-Echidna's Tea Party-

Subaru doesn't respond to Echidna's self-introduction. Rather, he just looks at her with severe apprehension and some anger. Rem, still holding onto her throat that feels like it's on fire, gives her a glare filled with as much hate as possible.

Echidna closes her eyes thoughtfully for a moment, "My, it hurts to see you two look at me with such alarmed eyes. Despite who I am, I'm still a tender young maiden."

"After what just happened, what did you expect? And besides, who wouldn't be alarmed when you straight up tell us you're the Witch of Greed the moment we meet?" Subaru helps Rem to her feet, leaning onto him for support. The burning in her throat slowly subsides over the next several seconds, especially with the help of self-inflicted healing magic.

She giggles, "I see, that's a fair point."

Finally having recovered enough to speak again, Rem demands in an icy tone, "Where are we, witch? We were just in some ruins a moment ago. How did you move us?"

"Oh my, that's chilling." Echidna gives another small giggle. "You're mistaken. Physically, neither of you have gone anywhere."

"Huh?"

"You were merely invited to my tea party."

"Tea party?" They both repeat in unison.

"A witch's tea party." She clarifies. Seeing as they haven't moved an inch since they stood up, she inquires, "Are you both going to stand there forever? Come join me before the tea gets cold."

Subaru ponders her offer while Rem scoffs, "I'd rather do anything than join a witch for tea. Now, get us both out of here immediately! We didn't ask to meet with you! Unless…" She pulls out her Morningstar and gives her a death glare, "you wish to die?"

"Rem-tan?! What are you doing?! I don't know her, but I get the feeling it'd be a pretty bad idea to attempt to kill her! And how do you keep bringing that out wherever you go?" Subaru tries to quell the situation.

Echidna's expression changes to one of brief surprise before returning to her charming smile. "You can try if you'd like, I won't hold it against you."

Rem immediately obliges and throws her Morningstar straight at her. To her astonishment, the spiky ball simply phases through both Echidna and the chair she is sitting on. They fizzle as it goes through, but ultimately nothing changes and they reappear in full view once Rem brings her Morningstar back.

"What the?" She tries again three more times to no avail. Each throw goes the exact same way as the last.

"Why? Why isn't anything happening?!" She frustratingly cries out.

"Rem-tan! Stop, please. It's clearly not working." Subaru pleads.

"But Subaru-kun, she's a witch! The Witch Cultists worship them! They're the pinnacle of evil! This world would be better off without any of them!" She throws her Morningstar again.

"Believe me, I don't trust her either. But we're getting nowhere with this. Let's just…see what she wants for now."

"Tch." Clicking her tongue, she obliges.

"I'm glad to see there's at least one reasonable individual here. Now, why don't you try my tea?"

Stomping up the hill and reaching her location, he sits down in the chair across from her and with complete determination drinks the tea in a single gulp.

She is stunned watching him drink with such confidence. "You're awfully brave to drink all the tea served by a witch with a single gulp."

"S-Subaru-kun?!" Rem, standing right behind him and to his right, looks at him quite terrified. She didn't expect this whatsoever either.

"Well, it helped save Rem-tan, right? So it's gotta be harmless!"

"Naive yet intrepid. Very interesting." Echidna mutters thoughtfully while she folds her hands and lays her chin on them.

"What's this tea anyway? It's not bad, but it's not good either." Subaru asks as he observes the teacup.

"It's something that's produced here. To put it bluntly, it's a body fluid of mine."

Subaru instantly stands up and angrily pounds the table demanding to know what he just drank. Rem nearly vomits the contents of the tea back up, but she just barely manages to keep it in.

"What. The. Hell. What did you just make me drink?" She demands. Compared to Subaru's behavior in asking her this question, she is furious. If her icy light blue eyes could kill, Echidna would be frozen in a block of ice by now.

She explains, "Something that allows you to be within my presence. Remember the scent you detected upon arriving here? You'd likely be dead by now if I hadn't graciously given you my tea to counteract that. Shouldn't I expect a little gratitude?

"That was on another level." She agrees, steadying her glare. "I have never smelled something so atrocious in my life."

"Why thank you. Most normal people would vomit when standing in my presence like this, so it's understandable. This man though," she shifts her head to Subaru, "seems to be rather exceptional to not have any adverse effects."

