The longest chapter to date. 8662 words.

I breathe in deeply, breathe out deeply. Breathe in deeply, breathe out deeply. Breathe in dee-

"Just how lyong are you going to be like that, nya~?"

Cylob: "I can't help it, I'm nervous." I slump in dejection.

Ferris: "What are you even nyervous for? You've already byeen there."

Cylob: "Back then I was more of a background character, here though I'm going to be the central piece. That's way more stressful."

Ferris: "Hm, alright. Just dyon't enter the building with thyat pitiful look on your face, nya~!"

Cylob: "Do I really look pitiful?" I desperately start checking my face.

Crusch: "No you don't, Ferris is just joking."

Cylob: "Yeah, of course he is." I frown slightly. "Please go first, I'll be right behind you."

Crusch nodded, and I followed close after her.

We entered the castle with no problems, and after arriving at the empty conference room, both me and Ferris stood behind Crusch while she sat down.

It felt kinda cool to stand behind Crusch in this kind of manner, made me feel important or something.

But even thought it was cool...

...

Just how early did we come?

We have been standing for about 10 minutes, and no one else was still here.

I thought of Crusch as someone who left last minute to get as much work done as possible, but it seemed like I was wrong.

It was also pretty weird that this room was still open this early. Was no one in the castle busy enough to use this room?

Eh. Not like that's something important enough to think about.

I just kept standing behind Crusch, and not long after, Anastasia with Julius came in. Anastasia slily smiled once she saw me.

Not even a minute later, Felt was dragged in by Reinhard, and Emilia with Subaru were both just behind them. They didn't have much of a change in expression even when they saw me. Reinhard seemingly averted his gaze though.

Priscilla entered last, with Al looking somewhat dejected. Her eyes gained a certain sharpness once they landed on me with Al slightly tensing his muscles.

Then, out of nowhere, the Council Of Elders appeared in the room.

Like genuinely, I have no idea where they came from. Maybe a different entrance or something?

I could see Bordeaux squint his eyebrows once our eyes met.

Hmm... not that bad of a reception.

I was honestly expecting more surprised faces in both meanings. Maybe even some of disgust or fear, so this was pretty tame compared to my imagination of how this would go.

Just as everyone finally gathered, Miklotov - the representative for the Council Of Elders - spoke first.

Miklotov: "Crusch Karsten, as you had personally reached out to us, you will be the one to speak first."

She gracefully stood up while side-eyeing me.

Crusch: "Thank you for abiding by my request, but I'm not the one who will be talking. It will instead be Cylob."

She gestured towards me with her hand, at which I couldn't help but inwardly gulp.

Before Bordeaux could fully open his mouth, I stepped forward and started talking.

Cylob: "First of all, I want to apologize for the previous time I was here. I was extremely rude and I can't convey how much I regret my actions that day." I bowed just like Crusch taught me.

Bordeaux: "Empty words... but it's good that you at least apologize on the outside. Now, what will you talk about?"

My mind momentarily shut off at his response. I expected him to insult me, or to not say anything at all, but for him to respond like that? That completely broke my impression of him that I've built up inside my mind.

I quickly recovered though and raised my head.

Cylob: "First of all, while this may seem presumptuous of me, but I'd like to request something."

Bordeaux: "What is it?"

Cylob: "Could I possibly speak casually?"

At that, his eyes became much more sharp, as did everyone else's. Even Julius couldn't help but be baffled at the request I made.

As our eyes kept looking into each other, Bordeaux eventually spoke.

"Convince me."

Alright, this is still a part of some of my simulations that I've ran through in my head.

I take an internal deep breath.

Cylob: "You see, I'm a normal citizen. I don't know how to speak formally, and I constantly have to think how to make myself sound formal. This makes my explanations lacking, as my mind is constantly thinking about how to not upset everyone here. In reality, everything I said so far has been practiced. I ran simulations in my head, and have been coming up with responses and words for the past couple of days for everything, so that this talk would go as smoothly as possible. I won't be able to keep talking so formally and so smoothly if you don't permit me to be more casual. I'm not asking to be able to act fully casually, but to at least use some words and phrases that wouldn't normally be acceptable in such a setting."

As I looked at the Council Of Elders' expressions, I couldn't help but be... calm.

I was calm, calculative even. Even if they didn't give me permission, I could force them, or I could bait them with knowledge about the Witch Cult.

Yes, I'm the one with the upper hand in this conversation. Even with Reinhard here, I still have the upper hand. Even with Anastasia and Priscilla here, I'm the one with the upper hand.

I am the one in control of this conference.

I wasn't sure how I looked right now, but I could see Crusch frowning with a slight, very slight hint of fear on her face.

Anastasia went blank, her expression was completely neutral and she was fully concentrated on observing me.

Do I look that scary right now?

I was kinda curious, but I had no way to check, so in the back of my mind you go, random thought!

After the Council Of Elders shared information with each other with their eyes, Miklotov looked at me.

Miklotov: "We allow it."

Cylob: "Thank you."

Immediately after I said that, I slumped my shoulders a bit, made my posture more comfortable and smirked.

Cylob: "Now, shall we start?"

I looked straight at Subaru.

Cylob: "Hey Subaru, you've read Isekais, right?"

Subaru: "Eh? You're asking me of all people?" He pointed at himself in confusion. "Well yes, I have... wait-"

Cylob: "Awesome! And what if I told you that you were the main protagonist of an Isekai that I have read? Which means that I know everything that happened and everything that will happen? I'll let you think about that while I explain the situation to everyone else."

