11 (part 3)

Crusch was so heartbroken at what Subaru had said she bit her lip just as hard as he did and drew blood down her chin.

"Crusch-sama!" Felix stopped himself from moving to heal the lady's cut with tears falling from his eyes due to her keeping him away.

"Crusch-sama, you needn't blame yourself. The situation in the loop is different from ours. We didn't know that Subaru-dono had lived through such horrors, you were liable to make that decision regardless. It's I who should've at least understood him better, since I had the same blood thirst for the whale." Wilhelm bowed his head solemnly and admitted his sin of ignoring Subaru's pain in the loop.

"Can't imagine that happening to anyone. Whatever that loop shit's about, I'm glad to see you earn some shit for it old man…" Heinkel spat spitefully from the top row, not wanting to understand a word yet still waiting for any chance to admonish his father.

The noble lady stared at the ground once more, her eyes dim. "Raise your head, Wilhelm-dono. It is I, who shall be shamed for hurting our ally today."

Crusch turned slowly to the half-elf and Oni maid in front of her and bowed her head in shame.

"Emilia-sama, I've failed you as an ally and as a friend. Please see to it that my punishment fits the pain I will cause Subaru Natsuki."

Emilia could only stare with wide eyes at the lady bowing to her.

"Crusch-sama, No! What if she makes you drop out of the race?!" Felix shouted in shock.

"Then it would be a small price to pay for Subaru's pain and the misconduct that led to Emilia thinking I could let her die just for my own political ends."

"Lady Crusch…" Julius whispered in shock and solemn respect at the headstrong candidate and her dedication to her morals.

"Oh, now this is interesting! How far has your 'respect' for the boy made you fall, oh proud Karsten" Priscilla smirked sadistically and watched with mirth in her eyes.

"I guess that's what happens when you focus too much on idealism instead of reality." Anastasia sighed and looked away from the woman sitting in front of her. "Ya were a good opponent I guess, I enjoyed our deals." The merchant cheerfully added while hiding her frown behind her scarf.

Felt just looked on without a care for Crusch's situation. Had it been her that was punishing the duchess, Felt would have made her drop all she owns and holds dear in life to the poor just to make the noble feel the pain she wants to inflict on the people of the kingdom after she becomes queen.

Especially since this one hurt Subaru… "Hmph! One less noble, I guess."

Reinhard looked down and felt truly sorry for his grandfather and his mistress's situation.

"N~ooo~w this is a lucky break, isn't it?! By rem~ooo~ving this one from the race, our camp is closer to vict~ooo~ry." Roswaal clapped with delight.

"No one is asking you!" Felix shouted in rage and tears.

"Yeah, shut up!" Garfiel surprisingly stood up and growled threateningly at the clown. The boy was angry at Crusch's situation. He admired the lady for her guts and will but he truly disliked that his brother was going to die once again so he wanted to take his frustrations out on something.

Crusch remained bowed before Emilia's seat. She ignored everyone and waited for her punishment.

"You want me to punish you?" Emilia looked down at the green-haired princess with confusion and pity in her amethyst eyes.

"Yes, Emilia-sama. Please make sure I pay for my sin."

"Why?" Emilia asked in a hurt tone, unable to look at Crusch like this. This wasn't her confident friend.

"Because I left you to die. I let the boy who clearly couldn't protect himself and that you left under my protection go on his own because I saw it as an opportunity to eliminate you from the race." Crusch's fists shook at her sides.

"Left her to die…?" Schult looked up from the scene below him to the face of Heinkel in confusion. "What do they mean?"

"I don't fuckin' know kid." Heinkel sighed and rubbed his head. "They will not tell us anythin'..."

"Please… I can't live with this over me." Crusch reiterates for Emilia.

Rem felt her heart shatter as she recognized the guilt-ridden tone. It was just like hers when she learned of what pain she had caused Subaru.

The maid looked at the half-elf pleadingly but Emilia was glaring at Crusch heatedly.

"Is that how you see it? That you were purposefully sending Subaru to his death without help to ensure mine?" Emilia sternly inquired.

In the silence, Crusch trembled. "Yes."

The duchess answered while keeping her head down low as she waited for her dreams and ambitions to be crushed underneath Emilia's foot.

Everyone watched in silence as Emilia glared coldly at the green-haired girl.

Priscilla licked her lips in excitement as she hoped to see the half-elf humiliate the proud Karsten heir.

Rem felt really horrible watching this without interfering to help her friend she was about to plead on Crusch's behalf.

Felix watched with tears of defeat and shame.

Wilhelm kept his gaze down and away from his lady's worst moment. She might not be his lady anymore in a few minutes but he will serve the Karsten head for the rest of his life. She was the only one to help him find solace for his beloved… along with a nasty-eyed boy.

Beatrice couldn't care less about what happened to this winch that had killed Subaru… she kept hugging the boy and watched with no emotion.

Emilia sighed tiredly, breaking the long-held silence.

"Crusch-sama, please raise your head."

The duchess refused and kept bowing her head. "I have no right to look you in the eye aft-"

"Look up, please." Emilia softly ordered.

Crusch's face slowly rose for all to see. The proud honey-colored eyes that were once shining were now dimmed and strained, full of shame and guilt.

Emilia's own eyes were filled with sympathy and understanding.

"Crusch… Do you know how Subaru spoke of you when we got back from the capital?"

The lady stayed silent as she stared at the half-elf.

Emilia shook her head and smiled a little.

"He had nothing but amazing things to say about you."

Crusch's eyes widened… Her blessing must be broken… "Surely not…"

Emilia nodded her head and recounted with a thoughtful look. "I remember that whenever you came up in conversation, he would always praise both you and Wilhelm with a reeeally admiring tone. I think he may look up to you two." Emilia giggled a bit while ruffling the boy's hair.

Crusch's eyes were saucers as she uttered in disbelief. "B-But I refused to help him!"

Emilia nodded her head, "And you had a good reason to. Subaru isn't in the right state of mind and as a stranger, you had every right to question him."

Crusch closed her eyes in shame. "But he remembers what I did to him… "

Emilia gave a smile at this. "He says that you're an awesome leader."

Crusch immediately stared at the elf, eyes wide.

"Pardon?" Crusch looked at the sleeping boy beside her, aghast.

"When we were in the carriage after Subaru saved us. He was gushing about how awesome you commanded the army against the whale with stars in his eyes. When we got back and found you and Rem… He kept asking Felix how you were doing after every time he checked on Rem."

"Yes! Yes! Subaru-kyun asked about you every time he saw Ferri-chan in Rem-chan's room, nya!" Felix replied honestly and carefully, trying to get his lady's hope back.

Crusch looked shocked by the statements leaving Emilia's mouth. The duchess slowly looked up at Emilia with an unsure look.

"I think you sitting by Subaru… Is already punishment enough…" Emilia gave a small grin to the duchess. "I hope you live out your sentence with penance complete."

Crusch's face was beyond bewildered at the kindness shown by the half-elf.

"I… This isn't normal, Emilia…" Crusch stuttered for the first time, bringing a small smile to Felix's face as he watched from the back.

"Fuck…" Heinkel cursed under his breath, realizing that this could've been an opportunity for Priscilla to gain one less rival. "What a stupid half-elf girl… Fuck…" He cursed in anguish again, holding his head.

Meanwhile, Anastasia sighed in relief under her breath, with Felt groaning and facepalming at the scene from the sidelines.

"Figures she wouldn't be punished." Anastasia's snort was heard from the back.

"That's supposed to be my seat!" While Felt's complaint was heard from the side.

Above everyone, Priscilla and Roswaal had both shown extreme displeasure by the half-elf and her decision not to punish her rival to the throne when Crusch put herself at the tip of the sword.

"What an irksome girl, Emilia-sama ~iii~s."

"A disgusting half-witch."

Otto and Garfiel just stared at the sheer number of women huddling around Subaru with haunted faces.

"Even though this went badly for him in the loop, it only gained him more in the future…" Otto grumbled under his breath, wondering if he should be scared of the other camps betraying his own or marrying into it.

Garfiel slowly turned to his brother and asked the question that shall one day unite Demi-humans and humans together on a cultural journey.

"Otto-bro… Is that what happens if you have a long thick-"

"No! No! No! NOOOOO! NO. Don't ask me that question!" Otto waved his hands and shouted, cheeks deep red at the lunacy of his friend, making Julius turn to them both in annoyance.

"-Personality… What's wrong with ya?!" Garfiel looked at his friend with an annoyed glare as well.

Back to Crusch and Emilia, a girl from the row behind spoke softly to earn the attention of the two.

"Crusch-sama… I don't oppose you being close to Subaru-kun as well… Even with how wrong things turned out in these negotiations." Rem's voice was kind but there was a hint of something else in her eyes.

Crusch caught it immediately and nodded. "Thank you, Rem… Please tell me what's on your mind."

"Rem's hero is always ready to face everything on his own. I appreciate everyone who stands by his side, as you did when we fought together… But…" A small blush crept on Rem's face. "I need to know if there's more competition for my hero's heart."

Slowly, a similar blush showed itself on Crusch's own face while Emilia tilted her head in confusion.

"Why would Subaru not be comfortable with having all of us?" Emilia's question forced a small choking sound to come out of Crusch as she began coughing.