Rem's eyes widen. She's right! If what I experienced is normal, then why did Subaru-kun not have anything happen to him? It must be because of that witch! Wait, could she be…

As she comes to a conclusion, Subaru asks, "What do you want from us? Why did you call us here?"

"No reason." She answers. "You two simply came here of your own accord. I could send you back if you wish, but is that what you truly want?" She eyes the both of them.

"Huh?" Subaru mumbles.

"An opportunity to talk to the Witch of Greed is not an opportunity that just anyone, aside from you two, can earn. The only requirement to have a dialogue between us is for us to exist. Now, let's remove everything unnecessary from the picture."

Everything except for the chair Echidna is sitting in disappears. The table, Subaru's chair, the purple umbrella. Even the grassy plains disappear and the entire blue sky shatters before their very eyes.

"Let me affirm all the desires, curiosities, and the greed you two seek to satisfy with answers."

With a starry and cloudy background that you'd only see in an artists' drawing of space Subaru and Rem look around them in both fear and awe. Echidna goes through each of the witches the two may want to learn more about. Animated silhouettes of them appear as colorful clouds of dust. They come and go one by one. The Witch of Gluttony, Daphne. The Witch of Lust, Carmilla. The Witch of Wrath, Minerva. The Witch of Sloth Sekhmet. The Witch of Pride, Typhon. The Witch of Greed, Echidna. And finally, the Witch of Envy, Satella. She gives a basic accomplishment or goal each one of them has had.

Subaru is utterly frightened to hear about all of these witches and their notorious deeds. Especially Satella's, who killed all the other witches and used them as sustenance, making the whole world her enemy. He is so alarmed that the grasslands and everything else returns to normal.

"Oh darn, I guess I frightened you too much. Such is the nature of a witch, how bothersome." Echidna manages to retain her natural smile despite stating her annoyance. She sips her tea.

Rem meanwhile looked at each of the silhouettes with increasing vexation. She had already learned about the basic descriptions of the witches Echidna mentioned from the Forbidden Library. Though now she has an idea of what they actually looked like. When Echidna described herself as the embodiment of the thirst for knowledge, she instantly realized that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

A once in a lifetime opportunity she may never get again. I have to ask her…even if Subaru-kun is here. I have to ask her.

"Witch of Greed." Rem sternly addresses the white-haired woman.

"Oh? You have a question for me Oni? Oh wait, I think I heard your name was Rem? Go on then. Though I feel a little hurt by how distant sounding you are with me. You can use my name, Echidna, if you wish."

"My question is, what relationship do you have with Subaru-kun?" She hisses lightly.

"R-Rem? What do you mean by that?" Subaru asks, growing anxious. "We've never met!" Has she been taking everything I said about the witch during Petelguese's attack to heart? Why? She's never done that before…

"He's quite right. This is my first time interacting with such an interesting fellow. What would make you think I had a pre-established relationship with him? Though I must admit, seeing his behavior, I wish I'd met him sooner!" She reaches out to touch his hand.

Rem immediately retaliates by slamming her hand on its side on top of Echidna's hand. It's quite a forceful slam. Successfully connecting, Echidna instantly pulls back her hand and frowns for a brief moment.

"That was rather rude and intense, wasn't it?" Echidna says with disappointment.

"You have no reason to lay a single finger on him." She states icily, glaring daggers at her yet again. "Now, how was I able to hit you, unlike before? And are you certain you have no existing relationship with him?"

"I see, you're the distrustful type, hm? Well, for your first question, I'm simply letting you. For your second question, yes, I can say with complete assurance I have never met with him before now.

"You let her?" Subaru questions, not understanding why she'd allow that. Wouldn't she just evade all attacks?

"It amused me is all. Though if you wish for a more detailed answer, I shall grant it. As this is merely my soul here, and this is my tea party, I am free to alter the properties of this body as I wish. I choose whether your body makes contact with mine or not."

"So I never had a chance…" Rem clenches her fist.

"This is your soul? What…what happened to your real body then? How did you die?" Subaru asks.

"Awww, are you worried about little old me? How thoughtful. Well, I already mentioned it before, didn't I? The Witch of Envy ended us one way or another. As for my real body, it's currently being held at my tomb, which is located near the Sanctuary.