Subaru was completely overwhelmed by what I was saying, which was my intention.

While I could explain everything to him in a couple of sentences, everyone else would require more thinking and convincing, so from the start I decided that telling Subaru everything first would be the best.

Cylob: "Kenichi's and Naoko's son, please don't interrupt me while I talk to everybody else, okay? You can also explain what I said to Al, though he probably understood most of it already."

At the mention of his parents, his expression became less surprised and more focused. It seems like he decided to think before speaking this time around.

Cylob: "Alright, now that that's done, I'll be talking to everyone else here."

Before I could actually get to explaining though, a particular someone politely raised his hand.

Julius: "May I ask two questions?"

Cylob: "Sure, of course. I don't want anybody to be confused before the talk."

Julius: "First question: why did you speak to Subaru specifically?"

Cylob: "It's easy! We're both from beyond the Great Waterfall, so we can communicate with each other much quicker and easier than with everyone else. Now, what's the second question?"

Julius widened his eyes in surprise and looked between me and Subaru multiple times, along with almost everyone else in the room.

They couldn't believe that both of us were from beyond the Great Waterfall.

Cylob: "But I do have to say that my case is a bit more unique than Subaru's. While Subaru was sent here with his own body, my body was changed for some reason. I don't know why, but just like I said yesterday, I am right now in the body of a monster taking human form."

They looked at both Crusch and Reinhard, at which both of them nodded, with Reinhard himself looking shocked.

As everyone still had the same shocked expressions, I decided to get my thoughts in order. While I was acting cooly on the outside, on the inside I was still kinda nervous so my thoughts were all jumbled up.

Only after a couple minutes passed did everyone start regaining their normal expressions, along with Julius who now looked ready to ask the second question.

Julius: "As shocking as that information was, I still have to ask the second question. Why did you single out Aldeba-

Cylob: "Aaaand, I'm gonna stop you right there as I already understand your question. You see, the reason I singled out Al is because I know the least about him, so he's a wild card. While I know everyone else's secrets, his secrets are so tightly guarded that I practically know nothing about him."

Julius: "You know everyone's secrets...?"

Cylob: "Alright! That's both of your questions answered, so let's get into the explaining part. I promise that the answers you seek will be found in my explanation." I talked over him as I didn't want to keep wasting time by answering questions.

I turn to Subaru.

Cylob: "So? Had enough time to think or not? Want to help me with my explanation?"

He stared at me with a complicated expression. It was grief, understanding, anger and happiness all in one face.

Subaru: "Do you... know?"

Cylob: "How could I not know something about the main character of my favourite book?"

At first, his face showed denial. Then immediately his eyes filled with hate, with his expression becoming unparalleled happiness the next moment.

Tears starting streaming down his face, but before they could drop down on the floor, he wiped them away and grinned with his eyes slightly puffy.

Subaru: "Alright, I'll help where I can. While I'm angry at you for not helping me more, this is not the time for that, is it? I'll curse at you for three days straight after this instead."

Cylob: "Jeez, three days straight? Yeah, I deserve that. Now that I have a helper, let's actually get into it."

I take a demonstrative deep breath as I walk to the place where I can face everyone in the room at the same time instead of having to constantly turn left and right to see them.

Then, I ask a completely unceremoneous question.

Cylob: "Have you ever read a book? Specifically, one that tells a story, a story that's not real, just pure fiction. A tale of a hero, or a tragic romance perhaps?"

At that stupid question, everyone had faces that practically said "Of course." Well, all except one that is.

Cylob: "Don't worry Felt, you can have Reinhard explain something to you later if you don't understand something."

Felt: "Hey! Don't you dare talk to me like I'm some kind of-!"

Reinhard quickly covered her mouth with his hand.

Cylob: "To continue what I was saying: What if the world of that book, that story... became your own? Instead of seeing the familiar faces of your friends or parents, you see the familiar faces of characters from that book, with names and personalities of characters from that book. People with the names 'Halibel', 'Cecilus', 'Petelgeuse', 'Puck', 'Melakuera', 'Fortuna' are all now real, instead of just being words on a page."

I take a certain item out of my Stomach and hold it up.

"Because that is exactly what happened to me."

I was holding up a book, a book that was almost comically big.

On the cover of the book was written: "Re: Starting A Life In Another World From Zero. Character guide."

Cylob: "So, how about it? Want to read a book containing your past, present and future?"

After what I said, a heavy silence descended upon the room.

Each person might have had a different reaction ranging from acceptance to denial, but they couldn't help not keeping silent. That was just how shocked everyone was.

As I took in the serious atmosphere of the room, I lowered the book until it fully covered my face. I opened it, making the text fully visible to everyone else in the room, along with some pictures.

Cylob: "Of course the past, present and future of your enemies is also in here."

The pages I opened it on showed Petelgeuse with text and pictures of his ability, personality and history.

I turned the page, and Regulus was the next one to show up. Then it was the Gluttony trio, then Emeralda, then Sirius.

Cylob: "The next one is going to be somewhat special."

When I turned the page, only one person reacted to the image, and with very clear hatred in her voice she muttered-

"Pandora..."

Cylob: "Indeed, Emilia. It is Pandora, the leader of the Witch Cult, the corruptor of Petelgeuse and the killer of Fortuna. She is the person I know the least about though, so I'm not of much help when it comes to her."

After turning the page another time and showing Hector - who no one showed any reactions to - I closed the book.

