects governments and ruling authority, no matter who they are. He insults the rulers in the Royal Guard and directly the nobles of Lugnica. and even attacks the Emperor of Vollachia. He responds to all kinds of racism with aggression. In Arc 5, he shows his disdain for Luginica. he denies the existence of any social class. In the Profecy of the Throne he shows clear disdain for capitalism (he literally talks about capitalism). In some if routes of Lost in Memories he leads prison riots, in others to escape, and in one to defeat the guards and become King of the Prison. In arc7, he leads a real revolution against the Social Darwinist empire for a while. As he burns the kingdom in Prideif, he boasts that he has ended 4 centuries of stagnation. It's a strange situation.

I guess that was it. Let's stop here for now. and let's get into the story.

---

Subaru sighed as he looked at the notebook and pen in his hand. These language and alphabet things were always illogical. Why did everyone speak Japanese in every universe? He had tested that he had some kind of language translation ability in both his previous World and this World. Was Japanese the lingua franca of the Multiverse? This was absolutely ridiculous, but Subaru was okay with it since it was beneficial to him.

'But why does the Alphabet change even though the language does not change?'

Being illiterate was an uncomfortable situation for Subaru. It was a huge obstacle to their plans. That's why he decided to spend his recovery period in bed by learning to read and write again. It had been about a week and a half since his arrival here, and he could already say that he had completely mastered the common Teyvat alphabet. It had already taken him a few weeks to learn Lugnica's alphabet. But it was more like the Japanese alphabet. There were hundreds of different characters and letters. This teyvat alphabet was more similar to the Latin alphabet. There were about twenty seven letters. Some were almost identical to those in the Latin alphabet. For example, the letter 'z'. Many of them also looked like their Latin counterparts turned upside down. Like 'M, N, U'. It was a bit suspicious. But this way it was very easy to learn. What he did now was just try to get his hand used to writing and make his writing more beautiful. Tianbao also helped him with this.

Tianbao came to visit him often and took care of simple chores such as shopping for him. Subaru wasn't wrong in guessing his character. He was a person with a truly pure heart. He felt indebted to Subaru for saving him. He didn't even take his portion of the prize money and offered to give it to Subaru because he believed he deserved it more. But Subaru refused. Tianbao's share was not very large anyway, and Subaru wanted to maintain good relations with Tianbao. They had become pretty good friends in this week and a half. More precisely... Tianbao thought so.

Subaru put down the pen in his hand, closed the notebook, and leaned back. He was currently in the room of an inn where the Adventurers' guild had put him. According to their agreement, accommodation expenses were covered by the adventurers' guild until they recovered. The room was quite plain, but it still did Subaru's job. There was even a separate counter for cooking. The window was also very large and got plenty of sun. It wasn't completely perfect, though. The walls were a little too thin and people in other rooms could be heard quite clearly. Likewise, Subaru was confident that his own conversations would be overheard as well. That's why when he needed to talk, he tried to speak as quietly as he could in the room.

Subaru was completely alone in the apartment now. He sent Antares out shopping with Tianbao. He told Tianbao that Antares wanted to see outside and telepathically ordered Antares to observe outside. He was trying to show the outside world that Antares could act as an individual, as independent of him as possible. The more witnesses there are to see that Antares is not an entity affiliated with Subaru, the better.

'Still, they should have arrived by now.' thought Subaru as he began to look out the window. The view outside wasn't bad. It was one of the few good things about this inn. Traditional Chinese architecture. This was more than a simple inspiration. 'Officially copied...'

After a while, Subaru felt a sensation in his mind. It was Antares. They approached the door. Subaru sighed and reached for his cane next to him. His wounds were still not fully healed. It was obvious that he had pushed himself very hard at that time. For now, he needed a cane even to walk.

The sound of someone knocking on the door was heard. Subaru slowly stood up and limped to open the door. It was Tianbao and Antares at the door. Tianbao was wearing his usual adventurer uniform and had paper bags in his hands. When Anteres saw Subaru, she immediately flew towards him and hovered next to his head. Tianbao went in to put the supplies and bags in his hand into the room.

"Why are you so late? Is there a problem?" Subaru said as he moved to help with the bags in Tianbao's hands.

"No. No. I just had to stop by my own house to pick up something. I'll put these by the stove, right?" He said as he walked over to the stove without giving Subaru a chance to help.

"Yes... I'll use them in a moment."

"Um... Don't get me wrong, Alcor... But you weren't very good at cooking last time I checked."

Subaru sighed. He really wasn't very good at cooking. Because he never needed to learn. Normally, since Elsa didn't know how to cook, Meili usually took care of the cooking.

"Don't worry, I'm good at making what I'm about to do. This is a sauce that's my family's special recipe."

"An Inazuma flavor, huh? I'd really like to try that."

"I'm not sure it can be called Inazuma food. After all, I haven't seen anyone outside of my family who knows how to make it. It's our family's biggest secret, after all."

"You seem to be exaggerating a bit. Is this really that important?"

"Yes, it's important. Now step away from the stove and go outside. Don't come back until I give you permission."

"What why?"

"The recipe for this sauce is a secret. I'm sorry, buddy, but I can't let you see it made."

"So, will Antares come out too?"

"No. She's family too. But unless you plan to change your last name to Hoshimoto, you can't stay."

"Come on bro... Are you seriously going to make me stand in the hallway? I won't look, I swear."

"I know. But rules are rules. You know, customs and traditions are very important to us Inazuma people. They are very important to me, too."

"You know, I never believed it. But whatever. Just let me know when you're ready." Tianbao said and left the apartment. He found it unnecessary to argue with his friend over such a small thing. But just as he was about to leave, he stopped. "By the way, I got the books you asked for. They're here." He said and took out two books from one of the packages and the remaining money Subaru gave for the books and gave them to Subaru.

Subaru took the books and money from Tianbao and examined them. One of the books was about the traditions of Liyue. The other was about the Gods living in the Liyue region. Subaru wanted these to get more information about this place. He knew he needed to do more research, especially about those Gods and Adeptus.

"Thanks dude."

"You're welcome. Besides, I have another book to give you." He said as he took out a slightly older looking book from his own bag and handed it to Subaru.

Subaru picked up the book and read the title. "Adventurer's Guide, Liyue edition. Written by Alice. "This book belongs to Tianbao" was written in dark ink on the back of the cover. "Is this what you went to pick up from home?"

"Yes. It was very useful to me. Unfortunately, there are not many of this book available anymore. People believe that it contains too many personal opinions. They are actually right, however, the book is quite entertaining. Let it be a gift from me to you for the beginning of your adventuring life."

"Are you sure? It looks like something valuable. Let me at least pay for it."

"No, that would be against the concept of a gift anyway. Just accept it. It's nothing compared to what you've done for me anyway."

"So be it... Thank you."

Tianbao accepted the thanks with a smile and walked out. Subaru placed the books on a nearby table and rolled up his sleeves. He broke the eggs and started to prepare mayonnaise with the ingredients he had. He knew that Tianbao wouldn't look even if he stayed in the room. But he still wanted to keep it secret. While he was getting the materials, he even had to buy a few unnecessary items extra. Just in case.

Shortly after, Teyvat's first mayonnaise was produced. Subaru first put the mayonnaise he prepared into a jar. Then she prepared two simple mayonnaise breakfast sandwiches. and as he moved to the table, he called Tianbao in.

"It was short lived. Is this what you're making such a big deal about?" He said while sitting at the table and examining the sandwich in front of him.