"Is that so…" He mumbles, Is Satella really that powerful to be able to kill other witches? That's scary…

"If what you said is true, then tell me, which witch is he related to?"

"R-Rem!" Subaru shouts, unable to believe what she's asking. "I told you, I don't know what relationship I have with this witch and I'm not on her side." As much as I want to tell her, I can't let this result in mentioning Return by Death. I have to avoid that topic at all costs!

"Subaru-kun." Rem turns to face him with a serious and bold expression. He is surprised to hear her address him in such a formal tone. "I didn't want to say this until I had more information, but I need to say this now. I'm really, really worried about you."

"Worried? Why? Look at me! I'm perfectly fine and healthy!" He gives a couple of uppercut punches into the air while smiling brightly.

She frowns deeply, "Why do you lie to me? Am I not trustworthy enough? Am I not reliable enough? Are you treating me like a child who can't handle hard issues?"

"No Rem-tan! That's not it at all! Believe me!" He retorts quickly.

She shouts, expressing all of her pent up feelings at once, "Then why?! Your miasma…you know it increased drastically twice two days ago right? Once when we were discussing the plans for the Witch's Cult. Then a second time when you said 'I can return' and you cut yourself off! Both times, especially the first time, you looked dazed, confused, and so scared! You didn't speak for several moments! Don't tell me nothing is happening to you! Then those things you say about communicating with a witch and said witch literally gripping your heart! Is she trying to kill you or something?! If you're hurting, then why won't you say anything?!"

Subaru's looks at Rem, who is now panting from saying all of that in one breath. Her shouts, her tone, her aggressive gestures, these all tell him how she's truly feeling deep inside. She's really picked up on every little emotion and action he has done ever since they've made plans to fight the Witch's Cult.

On one hand, his heart is overjoyed to hear this. To think that someone would care this deeply about him is mind-boggling to him. He is aware of how ironic this is by now. He initially came into this world fully expecting to be a typical overpowered protagonist who wins over all the ladies, especially the ones from nobility. After this world smacked him, or more accurately, killed him over and over again. He learned just how unrealistic his expectations to being a powerhouse were. In fact his only power, if it can even be called that, is the ability to return to a certain point in time after he dies. It's not the glamorous ability he was hoping for. Additionally, the women here don't really care about him that much, barring Emilia, though even she didn't fall in love with him like he expected her to. He put her on such a high pedestal that she had to give him a reality check at the capital via their argument.

So seeing Rem care about him to such a degree after all the crap he's went through is definitely a great astonishment. Of course he already knew that she loved him an absolute ton. It's more so her repeated assurances of support for him and her concern about his well-being that consistently surprise him.

On the other hand, his heart fills with great dread. He cannot tell her. He cannot tell her what truly ails him. His repeated deaths. His pain and agony through suffering each and every one of those deaths. No matter how much he wishes too. The witch always stops him at the last second without fail. And sometimes the witch will even afflict others if he attempts to say anything, like the one time it killed Emilia. There's simply no way.

But how can he fool her? How can he divert the topic? Rem desperately wants to know and seems unlikely to stray away from the subject of his well-being.

"Rem…I…" He tries to form words, but his train of thought has barely left the station.

Thankfully for him, Echidna speaks up before he gets anywhere, "While this conversation appears to be going in an interesting direction, I simply cannot stand to hear loud whining and complaining at my tea party. To answer your question…" She puts a hand to her mouth to silence herself for a moment before moving it again to speak, "Actually, I'll let you figure it out on your own."

"What?!" Rem bangs a fist on the table and brings her face fairly close to Echidna's, causing her to widen her eyes. "You allow us to ask questions, just to not answer them?! How hypocritical can you get? I should've expected this from a witch. All you care about is crushing the hopes and dreams of everyone."

"Now hold on." She folds her hands again, "When did I ever say that?"

She pulls herself back, casting another death glare, "Don't play me for a fool. With how the Witch Cultist's behave, it's obvious you witches are set on destroying anything and everything that is wonderful within the world. Bringing about despair and hopelessness."

"I'm not associated with those lowlife cultists." She states firmly while crossing her arms, frowning for the first time. "They often eradicate multitudes of books on their rampages and therefore thousands of words worth of knowledge. The nerve they have. How shameless."

"You lie." Rem scowls.

