Chapter 49: Gathering Allies and Knowledge

After dinner, Subaru and Emilia were called up to Roswaal's office to discuss what happened in Gusteko. Roswaal was sitting at his desk while Subaru and Emilia sat at chairs in front of him.

"So, I assume there was no progress on your quest in Gusteko?"

"Close to none," Subaru corrected him.

Emilia cleared her throat and spoke up. "Although, we were close to being able to beat the Sin Archbishop of Lust, but…"

"But nothing," the blue-haired man finished off.

Subaru grimaced as he brought up what happened, "Pandora intervened."

"Exactly my point."

"But, there is something else that's just as important, if not more," Subaru said.

"Oh?" Roswaal raised an eyebrow. "And what would that be?"

"Alduin is back."

Roswaal's eyes widened as his heart nearly skipped a beat from fear. "Oh. Well, that's not good."

"I know I'm supposed to stop him, but... I'm not strong enough yet," Emilia said.

"Well, naturally." Roswaal's face returned to a neutral smile. "You've only begun your adventure a few months ago, of course you wouldn't be ready yet."

"So, between Emilia having to be prepared to rule a country and stopping a dragon god from destroying or ruling the world will be very difficult. We'll need all the help we can get."

Roswaal raised another eyebrow at Subaru. "Calling in all of your favors?"

"Seems like no better time to use them." If an actual dragon god was back to rule the world, especially with the Age of Dark rapidly approaching, then he needed to cash in his favors and fast.

"Who exactly owes you favors?" Emilia asked.

"A lot of people, but in terms of the ones likely still alive, still quite a few."

"I see…?" That didn't answer Emilia's question.

Subaru looked over to his ancient friend. "Is Suwen still around?"

Roswaal tilted his head a bit. "His son and grandchildren are."

"Alright," Subaru sighed. "What about Garfiel?"

"Still at the Sanctuary." Subaru nodded. He could grab Garfiel soon.

"Alright. What about Tia and Halibel?"

"Both still reside in Kararagi." More annoying, but they would be greatly beneficial to have.

"Finally…" Subaru paused, before asking, "How is Reinhard?"

"Still stuck within these borders."

"Yeah, that's gonna have to go real quick," Subaru said. Reinhard was their ace in the hole against overwhelming beings. Subaru was confident that if they couldn't handle the World Eater on their own, then having Reinhard there would be all the help they would need.

"Shall I send out the letters?" the Court Mage asked.

"Send letters to Tia and Reinhard. I'm gonna go get Garfiel."

"Not the Suwens?"

"If Suwen passed away, I doubt his family will remember the debt."

Roswaal still wasn't buying it. "If you believe so…"

"Whatever," the nasty-eyed man relented. "Send one if you want."

Roswaal gave him a cheeky smile. "Done."

"If things get really bad, I'll call in the rest of the gang."

Emilia gave Subaru a funny look. "The rest of the what?"

"My old crew. Shaula, Volc, Reid, and, worst case scenario, Satella." Emilia was shocked by that. Subaru was willing to free Satella as she was now, then that meant things could get awful.

"Oh. And absolutely no one else?" the half-elf asked, just to be safe.

"No one that I can think of that would still be alive."

"I might have a few contacts within the Undead community, but no big names," Roswaal said.

The silver-haired girl looked at the blue-haired man. "Like who?"

"Big Hat Logan, Domhnall of Zena, Marvelous Chester, Greirat, Anri of Astora, Hawkwood the Deserter, Greirat of the Undead Settlement, and a few others I know," Roswaal listed off.

"Alright, we'll see about it."

Thirty minutes later, Subaru was out of the mansion, and on his way to the Sanctuary. He wanted to go ahead and grab Garfiel as soon as he could. Garfiel was very gifted in physical strength, and that would come in handy.

On his way there, Subaru swore he was being watched... but he wasn't sure from where... being around for four hundred years meant he was aware when he wasn't alone.

"Hello?" Subaru called out to the wind. "Is anyone there?"

No response. So, Subaru continued walking to the Sanctuary. He didn't stop for anything until he got there. Eventually, the feeling of being watched went away.

Probably not a good sign… Okay, one last try… Subaru thought to himself, as he cleared his throat. "Ahem, I know you're there. Come out now."

Again, no response. Subaru was sure there was someone out there, but they were either too afraid to make a move, or they just wanted to keep an eye on him for now.

Or… waiting for the right opportunity to strike.

"Ugh, guess I'll just wait for them," he groaned.

For the rest of the trip, Subaru's walk through the forest was uneventful. Finally, he arrived at the Sanctuary.