"Feast your mouth. The name of this sauce is mayonnaise. It is also known as the sauce of kings. Once you eat it, you will be addicted to it, don't worry. I haven't eaten it for a few weeks and I'm already showing withdrawal symptoms."

"...Alcor, you didn't add anything to this other than the materials I brought, right? Drug use is a big crime in Liyue." Tianbao said, examining the sandwich in his hand suspiciously.

"For the sake of our friendship, I will ignore your insolence this time and spare your life. Please never compare Mayonnaise to those disgusting drugs again. This is an insult to my family and my values."

Tianbao just shrugged and took a bite of the sandwich. He must have liked it because he took another bite. And one more bite.

"Wow, you weren't kidding. This is really good."

"I told you." He said as he started eating his own sandwich. He missed this taste. The last time he ate was before he started the fire. Who knows how many cycles it had been. They quickly finished their sandwiches.

"Are you still determined not to give me the recipe?"

"Don't bother. Still, if it goes as planned, you will be able to eat this sauce whenever you want. I plan to produce and sell this sauce."

"So... it would be easier for you to buy the copyright and deal with another seller instead of selling it yourself. I don't think you can get sales rights here."

"From where?"

"Dude, this is Teyvat's Trade City. You don't think they'll let anyone sell to you here. There are more than a hundred paperwork and paperwork. Besides, since you're not from Liyue, your job is much harder than usual."

'Who knows how long it's been since bureaucracy was last an obstacle for me.'

"Tell me, what does a foreigner like me have to do to get a sales permit?"

"It's hard to say. I learned a little about this paperwork when I was getting permission to sell the things I found on Adventurers' Guild missions, but I still don't have much knowledge. As far as I know, you first need to get a residence permit, even temporarily. It doesn't count as what the adventurer's guild provides, but it makes your job easier. For this permit, you need to stay in Liyue for a few months. You must also have a certain amount of savings. There are also normally situations such as why you left your previous place of residence and why you came here. And of course, information should normally be obtained from your previous place of residence for verification, but you can benefit from refugee or nomad assistance to skip this part. Because you're from Inazuma. So you don't need documents from the previous Inazuma. Of course, this is just the first step. The requirements for the sales document are much more. You will have a few exams to take. Additionally, since you are going to sell food, this food must also be inspected. And..."

"Okay okay... stop. I have a headache... isn't there an easier way?"

"It would be easier if you had a document from another Country's government or trade guild confirming your credibility. But if you had something like this, I think you would have said so by now. Of course, there is also the exam for foreigners in two weeks. But that's not really an option."

"An exam? Is this any different from other exams?"

"It could be said that way. I told you about the Descent ritual before, didn't I?"

"Isn't that the ceremony that took place about two or three weeks ago? The one where Rex Lapis came."

"Yes. This is an event that affects the trade of all Liyue. It indirectly affects the trade of all Teyvat. That's why many traders or those who want to be traders from other countries come to this annual ritual. This is the time when trade is at its busiest and new, never-before-seen products are introduced. After all, entering new products into the market is a very important and productive thing. Applying standard protocol to every person who comes in takes a lot of time. But of course, not every foreigner can be given a sales permit just because they bring a new product."

"So there's a shortcut test for these people?"

"It can't be called that exactly. It is more of an exam consisting of three stages. It takes place twice a year. About a month before and after the ritual. The first stage is the examination and evaluation of the new product. Here, the product is evaluated by experts whether it meets the criteria or not. It is easier for foods to pass this test as long as they pass health tests. The second stage is the written exam. Basically, sellers are tested on commercial and economic law. The last stage is the interview. If you pass these and rank above the limit, you can get a special temporary sales permit. After receiving this permission, if you can prepare your documents in time, meet the quota and do not cause any problems, you can get the accommodation and sales permit within a few months."

"Looks pretty good. So why did you say that wasn't an option?"

"This is only good in theory. Look, this road is actually much more difficult than the normal long road. The evaluation part of the product is easy, yes. But the written exam and interview are many times more difficult than usual. Those who plan to take this exam start studying a year or two in advance. And these guys are experts. And sometimes even that isn't enough, because Liyue's legal system undergoes a small overhaul every month and a major overhaul every year. I must say that the exam fee is also expensive. Unfortunately, if you cannot say that you have studied Liyue's law and tax system in Inazuma for years despite being illiterate, taking this exam will be a complete waste of money for you. But of course, you can start studying now to take this exam next year in case you fail to pass it the normal way."

"I see... you said there would be two weeks until this exam, right?"

"Yes..."

"How quickly can you get me the study books containing the syllabus for this exam?"

"You're not seriously thinking of going in, are you?"

"Why not? I know a little about sales from Inazuma. At least it will give me experience."

"It's not worth spending that much money just for the experience bro. They make it really expensive for only serious people to enter. Thanks to the prize money, you're in a good financial situation now. But this will still shake your budget to a considerable extent."

Tianbao looked quite serious. He was trying to prevent his friend from making a mistake, in his own way. Subaru understood him. According to what Tianbao said and common sense, it was really unlikely that he would pass the exam the first time. But he wasn't planning on passing the first time anyway.

Subaru turned his head to the red spirit standing next to him and said with a smile. "What do you think, Antares?"

Antares' response was simply to move up and down excitedly, making a sign of approval. Tianbao then sighed and said.

"Come on, seriously?"

"What? Do you find it weird that I'm asking for my partner's opinion?"

"Alcor... We both know Antares is not a decision lens."

"What do you want to say?"

"Not once have I seen him reject anything you say. Not even hesitation. Not once has he reacted in any way other than approval. His views seem a little too tied to yours. Haven't you noticed?"

'You're making things unnecessarily complicated again, Tianbao. Anyway... let's make it lighthearted and ignore it.' thought Alcor in his mind as he sent a series of orders to Antares.

"You're talking nonsense. Isn't this wrong, Antares?"

Antares also just confirmed the same.

"See, Tianbao!"

"If you're talking about whether I saw that I was completely right... yes, I definitely did."

"Did you start acting as a comedian because your adventurous salary wasn't enough?"

"No, but if you take this exam, you will actually need a second job due to lack of money. Remember, when your rank is low in the adventurers' guild, you can only do simple quests. And considering your health, making money may be a problem for you in the near future."

"Look, I understand you. But trust me a little. Don't worry, I'll pass."

"By the way, cheating is impossible there. Almost everyone's exam papers are specially prepared according to their applications."

"Cheating?! Don't talk nonsense! Did you seriously think I would break the law just for this? It's not even worth it. Anyway... you're going to bring me the books, right? After all, even if I don't pass this exam, I will still need to learn these things. I also need a few notebooks and a small pocket diary."

"Ah... Okay... I won't try to stop you. But don't come to me and cry when you run out of money. By the way, if there's any more of this sauce left, can I get some to take home?"

---

'It really looks like I'm going to attract a lot of suspicion.' Subaru thought as he closed the brick-thick book in his hand. He had been working on the Liyue trade law and taxation system from scratch continuously for the past four days. Yes, he was planning to pass the exam by using his authority. But he still needed to have some knowledge about this, both for his work and in case anyone asks. and now he understood why Tianbao had emphasized the difficulty of the exam so many times.

'I must admit, these laws are quite meticulous and detailed. There are almost no loopholes in the rules. It seems like every possibility of abuse was thought of in advance. This could make our business difficult in the long run. Also, the doubt that passing the exam will bring will be more than I thought. But there is nothing to do. The alternatives are more troublesome and problematic. For my plans, I need to get into business eventually. 'I think I should lay low for a while after the exam.'