"She's not talking about friendship, I suppose. Don't be dense!" Beatrice grumbled from between Emilia and Crusch, dangling her legs while sitting comfortably on Subaru's lap.

Emilia's pointy ears turned red at the tips after a moment of slow realization.

"Oh… C-Crusch?" The half-elf turned toward the duchess, who refused to stare at anything but the ground. "Are you… You too?!" Emilia stuttered painfully, making Crusch and Rem wince.

"I… Can't deny that he moved me in ways few could ever do… Him caring for me at my lowest brings me nothing but joy." Crusch's words made the flushing half-elf pause in her embarrassment and alarm.

"You sound so sincere…" Rem nodded alongside Emilia, both girls looking at each other and then at the duchess.

"How can one not be sincere when talking about someone they respect?" Crusch looked at Emilia with rounded eyes that proved an innocence even the half-elf couldn't expect from the Iron Lady.

"It's someone you cherish, Crusch-sama." Rem's words finalized a small glance between her and Emilia. "And I don't think having you as an ally to Emilia-sama as well as a… person of interest for Subaru-kun is a bad thing…"

"Just be careful…" Emilia muttered under her breath, sighing to herself as she handled Subaru's hand with care. "He's not going to let you down easily."

Crusch's mouth turned upward, showing her confidence growing again.

"I don't suppose he would. But he did mention a place for a third woman in his life to me before I departed to the capital…" Crusch's teasing tone was lost on all three girls around her.

"That's Betty's spot, in fact!" Beatrice all but shouted in the face of Crusch as Emilia and Rem had their jaws hung low.

"Stupid Subaru…" Emilia gripped his hand tight and squeezed out of sheer embarrassment, while Rem reserved from harming her beloved in his sleep.

She did have a choice though. A close one.

Crusch dared to give a small chuckle, born of relief and sheer freedom from the guilt that crushed her moments ago. She slowly slid her gloved hand to the boy's other one which wasn't occupied by Emilia's crushing grip, keeping a firm tug on it.

"I promise not to make you kneel like that… Not to me… Not to anyone again…" Crusch vowed silently, turning her attention from the boy to the window above.

[Change scene to Rem speaking with Subaru in a room at an inn inside the capital city. "What will we do? If what you say is true, we have little time."

Subaru quickly turned to the maid in surprise. "'If' it's true?"

Rem ignored him and carried on. "We have little time. Shall we return to Roswaal-sama's mansion?"

"No, there's not much the two of us could do by going back there now. There aren't enough of us. What the hell is Roswaal doing?" Subaru asked in thought.

"Roswaal-sama has been required to visit some officials within the domain. He will be staying with them for a few days."]

"I doubt that with all my being, I suppose." Beatrice's mutter wasn't lost on the girls around her. Emilia and Crusch gazed from her to one another, communicating silently and reminding each other of the time Roswaal had lied about being the one who employed Elsa to steal Emilia's jewel.

Emilia's eyes glanced back towards her sponsor with a deep frown.

Petra too gave the man a glare of her own, showing nothing but disdain for him as she put things together on her own, yet refused to say anything against the smirking lord above them.

"You bastard…" Garfiel growled hatefully, as Otto looked at the lord with a calculated expression.

"So he made many more crimes against Subaru." Reinhard muttered softly, remembering that his divine protection also showed him a lie in the lord's story that exposed a very dark secret within the Emilia camp. "Why would he sabotage Subaru's security in such a way?"

"Just you wait." Julius vowed as he turned back to the screen, feeling Anastasia's tap on his thigh, ordering him to calm down. The merchant queen's conversation with Julius before this viewing wasn't lost on him. They both realized that the defenses of the L. Mathers lands were close to non-existent.

And just like this viewing was beginning to show, this could've been done on purpose by the suspicious lord above them. The one who has the Emilia camp in a grip due to Subaru's placement beneath him.

Julius' grip on his knees grew harsher, trying to lift his anger from his soul by any means necessary, or else he would stand and arrest the royal then and there.

Anastasia silently patted his shoulder, keeping her eyes on the window above, not showing anything to the clown from her side.

"Better keep our camp in the darkness of his eyes before we strike him down," Anastasia whispered into her scarf, glaring at the Subaru on the window with a silent vow of revenge for him.

Roswaal shrugged at all of the attention he was getting, giving no one any satisfaction as he smirked.

"I feel like I bel~ooo~ng."

"Don't enjoy the attention too much, Roswaal-sama." Ram sighed at her lord's way of ignoring all the tension that was suddenly placed on him.

["That's why he can't do anything about the attack? Then we won't get anywhere unless we can bring reinforcements… What about Reinhard? Wouldn't he help us?" Subaru asked with hope in his eyes.

Rem looked down in disappointment. "He said yesterday that he would be away from the capital for a while on a courtesy call."

Subaru slammed his hand on the window. "Damn it! Why are you all so useless?!"]

Reinhard grimaced and closed his eyes in absolute guilt. "Damn…"

Felt's shock grew more feeling a little bit more guilty after seeing Subaru's frustration. "Shit… We should've been there… Fuck…"

Petra gave the blonde girl a small firm nod, glaring angrily at her and Reinhard, even without justification, she started to lose her temper more when she remembered what would happen to her village if Subaru didn't find someone to help save them.

"You're all so useless…" She whispered to herself, unable to look at any of them so she chose to glance at the window again. "What are you going to do, Subaru?"

Watching this, Heinkel gave a short snort. "Here's another one who regarded ya useless, you little monster."

"You're being way too cruel!" Schult admonished the elder man with a concerned look. "Why don't you stop that? This situation is so much worse than I've read about. Reinhard-sama shouldn't take the blame for it."

"I'm glad he wasn't there, kid…" Heinkel's words put a pause on the butler's admonishement, even made Wilhelm glance at his son slightly. "It didn't work out well when a Sword Saint faced that thing…" The drunk man had no expression that could be read on his face, a deep look of thought within his darkened blue eyes was all he could give Schult and the eavesdropping Wilhelm.

The old man looked at his son with a modicum amount of guilt that was pushed away as soon as it resurfaced.

[Seeing how frightened Rem was looking at him, Subaru quickly cooled his anger and looked down.

"Tomorrow, we'll have to look for someone else to help us. You head to the knights' station. I'm going to talk to one of the other candidates."

"Very well."]

"Another one of 'em?" Felt looked at the only two candidates left apart from her who was away, Crusch who rejected him already, and Emilia who was the needing protection. Emilia and Crusch also looked behind them.

Anastasia and Priscilla earned their own respective eye sets and both ladies took the attention without much thought or care.

"A lady does have her fans, I suppose~" Anastasia grinned down at all of them while Priscilla scoffed.

"Do not lump mine divine self with that fox woman. I despise being held to a similar standard as the low folk of her kind." Priscilla crossed a leg and fanned herself while Anastasia gave the lady a pointed smile.

"Wishing ya well too, ya barkin' bitch." Anastasia turned from her rival and looked at the others. "Ya best believe my way o' doin' things would be better than whatever this cunt behind me has t' offer."

Many nodded with looks of distaste being thrown towards the Baroness in the back.

"I can sympathize with that, nya." Felix kept his head down, unable to even look back towards the red lady after what she did to him last time he spoke with her in her room. "I hope Subaru-kyun is spared that…"

Emilia locks eyes with Crusch and Rem as both turn to her. All three were worried suddenly at the prospect of Subaru meeting with either two of the candidates.

"He's putting himself at the mercy of Barielle? You don't think that's possible, do you?" Crusch muttered under her breath, feeling her heart going faster in her chest. "Was it not enough for what happened with Ferris… Now I have to watch it happen to him as well?" Her tone was one of betrayal and complete frustration.

Sure enough, the screen opened the next scene on a familiar mansion.

[The scene cuts to show a massive estate mansion with golden windows and red walls. A voice was heard speaking over the view of the domain.

"The Witch's Cult?"

The screen pans to show Subaru standing before Priscilla as she sits on her throne. The orange-haired baroness was dressed comfortably, sitting on a golden throne in a lavish decorated hall.]

"Holy shit, we started with the most nasty one?!" Ricardo had to blanche at the immediate change to the toughest candidate Subaru could ask. "It's like he's not seein' anythin' but hard roads, 'ere. Fuck!"

Many nodded with the beastman, realizing the intensity of what Subaru was doing.

Emilia's grip on Subaru's hand tightened harsher as she watched with guilt etching into her soul.

Felix immediately felt his lungs constrained against his chest due to the familiar sight of the woman's smug predatory grin. "Please do better than I did, Subaru-kyun…"

"Hm… I wasn't told that this guy asked for yer assistance, Priscilla-sama…" Heinkel looked at the lady to his side with an inspecting glance.

"Hm," Priscilla ignored the man serving by her side and kept her irises locked on Subaru. "And the world brought him at mine mercy. We shall see if he's fit for this world's wasting of mine time."

["Yes," Subaru answered the cross-legged princess filled with hope. "If left alone, they'll hurt lots of people. Emilia won't be their only victim. I want to defeat them before that happens! That's why I-"

"Hahahahah! Amusing! You are amusing! Of course. Any jester who makes it this far has mastered his act." Priscilla smirked high from her golden throne at the boy.

"Wh-What's so funny about this?!" Subaru grits his teeth at the lady's audacity.]

