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"S-Satel—!" Subaru's mouth was immediately covered by the Witch.

"Don't...! Say it...!" she immediately exclaimed back, before looking behind her, towards the centerpiece of the market "That fountain... behind us... let's sit... okay?"

"...Alright." Subaru quietly responded, feeling uneasy with her being in public, as they walked towards a bench in front of the fountain.

Upon sitting, Subaru took notice of how indifferent everyone around them were. They were minding their own business—

Subaru felt a weight on his shoulder, and turned to see Satella resting her head on it. She was giving deep breaths, only proving how tired the witch was.

"Hey... are you alright?" Subaru finally asked her, and she gave a small giggle.

"I wasn't lying... when I said I only had... so much mana." she slowly opened her eyes, placing a hand on her heaving chest, "I'm just... going through some mana withdrawal... Just gimme a few minutes."

"Ah... is that so...?" Subaru suddenly felt a bit guilty, asking her to use up so much of her strength for his request, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Mm-hmm..." Satella hummed, before reaching for his hand, "Hold my hand, Subaru-kun..."

"O-okay...?" Subaru nervously reached for it, remembering how Beatrice sucked his mana in the first visit, "Are you going to drain my mana? —I don't mind if you do, just let me know—" Subaru quickly corrected himself to sound braver.

"Nope." she giggled at his behavior, "I just wanna hold your hand. Your hand's pretty soft, Subaru-kun~."

"Oh—Ah, yeah! I've, uh... been told that before." Subaru's face lit up at her answer, as he looked away to hid it.

A few moments pass, and Subaru watched the girl's breaths become less ragged. He also felt the texture of her hands, and couldn't help but feel like her skin was just as smooth as velvet.

In fact, a lot about Satella was just like Emilia — her voice, hair, skin... so much about them were similar. If he ignored the obvious difference, it was like he was on a date with Emilia-tan! —

"...So rude..." Satella's face scrunched up, as she gave him the stink eye, "Thinking about another girl while you're with me, have some class Subaru-kun." She said his name in an insulting manner.

"Ah! I'm sorry, that's...!" Subaru was quick to defend himself, before noticing the elephant in the room, "Wait, Satella... did you just read my mind!?"

"Uh-huh~! Thanks to our contract, everything we have, we share... That includes our thoughts!" she looked smug as she says this, but Subaru immediately stiffens.

"Isn't that a breach of privacy!? What if I start thinking some indecent thoughts, like Emilia covered with whip cream—" As he says this, said image comes in his head, and Satella's reaction is immediate.

"Uwah!?—Stop thinking it, idiot!" Satella shakes her head violently, before glaring at him, "And you really shouldn't say those things out loud! You're making yourself look like a pervert!" pointing towards the crowd, Satella gets Subaru's attention as a few faces were turned to them.

"Weirdo..." A demi-human muttered under their breath, and continued walking. Subaru deflated from the shame, and sighs.

"Besides, if you want to talk to me," she closes her mouth, and smiles, ["You should just think it, and take advantage of this bond we share, Subaru-kun!"]

"Oh...!" Subaru blinks in surprise, as he hears her voice clear as crystal, before giving it a shot himself, ["So... am I doing it right?"]

["Yep. That way you don't look like an idiot talking to yourself!"]

["That's pretty neat— Wait, 'talking to yourself'? What's that supposed to mean!? You're right here!"] Subaru blinks in surprise, as Satella gives a sorrowful expression and shakes her head.

["Not quite. To everyone else... you're all by yourself, Subaru-kun,"] she then places a hand on her chest, ["I'm not showing myself to anyone right now... and even if I do, only certain people can see me."]

{"That's..."] Subaru's eyes look towards Satella with an apologetic expression, ["Are you sure that's okay? It's kind of... lonely, thinking of it like that."]

Not being seen by anyone other than a few people? Surely that would get into your head after a while... but considering how Satella was trapped alone for the past few-hundred years, surely, it's the lesser of two evils.

["It's okay!"] she beams a bright smile, before returning her head on his shoulder, ["The only person I want to be seen by is right here! I don't care about anything else except that!"]

["You're putting me high on a pedestal, and I'm not sure how to feel..."] Subaru scratched his cheek. Was this how Emilia felt when he showered her with affection? —

"Subaru-kun..." Satella says his name with distaste again, not bothering to communicate it through his head.

["Oh, give me a break. Thinking of Emilia-tan's a force of habit!"] Subaru responds in kind, before getting up, ["Can you stand? We really should get moving."]

["Yeah."] Satella nodded, her face got serious, ["What's our first plan, Subaru-kun?"]

["That's easy."] A cocky grin appeared on his face, before quickly whipping a thumb towards his gleaming smile,

["I'm going to go get mugged!"]

"..." Satella looked at him with a worrying face, before looking at her hand, ["...Did I accidently absorb your mana? You seem to be delusional—"]

["Ah, it's a joke Satella-tan. I'm going to go to the place I first met Emilia-tan."] Subaru clarified, and Satella realized his plan.

["Oooh!"] Hopping off the bench, Satella pumped her fists, "Let's get going then!" she exclaimed.

"Right!" Subaru responded in kind.





"Ah, gentlemen!" Subaru called out to the three shadows approaching him in the alleyway, currently getting up from a seating position and placing his hands on his hips, "I've been expecting you!"

Next to him was Satella, with her own arms crossed. Not like their guests could see her, of course.

"The fuck're you saying, 'We've been expecting you'!?" The head of the goons, a punk-looking man with piercings called Subaru out, "Are you screwing with us!?"