Subaru sighed, leaning back in his chair and wiping the sweat from his face with the tissue he took from the table. The weather was quite hot in Liyue. The water in the jug on the table, which Subaru would drink while working to cool down, had already warmed up. Subaru gave Antares a mental command to cool the water in the Jug. In less than a minute, the water in the Jug had cooled completely. There were even pieces of ice floating in the jug. Subaru thought as he filled his glass with water from the jug. 'I wonder what people on this World would say if they saw fire magic being used for cooling?' Subaru smiled involuntarily. Since he came here, he had tried to study the spells here from books, and what he read was not very satisfactory. This planet's elemental magic was more primitive and unstable. They were unstable enough to react on their own. 'Seven Elements. seven elements that truly represent the elements.' In the previous World, there was also the concept of element in magic. But this was just to make it easier for ordinary people to understand. The six basic elements were actually concepts rather than elements.

Wind would seem the simplest, but it should not be underestimated. It represents what is outside the bodies of living things. Simply put, it can be said to be Gas manipulation. But of course it also provides sound and smell manipulation. and could also be used in compound spells to increase the area of effect of the spell. and most importantly, it improves your perception and allows you to see spirits and other hidden things on the spiritual plane as long as there is air in the environment. makes you see the invisible.

The element of fire was also one of the easiest to understand. It's basically temperature manipulation. It's not just high temperature. Coldness manipulation is also under the control of the Fire element. All kinds of ice and fire spells can be cast with this element. Even soul-destroying attacks are possible. In multiple spells, the power of this element increases to abnormal levels.

Earth basically functions inside the bodies of living things. solid matter manipulation. Soil and metal manipulation is the easiest and most frequently used aspect. It is used to produce instant items from soil. but it can also be used to clone anything solid. Even food materials such as meat can be cloned with this element. But of course the cloned material is somewhat flawed. In addition, the original material is also damaged after cloning. so cloning cannot be repeated indefinitely.

The element of Water can of course be used to cast classic Water spells. In addition to creating water from scratch, the temperature of the water can also be manipulated with this element. You can burn enemies with boiling water or turn them into a sieve with ice spears. But the Water element is more than that. Water is basically life manipulation. It's not just healing magic. Necromancy spells such as zombie creation and control are also possible with this element. and of course there's the Sacrament of the Immortal King spell for resurrection. But this is far from a full-blown revival. the spell was incomplete. 'since it was already half a spell, OdLaguna allowed this spell to still exist.'

and of course there are Yin and Yang elements. These two are far beyond the other four elements. We can say that they are a combination of more than one concept. yet they are much more difficult to understand, learn and use. and they are rarer.

Yang is basically energy and light Manipulation. It is also the manifestation of the concepts of Strengthening, Uniting, Repair and Purification. Creating pure flames that burn the soul. creating structures of pure energy and light. Removing curses. Granting Physical and mental buffs to yourself or your allies. Purification spells. Performing pure energy attacks such as light-speed laser attacks. Casting repair spells that can even return burnt and ashes to their original, unburned forms by combining the ashes. making connections between individuals and objects. Increasing the powers of other spells. and many more are done with Yang magic.

Yin is by far the element with the most potential. Space-Time, Gravity and shadow manipulation. It is also the manifestation of the concepts of Weakening, Separation and degradation. Casting all kinds of Curse spells. wandering around, hiding in the shadows. Manipulating the effect of gravity on the target. Teleport. opening portals. Interuniversal teleportation. debuff spells. Performing crystal attacks that ignore defense and weaken the target's time and presence, shattering the target. Extending or shortening the distances between places. Creating endless corridors by connecting the beginning and end of the spaces. Creating pocket universes. To speed up or slow down the time of yourself or those around you. stop time. Separating oneself from reality and becoming temporarily immune to all physical, magical, mental and spiritual attacks. disabling the target's senses by separating the target's existence from reality. Using the same method, temporarily separating the target's mind from his body and temporarily rendering the target unable to react. sending the target into empty space where reality itself does not exist. By isolating a certain place from existence with magic circle technology, it will reduce even Od Laguna's influence there and weaken the divine protections. Creating spaces that cannot be observed with the same method. To destroy or neutralize all kinds of magic around, everything that works with magic and everything consisting of pure magic, regardless of its type and power, by separating the surrounding Mana from the universe and rendering it dysfunctional. and many more... Yin Magic was the most superior. There were too many conditions, though. 'I know how to cast these spells. But advanced Yin spells consume astronomical levels of Mana. Also, considering the weakness of my Gate, these spells are just a dream for me. For now.'

and these were just the thematic elements. multi-element spells were a different matter. With the combined use of Yin Yang magic, it was possible to perform almost all kinds of illusions and mind-affecting spells. There was a separate classification called dream users. Still, despite everything, these spells were nowhere near the true potential of these elements. But unfortunately, there was an obstacle to the development of Magic that could not be eliminated.

'Od Laguna... The consciousness above everything...' Subaru frowned as the memory of an old conversation came to his mind.

"Let's see if I understand correctly? You are the wisest mage of this era in this World. But even you can't complete this half resurrection spell of Blue? Nonsense...

"Let me make sure you don't misunderstand. Even if I could perfect this ritual, I wouldn't do it. Od Laguna would never allow such a resurrection spell."

"Od Laguna?"

Subaru grimaced at what he just heard.

"Od Laguna... how should I put it, the pile of meaning in the Universe. No, if we assume that the universe itself is a living being, Od Laguna would be its essence, its Od. Of course, we do not know its exact location or whether it has feelings."

"What do you mean the Od of the World… won't allow it?"

"To explain this, a quick recap of the entire history of magic to date would be necessary."

"I do not have time. Let it be in three sentences for now. Then you can explain it in detail."

"Too hard."

Roswaal rubbed his chin, thinking about what to say. Then he began to explain as coherently, succinctly as possible.

"All magic in this world is the invention of wizards of the past. The first incident of magic began when an individual with an extraordinary talent for manipulating mana cast a spell of his own type. As the number of people who can perform magic and the differences between them increased, it became difficult to separate phenomena without naming or classifying them."

"Then magic was named and divided into different types of aptitudes."

"Yes. As the scope of magic techniques and knowledge expanded, incredibly talented people began to be born. They found many branches for the use of mana, creating new spells that were separate from existing magic forms. While the development of magic has always been ongoing, ordinary magicians have benefited greatly from the discoveries of geniuses."

"It was a bit of a spiteful lesson since you are one of those geniuses."

"I may have had an unpleasant time or two myself."

In every world and universe, people who were too skilled were excluded. There was a time when Roswaal, in his immature state, experienced those looks and obstacles. Now he remembered those days with a smile and secretly took his revenge.

"So what does this have to do with Od Laguna?"

"It's about the source of magic and the power called mana. During research on this topic, people tested unexpected approaches and methods of using mana. Those who created those shockingly effective spells began to stand out even among the geniuses. Such spells produced results far beyond their predecessors, so much so that a single wizard could change the geography or reality of an area at will. —And when it happened, they all saw the exact same thing."

Subaru didn't say anything. Something had changed in Roswaal's speech.

"They saw the pale glowing Mana that they manipulated with ease. But this was an incomprehensible power, far beyond anything they had touched before. — Even these mages who were aware of the knowledge of forbidden magic had their minds damaged when they witnessed the vastness of mana. They all went crazy.