"Ahhhh, Shit!" Al cursed as he saw what would happen way before it would be shown to him. "Princess' having fun with him… You won't actually help 'em…" The helmeted man spoke with dread filling him.

"This is not gonna end better than the last time," Otto growled, angry that his friend was so desperate he would ask this arrogant woman. "The Baroness isn't someone pleasant to deal with… Yet she's competent enough to see how beneficial it would be should she keep Emilia's camp occupied with the attack from the Witch's Cult…"

Garfiel and Julius tore their eyes from Otto and hardened their glares on the woman in the window.

"Subaru…" Emilia clenched her knight's hand and kept her grip firm. She didn't like the fact that he went to this woman to ask for help.

Crusch was thinking the same thing as she kept her hand firmly locked with the boy's and glared at the screen while cursing her stupid otherworldly self. "I shouldn't have allowed him to leave the mansion in that state of mind… I shouldn't have made him so desperate as to kneel for this woman…"

"It's not your fault," Rem grumbled under her breath. "He was in need of time alone and your other self respected that even though he left things on bad terms."

Crusch's head shook in denial. "It's not the first time I've pushed someone into that woman's grasp… Just like Ferris…"

Rem's eyes widened at that reveal from the anguished Crusch.

The fiery princess herself smirked underneath her fan and leaned forward to enjoy the show. "Ah, let us see how he fares, hm?" She hummed delightfully, enjoying how the whole world stopped to witness her looking down on the boy.

[The Baroness leaned on her knuckle while tying her hair as she spoke, "I can appreciate your desperation, but you haven't thought things through. In trying to aid your ally, you corner them, benefiting the enemy, and lose all control. You're better off dying."

Priscilla smiled warmly and stood up from her seat. "In fact, I could just lop off your head for you right now." She quickly picked up her fan and placed it under his chin.]

"Steady, Garf-san…" Otto warned when he noticed the tiger leaning forward in his seat, ready to lunge after turning around toward the woman. "We don't want a fight to break out again…"

"If she fuckin' kills 'em…" Garfiel growled through his sharp teeth, letting everyone know what was on his mind.

"She could be why Subaru dies…" Petra gasped to herself, letting Wilhelm and Frederica give her small looks of pity and frustration respectively.

"Fuckin' bitch…" Felt grits her teeth as she and Reinhard look away from everyone with angry faces. "Fuck… I should've pushed ya to stay… FUCK!"

Reinhard let his head stay low and glared at the floor.

"Heinkel-sama…" Schult spoke to his elder companion as everyone else was panicking under them.

"Fuck is it, kiddo?" Heinkel leans closer to the butler boy with a frustrated look on his face. "I don't get why this guy's fuckin' gettin' on the nerves of the princess, but I know it ain't gonna end well from how much she's laughin' at 'em."

Schult nodded his head, respecting his lady enough not to comment on her behavior. "That's just the thing, Heinkel-sama… I don't remember this meeting happening during the days after the capital invitation our lady and Al-sama received…"

"Huh? Ain't ya with her everywhere she goes?" Heinkel looked at the boy with surprise.

Schult nodded his head. "I was there with Priscilla-sama. But… This isn't something I was privy to… The meeting didn't take place with me there on that day perhaps?"

Heinkel glared at the confused boy, his suspicion growing. "No," he said firmly. "There's something freaky goin' on in this prison…"

Schult followed Heinkel's eyes as the drunkard glared down on the others watching with them. "These fuckers have been nothin' but weird since we got 'ere."

"What do we do, Heinkel-sama?" The boy asked, trying to keep his lady from overhearing him as he was sitting beside her.

"We will watch this shit until someone can answer us…" Heinkel grumbled again. "This shit's gotten a lot more serious than I thought it would…"

Schult couldn't help but nod in agreement with the Sword Saint's father.

["Still, even in the face of such harsh treatment, the devotion you show for your master, at least, is commendable. So…"

The fiery princess stepped back and grinned sadistically at the boy.

"I will give you an opportunity."

"A-An opportunity?" Subaru asked in surprise.

"Yes, an opportunity. What you would call a chance. " The lady pushed Subaru and made him fall on his behind in front of her.]

Everyone who showed anger at the woman's treatment of Subaru gave second glances between her and themselves.

"A chance?" Emilia seemed hopeful for the lady to show some sort of compassion for Subaru's effort.

"Don't fall for it, I suppose." Beatrice admonished Emilia immediately, glaring at Priscilla in the window. "Betty's Subaru is just prey for her in that mindset of his…"

"She's having fun with him…" Rem whispered in agreement, making Crusch and Emilia flinch.

Crusch's eyes turned to where her own knight was sitting, and from the state of Felix, she realized that this was probably what had happened with him when she told him to go apologize to Priscilla a few viewings ago.

Felix himself was hunched in a protected position, holding on to his ears and putting his knees infront of his face to hide away in shame.

[Subaru looked up and found her raising her bare foot in the air while looking at him.

"Lick it," came her simple order.

"Huh?"]

"Should've known," Frederica said with distaste for the woman clear on her face. "How could someone be so cruel…"

Petra held her mentor's hand and glared with tears showing in her eyes. "This is horrible…"

Emilia and Rem seemed heartbroken while Beatrice gave a hateful snarl at the woman.

Felix pressed his ears flat as hard as he could, showing Crusch more evidence that this was exactly what had taken place with him and Priscilla.

Crusch's eyes moved between Subaru and Felix as they both suffered from Priscilla's games in the same manner.

Above everyone, Priscilla herself was watching with absolute anticipation. "Go on then, show me if you're worth it or not, half-wit's dog."

["Crawl on the floor, savor the shame and humiliation, and like a wretched beast, like a baby suckling on its mother's teat, lick my foot. If you can do that, I'll consider your proposal. If you don't want to, that's fine. If you'd rather favor your minuscule pride and abandon the mistress you wagged your tail for to the wasteland, then fine. Either choice you make will entertain me." Priscilla looked down with uncharacteristic glee as she waved her bare foot in front of the boy.]

"I hate this bitch so feakin' much…" Felt seethed with rage uncountable, having Reinhard pat her shoulder for comfort.

Wilhelm began seeing some shame in the way he had allowed Subaru to meet with Crusch without taking him aside and making sure he was okay mentally before they met. Perhaps that would've spared him this humiliation.

"Either way… I don't wanna lose any respect for the guy so I'm looking away…" Tivey spoke what was on his mind. "It's obvious what's going to happen next."

"But he didn't do anything yet, bro." Mimi pointed at the window and looked at her brother in confusion. Tivey sighed and locked eyes with Julius after nodding with the knight.

"It's obvious that he doesn't have another choice, Mimi…"

"Cap'n…" Garfiel decided to look away as well, crushing the armrest under his hand. "Why couldn't this shit happen when I was 'ere… I could've helped ya punch a hole in that bastard's chest…"

Otto and Julius looked on, not allowing the humiliation of Subaru to pass by without their judgment.

"If he suffered through doing it, then I'll watch to punch him for doing it in the first place," Otto growled under his breath, earning a snort of agreement from the knight sitting behind him.

[Subaru looked down and thought back to his fight with Emilia.]

Emilia's eyes widened in despair, "P-please no… Don't feel pushed because of that fight… I don't deserve this!"

"Your wailing is as ugly as that man's defeat," Priscilla's voice boomed across the room for the first time, striking any goodwill between her and Emilia forever. "That boy you hold so dearly is nothing more than a pig. A disgusting useless man with which the world has mistaken its favor for mineself."

"Shut the fuck up…" Felt growled while holding on to her armrests to keep from bolting a kick to the woman's face. "I'm going to shove my fist into yer ugly mug…"

Emilia didn't give the woman any reaction as she looked at Subaru's window representation desperately.

[With shame and despair, the boy conceded. "F-Fine."]

"No…" Emilia closed her eyes, refusing to see the scene anymore. Similarly, Crusch looked between the window and Felix's curled body.

The knight's sobbing began as soon as he heard Subaru break for Priscilla's whim.

"Ferris…" Crusch whispered and leaned to cover a part of the boy's head with her gloved hand. "Ferris, please… I'm right here…"

"Damn, he agreed to that?" Heinkel sniffed through his nose, looking kind of impressed with Subaru. "He must really want to help these people… I can get behind that if it wasn't a stupid ideal."

"It looked like he's doing it for himself, kind of like you Heinkel-sama…" Schult reluctantly interjected, making Heinkel glare at the boy.

"Fuck's that supposed to mean?" Heinkel asked heatedly.

Schult wasn't affected by the tone of the elder drunkard. "He seems to be in anger and desperation all the time… Just like you, Heinkel-sama…"

The man's back was stiff at the words spoken to him as he recalled the look in Subaru's eyes.

For a moment, he and Schult faced one another with nothing to care about the others and their reactions to Priscilla's games.

"Whatever…" Heinkel grumbled, "We know it worked out in the end for 'em. So maybe this is just how things are done, ain't it? Means I might get what I want as well."

Schult shook his head and looked away from the man. He couldn't refute Heinkel's wrong perception when the man seemed to be right. Subaru did manage to get enough help to save everyone from a Witch Cult attack that included an incursion by the White Whale… But from what Schult was watching… This wasn't the man he would read about across the stories and legends.

[Priscilla looked on with her fan hiding her face and watched as the boy held her foot softly and slowly moved it to his mouth.