"Language, sir, language." Subaru waved his hand in front of him in a 'You smell!' gesture, "And of course not. Three guys corner a defenseless and handsome man in a dark alleyway, of course I know how this goes!"

"This guy's jokes are dogshit, but it seems like he has a brain in his head after all." The bigger man gave a small chuckle. The midget stepped up,

"Alright, hothead, if you know so much, then you should know what to do next! Cough the goods up!" the smaller man yelled. Subaru gave a chuckle.

"Fine, fine..." he glanced towards Satella, and gave a grin, ["Satella, can I use any of your abilities to take on these guys?"]

["Hueh!?"] The attention put on the Witch, she went on the defensive, ["Why didn't you ask me sooner!? It took us a while to get here, right!?"]

["Ah, sorry. Had to make sure I got to this alleyway, and Lugunica's a bit big... I was focused on getting here first!"]

The goons, watching the boy just lock up, immediately pushed forward, "Hey asshole! Getting cold feet, are we!?—"

"Out of the way! Coming through!"

Subaru blinked, realizing who the voice belonged to, and immediately prepped his body as Felt, the thief girl, appeared in the alleyway running to them.

Felt, who had Emilia's Royal Insignia, was running right towards his direction.

"Move out of the way, boys! —" she called, but noticed Subaru reaching out to her.

"Oh no you don't, you little—!" Subaru exclaimed —

Subaru's face was immediately met with Felt's foot, as she kicked off him to gain height, "Kihaah!?"

"Sorry, not sorry!~" Felt taunted the boy, and Subaru gritted his teeth from the pain.

["Ah! Subaru-kun!—"] Satella called out to him, but he ignored it as he reached towards the girl.

"You're not getting away!" Subaru reached out to her in a futile attempt to grab her, despite her being ten-something feet in the air—

He could feel the sensation of pulling something in his chest—

And a black tendril— A hand came out of his back, zipping towards her location, and grabbing her leg!

"Huh!?" Felt had... well, felt, the sensation on her leg, as Subaru naturally went through the motions of someone who was isekai'd with power.

"Sit down, you brat!" Throwing his arm downward, Subaru whipped the girl onto the floor, with enough force to knock a bear down!

*CRASH! ! !*

Subaru noticed what he had just did, and blinked, "Holy... shit..."

["To use the Authority of Sloth so easily... Subaru-kun, you're amazing~!"] Getting front row seats to her Hero's display, Stella had a dreamy face. Subaru hovered his new 'appendage' closer to him, and flexed its fingers.

["This is... Betelgeuse's ability?"] Saying that name gave a bad taste in his mouth, but shook it off immediately, looking out towards the thief girl, ["She's probably out like a light. Hope I didn't give her a concussion... Sorry, Felt."]

Turning towards the goons, he felt his appendage shift over his head. The thugs, themselves, snapped out of their shock, and shifted towards their weapons.

"The fuck was that...? Magic!?" The head goon whispered under his breath.

"This guy's a magic user!? You're kidding me!" The smaller one held a couple of daggers, sweating bullets.

Seeing their reactions, Subaru had a smug grin, as he cracked his knuckles... another sensation of pulling was within his chest.

"Now then... where were we." Subaru flexed his neck, hoping for a crack that never came, "Something about... you guys mugging me, right..."

"Well then..." he then slammed his fist into the palm of his other hand, in a threatening manner—







*Poom!* — And two of his newest appendages, did the same, releasing a small burst of air.

Subaru felt the elation of finally having power to fight.

"Come get some!" Subaru cat-called the goons, feeling like he was on Cloud Nine!

"Don't get cocky, you little—" The biggest goon ran up to the boy, which Subaru caught weaved away from his attack, thanks to the reflex training he took from Wilhelm—

"One!" Subaru exlaimed, and threw a hook at the man, missing! —

"Gaah!?" Only for the appendage to follow up with the same hook!

Subaru quickly moved towards the smaller goon, and jabbed at him, the appendage following the motion and slamming into his face!

"Two...!" Subaru counted, as the smaller man was knocked out, before turning to the leader, "And for the hat trick...!"

"You bastard!" The leader sprinted at him, holding both of his daggers outward towards Subaru as he held both of his hands, up high.

"Take this!" he swung his hands down, in a double-axe handle, and watched—

*CRASH! ! !* —as his appendages followed through, crushing the goon onto the ground!

"Gaah... uuhhh..." the goon passed out from the force of the blow, as he dropped his daggers.

"..." Subaru passed a quick eye to all three, over and over again, and watched for any movement...

And got none.

Subaru relaxed his body. His knees gave in, and he fell backward on his butt, "Holy... Holy crap... I did it...!"

"Subaru-kun, way to go!" Satella cheered, crashing into him with a hug, "That was amazing! Two Unseen Hands, right off the bat!"

"I did it... I actually did it, without..." Subaru's smile wavered, as he felt his heart clench, "Without dying... without calling for help, without..."

Subaru quickly raised a sleeve of his sweatshirt, up to his eyes, as he wiped the upcoming tears, "I did it... Thanks to you, Satella-tan, I actually... defended myself this time...!"

"What? You did all the work, my Beloved! I just watched the show~!" the Witch passed it off, as she felt her face get warm.

"With this power, I can save everyone! Satella, I could kiss you right now!" Subaru, riding his elation, faced Satella head-on saying these bold words.

"Aah!? Well... If you're offering, then..." Satella turned completely red, but didn't run away from the reward—

"Uhm...!" A new, or rather familiar voice came up, as both of them turned to the end of the alleyway to see...

