Fire Emblem wasn't unfamiliar with handling dark subjects.

As examples... There was that one guy who kept fucking his dead wife in Sacred Stones. There were those children eating Spiders in Sacred Stones. There was that one guy who really wanted to rape Erika into submission in Sacred Stones.

What the fuck was wrong with Sacred Stones!?

Well, clearly Intelligent Systems decided to use the same tone yet again. Which is why this town was now currently filled with women and children who were forced to act as if nothing had happened even after the men had been replaced by parasites.

How fucked up was that...?

A sigh escaped his mouth. "This is just awful." At least Priscilla was currently saving them with the Yang Sword Vollachia.

Which nobody was commenting on. For some reason. Was this plot induced dumbassery?

And Felix was analyzing the parasite they had captured. Hopefully they would be able to find out from where that disgusting thing originated from, and then put an end to it before the kingdom itself fell. Zombies were dangerous.

"Indeed, it's... there's no words to describe this darkness." Julius, the Finest Knight walked up to him.

Heitor awkwardly waved at him. "Hey man... You gave up?" He had gone to try and comfort the people. As it was the duty of a knight or whatever.

To be honest, Heitor didn't know how to feel about the man. On one hand, they had a very short argument at the Royal Selection, and Julius didn't seem like a particularly nice guy... On the other hand, he seemed fine now?

Julius sighed. "I wouldn't say I gave up, but I have changed my approach. It is a knight's duty to bring peace of mind to the average citzen, but those mental scars... I feel as if only time will heal them, and perhaps even not that."

He continued. "Even so, I should try to at least make myself useful. I have asked, and been granted permission to drive the carriage to the Barielle Manor. I shall bring us more resources and... more carriages to evacuate these poor people."

That made sense. In the end the small amount of resources they brought wouldn't be able to supply this entire village, and the villagers themselves couldn't keep eating or drinking from here where the water and food was possibly contaminated.

That contamination was the same reason the villagers had to move somewhere else, which is why Julius' was going to bring back more carriages...

Heitor nodded. "Got it. Then I'll be doing my best to protect us until the Finest Knight comes back in his shiny carriage." Even if he couldn't really compare to Julius. "I gotta ask though, did you come here just to warn me?"

Julius shook his head. "No... I actually just visited Ferris. He is... making progress due to the monster you captured. So far, it is his belief that it survives in the water, and so that this village's well is..."

He stopped himself. "My apologies, I shouldn't babble about something I barely understand. Just know that Ferris is grateful for your help, and..." He took two small gold coins from his pocket. "Asked me to hand you this. Apparently one of the villagers gave it to him."

Awesome! Loot from having completed the side objective! Even if the current situation meant he wasn't as happy as he could be...

Heitor carefully took the coins out of his hand. "I'll make sure to thank him later."

+2000 Gold

Ah... So it was money huh? Not as good as Stat Boosters, especially since he didn't even know how he was supposed to use Fire Emblem Gold in the first place, but he supposed it was better than nothing.

It was strange though... As soon as he touched the money, it disappeared. Not into his inventory, but to another part of the menu that said how much he had. Heitor was guessing that it was due to how money never took inventory slots in Fire Emblem.

Julius' eyes widened in shock. "Oh... What happened to the coins?" From his point of view it must have looked pretty strange.

Heitor shrugged. "Don't worry, it's just another part of my ability. There are certain things I can... keep in store."

Julius sounded impressed. "Another aspect of your ability... I can see why Lady Priscilla has taken a commoner under her wing and given him so much privilege..."

Heitor had to hold back a frown. "A commoner huh...?" He was a Lord damn it! It was his class!

Jokes aside, it was genuinely a bit annoying to be part of the lower social class, but he supposed it just couldn't be helped. And who knows, maybe he would marry some important lady in the future and get a title for it.

If Priscilla could do it...

Julius blushed, clearly embarrassed about his own comment. "I... My apologies!" He bowed. "I did not mean to imply any disrespect for the man who led us to victory in the past fight."