"Use your head and your knowledge to think this through Oni. Why would those cultists associate with a dead witch such as myself? The Witch of Envy is the only one still alive, so wouldn't they wish to obey her?"

"Petelguese did mention loving Satella a lot, I imagine the other cult members around him felt the same way." Subaru says.

"That's…true." Rem reluctantly admits. "Fine. Even if it looks like you're correct in this instance, don't think I trust you any more than before."

"Such a shame." She replies nonchalantly, "Now, are there any more questions?"

"Sorry, but while this has been interesting. I don't really want to spend any more time talking with you. We need to find Emilia-tan, right Rem-tan?"

"Yes, but…" She gives him a sullen look, "I…I want to know what's going on Subaru-kun. If you're suffering…why aren't you saying anything? Or if you are saying what ails you and are just telling someone rather than me, then just say that. As long as you are getting the help you need, then that's all I need to know. Please Subaru-kun. I'm sorry for the selfish request but…please put my heart at ease."

"Rem-tan…" Subaru thinks for a long moment before replying grimly with, "If I could tell you, I would. I promise you, I would. For certain reasons…I can't. I just can't. I'm sorry. Rem-tan, I'm so sorry. Just…stay by my side. Please. That's all I need. As long as I have your love and support, I feel I can make it through anything. I'll do the same for you." He is almost to the point of tears. His eyes squinch.

"Subaru-kun…" She grips one of his hands tightly with both of hers. "Of course. I'll always be by your side. I'm your Rem after all." Light tears stream down both her eyes as she sniffles, "If there ever comes a point you can tell me, you will, won't you?"

"Absolutely." He puts his free hand on top of one of hers, squeezing it. "Thank you."

Echidna, watching the whole event from her white chair, continues to smile alluringly. "What a touching moment between you two. A lovely sight indeed! For a tender maiden such as myself, I might be a little jealous."

Subaru quickly releases his hands and blushes, "C-Crap! I forgot she was here!"

"Don't listen in witch!" Rem stomps her foot in frustration.

"Are you sure there are no more questions you wish to have answered? I do have all the time in the world."

"Nope! As I said, I'd rather find Emilia-tan than hang out with the Witch of Greed any longer." Subaru says proudly.

"H-Huh?" For the first time ever since they arrived, Echidna shows genuine shock at his reply and cries, "You're kidding right? I'm the Witch of Greed! Powerful people from all around the world have come to me in search of my knowledge!

She performs various body motions to try to get his attention such as crossing her arms and shaking her bottom and putting her arms up in a similar manner to Emilia whenever she has to face off against an opponent. "So um…relax, okay?! Relax and we can talk some more!"

"Not interested." He nonchalantly says. He begins to walk away from her.

"What?!"

"I've got what I need for now. I have no interest in staying near you any longer. Especially when you absolutely reek." Rem says as she follows Subaru. "And stop those weird movements. It's beyond creepy."

"Maybe I'll come back sometime for tea, who knows." Subaru suggests.

"What?! You want to come back here?" Rem asks, unable to fathom wishing to return to the place of a filthy and apparently perverted witch.

"I mean…I don't think she's all bad. She did provide us with some knowledge and she helped you out with the tea."

"I guess…and it's not like she tried to harm us in any way. And she's not part of the Witch's Cult…" She admits with a bit of hesitancy. "Still, I hate her." Though I guess I'm a little relieved she isn't part of the cult. Still, what am I going to do now? Subaru-kun can't tell me for some reason, and the Witch of Greed won't answer my most important question. I'm at a standstill.

Echidna slumps her head down on the table in defeat, "You'd ask a dead woman, a witch at that, to agree to that as if it were the simplest thing?" She cries bitterly. Waving a hand, a portal out of the dream world they are in appears before them.

"If you two are really going, then I guess I'll just take my compensation first."

Subaru clamps up and nervously turns around, "J-Just so you know, I'm penniless and broke beyond compare."

"Compensation for a witch doesn't mean money." Regaining her composure, she stands up from her chair. "What I desire from you two is a vow."

"What sort of vow?" Rem demands to know.

"You will tell no one of what has transpired here at this tea party." Echidna begins to walk towards Subaru. "That is my condition. And since you two were so kind as to give this old deceased witch a visit, I'll send you away with a souvenir."