"And it was Od Laguna who did this… the source of the World?"

"Just as people fear illness or injury, the World avoids and rejects things that might shake its foundation or plan. This was the first thing said about Od Laguna. The common point of those whose minds were damaged by witnessing Od Laguna was that they had access to spells that could rewrite history or the laws of the universe."

It was unclear how powerful their magic was.

They completed the theory and algorithm behind their spells, but before they could display and use the completed algorithm, their minds were damaged.

"So resurrection is one of those spells?"

"I want to see my precious person from whom I have been separated again. This is an ubiquitous desire shared by all, and more than one genius has been motivated by it. But they too lost their minds to Od Laguna without reaching anyone."

How funny, Subaru thought.

It was unclear whether Od Laguna actually existed or whether it had damaged the minds of those mages. But it was still in demand to find the limits of abilities and to understand the goal that everyone desires.

"One theory claims that Od Laguna is the consciousness that rules all. And although it is doubtful, it could have been Od Laguna who gave her Blessings to the people. —people believe it."

"Trying not to get involved but getting yourself involved… these divine things seem meaningless no matter where you are."

"'This divine thing' is a fun way of putting it."

Roswaal laughed, ignoring Subaru's ignorance of logic in treating Od Laguna like a god. Subaru didn't expect this discussion, their main topic at the time was something other than Od Laguna, and he returned the topic there.

"Well, isn't your goal to resurrect your teacher? So your meeting with your Teacher again will not anger Od Laguna."

"Exactly. There will be no forbidden art, special power or algorithm involved. Frankly, I am much more worried that you will be the main person who will disturb Od Laguna."

"...Honestly, I was thinking the same thing."

Return By Death. Subaru did not intend to explain the necessity of this in detail, but it would not be an exaggeration to say that Subaru's ability also touched upon the resurrection taboo.

With his power, Subaru was changing his own destiny, saving the lives of his tools, and even destroying the lives of others. He was deciding who would die and who would live. He was rewriting history.

If Od Laguna had witnessed this, it would have been impossible for Subaru to exceed its demanding standards.

Perhaps Subaru's Return By Death was powerful enough to escape Od Laguna.

'There seems to be no Od Laguna in this universe. This gives rise to two possibilities. There may not be a power limiting the sophistication of magic here. If this possibility is true, the upper limit of the powers of the beings in this universe may be much higher than I thought. I can't even calculate what kind of powers exist. The second possibility is that there may be entities that limit the development of magic, such as Od laguna. This raises a lot of questions. Is this Being or beings incomprehensible Lovecraftian existences like Odlaguna? How do they punish those who go above a certain level of development? Do these beings also have an avatar in this World? Like Odlaguna's Reinhard?' Subaru sighed again and was delivered in his chair. The break he took to rest his mind had backfired.

Subaru opened the cover of the book again, thinking 'Everything is in order'. And the rest of the day he worked on Customs taxation systems. He paid attention to repeating what he read out loud while working.

---

Subaru slowly limped out of the exam center, carrying his cane. He was quite angry and made no effort to hide it. After all, no one would remember this.

The exam was a little worse than he expected. He believed he was able to answer a few of the comment questions. But the information questions were extremely difficult because they asked for details. He was absolutely sure he was staying. But the really scary part was the interview. No need for details, it was annoying. especially the interviewers... They literally insulted the Pride's archbishop. It was ironic and funny. Of course, not for Subaru. Of course, Subaru still tried to answer the questions as best he could. and he actually gave a passable performance thanks to his ability to twist words. Until... 'Until that dishonorable jury with the moustache intervened. Whatever, it happened.' Subaru continued to repeat the exam questions in his mind as he walked slowly. On the other hand, he continued to observe his surroundings. The people who took the exam were very diverse. some were rich some were poor. There were people from many different countries. But if there was one thing they had in common, it was that they were all nervous. Even those who studied hard for the exam were nervous. After all, the risk was high. The entrance fee was considerable. Subaru shrugged and accelerated his walking pace towards his Inn. Walking was still painful. He could barely walk without a cane. In fact, Tianbao offered to go with him to the exam center and back. But he couldn't come because he had to go on a mission outside the Port. He had actually tried to reject the Guild's mission for Subaru, but Subaru had blocked him. If he wanted to receive a position from the Guild soon, he had to prove that he had recovered. That's why he also rejected help from Tianbao's friends.

Still, Subaru never expected that the road would tire him out this much. He was also incredibly sweaty. Actually it wasn't that hot. But Subaru was sweating a lot more than usual because he was wearing a business suit he had custom-made for the interview. 'First impressions are important, of course, but I don't want to sweat so much next time. 'Let me have a more comfortable suit made.' Fortunately, he didn't have to walk much. He stopped when he saw the red dot in front of him coming towards him. He left Antares at the guild because he couldn't take him to the exam. Ever since Subaru dropped him off, he had been circling around the Wall clock in the Guild headquarters. When the exam's end time came, he immediately jumped out of the Guild and started flying towards Subaru. Subaru did not react to his arrival. he was just happy that he didn't need to return to the guild anymore. He looked around. He was almost close to the guild and knew this place as much as Tianbao told him. There was a restaurant nearby. sufficient. Subaru slowly walked towards the restaurant and arrived quickly.

Wanmin Restaurant... Tianbao praised the food of this place very much. A mix of every cuisine in the World. A style outside of standard culinary traditions. Of course, this had nothing to do with Subaru choosing this place. he just needed a place to sit and rest. Despite this, he was a little hungry, of course. After all, the exams took a long time. Subaru entered the restaurant. It wasn't a very big place. There were relatively few tables inside. Most of the tables were outside. There was a roof outside to protect the outside tables from the rain. Inside, the kitchen could be seen through the glass of the door behind the payment point. The payment point was separated from the tables inside by a counter. There were also two doors leading out and in from the reserved area. It was possible to take orders from outside and inside. There was nothing very flashy about it. There weren't many customers either. It wasn't that surprising. 'After all, it's not dinner time yet. Let's end this nonsense.' His anger gave way to boredom.

Subaru arrived at the counter. Meanwhile, the chef, noticing that a new customer had arrived, left the kitchen. Subaru looked at the incoming man. He had a simple outfit. He was wearing a matte golden outfit over dark brown loose trousers and a lighter colored yellow striped vest over that outfit. She was also wearing a black kitchen apron over her outfit. The man also examined the Subaru. He didn't seem to be from here. He was wearing a well-tailored black business formal suit. He had a simple cane in his hand. There was a somewhat large burn wound on his face around his right eye. There was also a ball of red light floating in the air to his left. 'Is he some kind of alchemical product or a visionary?' It was an unusual sight. But the strangest thing was his eyes. They were very scary and ominous. But beyond that there was something wrong in his eyes. but the man ignored it. Wanmin Restaurant catered to everyone as long as the rules were followed and did not judge people by their appearance.

"Welcome, I'm Chef Mao. I'm the owner of the restaurant. You don't look like you're from around here. Are you here for the Wanmin Restaurant experience?"

"Yes... You could say so. I'm Alcor. Nice to meet you. I'm visiting Liyue and I heard about this place from my friend. He praised you very much. However, I don't know much about this place."

"Your friend has good taste. As I said, I am a chef. I may not be as much of a culinary legend as my daughter, but you can be sure that Wanmin Restaurant is far superior to all those well-established brands you see around! Rest assured, you will not regret choosing this place."

"Your daughter?"

