Chapter 3

Leaving Emilia to continue her studies, Fate decides to use his free time to test his new found strength. While he had been at the peak of what was just a little inhumanly possible back in his previous world, he is even stronger now and it wouldn't do for someone of his stature to not have a grasp of what they are currently capable of.

Although he thinks this, he has actually been using thought acceleration and parallel calculation on maximum output to train with his powers in his mind after he arrived in this new world and while that helps as well, he would also like to try it physically.

Arriving at the garden of the manor, the wind blows just gently as if welcoming his arrival. Fate basks in it acknowledging the wind spirits for recognizing his grandeur.

Opening a palm, a ball of green light rests on it.

"What's your name, little one?" he asks

"Oh? You don't have one huh. I would give you one but I already have a spirit who serves me. I reckon she's a jealous one" he laughs aloud.

From a window in the mansion, a girl watches the interaction from her library with curiosity.

"Oh? You don't have to be sad about it. I am magnanimous, so I shall reward your good behavior. Hmm, let's see. Yes! I shall give you a bit of my mana. Be grateful spirit, what you feel right now is divine" Fate says as he infuses a bit of his mana on the spirit who starts glowing visibly brighter and darting from place to place.

"Oh, you like it that much huh?…" he says smugly

…

…

Fate laughs aloud in a deep rumble

"You're a cute one, aren't you? Boldly making such a suggestion. Well, I'll commend you for your taste. I am desirable after all"

"Run along now, little one, I have things I must do" he continues as he walks further into the garden with the spirit still darting around in excitement.

◇◇◇

As Rem shears the overgrown shrubs in the garden, she notices a presence walking towards her, turning around she sees Fate walking towards her, each step regal.

She still doesn't know anything about him, but she feels she wouldn't doubt if he was to be nobility. Regal strides and an air as if everything is as he wants it to be.

'Dangerous' she thinks

"Dear guest, do you need something from Rem?" She asks politely.

She has only known him for less than a day and she as everyone else is already aware that Fate carries himself with a prideful demeanor not found in commoners.

The reason Rem can tolerate him is because to her he is the lesser of two evils, maybe that's not fair to them but after meeting the boy known as Natsuki Subaru, Rem felt almost compelled to tear him apart immediately, someone who exudes such strong miasma can never be anyone good.

As for Fate he has an unnatural aura, as if something unfathomable. Rem thinks he is more dangerous than Natsuki Subaru which is why she requested to serve him instead of her dearest sister.

Unaware of her thoughts, Fate responds to her

"Blue! I desire a spacious area to test my capabilities"

She tilts her head "Test your capabilities?" Rem does not understand, testing his capabilities would imply he does not know what he is capable of, did he fight the assassin and belittle Lord Roswaal without knowing of his capabilities?

 Is such a thing even possible? From what Rem can speculate, Fate look like an adult, is it possible to live for such a time and not know what one is capable of? Or did he get stronger overnight or something?

 'As I thought, this man is dangerous.'

Putting the odd question at the back of her mind to report later to her dearest sister, Rem continues "Can you not do that here? This place is quite big"

She watches as he laughs "I will forgive you for your ignorance, Blue. It's only natural that my might eludes you." Her brow furrows, seeing this he adds "Think nothing of it, it would be stranger were you to perceive it" He chuckles a bit and then seemingly looks into a direction with a frown, he speaks again

"Blue, why does the clown not take care of his people?"

"Please dear guest, calling the lord of the manor a clown is very disrespectful, I implore you to stop that" she says. Disrespecting the lord of the manor in front of his staff is not something one should do in the first place. Once again she thinks how strange the boy before her is.

"Then, you best convince him to stop acting like one… anyway, answer my question Blue, why do beasts roam the lands of a margrave and he lets them be?"

Rem brittles a bit at that but doesn't know how to respond so she just exhales. Knowing this boy for only less than half a day and Rem can't even keep up her facade anymore in front of him… Just realizing what she heard, she looks in the same direction as him

"Beasts?… You mean the Mabeasts? You can see them from here?" She asks surprised and wondering if he perhaps have a divine protection that lets him see far, like her dearest sister

"To even think a being such as myself wouldn't be capable of such a trivial thing is blasphemous. Remember this Blue! I am as sublime as I am benevolent. But!" he walks towards her with heavy footsteps, and she squirms a bit. Looking down at her, he speaks in a commanding tone "I would be forced to discipline you if you make such a mistake again. Understood?" Rem looks down, her face seemingly shadowed by her hair and nods.