Cylob: "Okay, I'm gonna have to destroy the serious atmosphere, as I don't really feel good right now. I almost feel like I'm suffocating actually. As you can see, this is a book detailing every single person that I know of. Some of them are important, some of them are not, some of them are dead, and others are alive. Packing all my knowledge into one book is impossible, so this one only has characters, and even then it's not all of them. For example, the Witch Of Envy is nowhere found in this book, as that one is a taboo topic. I have only one copy of this book, so I'm giving it to Natsuki Subaru first, so that he can familiarize himself with it. I will be making more copies as time goes on, and I also plan to make books about not only people, but also events. Now, any questions?"

...Another silence. No one said a thing, even after I tried to destroy the atmosphere.

Alright, then. Guess it's time to make the atmosphere of this room unbearably heavy.

Cylob: "Since all of you have no questions, I will just say this right now: I am the shadow that destroyed the capital three weeks ago."

I could see everyone tense up at what I said, especially the Council Of Elders.

Cylob: "And I am also the person that the Dragon Tablet told you to find. The name Cylob Protsav is not the name my parents gave me, and as I already told you, I'm in the body of a monster taking human form, so my outward appearance also doesn't reflect what I should look like."

As everyone tenses up even more, I give my ultimatum.

"If you decide to kill me or capture me, I will not aid you in escaping future troubles, I will fight back with all I have, which includes turning into the shadow. Think about your decision carefully."

I throw the book in my hand to Subaru, who clumsily catches it.

"If that book is ever copied before you give me your answer, it will disappear. If that book is ever not in Subaru's possesion before you give me your answer, it will disappear. If anyone other then Subaru gains knowledge inside that book before you give me your answer, it will disappear. If you do any of the things I mentioned, not only will the book disappear, but you will personally earn my ire, which also means no cooperation from me."

I demonstatively walk towards the door and walk out of it. Before I close it fully, I poke my head through.

Cylob: "By the way, I just lied, that exact copy does contain taboo topics, since it's a copy I made exclusively for Natsuki Subaru. Subaru, you do know what happens to a person when they learn of a taboo, right?"

His expression becomes haunted, almost like he was remembering a scarring event, as his gaze flickers to Emilia.

Cylob: "Welp, that's it. Bye!" I close the door with a cheeky smile.

As soon as the door closes, I can't help but stare into space.

I... really messed up the story now, huh.

By giving Subaru the book, I have officially taken the first (voluntary) step towards breaking the story that Re:Zero set up.

Many people say that taking the first step feels freeing, but I felt suffocated instead.

The knowledge that has been my weapon until now became useless of this moment, so it was no surprise that my mind was feeling cramped and anxious.

I almost always had the 'cushion' that was knowledge, even though I didn't know about some events happening like the attack on Obuch, the major ones were all in my mind, so I could come up with strategies and preparations. Hell, I had already made dozens of preporations for Arc 5, but now most of them will be for naught.

Sure, the fact that I had made some connections among merchants and mercenaries - which I had slowly been building up while I was away from the mansion in my 'I hate myself' phase - will still be helpful, but that's only about half of all my effort.

Cylob: "Fuuuu~, no need to think so negatively... No, it's more like I don't have the freedom to think negatively right now, huh."

I am now a wanted criminal, and a big one at that. Before the answer is given, I am officially on the same level as the Witch Cult.

The Dragon Tablet has said as such after all.

As a bunch more thoughts flooded my mind, some positive, most negative, I mentally forced myself to keep on track.

Cylob: "Well, time to construct the Seal Cave."

This was no time to think, this was the time to act. Before the answer is given, there's nothing I can do by thinking, the only thing I can do is keep steering the story more and more off track until I can be satisfied and have no guilt with what I've done even if I get a bad ending.

I have a lot of work cut out for me, let's start working on the maniac problem first.

I walk out of the castle with a heavy mind and heavier doubts.

.▓▒░▒▓▒░▒▓▒░▒▓▒░▒▓▒░▒▓.

The room was silent. Not a single person could say anything in the atmosphere that could literally be cut with a knife.

Some people were internally thinking on what to do, some people were too shocked to have even a single thought, and the others were just observing.

"What a guy, eh? He managed to stun the most powerful people in this nation into silence with just words alone."

Everyone turned to the person who said those unceremonious words.

Al: "What? Why are you looking at me like that? It was clear that nobody else was gonna talk, so I was forced to be the first. It's uncomfortable being in this atmosphere for me too, you know?"

As everyone's gazes bore into him, Priscilla was the one to speak up next.

Priscilla: "My jester is right. All of you people were practically hanging with your mouths open, and he was the only one who took action. That makes all of you even lower than my jester. Ha! Truly fitting behavior for the commoners that you are."

Felt: "Hey! I'm not worse than that weird helmeted man!"

She pointed at Priscilla while slamming both her hands onto the table.

Reinhard: "Miss Felt, please contai-"

Felt: "Oh, there you go with 'Miss Felt' again! Didn't I tell you to just call me Felt?!"

Reinhard: "That is not somethi-"

Felt: "Shut up!"

She kicked Reinhard in the face, or at least tried to. Reinhard perfectly caught her leg, rendering her attack useless.

She then plumped down on her seat with a "Hmpf".

Anastasia: "What an entertaining interaction that was. Now how 'bout we actually start talkin' about the things that matter?"

Anastasia grabbed everyone's attention with that simple phrase.