"That's right - Xiangling! My beloved daughter and the best apprentice ever. I only taught Xiangling how to cook so that she could inherit the-"

Subaru instantly regretted asking. The man seemed very proud of his daughter. He continued to praise his own daughter incessantly. Even though the minutes had passed, he wasn't slowing down, and luckily for Subaru, there was no one else ordering food so there was no reason for him to stop. Subaru couldn't care less about what she said. He just wanted to get rid of this nonsense and get back to work.

"-That's why if there is anyone who will revolutionize Liyue cuisine in the future, it will be her. There is no doubt about it!"

"Well... I'll definitely come over to eat sometime when she's here."

"You absolutely should! Because-"

"Do you have any suggestions for food?" Subaru said to change the subject.

"Blackback Seabass Stew is our signature dish. Of course, you can find it at other restaurants, but I guarantee it won't be as delicious as ours. It's a generous serving of fish cooked with a special blend of chili oil made from Jueyun Chili and Violetgrass. Beautifully tender, full of flavor. No one who's ever eaten this has ever had a single taste." I haven't had any complaints! Of course, I have to warn you that it's a bit spicy for some people so not everyone will eat it."

"Then I won't buy it. I don't like hot peppers or anything like that. Do you have any other suggestions?"

"Oh, what a shame. A person who can't eat spicy food misses out on a significant portion of life's pleasures. Let's see, here's the menu. If you want to try something from Liyue's cuisine, I recommend Dragon Beard Noodles. Of course, if you want something sweeter, Universal Peace." You can also try."

"hm... I don't think there's anything Inazuma based on the menu, right?"

"—Is that all? Apart from his Inazuma origin, do you have any other special requests?"

"Huh? Can we order special requests?"

"Ha! Giving people what they want is why Wanmin Restaurant exists. If I thought I couldn't make a dish that fulfilled such a simple request, I would never call myself a chef again."

"I see... Actually, this might be good. Do you know how to make Donburi and Miso Soup?"

"Yes, there were other tourists who wanted these, too. I can quickly resolve that. But let me say this first: special requests will cost you more than usual. Of course, we will not charge prices close to exorbitant prices like Liuli Pavilion or Xinyue Kiosk.

"Money is no problem. Please do not spare any expense. I will pay up front." Subaru said as he pulled out a pouch full of Mora on the counter. This was almost all of his money. After all, he didn't need to care about this since he would reset it anyway.

"This?! Way more than necessary, sir."

"Please accept the excess as a tip. Don't worry, it's okay."

"Okay, then I'll go and prepare the food. Please sit wherever you want. Your food will be with you shortly!"

Subaru sat down at a table in the out-of-the-way corner and relaxed. He was exasperated because the conversation was taking on unnecessarily long. While Subaru was sitting and resting, he took out his pocket planner and started writing down everything asked in the exam in minute detail. He would repeat it to make it easier for him to remember when he came back. After a while his food arrived. Chief Mao was certainly not exaggerating. He was a pretty good cook. Of course, if Subaru said he could taste it completely, it would be a lie. After so many deaths, the pleasures in life had become dull for him. But despite this, the food was still good. 'Perhaps this conversation wasn't a complete waste of time. I may visit this place again. Of course, after solving the money problem.' Subaru thought after finishing his meal. There was nothing left to do in this Cycle. In fact, before he died, he thought about going to the city center and using everything he had to do the most damage he could and burn everything. 'At least I would learn the strength of this city's guards. But if there is a being in this World that can resist Return By Death, it would not be good to pay so much attention.' Subaru secretly believed that no one could resist Return By Death. But he still wouldn't let his guard down. He would wait at least a few more months. If no one had come to find him for RBD by then, he would start acting the same way he did in the previous world. 'For the sake of this World... pray for someone to come.' Subaru thought as he looked at the customers in the increasingly crowded restaurant.

'Other than that, what else can I do here? Because of the witch's scent incident, I have to make good use of the cycles... I found... scent.'

Subaru stood up and left the restaurant without saying goodbye to Chef Mao. Antares was also following him. For scouting missions, adventurers must be able to hide well. Of course, unfortunately, being out of sight and not making a sound was not enough. Many monsters could smell humans from a distance. That's why adventurers needed to be able to hide their scent. That's what Tianbao said when he was giving him lessons for his adventurous life. and there was a place he suggested for this job. Subaru went there too.

Scent of Spring, Assistant Ying'er.

They generally sold ornaments such as vases. But Ying'er also produced perfume as a side job. She was also knowledgeable in alchemy. Some of their perfumes had special properties.

The woman was a young woman wearing a purple dress. Of course, it seemed impossible to guess her exact age due to the amount of make-up she used. Actually, her make-up was quite professional. It would be almost impossible for a normal person to notice the excess makeup on this woman. They thought it was a small amount of make-up she. But of course, Subaru was one of the most knowledgeable people about women's makeup, as he was a crossdresser expert who could be considered a genius among the best, and he could easily spot it.

Subaru had come here to see if he could find a perfume that could suppress the evil odor of the witch's scent. And he had to admit, Ying'er was truly an expert on this subject. The woman's knowledge of alchemy was more than a simple hobby. The only bad thing about the woman was probably her tone and behavior. She was too sensual, to say the least. Even though Subaru was immune to such things because of Elsa, he still found the woman's tone annoying. Subaru's concept of love was definitely twisted, but it was never sexual. Of course, he was talking about ultimate love here. He didn't mean what happened with Elsa...

'Elsa...'

Subaru shook his head and pushed away the melancholy.

Despite the woman's attitude, Subaru still got the information he wanted. There were many perfumes that could hide the magical aura. but here he encountered two problems. The first was money. These perfumes were custom made and very expensive. This could be solved, but the second problem was a bit troublesome. The purpose of such perfumes was very clear. It was suspicious that someone would try to hide their own aura. Ying'er was actually starting to get quite suspicious. Of course, this was also due to Subaru not bothering to act. She might even go to report the conversation here to the authorities as soon as Subaru left. Also, since Subaru cannot produce this perfume itself, someone could trace it to this shop. 'Unfortunately, I cannot use my authority to learn alchemy for now. It increases the smell too much and defeats my purpose. 'Not for now, but in a few months when I learn more about this world, why not?'

Subaru had a temporary solution, of course. ordering the least abnormal of these special perfumes in the next cycle. He found the one he was looking for. A perfume made from the Marcotte plant. It could even suppress supernatural odors, and it wasn't extremely rare. It was just a matter of taste. It will work even if not as much as the formulas made for this job. Of course, the price of this perfume was one of the most expensive. The Marcotte plant was brought from Fontaine and was an indispensable material for a perfumer. Many potions were made with it. Still, Subaru looked at what he found and smiled. 'This should work.' Subaru thought as he turned to the uneasy Ying'er. The woman hid her uneasiness well, but she couldn't fool Subaru. For a moment, Subaru considered holding a fiery knife to the woman's throat and forcing her to teach him the recipe for this potion. but he gave up this idea. The alchemy table was clearly visible from the outside. One of the guards on patrol would see them before the work was done. Also, such advanced perfumes are not something that happens in a few hours. They had very long fermentation processes.

"I think I'm almost done here."

"Ah... Dear customer, have you found what you desire? We can provide you with all kinds of-Hk..Hg...!"