Heitor waved him off. "It's fine, Sir Julius. Just go and do your knightly thing."

Because the people here needed it.

"I am fine piggy, no need to worry." She didn't look fine.

Priscilla's skin was paler than usual, and her eyes were unfocused, as if she wanted to fall asleep at any second. However, she didn't have eyebags under her eyes or anything, this was something else.

He crossed his arms. "Hey, if you got contaminated with something, this is the time to come out with it. We have the greatest healer in the world with us, after all."

She rolled her eyes. "I am not contaminated with anything, I'm just... tired. The Yang Sword Vollachia is quite the expensive tool to utilize, even one such as I will run out of mana eventually..."

That didn't really alleviate his concerns... "Even so, don't you wanna go see the Blue anyways?" He didn't know how severe mana exhaustion could be...

And he would probably not learn it anytime soon. With his depressing Magic Stat, there was no reason to try and get into that area.

Priscilla glared at him. "Cease trying to treat me like a delicate flower, piggy. Lest I show you my thorns." Geez, it wasn't like he cared. He just had nothing better to do. "Were did your confidence at throwing me at a horde of undead go?"

That was different of course! He had done that because he didn't want to raise Support Ranks with her damn it.

He scratched his cheek. "I knew you could handle it... But if you say you can handle this too, then I'll believe you."

She smirked. "You'd better. I am far too tired to punish you right now, so I expect you to be on your best behavior... Although..." She stopped for moment, clearly considering something.

And then she nodded to herself. "But if you have the time for such pleasantries, then go check on the half-elf. This endeavor seemed to weigh heavily on her. Fool that she is, it is only to be expected."

He raised an eyebrow. "Really? She seemed just fine..." Just like with the assassins.

Priscilla rolled her eyes. "I imagine the half-wit has experience at looking just fine." Fair enough. "And since the sun has gone down, she cannot be comforted by that demented rat of hers."

Welp, message received. "I'll go give her a pep talk then." Time to be Emilia's daddy... Heh. "You know where she is, Lady Priscilla?"

The baroness scowled. "Of course not, do you think I had enough time to keep a watch on the half-wit?"

She did have enough time to apparently notice Emilia was feeling unwell though, so that was something. He shouldn't be surprised though, Priscilla could be surprisingly perceptive. One of her... very few good qualities. Which she tended to use for evil, so did that really count?

"That's true enough, so I'll go look for her." He waved at her, before turning around. "Rest well."

But before he could leave, Priscilla once again spoke up. "Piggy, before you go drool on that half-wit, make sure to remember something... You work for me in the end." Yeah, yeah.

She was the one who gave the idea, so why was she even complaing?

"Of course, Lady Priscilla."

As it turns out, finding Emilia was turning out to be a very painful endeavor. He had no idea where she had gone, and the village was more than big enough for her to hide somewhere and mope all night.

He did stumble onto someone however, just not the person he was hoping to find. "Hello Lady Crusch." He bowed to the duchess as a greeting.

She was walking around the village, still wearing her armor, and with her hand on the hilt of her sword. Really, it looked as if she was ready to go into battle at any minute.

She smiled. "Hello Heitor. Do you need something?"

He cleared his throat. "Just wondering if you have seen Lady Emilia. I've been in the lookout for her."

She frowned. "My apologies, but I have not. Perhaps she is in one of the houses?" That was quite possible...

What a pain. Would he really have to look inside each house...?

He sighed. "Well, it is what it is. Thanks for the tip though. By the way, why are you still wearing your armor Lady Crusch?" He was genuinely curious, especially since her armor was somewhat special and ate up mana.

You have triggered a Support Event.

One of those huh? Well, it was bound to happen eventually. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if another one triggered when he found Emilia.

"Oh? This I..." Crusch looked down at herself. "I suppose I am just feeling a bit restless. It's also why I was walking around aimlessly, I know your ability is pretty amazing, but I cannot help, but fear a hidden enemy in shadow."