Anastasia: "What answer are we gonna give? Let's start talkin' on that topic first."

As everyone slowly regained from their shock, there was one person more furious than anyone else.

Bordeaux: "It's obvious what we have to do! Now that we have the book, there's no need for him! We should just send the Sword Saint to take care of him!"

Miklotov: "Now, now, Bordeaux. We should think more carefully."

Bordeaux: "Think more carefully?! There's nothing to think about! Did you already forget how much damage the shadow wrecked on the capital?! We have to get rid of him before we get hurt any more!"

Miklotov: "Isn't that the problem in itself? He said that he will turn into the shadow if we attack him. Making peace with him is the option that guarantees the least casualties."

Bordeaux gritted his teeth in anger, but as angry as he was, he couldn't come up with anything to refute what Miklotov said. Indeed, peace seemed like the best solution.

Bordeaux: "But that's just wrong! How can they not understand that making peace with such a dangerous individual doesn't guarantee cooperation!"

But before he could shout that out, a new voice joined the conversation, one that hadn't spoken since the very start.

Crusch: "I think that you're being too emotional, Bordeaux Zellgef."

As soon as she said that, he glared at her with his full might.

Bordeaux: "Don't talk to me about emotions! You're just defending him because you've gotten attached to him!"

Crusch: "I cannot deny that I've gotten somewhat attached to him, but at least I'm calm enough to not shout, and I'm not defending him solely because of my emotions. As the person who has observed him the most, I can clearly state that he will be a powerful ally to the whole of Lugunica if we make peace with him. Not only that-"

"To Vollachia of all places?!"

A completely out of place shout reverberated in the room. The source of it, was - of course - Subaru.

Everyone looked at Subaru with 'are you serious?' gazes.

Subaru: "Sorry, sorry. I just didn't expect a turn of events such as this one."

Subaru had apparently retreated to the very edge of the room and has been diligently reading the book that Cylob left him.

Bordeaux: "Right. Now that he's not here, there's no need to listen to what he said." He mumbled. "Subaru Natsuki, I order you to give the book to the council of Elders!"

Subaru: "EEEH?! No way! Did you not hear what Cylob said?! It will disappear the moment it's not in my possession!"

Subaru closed the book and pressed it hard into his chest, as if protecting it.

Bordeaux: "Oh please, he was simply bluffing-!"

Crusch: "He was not."

Bordeaux looked at Crusch from the side of his vision, then slowly turned to face her.

Bordeaux: "He wasn't?"

Crusch: "Why would he bluff? He has been preparing that book for multiple days while neglecting his sleep, of course he would have the countermeasures against people like you, who ignore his warnings."

Bordeaux looked at Reinhard, at which Reinhard wryly smiled.

Reinhard: "While I cannot tell whether he was lying with a Divine Protection like Crusch, his body language clearly indicated that he was confident, along with his expression."

Bordeaux: "So that wasn't just a bluff... that's problematic."

Subaru: "That's right! And even if he was lying, I still wouldn't let you read this!"

Bordeaux smirked with a hateful glinter in his eye.

Bordeaux: "Ho~, you dare challenge the authority of the Council Of Elders once again? You were lucky that time, but things have changed and now you have an official position."

Subaru: "That doesn't matter! If you read this book, you'll die!"

At that, Bordeaux was stunned into silence.

Subaru: "Just as Cylob has stated, there are definitely taboo topics in this book. If you gain taboo knowledge, you will die, it is as simple as that."

At that, Crusch furrowed her brows.

Crusch: "So Cylob truly wasn't kidding about hiding knowledge that could kill us."

It was somewhat concerning. Information was the one of the most powerful things in the world, and she was being denied it.

It was frustrating, something so close, and yet something so far. It was the same feeling she was always having towards the Witch Cult.

Crusch: "How do you know that? How can you be so sure that knowing the taboo will get us killed?"

Subaru: "Because I've seen it happen."

Crusch visibly shivers. She was looking Subaru straight in the eyes, and even a steel-hearted woman who has been through multiple battlefields like her couldn't keep herself from sweating. There was just something different about Subaru's eyes that made her speechless.

Subaru: "I foolishly told a person about the taboo, and she died, right in front of my eyes. And it's not like I wasn't guilty because... I have been given numerous warnings. I was given warning after warning after warning, but I still went ahead and foolishly told her. The guilt for killing her is still weighing on my mind even today."

At the serious tone and expression of Subaru, there was no one else who was thinking about taking the book.

And as Subaru realized just how heavy he had made the atmosphere, he decided to lighten the mood a little.

He plastered on his best smile.

Subaru: "B-but hey, there's no need to be so gloomy! Let's get back on the topic of Cylob! I personally vote for peace with him. Having someone who knows the future - even if only partially - is a huge boon. He also seems like a pretty good fighter, so that's another plus. If I had to sum up my opinion: While fighting him will only end in losses, making peace will provide benefits with only a chance of losses."

At what Subaru said, everyone looked at him with surprised faces, even Priscilla was slightly shocked.

Subaru: "W-why are you staring like that? Did I do something wrong?"

Julius: "Pardon me. It was just impressive of you to come up with such an intelligent thought."

Subaru: "Hey! Are you calling me stupid?!"

Julius: "No, I was genuinely praising you."

Subaru: "Of course you were..." No one could actually tell whether that was sarcasm or not. Well, everyone besides Julius and Crusch.