Ying'er fell to her knees as blood stained the floor. He held his throat with all his strength and tried to stop the gushing blood. His calm demeanor was completely gone. His eyes were filled with fear of death and tears. But his effort was in vain. Antares's fiery knife had accurately hit the jugular vein in the woman's throat. Even the magical cure, let alone the normal cure, might not be able to cure it if it wasn't high enough. After a very short time, the woman's movements slowed down and stopped completely when she fainted from blood loss.

Subaru looked at the dying woman. He hadn't done this in vain. He wouldn't do evil just for evil's sake. The woman seemed to have a lot of alchemy knowledge. He had to make sure he was a normal person or had a way to defend himself, just in case. It could be important in the future.

"He's really normal. This is a bit disappointing. Anyway, this place will be filled with chaos soon. I'd better get going." Subaru said and collapsed to the ground as the second fire stab entered his eye.

...

When Subaru opened his eyes again, he found himself sitting at a familiar table. He was in his own apartment. As seen from the window, it was almost evening. Subaru immediately took out his small pocket diary and checked the date of the last note he wrote. 'I'm about three and a half days ago. average time. 'That's enough.' Subaru thought as he closed the calendar. It was clear what he had to do. He should have started working on the questions that came up. He also had to make sure that Tianbao did not participate in the mission tomorrow so that he could participate in this reconnaissance mission two days later. In this way, Tianbao could receive the money for the historical artifacts found by chance in the discovery this time. What would benefit the allies would also benefit him. now. but his mind was busy with another thought.

'Last time I wasn't sure because I had other issues to focus on. But now I'm sure. It seems easier to die in this World. It sounds like complete nonsense, but I'm sure. Death is more comfortable and painless here. It's still a terrible pain. It's still a disgusting and scary feeling. It's still something that makes all kinds of torture seem like child's work. But... But it doesn't even compare to my previous deaths on World. This is weird... I need to look into it.'

"But for now, let's get back to work."

---

"Sikwu."

"come on! I was so close to finishing."

"You're just out of luck. Try again next time." Subaru said as he opened the stones in his hand and finished the set.

"Are you sure you've never played Mahjong before?"

"Of course I knew Inazuman style Mahjong, but I hadn't had the chance to play it much."

"Liar."

"Believe whatever you want, Brother Qian." Subaru said as he tossed a few Mora into the pouch at the waist of his adventurer uniform next to the table. Qian was really confident in Mahjong. He offered to make a bet. But Subaru wasn't sure if she regretted it now. Subaru had always been stupidly good at board games. and of course it also helped that Antares showed him his opponent's hand in his mind. Even though money wasn't much, every little mora was important to him. It was also important to develop relationships with important people. Qian looked like an ordinary guild worker. But anyone who looked around a little would see that this was not true. The head of the Liyue branch of the adventurer's guild was a woman in her twenties named Lan. But she had reached this position only with her muscular strength. He couldn't even read or write, and he had corrupted his mind with a sword. Subaru wouldn't comment on her intelligence unless he spoke to her directly. but from what he had heard of him, he could at least say that he was completely ignorant in these matters of government. The management of the Liyue branch was basically two people. The first was Katheryne. Katheryne of Liyue. Subaru felt very strange about this human-like being. Subaru had met him once, but that was enough for Antares to sense something strange about him. It wasn't a dangerous feeling, but he would examine this woman in the future when he had the chance. Of course, the person who organized things more was Qian.

Qian was considered an intelligent person. He was good at paperwork. He was also successful in reading and directing people. Of course, being a master gambler also played a role in this. He was also hardworking. He worked day and night to manage and grow the adventurers' guild. Sometimes he even used betting to recruit new members. He wasn't just dealing with paperwork and administrative work. At the same time, we can say that he can do anything. It was so successful that the Liyue Adventurers Guild branch was still standing despite Liyue's strict legal system and the inaction of the branch head, Lan. Subaru was also sure that it was his idea to convey the offer to become an adventurer to him. Of course, he was not a very visible person. He wasn't doing this for any praise or position. He was doing it for love. He was madly in love with the branch president and all his efforts were for that girl. For some, this may seem silly or exaggerated. But the idea of going all out for the person you love was something Subaru respected. After all, he too had crossed every limit for Emilia.

NO

"Do you want to play another hand? I'm going to get serious this time." Qian said as he moved to arrange the stones, snapping Subaru out of his thoughts.

I would have liked to. But soon I have to do these physical tests that the adventurers guild wants. If I delay any longer, Tianbao will come here too.

"That's right, I almost forgot. Your adventurer registration is completed today, huh... please don't forget to drop off your registration results to the branch. When most adventurers just register, they forget about the paperwork out of excitement and immediately go to start their first mission."

"It's becoming more and more clear why adventurer deaths are so high."

"Hey, I can assure you that the Liyue branch has the fewest adventurer deaths. In fact, adventurer deaths were at a record low a few years ago. But-"

"Abyss Order."

"Yeah… In recent years, for some unknown reason, they have been increasing their actions. Especially around Mondstadt."

"They must be planning something, especially considering they were silent for so long before this, right? Shouldn't we take precautions accordingly?"

"Probably another guerrilla plan. You're exaggerating the Hilichurls. I'm sure the Mondstadt government has taken adequate precautions."

"You're right... one just can't help but worry." Subaru said, holding himself back from rolling his eyes, and bidding farewell to Qian, he and Antares began to walk towards the Adventurers' guild's training ground. He was still walking with a cane. His body was still in bad shape and walking was still painful. But he was pretending to be healed enough so that he could physically register and take part early. At the same time, he was thinking about Qian's answer. Qian was not a stupid person, but even he disdained hilichurls. Everyone in this world despised hilichurls. This was a fact that Subaru noticed. hilichurls were clearly a conscious intelligent life form with a certain level of intelligence. but to humans they were nothing but stupid pests to be killed. They certainly had the right to attack people, considering they were subjected to regular genocide. this was disgusting on World.

'But I guess it's human nature. however, these here hold up very well compared to the previous World. At this point I stopped counting how many genocides the four major countries committed. I'm glad all the countries are gone.'

When Antares beckoned him, Subaru was brought out of his thoughts and looked ahead. Tianbao was waving towards them with a file in his hand. Subaru responded with a smile. Tianbao said as they entered the training center after greeting each other.

"Why are you so late? I've become a tree here."

"sorry, Qian and I were playing Mahjong. It took longer than I expected."

"Did you defraud the man again?"

"It was a completely fair match." Subaru said as he took the pouch full of Mora on his waist and shook it.

"I doubt it very much. You must have cheated again. After all, you are an expert in this field."

"This topic again? I told you. I didn't cheat on the exam. Why don't you believe me? You saw me studying the subjects on the exam."

"Yes, isn't it a little strange that you studied exactly the topics and details that will be on the exam? Is it just luck?" he said, frowning.

"You're overreacting. I just reviewed previous years' exams and chose the subjects that were most likely to appear. What else could it be?"

"I don't know. That's what makes me angry. I can not understand. I don't think he got one of the examiners on his side. This seems unlikely and I've already checked. You couldn't have used Antares somehow. Not even if you can somehow communicate with him remotely. because Antares was with the guild this whole time. Alcor, seriously how did you do it?"

"work hard." Subaru said with a grin.

"Look, bro… I swear I won't tell anyone. Seriously, I don't care if you cheated on the exam. I think you're good enough to deserve this permit. I owe my life to you anyway. But curiosity is killing me. Please…" Tianbao said in a slightly more relaxed and friendly voice. .

"I already told you!"

"no you didn't! you... never mind. I'll just assume you're a seer until you explain it to me."