Once his lips were grazing her foot, her fan moved away to reveal a disgusted glare on her face. "I guess you really are just an insignificant man!"

Kicking him across the room, Priscilla glared with disgust at the boy.

"What you just displayed was neither loyalty nor devotion. It's something more filthy, like a dog's dependence or a pig's greed. You lazy pig who knows only how to want! A pig's greed is the ugliest thing there is!"

Subaru, bleeding from his mouth, slowly tried to get up from the floor. But Priscilla had already stepped toward him and picked him up by his collar as she shouted her disgust at him.

"Even if the Witch's Cult is defeated, I will strike down any camp you are part of! Your careless behavior and attitude have led me to that decision!" Priscilla threw the boy away, making him roll and bleed all over the palace floor until his back met the large doors.]

"You Witch!"

Rem immediately flew toward the candidate and was about to kick her in the face. Before a helmeted man came between and the princess's smug face.

Rem quickly stomped the helmeted knight to the floor with her foot on his face, keeping him pinned and not interfering with her as she swung her arm to punch the crimson princess with all her might.

Only her arm was held in the air, inches away from the smug smirking Priscilla.

[I understand your anger. But you can't fight in this room.]

"But look what she did to Subaru!" Petra shouted in anger as she and the twins were cheering for Rem with glares aimed toward Priscilla.

"Come on man, let 'em have this one," Ricardo begged as he gave a small growl at Priscilla.

Garfiel's eyes were honed on her. He couldn't care less what his Cap'n was thinking. This humiliation of the man that saved him will not stand even if it was Subaru's fault.

Rem moved her hand back once again and struck the princess.

Priscilla simply stopped the punch with the tip of her fan.

Her scarlet eyes stared deeply within Rem's blue angry ones.

"Your beloved's rage was too disgusting for mineself to allow it to stand. Be grateful, 'tis was a great service."

"Do not justify your joy at the people desperate to please you for their own gain!" Crusch held on to her trembling Felix as she glared up at the red woman.

Heinkel found himself looking away from the green-haired lady, unable to stop himself from feeling slightly attached to the way she talked about people like him.

Priscilla scoffed at Crusch and Rem, and everyone else behind the two as she glared at the window above, holding Rem's fist with a mere effort. "Mine divineself thought to show this pig how good he actually was. At the bottom of the chain, crawling and licking mine feet."

"You're horrible…" Emilia seethed with rage and horror at the treatment her knight was subjugated to and just how low he thought of himself that he was willing to do such a gross act in her name. "Who does such a thing and talks this much to make us believe it was for their benefit?"

She was angry. At Subaru's stupidity. And at Priscilla's nastiness.

Priscilla rolled her eyes which angered Emilia particularly even more. "Bring yourself great gratitude, half-wit. For my divine self had fixed your broken dog for you, even without intention."

"Shut your fuckin' mouth!" Felt shouted from the back, already out of her seat to deliver her own kick without Al's face protecting Priscilla like with Rem. "How the fuck's he gonna be fixed after that bullshit?!"

Priscilla merely waited for the Warden to push Felt's attack away, unphased and cooled down as opposed to everyone in the room.

"Had this pig continued blundering the goodwill of his master's name to suit a short-ended mission like revenge, mine divine self would've been stuck with a prideless fool whose only use was to beg others to do the work for him." Priscilla huffed and let the maid's hand go to fan herself. "You're welcome, half-wit. That world decided that your dog deserves a second chance without mine wrath following his every step, so I shall not strike you down for his support. His service will be great for mine divine self."

Emilia refused to refute the red princess, glaring at her from her seat, and showing absolute dislike through her rounded eyes. "You don't deserve the world's love… You don't deserve Subaru's friendship… Stop saying things as if he is yours by right."

"Without mineself molding his way forward, you wouldn't have seen him evolve into what he has become now," Priscilla smirked at the half-elf knowingly.

Emilia's hands clenched and she grits her teeth. "That is true…" Emilia surprised everyone by agreeing with Priscilla. "You're the one who made him arrive at the castle on that day… The one who brought him there just to fulfill your own amusement…"

Eyes went wide in remembrance of the day before the candidates met in the capital.

Priscilla smiled as the other started realizing that it was her who set the whole third arc of Subaru's story in motion. Without her taking him there on a whim, Subaru wouldn't have challenged the name of the Knights, neither would Julius have had to beat him publicly, and Emilia wouldn't have deserted him under Crusch's care due to Puck's manipulations.

He wouldn't have had to deal with the Cult's massecare on his own.

Rem's face was one of shock and confusion as she thought the words through. The maid glared at the lady with hatred. "This is a disgusting way to teach anyone anything…" She growled making many in the crowd nod.

Crusch herself had leaned away from Felix and stood on knee folded on her seat to glare upward towards the red princess alongside Emilia.

"Excuse me! Can you stop using me as a doormatt?!"

Rem stopped glaring at Priscilla to look down at the man she was pinning to the floor via her shoe sole pressing on his metal covered head. The maid found it appropriate to to press just a little bit more harder until the helmet began to bend by her foot's strength and forced it to be shaped like her shoe bottom.

"Hey! Hey! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Rem gave a disgusted huff and stepped away, admiring the new look on Al with her shoe sole imprinted on his metal helmet.

"I hope you like my gift on your own knight, Priscilla-sama." Rem gave a sickeningly sarcastic tone as she fake bowed to the royal and walked back towards her seat.

"The fuck you mean, gift?! You crushed my helmet! It's a very strong helmet too! How strong are you?" Al shouted in fury as he touched the spot Rem's shoe had marked. Heinkel had to hold his mouth to keep the laughter inside while Schult was helping Al to get up from the frightening attack Rem had displayed.

"Why I wanted to give you something that your dear mistress would like. Since she likes feet so much to have a fetish for them, I decided to stick the shape of my foot on your face so she could finally kiss you properly!" Rem growled out her last sentence and glared at the entire Priscila camp while the crowd behind her seemed increasingly agitated and satisfied at the shots being delivered to Priscilla specifically.

[Priscilla, you'll not kill Rem. So stop tying to summon your sword.]

The lady snorted and leaned down in her seat with her fan hiding her snarl that was aimed at the maid. Rem slowly stepped back towards her seat beside Felix, not seeing how Garfiel blushed deeply while looking at her in awe.

She sat down and began rubbing the healer's head swiftly, nodding to a surprised Crusch and communicating that she noticed him also being affected by Priscilla's cruelty.

"I could see the rift between you since the last viewing… I didn't want to get involved because… Will… He wasn't nice to Subaru-kun." Rem looked a little ashamed as she tapped the healer's head to rest on her thigh while she toyed with his ears. "I'll take good care of him… If you do the same for my Subaru-kun… Please."

Rem didn't look Crusch in the eye, busy trying to comfort Felix, but the duchess could only give the maid a nod of gratitude. Realizing that she wasn't the best person to comfort her knight, Crusch looked away, giving up Felix so he could grow out of her shadow using this crisis he was in. She sat back in her seat and opted to handle Subaru's hand with care and squeeze it lightly to feel his comforting presence next to her.

"I'm sorry I allowed you to go through that…" Crusch whispered. She found that Emilia too had sat back down and held his other hand in a crushing grip of her own. The half-elf's expression was one of revulsion and anger at the unfair situation he was put through.

It gave Crusch the small comfort of not being alone with these feelings of guilt and helplessness

[Your helmet is fixed man, stop taking hits for her.]

"Thanks, pal!" Al sighed in relief as he tapped his newly fixed helmet. "Thanks to you too, Schult-kun!" Al cheerfully rubbed the boy's pink hair. Secretly giving the middle finger to Heinkel when he was done using his hand for that.

As Al sat back in his seat, Priscilla continued to be the center of many glares in the room but since everyone had said all they had to say to an uncompromising person who always thought she was right like her, the screen continued without their say so.

[Priscilla's face twisted in rage at the disgusting creature before her. The lady looked away and closed her eyes in disdain. "Aldebaran." The door opened to reveal a helmeted man with one arm looking in and staring at the downed Subaru.

"Hey, now, what happened here?"

"Throw that detestable fool out of here. Or kill him if you want. It matters not." Priscilla moved her body to look away from the boy, an angry frown remained stuck on her face.

Al moved to pick up Subaru on his shoulder. "I think that matters quite a bit." He stood up with Subaru on his shoulder and whispered softly. "Let's go, brother."

He briefly turned around to the lady. "Don't get so mad, princess. That fierce look will make your cute face drop in value."

"Unless you want your ruined face further ruined, take him away at once, Aldebaran."

"I've told you not to call me that." The knight walked out with the injured Subaru placed on his good shoulder.]

"The face does nothing to sweeten the rot in her soul, in fact," Beatrice growled with deep-rooted rage. "She will pay for Betty's contractor and his treatment. That is a debt, in fact."

Julius gave a nod of respect at the spirit's promise, even earning some form of an admiring look from Reinhard himself.

"Jeez, princess… You really made an enemy out of everyone…" Al rubbed his helmet at the spot Rem had dented with just her pure strength before it was fixed. "Why? Why say any of this to these guys?"