Anastasia: "It seems this conference is full of funny interactions, ain't it? On the more serious topic, I also vote for peace with Cylob. We merchants can smell profit, and he reeks of it. He has already made some connections with other merchants, and he did it so destrectly that even I obtained the information not long ago."

Crusch: "He has connections with merchants?"

Anastasia: "Tha's right. It also seems like he made some connections with mercenaries. The fact tha' you don't know means that he did it even behind your back, huh."

Anastasia was amused. Cylob was not only keeping information away from her, but also from everyone close to him. It seemed like he was planning to keep the burden of knowing the future only on himself.

Anastasia: "Now that I know that he's an other-worlder, it's not surprising that he managed to get close with so many merchants. I bet the other world has innumerous inventions that he could just copy after all. But that's more of a reason to get hold of him!"

She now felt extremely disappointed at herself for not forcing Cylob to join her camp at the last conference.

Subaru: "Eh? Really? He's not an otherworlder?"

No one paid attention to Subaru at this point. He had muttered so many stupid things that everyone's brains just naturally tuned him out.

Subaru: "Why do I feel like I'm getting insulted?"

Anastasia: "What do ya have to say, Felt? Are you for or against?"

Felt slightly jerked at the conversation being thrown in her direction.

Felt: "Well, he doesn't seem like a bad guy. I might just be saying this because I wasn't there to witness the shadow, but I don't feel any danger from him. So... I'm for peace, I guess?"

Anastasia: "How 'bout you Emilia?"

Emilia: "Hmm..." She cutely puts a finger on her cheek in thought. "I also don't feel any hostility from him, and since Subaru voted for peace, I will too."

Emilia had experiences dozens of gazes of contempt, so she could tell that Cylob had no negative feelings for her even though she was a half-elf.

Emilia: "I wonder if it's the quirk of people from beyond the Great Waterfall."

Anastasia: "Well, we have everyone's opinions now, and everyone's voting for peace. What do you have to say to that, Borde-"

Priscilla: "Shut your mouth, sly fox. I will not let you ignore my existence like that."

Anastasia: "Ah, right. Sorry, you were just so insignificant that I forgot you were here."

Both of them glared at each other, it was the usual interaction between them, so no one batted an eye.

Subaru: "Isn't that gonna change the whole history as we know it?!" Completely ignored.

Priscilla: "Hmpf, whatever. It doesn't matter what anyone chooses, it will be peace in the end. After all, he is fated to work under me."

Just as Priscilla gave her confirmation, Crusch looked straight at Bordeaux.

Crusch: "Everyone is in favor of peace, except for you that is. Can you refute any of the points we brought up, or at least give us more reasons to get rid of him?"

Bordeaux got lost in thought for a moment, but quickly answered.

Bordeaux: "The Dragon Tablet has pronounced him a danger that must be killed! We have been following the instructions on it faithfully since the kingdom's inception! To not to follow it is absurd!"

At that, Crusch couldn't help but show anger on her face.

Crusch: "There you go relying on that old piece of stone once again! We, the kingdom of Lugunica, do not need the Dragon to prosper! Our reliance on it is a weakness that we must get rid of! This is the perfect time for the start of that path, the path of independence!"

Just as she finished that passionate speech, a random knight had barged into the room.

knight: "The words on the Dragon Tablet had changed! It said to make peace with the shadow!"

At that, Bordeaux visibly gritted his teeth while clenching his hands. Crusch felt... conflicted. On one hand, Cylob was now 100% safe, on the other, the stupid rock was still controlling the kingdom.

But as soon as she saw Bordeaux's expression, all those emotions flew out the window. Her face contorted into a smile that looked sadistic.

She felt happy to get back at the guy who had looked at Ferris with so much hate, practically insulting him with his eyes. Of course those eyes reached her as well, but the scale was too different for her to care.

This was probably the most evil smile she had made in her whole life, but she didn't care, it just felt too nice.

Crusch: "To think that I was capable of feeling such spite towards a person. Seriously, that Cylob is making me question every facet of my character. I also wouldn't dare act like this before I met him, I would just hide my emotions. I can't tell whether this is good growth or not."

As Bordeaux was looking more and more defeated with each second, Crusch's smile became more and more sinister. If Subaru wasn't reading the book, he would probably say that Crusch looked just like a stereotypical villainess right now. That was the extent of the evilness contained in her smile.

After a long silence, Bordeaux had no choice but to accept his defeat.

Bordeaux: "...Fine. I accept that making peace with him is the best course of action."

Crusch: "I'm gald we both agree."

"Words just like a villainess!" was every otherworlders' thought right now.

Anastasia: "Well, tha' was surprisingly fast. We all agreed not even two hours later. How are gonna tell him our answer then?"

Crusch: "No worries, he already knows."

Anastasia: "How?"

Anastasia genuinely wanted to know how such fast communication was possible. Crusch just smiled at Anastasia instead of giving an answer.

Secretly though, Crusch had split a certain item into two inside her pocket.

.▓▒░▒▓▒░▒▓▒░▒▓▒░▒▓▒░▒▓.

Just as I found a good spot to construct the Seal Cave, I got called back.

I didn't want to drop something I had just started working on though, so I decided to go with plan B.

I haven't had much time to train this, so this is gonna be hard though...

./\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\.

Back at the conference room, something weird started happening.

The book that Subaru was reading, was starting to get a bluish tint, while the small object inside Crusch pocket jumped out.

Subaru: "What the...?"

Even Crusch was surprised, she wasn't quite sure what Cylob planned on doing.