She looks at them both with a serious expression, but her smile remains as large as always. "I'll grant you both the right to face the trials of the Sanctuary."

"Trials of the Sanctuary?" They both question the meaning of this.

"You may not understand now, but once you learn where it is you will realize its worth. What feelings will you have towards me when that happens? The mere thought gives me such beautiful expectations."

She alluringly licks the palm and fingers of her right hand right in front of Subaru, causing him to be disturbed and Rem to become angry.

"Stop trying to seduce him witch!" She shouts.

"Don't worry Rem-tan. Even with her appearance I'm already blessed by the appearance of the two most beautiful ladies in the entire world! There's no way I'd fall for her charms." Subaru smirks at Echidna.

She giggles, "Hmmm, we'll see about that then. Until we meet again." With a flick of her finger on Subaru's forehead, he stumbles backwards and straight into the portal. He is sent out of Echidna's tea party.

"Subaru-kun!" Rem is about to chase after him until Echidna calls her name.

"What, witch?"

She gives a light sigh, "I wish you'd stop calling me that as if I were the plague. Still, I can see how much that man means to you."

"Of course." She puffs out her chest proudly in a very similar manner her twin sister would. "He has every single positive trait that you lack."

"I find such loyalty and love towards another being to be rather interesting, so I'll give you a reward."

"What do you mean a reward?" She asks, filled to the brim with suspicion.

"I'll grant you a special second trial. The answers you seek will be there. It will be a fascinating experience."

"W-Wha…"

Before she can properly register what Echidna is saying, she flicks Rem's forehead as well and sends her through the portal.

The last thing Rem sees before everything goes pitch black is Echidna's annoying alluring smile that she has worn throughout nearly the entire tea party.

-Ruins-

Subaru wakes up, still inside the ruins. Slowly getting up, he faces the exit he walked into minutes prior.

"I need to get going now. Gotta find Emilia-tan and Otto." He begins making his way for the exit.

As he walks along, a pressing thought keeps disturbing him. I feel like…someone just said something to me.

Reaching the exit, he finds Otto passed out in the middle of the small empty dirt field around the forest and ruins. Towards the top right in Subaru's field of vision he can see Patrasche, who they brought with them, and the carriage holding Emilia within.

"Otto?!" Subaru calls out his name in distress.

"Look at ya, waltzin right in 'er like it's nothin'. Ya got some nerve outsider!" A rough and gruff voice makes itself known right behind Subaru.

Subaru is suddenly picked up like a lightweight animal and tossed high into the sky. So high in fact that a fall to the ground might very well be fatal. Subaru screams as loudly as he can as he flails in the air.

No! Not like this! Don't let me die like this! He pleads internally as the force of gravity starts to do its evil work and sends him plummeting.

By some miracle, Patrasche is somehow able to both notice Subaru falling and manages to run and drift the carriage along to have him land on its roof. Bouncing off the roof, he falls comfortably onto some black cushions resting on the backside of the carriage.

"Ow…" Subaru moans as he slowly sits up. "What the freaking heck was that…"

Rubbing his noggin, he quickly realizes where he is and quickly opens up a small wooden window to look inside. To his utter relief, he sees Emilia is safe and sound, resting on the cushions. She's unfortunately still unconscious. Nevertheless, he sighs and smiles. As long as she's not harmed, then it's all fine.

"Woah. That's a mighty nice ground dragon ya got here!" The mysterious person with the gruff voice says as he walks towards Subaru. Taking in his features, Subaru instantly notices just how beefed up his body is. He is rocking a six pack at the very least and has noticeably big and strong muscles.

He would've needed to work out at the gym for several months, no, years to obtain a body of that caliber! He notes, rather impressed. If this was my original world, I'd wonder if he was on steroids. Other notable features include messy yellow hair not too different from Subaru's own hair. His teeth are sharp just like Frederica's. And finally, he has a giant X scar plastered right in the middle of his face.

Enraged at this man for attacking her master, Patrasche makes a battle cry and runs towards him with the intent to ram him into the ground. Subaru cries out to her in an attempt to stop her, but it fails.

As she runs, the yellow-haired man looks at her with his wide toothy grin, not moving a single inch. She collides with him, but the results are the complete opposite of what Subaru and Otto, who has regained consciousness and is sitting up now, expected.