Emilia!

"Ah! Emil—" Subaru cut himself off immediately, remembering where he was in the timeline, and bit his tongue, "Athh! Owtch!"

Paying no mind to the boy's behavior, Emilia looked around to the bodies on the ground, and blinked once. Twice... before—

"E-Excuse me!" Emilia's adrenaline kicked in, and turned 180° towards the exit.

"Waith!—Ack!" Subaru rolled his tongue and fixed his speaking, "Wait, wait a second!" he started to chase the Royal Candidate.

"*sigh*" Satella, feeling frustrated over the change of events, got up and brushed her dress,

"I missed a very good moment, haven't I?"





"What do you want! I'll have you know I'm an experienced Spirit User, and I know how to defend myself! —" Emilia put on a stance, but Subaru shook his head quickly!

"You got it all wrong! It was self-defense! Those guys were trying to mug me!" Subaru pleaded innocent, hoping to get on Emilia's good side.

"We'll see about that. Puck!" Emilia called out a name, and sure enough, her Spirit-cat appeared in her hand almost immediately.

"You rang?" Puck replied, before yawning, "Nyaahh... I didn't think you'd wake me from my nap so early."

"Puck, I caught this man with three other guys unconscious. He's a criminal, isn't he!" Emilia was jabbing spears at Subaru, as he felt like crying. Satella walked up to the group with a neutral expression.

Puck passed a very, very small glance at him, before giving a smug smile, "He's guilty! 100% Guilty! Guilty as the day he was born!"

"Stop messing around!" Subaru cried out, before gritting his teeth, "You're putting my life at stake! Help me out...!"

"Fine, fine, don't be so dramatic..." with a sigh, Puck floated towards him, and their eyes met, before turning towards the unconscious goons.

He floated back towards Emilia, "He's not lying. I can't read any malicious intent from this guy."

"Thank you!" Subaru relaxed, his body slouching forward. —

"Still though... One vs. three" Subaru looked back at Puck, who had his arms crossed, "That's no ordinary feat. You don't have any weapons on you, either. What'd you do to protect yourself?"

"That's...!" Subaru's mouth locked up. Crap! He couldn't go out and just say, 'I used the Power of a Witch!' —

"Magic." Satella said in a neutral tone next to him.

"Magic!" Subaru parroted, jumping on that excuse, "I used magic to defend myself... of course!" he aimed to sound convincing.

Puck's ears twitched, and his eyes turned sharp, "Magic? What kind of magic?"

"Yin magic! I used Shamac and gave them the good 'ol One-Two!" He gave a cocky grin, putting his whole body into believing it was the truth.

Puck took a moment to judge his character, before sighing, "Yeah, he's good, 'Lia. Just weird."

"Oi!" Subaru called out in response.

"Thank you, Puck. However, we can't waste any more time!" Emilia turned away from Subaru, "We have to find the person that stole my Insignia! I'll be leaving now, Weird-Person-san!"

"Wait a min— Oh come on, I'm not that weird!" Subaru, getting frustrated, put his foot down, "I know who took your Insignia!"

That caught the both of their attention. Emilia immediately turned to him, and came close to him.

"Why didn't you say that in the first place!" Emilia's tone was much nicer, but Subaru felt a bit of whiplash from the tone-change.

"Because you never brought it up in the first place." Satella spoke again, once more in a neutral tone —

"Because you never brought it up in the first place." Subaru parroted once again, albeit cocky.

"What would you do without me, dummy." Satella shook her head at her Beloved's antics.

"Ah... that's right." Emilia backed off a bit, blushing in shame, "Th-then, do you have it?"

"I don't, but the thief you're looking for is! —" Subaru turned to where he knocked out Felt, and noticed immediately —

The thief was gone!

"She got away!?" Subaru felt a wave of surprise run over him, before turning to face Emilia,

"Looks like she got away." Satella held her chin in a thinking matter. Turning to Satella, Subaru then turned to Emilia.

"She got away." Subaru deadpanned. Emilia blinked.

"Huh?" Emilia responded back to his sudden change in emotion. Subaru held the bridge of his nose.

"I could've sworn... that attack should've knocked her out... damn it...!" Subaru cursed his luck, and turned to the alleyway once more, making sure he wasn't messing up something.

"I'm sorry. She got away—but she couldn't have gone too far!" Subaru quickly segway'd into a brighter outlook, "If we hurry now, we can go find her. C'mon!"

"Heh? But why do you want to help?" Subaru, already knowing that she's asking for his reason, shook his head.

"I screwed up, and she snuck past me with your treasure. I owe you more than an apology for that alone! — Look, let's just move before we lose her!" At the end of his sentence, he made a 'C'mon!' gesture, urging Emilia to just run with it!

"R—Right!" Emilia, putting her Insignia over her small worries, decided to go with it anyway. Subaru began running, and Emilia followed suit.

Puck stayed behind, looking at the goons, and all the spidercracks coming from the goons, where they laid down, unconscious.

Puck, shaking his head, trailed after the duo as he kept his guard up.





"...Crap, this is bad..." Subaru scratched his cheek, looking at all directions, "It looks like she really got away."

"Then... what do we do?" Emilia held a downcast expression, but she looked towards Subaru for answers.

"The next best thing we can do. Ask around for witnesses. Get some idea of where she went," Subaru noticed a group having lunch outside, "Excuse me! Gentlemen!"

"Ah — Is it really alright!?" Emilia, surprised at how bold Subaru was, quickly ran behind him.

Satella looked at the two, confused at Subaru's antics. However, she kept quiet.