Huh, that was surprising. "Seriously? I didn't see this coming from you."

She tilted her head. "How so?"

He put a hand to his chin. "It's just that you give off such... a confident aura, I guess." Maybe it was because she wanted to break the Covenant. That just screamed important Fire Emblem character after all.

She chuckled. "That's flattering to hear, especially from a man who's not from my camp." Ah, he shouldn't glaze too much. "But I'm just as susceptible to the fear of battle as anyone else. Perhaps even more so."

She seemed genuinely embarrassed. "There is actually even a ritual I tend to do before battle. To calm my nerves."

"You sacrifice a goat!?" That was actually pretty common in older times.

Her eyes widened in shock. "N-no...? Nothing quite so strange, I assure you. I just tend to... well..." She blushed. "Now that I think about it, perhaps I should have confessed to sacrificing a goat. My ritual is far more embarrassing..."

"But no, I typically write 'enemy' in my palm and then... um... and then I 'eat it'." Wow, she was right to be embarrassed.

That shit sounded stupid. "That ritual doesn't sound embarrassing at all, as long as it calms your nerves down it's all good."

She winced. "Ah, so it's embarrassing after all." Fucking lie detectors... "But I suppose the fact that I suffer from such nerves is even more embarrassing in the first place."

She continued. "My family has the crest of the lion, so you would think I would shown a bit more courage... Well, I'll apologize to them by returning the lion to the throne."

He sputtered. "There was once a Karsten on the throne!?" Was she speaking of a regency or what? There's no way a family can be demoted from royalty to duchy, right!?

She chuckled. "No, it's just that the royal family itself were known as the Lion Kings, before... the covenant happened. As a thanks for their loyalty, my family then inherited this connection with the lion afterwards."

Her smile seemed far more brighter now. "It's actually quite the fascinating story." She began getting closer to him. Almost skipping her step. "One that I have been obsessed with ever since I was a little gir—." And then she slipped.

The anime lucky pervert moment! It showed up in many forms, but one where a heroine fell on the protagonist was one of the most common ones. However, as... comedy, typically the protagonist would get hurt somewhat.

Right now he was experiencing that. Having a woman wearing armor fall on you didn't feel nice.

"Ugh..." It really didn't feel nice at all!

Crusch blushed. "I'm so sorry...!" And got up as quickly as she could. Thankfully she didn't fall on him again.

The duchess extended a hand to help him get up, which he took with no hesitation. "I'm not hurt, don't worry." He was actually feeling hurt.

"You actually are feeling hurt!" Ah! He forgot the lie detector thing again!

Support Event over. Crusch's C-Rank Support Achieved!

That had to be the worst Support in history...

"There you are, Lady Emilia." He had finally found her, she was indeed resting in one of the houses of the village.

She greeted him with a smile and a wave. "Hello Heitor!" And that smile didn't look fake to him...

But he knew Priscilla was better at reading people. Probably. She at least found out Puck was a shit dad before he did, so that was something. So for now he would act on the assumption that Emilia was indeed stressed.

He scratched his cheek. "So... How is it going? You feeling okay after that fight?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Nobody managed to wound me." That's not really what he had meant.

He sighed. "I'm not just talking physically Lady Emilia. Is... is your heart okay?" Wow, when he said stuff like that he really felt like a true Fire Emblem protagonist.

You have triggered a Support Event.

And he was right to feel that way, apparently!

Emilia looked down. "My heart is... sad, for these people. There's no way it wouldn't be." True enough... "But don't worry, I'll be okay. This isn't the first time I have seen innocent people losing their lives like this... And at least this time I wasn't the one who caused it."

Ah! Here it came! Super important plot! Emilia's C-Support had been crazy, so he had high expectations!

"Um... you wanna talk about it?" This was a Support Event, so she definitely did! "Because I highly doubted you were the root of the problem."

After a moment of contemplation, Emilia nodded her head. "I was, but I guess... I guess I do. Though I don't think I deserve such a kind act... And to be honest, I don't want to think about it. I can't think about it."