Patrasche's ramming of him goes about as well as ramming into a 50 foot tall thick stone wall.

"Yer a real good-lookin' girl, ain't ya?" He grabs her head, "Don't worry, I ain't gonna hurt ya. Just take a little nap!"

Subaru and Otto bear witness to this muscle man's superhuman strength. With almost no effort at all, he manages to swing Patrasche upwards in a 180 degree motion and slams her onto her back. Instantly knocking her unconscious, saliva foam forms around her mouth.

Looking back at Subaru with a battle ready expression, he shouts, "Bet'r thank her for fightin' so hard for ya!" He stomps his way towards Subaru while he retreats with a panicked expression on his face.

"Ima gonna throw ya guys outta this forest half-dead. Ya'll be alive jus' enough to swear ya won't tell a soul 'bout this place!" He prepares to throw a giant punch at the poor man wearing nothing but a tracksuit. However, a few seconds before he lands the blow, a loud voice booms across the ruins.

"Stop Garfiel-san!"

"Hah?" He stops himself and turns around to see who called his name in such a blaring way.

"Garfiel-san?!" Subaru repeats, shocked to hear the name Frederica warned them about.

He sees a blue-haired girl with one eye covered by her bangs dressed in a maid outfit running towards him. His immediate thought is how she looks very similar to another girl he knows. Almost just as instantly, he realizes why that's the case.

"Rem? Is that really you?"

Panting just a little from both the loud shout and from running, she quickly recovers and says. "Yes, it is me Rem. Tell me Garfiel-san, why were you about to attack Subaru-kun?" Her tone quickly shifts to one of hostility.

"He an' this numbskull down there invaded 'ta forest! I 'ave every right to kick 'em out! I should be askin' what yer doin' out here!"

Rem's posture relaxes ever so slightly but she still addresses him formally, "I'm currently traveling with these men and Emilia-sama to visit the Sanctuary. I suggest you cease this hostility right now. I'm sure Frederica-san would not be happy to hear about her little brother attacking an innocent man."

"Wait, this hulk-man is her brother?!" Subaru is astonished that these two are even related to one another. "Though if I think about it, you two do have the same hair color. Plus the same set of terrifying teeth…"

"Hey! Don't be talkin' down on me teeth now!" Garfiel growls. "An' fine! If ya'll know Rem, then I s'ppose ya'll know 'bout my sister Frederica too."

"Subaru-kun, how's Emilia-sama?" Rem asks.

"She's still out, but she's breathing fine and has no injuries."

"That's good. I wonder what caused her to faint like that."

"Ya seriously don't know despite bein' here before?" Garfiel scoffs.

"It's been many years since I've last come to the Sanctuary."

He sighs loudly. Then he goes wide-eyed for a brief moment before grinning with his sharp teeth. "Guess I'll hafta explain it to you numbskulls along the way."

"Huh? You're coming with us?" Subaru asks.

"Duh!"

-Otto's Carriage-

With everyone on board and Otto driving the cart, being given directions by Garfiel, the party heads off for the Sanctuary. Along the way, Subaru wants to get one thing cleared up first before diving into the meat of the matter regarding Emilia.

"So…it sounds like you two know each other. How did you meet?"

Garfield waves the question off, "'Tis nothin' special. We just met an' talked a few times when she came with that clown a long time ago."

"Clown? You mean Roswaal?"

"Who else would I be referrin' to?"

Subaru chuckles at the insult used to describe him. "Heh, that's true. He sure does look like a clown with all that makeup on his face. I wonder what drives him to wear it."

Rem giggles at her master's expense as well. "I heard he considers it essential to wear it when meeting with foreign people. Something about it gives him the appearance of a proper gentleman. I'm not fully sure though, I've never asked him."

Garfiel looks over at Emilia, who is still asleep, and comments. "So she's the real deal eh? The half-devil Roswaal's sponsorin'."

"She's a half-elf!" Subaru angrily corrects. "Don't ever call her that again!"

"Heh." Garfiel continues to smile despite being yelled at, "Look at that! Guess ya got some spice in ya after all!"

Giving a single cough, he continues, "Anywho, 'bout why she passed out on ya…"

Just as he's about to explain, Emilia makes a soft moaning sound and her left leg shifts slightly. Slowly but surely, more limbs on her body move and her eyes flutter open. "Oh…" Sitting up, she stretches and rubs her eyes tiredly.