"Mister, your drawings look funny!" A small demi-human kid laughed at Subaru's poor recreation of Felt. The man huffed.

"Hey, this is serious! Have you seen anyone that looks like this girl!?" Subaru asked earnestly, and the demi-human shook his head while laughing.

"Nope! Doesn't look like anyone I know!" he exclaimed, and Subaru sighed.

"I thought so. Get a move on, kid." Subaru waved the boy off. Emilia walked towards Subaru with her own sign.

"Hey, I don't think anyone has seen the thief here, either." Emilia spoke in a somewhat dissatisfied tone, before placing the sign down, and crossing her arms, "What should we do next?"

"Good question. Gimme a minute to think about it." Subaru placed his own sign down and made a thinking position.

["Hey, Satella. Which place is more romantic: A park, or the fountain?"]

["...Okay, now I know you're stalling for time, Subaru-kun."] Calling his bluff, Satella glared the man down, ["What gives!? You know Felt's back in the loothouse, so why are you out here playing hooky!?"]

["Oops~. Secret's out~."] With Subaru laughing in his head, Satella sighed.

["You weren't doing a good job hiding it."] she replied, before staring at Subaru expectantly, ["Fess up already."]

["Fine, fine..."] Subaru faced Emilia, giving her a smile.

"We should go to somewhere really high, get a good look of this place. You wouldn't happen to know a spot, would you?" Subaru asked the girl, who perked up at the attention.

"Ah! — There is! Just up the hill over there, it looks like there's an overview!" Emilia, prepping her step, got a head-start, "Come on!"

"Right behind you!" Subaru ditched the signs they left, and chased Emilia. Satella picked herself off the ground, and trailed behind them.

["You can see it, right? I'm doing this so Emilia-tan can put some faith in me."] Subaru smiled, watching the girl run towards the overlook, making sure he wasn't lagging behind every so often.

["If I were to go straight for the Insignia, that could spell all sorts of trouble for me. I could name three... Four? Four resets I went through where knowing something I'm not supposed to got me in some trouble."]

Subaru explained his reasoning to Satella, which didn't exactly elicit a positive response for her.

["I guess you should know... you're just way too experienced with 'Return by Death', Subaru..."] Satella felt a sharp dagger of shame come through her, as she knew the implications of that ability.

["I'm also doing this,"] she quickly looked up to Subaru, as he was hiking up some stairs, leading to the overlook, ["Because it's just so refreshing, Satella-tan."]

["Refreshing?"] she asked, wondering what he meant. Subaru ran up the stairs, and Satella floated behind him.

["Before I met you, I had to think of a lot of things. Huge Whales, Witch Cultists, Royal Candidates — All the while living every day like I could die tomorrow."] He talked with a tone of wisdom, remembering how his previous timeline went.

["But right here, and right now? All that matters is getting Emilia-tan what she lost! —"]

["— And beating up Elsa, right!?"] Satella cheered behind him, feeling uplifted at his spirit. Subaru was quick to nod,

["Right! And beating up El... sa."] But he fell short, as he stopped climbing the stairs, ["Elsa... The Bowel Hunter..."]

["Subaru-kun...?"] Satella noticed his change in behavior, as he covered his mouth. She then felt what he felt soon after.

Anxiety, and Fear.

["...Crap... how could I forget...!"] He started biting his lip, ["I totally forgot... to call for Reinhard, in the alley...!"]

Subaru slowly walked up the stairs, ["If he's not there, then that means it's just going to be us,"] Subaru was referring to him, Emilia, Rom and Felt —

"You're not getting away!" Subaru winced, remembering how he slammed Felt onto the pavement.

["No. After what I did, they're surely not going to work with us easy."] He pressed his back against the wall, his mind running a hundred miles a minute, ["That really just leaves me and Emilia..."]

["Hey... snap out of it...!"] Satella lightly shook the man, ["It's different now! I mean... you have me, right?"] she gave a reassuring smile to her Hero, and Subaru blinked.

["That's... right."] Subaru nodded, standing back on his feet, ["... and back in the alley, I didn't even need Reinhard's help in the first place, so...!"]

"Hey!" Emilia called out to Subaru, around the corner, "What're you waiting for! We have to hurry!"

"Ah — Right, sorry!" Subaru called back, then turned to Satella, ["I took out those thugs pretty easy! I can take on Elsa, even if it takes a hundred hands to do so!"] Subaru thought these words with a bout of confidence, before chasing Emilia.

["Wait, that's...!"] Subaru stopped, hearing the Witch call out, and turned to her.

[...What?] Subaru asked, seeing Satella turn silent.

["Mm-nnn, it's nothing!"] Satella shook her head, letting Subaru chase behind Emilia. Her eyes looked to the ground.

A hundred hands? Surely Subaru wouldn't go that far? Elsa's just one person... Two, maybe even three should handle someone like her.

'Subaru-kun... He doesn't know...' Satella kept her thoughts to herself, '... the consequences of overdoing Authority...'

'Should I tell him?...' After she thought that, she shook her head,

'No... With the way things are heading, it's...'

Having this little faith in her Hero, it made Satella sick.

However, she clung on to that small, small string of emotion she called 'Hope', and simply wished for the best to come.





"Hey, I just realized... You've been helping us, but... we don't even know your name yet!" Satella made her way up the stairs to see Puck talking to Subaru in a surprised tone.

"Oh that's right, guess you make a fair point!" Taking a deep breath, Subaru dramatically points to the sky!