"You're just talking nonsense at this point. Do you seriously believe in fortunes and fate?" Subaru said, turning his attention further to the conversation.

"Why not? After all, Rtawahist is a real academic field."

"Rtawahist?"

"One of the 6 main research branches of Sumeru academy. Observers and fortune tellers interested in astronomy and astrology... wait, you really don't know? Or are you pretending not to know so I can believe you're not a seer?"

"You know I didn't go to the academy. I learned to read and write from you."

"Yes, but not every fortune teller is trained. Some are naturally talented. And watching the stars every night also influenced me to form this idea."

Subaru was about to answer when Antares stepped between Subaru and Tianbao, stopping them both. Antares increased its glow slightly and flew towards the clock on the wall at the entrance of the training center.

"Antares is right. Let's finish this before the training ground closes." said Tianbao. While taking out the file in his hand and his pen from his open pocket.

"wait, are you going to keep my records?"

"Didn't you like it? The number of people in the guild who are literate and available right now is less than you expected."

"Aren't they afraid of you doing me a favor?"

"First, I would never do this, even if you were my friend. Second, what we are doing now is just a formality. You and Antares have already proven your combat capability." he said as he walked towards the training weapons in the training area.

"So, where do we start?"

"Before physical tests, weapon type and proficiency are generally checked."

"As I said before, I don't have any weapons training."

"No problem. You can receive weapons training from more senior adventurers for a fee. In fact, if you decide to use a bow, I can teach you for free."

"Thanks, but I'm sure I won't choose the bow. After all, Antares handles ranged attacks."

"So how about using a Catalyst? I'm not sure if it will work the same for you, but they make things easier for many vision users."

"catalysts… I remember you mentioning that. Are there any examples here?"

"They're probably in the back of the warehouse. We don't have many training catalysts since only vision users can use them." Tianbao said and walked towards the back of the armory. After a while, he returned with two silver and decorated hollow circles, one large and one small, and a light-colored sphere that was even smaller in diameter. At one end of the large circle was a black pointed area. There was also a small green stone in the shape of a sphere in the circle.

"Are these catalysts?"

"These are parts of a single catalyst."

"How do the pieces fit together?"

"Once activated, they automatically intertwine."

"How is it activated?"

"I have not the foggiest idea."

"What?"

"catalysts can be used by those who can use elemental energy, and only vision users can channel elemental energies. And I don't have a vision unfortunately, bro."

"Yet you don't know how they work at all?"

"Of course, alchemists know how catalysts are made and work. But those who cannot use elemental energy cannot activate them. In fact, those who use them do not know how they work at all. It's kind of an instinctive thing. Let Antares just try to focus on the pieces in my hand. I'm sure it will work. After all, abyss mages and Samachurls who do not have vision can also use staff-shaped catalysts."

Subaru gestured approvingly at the Antares. but he also mentally told him to hold back and tried to focus on the catalyst himself. He began to channel his mana towards the catalyst. after all, he had received top-quality magical training from Roswaal and knew how to use metia. As soon as he felt a connection with the catalyst, pieces of the catalyst began to levitate. The two circles intertwined and began to rotate, and the small white sphere settled in the middle of the intersecting circles. It required almost no magical effort to keep it in working order. but it required a lot of focus. When Subaru realized that he could move the catalyst in the air as he wanted, he made the catalyst perform several maneuvers. but after a few redirect attempts, he handed over control of the catalyst to Antares to avoid attracting too much suspicion. Antares, on the other hand, was able to control the catalyst much more expertly than Subaru, as she was a completely magical life form literally composed of pure mana.

'The magical technology of the people of this planet is quite backward. At least for normal people. But maybe those who are trained in this subject are much more advanced than I expected?'

"Antares seems to have activated it easily. What is the effect of this catalyst, though?"

"Catalysts can have many different effects. This catalyst is a cheap imitation of a type of catalyst called Emerald Orb. According to what is written here, it is quite cheap but seems like a useful thing. By storing some of the energy released in some elemental reactions. uses the stored energy to increase the power of subsequent attacks. They also noted that a huge difference should not be expected."

"So it's useless without elemental reactions. It's useless unless I'm fighting monsters that are naturally coated in elemental energy, like slimes, or I'm carrying expensive elemental explosives with me."

"As long as one of your teammates has a vision from an element other than Pyro, you can get around this problem. A standard adventurer team usually consists of four people. And since you can use elemental energy and visionary adventurers are rare, I'm sure visionary adventurers will want to team up with you."

'Yes, but I don't want it. at least for now.'

"However, this is more of a weapon that Antares will use. I will need another weapon to use."

"Almost all catalyst users do not use a second weapon because they have to focus on their catalyst. You said Antares needed you for targeting. Will you be able to continue focusing on this while using another tool?"

"Don't worry, I'll handle it. Besides, I shouldn't be completely defenseless without Antares, right?"

"I guess you're right. What's on your mind?"

Subaru slowly scanned the training weapons. He would never choose the bow. Using a bow and arrow in a fantasy world was ridiculous, after all. A crossbow was a better option, but from what he had heard, the first rifles were already being produced in the nation called Fontaine. He could bring one of those rifles and use it in the future. The sword was not an option either. Subaru had a lot of experience and training in using a sword. skills honed through countless cycles of battles to the death. 'especially against Pete-san'. It was true that he wasn't very skilled with a sword. But even so, while he was training in the guild, someone might accidentally notice his experience. This would damage the story of lack of education he built. Neither would short swords and daggers for the same reason. He was experienced and consistency was more important than anything else. Two-handed swords... he didn't have much experience with them. But they were too heavy and slow for his style of fighting. It was not suited to the parrying, dodging, and keeping distance style that Subaru had developed against his enemies due to their difference in strength. It didn't make sense either. There were few options left.

"I think this will do." Subaru said as he picked up a simple spear from among the piles of weapons.

The spear was quite simple. It was a triangular-shaped pointed-headed spear that was as long and straight as the flag handle. According to Tianbao, it was a simple practice spear without a name. Some people named these spears Beginner's Protectors just for fun. Sure Subaru didn't care. He was going to make a weapons transaction in the future. Of course, it was something to do once the money problem was solved. Now he had to focus on that stupid physical recording.

---

'I think I overdid my acting.'

Subaru barely made it inside his apartment and immediately collapsed into the chair. Every muscle ached. and he was almost certain that a few of his wounds had opened up. He never bothered teaching Antares healing magic just because Blue was always there for him. and now he regretted it very much.

'I need to get this healing spell thing done sometime. Maybe I should go to Fontaine earlier than planned. These elemental Water particles called Hydrograna resemble primitive micro-souls. If it's as I guess, I'll have a water spirit. But these are things to consider in the future. Now...'

Subaru first closed all the windows. Then he started removing the items on the table and putting them in the drawers. There was nothing important except a few drafts of novels. these novels were from Subaru's original Earth. Some works of Agatha Christie. several epics and legends from Japanese mythology. some anime light novels. several varieties of each type. Since magic is not very common among the people of this World, it wasn't too difficult to adapt the books for this World. but still, Subaru had taken care to change a lot of things. just in case. this would be an important source of income for him. This World's popular novels were, to say the least, tacky.

After putting everything in the drawer, Subaru laid out a giant map on the table. It was a map of the mines in Liyue. Subaru also piled up books about Liyue's mineral deposits and mining on the table.

'so... which of these mines should I buy? and which ones should I destroy?'