"Emilia-tan! I'm so glad you're okay!" Subaru shouts with relief.

"I'm glad to see you're alright Emilia-sama." Rem says.

"Huh? Subaru? Rem?" She takes a quick glance at both of them, and then at the third individual who she does not recognize.

Quickly standing up and taking a defensive stance between Garfiel and her two friends, she immediately demands, "Who are you? Just so you know, I won't let you lay a finger on Subaru or Rem!"

"Emilia-tan is defending me? Oh! That brings such joy to my heart yet also much sorrow for how pathetic I am since I'm a guy and all!"

"You're not pathetic at all Subaru-kun!" Rem retorts. However, she does turn away from him and frowns, feeling her heart ache slightly for some reason.

"I ain't doin' nothin'." Garfield puts his hands behind his head in a casual manner. "I don't wanna have Ram givin' me hell later for any stupid stunts I pull."

"Ram?" Emilia loosens her guard.

"This is Garfiel. Remember, the person Frederica-san mentioned before we left?" Subaru reminds her.

"Oh yeah, I remember."

"We're on our way to the Sanctuary now. Ram and the villagers are there, right?" Subaru asks.

"Yep. Unless ya don't believe me. Then that's fine. See for yerself. Must warn ya though. There ain't no turnin' back now. We're past the barrier."

"So we're in the Sanctuary now?" Emilia asks.

"Duh! Ah, right. Here's what happen'd to her."

Over the next several minutes, Garfiel explains that Emilia passed out due to crossing the barrier and being a demihuman, in her case being a half-elf. He says that all demihumans are knocked unconscious when they pass the barrier, himself included.

-Sanctuary Residency Area-

As they approach the residency area of the Sanctuary, everyone but Garfiel are shocked to see just how poor and rundown the village is.

"Roswaal likes to go 'round callin' it the Sanctuary, but as ya can see, this place doesn't deserve such a nice name."

"I know it's been a long time but…I don't remember this place looking so…depressing." Rem says despondently.

"There ain't nothin' here but a hodgepodge of halfwits." Garfiel adds on. "It's just a dead-end testin' ground."

The group sees many demi-humans as they pass through a shoddy dirt road that can barely fit the prestigious carriage they are riding in. Everyone gets a chilling feeling as they pass through, seeing multiple demihumans in various states of poverty. Most of them have dirty or torn up clothes and some have a number of bruises on their bodies. Nearly all of them have expressions of fear, apprehension, and a bit of curiosity, especially from the younger kids.

"This looks awful." Subaru says. Not as awful as seeing a village full of blood and dead bodies laid about in a gruesome manner. But still awful. If this is part of Roswaal's domain, then why isn't he doing anything about this?

"Um…where should I…" Otto begins to mumble before seeing a familiar sight before his eyes.

"You're back? Took you long enough." An irritated voice rings out in front of them.

Subaru quickly opens the wooden panel in front of the carriage and is greeted by the sight of a very familiar oni maid.

"Ram!"

Instantly bolting open the door, Rem heads out and greets her sister. "Nee-sama!"

"Oh, you're here too Rem? It's good to see you are well. Sorry you had to come all the way out here."

Rem gives her dear sister a hug. "It's no problem at all. I'm glad to see you are safe as well."

The other occupants of the carriage exit and greet Ram one at a time, with Subaru being next.

"Hey Ram! Looks like you're alive and kickin'."

"Hmph." She puts her hands on her hips, "That's how you choose to greet me? As expected of you Barusu, you really are incompetent at greeting others. Also, I'm rather disappointed by how long it took you to arrive here. Ah, but I suppose I was a fool to expect any more of you."

Subaru dramatically shouts, "That was a perfect introduction between friends! And we were the ones expecting you to arrive back at the mansion, not the other way around!"

"Hmph." She puts out an arm in a dismissive manner.

"Nee-sama, he's right, we were expecting at least one of you to return from the Sanctuary to explain why you, Roswaal-sama, and the villagers haven't returned yet." Rem responds, feeling quite saddened yet again at her unwillingness to believe Subaru.

"Really? My mistake then. I apologize for jumping to conclusions. There is a reason for why we haven't been able to return as of yet."