"Good"

He turns back to the direction of the beasts he noted earlier

"I guess they are as good of a target as any… Wait upon my arrival Blue, I have an obligation to assert my dominance upon those lowly creatures" he says as he starts floating in the air, going higher by the second and then zooms off.

Rem watches him fly away, mouth a little agape, a flushed face and a pounding heart.

'Dearest sister, I think your Rem has discovered a new door she should never have'

◇◇◇

Natsuki Subaru doesn't know what to feel.

Getting Isekaid and saving the obviously heroine girl and then going on to go on grand adventures, while slowly falling in love and then:

'Scooping a spoonful of food and pointing it in the direction of Emilia "Emilia-tan, say ahhhhh" Emilia looks bashful "Oh Subaru you, ahhhhh"'

…

…

That's how the template should go right? right?

"So where did the pretty boy come from all of a sudden?!!!" Nastsuki Subaru screams at the unfairness of the world.

"Shut up Barusu, even though you are incompetent, why do you think shouting will all of a sudden make you good at peeling tatoes?" The second girl he met after waking up in the manor scolds him with what he suspects might be ice magic

"Aye, aye, big sister" he sighs out.

And that's not all, he is almost certain Fate is an Otherworlder just like himself.

'I mean, the striped jacket, tee shirt, pants and sneakers are a dead giveaway'

But just how did he live his life for him to turn out so haughty?

'Wait a minute! Is it possible that Isekai is not actually a big deal in this world?' No, no, from the way people looked at him strangely due to his track suit and how Old man Rom reacted to the chips and cellphone, he can at least ascertain that Isekai is an unusual phenomenon as it should be going by the template.

But still, that does not change his current situation. Talking to Emilia is not possible because she's busy studying for the royal selection and isn't that a kicker as well? Finding out that Emilia is a candidate for the throne of the country, his chances for wooing the heroine just keeps going down the drain.

'Why does he get to swing a sword and destroy a building while I get a power that needs me to die?' Subaru laments. And wasn't that a scary discovery as well? Realizing that his power takes his consciousness back in time would have made for an overpowered cheat ability until he found out the activation condition was his death.

After dying 3 times, Natsuki Subaru swears that if someone says "I want to die" even as a joke, he would punch them. 'Dying is scary and nobody should even joke about it.' He remembers feeling the warmth leave his body, his guts spilling out, trying to breathe and not being able to draw in air.

 He shudders unconsciously, he doesn't want to go through something like that again.

"I am not your big sister Barusu, Rem is the only sibling that I need in my life" Ram says smugly

"You really like your sister uh? Dearest big sister?" Subaru tries to tease her.

"Of course, I love Rem very much." She says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world but for Subaru, it is not. "You better not be having any weird thoughts of Rem going on in your stupid head Barusu" she adds, looking at Subaru suspiciously

"I am not!" Subaru sighs

He has not even talked to Rem much apart from when she altered the jacket he is currently wearing, she seemed stoic and sharp-tongued though so she must be one of those 'Kuudere characters' Subaru nods to himself in appreciation, he can defin—

"Ow!" Subaru holds his head that has been hit by Ram

"Stop thinking weird things about Rem, Barusu" Ram says returning back to peeling her tatoes

"Are you a mind reader or something dearest big sister? How scary, women intuition is very scary"

As Subaru fears the intrinsic dark magic possessed by every woman, Rem walks into the kitchen.

"Rem, you're done with shearin— hm? What's wrong Rem?" Ram dries her hands and walks towards Rem putting her hand on her forehead

"Your face is a little red, are you sick?" She asks worriedly

Rem shakes her head "N-no, sister. I am okay, it was just a little hot outside" she quickly denies.

A little too quickly, Ram notes

"How cute, you two are very cute" Subaru coos witnessing the sisterly affection

"Sister, sister, this man is violating you in his mind right now" Rem panicks but in a monotone voice locking hands with her sister

"Rem, Rem, this man has been having degenerate thoughts about you even before you arrived" Ram replies equally monotone

"Oi, what is with that reaction, you guys are breaking my heart here, you know" subaru holds his chest lamenting, as he falls to his hands and knees in a playful display.

Just where did his protagonist status go?

…

…

…

Protagonist?

All of a sudden Subaru's thoughts comes to a startling realization.

'Am I actually the protagonist?'