"Hellooo!" Subaru called out. "Anyone home?!"

"Eh? Natsuki? That you?!" Subaru saw a young man with blonde hair, who was shirtless and quite muscular.

"Garf! You've gotten even bigger!" Subaru was glad to see the young beast man.

Garfiel grinned and gave a thumb's up. "Yah, I've been trainin'. Whachya doin' back 'ere?"

"Where's your grandmother?"

Garfiel turned around and called out to the person in question. "Granny! Natsuki's back!"

Subaru could see one of the various pink-haired half-elves that watched over the Sanctuary approaching him. Given that Garfiel was referring to this clone as his grandmother, it was safe to say that this was the "Shima" clone of Ryuzu Meyer. Another friend he couldn't save.

"Is that so? Welcome back, Flugel." The half-elf clone bowed to Subaru as she greeted him.

Subaru internally cringed. "What did I say about calling that?"

"Apologies," the loli hag said. "Old habits, and all that."

"Aight, so…" Looking back at Subaru, Garfiel asked, "What's the issu'?"

"I'm calling in my favors," the nasty-eyed Undead said.

"Is that so?" the half-elf asked. "Whatever for?"

"Three words: Pandora and Alduin."

Ryuzu's face showed a sliver of surprise and worry. "Oh dear... that is definitely cause for concern…"

Garfiel nodded in understanding. He remembered hearing about that loli-themed boogeyman as a kid, whenever Suabru would visit the Sanctuary, and he heard enough legends and stories from Ryuzu to know who Alduin was. "So, wha' happens now?"

"I'm gathering all the allies I can regarding this," Subaru answered.

Garfiel narrowed his eyes. "Whuz innit fer ma' amazin' self?"

Subaru shrugged in response, "Name it."

"Oh." The blond didn't think he'd make it that far. "Uhh… Ram?"

"Sorry, can't promise you my niece. Anything else you want?"

Fair enough. Maybe a good battle, as Garfiel asked, "Bloodshed?"

"Good news, there's gonna be plenty of that."

Okay. Maybe something else. "Keepin' ma sis safe?"

"That's a given."

"Fame an' glory?"

"If we succeed, that'll happen anyway," Subaru said. He could see the gears turning in poor Garf's head, trying to figure out an actual reward that the teen could ask for. Time to speed things up. "Hmm... how about a chance to train under the current Sword Saint?"

"WHAT?!" The blond's jaw dropped. "You can do that?!"

Subaru nodded, knowing he could arrange to have Reinhard train him, and knowing Garf, it would be a perfect reward for that battle maniac. "I know him personally, yes."

Garfiel grinned in excitement at the prospect. "I'M IN, LET'S GO, CAP'N!"

Subaru smiled. "That's more like it, but I need to visit a few more friends first."

"Oh, yeah, like who?"

The former Great Sage's face turned grim. "My old sisters."

Meanwhile, back at the Roswaal Manor, everyone's favorite (sans Subaru) half-elf had left Roswaal's office, and was now in one of the foyers, with most of the residents of the manor, both the original ones, and the party that came with her and Subaru.

Emilia was facedown on the table as she was still trying to process her Royal Candidacy. "I'm so unprepared for this…"

"The king or the hero role?" Rem asked.

Emilia raised her head. "Being a ruler! I don't know the first thing about ruling anyone! I grew up in a forest!"

"Would you like to merely act as a puppet pulled around by Barusu instead?" Ram asked.

Emilia just raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Huh? Who's Barusu?"

"She's referring to our uncle," the blue-haired maid answered.

"Subaru? Huh. That's a weird nickname."

"Barusu is a weird person." Fair enough.

Emilia decided not to answer whether she'd rather be a puppet king, and moved on to another question she had. "Why do you two try to kill Subaru every time he comes back here?"

Rem blushed a bit in embarrassment. "Ah, it's a bit embarrassing, really. When we first met him, he smelled like a Witch Cultist, so… we attempted to kill him. But… we were still small children and he was a centuries-old warrior. It was no contest."

"Even despite Barusu's weirdness and me and sissy's determination, we never once succeeded in striking him down," Ram sighed.

Emilia wasn't sure what to say to that, she just let them continue.

"Uncle was the one who suggested we turn this into a little game," the blue-haired oni explained. "Every time he visits, we would try to eliminate him once a week should he stay for that long. Should we succeed, then we win the game."

"Once a week?" Emilia asked.

"He believed once a day would be too frequent for us and distract us from our work too much."

"Wonderful," Aela sighed. "So he's completely insane."

"Not really," Patches said, lazily sitting on the couch across the room. "He's like someone who walked off the edge, found it wanting, and clawed his way back out."