"My name is Subaru Natsuki! I'm broke, totally clueless, but I sure as hell can defend myself when put in a fight!" Flamboyant and true, Subaru made his announcement, getting some looks to say the least.

"I can get the fighting part, but don't sound so proud about being broke, Subaru-san." Emilia gave him a worried look, and he gave a cheeky grin.

"Just being honest with you two." He scratched his cheek, his face a little bit red.

"Well then, my name's! —"

"Puck, right?" Subaru deadpanned, cutting the spirit short.

"Wha!? — Hey! You ruined my introduction!" Puck was annoyed at the man ruining his moment. Said man shrugged.

"I dunno? You calling me 'Guilty! 100% Guilty! Guilty as the day he was born' is plenty of an introduction to me." Referring to their first meeting, Puck got all flustered, before whipping his head around in a defiant 'Hmph!'

"Anywho," Subaru looked towards Emilia, "I haven't heard you say your name yet."

"O-Oh... It's..." Emilia turned away, looking at the distant buildings of Lugunica.

Satella's eyes grew dim, as she turned away from the scene before her, opting to look at the view. She's seen this scene before. Subaru has, too.

"...Satella."

Emilia shamelessly lies, and hoping for Subaru to accept it as the truth, she continues, "No surname, just Satella. It's nice to meet you, Subaru."

Subaru stays quiet. However, a small smile graced his lips.

Satella huffs, preparing for her heart for something along the lines of, 'A beautiful girl like you shouldn't call themselves a Witch.'

"As cute as a name like 'Satella' is," she immediately bounced in embarrassment, as Subaru leads his statement by complimenting her name,

"I find that hard to believe, since Puck gave away your name earlier, too. Your name's 'Lia', right?"

Emilia goes on the defensive, "What!? — No! — Satella is my name! Lia's just a nickname Puck gives me!"

"Pffft!" Emilia jumps, as Subaru suddenly starts laughing.

"What's so funny!?" Emilia exclaims, losing composure.

Sure enough, Subaru was laughing at something that he thought of, "I'm sorry! — It's just... I'm trying to fit 'Lia' into 'Satella' somewhere, and all I get is... Satel-lia!"

Satella, being nearby, burns hot red from the nickname he's made,

["Subaru-kun!"] / "Subaru, that's not funny at all!" A short moment of stereo-sound came, as both of them reacted in the same tone, with the same voice.

"Why not!? I think it's even cuter!" Subaru defends himself, wiping a tear from his eye, as he passes a glance behind him, ["Right, Satel-lia-tan?'']

["Shut up, shut up, shut up!"] The Witch softly punches his back, over and over again, as her face keeps burning bright.

"Subaru, listen to me! My name really is —"

"Hey, that's enough, 'Lia." Puck quickly intervenes, with a rather calm tone, "It's clear that Subaru isn't buying your lie." Puck turns to Emilia, giving her a stern look,

"Besides, I thought I taught you better about being honest, especially about something like that..."

Subaru watches, knowing that he's referring to the name. Emilia stiffens up, before turning to Subaru... and bowing her head.

"...I'm sorry, Subaru-san... Puck is right, I lied to you." she rose her head, and gave him a gentle look, "My real name is Emilia... I'm sorry for deceiving you."

"Don't mention it, you have your reasons." Subaru quickly waves it off, before giving a smile, "And Emilia, huh? That's also a cute name!"

Emilia blushes and looks away, "I-If you say 'cute' so much, it wears off rather quickly, you know?" she brushes the compliment from her, but Subaru nods in agreement.

"Right, lemme fix that. Emilia's a beautiful name!" Subaru exclaimed, making said girl jump!

"You're... stop lying! My name's not beautiful!" Emilia couldn't face the man, and said man blinked in astonishment.

"Haah!? You're calling me out for lying!? I'm sorry, Pot calling Kettle 'Black!' here!" Subaru was quick to point out that fact —

"A—NY—WAYS!" Puck intervened, crossing his arms, "We've took too long to introduce ourselves, let's focus on the goal here."

"Right... Subaru-san," Emilia turned to the man, "You said we were looking for something up here, right? What's the plan?"

["I guess..."] Satella blinks, as Subaru kept his thoughts open, ["It's time I stopped getting distracted."]

She watched as Subaru leaned over the railing, looking at the different districts.

"I mean, at first I wanted to find our next spot to ask more people, but..." Subaru scratched his head, "I'm just starting to notice... Emilia, the people here are well-off, aren't they?"

Implying the wealth in general of Lugunica's people, Emilia couldn't help but agree, "Lugunica is home to some very wealthy nobles, and even then, people who are here usually end up making a decent living... Why do you ask?"

"The thief girl that we're looking for... well, she's a thief, right? Not to mention when I saw her, the outfit she wore was a bit rough on the eyes. Definitely not something a 'noble' would wear..." Subaru turned to Emilia and Puck,

"Having a job like that... She couldn't possibly be living in these parts, right? Isn't there somewhere else that thieves like her would hide in?"

Emilia pondered the question, before blinking in realization, "... 'The Slums'... A couple of groups we asked mentioned that place being a hotspot for thieves...! That's it!" she nodded, before looking at Subaru,

"Then, that's the next place we should go look, right? The one that stole my Insignia has got to be there!" Emilia concluded.

Subaru nodded in agreement, before turning back to the distance, "I think I see a district that could be 'The Slums' from up here. We should get moving! Let's go!" Subaru, turning to the exit, passed a glance at Satella,

["We're skipping a bunch of events doing this, Satella-tan. I hope the Appa Salesman can forgive me for not finding his daughter, but If we're lucky, we might not have to fight Elsa after all!"]