"Aldebaran," Priscilla's tone was that of a curious girl instead of someone sitting on the nerves of everyone in the room. It appeared like the lady in red couldn't care about what was being planned for her by her enemies. "Why do you think the pig managed to fight after being so thoroughly broken beneath mine feet?"

"Huh?" Al tilted his covered head. "What do you mean, princess?"

"How come the world gave such a broken dog another chance when I forbade him from raising his head again?" Priscilla said curiously without any anger or disdain that she would've otherwise held for anyone else in Subaru's situation.

Al's response was a simpler one that she wasn't expecting. "What… Makes ya so sure that he was broken after being done with you, princess?"

Priscilla's crimson eyes turned to her knight, ignoring the piercing ones from Heinkel and Schult as they listened in on the conversation.

"My pal's not gonna stop until he wins…" Al said simply without any emotion to this fact but a firm one. "His personality is that of a guy who will do whatever it takes to win. So be ready to be proven wrong on this matter."

"Fool." Priscilla tapped his helmet, knocking him to the ground with a simple effort again. "Who will be proven wrong?"

Al groaned in pain as the pink-haired butler moved to help him once again. Schult and Heinkel locked eyes however and showed each other how confused they were at their lady's sudden change of treatment to those she is disgusted with.

"Since when are you so merciful to those you loath?" Heinkel muttered under his breath what Schult himself was thinking about their lady. "What's with this sudden interest in a guy that's failed two negotiations so far… Is he a fraud of some kind?" His questions were not answered as he watched with the others.

[Scene change to Al helping Subaru as he limped towards the exit of the Barielle estate.

"Can you stand, brother?"

"Yeah." Subaru limped out of the gate with a bleeding cheek and a disappointed look.

"You seem okay.I didn't know what you were talking about, but it looks like it didn't go very well." Al stood there awkwardly not knowing what to say.

Thankfully, a blue-haired girl ran towards them with a worried look on her face.]

"He could've used your help had you been there sooner, I suppose." Beatrice muttered, making Rem flinch from the back.

"That isn't fair, Beatrice." Emilia admonished the spirit, in her own darkened mode like everyone in the front row. "She was at the knight's headquarters trying to get help for him."

[(A scene from the novels and manga that got cut from the anime.)

"Subaru-kun! Why are you bleeding like this?!" Rem quickly began wiping away his bloodied cheek and nose with a wiper and a worried almost furious expression on her face.

Al sighed and turned around briefly. "Well, I'm going back inside, before she orders me to cut you in half for real."

At this, Rem instantly whiplashed toward the man. "Kill Subaru-kun?!" She growled fiercely.

"Don't make such a face, I'm just saying that she may say something like that. Wasn't your name Ram? Take care of him for me."

As Al began walking away from the duo, Rem couldn't help from commenting.

"Ram's my sister's name. Rem's name is Rem, Al-sama."

The one armed man stopped walking and an aura of shock surrounded him. "Rem?" he asked in a disquieted tone. As if something had disturbed him.

The man turned around and stared at the maid. "Don't kid around with me, aren't you Ram?"

"I'm Rem, excuse me, but have you met my sister?"

"So you're Rem and your sister is Ram."

"Yes." Rem answered with a confused and suspicious expression.

"I hate to ask this… but is your sister alive?"

"My sister is obviously alive," Rem answered with an offended expression.

The aura around Al turned to one of pure malice and contempt. "This isn't a joke!" The man growled out as the air condensed around him.

"Subaru-kun!" Rem speaks in alarm as if a chill had hit her because of the man's aura.

"Yeah."

Both of them got ready to escape as the aura around Al increased in intensity.

And suddenly… it all stopped.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to do anything. You guys better go, as it seems, I'm also in a bad mood."

Rem slowly bowed a little with her gaze full of suspicion. "I understand… Please tell her that we're thankful for her taking the time to see us."

"Got it, you guys be careful."

Al watched the two walk away with a few thoughts in his mind.

'So It's still alive… that makes me sick.' He thought in disgust as he stared at the disappearing maid.]

"Do ya know 'em Ram?" Garfiel asked as he prepared to punch the man so hard it shattered the helmet into pieces.

"Hmmm, This is very peculiar," Roswaal muttered while frowning at the screen. He didn't like this Al fella one bit.

Rem was ready to wipe the floor with him for saying such a thing about her sister.

"I suggest you explain yourself," Julius warned as he noticed how angry Roswaal looked. His makeup wasn't even hiding the wrinkles created by his very intense glare.

"Ah… Oi, what the hell?!" Al looked around and found nothing but suspicious glances from everyone. "Hey… Say something to them!" He glared at Ram from beneath his helmet.

The maid sitting in the same row he did glanced at him innocently while crossing her legs. "I'm sorry? I don't remember meeting you in my life, and here I find you insulting me behind my back. 'Tis truly a wicked existence for a jealous dog such as ye…"

"Don't fucking joke around! I can feel your sister and your boyfriends tearing me to shreds with their eyes!" Al scrambled to prepare a counterattack if someone decided to get close to him again.

Ram sighed exasperatedly. "If I must save a dog from its deserved fate, Ram shall take your gratitude later down the line."

"Fucking tell them already!" Al ordered while preparing to jump out of his seat.

The maid looked at the others and explained to them her first meeting with Al. "I met this man on the day Emilia-sama was dealing with her stolen insignia. We had met by chance in the market of the capital once I separated from Emilia-sama by accident. And things were unpleasant for a few moments before I insulted him for being a creep—"

"You attacked me when I was defenseless. I didn't want to insult a gal back!" Al cut her off lamely, which led to Ram refusing to continue her explanation and turning away from him.

"I think you guys get the idea, yeah?!" Al glared at the others down below, very annoyed by the maid. "I was probably talking about her attack on me. Nothing else!"

"What do ya mean by 'probably'? That shit happened, you said it." Heinkel pointed at the screen with a confused expression, earning a nod from Schult who also didn't understand the language input from the knight.

Al shrugged the drunkard off, already too annoyed with one person for the moment.

"I don't remember telling him my name though, Roswaal-sama…" Ram told her lord, keeping an uninterested expression on her face.

Roswaal's eyes changed with a charged look when he stared back at the one-armed man. "Is it p~ooo~ssible you're mistaken, Ram?"

"No, Roswaal-sama. He knew it before I met him during that day." Ram affirmed with a nod.

The magi nodded his head and gave her a slight tap on the shoulder. "Thank you for telling, Ram. It seems some leftovers were not dealt with after that attack his cult was responsible for…"

"Which attack?" Ram looked at her master with curiosity. "He's merely an unimportant dog that will crawl to anyone who gives him affection."

"Is that how you truly see him?" Roswaal questions with relief filling his eyes.

"Of course, Roswaal-sama." Ram answered with confidence, making Roswaal smile wide.

"Then let's not dwell on it anym~ooo~re."

[The scene changes to a busy road in Lugunica's capital. Subaru walked through the crowds of the marketplace with a glare on his face.

That stuck-up bitch! She keeps forgetting that I saved her when we first met.

Subaru stopped short and bit his lip in anger, making it bleed from the other side.

"Okay, change gears. This is no time to be bogged down by those idiots." Subaru wiped the blood away and closed his eyes in frustration.]

"Insult everyone but don't blame yourself," Priscilla snorted while making the drunkard sitting by her side look away uncomfortably.

Heinkel himself's done the same thing, though he loathed to admit it.

[He suddenly heard a child-like voice from below him.

"Sniff, sniff. Sniff, sniff. That looks super painful! Are you okee?"

Subaru opened his eyes to find a short little girl smiling at him.

"Huh?"

"You smell like blood, and not just from your lip. Was your nose bloody?"]

"You can smell people's bleeding?" Petra asked with astonishment, trying to get her mind off of everything being a failure so far.

"Hey! Hey! This is where I enter the story!" Mimi jumped in glee at the scene.

"Seeing my sister here, then that means Natsuki Subaru will be meeting almost all of the available candidates all in the same timeframe…" Tivey toyed with his monocle when he noticed his lady leaning forward in her seat. "It's quite the lucky coincidence that he can meet the country's future rulers on a whim like this."

It was Otto who snorted sarcastically from the front row. "As if! Anastasia Hoshin-sama probably waited for him to finish his meetings before approaching him."

"Anastasia-sama…" Emilia turned to look at the merchant queen. "What did you want with my knight before I could get to him…"

Anastasia looked Emilia in the eye and gave the half-elf a lax apologetic smile. "Nothin' except a bit of info's all. There won't be any humiliation done to the boy, that's not really my style."

"I don't like the sound of this at all," Emilia frowned at the candidate behind her. "Subaru's pretty desperate for help and you're taking advantage of a reeeally bad situation."

"One must remind you that I didn't know how bad it actually was, just like Karsten-san 'ere," Anastasia pointed at the duchess in front of her with an amused expression, "Nor am I the one responsible for the boy's health. I'm not the master who left 'em behind because I had too many issues about myself to see how broken he was."

"My lady," Julius tried to intervene as most people grimaced at the treatment Anastasia provided for the half-elf.

"That's a bit too harsh, boss…" Ricardo said while closing an eye in phantom pain.

Anastasia didn't falter as she stared into Emilia's eyes. "What's about to happen to Natsuki-kun isn't the fault of me takin' advantage of a situation laid out before me. It's just yer incompetence continuin' a spiral."

She leaned back in her seat, leaving Emilia slack-jawed at the harsh truth given to her.