The book started becoming more blue and blue, until a liquid started melting down on the floor from it. The liquid also touched Subaru's hands, and Subaru couldn't help but feel like he was touching some kind of jelly.

Maybe because Subaru had been through some really horrific shit, but he wasn't really scared of this weird substance. Hell, it felt somewhat nice to the touch and it wasn't hurting him. There was no reason to be afraid.

As the all the liquid fully drooped on the ground, the book regained its colours. No, it actually looked a bit more yellow than before.

The small object from Crusch's pocket jumped into the puddle that was formed on the ground, and then the puddle transformed into a small humanoid shape.

The humanoid creature then got fully dressed out of nowhere, and got the appearance of a chibi-style Cylob.

As Cylob opened his eyes, he couldn't help but say-

Cylob: "Oh dear, what reception."

Almost every combat personel in the room was on guard with their swords drawn out. It was no wonder, after all, a completely foreign substance had just started randomly forming in the middle of a conference of important people.

Reinhard looked calm though, almost as if he knew what was happening.

A cheat-like character as always. I calmly thought, with some envy sprinkled in.

Cylob: "Don't worry, calm down. It's just me, Cylob. The luqiud you just saw was my actual form, my real form. Did you already forget that I'm a monster?"

At that, the tension in the room lowered significantly, with people putting their weapons back in their sheaths.

The first person who could speak in this atmosphere was the person who had already gotten used to my antics.

Crusch: "Just how many surprises do you have?" She sighed in exasperation.

Cylob: "Ah yeah, I guess this is the first time I show you this form, huh. Sorry for not telling earlier."

Crusch: "Showing me? Have you showed it to someone else?"

Cylob: "Yeah, I showed it to Carol, though at that point I just had a humanoid shape instead of looking like a human. She was super hyped about this form. So much so that she decided to make some clothes for it."

I point to the clothes that I was wearing.

At the casual talk between me and Crusch after such a shocking event, everyone couldn't help but feel pity for Crusch who had to deal with me constantly.

Subaru: "So you can even do this, huh. Isn't this, like, super goor for reconnaissance?"

Subaru looked down at me. I was super small, small enough to fit on a hand, so he had to look perpendicular to the floor.

Cylob: "Probably. The problem is splitting my counsciousness. I don't have the brains to control two bodies at once, so I have to give up certain functions for each body. While this body can talk, all it's physical functions don't exist."

I was making a whole damn cave with my other body, so I had to keep the physical functions there.

Subaru: "So it's not all powerful, huh."

Cylob: "It's still powerful. As you said, it's good for recon, and if I ever manage to learn magic, I can just make an extra body constantly keep using magic while I fight close-up."

Subaru: "True, that's a pretty good way of using that too."

Cylob: "I suck at magic though, so it's gonna take a while before I'm able to do that. Well, unless I get some kind of powerboost because of plot."

Subaru: "Ah, I see. It was pretty easy for me to learn it so I don't know the struggle."

Cylob: "By 'learn it' did you perhaps mean recklessly use it while destroying your Gate?"

Subaru: "Come on, you don't have to say it like that..."

Talking with Subaru was very enjoyable, like, way too enjoyable. I had even forgotten that I was in a very important place for a moment here.

Okay, back on topic now.

I turn to everybody else in the room and start talki-

No wait, before that-

Cylob: "Subaru could you please put me on your head? I want to be somewhere easier to see."

Subaru: "On my head? Sure."

He picked me up and I sat on his head.

Cylob: "Alright, now that I'm tall, I can finally talk. So... that was fast, huh. Seems like you wanted peace with me really badly. If you have any questions, you can ask them. I won't shy away from them. First though, I want to talk to someone specifically." I turn to a particular person.

Almost everyone made dumbfounded faces at who I had chosen to speak to.

Felt: "Eh? Me?"

Cylob: "Pretty much. You see, I need to talk to Ezzo, I have a project that I think he'll have fun researching. Since he's in your camp, I figured talking to you would the best way of making contact with him."

Felt: "So it's not me, but Ezzo who you want to talk to, huh. Well, I can set the meeting up, but what can you give in return?"

Cylob: "I don't know. I honestly don't know what you want. So can you please tell me what you want to happen?"

Felt smirks while looking mischievous and points behind her.

Felt: "Can you fix this guy behind me?"

She was pointing at Reinhard, who had made a wry smile at her request.

Cylob: "Which part of his character?"

At that, Felt looked at me like I was some kind of psycho.

Felt: "Hold up, you'll actually do it?"

Cylob: "Well, I'll at least try. Reinhard is also a person with a lot of mysteries, but he at least has a human heart that I can understand. Now, which part of his character do you want me to fix?"

Felt looked at me doumbfoundedly for a second, before regaining her focus.

Felt: "You're a crazy person to try to fix this dude. Fine, I want you to fix his overly stiff attitude at least. I'll be fine even if you don't fix him, as long as you try."

Cylob: "Well that's an extremely good deal for me. Thanks."

And as such, my meeting with Ezzo was set in stone.

Cylob: "Alright, time for questions!" I tried to clap my hands instinctively, but couldn't due to not having any physical functions.

I looked at everyone this time, and I asked the first person who raised their hand, who was Anastasia.

Cylob: "I'll answer no to your first question. What's your second?"

Anastasia: "I didn't even ask my first question and you're already givin' answers. Well, tha's the answer I expected though."

She obviously wanted me to join her camp. My answer to that was obviously no. Obviously.