---

And the ending. As I said, this episode was a kind of interlude full of information dumps. Also, what Roswaal said about Odlaguna is quoted from arc4. Anyway, I hope you still enjoy it, even though it's boring. While we are at the end, I would like to mention a few things again.

For the daily life part of the story, I thought I'd take a look at the little talents and skills Subaru has. and... wow... why are there so many of them?.

Cat's cradle, bamboo dragonfly, spinning tops, musical accompaniment, bed making, ironing, sewing. Advanced sculpting ability. He has the talent to sing at a professional level. He can play guitar and saxophone. she can also use the musical instrument Lyulyre. This device does not exist on Earth. It's scary how quickly and well he can learn to play any stringed musical instrument. According to Tappei, he was above average in art in general. She can make latte art. very good at video games. He is also good at all kinds of board games (except card games. According to Tappei, there is no problem of skill in these games either. But in card games, he always gets bad cards due to his luck.). He is ridiculously and irrationally good at the brainteaser Othello. He's better at shatranj than Julius. (This is ridiculous. For those who don't know: shatranj is basically the first generation of chess. Subaru's ability to beat Julius despite just learning the rules and finding the game boring is an absurd achievement. Knights have been training in this game since childhood. Success in this is a matter of status. And Julius knight of knights). Good at riding. He is a master of disguise and for some reason has beyond godly powers in dressing as a woman. He knows sign language. He knows simple magic tricks and is generally good at tricks that require sleight of hand and illusionism. VERY good with children and the elderly. Generally skilled at babysitting. Skilled at yoyo and party tricks. There is also the potential to do housework. (Pridebaru does not have these skills because he does not work in the mansion. But Tappei says that he has improved quickly in this regard. We also know that Slothbaru is invincible in this regard. I am sure that Tappei gave Subaru such a high potential just to make a househusband joke. But I cannot prove it. ). According to Tappei, he is ridiculously talented at nursery rhymes and has a great speaking voice and oratory skills. I think he can ride a unicycle. He's very good at acting. He is naturally extremely skilled at using a whip. But his swordsmanship is not very good. Tappei said that even if he trained for years, he would only rise to the level of a knight or witch cultist. but I think the knight level is not that bad. We see that the Aganaubaru-trained Subaru is able to defeat several witch cultists at once with the sword. The magic gate isn't that bad. Tappei said that Subaru could use EL level spells from any element with enough training. He could also cast yin spells up to the UL level. wrathbaru has good knowledge of gastronomy but is bad at cooking. also wrathbaru was literally building an automobile engine from scratch. Also Tappei said: There's all kinds of them, but if there's any useless skills that you think 'Seems like something Subaru could do', I think he's likely acquired it.

There's more but you get the theme. We also learn even stranger things in arc7. Subaru quotes the Japanese government's official military assault tactical manuals or something. why and how? What normal 17-year-old spends his free time reading his state's official war manuals, modern and historical?

Anyway, the second thing I want to talk about is Subaru's twisted morality. Subaru's morals have always been strange. There was no one who didn't notice this. Subaru is practical to say the least. We've seen this a lot. As seen in arc3, he doesn't fully understand things like pride. life is important to envybaru. He ignores pride to save the lives of others and cannot understand those who die for pride. He doesn't seem to care about those he doesn't know who are already dead. and cooperates with those who have killed countless people if it means saving the rest. He also does not care about the sins of others as long as it is beneficial to his own purposes. I'm not just talking about sins committed in failed cycles. In arc4, he doesn't care about the sins of the witches who terrorize the world. There's even a moment where Subaru rubs his sins in Daphne's face. but then he continues talking to her, not caring about those killed by the mabests. Greedbaru has no hesitation in doing bad things when necessary and uses Elsa for these things. Pridebaru didn't mind burning tens of millions for his own satisfaction. But these are minor compared to the last arcs. Envybaru doesn't care about past genocides in arc7-8. His reaction was literally "whatever, all's well that ends well.". and has no hesitation in cooperating with the emperor who committed genocides. Subaru, the man in front of you has burned two races alive for centuries. He also burned babies and children alive. Hundreds of thousands of innocent families were burned to death. This man is not a good person. From where! Okay, I understand that achieving your goals is important. But because of this man, countless children were burned at the stake. The son of a bitch even sent his agents to other countries to capture and bring back people from these two races. Doing all this for love does not bring back hundreds of thousands of babies who were burned. I know I made this long. but here Subaru's response really impressed me. I didn't realize his morality was this twisted even in canon. Envybaru, who is considered the most moral Subaru, even cooperates with H-tler for his own happy ending and does not feel anything bad about it. Think about how scary and twisted this is. and also think of Pridebaru.

I assume that Subaru's distorted morality is due to his family and the abuse he suffered as a child. I guess I should explain this. Because this is something that is misunderstood by most people. Many people think Subaru has the perfect family because of the trials in Arc4. but this is wrong. These are just the idealized versions of Subaru that he wants to remember them as. Echidna explains this clearly at school. but Subaru doesn't want to believe it. We know that Subaru was beaten by Kenichi many times as a child. Also, Kenichi smokes next to the kid Subaru. One day, when Kenichi left, the boy Subaru tried to imitate his father by putting one of the unextinguished butts on the ground in his mouth out of curiosity. And...

[Subaru: The moment I did, my father returned, and I was hit plenty of times. To make matters worse, I was scolded by my mother, her fallaciously saying that I wouldn't get taller…anyway, those hands were traumatizing.]

but these are nothing. In the 38th episode of Arc4, we learn something much more disgusting. Apparently, Subaru accidentally knocked over a coffee table while playing before he started primary school. and as punishment his father tied him up and locked him in an empty warehouse. From where?! This was so traumatizing that Subaru recalls this memory in arc4 when Garfiel ties him up and imprisons him. Come on, you locked a little kid in a warehouse. You're dishonorable, okay. But why are you tying the child, stupid? as if the kid could escape... Actually, if this is Subaru, he probably could... I'll agree with Kenichi on this one. In fact, the fact that this man was like this was evident from the fact that he took the phone numbers of high school girls even though he was married. Naoko is a bit weird. We don't see her doing anything bad. but for some reason Tappei belittles her and describes her as very annoying. Tappei also says that we should feel sorry for the teachers because she goes to Subaru's parent-teacher meetings. I don't understand.

It's especially sad that Subaru doesn't see anything bad in these events. yet, when Subaru is in Slothif, he treats his children better than his father treats him. Subaru is a great dad, despite everything. Actually this gave me an idea. I might have Subaru talk to a character he feels close to and casually mention these abuses he experienced as a child. And he says it like it's a very normal thing. What will the reaction of others be?

Finally, I want to clear up one last misunderstanding. Pridebaru, like Envybaru, screamed for help at first. Many people think that Pridebaru never screamed for help or called the guards. But according to Tappei, the only difference between Envybaru and Pridebaru is that Pridebaru could not produce the woman's voice properly in the current situation. When he could not imitate the female voice properly, Reinhard did not come to help. Reinhard's sexism is the reason why Subaru turned into Pridebaru and the Kingdom burned. I think this is funny. and tragic. If Reinhard had come when Pridebaru screamed for help, or if Pridebaru had been able to produce a female voice properly at that moment, he would have been like Envybaru. If we told this to PrideReinhard, how would he react? It's a fun thing to think about.

Anyway, this notes section is getting too long. I think I'll stop here. I hope it was a good brain exercise. goodbye until the next episode. Please feel free to express your comments and thoughts. have a nice day.