"Oh, that makes me feel much better." Aela replied sarcastically.

"And you've never once been able to kill him?" Oscar asked.

Ram shook her head. "Not even once. It's quite frustrating."

"Rem believes if Sister could be at her peak, then Uncle could be defeated." Rem said, not an ounce of hesitation in her voice.

Siegmeyer looked up from his cup of tea. "Her peak?"

"My sister and I are oni. Two of the only surviving members of our race," Ram said. "During a great tragedy that befell our village at the hands of the Witch Cult, I lost my horn. Since then, I have been unable to access my full power."

"Oh, no…" Sieglinde's heartstrings were pulled.

Solaire solemnly nodded.. "So, that is why you disdain the Witch Cult so much. You have my condolences."

"And that's why you attacked Subaru," Aela said, connecting the dots.

"Roswaal-sama took us in after finding our village ablaze," the pink-haired oni explained further. "We were understandably suspicious of Barusu and believed he intended to finish us off, but Roswaal-sama explained the situation to us."

"Only after he detained you."

Rem nodded to Oscar. "Uncle was merciful to Rem and Ram and did not punish us for our actions."

J'zargo nodded. "That is a characteristic of his…"

Erik nodded, as he quickly swallowed the pastry in his mouth, and said, "Well, if it makes you feel any better, we almost managed to kill the Sin Archbishop of Lust."

Rem smiled a bit, but it was bittersweet. "Thank you for trying, regardless."

"Hang on, what are the Sin Archbishops? You guys didn't tell me about them." Serana asked in confusion, not knowing what the Witch Cult or the Sin Archbishops were.

"Alright, I got this one," Patches said.

After a thirty-minute explanation regarding what were Witches, Warlocks, Sin Archbishops, along with a quick summary of what the Witch Cult was and what Authorities were and how they worked. Serana nodded as she now understood the basics.

"Huh, I'm surprised my father never tried to look for those Authority things."

Erik groaned. "Let's just take any win we can get."

"On the bright side, we do have two Aedric weapons to use against the Witch Cult during our next encounter," Solaire said, patting his own weapon, Auriel's Bow.

"Do you think it will be enough?" Beatrice asked, as she entered the room.

Unlike everyone else who was caught off-guard, Patches smiled. "It's better than nothin'. That bow could blot the sun, and the shield took everything we had and didn't even crack."

The Great Spirit of Yin sighed. "I hope you're right, in fact."

"Do we know what else these Sin Archbishops can do? You said Lust can turn into anything and anyone. What about the others?" Serana asked the others, wanting to know what these monsters were capable of.

Beatrice hummed. "I might know a few things…"

Erik stood at attention. "Really?"

"Nothing concrete, mind you. But still, it's probably better than nothing."

"Yeah, Authorities have different powers based on their users," Patches said.

"We'll take what we can get," Erik said.

Aela nodded. "So, what do we have so far?"

Beatrice readied herself as she began to explain what she knew of the horrifying powers that the Witch Cult possessed.

Author's Note: We'll talk about the behind-the-scenes stuff next time. For now, it's just all comments.

palik: "The Great Oopsie." That's one way to put it, alright. Satella is bound to return in the future, but it won't be during a fluff chapter. Guese is gonna show up soon (that reaction is gonna be fun), but not Regulus (no one likes that jackass). (You did not just call the Great Calamity the "Great Oopsie"! Oh man, that's gold!

(Subaru: Your Honor, my Client just did an oopsie. Therefore, the prosecutor's argument is invalid.)
(Pandora: Your Honor, Subaru is capping.)

(Farsale: A fair point. Overruled.)

(Subaru: Your Honor, shut the fuck up, you weren't even there!)

"Electric chair, all of you." – Ernalore)

5queso: Thank you, thank you, it's fun to know that I'm getting older and older by the day. Anyways, I'm happy to see that we've gotten to the canon cast, and it only took us eleven months! And look, Garfiel is here, too!

Qubon: AHAHAHAHAHA! And as for your other question: (Reinhard will be about the same as in canon, as he's as strong as he needs to be. Also, yes. Roswaal is in fact Undead. No body snatching or plotting this time around. Although, that doesn't mean he'll be… "problem free". You'll see what we mean in a couple chapters.)

Kifhjoofff: ¿Acabas de llamar a Roswaal "Lucifer"? Interesante elección. Pero sí, Emilia es candidata real, Beatrice se ha unido al grupo y puedo asegurarles que la selección real será muy divertida.

Anyways, back to the regular old shilling…

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Thanks for reading, and once again, see you next time!

- Ernalore & Infinite the Celestian