Anastasia: "Let me ask ya my second question then. Are ya plannin' on spreading yar world's technology here? If you are, you should make a deal with me for that."

Cylob: "I plan to, but my knowledge is very limited. It's actually better if you ask Subaru about that, he at least was in highschool."

At that, Anastasia hungrily eyed Subaru, who visibly flinched.

Cylob: "Whoa, hold on there, don't flinch like that. Who do you think will fall if you move like that?"

Subaru: "If you don't want that happening then don't throw curveballs at me!"

Oh, this was bad, talking with Subaru was way too fun. More accurately, making fun of him was fun. Is this how Ram feels?

Cylob: "Sorry, sorry. Now, anyone else have any questions?"

Subaru: "Those were the emptiest 'sorries' I have ever heard! You don't feel even a shred of remorse!"

Yeah, I could get addicted to this.

I ignored him though and turned to the next person who raised their hand.

Cylob: "Not the person I expected to ask a question, but what is it, Miklotov?"

Yes, it was the leader of the Council Of Elders that wanted to ask the next question.

Miklotov: "Could you please elaborate on the taboo topic? We have heard from Subaru that if we learn taboo knowledge, we will die, but we would like more information. For example, what is considered taboo, and how do we die?"

The way he talked with 'we' right now brought back some unpleasant memories.

Cylob: "Taboo, huh. Well it's nothing complicated. Actually, the taboo refers to one singular topic, and that topic is also very niche. The amount of information in the book I'm going to give you and in the book I gave to Subaru is going to be practically same, that's how niche the topic is. Unfortunately, I can't really say what the taboo is, as that would violate it. And to answer how you would die... the Witch Of Envy would kill you. The Witch Of Envy doesn't want anybody besides a certain group of people to know about the taboo, so she will kill anyone who learns about it."

At the mention of the Witch Of Envy, the entire room gained tension once again.

Miklotov: "Are you saying that the Witch Of Envy has enough power to influence our world even though she has been sealed?"

I wryly smile at that.

Should I tell them right now or tell them to wait until I give them the book...?

Honestly, telling them the truth right now would spark a whole new debate that I didn't have the energy to deal with.

But at the same time, it might be entertaining to watch...

It was a choice between fun and stability.

Eh, I've already gone off the rails by giving Subaru the book. What's a little bit more chaos?

Cylob: "I guess I'll tell you. Actually, Satella can escape her seal any time she wants."

...

Silence. Pure Silence.

"W-what?"

Miklotov wasn't the only one who asked the question, it was almost everyone in the room at the same time.

The words that I said, refused to enter their brains.

Cylob: "It's just like I said, if Satella truly wanted to get out of the seal, she could."

Everybody's mouths were literally hanging open.

Subaru: "Damn, you really did it. I was half expecting you to keep that secret."

Cylob: "Since I decided to tell everyone everything, I will tell everyone EVERYTHING. As long as it doesn't kill them, it's fair game."

Everyone's reactions were very intertaining, but I was specifically looking at two people.

The first one was Reinhard. He seemed surprised, just like everyone else. It seemed like this wasn't knowledge he knew.

The second one though... it was Al. He was just awkwardly tinkering with his helmet.

So Al did know that, huh. I know he has a connection with Satella, but I don't quite know exactly what that connection is and how big it is. His authority doesn't seem to come from her at least.

I was trying to get as much info on him as I could, even if that was from personal experience. As far as I knew, my biggest worry was Al... that was a lie.

People I was worried about went something like this:

1. Pandora

2. Echidna (now Omega)

3. Al

So while Al wasn't exactly the one I was most worried about, he was still an unknown factor. I wanted to believe in his good nature, more so than in the average person due to him knowing about Earth, but this was Re:Zero.

It is the type of series to introduce you to the cutest maid you have ever known, only to have her become a killing machine all just because you smell bad.

Basically, what I'm trying to say here is: It is not good to trust someone without knowing all facets of their character.

And since I only know the surface level of Al, it wasn't a good idea to fully trust him.

It doesn't feel right to doubt an otherworlder just like me and Subaru though...

Author Note:

Remember, Cylob only has knowledge of up to Arc 8.

He hadn't read Arc 9 as it wasn't out at the time.

Oh well, this was maybe just my untrustworthy nature at play, but I couldn't help but be wary of Al.

Now that I think about it, I have been getting it easy in this world.

I have met and talked with people that were easy to understand, and easy to see their true intentions. Or, I have met people that were in Re:Zero, so I already knew what they were like.

This made my skill of reading other people wane it seems. I couldn't read Al as well as I could read people when I started out in this world, as I already knew everyone's intentions and didn't have the need for that skill.

I should probably try to get that back.

Now that I didn't have the weapon that was knowledge, maybe reading intentions could be my weapon instead. It was definitely a topic to think about.

Well, seems like my quirk of drowning in thoughts at random times is still there. I'm the middle of a stunned, confused and scared crowd, I shouldn't be thinking about other stuff.

Thankfully, my Thought Acceleration made so that pretty much no time had passed, so I didn't miss anything. I thanked the skill(?) in my mind and spoke.

Cylob: "Let me explain something to you before you start asking questions. You see, Satella actually has two different personalities. One is, well, Satella and the other is the Witch Of Envy. Satella is actually a very kind and caring person, who wants nothing but the best for the world. The Witch Of Envy on the other hand is a being with only one emotion: Love for Subaru. The Witch Of Envy doesn't care about hurting other people as long as she makes her wish come true, while Satella is actively trying to make the casualties as low as possible. This means that Satella and the Witch Of Envy are in a constant battle for their body. While the Witch Of Envy is trying to destroy the seal, Satella is making sure it doesn't break. This means that while the Witch Of Envy can't break the seal anytime she wants, Satella can."