["Now, Mimi, no getting into mischief."

The girl turned around to the owner of the voice. "Kay!"

"I'm awful sorry she's been botherin' you. Hmm? Aren't you… Right, you're Natsuki-kun."

Subaru's eyes widened as a purple-haired lady wearing a fur coat and a long blue scarf stepped toward him.

"Emilia's knight, Natsuki Subaru-kun."

"Anastasia Hoshin," Subaru uttered in something akin to relief. The Merchant Queen from the west gave him a bright smile.]

"That's sweet-talking if I ever saw it," Otto growled, earning Emilia's attention immediately. He glared at Julius. "Why else would she say he's Emilia's Knight when you had just beaten him to a pulp to defend the name."

"My lady truly respected Subaru's grit when he did so." Julius defended firmly but Otto remained unconvinced.

[Scene changes to a restaurant's front door with a loud voice speaking over the panning shot.

"let's eat!"

Subaru is shown sitting inside of the restaurant with Mimi and Anastasia comfortably joining him at the table.

"So, about the dragon-drawn carriage… " Subaru spoke, surprising the lady.

"You don't beat around the bush. You won't make anyone happy by puttin' your own goals first. The basic rule of negotiation is to try to get on the other's good side. That's where you're lackin', Natsuki-kun."

"Sorry, but I've got a real problem here. I want to leave the capital tomorrow, so… "

The lady interrupted him with a small smile. "When you're up against my kind, tryin' to appeal to sentimentality is the worst strategy there is. But I applaud your effort."

Anastasia took a quill and began writing on a paper.

"It's no easy task to find a dragon-drawn carriage in the capital right now. Apparently, someone's buyin' up all of 'em. Here. The place at this address should have a carriage left. I've signed it with my own name. This well square everything away."

She slowly slid the paper toward him but then stopped and kept her hand on top of it. "Don't put on airs." Subaru grunted.

Anastasia smiled. "I surely will put on airs. It's no fun if I just hand it to ya normally, right? I just wanted to chat with ya about this an' that."

Subaru looked apprehensive at this. "Why bother with that? You don't gain anything from it."

"I believe there's nothin' in this world that has no meaning. Ya never know who might give ya some inspiration."]

"Otto-bro was right. This bitch's after somethin'..." Garfiel glared at the woman on the screen. "I don't like Cap'n being pushed 'round like this…"

"No one does, Garf-san." Otto's tone earned him a tired sigh from Julius.

The knight himself looked back at his lady, trying to find a sense of what she did and why she was doing it.

[Subaru sighed uneasily. "What do we talk about?"

Suddenly, the small cat girl sitting with them stood in her seat with crumbs all over her mouth.

"Hey, my lady! I wanna eat some more! Can I order?"

"Sure. Eat all ya like. Oh, but don't get your mouth all messy with sauce."

"Wipe my face, please! Yay! I'll be back!" The little girl ran towards the counter with a smile.

Subaru's lips turned upwards a little as he watched her run.

"Despite her looks she's second-in-command in my private army." Anastasia commented as she noticed his smile.

Subaru's attention was gained immediately. "Private army?"]

"That's how he knew, eh, boss?" Ricardo chuckled, not finding it at all out of character for his lady to be fishing for something when talking with someone one-on-one. "You gotta admit that the boy played ya."

Anastasia had a small grin on her face, one that surprised Rem beside her. "Natsuki-kun may be a lousy negotiator in this loop, but he sure did make me proud… Honestly, I only feel sorry that he was kicked in the face by some twat, otherwise, I think he's been doing a decent job so far."

"That brings some relief to know that our lady isn't as heartless as the other candidates." Tivey nodded his head before his sister hit his knee with a slap in admonishment.

["It's quite famous in Kararagi. The Hoshin Company's personal mercenary squad, Iron Fang. Ain't she super cute? Nothin' beats sleepin' with her in your arms!" Anastasia gushed and smiled warmly, her attention was suddenly elsewhere as she heard a loud dragon carriage pass by the building.]

"Can't believe this fuckin' kid's a soldier…" Garfiel snorted as Ram scoffed at him from the back.

"She's the same age as you, Garf," Ram said deadpanned.

"That's beside the point!" He shouts in refusal while Mimi blows her tongue at him.

"I can beat yer butt any day, tiger boy!"

["Lots of people have been gatherin' in the capital lately. Have ya noticed the atmoshpere's different now, Natsuki-kun?"

"Now that you mention it, everyone did seem to be in a frenzy. Because of the royal selection?"

"When those at the top move the people move. When people move, things move. By the way, the value of goods in the capital is fluctuatin' a lot now, but some of the most valued are iron products. Weapons like swords and spears are bein' gathered from both inside and outside."

"Iron and weapons? They're not planning to go to war with those things, are they?" Subaru asked with a panicked look.

"It's also possible their objective isn't to acquire the items, but to get the economy rollin'."

"The way you said that… Is it well known who's gathering all this iron?"

"It's someone you know well, Natsuki-kun." Anastasia smiled innocently. "Duchess Crusch Karsten."]

Crusch's head falls, with her expression being noticed as one of understanding by Beatrice and Emilia.

"Crusch? What did you realize?" Emilia asked, earning some eyes on the duchess from the maids beside Wilhelm and Felix as well as Felt and Reinhard.

"Anastasia-sama was trying to fish for information about my preparation for the White Whale expedition. I'm delighted to see that my tactics had kept her network from piercing through the information lines but Subaru Natsuki being so close… Presented a dent she took advantage of immediately." Crusch looked back at Anastasia with a semblance of respect. "Shrewed woman you are…"

"What a mighty rude thin' t'say for yer favorite gal rival~," Anastasia answered with mirth and delight, enjoying the game of back and forth greatly. All the while Otto scowled at how competent Anastasia seemed at destroying someone's walls of information.

"She's tough…" Otto muttered while glancing toward Rem and Emilia, he's eyes scanned their expressions to understand how the two were feeling.

Both seemed to understand what was happening much better now, and they both gave the purple-haired candidate glances of distaste and worry respectively.

"Oh, stop lookin' at me like this… Game's the game." Anastasia rubbed her scarf while they glared at her.

"It's a pretty disgusting game, in fact," Beatrice commented without looking back, earning nods and affirmations from the people already angry at Anastasia's camp.

[Subaru's eyes widened at this. "It's Crusch?" His expression turned into a thoughtful one. "Come to think of it, she did have a constant stream of visitors… I get it. That's why that Russel guy was there."

"Russel Fellow? He's quite the big fish." Anastasia's face turned to one of delight. "This has been fairly informative. Thank ya, Natsuki-kun!"

Subaru stared at the paper she slid toward him in bewilderment.

"You just left Crusch-san's place after fightin' with her last night, right? So I figured it'd be easy to get all sorts of information from your mouth, eyes, and expressions!"

Subaru looked at the smiling Anastasia… and quickly understood that he'd just been played.

"You set me up from the start? Are you happy with yourself, using underhanded methods like that?" Subaru gritted his teeth once again this evening as the western girl simply gave an acute smile.

"If ya want to convince someone you're righteous, you've gotta show somethin' to merit it. And I see no such thing in you. The only way to change your reputation is to replace it with another. What determines your reputation is the things you've done… that is your past. And there's no way to change your past, so my opinion of ya isn't gonna change, either. The things you've done won't ever go away." Anastasia smirked haughtily at the boy she had just duped.]

"You have no right to comment on that reputation when it suits your needs, in fact!" Beatrice growled, hating every bit of what she was watching.

"What kind of woman are you to use his humiliation as a way to break his spirit like that?" Petra quickly realized what was done to Subaru and glared at Anastasia, fully realizing that this was a candidate she was talking to.

"How come you seem spiteful here?" Otto was the only one fair-headed enough to ignore the angering situation and see through the merchant queen immediately. "Could it be that you were taking great pleasure in fishing information out of a man who led to your knight's suspension?"

"Otto-kun!" Julius glared down at the merchant. "Do not use such accusations to bring a rift between me and Subaru!"

"That's not an accusation, it's a fact. Otherwise, why would she use it against him!" Rem looked Anastasia in the eyes after refuting Julius. "How could you see good in yourself after realizing that you're another one in line to lead him for doom?"

"The fuck… His doom?" Heinkel blinked rapidly, realizing that these people were all insane. "Fucker's are talkin' like the kid's dead or somethin'..."

Anastasia herself simply hummed with a relaxed neutral expression on her face.

"To answer ya, Rem-san… I'd say that I feel pretty good about myself with or without this. I'm teachin' Natsuki-kun a very important lesson that will lead to him saving all of you." The merchant queen looked from the maid to the half-elf below said the maid. "Which is more than both of ya can say. One of ya leaves him dry without any help, and the other keeps getting killed in front of 'em to the point he's got nightmares stoppin' 'em from thinkin' straight."

Anastasia's words strike at Emilia and Rem, forcing both women to let their eyes down in shrinking confidence and overflowing guilt.

"Don't judge a gal for tryin' to help in her own way," Anastasia scoffed at them both, unapologetic and even annoyed at the notion that she was at fault.

[Subaru swallowed his words in anger and stood up from his chair. A long wand was pointed at him in a second.

Mimi smiled with crumbs on her face as she held her death stick toward him. "You don't wanna get any closer to my lady. I'm super strong, you know."