He recalls that Emilia saved him from the thugs back in the capital and then he went after her to try and help look for her stolen insignia, which then lead to her death… and also his first one

His second death, he went to the loot house alone without Emilia, trying to make the bargain himself then present her with the insignia only for the deal to fall off after he ruined it by saying he wants to return it back to the owner.

Now, what if, just what if he was never the one that was supposed to go to the loot house with Emilia in the first place? What if he never chased after her when she left the first time?

What if she was never supposed to meet him?

His thoughts spiral further

'She would have met Fate in the first loop.' He realizes 'And she wouldn't have died…' He, Subaru led Emilia to her death.

And then he also wanted to save her, when she wouldn't have gone through that in the first place if it wasn't for him!

He bites his lips enough to draw blood even as the twin maids starts worrying and asking if he is alright but all he hears are indistinct chatters as he runs out of the kitchen heading back to the room he woke up in.

He thinks back to his previous world, he sees himself small and fragile behind his father's shadow. Doing reckless things to stroke his own ego. And as expected from himself, here he is running away from his problems again as usual.

 Who is Natsuki Subaru if not a twisted boy who pretends that he knows what is going on, always wanting to stand out, he who gains fulfillment in his own failure instead of working hard to fix his problems. 'Like dad would… ' his mind whispers.

"Ah! Subaru… Are you okay?" Someone calls out to him and he turns to see Emilia looking at him in worry

"Emi—" his voice catches as he sees blood pooling around white hair and pale skin, lifeless purple eyes.

"Are you okay, Subaru?" Emilia tries to touch him

"Don't touch me!" He screams out shocking Emilia, he immediately regrets saying that as he sees the hurt in her eyes

"Subaru…"

He turns and continues running even as Emilia calls out to him

Dammit!

 What was he thinking? Appearing in a brand new world, did he think he overcame all his flaws? Did he think he changed all of a sudden? Did he think that since no one knows him in this world, he can pretend he's not a loser? Did he think himself dependable when he led Emilia to her death?

He never changed! He is still the same old miserable guy, still the same scum.

Thinking himself as the protagonist, he was never the protagonist of this story to begin with.

Fate was.

He, Subaru was and is just a faker.

Opening the door to the room, he slams it shut immediately.

That's why Fate knew Emilia's real name while he was given a fake one, that's why he came to the loot house with Emilia in the first place, that's why he defeated Elsa easily, that's why he never asked for a job since doing so would put him beneath Emilia, as opposed to himself who is merely a servant.

That's why… he is powerful.

'I came to a new world pretending to be a hero and killed the only person who bothered to help a scum like me then thought I'm someone she should fall in love with?'

He rests his back on the door and slides down with a bitter look on his face.

Some hero you are, Natsuki Subaru.

◇◇◇

Unaware of Subaru's darker-than-dark thoughts, Fate lands in an open space in the forest, he takes in his surroundings, trees full every direction and nothing seem to be edible from what he can observe.

*Crunch*

Turning around he sees a wolf type beast commonly referred to as a 'Wolgarm' stalking out of the trees. After reading a few books that was present in Emilia's room, he now has more information than he previously did due to one of his abilities, All of creation which lets him comprehend anything as long as he has a basic understanding of it.

The wolgarm starts sprinting towards him immediately, happy for a new meal. Fate does not move. He look at the approaching wolgarm with a raised brow. It seems even the beast is capable of recognizing him as a delicacy. As expected of himself.

Just a few feets before the beast makes contact, it trips on a branch that just happened to be on the way and skids across the ground like a rag and then

*Squelch*

He burrows head first against a sharp tree branch, dying instantly.

"Tsk tsk. You dream too big." Fate scoffs and dismisses it easily

As other mabeasts present in the forest starts showing themselves one by one. "Good, you should all come at me together after all, perhaps you might even manage to sniff me." Fate smiles as a white pattern frames his golden eyes and then a white cross forms in the center of his pupils. A blade appears on his right hand and he swings it a bit, testing it

"Well then, I shall let you have the honor of dying by my hands at the very least" he says as he charges the mabeasts.

Before they can even react, heads fall off. Fate doesn't stop, seemingly teleporting from place to place leaving behind a white blur, the mabeasts are already in motion, running away in every direction seemingly realizing that fighting this being is a height of folly.

But these foolish creatures lack the intelligence to realize how futile their situation is.

 They do not know that the reason Fate is fighting them is neither to reduce their numbers, nor help the village over, or even improve the margrave's standing.

No.

 Fate is here for one reason alone and that is to test what he is capable of, on what he considers a good target.

And what are targets if not stationary?