Just then Emilia approaches them. Ram welcomes her, "Welcome Emilia-sama. Since everyone is here now, I'd like to guide you to Roswaal-sama, who is currently awaiting you all. Garf, take the ground dragon and carriage somewhere suitable.

"Is that anyway to treat me?" Garfiel grumbles, but his expression is quickly changed to a positive smile. "That's just how I like it though."

Glancing back at Otto, he gives a quick hand gesture to follow him. "Yo, cabbie. Follow me."

"Oh come on, that's the worst name you've called me yet! Now I have to be alone with you?!" He complains.

Subaru gives him a thumbs-up. "Don't worry, I'll pick up what's left of ya!"

"Natsuki-saaaan! Why do I get treated so roughly?"

"Aw, what're you talking about? When Emilia-tan was unconscious and me and Rem-tan were away, you were the one who kept her safe. She only stayed safe because of you. I'm grateful Otto. Thank you."

This shocks him down to his core. Subaru has never been this genuinely kind to him before. He's not exactly sure how to respond. "O-oh? Is that so? Well, as long as you're appreciative…" He quickly exits the scene in order to not show his embarrassed face.

Subaru looks uneasily at Ram for a few moments.

"What?" She responds to his staring.

"I've…just been wondering how you've been doing. I haven't gotten in touch with you since you left Arlam village. I imagine keeping an eye on all the villagers has been tough, hasn't it?"

"Hah, you underestimate me Barusu." She gives a big smirk. "As you can see, I'm as lovely and healthy as ever." Her smirk turns into a more natural smile. "The villagers of Arlam are all safe too. You can be at ease."

He sighs in relief, "I see. That's good to hear." Her ego is as large as ever. But I suppose that's what makes Ram, Ram.

"I better take you all to see Roswaal-sama now." Ram gets things back on track as she turns around and leads them into the house behind her.

"Roswaal-sama is in here. Please, as you enter, don't be too alarmed by what you're about to see." She warns.

"What do you mean?" Emilia asks as they enter the house. Going through a couple of rooms, they eventually reach the room Roswaal is currently residing in.

-Roswaal's Room-

Opening the door, Subaru, Emilia, and Rem all gasp upon seeing Roswaal. Currently sitting up in a modest bed, he is bandaged on every single part of his body save for most of his head.

He gives a smile witnessing Subaru, Emilia, and Ram enter. Upon seeing Rem, his face briefly flashes to one of confusion before resuming his previous expression.

"Aaaaah! Subaru-kun, Emilia-sama, and Rem! It's soooooo good to see all of you again. I assume you three have been well?"

"Roswaal-sama, what in the world happened to you?!" Rem asks with a raised voice, worried and confused as to why someone as powerful as him would be in such a rough condition.

-Author's Corner-

A/N: Garfiel and Roswaal appear for the first time. And let me just say, Garfiel's dialogue, while indeed painful to write, actually wasn't quite as bad as I thought it was going to be. That said, I'm likely not going to be that great at writing the unique way he speaks. I apologize in advance for that. I will try my best though.

Looks like Rem will be able to participate in the trials. What exactly will she see in them? Only time will tell.

One final little note. I am aware that in the web/light novels that Echidna states that she is unfamiliar with the Witch's Cult. However, in the anime she says that she knows that Subaru killed the individual who possessed the Sloth Witch Factor, aka Petelguese. I don't see how she'd know about Petelguese and not know about the Witch's Cult. Unless she only knew that he went insane and obtained the Sloth Witch Factor and nothing beyond that. So I am going to take a bit of leniency here in regards to Echidna's knowledge of the Witch's Cult.

Danbooru god: ;) I hope you enjoyed the unexpected meeting between Echidna and Rem.

Maximum Rhapsody: All the trials follow a specific theme. Those are facing your past, present, and future. So ordinarily Rem would follow the same sort of trials as both Subaru and Emilia. However, Echidna did say she would give Rem a special second trial. So to answer your question, yes Rem could have different trials than what the others have. It all depends on what Echidna allows.

LSSJ2 Gohan: I'm happy to be able to deliver! I didn't have Echidna act all that flirty with Subaru but the few times she did, boy Rem was upset haha. Rem will indeed be able to take the trials. And finally, thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

evilstatistic19: Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Goldchris1111: It was a sweet moment between them, wasn't it? I hope to include more interactions between them in the future.