"Thanks, Mimi. But ya don't have to do anything. There's nothin' Natsuki-kun can do, anyway." Anastasia cheerfully spoke to the little girl in a proud cheerful tone.]

"Were ya just probing into him?" Tivey noticed what Otto had, as the merchant looked interested, the tactician decided to ask the question for the both of them. "Why?"

Anastasia huffed and toyed with her scarf over answering the little twin.

["Both of you are absolute scum! Screw you!" Subaru moved to tear the paper to shreds, making Anastasia open an eye to look at him in disappointment.

"I guess Julius's efforts went to waste. It's partly my fault though."

Subaru slowly lowered his arms down and kept the paper in his hand.

"I guess even you wouldn't do something that dumb. I'm relieved. Mimi lets go."

"'Kay!"

Subaru just glared at the table as the satisfied Anastasia began walking out.

"One last thing." Subaru looked up to find her holding a finger up to him.

"The key to negotiation is how prepared you are before ya come to the table. Know what the other person wants, and dangle it in front of 'em. And since all you do is want, that's where you're lackin'." Subaru's teeth grinded in anger.

"Now, shall we go, everyone?" Anastasia clapped and smiled cheerfully.

All Subaru could do was look on in shock and awe as every single person in the restaurant stood up and began exiting.

"Bye! See ya later." Mimi waved and ran out behind Anastasia.

Subaru slammed the table in frustration. "Damn it!" He shouted in frustration as the restaurant owner rubbed the back of his head and went into the back room of the building, leaving Subaru all alone to glare at his fist.]

"This has done nothing but give you a bad image, my lady," Julius sighed and leaned back in his chair. "You didn't have to worry about him on my account."

"You can see through me so easily, Julius-kun~, but we can't have expected my cute self to have such a meetin' with Natsuki-kun. I'm sure my network picked up on his fight with Karsten-sama and that's what led to my meetin' with 'em…" Anastasia hummed sweetly, feeling a bit happy that she left him some advice after humiliating him herself.

"So you have spies in my household even though my network stamped the first batch…" Crusch muttered under her breath, unable to believe how far things had escalated just because of her breaking faith with Subaru in one loop.

"Is he going to get left behind by all of you?!" Felt asked as she could only stare in shock at the screen. "What is this trail of failures, fuckin' shit!"

Petra herself looked at Subaru's expression with heartbreak.

"Hey boss… that wasn't cool. Using him like that…" Mimi looked down in shame at his lady's actions to their brother-in-arms.

"I wish…" the knight clenched his fists in anger. "I wish you would've asked me for help…." Julius gritted his teeth in frustration.

Anastasia simply ruffled the fox scarf and kept her eyes on the screen. "At least I gave him a bit of good advice before leavin' 'em behind to die,"

[Rem finally showed up and entered the empty restaurant. She noticed her companion angry glaring at the table and stepped over to him.

"Subaru-kun, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Nothing! Rem, how did it go?" Subaru looked at the maid with desperation.]

"Don't blame yourself again… Nya…" Felix's small sad whimper allowed Rem to look down at him in surprise. She had been feeling just that when she saw herself coming right at the end of Subaru being humiliated a second time.

The healer's head on her thigh turned to look at her, his eyes red from crying but giving her an honest look. "We can't always be there for the ones we love when they need us… I promise you that sometimes we are there… And we end up making it worse for them."

"Felix-sama… Are you trying to teach me something?" Rem whispered her question to him as she toyed with his hair for comfort.

"... Just understand that loyalty can cause heartbreak, Rem-san… I think that's always been what everyone's trying to tell you, nya…" Felix sighed and leaned himself upward to get off of Rem's lap and sit properly in his seat.

He noticed a small look of concern from Crusch which filled his heart with butterflies and explosions of warmth that he didn't know could exist within him.

"Thank you… Felix-sama…" Rem sighed tiredly and looked at Subaru's head with a sad frown.

["I reported the maneuvers of the Witch's Cult to the knights' station. I gave them Roswaal-sama's name, but… "

"We didn't get the response we wanted?"

Rem looked a little despondent. "It seems the knights have received several such reports already. They said, since the Cult's background is unclear, they receive countless anonymous tips that cannot be verified."

"If that's how the real cultists stay hidden, it's no laughing matter. If we can't scrape a military force together… " Subaru looked unsure of how to continue.

"What shall we do?"

Subaru's mind began playing moments of his previous loop. Death. Bodies. Rem. Laughter…

"We'll go back to the mansion. We'll go back and take Emilia and Ram away from there." Subaru's shaking hands gripped the paper he had and held it up.

"To the capital or to where Roswaal is… Anywhere's fine. Where they are now is dangerous! There's no time, We should leave now."]

"That's the best plan he can make with what's given to him…" Heinkel seemed to sober up as he took more information from what he was watching. "I'm intrigued with the kid's constant fails but… He's got it rough. I wonder how he managed to bring them to help 'em after such a bad start…"

"Do you think what he's saying is true? That the Cult would kill everyone in that village they keep mentioning?" Schult asked Heinkel, receiving a small shrug.

"Fuck if I know, but his plan of only saving the princess he serves is kind'a his best bet so far." Heinkel watched Emilia flinch at the mention of her from his mouth.

"What about the villagers?" Emilia asked from beneath all of the other rows, looking at Subaru guiltily. "Subaru… Don't give up… Please."

Rem looked away from the half-elf. Replaying a certain memory she was reminded of when it came to Subaru giving up a fight.

Petra herself looked horrified at the solution Subaru was reduced to. "No… Please…"

"I do wonder how he f~aaa~red…" Roswaal looked on, taking no pleasure at all from how desperate Subaru's become. "He was so close to changing into the perfect vessel… The greatest looper… This ability of his should've increased his need to realize that nothing matters and he should use it with impunity but…"

Ram kept looking at the window as her master rambled with himself, understanding more and more what she couldn't see before.

"How did he not become corrupted like me…? How come he doesn't change after all of it?" Roswaal's face seemed at a loss. Keeping his attention laser-sharp on the boy.

[Scene change to Subaru and Rem riding a run down smaller dragon carriage.

At this pace, we should reach the mansion by morning. Then we'll have plenty of time to take Emilia and run from the Witch's Cult.

The question is how to transport her…

Subaru's eyes widened as he noticed a camp of dragon carriage riders resting to the side of the road. He noticed a gray haired boy waving at them.

"That's…" Subaru whispered in surprise as he noticed Otto.]

"Another meeting… I hope I help him this time more than the last." Otto muttered with a very weary tone. He had a glint of defeat within his eyes that was noticed by Garfiel and Julius.

The knight immediately scowled at him from the back.

"Looks like it's destiny, eh? Otto-bro?" Garfiel tried to put some joy on the merchant's face as he nudged him with an elbow. "Can't ya see that ya're always gonna meet with Cap'n every time?"

"There's a difference in my heart between being destined to meet, Natsuki-san, and being there to fail him and make him feel more alone than he already does." Otto's reply cut through the joyous facade Garfiel was promoting.

This led to a sigh from the minister. "I'm sorry, Garf-san."

"Don't be… Yer right…" Garfiel grumbled and let his hand fall on the armrest as his mood darkened like the others. "This shit sucks…"

"It really does." Julius voiced his agreement with the tiger boy from the back, keeping an eye on Otto and Subaru.

[The screen cuts to a campfire setting with multiple people huddled around it in the night time cold. Subaru and Rem were revealed to have stopped their carriage alongside those of the others and were sitting beside Otto in front of the fire.

"From here to the Mathers domain?"

"Yeah." Subaru answered, making Otto's expression turn uneasy.

"It's already late. Isn't it too dangerous? We were planning to camp here tonight. Would you care to join us?"

Suddenly, an old merchant spoke from the side with a glare on his face. "You say that, Otto, but I bet you just wanna get rid of some of the oil in storage that you bought out of season, right?"

The entire circle of merchants laughed out loud as the green dressed boy waved his arms frantically.

"That's not my intention at all! Though, it's not as if I wasn't hoping you could use a little oil… " he smiled sheepishly to the two.

"What's all this about oil?" Rem asked from the side.

"Oh, I just made a bit of a mistake, and now I have a lot of oil that isn't worth much right now. Even if we go to the capital, I don't know if I can sell it all off… and if I can't, I'm ruined!" Otto slumped his shoulders in defeat.

"Ruined…" Subaru suddenly widened his eyes. "Otto, I need to talk- I mean, ask for your help."

Otto slowly looked up at Subaru in confusion.

"I'll buy all the oil you have in your carriage, so lend us transport in return." Subaru smiled and looked at the gathered crowd.

"All of the merchants and carriages here. Anyone who'll sell transportation for money, sell it to me! We're transporting people!" Subaru yelled out to the crowd.

Otto quickly intervened. "People?! We don't want any part in human trafficking!"

"I'm not running that kind of side business." Subaru sighed tiredly and shouted to the men around him. "There's a village near the Mathers mansion. I want you to take its residents somewhere else!"

The men looked unsure at one another… but they soon gasped in shock and awe as Rem held a big bag full of holy coins with a smile.

"We will, of course, thank you properly," Rem said coolly.]