Satella smiled at Subaru, being his pillar of support, ["I'm sure they'll be fine. You can do it, Subaru-kun!"]

Giving a bright smile, both him and Emilia ran down the stairs, aiming for their next destination.

However, Satella could feel the uneasiness from Subaru... or rather, was it her uneasiness? It was so subtle, just barely noticeable...

Just who was the nervous one here?





Carefully walking over rugged bridges and numerous puzzles, the duo wandered the sketchy neighborhood known as 'The Slums.'

"I think we should start asking around. Someone should know where the thief is!" Emilia spoke up, only to watch Puck rise and shake his head.

"I doubt it. In a place like this, I'm sure nobody would be willing to sell someone out. Especially to strangers like us." Puck passed a glance to Subaru, "Well, Subaru? You seem to be running the show, here. What now?"

"Ah, well, first of all... Puck, are you doing alright?" Subaru carefully asked. The spirit blinked.

"Hmm? I've never been better? Why ask?" Puck responded like it was fact. Subaru blinked.

"Oh — Uh, no reason." Subaru looked at the sky, noticing it's barely hitting Dusk-hours, ["We're really early. Puck might be able to help us, if we do encounter Elsa..."]

"It is getting late... Puck, shouldn't you be resting your strength?" Noticing the time, Emilia also chimed in.

"And what, let my darling 'Lia wander this dangerous neighborhood with a ruffian like Subaru?" Puck placed his arms on his hips — His tiny, kitty hips, "I'm not going to take the risk."

"Hey!? Why're you making me out like the bad guy, here!?" Subaru cried out in response, before sighing,

"Whatever. If we can't find help out here, the next place we should look for is something like a Pawn Shop. Get some info there." Subaru aimed to lead the both of them to their ideal destination easily, knowing exactly where to look.

"A Pawn Shop? Why should we look for something like that?" Emilia asked, curious.

"He's saying that the Thief might've already sold your Insignia, 'Lia" Puck explained it for Subaru, getting a jump off Emilia.

"What!? You can't — An Insignia isn't something you can just sell! Who would do such a thing!?" Emilia was outraged. Subaru couldn't help but grin.

"Even Insignias can be sold, 'Lia. But still, it's not like anyone would be dumb enough to buy something like that without getting arrested." Puck shook his head.

"Well said, Puck! And that's exactly why I'm buying that Insignia!" Subaru spoke proudly! —

"Wha!? —" Puck choked on his breath.

"Subaru, what do you mean!?" Emilia cried out, already assuming the worst. Subaru raised his hands in defense.

"Of course, I'm going to give it back to you, Emilia-tan!" Subaru called her in an affectionate tone, but she seemed to ignore it.

"But why would you buy it!? And with what!? It's something that was stolen from me, so shouldn't we take it back?" Emilia was completely against the idea!

"Look, as much as I hate the idea of buying something that was taken from you, we don't have a lot of other options." Subaru shook his head, "Besides, I'd rather jump on the pacifist option, than to fight and risk losing our lives."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience..." Puck noted, and Subaru chose not to answer that statement. He reached in his pockets, and pulled out his phone.

"This is a Metia. It can take pictures of anyone and anything in an instant," Demonstrating his phone's 'ability', he quickly took a picture of both Emilia and Puck, and showed it to them.

"It doesn't serve me much purpose now, so selling it won't be an issue for me. It would mean more if I could exchange it to return to you what you lost." Subaru spoke... although he wasn't entirely honest...

His last few messages with his Mom and Dad, and any photos he had with them, were in there. Giving his phone away meant giving up one of his only links to his world.

Puck caught the sudden cut of honesty, and passed a glance at Emilia.

"Lia, you should thank him." Puck spoke in a firm voice, catching his contractor by surprise, "Metias these days can go for a lot of money. If this works, he'll be giving up quite a bit to help you out."

"I..." Emilia, hearing her father-figure's suggestion, looked to the ground and grabbed the hem of the dress.

She looked straight at Subaru, "Subaru... Why are you doing so much, just to help me?" she asked, and Subaru blinked at her question.

"..." Subaru huffed, before shrugging, "Is it so wrong to help someone in need? Besides... I've really enjoyed the time we had together." He finished with a smile.

"Chasing the footprints and chicken-scratches of a thief is your idea of a good time?" Puck asked, being rhetorical.

Subaru answered anyway; "Frankly... these have been some of the best moments I've had in a while." Once again, he spoke with honesty. It sure as hell beat getting stuck in a poverty-ridden town called 'Sanctuary.'

"That doesn't...!" Emilia bit her lip, before continuing, "You do know I'm half-elf... Right?"

Subaru cocked his head, "Does that matter? If anything, that makes being with you even more exciting!"

"...Holy crap, he isn't lying." Puck was shocked at his conviction. Hearing Puck, Emilia turned away from him,

"Hauuu...!" Emilia let out a girlish squeal, feeling her heart clench in embarrassment.

"I don't know why you're making such a big deal about this...!" Subaru laughed, before noticing something... off...

["Satella-tan? Where are you?"] Sure enough, the Witch wasn't by his side—

["Up here."] Subaru 'heard' her voice above him, and he looked to see Satella sitting up on the railing of a house.

["How's the weather up there?"] Subaru immediately cracked a joke, before shaking his head, ["Don't answer that— Satella-tan, why are you on the roof of a house?"]

["Don't let me distract you. These are some of the most important moments you need to make, Subaru-kun."] Satella replied, almost like a stern mother.