The whole room falls into silence for the next ten minutes as everyone slowly takes in my words.

It was at that point in time that Subaru had gotten to the page after the one of Echidna.

He furrowed his brows and made a complicated face.

Cylob: "Whether to tell that to Roswaal or not is your decision."

My words added even more complexity to his expression.

Well, no wonder. That's the person I'm the most worried about after Pandora. Omega.

Subaru: "She... did something like that, huh. And now she's alive..."

Cylob: "Yeah. By the way, I never asked but did you make a contract with her?"

Subaru: "I... don't know."

Cylob: "You don't know?"

At that, Subaru closed his eyes, almost as if looking into himself. After 30 seconds, he opened his eyes with certainty on his face.

Subaru: "She told me that we had made a contract, she called me her contractor, it felt like a contract, but... I'm 100% sure it wasn't."

Cylob: "Why?"

Subaru: "The night that I threw the crystal away, at the point that I had started going to sleep, the link between us disappeared like it never existed in the first place. It was most likely a fake contract made for the sole sake of persisting until she got what she wanted."

Cylob: "...That just sounds like a contract that got broken, though."

Subaru: "No, I've... experienced a broken contract when my contractor died. It's much more sudden, it doesn't wane away like what happened there."

...What did he just say?

Cylob: "Your contractor has died?"

Subaru: "Yeah."

There was only one person Subaru had made a contract with, Beatrice. The problem was that Beatrice had never died before Subaru, at least, not in the loops that we were showed in Re:Zero.

In the first place, this year is supposed to be a break for Subaru. But for some reason, he had once gone to Crusch for Felix to heal his arm which was cut off. Now that I think about it, why didn't I put more thought into the reason why Subaru had gotten his arm chopped off? It was something that clearly didn't happen in canon.

Honestly, now that I thought back, there were way too many differences between canon and this world. I was just ignoring those differences because my heart was weak and couldn't accept that I had made changes.

There might've even been some non-canon events that were super important but I just ignored.

I'm going to have to slowly go back through my memories this evening for that. I internally sighed. My unwillingness for change back then was biting me in the ass more than I expected it to.

Cylob: "Hey, what happened to make your arm get cut off?"

Subaru: "Hm? You don't know?"

Cylob: "Yes, I don't. And that's the problem."

At my grim expression, Subaru made a serious face.

Subaru: "A whole bunch of different mabeasts suddenly attacked the village, along with a Sin-Archbishop." After saying that, he whispered: "I drove the Archbishop away in 3-"

Suddenly, Subaru's face became pale, with him getting into a coughing fit. At this action, I was thrown off his head and onto the floor, which hurt pretty bad.

Cylob: "Seems like it really does work like that."

After Subaru recovered - with his face still slightly more pale than before - he picked me up again.

Subaru: "Sorry for that. I thought that since you knew that wouldn't happen..."

Cylob: "No need to apologize, you're the one who suffered most here. And I'm also at fault for not warning you, as I thought something like this could happen. You see, even though I know about it, I'm technically considered an outsider by Satella... or it might be that Reinhard heard us. That guy with daddy issues can probably hear us even if we whisper, you know?"

I glared at Reinhard, and he wryly smiled. He was definitely listening in.

Subaru: "True. He is way too OP."

Subaru joined me in glaring at him, and Reinhard couldn't help but avert his eyes.

He's going to be one hell of a person to fix.

Anyway, while I was talking with Subaru, the whole room was in an uproar.

Well, it was more accurate to say that the Council Of Elders was in an uproar, along with the guards stationed here.

All of the Five Dragon Maidens had much more tame reactions, thought it would still be an understatement to say that they were shocked.

Well, Priscilla and Anastasia had already recovered form the shock, but those two are abnormal from the start. Julius had a pretty funny face though.

Al is... completely calm and doesn't care?

What the? That's a reaction I didn't expect.

This is a topic concerning Satella, which Al clearly has a connection with, but he doesn't seem to care at all.

...No it is a bit different from not caring at all. It is more like he resolved himself to not care.

It was like he was trying to put his past behind him with all his effort, and succeeding. -Or at least that was what my skill at reading people was saying.

...

I was honestly relieved. If Al was going to put his past behind him, then the current him - the one I actually know about - is what's going to be left. At that point, there wouldn't be any need to doubt him.

That's definitely a good thing. That's going to be headache number 3 off my list after all.

It was at this point that I could feel my mind burning from too much pressure.

Guess the time has run out.

Cylob: "Sorry Subaru, but I'm leaving now."

Subaru: "Eh? What do you mean?"

Cylob: "Well you see, for every single clone that I make, I have to take in the visual and audotory information for all of the bodies, unless I specifically make them without ears or eyes. Even right now, my view of the conference room, is overlapping with the view that my other body is seeing. This makes my mind hurt, so I'm going to leave now."

Subaru: "Hold up! Don't you dare leave when things are the messiest!"

Cylob: "Bye."

My chibi-like body became lifeless and fell onto the ground.

Subaru: "You bastard! You know who has to clean up this mess after you, right?! Argh! It's not gonna be three days, but a whole week! I'm gonna pester you for a week you bastard!"

That was the last thing I heard before I lost connection with that part of me.