"He still thought about a plan to help us… Subaru's amazing!" Petra had tears of joy in her eyes, bringing herself delight at the fact that her hero managed to plan his way out somehow even after every failure he's been through. "He's so amazing… Subaru…" Petra's heart was beating in relief and overwhelming hope because of how amazing his way of finding a solution was.

"I can't say I'm not a little bit proud…" Ram found herself giving Subaru an admiring glance. "Barusu's as quick as a rat in a corner when desperate."

"Not a bad plan…" Reinhard nodded his head and smiled, happy that his friend was finally catching a break.

"Finally something that might work!" Felt threw her arms up in celebration.

"My hero is doing everything he could." Rem smiled in sympathy and ruffled the boy's hair, making Emilia and Crusch smile at him as well.

"Betty's Subaru…" Beatrice looked up at the window with nothing but adoration in her eyes for her contractor. "No one else would have the stubborn conviction to help these people except for the one who owns Betty's heart, in fact."

"It's not bad…" Priscilla nodded silently to herself, approving the plan he came up with. "I find myself pleased with his trails leading to this."

"Kid's still trying and you're pleased after kicking him out?" Heinkel whistled at his lady's thought process. "This is some sick experiment for you or somethin'?"

"Do not forget yourself, dog." Priscilla's words stiffened Heinkel's entire form, even without a glance from her.

"Sorry… Priscilla-sama."

[The screen cuts to show the small group of dragon carriages as they speed through the dark road.

"If we run through the night, we should enter the Mathers domain by morning," Otto spoke with a cheerful smile.

Subaru and Rem were sitting at the front of their own carriage that they had bought from Anastasia. Their cart was aligned with Otto's carriage.

"Sorry, we can't take breaks." Subaru looked apologetic while turning to Otto from his cart.

"No problem! If I can get rid of my excess stock and even earn transport fees, I feel invincible!" Otto held his fist in excitement and glee.]

"You were a big help to him after all…" Julius brought a grin from both himself and Garfiel as they looked at the astonished merchant before them.

Otto looked at the screen slack-jawed and in shock. "I can't believe he used my oil mistake to his advantage again…"

"Again?" Julius looked curiously at the minister, which earned a laugh from Garfiel.

"Oh shit! Yeah, we burned the mansion with that oil when we were there, right? Hahahahaha!" Garfiel patted the slumped shoulders of Otto while the twins and Julius stared at the dou with shocked expressions.

"You burned a mansion… With that oil…?" Julius stuttered in amazement and a little bit of concern.

"And apparently it led to my meeting with Natsuki-san to be permanent for two loops now…" Otto sighed and put his hat back on his head.

"I would say yer investment was well paid." Anastasia's teasing voice forced a glare to show up on Otto's face again.

He blushed a little under her mocking gaze, realizing that she had witnessed him admitting to a rookie mistake in merchant stocks and one that was pretty crippling at that.

For a seasoned master merchant like Anastasia Hoshin, this was comedy gold.

[Subaru chuckled nervously and turned to Rem as she spoke to him. "Subaru-kun, I'm sorry. I'd like to check the map to confirm the remaining distance."

"Map?"

"It's in your bag."

The boy found the map and opened it. "It's too dark to see anything, though… Oh, I know."

Subaru quickly got his phone out of his pocket and flipped it open, making it illuminate brightly through the screen.

"Subaru-kun, what is that?" Rem looked at the phone in his hand with wonder.

"A bit of lost technology… I mean, it's future technology called a cell phone. I guess it's a good thing it just barely has some battery left. Here, look at this." He smiled and moved the map over to Rem and held his phone to give her some light.

"Natsuki-san, what is that?" Otto asked as he stared at the phone in wonder.

"Never seen a crystal light like that before." Another merchant gushed out as he stared at the phone.

Subaru turned to him with a confident grin. "It's a secret tool the margrave gave me." He turned to Otto with a scary smirk on his face. "Sorry, but you should probably forget you ever saw it."]

"What the fuck's that thing?" Heinkel tilted his head and glanced at Roswaal from his place in the last row above everyone. "Oi, Margrave-san? Why does the kid have such forbidden tools as that?"

"I do not think your knowledge about these metias from being Deputy Commander will help you underst~aaa~nd exactly where this little artifact comes from." Roswaal gave an understanding grin to the drunkard and the boy sitting by his side. "Just know that it's v~eee~ry important between me and Subaru-kun," he winks and returns to look up at the window.

Heinkel simply shrugged and continued to admire the handy machine Subaru was using, trying to enjoy the sight of something new since he was getting bored out of his mind

[Otto shivered in his seat. "Whoa, why does that sound like dark dealings that reek of nothing but money?"]

"Otto-kun! That is something that a reeeeally bad boy would say!" Emilia pouted at the merchant from her seat with a hurt look in her eyes.

"N-No, Emilia-sama! I'm a good boy." Otto frantically tried to justify himself, making everyone in the theater burst into laughter. From Roswaal and Ram to Priscilla and Al. To the entire Emilia and Crusch camps minus Emilia and Wilhelm. Reinhard looked at him in sympathy… and a small smile.

Anastasia's camp was all over the floor, however. Julius was just chuckling and trying to play them off as coughs.

"Well *Wheeez * Well you be a good boy, Otto-kun? A good wittle boy~ hahahaha." Mimi expressed herself with a mocking tone to replicate Emilia's from the back.

"Shut up!" Otto shouted cheeks blood-red.

Frederica was giggling alongside Petra in the background but she had a small smile reserved for the minister, silently thanking him for lightening the mood of the room with his personality. Even if it was done by accident and at the cost of his own pride.

She will, of course, be using this against him when appropriate… Forever…

[Rem turned to the road with a smile. "Just a bit farther, and we should see Flugel's Tree. If we head northeast from there, the Mathers domain isn't far."

"Flugel's tree?"

"It's a huge tree standing so tall in the Lifaus Highway, it seems to pierce the clouds."

"Legend has it that a wise man named Flugel planted it centuries ago." As the merchants explained to Subaru, the boy could only look up-ahead to the now visible gigantic tree.

"I can't call that anything but amazing," Subaru whispered in awe at the sight of the Wise Man's Tree.]

"Woah! That's so cool!" Garfiel shouted with an expression of awe and jealousy that he didn't get to see such a sight because of the Sanctuary. "This is where Cap'n's legend began?! He used that thing?!"

"He sure did, Garfiel-kun." Rem had a small pleasant smile on her face, finding the admiring looks from Petra and Garfiel cute.

"Woah… That's how the Tree looked like?" Schult was also a young boy staring at the sight with absolute awe covering his face. "That's amazing…"

"So this is how he meets it…" Crusch muttered while holding Subaru's hand tightly. A forlorn frown on her face as she watched.

This was caught by Emilia, who stopped trying to admire the tree with everyone and glanced towards the duchess in confusion.

"Crusch?" Emilia tilted her head with a trustful look in her eyes.

"Please… Just let me watch… I hope in my heart that I am incorrect…" Crusch stopped Emilia from probing further, earning a glare from Beatrice.

[Subaru's eyes grew wide in superstition. He turned around to the merchant that was just explaining the tree to him.

Only to find nothing running beside his and Rem's carriage.

"Where'd the guy in the bandana go?" Subaru looked around with a disturbed face and couldn't find the man nor the man's cart and dragon.]

"What the fuck?" Heinkel looked closer a the window above him, holding his armrests to keep him balanced. "Where's that fucking guy?"

"What…" Petra's look of warmth and comfort was replaced immediately with one of concern and disturbance.

"Wait a minute…" Felt looked at Reinhard who looked at her back with the same level of alarm. "No fuck… We forgot the Whale!"

Wilhelm's aura imitated a murderous intent that rivaled no other across the entire room.

"What?" Heinkel's lips stuttered out after choking on his own saliva. "What the fuck… Hang on…"

["He didn't get distracted by the tree and run off course, did he?"

"What's wrong, Natsuki-san?" Otto asked in confusion.

"Where'd that buddy of yours go? The older guy in the bandana, who was riding on this side of us?" Subaru asked as he turned to Otto.

"What are you talking about? No one was riding on the opposite side of me." The merchant asked bewildered.

"Huh?" Subaru glared, dumbfounded.

His attention was soon grabbed as a white thick fog filled the area around them. Subaru slowly looked up to see a dark mass floating above, covering him and the rest of the small flock of carriages.]

"There it is…" Felix's whisper was the only thing heard across the silent theater, as everyone looked on the screen with frozen expressions of shock.

[The boy blinked in wonder and slowly opened his phone's flashlight…

And pointed it at the huge mass beside him.

Inches away from Subaru… A gigantic slimy yellow eye opened and stared down at him like a dark abyss.

Sharp, Bestial, Malicious.

Subaru stared at the eye that towered him and the carriage he rode upon with frozen shock.

The abyss of the pupil moved to stare down at him.

Subaru's face contorted to one of horror.

The eye widened and inspected him with a distinct glint forming.

The thing floating above him moved and roared in front of them making the wind itself burst in circles.

Subaru shouted as he was knocked by the wind of the monster as the fog filled up the entire road.

The final shot was of the flat plains of grass getting covered in an ever-expanding cloud of fog from the middle of the highway.

Title screen:

A Pig's Greed]

"The fog…" Frederica narrowed her eyes in worry as she remembered the stories told of the calamity, "That's how that man was taken away…"