Feeling some whiplash in comparison to her usual behavior, Subaru couldn't help but feel like something was up.

However, he sighed. She was right. He couldn't mess this up.

["You're right, Satella-tan. Just..."] He gave her a worried look, ["Stay close by, alright?"]

["I'm not going to disappear on you, Subaru-kun. I promise."] Satella gave a reassuring smile, calming the man's nerves.

["Right. Got it."] Subaru looked towards Emilia and Puck,

"Let's start looking around. It's getting dark, and I'm not tempted to see what these parts are like at night." Hearing Subaru, both Spirit and Contractor nodded.

Satella, watching the three of them move, kept a smile as she closed her eyes, and kept recharging her mana —





"Hi! Looking to purchase — Ack!?" Subaru met face to face with Felt, greeting them at the door, and quickly put his foot through the door as a doorstop—

"Wait a — Gah!?" Subaru cried out as his foot, even with his shoe as a buffer, got smashed by the door being closed. However, because of Subaru, the door didn't close properly, "Ow ow ow?! What kind of service are you guys running!? This how you treat your customers!?"

"How!? How did you guys find me so quick!?" Felt kept slamming the door on Subaru's foot, much to the chagrin of the boy.

Soon, he pushed against the door, and with his newest ability, forced the door open with his Unseen Hand, staring down at the crack, "That doesn't matter! We need to talk!" Subaru demanded, making the little girl reel back.

"Felt, let them come inside." Another voice came from behind the girl, as she hesitated... before fully opening the door, revealing the store owner himself, Rom.

He let out a chuckle, "Getting sloppy here, Felt. Our client's not going to be happy about this."

"I'm telling you, Old Man Rom, I lost these guys hours ago! There's no way they followed me here!" Felt cried out in embarrassment, but the store owner waved her off.

"Well, it doesn't matter either way. They're here now..." Rom gave the both of them a look, with calculated eyes,

Emilia, realizing they were in the presence of those that took her Insignia, turned serious.

"That girl over there stole my Royal Insignia. Me and Subaru have been looking all over Lugunica to find it, and it lead us here." Emilia held out her hand, and kept a cold face, "Hand it over."

"Now, settle down there, Your Majesty!" Subaru noticed Rom motion under his desk, no doubt reaching for his club that he fought with before, "Our client should be coming any second now. If you have any problems, you should send it their way —"

"I have no patience for the likes of thieves! I'm only going to ask once again; Give me my Insignia!" Emilia began summoning large icicles around her frame, aiming them at Felt and Rom.

"Wa-wait a second...!" Felt stiffened at the show of magic, and Rom was on a similar boat.

"...and here I thought you were just a run-of-the-mill Magic User." Rom looked towards said girl, and noticed a defining feature, "Ah. With those ears, you must be an elf, then."

"...That's —" Emilia began, but Subaru walked forward.

"—nothing you should be worrying about, Rom." Subaru spoke up, cutting Emilia short.

"Subaru?" Emilia wondered what the boy was doing, and he winked at her.

"Keep those icicles up. Don't want them to jump me before I make my offer." Subaru replied. Rom rose an eyebrow.

"'Offer'?" Rom repeated, and Emilia realized what he was doing.

"Subaru, don't make a trade with them! I will make sure they give me back my Insignia!" Emilia insisted, but Subaru sighed.

"Look, I don't want you to make any risky decisions. Just let me do my thing, and we can be done before sundown." Subaru replied back. If he was forced to make Emilia plunge ice magic into a 15-year-old girl and her father-figure, he really wouldn't forgive himself.

Turning to Rom, Subaru made a serious look, "I get it. The both of you are just trying to make a living out here in this crazy world. I understand completely how bad things can be."

Knowing his own experience with this beautifully awful world, he could only sympathize with the both of them.

Subaru pulled out his phone, "See this? It's a Metia — A one-of-a-kind device from my homeland. It's gotta be worth a pretty penny, just from namesake alone."

"...I can see that. I'd appraise its price, but..." Rom passed a glance at Emilia, "I'm sure even moving would rub that girl the wrong way."

"If you so much as touch Rom, I'll! —" Felt, feeling the pressure of their lives being at stake, put up her fangs.

"Felt, it's okay." The store owner coaxed the young girl into relaxing. Subaru shook his head.

"No appraisal needed. You trade me the Royal Insignia, it's yours. After that, we go our separate ways." Subaru pushed the finality of the situation down upon Rom. On the inside, however, Subaru was getting nervous with each passing second.

This run was going clean. It was going very, very well. If he so much as screwed one thing up here...!

"What about our client? You expect me to show up empty-handed?" Rom gave a chuckle. Subaru grinned.

"You close up shop, and tell them it was impossible: The people you were stealing from was a powerful magic user and an incredibly handsome devil." Subaru waved his hands like it was fact. Rom shook his head.

"Throw yourself on a pedestal, why don'tcha..." Rom sighed, before turning to Felt, "Alright, kid, give her the Insignia back. We'll be making a trade for his Metia."

"What!? But all the work I've done getting it — I've lost a tooth because of you! See!" Glaring at Subaru, she pointed at an empty spot in her dentures, no doubt the result of Subaru using his ability on her.

"Ahaha... sorry bout that." Subaru awkwardly laughed. Rom gave the girl a look.

"...Felt." He spoke one more, leaving no room for discussion.

"Fine!" Felt exclaimed, disappointed at the outcome of the events. She stomped over to the half-elf, and held out her treasure, "Don't lose it so easily next time, alright!"