He put a hand on her shoulder. "But maybe you need to, Lady Emilia."

She stayed silent for a moment, before recomposing herself. "Heitor, do you remember Lord Roswaal?" It seems they were going to talk about it after all.

"Yeah, he's the guy who was supporting you for the Royal Selection, right?" And he was probably a villain too! Betraying a Fire Emblem protagonist was a sign of wickedness!

"Uh-hum. Well, I once visited the capital with a maid of his... and... Well, it's really complicated, but let's just say it ended up with a nice stranger, one named Subaru, saving me from an assassin." Oi!? Did he miss C+ or what!?

And was this stranger that Subaru...!? It had to be right!? Heitor didn't know how common the name Subaru was around this world of course, but he naturally got suspicious of the girl he knew.

It seemed just remembering the stranger made her sad. "As thanks for Subaru's help, Lord Roswaal allowed her to stay in the mansion as a guest, for however long she wanted to."

Well, this stranger had saved a princess, so he could see where this Lord Roswaal was coming from. Though that was also a bit too trusting for someone they barely knew... But then again, Heitor was a stray Priscilla picked up, he had no room to talk.

Besides... if this was the Subaru he was thinking off, she could have just repeated things until she reached a favorable outcome.

A sob escaped her. "Things were fine, and I even began to think I had made a friend, but... Something happened. I don't know what exactly, but Subaru started to... panic? She definitely wasn't feeling well. And then she locked herself in a special room of Roswaal's mansion..."

Could Subaru have seen something strange with Return by Death? But what could have made a time looper of all things so terrified?

Emilia put a hand on her head, and winced. Was she in pain? "A few days passed with her locked there, but then... After one of the maids of the mansion died, she finally came out..."

Emilia became paler. "Subaru got questioned by the dead maid's sister, Ram and... She refused to say anything back, just running away instead... and... and... there was a big fight. I don't exactly what happened, but Ram went missing afterwards."

...Had Subaru murdered two people? This whole thing sounded pretty sloppy for someone who could time travel... For her, accomplishing the perfect crime should have been as easy as breathing.

No, he shouldn't jump to conclusions. He still didn't even know if this was that Subaru in the first place.

Emilia looked down. "Subaru managed to escape and then... we found out what had actually happened. There was a Wolgarm hiding in a village near the mansion. The maid that died had gotten bit by it there."

"But... but... we only found out after it had took the village's children to the forest and...!" She sounded like she was going into hysteria.

Not good. "Lady Emilia, there is no need to go into detail about that. I just want you to... to let out what you have been feeling. Not to relive that awful experience."

She took a deep breath. "O-okay..." And then she took another. "The thing about the attack, is that it shouldn't have happened. There are protection in place that had been sabotaged..."

"I don't want to think it was Subaru, but she didn't say anything." She flinched. "But at the same time, would she even had the opportunity to do something like that? I don't know..."

If she was the time traveling Subaru, then she definitely could have pulled it off somehow. However, that didn't really matter right now.

"Lady Emilia, I don't know if this Subaru is guilty or not, but what I do know is that those deaths weren't your fault." The half-elf already had more than enough in her plate. She didn't need the guilt for this tragedy as well.

"I brought her there..." Her eyes became unfocused. "I caused all that suffering. That's even why Lord Roswaal stopped supporting me... It actually... actually... reminds me of..."

Emilia fell onto his arms.

"Lady Emilia?" He barely managed to catch her.

And then he heard a cracking sound. It had come from the crystal that Puck normally slept in... That cracking sound repeated over and over again, until it shattered completely.

Support Event over. Emilia's B-Rank Support Achieved!

She didn't respond... because she was passed out. What kind of Support Ended like this!? Could he go back to having a lucky pervert accident with Crusch!?

"Sir Ferris! I need help!" At least the world's greatest healer was around...

AN: Crusch's Support was strangely difficult to write. Which is why I have decided she will embarrass herself in every single one from here on out.