Time all but stops and Immediately he expands his senses over the forest.

No mabeast shall escape his blade. 

Swordsmanship honed for years even before becoming who he is now, flows together like an elaborate dance, then he moved.

At the same time, the almost 300 mabeasts present in the forest lose their heads.

…

…

…

Standing in an utterly destroyed landscape that wouldn't look out of place in a bombardment zone, Fate looks towards the sky, luxuriating in the afterglow of his superiority.

Perhaps he overdid it but isn't that just a testament to how greatness can not be contained?

He floats into the air easily and then makes his way back to the mansion.

All in all, he considers this an acceptable outcome.

◇◇◇

Opening the door, Fate walks into the Forbidden Library as he learned it's called, he locks eyes with Beatrice who was reading a book until a moment ago

"So, you do not even have to guess the right door, I suppose?" She says, annoyed

Fate smirks as he walks towards her "Oh Betty, surely you didn't think your concealing of the door would hinder me did you?" He crouches in front of her "That's too naive Betty, with all the knowledge you have stored here, you should know better"

A tick appears on her head "You are most aggravating in fact. Just what circumstances did you go through to turn out like this, I wonder?"

"Oh? Is that curiosity I sense there Betty? You would like to know the tale of my great self?" He chuckles "Well, I understand your sentiment, wanting to know how this magnificence came to be, although I'm afraid there are no words capable of perfectly describing it. I am something of an impossibility after all" saying things like that, he stands up and walks behind a shelf and returns with a stool which he sets in front of her and sits.

She looks at him with a curious expression, an impossibility? She doesn't know what impossibility he is referring to and while she would like to ask, there is something else that bothers her

"I have a different question for you, I suppose"

"Oho? Do ask then, I'll indulge you" he responds benevolently and she wonders how one even manages to sound benevolent

"Your gate, in fact. It felt like it has not been used before, and yet you were fully capable of infusing mana to a lesser spirit— " She still thinks the spirit was audacious for suggesting what is the equivalent of polygamy for spirits. I-it's not like she's contracted with him anyway "—and your mana, it felt… different. Clean. Pure. Who, no. What are you?" She finishes looking at her hands remembering the feeling of his mana and then looking at him directly in the eye.

He smirks at her, as if pleased she asked such a question

"I am the closest thing to perfection you will ever find in this world Betty." He flicks her forehead

"Ow!"

 "Don't try to comprehend me just yet, you'll get lost in your own mind you know? But don't worry, I told you didn't I? I am your master now, so you'll have, no. I'll give you all the time you want to see what I'm made of. And for asking such a question, my eminent self shall reward you" Fate declares with bravado to a pouting Beatrice holding her forehead and looking at him.

"That again? Betty never agreed to a contract with you, I suppose." she bites out even as a part of her remains hopeful.

How long has she sat here facing that same door waiting for 'That Person' who would grant her salvation. Waiting day after day, getting her hopes up whenever her door is swung open and thinking 'Is it finally time?'

After waiting for 400 years, Beatrice has gotten disillusioned with life. Many a people have tried to get her out of the library but all they were interested in was the knowledge it contains. The seemingly endless knowledge of Echidna, her mother even if they do not know the origin of said knowledge.

Beatrice is tired of waiting, she doesn't want— she is dragged out of her spiraling thoughts by Fate who simply picks her up under the arms

"Now come Betty!" He says as he drops her on his lap even as she protests

"Hey! Let go of me, how long do you plan to keep embarrassing Betty like this, I suppose?!" She swings her hands up and down beside herself.

Laughing with mirth, he starts patting her head and then picks a book from the pile. "I'll read you something nice, Betty… let's see, oh this one sounds good. Dreaming girl wishes, alright then…"

As Fate reads the book to her, the same book she has read countless times, she relaxes herself on him, starting to enjoy the head pats. She wonders why the same story she has read countless times feels like a brand new one now.

◇◇◇

Waking up in the library the next day with Beatrice sleeping beside him on the bed holding his hand, Fate can tell it's almost midday.

Getting up, he stifles a yawn and then covers her with the blanket even as she makes discontent sounds and made his way outside the library where he immediately spots a sad looking Emilia.

"That's not a good look on your face Lia, what troubles you?" He says walking towards her as she somehow manages to look both relieved and sad at the same time.

"Fate! I th-thought you left as well" she says dejectedly as he stops in front of her

"As well?" He asks with a head tilt

She looks to the ground with a sad expression

"It's Subaru. He left"