"Thank you..." despite the outcome, Emilia gave her a smile, glad she finally received what she had lost.

"It was nice doing business with you." Subaru left his phone on the counter, and started walking away, "It's getting late. You should close the shop early, if you catch my drift."

"Yeah, yeah..." Talking like they were buddies, Rom laughed, "Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

"Oh trust me," Passing a glance at Felt, he grinned, "I think the door has hit me plenty."

"Will you two get lost, already!" Felt cried out, already frustrated with him and the girl!





"Subaru..." Emilia held her Insignia tightly, looking at the back of the boy who helped her, "As much as I wanted this Insignia back... I'm not comfortable knowing you had to give up your treasure to get it."

"What? I already told you, it's fine —" Subaru watched Emilia step in front of him, shaking her head.

"It's not fine! How am I going to sleep tonight knowing my debts to you are unpaid!?" Emilia looked at Subaru in earnest, "How can I repay you for this? Surely, there's something I can do!"

"..." Subaru's face heated up as Emilia begged him for repayment. Scratching his cheek, he only answered the right answer.

"Frankly, I... don't have a place to stay right now. If you wanted to make it up to me, then..." Subaru hoped Emilia took the bait.

And judging by her glowing face, she did, "There is! My benefactor is the owner of a huge mansion! Surely, he can give you a place to stay!" she exclaimed, happily.

"Really? That's perfect!" Subaru wiped his forehead, "For a second there, I thought I had to go sleep in the dump again."

"You sleep in trash!? Subaru!?" Emilia was horrified at the thought, and Subaru was quick to shut it down.

"I'm joking! I'm joking!" Subaru laughed, feeling like a huge weight was off his shoulders.

Then... that's it, right? Problem solved, and the both of them were heading to the Mansion to get some rest. Mission complete!

...Both of them?

Subaru felt a pinch of dread come up, as he noticed a very, very glaring problem come forward:

Where is Satella?

Stopping in his tracks, he caught Emilia's attention, and she stopped with him, "Subaru?"

"Hey, Emilia... can you wait here for, like, five minutes?" Subaru asked, as the feeling of dread became more and more clear, "I need to check something — I-I'll be right back!"

"But why — Wait!?" Subaru didn't wait for Emilia to finish. He was already running, "Subaru!?"

Subaru knew he was jumping the gun, but there were too many potholes to this timeline. Not meeting Elsa, Felt and Rom giving them the Insignia so quickly, and Satella missing from his side...!

He had to make sure everything was okay! He needed to!

He wouldn't live it down, if he had Felt and Rom die by Elsa's hands...!





Running closer to the loot shop, Subaru clicked his tongue — The lights were still on!

"Damn it, I told them to close...!" He slowed down to catch his breath, and calm his heart, "And during this hour, too... she has to be in there."

Subaru slowly approached the door, and kept his ears wide open...

"I'm sorry lady, we don't have it." Rom's voice came through, he was talking to someone.

"You had us doing an impossible gig!" Felt's voice. She was as cocky as ever, "Taking something like the Insignia in the Capital City!? Just who do you think we are!?"

Subaru's fists tightened. They're talking about it...! That means...!

"That's too bad..." Subaru's fear turned white-hot. Elsa.

No. It's no use. They'll get killed...!

Subaru mustered up his courage. It was really tough, knowing how great everything in this lifetime went, but...

He knew, he wouldn't be able to take it easy, if he left these two for dead.

"...I don't suppose you know what happens next, right...?"

Subaru gritted his teeth, steadied his heart — It was now or never!

Subaru kicked the door wide open, and summoned two Unseen Hands! —

"Don't you dare hurt them, Elsa! ! !" Subaru roared out, looking inside the shop.

The shop was well lit. Nothing was tossed around. No sign of a fight about to take place.

In fact, Elsa was sitting on a stool, next to Rom and Felt... signing a legalese?

...Huh?

"...What's your problem!? Why the hell did you come back!?" Felt roared out in response, surprising Subaru.

"Wa... Wai..." Subaru's voice was weak, as he was really, really confused!

Subaru looked towards Elsa, expecting the look of a cold killer...!

But even she looked shocked, something that never has been seen on her face.

Subaru's mind started spinning, trying to rack up answers, until —

["Subaru-kun?"] Satella's voice suddenly appeared, surprising the boy. He looked around, desperately trying to find Satella in the room with him.

With no luck, he went back to watching Elsa, making sure she doesn't do anything funny —

"...Ah..." Subaru notices a key fact.

Something he learned about himself: Subaru was very good at remembering details about his deaths. It was a skill he picked up really quick, considering his only ability at the time was a glorified, and really shitty, checkpoint system.

Picking up on those details usually meant life and death in his next run, so he picked up everything. The setting, the smells, the sights, and if people were involved in his death? Every little detail about them, be it murderer, or elsewise.

So, it didn't take long to see something... off about Elsa, given how many times he's been killed by her; A feature of hers had changed somewhat.

Her usually dark, twisted black eyes were missing. Ones that almost shared no sort of compassion...







...and they were replaced with caring, violet orbs, that just did not belong on the girl.

It clicked.

With a gulp, he whispered in his head, hoping for the right answer.

["Satella... are you... controlling Elsa, right now?"]

He watched 'Elsa' react to his question, and that alone was enough confirmation! —

["That's correct,"] Satella's voice responded —

"Subaru-kun." With affection that absolutely did not fit her, 'Elsa' followed suit.

Thank you for reading! Already making headway into the next chapter which, surprisingly, wraps Arc One up rather quickly. Stay tuned for the next chapter!~